The Star Cross: The Forever War

by Raymond L. Weil

  Andrew still watched the viewscreens as he and Kurt talked. His eyes suddenly widened, and he shifted his attention to Kurt. “Looks as if we will have company in orbit.”

  “Who?” asked Kurt, glancing at the viewscreen. These days a lot of ships were always coming and going. With a shiver, he recognized the Lakiam battlecruiser Aurelia and another larger Lakiam vessel.

  Andrew grinned. “If I had to make a guess, I would say that’s Mara’s new ship.”

  Kurt sucked in a deep breath. This would not be a good day.

  -

  Kurt went on board Newton Station. He wanted to speak with Colonel Simms, the station’s commanding officer. Stopping in one of the construction bays, he spent a moment watching the work robots and some technicians building one of the new heavy battlecruisers. He was amazed at the rapid pace of construction. The new technology being used was quite impressive.

  “Quite a sight, isn’t it?” commented Colonel Hayworth, who was in charge of ship construction. He had noticed the admiral walking into the bay and came over to him. As Hayworth spoke, several of the larger robots placed a hull section in position while two others welded it in place.

  “Yes, it is. I never dreamed we could build ships so rapidly.” If you stood here long enough you could actually see the ship beginning to take shape.

  “Twelve heavy battlecruisers every four weeks and two battleships every three weeks,” said Hayworth. “Those two shipyards the Glaymons helped us build are remarkable. Each shipyard can build a new battleship without any Human involvement in the construction process.”

  Kurt nodded, watching a large robot carrying a heavy metal beam across the construction bay to the ship. “Keep in mind both of those shipyards has an AI in charge. It monitors every bit of construction twenty-four hours a day.”

  “Yes, I was on board one of the stations yesterday, talking to the AI. It’s just like speaking with a regular person, except they’re a lot smarter and never get tired.”

  Kurt grinned. “Aleea on the Star Cross is much the same. We’re still getting used to her.”

  “I understand Grantz returned with you?”

  “Yes, he was afraid, if he remained on Kubitz, he might really be killed next time. We know for certain High Profiteer Creed was responsible for the attacks on the embassy and Grantz.”

  Hayworth was silent for a long moment and then spoke. “We all had hoped Creed died on Earth. How did he escape?”

  “We don’t know,” Kurt replied. “During the battle at Earth, the Profiteers and the Dacroni mercenaries had a lot of shuttles flying around, stripping the planet of its wealth. Creed may have made it to one of those shuttles and then to one of the orbiting Profiteer ships before it jumped out. There’s also the possibility he bribed someone on Earth to smuggle him off-planet in a cargo ship, where he could have signaled for a pickup. We’ll be investigating that.”

  “A lot of people will be upset when they find out he survived, particularly after all the harm he caused to Earth.”

  “The Newton Princess will return to Kubitz in another week, transporting the new embassy staff plus a special team of military people tasked with finding High Profiteer Creed. Once we know where he is, I’ll take a fleet and kill him.”

  “Not capture him?”

  Kurt shook his head, his expression revealing his determination. “No. On board the Star Cross are the bodies of Marvin Tenner, the embassy staff who were killed, as well as the Marines who died in the battle. I will not show High Profiteer Creed any mercy. With his attack on the embassy, he has signed his own death warrant. I’ve also placed a large bounty on his head with the Controllers on Kubitz. If he’s anywhere in the Gothan Empire, we’ll find him.” This was a hard-line approach, but Creed was one of those individuals who was better off dead. Unfortunately there were probably a number of similar Profiteers in the empire who were just as deserving.

  They were interrupted by two loud, boisterous voices. Turning, Kurt saw Andrew with Grantz in tow.

  “I caught him wandering around the station, asking questions about the Glaymons.”

  Grantz didn’t seem too concerned over his current predicament. “I was just curious. It’s been a while since I was here last, and I wanted to see if anything had changed.”

  Kurt sighed. He would have to deal with Grantz. “In one week the Newton Princess will return to Kubitz. You will be on the ship. I will also have Controller Nirron make out a new contract for you to sign.”

