New Empires: Conglomerate Series Book 3

by William Frisbee

  “The Caliphate?” Luke said. “Translation?”

  Pavlis shook his head.

  “She said ‘The Caliphate of Sol’,” Pavlis said. “Caliphate and Sol are how it sounds in her language.”

  “Shit,” Luke said.

  “Fudgesticks,” Leonessa said.

  “That explains the Caliphate’s access to wormhole technology,” Luke said.

  “Does she know anything else?” Luke asked.

  “I’m working on it,” Pavlis said. “She seems talkative and doesn’t seem to understand the concept of prisoner. Because we haven’t killed her, she thinks we are some kind of ally.”

  “That is an odd world view,” Leonessa said.

  Pavlis nodded but did not look or talk to Leonessa. He was giving her the cold shoulder and Luke wanted to laugh at the immaturity of it.

  “We have to warn New Alamo and Athena,” Luke said. “Who knows what other technologies the Battle Singers have given the Caliphate.”

  “We should also warn the Jupiter Alliance,” Pavlis said. “If the Caliphate has advanced weaponry and technology, they will slaughter the ships of the Jupiter Alliance.”

  “Agreed,” Luke said. “Put together a data packet with everything you can. I will send a trio of frigates back to Bronkaw Prime and they can send a message. Prime Minister Harrison will know what to do. Hopefully, the information will be in time.”

  “Where are the Battle Singers now?” Luke asked.

  Pavlis frowned.

  “She says there are few Battle Singers, that they move around their vassals, influencing battles as needed to insure their eventual victory,” Pavlis said.

  “They have a technology at the same level of the Pral,” Shum said. “The Battle Singers were never numerous, even eons ago. They drink the souls of those that die in battle, relishing the emotions and final thoughts as the sentients return to the weaver’s baskets of thread. However, it is said, the Battle Singers collect those threads cut from the tapestry and place them in their own baskets for some use.”

  “That sounds ominous,” Luke said.

  Shum nodded.

  “The Battle Singers were defeated before I was born,” Shum said. “Ancient foes, defeated in battle, do not concern the Tal except in the dangers they once represented and may represent again. The Battle Singers were thought to be extinct. We prepare for the future, not the past.”

  “How do they do they collect those threads?” Luke asked.

  “I do not know,” Shum said.

  “Which might make sense of something Krasval said,” Pavlis said. “She mentioned that when the soul drinker was destroyed, the fleet marshal gave the order to withdraw. I had thought it was just a ship of some religious significance.”

  “A center of gravity?” Luke asked and Pavlis shrugged.

  “Perhaps,” Pavlis said. “A weakness regardless. I will seek to learn more.”

  Luke nodded.

  “New Alamo and Athena will have to ally with the Jupiter Alliance if we are to stop the Caliphate,” Leonessa said. “We can’t defeat them alone.”

  “Especially if they have Battle Singer technology,” Luke said. “Now it is even more important we take on the Caliphate. We can’t afford to squabble with the Jupiter Alliance.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Battle for the Wormhole

  Captain Lisa Kagawa of the battleship Gallant leaned forward in her seat. Facing off against the NAS Gallant and NAS Valorous would be three Jupiter Alliance battleships, a drone carrier, eight destroyers and six cruisers. A daunting fleet by any standards. Besides several fighter wings and an escort of four automated frigates, tonnage wise the New Alamo fleet was at a disadvantage. There was only one other aspect that seemed odd. A transport ship that would arrive almost a day ahead of the fleet.

  They were still days away at the speed they were moving. Lisa wasn’t even sure if the Jupiter ships could see the New Alamo fleet, but Lisa had no problem picking them up based on their gravitational foot print. The Cincinnatus was following the Jupiter Alliance fleet, just outside what Lisa suspected their detector range was. The Cincinnatus was in stealth mode but sent frequent status updates to the Gallant so Lisa knew exactly where the Cincinnatus and the Jupiter Alliance fleet were.

  “Thoughts?” Lisa asked Commander Sean Nelson, her second in command.

