Koban: When Empires Collide Page 27

  “Frithda says there were nearly two thousand of them originally, but after twenty-three millennia, random atmospheric convections pulled most of them so deep into the atmosphere that, when their stasis fields were switched off to awaken them, most were instantly crushed. Frithda said they were devastated at the loss of so many.”

  “If time was frozen for them, how did the new Olt’kitapi wake them from inside their stasis fields? You said they were shielded from everything, including the passage of time.”

  “Shielded from events and forces in this Universe, but not from something from another Universe. The Trap fields that use tachyon energy to power their stasis are in Tachyon Space, which isn’t in this Universe. Each ship carried a tachyon wave sensor programmed to shut off stasis if a specific pattern of quantum encoded tachyon modulation was detected. All of them awakened when the new Olt’kitapi signaled for the stasis fields to shut down. Unfortunately, not all survived to rise out of the atmosphere on Normal Space drives, from where they had been drifting so long.”

  “Are these bigger than the Dismantlers?”

  “I don’t know Stewart, but they must be. Frithda didn’t describe them to me, but he assured me they have enough ships for an evacuation of their population if that’s required. Therefore, we don’t need to divert any of our ships to protect them. They don’t have large permanent installations built there yet for them to worry about leaving them exposed. The Olt’kitapi are making do with pressurized habitat bubbles they made on Canji Dol, and towed the collapsed fabric and supplies away with the Scouts. They insist they can evacuate and return later. It’s impossible for any attack the Empire is capable of mounting that would ruin that planetary system. After all, the Olt’kitapi intend to dismantle all the planets for raw materials anyway.”

  “Fine. So, our original uncertainty remains. Which of our worlds are the TD going to hit?” Thack Delos had often been shortened to TD in conversations, reflecting human preferences for short cuts, and lazy linguistic habits.

  “It may not be us. The Thandol think what little they’ve seen of Human Space is ours anyway. I’ll warn Bledso, she’ll know where and what fleet resources the PU has positioned for defense. We aren’t going to send our ships into Human Space this time. They’ll just have to fight that battle on their own, if it comes to that. I don’t think they’re prepared to send their ships to our aid when we’re hit again.”

  ****

  “How large a fleet?” Foxworthy asked, suddenly fully awake. She’d just received a late-night alert.

  The watch officer paused a moment, waiting for an AI’s answer. “Too closely clustered to count individual ship, Mam, but two patrol boats report a combined mass that is smaller than the fleet the Ragnar sent against Tanner’s World. However, their fleet contained troop landers, carriers, and hundreds of supply ships. If the patrol boats are detecting only warships for a bombardment, like those the Finth sent to attack the Federation, it could be between three thousand and four thousand vessels, depending on the mix of light, medium, or heavy cruisers, or even smaller destroyer class ships. If it’s entirely a Thandol fleet, it would be a lower number, since their ship classes are individually larger. There certainly aren’t any Crushers present, Mam. Those would stand out sharply in any crowd of smaller ships.”

  “If it’s the fleet Mirikami warned the Vice President about, it will be the Thack Delos, and not Thandol, which means probably the number of ships is about thirty-five hundred. You told me they were over a day out, coming from well above the disk. Is there a tachyon wave trace back towards a particular sector of the Empire at all?”

  There was another pause as the watch officer communicated with the patrol boat AIs. Foxworthy used her Comtap, to send two flash alerts of her own while she waited.

  He had only a vague answer when he returned. “There was an earlier wave trace from that general direction. Probably from before the fleet turned sharply towards the galactic disk. If so, their previous track didn’t suggest a Sector 1 origin, which would indicate the Ragnar if it did, but it isn’t precise enough to indicate which of the other two more distant sectors it could have come from. The Finth must still be licking their wounds after the Federation ambush, therefore this fleet most likely originated in sector three, where we’re told the Thack Delos patrol for the Empire.”

