Guardian Awakening (19 page)

Tristan sat and the Emperor and his family followed suit. The emperor was a tall and stately Mylian with the lines of age on his face. He had an air of command about him; however, he seemed friendly enough to Tristan. The rest of his family consisted of the Empress, who struck Tristan as a handsome rather than beautiful Mylian female, two daughters and a son; the eldest, a very attractive female around twenty-five years old, and the youngest the male around twelve or thirteen.
 

They were all looking at him intently. Tristan felt his cheeks burn and shifted in his chair. The Emperor spoke in a deep resonant voice. “I believe we have you to thank for rescuing our colony from certain destruction?”

Tristan cleared his throat. “Well Sir, it was a team effort.”

The Emperor nodded. “I see.” He paused for a moment. “Your name is Tristan, is that correct?” the Emperor asked.

“Yes Sir, that is correct.”
 

“So where have you come from, as no one has ever met an alien like you, with the same telepathic ability as the Sicceians?”

Tristan replied honestly: “I have come from a planet we call Earth. I was captured by the Sicceians and locked up with some of your people. We managed to escape to the colony and found that it was under attack so we did our best to save the colonists from being annihilated.”

“Do all of your people have the same abilities as you?” the Emperor asked.

“I do not know,” Tristan replied. “I didn’t know I had these abilities until I was captured by them.”

“He looks a little like a Sicceian,” the boy interrupted. The Empress shushed and glared at him so he mumbled a sorry under his breath.

She turned to Tristan. “Why are you helping us against the Sicceians?”
 

“Because where I come from, slavery and oppression are not acceptable.” It was probably wise to be evasive and vague with his answers. He certainly thought it best to avoid telling them the whole truth, especially regarding Aesia, and how he came to be a Sicceian captive.

“Do you know how to reach your planet?” the Emperor asked.

Tristan shook his head, saying, “No sir, I’m afraid I don’t have a clue. My people have not yet reached the stars and are very much planet bound. The Sicceian that err… captured me in the first place found my planet by accident. On the way to Sicceia the ship crashed and was destroyed. The Sicceians found us much later. The one that captured me had been killed. So finding my way back would be difficult.”
 

The Emperor narrowed his eyes a little and a look of scepticism passed across his face. “Are you willing to help us further with our war against the Sicceians?”
 

“I am willing to help, Sir, yes, but eventually I would like to try and find my planet.” Tristan replied.

The Emperor glanced up at the sky. “We are close to defeat. The Sicceians are building a base on an asteroid near the edge of our system as we speak. We believe they plan to use it as a launch point for the final push against us. Our fleet is not strong enough to stop them and it is only a matter of time before Mylia becomes a slave planet again.”

Tristan thought for a moment. “Sir, I would like to help you; however, I will need the authority to do so. I need to know as much as possible about the Sicceian disposition and what you have available with regard to your fleet.” The Emperor studded him in silence for what seemed to be an age, as if he were trying to read Tristan’s thoughts. Tristan was well aware that he could not, but it made him shift uncomfortably in his chair.

The Emperor finally spoke. “If you can defeat the Sicceians and remove the threat to our system, we will be eternally grateful to you and certainly you may have a small ship with which to search for your home planet. In the mean time you can have all the resources you require. The fleet commander will be summoned, and if you go to our headquarters building, they will be able to brief you on the Sicceian positions. Now, we request that you join us for dinner while the necessary arrangements are being made.”

Just at that moment, one of the servants came to announce that dinner was served and that they should come through to the dining room. They all stood and Tristan waited for the Emperor and Empress to lead them through. The Emperor’s eldest daughter walked up to Tristan and took his arm. She smiled as she conducted him through to the modest dining room.
 

Tristan asked her, her name. “Clayandra,” she replied and moved closer, squeezing his arm. A strong spicy perfume assailed his senses.
 

