Frontiers Saga 12: Rise of the Alliance (16 page)

“The difference now is that the Terrans can move about the galaxy much faster than we can. They can jump past our lines and attack anywhere they choose. They can cut off supply lines. They can pick off our warships one by one.”

The admiral’s aide returned carrying a tray of hot beverages and small finger foods.

“A war of attrition?” Admiral Toliva laughed as he took the cup handed to him. “Against an empire possessing hundreds of warships, and more than a dozen battle platforms?”

“It is not as far-fetched as you apparently would like to believe,” General Bacca retorted, his disdain for the admiral’s ignorance obvious in his tone.

“While the Terrans’ new warships may be able to destroy our frigates and cruisers with relative ease, our platforms will present a significant obstacle,” the admiral insisted, “as demonstrated by their failed attack against this very station only a day ago.”

General Bacca sipped at his hot spice drink before speaking again. “As you yourself pointed out, Admiral, their failure was mostly the result of your foreknowledge of their capabilities, just as the destruction of the Ton-Tori was due to their lack thereof.”

Admiral Toliva’s eyebrows rose slightly in reluctant acceptance of the general’s point. “Then we must see to it that the rest of the Empire is made aware of this threat, so that they may properly prepare.”

General Bacca sighed. It was well known that the commanders of battle platforms were not chosen for their tactical or strategic abilities, but rather for their administrative expertise. The sheer scale of the platforms made such skills a requirement. However, because the battle platforms were also heavily armed, and many of them carried small fleets of ships as well, their leaders often saw themselves as great military leaders… which they were not. “Therein lies the problem,” the general began, hiding the frustration that he felt at the need to explain such a simple fact to a man who held the rank of admiral. “Even with our fastest communications drones, we cannot hope to outrun the Terrans’ STS technology. The Ton-Tori’s communications drone traveled here at one hundred times light, and it still took more than two weeks to arrive. If Captain Scott chooses to go on the offensive, as he has just proven he is willing to do, he could quite literally attack every target in Jung space in far less time than it would take for word of the threat to reach even the nearest Jung stronghold.”

Admiral Toliva’s eyes squinted slightly as he considered the general’s words. “The nearest forces would be in the Tau Ceti system,” he finally said. “Then you expect him to attack there next?”

“He will attack whatever forces represent the most immediate threats to Earth. His world is in shambles, their infrastructure all but ruined. Without infrastructure, he cannot wage war, especially not against so many ships. It is only logical that he would attempt to clear as wide a sphere of safety as possible about his homeworld.”

“I see your point,” the admiral admitted.

Finally
, the general thought.

“Of course, their ships have no shields, and therefore they are quite easy to damage, even when they employ such hit and run tactics. It was merely a matter of throwing enough mines in their possible paths, and this station can produce such mines by the thousands.”

“They are not alone, Admiral,” the general reminded.

“Ah, yes, these ‘Takarans’ you spoke of in your reports. They are nearly a thousand light years away, are they not? Surely you don’t believe they can be an effective ally?”

“I believe that if they cannot, then their technology most likely can. Remember, it only took two months for the Aurora to jump her way back to Earth from the Pentaurus cluster.”

“But the logistics alone would make support of an ally so distant all but impossible.”

“Not impossible, only more difficult. And when you compare their logistical timetables with their friends in the Pentaurus cluster with the empire’s timetables within only one hundred light years, they still have a significant logistical advantage. That is why they must be stopped now, before the Earth has a chance to rebuild, and before their allies can provide the assistance they need.”

Admiral Toliva’s left eyebrow shot up suspiciously. “You are suggesting that I move this platform to the Sol system,” he said as he set his cup down on the service tray on the small serving table between them. “I should tell you, General, that my orders do not include attacking the Sol system.”

“The Ton-Gar’s desire to make Earth their seat of power has been known by all Jung commanders for several decades now,” the general reminded the admiral, “since we first began picking up emissions from Earth once again.”

“Of course.”

