A New Day (12 page)

"In a space war, the position of assets is not as important simply due to the nature of the combat. The Lizards know of the location of all our current shipyard facilities. It would be a simple matter for them to jump a fleet there and destroy them. No matter where those facilities are located, they will still need to be heavily defended. It is simply the way things are," Yolinar replied.

Hjoolous sighed and looked thoughtful. "Call your brother and get that fat Lizard in irons before he can hurt anymore of our people. Try to get some rest if you can. We'll give you an answer on the technology in the morning after we speak to the Prime some more."

Yolinar bowed his head in acknowledgment of his orders. "All major engagements are still at least a day away, Majesty. Do you want me to awaken you if anything changes?"

Hjoolous nodded. "Yes. If something happens, we want to know of it."

"As you wish, Majesty. What do you want done with the prisoner?" Yolinar asked.

"I am freeing the humans the Duke used to perpetuate this plan. Perhaps we can once again impose on our hosts to hold him in a cell for us until we return to Hyclarion for his trial," Hjoolous said.

"I will see to it, rest well Majesty." Yolinar replied.

Hjoolous had a thoughtful look on his face as he smiled at his friend and mentor. "You too, Admiral." He closed the channel as Yolinar bowed in dismissal.

Planetary Office of the Duke

Argassi Aerie and Polyponics facility

Planet Terral III

Cassian March

Duchy of Cassias

Hyclarion Imperial Consortium

Those scheming, underhanded, egg-stealing, back-stabbing snakes! The other Dukes had to have figured out his plan to double-cross them. Now his plan was so seriously messed up he had no idea if he would be able to get it back on track. The Empire knew what was going on now, thanks to those snakes telling the Hyclarion attack fleet to move before it was time, and now the Empire would have a chance to stop him. 

He sat on his warming stone, inserted the small encrypted jump-drive he kept his master file on, and opened it. Perhaps if he reviewed his goals he could adjust it enough to compensate for these set-backs. The spies on Hyclarion had reported that the majority of the Ranger fleet had departed, but could not discover their destination. As yet, no one had reported seeing them arrive anywhere important which could mean two things. They had sent the Rangers out on multiple unimportant tasks, or they had come here to try and stop him, and they were cloaked.

The timing of their departure certainly supported the second theory except for the fact that if they had indeed come here to stop him, then where were they? They should have arrived many hours ago, but hadn't.

He sent the order for the drop carriers to begin their assault. There was nothing like a planet getting slaughtered to bring the accursed Rangers to the 'rescue'. There was simply no possible way the Rangers would be able to stand against the Marines for very long.

He also ordered his troops to their ships and to proceed to Hyclarion. Once the Assault fleet arrived from the Nebula, his troops would land on the surface and secure the Imperial Throne and the 'Emperor'.

He also ordered his own ship readied; he would go with his troops to Hyclarion. With any luck at all, he could still pull this off.

Just as he finished typing up his orders, he was surprised by the door to his office being blown in. Several armored Rangers rushed in and pointed their weapons at him.

"Duke Tammerain of Cassius, by order of the Emperor, you are here-by under arrest for treason against the Empire. If you do not surrender peacefully, we will be forced to shoot you!"

One of the Rangers moved closer to him so he could see her face inside her helmet. He recognized her as the human Ranger that had originally arrived here to investigate the Pirates.

"Please resist, you piece of shit!" Ranger Commander Jance Halst said quietly.

As if in shock, Tammerain grasped his Ducal medallion and squeezed it. "I surrender, Rangers. Please do not fire!"

Unknown to the Rangers, or anyone else including Mother, the medallion triggered a dedicated transmitter on the Ducal Yacht that issued an immediate attack order to all the troops in the system.

As they escorted the now shackled former Duke to the roof and the waiting Patrol ship, Dalphine, the Duke couldn't help but begin chuckling. He looked down at the human female. "You have no idea what you just started human. Your precious Empire is dead! None of us will ever leave this planet!"

