The Kaitians still didn't understand how the enemy had been able to destroy their cloaked cruiser, and all three super-cruisers were destroyed in a similar manner. The Village again returned to hyperspace and again it exited above the final three super-cruisers, who were now ready to face the attack.
But it didn't do any good. The Village destroyed the first of the three in a heartbeat, but the second managed to fire its own plasma ray, before it, too, was destroyed.
"Damage report!" commanded Jiao, even as the final super-cruiser was destroyed. She'd felt the enemy fire and feared the worst.
Her fear was founded; she'd seen what the enemy's plasma rays could do, and there was not much armor or shields that could stand against them.
The Village returned to hyperspace as programmed and Jiao stopped the program from her console. They would not go back until she knew the damage.
"Ma'am!" said Matt. "The starboard dock gate is damaged; we can't open it. And we sustained heavy casualties and lost six ships."
"What?" asked Jiao in disbelief. "How?"
"One of the enemy plasma rays cut through the hull and hit Ocean of Triberg, damaging it badly. It exploded shortly after," explained Matt. "The explosion and the debris from it damaged nearly all ships in the starboard dock. Three corvettes and two frigates are damaged beyond repair."
"Hell and damnation!" cursed Jiao.
"Ma'am?" interrupted Arnold, "Do we continue the attack?"
"What's the enemy status?" asked Jiao.
"The orbital stations have raised shields and based on their power level, I'd say that their weapons are similar to those of super-cruisers," said Arnold. "Also, there are nearly twenty frigates that must've been hiding away from the planets so we couldn't detect them before."
Jiao cursed again, silently, and evaluated the situation for a moment.
"No," she said. "Cancel the attack. We did destroy nine of their super-cruisers." Jiao allowed a thin smile on her face. "That counts for something."
"Yes, ma'am," said Arnold, relieved.
"Our mission is accomplished," said Jiao. "Let's go to the rendezvous point in Coalition space at maximum speed. We are already behind schedule."
13
"Approaching the Rg'Tkeen border," said Aileen.
"Finally!" said Louis, relieved. With information they got from the Kaitian home world, it was imperative that they reach Coalition space safely.
They'd also gotten new information, as they traveled toward Coalition space. They'd intercepted messages that ordered reinforcements to conquered worlds in case "the Behemoth" attacked.
Nick and Louis wondered what the Kaitians meant by "the Behemoth" and after a debate they concluded that The Village of War had been sent to attack behind enemy lines.
They had intercepted another message, just before crossing the border, which said how the Behemoth had surprised them in the ME-18 system and destroyed nine of their super-cruisers.
"Ha ha!" laughed Nick and their spirits lifted considerably.
"That'll teach them!" said Louis.
"We've crossed the border," said Aileen. "I suggest we go further into Rg'Tkeen space before contacting Commander Johnson."
"Agreed," said Nick.
***
"Opening communication channel," said Aileen, after they were well inside Rg'Tkeen space.
"Nick!" said Louis, surprised.
"What is it?" said Nick.
"We are receiving a message," said Louis, "from the commander."
"Really?" said Nick. They were supposed to contact William, not the other way around.
"New orders, Counselors," said Aileen formally.
"We are ordered to SD-5 where we--or, rather, you--are to change ships and proceed to the Mopian home world for debriefing."
Nick and Louis glanced each other and shrugged.
"Well, I have no argument," said Nick. "Let's go."
"I thought SD-5 was destroyed?" wondered Louis.
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too," said Nick.
"You are correct," said Aileen. "It was destroyed. I assume that is precisely why we go there."
"Oh?" said Nick.
"There's no reason for anyone to be there," said Aileen. "The changing of ships can happen without anyone seeing that."
"I'm not surprised," said Louis. "If we go to the Mopian home world, Commander wouldn't want anyone to see this corvette."
They traveled to SD-5 at maximum speed and they then changed to another corvette, Lake of Chicopee.
"I know this ship," said Louis. "It's one of Bruce's corvettes."
"Is he aboard?" asked Nick.
