Okay, we can stop these fleets, Beata thought hopefully. She looked at the plot and highlighted three of the groups that had her largest fleets shadowing them from ahead, out of their sensor range. She thought she would have enough trying to hit them from far enough out that they wouldn’t have a chance of hurting her ships with graviton beams. Still, they would be able to drop most of her missiles out of hyper before they reached their targets. That meant that the main fight would have to occur in normal space, which meant when the Machines reached the system in question. But then the Machines would start sending missiles in at the inhabited planet, the only real estate of any importance to either side. She wasn’t sure she could defend every planet, when only one hit would devastate the surface, and a half dozen would kill everything on the world.
And these would be more of a problem, she thought, looking at the last probes. She didn’t have enough ships facing them to insure victory. In fact, she was almost sure that she would fail in protecting that planet. But it wasn’t her only resource. She hated what she would have to do next. But it was necessary.
“Get me the Dictator on the com,” she ordered. The call would go out over her ship’s wormhole, back to the Donut, then to Admiral Khrushchev’s flagship in the Gorgansha home system. From that ship it would be transmitted down to the planet. It wasn’t quite instantaneous, but the delay was almost unnoticeable. Or would be, with reasonable creatures.
“What do you want, female,” said the voice of Hraston Gonoras, the dictator. His words were translated, but supplied with his own voice and tones.
Asshole, thought Beata. She knew she was a woman, and being called one didn’t bother her. But this being thought all females were inferior. He could get away with that crap where his own females were concerned, but Beata wouldn’t let it fly with her people.
“Dictator,” she said, struggling to keep her tone even. “I hope that all is going well.”
“We are being invading by your inventions, female,” growled the Gorgansha male. “So, how do you think things are going?”
“I have need of your fleet to deploy under my instructions,” she said, getting right to the point, so she wouldn’t have to spend any more time than necessary dealing with this creature. “I know they are already moving to support us, but unless we're on the same page, we could lose the systems they're heading for.”
“Under your instruction,” said the being, his three eyes narrowing. “It is my fleet and my people, female. And they will deploy under my instructions and mine alone. Be thankful that they are moving to support you.”
“Look, Dictator,” said Beata, her tone firm. “I have a battle to fight, one in defense of your people. I need your ships integrated into my defensive efforts. If you don’t want your planets destroyed, you need to give me those ships.”
“Is that a threat?” growled the ruler.
This is a disgusting being, she thought, shaking her head. “It is not a threat. It’s a promise. I will not withdraw my ships, but I cannot guarantee the defense of these three systems.” She sent the information to the dictator, letting him see her dispositions and the systems in questions. “If I can’t guarantee a successful defense, I’m not about to sacrifice my ships for no result.”
“I…”
“Your choice, Dictator. I’m not going to argue with you. I need those ships, and I need them soonest. If you’re not willing to give them, I’ll have to abandon those systems so I can concentrate on the defense of the next ones in line.”
The dictator stared at her for a moment, his face shaking with anger. “I will complain to your Emperor about this, Admiral,” he roared.
The holo blanked, leaving Beata to shake with her own emotions. He is the most infuriating being I have even had to deal with.
“Get me the commanders of the Alpha, Charlie and Delta forces,” she told her com officer. She would order them to employ their ships in a manner that would keep them from taking too much in the way of damage, and set up the defenses for the next layer of populated systems. They were actually the last layer before the Gorgansha home world. She didn’t like giving up that much depth of defense, but if that was what it took, that was how it would be done.
* * *
“I demand that you recall that female and replace her with a male officer,” yelled the Gorgansha dictator.
Sean sighed and closed his eyes, wondering what he had done to have this dropped on him. He had dealt with many alien heads of state, and not all of them were agreeable. But there had been none like this one.
“Look, Dictator Gonoras,” he said, keeping his tone firm and steady. “Beata Bednarczyk is the best commander I have available. She has done nothing that would make me consider her relief for reason.”
“I demand that she be removed from our region,” roared the dictator. “She is unreasonable. She threatened to pull her forces away from the defense of my systems. She…”
“My commanders are in overall charge of all forces on all fronts, Dictator,” said Sean, his voice going low and dangerous. “The Elysium and Crakista forces that are out there are under her command. If you don’t want to cooperate with her, you have every right to withdraw you forces from her command. But don’t expect her to fight her battle the way you want her to.”
“And that is your final word?”
“That is my final word, Dictator.”
The being was silent for some moments, whether thinking or just steaming, Sean couldn't tell. And really didn't care.
“Very well,” said the being finally, his voice dripping with rage. “Then I will order my fleet commanders to take their orders from her.”
The holo faded, the dictator not even having the common courtesy of signing off with some kind of simple goodbye.
