Hero's Return, page 17
“Is that how two old friends say goodbye?” Dorothy asked, standing and walking around the desk.
“No, it isn’t,” Julie responded and pulled the younger admiral into an embrace.
“You need to remember, I’m your cute, girly admiral.”
“As opposed to?” Julie asked.
“Aiden. Your grumpy, old maid admiral.”
Julie laughed. “Never let her hear you say that. She’s actually worried about being alone for the rest of her life. It really bothers her.”
“Then you and I can work on her when I get back. Just hold things together till I get back, my friend.”
“I’ll do my best.”
* * * * *
Chapter 12: Preparing for War
Mordor System
United Federation Space
Empire Date: Mar 1049
“Do you believe the claims of the Zenkarr parasite?” Gorgonian, supreme leader of the Mordorian Horde, asked.
“Are you asking if Nieqids is telling us the whole truth?” Julie shook her head. “No, I doubt it. I don’t trust the Bears any more than you do, Supreme Leader, but what he has told us fits with other information we’ve received.”
“When we are in private like this, Julie, please call me Gorgonian. Using titles just makes things more complicated.”
“As you wish, Gorgonian.”
Julie sat in a private audience chamber with the Mordorian leader. Sitting on Gorgonian’s left was Zogonian, the head of the Mordorian Council. The council had nothing to do with running the Horde. Its sole purpose was to select the supreme leader when the position was vacant.
Like the absence caused when our fleet blew the previous bastard away.
Zogonian had been instrumental in selecting Gorgonian, who’d been the Horde’s chancellor before his ascension. Julie had met with each Lizard previously, of course, when she was setting up the coalition that became the United Federation of Planets, and knew the two were close friends, but she still hadn’t decided who was really in control of the Mordorian government.
She’d spoken to Scott Conners about it, and he was unsure, as well. Was Gorgonian truly in charge with Zogonian as a trusted advisor? Or was the latter the power behind the throne? Today, it didn’t matter, since both were present.
After formal greetings in the main throne room, the group had retired to this cozier and very private chamber to discuss the real purpose of Julie’s visit.
“This data chip contains a recording of the conversation the Zenkarr fleet commander had with Admiral Anderson, commander of the Federation force defending the Genesis Colony.” Per protocol, Julie handed the chip to Zogonian, since Mordorian law forbade any outsider from touching the supreme leader.
“You’ve shared this with the Cats?” Gorgonian asked.
“Admiral Anderson sent a copy to the local Pyrassun commander. Since she’s the supreme pack leader’s daughter, I’m sure he’s seen it by now. And if he hasn’t seen it, the Pyrassun home world is my next stop.”
“And did they have an initial response?”
“Our wins over the Eesni, the destruction of their ships, impressed the local Pyrassun commander.”
“As it has us,” Zogonian stated. “We respected your race as warriors after you defeated us. But after you whipped the Bears, and with such ease…”
“We worried if we should fear you,” Gorgonian broke in. “We worried—I worried—whether we’d traded one master for another. Then you offered us an alliance, making us equal partners with you.”
“And the Pyrassuns,” Julie promptly added.
“And the damn Cats.” Gorgonian let loose a low rumble that was the Mordorian equivalent of a laugh. “Whom you’d whipped as easily as you had us.”
“What my friend is beating around the pond, trying to say is, a Mordorian would have done it differently,” Zogonian said. “We’d have conquered you. Hell, we did conquer you.”
And were damn cruel doing it, Julie thought. She still wondered how Hazard could have made peace with these people. But if he could look past the near genocide of the human race, she could as well.
“Not us, per se, but I get your point.”
“And the Cats would have done the same thing, given half a chance.”
“What are the Cegvath saying?” Gorgonian asked.
Julie cocked her head. “You’ve interacted with them longer than we have. What do you think they’re saying?”
“If it was us or the Pyrassun, they’d be saying nothing. They wouldn’t even meet with us. But they’ve been surprisingly chatty with you humans,” the supreme leader responded.
“That might be because the Bears used both you and the Cats to pen them in. They won’t interact with us if there’s someone from either race present. The only reason Red attended the treaty signing meeting was because it let his race stick a thumb—or in their case, claw—in the Zenkarr’s eye. Regardless, the Zenkarr aren’t sharing anything they know about the Eesni with us.”
“Even though they have to know a lot,” Zogonian said. “They share a long border with the enigmatic race. They have to know something.”
“Do you believe they’re holding back out of fear of retaliation?” Gorgonian asked.
“We don’t think so. My staff believes the Crabs have some type of ceasefire with the Eesni and fear upsetting that.”
“But is it a ceasefire between equals? Or are they vassals, similar to the way the Zenkarr controlled both us and the Pyrassun?” the supreme leader asked.
Julie hoped the two Mordorians didn’t see her tense.
Damn, I never considered that, and no one else has brought it up. I’ll need to speak with Scott about it. And Snake, if he ever shows back up.
“That’s always a possibility. But if it was that type of relationship, I would have expected to see Eesni at this end of the border.”
The supreme leader nodded, then cocked a head toward his chancellor.
“What are you proposing, Julie Adams?” Zogonian asked.
