Fatal flaws gate ghosts.., p.25
Fatal Flaws (Gate Ghosts Book 13), page 25
SADEs lifted the probe’s cradle off the traveler and set it on the deck near where a traveler might rest. Then they removed another cradle from the second traveler and placed it too. Then the chief ordered his crew to attach the power lines to the cradles.
The second operation was easily handled by Kelley. He activated the probe aboard a third traveler, and the weapon detected its cradle. Following the command to return, it shot inside the bay and settled on the cradle. The speed with which it moved told the chiefs that nothing should ever come between a probe and its cradle after the weapon was recalled.
By the time the morning meal approached, three probes were settled aboard the liner. On the way to the meal room, Mila linked to the Trident captains.
When Mila ended the links, the captain established their own conference.
Mila finished her meal, and Salus and she walked to the bridge to join Juno, Kelley, Gaylene, and Derry.
Kelley and Juno had already mapped out the systems they would visit in the territory that rested between Helgart and Jumanus.
Derry gave the order to sail, and four ships accelerated to leave the Helgart system. When they cleared the vast majority of the gravitational effect, they entered the dark.
17: Mila’s Test
LIBERATION FLOTILLA
KRACKUS TERRITORY
Entering the territory located between Helgart and Jumanus, the small flotilla began visiting inhabited worlds to return the residents.
The operational methods were well-known.
The first step was to capture the Radag commands. They were transported to the Liberation and housed on a deck that Kelley and other SADEs isolated. This included their food fermentation processes.
After the Radags were cleared, the local race was urged to accept the Krackus as instructors in the technology they’d employed. On this subject, Juno and her companions weren’t always successful, which meant some Krackus had to be rounded up and given cabins aboard the liner.
With the routine established, the captains developed a synergy that greatly improved Mila’s confidence in her duties, much to Salus’s relief.
As was the norm, the flotilla exited the dark to visit the next targeted inhabited world. After a few cycles to gather passive telemetry, Mila signaled Kelley to make the short transit to the outer rim.
No sooner had the Tridents and the liner made their approach to the rim of the most recent system, than alerts erupted on every ship.
Gaylene lamented.
Kelley displayed a wire model of the situation on the liner’s holo-vid.
Mila recognized that the peacekeepers were close, and their missiles could run active for most of the distance to her ships. That resulted in her muttering a few choice Naiad expletives.
As the two fleets were too close to the system for Mila to use an Elvian probe, she considered alternative scenarios to draw the Krackus fleet out into the dark.
Eyes turned toward Mila, but she ignored them. Instead, she studied Kelley’s wire diagram.
Then Kelley understood Mila’s strategy. In ticks of time, he set the courses for the flotilla’s four ships.
The flotilla accelerated at the maximum thrust that the liner could generate. The ships swiveled away from the oncoming missile barrage.
For a while, the missiles closed the distance under the expenditure of fuel. When they went passive, their velocity remained constant. Even so, the missiles expended more fuel to reorient toward the flotilla’s fleeing trajectory.
For two-and-a-half cycles, the flotilla allowed the missiles to chase their ships.
Mila sat in the second command chair beside Derry or the first officers, as the hours rolled past. She ate, dozed, and watched the telemetry reports. Multiple times, she’d visited her cabin for the refresher and to grab a nap. Then she’d quickly return to the bridge.
Mila jerked awake and sat upright.
Mila left her chair to examine the panel, and the officer displayed the vector anomalies that had occurred during the past six hours.
The SADE signaled the bay. The crews had been on standby even as they rotated. The bay was depressurized, and the doors were opened.
Salus activated the probe and directed it to launch. When it was outside the ship, he programmed its target, the center of the missile barrage. Knowing there was drift in the missiles’ targeting, he sent,
With the SADEs’ assurance, Mila sent two directives,
The Tridents’ first officers saw their ships race ahead of the liner and knew that the senior captain was taking every precaution to ensure their safety.
Behind the Liberation, the probe sped toward the oncoming missiles, and those awake aboard the flotilla waited for their first demonstration of a probe’s power. When it came, it was a little disappointing. The blinding flash obscured all vid coverage and blanked telemetry reception.
However, when the energy wave reached the ships, they experienced more than a little disturbance.
Now every individual aboard the flotilla was wide awake, including the Krackus and the Radags, who thought the liner was under attack.
In the aftermath, telemetry updates told the probe’s story. Officers couldn’t detect a single missile. Fifty-two hundred dangerous peacekeeper weapons had disappeared in the probe’s blinding flash.
Hours later, the flotilla exited the dark and waited for telemetry.
This time, it was the first duty telemetry officer who woke Mila.
On the system’s wire diagram, Mila tapped out three points that nicely surrounded the inhabited world. She’d ensured the positions remained outside the system.
The Trident captains watched as their ships turned, accelerated, and executed short transits.
