Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids

by Dale C. Musser

  “He has and we have it on all the carriers, but it doesn’t work for starships with only two hangars. You’d never be able to get ships in any number launched with that system from a starship.”

  “So the same thing could happen here with the DUSTEN?” Regeny asked nervously.

  “Yes, if the RMFF is dropped to launch a group of ships and there is an enemy sitting nearby targeting the hangars. That’s why I wanted you and Wabussie to use carriers for your headquarters instead of a starship,” I said with some irritation.

  “Hrrumph,” Regeny cleared his throat. “I see. Well, that will be of little concern now that the new Capitol is functional and shielded. Wabussie and I will be moving our headquarters there.”

  “A good idea, sir. With the death of Stonbersa and the destruction of the PRIZAMET, I’d like to recommend that we decommission the starships and replace them all with carriers.”

  “Hmm, not sure how that will go over with the Senate," Regeny mumbled.

  “If they have any objections, recommend that every starship has at least one senator aboard representing the sector the ship is in. I’ll bet they will quickly decide replacing starships with carriers is the way to go.”

  “You have a good point there. We’re going to need to promote someone to Admiral to replace Stonbersa. You have any recommendations?”

  “Yes, since we’re going to abandon the starships, I think it’s time for Wanoll to be promoted to Admiral. Give him the second fleet in Sector 2.”

  Regeny chewed his lip a moment, “Yes; he'd be a good man. He’ll hate giving up the DUSTEN though, but I think after the events of this week he will see the logic of it. Okay, I support your recommendation.

  “I’m rather surprised that there haven’t been any broadcasts commenting on the attack from either Ming or Roritat,” Regeny continued, “what do you make of that?”

  “Honestly, Admiral I’ve not had time to give it any thought. Most likely, things went far worse for them than they anticipated and they are now at each other’s throats blaming each other for their failures.”

  “Why do you think they attacked your estate at the same time as their attack on Sectors 2 and 3?”

  “My guess is it was to be a distraction. I think they may have wanted the attack at the estate to start sooner to draw me away; the same with Alle Bamma. Fortunately, none of those attacks succeeded.”

  “Yes, that attack at Alle Bamma. I hear….” For a moment, blackness and peace descended over me and then I heard, “…you were able to stop that and do some major damage to the attacking fleet. Tibby, are you all right? Your head dropped all at once."

  “Forgive me, Admiral, I may have fallen asleep; I'm not sure. In any case, I have no idea what you said.”

  “I apologize, Tibby; I'll have your guard take you back to your ship. Get some sleep and you can report back to me when you are awake and alert again,” Regeny said with genuine concern.

  “Thank you, Admiral, I appreciate that.” I started to rise from my chair, only instead of getting up, I saw the floor spin and zoom at me and all went dark and silent.

  When I awoke I found myself in a bed in the med unit on the NEW ORLEANS and I was hooked up intravenously to a machine in the wall. I knew I was on the NEW ORLEANS, because A’Lappe was staring me in the face and A’Lappe never leaves the NEW ORLEANS.

  “Ah, First Citizen, you’re awake. Good!”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “You blacked out in Admiral Regeny’s office two days ago,” he said.

  “Two days ago? How did I get here?”

  “Regeny had them bring you here, he said your med unit is the finest in the universe, which is true by the way and he wanted to make sure you got the best care and treatment.”

  “What was wrong with me?”

  “Severe fatigue, lack of food, water and most of all, sleep.”

  “That’s all?” I said, thinking about my growing bouts of memory problems of late.

  A’Lappe looked at me strangely for a moment and then asked, “Were you expecting more?”

  “A’Lappe, I need your help and I need your solemn word you won’t discuss this with anyone, especially Kalana. Is that understood?”

  I saw A’Lappe’s countenance quickly change and a sober expression set in on his face. “What is it, Tibby?”

  “You must swear to keep this strictly between us,” I said.

  “Yes, certainly, Tibby, whatever you want,” he replied.

  “A’Lappe there is something wrong, something not right with me and it’s getting worse,” I began, “at first I thought it was simply stress trying to deal with the issues of this war and all. However, now I realize it’s much more than that and I’m frightened.”

