by D. J. Holmes
Jones shook his head. “Everything is scrambled. I’m getting jumbled reports from most of the ship. Though several sections are ominously quiet.”
“Send repair teams to those sections immediately,” Emilie said, “we need to know what is happening. Maguire?” she asked, turning to her Second Lieutenant.
“Gravimetric sensors are down. I’ve got some electromagnetic ones working. This is the best I’ve got,” she replied as she nodded to the holographic display. On it the Karacknid dreadnought was still visible, there were two large groups of missiles closing with it, but there was no way to tell how many missiles there were. From the small flashes that appeared, it was clear the dreadnought was engaging them.
“I’ve got Commodore Shraw on a COM channel,” Intrepid’s COM officer reported. “He wants to know if we are all right.”
Emilie tore her eyes away from the Karacknid dreadnought. “Inform him we’re still here, but our internal communications are down. Ask if he can send us scans of Intrepid. We need to know what kind of damage we are facing.” As her officers turned back to their stations, Emilie’s eyes dived back to the dreadnought. She was just in time to see multiple missiles detonate all around it. The sudden release of so much energy blinded what was left of Intrepid’s sensors.
“They’ve been overloaded,” Maguire reported. “Re-setting them now.”
“Here are Shraw’s scans,” Intrepid’s COM officer said as a new image appeared on the holo projector. It made Emilie gasp. There were two large holes in her cruiser. The antimatter missiles had eaten two perfectly uniform spheres out of Intrepid. Both looked like they were several decks deep at their mid points. Missile tubes, power relays, bulkheads and so much more had once filled those holes. Now they were simply gone. Including the crew who were stationed there, Emilie knew.
“All right,” she forced herself to say as she took in the rest of her command. “It’s bad, but we still have most of our ship intact. Let’s get those holes sealed and the rest of our weapons and sensors back online. You all know what to do.” The image of Intrepid flickered a couple of times and then was replaced by that of the Karacknid dreadnought. Emilie’s mouth fell open when she saw it. The dreadnought was still there. And it was still accelerating towards Damial! Debris was streaming from multiple sites where missiles had struck it. Intrepid’s two Spitfires were zipping past it, presumably having already released their plasma missiles as well. Yet despite everything that had been thrown at it, it was still going. Worse, another salvo of missiles was heading towards Intrepid. There were only thirty of them. The dreadnought had clearly suffered a lot of damage. But thirty would finish off her ship with ease.
“Sensors are back online,” Maguire reported. “We’ve got movement! Shraw’s squadron is decelerating, they’re taking up station around us.” Emilie’s mouth remained open as she watched the Gramrian ships slow and form a protective cone around her cruiser. As the Karacknid missile salvo came into weapons range, they tore into the thirty missiles. Despite their heroics, three got through their defenses. Rather than break or carry out evasive maneuvers, they held their positions. Emilie swore as each Karacknid missile took out a Gramrian warship. Each had sacrificed itself to protect Intrepid. Anger filled Emilie. She was sick of watching others die. Turning back to the Karacknid dreadnought, she was about to give orders demanding that they fire as many missiles as they had ready when she saw the second wave of Conclave missiles catch up to the Karacknid ship. With so many of its point defense weapons already gone, hundreds of missiles struck the massive warship. When the energy dissipated enough for what was left of Intrepid’s sensors to see again, there was no sign of the dreadnought. It had been reduced to its constituent atoms almost as effectively as if it had been hit by one of its own antimatter missiles.
“It’s gone,” Maguire shouted. “It’s gone!”
“Yes,” Emilie said as her eyes returned to the image of Intrepid that was being displayed on a secondary holo display. The Karacknid dreadnought was gone. The species of the Conclave were in the fight. But the cost was going to be high. After so many months she knew all of her crew by name. She could picture every one of their faces. Many of them were gone.
*
Intrepid, Folian repair yard, 31st March 2482 AD (four days later).
“Well,” Emilie said to her senior officers. “The Folians have completed their survey of the damage. They reckon it will take them a couple of weeks to seal the holes in the hull. Then she will be ready to enter shift space again. They believe they can repair some of our internal damage as well. We have enough spares to replace two of our lost missile tubes and most of our point defenses and sensors can be rebuilt in system as well.”
“What are you saying?” Alvarez asked. “I thought the plan was to get patched up and head back to our territory to bring news of what has happened home. Intrepid needs a proper refit.”
“She does,” Emilie agreed as she held Alvarez’s eyes. “But if we go back, how long will that take? A month to head back to the Maximilian system. Then what, another couple of months in a repair yard? And that’s assuming there is one free. We’d probably be put to the back of the queue. It could be six months before we are back out here. And that’s if our crew aren’t all reassigned. The Folians can get us going again in one.”
