Changing of the Guard (A Galaxy Unknown - Book 11)

by Thomas DePrima

  "Good morning, Brian."

  "It isn't, Jen. It may never be again."

  "Are you alright?"

  "I'm a little sick. I just received a message from Christa."

  "Christa? Is she alright? I haven't heard from her in weeks."

  "She appears to be healthy, but the message she sent came Priority One."

  "What's wrong?" Jenetta asked, concern now showing on her face.

  "Christa's squadron has found a Denubbewa warship. It appears to be a derelict— so far. She wanted to inform me immediately so the Marines hadn't yet entered the ship to investigate when the message was sent. She says she'll continue to send updates anytime she learns anything new. Jen, Christa says she believes the ship is sheathed in Dakinium."

  "Oh, no! Please tell me today is April 1st and this is a joke."

  "Sorry. No joke. That's why I'm not alright. It looks like we've just lost our major edge in the fight with the Denubbewa."

  "If it's sheathed in Dakinium, how did Christa even find it?"

  "It was a fluke. As per their orders, they had stopped to investigate a derelict freighter that appeared on their sensors and someone on the bridge of a CPS-16 noticed that a strange anomaly was blocking the light from a group of stars. Christa investigated and they discovered the Denubbewa warship. I'm awaiting any updates with new information, but I wanted to give you what I had."

  "How far away are they, Bry?"

  "Communication-wise— about twenty-five days."

  "Twenty-five days," Jenetta said with a sigh. "A lot can have happened in twenty-five days."

  "Yes."

  "I'll need to call an emergency executive session of the A.B. We have to discuss this new development. But I should wait until we have a little more information. If the Denubbewa are able to manufacture Dakinium, the whole tide of war could shift against us."

  "Christa says she believes the Dakinium has to be responsible for her inability to locate any Denubbewa ships other than the derelict they found. And neither of the other two squadrons has seen a single Denubbewa ship since they've been in Region Three."

  "I'm going to send a notification to the A.B. members that an emergency meeting will be called as soon as we have more information from the Koshi squadron. That way they won't make any plans that prevent them from attending for the next couple of days. Let me know as soon as you hear anything, Brian."

  "You know I will, Jen. Holt out."

  "Carver out."

  It had been an interesting week so far. The twins were cutting their first teeth and Jen was running into resistance with the G.A. Council because they couldn't see the need for creating and training a ground force of Marines. And now this. Jenetta leaned back in her chair and seemed to be studying the ceiling of her office as she devoted her mind to the problem of the Denubbewa having Dakinium.

  ~ ~

  "I just received another message from Christa," Brian Holt's image said from the large monitor in Jenetta's office a short time later. "The Denubbewa ship appears to be intact, and the Marines met no resistance when they entered the ship and began their search. They've found Denubbewa cyborgs in two locations. In one, the Denubbewa are lying on tables and appear to be asleep or something. In the other, a storage hold, the Denubbewa are stockpiled in shipping containers. That group appears to be totally inactive. The ship itself appears to be in excellent condition."

  "Then why was it just sitting there? And why wasn't there anyone on guard duty, charged with the task of awakening the sleepers if anyone boarded?"

  "I suppose we could assume the Denubbewa believed no one would ever locate them. But I hate making assumptions like that. We'll just have to wait for more information from Christa. She's promised to send an update whenever she learns anything worth reporting."

  "Damn, I wish they weren't so far away," Jenetta said.

  "I wish the speed of our space communications had kept pace with the speed of our space travel. The S-Band communications haven't improved in half a century while travel has gone from Light-75 to Light-14,685.7 with double-envelope capability."

  "We definitely need some improvement in communications, but we have other, more serious problems right now. I'm calling for an emergency executive meeting in my office for nine a.m. tomorrow."

  "I'll be there."

  "Uh, Brian. Why don't we send a Ship Transporter to pick up the Denubbewa warship and bring it back to Quesann for study?"

