“That would put us out of business,” Joan argued.
“And wipe out years of hard work put into our colony,” Sven added.
“It can’t be helped. Earth offers us a refuge from these aliens. To allow them to access information as to its location would be a crime against humanity. I’ll never allow that.” Philip looked each of them in the eye to show he was dead serious. “The destruction of this station and the colony archives will only occur if the Curanians do appear, and if we are unable to prevent their occupation. I’ll do what I can to protect Rapatine, for as long as I can, but my priority is to deny them Earth. There can be no misunderstanding about my intentions.”
“If they followed the Auspicious, what prevents them from following our ships back to Earth?” Aleesha asked.
“We will be coordinating the jumps out of a single point. There is only a small window of time that the effects of jumping into warp can be detected. Without that specific location, trying to pick up the trail is extremely difficult. To make it even harder for them, I plan on having several of my ships pass over the jump point to flood the area with ion output.”
“What will prevent them from following your ships back to Earth if you have to retreat?” Dranko asked.
“We won’t be returning directly to Earth. I will give them a battle they will not soon forget. If it becomes necessary for me to flee, I have a contingency plan to jump, reset my defensive position, and await their arrival again. I will continue to use a hit-and-run tactic on them to not only draw them away from Earth, but to continue to weaken their forces for as long as my ships hold out. I may not be able to prevent them from eventually finding where Earth is, but I can make sure they arrive with a lot fewer ships when they do.”
“What do you need from us?” Aleesha asked.
“Cooperation, mostly.” Philip looked at each of them again to see if anyone was going to protest. “Dranko, there are currently eight freighters docked. I need you to empty them of all their cargo and prepare to receive evacuees. Sven, I need you to begin moving the colonist up to the station. I’ll give you all the shuttles I can spare. We’ll get them loaded and away first.”
“What about the Curanian captives?” Sven interrupted.
“Damn, I forgot all about them. Bring the two ship commanders up in the first run. I’ll see if we can communicate with them well enough to give them a choice to stay or flee.”
“Muni is getting pretty good as speaking English. If you can get past his ascent,” Sven said.
“That will help,” Philip said. He then switched the display view to the list he created prior to the meeting. “So, here is what needs to happen to make this all work. First, we need to get the word out that we will be evacuating the station. Second, we’ll need an evacuation list, so we can assign people to freighters as they begin arriving. Third, I will need a government directive to authorize the full evacuation of all personnel. Fourth, we’ll need you to coordinate with Earth on receiving everyone when they arrive. Fifth, we will need all station supplies released, so we can make sure each freighter is stocked with enough food and drinks to support the number of people they will be carrying for the number of days needed to get to Earth. Lastly, Paula will be the point of contact on all this.”
The room went quiet. Philip glanced at the list he brought with him to see if he missed any of his talking points. As a secondary precaution, he looked at Paula, and asked, “Paula, am I missing anything?”
“No, Admiral. You covered everything I had noted to be discussed.”
Getting up, Philip said, “Okay, we have a lot to do and a very short time to get it accomplished. I’ll leave each of you to tackle your pieces. If you run into any snags, contact Paula right away, and we’ll do what we can to smooth them out. Okay, let’s go make this happen.”
Philip waited until the Supervisors filed out of the room. Paula and Roger had gotten up and now stood next to him and watched the others depart. When there was only the three of them left, Philip turned to Roger, and ordered, “Roger, I need a defensive battle plan on my desk by oh-eight-hundred tomorrow. We’ll go over it and make any needed adjustments.”
“I’m on it, Admiral,” Roger said.
“Paula, how many ships answered the recall so far?”
“Eleven. I did a quick calculation before the meeting. Between the eight already here and the eleven on the way, we can get everyone out without any problems. I’ll begin working on the logistics to supply each ship before it departs. Your request to release the station supplies will help me get it done.”
Philip nodded and then looked at them both. “Okay, let’s get ready for battle.”
Chapter Sixteen
Plon studied the battle map, yet again, to see if he could detect any flaws in his plan of attack. The map had a detailed overlay of his adversary’s location—thanks to the information Denc captured—and his strategy for subduing their ships now displayed in attack ready form.
What his adversary would do was his major concern. He knew that Denc has been seen by his being chased out of the system by two of their ships, and that meant they had to be preparing for him. The length of time it was going to take to get his fleet there and into battle concerned him. He had no doubts that whoever defended that place would be preparing for his arrival at this very moment. That unknown factor meant that his battle plan had to be fluid and adjustable, so he could adapt to whatever came to fruition upon his arrival.
The fact that the Kero was spotted upon arrival was unfortunate, but he couldn’t really fault Denc for that happening. With no way of knowing what she was dropping into, it was a risk worth taking. Thanks to her diligence, they now knew where the aliens resided, and that was the most important part. Being spotted only meant his foe would not be taken by surprise, and that would cost Plon ships. In the end, though, the results would be the same. He would sweep aside their resistance to take what he wanted.
