by Chris Burton
Safrec’s patience ran out. He raised his hand and pushed into the Malchian’s body, forcing Sorgan back. Safrec raised his hand again, but found himself forced back and down to his knees. The Malchian had entered his mind!
“As you can see Safrec, I do have power…”
“Enough!”
The Queen stood in front of them. “Did you not think I could hear your thoughts? Safrec, I will speak to you later. Sorgan, please join me.”
The Malchian smiled as he pushed past the Kronan. Safrec gestured as to challenge Sorgan again, but the Queen stood in his way. “As I have said, I will speak to you later…Sorgan and I have some catching up to do and your presence is not required.”
She turned her back on Safrec and entered the sanctuary with the door closing behind her. Safrec was enraged. How had he been so foolish to let the Malchian into his brain? His mind was completely unguarded. He would not let it happen again and next time, he would gain the upper hand…the final one.
* * * *
“My Queen. It is good to see you again. It has been too long.”
“Yes, Sorgan and, as I explained, I lay with Safrec to boost my immune system. I need to be strong in the weeks ahead. As do you.”
“I am always strong, my Queen. You need the sustenance provided by the brain stimuli of a human. I have brought you a strong human…an Alpha commander; you should consume him in one go. Safrec needs to understand his position. He should take a mistress and concentrate on defeating the humans. The risks to the Kryl are significant.”
“Yes…but not to you and that means you and your kind will become more important, Most of the Kryl castes will die, probably me too; if the radiation is allowed to penetrate into our environmental systems.”
“Then we should move on. The Kryl have their new stock for relief of the disease. If rationed correctly the supply can be enduring. We can find another source.”
“No, Sorgan. It would take too long. The risks are too great. I am entrusting my commanders to stop the radiation attack from taking effect. You must work together with Safrec. I will take your Alpha commander, but I will consume him slowly. My main source of immunity will come from you, when we lie together.”
Sorgan smiled. He contemplated the long night that awaited them. Her body perfectly entwined with his own. Only he could give her what she really wanted. But that was later for now he was her protector.
“Trieste, I will do whatever you ask of me as the leader of Malchians, the guardian of the Queen, but I will not like it. The Kronan wishes me dead and I him. One of us will not survive this conflict. He has no idea how strong I am.”
Malchian stood with his chest pushed out, reflecting his power, stance and position. His people were of no caste, but before the biotechnical cloning, they had been. If you deigned to be strong because you would have been a high caste Kryl, you would never lose that strength and power, even if your imprint was genetically altered. Hereditarily he was strong and free from the defects which so badly affected the Kryl caste. The sickness and disease which killed so many, would not affect him. Yet, he was also a high caste, A Kronan in his own right. A silent Kronan, undetected, but more powerful than any before him, because he was also a Malchian. Safrec would not survive a conflict between them.
The Queen smiled. He allowed her to read his thoughts. She knew she had chosen well. Sorgan was her “chosen one”.
* * * *
Safrec was forced to wait for an audience with the Queen and, worst still, the Malchian had left to join his ship, rather than meet with him as agreed. He now was summoned to the Queen’s chamber. He doubted whether this was for the same reason as before.
“Enter, my Kronan. Thank you for your patience. Sorgan and I needed to spend some time together. He is my “chosen one” now. You should seek a mistress amongst the queen caste and proffer her to me as a potential replacement as my death draws near. She must be strong and not susceptible to the disease.”
“Trieste. Sorgan cannot be the “chosen one”. I am the Kronan, not him. He is not as strong as me. I can give you so much more.”
“You have underestimated him already. If you do battle with him, you will lose and I forbid it. I need you close to me—strong and diligent. We must stop Alpha from spreading the radiation. You will work together with Sorgan to defeat them. Take your fleet to meet the Alpha ships now. Do not come back to me until you have destroyed them.”
Safrec realized this brief encounter was all that he would be given. He was summoned, given his orders, and dismissed. He smiled and acknowledged her command. To say anything further was not warranted. He would take command of his fleet. They were ready and they knew where the enemy was. They would defeat them, together with the Malchians and he would return triumphant, with the slain Malchian leader at his side. He would take his prize once and for all. But first, he needed a mistress. He had already selected the best of the queen caste and now he would lie with her.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The Voyage Continues
Jake Carter was in command yet again. The First Officer became a notable absentee from his own command sessions. When the CO was off duty, it all fell to Jake to control the ship. It was only a technical command. He had no real authority, sitting as they did in the middle of the radiation Task force and of course, Admiral Hoskins and his command team were all on board, albeit based in fleet command rather than on the bridge. Nonetheless, he spent as much time commanding the ship as Commander Jacques did and no one questioned, why the XO was never at his post. But this was good experience; Jake was never going to say anything.
“Incoming vessel ten thousand clicks to starboard. It’s a Kryl cruiser and there’s more than one.”
“Battle stations…advise fleet command. CO and XO to bridge.”
Fleet commands were quick to respond; one hundred Rapiers flooded the area surrounding the Radiation Fleet. The Kryl vessels were virtually on top of them and within seconds a large contingent of Kryl fighters joined the fracas.