“Right now, nothing,” Julie responded. “There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before we get to the point of proposing action.”
Julie cocked her head. “But your people and mine aren’t all that different when it comes to making war. Neither of us likes sitting back and waiting for the enemy. So far, that’s what we’ve been doing regarding the Eesni.”
“We Mordorians have always felt doing that was without honor. And since you feel the same, why not act?”
“Because we might not have the strength to do it.”
“We know of your losses, but you still have your most powerful warships. The ones you defeated the Zenkarr with. That should be sufficient,” Zogonian stated.
It didn’t surprise Julie that the chancellor and council leader would take the lead in a military discussion. He had been a Horde Force commander at one time.
“Oh—” Julie waved a hand dismissively “—we have sufficient force to do it. At least we think we do. But that would mean leaving much of the Federation open to attack. And we honor our commitments to defend all the Federation’s member races.”
“Currently, you’re not defending the Mordorian home world like you are Earth and Pyrassun,” the chancellor pointed out.
“We’re not directly defending Mordor, no, but we have a powerful force defending the Mordorian systems of Delta Pavonis and Tau Ceti. Any attack on Mordor would have to pass by those systems, and we’d be able to intercept it.”
The two Lizards stared at her for a long moment. During previous negotiations with the Mordorians, Julie had learned that the race didn’t blink the way humans did. And right now, neither was blinking. The whole situation was beginning to get creepy when Zogonian finally spoke.
“You want us to take responsibility for defending Tau Ceti?”
“If we—and by we, I mean the members of the Federation—decide we need to go on the attack against the Eesni, yes. The Mordorian Horde will need to provide a force to defend the star system.”
“Even though we’ve designated the star system as the capital of the Federation?”
Julie nodded. “Even though it’s the capital. Most of the planet’s population is Mordorian, after all, and the Horde does have the honor of hosting the Federation’s capital.”
“A fact we are proud of,” Gorgonian said.
“What of the Cats? What are they providing? After all, it is their colony that’s cost your fleet warships in its defense,” Zogonian asked.
“Cost our fleet,” Julie corrected, “not my fleet. Even though the UFP Fleet is entirely human, that was part of the deal when we formed the Federation. Humanity provides the fleet that destroyed the Zenkarr, continuing our commitment to protect you and the Pyrassun from Zenkarr aggression. You and the Cats provide financial support to the Federation.”
Zogonian waved a clawed hand. “Yes, yes. We understand that commitment. But answer the question. What are the Cats providing?”
“You know that’s my next stop—” Julie shifted her gaze between the Lizard leaders “—and I’m going to have this same conversation with them. You both know the Cats are upgrading their ships, just as you are, using new weapons designed with the technology we seized from the Zenkarr. And yes, I will ask them to do more, because we have lost warships defending their new colony. I’ll insist they take over the responsibility of defending their new colony, and—” Julie held up a hand to forestall the chancellor’s next comment “—they’ll take over most of the responsibility for defending their home star system.”
That the Federation Fleet maintained a force in the Pyrassun Star System had long been a sore spot for the Mordorians, since Federation forces didn’t defend Mordor.
“About time they took on that responsibility,” Zogonian muttered.
“Chancellor, that was all discussed and approved at the time.”
“By a two-to-one vote. Humanity sided with the Cats against us,” the supreme leader growled, accusingly.
“And you know why we voted that way. The Pyrassun System is within easy reach of the Bears, and thus far more vulnerable.”
Both Lizards growled but said nothing more on the subject.
Deities, I love politics. Why did I ever agree to take charge of this circus?
“One last item, Madame President—” Zogonian began.
Seeing that the supreme leader’s advisor had suddenly become formal, Julie realized the chancellor wanted something in return for Mordorian warships.
“—and this is mutually beneficial for the entire Federation. I’m sure Admiral Evers briefed you on our new construction. We’re calling them battleships, since they’re equivalent in size and capabilities to human battleships. The first four—I believe you call that a division?”
Julie nodded.
“The first division of them has nearly completed construction. I say nearly, because we lack a key material to finish them.”
“I’m aware of the ships, and their design impresses me.”
And they are impressive ships. Dual antimatter cores provide them with way more power than they’ll ever use. With improved shields based on Zenkarr technology and the new missiles and particle beams, they’re actually better than human-improved battleships.
“We need exotic matter to complete them,” Zogonian stated, “and we’re hoping the Federation might provide it.”
“I don’t have a problem with promising that.”
Both officials gave Julie big, toothy grins. From any of the other races Julie had encountered, a grin would be comforting, or possibly suspicious. From a race with a head that reminded humans of an alligator, the grin was frightening.
“But.” The single word wiped the grins off of each Lizard’s face. “Exotic material is in short supply. I will need to check with my staff to see what’s available. However, I promise you, those four warships just went to the top of the priority list to get the material.”
The grins returned.
“Then, to support the Federation—which the Horde does believe in—two squadrons of our upgraded cruiser-size warships will depart for Tau Ceti within ten turns.”
Julie rose from her bench. She wasn’t sure whether it violated protocol or not, but she was the president of the Federation.
