by Dale Musser
“I thought about it, but they’re simply too small to accommodate our troopers comfortably or safely. They work for Ming because he doesn’t care about his personnel. As far as he’s concerned, every mission they make is a suicide mission. I doubt those ships are even equipped with food replicators or a med-unit. The soldiers staffing the asteroid-ships are no doubt subjugated by way of slave collars or addiction-driven cravings. Every one of those ships is a death trap.”
“Even so, we wouldn’t need to make them the same way he does,” Marranalis offered. “We could still incorporate all the features in them that we have in our ships.”
“Perhaps, but I don’t think we would be able to make them as efficient as our carriers.”
“Yes, I see what you mean. I have to admit that our carriers are pretty much optimal for delivering an attack as well as maintaining defenses. So what do you think Ming has done with his other ships?”
“I don’t know and it’s a good question. I’m certain he hasn’t abandoned them, which can only mean he is holding them back for some special purpose.”
“Sir,” one of the female officers at a communication console interrupted. “We’re getting a message that one of our Cantolla Gate stations is under attack.”
“Which station?” I demanded.
“CGS-3, sir.”
“Marranalis, get their latest coordinates and order Captain Hanges get us there as quickly as possible. Then get word to the MAXETTE to join us there. Also, find out who is in command of that station and get them on the vid for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
A few minutes later he announced, “Admiral, I have Captain U’Dingan coming up on the vid now.”
“Admiral Tibby, sir,” said U’Dingan as soon as his image appeared. I was taken back by his youthful appearance. He didn’t appear to be out of his twenties yet.
“What’s your situation there, Captain?” I asked.
“Dozens of enemy fighters and three asteroid-ships appeared not far from us moments ago and began firing on the station. Our defensive forces have so far been able to hold them off, though they seem to have gotten some sort of small torpedo-like weapon through our RMFF shields. One of the lower-level station areas has been damaged. Fortunately, this was a cargo transfer hub area and there were relatively few personnel there. We have taken some casualties. The exact number is still unknown, but at this time we believe it to be less than fifty.”
“Do your best to fight them off,” I said. “Ships are on the way to assist you. The Brotherhood clearly has a gate set up near you and no doubt they’ve sent back word by now that’ve located you, so there may be more enemies showing up to bolster their attack on the station.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll keep them at bay until you arrive.”
“Marranalis, divert about a quarter of the ships here to the CGS-3 location to assist in defending the station. I wish now we that had fighter launch tubes on those stations. Oh, and put all the other Cantolla Gate Stations on alert, if you haven’t already.”
After Marranalis issued the orders he asked me, “Admiral, how do you think the Brotherhood found CGS-3? It’s only been a few days since it was relocated and the coordinates are highly classified.”
“I don’t know, but I plan to find out,” I said. “What’s our ETA to CGS-3?”
“We’ll need to transition through three stellar gates, which will require about five hours. After that there’s another hour of flying time.”
“What ships are available that can get there quicker?”
“The MATTEN is only one stellar gate away and can be there in about an hour.”
“The MATTEN is a new carrier, isn’t it? Who’s the captain?”
“Yes, sir. It was commissioned three months ago. The commanding officer is Captain Edimare. This is his first big command. Prior to this, he captained the frigate YALASSEE and fought at the battle of Glomar Rosa.
“Send orders for him to proceed to the CGS-3 site and assist in the battle. Let me know as soon as he has arrived there. I’ll transfer to his ship until the GLOMAR ROSA gets there.”
“Sir, do you think Ming planned all these events to occur simultaneously like this?” Marranalis asked.
“It certainly looks that way. I just wonder how many more he has planned.”
We didn’t need to wait long for the answer.
