First Command kb-2

by Rodney L. Smith

  V’Tagg suggested, “He seems to be leading us back to the Human world, where those fighters are patrolling.”

  D’Lon saw only victory and honor. He said to V’Tagg, “Look at your tactical display. The fighters are out of position to be able to support him. V’Tagg, form up tight on me and follow me.”

  She lined up on his starboard winglet and followed him, in accordance with the code. As one of a very few K’Rang female ship commanders, she mustn’t take any actions that would endanger the future for those females coming up in the ranks behind her.

  Kelly had the helm line up with the pirate planet atmosphere. He wanted to leave a message few below would miss. The ship skipped in and out of the atmosphere, leaving a contrail half the diameter of the planet. Every time they skipped into the atmosphere, it produced a sonic boom, as well. As they came around the planet, they came face to face with two-dozen surprised torpedo ships. In an instant there were over 100 torpedoes launched and heading their way. Calm, professional reports of the torpedo squadrons engaging a Scout Force ship went down to the defense HQ on the planet.

  As they turned away from the torpedoes, the torpedoes and the torpedo ships followed in tail chase. Kelly ordered the helm to line up with the lead K’Rang scouts nose. Once the distance to the K’Rang ships closed to where the torpedo ships had sensor readings on the K’Rang scouts, not so calm reports were sent to the defense HQ. The level of profanity increased exponentially.

  Kelly had what he wanted. He ordered the helm to climb 15 degrees and go to FTL Power 3. As expected, the Vigilant accelerated away from the torpedoes too quickly for them to maintain lock. The torpedoes searched for a new target and the two K’Rang scouts were in their sights. The K’Rang were unable to turn away in time and over 100 torpedoes homed in on the K’Rang scouts. The conflagration was a wonder to see, as torpedo after torpedo accelerated into the growing mass of debris, flame, and smoke.

  Kelly ordered the ship off general quarters and had Connie call for damage reports. The sections reported only minor damage. Engineering had a fried circuit breaker and a 10 % loss in shields. Sickbay reported a mild case of motion sickness on the part of Miss Christine Debran. The galley reported a broken glass. Sensors reported a frayed nerve; Doc immediately prescribed duck tape.

  Kelly should chastise his section chiefs for inappropriate reporting, but at the moment, coming off an adrenaline high, he thought it hilarious. He ordered the helm to reverse course to the pirate world and hold off 200,000 km from the planet.

  The torpedo ships still held position where they saw the K’Rang ships destroyed. Kelly listened as the torpedo ships reported the Vigilant’s presence. The next thing he heard was a hail from the defense HQ of the planet.

  “Scout Force Scout Ship, this is Steven Maynard, head of the Brotherhood of Barataria.”

  Kelly let a moment pass then responded, ”Mr. Maynard, this is LCDR Kelly Blake, captain of the Galactic Republic Scout Ship, Vigilant. What may I do for you?”

  “I would like to discuss terms of surrender, captain. We could probably have held you off, but we have no desire to take on the K’Rang.”

  “Mr. Maynard, I would be happy to accept your surrender, but I must contact my admiral first. Stand by.”

  Kelly sent Admiral Minacci a message, informing him of the current situation and asking for guidance on how to proceed. In ten minutes, he was directed to stand by in orbit, awaiting the arrival of the 3rd Assault Landing Group.

  Kelly called down to Mr. Maynard. Maynard answered and Kelly ordered him to stand down his forces and prepare to receive the Commander of the 3rd Assault Landing Group in approximately four hours. Kelly observed the space clearing over the planet. Before long, the Vigilant was alone in orbit above the pirate planet.

  The series of sonic booms woke up everyone in the factory women’s dorm. Irina Bugarov knew what it was instantly. She ran outside in her nightclothes, with Terri trailing close behind her, and a crowd of other women following. Above them was a contrail looking like a giant dotted line stretching across the sky as far as they could see.

  Terri, obviously afraid asked, “What is it? Are we under attack?”

