Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids (3 page)

“OK, Lieutenant, restore the original display of all attack sites, please.  Now, construct transparent spheres around each site to represent a distance of, let’s say, nine months’ travel time at standard GW speed.”  Spherical clouds of reddish-pink phased into view around each dot.  Before long, one end of the display developed into a grouping that resembled bubble clusters in a bath tub.

“Enlarge that area of bubbles,” I said.  “Now, is there some way you can isolate the area where the majority of bubbles intersect?”

“Uh, I’m not sure, sir.  I’ll have to cross-reference the resulting data sets.  I'll try to do it as quickly as possible,” he answered.

“Are you thinking the origin of the asteroid-ships lies inside that area?” Wabussie asked.

“Don’t you think it’s a logical deduction?” I answered with a question.

“Yes!  I must admit, Tibby; it never occurred to me to do this.”

While we were talking, I saw the lieutenant refer to a digital computer manual.  I assumed he was trying to access commands and features of the display that weren’t used routinely.  “Sir,” he finally said, “I think I’ve determined how to do what you want.”  Abruptly, the bubbles vanished and a strange sort of multisided shape appeared some distance outside of Federation space.

“That, gentleman, is where I think we will find the Brotherhood fabricating their asteroid-ships.”

“So what are your intentions now?” Regeny asked.

“I’m going to send some scout ships from the First Fleet through Cantolla Gates to that area to conduct a recon operation,” I answered.

“Why from here and not from Admiral Kophious’s fleet?” Regeny asked.

“Because I suspect that the movement of our fleets closest to the Brotherhood bases are being observed.  Sector 1 is furthest from this location, so ships coming and going from my fleet are least likely to be noticed.  Beyond that, I want all the ships in those sectors to be immediately available for combat, given the intense amount of aggression occurring there.”

“Tibby, why do you think the Brotherhood has avoided attacking sites within Sector 1?” Regeny asked.

“I can answer that,” Wabussie interjected.  “Sector 1 is under Tibby’s leadership. Tibby has been responsible for their biggest losses and defeats, so they want to avoid him as much as possible.”

“Yes, but the Cantolla Gates allow Tibby to be at the scene of any attack and take command within seconds; so technically, the threat of counterattacks against them under Tibby’s leadership is a reality, no matter where they are.”

“True, but I don’t think they see it that way.  Plus, if their main forces are concentrated there, outside of Sector 3, they would have a great deal of difficulty mobilizing to Sector 1 without encountering the Federation ships of our other sectors in between.”

“Most of the attacks we’ve seen in this sector have been terrorist attacks.  It seems the longer this war goes on, the further away from the Capitol we’re seeing the main battle actions take place.  Prior to Ming’s arrival, the Brotherhood focused their attacks in Sector 1 and directly at the Capitol.  Since Ming took control of their forces, they’ve shifted as far away as possible from the Capitol.  I wonder if Slater can shed any light on this tactic and perhaps determine whether this new strategy corresponds to any specific objectives historically pursued by Ming during the Earth wars,” I pondered.

“Do you honestly believe that Roritat has completely surrendered control of battle planning to Ming?” Regeny asked.

“Yes, I do.  The Brotherhood’s tactics since Ming’s arrival are radically different from those employed by Roritat.”

“I don’t understand this Ming-Roritat relationship,” Regeny said.  “Both of them have this desire to dominate and rule the galaxy.  I can’t see them ever wanting to share power.”

“I don’t think either of them ever intended to,” I answered.  “I think right now they are using each other, but when the time comes that one of them no longer sees the usefulness of the relationship, the other will be killed.”

“I wish that day were today; it would make our job easier,” Regeny muttered.

“I have to agree with you,” I answered.  “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that day is coming any time soon.”

When the meeting was over, I decided to visit A’Lappe back on the
NEW ORLEANS
and find out what he wanted.

“So, A’Lappe,” I began as I entered his lab, “I understand you wish to see me.”

“Yes, Tibby.  I’ve been working on a surprise for you for some time now and it’s finally finished.  Come and see,” he said, as he hopped off his stool and led me to one of the hatches leading to the maintenance tunnels located beneath the ship's floors.  Navigating the tunnels was not a new experience for me.  I had been there a number of times.  I knew A’Lappe’s quarters were located here, as well as the hidden hangar that originally housed my personal ship, the
ALI,
which
had since been destroyed in the crash on Desolation.  I also entered the tunnels to search for Ming and his cohorts when they escaped from incarceration during the return from Earth’s Moon.  By the time I descended into the area again to find toddlers Lunnie and Reidecor, who had managed to get themselves lost in this maze a few years later, I knew my way through a great deal of the network by heart.  Even so, negotiating the cables, pipes, electrical switchgear and ductwork was still tricky. 

As I looked ahead through the narrow passage, I saw the door leading to the secret hangar.  It was a rather small space design to dock only two ships, the
ALI
and the very tiny ship owned by A’Lappe.  I had never seen the inside of A’Lappe’s ship, as it was too little for me to enter.  I suppose I might be able to crawl inside on hands and knees if I had to, but it would be an extremely tight and uncomfortable fit.  Getting back out would probably require a full blown extrication and, though the idea of really being in that position was one I did not particularly relish, the thought of finding myself in such a pickle made me chuckle. 

Instead of turning toward his quarters as I had expected, A’Lappe headed straight ahead to the hangar entrance.  When we entered, I was surprised to see two ships docked there – A’Lappe’s ship and another ship slightly smaller than the
ALI
.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Your new personal ship,” A’Lappe said with a sparkle in his eye.

“What is it? It looks like some kind of fighter, but much smaller than the fighters we use now.”

