by S. H. Jucha
“In Earth’s ancient wars, they referred to this formation as a killing circle,” Reiko remarked. “In space, it’s required to take on a third dimension.”
“It’s intimidating,” Alex agreed. “When you add Hector’s method of arrival, our interlopers should perceive this fleet as a challenge from experienced commanders if they were to reverse course.”
“I wouldn’t have thought Hector was familiar with these tactics,” Renée said.
“He isn’t,” Alex replied. Looking squarely at his grinning fleet admiral, he asked, “Who is?”
“That would be Vice Admiral Adrianna Plummer,” Tatia announced, before she bent to the last of her meal.
“Isn’t she the Haraken captain?” Renée asked.
“I think the operable word is was,” Alex remarked. “Well, I can see that you two are happy about the promotion. I presume you’ve spoken with the vice admiral.”
“Yes,” Tatia replied, sobering quickly. “She’s level-headed and is a student of ancient fighting techniques. She understands what we’re trying to do. Hector made that clear to her. So, she doesn’t intend to risk our replacement squadrons unless ordered to do so.”
Mollified, Alex leaned away from the tables for the servers to deposit meals in front of Renée and him. While he enjoyed his food, he checked the ship’s controller for Julien’s location. It was unusual that his friend hadn’t joined them. He located Julien and Cordelia in the observation room, gazing at the stars and immersed in being together. He smiled — happy for both of them.
* * *
“This is unexpected,” Governor Somgut said. She was on a conference comm with the other governors.
“Perhaps, that’s why Alex Racine and Sargut were confident in ordering us to leave,” Tratget commented. “They knew they had a third fleet.”
“They have superior numbers, but look at the size of the Omnian warships,” Durgat urged. “One of our smallest missiles or our close-in defensive weaponry would easily eliminate their ships.”
“What about the two large ovoid ships?” Somgut asked.
“They are a question,” Durgat admitted, “but they can’t be any more lethal than one of our four personal ships, and there are only two of them.”
“My fleet commander believes these ovoid ships won’t be as maneuverable as our ships. Their design will hamper their ability to evade our missiles,” Tortred offered.
“But my commander is worried those ships might be carriers,” Tratget objected.
“Fighters aren’t a concern,” Durgat said hotly. He didn’t like the hesitancy he was hearing from Somgut and Tratget. As the driving force behind the plan to usurp Talus from Sargut, he required the other governors’ support. He’d already had one deserter, and he planned to deal with Sunnamis after they had control of the home world.
“Durgat, this is your plan. You told us there were many ways to excise Sargut’s control. So far, each one we’ve tried has failed,” Tortred challenged. “When we first arrived, we expected one fleet but found two. Now, we return with our battleships and two have become three. Should we be expecting more?”
Durgat’s anger was growing. Of his governors, one had abandoned him, two were nervous, and the fourth, who was his rival, was trying to corner him.
A critical need of Durgat’s plan was to keep the Toralian citizens unaware of the governors’ machinations. The colonists knew their governors had sailed for Talus after the news of Artifice’s defeat. They expected triumphant returns and announcements that, once again, the home world belonged to Toralians.
If the governors’ fleets returned with missing or damaged ships, explanations would be difficult, if not impossible. Each governor knew that one misstep in this confrontation that led to a horrendous engagement could cost them their prestigious positions.
The governors were aware that they all labored under the same constraints — it wasn’t a secret. This meant that Durgat could push them only so far. The appearance of a third fleet had shaken their confidence. Furthermore, the positioning of the three fleets that confronted them told Durgat that Alex Racine and Sargut were prepared to fight to retain control of Talus.
“Governor,” the fleet commander said in Durgat’s ear comm, “what do you advise?”
Durgat tapped his ear comm twice, indicating that the commander should wait.
“Our purpose is still the same,” Durgat announced to the other governors. “We’re here to claim Talus. There’s only one individual in our way. We find Sargut, kill him, and the Omnians will be forced to leave.”
“What about the sisters?” Somgut asked.
“When the Omnians leave, they can take their digital creatures with them,” Durgat declared.
“How do you expect to accomplish this if we don’t know where Sargut is located?” Tortred asked. He was intent on lending Durgat his support, as long as he saw the possibility of success. If a battle was imminent, he intended to break off his ships and sail for the dark at full acceleration.
A thought occurred to Durgat, and he displayed his teeth in a savage leer. Before ending the call, he said, “Sargut will tell us, Tortred. He’s that sort of individual. I’ll contact all of you later. Order your fleet commanders to maintain station.”
Durgat tapped his ear comm, requested his fleet commander, and told him they’d maintain station. Then he ended that call and tapped it again. “Captain, I want to issue a system-wide broadcast.”
