by Dietmar Wehr
The retaliatory strike force from Marduk arrived four days after Trask returned from Amaterasu. Six battleships plus the repaired Heavy Cruiser Paladin. The Admiral in charge, (newly promoted) Vice-Admiral Saville, requested the two captured ships manned by Marduk crews plus two more ships with Tanith crews be added to the strike force. Trask explained to him that if he did that, he’d only have two manned ships left to enforce the ambush and he wasn’t prepared to do that. Saville could have Boake and his Star Knight plus the two ships manned by Marduk crews but with the firm understanding, that all three ships would return to Tanith as soon as Xochtil was secured. All ten ships left 24 hours later for Xochtil.
The test of the first missile boat was a success. A day later, a pinnace arrived from Beowulf, with news that after examining the technical data on the missile boat project, Beowulf had decided to restart work on a dormant project to design a longer ranged, anti-ship missile, with the intention of making it compable with use by missile boats. They promised to share the missile design with Tanith when it was ready. That was good news. The latest news from Amaterasu was good as well. Using funds from the sale of captured ship loot that, Trask had taken with him to Amaterasu, Harkaman had arranged for the ultrasonic survey of the plateau and was in the process of chosing a Project Manager for site preparation. Work had already begun on Amaterasu’s first missile boat. Estimated completion time was 15 weeks which sounded about right to Trask. That simplified the shipyard versus 3rd missile boat dilemma. The third boat would be completed on Amaterasu. Things were starting to look up. Now if only Viktor’s fleet didn’t show up earlier than expected.
Chapter XIII
Prince Viktor walked over to the windows on one side of his huge office and looked out over his ‘domain’. The city next to the Viking Base had changed a lot over the 15 years that Viktor had ruled the planet. Xochtil’s population was still a tiny fraction of the billions that Excalibur or Marduk had and that was the problem. He had just finished reading Kraggor’s written report of the battle at Marduk. The news that nine other ships had been destroyed was bad but not nearly as bad as the compelling evidence from Black Hawk’s radar detectors, that Marduk had what had to be captured Viking ships. Viktor agreed with Kraggor’s conclusion that the only place where multiple Viking ships could be captured, was Tanith. The irony that Trask was actually doing what Viktor had intended to make it look like he was doing, didn’t escape Viktor’s awareness.
Viktor’s carefully thought out plan to eliminate the other Viking bases and make it look like Trask’s ships had attacked them, while Viktor expanded his own fleet with a few captured Viking ships, with the intention of then building a Space Viking Empire of not just raided but conquered planets, was now in ruins. The key to the whole plan had been the devastation of Marduk. The other Viking ships had joined the attack with dreams of almost unlimited looting potential but Viktor had more than that in mind. Marduk, if left alone, would eventually learn the location of the Viking base on Xochtil, if it didn’t already and therefore it was just a matter of time before Marduk plus maybe Tanith as well, sent a fleet of ships to destroy Viktor’s Base. If the attack on Marduk had succeeded, Kraggor had orders to blast Marduk back into the Stone Age or as close to it as possible, in order to eliminate any potential for a counter-attack. Now Marduk was even more of a threat than before, with its captured Viking ships to beef up its fleet. A reprisal fleet might even be on its way to Xochtil right now! If so, Viktor doubted that his three ships plus the usual 3 or 4 Viking ships, that likely would be present, when the reprisal fleet arrived, would be enough to fight them off even if the attackers were outnumbered. What Kraggor’s report clearly showed was that the Xochtil attacking force’s lack of discipline and fleet combat experience was as much to blame for its near total destruction as its numerical inferiority.
The Base on Xochtil was clearly vulnerable now and the only option Viktor could see was to abandon Xochtil and set up operations somewhere else but where? That was the big imponderable. He had chosen Xochtil because of its small and therefore easily controlled population plus its strategic location on the periphery of the Old Federation plus its abundant local mineral resources including fissionables AND gandolinium! There were other similar planets, like Skathi, which used to have a Viking base a hundred years ago but Viktor’s dreams included more than being a big fish in a little pond, constantly squabbling and dickering with Space Viking Captains over the cost of repairs and the value of loot. He wanted to be the King of a multi-planet empire with his cousin King Konrad of Haulteclere paying tribute to HIM and not the other way around. Now that he was on Marduk’s radar screen, he needed a power base that could stand toe to toe with Marduk or any other Civilized World. In order to do that, he needed to control a planet that had a decent level of population. 100 million at least, with a technology base that was above the level of gunpowder and sailing ships but also one that could be conquered AND controlled with the resources that Viktor had at his disposal. His robotic ‘secretary’ announced a visitor.
“Captain Kraggor to see Your Highness.” Viktor’s response was immediate.
