Rising Star
Page 6
General Golov thought this over and had to admit, it was more, than she had expected. “I agree to your terms and will be happy to give whatever assurance you require of us. I will be frank,” General Golov, said as she leaned closer to the Slones to emphasize her point, “we are at the point of collapse. My cruiser and a destroyer or two is all we have left of our fleet. Between the losses to your forces at New Wales and the losses to Sinclair, there is nothing left to defend our territory. The only reason Sinclair has not conquered the rest of us, is because what is left is of too little value to bother about. We think they equipped the starliner as a Q-Ship to lure the rest of our forces out and destroy them.”
“Then we all have a reason to find that ship. Any suggestions?”
They sat back and gave the problem some thought. Captain Abramov came up with an idea. Since it was the only idea to arrive on the scene, it was quickly pounced upon. “We know the Rising Star takes on real passengers who think they are on an adventure cruise. My guess is they also must think the combats are staged, since, if your destroyer is any indication, the ship makes certain there is no return fire. The passengers must believe it is just a target ship. What we need is to get someone onto that ship as either a passenger or part of the crew. They could then get a message to us as to where to find it.”
“Excellent idea, captain,” General Golov patted her ship’s captain on the back. “How do you propose we do that, since to get aboard, we have to find the ship? If we knew where it was, then we wouldn’t need to send someone in to find it. Also, it does not always use the same name.”
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss that idea,” Christopher said. “If they are taking adventure cruises into a war zone, they must be advertising. We just have to move to a mining base and check who is advertising these trips. Then we send in our spies. Captain, what is the closest mining base to us that receives routine news and advertising message capsules?”
Abramov consulted quickly with General Golov and turned to the Slones, “There is a system we used to supply the outlying mining bases in this area. If it is still functioning, there was a civilian run space station, named Dubna Station, which received starliner cruises. Many families started their vacations there.”
“Then that will be our destination. What does the system just before that one look like? Is it inhabited?”
“No, a dead system with three stars, all dwarfs.”
“Then we could park the fleet there while we prepare to check out the station. We will leave after the next rest cycle. General, will you do me the honor of traveling aboard the Invicta that we may discuss what assistance the Romani will offer you as a protectorate? Of course, Captain Abramov, you are welcome to join us whenever your ship duties allow. I am not clear yet how your dual command of the resistance works.”
“Thank you for the offer, Captain Slone,” Abramov bowed his head slightly, “but General Golov is the primary leader of the resistance whereas I lead the space arm, which is dwindling to the point of extinction. I would appreciate a transcript of what is discussed, but I will continue to command my ship and work with your talented engineering crew. They have already taught my techs a great deal. I have a request.”
Slone looked at the Petrov captain and asked, “What is the request?”
“Before I return to my ship, could I have a tour of your vessel if it is permitted?”
“It is permitted. Was there an area you were interested in?”
“I have noticed that your dreadnought is larger than the ones used by the corporation. During the fleet battle above New Wales, you could keep up a rate of fire that dwarfs that of our dreadnoughts; may I ask how that was possible?”
“Quite simple actually, our dreadnoughts have two gun decks rather than the one found on corporate ships.”
Abramov nodded knowingly, “I told that to my superiors and they refused to believe it. I would also love to see your children’s area.”
This time Alaya responded, “I would be very happy to show it to you. It is on the way to the hangar deck.”
The group left the captain’s quarters and the Slones spent the next two hours giving a tour of their ship. Their guests were impressed with most of what they saw, and were gratified that many parts of the ship were just like corporate ships. The size of the bridge impressed Captain Abramov. Romani dreadnought bridges were thirty percent larger than their corporate counterparts were. Part of this was to make room for the serpent stations for invisibility and part was to give the guards more room to fight in the event of a boarding action. Of all the areas of the ship, what impressed the Petrovians the most was the children’s area and the nursery. Pregnant women served in the fleet and the legions, so babies were always being born aboard. The nursery and children’s area was also shared by the screening ships, since cruisers and destroyers were not large enough to have a children’s section. This section was only made possible because of the double gun deck, which allowed space for the rooms needed for the children. When they reached the hangar deck, Slone asked them to wait a moment. He had something to discuss with them.
“Captain Abramov, when we defeated you above New Wales, we sent your ship crews back to you in freighters. May I ask what happened to those crews?”
“Well, Captain Slone, we arrived home with no ships to crew, so they were sent home. When the Sinclair invasion started most joined the resistance as ground fighters. Perhaps 60 percent of the original crews are left with the resistance, but we have no ships for them.”
“Since your crews were from thirteen dreadnoughts and various other vessels, you should have enough to crew ten dreadnoughts. Would that be a fair estimate?”
“Yes if we had ten dreadnoughts.”
Now Slone had the chance to give some good news to their new allies. “We have ten of the dreadnoughts we took from you in mothballs. They have been repaired and upgraded. The Senate offers them to you as a gift to mark our alliance. If you can get your crews onto freighters and to Nova Romae, we will release them to you, or as many as you have crew for.”
