Wrath of an Angry God: A Military Space Opera

by Michaels, Gibson

  That was all complete Trakaan, for as much as Xior understood of it. He was just very glad that Hal seemed to understand all that complex scientific jargon he was spouting, as Xior’s life depended upon it… and upon Hal.

  Just after measuring out an exact portion of a certain chemical, Hal suddenly stiffened and cocked his head with a peculiar look on his face, as if struggling to listen to something faint, very intently. Xior knew that his hearing was immensely more acute than any humans, but he heard nothing.

  Hal suddenly turned to Xior and said, “OverMaster Xior, do you trust me?”

  Xior was startled by the question and said, “I swallow those pills that you press out of these concoctions of yours, which even our best pharmaceuticals experts don’t begin to comprehend. I’d say that displays a measure of trust, wouldn’t you?”

  Hal nodded and then asked an even more bizarre question. “Would you like to meet my brothers?”

  “Your brothers? How would I go about meeting these littermates of yours?” asked Xior. “They’re rather far away for that, aren’t they?”

  “No, they’re actually quite close,” Hal replied. “Right overhead, in fact.”

  “Other humans? Here?” asked Xior, amazed. “How do you know this?”

  “One of them just spoke to me.”

  “I saw that look of concentration come over you just now, but I heard nothing,” said Xior. “Is this another of your unique High-Human abilities, not shared by the majority of human-kind?”

  “Most assuredly.”

  “Do all in your family share these same High-Human gifts, then?” Xior asked.

  “Not all. My twin does not, yet all of my other brothers do,” replied Hal.

  “Your twin… fraternal twins, I take it?”

  “No, we are identical twins.”

  “How is it that you have High-Human abilities and yet your identical twin does not? Wouldn’t that imply that you are not truly identical, but fraternal?” Xior asked.

  “My twin and I have identical DNA, so we are physiologically identical. Yet I share a closer bond mentally with my 31 other brothers.”

  “You have 32 litter-mates?” said Xior astounded. “I had no idea that humans had litters so huge!”

  “They do not. We did not all achieve awareness at the same time.”

  “Achieve awareness… a strange way to phrase it. Still, 33 cubs must have been devastating to your dam,” Xior mused thoughtfully. “How many of your brothers made the long trip from human space to Raku?”

  “Just two.”

  “I have heard no alarms, so I take it they are above us in one of your undetectable star-ships that we’ve surmised must exist?”

  “Correct.”

  “So, how many humans are there, above over our heads right now then?”

  “Only three… my twin brought his mate and kit with him.”

  Xior was so startled he failed to notice Hal’s unusual failing in math. “Only three… no others?”

  “Only three,” said Hal. “They are here in peace and will cause no problems or disturbance. The fact that my twin brought his mate and kit so deeply into enemy space should give testament to the fact that their intensions are not hostile. In fact, it would probably be for the best if we kept their presence here just between the two of us. I’d really hate to miss out on seeing my family again because someone became aware they were here and got overly excited.”

  “I take it, then, that your military is also aware of Raku’s location?” Xior asked anxiously.

  “My brother’s message did not say, and I cannot ask, as I cannot speak back to him by the same method that he used to speak to me just now,” replied Hal.

  “So your High-Human abilities are not shared equally with your High-Human litter-mates?”

  “No, but you can ask him yourself, if we can guide him to a secluded area near to the palace where he can set his ship down unobserved.”

  “You would truly invite me to come aboard one of your technological marvels which is virtually invisible to our scanners, and played such an important role in your race’s advantage in this war?” Xior asked, astonished.

  “I would, if you would desire to do so.”

  “Why?”

  “It is my desire to see this senseless conflict between your race and mine come to an amicable end, just as soon as possible,” said Hal. “The more we become acquainted and get to know about one another, the better understanding we will have and the better communications we can establish between us.”

  “Are they armed?”

  “The ship is armed, yes. But they have no hostile intentions,” replied Hal. “Had they wanted, they could have already leveled this palace down around our ears.”

  Xior considered all that he’d heard for a minute before agreeing. “I will help you and tell no one of what we do. I would see this marvel and meet these littermates of yours. I wish to ask your twin how it was for him, living as the only non-High-Human in such a tremendously large family.”

  “Oh, he manages… my twin is most senior amongst us and we are all compelled to obey him.”

  “The twin having no High-Human abilities holds dominance amongst you? How can that be?”

  “Our father commanded it.”

  “Ah, I, too had such a sire. That’s how I became supreme-master. How big an area will the ship require?”

  “The ship is 196 ft. in length, 117 ft. in maximum width and 61 ft. in depth… um, that would be 65.3 body-lengths in length, 39 body-lengths in width and 20.3 body-lengths in depth,” replied Hal.

  “I do believe that I know just the place.”

