“Send a reply on that frequency. Ask them for further information on the enemy, especially composition, and where they might have headed.”
“I have an identification on the radiation source, my Lord,” said the Tactical Officer, earning a glare from the Sensor Officer, who should have found it first. “It is the remains of a Ca’cadasan battleship. And there was only one in the system.”
And the commander here would not have known we were coming. So he would have tried to break out of the system to get word to command. And failed.
“Any sign of the human force?”
“No, my Lord,” echoed the three officers at once.
“Well, find them. And Com Officer. Order a quartet of scouts to move out from us to a range of a billion kilometers. One each to port, stern, dorsal and ventral. I want them to get a look at the system from angles we can’t. One scout also to remain out here in our relative position. Two scouts to head back to base and let them know what has happened here. Rest of force to boost for the planet as least time arrival profile.”
“What if they have a large force?” asked the Tactical Officer.
“I believe if they had a larger force than ours they would have scoured the planet of the presence of our troops,” said the Admiral, scowling at the officer.
We are not supposed to be here for more than three days, thought the Admiral, as he went over the possibilities in his mind. Another target awaits. But this is a mystery that must be solved, and an enemy destroyed before they get back to their base, lest they tell a story of success against the Empire. Unfortunately for the humans of the force that had struck here the Admiral was at the far end of the bell curve of racial intelligence. A genius, who was on track to become a fleet commander at a young age for his people, he was the worst nightmare for the people he hunted.
* * *
“We have Ca’cadasan ships jumping into hyper I,” called out the Sensor Officer. “Six scout class. Gravity waves show that the rest of the force is on a least time insertion to planetary orbit.”
“Why are they sending six ships back into hyper?” asked Sean, and Mara Montgomery shook her head.
There really is a lot he needs to learn, by the Goddess, time in the academy or not. “They send four ships in to curve around the system, your Majesty. Maybe a billion kilometers, maybe two. Then they get a look at the rest of the system from a different angle.”
“Will they see us?”
“They might. Unless we do this.” The Admiral looked at her Com Officer. “Send orders to all ships to coast until further orders. All grabbers powered down, electromag only to bow, minimal needed to deflect charged radiation particles. MAM reactors are to be powered down, and ships are to use fusion backups for power.”
The Admiral turned back to Sean. “That will make it a lot harder for them to find us. And since we’re already going at point three light, we’ll be to the hyper I barrier in a little over eleven hours.”
“And they’re sending the other two ships back to tell their sector base what we did,” said the young man, a look of recognition on his face.
He picked that one up fast enough. “I’m really more worried about those ships. They might run into the rest of that force that passed the system by, or another force moving through, and have pursuit on us from another angle, and a head start on velocity.”
“And when we reach the barrier?”
“We decel at a low level, and hope they don’t pick us up. Then, when we hit the VII barrier, we will jump up and accelerate for all we’re worth back to Conundrum.”
“And they will know where we are at that point,” said Sean. “You know they can get to a higher velocity in hyper than we can.”
“I saw that from the data McArthur sent over,” said the Admiral, nodding her head. “Something to do with the better hyperfield they can generate, and its more efficient radiation screening. But even if they can get to point nine five light, and we to only point nine, I think we can lead them a merry chase with our initial advantage. Besides, I’m going to try to fox him. I have no intention of getting into a hyper slugging match with his force.”
“And if they do catch us?”
“Then we come up with another plan, one that still gets you home.”
“But, what…”
“About the others, your Majesty. I will sacrifice every person under my command, and every civilian we are carrying, if it gets you home. Do not argue with me on this one. And if you relieve me I can guarantee that anyone else you place in command will do the same.”
“And if I place myself in command?”
“Then your individual commanders will find ways around your orders, all to make sure that you get home,” said the Admiral, her eyes tearing up. “Please don’t do something so foolish. I really think I am your best chance of getting home without losing everyone.”
“I agree,” said Sean, looking away from her a moment. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to relieve you for any reason. I got us into this mess, despite your warnings.”
“It’s most likely turn out alright, your Majesty. We do have the head start, and as you have said before this does not seem to be the brightest race we have ever encountered.” And he really is a likable kid, and eager to learn. As long as he retains that last quality he will do just fine, and the Empire has a chance. He’s also as headstrong as his father was, thought the Admiral, remembering her early days in the service, serving as an ensign under then Lieutenant SG Augustine Ogden Lee Romanov, while he completed his obligatory time in the Fleet. A time he was later to start than most, his mother not wanting him to serve, his father not forcing him to, until the Empress died suddenly.
And we had the obligatory affair of star struck junior for her senior, she thought, the tears threatening to come back into her eyes. Even though he already had married Anastasia and had a fine young son, Henry.
