Fatal flaws gate ghosts.., p.13
Fatal Flaws (Gate Ghosts Book 13), page 13
Claudia asked, as the pair walked arm in arm.
Derry replied.
Claudia pressed.
Derry chuckled and indicated a small backless bench on which to sit. he said.
Claudia sent.
At that moment, a SADE walked a path that would take him past Derry and Claudia, and Derry quickly stood.
Salus sent.
Derry shared.
Salus responded.
Derry sent.
Salus replied.
Derry sent.
As Salus moved off with a glide, Derry and Claudia resumed their seats.
Claudia sent.
Derry replied with a light chuckle.
Claudia remarked.
Derry said.
Claudia inquired.
Derry replied.
Claudia noted.
Derry concurred.
Claudia interrupted.
Derry continued.
Claudia uttered a quick exhalation of surprise.
Derry sent.
Tears formed in Claudia’s eyes, and Derry squeezed her hand.
Claudia complained.
Derry warned.
Mila sent, standing in front to the pair. she added, briefly leaning a shoulder against Salus, who appeared pleased by the gesture.
Claudia replied, eyeing the fresh-faced young woman and seeing the effect of Jatouche tank rejuvenation.
Mila appeared chagrined. she said.
Claudia asked.
Mila eyed the woman, trying to decide if she truly wanted to know or was pushing her buttons. She decided it was the former, not having participated in a ship-to-ship battle. she responded.
Claudia stated.
Mila decided she liked the councilor. she said, grinning.
Claudia offered, which made the two women laugh.
Mila returned.
9: They’re Real
SUPREME FORCES COMMANDER UGURTER
UTILIMAT WARSHIP
Ugurter had won several skirmishes with the Utilimat council.
The council and Ugurter had chosen to ignore the warnings of two warship captains that a mysterious fleet had arrived out of the dark and attacked Utilimat warships on station above a Monkfred-occupied planet.
When Julien had visited the Utilimat home world, Ugurter heard that the conclave leader thought little of Captains Ojaftah and Ulkfay’s arrests and had derided Utilimat naval foolishness.
Deciding to seek the truth, Ugurter collected the incarcerated captains, Ojaftah and Ulkfay, and sailed for a Monkfred-settled world. He found conclave ships protecting the Monkfreds. After being shown proof of what Julien had said, he was politely chastised by a SADE, Lesling, who replied to his apology with,
Contact with the conclave convinced Ugurter that Utilimat naval command and the council had made multiple missteps from the initial contact with the conclave. They’d ignored Captain Ophorous, who had arrived at the home world with world-shattering news, and she’d not been believed. For that mistake, naval forces had lost Captains Ophorous and Uferus, who now supported the Yerets.
Ugurter’s considerations led him to believe that the council’s present path would destroy their relationships with the other races and fail to develop one with the conclave. In trying to convince the council of his concerns, Ugurter and the councilors had butted heads. Rather than accept the councilors’ chastisement, Ugurter resigned.
This contentious meeting created a revolt among naval commanders, who delivered an ultimatum to the council. While the council was loath to acquiesce, they realized that replacement of so many senior officers would take decades.
Therefore, Ugurter had been requested to return to his position by Ojoojaf, the supreme councilor. To the councilor’s surprise, Ugurter had conditions. He told Ojoojaf that the council must adopt a resolution placing him on the council, as well as two senior command officers he would select.
Reluctantly, the council accepted Ugurter’s conditions.
In one bitter exchange, Ugurter won another round against the council. Irritated by Ugurter’s accusations, a councilor had remarked, “For your impudence, you should join the two incarcerated captains.”
Ugurter had enjoyed replying, “For your information, I reinstated those captains. They tried to warn us of a serious danger, and I made the mistake of not believing them. I’ve since corrected my error.”
A council meeting followed that series of events, and some members of the established council dubiously eyed the new councilors. However, one was overjoyed at the council’s new makeup.
The meeting had started poorly, and it descended into heated arguments. The key point of contention was a proposal by Ugurter that the council take different positions with regard to the other races and the conclave.