Sean stared at the empty space for a moment. He had a bad feeling about this irrational being. As long as they were allies against the Machines, he expected them to toe the line. After the AIs were gone the Empire would be the force standing in the way of their expansion in that space. He didn’t think Gonoras would stand for that. The dictator had to know that he couldn’t beat the Empire, not with their disparity in size and population. Or he might believe that the Empire had too much on their plate with the Cacas, and that the humans would not have the resolve to stand against them. He would find himself mistaken in that belief.
We’re going to be prepared for them, he thought. He was not going to let a slave holding Empire like that rule that space. Some might say it was their space, so their choice. Sean didn’t think it was the choice of the slaves, those they held now, and those they would conquer in the future. He had already completely toppled one slave holding Empire, and was at war with another.
“Your Majesty,” said Admiral Bednarczyk as her image came up on a holo.
“I got him to agree to give you complete control of his fleets,” said Sean, feeling a connection to this officer. “But I have to tell you, Admiral. I don’t trust that creature.”
“Don’t worry, your Majesty,” said the admiral, nodding her head. “I don’t trust him either. And I’m not about to let my guard down.”
“Good,” said Sean, closing his eyes for a moment, then looking at her with a cold stare. “I’m almost tempted to order you to launch a surprise attack on his ships once the Machines are gone.”
“I, wouldn’t like that, your Majesty,” said Beata, eyes widening, as if she was seeing this side of the Emperor for the first time. “While I don’t get along with all of their senior military personnel, the ones who have the same attitudes as their leader, I do get along with some. I would hate to have to blow so many of them out of space.”
“Will you do it, though?” said Sean, locking eyes with his admiral. “If the order comes down.”
“I will obey that order, your Majesty,” she said after a moment's hesitation that told the Emperor how she felt.
Still, Sean knew this woman would do as he said, depending on him to make a good decision. And, of course, he would
get the blame if it turned into a disaster.
“And do you have someone in their aristocracy who might make a good leader in a new government?” asked Sean, leaning forward and steepling his fingers on the desk.
“I think we do. I’m just not sure all of the Gorgansha people will accept him.”
“Then it will be up to you to make them accept him,” said Sean. “I would want you to keep the collateral damage down, but I want an ordered government set up. Maybe not a parliamentary monarchy like ours. “Possibly a democracy or a republic.”
“Sure you don’t want to just go ahead and make them a part of the Empire?” suggested the admiral. “It would give us good bases out here.”
“I think we have enough problems right now without adding more,” said Sean with a smile. “Maybe a future Emperor will want to rule the galaxy, but I have enough to deal with right here.”
“I’m getting a com signal, your Majesty.”
“Go get them, Beata.”
The Fleet Admiral smiled and turned away before the holo faded.
Sean had not been sure about this admiral when he she had been recommended to him for command out in the Bolthole region. She had a reputation as someone who didn’t get along with superiors. She had proven to be a very good strategist and tactician, and one that had worked well with her subordinates. And now he couldn’t wait to turn her loose against the Cacas and let her deal with them.
* * *
“The ships are yours, female,” said the Gorgansha ruler over the com. “Make sure you use them well.”
“Thank you, Dictator. I will make sure they are treated the same as my people.”
The Dictator stared at her for a moment, silent, thinking.
“You Emperor is a hard man, is he not?”
“That he is. I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.”
“And he will leave us be when this fight is done?” said Gorgansha, his eyes turning in their turrets in the Gorgansha version of narrowing.
“If that’s what you want, Dictator,” said Beata, shrugging her shoulders. “Or he will be happy to be your ally, making sure that your Consolidation is defended from all other threats that might appear.”
“I’m not sure I would like that, female,” he said, three eyes staring from his face in the holo. “I would prefer that my nation be left alone to forge our own destiny.”
Conquering other people, enslaving them, thought Beata. And you think that the Emperor is a hard man now? Just wait.
“So, what is your strategy?”
“I will defend each of the target systems to the best of my ability with what I have. I will not order suicide charges, but we will fight to stop them to the best of our ability. And if it looks like we are about to be overrun we will fall back to the next system, and gather a larger force.”
“I’m not sure I like that strategy,” said dictator, leaning forward. “You would lose my systems, my people.”
“Would you rather I fight a lost battle and lose my fleet, leaving your Consolidation open for attack?”
“No,” said the dictator, giving a very alien head motion while his eyes widened. “It’s your battle to fight. Just make sure you don’t lose it.”
The holo died, leaving Beata left to stare at the blank air where his image had resided. She had no doubt that if she was one of his officers she would be facing execution, possibly by torture. She was very happy that she worked for a government that didn’t engage in such. The worst the Empire would do to her if she failed was retire her, to live on some quiet planet in a large manor. Not a bad punishment really. Not one that she wanted to end her career on, but survivable.
“The Machine fleet is on approach, ma’am,” called out her chief of staff. “Moving toward the hyper VI barrier.”
“Is everyone ready?” she asked, looking at the plot, reconfiguring it from an overall view of the front to the system her part of the fleet was in. She knew she should have turned this force over to a high-ranking subordinate, but dammit, she wanted to lead the ships she was currently with into battle. Otherwise, she would have had to sit on her flagship while monitoring the overall front, and the ship and local force fought without her while she was aboard.
