by Saxon Andrew
Haley nodded, “Our new ships should dispose of them easily. However, I do have a concern about what happened.”
Thorpe turned to him, “What is that?”
“Baron Kitchens was absolutely right in his estimate that we could have used his ships against them in our next attack. His crew refused to follow his orders and the other ships were so undisciplined that they caused the Squadron’s destruction. It appears our new crews lack discipline and good judgment and will ignore their direct orders.”
Jeffery looked at Haley and said, “The Knights are willing to give their lives for the Emperor.”
“And there is a time and place where that would be needed; this wasn’t one of them. Now we’ve lost fifty-warships without causing any damage to the enemy. Or do you see it differently, Baron?”
Thorpe’s eyes narrowed and he said, “Duke Haley, are you disparaging my most loyal subjects?”
“No, I’m not, Your Majesty. But it’s clear that the only one who can lead our fleet against them has to be you; they won’t obey anyone else, even your higher members in the Royalty will be ignored.”
Thorpe suddenly realized Haley was right. He wasn’t about to leave the safety of Earth to lead his Fleet into a space battle. Haley took the moment to say, “None of the Knights have ever fought in live combat and they don’t recognize the dangers inherent in them. How can they be led if they refuse to follow their orders?”
“Who do we have with combat experience, Duke Haley.”
“You removed all the crews from that squadron that fought against the Brax and replaced them with knights. None of our ship commanders have any combat experience. That fleet our Squadron faced has fought extensively and easily destroyed our Squadron. If they gang up on our new warships, we could lose huge numbers of them. Do you intend to use them to expand your Realm, Your majesty? If you do, there may not be enough to survive to do it.”
Thorpe looked at Jeffery, “Why did you not order them to run if they encountered a much larger force?”
“The intent was to see what technology the enemy possessed, Your Majesty.”
“Could they not see that all those warships were the old model without having to confront them?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Thorpe stared at him and Thorpe turned to Haley, “You will find those with combat experience and get them started training our fleet.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Haley looked at Jeffery and saw his anger. Haley smiled and Jeffery knew his life was in jeopardy.
Thorpe said, “Everyone can leave, Duke Haley, you will remain.”
The room cleared and Thorpe looked at Haley, “Alex, I’m in a bind here. The only way to insure the loyalty of the Fleet is to have the Knights crew them. I may have to use the Fleet to enforce peace on the planet.”
“What’s going on?”
Thorpe opened a folder and pulled out several sheets, “This is a list of all the ships in the Fleet. It lists the Destroyers that took part in the sham attack. We’ve removed it from public view but copies of it are circulating in the general population. There’s also this image taken by amateur astronomers of our ships moving back inside our defenses. I’ve already had to use the Knights to execute the ones passing out this information but it’s not stopping. The Fleet will be the best tool to maintain peace.”
“You are going to have to issue a decree to the Knights that to refuse to follow orders given by any higher ranking Royal is treason.”
Thorpe thought about it and started nodding, “That would force them to do as they’re told during combat operations, if the overall Commander has a high enough Royal Title.”
“I know what you’re thinking, George. Do you really want to send your most loyal supporter out with the Fleet? I think you’re going to need me here to help you maintain the peace.”
“Then who can I put in Command?”
“Captain Bowen fought in the first fights against the Brax and removed the alien inhabitants on three-planets. He has the temperament and experience to do it.”
“Contact him and get him here now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. By the way, I have a question.”
“What is that?”
“George, you’re not getting any younger and have you given any thought about a successor?”
George sighed, “If you look at human history, there are more Kings than I can list that were done in by their Queens trying to take the power of the throne. I haven’t met any woman I trust.”
“If you weren’t the Emperor, I’d simply tell you to get out more but that wouldn’t work in your case. Ask for applicants that would want to have the successor to the Emperor. You might be surprised at how many would jump at the opportunity.”
“Are you serious or just being comical?”
“Remember the TV reality show from way back called the Bachelor? Fame has its benefits, George.”
George stared at him and said, “I’ll think about it.”
“You need an heir!” Haley left the Throne Room and thought about how he could get that Knight Nichols assigned to a warship in the coming conflict. Bowen could make sure he was placed in a position that removed him as an issue. Then, perhaps George wasn’t in the best of health. Yes, things were looking up.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Sir, it’s time.”
Rory sighed loudly, “I hate doing this.”
“Don’t worry, Sir. We’re hoping you’ll have her back before anything happens.”
“How long is this going to take?”
“About four-months.” Rory shook his head and Mogosagi smiled, “It appears Thorpe has promoted a new Fleet Commander and he is insisting on fleet maneuvers before taking the Fleet out. They’re just getting started and it’s not pretty. We’ll have her back in time. You can use the time to bring your crew up to date on the new ship.”
Rory stood up and looked around the bridge. The New York had been his first command. He felt like he was betraying her by leaving her to undergo updates. “Hang in there, old girl. I’ll be waiting for you.” Rory looked around at the bridge crew, “Let’s go to our new ship. By-the-way, Doctor, what’s the new ship’s name?”
