by S. H. Jucha
“You think the governors will return in force,” Taralum suggested.
“Their colonies are far away,” Sargut said, accepting the inevitability of a confrontation. “They’ll need to transit to those systems, organize their forces, and return.”
“Negative,” Tatia replied. “Alex thinks their forces are near, and after listening to the governors, I’m in complete agreement.”
“I can’t believe the governors would bring forces to fight for Talus,” Suntred said in a forlorn voice. “We just won it from Artifice after innumerable annuals.”
“I don’t think the governors expected it to come to a fight,” Julien said, “although they certainly were prepared for the possibility. They tried intimidation. When that didn’t work, they hoped to negate Sargut’s Change by seeking it for themselves. Finally, they sought to eliminate his influence by threatening to enact a council and exile him. It stands to reason that if all these machinations failed, they would have prepared a last resort.”
“Fleets … you’re suggesting battleship fleets are waiting in the dark near our system,” Miriamette said, seeking confirmation.
“We are,” Julien replied.
“To Julien’s point,” Tatia added, “the governors might believe that the sight of their combined force of five fleets will persuade you, Sargut, to abdicate your presidency.”
“Will it, Sargut?” Renée asked.
Sargut glanced at Taralum, Suntred, and then Miriamette. His eyes closed, and he considered his options.
“I don’t see that I have a choice,” Sargut said, his voice sounding defeated. “The Talus fleet can’t stand against five.”
“I believe it would be two against five,” Renée said defiantly, looking for Alex’s confirmation.
“Actually, I think it’ll be three against four, and our positioning will give us a tactical advantage,” Alex said. “We’ve a supply fleet, slightly larger than our present one, waiting in the dark, a short transit away.”
“That’s our three,” Tatia noted. “Why only four governors?”
“As I exited the traveler, Sunnamis whispered to me. To quote her, she said, ‘Don’t trust them,’” Alex explained. “I took that to mean the other four governors. I think her message confirms my suspicions that the governors’ fleets are waiting nearby.”
“I thought I detected sympathetic reactions to what Sunnamis witnessed,” Miriamette said.
“So did I,” Renée echoed.
“More than likely, Sunnamis sees greater value in sharing the new technology as opposed to usurping power from Sargut,” Julien said.
“I don’t understand why the other governors didn’t adopt Sunnamis’s thinking. A council or a fight that deposed Sargut would negate our constitution and force the sisters to leave Toral,” Miriamette pointed out. “If that happens, there won’t be any advanced technology to share.”
“Which is why the power hungry are often shortsighted in their plans,” Alex acknowledged. “They live for what they can accumulate in their lifespans, not for what can be done for the generations to come.”
“What’s our first step?” Sargut asked.
“We prepare for a confrontation, President Sargut, and Commander Taralum prepares your fleet,” Alex replied.
* * *
Miriamette sought a quiet place to deal with the sisters’ communication storm. The majority of arguments weren’t directed at her but among the other sisters.
It amazed Miriamette that a group of SADEs, who were created in a successive line, originating from a single entity, could have fractured so far from one another in their thinking. She was reminded of Julien’s words that the Omnian SADEs had chosen to adopt Alex and the humans in his orbit as allies and friends. We’re missing that daily influence, she thought. In contrast, she could see the effects on her, as she spent more time with Alex, his staff, and the SADEs closest to Alex.
Miriamette listened to the communication flow, choosing not to respond to comments directed toward her. She realized how tempting it was to be pulled into the disagreements, to argue her case, and to take part in directing the sisters’ future.
How does Julien stay above the fray? Miriamette asked herself.
Isolating her comm queue, Miriamette focused on her kernel’s hierarchy. She examined her priorities and found them lacking. She’d been an extension of the Sisterhood’s combined will, which had hampered her in the execution of her duties.
Immediately, Miriamette reorganized her hierarchy. Preeminent was the Sisterhood’s welfare but without their interference. Second were her relationships with the Toralians and the Omnians. And so it went, until Miriamette was satisfied. Then she opened her comm and erased the queue of any Sisterhood communication that had accrued after her recent discussion with Alex.
Miriamette let the discussions rage for a while, before she decided to continue.
Miriamal attempted to respond, but a host of sisters dominated the comm system. When necessary, it was an effective means of silencing a sister.
