New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3)

by Michael Atamanov

  "You all know that I prefer to avoid big losses. But in this case, we cannot wait for our battleships from the other fleets to come put pressure on the enemy anti-aircraft installations. All of our heavy guns will be tied up in other assaults. We cannot expect light cruisers to effectively damage terrestrial targets. As such, the losses in the first wave of the Alpha Iseyek assault of Sobj-5 will be enormous... After landing, the troops will have to hold out thirteen hours until reinforcements arrive, but then the second phase can begin. Before help comes, the survivors will not number in the thousands any longer, but in the hundreds if not the tens..."

  "This be war, and lose soll-dier on war — inevitable," Admiral Kheraisss Vej commented on my words, and the rest of the Iseyek agreed with him.

  I heard everyone out carefully. There were no objections to the attack on the Kiya-Sobj trajectory. The admirals and generals had absolutely no fear at the loss of hundreds of thousands of praying mantis soldiers and were only concerned with the fact that the enemy Behemoths might escape from the Sobj system and show up in other places on the front.

  "Don't worry about the Behemoths. We'll be able to hold them," I said, after all takers had said their peace. "And as for the landing troops... I know Swarm customs: it is simpler and cheaper to grow a new praying mantis than to heal a wounded one. But I have the tradition of valuing my soldiers. As such, here is my decision: for the attack of Sobj-5, I need the best of the best Alpha Iseyek landing troops. Those of them who are able to hold a landing zone and remain alive will earn a bright red stripe on their shell and a white stripe across the chest as a sign of military glory. These together will mean they have the right to medical treatment. And if the Swarm doesn't have the ability to deal with wounded soldiers, the Unatari State will take care of them. I believe that heroes should serve as a living example for others, and not as a ready-made meal for whoever comes after them."

  Standing change. Iseyek race opinion of you has improved.

  Alpha Iseyek race opinion of you: +42 (respect)

  Iseyek Prime race opinion of you: +24 (favorable)

  All things considered, my new policy was accepted very positively by the Swarm. Beyond that, the generals convened amongst themselves and suggested introducing a general rule for all Swarm landing operations. First wave soldiers get the right to the frightening red paint even before landing, and the number of white stripes on the shell will symbolize the number of landings survived.

  After that, I explained the mission of the other fleets on that day. The Unatari Heavy Fleet, reinforced by the Yayho border fleet, would attack on a line from Khs to Khryo. Four hundred fifty combat starships, of which six were battleships, and forty were heavy cruisers should be able to sweep away the rearguard of a pitiful eleven Alien frigates and destroyers. Admiral Mike ton Akad swore on his own head that he'd complete the mission.

  On a line from Arite to Khe, Admiral Kheraisss Vej would lead the Yuho fleet, composed primarily of Arite Iseyek ships. The Fastel Fleet would be supporting him. Our scouts had reported that there were just four Alien Meteors in the Khe system, so we were not expecting any problems in that direction.

  On a line from Bej to Lobj, Admiral Kiro Sabuto would lead a Red-Blue fleet, composed of the remnants of the Red House Sector Fourteen fleet, and the combat starships captained by people who fled the Blue House with Crown Princess Natalie. They would be supported by the Diho squadron. Our scouts didn't find any enemies at all on this path, but I misrepresented that report, and told them there were eleven light Alien cruisers, to make sure my captains wouldn’t get too relaxed.

  And, finally, there were the Swarm's main forces: the heavy Virho fleet and the Ayho assault fleet, with a combined strength of one thousand two hundred starships, of which eleven were Meresh battleships and seventy were Legash heavy cruisers. These forces I gave to Admiral Masss Azhzh, the most experienced Swarm admiral. Twenty-six alien ships would be opposing him in the Aysar Cluster, six of which were Sledgehammers.

  "Masss Azhzh, your battle will be one of the hardest, but I am counting on your abilities. You have fifty times more ships and thirty times more volley weight than the enemy, so victory will be yours in any case. But your mission is not simply to achieve victory, but to do so with minimal losses, as the ships that will be with you are necessary for the next stages of the offensive. I will personally train your fleet, so all your insects will know instinctually how to fight Sledgehammers, shoot down pesky Meteors, and deal with Hermits and Ascetics."

