by Chris Hechtl
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His first instinct was to refit the fleet and take it on the offense or to refit them on the way back to relieve the beleaguered colony world. His thoughts changed when he realized most of the herd defenders were not up to his fleet's standards.
Then there was the concern about going on the offense and leaving the herd world defenseless. Instead, he issued a series of orders to rush Dreamer’s innovations onto the other ships while he handled the backlash with the other herd leaders. He knew it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
When he and the Delta bull faced the herd leaders, he was surprised that he was the eldest and the highest-ranking defender.
He listened to the condemnation for not standing his ground and defending the colony. It burned, but it was his penance or at least a down payment of it. But when it ran overlong, he decided he needed to defend himself. They needed to focus on the future and get over the recriminations if they were going to have a future. “If your intent was to break their advance at the expense of my fleet, then you should have told me so!” the Alpha bull thundered back.
“Some things should not have to be explained! We were …”
“You were what? You have yet to implement a third of the changes we have! We have been on the sharp end, fighting the enemy, and yet, we've been able to innovate and make those changes! My bulls have the most experience fighting them! Yet you wished I throw that away when it is most needed?” the Alpha bull roared.
“What is done is done,” the Delta bull interrupted. All eyes turned to him. “We are here now. Let us make the most of it. Dreamer is with us.”
“And what of the other tinkers and thinkers we sent?” a ground herd leader demanded peevishly.
“Gone. They either survived or didn't; we have no way of knowing,” the Delta bull responded brutally. The ground leaders gasped or winced in pain as if physically hit.
“The enemy can be beaten. We have done it before. We have nearly stalemated them in the last two battles,” the Alpha bull said slowly. “But I do not want to have another stalemate. I do not want to be forced to run here again.”
“You will not run. You will stand and defend this colony. There will be no more running,” a ground herd leader ordered.
“My duty is to the entire herd. Our entire herd as a species,” the Alpha bull stated, locking eyes with his civilian counterpart. “Research into the enemy has told us that they will not kill the bulls we leave behind—not out of hand.”
“You hope for your sake.”
“No, for their sake,” the Alpha bull retorted. “I know my mistakes. I know I cannot change them, but I can and will learn from them as you need to learn from them. And learn from the lessons we are trying to pound into your thick skulls. And you better learn those lessons quickly. Preferably before the enemy arrives here on your doorstep,” he growled.
“We will shift resources to defense. Since we no longer need to make colony material, I suppose we can start there,” a ground herd leader said snidely.
“Fine. I have dispatched Dreamer and the engineers I can spare. I want them to get the production started here. We can work on the legion of innovations Dreamer has come up with to improve things on the ground later,” the Alpha bull rumbled. He turned to his new Beta herd leader. “You will need to train with our forces to learn the new ways of fighting,” he said.
The Beta bull nodded. He had seen the reports, but the reports from the latest battle had shaken him up. “I will do my best to learn the new ways.”
“Good. The Delta bull can help you and the Gamma and Echo bulls,” the Alpha bull said, turning to the Delta bull. The bull nodded. “Dreamer's robotic craft and small craft draw as many parts from off the shelf as possible. He has forwarded a list. Have you been stockpiling them?” he asked, turning to the ground herd leaders.
“We have … to some degree.”
“Get production going on them now,” the Alpha bull growled, locking eyes with each of them in turn. “We cannot afford any more stalling. Yes, some things need further refinement. If we have time, we will do so. Otherwise, we will make do or refine them as we go. But they do us no good if the other ships do not have the new tech!” he turned on the Beta bull and other herd defenders. “You need to expedite the changes now!”
“We will … try,” the Gamma bull said.
“Try harder,” the Delta bull said simply.
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Dreamer was grateful that his force emitter research had not only proven fruitful, but that the gravtech engineers had embraced it so much that they'd taken his basic concepts all the way to the prototype stage. They only had a few warheads built however, just the four, and none had been tested in battle obviously.
Unfortunately, work had screeched to a halt when they got to Rolling Meadows. He had been drawn off to oversee the various projects and production lines as well as to oversee the refit of the fleet. When he'd checked in with the gravtech engineers, he had found that none had the time to work on refining the research and the warheads.
Hopefully, they would have more time later he thought as a tinker waved urgently to him and then pointed to a halt in the fighter production line. He sighed in fatigue and then waded in, attempting to assess the situation from a distance before he got in too deeply.
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Once he was certain things were in hand with the logistics and engineering, the Alpha bull looked into other weightier matters. The long-term prospects of the war were indeed troubling to him. The fact that the Terrans had created great defenders of their own, four of them no less! And in such a short time … it sent shivers down his spine as he gamed out the timing involved. If they made just the four, and he couldn't count on them not holding some back to defend their home herd worlds, but with just the four every two standard Tauren years … it was daunting when one considered the pace of his own people's ship construction.