  Grantz’s face turned pale at hearing this. His current contract had made him a very rich Profiteer. He eyed Kurt and then spoke. “Keep in mind I won’t sign anything that risks my life or lowers my current earnings.”

  “You will sign what I give you,” Kurt responded evenly. “Or you can pay for your own passage to Kubitz, and you will no longer have the enhanced safety of your living quarters at the embassy.”

  Grantz took a step back and then slowly nodded. “I trust you to be fair.” He then turned toward Andrew. “Have you ever considered building a pleasure house here on Newton? I’ll go in as a partner with you. This is virgin territory. We could make a fortune in just the first year.”

  Andrew looked flustered. “No. Newton will have no pleasure houses.” The two of them had discussed this before.

  “You don’t know what you’re missing out on. I’m sure we could work something out. We could bring in entertainment from Kubitz and food from over a thousand different worlds. I know some women who would be willing to come as well. I tell you, we could make a huge profit and set ourselves up for life.”

  “Come on, Grantz. Let’s get you settled into your quarters here on the station.” replied a flustered Andrew.

  Kurt watched as Grantz and Andrew left. Grantz had been useful in the past, and a new contract would ensure the greedy Profiteer kept his mouth shut about anything he might hear or see while he was on Newton. It was one of the reasons Kurt had allowed Grantz to come back with them. It would be easier to get Grantz to sign the contract while he was here. By the time the Newton Princess returned to Newton, the reinforcing of the outer buildings in the compound should be finished. New living quarters were also being added. Grantz would have a secure place to stay without the fear of being killed.

  “I don’t see how you deal with that scoundrel,” Hayworth said with a deep frown.

  Kurt laughed. “Grantz takes some getting used to. As hard as this may be to believe, he has actually saved our lives in the past while we were on Kubitz. He can also go places on that planet we can’t. He has a lot of connections within the Profiteer organizations.”

  “Well, I’m just glad you have to deal with him and not me.”

  Kurt nodded. “Just one more thing. Make sure two Marines are assigned to keep an eye on him. Grantz has a habit of going into areas he has no business being in.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Hayworth promised.

  -

  A short time later Kurt was in the Command Center of Newton Station.

  “So when did the Aurelia and Mara’s new ship show up?” Kurt had been expecting her for the past month. He had felt a little uneasy since she and several of the scientists on board the Aurelia knew the secret location of the Glaymon Dyson Sphere, even though they had sworn never to reveal it or the other secrets the Glaymons had shared.

  “Three days ago,” Colonel Simms answered. “She asked if you were here at Newton, and, when I told her no, she asked if she could go to the surface. From what I understand, she’s been touring the planet, visiting various cities and even went to the new Westside Mall in the capital. She’s also met with Governor Spalding.”

  “Who took her shopping at the mall?” Kurt was surprised Mara would be interested in—what would be to her—a very primitive shopping area.

  Simms’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Why, your wife and Captain Randson’s wife.”

  Kurt felt the blood drain from his face. He tried to keep his voice normal as he asked Simms the next question. “And how did th
at go?”

  “From what I heard, they nearly bought out the mall. Mara had one of her shuttles land in the mall parking lot to load up everything she purchased.”

  Kurt let out a deep breath, relieved to know the women hadn’t killed each other, particularly since Mara had tried to seduce Kurt while they were in the Lakiam System—something he hadn’t mentioned to Keera. He was wondering now if he had made a mistake in not telling her.

  “How is the installation of Lomatz’s new defensive platforms going?”

  Lomatz had been providing Newton with a number of advanced defensive platforms, able to resist a black ship of the Vorn. With the arrival of the Glaymons, a different power source had been provided, and one of Lomatz’s construction ships had been modified to build the newer platforms. There were two variations. One could be sold to anyone, including planets in the Gothan Empire, and the other was strictly for Newton and Earth.

