by S. H. Jucha
NUA’LL
A Silver Ships Novel
S. H. JUCHA
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by S. H. Jucha
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Published by Hannon Books, Inc.
www.scottjucha.com
ISBN: 978-0-9994928-8-8 (e-book)
ISBN: 978-0-9994928-9-5 (softcover)
First Edition: June 2018
Cover Design: Damon Za
Formatting: Polgarus Studio
Acknowledgments
Nua’ll is the eleventh book in the Silver Ships series. I wish to extend a special thanks to my independent editor, Joni Wilson, whose efforts enabled the finished product. To my proofreaders, Abiola Streete, Dr. Jan Hamilton, David Melvin, Ron Critchfield, Pat Bailey, Mykola Dolgalov, and Yolanda Timmons, I offer my sincere thanks for their support.
Despite the assistance I’ve received from others, all errors are mine.
Glossary
A glossary is located at the end of the book.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Haraken Fleet
Chapter 2: Carriers
Chapter 3: The Freedom
Chapter 4: Mickey
Chapter 5: New Terrans
Chapter 6: Tough Decisions
Chapter 7: Final Details
Chapter 8: Three Transits
Chapter 9: The Wall
Chapter 10: Comm Sphere
Chapter 11: En Masse
Chapter 12: Ice Giant
Chapter 13: Final Assault
Chapter 14: Sisterhood
Chapter 15: Scout Ships
Chapter 16: Dead System
Chapter 17: Boarding Party
Chapter 18: Inward Bound
Chapter 19: Homsaff
Chapter 20: Faustus
Chapter 21: Biologicals
Chapter 22: New Admin
Chapter 23: Etoya
Chapter 24: Wild Ones
Chapter 25: Enlightenment
Chapter 26: Hector
Chapter 27: Omnia
Chapter 28: One Ship
Chapter 29: Nua’ll
Chapter 30: Debrief
Chapter 31: Reinforcements
Chapter 32: Invitation
Chapter 33: Ude
Chapter 34: Target Star
Chapter 35: Observations
Chapter 36: Fêtes and Goodbyes
Chapter 37: Indecision
Chapter 38: Dangerous Data
Chapter 39: Null Horse
Chapter 40: Freighter
Chapter 41: Lost Opportunity
Glossary
My Books
The Author
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Haraken Fleet
Tatia had exited a lift into the Freedom’s grand park. She was intent on spending some time walking through the exquisite gardens, while she organized her thoughts. The impending encounter with the massive alien fleet that was seen at the wall was foremost on her mind. Forgoing the peace and quiet Tatia sought, she turned around and caught a lift to the city-ship’s uppermost deck. She anticipated that by the time she reached the enormous vessel’s bridge, the remaining ships would complete their transit to the Omnian system.
As a SADE or self-aware digital entity, Cordelia was easily capable of multitasking, as she acted in the capacity of the enormous city-ship’s captain. She maintained communication with the arriving ships, coordinated the Freedom’s services, managed the arrivals and departures of shuttles from the bays, and hundreds of other sundry aspects of command. And, of course, she reserved ticks of time to communicate with her partner, Julien.
Cordelia sent.
“What’s the status of the arrivals?” Tatia asked. Her dark blue uniform jacket, with its short collar, bore fleet admiral insignias, and her New Terran, heavy-worlder figure completely filled it.
“Commodores Miko Tanaka and Edouard Manet command their carriers, the No Retreat and the Last Stand,” Cordelia stated.
Cordelia’s status had been elevated from captain to commodore in anticipation of the freighters that were expected to accompany the city-ship to the wall. However, her title became tenuous, when the expedition’s leader, Alex Racine, and Tatia decided to accept Mickey Brandon’s concept of transforming the Freedom into a warship to fight with the expedition fleet. Humans and their allies, the SADEs, would sail to challenge the alien races, who sought to expand their territories by usurping humankind’s worlds.
To prepare the Freedom, travelers, the Omnians’ vaunted fighters, were constructed to fill many of the city-ship’s bays, and a ring of rail-mounted beam weapons were installed along the vessel’s circumference. The rails allowed the beam weapons to be extended past the bay doors and swiveled in limited arcs.
In essence, the Freedom, with its assortment of weaponry, became a force unto itself. The addition of freighters, which the city-ship would have to protect, had necessitated the promotion of Cordelia to commodore. In a touching ceremony, presided over by Alex and Tatia, Julien pinned the new insignias on his partner. Their foreheads touched, and the SADEs shared a human’s lifetime of memories in that short moment of communion.
