New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) (33 page)

The screen lit up. From this perspective, Nai Igir looked like a small graceful butterfly again, while the off-white mass behind her back seemed like a mere background feature, and not her massively swollen abdomen.

"Crown Prince Georg, I beg your forgiveness for the delay. I was eating, and could not easily take a break."

I tried to hide my surprise. Eating for two days?! Although... with her egg-stuffed meatball of an abdomen, that was probably just how long it took.

"Queen, there's no need for apologies. You have a huge responsibility on your shoulders: the rebirth of your race, and that is why providing your future children with all the nutrition they need is your number one priority."

Standing change. Iseyek race opinion of you has improved.

Iseyek Prime race opinion of you: +23 (favorable)

"I have been informed on what happened at the admirals' council. The ruler of Unatari granted the Swarm a good deal of unique military technologies for free: instantly-restoring energy shields, new combat drones, blueprints for Alien frigate thrusters and highly effective weaponry for assault divisions. Preeminent Gamma Iseyek scientists have already given their evaluation of this gift: it is simply priceless. The Swarm would never have been able to invent such technologies on its own even if it had a thousand years. Unraveling their secrets required the rarest of Alien trophies, the capture of which was practically impossible. I admit, I am surprised, Crown Prince Georg. Once again, as with the Sivalla emeralds, the ruler of Unatari is being fantastically generous to the Swarm. We have as many manufacturing facilities as we can spare working overtime to reequip our combat ships before the beginning of the counter attack. I then, for my part, approve the use of my subjects, the Arite Iseyek in secret Unatari operations, give my approval for the creation of special Beta Iseyek divisions for psionic support to your state's Truth Seekers, allow free passage of Unatari ships through Swarm space, will provide for the transmission of data through our warp beacon system, and give permission to use ships of the Virho fleet for the human diplomatic mission."

"And what of the military alliance between the Swarm and Unatari?" I asked the question most important to me, but here Nai Igir shook her ‘no’ in a human-like fashion:

"I am not yet prepared to give my approval for that. Note though, that this is not an outright refusal; this issue is simply too complex, and the Swarm needs time to think over the consequences of such a weighty step. Also, I mean no offense when I say that the ruler of Unatari has dramatically demonstrated his ability to make extremely nonstandard decisions. That is why the Swarm is afraid of being dragged into a war by force with an enemy, whose capabilities we are unsure of. The answer as to whether it would be possible to conclude a military alliance will be given later, but I cannot say exactly when."

I gave a slight bow to the Swarm Queen, accepting her decision. Nai Igir also gave a slight bow in return and said:

"My abdomen grows larger with every passing hour. My being able to take the time to lead my government and speak is becoming a rarer and rarer occurrence. The day will come when I will be simply required to feed constantly to provide for my offspring. Crown Prince Georg, this may be our last conversation. As I already said, I do not want to leave anyone obligated. I have a gift here for your spouse Miya royl Unatari. I wanted to thank her for these incredible emeralds. My advisor Triasss Zess will deliver the gift to Unatari. As for the military alliance, I will give an answer to that proposal before my children are born."

The screen went dim. The conversation with the Swarm Queen left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Nai Igir had agreed with almost all of my suggestions, and hadn't even turned down the possibility of a military alliance. On the other, I had heard distinct hints of uncertainty and even resignation in the Swarm Queen's voice. I expressed that thought out loud. My secretary doubled these words in the Iseyek language.

Rosss, who was in the room, stepped forward like a wisp of fog blown by the wind or the movement of a sheet of transparent crystal. Phobos translated his chirruping for me:

"In one hundred and five days’ human time, the Swarm Queen's eggs will have matured and she will lay her first and only clutch. Before that time, Nai Igir will try to finish all her business and transfer power to the Swarm."

"I don't understand. She will cease to be the Queen? What will happen to Nai Igir after she lays the eggs?"

Bionica translated my question. Rosss spent some time in silence, then abruptly expressed himself in some kind of long trill and bowed, folding his appendages and kneeling on the floor, after which he disappeared from view. Before the translation to human language came, I had already guessed the main idea of his message. And I was correct.

