After what had happened to the Alliance 17th Fleet at Yegraia in Region-4, their desire for revenge was tempered somewhat by taking their objectives without so much as breaking a nail.
* * * *
CSS Ghost, Raknii Imperial Planet of Raku
August, 3869
CSS Ghost floated lazily just above the Raknii Imperial Palace, a hole in the night. No, not really hole, as that implied a darker-than-dark quality that would make her discernible, if only barely. No, Ghost was literally invisible. When a passerby looked up, all the stars showed through, as though she wasn’t there at all. Ghost had a clear electro-chemical exterior coating that allowed for images received from thousands of micro-fiber lenses to be displayed on the exterior surface of the hull, displaying light patterns from the opposite side, so that nearby visual sensors could not detect the ship via occlusion, or blockage of stars as the ship passed between them.
Ghost was aptly named, as she glided as silently as her namesake, using a revolutionary new gravitic drive system that enabled the craft to maneuver in a manner similar to standard hydrogen-plume propulsion within 4.5 light hours distance to an average gas-giant mass object. This new gravitic drive gave Ghost the ability to maneuver within inhabited solar systems without a detectable hydrogen-plume — or to float silently and invisibly just above the Raknii Imperial Palace, in the heart of the capital of mankind’s most implacable enemy, totally undetected.
Diet, I am receiving a message in Morse code from my mobile self on the surface.
“What’s he saying and how’s he saying it?”
He appears to be using some kind of hand-held, low-power signaling laser. He says there is a shallow pool of water of sufficient size in the center of a tree-enshrouded garden, atop the Temple of Dol, just on the north side of the palace. He says there is a tunnel between the palace and the temple used only by the priestesses and the supreme-master, which he can utilize to meet us in that garden.
“How do you know it’s really him?”
How many Raknii do you think know Morse code?
“What’s Morse code?”
That’s exactly my point.
* * * *
Chapter-28
A perfect example of minority rule is a baby in the house. -- Milwaukee Journal
The Alliance Planet Minnos
August, 3869
“Bozo, who was it exactly that actually discovered the secret of how the Raknii translators actually worked internally?” asked Fleet-Admiral Roger Kalis.
I did, Admiral.
“That’s what I thought. What can you tell me about a man named Halbert Guderian?”
The Honorable Lord Halbert Nikolaus Guderian: born June 1, 3830, in the city of Fürt on the planet Bavara, Imperial Germanic Empire. Unmarried. Next of kin: Dietrich Anton Guderian, sibling. A grandnephew of Kaiser Wilhelm VII. Reported captured by Raknii assault troops in his hometown of Fürt, on the German planet of Bavara in June, 3866.
“Postulate how this Halbert Nikolaus Guderian might have come to possess accurate, intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Raknii translator, the ability to speak the Raknii language and demonstrate mastery level skills in architecture, artistry, political science and philosophy.”
There are very few official records that I can access on that individual, Admiral. Much of what would normally be considered public records for Halbert Nikolaus Guderian is classified and sealed by the Imperial German government. This is not unusual for members of the German Royal Family, regardless of how distant their relationship to the emperor might actually be.
“His next of kin… what was that name again?”
Dietrich Anton Guderian.
“Guderian… Dietrich Guderian. I’ve heard that name before, but I can’t place it. Bozo, what information do you have on this Dietrich Anton Guderian?”
Baron Dietrich Anton Guderian von und zu Fürt: born June 1, 3830 in the city of Fürt on the planet Bavara, Imperial Germanic Empire. A grandnephew of Kaiser Wilhelm VII. Next of kin: Baroness Noreen Guderian, spouse - The Honorable Hans Niklaus Guderian, infant child - The Honorable Lord Halbert Nikolaus Guderian, sibling. Current positions: Founder and sole owner of Tydlich Bundesgenosse Gespenster Corporation – Admiral and Commander of Fleet Intelligence, Confederate Stellar Accord.
“Commander of Fleet Intelligence for the Confederacy, you say?” Kalis sputtered, startled.
