Milor!

by Thomas DePrima

  The enemy ships towed back to Stewart by space tugs were brought into the asteroid base. The space along the wall opposite the habitat in the sixty by thirty kilometer cavern was largely unused so the Milori ships were lined up, several rows high, and anchored to the cavern wall, next to the Raider ships taken in battle.

  The weapons research people and engineers wasted no time getting to work on the warships and spent their days examining every square inch of the ships. By the time they were done, detailed ship construction plans would be created and every single aspect of the Milori ships, weapons, computers, sensors, and instrumentation would be known and documented. The bodies of the dead Milori, taken to the heart of the solar system in cargo containers, were ejected towards the star. In time, the sun's gravity would accept the containers, searing the entombed bodies to ashes long before they reached the corona.

  Jenetta received notice from SHQ that she was to receive another Space Command Cross, but it didn't excite her the way that her previous honors had. Too many good people had been lost this time. She was more excited by the prospect of being the one to bestow some of the medal honors at a ceremony scheduled to be held in one week's time. She would also be awarding promotions to a number of officers, including her brother who would continue temporarily as captain of the Mentuhotep until a frigate captain arrived to relieve him. Billy would then receive a destroyer appointment as the destroyer captain assumed command of the frigate. All injured crewmembers would receive a Purple Heart medal, and Jenetta would award numerous other medals for conspicuous service and bravery. Eliza would receive a Purple Heart for her head injury, in addition to the campaign ribbon that every crewmember participating in the battle would receive. The crewmembers who lost their lives would posthumously receive the Space Command Star.

  * * *

  Jenetta was working in her office a few days later when Lori informed her that several Nordakian Space Force captains were requesting to see her. Assuming they were there to present their orders to her, she said to send them in. Three Nordakian cruisers, the Ezillsuh, the Arilalsuh, and the Imwellsuh, had been underway for Stewart since the Milori had first been detected in the Frontier Zone.

  Stopping in front of Jenetta, the three captains sank to one knee, placing their right hands, open and flattened, against their chests, their heads bowed. Such behavior was not called for when meeting a senior officer or even an admiral, but being a member of the Nordakian nobility, Jenetta was always accorded the show of respect by Nordakians.

  "Kareer a Stewart, Hetrowdi," Jenetta said, as they entered her office. The translation from Dakis being 'Welcome to Stewart, Captains.'

  Together, they replied, "Zrand Chekkora u Kareerdu," meaning 'It's my honor to be welcomed here.'

  Since there was no one else in the room, Jenetta used Dakis exclusively.

  "Please rise, gentlemen. We operate on Space Command military protocol here."

  The captain closest to Jenetta said, "My Lady, our King sends you a special message." He held out a thick disk to Jenetta, who accepted it and placed it on her desk. She had seen such disks while on Nordakia. Realizing that the three captains wouldn't stand until she had played it, she placed her thumb lightly on the top surface to begin the playback. A holographic image of King Tpalsh appeared. No wonder the three officers hadn't risen.

  "Greetings, Azula Carver. Allow me to congratulate you on your recent stunning victory against the invading hordes of Milori. From what little we know of them, their cruelty, and barbarism, we are indeed fortunate to have you protecting our border.

  "Three cruisers, the closest of our Space Force to your location, were immediately dispatched to join your forces and assist in repelling the invasion. Although the Milori have already retreated, we've decided that they should remain with you as part of your patrol forces. For some time we've been engaged in negotiations with the Admiralty Board regarding the merger of the Nordakian Space Force with Space Command. We've mutually decided that this shall be a first step in that direction. We hope that, under your wise direction and tutelage, the three Nordakian Space Force crews will begin to adapt to Space Command protocols. Each of these captains has been required to study and learn the Space Command handbook of regulations thoroughly.

