Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 2 - Hidden Menace (22 page)

Suddenly the battle turned into a rout as the Jerecab broke and ran for the river. Mark instructed his snipers to continue firing as the Jerecab troops dropped their equipment as they ran way. He noted that the otter-like Jerecab were superb swimmers, as they would disappear under water for an extended period, before appearing well across the river outside the range of all but the sniper rifles. The Jerecab would only pause for a few seconds to breath before diving again, and this also made it difficult for the snipers to claim further targets.

Colonel Patton gave urgent instructions for his commanders to quickly check their defences, as the combat engineers raced past him to look for booby traps. After fifteen minutes, the ridge was found to be safe, and the engineers then slowly approached the still operational Jerecab fusion reactor. Other troops raced back down the ridge to clear access for several large all terrain vehicles to climb up the ridge. Mark was relieved that they would not need the two cargo helicopters that they had brought with them, for it would take time to unload them from the supply ships. After another hour, the portable generators and air defences were in place and the engineers were slowly burying their own fusion reactor.

The first group of combat engineers reported back that the larger Jerecab reactor could be later used to power their own shields at a later stage. Apparently they used the common power conduit arrangement that the Traders had first shown humanity so long ago. Another engineer also advised that the anti air defences and shields of the Jerecab could be used if they could work out how to operate the devices. Mark though about this development with interest, for he was looking for an angle to help them in the expected Jerecab counter attack.

‘Engineer Robertson, we will ensure our defences are fully functional over the next hour, thereafter we will deactivate shields and you have three hours only to test as much Jerecab equipment as possible.’

Mark ensured that his wounded marines were taken back to one of the three troop ships as Robertson wandered away muttering under his breath. The colonel permitted himself a wry grin, for the gifted engineer was obviously in the right frame of mind to perform another miracle. Another hour saw all the wounded aboard the three ships and Mark gave them further orders, for he knew the Santa Maria, the Mayflower and the Beagle were not easy to defend.

‘I want all three ships hidden as soon as possible as we are not yet directly observable by the approaching Jerecab ships. This will change when the local star sets in two hours. Also I want all marines to double up their body armour for full defensive action. Combat engineers are to identify areas to tunnel and prepare additional strong points. The drones are to patrol the ridge line near the river for only three hours as I want them under shields before too much longer.’

Mark knew that the troops would be donning refractory armour and reinforced helmets over their standard armour as they prepared to mount a strong defence. He also knew that the ridge was not yet heavily tunnelled, and one of his commanders had earlier speculated that the Jerecab were averse to tunnelling. The colonel only considered this unusual news for moments as Robertson wandered back over with a report.

‘Colonel, we now have a second series of shields, but we cannot use them with our own shields due to the risks of shield clashes. So we are sandbagging the Jerecab reactor and then placing a few spare shields of our own around it, before leaving it at a lower power setting. This will allow us to use both Jerecab and our own air defence guns, though we have to watch the power drain.’

Colonel Patton knew that his resident genius was a master of understatement, as he took off his helmet to signify he was off duty, before offering subdued but genuine praise.

‘Well Paul, you have again have not disappointed me, and you and you crew have done well. The large formation of Jerecab ships will have to deal with us if they want to use any resources from this planet.’

Paul Robertson removed his own helmet and gave his commanding officer a wry grin as he replied.

‘Well Mark, I have known you twenty years and the unexpected edge is what you make best use of in battle. We have trained long and hard for this battle and we will hold them up as much as possible. We could leave all shields off until they commit to an attack and that may surprise them.’

Mark was already thinking along those lines, and he ordered a pair of high altitude detectors sent aloft, as his four troop commanders quietly joined them to provide updates on their own preparations. The senior officers had a quick meal together as they went through the final parts of their briefing. The men looked skywards from time to time after the local star had set and the first stars appeared. But no one commented on the dense swarm of small ships they could now see approaching the planet.

                                                                     ***

Lord Malang’troh listened intently as the young female Vorinne medic spoke softly.

‘Lord Malang’troh, the second envoy has two broken legs, fortunately on opposite sides, so she should be able to move slowly in her leg casts within days. The large bite to her shoulders concerns me as does the injuries to her rib cage. The second envoy is fortunate that she did not break her neck when she was thrown back inside the shuttle.’

Malang’troh listened to more details of Thatak’siema’s injuries before he left the medic awaiting his return. The male Vorinne now pressed the door chime for the envoy’s quarters, and then walked softly into the room. He gave a full bow of respect and kept his large brown eyes down so Thatak’siema could not see the smouldering rage now burning in them. His intended mate regarded him for several moments before she gave him a pair of terse questions.

‘I have been asleep for three days so I am not sure what is happening. We are well away from the Zronte squadron? The course you have chosen takes us well outside vassal space towards a place of safety?’

Malang’troh offered another full bow and softly replied.

‘We left the star system with the Zronte within six hours as per your last instructions. We are heading towards Cephrit star base 31, for it is both remote and very secure. The Zronte battle lord has no interest in that region of space to the best of my knowledge.’

Malang’troh hesitated before he spoke again to the silent and brooding second envoy.

‘My grace, if I can be of any assistance or solace, then I would like to stay quietly here with you.’

Thatak’siema gave a course cough through her damaged chest; for she knew it would be weeks before she fully recovered. She picked up on her liege lord’s concerns and offered a polite reply.

‘My faithful lord, you do serve me well and I approve of your choice of refuge. The only points of concern I have is that the Cephrit star base is close to the former Dradfer colonies, also it was close to the front lines in the recent war between the Cephrit and the Tilmud. Now I require further rest so you may return to your duties, but please join me for a meal tomorrow.’

