"Yes, Your Grace...but this is fascinating, I've never heard of a Program introducing itself or having a name. What exactly is its purpose onboard?" The wonder in his voice was obvious as he responded, shifting in the Captain's chair in an attempt to get a better look at Sasha, who was now leaning precariously over the railing five meters above his head.
"That would again be my fault...I asked it to introduce itself to the crew after requesting a name to make communication easier. Apparently, it has taken over some minor ship functions it found lacking...but that is all I know. I am positive it would be more than happy to fill you in on the full list of responsibilities it will now handle." Sasha yelled down, almost falling with surprise as a hand grabbed the back of her uniform, Guard-Private Yu'Min must have been scared she might fall.
"Thank you, Your Grace, I will do that...." The wonder was still evident in the Flight Captain's voice as he trailed off and Sasha pulled herself back over the railing, letting Terra hop on her shoulder and enter the hidden pocket in her bodice that allowed him to have direct contact with her skin, while not being smothered...or more importantly...Sasha having to expose her cleavage. She nodded her thanks to Guard-Private Yu'Min and returned to her seat. It took Sasha a few minutes to regain her composure, but once she did, she recalled her previous thoughts, finding where she left off.
"Vin, you mentioned the Eye of the Emperor as one of the rewards for the Star of Terra recipient. I have never heard of it before, could you provide me with the details?" asked Sasha, voice still a little shaky.
"Information on the Eye of the Emperor is restricted." the Program responded. This baffled Sasha...how was someone expected to reward an unknown gift?
"Why is it restricted? Shouldn't the person responsible for awarding it know what it is?" The question, Sasha hoped, would shed at least a little light on its purpose.
"The lack of knowledge of this particular object is meant to deter the excessive use of the Star of Terra commendation." Sasha blanched slightly at the last remark. Isn't that exactly what she'd just done? Awarding the Star of Terra for reasons not solely of its original purpose?
"However, the recommendation for the commendation would never be allowed by the Program if the individual that received it would use it for means unbecoming." Vin seemed to have read her mind and responded to her concerns without her having to voice them. She almost let a smile slip at her own cunning. She was able to glean some information about the Eye of the Emperor from Vin. It was an object of sorts, one that may contain considerable power. She didn't like the idea of not knowing exactly what it did, but she would have to wait to ask Trent once the award was presented. She glanced down at the sphere.
"Vin, how long until Knight Admiral Bhool arrives?" She smirked, wondering if Vin would mind being delegated to her personnel secretary.
"She has just boarded the ferry shuttle and will be arriving within the hour." The smirk turned into a smile as Sasha realized the time she could save by assigning menial tasks to Vin.
"Thank you, Vin. Send a message to Tiana and Regalia to meet me in my quarters. I would like to dress the part of Grand Duchess for this meeting with Knight Admiral Bhool." She stood and walked briskly towards the exit, barely hearing the monotone response.
"Yes, Grand Duchess Sasha Alutia."
Chapter 9
The combat information display flashed eerily as the red dots representing the numerous starships of the enemy battle groups suddenly appeared at 1.1 million kilometers directly ahead of the stationary TSB Fleet. Battle station alarms blared, but were quickly silenced, the crew already at their posts. Daniel's tactical display zoomed into a small sector of the enemy fleet, highlighting the target priorities for the battle group the TSB Ero'Cia was assigned. He quickly targeted the highest priority enemy starships, designated by battle group command, selecting the appropriate weapons to fire at each for maximum affect. It took only a few seconds to complete before he turned to the part he hated most....the calculations.
The Plasma Cannon and Laser Particle Arrays, or LPAs, weapon fire could theoretically travel into infinity with no external resistance. Unfortunately, even though space provided no resistance itself, there were certain other influences that had to be calculated into each weapons trajectory.
