Castle Vroman

by Thomas DePrima

  Captain Hoyt of the Calgary, message complete."

  "Record a message to be sent to the Calgary," Jenetta said to the chief petty officer manning the com console.

  "Go ahead whenever you're ready, Admiral."

  "To Captain Hoyt of the GSC Calgary, from Admiral Carver, Stewart Space Command Base."

  "Captain, after completing a thorough sweep of the area for bodies, return to Stewart with the Lisbon and Galadvia in tow. If your space tugs can't handle the two ships because of their condition, the Sydney, Athens, and Miami will be joining you in the next few days. Each has at least two space tugs aboard.

  "Admiral Carver, Stewart Space Command Base, message complete. Play the video log for me, chief."

  The chief petty officer tapped a few contact points on his console, and the view from the Lisbon as it approached the freighter appeared on the screen.

  Suddenly, the ends of several cargo containers flew off, as if from the detonation of exploding bolts. Torpedoes then erupted from the containers and flew towards the Lisbon. Within seconds, the torpedoes had found their marks. Explosions rocked the ship. Another round of torpedoes flew from the freighter before the first return fire, but once the gunners on board the Lisbon got started, they filled space between the ships with torpedoes and deadly laser pulses. The fight was intense for perhaps several minutes, but a freighter is no match for a GSC destroyer, even if it had scored the first hits. If the freighter had first targeted the body of the ship instead of the Temporal Field Generator and Sub-Light engines, they might have had a chance, however slight.

  The scene then changed to the larboard side of the Lisbon where several warships had approached while the Lisbon engaged the freighter. The warships opened up with their laser weapons and pummeled the damaged destroyer repeatedly as they maneuvered quickly around the two disabled ships. The outcome of the fight was never in question once the three warships arrived.

  Jenetta watched the short battle in grim silence. Unable to move under its own power after the initial barrage, the Lisbon was a sitting target. Although its defeat was never in question, the Lisbon scored some respectable hits on the warships before its weapons went silent.

  At the end of the log replay, Jenetta left the Station Control Center and walked immediately to her office. She had another message to send, but this one was private. As she entered the outer office, she said to her aide, "No interruptions for ten minutes, Lori."

  "Aye, Admiral."

  Jenetta tapped the record button on her com unit as she sat down at her desk.

  "To Admiral Richard Moore, Admiral of the Fleet, Space Command Supreme Headquarters, Earth. Priority One message from Admiral Jenetta Carver.

  "Sir, I have bad news to relay. The destroyer Lisbon, with Admiral Vroman on board, has been attacked. The admiral is missing, as are hundreds of crewmembers. The Lisbon was the victim of a phony distress signal put out by a freighter who fired on our ship when it arrived to assist her. The destroyer Calgary has now arrived at the scene, just five light-years from Stewart, and found the severely damaged Lisbon and the freighter calling itself the Galadvia. The original crew of the freighter is missing. Search teams only found the bodies of Tsgardi aboard the ship.

  "I've viewed the Lisbon's video logs and observed that she would have won the engagement but for the arrival of several warships. Sir, those warships were of Milori design. I don't know if Milori warriors manned the ships or if Raiders have acquired Milori ships, but their appearance was most disturbing. I shall keep you apprised of any new developments.

  "Jenetta Carver, Rear Admiral, Upper Half, Commander of Stewart Space Command Base, message complete."

  Considering the immense distance between Stewart and the Hudeerac Home World, a response to Jenetta's message came surprisingly quick. Just fifty-one days after Jenetta transmitted her message, and hours after Jenetta viewed the video log of the Lisbon, an encrypted message, simply marked Vertap, appeared in Jenetta's message queue. Attempting to play it, she encountered encryption garble, so she recorded her retinal image and touched the ring that she still wore on her left hand to the media tray spindle. Instantly, the message cleared, and the image of Minister Aloyandro appeared.

  "Good day, Admiral. My Sovereign is most pleased that you've agreed to the sharing of information. Our operative within the Milori palace had already informed us of the retreat, and has given us other information that I will now relate. During their evacuation of your territory, the Milori fleet detached thirty of their best warships and sent them to positions of concealment within your Frontier Zone. They are to remain there and await further orders. The Milori felt that you wouldn't notice a few missing ships traveling independently to different destinations and the Raider organization helped them avoid your patrols. I can confirm your suspicions that the Milori have no intention of living up to the terms of the treaty they've signed with you. They are bristling over the subterfuge you employed at your last encounter with them. They will attack again, as soon as they feel their ship strength is adequate. They have tasked their spies with the chore of learning everything they can about your new weapons. You should be very wary.

  "Minister Vertap Aloyandro. End of message."

  That the Milori would be back as soon as they could assemble sufficient warships came as no surprise, but the information about the thirty ships hidden in the Frontier Zone made her sit up a little straighter. Arriving in the wake of the attack on the Lisbon, Jenetta didn't doubt the accuracy of the message. It now appeared that Milori had been manning the warships in the attack on the Lisbon, unless the Raiders had become emboldened by the presence of the invaders. But Jenetta had never heard of instances where the Milori sold their warships, just as Space Command never sold its warships. Prior to the Milori invasion, decommissioned GSC vessels were cut up into unusable pieces before being sold for scrap, but only after having remained mothballed for at least twelve years. Since the invasion, a refit program was underway to prepare all previously mothballed ships for rear area patrol duties.

