Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids (8 page)

“I have a question for Leader Pheosa,” Cleainsta continued.  “Leader Pheosa, how do you feel about your bondmate's actions last night?”

“I have always known,” he replied with a trembling voice and tear-filled eyes, “that Taunet is an exceptional woman; but last night she showed herself to be made of something far greater than I had imagined.  I am amazed by her bravery, will, and presence of mind during this crisis and I am immensely proud to have her by my side.”

After the broadcast interview was over, Cleainsta asked if it would be possible to interview Kalana and Taunet.  At first Taunet was against it, and Kala was not very enthused by the idea either; but Tonc encouraged them to reconsider and said he thought it might help to generate patriotism and give the women, in particular, heroes to admire.  The idea of being perceived as heroes didn’t appeal to either Taunet or Kala; but Tonc convinced them that their personal stories would help to transform a tragic event into a positive situation.  In the end, they reluctantly consented.  Cleainsta was also granted a separate interview with Chanina, but this interview focused less on the attack and more on what it was like to be the daughter of a Federation Leader and member of the
NEW ORLEANS
crew.

It seemed that I no longer had the luxury of finishing with one thing before another popped up.  I was barely out of the news conference when my com link beeped.

“Tibby here,” I answered.

“Admiral,” Marranalis’s voice came across the link, “Admiral Regeny wishes to speak with you.  He’d like you to join him on the
DUSTEN
.”

“By the stars!  I suppose he’s upset that I didn’t confer with him before moving forward with the news conference and interviews.  Okay, tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I severed the link and headed toward the Cantolla Gate with my bodyguard.

When I arrived at Admiral Regeny’s office on the
DUSTEN,
I was informed by one of the guards on duty there that I was to join Regeny in the War Room.  I went there immediately and was surprised to see all the Fleet Admirals, as well as Admiral Wabussie and Admiral Slater.  Slater was a military officer back on Earth and Mars, who had been serving as an advisor on war and combat-related matters – especially when it came to Ming – before he was installed in the Federation’s military.

“Come on in, Tibby,” Regeny boomed.  “Sorry for the short notice.  I contacted the other Admirals earlier; but you were tied up with Leaders Tonclin and Pheosa in the news conference, so I waited until you were through to notify you.  I apologize for dragging you in here so early.  You haven’t had any sleep since the last night’s events, I suppose.”

“No, sir, I haven’t,” I replied.  It wasn’t until then that I realized how tired I was.

“Well there’s no helping that now,” Regeny said.  “However, I think circumstances warrant keeping you up a bit longer.

“I received your reports yesterday regarding current fleet activities and I was vexed by Admiral Stonbersa’s report on the strange enemy activity beyond his sector.  So I asked him to provide me with the latest recon findings as soon as they were available.  I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to see his morning report yet today, have you?”

“No, sir, not today’s,” I responded.

“Right, I didn’t expect so, given all that’s unfolded since then.  Perhaps I should let Stonbersa brief everyone, now that you’re here.  He’s more familiar with the details than I am.  Admiral, if you don’t mind,” he said nodding to Stonbersa.

As Stonbersa stood up, I was taken aback at his appearance.  I’d seen him every few weeks at our regular fleet update conferences and talked to him many times on the vid screen, but I had not noticed how much he seemed to have aged until this moment.  He still had the dark, tanned skin and snow-white hair that he always had, but the youthful look and smooth, taut skin that had given him the appearance of health and vitality had given way to an aging man with a furrowed brow, wrinkled eyes and thinning hair.  He still had an air of intelligence spirit of determination in his face, but I could also see that he was winding down and becoming tired.

