Solbidyum Wars Saga 5: Desolation (26 page)

“Tell me captain how many ships, other than fighters, patrol ships, and shuttles, do we currently have in the first fleet?”

“Sir, as of this morning, we have 2,917 ships in the first fleet.”  Wanoll answered.

“And where are they?”  I asked.

“Ah, they are scattered all over this sector,” he replied.

“How many are in battle groups?” I asked.

“Battle groups, sir?”

“Battle groups, squadrons, fleets or whatever you want to call them, acting in concert with each other,” I stated.

“None that I know of, sir.  We reserve squadrons for fighters and patrol ships only.”

I frowned and said, “We need to change that.  I want every frigate paired with a least two corvettes.  I want to see starships like the
DUSTEN
accompanied by no less than four frigates at least for the time being.  Marranalis, from now on, you are my official aide.

“I want battle groups set up at equally spaced intervals about the sector.  Contact Admiral Stonbersa and Admiral Kophious and tell them I want the same setup in their areas as well.  I want patrol ships from each battle group scouting their areas for any signs of Brotherhood activity, and I want daily reports from all three fleets as to what is going on in their areas.  I exprect to see those reports on my desk first thing in the morning, and I want copies of those reports to be sent to Admiral Wabussie at the FSO every day also."

“Yes, sir.”  Marranalis said.

“Where was the last attack by the Brotherhood that we know of?”

“At Emallie, sir.”  Wanoll said.  “We received a report that there was an attack there about three weeks ago.  The message only arrived yesterday by GW pod.”

“Have any ships responded to the attack yet?” I asked.

“No sir, we have no ships in that area.  It’s in the third fleet sector, but their nearest starship is at least a week away.”

“Show me on the star map of the Federation where Emallie is located,” I commanded.  A moment later, the Federation star map appeared on the screen with a red circle indicating Emallie’s position.  “Now show me where the next most-recent attack occurred in that same sector.”  Another red circle appeared.  “And the one prior to that,” I said,  “And the one before that.”  I was starting to see a pattern emerge.  “Show me the next inhabited planet in the Federation that would be in this general location”, I said as I pointed toward the screen.  Moments later, another circle appeared on the screen.

“What planet is that?” I asked, “and what can you tell me about it?”

“Sir, that’s Ugar,” Wanoll answered.  “According to the computer, it’s a world rich in minerals and resources and has industrial capabilities.  They just built a new shipyard there as well.”

“What about planetary defenses?”  I asked.

“They have the usual complement of troopers and a few squads of patrol ships.  No mirage fighters to date.”

Are there any other planets in this general area?”  Another circle appeared on the screen not far from Ugar.  “What planet is this?”

“Sir that is Splelhes,” Wanoll answered.

“This area is where the Brotherhood will attack in that sector next.  It will be one of these planets or both,” I commented, “my guess is it will be Ugar they hit first, but with Ming in charge, we can’t be sure.  Get a message to Admiral Kophious; I want him to head to Ugar immediately.  Tell him to get the four closest frigates in the area there as well, and as many corvettes as can be there in less than a week.  Once there I want them to take up positions between Ugar and Splelhes and to keep his ships cloaked.  My guess is the Brotherhood will attack there next, probably within three weeks or less.  Tell Kophious to shore up the troopers on the planet surface.  We’ll send more troopers through the Cantolla gate to his ship as we get them trained.  If we can keep the ships cloaked and hide the troopers on the planets from sight, we may be able to capture a lot of the Brotherhood on the ground before they know it.  I want the troop deployments there to be a secret so Kophious is going to need to do it in such a way that the locals are not aware of the troop increases.  So far, the Brotherhood have been picking off outer planets without much opposition; its time they get their hands burned.  If it turns out Splelhes is their target Kophious, and his ships will only be a few hours away so we’ll be prepared.”