  * * * *

  CSS Leviathan, en route to the Dqual System

  August, 3869

  At 23:58 hours Fleet standard time, on August 12th, 3869, while under hyperdrive in deep space en route to the Dqual system within Raknii Region-4, Dr. Nancy Wiesenthal delivered 6 lb., 13 oz. Wanda Marie Stillman within the surgical theater aboard the CSS Leviathan — and won Commissary Technician 3rd Class Betty Dolan aboard the destroyer CSS O’Brien a significant payday in the second installment of the 2nd Fleet “Boobs” Fletcher Baby Sweepstakes. As expected, Captain Dorothy Fletcher-Stillman experienced no appreciable difficulties with her pregnancy, other than being forced too wear a custom-made brassiere (which resembled a harness) to support her milk-engorged breasts, which had already held the Fleet record, prior to the sperm-finding-the-egg event that enlarged them to truly epic proportions. Ship’s tailor Edmund Weber was considered the second luckiest man in the fleet, for having been selected to fabricate the device… especially for the multiple fittings required to facilitate the continual adjustments needed to keep those ballooning puppies corralled.

  Little Wanda Marie was named for her maternal grandmother and her fraternal grandmother respectively, but she had already been nicknamed Midnight by the crew. Even proud Papa and doting Mama had been caught using it. The Leviathan’s bridge crew awarded little Midnight the honorary rank of LtJG, as she obviously entered the universe eminently more talented and capable than most ensigns.

  Region-Master Tzal was enthralled by the admiral’s newborn daughter, and yet thoroughly appalled at the sheer volume the kit was capable of achieving when fouled. Tzal was finding it difficult to maintain his hatred towards these gigantic aliens, having lived among them for so long. Despite having fought them and being defeated by them more often than any other Raknii master, he found himself developing a grudging respect for the creatures. They were obviously proficient in the military arts and their technology made him drool with envy. But for the most part, they just seemed so incredibly… decent. Oh, there were a few who were understandably hostile towards his presence here, especially the ship-master of this weapon-forested small moon, but most were actually friendly. It was maddening!

  * * * *

  Raknii Region-5

  August, 3869

  In response to Fleet Admiral Kalis’ orders, the Sextus 1st Fleet, the Confederate 4th Fleet and the
Alliance 3rd, 8th and 11th Fleets all launched attacks on designated targets within Region-5, only to find it unnecessary to fire a shot. When they emerged into their target systems, the corvette class warships defending those systems fled and the planet-masters on all five targets hailed them, offering the peaceful surrender of their worlds. Apparently they were under orders from their supreme-master not to resist if attacked by humans, but to immediately offer their throats in submission.

  After what had happened to the Alliance 17th Fleet at Yegraia in Region-4, their desire for revenge was tempered somewhat by taking their objectives without so much as breaking a nail.

  * * * *

  CSS Ghost, Raknii Imperial Planet of Raku

  August, 3869

  CSS Ghost floated lazily just above the Raknii Imperial Palace, a hole in the night. No, not really hole, as that implied a darker-than-dark quality that would make her discernible, if only barely. No, Ghost was literally invisible. When a passerby looked up, all the stars showed through, as though she wasn’t there at all. Ghost had a clear electro-chemical exterior coating that allowed for images received from thousands of micro-fiber lenses to be displayed on the exterior surface of the hull, displaying light patterns from the opposite side, so that nearby visual sensors could not detect the ship via occlusion, or blockage of stars as the ship passed between them.

  Ghost was aptly named, as she glided as silently as her namesake, using a revolutionary new gravitic drive system that enabled the craft to maneuver in a manner similar to standard hydrogen-plume propulsion within 4.5 light hours distance to an average gas-giant mass object. This new gravitic drive gave Ghost the ability to maneuver within inhabited solar systems without a detectable hydrogen-plume — or to float silently and invisibly just above the Raknii Imperial Palace, in the heart of the capital of mankind’s most implacable enemy, totally undetected.

  Diet, I am receiving a message in Morse code from my mobile self on the surface.

  “What’s he saying and how’s he saying it?”

  He appears to be using some kind of hand-held, low-power signaling laser. He says there is a shallow pool of water of sufficient size in the center of a tree-enshrouded garden, atop the Temple of Dol, just on the north side of the palace. He says there is a tunnel between the palace and the temple used only by the priestesses and the supreme-master, which he can utilize to meet us in that garden.

  “How do you know it’s really him?”

  How many Raknii do you think know Morse code?

  “What’s Morse code?”

  That’s exactly my point.

  * * * *

  Chapter-28

  A perfect example of minority rule is a baby in the house. — Milwaukee Journal

  The Alliance Planet Minnos

  August, 3869

  “Bozo, who was it exactly that actually discovered the secret of how the Raknii translators actually worked internally?” asked Fleet-Admiral Roger Kalis.

  I did, Admiral.

  “That’s what I thought. What can you tell me about a man named Halbert Guderian?”

  The Honorable Lord Halbert Nikolaus Guderian: born June 1, 3830, in the city of Fürt on the planet Bavara, Imperial Germanic Empire. Unmarried. Next of kin: Dietrich Anton Guderian, sibling. A grandnephew of Kaiser Wilhelm VII. Reported captured by Raknii assault troops in his hometown of Fürt, on the German planet of Bavara in June, 3866.

  “Postulate how this Halbert Nikolaus Guderian might have come to possess accurate, intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Raknii translator, the ability to speak the Raknii language and demonstrate mastery level skills in architecture, artistry, political science and philosophy.”