This is not good. The main fleet is some distance away and we need their support. It is up to The Halo 7 and the other defensive ships to protect those carrying the shells. Jake was at a loss about how to respond further. There were six Kryl cruisers, but there could be a lot more nearby and they were still three weeks away from their target.
The CO was the first of the executive officers to reach the bridge. Jake felt relieved. It was all very well commanding, but this was full on and demanded someone with a little more experience.
“Where’s the XO?”
“I don’t know, sir. I have asked him to attend.”
“No matter…we need to transfer the con to the fleet command deck. There is a bridge command and three support stations set up for battle alert situations. Take yourself, Lieutenant Rogers and Levant with you and get set up and let me know when we can transfer command…and send another comm message to Commander Huber. He is required here to assist the transfer.”
* * * *
The battle now intensified as the Kryl cruisers surrounded the radiation task force, whose commanders were compelled to reduce velocity to sub-light. The Rapiers struggled against the Kryl fighter’s greater numbers and were bogged down in a skirmish with no Jump Ships able to move against the Kryl cruisers themselves. Jake moved his team into position on the fleet command deck and the con had just been passed to him, as the CO made his way down from the bridge to join him. The XO was still conspicuous in his absence.
“Okay. Thanks, Jake. I have the con. We have still heard nothing from the XO. Jake, go to his quarters and find out what his status is. Then, I want you to help out the CAG; the Jump Ships are critical, but they are going to get us out of this.”
* * * *
The executive officers quarters were two decks below the bridge, meaning a brisk walk for Jake. He arrived at the XO’s
door a few minutes later.
He waited for the presence detector to advise the rooms” incumbent there was someone to see him. There was no response, so he knocked. Odd…still no response. Okay, he needed to gain access, so he flipped open the access panel to the left of the door and typed in his security ID. The door opened.
Commander Huber lay comatose on his bed.
“Commander Huber, sir. We have been trying to contact you. Are you okay?”
The XO stirred briefly but returned to his slumber. Jake shook him. This time he awoke.
“Mister Carter. What’s the problem?”
“I have been trying to contact you, sir. We have engaged the Kryl.”
“What? Okay…I’ll join you on the bridge.”
“We have transferred the con to the fleet command deck, sir. The CO has requested your presence there ASAP. I will be in the hanger bay assisting the CAG.”
Jake left the XO and headed back down the ship towards the main hanger bay. The CAG expected him.
“Ah, Carter. Where have you been? I was told you were heading straight up?”
“More than one task I am afraid.”
“Enough…remember when you in the hanger bays you are under my command. I need you to coordinate the Sabres in the rear hanger bay. All ten to go out.”
“Why are the Sabres all down there? Surely you need them up here for a fast response and why have we sent out Rapiers without Sabres anyway?”
“Your job is just to get them out. Oh, and I have been told to remind you that you’re grounded.”
Jake shrugged his shoulders.”Fine. I’ll get them all out…but I suggest we bring them back into the main hanger bay.”
“Not your call Carter. This is my baby not yours.”
Jake left the CAG and headed to the stern of the ship. The rear hanger bay was roughly half the size of the main bay. Under normal conditions it housed the ships Eagle shuttles and up to fifteen Jump Ships; usually half the Sabres were ported there. The CAG had decided all the Sabres should be housed in the same place. This is not in itself a strange decision; but the fact the Rapiers were not supported by Sabres was. The Sabre gave the Rapier its backbone, without it…the enemy would just pick them off, without fear of any surprises.
Three Sabres were already on the bay floor when Jake arrived. Two of them had been stripped down.
“Where are the combat ready Sabres? It looks like only this one is ready?”
“We have three in readiness; the other seven are stripped down. We are bringing out the other two good ones now.”
“How many CAG personnel do we have this morning?”
“Four, including me—plus of course you.”
Jake shook his head. This was verging on reckless.
“Pilots?”
The technician shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, you’re the CAG.”
“Okay. Let’s start with the three we have out. Five minutes to get the two redressed, fuelled and armed. Then we pull out the other two…come on lets go!”
Jake knew the Sabres were needed out there desperately. There was no time to waste. He opened a ship wide comm.link.”All Sabres pilots to rear hanger deck for immediate launch.”
This whole thing is a total mess. Obeya would have all Sabres out by now. He made a mental note to make an official complaint. This was just appalling.
“What’s our status?”
“Number two redressed, fuel going in now. The armament supplies are not ready.”
“What? Never mind.”
He’d had enough. Jake left the deck and headed to the CAG OPS room. He opened a direct comm.link to the ships CAG.
“Rogers…we have just one ship good to go, no armament, no fuel, and no pilots. This is going to take a miracle to get these ships out before the battle is over!”
“Just get on with it, Carter. You know what you are doing don’t you?”
Jake decided to ignore the last comment, but he needed the CAG’s help.
“I need more CAG crew and armaments diverted to us. This is going to land on your lap if we don’t get Sabres out there soon.”
The CAG sighed. “I have not got time for this now and I cannot spare anyone. You can recall half the last shift. They’ll be pissed but that’s all I can offer. You’ll have to source the arms yourself.”
