The Hiriculan Imposition: Book 4 of the Alliance Conflict

by Jeff Sims

  She scanned the rest of the box. There were a couple of decorations, but certainly not enough to label the entire box as such. She turned on this communication pad. She hadn’t used this particular pad before this so she had to configure the AI.

  She pressed her thumb on the button multiple times until it memorized her print. Then she had it scan her eyes. Finally, she answered a multitude of questions such as her name, phone number, favorite city, birthplace, and of course her mother’s maiden name.

  She then used the pad to make a note to replace the box or relabel it appropriately. She started to walk away and stopped. She went back to the closet, grabbed the box, and fished out several decorations. She hung them up around the room. They may not be the correct season, but they certainly brightened up the room.

  She checked the time. The day’s session was starting soon, so she walked from her apartment a short distance to the Alliance Senate building. It was the shortest building in the area by a far margin. In a city of skyscrapers, a short building was actually a sign of wealth and power.

  She entered and took her usual seat beside the other Senators. The Ceremonial Master walked to the podium and said, “Respective Beings, the meeting is now in session. We have a full docket of items for discussion today, including several important votes.”

  She checked the list of items. Few if any of them concerned her and none directly. She listened to the meeting as intently as she could, but she found herself checking her communication pad every couple of minutes to see if the mystery man sent anything to her Senate email. Apparently she did it once too many times because she caught the attention of at least one other senator.

  Senator Frank said, “Senator Amanda, are you expecting an important message?”

  Amanda smiled politely and responded, “No, my old communication pad broke and I just got a replacement moments before this session. I am still trying to configure the AI.” She set the communication pad down loudly on the table in front of her and shoved it just out of her arms’ reach.

  Frank gave his ‘now that I have your attention’ smile and returned back to the discussion. He said, “Gentle beings, we need to discuss whether or not to allow the Cestriki Company to mine in the Sortion asteroid belt.”

  Altian Senator Korno replied, “It is too dangerous to station a mining platform in Trilon. The military will have to send at least one 7-ship fleet to protect it. Further, they will need a base of operation, which means that we will have to repurpose another space station for military use.”

  Frank replied, “If we put a permanent force in Trilon, we would be breaking the treaty with the Hiriculans. That system has been designated as neutral. Permanent military bases or stationed troops are not allowed.”

  Korno replied, “That sounds a little like Influenla I suppose.”

  Frank said, “We cannot compound mistakes. Two wrongs do not make something less wrong.”

  Korno said, “We could abandon Waylon. It is virtually in the middle of nowhere. We could relocate the Humans and the old Altian space station from Waylon to Trilon and tell the Humans to guard the system. They aren’t technically in the Alliance Navy.”

  “Korno’s statement is technically true,” Amanda said, “Each of the Humans was sworn into the Alliance Navy under Solarian pseudonyms. However, I don’t think anyone would plausibly believe that distinction.”

  Frank asked, “Besides, do you really think that the Humans are ready for such an important assignment? Especially one that would more than likely require diplomacy instead of fighting?”

  The senators laughed politely. Frank said, “Then I suppose we should deny their request.”

  Amanda said, “Let’s give the Cestriki Company the right to mine the asteroid belt, but remind them that it is a neutral system. The Alliance cannot and will not provide any type of military protection for them while they are Trilon.”

  They unanimously voted to allow the Cestriki Company to mine the asteroid belt in Trilon provided the company takes full responsibility for their own protection.

  …………………….

  Alliance Senator Frank ran a few steps and caught up with Amada as she was leaving the Senate building. He huffed a little from the physical exertion and wheezed, “Amanda (…breath) that was a brilliant solution to the Cestriki conundrum. That was a very innovative solution.”

  Frank was about to suggest that very same solution, but Amanda had beaten him to it. Honestly, there was really no other choice that they could make.

  Amanda shrugged and said, “Thanks.”

  Frank smiled politely and said, “You seemed distracted for much of the meeting today. Is everything okay?”

  They had almost reached Frank’s apartment. As the senior member, his was closest to the Alliance Senate building. The others were within a block of his, but still the distinction was there.

  Amanda replied, “Is you secret bunker decorated yet? I may need to hide in it soon.” She smiled and laughed.

  Frank replied, “Please, come in for a moment. I will give you a guided tour.”

  They entered Frank’s apartment and crossed to the far side. Frank entered a code in his communication pad and a secret doorway appeared. He and Amanda stepped into the electro lift. Frank pressed the down button and the electro lift started moving downward at a very slow pace.

  Amanda was surprised. The lift was open on all sides. Plus, the walls weren’t finished. If she wanted to, she could reach out and run her hand along the dirt that was slowly moving past. They went down about 4 meters (13 feet) and suddenly stopped.

  Amanda saw that there were six cords running down the length of the electro lift shaft. She reached out and touched one. It felt like a combination of metal and plastic. She said, “Senator Frank, what are these?” She tugged lightly on one for effect.

