Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 3 - Fleet Action (21 page)

Vufora was tall for her race about two metres; she had long red and white hair that cascaded down well past her shoulders and her skin was a freckled healthy ivory white. Her brow and nose were prominent and she had perfect teeth. She cupped her two large breasts, and noticed that they still sat high and firm on her chest, and she only had a few lines from giving birth several times. She looked critically over her full hour glass figure and her limbs, the lower limbs the same length as her long upper limbs, and told herself that she would seek out another high born male shortly.

Vufora knew that she looked good for age despite having several highborn daughters and being well over one hundred and thirty years of age. Her increased life span of three hundred years was another gift from the Dradfer and marked her as a highborn Denvian. The shuttle landed inside a massive hangar deck and she quickly made her way to the chambers of Lord Tenviam.

After a long wait for the attention of the busy lord, she was ushered into his formal presence. Vufora kept her eyes downcast as she made the slow walk of servitude to stand before the Narra lord. She executed a full formal bow, kept her eyes down in respect, and intoned the ritual greeting of a junior race to an overlord.

‘High lord and most wise Tenviam, it is my honour to attend and to serve. My beloved master Eliarhee of the Dradfer has sent me with reports for you.’

The high lord looked down at her critically from his high dais as the court proctor, also in his skin, looked first at the Narra lord and then intoned a reply.

‘The esteemed high lord welcome’s you into his glorious presence and orders that you keep to the point. You may address him as great lord or master.’

Vufora slowly raised her eyes and she noted the powerful alien Narra regarding her with polite indulgence. The Narra was two metres high, even seated on his throne, wore a simple gold threaded robe, and had a solid body covered in red and yellow scales. The overlord looked both menacing and regal as it slouched back casually to regard her further. Lord Tenviam’s mind brushed hers briefly and she had an impression of tremendous strength and great intelligence backed by steely resolve. She fought for self-control and wasted no time in summarising her report.

‘Great lord, my master Eliarhee had a covert meeting recently with a senior Maveen probe at the Fulcrum cluster. After the meeting all Denvian were ordered back to the Crux sector, and then we were forbidden to approach let alone enter the Carinae sector. The Maveen probe later left to summon other races from the Carinae sector to meet with my master. However I think that these races do not include the vassals of the Zronte.’

The court proctor, a middle caste and very old Dradfer, promptly walked over and accepted her data tablet after giving her a full bow of respect. The Dradfer then stood to one side and waited for further instructions from his master.

Tenviam was quietly impressed with the economy of Vufora’s summary for he had much to occupy his mind these days. The foul Kulvar, overlords of the Omicron sector, had reappeared after hundreds of years, and they and their minions were ravaging many worlds in the inner zones of the Crux sector. The Zronte from the Carinae sector could never be trusted, as they had a reputation for savagery and treachery only surpassed by the Kulvar.

The Brammon, the fourth overlords from the Cygnus sector were a wise and gentle race, and on good terms with the Narra. However, Tenviam knew that their territories were across the other side of the territories of the Kulvar and the Zronte, and on the other side of the massive galactic black hole that dominated everything in the centre of the galaxy.

Vufora kept silent after making her terse report, for she knew that the Narra had not given her leave to speak again. She kept eye contact in case the lord sought further empathy with her, but she noted that his eyes only showed calm calculation for an extended period. Her body soon clamoured to move again, and to seek either a mate or privacy from the Narra, and she quietly fought down these urges.

Tenviam mentally noted the Denvian aide’s discomfort and sought to reassure her as he spoke again.

‘My dear Vufora, I thank you for your respect in coming to see me in only your skin to show you have no weapons or tell me no lies. Please feel free to withdraw, and to clothe yourself again as you now have my respect and my regard. I expect you back here soon to await my further questions and my later instructions.’

Vufora knew she had been dismissed and excused herself with the customary ‘Honoured to serve’ reply as she backed away with a formal bow. She noted that Tenviam was already asking for her data tablet as she left his chambers. The Denvian female felt quiet elation as she headed back to her shuttle to get quickly dressed. For the high lord had used key terms to indicate his satisfaction with her efforts.

Lord Tenviam looked over Vufora’s data tablet, and in moments, he had supplied the massive encryption key from his own tablet to unlock the second hidden report from Eliarhee. He knew that there was no possibility of Vufora accessing the message as she was constrained by both training and availability of the encryption key. The second report was then decoded in seconds, as the high lord spoke tersely to his silent court proctor.

‘The aide’s journey took many weeks so the Maveen have likely already returned to speak with Researcher Eliarhee. I want increased military patrols on our side of the border near the Fulcrum cluster and they are to locate Eliarhee and assist her as required.’

Tenviam was glad the Denvian was no longer present, for her permanent state of reproductive angst troubled him, as most Denvian could not well hide their emotional state from either the Dradfer or the Narra. The Narra lord now read the rest of the hidden report and croaked loudly in surprise, and his court proctor looked at him in concern.

Lord Tenviam quickly decided that the Dradfer researcher had acted promptly and wisely in sending the Denvian home from the Fulcrum cluster. If the report was to be believed then an interesting race had recently appeared from near the long abandoned Dradfer colonies in the Carinae sector. The report also more than hinted that Carinae sector could later unravel into a massive war as the Zronte sought to retain control of the sector. He was aware that he would have to identify how the races of the Crux sector would handle this information.

Tenviam now knew that he would soon seek an audience with his own superiors in the Narra royal court for further instructions, not that he relished the long journey. The lord then glanced at his court proctor as if seeking further suggestions and the Dradfer was very forthcoming, even if he knew nothing of the specifics of the report.