"Nai Igir will not survive the egg-laying. The greatest Gamma Iseyek geneticists warned the Swarm Queen of that fact before her coupling. The Queen could have ruled three or even four long years, but she decided to revive the Iseyek Prime race at the cost of her own life. The entire Swarm knows of her self-sacrifice. Every Iseyek. The very spirit of our ancient race is embodied in Nai Igir. Never before has a Swarm ruler enjoyed such absolute support. Any word from Nai Igir is now law for all subjects."

On my feet, I listened to the information, then said to the dark, long extinguished screen:

"There is precious little time, but I will do everything in my power to make sure Queen Nai Igir will see the liberation of all Alien-controlled Swarm systems!"

* * *

At first, the Mechanoids left me feeling disappointed. In the "mysterious" Pritta system, we didn't see anyone. We found nothing but an uninhabited automatic warp beacon of Arite construction. We completed the warp jump to the next system on our path, Jabe, and saw some Mechanoids there floating motionless in the cosmos. There were three spheres, each one thousand feet in diameter, and none showing any signs of activity. External video cameras helped us see these strange half-living machines in full detail. They were hollow metallic fullerene structures. Through the gaps in their bodies, you could see distant stars. Zooming the picture in allowed us to see that some of the starships' mechanisms were moving. There were buckets or ring-shaped elevators moving along the structures, and joint assemblies that hinted at their having live engines somewhere inside. And that was it, just three spherical structures hovering in space. I was expecting to see something more interesting, which is why I couldn't hold back from expressing my disappointment. Was it really worth gathering a large diplomatic mission and flying all this way just to see a couple of moving structures?!

The first to notice something strange was the captain of our battleship. There was no warp beacon in the Jabe system! To be more accurate, one of the spherical Mechanoids was itself serving as the beacon. It replied to requests we sent, but only with one word answers. The beacon ship called itself "
Eleven
." We were not able to draw the other two Mechanoids into our conversation.

The spherical being heard out my information on the Arites in the Pritta system, but made no comment. I then offered to let the spheres visit the Arite system, but they refused. They did not react in any way when I told them about the Alien invasion, and also refused my suggestion that we join forces to fight the attackers. When I requested that they allow human and Iseyek ships passage through their systems, the Mechanoids answered: "You already use this route as it is. Why do you need our permission?" It was all boring and uninformative. That was why a clear dissonance emerged in the Mechanoids' unexpectedly elaborate answer to my proposal that they retransmit Swarm and Unatari data onward to the Empire:

"That is technically possible, but would cause certain difficulties for us. After all, if we do agree, from then on, there would have to be at least one Mechanoid in every system under our control, and that is not always the case."

What it said didn't reach me immediately. When I figured out what I had just heard, my heart began pounding anxiously in my chest. I tried to maintain my composure and clarified in a flat tone:

"
Eleven
, are you saying that sometimes, certain systems are left entirely free of Mechanoids? How, then, do you get back to them with no permanent warp beacon there?"

"Mechanoids can calculate coordinates for opening warp tunnels in any system we've visited before. Before this, we need to 'anchor' ourselves in said star system by calculating local coordinates and determining constants for all twenty-seven dimensions. The anchor gradually grows weaker. Discrepancies grow wider. Errors appear in the calculations. A jump to old coordinates is very risky, and probably will end in death."

"
Eleven
, can you tell me how long an anchor usually lasts?" I wondered.

"In your reckoning of time, around eight months."

I didn't have to explain what we'd just heard to Bionica or Marian Sabati, who were next to me. The Mechanoids were capable of determining coordinates for a jump to closed systems with warp beacons turned off, if they had been there any time in the last eight months! It was like a "skeleton key" that could get past any existing method of space defense!

"
Eleven
, the transmission of data signals is important to us, but we do not want to cause you any inconveniences by requiring the presence of Mechanoids in all systems. What if, for our shared convenience, we installed normal warp beacons in your systems? That way, no Mechanoid has to be bound to a certain system."

"That would be your right. We have no objections to that."

"Thank you,
Eleven
. Tell me, what can I do to thank your kind for the assistance? What do Mechanoids even need? Resources, information on far-off worlds, new technology?"

"All of those things would be of interest."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and made an offer:

"
Eleven
, I invite you to join my fleet. You will visit many new star systems, learn a great deal of new information, and receive all the knowledge and resources you and your kind desire. If any other Mechanoids would like to accompany you, I would be nothing but pleased."

