Koban: When Empires Collide Read online

  There was an exaggerated look of horror on Reynold’s face. “This is how you’d treat your best friend, for simply talking too much in a poker game?”

  “Humph,” was Thad’s prompt and eloquent reply. “Need I remind you of the time you paid my wife for flight lessons, using my IOU to you for poker losses? You knew she didn’t know how much I’d lost, or that I’d even played cards when I lied and said I was giving you, a dumb damn ground pounder, shuttle flight lessons. That IOU cost me far more in marital grief than those damned credits, you know.”

  “I didn’t rat you out, damn it. I’d never have done that. She learned about the game by Mind Tap, before you figured out how to control your guilty thoughts while in the throes of passion. I traded that IOU for her expert flight lessons, because you sucked at flying, and she was navy trained. She already knew you’d lost at poker, so you were in hot water anyway. She came to pay off your poker losses, but I didn’t want the money. It was only a hundred credits. She said she wanted that IOU, and she offered me a trade. Flight lessons.”

  Thad looked wistful when an old memory floated up from his wolfbat matrix. He grinned, but sounded sad as he described what had happened afterwards. “That crappy little IOU. She never said a word to me, but she had it framed and hung it in the bedroom for a few weeks. It made me be a better husband after that.” He smiled wistfully. “It made you a much better pilot.”

  Sarge returned his sad smile. Thad’s wife, Marlyn, was killed above K1, when the Kobani had combined with the PU navy in a fleet battle against the Krall. It dealt a blow to the enemy, but the victory came at a cost.

  Sarge made an offer of conciliation. “If you keep all the money, and join the others for dinner, I’ll pay the bar tab too. I’ve been acting like a nervous ass. I’m sorry, everyone. I mean that.”

  His apology was accepted, and was told he had to join the party he was going to pay for. Nevertheless, he still wasn’t allowed back into the ongoing poker game. After all, he was out of pocket money and dead broke! It didn’t matter, because the game soon ended when the ten Scouts arrived over Tantor, the Ragnar home world.

  Greeves split up the ten stealthed Scouts, sending them on predetermined orbits to learn as much as they could of the planet, and its orbital facilities. A half day later, the reports fleshed out the Ragnar naval presence at home, revealing they were repairing ships damaged at Tanner’s World, and were rushing construction of new Ravagers in orbit, and at several ship yards on the surface of the planet. They appeared to be devoting a great many resources to restoring the fleet, which had suffered losses and damage from the previous fight with the Kobani. It lent credence to the theory, which Tet and Maggi favored, that the Ragnar intended to stay obedient to the Thandol.

  Thad intended to stay with the recommended plan, to contact Force Commander Thond, using a specific radio frequency and an encrypted message in the Ragnar language of Fotrol. Parking over the northern pole, he switched off the Scout’s stealth and made an omni directional broadcast.

  “Sovereign Gimtal Thond, the Galactic Federation needs to meet with you. Please reply on this frequency.” Then they waited. The AI was prepared to Jump them to safety if there was a hostile reply. Their hull surface was set to a mirrorlike reflective surface, in case high powered lasers were suddenly trained on them.

  Cal Branson, who heard the message in Standard, was curious. “Why did it say Thond’s title is Sovereign, and not Force Commander? Is he also the political leader?”

  “Not based on what Maggi explained to me, from what she learned on Tanner’s World. The Thandol granted the Imperial rank of Force Commander on Thond, but in the Ragnar government, their elected rulers share three areas of responsibility, Civil, Military, and Legal.

  “The political leader of government is Civil Sovereign Gralmor Dendor. He, or she, is equivalent to a prime minister. They can have female leaders in the Civil and Legal branches, but due to Thandol biases, the Military branch leader is always male, and it’s only that person the Thandol will deal with.

  “Thond is their elected Military Sovereign, apparently equivalent to the PU’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Although, he has more authority than in the PU government, or that Tet has in our Federation government.