She looked into the blue eyes of Sean and could see a lot of his father there. He was quite the ladies’ man, and I was not his only conquest. Not from the rumors I heard. Who could resist the attentions of the heir to the throne? Not me, and not many other women. And I see the same magnetism in his son, though he is much too young for me. Augustine grew out of his womanizing, and stayed faithful to his queen. Will the same be true for Sean.
“You know I knew your father, back fifty years ago when I was first entering the service, before he became Emperor. And you remind me a lot of him.”
“I take that as a compliment,” said the man who hopefully would soon sit his father’s throne.
“You should. And I predict that you will become just as great an Emperor as he was.”
“Prophecy,” said Sean, smiling.
“No,” said Montgomery, shaking her head. “The Goddess hasn’t gifted me with such. Just a hunch and intuition, which all humans possess.”
Sean looked at the floor for several minutes, lost in thought.
And he does have the gift of prophecy. It says so in his records. As much as his father, who saved some lives while he served due to that gift.
“How did the Ca’cadasan’s grow to be such a power, when they aren’t the brightest boys on the block,” said Sean, still looking at the floor.
“Luck of the draw,” said Montgomery. “You’ve studied Earth history, I presume.” When Sean nodded his head she continued. “Most people think the Europeans dominated so much of the world for so long because they were smarter than everyone else. Unless you grow up in a non-European culture, where they teach you the real reason. All the races and ethnic groups on old Earth were more or less equal when it came to intelligence. The Europeans just benefitted from some beneficial circumstances.”
“Like what?”
“They had horses, and a gentle enough climate to thrive, but one harsh enough to make them tough. And they had access to the sea, and many nations became seafaring powers, which allowed them to go where they wanted, and more importantly take land power with them, and ship goods home that made their pe
ople demand more, no matter the cost to the folks in the lands they found.”
“And the Cacas?”
“Maybe they just lucked out to develop spaceflight before anyone else in their region, then expanded rapidly with their ability to go to other star systems. If they had gotten big enough they might have been able to conquer smaller but more technologically advanced species, and put that species’ brains to work at helping them expand more.”
The Admiral looked at the plot, which showed the whole system, including the best guess position of the enemy ships. “So we got wiped out because the Cacas lucked into space travel while our ancestors were still building the pyramids.”
“I wonder why they want to kill us so badly,” said Sean, pointing a finger at the alien position on the plot. “I mean, I’ve read the histories and seen the vids, just like everyone else. No, probably more than most. And as far as we know they enslave other races. Especially clever races like our own. I understand that we fired on some of them after we had surrendered on the Tau Ceti Colony. But shit like that happens all the time in war.”
“Well, we have some prisoners aboard,” said the Admiral. “First ever captured, as far as we know. Why don’t you go down and ask one. The computer has a good sense of their language.”
“I think I’ll do that,” said Sean, getting up from his chair.
“Unfortunately, their battleship’s captain is still on Basingee’s ship,” said the Admiral, getting up and walking beside Sean to the bridge exit. “But I think we captured one of their senior ground force commanders on the planet, and he might be a good source.” The Admiral put a hand on Sean’s arm before he could get through the doorway. “Make sure you have some of your Marine guards with you.”
“They’re in the brig,” said Sean with a smile. “What could they do?”
“That’s the point, your Majesty. I don’t want to find out.”
* * *
“Signal coming in from the planet, my Lord,” said the Com Officer. “It is from the commanding officer.”
“Put the General on the viewer,” said the Admiral.
“It’s not a general, my Lord.”
The officer in question appeared on the viewer, and the Admiral grunted as he saw the rank on the male’s armor. A commander, one who ran a regiment, and much too low a rank for one in charge of a planetary conquest. The male was speaking. “And so, as you see, Admiral.”
“Back that transmission up to the beginning,” ordered the Admiral, pointing both left hands at the viewer. They’re still two light hours distant. The com officer should have noted that and taken care of it.
“I am Commander Tlosonicanarat, of the Imperial Ground Forces. The General is either dead or has been captured, and all of the brigade commanders are dead, leaving myself in charge. The enemy destroyed the naval force in the system, then landed their ground troops. Without control of the orbitals we were not able to hold them off the surface. They destroyed most of our ground forces, and then evacuated most of the civilians off planet. The civilians they have left behind are still fighting us.”
“Give me the information I need, commander,” growled the Admiral, balling all four hands into fists. “Curse this light speed delay.”
The officer talked for some more minutes, and then said what the Admiral had been waiting for. “The ships left orbit approximately eight hours ago.”
“Eight hours ago,” growled the Admiral. “They could not have left the system in that time span. And we would have heard them even if they could have reached the hyper barrier in such a short time. So they are still here.”
The Admiral turned to his com officer, left fists clenched, right hands pointing. “Get in touch with those scouts. Tell them I want those ships found. And they are to report at fifteen minute intervals. I want to know what they are doing and what they have found, even if what they have found is nothing.”
“Yes, my Lord,” grunted the officer, getting to work on his board.
