Solbidyum Wars Saga Book 1: Battle of the New Orleans

by Dale C. Musser

  “Follow me,” she said and led us away from the hanger and down a short corridor to a small inconspicuous looking storage room that had some pipes running through it and a pump sitting on the floor. “Here you are,” she said.

  “Where?” Kala and I asked in unison.

  “You said you wanted it hidden, well there it is.” and she pointed to the pump. “You’ve got to be kidding I said. That’s the reactor?” Lunnie with a huge satisfied grin on her face said, “Yeah! Pretty neat isn’t it? No one would ever think it was a reactor.”

  “ What about radiation, heat, and all that stuff???” I asked.

  “It doesn’t work that way Tibby,” Lunnie said,” it produces pure electricity. I have the cables running in the pipes so you don’t see them, but the reactor is actually inside the pump. I don’t think anyone in a million years would suspect it of being a reactor.”

  “That’s great Lunnie” I said, “but what are we going to do with the TRITYTE, it has no power?”

  “Well, you said you wanted to use it as a museum piece and take it about the galaxy for people to see and touch.” Lunnie said.

  “You said that,” Kala looked at me with a pleasantly surprised look on her face.

  “Lunnie you weren’t supposed to tell anyone about that.” I said.

  “I’m not telling anyone, Kala and Reidecor don’t count because they’re family.” Lunnie said.

  I threw my hands up in desperation “Lunnie when I say no one, I mean no one!”

  “Yes, I said that,” I turned toward Kala, “when I saw how Captain Stonbersa reacted on seeing the TRITYTE and how he got all teary eyed, I realized that this ship is something everyone in the Federation should be given a chance to see and touch. We obviously we can’t allow that with a functioning Solbidyum reactor in it, so I decided to have Lunnie move the reactor, or at least the Solbidyum into the NEW ORLEANS and we would load the TRITYTE into a freighter and turn it into a flying museum and take it on tour around the Federation so everyone has a chance to see the real thing at no cost.”

  “Tib you are a wonderful guy, you really are.” Kala said and hugged and kissed me.

  “Okay,” I said, “but now how do we get the TRITYTE out of here when we want or need to?” I asked.

  “No problem Tib,” Lunnie said, “I can hook a small fusion battery into the ship that will give in minimal power to fly. It won’t power the guns or anything, but it will fly, sub light and no gravity wave, but it will fly.”

  I laughed. “Okay Lunnie, you did a good job, but get that battery hooked in to this thing as soon as possible, I don’t want anyone knowing the Solbidyum has been removed from the TRITYTE just yet. It may play out to our advantage for people to keep thinking the TRITYTE is fully functional.

  One more thing, I want you to find some empty cubby hole or recess big enough for the container of Solbidyum that was on the TRITYTE, the Admiral brought it with him and we need to hide it here for a bit, after putting it in that space I want the entrance plated over and painted to match so on one, except us, will know where it is. If the New Orleans should get taken they not only will not know it’s here but they won’t find it by accident either. But PLEASE keep it quiet… PLEASE!”

  We all headed to the bridge and arrived just in time to see Admiral Regeny starting his speech on the vid screen to the people of the Federation. Behind him on the elegant wood paneled wall was displayed the Federation logo and the room looked like a high ranking room such as one would expect to see in an operational government facility.

  “Addressing events of earlier today, as most of you know by this time, the Federation military headquarters building was attack by mutinous factions in the Federation military, members of a group known as the Brotherhood of Light. Rumors and news spread quickly that the High Command was taken out by the blasts and assault on the building and that the Solbidyum stored there was taken by the raiders. Both of these accounts are false and as you can see none of the High Command were killed or injured. Moments before the attack took place we received word from a spy we have within the raider’s camp warning of the eminent attack. Realizing there was no time to prepare sufficiently for the level of attack coming, the High Command elected to move to a more secure secret location where we can prepare and direct the assault against the traitors that have taken over the DUSTEN and the TASSAGORA.

