Blockade

by Chris Hechtl

  But some things he couldn't and wouldn't tolerate. They'd all failed him. They had to go. He just needed to be patient and careful on how he arranged it.

  His eyes cut to the Shinobi. "Fine, we'll limit things to him and possibly his staff. I'll make an example of him so clear the rest will have to stop playing turtle and act."

  She nodded. "Fear is a good motivator if properly applied. I'll arrange for Catherine to be delayed. A creative scheduling conflict and some disinformation should keep her away. That way there are no … unfortunate issues with your heir."

  "Her!" He scowled again.

  "She is your heir, dear, and you require one. If you do not have one, you are a bigger target and a bigger fool than I raised you to be," she said.

  He started to open his mouth to protest but her level look made him pause and close it.

  "There, that's better," she said, adjusting her skirt hem slightly. "Catherine is currently your best heir of the crop though young Khali is coming along as quite the little schemer," she said.

  Piotr stared at her.

  "Kevin I'm afraid is a bit of a dud. If you want to talk about turtling, there is a prime example."

  He frowned thoughtfully. Trust his mother to take the long view. He did indeed need to be careful. Apparently, his own mother might decide to take him out and put someone else on the throne, someone she could better manipulate and control.

  An insane urge to do something permanent about that threat swelled within him but burst when he looked at her again. He knew she could see right through him. He also knew that if he did something that stupid, he would lose his greatest ally.

  "Fine," he said in a not quite neutral tone. He colored ever so slightly at the subtle look of rebuke from her over the sulk in his single word.

  "When she gives you hell, and I believe she will given her history with Cyrano and her Ramichov temper, keep it civil. She needs her hand as a learning experience, slapped not cut off," his mother said as she rose. She gave him a peck on the cheek and then departed.

  He watched her go, eyes smoldering. "No promises," he muttered.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Four days later Executioner arrived at the central yard and was formally handed off to the yard. Admiral De Gaulte and his staff took copies of all of their tactical and sensory data, along with their reports and hopped a shuttle to the Admiralty.

  Admiral De Gaulte was grateful that the initial meeting with the Admiralty would be closed doors without the emperor present. He settled down and worked through his dog and pony show, laying out what had happened.

  Malwin listened and took notes. Occasionally, he glanced at the others. The mood was somber and serious. He wondered if Cyrano thought they were trying to shield him. The man should know better. Most likely the emperor wouldn't even bother with a public trial. Given the emperor's temperamental mood, they needed to therefore squeeze as much insight as they could out of Cyrano. He was looking for everything from the enemy's possible thought patterns and reactions to how their own forces had stacked up against them.

  From what he was hearing, their own forces hadn't stacked up very well. Even when they had the edge in numbers, it was still brutal.

  After their second break, he was appalled when the emperor arrived. They all hastily rose to their feet. Cyrano's eyes were sad and somber, but he bowed deeply to his liege lord.

  Two guards dressed in tactical black were with the emperor. That alone spelled bad news to Malwin. He could tell the others around the table were nervous.

  Once the emperor was seated, he motioned for Cyrano to continue.

  "You retreated to Garth. Did you consider spoiler raids?" Lewis asked.

  "I did then and when I retreated from Garth. I disregarded them."

  "Why?"

  Cyrano cleared his throat. "For multiple reasons." When it was clear his audience wanted to hear them, he shrugged and continued, hoping they'd be receptive to his reasoning. "First, my carrier force took the brunt of the combat. I needed them to defend my ships. Had I tried a raid I would have needed some of those fighters to go as well. Second, any attack force I sent would be going in blind against a superior force, both in quality and quantity. With my limited ammunition supply, any attempt to generate hits upon targets at extreme range would have been futile. The enemy's defenses are just too good."

  Lewis nodded and made a note. "Continue."

  "Also, the enemy's speed advantage could be used against us. They have proven they can outrun us in hyperspace. Had I launched a counterattack, they could then be waiting for me when I fell back. I'd jump in to either star system blind and with less weapons than I started with."

  Lewis nodded. "What if you'd split your force? Draw them into a trap of your own making?"

  Cyrano nodded. "I considered that as well and rejected it due to defeat in detail and the inability to coordinate both forces over the distances and timing involved."

  Lewis made another note.

  "In conclusion, the enemy now has a distinctive qualitive and quantitive edge over us. They had better ships and more weapons. Better tactics," Cyrano said with a shake of his head. "The use of carriers to counter our battle line is a natural one. They can attrition carrier forces and resupply them faster than we can. The shock value of their use of antimatter cannot be understated."

  There was a long silent moment as they digested that.

  "We did what we could with what we had. It wasn't enough," Cyrano said heavily, shoulders slumping.

  "But, you survived," the emperor accused.

  All eyes fell on the emperor.

  Cyrano nodded, forcing himself to face his emperor squarely. "Yes, sire. Executioner was the last capital ship …"

  "I'm not interested in excuses," the emperor stated, making a flicking motion with the fingers of his right hand.