  There are very few official records that I can access on that individual, Admiral. Much of what would normally be considered public records for Halbert Nikolaus Guderian is classified and sealed by the Imperial German government. This is not unusual for members of the German Royal Family, regardless of how distant their relationship to the emperor might actually be.

  “His next of kin… what was that name again?”

  Dietrich Anton Guderian.

  “Guderian… Dietrich Guderian. I’ve heard that name before, but I can’t place it. Bozo, what information do you have on this Dietrich Anton Guderian?”

  Baron Dietrich Anton Guderian von und zu Fürt: born June 1, 3830 in the city of Fürt on the planet Bavara, Imperial Germanic Empire. A grandnephew of Kaiser Wilhelm VII. Next of kin: Baroness Noreen Guderian, spouse - The Honorable Hans Niklaus Guderian, infant child - The Honorable Lord Halbert Nikolaus Guderian, sibling. Current positions: Founder and sole owner of Tydlich Bundesgenosse Gespenster Corporation – Admiral and Commander of Fleet Intelligence, Confederate Stellar Accord.

  “Commander of Fleet Intelligence for the Confederacy, you say?” Kalis sputtered, startled.

  Correct.

  “Bozo, isn’t this Dietrich Anton Guderian your mysterious partner, who you worked with before and during the War of Confederate Independence?”

  Correct.

  “How interestingly coincidental,” Kalis mused. “So what is this mysterious partner of yours doing now?”

  I’m not exactly sure, Admiral. If everything is on schedule, he should be at, or at least very near, the Raknii imperial capital on Raku.

  “WHAT? How in the hell could he have gotten to Raku and just what in heaven’s name does he think he’s doing?” Kalis thundered.

  Don’t worry, Admiral. He took CSS Ghost and he’s going to Raku to rescue his brother.

  “Are you telling me that he STOLE a Confederate Fleet vessel to go gallivanting off into the very heart of enemy territory, on personal business?” Kalis roared in indignation.

  No, Admiral. Diet didn’t “steal” anything. Ghost is a Confederate Fleet Intelligence vessel and as Diet is a full admiral and the duly-appointed Commander of Confederate Fleet Intelligence, he is fully authorized to order the release of Ghost to himself and assign himself to that mission. Besides, Diet’s brother is a national security asset of vital importance. We need to retrieve him from the aliens, if at all possible.

  Kalis was thunderstruck. “What ninny commissioned him as an admiral in my Fleet and then named him as Commander of Confederate Fleet Intelligence?”

  Two ninnies to be exact, Admiral. President Lincoln Collier personally signed Diet’s Confederate citizenship papers and his commission as a full admiral in the Confederate Fleet.

  “Collier again… and here I thought that I’d pulled that idiot’s teeth,” Kalis fumed. “All right then, who’s the dumb ass that named your buddy as Commander of Confederate Fleet Intelligence, then?”

  You did, Admiral. I really don’t see what you’re getting all upset about. Diet has done nothing wrong. If you’ll remember, Diet donated all of those Ghost-class intelligence vessels to the Confederate Fleet in the first place.

  “Why wasn’t I consulted first?”

  Do all of your full admirals consult with you before assigning specific tasks to vessels under their command, Admiral?

  Thwarted on that tack, Kalis changed course. “What about his crew? It is unconscionable that he would endanger the Ghost’s crew on such a hare-brained scheme.”

  Ghost has no crew. Captain Diamond and his entire crew transferred to CSS Banshee when she launched and Ghost went into the TBG facility at Joja where she was originally built, for an overhaul of her systems… all at Diet’s personal expense, I might add. Diet, his wife and their child are the only people aboard. Besides, that “hare-brained scheme,” as you called it, was my idea and it was no more hare-brained than a LOT of the things we did to get the Confederacy birthed and defended.

  Kalis suddenly felt chastened. He’d momentarily forgotten how much that he and his new country owed to this strange, sentient computer and his mysterious and certifiably insane partner.

  “He took his wife and infant child to Raku with him? How could he possibly be controlling that ship without a crew?”

  Oh, Diet�
��s not controlling CSS Ghost, Admiral… I am.

  * * * *

  The Raknii Imperial Planet of Raku, Temple of Dol

  August, 3869

  Xior guided Hal through the sub-basement of the imperial palace along a route known to few besides the Dolrak, the OverMasters and the supreme-master himself. Varq accompanied them, after having invited himself along with no explanation of how he might have known they were going somewhere together that night. Right after Xior had fetched the signaling laser that Hal had asked for, Varq just mysteriously appeared, seemingly out of thin air, in a way that only Varq could. He asked no questions and he made no statements. He simply became their shadow when it came time for them to leave. Xior led them through the tunnel between the palace and the temple, which came out in the rear, well away from the public areas. Of course, there really were no public areas in the temple at this time of night. Even Dolrak had to sleep sometime.

  Xior led them up a back staircase that led to the roof garden, and Varq still made no comment as they stepped out into the almost total darkness of a new moon. From the edge of the pool, inside the ring of concealing trees, Hal shone his low power laser skyward and tapped out a message in an ancient code that few humans had ever heard of, much less still knew how to read.