Staring at the map, Plon realized there was a positive impact to Kero being spotted. The ship had been close enough to the station to get a solid reading on the ships moored around it. From that, he now knew exactly how many ships his opponent could put up against his dual fleet. His adversary lacked the numbers to stop them from pounding the aliens into submission. However, the commander of that fleet had proven crafty and bold in the battle with Nage, so Plon needed to be careful not to underestimate that commander’s abilities.
“So, my friend, how will you make your defensive stand?” Plon studied the map as he asked the question.
Several mock battles had already been performed with Plon having selected his most experienced commanders to operate his opponent’s ships. Each time, Plon had overwhelmed them with sheer force of numbers, but each time the cost had been high, too. Shaking his head, he knew that Supreme Kold would not care about the losses if she got the technology.
“You won’t want to give it up easily, will you?” Plon said while slowly shaking his head at his battle plan.
As Plon saw it, his major weakness in the battle was his approach. Since the Kero had followed the alien ship, that was the only safe route there, and that gave his adversary the knowledge of where he would have to drop out of to enter their system. Placing his finger on the screen, he drew an imaginary arc where he would position his ships if he was the other commander to lower the boom on his ships as they arrived.
“What I need is a set of eyes on that system,” Plon said aloud, and he already had a plan for that. His fleet would come in two waves. The first wave would drop out of stage-two five ticks short of the end point. The second wave would drop out ten ticks short. He would then have the Kero jump into the system so Denc could report back on how his opponent had positioned their ships. That would allow Plon to adjust his attack plan based on that knowledge, and he would jump in to take advantage of any weaknesses he found.
“Plon, all ships have reported readiness to depart,” Jime reported through the communication system.
Plon gave her
a quick head-nod after making eye contact with her through the transparent decking. When she moved on to other duties, Plon switched views to the tactical map that reflected their current location. It had taken a while to assemble both fleets and get them into battle formation prior to entering stage-two, but they were finally ready.
Activating the communication option for all ships, Plon said, “This is Control to all ships. Prepare to enter stage-two per attack plan.” Plon glanced at the time display on his console. After giving his ship commanders ten ticks to get their orders relayed to their command deck crews, he ordered, “Execute.”
The lead ship of the first fleet elongated before disappearing altogether. As he watched and waited for the Ciat to reach her turn in the attacked sequence, he mumbled, “And may the warrior souls of our forefathers go with us.”
◆◆◆
Philip sat before his desk going over the defensive plan with Roger when Paula interrupted him. “Admiral, Muni and Nock have arrived from the planet and are being escorted to your cabin now.”
“Very well. Show them in as soon as they arrive,” Philip responded. When Paula disappeared from view, he said to Roger, “This ought to be an interesting conversation.”
“I would imagine so, Admiral.”
Turning his attention back to the tactical screen before them, Philip said, “I think this will work out well. Since we can be assured the Curanians will have to drop into this system here,” Philip circled a location on his monitor with his finger that created a yellow circle on the screen mounted on his wall, “Having the gunships positioned on each side will give them a nice surprise when they drop out of warp.”
“I agree,” Roger said while nodding approval. “I have ordered Commander Madrid to keep the gunships firing until the last possible moment before retiring. At that point, she will pull the gunships back behind the rest of the fleet.”
“I wish I had more of them,” Philip said. The six gunships showing on the screen seemed inadequate to the task he was asking of them.
“It can’t be helped, Admiral. The four we lost at Kracks really reduced our ranks. We were lucky enough to get two out of repairs yesterday. They aren’t fully operational, but they can still shoot. Their warp drives were in the middle of being upgraded, so we pulled them and added another plasma generator.”
“Smart thinking, Roger. It might be wise to do the same to the other four. We’ll try to extract the crews if we have to retreat. Have all ships completed the upgrade to their navigation software that wipes out Earth’s location?”
“They have,” Roger answered while slowly nodding his head in confirmation.
“Right this way, gentlemen.” Paula’s voice carried into the room that tipped Philip to the coming arrival of the two Curanian captives.
Turning his attention to the open door, Philip waited for the two men to enter. He noticed Roger straighten in his chair. The two tall, muscular Curanians entered the cabin and quickly looked around. Their extremely light complexion did not seem to have absorbed any of the sun’s rays while on the planet. The sight made Philip wonder if they had some kind of genetic ability to prevent sunburn.
Philip pointed at two chairs that had been set up for their arrival. “Sit, please.”
The Curanian Philip knew as Muni said something to the other in their native tongue before they made their way to the chairs. Philip noticed that both men appeared dirty from working on the planet, and their raven-black hair shined with natural grease. It had grown long, too. Each of them now had hair flowing well past their shoulders. They both looked to be at least seven feet tall, so when they sat, Philip found it better than having to look up at them.
