by Chris Hechtl
And he should have. They'd known from the courier that had survived the engagement in B-88r that the enemy had been in the south. But ONI had determined that those ships had been the same ones that had assaulted Garth from the south. No one had considered a separate force would go hunting so close to home.
Which meant he was going to catch hell for it. It wasn't fair; the emperor hadn't allowed him to reinforce Finagle or Garth. But fair apparently didn't play a part in the emperor's thinking.
"What do we do about this data? The recording of the enemy captain?" Malwin asked.
"My people are processing it now," the countess replied. "I've got the hot washes from Admiral Quartermain's staff as well. We'll see if we can make more heads or tails of it than his people could."
"All right, keep us posted," Theo replied with a nod.
-~~~///^\~~~-
The emperor was furious over the losses. He was even more furious that the news had already leaked to the public. The media was keeping a lid on it but the web knew. He stormed into the Admiralty and demanded to know what they were doing about the situation.
"Sir, if Admiral Quartermain hadn't been there, the losses would have been catastrophic," Malwin stated.
"I know that! Don't you think I don't? What I want to know is what happened to the picket and what you are doing about it now?"
"We don't know what happened to the original picket," Malwin said very carefully. He didn't want to get into the size of the picket. He made a mental note to check in to see if the emperor knew the size and if he could get away with possibly altering it to make it look bigger than it had been. "One of the cruisers is there now with the four damaged freighters. We're formulating a response now. We're going to send a salvage team as well as a squadron of cruisers to secure the star system."
The emperor stared at him, drumming his fingers on the table before he finally nodded.
"All right. I agree."
"We'd like to make it a larger force though given the size of the enemy's squadron," Admiral Post ventured. The emperor turned to contemplate him silently. "Finagle has no defenses either. If we could …"
"No. No, we're not going to take away anything from the defenses here. Nothing at all. Period. Let the lords who are supposed to be in charge of Finagle deal with that," the emperor stated. "Send along a couple of couriers too. I want to be kept regularly informed from now on about what is going on there."
"Yes, sire."
"Now, what sort of cruisers were you talking about?"
"We'd prefer to send battle cruisers to trump any sort of return of their heavy cruisers," Admiral Post said after glancing at Malwin and the others for support.
"And they just grow on trees?"
"No, sire. That's why we're trying to figure out where we can get them from. Barring that, a mixed squadron of battle cruisers and heavy cruisers. Possibly even one or more of the new CEVs. They might do well against the enemy cruisers."
The emperor nodded. "All right. Let's see what you have in mind and if I approve or not," he said, crossing his arms expectantly.
Lewis fought the urge to look at Malwin in dismay. Instead, he cleared his throat and took the plunge, pulling up the ship lists in the process. "Well …"
-~~~///^\~~~-
Catherine was instantly alarmed by the development when she got the full report. Things were moving faster than she'd expected. That meant she might have to speed up her timetable. She ordered her people to put more feelers out. They needed to work faster but quietly. She needed to make the right contacts under the right conditions to secure the help she was pretty sure was now desperately needed.
Elija Mashan was the next link in the chain. If he couldn't get her in touch with the Fire Daimyo, she'd have to find a way to eliminate him quietly and then find another way of having a private chat with the empire's “guest.”
-~~~///^\~~~-
Countess Newberry's naval intelligence analysts did their best to process the information. The identity of the attackers was never in doubt. What was causing a stir was the recording. They parsed it out, verifying the voice was a genuine organic one. Simulations software could do a lot to simulate an organic, but the probability was extremely high that an organic had been speaking. They even verified that it had been a Terran from a reconstruction of a simulation of the subject's vocal cords.
The countess was a bit testy at that news and the news that no one had gone further. "I realize you are doing an in-depth check, but can we hurry this along?" she demanded.
"We've verified that the person, most likely the enemy commander, was telling the truth."
She frowned. "So Mason is alive?"
"Most likely yes. The image files had viruses embedded in them however. We've stripped them out and reconstructed them, and we've verified him as well as other missing officers from our files. All with facial recognition. We can't confirm that it is some sort of trick though."
She grunted. "And the rest?"
"That we're still working on," the commander replied slowly. He turned to the others as they began to argue over it.
"Bek? I've never heard of it," the countess stated as she listened to their discussion. A star chart was on the screen off to one side of her. A list of star systems was there. They'd even considered BEK was an anagram or something and had checked for it. They had come up empty.
The majority of her people ended up discounting the intelligence despite the results of the voice stress analysis.
"For all we know, that could be an A.I. Yes, the sims say otherwise, and I say they are bullshit! We can simulate a person, making an artificial larynx, lungs, even how their dental structure, mouth, nasal cavities, head structure, and moisture affects things. They've got A.I. and are a lot better at this than we are!" Commander Berges growled. "It's obviously fake with Bek alone! And don't get me started on the battle moons reference. Building them takes a bit more than a couple of years from scratch!" He shook his head and turned to the countess. "Ma'am, in my professional opinion this is all propaganda designed to scare the piss out of the uninformed."
