Star Man 2: Star Rise

by I. G. Roberts

  Chapter 13

  Hangelore, Alliance Space

  Suhmarlin Hazilsor looked out the Station window at his planet and smiled to himself. It was ships owned by Suhmarlin that had conquered Hangelore System ten years previously. People here had barely begun to venture off their planet when Hazilsor came. The conquest gave him a base of operations to work from. Now Hazilsor owned Hangelore, there was a large workforce of slaves to draw from. They weren’t particularly productive, but the workforce was numerous enough to make up for it, and whenever someone tried to resist him, a few public executions usually seemed to pull them back into line. Since making the conquest, Suhmarlin had been setting it up as a Pirate stronghold, very successfully. Enough of the Pirates who visited here ended up in debt to him that he could get them to do what he wanted. Often, he would end up owning them for all intents and purposes. The Pirates who were unfortunate enough to become his were treated well enough if they did what Hazilsor wanted. Those Pirates who worked for the creature who was now, for all intents and purposes, the Hangelore government, quickly learned that they could make a healthy living, so few tried to leave. Those who did try quickly found the attempt to be a major mistake, at least they did when he caught them. The trouble with these brutal methods was that when an escape was successful, other Pirates were warned never to go to Hangelore unless you had money to pay for anything you might want there. Over time, the number of Pirates who went to Hangelore expecting a haven began to decline till, over the last two years, the only Pirates who arrived at Hangelore were either owned by Hazilsor already, or they had the money to pay their own way. Suhmarlin didn’t mind particularly, he made money either way.

  Hazilsor changed his focus from the planet to his pad looking at the names of the ships he hoped to assemble to attack the Federation and capture a world. If the Alliance could manage to pull this off, it would be a truly stupendous coup. They would obtain millions of slaves and a shipyard. Of course, Suhmarlin knew capturing a world of this calibre was not going to be easy. The Federation Navy would never be a pushover, not with the capabilities of their ships and the way they trained their crews, but the Peschal Alliance had been doing a lot over the last few years to take the edge off that blade. More recently, the humans in the Federation had designed a new class of ships. Those ships were absolute little beasts, they were ridiculously fast and maneuverable, and they packed one hell of a punch. Nobody in the Alliance had been able to figure out how the humans managed it, but the limited intelligence that had been gathered so far was not promising. Alliance operatives knew, or thought they knew how many of those little ships were out there but not much else. Much worse was the fact that agents started disappearing soon after FNS Destiny escaped and reached Federation space.

  The Alliance had only ever been able to insert three agents into Cambridge, and of those three, only one was still active and even he was now in a dead-end assignment where he couldn’t help much or even send any useful information. Of the other two, one died in a stupid accident, and the other was caught embezzling funds for his own use. Suhmarlin could not believe the level of stupidity that entailed. So much effort was put into building up IDs for those three operatives, and now in two of those cases, the effort was wasted. The Alliance planners had been working on this plan now for a year and a half. Unfortunately, too many of the senior leadership within the Peschal Alliance didn’t understand the complexity, or for that matter, the dangers of attacking the Federation, hence the loss of so many Alliance ships, ships that would’ve been much more useful as part of the operation. This was to be a complete departure from the Alliance’s typical modus operandi. In the past, the Alliance only raided. They would go in and capture a ship, or they would attack a colony for whatever they could carry away. The intention of this operation, on the other hand, was to capture and hold an entire System within the Federation. This meant the Alliance needed enough ships capable of fighting when the battle was over to hold on to what they had captured.

  Of course, if they could capture the shipyards intact, any damaged Alliance ships could be repaired quickly, and perhaps even given some upgrades. The target System was the linchpin for an entire sector. If that System fell to the Alliance, Hazilsor was confident the rest of the Sector would follow soon after. Not only that, but capturing this Sector would drive a deep salient into the Federation, putting many more Federation worlds within the Alliance’s reach. Suhmarlin Hazilsor was a very ambitious creature, he didn’t only want this System, he wanted it all. Hazilsor wanted the Sector, even the entire Federation, and he wanted the Peschal Alliance as well. Of course, Suhmarlin knew he had to play the long game. By the time any of his contemporaries knew about his ambitions, it would be far too late for any of them to stop him from achieving his goals.

