After they had watched for a while, the Legatus suddenly ordered one of the support staff to bring eight sets of body armor and eight short swords. The Andromeda 7 and Tavia were fitted into the armor and each given a sword. Tavia was wide eyed at the prospect of training. All could see she had her sights set on the Legatus’ job. The general was obviously amused at this. For the next two hours, they were taught the finer points of close order fighting with a sword. They asked the troops why they preferred a sword to a pistol. They were told their shields protect them against enemy pistols in close quarters and swords never run out of ammunition. Slone had to concede that point. After the two hours were up, the Andromeda 7 were exhausted. The Romani looked like they had just finished a leisurely walk in the park and Tavia was protesting the halt and asking what was next. The Legatus came over to Slone’s group.
“That will be all for now. I know you are tired, but you actually did better than most and showed a lot of promise. I will have my adjutant send over a list of practice times and I will expect all of you to join us and learn our combat ways. When things get hot, no one will have time to worry about you, so you will have to take care of yourselves.”
Slone liked this matter of fact attitude. In the Sinclair military, he always felt training was a bit lax, though the marines he had on the Hayden were the best. “We will be there to learn,” Slone responded for them all. “Tavia looks like she’s born to this.”
The Legatus looked over in her direction. “Yes, she is more like one of our young, than a corporate child. We will train her well. I see a lot of myself in her and hope she will decide to stay with us.”
Alaya chimed in, “I don’t think you have to worry about that, Legatus.”
The Legatus looked at Alaya, “Your father puts a lot of faith in you. Don’t disappoint him; he is one of the best Consuls we’ve had in a long time.”
“I won’t disappoint him, nor will I disappoint myself.”
The Andromeda 7 returned to their ship for some rack time, while Tavia stayed with the troops. She met up with the two Romani she met in the city and soaked in all they could tell her about the Federation and Nova Romae. Despite the tight quarters, they found room for her to bunk with the troops and she was beyond happy. Several more days passed in training and preparation. On the fourth day after the return of the Draco, Slone and Alaya were summoned to the conference room. Again, there was Captain Lorenzo along with the Legatus and the primary centurions of the other nine cohorts along with the captains of the other dreadnoughts, cruisers and destroyers. Introductions were made all around so the Slones knew who all was there. The room was large but the group filled it.
After all were seated, Captain Lorenzo began, “Captains and Centurions of the fleet, the time has come for us to move out and recover New Wales. The Balin Corp has become a protectorate of ours and it is our duty to push the Petrov Corp out of their space. As you are aware, this will be a two-pronged mission. Our fleet operations will be predicated on recovering control of the planet first. If our spy ships return with intelligence similar to what we have thanks to the Slones, there are minimal vessels guarding the planet and I expect to allow at least one of them to escape to warn their fleet. If we are lucky, they will retreat and only ground operations will be necessary. If they return with their fleet then we will have the first fleet battle since the last corporate wars. Either way, we have a mandate from the Senate to do our duty. Are there any questions?”
One of the cruiser captains raised his hand. The Cruisers were auxiliaries staffed by the systems supplying a dreadnought to the legion. The dreadnoughts are staffed by navy and ground personnel trained on Nova Romae, the cruisers and destroyers by personnel trained by each system. The present cruiser captain was assigned to protect the dreadnought of the fifth cohort. He stood at attention when recognized. The cruiser and destroyer captains were a colorful group dressed in traditional uniforms from their systems. “Consul, how will the fleet be deployed for the transits?”
Lorenzo responded, “An excellent question, captain, you may be seated. Transit time to the New Wales system will be just under ten days. All of the navigation systems on your ships have been synchronized to the Longinus navigation computer. The course chosen will take us through Border World space for the first two days, thereafter, we will transit all systems invisible, and so make sure all of your serpent crew is well rested. In all slipstreams, the destroyers will go through first, and then the dreadnoughts and the cruisers will be rear guard until our last transit. At that time, we will deploy based on the situation at the time. Any further questions?”
There was none. “Very well then, return to your ships. We will depart in six hours.”
The meeting broke up and all left but the Legatus, the Consul and their aides. The Slones were asked to stay. “Chris, you and Alaya do what preps you need. Make sure your vessel is ready to deploy if needed. When we enter and exit slipstreams, your assigned place will be with me on the bridge. Keep your crew aboard your vessel for fast deployment.”
