Star Freedom

by D. R. Rosier

  Jillintara reported, “Contact, less than a light second!”

  I almost laughed, not the plan, but they were now in a perfect position to be wiped out.

  Vik barked, “Reverse course, full acceleration! Open fire!”

  The ship started to accelerate at two hundred gravities away from the Suateran fleet, and it only took me a split second to get a lock on my assigned ship and fire plasma.

  Our first shot as expected severely damaged their shields, with us focusing on them four ships to one. While I waited for the power to cycle the ship started to vibrate. The DE shields seemed to be working as expected. Not perfectly, but better than released nuclear energy as matter was instantly and violently torn apart at the molecular level.

  Five seconds passed, and the plasma load cycled. I fired at my target, as did three other ships, and our target was nothing but a bright flash explosion in space. Thirty-six other ships went up in fireballs at the same time. My new target popped up in less than a second, which left me four long seconds to lock the target while the plasma cycled. Which wasn’t exactly difficult, I could do it in less than a second.

  The new ships would remove that cycle bottleneck, the only bottleneck would be the speed of the interface, and how fast the weapons officer could target an enemy. They’d also have hundreds of plasma weapon dimensional ports, so we’d be destroying them at a much higher rate. All in a second really, with over a hundred ships. But… wishes didn’t help, and we had to survive long enough to get those ships built.

  Our ship also stopped vibrating in that first wave of destruction, but plasma lit up space again as the Suateran’s plasma weapons kicked in. They hadn’t done too bad in adapting that quickly, just seven seconds, but they hadn’t targeted us twelve to one with their remaining ships, so all they did was hurt our shields, none of our ships were destroyed.

  “Firing on the second target,” I reported as another five seconds had passed. The enemy ship’s shields degraded to almost nothing in the initial blast of forty-eight plasma strikes, and I felt like I had all the time in the world. Usually I had five percent of my mind on firing the offensive plasma weapons, and ninety five percent of my attention on point defense. But… they had no missiles, so I just willed the seconds to pass faster.

  Not that it helped. The passage of time wasn’t accommodating to my wishes.

  Jillintara reported, “We have minor explosions on fifty-three ship hulls, no lives lost. All ships battle ready, but thirty-two have lost one plasma weapon, five others have lost a missile port.”

  Another five seconds passed, and thirty-seven more Suateran ships exploded in fire. A part of me felt a flush of victory, that only left sixteen ships. A part of me was also sad, this was so stupid, but we didn’t have a choice. They say you always have a choice, but the truth was lying down and dying, letting them kill us, wasn’t an acceptable choice. Neither was disarming and being confined to our planets, long term it would kill us, short term we’d be victimized by the Stolavii. I doubted the Suaterans would consent to protect us from such a fate.

  Point was, we had to fight, even if it felt like a shitty decision, it was the lesser of evils.

  Jillintara said, “Assigning eight ships to the last sixteen.”

  Oh good, that will destroy the rest of them in one shot, just three more seconds for the plasma to cycle as I locked in on the ship. The battle had started a little over thirty seconds ago, it had been less than twenty-five seconds since their ships skipped into point blank range of our fleet to escape the missile barrage.

  My weapons lock suddenly failed, as the last sixteen ships turned into a blur, and disappeared right before we could fire.

  Vik barked, “Report!”

  It was a few seconds later before Jillintara replied, skips weren’t immediate after all, or at least, not the new sensor data.

  “Sir, fifteen ships are two light minutes out-system from us, and accelerating away from us.”

  Vik frowned, “What about the sixteenth, could it be going for out build platforms?”

  Jillintara shook her head, “I don’t think so sir, I’m picking up small indications of debris in line with their skip vector. I think one of the enemy ships is in pieces. Skipping is dangerous. The missiles are still active, and nearby their fleet.”

  Vik frowned, “They’d just pick them off, let’s save them for the Stolavii, if they come back. Recall them.”

  Jillintara nodded, “Yes sir.”