  "It's already on its way. I did that as soon as I got the latest message. The SC Transport Ship Edison is in Region Three, just over the border. It was sent to pick up the Heisenberg, a science vessel that's unable to sustain an envelope. The Heisenberg is fine in all other respects, so I sent orders to the Edison to unload the Heisenberg and go meet the Koshi. I then issued orders for the Sebastian to go retrieve the Heisenberg. This shifting of assignments will shave six days off the time it takes to pick up the ship Christa discovered."

  "Thanks, Brian."

  ~ ~

  "Good morning and thank you for coming in," Jenetta said once all A.B. members were in her office. No clerks or aides had been invited to this closed-door meeting. Other than the admirals, only Cayla and Tayna were in the office. They were quietly occupying their usual places against the wall where they could see and hear everything going on. "I realize it's Saturday, but we're faced with a critical situation. I won't mince words. The Denubbewa appear to have acquired Dakinium. Even worse, they appear to have possibly sheathed all their ships with it. That makes it impossible for us to track them down and destroy them with the CPS-16 squadrons as planned because they no longer show up on our sensors."

  "The Denubbewa have Dakinium?" Admiral Bradlee, the Director of SCI, said. "This is the first I've heard of it."

  "We just learned yesterday, Roger. My sister Christa, aboard the SD Koshi, reported that information to Brian after her squadron discovered a derelict Denubbewa warship sheathed in Dakinium."

  "Then how did they spot it?"

  "Christa reported that they stopped to investigate a true derelict," Holt said, "and someone spotted an anomaly that was blocking out the light from distant stars. They investigated and discovered the Denubbewa ship."

  "Abandoned?" Admiral Woo asked.

  "No, there were Denubbewa on board, but they were all either asleep or deactivated."

  "This is wonderful," Admiral Bradlee said excitedly. "We've never had a chance to examine a Denubbewa warship or interrogate Denubbewa cyborgs."

  "Yes," Jenetta said, "I suppose there's always a silver lining if you look for it. Right now I'm more concerned with the Denubbewa having Dakinium. That's been our edge in this fight with the cyborgs. We've now lost that."

  "This has to be a mistake," Admiral Plimley said. "The Denubbewa can't possibly have sheathed all of their ships in this short a time."

  "I admit it's speculation, but it's based on direct observation," Jenetta said. "We've had three CPS-16 squadrons, a total of seventy-five ships, searching Region Three for Denubbewa ships after months of steadily increasing reports of sightings from freight-haulers. There hasn't been a single report of a sighting for months now. Yes, we're making an assumption about the rest of their fleet, but it's based on solid premise. The question is: If the Denubbewa fleet isn't sheathed with Dakinium, then why haven't we been able to locate any of their ships?"

  "So what are you proposing, Jen?" Admiral Hillaire asked.

  "I'm proposing nothing at this point. I'm groping for ideas on how we can destroy the Denubbewa if our premise is accurate."

  "How about your idea that the Denubbewa might be hiding in hollowed-out asteroids?" Admiral Burke asked.

  "To date, we've discovered just one hollowed-out asteroid. The ships discovered there are a mix of Terran and Uthlaran manufacture, so it's not a Denubbewa base, although it might be a Raider base."

  "So what do we do?" Admiral Plimley asked.

  "At this point, it appears we can do nothing except wait and plan possible scenarios. The Denubbewa
ship we've captured may give us significant information, or…"

  "Or what, Jen," Admiral Bradlee asked when she didn't continue right away.

  "Roger, finding a derelict Denubbewa ship in perfect condition is too good to be true. It might very well be a trap. It might be a Trojan Horse of sorts…"

  "And Denubbewa soldiers will suddenly materialize from thin air after the ship has been thoroughly searched?" Admiral Plimley said, interrupting.