The Slones left and returned to their ship and filled the Andromeda 7 in on the plans. A quick check of the navigation computer revealed the route was uploaded. Five hours after the meeting, and an hour before departure, Slone and Alaya arrived on the bridge of the Longinus. The dreadnought bridge was massive with at least 40 personnel at various stations or standing guard. Slone learned there was a separate contingent of one hundred marines not attached to the cohort. These protected the dreadnoughts against boarders and handled ship wide guard duties. Slone had been on the bridge of a few dreadnoughts in his time, but this was different. It was much larger than the corporate ships and had more personnel. Captain Lorenzo sat in the captain’s chair, which was elevated closer to the center of the bridge with stations forming a circle around the seat. The elevated captain’s chair made sure everyone knew who was in charge.
When the captain saw the Slones, he got down from the captain’s chair and came over to them. By now, everyone in the fleet knew Alaya was the Primary Consul’s only child and she was handle at all times like royalty and Christopher the same by association. The Romani also held the Slones in high regard, due to their actions in the battle within Border World space.
“Welcome to the bridge of the Longinus, my friends. We are about ready to start our great adventure. This is a momentous occasion, since it will be the first time we will engage in a war against a major corporation. Finally, no more hiding behind pirate raids.” Slone could see the gleam in Juan Lorenzo’s eyes. “Time to move out.”
Lorenzo told the Slones to stand on the captain’s platform, on either side of his chair. Besides the Slone’s his runners were also there. The Romani used runners in battle along with normal communications to make sure messages got through the fog of battle. Slone would delay an opinion on this until he saw it working. It was a good way to get the very young used to battle, since all runners were child volunteers aged 10 to 14. They are recruited from a youth program meant to train the next generation of legionaries.
When Lorenzo mounted the command chair this time, he pushed a button and a trumpet sound blared throughout the ship. Everyone on the bridge fell quiet and Slone could imagine the same happened throughout the ship. He awaited the usual pep talk, but instead Lorenzo was short and to the point.
“Order the fleet into motion.” With that, first the destroyers, then the dreadnoughts and then the cruisers entered the slipstream and the liberation of Balin space was underway. This scene repeated itself many times during the multiple transits to New Wales. Once in Balin space, all ships did system transits while invisible. They avoided all contact with Petrov picket ships. The Romani wanted to make sure there was no warning of their arrival.
Five days into the trip, the first spy ship arrived and reported all was quiet at New Wales and there were two dreadnoughts, one cruiser and five destroyers in system as well as the two freighters used as prison ships. On the seventh day, the second of three spy ships arrived and rep
orted one of the dreadnoughts left but the other ships remained unchanged. They felt it was a normal rotation out of system. Finally, they were traversing the system one jump from New Wales. They still had an eleven-hour system transit to the outbound slipstream, but there were no enemy ships in the system. Petrov Corp must have great faith in their outer pickets, to leave an entry system unprotected. Just as well, if there had been a ship, they would have destroyed it, since they would now have to shuttle all captains to the Longinus for final briefings.
Again, everyone assembled in the conference room and it was packed. There was a lot of personal discussion and Slone was impressed that there was no rivalry between the destroyer, cruiser and dreadnought captains. Again, the Legatus was there and the primary centurions of each cohort. As soon as Captain Lorenzo came in, all conversation stopped and everyone stood up at attention.
“You may all be seated.”
Lorenzo continued. “We are on our last transit before the final slipstream. There will be a change in ship order when we enter the slipstream. Each cruiser will enter the slipstream with two destroyers. You will arrive in the New Wales system visible. I want to give the protector ships enough time to decide if they will fight or run. There is no need for bloodshed sooner than necessary. You will enter in the order in which you are assigned to a dreadnought. The dreadnoughts will enter the slipstream last and arrive invisible. I want them to be a surprise when the Petrov fleet comes in force to regain New Wales.”
Lorenzo let the ship dispositions sink in, before continuing. “After the system has been cleared of enemy ships, you will all surround the planet and its vicinity in dispersion ‘alpha 12’.”
The ships captains all nodded at this. They knew their formations like a second language. There was a great deal for Slone and his group to take in. Their brains were already filled with months of learning about their new home. As they were thinking about the coming operation, Captain Lorenzo continued. “It is also important that we secure the prison ships and release the political prisoners. The initial attack will be led by Captain Howard Freemantle of the first Cohort escort cruiser, NR Primo Cohortem.” In the Romani system, only dreadnoughts receive actual names. The other ships are named according to their permanent assignments in the fleet.
“I have been in discussion with Legatus Edmonton concerning the ground operation,” Lorenzo continued. “She will confer with the Centurions after this meeting. Ground operations will not commence until system space is secured. One of the important aspects of our ground operations will be the resistance. Before we enter the final slipstream, Alaya, we want you to transport Tavia in your scout ship to the planet and make contact with the resistance. I’m sending Decanus Marshal and a squad with you for protection. You will enter the slipstream eight hours before us. That should be enough time to contact the resistance and give them the documents outlining their duties.” You are dismissed. Hold at the outbound slipstream for final orders.