‘High lord, we could reward the courier for her diligence and time, she urgently seeks a mate to give her male offspring. We should give her unlimited rights and send her off to satisfy her needs. I also understand that the hidden report is not even for my eyes, and so I suggest we state that it is vital to keep it all secret even if the courier currently knows little…’

Lord Tenviam listened good-naturedly as his court proctor wound down after providing good advice. The Narra knew that the Denvian had been successfully diverted from further interest in the Carinae sector, and he intended to ensure that this remained the case. He smiled to himself as he realised that fate had finally played the Denvian a merciful card that could solve their compelling problem of survival. Tenviam knew that the Narra would allow the Denvian to pick up this card when the time was ripe and the risk of wide scale conflict was avoided.

Lord Tenviam discussed the finer points with his court proctor who now held an imperial certificate of authority. The court proctor then handed him the certificate and the Narra lord activated it by pressing a sequence of buttons on his ornate sleeve bracelet. Tenviam was then advised that Vufora was again waiting outside, and he wasted no time in summoning her forward.

The Narra lord noted that the Denvian female now wore a floral wrap of exquisite weave as the court proctor stood by with the newly minted certificate. Vufora came slowly forward again and completed her formal bow, and Lord Tenviam spoke at length in a commanding and regal tone to her.

‘Vufora, trusted aide of Eliarhee, you are promoted to full associate status as aide emeritus and given more breeding rights. You will have no restrictions on your breeding, although all your offspring must be still be sourced from highborn males. You are further instructed to keep your journey here secret and remain at a Denvian colony until your master can recover you. The details of your master’s report will be made available after the Narra deals with the emergency. Note that the information in Eliarhee’s report is so important that I will now take it with me and speak with the royal court.’

Vufora was elated at the promotion, ecstatic at the reward, and absolutely amazed that the Narra high lord would soon leave on his own long journey. The Denvian was promptly excused, and she quickly made her way back to her shuttle minus her data tablet, but with an imperial certificate of authority in her hand. Vufora took the shuttle back to her ship and first told her three daughters, and they were all happy, even if they did not yet understand the full significance of her promotion and reward.

Vufora knew that one of her vexing problems was now solved, even if she still was not allowed of course to breed at will with a planet born male. Not long afterwards, Vufora held a party on her ship as it set course for a distant Denvian colony that featured several highborn settlements in high orbit. Later she sent her daughters off to sleep in their rooms, and then she summoned the tallest and strongest guard to her bedchamber for a night of wild passion that was tempered only by birth control.

                                                                     ***

Gindane had felt an enormous amount of relief after the two human mining ships had rammed and destroyed the pair of Jerecab missile lifters. The two enemy ships had immediately detonated nearby in powerful explosions that had amazed her crew, as they all realised that the large missile carriers had likely been packed to their top hatches with missiles. She had also received a broadcast from Earth stating that several million people had been killed when three Jerecab frigates had earlier attacked three cities with nuclear missiles. The Barus officers on the bridge had reacted with horror at the civilian death toll, for many of them had served with Gindane one hundred and fifty years earlier when they had last visited Earth and monitored the death toll from the Asian flu.

Gindane felt a great deal of pride in the courage and valour of the humans, as they frantically fought to save themselves from extinction. She knew that only one of the eight mining craft had survived the horrific twin explosions in nearby space, and that the remaining ship was heavily damaged. The Barus captain was still occupied, although her fleet’s battle with Neanres’s frigates had degenerated into a dour sideshow to the nearby main battle. The large main battle was well outside the combat range for her ships and besides Neanres’s remaining ships were still a threat, so as long as her ships fought his frigates then he could not help admiral Baunrus.

The research cruisers had good point defences so they easily accounted for the remaining missiles that the Jerecab launched sporadically. However, her remaining ships also lacked the heavy firepower needed to handle more than one frigate. Gindane knew she was in a stalemate as she again considered the plight of the nearby and broken mining ships. Two of her remaining cruisers were not much use in any further battles and so Gindane sent them over to assist in rescue efforts. The remaining research ships redoubled their own combat efforts, but she was sure that the stalemate would remain as such.

The Barus research captain now looked again at the status of the larger battle, and noted that Omerio’s cruiser squadron was fully enmeshed inside the armada as his commanders fought for their lives. The sixteen ship cruiser squadron had already lost four ships to heavy combat with multiple opponents, and Gindane was silently fearful for the life of Omerio, her intended life mate. She noticed that another flight of human missiles was approaching even as the formation of enemy ships struggled to remain intact.

One of her lieutenants called out in excitement across the bridge and threw up the latest combat simulation. Another officer then mentioned that two additional Sspol cruisers had entered the solar system to aid humanity, but would not arrive for hours. Gindane noted the implied result of these two pieces of information with interest and forwarded the details out to both Omerio and to the Cephrit fleet master. She was not sure that either of them would respond to her update as Omerio was engrossed in pitched battle and the Cephrit was still trying to get his three squadrons to Earth as soon as possible.

Gindane resumed watching the large battle, and noted that the Sspol cruisers had stopped attacking the rear of the armada. The cruisers had fallen back and now appeared to be sending coded transmissions to the two latest ships to arrive. She hoped that they would resume their powerful attacks shortly, for it appeared that the great space battle now hung in the balance. Gindane was still worried about Omerio, but she was relieved when she later received terse audio signals from both him and the still distant Cephrit fleet master.

                                                                     ***

Admiral Mary Neilson ensured that her command chair belt was secured as the Exeter shook from another series of laser lasts from the armada. The fleet had lost more destroyers and she was down to her last seven destroyers ringed by a pitiful handful of damaged corvettes and missile frigates. The area of space in front of the Exeter was littered with destroyed ships, mostly from the Jerecab armada. Lieutenant Rick Gordon called out with welcome news.

‘The last flight of Long Lance missiles are staging and the separate warheads are racing in several echelons for the armada. Estimated impact is in three minutes.’