Invasion Page 19

  “I have heard that the others address you as Consul, so I will assume that is how I should address you. What my people want more than anything is to find a home that will allow us to raise our children in peace. We are willing to earn by fighting alongside you. You must realize that the only fighters we have are the ex-bounty hunters who run our ships. Most of the people in our ships are non-combatants. From talking with your people, I know there are no non-combatants among the Romani. I can speak for the fighters with me that the frigate Hermine could hold up in a fleet combat, but not the corvettes. I would like to move all of the crews from the corvettes to the frigate and fill the corvettes with our families and move them to safety. There are enough civilians who have flown freighters to at least move them out of harm’s way through the slipstreams.”

  “Captain Bogarde, if you are willing to do that, then I can do you one better. We will open a wormhole to a system inside of Nova Romae space that will take your families to safety. Make the move,” Consul Lorenzo said.

  “Thank you, may I ask what your rank as Consul is equivalent to in the corporate structure?” Captain Bogarde asked.

  “My rank is equivalent to a CEO in the corporate structure.”

  Captain Bogarde was shocked. That a CEO would put himself into harm’s way to fight any battle other than the defense of the home world was unimaginable. These Romani were indeed formidable. “I am impressed, but there is still a pressing matter. My frigate has no ammunition.”

  “I will have my engineers restock your frigate overnight. We do not carry the smaller shells needed by the corvette cannons so it is a good thing they will not be in the combat. You should know that the Saltic are not aware of missiles and have no point defenses. We will stock your ship with ship killer missiles with extra reloads. You should keep firing missiles along with your cannons.”

  “Thank you, Consul that is good to know. With your permission, we will move the civilians and the crews among the ships,” Captain Bogarde said and was given leave to proceed with her ship captains.

  Lorenzo then turned to the Slones, “Christopher and Alaya, what do you make of Captain Bogarde and her refugees?”

  Slone took this question, “Consul, in truth I am not certain. They could be bounty hunters or reformed pirates for all I know. One thing is for certain, the one ship my daughter Olivia helped repair was filled to the gills with old men, women and children. Only the crew seemed to be young men and women. This leads me to think that those who could fight were in a position to crew the ship and the rest were non-combatants. One thing is certain to me from dealing with Captain Bogarde; she fears for the survival of her people and realizes we are in a fight for all humanity. I commend her for wanting to join the fight, when she could have had us transport her frigate along with the corvettes to safety.”

  “I agree. We will give her the benefit of the doubt. Now we still have the matter of our two remaining captains. Captain Neumann, I understand that you and your family are now settled on the Tempestas.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I know Captain Slone promised to keep your family safe, and I now offer to send them with the refugees into Nova Romae space,” Consul Lorenzo said.

  “If we may, Consul, we would like to stay and help rescue our corporation. We feel our children are safe with the children of the Romani. As long as the Saltic invade us, there is no place safe from them. Slipstreams are now a thing of the past and we cannot rely on them to keep us safe. There is no longer any early warning to be had.”

  “A very astute analysis of the facts, Captain Neumann. I would like you to remain with Captain Slone. We will need you for the ground forces to know where the important parts of your home world are located that they may be secured.”

  “I will do my duty. My wife is also a trained engineer. She would be happy to help with damage control if you would have her, Captain Slone.”

  Slone responded to this, “Ask her to contact my chief engineer, Diana Gardner for assignment. She will be given weapons, armor and an assigned post with the damage control parties.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  Lorenzo now continued, “We also have Captain Morel, our observer from the Highline Corporation. You should know that we have been in contact with your corporation and have verbally agreed to a mutual assistance pact. They would like you to continue as liaison to the Romani and help them to evaluate our resolve, although it is us who question the resolve of the corporations. You are all dismissed. Except for the Captains Slone and Captain Morel.”

  All left except the three requested. Consul Lorenzo even ordered his Lictors to his shuttle to await him. “Christopher, could we move into your quarters for a more private chat? I would also like Captain Morel to join us.”

  The Slones led the way to their private quarters which were huge due to the size of the battleship. They settled into the living room and Captain Morel was impressed with the real wood furniture and home-like furnishings. A large window overlooked the space of the Munich system. During battle the hundreds of windows on the warships were sealed with armor whenever general quarters were called. Slone contacted the kitchen to bring up some refreshments and he went over to the wall cabinet and brought out a fine bottle of brandy from the Veii System, which was known for its excellent spirits. Slone placed it on the table with four glasses. Lorenzo picked up the bottle, “Thirty year old Veii brandy. You have excellent taste, my friend. This bottle must have cost you a fortune.”

  “Heap your praise on Alaya, she is the one who picks out what we eat and drink. I am a humble ship’s captain who managed to marry well above my station when I found this gem.” Slone reached over and pressed his wife’s hand as they all had a good laugh.

  After they each had a sip of the exceptional brandy, Lorenzo looked at Captain Morel. “Captain, I have been asked to give you this letter from your government. It is your official appointment as ambassador to the Romani. You will move to Nova Romae and I will leave it to the Slones to get you settled there as soon as we have taken care of our mission here.” Lorenzo handed an envelope to young Captain Morel, who opened it and read the contents.

