Naero's War: The Citation Series 3: Naero's Trial (11 page)

A call came in late.

Newly appointed Strike Captains Chaela and Saemar Maeris. Naero welcomed her old friends over the links, unable to contain her glee. “Chae, how’s Remy?”

“Handsome as ever, especially since he’s going to be a papa. Three months left to cook on this little critter inside me.”

Naero smiled with real joy. “Congrats to you both, Chae. But, are you sure you want to accept this command, considering all of that?”

“Haisha, N. All of us were born during the Fourth Spacer War or around then. Spacer kids need to come into the universe, no matter what. I say the safest place in the galaxy is going to be with me, and you. Try to stop me from taking this command. You offered it. It’s mine now. You’re stuck with my ass!”

“That goes double for me, sweetie!” Saemar told her. “Glad to do it. Boy, do we have some catching up to do.” Naero’s lascivious, voluptuous old friend was just as brazen as ever.

All of them were still younger than thirty.

“Chae, I need you to take command of Strike Fleet 2 on my immediate left. Saemar, you will command Strike Fleet 3 on my immediate right.”

“Copy, that, Admiral, sir,” Chae said.

Saemar rolled her eyes. “Sure thing, Admiral sweetie.”

There wasn’t time to tell them about the enemy having Naero’s own child prisoner somewhere. There would be time to talk more with them later.

Zalvano cornered Naero at one point several minutes after that. “Congrats, N. Did you hear that they also created an entirely new Marine Command for Battle Group Six to take with them?

“Really? A 12
th
Marine Command?”

“Yep, made up from volunteers and new recruits from all of the other eleven. They’re calling themselves
The Deadly Dozen
now, and the nickname is sticking. Others just call them
The Twelves.
”

Naero was curious. “Who did they appoint as the Marine Commander?”

“A bit of nepotism there–General Walker’s oldest daughter, General Azkhalatara Walker.”

“The Hero of Nuveem and Bellandron during The High Crusade?”

“The same. She helped lead the 8
th
Command Starwalkers to victory after victory. Their rate of advance was only slightly behind that of Bravo Command. The Ejjai simply called them
hot death
.”

“I need to meet this woman. Sounds like her daddy raised her well. If she’s Walker’s oldest, she must be made of iron and fire. Great to have her with us.”

Naero went over to
The Holy Ghost
late that night. She merged with the ship, and studied it with teknomancy. Nanoships–they were indeed a wonder.

Khai found her there, hours later, passed out in her command chair with Ra quietly standing guard over her. After a short introduction to the mantid prince, Khai carried her to the admiral’s new quarters.

13

Naero’s Battle Group Six assembled out beyond Kalathar.

One hundred fleets, simply numbered from one to one hundred. Nearly each fleet was commanded by an old friend or acquaintance whom Naero knew well. These were her fleet leaders and captains. These were her new lions, her new swords of light.

All stood in readiness by midday of that standard day.

Fleet Admiral Naero Amashin Maeris immediately ordered Battle Group Six to launch the second they were supplied and ready, blazing into the Gamma Quadrant and the Unknown Regions in good formation and order.

All five thousand warships and their crews were linked together as they passed through the new wyrmhole projectors, forming up in hyperspace.

The trip would take about two standard days, to cut across nearly half of the galaxy.

As they started out, Naero ordered the fleet band to play an old Spacer war song from the First Spacer War when they fought their way free of Old Earth and the growing Corps for the first time.

She had the song piped throughout every ship. Everyone raised Spacer knew those words well.

The old ballad was called,
End of Days.

Naero drew her sword and saluted her entire fleet, singing the words, while her crews roared back with her.

The stars call out from the endless black,

Hold my hand and squeeze it tight.

Head on out, we’re never going back,

Draw your swords, prepare to fight.

Tyrants rage and will soon attack,

Blast our way free into the night.

Fires rage and weapons crack.

Let Freedom be our driving light!

Chorus

Will you follow me to the End of Days?

Side by side we will make our way.

Fighting through War’s deadly haze,

Break through now and seize our day!

Forge our path and throw off our chains,

Plot a course into the unknown.

Farewell to sorrow and our pains,

Justice and Liberty be our own.

Truth and Honor become our gains.

