“We’re good,” Jean announced. No one’s taking notice. If they are, the Mortek aren’t reacting.”
“Captain Forsythe?”
“Yes, Jack? Did you arrive okay?”
“All’s good, here, Hornet.”
“The Mortek haven’t responded to our arrival.”
“I guess two little mosquitoes aren’t much of a threat.”
“You know what needs to be done.”
“Yup. Head to that dead planet three jumps from here.”
“Good hunting. See you back at Tolimar.”
“Three days in, three days back. See you in a week, Hornet.”
The crew of Gazelle watched Jack’s Flash disappear from their view-screen.
“So, what have we got, Captain?”
“A pot full of ships, Jesse. Thousands.”
“Look at that big sucker, Cap. That’s got to be the colony ship.”
“Biggest we’ve seen yet. It looks like we are going to be here a while. That’s a lot of ships to recon.”
“And Sasania, Cap. The HEB Alliance Counsel wants to know what’s happening to the planet. If we have any people left down there.”
“That, too. Okay. Mandy, you and me, we start working up our recon jumps. Jesse, you take over sensors. Keep your hand on the panic button. Any problems, we run.”
“Copy that, Captain. One Chicken Little coming up.”
For the rest of the afternoon, Jesse focused on ensuring that no Morteks made any motion towards Gazelle. Simultaneously, Jean and Mandy developed their jump sequences.
With the density of the Mortek ships, simple parameter observations would not be enough. The reconnaissance would need to be the peeling of an onion. They needed to review a layer, analyse the results and jump to the next layer. Jean and Mandy needed to plan their jumps to culminate in a complete inspection of Sasania.
After five hours of intense effort, Jean leaned back and knuckled her eyes. Mandy matched the action.
“That’s about as good as we can do, Cap. I think it will work. We should be able to get a complete picture.”
“Yeah. But, here’s the question. Is it random enough so that those Mortek computers on those ships can’t guess where we will arrive next?”
“While I was sitting here, guarding our fannies, I was thinking. There is no way, no matter how many computers those Mortek have, that they can outthink the Preceptor.”
“You got that right, Mandy. Igaklay, are you there?”
“Always, Captain Forsythe.”
“Our own little fly on the wall.”
“Don’t be rude, Mandy. I’m just looking out for you.”
“I wasn’t rude, Preceptor. Just observing.”
“Captain Forsythe, do you want me to review your jump sequences? Establish a more random pattern?’
“Exactly, Igaklay. Would you please?”
“Of course. I will also create random time lapses in between each set of jump sequences.”
“Go for it. We’ll wait.”
“The evaluation is completed, Captain Forsythe. I have applied the new patterns.”
“That was fast.”
“I am a moon-sized computer, Captain.”
“You give the phrase, ‘getting mooned’ a whole new definition, Preceptor Igaklay.”
“That was a joke, Mz. Adams. I get it. I think that Mr. McCauley will appreciate your humor. I will try it on him.”
“Thank you, Preceptor.”
“I am always at your service, Captain.”
“Well, Mandy, Jesse. It looks like we have a day’s work ahead of us. At least. Let’s get started.”
“Fine by me, Cap.”
“Copy that, Captain.”
Chapter 31
Arium – Latinia Government Building
The board room took on the characteristics of the first meeting between Gregor’s contingent and Tolimar’s rulers. One side of the conference table held the newly formed HEB Alliance Executive Staff, with the Chairman holding the middle position. Opposite Lord Kaporine sat Vice-Admiral Weiskoff, with his senior officers flanking him.
The antagonism from the Federacy military palpably radiated, filling the room with defiance and obstinacy.
Being in the political arena for his entire life, Lord Kaporine began the discussion. Attempting to postpone the coming confrontation, the former Elonian King turned to the Captain of Gazelle.
“Captain Forsythe, if you would, please present your findings of your scout mission in Yeni Persia.”
“It would be my pleasure, Chairman. Preceptor Igaklay, if you would present the first slide?”
Having placed his communication pyramid in the center of the table, Igaklay, activated Jean’s request. Sasania translucently materialized just above the participants. The planet appeared as though every square inch were covered with crawling bugs. Only small patches of land or water could be seen through the dense cloud of Mortek ships.
“This was our first look when we arrived at the edge of Yeni Persia. As you can see, Sasania is completely enveloped with Mortek ships. Tens of thousands. Except for what we now know to be a quarter of a fleet, all appear to be civilian in nature.”
“That is what we are supposed to be attacking with our four ships?” Weiskoff asked.
“Vice-Admiral Weiskoff, let’s let Captain Forsythe work through her presentation. Then we can have a question period at its conclusion. Would that be acceptable?”
After Weiskoff’s look at the Elonian who wore his royal toga, sitting poised and collected, the Vice-Admiral responded, “Continue.”
“This image was to get a perspective of the Mortek’s complete conquering of Sasania. Preceptor, would you kindly highlight the Mortek war ships?”
Forty bright red dots appeared.
“As you can see, if we divide a standard Mortek fleet by four, the result is forty. That’s what we have here. This next slide is a breakdown of the ship classes. Preceptor?”
