‘Glorious campaign’ was usually a euphemism for ‘bloodbath’, Grattus considered as his mind slipped smoothly into the tone of the lecture that was about to follow.
“Her Majesty, the Empress, has decided that the time has come for the so-called Universal Alliance to understand the true might of the Bardomil Empire,” Sudrus continued.
At the mention of the words ‘Universal Alliance’, Grattus suddenly brightened up. Since the defeat of General Sarvin’s Bardomil Ninth Sarmitha Imperial Fleet by Caudwell, a large number of Bardomil Generals wished to try and avenge their comrades. With the commanders of six Imperial Fleets gathered in the Conference Room, one of them was going to have his chance. Leaning forward on his seat Grattus banged the table with the flat of his hand to show his appreciation. Quickly, the other Generals, not wishing to appear out of step in their loyalty to the Empress, followed suit.
“Gentlemen, if you please,” Sudrus raised his hands to placate the table thumpers, “I applaud your eagerness to vanquish our enemy, but there is much preparation to be done,” he shouted over the noise of table banging.
For a few seconds, the table banging continued, and when the Generals felt that they had shown sufficient loyalty, it petered out.
“Gentlemen, your loyalty is duly noted,” Sudrus got down to the business of the briefing, “Junior Fleet Officer Batarrien will now outline the strategic situation,” Sudrus gave way on the lectern to the handsome young Officer who had presented the idea to the Empress.
Another courtier, Grattus thought to himself as he watched the handsome, well dressed young Officer take the lectern. There had been a long and less than distinguished procession of Imperial favourites who had expounded their particular strategies over the years. However, Grattus, eager for the chance to take on Caudwell was prepared to listen to what this particular Imperial ‘pet’ had to say.
“Gentlemen, it is an honour to be here…” Batarrien began.
“Get on with it, boy!” the gruff General Glabbrus interjected.
Glabbrus, a solid, muscular slab of a creature was nobody’s fool and did not suffer fools gladly.
“As I was saying, it is an honour to be here,” Batarrien replied, unshaken by the General’s rude outburst, “having completed a political and demographic study of the Universal Alliance…”
“Sometime today would be nice!” Glabbrus baited once more.
“Very well, General, if you do not wish to be part of this glorious campaign, I shall inform her Majesty of your reticence to participate,” Batarrien smiled icily.
The tension in the room, already intolerably high went up several more notches at the insult.
“Are you calling me a coward, boy!?” a dangerously enraged Glabbrus hissed, raising his considerable frame from the seat that he occupied.
“Well, sir,” Batarrien said confidently, “if your last performance against the Horvath is any indication, then I’m surprised that the Empress would want you on this expedition.”
“What do you mean by that, boy!?” Glabbrus bunched his fists ready to strike.
This was a dangerous situation for young Batarrien. One of Glabbrus’ favourite pastimes was to take sharpened metal spikes and drive them into the skulls of prisoners with his bare hands. Glabbrus was well able to kill with one blow.
“Well, I believe that they call you ‘clean-pair-of-heels’ on Horvan,” Batarrien did some baiting of his own.
“Why you…” the incensed Glabbrus tried to clamber over the table to get to the lectern.
No sooner had Glabbrus moved than an Imperial Bodyguard struck the irate General with a stinging blow on the back of the head with a pistol. The General, stunned by the blow, stumbled and landed on his back on the table top. The barrel of the black-uniformed Bodyguard’s pistol pressed against the General’s nose quelled any further aggressive outbursts.
Well, well, well, you seem to have some guts, Junior Fleet Officer Batarrien, Grattus considered as Glabbrus took his seat once more under the close guidance of a pistol-wielding Imperial Bodyguard. Watching the temporarily defeated General take his seat, Grattus knew that Glabbrus would not let the insult pass, and, no matter how long it took, he would kill Batarrien one day.
“As I was saying,” Batarrien began again, cool as a cucumber, “I have carried out a political and demographic study of the Universal Alliance and have found a weakness.”