“You have a keen eye, Tibby.  This craft design most certainly incorporates some elements of design from the Mirage fighter, but not those features that have become more or less obsolete.  For instance, the Cantolla Gate system is now a Federation-wide network, so there is no need for smaller ships and fighters to be equipped with quarters.  As you can see, though, there is a small but complete toilet facility onboard.  It’s also equipped with a basic food synthesizer, though it’s highly unlikely to be needed, when almost any destination can be reached in less than a day.  Like the Mirage fighters, flight and operation requires only one person, but seating in this craft accommodates up to five passengers.”

“So why five seats?  Why not two or even one?” I asked.

A’Lappe grinned and said in a tone that hinted at a secret behind it, “You never know when you might need them.”

“What about speed?  Can this thing achieve the speed of the Brotherhood ships?” I asked.

A’Lappe’s head drooped.  “I’m sorry, Tibby.  I haven’t been able to figure out how they’re accomplishing the speeds they’re demonstrating with the ships, but Cantolla and I are still working on it.” 

He turned his attention back to the ship.  “If you’ll look over here,” he said as he gestured toward a hatch barely large enough to crawl through, “you will find a Cantolla Gate linked to another gate here on the
NEW ORLEANS
that provides you with a means of escape directly into this craft in case of an emergency.”

“What about weaponry?”

“Rail guns, lasers, plasma torpedoes and a particle beam, as well as a sleep-inducing weapon adapted from the technology used by the Tottalax, and a microwave gun like the one we used to defeat them.  I dare say that this ship has as much firepower capability as the
NEW ORLEANS
.  The ship is also equipped with a limited RMFF.”

“Limited?”

“Yes, it will work to deflect most shots, but one shot in ten or fifteen might have a chance of passing through and impacting the craft.  This ship is powered by the smaller 6X reactors, which aren’t able to generate a field as strong as those generated by the power sources of the larger ships.  The 6X reactors work on a similar principle as the 10X reactors and are adapted to fit the smaller ship design.  So, while they are capable of powering an RMFF field, the shielding is a bit weaker and is subject to breach, if the shot’s angle of impact is correct.

“One more thing this ship is designed with folding wings that you can deploy for in-atmosphere flight.  I copied the idea from information I found in the archives recovered from your Earth.  It seems that this technology was something your scientists perfected during your lifetime while you were still there.”

“Yes, I’m familiar with the design.  While in the Navy, I served on carriers that docked these aircraft,” I said.

“Were you a pilot back then?” A’Lappe asked unexpectedly.

“No, I served on the catapult crew.  The catapult was a mechanism that helped to launch the planes,” I replied.

“Ah, yes.  Those confused me at first when I viewed the vid clips of your carriers in action, until I realized your planes relied on speed and airflow for lift.  The carrier decks weren’t long enough to achieve those without an assist.  It must have been fascinating work.”

“More like monotonous and dangerous,” I answered.  “There was certainly nothing fun about it.  One mistake could cost someone their life; and I was unfortunate enough to see that happen.”

A’Lappe spent the next forty minutes going over the finer features of the ship with me.  Like most ships in the Federation, the controls were standardized and the computer actually did most of the flying, so I found nearly all of it to be very familiar.  Only the controls for the Cantolla Gate and some of the weapons were unusual.  I found myself wondering how different things would have been if Kala and I had crashed on Desolation in this ship and whether we would have fared as well with it as we did with the
ALI.
 

I was finishing up with A’Lappe when Marranalis’ voice came across my com link.  “Admiral, there’s a call coming in from Admiral Stonbersa.  Do you want me to connect you through your com link?”

“No.  Give me a few minutes to get to my study,” I responded.

“You’ll have to excuse me, A’Lappe, duty calls,” I said as I headed down one of the familiar maintenance tunnels that led to a secret access into my study.  “Oh, and the new ship…brilliant!”

Once seated behind my desk, I signaled Marranalis to put Admiral Stonbersa through.  Stonbersa’s image appeared on the screen.  “What can I do for you, Admiral?” I asked.

“Admiral,” Stonbersa began, “we’ve picked up signals from the outer rim sensors that indicate a large number of cloaked ships traveling beyond our borders.  By our estimate, there are over 600 of them.”

“Where are they headed?” I asked.

“That’s a bit of a mystery; they don’t seem to be going anywhere.  They keep moving about beyond the boundary.”

“Are they flying as a unit or separately in different directions?”

“They seem to be traveling in small groups, but flying in different directions.  I think they’re circling around out there beyond the boundary, but we have no idea why.”

“Do you think it’s a distraction?  Perhaps they want us to detect them?”

“Honestly, Admiral, I have no idea.  None of it makes any sense.”

“Have you sent any cloaked ships to investigate?”

“Not so far.  Do you wish me to do so?”

“I don’t think we have a choice.  We need to know what they’re up to.  Send out twenty ships, all of them cloaked, and check out what’s going on.  Keep me updated with your findings.  In the meantime, I’ll coordinate with some of the other fleet admirals and have a number of ships put on alert for rapid deployment to your sector via Cantolla Gates, if the need arises.  In the meantime, I want your sector operations to appear as routine as possible, in case they are monitoring your movements.  I don’t know what the Brotherhood is up to, but I damn well want to find out and be prepared for whatever it is.  I’ll be attending the inauguration dinner for Leader Pheosa at the Capitol tonight; but if there are any new developments, contact me immediately.”

After disconnecting the call, I turned toward the aquarium to contemplate these new developments and absorb a few rare and welcome moments of solitary silence, when the signal to my door sounded.

“Come in,” I said.  The door opened to reveal Lunnie standing there in an outfit that she clearly had picked out herself.  Even at eight years old the resemblance to her aunt Luinella was undeniable –  the same thin frame, blond hair and facial features, and those same piercing blue eyes.  She took one large step across the threshold and stood for a moment with the usual beaming smile that held a promise of whimsical trouble.