by David Buck
Garendestat made a quiet comment as he turned to go.
‘Sir, we should really wait until the proper engineers are back with us, a botched repair of this type of job would be lethal. Even if we could speak with Lieutenant Damofestat in the hyper drive module, we could adequately prepare the equipment we need for repairs.’
Captain Narindestat fixed his son with a cool look as he replied.
‘Yes lieutenant and son, thank you for telling me something I needed to know. I am aware of Damofestat’s solid background in engineering. I will talk to the lieutenant as you two look at the spares.’
The two younger Traders ignored the break in command protocol offered by the captain saying ‘lieutenant and son’ and left the service way next to the aero spike engine at a fast clip. The captain thought frantically about how they were going to get over this specific problem as he hurried to the ship’s bridge.
***
Omerio was walking along the side corridor to the bridge of the Barus flagship, when a crew member further down the corridor excitedly pointed out a nearby window.
‘The Cephrit are breaking orbit. The unnamed ones must be returning to their star bases.’
Omerio looked out of the window and paused in his stride, as he observed the Cephrit fleet slowly move away from the Deltas Vass ships still in orbit. The crew member guiding him also paused for a moment before speaking.
‘This way Commander, the admiral does not like to be kept waiting.’
Omerio resumed his stride towards the bridge of the cruiser he could have found blind folded as he coolly replied.
‘Thank you but I no longer hold my rank in the Barus Fleet.’
In moments the two Barus were in the meeting room behind the bridge and Admiral Baredio looked up from his desk to dismiss the crew member.
‘Thank you ensign and you may now go.’
The ensign sketched a text book salute and withdrew quickly after closing the door. Omerio surveyed the familiar room with the expensive currulden wood desk and the two large arm chairs in front of the desk. Admiral Baredio turned his attention back to Omerio and paused for a moment to appraise his nephew. He then stood up and walked over to rest his huge hand on Omerio’s shoulder for a moment, before he steered Omerio into one armchair and took a seat himself in the second armchair.
‘Nephew, just what have you got my fleet into this time. A nice job by the way for you to get free of those frigates and return back to us with that explosive report of yours. However you have done me no favours by reporting to the Cephrit first.’
Omerio looked at his uncle for a moment, and considered what he wanted to accomplish versus the innate brusqueness of the Barus who had raised him as a son after his parents died. He quickly decided to play it official and straight down the middle, and he had no doubt about what he would say.
‘Admiral, we cannot immediately respond to the Tilmud, as the Cephrit are directly affected and have to leave to confront them. We on the other hand currently have no mandate at all to also confront the Tilmud.’
The admiral’s manner changed as he took Omerio’s formal tone as a rebuff of his hospitality, though he gave no verbal clues in his own formal response and return to protocol.
‘Omerio, I was involved in your pre-selection for the intelligence section, so dispense with any lecture you might being considering. You do not need to steer me in my decision process. We will head for Earth shortly to deal with the Traders, though of course the Cephrit leaving the joint fleet hampers my response.’
Omerio paused for a moment before he replied, as he considered that at least now the admiral would not treat him as just a light weight former officer.
‘Sir, there is a lot going on that led to the Traders being on that world. I did get some meaningful intelligence from the Cephrit just earlier and I advise extreme caution.’
The admiral looked in annoyance at his nephew as he considered another reply, but Omerio now hurriedly went on again.
‘Sir, the Trader ship was ferrying a handful of Maveen ships when they landed on the human planet.’
Admiral Baredio gave a start and stood up to pace the deck of his office as he replied.
‘Are you absolutely sure Omerio? We are down the Cephrit ships and now the Trader ship is mixed up with Maveen. So what is actually going on in this outer part of the Carinae sector?’
Omerio glanced at the admiral with a genuine expression of sympathy as he replied.
‘Admiral, I think that we stumbled into a joint Trader and Maveen project. In the past the Traders have steered clear of the Maveen to avoid inciting the fury of the Zronte. I think it is an attempt by the Traders to seek wider alliances as they have been in a very defensive posture for thousands of years.’
Admiral Baredio was well aware of the unfortunate lesson involving Trader history as he softly spoke again.
‘Omerio we must chart a difficult course between a pointless war with the Traders and possibly the Maveen, versus incurring the wrath of the Zronte for not upholding the edicts. We need to speak again with the Delta Vass envoys as soon as possible, as they are suddenly reluctant to go to Earth as well.’
In moments the two Barus were quickly walking towards the hangar to take a shuttle across to the Deltas Vass flagship. Omerio knew that negotiations with the strange life forms that made up the third of the senior vassal races alongside the Cephrit and the Vorinne always worked better if they were conducted in person. Admiral Baredio looked across at Omerio as he led them down the large access way.
‘Nephew, you will of course join me and my officers for dinner this evening?’
Omerio looked straight ahead and smiled as they hurriedly along before giving a polite reply.
‘Uncle, it would be my pleasure to dine with agreeable company on something other than fast rations.’
After several more minutes they were being flown across to the massive star shaped hull of the Delta Vass flagship.
