Kelu studied the creature in front of him. These are not the actions of a few disgruntled captains; it’s by an organized force. Welick would never add weapons to his ship, due to their cost.
“You’re not Welick,” Kelu said with growing confidence.
“I’m done with this slander,” Welick said with an imperious wave. The channel ended.
“I want to know who the heck is in charge over there.” Kelu stared at his screen. “Urlow, have a corvette return to the lady. Request reinforcements,” he said as the bridge crew looked to Kelu.
No one requested more reinforcements when the lady had given them forces. It was paramount to signing one’s own death warrant.
“Sensors, match the second dreadnought,” Kelu said, feeling more confident with his request. The sensor officer came back a few minutes later.
“It’s the Orvunut’s dreadnought,” she said, sounding stunned.
“Urlow, also inform the corvette crew that the Orvunut and his fleet have been defeated.” Kelu sat in his chair as he rested his odor-sensing cavities on his hands. His hooded eyes looked at the fleet around Parnmal.
I’ll find out who you are and crush you. Embarrassment and shame fueled his anger as Admiral Kelu retreated for the first time ever.
***
I tried not to sigh as the enemy fleet didn’t make to follow us. My people were beat from having to travel all the way from Earth at full speed and then fight what was one of the most nerve-racking battles I’d been in yet. Taking a wormhole in-system was idiotic to the extreme, but it had given the Free Fleet the advantage they’d needed to smash into the Syndicate forces. We were now nearly out of ammunition on all weapons systems.
Parnmal could’ve covered us if the Syndicate decided to follow us, but the ships would’ve been largely useless.
“Lining up main air locks,” Milra said, her voice tense as she used the manual controls at their station instead of the array of dials and switches.
“Air locks are magnetizing. And we have a solid connection.” Milra hid her sigh as secondary air locks extended from Parnmal and the Resilient.
Ammunition, stores, and fuel began transferring from the station. The rest of the fleet began different states of docking. The Forsut was still a day out from Parnmal with its circuitous route. The badly damaged ship was barely limping home, but the crew was adamant that they would get her back and functional.
The Mentr had made it to the station and was about to begin its docking. Three ships and their crew would never make it to Parnmal, however.
I reflected on that as I stood. My Mecha seemed heavier as I walked through the ship without seeing it.
When does it end? I asked myself the same question after every battle as I looked up to find myself leaving the Resilient, so lost in grief I’d blocked out my walk.
I stopped my grieving for now as I knew that to keep my people alive, I had to focus on other things. It wasn’t fair to those who had given their everything, but it was what I had to do.
Monk met me as I came off the Resilient.
“Brother,” he said as I nodded to him.
“Now the siege of Parnmal begins,” I said grimly.
“Indeed.”
I don’t know how one would explain the perfect calm he portrayed, yet the fury that waited, ready to be used only when necessary. He was a man truly at peace, and absolutely deadly because of it.
“Rick, prepare the fleet to leave,” I said into my comms as I thumped into the heart of Parnmal.
Resources that had been taken from Earth’s miners funneled into Parnmal. We’d need the supplies.
“On it already, James.” His voice was like stone.
I’d finally laid my plans out in AIH. None of the ship commanders had liked it, but they had all accepted it, a few simply saying, “Salchar’s rules.” Which was met with knowing nods.
The Syndicate had hammered us and exacted a terrible toll on the planets they lorded over and the races they had used as slaves. There weren’t many of us, and we didn’t have many planets backing us. But we would fight the Syndicate with everything we had and we would make them wish they had left us the hell alone.
***
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POSTSCRIPT
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Free Fleet Box Set 1 Page 83