  Irina calmed her down, “We aren’t, but our pirate friends are. That was too big to be a fighter and too small to be a major combatant. My guess is that was a scout ship making a point.”

  Right then, the torpedoes collided with the K’Rang scouts and the cascading explosions could be seen plainly in the night sky.

  Terri asked, “Did they kill them?”

  Irina answered, “Somebody died, that’s for sure. I just hope it was some of our pirate friends.”

  The dazzling explosions went on for several minutes. Irina thought their deliverance might not be far off. The Fleet had found them.

  With the show over and nothing left to see, Irina and Terri retired to their room and climbed into their beds. Sleep came slowly, as they imagined their liberation.

  The Vigilant orbited above the pirate world, its sensors peering down to make sure that the pirates had stood down. The sensors detected no activity other than the start of practice for a parade by the Ascetics. Kelly watched the units forming up and running through their drills on his cabin monitor. CPT Chen sat opposite, commenting on lapses of precision in their formations and soldiers out of step. The Vigilant’s sensors were of a high enough resolution that individual soldier’s movements could be seen clearly. There was little else to do while awaiting the 3rd ALG’s arrival. Kelly had already prepared his defense for possibly exceeding his orders, and forwarded a detailed report to Scout Force HQ.

  There was a knock on the door and Alistair stuck his head in the door. “Anyone in need of a refill?” he asked, as he entered with a carafe of fresh coffee. Kelly held up his cup and Alistair filled it. CPT Chen still wasn’t speaking to him, but held up her cup, too.

  Kelly said, “Alistair, look. They’re preparing my victory parade.”

  Alistair sat down and looked on.

  Kelly commented, “ I suppose they’re not all that bad, for a bunch of monks. Mary’s platoon could put on a better show. I don’t know much about these Ascetics. Aren’t they just a bunch of mercenaries with religious trappings? I’ve heard they’ve wound up on both sides of a conflict more than a few times.”

  Alistair recalled a recent Intel study on the Ascetics.

  “The Templar Corps was formed more than 150 years ago on Earth, in reaction to a need for ethical and disinterested peacekeeping forces to preside over disengagements and nation building, in the aftermath of several civil wars and other conflicts. They were surprisingly good at it. They didn’t loot and they didn’t look the other way. They were sufficiently armed and had flexible enough rules of engagement that they could preempt many problems before they blew up.”

  Kelly asked, “How did they get started? After all, someone had to have the idea to form units of military monks.”

  Alistair continued, “Theopholus the First was the first Cardinal, First Class of the Templar Corps in 2195. He saw the need for ethical peacekeepers after the outbreak of the Retro Post-Colonial Wars in Africa, Pan Pacifica, and Asia in the late 22nd Century. The United Nations-funded peacekeepers too often went in with their own agendas or their hands out and made matters worse.”

  “Now, so you understand, the Templar Corps is only the military arm of the Order of the Holy Knights of the Resurrected Temple. The Cardinal, First Class is dual hatted as the military commander and head of the order. The order also provides mobile hospitals, refugee camp administration, logistical support, and nation building support. After the Great Global Depression of 2203, the Templars were able to recruit trained specialists in medicine, logistics, engineering, finance, law, and other fields.”

  “Theopholus, seeing the need, also recruited heavily for acolytes and deacons (their foot soldiers) from the slums and barrios, built discipline through rigorous religious and military training, and outbid the UN peacekeepers on dealing with the Nigerian Civ
il War aftermath in 2207. The Templars went in, disarmed the combatants, restored order, established hospitals, schools, and civil government. It was rumored that they only had to shoot a few key people Pour l'encouragement d' les autres — for the encouragement of the others. In a year, Nigeria was back on its feet with a stable coalition government, a rebuilding economy, and a functioning civil society. It was rumored that their new constitution was dictated by a Templar cardinal.”

  “The Templars, or Ascetics as they are commonly known, became the go-to guys for any regional instabilities. Sometimes the mere threat of bringing in the Ascetics was enough to force an agreement at the negotiating table.”

  CPT Chen, forgetting she was still mad at Alistair, asked, “Why are they called Ascetics?”

