Judgment of the Bold Read online

  "We'd have fired everything we had at them while transitioning back through the wormhole," I said.

  "We believe your chance of survival would have been seventy-five percent in that scenario. The Kroerak would have made a similar calculation. Further, the Kroerak are slow to transition. We would have counseled you to stay on the other side of the wormhole and destroy each ship as it transitioned. You would have been successful at destroying as many ships as they would have sent through," he continued. "Only luck would have provided a Kroerak win at this wormhole. Most sentients do not rely on luck. And yes, we are excluding present company."

  I smiled. Jonathan was still mystified at how human instinct – what we often referred to as luck – seemed to be something we successfully relied on. "This fleet they're sending at us, they're sacrificial lambs? The Kroerak want to see how fast our fleet pounds theirs into space dust?"

  "Knowing that you have shared Iskstar might change Kroerak strategy in dealing with House of the Bold," Jonathan said. "You refused communication with the Kroerak noble when she wanted to negotiate. Imagine if a species was selling special ordnance that easily killed humans. What would you do?"

  "Hate to break it to you," I said. "That pretty well describes just about every weapon out there. Without our fancy ships, we're pretty soft targets."

  "The Kroerak have never lived in a universe where this was true," he answered. "For millennia, they have murdered untold hundreds of worlds, simply because they were unstoppable."

  "Sure. Tell me something I don't know," I said.

  "I think what Jonathan is saying," Nick stepped in, "is that if we're handing out Kroerak death rays, their problem might be bigger than they originally thought."

  It took only an hour for the transfer of Iskstar crystals and the creation of a handful of brackets. Mostly, the crystals we'd handed out fit perfectly. Not surprisingly, Kifeda Prime insisted on installing all crystals slated for House Kifeda onto his battleship Plays in Tall Grass. I felt annoyed at his idiocy, but in the end, decided to leave it alone. Abasi houses were all about self-governance.

  From their main fleet of eight hundred, the Kroerak had split off a force of two hundred ships to intercept us, including a single, massive battleship. I scanned the rest of the group, looking for one of the unusually-shaped Kroerak ships we’d come against while in the Picis system. We’d seen four of those ships that day and one of them had been carrying the high-ranking Kroerak noble who contacted me during the battle. In the end, we'd been able to destroy one of the odd-looking ships and that, as much as anything, ended the battle. We’d target those ships first, but none were in the attack group.

  Even though we ran at each other as knights tilting down the line, we’d get no quick resolution. Abasi Prime was still three days of hard-burn from the Tamu-Santaloo gate. The near thirty hours it would take for us to meet in the middle was mental agony and I spent the entire time sitting or dozing in my captain's chair aboard the bridge.

  "All hands, prepare for combat maneuvers." Ada's announcement was a relief when it finally came.

  We accepted Mshindi Prime's request to sail with the Abasi fleet and to be a part of their coordinated fleet movements. The four battleships, two of which were House Mshindi, made up the points in a diamond formation. The remaining cruisers flanked the battleships, taking cover behind the armored beasts, but also keeping enough separation to have a clear shot on the approaching Kroerak ships.

  When we met with the enemy fleet, our instructions were to stay with our assigned battleship, utilizing its heavy armor for cover as we slugged it out. Hornblower had been assigned to accompany House Gundi's Sundrenched Cliff, which had taken quite a beating and was venting gasses as she chugged along, oblivious to her wounds.

  "Anyone feel like a song?" I asked. We'd closed to within five thousand kilometers and had circumvolved so we were no longer decelerating backwards but were now facing our enemy.

  "Seriously, Cap?" Marny asked.

  "Have faith, Bold Second," I said. "Play Another One Bites the Dust from Queen's Greatest Hits album on public address!"

  Steve walks warily down the street

  With the brim pulled way down low

  …

  Another one bites the dust …

  "I have a firing solution," Sendrei called from fire-control. "And crank that music!"

  "Fire at will, Gunny!"