“If we have a direction, Governor, I can drive the signal with more power,” the captain replied.
“Broadcast in all directions, Captain,” Durgat replied curtly.
“Ready, Governor,” the captain replied, after a short delay.
“President Sargut, this is Governor Durgat. We offer you a final opportunity to settle matters peacefully. Tell us where you are, and we’ll approach your position. Then we’ll sail a single ship to meet with you, which will give you the advantage. I await your answer.” Then Durgat ended his broadcast and ordered a meal. At the great distance he expected his signal to have to travel, he expected it to take many cycles before he received a response.
“Captain, ensure that all ships in the fleets are prepared to track any response to my broadcast. The signal’s origination point is critical.” As usual, Durgat ended his call without waiting for a reply. He expected his orders to be obeyed instantly and without fail.
In a shorter time than Durgat could have possibly conceived, Alex, his staff, Sargut, and Suntred were considering his message. Miriamopus, aboard the Our People, had received the broadcast and relayed it to Alex.
“I don’t understand what the governors hope to accomplish with this meeting. They’ve destroyed any trust we might have had in their negotiations,” Suntred said in frustration.
“That’s not the message’s purpose,” Alex said. “Durgat is trying to locate Sargut.”
“The governors hope Sargut will respond. If he does, they’ll try to identify the comm origin’s location,” Julien explained. “If he sends it from this ship, we’d have to match Toralian signal parameters.”
“It’s as if we’re fighting Artifice again,” Sargut said with chagrin.
“This does answer one of our questions,” Tatia remarked. “The governors’ primary target isn’t Toral. They want Sargut.”
“And I think they’re past the point of wanting to exile him,” Renée said unhappily.
Suntred stared at Renée. She was aghast at what Renée was inferring.
“Renée’s correct,” Sargut said. “There will be no civility now. I must be eliminated. My ships and crews will be sent in search of new colonies, and the sisters will lose Talus … one way or the other.”
Tatia turned to Alex and found him pacing. Sargut started to speak, but Renée placed a hand on his arm. The bridge audience quieted, while Alex crossed the deck.
After a few minutes, Alex came to an abrupt halt. His eyes locked with Sargut’s, and he grinned widely.
Sargut displayed his s
harp teeth in reply, although he didn’t know why.
“You’re going to respond and accept Durgat’s invitation, but not from this ship,” Alex said. To Cordelia, he requested, “Link to Miriamette. Audio from this bridge.”
“Yes, Alex,” Miriamette replied. She was on the bridge of Taralum’s lead battleship, the Dark Whispers, communicating through the battleship’s audio pickup.
“Miriamette, you’re going to relay President Sargut’s response to Durgat’s offer through Fleet Commander Taralum’s ship.”
“That would mean the governors’ fleets will focus on our battleships,” Sargut objected.
“Yes, they will,” Alex agreed. “And by what course do you think they’ll reach you?”
“They’ll ignore protocol and move above or below the ecliptic,” Sargut reasoned. “I think they would sail into the dark until they could make a short transit and then return. It would cut their time considerably.”
“Now, add this to your thinking, Sargut,” Alex urged. He’d closed on the slender Toralian, as did Tatia. For Sargut’s part, he appreciated the fact that the overly large Omnians were allies. “Our warships, except for our city-ships, are faster and more maneuverable than the governors’ battleships,” Alex finished.
“Then the plan is to lure the governors’ fleets to the Talus fleet, but yours will be there before them,” Sargut summarized.
“Almost,” Alex allowed. “When the Omnian fleets arrive, the governors will find themselves pinned by the same three-pronged tactic we’re presently using.”
“You can perform precise maneuvers like that?” Suntred asked. “Allow the governors’ fleets to transit into our fleet’s vicinity, and then your forces transit to form a new trap around them?”
Suntred examined the grins on the faces of Alex and Tatia, and she added, “Of course, you can … Omnian technology.”
Sargut agreed to the broadcast. It was relayed by Cordelia to Miriamette via a Talus Trident. Miriamette, who was connected to the Dark Whispers’ bridge comm, issued Sargut’s response.
In time, Durgat’s reply was received. He’d said, “Our fleets will drop below the ecliptic. If you’ll do the same, President Sargut, we’ll transit near you. Then we’ll approach your fleet in a single ship.”
“Cordelia, Admirals Shimada and Plummer, and Fleet Commander Taralum,” Tatia requested.
“Online,” Cordelia reported.
Tatia had marked a point on the holo-vid, and Cordelia transferred it.
Julien had calculated the possible approach vector of the governors’ fleets, following their transit. He’d allowed a small margin of error and then determined the approach vectors for each Omnian fleet. They’d be required to make two transits to arrive behind the governors’ fleets.