More than a minute went by before its answer followed:

"Proposal accepted. Retransmission of data will begin in seventeen seconds.
Eleven
and
Seven
will journey forth in pursuit of new knowledge."

The incoming message alert beeped many times. The Orange House communications blockade had been broken. All the messages that had accumulated over the previous two days poured in all at once. I tasked Bionica with sorting through the heap of information, but my secretary suddenly froze, and a strange smile appeared on her face.

"Master, I believe it would be better if you answered this message. I have marked it in the mailbox."

I opened the internal interface, went over to incoming personal messages and also could not hold back a smile.

"My Prince, I admit my fault and arrogance. It was a great error on my part to consider myself a great fleet commander only because I had the honor of being present in your Highness's fleet during noted victories. I ask for your permission to return to your fleet and take up the role of your new fleet commander's assistant.

P.S. The Aliens really did a number on us.

P.P.S. Crown Prince, the Aliens now have their own stealth bombers.

Former Sector Fourteen Fleet Commander of the former Red House.

Admiral Kiro Sabuto"

W
ith two weeks remaining until zero hour, I held a council of all Unatari and Swarm fleet commanders on my flagship,
Joan the Fatty
. I also invited the Iseyek’s generals. In fleet headquarters, there was a huge shining hologram depicting Swarm space. It had many green markers, showing systems free from enemy occupation, and nine red ones, currently under occupation, which were the target of our attack. With a microphone clipped onto my uniform near my mouth and a laser pointer in hand, I arranged fleet markers on the tactical screen in preparation for the attack and immediately asked the admirals to report back on their ships, giving each of the divisions a concrete mission.

"In the first phase of the attack, we will make a simultaneous strike directly on five Alien star systems: Khe, Lobj, Aysar, Sobj, and Khryo. The situation in all these systems is constantly being monitored by our cloaked frigates, so we do not expect any surprises from our enemies. The Aliens' largest concentration of forces is in the Sobj system. There are eighty starships and two
Behemoths
. I will deal with them myself. I will have the Unatari light fleet with me, supported by all three carriers. With an attack from the Kiya system, we can tie up the enemy's main forces in combat and attempt to prevent the
Behemoths
from fleeing. Unfortunately, we'll have to destroy the Alien battleships the old-fashioned way. We cannot let the enemy learn of our new military developments so early, and give the information to their
Queen
. For that reason, I will be going with two
Trias
to help with the assault of the
Behemoths
. They will capture the station, then unload a landing party on the planet Sobj-5."

Here I made a pause, scanning for a huge Gamma Iseyek, then introducing my friend:

"General Savasss Jach, based on the data of our recon ships, has developed a plan for capturing landing pads on the surface of the planet Sobj-5. I ask him to come up and share his conclusions."

The long centipede snaked up into the middle of the room and, flipping through scenes with a handheld remote control, showed pictures of Alien defensive installations, commenting on each image. The calculations the general voiced were quite frightening. Up to seventy percent of landing modules would be shot down by the enemy as they entered the atmosphere. Then, twenty-five percent of the landing troops would die while putting up protective shields over the landing zones. Only after that did our per-minute death rate begin to fall, as the survivors would be capable of accepting new landing groups at the controlled landing zones. I took the floor again:

"You all know that I prefer to avoid big losses. But in this case, we cannot wait for our battleships from the other fleets to come put pressure on the enemy anti-aircraft installations. All of our heavy guns will be tied up in other assaults. We cannot expect light cruisers to effectively damage terrestrial targets. As such, the losses in the first wave of the Alpha Iseyek assault of Sobj-5 will be enormous... After landing, the troops will have to hold out thirteen hours until reinforcements arrive, but then the second phase can begin. Before help comes, the survivors will not number in the thousands any longer, but in the hundreds if not the tens..."

"This be war, and lose soll-dier on war — inevitable," Admiral Kheraisss Vej commented on my words, and the rest of the Iseyek agreed with him.

I heard everyone out carefully. There were no objections to the attack on the Kiya-Sobj trajectory. The admirals and generals had absolutely no fear at the loss of hundreds of thousands of praying mantis soldiers and were only concerned with the fact that the enemy
Behemoths
might escape from the Sobj system and show up in other places on the front.

