"That could be a simulation," the Milora said.
Jenetta walked over to the table and lifted the com station cover. After pressing a button, the image of the com operator on duty appeared. "Com, one of our prisoners wants to talk with his fellow Milori. Hail the Milori ships on the frequency that they're using, with his image, and let him talk to them. Patch translated exchanges to my, Captain Crosby, and Lt. Commander Ashraf's CTs."
"Aye, Admiral."
Jenetta turned the com unit so that the vid lens would pick up Uthqulk's image.
After several hails, the image of a Milori appeared. "This is Yarqill. Who calls?"
"I'm Uthqulk, first deputy negotiator to Commander Acoxxuz."
"Confirm."
Uthqulk held steady and pressed the identify button that would send a retinal scan.
"Scan received and verified. Where are you, sir?"
"I'm aboard one of the Space Command ships. What is your status?"
"I can't reveal that, sir. The enemy will learn."
"Tell me this then; did you engage fifteen Space Command ships with a hundred three of our warships?"
"Yes sir."
"And the outcome?"
"They trapped us inside some kind of energy cage. If we touched the sides, the ship exploded at that spot. We received orders to fight, in spite of being hopelessly trapped, and they commenced an attack on us. They used some kind of unseen bomb that exploded in our midst. Each blast destroyed five to ten of our ships. The entire third fleet has been wiped out. I think that we might have destroyed one or two of their ships though."
"One or two?" Uthqulk said. He had acted proud and defiant since being escorted in, but he slumped in his chair now as if someone had let the air out of him. "Who is the senior officer in charge?" he asked the other Milora. "You can tell me. Nothing you say will aid the enemy. They already know they've won this battle."
"Yes sir. I don't know who the senior officer is, sir. I've only been able to make contact with half a dozen ships. They say that most of our warriors are dead or severely injured. The air is getting stale."
"Listen to me, Yarqill. The Space Command ships will attempt to rescue survivors. But such efforts will cease if you fire upon them. I order you to surrender, and to pass that word to everyone you can reach."
"But sir, we were ordered to fight to the last warrior by Lord High Space Marshall Gulqulk."
"The battle is over, Yarqill! There's no reason to throw your life away now. It won't change the outcome. I order you to surrender, and save yourself for another day's fight."
"Aye, sir. I'll pass your order along."
"Good. Uthqulk out."
"Yarqill out."
Jenetta waited for several minutes before saying, "Satisfied that I was telling the truth?"
"Yes. How many ships did you lose?"
"None. One ship was damaged. Our engineers are evaluating whether we should repair it here, or tow it back to our base and repair it there. The rest were hit, but we're making our simple repairs here."
"It appears that our intelligence was faulty. We were assured that our ships and weapons were on a par with yours."
"Who told you that?"
"Shev Rivemwilth. He will die painfully when my people learn of his treachery."
"You're too late. We took care of that little chore for you. He's been dead for about two years now. He met the same fate that eventually comes to all arms smugglers. His operation was under investigation for some time, and he didn't have a clue as to what weapons we really possess. He only knew what we allowed him to know."
"That pig of an Alyysian. However he died, it was too quick."
"You're not the first to utter that sentiment. Okay, tell me about the Empire's invasion plan."
"I will reveal nothing about the Empire's plans."
Jenetta could see that the Milora was resolute and wouldn't provide information easily, but she had also seen that he was genuinely concerned for the survivors. It was the only card she could play. "Very well." Turning to Crosby, she said, "Captain, have you identified the ships that are broadcasting radio signals?"
Crosby hesitated for a second and then said, "Yes, Admiral."
"Very good. Send in the fighters to destroy those ships. There's no sense letting the Milori suffer from hypoxia and then suffocation. This will be quicker and we won't have to care for prisoners."
"You can't do that!" Uthqulk shouted. "They're helpless!"
"I'm not going to send in rescue squads, only to see them fired upon."
"But I ordered them not to resist. You heard me."
"I also heard you say that you'd answer my questions if I proved that we had destroyed your invasion force with fifteen ships. Your word is obviously not to be trusted. For all I know, the order you gave was a carefully coded message for "kill anyone who enters the ship."
Uthqulk glared at Jenetta, who stared back unemotionally. "If I tell you, you'll save my people? All my people?"
"If, and only if, I feel that you've been completely truthful, we'll save all that will allow us to save them."
Uthqulk stared at Jenetta with all four of his eyes, then at Crosby, and finally at Ashraf. "Okay. The Empire plans to annex your Frontier Zone. The plan is to push you back to your old border and block you from making further expansions towards our territory."
"We already knew that. Gulqulk as much as told us that, and I informed you of that a few minutes ago. I want the operational plans for the invasion."
"I don't know anymore than that."
"Of course you do. You're the first deputy negotiator to Commander Acoxxuz. You came here to solidify your agreements with Shev Rivemwilth and collect whatever new intelligence you could. You know much more than you're telling."
"I've told you what I know."
Jenetta looked at Crosby. "Send out the fighters, Captain. He's not going to cooperate."
This time, Crosby was more aware of the game that Jenetta was playing. He lifted the com panel cover without hesitation and began giving orders to his First Officer for the destruction of the Milori ships that were broadcasting."