  “What are you referring to?” A’Lappe asked.

  “My memory. I have forgotten a number of things of late, things I should remember. More and more I am finding I am forgetting things. I forget events, things I planned to do, meetings I’ve set up, I forget my way around the ship and estate. I think Kala is starting to get concerned about it, but she’s not said anything other than to make jokes about it. I think she believes it’s because of the stress I am under, but it’s more than that A’Lappe; there is something serious going on.”

  “I see,” A’Lappe said, “Tibby, I have to be honest with you. I've noticed it with you also of late, but like you, I assumed it was stress. However, from what you are telling me I think there is sufficient reason to do some tests to see if there is anything going on of a more serious nature.”

  “A’Lappe, I want this done so no one else knows. If we do these tests, it needs to be done when no one else is around. I don’t want Doctor Danjuma or any of the staff to know.”

  “Well, there is a small auxiliary med unit in the other end of the ship, strictly for times of major emergencies. It’s sealed up and hasn’t been used since the ship was built, but it’s functional and all the tools necessary for the tests are there and should be operational. We could do the tests there, but it will set off a signal on the bridge that the unit has been activated.”

  “I could tell Kerabac that I’m having you test some new equipment for the med unit and that you will be doing it there so as not to disrupt regular service in the main med-unit,” I said. “That way, no one will be suspicious about the activation of the backup unit.”

  “Yes, that will work, I think,” A’Lappe replied. “How soon do you want to do this?”

  “As soon as I can,” I said, “I need to know if I am going to lose my mental faculties and if so, I need to make plans for others to take over once I do. I’ll get with Kerabac as soon as I leave here and tell him you will be working on the spare med unit. I’ll get with you tomorrow morning and we can begin the tests. A’Lappe, I’m counting on you to keep this a secret. I don’t want anyone to know about this, at least not now.

  “How soon before I can get out of here?”

  “You can leave now if you wish, you’re rested up. We've fed you intravenously, though I would suggest you eat something solid before you leave here. Your vital signs are all back to normal, I’d say you’re ready to resume your normal stressful life again.”

  “Thanks, A’Lappe, you’re a real inspiration to me today.”

  A’Lappe laughed, “Well, I would suggest you go see First Citizen Kalana and your twins. They have all been most anxious about you. Kala has spent many hours sitting here by you; in fact, she only left a few minutes before you awoke and said she was going to feed your offspring. If you hurry, I’m sure you’ll get to your suite in time for breakfast.”

  “Suite? So Kala and the twins are back aboard the NEW ORLEANS?” I asked.

  “Yes, Kalana and the twins returned right after the attack. Kalana doesn’t want them going back until security has been beefed up more and she wanted to be near you.”

  “Have there been any more attacks while I was asleep?”

  “None and the Brotherhood seem to have gone into hiding once again. They to
ok some very heavy losses, though Marranalis tells me the Federation did also. I was sorry to hear about Admiral Stonbersa. I did like that old fellow.”

  I didn’t waste any time getting showered, dressed and to my suite once A’Lappe had told me I was free to go. Of course, no sooner did I enter the door than I heard Lunnie and Reide fussing.

  “Mom, Reide took my Tesary pastry!” Lunnie yelled.

  “Diff noff,” Reide mumbled, with his mouth full of food.

  “Reide, stop taking Lunnie’s food; all you need to do is ask and I’ll get you your own,” Kala said as I entered the dining room.

  “Well, it’s about time you joined the rest of us,” Kala said as she walked over and kissed me.

  “Yuck,” Reidecor muttered, “kissing.”

  “That’s ‘cause they love each other,” Lunnie expounded. “That’s what people who love each other do.”

  “Ha!" Reidecor exclaimed. “I’m never going to fall in love if I gotta kiss someone.”

  “You will too,” Lunnie said. “Just you wait.” Then she quickly added, “Well, maybe not, because no girl would ever want you.”

  “Has this been going on all the time I was asleep?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid so,” Kala said, “it’s pretty much non-stop.”

