by David Buck
Commander Ludario analyzed the news quickly; the emergency lighting now came on even as he took in the damage to his ship. His superb training now took over as he issued a series of commands.
‘Advise the admiral of the condition of all four ships and that we continue to withdraw, and advise Green two and Green four that they are to cover us as well as they can. Damage control parties to decks three to eight, and take all our weapons offline and just concentrate on preserving our shields.’
The commander considered that as Green one crawled away at reduced speed that they would very shortly be in range of the Trader hyper drive module with her mass of cruiser class guns. Soon afterwards the main Trader ship would also be in range with her heavier battle cruiser class guns. The thought of engaging the powerful Trader ships when his own ship was so badly damaged was enough to create a cold knot of fear in the commander’s stomach that he fought to hide. Hopefully the other ships in his squadron would fare better and rescue them.
***
Admiral Baredio considered the reports coming in from his fleet with disbelief. Green section had been badly damaged and driven from the battle by the human missiles. He viewed the specifics of the attack with outright consternation as further reports of missile strikes on other ships were reported to the flagship. In moments the Admiral had learnt that Blue section also had two cruisers that suffered moderate damaged as they went to assist Green section. Apparently a human kinetic weapon was doing considerable damage to his ships at close range after the nuclear warheads depleted their shields.
Hard on the heels of these disturbing developments, their own ships in Gold and Red sections came under attack from the remaining mass of human missiles. The weapons and tactical officers took over control of the bridge for several minutes as both cruiser sections battled to protect themselves from the human missiles. Concentrated blasts of laser fire struck out into space and claimed many of the attacking missiles, but several missiles got through and massive explosions rocked the core ships of the Barus squadron. As quickly as it started the battle was over, and the admiral scanned the resulting damage reports with unease that was soon justified.
‘Well all the human missiles are now gone but we are in bad shape. Two ships from Red section have moderately damaged shields and their weapons arrays are badly damaged. Gold three has minimal damage to her shields, but half her engines are down and her weapons arrays are badly damaged. Most of the weapons damage to our nine ships appears to be from the kinetic weapons the humans are using.’
Admiral Baredio looked at Omerio and Gindane sadly, though his shoulders did not slump as he addressed them, and the rest of his crew on the bridge.
‘We have significant battle damage to nine of our cruisers and this battle is now over. Signal to the humans and the Traders that we no longer wish to fight and that we will withdraw. The research fleet will cover our retreat and we stay in the outskirts of the human system long enough to repair our ships and retreat.’
***
The sentinel on Neptune considered the brief battle across the solar system near the human planet and still did not elect to awake the sleeping colonists. The now clearly damaged Barus ships were withdrawing across to the far side of the solar system and would not be a threat in the immediate future before they left the system.
The intelligent sentinel had collated reports of the battle and no doubt its masters would seek a full accounting of what had actually occurred. The sentinel powered down again to remain well hidden even as the colonists continued to hibernate.
***
The Maveen probe patiently orbited the sleeping forms of the Ancients in the ocean depths, and quietly considered the limited reports coming from a cloaked mini-probe that he had earlier left on the great ice sheet to the south. The Earth probe’s restrictions had not included any advice on the mini-probes, and probe three considered that the minimal risk was worthwhile if he needed additional time to wake the ancients.
Probe three knew that even Maveen ships in orbit would struggle to locate a mini-probe that was cloaked, but he would recover the device anyway once both the Barus and the Traders had left the system. Probe three evaluated what information the mini-probe had recovered from the tense and short battle in space. If he could feel surprise he would have exclaimed in amazement, instead the Maveen probe only felt acutely heightened interest as it took in the news of an improbable human victory against a powerful Barus fleet.
***
Captain Narindestat looked around the bridge at the relieved faces of his crew and he knew that they would be leaving this system shortly. He looked over the closing distance to the hyper drive module and gave a brief command before he grinned broadly as he passed on his congratulations.
‘Garendestat and Damofestat, please coordinate speed matching between the main ship and the drive module. Once the courses are stable we will begin the docking maneuver. This victory will become galactic folklore if I am any judge, even if the Barus tried to force their way past your missiles. Now this is a fantastic result and a great job done to all who contributed to this terrific victory, especially to the humans and their supposedly primitive technology.’
Narindestat now turned to Steve and his mission team now standing near the command chair to thank them personally.
‘Steve, once again my crew and I are in your debt as a result of your actions and I wish to pass on my congratulations to the rest of your innovative race. I consider your race’s durability during adversity to be a great asset. The actions of the human missile teams have saved the lives of many of my crew as well as many Barus crew. You will have also mitigated the risk of a Barus punitive assault on your world after we leave your system shortly. Now we just need a few hours to dock with the module and we will leave your star system.’
Steve shook hands with his fellow team members before he replied to the captain.
‘Captain, I thank you for your gracious words to my team and the rest of the human race. We merely sought to maximize the dynamics of a unique situation and we are fortunate to be successful. Now I wish to talk first with the Barus admiral and then I would like to speak with our leaders back on Earth.’