She cocked her head and looked at the scowls around the table. Finally she shrugged ever so slightly. "For some they wouldn't put anything past Irons at this point."
-~~~///^\~~~-
Elvira was trying to figure out why the inventory was off when she was informed by one of her staff that something had happened to the convoy that had been bringing the fresh supplies in.
"What?"
"The convoy, ma'am? The one that just came in from Finagle?" she nodded. "Only two-thirds of it got here. Four ships were left in Finagle. Three were destroyed."
She blinked. "Are you serious?" she demanded.
The ensign nodded; eyes wide. "You didn't know, ma'am?"
"I've been busy," Elvira said with a frown. "Where did you hear this?"
"It's not on the news. It's on the web if you look in the right places," the ensign said, squirming. "And you know, scuttlebutt."
Elvira nodded. "So, how did this happen?"
The ensign frowned. "According to … what I heard, they ran into an enemy cruiser squadron hunting in Finagle."
"In Finagle? Am I hearing you right? Finagle?" Elvira asked in alarm.
The ensign nodded. "Yes, ma'am. They are on our doorstep. What do we do?"
Elvira pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Well, first we don't spread wild rumors unless we've got confirmation, and we don't panic. I think we need to get a solid look into the inventory and look into ways to make our supplies stretch a bit more. And see what we can do about using replacement parts made here as temporary substitutes," she stated.
The ensign nodded.
Elvira determined that she'd get to the bottom of it when she talked to Catherine. But that would have to wait until they were together; she couldn't trust such a discussion over a vid link, even a scrambled one. "Get me that manifest again and highlight what's missing. We'll have to rob Peter to pay Paul where we can to make up the dif
ferences."
-~~~///^\~~~-
ONI had to replay the recording for the emperor and the Admiralty.
The emperor latched onto Bek right away, ignoring the news that his son might be alive. "So that's where they are getting their ships and crews from!" He said, eyes bright.
"Ah, sire, we haven't found a Bek in any database. There is no Bek in any copy of the Encyclopedia Galactica we've got. We believe it is misdirection, propaganda. For instance, the reference to battle moons?"
The emperor frowned thoughtfully. He glanced at his admirals and noted they were taking a healthy amount of skepticism to the recording. "So you all believe it is fake? Yet, your voice analysis says he is telling the truth? How do you resolve those two issues?"
"There is a qualifier; his conviction could substitute for truth, sir."
"Possible," Countess Newberry said with a nod of agreement. "Unfortunately, we have no way of confirming this. We have not found another reference."
"Then we need to scout. We need to find out more information."
"Yes, sire."
"We need another cruiser to head south."
"Sire? He never said where this Bek is!"
"No, but he didn't have to. It is somewhere, but I was thinking the cruiser can be set up like the one you dispatched with the plagues," the emperor stated.
Malwin frowned but then nodded once.
"You did send it, right?"
"Yes, sire. They are going to try to bypass Garth to avoid the enemy."
The emperor scowled.
"The idea is to avoid direct conflict and get behind their lines," Countess Newberry offered. "Like the Hawkwood flotilla."
The emperor nodded.
"That will take at least a year or more to get to where they can affect the Federation," she reminded him.
"So, we need more. We need to hit them and keep hitting them," the emperor stated.
"Yes, sire."
"Get on that cruiser mission. And look into resupplying Quartermain. He's obviously a good fighter since he drove the enemy off without any losses."
"We'll do that, sire. They will have trouble catching up to him though," Malwin warned.
"Figure it out," the emperor stated as he rose to his feet. The others rose instantly. "Quickly," he growled as he walked out.
-~~~///^\~~~-
The pirate lords were terrified when they got confirmation. Many began to panic, passing on rumors that they were trapped. The Herald Sakura Umeki had all she could do to remind them that the enemy had been forced out of Finagle. For the moment Finagle was safe.
"Yes, for now, but what of tomorrow?"
"We're sending a reinforced picket," Sakura stated patiently. "Finagle is secure. Admiral Quartermain has pushed the enemy out and will keep pushing south. There is no need to panic."
That worked with some of the lords, but others decided now was the time to get out while they still could. Another exodus followed.
Chapter 26
Jezebel was not happy about the news and even less happy about its destabilizing effect on the lords. Once she had a clear version of events, she confronted her son. "So, what are you doing about it?" she asked.
He frowned. "We're sending a reinforced picket. We're going to salvage the ships there or at least their cargos. Do you have anything to contribute to that?"
She cocked her head. "Have you played it from the other side?"
He blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Eventually they'll fall back to where they can make a stand. And they no doubt have one of their ansibles there. So, what do you think they'll do then?"
He frowned thoughtfully. "I think they'll try to kill Quartermain's force. Once they do that, they'll call up reinforcements. No, they'll call them up before that." He nodded. "They'll get them in motion right away."
"Most likely drawing them from …?"
"From secure star systems," he said, fighting to not roll his eyes. "They could easily slice off forces from Pyrax. We can't get in there to hit them, so they'll just make replacements," he said sourly.