When they were all settled into their seats, Philip said, “I understand you are getting a grasp on the English language, Muni. Do you feel you can communicate well enough, or would you like to use the translator?”
“I grasp language good to speak,” Muni said, and then turned to translate for Nock.
“Good enough then. It’s important for you to know that we have every reason to believe that one of your fleets is working its way here. We are abandoning the planet and this station. We are offering you a choice of staying here to be retrieved by your own people, or to be evacuated.”
“What is vacuated?” Muni asked while struggling with the correct pronunciation.
“Placed on a ship and taken away from here for your own safety.”
Muni nodded his understanding before turning to talk with Nock. The two had a lengthy discussion, and Philip could not understand a single word. From the casual tone, it appeared to him that they were discussing the options rather than arguing about it. Since neither seemed to be getting upset, he supposed they weren’t in disagreement on an approach.
After what seemed like several minutes of the alien conversation, Muni turned back to Philip, and asked, “What become of us if we vacuated?”
The question caught Philip off guard. He had expected them both to say they wanted to stay here, so they could be taken home by their own people. That was what Philip would have wanted if he was in their situation. He glanced over at Roger, who carried a confusing frown of his own.
“You would be taken to our home planet and cared for there,” Philip answered.
“We stay together, yes?” Muni asked.
“Yes.”
Muni and Nock talked together for a while longer before Muni turned back, and said, “We vacuated.”
The way Muni said the statement came across to Philip as defiance, but against whom he wasn’t sure. It made him wonder just what life was like for a Curanian that they would not want to go home. Curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, “Why don’t you want to return to your planet, Muni?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Roger interrupted.
“Supreme no—how do you say—forgiving, yes? She punish Nock and I severely. No sure what do with crew. Nock and I find happiness here. Nothing back there now for us.”
Philip was beginning to get the picture. It made sense that a warring culture like the Curanians might be just as harsh on its own people, too. While he wasn’t a diplomat, Philip thought that they might be able to exploit that somehow. It would be hard for them to carry on a war if their people started defecting on them.
“Muni, why do the Curanian people target other species?” Roger asked.
“It is will of the Supreme.”
“Supreme? Is that who leads the Curanians?” Philip asked.
Muni chatted with Nock for a moment. Philip suspected he was filling him in on what was being discussed. Muni then answered, “Yes. A Curanian is selected at young age and taught by current Supreme. Supreme send out ships to better Curanians through captured technology.”
“But you don’t agree with that, do you?” Philip prompted.
“Never thought it before. Now see life here and—how do you say—ummm, better? Better here. See wrong of it.”
Philip saw his chance to probe for his opponent’s weakness. “If other Curanians had the opportunity to see what you saw would they also believe what they are doing is wrong?”
“Do not know. Hard to say what others will see. Supreme powerful.”
“Muni, has your current Supreme selected a successor yet?” Roger asked.
“What successor mean?”
“The Supreme’s replacement,” Roger answered.
Confused at first, Philip began to understand where Roger was going with his line of questioning. If the Curanian people were held together by a single Supreme, and each Supreme teaches the next, what would happen if that cycle was broken?
“Do not know. Supreme is young. No illness. Doubt need for selecting replacement now.”
Philip was impressed with Muni’s grasp of the English language. It seemed to reflect the intelligence of the Curanian people. While Muni talked with Nock, Philip thought over the possibility of disrupting the entire Curanian culture by a premature removal of their Supreme. If they could topple the current
Supreme, and no replacement was yet in place to step into the role, the entire Curanian nation would probably spin into disarray for years. What a wonderful time for a diplomat to step in and offer a democratic solution to their problem.
Right now, though, he had a battle to prepare for, so the permanent solution to the Curanian problem would have to wait for another day. Getting up to signal the conversation was over, Philip said, “We will be shuttling all your folks up here tomorrow. You will then be loaded onto one of our ships to be taken to Earth. I’ll let you get back to the planet so you can have your people prepare to leave.”
After relaying Philip’s words to Nock, they both stood and departed from the cabin. Once they were gone, Philip turned to Roger, and said, “After you have made the changes we discussed to the defensive plan, I want you to write up what was discussed with Muni on the vulnerability of the Curanian people in regard to their Supreme. Send it to me for review and I’ll pass it along to Admiral Ackerman. If you and I don’t make it out of this situation alive, I want someone else to have that important piece of information. We may need to look for a way to exploit taking out their Supreme before this is all over.”
“I’ll have it to you before the end of the day, Admiral.”
Chapter Seventeen
Philip wasn’t sure whether he should be elated or nervous over the fact that twenty-six days had passed between the Curanian fast attack sighting and today. While it allowed him to prepare for their arrival, it was also starting to make folks back on Earth question whether they were coming at all. Admiral Ackerman had already warned him of grumblings from some of the larger companies on how much money they were losing each day Rapatine was out of action.
The Curanian Dominance: The Linda Eccles Series - Volume Three Page 12