  "There's no rule that states Dakinium can only be used to sheath a hull. It can also be used internally to create places of concealment that our sensors won't penetrate. And since Dakinium absorbs all electronic signals, you'd never receive a warning that an area contained soldiers just waiting to be released. What if the ship has a double hull of Dakinium and the area between the two hulls is filled with Denubbewa warriors just waiting to open a secret door and pour out? But my real thought was— instead of filling it with soldiers, they may just want us to put our best and brightest aboard to learn its secrets. And that's when they detonate it."

  "Would they sacrifice their own people like that?" Admiral Ahmed asked.

  "They're machines. Do you think a machine cares about a few dozen other machines?"

  "I'm not buying it," Admiral Plimley said. "The Denubbewa aren't that devious, Jen. Their actions have always been very direct— overwhelming forces and all-out blitzes. Look at the way they've fired on our ships in the past. They literally launch hundreds of those small missiles when all they need are a few hits in the right places."

  "That's only because those missiles are notoriously inaccurate," Jenetta said. "They have no sophisticated guidance systems, so the Denubbewa must fire hundreds in the hope that a few will hit a vulnerable location. I can't help but wonder how many of their own ships have been destroyed when they've run into missiles that have exhausted their fuel and gone ballistic. A Denubbewa battle zone is almost like a minefield afterwards." Jenetta took a deep breath and released it. "Look, we need a lot more information before we can create a plan to combat this new problem. I merely wanted you all to be aware of the situation facing us so you can begin to formulate ideas. And once we have the information we need, we'll be prepared to respond. Thank you for coming in today."

  ~

  Admiral Holt remained behind after all of the other admirals had left to resume their planned Saturday activities.

  Jenetta sighed and said, "Are we the only ones who appreciate the seriousness of this situation, Bry?"

  Holt chuckled before answering. "You can't really blame them, Jen. They've got the best mind in the military working on the problem. They know you'll find a solution and send the Denubbewa scurrying back into hiding after their numbers are diminished considerably by a plan born in brilliance."

  "But where is that plan coming from? I'm tapped out at the moment."

  "But that never lasts for long."

  "Not you too?"

  Holt chuckled again. "You've always come through for us. I guess we've come to rely on that. While you were on leave, we sometimes felt a little lost and it almost seemed like things would never be the same. And it was while you were on leave that the Denubbewa must have put this re-sheathing operation into place."

  "If you're trying to make me feel guilty for taking some time off, it won't work. I haven't regretted taking a leave of absence and I don't believe I ever will. I have a husband I adore and two beautiful children whom I love with all my heart."

  "I'm certainly not trying to make you feel guilty. Taking that leave of absence was the best thing you could have done. Since returning you've been a lot like the old Jenetta. I didn't say anything before because you didn't need any encouragement to take that break, but you had really started to look a bit frazzled around the edges before you left. And now we're seeing the Jenetta we know— one rested and ready to take on whatever comes our way. I'm sorry if we appear to rely on you a bit too much, but I'm not sorry you're back. We need you, Jen. And I know that with you and Christa working on this problem, we'll come through in spite of the Denubbewa having Dakinium. And— we knew that eventually someone was going to get Dakinium. Hell, the Dakistians have it. We got it from them.

  "I'm glad they didn't sell out to the Raiders. And I admit to worrying about how the Dakistians will use their Dakinium and whatever other incredible inventions they have that we don't even know about yet. Their ancestors were brilliant. I mean, look at the technology we know about. There's the Dakinium, of course, but there's also that incredible cloning process. And we certainly can't underestimate the genius behind those incredible stasis beds that allowed the Dakistians to survive, unchanged, for nineteen centuries. Can you imagine where the Dakistians would be now if their society hadn't been almost wiped out by the priesthood who feared them?"

  "Did you ever suspect that maybe the actions the priesthood took to eradicate the population of Dakistee had some merit? Perhaps there were other projects, ones we don't know about yet, that drove the priesthood to that insane action. Perhaps they believed it was the only way to stop it."

