Captain John 1: A Galactic Coming of Age

by Krystyn Dean

  As soon as Supreme Commander Orgabv’h had left the bridge, Captain Bikir said, “all personnel report to your life pods. Abandon ship, abandon ship.” He turned to his bridge crew and said you must all abandon ship, I will set the self-destruct and follow you.” The crew complied. Captain Bikir joined them a few minutes later and the huge Command ship, Gwof Ozar was left abandoned. Abandoned except for the injured Supreme Commander Orgabv’h who had suddenly reappeared back in the teleport station.

  Aboard the Reagan

  Sensor operator Lieutenant Gomez said. “Admiral, the command ship is powered down and their auto destruct system has been engaged.” “It looks like the crew has managed to get to their life pods.” Damn, I can’t send my Marines to the command ship. We have no idea when the ship might blow and our stasis field can’t handle a ship that large. We have no choice, but to let her blast herself to bits. What a shame.

  The Eldirelian ships remaining were giving a good account of themselves. The Monserate had lost forward shields, the Legolas was badly damaged by a missile attack. The Cumbria had some shield damage and damage to her point defense system. The Perth Shire had done a combat jump right in to a massive Laser blast and was drifting without power. The Photon was gone, but her people were able to deploy life pods.

  Even though we were getting our noses bloodied, we were giving much better than we took. Our ability to do combat jumps had the Eldirelian fleet in disarray. The fact that they had lost their command ship was also hurting them. They seemed to have no cohesive chain of command, and without their leader calling the shots there was no organized offensive or defensive.

  Red fleet ships were not even bothering with combat jumps now. The Eldirelians fought hard, but soon realized they were losing and in jeopardy. One by one the Eldirelian ships tried to escape. Most did not make it. The final tally indicated that out of the thirty Eldirelian ships that attacked, only seven escaped. The rest of the enemy fleet were nothing more than smoking ruins. Surprisingly the Eldirelian command ship was still intact. I asked Gomez to run a full sensor scan of the ship to find out what was going on. Gomez reported back, “Admiral, the command ship is operating on batteries that are almost depleted. The autodestruct sequence did not complete for some reason. I believe that the worn-out batteries alone do not have enough power to trigger the sequence, but that is a guess on my part. And it doesn’t matter anyway, when the batteries go, the fusion cell containment will drop and the reactors will destroy the ship. She could go at any second. There is something else sir, sensors are picking up one life sign on board the command ship.”

  “One life sign?” I asked. “Yes, sir” Gomez replied, “it is weak, but definitely someone is still on board the command ship.” I called Lieutenant Ethan Kuan our Teleport operator, I said, “Lieutenant Kuan, there is one life sign on board the Eldirelian command ship, can you lock on to it and transport it to the Reagan?” Kuan said, “yes sir, I can, but I have no way of knowing whether he is armed. It could be dangerous.” I said, “standby for a moment Kuan.” I queried Commander Hiller on my implant, when she answered I filled her in on the situation and asked her if she could create a stasis field in the teleport station to contain anything up to and including a small nuke. She said it would take a few minutes, but she could make it happen. I replied, “please do so commander, and time is of the essence. The command ship could blow at any second.” A few minutes later Commander Hiller said, “Admiral, the stasis field has been created.” Fritz had already dispatched marines to the teleport station. I said, “Fritz, let’s bring our Eldirelian aboard. And have medical standing by just in case.”

  Teleport station on board the Reagan

  Colonel Finnerty had six marines with him at the Reagans teleport station. As the transporter glow faded, they could see an Eldirelian officer who had obviously been shot. As soon as Lieutenant Kuan gave the all clear, medical and the marines rushed to the wounded Eldirelian. Whoever he was, he was in bad shape. He had lost a lot of blood and was unconscious. He was rushed to medical and they began the attempt to save his life.

