They Answered The Call

RSS Vercingetorix, Independence-Class Carrier, 2174 A.D.

687 light years from Sol

Main galley-2041 ship time

Therax found the feast that was prepared in his honor surprisingly delicious. He particularly relished the sashimi and had to stop himself from being rude to his hosts by eating it all. As he sat back and loosened the clasp of his vest to relax his stomach for proper digestion, he again marveled at the circumstances he currently found himself in. The Nekuli and Republic senior officers were chatting with each other amiably, and he saw the foundations of an unbreakable alliance being built before his very eyes as a Republic captain finished telling a particularly bawdy joke to a few Nekuli officers, causing them to hoot uproariously. Throughout the galley, there were numerous small groups of Nekuli and Republic officers mingling and sharing stories and jokes, and he silently uttered a grateful prayer to the ancestors for allowing his people to finally find the kindred spirits they had been searching for ever since they went into space.

As the galley crew went around refilling glasses with a human drink called mead, he thought back to the day he was captured after his fleet was devastated by the fearsome nullships. He had never personally met humans before, though he had deeply studied their culture and history. He expected to be treated as a prisoner and an enemy, but the conduct of the Republic Navy and their crews was beyond reproach. During their three-month detainment, both he and his crew were treated with the utmost respect, and he never detected even the tiniest shred of resentment or anger in any of the humans he interacted with. It was as if they did not engage in battle at all, and his admiration for them grew steadily as time went on. He had grown to like humans, and he jumped at the chance for redemption being offered by Admiral Thompson.

He was startled out of his reverie when a hand lightly touched his shoulder, and he looked up to see the clan leader standing next to him. She smiled at him and gave him a nod towards the galley entry doors. He stood up and followed her, and in less than a minute, they were inside an office, and she closed the door. “Well, I think the meet and greet has been a resounding success; wouldn’t you agree, commodore?” Therax flicked his head in agreement and bared all his fangs in true happiness. “This bodes well for our alliance, clan leader. I see many victories to come in our fight to bring an end to the tyrannical Commonwealth.” Vice Admiral Zhou returned his smile and indicated for him to sit in the chair in front of the desk as she took the other one. She typed on the desk panel for a few seconds before she pulled up the orders that were to be reviewed by them both.

A hologram popped up, and Admiral Thompson's image appeared. He started speaking, and Therax listened intently as the admiral laid out his orders and the rules of engagement regarding the ongoing evacuation of the Jaleeni system if the Insectoids decided to attack. Therax suppressed a flare of resentment when Admiral Thompson made it clear that the preservation of the Commonwealth liberation fleet was of paramount importance and that Therax was to retreat to preserve his force if faced with destruction. He also thought he detected a change in the admiral’s speech when he ordered the clan leader to do whatever was necessary to save the Jaleeni and ensure that Therax and his rebel fleet retreat in good order and preserve their combat capabilities.

He saw the clan leader shifting her position slightly as she listened and thought that she looked uncomfortable with what she was hearing. They must be friends as well as fellow officers, he thought to himself as he continued listening and felt a stirring of compassion for the admiral, who had to order the clan leader to sacrifice herself if need be. The admiral finished speaking, and he ended the message with words of encouragement and wishes of good fortune before the hologram message ended and he faded away.

Therax regarded the clan leader intently as she resumed typing on the desk panel and waited for her to finish. A few seconds later, several screens appeared over the desk, and she looked at him. “We need to work out a battle plan for our combined task forces. Your fleet of 218 ships plus my task force of 438 ships will have to take on that missing Insectoid fleet if they decide to take advantage of the Jaleeni evacuation. The Commonwealth Navy has only 304 ships in the system, and there is no way they can effectively protect the tens of thousands of transports in the evacuation fleet. Let’s get started and see what we can do with our fleet while still following our orders.”

Therax flicked his head in agreement and asked her a question. “I see that you are not including the fifty nullships that are waiting in null space. They are fearsome warships, and they will almost double our combat power. May I ask why?” She hesitated before answering him. “They are an insurance policy for another ongoing mission, and I need to ensure that at least 25 of them are available for that. The remaining 25 are reserve forces, and I will only activate them as a last resort. They are an upgraded class of nullships, and I do not want to squander them in a rear-guard action.” She answered, and he flicked his head, indicating that he understood, and they got to work on coming up with a battle plan.

