Amantus
Copyright© 2026 by QM
Chapter 17
“He suspects what?” the Patriarch asked Helia in icy tones.
“That a faction in the nobility is actively sabotaging the outer fleets, Grandfather,” Helia replied with a thin smile. “Though I’m fairly sure you heard me correctly the first time.”
“Indeed so, Granddaughter, though my ears scarce believed it,” the Patriarch hissed. “Sabotaging our defenders to ensure they don’t threaten them, I presume.”
“Almost certainly,” Helia agreed.
“I will need to call a clan conference,” the Patriarch hissed.
“I would stay your hand for the moment,” Helia advised.
“Indeed?” the Patriarch paused. “Why?”
“If you act openly, opposition from the lesser clans will ensure you do not find the real culprits as they’ll assume you’re seeking to control Fleet yourself,” Helia explained.
“Yet something must be done,” the Patriarch grated, wishing not for the first time that Helia had been born male.
“Indeed so, Grandfather,” Helia agreed. “May I suggest, for the time being, that we simply gather evidence and cultivate the relationship we have with Clan Marot and have them investigate for us?”
“I suspect they do not have the power or ability to do so to the depth we need,” the Patriarch replied, mulling it over.
“But they can be guided to those who do,” Helia countered. “Friends help friends, after all.”
“Whilst I would not place Clan Marot in the category of ‘friends’, I do see your point,” the Patriarch conceded. “With the help of our clan, they could get to the point where we could openly intervene to aid them.”
“And all without it looking like a power play by Clan Aman,” Helia smiled thinly.
“True,” the Patriarch nodded. “Looks like I’ll be calling upon Orliantomin Blufess again.”
“Please give him my personal thanks for Admiral Carse accepting Amantus into Sixth Fleet,” Helia requested.
“You wish me to acknowledge Amantus’s presence there openly?” the Patriarch frowned. “That could have opprobrium heaped upon our Clan were Clan Marot to object to oppose an action of our Clan.”
“Amantus is not Clan, Grandfather,” Helia replied. “He is, however, my son, and as his mother, I’m grateful to a scion of Clan Marot for ensuring Amantus is guided down a path of service to the Protectorate.”
“Ah, you wish them to think it a personal thanks, not the request of the Clan,” the Patriarch nodded.
“Indeed,” Helia replied with a thin smile. “A doting grandfather indulging his beloved granddaughter should cover it nicely. And have them thinking it’s the real reason you are interested.”
“That should work,” the Patriarch chuckled. “It’s not as if Clan Marot truly knows you.”
“Indeed not,” Helia nodded.
“Ah, Orliantomin Blufess, I never did get to thank you for dealing with the corruption that Clan Limna were up to their ears in within Sixth Fleet,” The Patriarch said as he approached the head of Clan Marot at an open-air soiree.
“Orliantomin Hellarch, it was a pleasure. Sixth Fleet certainly benefited from the clearing out of that nest of obstructionists,” Blufess replied, wondering what Clan Aman wanted now.
“Good, though it was only by chance that I learned of it,” Hellarch nodded. “My granddaughter was thankful to Admiral Carse for accepting one of our black rimphoks into Sixth and so asked me to intervene when he informed her of the foolishness of Clan Limna.”
“Ah, so that was your source?” Blufess chuckled. “I did wonder.”
“Yes, the boy was heading down the path of excess and was cast out,” the Patriarch lied. “Still, my Granddaughter dotes on him and was grateful to Carse in ensuring his indolent ways came to an abrupt end.”
“I’ll pass on her thanks,” Blufess replied.
“It’s to that end that I have further information for you that has been passed on,” the Patriarch continued and then passed over a core detailing the ongoing sabotage within Sixth.
“Ah,” Blufess sighed. “You would know of that.”
“Indeed so, though as with Clan Limna, we will not interfere directly, simply offer our tacit support should it be necessary in dealing with those who would expose the Protectorate to danger,” the Patriarch replied. “Simply as a thanks for the service Carse did for my granddaughter.”
“The influence of Clan Aman will be a big help as Clan Marot tries to find out who and why,” Blufess nodded, thinking that Clan Aman was far too sentimental for their own good. Still, that wasn’t a bad thing per se, as it meant that they weren’t trying to take over control of Fleet.
“Happy to help,” the Patriarch replied with a nod.
The flotilla left the Juvin system, though Amantus missed this as he was in the gym going through his routine, watched occasionally by Force legionaries who were now used to Amantus being there, along with a few other Command staff who used it to keep their fitness levels high. Hence, he missed the low hum of the transition to XD space because of his activities. He only found out when he called in the canteen for his evening meal. This also meant he faced questioning from various crew and officers who wanted to know about the colony ship.
“Damn, I would have loved to get a look at their drives and the spec sheets for them,” Midshipman Coras from engineering sighed.
“I don’t think they were that pleased to see us,” Amantus chuckled.
“Better us than the Tarpheli,” she nodded.
“True, and we did give them a basic chart showing where the planet raiding realms were,” Amantus nodded. “If they are careful, they’ll break through to the uncharted territories.”
“Wonder where they came from, the pics showed it to be a fairly new ship,” Coras mused.
“They never said,” Amantus shrugged. “And we never asked.”
“Probably regarded as trouble in their home realm and encouraged to leave,” Petty Officer Renglus, one of the cooks, guessed.