  After assigning missions, I named my main demand: within five days of the beginning of the counterattack, all Swarm systems were to be cleared of Alien starships. After that, twelve Trias, guarded by frigates, would move landing groups in for terrestrial operations and the liberation of the Swarm planets, while the other combat starships of all the fleets would gather in the Ukhsss system and jump into Alien space.

  "My scouts have investigated over twenty Alien star systems, made a map of their warp beacons and have embedded themselves up to five and more jumps away from Swarm territory. Our scouts did not detect significant Alien forces at any point, though they did find light ship docks and a great deal of evidence of active combat once having taken place there. Based on the wreckage of starships of unknown designs in space, and traces of demolition on the surfaces of those planets, it would seem that, not especially long ago, some kind of intelligent species was living there. But it has already been wiped out by the Aliens. Their docks have been captured, and are being used to produce Meteors. I suspect that, after this, we will find the place where they are building heavy and superheavy ships as well. Our unified fleet's goal here will be to destroy all this infrastructure. Our main objective is to force the Alien Queen to come to the defense of her territories so we can attack her."

  The huge black Alpha Iseyek Masss Azhzh took a step forward and gave a deep bow. Bionica translated the insect's chirruping:

  "Five-Star-Admiral Georg, I risk repeating the question I asked at the meeting with Nai Igir, but how is it at all possible to destroy such a huge, impenetrable Alien ship as the Queen?"

  "There is one way..." I said, scanning with my eyes for Marian Sabati and Florianna, calling both Truth Seekers forward.

  Marian Sabati's appearance didn't cause any particular interest among those gathered; the Iseyek practically didn't know who she was. But when the black-robed paralyzed Flora, accompanied by her four unchanging Beta Iseyek slowly came forward on her flying chair, I saw a very curious picture. First, Kheraisss Vej and Kiro Sabuto, and, after them, other admirals and generals of all races began bowing down on a knee in respect before the little Truth Seeker.

  "My Prince, even I find this uncomfortable. I can sense their general mood: those gathered are hoping for me, they consider me a talisman of success and a symbol of your victories. They truly believe in my power."

  Marian Sabati, on seeing the respect given to the little girl, gave a surprised snort, but said nothing. I then continued my thought:

  "The Alien Queen has always tried to carry out mental attacks. I do not expect that she will change her habits before our next meeting. The Queen is quite weak as a psionic. A normal person with good willpower would be totally capable of deflecting her suggestions. So the Truth Seekers will catch the Queen during a mental attack and join their forces together to make an attack on her."

  Marian Sabati made a surprised face, and even a slightly dismayed grimace, attentively watching Florianna, then turned to me:

  "Crown Prince Georg, I value your trust, but where is the guarantee that this little girl and I will be able to deal with such a ghastly monster?"

  "Did I say anything about it being just you two?" I smiled to the beautiful and dangerous woman. "The whole seventeenth floor of Joan the Fatty is currently occupied by Beta Iseyek. Over three hundred of the most mentally powerful Iseyek to ever live are currently on board. They can give you psionic support. Now, the Beta Iseyek are just training to work in a group, but their great potential has alre
ady become apparent. One hundred Beta Iseyek will back you up, and another hundred for Flora."

  "And the others?" Marian Sabati began thinking for a second, after which her expression melted into a predatory bared-tooth smile. "Will Miya be joining us, then?"

  I noticed the Iseyek in the hall beginning to chatter in agitation. There could be no doubt that this name was well known to them.

  "Yes, Miya will here," I confirmed. "But it will not even be my homicidal spouse at the forefront of the attack. We will also have Krista – the most ancient Truth Seeker has agreed to help us destroy the Alien Queen. It wasn't easy, but the Unatari State ambassador to the Blue House, Paola ton Akad, was able to convince her great grandmother to help out. Beyond that, Krista promised to bring some of her other psionic friends to the attack as well."

  "My Prince, I see a flaw in your plan. Due to the Orange House communications blockade, Krista will be available for just a few minutes every seventeen hours, while the Arite system warp beacon is visible from the Mechanoid system."

