As his subordinates were reading the signal Phil couldn’t help but say “Five enemy caps, three lights and a swag of fighters…no friendly ship losses. How’s that for a victory.”
Rihan smiled but she scanned down to friendly casualties and her heart skipped a beat when she read about the loss of John Conrad and Chad Preston. She had to sit down. She needed physical support.
“You knew them?” asked Phil.
She nodded and then added “Since the Hermes.”
“I’m sorry, but all things considered we got off lightly.”
“Yeah, I suppose…” Rihan could still see John’s smiling face above the battle system’s station in the Resolute’s command centre and Chad’s boyish grin in the Hermes hangar. While Alex and Phil talked about the report she found herself thinking that from an objective viewpoint this would have been joyous news but from her subjective perspective it was a bitter pill.
“You OK Rihan?” asked Alex. She looked up at him unable to frame a response.
“Why don’t you take a break Rihan” suggested Phil.
She nodded, stood up and walked out. She took the elevator down to H deck where she could walk and not run into anyone. As she did so, she came to the realisation that for the last eighteen months she had experienced a series of personal losses. It had all begun when the war broke out and she lost both her parents in the first nuclear strike on New Hammersley. Since then it had been one friend after another, not to mention her unborn child on Klaster and now John and Chad.
‘What are the odds?’ she asked herself but she already knew that the odds of her getting through this war without further personal loss were small. Most of the people dear to her were in the fleet and not just in the fleet but in the vanguard.
‘Pull yourself together Rihan’ she scolded herself. ‘You’ll go barking mad thinking about that.’ She thought of Dave and wished she was in his arms right now. A weak smile crossed her lips as she thought how he would tell her to pull up her socks.
She about-turned and headed back up to her office.
Chapter 13. Slidwon, Istridium 0830, 8 September
The newly appointed Director of the Rogan Foreign Intelligence Agency (FIA), Raitah Pratin, sat down at her desk in the luxuriously appointed suite atop the FIA HQ building. She inclined her head with its extended cranium and cast her angled dark green eyes around the room. She had always admired this office. She had been forced to gloat for some time before she could finally claim it in her own right.
It had been just on a month now since she had staged the coup against her former boss. It had been engineered to perfection and now she was overseeing an even bigger coup on behalf of the First Consul, Emilius Quazor. It wasn’t because she liked the First Consul, far from it. But she did admire him. They were cut from the same cloth and enjoyed the same ruthless streak. One day there would be a reckoning but for now she was content to be his instrument for the consolidation of total power.
Agents had been despatched to sound out support with key political, economic and, most important of all, military leaders. Her hit list had been approved by the First Consul and it was of necessity a long list. Coordinating the simultaneous decapitation of powerful figures across the entire empire was a herculean undertaking, made more complicated by the need for absolute secrecy.
Military forces had to be redeployed without raising suspicions. She had found that most of their best forces were at the far flung reaches of the empire subjugating the conquered realms. One of the most alarming things she had discovered was just how few ground and fleet units were stationed in the home worlds. Thirty years of continual expansion had of necessity dispersed their forces.
Gone was the second combined fleet lost by that traitor Sallusam in the debacle over Polaris. Why he had so recklessly squandered the empire’s reserve against the humans was of little concern to her. It was history now and they were still paying the price for it.
She winced as she thought about the need to recall Agent Torine. She had been that close to executing rogan justice on ex-Admiral Meeka Sallusam. He would eventually be tracked down. Right now she had more pressing objectives for Agent Torine. Technically Torine worked for the Internal Security Service (ISS). But the First Consul had first call on her services and she was scheduled to arrive for a meeting with Raitah in half an hour.
Raitah tapped the control on her terminal and a list of messages appeared.
One of the first things she did on taking over was to insist on proper prioritisation of messages. She was determined to put an end to the long list of FLASH messages that she had to wade through each morning. Sacking the station chief on Flaxor over the issue did the trick and since then she had not received one FLASH message at all – until now.
‘This had better be good’ she said to herself. It was from Frino Maligus, a normally reliable agent she had sent to Cheklin to ensure the home world would stay in the fold when the coup was enacted. She opened it and read it. As she did she began rubbing her hands and a big smile came over face. ‘Looks like treason, smells like treason…must be treason’ she said to herself and then added out loud “Oh you’ve just made it so much easier Angina!”
Angina Slirinus was the Director of the ISS and was on the First Consul’s hit list. Frino had spotted her at the Lewista spaceport on his arrival and using his initiative kept the ISS Director under discreet surveillance. His natural suspicions were rewarded when he discovered that Angina had met with the outlawed Resistance leader, Meelanda Orocash.
Raitah leaned back in her chair and swivelled around while focussed on the ceiling wondering whether to pick Angina up now or wait. Then a thought occurred to her ‘What would have prompted you to do this?’ She stood up, walked to the wall of windows, turned and began pacing back and forth along the window wall. She ignored the view that any private corporation executive would have given their eye teeth for. Her focus was light years away.