“Maybe,” Amantus nodded. “Doubt we’ll ever find out.”
“True, they’ll only be stopping to scoop fuel now until they are well clear of the Protectorate,” Coras agreed.
“Scoop fuel?” Amantus asked.
“For the powerplants to generate the grav and XD drives,” Coras explained ... sort of.
“Er ... you lost me,” Amantus admitted.
“The fusion generators use hydrogen and helium 3, a gas giant has a lot of it, and ships can use a magnetic ramscoop to gather and compress it,” Coras educated Amantus. “Talonfire can do it too, only we tend to use fuel cartridges supplied via a base, and they get it from a gas mining plant orbiting a gas giant.”
“Oh, right, well, you learn something new every day,” Amantus chuckled.
“Beats having to dive into the atmosphere of a gas giant,” Coras nodded.
“Yep, never done that before,” Amantus replied. “Wasn’t even covered in my basic.”
“You’d be told to descend into the atmosphere to a point where it is, and plot an orbital course around the planet,” Coras nodded. “Engineering then generates a powerful electromagnetic scoop, which gathers the fuel, which we purify, and then we store it.”
“I get the feeling you missed out a lot of the technical stuff,” Amantus smiled.
“Yeah, about 99% of it,” Coras laughed. “We’d only use it in an emergency, but colony ships use it all the time.”
Amantus reported for duty at the start of his shift, finding the bridge fully manned as the flotilla prepared to transition to normal space in the Callende system.
“We have company,” Carnot warned as the flotilla transitioned.
“Tarpheli?” Dolis asked.
“Appears to be, ma’am,” Carnot replied. “Though they’re retreating away from us.”
“Fine by me,” Dolis nodded. “Plot a patrol sweep, let’s see what, if anything, they were doing.”
“Plot set, ma’am,” Amantus replied.
“Received and locked,” Devat added.
“Take us in,” Dolis ordered. “Spread our formation to improve our scanning parameters.”
“Yes, ma’am,” both Carnot and Gord replied.
“Tarpheli still in retreat, ma’am,” Carnot confirmed.
“Wonder if they’ve learned the lessons of the last few clashes.” Dolis mused. “Gods alone know why we aren’t at war with them.”
“Protectorate policy is to avoid doing that unless they raid one of our worlds, ma’am,” Amantus replied.
“Stupid policy,” Dolis sighed. “We could cripple them by attacking the orbital works of their systems.”
Amantus said nothing; he wasn’t entirely sure why the Protectorate didn’t deal with the likes of the Tarpheli and the Troneks, though he suspected it was to either save credits or prevent the Admirals from gaining too much power and popularity. There were also his suspicions that various clans were taking a cut or a bribe from the profits of planet raiding, owing to the Tronek raiders’ false-flag operations.
“Tarpheli formation is slowing,” Carnot warned.
“Are they coming around?” Dolis asked.
“No, ma’am, observing us, I think.”
“Will we be passing through a zone they’ve traversed?” Dolis asked.
“We’ll pass close to one, marking it on the chart, ma’am,” Amantus replied.
“Anything there?”
“Not picking anything up, ma’am,” Carnot replied.
“Maintain patrol, but be careful, something doesn’t feel right.
“Yes, ma’am,” the bridge replied.
“Approaching the zone, ma’am,” Amantus informed Dolis.
“Sound general quarters for black shift, all ships,” Dolis ordered.
“General quarters sounded,” Gord replied. “Beams are manned, but not charged.”
“Tarpheli have reversed course; they are heading towards us,” Carnot warned. Still detecting nothing in the zone.”
“Send destroyer group two in to have a nose around,” Dolis ordered. “Bring the flotilla to a halt and into a defensive formation.”
“Suggest formation Gamma three, ma’am,” Amantus replied.
“Good choice,” Dolis nodded.
“Orders sent,” Gord added. “Formation forming as ordered.”
“Ships powering up in the zone,” Carnot warned.
“Sound battlestations, charge weapons,” Dolis ordered.
“They’re some sort of bomber,” Carnot confirmed.
“Hail them,” Dolis ordered. “And open fire if they hit range and have not responded.”
“Commodore on the bridge,” the duty trooper announced.
“Report,” Vinns ordered.
“Looks like we sprung a Tarpheli trap, Commodore,” Dolis reported. “It’s very poorly coordinated, though.”
“Put it into the tank.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Order the destroyer group to broadside the bombers as they pass,” Vinns ordered. “Then pursue.”
“Orders sent, sir,” Gord replied. “No response from the enemy.”
“Spread our formation, we’re too tight if these are suiciders.”
“Formation spreading,” Dolis, who was now occupying tactical, announced.
“Destroyers are within range and firing,” Carnot added. “No hits.”
“Pride to launch fighters,” Vinns ordered.
“Fighters launching,” Gord replied after a rotation.
“Detecting other translations on the periphery, there are four of them,” Carnot warned.
“Another trap,” Dolis growled.
“Indeed, summon Captain Sulli,” Vinns ordered. “Lieutenant Amantus, take over tactical. Dolis assist Sulli with the tank when she arrives.”
“Yes, sir,” Dolis replied. “Gord, get a replacement for Amantus up here.”
Amantus remained at his station until Sulli and Sub-Commander Tellis arrived at the bridge and then moved to tactical and began to assess the arriving flotillas. ‘They think they have us hedged in and bound to lose, ’ he thought.
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