Sacrifice:The Shenkar War (30 page)

             
“
Not much, huh?” came Evan’s voice from behind him.

             
Turning, Liam smiled at his friend who stood leaning against the doorjamb.

             
“
No, but I am sure we will be fine. Let’s go find this Commander Dunklin and see what the situation is.”

             
The two left Liam’s quarters and headed off. After only stopping once to ask directions, they found the Commander in the operations room. As they approached him, they came to attention and saluted. Commander Dunklin wasn’t what Liam would have expected. He was, for one thing, very young--possibly in his early twenties. Also, he looked as if he didn’t have that commanding presence needed to run an operation such as this.

             
“
At ease, men,” the Commander said as he returned the salute.

             
“
Sir, what is the situation?”

             
“
An enemy fleet entered the system from two directions, effectively cutting off the
Sacrifice
’s escape route under normal circumstances. I know the Admiral had wanted to prevent the Shenkar from knowing we possessed fold technology, but like I said, that was unavoidable with the escape routes cut off. So he had what squadrons had already launched dock here, took the
Sacrifice
out of the asteroid field, and folded out. By doing this, it should, by all probability, make the Shenkar believe we retreated, and they won’t come into the asteroid field. In the event they do approach, we should be safe. The walls of this asteroid make it impossible for them to pick up the base on even the deepest of scans. Unless they fly a fighter through the opening, they won’t find the base.”

             
He continued, “First things first, we sit tight for the next twenty-four hours to let the Shenkar believe we have truly retreated. I can’t say what the Admiral is going to do. He might have taken the
Sacrifice
home, but I seriously doubt that.” Dunklin finished, then looked about and motioned Liam and Evan closer and spoke in a low voice.

             
“
Look, to tell you the truth, I don’t have a clue what I am doing. My father is Congressman Dunklin, and he got me on this mission. I have never been much of a soldier and only through my name have I risen to my rank. I have searched the records, and you two scored the highest on combat and tactics--not to mention that you, Mr. Brennan, were responsible for the plan that led to our previous victory. I could really use your help, if you’re willing.”

             
Liam and Evan looked at each other for a second before turning back to the young nervous Commander.

             
“
Well, I don’t know about me, but Liam here is the one I think could really help you. I just like to fly and shoot bad guys,” said Evan, smiling.

             
“
Don’t sell yourself short, Evan; you are good at strategy. Don’t you remember all those computer strategy war games we used to play?” said Liam.

             
“
Yeah, I do, and I seem to remember you winning 95 percent of the time,” Evan said, laughing.

             
“
Oh yeah . . . well, anyway, we will help you, Commander Dunklin,” Liam said, turning back to the young officer.

             
“
Thanks, I really do appreciate it. Let’s get started. Oh, and please call me Eric.”

             
All three proceeded to a large table that had a holographic image of the asteroid field hovering over it. Pointing to a location deep within the field, Commander Dunklin spoke.

             
“
We are located here, and the last known locations of the Shenkar warships were here and here.” Dunklin pointed to an area below and an area above the N-6, the gas giant on the outer part of the system. “From what I have ascertained, it is most likely they will establish a base near or on N-3.”

             
“
We should try to get a recon team down on the surface of the planet to see if they do establish a base. It would be a lot easier to infiltrate a ground base than one of their battlecruisers,” said Liam.

             
“
Yes, I agree. Tell me what you need, and I will see that you get it,” replied Dunklin.

             
“
Do we have any of those new ion cycles here?” asked Liam.

             
“
Yes, they arrived yesterday, just as we completed the base. What did you have in mind?” asked Dunklin.

             
“
I will take my squadron along the asteroid field, using them as cover, till we reach this point here.” Liam pointed to a spot with the shortest distance between N-3 and the asteroid field. “We will then cross the distance and set down on the planet. Once there, we will recon the planet and see whether they have established a base.”

             
“
Okay, when do we get started?” asked Commander Dunklin.

             
“
Well, I think we should probably wait for things to calm down a bit. How about thirty-six hours from now?” suggested Liam.

System 238, Planet N-3

              Liam guided his fighter into a spot just behind a large rock formation. The rest of Necro Squadron followed suit and did the same. With luck, their fighters would remain hidden from view while they ran a reconnaissance of the planet. The trip from the asteroid belt had been a lot easier than Liam had expected. True to what he had suspected, the Shenkar seemed to believe they had driven them away. In doing so, they didn’t have patrols out, and Liam was able to use the planet to shield him and his squadron from the Shenkar warships that were in orbit around N-3.

             
Keying open the cargo section, Liam then jumped down from his fighter. The planet was a dead rock, void of any life. As Liam walked to the cargo section, his feet kicked up dust. He pulled the ion cycle free and mounted. First making sure the rest of the squadron was ready, Liam then powered it up. As a low thrum permeated from his cycle, he keyed his comm unit.