"Stop, you can't do that!" the Milora shouted.
Crosby ignored him.
"Okay, I'll tell you the rest!" Uthqulk yelled angrily.
"Standby, Commander," Crosby said to his First. "I'll get back to you."
"It won't make any difference if you know," Uthqulk said. "If you can destroy an entire fleet with just fifteen ships, and escape almost unscathed, we can't possibly defeat you, especially with a third of our ships already destroyed." Uthqulk slumped even more than he had earlier. "Three hundred fifteen ships were sent for the invasion, divided into three fleets of a hundred five ships. Each fleet had orders to establish re-supply bases within the Frontier Zone first, and the invasion wasn't to start for several months yet. I don't know why my cousin chose to launch his part of the invasion so early. I've been out of touch with him since being forced to use the life pod aboard Rivemwilth's ship."
"What was the invasion plan?"
"Phase One was to drive you out of the current Frontier Zone. Phase Two was to drive you back another hundred parsecs to the border established when the Galactic Alliance was first established. Phase Three was to attack your home world and wipe out Space Command Headquarters, bases, your Mars shipyard, weapons production facilities, power generating capability, and telecommunications, leaving your world in ruins and this part of space in total disarray. Privateers would then have free rein until the Empire was ready to exercise full control. I don't have any more details than that, and the Lord High Space Marshall with each fleet has full authority to alter the battle plans if the situation warrants it."
"Where would the Privateers come from?"
"The Raiders, the Tsgardis, and any of our citizens that wished to do it."
"You think that you can control the Tsgardis?"
"The Tsgardis are stupid creatures, barely sentient. They do whatever we tell them because they know that
we could destroy their kingdom easily. We allow them to survive because they're useful, at times, and they recognize our natural superiority."
"They recognize your natural superiority? In other words, they fear you?"
"I would not expect you to understand."
"Because we don't recognize your superiority?" Jenetta asked.
"No. Because you expect others to be in awe of yours."
"We only expect you to recognize and respect our territorial boundaries, as we have respected yours. By invading our space and declaring that our prior claim is void, you've only demonstrated your arrogance. Your Empire has embarked on a path that could lead to its destruction."
"You've won this battle. It remains to be seen if you can destroy us."
"It's not our goal to destroy you. But we won't allow you to destroy us, either."
"If war was not your goal, you would not have so many powerful weapons. We have conquered innumerous peaceful societies. The half-wits actually believed that if they didn't threaten anyone, no one would bother them. They hadn't spent their time developing weapons, as you apparently have. Only warrior races develop such powerful weapons."
"Or those races that will not allow themselves to be conquered by warrior races. We fall into the latter group."
"Are you so sure? Are you so very, very sure?"
* * *
Chapter Eighteen
~ February 16th, 2277 ~
Jenetta interviewed the other two Milora, but they refused to divulge anything. She didn't try using the surviving Milori as a bargaining chip again. The information that she had learned from their leader was probably as much as she was likely to learn anyway. Her first act after returning to the small conference room that served as her office was to call a meeting of all captains and their first officers.
The large conference room selected for the meeting was capable of seating the thirty invited officers, comfortably. Once everyone took their seats, Jenetta began.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm sorry to drag you away from your repair efforts, but I've just learned something of vital importance. A Milora prisoner in the brig of the Ottawa has divulged to me that the Milori Empire dispatched three hundred fifteen ships for this invasion effort. The Milori High Command divided this armada into three fleets of a hundred five ships. According to the Milora, the invasion push was not supposed to begin for some months yet so he doesn't know why this fleet chose to move now. We're speculating that the discovery of their base in the Elurra system by the Ottawa was responsible for pushing up their attack timetable.
"I have no way of knowing if the Milora is being truthful, but I don't think that we can afford to simply dismiss this information. I can't see where he would have anything to gain by lying, and his story fits with what we know or suspected. While a hundred three ships is an impressive invasion force, it seems inadequate given their stated intention of annexing our Frontier Zone to their empire. They had to know we would gather all our forces in an effort to repel their invasion, and I'm sure they have a good idea of our fleet size.
"This new information raises a number of important questions. Where are the other two hundred twelve ships? What was their timetable? Did the fleet that attacked us communicate their advancement of the invasion timetable? Have the other fleets also advanced their timetable? Where will they attack next?
"We can speculate that the two ships missing from the fleet that attacked us were either left behind to protect valuable resources at established supply bases, or were on some mission or other and couldn't link up with the fleet following the Ottawa. We have to be aware that they still might show, however unlikely now that their main battle group has been defeated. It's more likely they'll attempt to link up with the rest of the invasion force. We know that several of the ships in the destroyed fleet have been communicating with each other, and they have probably sent word of the battle back to the Empire and to the other fleets. We'll have to watch for any sign of Milori ships because the other two fleets might already be on their way here. If we assume that progress of the other fleets was synchronized with this one, they would have still been on this side of the Frontier Zone border when they received word of the third fleet's defeat.
