Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 1 - Purple Blood (8 page)

The old acolyte merely said nothing after locking eyes with the two Vorinne in an open challenge. Baredio flinched in disbelief but he had the sense to remain silent and still. Both the Vorinne repeatedly knocked their staffs against the floor to censure the prisoner as the second envoy spoke again in pure fury.

‘You would dare openly mock my authority? So be it then traitor, you have lost the right to a painless execution as a result. Your death will recorded and distributed as a warning to all that oppose my authority. Lord Malang’troh, the sentence of death is by your hand!’

The Vorinne lord knocked his staff of office once more and stepped forward to carry out the sentence. Baredio watched in horror from one side as a long glowing blade extruded from the top of the Vorinne’s staff of office. Malang’troh quickly swept the blade through Stamerio’s right knee, and the acolyte screamed in agony as he collapsed onto the floor. The Vorinne merely waited until the acolyte stopped rolling before he struck again and took off the other leg. Baredio noted clinically that there was very little blood present as Malang’troh continued to dismember the acolyte. The screams of agony from Stamerio were mercifully cut off, as Malang’troh casually finished the execution by taking the acolyte’s head cleanly off his furry shoulders.

Lord Malang’troh then glanced at the junior Cephrit station master, who summoned two junior officers forward with subdued chirrs of instruction to clean up the mess. Thatak’siema knocked her own staff once on the floor and Lord Malang’troh returned to his earlier position after giving her a full bow of respect. The Vorinne envoy merely looked through her data tablet again before she then spoke in a softer voice for the benefit of the Cephrit.

‘Well now onto more civil matters. You must understand that our previous efforts at ending the war when it started were unsuccessful and I was long ago ordered to desist. However that is all now in the past and we will see an end of the matter finally.’

The two Cephrit gave several clicks of both consternation and anger, as they realised that the disarming comment from the second envoy had revealed that the Tilmud had been sanctioned in the war by the Zronte overlords themselves. The second envoy decided to ignore the rasping sounds coming from the two Cephrit, who had the good sense to quickly fall silent and both bow respectfully. Baredio considered that he would soon have a good conversation with the Fleet master later even if he was a member of the most junior vassal race present.

The second envoy knocked her staff once on the floor, and looked around at the assembled junior vassals before she continued to speak.

‘Now the Cephrit fleets are to return to guarding their own core systems as we now go about stopping hostilities. You are not to resume your attacks on the Tilmud core worlds under any circumstances.’

The two senior Cephrit males gave soft chirrs of acknowledgement, but otherwise remained silent as the second envoy now addressed Baredio.

‘Admiral Baredio, you are under my authority to contact the Tilmud and get them to disengage. You will use the edicts not your discretion, in how you deal with any breaches of ceasefire that the Tilmud commit.’

Admiral Baredio remained silent as the Vorinne second envoy spoke again to the Cephrit.

‘Once the hostilities are over you will patrol all your own sectors of influence thoroughly, as we have concerns about the actions of independent races over the last one hundred or so years.’

The Cephrit Fleet master now spoke in his soft chirring voice and gave a respectful nod as he did so. The Cephrit might be one of the senior vassal races also, but the Vorinne were considered first amongst equals for very powerful reasons embodied by the second envoy’s staff and the patrolling Vorinne cruisers nearby.

‘Your Grace, it will be as you command, we are honoured to serve.’

Baredio thought that both Vorinne gave a small start of annoyance that no reference to obey Zronte edicts was included by the Cephrit. However the second envoy immediately spoke to him again instead.

‘Admiral Baredio, afterwards your cruisers will patrol the outer areas of Tilmud space near the former Dradfer colonies, for we are also concerned about recent Jerecab activity in this area. Once again you are not to attack the Jerecab unless they are breaking the edicts in a serious manner.’

Thatak’siema paused for a moment and Admiral Baredio took the opportunity to respectfully reply to the second envoy, though he was careful to avoid posing her a question.

‘If it pleases your Grace, we have also reports that the Jerecab have been building their forces up heavily over the last one hundred years of so.’

