“Tell the Rising Star to release the yachts and wish them a good journey.” The Yachts had all been fully stocked and fueled. The Rising Star was now no longer a starliner.
“The Rising Star acknowledges and ships are leaving their aft hangar.”
“As soon as the last yacht is clear of the fleet, order the fleet into motion and take us to the designated system to await orders.”
“Yes, captain.”
The breakfast then finished up and the table was cleared. Coffee was served. Greg tasted the coffee and had to speak up. “Captain, this coffee does not taste synthetic. How do you get the natural taste so intense?”
Slone had to smile. In all of corporate space, there was no real coffee to be found. “We actually do very little other than roast and grind the beans. What you are drinking is real coffee.”
Both Greg and Ann were stunned. They were in charge of procurement for her father’s business interests and they never found a source of real coffee. “But where do you get it from?” Greg asked.
“We grow it. Resurrected from the genetic codes we have of old Earth organisms.”
“How is this possible?” Greg continued.
“We don’t have the time to get into it right now. Alaya tells me she is very fond of you two, so perhaps when this is over we can take you to our home world and show you things you thought lost with Earth’s destruction.” Greg accepted that for now, but both he and Ann looked at Alaya. They still could not believe their friend was alive.
As the breakfast table was being cleared and the coffee served, they could feel the vibrations, as the fleet got underway. They were heading to the P-038 system and it would take close to a week to get there. When everyone had his or her coffee, Slone began the discussion concerning Dalton’s mission. “Mr. Dalton, it is now time for you to tell us what your real mission is here. We are all grateful that you saved our spies, Tavia and Bill when they were captured, but I have been keeping you under watch until now, to make sure you do not leave on one of those yachts. Centurion Marshal, who you know as Bill, told me you were looking for the Romani. Obviously, you have found us, now what do you want with us?”
Dalton was not expecting this type of casual discussion. His corporation was very concerned about events in corporate space and much rode on what he said here. Yet he was not even sure if he was speaking to a corporate officer who could make any decisions. “Captain, please call me just Dalton. I was hoping to meet with a vice president of corporate alliances. What I have to say is of the greatest importance.”
“Dalton,” Slone interrupted, “I would gladly give you a vice president if I had one to give, but we are not a corporation of any kind. Therefore, there are no vice presidents. However, I will set your mind at ease when I tell you what you say here is being fully recorded and will be sent back to our senate for consideration.”
“I’ll take your word for that, since I have never dealt with a non-corporation. I represent the Lagarde Corporation and we are concerned about the Sinclair takeover of Petrov Corporation. We have always been on good terms with Petrov and our history with Sinclair has been questionable. It does concern me more than a little that Horatio Sinclair’s youngest is sitting at this table. What am I to make of that?”
This time it was Alaya’s turn to interrupt. “Dalton, I was Horatio Sinclair’s youngest, but he was never my biological father. My father is the primary consul of the Republic of Nova Romae. How that came about is for another time, but when you are finished, I would like you to remain as I tell my friends here why I want Horatio Sinclair dead.”
Greg and Ann were startled a bit at that statement. Dalton continued, “I will look forward to hearing that story. My corporation borders the Tung Corporation coreward and they are allied with Brandenburger, which is allied with Sinclair. The problem is that with Sinclair controlling most of Petrov Corp, it controls all of the Spinward portion of corporate space which means they can cut off our trade in the Spinward direction. Highline was attacked by Brandenburger Corporation as a surrogate for Sinclair. If Brandenburger defeats Highline, then Shin Nippon will fall in line and only Lagarde will stand alone. We are the smallest of the big seven. The nine smaller corporations, except for Tudor Industries, will all fall in line with Sinclair, which Lagarde has no intention of doing. We have a large military, but we cannot stand against Sinclair and the others combined. That is why we seek the Romani, to see if we can find common ground. Since we form a direct link with New Wales and our ally Tudor Industries does as well, we could put up a solid front, if we could ally.”
