by Doug Farren
Chomach’s hands continued to work the keyboard. He made an assumption that the closest Chroniech fleets would be stationed one light year from the barrier and they had a top speed of 4,880c. A slowly expanding red sphere appeared showing the possible location of any Chroniech invaders.
A red flashing alert icon indicated that one of the probes he had dropped had spotted something. Reaching out with his hand Chomach touched it and the data presented itself. Fifty three large Chroniech ships had been detected heading into Alliance space. The time lag from the probe was 9.6 minutes
Another icon flashed indicating a message from Fleet Command had just arrived. Chomach activated it and watched as Doug Scarboro’s face resolved itself.
“This message is being sent from the Kyrra worldship and is to be rebroadcast to all ships near the Chroniech border. The Kyrra are currently reconfiguring their hyperdimensional barrier field generator to create a larger field. As soon as it is ready the new field will be established. This will hold the Chroniech back for a few weeks as they will have to breach the barrier again.”
“Some Chroniech ships are bound to get past the new barrier’s limit since it will take about three days to make the modifications to the generator. The new field will have a diameter of 48 additional light years. This will cause it to encompass several Alliance populated worlds. These worlds must be evacuated immediately.”
A few seconds later Chomach’s virtual universe had a blue sphere showing the location of the new barrier. Two planets with several hundred miners each and a third with a small survey team on the surface would easily be evacuated. A forth planet, however, would be a problem.
Cornelius was a recently colonized Human world dedicated to agriculture. The stats showed that over 900,000 people (mostly Human but other races as well) were scattered all over the planet’s surface. The population had very few ships of their own and no defenses. A large freighter had departed three days ago taking with them as many women and children as possible. Another wasn’t due to arrive for two weeks.
A quick check of the ships in the area proved fruitless. With the ongoing evacuation of civilians to the inner worlds there were no available ships to send to Cornelius. The planet was on their own. Hopefully the Chroniech would consider the world to be of no strategic value and ignore it.
Based on all the information he had at hand, Chomach began the task of planning how best to engage the enemy. He had no idea how many Chroniech ships he would be up against. His own fleet would consist of his juggernaut, fifteen Tholtaran super battleships, and 43 ships of lesser capability manned by several different races. More were on their way but would not arrive in time.
* * * * *
Captain Zatch was jolted out of his near meditative state by the sound of his ship’s alarm. He contacted the bridge and learned the news – the Kyrra barrier was down. The fleet he was part of, stationed only 1.3 light years from the border, had been ordered to proceed to their first target at best speed.
He accepted the news almost as casually as one would accept someone telling them the time of day. Closing down the connection the Captain sat in thought for a moment. Prior to seeing the rescue of his family he would have been elated at the news that the invasion had begun. The Alliance represented a threat to his race, he should be glad they were about to eliminate that threat.
But, something had changed. The Captain found that he was actually questioning whether or not the Alliance really was a threat. He had watched the video over and over and a computer analysis of the record showed that it had not been altered. The evidence was irrefutable, an Alliance ship had stopped to render assistance to a Chroniech ship. If the tables had been turned he would have finished them off and been happy about it.
Sitting in his cabin thinking about the whole thing wasn’t getting him anywhere. There must be some information out there on the info-net that could help. Activating his terminal, the Captain started looking.
Discovery
Captain Stricklen was in CIC going over the statistics of the few Alliance planets which would be enclosed within the expanded Kyrra hyperdimensional field when the long range sensors picked up the incoming drive wakes. He walked over to the primary tactical viewer and watched as the computer plotted the contact’s projected course.
“Son of a bitch!” he declared as soon as the course had appeared. Activating his wristcom he contacted Commodore Scarboro.
A moment later Doug acknowledged the call through the small earpiece attached almost invisibly to Ken’s right ear. “Doug, this is Ken, we have three large Chroniech ships heading this way. I’m sure they haven’t spotted us yet since we are sitting idle but they are going to pass close enough for them to pick up on our emissions. Time to get out of here.”
“How long do we have?”
Ken checked the tactical and replied, “At their current speed about three hours.”
“I will inform the Captain,” Scarboro replied then clicked out.
In the conference room there followed a brief discussion amongst the Kyrra. For the past hour the group had been trying to come up with ways to initiate negotiations with the Chroniech. Arukt Chaktekt had been an enormous help but very little, if any, progress had been made.
It was decided to move the team to the Kyrra ship. The Dragon would leave the area and proceed to another destination which the Kyrra would provide. With their cloaking technology the Kyrra would be nearly impossible to detect as long as they did not fire up their stardrive. Once the Chroniech ships had passed out of range, the Kyrra would proceed to the worldship.
The meeting quickly broke up and the Alliance team members were given an hour to pack. Ken made his way to Elizabeth's quarters to see if she needed any help. She answered the door chime by yelling, “It's not locked, come on in!”
Ken found Elizabeth in her bedroom quickly throwing toiletries and personal items into a travel bag. “I wanted to see you before you left,” he said. “I can't thank you enough for your help.”