“The Federation and I thank you for the support and look forward to the closer ties today’s agreements will bring.”
Both Lizards bobbed their heads in acknowledgement.
As she reached the door, she heard the supreme leader mumble, “The Cats better do their part.”
Julie couldn’t tell if Gorgonian intended for her to hear the comment. Since she was facing away, she gave a very undiplomatic eye roll and walked out of the chamber.
* * *
“How did it go?” Sydney Gould, Julie’s chief of staff, asked.
The Federation president stuck her left hand out and waggled it.
“That well, huh?”
Julie exhaled loudly. “Days like today remind me why I didn’t want this job.”
She tilted her head back till it touched the sofa and stared at the overhead of her stateroom.
“Do me a favor, and fix us both a drink. While you do that, I’ll fill you in.”
“I can do that,” Syd said, levered himself out of the armchair he sat in, and headed for the bar.
“The cheap stuff, Syd,” Julie called after him. “In my current mood, I wouldn’t appreciate the taste of the good stuff.”
“Two glasses of grog coming up, Madame President.”
Julie chuckled at the comment.
“It’s not as bad as I’m making it sound, but dammit, I hate all the horse-trading I had to do.”
“So the Lizards will take over the defense of Tau Ceti?”
“Yeah. They promised to send two squadrons of their improved cruiser-sized ships within the next ten days.”
Sydney walked to where she sat, and handed her a half-full glass of whiskey, then slumped into his seat.
“What did you have to promise them in return?”
Julie sat back up and took a drink of her whiskey, then grimaced.
“I said I didn’t want the good stuff. I didn’t say go to the head and get me a glass of toilet water. And I know this is cheap, but you put ice in yours. You need to drink it like a man, you barbarian.”
Sydney chuckled.
Julie took a sip, then raised her glass. “Here’s to you, Mike. Thanks for teaching us all how to drink like adults.”
“To Mike Sondheim. A hero to the end.” Sydney raised his glass in salute.
“I’m going to miss that grumpy old Scotsman. But you’re right. He went out serving his prince.”
“Emperor,” Sydney corrected his boss.
Julie gave her chief of staff a stare. “To Gunner Mike, Hazard was always his prince.”
Gould spread his arms and nodded in apology.
“You were going to brief me on the Lizards’ conditions.”
“Two of them, and I categorize them as an ask and a condition,” Julie explained. “First, they’re nearly done building the first four of their new-generation warships. The Lizards are going to call them battleships. Since I’m sure you read Dorothy’s updates, you should know the ones I’m talking about.”
Sydney nodded. “Based on the specs, they look like capable ships. Better than our improved battleship design.”
“I agree. There’s just one issue. They need exotic material to finish building the hyper equipment for them. That’s their ask. They want us to provide it.”
“Do we have any available to give them?”
“That’s what I need you to find out. I promised them they’d go to the head of the line for what’s available.”
“I’ll check on it,” Sydney stated. “Off the top of my head, I’m sure there’s some available, but it will mean delaying the upgrade of Swarm cruisers.”
Julie shrugged. “The price of doing business, I guess.”
“So, what’s the condition they set?”
“Ah. The condition. I’m concerned this might be the sticking point. Remember when we divvied up defensive forces, and they were upset that Federation Fleet units wouldn’t be defending Mordor?”
“I thought they were over that?”
“Officially, they were. In reality, they’re not. The supreme leader is still miffed about it.”
“So they want us to station ships in Mordor? That sorta defeats our plan to strip forces out to create a strike force.”
“Oh, no, that’s not what the Lizards are asking for. They’re asking for the Cats to step up and defend their own systems.”
“You said systems.”
Juie nodded. “Gorgonian wants the Cats to take over protecting 61 Cygni and the Pyrassun home system.”
“That might be an issue.”
“I believe there’s no ‘might’ in it. It will be an issue. I got them to back off of making the Cats provide all the protection for Pyrassun, but they want the supreme pack leader to shoulder the load for the defense of his empire. It’s a showstopper for them.”
“Or?”
“Or they’ll pull their ships back from Tau Ceti.”
“Ouch.”
“I sure could use Snake for this. He has a good relationship with the Cats. Way better than mine. Has there been any word from him?”
Sydney shook his head. “The courier went out two days ago, but it will take time to reach him. And Pyrassun intelligence is passing the word through their network.”
“Which will take time, as well. I know. And it’s not so much that I need him for this—I’ll muddle along somehow—but I really need to know what’s up with the Cegvath.”
“All we can do is all we can do,” Sydney said, using the old saying.
Julie used her tablet to pull up a navigation map on one of the wall screens. She was making a diplomatic tour aboard the diplomatic ship Winston Churchill. It was halfway to Mordor’s hyper limit.
“Make sure you get the messages off regarding the information I need before we leave this system, Syd.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am.”
* * *
Pyrassun System
United Federation Space
Empire Date: Mar 1049
A week later, the Winston Churchill entered orbit around Pyrassun, the homeworld of the Pyrassun people and capital of their small hegemony. Four strike packs of the Pyrassun Fleet orbited the planet, providing close-in defense, and four more patrolled the outer system.
