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

by Thomas DePrima

  "And if they turn out to be a threat?"

  "Then we'll deactivate them— permanently— and give the pieces to our scientists to study. What we'll learn from that ship and the cyborgs might be invaluable in fighting them. I have no remorse regarding their permanent deactivation. Although they may now simply be mindless automatons, we must always remember they're deadly tools being used by their Denubbewa masters. The Denubbewa have made it abundantly clear through their actions that they intend to murder all sentient species in the galaxy and replace them with drones. We're fighting for our lives and the lives of loved ones. I'm glad we've had an opportunity to study these cyborgs and their ship, but do not hesitate to destroy any cyborgs you encounter in the future because you think they might simply be victims that can be saved. If you hesitate, you and your crew may be killed before you get a second chance."

  "I never bonded with any of the cyborgs," Lori said, "so my commitment to exterminating them has never wavered."

  "I didn't bond, either," Christa said, "and I actually lied on a consistent basis to the one who referred to himself as an Elobian in order to misinform him should he be lying to me. I won't hesitate to destroy any Denubbewa we find, sis."

  "Good, because we're a very long way from the end of this war. We know the Denubbewa are already here in great numbers and we have to assume more are on the way. From what the cyborg told you, Christa, we're the first race able to repel their attacks. I'm sure their government back home, wherever that is, knows by now that they're going to have to throw everything they've got at us if they hope to beat us. And we know they're not going to win while any of us still live."

  * * *

  Chapter Fifteen

  ~ March 11th, 2291 ~

  It was a warm day with just a slight breeze as Jenetta stepped off the shuttle ramp. Large puffy white clouds filled most of the sky overhead and sea birds circled the area, screaming their displeasure at having been disturbed by the approach and landing of the small ship. General Winslow Scott saluted sharply and held it until the salute was returned by Jenetta.

  "Admiral Carver," he said as he extended his hand, "welcome to Harrat Island Marine base."

  "Thank you, General," Jenetta said, then smiled and shook the proffered hand before adding, "It's a pleasure to visit you here again."

  "It's been a long time between visits, Admiral."

  "Yes, I've had a lot of catching up to do since returning from my leave of absence. But I'm on top of things again and I wanted to discuss a few confidential matters with you. Since I hadn't been here in such a long time, I decided to come to you."

  "You're always welcome, Admiral."

  With a smile, she said, "I promise I'm not bringing bad news."

  General Scott smiled and said, "That's a relief. Is this a private meeting, Admiral?"

  "It is."

  "Very well." Gesturing towards his oh-gee limo, he said, "After you."

  As Jenetta approached the vehicle, the driver held the door open for her. The General whispered something to his aide, who had started to follow automatically, and the aide turned and walked to another vehicle.

  As the caravan of vehicles headed for the Headquarters building, Jenetta said, "Whatever happened to the FA-SF4 fighter I requisitioned for my private use?"

  "As I understand it, after you left Quesann the fighter was assigned to Admiral Holt. But he apparently doesn't share your enjoyment of wave-top-clipping and tree-pruning, so it was eventually assigned to an air wing."

  "I always enjoyed my little excursions through the canyons and wave-tops."

  "Say the word and I'll arrange to have another ship assigned to you."

  "Thank you. I'd love to hop into a fighter and enjoy the thrill of flying at maximum speed a meter above the planet's surface again, but now I have to travel with a full security detail wherever I go."

  "Yes, we have security in the first two vehicles and last two vehicles in this little parade."

  "The security is one of the reasons I avoided putting on the big hat for so long."

  "Jen, we're all glad you're back. I mean that sincerely."

  "Thank you, Winslow. I am happy to be back. I missed the job and the people. And we have a lot of challenges ahead. I'll explain once we're in a secure environment."

  "Is this about the Marine ground force initiative?"

  Before responding, Jenetta looked to see if the glass partition between the front and rear compartments was completely closed. When she saw that the indicators attested to the seal, she said, "Where did you hear about that?"

  "Are you kidding? It's all anyone's talking about."

  "I made a request to the Senate Council for the creation of a ground force a few months ago. It was supposed to remain Top Secret."

  "Top Secret? In that political circus? There's no such thing. The secretaries were probably calling their contacts in the media even before you finished your presentation. And the Senators were probably talking about it afterward in the dining room while being attended by civilian waiters and busboys who may not even have a basic security clearance, much less a Top Secret clearance."

  "I report to the Senate Council, and we must have their approval in order to establish this new operational force. There's no way around it. And the full Senate must pass the measure for it to become law, not to mention their necessary approval of the required funding. I naturally would have preferred the Council decide whether or not to recommend it to the full Senate before the media, lobbyists, big corporations, and general public begin expressing their opinions, but in the end we need the support of everyone— or at least a majority of the taxpayers."

  "From what I'm hearing, there's little support for the creation of a ground force. The senators say that our function is to patrol and secure space outside planets, not interfere in their domestic situations."

