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Ships all of kinds and sizes filled the void above the Phalamkian homeworld, drifting in controlled orbits and occasionally adjusting their courses to avoid collisions. Asten stared at them in awe. Among them were Resistance cruisers with their markings bold and clear, as well as numerous warships from the various worlds of the Frontier, including some he recognized and many he didn’t.
He turned to Selina. “Do you really think the Federation would risk a confrontation with this armada?”
Selina shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I must admit, though, I had no idea there’d be this many ships here. I mean, I heard all the reports but seeing them like this is something else.”
“If Corinthe presses ahead with this mad scheme of his, a hell of a lot of people will get killed,” Asten pointed out. “On his side too.”
“And if he doesn’t, then what?” Selina countered. “Corinthe places great store in keeping face. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s his defining characteristic. If he backed down now, his reputation as the Federation’s ironclad leader would fall to pieces. However, since whether he presses ahead or not is outside our control, there’s not a whole lot of point in worrying about it, is there?”
“I guess not. Well, we’d better head down. You’re still coming with me?”
“I am,” Selina told him. “I’ll be staying with you the whole time.”
“What about this ship?”
“It’ll rejoin the rest of the defense fleet, along with the other one.”
“Under your father’s command?”
“They’ll all be under his command.”
“But you don’t need to tie yourself up with me down at the shield generator.”
Selina gave him a wry smile. “I don’t intend to ‘tie myself up’ with you anywhere but I think you’re going to need someone you know down there because you’ll feel pretty lonely otherwise. Also, just in case anything goes wrong, I think it’s better that you have at least one person you can trust.”
“You don’t trust the people down there?”
“Personally, yes, but officially, everyone’s a potential saboteur until the danger passes.”
Asten shook his head. “You’re one cool-headed woman.”
“I try to be,” Selina replied. “Anyway, ready when you are.”
––––––––
They took a small shuttle to the surface with five armed Phalamkian soldiers. The shield generator itself was built on a large rocky bluff and a small city lay on the plains below. A cable car ran between the two, transporting people and equipment between them, while there was a small landing platform next to the generator for those coming in by air.
“Here we are,” Selina announced as they touched down. “Let’s go and meet the gang.”
Asten followed her with their armed escort taking up a flanking position behind them. As they descended the shuttle ramp, he saw several Phalamkians waiting for him but by the looks of things, they hadn’t been assembled for long. And some of them seemed flustered. Adopting the suspicious mindset he’d decided his task required, he filed this observation away for later.
“Young Selina,” one of them said, stepping forward. “It is of course a pleasure to welcome you to this facility but I must tell you we were not informed of this visit.”
“That was intentional,” Selina replied. “This is a random inspection, Supervisor Tallec. We are here to make sure everything is in order and will remain here until we’ve repelled the Federation’s attack.”
“I understand,” Tallec replied. “We shall extend you and your men every possible courtesy during your stay.” As he said this, he seemed to take in Asten for the first time but his gaze didn’t linger. While not common, there were humans living on the Phalamkian homeworld, including Selina’s mother, the Lady Erama. So as a general rule, Phalamkians didn’t see anything out of the ordinary with them apart from the fact that, like so many humanoid species, they somehow got by with only two arms.
“Our needs are very simple,” Selina said. “We know there are basic quarters here for visiting technicians and maintenance crews. These will suit us fine. And as for catering, whatever you normally have will be fine with us too. The only other courtesy we require is access to all the areas of this facility and at all times.”
“Of course,” Tallec agreed.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing,” Selina told him. “Would it be possible to have someone show us around the place? The more we know about the facility, the better we can do our job.”
“I’m sure we can accommodate you,” Tallec said. “In fact, I’d be happy to give you the tour myself at your earliest convenience. We could go right away if you’d like.”
Selina smiled. “That would be wonderful.”
“Very well. Follow me.”