An hour later, they had just finalized the ship dispositions and several contingency plans when a communications alert chimed and the comms officer came over the channel. “Vice Admiral, we just received a coded distress call on the sigma frequency that was forwarded from command unit 4-3-1 in insectoid space. I am forwarding the message to you now.” She thanked the communications officer and pressed the display message icon on the screen. A scroll of text popped up along with mission files, and Therax started to get up to leave when she stopped him. “Commodore, stay. I value your input, and I want you in the loop.”

Therax sat back down and started reading the text as his ocular implant translated it into his language, and his heart rate accelerated as the true import of the mission and what they were trying to achieve were revealed to him. A mission to capture a queen on an Insectoid world with only eight commandos and two civilian scientists on a planet with over three billion drones. He couldn’t believe the audacity of the plan and the bravery of the people on that planet. The human species is fortunate indeed to have such a warrior spirit within them, he thought to himself as he watched the video logs along with the clan leader.

He reveled in the destruction of the section of the shipyard and was barely able to refrain from shouting with glee as the recordings showed almost two hundred cruisers falling into the abyss. The clan leader was smiling broadly as that file played, and then she tapped the icon for the last video log to play. They both watched in silence as they saw the failed attempt to capture the queen and the final recording by the suit AI as the queen hovered over one of them, and it ended with the commandos being carried onto a ship by worker drones.

The Commonwealth had never seen a queen before, and Therax couldn’t help but be fascinated as he saw one for the first time, despite the overwhelming sadness he felt for the humans that would surely be killed. The records also indicated that the two scientists and the last commando were not captured and that their final orders were to evade the Insectoids and escape to one of the waiting nullships. The clan leader was furiously tapping on several of the icons as she went back over the transcripts and logs from the suit AI that sent the distress call, with an inscrutable expression that he could not determine.

She started muttering to herself as she continued running diagnostics before she slammed her fist down on the desk, making him flinch from the aggressive action and loud noise. She looked at him and took a deep breath before she started speaking. “Forgive me, Commodore, but this is a serious problem. Lieutenant Diego’s command AI overrode the self-destruct sequences of all the suits and allowed them to be captured alive. This is a disaster of epic proportions, and now I have no choice but to send the troopships and the nullships to either rescue them or try to destroy the Hive. We cannot allow the Insectoids to glean insights into our technology or extract information from the team. It is obvious the queen was able to exert some type of mental effect on them; who knows what else she can do? This could turn out to be catastrophic for the Republic war effort, and now I must order ten thousand men and women to their potential deaths because of a malfunctioning AI.”

The clan leader was visibly upset by the time she finished speaking, and Therax sat there quietly, letting her vent her frustrations as she came to terms with what she was about to do before he offered his opinion. “Those warriors on the troopships knew the risks when they joined your military, and I know that your maxim of never leaving anyone behind is an important part of your ethos. Send them and let them do what they can to save them, or mercifully end their lives. You know what I say is true, clan leader.”

She sat there for a few moments, considering what he had said, and then she nodded, a look of resolve overtaking her features. She pressed the comm channel icon and called for the commander of the security detachment to take a team over to the troopships and start the process of bringing the troops out of stasis. She also contacted her aide and ordered him to assemble the senior staff in her main office. Lastly, she had the communications officer send the codes to the primary command unit of the nullships waiting in null space to activate them for the coming mission. After all of that was done, she stood up, and Therax did so as well, following her out of the office and towards her main office.

Vice-Admirals office-2215 ship time

Over the next three hours, there were meetings, and changes were made to some of the Republic and Commonwealth fleet dispositions as the clan leader added a carrier strike group and a few dozen heavy combat ships to supplement the thirty-five nullships she decided to send to the insectoid world. The eight thousand marine pathfinder and army ranger troops had recovered from the lingering effects of being in stasis and were now gearing up for the operation, while the two thousand Bio-Synths had their CNS cocoons installed into their Mark XII combat suits. Therax marveled at the efficiency of the Republic officers as they adapted to the changes with remarkable celerity, and he made a mental note to try to institute some of the Republic operational protocols he saw being displayed among his own fleet bridge crews.