Captain Narindestat wondered briefly what the human would be speaking to the Barus admiral about as he gave the orders for the radio link to be initiated. He turned his attention to readying his ship further for the docking maneuver, before they then fled to the outskirts of the galaxy.
***
Epilogue
Steve stood beside the command chair on the bridge of the Trader ship with the members of his mission team as he began to speak with the admiral on the flagship of the Barus fleet. He had insisted that the conversation between the two races be recorded as well as transmitted down to the Earth receding behind the Illuria.
Steve could see Gindane and a Barus male, who was introduced as Omerio, talking to a seated older Barus who was in turn introduced as Admiral Baredio, who did not speak English. Steve also noted the cool expression of Captain Narindestat as he looked at the Barus and he wondered for a moment what that was caused by. The Barus officers in turn studied closely the condition of the Traders and he felt they paid attention that their glimmer tattoos were clearly visible.
‘Admiral, I thank you and your crew for your courtesy in speaking with me. I hope your crew losses were not too high over this incident, we regret the loss of any lives over a simple misunderstanding.’
The Barus looked at Steve and his team and did not reply for a moment before Gindane got a nod of approval from the admiral.
‘Steve, the crew losses are light compared to the damage to our ships and to our pride. We are though at a loss to understand what you want to talk about as you are now free to leave.’
Steve had his points already worked out as he continued.
‘We are leaving soon but I am concerned about the safety of my home world after the Trader ship leaves. I would like to think that humanity would not suffer any punishment for what happened
out here today.’
Gindane translated Steve’s comments for the benefit of the Admiral who icily looked over at the Trader ship, before he stood up and began pacing the deck speaking in a deep voice. Gindane gave a start and Captain Narindestat grimaced, as no doubt there might have been colourful initial language in the admiral’s reply, before she again translated only his words.
‘Steve, we were unlikely to assault the Earth even if we had defeated the Traders. Strict edicts for haven worlds are in place and the Traders would have advised you about being entitled to protect yourselves. We accept the blame for our own defeat by not talking to the Traders adequately before our attempted interdiction and by underestimating the effects of your missiles.’
Steve was relieved with this reply and he now moved on to his other concerns.
‘Gindane, so what happens now with the Barus relationship with the Traders and Maveen? Noting that they only merely destroyed a swarm of your own missiles? Remember also that the Traders have been ill and lost several crew to our diseases. They may yet still die of illnesses at a later stage.’
The translation was made again and the Barus admiral again paced his deck before he replied. Steve looked at the behaviour and was again reminded on how much the brown furred Barus resembled two legged lions, albeit with no tail, much smaller jaws and larger heads. Gindane looked the admiral again and now spoke after getting another nod of approval.
‘We will be required to report this incident, especially the involvement of the Maveen. The Trader crew will be likely fined in their absence and a heavy penalty levied against their home base. We remain only slightly concerned about a possible illness amongst the Traders, though we will make note of it. The Cephrit – Tilmud war makes the chances of immediate further vassal interdiction unlikely. Indeed a fleet was nearly not sent here at all as the Deltas Vass refused to be involved.’
Captain Narindestat looked over at this news and he first looked at Steve, before he spoke carefully in English to the Barus.
‘Admiral, I would like to express our regrets for the unfortunate loss of your brave warriors during our recent conflict. Omerio, we meet again after our meeting three years ago at a Cephrit star base. We return the Maveen to the outskirts of the galaxy as our original mission at a nearby star system was not realised.’
Gindane flashed a nervous glance at Omerio before she translated for the admiral, who had paused and glared balefully at both Omerio and the Trader Captain. Omerio for his part kept silent for a moment before the admiral spoke again to Gindane. Then the admiral took him to one side on the bridge and they had their own private conversation.
‘So what is all that about Omerio or do I have to arrest you for treason?’
Omerio looked calmly around the bridge as he replied.
‘Admiral, it was to do with a sanctioned intelligence mission and involves misdirection; I can give you further details later.’
Admiral Baredio gave his nephew a calculating glance as he spoke again.
‘You are a dark one Omerio, one day you are going to slip up and I will be forced to act and arrest you.’
Omerio deigned not to reply as they rejoined the conversation, and he noted the Trader captain was speaking again to Gindane. He was thankful of Narindestat’s misdirection as he took in what he was saying.
‘The Maveen have never divulged their mission to me but our eventual course was for one of the former Dradfer colonies. However we made our last trade stop beforehand with a Jerecab lifter on a small world that we since discovered was contaminated by Voorde.’
Omerio now spoke briefly in Barus to the admiral and Gindane, before the admiral nodded his head and Omerio now spoke in English to Trader ship.
‘The Tilmud were responsible for the Voorde infestation as they seeded many marginal worlds with modified Voorde as a biological warfare experiment. I will transmit the list to you in return to the earlier information you supplied to Gindane, as there is a risk of the infestation being spread otherwise.’