“By Admiral Tibby’s orders yesterday I sent out several squads of patrol ships to conduct recon on the strange activity of the Brotherhood ships beyond the Federation border.  We had no idea what to expect, but we felt a closer look was warranted.  Since cloaking was engaged for the entire mission, we had no reason to suspect that our ships would be detected.  The first squads to arrive reported that the enemy ships seemed to be flying in an orbit pattern around an invisible object, but they were unable to visualize or detect anything measurable about the object.  I ordered them to move inside the orbit to investigate what it was the enemy was circling.  The other squads of patrol ships were ordered to move in closer but stay outside the orbit.  The ships that went inside the orbit reported back moments later that they didn’t find any signs of any object or anomaly at the center.  As I was about to order them to return, the enemy ships unexpectedly opened fire on our patrol ships – those inside the orbit as well as those staged at the perimeter.  Their aim was extremely accurate and even though our ships were cloaked, they were all hit almost immediately by the enemy fire.  So it appears that the Brotherhood has developed some sort of technology that allows them to locate and target our cloaked ships.  Whether they using the same gravity detection method that we use or some other method, we don’t know.”

“Admiral,” I interrupted, “how many of the patrol ships were destroyed?”

“All of them, Tibby.  All twenty were destroyed, along with their crews.  They never had a chance to return fire even once.”

“So it was a deliberate trap?” I asked.

“Admiral Slater thinks so,” Stonbersa said as he looked at Slater. 

Slater continued at Stonebersa’s visual prompting, “It seems that Ming wanted to test the effectiveness of their detection device.  It’s my belief that he created a situation that was sure to draw in a large number of ships and then he instructed his pilots to hold their fire until every one of our patrollers was tracked and targeted.  I’m afraid we’ve lost the advantage that our cloaking system has afforded us up to this point.”

“Perhaps not,” I replied.  “A’Lappe just briefed me yesterday regarding his work on a limited RMFF generator that he adapted specifically for use in ships too small to house the required power capacity of the solbidnite or 10X reactors.  This limited RMFF is powered by an 6X model reactor, which he modified from the original 10X design to accommodate the confines of smaller craft while providing the maximum possible power.  Due to the constraints of the 6X reactor, the RMFF shielding is not completely impenetrable; however, A’Lappe assures me it will block at least nine out of ten shots.”

“So we’ve lost stealth but we’ve gained shielding capability that now includes protection for our patrol ships,” Regeny said.

“It would appear so,” I replied.

“Admiral Tibby,” one of the other Admirals began, “how long will it be before we can expect to take delivery of these new reactors and shields?”

“I don’t know,” I answered.  “I only learned about them myself yesterday.  A’Lappe has also developed a prototype for a much smaller fighter that I need to investigate; it may provide an added boon to the Federation fleets, as it would be quicker and less expensive to build and would provide far more capability in terms of fire power.

“Tell me, Admiral Stonbersa, what happened to the Brotherhood ships after they destroyed our patrol ships?”

“They left the area quickly.  A defense perimeter was set up immediately.  In the meantime, I called in some frigates and deployed fighters to confront the enemy; but by the time our ships arrived at the scene, they were gone.”

“Admiral Slater,” Regeny said, “any additional thoughts on this?  You’re our expert on Ming and his battle techniques.”

Slater looked thoughtful for a few seconds before he replied.  “I’m thoroughly convinced Ming was testing the new technology to see how long it would take to detect and lock onto multiple cloaked ships; and the ploy he concocted to do so was most certainly also intended to maximize the destruction of sector forces.  Now that he knows his sensors work for detecting cloaked ships, the technology will be swiftly incorporated into the rest of their ships and they’ll soon be employing even bolder attack strategies.  If A’Lappe’s new ship design proves viable, it may help to offset the new advantage the Brotherhood has gained.  All things considered, though, what we still need
most
is a way to at least match their speed.”

“Wabussie, do we have any new intelligence at all about the possible whereabouts of Professor Fass Hakwin?” I asked.

“Only the vaguest hints that he may be on Epsirt, but the information is very sketchy,” Wabussie said.  “We do have some indications that Sisopan may be headed to Epsirt.  We identified a single small ship that left Megelleon from a location not far from where the person we believe to be Sisopan was last seen.  The departure certainly fits the time sequence for Sisopan’s movements.  We’ve had several reports of a ship matching its description that was seen heading away from Epsirt, but new information received in the last hour indicates the ship has turned and now is headed directly for Epsirt.”

