Flagship (25 page)

Cole shook his head. "The Republic has three and a half million ships. They control a sizable portion of the galaxy. They didn't
need
the wormhole. It's convenient, but it's not necessary. They could mount a massive retaliation without it, and I can't believe the Rubinos weren't aware of it."

"What are you driving at, sir?" asked Christine.

"That whatever they've got in reserve, we haven't seen it yet. And if it wasn't on the outer planets, it's either coming from the inner planets or a nearby system . . . and it can get here a lot faster if it starts within the Rubino system."

"The fact that they tried to draw us to the outer planets would seem to support that," agreed Jacovic.

"We'll find out soon enough," replied Cole. "That's why I wanted Captain Ramos to keep bombarding the planet. If we
all
went out to meet their fleet, they might wait to see the outcome before calling in the reserves. I think this will encourage them not to hold anything back."

"I am now holding our position," said Wxakgini.

"Fine," said Cole. "It shouldn't be long."

Three minutes later Briggs announced that a small fleet, numbering no more than fifty ships, was approaching from the direction of Rubino II.

"We've got to find out what they have, and quick," said Cole. "Clearly they don't plan to overwhelm us with numbers."

"One ship seems much larger than the others, sir," said Briggs. "It's almost as big as a dreadnought."

"A dreadnought, even the
Xerxes,
wouldn't turn the tide of battle," said Cole. "It's something else."

"I'm getting an image, sir," said Briggs.

Soon everyone on the bridge could see the glowing mechanism that was larger than any ship on either side, but seemed to be more weapon than ship.

"It's not flying," noted Jacovic. "It's being towed."

"Five will get you ten it's the big brother of the one we destroyed on the moon," said Cole. "Run the image by the groups that destroyed it and ask if it looks familiar."

The reply was almost instantaneous. It looked identical, but was twelve to fifteen times larger.

"Why don't they have hundreds of them?" asked Rachel.

"I don't know," said Cole. "Maybe they have a limited supply of whatever it is that they fire. Maybe they just invented it, and the one we destroyed was a prototype for this baby. After all, they could have attacked any time in the past five centuries if they felt safe. Clearly they think it's all they need to defend the planet. Put me through to Kristoff."

"Kristoff here," came the reply a few seconds later.

"I think we're ready to unleash you, Commander Kristoff. Do you see that huge weapon that's being towed by the four Class J ships?"

"Is that what it is?"

"That's what it is," said Cole. "Destroy it and the battle's as good as over."

"We'll be happy to!"

"And don't underestimate it. I have a feeling that neither you nor I have ever seen a weapon as powerful as this one. Spread your group out, try to englobe it, and do it fast. Believe me when I tell you that you can't withstand it for even a fraction of a second once it fires at you."

"What the hell is it?"

"Powerful," said Cole. "Now get to work."

Cole could hear Kristoff giving orders to the five hundred ships in his group. They instantly spread out, shooting off in different directions, and within a minute they had the Rubino ships and the weapon englobed. The Rubino ships began firing, the Navy ships returned their fire, and after another minute had passed some twenty-six of the Rubino ships and eleven Navy ships floated dead in space.

Then the weapon joined the battle. What looked like a series of lightning bolts shot out, and where each hit a ship—and every single one of them hit a target—the ship exploded and briefly became a fireball, just as the ship had during the initial encounter by Rubino V's moon.

"Those blasts are like heat-seeking missiles," remarked Cole, staring at the screen. "Once they've chosen a target, they keep after it even if it's changed directions."

"They're decimating H Group, sir," said Jacovic. "It's not fighting like a weapon that's in any danger of running out of ammunition."

"I agree," said Cole. "We've got to think of something soon, before all of H Group is a pile of ashes floating in space."

"More ships, perhaps?" suggested Jacovic without much conviction.

Cole shook his head. "More firepower usually just makes for more confusion and more collateral damage. You win most battles by using your brain." He muttered a curse. "Mine doesn't seem to be functioning."

"We've hit it fifteen or twenty times, but we're not doing it any damage," reported Kristoff. "Maybe the damned thing will run out of ammunition; I can't see any other way to stop it."