Correct.
“Bozo, isn’t this Dietrich Anton Guderian your mysterious partner, who you worked with before and during the War of Confederate Independence?”
Correct.
“How interestingly coincidental,” Kalis mused. “So what is this mysterious partner of yours doing now?”
I’m not exactly sure, Admiral. If everything is on schedule, he should be at, or at least very near, the Raknii imperial capital on Raku.
“WHAT? How in the hell could he have gotten to Raku and just what in heaven's name does he think he’s doing?” Kalis thundered.
Don’t worry, Admiral. He took CSS Ghost and he’s going to Raku to rescue his brother.
“Are you telling me that he STOLE a Confederate Fleet vessel to go gallivanting off into the very heart of enemy territory, on personal business?” Kalis roared in indignation.
No, Admiral. Diet didn’t “steal” anything. Ghost is a Confederate Fleet Intelligence vessel and as Diet is a full admiral and the duly-appointed Commander of Confederate Fleet Intelligence, he is fully authorized to order the release of Ghost to himself and assign himself to that mission. Besides, Diet’s brother is a national security asset of vital importance. We need to retrieve him from the aliens, if at all possible.
Kalis was thunderstruck. “What ninny commissioned him as an admiral in my Fleet and then named him as Commander of Confederate Fleet Intelligence?”
Two ninnies to be exact, Admiral. President Lincoln Collier personally signed Diet’s Confederate citizenship papers and his commission as a full admiral in the Confederate Fleet.
“Collier again… and here I thought that I’d pulled that idiot’s teeth,” Kalis fumed. “All right then, who’s the dumb ass that named your buddy as Commander of Confederate Fleet Intelligence, then?”
You did, Admiral. I really don’t see what you’re getting all upset about. Diet has done nothing wrong. If you’ll remember, Diet donated all of those Ghost-class intelligence vessels to the Confederate Fleet in the first place.
“Why wasn’t I consulted first?”
Do all of your full admirals consult with you before assigning specific tasks to vessels under their command, Admiral?
Thwarted on that tack, Kalis changed course. “What about his crew? It is unconscionable that he would endanger the Ghost’s crew on such a hare-brained scheme.”
Ghost has no crew. Captain Diamond and his entire crew transferred to CSS Banshee when she launched and Ghost went into the TBG facility at Joja where she was originally built, for an overhaul of her systems… all at Diet’s personal expense, I might add. Diet, his wife and their child are the only people aboard. Besides, that “hare-brained scheme,” as you called it, was my idea and it was no more hare-brained than a LOT of the things we did to get the Confederacy birthed and defended.
Kalis suddenly felt chastened. He’d momentarily forgotten how much that he and his new country owed to this strange, sentient computer and his mysterious and certifiably insane partner.
“He took his wife and infant child to Raku with him? How could he possibly be controlling that ship without a crew?”
Oh, Diet’s not controlling CSS Ghost, Admiral… I am.
* * * *
The Raknii Imperial Planet of Raku, Temple of Dol
August, 3869
Xior guided Hal through the sub-basement of the imperial palace along a route known to few besides the Dolrak, the OverMasters and the supreme-master himself. Varq accompanied them, after having invited himself along with no explanation of how he might have known they were going somewhere together that
night. Right after Xior had fetched the signaling laser that Hal had asked for, Varq just mysteriously appeared, seemingly out of thin air, in a way that only Varq could. He asked no questions and he made no statements. He simply became their shadow when it came time for them to leave. Xior led them through the tunnel between the palace and the temple, which came out in the rear, well away from the public areas. Of course, there really were no public areas in the temple at this time of night. Even Dolrak had to sleep sometime.
Xior led them up a back staircase that led to the roof garden, and Varq still made no comment as they stepped out into the almost total darkness of a new moon. From the edge of the pool, inside the ring of concealing trees, Hal shone his low power laser skyward and tapped out a message in an ancient code that few humans had ever heard of, much less still knew how to read.
