Kelly Blake 3: Where the Stars Are Few and Far Between (43 page)

She backed out of his room and turned out the light as she left. She retired to her quarters and composed a message to Elder G’Tol that she had stopped J’Gon from contemplating suicide. She warned him to have J’Kol watch for overambitious members of his faction attempting to unseat him. She suggested that perhaps Baron G’Rof might be groomed to replace J’Gon. She closed out the message to G’Tol and thought about her strange mission of serving one Elder, but reporting to another. “Oh well,” she thought, “What are cousins for?”

 
Chapter Twenty-Three
 

 Admiral Chang wanted to conduct the negotiation on G’Durin. He looked at his options and wasn’t pleased with going down to the surface in his Admiral’s Gig. It wasn’t very impressive to land in what is essentially a small yacht. He could go down in an AS-500, but that was too utilitarian and not at all impressive. He knew the answer. He ordered the Orion to rendezvous and dock with his flagship, but first picking up Jotil Lenkva and her entourage. She would be the senior Angaerry representative at the talks.

He informed Baron G’Rof that they would be negotiating on the G’Durin at the government center. He only provided slight resistance. Admiral Chang ordered LTG Taylor to erect an extra large insta-shelter on the government center to use as a negotiation hall. He had his staff and Ambassador Thorson provide LTG Taylor with the details on internal arrangement, facilities, and services.

He wanted the Orion parked very close by for visual effect. He wanted a parking area cleared adjacent to the negotiating hall to use as a landing pad. Admiral Chang also wanted a second insta-shelter or suitable K’Rang quarters for him and his staff and his Angaerry allies. The Orion would be used for alliance-only discussions.

* * * * *

The negotiations began on a crisp, cool G’Durin morning. Kelly smelled what on earth would be a pine scent, but was sure it must be some G’Durin cousin to the spruce or white pine back on Earth. He walked over to the big tent and peeked inside. Seeing frenzied last minute preparations underway, he pulled back. He looked around for the brigade HQ that controlled this area and found it under a copse of the trees giving off that wonderful scent.

He appeared at the entrance and enquired if Major Chen was in. The guard asked his name, asked him to wait, and sent a runner inside. The runner came back with Major Chen and here eyes lit up.

“Commander Blake, how the hell are you?”

“I’m fine, Mary. How have you been? I see you’re all in one piece.”

“Hey, look at this,” she pointed out his wedding ring, “I’m fine. I heard you got hitched. Who’s the lucky lady?”

“I married Candy Craddock, Admiral Craddock’s daughter. Here’s her picture.”

“Wow! She’s a stunner. You’re a lucky man. I wish you all the best, Kelly. How is it you always outrank me?”

Kelly smiled and said, “I guess I’m just better than you,” and laughed.

She winced, growled at him, and said, “Nah, that can’t be it.”

They both laughed and Mary excused herself. She had to go take care of some security issues for the conference.

Kelly walked back to his ship and went into the CIC. The Orion’s sensors didn’t just work in space. A number of them worked equally well on a planet’s surface. He had his crew monitoring for hostile K’Rang communications, heat sources in buildings, and gunfire. Since the Imperial Guard started going on patrols with the Marines, the gunfire and sniping decreased to almost nothing. Kelly kept his sensor section busy just the same. This surrender conference can’t sit well with a lot of K’Rang. He also kept a gunner in top turret control at all times. Better safe than sorry.

* * * * *

At 1000 hours the K’Rang delegation arrived. Kelly thought they looked elegant in their maroon capes. The Angaerry delegation arrived next, in a tan uniform with a hat vaguely resembling an early American cavalry helmet. Admiral Chang and his delegation arrived next. He saw Kelly and waved him over.

“Kelly, Jotil Lenkva has asked you to sit in as her military advisor. She wants to ensure some nuance doesn’t get by her. We will start in 30 minutes. Go get you and your best translator into your dress blues and be right back here before we start.”

Kelly rushed to change. He snagged his best translator and got her changing. He dashed into his cabin and pulled his dress uniform out and quickly dressed. After he was properly dressed, he stepped out of his cabin and expected to have to send a chief to get the translator hopping, but she was right outside his door, waiting. He looked her up and down and her uniform was perfect.