Knowledge and Wisdom must be grown,

Slavery fades like our bloodstains.

Chorus

Will you follow me to the End of Days?

Side by side we will make our way.

Fighting through War’s deadly haze,

Break through now and seize our day!

Heroes fall and memory fades.

Guard our children and our ways.

The darkness comes and must be fought.

Sacrifice must at times be taught.

Launch our fleets, send in our waves,

Send our foes into the blaze.

Love our Clans and guard our hearts,

Soar off free into the stars!

Chorus

I will follow you to the End of Days!

Side by side we will win our way.

Fighting through Love’s confusing maze,

With my last breath till our last day!

Naero smiled and sheathed her sword.

Many Spacers wept openly, as was their way. Tears were not an evil. Most Spacers, in their hearts, recalled singing old songs like that with their parents, and their grand parents, and their great grans. That was how they were passed on.

Naero clenched her fist suddenly.

One day, soon, she would sing those songs to her daughter.

Until then, there was much to do for everyone.

They had launched in a great hurry. Supplies and equipment needed to be sorted and distributed better. Crews had to get used to each other, and establish and keep up their duty and training schedules.

Almost everyone needed to be educated about the Gamma Quadrant and what little they did know about it and the strength of the enemy they might face there. But their Intel remained sketchy at best, mostly from Naero’s own brief foray into those regions.

They had some idea where the enemy strongholds existed, but those were also spread out far and wide throughout the entire Gamma Quadrant.

Naero and her fleet captains prepared to explore cautiously at first. Their data pointed to the existence of almost countless sentient species, many of them completely new, interstellar, starfaring races that had never been encountered before. And the enemy could be expected in great strength and numbers in several potential regions, with capabilities and weapons that were not yet known.

She and her officers prepared for many First Contact scenarios, where they would encounter new alien species and face several challenges, including potential conflict. Such relationships and exchanges could very well be vital.

The overall mission of the Battle Group was clear. They were there to fight and take on their known enemies and any new allies those enemies have gained. Yet the other half of that mission was just as important. It was apparent that none could fight such enemies alone. Exploration, First Contact, and new alliances would serve them best, on into the future. Spacers came not as enslavers and exploiters, but as explorers, liberators, and defenders. Any enemy victory meant subjugation and death.

If the new sentients they encountered were willing to coexist, or merely wanted to live free within their own regions, they would find ready friends and allies among Spacers. Or simply be left alone, if that was what they wanted as well.

Naero and each fleet captain and their officers went through experimental drills and problem-solving scenarios involving initial contacts with new sentient species. The goal was to prepare them all for the real thing. They couldn’t just assume that every species they would encounter would be human or near human. Each new species had to be assessed and evaluated on its own.

The Gamma Quadrant was mostly unknown to them, and the threat of the enemy had to be taken into consideration as well. The G’lothc and their servants, the Dakkur, enslaved other species and used them as shock troops and foodstocks with absolute impunity. Yet if these enslaved species could be somehow liberated, they might become potent allies against their former masters.

One factor did not change. A standard order existed to eradicate all Ejjai, whenever and wherever they were encountered.

The Spacers were scheduled to begin their initial exploration sweep in a rimward section of the immense Scutum Crux-Arm of the galaxy. They would send out scouting ships in stealth mode, and deploy large numbers of self-replicating exploration fixers.

Naero also created six more replicants of herself, Naero-11 through Naero-15. Given time, she hoped to have one of her replicants advising on each fleet that served under her, but only as advisors. They were there to help, not second-guess her command officers.

Yet still, commanding one hundred fleets and five thousand warships and all of their crews was an immense task, and needed to be managed.

Naero first met within the primary strategy and planning command center on board her Battle Group flagship,
The Holy Ghost
, which also led Fleet Number 1. Shortly, she would hold a conference with all fifty of her fleet commanders, including her Battle Group Second, Third, and Fourth in Commands. Along with her, each of them would command one quarter of the Battle Group, or twenty-five fleets each. But the other three would coordinate their actions with her.

For the present, meeting only with her immediate staff was always a good way to start. Her Fleet 1 XO was Commodore Darius Meade, her Second. Third in command of Fleet 1 was Fleet Captain Chrissella James. Fourth was Leftenant Varina Flynn; in Spacer Naval rankings, a leftenant outranked a commander.