  "As you were," Jenetta said, as she strode into the conference room with Lt. Commander Ashraf close on her heels. The captains of the only five warships in port, the senior officers from the Intelligence Section, and the most senior officer from each of the other sections on the station had started to rise, but now settled back into their chairs. "As you've all no doubt heard by now, the Lisbon was attacked by a freighter faking a distress call. Commander, play the video log," Jenetta said to her aide. The large monitor in the conference room displayed the battle as recorded by the Lisbon. Everyone watched intently as the attacking forces overwhelmed the ship.

  "I can't believe the Lisbon moved to within a few kilometers of the freighter without having checked it out first," Captain Jason Fowler of the GSC Destroyer Bogotá said as the vid log ended.

  "In the rear areas they haven't had to worry about such treachery from freighters asking for assistance because the Raiders have been rocked back on their heels during the past decade," Jenetta said. "Captain Lindahl has never been out this far before and it's clear that he didn't exercise proper precautions. Let this be a lesson to everyone here to never let down your guard." Jenetta knew Lindahl would face a court-martial if he survived. If he wasn't found guilty of dereliction of duty, he would be found guilty of ineptitude for failing to follow proper procedure when approaching an unknown ship. If not imprisoned or discharged from the service, he would probably be reduced in rank and spend the remainder of his career dirt-side, or perhaps in an administrative position on a minor space station in the rear areas. There was no doubt whatsoever that he would never command a warship again.

  "Even if he had exercised the proper precautions, they would have been overwhelmed," Captain Lofgren of the Intelligence section said. "They couldn't have stood against the armed freighter and three warships."

  "But they could have fled if the freighter hadn't been able to knock out their temporal generator and Sub-Light engines so easily." Jenetta sighed. "W
e're not here to discuss the actions of the Lisbon's captain or crew. There will be plenty of time for the assessment of crew actions later. We have problems that are more pressing. As you saw, the three warships are clearly of Milori design. I assume that none of our captured ships are missing, are they Commander Jacoby?" Jenetta asked her chief engineer.

  "No ma'am. Definitely not."

  "I thought not. A few hours ago, I received a message from a source I can't divulge at this time, the purpose of which was to inform me that during the Milori exodus, thirty ships broke off and sped to positions of concealment within our inner border. They traveled independently so as not to attract attention. With assistance from the Raiders, they were able to avoid our patrols."

  "That was a short-lived treaty," Lofgren said.

  "Yes," Jenetta said. "In prior centuries I believe the expression would be that the ink hadn't even dried on the treaty before the Milori were breaking it."

  "If this is an advance guard, why have they chosen to reveal themselves before the main fleet gets here?" Lofgren asked. "Shouldn't they have remained hidden until just before the rest of the invasion fleet arrives?"

  "Even more puzzling is their choice of targets," Captain Laramie Cossa of the GSC Destroyer Kabul said. "Why would they have chosen to assault a GSC destroyer just five light-years from this base? They could have attacked a ship much further away where the risk was much lower."

  "I think I know the answer to that," Jenetta said. "Admiral Vroman was aboard that ship. The Tsgardi deliberately targeted the engines, to their own detriment, so they must have been under orders not to harm the Admiral. Perhaps they expected Captain Lindahl simply to surrender once he knew he couldn't escape. If so, they don't understand Space Command personnel. The Lisbon responded to the torpedo attack with everything they had, and made it clear that they wouldn't simply capitulate."

  "Assuming that Admiral Vroman is still alive," Captain Barbara DeWitt of the Weapons Research section said, "what can we expect, a ransom attempt?"

  "I don't think so," Lofgren said. "Everyone knows that we don't ransom Space Command personnel because it would turn every officer and enlisted person into a kidnap target. They must be after information. As the incoming base commander, Admiral Vroman has had access to secure data about this base and its weapon systems, and in his year and a half aboard the Lisbon, he must have reviewed every report ever submitted to SHQ by Admiral Carver. The Milori would have no better candidate from which to learn about Stewart, except possibly Admiral Carver herself."

  "We'd better immediately change all access codes and passwords that were established for Admiral Vroman," Jenetta said.

  "Already taken care of, Admiral," Captain Wavala said, "along with the access codes and passwords of everyone else aboard the Lisbon. I saw to that the minute I learned the Lisbon was under attack and wasn't responding to hails."

  "The patrol routes of our ships should also be changed," Lofgren said.

  "Also done," Jenetta said. "I've notified all ships on patrol to pull back to within twenty light-years of the base and vary their patrols from established routes. I don't want them too far away if this is the opening volley in a second Milori invasion."

  "We can't adequately patrol our sectors if we're limited to twenty light-years, Admiral," Captain Cyndee Pasqua of the GSC Destroyer Chicago said.

  "It can't be helped," Jenetta said. "For the Milori to expose their presence here must mean that an invasion by a large force can't be very far off."

