Theogony 3: Terra Stands Alone (13 page)

“We are doing everything possible to prepare additional defenses for the stargate,” Admiral Wright said
on the front view screen. “We are making additional mines and missile launchers as fast as we can. The replicator should finish the next battlecruiser tomorrow, giving us a second one of those. Going forward, we ought to be able to pump them out much more quickly, too.”

“
Why is that?” asked Captain Griffin, the commanding officer of the
Terra
.

“The battlecruiser was held up in the replicator for 9 days, blocking all progress, because it needed about 100 pounds of protactinium,” replied Admiral Wright. “We didn’t know ahead of time that we were going to need any.
Protactinium is naturally radioactive and highly toxic; however, the aliens have some way to treat it that makes it safe to handle. Protactinium is used for some of the superconductive circuits in the fire control system, so we couldn’t do without it. We had to put down a civil war in Zaire to get it; that’s the only place it’s mined. Until we could, the missing 100 pounds held up the 800,000 ton ship.”

“Well, we need that ship and a lot more like it as fast as you can get them out here,” said Captain Griffin. “In the meantime, there’s one other thing that we can do to prepare.”

“What’s that?” Admiral Wright asked.

“We need to take the
Terra
through the stargate,” Captain Griffin replied.

“I don’t think the government will go for that,” Admiral Wright said, looking puzzled. “Why do you think you need to do that?” he asked.

“Because,” Captain Griffin said, “all other things being equal, I’d much rather fight them there.”

“OK, I’ll ask again,” said the admiral. “Why is that? All of our defenses are on
this
side of the stargate. If you go through it, you lose all of that protection and support.”

“I’m sorry sir,” Captain Griffin said, “but I’ve got a lot more experience in fighting space battles than you do. We’ve
got
to go through the stargate and see what’s there. It doesn’t make sense not to. There might be a battle group waiting for us there, but it would be a lot better to fight the Drakuls in a place where they can’t shoot missiles at Earth while we’re fighting them. Having to choose between saving the planet and finishing off one of their ships would be a bit distracting, don’t you think?”

“That’s true,” the admiral replied
. “I see what you mean; I’d rather fight them there, too, if I had a choice. But our defenses are
here
.”

“The defenses are here
now
,” Captain Griffin agreed, “and that’s the problem. We need to go through and attack them in the other system if we can. If we go through and find ourselves overwhelmed, we beat a hasty retreat. But if we can go in there and take the system from them, we get the ability to fight a defense in depth. We can mine the other stargate in the system and make them have to bleed twice to get to the Solar System. Hopefully, we can buy enough time for the
Vella Gulf
to bring aid. Even if it doesn’t, it will at least give us more time to build ships of our own. If we let the Drakuls get into this system, all hope is lost. Perhaps if we hit them now, we can destroy at least a part of their force before it gets to be too large for us to beat.”

“You are in command of our only battleship,” Admiral Wright said. “We absolutely cannot afford to lose you.”

“How about if I do the same maneuver the Drakuls did,” asked Captain Griffin, “where I enter the stargate backwards? That way I am prepared to exit back to the Solar System if needed. I can get a quick look. If it’s good, I’ll continue in-system and will mine the other stargate. If there are too many Drakuls, I’ll run rather than engaging them in battle. How is that?”

“That might work,” said Admiral Wright thoughtfully. “That just might work...”

* * * * *

The 61 Virginis system almost felt like home to the Terrans. After all of the systems they had traveled through, the star known as 61 Virginis was the most Sun-like
one they had seen. Similar in composition to the Sun, it was just a tiny bit smaller, with only 95% of the Sun’s mass and 85% of its luminosity.

Five planets orbited the star
. The three planets closest to it were too hot to be habitable; the other two, however, were both habitable and inhabited. The fourth planet, the capital planet of Grrrnow, was remarkably similar to the Earth, although five times larger. The fifth planet, Grrrshow, was a little smaller and cooler, but still habitable.

“
We are being hailed by the planet,” said the communications officer. “We just received a message that the emperor has asked that you meet him at his private estate. They sent the coordinates.”

