Solbidyum Wars Saga 5: Desolation (29 page)

After discussing a few more minor details, I headed back to the
NEW ORLEANS
to see Kala and the twins, but I was told they were already aboard the
DUSTEN,
and in our suite; so with my now ever present guards in tow I headed to the suite and entered to be greeted by Lunnie walking across the floor while Reidecor sat nearby playing with his toes.

“Kala!  She’s walking?!" I exclaimed.

“Yes, she just started this morning and hasn’t stopped since.  She seems very pleased with herself about it.”

“Lunnie, come to daddy!”  I said… she looked at me and laughed and then headed toward me, her little arms waving, as she wobbled across the room to me.  “You are growing up so fast.”  I added as she balled up her fist and lightly bopped me on the nose as she laughed.  Then she squirmed, trying to get back down on the floor.  No sooner did her feet touch it, until she was off in Reidecor’s direction, only to stop too quickly and tumble on top of him.  Reidecor laughed while Lunnie tried to right herself again.

“How is Reidecor reacting to Lunnie’s new skill?  Has he tried walking too?” I asked.

“Not a step,” Kala answered.  “He seems amused at her walking and is content playing with his toes, but he’s not tried to mimic her at all.”

“Was your sister like this when she was small?”  I inquired.

“I really don’t remember to be honest.  I was almost 4 when Lunnie was this age, and I really don’t recall much about her that far back.  From what mother and dad said, though I think she probably was.  I think at that age I was more like Reidecor and liked observing things and playing with my toes,” she laughed.

“Are you hungry?  You look tired.”

“Yes, and yes... It’s been a rough day so far.  The Brotherhood has attacked the planets Kendrop and Gochian out near the fringe.” I told her how we had our men there sabotage their ships and how the Brotherhood took them to the
HAPRIN
where they exploded and appeared to have disabled the ship, at least temporarily.

“Do you think her shields are down?” Kala asked.  I blinked my eyes... we hadn’t thought of that.  I jumped up out of the chair I had dropped in after playing with Lunnie, and headed for the door.

“Kala, you are brilliant!. I’ve got to return to the
DUSTEN
.  I’ll be back soon,” I said.

I went out the door and started down the corridor so quickly that I startled my guards who were waiting outside.  They rushed to get into their proper positions as I said, “We don’t have time for a parade now… just keep up, will you?”

When I arrived on the bridge of the
DUSTEN,
I was pleased to see Admiral Regeny was still aboard and talking with Captain Wanoll. .  Both looked at me startled as I burst into the room red-faced and out of breath with my contingent of guards jogging behind me, while still trying to get themselves into proper formation.  “Captain, we need to contact our troops on Kendrop and Gochian immediately and have them attack the
DUSTEN
with anything they have left that can fly and has armament!  Any surface missiles or weapons that can reach it should be used. ”

Admiral Regeny, still with a look of shock on his face asked, “Why Tibby, what’s happening?”

“Their shields,” I panted, still somewhat winded from the run to the bridge, “Their shields are down.  They had the shields down to load the frigates, corvettes and their own fighters and patrol ships when the explosion occurred.  It’s possible their shields are still down, and they may not even be able to get them back up.  All the weapon systems on at least that one side of the ship are probably down as well, and they can’t get any fighters or patrol ships out to defend the
HAPRIN,
because they were all damaged in the explosion.  They are basically defenseless at the moment!”

“By the stars, Tibby, you’re right!  Why didn’t we see that earlier?  “Regeny exclaimed.

“Because we have gotten too accustomed to the idea that starships and anything with an RMFF are untouchable from without,” I said.  “I suspect that the
HAPRIN
has already put out a call to their closest ships in the area to rush to their aid, and I imagine they are trying to figure out how to repair the RMFF as well.  Fortunately for us, A’Lappe and only a few of our scientists know and understand how it works, so it’s unlikely they will get it repaired anytime soon.  Since they haven’t moved, we can surmise that their propulsion system has also been damaged, but that they can most likely repair, so we need to move quickly and keep the pressure on them and hope they surrender before help arrives,” I said.

Captain Wanoll, who had been sitting at the communication console with the communications officer in DSC headgear said, “We got through to our troops there.  They have less than 200 fighters and patrol ships left, but they are getting them into space and heading to attack the
HAPRIN. 
I’ve ordered them to focus their attack on the Gravity Wave generator at the bow of the ship.”

“Excellent,” I responded, “If they can do substantial damage to it before the Brotherhood can get the system working again, they won’t be able to go anywhere.  Admiral, I think we’ve got them!”

“Let’s hope so,” Regeny said.  “There is nothing more I would like at this point than to deny them future use of the
HAPRIN
as one of their war ships.  Even if she is severely damaged we can reclaim her and get her back into operation again.”

The next few minutes went by slowly before we started getting feedback from Kendrop and Gochian.  “The fighters have reached the
HAPRIN
and are blasting away at the Gravity Wave generator on the bow.  They are reporting that the shields are indeed down,” Wanoll said excitedly.  “The
HAPRIN
is firing back with a few weapons that are still working, but since the fighters are cloaked, they can’t get a fix on them, and so far none have been hit.  The problem is that the
HAPRIN
is so large, and we have so few fighters and patrol ships that it’s going to take a lot of hits to do much serious damage,” he added.

“True, and if the
HAPRIN
were fully operational their efforts might not mean much, but she is severely wounded and the fighters and patrol ships constantly picking away at her will only cripple her more.  We need to keep her there until we can arrive.”  I said just as Marranalis came onto the bridge.

“Sorry I’m late, sir. I just got word you had rushed back here
.”

“Don’t worry about it, Marranalis, it was my fault.  I came here so quickly I didn’t have time to think to have someone notify you,” I said and then rapidly filled him in on what was happening.

