Chapter 55

“You surrendered your fleet?” the Hegemon asked out loud of Supreme Oramiral Hassatt, though he already knew the answer, this was but a making of the case for execution.

“Our intelligence was wrong. The Zelnots are part of the Empire. Our ships were out-gunned and out-manoeuvred. The Empire clearly knew we were coming. So I thought to preserve as much of your fleet for a more worthy successor to lead to victory, your Most Radiant of the Heavens,” Hassatt replied calmly.

“Never has a fist of the Starlit Hegemony surrendered to barbarians!” the Hegemon screeched.

“Until now,” Voice of Truth Nild added. “I find no fault in retreating from a superior force and re-thinking an issue of concern.”

“This ... spineless wretch has brought shame upon the Starlit Hegemony and upon my celestial reign! He must surely die for his crime and his family with him!”

“For preserving the majority of your fleet to fight again? May I suggest you get a sense of proportion, brother?”

“Out, you whimpering cur! Your presence is no longer needed in any council of mine. Take yourself to your palace and remain there for the rest of your days!”

Nild simply stood and silently walked out, whilst the other members of the Security Command sat still with slightly narrowed eyes as they contemplated again the utter refusal of the Hegemon to listen to any view that opposed his own.

“Worm Hassatt, you shall die for your treachery. But not until you first see your wife and children die before your eyes!” the Hegemon hissed.

“By your command!” the Command Group intoned and knelt in obeisance.

“What of the rest of his command?” Senior Commander Hirk of the Lightning Blue Depths asked as he represented the Starlit Hegemony’s varied fleets.

“Decimate them. The fleets must fear my wrath far more than any enemy!”

“By your command!”

“What are your commands for dealing with this upstart Empire, O Most Radiant of the Heavens?” Senior Controller Kli of the Jade Green Path asked into the silence.

“Begin assembling a Grand Fleet! We shall overwhelm these maggots and leave the Empire sterile and uninhabited. A warning to all who dare offend the Starlit Hegemony!”

“By your command, O Most Radiant of the Heavens!” came the answer from all as two guards entered to haul Hassatt off to a holding cell.

“Again you have insulted the Most Radiant of the Heavens,” Kli stated mildly to Nild.

“My brother is a fool who believes the honeyed words of his closest advisors and my duty is to inject sanity into his delusions,” Nild shrugged.

“Are you accusing the Command of lying?”

“By omission, yes. Did not the Imperials demonstrate just how effective their weapons are? Is their Empire not bigger than our own? Have they not recently fought wars?”

“Ah ... point taken.”

“I have arranged for the family of Hassatt to be kept safe in my palace. I will not permit their murder to assuage my brother’s wrath and shame. There is little else I can do for the fleet members though; no doubt he will want a public spectacle.”

“I fear you are right.”

“I will endeavour to keep my brother from wrecking the Hegemony. However, he is now out of any control, mine or yours.”

“An almost impossible task,” Kli grimaced.

“Yet it must be done.”

“He has tasked us to assemble a Grand Fleet to attack this Empire. I believe he thinks overwhelming force will win the day for the Starlit Hegemony.”

“It may work, initially,” Nild replied thoughtfully.

“He is also planning to scorch the Imperial worlds.”

“Such a move will probably make the Imperials fight like demons. Expect massive retaliation if our fleets do this.”

“What intelligence we have places Imperial fleet numbers at twenty with six reserve fleets. This gives them approximately thirty thousand vessels compared to our near one hundred and sixty thousand plus the Ravager dupes as well. We will win easily. The Empire will not be permitted to trap our vessels in the same manner again.”

“Foolish. Four fleets ambushed Hassatt with only five thousand vessels compare to his twelve thousand. Two of the Imperial fleets barely engaged him which means a single Imperial fleet plus the Zelnot fleet forced a humiliating withdrawal,” Nild snorted.

“Nevertheless this is what the Hegemon has ordered.”

“You may need to be prepared to act if the ‘Grand Fleet’ loses or if a scorching of an Imperial world happens, the Empire will likely attack the Hegemony directly.”

“They would not dare!”

“Wouldn’t they?”

