The War Against Earth: A Chance Encounter
Page 23
“No, Your Majesty. It’s just that I know what to look for and it appears no one else has the experience to see what I saw.”
“What did you see?” Thorpe asked in a soft, menacing voice.
“Where were the recordings done?”
Thorpe’s head went back slightly, “What?”
“My ships were not recorded from Earth or the Defense Satellites. They were recorded from space far outside their positions. That’s the only way they could be seen moving around Earth and stopping above the Defense Satellites. If we can assume that our encryption has been broken, and the evidence points to that having been done, everything that was on that recording was made away from Earth. Someone is watching Earth from outside our scanning range and they collected the information used on that recording.”
Thorpe stared at Jeffery for a very long moment and turned to Kitchens, “He’s right. It would take a vessel away from Earth.”
Jeffery interrupted and said, “Actually, there were four views so it would take at least four vessels.” Thorpe jerked his head back to Jeffery and he said, “Your Majesty.”
Thorpe looked at Kitchens, “I want every vessel in the Fleet accounted for when the attack took place.”
“Your Majesty, I’ve already done that and all of them, along with every commercial vessel, have been accounted for. Only the ships involved in the attack were outside our Defense Satellites.”
Thorpe shook his head, “What can we derive from this?” The room was silent and Thorpe’s anger began growing.
He looked at Jeffery again the Knight shrugged slightly, “Whoever did it is ahead of us in scanner technology.”
“Why?”
“Because they are recording us in great detail and we are not detecting anything in our scanner’s range.”
Haley said, “What about the Brax? We’ve seen they have ships we can’t detect.”
Thorpe’s head tilted and he heard Jeffery say, “I doubt it was them.”
“Why?” Thorpe asked again.
“I’ve listened to the recording of Fleet Admiral Kitchens’ discussion with the Brax and it’s clear they have been able collect enough recordings to translate our language to communicate in pretty basic terms. Our computers are fully capable of translating a language if it receives enough conversations over time but at no time are they able to write the language; that recording used a written message. It had to come from a human…in my opinion.”
Thorpe stared at Jeffery and asked, “So, who do you think did this?”
“Who would gain from doing it?” Thorpe lowered his eyes not liking being asked a question in response and Jeffery asked another one, “When was the last time we had a ship go out and take a good look at the Colonies?”
Thorpe looked at Kitchens and he said, “We have commercial ships going out all the time and we have agents on them to make scans of every planet.”
“Then that means they have a planet we don’t know about where they’re building their defenses,” Jeffery replied.
“So, you think the Colonies did this?” Thorpe asked.
“No one else would benefit from it, Your Majesty. It has to be them or someone working with them.” Thorpe tilted his head and Jeffery said, “They have technology that we don’t possess; they had to get it from somewhere.”
“Are you saying they are more dangerous than we suspect, Sir Jeffery.”
Jefferey smiled, the Emperor was now showing him respect. “I have no idea, Your Majesty. But Sun Tzu said thousands of years ago, that one should never go into an unknown situation before it is known.”
“What would you suggest?”
“Send a squadron to attack one of the Colonies; I suspect that would tell you everything you want to know.”
Thorpe stared at Jeffery and turned to Kitchens, “How would you go about making this attack?”
“Send the Squadron in at maximum speed and hit them before they can get forces to the Colony to stop it.”
Thorpe nodded and said, “Any other suggestions?” Kitchens looked around the table and shook his head. He turned to Jeffery and said, “Same question.”
“You better be prepared to get the information on what happens back to you, Your Majesty.”
“What do you mean?”
“It needs to be remembered that they are watching us as we speak. They’ll know the moment we send any ships out toward the Colonies. They’ll be waiting; of that I have no doubt.”
“What would you do?”
“Take a hundred or more scouts out with them. Drop them off in three-waves and scatter them quickly. Have each wave in communication range of each other and the last line with the Squadron will record what’s happening and send it continuously to the other two-waves. The moment something major happens, the scouts closest to us will send one back broadcasting the recording to the Defense Satellites. The process will continue throughout the operation.”
