Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 1 - Purple Blood

by David Buck

  The Trader captain gave his son a quiet glance that spoke volumes and Lieutenant Garendestat was careful to stay well away from the field of view of the main screen cameras. Narindestat wasted no time on courtesy in his curt reply with the Earth probe, even though he had not spoken with the Maveen for a few days.

  ‘So it is agreed then Earth probe, we seek our former mentors and you await our return at this location. I am relieved to hear our additional plans are in progress and I will report on the next parts of my mission upon our return.’

  Captain Narindestat gave a short gesture and the communications officer broke the video link with the two now fast receding Maveen ships, as Garendestat gave a gasp of relief. He looked over at his son and asked a short question.

  ‘So it is as you have suspected and our quarry is none the wiser? We will deal further with that issue once we reach the former Dradfer worlds.’

  Garendestat gave a short affirmative nod and looked over with rising concern at the new navigation plot of their intended course. He voiced a quick question of his own in reply as he reviewed the fine details of the course change.

  ‘Captain, it is an audacious hyper jump that you are planning, and are the Maveen aware of this development?’

  Captain Narindestat now gave his son a smile of respect that was returned as he informally replied.

  ‘Well the Maveen cannot know of either development and for once I am relieved about that situation.’

  The now heavily accelerating Trader ship was several thousand kilometres away from the two senior Maveen probes, before a blue communications laser joined both the smaller black ships. The sector delegate conveyed bemusement as he made an observation.

  ‘The Trader did not speak to confirm details he must be aware of by now. He assumes we do not know of their sensor issues and the obvious implications, plus the change of course he must now be implementing.’

  The Earth probe considered his concise reply for only microseconds as he had been also evaluating their latest intelligence from the Orion arm. The intelligence included information that he had seen fit not to pass onto Captain Narindestat.

  ‘The captain chafes at our supervision of his activities and he longs for greater determination of his mission, despite our assistance in reaching this location so quickly. The two changes are expected given our advanced analysis of Trader command structures and the nature of his remaining cargo. I remember the secret planning for our previous journey into this part of the galaxy one hundred and fifty years ago, and our reasons are as valid then as they are now.’

  The sector delegate expressed agreement with the Earth probe in his next statement as well as a gentle warning.

  ‘Well the parameters are certainly acceptable, and I rate the chances of major battle at over ninety percent. The contingency plan is in place even though it has been thousands of years since we had to respond in such as fashion. I will have to return to the Arranen system shortly for the next phase of our plans.’

  The two senior probes now broke off communications, and they each now moved away to differing sections of the star system, and their respective hidden pairs of gate ships and additional probes. After three hours a vast crown of light engulfed the Trader stack as it made a long distance hyper jump further across the Orion arm of the galaxy.

  ***

  Mary Neilson stood and had the sense to offer a polite bow as the view screen came alive with an image of the female Barus captain standing on the bridge of her ship. She had been awaiting the message after the Earth fleet had detected two Barus destroyers and a cruiser entering the Platinum system an hour earlier. After a two minute delay owing to distance, Gindane began to speak after offering a curt bow in reply.

  ‘Captain Gindane to Admiral Neilson, your other officers did not leave me with much beyond your name before they were slain by the treacherous Jerecab. We are safe enough at the moment as I have my destroyers picketing the other hyper drive points.’

  Mary waited for several seconds to ensure the Barus had finished speaking before she replied in turn.

  ‘Admiral Mary Neilson to Captain Gindane, you have my apologies for any lack of courtesy. I regret that my fleet was unable to save Admiral Thomas Stanford and his crew recently, though note that this was part of a greater effort to deceive and delay the Jerecab.’

  Mary kept her attention on the tall and furry occupants of the Barus cruiser’s bridge, and she noted a tall Barus male in a white sleeveless uniform now standing alongside Gindane. After more time had elapsed Gindane introduced her companion, offered a further statement on the recent losses and finally an invitation.

  ‘This is Flag Captain Omerio and he has a squadron of cruisers in a nearby star system. Unfortunately his fleet and my own fleet are not enough to help much in the defence of your world. The two admirals and their crews went about their duties without regard for their own lives and they fought hard against superior Jerecab forces. You are welcome to come onboard and meet with us to discuss the defence of your home world.’

  Mary now sat back to listen as Omerio began to speak slowly with information of his own about the Jerecab armada. She quietly accessed three of her earlier reports on outlying star systems and noted the similarities with what Omerio was now stating from his own intelligence efforts. He also stated his main concern after asking a specific question.

  ‘So your ships are not affected by the active scans of the Jerecab ships? We were concerned that the designs of your destroyers could indicate a design weakness that would leave you open for attack. However the effectiveness of your spinal mount weapon has been a pleasant surprise.’

  Mary looked over at her bridge console, and noted that the first batch of six destroyers were due to return from refuelling at the remote Echelon base within four hours. She looked over at her tactical officer and gave concise instructions.

  Lieutenant, take the Exeter along with the next batch of destroyers to the refuelling station. The Lieutenant Commander and myself with cross over in a shuttle to speak to the senior Barus officers in the meantime.’

