Chapter 27: Taking the Fleet

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”

―Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

On the Attack Carrier Titan approaching Mars, the captain approached Gen. Morgan James. “Gen. James, I wanted to tell you about something we picked up from the people on the ground. While briefing the logistics captain on the planet, I saw a few people from his team talking to the admiral. It was a big hologram, and I could see behind the Admiral. Let me show you what I saw,” Capt. Hollister said while he set up a holo-projection on his tablet.

“Look here, sir; behind the admiral, I swear I can see someone who must be the young archduke, Kargo. What do you think, sir?”

“Hollister, there’s no doubt we are looking at a member of the Kargo family. He looks just like his great-grandfather. I wonder what this means?”

“Sir, most of my team know the King, and I do not doubt we are seeing his grandson. It’s the one they went to fetch in another galaxy. I think there’s more to this than we know. We hypothesized the Empress had a devious plan to surprise the Patriarch. The Emperor announced the Empress was sending a battleship to retrieve the young Archduke.”

“Hollister, didn’t she send Zora’s battleship?”

“We laughed when we heard she was taking the Patriarch’s precious yacht to retrieve the archduke. The Empress provoked him. I bet she implanted her spies into his inner circle, and she knows Zora’s plans. The Empress is close to the Kargo’s and knows how capable they are. She brought in the archduke to surprise him,” said Capt. Hollister excitedly. “The young man is relaxed, and he is briefing an Admiral. She is smiling, affectionately placing her hand on his arm.”

Gen. Morgan James looked carefully at the hologram. “That admiral is Andrea Phillips. She was a royal prime bitch of the first order. Perhaps she is better in this incarnation. She likes the archduke; anyone can see that.”

Morgan James played the sequence with Jason in it four or five times. “Kargo is not under duress, and he is clearly in command. The clone Admiral and General both defer to him. Heavens, I recognize the general. It is Linda Andrews. She was my boss for hundreds of years. In this sequence, the general has her arm around his waist. Women love the Kargo’s. The king was a magnetic, charming man.” Morgan James grinned. “I am relieved to see the Archduke, my view of this operation has completely changed.”

“What did the older Kargo do in the military?” Asked Hollister. “It was way before my time.”

“When the King was younger, he reached the rank of Admiral. He was an outstanding Admiral who developed plans for rapid mobilization and guided the evolution of weapons development for the military. The Kargo family develop innovative weapons. The family business built and developed War AIs, Battle AIs, and AI for weapons systems for us. Our army respected him so highly that many thought he was a general. I recall visiting his home for a meeting. He had AIs everywhere that he treated like family. The house was also a fortress,” said Morgan James.

“What are the implications of this? How much does it change our plans?”

“The Kargo family has integrity. If the young archduke is involved, it changes everything. He will easily take the fleet if he has a quarter of his great-grandfather’s strategic ability. I can’t wait to see what he does. Hollister, has your intelligence contact come up with Zora’s hold on Kane?” Gen. Morgan James asked.

“Yes, I think we have discovered the most likely scenario. Admiral Kane went to Nirvana with his wife to visit their son, who they had not seen for seven years. Major Wu believes Papa Zora took the Admiral’s wife and son hostage and is blackmailing the Admiral. He’s given us duress signals and confirmed them several times, so we know he’s under their influence. The Admiral won’t just give up,” Hollister continued. “That is why he asked us to go ahead. Only now can I see what might be happening. It is an elegant, multilayered plan.”

Morgan James looked at Hollister, frowning, then slowly nodded. “I was wondering whether that might’ve been the case. Surely, he knew he was taking a massive risk going to Nirvana, or did he go into this with his eyes open while following the instructions of the Empress?”

“We will soon find out. On the other hand, who would think Zora would go so far? The Patriarch is a traitor of the worst kind. We must provide our prospective boarders with as much information as possible to help them take over the ships,” said Hollister.

“Definitely, but we must ensure those fool priests don’t get wind of our plans. Let’s hand the priests to Kargo. If we can get the Cardinal out of the equation, the priests don’t have any other influential leaders. The Cardinal told me he wanted his army back and wanted them loaded as soon as possible. I don’t want any of those maniacs on board. Kargo has taken planet A; I wonder if he knows about planet B,” said Morgan James.

“Sir, I don’t think we will find out until we speak with Kargo. We can handle the Cardinal easily. Zeaft is an arrogant, self-preoccupied piece of work and, if praised, easily manipulated,” said Hollister. “I am sure we can get him to go to the planet.”

“Let our inner circle know what we are thinking and doing. We must persuade the leaders to go to the surface and take us with them. Recognizing and confirming if we are dealing with the young Archduke will take seconds. Kargo wants the priests, and I don’t want our Marines to get killed fighting our people. I want to help eliminate the priests,” added Gen. Morgan James.

A pale and frowning Admiral Kane addressed the assemblage. “Hand over the fleets on arrival. The priests tell me we are to pick up a crew who has been on maneuvers. Then we go to planet B to pick up food, more troops, and crew.”

Kane’s plan and orders made no sense. It pleased him the priests did not know what he was doing. He reversed the most logical order of loading. Kane wanted to waste time and take over the ships if he could. The skeleton crews were ready to scuttle the ships.

The fleets moved into orbit around Mars.

Andrea, masquerading as the Cardinal, invited the senior officers to the surface. The priests demanded Gen. Morgan James and Adm. Kane accompany them.

“Sir, there is clear evidence of a battle on the surface,” the sensor operator whispered to Gen. James.

Morgan James smiled and nodded. He excused himself and left the bridge to brief his senior officers.

For the first time in weeks, Peter Kane smiled.