She stopped abruptly. “She knows” she said out loud. “She bloody well knows….But how?” More pacing. Then she stopped. “Either we’ve been betrayed or she has intercepted our communications somehow.” More pacing. She stopped, looked out, saw nothing but realised a lot more. With her hands on her hips she felt sure about her conclusion. “It doesn’t matter… I can use this to my advantage.”
She went back to her desk and hailed her assistant “I need to see the First Consul NOW.” She terminated the call. With her head tilted slightly back she thought about all the things that would not be ready now that they had to bring things forward.
Chapter 14. Neeblo 0900, 8 September
Julian and Tola were kept waiting for some time before they were brought back into the meeting room where Meelanda apologised for the delay citing the ongoing operation as an unfortunate distraction. Julian made no fuss and waited for Meelanda to begin.
“We think it might be best to first examine how our two empires will coexist in the long term” said Meelanda.
Tola found it very difficult to maintain a straight face but Julian’s unchanging visage helped.
“Point of fact if you please” said Julian “but we don’t regard or refer to our territory, domains or society as an empire. That implies there is an emperor or empress with supreme if not absolute powers. Ours is a Federation of worlds in which those that rule are democratically elected and only for limited periods of time and within compliance of the rule of law.”
“I stand corrected Commodore. We too wish to establish a more … democratic system of Government. We may not go down so far along the path as to reach full democracy but we certainly want to establish a fairer system where the family you are born into does not define or limit you.”
“A noble objective.”
“We would like a relationship with your Federation that will be based on mutual respect, trust and opportunity. We would like to encourage trade and the sharing of technologies and wisdom. We would be more than willing to sign a peace treaty enshrining these principles.”
“Of course” said Meelanda. She paused for a moment and then continued. “I too am reaching out to other Resistance groups and I intend to form our own council of representatives. This would be a good task for them to consider.”
“Indeed” said Julian. His expression changed with a hint of anxiety. “This will take some time to get back to Earth and even more to come back here after the Supreme Council had considered it. It may take several weeks.”
“I understand. In the meantime we are prepared to agree with your recommendations regarding the military and political staff exchanges.”
“Excellent” said Julian. “Would you like me to prepare a draft heads of agreement for your consideration?”
Meelanda smiled. “You are …how do you say…a very smooth operator Commodore.”
Julian could not help himself from grinning. “I will take that as a compliment.”
Chapter 15. Phantom over Cheklin 1600, 8 September
Aubrey’s fair complexion was injected with a burst of colour as she read the signal from the Resolute. She could not help the smile that appeared when she read the word ‘victory’. She scanned the message again looking for the ship losses, saw no friendly ship losses and then reread the message slowly. “Amazing” she said out loud in her tiny office.
Her boss, Dave Warner, was also the brother of her lover. She had worked under Dave now for two years, first as his battle systems (BS) officer on the Hermes, then as his XO on the Resolute and now as commander of one of his frigates. She had been in the thick of battles with him over Alpha and Beta Phi, Klaster, Fulmar, Polaris and Chelora. This latest battle over Q2 must rank as his most comprehensive win.
Part of her wished that she had been there. She was after all a hunter. She knew many referred to her as the ‘barracuda’, all behind her back of course. Initially the moniker referred to her sexual exploits but it also applied to the way she fought her battles.
Everyone in the fleet knew of how she had destroyed the rogan capital ship over Fulmar. It had been at the expense of the Hermes but her death ride had saved the day. The trouble was that Aubrey was no longer that person and Aubrey knew it. Her rashness had nearly cost her the Phantom last time she was over Cheklin. She was determined that would not happen again.
But as she pondered news of Dave’s victory she asked herself ‘have I lost the edge?’
Chapter 16. Neeblo 1615, 8 September
Evie was very tired. They had all agreed to call it a day given their early start. She was in her room putting away some clean clothes when the chime sounded on her communicator. She recognised it immediately as an incoming message on the human comms channel that had been setup for her.
It was from Captain Warner. It was brief and to the point. They had won a victory over Q2. There were no specific details on the outcome. She knew they would be in the encrypted file she was asked to forward onto Commodore Pious. She wasn’t offended by not being told explicitly. She was sure the good Commodore would share these anyway.
The news gave her a burst of renewed energy. She grabbed the communicator and made her way to the floor below in their accommodation wing that had been assigned to Julian. When he opened the door she could see that he too was fatigued from the early start. He still managed to be very polite.
“I have a message for you from Captain Warner” she said. “Can I transfer it to you?”
“Certainly” said Julian and he quickly tapped the controls on his communicator. “Go ahead.”
