Sol (The Silver Ships Book 5) (33 page)

With little else to discuss, Alex closed the conference comm. He picked up the next battle scenario on the master list, but his focus wavered.

Julien noticed the subtle signs that indicated Alex’s failing mental acuity. He had been paying close attention to his friend for days. Alex wasn’t a SADE, even though sometimes he tried to act like one. He was flesh and blood in need of nourishment and rest. Cordelia picked up on Julien’s concern, and the SADEs made a quick decision.

Alex requested telemetry from a probe located outward of one of Uranus’s moons, but received no response from his request. His thoughts were sluggish enough that he repeated his request without considering any other reason for the lack of response.

Julien sent.

Cordelia added.

Alex replied.

Z interjected.

Cordelia scolded.

Z sent back.

Julien sent.

Alex tabled his battle plan and linked it to the central database on board the
No Retreat
. He stood slowly to let his bout of lightheadedness clear, and as he passed behind each SADE he laid a hand on a shoulder, squeezing lightly. Cordelia briefly touched Alex’s hand in return.

Z shared.

Julien replied.

Z asked.

Cordelia added.

Tribune Woo was hunting the enclave. While the exclusive committee of high judges wasn’t in real-time communication with its naval forces, it still represented a danger to the UE’s future. Militia forces had halted trials across the globe and, in most cases, on the inner planets. The freeing of the rebels in the outer zone ensured trials on the moons and stations were discontinued until a new judicial structure and sentencing laws were in place. It was Woo’s hope that the judges in the rim weren’t floating in space in retaliation for their harsh verdicts.

Woo reached out to her “nephew,” Lieutenant Gardia, several times despite her own prohibition that contact should not be initiated by anyone but the lieutenant. She had never received an answer.

A militia colonel that Woo placed in charge of tracking down the enclave’s headquarters used the lieutenant’s messages to locate the originating server, which led him to the enclave’s hidden location. The stone entrance was embedded in a granite mountainside, making it almost invisible from the air. The colonel reported finding the location deserted, except for the mutilated body of Lieutenant Gardia. It was surmised from the extent of bruising and partial healing of his wounds that he was tortured for days.

“How do you wish me to proceed, Tribune?” the colonel asked.

“Find them, Colonel. Find every one of them. This is a priority. Request as many people and services as you need.”

“And when I find them, Tribune Woo?” the colonel asked.

Woo knew what the colonel was requesting. It would be a lot less trouble for the new government if the enclave’s members simply disappeared. Instead, she said, “I don’t think it would be an auspicious start to our new society, Colonel, if we behaved as they have done. Arrest them.”

“Understood, Tribune.” The colonel was relieved to hear his orders. He was looking forward to the policy changes as much as most of the other militia officers he knew. The changes were needed and long overdue.
And to think it took a bunch of alien humans to force us to do it,
the colonel thought.

Idona Station became a haven for much of the outer rim’s shipping. Small freighters and passenger liners, fearful of making the trip inward, lingered at the station, despite the loss of revenue. A little poorer in credits was a lot better than dead.

Refined ore and solid gases piled up at Idona’s refining stations, waiting shipment inward. But the opinion was the same for the freighters’ captains and on-board owners alike; there was no safer place in the entire system than where the Harakens were stationed.

That was proven when two judiciary destroyer captains foolishly decided to attack Idona. Captain Shimada was readying her destroyer for battle, when she received a comm.

“Stand down, Captain,” said Franz, who filled her monitor.

“The last time I checked, I don’t report to you, Commander.”

“No, you don’t, Captain. Not unless you wish to,” Franz said with a winning smile, which made Shimada’s cheeks color. One of the female ensigns ducked her head to hide her smile. “Let’s consider the practicalities. Where is your rearmament supply store, Captain?”

Shimada knew Franz had her there. There were few of the precious supplies for her destroyer at Idona. Rearmament supply for a ship-to-ship battle was not seen as a priority by command, until this war showed the error of that decision.

“Be my guest, Commander,” Shimada relented. The captain’s directive to stand down was gratefully heard by the crew, who had no wish to take on two destroyers. Instead, they watched while two squadrons of Haraken travelers made short work of the destroyers, spreading out in an arc of 120 degrees for the attack. The thirty-two fighters forced the UE warships to spread their defensive fire too thin, allowing the travelers an easy time navigating through the small number of missiles targeting each fighter. The Haraken pilots expertly excised the engines from both destroyers, one of which suffered secondary fires and explosions, but the great majority of the crew was able to evacuate in time.

Despite the fear of what was transpiring across the system and the station receiving real-time news of the major events, including every battle, life aboard the station was reasonably comfortable. For the first time in generations, the rim people at Idona were at ease with one another.

Interior repairs on the station were nearing completion, and Nikki Fowler had sufficient funds for purchasing upgrade equipment. The refinery stations were overjoyed to receive her order for new hull plating and were busy fulfilling her order from the stockpiled reserves awaiting loading onto the freighters standing by, and owners and captains alike were ecstatic to be selling their goods without having to transport them inward.

Some of the station’s unhappy people were the orphan children, who were denied access to their favorite people, the Haraken SADEs.

Another unhappy person in the outer rim was Admiral Theodore Portland. In the early days of the war, his battleship, cruiser, and destroyer escorts had eliminated a handful of destroyers, and the success had buoyed his confidence. Squadrons continued to join his nascent fleet until he was well on his way to being stronger than when he first attacked Idona.

