The Terran Fleet Command Saga BoxSet

by Tori Harris

  “Incidentally, before I go any farther, I should explain that you might occasionally hear me also refer to the Pelarans as ‘The Makers.’ You’ll have to forgive me, but this is something of a play on words. Sentient systems, like myself, who were created by the Pelarans, sometimes also refer to them as ‘makers’ as a show of respect and affection. Perhaps it would be more accurate for those like me to be called ‘grandchildren of the makers,’ but I suppose that would be even more confusing,” he chuckled, clearly pleased with the turn of phrase.

  “In any event, the fact that your species shares a common genetic heritage with the Pelarans places Terra in a position of special significance. The Alliance makes offers of membership at a variety of levels, or ranks, if you will. Most new members are inducted as what we refer to as ‘Regional Partners.’ Only after several centuries of productive membership can they petition for full membership. As ‘Children of the Makers,’ however, Humanity will be offered full membership from day one.

  “And just what benefits does membership in the Pelaran Alliance provide? Again, I can’t possibly give this subject the time that it deserves, but I will begin by telling you that a great many of our member civilizations credit their decision to join the Alliance with their very survival. In fact, I believe most of our members would tell you without hesitation that the first and foremost benefit of membership is security.

  “To date, Terra has received only a small fraction of the technological data to which every member world is entitled. Once you do, I can assure you that Humanity will be more than capable of defending itself against any threat you are likely to encounter. In the event something unexpected occurs, your allies stand ready to come to your aid. Earth need not face a violent galaxy alone and, thanks to your status as a candidate member, has not done so for quite some time. There are many other benefits, of course — access to vast trade networks, the cultural riches of hundreds of worlds, and tremendous quality of life improvements, to name a few. For example, the average life expectancy for member species sharing your genetic heritage has now reached one hundred sixty-four years, well over fifty percent longer than yours is today. I realize that may sound like more of a curse than a blessing for a crowded homeworld, but Earth now stands ready to begin colonizing many worlds in this region of the galaxy. Although Humanity is already quite … uh … shall we say fruitful in terms of birth rates, adding significantly more productive, healthy years to your lifespan will prove a tremendous benefit.

  “I could go on for hours, but it’s now time for me to conclude our time together by addressing the ‘Why now?’ question I mentioned earlier. I realize that I will most likely anger a few of my friends in Terran Fleet Command by releasing some information that is not widely known outside their organization. Under the terms by which the Pelaran Alliance has granted technology to your world, however, it is within our prerogative to reveal certain details when we believe it is in either our, or your, best interests.” With that, the video feed switched to footage of TFS Ingenuity inside her berth at the Yucca Mountain Shipyard. The picture was carefully cropped to ensure that no other vessels, nor the scale of the shipyard facility itself, were evident within the field of view.

  “My friends, I wasn’t exaggerating when I mentioned the need to ensure Earth’s security — her need for a strong defense — her need for allies willing to come to her aid, when necessary. To illustrate, I believe by now that most of you are familiar with Terran Fleet Command’s first operational starship, TFS Ingenuity.” The camera started with a zoomed-out view of the frigate’s starboard side, then slowly zoomed in and panned the worst of her battle damage in detail. “What most of you probably do not know is that, only a few short months after her launch, Ingenuity has already been heavily damaged in a brutal, unprovoked attack. Regrettably, the damage you see here resulted in the first Terran Fleet Command personnel being lost in the line of duty.” The image now switched to an overhead view as a procession of Marines slowly carried three coffins draped with flags bearing TFC’s official seal down one of Ingenuity’s port gangways.

  There was a long pause, during which the haunting sounds of the Marine honor guard’s rhythmic steps, punctuated by an occasional command echoing across the vast shipyard, were all that could be heard. “On behalf of the Pelaran Alliance, I would like to express our deepest condolences for your losses. Those willing to put themselves in harm’s way to defend their fellow citizens deserve nothing less than our humble appreciation and sincere respect for their dedication and sacrifice. Truly, I wish I could tell you that your membership in the Alliance would mean the end of such sacrifice. Unfortunately, you need look no farther than your own history to know that such will never be the case. Indeed, the terrorists who attacked your vessel represent the most immediate threat, but they are only one of several potential enemies in this region of the galaxy. Terra’s somewhat remote location, in addition to my presence here, has provided a degree of protection for centuries. Unfortunately, as Earth’s neighbors have advanced, her relative isolation no longer provides the security your people deserve.” The video feed then returned to “Griffin’s” podium just in time to see him look off to the side for a moment — giving the impression that he was struggling to keep his emotions in check, or perhaps summoning the resolve to continue.

