Hero's Return, page 8
“It would be like them,” Julie whispered. “They both loved Hazard.”
Scott nodded. “So they turned everything off, directed all the escape pod’s power to Hazard’s stasis chamber, then they sat down and waited. The docs said they likely just went to sleep when the pod’s CO2 levels got too high, then they died when they used up the last of the oxygen.”
He looked directly at Julie. “They didn’t suffer.”
Julie nodded as she fought to hold back her tears. Both men had been friends.
Could I have done that? she wondered, then realized the question was stupid. Of course I could have. Or I’d at least like to think so.
“Didn’t you say we found the pod depressurized?”
“Yes. We don’t know how or when, but something punched a hole in the escape pod,” Dorothy said. “If I were to bet, I’d say it happened one of the times Superb translated into or out of hyperspace. You know the kind of stress that puts on a ship’s frame.”
“You’re probably correct,” Julie stated.
“Do you want to listen to the message?” Scott asked.
“Hell, no. I wouldn’t want to listen even if they’d addressed it to me. It’s Hazard’s, and we’ll wait for him to wake up. In the meantime, I want their bodies stored for future interment.”
“Already done,” Dorothy stated.
“Good.” Julie nodded as she stood. “Now, unless you two have something else that won’t wait, I need to get some sleep.”
Dorothy and Scott stood, as well.
“I’ll see you both in the morning,” Julie stated and, without waiting for a response, strode out of the admiral’s cabin.
* * *
“Okay, Dot. I’m not even sure where to begin,” Julie said the next morning over breakfast. Dorothy Evers and Scott Conners had joined the Federation’s president in her VIP suite.
“Anna won’t be joining us?”
Julie laughed. “Like the former Empress Elizabeth, my wife is not a morning person. Besides, over the last several weeks, she’s had to put up with rather cramped living conditions and decided she’d take advantage of Connie’s luxurious VIP accommodations today.”
Both of her guests chuckled, then exchanged glances. Scott made a gesture for Dorothy to start.
“It’s probably best to start chronologically,” Dorothy said. She began by discussing the upgrades to the Swarm cruisers and the sharing of imperial technology with the Mordorians and Pyrassuns.
Julie listened to the explanations, then sat a moment, digesting everything she’d heard. When she noted a look of concern developing on her fleet commander’s face, Julie realized her friend had taken the silence as disapproval of her actions.
“Sorry, Dorothy, I was just thinking through the ramifications of sharing our hyperspace and gravity drive technology,” Julie said. “You made the correct decision to give those to them.”
Finished with her breakfast, Julie pushed her plate away and took a sip of her coffee. “I made a promise to both races that we’d share everything. It was one of the conditions for forming the Federation. Bottom line, we either trust them or we don’t. And if we don’t, this alliance won’t work.”
“That was my feeling,” Dorothy said.
“Mine, too,” Scott added.
Julie nodded. “From what I’ve read about the possible Eesni threat, it looks like we’re going to need Mordorian and Pyrassun ships to support the fleet. And to be of any help, those ships have to be upgraded. Same thing applies to The People’s ships.”
“You told us about the support Dark Wanderer is providing,” Scott began, “but you were a little vague about how you obtained that support.”
The Federation’s president laughed. “That was intentional. With Kyle present, I felt I needed to be vague.”
Julie didn’t miss the looks her two senior advisors gave her and continued.
“It’s not that I don’t trust him. It’s just—I don’t trust him entirely.”
“Why not?” Scott asked.
Julie waved a hand dismissively. “I trust him to do what’s right for Earth and the Human Confederation. What I was worried about was him leaking the agreement to people who might send word back to Britannia.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. You obviously don’t want the Empire to learn of the agreement you made with The People. So what did you promise them for the manufacturing ships?” Scott asked.
“The United Federation of Planets and The People entered into a mutual defense treaty.”