  Lunnie looked at me a minute and her eyes ran up and down my frame, “Are you feeling better now, Daddy?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Waff wus wong wiff you?” Reidecor asked, as he stuffed another Tesary pastry in his mouth.

  “Reidecor, don’t talk with your mouth full of food,” Kala admonished.

  “It was fatigue. I hadn’t had any sleep for over two days and hadn’t eaten or had much to drink,” I said.

  “Oof!” Reidecor responded.

  “Speaking of something to eat, A’Lappe suggested I eat something before I resume my Admiral duties.”

  “What would you like? Something from the synthesizer, or would you like me to have Piesew have something prepared for you?” Kala asked as she surveyed my face.

  “The machine will be fine, I think. Maybe two of those things Reide is stuffing down his throat and a cup of foccee.”

  “Coming right up. Are you sure you feel well enough to return to duty today? You gave me quite a scare when I heard you collapsed. A’Lappe assures me it was fatigue and your lack of sleep and that got to you. Honestly, Tibby, you’re going to kill yourself with all you take on.”

  “I’m fine now. All I needed was some rest,” I said, wondering if she suspected there was more wrong with me than I was letting on.

  As I ate, Kala sat at the table with me chatting about her events since the attack at the estate. She did stop a few times to ask questions about the battles in Sectors 2 & 3, but she said she’d seen and heard about most of it from the news on the vid screens. She was sad to hear about Stonbersa, but said that she believed that this was the way he wanted to go, fighting in a battle defending the Federation.

  I arrived on the MAXETTE about an hour later and was greeted by Marranalis.

  “Welcome back, Admiral. Are you feeling better?”

  “Thanks, Marranalis, I’m feeling much better. All I needed was some sleep.”

  “I've got to tell you, Tibby, you scared the crap out of Admiral Regeny. He’s been in a panic ever since you collapsed in his office. He wants you to call him first chance you get.”

  “What’s happened while I was out of it?” I asked. “Nothing too serious, I hope?”

  “Nothing at all, Admiral; the Brotherhood pulled back and vanished from the battle areas, leaving a lot of debris floating in space where they once were.”

  “I don’t suppose we were able to get our hands on any of their ships?” I asked doubtfully.

  “Actually, sir, Admiral Kophious says they have part of one they found in Sector 3 that seems to have the GW generator and part of the cloaking detection device still intact. The FSO has it in their labs now and is looking at it.”

  “The FSO! Damn! A’Lappe and Cantolla should be the ones looking at that thing! The FSO will be fumbling around with it for months. A’Lappe and Cantolla would figure it out in a day.”

  “Yes, sir, but A’Lappe and Cantolla aren’t authorized to work on top secret military projects.”

  I stared hard at Marranalis and he looked at me with a serious face. Then both of us broke out laughing. The more we laughed the funnier it became and soon we both had tears running down our faces. Admiral Regeny entered and he stood staring at Marranalis and me leaning on each other in hysterical laughter.

  “What’s going on?” he asked with a look of confusion. It took several minutes before I could get my breath to answer.

  “Marranalis said that the FSO was examining [ha, ha] the... [snort] the wreckage of the... [ha] damaged Brotherhood [ha, ha, ha]... ship from Sector 3 because A’Lappe [ha, ha, ha]... and [snicker] Cantolla weren’t [HA, HA!] authorized to work on top secret military projects.” Then both Marranalis and I collapsed on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. Regeny stood looking at us like we both had lost our minds.

  “What’s so funny about that? It’s true!” Regeny said. Marranalis and I laughed even harder and when I looked at him, his face was turning purple from his lack of getting enough air.

  “Stop it! Both you stop it now…! I’m ordering you!” Regeny said sternly. I was trying to raise my hand and wave so Regeny would give us a minute to get our breaths. However, I was laughing too hard. Regeny turned to looking at his security guard, who by now was becoming amused at our laughter and was grinning like a fool. “Sergeant, check the room and see if there are any gases leaking in here that are causing them this hysteria.” At that point, Marranalis, who was still trying to breathe, let out an even bigger “HA” and passed out. With Marranalis’s blacking out, the seriousness of the event sobered me up enough to regain composure. Of course, a medic was called in; by the time he arrived, Marranalis was conscious and recovering quickly, though he did occasionally snicker, which would nearly set me off again.