"It won't run out of ammunition," said Jacovic. "If there was a chance of it, they wouldn't have put their planet at risk."

"You'd better think of something quick," said Kristoff. "I've lost about fifty ships to it already."

"Kristoff," said Cole. "You've got a Level 5 thumper on your ship. Have you used it on the weapon?"

"Didn't make a dent, sir."

"Okay, thanks," said Cole. He broke the connection. "No sense using ours. It'll just make the damned weapon concentrate on the
Teddy R."
He stared at the viewscreen as the devastation continued— and suddenly he peered forward intently. "I can follow those pulse blasts with my eye."

"I don't follow you, sir," said Jacovic.

"They're not going at light speeds, or anywhere near," continued Cole. "Either they can't, or they won't do it until they have to."

The Teroni merely stared at him.

"That implies that a ship could outrun the blast, at least for a few seconds."

"All right, it can outrun the blast for a few seconds," said Jacovic, still puzzled. "So what?"

"Get me Pampas."

"Done," said Christine.

"Bull, get down to the shuttle bay on the double. Program the
Archie
to leave the ship, approach the weapon, fire a laser blast at it—"

"It won't do any good, sir," said Pampas. "All the shuttles have are Level 2 weapons. That won't make a dent in it."

"Then stop interrupting and listen," said Cole. "The
Archie
goes without a pilot or crew. I want you to program it to take evasive action the instant it fires at the weapon. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," said Pampas, as he got off the airlift and raced to the shuttle bay.

"I don't understand what you're doing, sir," said Briggs.

"I think I'm beginning to," said Jacovic.

"Ready, sir," said Pampas.

"Turn it loose," said Cole.

They all watched on the viewscreen as the
Archie
shot out of the ship, made a beeline for the Rubino superweapon, fired a laser blast, and then began evasive maneuvering. The weapon responded, the lightning bolt spurted out and closed in on the
Archie
, matching it move for move, and turned it into a fireball a few seconds later.

"It
could
work," said Jacovic.

"I'm still in the dark," said Briggs.

"Me, too," agreed Rachel.

"Mr. Briggs, instead of Bull programming the
Kermit,
can you fix it for me to control it from up here?" asked Cole.

"Yes, sir," said Briggs. He manipulated his computer for a moment, then stood up. When you touch this spot"—he indicated a place on the terminal—"a holographic panel will appear. It won't have any solidity, of course, but it will be identical to the controls on the shuttle, and as you touch them the
Kermit
will respond as if you were inside it at its controls."

"Let me give it a try," said Cole. "Bull, open the shuttle bay again."

"No crew on the
Kermit,
sir?"

"None."

"All right, you're ready to go, sir," said Pampas.

Cole touched the spot Briggs had indicated, then held his hands just above the holographic panel. He moved the
Kermit
out into space, and put it through two minutes of maneuvers until he was comfortable with it.

"Put me through to Kristoff," he ordered.

"Kristoff here."

"Commander, withdraw your ships. You're not making any progress, and we're going to try something different."

"Yes, sir," said Kristoff, making no attempt to keep the reluctance and disappointment out of his voice.

Cole waited until Kristoff's group began clearing the area.

"Okay, here goes," he said. He turned the
Kermit
to face the Weapon—Cole thought of it with a capital W now—and fired a totally ineffective laser blast at it. As he did so, he simultaneously pushed the
Kermit
to near light speed, darted well to the left of the Weapon and below, then turned and plunged directly toward it. The lightning pulse caught up with the shuttle a microsecond after it crashed against the Weapon, and the Weapon itself exploded in the biggest fireball of all.

Cole turned to his crew. "We destroyed it with the only thing strong enough to destroy it," he said. A satisfied smile crossed his face. "I just had a feeling it might work."

"This is Kristoff," said a voice. "What the hell happened?"

"I'll explain later," said Cole. "Right now I want you to ride shotgun for me while I approach Rubino V." He broke the connection. "Mr. Briggs, how is the conflict going out by Rubino's moon? I need a damage report."