The clan leader had just finished issuing directives to the primary command unit, placing it under the control of the newly formed task force commander, when she turned towards him, rubbing at the sides of her forehead. They were alone in her office, and she sighed deeply before addressing him. “Commodore, thank you for sending some of your ships along with the task force; the additional combat power is making me feel a little better about all of this.” Therax nodded, the movement feeling weird, before he realized that he was mimicking the human head movement. “Of course, clan leader. The Xenxin and Eleani contingents insisted on sending some ships in support, and I assented. When will the task force leave?”

She looked at her wristpad in response to his question and answered him. “Six minutes from now, let’s go to the bridge to see them off.” They left her office, and a few moments later, they entered the bridge amidst a flurry of activity as the bridge crew did all the final checks for the departure of the rescue task force. Two minutes before their departure, she had the comms officer open a channel to address the task force.

“To the men and women of Task Force Delta and our allies, this is Vice Admiral Zhou speaking. You are about to embark on a dangerous mission deep inside Insectoid space in the hopes of rescuing your brothers-in-arms. These brave souls were captured by a queen and taken into the Hive, and we do not know what has or is happening to them in there. There are also two civilian scientists being protected by Sergeant Ito. They are critical to the war effort, and they must be saved. Hopefully, they have been able to evade the Insectoids and are currently heading back towards their stealth pods to escape to the waiting ships that are hiding in null space for them.

It is my solemn hope that you will arrive on time and be successful in carrying out your mission to save them. You are to do whatever it takes to bring them home, and if that is not possible, then you are to teach the Insectoids this lesson: The Republic Navy does not leave anyone behind, and we will take on a whole world to find our brothers and bring them home, or we will scourge a whole world in vengeance for them. Your secondary objective is to complete the mission they embarked on and to root that queen out of her Hive. If that is not possible, then you are to execute that bitch with extreme prejudice and glass the entire planet. Remind them of who you are, and make sure they forever rue the day you came into their world. Good fortune and godspeed to you all. Vice-admiral Zhou out.”

She slashed her hand across her throat, and the comms officer closed the channel as the bridge crew stopped what they were doing and started clapping in approval of her speech. After a few seconds, the chief petty officer bellowed for everyone to get back to work, and she gave him a slight nod in appreciation for saving her from further embarrassment. Therax had felt the call to battle in his soul while listening to her words, and he had to make a concerted effort to slow down his heart rate and control the slight shaking of his hands as the adrenaline surge from her words coursed through his veins. On the view screen, the task force ships started flashing out into null space to join with the waiting nullships and the troopships, and then a coded message was received that the task force was on its way to the Insectoid planet.

Therax bowed his head and whispered a quiet prayer for the ancestors to watch over them and grant them victory. When he was finished, he turned towards the clan leader seated next to him in her command chair. “Clan leader, unless you have further need of me, I will depart to my flagship and prepare them for potential action. I wish to start running battle drills utilizing the Republic fleet maneuvers you have graciously gifted to us; I find them intriguing.” She smiled at his statement and nodded her assent. “Of course, commodore. In fact, I was just about to suggest that the entire fleet flash into null space and rendezvous in the Jaleeni system. In a few hours, we can run red vs. blue battle simulations to learn how to work together as a fleet.” She saw the confusion on his face at the red vs. blue reference and further clarified for him.

“Red vs. blue is a term we use for opposing forces during war games.” Therax flicked his head in understanding and stood up to depart at once. “I will leave now and have my staff coordinate with yours for the drills. May the ancestors be with you, clan leader.” She smiled again and replied, “May they be with you as well, commodore. I look forward to facing you in a friendly contest.” Therax bared all his fangs in true happiness, before he bowed and headed towards the bridge exit.

For the next 15 minutes, Zhou quickly reviewed the mission files that were sent by the suit AI that sent the distress call and paid particular attention to the scanning results from the midges that lieutenant Diego took of the frequencies that changed the composition of the Insectoid hulls. He’s a smart one, she thought to herself as she sent a message to the communications officer to forward all the mission files to headquarters with the scanning results marked as urgent and top secret. They will be downloaded into a null space comm drone along with the bridge logs detailing the distress call and a quick report on her decision to launch the rescue operation. Hopefully, the eggheads in the R&D division will be able to use the frequencies to give the Republic a tactical advantage if they can figure out how they work and come up with a viable method to utilize them in the vacuum of space.