As I finished talking, I turned around and my eye was caught by a glint of light reflecting off a metal surface on one of the chairs in the control room.  It was odd, because the plate was in the middle of the back of the chair and would have made it very uncomfortable for anyone sitting in it.  I walked over and looked closer and saw it was a plaque with writing engraved on it.  The plaque read
, “This chair is reserved in perpetuity for First Citizen Captain Maxette, who though tortured, gallantly gave his life fighting for the Federation at this location, and with his last energies killed the traitor Commander Thimas, freeing the DUSTEN from the hands of the BROTHERHOOD OF LIGHT rebels.” 
Even though it had been several years since the event, blood stains still could be seen on the chair.  For a moment, I could not speak and my vision blurred.  I touched the chair reverently for a moment, remembering what a dear friend Maxette became in such a short period of time, and how quickly he was gone.

After discussing a number of details concerning the fleet and ship deployments, Captain Wanoll suggested we all dine in one of the private dining rooms aboard the ship. The
DUSTEN
, typical of all large starships, was a military ship, a cargo vessel, and passenger liner, all in one.  With the vast distances of space to travel it was more practical to have starships that acted like huge ferries, passenger liners, freight haulers and military units instead of using hundreds of smaller ships, traveling back and forth the same routes and utilizing more energy.  Civilians and businesses paid for their passage at a substantially lower cost than if they tried to make the journey in their own smaller ships.  Since the starships were Federation Military ships, a substantial portion of the operational costs was picked up by the Federation , helping to lower costs for civilian use.  The large starships had huge hangar bays capable of carrying freighters, frigates, yachts and fighters all at the same time.  The disadvantage was that in time of war, a starship could be diverted from routine routes to engage in military actions where needed.  But since the Federation had not really had any wars in over 600 years that inconvenience was unknown to the citizens living in the present.

A starship could carry over ten thousand citizens in luxury.  Ambassadors, diplomats, and business men often took up permanent residences on starships, as it enabled them to conduct business on the worlds the ships visited routinely.  One-half of a ship’s complement was usually military personnel, but that was about to change during the war.  It would not be possible for starships to maintain customary routes and still answer the call to battle where needed.  Business men and other civilians expecting to make regular stops with fixed arrival and departure times would not like being diverted for weeks or possibly months while the starships engaged in battles.  Diplomats, on the other hand, might be useful, but clearly changes would have to be made.

Many of the civilian luxuries on the ships would need to be replaced with accommodations for more military people and supplies; other means of travel would be required for the civilians.  New warships would have to be built that were better suited to military action and conflict. Perhaps the giant starships might return to civilian use, but at the moment military priorities took precedence.  I was mulling these things over as we headed to one of the finer dining rooms on the
DUSTEN
when suddenly something else caught my eye.

I realized I recognized the part of the ship we were passing through.  We were in the corridor where the compartment that Lunnie and I were tortured in, and where Lunnie had died was located.  As we rounded the corner facing the door to the compartment, I was startled to see the door open and the doorframe decorated in an attractive design.  As we neared the opening I was able see inside and suddenly realized the space had been set up as a memorial.  Captain Wanoll noticed me pause and he said, “Everyone aboard the ship felt this place needed to be set aside as a tribute to both Lt. Luinella and Captain Maxette and as well as the others who died.  Would you like to go in and see it?”

I tried to speak, but the words hung in my throat, and I simply nodded and entered the room.  The manacles where Lunnie and I had been shackled to the wall still were there, small spotlights shown on them and labels identified them as the places that Lunnie and I had been restrained.  A 3D hologram of Lunnie rotated beside the spot, and my eyes filled with tears seeing her there not quite solid but real enough to make my heart ache.  All the memories of her death at this place came back, Lexmal slashing and stabbing her, and her defiantly biting off his little finger before he killed her.  I turned looking at the spot where I had nearly died and was surprised to see a 3D hologram of myself.  All around the hologram were stacks of Life Tokens, there must have been thousands of them.  Wanoll saw my look and said, “The crew of the ship have been praying for you and Kalana’s rescue.  It’s all come about so quickly that many of them have not yet come and retrieved their tokens now that you have been saved.”