The Slones nodded and were about to leave, when Lorenzo asked them to stay. “Alaya, I would like you to command the special mission to contact the resistance. Chris, I would like you with me on the bridge for the space portion of the mission. Consul Strabo has a command position for you in the future and would like you to observe our combat practices.”
Slone did not like the idea of his wife going in alone on the planet, but he had faith in her abilities. He was also intrigued as to the command position he was to receive. “I will perform any tasks you have for me.”
“Wonderful. Alaya, Tavia has been ordered to return to your ship and she has been informed of her mission. My men tell me she shows exceptional promise, and would like to stay with the legion. She knows that will be contingent on her performing her duties well with the resistance. How quickly can you be ready to leave, Alaya?”
“We are fueled and ready to go. The Draco can leave as soon as I’m aboard.”
“Excellent, see to it then. You can give yourself an extra hour if you leave now while we transit this system. While the Draco is on assignment, Christopher, you will stay in the guest quarters next to mine,” Captain Lorenzo stated.
They took their leave and Slone went to see his wife and the rest of the mission off. He went aboard the Draco and grabbed a few of the things he would need to move over to the dreadnought. Tavia was aboard and spending her time with Sly, again bombarding the alien with questions about her home and family. Sly was trying to pretend to be annoyed, but Slone knew she missed Tavia when the teenager was training with the military. Tavia now wore the standard black jumpsuit of the legions with the red designation of the first cohort. Lorenzo even had black body armor made to fit her. She now carried the standard dagger on her left side and bandolier with short sword across her left shoulder to her right waist. Slone was struck by the fact that she already looked like a Romani. Decanus Marshal and his squad were also aboard.
“Be careful out there,” Christopher said warmly to his wife. “I know you. Don’t take unnecessary chances.”
“I’ve been in dangerous situations before.”
“I know but this is the first time your away as my wife and I have a right to worry. Good hunting and I will see you when we land with the legion.”
With that, they kissed and Slone left the ship. He stood back and watched as the Draco left the landing bay and exited through the force field. She used her engines this time to transit the system as quickly as possible.
About an hour before the fleet reached the outbound slipstream, the Draco went in and deployed her sails. She was too small to see from the bridge of the Longinus, but telemetry told them when she was gone. In nine hours, they would enter the New Wales system. When the fleet arrived at the slipstream, they halted, redeployed and waited a full eight hours before entering the slipstream. The Draco now had a nine-hour head start when the fleet deployed their sails and sped towards the Balin home world. The liberation of New Wales had finally begun.
Chapter 8 – Phase 1: Liberation Begins
Those aboard the Draco rested as much as possible during the passage through the slipstream, but it was now 15 minutes to system arrival and they were all at their posts. Sly was already doing the preliminary procedures needed for invisibility. The Romani and Tavia were in their uniforms and body armor, as was Alaya. It was decided that the landing party would be kept to a minimum of four. It consisted of, Tavia, Alaya, Decanus Marshal and the Romani who had given Tavia his knife. Marcus was his name and he rounded out the party. Tavia was assigned to him as a trainee. It was time, Paul McMann depolarized the sails, and they dropped out of faster than light speed. The wall of white in front of them was suddenly replaced by the galactic center filling part of the view screen in the form known on earth as the Milky Way. Against this haze of stars, they could see the star and planets of the New Wales system. At their distance, these were only points of light, but they showed brighter than the galactic center due to the vast difference in distance.
They heard a hissing coming from Sly and knew she was about to speak. “Sss. Ship invisible.”
As usual, she was short and to the point. Paul deployed the sails and polarized them to catch the star wind. “Time to planet is five hours and 14 minutes. By the time the fleet gets here, they will have only two minutes longer for transit.”
“How long is the transit from New Wales to the outbound slipstream for the Petrov ships?”
Paul did some calculating. “Looks like close to eight hours. I know what you’re thinking, and I doubt they can mount retaliation in less than a week. There should be plenty of time to wrap things up on the planet.”
“I agree,” Decanus Marshal said from the hall leading to the bridge. He listened from there to hear what was going on.
“Ok we stay alert for the entire transit. The fleet will arrive in orbit fourteen hours from now. It’s going to be a long day,” Alaya said. “What’s the enemy fleet disposition?”
“Looks like they added two more dreadnoughts and a cruiser, the rest
remains the same,” Roger Umgabe reported.
After transit, the Draco arrived at the planet and they went into a stationary orbit above Penllyn. Alaya looked at the planet below them; she could just make out a spot in the jungle where the capital city sat. “Is our old landing spot still available?”
Nova Romae (The Adventures of Christopher Slone Book 2) Page 13