She glanced at the bridge clock and saw that it was 0145, and she was hit with an overwhelming exhaustion as soon as she saw the time. The next bridge crew shift change was at 0300, and she would wait it out; it wouldn’t be fair for her to leave and go to sleep while they had to stay. She sent a message to Therax’s flagship that the battle drills would commence at 0930 ship time and then proceeded to try to catch up on some of the never-ending paperwork that came with her rank as she waited for the shift change. She saw that Therax’s task force had flashed into null space and ordered the Republic ships to do the same as she continued filing her paperwork.

By the time 0300 rolled around, she was barely able to keep her eyes open as she was going over a galley request to requisition fleet supply for a change in their vegetable quotas based upon “current vegetable consumption trends” and was wondering who had the time to write this crap when the shift change bell went off. It took all her willpower not to jump out of her seat and make a mad dash for the bridge exit, and she forced herself to remain seated until all the bridge crew was replaced by their reliefs. The ship’s XO was her relief, and she spent a few minutes updating him before she left the bridge. She arrived a minute later and didn’t even bother changing. She quickly unzipped and kicked off her boots before plopping onto her bunk, still wearing her uniform, and she fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

CWS Ancestor's Glory-Flagship of the Commonwealth Liberation Navy

Therax received the message about the battle drill time when he arrived on his bridge and decided to use the extra time to program the battle AI on the Republic fleet maneuvers he received. He inserted the data chip into a port and waited as the battle AI scanned the contents. An alert beeped on the panel, and he leaned in to read the report. The battle AI had quarantined what it perceived as a potential danger, and he glanced at the file, seeing that it was the sub-mind program that was an extension of the Republic fleet AIs that he was told about. He pressed the icon to allow the program to run, and the battle AI queried him three times to confirm his choice before finally allowing it out of quarantine.

He waited as the sub-mind linked to the battle AI and they merged, and after five minutes of handshake protocols, the new iteration of the battle AI was ready to run. He accessed the fleet maneuvers directory and picked a couple of intriguing drills that he wanted to try before he ordered the bridge crew to flash his task force into null space, where they would engage in simulated combat with each other. He relished the thought of the coming drills with the Republic fleet and would use this time to hone his force and surprise the clan leader.

RSS Vercingetorix- 0616 ship time

Jaleeni system, anchored in null space

Vice-admiral Zhou was abruptly awoken by the speaker in her room as the bridge AI broadcast blared from them: General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands, man your battle stations! General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands, man your battle stations! General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands, man you—it abruptly cut off as she pressed the mute button on her nightstand and looked at the alarm clock on it. 0617. She was already zipping up her boots when the captain of the carrier came over the comms, requesting her presence on the bridge. She acknowledged him and quickly wet her hands in the sink, using them to smooth out her tousled hair and pulling it back into a knotted ponytail.

She grabbed her vacuum helmet on her way out and almost sprinted to the bridge as crewmen and officers pressed themselves against the walls, clearing her path. She arrived thirty seconds later and immediately went over to the CIC to join the captain and other officers that were there. The dozens of scattered spy sensor drones previously deployed by the Republic had already formed their null space conduits and were transmitting real-time information to the fleet hidden in null space.

There were multiple large 3-D holo maps hovering in the air that were displaying the Jaleeni system from all viewpoints, and they were populated with a massive number of differently colored dots. The vast majority were blue, indicating that they were evacuation transports and Jaleeni vessels. There was a tiny smattering of green dots freckled among the sea of blue that were the Commonwealth Navy ships. Further out in the system were two separate blobs of red that were Insectoid ships, and one formation had flashed out of null space along the orbital plane of the system while the other had exited above the plane of the ecliptic over forty solar minutes ago. They were approximately five AUs from the Jaleeni home world, and the light from their exit flash had already reached the refugee fleet and the Commonwealth warships. She glanced at the infographic on the side that tallied the Insectoid ships: eight Hive ships and over one thousand cruisers.

