by D. J. Holmes
James shook his head. “No, though I haven’t been avoiding him. Our paths just haven’t crossed.”
“Perhaps Jil’lal and I should give you two a moment or two alone before we begin?” Gupta suggested.
“There’s no need,” James said as he shook his head. “We’ll be fine. Now, tell me, how are you settling in? It’s quite the promotion.”
Gupta chuckled and nodded to James as she spoke. “I could say the same about you. It seems like we’ve both gone up in the world. Though I know which position I’d prefer. I have already had my fill of administrative work. I don’t envy you in the slightest.”
“And yet we both know you are the better at it than I. Perhaps I should have put your name forward to be Chairwoman,” James suggested.
“Now that would be absurd. I’m hardly known outside of British circles. You are famous everywhere, or at least infamous. I know why they chose you. And… I have been hearing some other rumors lately. What’s this about you being heir to the British throne? That would certainly make you qualified.”
James couldn’t hold back an exasperated sigh. “Not this again. Who has been saying this to you? Fairfax I’d bet?”
“No actually, it was a British Captain who I imagine would prefer to remain nameless. I don’t know where he heard it from, but it seems to be scuttlebutt now. Is it true?”
“Who knows?” James shrugged. “It’s a mess down there. There could be ten other people closer in line than me and we just haven’t found or identified them yet. It’s not like anyone has been making it a priority.”
Gupta let out a whistle. “Maybe you haven’t, but someone has. And I’d happily place a few credits on that someone being Fairfax. If it is you, what are you going to do?”
James opened his mouth to let out a snarky reply, but he stopped short. He hadn’t actually spared a moment to seriously consider the possibility before. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “In one sense, I think the whole idea is irrelevant. We cannot continue on the trajectory our various nation-states have been on for the last hundred years. Not when we face such an overwhelming threat. We need our species to pull together, not continue to fragment. The British Star Kingdom doesn’t need a new King, they need to unite with everyone else.”
“And yet, as King, you’d be in a uniquely ideal position to bring that about,” Gupta countered. “There is that to consider.”
James waved her idea away. “Don’t, I don’t want to think about it. I have enough problems on my hands already. And don’t let Bernard or anyone else hear you talking like that. He’d have a fit.”
“I know when to keep my mouth shut,” Gupta replied. “But I am curious, you’ve clearly been thinking about it. If not a King, how is order to be re-established in the British Star Kingdom and on Earth. I know you have a subcommittee looking at this, but what is their goal, surely you can’t be thinking of a return of the UN system?”
“Never,” James growled. Then paused as he thought. “Beyond that, I don’t know. We’ve talked about this many times over the last several years. I’m sure Fairfax has shared his ideas with you more than once. I don’t see how his solution could be feasible, and yet I don’t see a better option either. We just have to see what Bernard, Fairfax and the others come up with.”
“That sounds like a recipe for disaster,” Gupta said. “Sometimes those who know what needs to be done should just do it.”
James laughed. “I’ve heard the exact opposite advice within the last few days. Militarily I agree with you, but when it comes to politics, I intend to stay out of it as much as possible. Bernard, Fairfax and the others can argue about it for as long as it takes them to find some common ground.”
“And if they don’t?” Gupta pressed.
“Then we will see,” James said as he shrugged again.
Both of them turned when the access hatch to the small briefing room slid open. Emilie poked her head in, “They’re here,” she said. “Shall I show them in?”
“By all means,” James replied, standing to greet his two other guests. “Rear Admiral Lightfoot,” he said as he shook his countryman’s hand. “And High Admiral Jil’lal,” he added as the Vestarian Admiral stepped into the room behind Lightfoot. “A pleasure to see you both. Please take a seat. My time is limited, as I imagine yours is, so we should get right down to business.”
“Before we begin, I feel I owe you an apology,” Lightfoot said before he sat. “If I had listened to you back at X-32. If I had pushed for the Interplanetary Committee to take your warnings seriously, none of this might have happened. We might have had the forces in place to drive the Karacknids back from the Holstein system.”
James held up a finger to silence Lightfoot. “Let me stop you there Admiral. We were both doing our duty as we thought best. You made the right decision in the end. If you hadn’t released me when we got to Earth, my ships might not have got here in time to help Koroylov defend the planet. We’ve both made mistakes in the past. It’s time to draw a line under them and move forward. You had my respect before all this began, after what you accomplished in the retreat from Holstein, you have earned it all over again. That’s why you are here. The Emergency Council met yesterday and approved a plan Gupta and I proposed to them. You’re being given command of Task Force One. It will consist of the ships from the Outer Defense Fleet and the Havenite fleet that are battle ready. You’re going to be tasked with heading to the German colonies and hunting down any Karacknid ships that are raiding our territory. You have shown a canny ability to outsmart our new enemies, you’re going to have to do so again and again if your mission is to be a success.”
