* * *
The trip to Yolongus was totally uneventful. Although the Justice passed within DeTect range of a number of ships while en route, the CPS-14 came and went so quickly that none probably would have been able to detect their presence even if the Justice hadn't been invisible to all Clidepp forms of ship detection electronics.
Having three full bridge crews meant the bridge was always staffed by alert personnel at the start of each watch. It also meant that, as Captain Lidden had said, there was a lot of downtime for those not on watch. It was normally impossible to find the twenty-meter corridors in the habitat containers not being used as running tracks, so Sydnee had to establish a sign-up list and schedule.
Everyone aboard ship was feeling good as they neared Yolongus twenty-nine days later because the first part of their task would soon be done. But the mood died a quick death for those on the bridge.
*
"Captain, the DeTect is showing a significant number of ships in orbit around the planet," Lt.(jg) Templeton said with a clear sense of urgency in his voice.
"How many?" Sydnee asked, matching his intensity.
"Over a hundred vessels."
Sydnee, already on edge because they were approaching a potentially hostile situation, began issuing orders to her bridge officers in rapid fire. "Helm, do not approach the planet or cancel the envelope as planned. Maintain maximum speed on this course until I amend this order. Tac, eject a sensor buoy as we pass the planet. Nav, find us a nice quiet place to park a few billion kilometers from here."
"Aye, Captain," all three officers said when she paused to take a breath.
"Captain," Olivetti at Navigation said as quiet again pervaded the bridge, "I have a location well off all shipping lanes where we should be okay to stop for a while."
"Send it to Helm. Helm, take us there."
"Aye, Captain. Sent."
"Helm has it," Caruthers said. "Making for that location at Light-9790."
"The sensor buoy was launched as we passed the closest point to the planet, Captain," Templeton at Tac said. "We should begin receiving data any second."
"Excellent work, everyone. Now let's see if we can find out what's going on at Yolongus. Good work, Olivetti, finding a location for us so quickly."
"I had a location already prepared, Captain, in case we needed to find a place to stop and think."
"Excellent. Tac, can you tell us yet what we were facing back there?"
"The computer is estimating the presence of a hundred seventy-two warships in orbit around the planet through extrapolation from verifiable data received from the sensor buoy. Virtually all of the observed ships are Clidepp Bernouust-class destroyers. The sensor buoy has also identified one battleship, three cruisers, and a handful of freighters in orbit."
"A hundred seventy-two warships? That must be close to their entire fleet."
"According to our database, their fleet is presently composed of two hundred eleven active-duty warships and roughly four hundred lightly-armed support vessels, not including quartermaster vessels and small craft such as diplomatic courier ships, tugs, reclamation vessels, and shuttles. Most of their warships are destroyers and almost all are Bernouust-class. I guess when they start producing a design, they stick with it. This fleet probably represents every available Clidepp warship within a month's travel time at their top speed."
"So the question is: What are they all doing here? I'm pretty sure they weren't expecting a vessel from the GA to arrive today."
"Well," Caruthers said, "they are embroiled in a deadly civil war."
"Yes, but the Rebels don't have a fleet of warships that could threaten the Clidepp home world— unless they've managed to steal a few more or perhaps turn the crews."
"Perhaps the Empire is worried about the GA attacking," Templeton said. "Or maybe one of their other neighbors has shown signs of invasion. The Triumvirate is not very well liked either within the Clidepp Empire borders or without."
"They know the GA would never attack unless provoked, and their other neighbors have never made any threatening moves that I'm aware of."
"Perhaps they've called all their ship captains in to have a conference regarding some new proposed action to deal with the Rebels, Captain," Chief Petty Officer Lemela said.
"It's possible, Chief, especially if they feel their encrypted communications aren't secure from Rebel eavesdropping and so have ruled out fleet-wide conference broadcasts. For the present, I guess all we can do is sit here and observe." Prefaced with a grimace, Sydnee said, "We certainly can't sneak in and drop off our package or plant our listening satellites while almost the entire Clidepp military is parked in orbit around their world."
* * *
"I just received a message from Sydnee," Captain Lidden said to Commander Bryant when the XO arrived at Lidden's office for their daily briefing. "She says they've arrived at Yolongus on schedule but haven't been able to approach the planet to drop off the package because the entire Clidepp Empire warship fleet is camped out around the planet."
"The entire fleet?"
"Sydnee says they didn't stop because the DeTect system showed an enormous number of ships in planetary orbit, so she ordered a sensor buoy be dropped as they moved through the solar system. Using data received from the buoy, the Justice's tac computer has since identified a hundred seventy-six warships, almost exclusively destroyers. The Justice is presently sitting about five billion kilometers away while they monitor ship movement around Yolongus."
"Just what we need— another botched mission by a junior officer entrusted with responsibility far above her pay grade."
"Botched?"
"Uh, I didn't mean to imply that Sydnee is in any way at fault. I was just stating the way it's going to be described by people who have an agenda of making us look bad."