  “They want to control the wormhole,” Sean said. “They think that fleet can drive us away. That way they can fortify this side of the wormhole and set up a stalemate, Captain.”

  Lisa nodded.

  “Thoughts,” Lisa asked Lieutenant Commander Erica Sampson.

  “I think it is a probe, Captain” Erica said.

  “A probe?” Lisa asked the younger officer. Erica had been born on New Alamo and had never seen the Sol system. Erica Sampson was everything Lisa had wished she had been at her age and more.

  “Aye Captain,” Erica said. “They don’t know what happened to their fleet at the other side the wormhole. They know our ships are better but they don’t know how much better. The only data they have is what they saw of the Leonis Ultio when she fought the Caliphate and our three cruisers when they were attacked before the invasion. They did not get much information from the ships they ambushed either. They have to know what they are up against and they have to know how tough a New Alamo ship is.”

  Lisa nodded, that is what she had been thinking.

  “Suggestions on dealing with them?” Lisa asked.

  “Swat them,” Sean said. “I think we can take them. Wiping them out sends a very clear message.”

  Lisa glanced at Erica.

  “Pull back to Josaka,” Erica said. “If they want a battle, we can wipe them out with the missile fields.”

  Lisa nodded.

  “Our orders are to maintain control of the wormhole,” Lisa said. “Not run at the first sign of danger, or to needlessly risk the ship. I believe the missile fields could handle any attack fleet of this size, nor do I want to let them know what we are capable of in a stand-up fight.”

  “Retreat to Josaka and let the missile fields destroy them then?” Erica asked.

  Lisa shook her head, “No. We just won’t fight them. If they want to attack Josaka, then let them. Get Captain Freedman on the link.”

  “Aye Captain,” Erica said.

  Minutes later a hologram of Captain Samuel Freedman appeared on the bridge. He was standing facing Lisa, so she stood as a courtesy. He appeared to be a younger man but Lisa knew he was as old as she was, and just like her, preferred a younger appearance. Hard eyes looked at her from a regal, commanding face. His New Alamo uniform was as impeccable as always and as far as Lisa knew, he was on duty in his CIC.

  “Hello Captain,” Sam said with a nod.

  “Hello Captain,” Lisa said, returning the nod.

  “So, about that Jupiter fleet,” Lisa said. “I think we should pull back when they get closer and let them have access to the wormhole.”

  Sam frowned.

  “That is surrendering our access to the wormhole,” Sam said. “Our orders are to control this side of it. We would be trapped here in Sol.”

  Lisa nodded.

  “I don’t think they will attempt to transit,” Lisa said. “Even if they did, the missile fields would wipe them out.”

  “Unless they have some new weapon we don’t know about,” Sam said. “I suggest we advance and engage them. If we cannot defeat them, then we retreat and rely on the missile fields. The battle will be on our terms. That transport is some kind of trap. We need to control the situation.”

  “And they will learn what we are capable of,” Lisa said. “We will also reduce the chance of a peaceful resolution to our war.”

  “If we destroy them,” Sam said. “They will be more likely to sue for peace. Once they know we can butcher them, they will know a war would go badly for them and then we could concentrate on wiping out the Caliphate.”

  “If we kill them, it will be harder to make peace with them,�
�� Lisa said. “We will also be killing fellow humans, people that at one time were our ally. There are hundreds of people on those ships and those hundreds of people likely have family back in the Alliance.”

  “Now they are our enemy,” Sam said. “They ambushed our ships, massacred the crews and then tried to invade. They are as trustworthy as the Caliphate.”

  “What do you think about the transport,” Lisa asked to change the subject.

  “Might be a bomb ship or something,” Sam said. “We should vaporize it when it gets close.”

  Lisa raised an eyebrow and Sam frowned.

  “Do you really trust them after they turned on the Spruce, Alberto and Fernando?” Sam said referencing the three ships the Jupiter Alliance had ambushed. “Maybe they plan on using the ship as a decoy or a scout. Captain Rogerson, the captain of the Spruce was a good friend of mine. He would not have provoked those bastards, they ambushed and massacred him and his ships. They lack any shred of honor.”