Four images appeared, with titles and numbers
“There is the assault carrier. It is in geosynchronous orbit over what used to be the Sasanian Capitol. There is a constant stream of assault craft between that ship and the planet. Next, there are three cruisers. From our readings, they are exact duplicates of your flagship, Admiral.”
“Humph.”
“Six destroyers, thirty frigates. Note that there are no super dreadnaughts. If any were here, they’ve been pulled to strengthen the Mortek war armada in Bridgelen.”
“Then, you’re saying that all of the rest of those ships are unarmed?”
“The ships, yes, Admiral. Preceptor, the shipyards slide?”
A new image appeared.
The Mortek have orbited eighteen repair yards. Two at the poles. Two groups of four equidistant between the poles and the equator. Eight more at the equator. None of them appear to be major production yards. We found no ships under construction. Captain Haley will comment on that.”
“Go back to your first slide,” Weiskoff ordered.
Igaklay did.
“What’s that?”
Weiskoff used his own laser pointer to highlight a ship so large that its dimensions could be viewed from the edge of Yeni Persia space.
“I was getting to that next, Admiral. From our readings, we believe that that is the Mortek colony ship. Preceptor, if you would bring up the ship’s slide?”
The hologram filled with a single ship.
“It was obviously built to just barely fit through one of the gates. It’s almost six miles long with a diameter of over two miles. If the Mortek on this ship are in cryogenic sleep or frozen embryos, we’re talking hundreds of millions of them.”
“So, why don’t we just bomb that out of existence? That will solve all our problems.”
Krag interrupted.
“We don’t do genocide.”
For the first time, Krag got the ‘Elonian Royal Look’. With Keiko’s hand on his arm, Krag outwardly calmed back down.
“We
discussed this, Vice-Admiral Weiskoff,” Lord Kaporine stated. “That is to be a last resort. Captain Forsythe, please continue.”
“As we surmised, this is the colony ship. Next, like us, the Mortek have a fleet of freighters of all sizes. Over two thousand. As you can see from the first slide, there is a caravan of ships going and coming from the gate leading to the uninhabited planet, ninety-six days away by gate.”
“Those bugs have another nest.”
“Yes, Admiral. As I said, Captain Haley just finished a surveillance run out there. He will report on that. The other thousands of ships are all civilian. No armor or weaponry. If it comes to war in Yeni Persia, they will become collateral damage. So, there we are. In Yeni Persia, there is a small defensive fleet, a constant flow of ships to and from another Mortek nest and thousands of civilian ships. Captain Haley, you’re up.”
“Preceptor Igaklay, slide one?”
A new planet appeared as the three-dimensional holographic image.
“As you can see, this system is the manufacturing hub of the Mortek. It’s obvious that they’ve been there for years.”
“Those look like production yards. How many are there?”
“Four capable of building super dreadnaughts, eight for cruisers and destroyers. Another thirty-two for frigates and smaller. There’s also a ship about twice the size of an assault carrier. From the traffic, it appears to be living quarters and supplies.”
“What’s going on with the planet?”
“Strip mining. Everything. In terms of life, it’s almost completely denuded. From previous surveys, there used to be a thriving ecosystem. Not now. It’s almost completely dead. In terms of metals and minerals, my guess is that the Mortek won’t run out for decades.”
“Get me more nukes. I’ll take that out.”
“Vice-Admiral, I must remind you. This is a joint effort between the HEB Alliance and the Human Federacy. We have agreed to supply you with the most advanced technology at our disposal. We have agreed to supply the Human Federacy, under your command, with a fleet of ships. And we have agreed to continue to maintain the technology which Humanity does not have the capability for.”
“I get all that.”
“In return, you have agreed to follow the mandates of this HEB Alliance ruling body. We have arrived at a plan. Although you strenuously object, you have agreed to carry it out.”
“We need to hit them and hit them hard. Speaking of which, Mr. McCauley, where are my nukes?”
Mack’s father didn’t bristle at Weiskoff’s rejection of his title. Doctor McCauley now accepted Weiskoff’s intentional rudeness.
“The first ten are coming off the assembly line today. Vengeance and Retribution are scheduled to receive five each tomorrow.”
“I need more.”
“We are lucky to get these, Admiral. Luckily for us, the asteroid miners are getting back to work. And, they had a small stockpile of fissionable material. It will take time to get more. But, we’ll get it done.”
“Humanity depends on it. And, I need crews for my other two ships. After the first run, I’m going to be forced to split the crews on my two current ships. Governor Moreno, where are my recruits?”
“Sitting on their butts, waiting on you, Admiral.”
“How fast are we going to be able to get them up to speed?”
“Except for Mr. Escobar, you have the best that Latinia has to offer. They may not be space-experienced, but they know what they’re doing.”
“They better. The day I get back from the first run, be prepared to have them shuttled up to the new ships.”
“They’re ready, now.”
“Vice-Admiral Weiskoff, do you have enough information for your first run?” Lord Kaporine asked.
“Yeah,” the Vice-Admiral grudgingly answered.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“No. I have a flight to prepare. We’re launching as soon as we get our nukes and check them out.”
