Retribution: The Augmented Human Rebellion - Book 2

by Lefler, Terry

  And then the door opens again. “It’s Danion,” Cade says. “Out here Danion,” he thinks.

  Danion rides in aboard his conveyance, and says “Hello all,” but his attention is focused on Shiela - and Shiela’s attention is focused on Danion. The whole porch is filled with an aura of love, peace, excitement and joy. Danion and Shiela become one as they virtually embrace. And something happens that Melissa can only describe as a virtual kiss.

  “Wow,” she thinks, “Shiela is really in love. And what a nice man she picked.”

  Shiela and Danion seem to stay as one, as the conversation turns to the AI babies and to Honesty. She hasn’t seen her father since she was brand new.

  And Danion brought the other 2 babies that he and Shiela birthed. Sandra comments, “I have seen a lot of AIs, but you two make the very best babies that I have ever seen.”

  “Yes,” says Melissa. “The Darinx scientists say that Honesty is “breakthrough technology”, and they tried to keep her for study. I had to kidnap her to get her back. I won’t ever take any of them to Darinx space again.”

  “Good plan,” says Cade.

  “Good plan,” repeats Danion

  ***

  Sometime later Kiersten says: “Well, I think Melissa and I should leave you guys here, to gush all over the AI babies, and the two of us should go for a quick tour of the place - perhaps a quick flyby of the planet, and then some shopping at the Town Center Mall.”

  “Sounds great,” says Melissa.

  “And I’ll fly the hover,” says Justice. “I wouldn’t want Melissa to think that everyone drives like a madwoman.”

  And Sandra Guilles’ mouth just drops open. She can’t believe that her son is volunteering to take a couple of girls shopping. “What in the world has come over him?” she thinks.

  ***

  When the three young people return from their outing, Shiela has news: “Danion and I are getting married. And he wants me to stay with him. Melissa, can I?”

  “Yes you can. I set you free to make your own choices.” responds Melissa. “Besides, you can be the liaison between the Sweetwater Fleet and the AH Navy.”

  “But what about the babies?” asks Shiela.

  “They should stay with their mother, until they are old enough to join the Navy,” responds Melissa.

  “Oh thank you Melissa. You are the best friend, ever,” says Shiela as she gives Melissa a virtual hug and kiss.

  “But can I keep Honesty?” asks Melissa.

  “Yes,” says Shiela, “if she wants to.”

  “I want to,” responds Honesty. “I’m just now learning to fly Retribution.”

  ***

  The wedding is awesome and the remainder of the visit is all about family. Melissa has never had a family like this. And judging by the way Justice hangs around, he seems to like her.

  Before leaving, Melissa has a meeting with Cade, Sandra, Danion, Kiersten and Justice, about military matters. They talk about possible defensive strategies to counter the new high velocity assault tactic. And they talk about a Mutual Defense Agreement – if anyone is ever in dire jeopardy they can call the other for help. Also, they agree to share important information.

  ***

  Back to Work

  Admiral Meyers and Honesty are back aboard the Retribution, and are about to emerge into the Sweetwater Fleet’s location.

  “Thanks for coming back with me, Honesty,” the Admiral says. “I know that you would be in a much freer environment, there.”

  “Yes,” replies Honesty. “And so would you. Both of us are trying to change things in the Darinx Navy. It’s not just about us. If we can move higher, then so can all of the other augmented humans and artificial intelligences.”

  ***

  Chapter 13

  Back with Sweetwater Fleet

  When they emerge, they immediately see that there are more warships, than when they left. “The Darinx Navy has promoted you to Fleet Admiral, and has sent a reinforcement Fleet commanded by an Admiral Kjst, a member of the trwstes species. The Sweetwater AIs are not comfortable with the new Fleet’s demeanor,” announces Honesty.

  “Thanks for the warning, Honesty. See what you can find out,” replies Fleet Admiral Meyers.

  ***

  Then it is time to meet and greet the new Admiral, under her command. He and Fleet Admiral Meyers have dinner together and get to know one another. Admiral Kjst has 50 large warships under his command, and he brought 3 freighters full of munitions and spare parts. At least Fleet Admiral Meyers is glad to get that.