  Dr. Peggie Barton nudged my implant with a request. She said, “Admiral, the Eldirelian we transported from the command ship is stable in the short term, but we absolutely must have blood for him. If we can’t get him a transfusion in the next twenty minutes, I think we will lose him.” I said, “OK Peggie, let me see what I can do.” I put out a call for all ships to provide an Eldirelian prisoner to give blood for one of their wounded officers. The Monserate came back with a reply that they had several prisoners aboard and one of them had volunteered to give blood. I made arrangements with Mac to teleport him over with a marine escort. Minutes later the blood donor was rushed to medical aboard the Reagan.

  Meanwhile the battle was winding down, however not before the fusion containment shields went down of the command ship. There was a spectacular explosion and then there was nothing left, but some space debris. We began the process of picking up all of the escape pods and checking out the extent of the damage to the fleet. A clearer picture of what just happened began to form up. The Eldirelians had not expected us to be there. They were supposed to be a conquering fleet that would take over the defenseless Goranth system. When we happened to show up in the mix, The Eldirelian commander decided to attack because he thought he had such overwhelming numbers. His thinking was that a crushing defeat of opposing forces would strike fear into the people of Necho and make them that much easier to subdue. He never realized until too late that, even though we had fewer ships, we had greater fire power. In terms of destructive power, our fleet outnumbered his.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  IN ORBIT AROUND NECHO

  I asked Lieutenant Allan to reestablish communications with Administrator Drozub. A few minutes later Allan said, “Administrator Drozub on your personal comm. sir.” I said, “hello again Administrator Drozub, this is Admiral Anderson.” Administrator Drozub said, “Admiral, that was quite impressive.” I replied, “thank you Administrator Drozub, we were very fortunate, the Eldirelians did not realize we had them out gunned. It has been several hours since we last talked, have your governing members reached a decision?” “We have Admiral, I must admit, although we were aware that space could be a very dangerous place, we were quite naïve about all of the dangers involved. We would be happy to have a conversation with you. You are welcome to come to Necho or we could meet you on board your ship.” I replied, “Administrator Drozub, it would be more convenient to meet here on the Reagan, we have some videos and other evidence that you might need to see.” Drozub replied, “very well Admiral. It is late here on the surface, would a midmorning meeting tomorrow be acceptable?” “Yes, it would Administrator,” I said. “I will send a shuttle to pick you up in the morning. Please have your traffic control people send the coordinates where you would like to be picked up, and also approximately how many will be attending from Necho.” Administrator Drozub said “We shall do so. Until tomorrow Admiral.”

  On the outer edges of the Goranth system

  A lone ship rested silently in stealth. Draq Shandor was on his private comm. “My Emperor a Federation fleet arrived unexpectedly. The Eldirelians were no match for their greater firepower. The Humans can upgrade their systems more quickly that the Eldirelians. The defeat of the fleet was catastrophic and The Eldirelians have failed yet again. The Credayall will almost certainly join the Federation now.”

  The reply was a soothing one. “Do not concern yourself my dear Draq. We have something planned that will change the dynamic. Return to your base and wait for my instructions.” Draq Shandor replied, “I obey my master.”

  The mystery ship immediately jumped in to FTL

  Back on Board the Reagan

  The Credayall committee came on board the Reagan and after a short tour of the ship we began our meeting. I introduced our Egolari liaison Sudeer and explained a little about the circumstances regarding how the Earth and Apsis Prime had become involved.

 
First Administrator Drozub introduced his fellow committee members. Administrators Hunvat Argisan, Plovo Narrise, Zandra Keueitt, Charir Tucav. He then proceeded to explain Nacho’s world government.

  Drozub said, “we are the ruling committee, we were elected in a worldwide election and as the five frontrunners we serve for five years. Each year a new Administrator is elected from within the committee. A member who is, or has served as the Administrator may not be reelected. That way each committee member serves one term as Administrator. Once our five-year term is up, we can never run for elective office again.” I asked how long the people of Necho have been going in to space? Zandra Keueitt replied, “we have been exploring the Goranth system for a little over thirty of our years. We have always suspected that there could be other sentient beings in the Galaxy, but until you came we had never found any evidence that our suspicion might be true.”

