"Reinforcements in system!" The tactics officer's scream forced me to shudder.
At four hundred miles from our fleet, a large number of starships appeared. On the tactical map, they were colored gray for a few seconds, but then they were automatically determined to be allies by the friend-foe system.
"Alright! It's the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet!" exclaimed the captain with surprise in his voice. "There's almost six hundred ships! They've shown up in the very center of the Alien armada!"
I gave an impotent groan. Ugh. What an idiot you are, Sivir ton Mesfelle! I already knew that he wasn't the most capable fleet commander out there, but just handing your ships to the Aliens like that... I could've strangled him with my bare hands. In the heat of the moment, I lost my self-restraint. The sentence that ripped out of me, I suspect, rang a bit too true, as even Corwin ton Mesfelle-Ugar gave a respectful whistle, and Katerina reminded me that we were still broadcasting live to the whole Empire.
"My apologies, cousin, but I think we’d all be better off, if Duke Avalle royl Anjer had been better acquainted with the proper use of contraceptives. Because of Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle's idiocy, the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet is going to be completely wiped out. Eleven battleships, and thirty heavy assault cruisers! The Viscount seems to have dragged a heavy fleet from the whole Sector out here just to die! Communications officer, I need a line opened to their channel now! I might be able to save some of them yet!"
"The enemy Meteors are refusing combat. They are turning around and retreating!" Admiral Mike ton Akad's voice reminded me that the Unatari Fleet was still in battle.
A horde of fast-moving red dots on the screen went rushing off into the big cloud of newly-arrived green ones. The enemy frigates did not, in fact, engage with my ships, preferring to attack the new enemy on the battlefield. It became clear that the thirty frigates had just been feigning an attack and were not coming for another one-sided slaughter.
"Do not give chase! All Unatari ships, focus on the Behemoth! Communications officers, get me on the Sector Eight Fleet's channel."
"My Prince, of course this is none of my business," Corwin nodded to the window, beyond which a large section of our view was being obscured by the Behemoth, "but isn't that gonna explode? Our whole fleet will be killed here and now if the battleship's antimatter undergoes an annihilation reaction."
I considered it. There was a kernel of rationality in the captain's words. The old scar on my face, which I’d received in just such a Behemoth explosion, started to itch immediately.
"It will not explode," said my bodyguard, Popori de Cacha, revealing himself. "A group of Chameleons studied the Alien battleship's systems the first time we captured one. The automatic gravity compensation in the warhead storage units is independent of the battleship's main systems. If you don't purposely turn off that exact power circuit, or break the hermetic seal on the hangars, there is no danger. But, to make completely sure, you’d better concentrate fire on the forward parts of the Behemoth. That’s where the reactor is, as well as the thruster control systems. There’s nothing connected to the dangerous antimatter."
I hurried to send this information to the fleet.
"My Prince, I've got the line open! Button three," one of the communications officers reported, and I switched to channel three.
My ears were instantly stabbed with shouts of despair and mostly senseless yammering. The Sector Eight Fleet captains were reporting to their commander on warp disruptors and stasis webs placed on their ships. Some had their energy shields shot through, and others had already been downed by the Aliens. But, due to the overwhelming mass of messages piled on top of one another, there was complete chaos on the channel, and it was impossible to figure out what was going on. Trying to get the situation under control, I spoke loudly and clearly:
"Complete radio silence! Sector Eight Fleet, attention! This is Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky speaking! Do not reduce your speed. Continue your trajectory toward the Hnelle station! Stand by for warp coordinates. Whoever has the ability, immediately warp out! I repeat, warp out to the coordinates we send, if at all possible!"
"Georg, keep your nose out of my business! This fleet is not yours to command!" I recognized Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle's voice. He sounded annoyed. "I order my ships to stay and fight!"
"Shut your mouth, idiot! You've already lost half your fleet in the one minute you’ve been here, and have yet to realize it! I order anyone left alive to jump to the coordinates provided. My ships will try to protect you. Immediately after warp exit, get to action and attack the Behemoth we have under web here!"
The Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet Commander was still trying to give commands in his inscrutable way. For example, he ordered his ships to attack one of the Mammoths, but it was too late. No one was listening to the Viscount by then. Green dots were joining my ships on the tactical map one after the other. Unfortunately, it was primarily small ships that were able to escape. All of the Sector Eight Fleet's big guns were already completely held down by the Aliens. A few seconds later, the only ships left in the center of the ball of Aliens were a few warp-disrupted, motionless battleships and around fifty heavy and light cruisers. They had just minutes left to live, if not seconds. More and more Alien starships were pouring into the battle zone and immediately beginning the effort to destroy the human ships.
"This is Master of Tesse speaking. I have fifty warp disruptors on me. My energy shields are going down quick. Requesting permission to evacuate crew." I recognized Oorast Pohl's voice with astonishment.
"Old friend, hold out for thirty seconds!" I shouted to my former associate. "All ships that were not able to leave, I order you to cover sensitive equipment and be prepared to warp out immediately after the bombs go off! Surprises, drop your bombs right on top of the Sector Eight ships!"
"My Prince, this is Surprise-1. Requesting your Highness’s permission to make this attack alone. It's too dicey to risk so many ships. There's no suitable point for a timely warp out. There's also a lot of moving debris. The chance of failure is too high to risk everyone."
"You have my permission! Just go fast before they all die! All ships, stand by!"
I pressed my nose right up against the screen. The seconds ticked by. The number of green markers inside the red ball was falling fast. But then, a new green marker flickered in, and a bomb came out of it. But why wasn’t the frigate leaving?!
"Well, that's it. I'm under a warp disruptor." There was neither fear nor resignation in the voice of the Surprise-1's captain. She was just stating a fact. "Forgive me, frie..."
The end of the sentence was cut off by a bright spark. The thermonuclear warhead exploded in the very center of the crowd, right next to the Sector Eight Fleet's battleships. Another second later, fifteen green markers, which was everyone left alive, moved over to my ships.
"Surprise-1 did not survive the explosion." Popori de Cacha's horror-laden voice rang out above my ear. My bodyguard was looking at the screen, and was even falling out of camouflage in shock. "The greatest warrior my kind has ever known is no more... I dreamt of fighting for her in the next tournament on Sss... This celebrated representative of the Ravaash race paid with her life to save tens of thousands of people. I hope, Crown Prince, that your race will never forget that deed," Popori de Cacha trained both of his mobile eyes on me, expecting an answer.
"A menace to the Aliens. She has thousands of enemy ships on her account. The most valuable soldier in my fleet. I swear that I will do everything in my power to make sure the memory of the captain of Surprise-1 will live through the ages! You have my word as an Imperial Crown Prince!"
Standing change. Chameleon race opinion of you has improved.
Chameleon race opinion of you: +33 (respect)
Standing change. Empire Military faction opinion of you has improved.
Present Empire Military faction opinion of you: +23 (trusting)
Popori de Cacha and I stayed silent for some time before Corwin ton
Ugar sidled in with a message:
"Commander, the nearest Behemoth has been shot to pieces! It really didn't explode"
I just waved it off. One battleship more or less made no difference. The Aliens wouldn’t feel it. In comparison with the loss of Surprise-1, this was totally irrelevant. Nevertheless, it was not at all the time for despondency. A great number of red markers were approaching the cloud of green spots on the tactical map. I took the microphone:
"Attention, all ships! Gather your drones, and get out to a faraway spot. Ghost-3, send coordinates over the fleet channel. We all need a breather to take stock of losses and get ourselves back together."
* * *
"Ghost-2, keep up observation of the enemy. Other ships, don't just stand around. Begin acceleration toward Unatari."
To my surprise, a small cohort of the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet ships started moving along with mine. Orange Majesty remained motionless, as did the majority of their ships, but around twenty followed my order. Katerina and I exchanged glances.