***
Captain Narindestat had spent two hours talking in a video conference with Lieutenant Damofestat, and had received valuable advice on how to prepare the aero spike engine for repair. The lieutenant advised extreme caution as he was concerned that the primary shaft could distort if they botched the repair operation. However the lieutenant had made a telling observation that gave the captain some hope.
‘Sir, the ceramic alloy shaft is not flexible, so it has to be undamaged otherwise you could not turn the engine at all. You need to securely brace both ends and the middle of the shaft and check the other shaft supports as well. There are three of them as you know, but the front shaft support is located well forward of the other two in a wider part of the chamber, and so it should be intact.’
Captain Narindestat had then discussed the status of the hyper drive module, which was in perfect condition, with the lieutenant before he finished the conversation.
‘Stay alert lieutenant and we will hopefully see you in space in a few days.’
The captain considered the tight access constraint of the aero spike engine with regards to the limited repair time for several moments. He was aware that none of his remote equipment was small enough, and that the Maveen sub-probes were of limited value if too far away from the probes themselves. Captain Narindestat had a flash of inspiration as he now spoke to Garendestat in the engineering spares locker.
‘Garendestat, how have you progressed in finding those shaft support brackets? Also we need to use that flexible heavy membrane again inside the aero spike engine.’
Garendestat listened with rising hope as the captain outlined how he wanted to repair the engine before he replied.
‘Captain, we have found the brackets in two pieces that have to be assembled inside the aero spike engine. I think your idea just might work in the time we still have left.’
Captain Narindestat now turned to the communications officer at his console on the bridge to make a request.
‘Lieutenant, please contact the Steve and his crew on
the human ship as I need to speak with them.’
In minutes the captain was speaking with Steve and outlining his strange request.
***
Omerio kept silent as the Deltas Vass envoys, really senior male drones breed for limited autonomy gave him and the admiral another cool eyed stare. The senior envoy again repeated their stance in response to the admiral’s increasing heated requests.
‘Admiral Baredio, we acknowledge the constraints of the holy edicts, but we now cannot go with you and we cannot go to aid the Cephrit at this point either. We will remain here as we consider this matter further. If there are gate ships in the human system now we do not want to start a war near a haven world that is under quarantine.’
The admiral suppressed a snort of outrage as he tersely replied.
‘When we take our fleet to Earth we will have our research fleet with us to provide assistance. They are not rated fighting ships as you know, but they also know how to interpret the Zronte edicts in the spirit they were intended to be interpreted in by the vassal races.’
The senior envoy gave the admiral a fixed hard look, and Omerio kept very still and looked around the strange purple and orange meeting room, as the envoy now spoke again.
‘Admiral Baredio, do not presume too much in your statement and remember your race’s junior station amongst the vassal races. Or do you now dispute your lower ranking?’
The admiral looked at the floor and wisely withheld a reply, as he wanted to avoid further censure. Now another Deltas Vass envoy, a junior member, hurriedly joined the meeting and requested leave to address the meeting.
‘Senior Envoy, Admiral Baredio, another Barus ship has arrived at this star system. It is the Barus research ship captained by Commander Gindane, and they have made an emergency flight from the human star system in only three days. We are going to their aid as they have damaged their ship in their flight.’
Admiral Baredio looked at the senior envoy for a moment before the junior envoy again spoke.
‘The commander sent a message as she arrived that Maveen gate ships are present in the atmosphere of the human home world. However they did not locate any military vessels when they fled the system.’
The senior envoy paused for a moment as if silently talking to the other Deltas Vass present. Omerio had heard rumours that the Delta Vass were telepathic, but he had attributed the rumours to hearsay. The envoy seemed satisfied with the new information as it again spoke, but now in a more friendly tone.
‘Admiral, our position is now fixed and will not change. We will remain in the system for the interim, as we are more concerned about the Cephrit-Tilmud conflict that is now starting. You may do as you wish and enter the human system, but we counsel extreme caution. We also insist you uphold each and every law concerning systems that hold haven worlds.’
Admiral Baredio made a subdued reply before he exited the meeting room.
‘I leave with my fleet to uphold the glory of the Zronte. We will investigate the presence of the Traders on the haven world.’
The two Barus stiffly made their way back to their shuttle and left the Delta Vass cruiser. Admiral Baredio looked briefly at the sensor readings that they could obtain from Gindane’s damaged ship, still some distance away, as he quietly spoke.
‘I would appreciate it if you do not discuss that meeting with any of my crew. Also I would appreciate it if you could get Commander Gindane, who I believe you have an interest in, to my ship as soon as possible.’
Omerio made a resigned but carefully polite reply, as he considered the high amount of damage to Gindane’s research ship.
‘Sir, I foresee I will have no problems with either of the two items you request of me.’
The two Barus completed the rest of the shuttle flight back to the Barus flagship in stony silence.