  If the fleet had been hesitant to engage, Hornblower more than pushed them over the tipping point as we let loose arcs of blue, Iskstar-tuned blaster bolts that ripped into the approaching Kroerak fleet. I would love to make the contest sound like a fair fight filled with tense moments, fantastic strategy and hair-raising action, but this wasn't really the case at all. I was reminded of a phrase I'd heard as a child and never fully understood: 'as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.' For me – especially as a kid on a mining colony – fish were an abstract concept. I'd seen vids of fish swimming in vast oceans, but oceans were just as unreachable for me as were the fish. The idea that someone would shoot fish in a barrel didn't make much sense. Although, why shooting them would be easier in a barrel than it would be in an ocean did pass a certain sniff test.

  Suddenly, while facing off with the Kroerak halfway between the Tamu-Preish wormhole entrance and Abasi Prime, a picture came to my mind of a chubby, freckle-faced kid looking into a barrel full of fish. I had no doubt that kid, plinking away at those poor fish, had as much luck as we did with the Kroerak who threw themselves at us, presenting fat broadsided targets. I almost felt bad for the Kroerak who'd never had to worry about defensive maneuvers because they thought their armor impenetrable. Equally, the idea of retreat seemed to be just as foreign a concept. Within an hour of meeting the two-hundred strong fleet, our rag-tag Abasi fleet stood alone amidst the debris of ruined Kroerak ships.

  "We make for Abasi Prime!" Mshindi uncharacteristically yowled into the comms. "To victory!"

  As we turned for Abasi Prime, the remaining Kroerak fleet broke from orbit, their destination clearly set to the Tamu-Mhina wormhole. I ran a quick calculation and discovered, even at our hardest burn rate, we would not be able to intercept them.

  "Mshindi, we should send a frigate to chase the Kroerak fleet," I said. "We need to track them."

  "You earn your namesake, Bold Prime, for that is a truly bold objective," Mshindi Prima answered. "But due to your actions, the threat of Kroerak has once and forever been eliminated. No, our people need us as they never have before. We can spare no ships."

  "We need to strike while they're vulnerable," I argued, frustrated at her apparent inability to see the bigger picture.

  Mshindi Prime held my gaze for a minute over the holo projection. "It was the Kroerak that brought you to our galaxy. For this, all Felio will be eternally grateful. You embody the true spirit of a hunter. I pledge to you this: together we will hunt this parasite. But first, we will lick our wounds and bring comfort to those who have suffered for our inadequacies."

  Chapter 3

  On Tilt

  Abasi Prime, a planet very much like Earth in size and composition, is orbited by a single, water-covered moon called Rhema, which is half again larger than Earth's own moon. Before the Kroerak invasion of the prosperous and peaceful Abasi nation, the space between the planet and its moon had been thick with industrial structures and commercial traffic. As we sailed past Rhema, I searched for Chitundu, the massive space station where we’d docked on our first visit. How could that trip seem like yesterday and so long ago all at the same time?

  The space where the Chitundu station should have been was filled with a heavy cloud of debris. Thirty hours after the departure of the Kroerak, small vessels flitted about, traveling between the large, disconnected chunks of the once-beautiful station. I experienced the same sense of loss that I’d felt when approaching Earth during the Kroerak invasion. If anything, the loss of Chitundu was more personal, as I had memories of being here.

  "Cap, we're receiving multiple distress si
gnals," Marny announced.

  "Start prioritizing. We'll need to coordinate with the rest of the fleet," I said.

  "Copy that, Cap," she answered. "Ada, change course, bearing twenty degrees starboard, five degrees declination."

  My AI, upon hearing my interest in the distress signals, sent a prompt to my HUD and requested permission to display the beacons. Initially, I was overwhelmed by the mass of souls needing help. Thousands of blinking signals appeared in the debris field that surrounded the planet. A ship the size of Hornblower was poorly suited to small rescue missions. Our labored movements and mass made us the proverbial bull in a china shop. The need, however, was great and there were few ships in any position to render aid.

  "Liam, Mshindi Prime is on comms," Nick announced.

  I chinned the virtual acknowledgement indicator on my HUD and a slightly less disheveled Mshindi Prime appeared. "Go ahead, Adahy," I said, not caring about formality.