  "Yes, I've wondered about that. The people who left the planet— the only home they'd ever known— to seek a better life elsewhere even before space travel had been perfected to a point where the travelers would be safe from radiation and mutations must have truly feared for the future of their descendents if they remained on Dakistee. A mass exodus like the one they planned has usually only been considered if the planet was about to be destroyed by a collision with a giant asteroid or by internal planetary forces that would make living on the surface unbearable or even impossible. If there was something other than religious fanaticism responsible for the priesthood killing off most of the planet's population, I pray that it never resurfaces."

  "Amen to that."

  * * *

  Chapter Twelve

  ~ January 3rd, 2291 ~

  "Good Morning, Jen," the image of Admiral Brian Holt said from the large wall monitor facing Admiral Jenetta Carver's office desk. "I just wanted to inform you that I've received a message from Commander Ashraf. She states that she's been in communication with Christa and is proceeding immediately to the Koshi's reported location to assist in any way she can. Based on the distances involved and the communication lag, I'm sure they've already joined forces. That will double the size of Christa's fleet in the event this is all some Denubbewa Machiavellian plot."

  "I wouldn't elevate it to the level of plotting Machiavelli described in his book The Prince, but I'm sure they're capable of devious behavior, despite being machines. Their military advances have been orchestrated by biological brains in a metal body."

  "Yes, I'm sure they're capable of exercising a degree of military subterfuge. Without it, they would have been unable to conquer as much territory as they allegedly dominate, let alone maintaining control over it."

  "Yes, but brute force and a total disregard for personal safety can take you a long way."

  "True." After a brief pause, Holt said, "I've been doing a lot of thinking regarding that matter we discussed last month."

  "Which one?"

  "Improving the speed of our space communications."

  "Have you come up with a suggestion for improving the transmission speed?"

  "Not exactly. My thoughts were an offshoot of our discussion about the Dakistians."

  "I doubt they'd know of any way to improve the speed," Jenetta said. "They weren't exactly space experienced when they entered stasis twenty centuries ago."

  "I understand, but that's not what I was getting at. I was alluding to their innovation abilities and the incredible things they've developed."

  "And you think they might come up with something we've overlooked for decades?"

  "Something like that, yes."

  "I'm always willing to investigate new avenues, but I doubt Madu would even return my vidMail. She was really upset when I pressed her to publicly thank the Nordakians for curing her people's plague."

  "Perhaps someone else could approach h
er. I realize she might hold some resentment towards you personally, but they sort of owe us. By that I mean the G.A. We rescued them from their long slumber and then supported them with food, clothes, shelter, and medical supplies until they got on their feet."

  "Perhaps I could ask Evelyn to broach the topic with Madu."

  "Admiral Platt would be a good choice."

  "Okay, I'll send her a message and explain what we're looking for."

  "Wonderful. I guess that's all I've got for today."

  "Okay, Brian. Have a pleasant and productive day."

  "You as well, Jen. Holt out."

  "Carver out."

  Jen took in a deep breath and released it. She didn't really think a society that'd had such little experience with space travel would be able to come up with a method for communications speed faster than the current S-band. It simply wasn't needed for planetary communications. However, she would give it a try rather than dismissing it out of hand. But while she was thinking about the Dakistians, her thoughts turned again to the possibility of them having other inventions the G.A. knew nothing about. It was true that their scientists couldn't find a cure for the sterility that plagued their planet so many eons ago. Or perhaps that had been a falsehood. Were the scientists in league with the people who left the planet? Had they stayed behind purposely to stall and keep the Dakistians from curing the disease?

  Jenetta shook her head slightly to clear the thought. She didn't want to always be suspicious of everyone's motives and actions, but sometimes she just couldn't help herself. A small, inner voice always seemed to demand she suspect everyone of being guilty until proven innocent. She tried to tell herself that it was because she was the final judge in so many matters these days and she needed to understand motives and predict misdirections. She smiled to herself as she thought that if she wasn't careful she'd have a heart attack and never see the five thousand years Arneu said she'd live.

  ~ ~ ~

  "Good Morning, Sywasock," Christa said as she entered the storage locker being used as a holding cell for the Denubbewa prisoner.