“As long as you’re in command, it will be listed as the New York. We’ll change it once you move back on board this ship.”
Rory nodded, “Good.” He walked off the bridge as the sailors on the old Battleship boarded shuttles to go to the modern ship. They had a lot to learn about how to fight her.
• • •
Ginger and Meredith stood in the center of the giant ship construction building. The miles long assembly line disappeared in the distance and it was filled with the hulls of huge warships. “If we hadn’t tugged all the Brax Vessels here, we would be in a mess.”
Meredith shrugged, “We’d certainly be far behind our current numbers but this planet has more people working on it than most of the Colonies have on them. We’ve already started mining Iron Ore, Aluminum Ore, Platinum, and several other rare metals. They’re being refined and the numbers of warships we’re producing has risen sharply.”
“How do these new Battleships match up to the new vessels Earth has built.”
Meredith shrugged, “From what our Scouts have recorded, our hulls can withstand a lot more than Earth’s Battleships. We don’t have as many, but we’ll close the gap if this delay continues.” Meredith looked at Ginger, “What about the crews on the new ships?”
“We’ve promoted the bridge crews from Rory’s original fleet. They’ve combat experience and that is what will make the new ships better. The Pilots of the Attack Sleds are also being trained by the veterans and they are coming along nicely. They’re being pushed hard by their Wing Commanders; there’s not enough time to take it slow. Those that can’t cut the mustard, are replaced.”
Meredith nodded and asked, “What about Dean’s Walking Dead?”
“They can’t be pushed hard enough. Dean trains them twelve-hours a day and they complain when he call
s it off. They are highly motivated.”
“I understand they’re not at all happy about being held out of the coming invasion.”
Dean nearly had a mutiny when he told them but Chief Bridges shut it down when he asked them which would they rather attack; a Battleship or a Defense Satellite. Only one of them will be taking part in the invasion.”
Meredith slowly shook her head, “Captain Harry Barnes. He was a brutal slayer of the alien civilizations on the planets we took.”
“Yes, he was. But the loss of his younger sister has changed him in that respect. He felt what the aliens went through and he’s not the brute he was before her death. His wing is one of the best in Fleet and Rory insists he’ll be needed during the invasion. The Walking Dead didn’t get angry at him being allowed to fight in both missions.”
If you had to say, who is the best Wing Commander?”
Ginger shook her head, “I’d say it would be close between him and Captain Roth.”
“She was another alien killer.”
“Yes, but like Harry, she changed after her attachment to Antonio. Megan has turned out to be a fine Officer.”
“Do you know what’s going on with the Alien survivors, Ginger?”
“They’re in a community on the other side of the planet and they are being taken care of by members of the fleet that originally attacked them. I find it amazing that any survived but twenty-three-hundred or so emerged from the mountains and deep forests. Harry and Megan are conducting classes teaching them in their spare time about modern farming and how electrical appliances operate. They were angry at first when Harry told them he had attacked them but they finally accepted him. They know we could have just exterminated them but chose to help them build a new society.”
“I guess we’ll have to leave once this war is over.”
Ginger shook her head, “No, they insist that we remain and teach them how to defend themselves. They vow to never go down without a fight again.”
Meredith looked at her personal communicator and smiled, “Our ship is rolling off the assembly line in less than an hour. Let’s take a cart and go check her out.”
Ginger smiled, “Lead the way.”
• • •
Duke Haley walked in the Throne Room and saw a smiling George Thorpe. “Alex, your advice was spot on. My staff found so many fighting for the opportunity that they chose the best twenty.”
“I came to ask if you were aware the attack on the Colonies has been delayed by more than five-months.”
“Bowen asked for time to train the Fleet and I agreed to give it to him. I’m too busy right now to worry about it. When he’s ready, we’ll launch the attack.”
An absolutely stunningly beautiful woman walked into the Throne Room and George smiled, “I’ll have to discuss this with you later, Alex.”
Alex nodded to the woman and walked out disgusted. The dissention on Earth was growing and George didn’t appear to care; he left it to the Senior Knights to handle, which only infuriated the population even more. When the only tool in your toolbox was a shoulder-blaster, everything looked like a target. One thing was certain, some Fleet Units would have to be left behind to quell any major rebellions. He didn’t like that Earl Bowen was pretty much ignoring him and doing as he pleased. He made his son a Viscount to handle half of the Fleet and didn’t ask permission to do it. At least he did get George to approve making Nichols a ship commander. Nichols managed to tick Bowen off by challenging his orders and he no longer had to worry about persuading Bowen to set him up during the coming battle; he’d do that without any outside persuasion. Haley sighed, “Oh, well. Things ebbed and flowed. Perhaps he’d be back on a high tide before this was over.
