Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 2 - Hidden Menace (9 page)

Altarebe was amazed by the last statement and paused in his meticulous repairs as he evaluated this disclosure. He thought frantically about his earlier discussions in space with first Omerio, and then later the Sspol and Maveen. Realising that he would have to say something gracious, he asked another couple of questions after first expressing his amazement.

‘That is incredible, to think that the humans have been steered electronically to avoid this area. I just wish we could apply that concept to the vassals at a later stage. Now then can we identify the humans that would be most interested in the arrival of a Maveen probe? Also can we later steer them with scientific advances to their military technology?’

Seliandre now answered his questions as he noted she was easily keeping the sled absolutely still.

‘The humans have an arrogant streak and assume they are alone on this world. They could never know of the Maveen’s real purpose. If the probe launches in three days time we can readily approach one of the human senior researchers in space ship design. We have been aware of this human for some time and he recently obtained more advanced technology from the original two Trader sneak ships left on this world.’

Altarebe kept silent for several moments as he was getting to the tricky part of his repair efforts. He widened his grasp of the manifold and one of his outer manipulators softly brushed against one of Seliandre’s larger manipulators. He stammered a soft acoustic apology as he noted the sled had remained perfectly still.

‘My apologies beloved, for the repair is indeed tricky. The manifold is roughly fixed but I need my special thermal welder to finish the repairs.’

Seliandre spoke softly at first just for his benefit, before issuing one of her sisters an instruction.

‘No problem at all consort and that will be the first of many caresses I should think. Cliade, please bring over the thermal welder you emptied from the cargo locker in the sled.’

Cliade slowly approached and offered him the thermal welder, as Altarebe spoke again to move the conversation along.

‘Now I will have to avoid getting the manifolds too hot to avoid distortion, but the sled should be as good as new afterwards. I noted one of the side bulkheads is also damaged and from my briefings this area houses the sled’s advanced electronics.’

The Maveen probe extended a thin sensor antenna and interrogated the sled’s command interface. The ancients stopped their repair efforts as probe spent several minutes performing a more detailed diagnostic routine. Altarebe’s satisfaction with their efforts took a nose dive as the probe spoke.

‘The advanced electronics and main computer are intact, although they are in emergency low power mode as the compartment is flooded. The sled cannot be flown into space unless this compartment is sealed and this can only be completed out of the water.’

Seliandre felt despair as she took in the updated listing of damage to the sled. For probe three needed to be convincing in his meetings with the humans at a later stage.

She had earlier formed a series of schematics, and now she went through several simulations as she noted that the others present had also gone silent. Altarebe was regarding her critically, so she wasted no time now in flirting with him.

‘Well the bulkhead can be braced easily enough and we can drill a series of holes along the bottom of the bulkhead to allow drainage. Now the larger external plates can be fitted by the probe in the presence of the humans and that will help our cause.’

Altarebe was quick on the uptake of Seliandre’s idea and added a few points of his own.

‘If necessary we can carry the sled for the probe towards the central Indian Ocean and he can launch with the cloak not functioning as well. Under low power the heat of the conduits will purge the water during flight, though the sled will be hard to handle. Probe three can land and fill the area behind the bulkhead with metal sealant before he replaces the last bottom panels.’

Altarebe was exasperated by the probe’s reply for the constraints of his programming were now becoming evident.

‘If I cannot repair the sled I cannot either leave this world or leave the sled in the hands of the humans.’

Seliandre found herself agreeing again with Altarebe, but she fumed at the probe’s sudden display of negativity. She was now alarmed at the looming presence of her mother nearby. She stammered a nervous formal greeting as she knew that the queen would be regarding Altarebe almost nestled in her own manipulators.

‘Your majesty, Altarebe and the Maveen probe have been assisting me in repairing the Maveen sled. We have a process worked out yet the literal nature of the probe could yet frustrate our efforts.’