  “The Legal branch has a Sovereign, but I wasn’t told who that was, and it shouldn’t matter to us anyway. They provide a check on the other two branches of government if there’s a dispute or conflict between their respective areas of responsibility. The Legal branch runs a multitiered court system. The Legal side isn’t permitted to have a Sovereign that was ever affiliated with either one of the other branches, although the courts have members that specialize in civil or military affairs.

  “We came to deal with Thond, but he is expected to confer with Civil Sovereign Gralmor Dendor. We aren’t here to conduct diplomatic negotiations. We’ll offer to support them against the Thandol, and demonstrate why the Ragnar should stay the Hell away from Federation worlds.”

  Now he had a news flash for all of them, and a Mind Tap to share via Comtap. “I received an important message during the time we were making our surveillance orbits. You’ll never guess what Tet learned about gravity guns when he met with Admiral Mauss. Hint: We don’t need the guns.” There was a burst of negative reactions from each Scout captain.

  “Wait! At least hold your questions until you receive a copy of Mauss’ Comtap message and images. If you thought gravity rods were our most dangerous weapon, you won’t think that after this.”

  Like Mind Taps, the transfer of data required mere seconds, with a bit more time to assimilate the data.

  Thad didn’t change their original plan for the meeting they were requesting. Scout 1, his ship, would land openly wherever the Ragnar requested. Athena Christopoulos, captain of the Hermes, famous after her early defense of Tanner’s World against the Ragnar fleet, was currently captain of Scout 2 on this mission. Her job was to follow Scout 1 down in stealth mode, to Jump quietly to some location nearby, then move closer and provide cover for the crew of Scout 1. The other eight Scouts would take orbital positions where they could target Ragnar fleet assets, both ships and docks, should the Ragnar turn overtly hostile.

  Before receiving a reply, multiple radar and low power laser sensors swept the region of space over Tantor’s northern pole, verifying a ship was there. That was to be expected. The launch of six Ravagers towards them from an orbital station was not.

  Thad broadcast, his words translated into Fotrol. “Attention, the six Ravagers approaching my ship parked above your pole. My name is Thaddeus Greeves, of the Galactic Federation, and I’m here to arrange a meeting with Gimtal Thond. We met under a truce we offered him, on a place called Tanner’s World. That was where a fleet that I commanded, gave your fleet a welcome so warm that you soon departed for home.

  “I would like this meeting to be peaceful, and therefore I insist that your ships maintain a quarter planetary radius from my ship. I want to conduct our meeting on the surface of Tantor, face to face.”

  It was possible that Thond wasn’t available, and perhaps these ships were dispatched by someone that didn’t know what the Force Commander had discussed with Maggi.

  The reply was a bit of a surprise. “This is Space Force Commander Grudfad. Gimtal Thond was recalled to Wendal by the Thandol High Command. He might no longer be Force Commander, even if he’s allowed to return. Krintar Hitok is Acting Force Commander in his absence, appointed by Sovereign Thond himself. Hitok was on the ground with him at the world you named. If you met Thond, you also would have met his Ground Commander there. What evidence do you have that should convince us you were there?”

  “Is Head Basher unwilling to meet with a Kobani representative of the Galactic Federation?” It seemed unlikely that an alien that had not met him would know his nickname.

  There was a lengthy pause. It lasted long enough for some sort of consultation, and the Scout’s AI reported there was an encrypted exchange of messages between one
of the Ravagers and a large population center, located in a mountainous region of the planet below.

  “Acting Force Commander Hitok has directed you to transfer to my ship, and I will conduct you to him, alone. He will grant you an audience in High City, our seat of government, whenever he can make time for you.”

  That sounded a bit dismissive, and Greeves was having none of that attitude.

  “You didn’t listen to what I told you. You will keep all six of your Ravagers at least a quarter planetary radius from my ship, for their own safety and continued existence. We forced your fleet to leave Tanner’s World, you did not force us to leave. Tell Hitok I will meet with him on the planet when I step out of my ship to face him, if he has the courage, or we will not meet at all. Have I made myself understood? Pass that message along to your Acting Force Commander. He struck me as being an intelligent and courageous Ragoon. You would do well to act like him.”

