“You’re not cops or anything?”
“Nope. Just three crewmates on a scout ship. That’s all.”
“Well, Lawrence Gregor owns the ship yard. See that man behind the bar?”
Ellie pointed. Everyone looked. That’s Lewy. He owns Lamplighter.”
“Lawrence Gregor? The intergalactic criminal?”
“He’s no criminal,” Ellie firmly stated.
‘Hey, no disrespect. I was just saying what I heard.”
“Well you heard wrong. We’re totally legit. You eat at Starry Nights?”
“Yeah. Good food.”
“Well, Mr. Gregor makes sure it stays that way. Makes sure no one gets gouged. There ain’t no crime here. He makes sure of that. Me and my kid. We’ve got it good. Place to live. Good job.”
“Hey, I hear you, sister. I take it back.”
“Yeah. Don’t go bad-mouthing Mr. Gregor. People won’t like it.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“The only reason you Feds are here is because of the war. And, well, we humans need to stick together.”
“Hey, I said that I was sorry. Just making talk. Just trying to get along.”
“Ok. Still want that round?”
“And more.”
“Be right back.”
“You stuck your foot in it, Brooksy.”
“She didn’t need to be so defensive, Toast.”
“You’re the one that called Mr. Gregor a crook.”
“Yeah, well. He is.”
“Not to these people. To these people, he’s more like Robin Hood.”
“I know who that is, Cap.”
“Ok. Low key. From now on we wear civvies.”
“Copy that, Cap.”
Their drinks arrived. More followed. Talk and ambiance of camaraderie filled the rest of the evening and part of the morning. The three crewmates found getting back to their bunks required a great deal of concentration, swimming through the drunken fog.
Oishi Scout Team
For two days the two Nightshades holed up in the grotto. For two days Juro healed while Taketa foraged for food. Juro took over the preparation, using the last of the chemical heaters to cook the small game and boil water for the grasses and berries. It took the full two days to recover from their five-day dash through the forest and away from the searching aliens.
The third morning found Taketa on his now-familiar boulder, working the drone, searching for danger. Using his throat mic, he called Juro.
“Still clear. After the aliens found the trail into the water, they crossed over. They are currently searching the other side.”
“I guess we really upset them, Sousui. Calling in the attack on their domes must have set them back.”
“Yes. It seems that revenge is a motivator for the aliens. It is time to move. Ready?”
“Another sprint?”
“Yes. If we get forty kilometers a day, we will reach the cache in two days.”
“I’ll cook the rest of the meat. Store the greens and berries.”
“We leave within the hour.”
“Hai.”
An hour of packing, two days of running through the wild forest and one night of cold-camping brought the two exhausted, dirty, hungry infiltrators to the coordinates sent from their home base. Following the instructions, Taketa and Juro approached a jumble of rocks and boulders at the base of a towering peak. Weaving their way in, they found the solid, metal door.
Taketa keyed in the supplied code while Juro watched the surroundings, rifle supported by his bad arm. Taketo stepped back as the door swung outward.
“Juro,” Taketa whispered.
Both crept inside. Taketa closed and battened the door while Juro looked for some switches. He found one and flicked it. The front portion of the cave suddenly became bathed in artificial light.
As years of training dictated, the two Nightshades dropped into crouches and, without a sound, moved into the cavern. Their first obstructions proved to be three rows of tanks, engines off, baffles collapsed, resting the massive iron war machines on the cave floor. Counting the first row, Taketa deduced twenty-one tanks.
The next three rows consisted of mobile anti-aircraft platforms. Rocket launchers surrounded by anti-aircraft Gatling guns. The next rows held armored troop carriers. Then came support, followed by command. Finally supplies and ammunition. To one side stood four massive transports, contents unknown. They discovered no movement, no signs of life. Just a huge storeroom of war machines and machinery.
“First, we get cleaned up. Then food. Then rest. Tomorrow, we contact HQ.”
“Sounds good to me, Sousui.”