Haley exited the giant castle and wondered what the woman who were flocking to George would think if they knew George was going to take the baby from them and give it to the Knights to select a loyal woman to raise him. George was paranoid about Queens. As he thought about it, George was paranoid about pretty much everything.
• • •
“Lissell.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think about the current situation?”
She shrugged and sighed, “I’m not sure about who is the right one in this Mongolian Mashup.”
Kerry thought a moment and smiled, “Another human term. But it does adequately describe the current situation.”
“Both sides are killers.”
Kerry sighed, “I know. Mankin having all of the spies on his ships shot down in cold-blood was brutal. And sending that Attack Wing back to kill all the Scouts instead of just the three following his fleet was …”
“Brutal as well.” Kerry nodded. “But they are teaching the Aliens they attacked and caring for them. They also vow to never do it again. I heard Mankin tell that wife of his that the only fighting they will do is to defend themselves. That’s a step in the right direction.”
“Any killing is bad, Lise.”
“Not if someone has a weapon pointed at your head, Kerry.”
“I guess. I just wonder when this universe is going to learn that all life is precious.”
“We did lead the Brax to them and we’re supposed to know that.” Kerry sighed, “I think that is the lesson the Elders sent us out to learn.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think they care one tinker’s tink about having to pick up and move again. They can do it with minimum disruption and I firmly believe they prefer to do that than cause one death among the attackers. They sent us out to learn that lesson.”
“But…”
Kerry interrupted, “Lise, they knew the only way for us to stop the humans from disrupting our society is to lead aggressive civilizations to them and now look at how much life has been lost and how much more is going to die as a result of our actions.”
Lise stared at Kerry, sighed heavily, and then nodded. “So, what do we do now.”
“What have we learned?”
“That direct interference or contact with an aggressive civilization only leads to death. The only thing we should do is observe and not interfere.”
“YOU’RE BEING MUCH TOO HARD ON YOURSELVES!”
“Pasgal, all we’ve done is cause millions to die and the deaths are going to continue!” Lissell wailed.
“If you take the short view, you’re right.”
“I’m not sure what you mean by that, Elder? Kerry asked.
“What would have happened to that primitive species if you had not interfered?”
They hesitated and Kerry answered, “They would have died anyway and the Humans would have taken their planet. And they would have gone on killing alien civilizations. It was only a matter of time before the Humans ran into the Brax and the Brax into the Blue Civilization.”
“Yes, but that would have taken thousands of years.”
“Just a second in the universe, Lissell. Now, the Brax are looking at no longer consuming intelligent civilizations, the Blue Civilization look at the Humans as good beings, and the Humans are fighting to see who will move their species into the future. One-side has chosen to no longer kill primitive civilizations. All-in-all, you’ve actually helped the current situation. However, you’ve learned what you were sent out to discover.” Pasgal paused and said, “Interference is the last refuge.”
“Pasgal, would you have allowed me to open that artifact and release that lifeform?” Lissell asked
“No. I deactivated the panel before I left. I’m really proud of the two of you being able to determine the right thing to do. You are free to come back.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d really like to stay and see what happens. As the humans would say, I have a pony in this race.”
“Actually, they would say they have a horse in this race, Kerry. You may stay and observe if you choose.”
“Thank you, Senior Elder.”
After a few minutes of silence, Lise said, “They’ve been watching us the entire time.”
“O
f course.”
“Why do you say it like that?”
“Because we’re their children, Lise. And maybe one day we’ll send our own children out and have to allow them to find their way without interference.”
Lise smiled, “Are you suggesting that you and I…”
Kerry rolled his eyes, “Yes, I think you’re cute.”
Lise laughed and hugged Kerry, “Let’s go see what’s going on with the humans.”
“Notice that Pasgal also knows their language.”
“I know! Their language is one of the best at expressing yourself.”
“Make sure the Alien Culture Curator knows that.”
“You can do that, Kerry. I’m not going near the place.”
Kerry laughed and accelerated away from Earth toward the Colonies.
• • •
Rory shook his head at the Tech, “Are you saying the dart-cloud is no longer a weapon?”
“It really wasn’t much of a weapon to start with, Admiral. Disruptor beams would just disintegrate them before they could hit another warship.”
“Explain to me again what their new function is.”
The Tech smiled, “They perform the function of keeping disruptor beams or missiles from hitting our Battleships. They have a nose that, for lack of a better term, have an umbrella shaped head. That umbrella shape is highly reflective and will scatter a disruptor beam in eight-different directions. The point also has an explosive device behind it that will explode when a missile hits it. It’s purely a defensive weapon now. The new disruptors and spike-balls are the main attack weapons.”
“But won’t the new darts deflect our disruptor beams and spike-balls.”
“No, because they are not reflective on the backside of the umbrella shaped nose. Our disruptors will burn through the cloud and hit the ship it’s targeted on. Another dart-cloud should be launched if numerous disruptors are fired at one time.”
Rory nodded slowly and then asked, “Why is this new ship so maneuverable? The Brax hull should make it at least ten-times heavier than the old model.”