  Vik asked, “Damage report?”

  Jillintara said, “No ships lost, but ninety ships are in need of hull repairs, including this one. Of those, only thirty-seven have reduced battle readiness. Thirty-two have lost a plasma weapon, the other five have destroyed missile ports.”

  That was far better than we expected, but welcome news after we’d lost over a hundred ships just thirty-six hours ago.

  Vik said, “Excellent. The fleet did well, and thanks to Lori’s adaptation of our technology we were able to kick some ass.”

  Yeah, there was also luck involved, the battle hadn’t gone at all according to what we’d planned, but fickle fate had been on our side this time, it had gone even better than projected. The multi-function orbs were still a secret, and our shipyard was still there. Just two more weeks, and we’d have a hundred and twenty scout-destroyers. I couldn’t wait.

  Vik added, “Send those degraded ones to Kaprorix and Raitov. They can still fight, but if the Suaterans come back, they’re coming here, and I want fully functional ships, even if some of them have a slightly degraded hull but no other damage.”

  There was a brief pause.

  Jillintara replied, “Aye, sir, orders sent. We’re also doing repairs, it should take a couple of days to replace the degraded hull pieces, and repair the missile ports. Everything but the plasma weapons can be repaired without a yard.”

  Vik said, “Understood. The Suaterans?”

  Jillintara said, “Still in retreat, they haven’t cloaked. The two fleets in their systems aren’t moving either.”

  Vik nodded, “They won’t move until they’ve analyzed the data to see what we did, and how we did it. Hopefully, they’ll give us the two weeks we need.”

  Maybe, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out they needed to skip their fleet into a formation that surrounded us, half their fleet could rip us apart no matter what direction we went in. Still, we could overwhelm a section with coordinated fire and flee out of it. We’d be hurt, but it wouldn’t be as one sided as their attack in Vehiri. That one had just been too much of a surprise, and they’d had a decisive tactical advantage.

  Telidur asked, “Orders?”

  Vik frowned, “Let’s return to the planet, and brief the empress in person. We have some time before the next move, even if they don’t give us two weeks.”

  He didn’t say it, and we didn’t either, but I’m sure we were all hoping the Suaterans would be reasonable enough to talk after this battle. Still, we’d plan for the worst, and just hope for the best…

  Chapter Eighteen

  Solyra didn’t so much as break formality, as she destroyed it by giving us all a tight hug with tears in her eyes. She was actually shaking as she hugged me, and I didn’t complain when my airway was cut off for a few moments. She made my chest feel warm, but not in a sensual way, she was like my little sister, even if she was older.

  I also got a hug from Cyntariel, a hug that had a far different flavor. I almost blushed at the intimacy of it, and the way she brushed her whole body against mine, and touched our cheeks together for a few seconds too long. I decided she was looking forward to a second private meeting in one of our bedrooms, as much as I was. In our case, the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder was obviously true. As usual she was stunningly perfect, not a hair out of place. Maybe I should have been jealous by her grace and beauty, but jealousy was the farthest thing from my mind in that moment.

  My heart was racing, and I was sure my face was flushed when she finally released me and moved on
to Jillintara.

  Solyra blushed, “I’m sorry, after what happened in Vehiri I was terrified I’d lose all of you. I just had to touch you all to convince myself you were okay. Let’s retire to the royal wing, and you can brief me. Afterward, I need some advice in deciding what political move to make.”

  Vik smiled, “Of course.”

  We walked through the palace, and the empress’s guards broke off as we entered the royal wing. They had the outside quarters now. The rest of us moved into the conference room, I grabbed a drink of juice off the sideboard before taking a seat. Cyntariel sat on my right, and Jillintara on my left. It wasn’t the best time to be feeling sexual tension, but I couldn’t help it as I took in Cyntariel’s scent, and I could feel the warmth of her body across the small distance that separated us.

  I swallowed a sip of my juice, and pushed all that down.

  Solyra ordered, “Report.”