  I asked, “why have you armed your space ships if there was no threat?’ Zandra went on to explain. “Necho has only had a unified world government for the last four years. Two major global powers had vied for control. About twelve years ago the conflict spilled into outer space. After years of war and killing, the people of Necho had had enough. The vast majority of the citizens in both factions rose up and demanded that the leadership stop the killing. A world referendum was held and the present form of government was established. All usable space vehicles left were armed. We saw no need to disarm them, after all we were venturing into unknown space. The committee decided discretion dictated an ability to defend ourselves if needed. Little did we know that our best defense was useless against the power of your fleet and the people you just defeated.”

  First Administrator Drozub interjected, “By the way Admiral, thank you for having us take our ships out of harm’s way, they would never have survived.”

  “You are quite welcome,” I replied.

  Administrator Hunvat Argisan asked if he could put some questions to our Egolari.

  Sudeer said, “Please feel free to ask any questions you have.

  Argisan asked,” how long have the Egolari been a part of the Federation.” Sudeer replied, “the Egolari have been a space faring species for several centuries. We were among the first of many species to join together to form the Federation. The Egolari were one of the species who helped found the Federation. The Federation is over two hundred years old. We have made it our objective to make the Galaxy a safer place for all races, regardless of their level of technical advancement. We only make contact with species who are about to develop FTL travel. We help those emerging species become successful members of the Galaxy.”

  Sudeer continued, “Not all species elect to join the Federation. Not joining the Federation does not come incur a penalty. The Federation will still cooperate and trade with those species that opt out.”

  “In the last few decades we have seen some species who try to take advantage of emerging systems for their own advantage. The most aggressive and vicious of those have been the Eldirelians. The fleet that was set to attack Necho was Eldirelian.”

  Sudeer went on to say, “I have a video made by a prominent member of the Rheagane species. This is Diviak Y’shol. He will explain what happens to systems that come under Eldirelian control.”

  The video began. Diviak Y’shol stood and said, “a few years ago, a fleet like the one that attacked your system attacked Apsis Prime, my home planet. We had just begun to explore our Gamma Remidian System.”

  “We now know that species like the Eldirelians find emerging system by monitoring those that are ready to go in to space. We were in almost the same situation as you are now, and we had no defense. The Eldirelian forces took control of our planet. They either imprisoned or killed the population. They systematically began looting Apsis Prime’s precious resources, including our water. Those that could work were forced to work. Some were taken off planet and sold into slavery and those with little or nothing to offer were disposed of.” Diviak went on to show videos of the ravaging of his planet.

  After the video had ended there was silence from the committee for a few minutes. Then First Administrator Drozub said, “the question now is what do we do? We are simply not able to defend our system from anyone who wishes to take it.”

  “The Federation,” I replied, “will be able to help in that regard.”

  Plovo Narrise said, are you saying that the Federation will protect us like children? Or will they help us prepare to defend ourselves?”

  I said, “that is up to you and the people of Necho. Now that we know the Eldirelians want your system, we would hope to bring the people of Necho in to the Federation. That being said, we do not intend to leave the Goranth system and the people of Necho undefended. If you tell us to leave your system we will do that, but our preference would be to go into the future as partners striving for a better galaxy for all of us. We can help with technology that will improve the lives of the people of Necho. It will also, eventually, give you the ability to defend yourselves.”

  “The Federation needs new members who will commit themselves to the defense of life and freedom for all species. There are members of the Federation that do not provide soldiers to stand with us in defense of our worlds. However, all members understand the need to support the military effort to protect the Galaxy and contribute in any way they can.”

  First Administrator Drozub said, “this is a huge decision. This is not a decision the committee is able to make. We must present the proposal to the people of Necho and act per their wishes.”

  “We can do that at once. We can give the electorate the information required to make a decision. We can also make a recommendation, but the outcome will be a decision of the people.”