“But… Your uncle needs to know what has happened. The Conclave species are going to need as much help as we can give them.”
“They certainly do. But Intrepid doesn’t need to be the one to bring word back to Earth.” Emilie very intentionally looked away from Alvarez. “Doctor Spence, I believe you are the best qualified to update everyone on Earth about our new friends. You understand each of their species the best. I have spoken with Commodore Shraw. He has agreed to send one of his destroyers to Earth with a diplomatic delegation. I’d like you to go with them. You can bring our reports with you and, of course, you’ll need our access code to go through the wormhole and not get attacked by the fortifications being built there. I haven’t told Shraw about the wormhole. He only knows that our territory can only be accessed in a unique way. You’re not to inform the destroyer’s Captain exactly where you’re going until you reach the wormhole. Do you think you’re up for travelling with the Gramrians on your own?”
“Certainly, Captain,” Spence replied. “I am sure I’d enjoy learning more about their culture. And I understand the importance of getting word of what has happened here back to Earth as soon as possible. We need to get technological and military support out here as soon as we can.”
“That is why we cannot wait,” Emilie said as she turned back to Alvarez. “Shraw’s destroyer will be leaving before the day is out. Spence, you’ll have to pack your things pretty quickly.”
“If Spence is going to bring word to Earth and we’re not going back for repairs, then what is your plan Captain?” Alvarez asked as he gave Emilie a knowing look. He knew he wasn’t going to enjoy her answer.
“The Kalassai,” Emilie replied. “We’re going to find the Kalassai.”
Emilie smiled when Alvarez closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She knew he wanted to argue with her. But equally, he knew there was no point. Both of them had been there when Shraw had told them about the phantom species. Both of them had discussed the possibilities finding the Kalassai might open. Some of the Conclave species thought the Kalassai were a myth. A nomadic species that supposedly inhabited this sector of space. One the Karacknids were rumored to have been hunting for more than a century. Yet if they did exist, then they had managed to stay alive despite the Karacknids’ best efforts to the contrary. They were exactly the type of species Emilie needed to make contact with. “We’re not going home,” Emilie said to her officers. “We came here to seek out new ways to wage war against the Karacknids. We found one, but there are others still out there for us to explore. And that is exactly what we’re going to do.”
Chapter 36
Today the construction of warships is entirely carried out by au
tonomous drones. Only the final safety checks require Human input. In the early days of the Empire things were very different. Drones were used heavily of course, but the intricacies of warship design meant constant supervision was needed.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.
Sandringham House, England, 25th February 2482 AD (seven days after King James VII’s coronation).
“We will seek to maneuver them into this position and strike from here,” Gupta explained to James, Christine and Scott. All four of them were staring at a holo projection of the New Berlin system. “If the Karacknids play ball, it should be a fair fight. We’ll take losses, but I don’t see how we can avoid that.”
James had his face screwed up. “I don’t like it. But with the limited numbers we have, we are going to struggle in any kind of fleet on fleet battle.”
“There’s no way we can combine Lightfoot’s fleet with Home Fleet for the battle?” Christine asked.
James shared a glance with Gupta. It was something they had discussed for hours already. He shook his head. “Not any way we can think of. Not one that would have a good chance of working at least. At best, Lightfoot can make a nuisance of himself. This is something Home Fleet will have to do themselves.”
A knock on the door to the briefing room stopped James from saying anything further. “Enter,” he called. The British marine who was in the briefing room guarding the door stepped aside and opened it.
“Your Highness,” Fairfax said as he rushed into the room. “I have news.”
This time James’ eyes went to Christine. The elections had been held yesterday. Up until the last votes, they had both been tirelessly campaigning. James had slept no more than twenty hours over the last week. What he had been doing with the rest of his time was a blur. He vaguely remembered a public debate with Bernard in the refugee camps about the merits of the new constitution and forming one governmental structure for Humanity. He had been grilled endlessly by a host of holo news outlets about how the new government and legal systems would work in practice. Alongside each of those recorded events, he had visited towns and cities up and down the length of Britain, and even spent a day on Mars, to speak with his citizens. Almost everywhere he had gone he had been welcomed with a love that he had not expected. Being King, if even only for a week or so, had elevated him in the eyes of most of the British populace. Yet there had been no real indication of whether that love would translate into votes.
When it had all finally been over James had returned to Sandringham House and slept for nearly half a day. He had awoken to find Christine had come to Sandringham House to visit him. They had spent pretty much all of their time discussing strategy with Admiral Gupta or new technologies with Scott or some finer points of the economy with Andréa. Anything to take their minds off the referendum results. “Well, are you going to tell us?” Christine asked when Fairfax moved up beside them but didn’t say anything. She stamped her foot as she spoke and raised an eyebrow.
“Of course, of course,” Fairfax said as he bowed deeply to Christine. “I am eternally at your service my Empress.”