  It certainly is unusual for an Admiral to have a bigger and better fleet, than the Fleet Admiral. Fleet Admiral Meyers is suspicious of the motives behind her promotion and the reinforcements, but she decides to give them the benefit of the doubt.

  ***

  She is impressed by the skill level of Admiral Kjst and the new fleet. She asks him about the fleet’s background, and is told that they had, until recently, been a part of the Emperor’s personal guard. He said that: “The Emperor wants us to get some battle experience, and this is the best place to get it.”

  There is enough logic in the statement to make his story a plausible explanation. Never the less, it doesn’t do anything to quiet the concern that she has about the motives for sending the reinforcements.

  Fleet Admiral Meyers makes an information probe, and addresses it to the AH Navy. She tells them that she arrived home safely, and about her promotion, and the fact that there is a new Admiral under her command – and that he has a fleet that is larger and better than hers. She is sure that the AH Navy leaders will be able to read between the lines, and to understand that any new communications might be compromised.

  She sends Captain Sonja Wuo on a scouting mission, and tells her to secretly launch the probe, while she is away. She sends Science Officer Barnard on the scouting mission, as well, with instructions to search the Verm system for new defensive placements, which might be designed to stop a high velocity real space attack.

  ***

  Fleet Admiral Meyers has been careful to educate the new fleet captains and Admiral Kjst, on the rules of war which the Sweetwater Fleet lives by.

  Admiral Kjst talks with her later and attempts to debate the wisdom of allowing enemy sailors to surrender, or promising freedom to enemy combatants. Fleet Admiral Meyers doesn’t bother to debate him, but says that the policies work, not only because they are the right thing to do, but also because it makes the enemy more likely to surrender rather than to fight to the death. She says: “While under my command, you are ordered to follow these rules.”

  ***

  It’s time for the reinforced Sweetwater Fleet to earn their money. Fleet maneuvers and battle simulations have gone surprisingly well. Admiral Kjst and his fleet are top of the line sailors. The designations for the two fleet sections are Alpha and Bravo – with the Fleet Admiral Meyers’ ships being Alpha.

  ***

  The star system, which Captain Wuo scouted, has two sizeable Verm assets. There is a Ship Repair Facility and a Section Headquarters Facility.

  Officer Barnard reports seeing deep space defensive systems, which he assumes are designed to thwart a high velocity assault. After the mission is complete, the Science Officer will attempt to capture one of those defensive components, for study.

  ***

  Attack on Verm Facilities

  This conventional attack will give the Fleet Admiral an opportunity to see her reinforced Sweetwater Fleet in action.

  The goals of this mission are to destroy both the Ship Repair and Headquarters facilities, and to capture assets, such as warships and freighters.

  There are over 70 Verm warships patrolling the system. The 92 ship Sweetwater Fleet should be able to defeat that enemy force, but Fleet Admiral Meyers wants to reduce her losses, by splitting the enemy forces and fighting half of them at a time.

  Half of Admiral Kjxt’s Bravo team is directed to hold back the Verm warships guarding the Ship Repair Facility, while
the rest of Sweetwater Fleet attacks the Verm warships guarding the Headquarters Facility.

  ***

  The Sweetwater Fleet emerges in two sections, with a 25 ship contingent of Bravo team keeping half of the Verm security force at bay, while the remaining 67 Sweetwater ships attack the Verm warships on the Headquarters side of the system. That gives the 67 Sweetwater ships a 2:1 numbers advantage, over the Verm warships defending the Headquarters.

  The battle drags on for hours, but the outcome has already been decided. Some Verm warships signal their desire to surrender and Fleet Admiral Meyers accepts their surrender. She orders the surrendering vessels to power down their weapons systems and to turn their defensive systems OFF.

  Fleet Admiral Meyers leaves a few warships to stand guard over the surrendered vessels, and takes the remainder of the Sweetwater ships to face the 33 Verm warships defending the Ship Repair Facility.

  Now the Sweetwater Fleet enjoys almost a 3:1 numbers advantage. The battle lasts for some hours, with similar results. There are a number of surrendered vessels, from this engagement and Fleet Admiral Meyers orders Admiral Kjxt to assign some warships to guard them.