  Frank jerked his hands out and gently pulled Amanda’s hands free from the cord. He said, “Careful, don’t touch that cord. That is a strand of nitrocellulose, a very high powered explosive. If I were to ignite these strands, the entire shaft would blow-in upon itself.”

  Amanda said, “Meaning that you would be trapped down in your bunker. It would take whoever was looking for you months to dig a new hole. Smart.”

  Frank inspected the area around the lift. He felt his hands around the edge. He stood up and pressed the down button several times. The electro lift didn’t move. Frank gave an ‘I am really concerned and should be frowning’ smile and pushed the up button. The electro lift started traveling back up to the apartment.

  Frank said, “That’s strange, I tested it yesterday and it worked fine. I will have to call the contractor and have him repair it.”

  Amanda said, “Maybe the tunnel is blocked or has partially collapsed. The walls don’t look very stable, especially since they are lined with explosives.”

  Frank replied, “You’re right, the walls aren’t structurally very stable. But it was a lot cheaper than reinforcing everything. I am sorry that our tour got stuck in the mud.”

  They exited the secret electro lift and walked back into Frank’s apartment. Frank smiled again and said, “You still haven’t told me what is bothering you. Is there anything that I can do to help?”

  Amanda said, “No. Thank you though.” She left his apartment.

  Frank opened his communicator and said, “Computer, set up a call to the mystery man, voice only. Invoke Senate security protocols. ”

  …The call is being patched through to your communicator, voice only, security is in place, the call is not being recorded...

  Frank didn’t wait for the other person to speak. He blurted out, “I need you to investigate Senator Amanda. I think that she is hiding an important secret and I want to know what it is.”

  The man responded, “I will begin investigating immediately. If she is hiding something, you will know it in a relatively short period of time.”

  The mystery man’s voice was strange and metallic sounding. Frank assumed that he was using a voice chang
er to hide his voice. He needn’t have bothered Frank thought; no one could listen in on their conversation.

  Frank said, “Okay, hopefully you can have something for me by next week.”

  The man responded, “Understood. I read the news. How did it go?”

  Frank replied, “The weapon worked as advertised. The beam signature was identified as Hiriculan. No one suspected anything.”

  “Until next time,” the mystery man said and hung up.

  Frank disconnected and ended the security field. He walked over to the mirror and inspected himself. He increased the magnification on the mirror and looked for gray hairs. He didn’t find any. He checked his eyes. There appeared to be a new line forming beside the left. Frank liberally applied anti-aging cream to the creases of both eyes.

  Frank inspected himself again – eyes, ears, nose, skin, even the back of his throat. He looked good, probably 40 years younger than his actual age.

  …………………….

  The mystery man disconnected the line and removed the voice changer. He laughed at the irony of the situation. Senator Frank wanted him to investigate Senator Amanda. Ambassador Bline was already paying him to try to blackmail her. It was almost a dream come true.

  The mystery man put his voice changer back in place, contacted Ambassador Bline, and told him about this latest development. Specifically, he wanted to make a sale.

  He said, “Ambassador, you need to think long and hard about your two options. On the one appendage, it is clear that Senator Amanda is not going to cooperate. If you decide to expose her it may show that you used your positon as an ambassador to pass classified information to your government. Amada probably figured that out, which was why she was no longer cooperating or even acknowledging my threats.”

  Bline responded, “I agree. She doesn’t appear to be frightened and I don’t think that she is going to cooperate.”

  Mystery Man: “On the other appendage, we could simply send partial information to Senator Frank and let him expose Amanda. That way she could be still be in place and a potentially useful asset, but she will then know that there is a penalty for defying you.”

  Ambassador Bline laughed because he realized that it didn’t really matter which route he took. It was a win-win situation either way. Besides, the High Council’s master plan was about to begin and he needed to conclude this diversion before that began.

  Bline replied, “Wait a day and a half. Then tell Senator Frank about her email usage. That should be enough to properly chastise Senator Amanda.”

  The next day, the mystery man activated his security system, attached his voice changer, man and called Senator Frank.

  Frank: “That was quick. What did you find?”

  Mystery man, “I have nothing absolutely firm, but I did find some very unusual behavior.” He paused for a breath and to let the suspense rise a little.

  After a sufficient time he continued, “Senator Amanda was using her personal communicator for both personal messages and Senate messages. Two days ago she deleted her personal account and destroyed her personal communication pad.”

  Frank: “Was there any evidence that her personal or Senate account was hacked?”

  Mystery man: “None that I could find. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t hacked, it just means that I couldn’t find any evidence that it was hacked.”

  Frank ended the conversation and grabbed his communication pad. He didn’t have a lot of facts, but he supposed that he really didn’t need them. Why let the facts get in the way of a good story? He promptly crafted a message detailing Senator Amanda’s transgression and forwarded it to his favorite reporter.

  He smiled. Tomorrow would not be a slow news day.

  Chapter 4

  Supreme Admiral Fruid’la was standing on the command bridge of the newly constructed command carrier Retribution. He walked from one end of the admiralty bridge to the other. Normally, a walk across the admiralty (or flag) bridge on a battleship took a second or two. On this brand new ship, the stroll was quite a bit longer.

