by Rodney Smith
“What is it, you two?”
CPT Chen was first to speak. Pointing her finger at Alistair, she said furiously, “You had to grandstand, didn’t you? You couldn’t just let my Marines pull this off, could you?”
Alistair calmly said, “Mary, the night staff was two old men and the security force was one enfeebled 70 year old. I took away his flashlight and locked them all in a closet. It was no trouble at all. I accept your expression of appreciation.”
CPT Chen stomped back to her platoon.
Kelly laughed all the way to the bridge.
He looked at the plot and saw no trailing ships. He looked over at the sensor watch position and asked, “Any reaction yet, Jameson?”
Petty Officer Todd Jameson replied, “None yet, sir.”
Jameson’s head suddenly went down. “Sir, two K’Rang medium scout ships, K’Tan class, just entering sensor range at 176 mark 52. I think they see us. They are powering up and heading our way.”
K’Rang scouts in the star cluster was a bad thing. Kelly fired off a quick message to Admiral Minacci, reporting that the Debran women were safely on board. He also informed him that he was about to be engaged by two K’Rang medium scout ships that appeared in the star cluster. Kelly was about to recommend the Admiral move the Fleet to the star cluster entrance, then thought, no, the admiral will figure that out on his own.
Kelly ordered the Vigilant to come about and engage the K’Rang ships. They couldn’t be allowed to carry information on the pirate world back with them. He sounded the collision alarm, as they were already at battle stations. The Marines lined up in the central corridor; CPT Chen, 1st LT Heron, and his Gunnery Sergeant stood at parade rest behind the command chairs.
Kelly asked, “Sensors, any reaction from the pirate top cover?”
“Negative, sir. They are continuing their patrol routes as before.”
Kelly had an idea. He wanted to make sure the pirates knew they had bigger troubles coming their way. He ordered helm to increase the closing rate by pushing their speed up to 0.9c, just below light speed. He wanted to hit these K’Rang when the pirate torpedo ships were in the right position.
The Vigilant pressed on toward the K’Rang scouts. The turrets were hot and his best gunner was just below Kelly’s position, ready to fire the nose guns. Kelly knew he had gun range on the K’Rang; he hoped to do some damage to them before they could return the favor. Kelly ordered the gunners to fire as soon as the K’Rang ships came into range. Nose guns were to concentrate on the lead K’Rang scout and the turrets would fire on the K’Rang wingman.
* * * * *
The two K’Rang Scouts were coordinating their attack on the Human scout ship. They knew the Human had longer-range guns than they, but there were two of them. As long as he didn’t have missiles, they had a better than even chance of beating him.
D’Lon, the senior commander, had the lead. His junior commander, V’Tagg, was behind and to starboard.
D’Lon keyed his communicator to V’Tagg and said, “We must kill this Human scout. The Humans must not know we have been here. He will fire on me first. When he does, you must break right, then turn wide to come in on his left flank and kill him. I will draw his fire and inflict as much damage as I can. Whatever happens, do not let him escape. Fleet Commander J’Kalt will need the element of surprise.”
As the first steel rail gun projectiles started coming his way from the Human scout, he ordered V’Tagg to break right.
* * * * *
Kelly watched as the nose gunner opened fire. The lead K’Rang came straight ahead, as the trailing ship broke right and away. Kelly, being a former fighter pilot, knew this maneuver. The other ship would come in on their port side and try to shoot them amidships. Kelly warned gunnery to keep the turrets focused on the K’Rang maneuvering off to port.
The range indicator for the lead K’Rang showed him coming into range to fire back. Kelly watched the rail gun slugs tearing up the scout’s nose. He had the gunner concentrate next on the winglets, as they contained plasma guns. When the lead K’Rang’s guns came into range, D’Lon opened fire with all he had. The plasma guns had little effect on the Vigilant. Her shielding spread the charge all across the outer hull and neutralized the plasma pulses. The particle beams had more effect, but at this range it did little more than etch the hull. The K’Rang guns’ effect was also reduced by the Vigilant’s nose gunner’s deadly accurate destruction of the K’Rang guns.