  “By the stars, what is so funny about the FSO examining the Brotherhood ship?” Regeny demanded.

  “Sir,” I began while trying to keep a straight face, “It’s not that, it’s the idea that A’Lappe and Cantolla aren’t authorized to work on top secret military projects.”

  “I don’t understand,” Regeny said sternly.

  “Sir, WHO, other than A’Lappe and Cantolla, knows more top secrets about our and the Brotherhood’s technology, than they do? Heck, they invented most of it. For that matter, who do you know who is more trustworthy?”

  Regeny stared a moment and nodded, “Hmm, I see your point, but it’s not that funny.”

  “It was to us, sir,” Marranalis said as he started to laugh again.

  “Sir, I recommend we immediately grant them both the highest top secret clearance status. I need them looking at what’s on that ship. They will be able to tell us in hours what’s going on, where the FSO will take months.” I said.

  “All right, I’ll notify Wabussie and see to it that Cantolla and A’Lappe have access to the ship,” Regeny said.

  “Sir, we will need to have the ship moved to the NEW ORLEANS.”

  “Why? By the stars, Tibby why can’t they go to where the ship is?”

  “Because A’Lappe won’t leave the NEW ORLEANS.”

  “Oh, by the stars, that’s right… I forgot. However, I want the FSO to still have access to the ship.”

  “That’s not a problem, sir,” I responded.

  “So, Tib, how are you feeling? You look a lot better than when I last saw you.”

  Much better, sir.”

  “Good. Tonclin has been asking me every day about your status. The Federation is in quite a stir over the events with the battles and all. Tonclin wants to do a memorial service at the scene of the battle in Sector 2. He’d like to stage the memorial from the MAXETTE.”

  “Like when we did the service for Sokaia?” I asked.

  “Ye
s but this time he wants it known that he is there in person and he wants it broadcast live.”

  “Taking a bit of a risk there, isn’t he?” I said, more than asked.

  “Not with the RMFF and the Cantolla Gates,” Regeny said. He’s as safe here as at the Capitol. It will be safer; in fact, since this ship has firepower and fighters to defend it; and with the Cantolla Gates, he can escape in seconds to anywhere.”

  “I guess I can’t argue with that.”

  Even though Regeny had gone over the battles with Admiral Kophious and the captains of most of the starships and carriers that had participated in the fighting in Sectors 2 and 3, he still wanted to go over them from my perspective. I made sure to bring in all the details of events at Alle Bamma and my estate as well. Admiral Regeny had called in Admiral Kophious and Admiral Slater also and had two junior officers there taking notes; he wanted everything written up in reports to go out to all the Sector Admirals. The entire battle was played out in 3D with holograms in the War Room, only it was played out in an accelerated time frame. We were concerned that two enemy ships had been able to get close enough to the PRIZAMET without being noticed; but when ship records from the fleet were taken, it was discovered the ships showed up on our sensors, but their stealthy and erratic movements seemed illogical and so no one paid them much attention until it was too late.

  “This isn’t good,” I said, “We need to fine tune our combat abilities more. Slater, what are we doing wrong?”

  “We’re not having battle combat drills,” he said almost instantly. “We need to have mock battles between fleets to see where we need to tighten up.”

  “You’re right,” I said, as I rubbed my eyes and once again wondered how it was I hadn’t thought of that. With all the naval drills I had been through when I was in Earth’s Navy, it should have been foremost in my mind; yet all this time I had let it slip by. The meeting lasted a few more hours, but Regeny was sure to make us take a break and ordered food sent in. “I don’t want to have any more of my officers passing out on me from starvation and fatigue,” he said with a chuckle,” but I saw him looking at me and I thought I detected a look a note of concern on his face. Was he seeing something I was missing? Did he too, suspect I was having some issues of concern?