The comm.link went dead and Jake was on his own. He made the calls to the armory and the off-duty CAG team leader and headed back to the hanger bay deck. The good news was that two pilots had just turned up.
“Okay. Get Sabre one and two out now. Make three ready.”
The first compliment of arms had just arrived and Sabres one and two were made ready for pre-flight.
“Open the Exit tubes…launch now.”
The two Sabres left together. It took twenty-two minutes to launch these two. Three, four, and five were nearly ready; but still no more pilots.
* * * *
“Somehow we managed to avert a disaster, Jean-Luc. The Kryl threat is gone for the time-being and we can stand down the alert status. The Halo was shot up pretty badly. What’s the latest?”
“We have patched up the holes. Nothing serious but the stellar drive took a pounding. She is up and running, but I doubt she will make SD6 now.”
“I am sure you have it in hand; although without an active XO, life will be more complicated. What’s happening with Huber?”
“He has been signed off. He failed a stress test.”
“He’s not working out is he…and nor is your CAG. I understand Jake Carter was responsible for getting the Sabres out.
“Yes, Rogers did not cope well; but unremarkably Carter did. I am sorry about the Sabres. I just assumed we had dispatched them with the Rapiers. The CAG has a lot to answer for.”
“You need to get your house in order Jean-Luc. I suggest you look closely at your XO. He is not up to the job. Perhaps you need a replacement?”
“I have it hand Admiral…but yes, I do accept that Huber is not the man for the job. I’ll put the word out. I would like to use Jake Carter; he has in effect been acting up anyway.”
“No. Carter is too inexperienced and you have to have a full commander rank for an XO position on a boat of this size. He is only in acting up capacity now as Lieutenant Commander. Don’t overstretch him, we need him fit and ready for whatever the future holds.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Waiting
The advance force had found them. Six Kryl ships were destroyed, but the remainder tracked Alpha’s returning fleet. Now that the main Kryl Fleet joined together with the advanced force, they would engage Alpha and destroy them.
Safrec was in his sanctuary, aboard his cruiser. He commanded a fleet of over a thousand ships which, for the last two weeks, travelled away from Earth seeking out Alpha. They had now pushed out beyond the Isthymus system. In front of them lay the huge Hohner Nebula. Somewhere behind the nebula was Alpha’s invasion fleet. His advance force continued trailing both segments of the Alpha flotilla, which now joined together.
About two hundred fighting vessels—impressive that they were able to salvage so many, but not a threat to his vast armies.
There were a thousand more Kryl vessels remaining with the Queen ship. Of course, the Malchian and his forces had vast resources too. He was concerned about the radiation threat.
If Alpha worked out how to separate the radiation from the hazardous gas that surrounded it in its natural state and a method of delivering it, many of his fellow Kryl would die. The worst case scenario was virtual annihilation, save those whose DNA was genetically altered.
The Malchians would all survive as would a small percentage of caste Kryl.
He would survive, of course. He had no doubt his body was strong enough and that his drones would protect his environmen
t and place their lives at risks, rather than allow their Kronan to be threatened. However, his Queen probably would not survive. All the more reason to foster his burgeoning relationship with Malore—his chosen Queen caste. She was beautiful, intelligent, and the most likely replacement for Trieste. He would protect her and ensure the radiation did not affect her.
Of course, the objective was to stop the radiation attack. Trieste would then survive for a long time and he would be at her side as her “chosen one.” Sorgan still needed to be removed of course and that challenge was more complicated than he had anticipated. There was no question Sorgan had powers similar to his own. He would have to outsmart him. In the mean time he would keep Malore as his mistress, promote her to the Queen and wait. Then when Trieste finally died, Malore would succeed her and he, Safrec would be the most powerful Kronan ever. First he needed to deal with Alpha.
* * * *
The Alpha task force was a good deal closer than the Kronan imagined. They were just a few hours travel from the Hohner Nebula and the two Admirals were debating whether it was better to go round it or straight through it.
“We would extend our journey home by seven days. The risk of travelling through the nebula is significant for the radiation ships. Unless of course you are proposing splitting the fleet up again…which would be pointless because we need the radiation task force to arrive first.”
“There is little or no additional risk to the radiation shells, providing environmental integrity is maintained. The nebula will not affect that. We have to go through the nebula. The other consideration is the Kryl; we know they are around here somewhere.”
“Yes, and if they meet us in the middle of the nebula and start firing at us, we could loose everything. However, I don’t think we have much choice. We go through the nebula, but we place the radiation shell carriers in the center of the fleet. That way we protect them from the gas pockets and from the Kryl, should they decide to follow us in. I will let you have this one Jonathan.”
Hoskins left Admiral Martin’s state room and headed for his shuttle. The command bridge had now been transferred to the Accura, because the Halo 7’s stellar drive problems had continued. She was still good for SD5 and could keep up with the fleet, but she was no longer able to maintain the highest velocities. As the fleet neared Earth, there was no need for one section to be faster than the other. They would split again, but not until just prior to battle.