by Ben Winston
“I would guess that we are running into a part of that fleet out at the transit lane,” Ariel finished.
“Now, I know why you wanted Tewney and Tho'ren to head out there. We need to identify those ships. FUCK! Why didn't I kill that malignant little dwarf when I had the chance?” Sean said, but got her anger under control. She touched her desk and a voice issued out of it. “Comm here.”
“Heneron, I need a secure line to the Captains of the Grrath and the Dtetant, Captain's eyes only. Scramble codeword 'Pulsar'. As soon as you can get it please?”
“Aye Sir. In your ready room?” Heneron asked nervously; 'Pulsar' was a wartime only code.
“Yup, let me know when you got it for me.” Sean replied.
“I should have them in a couple of tics, Sir. Heneron out.”
Cole relayed to Ariel the meaning of the codeword, and what it was reserved for. Ariel tended to agree with her. “Are we sure the Captains are clean?”
Sean nodded. “I had my own security folks recheck every single one of my senior staff officers, as well as all my fleet Captains. DL also queried every AI in the fleet for suspicious activity. I'm as sure as I can be.”
“The question I have is where did the slavers get the experienced Captains and crews for a whole fleet?” Ariel asked.
“About a week ago, I received a Fleet Alert informing us that several Command and Field grade officers and their families have gone missing. They resigned their commissions and disappeared all on the same day. So I guess now we know where they went,” Sean replied. “Fucking traitors. By building their own ships, they've completely bypassed the AI safety protocols. They simply built their own without the Imperial directives.”
Sean's desk made a beep immediately followed by Heneron's voice. “I've got the Captains on the line, Sir. Full scramble.”
“Good work, patch them through please,” Sean ordered, and motioned toward the big wall-screen across for her desk, so Ariel could turn around.
The screen split to show two men, one of which looked about Ariel's age, and the other looked Cr'ale's age. When both men saw Ariel, they bowed to her in greeting.
“Captains, I'm sorry to have to call with this news, but we have a situation. Do you remember that alert we got about the missing fleet officers?”
When both men nodded she continued. “I think we figured out where they went. I'll be sending you the details in your mission packs. I'm sending both of your task groups out to the terminus of the new transit lane to support our people there. The last report we received puts you against a super-carrier, and medium-weight escorts. However, I want you both to treat this as if it were a complete task force.
“We haven't identified these ships yet, and we desperately need to. I'm sending along a Guardian equipped with an assault force. Their mission will be to board the super-carrier, and gather intelligence. I'll need the two of you to keep them contained on the far side of the transit lane, or to destroy them if they make transit.
“The reason I used the Pulsar code is that there is a better-than-good chance that this is an opening move by slaver forces to start a civil war in the Empire. We have to assume their ultimate target is the Princess, and the Earth. Questions?”
“Why do you think this could be the slavers? How did they get their hands on that class of warship?” Captain Treen of the Dtetant asked.
Ariel spoke up before the Admiral could. “I've recently received word from my Grandfather that he has reliable intel that Baron Altrov's faction has been secretly building warships for several years. Those warships can have only one real purpose, Gentlemen. Of course, there is no concrete evidence, and even if there were, what could he do about it?
“This task has fallen to us, my friends. Our realm is being threatened. I hate to say it, but we could very well end up fighting some of our own people in this mess, however, we have to stop this, or we will all be ruled by that malignant dwarf!”
Captain Dirern of the Grrath, slammed his fist into his palm. “I'll burn his gods-be-thrice damned palace down around his head!” Although he didn't say anything, it was clear that Treen would happily join his co-captain in the task.
“I can very much understand that, Gentlemen. Hell, I feel the same way! But we need to be sure of our strikes here. We're not exactly doing this with approval. We might even be branded as traitors, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let a bunch of slavers, pirates, cut-throats and tyrants take over my Empire!”
“We're with you there, Highness. You have our complete support. Tells us what you need done, and we'll make damn sure it gets done!” Treen replied.