Tatia looked toward Alex and cocked an eyebrow.
That Alex was pulling the city-ships out of the impending confrontation indicated the Omnian warships would need their maneuverability and swiftness in the face of any conflict.
After orders were given, Alex, his staff, and the Toralians aboard the Freedom had three to four days to wait until the next movement in the gigantic shuffling of ships.
Seven powerful fleets were underway, racing toward a single point in space, where they would enter one another’s engagement envelopes. Each side was intent on achieving its purpose. The question was how far the leaders were prepared to go to achieve their goals.
-15-
Four and Four
Alex jerked upright, disturbing Renée, who stared wide-eyed at him. They had been asleep for merely an hour.
Alex’s heart raced, as he jumped out of bed. Renée triggered the lights and helped Alex collect clothes and dress, while he linked to the ship’s telemetry database.
The imagery was still resolving, but Alex saw the unmistakable silhouette of a governor’s ship.
“How could I have been so wrong?” Alex muttered, as he slipped on his boots.
“There will be time for recriminations later, my love,” Renée said sharply. “Deal with this problem first,” she added, signaling the cabin door open and giving her partner a polite shove in that direction.
Alex blew Renée a mental kiss, as he dashed into the corridor and raced for the bridge.
Cordelia prepared the holo-vid display for Alex.
The Freedom had made station about two hundred thousand kilometers out from Toral. The Our People was still en route from outside the periphery.
As Alex ran through the possible meanings of a governor’s ship transiting toward Toral, a heavy coalesced out of the dark followed by more battleships.
“Maybe I underestimated Durgat,” Alex said, while he attempted to reason why only a single fleet was approaching Toral.
“Alex, this can’t be one of the governors’ four fleets,” Cordelia said. “There hasn’t been sufficient time.”
Alex shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Sunnamis?” he offered, as he gazed at Cordelia.
At that moment, Julien ushered Sargut and Suntred onto the bridge.
Alex explained the arrival of a fifth Toralian player. “We need to know who this is and what they want, Sargut,” Alex said, “And remember, you’re this system’s elected president.”
Cordelia accessed the Toralian comm protocols and narrowed the beam of the ship’s transmission antenna. “Ready,” she said to Alex, who pointed a finger at Sargut.
“This is President Sargut. I’m transmitting to the ships arriving out of transit below our home world. Identify yourself.”
“This is Governor Sunnamis, President Sargut. I apologize for my late arrival. It was necessary to remove my fleet commander and his senior staff to maintain control of my fleet.”
“What are your intentions, Governor?” Sargut asked.
“I’m here to prevent the fracturing of Toralian society, which will happen if Durgat and his followers get their way. Our race has suffered enough under Artifice,” Sunnamis replied.
“Can we trust her?” Sargut asked. It felt strange to him to be asking an alien whether a member of his race could be trusted.
“It depends on what we’re discussing,” Alex replied. “I think we can trust Sunnamis to have her best interests at heart. In this case, I
believe she wants to preserve Talus, preserve the status quo. That’s the only way that her colony can gain the technology she covets.”
From the bridge passageway, Renée, who managed to appear presentable, as opposed to her disheveled partner, said, “In time, Sargut, you’ll see that females of all races are attracted to my Alex, and his intuition about them is uncanny. Isn’t that right, Suntred?”
Suntred glanced at Alex and ducked her head. A soft whistle issued from her teeth. When she’d first met the Omnians, she was revolted by the sight of them. In time, she saw their efforts to protect peaceful sentients of all races as heroic. Then she no longer focused on their outward appearances. What she saw were entities striving to make the galaxy a better place. In her eyes, that made them beautiful, which is why she understood what Renée meant.
“What do you want Sunnamis to do?” Sargut asked.
“The governor won’t be an effective part of our plan unless she can communicate in a timely manner with us,” Alex mused. “She’s close now, but she won’t be if she sails to the rendezvous point.”
“I’ve an answer,” Julien said. “I’ll board a traveler and join Sunnamis’s fleet before she transits.”
Alex’s heart lurched for the second time in recent moments. This attack felt even more painful.
“The governor’s fleet is too far for a traveler,” Alex protested.
“The traveler will have sufficient velocity before I leave Toral’s orbit. It’ll carry me there,” Julien replied. He knew Alex was stalling, grasping at excuses.
“Alex, Sunnamis knows who I am,” Julien continued. “My presence aboard her ship will lend credence to President Sargut and our work at Talus.”
Alex nodded his agreement. He grasped the back of Julien’s head and touched his forehead to the SADE’s.
Alex released Julien, who would have departed swiftly, except Renée stood in his way. She gripped his shoulders, kissed him on the cheek, and stepped aside.