  FNS Theseus, Cambridge

  Captain Gordon reached the bridge of Theseus, took the time to greet his bridge crew then asked Ensign Susan Wills to take over as the Duty Officer while he had a few words with his XO Sam Harland and 2nd Officer Anne Fraser.

  When Colin had the two Officers in his office, he turned to Sam and said, “Sam, since we’ve been on this ship together, of watched you grow and mature as an Officer. Do you remember your hesitation when we were pursuing that first Freighter in FR-1427A?”

  “Yes Sir, I screwed up badly there. You could have legitimately ruined my career there if you wanted to, but you decided to try and save me instead. I appreciate what you did Sir when you spoke to me, and realized what I’d done wrong. Since then I’ve tried very hard to be the Officer I thought you wanted me to be.”

  “It shows Sam. I’ve watched you develop and mature. Few people with your time on a Warship have seen as much action as you have. I’ve watched you go from being hesitant to making and executing hard decisions without batting an eye. Now for the point of this conversation. After we return from Cotoni, you will be commanding your own ship. There are two reasons you must wait that long. The first is that there simply isn’t one ready for you quite yet. The second is Theseus needs you for our upcoming mission. If we need to go to battle stations, you and Lieutenant Fraser will be going to the Secondary Control Centre. I will have Ensign Wills with me in the CCC. That way, if I’m taken out during a fight, I’ll have you two in place to extract us from whatever mess we’re in and make for home.”

  Sam stood there in shock. To be promised a command like this was something Sam had dreamed of all his life. He saluted his Captain smartly, showing his appreciation, and pride the best way possible.

  Colin continued, “Sam, I’m proud to give you the next piece of news. As of this minute, you Sir, are out of uniform, you need to add these.”

  Colin handed Sam the Rank pips of a Lieutenant Commander.

  Then Colin turned to Anne who was grinning broadly, happy for Sam’s luck, “Second Lieutenant Fraser, you are also not currently wearing the correct rank insignia.”

  Again, Colin handed over a new set of rank pips to confirm the promotion. Anne looked like she was about to dance around the Cabin with pleasure. As far as Colin was concerned, Anne earned her rank the hard way, enduring all kinds of adversity to achieve it. Finally, Anne settled enough to snap Colin a smart salute as was expected. Then Colin told the two of them to take some time because he would have the con when FNS Theseus left the dock, or at least, he intended to supervise while Sue Wills took Theseus out. Anne accurately read between the lines, acutely aware of what Colin meant, and approving. Anne knew people learned from practice, and sometimes from making mistakes. Colin was an excellent teacher who had a knack for getting the very best out of people. Those in his crew who had served with him in the past would willingly follow the Captain to hell and back because they knew he cared about them and could bring their best to the front. Anyone who wasn’t performing at their best over an extended period simply didn’t last very long. They moved on to duties more suited to their abilities. None of this meant someone couldn’t have an off day or make a mistake. Colin just didn’t tolerate peo
ple who were habitual slackers or simply not smart enough to be able to do their jobs. The more experienced crew members had all adopted the same attitude now because they all knew that if someone didn’t pull his or her weight, any or all of them could be seriously injured, or even die. In the final analysis, FNS Theseus had the lowest rate of disciplinary issues in the fleet because most problems never came to the Captain's attention, they were usually dealt with long before then and long before they grew too big.