  Today’s attack on the Federation headquarters was the third such attempt to get the Solbidyum and the High Command felt that it was no longer safe at this location and so have moved the entire supply of to a more secure and secret location. Let me assure you not one grain of Solbidyum has fallen into enemy hands. Our spies are working within the raider’s camp and we are receiving information that will soon make it possible to end this nightmare that is blighting the Federation. We ask that you please be patient while this matter is resolved, and if you have any information that is of use you may contact Federation headquarters, where we still have normal operating conditions. Let me repeat, the rumors of the deaths of the High Command are false, you can see us all here well and intact. The rumors that the Solbidyum is in the hands of the raiders are false also. The Solbidyum is safe in a new secure location and shipment to the planets will begin very shortly.”

  After activating the cloaking and RMFF shield Kerabac and Captain Stonbersa maneuvered the NEW ORLEANS into a position near the DUSTEN and the TASSAGORA that allowed us to watch all ships coming and going in the area, it was not long after Admiral Regeny’s speech that we saw a small ship breakaway from the TASSAGORA and head for the planet’s surface. We followed it maintaining our cloak so we were undetected, the craft moved down toward one of the two large oceans on the planet and then suddenly dove into the water and vanished. Admiral Regeny was on the bridge with several of his officers when the event happened and he exclaimed in amazement, “No wonder we could not find their base they must have it under water.”

  Stonbersa said, “If memory serves me correctly, back when we used to have a navy on the planet, there was an underwater submarine facility around this area. You don’t think they may be using that as their headquarters do you?”

  “Captain Stonbersa,” Admiral Regeny started to ask, “Does the NEW ORLEANS have access to the Federation computers on Megelleon?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Stonbersa responded, “this is a civilian ship and we do not have authorization codes to access it.”

  “But your computers and communication gear are of the highest caliber and can do it if you had the codes I’m assuming?” The Admiral inquired.

  “I believe so,” Stonbersa replied.

  “Wabussie, get with the communications officer here and provide them with the codes necessary for a priority one level hook up to the computers at the Federation. We need some information from the archives.” Admiral Regeny ordered.

  It took about fifteen minutes to make the hook up and then another thirty minutes searching the archives. There was an index showing that a computer file existed for the base and related data, but when they went to access the file it was nowhere to be found. The Admiral sunk back in his chair, “It looks like they covered their tracks, we have no way of locating that base now.”

  “Don’t be too sure Admiral,” I said, “was the base something that was top secret at the time?”

  Stonbersa spoke up, “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t, I remember seeing vids about it when I was a teen. It fascinated me that they had this entire facility completely under water, as I remember it was huge.”

  “Try referencing it through media reference archives,” I suggested. Once again the index listed files but when we tried to access them they were missing.

  “It’s useless,” Regeny said. “They have removed all the data to its location.”

  “I’m betting not. I noticed some ships and sailing craft down there and I am betting there are navigation maps that once showed that area as a restricted area. See if you can find some navigation maps of that era, say about ten years after the base was
built. I’ll bet it indicates that area as off limits to civilian craft.” Once again Lt. Commander Wabussie, assisted by Kerabac, went into the data base and minutes later produced two navigation charts of the time period during which the base had been operational. One showed the area surrounding the base as restricted waters; the other not only showed the outline of the restricted area, but also the outline of the base and the submarine pens. The pens were clearly large enough to hide patrol ships in and possibly the TASSAGORA as well.

  “Looks like we found them Tibby,” the Admiral beamed, “Would you like to do the honors of blowing them out of the water?” he asked indicating the fire control panel.

  “No sir,” I replied, “I would prefer that honor go to Captain Stonbersa. He’s the Captain here and the commanding officer on this ship. The honor should be his.”

  “Quite right Tibby, I forget this is not a Federation ship nor am I in charge here. Captain Stonbersa, if you please.” Again the Admiral gestured towards the control panel.

  Stonbersa beamed and I could tell that he was extremely touched and honored, up until this point he had pretty much been a by stander in all that was happening, now he was going to be the one that fired the first shot in retaliation against the enemy.

  “The RMFF shield is going to amplify the power of this shot, I’m going to be using a GW plasma torpedo. Thankfully there are no ships in the area nor are there any coastal villages that might be affected by a tidal wave that this may generate. Say good bye to one rebel base,” he targeted the base and pressed the fire button, there was no delay, one second we were looking at the shining blue of the water, the next there was a huge fireball and flash of light followed by a gigantic mushroom cloud of steam that reminded me of the films of the Atomic tests in the Pacific Ocean that I had seen as a kid, only this cloud had to have been four times larger, huge wave circles could be seen spreading out from the blast area and it was obvious that they would impact the coast more than we anticipated.

