by S. H. Jucha
“And the small sphere or orb, as everyone calls it?” Alex asked.
“The most sophisticated of the ships, by far,” Julien said.
“I didn’t recognize any of these ships as having a design similar to the bullet ships that the spheres carried, did anyone else?” Alex asked, and received a series of negative responses.
“Does that make the eleven, which were represented in the main party, one greater?” Ellie asked.
“Not necessarily, Captain,” Z replied. “It’s conceivable the bullet ships are made by the master race for the Nua’ll, who appear to operate as their envoys.”
“And exterminators,” Renée added, with disgust.
“I’d like to return to the lieutenant’s question, Alex,” Cordelia said. “She thought defeating such a massive civilization of many races to be impossible, and you intimated that wasn’t your intent.”
“What do you see, Commodore, when you observe multiple races, who’ve probably been cobbled together for millenniums, but they haven’t received the benefits of shared technology?” Alex asked.
“I don’t see benevolence,” Cordelia replied.
“Just so,” Alex agreed. “I think the situation creates a short-term and a long-term goal for us. For our immediate future, we must claim our territory and send a message to the Nua’ll and their masters.”
“The spheres, which are this side of the wall,” Julien supplied.
“Exactly,” Alex replied. “They’re our targets and must be eliminated from this side of the wall.”
“How many were there?” Ellie asked.
“Twenty-three, Captain,” Julien replied.
“Alex, it would take a force of twelve or more Tridents, loaded with travelers, to adequately trap and take down each sphere,” Ellie calculated. “Plus, we’d need to have competent commanders leading these fleets. We can’t let the Méridiens or New Terrans encounter a sphere by themselves.”
“That’s not what I intend to do, Captain,” Alex replied. “I intend to send our entire force against the nearest sphere. It would be an excellent opportunity for the fleet to practice maneuvers.”
“And it would be extremely intimidating,” Miranda added. “I can just imagine the last message that will be sent by the sphere before it detonates.”
“Speaking of which,” Renée interjected, “how can the fleet be protected from a sphere’s tendency to take ships with it when it explodes?”
“That will be an opportunity for the Freedom, Ser,” Cordelia said. “Our orbital platform has been splitting production in half between fulfilling traveler orders from other worlds and providing the city-ships with fighters. Z and Miranda have installed ancillary programs in every traveler, which will allow them to operate in concert, independent of the city-ship’s controller or a pilot’s directions. We use these unmanned fighters to eliminate the bullet ships. Once the sphere is defenseless, we’ll send the travelers in to close the cordon. Two or more of these automated fighters will attack and tempt the sphere to detonate.”
Alex marveled at the authority and flexibility that the SADEs had exhibited in his absence. His smile was wide and generous, as he gazed across the table at Cordelia. Then he turned his admiring expression on Z and Miranda.
“Could we automate every traveler so that the lives of pilots won’t be risked?” Renée asked.
“Unfortunately not, Ser,” Cordelia replied. “These methods will work in simple scenarios, where the travelers have a single target and a fairly simple purpose. In a full-scale operation, which would demand multiple maneuvers, there wouldn’t be time to program and coordinate the fighters.”
“Julien, if we were to prosecute the spheres, one at a time, how long would it take the fleet to sail to the present locations of these twenty-three spheres?” Yumi asked.
Julien blinked in the time it took him to calculate the distances between the stars where the spheres had been located, allowing for the shortest path to reach them. “I estimate the travel time to be about 14.5 years, Lieutenant,” Julien replied.
Yumi’s mouth fell open. Closing it, she said, “Plus time for in-system travel and the fights.”
“Assuredly,” Julien replied calmly. He understood Yumi’s concern. To hunt and destroy the spheres that had been located, she would give up more than 8 percent of her expected lifespan — if she survived. SADEs would share the danger but wouldn’t fret the time.
“Lieutenant,” Alex said calmly, “you’re envisaging events as all or nothing. Things are seldom that way. Imagine you’re the Nua’ll, who must answer to this master race. Your spheres are out among the stars, stamping out existing or potential spacefaring life forms. Recently, you’ve lost two spheres to some minor upstarts. It’s worrying but containable. Now, if in the course of less than a year, you lose four or five more spheres, decisively. What would you do?”
“I would order the spheres to band together and travel as a squadron,” Yumi said. Then, she corrected herself. “No, that wouldn’t work, not with the size of the attacking fleet that the spheres would have reported before they detonated. No, I’d recall them.” Yumi said. The smile on Alex’s face told her that she’d reasoned correctly.