  The first, prototype version of the command carrier had been a behemoth. It had been roughly four times larger than a normal battleship. However, the living quarters and flag bridge had been exactly the same size as a typical battleship. The extra space on the prototype ship had been consumed by two massive ion cannons.

  That prototype had underperformed during both the second and third battles of Influenla. When the Sunflower attacked the Spindle Station, the resulting battle exposed several weaknesses in the command carrier’s design. The ship had been understaffed, under-armored, underpowered, and in general underwhelming. Basically, the ship had been designed to be a huge ion cannon; it had not been designed to command an entire fleet.

  Immediately after that defeat, the High Council assigned Fruid’la to the military space station on Neto until the rest of the fleet was constructed. When he arrived he was derided by both Admiral Plev’la, who was in charge of research and development and Admiral Doak’la, who was in charge of Neto training.

  Supreme Admiral Fruid’la still remembered sub Admiral Plev’la’s response when he suggested that he had several improvements for the new command carrier. It went something like, “I welcome your help. Your experiences in battle certainly add validity to your recommendations. With your valuable input I am certain that we can create a warship that won’t get blown into smithereens by a lone cruiser.”

  Sarcasm aside, the veiled insults about his command strategy made him realize that he did need to prepare for commanding a large fleet. So, he created a series of partial and full simulations so that he could practice giving commands, receiving updates, and tracking ships.

  Fruid’la realized after a few simulations that commanding a huge fleet was not the same as commanding a small one. He didn’t know why he thought they would be the same. Further, when he thought about why he initially thought it would be the same, he realized that he had in fact not given the issue much thought. Basically, he really hadn’t thought about it at all.

  He had dreamed about conquering the Advranki, the Altians, and the Solarians. He had even rehearsed eloquent speeches demanding their surrender. He had even given considerable thought to overthrowing the High Council and becoming the ruler of the galaxy.

  So, the details of actually commanding a fleet that size came as something of a shock to him when he finally did get around to thinking about it. There was so much information and so many moving pieces that the first couple of simulations he was basically overwhelmed with data and was thoroughly ineffective. He knew that he needed to dramatically improve.

  He started by comparing the new simulations to his most recent command. His previous command had consisted of 30 ships. He had been able to command that fleet with little help and relatively little staff. Further, he had even been able to serve as captain of his ship and commander of the entire fleet at the same time.

  He noted that there were two key differences between guiding a relatively small fleet and an absolutely huge fleet – the biggest in history he reminded himself. The first was that he could no longer mentally keep track of that many ships, even with the help of sophisticated computer modeling systems.

  The second difference was communication. To talk to another ship, the communications officer had to point a laser array on a straight line course from one ship to the other. Then the message had to be broadcast. It generally took under a second to target another ship. Then the array had to stay focused on the ship to deliver the message.

  So, if the message was 9 seconds long and the targeting array took a second, it therefore took 10 seconds to send a message to one ship. It took 300 seconds, or 5 minutes, to signal a 30 ship fleet. Not great performance, but certainly not terrible. Of course, the time could be drastically reduced if it was a general message that could be passed from ship to ship.

  With a mega fleet of 330 ships though, spending 10 seconds per ship meant that it would take 3300 seconds, or 55 minutes, to send a simple,
personalized message to every ship in the fleet. An hour was not acceptable.

  As a result, he completely changed his thinking about the function of the command carrier. He realized that this ship wasn’t a typical battleship. It wasn’t going to be used to command a 7 ship fleet and it wasn’t going to be used to fight. It didn’t need to be the strongest ship in the fleet. It was primarily and perhaps solely going to be used to command a fleet of 330 ships.

  Therefore, he significantly altered the design. It was originally slated to be twice as big as a normal battleship. However, if he removed the need for excessive offensive capabilities, he could significantly shrink its size, increase its communication ability, and significantly reduce the time required to build it.

  The final command carrier design came out 16.3% bigger than a normal battleship. The designers had suggested that the extra space was not needed, but Fruid’la had insisted.

  Oddly enough, 16.3% larger was the minimum percent required to ensure that there was a noticeable size difference between the command carrier and a battleship. The extra size made it obvious to all that the Retribution was the largest ship in the fleet. The same designers quietly whispered that the extra size was required solely to house Fruid’la’s massive ego.

  Fruid’la, despite his ego, had learned the hard way that bigger wasn’t always better – and huge wasn’t necessarily better than big. Fruid’la was actually glad in a way that the old ship had been destroyed because the replacement was phenomenal. The new design seemed to have fixed all of the issues with the original.

  The key change was the ion cannon, or rather the lack of an ion cannon. In all of the previous battles with the Alliance, there had only been 4 successful ion cannon strikes. One had been between two stationary ships at point blank range and a second had been against a nearly stationary ship just exiting hyperspace.

  Fruid’la had been responsible for the third strike. He smiled at that memory. Of course, he needed an entire moon filled with supersized ion cannons and an entire battle plan designed to lure the Alliance fleet into a particular section of space – but hey, it counted.