             
“
Okay, everyone ready? Banshee and Phantom, stay here and protect the fighters. Everyone else has their assigned areas. Keep in contact at all times. If you find anything, report it immediately, no matter how trivial. Any questions?” asked Liam.

             
When none came, he wished everyone luck, and then he and Tim departed to the sector he had been assigned. The planet was a dead rock, with no oxygen atmosphere and no life to speak of.

             
For hours, they cruised along the surface, searching for any indication of a Shenkar presence. After four hours, Liam signaled Tim to stop. Once stopped, he keyed up his transmitter and spoke.
“
Necro One to all pilots--anyone spotted anything?”

Four responses came back almost immediately.

              “
Negative,” said Darren.

             
“
Negative,” said Dimitri.

             
“
It has been quiet the whole time here at the fighters,” said Michael.

             
“
Negative on my end as well; I don’t think they are here. But if they didn’t set up a forward base, then will they just work from their ships?” said Evan.

             
“
Good question. Everyone return to the fighters. We need to head back to the base.”

Hidden Asteroid Base of the EDF

              “
We found nothing on the planet whatsoever,” Liam said as he and Evan entered Commander Dunklin’s private office.

Looking up from his desk, the young officer wore a tired look on his face, but Liam could also see some frustration there as well.

              “
I know there isn’t a base . . . I think there is something you should see,” said Dunklin gravely.

             
Standing, Dunklin exited his office and walked over to the holographic table. Liam and Evan followed him as Dunklin activated the table. An image of N-3 appeared. Next to the planet were at least twenty Shenkar warships and another very large elliptical image Liam didn’t recognize. All Liam knew was that it was incredibly large: a dozen battlecruisers could easily fit inside.

             
“
What the hell is that?” said Evan as he pointed at the image.

             
“
We have no definite answers for that. We could really use one of those Meshtrell now, but none left the
Sacrifice
before she folded away. We believe it’s the reason you found nothing on the surface of the planet. It might be their base of operations and a mobile factory ship. It would explain how their Dread Fleets can keep their numbers up. Also, they would need to replenish their warriors, so it would most likely have a cloning facility within it also. I believe if we can find a way to destroy it, we would effectively halt their advance here and now.”

             
“
How are we going to destroy
that
?” asked Evan.

             
“
Even with all our fighters attacking at once, we wouldn’t even scratch it. I am really starting to get highly annoyed with the lack of information that was provided by the Meshtrell. We knew nothing of the
Krazzeen
and now this,” said a frustrated Dunklin as he waved a hand at the holographic image.

             
“
I feel your frustration also, sir. I think the only thing we can do is continue our attacks on ships, moving through the system toward that station,” said Liam.

             
“
Sir, I believe I have an idea for some of those battlecruisers, but we will need the
Sacrifice
,” came a voice from behind Liam.

Turning, Liam saw that Tim had approached without any of them noticing.

              “
Oh? Then we will just have to hope the
Sacrifice
hasn’t left permanently,” said Liam.

             
As if merely speaking those words made such a thing happen, the communication officer spoke up.
“
Sir, I am receiving a signal . . . it is from the
Sacrifice
.”

             
“
Put it on the overhead,” commanded Dunklin.

             
After a few seconds, the voice of Kimino Sukita spoke throughout the control room.

             
“
Commander Dunklin, this is the
Sacrifice
. Do you read me? I repeat, this is the
Sacrifice
. Please respond.”

             
Dunklin immediately snatched up a communication headset.
“
This is Dunklin. It is a relief to hear you,
Sacrifice
.”

             
Then the voice of Admiral Kelvin replaced Lieutenant Sukita’s.
              “
Good to hear yours as well. What is your status? I take it you have remained hidden?”

             
“
Yes, sir. We have also run reconnaissance on the planet, but no Shenkar forward bases were established. However, we have recently found the reason for this. One second--I will upload you a file.”

Commander Dunklin signaled for the file to be sent. After several seconds, the Admiral’s voice came back.

              “
Once again, there seems to be some information that was for some reason not provided.” Liam could hear the barely concealed anger in the Admiral’s voice. “From what Jaera has said, that is a mobile factory ship, which also serves as a base of operations.”

             
“
Yes, that is what Mr. Brennan and I thought also. Sir, we have a plan that could eliminate several of their top-of-the-line battlecruisers,” said Dunklin.

             
“
Okay, enough for now. The rules have changed for us, and we need to figure out what to do next. I am bringing the
Sacrifice
in . . . it will be several hours, though, as we need to avoid detection. This means we will be bringing it though the asteroid field the long way. See you when we get there. Keep us advised of any Shenkar movements. They shouldn’t be running far patrols, but you never know,” said Kelvin.

             
“
Yes, sir,” Dunklin replied.