He told her, “Good work and let’s go.” They marched together to the tent and were motioned over by Jotil Lenkva. She pointed out her seat and asked Kelly to take the one to the left of it. His translator would sit immediately behind him.

Kelly looked around at the other delegates. Each delegation had six members plus translators. The Angaerry delegation decided to speak K’Rang, so only Kelly had a translator. Kelly could probably do without a translator, but he wanted to keep his knowledge of K’Rang low key.

Admiral Chang started off the conference by introducing his delegation. Jotil Lenkva introduced her delegation, including Kelly as her military advisor. Shadow Force Commander (Baron) G’Rof introduced his delegation. With the exception of Kelly, the delegations were admirals or equivalent.

The first item of business was the cease-fire and armistice. All delegations agreed to a permanent cessation of hostilities. The next topic was the occupation of the K’Rang capital. This resulted in a great deal of controversy and much heated language, as the K’Rang wanted the occupiers evacuated immediately and the Galactic Republic wasn’t in that much of a hurry. The item was tabled for future consideration and other items were considered in its place. The discussions went on late into the night, breaking up when delegates had trouble remembering what they had agreed to.

* * * * *

Candy got a new message from Kelly. He told her he loved her; that the war was over, and they were in negotiations with the K’Rang to reduce them as a threat and ensure peace in their part of the galaxy.

He told her he was involved in the negotiations and he would be back to her as soon as the Fleet was released back to the GR. He had no idea when that might be. He felt that if they did their job right, it would result in years of peace. He closed the message with a short video of the K’Rang capital city.

* * * * *

The session began at 1000 hours, G’Durin time, as it had yesterday. The tenor and volume of conversations gave Kelly the impression that progress on the issues was not only possible, but also desired by all delegations.

Admiral Chang began the day by having his recorders read off the agreements from the day before. The agreements included: a permanent cease-fire, a diplomatic exchange treaty, and a right of free transit for ships across K’Rang space between the Galactic Republic and the Angaerry Republic. The disputed boundary in Angaerry space was ceded back to the Angaerry with all six planets. The issue of removal of the occupation forces and a trade agreement between the allies and the K’Rang were tabled for later.

Admiral Chang, with Ambassador Thorson’s help, began negotiations with cultural exchanges and disposition of the K’Rang Fleet. The negotiations went on all day again. At the end of the day, all items had been agreed to, although some had timelines and conditions before they could be implemented. The cultural exchanges and trade agreements were tied to establishment of K’Rang embassies in Geneva and the Angaerry capital city.

The K’Rang Fleet was limited to the current ships remaining in the Grand Armada, all 125 of them. Each ship would be identified and classified by type. Replacement ships could be built after the ship was scrapped in the presence of witnesses from the Alliance. If a ship was destroyed in a collision or other accident, evidence must be presented to the Alliance embassies before a replacement ship could be built.

A number of other agreements were accepted in principle, but would be held in abeyance until the occupation forces were evacuated from K’Rang space. The K’Rang Grand Armada was released to redeploy as the commander saw fit, as soon as prisoners were exchanged. Arrangements were made to transfer the K’Rang prisoners and those stranded in the Eridanus sector. 45 Human pilots and weapons officers were released from the K’Rang ships that rescued them. The Grand Armada formed into four relatively equal fleets and moved out to remaining shipyards in the four K’Rang Fleet areas for refit and repair.

* * * * *

LTG David Taylor met with Admiral Chang to discuss the occupation of the K’Rang capital. Admiral Chang was in a good mood, because he got almost everything he wanted in the negotiation. LTG Taylor started the discussion by pointing out that his Marines could continue the occupation indefinitely, but he didn’t recommend it. Now that it seemed they had made their point with the K’Rang, he recommended setting a date for redeployment from the K’Rang capital. Admiral Chang surprised him by telling him he could start preparing his Marines and move them back to the assault landing carriers as soon as they were ready. The Marines had already provided all the leverage he needed.

