Retribution: The Augmented Human Rebellion - Book 2 (15 page)

The AH Navy fleets attack like a nest of angry hornets, as the surrounded
Verm Warships try to make a run for safety, in real space.  Even though
the number of Verm warships outnumbers the AH Navy fleets, they still run from
the fight. 

Probably seeing the
Galactus
is enough to put fear into their hearts.  That is the Sweetwater Fleet’s
Flagship.  And the Sweetwater Fleet has a reputation of mythical
proportions.  The Verm warships are running for their lives.

***

When it is over, the Verm lost 142 warships and the AH Navy forces lost
16 warships.  The AH Navy lost 3,213 humanoids and 12
AIs
.  Over 30,000
Verm sailors are collected from the damaged Verm warships.  These POWs are
delivered to a habitable planet, and are left with enough resources for
survival.  The AH Navy has no way of caring for that many POWs.

***

As part of the ruse, the bulk of the AH Navy Fleets begin to migrate to
more distant parts of space, as if there is no reason to stay in this area any
longer.  As was hoped, the fleets from the Empires follow after them.

***

Shakedown with Admiral Justice
Nemo

She has put this off until last.  Fleet Admiral Meyers has trouble
with her judgment, when Admiral Justice – as his Fleet calls him – is
around.  Her concentration is not good, and her ability to make decisions
is impaired when he is in the same room.

Honesty says that she is ‘in love’.  That may be, but this is a
dangerous time to lose your ability to reason.  She needs to have a plan
before she speaks with Admiral Justice.  That way she won’t have to think,
in case Justice doesn’t have any good ideas for a shakedown attack.

She settles on another high velocity attack.  They are quick and
effective.  In fact, she probably should have done a lot more of them,
before the Verm/Darinx fleets had time to put up defenses.  But now that
the two fleets have moved, their
deep space probe array
is probably in
the wrong place. 

She quickly sends a text to the scouting team, telling them to check on
the enemy’s
deep space probe array
.  If she doesn’t use this attack
with Admiral Justice, she can assign it to Admiral
Wentr
. 

Then she takes a deep breath and
comms
‘Admiral Justice’.  “Admiral Justice here,” he answers.

Melissa Meyers is a little taken aback that he seems to know what she has
been calling him.  She says:  “How did you know that I have been
calling you that?”

“Oh, I didn’t,” he answers.  “That is what everyone in my Fleet
calls me, so I just answer to it.”

“Good,” she responds.  “May I call you that, also?”

“Sure,” he replies.  “What can I do for you?”

***

Admiral Justice does have an idea for his shakedown attack.  “My
father always preached “sever the head of the beast”,” Justice says.  “And
Admiral
Danion’s
ruse to make the Verm think that they have destroyed New Hope appears to be
working.  The Verm Fleet is following the
retreating
AH Navy
forces.”

“I would like for us to add to
Danion’s
ruse, by having our two Fleets assault the Verm Navy Fleet in a head on
assault.  The goals of the attack are:

1.
     
To convince the enemy that the entire AH Navy force is in front of them,
and is withdrawing from this area of space.

2.
     
To attempt to reach, and destroy the Verm Fleet Flagship, which is
currently near the front of the Fleet.

3.
     
And to further convince the Verm Navy that the Darinx, and AH Navy
forces are conspiring against the Verm, because none of the Darinx vessels will
be attacked.

“I like it,” answers Fleet Admiral Meyers.  “And if my scouting
reports confirm my suspicions, we will have Admiral
Wentr
do a high velocity assault against
their front lines, before we do a frontal assault.  That will soften them
up for us, and will confuse them.”

The scouting reports show that the front of the Verm/Darinx Fleets has
moved out from under the protection of their
deep space probe array. 
That
leaves them exposed to a high velocity attack by Admiral
Wentr
.

***

“Admiral
Wentr
confirms that the high velocity assault has been successful.  He estimates
that at least 95 Verm warships are out of the battle.  And he was careful
to spare any Darinx vessels,” Fleet Admiral Meyers says to Admiral Justice
Nemo
.  “Begin
operation Frontal Assault, on my mark.  ………………… Engage.”