  We spent some time reviewing the battle in detail, what went wrong, what went right, and all that. Honestly, it would be hard to improve on how it went, but that was more about the Suateran’s mistakes than our actions.

  Solyra nodded, “Good. I want to send another message to the Suaterans. A part of me wants to retain the soft touch, and talk about unnecessary losses and risks. Another part of me thinks they’ll never back down, and just compensate for Lori’s ingenuity and attack again. In that case, we need to send a stronger message. I’d like a true peace between us, and letting go of the past, but if it comes down to it I’ll take peace through fear and threats. They attacked us despite our apologies and offers, in my mind they’ve lost the high ground and nothing is off the table, including a counter attack, if that’s what it takes to end this.

  “Keep in mind, we want to take the course we think might delay them until the first batch of ships for our new fleet is completed. At that point, we’ll have undeniable tactical superiority. So, I have both long and short-term goals to think about and weigh.”

  Vik said, “How about a combination of both?”

  When Solyra raised an eyebrow, he continued.

  “Offer peace again, and our apologies for starting the regrettable conflict that neither of us want. Then, make it clear reparations are no longer on the table, since they attacked us, destroying over one hundred ships and ending five hundred lives. Then show them the true stick, if they don’t accept the peace, and they do attack us again, we will have no choice but to respond in kind, and attack them. We will not be quarantined to our planets, if they can’t agree to that, then it’s us or them.”

  Solyra sighed, and then looked thoughtful for a while.

  “Have they done anything else?”

  Jillintara said, “Not with their fleets, they are rebuilding the infrastructure in their home system, a second set of shipyards most likely, which would double their production to sixty a month, instead of thirty.”

  Solyra bit her lip, “So they’ll probably be unwilling to leave either system undefended. They’ll either split both fleets to form another offensive third fleet, or they’ll wait until they can build up again.”

  I said, “That’s likely.”

  Solyra said, “They’re xenophobic, I fear threats are the only thing that might give them pause. On the other hand, a threat could panic them and make them split the fleets now to attack, which is the last thing we want. Most likely they mistakenly believe our ship building platforms here are the only ones we have.”

  I asked, “How long before their current batch of ships is completed?”

  Jillintara replied, “I can’t be sure, but they appear to be a little ahead of us, seven to ten days?”

  I grunted, “They’ll probably wait then. They’ll take a week to figure out how to counter our desperate DE shielding technique, and wait for the thirty ships. That will give them forty-five for an offensive fleet with the fifteen that escaped. Then they’ll only have to lower their defensive fleets to ninety or so, to bring up the offensive fleet to eighty-five, give or take ten more.

  “So… they’ll at least delay a week to ten days without any messages from us, I’d suggest sending the message at that time. It might delay them, only by virtue of the fact they’d have to pause and discuss it. Whereas if you send it now, they could have that sorted out before their ships are ready.”

  Vik nodded, “I agree, whatever type of message you send, carrot, stick, or both, you should wait until their fleets are reorganizing. It probably won’t buy us another whole week, when our scout-destroyers will be finished, but the effort is worth it anyway. We’ll need to come up with a new battle plan, they won’t make the same mistake again.”

  Solyra said, “Agreed, but you can do that later. I’m not going to be a help with battle tactics. Let’s focus on the message we’re going to send when they start reorganizing the fleet.”

  I shrugged, “I’m going to agree with Vik’s earlier suggestion. A message of hope for peaceful coexistence, followed by a reminder they’d attacked us now which changes the complexion on things, pull out the previous offer of reparation, and then threaten to do to them what they want to do to us, remove them from space permanently. Or perhaps just until they come to their senses.”

  Telidur said, “The sensor ship and probe network is a powerful tool that gives us a large advantage, but there is only a small advantage in our enemies not knowing about it. You might want to include their build system in the stick part, and assure them we’ve known about it for over six months now. That we’ve chosen not to counter it, in the hopes of peace, but if they attack again its off the table.”

