Chapter 8: Planning Ahead Part 1

The sounds of gunfire could be heard. It echoed in the shooting range of the ship’s centripetal ring.

It had been the following morning. Scott was in his uniform with a set of headphones over his ears to protect his hearing. In his hand was a prototype rendition of the gigant. It was dark and gray, carrying a heavy slide. The barrel was already overheating, and the third shot registered a misfeed, jamming the slide.

“Damn...,” Scott said to himself. He looked at the slide and ejected the magazine, or at least tried. His hand went to the grip as he had to pull it out. A caseless round was stuck outside the firing chamber and magazine.

There was more gunfire to Scott’s left hand. The teenage girl, Cio’dejdra, held a large revolver, making a series of shots down the firing range. Because the room was so large, the floor would curve slightly upward. There was a series of projected images depicting various silhouettes of Yutilians and Shal’rein to shoot at. The rear back had a bullet catcher that would collect the bullets as they hit it.

As Scott was trying to clear his gun, he could see Cio’dejdra take aim at a Yutilian silhouette. She made a shot into the chest before pulling the trigger again, her tongue held to the side as she heard a click.

“No...,” she remarked as she pulled the gun and ejected the cylinder. There were two rounds in her gun. She pulled the caseless rounds out and saw that the hammer had struck them but didn’t ignite the primer.

“Your hammer spring is too loose,” Scott told her. “It’s soft striking it.”

“I know ... tighten,” she tried to say.

“To be fair, you’re doing better than I am. Ten shots in and four jams.” Scott focused on the targets again. A silhouette of a Shal’rein appeared in the target display. He reinserted the magazine and placed the spare bullet into his pocket before racking the slide. With a new round chambered, he aimed down the red dot sight and pulled a trigger.

BANG ... The gunshot hit the left shoulder. Scott could see that the slide was locked back. The entire polymer frame had cracked, rendering the gun useless.

“Ugh ... still needs more work.”

Scott saw that Cio’dejdra had left the range and returned back to the table to work on her revolver. The door slid open as Yui’to stepped in. A hint of a smile could be seen on her face as she walked over to the range. The man lowered his gun at the targets, ejected the magazine, and made sure his gun was empty before turning to her.

“A broken gun...,” she remarked as she stepped next to him.

“Yeah, you should give praise to Cio’dejdra,” Scott said. “She’s closer to finishing her gun.”

“You are building a gun that your military didn’t use?”

“Yep ... this is my first try, though.”

“I would recommend using ‘Olaya.’”

“That resin? It’s brittle.”

“By itself, yes. When mixed with the ‘Folw,’ it produces a hard polymer.”

“Hmmm ... I hadn’t thought of that. And ... I need to check the springs and ejector as well.”

Yui’to walked over to one of the firing ranges. She assumed a shooting stance, unholstered her handgun, and, with little aim, fired four shots in less than two seconds. At a range of less than 10 yards, all shots were directed at the silhouette, near the heart, with little spacing between each registered hit. The Shal’rein woman holstered her firearm and looked back at Scott.

“Showing off to me?” he asked her.

A smile appeared on her face. “Yes...”

Scott walked away from the range and toward one of the tables. “So...,” he commented. “What brings you to the firing range?”

“You weren’t at the gym.”

“I slept in ... you can blame the Adjunct on that one.”

Yui’to gave a light nod. “Adjunct prevented you from sleeping?”

“More or less...”

“I must ask you to come with me.”

“Oh?” Scott questioned. “What’s going on?”

“I ... don’t know,” Yui’to said. “Veleshar’s orders.”

“Of course,” Scott smirked and shook his head at the broken gun. He would have to come back to it later. He opened a small cabinet and slipped it in before facing Yui’to.

“Scott...,” Cio’dejdra called out to him.

When the man turned at the Shal’rein teenager sitting on her chair, he could see her giving a quick wave and a big smile from her snout.

Scott smiled proudly and waved back to her before Yui’to took the man’s shoulder and guided him to the door...

“This feels ... urgent, somehow,” Scott remarked. He walked beside Yui’to in the centripetal ring passageway. The Shal’rein’s pace was staunch and fast to the point that Scott could barely keep up.

“Are you sure you don’t know what’s going on?” he asked her.

“No,” she replied. “I know that you and I are needed.”

“Where are we heading to?”

“The...” she paused as she tried to think of the words. “ ... talking room.”

“A conference room?”

“Yes.”

They were about to reach one of the doors when Yui’to paused by the panel. Any hint of a playful side to her had lifted. She seemed serious in her tone as she neared one of the panels.

“Cio’dejdra seems interested in you,” she told him.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me making any moves on her,” he told her. “She’s a little too young for me.”

“For now, yes, but approval is still important. Even if they are too young, adult Itreans must recognize the interest of youth.”