After several sleepless nights, he had come to the conclusion that Dreamer might be right. His people needed to plan for defeat as well he realized. During their long transit, the Alpha bull had looked into what Dreamer had read about how the Terrans handled their conquests. The references to the Second World War were particularly relevant to their situation, though he wasn't certain if the aliens would apply them to another species. He realized he would be held accountable. But if it spared the planet below, and possibly the herd, so be it. He was a defender; it was his duty to die to defend the herd.
Of course, such sentiments would have been nice had he done that at the last colony, a small voice whispered in him. The ache of abandoning the colony sided with not knowing how many survived. Hopefully, the Terrans wouldn't eat them!
He had to admit, Dreamer had might be feeling the pinch of defeat but he was not willing to give in. His latest design was quite innovative and was a great way to get through the enemy's shields. It was a pity they couldn't afford to test the weapon nor could they build more beyond the four prototypes. They needed all of the parts they had to build more small craft, robotic craft, and point defense turrets. If the enemy gave them time, they'd get to the warheads again once the frantic refit of the fleet was completed.
He wasn't certain they had that time however.
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Dreamer shook his head as he tried to get it through to the herd leaders and tinkers the importance of the changes. The fleet had engaged in some of his changes but only after exhaustive testing of each concept. That meant less than a third of the ships had his changes from over three standard years ago. That was unacceptable since those changes were made prior to their last two battles.
With the eight new great defenders and four lesser defenders. it brought their fleet up to an eight and two great defenders, and an eight of lesser defenders. There were three eights of cruisers, bringing their totals up to four eights. Plus, he had the single carrier to contend with as well as the host of support ships, the industries in orbit, and on the ground.
Sometimes he wished there
were two of him so he could be in multiple places. He'd finally gotten the ground side production lines sorted out and producing parts and the first fighters and bombers. Within an eight of days, they would have sufficient craft to fill the improvised carrier.
He rubbed his tired eyes and then tried to focus on the missive in front of him. He needed to write a full proposal to convert two more of the support ships to carriers of the small craft, and he had to write another proposal to get the remaining cruisers converted to have not only point defense, but also missiles. For the moment the missiles would have to be strapped on the exterior hull in cradles and pods, there was no room internally.
He scratched at his head and then groaned loudly when he saw a series of electronic messages spring to life in his electronic in-box. Many were complaints or demands to clarify something. “Even the simplest things are hard to get through such thick skulls,” he muttered as he opened up his FAQ files and began to copy and paste the answers to the most urgent problems.
“I need an assistant. No, I need a dozen assistants,” he muttered, turning slightly to look at the bulls nearby who were asleep. He envied them.
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Rho sector jump point to the hyperbridge to Tau
At the jump to the newly-named Tau sector, the scout vessels waited patiently as they met up with Second Fleet. Captain Cooley had sent back one of the dispatch ships with news of the enemy's movements, confirming that the Taurens had left the sector.
Jan read his report again and then decided to refuel and send the two scout ships on ahead to scout the closest Tauren star system. She was certain the enemy would end up there. Even if they bypassed it and went to a more secure star system, she would still have to stop and capture it. She couldn't afford to leave it in her rear.
She'd half expected a picket at the exit point of the hyperbridge. That was why she'd dropped the fleet out early and then scouted the normal exit point. She wasn't certain if she should be amused or not that the enemy had learned from their previous experience trying an ambush.
She was going to need to pin the enemy fleet down. The best place to do it was where they were going to have to defend, such as a large population center.
Hopefully, she wasn't biting off more than she could chew.
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“Are you ready for this, Shelton?” Captain Cooley asked as he checked on the lead navigator once more.
“I don't know, do we have enough fish for the trip?” the selkie asked.
“Fresh, no. Frozen … some. Plus, we've got that powdered stuff to make the protein shakes and steaks taste like fish,” Ynes answered.
The captain looked over his shoulder to her. “You aren't helping,” he singsonged, making her crack a smile in amusement.
The selkie was still groaning at the news. “Great, fish tofu. Well, I guess I'll be going on a diet,” he sighed. “Make sure someone's got some fish on the other end, because I'm not living on that stuff for the return journey,” he grumbled.
“We've got the tilapia in the tank too,” Ynes said as she took her seat.
“Trash fish,” the selkie grumbled as he finished his preparations.
“Fish is fish. It's better than the alternative,” the skipper said as he patted the selkie on the shoulder and then took his seat. They were about to make a long jump across the void in an unexplored hyperbridge. The journey would get them into the other sector in six to eight months based on their interpretation of the captured nav data. The alternative was a nearly hundred-light-year jump across the void which would take years.
“Ready,” Shelton said as he settled into his tank and pulled his virtual goggles over his eyes.
“Then let's do this,” Captain Cooley murmured.
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2246
Rolling Meadows
“Alpha bull, two unannounced ships have arrived near the jump point back to the neighboring sector. They have not transmitted an IFF and their neutrino spoor matches the scout ships,” the ship's Beta bull reported.
