Attack the chohish wars, p.18
Attack: The Chohish Wars, page 18
“Thanks, Isolde; keep me updated on any changes.” Standing, Zeke, followed by the rest of the group, moved over to the 3D simulation table that showed the system with everything identified in the system.
“Uv’ei, without additional forces, there is nothing I can suggest that will have much impact on a force that size. They can stand off and fire on the stations at will. Even though you have identified that the stations can move, you know as well as I that it is only for repositioning, not for fighting a space battle.”
Putting his hand on Uv’ei’s shoulder, Zeke swept his hand out to indicate the personnel on the bridge. “Uv’ei, we have come to like the Kolqux, and we wish we could do more. You know the dangers we put ourselves in for the Kolqux. Then, there was a chance of success, small, but a chance nevertheless.”
Still looking at the crew, who paused for a moment to look at Uv’ei, he went on. “Part of their reason for coming on this ship is they trusted their commanders to look out for their welfare—especially with their lives. I will not betray that trust. You cannot ask me to throw away their lives for nothing, no gain. One cruiser cannot stand alone against a force that large with any hope of survival.”
Then to the bewilderment of all, the two Kolqux looked at each other before they laughed. Both turned to Zeke, where Uv’ek broke the spell that the laughter brought on by uttering. “You did not hear my brother earlier. He said we needed a leader. Who said you would be alone? We have been waiting thousands of years for this day. We knew we would have to fight a Chohish fleet if we could ever take over the stations. But we have only fought one major war, three thousand years ago, and we all know how that went.”
Then the laughter stopped suddenly. Both turned to Zeke with no humor in their expressions. What Zeke saw was hatred, pure undulated hate. “Lead us!”
“Again, I ask, with wh….” Zeke started to ask when he was interrupted by Caspian explaining. “Holy shit!”
Believing they were under attack, everyone in the group started to scatter until they all heard both Kolqux start laughing once more.
Zeke realized something else was happening. Having jumped back into his command chair, Zeke asked Caspian what the ‘holy shit’ meant.
“Sorry, sir, it caught me by surprise. Fighters, hundreds of them, are coming out of the stations. And there are more coming from the planets, thousands more.” Turning to look at Zeke with eyes as wide open in amazement. “Captain, the sensors are now reporting Chohish battleships, cruisers, and destroyers coming from the shipbuilding facilities.”
“Bring it up on the screen Ensign Raske, up on the screen,” ordered Zeke. Without taking his eyes off the displayed images, “Uv’ei, I hope these are not Chohish….”
“Relax, Captain; they are flying under Kolqux’s control. Few, if any, though, of the larger ships are completed. Although I believe one battleship may be close. But we figure anything is better than nothing.” The prior said flatly, but then Uv’ei’s tone to menacing. “But all the fighters are ready and armed. We just need someone to tell us how to fight.”
As soon as Uv’ei finished speaking, Nkosana caught everyone’s attention. “Oh well, it looks like we are going to stick around. There goes that look again.”
“If you ladies and gentlemen would join me in the conference room. Isolde, please join. Ensign Bonilla, the com is yours.” a crooked smiling Zeke ordered.
They all gathered on the bridge three hours later, except Jan and Hawke, who had left to check on their fighters. Jan agreed to the necessity of Jeanne leading a fighter group as part of the plan worked out, but only if he and the security squad could tail along with her. Seeing as everyone knew all Irracans were expert fighter pilots, no one argued the point. Jeanne would be joining them later.
Gesturing to the two Kolqux, Zeke asked, “Uv’ei and Uv’ek, can you join me for a moment?” He led them to a corner on the bridge where they could talk privately. Puzzled glances went around the bridge, regardless of rank, on what they could be discussing. At times, it became heated; Zeke spoke while the two Kolqux stood with heads downs listening intently, speaking rarely. It went on for a good twenty minutes before they finally broke up, with Uv’ei and Uv’ek running out of the bridge with barely a glance at anyone on the bridge. But the glance they did give showed two sorrowful faces lined with determination.