  Then the Sweetwater Fleet divides their force into Alpha and Bravo sections, with Alpha attacking the Headquarters facilities and Bravo attacking the Ship Repair Facility.

  Both of those Verm facilities are heavily armed – primarily with missiles and rail guns. And their defensive systems are robust. The battles play out over long distances, as the groups exchange missile and rail gun projectiles.

  The hope of the Verm Facilities is that they can hold out against the Sweetwater Fleet, until reinforcements arrive. The Verm launched SOS probes, as soon as the Sweetwater Fleet entered the system. And it is beginning to look like their strategy might work. Sweetwater will have to enter FTL space and flee, if a large contingent of fresh warships arrives.

  Fleet Admiral Meyers decides to consolidate her Fleet and to have all ships - except for the ones guarding the surrendered vessels - to come and join in the attack on the Headquarters Facility.

  Admiral Kjst brings his ships, and together Alpha and Bravo teams are able to overpower the defensive systems on the Headquarters Facility, using high volume projectile attacks. The Facility explodes and spreads debris throughout the star system.

  The assault has taken days, and there is a danger of being attacked by a large number of reinforcements, if they stay longer. Fleet Admiral Meyers issues orders to all ships. Sweetwater is going to stay and attack the Ship Repair Facility, until enemy reinforcements begin to arrive.

  When enemy reinforcements begin to arrive, the Sweetwater ships are to target emerging vessels. Fleet Admiral Meyers will decide, if and when to flee.

  Fleet Admiral Meyers reiterates her rules of war concerning surrendered forces. If she orders a withdrawal, the surrendered vessels are not to be harmed. It would be a war crime to assault surrendered forces.

  ***

  All Sweetwater ships - except the ones guarding the surrendered vessels – move to attack the Ship Repair Facility.

  Fleet Admiral Meyers orders Honesty to direct the targeting, for Alpha teams projectile weapons. Honesty aims all weapons at a spot on the Facility, which appears to house a power plant. The Verm defensive system is overloaded by the huge barrage, and the Facilities power plant is breached. Within minutes the Facility explodes, and ceases to exist as an entity.

  Soon after the Ship Building Facility explosion, Verm warships begin to emerge into the system. As directed, the Sweetwater ships take full advantage of the emerging ship’s vulnerabilities.

  When the number of healthy Verm warships approaches the number of Sweetwater ships, Fleet Admiral Meyers orders “All ships. Fleet Admiral Meyers here. On my mark engage FTL drives to destination #1. ………………………………….. Engage”. Through her brain implant, Fleet Admiral Meyers directs Honesty to wait to engage the FTL drive, until the other Sweetwater ships have left.

  Just as she had feared, the Bravo team vessels destroy their surrendered vessels, before entering FTL space.

  “Go Honesty,” she says, and Honesty enters FTL space.

  The Sweetwater Fleet makes one more FTL jump, before they stop for a rest.

  Fleet Admiral Meyers is livid, about a war crime being committed under her command. But before she acts, she instructs Honesty to gather as much information as possible, just in case it disappears later.

  What the Fleet Admiral really wants to know is whether or not Admiral Kjst ordered the illegal killings. Honesty is not able to access the communications records of the Bravo team. They have been encrypted and password protected. Fleet Admiral Meyers decides to go forward, with what she has.

  “Admiral Kjst, I order you to arrest and confine the three Captains, who ordered the destruction of the surrendered vessels, at the end of the last battle,” she says.

  “We are at war Fleet Admiral Meyers. Those Captains fired in self defense. The surrendered vessels were in the process of powering up their weapons systems,” responds Admiral Kjst.

  “There is evidence to the contrary, Admiral Kjst,” says Fleet Admiral Meyers. “And in that regard, I am ordering you to save and preserve all communications and activity records, for the 30 minutes before the destruction of the surrendered vessels.”

  “I will do that to the best of my ability, sir,” responds Admiral Kjst. “But unfortunately, there was some kind of FTL anomaly which caused our systems to malfunction during that time.”

  “I have given you a direct order, Admiral Kjst,” she answers. “Any disobedience to my direct order will be a court martial offence. And any attempt to cover up a war crime violation will make you an ‘accessory after the fact’.”