Jeffery paused and said, “It might be a good idea, just prior to the squadron’s arrival at the Colony we’ve chose to attack, to send Battleships out to defend the two-waves closest to Earth.”
“Why?”
“Because if it were me defending the Colony, I wouldn’t want anyone to learn about my strength. I suspect the Scouts closest to the attack will be attacked quickly.”
“You’re assuming they have forces capable of doing that.”
“I assume nothing. It’s better to plan for the worse to happen and hope you’re wrong.”
Thorpe stared at Jeffery for a long moment and then turned to stare at Kitchens. It was clear to everyone in the meeting that Kitchens was allowing his fear to show. “You will command the Squadron we send to attack the Colony.” He turned to his Intelligence Royal, “You will go with him and collect intelligence on the Colony’s defenses.”
“But, Your Majesty…”
“You both will be silent and do as I’ve commanded!!” Thorpe stared at them and said, “We will be sending warships from the ones built prior to the new model; I don’t want them to see our latest improvements. You will launch immediately.” Thorpe turned to Jeffery, “You are now Baron Nichols and you will be one of my Principal Advisors at all future meetings.”
Jeffery lowered his head, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Thorpe stood up and glanced at Duke Haley before leaving. Haley knew this new Baron was going to be a real problem and he started thinking about how to remove him. He thought about sending him out with the Battleships slotted to defend the Scout Waves but worried he might be successful, which would only give him more power and the Emperor’s ear. No, it would have to be done subtly.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sherry sat on her Scout and watched the latest episode of ‘My Alien Husband’ on her personal communicator’s small screen. “How can that idiot not see he’s an alien? She’s got to be the dumbest woman ever born!”
“Why do you watch that trash, Sherry?”
“Jose, you watch one episode and they hook you in. I just keep wondering how it’s going to turn out.”
“Something’s happening!”
Sherry looked at her scanning monitor and said, “Why is it that I’m always here when the crap hits the fan?!”
“Just luck, I suppose. If I’m right, the Squadron Admiral Mankin sent back with Kuchen is powering up their engines.” Jose paused, “What do you think they’re doing?”
“Let the ones that are paid the big money figure it out. I’m launching a communication probe.”
• • •
Rory looked at his Command Team and heard Kuchen say, “It appears Thorpe has someone giving him good advice.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because all the other officers he promoted to command his forces were chosen for their loyalty and not their brains. Notice that every time they showed up at the gap they ran without really investigating anything. The fact he’s sending that old Squadron tells me he doesn’t want us to see his new ship’s capabilities.”
“I’m not sure that will work this time.”
“Why not, Rory?” Meredith asked.
“Because they’ll just suicide on the Colony they attack.”
“Not if they’re so heavily outnumbered they know it would be wasted effort to try.”
“What do you mean, Kuch?” Rory asked.
“Send the entire Fleet you had and none of the new warships we’ve built. They’ll be outnumbered twenty-to-one and they should just back off and go back. If they don’t, then Thorpe will have one less squadron. Besides, Thorpe is going to find out eventually that you are still alive and it might give him pause before he takes the next step.”
“I think there might be a way to avoid that for a while.”
“How, Ginger?”
“Have Kuchen command the Fleet. That should get him riled up.”
“I don’t know if I want him riled up; I’d prefer he just stay away from the Colonies.”
“Then have Kuchen tell him what’s going to happen if he does decide to launch a major attack.”
Rory stared at Ginger and saw everyone considering her proposal. He looked at Kuchen, “What do you think about this?”
“I think you might cause him more angst. Although, I could suggest that you’ve been arrested for being one of his supporters.”
Rory smiled, “That would make him really wonder how my fleet survived without my sterling leadership.”
“I don’t think there will be any negotiating with them.”