“That’s how we’ll claim our territory,” Alex said, eyeing each member of the table.
“The probes, Alex,” Julien said. “Terese said she was considering abandoning the Haraken carriers.”
“And?” Alex asked.
“We use the carriers to eliminate the probes. Load them with banishers and a few travelers for protection,” Julien replied.
Alex started to ask a question but stopped. Instead, he grinned and said, “Brilliant, Julien. Will it require new equipment on the bridge or merely programming for the controllers?”
“For the rest of us, Alex,” Renée interjected.
“Julien, it’s your idea. Go ahead,” Alex offered.
“We automate the carriers,” Julien explained, “adding functions for defense of the ship and offense against the probes with the banishers. In the event a carrier encounters significant forces, it abandons the system and moves on to the next one.”
“What about reaction mass, emergency repairs, or running low on banishers or travelers?” Ellie asked.
“For the most part, Captain, these are all programmable events,” Julien replied. “In regard to reaction mass, your concern is noted. The carrier has a great number of bays that won’t be in use. We can add additional tanks there, and it might be prudent to set a date by which the carriers return to us for service.”
“Essentially, we’d set up the carriers to eliminate the probes, system by system, without involving our warships or crews,” Alex allowed. “And President Lechaux will love the idea of putting the carriers to such a valuable use, as opposed to scrapping the ships.”
“After we’ve hunted the spheres and forced them to retreat to their territory, do we intend to return to the wall?” Ellie asked.
“Do what?” Yumi asked with trepidation.
“We certainly can’t hope for détente,” Alex replied. “Our grav drives weren’t displayed to the ships at the wall, but probes have reported our ship movements in multiple worlds. The master race knows of our growing capabilities. I believe that an intelligent species that has lived for millenniums, maybe eons, under a mantra of expansionism, can’t imagine existing any other way. If we pause and hope for peace, they’ll be using the time to conceive of a means of eliminating us.
“Then what’s our long-term goal?” Ellie asked.
“After we’ve sent the carriers to destroy the probes, eliminated a few spheres, and seen the spheres fleeing to the other side of the wall, we’ll need to confront this civilization,” Alex replied.
“And how are you proposing to do that?” Renée asked, worried that Alex was thinking of a horrendous fleet confrontation.
“Divide and conquer,” Alex said
enigmatically.
Julien smiled and nodded.
“It came from one of your vids, Renée,” Alex said, in answer to the questioning look on his partner’s face.
“What did?” Ellie asked.
“The answer to our dilemma lies in determining which races, represented by these ships,” Alex replied, indicating the holo-vid display, “are the most vulnerable to persuasion.”
“The probabilities are great,” Z interjected, “that each of these species occupied its own territory prior to being absorbed by the master race. If we can identify the most recent group to be usurped, we’ll probably find its territory at the edge of the master race’s dominion. That would make access to those worlds less problematic.”
“And, as the more recently absorbed species, the memory of domination would be fresher. This might make them more amenable to turning against their masters,” Julien reasoned.
“Or they could play both sides against each other and expose us to retaliation by the masters,” Ellie reasoned.
“That will certainly be part of the challenge,” Alex admitted. “But, once we turn one group, it will be easier to turn another, especially with the intelligence about the master race that the first race should provide.”
“How do we go about identifying which species is the most vulnerable?” Ellie asked.
“Like Luther’s answer to the question of protecting our ships from the Nua’ll broadcast, it’s a work in progress,” Alex replied and dismissed the meeting.
* * *
Alex and Renée had retired for the evening. They were sipping thé on a couch, cuddled together, and happy to be relaxing in their salon aboard the Freedom.
“Do you know what I like best about our suite?” Renée asked Alex.
“Hmm,” Alex replied, as he took a swallow from his cup.
“Trident cabins, even the ones we had, weren’t meant to be comfortable for two people, for as long as we were aboard, especially with one as large as you, my love.”
“I did notice that we had a little more body contact than was usual for us.”
“I did enjoy it for the first month or so, my love. But, after that, it felt as if I was experiencing incoming asteroids and their collisions.”
“I wasn’t gentle in our contacts?”
“Your deceleration was adequate, my love,” Renée replied, kissing his temple. “But, if you haven’t noticed, your Greco-Roman workouts have returned you to the hardness of when we first met, if not more so.”
“Would you like me softer?” Alex asked, with a smirk.