Taisha floated happily in space as she oversaw the construction and distribution of a battlestar defence grid covering the planet of Vircon. Her job as a Monitor in the Bureaucracy of Interplanetary Infrastructure had blossomed as she had a natural aptitude for simply getting out into space and getting things done. She was also being courted by a bland young man in her Division. Her mother felt that with middling compatibility ratings marriage at least might be on the cards, hence Taisha was being forced into having her ‘virginity’ restored discreetly by a meditech friend.

What she really did miss were her friends and lovers, Dave and Kirim. But, life had to go on. Appearances, at least on her social level, needed to be maintained. Particularly as she was being fast-tracked towards a position as a Bureaucrat, (planetary) at least, within the Empire; with a possibility of rising as high as a Bureaucrat (Vreekoos) or further if she performed well, though the competition was fierce, she admitted.

“Segment seven hundred and fourteen completed and aligned, Monitor Taisha,” the AI informed her.

“Thank you. Begin test sequences.”

“You’re welcome, Taisha. Beginning test sequence and parameter adjustment.”

A projected tri-dee image appeared in front of Taisha showing the various nodes of the defence grid and the progress of interlinking it into the whole of the segment she was monitoring.

“Wasn’t there supposed to be an anti-battlesphere cannon in this segment?” Taisha asked the AI.

“It is still on order. Supervisor Monitor Brexla ordered the go ahead for this segment anyway, saying that any defence grid is better than none.”

“Agreed, we can add it later,” Taisha confirmed.

“Tests complete. The segment is now fully functional within the grid.”

“Apply cloaking.”

“Done.”

“Move us out to the next segment for deployment, please.”

“On our way, Taisha.”

“The Grand Fleet is assembling in the Holobin system, Most Radiant of the Heavens,” Senior Advisor Menl of the Soothing Rainbow Nebulae informed the Security Command Group, minus Voice of Truth Nild.

“Good. This Empire of fools will now feel the wrath of the Starlit Hegemony,” the Hegemon exulted. “Order our Ravager elements to transit to Zelnot space to draw their attention.”

“By your command, Most Radiant of the Heavens.”

“Once the lesser men are engaged we will launch the Grand Fleet through the Himath Kingdom, the Chancery of Klith and the Diadem Republic and lay waste the Imperial worlds bordering that region.”

“Most Radiant of the Heavens, we have non-aggression treaties with those tributary states,” Kli stated.

“And we will not attack them.”

“Most Radiant of the Heavens, this is not what a non-aggression pact means.”

“It means whatever I say it means!” the Hegemon stated back in icy tones that would brook no contradiction.

“By your command, most Radiant of the Heavens.”

“What of the traitor Hassatt’s family?”

“Security forces are still looking for them, Most Radiant of the Heavens. It is only a matter of time,” Senior Commander Hirk of the Lightning Blue Depths replied.

“And the decimation?”

“Has been carried out as you commanded.”

“Good. Let all know the price of failing me!”

The Imperial Scout Invisibility Incarnate was nosing around in the Ganvil system of the Hegemony, essentially keeping an eye on fleet movements.

“Ravager style vessels are moving out,” Comm Officer Tulpen informed her husband, Pilot Tanak.

“Course?” he asked as he deployed the array.

“Imperial space, Zelnot sector.”

“They may well regret that, it’s crawling with heavy fighters now, plus they’ve got a lot of the initial battlestar grids assembled.”

“Lot of Ravagers too. I doubt they’re all coming from here.”

“True, makes you wonder just how they can man so many ships?”

“Must be a very odd society. You’re right there,” Tulpen nodded.

Taisha was on board the orbiting space station of Vircon when alerts started going off and the AIs warned of hostile ships in the system.

“Are we safe here?” she asked the AI.

“Unknown at this point. There are not enough shuttles for immediate evacuation.”

“Defence grid status?”

“Has not passed the commissioning checks.”

“Contact Supervisor Monitor Brexla and advise we are activating. I believe it will work ... well, the parts we have in place anyway.”

“Supervisor Monitor Brexla concurs, however he is planet bound and the intruders are jamming comms to deep space.”

“Can we reach the command node?”

“Yes, Taisha.”

“Let’s go.”

Senior pilot Mance of the 43^rd Heavy Fighter Squadron was in his element. The (supposedly) surprise attack by the Ravagers had been flagged by FleetInt several hundred rotations before, though in the usual armed forces style, notification to civilians and civilian traffic had been very slow off the mark until the Ravagers had entered the system.