The mention of the conclave had driven councilors who wanted to maintain the status quo into a frenzy.
“Commander, what do you offer that should make us change millennia of established methodology?” Ojoojaf objected.
“Just because something has worked for a while doesn’t mean it works when circumstances change,” Ugurter retorted. “The moment conclave ships arrived at the Yeret system, our customary practices were figuratively detonated by a bajhaad missile.”
“Consider our present level of technology,” a senior officer interjected. “We were investigating a strange energy source, and conclave ships sail through it, proving it was a space-time continuum, which they can navigate.”
“That’s the point at which we should have made critical changes to our relationships with the other races,” a councilor added. “Instead, we made one blunder after another, and what do we have to show for it?”
Established councilors argued that it was too soon to make strategic shifts in how the council conducted business with the other races.
“Too soon? Too soon?” Ugurter echoed in disbelief. “It might be too late. Therefore, I intend to see what can be salvaged.”
“Don’t do anything rash,” Ojoojaf warned.
“Oh, we’ll play it by your rules,” Ugurter replied, smiling. “I propose to take a ship to the Yeret world and speak to Julien. It will also allow me to gain further proof of what he’s shared with me. We should find the Tekstria nursery ship there.”
The proposal was seconded and passed by a majority of one.
Before the meeting adjourned, Ugurter said, “Who wishes to sail with me?”
The command officers noted that they had duties to perform, and they elected to remain behind.
Ugurter ended up with two councilors. One was a supporter, but the other was a bitter antagonist, who was pressed by Ojoojaf to accompany Ugurter.
Ugurter chose to take Captains Ojaftah and Ulkfay with him. His thought was that four sane voices should be enough to drown out one obnoxious councilor.
∞
a telemetry officer aboard a Trident monitoring space outside the Yeret system reported.
Julien halted his discussion with Judimal Yathal and the Utilimat captains to listen to the message. The telemetry officer’s thought relayed his anxiety.
the telemetry officer continued.
Julien slid out of his chair. Utilizing his avatar’s capabilities, he was out of the conference room, down the hall, and signaling the elevators in one continuous stream of movement.
Opal elevated her traveler, swung the aft end toward the admin building’s rear exit, and dropped the ramp.
When Julien exited the building, he leapt to the traveler, and Opal closed the rear ramp and shot skyward.
the Trident telemetry officer sent.
Opal queried.
Julien replied. Then he fell quiet, while he concentrated on how to deal with another fleet of the collective. That thought gave him pause. A new collective or a different portion of the same collective, he wondered.
Linking to the conclave fleet’s commanders, Julien sent,
As the commanders faced a great assembly of many more ships than their forces, they were only too happy to order their Trident captains to retreat.
Julien directed.
Opal altered course and signaled the captain of her approaching traveler.
In response, the Trident captain ordered a pilot to launch and join the Freedom.
From the Trident on the frontier, which had detected the Tekstria’s arrival, the captain shared,
Opal landed aboard the nearest Trident, and the captain, following Julien’s directive, sailed for the Tekstria fleet.
While Julien made for the bridge, Opal stayed with her traveler. She was ready to collect her important passenger, make a quick exit, and escape a fight. If it came to that, the odds would be against them, but she was prepared to take advantage of every opportunity no matter how slender.
the New Terran captain, Teresa Hawkins, queried Julien.
Julien replied.
Teresa quipped, and Julien laughed and laid a companionly hand on her broad shoulder.
Images of Alex surfaced from Julien’s kernel. It often happened when he came in contact with any New Terran, especially one wearing the dark blue uniform with gold insignia.
It took a while for the Trident to reach its target, and Teresa decelerated long before that point to indicate her intentions to the Tekstria.
When the Trident came to station, Julien focused an antenna on one of the Tekstrian warships.
Then Julien stepped to the rear of the bridge and locked his avatar.
Captain Hawkins sent.
Julien replied and linked to Gistamia.
Gistamia volunteered.
Julien inquired.
Gistamia replied.
Julien pressed.
Gistamia responded.
Julien shared.