Chapter 13
Onboard Ravage Maker
Six days after the invasion of Cencore, the massive Mortek flagship, Ravage Maker, burst through the gate and took up a position of overwatch, assuming dominance and control over the now-defeated root system of the soft skins.
“I would have thought that there would have been more resistance, My Lord.”
“I too, Intelligence. For a civilization this large, there should be more of a military presence.”
“I concur, My Lord. Perhaps they have dispersed their fleet in preparation of a counter-strike.”
“A thought worth keeping. Intelligence, you have found no other soft skin fleets concealed in this system?”
“None, My Lord.”
“Send out more scouts. Look behind every planet, every moon. There must be more ships.”
“As you command, My Lord.”
“From your infiltration, you have found only four other gates in the soft skin’s Bridgelen system?”
“That is correct.”
“Send scouts through those four gates. Find where they lead. Find what is there.”
“Immediately, My Lord.”
“My Lord.”
“Yes, Flight?”
“Many soft skin ships are fleeing. There are two other gates on the opposite side of this system.”
“Let them go. I wish to achieve complete dominance of their root system before we continue our expansion.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“Flight, send word. Have Third’s carrier come through. We will immediately begin the assault on their root world.”
“As you command, My Lord.”
“As soon as Third’s carrier arrives, begin the assault.”
“As you command, My Lord.”
Cencore President’s office
President Barnes already heard the news. Not knowing how bad it truly was, he sat at his huge desk and waited fearfully and impatiently for his call to Fleet-Admiral Weiskoff to go through. The holo-projector lit and the President of all of the Federacy saw the hologram of the military leader of the Federacy’s fighting force pop into existence.
“President.”
“Fleet-Admiral. You have some news for me?”
“You need to leave, Sir. Our fleet is completely destroyed. We never got to the alien’s larger ships. We barely scratched their destroyers. The cruisers, not even that. Their super dreadnaughts never even showed up.”
“Are we ready?”
“Let me conference in Mrs. Weber and Admiral Cruz. They are more knowledgeable than I am.”
The two most powerful men in the Federacy just sat and waited. Finally two more holograms popped into being.
“Mrs. Weber, Admiral Cruz.”
“Mr. President,” both responded.
“Welcome Mrs. Weber, Admiral Cruz.”
“Is the rumor true, Mr. President?”
“Fleet-Admiral, will you update us?”
“We succeeded in destroying the alien patrol ships and frigates. We were not able to cause any significant damage to anything larger. The last transmissions from Thor indicated that the aliens have developed a defense against our X-cannons. Our entire fleet has been destroyed.”
“Oh, no.” Mrs. Weber almost sobbed.
“And, according to the final report, this was done with just the a
lien destroyers and cruisers. The super dreadnaughts never appeared in the battle.”
“What now?”
“We pack up and leave. That is why you and Mrs. Weber are in this meeting, Admiral Cruz. Where do we stand with the evacuation?”
“All conscripted ships are full, Mr. President.”
“How many souls is that, Mrs. Weber? Did you reach our goal?”
“Yes, Mr. President. One point six million. Loaded and supplied.”
“However, it was a rush job, Mr. President.”
“How so, Admiral?’
“We just jammed everyone and everything in. we haven’t had time to organize.”
“There’s no time for that now. We need to set sail.”
“I agree, Fleet-Admiral. You are in charge of the fleet. Get it out of here. Destination?”
“Atlantius. Pantea. We’ll have time there to prepare and organize. You aren’t coming, Mr. President?”
“No, Fleet-Admiral. We have four point eight million people left behind. I need to help them through these dark times.”
“I understand, Sir. Family?”
“You know. I’m an old widower. Children raised and gone. I saw where my daughter made the ships. I’ll keep my son close.”
“As you said, Mr. President, a sad day.”
“Yes. Well. Get those ships moving, Fleet-Admiral. How long do we have?”