"Our top priority is to get our ships capable of Light Speed travel as soon as possible. We can worry later about how they look. If two hundred ships suddenly appear in front of us, our only recourse may be to fall back. There's no chance of our trapping them the way that we did the first fleet."
"Perhaps they'll follow us in a line to a new trap," Captain Yung of the Song said. "We could set one up at the border."
"If the ships caught in the trap sent a message to the rest of the fleet, we probably can't count on them falling for that again. Besides, we don't have sufficient mines left, or the time to set it up."
"We can't just cut and run," Captain Payton of the Thor said.
"Captain Crosby reminded me that Shakespeare wrote, 'The better part of valor is discretion,' after we encountered the Milori in the Elurra system," Commander Upton said. "We can't possibly defeat two hundred ten Milori warships by ourselves, just as the Ottawa couldn't have defeated the sixteen war ships by itself. We should fall back and join up with the forces that are coming to support Stewart."
Jenetta let the captains and first officers debate whether to fight or run for a few minutes. Ultimately, she would have to make the decision. She finally held up her hand for silence and then said, "We'll respond to the threat when we know what the threat is. No matter which action we take, our ships have to be ready. I've been allowing each ship to use its engineering staff to work on its own ship now that the emergency repairs have been completed, but that will have to change in the light of this new information. We'll need to concentrate our efforts on those ships having the best chances for speedy repair. As soon as those ships are capable of Light Speed travel, we'll devote our full resources to each of the others in order of fitness. Captain Gavin, I'd like Commander Cameron to evaluate each ship's present condition and establish the prioritized list."
"Aye, Admiral. I'll assign him to the task immediately."
"We know for a fact that one of our ships is far worse off than the others. I'm sorry, Commander Hollingshead, but your ship will most likely be the last to receive repair efforts because the damage is so severe. Half the Asuncion engineering staff should report immediately to the Prometheus, and the other half to the Chiron. Keep a few people to maintain the systems that are functioning, and to handle small problems that arise, but the majority are needed elsewhere."
"I understand Admiral. Perhaps I should transfer my remaining crew to one of the battleships in case we have to make a hasty departure?"
"Not yet. I believe that we'll have at least a few weeks before the other Milori can get here. I'm speculating that the enemy fleets intended to attack at three distinct points, and if they were, it makes sense that the points would be at least twenty-five light-years apart, and probably much greater. They would know that our forces are thinly spread along the border, and would believe that a surprise attack by a hundred ships in each fleet would be more than sufficient to meet any threat from us at each selected point. They'd want a wide coverage to take out as many of our ships as possible as they sweep through our territory. If this was not the center invasion point, it could take many months for them to reassemble and travel here. Even so, we'll initially operate as if we only have three weeks. This will have to be a maximum effort.
"Captain Gavin, would you and Captain Powers coordinate search and rescue operations on the Milori ships by our Marines. If they offer any resistance, pull out and move to the next ship. We can house prisoners in our cargo bay until we know how many we'll have to deal with. We'll also need medical personnel at the ready. I hope that someone is familiar with Milori physiology, or can get up to speed quickly by examining some of the Milori cadavers."
"Aye, Admiral," both captains said.
"Thank you, everyone. You've all done a fantastic job a
nd I know that everyone needs rest, but we'll have to push ourselves for a bit longer. Dismissed."
Gavin and Powers hung back as the conference room emptied. As the door closed Gavin said to Jenetta, "Do you think that the Milori will accept being rescued?"
"They're uglier than the Tsgardi, but much more intelligent. I hope they'll understand this battle is lost and we're their only salvation. In any event, I promised our Milora prisoner that we'd try, in exchange for the information about the invasion plans. He's a proud warrior, but he knows how badly they were beaten. From the brig of the Ottawa, we contacted one of the survivors, who told our prisoner how we trapped them in an energy cage that caused an explosion if the ship touched the sides. He also said that we'd used invisible bombs that exploded in their midst's. I'd like to perpetuate those myths. Let's make the Milori think that our weapons are far more advanced than their own. If we can create an image of invincibility among the Milori, it will work to our advantage."
"Until they actually attack us, and we come up short," Captain Powers said.
"Well, they can't argue that we've destroyed a third of their invasion force. We know that we don't hold a major weaponry advantage over them, but they don't. And that, in itself, will be our advantage."
Repair crews had eased off a little after the emergency repairs were completed, and gotten some much needed rest. Reinvigorated after news of the other Milori fleets flashed through the Space Command task force, they were eager to get back to work. Bill Cameron provided rough estimates of the time needed to get each ship capable of travel at FTL speeds and Jenetta ordered engineering staffs reassigned accordingly.
It seemed like a week had passed since the battle, but in reality it had been less then forty-eight hours. Jenetta received the list from Captain Donovan that she had requested, showing the E.T.A. for each of the nineteen ships headed to Stewart. As tempting as it was to order every one of the ships to the battle site, she had to consider the safety and defense of Stewart. Some of the ships had to remain at the base once they reached it. She agonized over the list for an hour but finally made a decision on reassignments. In a recorded message to each ship's captain, she explained about the battle that they had just fought, the imminent threat from the two remaining invasion fleets, and the new orders that she was issuing.
Milor! Page 23