With that pronouncement and without any show of respect, Weiskoff stood. His officers rose with him. He led, they followed out of the Latinia Governor’s building and back to his flagship.
The HEB Alliance contingent remained.
“Commander Marston, are you sure that Vice-Admiral Weiskoff will perform his task to our mandate?”
“Yes, Your Lordship.”
“Please, since my daughter and your Ambassador forced me onto this ice float of leadership, call me ‘Prime Minister.”
“Prime Minister. Okay.”
“Do not underestimate the selfishness of Weiskoff. He will do as he is told as long as he knows that he will get his fleet and we will maintain it,” Lawrence Gregor added.
“Larry’s right, Prime Minister. This is very weird, doing business with another race,” Shelly Moreno commented.
“Self-centered beings, be they Elonian or Human, are very reliable, when you know what they want.”
“On that we are in total agreement, Prime Minister. I’ve had to deal with those snakes my whole life.”
“Snakes, Clan Leader Gregor?”
“Legless animals that hide under rocks and attack when you aren’t looking.”
“I understand. We have creatures like that on Elonia. We have beaters which hunt the ice and dig them out of their holes.”
“Sometimes, we need to do the same thing. With both snakes and humans. Sometimes it’s fun.”
“Snakes. I will need to research them when I return to Ballison. Speaking of which, Ambassador Suzume, Mistress Analyn, can I go home, now?” Prime Minister Kaporine jokingly asked.
“What do you think, Commander? Do we need the Prime Minister to stick around? Keep Vice-Admiral Weiskoff in line?”
“Nah. If we need him, we can call him back.”
“I do not like human humor.”
“We all need to get used to it, Father.”
“Not if I hide in my mountain, Little Fire.”
“Like you can do that. you always need something to do. Now, you have a new title to play with. You like your new position.
“Well, maybe just a little.”
Aboard Vengeance – Yeni Persia
Two days after the meeting with the HEB Alliance Executive Staff, Captain Brewer jumped Vengeance to the edge of Yeni Persia. Almost simultaneously, Retribution arrived off the Flagship’s left wing. The personnel on the two human cruisers got their first look at the primary base of the Mortek and the complete ruination of Sasania.
“There’s no coming back from that, Captain,” Sensor Specialist Bradley commented.
“If we don’t stop them here, Spaceman, all of the Federacy is going to look just like this.”
“Do you think that Commander Marston’s plan is going to work?”
“It’s the HEB Alliance plan. It’s a major game of chicken. We’ll see who swerves first.”
“Mr Bradley, are all sensors and video active?”
“Yes, Sir. And checked.”
“Mr. Connors, get me Retribution.”
Communications Specialist Connors didn’t bother to get approval from his captain. He just followed the Admiral’s command.
“Retribution, actual, Admiral,” the newly-promoted Senior Pilot responded.
“Captain Wright, make your run. Stay on plan.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
Retribution jumped to within a quarter of a mile of the furthermost cruiser. In less than a quarter of a second, it launched a single nuclear missile and jumped back to its original starting point.
A nuclear explosion in space is a spectacular fireball of energy and electromagnetic radiation. Surrounding Mortek ships, washed by the EMP, went dead. The closest ones had their radiation shielding penetrated and Mortek died. A section of the Mortek fleet, both military and civilian, became radioactive scrap or ceased to exist as viable ships as the blast radius expanded.
“Mr. Bradley, did you get that?”
“Five by five, Admiral.”
“Retribution, retu
rn to the Arium shipyard. Captain Brewer, get us out of here. Mr. Connors, as soon as we arrive, send all intel to Griffin.”
Vice-Admiral Weiskoff heard ‘aye-aye’s’ all around.
The two human cruisers vanished from Yeni Persia space, leaving in their wake nuclear destruction, destroyed Mortek ships and Mortek dead.
Aboard Griffin - Arium
“Commander, Vengeance and Retribution are back.”
“Thank you, Sue.”
“Weiskoff is on the line.”
“Be nice, Love. That’s Vice-Admiral Weiskoff,” Mack sarcastically stated.
“Put him through, Sue. Vice-Admiral, how was the run?”
“As expected, Marston. You are receiving the intel now.”
“Preceptor?”
“It is coming in now, Commander. Two more minutes, and I should have the full packet.”
“Now we’ll see if your grand and glorious plan is going to work.”
“I will give it my best shot, Admiral.”
“If it doesn’t work, we do it my way.”
“That’s part of the plan, Admiral. Have you contacted Governor Moreno? Are your recruits shuttling up, yet?”
“Not that it’s any of your concern, I will as soon as I get this intel transferred.”
“The transfer is complete, Commander.”
Krag gave Igaklay the terminate gesture.
“The link is disconnected, Commander.”
“Keiko, Bridgelen, if you will?”
Aboard Ravage Maker – Bridgelen
War made the bridge crew and his First Officers pay for his impatience at waiting for the Sasania fleet to arrive. The Mortek insectoid would alternately sit and stew in his office or prowl the bridge, snapping at crew and officers alike. All his subordinates kept their head combs pressed to their heads and their wings folded tightly to their thoraxes, endeavouring to avoid their Overlord’s wrath.
Victory in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 6) Page 38