by D. J. Holmes
Christine closed her eyes and tilted her head back for several seconds. “All right then,” she said quietly as she lowered her head again. Her eyes slowly opened. “All right then,” she said more forcefully. “If this is what my three best Admirals recommend, then I do not see how I can adopt any other approach.” She looked from Koroylov to Lightfoot and then to James. “You do know who will be commanding each mission don’t you?” James found himself nodding with the other two Admirals. As far as he was concerned, anyone who wanted to stop him going would have to wrestle him into some deep dark prison and throw away the key. He imagined Lightfoot and Koroylov felt exactly the same.
“What about your fleets?” Christine asked as she turned to Jil’lal and Danlien. “I doubt we can do this without your assistance.
James wasn’t in the least bit surprised by Jil’lal’s response. “Wherever Admiral Somerville sees fit to send his ships, mine will accompany them,” Jil’lal said at once. “We know our fate is tied with yours.”
“Given the threat that an attack from your space into our territory would pose to us, I don’t see how I could refuse to join your forces Empress,” Danlien said. “Though I fear we are talking about three suicide missions, our deaths might buy the time Alliance High Command will need to respond to this new threat and redeploy their fleets. If that is the price my ships have to pay, then we will pay it.”
“The question is, how long will it take us to get together the supplies we need to launch this mission?” Christine asked as she turned to Andréa and raised an eyebrow.
“I can’t say for sure right now,” Andréa answered. “If we’re talking about moving all of our warships out beyond our borders to fight in a battle and then remain in each system afterwards, we’re going to need the supplies and munitions for a full campaign. Added to that is the fact that each depot world is a different distance from Earth. Do we want to coordinate our attacks or launch them as soon as each is ready to go?”
“As soon as each is ready to go I think,” James answered. “Unless there is going to be more than a couple of weeks delay between each one. Any time less than that that and one attack shouldn’t give the Karacknids warning about the others.”
Andréa nodded as she tapped on her thigh. “One week, I think we could prepare the supplies and freighters to launch in one week. But we’d have to arrange follow up supply convoys to reinforce each fleet if they do manage to capture their targets. Will that do?”
“It will have to,” James responded. “We will find a way to make it work. Though if you can do all that, then all the better.” Turning from Andréa, James looked back to the other Admirals. “Now, we need to figure out how we can give ourselves the best chance of success. Here’s the ideas I’ve got so far…” As James played out a couple of strategies he thought might work, he kept glancing at Christine. He knew she didn’t fully understand what he was saying, but he was trying to give her some confidence all the same. As Koroylov, Lightfoot, Danlien and Jil’lal all began to pick apart his ideas and suggest their own, he forgot about Christine and was pulled into the back and forth. For more than an hour they discussed strategy and the various approaches they could take.
“I think my time may be better spent elsewhere,” Christine suggested as she spoke for the first time since the strategic discussions had begun. “Though I am eager to see your battle plans once you have them finalized.”
“I think we can all end this meeting here,” Koroylov responded. “We have enough ideas to begin some simulations. Once we have briefed our staff officers and began to go through things, we can meet again to work out some more details. I will confess, I’m not any more confident than when we began. But I suspect that may be how things are from here on in.”
Christine nodded. “You’re certainly not reassuring me any more than before. But I’d rather know the truth than be coddled. At least it will mean Fairfax and I can prepare our fledging Congress for the troubles that are likely to be ahead of us. We’ll end this meeting now and we can meet again tomorrow and see if you are all of the same mind after you’ve had a chance to run some simulations and discuss things with your subordinates. Andréa, you can begin making your preparations now.”
As everyone stood, James moved over to Andréa. “Are you sure you can arrange the supplies and munitions we’re going to need so quickly? I can get more officers assigned to your division. I’m sure it’s going to be a logistical nightmare.”
“It is, there’s no doubt about that,” Andréa replied. “But I think I should have things under control. I have a good team working with me.”
“Pterodactyl’s findings have certainly thrown a spanner in the works,” Fairfax said as he joined them. Christine was just behind him. “But at least we know where we stand. It’s better to know that than be in the dark,” he said as he looked to Christine. “And Pterodactyl was the last scout ship sent out. At least we don’t have to worry about any more Karacknid depots appearing out of thin air and surprising us with a fleet they’ve just dispatched.”
“At least we know there aren’t any more in the systems we dispatched scouts to check out,” Koroylov corrected as he came over and nodded to Andréa. “I’m not saying I don’t trust our esteemed colleague’s predictions. But the Karacknids may have other criteria for picking their depot systems that we have not anticipated.”