Daniel quickly went to work, first accounting for the different gravitational forces that would affect the weapons path, then the turbulent solar and interstellar winds, radiation, and particles that had penetrated the Earth's star system. After he completed his calculations, he inputted the slight adjustments into the targeting system, required for a direct hit at max range, and awaited the command to open fire.
The tactical display continued updating as tactical officers across the battle group responded to fleet command target priorities, until all targets within the sector were accounted for with sufficient firepower to hopefully destroy, or at least disable, the enemy starships. The enemy fleet suddenly changed course and Daniel cursed under his breath. They were heading towards a small gravitational eddy that would cause hell with his targeting calculations. He began to recalculate when the range meter ticked to a million kilometers.
"Fire LPAs!" Daniel barely had time to enter his new trajectories when the command to fire broke his concentration. The LPAs sent multilayered streams of particles, followed by massive amounts of laser energy, across the emptiness of space at the speed of light, causing multiple starships to explode on both sides. Daniel cringed when more than half of his own weapons fire veered off course, missing his targets completely.
The small and medium LPAs continued to fire freely after the first salvo, only a short delay occurring when the weapons charge would diminish. They would then recharge with energy provided by the Neutron Star Drive, or NSD, taking less than a second for the small and medium LPAs, but up to five seconds for the large LPAs. A second salvo of large LPAs fired and starships on both sides exploded as Daniel cursed repeatedly, his fire once again veering off course.
As fast as his fingers could work, he entered new calculations as more and more gravity eddies and solar wind storms appeared on his display. But it all seemed in vain, his LPA fire continuing to miss more often than not. Soon the range closed below 500,000 kilometers.
"Fire plasma cannon!" Daniel punched the fire icon for the plasma cannon, hoping the helm had the starship properly angled at the target he'd designated. The swirling beam of plasma that erupted from the nose of the starship was much slower than the LPAs, moving at only 50,000 kilometers per second from a standstill, taking a little less than 10 seconds to bridge the empty space between the battle lines.
Daniel turned back to his calculations, watching the bridge's CID projection out of the corner of his eye just in time to witness a swirling wave of plasma strike the side of his starship, causing the lights to suddenly go dark and Daniel's display to vanish.
"Congratulations, we’re dead." The sarcastic words came from the Executive Officer, Commander Geoff, who sat stern faced in the captain's chair off to his right, above the officer's stations, providing a clear view of both them and the bridges CID. The lights suddenly flashed, then returned to normal, and Daniels tactical station's display morphed back to the standard tactical view, showing the assembled TSB Fleet and roaming frigates waiting in standby formation.
A fleet wide battle simulation had been initiated by Knight Captain Quinn when all the TSB starships had gathered at the rendezvous point just outside Jupiter's orbit, minus the two battle groups and frigates on outer system patrol duty. When the order was received, a collective sigh of relief could be felt across the entire TSB fleet. Daniel had heard, to his chagrin, that his misplaced words on the shuttle had spread like wild fire, causing a general fear of the possibility of having to fight an NHA fleet to permeate the ranks.
Daniel, on the other hand, still felt that something was amiss, since none of the captains were involved in this simulation. They'd been called to the TSB Reverie for a command meeting, and the official explanation was
to see how the XO's would command in a situation where the fleet captains were incapacitated.
"Bring us out of combat stations, Lieutenant-Commander Xi. Everyone is free until the Captain returns. I would recommend food and rest...knowing her, she will definitely have a prize for our showing..." After the collective sigh died down, Daniel turned back to his display, knowing the prize would be anything but pleasant, and accessed the battle simulation data as the rest of the bridge officers filed off the bridge. He began studying the calculations he'd inputted during the exercise, and to his dismay, could not locate any errors. He was just about to run a system diagnostic when the XO placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That gravity eddy is a fake. See how the ripples don't have a noticeable effect on that small micro-dust cloud." Daniel looked up at the XO, then back at the display...wanting to bang his head into the PDU as he realized his mistake.