“Admiral,” the communications officer interrupted. “Emergency messages are coming in from Laxex that their Cantolla Gate hubs have been attacked by body-bombers, as well as a number of the planet’s government offices. As we speak, sir, there are also reports of bombings in progress at several schools and hospitals. There are additional reports of Brotherhood ships that have suddenly appeared in orbit and bombarded the planet with small asteroids before disappearing again. There is no immediate estimate on the number of casualties or amount of damage done by this attack.
“By the stars, Ming is going out of his way to be as hateful as possible,” I cursed. “Bring up all the attack sites in the hologram; let’s see if we can make any sense of this.”
“Do you wish the site of our attack at his asteroid-ship production site included as well?” asked Marranalis.
“Yes. Let’s look at the big picture.”
Big it was, but it told us little more than that the Brotherhood had stellar gates spread out over a large area. There seemed to be no pattern to their attack sites and no reason for the ones they’d chosen other than to create terror and chaos in the Federation. I noticed everyone in the War Room watching me intently like they expected me to pull a miracle out of my ass, but it wasn’t happening on this occasion.
Finally, I gave up. “Contact Admiral Wabussie and send him all the latest data we have. Let’s hope that he and his teams can come up with something we can use.”
“Admiral, you have an incoming call from Leader Pheosa,” said Marranalis, breaking my thoughts.
“Let me take this at my desk,” I said as I walked directly through the hologram toward my office.
Once seated behind closed doors, Leader Pheosa’s image appeared on my vid-screen.
“Greetings Leader Pheosa, how can I be of service?” I began.
“Greetings, Admiral. You can start by telling me what is going on. By the stars, I’m being inundated with calls from senators all over the Federation about asteroid bombardments and terrorist body-bombers and I’ve been told that CGS-3 has been shut down and no one is able to transfer through it. What’s happening?”
“All of that is happening,” I said. “We’re trying to deal with events as fast as we hear of them, but at the moment the Brotherhood remains one step ahead of us with hit and run strikes. By the time we reach one attack location, they’re gone. At the moment, I’m on my way to the location of CGS-3. We received a report moments ago that they’re under attack by a small fleet of Brotherhood ships and we fear more may be on the way. Additional defenses are headed there now. So far, the station has not been breached, though one lower pod area used for freight transfers was damaged. The initial casualty report indicated zero civilians and up to fifty crew have perished, but otherwise the station is still secure and holding its own.
“Our attack on the Brotherhood’s asteroid-ship production area was only a moderate success. Anywhere from a third to a half their asteroid-ships escaped through a stellar gate. Unfortunately, Ming wasn’t there, so he’s still on the loose. I’m sending ships from our attack fleet back to their original stations now to reinforce defenses.”
“Tibby, I don’t need to tell you that the senators are scared and in near panic over all these attacks taking place at once. I received calls from Governor Moutmarsh and Senator Cipent from Laxex wanting to know where the fleet is and why no one is there to defend them. I reminded Senator Cipent that he was one of those who fought against the increase in military spending last session. He stammered red-faced for a bit before he finally shut up, but I doubt that will stop him from bad-mouthing the military to the news media. It might hel
p if you could make an appearance on Laxex and boost their confidence a bit; that is, as soon as you get things under control with the current situations.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but it may be a while. It’s very possible Ming and the Brotherhood have more hit and run attacks planned to keep us busy. We’re trying our best to meet the situations as they arise, but we just don’t have the ships and resources to respond quickly enough to these random blitz attacks.”
“Well, do the best you can and keep me informed. These damned senators seem to think I’m psychic and able to tell them what’s happening before it happens.”
As I disconnected my call with Leader Pheosa, my stomach rumbled loudly, and I realized I’d gone too long without eating again. I glanced at the time displayed on the bottom of the vid screen and was shocked to see that twenty hours had passed since we’d begun our attacks on the asteroid-ship site. I was about to request that Pieamar bring me something when I realized I needed to soon be heading to the MATTEN, so I instead opted for one of the noodle dishes from the food synthesizer. The extra time allowed me to shower and get myself appropriately uniformed before heading to the ship’s Cantolla Gate hub to transfer to the MATTEN with Marranalis.
