“You may be right,” the bureaucrat agreed, uncomfortable with the idea of boarding another ship back into space. The civilian was traumatized on the trip out from Earth and had developed claustrophobia from spending months stuck in an EGG Habitat. His genetics were barely up to acceptable parameters for him to qualify for transportation aboard a fleet ship. He was miserable for the entire journey and barely able to survive in the high-pressure OxyFlo environment; spending most of the trip out from Earth using a supplemental breathing apparatus.
“Ambassador Cent. Welcome aboard the Yukon,” greeted Admiral Tomkin, standing just inside the landing bay airlock. Next to him stood Mr. Hillary, whose ship docked just fifteen minutes before. The bureaucrat was fortunate the ambassador’s ship took a roundabout approach to the moon as it orbited the Rheas Homeworld and its larger moon prior to taking up a stationary position forty miles above the Yukon’s position resting on the surface of the moon.
“Thank you, Admiral Tomkin. Mr. Hillary,” the ambassador nodded to the first and gave the second an assessing look without further greeting.
“This way, Ambassador. I have the command center set up for our briefing.” With that, the admiral spun on his heel and began to walk down the passage leading into the interior of the ship and forward of the docking bay’s location next to engineering.
The admiral made no effort to check to see if he was being followed by the Rool. By assuming the alien was following, seemingly without concern as to whether he was or not, the admiral was attempting to establish the beginning of his relationship with the ambassador and he was determined to have a relationship of equals, rather than as a subordinate of the Rool. This Rool, anyway. Ambassador Cent worked for Earth and, as such, was not due the same level of deference he was required to give to Ambassador Dek. Not that the admiral was delusional in the belief the ambassador would be his subordinate, far from it. But, he had no intention of being the alien’s subordinate, either.
Entering the command center, they approached a large holo-imager in the forward section of the center. On the display were the locations of all UEAF assets in the Rheas System: ships, missile platforms, support ships, and even shuttles and survey crews from the Corps of Engineers, were all shown in real time.
Beginning his briefing of the ambassador, the admiral pointed to the holo-imager and listed off the disposition of forces, “Here is our real-time display of the disposition of our forces, Ambassador. As you can see we have sixty-one ships in-system. Fifty-four of them are combat or exploration service ships and the remainder are support ships of various types. We have also deployed forty-six missile platforms armed with Mk VII missiles that have proven effective against the Chzek ships.”
“I am aware of your force allocations, Admiral. It was not difficult to find them as we made our way in-system,” the ambassador responded with some irritation, “You will need to make a number of corrections or your ships will be wiped out. I estimate a major attack in the next six to ten weeks. We have some time to get ready, but not a lot. You should also be careful to refer to the enemy by their name, Chzek-kin, rather than Chzek. If you were fighting the Chzek, this war would already be over.”
The admiral held back his retort to the ambassador’s criticism, instead saying, “I look forward to hearing your recommendations, Ambassador.”
Handing the admiral a datapad, the ambassador said, “Here are the changes that need to be made. All ships need to be attached to an asteroid or in close proximity to a moon or other object in the system. By attaching your ships to known celestial objects, they will be more likely to discount their presence. It could provide an edge and reduce your losses in the next attack. Planets can also work, but ships become highly visible when crossing the day side of a planet with an atmosphere. When your ships relocate, the movements of the asteroids are not to be altered in any way, and with as little disturbance of the object as possible. However, no orders are to be given to any ship to alter course for another fifty-two hours. It will take that long for my ship to complete its search of the system and eliminate the scout ships and observation platforms the Chzek-kin have placed in the system. After that is completed, you will be free to reallocate your forces.” Not waiting for an acknowledgment, the ambassador continued, “The Chzek-kin have mapped this system thoroughly for all objects and their orbital velocities. They know every object native to this system; any object detected that does not match their mapping will automatically be attacked without any delay for identification. They know we are here, so it is too late to make them believe the system is undefended. However, there is no reason to make it easy on them, either.”
Turning to Mr. Hillary, the ambassador ended the admiral’s briefing and began discussing the transition of Rheas industry to meet their treaty obligations, “Mr. Hillary, I am not satisfied with the progress the Rheas have made transitioning their industry to meet their obligations. Set up a meeting with their government representatives for one hour prior to the normal beginning of work tomorrow. I do not believe it to be a day of rest for them. We need them to relieve the burden on Earth for the war effort. This is a war for their survival too. They should be making a contribution.”
Not taking the lesson from the admiral’s discussion with the ambassador as an example to follow, Mr. Hillary replied, “The Rheas have been experiencing several problems with adapting their industries and struggling with their population buying into what we are doing for them. It should not be much longer for them to come around.”
“No, Mr. Hillary,” the ambassador said, leaning in toward the bureaucrat, “The Rheas have been stalling, and you have let them. This stops now and anyone who stands in the way will be replaced. From now on you answer to me directly. You will not give an order to anyone unless I have given the order to you first. You are part of the problem, Mr. Hillary. Now you will become part of the solution, or you will no longer be with us. Do you understand what I am saying, Mr. Hillary?”