“Send him in.” He had sent Kraggor on an errand to search the Base’s database on raided planets to see if a suitable new home could be found. If Kraggor was back this quickly, then he must have found something. Kraggor entered with a big grin on his face. Before Viktor could say anything, Kraggor said,
“I believe I’ve found the perfect planet to relocate to, Your Highness.”
“Excellent! Let’s see what you’ve found.” Kraggor inserted a datachip into the computer built into Viktor’s desk and a planetary profile appeared on the large screen on the opposite wall.
“Loki?” asked Viktor with puzzlement.
“Yes, Your Highness. Loki has a lot of favorable characteristics. First of all, it’s only 233 light years away, so moving there can be done in a relatively short period of time. Its population, based on local sources, is almost 150 million. That population is scattered over 11 large islands. Loki doesn’t have any continents as such. Each island is large enough that its inhabitants think of themselves as a sovereign nation so you have 11 small nations squabbling with each other and because of their diverse geographic locations, they’ve never been able to agree to set up a single, planet-wide government. That’s why they haven’t been able to effectively resist Viking raids even though their technology level includes combustion engines, radio, etc. Each island gets raided an average of once every three or four years.” He paused to see if Viktor had any questions.
“That’s all very interesting, Captain but how am I going to impose my will on 11 separate islands with just three ships?” Kraggor smiled. He had anticipated that question and had an answer ready.
“As it happens, Your Highness, I had an interesting chat with one of the officers of the last ship to raid Loki, three months ago. He told me that his ship had raided a particular island, whose name I don’t remember, where the inhabitants had decided to offer no resistance in order to minimize collateral damage. This allowed the ship’s officers the opportunity to meet with local government officials. One of them told this officer that the people of Loki were so fed up with Viking raids, that he thought they would rather accept the authority of a planetary, Space Viking Monarch if that meant an end to Viking raids. Therefore if you were to go to Loki with your fleet of ships and offer them protection from future raids if they acknowledge your authority as King of Loki, I think there’s a good chance that most of the islands would accept right away with the rest following later once they see the benefits of accepting your offer.” Viktor said nothing right away. He continued to look at the profile with his arms crossed. Finally he said,
“A population that willingly accepts my authority would be ideal but I have doubts that three ships would be enough. For one thing, it might generate doubts that I have the ability to protect Loki from other Vikings.” Kraggor had an answer for that too.
“Well…if your Highness arrived
with a fleet of a dozen ships, the others being Space Viking ships that have agreed to take your orders, that would certainly put to rest any doubts about the ability to protect the planet.” Viktor looked dubious.
“And these other nine ship captains would follow my orders because….?”
“Because the officers and crews of those ships would be given land grants and each Captain can be put in charge of an island with some suitably impressive title like Viceroy or some such.” Viktor nodded.
“That…just…might…work. What about the planet’s resources?” Kraggor frowned.
“Ah, that’s the one negative of the whole thing. Records from before the collapse of the Old Federation show that Loki used to export gandolinium. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there are no known fissionable deposits on Loki, which explains why they never advanced to nuclear power technology. However…those same old records also show that there’s a moon orbiting a gas giant in that system, which used to have fissionable mines on it. Those could be reopened. Not the best solution but doable.”Viktor nodded again.
“I agree on both counts. It definitely isn’t the best solution but yes…it is doable, especially if you have lots of local labor to work with. Did you find any other planet that came a close second?”
“No, Your Highness. Of all the planets I looked at, which are within 800 light years, Loki is the best by far. There are others with large populations but with lower technology and still others with the same level of technology but much smaller populations. Given the parameters that you ordered me to hunt for, Loki is the only one that comes close to perfection.” Viktor remained silent for about a minute.
“Alright then…Loki it is. I’ll meet with all my Division Leaders in the morning. There’s a lot of planning that has to be done quickly. Between now and then, I’ll meet with the Captains of the ships that are visiting now and I’ll ask them if they’d like to become the new Aristocracy of a new empire that will rise up from the ashes of the Old Federation. There is one other thing however. I want you to arrange to send pinnaces to the other Bases with a message, which I’ll record, warning them that Tanith, in concert with Marduk, is raiding Space Viking bases and then setting ambushes to capture incoming ships. If any ship wants to join a punitive expedition, against Tanith AND Marduk, they should come to the rendezvous point, which will be Loki. I’ll also be warning them to be on the lookout for Captain Estherson’s Damnthing. I think he’s decided to help Trask and I don’t want him spying for Trask and discovering that we’re moving to Loki.”
“I’ll make all the necessary arrangements, Your Highness. May I ask how many ships you’re hoping to gather together for this punitive mission?” Viktor grinned.
“Oh this time, we’re going to do it right! I underestimated the level of defense strength based on what Estherson told me! He may not have known about the captured ships but I won’t make that mistake again. This raid will not take place until we have at least…30 ships. Let’s see Prince Lucas and that Prince-Protector friend of his handle that!”
