Probe Predators (16 page)

Drey looked around the room and no one moved. “You know the Union is in danger and the only thing standing between these new invaders and our civilians is the warriors defending them. You are going to have to organize your fleets and select the best officers to command them. I would not recommend promoting your friends and pals unless they have what it takes to be a dynamic leader. Busting them back to the ranks will end a friendship; so don’t put them in jeopardy by putting them in command roles they can’t handle. The Senior Members of the team will assist you wherever possible but you have full authority to do what you deem necessary to create something special. If we determine you aren’t measuring up to the standards we’ve set, you will be moved to another fleet at a lower rank. If you fail miserably,” Drey paused and looked around the room and everyone in it saw the deadliness in his eyes, “I don’t expect you’ll survive your failure. Do I make myself clear on that point?”

The entire room shouted, “Yes Sir!”

“You will be given four weeks to get your fleets ready for combat maneuvers. At that time, your fleets will have a joint exercise with the Kilper Navy and your fleet will be matched with a Kilper Fleet to determine which is better prepared for war. I expect you to perform above expectations and I must tell you in advance my expectations are high.” Drey looked at Kragon and nodded.

Kragon stood and smiled, “You should know that the Kilper Empire did not put our ships away and play peacetime. We’ve trained and prepared for any eventuality and I fully expect my fleets will handle yours quite easily. We’ll try to not embarrass you too much but we’re looking forward to the challenge. Admiral Montgomery and I have a wager on how long it will take my fleets to send you home. I’m going to collect that wager with a smile.”

Kragon sat down and Drey saw the stern expressions of his new Admirals. Drey nodded to Kragon and smiled, “I expect my associate might be surprised by what happens.” He turned to his new Admirals and stared at them, “I don’t lose twice with the same people.” He paused and said, “Admiral Montgomery, will you tell our Admirals what they are going to need to do to get their fleets organized.”

Kyle stood up and nodded, “Gentlemen, you are going to have to start at the squadron level and build from there. You’ll have every pilots ranking from the competition and you need to pair the weaker sisters with an effective pilot and teach them basic maneuvers. You’ll have five days to make that happen and then you’ll teach squadrons how to fight in combined attacks.”

• • •

Drey leaned back in his chair and listened to Kyle issue instructions. The new Admirals listened attentively and most of them recorded his comments. Good, they were invested in the process. He looked at Dee and saw her staring at him. She leaned over and whispered, “It’s about to start.”

“What do you sense?”

“The Orange Ships are going to attack a planet in M87.”

“How many ships?”

“Just one.”

“What are you not telling me?”

“We can’t intervene; you need to pull our two ships out of this.” Drey stared at her and she said, “They won’t be killed but the enemy will be given too much information and a heavy price will be paid later.”

“Dee, a planet is at stake; are you sure about this?”

“I am.”

“Please contact the Queen and tell her what you see.”

“I will but I suspect she already sees it.”

“Do it anyway; she might be seeing something different.” Dee nodded and left the meeting. Drey looked over and saw Kragon staring at him. He nodded over his shoulder and they stood and left the conference. They stepped outside the room and Drey said, “Dee senses that we can’t intervene in the first attack.” Kragon’s expression revealed his dismay. “It will lead to extreme problems if we do. She also says we should pull our pilots back.”

“I would prefer it if they have the opportunity to see an enemy ship in combat.”

“If you can promise me they won’t go to the defense of that planet, I’ll agree with you.” Kragon stared at Drey and Drey said, “I know I could stand by and watch a planet in M87 die and do nothing. They deserve whatever they get; however, do you think our pilots could do it?”

Kragon slowly nodded, “You’re right; we need to call them in. Besides, they need to get their hands dirty getting our fleets prepared.”

“Issue the orders; I’ll meet with Admiral Tollervar as soon as he arrives. How is your competition going?”

“Very similar to yours; I have seen some surprising events.”

“Oh?”

“It appears many of my senior officers are not up to the task at hand; you’re not that far behind us.”

“I really hate to hear that.”

“I know; we’ll have to work on improving what we have.”

Drey nodded and stuck out his hand. Kragon shook it and left the building.

• • •

Angela looked at Dee and slowly nodded, “I see the same thing. I have to tell the leaders in M87 that they are going to have to confront this first attack without our aid. I don’t believe that will go over very well.”

