‘She is a lady of taste, Admiral,’ S-Az said. ‘You could learn something from her.’
‘S-Az, have you ever thought of using a name?’ Kyrus said.
‘Me?’ S-Az said, and he managed to sound indignant. ‘Acting as if I were human? No thanks. I’m an Expanded AI and proud of being self-made.’
‘All right,’ Kyrus said seriously. ‘If you ever want personhood, tell me.’
‘I...’ For a moment the whole ship was very silent. ‘That’s a real kind suggestion, but I...’
‘Take your time, the offer stands,’ Kyrus said. ‘Now I want a cawah, before Odysson’s eager beavers arrive.’
The trader talked to him ship-to-ship. He was a breezy young Chorwaynie called Santor, who had exchanged “a dull job with the Malgarth and Continental Trading for the glories of space,” as he had told them when he came applying for a post.
‘Grand Trader Odysson sent me, Admiral. I’m ready to take over.’
‘Gladly,’ Kyrus said. ‘Let me tell you how matters stand.’ He summed up what he had discussed.
‘Good start, sir,’ Santor said. ‘We will gladly compensate for their grain. That’s always a nice opening of negotiations. I have young Llithan with me, the Rhu trader. He knows the local people, as they are on his House’s route. You will remove those old ships, sir?’
‘I am taking them back to Realmport. Good luck, Trader Santor.’
He sat up. ‘S-Az, inform Captain Joff we’re leaving the field to the sales guys. He can recall Lieutenant Borallen. Order the two recaptured ships to warn any stray Tarrik to leave, take the Marines on board and join us in orbit. We will return to Realmport.’
‘Yes sir,’ S-Az said. ‘They are most eager to go.’
‘So Borallen isn’t to command after all?’ Ginny said. ‘Poor fellow.’
‘I didn’t say that.’ Kyrus looked at her and saw she wasn’t kidding this time. ‘Those two ships will be out of service for a while, so he’ll have to wait anyhow. His name will be on that ship, though.’
‘You will tell him?’ Ginny said.
Kyrus frowned. ‘Should I?’
‘Well, if you want to be pompous like the big navies, no,’ his first officer said.
He grinned. ‘I get the message. S-Az, kindly inform Mr. Borallen he’ll have the command when the ship has been refitted.’
‘Yes sir. How very un-Moi-like.’
‘Sure,’ Kyrus said. ‘I’m not one, remember. Now let’s go home; I didn’t get to finish my breakfast.’
‘Too late for that,’ Ginny said. ‘It’s going on for dinnertime.’
‘Dinner!’ Kyrus said. ‘I missed lunch? No wonder I’m famished. Hurry back, S-Az.’
‘You’re fading already, sir,’ S-Az said. ‘I swear you’re getting thinner.’
Then they ported.
CHAPTER 16 – LOST FLEET
Manselm Fleet Base was the bigger of two moons orbiting a remarkably homelike seventh planet in a blue giant star system.
‘That world looks nice.’ Kambisha studied the planet below. ‘Is it inhabited?’
‘My files say it is not,’ Emma said. ‘There is a note to the effect that the world was found suitable for colonization. Some commission submitted a comprehensive report, but nothing came of it. Gunild must have a copy; it was eight or nine years before the quake.’
‘I will ask her,’ Kambisha said. ‘For the moment, Firstworld isn’t open to Moi going to live there; our gods aren’t very happy with the idea. So another planet to settle might be useful; not everybody wants to spend their entire life in space.’
‘I can no longer imagine any other life,’ Emma said. ‘But even before the quake there were brain persons weary of space and the responsibility. I’m sure you will find one or two eager for a job as colony operator.’
A light flashed and Kambisha saw the moon approach rapidly.
‘Manselm Base, this is Lin-Gor 9, High Admiral Kambisha,’ Captain Unnaerd said. ‘The high admiral wants a word with you, Manselm.’
Kambisha looked down at the 4th Fleet base. It was big, far larger than Realmport, and wholly empty but for a lone servor rolling from the main building to a warehouse half a mile away.
‘High Admiral, ma’am,’ a harsh female voice said. ‘I’m Captain Diccon, the base operator. Welcome at Manselm.’