  "As a captain in our Nordakian Space Force, you've had complete authority over all civilian Nordakian ships, but for this new direction, you'll need complete authority over all military ships as well. Therefore, by royal proclamation, we have appointed you a Senior Admiral. Congratulations, Admiral. We know that you'll continue to serve our people with distinction.

  "My queen sends her warmest regards and we both hope that you'll come to visit us at your earliest opportunity."

  The hologram shrunk quickly back down into the base, and the three captains finally rose to their feet.

  "What are your orders, Admiral," the one who had carried the disk asked.

  "Tell me your names."

  "I'm Captain Tpekera of the Ezillsuh, this is Captain Wdelfer of the Arilalsuh, and that is Captain Bfruvpax of the Imwellsuh."

  "I'm pleased to meet each of you. I was privileged to travel from Higgins Space Command base to Nordakia aboard the Ezillusuh a few years ago. Is that ship still in service?"

  "The Ezillusuh was renamed the Ezillsuh after a complete retrofit was completed two years ago," Captain Tpekera said. "I was named as its new captain at that time. Our cruisers are now much faster. We can achieve speeds as great as Light-390, although we normally just refer to it as Light-375, a standard designation."

  "Wonderful. I'm looking forward to inspecting your ships."

  "It will be our great honor to welcome you aboard, Admiral."

  "Thank you. I'm pleased that you're here and we welcome your addition to our forces. In the past, because of the Raider problem, Space Command concentrated on patrolling 'regulated' GA space, but we now face a far greater threat from without, so I'm devoting many more resources to patrolling the Frontier Zone than ever before. I think that, initially, it might help to have a Space Command advisor aboard each of your ships. He or she will be available to advise the captain in situations where there might be some uncertainty about GA regulations and protocols."

  "Of course, Admiral. I think that would be sensible. We have studied the regulations thoroughly of course, as our king has stated, but further interpretation would be helpful in certain situations."

  "The problem may be in finding someone fluent in Dakis. It will be difficult enough explaining some things without having to overcome a language barrier."

  "That should not be a problem, Admiral. Since Amer has become the de facto standard throughout Galactic Alliance space, Space Force Command advised all officers ten years ago, to begin studying the language. Five years ago, it became mandatory at the Space Force Academy that all officers be fluent before they could graduate. At the same time, serving officers were told that promotions would be contingent upon the candidate's ability to speak Amer. It has been a great incentive, and most officers now speak Amer fluently."

  "That's wonderful. I've been away from Nordakia for much too long. I hadn't heard of that change."

  "The service has changed greatly since you returned the True Word of the Almuth to our people, and we have tried to emulate Space Command. Most officers are quite anxious to integrate the services. The increases in our ship speeds are thanks to technology given us by Space Command."

  "That's excellent news. I'd love to hear more about the changes taking place back home, but I have another meeting in a few minutes. Perhaps we can get together at dinner to discuss it further. I host a very informal dinner party for ship's captains several times a week. You're welcome to join us tonight."

  "Thank you, Admiral. We'd love to."

  "Wonderful. Come to my private dining room, immediately next to the officer's mess, at 1900 hours. My aide can give you directions to the dining area."

  "We'll be there, Admiral."

  "Then I'll see you this evening. Captains," Jenett
a said as a goodbye, nodding once to indicate their dismissal. The three Nordakians saluted with the Nordakian salute, and left after Jenetta returned it.

  * * *

  The awards ceremony was conducted in the convention center a week later. A newly designed campaign ribbon, awarded for participation in the battle, had already been presented to everyone who had been aboard any of the fifteen ships. It was only the fifth such ribbon created since Space Command was founded. The others were for participation at the Battle of Vauzlee, the Battle for Higgins, the Battle for Dixon, and the Battle for Stewart. The latter ribbon came in several variations, commemorating different aspects of Stewart's acquisition and defense. The medals awarded at the large ceremony were for acts of conspicuous gallantry or for injuries sustained in battle. Eliza received her Purple Heart medal for having sustained a concussion, even though she was fine a day later because of her recuperative powers. Jenetta also awarded all of the other purple hearts. Prior to the ceremony, she had toured the wards in the base hospital and awarded all the medals to the injured recipients who were unable to attend the ceremony.

  Captain Gavin stood in for Admiral Moore and awarded Jenetta's third Space Command Cross after all of the other medals had been distributed. He read a short speech from Admiral Moore commending Jenetta's role in the war with the Milori and then added his own comments about Jenetta's short but superb tenure as an Admiral and the leader of the task force. At the conclusion of the speech, the convention center erupted in applause that lasted a full two minutes.

  Following completion of the medal awards portion of the program, Jenetta bestowed promotions on a number of officers, working her way up from the lower ranks to the higher. When she pinned on Billy's new bars, he smirked at her. She scowled at him in her best 'Admiral Holt scowl' impression, and he stopped. Billy was the last to receive his new rank, being one of only two captains promoted at the ceremony. Captain Hollingshead was the other.

  All of the news services covered both the memorial ceremony and the medal ceremony. Jenetta was seldom off camera these days. She longed for a return to the days before the reporters had arrived, but those days were past forever. With the arrival of the diplomats, Stewart was becoming a newer and larger version of Higgins Space Port.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ~ September 30th, 2277 ~

  "Trader Vyx to see you," the message from Lt. Commander Ashraf said as it scrolled up on Jenetta's com screen.

  "Send him in, Lori," Jenetta said. The computer automatically transmitted the instruction to Lt. Commander Ashraf's screen.

  "You may go in, Trader," she announced.

  Jenetta was sitting at her desk when he entered the office. "Come in, Trader, and have a seat. Beverage?" she asked, pointing at the food synthesizer.

  "I'm set, Admiral," he said as he sat down.

  "You can't have completed your business on Koppreco this quickly," Jenetta said.

  "No, I've just returned from picking up my cargo on Aluvia and I'm on my way to Koppreco now. I wanted to make sure that you had arranged the clearance."

  "I have. They're expecting the Scorpion and will clear you through customs without a search of your ship."

  "It's nice to have friends in high places."

  "How many mamots are you bringing in?"

  "Who said anything about mamots?"

  "Isn't that your cargo?"

  Vyx smiled. "You always seem to be a step ahead of me. I forget that you were in Intelligence."

  "Only temporarily; Captain Kanes had me assigned to his section while I was waiting for my ship to arrive back in port at Higgins."

  "But you figured out that I picked up mamots?"

  "It was a logical deduction. I know that you wouldn't bring anything harmful to Koppreco so I thought about all the harmless but restricted things. Mamots are in short supply and their increasing value has made them the most obvious cargo for smugglers. If the Kopprecon government was smart, they'd make them legal again so they could quarantine all the incoming animals instead of dealing with the problems from diseased smuggled animals."

  "The mamots I'm carrying were quarantined for months, and each has been checked for the plague. They've been certified free of infection."

  "I'm sure that you've taken all precautions. If I didn't trust you I wouldn't have arranged for you to bypass customs."

  "We should be back this way in about fifteen or sixteen months, Admiral. This little job will pay for a lot more freighter time if you need it."

  Jenetta smiled. "I appreciate what you did for us and I've sent a full report to Captain Kanes at Higgins. We can't honor you openly, but you and your team have each received a written commendation in your files, and a Space Command Star, that you will receive–– some day."

  "I wasn't fishing for a compliment or medal, Admiral, but it's nice to get some recognition, even if I can't wear it on my chest, as other Space Command officers can. It would be nice to think that we've seen the last of the Milori, but I fear we haven't."

  "I share your trepidation, as does Supreme HQ. But as far as Stewart is concerned, it'll be someone else's problem next time they come. I don't even expect to be here when you get back."

  "You're being fired? After saving the Alliance's butt?"