  “OK. I sent a general alert to the commanders of both task forces while I waited. Before they’re organized and ready to Jump, I need to know where to send them. Which Rim worlds are along their track towards the disk?”

  “None, Mam.”

  “What? Then who?”

  “Uh…, Mam, our AI took the data from both widely spaced boats, and the plot does pass through the Rim region, of course. But unless they change course, they won’t intercept any inhabited Rim system. They’ll pass through the Rim region and penetrate the Hub volume. Two planets are along that projected track, but the first one they would encounter, by at least a hundred twenty lightyears, is New Glasgow.”

  “Damn. An Old Colony, with a lot of people. Wait. They were an intended target of the Krall, but were never invaded by them. I’ll bet they still have some of the planetary defenses, even if not staffed and operational. While I dress, and talk to my task force commanders, I want you to find out if there are any of our ships with Kobani on them, on or at least near New Glasgow. I want the PU Governor there to start on preparations and evacuations, before we can get either task force there. We can’t talk to them without someone equipped with a Comtap.”

  “Yes, Mam. I’ll initiate a search through Naval Operations at Luna headquarters. They’ll know if we have Kobani crewed ships posted in the New Glasgow area.”

  Foxworthy started pulling on her uniform, even as she Comtapped the two just awakened Task Force commanders, now getting their own underlings moving. She ordered them to Jump for New Glasgow as soon as possible. They were each slightly less than a day away, so they could arrive before the enemy did.

  The twenty Scouts attached to each task force would leave immediately, a couple of hours ahead of the full task forces. Thus far, they had been undetectable by ships of the empire, provided they didn’t bunch up to form a larger mass. They could safely engage enemy recon craft if any arrived early.

  Because the enemy fleet surely would outnumber her two thousand fully refitted ships, Foxworthy spoke to the commander of the next future task force, which was currently undergoing refit at New Africa.

  She learned that fewer than a hundred ships were presently parked around the Prada industrial dome and tarmac, undergoing stealth applications by a swarm of Prada, and having gel suit stations removed. The new higher acceleration limits were applied via quickly installed software changes for ship AIs, plus some minor structural improvements and console bracing, to accommodate the higher uncompensated internal accelerations.

  She learned twenty-two ships had completed the refitting process, but nearly thirteen hundred were awaiting their turn. Foxworthy ordered all those waiting ships to reload the missiles they had transferred to combat support ships, something done for safety purposes while undergoing refitting. Many of their crews were groundside, but shuttles would soon be recalling them. However, they might take a day and a half, or even two days to be ready to Jump for New Glasgow. Fortunately, Kobani crews were available for the twenty-two newly completed refits, and they were given priority on resupply, to be ready to leave in three hours, to form an escort for Foxworthy’s heavy cruiser flagship.

  Lt Cdr Bracy brought her the news that he had indeed located Kobani to speak to the Governor of New Glasgow. “Mam, there’s a small Kobani crew on New Glasgow right now. There were no navy crews there, but a search of civilian shipping permits learned a ship with Kobani aboard was accepting a delivery there this week. It’s an independently owned freighter, with a Kobani captain.”

  “How does that help us, unless we know his link address?”

  “General Nabarone was listed as a security reference for the captain, on his por
t clearance documents. So is Vice President Bledso, and I think you may know him. Besides, I have his link address from shipping records.”

  “Who is this freighter captain that knows so many influential people, and you think knows me, and he has a Kobani Comtap?”

  “Have you met Nabarone’s former aide de camp, Lieutenant Colonel Howard Caldwell?”

  “Howie? I’ll be damned. Except he was a major the last time I spoke to him, and he was no Kobani. Well, he wouldn’t have told me if he was a Kobani back then, since he was an officer in the PU army. He said he was champing at the bit to punch out of the army, to become a partner in a cargo shipping company. Nabarone kept pleading with him to stick around on Poldark until the Krall holdouts were mopped up. He must have been promoted while he was the de facto army commander on Poldark, when the war moved off planet. I had taken my navy squadron and chased after Nabarone, supporting his two armies, which were fighting on Krall worlds.