Kelly kept watch on the flanking scout ship; it was almost in position for what Kelly had in mind. Kelly keyed up the screen showing the pirate patrol routes. It was time. Kelly ordered the helm to come 45 degrees to port. This put them equally between the two K’Rang ships and in a position where neither could fire on the Vigilant with their fixed nose or winglet guns. Kelly ordered the turret gunners to fire on both ships as they passed. He saw pieces fly off both ships as the turrets’ twin particle cannons chewed pieces from the sides of the scouts. Both scouts frantically tried turning in toward the Vigilant, but the radii of their turns were too tight.
* * * * *
D’Lon was almost weaponless, but he ordered his own ship and V’Tagg’s to turn in pursuit. They must destroy this Human scout. V’Tagg thought she had an idea of what the Human was trying to do, but the code of Shadow Force was to follow your orders without hesitation. She would follow, but could ask questions.
“D’Lon, could this Human be leading us into a trap?”
“No, he is running. Did you not see how he turned between us to avoid our guns? He must be hurt more than he shows. His nose guns may be off line or damaged.”
V’Tagg suggested, “He seems to be leading us back to the Human world, where those fighters are patrolling.”
D’Lon saw only victory and honor. He said to V’Tagg, “Look at your tactical display. The fighters are out of position to be able to support him. V’Tagg, form up tight on me and follow me.”
She lined up on his starboard winglet and followed him, in accordance with the code. As one of a very few K’Rang female ship commanders, she mustn’t take any actions that would endanger the future for those females coming up in the ranks behind her.
* * * * *
Kelly had the helm line up with the pirate planet atmosphere. He wanted to leave a message few below would miss. The ship skipped in and out of the atmosphere, leaving a contrail half the diameter of the planet. Every time they skipped into the atmosphere, it produced a sonic boom, as well. As they came around the planet, they came face to face with two-dozen surprised torpedo ships. In an instant there were over 100 torpedoes launched and heading their way. Calm, professional reports of the torpedo squadrons engaging a Scout Force ship went down to the defense HQ on the planet.
As they turned away from the torpedoes, the torpedoes and the torpedo ships followed in tail chase. Kelly ordered the helm to line up with the lead K’Rang scouts nose. Once the distance to the K’Rang ships closed to where the torpedo ships had sensor readings on the K’Rang scouts, not so calm reports were sent to the defense HQ. The level of profanity increased exponentially.
Kelly had what he wanted. He ordered the helm to climb 15 degrees and go to FTL Power 3. As expected, the Vigilant accelerated away from the torpedoes too quickly for them to maintain lock. The torpedoes searched for a new target and the two K’Rang scouts were in their sights. The K’Rang were unable to turn away in time and over 100 torpedoes homed in on the K’Rang scouts. The conflagration was a wonder to see, as torpedo after torpedo accelerated into the growing mass of debris, flame, and smoke.
Kelly ordered the ship off general quarters and had Connie call for damage reports. The sections reported only minor damage. Engineering had a fried circuit breaker and a 10% loss in shields. Sickbay reported a mild case of motion sickness on the part of Miss Christine Debran. The galley reported a broken glass. Sensors reported a frayed nerve; Doc immediately prescribed duck tape.
Kelly should chastise his section chiefs for inappropriate repo
rting, but at the moment, coming off an adrenaline high, he thought it hilarious. He ordered the helm to reverse course to the pirate world and hold off 200,000 km from the planet.
The torpedo ships still held position where they saw the K’Rang ships destroyed. Kelly listened as the torpedo ships reported the Vigilant’s presence. The next thing he heard was a hail from the defense HQ of the planet.
“Scout Force Scout Ship, this is Steven Maynard, head of the Brotherhood of Barataria.”
Kelly let a moment pass then responded, ”Mr. Maynard, this is LCDR Kelly Blake, captain of the Galactic Republic Scout Ship, Vigilant. What may I do for you?”