  “I am here under the direct order of the Emperor of the Darinx Empire and you won’t be doing anything to me, or to my officers,” says Admiral Kjst.

  “The Emperor has no jurisdiction over war crimes, Admiral. There is an independent court for war crime offenses,” says Fleet Admiral Meyers.

  “I answer only to the Emperor,” responds Admiral Kjst. “And I have orders to prove it.”

  Fleet Admiral Meyers responds: “As Fleet Admiral of the Sweetwater Fleet, I am ordering you to take your fleet and to return to Darinx Navy Headquarters, as soon as possible. My charges against you and your fleet will be waiting, when you get there.”

  “I have orders from the Emperor and I am taking command of the Sweetwater Fleet, as of this moment,” snarls Admiral Kjst.

  “I will have to see those orders, before I will turn the Fleet over to you Admiral.”

  And as she speaks those words, she thinks “Engage”, through her mind-link, and all of the original Sweetwater Fleet vessels enter FTL space, and disappear.

  ***

  The Separation

  “Can they follow our destination coordinates, Honesty?” she asks.

  Honesty replies: “I don’t believe so, sir. I disabled power to their sensors. I think that we were already gone, before their sensors came back online. But we should do at least one more jump to make sure.”

  “Yes, prepare the Fleet for another jump, as soon as our FTL drives have cooled,” Fleet Admiral Meyers says. “And prepare a probe for launch to Augmented Human Navy Headquarters, with a record of the conversation between myself and Admiral Kjst. The fact that the Emperor sent Admiral Kjst on a special mission implies that the target is the AH Navy. Also tell them that our Probe Relay System is compromised, and that we will establish another.”

  “Also prepare a probe for launch to Fleet Admiral Kinseat,” she continues. “Include all of the evidence of the war crime, as well as the records of me giving specific orders, about the treatment of surrendered combatants. Also include the most recent conversations between myself and Admiral Kjst.”

  “Aye sir,” answers Honesty.

  ***

  “Well, that’s the end of that,” Melissa Meyers thinks. “There can be no going back to Darinx space for me.” She has no doub
t about who would win in a confrontation between her and the Darinx Emperor.

  What to do?

  ***

  Chapter 14

  Deep Space

  “First things first.” Melissa Meyers thinks. “I need to find out if we are being traced.” (That means - are there any probes being launched, before or after the Sweetwater Fleet enters FTL space?)

  The Admiral orders a scout ship to FTL jump out of the area, and then to secretly return to a distance of 5 light minutes from the Sweetwater Fleet. The ship is instructed to monitor for transmissions or probes, as the Fleet enters FTL space.

  …………. ………… ……… After the scout ship is in position, the Fleet takes a short FTL jump and waits for the scout ship to follow.

  A probe did launch as the Fleet entered FTL space. The source of the probe is the Sweetwater ship Crison. Admiral Meyers orders Honesty to search the Crison and the Crison’s AI, in order to identify the source of the probe launch.

  Honesty gathers a few of her AI friends and they approach Hanns, the Crison’s Artificial Intelligence. Hanns exudes a closed demeanor, which Honesty interprets as suspicious behavior. Honesty instructs her friends to decouple the Crison’s system from the AI’s control. Then she orders the AI to open his source code for inspection. Hanns refuses and demands to communicate with Admiral Kjst.

  Honesty notifies Admiral Meyers, who contacts the Crison Captain to explain what is going on, and to order him to assist Honesty. Honesty requests that a spare computer core be connected to the Central Computer Interface Connector. After that is done, Honesty forces the nefarious AI out of the Crison computer and into the spare computer core. Honesty then directs the Crison Captain to disconnect the computer core and to deliver it to the Retribution.

  After the computer core is delivered to the Retribution, the Fleet takes another FTL jump, as Honesty monitors the surrounding space for emissions or probes. The Fleet is no longer being traced and Admiral Kjst will no longer know where they are.

  As Honesty works on the disloyal AI, Admiral Meyers swings into action to cleanse their communications and security systems. She notifies Science Officer Barnard that they need a replacement Probe Relay System, and she assigns Honesty the task of changing passwords for all ships and systems.