Now Grattus was very definitely interested in what the young Officer had to say. Sitting forward, his elbows on the table, Grattus watched as the young Officer activated the Display Screen and studied the image that appeared on the table surface. The illustration seemed to be a two-dimensional schematic of the territory held by the Universal Alliance.
“Here, Gentlemen we have the current extent of the territories of the so-called Universal Alliance,” Batarrien began, “we have the New Thexxia bloc highlighted in red,” he added as one half of the Alliance schematic flashed a pale red, “the Colos bloc in yellow, the Ganthoran frontier in blue and our own frontier in white,” the young Officer activated the various controls to illuminate the appropriate sectors.
“And, here Gentlemen, we have our objective,” Batarrien indicated showing the five vulnerable systems in bright green, “we have the Praxos system; uninhabited,” Batarrien informed, highlighting the system in orange, “the Terran system with one inhabited planet; not part of the Alliance,” the orange highlight moved to the next system, “next, the Sidionas system; two inhabited planets currently at war with each other and not members of the Alliance,” the orange highlight moved forward again, “then Botar; uninhabited and finally, the Sykith system with one inhabited planet; not part of the Alliance.”
For a moment, a stunned silence fell over the room. Batarrien had just described a virtually undefended corridor through the heart of the Universal Alliance.
“Junior Officer,” Grattus piped up, “this is all well and good, but surely their frontiers with us and the Ganthorans are heavily policed?”
“A very good strategic question, General,” the young Officer praised, “and the answer to it is ‘not really’. From our last reconnaissance sweeps, Intelligence indicates that the bulk of the Alliance’s military forces are committed to establishing and protecting colonies in the new Thexxia sector. We believe that Alliance Admiral Chulling has five of their Star-Cruiser craft to defend the Praxos frontier.”
“Turthus Chulling?” Grattus asked, “I’ve fought against him, he’s a slippery one, he’s clever and he has no shortage of courage,” Grattus had to admit his admiration for the Thexxian-born Admiral.
“But what of Caudwell?” one of the unknown Generals asked.
“Caudwell will be distracted by a diversion, General Trathar,” Batarrien replied.
“What kind of diversion?” the new General, Trathar, asked.
“That is confidential General,” Batarrien replied with the famous Bardomil military euphemism for ‘I-don’t-really-know’.
The constant secrecy and back-covering were a source of annoyance for Grattus. The Bardomil military seemed to exist on the basis of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. It was all part of the Empress’ divide and rule policy. Unfortunately, the lack of shared information had more than once caused a Bardomil defeat. However, the Empress valued control of her Generals far more than she valued the lives of Bardomil soldiers.
“So, we are to attack the Alliance through the Praxos system?” General Methrien asked.
“Yes, General,” Batarrien replied and changed the image on the Conference table surface.
Looking at the thin, cadaverous features of General Methrien, Grattus knew that despite being one of the cruellest and most savage of commanders, Methrien was also very tactically and strategically aware.
“Her Imperial Majesty has drawn up a plan of attack,” Batarrien instructed as the Conference Table image showed a schematic of an invasion route, “gentlemen, the Praxos campaign,” he added with the drama of a professional
actor.
Grattus, like all the other Generals, had to stand up to look at the full extent of the plan.
The image showed a map through the five systems. A huge white line tipped by an arrow indicated the path of advance for the invasion force. Branching off from the large white line, narrower arrow-headed lines indicated where garrisons of Bardomil troops were to be established along the invasion route.
Nodding quietly, Grattus had to admit that the plan looked tactically sound. But, like all soldiers, he knew that plans were one thing and what the enemy did was something entirely different. Very rarely did an enemy conform to the planners’ expectations. And, as Grattus Darrien scanned the invasion plan, he began to second guess what Chulling and Caudwell would do to resist the attack.
“It’s very nice, Junior Officer,” General Methrien was first to speak, “but to implement this plan it will require close to two million troops and their supplies.”