The second envoy fixed Baredio with a glare of annoyance that he deflected by bowing low and averting his gaze. Thatak’siema found what she wanted in her data tablet and continued to speak again.

‘Admiral, I will deal with the Jerecab at a later stage. Now I also understand you complied with my order five years ago reactivating your research fleet under the command of Gindane and they are resuming research at the Dradfer colonies. You will continue to remind Professor Gindane of her obligations to the planet of Earth. Indeed I will be seeking a meeting with Gindane and for that matter Omerio at a later stage.’

After two more hours had passed during which further reports were discussed. The two Vorinne then unsuccessfully quizzed him about specific Barus naval intelligence matters. Baredio had politely answered her by emphasizing how his race was more concerned about the recent supernova. The second envoy ended the meeting and left with her liege dutifully trailing two steps behind her. A Cephrit junior officer quickly scanned the room for electronic bugs before giving a curt nod to the Fleet master before he withdrew from the meeting room.

Baredio crossed closer to the two senior Cephrit and gave a bow of respect, as the Fleet master started speaking softly in an obscure Barus dialect that they all understood.

‘So there is collusion as we suspected. Now I cannot imagine the Tilmud high Admiral will come peacefully after all the battles we have engaged in with their fleet….’

The two Vorinne walked back to their shuttle and conversed in an equally obscure Vorinne dialect that they used for their own purposes, with Malang’troh careful to not offer opinions unless otherwise requested. Thatak’siema now thought this to be unnecessary as her next relaxed comment indicated.

‘We did well not to remind the Admiral Baredio of his embarrassment at Earth when the humans drove his cruisers away. Apparently he is still peeved at both the humans and the Traders, though we later found he was not culpable for the escape of the Trader ship. Now speak freely Malang’troh, in fact you will be required to state your mind increasingly during our expedition to this remote part of the sector.’

Malang’troh gave her a lingering look that she enjoyed and he wasted no time in his considered reply.

‘Well your Grace, the Barus Admiral even now colludes with the two Cephrit to bring down the Tilmud Admiral. I suspect this is what you intended and I applaud your excellent logic behind this move. Indeed one day I would like to hear a detailed account of how the humans drove the Barus cruisers away. However the reactions of the Cephrit themselves towards your initial comment are of concern, and I noted they did not acknowledge the authority of the Zronte either. This is disconcerting and needs to be discretely evaluated.’

Thatak’siema stopped her walk towards the shuttle and looked Malang’troh directly in the eye from three metres away. The closeness of their bodies was disconcerting also to Malang’troh as Thatak’siema was coming into breeding condition within the next few months. The second envoy gave a small smile as she noted his subtle reactions, ‘Vorinne males are so easy to read’ she thought as she casually replied to his comments.

‘Well Malang’troh the Tilmud had got all this coming to them in my estimation. If my decisions crimp the plans of a Zronte battle lord ten thousand light years away then so be it. You can read about ‘Baredio’s folly’ for entertainment after we dine together tonight. The Cephrit are not ones to hold grudges and I also would like to see them exert more control in this area of space over the Tilmud, Jerecab and possibly the humans if they survive. I will also attempt to get restitution through for the Cephrit if possible, however this will have to be done carefully.’

The two Vorinne continued their walk towards their landing shuttle, and ignored nearby Cephrit and Barus dock workers; some undoubtedly spies, going about their business. After several more minutes, Malang’troh took their shuttle back onboard his flagship and the Vorinne fleet made preparations to interdict the Tilmud home worlds.

In a Deltas Vass utility shop in the trading district, a shopkeeper drone prepared a confidential report to send away. However he felt real frustration with their efforts, as the audio bugs had only picked up snippets of the Vorinne conversation due to a small suppression field the second envoy obviously had operating in her staff of office.

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Chapter 2

Gindane sat in her command chair on the research cruiser and looked over the latest dockyard reports with endless patience she felt she needed to get through the current day, even with her two thousand year plus life span. The whole process was so frustrating, even if the Barus fleet continued to source limited numbers of older but trusted crew and random shipments of obviously second hand weapons and equipment infrequently arrived.

