Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 2 - Hidden Menace

by David Buck

  The fleet master knew that keeping the Tilmud away would again increase tensions with them, but he wanted to also rebuild his fleets without the risk of sabotage from the Tilmud. The station master gave a chirr of understanding as he took in the logic of the fleet master’s order, before he then added an embellishment of his own.

  ‘We will take our time in supplying the Quixxe artisans and they can be spying on the Vorinne for us in the process. The matriarch may reconsider her requests to us in the future as a result of our assistance.’

  The two Cephrit chirred in mirth at this thought, as the matriarch was regarded in private as the supreme puppet master in this part of the galaxy. To actually leave her alive as an ally and trump her own gambits was intensely rewarding to them both. The assault leader now entered the room and they all had a meal together followed by several bottles of fine Barus wine. Much later the assault leader slept in her usual place at the foot of his sleeping mat, as the fleet master considered quietly the recent news of the plight of the humans.

  ***

  Altarebe patiently held the repaired sled as the Maveen probe performed a last minute visual inspection of their earlier repairs. He knew that the repairs should hold, but he was also aware that the probe could not return for later repairs after meeting with the humans. Seliandre was off to one side and she was going through her own mental checklist as the probe took his time looking over the sled.

  ‘Probe three, we have covered the colonists, the sled is repaired, the warnings to the humans are specified and your operational limits are agreed to by all of us. Now you will seek out the human we suggested you try and find?’

  Probe three kept silent for several minutes as he completed his inspection and again positioned himself on the sled. Altarebe noted that the four bottom sled sheets were secured for fitting on dry land later, and that his own smaller laser welder was also onboard the sled. Seliandre patiently waited to one side for the Maveen’s answer as she was well aware of their obdurate nature. She watched as the probe activated the sled’s cloak for several seconds only and then tested the atmospheric speed brakes on the sled. Probe three turned off the diagnostics on the sled and powered for transit from the ocean, before finally speaking to the two ancients.

  ‘As per the agreed limits I will not cloak or use active scans whilst in view of the humans. I will also be mindful not to be destroyed as the Queen will later need me back in one piece. I understand Robert Seville to be on the Abrolhos Islands but I will not ask for him by name of course. Otherwise I will travel to the human city of Fremantle and seek him out at their research institute. I will attempt a cloaked return to Earth as soon as possible after the battle.’

  Altarebe and Seliandre now wished the probe luck and now stayed still as the sled circled them at increasing speed. Probe three then dove the sled towards the distant seafloor for several seconds at over eighty knots before he turned towards the surface and fired all engines. A powerful pulse buffeted both ancients as the sled rocketed from the water and clawed for speed in the atmosphere, and the probe soon levelled off the sled at one thousand metres altitude and now flew slowly south east.

  Altarebe kept silent as he followed Seliandre down to the sea floor, and she picked up his mood as she chose a deep canyon for them to enter. They had spent the last three days only occasionally flirting with words or brief manipulator caresses when the Maveen probe was off elsewhere testing the sled. Seliandre paused in the deepest part of the canyon and he gave her a soft subsonic call that she answered with one of her own. He moved slowly forward and by instinct extended all his manipulators. Seliandre extended her own larger manipulators and he was slowly drawn against her breeding mantle. Instinct took over and the two of them remained joined for many long hours in their lengthy lives.

  Probe three held his speed below the speed of sound and kept the altitude of the sled constant. The rear monitors were showing a diminishing cloud of steam trailing the sled as the water inside the electronic areas of the sled drained across the repaired power conduits and was flash heated to steam. He was thankful that Altarebe had provided the drainage for the specialised equipment bay; otherwise the pressure change alone would have destroyed both the cloaking mechanism and the weapons he would be relying upon later.

  ***

  Robert Seville was enjoying a break on what was supposed to be his last day on the Abrolhos Islands, when a commotion near the landing field caught his eye and he wandered over. Sam Rhodes saw him coming across and he waved before crossing towards him at a dead run.

  ‘Robert I have been trying to ring you for the last ten minutes, there has been a development over the Indian Ocean you need to know about.’

  Robert took his satellite phone from his back pack and turned it on as Sam spoke again.

  ‘A small ship with no identification codes is headed this way and will be here shortly. I have suspended our filming this afternoon and ensured that all our replicas are landed and inactive here on Gun Island.’

  Robert felt a chill that raised his hackles in the warm sunlight as he read the first news bulletin reports on the strange ship. He wordlessly followed Sam into the nearby producer’s office tent as he considered what this development could mean. In moments they were both standing in front of a large view screen watching live footage of the approaching ship.

  Eve Lowry was trying to garner enthusiasm amongst the mixture of tourists aboard the MV Southern Explorer, for this was her third overnight cruise from Geraldton this week and she now wanted to just go home. The tourism director looked across the mixture of grey nomads, singles and young families that made up their passengers. She noted that several of them were just either sitting quietly, or quietly looking out at the ocean on both sides of the ship, though two young boys with model Trader space ships were following her every word as she spoke again.