Dee closed her eyes and after a moment said, “Ask them if they would prefer us to come to take on one ship or thousands. Tell them that you would hope they could handle one ship.”

“What do you see happening?”

Dee shrugged, “They’ll see what they’re up against. They need to know and so do we.”

“That might be why we sense we have to stay out of it.”

Dee’s head went back and she looked as if she was startled by Angela’s comment, “That is exactly it. They aren’t putting their best effort in getting ready; this will get them moving.”

“Thank you, Lady Montgomery.”

Dee smiled, “I’ll let you know if I see anything else.”

• • •

Dee left the Throne Room and Angela looked at the Obelisk, “Get the Sovereign on a channel.”

“I’ll contact him immediately.”

Angela leaned back on her throne and wondered what was going to happen to the poor planet selected by the Threshers.

• • •

“Rags.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ve been recalled to the Union. You’re to report to Admiral Kragon and I’m to report to Admiral Drey.”

“What’s going on?”

“I have no idea.”

“I’ve received some information about the recent competition held by the Union to determine the best pilots.”

“I’m really disappointed we missed that.”

“Me, too; but my source tells me that a Katy Kemper won the competition.”

“WHAT!?!”

“He sent me a recording of her actions in the finals and I want you to take a look at it before we go back.”

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

Jinx downloaded the recording and watched Katy almost kill herself more times than he could count. She was always a good pilot; but not a great one. She was not the same pilot he knew. “Rags, have you looked at this?”

“I have.”

“She’s not that good.”

“When you don’t care if you live; you can do some extraordinary things.”

“I noticed she took some stupid risks.”

“That’s how she won.”

Jinx stared at Rags on his display, “What are you saying?”

“Jinx, that woman wants to die.” Jinx stared at Rags in silence. “She’s also been promoted to Admiral and will command an elite unit that will be sent on the most dangerous missions.”

“With my luck, I’ll report to her.”

“I don’t see that happening but I wanted you to know.”

“Rags, what do you think is going on with her?”

“I think she knows she will never have you in her life again. I don’t think she’s dealing with that very well.”

“It’s her fault!”

“That’s why; she knows it.”

“I’ll resign my commission before I report to her.”

“I suspect she would do the same.”

“Rags, I’m going to miss you.”

“It’s a small universe; you might be surprised.”

“Take good care of yourself, brother.”

“You know I will and you do the same.”

Jinx watched Rags’ needle disappear and he set his drive for Euclid. God he hoped he didn’t report to Katy Kemper.

• • •

Jinx arrived at the spaceport on Euclid and found a ground car waiting for him, “Lt. Tollervar, Admiral Drey Montgomery requests your presence.”

Jinx saluted the Captain and threw his duffle bag in the back of the car. He arrived at the conference center and walked through the room where the new Admirals were being trained. Katy saw him and her heart shattered. She forced herself to stare at the instructor but she didn’t know if she was going to be able to bear seeing him again.

• • •

“It’s good to have you back; I’m sorry we had to cut your mission short.”

“I’m a little disappointed but it’s good to be home, Sir.”

Drey pointed to a chair, “Sit down, I’m going to call you Jinx when we’re meeting and you call me Drey.”

“Sir?”

“You have been promoted to Asst. Fleet Admiral and will be my Second-in-Command. I need to communicate with you without all the formality of titles.”

“SIR?”

“Don’t act so surprised. You deserve the position and I don’t know anyone else I’d trust to do it. I need you to help me get my fleets ready for combat. You are without doubt the best pilot I have and I’ve determined you might be my best tactician. I need you to give me your best effort at getting the Union ready to face the coming invasion.”

“I thought Admiral Kemper won the competition.”

“Only because you and that Kilper weren’t in it; besides, she’s crazy and I don’t know how long she’ll survive with that death wish she’s carrying around.”

“Does she report to me?”

“Oh no! You’re the reason she wants to die. Her fleet will report directly to me.” Jinx stared at Drey and his expression was almost angry. “Jinx, she told us about her betrayal and insists you would never have anything else to do with her. Is that an accurate statement?” Jinx sighed and nodded. “I expect the two of you to be professional in your dealings with each other but both of you are a tool the Union needs. I need you to get our sailors prepared for the coming conflict and I need a Fleet Admiral that doesn’t care if they live or die. I need you to get busy.”