“I understand,” Lightfoot said. “I presume I’m not to engage their main fleet if I encounter it? Not that I would have any inclination to do so.”
“Exactly,” Gupta answered. “As best as you can, you’re only to engage enemy squadrons you know you can defeat. It is our desire to show the Karacknids we are far from a spent force.”
“If we can discourage them from thinking a follow up attack would meet with an easy victory, we must,” James added.
Lightfoot nodded, the look on his face suggested he could read between the lines of what Gupta and James were saying. “Good,” James said in response to Lightfoot’s gesture.
“How many ships are we talking about?” Lightfoot asked.
“Twenty-seven,” Gupta answered. “Including two battlecruisers, four heavy, three bulk cruisers, an assault cruiser and various other light cruisers and destroyers.”
“We also have the three Python destroyers that survived the Battle of Earth,” James said. “They may be small, but they are deadly.”
“I’ve read the battle reports from your ships,” Lightfoot said. “It seems all of them proved deadly, the upgrades they have are significant. Twenty-seven is a small number, but if we can catch some Karacknid ships out of position, it would be enough to do some damage.”
“Exactly,” James agreed. “I intend to send you more reinforcements as they become available. We will bring as many defense platforms into the Sol system as we can from our colonies. As soon as our defenses are in a reasonable state, I intend to push the Emergency Council to resume offensive operations. We need to play our part in this war. Both to defend ourselves, and to help the Varanni Alliance. We have had no word from them since the attack, but I imagine if the Karacknids have attacked us, they will soon be launching their offensive against the Varanni as well.”
“If it hasn’t already begun,” Gupta commented.
“If I may,” Jil’lal said. “I’d like to volunteer my fleet as well. We have the same reactor and engine upgrades that Lightfoot’s squadron will have. We’ll be able to keep up with him and bolster his squadron’s effectiveness.”
James smiled, “That is why I invited you High Admiral. I know I cannot command you, but I hoped you would come to such a conclusion.”
“My people owe you a debt James, and we know what will happen if Earth is attacked again.
We would be next on the Karacknids’ hit list. Sooner or later they would come for us. My fleet has bled for your species already, we are prepared to do so again.”
James bowed his head slightly to Jil’lal, “My people owe your species a great debt as well. Many more Karacknid missiles would have struck our homeworld if your ships had not fought alongside us. I wonder though, do you intend to lead your forces yourself? The mission will be a dangerous one and it may be that the Vestarian people need their High Admiral back at home overseeing your continued military build-up?”
Jil’lal give a very human like smile. “I appreciate the sentiment James, but Vestarian Commanders always lead from the front. If my fleet is to go, I will be going as well. Besides, I have fought with Lightfoot before, he is an excellent commander, I would appreciate the opportunity to learn from him once again.”
“If you are planning to go, we would like to make you Lightfoot’s second-in-command. We would give you an honorary commission in our fleet as Rear Admiral.”
“I would be honored,” Jil’lal replied.
“Then it is settled,” James said, “we will draft orders for both of you immediately. Your ships are to depart as soon as they are able.
*
“I have just shown Jil’lal to the hangar bay. Is there anything else uncle?” Emilie asked when she stepped back into James’s briefing room.
“Indeed,” James replied. “I’ve got something for you to read.” He tossed a datapad to his niece.
“What is it?” Emilie asked as she touched the datapad to view its contents. When it wouldn’t open, she realized the datapad needed her thumb print to unlock it.
“I’ll summarize it for now, you’re going to want to take it back to your quarters and go through it there. Though you won’t have much time, you need to get packing.”
Emilie’s eyes shot up. “Packing? You’re sending me away? What have I done?”
James chuckled at her look of concern. “It’s not a punishment. You’re being promoted Commander.” Gently, James slid two rank insignia across his desk towards Emilie.
Wonder filled Emilie’s face. “Commander… I don’t know what to say. Wait,” she said as her voice suddenly rose, “am I getting another ship?”
“You are,” James said with a nod. “Though it may not be the type of command you’re expecting.” Tapping the small holo projector on his desk, James brought up an image of the Gift. “Do you remember when we were last on Earth before the Karacknids attack? When Dustin brought us here on Janice?”
“Of course,” Emilie said.
“Well, it was all over the holo-news at the time, another wormhole had been discovered.”
“Yes,” Emilie said as she looked more closely at the image of the Gift. “There was a lot of speculation about whether the UN had sent a manned ship through or not.”
“Well, I found out that they haven’t yet,” James said. “Admiral Allende received a briefing on it months ago but had forgotten all about it. Several probes were sent through, but no manned mission had been dispatched. Plans were in the works, however, the Karacknid invasion of the Holstein system put them on hold.”
“You’re thinking of sending me on this mission?” Emilie said as her jaw tightened. “If I’m to get a new ship, I want to join the fleet. The Gift is on the opposite end of where the fighting is going to be. You can’t send me away.”