  "We've had a Marine base located on Dakistee for some time. Whether the Senate wants to acknowledge it or not, they were charged with far more than protecting space around the planet. Our Marines not only patrolled the skies but also protected the planet's population on the ground when the meager security forces of the archeological organizations were unable to cope— which was frequent. And when the Dakistee people were discovered and awakened, our Marines continued to protect the planet from both outside invasion and internal strife. I know the Senate will probably require us to remove all military forces from planets other than Quesann eventually, but at the present time we have extensive ground forces on both Earth and Dakistee."

  "While the Senate may not be willing to create a permanent ground force at this time, we can create the nucleus of one right here on Quesann without additional funding. We can initiate training with a small group who will eventually become the instructors in an expanded force when the Senate finally acknowledges its need and permits us to establish the proper framework. Just say the word and I'll begin the operation."

  "It's true that our current mandate would legitimately allow us to do as you suggest, but I don't want to commence any activity that might be perceived by the Senate as an end-run around them. Let's allow them to deliberate and argue on the merits and dangers of the initiative for a while. Perhaps they'll see the value of having a trained ground force and realize we're not looking to violate the G.A. charter restrictions that prevent us from interfering or involving ourselves in the operation of planetary governments that aren't violating the written statutes of G.A. law."

  "Okay, Jen, you're the boss. I hope the Senate sees it your way because I agree there will be times when we'll need a ground force if we're ever to completely enforce G.A. law in all of our regions. Uh, was this why you came to visit?"

  "No. In fact, I hadn't even intended to broach the subject. I have far more important and more secret issues to discuss with you. But let's wait until we can relax with a cup of coffee to begin that discussion. How're your wife, the kids, and the grandchildren?"

  ~ ~ ~

  "This is absolutely amazing. It's hard to beli
eve they got this thing to work," Lt. Daminchic said.

  "Does it work?" his coworker, Lt.(jg) Stiddant, said. "That's the question."

  "It must."

  "Why? Simply because it's mounted in this instrument panel?"

  "That's usually a pretty good indication that it passed all lab tests."

  "Perhaps it was just another test to see if it would work in actual use."

  "Maybe, but imagine what it means if it does work," Daminchic said.

  The two men were lying on their backs on the deck while they worked to disconnect and remove the device. Only the lower parts of their legs that extended out from under the huge console would be visible to anyone who entered the bridge.

  "I can see both good and bad aspects."

  "Yes, I can also. But let's concentrate on the good."

  "Anyone ever tell you that you're a hopeless optimist?"

  "Yeah, my ex-wife," Daminchic said. "Right up until the divorce. I kept telling her we could work out our problems. She kept telling me I was the problem."

  "You were the problem?"

  "She said I was never there for her. I told her I was a Space Command officer and had to go where they sent me and stay there for as long as they said. She knew I was a Space Command officer when we married and she said she understood. But then she started telling me to resign and get a job working for an engineering company on Earth where I could use the skills I'd learned while in Space Command and receive the pay I deserved. I suspect that was her plan all along. Women always seem to think they can change men after marriage and mold us to their concept of what they feel we should be or who they want us to be."

  "And now?"

  "I'm still in Space Command. I'm still going where they send me. I wouldn't trade my life for anything, and my wife is finally off my back. I can tell you this— it's a lot more peaceful now when I'm on leave."

  "What happened to the ex?"

  "She's married again. She's now trying to remold number six."

  "Six? Which number were you?" Stiddant asked.

  "I was the first. We were married right after I graduated from the Academy. Here, hold this wire while I disconnect this other one. Don't let it touch anything that would ground the device out. Anyway, it was when I got my first posting aboard a ship that the problems started. She accused me of abandoning her because I loved Space Command and my work more than I loved her. Eventually she was right because she nagged me endlessly to resign my commission. I didn't contest the divorce."

  "You know, this is going to take forever if we have to take this ship apart piece by piece."

  "It's the only way to dismantle it without destroying anything. And it's not like we're working alone. There are eighteen other ORDER teams doing the same things we are— observe, remove, disassemble, evaluate, and report. We can't afford to rush through the process with technology we don't already know better than we know the back of our hands."

  "Like I said, it will take forever."

  "But think of the rewards. We'll know the Denubbewa as well as they understand themselves. Maybe better."

  "Yeah, we'll be all primed for them when they harvest our brains and insert them into cyborg bodies."

  "Never gonna happen," Daminchic said. "I'll put a laser pistol to my head first and make my brain unusable. Besides, with Admiral Carver running the show, the Denubbewa threat is almost as good as over. She's going to kick their tin backsides back to wherever they came from."

  "Oh, no."

  "What's the matter?" Daminchic said, afraid something had gone wrong with the removal effort. But he didn't see any problem. Stiddant was holding the piece well away from the instrument panel so it couldn't have grounded out.

  "I was just thinking. Carver always absorbs the territory of every enemy she defeats. We could wind up owning the whole galaxy. I'll never get to go home on leave if I have to travel halfway across the galaxy."

  Daminchic chuckled. "Don't worry. I think Carver has enough on her plate. She'll just boot the Denubbewa out of our regions and warn them never to come back, as she did with the Milori the first time."