Dirern nodded his head in agreement. “My Lord Emperor is a good man, but the senate has him backed into a corner. If it takes my personal honor to help him, and you, then I will gladly offer it, My Lady.”
“Your honor cannot be sullied, Captain, because you are keeping faith with the Empire. It's those that would oppose us that have no honor. Grandfather may get pushed into declaring us outlaws, but the senate holds the whole of the empire like a knife waiting to gut him if he strays. Even if he is forced to disown me, and declare me renegade in order to separate himself from our actions, then so be it. I will do everything in my power to free our people from the threat of those assholes.”
Sean was chuckling, behind her. “She's usually pretty quiet, but once you get her going... watch out'”
Ariel blushed slightly. “Sorry, but I really do feel strongly about this, so yeah, I do tend to ramble.”
“It worked. We're inspired, Highness. Altrov has no idea what he's gotten himself into,” Treen looked to Sean. “Is there anything else, Admiral?”
Sean shook her head. “Go out there and kick some ass, but let us know if you find more playmates.”
Both men bowed to their Princess. “May we be excused, Highness?”
“Unless it's a formal situation, please don't bow, ask to be excused or any of that other bullshit. That crap takes up too much time. If you didn't respect me, you wouldn't be here anyway. Good luck, and good hunting, Gentlemen,” Ariel said and nodded to them.
She saw them smile as their faces faded from the screen.
Sean shook her head, but had a sardonic smile on her face. “I think you just gained yourself two more devout followers, Ariel.”
“Well, I would hope they would rather follow the ideal, instead of following me, but beggars can't be choosers,” Ariel replied.
“You did very well with them. I can pretty much guarantee that your words will be copied and spread throughout the fleet by the end of the week. It's not often that you get to hear a ruler declare war. You do know that this whole episode is exactly what we needed to get the fleet behind you, right?” Sean said.
Ariel nodded. “Yeah, I can see that, which is why I rambled on like that. I was kinda rehearsing what I wanted to say when the time comes. Still, would it be a bad thing if I wished this crisis hadn't happened to begin with?”
Medical Suite
EVA Excursion deck
Imperial Construction Ship, I.C.S. Anvil
Interstellar Space, Vega sector.
Commodore Roosel Fistch, Commanding.
“That was a very brave thing you did, Guardian.” Commodore Fistch said when he entered the small ward. “Did you know your ship is beyond reasonable repair, but your AI is okay. I imagine the keel of a new one has already been lain back on the Divine Light.”
“I imagine the Admiral will want to have a piece of my ass first. This was supposed to be a training exercise for us,” Wendy said. “I don't imagine Ariel will be very happy with me either.”
Roosel smiled down at the young woman. “I will be sending my after action report as soon as I return to my office. I'm certain they'll go easy on you once they scan it. You've gone far above and beyond your duty here, and that is a Guardian's hallmark. Your co-candidate's actions will also be covered. Personally, I think she's insane, but she is acting exactly as a good Guardian would. Neither of you have anything to fear b
y doing what you've done.”
“Huh? What's Taylor doing?” Wendy asked, afraid for her friend.
“Guardian Candidate Taylor has positioned her ship in the center of the exit corridor of the transit lane, and very close to the terminus. It is the point where her scanners will give her the best coverage of the lane, and it will give us the maximum amount of warning if those ships you found make the jump,” Roosel replied. “I've ordered our small fleet to retreat from the lane until more support arrives.”
“I gotta get back out there and help her!” Wendy said and tried to sit up.
Roosel put his hand on her chest. “No, you need to stay here and heal up a little more. Commander Stillis says that your bones haven't healed completely yet, and the internal repairs are too new to have integrated back into your body. Your duty now is stay here and get better.”
As if the mention of his name conjured him from the ether, the doctor stepped through the bulkhead divider. “I'm afraid the Commodore is correct, My Lady. At this point the repairs I've made are still new enough that I doubt you would survive the launch, even if you had a ship.”