Hal repeated flashing out his message until he heard: Understood… stand by under the trees, inside his head. Silently, Hal hand signaled the two OverMasters that they should retreat under the trees, and both nodded in affirmation. All stood silently, waiting. Xior scanned the sky as if anxious to spot the incoming human ship, though Varq did not. Varq stood patiently with his hands folded and his head bowed, as if in prayer. Hal, of course, knew exactly where the ship was, gliding silently through the darkness, as he was the only one who heard the running commentary from his brother.
Xior was startled when after almost a quarter sub-turn of seeing or hearing nothing but the buzzing and chirping of nocturnal insects, he heard a sudden hiss and the muted, but unmistakable faint whirring of an electric motor. Xior had no idea what his first sight of the invisible human marvel might be, but a slowly expanding maw of soft, blood-red light hadn’t been it.
When the ramp touched down to the ground and the whirring stopped, Hal signaled for his two companions to follow, as he slowly made his way up the ramp and into the ship. When Varq, who trailed behind Xior, cleared the top of the ramp, the whirring began again softly as the ramp slowly closed again behind them. Two seconds after the ramp completed its journey, the hiss of the hatch sealing could be heard and then came a soft thunk, as the hatch locks slid into place. Another second later, the red lights faded as white lights came up equally slowly, giving their eyes time to adjust before ramping up to full brightness.
Just as the lights came up enough to begin to make out details of the interior, for a moment Xior thought Hal was being attacked, as a smaller giant suddenly collided with him… no, not collided, he corrected himself… embraced.
“Hal!” cried Noreen as she leapt into her brother-in-law’s much-strengthened arms. After smothering his cheeks with kisses, Noreen backed away and exclaimed, “God, it’s good to see you again. We’ve been so worried.”
“Hello, Noreen,” said a blushing, but broadly grinning Hal. “I have to say, that was certainly a hell of a greeting. One definitely worth waiting for.”
As a grinning Noreen backed further away, Diet handed her the baby and he stepped forward to embrace his brother as well — minus all of that cheek kissing, of course. Their ancestors were Germans, and not of French or Russian descent, so cheek kissing was left strictly to the womenfolk.
Suddenly remembering his companions, who were all but hidden behind his body, Hal made introductions. “Diet… Noreen, I’d like to introduce you both to some of my friends. First is OverMaster and former Supreme-Master Xior, who is the sire of the current Raknii supreme-master.”
As Hal was speaking English, neither of the two Raknii understood a word of what Hal was saying, but upon recognizing his name, Xior stepped from behind Hal to confront… another Hal, only this one had fur on its face. He had seen Hal scraping his off with a borrowed fang-blade, sharpened to surgical quality.
Switching back to the Raknii language, Hal said, “OverMaster Xior, I would like to present my twin brother, Diet.”
Diet gave a slight bow, but did not extend his hand. One just didn’t do that with creatures having long, sharp claws, even if they were only half your size. Xior mimicked Diet’s gesture and then stepped aside to allow Varq forward.
“Diet, I would also like to present OverMaster Varq, the prophet who first delivered the dark prophecy concerning humans to the Raknii people.”
Diet repeated his bow towards Varq, but Varq’s attention was elsewhere.
Hal again turned towards the two small aliens and said in Raknii, “OverMaster Xior… OverMaster Varq, I would also like to introduce you to Diet’s mate Noreen, and their kit, Hans.”
Noreen did not bow, as she was holding the baby, but nodded her head towards the aliens as she recognized her name within that growling introduction. Again, Xior repeated Noreen’s gesture, but yet again, Varq’s attention was elsewhere — focused totally on the infant in Noreen’s arms.
“May I hold the kit?” asked Varq suddenly.
When Hal interpreted Varq’s request, Noreen glanced quickly at her husband in a flash of grave motherly concern, but when she saw Diet give her a slight nod of affirmation, she gulped and stepped forward to hold little Hans out towards the living embodiment of Rak nightmares. At first it appeared awkward as Varq took the human baby, who was almost half his size, but his strength was equal to the task and he cradled the babe tenderly in his arms.