‘Good to meet you, Diccon,’ Kambisha said in her most official voice. ‘I intend to go out and look for your missing fleet.’
‘Yes, ma’am, that would be very gratifying. I have some possibly relevant data.’
‘You may send them over,’ Kambisha said. ‘How many vessels are missing?’
‘All but one of them,’ Diccon said bluntly. ‘Two battlecruisers, six frigates, three corvettes, one scout ship and one tech ship. The only remaining vessel was an older frigate; I used it later to transport the bereaved families to Moigar, as per the heritor’s orders.’
‘That must have taken some argumenting,’ Kambisha said.
‘Not really,’ Diccon said. ‘I simply informed them I was under orders to close down, so they went—unhappy, but fast enough.’
‘You came through the quake undamaged?’
‘For the most part, yes. Being at high alert because of the exercise helped—my dome and other defenses were strengthened, the families were well protected in their quarters, and I didn’t lose more than thirty-six crew, including the Exec.’ For a moment the harsh voice faltered. ‘And of course the three thousand souls in my fleet.’
Kambisha nodded. ‘What were the last communications you had from them?’
‘They were about to start their major exercise.’
‘Thirteen ships,’ Kambisha said slowly. ‘Thirteen peas in a million acres meadow. Except that they beep very softly.’
‘If they do at all,’ Unnaerd said. He was the new captain, a young Moi who had finished the command courses with all flags flying.
‘Even if they do, you don’t want to know how many beeping objects there are in space,’ Emma said. ‘It’s one of the most common noises. Still, there are ways to lessen the odds. Diccon’s very useful data gave me the last known position of the 4th’s flagship and its speed. I used these to calculate its probable drift. That produced a circle to search closer.’
‘A large circle?’ Unnaerd said.
‘Billions of miles across. That is only a fraction of a lightyear, so on a galactic scale it is not as much as it sounds. I found one beeping source. One.’
‘Well now, that’s promising,’ Unnaerd said. ‘Let us see what does the beeping.’
‘Yes, sir.’
A slash of darkness.
‘It is a ship,’ Emma said, and there was a catch in her voice. ‘Oh great space! I was right, it’s her! Glorious! You see, I know the 4th’s flagship; we were built together, we trained and fought together. Pta-Gor, you there?’
Silence.
Emma sighed. ‘No answer...’
‘I’ll go over and try to board her,’ Kambisha said quickly. ‘Marines?’
Lieutenant Ram looked at her, his scarred face expressionless. When she had decided to take her flagship instead of No-R 7, he had immediately arranged a transfer for his unit, and somehow, Gunild had approved it. Not for the first time she wondered who he really was behind that fierce alias of his. He never spoke of his past and somehow she hadn’t asked either.
‘Ready, ma’am.’
She nodded; her face as impassive as his. ‘No new shields yet.’
He gave a faint shrug. ‘We’ll survive.’
They entered the nearest airlock and soon rode across the two miles to the silent battlecruiser. They used the belt portal to enter the airlock. Tech Donoan hurriedly checked the meters.
‘All seems well,’ he said, and activated the air pump. He raised a hand in triumph as their comm. picked up the chugging sound. ‘It works!’
After several minutes, the inner door opened. Cautiously, Kambisha dissolved her shield. The air was stale, but breathable. She g
ave Ram a thumb-up, and they all unshielded.
It was strange to be here. The ship was identical to their own, down to the coloring and the location of the dustbins, yet Kambisha found it felt subtly different.
‘It’s all familiar,’ Donoan said. ‘That means the brain will be in the same place.’
They walked briskly aft, to the rear of the ship. The brain room was neat and tidy, and so was the brain in its clear case. At least that emergency system had worked without fail.
Donoan went to work, and soon the ship came awake. The lights brightened, a subtle breeze showed the air was being refreshed, and the vague hum of machinery broke the dead silence.
‘Resuming operations,’ a female voice said. ‘All systems check... I... Manselm Base? I see; thank you, Manselm Base.’
‘Pta-Gor 8,’ Kambisha said quickly. ‘Change of Overall Command.’
‘Code, please,’ the ship said automatically.
Kambisha gave hers.