  ‘Middle Island is of course the landing site for the Trader ship Illuria one hundred and fifty years ago. The island is now closed to public access due to safety concerns, though we have our own private cameras installed on the island as part of our charter licence. To the north we have Gun Island, and the filming of the latest re-enactment is now drawing to a close. We will move across to Gun Island shortly and watch the last scenes involving the replica Maveen probes…..’

  A commotion from the few passengers on seaward side of the Southern Explorer interrupted Eve’s presentation, and she turned around in confusion to see a black space ship fly slowly past. Eve turned to follow the ships’ flight and noted that it looked different in many ways to the replicas she had seen many times previously. The probe appeared to be joined onto a larger delta winged sled, and the whole object radiated menace and power as it slowed further near Middle Island.

  Eve brought up her binoculars from around her neck and now looked towards Gun Island. Taking a deep breath and trying to soothe a sudden case of fright, the tourism director counted the shapes of the six Maveen replicas on the island and noted that they were not operating. She counted the replicas a second time before regaining her calm and making an announcement to her passengers.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the Southern Explorer will be withdrawing from today’s tour shortly. We have to leave as it appears that an actual Maveen probe has made an appearance after one hundred and fifty years.’

  The parents of the two boys shot her a look of reproof that Eve ignored as she joined the passengers filming the now stationary Maveen probe. She noted that the sled appeared incomplete or damaged in some way, as the passengers continued filming and a pair of navy lifters slowly flew over from the south east.

  ***

  Probe three ignored the nearby civilian human transports as he approached the former landing site for the Trader ship. He remembered vividly the long journey to this world, the tragic battle to the south west with the human fleet, and then their long days on this island. The probe stopped for several minutes and did a full passive scan of the island, and he noted the large plinth ringed by a series of cameras
. The Maveen started to move after first identifying two small lifters slowly flying in from the south east.

  Probe three sent the lifters the standard non aggression and ceasefire clauses by radio waves as he moved slowly north-ward towards Gun Island. He then sent brief microwave signals to six landed objects to confirm that they were only Maveen replicas and could be safely ignored. The probe knew that the misdirection towards the humans was necessary and he felt no conflicts in his programming as he approached and opened his communications visor. The Maveen introduced himself with his false identity as he approached several humans standing at the southern end of the landing strip.

  ‘I am scout probe eleven and I have been sent to your world to relay an urgent warning to your planet’s leaders. I was damaged when I was attacked as I earlier entered your planet’s atmosphere. Note that according to our earlier agreement, humans are not to attack Maveen or their allies, though I will treat my incurred damage as an accidental attack. Now listen carefully as the Jerecab are sending a large armada of ships to conquer your world and they will be here within weeks. So do any of you hold the positions of authority required to speak with me?’

  A very surprised Robert noted with amusement that the Maveen probe was focussing his attention on the young actor in the old Australian naval uniform, and he also noted the brusque tone of the alien. But Sam was quicker on the uptake and quietly placed his hand on Robert’s shoulders to gently push him forward. Robert looked around to glare at Sam, and spotted the fact that the actor was quickly getting out of his uniform jacket as Sam piped up nervously.

  ‘Uh probe eleven; we are filming a re-enactment of your race’s landing here so long ago. Robert Seville here is a civilian specialist on alien space technology, and he would be the best qualified to speak with you on our behalf.’

  Robert Seville still felt his earlier surprise and awe as he self consciously bowed to the Maveen scout probe and spoke in turn.

  ‘I will speak with you probe eleven, but note that our authorities may over rule my decisions if they are in disagreement with them. I am a research professor and I also hold a reserve captain’s commission in our space navy. Are you still damaged and can you leave this world quickly? I am worried that other galactic races could arrive here to capture you.’

  The Maveen kept quiet for several moments as it silently approved the economy and the logic in Robert’s words. He knew that humans still did not present themselves as a unified race and this could be a problem later on. The probe was actually relieved to contact Robert on his first attempt, but he could not be seen to be interested or already knowledgeable regarding Robert in any way. The probe therefore decided that a few questions to Robert were now in order.

  ‘Robert Seville, I need to ensure that your race does not attack me again and do you have the authority to prevent this occurring? Could you explain about your research of alien technology and which institute is involved? Finally I would like to know about your race’s defence preparations so I can better advise you on how to survive the Jerecab onslaught.’

  Robert urgently called the two lifters now circling to the east of the islands, and in minutes he had them implementing quarantine around the islands. He also noted that the civilian surface vessels to either side of the islands were slowly withdrawing back to the mainland. Sam and his film crew had moved back several metres and now quietly filmed both him and the Maveen probe. Robert gave the probe another bow and finally replied.