“Julie, my fleet doesn’t have enough ships as it is to defend the Federation,” Dorothy stated emphatically. “How am I going to provide military assistance to a new ally that’s a thousand light years away?”
“By sleight of hand,” Julie stated. “Your current fleet won’t provide protection. That help will come from the 4th Swarm Defense Force.”
“But there isn’t a 4th…” Dorothy stopped. “The third manufacturing ship?”
“Yep,” Julie confirmed. “That ship is building modified missile destroyers, Imperial-style ships The People’s engineers have adapted for their warrior caste to operate.”
“But that violates the treaty the Swarm signed with the Empire,” Scott stated.
“The treaty—and I’m sure you know this, Scott, since you negotiated it—doesn’t allow The People to build new ships or improve their existing ones. But the new ships don’t belong to The People. They’re Federation ships.”
“I see why you don’t want certain people in Britannia knowing that,” Scott said.
Julie nodded. “Dark Wanderer was concerned about why I felt the need to create the Federation. When I explained it, the chief of chiefs, along with his senior advisors, became concerned about how the Imperial Senate might try to change the Empire’s treaty with them.”
“For someone who claims not to be a politician, that was a very political thing to do, Julie,” Dorothy Evers said.
Julie Adams shrugged. “At the time, it was the only way I saw to accomplish what all of us needed. But let’s move on.”
“Okay, but I have one last question before we do,” Scott stated.
Julie made a give-it-to-me gesture.
“Does Hiroko or Penny O’Higgin know about this mutual defense treaty?”
“Officially, they don’t,” Julie answered, “and I didn’t unofficially tell them, but—Christaan Klerk was involved in the initial discussions.”
Scott nodded. Christaan Klerk had replaced him as the Imperial ambassador to The People. He’d been Scott’s chief of staff before that, and had been one of the four people involved in the initial meeting with Dark Wanderer to discuss peace between The People and the Empire.
“Knowing Christaan, he politely excused himself from the room when you started discussing a separate treaty.”
“He did,” Julie confirmed. “I’m sure it was so he could officially say he knew nothing about the treaty. I’m also sure he has all the details. That’s why I stated the palace doesn’t officially know. Christaan might have back-channeled Penny or Aavai Bhains.”
Aavai Bhains, another of the initial four who were involved in first contact with The People, was Britannia’s Foreign minister.
“But let’s talk about the Eesni,” Julie said, trying to get the discussion moving back in the direction she wanted.
Dorothy Evers slumped back in her chair. “The Cat fleet protecting the colony effort in the 61 Cygni A System detected the energy system of a single Eesni ship shortly after the Pyrassun started their colonization.”
The Federation Fleet commander went on to detail everything that had happened after that. Julie listened patiently.
“So they’re not the bogeymen, after all,” she stated when Dorothy finished.
“Oh, they’re tough. Our losses attest to that. But our ships can hurt them. Bright Crystal’s force proved that.”
“Still, we’re upside down in the loss ratio,” Julie pointed out. “We’ve lost five Swarm cruisers. Those are ships that will be hard to replace. That’s our Achilles’ heel right now. Replacing ship losses. We don’t have the ship-building capacity the Empire has, nor a ‘boneyard’ of retired ships to upgrade and place back in service.”
“Replacing the ships may not be as hard as you think.” Scott Conners said. “Julie, did you bring the designs for the new Swarm missile destroyers?”
Julie slapped her forehead. “I didn’t even think of that. I’m sure the large manufacturing ship can crank them out faster than a Swarm cruiser.”
The Federation president’s elation at finding a workable solution turned to concern.
“But that only works if we have hyper missiles to equip them with,” Julie added. “Where do we stand with Mk III missile production?”
“Both the Mordorians and the Pyrassuns finally have facilities online. Neither government likes that the Federation is retaining exclusive rights to the weapons, though,” Dorothy reported.
“I’ll make trips to both capitals to speak with their leaders. They’ll eventually get the missiles; they know it,” Jule said.