“
Then I guess that’s what we’ll do,” replied Captain Sheppard, looking at the image of a super dreadnought in orbit over the planet on the front view screen. The ship was almost three miles in length, with missile and laser ports running down its sides. “I’d hate to make them angry.”

The emperor looked like a bipedal black panther. His sable coat was a midnight black so deep that it shimmered
, with only a few white hairs here and there. He gave off a hunter’s aura so strong that ambassadors from many of the meeker races had a hard time being in his presence. Even the Terrans could feel it. “Welcome to Grrrnow,” he said as the Terran delegation was brought into his solarium. “I am Emperor Yazhak the Third. I understand that I have you to thank for returning my son and granddaughter to me. The empire rejoiced to find that the rumors of the crown prince’s demise were greatly exaggerated.”

“Thank you for your welcome
,” the ambassador replied. “I am Ambassador Juliette Ricketts-Smith. It is good to finally meet you, as we have heard much about you from your son.”

“Good to see you again,
too, grandson,” said the emperor, looking at Lieutenant Rrower. “I understand that you have had an interesting last few months.”

“Yes, grandfather,” Lieutenant
Rrower agreed. “When you suggested that I broaden my education with a tour of duty in the fleet, I don’t think that you planned anything like the last cruise of the
Emperor’s Paw
. It was, however, both exciting and educational. I believe that it has helped me to grow as both a leader and an officer.”

“Combat has a way of doing that,” agreed the emperor. “For those that survive it, anyway,” he added. He looked back to the ambassador. “Who else have you brought today?”

The ambassador turned to the rest of the Terran contingent and introduced them. “This is Captain Sheppard, the commanding officer of the cruiser
Vella Gulf
.” Captain Sheppard bowed. “To his right is Commander Anita Collins, the
Gulf’s
executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Shawn Hobbs, who leads our forces that go off-ship, and Steropes, who has taken on the role of advisor for our society.”

“All of you are very welcome here,” the emperor confirmed. “
I never thought I’d say it, but even you are welcome here,” he added to Steropes. “My son says that you have put aside the ways of your civilization and have decided to participate in society again.”

“I know that my civilization has many things to atone for,” Steropes said. “It is impossible for me to
make up for all of them, but those things that I can do, I will. I intend to help the Terrans in their current struggles and will do whatever I can for them. The loss of Olympos has caused me to rethink many of the things that we did in the past, and the reasons for why we did them. Perhaps it is also the close association I have had with the Terrans over the centuries; I think some of their values may have rubbed off on me.”

“Regardless of
what your civilization has done in the past,” the emperor said, “I was sorry to hear about the loss of your home world. I would not wish a Drakul invasion on anyone.”

Steropes nodded, overcome by emotion.

“Now, as I understand it,” the emperor said, turning back to the ambassador, “you have come looking for aid in your fight against the Drakuls.” The Terrans nodded. Before any of them could say anything, the emperor continued, “I am sorry, but is not possible to send you anything at this time. My son tells me that you would make an excellent ally, and, if given time, you will be able to stand on your own feet. Unfortunately, we are pressed on all sides. I do not know what has changed with the Ssselipsssiss, but something seems to be driving them toward us, and it is all that we can do to hold them back. Even the
Emperor’s Paw
is needed immediately, though it is but a cruiser. It is being re-provisioned and will leave tomorrow for the front lines with the super dreadnought in orbit. That will leave the capital undefended for the first time in memory. I’m sorry, but we don’t have any ships to spare. I fear that we won’t be able to defend the planets we already have, much less yours.”

“Your son told us that would probably be the answer,” the ambassador said, “but we still had to ask. Our need is gre
at; the peril is dire. The Drakuls have already found our planet, and it is only a matter of time before they show up in force. Terra stands alone, and it is unlikely that we will be able to turn them away without outside aid.”

“Then you must go on to the Archons, who are also fighting the Drakuls,” said the emperor. “It is unlikely they will be able to do anything for you either, but it is your only other option.
While some of the minor races might be able to send a ship or two, that is not what you need. You need several capital ships to defend your stargate.”