“Very astute of you, General,” Batarrien replied, “and this is only phase one. Her Imperial Majesty is committing five million soldiers to the campaign,” he added proudly.
Once more the Generals murmured amongst themselves at the boldness and sheer scale of the plan.
“I don’t see any occupation force for Planet Terra,” a chastened and angry Glabbrus returned to the conversation.
“Terra is of no consequence, General,” young Batarrien replied.
“No consequence? No consequence, Junior Officer? Terra is Caudwell’s home planet. There are over five billion humans on that world. It’s an ideal staging post for a counter-offensive, and we’re just going to bye-pass it?” Glabbrus persisted.
“Her Majesty assures me that Terra will be taken care of by other means,” Captain Sudrus said darkly, which stifled any further discussion on the matter.
“You said five million troops,” Grattus commented, “with say two million to hold this ‘corridor’ and split the Alliance, do we deploy the rest against the Ganthorans?” he asked.
“No General, they will be required for phase two,” Batarrien smiled and changed the Conference Table graphic.
The graphic for phase two showed a line of white squares on the left of the newly conquered ‘corridor’ whilst to the right, three vast white blocks showed large arrow-headed lines plunging deeply into Alliance territory and converging on the planet of New Thexxia.
“So, we’re finally going after the Thexxians!?” General Methrien cheered loudly.
“Yes, General,” Batarrien smiled, “we stabilise the Ganthoran frontier and isolate the Colos bloc before eliminating the Thexxians once and for all.”
“And what do our planners think the Colos planets will be doing as we tear the heart out of the Alliance?” the other unknown General spoke.
“General Mardak, Her Majesty believes that the internal political instability amongst the planets around Colos will make a decisive military response highly unlikely,” Batarrien replied, “our political analysts predict that the Colos bloc will sue for peace before the Thexxians are eliminated.”
“That seems a very optimistic reading of the situation, Junior Officer,” Methrien commented.
“No,” Glabbrus insisted,” there’s no real fight in the Colosians; they’re traders and merchants, not warriors,” he added.
“Comments, Gentlemen?” Batarrien asked.
“It looks very nice on graphics and charts,” Methrien spoke up again, “but supplying this kind of campaign will be a logistical nightmare.”
“Her Majesty has committed two hundred and ten thousand transport vessels to the campaign with a further thirty thousand support transports every day,” Batarrien replied.
Once again the Generals fell silent as they contemplated the sheer scale of the endeavour.
“That’s a big undertaking Junior Officer,” Grattus asked, “Do we really have the capacity to maintain that level of ongoing support?”
“Her Majesty has assured me that every effort will be expended to support this campaign,” Sudrus intervened.
“The conquest of the ‘corridor’ and the elimination of the Thexxians will effectively remove the Universal Alliance as a threat to the Empire,” Batarrien continued, “When the Alliance collapses, we will step in and conquer all of their territory.”
“And, their technology,” Methrien pointed out.
“Yes, General, we can copy and mass produce their technology and that will make us invincible,” Batarrien smiled.
For a moment, the Generals fell silent as each one savoured the thought of invincibility and conquest with a few old scores settled in the bargain as well.
“Yes, Gentlemen, the Ganthorans would be defeated, the Horvath would be exterminated like the Thexxians and the riches of the unclaimed territories would be ours for the taking,” Batarrien offered them a dream of limitless Imperial expansion.
“So, Junior Officer,” Grattus asked the big question, “who is to be given the honour of commanding this expedition of yours?”
“Why General Darrien,” Batarrien smiled, “that would be you, of course.”
For a moment, Grattus stood stunned to silence as the enormity of what he was being asked to do started to sink in. It was a very big request indeed. Six full Imperial Fleets; nearly a quarter of a million transports and nearly seven million personnel was a big responsibility. If he was successful, the name Grattus Darrien would be the most famous in the Empire. In his mind’s eye he saw fame, fortune, wealth, honours and power heaped upon his head by a grateful Empress.