"It would seem these captains trust you more than their own fleet commander. They look to be trying to demonstrate that fact to the Viscount."
I shrugged my shoulders. The very fact of having another fleet's ships in my active combat zone was something that left me badly dismayed. The dilemma the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet captains were facing was unavoidable: they could either continue serving the Viscount, who had psychotically doomed his own ships to die, or obey the orders of a more experienced commander. And now, all of the captains were making their own choice.
"Ghost-2 here. The Aliens have destroyed the wreckage of the Behemoth. The antimatter exploded. It was very powerful, as always. The Alien ships are making a move. They're all accelerating, but I can't tell where to."
My heart was pounding. Had they managed to pinpoint our fleet’s location? Theoretically, it wouldn’t have been too hard. Hiding the huge battleships from enemy radar was impossible. If they were scanning from different points in the star system, it was only a matter of time before their on-board computers calculated our coordinates.
"My Prince, the Alien ships are accelerating toward Unatari!"
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. What a twist! The Aliens hadn't yet calculated the coordinates of my fleet, but they had managed to get a cloaked frigate in, and it had determined the trajectory of my ships! And, if I were to order the Unatari warp beacon turned on now, even for just a second, as I was preparing to do initially, we would be inviting one thousand five hundred Alien ships to my capital in our wake! That would be the end of Unatari, and the end of my contract with Mr. G.I....
The communications officer broke in at that moment and said, without removing his headphones:
"Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle proposes that Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle make a visit to the flagship of the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet, Orange Majesty and discuss the present situation."
"What is there to discuss?" I muttered, not comprehending. "The Sector Eight Fleet Commander slipped and fell in a puddle, and I helped him out of it. Everyone in the fleet understands that Viscount Sivir is only still alive because of my ships and the self-sacrifice made by Surprise-1."
"Would you like me to come with you?" my cousin offered. "I've known Sivir a long time, and I might be able to help you smooth over your issues without all the pomp and circumstance."
"Alright, let's go together. But first, I need to make sure the Viscount isn’t about to make an even bigger mess. Communications officer, I need a line opened to my brother Roben royl Inoky."
Around a minute went by, and a middle-aged servant appeared on screen.
"Crown Prince Georg, I beg your apologies most sincerely, but your brother is not available at the moment. He is very tired, and needs to rest."
"So, Roben’s wasted again, is he?" I guessed.
The servant did not answer, but he also made no effort to deny it.
"Alright, we can get by without Roben, this time. I have an important message. The huge Alien fleet in the Hnelle system is ready to jump to Tesse at a moment’s notice, so don't turn your warp beacon on, even for a second. In fact, I categorically recommend you not activate the beacon for the next two standard days, no matter who asks, be it Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle, or the Emperor himself. I'll try to lead the threat away to a different star system but, until that time, I officially warn you once again: if the Tesse beacon turns on, you will all die."
"I am very grateful for your warning, Crown Prince Georg," the servant gave a deep bow. "Your Highness, you can be sure that I will send your message to all relevant parties. The Tesse warp beacon will be blocked."
I breathed out with relief. After all, the Viscount was clearly dumb enough to simply return to Tesse, bringing death to the six billion inhabitants of the densely populated star system after him. The only thing left now was to warn the Tialla and Unatari beacon teams to make sure the Alien fleet wouldn’t get through behind the escaping Sector Eight Fleet ships. The two remaining options for escape from the Hnelle system were the automatic warp beacon in Forepost-11 or the low-population Himora station. Both of them looked like perfectly reasonable choices.
"My Prince, incoming call from Bride of Chaos. Shall I put them through?" My communications officer asked, and I gave my permission.
The harrier-gray battleship-captain appeared on screen. His ceremonial Orange House Star Fleet uniform was adorned with a Black Star and a Silver Brooch with the number eleven inside. A veteran who had fought in eleven battles with me.