Opal interjected privately to Julien,
Two Tridents with four SADEs each had kept close quarter watch on the nursery ship Julien had inherited. He decided to make a small move and send two more tri-hulls.
Julien sent.
While Julien was arranging the additional guards for the nursery ship, the Freedom telemetry officer sent, Moments later, the officer added,
Per Ugurter’s directive, Captain Ojaftah decelerated the Utilimat warship sharply. The commander didn’t want the conclave to think he was making an aggressive move.
the telemetry officer finished.
Opal remarked privately to Julien.
Ugurter, both captains, and the two councilors waited on the bridge for telemetry to accumulate. Soon, they spotted the Freedom with its Trident escorts.
“That’s odd. All conclave ships are pointing in a single direction,” Captain Ulkfay remarked.
“There’s the huge nursery ship that Julien said we’d find here,” Ugurter said. He turned a satisfied expression on the antagonistic councilor. “At least, it appears to be a gigantic alien ship,” he added. “That is unless the conclave created a mockup for their vid. What do you think, Councilor Ufoodab?”
“I say put a missile into it and find out if it’s real,” Ufoodab replied sharply.
“Captains, I’d like to leverage your combined command experience,” Ugurter said. “If we were to launch a missile at the massive alien vessel, what do you think are our chances of escaping before a tri-hull caught us and took out our engines, as the conclave is wont to do?”
Ulkfay extended a hand to Ojaftah, as she had command.
“Commander, as we’re at station, I believe we’d have zero chance of escaping,” Ojaftah replied.
“There is a second option,” Ulkfay offered.
“We’re listening,” Ugurter responded.
“Put Councilor Ufoodab in a suit. Load him in a shuttle. Fly it to the nursery ship and let him see if he can poke a hole in it,” Ulkfay replied, staring fixedly at Ufoodab, who fumed from the laughter.
Worse for Ufoodab, Ojaftah added, “I bow to Captain Ulkfay’s suggestion. The councilor gets proof of what he doubts, and we manage to stay alive.”
“Captain Ojaftah, regard the latest telemetry,” a bridge officer urgently interrupted.
Eyes turned to regard the largest monitor, which displayed a huge alien fleet.
Councilor Ufoodab swallowed nervously. Then he muttered, “The Tekstria are real.”
“You just can’t catch that Julien in a lie,” Ugurter pretended to lament. “Well, Councilor Ufoodab, should we sail to that wall of warships and test them with a missile launch?”
When the nickering rose to a crescendo, Ufoodab dropped a few Utilimat expletives and vacated the bridge.
“All laughter aside,” Ugurter said, “let’s hope Julien deals effectively with them. He told me that the first fleet came hunting our race.”
The entire bridge audience stared at the supreme forces commander, and he turned around so as to regard them. “Secrecy hasn’t served us well. It’s time to start sharing information to make better decisions,” he said.
Derry chuckled and indicated a small backless bench on which to sit.
At that moment, a SADE walked a path that would take him past Derry and Claudia, and Derry quickly stood.
Derry sent.
As Salus moved off with a glide, Derry and Claudia resumed their seats.
Claudia sent.
Claudia uttered a quick exhalation of surprise.
Tears formed in Claudia’s eyes, and Derry squeezed her hand.
Mila appeared chagrined. she said.
Mila eyed the woman, trying to decide if she truly wanted to know or was pushing her buttons. She decided it was the former, not having participated in a ship-to-ship battle.
Claudia stated.
Mila decided she liked the councilor. she said, grinning.
Claudia offered, which made the two women laugh.
9: They’re Real
SUPREME FORCES COMMANDER UGURTER
UTILIMAT WARSHIP
Ugurter had won several skirmishes with the Utilimat council.
The council and Ugurter had chosen to ignore the warnings of two warship captains that a mysterious fleet had arrived out of the dark and attacked Utilimat warships on station above a Monkfred-occupied planet.
When Julien had visited the Utilimat home world, Ugurter heard that the conclave leader thought little of Captains Ojaftah and Ulkfay’s arrests and had derided Utilimat naval foolishness.