  “They take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience when they join the Templars. They possess only the clothing they are issued and live a Spartan existence, therefore Ascetics.”

  Mary asked, “Chastity? So do they never have sex? Certainly, that must cause them problems? I have enough problems of that sort with my Marines.”

  “They have an internal program where exemplary male and female Templars are chosen to have children. The children are raised in common creches and the parents never know which child is theirs. It fosters a sense of family throughout the Corps, because you never know if that new acolyte or presbyter might not be your own child or brother or sister. Scrupulous records are kept in the Templar HQ to guard against incest, which is a high sin in their beliefs.”

  “They really made their impact felt in the Great Migration, when they were chosen to provide the security forces for the settlements. Their ranks swelled as each settlement ship left Earth with a battalion of Templars, and there were 100 settlement ships. The Templars established a strong presence in the new Galactic Republic. That’s why every first tier world has a Templar monastery.”

  “On my own world, allowing for our unique situation, the Templars became the police force more than a military force. They used their military power at the beginning to put down the Revolt of Desperation, but after that they were our cops. After we got the upper hand on the ‘Many Teeths’, a lethal predator, there wasn’t much need for military. An interesting fact is that the Ascetics train equally on modern weapons and on sword, spear, and shield. That came in handy on Archimedes, after they ran out of ammunition packs.”

  “The Templar Corps nowadays is likely to show up in situations like this, where military capability is needed, but can’t be associated with the Republic or any world government. As much as they try to avoid it, they occasionally wind up on both sides of a conflict. They justify their mercenary activities by pointing out that their acolytes and deacons never engage in war crimes and always follow the Galactic Conventions on War. They fight a higher ethics war.”

  “Of course, the Templars today are diversified. They have their own combat and support fleet. They produce their own rations. They set up monasteries to train new recruits wherever they go. As ground forces go, they are pretty low maintenance. The local bar owners hate them, though.”

  CPT Chen asked, “What is their rank structure? What are these acolytes and cardinals?”

  Alistair replied, “Acolytes are their lowest ranks, basically privates. Deacons are junior sergeants. Archdeacons are senior NCOs. Presbyters are junior officers. Bishops are large unit commanders, battalion through brigade. Cardinals are their generals commanding divisions and corps. The one Cardinal First Class is their order and military leader.”

  Alistair changed the subject. “So when are you going to recon the exit out to K’Rang space? Minacci is a fool, not having you do it now. What if there is a K’Rang fleet just sitting waiting for their scouts to report? Don’t you think they might wonder what happened to them and poke their heads in to see?”

  Kelly paused, then responded, “I think the admiral is a little ticked with me for stealing his glory. I’m expecting to be called on the carpet when he gets here. I’ve already prepared my defense.”

  Kelly got an idea. “His order said stand by in orbit, but it didn’t restrict us in other ways.”

  Kelly called in LTJG Cortez and Chief Blankenship. “Connie, Chief B, program one of our long-range probes for travel to the K’Rang side of the star cluster.”

  Kelly quickly called up the K’Rang navigation chart that they captured in the Scutum sector. He picked a spot between two K’Rang main worlds. “Have it come out here.”

  Chief Blankenship took down the coordinates. Connie asked, “What do you want it to do, Captain?”

  “Have it scan the sector and report all combatants. Return it here after it completes its scan.”

  The two women said, “Aye aye, sir,” and departed to complete the task.

  In fifteen minutes, Connie stuck her head in and said the probe was ready. Kelly gave the order to launch and it was away. Kelly calculated that he should have a report just before Admiral Minacci’s arrival. That should give them something useful to talk about.

  The probe left the Vigilant on a direct course for its destination, but its internal sensors adjusted its route to avoid gravity eddies and celestial bodies. It took it a quarter hour longer than Kelly’s shirtsleeve analysis determined. As it approached the edge of the star cluster, its self-protection program caused it to halt, as a K’Rang missile corvette was patrolling just within sensor range. The probe waited for it to pass, advanced into K’Rang space, and immediately sensed 33 K’Rang combatants and support ships of various class and type. With no other combatants within the sector to find, the probe retired back into the star cluster, and returned to the Vigilant, transmitting its report once out of sensor range of K’Rang space.