“At their present speed, the aliens will be here within two days. Their carriers haven’t arrived yet. The Bridgelen gate is a six day journey. If they waited for victory, that gives us eight days, max, before landfall. But two days before the alien ships can attack our civilian ships. We will begin the exodus this afternoon. All ships should be steaming by noon, tomorrow”
“Gods speed. Farewell.”
Aboard Griffin
Morning. Wisdom Seeker drifted through the quiet of space, safe from the political maelstrom occurring on its homeworld while Griffin rested in the giant bay on the lowest deck of the behemoth ship. The Griffin crew, plus Vidhee and Gopai, occupied her galley, creating meals and drinks, readying themselves for the first leg of a very long trip. Varrini had eaten quickly then escaped into the workings of the human starship, checking and rechecking everything. The eight Royal Guardsmen performed their morning rituals of training and practice. Princess Analyn hid in Griffin’s executive suite, tended to by her two maids.
“What can we do about Princess Analyn? She seems so sad.”
“Nothing at the moment, Sue. We need to get our first jump in. Then we can tell her about Igaklay. Maybe that will help.”
“I don’t know, Keiko. She’s acting like her world has ended.”
“For her, not ending. But definitely changed. We can only hope, for the better.”
“Eh, Cap. I have a thought.”
“What?” Krag asked through a mouthful of food.
“Iggy, you there?”
“Always, Sir Mack.”
“I was wondering. How did you get the entangled communicator to Griffin?”
“I have special, miniature jump rockets.”
“How big is this miniature jump rocket?”
“About one of your meters, Sir Mack. Why? What are you thinking up now?”
“You’ll see. One more question. How long did it take to deliver the one that soaked into Griffin?”
“Just a little over one of your days.”
“Could you send another one? To Wisdom Seeker?”
“Yes, why?”
“Well, here’s my thought, Iggy, Cap. We install one of these communicators where King Kaporine can get to it. We get to Ballison then he and The Queen can talk to their little girl to their hearts’ content.”
“That is an excellent idea, Mack. You should go into diplomacy,” Keiko joked.
“Not for any amount of credits, Wee-One. No way. What do you all think? Good idea?”
“Actually, the moment the quantum entanglement communicator achieves insertion and a viable communication device is connected, Princess Analyn will be able to communicate with her parents.”
“Of course!. I’m such a lunk. You become the transfer point. They talk through you to Griffin.”
“Yes you are, Sir Mack.”
“Now you’re getting uppity, Iggy.”
“How do we get it to the King? We can’t just land it on his front lawn.”
“I was thinking about hand-delivery, Cap. Get someone who would deliver it personally.”
“The communicator would need a metal base for the nanites to enter. And a power source. And a communicator.”
“The King’s got all that, Iggy. His throne. The Quant-Com. Its about the size of my fist, right?”
“Since your fist is so small, yes, your fist.”
“Funny Iggy. Now I’ve a talking moon picking on me. Great. What do you think, Little Buddy? Could you get us one of those entangled communicators? Let our Princess talk to her Poppa?”
“Easy, Sir Mack. Do you want me to launch one now?”
“Cap?”
“This is good, Mack. Yes, Igaklay, please send us another communicator. And thank you for your help. Who could we trust?”
“Captain Kakkarna, obviously.”
“Captain Marston?”
“Yes, Vidhee?”
“Commander Tarunga. He is fiercely loyal to King Kaporine. And of Royal blood. That way, Captain Kakkarna wouldn’t need to leave Wisdom Seeker. He would remain safe aboard ship. If the Captain returned to Elonia, he would be subjected to the Senate’s wrath.”
“Excellent point, Vidhee. Would you contact the Commander, have him join us here, in the galley?”
Vidhee did her freeze/unfreeze. “Commander Tarunga is coming immediately, Captain Marston.”
“You do know that this moves up our schedule on notifying Princess Analyn about Igaklay?”
“You get to handle that, Keiko.”
“Oh, thank you, very much, Krag. Who gets to pry her off of the ceiling when she learns about our new friend?”