"Exactly. And no doubt they'll make sure the reinforcements are strong enough to take on the next Quartermain or whatever you are planning on sending. So …?"
He sighed. "So, I need to send more. And damn it, we need to send defenses to Finagle if we're going to hold it and keep our pipeline open to Sigma sector."
She nodded sagely. "And?"
"And … I need to find a way to hit back. To win an offense," he said.
She nodded. "And you can play up Quartermain's encounter in Finagle as a win for our side. He did drive them off after all, and we're now back in possession of the star system."
He brightened. "Yes, that's right!" He smiled at her.
"But you need a good solid win to balance out whatever happens to him," she stated. "We need to get back on our feet, dear, soon. The sheep are scared."
He snorted. "Them I'm not afraid of."
She shook her head, expression mournful. "You should be. A shepherd or wolf can easily be trampled by enough sheep. Grass eaters can be just as dangerous as a predator. They are big and can dish out a lot of damage if you forget to respect their power and slip into underestimating them. They might not be as intelligent as the predator or shepherd is, but they have their own cunning."
"I'm more concerned about other predators lurking in the shadows," he stated.
"True. But if you discount the sheep totally, you'll be trampled and won't realize it until it's too late." She leveled a sobering look on him. "You'd be wise to remember that, son," she said firmly.
-~~~///^\~~~-
Irazebeth was another high-ranking royal who was dismayed by the attack and its implications. She did her part to sooth the pirate lords, but some were past the point of soothing. Some were starting to wonder how many of their families and counterparts had managed to escape to Sigma before those enemy cruisers had shown up.
It bothered her as well. It bothered her to the point where she started to consider some long-term insurance of her own. For the moment they held control of Finagle so the door to Sigma was open. She had kept Kevin and Khali in the capital under her watchful eyes as well as that of her family but perhaps she should send one or both of them away?
They could dress it up. Send them on a tour of the frontier. That way she could hedge her bets.
She just needed to sell the idea to Jezebel and Piotr. But she wasn't sure who to approach first.
Or, barring that she'd have to do something about Piotr and Catherine. It would be regrettable and painful, but it might be the only way to salvage the situation.
-~~~///^\~~~-
Mara huffed dutifully as the final, hopefully final, contraction hit. "Very good, dear," the doctor said as the room echoed with the scream of a newborn. Mara flopped back into the bed, momentarily spent.
"Clean that up and make sure the airway is clean. We'll deal with the afterbirth in a moment," the doctor said, looking at the baby. He turned to Doctor Nutell. "Another female as you wanted, Doctor. I thought this one would have multiple births?"
"I decided against it since she's our star pupil," the head of the facility and program stated.
"Well, this one turned out red but her skin tones are changing," the doctor observed. He nodded at the weight, six kilograms, four grams, not bad.
"Yes, I altered the melatonin genes of the epidermis to normal skin tones in previous generations. I also deleted the hair for easy maintenance," Doctor Nutell stated. "The same for the webbing. I reduced the amount of body fat since she won't be in the sea. This one is supposed to be half the size of the previous generation. I'm hoping to scale them down to just above dwarfism."
"Ah."
"It's really just a side experiment. I added genes to speed up her growth rate. We'll see how this one pans out," Doctor Nutell stated as he observed the baby. He checked Mara's vital signs and then nodded. "Make sure she's properly hydrated and cleaned up. She has class tomorrow."
&nbs
p; "She doesn't bond with the child?"
"No, my heavens, no! No, her duty is to the empire; she knows that," the doctor said with a passing nod to Mara. "She'll be fine. Label this one gen 3.5.1 and make sure you fit her with the new tracking labels with the Wi-Fi vital signs. I want to keep an eye on this one."
"Yes, Doctor," a nurse murmured.
"Oops, afterbirth," the OB/GYN stated, turning back to assist his patient one last time.
Mara bit her lip slightly at how they treated her and her child but refused to object.
-~~~///^\~~~-
The emperor insisted on a meeting off their usual weekly schedule. The Admiralty of course scrambled to obey, cursing under their breath the entire time. They met in the palace where the emperor laid out his plan to go on the offense.
"We've been discussing this to death. Now we need to make it happen. And after some careful consideration, I thought of the perfect time to strike them."
"Sire?"
"Remember Federation day? If we hit them with a hard offensive, they'll be off guard, and we'll have the edge. A strike on Federation Day will mean they will be at their weakest! Their crews will be on liberty; their skeleton watches will be undermanned and also drunk …"
Malwin frowned thoughtfully. It was an interesting plan, and the emperor was right. But there was a major concern.
"Sir, the timing involved …"
"Don't give me that! We can time it if we try!"
Countess Newberry winced. Theo frowned and then took a turn at trying to explain their misgivings. "Sire, if they run into anything, a grav wake, a hiccup in a ship, anything, sire, it could throw off the timing."
"If it does, they hit them when they are hung over. Or they might even be light on personnel!" The emperor's eyes lit. "Yes! They could have their people on shuttles to the planet to enjoy the festivities! We might still catch them in that window before they return to their ships!"