“
We understand,” the ambassador replied. “That is where we will go next.”

“I will be continuing on with the Terrans
,” Lieutenant Rrower said. “My father is sending me with them to help with the Archons and to learn all that I can from them. I would also like permission to go into combat with them if that becomes necessary. I have worked out with their troops, and I believe that I could help them.”

“
That makes sense,” the emperor said. “Do try not to get yourself killed.” He turned to the officers from the
Vella Gulf
. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Is that
Clowder Rock,” asked Calvin, gazing out the window at a large rock formation about half a mile away.

“Yes, it is,” the emperor replied. “How do you know of it?”

“It’s a long story,” said Calvin, “but we were told to look for formations like it. When we have more time, I would like to take a walk around it.”

“I’m sure my granddaughter,
Princess Merrorritor, would love to show it to you,” the emperor said. “She has a special connection to it and goes on walks there as often as she is allowed.”

“
There are four reasons why it’s so important,” said Captain Griffin, who had prepared for that question. “The first is a matter of convenience for me. I would much rather fight the Drakuls anywhere other than this system. If we have to fight them here, it will already be a desperate, last ditch fight. If we fail to control this stargate, we have nowhere to fall back to; if we lose this stargate, we lose Earth. Taking another system down the chain of stargates gives us options. It allows us to fight on our terms, rather than on theirs.”

“The second reason is similar to the first,” continued Captain Griffin. “If we fight them here, all they have to do to distract us is
start shooting things at Earth. If they launch missiles at Earth, we will be forced to decide whether to try to stop the missiles or continue fighting their spaceships. That is a sure roadmap to failure. Even if we focus on their ships first, we won’t fight as well, knowing that our homes and families are in jeopardy.”

“That makes sense,”
said Amanda Silva, the speaker of the lower house of parliament. “All things considered, I’d much rather they weren’t shooting missiles at the Earth.”

“Agreed,” said Captain Griffin. “Third, we need to know what is in the next system. There are a variety of tactical and operational reasons for going through the stargate. Maybe the Drakuls have something there like a replicator that we could capture and bring back, which would aid in our defense of the system. Maybe there is something there that would be detrimental to their war effort if they lost it, like the
refueling point necessary for them to continue their fight into our system. There are a number of things that might be there that would help us or hurt them. It’s worth taking a look.”

“Finally,” concluded Captain Griffin, “it buys us time. If we can control the next system, it will take them time to make a system entry there, and then additional time to regroup and do it again into our system. That will give the
Vella Gulf
extra time to find aid. Captain Yerrow didn’t think that his father would be able to send us aid. If that is true, then the
Vella Gulf
will have to go all the way to Archonis. That will add nearly a month both ways, plus whatever time is needed to organize their assistance. Best case, we are going to need to hold for at least three months before anyone shows up to help. Best case. Worst case, the
Vella Gulf
comes back without any assistance. The additional time will let us better prepare our defenses here. If we have to defend the system by ourselves, we’ll at least be in the best possible position to do so.”

“I think I understand all that,” said Masood Khalil, the secretary of state, “but as I also understand, you command our most capable ship. If we lose you, won’t the Drakuls be able to pour into our system, nearly unchecked?”

“Our destruction would significantly degrade Earth’s defenses,” acknowledged Captain Griffin; “the
Terra
is our most capable ship. However, I feel that it is better to use that advantage where I can fight the ship like I know how, without having to worry about defending the Earth at the same time I’m trying to kill Drakuls. I intend to use the same maneuver the last Drakul spaceship used on us. I will go through the stargate backwards; that way, I’ll be able to run if needed. While the risk of losing the
Terra
is there, I think I can sufficiently minimize the danger. We need to know what’s in the next system, and if we can take it, we will have more options for dealing with the Drakuls in the future.”

“I am not a military person,”
President Nehru said, “nor do I have much experience in military matters. Still, what you said makes sense; those are compelling reasons to go through the stargate and take a look.” She looked at Admiral Wright. “If you think there is reason enough to do it,” she said, “send the
Terra
through.”

* * * * *