Zeke had not moved from the corner with his back facing them, so Jeanne started towards him, concerned. She stopped when he raised his right hand, signaling no. Jeanne halted temporarily but continued when Zeke groaned. She raced over while signaling the others to stay where they were.
Reaching Zeke, Jeanne kneeled in front of him, where they held a quiet conversation. The moan of anguish from Jeanne before she covered her mouth to contain whatever grief she was feeling alarmed everyone even more.
Both rose together where Jeanne and Zeke hugged, after which Zeke raised his head to stare at the ceiling while whispering something only Jeanne could hear. The silent hugging went on for quite a few moments as Jeanne looked on with sorrow unmistakably visible in her eyes.
Turning slowly to face the crew, Zeke sauntered to sit and lean back on his command chair, where he asked that all officers call their backups up on the bridge as they needed to rest. The coming hours or days would be tiring for all.
“Commander Farren, if you would, please take command while I get some rest. I will relieve you in eight hours. Let me know immediately if the Chohish makes any moves.” With Jeanne still by his side, Zeke started to leave before stopping to ask Isolde to have Jax meet him in his suite.
The bridge was silent as they watched the pair leave, only to break out in a muted chatter on what had happened. Something happened during that discussion with the Kolqux that had deeply upset the captain. What, no one had a clue.
Nkosana, standing next to Will, asked him as quietly as he could. “Commander, you know the captain pretty well. Any idea on what could cause what we saw?”
Without looking at Nkosana as he was still staring at where the captain had left the bridge, he shrugged while answering. “I have been with the captain for years. We have been through some hairy times together. One thing you could always count on was the captain remaining solid as granite, never flappable. The only time I ever saw him flinch was when we witnessed the atrocities committed on Niflhel. I cannot imagine what the captain discussed with the Kolqux to cause such a reaction.”
He was turning to give Nkosana his full attention. “But whatever it was, God help us because it must have been horrific. And I doubt it was something in the past.” With that, Will, out of character, patted Nkosana on the shoulder. Afterward, he went to sit in the command chair, directing the arriving backup crews where he wanted them.
Nkosana, moving to sit in the chair assigned to him, watched as images floated on the side screens showing the Kolqux warships making their way back to the station or the factories. That is, he thought, if you could call them warships. Many had no actual fighting capabilities, just an armored shell with an engine. Others had shields only, others had missiles, but few had a full complement of equipment. Per the plan discussed, they were to try to add, fix, or complete any system they could while waiting for the Chohish to make their move. Shields being their top priority, point defense second, and anti-ship missiles being the third. Hope to get the ship close enough to fire all missiles, detract fire from the fighters, then run like hell.
The bridge settled down where they went about duties. Only five hours had passed before the two captains showed up again. Zeke seemed to have recovered from whatever he had discussed with the Kolqux. But, of course, that could be because Jeanne had her left arm wrapped tightly in his right arm.
Walking to stand next to Will, Zeke told him to sit when he started rising out of the command chair. “Any movement from the Chohish?” although he knew that would be a no as Will would have notified him already. But no harm in confirming.
Getting the negative confirmation from Will, he pointed to behind the chair. “I came to talk with Corporal Dennison here, along with you. I need your opinions on who best to take over the Majors duties until she recovers.”
Startled, Will had forgotten about Shon, who was now standing behind him once more. The last time he saw the corporal was when he and Michale followed the Captain and Jeanne out of the bridge. How can he creep with all that equipment?
The deep voice of Shon, who sounded amused, could be heard by all even though it was not loud. “I am not sure the Major can or would care to be replaced by you so easily, sir; no disrespect intended.”
“Well, no disrespect to the Major, but I need to send over marines and army personnel to protect the stations from any Chohish boarding attempts. Who do y…?” When he was interrupted, once more, by the sound of heavy marching getting closer.