***

Slicing In

The two AH Navy Fleets are to assault the Verm Navy Fleet by slicing in -
at opposing angles - so that the two AH Navy Fleets converge at the point where
the Verm Fleet’s Flagship is currently positioned. 

This mission can still be considered a success, even if the Flagship is
not destroyed, but it will be considered a great success, if they can take out
the Flagship and Fleet Admiral
Keeser
.

***

Both Fleets have started about a light day away from the Verm Fleet, and
are approaching at a relatively high velocity, in real space.  Then as
they near the Verm Fleet they fire their thrusters in reverse, in order to
rapidly decrease their velocity.  Both AH Navy Fleets hit the Vern Fleet’s
frontline, with a momentum that quickly carries them into the meat of the Verm
fleet. 

Once again, the AH Navy Fleets have assaulted using the spear
formation.  There are empty
sacrificial vessels
, which are remotely
controlled, at the
tip of the spear
positions.  After those
sacrificial vessels have been destroyed, the battle begins in earnest as the AH
Navy vessels slow, to fight the Verm Fleet.

Once again, the AH Navy fleets benefit, by being inside the Verm
Fleet.  The Verm vessels are limited to energy weapons, because any errant
projectiles will target other Verm warships.

Since the AH Navy won’t have that problem, until the two assault teams
converge, they just let loose with massive barrages of projectile and energy
weapons.  All AH Navy vessels are carrying extra projectiles, because they
expect to run through their regular complement in the first few hours of the
assault.

And the assault goes well for the AH Navy.  Admiral
Wentr’s
high velocity
assault left the Verm Fleet disoriented, and the high velocity approach by the
Justice and Meyers fleets is not a
surprise attack
, but it is a
sudden
attack
.  The Verm Fleet doesn’t have time to adequately prepare for
the blunt force trauma delivered by the AH Navy assault.

When the two AH Navy Fleets converge, they find that the Verm Fleet
Admiral has withdrawn his vessel, and is now deeper inside of the Verm Fleet -
and is still running.

Fleet Admiral Meyers assesses the situation.  The Verm Fleet Admiral
is still in the process of withdrawing, and is a tempting target.  But
staying inside of the Verm Fleet any longer, will put both AH Navy Fleets in
danger of being surrounded.  She orders a withdrawal.  Fleet Admiral
Keeser
and Field Marshall
Kax
have escaped again.

***

The two AH Navy fleets reverse their direction and begin the hard slog,
of fighting their way out of the Verm Fleet.  This part of the battle is
the most costly for the AH Navy Fleets, as Verm Navy missiles and rail gun
projectiles chase after them. 

Fleet Admiral Meyers orders all ships to enter FTL space at the first
opportunity.  She and Admiral Justice are the last to leave the battle.

***

Both AH Navy Fleets have been bloodied in the battle.  No vessel
escaped without moderate damage, and some have severe damage.  And there
were 32 AH Navy warships, and crews destroyed in the battle.

It is crying time again for Fleet Admiral Meyers, as Honesty comforts her
in the privacy of her quarters.  “The Verm Navy lost over 200 vessels
Melissa, and the Verm have got to wonder why you didn’t attack the Darinx
Fleet.”

“I know,” the Fleet Admiral replies.  “But I always think maybe I
could have done something better so that these people wouldn’t have to
die.  If I were a better Admiral, I could have reduced our losses.”

“And you are getting better,” responds Honesty.  “We would never
have done this well a few months ago.  But there are some battle
strategies that require loss of ships and lives.  ‘War is hell’ and there
is no way to win, without the sacrifice of life.”

“Thank you Honesty,” she replies.  “I know that, but I can’t help
but hate it when I lose someone.”

“I know Melissa,” says Honesty.  “That’s why your sailors and
AIs
love you so
much.” 

***

New Growth

The Verm Fleet withdraws from the Frontier Sector and the Darinx Fleet,
being outnumbered, follows suite.  Life slowly begins to return to normal
in the Augmented Human Navy part of the universe.  There is cautious
optimism in the upper echelons of the AH Navy that the crisis is over.

***

The relationship between Admiral Justice
Nemo
and Fleet Admiral Melissa Meyers has became a regular topic of conversation in
all parts of the AH Navy community.  Everyone is wondering when the
wedding will be.  There are betting pools on every ship, with crewmembers
gambling on the date.