Slone let what they just heard set in. He then spoke, “Dalton, if I understand you correctly, you want us to protect you against any incursion by Sinclair Corporation.”
“In essence, yes.”
“I will forward your request to the Senate of Nova Romae. They are our governing body, but regardless of their decision, you should know that the Q-Ship, Rising Star is from Sinclair Corporation and it destroyed one of our warships. The destruction was intentional, therefore, I expect I will be told a state of war now exists between Nova Romae and the Sinclair Corporation. General Golov, who speaks for what is left of the legitimate Petrovian government, has agreed to become a protectorate of ours. Therefore, I suspect we will be ordered to drive Sinclair forces from Petrovian space. Thereafter, we will be your neighbors, and not Sinclair.”
“All the more reason for us to discuss an alliance. May I take the case personally to your Senate?”
“I will send that request along with the transcript of this discussion. Is there anything else?”
“No I think that is it.”
Slone pressed a button on the table in front of him to communicate with the bridge. “Tom, send a transcript of the meeting we just had in the conference room to the Consul Strabo immediately.”
“Yes, captain.”
“Alaya, the floor is yours.” Slone said, turning to his wife.
Alaya stood up. “Most of you know that I am supposed to be dead. What you may not know is that my husband, Christopher and four other people on this ship are also supposed to be dead. That is not why I believe Horatio Sinclair should be punished with the loss of his company and his life. It is because of the hundreds of people who are dead due to his direct order. Let me show you something and you will understand why this is all very personal to me.” Alaya pressed a button and a hologram of the video log of the last voyage of the SS Hayden, and the log of the Dragon’s Claw were played back to back. The logs had been edited for time and they left out the fact that the methane breathers and their queen came through the wormhole. Everyone watched with rapt attention. Even Tavia had never seen the log, only heard the stories. When the bodies of the Hayden crew were seen, the Stouts and Dalton looked sick. When they saw the bodies of the slaughtered colonists on Purgatory, they knew the immensity of the crimes that Horatio Sinclair had perpetrated. When it was finished, Alaya said, “My step father thought us all dead and we felt safer letting him believe that. Now that we are with the Romani, it no longer matters if he knows the truth.”
“Alaya, the people in Sinclair space have no idea about this.” Ann pointed out, when her composure returned. She wanted it made clear that the higher ups in the Sinclair organization, of which her father was one, knew nothing.
“I am sure they don’t, Ann. Let me ask you, is your father still butting heads with Horatio?”
“Yes, he thinks that is why he was sent to Petrov space to consolidate mining operations. He has a big problem with his job here. Whereas he is attempting to deal fairly with the Petrovians, he has been given nothing to use to alleviate their needs and the Mobile Fleet remains near the capital to make sure only limited supplies are dispensed. My father thinks Sinclair is trying to keep them weak and starving so they can’t fight back.”
“Ann, where is your father based?”
“He is on Petrovia, why do you ask?”
“I would love to talk with him someday, and you have to be returned, so
I will take you back to Petrovia while we await response from Nova Romae. With my scout ship, we can make it there and back by the time we receive word from Nova Romae.”
This time it was Slone’s turn to speak, “Alaya, are you sure you want to be a spy again, and can we trust your young friends here?”
“Well, Greg and Ann, can I trust you?”
“Yes Alaya, you can. I am just glad to know my friend is still alive.”
“Ok, pack then, we will leave in two hours.”
Ann and Greg left to gather their things with the help of Tavia, who flew them back to the starliner for their luggage. When they left, Christopher turned to his wife, “Are you sure about this. We can’t give you any backup.”
“Dear, we had no backup when we did the same on New Wales.”
“I know, but you may recall, we were captured and would have died if not for Sly.”
“You forget, I am the chief scout and we need to know what the conditions are on and around Petrovia.”