Opening a clothes locker Elizabeth reached in and grabbed the entire stack of clothes out and threw them into the bag. Ken caught a glimpse of white and pink underwear and several lacy bras. “Just doing my job Captain,” she replied slightly out of breath. “I'm glad to have helped.”
Ken suddenly felt awkward. “What am I doing here?” he wondered. “They didn't give you long to pack did they?”
Elizabeth was pulling clothes out of storage lockers and quickly sorting them out by throwing them into two piles on the bed. “I'll manage,” she replied. “If you want to help, grab that stack to your left and stuff them into the blue bag.”
Ken was glad to have something to do. As Elizabeth threw clothes he picked up the few she had selected and transferred them to the indicated bag. “You should be coming with us,” she said. “The Kyrra asked for you by name because they trust your instincts. If you don't join the team you will be disappointing them.”
“I'm not going to sit out this war on the worldship. I am soldier, not a politician.”
The councilor paused to survey the room looking for any other items she wanted to pack. As her eyes darted around she replied, “No you're not, but you are a very compassionate man. We need people like you to try to bring this war to an end. You shouldn't be fighting it, you should be helping to end it.”
“The Chroniech won't even talk to us,” he argued. “I can't, and I won't sit by idle while they try to wipe us out. My place is with the fleet.”
Seeing something at the other end of the room, Elizabeth made a beeline toward it. Picking up several boxes of tea she tossed them into the last bag then bent down to zip it closed. She straightened and faced Ken. “Just remember what you did for those Chroniech civilians,” she said. “You can be a soldier, but you can also be a compassionate soldier. There are other ways to win a war.”
“Given the opportunity I would prefer it that way,” Ken replied. “But I can't sit around talking about the possibility of opening negotiations with the C
hroniech while they attack us. I have to be defend the Alliance. I hope you and your team succeed. It would make my job a lot easier.”
Elizabeth took a moment to look Ken over from head to toe. For a moment he felt as if she was examining him for flaws. Without warning, she reached out and grasped his hands. She looked into his eyes as if trying to peer into his soul. “There's something about you Ken that I can't quite put my finger on. I've been a councilor for over twenty years and I've developed a sort of sixth sense for people.”
She let go of his left hand and placed her right palm on his chest. “No matter what you do Ken, always follow your heart. You have a good one.”
Ken felt his face flush and a warm sensation seemed to envelop him. He stood there speechless, his brain locked onto the warm feeling that seemed to fill every remote part of his being. Elizabeth dropped her hand and grabbed a bag. “Would you carry the other one for me?”
Ken slowly came out of the fog, picked up the bag, and followed her out of the room. He walked behind her in silence to the hanger bay where the rest of the group had already gathered and were waiting for the last member to arrive. As the bags were being loaded he joined the Captain and Scarboro to bid them all a farewell.
As Ken shook his hand, Norgoola’s asked, “Are you sure you will not come with us Ken Stricklen? The others would be glad to see you again. We specifically requested your presence because of your past experience with the Chroniech.”
Ken shook his head. “Sorry, but my mind is made up. I’m not going to sit out this war in the safe confines of the worldship debating how to negotiate with the enemy.” Placing both his hands on Norgoola's shoulders, Ken continued, “I never did get the chance to apologize for my outburst in the conference room. I am sorry.”
“Doug Scarboro told us about your condition,” Norgoola replied. “There is no need to apologize. Your presence will be missed my friend. I will tell the others you are well.”
“Thank you.”
Turning around, Ken saw Arukt Chaktekt standing off to the side. He walked over to him and said, “I would have liked to have gotten to know you and your people better.”
The Chroniech had to look down to look into Stricklen's eyes. “I believe that my people would be culturally richer if they could see the error in their belief that two intelligent species cannot coexist together in peace. I only wish more could see the truth.”
“So do I,” Stricklen admitted. “If we win this war, perhaps we will be able to change how your people feel.”
“If we win,” Arukt Chaktekt replied, “there will be nobody on your side left to convince. You may not believe me when I say this, but I wish the Alliance would win this war.”
Stricklen was very surprised by Arukt Chaktekt's answer. Apparently sensing his confusion, Arukt Chaktekt added, “During the war, many lives on both sides will be lost. This cannot be prevented. If we win the war, every member of every race of the Alliance that can be found will be hunted down and killed. This is not something I would like to see. If you win, you will not exterminate our race. Eventually, many years from now, our two races may then become allies. But the memory of the war will live for a long time and it will take many generations before it is forgotten.”
“You surprise me,” Stricklen answered. “Perhaps there is reason for hope.”
“Perhaps,” was all Arukt Chaktekt said in response.
Elizabeth walked up to Ken after saying goodbye to the others. “I will miss you Ken. But, I have a feeling we will see each other again once this is all over. Take care of yourself.”
Ken reached out and grabbed her left hand, pulled it up to his lips and gently kissed it. “I will miss you as well Elizabeth. As for seeing you again – I hope so, but space is huge and there's no telling where we will end up. Take care of yourself.”
Less than two hours after the incoming Chroniech had been detected the Kyrra shuttle departed the Dragon’s hanger bay. On the Dragon’s bridge, the tactical station made note of the fact that the Kyrra ship had suddenly vanished from their detectors. Everyone knew the ship was still there, it just no longer existed as far as the sensors were concerned.