"It's continuing, sir. I can't give you an exact count—there's too much debris obscuring parts of the battle—but we seem to be getting much the better of it." A pause. "The reports are starting to come in, sir. Group B has lost twenty-seven ships, Group C sixty-two, Group E thirty-nine ..."

"What about Group D?"

"I can't contact them, sir. I suspect their leader has been destroyed. Group F had lost one hundred seventy-one ships and Group G one hundred sixteen, but those two groups did bear the brunt of the attack. Enemy damages number upwards of three thousand."

"Good," said Cole. "Pilot, get us to Rubino V and put us in orbit."

Once the
Teddy R
was circling the planet, Cole walked over to Christine's station. "I want to send a message to the president, premiere, secretary, king, whatever he is. Can you do that?"

"I don't have his code or coordinates," she replied. "But I can broadcast your message to the entire planet. It's sure to reach him, and we'll sort out which reply is his."

"Fine," said Cole. "Do it."

"Ready," she replied in a few seconds.

"Leaders of Rubino V," he said, "this is Wilson Cole, Captain of the
Theodore Roosevelt
, which is the flagship of this response to your unprovoked attack on Deluros VIII. We have destroyed your weapon, and we are currently decimating your fleet. We can continue the battle until your last ship has been destroyed, and then land and hunt down the members of your government one by one—and if you don't surrender we will do just that. If, on the other hand, you
do
surrender, there will be no further hostilities, now or in the future. Our collective memories will extend no farther back than this moment, and you will be invited to participate in a galaxy-wide government."

"There isn't one," came the reply.

"Wait," he promised.

Within ten minutes the government had agreed to a cease-fire.

Cole and his senior officers stood in the Secretary's office on Deluros VIII, facing Aloysius Chang, Anya Kranchev, and half a dozen other members of the parliament.

"We have all signed that paper," said Chang, pulling it out of his pocket. "I now present it to you. Not everyone in this government has as low a regard for the truth as our most recent Secretary."

"I hope you're not expecting me to tear this up as a gesture of goodwill," said Cole, folding the paper and placing it in a pocket. "There have been too many abuses committed in the name of the Republic. Maybe the people in this room didn't support them, but you didn't do anything to stop them either."

There was no response, and Cole continued. "I think the Republic has outlived its usefulness. It was necessary when Man made his first tentative steps into a galaxy that was frequently hostile to him, but that time is passed. You need a government that encompasses all the sentient life-forms on equal footing—including the Teronis and the Rubinos."

"I won't even argue it with you," said Chang. "In fact, we have discussed it among ourselves, and we would be honored if you would accept the Secretaryship of this new government."

"Me?" said Cole, surprised.

"Yes."

"I hate politics, and with all due respect, I hate politicians even more. I respectfully decline your offer."

"Are you quite sure?" said Anya.

"I am. But when you form your government, I do have a recommendation."

"Oh?"

He put an arm around his First Officer's shoulders. "Commander Jacovic is the most honorable being I have ever known. I think you would be well advised to offer him a position of some authority."

"But he's a Teroni!" blurted Anya.

"Who better to negotiate a peace treaty with the Teronis?" said Cole. "You can't build a true galactic democracy without them."

The politicians whispered among themselves for a moment. Then Chang approached Jacovic.

"Commander Jacovic, would you consider joining our government's leadership?"

"I would be empowered to negotiate with other races on behalf of the government?"

"That goes without saying," replied Anya.

"When you're dealing with politicians, nothing goes without saying," interjected Cole. "Will all of you sign a statement agreeing to these conditions?"

They didn't even bother conferring this time.

"Yes, we would," said Chang. "Commander, once again: will you join us?"

"I would be honored," replied the Teroni.

Chang turned to Cole. "And what will
you
do?"

"The
Teddy R
still has a few years and a few voyages left," answered Cole. "The Democracy will probably be better than the Republic, especially with Jacovic in it, but to tell the truth I think we're sick of
all
governments. There's a big galaxy out there, and there are still a lot of things to be seen for the first time."

And so saying, Wilson Cole and his crew went off to see them.