“All reporting ready to go,” said the captain.
She nodded as she looked over the holos showing her the faces of her group commanders coming up around the plot.
There were two human admirals, one Crakista and one Brakakak in her own force. Of her other five forces, one was being commanded by a Crakista and one by a Brakakak due to their rank. The other three had human commanders, Hahn, Matthews and Alverez. Two of the forces were large enough to handle what was coming at them, she hoped. Hers wasn’t one of them, with only nine heavy squadrons of human ships and two each of Crakista and Elysium capitals. That gave her fifty battleships, plus two hundred and eighty smaller vessels. And four fleet carriers with over four hundred warp fighters. She was expecting almost a thousand Gorgansha ships, but they had yet to appear on the plot, and the way it was looking the Machines would be moving into normal space before they showed. Matthews was on the way with a fleet about equal to her own, and if he got here in time he might just tip the balance.
Behind her was a living system, an industrial system, almost two billion beings on the inhabitable planet. One twentieth of the industrial potential of the Gorgansha Consolidation, and her promised ships weren’t here yet. She was tempted to launch a spread of missiles at the Machines when they translated into normal space, then get out of the system while the getting was good. Of course she wouldn’t do that, but she was also determined to not sacrifice her force, and herself, for an ungrateful ruler.
If only we didn’t have to worry about the slaves, thought the admiral. Over half the population of the system were moderate sized mammalians who had lived in a bronzed age culture before their masters had come along and conquered them. Except for a very small group, every one of their species in the Universe was in this system. The planet was a distinctive nest of evolutionary diversity that would be gone if the Machines took it out.
Beata had seen too many planets killed in this campaign. Dozens of evolutionary paths cut off, some when they had already developed their own intelligence. She looked at her dispositions and wondered why she was being such a sucker. She would have problems getting everyone out if she needed to flee, setting up so far inside the system as she had, but still far enough out to distance her from the gate.
The wormhole gate sat near the planet, stationary on its grabber units, matching the world in its orbit despite being thirty thousand kilometers out. She could duck into the gate if necessary, if she could get there in time. Of course she would have to abandon the thirty-three wormholes her ships carried as weapons. She didn’t like the prospect of doing so, since the wormholes were expensive in energy and negative matter. And even more importantly, they had all had to undergo a several month voyage to get out to this front, and couldn’t be replaced without another such trip.
“Enemy is starting to stairstep down,” called out Tactical Officer Captain Lindsey Quan. “Jumping from VII to VI.”
How in the hell did they get enough supermetals to produce so many VII vessels? she thought. She had thought that would be their bottleneck, but somehow they had found a way to make more than the human analysts had predicted. Either that, or they had figured out a way to get ships into VII without the associated cost in supermetals.
Over twenty-five hundred ships were translating into VI. They were better armed than the vessels the Empire had first encountered, with smaller but faster missiles than the monsters they had deployed when the first battles occured. The only good thing about their new force structure was the lack of the gigantic planet killers. And even that might turn out to be a mixed blessing.
“Contact Chan,” ordered the admiral, looking over at her bank of com people. “Find out when we’re going to get our transmitter ships.”
They were supposed to be here already, weren�
��t they? Bolthole hadn't gotten its ship either, though she wasn’t even sure if that one was operational yet. Last report it was still a mess of unconnected circuits, with crew frantically working on getting it operational on the way to the gate. But if they got here, and they worked, this battle would be over. Hell, the war would be over.
“We have ships translating down into normal space,” came the voice of Vice Admiral Juana Alverez. “By God, when are we going to get our secret weapon?”
“I don’t know, Juana. Just fight your battle to the best of your ability. And make sure that you survive.”
“If we got the damned ships the Lizards promised us, we would be better prepared.”
Beata grimaced. She knew that many people called the Crakista lizards, just as she was sure that those beings were not what the admiral had been talking about. Imperial citizens respected the lizard like aliens of their neighboring Empire, even if they found them cold and distant. They were also honorable. With a few exceptions, most humans just didn’t like the Gorgansha. She wondered how their other allies felt about the six limbed reptilians. They really hadn’t been out here long enough to get a good taste of interaction, and she hadn’t asked any of them.
The admiral looked over at the two officers who had recently been assigned to her flag bridge. Commander Kalarkrak was a Brakakak, the liaison officer for that force. While Captain Jrasstrotas was a Crakista, his fleet’s liaison. Both spoke excellent Terranglo with only a hint of the accent their speaking apparatus forced on them.
“Do the best you can, and protect your fleet,” she told the vice admiral. “I want…”
“We’re picking up the Gorgansha force moving into range in hyper,” called out Quan.
“How many?” she yelled out, looking away from Mara for a moment.
“Over eight hundred. Probably a hundred of their capital ships.”
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