“Let’s get out of here,” Captain Sheppard ordered. “Helm, put some distance between us and the Kyrra then engage the stardrive.”
The Chroniech noticed the Dragon’s presence the moment it engaged its sublight engine. The three ships increased speed and slightly altered their course putting them on an intercept vector. However, long before they were within weapons range the Dragon vanished from normal space and accelerated away leaving the Chroniech ships far behind.
Captain Sheppard had purposefully set a course in a direction different than toward their intended destination. As soon as the sensors were clear and the starmap showed them to be well away of all known Chroniech tracking stations the ship altered course. After a day of travel they were once again hanging motionless in space.
While they waited for the Kyrra to appear Ken sought out Doug. He found him on the mess decks getting himself a quick bite to eat. “You made a promise to me Doug and I expect you to keep it,” Ken began.
Doug looked up and finished chewing a mouthful of salad before saying, “And that would be?”
“Before I signed on I told you I would not be left on the sidelines. The Kyrra should be able to get their resized field back up in a couple days but once the Chroniech break through then all hell’s going to break loose. I want you to start figuring out where you’re going to put me so I can be involved.”
Doug set his fork down and stared at Ken for a few seconds before replying. “Do you really want to see combat that badly?”
Pulling a seat out and sitting in it Ken replied, “There’s nothing for me on Earth. If I go back there I’m going to sit in my rotting boat and drink rum until my pickled liver fights back. I can’t just sit around here either. I’ve got to be doing something. Get me into the action Doug before I go nuts.”
Scarboro folded his hands, settled his chin into them, and contemplated his old friend. Letting out a sigh he said, “As soon as the field is down for good I will see what I can do. I’m sure I can get you a captaincy but it might not be something as impressive as the Komodo Dragon.”
“Thanks Doug.”
“You do realize that the Kyrra invited you on this mission as an emissary of peace. They wanted your input into how the Chroniech could be made to listen. You’ve disappointed a lot of people Ken.”
“I’m not some damned ambassador,” Ken scowled.
“The Kyrra might argue that point.”
“I don’t care what the Kyrra think.”
Frustrated, Doug picked up his fork and stabbed at the salad as if it needed killing. “All right Ken, you’ll get your ship.”
Ken turned to leave then stopped himself and said, “The planet Cornelius will be inside the barrier when the Kyrra turn it back on again. The database says there's over 900,000 colonists there.”
Doug had just speared another forkful of salad. Holding it in mid-air he replied through a mouthful of half chewed salad, “I am aware of their situation.”
Setting the fork down Doug looked at the salad as if it was a crystal ball capable of showing him the answer to any question he desired to ask of it. A look of sadness appeared in his face as he continued, “As much as I hate to admit it, there’s not much we can do for them. Even at maximum speed neither us, nor the Kyrra, can possibly get there in time to make a difference.”
“I’m worried about them,” Ken said with a tone of concern. “They have no defenses and the Chroniech will have no qualms about wiping them out.”
“Unfortunately,” Doug replied with genuine concern, “I feel they are going to be the first on a long long list of casualties unless we can find a way to negotiate with the Chroniech. I guess that's why I'm so ticked off that you didn't accept the Kyrra offer and join the negotiating team.”
“Doug, I'm a warship Captain. I know nothing about negotiating peace agreements. Could
you stand to sit in a comfortable room in the worldship, safe from attack, trying to figure out how to get the Chroniech to talk to you while they attacked us? If you had been asked instead of me would you accept?”
Doug leaned back in his chair and considered the question carefully. To his surprise, he came up with the answer that Ken had expected. Sitting back up he picked up his fork and replied, “No – I could not. And I really can't fault you for your decision.”
Doug stuffed the salad into his mouth and chewed as he waited for Ken’s reply. “We are soldiers Doug – not ambassadors,” Ken said. “Our job is to protect the Alliance through the use of force. It's in our blood.”
Two days crept by as the Komodo Dragon hung motionless in space doing essentially nothing. The more time went by the more anxious Ken became. Toward the end of the first day he approached Captain Sheppard and asked her if it might be a wise idea to move the ship towards Cornelius to possibly evacuate any survivors.
The Captain, to her credit, listened to Stricklen’s request and actually contemplated agreeing to it. But, in the end she had to disagree. Their primary mission was to assist the Kyrra and they would wait for them for as long as it took.
Stricklen was on watch when the Kyrra finally appeared. “Multiple drive wakes detected,” the tactical station announced. “Distance 1.68 lights; Speed 16Kc plus; ETA one hour.”
“Multiple?” Stricklen remarked. “How many?”
“I count twenty-six on approach.”
“Twenty-six? Are you certain they are Kyrra?”
“Drive wakes match that of the Kyrra.”
An hour later the Kyrra fleet dropped into normal space. Captain Sheppard had relieved Stricklen and was now occupying the Captain’s chair. Stricklen was standing beside it chatting with Sheppard when the coms station announced, “Incoming communications.”