Hans cooed joyfully, delighted at the furry feline face so close to his, as he patted Varq’s graying muzzle with his pink little fingers and lifted Varq’s lip to reveal the fangs hidden beneath. For his part, Varq studied the chubby pink face before him in obvious wonder. Xior wasn’t the only one to note the obvious discontinuity in the strange scene before him, at this essence of innocence gurgling contentedly in the tender grip of a master of death, having long fangs and exceedingly sharp claws. But Varq’s claws were retracted and his fangs showed only in the Raknii version of a smile.
Suddenly Varq looked up, and seemingly noticed Diet and Noreen for the first time. “That you dare to bring your most prized possession… this innocent kit, here to this place of extreme hazard and bestow it confidently into the peril of my claws, speaks volumes to my spirit,” Varq growled. “These actions show incredible respect and extraordinary trust to enemies, who have horribly wronged your kind. I salute your character and courageous sense of personal honor, and offer you my deepest and utmost respect for your gallantry, in return.”
Varq then tuned to face Xior and said, “I declare these humans inviolate and I place the blessings of Dol and my own benediction upon them. I vow to shelter and safeguard their well-being with my life, until their purpose here be accomplished and they leave us in complete safety, to return from whence they came.”
Xior responded in ritual solemn agreement, to the ancient injunction invoked by his brother OverMaster saying, “I stand in accession with the wisdom of my brother and add my own vow to his.”
Hal translated the incredibly unique honor of Varq’s offer to Hans’ parents, as Varq tried to hand the babe back to Noreen. Little Hans, however, had a mind of his own and didn’t want to go back to his mother. He grabbed fistfuls of Varq’s fur in his attempt to remain snuggled tightly to the big kitty. Noreen mumbled embarrassed apologies, as she tried desperately to disentangle her offspring’s chubby fingers from Varq’s fur, without pulling on it. Varq rumbled deep in his throat… not in menace, but what sounded like a lion purring in contentment. Hans squealed and laughed in sheer delight at this marvelous new game his mother was playing, as he wiggled and squirmed to avoid her probing hands trying to detach him from his furry new friend.
Xior turned to Varq and said, “I will adjure the supreme-master to declare this place and the back tunnels between the palace and the temple forbidden to all but ourselves, so that security is assured.”
Varq nodded in agreement, as Noreen finally disentangled Hans from his fur. Hans squealed in frustration at having been thwarted, but quieted quickly as she clutched him against the soft comfort of her bosom.
Diet looked at Hal and said, “Please have our guests follow me to the bridge, where s
eating and refreshments may be offered, and we can talk in a more relaxed atmosphere.”
Hal translated and they all followed as Diet led them through the small ship. Varq followed as though on automatic pilot, concentrating on whatever deep internal thoughts he entertained... but Xior’s eyes flitted everywhere as he walked, drinking in every detail of this marvel of human engineering. The steps on the circular stairway leading up to the bridge on the small upper level were twice as far apart as the Raknii found comfortable, positioned for beings almost twice their size, but they managed.
The bridge itself was revealed to be a generally circular area with a large view-screen forward and a rotating captain’s command chair centered in the room. Other rotating chairs faced communications, weapons, engineering, scan and ECM stations, empty of occupants, but having blinking indicators and readouts scrolling, as though they were crewed. Diet took the captain’s chair and offered the other chairs to Hal and his Raknii guests, while Noreen laid the baby down in his crib where their sentient computer could keep watch over the babe, while she gathered refreshments for everyone. Again, the scale of the furnishings dwarfed the Raknii, who had to crawl awkwardly into the oversized seats, but they maintained an air of great dignity in the midst of feeling totally ridiculous, engulfed in a world much too large for them.
Xior and Varq thought it odd that these humans had traveled across hundreds of light-cycles for a specific purpose, yet they did not immediately speak of that purpose. Instead they served human food and drink in a purely social setting.
Wrath of an Angry God: A Military Space Opera (The Sentience Trilogy Book 3) Page 32