“As of right now, every missile ship has full magazines,” Dorothy continued, “but my staff supply people report the eight missile colliers are only a quarter full. Our allies are making the missiles, but it’s slow going.”
“What’s the holdup?” Julie asked.
“Exotic matter,” Dorothy responded. “Neither the Cats nor the Lizards have the facilities to make it. That was one of the ways the Zenkarr controlled each race. To build hyper-capable ships, the Mordorians and Pyrassuns had to buy exotic matter from the Bears to manufacture the generators and emitters necessary for hyper travel.”
“What about our facilities?” Julie asked.
“The Mars facility is now in production,” Dorothy reported, “but it’s incredibly slow.”
“And if we’re building additional ships, that will divert some of the matter away from missile production,” Scott said.
“What are the chances of buying exotic matter from the Empire?” Dorothy asked.
“I’m sure we could,” Julie said. “At least once,” the Federation president quickly amended. “The Senate would likely put conditions on any follow-up sales, but our currency reserves aren’t unlimited. I’d prefer not to spend what credits we have on exotic matter.”
“We’re working with the Cats and Lizards to develop their facilities,” Dorothy reported, “but we’re a year, maybe two, from seeing worthwhile production from them.”
“With the Eesni already knocking on our door,” Scott pointed out.
Julie nodded. “I suspected the Eesni would eventually become a problem, I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. What do our Crab friends have to say about this?”
“No more than before you left, I’m afraid,” Scott answered. “I was going to take the Churchill and visit Red, but Dorothy suggested we send Snake instead.”
“It was he, after all, who made first contact with the Crabs,” Dorothy pointed out. “And Snake seems to have a good relationship with Defender of the Crimson Lagoon, or Red, as he refers to himself. I’m hoping an in-person visit might shake loose some information, because the Cegvath ambassador hasn’t provided any meaningful information when I’ve messaged him.”
“I was wondering where Darrel was,” Julie said. “It surprised me that he wasn’t in the Pegasus System. Of all of us, he was probably the closest to Hazard.”
“All of us who are still alive, you mean,” Scott amended. “Mike and Phil were probably closer, but Snake wasn’t far behind.”
Scott’s statement made Julie think of the two men, who were also her friends, who’d willingly given their lives for their emperor and friend.
“Are the Crabs not talking because they don’t know anything about the Eesni or something else?”
“I’m betting something else,” Scott stated. “We know the Cegvath have been in space longer than the Zenkarr, and much longer than us. All you have to do is look at the map to see that they had to have bumped into the Eesni as they explored space.”
Julie had to agree. The Zenkarr Empire covered a large swath of space coreward of the three races that now made up the Federation. Even further coreward, the Bear region of space butted up against Cegvath and Eesni space.
“You believe the Cegvath fear the Eesni?” Julie asked.
“I wouldn’t say ‘fear,’” Scott said. “Let’s say ‘wary.’”
“Explain why you believe that,” Julie ordered.
“The Zenkarr built outposts along their border with the Cegvath, cutting them off from habitable planets farther rimward. Even though the Crabs wanted those new colonies—we saw that in the way they negotiated with us—they didn’t press the Bears on it. They let the Zenkarr box them out.”
“Because they believed they couldn’t win?” Julie asked.
Scott shrugged. “I don’t know. The two sides fought a series of minor wars nearly a thousand years ago. The border ebbed back and forth several times, with neither side gaining an advantage for long, until they finally signed a peace treaty. In the end, the Bears won because they kept the Crabs from expanding.”
“But after our little war with the Zenkarr, we discovered the Eesni scared them to death. So much so that they pulled back to a border the Eesni drew and never crossed it. That’s why I think the Cegvath are just as scared of the Eesni,” Dorothy added.