“It passed!” James said as a weight lifted from his shoulders. A smile spread across his face. “We won?”
Fairfax turned and bowed just as deeply to James. “I’m afraid I am at a loss as to how to address you your grace. Your Royal Highness? Or Your Imperial Greatness?”
Christine reached over and thumped Fairfax hard on the shoulder. “Stop toying with us. What were the results?”
Straightening, Fairfax lifted a hand to rub his shoulder as he took a half a step back from Christine. “Okay, okay. I guess my fun is over. You know I’ve been working towards this for years? You could have played along a little.”
“Not when we don’t know what exactly has happened,” James countered.
“Right, well the vote passed in all seven nations. With a turnout of seventy-six percent, our constitution won sixty-eight percent of the vote. It was a little higher in Britain and China, the United Colonial States of America vote was just sixty-one percent in favor. But overall, the constitution has been adopted in Britain, China, USA, Russia, Japan, Australia, Canada and Mexico. Every nation that held a referendum has passed it.”
James found himself needing to sit down. “A seventy-six percent turnout and a sixty-eight percent share of the vote. That’s a real mandate isn’t it? No one can argue with that.”
“I’m sure some will find a way,” Fairfax responded. “But you’re right. The turnout was about what I expected. But the result? That was always in the balance. Now there can be no doubt. With such a win, I believe it will snowball from here. There will be other Earth nations planning to hold their own votes in the coming days and the colonies will have no choice but to vote as well.”
“What do we do now? Politically I mean, where do we stand?” James asked. “Is Christine now Empress of our Human Empire? Do we need to have another coronation?” When he looked over to Christine, James saw that she was still taking it in. He understood full well. It had been one thing to know he was going to be crowned King of the British Star Kingdom, but actually being crowned had been something else entirely.
“Yes and no…” Fairfax replied slowly. “Officially, our constitution has been adopted by the nations that have held their referendums. She is now the Empress of the land and citizens these formerly sovereign nations of Earth and Mars had. So she is now the Empress of much of the Sol system. Beyond that, I imagine the legal technicalities would be impossible to work out. Is she Empress of ships built in British shipyards in the Sol system that are now stationed in the British colonies? What about citizens of British colonies that are living in England? Or Americans born in the Continental United States that are now living in one of their colonies? In reality, there is no legal precedent. There’s no way to know. Until every colony has had its own referendum, we’ll be stuck with such realities.
“Besides, she’s not Empress until she is officially crowned. And we shouldn’t do that until referendums have been held in every nation here on Earth and on all of our colonies. Or at least as many as we can get to hold them. When she does finally ascend to the position of Empress of Humanity, we need to make sure it is as legitimate as possible. The more people who have adopted our constitution by then, the better. Only then can we have a Royal marriage. You’ll have to wait a bit longer to be Emperor I’m afraid your Highness.”
James lifted his arm like he was going to thump Fairfax’s other shoulder. “You know I don’t care about that. What I want to know is, do we now have enough legitimacy to launch our diversion?”
Fairfax turned to Gupta. “That’s really a question for our esteemed Admiral to answer. I believe Christine can now officially command the elements of your fleet whose nations have just accepted the constitution. Do you think the rest will follow?”
Gupta took a breath and nodded. “If James and Koroylov sign off on the order as well, then I believe so. What’s left of our fleet knows they are our two best Admirals. There will be some elements within the fleet, like the Indian and Argentinian officers, who will come under pressure from their governments to resist. But I do not think we will have any serious problems. Even a Junior Lieutenant can read the strategic situation in Alliance space. They know how important our mission is.”
“Very well,” Fairfax said as he turned back to Christine and looked at her expectantly.
Though James thought she still looked dazed, she blinked a few times and smoothed her expression. “As my first act as Empress, albeit uncrowned, I order you, Admiral Gupta, to take our forces to New Berlin and break the siege of the colony.”
“As you command my Empress,” Gupta replied as she gave a slight bow.
“You can return to the Beta system and join the Home Fleet as soon as you’re ready to leave,” James added. “They’ll need to know exactly what is going on. Scott and I will rendezvous with you in six days. That is when we will have the rest of our ships ready?”
�
��It is,” Scott said with a nod.
“Then our offensive will begin within the week,” Christine said. “When you depart, I will address our people to inform them of what is going on. Though, there is one problem with your plan James. I’m afraid you will not be accompanying them your Majesty.”
James’ head spun around. “What?”
Christine gave him a small smile. “You heard me just fine. You’re not going anywhere. Not when we’re in the middle of trying to establish an entirely new political order.” She waved her hand towards the meeting room’s door. “How many of the people out there voted for this new constitution because you are on the ticket? How many percentage points did your name win us?” When James didn’t answer she turned to Fairfax.