  Mary now fixed both Omerio and Gindane with a tight smile as she responded to Omerio’s question and the earlier invitation.

  ‘We noted the strange and powerful sensor pulses and we are evaluating their effects and their uses. We suffered losses of target acquisitions for our weapons, but this effect is only transient. We conducted extensive testing in live fire exercises as these battles would be our first in space. I accept your invitation to meet and I will arrive at your ship in three hours.’

  Mary now waited the required time for the message to reach the distant Barus ships as she quietly gave additional orders around her bridge. In minutes Gindane had given a warm reply, and Mary quickly led Griggs towards to awaiting shuttle craft on the hangar deck.

  ***

  Captain Narindestat looked up from his command console in alarm as the first reports came in from Garendestat after the ship left the hyper jump point.

  ‘Captain, we detect two Barus fleet cruisers heading away from us only a short distance across the star system and I have cloaked the ship as a precaution. I think it highly probable that the Barus would have seen our hyper drive pulse when we arrived.’

  The Trader captain looked over at the navigation chart for only a moment before he gave an order.

  ‘Come around to starboard forty and north fifty and we will angle out towards the outer asteroid belt in this star system. We will maintain our current speed as our engine flare could also give us away.’

  The cloaked Resuria banked steeply and edged away further into space as further long minutes elapsed. Garendestat looked relaxed before a resigned expression crossed his face and he spoke again.

  ‘The two cruisers have now altered course and look to be in a search pattern, and I expect an active scan within minutes.’

  Narindestat knew that his ship could escape direct detection; however they were still too close to the entry point for the system and the Barus should be a
ble to work out what had happened. He was under no illusions as he replied to his son.

  ‘The enigma in our sneak ships will have to wait until our escape. We will have to talk our way out of this one and for once I am glad we are in a standard ship design.’

  After several more minutes, two powerful active scans raced past and the Trader captain knew that his ship would be discovered. The view screen came active and a Barus commander began to speak.

  ‘Commander Delforio to Trader battle cruiser, please state your intentions and lower your cloak. We lawfully patrol these star systems and you will know that access to the nearby former Dradfer colonies is prohibited.’

  Narindestat gave a brief signal of agreement to Garendestat and in moments the cloak around the Resuria was down. He carefully stood to offer a bow and replied to the Barus commander.

  ‘Captain Narindestat of the exiled Trader race to Commander Delforio, we reply in accordance with galactic edicts. We willingly comply with both your requests as we now journey to Cephrit space. Can I ask you two questions if I may do so?’

  The now visibly relieved Barus commander gave a nervous smile and a curt reply.

  ‘You may ask away but expect no answer.’

  Narindestat knew that his ship was roughly eight times the fighting strength of the two Barus cruisers, so he had no trouble understanding the apparent relief on the bridge of the cruiser. Even so he carefully made his questions as polite as possible to reassure the Barus commander suspiciously eyeing him across the video link.

  ‘Commander, I would be grateful for any assistance with my questions and I will forward my appreciation to the Cephrit when we later speak. So can you identify your cruiser squadron and commanding officer? Also can you advise us of the fate of the humans from the planet Earth?’

  Commander Delforio now gave Captain Narindestat a cautious smile that was returned as he spoke at length. In consternation the Trader captain now learnt that Omerio now commanded the actual squadron that had intercepted the Illuria at Earth so long ago. He also learnt a little of the combat that had recently occurred at the nearby Dradfer colonies.

  The Trader captain wasted no time in thanking the Barus commander and instructing his navigation officer to place the Resuria back onto her earlier course. Garendestat silently trailed him from the bridge as they quickly made their way down to the hyper drive module and her four attached sneak ships.

  ***

  Chapter 13

  Admiral Mary Neilson sat in the co-pilot’s seat of the shuttle and looked out at the alien cruiser they were now approaching. Mary and John Griggs had not been idle during the time it took to transfer from the Exeter, and they had been kept busy reviewing the damage reports across the fleet. The review had urgency as they both knew that the human fleet could be attacked in force at any time. John had sneezed loudly into a handkerchief and Mary had enquired how he was feeling.

  ‘I had thought your cold was getting better and I that did not think to leave you behind because you are unwell.’

  John had merely given a wry reply.

  ‘Admiral, I shall be fine and I have been getting better, the rest of our personnel seem to be well clear of the cold now as well. I know that the recent events overshadow everything, especially our own individual problems.’

  Mary’s attention had then switched to the massed ranks of the Barus research ships, named surprising after senior researchers, whereas their actual fighting ships only used a section colour and a number. She knew that the Barus research cruiser was an older and weaker variant of the Barus cruisers that had attempted to intercept the Trader ship Illuria at Earth one hundred and fifty years ago. However that took little away from how impressive the fifty thousand ton alien cruiser looked, as the human shuttle slowed to enter the ship’s hangar bay.

  Mary was soon waiting with Lieutenant Commander Griggs inside the rear of the shuttle as the craft was secured inside the Barus ship. She gave Griggs a cool smile and repeated her earlier concern.