  “I agree we shouldn’t take any chances,” Lisa said. “We can fly circles around them without effort. Despite their tonnage I don’t think they stand a chance.”

  “Let’s prove it to them,” Sam said. “Slaughter them. They are military vessels and they have attacked us twice.”

  Lisa nodded, but not in agreement.

  “Thank you. As senior captain in charge of this task force we will send a drone back to notify New Alamo of what is coming. We will then use our mobility to maneuver and avoid a direct confrontation with the Jupiter Alliance fleet. If they attempt a transition, we will destroy anything that flees back here to Sol.”

  “Aye, aye,” Sam said professionally. Lisa couldn’t tell if he was angry, happy or sad. She knew he would follow her lead since she was senior officer and the task force commander.

  “And the transport?” Sam asked.

  “Let’s see,” Lisa said. “If it acts even a little hostile, then we vaporize it.”

  Sam seemed satisfied with that.

  “Until then let’s go drop into stealth mode and prowl,” Lisa said.

  Admiral Bosworth looked around him at his ship captains, they all looked young but each one was at least forty years old. The majority of them didn’t remember when New Alamo had left the system.

  They were all present in the virtual reality of the fleet net. The captains of three battleships, eight destroyers, six cruisers and a drone carrier each appeared in an assigned chair which back on their ships could be their command chair, their office or their bed. Sensors would watch their face and hands, relaying emotions and action. Wearing the simnet glasses it looked like they were sitting in chairs. An impressive fleet and Bosworth wished he was leading it against Earth instead of potential allies.

  “We can’t find the Namo’s,” Bosworth said. “Two dreadnoughts and four frigates have just been lost. They faded off our telescopes.”

  “Did they flee back to their colony?” One captain asked.

  Bosworth shook his head, “We didn’t detect any gravitational waves from the wormhole opening. We think they entered a stealth mode. Their stealth technology is very advanced. We have discovered they can mask their appearance and radiation emissions. One frigate detected a Namo battleship at about two hundred thousand kilometers before the patrol ship was destroyed, transmitted logs showed the Namo ship had a very soft gravity foot print, so they aren’t invisible, but we have to be on our toes. At that range, we won’t have a lot of response time. We will widen our formation so make sure your sensor techs are on their toes, sensor nets will overlap and we will punch out recon drones. If there is anything odd sound the alarm. We will worry about ghosts after we confirm they are ghosts and not stealthed Namo ships.”

  Looking around Bosworth noted the grimaces and unhappy looks. Nobody liked to find out they were technologically inferior, or the enemy might be hiding some dangerous weapon.

  “We still have a massive advantage in tonnage,” Bosworth said. “While we don’t know what happened to the liberation fleet sent to rescue the people of Athena, we can only assume they were ambushed when they came out of the wormhole. They were either disoriented, experiencing some kind of technical problem or weren’t prepared for the exit from wormhole space. Regardless, we believe they were destroyed by the Athenian traitors who are now in league with the Namos. I’m also willing to bet they inflicted some serious damage on their attackers which would be one reason we are only facing a pair of dreadnoughts and frigates.”

  The captains nodded.

  “Do you think they will stay and fight?” One of the battleship captains asked.

  Bosworth shook his head. “No, I think they saw us and are running which I take as further evidence that their technological superiority is not what they claim it is, or they are just cowards. Either way, we will deploy our own mine fields within the next couple weeks and then we can return to dealing with the Caliphate.”

  The captains nodded.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  The Pebble Muncher

  “Transport identify yourself and intent. This is the NAS Gallant” Erica repeated as the Gallant slid closer to the Jupiter transport. The Valorous was maintaining its distance, several light seconds out just in case. If the transport had military grade sensors, it should be able to detect the battleship coming up from behind, but so far it had shown no sign of seeing them.

  The transport was a much older model, maybe sixty or seventy years old and it was pushing itself hard.