First of all, Tallec showed them where their quarters were, nestled behind the rest of facility and accessible by both lifts as well as stairs cut into the rock for those who felt like a bit of fresh air. After that, they saw the main control deck, which was directly accessible from the landing platform by a short tunnel and a security checkpoint. It was an impressive space with various workstations on raised platforms that formed a rectangle around the room. All the workstations faced the middle where there was a large holographic projection of Phalamki, along with a visual representation of the planetary shield. There were also holographic projections of all the ships in orbit of accurate scale and appearance. At a glance, one could distinguish between Phalamkian Battle Titans, the cruisers of the Resistance or Federation warships. And not only that but the projection displayed their real-time movements.
“This is nothing new,” Tallec pointed out for the benefit of his guests, although Selina used similar technology on the Battle Titans, albeit on a smaller scale. “We’re just using the standard planetary display adopted by most of our command centers. It enables us to use the shield more effectively.”
“You see,” he said, walking over to one of the workstations, “there is a finite amount of energy we can project into our shield. It is a lot of course but it cannot absorb impacts from collisions or sustained bombardment indefinitely. However, if we perceive that one part of the shield is under particular stress, we can re-route energy from other parts of the shield.”
He gave a nod to the technician at that particular workstation. While continuing with his previous task with his upper set of arms, he started tweaking a different set of controls with the second set. Asten was awestruck before he’d even seen what was being demonstrated. He found it difficult enough to coordinate unrelated actions with just two hands, let alone four. He wondered if Selina felt as though she’d missed out on something by not inheriting this unique gift.
His attention was brought back to the demonstration at hand as the transparent blue sphere representing the shield warped, becoming thicker in one part.
“Here, we’ve simply drawn energy from other areas of the shield’s surface to reinforce one particular point,” Tallec explained. “To be honest though, our shield’s capacity is large enough that I doubt we’d ever need to do this. However, it is best to be prepared for all eventualities, is it not?”
“It is indeed,” Selina agreed.
“Now, shall we move on?” Tallec asked, waving one hand to the exit on the other side of the room.
“All right,” Selina said.
They followed him through the doorway and down a ramp of grilled mesh, under which machinery hummed and lights glowed.
“What’s the deal with the mesh?” Asten asked. “Is that so you can keep an eye on all the electronic equipment down there?”
Tallec laughed. “It’s cheaper.” His tone changed when he caught the puzzlement on Asten’s face. “That was a joke. No, it gets very hot down there. The mesh walkways are just another way we keep it ventilated.”
“Another way?”
“There are ventilation grills on the outside walls of the facility. I don’t know if you saw them or not. And behind each one, large fans extract the hot air. Also, the machinery goes under the main control deck too, as you saw.”
“Where are the maintenance access tunnels?” Asten asked.
“We’re heading down one right now,” Tallec told him. “Also, there are ladders built into the railings near several of the workstations back on the control deck. You just pull a lever and they slide down. Then there are passageways down the bottom that allow you to walk around and get close to all the machinery. However, don’t ask me about the workings of it all. I leave that to our engineers and maintenance crews.”
“Fair enough.”
“However,” Tallec said as they reached the end of the ramp and stepped into the next area, “I do know about this particular piece because it’s the reactor that’s powering the whole shield.”
Remembering the job he had to do, Asten took it all in. He guessed this particular room was on the front face of the rock bluff, which meant there was nothing below them for several hundred meters. In fact, he’d seen it from the outside on the way in when they’d come down in the shuttle.
A few meters from the ramp they’d come down were two more grilled mesh walkways that extended back to the area under the control room, meeting each other to form a ‘U’ shape. He also noticed some closed trapdoor hatches on each side of the reactor and a conventional hatchway on the side furthest from him.
Casually, he walked over to it and found the release switch. “Do you mind if I look outside, Tallec?”
“Not at all,” his guide replied.
If he was one of the saboteurs, Asten thought, then he was good. He’d seen a brief flash of annoyance in Tallec’s eyes before he answered but it had disappeared without a trace.
The hatchway opened onto a small platform and when he stepped out onto it, Asten felt a rush of wind that almost forced him back inside. Regaining his balance, he stepped out for another look. It was nerve-racking standing on the platform, seeing how far down the ground was. Above and below, strong cables and support struts held the platform tightly against the main structure, providing resistance against the wind and there were more struts and structural cables below the whole thing, anchoring it to the bluff. Above him, rungs were built into the side of the structure, leading to the top.