“You mean it’s good that she has an attraction to me?”

“I was 15 of your Earth years when I became mated. My mate was 104 ... a Lesser Adjunct. I told him that I was interested in mateship when I was 12.”

“Really?”

“Yes. My reward was being raised to the rank of Centurion within two years upon entry into the Shal’rein military...”

“Seems ... a little aggressive in trying to work your way up in rank by sleeping with the boss.”

“I knew what it took to gain rank. My mate treated me well, and I provided him sons.”

“I see...”

“I respect your honor, Scott,” she told him. “But understand our ways.”

“Like you and the Adjunct sleeping together?”

“Exactly...” She gave a hint of a smile to him.

She didn’t have to say anything anymore as Scott had more of an understanding of Yui’to. She apparently had her ways of working from the bottom up. However, he did feel that the concept of the Itrean lifestyle was something that flew in the face of UHN protocols. Fraternization within the crew wasn’t endorsed. But, with the Itreans becoming mates to those that were higher ranking were actually encouraged. He couldn’t say much against it, though. These were the ways of another race of people that had existed long before he ever did.

Yui’to interfaced with the panel. There was a short pause as two-way communication was established with the other side of the interior room. Scott could hear Itrean words being spoken. It was Veleshar’s voice explaining something to her. Yui’to seemed to grow even more severe as she listened.

“Understood, Greater Adjunct,” Yui’to broke contact with the panel and faced Scott.

“Scott,” she explained to him. “An important meeting with the Greater Adjuncts is taking place. We enter and remain quiet.”

“Okay,” Scott replied.

No wonder Yui’to seemed more tense than usual. Scott took a deep breath and composed himself.

The Shal’rein pulled out of her pocket a pair of small earpiece-like devices. She extended it to Scott.

“What is that?” he asked her.

“Something that you might like,” she explained. “I just got it today. Put it on.”

The man looked at the small device. It looked like basic earphones for listening to music, but the big difference was that it had small antenna protrusions. He fitted both into his ears to make sure they were snuggly fit.

He watched as Yui’to looked over him. She put her hands on her hips and began to speak. However, Scott noticed that when she was speaking Itrean, it began to do a series of beeps that thumped into his ear. It took a few sentences, but the device started to attune to the woman’s voice. Finally, he heard translated English in the form of Yui’to’s accent.

“Wha...” Scott reacted with surprise. “The new translators!”

“Yes,” Yui’to explained in her Itrean voice.

“I’ve heard they were close to finishing these things so they could ship them into the general market.”

He could see that Yui’to’s mouth was moving differently. At times, she made a series of clicks and chirps before saying other Itrean words. The devices would take a few seconds, but the AI core inside them was adapting so that it could translate it into Scott’s ears.

“It isn’t perfect,” she explained. “It won’t translate your words to us.”

“In other words, it’s one way only unless they are wearing them too. At least you can speak to me in your language, and I can have a better understanding. I know these things will probably have a few hiccups.”

“No. It’s preferred for human use only. The English to Itrean is still being worked on. With the complexity...” There was a pause and static as the earpieces were reconfiguring in the translation. “ ... English to Itrean will create flaws in syntax.”

“They don’t want to create an incident with a mistranslation.”

“Correct. Do not expect the others to be wearing them.”

“Got it.”

He nodded his head to her as the tall Shal’rein turned to interface with the panel again. She tapped a few buttons before the door slid open.

Scott didn’t know what was on the other side of the door. Why did Veleshar need to have him there? Yui’to, he could understand. She was the second in command, but he was the lowly enlisted man of another race. Regardless, he would do his best to treat this with the utmost formality.

Yui’to entered the room first. When she did, she placed both hands nearly an inch apart from each other, almost in a form of prayer. Her tail stiffened, and she did a light bow. Then, she walked over to the right. Scott walked in, came to attention, and saluted with his hand pressed near his brow.

“You may enter, Scott,” Veleshar directed in a more serious tone.

“Aye,” Scott remarked.

As he turned to the right, Scott could see the entire conference room layout. It consisted of a single table coated in blue, green, and yellow coral-like etchings. There was a metal layout, with a series of projector disks mounted near the mounted chairs. The similar vein-like protrusions rounded the surrounding bulkheads, but there was a slight form of glamour that echoed in the slow, dim green and blue lights of the corners of the room. It was semi-dark in the room, especially when the door closed behind Scott. However, there was enough light for Scott to see Yui’to standing almost like a parade rest. She held a defiant stand as Scott walked next to her, did a ninety-degree turn, and stood in his own parade rest.

Veleshar was standing near the corner of the table. Four projected Itreans from each disk-like device were on the table. They comprised the top half-torsos of Yutilians of respectable rank in link communication with Veleshar. Scott was careful not to stare too much, as he could tell that he was being watched.