Both Abramov and Golov were stunned. People just did not give away dreadnoughts. They were massively expensive to produce, maintain and repair. Those owned by the corporations were always used sparingly. When the shock wore off, General Golov was the first to speak, “I don’t know what to say. How can we ever thank you?”
“Captain Abramov can thank the Senate when they present him with the ships. You will need them to help fight Sinclair. Also, take note that you must empty your cannons and remove all missiles from their tubes when you enter the Nova Romae system. Also no one is allowed to be armed when in the home system.”
“Does that apply only to visitors or to all vessels, even Romani?” Captain Abramov asked.
“It applies to all, including us.”
“I have never come across such security that weapons are not needed. You are indeed fortunate.”
“We feel we are. That is why we work hard to keep it that way.”
Captain Abramov then said, “Captain Slone, we do not know the way to Nova Romae.”
“One of our navigators will go with you. The sooner you can assemble your crews the better.”
“General, with your permission we will leave immediately.”
“Yes, go captain. We need those ships. Just let me return with you to pack my belongings. I will be the liaison between the Romani and the resistance.”
Chapter 4 – Dubna Station
At the end of the rest period, the primary bridge crews were on the decks of the ships in the reconnaissance fleet. Christopher Slone sat in the captain’s chair, his wife Alaya stood to the right of the chair, and General Golov stood to the left. All bridge stations were manned and the Slones kept seeing the general looking to her left to watch the serpent Hister at her cloaking console. Golov was getting used to seeing the serpents training on the hangar deck but was not normally this close to one for this amount of time. To say she was fascinated would be an understatement.
“Send my regards to Captain Abramov and wish him a fair wind in his sails.”
“Yes, sir. The Kiev acknowledges and wishes us the same.”
The Kiev maneuvered away from the fleet and then came to flank speed as she headed for her slipstream. The slipstream the fleet would be taking was the other one heading towards the outer mining bases. As soon as the Kiev was well clear of the fleet, Slone turned to Paul McMann, “Paul, send the course to the fleet and order standard formation. Take us towards our slipstream. Roger, keep scanning for any danger to the Kiev, since we will be following her for a bit before we have to turn off to our slipstream.”
“Yes, sir,” both men said.
As General Golov watched, the Romani fleet pulled away from the asteroid belt that sheltered them. The destroyers moved to the front of the fleet and the dreadnoughts Invicta and Avenging Talon moved side by side, with the serpent’s ship on the left. In the rear was the escort cruiser. When they were clear of the asteroids, Slone turned to communications, “Tom, order the fleet invisible.” He then turned to Hister and said, “Hister, make us invisible.”
Hister nodded and then began moving her hands and tail across the keyboard as she almost sang in her serpent tongue. General Golov watched in fascination as the serpent operated her console. The general glanced out the front window of the dreadnought where the destroyers were and saw them suddenly vanish.
“Sss. Ship is invisible, captain,” Hister reported.
General Golov looked at the Slones, “If I had not just seen that, I would not have believed it. Are you not afraid someone will steal this technology from you?”
“The Romani are not afraid of that. Only the serpents can operate that technology and they are part of the Romani. Even if one of our ships were captured, the technology would be beyond human abilities. We have studied it for three centuries and are not able to operate it. That is why we are not concerned.”
Six hours later, the fleet was at the outbound slipstream and the ships entered. As always, the ship was set at rest with the slipstream crew at their stations. General Golov went to one of the two guest quarters on the bridge deck. They were spacious and well furnished. She was also assigned her own adjutant to take care of her needs. Again, as on New Wales, she was surprised at how forthcoming the Romani were with information her people would consider classified. Her training could simply not understand that. The thing that most weighed on her mind is why the Romani would return ten of the dreadnoughts they had taken in combat from the Petrovian navy. She fell asleep pondering that.
The Slones settled down in their quarters. Olivia was running around and playing and they were enjoying her. In the slipstream, there was nothing about which to worry. When in planetary system transits, the children were all in their area to make sure they were safe while in a war zone. As they watched Olivia play, Alaya asked her husband a question, “Christopher, I’m not sure I understand why the Senate gave the Petrovians their dreadnoughts back. That’s a very generous gift to people we were at war with only a few years ago. Do they have an ulterior motive?”
“I think they do. If the Petrovians are true to their word, and they are desperate enough to be, then they could back us up if we have to prolong our incursion here. I am not sure if they will get back in time to be of any help, since I think we are looking at least three to four months ahead. If they decide to be treacherous, the ships have Romani fail-safes, just as all our ships do. They will also have a serpent aboard since they have been fitted with invisible technology. Wish I could be there when they tell Captain Abramov that little tidbit.”
“That sets my mind at ease. I would hate to be killed by our own ships.”