He stepped back into the comfort of the reactor room and closed the hatch. “Nice view out there.”
“True,” Tallec agreed. “It’s a bit too hair-raising for me, I’m afraid, but you can certainly see a long way. However, there is a better viewing platform above the main control deck where we monitor incoming traffic. I sometimes stretch out there to relax. Actually, if we’ve seen everything we want to see down here, I might take you there now. That’s also where the kitchens and other recreational facilities are.”
“Yeah, let’s check that out,” Selina said. “Before we go though, can this reactor be manually shut down?”
“It can,” Tallec told her, showing her around its outer surface. “Although as you can see, there are no switches or other such interfaces. A qualified technician would have to do it.”
“Are any qualified technicians on staff here?”
“We don’t have any, no. However, if we put in a call to the command station down in the city, they can send us one in under two minutes.”
“That’s fast,” Asten remarked.
“It’s necessary,” Tallec explained. “If the reactor was overheating, you’d want it shut down as soon as possible.”
“Would shutting down the shield help in that situation?”
Tallec shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. It’s something we might try in that type of scenario but hopefully, we’ll never have to.”
“And where would you shut down the shield from?” Selina asked him, taking over from Asten.
“Back at the control deck,” their guide explained, “at the same workstation where we raise and lower the shield from.”
“I see,” Selina said. She was quiet for a moment. “Can we see that on the way up to the traffic control room?”
“Of course,” Tallec said. He motioned them back towards the ramp they’d come down. “Shall we?”
––––––––
Zak Materson, leader of Sigma squadron, ran his hand over the controls of the Lady Hawk as he settled himself into the pilot’s seat. “I’ve got to tell you,” he said to Drackson, “I’ve wanted to fly this ship ever since I laid eyes on her.”
“Well, now you’ve got your chance,” the Harskan replied. “Welcome to the crew.”
“Thanks. It’s good to be part of it.” Zak turned around to see how Carla and Maia were doing. “Is everyone good back there?”
“Yep,” Carla replied as Maia gave her own okay.
Zak’s gaze lingered on Maia a moment. After she’d started training with Sigma squadron, offering her skills as a pilot, Zak had been amazed by how natural she was in the cockpit. And this was in addition to experience as a commander in the Phalamkian defense forces. There was a lot more to Maia than she’d first let on.
Catching his gaze, Maia gave him a private smile.
Zak smiled back before checking on their rear gunner. “And how are you going, Hellesis?”
“I’m good.”
“All right then,” Zak said. “Now, we’ve got about thirty minutes before we need to get back. Let’s take this thing for a test run.”
––––––––
A few light-years outside the Phalamkian system, half the Federation’s armada lay in wait with the Annihilator at the spear-point of the formation. On the bridge of the gigantic vessel, Rear Admiral Kellahav was growing anxious and the nervousness he detected in the face of the young officer approaching him did nothing to alleviate the feeling.
“What’s the latest word from the forward scouts?”
The officer saluted him then read from a pad. “The size of the force defending the Phalamkian homeworld is far larger than we anticipated.” He flicked the display screen to bring up another item. “Also, the scouts have had a flood of intelligence reports from various systems along the Frontier. They’ve been communicating with ambassadors from the Resistance and other independent systems and many of them have sent their own task forces to aid the Phalamkians. The scouts say this largely accounts for the number of ships that are presently there.”
Kellahav raised his eyebrows. “Largely accounts?”
“Yes, sir,” the young man replied, hesitating. “The rest of the ships are clearly marked as belonging to various divisions of the Resistance. It seems intelligence has underestimated how large the organization is. They believed the attack on the shipyards was carried out by a single division and they estimated there were three or four such divisions at the most. But going by the number of their ships in the Phalamkian system, it’s more likely that there are seven or eight of them now.”
The officer handed the pad over. “There’s a full count of all the ships there as well as a breakdown of the different types and the number of each type.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Kellahav said, looking over the information. “That’ll be all for now.”