The priests detested life on the ship and were delighted to accept an invitation to spend time on the ground. They waited in the hangar as Cardinal Zeaft selected his favorite wines to take to the planet. He was triumphant; his operation had ended in a masterstroke. Zora would invite him to join the purple circle.

The gunship pilot carefully chose a route to the ground that did not pass over burned-out tanks and craters. He blanked the hologram projectors and piped soothing music into the cabin. The priests remained oblivious.

The Cardinal led the priests, chattering and smiling, through the iris and down the ramp. They grinned when an honor guard met and led the group toward a prominent building—several platoons of troops dressed in ceremonial uniforms waited nearby. A band played rousing martial music.

“Well, General James, our people know how to put on a welcome,” said the Cardinal. “Many underrated our abilities.”

“No doubt you will receive even more welcome soon,” said Morgan, smiling.

“We deserve it; it took a thousand years to plan this operation, and it is all coming to fruition.”

Soldiers poured out of the building and surrounded the group.

“Keep your hands away from your body. If you move or draw a weapon, we will shoot you. You are our prisoners,” said the major.

The soldiers took the surprised priests and relieved officers into custody.

“What is the meaning of this insult?” Asked the Cardinal angrily.

“You will soon discover the meaning,” said a lieutenant, chuckling.

Morgan James introduced himself to his interrogators and asked to see the young Archduke Kargo. After a brief discussion, another lieutenant, accompanied by two guards, took Morgan James to see Jason.

“Duke Kargo, you do not know how relieved I was to see you! I am a friend of your grandfather’s. You look remarkably like him; we had little doubt a member of the Kargo family would receive us.”

“I’m delighted to meet you, General. You might mistake me for my father, but we Kargo’s all look the same.”

“Do you know about the second planet?” Morgan James asked.

“Yes, we also have it under control,” Jason replied.

“If I may communicate with my people, we will help you take over the ships. The priests have a minimal force on the ships, and we smuggled Marines on board.”

Jason laughed. “You also intended to take control; those fool priests never stood a chance!”

Gen. Morgan James communicated with the fleets.

Jason’s boarding forces, appropriately named “familiarization officers,” boarded the fleet and quickly took control with the help of the onboard Marines.

The intelligence group interrogated the commissioning officers and the priests. While they did so, Jason returned to the Battleship accompanied by Gen. Morgan James, Adm. Peter Kane, and several senior officers from the commissioning group. Jason sat with them after brief introductions and observed the progress of the boarding parties on a giant hologram.

Half an hour later, the intelligence group brought the other senior officers of the commissioning team to meet Jason, the flag, and the general officers in Central Command.

Morgan James chatted with Jason. “I knew your great-grandfather well.”

“Please call me Jason. General, what role do you play in this whole sorry saga?”

Morgan laughed. “Call me Morgan. I run Fort Sentinel. We mothball fleets in peacetime. I’m responsible for the mothballing facilities on five planets, and I am a lifelong friend of Adm. Kane. Peter, come over here to meet Jason. The priests forced Peter to assemble these fleets. We accompanied the ship to help my old friend. Peter also knows your family well.”

“My Lord,” Peter Kane told Jason, “you look much like your great-grandfather. Morgan and I knew the Empress was baiting a trap when she sent the Patriarch’s ship to fetch you. I’m delighted she did not misplace her confidence.”

The commissioning officers also happily greeted Jason.

“My Lord, your great-grandfather desperately needs your help,” Peter Kane told Jason. “Your useless cousin is an evil, greedy, and unsubstantial individual.”

“Please call me Jason. I am not a formal person. I am delighted to meet people who know about my family and great-grandfather’s situation. It is a pleasure to meet you and your teams,” said Jason.

Morgan James continued. “Jason, your cousin will fight you every step of the way. The father was ineffectual but harmless. The son is the scum of the earth and far more dangerous.”

“My Lord, can you tell us your purpose in taking this fleet and inform us how we may be of service?” Adm. Peter Kane asked.

Jason briefly explained what had transpired to that point.

“We would like to enlist your help to take Nirvana and deal with the priests. We’ll free the hostages and send Papa Zora to his miserable fate. Is the fleet fully equipped and ready to take Nirvana?” Jason asked.

“The ships are in perfect condition, but the fleet isn’t fully armed and ready for conflict. We will make ready the fleet at Fort Sentinel. It’s a massive facility that can prepare many fleets for action in weeks. My staff needs the ships for two days.”

Morgan turned to Adm. Kane. “Peter, what did the priests want you to do?”

“Zora wants me to lead the fleets into a war of his making. He held my wife and son hostage and blackmailed me into assembling the fleets. First, he persuaded the Mob to join him in an attack on the Empire’s core worlds. He despises the Empire and wants the Empress’ head. I couldn’t let that happen. So I set them at each other’s throats. I know Papa Zora disrespects the Mob and suspects them of malicious motives against him. They were not the people he’d known from the previous war. I worked on his paranoia about them.”

“That is interesting; how did you split them?” Celia asked.

“First, we met with the Mob, and I got their measure. I explained they couldn’t take the core planets as they are well-defended and would get nothing out of those planets, and would face massive losses. The Mob wants to steal our advanced weapons. I redirected them to attack seven outer-rim industrial planets to achieve their aims. The Mob negotiators eagerly accepted my suggestions.”

“How did Papa Zora react?”

Kane smiled briefly, his mouth barely moving. “I changed tack. I proposed he takes a different course. If he joined the Mob, they would get what they wanted and turn on him. He would also become a pariah in the Empire.”

“That was clever,” said Jason. “Did he buy it?”

“I capitalized on Zora’s fear and suspicion while subtly hinting he should get them before they got him. He knows Nirvana is a potential target for the Mob. Zora swallowed the bait!”

“What did he say once he swallowed the bait?” Jason asked.