"Don't worry about the
Behemoths
. We'll be able to hold them," I said, after all takers had said their peace. "And as for the landing troops... I know Swarm customs: it is simpler and cheaper to grow a new praying mantis than to heal a wounded one. But I have the tradition of valuing my soldiers. As such, here is my decision: for the attack of Sobj-5, I need the best of the best Alpha Iseyek landing troops. Those of them who are able to hold a landing zone and remain alive will earn a bright red stripe on their shell and a white stripe across the chest as a sign of military glory. These together will mean they have the right to medical treatment. And if the Swarm doesn't have the ability to deal with wounded soldiers, the Unatari State will take care of them. I believe that heroes should serve as a living example for others, and not as a ready-made meal for whoever comes after them."

Standing change. Iseyek race opinion of you has improved.

Alpha Iseyek race opinion of you: +42 (respect)

Iseyek Prime race opinion of you: +24 (favorable)

All things considered, my new policy was accepted very positively by the Swarm. Beyond that, the generals convened amongst themselves and suggested introducing a general rule for all Swarm landing operations. First wave soldiers get the right to the frightening red paint even before landing, and the number of white stripes on the shell will symbolize the number of landings survived.

After that, I explained the mission of the other fleets on that day. The Unatari Heavy Fleet, reinforced by the Yayho border fleet, would attack on a line from Khs to Khryo. Four hundred fifty combat starships, of which six were battleships, and forty were heavy cruisers should be able to sweep away the rearguard of a pitiful eleven Alien frigates and destroyers. Admiral Mike ton Akad swore on his own head that he'd complete the mission.

On a line from Arite to Khe, Admiral Kheraisss Vej would lead the Yuho fleet, composed primarily of Arite Iseyek ships. The Fastel Fleet would be supporting him. Our scouts had reported that there were just four Alien
Meteors
in the Khe system, so we were not expecting any problems in that direction.

On a line from Bej to Lobj, Admiral Kiro Sabuto would lead a Red-Blue fleet, composed of the remnants of the Red House Sector Fourteen fleet, and the combat starships captained by people who fled the Blue House with Crown Princess Natalie. They would be supported by the Diho squadron. Our scouts didn't find any enemies at all on this path, but I misrepresented that report, and told them there were eleven light Alien cruisers, to make sure my captains wouldn’t get too relaxed.

And, finally, there were the Swarm's main forces: the heavy Virho fleet and the Ayho assault fleet, with a combined strength of one thousand two hundred starships, of which eleven were
Meresh
battleships and seventy were
Legash
heavy cruisers. These forces I gave to Admiral Masss Azhzh, the most experienced Swarm admiral. Twenty-six alien ships would be opposing him in the Aysar Cluster, six of which were
Sledgehammers
.

"Masss Azhzh, your battle will be one of the hardest, but I am counting on your abilities. You have fifty times more ships and thirty times more volley weight than the enemy, so victory will be yours in any case. But your mission is not simply to achieve victory, but to do so with minimal losses, as the ships that will be with you are necessary for the next stages of the offensive. I will personally train your fleet, so all your insects will know instinctually how to fight
Sledgehammers
, shoot down pesky
Meteors
, and deal with
Hermits
and
Ascetics
."

After assigning missions, I named my main demand: within five days of the beginning of the counterattack, all Swarm systems were to be cleared of Alien starships. After that, twelve
Trias
, guarded by frigates, would move landing groups in for terrestrial operations and the liberation of the Swarm planets, while the other combat starships of all the fleets would gather in the Ukhsss system and jump into Alien space.

"My scouts have investigated over twenty Alien star systems, made a map of their warp beacons and have embedded themselves up to five and more jumps away from Swarm territory. Our scouts did not detect significant Alien forces at any point, though they did find light ship docks and a great deal of evidence of active combat once having taken place there. Based on the wreckage of starships of unknown designs in space, and traces of demolition on the surfaces of those planets, it would seem that, not especially long ago, some kind of intelligent species was living there. But it has already been wiped out by the Aliens. Their docks have been captured, and are being used to produce
Meteors
. I suspect that, after this, we will find the place where they are building heavy and superheavy ships as well. Our unified fleet's goal here will be to destroy all this infrastructure. Our main objective is to force the Alien
Queen
to come to the defense of her territories so we can attack her."