“Admiral, you’re getting close to your treatment time, aren’t you?” asked Marranalis.
“Yes. I’m due in about 20 hours or so. I’m relying on you to make sure I don’t miss it. This is hardly the time for me to be in a mental fog. Ming couldn’t have picked a worse time to launch his campaign.”
By the time I reached the War Room on the MATTEN the carrier was rapidly approaching CGS-3 and we could see the attacking Brotherhood ships on the scanners.
“Captain Edimare, ready the fighters to launch and clear one launch tube gate so we can bring through some Ruwallie Rasson Nijang Fighters. Marranalis, contact Nybidong and configure whichever launch tube gate Captain Edimare indicates to match the Ruwallie Rasson Cantolla Gate. Let’s see how the Brotherhood reacts to some seasoned competition. Also, connect me with Captain U’Dingan on CGS-3.”
A moment later Captain U’Dingan’s image appeared on the vid screen.
“Admiral Tibby,” said a rattled U’Dingan. “I see the MATTEN has arrived and none too soon. More ships have been joining the attacking fleet, including six more asteroid-ships. It looks like they’re trying to establish a formation similar to the ones used in the battle at Glomar Rosa when they took out so many of our ships. Are you aboard the MATTEN now?”
“Yes I am and we’ll soon be in firing range of the enemy. I’m bringing in the Ruwallie Rasson fighter pilots in the Nijang Fighters to assist us. Tell me, Captain, have you been able to identify the location where the Brotherhood might have their stellar gate erected?”
“Yes, sir, I believe we have. I’m sending you the coordinates now.”
“Excellent. If we can get to that gate and close it before the Brotherhood can retreat, we may be able to wipe out a bunch of them. Captain, do you have any idea how the Brotherhood might have discovered CGS-3’s location?”
“No, sir, we don’t. All personnel are accounted for, and we’ve been administering truthband testing to everyone to determine whether someone here has provided the intelligence to the enemy. So far, we’ve found nothing.”
Just as they did at the asteroid-ship production site, the Brotherhood ships retreated rapidly and disappeared when the MATTEN arrived and began releasing its fighters. Minutes later, the first Ruwallie Rasson emerged through the gate tube and immediately began attacking the asteroid-ships. They managed to disable one without destroying it. Unfortunately, there was no PLABE to bring into action, so we were unable to locate and destroy any of the sympathetic particle nodes that the Brotherhood gate needed to operate. One of the Ruwallie Rasson fighters managed to fly through their gate with hopes of pinpointing their location on the other side, but the gate closed shortly after that and he never returned or was heard from again.
With the Brotherhood gone, we performed a sweep throughout the area to make sure there weren’t any cloaked ships left behind to spy on and follow the Cantolla Gate Station while it was being relocated. Once the sweep was completed, I decided that I would visit CGS-3 personally to see the damage for myself. All Federation carriers had direct gates to all the CGSs, so the transition was quick and easy. When Marranalis and I arrived, we were immediately approached by the station’s guards and processed through the clearance protocols. Once cleared, Captain U’Dingan was waiting for us.
“Welcome to CGS-3 Admiral. I wish your trip was for other more enjoyable reasons, but we are nonetheless glad to see you on this occasion.”
“Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your candor. I too wish that our introduction was prompted by a less stressful occasion. Tell me, have you determined the exact number of casualties?"
“Yes, I’m sad to report 192 deaths. We had originally believed that the station was hit by a slow torpedo that had managed to pass through the RMFF, but on a closer examination, it appears that the explosion more likely came from within the station, possibly from a device secreted into the station in a crate of cargo that was transferred into the lower gate section.”
“What?! How did it get past the security checks?” I asked in bewilderment.
“We’re not sure. If you like we can tour the area. We’ll need space suits as there are still damaged hull sections and the area is in a vacuum, but the artificial gravity is still working.”