“Therefore, it is the duty of every field commander to do whatever he feels will best serve the Ton-Gar’s needs. I believe that if any of the Ton-Gar were here with us, their orders would be to capture or destroy the Aurora, and to retake the Earth, destroying all human life on the surface if necessary. I was unable to accomplish that task with the forces at my disposal, and shall carry the shame of that failure for the rest of my days.” The general looked the admiral in the eyes as he spoke. “You, Admiral, are in the rather envious position of having not only the opportunity, but the power to give the Ton-Gar that which they most desire.”

General Bacca continued to watch Admiral Toliva’s face as the reality of his situation began to set in. As he had always suspected, the administrator in him prevented the admiral from thinking in such terms. Military conquest and imperial respect were not the goals of administrators. Theirs were of position and control… More importantly, of maintaining that which they had acquired. It was to this side of the admiral that General Bacca had appealed.

Admiral Toliva’s eyes began to sparkle. “And what of the Jar-Pontahk?”

“Sacrifices must be made, Admiral,” General Bacca replied coldly, “for the greater good of the empire.”

* * *

The odd-looking, old ship coasted toward the massive storage array orbiting on the outer edge of the Takaran system. It had four massive
engine pods sitting at the ends of four truss-like structures, all emanating from a central fuselage with a small housing sitting atop its center.

Despite its impressive size, the ship was dwarfed by the approaching storage array. Rows of cargo pods of varying sizes and shapes, lined the array’s many arms. Despite their variety, they all bore the same distinctive markings… that of the Ghatazhak.

The ship fired its maneuvering thrusters, slowing its approach to the storage array. Minutes later, it fired them again, reducing its closure rate to nearly an indiscernible rate to the human eye. Minutes after that, it made gentle contact with the nearest pod on the array. The gangly looking ship inserted its clamps into the cargo pod’s recessed mooring points, pulling the pod into its underside to hold it firm for the long voyage that lay ahead.

Another blast of its thrusters moved the old cargo ship and its now-attached cargo pod away from the storage array. Thrusters facing aft caused it to accelerate laterally from the storage array. It fired its main engines and made a slow, graceful turn back in the direction from which it had come. Minutes later, the ship, and its cargo, disappeared in a brilliant blue-white flash.

* * *

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you haven’t thought about it,” Vladimir insisted, pointing his loaded fork at Nathan.

Nathan looked at hi
s friend sitting across the table from him in the captain’s mess. “I’ve never even thought about it.”

“Liar,” Vladimir responded as he put the fork full of food into his mouth.

“Are sex and food the only things you think about?”

“Mostly,” Vladimir answered, still chewing. “And the ship… Oh, and sleep… Which I get very little of these days, thanks to you.”

“What ever happened to ‘I can fix anything’?” Nathan retorted.

“What ever happened to ‘quick and clean,’ or ‘in and out as quickly as possible’?”

“File your complaints with the Jung high command,” Nathan said, “
if
you can find them.”

“
Da
,
da
,
da
! What is that all about? How can no one know where the Jung homeworld is located?”

“From what Telles tells me, not even the Jung commanders know its location. At least that’s what the prisoners he has interrogated tell him.”

“How do they get home?” Vladimir wondered.

“Apparently, very few of them are actually from the Jung homeworld. Most were born and raised on Jung-conquered worlds… worlds that have been under Jung control for so long that no one alive knows anything else.”

“How do you hide a world?”

“I really don’t know,” Nathan admitted.

“Where do their ships come from?”

“We don’t know a lot about that. So far, Telles has learned that there are many Jung shipyards located all over the core, and even a few in the fringe. It makes sense, when you think about it. Keep your production capacity spread out instead of all in one place,” Nathan explained. “Makes it more difficult to put a significant dent in their production capabilities.”

Vladimir nodded to the side, indicating partial agreement. “Not so much,
when
you have jump drives.”

“Jump drives just get you there more quickly,” Nathan said.

“
And
they get you past defensive perimeters.”

“But you still have to put yourself into the kill zone in order to do any damage.”

“
Da
,
da
,
da
,” Vladimir agreed. “
Ya znaioo
. The reason I get so little sleep.”