"Even when the automatic targeting systems handle the calculations, they would have missed it...remember...the Tactical Officers main duty is to locate fake signatures, pick targets, and double check the computers calculations. There are certain things, such as advanced Electronic Warfare systems, that even our best targeting systems just can't see through. So you need to make sure that you can recognize the common signs of something like..." He pointed to the gravity eddy the enemy fleet had maneuvered into at the beginning of the battle. "...a fake gravity eddy." Daniel felt his anger about to explode at the cocky XO...how dare he point out his shortcomings! And of course he knew the Tactical Officers main duty! But before he could voice his feelings, a painful slap struck his back as the XO started laughing hysterically.
"You should have seen the mistake I made during my first official simulation as primary tactical. I inputted a wrong vector and ended up shooting half my LPAs into a friendly battle group, it was a mess..." He stopped laughing and took a few steps back. Daniels anger faded slightly and his face must have shown his shock at the XO's admission. Geoff put his hand back on Daniel's shoulder and squeezed lightly.
"Come on, let's go get some lunch. It'll make you feel better and I have a feeling the Captain may not let you off as light as me." The XO winked as he spoke. Daniel nodded stiffly and stood, following the strange XO off the bridge, into the tube transport and the waiting officer's mess.
*********
Knight Admiral Bhool stared intently at the two catillian's wrestling playfully on the table, swirling her drink in one hand, while tapping a finger on the table with the other, noticeably deep in thought. Sasha couldn't help but gaze, full of anxiety, at the older woman, knowing without her unwavering support of the current plan there would be no way to defeat Duke Zehman if he decided to push his hand.
Over dinner, Sasha had explained the situation as best she could, allowing Tiana and Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil to fill in any information she may have missed. The major problem came from that fact that she was not allowed to reveal how she came upon her information. She half expected the Knight Admiral to call her claims ludicrous and refuse to help. But in the end, Sasha was pleasantly surprised. Knight Admiral Bhool had looked her in the eyes for what felt like an eternity, nodded, then went straight to business.
"I have to say it......I don't trust Knight Rear-Admiral Quo'Nup. He was too close to Duke Zehman...plus his sister is married to one of his earls." The discussion had turned to the forces they would be able to gather. Normally, a new duchy was required to man their own battle groups, half of which would be transferred to the Emperor, and another 10 percent to the local king. But until the duchy was sufficiently established, security still needed to be maintained, so a minimal number of battle groups were usually loaned or sold from other duchies.
Sasha had been surprised to learn that Alutia had actually been gifted, at no cost, three battle groups, one more then traditionally allowed during the creation of a new duchy. It appeared that her father had pulled some strings, allowing her to receive two newly formed battle groups from the King's Fleet. Sasha felt grateful, knowing the obvious preferential treatment may lead to problems for her father with the other nobles. But she couldn't hide her concern about loyalties of the crew and officers, being forced to immigrate to her duchy. So when she raised her concern, Knight Admiral Bhool had adamantly assured her there would be no issue, since part of the volunteer process required the personnel and families to immigrate to the Alutia Duchy. The major issue that arose was the third battle group, which was transferred, for a substantial cost, from the Hulk'Zif Duchy, which was ruled by Duke Zehman.
"I'd have to agree, Sasha. During my research I was able to locate some connection between Earl Ti'Nic, Knight Rear-Admiral Quo'Nup's brother-in-law, and the group of traditionalist nobles that are out for Knight Captain Quinn's blood." said Tiana, furrowing her brow as if having trouble recalling all the information of her studies.
Sasha was very pleased with the research her lady-in-waiting had accomplished in such a short period, and was extremely happy, and a little surprised, to hear that Regalia contained a treasure trove of important information on all the great noble houses of galaxy 189. Apparently, her mother had been preparing Regalia for court life from an early age, and she'd already traveled to many different major courts over her brief 10 years of life.
"So that leaves us with two battle groups...how many can we expect from Duke Zehman?" This was the question on everyone's mind, and Sasha thought it would be better to voice it sooner than later. Knight Admiral Bhool appeared to be stuck in thought, when Regalia stood up and walked over to Sasha, leaning close to her ear.