“That is not an encouraging thought,” James responded. Not at all, he added silently. “But unless we are going to break the fleet up into individual units and send them out to search hundreds of systems, it’s not something we can do anything about now. If it is a risk, it’s just one more we have to add to the list.” James knew it would be devastating if they found a way to attack and take each Karacknid depot system and then it turned out they had another one. Yet there was nothing he could do to prevent that from happening. If the Karacknids did have a fourth world, then they were already beat.
As the others continued their discussion, James allowed Christine to pull him to one side with her eyes. She took his hand and led him out of the small library. “Let’s take a walk in the gardens,” she suggested. James nodded and in silence they walked through Chilton House. Outside, Christine led them through the rose garden, past one of the larger fountains and around a large hedge to the beginning of a small thicket of trees. Several things came to James’ mind to say, he didn’t break the silence Christine had initiated. Instead he just enjoyed her presence. When they stopped by one tree, Christine turned and took his other hand into hers so that she held both his hands in front of her. “Before you try and stop me, I’m not saying I won’t let you go. It’s just, it’s not fair. We’ve only had a few weeks together. And now this. How am I supposed to stay here knowing that you’re going to be going out there and you may never return?”
James gently released his hands from Christine’s grip and pulled her into a hug. “I have no answer for that my dear. Other than that it is your duty. Just as I must go for the sake of our people, you must stay.” He gently eased her back to look her in the eyes. Slowly James lowered his lips to hers. “I haven’t left just yet,” he assured her when they broke apart. “You heard Andréa, we have a week or more yet.”
“A week where you’ll be worked off your feet. If there is any chance these attacks will work, they will need all of your attention and skill. You cannot waste your time with me.”
James gave Christine a cross look. “Time spent with you is never a waste. And you’re forgetting something important. You’re the reason I’m going out there. That means if I am to go, I will need reassuring that what I’m going to fight for is worth it.” As he pulled Christine into a hug, he allowed one of his hands to move down the small of her back. Then he gave her a gentle squeeze. “And that means we have to spend at least a little bit of time together my Empress.”
Christine looked up at him and smiled for the first time since Pterodactyl’s news had been transmitted to Earth. She placed both hands on James’ chest and pushed him back a
gainst the tree they were standing beside. “You have reminded me of something else my Admiral. You have another duty you need to see to. Especially if you are about to go on such a deadly mission. Our Empire needs an heir. You cannot go risking your life without the line of succession being secured.” James’ eyes widened at her words, but before he could say anything or ask one of the many questions that sprang to mind, Christine raised herself upon her tiptoes and kissed him again. Enfolding her fully into his arms, he continued kissing her as he forgot about the possibility that an aide or the fleet officer might bump into them. Christine’s nearness and the thought that the next week might be their last together made him throw caution to the wind.
Chapter 30
The legacy of service our first Emperor left, both in life and death, has served generations of Imperial citizens far more than he could have ever known.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.
Drake, Earth orbit, 14th February 2483 AD (eight days later).
To no one’s surprise, Andréa managed to scrape together the supplies and freighters for the three attacks in just eight days. Though outwardly James and Christine had shown their pleasure in her efforts, alone they had lamented the shortness of their time together. In part that was why James suspected Christine was now seated beside him on Drake’s bridge. She was going to ride with them to the Sol system’s mass shadow and then take a shuttle back to Earth.
“We’re getting a COM message from Corsair One,” Lieutenant Beckford, James’ COM officer reported.
“I’ll talk to her on my COM unit,” James responded. “Captain Black, how is your squadron?” James asked when Black’s face appeared on his command chair’s holo projector.
“Emperor,” Black began, but James cut her off.
“It’s Admiral when I’m serving in the fleet,” he corrected her.
“Right, Admiral. Well I was the last one to leave Grand Forks Air Force base. The rest of my pilots are already safely stowed on Prometheus. Our flight crew are coming up on the last shuttle. I just wanted to thank you for bringing us along. I know there was a lot of competition for spots on the fleet carriers.”
“There’s no need to thank me,” James replied. “We’re setting out on one of the most difficult missions any Human fleet has embarked upon.”
“Even so, you didn’t have to bring us, and so I wanted to thank you,” Black insisted.
“Let’s just see if you still want to thank me when all this is over,” James cautioned. “Now go and see to your people, make sure they get settled in. And that they don’t cause any problems with the other pilots.”
Black grinned. “I’ll try Admiral,” was all she was apparently willing to promise. James rolled his eyes and cut the COM channel.
“Corsair Squadron, that is the squadron of interceptors isn’t it?” Christine asked from her command chair. As James nodded she continued, “They aren’t equipped with anti-ship weapons, why have you brought them?”
“Call it a hunch,” James explained. “It’s been three years since the Karacknids’ first encountered our fighters. That’s plenty of time for them to develop their own. Corsair Squadron is our backup just in case.”
Christine nodded. “In that case, I’m glad they are going with you. But I hope they won’t see any action.”
