Imperial Command

by D. J. Holmes

  Emilie hesitated. “I and my crew will do it whatever you command. But Intrepid has taken some significant damage. My Chief Engineer insists she needs time in a repair yard. And my crew have been away from home for a long time.”

  “Your crew will have to make sacrifices like we all are,” Becket informed her. “And you don’t need to worry about Intrepid. Your uncle sent me here with the supplies and engineers to construct several repair yards. I’ll have Intrepid scheduled to enter one by the end of the day. You started this whole thing out here in Conclave space. Whether or not the Kalassai may actually decide to help us, we are committed now. So you and your crew are going to have to see things through.”

  “If that is what is required of us, then we will do what we must,” Emilie replied.” She smiled. “And it will be a pleasure to serve with you once again.”

  *

  Badminton House, 5th November 2483 AD (five months later).

  Sitting in one of the garden’s large decks, James sipped his morning cup of tea as he watched the sun rise over the fields of his estate. He had been home for just three weeks, and in that time everything had changed. Yes, the Karacknids were still a threat. At best, their invasion had been delayed, but it had not been stopped. As much as that thought dominated his thinking, other developments meant hope and not fear were his feelings as he watched the sun rise. He had returned home to find the Empire’s Congress fully functioning. Every colony had elected their own Governor and House of Representatives to govern their world. They had also sent Senators and Commoners to sit in the Empire’s Senate and House of Commons. Together, the Senate, House of Commons and Christine had appointed Servants to sit in the third legislative body, the House of Servants. To no one’s surprise, the arguments, debating and politicking had begun within days of each house taking their seats. Nevertheless, there was a common unity and determination to defeat the Karacknids that had James feeling optimistic about politics for perhaps the first time in his life.

  Even that wasn’t what truly filled James with hope as he took another sip of his tea. Something far more important had happened in his absence. Something that made him smile even as he thought about it. The sound of a door opening behind him made him turn. Christine was up. Still dressed in her nightgown, she swung the kitchen’s glass door open and stepped out onto the deck. Gently, she padded over to him, reached down and set a bundle of blankets into his arms. “He just went to sleep again after a feed. I’ve got a meeting in a couple of hours. I’m going back to bed. Until then he is all yours.”

  James smiled at her and kissed Christine as she lent in towards him. As she turned and left he watched her go. Only then did he look down at the true surprise that had been waiting for him when he returned home. His son. Jonathan, named after his uncle. James had been blown away by Christine’s revelation. When the shuttle had landed, she had been standing there, holding him waving his little hand back and forth. For several seconds he had stood and stared. Not really taking in what he was looking at. Then, when he had rushed over to her, she had placed him in his arms. Having never really had anything to do with babies before, he had been bewildered. He had feared he was going to drop Jonathan. It had been one of the happiest moments of James’ life.

  Looking down at his son, he felt the same happiness now. Jonathan was just two months old and didn’t appear to have a care in the world. Hugging Jonathan closer to his chest, James knew this was his true source of hope. The Karacknids wanted to enslave his species, possibly even to wipe them out. To a certain extent, they had succeeded. Hundreds of millions of Earth’s people had been killed. Hundreds of thousands of naval personnel had already died in the war. Yet Humanity was far from beaten. There is a future for us, James thought as he looked down at his son’s sleeping form. And for you. Since meeting his son, James was more certain of one thing than anything else in his life. He was going to defeat the Karacknids. His son wasn’t going to grow up in a world where Humanity lived in fear of the alien race. Even if he had to do it himself with his bare hands, he was going to put an end to the Karacknid Imperator’s rule of tyranny.

  But for now, he said to himself as he dismissed such gruesome thoughts. You have a son to enjoy. Ever so gently he rocked Jonathan back and forth. He now knew from experience that as much as his son looked perfectly peaceful and content, if Jonathan woke up, things would be a whole lot different. With his free hand, James quietly picked up the datapad he had brought with him. A number of reports and messages had been stored for him overnight to read as soon as he woke up.