"No," said Aileen, "no one is aboard. No life-signs anywhere in the system."
"A-ha," said Nick and shrugged.
The corvette docked with the other and the men went aboard Lake of Chicopee.
"See you around, Aileen," Louis said after they were onboard.
"Safe journey, Counselors," she said.
***
"Lot of ships," commented Nick when they arrived to the Mopian home world. They were still cloaked and slowly navigated toward the Miccvan flagship, the cruiser Thoughtful Flame.
"There's our ships, too," said Louis. "Look. That's the commander's corvette. Beside that frigate, the Sea of Boston."
"Let's join the crowd," said Nick. They steered their ship by the other two ships and decloaked.
They were immediately targeted by the surrounding ships, the weapons turned on them. Once they were recognized, the weapons went back to standby mode.
"Counselors Nick and Louis," hailed someone from the Miccvan flagship. "Your appearance is in line with your reputation. Please come aboard the Thoughtful Flame immediately."
"The Thoughtful Flame looks smaller than I'd thought," said Louis.
Nick grunted and recalled how they'd infiltrated the Miccvan Navy headquarters and had had a chance to look at the schematics of the new cruiser they were building; based on the weapons and armor that was going in to cruiser, they thought it'd be a bigger ship than it really was.
"Let's go, then, and see who we see," said Nick, and they flew the shuttle to the Miccvan cruiser.
The shuttle docked and it was directed to the very end of the docking bay, where the men saw a Rg'Tkeen officer waiting for them.
"Through that door," said the officer, "and to the end of the corridor. Right side."
"Thanks," muttered Louis, and they went in as instructed.
"I wonder who's there?" said Nick. Louis said nothing. When they approached the door, it opened and they went directly in.
If Nick and Louis were surprised to see the people inside sitting around a large board room table, they didn't show it.
They knew all of them--not personally, but some of them more intimately than they'd like. The most surprising was that why these particular people were here. It was a surprising composition of people.
Both were thinking along the same lines, but dared not do or say anything.
"Welcome, Counselors," said William.
"Thank you, sir," said Nick and Louis.
"What has happened to our infiltration teams?" asked Juno.
Nick cleared his throat.
"Minister," he addressed Juno in a tone that hinted that he knew them all.
"Based on data and analysis, we are certain that infiltration teams were destroyed by the Strangers."
By the looks on their faces, none of them had suspected the Strangers.
"How certain you are?" asked Laura.
"Ninety-nine percent, Matriarch," answered Louis, and put the analysis report on the table. It beamed an image of the strike marks in the Kaitian home world and beside it, strike marks from the old Hwzeenn home world where Strangers had destroyed an entire civilization. Silence fell to the room like a cloak and worried glances were exchanged.
"Thank you," said Milton. "That will be all."
Nick and Louis stood. They were surprised, but turned and left the room.
Out
side, Louis nodded toward the room and said, "I wonder what that group is. The commander, Advisor Milton, Gemono Minister of Agriculture and Mining, Rg'Tkeen Grand Admiral . . ."
"I think we should find out," said Nick with a grin.
"It is the Coalition Command and you will not need to know anything else," a familiar but deadly serious voice said from behind them.
"Bruce!" said Louis. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to take you away," said Bruce.
"Where are we going?" asked Louis, surprised by Bruce's serious tone.
"To SD-9," answered Bruce, "where we'll wait for the commander."
14
Jeffery roamed aboard his frigate with nothing to do, especially at this very late hour when most of the crew were already sleeping. They'd been at the Mopian home world, beside the Miccvan flagship and unmarked corvette, for days now and it was getting boring.
Jeffery hadn't received any orders or even any kind of message since his debriefing with Caleb to Commander Johnson.
They'd seen another unmarked corvette decloaking beside them and saw a shuttle going to the Miccvan cruiser. After a while, the shuttle came back and the corvette left to some unknown destination.
Jeffery wondered about the corvette as his steps lead him to the observation deck, that was, to his surprise, not empty at this time.
"Good evening, Private," he said.