“Yes, sir,” the young man replied with another salute before turning about with parade ground flair.
Kellahav’s feelings of anxiety morphed into dread. He wished now that he’d never gone along with Corinthe’s schemes, even if it meant being a general again. Corinthe had pushed his luck too long and too hard, along with the worlds of the Frontier, and the mess they were now in was the inevitable result.
He walked up to the communications officer. “Is our strike force assembled?”
The man shook his head. “Not yet, sir. Just about every ship you requested is here but there are still eight warships we’ve been unable to raise.”
Kellahav grimaced. “Is the Sentinel one of them?”
The officer swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
Admiral Roth’s disappearance was common knowledge now and it was a touchy subject for most of the fleet. A lot of the men were fiercely loyal to him and it was a safe assumption that the crew of his own flagship would side with him against Corinthe. In fact, both Kellahav and Corinthe had had mixed feelings about requesting the aid of the Sentinel in the first place. In the end, they’d decided that most of the men would feel that something was out of place if they didn’t. Now though, it looked as if it had been an academic dilemma.
“Well then,” Kellahav said, “we’ll have to make do without them. Signal to all ships that we’re ready and instruct them to await my commands.”
As he turned away, he simmered with fresh frustration at Corinthe. Of all the people in the Federation, what had possessed him to make an enemy with Admiral Roth? Kellahav didn’t exactly like the man—Roth had brought him up on rather heavy disciplinary charges once and he had always felt sore about that—but he didn’t go out of his way to get on his bad side either.
It was time to have a word with the security minister.
Presently, he was standing on the other side of the bridge with his back to him, looking at the main viewscreen. Bracing himself, Kellahav made his way over to him and cleared his throat just loudly enough to be heard.
“Sir?” he asked.
A smile creased Corinthe’s lips as he turned around. “Admiral Kellahav.”
“Rear Admiral, sir.”
Corinthe’s smile didn’t falter. “That was your rank, Admiral, but in light of recent events we won’t dwell on for the present, not any longer.”
“Does this come from Rear Admiral Calaom or yourself?”
“Rear Admiral Calaom,” Corinthe told him, “but as usual, at my request.”
“It’s just that I find it very hard to imagine that the Rear Admiral would feel happy promoting me above himself, sir. He was quite vocal in his disappointment when Admiral Sharnost and Admiral Keigen promoted Roth to supreme command over him. It seems strange he would willingly pass himself over.”
“You have a suspicious mind, Admiral.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Corinthe sighed. “Both the Rear Admiral and I believe you are the man for the job, Admiral Kellahav. Calaom knows he is old and he understands that the future of the Federation lies in the hands of the next generation of commanders.”
“Very well, sir,” Kellahav replied. “If I may however, I wish to speak to you about another matter.”
Corinthe raised his eyebrows. “And what is that, Admiral?”
“I believe it may not be wise to press ahead with our attack. The size of the force defending the Phalamkian homeworld rivals that of our own task force and we could take quite heavy casualties if we proceed.” He offered Corinthe the pad. “I have the numbers right here if you’d like to see them for yourself.”
“No thank you. I do not doubt the authenticity of your word, Admiral. However, I believe that the size of the armada that stands against us only makes it that much more important that we bring the fleet in. Admiral Kellahav, these people are in open defiance of the Federation. If we back down, more will join them and they will all start acting more boldly, perhaps even aggressively. I think you follow me, Admiral.”
“I do, sir. But while you’re advocating that we should advance on the Phalamkian system and crush this force as swiftly as we can, we don’t actually have a significant leverage over the enemy. If we move in, there’ll be disastrous losses on both sides.”
Corinthe motioned for him to follow him. “I think we should talk in my quarters.”
It wasn’t a long walk as his quarters were positioned right next to the bridge and a few seconds later, they were speaking in private.
“You forget several things, Admiral,” Corinthe told him, his voice stern. “First of all, you doubt the ability and the fighting spirit of the men under your command. Secondly, you doubt this very ship. There is not a single vessel that can rival the Annihilator in size or firepower and you shall have the honor of witnessing this yourself as you command it during its first action.”