  Flicking through the datapad, the first thing that caught his attention was the latest FTL transmission from Alliance High Command. Four hundred Alliance warships had already passed through Earth on their way to reinforce the three former Karacknid depot systems that were being turned into border forts. Another five hundred were scheduled to arrive over the next couple of months. With the two hundred new warships that had come out of Earth’s construction yards, there would soon be more than a thousand ships defending Earth’s borders.

  That was not nearly enough, especially now that everyone knew what they were truly up against. The star maps his niece had sent back from the Kalassai had shocked everyone on Earth and in Alliance High Command. But there was nothing they could do about the size and strength of the Karacknid Empire. At least nothing more than they were already doing. They were in a far better shape than they had been in six months ago. Alliance intelligence estimated that at least four thousand Karacknid warships had been pulled from the border with Alliance space to join the push into his empire’s territory. As soon as the Alliance scout ships had detected the Karacknid fleet movements, Alliance forces up and down their border had begun carrying out small counterattacks and raids. The latest communications from Alliance High Command suggested their actions had forced hundreds of Karacknid ships to return to their former positions to defend their border. It was likely there was a significant Karacknid force preparing to strike at Earth. Turning back their vanguard and destroying so many fuel freighters had no doubt put a strain on the supply condition of the Karacknid fleet. With luck, James hoped they had caused a bottleneck that would delay the Karacknids even further. But sooner or later the Karacknids would take up the offensive again.

  At least, that was James’ estimation of the situation. As he surveyed the communication he had just received from Alliance High Command, it seemed they concurred. Admiral Jourm had sent a request to James. He wanted a full break down of the battle readiness of Humanity’s fleet. Rather than wait for the Karacknids to take up the offensive again, he wanted to counterattack! The very idea stirred James’ emotions. Since day one they had been on the defensive. The Karacknids were threatening system after system. All of Humanity lived in fear that a Karacknid ship would show up in their system and bombard their planet. Can we really do it? James asked himself. Going on the offensive would be risky. Extremely risky. But the Karacknid forces still seemed to be out of place as they tried to shift their fleets around. We may have a chance to actually push them back! James thought as he scanned the ships and fleets Jourm thought the Alliance could commit to such an operation. There is a window of opportunity, James said to himself as he began to write his reply in his head. But it is small. We will have to act fast. If they could counterattack and catch the Karacknids still mobilizing for their next offensive, they could catch their enemy with their pants down. As James thought about it a grin spread across his face. Taking the offensive would be a very nice change. Putting the Karacknids on the defensive; perhaps even taking several of their systems would shift the balance of the war. James knew which system Jourm would have in mind. Jaranna. The capital of the Mindus civilization. If they could take and hold it, they would split the Karacknid border in two. From there they could attack either flank of the Karacknid positions and the other flank wouldn’t be able to support their comrades. Or we could threaten to push deeper into Karacknid space, James contemplated. Given what Lightfoot had found out about ma
ny of the Karacknid systems when he had travelled through them, it likely wouldn’t take much to get many of them to rebel against their overlords and join the Alliance. An invasion could start off a chain reaction that could cripple a quarter of the Karacknid Empire, James imagined. With so many rebellions to deal with, the Karacknids might not be able to move forces against us quickly enough to stop us. Though a part of James thought it was wishful thinking, Earth still had a massive enemy battlefleet almost at her front door, he wanted to hope. And, of course, there is Becket. James knew Becket had a ruthless streak, but the latest plans she had sent back to Earth had surprised him. Just as surprising was the fact that she and Admiral Shraw had simply informed James of their plans rather than sought out permission. What she had in mind was audacious, but it was just the kind of diversion Earth and the Alliance needed.

  A small movement in his arms broke James’ line of thought. Jonathan was stirring. James set the datapad down. Gently he reached over and stroked Jonathan’s chin with the back of one of his fingers. He’d have to bring Admiral Jorum’s suggestion to the Imperial Inner Council. If they gave their approval, then planning would have to start immediately. James knew that would consume all of his energy once it began. For now, he wanted to enjoy a few more quiet moments with his son.

  The end.

  The story of the War of Doom and James and Christine will continue in Empire Rising book 11 (coming early 2020).

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