  The emperor's Shinobi executed Cyrano by using a molecular wire to garrote him and cut his head off. Piotr pushed the head contemptuously off and onto the table. Blood was supposed to cauterize but didn't, instead it fountained and sprayed, splattering them all.

  The officers around the table flinched as blood splatter hit them. For some it wasn't the first time; they'd all flirted with dark urges over the years. But this was the first time they'd had a colleague casually killed right before their eyes.

  Only iron control allowed Malwin to not double over and throw up as the nausea hit him. He tried to breathe through his mouth but then tasted the salty blood. Lewis lacked that control and turned and gagged. Countess Newberry took out a tissue and coughed into it delicately.

  The emperor flicked blood away with a sniff of disdain. "Well! It goes to show, not everything works as advertised. Including this," he said. "Make sure someone looks into why that didn't cauterize the wound, all right?" he asked mildly. He took back a linen handkerchief and wiped at his face and hands. "Now then ladies, gentlemen, where were we? I believe we have a mess on our hands. It's time you find a way to fix it," he said, staring at each of them in turn.

  Malwin wasn't the only one appalled that the emperor made them continue to speak and work with blood splattered as a reminder of the cost of failure. The gory body was a sick reminder that they were all at death's door.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  The Horathian Admiralty gathered in a random conference room a short time after the emperor had left. Their staff was appalled by what had happened. A pair of staffers gagged as they went in to deal with the body.

  Wet naps and towels were handed out to them to wipe the half dried blood off of them. The emperor had forced them to remain in the room while they finished the meeting.

  "I need a shower," Countess Newberry said, holding her arms away from her body. She spat on a towel and then wiped at her face. Her hair was matted from the blood.

  "We all do," Malwin said as he stripped off his jacket. To hell with it, he was going to go find a room and get a shower and fresh change of clothes. The smell alone was distracting. "The man is insane. In freaking san
e."

  "Certifiable," the countess said in agreement, surprising him.

  "Something has to be done," Lewis chimed in.

  The countess turned to him and shook her head. "You want to be the one next on his chopping block?"

  "I'm more concerned with the civil war we'd unleash if someone did take him out. We need to remain united if we're going to have any chance of getting through the Federation siege."

  "Blockade. It's only a partial one; we can't go through Garth. They haven't laid us under siege."

  "You mean they haven't yet. Trust me, it's coming."

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Berney was waiting for his time in the hot seat when a black shadow approached him. He turned away, not willing to acknowledge whoever was there for the moment. His distraction cost him dearly as the Shinobi used a punch dagger to sever his spinal cord, killing him.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  The war minister's family held an emergency family meeting to discuss the situation. Every captain had been executed. Every staff member including the admiral's steward had been executed. It was a brutal message to all and of great concern to the family.

  Not just their family, but also the other families. "We have to give the emperor what he wants, no matter the cost," Theo's wife said. Her family had been cowed by the report of the executions.

  "For the moment he's in his rights. He might even ask for my head," Theo stated. "How far are we willing to go to bend over backwards?" he asked, looking at the others. No one responded.

  "Yeah, I thought as much," he sighed.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Catherine had been stuck on a shuttle most of the day. The shuttle had reportedly had a fuel issue so they'd taken the long way to the Admiralty. She was pretty sure she'd hear about Cyrano's debrief when she was teased about her long commute.

  She was still fuming when she stepped off the shuttle. Elvira was there to meet her. The other woman looked horrible though. "What's wrong?" she whispered as her security detail formed a perimeter around them.

  "De Gaulte was executed during the debrief. It was awful. I saw the video," Elvira said, shaking a little. "Admiral Cartwright asked me to sit in by video to get an early start …," she felt Catherine wrap her in her arms and then her tears fell. "There was so much blood," she gasped out, fighting the sobs.

  Catherine felt her own tears prick her eyes. They were in mourning, yes, but also rage and anger. Cyrano had been her mentor. She knew she couldn't save him, but she would have liked to have at least said good bye. Now she'd never get that chance.

  She now understood why her shuttle had been mysteriously delayed. It made sense.

  "Come on," she said heavily. "I think we'll find somewhere less public and get cleaned up," she said, offering Elvira a tissue. Elvira took it and dabbed at her eyes and nose. "I'm sorry you had to see that," she said, vowing silently that there would be a reckoning.

  She had to protest; she knew she had to or her father and more importantly her grandmother would be suspicious. She just needed to find a way to do it without tipping her hand and letting her temper get the better of her.

  As they walked arm and arm, she felt Elvira's hand tentatively slip into hers. She gave it a squeeze and the other woman a half-smile. For a brief moment, their small world was all right, and she was fine with that.

  But only for the moment.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Catherine had an icy confrontation with her father at the Admiralty the following day. She made sure they were alone when they had their talk though. He looked at her and then shook his head. "Don't look at me like that. He had to go. He screwed up too often."

  She crossed her arms. "I know that. I knew he was in for the long drop. So did he. He was loyal anyway to someone who didn't deserve it. Someone who left him to die out on the end of the tree limb without adequate support."

  Her father's nostrils flared at that reminder. "So you and the cowards in the Admiralty wanted to protect him?"

