But if they lost…a death that would be permanent.
That has to suck, Bagi thought. Dying and as you die, you don’t know if you’ll come back or not.
A smile touched his mental lips.
That makes us just like Humans, I guess.
“Missile range in two minutes, sir,” called the Tactical Officer.
“Thank you, Tac,” Bagi responded. He was in his warbody - the large, armored cube on the bridge, welded to the floor. In this aspect, he had a full, 360-degree view of the battlefield. He had access to every control and station on the bridge with a simple thought. In theory, he could react twice as fast as a Stree commander.
Too bad missiles don’t know theory, Bagi thought as the range closed. The laws of physics apply to Stree and Goblin alike. Regardless of our processing speed, we’re still subject to inertia. Our missiles can’t maneuver any faster than the Stree.
And then, suddenly, they were in range and it was no longer time to think, it was time to fight. Bagi’s squadron fired all 256 of their missiles at the vast array of Stree warships in front of them. Then his crew turned to point defense. The initial rain of Stree missiles that came at them was mind-boggling. In seconds, Bagi’s squadron was facing 672 missiles, each one of them maneuvering wildly to evade his point defense.
As the cloud of Stree missiles came in range and his point defense cannon and railguns began to vibrate the ship, Bagi had time for one last thought.
We aren’t going to survive this.
Stree Prime
Great Cathedral of the Stree
At midnight, Rita took a deep breath, cracked open the door to the hallway, and peeked out. It was clear. She glanced back at Luda watching from the back of the room, gave him a thumbs-up, and stepped out into the hallway.
She was back in one of the spare Stree bodies and wearing a Stree Naval uniform. Around her neck was an ID badge, with the identity of a captain in Stree Naval Intelligence. She strode confidently down the hallway, hoping she wouldn’t meet anyone at this late hour.
At the end of the hallway, she rounded the corner and walked down the long outer hallway toward the front of the Administration building. As she approached the middle of the hallway, two Stree came around the opposite corner toward her. One was dressed in the long flowing robes of the priesthood. The jeweled pendant around his neck marked him as a high-ranking official. Her internal AI quickly processed his appearance, and his identity popped up in her internal display.
Prophet Gitweo. Third in the hierarchy of the Stree Theocracy. Head of the Secret Police.
Quickly Rita slammed herself against the wall, bowed as low as she possibly could without falling forward, and waited for them to pass. It was the accepted protocol for meeting someone of Gitweo’s rank. As the two approached, her AI gave a quiet internal ping and the identity of the second Stree popped up on her internal display.
Cotrapi. Videlli’s Head Jailer.
Rita maintained her position of obeisance, waiting for them to pass. They did and she straightened and continued down the hallway. As they moved farther away, her enhanced hearing heard several words of their muttered conversation.
“…three dead. Five left. I’ll start on the next one tomorrow…”
Rita stopped, frozen in her tracks. The voice had come from Cotrapi.
He has to be talking about Jim and the rest. Oh my Lord, he’s already killed three of them.
Rita started moving again. She had a mission to accomplish. She knew she couldn’t let personal feelings prevent that. But in spite of herself, she stumbled as Cotrapi’s words hit her hard.
Oh Lord, please, not Jim. Not Jim.
Forcing herself to keep moving, she came to the end of the hall. Stepping through the doorway to her right, Rita was outside, in the cold night air. She walked briskly across a small quadrangle to the Cathedral proper. On the right side of the huge building was another door. Raising her ID badge to the reader, she heard a click and the light turned green.
So far so good.
Opening the door, she entered and turned right. Following the directions Tika had provided, she walked past three doors and knocked gently on the fourth. The door opened and there stood Tarilli, wearing some kind of off-white sleeping robe. Even knowing that it was Tika inside the android body, it took a leap of faith for Rita to face the second-most dangerous Stree on the planet without flinching.
“In, quick!” the figure of Tarilli hissed. Rita stepped through the door, and Tika closed it behind her. Rita found herself in a private suite. Tika waved her to a couch beside a coffee table. Rita sat, Tika taking the opposite seat. They stared at each other for a moment.
“No. According to Tarilli’s scan, it’s one of the few places in the Cathedral that’s not bugged.”
“Good. How ya doin’?”
Tika shrugged. “I’ve been better. This asshole is going through withdrawal right now. There’s enough residual discomfort from his scan to make it a real pain in the ass.”
“Sorry. But otherwise?”
“Otherwise, I got through the day. I don’t think I made any major mistakes. I kept telling the staff I was ill and to take care of things on their own. They seemed to accept it as normal. It makes me wonder if he does that a lot, when he’s screwed up on drugs.”
“Probably. Wow, I still can’t believe it. The Stree Number Two - a druggie.”
“Videlli has to know. I don’t think there’s any way he could not pick up on it.”
“Well, it’s not without precedent. Hitler - sorry, that was a crazy bastard back in the last century on Earth - he was a druggie too.”