“Where would you like me to start?”

“You can teach these new Admirals how to effectively use their ships.” Jinx nodded and Drey said, “Bring her in.” Jinx turned around and saw Katy escorted into Drey’s office. It was the first time he had seen her since that night. She looked awful. She had lost weight and her skin color was pale. She saw him and he could see her torment. “Admiral Kemper, I believe you know Admiral Tollervar. He is now my Second and there will be occasions where the two of you will be coming into contact. I expect the two of you to act professionally. Do you understand?”

Katy stared straight ahead and said, “Yes Sir, I do.”

“You will report directly to me; however, there may be times when Admiral Tollervar will communicate orders to you from me.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Admiral, look at Admiral Tollervar.” Katy forced herself to look at Jinx and he saw the pain in her eyes. “Tollervar, do you have anything to say to Admiral Kemper?”

Jinx looked at her and sighed. “Katy, you broke my heart once; don’t do it again by wasting your life. Admiral Montgomery needs you; the Union needs you. Make that count for something.” Katy stared at Jinx for a long moment and then nodded. “I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished; your sailors are going to need the best you can give them. Love them, Katy, and don’t let them down.” Katy’s tears rolled down her face but she maintained her composure.

Drey looked at her and said, “I need you, Admiral. Your sailors need you; make them count.”

“Yes Sir.”

“You’re dismissed.”

Katy did an about face and left the room. Jinx felt his heart breaking all over again but he kept his face neutral. Drey said, “She had to face her demon, Jinx. Now she can do what must be done.”

“What is that, Sir?”

“Make her death count for something. You’re dismissed to join the training.”

Jinx did an about face and left the room. Drey shook his head. He did this at Dee’s suggestion. He hoped she was right.

• • •

Jinx entered the huge classroom and saw everyone stop what they were doing and look at him. Kyle said, “Class, Attenshun!” The Admirals came to attention and wondered who the new face was. They saw he had a Lieutenant’s bar on his collar. Jinx said, “As you were.”

Kyle said, “Sir, we’re glad you’re back from M87. We need your expertise to help us understand what we’re going to face.” He turned to the class, “This is Assistant Fleet Admiral James Tollervar and he is Admiral Drey’s Second-in-Command. He was selected to go to M87 and attack one of the Orange Ships. He is your best friend at understanding your adversary.” The new Admirals looked at Jinx with a newfound respect.

Jinx said, “Moe, do you have the video from the Advanced Probes on the Orange Ship?”

“I do, Admiral.”

“Will you please download it to the viewer?”

“It is now available for viewing.”

The image of the giant Orange Ship appeared on the huge wall monitor and Jinx said, “This is what your sailors are going to have to face. I’m going to tell you what we know and then I’ll tell you how I would go about attacking this vessel. Please hold your questions until the end; I may answer them and it will save us time.”

• • •

Katy watched Jinx go over the massive warship and she was amazed at what she saw. He was so much more than she thought. Edward was right; she didn’t deserve him. Somehow, she found peace watching him tell the class what they had to face. She saw his bravery and she marveled at how little she really knew about him. She decided that he was right; her sailors deserved her best effort and before she died, they would get it.

• • •

Jinx saw Katy’s admiration and he felt troubled by his feelings. He kept a tight lid on revealing them and saw by the end of his presentation that she had taken control of her emotions. He didn’t know what that meant and that troubled him as well. He presented the last slide and faced the class. “These ships are probably the most maneuverable of any warship the Union has ever faced. They can turn as fast as a needle and probably match our speed. There is no line of approach that is not covered by one or more blasters.” He paused and saw the concern on the Admiral’s faces. “However…they do not have FTL emitters for the blue field. That means we can out accelerate them if we activate our FTL drives. We can also accelerate toward them faster than they can scan our approach. We have to learn how to go in at close to light speed and fire at a precise distance from them. If we can master that tactic in the time remaining before we have to face them…we can get a shot off they won’t see coming. That is what you have to hammer in to your pilots. If you can get a wing of Needles, coming in from multiple directions such that they all fire simultaneously, we can beat these ships. I’ll have more information about their capabilities after they attack a planet in M87.” A student raised her hand. Jinx nodded toward her. “Are you saying one of those ships is going to attack a planet?”