First Command (38 page)

      
“The Templars, or Ascetics as they are commonly known, became the go-to guys for any regional instabilities.
 
Sometimes the mere threat of bringing in the Ascetics was enough to force an agreement at the negotiating table.”

      
CPT Chen, forgetting she was still mad at Alistair, asked, “Why are they called Ascetics?”

      
“They take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience when they join the Templars.
 
They possess only the clothing they are issued and live a Spartan existence, therefore Ascetics.”

      
Mary asked, “Chastity?
 
So do they never have sex?
 
Certainly, that must cause them problems?
 
I have enough problems of that sort with my Marines.”

      
“They have an internal program where exemplary male and female Templars are chosen to have children.
 
The children are raised in common crèches and the parents never know which child is theirs.
 
It fosters a sense of family throughout the Corps, because you never know if that new acolyte or presbyter might not be your own child or brother or sister.
 
Scrupulous records are kept in the Templar HQ to guard against incest, which is a high sin in their beliefs.”

      
“They really made their impact felt in the Great Migration, when they were chosen to provide the security forces for the settlements.
 
Their ranks swelled as each settlement ship left Earth with a battalion of Templars, and there were 100 settlement ships.
 
The Templars established a strong presence in the new Galactic Republic.
 
That’s why every first tier world has a Templar monastery.”

      
“On my own world, allowing for our unique situation, the Templars became the police force more than a military force.
 
They used their military power at the beginning to put down the Revolt of Desperation, but after that they were our cops.
 
After we got the upper hand on the ‘Many Teeths’, a lethal predator, there wasn’t much need for military.
 
An interesting fact is that the Ascetics train equally on modern weapons and on sword, spear, and shield.
 
That came in handy on Archimedes, after they ran out of ammunition packs.”

      
“The Templar Corps nowadays is likely to show up in situations like this, where military capability is needed, but can’t be associated with the Republic or any world government.
 
As much as they try to avoid it, they occasionally wind up on both sides of a conflict.
 
They justify their mercenary activities by pointing out that their acolytes and deacons never engage in war crimes and always follow the Galactic Conventions on War.
 
They fight a higher ethics war.”

      
“Of course, the Templars today are diversified.
 
They have their own combat and support fleet.
 
They produce their own rations.
 
They set up monasteries to train new recruits wherever they go.
 
As ground forces go, they are pretty low maintenance.
 
The local bar owners hate them, though.”

      
CPT Chen asked, “What is their rank structure?
 
What are these acolytes and cardinals?”

      
Alistair replied, “Acolytes are their lowest ranks, basically privates.
 
Deacons are junior sergeants.
 
Archdeacons are senior NCOs.
 
Presbyters are junior officers.
 
Bishops are large unit commanders, battalion through brigade.
 
Cardinals are their generals commanding divisions and corps.
 
The one Cardinal First Class is their order and military leader.”

      
Alistair changed the subject.
 
“So when are you going to recon the exit out to K’Rang space?
 
Minacci is a fool, not having you do it now.
 
What if there is a K’Rang fleet just sitting waiting for their scouts to report?
 
Don’t you think they might wonder what happened to them and poke their heads in to see?”

      
Kelly paused, then responded, “I think the admiral is a little ticked with me for stealing his glory.
 
I’m expecting to be called on the carpet when he gets here.
 
I’ve already prepared my defense.”

      
Kelly got an idea. “His order said stand by in orbit, but it didn’t restrict us in other ways.”

      
Kelly called in LTJG Cortez and Chief Blankenship.
 
“Connie, Chief B, program one of our long-range probes for travel to the K’Rang side of the star cluster.”

      
Kelly quickly called up the K’Rang navigation chart that they captured in the Scutum sector.
 
He picked a spot between two K’Rang main worlds.
 
“Have it come out here.”

      
Chief Blankenship took down the coordinates.
 
Connie asked, “What do you want it to do, Captain?”

      
“Have it scan the sector and report all combatants.
 
Return it here after it completes its scan.”

      
The two women said, “Aye aye, sir,” and departed to complete the task.

      
In fifteen minutes, Connie stuck her head in and said the probe was ready.
 
Kelly gave the order to launch and it was away.
 
Kelly calculated that he should have a report just before Admiral Minacci’s arrival.
 
That should give them something useful to talk about.

* * * * *

      
The probe left the Vigilant on a direct course for its destination, but its internal sensors adjusted its route to avoid gravity eddies and celestial bodies.
 
It took it a quarter hour longer than Kelly’s shirtsleeve analysis determined.
 
As it approached the edge of the star cluster, its self-protection program caused it to halt, as a K’Rang missile corvette was patrolling just within sensor range.
 
The probe waited for it to pass, advanced into K’Rang space, and immediately sensed 33 K’Rang combatants and support ships of various class and type.
 
With no other combatants within the sector to find, the probe retired back into the star cluster, and returned to the Vigilant, transmitting its report once out of sensor range of K’Rang space.