"Sir!" said Ellen, startled. She saluted.
"I didn't expect to see anyone here," said Jeffery casually, and walked beside Ellen, who was standing by the window.
"Sorry, sir," said Ellen and started to leave. "I'm on my way."
"Oh!" exclaimed Jeffery. "I apologize. I didn't mean you to leave. Please stay. If you like, of course," he added.
"Thank you, sir." Ellen smiled and stayed, looking toward the Coalition ships.
Jeffery was glad that Ellen stayed. He'd seen her from time to time aboard the ship and he thought her a competent marine. And the report from the mission in Arash Empire home world just confirmed his view of Ellen.
The real reason, however, why Jeffery was glad that Ellen stayed was that there was something in her that had caught Jeffery's eye when she'd first seen her.
Damn, thought Jeffery, surprised by how his thoughts strayed to Ellen and what he thought of her. He was relieved to see a cruiser coming in the system.
"Look!" Jeffery pointed, a little too avidly.
"That's a Saami Empire cruiser. Very powerful."
"Oh," said Ellen, not noticing Jeffery's avidness, "are there many Saami ships here?"
"Yes," said Jeffery, "they've sent a third of their forces here. And another third to the Ooktian home world."
"Where do you think they'll attack?" asked Ellen. "Here or Ooktian?
"I believe they’ll attack here," said Jeffery and took a deep breath.
"Are you prepared?" He looked at Ellen.
"Prepared, sir?" said Ellen a little surprised. "Yes. I think. I mean . . . we are Marines."
"But this is a space battle." Jeffery smiled. "And you wonder do we need you at all."
"Yes, sir," said Ellen and smiled. "Exactly."
"But we can't know when we need you," said Jeffery. "The enemy might try to board us. We might try to board the enemy. Or perhaps we might need you to protect or secure a ground target. I have no doubt that you will see lots of battles in this war, so it pays to be prepared."
Ellen nodded and turned her gaze to space, trying not to think of all things that could happen in the war, and especially trying not to fear that the commander would hear the pounding of her heart.
***
"Commander!" somebody shouted and William swam back to the beach to find out who called him now, as he was having a great time with a girl who looked vaguely familiar.
William stood up from the waves and looked back. The girl had disappeared. But so had the sea.
"Commander!" shouted somebody again--this time from across the street behind the beach chairs. He ran toward the voice, crossed the street, and found himself in the Boston Navy Yard, beside the USS Cassin Young.
"Commander!"
"What!" shouted William angrily, looking around for who shouted at him, "Show yourself!"
"COMMANDER!"
"Aaag!" shouted William and was surprised to find himself sitting in his own bed.
"Yes, Udo," he answered after taking a moment to catch his breath. "What is it?"
"You must come to the bridge, sir," said Udo, "There's something out there."
"I'm on my way," said William. He knew that whatever was out there couldn't be good.
Udo waited anxiously for him on the bridge.
"Look!" he said, and pointed to the screen beside him. It was the cloak detector's screen, and it showed an unknown ship in the outer star system, far away from Coalition ships, moving carefully toward the Mopian home world.
"The enemy!" whispered William and Udo nodded.
"Probably a scout," said Udo.
William thought so too. And it could mean only one thing; the attack was about to start soon.
"Do we warn the others?" asked Udo quietly.
"No," said William immediately. "We can't let the others know what we have."Udo nodded. Whether he agreed or not, William couldn't tell.
"Do we have any patrols scheduled?" asked William.
Udo quickly checked his console. "In half an hour, sir. Two fighters from the Ocean of Europa."
The enemy scout was still moving toward the bulk of Coalition forces and in half an hour it might be already gone. Or more likely it would be doing close scans of the Coalition ships.
"Order them to start the patrol now," said William. "Direct them on the route that would intercept the enemy."
"Yes, sir," said Udo and in couple of minutes they saw two fighters exiting the Ocean of Europa and flying toward the enemy scout.
"If only they knew," said Udo quietly to himself.