  That was really true, and my cousin Katerina had already pointed out that dilemma. So, while the others had yet to figure it out, I decided to draw attention to the shortcoming myself:

  "There is one important nuance that places our whole Alien-Queen attack plan under threat: the communications blockade that the Orange House has placed on Unatari and the Swarm. Due to that blockade, Truth Seekers from different places will not be able to work as one. That is why we'll have to solve that problem in the two weeks that remain before the counterattack. Swarm Queen Nai Igir once noted that I am renowned for my nonstandard solutions. Well, here is yet another atypical plan: the whole Swarm and Unatari fleets will be headed to the Sivalla system today and, after that, will all together be making a jump to the Forepost-4 system in Perimeter Sector Nine. I can provide coordinates for opening a warp tunnel. I know perfectly well that the Swarm will not go to war against the Orange House, so I do not ask the Iseyek to interfere in what will happen in the Forepost-4 system. But the Swarm ships are obliged to come to Sector Nine. That is an order from a Swarm five-star admiral!"

  * * *

  Ayna placed a mug of roast-firo-nut beverage in front of me. My cousin, though, refused her portion of "coffee." Basically, Katerina was looking unusually scatter-brained today and very uneasy. I asked her why she was in such a pensive mood, and my cousin just shrugged her shoulders.

  "I don't like any of this one bit, Georg. Whether our plans work or not depends on factors that are entirely beyond our control. I understand the general idea: you want to pressure Svetlana ton Mesfelle with her fleet and negotiate certain concessions from the Orange House. But what if the Perimeter Sector Nine Fleet isn't in the Forepost-4 system?"

  "It is there, dear cousin, and it won't be moving. Eleven saw it when it was returning through Sector Nine. And also, little Florianna confirms that the fleet is still there."

  Katerina thoughtfully twisted a lock of hair and told me her opinion:

  "Cousin, I do agree with you that the plan might work. Svetlana ton Mesfelle is very ambitious, and she no longer has any reason to remain faithful to the Orange House. Also, she does not know that the Swarm ships will not go on the attack, and will only see that her enemy has five times as many ships as she does. If you make her choose between complete annihilation, which would be inevitable given the balance of forces, and some political concessions, she would have to choose the latter. In my opinion, she will agree to cancel the blockade."

  "Cousin, I want more from her than mere political concessions. Svetlana ton Mesfelle cannot know that we are very pressed for time. She will have to think that a fully-fledged invasion of the Unatari State into Sector Nine has begun, and that switched off warp beacons are somehow not holding us back, and that we will capture one system after the other until we take the whole region. You know Svetlana well, and I want you to talk to her face-to-face. Promise her a title, money, glory, star systems, whatever you need, but she must join our side. The Sector Nine Fleet is the only significant military force in the area, and all these many minor aristocrats are just like weathercocks, and will change their orientation as soon as they see that the political winds have shifted, and that their only protector has joined with Unatari."

  "I will try, Georg, but I cannot make any guarantees." My cousin threw herself wearily back into her chair. "I really feel that the strain of the past days is growing, like a spring being compressed before it shoots back up. Cousin, you've put a lot at stake, but some of the decisions are based only on your intuition, and not at all on accurate calculations or common sense. For example, what if the Alien Queen does not leave Himora? Or doesn't make a mental attack? Or does attack, but the Truth Seekers find themselves weaker than her? Also, to change the topic completely: why did you give your newest technologies to the Swarm? For illusive loyalty points with the Queen? Nai Igir will be dead soon, and all of the dividends from your act will evaporate in an instant. In the more distant future, you have empowered a potentially dangerous neighbor, which one day could think itself more powerful than us, and stop respecting our border."

  I went silent, as I had nothing to respond to my cousin with. Yes, I had bet precisely on increasing the Swarm Queen's loyalty, hoping to pump up my personal relationship with Nai Igir, which made the news of her forthcoming end an extremely unpleasant surprise.

  "Alright Georg, let's go to headquarters already. Ten minutes until the fleet comes out of the warp tunnel."