Slone had to admit, he couldn’t argue with that. As he was mulling this over, General Golov requested to go along on the scouting mission. This time Slone had some legitimate concerns. “Alisa, if you go along and are captured, the resistance will be lost.”
“That was once the case, but now that we are your protectorate, we have a champion fighting for us and my life will not matter if it is lost.”
“I have no command over you, so I cannot stop you, nor would I. Alaya, we will be in the P-038 system while we await further orders. You should have enough time to get to Petrovia, assess the situation, and then return before our final orders arrive. You and the general had best get ready and inform your scouts to prepare for departure.”
“Aye, Aye, Captain,” Alaya said and gave her snappiest salute. She left with the general. On the way to her scout ship, she dropped by the children’s section and gave Olivia some hugs and kisses. Olivia even hugged Alisa, who had helped Slone take care of her while Alaya was away. “Chris told me how much you helped him, Alisa, thank you very much.” She had just gotten back from retrieving the cruiser and now, here she was, volunteering for yet another mission.
“It was nice to take care of a little one again. It’s been a while.”
“How many children do you have?”
“Four, three sons and a daughter, though they are all in the resistance and we are scattered. I try not to think about it, but I am not even sure if they are alive.” Alaya could see a tear welling up in Alisa’s eye, and it was all she could do not to hug the general, which would not have been appropriate in public. “Let’s hope this constant fighting will soon be over, from the invasion of Balin Corporation to today, we have not stopped fighting for five years, and it is wearing me down. There is no longer glory in war.”
“Was there ever?” Alaya said.
“I think your Romani would say always, but they have not yet lost a war. The true judge of a people is not how they are in victory, but rather how they are in defeat.”
“I hope we will never find out, but so far, it has all been too easy.”
During their conversation, they had been walking towards the hangar deck and they were now near the landing area. Just then, the Unicorn came through the hangar force field and landed. Tavia, Greg, Ann and Hatch came out of the ship and Tavia told the deck crew to transfer the Stout’s luggage over to the Gladius. They then walked over to where Alaya and Alisa were standing. “Alaya, the Gladius is ready when you are,” Tavia said.
“Thank you, Tavia. General Golov will be joining our little expedition.”
“Welcome aboard, General,” Tavia said and she directed the Stouts to follow her to the Gladius.”
General Golov watched them and saw what the Gladius was. “Is your scout ship an alien vessel?”
“If you mean by that is it a Serpent ship, then yes it is alien. Their ships can achieve three light-years per hour in the slipstream. That makes them perfect scout ships.”
“Three light-years per hour? We have been trying to achieve that for centuries. Perhaps your serpents are indeed smarter than we are.”
Alaya had to smile, “Well take heart, Alisa, they are now your serpents too.”
They both had to chuckle at that and they moved to the ship and boarded. Slone and Dalton came down to see them off and Dalton was more than happy to look at his first alien ship. Slone went into the cockpit where Alaya was sitting with Tavia next to her. Hatch was at her invisibility console and Blue Scale, Raul and Deadeye were at their bridge stations. The passengers were in the common area.
“Be safe, Hon,” Christopher said as he kissed his wife goodbye. After a quick tour of the ship for Dalton’s benefit, he and Slone left and watched the Gladius rise from the deck and exit the force field. Transit time to the outbound slipstream for Petrovia was 10 hours, 27 minutes and the Gladius crew rested. During their transit, they watched the threat board that showed the fleet reaching its slipstream and exiting the system. The freighter they saved was with them, but it would follow a different course to its original destination. Once the fleet was gone, Alaya ordered Hatch to make the ship invisible and they cruised onward to Petrovia.