However, from what Scott could tell, each of the Greater Adjuncts had their own unique looks to them. The man also had enough knowledge to know that they were all Yutilians, one from each of the four T’rintar Kingdoms. One of the Yutilians, an obese woman with bloated cheeks, was from the Kingdom of Nat, most likely a Getrean. She had light green, scaly skin and had large, pronounced pink and white feathers on her head and arms. Another Yutilian was one that Scott recognized earlier. It was the same one that he saw Veleshar communicate here at this sector of Gu’ii’lo’trelda supposedly named Greater Adjunct Viala. However, this time, he was able to more easily see that she was skinny, had gold earrings that pierced her earholes, a large gold necklace, and had large black, white, and green feathers.

Of the other two Yutilians, one Scott knew was Kre. Unlike the other four kingdoms, the Kre were the most aggressive and violent of Yutilians, a pure warrior race. The Greater Adjunct had dark green scaly skin and solid black and red feathers that were so long that they completely ran down the left side of her face, just missing her left eye. There was also the hint of a muscular tone in her small frame. She also had two special black tattooed scars etched on the other side of her face. Even her demeanor and body language seemed aggressive. The last Yutilian was a Shish. Much like Gen’wi, this one had a darker tan hue scale-skin color. She wore a black shawl, almost a black veil covering the top portion of her feathers and snout, only unveiling through her reptilian forehead and eyes. A hint of rank could be seen on the black veil uniform. Even her eyes almost glowed with yellow and gold.

“A human?” the Getrean remarked in English. Her voice was light.

“Yes, Greater Adjunct Jeo’tra,” Veleshar explained to the heavy-set woman.

“Why have hooman?” the Kre also questioned in her deeper toned butchered English. Her accent showed a hint of annoyance.

“Yui’to is my second in command, Greater Adjunct Hela’fre,” Veleshar replied. “The human is my mate.”

“Very well,” the Getrean replied, briefly closing her eyes and slightly waving with the back of her fingers. The other Adjuncts seemed to respond in kind, as that was all they needed to hear. Their attention was first and foremost focused on Veleshar.

Phew ... Scott thought to himself. These Yutilians held a place of high importance. Anything that could be misspoken would only translate into disaster. All it took was a complaint from one of these adjuncts, and he could kiss his military career goodbye. Each of these Yutilians represented portions of the T’rintar as a whole. He knew that Veleshar had organized this meeting for some reason, and it was so important that he had to be there to see it. At least being a mate was an excuse enough for them to accept it, one of the perks of being the boyfriend to an important Itrean figure.

Veleshar stepped away from the table and held her hand over a scanner on the table. A large projection appeared that filled most of the center and ceiling. It seemed to be that of a galactic map. It provided a 2D image of the Milky Way Galaxy. A series of green, red, and purple dots filled a quarter section, highlighting thousands of controlled star systems. Regions were highlighted to indicate what have been considered as controlled areas of space. It was enormous as the Yutilians looked at it. Finally, a few gray dots were highlighted the tiny portion of UWA territory. Compared to the rest, humanity was little more than ants looking at a cliffside.

Veleshar began to explain in Itrean to the chain of command in a relatively calm and composed manner. She would give kind inflections at times to show that she was trying to be formal and considerate.

The translator activated in Scott’s ear. It took a few seconds for the device to analyze and decipher the Itrean words spoken by Veleshar. However, within five seconds, Veleshar’s words started to turn to English. It was like magic, a miracle from modern technology. Even if her lips weren’t in sync as he could hear the distant sounds of Itrean being spoken, Veleshar’s words were being converted into English.

There was static until it came out as “ ... Called you all to have a word about the galactic spectrum.”

The Shal’rein clan sectors consisted of two large purple blobs as the T’rintar consisted of four smaller green blobs. The map glowed bright red to highlight the Aksren-controlled territories. It was obvious that the Aksren had more controlled areas of space. Their five empires were somewhat spread out but linked and coherent enough that they could slowly gobble up the T’rintar and Shal’rein worlds. Veleshar continued to explain as she pointed at the map.

“I believe,” Veleshar continued. “That we stand at the ... precipice of hardship. Our fleets are trapped defending our worlds ... we cannot leave ... expansion is difficult.”

There was a slamming sound. Hela’fre broke the conversation from Veleshar as the Kre Yutilian already seemed agitated. Her teeth sneered as Veleshar momentarily paused. The fiery Yutilian spoke as Scott’s translator slowly converted the Kre’s Itrean into English.

“We already know this...” Hela’fre’s voice came through. “You bore us and waste our time.”

Veleshar held her hand up and continued to speak in Itrean. She altered her hand so that a series of planets showed up. Among one of the pictures was that of Renlar. The Shal’rein captain continued to explain. Scott could see that Veleshar had their attention, but it would be challenging to keep them entertained in this briefing. The digital diagram schematics of the Gular’shel appeared.