  Vik frowned, “I don’t like the idea, the probes are tiny and virtually impossible to spot, but they might get lucky if they look for them. Plus, it will give them the idea to develop their own system to keep an eye on us. I’d prefer them to keep using scout vessels.”

  I shrugged, “Do they even have dimensional technology? They figured out DE before us, and they have that subspace skip thing, but I’m pretty sure we’re the only ones with it. Except Earth, since they have our ships.”

  I almost jumped in my seat, when I felt Cyntariel’s hand on my leg, and she started to rub small circles with her fingertips. I looked at her, and she didn’t betray what she was doing. She looked absorbed in the conversation. The minx.

  Jillintara shook her head, “We don’t think so, no.”

  I nodded, and cleared my throat. I was actually moistening down below, and wondered when the woman next to me had gained such control over my body’s desires. It was an effort of will not to betray my… distraction.

  “So, any probe network they built would be bulky, and obvious. That said, I don’t like the idea either. If they attack us again, we should just do a surprise attack and lay waste to that whole systems infrastructure and fleet. Surprise in battle is important. If they attack us again, we’ll hold the moral high ground, or at the very least have the right to self-defense without apology. We don’t have to hand them anymore information about our capabilities to soothe our conscious.”

  Telidur shrugged, “I was thinking it would be more proof of our peaceful intentions.”

  I nodded, “I get that, but they have enough proof already with the messages and us avoiding their system since Denik’s fleet self-destructed. They might not know we know about their build system, but they know we know where their home system is. We also tried to abort battle in the Vehiri fight. If anything, they are past the point of self-justification. They didn’t even try to hail us this time, and see no reason to warn us about future attacks. The warning has already been given to us.”

  Vik nodded, “I agree with the sentiment Telidur, but it’s not worth the loss of even that small edge, going by the past, they won’t be swayed by the information.”

  Solyra sighed, “Then is there a reason to send a message in seven to ten days?”

  Vik nodded, “To declare our intentions, we will no longer fight defensively if they attack us again. And… there is a small chance it might even work, or at the v
ery least delay them another day or even longer. I’m afraid if it does, it might only be for the short term, until they’ve built up their fleet again in three or four months. But… the longer a temporary peace the better, in three or four months we’ll have three hundred sixty scout-destroyers, fifteen cruisers, and six dreadnoughts. Assuming both our build systems stay viable.”

  She nodded, “Alright, I’ll send the three-tiered message as soon as I’m informed of their fleet reorganization, assuming we’re right about it. Why don’t you four use the room to discuss a plan if they do attack, we can’t depend on getting those two weeks. Then… take a few days off.”

  Vik said, “Yes, your majesty.”

  Solyra snickered, and her, Dessia, and Cyntariel left the room. Of course, not before the latter dipped her fingertips between my legs and teased my inner thighs far too close to my intimate area to be comfortable.

  She whispered, “Find me later.”

  I managed to hold in a gasp, and nodded subtly in agreement as she stood and followed the empress out of the door. Apparently, I wouldn’t have to seduce her a second time, since she’d already thoroughly seduced me. My nerves were alight, and it took me a few moments to push that all down and turn my thoughts toward tactics and battle.

  Vik and Telidur hadn’t noticed my discomfort, but Jillintara had an amused look on her face.

  Vik said, “Solyra’s right, in two weeks it becomes a moot point, but we need to have something ready if we don’t get that time. Our tactics are fairly limited, and they’ll know those limits the next time we face them. So, what do we do?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I got up and walked over to the sideboard, for more juice.

  “Anyone else want something?”

  It took me a minute to grab three more drinks and hand them out, I was also feeling a lot less breathless by the time I was done, but my body still ached for Cyntariel, and I wanted to please her as well.

  I said, “Our last resort plan is still unknown to the Suaterans, so if the battle turns to shit we cloak and retreat as planned in our last battle, and let the orbs take them out when they go for the shipyards.”