***
Captain Narindestat stood at the foot of the hangar ramp, and viewed the new humans that Steve had brought with him with interest as he made a formal bow to greet them. The human males were each as large as or larger than Steve, though they still seemed small beings by Trader standards. The humans included a few of the mission team members that carried equipment as adroitly as these new humans. The captain went to pick up a large box held by two humans and grunted as he realised how much it weighed. He calculated that they must be as strong on a pound for pound basis as any race in the galaxy due to the larger size of their home world.
In minutes the Trader captain had led the humans to the access port for the aero spike engine, and quickly began explaining what he needed to be done with the aid of a hologram. Unhurriedly Steve had organised a team consisting of himself, Mark the pilot and Rick the engineer to go inside the massive engine. He got them all to remove the larger tools in their tool belts and the humans carefully entered through the access hatch, before they tied off to recessed cleats that the Trader captain had specified in his urgent briefing.
The men moved slowly forward and upward to inspect the housings supporting the primary shaft. Steve looked at the inside if the engine in wonder and he had the presence of mind to film whole sections of it for several minutes under the light of his helmet lamp. Rick gave his first impression of the damage to the housing, as Mark cautiously shone his light along the side of the massive shaft.
‘Skipper, the housing is definitely cracked though the containment is not compromised and I cannot see any shards of housing around or any pitting inside the engine. I think their advanced materials prevented further damage and they got lucky basically.’
Steve gave a calm reply as he continued to film and to inspect the engine.
‘Well the chances of a war in our system increase for every day the Traders remain. Therefore we must fix this engine and get them to leave soon. Also this engine reminds me of something but I cannot remember what it is…’
Mark now shone his light around the engine and considered the structures held in place by the primary shaft and the silver plates recessed inside the engine housing as he ventured his own observations.
‘Steve, I did read the notes from your inspection on how the Traders reinforce key areas of their ship with shield technology. I think they rely on a physical integrity to a certain point then their shielding technology takes over. This engine is not unlike the ram scoop or hyper jet engines that the Americans attempted to build over the last fifty years with limited success.’
Steve now filmed the placement of the silver shield generators as Rick spoke again.
‘We can brace our hydra set jacks at the four places under shaft the captain specified. We then tie off the shaft to the recessed heavy maintenance cleats lining the top of the enclosure. The Traders must locate the completed assembly into the engine using a remote rail mounted to those cleats. They then get the rail to retract and withdraw it from the engine. Mind you I think that this rail would be bulky.’
The three men carefully set the lifting jacks on the mount plates, set several blocks of wood into the head of the massive jacks and slowly raised them one at a time up to the primary shaft. Steve and Rick next scaled up to the top of the engine along the housing and winched up the large cargo straps with breaking strains measured in the hundreds of tonnes. The men then progressively tightened and tensioned the straps as they moved forward. Steve paused after a gruelling four hour shift and led the other two men out for a break and a discussion with Captain Narindestat.
***
Omerio had the presence of mind to remain standing and offer Gindane a respectful bow as she swept regally into the admiral’s office on the Barus flagship. Gindane returned both bows with an elegant bow of her own before taking a seat in one of the armchairs. The admiral went back behind his desk to sit down and Omerio retook his seat in the other armchair.
Admiral Baredio suppressed a start at the coolness coming from the Barus lady of the court. For he was one of the few that knew her ancestry well, and how the exile from the court would eventually affect her. Gindane looked at each of the two Barus m
ales in turn, and tried to settle nerves still frazzled by the near loss of her ship after their rapid flight from Earth. She decided to go on attack as the reserve of the two males with seniority over her was infuriating in her current state, though she gave no outward sign.
‘I see that the Cephrit have left for their own systems, and the Deltas Vass remain true to their form and dither here. I assume you will stay to guard the Deltas Vass and I will have to go back in another research ship to capture this Trader ship.’
Omerio managed to suppress a chuckle, but could not suppress the smirk, as his uncle glared before reproaching both the younger Barus.
‘Omerio, I remember you wisely keeping silent until spoken to when we were on the Deltas Vass flagship. Now Commander Gindane, or should I make your rank Lieutenant Gindane? Or even Ensign Gindane? I feel you have already been harshly dealt with by the Vorinne envoy so I will overlook your impertinence.’
Commander Gindane sagged for a moment in her arm chair, before she regained composure and shot Omerio a look of disdain as she replied to the admiral.
‘Admiral, I am sorry for my outburst, but the last few days have been harrowing. The Maveen have scores of their ships in the Earth’s atmosphere and the Trader ship remains on the planet surface. We risked our ship and our lives to bring this news to the authorities as soon as possible.’
The admiral now visibly calmer, waved aside Gindane’s apology as he informed her what he was about to order.
‘I can understand your frustration and it is not a problem. We are in final preparations to leave this star system for the human system. We will of course get there slower than your three days, but faster than the week it takes for a regular journey to that system. You will be a guest on my ship with Omerio, who has also damaged his ship again during his own remarkable exploits. Now review your report to me and provide any conclusions that you have decided in the meantime. Note that I will not let either of you compromise my decision making process as you are officially guests not advisors.’