  “I am truly overwhelmed. I have no diplomatic training, yet my government wants me to be ambassador and report to them any and all necessary information about the actions of your government as regards the prosecution of the war against the Saltic. A short time ago I was just a destroyer captain.”

  “We Romani have discovered that war brings the young into their own. Your actions on the Brandenburger home world on the mission to rescue the CEO speak volumes as to your courage. I also know you are Christopher’s son and he is important to me, since he will be taking over my position as second consul to the republic in two years.”

  Captain Morel was impressed, since he had learned at the meeting that this was a position equivalent to a CEO in corporate space. Yet none of these people, from the lowest rank to the CEO shirked their duty when it came to danger and combat. This was so alien to the way Christopher Morel was raised that he still had trouble wrapping his mind around it. “I thank the Romani for the confidence they have in me.”

  Lorenzo burst out laughing, “Already spoken like a diplomat.” And all of the others joined in the laughter. “Now the other business at hand. Christopher, I would like you to command the battleship flotilla and take them into battle against the harvester ships as a unit. From the video logs it looks like there are seven harvesters and their escorts in orbit around the planet. About an hour before we jump, I will send in a small sensor probe to read the telemetry and return to us. The wormhole I send it through will stay open for no more than 10 minutes and the probe will be programmed to return through the worm hole within those 10 minutes as soon as it has readings of the telemetry and masses of the ships already there. Hopefully there will not be any arriving in the short interval between the probe and our jump. All ships will be going in invisible and it is my intention to send the battleships approximately a half hour ahead of the main fl
eet. This way you and your squadron can punch a hole for us and cause confusion. Before the attack we will also attempt to make contact with the Brandenburger ground forces, if any still exist. I am hoping that most of the combat forces from the Saltic harvesters are on the planet. That will make boarding and capturing the harvester ships much easier. The senate would like at least one brought back for study if it is possible. We can sell all non-harvester ships to Brandenburger or Highline Corp as spoils of war. We are also ordered to destroy all harvester ships we are unable to bring back with us. Any questions?”

  Slone thought about it for a minute then said, “I would like to use all of the serpent ships stationed on the battleships as invisible attack ships. Are there any modified corvettes aboard them?”

  “They each have a modified corvette and twenty serpent ships ready to deploy. The corvettes are armed with pulse cannons. Even if I could have armed Captain Bogarde’s corvettes, without invisibility, they are useless in a fleet battle. The battleships all have the six above and six below turreted pulse cannons. They will receive their orders this evening as to the command structure.”

  “Then we will see some action tomorrow. I assume the land operations will depend on the success of the space battle.”

  Lorenzo nodded then turned to Captain Morel, “Captain, you may want to get some rest; we have a big day ahead. Only fate knows if we will see each other again this time tomorrow.”

  Captain Morel emptied his glass, got up and bid the Slones and the Consul good night. Slone told him to be on the bridge by 0800 hours in the morning. He watched his first born leave the captain’s quarters, and then turned to Juan Lorenzo.

  “Ok, Juan, what did you want to talk with me about in private?”

  “As astute as ever, my friend. The Senate has given us another task. We are to try to capture the captain of one of the harvester ships. What I am about to tell you is classified on a senatorial level. The serpents and the human Romani have been building a planetary wormhole drive deep in serpent space near the edge of the galaxy. It is the intention of the senate not to allow the Saltic to determine when and where we fight. A permanent wormhole will be opened to the Andromeda galaxy and we will be taking the war to them. We need a harvester ship captain to find out their fleet distributions and their local administrative centers. I fear, my friend, your entire Consulate will be taken up fighting an intergalactic war that we have no guarantee of any kind will go our way. But the Senate feels if we take the war to their galaxy, it will relieve the pressure on our Galaxy.”

  “Ok, Juan. We’ll give it a try, but from my last time capturing a harvester ship, I can tell you, the captains of those ships will self destruct before they let us have them. We need a way to breach the bridge blast doors before they activate the self destruct. That may be a tall order. I may have another way to get the layout of the Saltic forces.”

  “I’m listening, Chris.”

  “We still have an ally I brought into the Bickle system in Sinclair space. If we fail to capture a captain here or if they don’t know what we want, I could travel to the Bickle system and see if the hive Mother knows. She gave me the impression when I was reading her thoughts that she could also read the thoughts of the Saltic. If that is the case, then she may know their military dispositions but was never in a position to do anything about it.”

  “My friend, this is both good and bad news. If we knew in advance that she had the knowledge, we would not need to worry about getting a captain and could just roast them on the bridge before they could activate the self destruct.”

  “Juan, let me check on something.” Slone activated his comlink, “Commander Julia McMann, report to the captain’s quarters.”

  “What are you thinking, Chris?” Alaya asked. “Let me guess, I should get the Mary Rose ready for a trip.”

  “A trip on the eve of battle?” Juan Lorenzo said.

  “That depends on what Commander McMann says.”