      
Kelly whistled when he was handed the report.
 
Minacci might get his chance for glory after all.

* * * * *

      
Fleet Commander J’Kalt impatiently paced the carpet in his command suite.
 
The two Shadow Scouts should have reported by now.
 
Was the pathway into the star winding, filled with dead ends?
 
Was there a Human invasion fleet waiting that destroyed them?
 
He was blind and could not formulate a final plan without that information.

      
He thought about his options if the scouts did not report back.
 
He could just form up his fleet and conduct a recon by fire, as suggested by the Elders, and attempt to spring any Human trap early by destroying potential hiding places they encountered.
 
He could conduct a meeting engagement and try to overwhelm any Human force before it could do the same to him.
 
He could establish a defensive perimeter here opposite the known exit from the star cluster.

      
The recon by fire offered a possible offensive option, but failed if it ran into a larger Human force.
 
The meeting engagement was another offensive option and worked best against an unprepared and slow to react enemy.
 
A smaller force able to react quicker in a surprise-meeting situation has overwhelmed many a larger force.
 
He couldn’t plan on the enemy commander being stupid, but it is a gift he would accept.
 
The defensive option was the safest course of action.
 
He could array his weakest ships nearest the exit and his stronger ships in depth.
 
He could probably commandeer the planetary defense fleets to add more depth.
 
This would be the most likely to be successful, but he always felt fortune favored the bold.
 
He called a commander’s conference for six hours hence, whether the scouts reported or not.

* * * * *

      
Admiral Minacci called Kelly to his flagship, but not to chew him out.
 
He wanted him to bring the raw sensor files from the probe to be analyzed by his own Intel staff.
 
He congratulated Kelly on discovering the K’Rang fleet.
 
He did mention that he might have overstepped his authority by forcing the surrender of the pirates.

      
Kelly pointed out that in engaging the K’Rang scouts he was carrying out his priority responsibility to the fleet of counter-reconnaissance.
 
Per Fleet doctrine, it was a scout ship’s duty to deny the enemy information on friendly forces.

      
Admiral Minacci realized he was beaten and said, “How did you induce the pirates to surrender?”

      
Kelly just shook his head, “I don’t know, sir.
 
I think the realization that the K’Rang knew of their existence convinced them that surrendering to us kept them alive longer.
 
It surprised me as much as you.”

      
The admiral changed the subject.
 
“You did take a hell of a chance, taking on those K’Rang with the Debran women on board.”

      
“Couldn’t be helped, sir.
 
It was worth more than all of our lives if the K’Rang ships got away with the knowledge of the pirate world.
 
How are they settling in here on your flagship?”

      
“We rousted some junior officers and gave them a cabin to themselves.
 
It will do until a transport arrives to carry them home.
 
Mr. Debran has been notified and has a transport on the way.
 
He’s coming himself, I’m told.”

      
“The pirates want to hold a surrender ceremony and sign a formal surrender document as a sovereign independent world.
 
My lawyers tell me this is required by Galactic Republic law and lets the pirates off the hook for execution for piracy.
 
I guess we won’t be holding mass spacings after all.”

      
The admiral fixed Kelly with a steely, but bemused glare and said, “I’ll expect you, as the conqueror of whatever this world is called, to share the reviewing stand with me.”

      
Kelly deflected the glare.
 
“Barataria, sir, it’s called Barataria.
 
I’ve gathered some other info on them while in orbit.
 
It seems their data banks aren’t too secure.
 
The population is about 400,000, about 300,000 members of the Brotherhood and the remainder captives.
 
One of our terms must be to release the captives immediately.
 
The moon is full of captured ships in various stages of cannibalization and some pirate ships being constructed.
 
They have one called the Leviathan that is bigger than your flagship.
 
It’s a giant clamshell looking thing with an EMP projector.
 
It would come up behind ships and fire the EMP, disabling the ship.
 
The clamshell opens, they use tractor beams to swallow the ship, and transport it back to the moon.
 
It’s quite a monster.”

      
“Steven Maynard has built quite an empire here, completely under the radar.
 
Too bad it’s built on captive labor.
 
He’s got farms, factories, mines, and mills – all the features of a second tier world.
 
If they hadn’t gotten greedy, we’d still be wondering where the ships went.”

      
The admiral changed the subject to the K’Rang fleet on the other side of the star cluster.

      
“I’m glad you put that probe out there.
 
That K’Rang fleet could have ripped us badly if they’d hit us unaware.
 
Even knowing they’re there, there’s not much we can do about them.
 
My tacticians put us being wiped out in five scenarios out of eight.
 
Even adding in the pirates, it’s a close run thing with the odds only improving slightly.”

      
“I’ve sent a dispatch requesting a cruiser squadron to reinforce us, but none are in close enough range to reach us in less than a week.
 
Now if the K’Rang will just cooperate…”

      
Kelly thought back to the mystery fleet that attacked the pirates and pondered on how he could enlist their aid.
 
He wondered where Mr. Debran was.