And the
AIs
,
on the Sweetwater Fleet ships, turn their attention to reproduction.  The
baby Jason - which
Shiela
and Honesty birthed - has grown into a young man, right before their
eyes.  The Sweetwater
AIs
ask Honesty to help them
birth
their offspring.  Honesty calls for
help from
Shiela
,
and the two of them assist in the birthing of Sweetwater
AIs
.  There is great
joy and excitement, as the AI population quickly doubles in the Sweetwater
Fleet.

The babies will pick their own vocations when they are mature, and Fleet
Admiral Meyers is hoping that some will choose to be fighter pilots.  She
has a whole squadron of the speedy fighters, in the cargo bay of the
Galactus
.

And the AI Exoskeletons, which Honesty designed, have liberated
AIs
to the point where
they are obviously sentient beings.  An entire industry has popped into
existence, for producing the AI vessels.  Sales outlets have been opened
up in both the Darinx and Frontiers Sectors.  There isn’t any way to open
a sales outlet in the Verm sector, but the black market price for the AI
Exoskeletons in Verm space is
off the charts
.

***

Admiral
Cade
Nemo’s
dream about the AH
Navy Sector becoming a trading and mining center is coming to life.  The manufacture
and sales of AI Exoskeletons is causing a flood of new revenue to pour
in.  The economy in the AH Navy sector of space is blossoming and is
spreading, like new growth in the spring time.

***

A small number of the sailors on AH Navy ships, become suddenly wealthy
when they collect their winnings, for picking the correct wedding date in the
ships’ betting pools.

Fleet Admiral Melissa Meyers and Admiral Justice
Nemo
finally get married.  “At last,”
thinks Fleet Admiral
Cade
Nemo
.  “I may
get some grandchildren, at last.”

***

Admirals Clay and
Wentr
retire and their Fleets are reassigned.  Fleet Admiral
Cade
Nemo
appoints new admirals
from within the ranks of the Fleets. 
Cade
Nemo
believes that
continuing diversity is critical for new growth and forward thinking.

Admiral Clay is replaced by a human who was born and raised in the AH
Navy.  He is Admiral Steven Clay, Junior.

Likewise, Admiral
Wentr
is replaced by an
extrucian
– Admiral
Glezz
.  
It always amazes
Cade
Nemo
that species as
different as humans and
extrucian
ant people
can get along so well.  It gives him hope for the
future.

***

In the re-alignment of the admiralty, Admiral Justice
Nemo
is promoted to Fleet
Admiral Justice
Nemo
.

There are now four Fleet Admirals, but since
Cade
Nemo
is semi-retired, there are only 3 working Fleet Admirals - Fleet Admiral
Melissa Meyers, Fleet Admiral Justice
Nemo
and Fleet Admiral
Danion
. 
Among those three, Fleet Admiral Melissa Meyers is in charge.

***

For
Cade
Nemo
and his wife, Sandra Guiles,
the future looks bright and full - full of love, friends and grandchildren.

They had given up hope of their first child -
Kiersten
– ever finding a husband. 
Sandra
Guilles
blames the problem on
Cade
Nemo
, because – she
says – “He spoiled her rotten”.

Well, Admiral
Kiersten
Nemo
has found
someone else who will spoil her rotten.  It is Admiral Steven Clay, Junior
– a human.  ‘What hath God wrought?’

And with both children ‘married off’,
Cade
and Sandra sit back, and wait for the grandchildren to happen.

***

It doesn’t take long for the two Fleet Admirals to produce a little
sailor.  He’s a 17 pound baby, with lungs that can be heard for
miles.  Since they are in a period of peacetime, the family stays near New
Hope and takes advantage of the babysitting grandparents.  The parents
name him
Cade Nemo, Junior
.

And then
Kiersten
announces that she is ‘with child’.  There is great joy, along with some
concern.  No one has heard of a baby being produced by a
human/augmented
human
couple.  …………. …………… It turns out that the process works just
fine.  It’s probably best if the augmented human is the mother, because
the baby weighs 14 pounds. 

Her name is Jade.  “Why?” Sandra
Guilles
asks.  “Rhymes with
Cade
,”
answers
Kiersten
.

But no one notices the presence of scout ships.

***