  "No, not fired. My tour of duty here ends in about a year. Some other officer will be coming to take my place here and I'll be sent somewhere else."

  "They can't do that. You made this base. We only have it because of you. You've defended it against attacks by the Raiders and now an invading alien force. They can't just take it away from you. Other admirals keep their command until they retire, unless being promoted. Are you being promoted again?"

  "I've grown sort of attached to Stewart, but I'm hoping to get a battleship for my next command."

  "Two-star Admirals don't get command of battleships, except as overall command of task forces or fleets."

  "They do if the Admiralty Board takes back the stars. My promotion was only brevetted to deal with the crisis."

  Trader Vyx shook his head. "Damn. When they made you a two-star, I thought the Admiralty Board had finally gotten some good sense kicked into its collective head. I suppose your replacement will be some eighty-year-old rear echelon brass polisher who's just looking for a soft place to finish out his career, or someone using the position to try landing a cushy spot at SHQ, when what we really need is a younger, free-thinker, who can deal with the unique problems that must be faced on a regular basis at a very forward base like Stewart."

  "I'm sure that my replacement will be fully qualified to handle the job, even if he or she doesn't look like a recent academy graduate."

  "I doubt if it will be somebody who could have brought the Arrosians and Selaxians back together the way you did. Oh, by the way, I ran into somebody on Scruscotto who knew a little something about those terrorist attacks. I pumped him as much as I could."

  "Really? Well don't keep me in suspense, what did you learn?"

  "The attacks were made by a criminal group of Arrosians for strictly mercenary reasons. They've no ideology drum to bang so they haven't claimed credit for any of the bombings. They were trained, funded, and armed by Shev Rivemwilth's people."

  "Rivemwilth? He was behind the attacks?"

  "None other. I guess our long dead friend figured a nice, dirty little war would be good for his business. He wouldn't be the first arms merchant to foment trouble, with the intention of selling to both sides once things got rolling."

  "His motivation might have been much deeper than that."

  "Deeper?"

  "I interrogated the Milori that ejected from the Tsgardi ship you destroyed. One of them talked after I promised to rescue any Milora survivors trapped in the destroyed ships. I convinced him that the invasion force didn't have a chance against all our new secret weapons, and I imagine he considered himself a patriot by telling us about the Empire's plans so that we could try to prevent further loss of life."

 
; Vyx chuckled. "I would have liked to have been there for that interrogation."

  "He told us that Rivemwilth was the one providing them with intelligence about Space Command's weapons and our ability to defend ourselves against an invasion. It now seems clear that the attacks on Arrosa were merely a diversionary ploy. Rivemwilth probably hoped that we'd be so preoccupied that we'd never notice the Milori until it was too late. Perhaps he hoped to get his old base back as part of the deal."

  "That which we call Arrosa, by any other name would be as foul," Vyx said.

  "Excuse me?"

  Vyx grinned. "Just a little play on words. I was paraphrasing Shakespeare, Admiral."

  "It sounded like part of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet?"

  Vyx smiled and nodded. "Act II - Scene II. Juliet says, 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet.' Shakespeare was, of course, saying that a person's name shouldn't make a difference. My meaning is that the planet didn't make a difference. Rivemwilth just needed a little war to distract your attention away from the Frontier Zone. Which solar system suffered through the death and destruction that a prolonged war of his making brought, didn't make any difference to Rivemwilth."

  "The situation between Arrosa and Selax was ready made for his purposes. He just had to heat things up a bit more. Did you happen to get any names of the terrorists on Arrosa?"

  "I heard a few names, but some of them are only partials, and I don't have any proof that the facts are correct."

  "I'm sure that the Arrosians would appreciate any leads that we can give them. A lot of people were killed in those terrorist bombings."

  "Okay, Admiral. I'll make a list if you'll give me a pad."

  Jenetta leaned forward and slid a portable viewpad towards him on the desk. He grabbed it before it could fall off the edge and entered all the names that he'd heard.