Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 3 - Fleet Action (19 page)

Tom had known Ben Stiller for years and had often worked with him at the colony. He forced aside his grief over his friend’s death and coldly looked over the battle. He noted that M7 was also close to an enemy frigate and too late he yelled out a warning.

‘Anna, you are on a collision course with that frigate….’

Another brilliant explosion lit the space nearby as Tom’s warning arrived too late. He knew that Anna Gray was one of their best pilots, and that the young woman had taken hard the loss of her sister onboard the destroyer Belfast.

Jacques was swearing in French as the remaining mining drones now attacked the two lifters. The big Jerecab ships began to tumble slowly as their crews attempted to fight off the much smaller automated ships. Tom noted that the thousand ton drones were swarming over the enemy ships and the frigates were now trying to fight them off at close range. He picked out another likely target on a lifter and fired his cutting laser again.

Tom took over direct control of M6 and turned the ship to increase his attack time and not collide with the enemy ships. He glanced at the navigation console and immediately noted that two of the remaining mining ships had not altered course. Tom spoke urgently to two pilots as he continued to fire his cutting laser.

‘Jacques and Murat you are on a collision course with the lifters….’

Only a few seconds went by, and the two enemy ships filled the rear cameras of M6 as he flew right past them. A pair of massive explosions flared in space nearby and Tom’s mining ship shook savagely for several seconds before it broke in two. The emergency lights came on, and Tom quickly realised that the rear part of the ship had been sheered off by flying wreckage from the explosions.

Tom looked over his console and he saw he had enough reserve power to scan the space nearby. He quickly identified that while both the lifters were gone, six enemy frigates still survived. He could also tell that the three other mining ships still survived in one fashion or another, and that the Barus research ships were renewing their attack.

Sam Peters in M8 came on the radio with much the same news.

‘The Jerecab are no longer firing at us and both the missile carriers are destroyed. I am in the best shape of all of us and I will pick you all up as soon as possible.’

Tom sat back quietly to conserve his air and power after confirming the recovery details with Sam. He watched from his slowly tumbling and wrecked ship as the Barus cruiser squadron arrived and drove right into the heart of the armada.

                                                                     ***

Captain Omerio kept silent as his squadron tore in at speed and engaged the rear ships of the armada. He noted that the pair of Sspol cruisers had faded off to one side to allow his ships to attack the Jerecab unhindered. The Barus captain had elected to stagger the breaking manoeuvre of his ships to throw off the aim of the Jerecab commander. The larger Barus ships closed their enemy at a tangent and concentrated laser fire quickly overwhelmed four frigates.

The cruisers changed course again and broadsides from their laser batteries lashed out and mauled several damaged frigates behind a dense formation inside the armada.

Omerio looked at the dense formation for only seconds before he gave two urgent orders.

‘All cruisers are to fire on that dense formation of ships. All ships are to launch all missiles, even the defender missiles, at the same formation.’

Commander Tamerio gave a fierce grin full of teeth as he ensured that the orders were relayed around the squadron. The sixteen cruisers turned again and their heavy lasers sought selected targets even as they sprouted a swarm of missiles. The smaller defender missiles raced ahead and Omerio noted that they were targeting mainly Jerecab missiles, though a couple of human missiles were also destroyed. Tamerio looked over from his console and made a pair of telling comments.

‘Our defenders do not discriminate on alien missiles, but the human missiles are either not being engaged or have superior defences. Those longer range missiles of the humans appear to be remarkably effective.’

Omerio quickly ensured their larger missiles did not the same issues, and was relieved to see that their control systems all had the software patch running that allowed them to ignore human ships. He sighed in relief and gave a terse order that relayed to the other ships.

‘Continue the attack on the Jerecab, but do try to avoid attacking human ships, or for that matter the ships of our other allies.’