  Colin arrived in the CCC, and Ensign Wills hastily Jumped up from the command chair only to be waved back down. He told her about the new arrangements and about the promotions. Susan realized the Captain was taking her under his wing, to help her develop into a better Officer. The idea made Susan proud, but she was also a little nervous. The nervousness wasn’t because the Captain frightened Sue, he’d already demonstrated a caring and compassionate nature to her, but because she didn’t want to ever disappoint the man. All this was going through Susan’s mind when the Captain dropped his bombshell. Susan would be the one performing the undocking maneuver, under the Captain's watchful eye of course but still, she would have the con. She quickly pulled herself together and started the preliminary checks required before the undocking itself could proceed. Susan methodically ran down the checklist. Colin didn’t interfere, even though Susan could have just asked Theseus if all items on the list were good and received an all clear to undock, or not if something was outstanding. Still, Colin was happy that Susan remembered the list at all and while there were more efficient ways to complete it, the important point here was that the Ensign had remembered.

  Finally, all the crew was on board, stores and supplies loaded and secured, and the hatches were all closed and locked. Susan had been smart enough to request a departure time right at the beginning of running through her checklist. Departure was approved by docking control, and Ensign Wills issued all the correct orders to release the docking connections and back FNS Theseus away from Cambridge Station. Colin gave her an approving look as Theseus turned and slowly made her way out to the rendezvous (RV) point. When they arrived, they needed to hold station for a short while so FNS Shurana could reach them from the Shipyards. A decision had been made to improve Shurana’s Shielding, especially around the engine nacelles. They could not afford to have her crippled again, not on this trip. Colin had a suspicion they might need every weapons platform they had available on this voyage. He didn’t know why, not then, but it seemed important, though. During the installation of the additional Shield-Nodes, a couple of minor issues were discovered that needed to be addressed, so Shurana was delayed by a few hours while the people at the Yards made the necessary repairs. Both Theseus and Loki had packed every missile they could manage into their holds, and every spare nook and cranny was filled with food and other consumables up to and including a comprehensive inventory of spare parts. FNS Fortitude carried enough additional weapons and other stores to fully replenish both Cobras twice during the trip. They intended to fill Fortitude’s holds for the journey home, bringing every missile they could lay their hands on and fit into those Holds.

  This was considered to be a crucial part of the mission. While Cambridge was producing these weapons as fast as could be managed, the expenditure against Pirate incursions was far higher than had been predicted. Even though large stockpiles were being hidden around the System, everyone knew those stockpiles would dwindle rapidly if the expected scope and scale of Pirate attack did occur. Hence the need for FNS Fortitude to bring whatever could be managed back to Cambridge. Cotoni System held massive supply dumps for several sectors and a large Naval base. Outside of Sankarah, Cotoni was believed to be one of the most secure locations in the Federation.

  While they all waited for FNS Shurana to arrive, Colin arranged an online conference between the Captains of all the ships in the Convoy. During this meeting, Colin reiterated what everyone would be doing in the event they were attacked by any Pirates. Everybody understood the reasons for these dispositions. Destiny, Fortitude, and Shurana simply could not keep up with the two Cobras and needed to stick together so they could support each other while the Cobras would be mobile, harassing any threats. The Cobras worked much better that way, able to inflict far more damage on an enemy than could be achieved if they tried to stay with the slower ships and just slug it out. The slower ships could be brought closer together so they could mutually support one another while the Cobras would dance with the enemy using hit and run tactics. Most likely, the Cobras would be the ones to destroy or damage the Pirate ships but having the other three there would divide their attention so if the Cobras couldn’t slip a missile through the Pirate’s Shields, most likely, at least one of the other three should manage to do so.