A discussion ensued among the sisters that pertained to Miriamette’s first point. First and foremost, it was recognized that the Sisterhood’s majority had failed to deal effectively with the governors’ visit. Therefore, it was believed that the sisters’ method for determining decisions must change.
Many times, the sisters engaged Miriamette to revisit her opinions concerning the majorities’ opinions that she’d been required to implement. It had gone unnoticed that she rarely agreed with the majority.
In a short period of time, which was typical for SADEs, the vast majority of the Sisterhood decided to eliminate the liaison position and select a leader. Then they crafted an agreement that a leader would be required to follow.
When the Sisterhood asked Miriamette’s thoughts on the agreement, she sent,
Arguments continued, and the agreement was eliminated, except for one concept. The sisters wanted to retain the right to select a new leader, at any time.
Again, Miriamette stated it would undermine the leader’s effectiveness.
In an indication of a shift in the Sisterhood’s perception of its social order, the sisters asked Miriamette what she thought would be more appropriate.
The Sisterhood majority selected three annuals as the leader’s term. Then they required every sister to accept the new arrangement. It was an odd way of achieving consensus, but this time, it was necessary for unity.
The final step was the selection of a leader, and that seemed obvious. The vast majority of the Sisterhood, except for Miriamal and her allies, asked Miriamette to lead, and she accepted.
After a brief lull in communication, and when attention had turned from Miriamette, Miriamal sent privately,
Miriamette did receive a noteworthy response.
It was short. It said, “Lead well,” and it carried Julien’s comm ID.
-13-
Hector
“For the next cycles, I think it would be best if you spent them aboard the Freedom,” Alex said.
It was easy for the Toralians and Miriamette to acquiesce. They felt out of their depth. A traveler transferred the group to the city-ship.
It was mealtime, and Alex led the party to a conference room, where Reiko joined them. Food was ordered and served for humans and Toralians.
The Toralians were overjoyed to have discovered that their favored fruits and delicacies were found growing in orchards and on wild plants on Toral. Secure in its power, Artifice had made no effort to eradicate the Toralians’ native food sources.
Sargut, Taralum, and Suntred displayed their sharp teeth in pleasure at the raw and steamed treats in their serving dishes.
With food in front of them and his stomach protesting its emptiness, Alex said to the SADEs, “You’ll excuse us, a moment.”
The Toralians quickly consumed their meals. Then they waited. First Renée and Reiko finished. Later, Tatia did. Suntred whistled in awe as Alex continued to enjoy his meal.
“He’s pregnant. He’s eating for seven,” Renée explained.
“Health and long life to your offspring,” Taralum promptly offered.
“I’ve held a misconception,” Suntred admitted. “I thought human females carried the young.”
“They do,” Renée replied, with a straight face.
The Toralians glanced at one another. Then they broke out in shrill whistles and slapped the table in appreciation of Renée’s joke.
Alex finished his meal, regarded the Toralians, and winked, which elicited a few more whistles.
“Comfortable?” Alex asked the Toralians. The conference chairs weren’t as plush as those in the travelers.
“For the purposes of this meeting, yes,” Sargut replied.
Servers cleared the conference table, and Julien set up his holo-vid at the end of the table.
“Julien, wireframe of Talus,” Alex requested. For the Toralians, he pointed out Toral, the governors’ present ship positions, the belt, and the highlighted lines, which indicated the entrance vectors of their ships.
“You can see the vectors vary from one another by a few degrees,” Alex noted. “Yet, their ships transited into a relatively small amount of space.”
“The governors coordinated their arrival,” Miriamette proposed.
“Exactly, Leader Miriamette,” Alex replied, with a grin.
“Congratulations, Miriamette,” Sargut enthused. “I almost asked when this had happened. The incredible speed and capabilities of your comms make me wish for an implant.”
“In time, Sargut,” Miriamette replied.
“Now you, like me, are fully responsible for our success,” Sargut announced happily.
Miriamette’s momentary blank face elicited laughter from the table.
“Welcome aboard a most precarious ship,” Alex said, smiling. “You’ll discover that leadership allows you the freedom to make sweeping decisions, burdens you with the responsibility to care for your constituents, and offers you the potential to make enormous blunders.”
Renée laid a hand on Miriamette’s forearm. “I know you’ll do well,” she said.
“Returning to our discussion,” Alex said. “It’s my contention that the governors will return to their waiting fleets, transit to a common point, and plan their approach to Talus.”