  “That is a rust bucket,” Nelson said looking at the display. A pair of stealthed recon drones were moving ahead and to either side of the transport. Every inch was being scrutinized for clues as to its purpose. “The drive needs tuning, I’m surprised it is airtight.”

  “This is the JASC Pebble Muncher,” a voice said. “I do not have you on scope, what is your distance?”

  “Within weapons range of your vessel,” Erica said with a glance at Lisa. “Please state your intent and cargo.”

  “This is captain Jason Reed. We are seeking political asylum with either Athena or New Alamo,” the stranger said. “We are unarmed. I have civilian men, women and children aboard.”

  Lisa frowned.

  “Seriously?” Nelson muttered.

  “Better believe it,” Lisa said.

  “It is probably full of spies,” Nelson said. “Do they expect us to fall for it?”

  “I’m sure the majority of them will be innocent people,” Lisa said. “Or people that can be subverted later. They might have some well-trained spies, but they will also have plenty of concealment and cover stories.”

  “So, what do we do?” Nelson asked.

  “It is beyond our pay grade,” Lisa said.

  Captain Reed repeated himself.

  “We hear and understand Pebble Muncher,” Erica said. “Stand by for directions.”

  “Tell them to standby for a boarding party,” Lisa said. “Lieutenant Sampson? Prepare a boarding team. I want to make sure they don’t have any drones they can send back through the wormhole and I want to make sure it is full of civilians and not some kind of bomb.”

  “We are picking up plenty of life signs,” Nelson said. “I would guesstimate about three hundred people?”

  Lisa nodded, “Good. But let’s make sure. We still have time to get them through before the rest of that Jupiter fleet shows up. You can bet your bottom dollar they are likely watching. If we blow them up, it will be a dramatic public relations failure for New Alamo, killing so many innocent people.”

  “And if we turn them back, they will have a dramatic and lethal failure which we will be blamed for because we turned them away,” Nelson said.

  Lisa glanced at her second in command.

  “You are paranoid,” Lisa said. “But probably right.”

  “Rules of engagement?” Lieutenant Commander Erica Sampson asked.

  “You are more important than they are,” Lisa said. “Use maximum force if attacked and get out of there.”

  “Aye
Captain,” Erica said.

  “Be extra careful and don’t take any chances,” Lisa said to the young officer. “Let the Marines take care of security. I want you and your team to make sure that ship is safe and once they make it to the other side they don’t change their mind and come back to Sol with all that intelligence information.”

  “Aye, aye Captain,” Erica said.

  Lisa watched the cameras of the away team. The Marines knew their business and directed their warbots with a perfectionist’s precision. The initial sweep of the ship was done and showed nothing dangerous so the Gallant moved forward for a much more detailed scan.

  “No surprises, Captain,” Nelson said. “Everything checks out. The ship is an old junker, but still space worthy. No traps or military grade sensors, no drones or lifeboats either. Just a converted miner hauling passengers. If there is something hidden, they have some exceptional technology, or the AI’s aren’t recognizing it.”

  “It is probably full of spies,” Lisa said rubbing her temples.

  “That would be my guess,” Nelson said. “At least a few.”

  “Then task two frigates,” Lisa said. “One to go through about two hours ahead to notify New Alamo and keep them from shooting it, and then the second to escort the transport through the wormhole. We will let the Prime Minister deal with it.”

  “Aye, aye Captain,” Nelson said. “Recalling the boarding party now.”

  Admiral Bosworth watched the sensor readings of the wormhole opening and closing. The Pebble Muncher was gone, which was one weight off his shoulders. Now to find those two battleships and pound them to scrap.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Death of a Fleet

  “This is Captain Kagawa of the New Alamo Ship Gallant,” Lisa said. “Please state your intent and destination.”

  “This is Admiral Bosworth. Commanding the Ninth Jupiter Guards Fleet,” a voice replied. “We are en route to the Athena colony to bring to justice the people who assisted in the Harris Town colony massacre. If you do not stand down and surrender, we accept that as complicity and murder of innocent civilians and will take appropriate action.”