Rory turned to Dean, “Why not?”
“All of the original crews in the Squadron have been replaced by those Zombie Knights, or whatever they’re called, Admiral. They’re coming here for a fight and I suspect whoever is in command may not be given a choice.”
Ginger sighed, “I also believe that Thorpe has figured out that we’ve been watching Earth with ships he can’t detect. They’ll be planning something to get information back to Earth even if all their ships are destroyed.”
Rory sat back and said, “I’m ordering my original fleet to meet them half-way between Earth and the Colony they’ve chosen to attack. We’re not going to allow them to get close enough to crash their ships into the Colony’s cities. Kuchen, you will go with the Fleet and tell them what’s going to happen if they don’t give up the notion of attacking the Colonies.”
“I look forward to the conversation, Admiral. Should we go ahead and destroy their Squadron?”
Rory looked around the room and saw the sentiment of his officers. “If they don’t immediately back off, send a message back to Thorpe.”
“Do we use one of the Carriers, Sir?”
Rory looked at Meredith, “Do we have some of the old Attack Sleds still in our inventory?”
“We have about a thousand.”
“Ask for volunteers and send them to the Troy. We need to get moving.”
Kuchen stood up, “I think sending the Alexandria would be a better choice, Admiral.”
“Why?”
“Because it was heavily damaged in the first contact with the Brax and it should strengthen the belief that we’re still using old warships. If we had a better Carrier, we would use it. Using the Alexandria will possibly make them think we’ve lost the others.”
Rory nodded, “The Alexandria it is; get moving.”
• • •
Kitchens sat on the Bridge of the Hong Kong and shook his head, these old Battleships were just not what the new ones were. But it was still a formidable warship. He glanced at the Knight, who commanded the ship, and hated the arrogant little snot. He was only five-feet-five-inches tall and had a little-man’s complex that was off the scale. He knew he was in overall command but this Knight wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he disagreed with his commands.
He stared at the viewport as the fifty-warships moved out from Earth Orbit and cleared the line of Defense Satellites. The Intelligence Royal was sitting at the scanner console with the Knight running it. Thorpe had sent him out here to die with him. There was no doubt in his mind that’s what motivated him. He sighed and knew he was in a really bad place. He glanced at the Intelligence Officer and saw he knew it as well. He looked at the Communication Knight and said, “Order the Squadron to full speed.”
The fifty-warships activated their drive-fields and flew away from Earth in an instant. Eight-days at maximum speed to New Georgia. It was the first Colony founded and its destruction would cause the most fear among the colonists. He sat in his command chair and really hated his Second.
• • •
Four-days later, the Intelligence Royal looked up, “Your Highness, I’m detecting a large number of ships at the edge of our scanning-range.”
Kitchens pressed a button on his chair’s arm and the tactical monitor activated. He stared at the mass of blips and said, “Do you have a number?”
The Royal looked at his console and then looked up, “At least a thousand.”
Kitchen saw his Second smile and knew he had no choice but to continue. An hour later, he saw a face appear on the wall communication monitor, “That’s close enough!”
Kitchens looked up and saw Admiral Kuchen smiling, “You’re supposed to be dead!!”
“My demise has been greatly exaggerated, Kitchens. You’ve done well for yourself under Thorpe.”
“YOU WILL ADDRESS HIM BY EMPEROR OR HIS MAJESTY!!”
Kitchens fought hard not to roll his eyes as Kuchen asked, “Who is that stuffed shirt?”
“He is my Second-in-Command and you will show him the respect an officer deserves.”
“He must be one of the Zombies.”
“The what?” Kitchens asked.
“The so called warriors that have no morals or conscience. He appears to be living up to his reputation.”
“You’ll see who’s living up to what!!”
“If you move closer, I will have to destroy your ships. I’d highly recommend you stop advancing.”
Kitchens looked at the Intelligence Royal, “What are their ship-types and numbers.”