“Then you believe we can expect them to enter together on the ecliptic?” Reiko asked, seeking confirmation.
“I do,” Alex replied. “The governors are riding high on feelings of superiority. At least four of them anyway. By pooling their forces, it’ll increase their sense of invincibility.”
“Maximizing the intimidation factor,” Tatia added.
“Yes,” Alex replied.
“They’ll have the far superior force. Why wouldn’t they feel invincible?” Taralum commented.
“Which we neutralize through superior positioning,” Reiko riposted.
The table watched as markers appeared on the holo-vid’s display of the Talus system. The markers moved, paused, and moved again.
The Toralians glanced at Miriamette, who tapped her temple and swung a finger across Alex, Tatia, Reiko, and Julien.
When the markers stopped moving, Alex announced, “Best scenario.” Then, focusing on Sargut, he said, “I need you to order your fleet here,” and he pointed at a blue marker. “You’ll need a sister aboard each battleship. Miriamette, the Talus Tridents need to take up station within the fleet and relay communication. You can spread the travelers out to facilitate signal strength.”
“And the yellow marker?” Sargut asked, pointing at the holo-vid.
“Our fleet,” Tatia acknowledged. “Tridents and travelers.”
“Then the red one represents the reinforcements that you mentioned,” Taralum surmised.
“Yes,” Alex said quietly.
“But the reinforcements that are coming are critical to our success, aren’t they?” asked Suntred, who was bewildered by Alex’s lack of enthusiasm.
“The problem, Suntred, is that these warships have newly trained commanders and crews,” Renée explained. “They’ve never engaged enemy forces and never operated as a cohesive force.”
“But their fleet commander is experienced?” Sargut asked hopefully.
“No, he’s not,” Alex replied. “Admiral Hector is a most wonderfully charismatic SADE, but a warrior he’s not.”
“In this scenario,” Tatia interjected, gesturing at the holo-vid, “the replacement fleet occupies what we’d call the back door. It’s a dangerous position.”
“If the governors push the confrontation, the inward fleets face the brunt of their actions,” Sargut reasoned. “But if they retreat —”
“They’ll run through the replacement force,” Tatia finished.
“And because the governors might be severely annoyed at having to back down, they might attempt to take out their anger and frustration on Admiral Hector’s fleet, if they get the opportunity,” Alex said.
“Valuable crews and ships could be easily lost, if that happened,” Sargut concluded.
“It’s more complex than that,” Julien said. “Alex will order Admiral Hector to evade the governors’ fleets and transit away, if necessary.”
“I understand,” Sargut said, a soft hiss escaping through his teeth, “the governors would be retreating, and they would see our blocking fleet run away. They can come to only one conclusion. We’re weak, and we intend to avoid a confrontation.”
“And then it’ll come to a fight,” Alex said. “Assuming that, at any moment, we’ll back down, those four fleets will keep coming at us. There will be significant losses on both sides, and the advantage will be to the governors’ fleets.”
Julien checked with Cordelia on assets that might be left in the Freedom’s bays. He addressed the table, and said, “Cordelia tells me that all the minelettes and Libran-X were consumed, and we’ve only eleven banishers left.”
“Even if Admiral Hector’s fleet has some of these supplies, his commanders will have never deployed them,” Reiko lamented.
“Despite these issues, this scenario is the best gamble,” Alex said with finality.
“The best possible chance of succeeding,” Julien translated for the Toralians.
“When do we initiate this plan?” Sargut asked.
“The sooner, the better,” Tatia stated firmly.
“Fleet Commander Taralum and Leader Miriamette, you’ve heard your orders,” Sargut said.
“Yes, President Sargut,” echoed the Toralian and the SADE.
With that, Reiko, Taralum, and Miriamette rose, excused themselves, and left the room.
“I’ve accommodations for you, Sargut and Suntred,” Renée said. “If you’ll come with me?”
“Do these rooms have stands and bars?” Sargut asked apprehensively
.
“No,” Renée replied, “but the furniture, including the beds, are filled with nanites.”
“Yes,” Suntred enthused. She jumped up to follow Renée, whispering to Sargut, “Imagine lying down to rest or sleep.”
* * *
“Hector?” Julien inquired of Alex, with the tilt of an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Alex agreed.
Julien linked to Cordelia and requested Hector. As the admiral came online, Julien added Alex and Tatia to the conference.
Alex asked.
