Con-Red: Recourse (56 page)

Right away the commander could hear and feel the tension in her usually jovial voice.  In the entire ship had an air of nervous anxiety about it that was almost palpable.  Everyone knew what they were now speeding towards and what fate could meet them on the other side.  Many of these people had no idea what combat was
.  The newer crewmembers, straight from the academies, had only witnessed war through training and the movies.  They had every right to feel the way they did at the moment.  Except for a few, they each had families and loved ones they wanted to return to or at least contact for what could possibly be their last day.  Such actions were forbidden from the top, however, and so they had to deal with the situation as best they could.  A very small minority of these youngsters were actually giddy and itching for what could be an upcoming fight.  From past experience Styker knew that a good number of these same souls would feel very different the day after the battle.

Stacy was actually somewhat of a veteran and controlled herself quiet well.  He could tell that she knew something big was coming.  She had been through multiple ship engagements, but all of those had been small anti-pirate operations.  Now her min
d was restless about what to expect from an actually large fleet to fleet confrontation.  She was like a star athlete in the moments leading up to a big game.

“Yeah, I don’t think they are paid to have fun Stac,” Styker laughed
, trying to make her relax some, and petted her on the shoulder as they both walked back towards the fighter, “what do you think of this update?”

“No idea really.  The engis say it works, who am I to judge?  It integrates with the CM
Four Nine seamlessly.  You’re supposed to keep it in auto mode and allow it to detect the specific programmed frequencies on its own.  Once detected the countermeasures array should emit a counter-field to cancel out whatever it is being transmitted.  The only problem, however, is that with the field active you wont be able to use the array for anything else.  That means no help dodging enemy missiles or targeting computers.”

“Also makes us nice juicy targets,” Styker said under his breath as he put his arms on his hips and studied the assault fighter now directly in front of him.

“That’s right sir.  She’ll probably light up like the Redolance Towel on sensors.  Everyone in the neighborhood will know you’re there.  I wish there was a way around that.”

“You and me both Chief.  We will just have to make due and hope this counter-field leaves us enough of an edge.”

“Is it that bad? Who are we going up against, sir?  None of the higher-ups are telling us anything,” Chief Orellia pledged for more information.

“All I can tell you is that it’s not good,” Styker shook his head ever so slightly as he trailed his eyes over the sleek craft sitting before them on both of its wingtip strut pods.
Within each of these sturdy pods was part of the electronic countermeasures array.

He tried to redirect her attention and reached out to run his hand over the ship’s smooth armored surface, “anything I should be aware of?”

“Not really sir,” Stacy replied from behind with a hint of defeat in her voice, “as I said the whole squadron is fully combat ready.  We replaced some of the more worn engines and components. Jazz, over there, had a shield geni failure, so we had to swap the entire thing out.  Took some time, but she’s ready to go.”

The chief paused for a second and pointed towards the Dragonfire’s cockpit, “oh and we installed another software update, only this one to your sensors.  The cons
ultants said it was help detect the enemy better.  I guess you’ll know better once you’re out there.”

“Yeah, I guess we shall
,” Styker expressed slowly just as the gravity around him increased for a moment when the entire carrier was thrown out of subspace.

At that same instant an alert rang out throughout the hanger bay
, followed by a message from the Admiral himself.  “All squadrons scramble.  Launch the ready squadrons.”

“That’s our cue boys and girls!  You heard the Admiral!” Commander Telwin called out and turned towards his pilots.  Together, with a sort of battle cry, they rushed towards their respective fighters.

Dimmed
white sunlight shone through the slanted transparent wall that spanned the entire outer edge of the large office and seemed to curve around the large leather chair in which Redic Skyler now sat. Many of these rays hit the myriad of objects on display throughout the large room, relics from eras long past. Much to his wife’s protesting he still insisted on keeping the office fairly dark while he conducted his work.

Nowadays his work as P
resident and Chief Executive Officer of RedSky Enterprises was fairly limited to only a handful of responsibilities.  Over the past decade Redic had compiled an impressive team of directors and managers that now helped to run the massive corporation’s every day operations.   With these hand chosen individuals in place he actually felt comfortable delegating most of the work to them.  In reality they could probably run the company without his intervening for some time. 
There would probably be much protest from the shareholders,
Redic mused with a slight grin.  Each of these members of his team shared his vision for RedSky’s future and the principles on which it had been founded.