“I think we need to get onto Epsirt by whatever means necessary, even if it means we have to create an incident there,” I said.  “There is too much at stake for us to try to be politically correct when lives are at risk.”

“What do you plan to do?” Regeny asked.

“I’m going to make Rinncal Haf-joab an offer he can’t refuse,” I said.

Getting Rinncal Haf-joab to sell his estate on Epsirt wasn’t going to be hard.  Getting him to sell it to
me
, however, would be impossible.  I needed a go-between – a believable buyer, who Rinncal would be willing to engage in negotiation about such a transaction – but it had to be a person he would not connect to me.  It was unlikely he would sell it to a prominent citizen of any Federation planet, as he now had a rather bad taste in his mouth for the Federation.  I needed someone known to be dissociated from Federation interests and rich enough to pose as a seriously interested buyer.  Creating a wealthy persona would be easy, as I had plenty resources to throw in that direction; but finding someone willing to take on the role who could also successfully overcome Rinncal’s mistrust of – well – everyone, would not be so easy.  I knew someone who fit the profile; and I knew how to persuade him to help.  However, I first needed some rest.  I would see to the matter the next morning. 

Wearily, I found my way back to the
NEW ORLEANS
.
I was totally drained of energy – so
much
so that I seriously thought about asking my security team to carry me back, but thankfully I made it on my own.  I’m certain that Kalana and the twins were there, going about their day when I arrived; but if they spoke to me or I to them, I don’t recall.  I don’t even remember undressing and getting into bed.  Hours later, I awoke briefly, feeling unusually disoriented and unsure of my surroundings.  It wasn’t until I felt Kala’s nude body pressed against mine that I realized fully I was in bed and that it was nighttime.  Kala’s steady breathing told me that she was sound asleep.  I wondered for a moment what time it was and where the twins were, before drifting back into a deep sleep.

“Good morning, Tib,” I heard Kala say as I slowly opened my eyes with a yawn and a stretch.  “I hope you managed to get some well needed rest.”

I turned my head to see Kala standing by the side of the bed, adjusting her outfit as she gazed at me.

“I think so,” I replied through another yawn.  “What time is it?”

Kala laughed.  “It's time for you to get up and eat.  Marranalis called for you a moment ago on your com link, but you didn’t so much as twitch, so I answered it.  He was concerned that you hadn’t checked in this morning at your usual time.  I told him that, unless it was a universal emergency, I felt you deserved another hour’s sleep.”

“How did he receive that?” I asked, as I slowly became more alert.

“He laughed and agreed.  Tib, you’ve been pushing yourself hard of late.  Everyone knows it and we’re all worried about you.”

“You can blame that on the Brotherhood.  It’s not my fault,” I said sleepily.

“I won’t argue that point.  How did things go yesterday?  You looked terrible when you got home last night.”

“Regeny called a meeting of the fleet admirals.  Stonbersa reported that several dozens of his patrol ships got wiped out in what was apparently a ruse to draw our forces into a situation where the Brotherhood could test a new technology.  It would seem they can now detect our cloaked ships.”

“Oh no, Tib, that’s terrible,” Kala gasped.

“I’ll grant you, it’s not pleasant news.  On the good news side, A’Lappe has developed a new design for a small but heavily armed fighter that might prove to be a huge benefit.  It even has a limited but effective RMFF shielding system.  They will be inexpensive to build and can be produced quickly.  I’m hoping we can soon launch a campaign to gather the necessary raw materials and begin fabrication on a massive scale, so we can at least get them deployed as back-up planetary defenses.”

“What about things back on Megelleon?  Any promising news?”

“No.  Sisopan appears to have fled the surface in a small craft.  It looks like she’s making a run for Epsirt and there is no way to stop her from getting there.  I do have an idea as to how we may be able to get a team onto the planet, but I’ll need to contact Chief Banker Arjuk Norcar on Weccies.”