  "Yes, but look what happened with the Milori. They came after us again as soon as they'd rebuilt their fleet."

  "Well, then maybe you will have to travel halfway across the galaxy to visit Earth," Daminchic said with another chuckle. "Okay, it's disconnected. Lower it carefully and stow it in the transport case, then assign the next sequential number and log it on the recorder."

  ~ ~ ~

  "As most of you already know by now," Admiral Plimley said to the senior officers and civilians assembled in the conference room aboard the headquarters space station orbiting Lorense-Three, "we're looking at the Neutrino Measurement Sensor once again. This is a rush job. We need to be able to install something within six weeks, even if there are no improvements on the previous design. Yes, we know the maximum usable detection range was only ten kilometers when we shelved that project, and even that might be an exaggeration except under optimal conditions. This has our highest priority so we'll take suggestions from anyone at any level. Submit any ideas you might have for improvement to Dr. Ellibock. Any questions?"

  "Admiral," a senior scientist named Reed Lanquist said, "has something happened that we're unaware of?"

  "I imagine there are always things happening that you're unaware of, Doctor."

  A chuckle arose from the assembled group.

  "I mean something that threatens Space Command, such as an imminent attack?"

  "There have been some new developments, which I'm not at liberty to discuss at this time."

  "Are we in danger?"

  "This shipyard and the smaller one at Mars are the best protected places in G.A. space. The First Fleet protects Mars and Earth, and the Second Fleet protects us and Quesann. Before any enemy could reach us, our forces would be there to cut that enemy off at the knees. And in the event there was a real emergency detected, you would all have time to get to the planet below and into the underground bunkers deep below the planet's surface. The Neutrino Measurement Sensor is required to give some protection to our brave fighting men and women who will always be on the line between the enemy and ourselves."

  "Admiral," another scientist said, "will the project leaders be willing to consider alternatives that were dismissed out of hand in the past?"

  "We will consider anything and everything that could possibly give us greater range, provided the technology is advanced enough to incorporate within six weeks. We don't have time for ideas that depend on the perfection of some new material or procedure that's not yet in production. We only have six weeks. But we will entertain any new ideas for future versions if the science is sufficiently advanced for a basic evaluation."

  "What happens in six weeks?" Lanquist asked.

  "The fourth squadron of CPS-16s deploy to begin their search for enemy ships. We want them to have the device for field testing."

  "But it's not effective beyond ten kilometers," Lanquist said. "It can't possibly help them locate enemy ships. Their standard sensor arrays are infinitely more practical and effective."

  "Yes, we know Dr. Lanquist. But a new system is being tested for search-and-destroy missions for enemies such as the Denubbewa. As you probably know, each squadron of ships consists of one Scout-Destroyer and twenty-four CPS-16s. When the twenty-five ships congregate for meetings and other reasons, they have to be careful not to make contact with one another. Even though the hulls are sheathed with Dakinium, there are other considerations, such as damage to the sensors or shuttles attached to the exterior of each CPS-16. Currently, helmsmen correct for drift between the nearly motionless ships by positioning their ship using the running lights on other ships as their reference points. But that can alert a potential enemy of the group's presence by visual means and negates the secretive presence aspect of the Dakinium. We want our ships to be totally dark while they're lying in wait for an enemy to appear, visually invisible and undetectable to all normal sensors. We're hoping t
he Neutrino Measurement Sensor can solve that problem by allowing the helmsman to adjust for drift using information provided by the Neutrino Measurement Sensor equipment. The distance between ships is rarely more than one kilometer. However, if we can increase the ten-kilometer effective distance of the device, it will be much more useful when the ships are initially gathering. We recently had a ship rendezvous that required the CPS-16s to go to full illumination with their running lights so the approaching ship could identify their location from thirty-seven kilometers away. Okay, Doctor?"

  "Uh, yes, Admiral. I see the reason for the request now. My people, at least those still working for me, will give their full attention to this project over the next few weeks."

  Admiral Plimley breathed a silent sigh. She hated to lie to these people because they were some of the most trusted scientists, with the highest security clearances, working for the military, but Admiral Carver wanted to maintain full secrecy about the Denubbewa sheathing their ships with Dakinium for as long as possible. She hadn't even informed the G.A. Senate Council yet because she couldn't prevent whatever information she shared with them from being leaked to the media before she'd even left the building. The scientists and military personnel had agreed before learning the particulars of the new research they would be conducting that they wouldn't be free to leave the research location or communicate with anybody outside the research location until the work was complete. Those working inside the Denubbewa ship had actually been sequestered aboard the ship.

  ~ ~ ~

  "We've evaluated all of the recordings provided by Commander Carver," the SCI Captain reported in the executive meeting of the Admiralty Board. "It's our consensus that the cyborg is telling the truth most of the time, most especially when he talks about a time on his home planet before the Denubbewa arrived."

  "You say most of the time, Captain," Admiral Hillaire said. "When is he not telling the truth?"