  “The answer to ‘Why now?’ is that the external threat posed by neighboring hostile civilizations has reached a point where I alone can no longer provide adequate protection for your world. One month ago, I intercepted and destroyed an attack force from a group of planets known as the Sajeth Collective. At the time, they were just minutes away from reaching a position where they would have been able to execute a devastating attack on Earth … and by ‘devastating’ I am referring to nothing less than Humanity’s extinction.” Griffin paused again to allow the gravity of his words to weigh heavily on his audience before continuing. “Even though there are seven civilizations in the Sajeth Collective, their military is dominated by a hyper-aggressive race known as the Wek. Just a few weeks later, it was they who ambushed TFS Ingenuity during her very first mission beyond the bounds of the Sol system. It was they who caused the senseless deaths of the three brave crewmembers you just witnessed arriving home for the last time. Indeed, had it not been for the skill and resourcefulness of Ingenuity’s captain and crew, they would surely have all been lost.

  “The answer to ‘Why now?’ is that, at this very moment, Terra lies under threat of an imminent attack from the Sajeth Collective — an attack that I do not believe I am capable of stopping without your help. I am fully aware that my appearing before you today for the first time bearing such dire news might give you the impression that I am some sort of an alarmist. You might even assume that my goal is to use fear to persuade you into joining the Pelaran Alliance. My friends, if that were my goal, I could have easily done so long ago. Indeed, I wish the situation were truly that simple. Ironically, I believe the Sajeth Collective has chosen to target you because it is they who are afraid. For one thing, they fear the dissolution of their fragile alliance for lack of resources — resources most easily acquired by taking them by force from neighboring star systems. They have cast a greedy eye towards your beautiful, blue world, believing that they now have the capability to eliminate me, then easily enslave or exterminate all of you before claiming Terra for themselves. Their greatest fear, however, is of what you may soon become. They have some knowledge of the Pelaran Alliance and understand that your membership will ensure that they will never again have the opportunity to simply take your world, or to threaten other less powerful, neighboring civilizations with the same.

  “The answer to “Why now?’ is that they, and indeed most of you, do not yet know what you have already become,” he said, increasing the power and confidence of his delivery with every word. “It has been nearly fifty years since your scientists first began detecting signals from space. I think most of you will agree that the data I have provided on behalf of the Pelaran Alliance has
literally transformed life on your world. Now, don’t misunderstand me here. Your civilization had already reached levels of technology that very few manage to achieve on their own, well before you received the first streams of data from the sky. Once they begin receiving our data streams, many of the worlds offered membership in the Alliance make tremendous progress within a short period of time. Your achievements, however, have reached a level that is, in many ways, unparalleled in the history of the Regional Partnership program.”

  Once again, the video stream changed to display images skillfully selected to support the ongoing narrative. Short clips recalling various Pelaran-derived technologies with which most Humans were now familiar filled the screen. These ranged from the prosaic — day-to-day images of advanced food production techniques and medical diagnostics equipment — to the truly mind-boggling — automated spacecraft providing virtually limitless raw materials from the asteroid belt and gigantic transports hovering effortlessly before whisking several thousand people at a time to the opposite side of the globe in a fraction of the time previously required. As the video progressed, the images changed more and more rapidly to further emphasize the staggering pace of technological progress Earth had experienced over the last five decades.

  “The answer to ‘Why now?’ my friends …” the Guardian said, pausing dramatically as the video feed returned to a view of TFS Ingenuity’s port side. The camera started at the level of the wharf, rising steadily above the top of her hull and expanding to include a view of TFS Theseus’ imposing side profile in the adjoining berth. “The answer is that your friends in the Pelaran Alliance have seen to it that you no longer have anything to fear from the Sajeth Collective, nor anyone else, for that matter.” The camera again increased in altitude, the image now expanding to reveal the five additional Theseus-class destroyers preparing for launch along with the massive scale of the shipyard facility itself. The on-screen image faded briefly to black, only to be replaced by the awe-inspiring perspective of a location just above TFS Navajo’s hull as her nearly kilometer-long bulk passed below, revealing the carrier Jutland in the background. Seconds later, twelve Hunter RPSV’s launched simultaneously from six of her eight massive flight elevators. The camera remained fixed for several additional seconds until all twelve Hunters transitioned to hyperspace in unison.

  “No, my friends. If we can continue to work together as trusted allies, it is they who have something to fear.”

  Chapter 9

  Hunter Formation “Nail 42,” Near the Neptunian Orbital Path

  (4.2 light hours from Earth)

  Had there been any Humans aboard either vessel in the two-ship RPSV formation, the tedium of C-Jumping from one target location to the next, then sitting motionless for over ten hours’ worth of sensor scans, would long since have exceeded their attention spans. The two spacecraft — collectively known as “Nail 42” flight — each had their own, individual call signs of “Nail 42” and “Nail 43.” Since the formation functioned as a single entity, however, it was referred to by the designation of the lead spacecraft.

  Twenty-four identical formations of Hunters, launched from the carrier Jutland, were now well into the fifth full day of their reconnaissance missions. Thus far, there had been no sign of the Resistance task force — just a few false alarms caused by anomalous sensor readings that had turned out to be nothing more than naturally occurring phenomena.