As the days and weeks passed, the admiral began receiving reports of battles that took place throughout the system. Early news was encouraging, but slowly the reports indicated successes on the part of the pro-naval forces, even against the judiciary’s capital ships.

Then Portland began losing destroyers, one after another, by sabotage. This ignominy was occurring on top of his inability to consistently resupply his ships without threats. His shuttles were forced to land under the heavy guard of patrol ships, which left his destroyers under-protected.

In the past ten days, all the battle reports Portland received were negative for the judiciary forces — two battleships, four cruisers, and fifteen destroyers lost. The writing on the bulkhead was plain. The judiciary forces were going to lose the war, if they hadn’t already done so.

Portland came to the decision that sitting at Saturn was a losing proposition. Eventually, the pro-naval forces would aggregate and come for him, the last of the judiciary forces, but there was no place for his fleet to hide. He considered making a run at Earth or another heavily populated, inner world and taking it hostage, but the odds were against him successfully crossing that much space without engaging in numerous running battles that would weaken his fleet.

As Portland reviewed his opportunities, one thing was clear. If he was captured, it would mean a death sentence, a kinder UE or not. Any of his several crimes was punishable by death. After weeks of deliberation, Portland felt he was left with only one option — revenge.

The SADEs were close to winning or rather they were close to helping Admiral Chong’s people win the war. The judiciary forces had congregated into two massive fleets, one in the inner zone, hiding in the asteroid belt outward of Mars, and Portland’s fleet in the outer zone. The majority of the pro-naval forces’ capital ships were concentrated in and around the three worlds of Earth, Venus, and Mars.

Woo was negotiating with Admiral Ullman, who was in command of the judiciary forces in the inner zone, and was hopeful his unconditional surrender could be achieved. What was helpful was the real-time telemetry feeds detailing the extent of the pro-naval forces still in play. Ullman was constantly updated by Woo on the tide tilting in favor of the pro-naval forces and that he was the last of the inner world judiciary forces.

Portland wasn’t so accommodating. He refused every entreaty by Admiral Chong and Tribune Woo to talk, and the more evidence they presented that the war was lost for the judiciary, the more convinced Portland was that he had only one choice. He would not let Admiral Chong’s people take him alive, and if he was going to die, he would take the Harakens with him.

“Good news, President Racine,” Woo enthused to Alex. “We’ve negotiated the surrender of Admiral Ullman. His forces are disbanding, and his squadrons are making for separate locations where the crew will be taken into custody. That clears the inner zone of all judiciary forces.”

“Wonderful news, Tribune Woo,” Alex replied.

Julien was managing the comm, and Cordelia and Z, with no more need to direct battle maneuvers, much to the joy of the orphans, were free to do as they wished. The stationers were enjoying watching the two SADEs walking the corridors surrounded by the chattering young orphans, healthy and happy.

“That leaves just one judiciary fleet remaining. Unfortunately, it’s one of the largest fleets assembled, as you know. Portland’s at Saturn,” Chong said.

“Before we discuss Portland, I’m curious about people’s opinions, since the two of you are on the two most populated planets in the system,” Alex replied.

“Yes, I’m curious as well,” Brennan chimed in.

“On Earth, opinions have been overwhelming and extremely positive,” Woo replied. “My staff, which I’ve expanded, is filtering thousands of messages every day. Many are constructive, offering opinions of better judicial systems and a variety of punishments to fit the degree of criminality. And many are asking for case reviews of family and friends who have been sentenced.”

“It’s the same here,” Chong said. “Most of my messages urge me to finish the war so that the UE policy changes might proceed, but far and wide, they’re positive and supportive of the pro-naval forces and our efforts to further Tribunes Woo and Brennan’s promises of change.”

“I’m pleased to hear this. It was always my hope that Sol was populated by people who wanted something other than that offered us by High Judge Bunaldi,” Alex said.

There was silence on the comm. To the UE leaders, High Judge Bunaldi and Admiral Theostin were a lifetime ago. Alex’s mention of why the Harakens came to Sol was a harsh reminder of the terrible events that led to the UE’s war, despite the enormous potential for the people of Sol.

“Well,” Alex continued, “for other news … Portland’s fleet left Saturn eight Earth hours ago. It appears he’s headed for Idona.”

Alex waited while Woo and Chong tried to shout over each other so that their questions might be heard. Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the noise, issued by, of all people, Tribune Brennan.

“Apologies, Mr. President,” Brennan said. “Was there anything else you wanted to add to your announcement?”

“I don’t need to summarize Portland’s fleet. We all know what warships he possesses and how heavily weighted he is in capital ships. We’ve directed every pro-naval warship to Idona that can possibly arrive before Portland reaches us. In warship count, the pro-naval forces will be at a great disadvantage, and in armament your ships will be virtually unprepared to engage the admiral’s fleet.”

“It’s not that bad, Mr. President,” Woo said. “Let Portland have Idona. We’ll be able to combine our forces and come for him in a few weeks.”

“It won’t work, Kwan,” Chong said gently. “Portland knows it’s the end for him. He’s a dead man if he’s captured. If the Harakens pull back, he’ll take his anger out on Idona.”

“How far do you think he would go, Admiral?” Brennan asked.

“I think Portland could convince his people to turn Idona into space debris.”

“That’s my assessment of the man, Admiral,” Alex agreed.

“I still think you should pull back, President Racine,” Woo said, “but hear me out first. I said at the beginning of this war that this was our fight. We wronged your people in the first place. They don’t deserve to die on our behalf as well.”