  I asked, “what kind of time are we talking about?” Administrator Plovo Narrise said, “after we make a decision on our recommendation, we will present it to the world-wide population. The people have up to twenty days to vote. The votes are counted immediately, so we could have an answer for you within thirty of our days.”

  I said, “I believe time is of the essence. We have defeated the Eldirelians a few time now and they are not going to take this last loss very well. We know they want the Goranth system. I believe we can expect another attack as soon as they can collect enough ships to give them an advantage. I have no idea how long that might be. We have dealt the Eldirelians some rather hard blows, so it could take them some time to regroup.”

  “I am going to send a ship back to Titan Station with the information and ask that an ambassador from the Federation be appointed to coordinate whatever is decided by your people. Is that acceptable to the committee?”

  First Administrator Drozub queried the committee and they agreed to allow an Ambassador from the Federation to come to Necho. First Administrator Drozub then asked, “what are your intentions regarding your fleet Admiral.” I replied, “those ships that are badly damaged will return to Titan for repairs. With your permission, the remainder of our fleet will remain in orbit or patrolling the outer reaches of the system until your people have made a decision.” Drozub agreed, that would be acceptable. He then asked, “Admiral, is there any chance you could rearm our destroyers so they are not just sitting ducks and allow them to join you as a token force to foster communications and cooperation between our peoples?”

  “That is an excellent idea Administrator, I replied. Have your military leadership contact me and we will coordinate the effort.”

  I dispatched the Corvette Legolas, the destroyers Cumbria and Perth Shire accompanied by the Cruiser Toronto back to Titan base for repairs. I included instructions to the Captain of the Toronto, Sebastian Stillman to make sure everyone got back to Titan safely. I also gave Captain Stillman a Data chip containing a report for Admiral Miller. The report included a synopsis of the battle around Necho and request for a Federation Ambassador for the Credayall.

  A few hours after the ships left for Titan, lieutenant Gomez said, “Captain, we have a ship
kind of lurking about three hundred kilometers out.” Fritz said, “lurking? What do you mean lurking?” Gomez said, “he is not in stealth mode. He is just loitering and observing. The ship doesn’t fit the profile of anything in the Eldirelian fleet, it is more sophisticated than the Eldirelian ships we saw earlier. In fact, sir, it doesn’t look like anything we have seen before.”

  Fritz said, “how do you want to handle it Admiral?”

  I said “Have Gomez do a sensor sweep of that ship, and make It noisy, the louder the better.” “Aye sir, one sensor scan coming up.”

  “Whoa! Said lieutenant Allan, that got his attention sir. We are being hailed.” I said, “acknowledge and advise the ship that they are in a war zone. Ask their intentions.” “Gomez, do we have a ship anywhere near that ship?” Gomez said “the Monserate is in a position to make a combat jump in to the area.”

  I called Mac and brought him up to speed and asked him to make a combat jump to the area of the unknown ship, but to stay in stealth until I told him otherwise. Within a few seconds the Monserate winked out of existence.

  A few seconds later, we received a hail. “I am Ships Captain Vhazhen of the Adrastea. We are peaceful freight expediters from the planet Horus 5 in the Iota Ermina System. We only wish to talk.” I said, “Lieutenant Allan send this. Adrastea, stand by and I will have a ship accompany you to the inner system. Take up orbit as directed.” I then ordered the Monserate to drop out of stealth.

  Captain Vhazhen replied, “how long do we have to wait…Oh, I see, you already have a ship here.”

  On Board the Monserate

  On the Monserate, we completed our combat jump. The Adrastea appeared directly in front of us. We had armed our weapons and were at battle stations. As we exited our combat jump I began hailing the mystery ship. “Adrastea, this is Captain Morin McCreary of the SF Navy destroyer Monserate. Do not move, do not arm you weapons, prepare to be boarded. You are in a war zone and are considered to be hostile until proven otherwise.” The ship appeared to be a light freighter with huge engines and moderate armament. Almost immediately we got a reply. “Monserate, do not fire, we will cooperate.”