New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) (11 page)

"It would seem these captains trust you more than their own fleet commander. They look to be trying to demonstrate that fact to the Viscount."

I shrugged my shoulders. The very fact of having another fleet's ships in my active combat zone was something that left me badly dismayed. The dilemma the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet captains were facing was unavoidable: they could either continue serving the Viscount, who had psychotically doomed his own ships to die, or obey the orders of a more experienced commander. And now, all of the captains were making their own choice.

"
Ghost-2
here. The Aliens have destroyed the wreckage of the
Behemoth
. The antimatter exploded. It was very powerful, as always. The Alien ships are making a move. They're all accelerating, but I can't tell where to."

My heart was pounding. Had they managed to pinpoint our fleet’s location? Theoretically, it wouldn’t have been too hard. Hiding the huge battleships from enemy radar was impossible. If they were scanning from different points in the star system, it was only a matter of time before their on-board computers calculated our coordinates.

"My Prince, the Alien ships are accelerating toward Unatari!"

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. What a twist! The Aliens hadn't yet calculated the coordinates of my fleet, but they had managed to get a cloaked frigate in, and it had determined the trajectory of my ships! And, if I were to order the Unatari warp beacon turned on now, even for just a second, as I was preparing to do initially, we would be inviting one thousand five hundred Alien ships to my capital in our wake! That would be the end of Unatari, and the end of my contract with Mr. G.I....

The communications officer broke in at that moment and said, without removing his headphones:

"Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle proposes that Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky ton Mesfelle make a visit to the flagship of the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet,
Orange Majesty
and discuss the present situation."

"What is there to discuss?" I muttered, not comprehending. "The Sector Eight Fleet Commander slipped and fell in a puddle, and I helped him out of it. Everyone in the fleet understands that Viscount Sivir is only still alive because of my ships and the self-sacrifice made by
Surprise-1
."

"Would you like me to come with you?" my cousin offered. "I've known Sivir a long time, and I might be able to help you smooth over your issues without all the pomp and circumstance."

"Alright, let's go together. But first, I need to make sure the Viscount isn’t about to make an even bigger mess. Communications officer, I need a line opened to my brother Roben royl Inoky."

Around a minute went by, and a middle-aged servant appeared on screen.

"Crown Prince Georg, I beg your apologies most sincerely, but your brother is not available at the moment. He is very tired, and needs to rest."

"So, Roben’s wasted again, is he?" I guessed.

The servant did not answer, but he also made no effort to deny it.

"Alright, we can get by without Roben, this time. I have an important message. The huge Alien fleet in the Hnelle system is ready to jump to Tesse at a moment’s notice, so don't turn your warp beacon on, even for a second. In fact, I categorically recommend you not activate the beacon for the next two standard days, no matter who asks, be it Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle, or the Emperor himself. I'll try to lead the threat away to a different star system but, until that time, I officially warn you once again: if the Tesse beacon turns on, you will all die."

"I am very grateful for your warning, Crown Prince Georg," the servant gave a deep bow. "Your Highness, you can be sure that I will send your message to all relevant parties. The Tesse warp beacon will be blocked."

I breathed out with relief. After all, the Viscount was clearly dumb enough to simply return to Tesse, bringing death to the six billion inhabitants of the densely populated star system after him. The only thing left now was to warn the Tialla and Unatari beacon teams to make sure the Alien fleet wouldn’t get through behind the escaping Sector Eight Fleet ships. The two remaining options for escape from the Hnelle system were the automatic warp beacon in Forepost-11 or the low-population Himora station. Both of them looked like perfectly reasonable choices.

"My Prince, incoming call from
Bride of Chaos
. Shall I put them through?" My communications officer asked, and I gave my permission.

The harrier-gray battleship-captain appeared on screen. His ceremonial Orange House Star Fleet uniform was adorned with a Black Star and a Silver Brooch with the number eleven inside. A veteran who had fought in eleven battles with me.

"Crown Prince Georg," the soldier bowed respectfully. "I made the decision to warn your Highness that Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle is planning to arrest you as soon as you arrive to the flagship. He is accusing you of 'inciting mutiny, and causing undue loss of life.' He already has permission from the Head of the Orange House to make the arrest, and now he is trying to secure himself the support of all Sector Eight Fleet captains."

"Thank you for the warning, my friend. I will not forget this," I bowed in response the captain, but he answered:

"Don't thank me, Prince. This is the least I could do after all the battles we’ve fought together. Not to mention what happened today. All of our officers know what the captain of
Surprise-1
did for us, and this is an expression of my gratitude to your Highness and the Chameleon race as a whole."

The gray-haired captain signed off. My cousin and I exchanged glances. Katerina ton Mesfelle didn't know what to say about it. In the silence that came over the room, the communications officer's voice rang out like a shot:

"My Prince, there are twenty-six people on the line waiting to talk with you. They are captains and senior officers from Sector Eight starships."

"Get a conference call together for all of them at once," I requested and, a few seconds later, said on the separate channel:

"Friends, I know what you want to say to me. I'm already aware of the base act of ingratitude being planned behind my back. Do not do anything yourself. I'll be dealing with this betrayal myself. Thank you, I will not forget your warning."

I signed off and began thinking intensely. If it weren't for my good relationship with the Imperial Military, I wouldn't have gotten that warning, and would have been caught. What to do? I spent five minutes in contemplation, staring at the metal wall, then asked to be put through to Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle. A second later, my former plant manager was looking back from the screen. His dark blue Fleet Commander's uniform had gold epaulets, and he was wearing a huge pilot’s cap over his close-cropped hair.