Mr. Hillary took a step back and lost several shades of color in his face. Even so, the man stood firm and challenged the ambassador. “Mr. Ambassador, I have full authority on this mission. You represent our interests here,” he stated in the strongest voice he could muster, which was undermined by the fact the diplomat appeared ready to make a run for the exit.
“Re-read our agreement, Mr. Hillary. Then read a little history. Do it while you still have the opportunity,” the ambassador recommended, dismissing the man.
Turning back to the admiral, the ambassador provided him with the best two pieces of news he could ask for, “Admiral, I have arranged instantaneous communications between your fleet, Black Rock Three Base, and Earth through Rool warships we have deployed. Please send all urgent communications to my ship to be transmitted.” The ambassador could see the appreciation in the admiral’s face at having rapid communications, something Humans did not have access to until now. In Earth’s history, the closest thing comparable to their current method of communications in space was in the use of courier sailing ships in the 1800s.
“Reinforcements are also coming. Seventh Fleet has left Black Rock Three Base and should be in-system in three weeks. We can discuss their deployment later.”
“That’s excellent news, Ambassador. Thank you.”
“Do you have any reports from the Exploration Service on their efforts to scout Chzek space?”
Admiral Tomkin noticed the ambassador’s reference, “You refer to their space as Chzek, rather than Chzek-kin. Is that intentional, Ambassador?” With the ambassador’s earlier statement of distinguishing between the Chzek and Chzek-kin, he was uncertain as to what the ambassador meant.
“It is. The Chzek consider all space to be theirs. The Chzek-kin, and for that matter, all of the Chzek-kin races, only own the space inside the orbits of the moons of their home planets. I would not be concerned, however. Even though it is Chzek space, they use their vassal races to patrol the outer regions in their control. You will not encounter more than a single Chzek s
hip operating as an escort to Chzek-kin fleets in a system in this region. Chzek fleets operate only in their core regions unless they intend to be in direct conflict and Humans are not technologically advanced enough to attract that level of attention.”
“I see,” said the admiral, still concerned.
“What of the exploration ships?” the ambassador asked.
Frowning, Tomkin replied, “We’ve received drones from nine ships so far that are either confirmed destroyed or were under attack at the time they launched their drone. We’re still waiting to hear back from another twenty-eight ships.” Leading the admiral back to the holo-imager, the admiral dialed up another map, this one of the region presumably leading into Chzek-kin, or rather Chzek, space, “We’ve received reports on the systems in green as being empty of any enemy contact. The yellow systems we’ve received indications of at least some activity. Two of the systems were found to have satellites orbiting planets with signs of life, and a few others were found to have what looked to be automated platforms. The red systems are where drones have returned from ships lost.”
The holo-imager showed a wide, flat layer of stars with red and yellow coloration. Ambassador Cent commented, “The enemy has a wall of surveillance and defense, that much is obvious. What we do not know is if it is a defense in depth or just a picket line. A picket line is more likely, as the ships needed for a defense in depth would be prohibitive. There should be a layer several systems thick of undefended systems followed by another wall of pickets. That could be repeated several times before we locate the Chzek-kin Homeworld. You can expect to find any number of bases behind the pickets as well. It’s a start.”
“It’s a costly start. We’ve lost a lot of ships and have not found the enemy,” the admiral said.
“That is the nature of war in space, Admiral. The scout ships always pay a heavy toll. Additional scout ships have already been requested to make up for the losses and to expand the search. One of those will need to be sent to investigate the systems where those ships were lost. And, if it is lost, then we’ll send two more. If necessary, we will send three more after that.” The ambassador ended the briefing and returned to his ship. It would take some time, but he felt certain the humans had at least a fighting chance.
Chapter 22: XSS Vagran, Human Controlled Space, System 48188
Sitting in his virtual captain’s cabin aboard the XSS Vagran, commander Roberto Culio was working on a full redesign of the suite. Before leaving Earth, the commander purchased a mod for a new layout from a documentary holovid on the life of First Consulate of the European Conclave, Raul Betain, during the Russo-Romanian Helsinki negotiations in 2219. It was a huge scandal as the European negotiators were caught accepting bribes from the Russians in exchange for a favorable outcome in their border dispute with Romania. The Romanians were outraged and demanded possession of the corrupt officials’ estates, along with the officials themselves. The Europeans negotiated the transfer of the estates, but never gave up the officials who got off with a token slap on the wrist. What caught Commander Culio’s attention most was a villa owned by Betain that was shown on an episode of Lifestyles of the Influential that was included in the documentary. The villa was a twenty-eight thousand square foot, single story “house” on Ile d’Aix, an exclusive island whose land sells for in excess of twenty-eight million pounds an acre. Roberto was halfway through his redesign using a mod he purchased and with the assistance of the ship’s entertainment AI to recreate the rooms when his reverie was broken.
“Captain to the bridge,” was spoken through the ship’s system and followed by the sounds of General Quarters.
Roberto stood up from his plush chair in the library of the villa and instantly appeared on the virtual bridge. Unlike many officers in the Exploration Service, the captain of the Vagran did not immerse into the virtual worlds aboard ship to the point he bothered with walking between spaces like they were real despite his propensity to simulate the reality of the wealthy, “Report,” he commanded upon appearing.