“I wish to change that,” Veleshar explained. “Wars must be handled gradually ... one battle at a time ... I believe that what we need is a victory ... one that can boost our morale ... one that will be sung for generations...”

What was she trying to get at? Scott wondered to himself. Each of the Yutilian leaders looked with some earnestness, but Hela’fre seemed most curious. There was clearly skepticism towards the Shal’rein woman, a person who had betrayed her own to work with them.

“Don’t waste our time, Shal’rein,” the Kre said. “Why call us?”

Jeo’tra turned and looked at Hela’fre before saying something to her. Static filled Scott’s ear before it continued.

“Allow her to speak, Greater Adjunct,” Viala defended her. “ ... I am sure Veleshar means well. Continue...”

The other Yutilians returned to look at Veleshar. She resumed speaking.

“My goal is to strike in the heart of Aksren controlled space...” Veleshar said.

There was a laugh from the Getrean Adjunct.

“And?...,” Jeo’tra questioned. “How?”

Veleshar continued to explain in Itrean. The planet of Renlar was zoomed in from the collection of planetary pictures. What she was saying was quite extensive. Each of the Yutilians’ feathers rose up and down.

Yui’to’s eyes opened wide some. The hint of agitation could be heard in her lowered voice. The projection of Renlar highlighted the ring.

“We must strike at the heart of Aksren...,” Veleshar said. “We must attack Renlar.”

“What?” Scott quietly whispered to himself.

The Getrean adjunct made a series of clicks and chirps. The Kre adjunct had a hint of pride, but even she seemed somewhat skeptical. The Shish was almost dismissive as she said nothing and looked away. Even the Gu’ii’optre, Veleshar’s own CO, lightly raised her scaly hand before questioning her.

“You want us to attack the Imperial capital of Itsis?” Viala remarked with a hint of dismay.

“A preferred goal,” Hela’fre added. “But,...” She looked at the others with disappointment. “One that we could not win.”

“You called us for a reason, Veleshar,” Jeo’tra said. “How do you propose we attack the most defended world in all of Itrean space?”

Veleshar waved her tail to the side almost as if she snapped it in the air. She grew a little bit adamant. Her hands did much of the communication and pronunciation in her Itrean verbiage. A series of green arrows appeared that all pointed at Renlar’s ring.

“Our goal is to damage Renlar’s ship production and industrial complex,” The Greater Adjunct continued. “It serves as the heart of the Aksren clan. I believe ... that we can launch a small attack and penetrate the Aksren’s defense network. From there ... I will deliver a series of powerful strikes ... damage and weaken Zildrek, the heart of Renlar.”

The very thought of that seemed outright madness to downright insane. It didn’t take a scientist to figure out that Renlar would have been one of the hardest places to ever launch an attack, even an all-out assault. Were the Yutilians supposed to accept this outright? There was no way, and the reaction was equally similar.

“Crazy...,” Jeo’tra said.

“If only we could...,” Hela’fre added.

“You want us to launch an attack on this world,” Viala remarked. “You realize that our fleets would not last long. There hasn’t been a Yutilian attack on Renlar since the Rototrein Rebellion, and that was a united effort ... not just Yutilians.”

Veleshar’s own leader seemed to be calling her out. The T’rintar were going on an offensive operation? Even they felt the pinch from the anxiety of launching an all-out assault against Renlar.

“Because, you won’t be launching an all out attack,” Veleshar explained. “This will be a ... cavalry raid.”

“A cavalry raid?” Viala questioned.

“A human term...,” Veleshar took her fingers and dragged them across the table’s surface. “According to their history, the humans used to ride creatures called ‘horses’ into battle. Sometimes, small teams would rush in and do as much damage as possible before withdrawing. Today, we would call it hit and run.”

“Hit and run...,” Hela’fre remarked with a hint of annoyance. “I would prefer an all out strike.”

The Shish Adjunct could sense where this was going. She began to speak with a light, raspy voice. It took time before the translator caught onto what she was saying before providing it to Scott.

“But it is the Shish way,” the Shish said. “Continue...”

“I propose a simple fleet strike of cloaked ships,” Veleshar explained. “I will need at least five cloaked battleships. I will also ask to be able to use the Gular’shel to venture in and slip past Renlar defenses, where I will destroy all major targets of opportunity at the ring.”

“Cloaked battleships?...” the Shish’s reptilian eyes narrowed as she interjected. “I am impressed with the Gular’shel. It is the finest cloaked warship in Itrean ... even if it lacks guided long-range strike capability. However, you underestimate the power of Renlar’s defenses. Our cloaking technology is excellent ... but not good enough to slip past the nets of photoflash detectors ... rows of Aksren warships and deep space scanning arrays.”