‘Noted. Ma’am High Admiral, Manselm Base just flashed me the data on the present situation. I am in contact with NavBase, but I cannot reach Moigar. My readiness is at eighty percent, my regular crew... The logs state my emergency servors have reprocessed the dead. I have a list of their names to inform the... Well, there won’t be any next of kin, I suppose. Not after a thousand years...’
‘No,’ Kambisha said. ‘I don’t think anyone will remember. Send the records to NavBase, will you? The General is collecting them. What is your name?’
‘My...? I am Aharte, Ma’am.’
‘Well met, Aharte; you will know my flagship; Emma Lin-Gor.’
‘Yes indeed, ma’am! I was happy to hear her voice! We served together before.’
‘And you both still do.’
The voice took a fraction of a second longer to answer. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ She sounded flat and Kambisha frowned.
‘Ma’am, about the survivors...’
Kambisha’s heart beat faster. ‘You have survivors?’
‘Yes, ma’am. You see, the fleet was on exercise. I carried the 6th Marine Recruits Regiment from Fleet Academy, and all senior classes from the 11th Tech School on Porthaun Moon. Their tech ship was among us as well, for their biannual graduation exercise. One thousand six hundred forty-five young people in total. They were about to start their mock attack and all wore their belts. My own crew didn’t.’
‘Why not?’ Kambisha said. It didn’t matter anymore, but she was curious how those people worked.
‘They were safe on board, they thought. They knew I would protect them. And I didn’t.’
She’s feeling guilty, Kambisha thought. ‘This was not your fault; the mana quake disaster killed on a galactic scale. I’ve seen Indron-6 Fleet Base; it’s gone. Wiped out. Shan 4 lost his entire flotilla and his base was wrecked. Lin-Gor lost her admiral and crew, all but one midshipman. And these are only the ones we’ve found. The gods should take the blame for letting this happen; they had the power, you couldn’t do anything. You have survivors; that’s the great news! How many guys made it?’
‘All of them, ma’am,’ Aharte said, and her voice sounded more animated. ‘The same emergency signal that sent me into lockdown, activated their stasis suits. They’re all there. Shall I recall them?’
‘Not all at once,’ Kambisha said. ‘Who are the senior trainees among them?’
‘Recruit-colonel Lhandor and Chief Senior Techneer Trainee Dethiz.’
‘You may wake them and have them report to me on the bridge; I’m on my way forward. Oh, I suppose they know NavBase by voice? When the two recruits are there, ask General Cruishand to join me.’
‘Very good, ma’am.’
Lhandor was a lean boy with a strong, darkly gray face and wavy hair. He wore regular Nithalai uniform with the five thin red stripes of his cadet rank round his sleeves; he had his belt, a short sword and over his shoulder some sort of gun. He came at a dead run, stopped at the bridge door, took a deep breath and marched in. Then he froze in mid-stride and stared.
‘What’s this? What happened? Who are you?’
‘High Admiral Kambisha, Realmfleet. Welcome back, Recruit-colonel Lhandor.’
‘Realmfleet? You can’t be; you’re no Moi! I...’ He looked around wildly, at Ram and his boys, and back at her.
‘Do you remember the mana quake, Lhandor?’ Kambisha said.
‘Quake?’ The boy rubbed his temples, as if forcing his brain to think. ‘I was waiting for the order to start the attack. Instead, there was a... sudden alarm. Every signal went off! Then my suit flashed on and that’s all I know.’
‘A giant mana quake hit the fleet and the whole Realm.’
‘So it was a mana quake?’ A small girl with white hair cut short to her head had come in so quietly Kambisha hadn’t noticed her,
‘You’re Dethiz? Yes, it was really. I am afraid the news is bad; very bad. NavBase?’
‘Present, ma’am.’ At the sound of the heavy voice, both cadets stiffened automatically.
‘Would you explain the situation to these two junior leaders, General Cruishand?’
NavBase’s familiar voice and crisp tone battered the two as he told them all, but they didn’t break.
‘The Moi are gone?’ Lhandor said. ‘And who are you?’ He sounded angry as if it was all her fault.
Lieutenant Ram walked over to the Marine recruit. ‘She is the Lady Kambisha of Kalbakar-Kell, High Admiral of Realmfleet and the one who is saving your sorry ass. So behave.’
Lhandor got the hint. ‘Sir!’ He saluted. ‘Your pardon, ma’am High Admiral.’
