Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 1 - Purple Blood (19 page)

Thatak’siema gave Malang’troh another long glance, and he appeared to shrug and move off to sample food from one of the platters and grab a wine glass.

The second envoy glanced around at the Cephrit who were now quietly conversing amongst themselves in an obscure dialect that she made a mental note to analyse. She then turned to reassure Gindane as she favoured a platter of food with an appraising eye.

‘Please help yourself to the excellent meal here as I confer alone with the two Cephrit. But you will remain here until I can speak to you again.’

Gindane paused and waited until Thatak’siema had turned to talk to the Cephrit, before she carefully started sampling the platters, but the professor declined the wine as she thought furiously. The puzzlement of the Vorinne was a key she decided, and professor evaluated her only way forward was to offer a minimal explanation about Omerio. She also decided the quality of the food was indeed excellent after weeks of shipboard rations and long hours commanding the fleet.

The conversation between the three senior aliens went on for an extended period and she felt that the Cephrit were being coerced into something by the Vorinne second envoy. Malang’troh stood to one side and favoured her with a nod as he apprised all that was going on in the room, and Gindane had the presence of mind to offer him a another bow even as she now took a wine glass. Eventually Thatak’siema turned from the Cephrit who now took a position further down the room at the last platter to resume their hushed conversation in a series of chirrs and rasps. The second envoy in turn now took another glass of wine as she again addressed Gindane.

‘The Cephrit largely corroborate your report and I can understand their interest in more important events elsewhere. I am still having trouble getting them to budge on supplying ships due to technicalities with the edicts and they actually have a point with the Deltas Vass not co-operating either. The best outcome is that a combined fleet will eventually interdict the former Dradfer colonies.’

The Vorinne second envoy paused to drain her glass and was obviously contemplative as she continued to speak.

‘So now I need to find out exactly what Omerio has been doing, as I understand he no longer flies a lone ship, but the inventory of his fleet reveals a small trading ship inside his flag ship. Now what can you tell me of his actions in this part of space?’

Gindane placed her wine glass carefully on the bench top next to a platter as she offered a cautious yet considered reply.

‘Your grace, Omerio is now a fleet commander and I understand his days as a solo flyer have been curtailed as a result. I do understand he previously found out supporting information on both the Voorde Scourge and the Traders that greatly aided our efforts at Earth.’

The mention of Earth again had the attention of the Vorinne lord and he gave her another appraising glance that made Gindane very nervous. Thatak’siema laughed at her discomfort and offered an observation of her own.

‘Gindane, Lord Malang’troh is an avid military historian and the recent ‘Baredio’s folly’ at Earth is of considerable interest to him. You will of course join us for a meal tomorrow night and he can obtain the perspective of a Barus commander actually on the bridge of the Barus flag ship during the battle.’

The invitation was actually an order, but Gindane gave no sign of refusal as she calmly spoke again.

‘Your grace, I would be honoured to accept and I will prepare what records I still possess for a presentation.’

Thatak’siema now asked two additional questions even if her interest was now waning in the answers.

‘So do you know any of the details of Omerio’s efforts in military intelligence? Also do you have an estimate of the military forces available to the humans?’

Gindane could only provide brief answers to both questions in the negative. Thatak’siema then looked over at the ever patient Malang’troh for a moment, before she finally excused the both of them from the meeting for the evening. The Vorinne lord then excused the three waiting Tilmud officers from the foyer, and they also left for their own quarters in the dilapidated Tilmud quarter as the meeting room doors were closed again.

Once the two Vorinne had left the meeting room, the two Cephrit and Gindane visibly relaxed and the station master spoke first in still nervous chirrs.

 ‘Gindane, we already sent a warning to the humans many years ago but we choose not to tell the envoy this piece of information. Note that both your fleet and the Omerios’s fleet are heavily outnumbered and I recommend extreme caution when you approach the Jerecab. They will be extremely dangerous to deal with based both on their natural arrogance and the high numbers of their fighting ships.’

