Kier had her little vanities, as a Director. She was aware of them, and humored herself, when it did not affect military readiness in any measurable way.
Steadfast at Dawn was in geo-synchronous orbit above Taymyr, the capitol city Ul Banop Cheani Yuur had abandoned in his flight. But she had caused the vessel to rotate such that her primary viewport in the morning had an unobstructed view of the great, dark gulf that separated this front line of castles from the deeper homelands beyond Ninagirsu.
The barbarians had not tried to penetrate that darkness in more than a generation, since the first scouts were tracked down and annihilated without mercy for their audacity. In another generation, this front would be so strong that The Holding’s vessels might threaten the very heart of the barbarians’ realm. And possibly the even-most-distant lands from which their second Red Admiral, Keller, had apparently originated.
Perhaps she would get the opportunity to bomb many new worlds into submission for The Eldest.
Kier smiled and picked up a mug of tea that had been steeped to the perfect level before serving. Her personal chambers were austere, as befit Director of a Nightmaster. No art on the walls. A simple, sea-green throw rug tacked down in the walkway before her workstation. None of the little trinkets some fools collected, representing nostalgia for lost youth. Or some such drivel.
No, the glory of the vessel lay in the Sentience that bore them on its mighty shoulders, and not the pitiful humans who serviced it. Humans were too fallible. Look no further than the man who had fled rather than admit his wrong.
Only in unbending service to The Eldest could perfection be achieved. Humans who took it upon themselves to anticipate the wishes of the immortal leader would lead themselves astray with their arrogance, and take many innocent souls with them.
That impulse must be crushed the instant it took root.
Kier took another sip and turned to confirm the time on a clock beside the hatch to her personal chamber. Time to go to work.
Duty, foremost.
She made her way into the corridor and headed forward, surrounded by a bubble of personal space as her crew avoided her.
Power.
The first alert siren was followed almost immediately by a jarring, as if the entire hull suffered a groundquake.
The overhead lights in the hall flickered for a second. Even the gravplates stuttered, but only enough for her inner ear to notice. Still, it was possibly the most frightening thing Kier had ever encountered, as the great vessel was the rock upon which she had based most of her belief system.
And then the vessel jumped.
Only someone so attuned to the vessel would have been able to tell, without being on the bridge when it happened, but Kier knew. Some emergency so great that event and escape had occurred almost simultaneously, but for the massive crush of damage in the instant between.
Kier began to run as the alert sirens wailed. Crewmembers that had given her space a moment ago brushed by her, and her them, as she raced to the bridge.
The double doors slid aside, admitting her to the high temple of her realm.
War Advocate Ro was already at her station, calling orders to the rest of the crew. Entity Advocate Au had approached the bridge from the other direction, arriving two steps behind Kier and sliding around her to take the station from one of his subordinates.
“Bring the Sentience to full cognition,” the War Advocate ordered as Au slid into the chair.
Kier listened and slid into her own command chair, locking herself down for what must be Keller’s sudden appearance.
The Sentient being that was Steadfast at Dawn was kept leashed ninety percent of the time. Not much more awareness than necessary for self-maintenance. The Eldest had determined that to be the best long-term method to ensure warships were at their peak when needed. Kier suspected that was also so they did not suffer from the sorts of psychological conditions related to being a god born into silicon.
“What happened?” Kier asked into the gap.
War Advocate Ro was busy bringing all her weapons systems on-line to fight. The Maneuver Advocate was busy preparing her four subordinate vessels for the process of detaching from the mothership so that they could fight as individuals, once the ship emerged from jump.
Thus the greatest strength of the Nightmaster. One vessel. Five foes.
“Three Imperial warships came out of jump at a tremendous speed,” the War Advocate explained. “Far greater than we have seen before. All fired what appear to be Type-3 beams of the Imperial design, but they were able to focus the beams at a far greater distance than we have ever encountered in any of our records, and thus inflict damage from a range we never imagined. The two larger vessels also each fired a pair of much heavier beams. The Power Absorbers were set to navigational levels, sufficient for solar wind and normal operations, but the beams simply collapsed the matrix and discharged on the hull.”
“Show me,” she ordered.
There was time before they emerged from this jump. She had already checked the default plotted course to escape.
The replay came up on one screen on her panels. The sensor readings on the other. Steadfast at Dawn had been staggered.
Kier winced.
Worst case scenario.
Caught at rest, without the instant reflexes of the vessel itself to respond. And some new weapon system they had never seen before.
It did explain why Keller had been willing to challenge her, so far from her home base. They believed they had an edge in their new cruisers that could successfully engage a Nightmaster.
“Crew Advocate Ko, all hands to damage control stations immediately,” Kier ordered.
She looked closer at her boards, noting one location where the damage appeared worst.
“Maneuver Advocate Ve,” she turned to the squadron interface officer. “How badly damaged is Steadfast in Duty?”
Ve Klossak Marah Zaun, Maneuver Advocate, was good at her position, but not excellent. She lacked that subtle something that would have made her a Director, rather than the person who simply executed the commands of a Director or War Advocate. She was one who merely interfaced with the four vessels Steadfast at Dawn carried into battle.
She grimaced now, looking at her boards longer than was necessary. She should have had the data in hand immediately.
“Without detaching, we cannot be sure at this moment, Director,” Ve replied. “The damage passed through the hull casings of Steadfast at Dawn and penetrated the Mako’s hull in several places. Maneuvering and engines have been compromised, and several weapons systems have been damaged. I cannot make an immediate determination whether Steadfast in Duty should remain with Energiya when we separate. The risks are very finely balanced.”
And that was why this woman would never actually command, although Kier would say nothing. Within her role, the woman excelled. That was good enough.
Kier would have damned the torpedoes and flung Steadfast in Duty into battle. Might yet, if Keller felt herself that strong.
Kier checked her jump clock.
“You have three minutes to decide,” the Director said. “After that, we will be at war.”