She muttered a grateful prayer that the Insectoids still didn’t have the ability to compensate for the dangers of inner system exits from null space so deep in the gravity well of a star, forcing them to exit at an average distance of eight hundred million kilometers. It would take the Insectoids over eighty hours to reach the Jaleeni home world at their highest known maximum sub-light speed of eight million km/h. The mass of blue dots started changing shape and withdrawing into itself as the outer fringes of the refugee fleet started retreating from the distant Insectoid ships.

It reminded her of the way a school of fish behaved when confronted by predators as the blob of blue dots continued to contort and twist. All the green dots had disappeared momentarily, and she saw them reappear on the screens as they flashed back out of null space in two separate formations in the expected path of the Insectoid formations, holding positions .25 light minutes away from the approaching insectoid formations. A wave of sadness came over her as she saw the woefully inadequate Commonwealth formations bravely hold their ground in the face of such overwhelming odds.

A communication channel came from Therax’s flagship, and she took the call in the CIC, a small holoscreen appearing in front of her. Therax was sitting in his chair, and he started speaking immediately as soon as he saw her. “Clan leader, I recognize those ships! They are from the Nekuli home guard fleet, and I have clutch siblings and clan members serving on those ships. We must help them, please.” Zhou picked up on the frantic, pleading tone of his voice and held up her hands to stop him from continuing to speak. “Commodore, of course. Contact them and tell them that we are here to help and not to fire on our vessels. I want your task force to exit null space over…here.”

She tapped an area behind the gas giant that was the fourth planet of the seven in the system. The gas giants’ current position in the system would hide the exit flashes of the task force from both Insectoid formations and allow them to shake out into battle formations unmolested. “Tell them to enter null space and exit behind the Insectoid formations, they need to hit them hard and then retreat on sub-light engines towards the outer system, hopefully the Insectoids will take the bait and follow them. If the Insectoids do not take the bait, they are to enter null space and rendezvous with you behind the gas giant.”

Therax flicked his head in acknowledgement and immediately closed the channel. Zhou resumed scanning the 3-D maps that hovered in front of her, taking in the quickly changing tactical situation that was unfolding in the system. The Commonwealth was evacuating the system by utilizing hundreds of massive transport carriers that the refugee ships would mate with via a lattice-like structure that surrounded the hulls of the carriers. Each carrier had four hundred berths that the refugee transports would slip into and connect to the lattice with an umbilical conduit through an engine access point. Once the transport carrier had a full load, it would feed the null space capacitor energy through the connecting umbilical, which would allow the engines of the refugee transports to create the specific graviton field required to make the jump into null space. The carriers would transport the ships to another location, disgorge their load, and repeat the process.

She asked the bridge AI to estimate how long it would take for the Commonwealth to fully evacuate all the Jaleeni refugees, and a moment later the AI answered her question. - Vice-admiral Zhou, it will require an additional one hundred and thirty-seven hours for the Commonwealth to successfully evacuate all the remaining Jaleeni refugees - Zhou thanked the AI and conferred with the captain for a few minutes as they continued working with the bridge AI and ran simulations to select the best battle plan for the situation facing them.

As they went over the options, the captain eloquently cursed for the poor timing of the distress call and the loss of the thirty-five upgraded nullships and the dozens of heavy units she had sent with them, and she wholeheartedly agreed with his sentiment as it was a significant reduction of their overall combat power. She finally selected a main battle plan and the captain concurred before he started sending it the Republic fleet and overseeing the process of organizing the formations. She had received another urgent comm channel request from Therax a minute ago, and she now opened the channel after seeing that the captain had things well in hand.

Therax appeared again, this time in conjunction with a split screen that had a Nekuli female sitting in a bridge command chair. “Sorry for the delay, Commodore. How can I help you?” Therax nodded in human fashion before he started speaking. “Clan leader, this is my clutch sister, Verixa. She is the clan leader of the Nekuli home guard ships in the system, and she has expressed a desire to speak with you.” Zhou looked at Verixa and bowed her head slowly in the appropriate gesture of respect, which was returned by Verix, who had a wary look in her eyes. “Vice-admiral Zhou, my clutch brother has informed me that he has accepted you as his clan leader. As I trust my clutch brother, I now trust you. I must inform you that my fleet was ordered to retreat to the core worlds if the Insectoids arrived, and I have chosen to disobey those commands. I ask for permission to join my forces with yours if you will accept the burden of my dishonor.”