Gindane offered first a gracious apology with a full bow, as she then acknowledged the advice of the fleet master.

‘Noble sirs, I thank you for running interference in dealing with the second envoy. I understand you both were elsewhere when my fleet first arrived here. The practical aspects of our fleet provisioning problems distracted the envoy from too much interest in Barus affairs and specifically Omerio. The advice on the Jerecab is both well received and well understood. If you can now arrange a combined fleet to arrive at the former Dradfer colonies then this can only help our case with the Jerecab.’

The two Cephrit balked at her last statement, before the three of them quietly went over additional scenarios and their likely outcomes for another two hours. By mutual consent, they skirted around any further reference to the second envoy and her edicts.

The male Vorinne lord dutifully trailed two steps silently behind Thatak’siema as they moved down to the Vorinne quarter of the massive space station. Once into her vast and open plan private quarters, she moved immediately to a large sauna pool, and completely disrobed in front of the suddenly nervous Malang’troh.

‘Malang’troh my loyal subject I fear I have been harsh on you of late. Please stay with me awhile as we need to speak about this meeting, for I fear both the Barus and the Cephrit hide possibly important information from us.’

Malang’troh paused for only a moment, before he disrobed himself, as he knew that both protocol and custom ruled, and this protected the female Vorinne even in intimate settings for them. He followed Thatak’siema into the deep sauna and was mindful to take the opposite end as he carefully spoke in reply.

‘I think that the Cephrit and the Barus professor collude, yet the deflection is not meant as malicious to us, and they seek to either preserve their own lives or stations. I also think that Professor Gindane has a particular interest in the humans of Earth and will not idly abandon them to the Jerecab.’

Thatak’siema rolled in the water and displayed the side of her belly, and she noted with considerable amusement the continued discomfort of Malang’troh as she spoke again.

‘I am in agreement with the last part of your assessment and that is all that really concerns me now that the pointless war is finished. We will stay here long enough to see that Gindane leaves successfully as Omerio could arrive in the meantime for my questions. Otherwise we will later insist the Deltas Vass assist the Cephrit at the former Dradfer colonies on our way to the core systems and Zronte space.’

Both Vorinne fell silent as they thought about the last sentence, with Malang’troh feeling protective towards his prospective mate, and obviously uncomfortable about what she had to do when they returned to Vorinne space. Thatak’siema tried to relax and knew that Malang’troh was transparent in his care of her even if he said not a word. The envoy knew that all male Vorinne viewed what must happen next with veiled distaste. She wondered for a moment what he would look like as a second stage male, with a feathered body twice as large with massive sweeping wings capable of gliding. They both knew as an unspoken statement between them that a second stage Vorinne lead male had supposedly not existed amongst their race for several hundred thousand years.

                                                                     ***

Mary Neilson calmly strode back onto the bridge of the Exeter and noted the bridge crew were heads down over their consoles even as her presence was announced. Lieutenant Commander Griggs quickly stood from her command chair, saluted and made his brief report as Mary paused and checked the main view screen.

‘Admiral we remain in the outer system as ordered as we check over the fleet and head for the next hyper drive location point. The tactical overlays have been updated for the system and we have identified the outer asteroid belt as a prime ambush location.’

Mary quickly analysed the overlays on the view screen and found herself in quiet agreement with the officer’s summary. The human fleet had now divided into three smaller fleets of roughly equal size and they had arranged to rendezvous every ten or so light years on the approach to the former Dradfer colonies. The two senior Admirals controlled the other two fleets, and she was looking forward to speaking with them in a few days after they arrived at the closest of the systems.

Mary knew that she had to avoid being flanked on approach, and that any proposed ambush at a later stage would work best when an enemy fleet was further way from the solar system. Quietly she hoped that any alien contact was years away as she was confident that if humanity could get a viable and defended frontier in place then their survival prospects could only improve. Now happy with her tactical options for the system, she called up the details of the next system and thanked Lieutenant Commander Griggs.