Gindane of course understood the supply problems due to the Barus dealing with the threat of the massive supernova. But sometimes she felt the last five years of her life had been to test her sanity after the unremitting efforts of over one hundred and forty years of academia.

Fifty years had passed since Omerio had joined her for that lunch in the restaurant and subsequent urgent meeting with Professor Elysius. However their further joint petitions to the Barus Institute had been futile as the news of the supernova dominated. For forty years she and Omerio had continued sporadic discussions as the interest of the Barus authorities in the former Dradfer colonies and Earth again wound down. Gindane had kept busy and had completed two more qualifications to allow her to be appointed as one of the many emeritus professors at the Barus Institute.

Ten years ago the now quite elderly Professor Elysius had passed away and she had been shocked to see Omerio at the funeral in civilian garb. The later ritual private dinner between the two friends had revealed that he had this time taken leave of the Barus fleet to perform covert solo missions once again.

At the time Gindane thought he looked subdued and introspective and he had spoken in a pensive manner.

‘Gindane, it is like all we are taught fear about the independent races is a lie and all the supposed powerful truths about the great vassal system are also lies. How can a stable galactic society exist when it is based upon oppression and falsehoods?’

Gindane had paused for several moments before she then answered sadly.

‘Omerio we are junior members of a lesser vassal race in a vast system. All we do is to comply in a fair manner with the edicts to the best of abilities. We know that interacting closely with the Vorinne, let alone the Zronte overlords can be a dangerous practice. We are surely doing the best we can in our limited circumstances.’

The two Barus had continued their dinner in comparative silence and Omerio had returned to space for an extended period thereafter.

Five years after the funeral of Elysius, Gindane had received a call to a meeting in the office of the Barus Institute chancellor. She had been momentarily surprised to see Admiral Baredio in the office and feared the worst as she gave a courteous bow, before he reassured her with his opening words.

‘Rest easy Commander, Omerio is still alive somewhere on yet another trade run.’

Gindane knew that the last part of the sentence was for the chancellor’s benefit, before the admiral asked her to take a seat, and without further diversion began speaking again.

‘Professor Gindane, I have asked you here today as Barus fleet command is requesting that the Institute reactivate the research ships. Indeed we will be providing considerable assistance to ensure this occurs. By request from the late professor and the fleet, you are to take leave of absence from the Institute and return to both the former Dradfer colonies and then Earth as soon as possible.’

Gindane had asked a question based on this information.

‘So Admiral is the Barus fleet assuming some of the former patrol duties of the Tilmud now they have been all but defeated by the Cephrit?’

The admiral gave her an appraising look as he replied briskly.

‘Well Commander that is a given until the Vorinne second envoy tells me otherwise. The second envoy was adamant that we supply ships as we do not currently know what the independent and new races are up to at this stage. We managed to extract concessions from the second envoy regarding Earth and the former Dradfer colonies, and this is your role now that Professor Elysius is no longer alive.’

Gindane had then left her tenure at the Barus Institute for further fleet training for several months before she was returned to the active duty list. The Barus professor now also held the rank of research captain and had been assigned several first rate lieutenants with good tactical and weapons skills to distribute amongst her research fleet as she saw fit.

Gindane came back to the present moment as the console on her command chair displayed an incoming video call. She found herself speaking with Omerio again after so long and arranging to meet for a meal at the end of the day. Before the call ended Omerio asked her a brief question.

‘Gindane, do you still have the Trader data tablet I left with you all those years ago?’

Gindane replied that she would track it down and bring it along with her later before the call ended.

She now remembered that she had left the data tablet in her old safe on her original research destroyer for the last hundred and forty years. Gindane did not like the idea of leaving the distinctive device around at the Barus Institute. Trader tablets were uncommon on Barus, and besides the contentious contents would only further alarm the Institute’s reputation after heavy political pressure had them already abandoning their Dradfer research efforts.