Deciding to seek the truth, Ugurter collected the incarcerated captains, Ojaftah and Ulkfay, and sailed for a Monkfred-settled world. He found conclave ships protecting the Monkfreds. After being shown proof of what Julien had said, he was politely chastised by a SADE, Lesling, who replied to his apology with,
Contact with the conclave convinced Ugurter that Utilimat naval command and the council had made multiple missteps from the initial contact with the conclave. They’d ignored Captain Ophorous, who had arrived at the home world with world-shattering news, and she’d not been believed. For that mistake, naval forces had lost Captains Ophorous and Uferus, who now supported the Yerets.
Ugurter’s considerations led him to believe that the council’s present path would destroy their relationships with the other races and fail to develop one with the conclave. In trying to convince the council of his concerns, Ugurter and the councilors had butted heads. Rather than accept the councilors’ chastisement, Ugurter resigned.
This contentious meeting created a revolt among naval commanders, who delivered an ultimatum to the council. While the council was loath to acquiesce, they realized that replacement of so many senior officers would take decades.
Therefore, Ugurter had been requested to return to his position by Ojoojaf, the supreme councilor. To the councilor’s surprise, Ugurter had conditions. He told Ojoojaf that the council must adopt a resolution placing him on the council, as well as two senior command officers he would select.
Reluctantly, the council accepted Ugurter’s conditions.
In one bitter exchange, Ugurter won another round against the council. Irritated by Ugurter’s accusations, a councilor had remarked, “For your impudence, you should join the two incarcerated captains.”
Ugurter had enjoyed replying, “For your information, I reinstated those captains. They tried to warn us of a serious danger, and I made the mistake of not believing them. I’ve since corrected my error.”
A council meeting followed that series of events, and some members of the established council dubiously eyed the new councilors. However, one was overjoyed at the council’s new makeup.
The meeting had started poorly, and it descended into heated arguments. The key point of contention was a proposal by Ugurter that the council take different positions with regard to the other races and the conclave.
The mention of the conclave had driven councilors who wanted to maintain the status quo into a frenzy.
“Commander, what do you offer that should make us change millennia of established methodology?” Ojoojaf objected.
“Just because something has worked for a while doesn’t mean it works when circumstances change,” Ugurter retorted. “The moment conclave ships arrived at the Yeret system, our customary practices were figuratively detonated by a bajhaad missile.”
“Consider our present level of technology,” a senior officer interjected. “We were investigating a strange energy source, and conclave ships sail through it, proving it was a space-time continuum, which they can navigate.”
“That’s the point at which we should have made critical changes to our relationships with the other races,” a councilor added. “Instead, we made one blunder after another, and what do we have to show for it?”
Established councilors argued that it was too soon to make strategic shifts in how the council conducted business with the other races.
“Too soon? Too soon?” Ugurter echoed in disbelief. “It might be too late. Therefore, I intend to see what can be salvaged.”
“Don’t do anything rash,” Ojoojaf warned.
“Oh, we’ll play it by your rules,” Ugurter replied, smiling. “I propose to take a ship to the Yeret world and speak to Julien. It will also allow me to gain further proof of what he’s shared with me. We should find the Tekstria nursery ship there.”
The proposal was seconded and passed by a majority of one.
Before the meeting adjourned, Ugurter said, “Who wishes to sail with me?”
The command officers noted that they had duties to perform, and they elected to remain behind.
Ugurter ended up with two councilors. One was a supporter, but the other was a bitter antagonist, who was pressed by Ojoojaf to accompany Ugurter.
Ugurter chose to take Captains Ojaftah and Ulkfay with him. His thought was that four sane voices should be enough to drown out one obnoxious councilor.
∞
Julien halted his discussion with Judimal Yathal and the Utilimat captains to listen to the message. The telemetry officer’s thought relayed his anxiety.
Julien slid out of his chair. Utilizing his avatar’s capabilities, he was out of the conference room, down the hall, and signaling the elevators in one continuous stream of movement.
Opal elevated her traveler, swung the aft end toward the admin building’s rear exit, and dropped the ramp.