Chapter 10 - Petrovia
Just under a week after leaving the fleet, the Gladius was in the final slipstream and would shortly enter the Petrovia system. The trip had been uneventful. They had passed a few picket destroyers as they approached their destination, but the cloak of invisibility kept them safe. Alisa Golov had some discussions with the Stouts, even though they were technically enemies. She was certain the video log of the Hayden incident still haunted them. As the week progressed, the young couple got used to the appearance and presence of the strange aliens who were part of the Romani. General Golov took the opportunity to practice her serpent speak with Hatch and the new serpents she met on the scout vessel. It was still hard to look at the serpents and not cringe a bit, especially when they stare at you with human-like blue eyes. She also knew now that all of the serpents she met were female and only the big, armored ones were male. She had suffered a lot of gender discrimination in the Petrovian military and it was very hard for a woman to achieve her rank. That all disappeared with the death of Alexi Petrov and the conquest of the Petrov corporation. Now she had contact with an alien race that was run entirely by females. How refreshing. Tavia was now flying the ship on the last leg and she was in the cockpit ready to enter the Petrovia system. Now there was an exceptional young woman who would have never been given any kind of responsibility at her age in the time of Alexi Petrov. Yet she was truly revered by the entire race of serpents, who by some quirk she had led for a short time. She was just twenty and commanded humans and serpents and they all respected her and followed orders without question. During the attack on the Rising Star, she was hit and the serpents ran to her aid and literally ripped the attackers apart.
When they reached the end of the slipstream, Tavia ordered Hatch to make the ship invisible and she depolarized the wings which then rotated down and formed a winged ship that was as at home in space as in an atmosphere. “We have now entered the Petrovia system,” Tavia announced.
“Raul, give me sensor data as it comes in,” Alaya ordered.
Raul Cortega looked at his consoles, “Telemetry indicates a large number of vessels in the system. There is also telemetry from a star port and dry-dock.”
“Any read on the ship’s transponders?” Alaya asked.
“It’s the Sinclair Mobile Fleet, Alaya. There are a total of 17 dreadnoughts 15 cruisers and 10 destroyers. A formidable assembly of ships.”
“Yes but the Mobile Fleet used to have 25 dreadnoughts. Where are the others? Any civilian ships?”
“A freighter or two, but they are sending Sinclair transponder codes, so they must be supply ships for the fleet. There is nothing related to the Petrov Corporation.”
General Golov had come to the entrance of the bridge when they came out of the slipstream. She had been listening to the discussion of the sensor
data. “I have not seen my home world for over four years. What few ships we had left after New Wales were swept from the heavens by that fleet. Five cruisers on mining protection duties survived, I was in one of them when you saved me.”
“Any idea why Sinclair hit you so hard? Usually threats work when your opponent is already at rock bottom,” Alaya asked.
“From what I have learned over the last few years, Alexi Petrov made some kind of deal with Sinclair to take out Balin Corp in exchange for most of the Balin mining bases. The only base that Sinclair wanted was on a methane moon on the other side of New Wales in an isolated system.”
Alaya looked at the general, “You’re sure it was a methane moon?”
“Yes, that is what I heard from several sources. Does that mean something to you?”
“Only that it was a methane moon Sinclair was after when we were in Andromeda. When this is over, I will have to find out which moon in the New Wales Republic Sinclair was after. Maybe that will help us to determine their next move. But first we have to drive them out of your space.”
“I am bone tired of fighting, Alaya. I would be happy to just spend the rest of my days on Petrovia with my family around me.”
“Well, Alisa, let’s try to make that happen then. Blue, what is our transit time to Petrovia?”
The serpent checked her console, “Sss. Seven hours, 12 minutes human time.”
Alaya had to smile the way serpents always pointed out that fleet time was human time. In a way, they were right, but it still sounded funny when spoken aloud. Alaya told the bridge crew to keep on their toes and stand a full watch all the way to the planet. The Sinclair Mobile Fleet was in orbit around the planet and there were picket destroyers roaming throughout the system. The invisibility cloak would keep them hidden from detection, but that would all be for naught if they hit one of the enemy ships. She then went back into the common room and sat with Alisa. “Invisible or not, we cannot land in or near the cities. Is there a place we can contact the resistance away from population areas?”
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