  “Since Nabarone was secretly a Kobani at that time, it makes sense that his closest subordinate would likely have had the conversion. Feed me his link, I need to talk to him.”

  A quick mental transfer from Bracy, and she initiated a link. “Howie, this is Admiral Janet Foxworthy. How are you?”

  There was a hundredth of a second of uncertainty at the other end. “Who? Oh, Hi Foxie. You know what, over all the years I coordinated with you on behalf of Henry, I never called you by your real first name. You called me Howie, and I came back with Foxie. This is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t know you knew I was a Kobani with a Comtap. I’d heard about naval officers making the change. Congratulations. Feels good, doesn’t it? What can I do for you?”

  “This is urgent Howie. I need you to contact the PU governor there, Lamore Goodfem, on my behalf. On her and the planet’s behalf really. You happen to be sitting on what we believe is an Empire target. There’s an enemy fleet inbound, barely more than a day out, coming from galactic north.

  “I want you to warn Goodfem, and pass the word that I’m sending two thousand ships, in two task forces, due within a day, and another thirteen hundred at least a day and a half later. My own heavy cruiser, with an escort of twenty-two medium cruisers, will get there shortly after the enemy arrives. You can take your freighter and cargo, to get safely away before then.”

  “Well, I’ll have the cargo loaded shortly. It’s not bulky. It’s highly purified gallium alloys, such as gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and another version with indium. It can be made on Koban, but it’s faster and cheaper for the Federation to buy it in Human Space, if they can get around the embargo the PU parliament hasn’t fully lifted in the Hub yet.

  “Chief Haveram, my partner, developed a web of shady contacts for buying perfectly legal products when no one wanted to sell to him, and now those sources are simply faster when Koban needs things quickly. The pure crystals will be used by the Raspani and Torki to make electronic circuits for various gadgets I don’t understand. It’s partly for the war related industry, which is how I’m able to divert a ship for this, when the Federation is facing widespread attacks.

  “I have a five person Kobani crew, and they’re Federation citizens, but share a common enemy with me and you. We may stick around and help out with the fight.”

  “In a freighter?”

  “I guess I wasn’t specific enough in my description. I fly a clanship, with all the bells and whistles of a warship. I don’t carry missiles, but I have the standard Fed stealth, lasers, and plasma cannons. My crew are veterans of some of the orbital fighting at K1, or whatever they call it today.”

  “Oh. I first assumed you ran a company in Human Space, with a human built freight hauler. You must be Federation registered. I suppose that’s how the navy figured out a Kobani was aboard. I have no way to warn the governor without your Comtap link.”

  “That’s what I figured. I started walking out of the cargo building right after you told me what you needed. I think I’ll try stopping a spaceport police officer, to get transportation. I doubt if I can just walk up to the governor’s mansion or her office, and simply introduce myself and tell my tale.”

  “I’ll check with Earth, to see if there’s some sort of security pass, or some damned diplomatic secret handshake I can pass along to you to get you inside, and get them to listen.”

  “Hell, if you remote Mind Tap me, I’ll and link you in by Comtap as your relay. That will speed things up, perhaps.”

  “Sorry. We navy PU types don’t get that mod.”

  “Go to Koban for screening, and you might. I intend to. Despite Nabarone, and every person on Koban getting it automatically in the early years, it’s more restricted today, and you need to pass screening first. I think all but about eight percent of Normals have healthy mental attitudes that qualify. Conmen, thieves, and someone with certain types of mental aberrations won’t pass, but known dishonest criminal types and crazies don’t get the physical mods either. When you’re already a Kobani, I think all but one or two percent also get Mind Tap.”