Reaching forward, James tapped the holo- display again. The image of the Gift was replaced by a star map that included Earth, Human territory and then further out, the suspected size of the Karacknid empire. It dwarfed human space by factor of around two hundred. “Here’s the Gift,” James said as a system began to flash red. “And here is where the probes appeared after traversing the new wormhole.” Another system began to blink red, it was more than two thousand light years from the Gift.
“You mean…” Emilie said.
“Yes, it comes out just eighty light years from the Karacknid Empire’s territory. At least, where we estimate it to be. The Karacknids could have already brought that area of space under their control, or they could be hundreds of light years from reaching that point. We need to know which of these it is. Either the Karacknids know about their end of the Gift, and it may give them a second avenue of invasion into our territory. One we need to fortify immediately. Or, they know nothing about it, and it will give us an opportunity to launch our own attack. This is no secondary mission, but one of the utmost importance.”
“And, if their borders haven’t extended to the system, there may be other alien species nearby, species that know and even fear the Karacknids. Heck, they may be at war with them as well,” Emilie suggested.
James nodded. “That is why I want you for this mission. You have served under me for nearly eight years. You know my mind. You may head out there and find nothing, but if you find something, you’ll be representing our entire species. That is why I’ve chosen you. I trust you.”
“I don’t know what to say Admiral,” Emilie replied slowly, she was still staring at the holo-map. “It is a lot of responsibility.” She looked at James. “What will people say? You giving such a command to your niece?”
James rolled his eyes. “Just another reason why I am giving it to you. You seem to have picked up Suzanna’s savvy for politics far better than I ever did. But in this case, you can relax. The fleet is desperate for experienced Captains. No one will raise an eyebrow at someone with your limited experience being given command of a medium cruiser. Especially one that will not be going to the front lines.”
“A... medium cruiser?” Emilie stuttered as she struggled to swallow the lump that had appeared in her throat.
“Oh yes, I almost forgot,” James said as he winked at Emilie. He flicked the image on the holo-projector again. “Meet Intrepid. Her designs are based on the standard UN Dauntless class medium cruiser. Though she’s been built from the keel up specifically as an exploration cruiser. Her weapons and defenses are the equivalent of a standard light cruiser. The extra space has been devoted to a more advanced sensor suite and increased fuel and cargo capacity. She is equipped with a series of autonomous shift space drones that can be launched and sent back through the gift. They’re state of the art. We are actually hoping to begin using them to communicate with all our colonies. Though you will get to bring some of the first ones out of the factory with you. Additionally, she’s equipped to carry two spitfire fighters. They must dock externally and they have no launch tubes, but they should come in very useful for carrying out covert system surveys. Intrepid is stealthy in her own right, but the Spitfires can go places even Intrepid might not be able to.”
“She is beautiful,” Emilie said, transfixed by the holo image.
James smiled. “She’s currently being completed at the Britannia shipyards. On your datapad you’ll find orders for you to proceed to Britannia and take command of her forthwith. You’ll then proceed to the Maximillian system. I’ll be dispatching a corvette there today with orders to prepare for your arrival. I’ve no intention of sending you into Karacknid space in a ship filled with old tech. Intrepid’s engines, reactors and defensive weapons will be stripped out and replaced by the latest designs Scott and Qui-le have come up with. Then you will head back to the Gift and begin your mission. It’s all in your data file but let me make it clear, nonetheless. If you find the Karacknids, you are not to engage them. Your mission is a reconnaissance mission, nothing more.”
“I understand uncle,” Emilie said with a nod. “I’ll sneak around, see what I can find and report back.”
“And keep yourself out of trouble,” James added.
“Right,” Emilie said as she stood. “Of course. I suppose I better get going. I need to read this, pack and do a hundred other things. I’ll have to hand over my responsibilities here to someone else. Do you have someone in mind? I should brief them and get them up to speed.”
“Aye, you will, though I suspect it won’t take long. Andréa Clement has just arrived in
system with a relief convoy she put together. She’s already accepted the role as my Chief of Staff.” Emilie’s face whitened. “What is it?” James asked.
“Andréa?” Emilie repeated then shook her head vigorously. “No, there is no problem. She will be excellent. I was just thinking of what she will make of my efforts. She’ll probably be tearing her hair out just trying to make sense of my record keeping.”
James smiled. “Don’t forget she was the one who chose you for the Somerville Foundation scholarship, she saw something in you. I’m sure she won’t be too disappointed. You’ve come a long way since those days. She will help. Commander Scott has been released from Earth’s sickbay. I’ve asked her to help out as well. I intend to make her head of our efforts to redesign and rebuild the fleet, but we’re still only making baby steps in that direction, so she will have some free time. Between the both of them I’m sure they’ll be up to filling in your shoes.”
Emilie beamed at the news, too excited to respond to James’ joke. “I’m going to go find her right away. I’ve been dying to visit her, but I haven’t had the time.”