“We need shields, Vlad,” Nathan urged.

“I know, Nathan, I know,” Vladimir assured his captain. “But the only way I can give you shields now is if we use the jump emitters to generate those shields. If you want to have shields up and jump at the same time, we need not only an entirely separate emitter array, but a dedicated power source as well. All of that takes time, and preferably a shipyard, which we do not have at the moment.”

“We only use two reactors to charge the jump drive, right? And in battle, we’re not even using those reactors. We’re using the power already stored in the jump drive’s energy banks.”

“Shields and jump drives are not the only things using power,” Vladimir reminded him. “Main propulsion, maneuvering, weapons… Are you aware of how much power it takes to fire a plasma cannon? In battle, I have one reactor running the entire ship, another running propulsion and maneuvering, and the other two powering weapons.”

“I’ve read the reports, Vlad,” Nathan countered. “Ship’s systems, propulsion, and maneuvering could all be run from a single reactor.”

“If I run that reactor at eighty to ninety percent!” Vladimir argued. “Not a good level for a reactor during battle, my friend. And if one reactor goes down, what are you going to give up? Weapons, flight, or shields?”

“Systems can be run on the backup fusion reactors,” Nathan said. “You told me so yourself.”

“
Da
, that was a mistake,” Vladimir mumbled as he took another bite of his breakfast.

“What, it can’t?”

“No, they can,” Vladimir corrected. “I meant it was a mistake to tell you that.”

“What?”

“It is just like the one hour rule.”

“Okay, you’ve lost me now.”

“Lieutenant Commander Patel taught me to always estimate an hour for something you can do in ten minutes. Then your captain will think you are a miracle worker.”

“Or that you suck at estimating task completion times,” Nathan countered. “So, is that what you’ve been doing? Padding your estimates?”

“Actually, no. I usually forget to do this.” Vladimir grinned. “Mostly.”

“
Captain, Comms,
” Naralena’s voice called over Nathan’s comm-set.

Nathan tapped the side of his comm-set. “Go ahead.”

“Incoming message from Karuzara, sir.”

Nathan looked at the wall clock. “I thought the comm-drone wasn’t due back for two more hours?”

“
The message comes via a new drone,
” Naralena explained. “
The message explains that this drone will serve as a dedicated link between Sol and Corinair. There are several production reports and resource availability estimates from Karuzara as well.
”

“Very, well,” Nathan answered. “Queue them up in my ready room. I’ll read them when I get there.”

“
Yes, sir.
”

“And pass the word to the XO. He’ll probably want to let our Corinairan crew members know that they can now communicate with their families back home.”

“
Yes, sir.
”

“That will make most of the crew very happy,” Vladimir commented.

“Yes, it will,” Nathan agreed, “and they deserve it.”

* * *

“How did we get stuck with this job again?” Josh inquired from the front of their Falcon’s cockpit.

“Everyone else has done it, why not us?” Loki answered as he wa
tched his sensor displays.

“Oh, yeah.” Josh thought for a moment. “But I thought we were supposed to be going through training?”

“You brought your data pad, didn’t you?”

“Always.”

“Then start studying.”

“I already have been, and I’m already bored. This cold-coasting stuff sucks.”

“Josh, we’ve only been at it for six and a half hours,” Loki exclaimed.

“Only? You call six and a half hours of sitting on our asses,
only
?”

“Compared to the estimated eighteen hours this mission is expected to last, yes.”

“God, shoot me now,” Josh groaned.

“I am armed, you know.”

“Funny.” Josh lifted his visor and rubbed his eyes. “I can’t read these training manuals anymore.”

“We’re supposed to stay on suit systems during cold-coasts, Josh,” Loki reminded him. “That means visor closed. We don’t want your body heat increasing the canopy’s thermal signature.”

“I had an itch, okay!” Josh exclaimed as he closed his visor again. “It’s closed! You happy?”

“Delighted. If you’re tired of reading the Corinari flight training manuals, then call up the broadcast bands and watch some of the media stuff coming from Kent.”