"You're still afraid people will start associating the Denver crew with the undeserved reputation that was hung on the crew of the Perry? That we're nothing but a bunch of screw-ups who can't perform even the simplest task without getting our tails caught in a ringer?"
"Aren't you fearful of that? Many of the senior officers who resolved personal issues by having their problems transferred to the Perry, hoping they'd never see or hear about them again, are still around. People like that have long memories."
"I've started to believe those days are behind us, Bry. The crew of the Perry performed admirably under fire. And a lot of the credit for our improved image has to go to Sydnee. What that young officer did while stranded on Diabolisto and cut off from command, and then as commander of the incursion mission into Clidepp space, was nothing less than spectacular."
"Don't forget that she simply gave the temporal generator away to someone masquerading as a Space Command officer."
"Be honest. Would you have checked a very senior officer's credentials and verified their identity if they approached you in uniform while inside an area requiring a verifiable top security clearance?"
"Well— probably not. And it wouldn't have done much good anyway since someone had tampered with the computer files to allow him access initially."
"I've sent a copy of Sydnee's message off to SCI at SHQ. Perhaps they know why the Clidepp fleet is sitting in orbit around Yolongus. I don't have a clue. In any event, they'll understand that the package hasn't been delivered and that the Justice hasn't begun seeding the satellites in Clidepp space."
"Why don't you instruct Sydnee to forget about the package for the present time and begin the second phase of the mission?"
"She's requested to do exactly that. I just don't know if the package's return might be tied to some other action or event I'm unaware of, and I haven't wanted to change the chronology unless SCI first approves."
* * *
"How much longer are we going to sit around out here polishing the seat of our uniforms while there's a job to be done, Captain?" Marine Captain Blade asked Sydnee in a conference held in the Marine mess hall. Sydnee's office was too small to accommodate more
than three people, so she was holding the requested meeting in the Marine mess hall between mealtimes. Attendance was limited to senior crewmembers. Sydnee, her senior bridge officers, Marine Captain Blade, Lt. Colonel Dennier, and First Lieutenant Kelly MacDonald, were the only ones in attendance. The cooks and mess attendants had been sent outside for a smoke— not literally, of course, but the age-old expression was still used in dirt-side operations and space operations alike.
"I wish I knew, Major. Although our DS shuttles are black, there's no guarantee they can sneak past the entire Clidepp warship fleet surrounding Yolongus without risk that someone will spot them. A visual identification is very possible when flying between the planet and an entire fleet of orbiting warships. If there were only a dozen ships in orbit, it would be very likely that our shuttle could reach the surface without being spotted, but with almost two hundred warships out there, the odds drop considerably. My orders are to not make our presence known to the Yolongi."
"How far away from Yolongus can we receive messages from that sensor buoy?"
"The range is only limited by the required timeliness of the data. We're presently about five billion kilometers from Yolongus, and the farther out we go, the longer it takes to receive telemetry reports. Transmissions on the IDS band travel at eight-point-zero-niner billion kilometers per second, so it presently takes less than a second for a transmission to reach us."
"So we could begin the satellite seeding part of the operation, and when we discover that the Clidepp fleet has left orbit we could come back here and complete the first part of the mission."
"Yes, we could do that. And I would like to do exactly that. But my orders are very specific. We drop the package off, then deploy the satellites. I can't change the orders and leave to begin distributing the satellites unless we get permission or an emergency arises."
"I'm sure we can come up with an emergency that will allow us to be more efficient."
"Just so we're perfectly clear, I will not deviate from my orders unless permission is given for such deviation or a genuine emergency forces me to alter the orders. Several weeks ago, I sent a request to Captain Lidden that we be allowed to make better use of our time by beginning to deploy the satellites and come back here when the fleet moves away from the planet. I haven't received a reply, but I expected he'd have to clear it with SHQ and SCI. Now, was there anything else you wished to discuss today, Major?"
"No, I think you've pretty well covered it all."
"Colonel Dennier, was there anything you wanted to bring up for discussion?"
"Negative. I'm fine, Captain. My people are ready to do their job when you deem the time is correct."
"Very good. For the record, I'm just as anxious as everyone else to complete our mission here and head home. Just as soon as we get permission to proceed, I'll notify all of you. If there's nothing else, this meeting is adjourned."
* * *
"I've just received a response from SHQ regarding Sydnee's request to alter her orders so she can begin deploying the satellites until the Clidepp Fleet moves away from Yolongus," Captain Lidden said to his XO during their daily meeting in the captain's office.
"What do they say? Do they know why the Clidepp fleet has remained in orbit?"
"SCI believes the fleet has been recalled to protect the home world from attack."
"Attack? From whom? From us?"
"SCI doesn't know. Reliable intel about the Empire has been difficult to come by lately, so it's all conjecture at this point. SCI says they've received a few limited-scope reports from previously reliable informants that the Clidepp Empire has perpetrated terrorist acts against the Aguspod, the Kweedee, and the Blenod. Those attacks were purportedly similar in nature to the attack on Earth's Freight-One space station."
"So they were terrorist acts. They're saying civilians were targeted in each of those three bordering nations?"