“I would like to discuss terms of surrender, captain. We could probably have held you off, but we have no desire to take on the K’Rang.”
“Mr. Maynard, I would be happy to accept your surrender, but I must contact my admiral first. Stand by.”
Kelly sent Admiral Minacci a message, informing him of the current situation and asking for guidance on how to proceed. In ten minutes, he was directed to stand by in orbit, awaiting the arrival of the 3rd Assault Landing Group.
Kelly called down to Mr. Maynard. Maynard answered and Kelly ordered him to stand down his forces and prepare to receive the Commander of the 3rd Assault Landing Group in approximately four hours. Kelly observed the space clearing over the planet. Before long, the Vigilant was alone in orbit above the pirate planet.
* * * * *
The series of sonic booms woke up everyone in the factory women’s dorm. Irina Bugarov knew what it was instantly. She ran outside in her nightclothes, with Terri trailing close behind her, and a crowd of other women following. Above them was a contrail looking like a giant dotted line stretching across the sky as far as they could see.
Terri, obviously afraid asked, “What is it? Are we under attack?”
Irina calmed her down, “We aren’t, but our pirate friends are. That was too big to be a fighter and too small to be a major combatant. My guess is that was a scout ship making a point.”
Right then, the torpedoes collided with the K’Rang scouts and the cascading explosions could be seen plainly in the night sky.
Terri asked, “Did they kill them?”
Irina answered, “Somebody died, that’s for sure. I just hope it was some of our pirate friends.”
The dazzling explosions went on for several minutes. Irina thought their deliverance might not be far off. The Fleet had found them.
With the show over and nothing left to see, Irina and Terri retired to their room and climbed into their beds. Sleep came slowly, as they imagined their liberation.
* * * * *
The Vigilant orbited above the pirate world, its sensors peering down to make sure that the pirates had stood down. The sensors detected no activity other than the start of practice for a parade by the Ascetics. Kelly watched the units forming up and running through their drills on his cabin monitor. CPT Chen sat opposite, commenting on lapses of precision in their formations and soldiers out of step. The Vigilant’s sensors were of a high enough resolution that individual soldier’s movements could be seen clearly. There was little else to do while awaiting the 3rd ALG’s arrival. Kelly had already prepared his defense for possibly exceeding his orders, and forwarded a detailed report to Scout Force HQ.
There was a knock on the door and Alistair stuck his head in the door. “Anyone in need of a refill?” he asked, as he entered with a carafe of fresh coffee. Kelly held up his cup and Alistair filled it. CPT Chen still wasn’t speaking to him, but held up her cup, too.
Kelly said, “Alistair, look. They’re preparing my victory parade.”
Alistair sat down and looked on.
Kelly commented, “ I suppose they’re not all that bad, for a bunch of monks. Mary’s platoon could put on a better show. I don’t know much about these Ascetics. Aren’t they just a bunch of mercenaries with religious trappings? I’ve heard they’ve wound up on both sides of a conflict more than a few times.”
Alistair recalled a recent Intel study on the Ascetics.
“The Templar Corps was formed more than 150 years ago on Earth, in reaction to a need for ethical and disinterested peacekeeping forces to preside over disengagements and nation building, in the aftermath of several civil wars and other conflicts. They were surprisingly good at it. They didn’t loot and they didn’t look the other way. They were sufficiently armed and had flexible enough rules of engagement that they could preempt many problems before they blew up.”
Kelly asked, “How did they get started? After all, someone had to have the idea to form units of military monks.”
Alistair continued, “Theopholus the First was the first Cardinal, First Class of the Templar Corps in 2195. He saw the need for ethical peacekeepers after the outbreak of the Retro Post-Colonial Wars in Africa, Pan Pacifica, and Asia in the late 22nd Century. The United Nations-funded peacekeepers too often went in with their own agendas or their hands out and made matters worse.”