The two fighters closed on the enemy, who had stopped and, as it became apparent that their courses would collide, quickly moved out of the way. The fighters noticed nothing and the enemy looked like it was going to continue its course toward the Coalition forces.
But it didn't. The enemy turned around and accelerated before entering hyperspace just behind the patrolling fighters.
Udo exhaled. "We drove it away. I guess it didn't want to push its luck."
"It'll be back," said William, thinking that when it did come back, luck might be the deciding factor of the battle.
***
"Where did they go?" asked Ellen, as the two fighters that launched from the Ocean of Europa disappeared to hyperspace.
"They are on patrol," said Jeffery. "Part of the patrols route is in normal space and another part in hyperspace."
Jeffery thought that there was something odd in it. First of all, the patrol launched at an odd time. Secondly, the patrol entered hyperspace much farther out than normally.
"Ellen," he said after a long moment.
"Sir?" said Ellen.
"Thank you for keeping me company," said Jeffery. "I hope to see you again soon. But go now to sleep. Tomorrow morning, you'll find that ship readiness has been raised to Com-2."
"Sir?" said Ellen and swallowed. Com-2, Combat Condition 2, was the second-highest readiness status in a ship. Com-1 was the highest, meaning that the ship was engaged in battle.
"I have a feeling that the attack will start soon," said Jeffery, looking Ellen in the eyes. Her eyes were even bluer than he'd noticed.
"Good night." He had an impulse to kiss her, but he fought it off by quickly turning to gaze out at space.
After Ellen left, Jeffery hurried to his office and ordered the computer to raise readiness to Com-2 as soon as the morning shift came on duty.
***
"Captain Kould!" called the High Priest immediately after Kould had returned from the recon mission.
"Analysis."
"They are waiting for us," said Kould. "
They are massing their forces and sending random patrols in the system and in hyperspace. I saw no signs of the Behemoth," he added.
"Good, very good," said the High Priest. "Perhaps we damaged it more than we thought. And the cloak detector?"
"Unreliable," said Kould, disappointed. "It doesn't seem to work in normal space. There probably are cloaked ships, but there's no way to tell."
"It doesn't matter," said the High Priest, and smiled. "Good work, Captain. Go now and rest until the attack."
Captain Kould smiled and went to his quarters, prayed to the Black Gods, and fell into a peaceful sleep.
15
Milton knew that the attack would come soon, even though the patrols had detected nothing unusual, and long-range scouts hadn't sighted the enemy in anywhere but the conquered worlds.
The Coalition fleet waited and hoped that the battle would start soon--the wait itself was taxing their people. Milton had noticed that some of the human ships had already raised their readiness; he decided to order the entire fleet to raise readiness and double the patrols.
He walked restlessly in his office aboard the Thoughtful Flame and remembered how he'd always hated the wait before the battle.
"Advisor Milton!" called Colonel Nisha, the first officer of the Thoughtful Flame.
"What is it, Nisha?" asked Milton.
"You must come to the bridge," she said. "There's something out there."
Milton hurried to the bridge, but he already knew what was out there. The Kaitians had entered the system.
"Look." Nisha pointed to a screen. "Strange readings from the edge of the system."
Milton nodded and said, "The enemy is here. Send the message to the fleet. Get everybody ready."
***
"Commander!" said Udo. "Look!"
They received a message from Milton to get ready for battle. William and Udo already knew about the enemy; they'd seen how the same scout entered the system not long ago, and then one by one the larger Kaitian ships had entered the system.
"The Miccvans noticed them, too," commented William. "They can detect cloaked ships, too."
"I doubt it, sir," said Udo, "Probably their sensors reacted to sudden concentration of mass there where so many ships exited hyperspace. The fleet's getting ready." Udo sighed. "The battle is about to start."
***
"Captain Kould," called the High Priest calmly, "the enemy has noticed us. Launch the attack."
Kould could not help smiling.
"Yes, sir!" he said.
The first wave of the Kaitian forces decloaked and started the attack against the Godless Others.
***
"They are coming!" shouted Lisa.
The Kaitian War Page 7