  ‘The two ships nearby are enforcing a quarantine and civilians are leaving these islands, also an attack upon you is unlikely as we remember the earlier agreement. The research of the Trader ships is still going well as we recently accessed the full engineering manuals for their ships at the Fremantle Institute. I will require authorisation from our leaders before I can discuss our defence preparations with you.’

  The Maveen probe was not actually worried about the research institute until it heard the part about the Trader manuals. The probe kept quiet for several moments as it evaluated that there was now an additional reason for it to covertly return to Queen Angwene at a later stage.

  Robert felt unease as he took in the alien silence and menace in the Maveen probe, even if his training had indicated that the Maveen could be obscure. Surely the Maveen could understand the need for military secrecy that human authorities would be concerned about? Robert then looked over the sled holding the Maveen and for the first time he addressed the issue of damage to the Maveen.

  ‘Probe eleven, you mentioned you are damaged and could we be assistance in helping you with your repairs? We can assist you at these islands like we did with the Trader ship in the past.’

  The Maveen probe now decided to ignore the outstanding question of access to human military information as he replied.

  ‘I have repaired most of the damage underwater and now seek to seal up the sled before I leave your world. I will need one to two days on dry land to complete my repairs.’

  The probe knew he could repair the sled much quicker if required, but he was now seeking information from the humans. Robert soon had the film crew clearing a suitable space off to one side of the landing strip, and the Maveen probe placed the sled in the cleared space before dismounting and landing alongside. Sam organised one of his own supply lifters to move across and hook up the sled with a side crane. As the sled was held by the crane, the Maveen probe began to reattach the first bottom panel.

  Robert noted the internal structure of the sled and was soon asking technical questions. The Maveen probe would answer two questions of his on Maveen technology, before asking just one question relating to their defences. Robert was happy with volunteering basic information on their defences for he knew that the defenders would benefit from the involvement of the Maveen probe.

  The Maveen probe slowly attached the first bottom panel and performed spurious diagnostics of the sled as it evaluated the answers. The intelligence relayed by Altarebe was proving to be very accurate, as was the earlier computer espionage performed by Seliandre. However the probe quietly noted a few key areas of concerns about the human defences that it would raise at a later stage. The probe continued in his repairs using the laser welder to slowly stitch up the panels along the bottom of the sled.

  ***

  Admiral Baunrus initially felt relief as he reviewed the latest intelligence reports, as it appeared his armada had successfully driven the humans from the colonies. He was hoping to take the female human admiral alive at a later stage, for her goading still irked him. However he was concerned that one of his main deployment zones had not reported in for several days. The toll amongst his frigates was also another concern for he had lost over sixty frigates in the weeks since hostilities had begun.

  The tactical officer, a lieutenant that Baunrus had already marked for further promotion, wordlessly handed across another data tablet. The admiral noted the information with unease before giving vent to his frustrations.

  ‘So we have the humans with a supply convoy which may or may not have been destroyed, plus the presence of Traders, Sspol and a grouping of large ships operated by yet another race. Also we do not know the whereabouts of the two Barus squadrons and they could heavy damage our supply lines. Basically this means we will now have to consolidate here first before we can go after the humans and their home world.’

  Baunrus handed the data tablet back to the lieutenant with a small nod to convey his approval of the junior officer. For several moments he sat back to consider the likely locations of the Jerecab ships before issuing another pair of curt orders.

  ‘We will split the Armada into three sections of eighty frigates and progressively sweep through the human deployment zones. If we are fortunate then we may also corner a Barus squadron. Now I want all three sections to take two star systems each and then overlap adjoining star systems with each other.’

  The admiral then quietly thought about how Neanres was getting along in his own slow mission to Dradfer three.

  Comma
nder Neanres had taken his damaged ships back towards their main deployment point via an indirect route outside the colony zones. Apart from a pair of Cephrit scouts that quickly fled at his squadron’s approach, his damaged ships had sighted nothing of interest. He reviewed the reports for three of the more heavily damaged frigates before he made a quick decision.

  ‘We will stay here for four days and perform additional repairs for the system is unlikely to hold human ships. We will then make the three required hyper space jumps to reach Dradfer three, or the Gold system as the humans now call it.’

  Neanres knew that his caution was well founded for he had sent a series of probes to the central colonies and they had not returned as expected. The commander sat back to worry at length what conflict with the humans would do to his damaged ships.

  ***

  Chapter 10

  Commander Paul Burgess carefully moved from one area of cover to another and continued laying down covering fire. He knew that the Fenshilla had experienced a rude shock after attempting to storm the Bowman. He fired his laser blaster again and a thin alien shriek told him that he had struck down yet another attacker. The decks ahead of him were littered with dead Fenshilla after his team had sprung their second ambush.

  Paul checked the energy storage levels on his weapon before firing another controlled burst of weapons fire. The heavily built commander had served for many years in the SAS before being seconded for the mission to the former Dradfer colonies, and his experience now told him that the alien commander was not unduly worried about his own casualties.