When Julien exited the building, he leapt to the traveler, and Opal closed the rear ramp and shot skyward.
Linking to the conclave fleet’s commanders, Julien sent,
As the commanders faced a great assembly of many more ships than their forces, they were only too happy to order their Trident captains to retreat.
Opal altered course and signaled the captain of her approaching traveler.
In response, the Trident captain ordered a pilot to launch and join the Freedom.
From the Trident on the frontier, which had detected the Tekstria’s arrival, the captain shared,
Opal landed aboard the nearest Trident, and the captain, following Julien’s directive, sailed for the Tekstria fleet.
While Julien made for the bridge, Opal stayed with her traveler. She was ready to collect her important passenger, make a quick exit, and escape a fight. If it came to that, the odds would be against them, but she was prepared to take advantage of every opportunity no matter how slender.
Images of Alex surfaced from Julien’s kernel. It often happened when he came in contact with any New Terran, especially one wearing the dark blue uniform with gold insignia.
It took a while for the Trident to reach its target, and Teresa decelerated long before that point to indicate her intentions to the Tekstria.
When the Trident came to station, Julien focused an antenna on one of the Tekstrian warships.
Then Julien stepped to the rear of the bridge and locked his avatar.
Gistamia volunteered.
Opal interjected privately to Julien,
Two Tridents with four SADEs each had kept close quarter watch on the nursery ship Julien had inherited. He decided to make a small move and send two more tri-hulls.
While Julien was arranging the additional guards for the nursery ship, the Freedom telemetry officer sent,
Per Ugurter’s directive, Captain Ojaftah decelerated the Utilimat warship sharply. The commander didn’t want the conclave to think he was making an aggressive move.
Ugurter, both captains, and the two councilors waited on the bridge for telemetry to accumulate. Soon, they spotted the Freedom with its Trident escorts.
“That’s odd. All conclave ships are pointing in a single direction,” Captain Ulkfay remarked.
“There’s the huge nursery ship that Julien said we’d find here,” Ugurter said. He turned a satisfied expression on the antagonistic councilor. “At least, it appears to be a gigantic alien ship,” he added. “That is unless the conclave created a mockup for their vid. What do you think, Councilor Ufoodab?”
“I say put a missile into it and find out if it’s real,” Ufoodab replied sharply.
“Captains, I’d like to leverage your combined command experience,” Ugurter said. “If we were to launch a missile at the massive alien vessel, what do you think are our chances of escaping before a tri-hull caught us and took out our engines, as the conclave is wont to do?”
Ulkfay extended a hand to Ojaftah, as she had command.
“Commander, as we’re at station, I believe we’d have zero chance of escaping,” Ojaftah replied.
“There is a second option,” Ulkfay offered.
“We’re listening,” Ugurter responded.
“Put Councilor Ufoodab in a suit. Load him in a shuttle. Fly it to the nursery ship and let him see if he can poke a hole in it,” Ulkfay replied, staring fixedly at Ufoodab, who fumed from the laughter.
Worse for Ufoodab, Ojaftah added, “I bow to Captain Ulkfay’s suggestion. The councilor gets proof of what he doubts, and we manage to stay alive.”
“Captain Ojaftah, regard the latest telemetry,” a bridge officer urgently interrupted.
Eyes turned to regard the largest monitor, which displayed a huge alien fleet.
Councilor Ufoodab swallowed nervously. Then he muttered, “The Tekstria are real.”
“You just can’t catch that Julien in a lie,” Ugurter pretended to lament. “Well, Councilor Ufoodab, should we sail to that wall of warships and test them with a missile launch?”
When the nickering rose to a crescendo, Ufoodab dropped a few Utilimat expletives and vacated the bridge.
“All laughter aside,” Ugurter said, “let’s hope Julien deals effectively with them. He told me that the first fleet came hunting our race.”
The entire bridge audience stared at the supreme forces commander, and he turned around so as to regard them. “Secrecy hasn’t served us well. It’s time to start sharing information to make better decisions,” he said.