James chuckled. “So do I,” he agreed.
For another hour they watched the hive of activity around the three hundred plus warships in Earth’s orbit. Here and there James explained to Christine what she was looking at. Occasionally she would ask questions as well. As much as James would have rather had more time alone with his new wife, it was nice to share his world with her, even if it was only just for a few hours.
“The last ship in our fleet has just signaled,” Miyagi announced. “We’re all ready to go.”
“Have we heard from Lightfoot and Koroylov?” James asked.
“Koroylov’s fleet reports it is ready to break orbit,” Beckford answered. “I’m still waiting to hear back from Lightfoot’s.”
James nodded and sat back in his command chair to wait. Just ten minutes later Beckford turned from her COM console. “Lightfoot reports ready as well Admiral.”
“Thank you,” James replied. He turned to Christine. “Do you care to do the honors Empress?” he asked.
Christine took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “Order all three fleets to break orbit and proceed on their missions,” she said loud enough for everyone on the bridge to hear her.
“Navigation, proceed,” Captain Fisher ordered moments later.
A slight tremor ran through Drake as her impulse engines overcame the force of Earth’s gravity and lifted her out of orbit. Around Drake three hundred and forty-three other warships carried out the same maneuver. They were flanked by eighty freighters that were stuffed with all the munitions and supplies the three fleets would need to take and hold each of their targets.
“Impressive,” Christine said as she stared at all the ships moving together. “That was smooth.”
“It’s not over yet,” James commented. “Signal the fleets, we will break into formation now.”
Seconds later, the mass of ships broke apart. In formation with Drake, there were one hundred and fifty-six warships. Surrounding Admiral Lightfoot’s new flagship, the battleship Vengeance, there were eighty. The remaining one hundred and four were under the command of Admiral Koroylov. He had the brand-new battleship, Constitution, as his flagship.
“It’s like they’ve done it a hundred times before,” Christine observed as she watched each group of ships seamlessly form up.
“That’s half true,” James explained. “They have carried out thousands of simulated maneuvers. Many close enough to what they just did to make it a relatively simple exercise.”
“Even the Vestarian and Alliance ships?” Christine followed up.
James nodded. “What do you think they’ve been doing since they got here?”
“Point taken,” Christine responded. She lowered her voice. “You are confident we have split our commanders as best we can?”
James nodded again as he gave her a smile. “That’s what the simulations suggest.” Admiral Danlien’s flagship and half of the Varanni Alliance ships were in formation with Koroylov’s Constitution. Danlien was to serve as Koroylov’s second in command. Acting as Lightfoot’s second in command, Admiral Jil’lal commanded all of her Vestarian warships. Finally, Commodore Maleck was to serve as James’ second. According to the simulated battles they had fought together over the last month, each pair of commanders best complemented one another’s skills.
“Then we will just have to trust that things will work out,” Christine said.
Though she sounded concerned, James could see what she was thinking in her eyes. For the last week she had put a brave face on James’ impending departure, but now that it was actually happening, he suspected it was getting to her. Reaching over as far as he could, he placed a hand on hers. “You are not to worry whilst we are gone. We know what we are doing. This is what we have trained for, for decades.”
Christine nodded, but again James could tell what she was really thinking from her eyes. It was all well and good for him to tell her not to worry. Actually doing it was another thing. And how would you feel if the roles were reversed? he asked himself. That thought made James squeeze Christine’s hand again. He knew he would be beside himself. It would take a month and a half for Drake to reach her target. Then the same time for news of what might happen to return to Earth. And after that who knew how long it would take James to get back himself. Christine would have many long, lonely nights with nothing but her own thoughts and fears to keep her company. At least James would have the distraction of commanding a fleet of warships to keep his mind off their separation. Though of course, she will be busy herself, James knew. In an effort to cheer her up, he asked her about her plans for the coming weeks. As always, there were a thousand things that needed to be done. The Imperial Congress would
soon be taking their seats, at least on paper all the colonies would have elected their Senators and Commoners. Then it would be time for the two houses of government and Christine to nominate prospective members for the third house, the House of Servants. The Servants would serve a single term of twenty years and selecting them would have a significant impact on the direction of the Empire for a very long time. James knew Christine and Fairfax had been working on their nominations for months, but it was a good distraction to ask her about her picks anyway.
“It will soon be time,” Miyagi said as he looked up from his command console several hours later. “Lightfoot’s fleet will reach the Alpha shift passage in an hour. We’ll have to transmit our message within the next ten minutes to ensure they receive it before jumping out.”
“Are you ready?” James asked Christine.
“Give me a moment,” she replied as she pulled out a datapad and skimmed through it. “All right,” she said as she raised her eyes less than a minute later. “Open a COM channel to our fleets.”