Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (17 page)

“That might work.  How long before the idea can be implemented?”

“The scope of the project is enormous, but once we have your approval, we can begin to prepare plans for individual gates and planetary hubs and identify any design modifications that might be required for the Cantolla Gate Stations.”

“Good, as soon as we’re finished with our meetings, see to it that the project is put into action.  What were you able to find out about the snipers that attacked us at Tombosem?”

“Nothing so far.  No one seems to know how or when they arrived on the planet.  We've had no luck determining how they learned of your plans to go there.”

“Do we have any other new intelligence?” I asked.

“We’ve acquired some late data about unidentified ships that were detected in the region near the Malpy System before the attacks, but the ships never came close enough to warrant alarm and were never formally reported or investigated.  This was about three days prior to the assault.  The ships were kept under observation, but they remained more or less at the same coordinates.  They never advanced any closer to the inhabited worlds, so they were otherwise ignored.”

“So they were close enough for detection, but no one checked them out?!  By the stars, how are we supposed to protect people and ward off destruction if they withhold information?!”  I had to turn away from Wabussie and Marranalis to regain my composure.  The poor follow-through by the
GLOMAR ROSA
’s supply officer and now the Malpy patrol team was trying my patience.  “My guess is the ships hung around because they were having difficulty getting all the sympathetic particles aligned properly for the Cantolla Gate they assembled.  A’Lappe told me some time ago that this step is critical.  At this point our people have determined how to automate the task to achieve quick results, but I’m guessing the Brotherhood hasn’t gotten that far with their understanding of the technology yet.  So is their gate still located at those coordinates in the Malpy System?”

“Uh, I don’t know, Admiral,” said Marranalis, who turned to Wabussie.  I looked at Wabussie, who acknowledged sheepishly that he didn’t know either.

“Damn!  So we don’t know whether the gate is still there or if the Brotherhood might reopen it at any minute and come pouring through?!  Marranalis, I want a crew dispatched to that area right now, as if lives depend on it.  Locate that gate and get it dismantled, if it’s still there.  If so, bring it and the particles directly back to A’Lappe.  He may be able to learn something from them that could help us.

“Alright.  Let’s get this meeting with the admirals over with.”

The military had grown to such a great size that it was no longer practical or expedient for the Admiralty to assemble in one location, so I had implemented a program whereby assemblies occurred by way of vid links in the War Rooms of every admiral’s ship.  This connected setting created a three-dimensional holographic space that placed everyone together in a virtual meeting room.  Once everyone was in attendance and the meeting was called to order, I related the latest data that Wabussie and Marranalis had gathered, digital copies of which were transmitted to each admiral as I spoke.  When I finished, I asked whether any unusual activity had been noted in the admirals’ respective territories and was shocked when seventeen different questionable incidents were reported.  I quickly realized that these incidents probably represented only a fraction of what was actually going on and that we would need to restructure the fleet to be able to detect, investigate and defend against future suspicious activity that was likely associated with Ming’s plans for future attacks.

Over the years, the fleet and Federation territories had been divided into a varying number of sectors.  By the time Kala and I crashed on Desolation, the coalition of worlds had largely consolidated from randomly named areas into three distinct sectors.  The expansion of aligned worlds and concentration of populations soon necessitated an increase from three to five, then within a few years to ten.  By the time Ming gained access to the Cantolla Gate technology, the division had reached twenty-five sectors and I could see that even more subdivisions would be required.  Unparalleled efficiency would be needed in order to detect when and where the Brotherhood was setting up stellar Cantolla Gates, so they could be stopped before they launched yet more attacks.  We needed to develop an early-warning system and response protocols, so teams would be ready to intercept and block the Brotherhood in the event they succeeded in opening more gates, which was the more likely scenario.  It was an enormous problem that needed a brilliant solution and I knew I couldn’t solve it on my own.  I asked each admiral to confer with his teams and develop at least one plan that they thought would work to accomplish the task.  They were given five days to put their ideas together and submit them to me.  In the meantime, their patrols were to be maximized, especially in broad regions surrounding occupied worlds.  I hoped that one of the proposals might be something exceptional that would thwart most of Ming’s efforts. 

It seemed that the military was perpetually scrambling to keep up not only with the growth of the Federation, but also with the scope of Ming’s assaults each time he retaliated.  The mandatory draft of young people had helped to solve our manpower issues, but we were still short of ships, even though we had more at this point in time than at any time in the Federation’s history.  At this point I wasn’t even sure that resources were the issue.  Clearly Ming was bent on dominating the Federation, even if it meant obliterating every world in its coalition.  A surge of doom momentarily replaced my newly regained sense of well-being.

As the meeting continued, I was particularly disturbed when Admiral Dranda Gandrop reported that the Cantolla Gate Station security forces had detected several ships of unknown origin in the region near the station just prior to the scheduled relocation.  Just to be safe, I ordered the station to be relocated again to a region that was to be scanned and cleared ahead of time, even though it wasn’t scheduled to be moved for another two months.  The vast growth in the coalition of worlds had correspondingly resulted in the exponential growth in the number of Cantolla Gates; hence, it had become necessary to add two stations to the gate system in recent years.  The three stations were known simply as CGS-1, CGS-2 and CGS-3.  The admiral in command of CGS-3 also reported strange ship sightings in their sector starting about a week earlier.  I ordered him to relocate his station immediately as well.  The emerging pattern made it clear that the Brotherhood was somehow receiving information as to the approximate locations of the stations.  Fortunately, CGS-2 hadn’t noticed any signs of activity in their region, but I also ordered them to relocate as a precautionary measure.  The last thing the Federation needed was to inadvertently let one of those stations fall into the hands of the Brotherhood.