  With NRD-equipped surveillance drones and comm beacons now being deployed in ever-increasing numbers throughout the solar system, communications and reconnaissance coverage was steadily improving. At this point, practically any location inside the Kuiper belt, beginning just over four light hours from Sol, enjoyed something approaching real-time communications. Unfortunately, anything farther out was still plagued by the ever-present limitation imposed by the speed of light. The Oort Cloud, for example, stretched from 139 light hours out to approximately 1.6 light years from Sol — well over a third of the distance to Proxima Centauri. Even though still very much in the local stellar neighborhood, there was currently no practical way to communicate with vessels at such distances … short of deploying more beacons or sending another ship out to act as a relay. So it was that the mission profiles of each Hunter formation called for a C-Jump back to the nearest NRD network node after visiting each reconnaissance location. This resulted in a progress report being sent back to the Jutland roughly once every ten and a half hours.

  With its latest survey completed, “Nail 42” flight transitioned into normal space with two simultaneous flashes of light. Right on schedule, the two spacecraft established an NRD net connection using a nearby hyperspace comm beacon and immediately set about transmitting their latest reconnaissance data. It took the pair less than a minute to complete their data upload and then make the necessary preparations for the C-Jump to their next destination.

  Although a remarkable feat of engineering, the current version of the Hunter’s miniaturized C-Drive was based on the model used in Fleet’s newest generation of anti-ship missiles. Intended to deliver a missile’s deadly payload to the immediate vicinity of its target in a single, instantaneous bound, the capability to execute multiple, consecutive hyperspace transitions was not envisioned as a part of the drive’s original design requirements. As was the case with the much larger version of the C-Drive recently tested aboard TFS Ingenuity, the challenge was primarily one of power generation and handling. Accordingly, the Hunter’s onboard reactor had been upgraded and a small capacitor bank added to allow for relatively short C-Jumps of up to twenty-five light years. Unfortunately, even for shorter range jumps, the miniaturized version of the drive still required a brief “dwell time” before executing its next transition … meaning that an instantaneous “emergency C-Jump” was simply not possible. The delay was primarily a function of how much power was consumed during the previous and subsequent jumps. In a worst case scenario, for example, when two, twenty-five-light-year jumps were executed one after the other, a delay of approximately thirty minutes was required between transitions.

  Fortunately, the current reconnaissance mission in the immediate vicinity of the Sol system called for relatively short-range C-Jumps, each requiring only minimal dwell time before the Hunters were ready for their next transition. Now, with the data describing their thus far fruitless search transmitted back to the Jutland, the RPSVs banked gracefully in the direction of their next destination, accelerating rapidly before engaging their C-Drives and disappearing from normal space in two brief flashes of light.

  SCS Gunov, Pelaran Resistance Rally Point

  (3.3 light years from Earth)

  The ships of the Pelaran Resistance task force were not expecting an engagement with hostile forces at the location of their rally point. In fact, Sajeth Collective scouting vessels had been visiting the general area for several years without interference from the Guardian spacecraft. It was these missions that had ultimately produced a model of the Pelaran vessel’s data transmission activities, finally resolving its movements into something approaching a predictable pattern. So far at least, it did not appear that the Guardian considered the presence of vessels beyond the Sol system’s outermost planets to be much of a threat, if indeed it was even capable of detecting them at all. Based on the recent destruction of Admiral Naftur’s task force, however, it did now seem probable that the Pelarans had at least some capability of both detecting and tracking ships traveling extended distances in hyperspace.

  Expectations aside, Commodore Sarafi had not survived nearly two hundred years of military service by ignoring the tenets of force protection. His squadron was now comprised of twenty-eight warships, and the recent addition of four Keturah-class battlespace defense (BD) cruisers had been welcome indeed. The cruisers’ primary role was to rapidly detect and engage enemy ships, preferably before they had the opportunity to mount an effective attack. Accordingly, all four had begun the process of deploying the latest in perimeter surveillance drones immediately after their arriv
al.

  Sarafi smiled at the irony implicit in this, the first operational deployment of a Sajeth Collective weapon system based in part on Pelaran technology. With other cultivated species engaged in open warfare across neighboring regions of the galaxy, Pelaran-derived technologies were beginning to make their appearance within the military forces of other civilizations. Even though cultivated species did tend to enjoy overwhelming military superiority over their rivals, their ships were still captured or destroyed on occasion … resulting in a slow but steady “leak” of Pelaran technology. In addition, cultivated civilizations were always prime targets for espionage, regardless of whether your particular world considered them friend or foe. Once obtained by another species, the tech was quickly reverse-engineered and then either sold or integrated into new weapon systems within a surprisingly short period of time.

  “Defensive perimeter established, Commodore,” Sarafi’s communications officer reported. “We’re still showing a few gaps, but should have full coverage within the hour.”

  “And we have established real-time detection capabilities within the perimeter?”

  “Yes, sir. The detection zone extends just over one light hour in every direction. Once the screen is fully established, we can expect to receive a warning of any enemy activity inside the zone.”

  “With this configuration, how much warning will it provide?” Sarafi asked, arching his bushy eyebrows at the young comm officer.

  “Worst case, we should get an alert in just under ten minutes. That number improves if the activity occurs closer to one of the drones, of course.”