“I’ve got a crow bar on my work bench.”
Everyone gave Mack ‘the look’.
“Vidhee, would you be so kind as to request Princess Analyn’s presence in the galley?”
“Certainly, Ambassador Suzume.” After a pause, “She is on her way. Shouldn’t we include Master Varrini?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
“He’s a big help, Cap. And, from talking to him, I know he’s as loyal as a Labrador. He won’t let the cat out of the bag.”
“First dirt, now cats?”
“Just a saying, Syn-Gal. It means Master Varrini can keep a secret.”
“You really are stuck on cats, aren’t you, Mack.”
“Well, can you blame me? I mean, once I saw all you cat-people, it just kinda got stuck in my head.”
Krag interrupted the two’s friendly banter. “Vidhee, could you ask Master Varrini to join us?”
Again, Vidhee froze and unfroze. “He is coming immediately, Captain Marston.”
Just then Commander Tarunga arrived.
“Commander, please be seated. We have a problem that requires your help.”
As the Commander sat, Princess Analyn entered. Everyone saw the dejected Elonian, tail in a strange hump with its tip pointed to the floor. Her ears lay flat, sideways to her head. Moist fur under her eyes bespoke of her crying. Almost as a pallbearer, Sir Mahajani trailed behind.
Rising and approaching the Princess and with her kindest voice, Keiko requested, “Please sit, Anyl.” Placing her hand on Princess Analyn’s arm, she guided the Elonian to the chair at the head of the table.
As Keiko soothed Anyl, Master Varrini entered.
“Please take a seat, Master Varrini. We have something to discuss.”
Keiko looked at Krag. He returned an affirmative nod.
“Princess Analyn, Commander Tarunga, Master Varrini, I would like you to meet a friend of ours. Igaklay, please say ‘hello’.”
“Hello, Princess Analyn. I have
never met you, but, hello, Commander Tarunga. And you, Master Varrini. With the limited technology which you possess, you have done a wonderful job with Griffin.”
The three newly arrived Elonians just looked at Keiko.
“Mack, Igaklay, would you please activate your holo-projector?”
Mack pushed the remote. The contraption lifted from its corner. Igaklay took over and maneuvered it towards the table. As he did so, he activated the projector and the grey-green Ballisonian blinked into existence.
Princess Analyn’s ears immediately snapped up.
“This is Igaklay, the Central Logic Center for Ballison,” Keiko explained.
“Except for the clothing, it looks exactly like the ancient drawings of Kokali!”
“Yes, Princess Analyn. Kokali was my best friend. I styled my image after him.”
“Kokali was Ballisonian? I don’t understand.”
“Kokali was one of the first to visit your planet, Elonia. I guess you worshipped him as a God.”
“A Ballisonian. The giver of life was a Ballisonian.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Princess Analyn. Since he was my best friend, I just picked him for my image.”
“And you are a synthetic Ballisonian being?”
“Yes. More accurately, an artificial moon orbiting Ballison.”
“Where is Kokali now?”
“I don’t know.” Everyone heard the sadness in Igaklay’s voice.
“When my creators shut me down, Kokali was off-world, studying another planet. When I woke up, I could not find him. Everyone was gone.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Igaklay. So, Kokali was a Ballisonian. This changes a lot of things.”
“I think we should keep this among ourselves, Your Highness. Meeting Humans has already caused upheaval with your people. I don’t know what Kokali’s true nature would do.”
Princess Analyn began to sit up straighter, began to shrug off the weight of her past deed. “I agree. Vidhee. Commander Tarunga. Gopai. Master Varrini. I formally decree that Igaklay and his image are to remain secret.”
All four saluted.
“But that is not why you asked me here.”
“No, Your Highness. Also Commander Tarunga. Master Varrini, you are here to stay within the information loop, stay abreast of what is occurring. Mack had an idea. We want your approval. And we need Commander Tarunga’s help in carrying it out. Mack? Your turn.”
Meeting in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 3) Page 23