"Tammerain, you honestly have no idea what you're messing with. This planet is the home world of the humans you detest. There is far more here than even you ever knew of. Perhaps the worst thing for you and your schemes is that they remembered how to fight you from the first time you attacked this planet. You are lucky that the Empire did not believe the survivors that fled this world back then. If they had, and the Humans had become allies back then instead of now, we would have rolled over your empire in less than ten years.

"Now, that's still going to happen, but I can pretty much promise you won't be here to see it," Jance replied.

"What are you talking about? Nothing can stop what I just started. In two hours, six thousand Marines will be burning this planet to the ground!" Tammerain replied. "There is no way to stop them!"

"You see, that's where you're wrong. That trick was tried here before, and it failed. This race is the only race that ever repelled a Lizard Marine assault. Not only do they still remember how they did it, but they have already prepared for it. If any of your Marines actually make it to the surface, they will die here."

As she finished the civil defense sirens all over the city began going off. Warning the people of an impending attack.

The Duke smiled evilly. "Who said they weren't already here, human?"

Anti-Piracy Command

The forces attacking Argassi were not the Marines the Duke was speaking of, instead it had been the army troops he had stationed in the sub-levels of the city. They were not attacking the general population, however, instead, they were converging on the government tower where the Duke was located.

Closer to the giant Aerie itself, in a hardened building with a large skipper landing facility on its roof, Task Commander Warmake was rapidly organizing his personnel.

"I don't care what is happening there, I need to speak to the Duke now! How are we supposed to protect the citizens if we do not have an idea of what is going on? I don't care what it takes, get me some answers!" he spoke, loudly, to his communications officers.

"Uh, sir, the only person I can reach is someone claiming to represent the Terran Defense Command," one of the techs replied. "None of the other channels are working."

"What is the Terran Defense Command? Are our Pirates actually revolutionaries?" Warmake asked himself. He shrugged. "I will speak to them, put them on."

The image of the person that came up on his terminal was one he remembered. She was one of the two women that had asked the Ranger Commander to accompany them to further investigate the Pirate raids on the planet.

The woman bowed her head quickly to him. "It is good to see you again, Task Commander Warmake. I only wish it were under better circumstances. If you will wait just a moment, there is someone that wishes to speak to you."

"Forgive me citizen, but can you tell me what is happening here?" Warmake asked.

"I could tell you, Task Commander, but I do not believe you would take my word for it." She smiled at someone just out of range of the camera. "Task Commander Warmake, please let me introduce to you, First Admiral Yolinar of Hyclarion Command."

She stepped aside and the camera moved up to focus on the much taller being that stepped into the frame. "On behalf of his Majesty, I greet you, Task Commander Warmake."

"First Admiral!" Warmake said in awe as he recognized the being and bowed. "How may I be of service?"

"It is a long story we do not have the time for at the moment, Warmake. However, the Pirates you were investigating with the Rangers, were actually being used by the Duke Tammerain in a plot to overthrow the Empire. Currently, Hyclarion Rangers are arresting Tammerain on charges of treason. The troops he had stationed on planet are now attacking the government center where he is being held.

"We have reason to believe he has Lizard Marines on planet also. For the time being I need you and your command to work with General Greenwold to protect the citizens against all ducal forces. Any others you see are to be considered friendly; that is also to include any drone devices you might encounter. I know this is a difficult time and the enemy will not always be easy to identify. If your people have doubts, tell them to protect themselves if attacked, no matter by whom."

"Lord Admiral, if the Duke is under arrest, who is in control of this planet?" Warmake asked.

"It is not yet official, but a human named Benjamin Bedouin will be placed in charge here. The Empire has recognized this planet as the home world of the human race. After she finished with the Duke, Ranger Commander Halst will be seeking you out to assist you and to answer what questions she can," Yolinar finished. "I would also inform you that a state of war exists between the Lizards and the Hyclarion Empire."

"Understood, Lord Admiral. We saw your broadcast last evening. We had not received official word on them until now. Your orders?" Warmake asked.

"Protect the citizens, if you can spare them, send any extra armed skippers to the government building to assist the Rangers. General Greenwold will be your command contact for the time being," Yolinar finished.