  "Bold, I request that Hornblower make way to Abasi Naval repair yard and restore security," Mshindi said.

  A section of space in high orbit over Abasi Prime was instantly highlighted on my holo projection. As the ship's sensors focused on the facility and details filled in, it appeared the Naval repair yard had withstood the incursion reasonably well – that is, if having a quarter of the kilometer-wide structure sheared off could be categorized as minimal damage.

  "Roger that, Mshindi," I answered. "We're happy to oblige. Ada, please adjust course."

  "Liam, we're almost in position for rescue," Ada answered, joining the comm. "We need ten more minutes. There are ten souls trapped and they won't make it much longer without our help."

  "Bold, it is imperative that you make all possible haste to Abasi repair yard," Mshindi answered, not addressing Ada directly. "We must secure supplies that will be most difficult to manufacture in the coming long-spans of recovery."

  "Understood. Bold out," I said, closing the comms.

  "Liam, we can't leave those people," Ada said. "They'll die without our help."

  "Tabbs, I need you on the flight deck immediately, and grab a med-bag on the way," I said. "Semper, grab a cut-weld rig and O2 boosters and meet Tabby on the flight deck."

  "What's up, Liam?" Tabby asked, having already disappeared from the bridge.

  "Wait one," I answered. "Ada, give me your best burn plan to the orbital repair yard."

  "Aye, aye, Captain," Ada answered. Slowly, Hornblower turned while its massive engines spooled up. Ada's navigation plan would catch the repair station in just under ninety minutes.

  "Liam?" Tabby called, still not sure what was going on.

  "I need you and Semper to finish our rescue mission and then meet us over at the Abasi Naval yard. We have a priority engagement there," I said.

  "Seriously, it couldn't wait ten minutes?" she asked, echoing Ada's concerns.

  "Apparently not," I answered, annoyed that I had to explain myself. "Load heavy enough so you can subdue if you need. No telling what shape your group will be in."

  "Copy that," she answered. "Semper's here and we're loading. Get Ada to lay off the go-go juice for a minute and we'll take off."

  "Cutting engines in five… four…." Ada initiated a count down.

  "We're clear," Tabby announced as Hornblower's one and only shuttle streaked away at an oblique angle.

  "Sensors are picking up hostilities at the Naval yard," Marny announced.

  With many of the ship's sensors focused on our destination, previously unseen details were filling in. Traces of small blaster fire registered, although at our current distance it was impossible to tell the source of the fire.

  "Seriously? Their planet was just invaded by alien bugs and they're already looting?" I said, disgusted.

  Marny huffed. "Happened on Earth, Cap, after the Kroerak left. It happens in virtually every war zone. Whenever there is a vacuum of power, someone always fills it. The first thing they do is collect valuable resources."

  "Seems pretty shortsighted," I said. "Abasi will restore order. Attacking them just slows recovery."

  "There are many Felio tribes that only participate in the Abasi nation because of their inability to find sufficient power to do otherwise. These tribes are not represented within the House of Koman and yet are forced to abide by its law," Jonathan said. "The Kroerak have potentially changed this balance of power."

  "There are Felio who aren't Abasi?" I asked.

  "Not publicly," Nick said. "House of Koman declared that all Felio are under the rule of the Abasi nation."

  "Seems like that's a recipe for trouble," Ada added.

  "Historically, Felio have been a violent people," Jonathan said. "The Abasi nation, under the rule of House of Koman, has brought peace and prosperity for centuries."

  "And we have a seat at that table?" I asked. "That's kind of heady stuff. I'm not sure I'm ready to take that kind of responsibility."

  "Abasi were desperate when they made this bargain with Loose Nuts," Jonathan said. "They correctly saw the end of their civilization if the Kroerak were not stopped. You must understand, their gambit paid off, as their world was saved."

  "Cap, you could probably negotiate for an honorary position within Koman," Marny said.

  "Let's hold onto that idea," Nick added. "We just became the proud owners of an entire solar system. We may need the political juice that a seat within House of Koman adds."