“You know that’s not the way I like you,” Renée replied, with a tempting grin.
A link was left in their implants, and Alex regarded Renée, who signaled her readiness, and he triggered the link.
Alain added,
Then Étienne continued.
Alain explained.
Alex looked at Renée. Her hand was over her mouth and tears swam in her eyes. “You don’t want them to go?” Alex asked.
“No, no,” Renée cried. “I’ve been worried about them for years. Lately, there’s been little need for their escort services, but I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. They’re proud men. It’s wonderful that they’ve chosen a new direction for themselves. But fighter pilots? I could have wished for a safer occupation for them.”
“You thought they would shift from trying to keep me alive, to say, working in the meal room?” Alex asked.
“No, I suppose not. They were bound to choose something dangerous, where their skills could be put to use,” Renée replied and triggered the second link that appeared in her implant.
Alex and Renée heard Tatia pause and the rustling of bedclothes before she continued.
Alex closed their comm links. He was mulling over Tatia’s statements about the twins’ combat skills, when Renée interjected her thoughts.
“I would have thought Tatia would be worried for them, especially for her partner, Alain. Then again, it’s probably safer for them to be in Tridents than standing next to you, my love. I will miss them, as close companions,” Renée said, climbing into Alex’s lap.
Two more friends in harm’s way, Alex thought, his anger rising against the Nua’ll and their master race.
— Alex and friends will return in Nua’ll. —
Glossary
Celus-5 Swei Swee
Star Hunter First – Swei Swee name for Alex Racine
Wave Skimmer – Hive Leader, called the First
Dischnya
Dischnya – Intelligent species in Celus system
Homsaff – Heir to the Mawas Soma nest
Neffess – Nyslara’s heir
Nyslara – Queen of Tawas Soma nest
Sawa – Celus-4, Dischnya home world
Sawa Messa – Celus-5, Dischnya’s second world
Soma – Term for Dischnya
Wasat – Warrior commander
Dischnya Language
Dassata – Peacemaker
Ené – Pronunciation of Renée
Fanz – Pronunciation of Franz
Earthers
Binghamton – Destroyer commodore
Desgardes – Destroyer captain
Elbert Munford – President
Mel Dormer – Adjutant to Colonel Morris
Nikki Fowler – Rim governor
Patrice Morris – Militia colonel
Selena – President’s aide
Thalis – Admiral
Tim Fordham – Destroyer bridge duty officer
Harakens
Asu Azasdau – Captain and co-commander of the Sojourn expeditions
Bibi Haraken – Matriarch of Haraken clan
Christie Racine – Alex’s sister
Dug
gan Racine – Alex’s father
Eli Roth – Bellamonde naval academy co-commander over crew training
Elizabeth – SADE
Ginny – Young ex-Earther and friend to Teague, Alex’s son
Jason Haraken – Grandson of Bibi Haraken
Jupiter – SADE directing the observatory platform, original ID Theodosius
Katie Racine – Alex’s mother
Keira – Security member of the Sojourn
Mutter – SADE and Hive Singer
Pietro Luchelli – Bellamonde naval academy senior strategist
Robert Dorian – Bellamonde naval academy commandant
Stanley Peterson – Bellamonde naval academy co-commander over crew training
Terese Lechaux – Newly elected president of Haraken
Tomas Monti – Partner of Terese Lechaux
Willem – SADE
Méridiens
Allora – SADE lost in transfer from her ship
Bartosz Rolek – House Leader
Confederation Council – Supreme ruling body of the Méridiens
Confederation Hall – Building that houses the Council Chambers
Council Chambers – Assembly location of the Leaders for deliberation
Darse Lemoyne – House Leader
Descartes – Trident senior captain and SADE
Domino – Risk assessment SADE
Emilio Torres – House Leader
Gino Diamanté – Council Leader, partner of Katrina Pasko
Independents – Confederation outcasts, originally exiled to Libre, rescued by Alex Racine
Katrina Pasko – House Leader, partner of Gino Diamanté
Lawrence Teressi – House Leader
Linton – Risk assessment SADE
Mahima Ganesh – Ex-Council Leader
Oliver – Leader Lemoyne’s ex-House SADE
Pierce – Risk assessment SADE
Serge – Risk assessment SADE
Shannon Brixton – House Leader
Theodore – SADE with Gino Diamanté
Winston – SIF director, ex-Council SADE
New Terrans
Alphons Jagielski – Captain of the Trident, NT Arthur McMorris