"As you command, Lord Admiral. Thank you for explaining this to me yourself," Warmake replied.

"I have been told you are an excellent commander, Warmake. That is strong praise coming from a Ranger. I did not believe you would have accepted the word of anyone else, so I wanted to reassure you. Good luck, Task Commander."

"Thank you Sir." Warmake replied and again bowed as protocol demanded.

Seeing that the call had ended Warmake thought through what he had just learned. He was aware that almost all activity in the Command Center had stopped and everyone was watching him.

He looked up, "Fellow citizens, as you all heard, our Duke has been arrested for treason, and there is war between the Lizard and the Hyclarion realms once again. Each of us must look within ourselves and decide which side we will take. If you decide to support the Lizards, please excuse yourself from duty with our thanks for your service and go home. It is my intent to support our new commanders and the Hyclarion Empire.

"For now, we will continue to do our jobs and protect the citizens. I cannot make any promises if you chose to support the Lizards, but I will try to make sure you are returned to them safely. You all know me and know what my word is worth on the matter," Warmake said.

"Task Commander, what of the Lizards that work with us?" a Ferian technician asked.

"As much as it pains me to do so, I would ask them to place themselves in protective custody. I feel it would be far safer for them in one of our cells than it would be on the streets during this crisis. They will be treated fairly and with respect. To this point they have done nothing wrong and should not be considered to be criminals," Warmake answered.

A lizard Sub-Commander, listening over the open comm the techs had opened, replied to him. "Task Commander, there is wisdom in your words. I have no knowledge of this madness with the Duke, but I ask that our mates and families be brought to us if at all possible. To those of my people listening to this, follow the Task Commanders advice and proceed to the detention center immediately. Simply by our appearance, we are now enemies to the new rulers of this world. Let us seek out this place of safety offered by our commander."

"Thank you, Sub-Commander Farhiss. You and your people have served well. I do not wish to see any of you harmed during this crisis," Warmake replied and turned to another operator. "Please make sure we have ample accommodations for them." He looked around again. “If the rest of you have made your decisions, please resume your stations and duties. Our people are being threatened, and we need to protect them."

First Imperial Guard fleet

Near Corinth Nebula

Lizard Space

Hyclarion Imperial Consortium

"Admiral Chous! A fleet of Super-Destroyer class ships has just exited hyperspace four hundred units off the bow. They are heading directly for us!" the young ensign manning the scanner post called.

"Get me a count, Ensign. Operations, what is the status of our missing ships?" the Admiral asked.

"The Grolith Squadron is the closest at thirty hours out. Herculon and Baskilist Squadrons are still three days each," the commander replied after checking his tablet. "Herculon has lost their destroyers and Basklist is towing the cruiser Spirefire."

"I count twenty one Super-Destroyer and fourteen Destroyer class warships, they have twenty nine heavy freighters following them, the ensign reported.

"Signal all ships to mark our course. Helm come about on heading one-zero-one by zero-five relative. Speed point three. Order all ships to defensive posture and prepare for incoming missile fire. Navigation, plot a jump at two hundred units from the Nebula on our course from Hyclarion and relay it to all ships.

"Operations, order the missing squadrons to alter course and jump directly for the Belisarius system, best possible speed," the Admiral ordered.

"We're running?" Chous' flag captain asked.

The Admiral nodded. "We're in no condition for a fight of this size. We out number them, yes, but over half our ships are damaged to some degree. As it is we'll be trading missiles long before we reach the jump point simply because of the ships that are too damaged to move very fast."

The captain nodded agreement. "We could lose some of them in this."

"I know. We might have to evacuate the damaged ships and leave them," the Admiral replied.

"I'll get the preparations going on that," the Captain said. "Do you want me to relay that to the Basklist as well?"

"Yes, make sure Captain Asender understands that he'll need to scuttle it as well," Chous said.

"Sir! Twenty more Super-Destroyers have just uncloaked right on our exit vector. They are opening fire!" the tracking officer said.