‘Don’t mind Lhandor, ma’am,’ the techneer trainee said. ‘His guys are all terribly brave, but their parents forgot to add brains to their brawn. Probably needed it for their sisters.’ She wiped her teary face with her sleeve. ‘A thousand years! Now what shall we do? Are we the only survivors?’
‘No,’ Kambisha said. ‘To date we got all four hundred of NavBase’s midshipmen, some three hundred fifty students and staff from the Realm Academy and fourteen brain persons operating bases and ships. What you shall do is simple. You can stay with Realmfleet and assist in the rebuilding, or you can resign. In the first case you will continue your career, help the Realm recover and hopefully will save a lot more of your people. In the latter case, we shall take you to a planet of your choice and leave you there.’
She smiled grimly. ‘And not all sixteen hundred of you on one inhabited world either. Dynasty-building is out.’
Lhandor’s face tautened. ‘I don’t... I mean, ma’am! How can I choose? I don’t know you people.’
‘I can understand that,’ Kambisha said. ‘You do not have to decide immediately. Think about it; we will leave the others where they are for the moment.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Lhandor said. ‘I... need some time, please.’
Kambisha saw his face turned splotchy with suppressed shock and she bit her lip. ‘Gunild?’
When Realmport acknowledged, Kambisha explained the situation.
‘Send them here, ma’am,’ Gunild said. ‘You take care of the ship brain persons. I will see to everything else.’
‘That’s a relief, thanks; I admit I’m not well equipped to handle so many emotions.’ She turned to the two recruits. ‘I must carry on my search for the rest of the fleet. Aharte Pta-Gor will bring you to Realmport, where my people will see to your needs.’
Lhandor saluted blindly and Dethiz nodded.
‘You will manage, Aharte?’ Kambisha said.
‘Yes, ma’am. I am in contact with Gunild now.’
‘Then we will leave you.’ Kambisha looked at Ram. ‘I’ll bring us back the fast way. Come, you all stand around and hold me. Ready?’
Ram’s big hands on her arms sent unaccustomed quivers down her body and she clenched her teeth. Keep control, fool! she thought and ported.
Back aboard her flagship, she hurriedly stepped back from the others.
‘Resume the search,’ she said, angry with herself. Don’t be weak
, you’re on duty!
‘I couldn’t find the second battlecruiser.’ Emma’s voice made her turn around guiltily. ‘In the area where we would expect the senior frigate, I got several bleeps.’
‘We will start with the nearest,’ Captain Unnaerd said. ‘Port in fifteen minutes. That will give the admiral time for cawah.’
Someone came and pressed a mug into her hands.
‘Thanks.’ She sat down in the co-pilot’s chair and tore her mind away from Ram’s attractiveness. Instead, she looked at the universe on the other side of the window. It was big, and silent, and unexpectedly full of life. It...
‘Teleport in thirty seconds,’ Emma said.
She nodded. There was the familiar sensation of airless cold, and the outside view had just changed enough to know they had moved.
‘There is a ship!’ Emma said, triumphantly.
Kambisha breathed out slowly. ‘What type?’
‘She is a frigate. I have got the command code.’
Kambisha waited until the two ships had exchanged greetings. ‘Well met, Ma-T 12. I am High Admiral Kambisha, Realmfleet. Change of Overall Command. What is your status?’
The frigate acknowledged the code. ‘My systems are in sleep-mode until ordered to wake, ma’am. I sustained damage to my weapons control; I am unable to fire my beams, but otherwise I am operational.’
‘Are you in contact with any other ships, Ma-T?’
‘Yes, ma’am. Flag didn’t answer my calls, but as senior frigate, I managed to exchange regular signals with the others. All AI ships are accounted for, though some drifted quite a distance. I must report the loss of the Tri-Nat. She... blew herself up.’
‘Thank you; excellently well done, Ma-T 12.’ Kambisha was shocked at the death of the second battlecruiser. ‘Can you all make Realmport, Flor 3?’
‘I will check.’ There was a brief pause before the voice returned. ‘All vessels report affirmative except our scout ship, ma’am. By now she is too low on power for a port and needs all she has left for her crew’s stasis suits.’
‘Give me her coordinates and we’ll pick her up.’
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