The meeting lasted late into the day.  Not a topic was discussed without most of the admirals complaining about the inability to maintain normal operations or carry out new orders, due to the loss of resources to surface patrol duties related to the God’s Sweat crisis.  Since the riots had resolved and the curfew had been lifted, actions were underway to return troopers to their normal posts and restore JAC cadets to training programs at their corresponding military bases.

I was about to break up the meeting when one of Marranalis’s aides approached me to say that Leader Pheosa was standing by on the War Room broadcast vid screen, as he wished to say a few words to the Admiralty.

I announced to the assembly to turn their attention to their respective vid screens for an address from Leader Pheosa.  As always, the admirals and I stood before the Leader as the vid screen opened with his image.

“Greetings, Admirals.  I wish to express the gratitude of the Leaders to all of you for the superb conduct of the past few days, during which you and your teams have dealt with events unlike anything the Federation has ever seen.  The countless lives that were lost due to the addiction to God’s Sweat were handled with as much dignity as possible, but even more impressively, billions of civilian lives and entire communities of commercial structures and property were saved by your thorough planning, expedient deployment of resources and swift action.  I must also add that the aid of the JAC cadets was not only a brilliant means of mitigating the crippling resource constraints, but reports have shown that the performance of the cadets was exceptional and served as a key element to the success of the operation.  Their participation will not be forgotten.

“Few people in the Federation realize just how serious this threat was and most will only see the magnitude of lives and property that were lost without knowing how much more devastation was averted.  No doubt we will receive millions of complaints from people who were inconvenienced by the curfews or traumatized by the fires and violent deaths, suicides and murders.  They will wonder why it took us so long to get things under control.  They will not understand how much was accomplished with the few resources that were available for the protection of the entire coalition of worlds.  They will not see or realize just how much worse it would have been, had you not acted in the manner in which you did.  I speak not only for myself but for the Senate as well, when I say that we
do
know and we
do
understand what your actions have averted and we wish we were able to personally thank each of you and your troopers for your outstanding dedication and service.  I would particularly like to commend Rear Admiral Tibby, Admiral Wabussie of the FSO and Chief Halfredies of the FOI for their quick thinking and cooperation between them and their teams in developing the framework and key components of the plan that averted what might have been a much larger calamity.

“While Rear Admiral Tibby stands before you today, looking as fit and effective as always, I have learned that he has been operating under the most extreme of conditions.  As you may or may not know, the terror attack on Plosaxen left Admiral Tibby mortally wounded.  As he was evacuated, he had to be revived by his rescuers.  In the days since, he has been performing his duties with extreme pain from life-threatening tissue damage and several broken ribs.  In spite of these tremendous challenges, he has not wavered in his responsibilities nor in his commitment to the protection and welfare of our Federation.  While all of you and those serving under you are to be commended for your outstanding services the past few days, I feel it is important that we recognize Admiral Tibby’s extraordinary fortitude and strength, which not only elevates the position of Rear Admiral, leader of our Federation’s military, to one that has been filled by a man of legendary heroism, but it also creates a legacy of courage and valor associated with the title of First Citizen that shall never again be seen in the history of the universe.”

The Leader was quite emotional in his declaration and the cheers and foot stomping that could be heard among the virtual attendees was deafening.  Leader Pheosa finally raised a hand to calm the noise and finish his address.

“In the coming days and months, we anticipate that the Brotherhood will renew and escalate their attacks.  It will be necessary for all of us to fight with the same level of dedication and service that Admiral Tibby has repeatedly displayed.  Already our Federation’s defenses have been stretched to the limits.  Were our enemy to launch an assault on many fronts while also instigating an internal onslaught like the one involving the drug addicts, I fear our forces might not be able to withstand such a murderous campaign; but we must not surrender.  We must fight with
unrelenting courage
and
intellect
and
might
and
hope
.

“May the stars be with us all.”

On that sobering note the meeting adjourned.

To break the heavy silence, Marranalis decided to focus on a lighter point in the Leader’s address.  “That was some commendation the Leader gave you,” he said as we left the War Room.  “I wonder where he learned about the extent of your injuries.”

“Yes, I wonder, too,” I said as I turned to looked at Admiral Wabussie, who seemed to be paying no attention to us, but who I was sure heard every word.  Outside of Marranalis, Wabussie was the one person who had any details about the severity of my injuries and the events that surrounded them.  Even though Wabussie answered to me directly, I knew that he also answered to the Leaders, which included submitting reports about me as well as anyone else.”

I decided that I’d had enough of ship life for one day, so I returned to my estate for the evening.  While I was en route, I notified Kala, who said she would meet me there and that she had been hoping I’d be able to spend the evening at home.

I was a bit surprised when I arrived to find Kala, Lunnie, Reide and another young woman waiting near the gate.  The young woman looked familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I’d met her.

“Hey, this is a pleasant surprise,” I said.  “Aren’t you supposed to be on duty?”

“Our leaves were reinstated, since our original breaks were canceled during the martial law period,” replied Lunnie.  I’ve only got a day left.  Reide has four days, I believe.”  She glanced at Reide, who nodded.

“And who is this lovely young lady?” I asked, looking at woman standing next to Reide.

“Dad, this is Lieutenant Volydalle, the friend I mentioned to you and mother.”

“Ah, yes.  It’s a pleasure to meet you Lieutenant,” I said.

“It is nice to meet you also.  Actually, sir, we met briefly once before,” said Volydalle.  “Two years ago when you came to the JAC base on Plosaxen to visit Reide… after the conflict at Glomar Rosa.”