  As if on cue, the door chimes rang. Slone told the computer to admit the visitor and Commander Julia McMann entered, snapped to attention and saluted the captain and the consul. “At ease, Commander. Have a seat please.”

  “Thank you Captain.”

  “I wanted to ask you how long the charge time would be to open a wormhole to the Bickle system in Sinclair space?”

  Slone ordered the computer to put up a map of human space with the Bickle system indicated. A hologram of human space appeared above the table and the current location of the fleet was marked as well as the Bickle system. Julia McMann ordered the computer to calculate the distance and it came to 28,000 light years. “A jump like that will take two and a half hours to charge the drive aboard the Tempestas.”

  “Juan, it is still 16 hours until the fleet departs for Brandenburg. Alaya and I could take the Mary Rose and jump to the system. To save time we could leave the wormhole open. The entire trip could be done in less than an hour once the wormhole is open. Then we would know for sure if we have an ally or not in the Bickle system.”

  Lorenzo took a minute to think it over. “A bold plan. The Senate was right to choose you to replace me. Do it. I will return to the Longinus and await your report. I will also notify the other ships that we will be opening a wormhole and they are to hold position.” The consul nodded to the commander and stood up. The other officers present did the same and remained standing until the consul left.

  “Commander McMann, charge the wormhole drive for a jump to Bickle’s star.”

  “Right away sir. I will let you know when we are ready to open.” With that commander McMann left.

  “Alaya, alert your crew we will be leaving in just over two hours. Make sure the Mary Rose is ready for a quick mission.”

  Two and a half hours later, the Mary Rose moved to the front of the Tempestas and waited word that the drive was ready. “Commander McMann to Captain Slone, we are ready to open the wormhole.”

  Alaya acknowledged and told the commander to open the wormhole. “Hatch, make us invisible.”

  “Sss. Ship invisible captain,” Hatch reported a few seconds later.

  As they waited, the space in front of them began to distort and a pale green vortex opened. When the wormhole was fully formed they moved towards it until they were pulled in, with the usual distortion and screeching in the ears. At least the meds they took prevented the nausea and vomiting. It also prevented blackouts and fainting. They instantly traversed the wormhole and were propelled out of the other end.

  “Olivia, what is our location?” Alaya said.

  Olivia Slone concentrated on her console and then looked up, “We are in Sinclair space within the Bickle Star system.”

  “Blue, take us to the fourth planet. There is a methane moon orbiting that gas giant.”

  “Sss. Yes Captain.”

  They proceeded a half hour when Slone suddenly felt a familiar pain in the head. “Alaya stop us here, I am getting contact.”

  “Blue, all stop.”

  The Mary Rose’s retrorockets fired and the ship stopped dead in space. As this was happening, Slone’s thoughts were filled with the mind of the hive mother. She was glad to feel him again after so many revolutions. She also informed him of the progress they were making and also indicated that there were occasional incursions of Sinclair ships. She was not sure if she would remain safe in this system.

  Slone began to think of the problems his people have had with the Saltic and the fact that they were now in their galaxy and were invading human space. He could feel a level of fear in the mind of the hive mother, who was now rearing a new generation of methane breathers. Slone asked her if she could read the thoughts of the Saltic and if she knew the locations of their regional military command bases. The response was yes to both questions and she immediately did a direct memory transfer to Slone’s brain of the locations he asked for. He also asked if the hive mother knew of the crystals that the Saltic used for their weapons. She did but the moon in the Bickle system did not contain them. Slone t
hen asked if she would be interested in joining the Romani. He sent her thoughts of the Romani and the fact that they used the crystals and they would be able to protect her and give her and her colony anything they wanted. The humans would be mining the crystals on the same planet and would always be available if the Urk’Radi needed anything. She thought this was a good idea and would love to be closer to humans and other aliens who would value them. Slone sent the information of the coming action and promised he would then return with three freighters modified with methane atmospheres to bring her and her children into Nova Romae space. She sent her gratitude and wished the Romani success against the Saltic. Slone thought peaceful thoughts and then told her to be safe and he would return for her. They then broke contact.

  “Alaya, take us back through the wormhole. We have what we need.”

  “Blue, come about and take us back.”

  “Sss. Yes, Captain,” Blue Scale said and turned the ship and brought it back through the wormhole.”

  As they returned to the Munich system, Slone ordered the wormhole closed and the Mary Rose landed back on the flight deck. The Slones then took a shuttle across to the Longinus to report to Juan Lorenzo. They landed and were told the Captain was awaiting them in his quarters. Since his Lictors were not present and he was functioning as the captain of his ship, he was to be properly addressed as captain. In his private quarters, they were all friends and rank did not matter. After they pressed the door chimes, Juan ordered them admitted and met them as they entered.

  “So, my friends. You are back as quickly as you said you would be. Was your mission successful?”

  Slone filled Lorenzo in on the information and the promise he made to the hive mother. “That is more than I could have hoped for. Of course we would be happy to have another friendly alien race living among us. They are in as much danger as we are, since they would end up enslaved to the Saltic again if they win.”