“He is correct, Wendy. We barely got you to the life station in time,” Tarne, her ship's AI replied through her internal comm. “I actually thought I might have lost you. I'm really happy you're still with me.”
“I'm sorry, Commodore, but she does need to rest. You can return tomorrow if you would like,” Stillis said.
Roosel rose to his feet. “Of course, Doctor.” He took Wendy's hand, and looked her in the eyes. “Please don't fight the doctor, Wendy. You'll be able to get out of here sooner.”
“Uh, thank you, sir. I won't.” She was touched by the concern the old man was showing for her. To her knowledge, she had never actually met him before.
Before she could question his actions, he was gone, leaving only the Doctor in the room with her. “Doctor, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but why is the Commodore so concerned over my recovery? I don't think I've actually ever met him before.”
“Well, you were in pretty bad shape when the crew managed to get you out of what was left of your ship. I must admit, by all rights you should have died from your injuries long before making the crash landing out in the bay. The crew managed to recover all of you and get you in here before you expired...” Wendy interrupted him.
“Hold it, what do you mean recover all of me?”
He gave her a sad look. “When the cockpit was crushed it severed both of your legs, and your left arm. Your AI got one of her repair bots close enough to you for it to project a stasis field. If not for that, you would have bled out in a few seconds.” He was busy readying something that almost looked like a syringe without a needle. “When you jumped after the fucks that attacked us, everyone knew you wouldn't be coming back. When you returned with intel on the enemy, you were also credited with providing the reason that fleet hasn't jumped in and blown us all to hell.”
He turned and attached the small device to one of the machines near her head. “I had to order the med bay cleared in order to have enough room to save you. It wouldn't surprise me, if every crewman on all three ships doesn't know that you're awake and healing from your injuries.”
“But, I didn't do anything! I honestly couldn't tell you why they haven't jumped yet.” Wendy replied.
“My Lady, the people have long ago given up hope for a better life. Baron Altrov and his fellow slavers control the Senate, and the Emperor's hands are tied. He is little more than a figurehead held prisoner in his own palace. The people need hope, they need heroes. They need to believe someone out there believes in them enough to risk their life for them. That's what is happening here. You are a hero to these crews. No matter how much you try to downplay your actions, it won't change the way they are going to look at you now,” he finished up, and touched a button. “Now, you need to rest, My Lady. No more questions for today.”
Command Super Dreadnaught, I.S.S. Divine Light
142 degrees north, 62 degrees west trans-solar orbit
Sol System, Horon-A Sector.
Senior Fleet Captain G'ries, Commanding.
“Tewney, please say hi to Cole for us!” Tal'ba said as she took Tho'ren's hand to walk away from the ship.
Tho'ren got her attention and pointed to the loaded missile trolley's pulling up to Tewney's loading racks. “Looks like we might need to go put out a fire. We should hurry.”
The couple moved quickly to the nearest lift to get them up to Admiral's Country. Tewney had told them that Hs'ean and Ariel where waiting for them in the briefing room. They didn't even stop for more than a hello to those they knew along the way, but no one took offense, everyone knew something was up, but didn't know what it was.
The two stopped outside the hatch to the briefing room long enough to straighten their uniforms, and knock. After the 'enter' came through the door, they stepped inside and immediately came to attention to salute the two women, already there.
“That was quick, what? Did you jump from Mars?” Hs'ean asked.
Tho'ren shrugged. “You said it was an emergency.”
The Admiral snorted. “That it is. Highness?”
Ariel gave them her part of the information that she'd heard from Cr'ale, then Hs'ean filled them in on the rest. “I'm sending two battle groups, and you. Identification is important, but under no circumstances are those ships to leave the terminus if they make the transit. If they do leave the far end of the lane, we'll need to keep an eye on them so we know where that big bitch goes.
“I've ordered Tewney loaded with ship-killers, and you'll be carrying an assault team with you. Both Captains have offered to host you, so you can resupply from either one, however, they won't be leaving the terminus.”