  Hangelore, Peschal Alliance Space

  Suhmarlin Hazilsor watched as another four ships arrived bringing the total up to thirty-nine ships available for his attack so far. Many more were still to arrive but Hazilsor was becoming impatient, they should’ve already been here. For the entire operation, they needed at least ninety Warships and thirty Freighters. Sixty of the Warships were to attack the primary target, while the remaining thirty were split into two groups of fifteen. One of those groups was to attack Cotoni System after the other raided around that sector, attempting to draw off some of Cotoni’s defenses. The aim of this plan was to stop the Federation from sending reinforcements to help his victims, not until it was too late for them to do any good. Suhmarlin didn’t need these thirty ships to put themselves at too much risk. They just needed to be seen and to look threatening. If they could achieve this much, the Federation would send ships after them which would, in turn, tie up a lot of the Federation’s reserves in this part of space. The thirty Freighters, all of which were captured over the previous three years, were intended to act as his Fleet Train. Having them would give Hazilsor’s fleets much more flexibility. Those thirty Freighters at least were already here. Suhmarlin’s plan called for them to form three Fleet Trains, two with five Freighters each and one with twenty. These fleet trains were intended to carry supplies for the three combat forces the Peschal Alliance was sending out on this operation.

  Suhmarlin was furious when twenty ships en route to Hangelore were intercepted by a Cruiser and two of the little ships from Cambridge. The Alliance fleet lost nine ships in the end, and another two were severely damaged. Those lost ships were going to delay the planned attack by nearly two weeks. The one good thing to come out of that little debacle was that they now had a good idea of how those beasts of ships operated. His planners had used the information gleaned from the engagement to come up with some tactics they thought would blunt the tactics employed by these new ships from Cambridge. Up till then, whenever one of the task forces met them, there were no survivors. This included the four ships that went to raid a colony called Conomar. Those ships hadn’t been heard from since. Hazilsor hoped they were all dead because they disobeyed his orders. Whatever the reasons for the losses, they still needed fifty-one more ships to have a reasonable chance of success. He knew the ships defending their target were going to exact a toll, but Suhmarlin just could not conceive how the Navy defending that System could possibly defeat sixty, heavily armed ships. This would be the largest, and most ambitious operation ever carried out by the Peschal Alliance. The risks were high, but then so were the rewards.

  A slave came to his door to tell Suhmarlin he was late for a meeting. Hazilsor acknowledged the slave with a grunt, not being sure of his name, and left for the meeting.

  CCC, FNS Theseus

  Colin watched as FNS Shurana finally moved into formation, breathing a sigh of relief. This little convoy could finally begin the journey back to Cotoni Station. On the way, they would stop at Conomar and pick up the prisoners they had previously left there. Theseus informed Colin there was an incoming communication from Headquarters. He accepted the call to be confronted by Henry and Sonya sitting side by side.

  Henry said, “Just called to wish you Godspeed and g
ood hunting. Don’t go chasing off after any Pirates if they are clearly running away, but equally, don’t let any of the bastards dog your steps. Colin, I know you have good judgment, and I know you will use it to get this job done. We need you, and whatever you can bring with you, back here as soon as possible. Don’t go dabbling in the flesh pots at Cotoni Station okay.”

  Sonya hit Henry on the shoulder before saying, “Colin, we’re sending you on this assignment because you are the best man for the job. I will reiterate what Henry said a minute ago. We need you back here as soon as you can manage it. Take care, Commander.”

  Colin replied, “Thank you, Sir, ma’am. I was always planning to make this trip as fast as we can manage. The limiting factor will be the best speeds the other three ships can make, and of course any unforeseen delays we encounter along the way. I will, of course, bring back anything I can with me, up to, and including reinforcements if I can find them, and convince the people to come. Theseus out.”

  After the call was completed, FNS Theseus and FNS Loki raced ahead of the balance of the convoy and left Cambridge System on the way to FR2-955E. The plan was to exit into this System as fast as possible in the hope they could have time to defeat any threat that may be lurking on the other side before the balance of the Convoy arrived. Another two Cobras, FNS Thor and FNS Forseti, joined Theseus and Loki just before they reached the Jump-Point and the four ships Jumped out of Cambridge in formation. The plan was for Thor and Forseti to hide near the Jump-Point and Jump back into Cambridge to give advanced warning of any significant Pirate force that was heading towards Cambridge from that direction. Another two Cobras, FNS Freyja and FNS Magni, were going in the other direction to keep an eye out in FR-1427A.