"Apparently. We've never had formal diplomatic relations with the Blenod, and our relations with the Kweedee are minimal at best because they've avoided outside contact with all of their neighbors, so the information is naturally sketchy. But the Aguspod have reported to our ambassador there that the Clidepp Empire is indeed guilty of attacks in all three nations."
"Could it be the Rebels— doing what they did to us in an effort to drag us into their conflict?"
"It's possible. But SCI believes it's also possible that the Empire has been behind all of the attacks. They feel the government might have come to the realization some time ago that they can't end the Rebel threat because so many planets in the Empire are clandestinely supporting, supplying, and hiding the Rebels. The Empire might be trying to have us and the other nations go after the Rebels for them, or at least break off all ties with the Rebels, especially when it comes to cutting off access to food and weapons."
"So SCI has changed their mind, again, about who was really behind the bombing of Freight-One?"
"Let's just say they're no longer positive it wasn't the Triumvirate. By refusing to help us originally, the Clidepp leadership almost guaranteed we'd get involved. They knew the GA wouldn't just sit on their hands while the guilty party or parties remained free."
"So where does that leave us? Is deployment of the eavesdropping satellites still part of the Justice's mission, or do they have something else in mind now?"
"More than ever, SHQ needs the information those satellites can provide. It might help them piece together the facts and identify who is really behind the terrorist acts. SHQ also suspects that the Blenod may now be using the attack against them as an excuse to lay claim to part of the Clidepp Empire territory along their common border— sort of as reparations for the attack in their territory. I guess it would be like the buffer zone Admiral Carver set up in formerly unclaimed space after the first attack by the Milori."
"Except that we're not talking about formerly unclaimed space this time. The common border between both nations has existed for the better part of a century. If the Blenod move into that area, they're essentially invading Clidepp space. Uh, how much territory does SHQ believe the Blenod are claiming?"
"SHQ thinks they might try to grab as much as a forty-parsec swath along their entire common border. And that area happens to contain some of the most valuable mining operations in Clidepp Empire space."
"Forty parsecs? That's over a hundred twenty light-years into Clidepp space and represents probably five percent of the Empire's territory. The Empire will never stand for that. That will most definitely drive the Empire to war with the Blenod."
"The Blenod may believe the Triumvirate is so busy with the Rebels that they'll either have to accept the loss or lose the civil war. And if the Empire loses the civil war, that will leave it ripe for a takeover of even more territory, possibly from the other nations that border them, sort of like what the THUG pact attempted after we defeated the Milori. Except in our case, the Milori had already surrendered and ceded all its territory to the GA, so the THUG pact was technically attacking us. And any way you look at it, a war between the Clidepp Empire, the Blenod, the Aguspod, and the Kweedee could be a disaster for everyone in this region of space— including the GA."
"Maybe Sydnee was right when she suggested Admiral Carver should just annex the Clidepp Empire space and restore peace. It would probably be the first peace the various planets there would know since space travel allowed the Yolongi warlords to conquer their neighbors and create the Empire."
"We both know it isn't that simple, Bry. While Space Command could prevent extra-planetary warfare and protect the region's borders from encroachment by outside nations, the government of each planet would still be responsible for all activity within the planet's sensible atmosphere. The GA taking that region is no guarantee that the citizens would enjoy peace. The GA is forbidden to get involved in the internal affairs of member planets unless they violate GA law."
"Yes, but it would make each planet responsible for its own governance instead of forcing the people to bow to dictates
coming from a planet hundreds and even thousands of light-years away. The Yolongi Triumvirate and their predecessors have been systematically pillaging every planet in their Empire for a century, killing anyone who resisted. It's something of a miracle the people on those planets have managed to survive this long."
"I suppose that's why the Rebels were able to gain so much support. If they are responsible for the terrorist attacks in other nations— and I tend to believe they are— they won't be much of an improvement over previous rulers should they prevail and come to power. But that seems to be the way it is all too often with civil wars. Big promises made to the general population to gain their support are quickly ignored when the war is over and the bureaucrats take up the reins of power."
"Just like with the politicians following an ordinary election."
"Yeah. Just like."
* * *
Chapter Four
~ December 19th, 2286 ~
"I've received new orders from SHQ via Captain Lidden," Sydnee said to the senior officers assembled for a meeting in the Marine's habitat container mess hall. "We're to begin distributing the satellites and only return to Yolongus for the package delivery when I feel we have a reasonable chance of returning him safely."
"About time," Blade said.
"For this mission, our FA-SF4 fighter aircraft have all been equipped with special Dakinium-surfaced chambers inside their keel, so when the bomb bay door is opened the ship remains hidden from radar. A special, satellite ejection rack attaches to the missile rack so one SF4 can release all required satellites in one pass around a planet, moon, or space station."
"It's a shame they can't make the missile casings from Dakinium so the enemy would never even know what hit them."
"They've done the next best thing," Colonel Dennier said. "Our new missiles now have an extremely thin outer skin made from Dakinium splinters."
Clidepp Deja Vu Page 4