  “What was that?” Regeny exclaimed in amazement “Did they have a huge underwater arsenal there?”

  “No sir,” I answered, “the RMFF shields speeds anything passing through it increasing its force and strength. Be it a laser beam or a GW torpedo. I think what we are witnessing is the effect of the torpedo being accelerated may times over its regular speed and the mass effect of the impact. It’s possible the torpedo never even exploded itself. We had a similar thing happen when we were encountered by three patrol ships at Nibaria.”

  We waited around for a couple of hours with our ship still cloaked, but nothing came up out of the water, some debris could be seen floating on the surface indicating that something had indeed been down there, but whatever it was, wasn’t there anymore.

  “Did we get all that recorded,” Regeny asked. “I want to be able to show the ship entering the water, us blowing the base up, and the debris floating on the surface. Nice shooting Captain Stonbersa, I’m glad to see that while you no longer wear a Federation uniform, you still are a Federation man. Now, can you take us back to the vicinity of the TASSAGORA and the DUSTEN.

  “Admiral,” Kerabac interrupted, “there is broadcast being made across all bandwidths from the DUSTEN toward Megelleon. Would you like me to put it on the screen?”

  “Yes, let’s see what they have to say. I doubt they know about their base being blown up yet.” the Admiral answered.

  The vid screen display shifted to one of Commander Thimas standing on the bridge of the DUSTEN. Instead of his Federation Uniform he now was in a black uniform of similar cut, but with one white stripe about his chest and a white collar. Beside Commander Thimas stood Corporal Lexmal, also in a black uniform only his having two stripes around it. “This is Captain Thimas of the Brotherhood of Light aboard the ship DUSTEN” he announced. “The Federation is falling and we are here to bring the people of the Galactic Communities under the banner of our Brotherhood. We will bring new prosperity to those who follow us and those who oppose us will find themselves cut off from commerce and resources from the worlds of the Brotherhood.

  Earlier today you saw and heard the Admiral Regeny claim that they had spies within the Brotherhood and that they were about to take action against us. This is a lie and will prove itself to be so. The Starship DUSTEN and the Frigate TASSAGORA along with one small Corvette the NIGHTBRIDGE are the only warships in this sector of the Galaxy, and both the DUSTEN and TASSAGORA are now under Brotherhood control. Of the several hundred patrol ships in this sector, the Brotherhood now has over half of those under its control, leaving the Federation with nothing to stand against us. They cannot amass ships from other sectors to help them fast enough to stop us, even if they did, we have members of our Brotherhood spread throughout the fleet in all sectors. We are calling for the Federation officers to stand down and surrender to us, if they do their lives will be spared. We demand that the Federation turn over to us the Solbidyum so that it may be used for the growth and glory of the Brotherhood. If they fail to do so the consequences will be swift and severe. We will give them one hour to respond.” the screen went blank.

  I looked at Admiral Regeny as he sat in the captain’s chair, his lips pursed and his hand scratching his chin. “Looks like they are calling our bluff, what would you do Tibby?”

  “Much as I would hate to lose one of my ships Admiral, I would blow TASSAGORA out of the sky and maybe even a few dozen patrol ships to. We know there are nothing but rebels on both and that they removed all loyal Federation personal when they took the ship. I suggest you prepare your response beforehand. We can add the vid clips to the show when you respond. Let the Brotherhood see that they are not as powerful as they think. I hate to see people die, but I hate to see tyrants come to power and take even more lives.”

  Admiral Regeny sighed and began to rise from the chair slowly, “You’re right Tibby, it’s not an easy decision to make, but it’s one I think we must. Captain Stonbersa, can this ship fire both GW wave torpedoes and lasers at the same time?”

  “We’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why not, we can target several small patrol ships with lasers and the frigate with a GW torpedo. Having seen what happens when we fire at objects when the shields are active, there will be nothing but dust left. How many patrol ships do you want us to target?” Captain Stonbersa responded.

  The Admiral looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders, ”Your call.”

  He sighed again and said, “Make it swift, and as many as you can. Just don’t shoot the DUSTEN, there are too many innocent people aboard her still.”