No one had to worry about him leaving, however, the company being
Redic Skyler’s true passion.  Having been passed down to him from his father.  It was the company he had grown up with and the one that had given him his first employment.  Initially it had taken up his summers and then most of his days after graduating from university.  Redic was made to work his way up through the corporate ranks from the day he was hired to his first full time position.  This was actually savored by him and gave him a distinct insight into RedSky Enterprises inner workings.  His father Redolf Skyler had built RedSky from the ground up and in the face of much adversity.  Many people had told him often that the company would be a major failure, but the man had proved them all wrong.  It was true that his father had lost his way in his last years as CEO and had caused much stagnation throughout RedSky.  Recognizing his own limitations the aging Redolf had finally announced retirement and put Redic in charge.

Ever since then not a single day was taken for granted.  Redic’s hunger to expand and make the company better throughout burned inside him
.  It was this passion that made him keep monitoring each and every aspect of the company on a daily basis.  This was the reason that he now sat at his large desk, his elbows on top of it, and scanned through report after report on the floating display screen. It was a real testament to those placed in charge by how smoothly RedSky Enterprises functioned even with so many business interests and divisions now within it.

"
Mr. Skyler, let me once again thank you for your generous donation. Those new tactical kits for our security forces were a real blessing. We have petitioned for Federal funding in order to upgrade the old equipment for years now, but have always been turned down."

"
Governor Lawrance it was my pleasure.  This has been my home as well, for some time now, and I’m happy to do my part in keeping it safe.  I hope that you never have to use that gear, but if you do at least your men will be safe and the criminals will be sorry," he leaned back into his chair and smiled, pushing his fingers tips together in front of him.

Fl
oating in front, taking up half of the desk display, was the face of Governor Taylor Lawrance.  He was the man elected to take charge of Renascentia six years prior.  Now in an election year, with a handful of tough opponents, he needed as many shows of improvement as possible.  Redic’s new contribution had not been meant for the governor himself, but for the good of the planet as a whole.  He had been asked many times for his endorsement from the various candidates, only to graciously decline each of the six invitations.  Redic preferred the people to decide for themselves who they wanted to vote for and to stay out of the political light for as long as possible.  Of course he had his favorites like anyone else, but he kept those mostly to himself.

"
Well we appreciate it nonetheless.  Commissioner Holland wishes to throw a gathering in your favor, so please act surprised when he contacts you,” the man laughed.

"
I shall do my best Governor, but it’s really not necessary," Rob replied with a smile and turned slowly in his chair to look out the wondrous view outside.  What he saw were the skyscraper canyons directly below that made up the business district of Gallanford, the capital of Renascentia, slowly receding into the calm green waters of the sea beyond.

It was truly a sight to behold
from atop his nearly two kilometer tall marvel that blended art and engineering that was the Zenith Tower.  The ravages of the single destructive blast that had detonated just above the city’s center during the Crusades had all but faded.  At that time it had been known as Rechmir and had been considered a thriving UPF colony.  It was a planet dotted in great seas and crisscrossed with thousands of rivers large and small.  The inhabitants who had settled the planet had been of strong will and defiance.  Their unwavering resistance against the Entech push had led to the almost complete destruction of Gallanford along with half a million of its residents.  The resulting radiation from this powerful weapon had than spread to the majority of the planet, making large areas of it uninhabitable.  With no home left to fight over most of the remaining population was evacuated by the Federation and relocated elsewhere.  Still, however, a small minority chose to stay in an effort to try and store their beloved world.  It had taken decades, but slowly the damage began to be undone.

When RedSky Enterprises began expanding into
planetary sciences and terraforming Redic picked Rechmir.  He wanted to planet to be a beacon of progress and transformation.  In order to showcase its rebirth Redic had proposed the world’s leaders to change the name to Renascentia.  As Redic looked out beyond his little world inside the Zenith Tower, he could see some of his contributions taking shape. Great funds had been invested in making the planet once more a desirable destination to settle and make a home on.

His first
order of business was to salvage and restore what was left of Gallanford. That was much easier said than done, however.  Not only was the city itself utterly devastated, it also happened to be irradiated.  Special teams from around the Federation were contracted out and their combined expertise helped to make the city livable once more.  Next the formally pristine waterways of the planet were made clean once more through the installation of specialized aqua scrubbers.   The capital itself had been built at the mouth of the Great Delant River as it emptied into the Stalamor Sea.  These natural features offered the city a wonderful location.  Gazing to the west Redic witnessed the wide Delant River slowly merge with the sea itself.

The scenic view outside had changed drastically from the one h
e remembered of only a half-decade past, back when the sea had still been littered with floating islands of ash and debris, alongside which the city stood in utter ruins.  Now the majority of that damage had been repaired or striped clean and rebuilt.  Some of it, however, was preserved for future generations in order to remind them further of the horrors of war and how much this planet had suffered.