He quickly parsed the file and began reading. “Oh good news” he said with some enthusiasm. But then his face changed as he digested the full report, taking on a more serious look. Evie waited patiently. Finally Pious turned to her. “A decisive win against the bulk of the 3rd RIF. No ship casualties for us. Do you remember John Conrad?” Evie nodded. “He was killed when they attacked Rollinium. Massive damage there. Your resistance friends there suffered heavily…thousands dead many more wounded.”
Evie felt the news tighten in her craw. She was sick of the killing but she also knew that there would have to be a lot more before it ended. She swallowed and was determined to keep her composure. “But we do control Qwantum. That is good!”
“Indeed it is Evie. I’m sorry for your losses.”
“I better tell Meelanda and Felis.” Julian nodded and Evie left.
He closed the door and sat back down on his bed. As with most things rogan, it was going to be too short for his lanky frame. He began to unzip his jacket then stopped in mid thought. A smile crept onto his face as he appreciated the modest gains that both he had made here and Dave Warner had made on Q2. ‘We have a toe hold. Great things can come from this’ he said to himself.
Chapter 17. Cornucopia 0700, 9 September
Charles had woken early. He had arrived at the medbay five minutes before the appointed hour. He greeted Merry with a smile. She returned it. As she began undoing the dressing she said “You know other patients may think you’re getting special treatment…”
“I am, aren’t I?”
“Hum” she said in a light hearted manner. “I suppose” she added as she dropped the old dressing in the receptacle. “This may sting a bit” she said and it did. Charles instinctively pulled away his head but Merry’s other hand grasped the back of his head and held firm. She kept it there, even though he was no longer pulling away. Charles liked that but refrained from saying anything.
She did move her hand to apply another dressing. His eyes strained at the edges as she did so. When she reached behind him for something, he twisted his head to keep her in view.
“Please” she said and she used her hand to stop his head from twisting any further. Again she left it there a little longer than necessary. “You’re going to lose your status as ‘best patient’ if you keep that up.”
“I’m your best patient am I?”
She laughed lightly. “You’re twisting my words as well as your neck” she said as she finished off the bandage. “There, all done!” She turned to the terminal on the desk behind her and went to the entries in tomorrow’s schedule. “Same time tomorrow, OK?”
“With you?” said Charles with an expectant look.
She smiled at him. “I’ll see what we can do.”
“If not, how about coffee?”
She ignored him with a smile. “0700 tomorrow, right?”
“0700 tomorrow” and Charles gave her a warm smile back.
Chapter 18. Intikrus, Raidom 0900, 10 September
As prearranged, the ISS station chief met Angina Slirinus as she disembarked at the spaceport at Intikrus. Intikrus was a principal city on the rogan home world of Raidom, which was in the Klaag system. It was a little out of the way for Angina who was supposed to be returning directly from Cheklin to Istridium, but there was good reason to come here.
The station chief, Marra Bligun, was a mature female a little older than Angina and had once been her supervisor. But that was a long time ago. Angina had always liked Marra. They were peas from the same pod in so many ways. There was no formal greeting as such. Both felt comfortable in the others presence.
“So what’s up?” asked Marra.
“Have you arranged for the hopper?”
“Yes this way” said Marra and she began walking down the main concourse. She hailed someone on her communicator and then said “Your luggage will be transferred in a few minutes. Now what’s up?”
“Trouble Marra…a lot of trouble.”
Marra could see that Angina was serious. She instinctively looked around her, assessed that this was not the place to be discussing anything serious, spied the maintenance exit up ahead and said “Let’s take the path less travelled.”
; They descended back down to the tarmac and were met with a gust of warm air and the smell of lubricants. Engulfed in the sounds of thrusters, Marra had to raise her voice to be heard. “This is much better” and she smiled.
As they walked along the apron towards the small craft terminal, Angina briefed her on what was unfolding. As she took in more and more of the information Marra’s body instinctively tensed. In her heart she knew that this day would come. She had been dreading it for some time. She stopped and so did Angina. She had to talk in a loud voice.
“So it’s time to choose sides?” asked Marra.
Angina nodded, still a little apprehensive about what answer she would receive.
“How can I help you?” asked Marra.
Angina instinctively hugged Marra. “Thank you”
“There’s going to be a lot of bloodletting” said Marra.
“Most likely…but we can minimise that by striking first and ensuring we decapitate the First Consul’s cabal. I need you to secure Raidom. We need to see Paga now.”
“Ah…I see. You want his 2nd Fleet. Is he on their hit list?”
“Yes but he doesn’t know that yet.”
“He can be a contrary bastard. He may not commit.”
“That’s why you’re coming with me to see him.”
“What, I hold the gun to his head?”
Angina shook her head and started walking again. “It won’t come to that. Look he’s burnt too many bridges and he knows it. He only survives as a Fleet commander because of his status. There’s only so much his family can do for him though. I think he’ll commit.”
“So what, he commits and protects Raidom?”
“No, I need his fleet to secure Cheklin.”
“And what about us here?” said Marra puzzled.
Resilience (Warner's World Book 6) Page 4