"Crown Prince Georg," the soldier bowed respectfully. "I made the decision to warn your Highness that Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle is planning to arrest you as soon as you arrive to the flagship. He is accusing you of 'inciting mutiny, and causing undue loss of life.' He already has permission from the Head of the Orange House to make the arrest, and now he is trying to secure himself the support of all Sector Eight Fleet captains."
"Thank you for the warning, my friend. I will not forget this," I bowed in response the captain, but he answered:
"Don't thank me, Prince. This is the least I could do after all the battles we’ve fought together. Not to mention what happened today. All of our officers know what the captain of Surprise-1 did for us, and this is an expression of my gratitude to your Highness and the Chameleon race as a whole."
The gray-haired captain signed off. My cousin and I exchanged glances. Katerina ton Mesfelle didn't know what to say about it. In the silence that came over the room, the communications officer's voice rang out like a shot:
"My Prince, there are twenty-six people on the line waiting to talk with you. They are captains and senior officers from Sector Eight starships."
"Get a conference call together for all of them at once," I requested and, a few seconds later, said on the separate channel:
"Friends, I know what you want to say to me. I'm already aware of the base act of ingratitude being planned behind my back. Do not do anything yourself. I'll be dealing with this betrayal myself. Thank you, I will not forget your warning."
I signed off and began thinking intensely. If it weren't for my good relationship with the Imperial Military, I wouldn't have gotten that warning, and would have been caught. What to do? I spent five minutes in contemplation, staring at the metal wall, then asked to be put through to Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle. A second later, my former plant manager was looking back from the screen. His dark blue Fleet Commander's uniform had gold epaulets, and he was wearing a huge pilot’s cap over his close-cropped hair.
"Viscount, I don’t think it very reasonable for us to meet here in the Hnelle system. The Aliens are scanning the cosmos, and could attack our ships at any moment. Both you and I need to remain at our posts. I think we should first take our ships out of Hnelle to the Himora system, so we can calmly discuss everything on the station there."
"Why Himora? I'm planning on taking my fleet back to Tesse!"
I tried to not show any emotion on my face but insid
e, I was positively seething. That cretin really was planning to retreat to Tesse! If it hadn't been for my warning, the Aliens would have been destroying the pearl of Sector Eight a few hours from now!!!
"Of course, we could also speak in Tesse, but then my brother Crown Prince Roben royl Inoky ton Mesfelle and his military advisors will want to join in. I do not know how necessary their presence would be. Our conversation could touch on some fairly confidential topics, after all."
"Yes, you are right, Georg. The Himora station really is more ideal. No one will bother us there!" he reveled. "My heavy ships need almost six hours to recharge energy for a warp jump. So, you keep track of the Aliens and warn me if they try to attack! I'll rest for now. Commanding a fleet is such a drag!"
"Agreed!" I smiled and signed off.
I remained sitting for three minutes, then demanded to be put through to the Himora station. A man I knew fairly well appeared on screen. He had once been a Brotherhood of the Stars pirate, and was now working for me secretly on the station.
"Your Highness! I'm glad to see you in good health!"
I greeted him in reply and wondered how many people were living on the Himora station now. The answer he gave was so positive, I’d have been hard pressed to think of a better one:
"There are just sixty people left on the station. When the Aliens captured Hnelle, most of our crew fled. Even the head of the station ducked out to Tesse. I was left here as temporary leader. Everyone else is sitting on their suitcases so they can take off at the first sign of danger. We have a ship ready to warp out at any moment permanently docked here. I'd only need three minutes, and there'd be no one left in the system!"
"Great. I have a very important proposition, then. Incidentally, it would also be very handsomely rewarded. In six hours, you will receive a signal from Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle demanding that you turn on your warp beacon to let the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet out of the Hnelle system. Turn the beacon on for four seconds, then wait for a message from me. I'll tell you what to do from there. If you don't hear from me, evacuate the station in two hours!"
New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) Page 8