“They are all Battleships and one Major Carrier, Your Highness.”
Kitchens pressed his communicator, “All ships stop!”
His Second’s eyes went to slits, “WE HAVE BEEN ORDERED HERE TO FIGHT THE ENEMY AND THAT IS WHAT WE WILL DO!!”
Kitchens was opening a compartment on his chair’s right arm as he ordered the Squadron to come to a stop. He took a blaster out and shot the Second in the head. Every knight on the bridge came to their feet and the Security Knight raised his blaster and pointed it at Kitchens. Kitchens looked around the bridge and sneered, “ARE ALL OF YOU GONG TO SIDE WITH THIS TRAITOR TO THE EMPEROR!?!” He turned and looked at the Security Knight, “Have you ever been in a space battle?!” The Knight was silent and Kitchens yelled, “HAVE YOU?!”
“No.” The Knight answered.
“Well I have. And let me tell you what is going to happen if we attack those ships. Three-battleships can stand off at a distance and bombard a battleship into rubble without sustaining any damage. We’re outnumbered twenty-to-one! Tell me what you think will happen if we attack!”
“We’ll die fighting for the Emperor and his glory.”
“And what happens when the Emperor sends more ships out here to face this enemy? Do you think he might be able to use our ships against them! Are you so shortsighted that you think we have battleships to throw away without accomplishing anything?!” The Knight stared at him and Kitchens saw him lower his blaster.
Kitchens turned back to his monitor, “What are you doing out here in the Colonies, Kuchen?”
The Intelligence Royal said from his console, “Those ships were in Mankin’s Fleet.”
Kitchen’s eyes widened and Kuchen smiled, “You know, just hanging around making a nuisance of myself.” Kuchen shrugged and said, “I usually pride myself on being a good host but I’m afraid in this instance, I’m going to have
to ask you to leave.”
Kitchens stared at him and asked, “Where is Admiral Mankin?”
“Oh, he seems to support Thorpe’s view of things and he’s currently looking out from a set of bars. You know how it is. Three-minutes, Kitchens.”
Kitchens said over his communicator, “All ships, turn around and head back to Earth.”
The refusals to follow his orders started coming in instantly. He screamed over his communicator, “I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TRAITORS TO CAUSE THE LOSS OF OUR SHIPS THAT THE EMPEROR IS GOING TO NEED!!” If you want to throw your lives away, then jump out of the airlock but the Emperor is going to need us against this enemy. If you can’t see that, then you are traitors to the Emperor’s glory. Now turn around now!!” Kitchens looked at his pilot, “Turn the ship around!” The Boston turned and a few moments later, the other forty-nine ships turned and followed him. Kitchens heard the Commanders of the ships start yelling over their communicators that they would be back to kill every one of them.
Kuchen smiled, “You’ve not been good guests threatening your host like this.” He said over the fleet’s frequency, “Attack Sleds slow them down. All ships, activate your weapons and attack.”
Kitchens saw hundreds of Attack Sleds powering up in front of his squadron and move in on his ships. He fell back in his chair as the huge fleet went to full speed and moved in on his Squadron. Six-hours later, the Squadron littered a huge swath of open space with debris and disabled ships. The disabled ships were removed before the Fleet turned around and headed back to the Colonies.
The Commander of the Scouts recording the battle said, “Scouts one through six, follow that fleet.”
“Six Earth Scouts accelerated out of their line and Megan shook her head, “It looks like they just don’t learn. Reverse course and take out all of them.”
Megan’s Attack Sleds destroyed the six-Scouts and continued past them toward the remaining twenty-four Scouts in the most advanced line. Every Scout was blasted into rubble because they refused to run. Megan’s Wing turned and moved toward the Alexandria. The other two-lines of Earth Scouts were too far away to give chase.
• • •
Thorpe sat in his Throne Room again and listened to the recordings from his destroyed Squadron. “Now we know what we’re up against and we can handle this threat.”