“What the hell now?” a frustrated Jeanne exclaimed.
Major Richards came marching into the bridge in full marine armor with her helmet cradled in the crook of her right arm, followed by two other marines.
“Damn it, Major, what are you doing here? You should still be in the infirmary. Has Doc officially released you yet? I did not get any notification on that.” exclaimed Zeke.
Snarling, the Major pointed her left index finger at Zeke. “Like you have any right to ask me that after what you did in the Pandora System. Besides, Doc did release me; he just doesn’t know it yet.”
“A friend of ours,” Khaleesi said, pointing towards the ceiling, “told me about your concern for the stations. Leave that to me; that is my job. It is what marine majors do, not ship captains. I will leave you a small contingent of marines and army personnel for this ship, but I will take the vast majority over to the three stations. You concentrate on your job; I will take care of protecting the stations. Count on it.”
Turning, she took several steps before stopping to look over her shoulder. “I need you to notify Lieutenant Commander Chandler that I am authorized to take any equipment, armaments, or personnel I may request. And I mean anything, no questions asked, she is to fill out my requests.” Then, without waiting for Zeke to confirm, the Major turned and walked out with the two marines that came in with her. Shon and Michale soon followed Khalessi without saying a word. There were no spare marines to guard the captains. They would have to protect themselves in this desperate gamble of Zeke’s.
“Whew… it’s good to have Khalessi back with us. I wonder what she needs that the Lieutenant Commander would balk at?” Zeke paused as he received a ping from Doc. Chuckling, he told the group around him about his ping. “I guess that is Doc telling me he is missing one Major. Will, can you let the Lieutenant Commander know that she is to honor all the Major’s requests, no questions asked. That includes any assistance she may request. No need to confirm with us.”
Smiling, he hugged Jeanne before swinging her around in a circle. With Jeanne laughing, the crew could hear him asking her how it felt to be free of marines watching everything they did, well, mostly everything.
There was one exception. Lance Corporal Marianne Chavez still stood behind Nkosana. She responded when Nkosana questioned why she was not joining the others. “Following orders.”
Dropping Jeanne back on her feet, Zeke notified Will to get some rest. Eyeballing Nkosana, he suggested that he should also get some rest. They would need him refreshed for his part of the plan.
Will said he would stop by to talk with Jamie before catching a nap. He wanted to personally see how things were going in the bay with the new setup. Both paused before leaving, hoping Zeke would explain what happened earlier. Not seeing any indication that Zeke would speak on it, Will asked Zeke what occurred with the Kolqux. Seeing Zeke shake his head no, they knew he would not divulge what he had discussed with the Kolqux.
Nkosana almost reneged on his promise not to interfere; he was about to order the captain to answer but decided against it. Nkosana had made a promise that he had every intention to keep. Now was not the time to break it.
The ship was not idle during this time; it was preparing for the upcoming conflict. With Nkosana and marine Chavez trailing along, Will made his way to talk with Jamie. He saw the crew working frantically on many different projects.
A team of technicians installed temporary bracing for the walls; heavy weapons were placed strategically around the ship. Even more, were placing manual fire suppression canisters to support the automation, and so on.
As Nkosana walked with Will, he was glad to see the ship make preparations. It was no different than what ships under his command did, but he was still pleased to see it. Spoke volumes of the ship’s men and women along with their officers. He wished all ships were this competent, but unfortunately, some had no respect for their command structure. Hence those ships paid a heavy price when called to fight. Thankfully, they were few in the RGN.
Reaching one of the fighter bays, the two officers stepped through a hatch into a buzz of activity. It took Nkosana a moment to adjust to the much smaller size, and he could not see any possible opening to allow ships to leave the warship. Fighters lined up along two sides of the wall, with shuttles against one of the other two walls. All were sitting on a track. What amazed him was thinking there were half a dozen of these bays spread around the ship. Just unique, so different from his old ways of thinking. But one constant remained, the heavy smell of lubricants and fuel.