In lander fleets, it was just the opposite. Somewhere in history it had gotten switched around somehow, and now among Spacers, it simply stuck. Naero’s Fifth in command was her brother, Second Leftenant Janner Maeris Ramsey, yet as one of the Fleet 1 Intel Liaisons, he was also the commander of
The Black Spot
, Naero’s special spyship, to be sent out as needed.

Finishing off her immediate command staff, Commander Lewis Bickle was sixth in Command, and Leftenant Commander Jubilee Lii was Seventh in command. Yet another old friend, Marine Major Python Wilde commanded the flagship’s Spacer Marine contingent from the newly formed 12
th
Spacer Marine Command. The starfighter wing on board was led by Wing Commander, Captain Maci Donovan.

First they put Fleet 1 in order and got themselves fully operational. Each fleet commander was expected to do the same and make a full report to Admiral Naero that evening.

As it was their first night together, and they’d still be in hyperspace for another day, Naero declared a banquet and a celebration for all ships.

The initial meetings went well. They had another day to get things in order, and be ready to both fight and maneuver.

Naero wished she knew more about the region they were about to jump into blind.

Khai had been busy coordinating with all of the Mystics and MCLs who went with the Battle Group.

Both he and Naero met up in her quarters once again, late into the bells. They barely had time to wrap themselves around one another and they were drifting off.

No fooling around that first night.

Three hours later, a secret call from Baeven awoke both of them, and Ra.

“Have you found her?” Naero asked.

“Nice to hear from you, too, N.”

“Sorry–”

“Haisha. I know how you are by now,
Admiral.
”

“Yeah, yeah…
outcast
. Now report, dammit!”

“We’ve located several leads, and we’re following up on them, but we could use some help. There’s a lot of territory to cover,  and we won’t have a full fixer net up for months, if not years.”

“Don’t worry, uncle. As soon as we arrive, I’m sending out
The Dark Star
,
The Flying Dagger,
and
The Black Spot
all in spyship mode to help with the search. Which way does the enemy appear to be heading?”

“Unfortunately, they all lead into what appears to be an extremely hot war zone, with multiple fierce interstellar battles on several major fronts. What’s worse, the enemy seems to be winning, nearly everywhere, from our initial analysis. They are spreading their power and growing in strength.”

“We’ll see if we can reverse that a bit. Do what you can and continue to gather intel. We’ll be with you in about one day.”

“Copy that, N.”

“Baeven, how close are we going to emerge to the nearest battle zone?”

“About fifty parsecs from the nearest battles. As I said, the enemy seems to be attacking in several extended areas with impunity. They are all very spread out. You’ll want to send in some ships to scout the first area close in. But even from this distance, the pockets of fighting seem pretty intense on the sensor scans. Our foes seem to be packing quite a lot of firepower. There is stiff resistance, but we can’t tell how long that is going to last.”

“Anything about my daughter? You said you had an Astral tracer on her. Is she all right?”

“N, your unborn kid’s power levels are so bizarre and off the charts, but I can’t sense much else than general location, and nothing I can plot. There seems to be some other form of astral interference here as well. But I can sense impressions. And they’re not good.”

Naero closed her eyes and sighed. “Give it to me straight, Baeven.”

“The enemy has mounted numerous attempts immobilize or drain her energies in various ways. By attacking her, obviously. So far–and I don’t quite exactly know how–she has managed to hold them off. But how long can anyone hold out against enemies such as the ones we face?”

“Stay on the hunt, Baeven. If you catch up to them and you can do anything, I want my girl back. You murder the living fuck out of anything that gets in your way!”

Baeven laughed grimly. “Hell, I was going to do that anyway. Over and out, Naero. Talk to you after you arrive, unless something important pops up between now and then.”

Naero sighed and snuggled back in with Khai, shuddering as they held each other close.

“We will find her,” Khai said, stroking her long black hair. “And those who took her from us shall pay dearly.”

Naero nodded, her head resting above his heart.

She couldn’t even speak.

We’re coming, baby. Hang on. We’re doing everything as fast as we can. And we’re bringing hell and oblivion straight on with us.