  Caldwell, with Foxworthy linked in by Comtap to feed him privileged information she got from Earth, and an explanation of the urgency impressed on the steadily rising ranks of the police he encountered, led him to be quickly delivered to the PU Governor in under an hour. By that time, Foxworthy had some additional confidential information from Earth, to convince Goodfem this warning was on the level.

  Foxworthy learned the former Planetary Defense Forces couldn’t get all the heavy laser batteries in place in a day, nor activate any of the anti-ship missile batteries, and radar systems that soon. Although, finding former veterans wasn’t all that hard. To defend their homes and families, they were highly motivated to drop what they were doing to help.

  However, it was assumed the real defense would happen entirely in space. No one knew anything about the aliens they were told were coming to attack them on behalf of the Emperor. The Thack Delos were a near mystery to humans. Regardless, working as a Thandol security force, imposing the Empire’s harsh and unforgiving policies, they wouldn’t be nice.

  Caldwell took advantage of his acquaintance with Mirikami to link to his Comtap address. “Tet, this is Howard Caldwell. Have a moment to talk?”

  The reply was prompt. “I’ll make time, Howard. Still working with Haveram?”

  “I am, and I was picking up an order of gallium alloys on Glasgow for delivery to Haven. Except, I’ve been called on to coordinate between an inbound Admiral Foxworthy and governor Goodfem, since me and my crew have the only Comtaps in the system. Foxworthy’s sending two PU task forces here to try to head off an Empire fleet, which I’m told you were the one that warned them it was coming.”

  “That’s right. How are preparations going?”

  “Planet-side, they’ve barely started moving a few thousand heavy defensive laser batteries out of storage around the thirty largest cities. The first anti-ship missiles and radar systems won’t be online for a couple of days at the earliest. Only Foxworthy’s two task forces, a thousand ships each, will be here to engage them in space for the first day and a half. Another thirteen hundred unmodified standard style ships, a mix of medium and heavy cruisers, will arrive after that, but they do have Kobani crews.

  “She’ll be outnumbered until they arrive. She and I think her better stealth and Kobani crews on the first two thousand ships will improve their odds, as well as forty Scouts. I’m going up to fight with them, and I’ll try to keep her informed on anything you can tell me.”

  “So, my ground pounder friend, you decided to turn space jockey?”

  “I have five Kobani crew members that were with your fleet on the final fight at K1, each one on a different ship. Not captains, but they know what happened, and shared Taps as it occurred. Mind Tap is a wonderful thing.”

  “Good. I hope Foxworthy takes time to link with them while she’s in Jump status. A Mind Tap and a dump of tactics to her storage files will help her.”

  “She can’t do a remote Tap. She doesn’t h
ave that mod yet, and neither do I. All five of my crew does, because they grew up on Koban. They’ve Tapped me and shared their experiences. You should know at least one of them, even if not well. All of them grew up in Hub City, but only one was old enough to get her mods at Prime City when you were Commander there. A school friend she says, of Alyson Martin, who’s married to Carson. Her name’s Rhonda Fabershan.”

  “I remember the name, and a slender girl with brown hair.”

  “That’s her. She wanted to learn more about Human Space, and after fighting with us on Poldark, stayed there and signed on with Haveram and me.”

  “I didn’t know that. Nor about Foxworthy not having the full mods. Well, scanning the file dump into her memory matrix will speed up her decisions, and help her adapt to a brand-new enemy. I can also give that to Rhonda, who can Tap you both if she can touch you, to give you a better feel for the information.”

  “That will help me, but not Foxworthy right away. She won’t get here until after the battle has begun, and will need to experience it second hand via Comtap, at least initially.”

  “Perhaps you and your crew can meet with some of her ship captains there, or at least both Task Force commanders, and do direct Taps to transfer what you know.”

  “Right. But, let me ask about what I called you to learn. Can you confirm for certain if it’s a TD fleet yet, and its strength? How about any combat tactics they use, their armament, and ship types? Assuming your Scouts, which you sent to their home system, obtained any of that intelligence yet.”