“As in Terran scout ships,” the ship's Alpha bull said heavily. He hated that he had finally started to feel good about their progress and then get such news. He should start to expect it he thought in disgust.
“Yes,” the Beta bull replied.
“So, they do have our navigational database. And obviously, they are on the offense since they are scouting Rolling Meadows,” the Alpha bull said slowly.
“Unless they are trying to run a bluff. Get information while keeping us on the defense,” the ship's Alpha bull replied as a link to the other great defenders was established.
“Possible, but I doubt it,” the Alpha bull rumbled pensively as he rubbed his jaw. He knew what was coming next. He wasn't certain of the avenue of attack however or the timing. “Order the nearest defenders to run them off quickly. The longer they are here the more information they will be able to gather.”
“Yes, Herd Leader,” the Delta bull rumbled on the video screen. He turned and began to issue orders.
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Captain Cooley cringed at the sight of the enemy warships in the system. “She wants to take this on? Is she nuts?” Ynes murmured.
“We'll see. Get what we need. Once we've gotten everything, we need to get clear and get the data to the fleet ASAP,” Captain Cooley stated.
“Yeah, preferably before the cruisers coming in our direction find us,” Ynes murmured. He turned to her but she pointed to the plot. He turned back to the plot and saw the blinking icons of cruisers headed their way. He grimaced and swore under his breath. “Nothing is ever easy,” Ynes said with a shake of her head.
“Yeah, I see that,” he muttered. “Sensors get everything we can. Launch recon drones. Hell, launch them all and keep them feeding us intel as we charge our hyperdrives. Nav, ETA on those ships?”
“The cruisers will be here in ten hours,” Shelton warned. “We'll need at least thirty minutes to charge the drive.”
“Halt our course. There is no point going into stealth; they know we're here and have too many platforms to localize us,” Captain Cooley stated flatly. “Bring us about,” he said as the ship began to kick out recon drones into the inner star system. From the look of it Democritus was doing the same.
“Com, lay on a laser to Democritus, make sure they have our intel feed. Keep it running. I want the same from them,” Ynes ordered. She glanced at the skipper. “Just in case.”
He nodded once. “Good thinking,” he murmured in appreciation.
Chapter 40
Rolling Meadows
The gratitude at the disappearance of the enemy ships was short-lived. The arrival of the enemy scout ships had told them all that they were on borrowed time. The Taurens swung into further action, knowing that the lull was just the calm before the storm. Complaints and foot dragging was forgotten as they raced to get the new tech not only into production but also into space and on the ships. Bulls who had been confused and had balked at the changes were the loudest to complain that they weren't ready.
No one listened. They knew the enemy wouldn't care. When the enemy ships jumped out an eight of days later, the clock just seemed to tick down even faster.
Despite the frantic pace and being pulled in so many directions at once, Dreamer managed to get his second and third carrier conversion projects going. The conversions were relatively simple and were completed within an eight of days though they needed a lot of fine-tuning to test the communications and sensors on the ships. Each carrier craft would carry four eights of craft. One had only fighters, one had only bombers, and the other had an even mix of each craft.
With the industrial plants on the ground tuned to his specifications, they churned out fighters and bombers in an eighth of the time the lost colony had. By the time the last carrier had come online, its small craft were reporting onboard. The fighters and bombers began to run simulations and training exercises while Dreamer worked on a next generation craft with a group of small craft tinkers. They had
just finished a new prototype of each craft when they ran out of time.
The enemy had arrived in force it seemed.
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“The water dwellers have done it, ma'am. We're near the inner star system,” Willard reported with a grin as he looked up from his station.
“Damn fine bit of engineering,” Jan murmured as she looked at the plot and picked out the fresh details. They couldn't have pulled that off without the water dwellers and the intelligence from the recon ahead of time. The water dwellers had gotten them as deep into the star system as they'd dared. It had been a bumpy ride, fraught with tension, but ultimately worth it since it cut down on their sublight travel time and gave the enemy far less time to react.
It also put the time crunch on her she noted as she scanned for changes. There were no new reports of additional ships in the time since the scouts had left, which was a good thing. She was still outnumbered, but she had a plan for that as well.
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The arrival of the Terran fleet so close to the inner star system was met by a collective moan of despair throughout the herd as they saw the number of great defenders and carriers. Even though they outnumbered the enemy, the new great defenders were frightening. The sensor spoor even at extreme range told them something was different about some of the ships. Two of the great defenders were larger than the others and seemed far more powerful just from their energy signatures and mass readings alone.
The herd Alpha bull tallied up the forces on each side as the reports came in from across the star system. They had the Terrans outnumbered in some categories, but he'd learned that the Terrans fought skillfully with what little they had.
He had an eight and two great defenders to the enemy's single eight. But two of the enemy's eight were larger and more massive than the others with an unknown set of weapons. He wasn't certain what to make of them but knew it couldn't be good.