"Viscount, I don’t think it very reasonable for us to meet here in the Hnelle system. The Aliens are scanning the cosmos, and could attack our ships at any moment. Both you and I need to remain at our posts. I think we should first take our ships out of Hnelle to the Himora system, so we can calmly discuss everything on the station there."

"Why Himora? I'm planning on taking my fleet back to Tesse!"

I tried to not show any emotion on my face but inside, I was positively seething. That cretin really was planning to retreat to Tesse! If it hadn't been for my warning, the Aliens would have been destroying the pearl of Sector Eight a few hours from now!!!

"Of course, we could also speak in Tesse, but then my brother Crown Prince Roben royl Inoky ton Mesfelle and his military advisors will want to join in. I do not know how necessary their presence would be. Our conversation could touch on some fairly confidential topics, after all."

"Yes, you are right, Georg. The Himora station really is more ideal. No one will bother us there!" he reveled. "My heavy ships need almost six hours to recharge energy for a warp jump. So, you keep track of the Aliens and warn me if they try to attack! I'll rest for now. Commanding a fleet is such a drag!"

"Agreed!" I smiled and signed off.

I remained sitting for three minutes, then demanded to be put through to the Himora station. A man I knew fairly well appeared on screen. He had once been a Brotherhood of the Stars pirate, and was now working for me secretly on the station.

"Your Highness! I'm glad to see you in good health!"

I greeted him in reply and wondered how many people were living on the Himora station now. The answer he gave was so positive, I’d have been hard pressed to think of a better one:

"There are just sixty people left on the station. When the Aliens captured Hnelle, most of our crew fled. Even the head of the station ducked out to Tesse. I was left here as temporary leader. Everyone else is sitting on their suitcases so they can take off at the first sign of danger. We have a ship ready to warp out at any moment permanently docked here. I'd only need three minutes, and there'd be no one left in the system!"

"Great. I have a very important proposition, then. Incidentally, it would also be very handsomely rewarded. In six hours, you will receive a signal from Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle demanding that you turn on your warp beacon to let the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet out of the Hnelle system. Turn the beacon on for four seconds, then wait for a message from me. I'll tell you what to do from there. If you don't hear from me, evacuate the station in two hours!"

I signed off. Then, another minute later, I called
Ghost-3
, and sent a secret order to go five hours away from my ships toward the Himora station. After that, they were to stop, not reveal themselves, and send us their coordinates.

Now all that was left was to wait...

* * *

"You are speaking with the Sector Eight Fleet Commander Viscount Sivir ton Mesfelle. Listen carefully! This is a message for my ships, as well as Georg’s. Head toward the Himora system. There is no beacon there now but, in five minutes, the Himora system warp beacon will be turned on. Well, they promised it would, at least. We all need to jump to that system while the beacon is on for us. Make sure to do it in good time. That is an order!"

I buried my face in my palm. I mean, who talks like that?! He could have said the same thing with half as many words, and it would have been twice as intelligible. What made it worse was that the Viscount's voice was extremely grating. If you're gonna give commands, you need to speak clearly, loudly, and distinctly, without mumbling.

"
Ghost-2
, what are the Aliens doing?"

"My Prince, all the Alien starships are turning! They are changing their trajectory!"

"Toward Himora?" I clarified, receiving a positive answer.

Everything became clear. Our ships were, in fact, being watched. I turned on my fleet channel.

"Complete radio silence! Accelerate toward Himora. Stand by for jump coordinates. When the Viscount issues the command to jump to Himora, all ships in my fleet must warp to zero at the coordinates I send. I repeat again: complete radio silence. If anyone says even one word in the next five minutes, they will be punished for exposing a military secret."

Three minutes remained until the Himora warp beacon would turn on. Two... One...

"Communications officer, stand by. Action in thirty seconds. Repeat my order back for me."

"In thirty seconds, arrange a group call with all ships on the list prepared by your Highness. It's all been ready for a while. I just have to press the call button."

"Yes, that's exactly right. Ten seconds... Three, two, one, GO!"

The screen lit up with several windows showing the confused faces of Sector Eight Fleet captains. They clearly didn't understand what was happening.

"Attention, everyone! When the warp beacon is turned on, don't jump to the Himora system right away! You must wait ten seconds! Your very survival depends on it!!! And, before you jump, cover sensitive external equipment. That is also very important! That is all. Good luck!"

The last seconds ticked by. The time had come!

"New beacon visible!" screamed the navigator of
One-Eyed Python
, and our light cruiser left into the warp tunnel that very second.

It wasn't a long flight. In just ten seconds, my ships came out at a different point in the Hnelle star system.

"My Prince,
Ghost-5
here. The bombers have hit the remaining Sector Eight Fleet heavy ships. We uncovered an Alien cloaker!
Warhawk-4
and
Flycatcher-15
have already captured it and are working on shooting it down. That is all. I await further orders! It was a beautiful tactic, if you don’t mind me saying. They bought the fake jump to Himora hook, line and sinker!"

"
Ghost-2
here. The Alien fleet has completely left the Hnelle system. They're on the way to Himora!"

A dismayed voice rang out on the common channel:

"Oorast Pohl here, captain of
Master of Tesse
. Prince Georg, I don't understand a damn thing. The beacon turned off too fast. We weren't able to follow our fleet out, then your bombers blasted us. What was that about? And when will the Himora beacon turn back on?"