Altarebe wisely activated his own lights and resumed welding the manifolds as Seliandre brought the queen up to date on their efforts. Angwene wasted no time in exercising her authority and the Maveen probe was brought to heel in short order.

‘Probe three; your programming will be adjusted to suit our objectives so we can mislead the humans. You will lie to them only as necessary but you will be convincing. The two outlying sheets can be secured on top of the sled and under your own body so low speed flight is still possible. Altarebe’s small welding tool will accompany you and your sub probes also become operational on dry land. Altarebe only will go with Seliandre and he will repeat his earlier briefings regarding the Barede colony. Now despite the sled having advanced electronics present you will not….’

Altarebe calmly took in the faultless logic of the queen as he continued the internal repairs to the sled. He noted that Angwene had led the Maveen probe off to one side to continue her instructions and to no doubt ensure that the ancient compliance commands were fully activated. He now risked another caress of Seliandre’s manipulators as he spoke only for her benefit.

‘Dear wife, the queen seeks to solve a few concerns she has by sending the two of us to help the Maveen.’

Seliandre quietly responded after first noting her younger sisters had drifted away, and both were engaged in watching her mother and the Maveen probe in their one sided exchange.

‘The choice of strength and flexibility suits aiding the Maveen probe and I am confident that the probe can perform the assigned mission. I will suggest we take our time returning as we can patrol the central Indian Ocean for a few days.’

Altarebe calmly looked over the completed internal repairs, before he gave his gracious answer.

‘I am happy for you to take the time to show me around our home. I am now finished with my repair efforts and I think we can mount the larger two central panels along the bottom as it will aid in the control of the sled. Now the most stable configuration is to leave the speed brakes deployed as it will give greater control.’

Seliandre waited patiently as Altarebe moved back, before she slowly flipped the sled over and began the tricky task of reseating the larger two bottom panels. Cliade and Armuen rejoined them and Altarebe noted that Cliade also held a large laser powered scouring tool. He questioned Seliandre in a formal tone as he noted that Angwene was slowly coming back across to them with the chastised Maveen probe.

‘Princess Seliandre the presence of the scouring tool is a real surprise, as it cannot be used to repair the sled. Also your work on the outer panels is near seamless and I am very impressed.’

Seliandre slowly handed the sled to her mother for the queen to inspect as she called the Maveen probe forward. She then gave a quick explanation of her actions as Cliade handed her the laser scouring tool.

‘We use the tool to remove sea floor deposits from the base of the suppression fields. At the lowest power settings it can be lightly passed over a Maveen probe, for their hulls discolour in the ocean.’

Altarebe now noted that Maveen probe’s hull had a surface tint of grey that slowly vanished as the scouring tool was passed alongside. He critically regarded probe three for several seconds and was impressed with the now pristine appearance of the Maveen. He remembered the other Maveen probes that he had met earlier and he now tweaked to another concern that was bothering him.

‘Probe three, your blue hull mosaic identifies you as a probe that landed here one hundred and fifty years ago. Can you change this easily enough?’

The probe answered that it could readily change the pattern and it offered a few choices before it gave a design that Altarebe recognised.

‘Probe three, I recognise that insignia as one the sector delegate uses for his own probe team. We will use that insignia as the lie has to hold for an extended period and the humans may encounter the Maveen elsewhere in space.’

The queen finished inspecting the sled and activated it as low power, engines only, before instructing the Maveen probe to load the remaining two sheets and take control of the sled. Angwene issued a series of orders as the probe cautiously manoeuvred the sled away on a test drive.

‘Cliade and Armuen please return the spare tools to our facilities and wait for my return. Seliandre and Altarebe, I am delighted in your repair efforts and I can see you already have the tools you need to help the probe. Now you will take your time in returning here to a limit of four days from the probe’s launch. You both have my blessings and my gratitude for your efforts and I expect you will patrol areas of importance in the central Indian Ocean.’