The sea
itself was scrubbed clean allowing the beaches to reopen.  These pristine waters slowly became sought after vacation spots for residents and tours alike. Seafront communities had expanded around Stalamor, bringing with them new opportunities for business.  As the planet had slowly begun to prosper once more.  RedSky had started the new wave of immigration with the transfer of thousands of employees onto the planet for other corporate divisions throughout the UPF. 

Redic worked with the planetary government to secure increased monetary assistance from the Federation itself as well as banks operating throughou
t it.    Together they devised the plan to salvage as many of the older building that they could and make them historical landmarks.  These landmarks then became art fixtures in the reviving capital.  Art that not only gave citizens a place to work or live in, but also an emotional connection to Renascentia’s past. Many of those older structures were beautiful in their distinct construction and Redic was happy to be able to save them for future generations to see.

He was so proud of the work everyone had accomplished in resurrecting the stagnant
slowly dying planet.  It became a real testament to the human will and the power of cooperation.  Once RedSky began the project hundreds of other corporations, large and small, inquired on how they could help as well.  So began the slow and hard road to recovery.  The progress did not go unnoticed and soon the former surviving inhabitants that had been evacuated all those many years ago began to return.

There were, however, other feelings dwelling inside his mind at the same time. 
As one of the planet’s twin stars receded into the distant horizon Redic knew that everything now around him could crumble any day now.  Due to his extensive network of informants and connections he was purvey to information unknown to most of the Federation.  Dark storms were building and looming just over the horizon.  The very survival of humanity could now possibly be at stake.  It pained him that even one of his closest friends had now suddenly changed for the worst.  Admiral Lin Xwai was now openly lying to him and actively trying to misdirect all of his requests for information. 

RedSky had the resources of its own that in some cases rivaled that of the UPF military itself.  Redic had used those same assets to find out the real truth about Frontiera and Kapricara.  He knew about the alien threat emerging in the Fringe Sector.  The same threat that had now spread further into Pisces.  Redic knew the public had to be warned.  People had to prepare for what could come if the enemy incursion
was not contained in those out-flung sectors.  The problem was on how to inform the population without causing mass panic.  That would take some more debating, though, and so for the moment he had to put on an act of normalcy.

"So
Governor, how did that assembly go today?" Rob asked after a moment lost in thought while standing up slowly to walk closer to the viewport. He watched the slowly increasing traffic below flow as usual, citizens going about their lives, no one the wiser that they were now at war with an unknown enemy.

"Well that is actually the
main reason I wanted to contact you. The House agreed to joint development and funding for Port Hermes. They agree with your assessment that it has great potential in both economic and strategic terms."

Port Hermes was
the integral part of Redic’s plan to increase the planet’s status within the Federation.  Once built it would hopefully usher in a new era for Renascentia.  It would be the main stopover point for any ships coming from Sol and the surrounding sectors on their way to rest of the expanding Phoenix Sector.  Trade between the world and the rest of the Federation would be allowed to increase many fold, bringing tremendous opportunities for Renascentia.  At the same time Hermes would bring additional funding and security by way of the military.  They had agreed to contribute to the orbital station’s construction and utilize it as a base and port of call for the majority of its naval assets already stationed within the Phoenix Sector

At the same time t
he port would also make the world an initial jumping ground the exploration of the galactic core as well the rest of the Milky Way beyond it.  Redic hoped this would encourage people to once more venture beyond the known boundaries of the Federation.  This was one aspect of humanity that had for unknown reasons grown stagnant during the past decade.

"I'm glad they realized that it wasn't just about
RedSky’s personal interests," Redic reached out while saying and touched the transparent window material in front of him. A menu popped up instantly beside his finger allowing him to pick from a number of different options.  Once selected he used his finger to draw a square around the rooftop park he had just admired moments ago.

The image quickly localized and zoomed in closer, showing the park as if it was just
on the other side of the transteel. Redic ran his finger over the edge of the square, causing the image to zoom in further until he could make out distinct people walking around and enjoying themselves in the cool air of sunset.  He saw a number of kids running around, playing games together in a grassy field. A family wondered into the image, parents and three kids. They were all laughing and playing throw together with a six legged animal. 

Redic
sighed at this and looked away after a second.  None of them knew that these might actually be the last carefree days they have together as a family.  Perhaps that was for the best, but Redic never really believed in the old saying of ‘ignorance is bliss’.  He finally waved his hand over the image and caused it to quickly disappear, returning instantly to the previous normal view.

“I’m glad they saw the light on the issue as well.  The body did ask for oversee rights, however.  They wish to make sure the station reflects their views of the planet in an aesthetic aspect,” the man added in his political voice just in case Redic disliked the idea.

The RedSky CEO had no such reservations though, “I see no problem with that.  This is their world and I entirely agree with their most reasonable request.”