“Captain on the bridge,” announced the quartermaster, stepping on the OOD’s attempt to reply to the order.
Frowning, the OOD, Ensign Grommond, gave a flick of his gaze to the quartermaster before restarting his report, “Captain. Sensors have detected an object making a high-speed pass through the system sixteen degrees positive ecliptic, bearing 012, at nine million miles.”
“Very well,” the captain replied, looking at the holo-image of the system. The ship, it was obviously a ship with that course and rate of travel, was making a pass through the system that would bring it across the life zone for the system at four million miles above the ecliptic. The same type of profile an Exploration Service ship would use to pass through a system and exactly why the captain took up their current position, “Are we able to identify the object?” he asked.
“Not yet, sir. We have long-range imaging running a continuous image through the quantum computers. We should have something within the next few minutes.”
“Good. Weapons, I want a solution for a full spread of Mk VIIs targeted on the object. Put in a dogleg, I don’t want them to backtrack the missile to our position,” the captain ordered, not wanting to give away their hiding place attached to a forty million ton iron asteroid orbiting the local star just inside the outer edge of the system’s life zone.
“Captain! Contacts! Enemy missiles! Four. No, twelve. Twelve enemy missiles!”
“Gatoo beit!” cursed the Chzek-kin captain in his native tongue. She did not concern herself with using the forbidden native language of her people, even though it was against Chzek law to use any language but the language of their overlords. She was about to die anyway, “Activate defensive systems! Begin active scans!” she shouted. Knowing her ship, the Keant, had only a short time to react and was likely doomed, the captain made a desperate decision, “Separate the Alpha Drone! Now! Now! Now!”
The order stunned the bridge crew, all of whom turned toward their captain with the exception of the young officer responsible for carrying out the order. The captain took note of his commitment to his duty and was saddened he would not survive to rise in the ranks. It would be an unmeasurable loss of potential.
“Alpha Drone separated, Captain!” the ensign shouted.
“Helm, full acceleration. Set your course to intercept the hostiles. Mr. Dwok, have the drone execute its programming. Emergency evasive.”
On a side monitor the captain watched the giant drone initiate maximum thrust and activate its spatial compression drive. Fully one-quarter the size of the ship and built as an integral part of the vessel, the Alpha Drones were designed to allow Chzek-kin scout ships to deploy a part of their selves to operate independently. The drone was comprised of the Number 3 engine and the backup spatial compression system, the port side sensor array, and two of the ships six quantum computers, along with a pair of standard drones it could deploy to scout or return a message to base at its AI’s discretion.
“Weapons, launch a full spread of anti-ship missiles to detonate just ahead of the incoming hostiles. Let’s see if we can get some proximity kills,” the captain ordered, playing her last card in a deck stacked against her.
Of the twelve missiles, eight made it through the Chzek-kin ship’s defenses, with only six sub-munition guided kinetic penetrators from a single missile striking the Chzek-kin scout ship. It was enough, as one of the penetrators smashed through the ship’s reactor, flooding the ship with radiation moments before gutting it in the resulting explosion. The crew was dead, but the mission of the Keant remained in the crystalline brain of the quantum AI aboard the Alpha Drone. Its next system was known numerically to the humans as System 48127.
Chapter 23: XSS Nautilus, System 48633
“What do you think, Captain?” asked LCDR Milton Fox, the recently promoted XO who also served under Captain Kree on the Cousteau. Most of the starboard crew of the Cousteau cross-decked to the new Nautilus class scout ship when the captain took command. Since th
e war started, the practice of ships having both a port and starboard crew were over. Crews coming in after long patrols were immediately redeployed to newly commissioned ships as fast as they came in; their old ships put in dry dock for refit or decommissioned if they were one of the older classes of the service’s exploration ships. The exception was the crew of the Cousteau, who Exploration Service Command decided to put on the beach until the return of their captain. It was a reward for their discovery of the Rheas and the exemplary service of the crew throughout its deployment. They would be the last crew until the war was over to see even a short amount of shore leave back on Earth.
Captain Kree replied to the open-ended question, “Getting the new drones through those systems undetected was lucky. Honestly, I expected to have run out of drones by now.”
“What about the system coming up, ‘633?’” he followed up, feeling some of what were now routine jitters for him when going into an unexplored system. He used to be excited. He used to be thrilled for the discovery. Now, it was the fear of the boogeyman and megaton yield Chzek-kin missiles coming at the ship.
The XO’s fears were a concern for the captain, “Milton,” she began, “You’re going to have to change your thinking. You’re fixating on the worst case and its showing. The crew is going to start noticing, even if you do keep your emotional status locked in the blue. I want you to quit worrying so much. Hell, we’re not even going to enter this system. We’re sending in the drones. Are you afraid we’ll lose a drone? Fine. But that’s not something we shouldn’t expect and it’s certainly not something to get worked up about.”
The new drones used by the Nautilus were twice as large and far more capable than the ones used on the Cousteau; stealthy and able to deploy decoys to avoid destruction.
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