Clayandra made a point of sitting next to him. Every time she spoke to him she would lean close and almost whisper. Tristan shifted in the chair, glancing at her mother and father every time she did so. Once she rested a hand on his knee making him jump. She just smiled. No one else seemed to notice. The conversation ranged over many subjects. The Emperor would occasionally ask direct questions regarding his abilities and what his planet was like. Tristan continued to be vague when the questions were too detailed.

Once or twice officials came in and had quiet conversations with the Emperor. When the meal was finished, the Emperor rose and summoned an aide to escort Tristan to the quarters he had been allocated. As they were leaving, Clayandra moved close to Tristan and said in a low husky voice, “I will see you again soon!” She squeezed his arm and smiled.

With a bow to the Emperor and Empress Tristan left with the aide.
I have to be careful with that one,
he thought, as he followed the aide through the many corridors of the government building.

The aide led Tristan to his new quarters, a modest apartment of four rooms. He had basic cooking facilities, a small shower room, bedroom, and reception room. The aide informed him that he had the choice of preparing food in the apartment or using the restaurant facilities on the ground floor of the building. The rooms would be cleaned and tidied every day by the facilities staff. The aide turned to leave and as he did so, he told Tristan he would be collected first thing the next morning.
 

Tristan did not sleep well, he had become used to the noise aboard the ship, and the total silence was oppressive. The meeting with the emperor kept running through his mind. He had been outwardly confident, but he had committed himself to removing the Sicceian presence without knowing anything about their numbers and disposition. He didn’t even know the strength of the Mylian fleet. He tried to empty his mind and force himself to sleep but it was not until the early hours of the morning that he did so.

He was woken by the sound of knocking on the door of his apartment. With an effort, he rose to open the door. It was the same aide who had escorted him there the night before.
 

“Please make yourself ready and come with me,” the aide said curtly.
 

Tristan quickly showered and dressed. His clothes were where he had left them. He wished he was on board his ship, as Elvath would have had a clean set ready for him. These still smelt faintly of the spicy perfume worn by the emperor’s daughter the night before.

When he was ready, Tristan followed the aide across to the Mylian military headquarters. They eventually entered a long meeting room where there were several uniformed Mylian senior officers already seated facing a large screen. An officer leaned on a wooden lectern just to one side of the screen. From the abundance of braid on his uniform, Tristan assumed him to be the most senior officer in the room.

They were waiting for him. The low buzz of conversation ceased and they all turned towards him as the aid directed him to an empty seat. The silence in the room continued as he sat and looked at the frowning face of the officer at the lectern. “I’m sorry if I have kept you all waiting.”
 

There was a strong smell of spicy perfume as the officer on his right leaned towards him and whispered in a husky voice. “Good morning, Tristan, I trust you slept well?”

“Oh Clayandra! Umm… Yes, thank you.”

She sat relaxed, her uniform tailored and close fitting accentuating her curves. “We must stick together, you and I, and not let these old has-beens get the better of us.” Tristan swallowed, and the vague feeling she was going to be trouble returned.

Chapter Twelve: Battle

The officer at the lectern cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome the
alleged
saviour of one of our colonies.” They all glanced at Tristan, their expressions stern and unsmiling. “I have been ordered to give a detailed deposition of the Sicceian forces and our home fleet, and hand command to our guest.”
 

Tristan stifled a gasp turning it to a cough, his heart skipped a beat.
Command! No wonder there was an atmosphere.
They were all silently looking at him. His hands felt cold and clammy, his mind raced. It was obvious they didn’t want or trust some unknown alien from no one knew where just taking over their fighting forces. They only had the word of a few colonists regarding his capabilities. Clayandra patted his knee, and he jumped at the sudden and unexpected touch.

The officer continued, “The Sicceian fleet consists of eighty capital ships and their escorts. They are holding above an asteroid on which they have been building a supply base.” The screen behind the officer lit up and showed long-range pictures of the fleet and the supply base. Tristan noted the fleet was held in tight formation, the largest ships at the centre. There were some small ships on the asteroid’s surface, but it looked as though most were in the formation. “The Sicceian’s out number our home fleet almost four to one. We believe the base will be used to supply ground forces for an attack on Mylia once our fleet is destroyed.”