“I wasn’t worried about this ship.”
“And you seem to have also forgotten about our plan to bring down the Phalamkian planetary shield,” Corinthe reminded him, ignoring the remark. “A plan you orchestrated. In fact, this whole campaign against the Phalamkians was your idea.”
“This isn’t what I had in mind,” Kellahav told him.
But it was clear that Corinthe was no longer listening.
“So the campaign has become something larger,” he said. “The objective remains the same. The only difference is that now, instead of simply crushing the Phalamkians, we might squash this whole resistance organization as well. And I can tell you that once that shield is down and we’ve commenced the planetary bombardment, most of those fools supporting the Phalamkians will give up and cut their losses.”
“Maybe. Or bringing down the shield might just harden their resolve against us.”
Corinthe lowered his voice. “Have a care, Admiral Kellahav. You are only here because I put you here. You can forget about what I just told you about Rear Admiral Calaom. That was for the benefit of any eavesdroppers on the bridge. Calaom is an officer well past his use-by date but in return for continued privileges, he carries out my directives so I keep him on staff. I run the Federation now, Admiral Kellahav. Not the government, not the former supreme commander of our naval forces or Rear Admiral Calaom, and certainly not you. And before you try to claim the moral high ground over me, remember that your own record isn’t exactly spotless either. Or have you forgotten what happened at Ipaatid?”
Kellahav swallowed. He wondered how Corinthe had known.
“That isn’t the issue right now, sir.”
“Nevertheless,” Corinthe told him, “you ordered the men on the Adjudicator and the other warships under your command to fire on the ships of fleeing refugees and even to maintain pursuit out of the system for the simple reason that they’d wounded your pride. Roth would have had a field day with you if he’d found out. As I recall, he nearly had you thrown in the brig once, didn’t he?”
Kellahav glowered. “Yes, sir.”
“Let’s see. That was for firing on a neutral vessel with only a negligible warning, correct?”
“That’s correct but I’ve never hidden that fact and I received a formal discommendation over the incident. Which you were well aware of the time.”
“Nevertheless, it could have been a lot more public, Admiral, and it would have been if it had not been for my interventions. Now, I don’t know what happened in your past to make you so quick to anger and aggression, although I suspect you may have had a rough time in the war.”
Kellahav glared at him, seething at the manner in which Corinthe dismissed the atrocities he’d faced as a young man. The security minister knew full well that he had witnessed the destruction of his homeworld.
“However,” Corinthe continued, “it seems clear from your colorful record that your temperament tends to get you into trouble. Ipaatid’s the most recent example that comes to mind and there was of course your discommendation, but there have been other... indiscretions, shall we say. Now, as Minister of Security, it is my responsibility to keep records on such matters but given how instrumental you’ve been in our campaigns on the Frontier, I’d prefer to keep those records confidential. After all, there may have been mitigating circumstances in these incidents that the records neglect to mention—”
Kellahav cut him off. “So now it’s blackmail?”
“That’s a rather vulgar thing to suggest,” the security minister replied. “I have no interest in tarnishing your career. That would serve neither of us. Think. If I denounced you after I made you the effective commander of the entire navy, that wouldn’t exactly do my career any favors now, would it?”
Kellahav said nothing. Corinthe had him there.
“However,” Corinthe added, “since I more or less had Calaom give you your new position, a lot of people in the navy no doubt see you as one of my men.”
“What exactly are you driving at?”
“I’ll tell you frankly, Admiral,” Corinthe replied. “If we don’t go ahead with this attack, I’m finished. The entire Federation will demand that I relinquish my powers and step down. And when everyone’s after my head, they’ll be after yours too. Make no mistake about that.”
In horror, Kellahav stared into the man’s eyes. It was only now that he understood him. Kellahav had never wanted this. All he’d wanted was the challenge of command. Now, he realized he had irrevocably thrown in his lot with a madman.
“You see, Admiral,” Corinthe told him, “there is only one way either of us will emerge unscathed from this.”