“I don’t know that I agree with that,” Scott said. Knowing that Julie would ask why, he continued, “We know the Bears fear the Eesni. These enigmatic aliens destroyed several Zenkarr fleets. But with that much of an advantage, why didn’t the Eesni continue expanding? It was six, seven hundred years, and they didn’t. Then suddenly, we kick the Bears’ asses, and the Eesni become active on that border.”
“Because we destroyed most of the Zenkarr Fleet. They had nothing defending the border any longer,” Dorothy said.
“That may be one answer,” Scott responded, “but remember, the Eesni defeated many Bear fleets. I find it hard to believe the one nodal force they had stationed on that border deterred the Eesni.”
“Then what changed, Scott?” Julie asked.
Scott slumped back in his armchair, steepling his fingers on his chest.
“Now, I admit this is speculation,” he began, “but what if the Cegvath and the Eesni were in what amounted to a cold war along their borders? Each side evenly matched, and neither side able to pull forces away to deal with the Zenkarr. Then we come along and nearly destroy the Zenkarr Fleet. The Cegvath can suddenly expand.”
“And so can the Eesni,” Dorothy said, suddenly understanding Scott’s argument.
“You may be correct, Scott,” Julie said. “It fits, but it’s still just speculation. Did you share this theory with Snake?”
Scott nodded.
“Well, if he can’t do anything with it, no one can,” Julie stated. “I guess for now, we just have to wait and see what the Eesni do next.”
* * *
Two days later, Julie found out what the secretive aliens would do next. Dorothy commed her asking for a meeting, ASAP, that Julie promptly agreed to. Two minutes after ending the call, Dorothy walked into her VIP suite’s office.
“What’s up with calling for an appointment?” Julie asked as Dorothy sat in a chair across the desk from her.
“Well, you’re the president,” the admiral began. “I can’t just show up at your door.”
Julie didn’t even try not to roll her eyes at the comment.
“I know you don’t think of yourself that way, but you are the leader of an alliance of three races. You can poo-poo it all you want, but you’re important.”
“But it’s only temporary, since I’m just holding down the job while we get things organized.”
“I believe that’s what you hope you’re doing,” Dorothy responded. “I know better. And you left me here, sorta in charge, while you went back to Britannia. I know what the Pyrassuns and Mordorians think of you. More importantly, I know what they think of each other. It will be a long time before either race will accept the other as the leader of the Federation. That leaves a human to lead.”
“I know that,” Julie responded. “That’s why I’m going to turn everything over to Kyle Kane as soon as I can. He’s the politician and has the experience to be a head of state.”
“The Lizards and the Cats would never accept him,” Dorothy reported. “Hell, he didn’t even come to the semi-annual meeting of the council. Scott had to represent humanity. Kyle couldn’t attend because he was dealing with food production issues on Earth.”
“Was he?”
“Was he what?”
“Dealing with food production issues?”
“Yes.”
“Well, geez, Dot. He is the leader of the Human Confederation. Making sure they have enough food is important.”
“But nothing he was going to do would have an immediate impact on the situation. Him not attending gave our allies the impression that he’d always put humans first if he was the Federation president.”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
“It’s not untrue. Remember, perception is reality. More importantly, they don’t see you in that same light.”
Julie waved a hand dismissively. “That’s all stuff that can wait. What’s so urgent that you had to call for an immediate appointment with me?”
“A courier ship from 61 Cygni A intercepted us. It was on its way to Pegasus to deliver dispatches to me.”
“The Eesni?”
Dorothy nodded. “And in force. Thirty cruiser-size ships.”
“Ouch,” Julie said and leaned back in her high-backed desk chair. She’d reviewed the records of Bright Crystal’s first two engagements against the alien race.
“What’s the status of the system, and how bad did we get hurt?” the president of the Federation asked. “I know Chuck had a good-sized force in the system, but thirty ships …”
“1st Strike Force drove off the attack and inflicted heavy casualties. Only one Eesni ship escaped.”
“And…?”
“We lost eight missile destroyers.”
Julie grimaced. “Nearly a thousand officers and spacers,” she whispered.