  He’d obviously gotten under the skin of the Space Force Commander, reminding him of his hasty and humiliating retreat at Tanner’s.

  He questioned Greeves’ boldness. “Our mass detectors have confirmed you didn’t arrive with a stealthed fleet to support your brash words. You are at our home world, with most of our fleet here. May I know the name of the Kobani to whom I should report your death, when I extract my vengeance from you should you fail to submit, or I will force you to flee for your life. I know you have superior stealth, and your ship is evidently so small it doesn’t register its mass, or even reveal its movements in Tachyon Space. Therefore, you can turn and run home if you act quickly enough.”

  Not sure if his burst of laughter would register as such with the alien, Thad replied, “I have no intention of running, nor any reason to do so. Your thinking that I arrived without backup ships simply because you can’t detect them is a dangerous and mistaken assumption. I’m certain you must have learned from Thond and Hitok that we in the Federation have advanced technology that even the Thandol can’t match. Rather than my destroying the five ships with you, perhaps you had better check with the largest repair dock currently in an orbital position below the equator, which is not vulnerable to an attack from my own ship. I hope the docked Ravager with a laser burn on its hull is vacant. I’m ordering one of my stealthed ships, located on the far side of the planet, to bore a hole completely through the selected ship, and disable one of its fusion generators.”

  Via Comtap, he gave an order to Jorl Breaker, whose Scout had reported that ship at a repair dock. Greeves had been using an open Comtap link to the group, to keep the entire squadron informed. “Jorl, try to bore a pin-point black hole all the way through the entire ship, and hit one of its fusion bottles. Only one small hole, please, unless you miss that generator the first time. I don’t really want a catastrophic explosion from venting plasma, or to crumple the ship into an overlarge event horizon.”

  “Yes, Sir. I can send a hole through the ship I picked, and the AI will keep the mass small. However, it will be pure luck if I only hit one bottle. All three generators are near the center of their ships.”

  “I’ll take that chance, Jorl. Or rather, they will. Do it quickly.”

  Sarge was monitoring other Ragnar radio frequencies. “Thad, a transmission was just sent from what must be Grudfad’s ship to an equatorial communications satellite, spoken in clear Fotrol. It was probably intended for one or more of the docks that happen to be out of sight of us right now. He apparently took your threat seriously. He asked for reports of any sudden damage or signs of an attack.”

  Two minutes passed, with the six Ravagers still closing with Scout 1, approaching the range he’d warned them to stay beyond. Thad had Yin-Lee feed coordinates to their AI, for use by the powered-up gravity projectors, to generate a fingernail size event horizon. He’d send the invincible, voracious little hole in the universe back and forth through five of the six Ravagers, sparing only the one they believed held Grudfad. At least spare it initially, unless it continued towards them, or launched an attack.

  He was impatient. “Jorl. What happened? Did it work?”

  “I think so, Sir. The lights on the ship flickered, and then returned steady. I may have punctured one bottle, with the power being routed to another generator. The hole in the hull is so small we saw no atmosphere leak, and an automatic sealing system would cut that off anyway. Should I try again, with a larger hole?”

  The AI, linked via Comtap to Greeves, sent him an ominous warning. “Sir, all six approaching Ravagers have activated targeting scans of us, with three of the ships in weapons lock for laser and plasma targeting, or for anti-ship missile guidance.”

  A Scout was too small and lightly armored to grant an enemy a deliberate first shot, let alone first shots from six heavily armed opponents.

  Greeves was about to order a micro Jump before they came any closer than his specified distance, when the high pulse rate tracking and targeting systems suddenly switched off. Although, the general-purpose slow radar scans to keep them under surveillance did continue. All six ships turned sharply away from a direct course towards Scout 1.