The huge black Alpha Iseyek Masss Azhzh took a step forward and gave a deep bow. Bionica translated the insect's chirruping:

"Five-Star-Admiral Georg, I risk repeating the question I asked at the meeting with Nai Igir, but how is it at all possible to destroy such a huge, impenetrable Alien ship as the
Queen
?"

"There is one way..." I said, scanning with my eyes for Marian Sabati and Florianna, calling both Truth Seekers forward.

Marian Sabati's appearance didn't cause any particular interest among those gathered; the Iseyek practically didn't know who she was. But when the black-robed paralyzed Flora, accompanied by her four unchanging Beta Iseyek slowly came forward on her flying chair, I saw a very curious picture. First, Kheraisss Vej and Kiro Sabuto, and, after them, other admirals and generals of all races began bowing down on a knee in respect before the little Truth Seeker.

"My Prince, even I find this uncomfortable. I can sense their general mood: those gathered are hoping for me, they consider me a talisman of success and a symbol of your victories. They truly believe in my power."

Marian Sabati, on seeing the respect given to the little girl, gave a surprised snort, but said nothing. I then continued my thought:

"The Alien
Queen
has always tried to carry out mental attacks. I do not expect that she will change her habits before our next meeting. The
Queen
is quite weak as a psionic. A normal person with good willpower would be totally capable of deflecting her suggestions. So the Truth Seekers will catch the
Queen
during a mental attack and join their forces together to make an attack on her."

Marian Sabati made a surprised face, and even a slightly dismayed grimace, attentively watching Florianna, then turned to me:

"Crown Prince Georg, I value your trust, but where is the guarantee that this little girl and I will be able to deal with such a ghastly monster?"

"Did I say anything about it being just you two?" I smiled to the beautiful and dangerous woman. "The whole seventeenth floor of
Joan the Fatty
is currently occupied by Beta Iseyek. Over three hundred of the most mentally powerful Iseyek to ever live are currently on board. They can give you psionic support. Now, the Beta Iseyek are just training to work in a group, but their great potential has already become apparent. One hundred Beta Iseyek will back you up, and another hundred for Flora."

"And the others?" Marian Sabati began thinking for a second, after which her expression melted into a predatory bared-tooth smile. "Will Miya be joining us, then?"

I noticed the Iseyek in the hall beginning to chatter in agitation. There could be no doubt that this name was well known to them.

"Yes, Miya will here," I confirmed. "But it will not even be my homicidal spouse at the forefront of the attack. We will also have Krista – the most ancient Truth Seeker has agreed to help us destroy the Alien
Queen
. It wasn't easy, but the Unatari State ambassador to the Blue House, Paola ton Akad, was able to convince her great grandmother to help out. Beyond that, Krista promised to bring some of her other psionic friends to the attack as well."

"My Prince, I see a flaw in your plan. Due to the Orange House communications blockade, Krista will be available for just a few minutes every seventeen hours, while the Arite system warp beacon is visible from the Mechanoid system."

That was really true, and my cousin Katerina had already pointed out that dilemma. So, while the others had yet to figure it out, I decided to draw attention to the shortcoming myself:

"There is one important nuance that places our whole Alien-
Queen
attack plan under threat: the communications blockade that the Orange House has placed on Unatari and the Swarm. Due to that blockade, Truth Seekers from different places will not be able to work as one. That is why we'll have to solve that problem in the two weeks that remain before the counterattack. Swarm Queen Nai Igir once noted that I am renowned for my nonstandard solutions. Well, here is yet another atypical plan: the whole Swarm and Unatari fleets will be headed to the Sivalla system today and, after that, will all together be making a jump to the Forepost-4 system in Perimeter Sector Nine. I can provide coordinates for opening a warp tunnel. I know perfectly well that the Swarm will not go to war against the Orange House, so I do not ask the Iseyek to interfere in what will happen in the Forepost-4 system. But the Swarm ships are obliged to come to Sector Nine. That is an order from a Swarm five-star admiral!"