  "No!" she shook her head angrily. "Whatever happened, he got caught up in the works. I was there for a part of it, remember? He was also the only one of our people with extensive experience on fighting the enemy. I and the others at the Admiralty wanted to tap into that knowledge of the enemy, to get as much out of him as possible before you did what you did." She bit back the statement that he'd acted in haste without thought. That part was obvious to anyone.

  His eyes narrowed. "Don't question my decisions. Ever."

  He stared at her for a long drawn-out moment. Finally, she nodded once. "What is done is done," she said. "We need to move on and focus on where we go from here."

  "Exactly. To do that I needed to clear the deck."

  She bit out a retort. She might be willing to move on, but it didn't seem to appear he did.

  "I want to clear the slate entirely, start with a fresh cabinet, but your grandmother didn't approve. So, I limited myself to that one act to spur them to action."

  "It definitely made an impact," she replied dryly as she turned and departed.

  Chapter 19

  Malwin finished checking the reports on the Retribution Fleet disbandment. Each of the ships was being serviced; once that was done, they would be folded back into Home Fleet. Executioner would be in the yards’ hands for months. The yards were already saturated, a few ships would have to wait for their turn or be given only a light refit before being returned to active duty.

  It didn't help that every captain had been executed. That sort of chaos he didn't need nor the loss of their priceless knowledge. The emperor had gone too far there, but no one was brave enough to call him out on it.

  Many of the crew were being treated for battle exhaustion and depression. Some were certified unfit for combat. He signed off on their retirement without a word. He could do that much for them at least.

  Cyrano had done something right by leaving a rear guard. He was working on sending small ships, nothing bigger than a destroyer to reinforce them. If he could swing it, he wanted to send another force to H002 as well. If they spread themselves wide at each jump point, they might be able to catch something. They'd also have a higher chance of survival and of getting the word out if a big enough force to chase them out arrived.

  He was surprised when he received a message from the emperor. He scanned it with only a little dread but then sat back in surprise. Apparently, the emperor wanted to use the water dwellers on the raids.

  He frowned thoughtfully and then did some digging. They could use a few water dwellers, a half dozen easily. He didn't like the emperor's second part of his plan, a deep raid skipping Garth to get behind the enemy lines to attack the Federation with bioweapons from the plague project.

  The odds of their survival were small. The odds of the Empire even knowing whether or not they got far were also small.

  But it was possible. They'd have to find the right ship, but he could see some value in it, especially given that the enemy's forces were so diverse. In fact, if they hit Garth or Dead Drop, they might catch invasion forces on the ground exposed. The plagues would definitely cause havoc with them, quite possibly helping their forces on the ground.

  He nodded and then called Lewis in to discuss the new plan as he pulled up the war book to find the right ship for them. "Someone better put the coffee on, we're going to be burning the midnight oil again tonight."

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Sydney Knowles, Viscount of Telemark, nodded to three of the other lords as they joined him. Count Jason McAllen was the head of the Naval Affairs Committee. Bree Stuart was another junior lord as was Evin Frost.

  As expected, Jason took charge of the meeting even though Sydney had called it. "Thank you for coming," Jason said with a nod to them as they each took a seat. "We've got a few problems we need to work on."

  "I'll say we do. The entire star system is tearing itself apart! And we have only one family to blame!" Bree snarled.

  Sydney wasn't the only one to rear back in surprise at her veh
emence. She was definitely pissed. She was also the reason they'd left Theodore Varbossa out of it. With the Varbossa clan tied to the princess, Theo couldn't be trusted.

  "The raids might hold them off …," Evin started to say but Bree cut him off as she rounded on him.

  "In your frackin’ dreams!" she growled. "Raids don't win a war! And we can't penetrate deep enough to do a damn, and, and, it'll take months to get to their destinations. Possibly longer!

  "Meanwhile, we'll have the Feds beating down our door before that," Sydney said.

  "Exactly," Bree said.

  "That's not the only thing we've got going on. Some of the minor lords have let sick-outs start up. It's getting out of hand," Jason complained. "We need to all come together, now more than ever."

  "We're all united just not behind one family, not anymore. Not when they have a psycho ready to ride everything down in flames with us along with him," Bree growled.

  "I think we should get the old guard involved. Call them up. Aren't there some great leaders and warriors in there? Maybe some tech left in the catacombs we can use?" Evin suggested slyly.

  "If they weren't scrapped or stolen by some tomb raider," Sydney said.

  Jason rubbed his chin. "That, I believe is an interesting idea, one we can explore. We'll need to get clearances though; the tombs and catacombs are automated."

  "Then get them. But we need to do more than grasp at straws and hope ancient old farts in stasis pods or whatever can help us," Bree growled. "We're in a real pickle, and we're about to get squeezed."

  Even and Sydney nodded.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Jezebel frowned as she read the latest spy report. McAllen was a natural magnet for people to rally around so her spies watched him closely. They hadn't been able to get a bug into the room, but they'd gotten enough knowledge from one of McAllen's staffers to know they were focused on the ancient guard.