  "What if that's exactly what they want us to believe?" Lofgren asked.

  "They expose their presence and we pull back behind the castle walls and raise the drawbridge?" Jenetta asked.

  "Something like that," Lofgren said. "Admiral, I think we've skipped an important question. If the Tsgardi were after Admiral Vroman, how did they know he was aboard? I'm sure his trip here wasn't publicized, and even if people knew he was coming, how would they know what ship he was on?"

  "That's a good question, Captain, and one that I don't have an answer for right now, other than to say we've always known the Raiders have an incredible intelligence network. We know they've turned Space Command crewmen, NCOs, and even officers in the past. The investigation following the theft of the two battleships from the Mars facility proved that. We also know they have ships stationed throughout Galactic Alliance space reporting on the movement of both Space Command vessels and commercial ships. We've sent out spotters of our own, but we need to stem the flow of information to the Raiders."

  "How about picking up some of those watchers?" Lofgren asked.

  "You're talking about the Raider spotters?"

  "Yes ma'am. Perhaps they can be arrested on charges of conspiracy, or something similar."

  Jenetta nodded, and said thoughtfully, "Even if they don't provide us with any useful information, we'll at least be able to move around without having our every position reported to the enemy, and it will take a while for the Raiders to replace them. Good suggestion, Captain. I'll issue an order to search for any ships stopped in space or planetary orbit. If their navigation logs show they spend a lot of time sitting in one place without valid reason, we'll bring them here for incarceration on a charge of conspiracy or whatever other charge is applicable. Sedition is a possibility, as are treason and spying since the Raiders have now shown themselves to be in league with an invading nation. I'll leave that up to you, Captain Donovan," Jenetta said to the head of the JAG office."

  "Yes ma'am," he said in acknowledgement.

  "We still haven't addressed the problem of finding the thirty ships that the Milori have sent into our space," Jenetta said. "Any suggestions?"

  "It'll be like finding a needle in a haystack," Captain Pasqua said, "an infinitely large haystack."

  "I think finding the needle would be easier," Jenetta said. "At least you'd know it wasn't moving around under its own power in an effort to avoid detection."

  "What if we use the seized ships of the watchers for our own purpose?" Lofgren suggested. "After we arrest the crews, we place our own people aboard and have them report every ship they spot, but they'll be reporting to us instead of the Raiders. Even if we don't know whom they're seeing, we'll at least have a record of every ship and its course. We might be able to spot a trend."

  "Okay, good idea," Jenetta said. "I'll order that. Any other ideas?"

  "Admiral, even if we spot the Milori ships we won't be able to apprehend them," Commander Jacoby said. "The ships shown on the Lisbon's vid log are the newest design being built by the Milori. The specs we found in the captured ships list their top speed as Light-450. Even the Prometheus and Chiron won't be able to overtake them, or even stay up with them."

  "What's the speed of the ships we captured?"

  "Of the ships that have been repaired and converted for our use, three are capable of Light-450, and the others are capable of Light-412."

  "So we have at least three ships that can keep up with them if they flee?"

  "Yes, we can keep up with them, if any of those ships happen to make contact with the Milori, but the retrofitted Milori ships aren't even being used because they haven't been sufficiently staffed."

  "I'll see that they're adequately staffed and provisioned within a week. I want them ready to go out at that time. What's the situation with armament on the ships, Commander?"

  "The laser arrays and torpedo launching systems have been checked and repaired where necessary, and we have sufficient torpedoes for the present because we were able to salvage the inventories from all captured ships. Space Command Weapon Arsenals have received the torpedo specs and begun production, but it will be a year or more before they can possibly re-supply us out here. Space Command torpedoes can't be substituted because they're radically different in both dimensions and targeting systems."

  "How many Milori torpedoes do we have?"

  "Each repaired ship has a normal load of one-hundred-sixty in its armaments holds and there are roughly ten thousand more here in the
base armory. The captured Milori warships were all carrying hundreds of extra torpedoes in their holds, probably because they couldn't rely on supply ships keeping up with them during their invasion. But rather than trusting any that showed the slightest bit of damage, I had their detonators and warheads removed before they were taken to a secure area of the scrap yard."

  "Please see that each retrofitted ship receives one hundred additional torpedoes. Since they represent some of our fastest ships, they have a greater likelihood of meeting the enemy in combat. The Milori will know they can't outrun them so they may choose to turn and fight. Does anyone have any other suggestions?"

  When no one spoke up, Jenetta said, "Okay, keep your people ready for action. Things may heat up very quickly."

  Two weeks following the attack, Jenetta received the following message from Admiral Moore at Supreme Headquarters:

  "The Admiralty Board is duly concerned over this critical development. We weren't expecting the Milori to violate the terms of the treaty quite so soon. You should spare no effort in finding Admiral Vroman and effecting his rescue. You will remain in command of Stewart until you recover him or until a replacement flag officer arrives.

  "Reassigned ships should soon begin to arrive in ever increasing numbers until the full complement is in place, so you'll be in a much better position to repel an invading force this time. You have our full faith and confidence, Admiral."

  "Richard E. Moore, Admiral of the Fleet, Supreme Headquarters, Earth, message complete."