Nearer the door where we entered the room, another 3D hologram of Captain Maxette stood.  A vid screen next to him played out the scenes that had happened in those final moments when Kala was brought in as a prisoner, and she broke free, killing her captors and Lexmal.  On the screen it also played out Captain Maxette managing to free his hands and get hold of one of his captors’ weapons and shoot the traitor Thimas.  As I turned, I noticed that two of the walls in the room were covered with huge plaques containing the names of the over 5000 people who had lost their lives on the
DUSTEN
in the battle, all in alphabetical order.  I ran my finger down the columns until I found Reidecor’s name, and I sighed.  “Everyone here aboard the
DUSTEN
stops by here at least once a week to pay their respects to those who died here,” Wanoll said, “and on the anniversary of the battle every year, a memorial service is held in their honors.

“I didn’t know,” I said.  “I had no idea.”

“We wanted to have you and First Citizen Kalana in attendance, but every year you have been somewhere else; first you were on Alle Bamma, then at Goo Waddle, then Earth, and this past year you and Kalana were marooned on Desolation.”

“It doesn’t seem all that long ago.”

“I’ll leave you a moment if you like,” Wanoll said.

“Yes,” I responded.  “I’d like that.”

Captains Wanoll and Marranalis stepped outside as I walked about the room.  I stood for several minutes staring at the spot where Lunnie had died, and then I went and sat upon the floor beneath the shackles where I had been restrained.  In my mind, I could see all the events playing out just as they had years earlier.  Kala and I had survived and gone on to be named First Citizens; Kala, Lunnie, and Maxette were true heroes in every sense of the word and worthy of being First Citizens.  However, I didn’t feel like I belonged in that list.  Of them all, I was the one receiving the greater reward, but they had been the ones to pay the greatest price.

Finally, I got up off the floor and walked out of the room to find Marranalis and Wanoll waiting for me.  “Thank you,” I said, “I truly appreciate it.”  Captain Wanoll nodded and said.  “Now let’s get something to eat, shall we?”

After dining on an exquisite meal in a dining room surrounded by glass walls that looked out into an atrium that nearly surrounded it, Captain Wanoll led me to accommodations that were set aside for the Admiral.  While the suite of rooms was not as large and luxurious as the one I had stayed in when I first was picked up by the
DUSTEN,
it was still extravagant and almost as large as my suite on the
NEW ORLEANS. 
The suite didn’t have its own pool, but it did have access to a pool and gym set aside for senior officers on the ship.  I was also provided with a military aide who functioned in much the same capacity as Piesew did for me on the
NEW ORLEANS
.  He was a young man, very early 20’s, pretty close to Padaran’s age I guessed.  He was a few millimeters shorter than I was and only a tad thinner, but he appeared fit.  Every detail about him seemed to be perfect, from the way he stood, to the way his perfectly pressed uniform fit his body.  Not a hair was out of place on his head and while his expression wasn’t sour, he never smiled either.

“Tibby, this is Lt. Franton, he is assigned as your steward.  You are free of course, to choose someone else if you wish, but for the time being, he is here to assist you in any way you need.”  Wanoll said.

“Lieutenant,” I said, acknowledging the young man.

“First Citizen Admiral Tibby,” Lt. Franton began in a rich tenor voice, “it is my honor to serve you.  I am at your beck and call 24 hours a day.  My compartment joins yours, connected by that door there.”  He indicated a door to my right.  “It will be my duty to see to your appointments, meals, uniforms, and any communications that arrive here at your suite.  Should your bond-mate and children come aboard I will see to their needs also."

“I’ll try not to keep you too busy, Lieutenant,” I said, “I will probably not be in this suite very much, as I may be traveling between locations quite a bit.”