Why is identification so important? It sounds like you already know who this is?” Tal'ba asked.
“We have a pretty good idea, but no proof. We would also like to get our hands on as much information about the ship designs and any new weapons systems as we could. I really don't want to assume we have the upper hand here. The men that defected wouldn't have done so if they didn't believe they have some advantage that led them to believe they could beat the might of the Empire,” Hs'ean replied.
“I just wonder how many of our commanders are secretly in their camp, but remained to make sure we lost?” Tho'ren asked.
Hs'ean nodded. “I'm pretty sure all of ours are safe. I'm going to recall the rest of the fleet so we can meet as a group and discuss it. I'm also going to call a couple of the other fleet Admirals, and feel them out about this. If we can recruit more help, then we'll all be better off.”
“Forgive me, but what of Her Highness's plan to 'rebel'?” Tal'ba asked.
Ariel grinned. “It's beginning to look like we won't have to, or if we do, then it's going to be a lot easier, since we'll actually have more of the fleet supporting us. I'll be talking to grandfather about it in a little bit. I'll keep you posted.”
Tho'ren nodded. “Okay, what about our two trainee's that are already out there?”
“Wendy is recovering from massive injuries sustained from her little jaunt, and Taylor is still parked in the middle of the exit lane of the terminus. Wendy's ship is beyond recovery, so we will be placing her AI into a stealth ship, once we can get it built.”
“When we left Titan a week ago, the first five keels were already looking like ships. You might want to tag one of them for her. What about Taylor? I think we can safely say they've earned the final refusal,” Tho'ren asked.
Hs'ean nodded her agreement. “They have both gone far and above their duty on this. I'd still like to chew them out, but how can I do that when I would have done the same damn thing?” She snorted. “I think we'll need two of those ships. But send Taylor back here as soon as you get there. See if Wendy and her AI can ride along and we'll take care of the rest. Sorry, but I don't think you'll be here for the graduation ceremony.”
“When will the assault team be ready to go?” Tal'ba asked.
“They better already be on board, or I'm gonna kick some ass. The battle groups made the jump about ten minutes ago.”
Tho'ren came to attention, and Tal'ba aped him. “Then we better get moving, too. Request permission to be dismissed, Admiral?”
“Good hunting you two,” Hs'ean said.
They nodded then bowed to Ariel, “With your permission, Highness?”
Ariel sighed. “Be careful, both of you. I want to throw a party to celebrate your marriage when you get back.”
The two thanked her and left, grinning. They ran where they could, but walked the rest of the way back to Tewney. When they got there, they were surprised when they found a young woman waiting for them.
“Commander Tho'ren?” she said.
Tho'ren nodded. “That would be me. But please make it quick, we're in a hurry.”
“I know,” said the now nervous woman. “My name's Kate, and I work with D'vrese and Tara. I've been working on something that the Admiral thought would be handy where you're going. She asked that I give you this,” she offered a data crystal to him. “For you to give to Commodore Fistch. It's a new weapons platform.”
Tho'ren took the crystal, and stuck it in his pocket. “Thank you, right now, anything would be a great help.”
“You sure you don't want to come with us?” Tal'ba asked coyly.
Kate blushed brightly, and ran back toward the hatch leading out of the bay. “Tal'ba! You scared her away! What am I going to do with you?” Tho'ren said, grinning.
“I have no idea why I did that! She's beautiful! I hope I didn't scare her too badly,” Tal'ba said. “I think she was almost as pretty as Ariel.”
“Well, maybe not, you know how most techies are. Come on, we need to be gone.”
Chapter Eight
Tactical Operations Theater; Admiral's ready room.
Republican Super Carrier, R.M.C. Duchy of Calderon
System Exit Vector, two light-hours from nearest primary
Canis-Orbalisk System. Canis Sector.
Fleet Admiral Balis Tireen, Commanding.