Christopher continued, “Well we have more pressing issues. We have to find that Q-Ship. When we arrive at the next system, I plan to discuss options with the other ships captains. I have an idea we could capture that Q-Ship and use it to our advantage. Capture would also confirm to whom it belongs. However, how to capture a ship that large and powerful, and without doing too much damage. That is a problem. We will have to get someone aboard her to sabotage the ship at just the right moment. But who?”
Alaya thought for a moment. “I know it is dangerous, but a young couple pretending to be on their honeymoon might take an adventure cruise.”
Slone knew where his wife was going with this train of thought. She had been playing matchmaker ever since the resolution of the serpent civil war. “Are you suggesting we send in Tavia and Bill Marshal?”
“The thought had crossed my mind. Of course I will have to spend the travel time teaching Tavia how to be more of a lady and less of a soldier, but they are falling in love.”
“Well, my dear, you would at least like to think they are.”
Alaya chuckled. “Well then I think a honeymoon cruise would be just the ticket. Besides, Tavia knows ships and how to sabotage them, whereas Centurion Marshal would protect her with his life.”
“Ok, ok, no use arguing with you when your mind is set. We can talk with them in the morning.”
“Glad you know better than to disagree with your wife.”
“Never!”
They both had a good laugh and got Olivia and themselves ready for bed to get rest as the fleet sailed onward in the slipstream. It took almost a week to reach the system before the one containing the Dubna space station. As soon as it was determined, that the system was clear of other vessels and warning buoys, the fleet became visible. Alaya, Christopher, and General Golov went to the hangar deck where Tavia and Bill Marshal were standing next to a small yacht. Hatch stood next to the yacht, awaiting developments. By this time, the general was used to seeing serpents all over the ship. They still seemed frightening to her but she knew they meant her no harm. By this time, she had heard about how one had rescued the Slones during the battles on New Wales and how the serpent had literally torn Petrovian guards to shreds. Having seen their claws, she could well believe they were a nightmare to face in battle. General Golov knew enough now that she would rather be with the Romani than ever again against them.
Alaya looked over at Tavia and William Marshal, who had to get used to being called Bill so he would respond while doing undercover work. This was his first clandestine assignment. Tavia had done some earlier assignments, since the scout service was also the spy service. Tavia spent the past few days learning to be a shallow, young woman, rather than the serious young woman she was. She had already seen more death and combat than most of the experienced legionaries in the Romani military and now she was asked to lose the military bearing and pretend to be a spoiled, wealthy debutant. Since there was no way to remove the military from Centurion Marshal, Bill’s cover story was that of a former soldier in the Balin military. Since the Romani had a distinctive accent, he would try to speak as little as possible. They were dressed in high-class civilian clothing and looked like a well to do, young couple.
Slone now addressed them, “Ok we are at the slipstream leading to Dubna Station. The fleet will remain here for several hours until you are well clear of the end of the slipstream. We will then enter the system and remain invisible until we hear from you. Remember what Alaya taught you about high society people. Just act like all the people you have always despised in your life and you will do fine.”
Alaya gave Tavia a hug and sent them on their way. General Golov was surprised to see Hatch going with them. “The serpent will surely attract attention, since we don’t know about aliens here.”
Slone responded, “I am aware of that, but ships are not the extent of serpent abilities when it comes to invisibility.”
The yacht left the hangar deck and headed to the outbound slipstream, which was only fifteen minutes travel time. General Golov remarked, “I was not aware that you carried private yachts aboard.”
“We
have various types of small ships and small freighters for reconnaissance purposes. The yacht is very expensive and will help sell the story,” Slone answered.
“If I may ask one more question? How will they pay for their passage? Surely the Romani do not have accounts in corporate space.”
“Actually, general, we have accounts in all the corporations to help us trade with them without them knowing where we come from. But in this case, they have more than enough gold aboard the yacht to pay their way.”
“I see you have thought of everything.”
“Well everything we can think of. I am sure there are many things out there to surprise our young couple. They will have to think on their feet.” Slone now touched behind his right ear to activate the embedded com unit. “Bridge, order the fleet invisible and keep station for six hours with full watch.” Slone then turned to the general, “Well general, nothing to do but wait.”
As the fleet went invisible and kept its station, the yacht sailed the slipstream. The bridge was small and had only two seats. This was a pure pleasure craft, therefore, no weapons or sophisticated electronics. This was designed to get wealthy people from point A to point B in luxury. Tavia had taken the yacht out a few times to get used to her. She was a good ship and handled well. Navigation was top of the line as were the power and engine controls. There was not a single military system aboard. It would pass any scrutiny as a civilian vessel. Of course, the Romani would not send out a spy vessel without certain modifications. There was an entire hidden electronic system, which remained inactive and undetectable when not in use. It consisted of very sophisticated sensors and invisibility hardware. This was the reason Hatch was aboard. She would stay on the yacht whenever it was docked. In addition, there was a small arsenal of weapons and body armor, which would be impossible for anyone to find without knowing its location.