Zhou stared at Verixa for a few moments as she thought of an appropriate response. “It is never dishonorable to do what is morally right and just. Your dishonor is now mine, and I will bear it with pride from this day on. Will you accept me as clan leader, Verixa?” Zhou finished answering her, and she could see the change in Verix as she straightened her shoulders and sat up straighter before replying. “I accept you as clan leader and take on the vow my clutch brother and you have made with each other. What are your orders, clan leader?”

Zhou looked back at Therax, who flicked his head and smiled. She returned her gaze to Verix. “You will hit the Insectoid formations from behind, as I told Therax before. Do not get mired down or fully engage them. Hit them hard, and then retreat on sub-light to try to get them to follow you. If they do not take the bait, you are to enter null space and flash out behind the gas giant to join your ships with his and await my further instructions there.” Verixa9 bowed her head once more before closing the channel, and Zhou looked at Therax, smiling. “It seems as if being rebels in a just cause runs in your family, Commodore.”

Therax started hooting in laughter at her statement. “She was always swimming against the current, even as a hatchling. She has caused much grief for my parents during her younger years, and now it seems she is doing the same to her superiors.” His expression turned more serious before he spoke again. “Clan leader, what are we to do? There is no way you can take on the Insectoid formations without our ships. You must let us join you in battle.”

Zhou shook her head as she answered him. “Our orders were clear, Commodore. You are to remain a force in being no matter the outcome of this battle. You must go to Nekul Prime and present the truth to your people and make them see that the current Commonwealth government is undeserving of their allegiance. If you do that, then most of the Commonwealth fleet and army will join our cause and overthrow them. A new Commonwealth government must be formed and join the fight against the Insectoids as a willing partner, or every single citizen in Commonwealth space will be slaughtered. The Republic will be forced to face them alone, and that is a war we cannot win.”

Therax listened to her, looking crestfallen at her words. Zhou saw it and continued speaking. “Fear not, Therax; you will be part of this battle and strike at the enemy this day. I have chosen a battle plan that includes your ships, and your part in the coming battle is critical. I would have you vow to follow my final orders, but I know that is not necessary, for you are an honorable warrior.” Zhou knew she was laying it on a little thick, but she had to do whatever it was to ensure that he would follow his orders, regardless of the outcome.

“Those upgraded nullships have a few new toys to play with, thanks to successful ongoing negotiations between the Ma’lit Domain and the Republic that were accelerated due to the Insectoid invasion and their eradication of numerous species within the Commonwealth. Thanks to the Insectoids obviously genocidal intentions, the Ma’lit Domain has finally consented to the transfers of some tech that they considered obsolete technology to the Republic, and we have been integrating them these last few months. There is reason to hope, Therax. Not all is lost.”

A look of shame had come over Therax’s face as she was speaking, which was quickly replaced with excitement as she finished telling him about the Ma’lit technology transfers. He flicked his head vigorously as he replied to her. “You are right, clan leader. It is not time to lose hope, and I am thankful that you have a part for me in the coming battle. Please forgive me.” Zhou smiled. “There is nothing to forgive, Commodore. I will send the updated battleplans to you now; review them and add them to your battle AI. I will commence combat operations two hours from now. Good fortune to you and your crew; may the ancestors walk with you.” Therax smiled and bowed his head deeply before replying, “And to you as well, clan leader.” And then he closed the channel.

Zhou took a deep breath and looked at the bridge clock. It was 0943 ship time, and she walked over to her chair and tiredly sat down in it, pressing an icon that activated the stim panel alcove. A small opening appeared, and out of it came a small sub-dermal injector that she picked up and pressed against her neck. She felt a coolness spread from the injection site as it coursed through her veins, and a few seconds later, all her exhaustion disappeared, and she felt alert and calm, ready to take on the entire Insectoid Empire if need be.