The Jerecab ships continued to fight hard against the mounting odds and Omerio knew that something would have to give shortly. The formation of the enemy armada was just beginning to come apart and he knew that Admiral Baunrus must have been considering his mounting losses. Omerio then watched as the third and last flight of human missiles began to stage and was aware that the battle would soon be resolved one way or another.

                                                                     ***

Captain Narindestat glared through the view screen at a senior Maveen probe, actually the Dradfer probe, though he still did not know the full reason for the probe’s unusual name, as it addressed him as he sat in his command chair. He also noted that the Maveen was only sending heavily encrypted messages due to the nearby presence of several small Altoran scout ships.

‘You took your time getting here Captain Narindestat and I am aware of the damage your ship has sustained. You will need come across to the research facility and meet the Dradfer as soon as possible.’

Narindestat bit back a biting reply to the Maveen’s orders and he decided not to let the terse nature of the Maveen get to him. He curtly replied after ensuring that his own messages were encrypted.

‘First things first Maveen, I assume the humans have already ordered you to relocate the Quixxe refugee world as soon as possible? I also assume both the Altoran and the Dradfer are unaware of the existence of the Quixxe? Note that the Dradfer could possibly sell this information for extra access to biological resources, including the biology of the humans.’

The Trader captain felt several moments of smug satisfaction by directly stating that the senior race, the mighty Maveen who are masters of time and space, would be taking the orders of a new and independent race known as humans. The statement must really have riled the Maveen probe, as it gave a particularly loud and long buzz of indignation, before falling silent for several long moments.

Narindestat wasted little time in either pity for the Maveen or assuming his questions were not understood, as he tersely spoke again.

‘Well I will take that as a yes to both questions. Now to move along on matters I understand that not one, but eight systems suitable for colonisation by us exist nearby. I will be most interested in the details of the worlds in these systems. Now is Grant Stoneham and his ships around somewhere?’

The Trader captain was looking forward to seeing his human protégé again, for at least they could parse together on the latest events going on around them. The Maveen probe replied in a subdued manner as it obviously sought to placate Narindestat.

‘I am sorry for any misunderstanding, but the continued presence of the Dradfer in the Carinae sector trouble the Maveen, even though we respect their past work. I sent the humans off to explore some of the eight systems of the Fulcrum cluster we established many thousands of years ago for your race. I thought that this gesture would save you time after your meeting with the Dradfer.’

Captain Narindestat nodded in acceptance of the Maveen’s last statement and he spoke again in a much more gracious manner.

‘Well I thank you for sending off the humans so at least the Dradfer and ourselves can converse without any misunderstandings. I am also grateful that the humans are saving us time by performing the preliminary surveys of these worlds. We will speak with the Dradfer, before we return directly to the Barede system in company with the human ships.’

Captain Narindestat received no response from the Maveen so he assumed the probe was in agreement with his point of view. He left for his hangar deck and soon arrived by sneak ship inside the large hangar of the Dradfer research station, with the Dradfer probe preceding his ship in to land first. He pulled a mirror from his pocket and ensured that his tattoos were in pristine condition; or rather the paint denoting the tattoos was perfect. Now satisfied, he then picked up the same data tablet and holographic projector he had used to earlier brief the Altoran.

‘No sense educating the Dradfer about all our recent discoveries…’ the captain though to himself as he ensured his best blue jacket was smooth and straight. He was also concerned that the Dradfer could take an unhealthy interest in the Quixxe refugee world, or at least inadvertently inform the Altoran of the location of the planet. The side ramp of sneak ship four opened and Narindestat walked down to meet the legendary Dradfer.

                                                                     ***

Eliarhee watched the large Trader male approach with both excitement and trepidation, for the relationship between the Traders and the Dradfer had at times been strained in the ancient past. She knew that if this meeting went wrong then cordial détente that had existed for centuries could deteriorate into a cold war, and possibly even into a war across sector boundaries. The Dradfer wrinkled her sensitive nose at the interesting odour of the Trader, but otherwise gave nothing else away.