‘Well done as this is very valuable information that hopefully we will not have to use. We also need to prepare tactical scenarios for the colonies when we arrive as we will be basing our battle options on the tactical nature of star systems rather than whether they have colonists present or not. Now we have two jumps to Dradfer ten and I want to be there on time.’

Griggs responded with the timeline for the next hyper drive jump and also a request.

‘Admiral our departure is confirmed at seven hours and I also have several points I would like to bring forward for your consideration.’

He now called up the limited information they had from the Traders about the former colonies and he highlighted the several items of interest that he sought clarification from the Admiral. Mary was quietly delighted with Griggs’s increased confidence and initiative as the three Admirals had already discussed most of the points he now raised. However, she sought further explanation from Griggs on one point and he brought up another star chart as he spoke again.

‘We know that other galactic races in the area have been involved in a war and the closest former colony worlds are to one side of both the Cephrit and the Tilmud. We also know the direction that we expect the Jerecab to come from as well…’

Mary watched as the skilled commander rotated the map along three different vectors before he resumed his presentation.

‘Now the best options for a mobile refinery, apart from Dradfer ten are these two worlds towards the entry for the other races. Also, if we have enough fuel we can flank towards the Cephrit vector because….’

Mary leaned forward and considered the audacity of the commander’s own ideas with real favour. Indeed, she quietly applauded the logic of the commander’s initiative. The limited information they had highlighted a potential liability of the Jerecab she fully intended to exploit. She knew that whole point of her initially panned submission many years ago was to extrapolate this liability into a strategic plan.

However, she was well aware that fate and circumstances could conspire to catastrophically derail the best defences’ humanity could muster if the Jerecab truly proved to be hostile at the former colony worlds. The human fleet continued the planned deployment to the next star system, and Mary quietly evaluated if she would have to change her plans. She quickly decided that the best way forward was hold this information in reserve, even from the two other Admirals at this stage. Little did Mary know how fortuitous this small decision would later prove to be in the following months of the mission.

                                                                     ***

Chapter 7

Omerio watched from the safety of his cloaked small trading ship, as the distant Sspol cruiser crossed and then re-crossed the far reaches of the remote star system. He had entered this remote system after taking his new scout ship across several other star systems away from the location of his cruiser squadron. By design, he had chosen a direction away from both Cephrit and Tilmud space to seek out his unusual friend.

The Barus captain had watched in puzzlement for over a day at the antics of the Sspol cruiser, as the massive alien ship would run down a track towards exiting the system and then return on a reciprocal as if it was seeking something. Omerio had then turned off his recorder, before he cautiously moved his ship from behind one asteroid towards another small asteroid to further spy on the Sspol ship, and that was when he started to feel unwell.

Omerio clutched his console in consternation as his head rang with pain and his vision flickered. He was just about order the ship to flee at high speed for an exit point, when as quickly as it came onto him, the pain in his head vanished. Just as quickly, a familiar broadcast message from nearby that was plainly meant for him echoed up onto his screen, and then was heard across his cockpit.

‘Omerio is that you? Sorry for the pain. Please remain stationary and cloaked for the moment.’

Omerio murmured an affirmative, and was dimly aware that the formerly distant Sspol cruiser had changed course and was now heading for his position at high speed. The Barus captain had been seeking his friend, the living ship Altarebe, and as his head finally cleared, he listened in amazement to the next low powered message.

‘Vigilance and duty noted Drannep; the cloaked Barus ship is a friend and no military action is required.’

The scanners on Omerio’s trading ship now picked up a strange ship uncloaking several hundred kilometres away, and he had no difficulty establishing that at least part of the craft was Altarebe. He also noted that the Sspol cruiser was decelerating rapidly and would soon come to rest some distance from his ship, even as Altarebe approached his ship.