  Having finished what was left of my cold "coffee," I went on to my work desk in the fleet headquarters. It was quite animated here today. Military officers from Joan the Fatty were clearly starving for real action after nine months of calm, so they were excited and perceived the conflict with the Orange House as a great reason to return to active life.

  "To your places, dear officers. Let's kick it into gear. All systems check. As soon as we come out of the warp tunnel, I need a tactical grid. Mark the Fastel and Red-Blue fleets as our ships, and the Swarm as allies. The enemy has two Monarch-class battleships: Svetlana the Magnificent and Svetlana ton Mesfelle. Our priority is to capture both battleships with disruptors. They cannot be allowed to leave no matter what. And basically, make sure we work in an organized fashion. The enemy has fifty ships. That is nothing to scoff at."

  "Thirty seconds to start," stated my new assistant, Tactics Officer Max Gregor, who was seated to my left.

  He was doing everything right. An assistant should warn his commander before their ship leaves warp. But I was tripping up on the thought that he was starting to annoy me. I mean, Max was a talented tactician, one of the best in the Unatari fleet. However, I had grown so accustomed to Nicole Savoia sitting in that place, that basically any other officer being there caused me distress. In order not to display my groundless vexation to my subject, I turned toward my synthetic translator:

  "Bionica, as soon as we exit, use your connections to figure out where exactly the commanders of the Sector Nine Fleet are located. I am interested in Svetlana ton Mesfelle herself, as well as her senior officers."

  "Yes sir, your Majesty," the android girl assured me.

  The time had come! We tumbled out into the Forepost-4 system forty miles from the border station, right next to the totally motionless ships of the Sector Nine Fleet.

  "Carriers, release Leeches! Frigates, advance! Two webs and a disruptor on every small ship. Heavies, go out to firing range, but do not open fire! Curses, don’t you just stand there, capture the battleships under disruptor, and set your energy neutralizers on them. Electros, blind the enemy antisupport!"

  "Crown Prince, for some reason the Swarm ships are also carrying out your orders!" Max Gregor drew my attention to my allies' strange behavior.

  And in fact, around a thousand Safas were rushing off in a thick cloud, covering the Sector Nine Fleet, securing all the ships tightly with stasis webs and warp disruptors. But, just like my ships, the Swarm ships did not open fire.

  "My Prince, Comma
nder Svetlana ton Mesfelle has been located on the battleship Svetlana ton Mesfelle. She is taking a shower. Both admirals have also been detected on the same battleship. They are sleeping in their bunks. On the map, I have marked the locations of these individuals," Bionica brought up a cutaway of a Monarch-class battleship on the big screen, showing three bright red markers, indicating the location of the enemy commanders. "I have blocked all doors on their flagship and turned off internal communication systems."

  "Great! Bionica, open the airlock. We will land a boarding party. General Savasss Jach, I need their commanders brought here immediately, alive and well!"

  I watched on the tactical map as the nearest Tria shot ten guided landing modules toward the enemy battleship. All the Sector Nine ships marked with red markers on the map were sitting motionless as before. It seemed to me that the time had come to have a talk with our enemies before their torpor had passed. I took the microphone and ordered myself broadcast on the common channel:

  "Attention! This is Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle, Unatari Fleet Commander. I order all Perimeter Sector Nine ships to remain motionless. Any starship that attempts to turn on its thrusters or activate its weapons systems will be destroyed immediately. I remind you that we are in a state of war, so you should heed my word and not provoke my soldiers. Soon, I will hold negotiations with your fleet commander, Svetlana ton Mesfelle, and her senior officers. What I do after that depends on them. In any case, you have my word that anyone who doesn't attempt to break the rules will retain their lives. I swear it as an Imperial Crown Prince!"

  I had to end my speech, because several huge Alpha Iseyeks had burst into fleet headquarters. The praying mantises fairly carelessly tossed three silvery, inflated bags on the floor before me and froze motionless, waiting for further orders. I looked in confusion at the insects' quarry, not understanding the meaning of it until one of the bags started moving. Only then did I realize what was inside, and gave a cheerful belly laugh. I took a look at the timer and commented between laughs: