The Khruellian Encounter Read online

  Jon commandeered a small flyer, and he and Talor set out on a meandering course toward New Lewistown which was located in the middle southern latitudes. Talor, whose entity had first settled on Islandia six thousand years earlier acted as Jon’s guide. The android fed him bits of information about the planet’s origin, the reason for the odd formation of the millions of small islands, the early human settlement, and their subsequent dispersal because of the lack of metals and a habitable land mass. At the end of the four hours journey, Jon felt a new connection with his birth planet and had a greater appreciation for his grandparents’ early struggles to create a space-faring nation out of clansmen and villagers.

  As it happened, the McKinnah clanboat was in port at New Lewistown when Jon landed. It was cause for an instant celebration between the two families. Thomas Lewis, the latest string of Lewis’s to be mayor, organized a feast in the town square. Jon had no idea he had so many relatives. He spent hours explaining his life as a CSF officer and the reasons for the formation of the ADO. The Islandians had a basic suspicion of outsiders, and the alien allies represented the ultimate outsiders. He explained how his close companions, the Hyloxians had fought with him side by side against the Khruellian Hegemony, and how they had died alongside human spacemen. Jon decided it would be worth the effort to take Adalan with him on one of his trips for the Islandians to see for themselves what an alien ally looked like. River-talk would soon spread the impression of the Islandians who met the cat-like creatures. Jon was sure that impression would be favorable.

  Everyone asked about Annika. His beautiful wife had made a strong impression on everyone when she and Jon had stood in this same square and pronounced their vows in the traditional Islandian ceremony. In their eyes, she was a McKinnah, and that was an important distinction. Talor was the delight of the children. He answered any question and spent hours entertaining the littlest ones reciting fairytale with all the voices. Everyone on the clanboat and in the village was sorry to see them leave the following morning.

  After a quick stop at the labs to pick up Michael’s report on the possible uses of the new Thalian technology, Jon and Talor returned to Newhope on the next shuttle. Once again, he wished Annika could have been with them.

  At Newhope, Jon reported immediately to Admiral Dexter who summoned his staff and sent an invitation to Admiral Barbara Chen-Warren to join them. Jon described his meeting with the Gruenwald Labs and the recommendations they had for the Admiralty. After listening to the idea of building missiles loaded with Muhyba capacitors and the Thalian disruptor weapon, Admiral Dexter turned to his armament expert, Lieutenant Commander Rogers and asked the same question on everybody's mind, “How long do you think it will take you to get us a supply of these missiles?”

  Rogers stared at the report details for several moments before answering, “In six months we should be able to give you a steady supply. I can have a few prototypes ready in thirty days.”

  Admiral Chen-Warren asked Jon, “Any recommendations, Group Captain McKinnah?”

  Jon recognized that as a field flag officer he and other similar officers would be the ones who would implement most of the decisions made in this room. In spite of his relatively young age, his opinion would carry a lot of weight. He said, “I believe the moment we have enough missile to be effective we should launch a raid deep into Khruellian territory, as far away as we feel we can safely jump. Based on what the Alphans are reporting about the Khruellians recalling their scouts from the decoy area, they no longer believe the evidence we planted to confuse them. I think they will begin a new search in the only logical direction from their point of view; the direction of their expansion along the Perseus Arm. Whether they also look in our direction in the parallel Orion-Cygnus cluster is up for speculation, but a raid at the other end of their empire might cause them to pause long enough to give us the time we need to complete the integration of the allied weapons including the Thalian dissembler missile.”

  Admiral Chen-Warren nodded her head in agreement and then asked her aide, Captain Brickman, “What’s our status on the integration process, Andy?”

  Ever since the General Assembly had finally approved the Allies admission to the Constitutional Confederation, Captain Andrew Brickman had been a busy man. He had been an officer in the Terran Space Force and had assumed the duty of integrating the allied technologies. Annika had told Jon he had been highly regarded in the TSF for his intelligence and reliability. The captain checked his com unit and said, “We should have two hundred of the newest Confederation warships fully integrated within six months. Now that the Hooshag Confederation is producing ships to our specification, we will have ten additional ships a month coming online giving us a combined allied fleet of two hundred and sixty Confederation ships, one hundred Hooshag ships, and two hundred other allied ships which are not practical to convert to an integrated weapon platform. Those ships will be assigned to patrol and planet protection details.”

  Jon noted that the Hyloxian ships were not considered large enough to be armed with all the latest weapon systems. He would miss having Adalan covering his ship during combat, but he would arrange to have her warriors assigned to the Independence. He had never witnessed warriors in action as fierce as the Hyloxians.

  After the meeting, Admiral Chen-Warren ordered Jon to take the newly repaired CSF Constitution and three destroyers from his Eagle Squadron to prepare for the raiding sortie he had suggested in the meeting. Jon set a target date of four weeks. During those four weeks, he planned to train his crew with the alien engineers on board to perfect the use of their individual weapon’s systems. The exercise would become a role model for future integration exercises.

  Later that evening, Jon and Talor met up with his mother and father, whom he had only seen fleetingly in the past year. They had dinner together and listened as Jon brought them up to date.

  Jon’s father said wistfully. “It almost makes me want to reactivate my commission.”

  Jon’s mother quickly put an end to that idea. “You can do that dear just after you sign the separation papers. I’ll need time to interview new husband candidates.”

  Jaimie McKinnah smiled and looked at his son and said, “See what you have to look forward to, Jon.”

  His mother perked at that statement and said, “Speaking of that, will you have any time with Annika before your next mission?”

  Jon’s excitement showed, “She’ll be in port the day-after-tomorrow for three days. We plan to make the most of it.”

  His mother smiled knowingly and asked, “Does that mean there are some grandbabies in our future?”

  “Sorry Mom, not while we’re assigned to combat duty. You’ll just have to wait.”

  His mother kissed him on the cheek and said, “You be careful out there so there will be grandbabies, Jon.”

  Jon gave what reassurances he could and promised to see them again while Annika was in port. He watched them go and reflected on how well his father had done in life in the shadow of a very powerful father, Jon’s grandfather. It was a testimony to the elder McKinnahs to allow their son to make his own mark on the world. Jon had read all about his father’s exploits during the Muhyba war and was in awe of the bravery he had displayed several times, especially during the battle of Draco Sound. It occurred to him that his grandfather had proven himself in the pre-space days of Islandia and in the early days of the CSF; his father during the heat of interstellar battle and now it was his turn. He wondered how his children and grandchildren would view his legacy in the coming years. One thing was for sure, he would be creating that legacy sometime during the next six months.

  Jon sent a courier to Hylox to invite Adalan and a team of her Hyloxian warriors to be part of The Constitution’s fighter strike force for the upcoming raid. He was sure she would accept. He also sent orders to Ben to bring the CSF Constitution to Newhope as soon as she was cleared for action. He spent a day taking care of administrative details and then waited impatiently for the CSF Sparta to a
rrive. When she finally touched down, and Annika cleared ship, their mental communications were filled with rapid-fire messages and images. In the tradition of thousands of sailors and spacers before them, they did not think of the sea or space for the next twenty-four hours.

  Chapter 56

  Alpha

  The assembly was in turmoil. The issue under debate had raged off and on since the humans had first made contact with them. Now it had become so rancorous, it threatened to affect the Alphan’s internal harmony. Nothing in their recorded history had ever hampered their ability to debate intelligently without emotions that would cloud their words. It needed to be resolved, now.

  As the Leader of the Disciplines, Ruuhr was supposed to guide the debate, not become involved in it, but the stalemate demanded action. With the permission of both sides, he had been asked to summarize both positions and render an opinion. He had debated with himself for several days before accepting the request. Once he rendered an opinion, he would have to resign the Leadership role, because those who did not agree with his personal stand would never again trust his ability to be impartial on any subject in the future. It was a price he reluctantly concluded he had to pay.

  He called the assembly to order and spent the next four hours restating the position of the opposing sides along with their arguments for and against. Every member had heard every word before, but only from the opposition, never from a supposedly impartial observer. Hearing their opposition and the opposition’s position so clearly stated helped them focus on the fundamental issue; to reveal their great secret, or keep it hidden. Ruuhr did perhaps the best summary of his long tenure as the leader of The Disciplines. Perhaps it was because he knew it would be the last such speech, but whatever the reason, none who attended could have any misunderstanding of the two positions.

  He said, “Forty thousand years ago our ancestors gave an order to an impressionable young leader to ‘Conquer all that he could see.’ This impressionable young leader accepted our ancestors as a messenger from their god and proceeded to become the first Absolute. With single-minded ferocity, he did just that, and each succeeding Absolute has carried on the same message.”

  Ruuhr paused before rendering his opinion. “Because of the foolishness’s of our ancestors, we Alphans are responsible for the creation of the Hegemony. No one denies these facts. The issue that divides us is whether or not to tell our allies of the Alphan’s responsibility.” He took a deep breath and continued, “I see little practical reason to do so. It will not change the situation or the future. It will only change their opinion of us.”

  The group arguing for silence started to rise to their feet in triumph, but a wave from Ruuhr caused them to pause.

  “But I do see a great benefit in cleansing ourselves of this guilt by telling these allies why we have interfered and influenced their development over thousands of years. This guilt has brought us to this point of rancorous debate and division. We must stop it now and return to our simple history of study and contemplation. We will not survive as a species if we do not rid ourselves of this onus.”

  The assembly stood in silence letting Ruuhr’s admonition wash over them. They were peaceful beings, and his description of what they had become was a powerful reminder of the trap their ancestors had created. Their collective sense of responsibility for the mess in this part of the galaxy cried out for restitution, but they were afraid of what their allies would say and do to them once they learned the truth.

  “What would you have us do, Ruuhr?” One of the nays said seeking an answer to his side’s dilemma.

  Ruuhr had given that question many hours of thought before the question had been spoken, for he knew it would come to this, that he would be the one who would have to propose a solution and he would be the one who would be asked to execute it.

  “I believe we should speak first to the Ares, who is no doubt fully aware of our ancestor’s role in the Hegemony’s creation and solicit his help in finding the best way to tell the Allied Defense Organization of the Alphans responsibility for the current conflict.” Ruuhr paused for a moment and then added, “We may be required to confront the Khruellians with the truth behind their legend.”

  The assembly conducted a less heated discussion on Ruuhr’s remarks, for they now accepted the inevitability of having to tell the truth. In the end, they appointed Ruuhr as their spokesman. Ruuhr had expected no less. He rose and said to the group, “I shall leave immediately.”

  Chapter 57

  Newhope

  Jon hugged Annika one last time as they prepared to leave for their ships. She started to say something, but stopped herself, not wanting to burden him with her concerns about his safety. She knew he was going out on another mission and that he had been unable to tell her anything about it. She accepted that as part of their job, but it didn’t keep her from worrying about her husband. He seemed to the one going on all the dangerous missions lately.

  Jon sensed her concern. The people going into battle rarely believed they would not return. The ones staying behind were equally afraid they would not return.

  “Annika, all I can tell you is to train your crew relentlessly on the new weapons. We will need every advantage we can get to beat the Hegemony. I believe we will have no more than six months to prepare.”

  Talor stood by silently while the humans shared their thoughts, but after a moment he reminded them their ships were waiting.

  They separated without another word. Jon watched his wife leave for the CSF Sparta, which was scheduled to leave immediately for barrier patrol on the far side of Hylox. Her squadron would train with the new weapons while they watched for any Khruellian ships that might decide to investigate the Orion cluster.

  Jon and Talor got into their waiting personnel transport and headed for the much larger CSF Constitution. Once aboard he immediately headed for the command center where Ben was issuing final orders in preparation for lift-off. The command center was a menagerie of the different species involved in the testing and training of their individual weapon systems. Adalan gave him the Hyloxian equivalent of greeting a close family member that included a full body hug accompanied by a throaty purring sound.

  Jon had been surprised and pleased at how well the aliens and humans had managed to build a working relationship. It helped that each species had brought something to the table that they each needed. That plus the common threat of the Hegemony had created a situation that had overcome each species’ naturally suspicions of strangers.

  Without ceremony or any fanfare, the most powerful ship in the fleet lifted off to join her three companion warships waiting in orbit. Jon had selected a remote system beyond Vajrashila for their training grounds, and as soon as the Constitution had formed up with her small squadron, Ben gave the jump order. The alien engineers watched in fascination as the squadron traveled a distance of twelve hundred light years in a single jump. This was the technology that had prompted every species in the ADO to agree to share their special weapons’ technologies with each other. Jon wondered how long this harmony would last once the threat of the hegemony had been contained. The Alphans were probably the key to continued harmony since they were the ones who had mapped out the coordinates for most of this part of the galaxy. If they ever chose to withhold those coordinates, the members would have to start the tedious and time-consuming process of exploring their immediate surroundings as the CSF had been doing for the past twenty-three years. On top of that restriction, none of the allied forces had developed a computer system as capable as the Ankh’s to calculate the almost infinite number of stellar movements in the intended jump zone. Any member that got ambitious ideas of expanding at the expense of another member would soon run into the same problem every space jumper encountered; you had better know exactly what was whirling around in the area of your intended jump zone.

  Once on station, Jon ordered his captains and guest engineers to assemble in the Constitution’s main wardroom. The officers and engineers listened as he exp
lained what their mission would be after they had perfected the use of the new weapons systems.

  “Remember, each of these new systems was invented by minds that think differently from each other. Different environments produce different ways of solving problems.”

  His gaze took in the engineers from the CSF, the Hooshag Confederation, Alphans and Hylox Empires.

  “The sciences behind these systems are common to all of us, but our approaches to using them are different. We are here to help each other understand those differences. It is important that the use of these weapons systems become second nature to every one of us because we will not get a second chance on our next assignment.”

  The assembled humans and aliens were listening intently to his words. Jon returned their stares and said, “We are going to make the longest stellar jump in our combined histories, thirty thousand light years to the other side of the Khruellian Hegemony.”

  A few involuntary noises escaped from the assembly as Jon spoke those words and as the translations made its way through the alien’s headsets. Thirty thousand light years was beyond the capabilities of any existing FTL drive technology except for the IS-Drive. The immense value of the Ankh drive was never more evident than at that moment. It was the driving force behind the unusual cooperation between the species; that and the threat of extinction by the Hegemony, which was creeping closer each year.

  “We are going to hit them hard where they least expect to be hit, on the far side of their empire. We want to demonstrate our power and once again try to confuse the Khruellians about where we came from. Thirty thousand light years is far beyond the limits of the Khruellian’s quick reaction time. The admiralty believes their natural arrogance will keep them from believing any other species can attack them from such a great distance, certainly not all the way from the other side of their empire. Our hope is it will cause them to divert enough of their expansion forces to protect their own worlds that in turn will delay their inevitable search of the Orion-Cygnus cluster. Every day, month or year we delay their discovery of our home worlds is a day, a month or a year we gain to prepare for the ultimate battle, the battle for our very existence.”