“According to Commodore Tanaka, the last ship in their fleet has transited, Admiral,” Cordelia continued. “In addition to the Haraken carriers, there are twelve Tridents, each carrying their complement of fighters, and two freighters.”
“Considering they’re the contributions of a single world, that’s a good beginning,” Tatia replied, her arms folded across her substantial chest.
“Credit must be given to our accumulated knowledge, Admiral,” Cordelia mused. “It’s been decades accruing, ever since our first encounter with the spheres. Every event has enlightened our understanding of the entities, who wait beyond the wall, and our allies have come to realize the importance of resistance.”
>
Cordelia sent with a touch of pique.
Cordelia referred to Alex and Julien taking the OS Redemption, a Trident and the Omnians’ new warship design, to the wall. Alex had ordered Captain Ellie Thompson to prosecute an alien probe in the nearby system. Then they waited in their lone ship to see who came to investigate the probe’s flare, which detonated on entering the envelope of a gas giant.
When the aliens arrived, Alex and the Redemption’s crew found they faced a fleet led by a small Nua’ll sphere. Soon afterwards, massive carriers surrounded the Omnian ship and dumped an unending stream of fighters into space. The experienced hand of Captain Thompson and the ingenuity of the young pilot, Yumi Tanaka, daughter of Edouard and Miko, narrowly managed to extricate the ship from the trap.
“I presume notifications about the new arrivals have been sent,” Tatia said, resuming the conversation with Cordelia in the open.
“Julien, of course, is aware, which means Alex knows. I’ve updated Mickey. Alex will need to meet with our senior engineer to decide on priorities,” Cordelia replied.
Mickey Brandon, Omnia Ships’ inventive engineer, had his hands full running labs that filled every meter of three of the city-ship’s huge bays. Unfortunately, the scope of his assignments had exceeded the work in those areas. In addition, he was in charge of overseeing the fleet’s upgrades, preparing the carriers for their automated sojourns, and outfitting the Freedom for its defense.
Crews and SADEs had expanded the Sardi-Tallen Orbital Platform to keep up with production demand for banishers, the small vessels used to dispatch the alien probes, for rails and tubes for the city-ship’s beam weapons, and for travelers, humankind’s ubiquitous and ingenious fighters, whose design was taken from the Nua’ll. In addition, Omnians, humans and SADEs, produced thousands of circuits, crystals, and other components every week in manufacturing plants outside of Omnia City, the only city on the planet below.
“Shall I notify Rear Admiral Gaumata?” Cordelia asked.
“Negative,” Tatia replied. “I’ll do that myself. Withhold further communication about deployment to the approaching Harakens until I speak with Darius, Miko, and Edouard.”
“Acknowledged, Admiral,” Cordelia replied and focused her kernel’s programs on the host of minutiae demanding her attention.
As one of the first SADEs to be freed by Alex from her box aboard the Freedom, Cordelia had been afforded the luxury of time to develop sophisticated human mannerisms, which she displayed, while her algorithms were busy solving problems and sending orders. Outwardly, she appeared a calm, unflappable senior officer, comfortable with her position and duties, while inside, she processed information and communicated at inhuman speeds.
Tatia linked to the ship’s controller and requested the location of Admiral Darius Gaumata. He was aboard his Trident, the OS Prosecutor, participating in a mock battle. Tatia’s controller link allowed her to view the maneuvers Darius was practicing. She smiled to herself when she saw the Omnian squadron, Tridents commanded by the rear admirals, tucking deep behind a gas giant, surrounded by tens of moons. They were planning to ambush the four squadrons of Tridents, which accompanied the Haraken carriers. Tatia left a request with the controller to be updated on the outcome of the attack.
Darius returned.
Tatia responded.
The Haraken commodores noted Darius’ bio ID on the conference call.
Wrong thing to send, Darius, Tatia thought. Now, she’s got your number.
Miko’s thoughts were enveloped in a sweet innocence, and Tatia had to mute her side of the conference call, while her laughter reverberated down the corridor, as she strolled to her next meeting.
Oh, I missed you two, Tatia thought of her good friends.
Tatia added a secondary link to the Freedom’s controller. She wanted the system telemetry to see if the commodores intended to talk or act. Already, the Haraken Tridents, which had trailed the carriers, were accelerating. Most likely, they’d be deployed in a fron
tal arc to defend the two big vessels, as they neared the gas giant.
Miko and Edouard observed the four Omnian Tridents exit their hiding places from among the moons of the gas giant and head inward. They shared their humor with each other.
Miko waited for her partner to reply, but Edouard was silent.