Malang’troh gave a third full bow and slowly backed away towards the door. He turned for his bridge after the door closed, and pretended not to hear the wracking sobs now coming from the second envoy’s quarters. The lord again approached the young medic standing nervously along the corridor and spoke softy.

‘We must keep a close watch on her grace for the attack has caused her significant mental distress. I ask that you contact me urgently if you have any immediate concerns or there is a turn for the worst.’

Malang’troh later returned to his command chair and sat back to think at length about the situation. The lord knew he could not order the murder of Temeroth as he was a highly placed Zronte battle lord. Besides the battle lord was more likely to kill him first either directly or through a mercenary if he was sufficiently angered. The former planet administrator felt ashamed, but he knew that the few times he had willing served the battle lord in the past offered him scan protection at this stage.

The Vorinne was plotting away quietly to himself when the contents of a message probe was finally relayed across his command console. He swore volubly as he read the contents, for it appeared that his long lost scout ship prototype had been eventually tracked by his spies to a specific Deltas Vass star system. The name of the star system caught his eyes and he quickly verified the name of the matriarch controlling that area of space.

Malang’troh considered the information with mixed feelings, for if he had known this information a week ago he would have attacked the matriarch in her own lair. The loss of the scout ship had still aggravated him right up to the moment of the attack on Thatak’siema. However the recent brutal actions of Temeroth had changed everything in his view and the seeds of an idea sprang in his mind as his ships continued onwards to the distant Cephrit star base.

The Vorinne lord sat back to consider further his idea and a wolfish grin appeared on his features as he worked through the implications. He would seek to send the Deltas Vass matriarch both instructions and a warning indirectly as part of a solution to his own problems involving Temeroth. Malang’troh knew that it was poetic that one of his problems could be used to solve another of his problems, and hopefully they would kill one another. His bridge crew had ignored his earlier outburst and now wisely kept their eyes on their allotted tasks, for they knew that their commander’s grin meant serious trouble for someone.

                                                                     ***

The Cephrit fleet master quickly led his mate of record towards the nearest shuttle on the main hangar deck. The assault leader lumbered behind him and was in such a hurry that she carried both her weapons and his luggage. The fleet master tried not to think about the reasons for the eventual return of the second envoy, for the scout ship tailing the slower Vorinne cruisers had ahead of them with a message for him. The junior station master favoured the fleet master with a full bow and wisely stepped back out of the way as the assault leader rumbled past him at a fast clip. The fleet master had also stepped to one side and he gave a series of urgent instructions to his trusted subordinate as other Cephrit followed his mate onboard the shuttle.

‘We are forced to leave a week or so early but I do not want to risk further censure from the Vorinne. Keep both sets of guests under wraps and away from each other until just before the second envoy returns here. Fortunately we deferred from supplying the servants to the two junior Vorinne, but you will change that after tomorrow. The Vorinne will be here within two days and I want to be long gone towards the former Dradfer colonies. We will land troops on any occupied worlds we find and engage the Jerecab if we can do so safely. I am still reluctant to intervene at the human home world due to their haven status.’

The shuttle was soon launched and led several other shuttles as they raced for the squadrons of Cephrit cruisers already well on their way to the hyper jump location. The fleet master tried to ignore the odours of so many other Cephrit crammed into the small shuttle.

The senior male knew that the assault leader was again coming into breeding condition, but then now even the other females also on the shuttle were aware of this fact. The fleet master also knew that this change in his mate was possibly years early and she had been unwell a couple of times since their earlier meeting with the Traders. Preliminary tests had narrowed her affliction down to ingesting an alien hormone, and the records detailing the specific cause were heavily encrypted. A cold knot of dread about the health of his mate crossed his mind to settle on top of the unease he felt about the imminent return of the Vorinne.

                                                                     ***

Chapter 11

First ambush at Tau Cygni

Binary star, 1800 AU separation, classes F and G – 68 light years from Earth

Mary Neilson looked over the chart displayed on the main viewer, before she anxiously issued several orders to the commanders of her destroyers.

‘Charles, get the Perth, the Cape Town and the New Delhi back to our position urgently. Sarah, you need to do the same with the Cairo and the Houston. Tom, the Paris, the New Orleans and the Toronto are closest to the tankers and you should begin your resupply immediately.’

The fleet was now well scattered on arriving in the Tau Cygni star system. She noted that the few slower transports they still had with the fleet were fortunately within a few thousand kilometres of their allotted course positions. A series of rushed conversations were also taking place on the bridge, as John Griggs sifted through a series of reports from the Exeter’s bridge crew.

The admiral sat back to catch her breath and to try to remain calm, for she knew that if the Jerecab armada arrived within the next four hours then her smaller fleet would be overwhelmed. The deadline to this threat came and went without incident, and within six hours the fleet had moved to another hyper jump location to continue with their resupply efforts.

Lieutenant Commander Griggs stepped across to hand her a series of data tablets, and Mary felt relief as she took in first the navigation details. The two tablets showing the fleet status reports were next and the admiral was impressed with the performance of her various commanders.

‘This is good news for the navigation points are as predicted and the effects on the Jerecab can only get worse for the next three days. Our re-supply is actually ahead of schedule and this gives us more options to defend Earth.’

Griggs gave her a cool grin that was returned as he replied.

‘It is a bit like a mouse playing dares me with a determined cat Admiral, and all our experience and training now come into play. Also one of the supply ships with Captain Gindane left a message probe here for us three days ago. By my calculations they should shortly arrive in the solar system.’