  “Damn, Thad,” came Athena’s voice in his mind by Comtap. “Cut that kinda close, didn’t ya? I closed the gap with them and had a fist sized hole ready to drill their asses if you waited until they fired on you. I think you were a bit too subtle with the shot you asked Jorl to take. That wasn’t a very big hole, and they may not have noticed right away.”

  The confirmation came promptly, from a humbler sounding Grudfad. “Commander Greeves, Force Commander Hitok has agreed to meet you at High City, where you may land your small craft at coordinates I will provide.”

  Greeves, smiled. He was now a “Commander” to the Ragnar. He wasn’t sure if that Ragnar rank was considered a step up or a step down from the rank of Admiral, which a PU naval officer once assumed he held. Just as Mirikami insisted on being called Captain, Greeves was most comfortable calling himself Colonel.

  Grudfad had more to say. “A time for your landing is based on dividing our world’s rotation cycle into twenty segments, and we ask that you wait for two of those units of time to pass before landing. Are you capable of a Jump directly into the atmosphere, as Captain Mirikami did with his ship on the world named Tanner’s? if so, you are invited to do that while we observe, and verify you can perform that feat. We did not see it happen the other time.”

  Greeves acknowledged and accepted the request. “Send the coordinates. Our computer AI can do the translation and conversion. I will verbally confirm the appearance of the landing area as it appears to us from space before we Jump.”

  “I understand. I intend to land my ship in the same open plaza, where I’ll be able to observe the arrival. This is not a spaceport, but an open flat plaza near the center of the city. My ship will land first, and will provide visual confirmation for you at the designated landing area.”

  And offer a nearby defense platform, thought Greeves.

  He had a question. “Commander Grudfad, you waited to the last moment to break off your approach. I wasn’t sure you would. Things could have become very unpleasant. I hope our demonstration didn’t cause excessive harm or major damage. It was a minimal demonstration of another technology the Thandol do not have.”

  “Commander, I was told a very small hole was beamed through a Ravager at a repair dock, which penetrated the containment housing of a fusion generator. There were no engineering personnel present in that sealed compartment. However, the beam, or whatever it was, passed through the entire ship, and passed through the repair dock as well. It required convincing to get Force Commander Hitok to accept that it was the act you predicted, and not a random space accident. He’s primarily a Ground Force officer, and the impossibility of an accident causing the straight-line perforations through armor and an incredibly tough fusion generator housing did not register with him. I had to place my reputation at risk to convince him to call off the attack he ordered.”

  “I’m glad you did. And impressed that you beli
eved what a human told you, after you fought against us so strongly at Tanner’s World. Had your attack continued, even if my ship and I did not survive, the part of the Ragnar fleet based here would have ceased to be a force in the Empire. We do not want that to happen, so long as the possibility remains that your fleet might eventually oppose the Thandol.”

  “You must know that I do not have the power to control what my superiors will decide. I will obey my orders, and fight as I am directed.”

  “I’m not here to convince you, Commander, I’m here to try to influence your superiors to at least delay their actions, if the Thandol order you to attack the Federation or the Planetary Union again. I had hoped Thond would be here, and that some demonstrations of our capability could convince him it was in your best interests, if not to join us against the Thandol, to try to stay out of the fight.”

  Grudfad didn’t respond to the overture, and instead sent the landing coordinates. “I look forward to meeting you on the surface. I respect you as an opponent.”

  “Thank you. You fought well against overwhelming odds, and stayed in the fight longer than was good for your force, to try to ensure the supplies reached your ground forces. I respected that, and I look forward to meeting you if we have the opportunity.”

  “I hope we can meet outside the field of combat, although I believe war with your Federation, and with the Planetary Union is coming, even though we do not know the extent of the space you each control. If the Thandol know, they are not sharing that information with us.”

  ****

  After a visual confirmation, that the conversion from Ragnar coordinates to those used by humans, matched the physical location of a plaza in High City, where a Ravager was parked in front of an isolated tall, dark colored structure, which other than for its isolation, resembled the relatively uniform high rise buildings of the rest of the city.