The K’Rang Elders and the Galactic Republic’s president had already signed their copies. The Angaerry High Minster would sign them as soon as the Angaerry Fleet returned to their capital with the documents. The official documents would be returned for deposit on Earth, on G’Durin, and on Gronir.

* * * * *

Admiral Chang called Kelly to his office in the tent complex. He had Kelly sit down and said, “Kelly, I have a request from Jotil Lenkva for you to be the first Galactic Republic Defense Attaché to the Angaerry. I’ll offer you the job, but this is entirely up to you. I realize you’re a newlywed and this is a hell of a thing to spring on your new bride, but consider it. Talk it over with her. Let me know what you decide.”

“I just want to thank you for all you’ve done to make us victorious. I consider your convincing the Angaerry to deploy their fleet was the decisive factor in our triumph. When G‘Rof realized 250 Angaerry ships with effective missiles stood in his path, it took all the fight out of him. He knew he had lost. I’ll savor that moment for a long time.”

* * * * *

With the negotiations complete, GR space tugs from Leonov and Gagarin transported in to tow damaged ships back to the spacedocks for repair or scrapping, depending on the level of damage. Using the rings, it only took three days. All damaged GR hulls had been retrieved and were home. Continuous search and rescue missions turned up another 24 pilots and weapons officers in their ejection pods. Over 700 crewmen were found alive in sealed compartments on the ships returned to GR space.

Admiral Chang allowed the 2nd Combined Fleet to return first, in honor of the beating it took and damage it caused to the Grand Armada. As soon as their Marines were back on the assault landing carriers, they departed. The Angaerry released all ships to return, except for a five-ship honor guard for Jotil Lenkva’s flagship. Ambassador Thorson would return with the Angaerry flagship, to take up his post as GR ambassador to the Angaerry.

* * * * *

Mary Chen had the extra large insta-shelter used for the negotiations broken down and taken back up to their carrier. She called down all the AS-500s as the final large insta-shelter was struck and packed. She folded the perimeter from the outside in and had Marines load their vehicles from the heavy battalion and HQ, then loaded the light battalions last. As the AS-500s lifted off one by one and cleared the atmosphere, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. They had made it.

Her brigade had conducted two combat assaults on an enemy capital under fire, occupied the center of government for two weeks, and had a total loss of two Marines. She focused on those two Marines.

One had been a big strapping boy from the steppes of Russia. He was the oldest of four children, two brothers and a baby sister, that would undoubtedly miss him very much. His parents were both dead. Mary vowed to attend the ceremony. The other had been a member of the heavy battalion, Mary’s old unit. Mary knew him as an ambitious, patriotic Marine that hated maintaining vehicles. She remembered hearing him grouse as she held her 2400 hours vehicle re-inspection. He put in for a transfer to the 1st of the 15th Marines (Light) after Mary had moved up to brigade HQ, because he wanted to be up front where the action was. He had a wife, one son, and a daughter on the way. Mary vowed to be at his ceremony too.

* * * * *

Admiral Chang moved onto the Orion and was given Kelly’s cabin for the few days he would be aboard. He also reviewed his losses, reading down the list of battle cruisers, cruisers, destroyer, frigates, scouts, and support ships. He just read the ship names, occasionally remembering serving on board one or commanding another. He deliberately avoided counting them or turning to the summary page. He didn’t want to know the cost yet. He wanted to revel in his victory for a while longer, before he succumbed to the reality that it came at a high cost.

He knew there would be a victory parade for him when he returned. It was a tradition. It gave the public a sense they had a part in the triumph over the K’Rang. He knew better. As the commander, it all came down on him. Hundreds of ships were lost, with thousands of crew. He held onto the feeling of triumph, for it kept back the anguish at knowing that, on his orders, men and women gave their lives to put an end to the K’Rang hostility. He heard a knock on the door, shook off his melancholy, and said enter.

Kelly stuck his head in and said, “Sorry to disturb you sir, but I need something from my desk.”

“Come in, Kelly. Get what you need and sit down.”

Kelly said, “Yes sir,” and rifled through his desk for his supply report memory device. He retrieved it and sat down opposite the admiral.