“Now, so you understand, the Templar Corps is only the military arm of the Order of the Holy Knights of the Resurrected Temple. The Cardinal, First Class is dual hatted as the military commander and head of the order. The order also provides mobile hospitals, refugee camp administration, logistical support, and nation building support. After the Great Global Depression of 2203, the Templars were able to recruit trained specialists in medicine, logistics, engineering, finance, law, and other fields.”
“Theopholus, seeing the need, also recruited heavily for acolytes and deacons (their foot soldiers) from the slums and barrios, built discipline through rigorous religious and military training, and outbid the UN peacekeepers on dealing with the Nigerian Civil War aftermath in 2207. The Templars went in, disarmed the combatants, restored order, established hospitals, schools, and civil government. It was rumored that they only had to shoot a few key people Pour l'encouragement d' les autres – for the encouragement of the others. In a year, Nigeria was back on its feet with a stable coalition government, a rebuilding economy, and a functioning civil society. It was rumored that their new constitution was dictated by a Templar cardinal.”
“The Templars, or Ascetics as they are commonly known, became the go-to guys for any regional instabilities. Sometimes the mere threat of bringing in the Ascetics was enough to force an agreement at the negotiating table.”
CPT Chen, forgetting she was still mad at Alistair, asked, “Why are they called Ascetics?”
“They take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience when they join the Templars. They possess only the clothing they are issued and live a Spartan existence, therefore Ascetics.”
Mary asked, “Chastity? So do they never have sex? Certainly, that must cause them problems? I have enough problems of that sort with my Marines.”
“They have an internal program where exemplary male and female Templars are chosen to have children. The children are raised in common crèches and the parents never know which child is theirs. It fosters a sense of family throughout the Corps, because you never know if that new acolyte or presbyter might not be your own child or brother or sister. Scrupulous records are kept in the Templar HQ to guard against incest, which is a high sin in their beliefs.”
“They really made their impact felt in the Great Migration, when they were chosen to provide the security forces for the settlements. Their ranks swelled as each settlement ship left Earth with a battalion of Templars, and there were 100 settlement ships. The Templars established a strong presence in the new Galactic Republic. That’s why every first tier world has a Templar monastery.”
“On my own world, allowing for our unique situation, the Templars became the police force more than a military force. They used their military power at the beginning to put down the Revolt of Desperation, but after that they were our cops. After we got the upper hand on the ‘Many Teeths’, a lethal predator, there wasn’t much need for military. An interesting fact is that the Ascetics train equally on modern weapons and on sword, spear, an
d shield. That came in handy on Archimedes, after they ran out of ammunition packs.”
“The Templar Corps nowadays is likely to show up in situations like this, where military capability is needed, but can’t be associated with the Republic or any world government. As much as they try to avoid it, they occasionally wind up on both sides of a conflict. They justify their mercenary activities by pointing out that their acolytes and deacons never engage in war crimes and always follow the Galactic Conventions on War. They fight a higher ethics war.”
“Of course, the Templars today are diversified. They have their own combat and support fleet. They produce their own rations. They set up monasteries to train new recruits wherever they go. As ground forces go, they are pretty low maintenance. The local bar owners hate them, though.”
CPT Chen asked, “What is their rank structure? What are these acolytes and cardinals?”
Alistair replied, “Acolytes are their lowest ranks, basically privates. Deacons are junior sergeants. Archdeacons are senior NCOs. Presbyters are junior officers. Bishops are large unit commanders, battalion through brigade. Cardinals are their generals commanding divisions and corps. The one Cardinal First Class is their order and military leader.”
Alistair changed the subject. “So when are you going to recon the exit out to K’Rang space? Minacci is a fool, not having you do it now. What if there is a K’Rang fleet just sitting waiting for their scouts to report? Don’t you think they might wonder what happened to them and poke their heads in to see?”
Kelly paused, then responded, “I think the admiral is a little ticked with me for stealing his glory. I’m expecting to be called on the carpet when he gets here. I’ve already prepared my defense.”