The officer paused. Tristan glanced from the screen to his face. He was looking at Tristan with a faint, resigned smile, just lifting the corners of his mouth.
They have given up, waiting for the inevitable.
 

Tristan clenched his fists on his lap trying to calm his racing pulse.
I need a plan quickly.
The sudden silence was broken by Clayandra scraping her chair as she stood, leaning forward hands planted firmly on the table.
 

“
Admiral!
I don’t like your attitude” Tristan looked at her, she was shaking, her voice hard. “With Tristan’s help we will prevail.”
 

The faint smile vanished from the admiral’s lips, and his shoulders slumped. “Yes, Your Highness, of course.”

She turned to Tristan, moderating her voice. “They will listen to your plan.”
 

Tristan swallowed.
Plan? What plan?
He had to stall give himself time to think. “Do the Sicceians send out patrols?” He held his voice calm. Questions would give him some time, perhaps they will trigger something,
anything.

“They have a small number of fighters they use to patrol the nearby area, but otherwise, no, they do not.”
 

Still
complacent and secure in their superiority,
Tristan thought. “How many ships do you have available?”
 

The officer sighed. “We have twenty-two fully operational capital ships, and about ten in need of some repair or the other.”
 

“How many fighters or smaller ships do you have that are operational?” Tristan asked.

 
“We have about 150 fully operational small ships and fighters,” the officer replied.
 

Tristan nodded, looking at the tightly packed Sicceian fleet on the screen an idea forming in his mind. “How near are they to completing the base?”
 

“We believe that they will be ready in seven to ten days,” one of the other officers replied.

“Can your scientists and engineers replicate the Sicceian computer system on one of your capital ships that are in need of repair?” Tristan asked.

The officers in the room exchanged puzzled glances. Then one of them replied, “Yes of course, but what would be the use?”

“I need to remotely control the ships’ systems; therefore, I have to have a Sicceian telepathic interface,” Tristan replied. “It has to be a ship with a functioning Star Drive, but otherwise it doesn’t need to be in good condition.” The plan was taking shape in his mind as he spoke. “Do you have access to powerful explosives or large bombs?” The officers in the room looked at Tristan questioningly.
 

Tristan sighed and stood up. “Can I please come to the front and address the room?” The senior officer nodded and stepped to one side. Tristan walked to the lectern and faced the seated Mylian officers. “You are heavily outnumbered by the Sicceians, so you have to reduce the odds against you and ensure that they have to fight on your terms.”

A movement caught his eye. Clayandra sat with a smile on her lips. “Us Tristan, us… You are the commanding officer remember.”

Tristan bowed his head to her and returned his attention to the rest of the room. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that the Sicceians have a habit of holding their fleets in tight formation. You -” He glanced at Clayandra. “- we are going to use that against them. The ship I need you to put the Sicceian computer interface in must be packed full of the most powerful explosive you have available.”
 

Tristan paused for breath. “I will control the ship remotely and fire up the Star Drive with the system set to shutdown in the middle of the Sicceian fleet. I can make small adjustments to the ship’s position then detonate the explosives in the centre of the closely packed Sicceian ships.” A hand rose at the back of the room. “Yes?”
 

“I was told you have to be fairly close to access the Sicceian computers.”

Tristan smiled. “You’re correct. But the Sicceians are complacent, they don’t send out regular patrols. The base is on the edge of a large asteroid field. A fleet of small ships could approach and hide close by with ease.”
 

He turned his attention back to the rest of the seated officers. “The Sicceians will be caught by surprise and not have time to move or react. If the explosives you have are powerful enough, it should substantially reduce the odds against us. The lighter ships will be waiting and attack the remainder of the fleet from the cover of the asteroids. The Sicceians will have to go in amongst the asteroids to get at the attacking ships and their larger capital ships are then at a disadvantage manoeuvring within the confines of the asteroids. The smaller ships will have the advantage. At the same time, the main fleet will attack the remaining ships and the base.”