  "We can't own a solar system," I said.

  "We can and we do. That was the agreement. Per Confederation of Planets, Abasi own Mhina system. That ownership was granted to House of the Bold upon Marny accepting a seat at Koman. We'll want to tread lightly and carefully consider the implications of modifying that agreement," he answered.

  "We can put that aside for now," I agreed, accepting a small plate of food from Steward Bear, who'd brought a meal up from the officer's mess. With all the excitement, we'd been missing our normal meals in the wardroom, preferring instead to stay on the bridge.

  "Cap, we're showing three sloop-class vessels that appear to be attacking the repair station," Marny said. As she spoke, three battered ships appeared next to the station. The ships moved in a well-choreographed dance around a hole in the platform's defenses caused by the missing section.

  "Sendrei, three bogies attacking the station. Let's get 'em targeted," I said.

  "Aye, aye, Captain. Laying in a firing plan for the seventy-fives," he answered.

  "Cap, those are Abasi-flagged ships showing Perasti colors," Marny said.

  "Nick, given our lofty position, shouldn't we have codes that would give us control of that station?" I asked.

  "Negative, Liam," he answered. " Mshindi probably has them. I'll send a request."

  We were still too far out to do anything about the attacking sloops, but I'd started to wonder if the situation was as it had initially presented itself. "Marny, raise those sloops and see whose side they're on."

  "Ripened Forma, this is Hornblower. Come in," Marny called, repeating her message several times before receiving a response.

  "Hornblower, this is Ripened Forma. Please state intent or be fired upon." The Felio voice was tight with excitement.

  "House of the Bold is taking command of Abasi Naval repair yard," Marny answered. "You will desist all hostilities."

  "Be advised. Taji has infiltrated the Abasi platform and we are attempting to re-take control," the still-disembodied voice answered.

  "Who is Taji?" I asked, muting comms.

  "A powerful Felio faction that unsuccessfully attempted separation from Abasi on several occasions," Jonathan answered.

  "Ripened Forma, your ships and the Abasi platform are now under command of House Bold." I had no idea if I could make such a power grab, but in the heat of the moment, I wasn't about to start asking for permission. "You will begin transmitting video."

  I wasn't sure if it was the fact that Hornblower was only a few thousand kilometers out and we were a mostly undamaged battle cruiser, or if they just deci
ded it was a good idea, but all of a sudden, the three sloops started transmitting. I had no idea what I expected to see, but it wasn’t images of three bridges, all crowded with what appeared to be Felio family groups, including juveniles and those of advanced age. The same look we’d seen on Mshindi Prime’s face when Hornblower had sailed into the system was on every face. The obviously non-military crews looked like they'd been through tremendous trial.

  "Who … what's happened to you?" I asked, my shock at their appearance evident in my voice.

  "We are the remaining engineers of Abasi Naval yard." While I recognized the speaker's voice, it took me a minute to locate the female wearing soiled, baggy clothing. "When attacked by Kroerak, we hid aboard these damaged ships. We had planned to return and restore the yard when the Taji ship arrived. They have seized controls."

  "Nick. Codes?" I asked.

  "I have them, but we're still locked out," Nick said.

  "There were Taji working on the station," the engineer added. "They must have installed software that subverted Abasi control."

  "What's your status?" I asked.

  "We are bruised and battered," she answered. "But we find ourselves alive. We wish to help retake our station."

  "Copy that," I answered. "We're going to need you to back off your current position and fall in behind Hornblower. Those sloops aren't packing enough armor and you're not wearing vac-suits."

  "We will comply," she answered.

  "Ada, figure out how to approach the shipyard while causing the least damage to Hornblower," I said. "Sendrei, you may need to fire on the station to knock out a few of their weapons. Just remember, if we break it, we're going to have to fix it."

  "Aye, aye, Captain." Ada's response sounded more like cap-E-tan and I smiled to myself. We lived for these moments of stress, as much as we wouldn't like to admit it.

  "Marny, how many Marines can we field for a boarding party?" I asked.