  “We have twenty of the updated platforms currently deployed in orbit around Newton and six around Earth. Governor Spalding is suggesting we make the ones Lomatz sells in the Gothan Empire available to the other three worlds in our Alliance.”

  Julbian, Sertez, and Maldon. “If we do, Lomatz will demand some sort of payment.”

  While Lomatz had been extremely helpful, he still ran a very lucrative arms-selling business back on Kubitz.

  “Governor Spalding thought our ambassadors to the three planets should speak to them about payment. Right now, if a black fleet appeared in any of those systems, it would cause substantial damage before we could respond.”

  With a deep sigh, Kurt knew he must ensure the safety of those worlds. The defense system each currently had was designed to keep Profiteer fleets at bay, not the black ships of the Vorn. “I’ll return to the Star Cross and speak to Aleea. Perhaps between the two of us, we can come up with a way to better protect the three planets.”

  Kurt had hoped to go to the surface and speak with his wife, particularly since learning she had been in the company of Mara. He was afraid to even guess what they’d talked about. With Mara certain subjects weren’t off-limits, and, to a point, the same was true with Keera, since she had spent time on a few Enlightened Worlds as well as Kubitz.

  Sighing again, he would have to put off his trip home for a few more hours. He would speak with Aleea and have her prepare a report for Governor Spalding on what it would take to defend Julbian, Sertez, and Maldon. While he was deeply concerned about what Mara might have said to his girlfriend, he was more concerned about the safety of the worlds in the Newton Alliance.

  -

  Kurt returned to the Star Cross, still docked to one of the ports of the station. As he entered the Command Center, Aleea looked at him in surprise. She was standing on the small dais, which projected her holographic figure.

  “Admiral, I did not expect to see you for at least a few days. I’m currently running diagnostics on all ship systems while the crew is off the Star Cross.”

  Kurt sat in his command chair, feeling it adjust to his body. “Aleea, we have five systems in the Newton Alliance—Earth, Newton, Julbian, Sertez, and Maldon. Governor Spalding suggests we sell some of Lomatz’s new defensive platforms to Julbian, Sertez, and Maldon. In the computer data banks is a list of the defenses of all three planets. Run some simulations on what it would take to defend those three systems against an attack by the black ships—or at least slow down the attack so a Newton or Glaymon fleet could reach the endangered system in time.”

  Aleea looked thoughtful. “Either Newton or the Glaymons could reach any of the three systems in less than two hours. With our detection systems we can identify any Vorn fleet within thirty-two light-years.”

  “True,” replied Kurt. “But we don’t have that detection system in any of those three systems as it is classified Glaymon technology.” This particular technology Kurt planned on speaking to the Glaymons about. He would like to share it with all the worlds in Newton’s Alliance.

  It had been shared with Fleet Commodore Dreen as it would aid in detecting a black fleet before it dropped from hyperspace. However, its use was to be limited to only Protector Worlds in Dreen’s Lakiam Alliance. The Glaymon sensor system could even detect a Vorn ship using their hyperdrive-masking technology.

  “It would be available if we deployed one of our heavy battlecruisers in each of the systems,” Aleea responded. “That way we would know if a Vorn fleet was approaching, and the endangered system could call for help even before the Vorn arrive.”

  Kurt nodded. Newton ships were deployed in all three systems already but not any of the heavy battlecruisers. A light carrier and two or three light cruisers were in each system. In addition a task force—consisting of one heavy carrier, several heavy battlecruisers, and some light cruisers—always patrolled between the three systems in case a Profiteer fleet showed up.

  “Run some simulations on what we must do to ensure those systems survive until we get adequate forces there to either destroy the Vorn ships or force them to withdraw.”

  Aleea nodded. “It will take some time as I need to run numerous possibilities. I may also require additional information not currently available in the ship’s computer system.”

  “No problem,” Kurt replied. He had been expecting this. “Contact Colonel Simms on Newton Station. I have instructed him to furnish you with any additional tactical information you may need.”

  “Very well, Admiral. I will run the simulations immediately. When I have the answers to your question, what should I do?”