“So where the hell are they?” He turned back to the Com Officer. “Send another message to the planet when you are done with that first message. I need to know where those ships were heading when they left orbit. If those damned ground pounders had any idea to keep track of such things.”
* * *
Sean had rarely visited the brig of a warship. There had been a crewmember under him once who had been confined for talking back to an officer. Every warship had one, when not only crewmen might need to be confined, but also pirates or other lawbreakers. As some of these might be aliens, some of the brig cells could be reconfigured to fit most sentient sizes and their preferred environment conditions. The Ca’cadasans could thrive in the same gas composition and temperature as humans, but what would be a comfortable cell for a human could be hell for a Cacada.
The Emperor stood in front of the crystal clear barrier that separated him from the alien. It looked as if nothing was there, though the barrier could stop a charging dinosaur. He felt better with that strength between him and the alien, and even more comfortable with the two armored Marines that stood to either side of him.
The Cacada was like a creature of nightmare, and not just because he looked like something from the ancient mythology of Earth, with his predator snout, distended nostrils, and half meter long horns on his head. The male was over three meters in height, with well-developed musculature under a reddish tinted fur. Each of the four arms ended in a four fingered hand which was arranged to allow two of the digits to function as thumbs. Long, strong claws tipped each digit, as they did the four toes on each foot. The being had been left his undergarments for modesty, though the humans didn’t know if such concepts pertained to the aliens. Other aliens, freshly killed on the planet, were being dissected in the medlab, so the humans could learn more about their strengths and weaknesses.
The creature glared down at the human with the look of a shark contemplating a meal, and Sean forced himself to not shake under that gaze. He had heard tales of how field dressed humans had been found in this Cacada’s bunker, rations for the invading army. The Emperor glanced over at one of the Marines, and saw a look on the woman’s face of pure anger. He didn’t think this male would last long against the armored Marine in a hand to hand.
“I have some questions to ask you,” said Sean, steadying his nerves and maintaining eye contact with the alien.
“And why would I answer your questions, human?” said the alien, the words of his rumbling voice translated by Sean’s implant.
“I could see that you had better living conditions,” said Sean. “Better food.”
“Perhaps a fine haunch of human female,” said the alien, showing his carnivore’s teeth while his gaze switched to the female Marine. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard that you used females in combat, until I saw it myself. Another sign of weakness.”
“We beat your force in the Sestius system,” said Sean, feeling defensive before this being.
“By outnumbering our one capital ship,” scoffed the male. He continued to look at the Emperor, trying to intimidate him with his gaze. The giant crossed both sets of arms across a massive chest that looked different than the human equivalent from having to move two pairs of upper limbs. “And what is your position, human? You look young to be a senior leader. Perhaps one of your alien specialists?”
“I am a high ranking noble of my people,” said Sean, leaving it at that. He knew the Ca’cadasans used some kind of hereditary system, but beyond having an emperor he wasn’t sure what it was. He noted the Marines had shifted into an even higher state of alertness when he was talking. Probably wondering how much I would tell this creature. He smiled at the thought. Don’t worry, kiddies. I won’t give away the game.
“I will answer those of your questions I don’t think will hurt my people,” rumbled the big male. “And refuse to answer those I think might. Even if you torture me.”
“We don’t use torture,” said Sean. At least not any pain techniques. We might use drugs or psy
chology though.
“Another sign that you are a weak species,” said the male with a tone of contempt. “So ask your questions.”
Sean looked at the creature for another moment, trying to use psychology against it. “You were the general in charge of the defense of the planet?”
“I was not,” said the male, crossing his arms again. “I was a Sub-general, the commander of a combat brigade.”
“And a combat brigade was, what?”
“Six to eight thousand warriors.” The male would not say more after that about that subject.
Sean asked the being several more questions of military significance, and received no answer to any of them. He was about to give up when he remembered the question he had come to ask.
“Why do you hate us so much?”
The alien gave him what had to be a quizzical look, then a scowl. “You truly don’t know? It did not come down in your histories?”
“What came down in our histories was that a human on Tau Ceti acted against orders and killed one of your officers and a couple of his soldiers. After we had surrendered. And that your people went crazy after that, destroying the colony to the last human.”
“You do not know that you killed the eldest son of the Emperor? He who was to be our next ruler?”
“Oh my God,” said Sean, crossing himself in the manner of a Reformed Catholic, as he had been raised. “We didn’t know.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” said the big officer. “There was nothing you could have done, no act of contrition that would have soothed the Emperor’s mind. He ordered the complete destruction of your species. Which was done, except for…” The male stopped speaking, looking away as if he said too much.
So they hadn’t killed all the humans they got in their grasp. Interesting.
“Thank you very much, Sub-general,” said Sean. “I will be back to talk with you tomorrow.”
“I don’t know why,” said the male. “I will give you no useful information.”
“Maybe I just want to learn more about your people.”
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 3: The Rising Storm Page 52