"The man by the door is trying to hide something..." Sasha looked at Regalia inquisitively as the young girl hurried back to her seat, face unreadable. Sasha glanced at the Alutia Guard Private stationed by the door, who was obviously using his BC node, then to the seated Alutia Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil, who was also using her BC node. Sasha couldn't find anything odd about the situation, but she was still bothered. She looked at Regalia again and saw that she was intently watching the Guard Private out of the corner of her eye.
"At last count the Hulk'Zif Duchy has constructed 506 battle groups. 253 of which were transferred to the Emperor's Fleet, plus an additional 51 transferred to the King's Fleet...." Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil listed the numbers she'd located, pausing as she accessed her BC node, then continued.
"He has obligations that should occupy about 197 of his remaining battle groups. So...I would say we will be dealing with around five, give or take any that may be in refit or newly commissioned." Knight Admiral Bhool was once again staring at the playful catillian's with a thoughtful look on her face, gesturing for her own to return. Terra squawked in dismay at being pulled away from his mother, and reluctantly hopped back to Sasha, using its six hands like springs, before climbing her arm and into her dresses modestly cut top, curling up in her bosom.
Sasha turned her head casually, glancing again at the Guard Private stationed by the door, then caught Regalia's gaze, who was now staring intently at her, trying to speak with her eyes. Tiana appeared to catch the exchange and looked at Regalia, then Sasha. Sasha moved her eyes in the direction of the door with a slight nod, hoping Tiana understood the vague gesture. A mischievous smile appeared in response. Tiana stretched to mask her movements, carefully turning in the Guard Private's direction, freezing suddenly before whirling back to Sasha, moving her fingers by her face and running them down to her chest. Sasha had no idea what she meant, but looked back at the Guard Private, no longer concerned about trying to hide her intentions, and concentrated on his face. Sweat was pouring off him in a way that was definitely not normal. She looked closer again, and saw what Regalia must have seen, cursing herself for missing it the first time.
The Guard Private held a strange silver cylinder, palmed in his left hand, only the end visible, and what looked like a small oxygen mask concealed in the other. The realization came like a slap to her face, and she acted before she thought.
"Assassin! In his hand, it's a neural gas bomb!"
Sasha jumped from her seat while pointing, startling everyone. The Guard Private quickly came to his senses, releasing his BC node in shock, his face white.
Time slowed as Sasha dove over the table to Regalia, grabbing the young girl and pulling her to the far side of the dining hall, away from the Guard Private. Tiana ran around the other side of the table, attempting to join Sasha and Regalia, while Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil and Knight Admiral Bhool pulled their laser arcs. The Guard Private didn't hesitate, throwing the silver cylinder in the direction of Sasha just before two laser bolts burnt through his chest. The bomb seemed to hover in midair, its rotation slowed, as if someone could easily grab it if they tried. But it was too late, and just as Tiana reached her, the cylinder struck the table and filled the room with a blinding flash, before scattering the lethal gas.
"Vin! Emergency decompres-." Guard Lieutenant Lia'Sil yelled, cut off suddenly. Sasha's ears popped painfully as the dining compartment suddenly depressurized, pulling the neural gas, along with the air in the room, out into space. Sasha held her breath, squeezing tightly onto her two huddling companions. Time started to accelerated and her mind told her she had to breathe. She felt herself gasping, reaching for her throat when suddenly everything went quiet, a dull white shimmer growing within her mind. An image flashed before her, that of a man crying out to her, a man she knew, a man she...
A sudden loud hiss filled the dining hall and the image faded with the white shimmer as the painful pressure on her ears told her that air was being reintroduced. She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the pain as the dining hall slowly regained its normal pressure. Her mind cleared and she saw her companions gasping for breath and collapsed on the floor around her, breathing hard.
Alutia Rising Page 16