Much as I hated space suits, I needed to see the area for myself. “Yes. I would like to examine the damage first hand.”
“Admiral, before you enter the area, we should conduct a thorough sweep to confirm there are no secondary explosives in the area,” said Marranalis. I made sure to bring him with me for this investigation, as he was the only one I could rely on in the event I began having cognitive problems.
“Yes, by all means,” I said, “How long will it take?”
“Probably about an hour,” he replied.
“Very well. In the meantime, perhaps Captain U’Dingan can show me around the station,” I replied.”
“I’d be most delighted, Admiral. Now that the enemy’s gone, we’re slowly evacuating the civilians who were trapped on the station during the lockdown, so the gate areas are rather busy at the moment. But I'll be happy to show you some of the other areas that are currently less occupied. If you like, we can begin with the Control Room. It’s the most classified area of the station, of course, and aside from the crew assigned to the area, no one is permitted entry. Of course, you’re an exception as the Federation’s highest-ranking military officer.”
“Thank you, Captain, I would like to see it. I’ve never been to the Control Room of one of the CGSs. In fact, other than for passing through these stations on very rare occasions, I’ve never actually seen much of one at all.”
Captain U’Dingan led us through the facility by way of a series of CGS transports, devices that reminded me all too much of the cart devices used in major airports of Old Earth to transfer handicapped and elderly individuals from one section to another when making connecting flights. These conveyances were powered by a small motor and operated by a single driver who pulled one or two cars that consisted of long bench-like seats that faced outward in both directions. Each side of the car could seat about ten individuals. There were no seat belts or hand grips of any sort and I was expecting an uncomfortable jolt when the conveyance started to move or change speeds, but there wasn’t even the slightest lurch or break during our starts and stops.
“Excuse me, Captain, how is it there’s no sense of movement when riding on these cars?” I asked.
“Motion dampeners are installed in the benches,” he replied. “If you mean to say the motion seems unnatural, I agree fully. I always feel like everything else is moving and the conveyance is sitting motionless when I ride these transports.”
“Yes, I see what you mean. It looks like the walls and floor of the station are in motion, but it feels like we’re s
tationary.”
“Try to lift your hand to scratch your nose,” said Captain U’Dingan.
I did just that and found it took a great deal of effort to do so. My arm moved slowly as if it was moving through a thick liquid.
“Interesting,” I said. “How does it work?”
“It’s some sort of controlled stasis field is all I know. You’d need to discuss it with one of the station's engineers to find out the details.”
As we spoke, I thought to myself that I would talk to A’Lappe about installing these on the cars in the transport tubes on the NEW ORLEANS, as it would certainly have made riding in them more pleasant.
“I’m actually surprised that A’Lappe never upgraded the transport network on your yacht to include dampeners,” said Marranalis, as if reading my mind. The technology has been around for a long time.”
The car came to a halt and Captain U’Dingan said, “We’ll need to take the lift in the Central Core to go the rest of the way. If you’ll just follow me, sirs.”
There were several Central Core lifts of differing sizes and purposes. U’Dingan used his palm print to access one of the larger secure lifts that would accommodate my entourage of bodyguards. The journey to the level where the Control Room was located took only a few minutes. The Control Room wasn’t at either end of the station, nor was it in the middle. It was secreted away on one of the many levels of the station in such a way as to make it difficult for any invader, should there ever be one, to locate it once aboard the station.
“Admiral, I’m afraid we won’t be able to accommodate all your bodyguards inside the Control Room. Would it be possible for you to be accompanied by only one and leave the remainder outside the doorway?”
“I think it will be alright under the circumstances,” I replied, looking to Marranalis for confirmation. Marranalis concurred with a nod.
“Very well. You’ll need to place your palm on the scanner and complete a retinal scan here. Blink three times while your eye is being scanned.”
“Why blink three times?” I asked.