“I know who Hitler was. I studied Earth history on the trip from Stalingrad to Dekanna when I first met Rachel.”
“Oh, sorry. Right.”
“Anyway - what now?”
Rita paused, thinking. “Well - the battle at Stalingrad has begun, according to Hajo’s latest intel. We’re out of time. So we have two things we have to do. The first is to try and find some way to recall the Stree fleet.”
“OK. And two?”
“Find Jim and the rest and see if there’s any feasible way to rescue them.”
“They’re in the basement. I finally found it in Tarilli’s scan.”
Rita nodded. “Good. But we don’t have much time at all. I overheard Gitweo and Cotrapi in the hallway on my way over. They’ve already killed three of them and will take another tomorrow.”
“So. What do you want to do next?”
Suddenly there was a gentle knock on the door. They were both caught off-guard by the sound. Before either could react, the knob of the door started to turn.
Acting instinctively, Rita dived behind the couch in one smooth motion. A second or two after she hit the carpeted floor on the other side of the couch, she heard the hinges of the door squeak as someone opened it and stepped into the room. There was a short silence. Then Tika uttered words that froze the blood in Rita’s veins.
“Great Prophet Videlli!”
Turning her head slightly, Rita could see through a small crack between the couch and the end table. There, indeed, was Videlli - Highest of the High, Prime Leader of the Stree Nation, Great Prophet of the Stree Destiny. He had none of his usual vestments, wearing only a simple shift of white, but it was clearly him.
What the hell does Videlli want with Tarilli at midnight?
The supreme leader of the Stree moved slowly toward the figure of Tarilli, a smile creasing his lips. Tika, inside Tarilli’s body, stood in shock. Videlli reached out his arms and put them on Tarilli’s shoulders.
And leaned forward and kissed him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Stree Prime
Great Cathedral of the Stree
In Tarilli’s room, Rita watched in shock as Great Prophet Videlli kissed Tarilli/Tika.
Rita grinned hugel
y as she realized what was happening.
Rita said.
Rita quickly switched to Luda’s channel.
Rita watched as Tika, now prone on the bed with Videlli on top of her, made a valiant attempt to buy time.
“Oh, Great Prophet,” Tika said. “Can you give me just a minute to go to the restroom?”
Videlli grunted but lifted himself up off Tika’s body onto one fat elbow. “Can’t it wait?” he asked.
“Oh Great Prophet, it cannot wait! I’m sorry, I’ll be right back!”
With that, Videlli grunted once again and allowed Tika to escape from beneath him. He turned over to his back, lay back on the bed, crossed his arms behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. Tika dived off the bed and hurried to the restroom, closing the door behind her.
Tika didn’t respond, but Rita could imagine her internal sigh. All was quiet for three minutes. Then Tika came out of the bathroom, turned off the room lights, went to the bed, and lay down beside Videlli. Videlli rose on his elbows, stared down at the figure of his lover beside him, and smiled. He leaned down and kissed Tika again, long and hard.
Carefully, Rita rose from behind the couch. In the darkened room, she moved slowly from behind the couch and across the room until she was beside the bed. Videlli was too occupied to notice her. She leaned forward and with an iron grip, grabbed Videlli around the throat suddenly and hard, jerking his neck backward so forcefully he had no chance to get out a shout before his air was cut off. She held him in an iron grip until he stopped struggling and his body went limp.
As the door opened and Luda entered the room carrying the scanner, Tika looked at Rita in astonishment.
“You can’t be serious,” Tika said out loud.
Phoenix System
Battalion West
Mac and Olivia slept through most of the day, rousing only twice. The first time, he and Olivia came out of the tent and sat on a tree bole to eat a late breakfast. Before launch from the transport, each had been given a half-dozen compact meals to carry in their packs, meals provided by the Goblins. They were similar to military field rations Mac had encountered in J-ROTC - something called an MRE. But, he decided, quite a bit tastier. Evidently the Goblins were better than Humans at putting such meals together.
Mac and Olivia got up once again in the early afternoon, eating another ration. After their meal, they walked down to a nearby creek to re-fill their canteens. As they stooped at the water, Mac noticed a tall woman sitting on a nearby rock. She looked somewhat familiar to him, although he couldn’t place her. She smiled at him.
“Don’t forget to drop your water purification tablets in there,” she said.
“Right,” Mac nodded. He glanced at Olivia to see if she recognized the woman, but she made no sign of it. Turning back to the stranger, he noted she seemed a bit older than most in the battalion. Probably pushing thirty, he decided. Not old, but older. Her features were somewhat Slavic, with high cheekbones. She was beautiful, he realized. Totally beautiful. Athletic, too, he decided. Her muscles looked as hard as a rock.
Putting the tablets into his canteen, he stood, hung it on his belt, and waited for Olivia to finish. Looking at the woman, he smiled back at her.
“How was the chow?” the woman asked.
“It was good, really good,” said Mac. “Better than I expected.”