Still not quite able to believe his luck he mumbled, “Long live the Empress!”
Chapter 20
Planet Earth
“Billy, phone!” Elizabeth Caudwell called from the living room.
Amongst the boxes and clutter of his bedroom, Billy Caudwell was attempting to pack away the treasured items that had to survive the ruthless cull of personal possessions that made up the move to the new house. With two days to go to the house move, Billy was excited at the prospect of the new property. All through his early childhood years he had stayed in police accommodations, which required that he move house every two years to fit in with his father’s new postings. The stay at their most recent house had been five years, since his father had left the force; that was much longer than he had been accustomed to. The house the Caudwell’s were leaving was damp and cold and Billy had never really felt any physical warmth or a psychological sense of belonging in the run-down Council-rented property. Now, with the new house, Billy felt that, at long last, he might actually have somewhere he could call home.
Despite all of his travels across the universe, Billy felt that this would be somewhere he could feel grounded and secure, even if it was only going to be for a short while. A home on Earth was at least preferable to the nomadic existence of the First Admiral of the Universal Alliance. Living in the Private Quarters next to the War Room aboard the Aquarius, or the Commanding Officer’s quarters aboard a Star-Destroyer, no matter how luxurious, was not the same as having your own roof over your head or your own four walls surrounding you. There was just no comparison in the mind of Billy to having a home.
Trotting down the open-plan staircase, Billy took the ultra-modern phone receiver from his mother’s outstretched hand. Around him, the living room was pretty much in the same state of disruption and disarray as his own room. Open boxes littered the ancient carpet that was soon to be discarded as his mother returned to wrapping the myriad of ornaments and family photos that would survive to be transported to the new house.
“Hello?” Billy said calmly placing the cold plastic receiver to his ear.
“Hello, Billy, it’s Emma,” a tinny-sounding, nervous voice greeted him on the other end of the line.
Immediately, Billy’s expression shifted from calm to annoyance.
“I was under the impression that we had nothing further to say to each other,” Billy said with that edge of annoyance manifesting.
“Billy, I need to talk to you…” Emma
stammered.
“Well, I don’t need to talk to you; goodbye,” Billy said tersely.
“Please, Billy, hear me out,” Emma pleaded her voice cracking with emotion, “I broke up with Micky last week, he was just using me to…”
“Well, that’s too bad Emma; but, sorry I’m not in the-shoulder-to-cry-on business any more, go and whine to one of your girlfriends.” Billy snapped.
“Look, Billy, this isn’t easy for me…” Emma responded sharply.
“Really, oh boo-hoo,” Billy mocked, “didn’t your mummy tell you, life isn’t easy, Princess; welcome to the real world.”
“I didn’t have to call you, you know?” Emma responded her temper rising.
“Oh, that’s right, doing me a big favour speaking to me are you? It’s funny how I don’t feel blessed at hearing the sound of your voice” Billy barbed.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Emma protested, “I didn’t have to phone you, you know?”
“Yes, you did,” Billy replied pragmatically, “you had to phone me because you want something; that’s usually the only time I ever hear from you,” he added, “well, bad luck, I only do maths tuition for my friends now. If you’ve got anything to say then get on with it, I’m busy.”
“Billy,” Emma paused, swallowing her pride, “I’m trying to say that I was wrong and that I’m sorry.”
“Really,” Billy sighed, “you’re sorry are you? OK, why?” he challenged.
“What do you mean?” Emma quizzed, taken aback.
“It’s very simple; you say you’re sorry, I’m asking you why,” Billy replied.
“Billy, I’ve said I’m sorry,” Emma snapped, thrown back in confusion.
“And, I want to know why,” Billy interrupted ruthlessly.
“Because, I was wrong…” Emma stammered still reeling from the question.
“And, it took you four weeks to realise that, did it?” Billy probed.
“Look, I was angry and upset…” Emma protested.
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