Narindestat glanced over and ignored the now landed senior Maveen probe nearby, for he now had nothing further to say to the so-called Dradfer probe. He nodded politely at several Altoran officers that were standing off to one side as they witnessed the meeting. The Trader was now relieved that Grant and his crew were not present at the meeting, for he was going to get very direct with the Dradfer. He continued forward, paused a polite distance from Eliarhee, and then he offered a full formal bow with a terse spoken greeting.

‘I am Captain Narindestat, a Trader of the house of Skanor, and I am honoured to be in the presence of the Dradfer, senior vassals of the Crux sector.’

Eliarhee and her three senior researchers returned the formal bow, and the Dradfer researcher risked a quick glance at the control bracelet on her left arm. She was relieved to note that all their sophisticated spy equipment was operation and logging everything about the Trader in front of her. Eliarhee introduced herself and her three colleagues before quickly getting to the main topic of the meeting.

‘We understand that after many thousands of years the Dracile now seek new colonies in the outer part of the galaxy.’

Narindestat glared at Eliarhee and he indicated his tattoos as he tersely replied.

‘We have not gone by that name for many thousands of years after the gene meddlers imposed their cruel biological sanctions on our species. We have an ingrained wariness of all races that are involved in genetic tampering, even the Dradfer knowing you were not involved in our downfall. We seek to claim the eight colonies by right of ownership via the Maveen, the location of the worlds, and if necessary by force of arms.’

Eliarhee gave a half bow of courtesy to indicate she considered herself rebuked by the Trader. She then spoke in what she hoped was interpreted as a diplomatic manner.

‘The Dradfer find the matter of your race’s down fall long ago to be both repugnant and unlawful, this event would not have occurred in the Crux sector. We will always seek to interact with you in a manner that is always fair and honourable to both our races. We do dispute your claim to the eight worlds and seek to negotiate a way past a potential conflict.’

Captain Narindestat took in the forthright last sentence after the conciliatory previous sentences, and he stifled a harsh retort as he thought through the ramifications for several long moments. He noted the sudden unease appearing among the other Dradfer and he set about reassuring them at length of the benign nature of the Traders.

‘Rest assured that the Traders do not lightly go to war, and despite our hatred of the Zronte, they are overlords of this sector and we must play by their edicts. We seek to trade once again with the Dradfer after withdrawing from regular trade with the vassal races in this sector. Therefore the Dradfer, and only the Dradfer, from the Crux sector are welcome to trade directly with us at these colonies. Note that no one from the Crux sector passes by us further into the Carinae sector, and we insist on this term to limit the risk of violence between the vassal races of the different sectors. I understand that this term would also be in accordance of the orders of your own overlords, the mighty and wise Narra.’

Eliarhee was feeling very frustrated at this point as she knew the eight worlds represented a massive windfall for the Dradfer, despite the generous counter offer made in secret by the senior Maveen probe. Also the direct natured Trader was entirely correct about how the revered Narra, her wise overlords, would interpret any dispute. She still gave an involuntary skin change of black and blue to denote hurt and the Trader captain finally went quiet.

The Dradfer asked to be excused from the meeting for a recess, and stood several metres from Narindestat as they quietly conferred amongst themselves in an obscure Denvian dialect. Finally, after reaching a new understanding, the four researchers formed up to start talking again. The sole Trader and the four Dradfer solemnly bowed and the meeting resumed with Eliarhee making a counter offer.

‘We will waiver our claim to the eight colony worlds, but in return we seek access to the worlds for mining and research purposes.’

Captain Narindestat was having none of it and his next reply was to the point.

‘We only will allow restricted trade with the Dradfer exclusively, and all your ships must have no other races onboard them. We expressly refuse to allow mining and research by the Dradfer within the borders of the Carinae sector. The previous research efforts of your race near Earth caused many problems, and our earlier alliance placed us at odds with the overlords. We then ended up losing several of our large star bases when the Zronte responded forcefully to both your presence and your gene meddling activities.’