“Good,” she replied. “Where are you from?”
“Washington State,” Mac said. “In the U.S.”
“Nice. I’ve heard that’s a beautiful state.”
“Was,” said Mac. “Was a beautiful state. Not now. Not anymore.”
“Yeah, sorry. I forget sometime.”
Mac nodded. “So do I. Sometimes.”
The woman tilted her head at him, her smile drooping into a frown.
“It’s easy to forget, isn’t it? It seems like we could just get on the ship, fly back to Earth, and find it as we knew it, green and beautiful and full of life.”
“Yeah,” responded Mac. He gazed away wistfully at the trees and rocks surrounding them. “But…we’ll make a new home. Here. We’ll make this place blue and beautiful and full of life.”
The woman looked at him with something like awe in her face.
“We will,” she said. “As long as there are people like you, we’ll make it. Somehow.”
Mac nodded, smiled, and walked back toward his tent, Olivia beside him. Heads down, they were silent as they walked. The conversation with the strange woman had made them pensive, made them think. The challenge in front of them was becoming more real. Not only did they have to win the coming battle - but they also had to win this planet. Survive. Make it a home.
Olivia reached out and took his hand as they walked back to their tent. They crawled in. Holding on to each other, they went back to sleep.
Great Cathedral of the Stree
“He wants what?” Cotrapi asked in amazement. “Videlli himself?”
“Yes,” came Tarilli’s voice over the phone. “Bring the Human prisoner called Jim Carter to Videlli’s audience chamber immediately. Right now.”
“But…” Cotrapi hesitated. To question Great Prophet Videlli was death. And Tarilli - well, that was death too. Just maybe a bit slower.
“It will be done, Master. I’ll have him there in ten minutes.”
“Fine,” said Tarilli, and the phone went dead.
Cotrapi shuddered. He had taken a Human prisoner to the torture chamber yesterday; and that one was now dead.
But luckily, it had not been the one called Jim Carter. He shuddered again to think what could have happened if he had killed the very one Videlli wanted this morning.
Not good. Not good at all. I ducked a bullet on that one.
“Aswar,” Cotrapi roared at his second-in-command. “Get four guards and get the Human prisoner called Jim Carter out of his cell. Bring him to me. Quickly!”
“Aye, sir,” called Aswar, jumping up from his desk and rushing out of the room. Cotrapi stood up, brushed the crumbs of his lunch off his tunic, and reached for his helmet. The helmet was his badge of office. If he was going to be in front of Great Prophet Videlli, the helmet definitely needed to be firmly on his head.
Checking himself in the mirror, he flicked another few crumbs off his clothing and decided it was as good as it was going to get.
Why in hell does the Great Prophet want to see a prisoner now?
Outside, he heard a commotion and then Aswar stuck his head in the d
oor of the office.
“Ready, sir,” he called.
Cotrapi nodded and followed Aswar out of the office. Outside in the hallway, the prisoner Jim Carter hung limply between the four guards. He had been beaten recently - just on general principle - and was weak from hunger and deprivation.
Shit! I hope he doesn’t die on me before we get to Videlli’s chambers!
“Follow me,” Cotrapi growled, heading toward Videlli’s audience chamber. “And try to keep him upright!”
Stalingrad System
Dyson Swarm
The flood of Stree missiles had barreled through First Assault Wing like a herd of rhino, leaving a junkyard of shattered Goblin ships behind them. The Blue Quark was shot to hell. She had lost one engine and could only generate 75% of normal thrust. Every missile tube was out of action, as was her entire array of point defense cannon. There wasn’t a single compartment that wasn’t shot through and through with shrapnel and railgun rounds, leaving great gaping holes in the hull of the ship.
Captain Bagi still lived, though. As did some of his crew. After the first assault pass, the Blue Quark had streaked through the Stree fleet and out into the Black, her damaged engine unable to decelerate and turn with the rest of his formation. Bagi ended up almost 1 AU behind the rest of his Wing before he got the ship fully turned around and headed back toward the battle.
In front of him, four large formations of warships could be seen. First came the Stree as they rushed directly toward their target - the Dyson Ring circling the star at 0.5 AU. Their intentions were clear. They were going to destroy the Goblin homeland and every Goblin in it.
The survivors of Goblin Assault Wing Three, with their greater accel of 500g, had moved out to one side of the Stree fleet, turned, and were boring in for a second engagement.
Assault Wing Four performed a mirror-image maneuver, putting them on the other side of the Stree fleet. Now they also pivoted to come in from that side. As in the original engagement in the outer system, the two Wings would catch the Stree in another pincer movement, attacking from two sides and then passing through them at high speed.
At the same time, Assault Wings Three and Four waited in front of the Stree. As the remnants of the other two Wings re-grouped and attacked from the sides, the battle would be joined, putting the Stree between three separate groups of Goblin ships.
Remnants: Broken Galaxy Book Five Page 21