“Tibby, I think we should launch more mirage fighters from the
DUSTEN
and get them headed to Kendrop and Gochian immediately.  They are much faster than the
DUSTEN
and can be there at least two days earlier and can add to the fire power against the
HAPRIN.
”  Marranalis said.

“You’re right.  Send half of our mirage fighters to assist them.”  I ordered.

“Tibby, what made you realize their shields were down?”  Regeny asked.

“Honestly sir, I didn’t’.  Kala did.  I felt like such a fool when she asked if the
HAPRIN’s
shields were down, I’d never given it any thought until that moment.”

“None of us did,” Regeny fumed, “maybe we need First Citizen Kalana to run this war.  Then after a pause he said.  “Will someone bring me an afex?  I need a drink!”

The next couple of days, as the
DUSTEN
and half of the first fleet rushed toward Kendrop and Gochian, time raced by.  Admiral Regeny had set up temporary headquarters aboard the
DUSTEN,
and you could tell he was eager to see what would transpire.  On our second day en route to Kendrop and Gochian, Kala and the twins moved onto the
DUSTEN
, with Kala complaining that the twins seemed to be upset that they weren’t seeing me enough.  Reidecor suddenly realized that Lunnie had an advantage over him by walking, and he was now starting to stand up and trying to take steps.  However, he was frustrated that his feet didn’t seem to want to work the way he wished, and he would end up staring at them and crying while Lunnie raced circles around him picking up his toys and handing them to him.  It was at the end of that second day when I entered our cabin, and Kala asked me. 

“Tibby, when did you eat last?”  I honestly didn’t remember.  “I thought so,” she said with an irritated look on her face when she realized I had no answer.  “I’ve arranged for Jenira and Franton to baby sit.  You and I are going out for dinner this evening.  You take a shower, shave, and put on a fresh uniform while I make reservations for us at the best restaurant on the
DUSTEN
.  Having properly been chastised, as only a mate can do, I headed through the master bedroom toward the shower.  I caught a quick look at myself in one of the full-length mirrors and suddenly realized how Kala could tune in on my condition.  I had a two-day growth of beard showing, and my uniform looked like I had slept in it for a week.  I climbed into the shower, once more wishing the things operated longer than 3 minutes, but I was refreshed by it anyway and felt much better on exiting it than I did entering it.  I used the depilatory device and shaved quickly, ran the styling wand through my hair to give it a proper trim and donned a nice clean and pressed formal fleet admiral’s uniform.  When I came out of our bedroom, Kala was giving final instructions to Jenira and Franton.  She must have had someone go to the
NEW ORLEANS
to get Jenira, unless she had brought her over with her, I couldn’t be sure which.  At some point while I was showering, Kala must have changed outfits, as she was now wearing a shimmering aquamarine dress that accented her curves nicely.  She was beautiful, and once again I felt my heart skip a beat just looking at her.

“Were you able to get us reservations?”  I asked as I adjusted my jacket.

Kala laughed, “Tibby, you and I are First Citizens.  We will NEVER have a problem getting a reservation anywhere.”

“Hmm, hardly seems fair to the others, but I’m not complaining,” I answered as Kala kissed the twins and told them to behave for “Aunt Jenira."  She didn’t mention Franton, and I’m sure that if Lunnie understood any of what Kala was saying, she would assume that meant it was all right to not be good for him.

The restaurant that Kala had selected reminded me very much of TEZU LAGONG where we had dined back on Megelleon years earlier.  It was totally class, with a maître d’ and the finest décor one could imagine.

“First Citizens, it is an extreme pleasure to have you dine with us this evening,” the maître d’ said as we entered.  “Please, if you come this way, we have your table waiting.”  As we entered, I noted a long line of people obviously waiting to get in, and I overheard one patron complaining that even with reservations made
weeks in advance
, they still had
to stand in line
.  Similar to our experience at the TEZU LAGONG, two of our bodyguards entered the dining room and took up stations inside the door while two remained outside. “Kala,” I said once we were seated, “don’t you think it would be less unnerving if our bodyguards were not so obvious?  I mean, couldn’t we have them dress in more civilian looking attire?  They could still carry concealed weapons and wear thin layered body armor under their clothing, but it wouldn’t look as draconian.”

Kala looked at the guards, and about the restaurant as she began to answer, “I don’t see anything wrong with this method.  It makes anyone who may be thinking of harming you, or anyone being guarded, aware that trained and armed security is on hand to act at a moment's notice.  Only a fool would attempt to do anything wrong with them present.  How would their not being obvious be of any benefit?”

“Well for one thing, it would make people less nervous,” I answered.  Kala looked around the room again at the diners, who were mostly eating and some that were clearly gawking at us, not because of the guards, but simply because of our status in the Federation.

“I don’t see anyone that appears nervous.  Look over there, there are two-bodyguards near that table, and over there as well.  It’s quite common really,” she said, “for high-ranking  individuals to have body guards in attendance when they are out in public.”

I sighed, “I guess you are right, but it still seems strange and unnerving to me.”

“A-hem” I heard a voice on my right and looked up to see a waiter standing there with a menu.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I muttered as I took the menu.

The waiter handed a menu to Kala and then began his spiel about the specials of the evening only to add at the end, “But of course we have all sorts of delicacies from around the galaxy in supply, and our chef will personally prepare any dish the First Citizens may desire.”

“By any chance, do you have any Lyonian wine?” I asked, knowing full well the extreme rarity of the wine, and that only very few bottles existed.  The waiter froze a moment and then replied, “Let me check with our sommelier,” he said as he turned and left the table, only to return moments later with a short, slightly balding man with a jet black receding hairline.  I almost expected him to have an Earth like French accent, but he had no accent at all.