  “Send it to my home,” Kurt ordered. He had a secure computer in his study, which he routinely used to set up fleet deployments and where he could work with classified information. “I’ll review it and then speak to Governor Spalding.”

  “One other thing, Admiral,” Aleea said as Kurt stood to leave. “This Grantz person who has been in the company of Captain Randson? He is the first Profiteer I have met. I must say he is highly unusual.”

  “In what ways?” asked Kurt suspiciously. While Grantz had his uses, Kurt still didn’t fully trust him. If Grantz could turn a profit by selling information he deemed did not apply to his contract, he would not hesitate to do so. Aleea was classified Glaymon technology.

  “He had me run some gambling permutations on a number of card games he likes to play. I provided him with several options to increase the percentage of games he can win.”

  Kurt nodded. He didn’t see any harm in that. “Just be careful of Grantz. His main goal in life is to accumulate gold.”

  Aleea nodded. “Yes. Captain Randson told me the same thing. The captain also mentioned Grantz might attempt to duplicate my program if he thought it was possible. I have installed additional firewalls to ensure the Profiteer cannot access or tamper with my program without my permission.”

  “A wise move,” Kurt said approvingly. He would include a number of items and technologies as off-limits to the greedy Profiteer in the new contract being prepared for Grantz. “Run those tactical simulations. I’m heading to Newton to see my wife.”

  “I’ll contact you when I’m done,” Aleea replied.

  Kurt noticed Aleea’s eyes narrowed and almost closed. He knew she was already working on the simulations. With another deep sigh, he left the Command Center; time to see what Mara had told Keera.

  -

  An hour later Kurt entered his home with trepidation. He hoped Mara hadn’t mentioned anything to Keera about attempting to seduce him. Kurt didn’t need a diplomatic incident, particularly with the Lakiams. Walking through the house, he didn’t find Keera anywhere. Going into the bedroom, he opened the main closet, relieved to see all her clothes still there. He had just shut the closet door when he heard the front door open. Going into the living room, he saw Keera, holding several shopping bags. Surprisingly Mara stood next to her. For the first time in a long while, he found himself speechless.

  “Kurt, I heard you were back,” said Keera, putting down her packages and coming over to give him a hug and
a welcome-home kiss.

  “Kubitz,” said Mara. She too was carrying several shopping bags. “I don’t know why you keep going to that barbaric world.”

  “It has its uses,” replied Kurt, his voice normal. “I saw your new diplomatic cruiser in orbit.”

  “Yes,” Mara replied with a pleased smile. “It’s quite luxurious even by Lakiam standards. I was wondering if it would be possible to get the Glaymons to update its weapons systems?”

  “The Glaymons?” replied Kurt, trying to sound confused. “I don’t know where they went.”

  Mara shook her head. “My dear admiral, you don’t lie very well. You know perfectly well where they are. Can you contact Tasid and see if it’s possible to do as I ask? I would feel a lot better if my new ship could take out a Vorn vessel if needed. That’s one of the reasons I brought the Aurelia along. It has many of the updates I’m interested in, and, besides, if I left it at Lakiam, the council would probably have disassembled it to reach the Glaymon technology on board.”

  Kurt remained silent for a moment and then asked, “How did you talk Fleet Commodore Dreen into using the Aurelia as your escort? I thought he would have kept it since it’s the most powerful ship in his fleet.”

  “Commodore Dreen is a very pragmatic leader. He does not wish to do anything to offend the Glaymons. His entire Alliance depends on the presence of the Glaymon disk ships. Already he has added a number of Protector Worlds to the Alliance.”

  Kurt noticed that Mara’s clothing was not as formfitting as she often wore. He wondered if she had dressed this way so as not to offend Keera. Turning to his wife, he noticed a look of amusement on her face. “How was shopping today?”

  “Fantastic,” Keera replied, grinning. “We went to the Westside Mall and ate at the food court. Some fifty or sixty little restaurants are there. We ate until we were stuffed.”