Altarebe noted the inscrutable and closed demeanour of the queen as Seliandre played safe in her answer, with the three of them now alone and Altarebe not required to reply.

‘Yes mother, it will be as you have ordered, and I need to show Altarebe the hiding places we have devised for both ourselves and our equipment.’

Altarebe quickly suppressed any feelings of embarrassment as Queen Angwene ventured a genial double entre, before sending them on their way.

‘Daughter, take your time and ensure that you show this fine consort of yours the depths of this world. You have my leave to go and good luck to the both of you.’

The Maveen probe was off to one side still piloting the sled, and Altarebe was relieved to note both that the probe easily controlled the sled and that their repairs were holding together. The three of them slowly moved off northward in the still depths of the southern ocean, and Angwene watched them go for several moments, before she slowly returned to her production facility and the daughters left behind.

                                                                     ***

Chapter 5

Captain Narindestat watched patiently as sneak ship eight, piloted by Garendestat, now crossed from the nearby hyper drive point and approached his ship. The Resuria had made the earlier two long distance hyper jumps and had evaded any further detection by the vassals so far. The Trader captain had then kept his crew sharp with training exercises as he stoically waited the several days until his son’s return. He was not about to become complacent this close to the vassal worlds, even if the recent defeat of the Tilmud had made his task easier. The only other highlight of their wait had been to spend a few hours transferring selected equipment to another sneak ship.

‘Engineering, I want another full diagnostic on the stack. Also I want the humans weapons pods in the hold run through their full checklists, this time by the humans.’

Narindestat knew that Garendestat had been as good as his word, and the humans no longer ran their random marine assault drills through his ship at all hours. He was still feeling apprehensive as he knew that the arrival of either a full Barus cruiser squadron or a fewer number of Vorinne ships could make the survival of his ship very difficult.

The Trader captain was worried for some reason, but he could place his mind around what was bothering him. He offered a pithy observation to his bridge as he forced himself to calm down and regain his command chair.

‘We will stay cloaked and behind this ring of ice asteroids. Now remain sharp as the humans need the vassals to go to their aid, not try and hunt us down across the outer parts of the galaxy. Also I want our cargo checked again in sneak ship six.’

Narindestat picked up the data tablet that was flashing for his urgent attention and soon lost himself into the complexities of running his ship and keeping his crew alive.

After another hour, sneak ship eight was alongside and Garendestat made a short report over a low powered video link.

‘Captain, I have a designation of a nearby star system that the Cephrit Fleet master would like us to reach as soon as possible. The world is one of the planets were the Voorde were seeded by the Tilmud before they went to war with the Cephrit.’

Narindestat arched a heavy grey and blue eyebrow at the news, before calmly giving a pair of orders.

‘Engineering, you will prepare to dock sneak ship eight and then prepare for an immediate hyper jump. We will use the nearby jump point and use a standard jump to lower the risk of detection.’

The Trader captain knew that the fleet master must have specified the remote star system to give him cover for leaving his star base. He thought silently about their coming meeting with the Cephrit and the realisation that the meeting.

‘The trick is to reveal everything about they need to know, and what we cannot hide, but reveal nothing specific about our own latest secrets.’

Narindestat decided as he checked over the efforts of his bridge crew with satisfaction, and within an hour of the sneak ship being docked a crown of light framed the massive star ship as it entered hyper space. On a nearby asteroid, yet another stealth probe of unknown design went dormant after analysing the Trader ship for an extended period.

                                                                     ***

Robert Seville forced himself into a more genial frame of mind as he walked down the ramp of the small shuttle craft and onto Gun Island in the Abrolhos Islands Pelsaert group. He looked south across the glare of the afternoon sun towards Middle Island, now a shrine to the visit by the Traders and Maveen so long ago. Off to the west a cruise ship from Fremantle had closed to within two kilometres of the large reef that ran down the western edge of the Pelsaert group. He could imagine the bored monotones of the cruise director attempting to curry enthusiasm amongst her paying passengers.