When the probes were deployed, with their rings furiously spinning, Kelley, who had used a Trident to link to the Krackus flagship, connected to the peacekeeper’s comm system.
The fleet imperator had been informed that the four conclave ships that he thought had been destroyed were back. When his comms panel lit without an ID, he knew who was calling.
“Yes,” the commander replied after selecting the call.
Simultaneously, Kelley ensured that the Trident captains could hear and understand both sides of the conversation.
“So, you evaded our missile barrage and left those weapons to find some unsuspecting settled world,” the commander shot back.
“Doubtful. You don’t have the number of ships to handle that many missiles in an engagement,” the commander responded confidently.
The fleet imperator glanced toward his flagship’s imperator who nodded emphatically.
“Quite the story,” the commander said dismissively.
Mila sent.
“And the alternative is what?” the commander asked guardedly. He was aware that every orb on the bridge was watching him carefully. Most were registering fear.
“We require some time to decide,” the commander replied.
A chronometer appeared on the flagship’s central monitor. Then it began counting down.
A few Krackus officers uttered quiet squawks.
“Imperator, what is your understanding of this threat?” the commander asked.
“I’ve nothing with which to gauge it,” the imperator replied.
“Commander,” the declinator interjected. “It should be noted that never has a peacekeeper fleet bested a conclave fleet.”
“These are only four ships, and one of them is a liner,” the commander pointed out.
“Yet, this small group of ships feels confident to sail into an executor’s territory where the conclave has never been seen,” the imperator commented. “Perhaps, the conclave no longer wants to battle ship-to-ship. Instead, they’ve decided to use deadlier weapons.”
“But the idea that these devices could follow us through space and time is ridiculous,” the commander scoffed.
“The speaker did say these were alien weapons,” the declinator reasoned. “As to the conclave, it moves its ships in system without visible engine thrust. Who knows what other tech it possesses?”
“Returning to Imperium without completing our tours would destroy our careers,” the commander noted pointedly.
“According to my sibling, who commanded a patrol fleet in Executor Ferstost’s territory, he told me that his peacekeepers lost a battle to the conclave fleet and were forced to return to Imperium,” the imperator said.
“You make my point,” the commander replied. “Your sibling fought. We’ve only fired missiles, and we never engaged.”
“To finish, Commander,” the imperator continued. “My sibling joined many other fleets that have been evicted from their territories. The executors are no longer able to extract vengeance on the commanders due to an edict from Presiding Executor Gaketork. We’d be just one more fleet sent home by the conclave.”
“We’ve a warning to give naval headquarters about the probes, Commander,” the declinator added. Then the imperator and he stood silent and waited.
The commander left his chair, walked, and fumed. It was obvious that he felt his position with his executor would be weak. Yet, much of what his imperator and declinator said couldn’t be discounted.
Opening the comm channel, which he didn’t know was never closed, the commander said, “Conclave speaker, we’ll exit the system with the Radag commands and return to Imperium. It’s my hope that you’ll keep your word and no antimatter probes will follow us.”
Mila rose from her command chair. As she exited the bridge, she sent,
Salus came behind Mila, waited a few moments, and then removed her ship boots. Finally, he covered her and took up a post outside her cabin to prevent others from disturbing his charge.
While Mila slept, the fleet imperator recalled the Radag commands. When the Krackus businesspeople demanded to be evacuated, the fleet imperator told the leaders that an agreement wasn’t reached with the conclave about them. As such, he couldn’t endanger his peacekeepers by an ad hoc augment to the directives he’d received.
SADEs assisted their Trident captains to recover the probes.
Soon afterward, the peacekeepers exited the system and sailed in the direction of Imperium.
Kelley, Juno, and Gaylene returned the resident to her home world. Then they communicated the option to the home world’s leaders, who chose to keep the Krackus to train them in operations and maintenance of equipment already in place.
While the trio was on the planet, Mila crawled out of bed, used the refresher, and donned a clean uniform. When she exited the cabin, she found Salus waiting for her.
Salus inquired.
Mila replied. Then she turned and headed the other direction.
While the pair walked, Mila opened her implant comm and received a flood of messages. Some were simply shared status messages, and she placed those in a folder. Then she discovered that most of the other sendings were congratulations on a job well done.
After reading some of the latter messages, Mila groused,
Mila glanced toward Salus, but the SADE gave her no indication of his mood.
In the meal room, which should have been relatively unoccupied, Mila came to a stop. The room was packed, every meter of it. Her friends, conclave crew, and most of the remaining residents stood with their right hands on their chests and their heads bowed.
Mila was taken aback by the ritual, believing she didn’t deserve it.
When Mila returned the honor, the room erupted in every conceivable noise a large collection of aliens could make. She grinned unabashedly, as she made her way to a table.
Soon a tray of her favorite foods made its way to her.
Mila looked at the server, and Derry grinned at her.