  Kelly whistled when he was handed the report. Minacci might get his chance for glory after all.

  Fleet Commander J’Kalt impatiently paced the carpet in his command suite. The two Shadow Scouts should have reported by now. Was the pathway into the star winding, filled with dead ends? Was there a Human invasion fleet waiting that destroyed them? He was blind and could not formulate a final plan without that information.

  He thought about his options if the scouts did not report back. He could just form up his fleet and conduct a recon by fire, as suggested by the Elders, and attempt to spring any Human trap early by destroying potential hiding places they encountered. He could conduct a meeting engagement and try to overwhelm any Human force before it could do the same to him. He could establish a defensive perimeter here opposite the known exit from the star cluster.

  The recon by fire offered a possible offensive option, but failed if it ran into a larger Human force. The meeting engagement was another offensive option and worked best against an unprepared and slow to react enemy. A smaller force able to react quicker in a surprise-meeting situation has overwhelmed many a larger force. He couldn’t plan on the enemy commander being stupid, but it is a gift he would accept. The defensive option was the safest course of action. He could array his weakest ships nearest the exit and his stronger ships in depth. He could probably commandeer the planetary defense fleets to add more depth. This would be the most likely to be successful, but he always felt fortune favored the bold. He called a commander’s conference for six hours hence, whether the scouts reported or not.

  Admiral Minacci called Kelly to his flagship, but not to chew him out. He wanted him to bring the raw sensor files from the probe to be analyzed by his own Intel staff. He congratulated Kelly on discovering the K’Rang fleet. He did mention that he might have overstepped his authority by forcing the surrender of the pirates.

  Kelly pointed out that in engaging the K’Rang scouts he was carrying out his priority responsibility to the fleet of counter-reconnaissance. Per Fleet doctrine, it was a scout ship’s duty to deny the enemy information on friendly forces.

  Admiral Minacci realized he was beaten and said, “How did you induce the pirates to surrender?”

  Kelly just shook his head, “I don’t know, sir. I think the realization
that the K’Rang knew of their existence convinced them that surrendering to us kept them alive longer. It surprised me as much as you.”

  The admiral changed the subject. “You did take a hell of a chance, taking on those K’Rang with the Debran women on board.”

  “Couldn’t be helped, sir. It was worth more than all of our lives if the K’Rang ships got away with the knowledge of the pirate world. How are they settling in here on your flagship?”

  “We rousted some junior officers and gave them a cabin to themselves. It will do until a transport arrives to carry them home. Mr. Debran has been notified and has a transport on the way. He’s coming himself, I’m told.”

  “The pirates want to hold a surrender ceremony and sign a formal surrender document as a sovereign independent world. My lawyers tell me this is required by Galactic Republic law and lets the pirates off the hook for execution for piracy. I guess we won’t be holding mass spacings after all.”

  The admiral fixed Kelly with a steely, but bemused glare and said, “I’ll expect you, as the conqueror of whatever this world is called, to share the reviewing stand with me.”

  Kelly deflected the glare. “Barataria, sir, it’s called Barataria. I’ve gathered some other info on them while in orbit. It seems their data banks aren’t too secure. The population is about 400,000, about 300,000 members of the Brotherhood and the remainder captives. One of our terms must be to release the captives immediately. The moon is full of captured ships in various stages of cannibalization and some pirate ships being constructed. They have one called the Leviathan that is bigger than your flagship. It’s a giant clamshell looking thing with an EMP projector. It would come up behind ships and fire the EMP, disabling the ship. The clamshell opens, they use tractor beams to swallow the ship, and transport it back to the moon. It’s quite a monster.”

  “Steven Maynard has built quite an empire here, completely under the radar. Too bad it’s built on captive labor. He’s got farms, factories, mines, and mills — all the features of a second tier world. If they hadn’t gotten greedy, we’d still be wondering where the ships went.”