It did not take long to find Jamie arguing with one of her crew.
“What the hell did the Major request? No frigging way. Don’t do anything until I check in with the captain. You got that?” Seeing the two officers approaching. Jamie waited until Will was next to her before asking. “Since you are here, you must have an idea of what that crazy Major is requesting from me. True?”
Stifling a smile, Will replied with as much calm as he could muster. “I have no idea. But I was instructed by the captain that the major is authorized to request any supplies or support she requires. No questions asked; just honor her request and supply it. The major has the impossible task of securing all three stations. You know she does not have enough personnel to support that task adequately. But the major must have some plan in mind.”
Slightly surprised when Jamie started laughing, Nkosana was even more surprised when he heard the Commander comment. “Well, I’ll be damned. The Major asked the captain first this time. Usually, she takes what she wants and then asks.”
“What did she request, if you do not mind me asking?” asked Nkosana.
“Oh, I think I better not tell you; you might not like what I tell you. I will leave that up to the major to inform you.” With that, Jamie asked if they needed her for anything else. She had a lot of work ahead of her to honor the Major’s request. Along with prepping all the fighters and bombers.
Confirming that was all, Jamie slowly walked away, still chuckling while shaking her head. They could hear her muttering, “ha… she went to the cap first… she knew I would deny that request. What marine in their right mind would request what she wanted? Ha-ha.… I sure wish I knew what she is planning….”
They saw marines walking down the hall towards them as they left the bay. None were in armor, which surprised them both. Hugging the wall, with his palms spread behind him to give him balance as the marines passed by, Nkosana glanced over at Will with raised eyebrows.
Shrugging his shoulders to indicate he had no idea, both were surprised as a ship, fighter, or shuttle, they could not tell exactly, was ejected from the bay. The noise was surprising, not as loud as they expected. But they could feel the deep vibrations in their feet as the ship went down the rails.
The marines saluted as they filed by but did not wait for a return salute, although it is usually required. They had no time for silly procedures when about to go into combat. They were long past when the admiral got his hand off the wall and returned the salute. Will never even attempted while they were present except to salute the backs of the marines as they entered the bay.
Walking next to the Commander as they walked towards their quarters to get some much-needed rest, Nkosana asked Will what he thought of the crew.
Surprised at the question, Will almost missed his step. He took a few moments before he responded.
“The crew? They are the best I have ever had the pleasure to serve with, sir. I have been on a half dozen ships or more, and I liked all the crews. They were all dedicated, brave, and talented. But this crew, well, how can I put this correctly?”
They paused to lean against the wall to allow a running technician past. “They always seem to rise to another level when needed. You’ve seen the fighter pilots fight, best of the best. Bomber crews need no explanation. Isolde with the video for the Kolqux. Selena with the carrier image. I could go on and on. They offer opinions, insights, recommendations, and take extraordinary risks.”
Smiling, he rubbed his arms as he related. “I still remember the first action I was in with this crew. The battle raged fiercely, with damage in multiple areas, resources strained, and we had taken a missile hit to the front starboard hull. An uncontrolled fire raging in the area that we could not smother as multiple hatches could not be closed.”
Pausing again to allow more marines past, Will continued once they marched. “I went to check it out. I reached the area just in time to assist as four individuals placed a wedge of emergency hull replacement panel on a hole large enough to swallow a large person. The air escaping, the intense heat and smoke, on top of the area still being sprayed down by the auto fire retardant sprinklers, made it almost impossible to work. Luckily, I had put on a fire suit; it was brutal there.”
Here the Commander stopped while he scratched a nonexistent itch. “Once the panel was in place, the fire retardant stopped spraying; the fire was out. I didn’t have a chance to look closely at the four individuals through the smoke earlier; I was shocked at what I now saw. Only one had put on his protective gear. Their eyes were nearly swollen shut; their hands and arms severely burned.”