  ‘Please follow my lead and volunteer as little information as possible about our rear deployment zones.’

  John Griggs sniffed self consciously and gave an answering nod of understanding as the rear shuttle door was lowered.

  Gindane and Omerio both exchanged a polite bow with the humans as Mary led Griggs down out of the shuttle towards the awaiting Barus officers. The human shuttle appeared identical to the earlier shuttle, now destroyed, that had ferried back and forth the two now dead male admirals that Gindane had met earlier. She fervently hoped that this was not to be a pattern as she welcomed Mary aboard her research cruiser.

  ‘Thank you for coming aboard my ship at such short notice Admiral. We hope to aid you where we can in the defence of your home world.’

  Gindane then saw that the humans must have worked out that the Barus usually did not show teeth when they smile. She also noted that John Griggs seemed to be sweating and quickly worked out that he might be ill. Gindane glanced to one side and noted the small bio sensors held casually by a pair of her scientists. Mary smiled as she replied, but kept her teeth covered. She instinctively felt nervous for several seconds as she took in the taller forms of the fur covered aliens.

  ‘We are of course most grateful for any knowledge or advice you both can provide. I understand also that you only have a limited number of ships available to you in this area of space.’

  Mary was soon feeling more relaxed, and looked over at the nearby Barus shuttles as she followed Gindane over to a series of tables down one side of the hangar.

  Omerio turned and gave a long appraising glance at over at the humans before he spoke.

  ‘Well Admiral, our own reports state that you have lost two ships so far versus the heavier losses of the Jerecab. Your fleet is to be commended for their bravery and fighting abilities, and we hope these successes continue. However if you loss another two ships that is ten percent of your forces before any major battles. We are concerned as the Jerecab would have to lose heavily in several encounters to keep the percentages constant.’

  Mary was ready for this observation and she replied by quickly introducing Griggs, even as Gindane handed her a Barus data tablet in exchange for her own data tablet.

  ‘My second in this meeting is Lieutenant Commander Griggs. We hope to use the greater range of our ships to raid their supply lines even as they seek to destroy our fighting ships. The inner worlds and several other systems have already been scouted out by our ships. The scouts have obtained solid intelligence as we now have stealth robots hidden in these systems.’

  Omerio now stood alongside Gindane and they both went through the human data tablet with increasing skill. Mary in turn looked through graphical data on the supplied Barus tablet, even as the device softly spoke to her in accented English. Omerio activated a holographic projection of the nearby star systems and began to make adjustments to the Barus data as Gindane made an observation.

  ‘Now Omerio is the senior Barus fleet officer here so I recommend we follow any insights he will have devised. As we mentioned to your predecessors, we lack the resources to drive away the Jerecab unless other vassals also come to your aid. A key observation I have is that I would recommend against attacking the Gold system too early as I consider it is a trap.’

  Mary had already decided that this was the case as she spoke again.

  ‘Well the inner planets are hours from the hyper jump point and there is an inner asteroid belt. The Gold star system is not unlike our own star system, the solar system, in that regard. We are planning to hit these three nearby systems in quick succession after feinting moves elsewhere. We have cargo ships loaded with several thousand marines, but deploying them is not central to our planning.’

  Omerio was aware of the quiet regard of both Gindane and Mary as he quickly completed the updates to the holographic combat system. He began a series of fly throughs of several star systems, and Mary noted what appeared to be a changing time stamp on the presentation as the tall Barus captai
n finally spoke again.

  ‘Well the Jerecab appear to be using a periodic reallocation of a large patrol force amongst these star systems. I consider that they will be vulnerable to a sequence of careful strikes, though if they change their patrol timing your destroyers could be easily overwhelmed. The ships loaded with those marines would do most damage to the Jerecab if they are deployed against one of the central systems. However this will be at the closing stages of your efforts here against the Jerecab.’

  Mary already had planned for this scenario, and gave a subdued reply as she had some inkling of what the marines would be up against.

  ‘Thank you Omerio, we will most like send the marines later against the Gold system, and we are expecting heavy losses. We also have established several hidden bases and technical laboratories to continue our surveillance in the outer systems. We seek to use our troops if we can safely do so. Otherwise we risk their transports being destroyed if we take them back to Earth to battle the Jerecab armada.’

  Griggs had been also looking over the data sets in quiet evaluation, and after exchanging a nod with Mary he spoke in agreement.

  ‘We will have to leave any actual ground attacks until a later stage. My own time and distance studies indicate we hit these nearby systems within the next four days. It will be hard to get the timing right, but if we can leave shortly we can be in position. A feint by a significant force inside the Gold system on day four will aid our cause.’

  Both Omerio and Gindane gave Griggs another appraising glance for several seconds as they evaluated his recommendations. Omerio looked over his own data tablet before looking through the information that Griggs had supplied. He soon provided a terse answer to the two humans.

  ‘Well it all has to be done immediately and I can leave now to rejoin my squadron, but I do not guarantee we will be on time. Note that we will not attack the Jerecab as we are not yet at war with them. I recommend we end this meeting now so you can implement this plan.’