The fleet slid into orbit around Loki with a precision that was very uncharacteristic of Space Vikings but which Viktor insisted on. It wasn’t long before ground-based microwave beams detected them. Viktor waited. He wasn’t in a hurry. This wasn’t a raid. It was something much more important. The locals had to be in the right frame of mind when he contacted them and for the time being, he was content to spend a few hours orbiting the planet with absolute invulnerability. After about an hour, his ship started receiving radio messages asking for their identity, their intentions. His ten ships glided on in terrifying silence. When the messages became more frantic, he ordered his communications technician to reply that all of the inhabitants of Loki were to stand by for a world-wide transmission in twelve hours time and no further communication would be tolerated prior to that point.
At the appointed time, Viktor appeared on his ship’s Bridge, decked out in his most impressive uniform and stood behind the Command Station. When the video image of him was to his liking, he nodded to the Comm. Tech who flipped a switch and nodded back to him.
“Citizens of Loki. I am Prince Viktor Romanoff, of the Sword World Haulteclere and I lead a Space Viking Fleet. Your planet, in spite of your best efforts, has been the victim of repeated Space Viking raids for centuries. I’m sure you’re wondering if my ships are here to engage in another raid. That is definitely one possibility but not the only one. Yes you have something I want but I would prefer to get it from you willingly and I’m willing to offer something in exchange. I want a world that will become the Capital of a new and prosperous, multi-planet Empire. An empire, that will rise up out of the ashes of the Old Federation. Loki could be that Capital. What I can offer you is advanced technology that will make your cities like the legendary cities of Old Terra at the height of her glory. Naturally this will not happen overnight but it WILL happen. I can also offer you something that you have not had for centuries and that is protection from Space Viking raids. My fleet will stay here and no Space Viking ship will dare raid your cities again! There is only one thing that I ask in return and that is that you acknowledge me as your Sovereign Lord and King. I promise that I will rule with a light but firm hand. Those island nations, that accept my offer quickly, will continue to have a high degree of local autonomy. Those nations that wait too long to accept or refuse my offer, will find that they will be brought into the new Empire by force and under less generous conditions. This offer is not subject to negotiations nor will it be clarified. You now have all the information that I’m prepared to give you, to make up your minds. Your governments can transmit their acceptance on this frequency. Join me in this Grand Adventure and future generations will thank you for it! I await your answer!”
Prince-Protector Simon leaned back in his comfortable chair and pondered the contents of the report, he just finished reading, from his Navy’s Bureau of Engineering and Supply, on the missile boat technical data, that had arrived from Tanith almost ten days ago. Their evaluation had taken longer than expected and their conclusion was typical of the bureaucratic ‘not invented here’ mentality. They recommended that Marduk not build any missile boats because it was an ‘untried concept not supported by actual combat results’. And as for the longer ranged, anti-ship missile project, the same report argued against it because it would be too big for the navy’s standard cruisers and battleships to be able to transfer from missile storage to launch tubes! How the writers of the report could miss or deliberately ignore the obvious solution, which was to design missile boats that could handle the larger missile, was beyond Simon’s comprehension. Lucas’ recorded messages made it clear that Tanith was no longer going to build battleships as their primary weapon of choice. Their existing battleships would be used to transport missile boats and would be eventually replaced by larger, specially designed carriers. Lucas had often expressed the wish that Tanith had the same population level as Marduk because of the economic clout that would generate but the downside of a large population, was the bureauocracy that inevitably came along with it. Lucas could order missile boats built and work would begin immediately. If Simon tried to do that same thing, actual construction would not begin for weeks maybe even months until all the required paperwork was done, reviewed, critiqued, rewritten, reviewed again, etc.
And even though Simon believed that Harkaman was correct in predicting another, even bigger attack on Marduk after also attacking Tanith, he wasn’t able to get the paperpushers to feel that same sense of urgency. Some of his subordinates had even flatly refused to believe that Lucas would sacrifice his one and only city on Tanith in order to ensure that Marduk had a fighting chance of beating off the coming Viking Tsunami. Simon belived it because he knew Lucas and understood the strategic aspects of the problem, that made the sacrifice necessary. Whatever the outcome of this next Viking threat, the longer term threat posed by Space Vikings, would still be there and Marduk needed all the advantages it could find, to fight that lo
ng term war. Simon made a decision and thought about the wording of the recording that he was about to make, to disseminate that decision. Actual construction of missile boats could be allowed to wait because the Malverton shipyard restoration wasn’t finished yet but the longer range, missile boat compatible, missile project WOULD go ahead and Simon would make sure that those responsible for it knew that heads would roll if the project wasn’t completed as expeditiously as possible. With a little luck, Lucas and his ships would arrive from Tanith to find a few hundred of the longer range missiles waiting to be used in his missile boats. He just hoped that they would have enough time to actually load the new missiles before the next wave of Viking ships arrived. Simon told his desk computer to start recording and began to speak.