  Captain Stonbersa brought the NEW ORLEANS around to a position where he could get a clear shot at the TASSAGORA as well as the patrol ships in the space between the TASSAGORA and the DUSTEN. He was able to set the computer to do all the firing with a single button push, but it was sequenced so there would be milliseconds between actual shots and not all at once as we had no idea what so much power being drawn all at once would do to the Solbidyum reactor or to the circuitry and switchgear. It was an unknown factor and by sequencing the shots the risk was lowered. If all went as planned in the blink of an eye most of the ships the Brotherhood had captured would be gone, leaving only the DUSTEN and a hand full of patrol ships behind. Of course there were more patrol ships in the DUSTEN, hundreds in fact, but there would not be enough Brotherhood rebels left to fly them and to guard the thousands of hostages onboard the DUSTEN. We were pretty sure they were stretched to the max with their forces in the DUSTEN, and we also doubted that any of them would want to come out when they saw the carnage that we were about to lose on them.

  I had to grin once everything was in place and the Admiral and the other officers all returned to the bridge to watch the destruction of most of the Brotherhood fleet. Regeny had walked over and sat down in the Captain’s chair again, only this time Captain Stonbersa walked over and said, “Excuse me Admiral but I believe you are sitting in my chair.” The startled look on the Admiral’s face was one I will never forget and he froze for a
moment and then laughing said.

  “Quite right Captain, I apologize, I forgot for a moment where I am.” Then he stood up and allowed Stonbersa to have his rightful chair. Marranalis was at the weapons station at the ready, Kala stood by my side and we all watched intently as Captain Stonbersa said, “Kerabac, as soon as we fire I want you to move the ship around to the other side the DUSTEN as quickly as you can without hitting anything. Sgt. Marranalis on my mark,” there was a heavy paused that filled the room, “FIRE!”

  All at once the screen lite up in a blaze of fireworks and ships exploded in a blaze of flying pieces. We only had a few seconds to glance though as Kerabac was moving the ship rapidly to the other side the DUSTEN. Seconds later we saw shots being fired from the DUSTEN to the location where we had been as the DUSTEN fired on the origin of the shots. We would not have been harmed had we stayed there, the RMFF shields would have protected us, but the ship would have been revealed as the energy played around the RMFF shield as it was hit. As it was, panic must have been ensuing on the DUSTEN seeing their ships vanishing from shots where no ship appeared to be.

  “I think it’s about time for our broadcast,” the Admiral said as he rubbed his hands together. Lt. Commander Wabussie was working quickly to edit and paste the clips of the destruction of the Brotherhood ships into the Admiral’s speech, finally he turned to the Admiral and said, “Sir it’s ready.”

  The Admiral nodded for Lt. Commander Wabussie to cut into the interplanetary vid feed and the speech began to play. It would be received both on the planet and on the DUSTEN as well.

  “People of the Federation, about an hour ago, you heard the words of the traitor of the Federation, Commander Thimas who now calls himself Captain Thimas of the Brotherhood. This Brotherhood which has never built or produced anything, which has taken by force the ships they now use to try and hold the Federation citizens as hostages for a ransom of all the Solbidyum, the rightful property of all the citizens and planets in the Federation. The traitor, Commander Thimas, told you that the Brotherhood has all the firepower and strength, and that we, the High Command of the Federation are liars and have no teeth left to bite with. At the time that the traitor Commander Thimas was making his announcement, he had no way of knowing that we had already attacked and destroyed the Brotherhoods underwater base in the Western Ocean. We do not believe he will be getting any help from this base now or ever again.” As he was saying this, scenes of the base destruction played on the vid screen. “Just moments ago we delivered our answer to the traitor Commander Thimas in the form of the destruction the TASSAGORA and a major portion of the ships the Brotherhood had taken from the Federation.” Scenes of the destruction played out in slow motion while the Admiral was talking; even so it was almost so rapid that it was hard to comprehend the speed at which so many ships perished. “In the event that the traitor Commander Thimas does not understand this answer, the answer is, we will not be held to ransom and we will not turn over to the Brotherhood so much as one grain of Solbidyum. We will be willing to discuss terms of surrender with the members of the Brotherhood should they so desire to do so, but the Brotherhood is very wrong if they think the Federation is weak and unable to stand up against them. The destruction you have witnessed against the Brotherhood only represents a small portion of the damage we could inflict. It is obvious that the arrogance of the Brotherhood in their belief of superiority is greatly misplaced.