The Trader captain looked at the list and must have noted something of interest as he spoke again.
‘Omerio, so it is all the work of the foul Tilmud, and many of the star systems listed are under Cephrit control. Now the list also includes two star systems with haven worlds known to us. So were these haven worlds also infested with Voorde?’
Omerio received another nod from the admiral and continued.
‘Fortunately they are not as I disabled the atmospheric and seeding capabilities of the modified lifter they were using. However the smaller planets listed, similar to Mars in this system in size, are all now seeded with the Voorde.’
Captain Narindestat considered the news as he formed his own question directly at Admiral Baredio.
‘Admiral, you mentioned a fine for our home base facility. As an alternative you could pass on my counter offer of considerable assistance under a temporary amnesty for Trader ships to assist in the location and destruction of the Voorde. We would be also interested in trade of course, and would make all our agreements in accordance with edicts and your local laws.’
Gindane translated again for the admiral’s benefit and he gave a hearty laugh. Before he replied at length in Barus that Captain Narindestat understood well enough, but Gindane translated as part of the conversation.
‘Trader, you are a credit in your endeavours to your species. I am relieved that your tattoos are intact and you have left the human world, even if I preferred you surrendered your ship to my fleet. No matter, now I cannot give an answer on your offer as that is now in the hands of the Cephrit. However I see the merit in your proposal and will report the offer to the Cephrit even as we report the presence of the Maveen. You understand that we will be some months returning to our home systems as the new Cephrit – Tilmud war lies across our most direct way home.’
Steve now took an interest in the last sentence and asked another question.
‘With the war you mentioned are the Tilmud likely to attack us at any stage?’
Gindane answered this question directly and Omerio in turn translated the question for the admiral.
‘No as their smaller ships are at even more of a risk from your missiles than our cruisers. Also they are very literal about the restrictions on haven worlds due to past transgressions. We will advise them to patrol only in the outskirts of your solar system for their own safety.’
Steve then thought that both the Barus crew on the cruiser and the Traders present shared a brief laugh at expense of the Tilmud from the flash of grins he could see. Captain Narindestat forestalled his next comment by adding a criticism of his own.
‘The treacherous Tilmud have brought more misfortune all on themselves, and they will be finding our former mentors hard to crack. So admiral, can I ask you how the war proceeds?’
Gindane paused and translated the request before the admiral gave a nod to Omerio who directly replied in English.
‘Our intelligence reports indicate it is as you have suggested captain. The Tilmud have suspended their extensive sector patrol duties to attack the Cephrit and I assume a Vorinne envoy will make an appearance soon. The Cephrit are hard pressed though due to the sheer numbers of frigates the Tilmud operate.’
Captain Narindestat looked thoughtful as he evaluated the news. He considered that he would have to get this information, along with his own reports and the trade amnesty offer to a Trader star facility as soon as possible. He looked around at Steve and the other humans to summon more questions, but Gindane now spoke at length instead.
‘The admiral advises that we have been speaking long enough and that we are to continue our withdrawal from this system. Trader, we wish you well in your journeys and hopefully there will be again full peace between us one day. Governor, we both wish your home planet well and your new colony well despite our recent confrontation. I will return in my research destroyer in as early as in ten years time unless the Cephrit – Tilmud war delays our return. My ship will approach uncloaked and wil
l signal from Mars orbit. I would be grateful if you do not attack us at that time.’
Steve had already considered this return occurring after earlier discussions with his mission team and he replied carefully.
‘We consider the presence of two patrolling Tilmud frigates out past the eighth planet Neptune to be lawful. We consider the presence of your own research ship at the fourth planet Mars to be lawful, unless we advise you to leave for your own safety. All ships that enter our system are to adhere to galactic laws and edicts as relating to our haven world status.’
Gindane advised Admiral Baredio of Steve’s reply and the admiral studied Steve critically before he briefly replied and was translated by Gindane.
‘We accept your conditions and will advise the relevant galactic authorities of the clauses. Good bye and good luck Governor Greene.’
The conversation ended and the Barus fleet continued out of the solar system. Steve watched the screen for several minutes as Garendestat began the process to align the Trader ship to dock with the hyper drive section. Captain Narindestat organised a rotation of bridge crew, and the humans and Traders aboard took the opportunity for a quick meal.
***
Ian Ridge sat comfortably in a large tent on Rat Island and rested with a cool drink as he continued to take in the recent tense confrontation a few hours ago in outer space. Almost against the odds the Barus fleet had misjudged the potency of the weapons released by the three main space capable nations of Earth and had paid a heavy price in the process. Ian had then listened closely to the subsequent communications between the Trader ship and the departing fleet. He turned to the lieutenant seated at the satellite communication link and made a request.
‘Please get me the US, Russian, Chinese, European and Indian leaders in an urgent conference. I am expecting Governor Greene to call us as well and he will have to be joined into our discussion.’