2407.6
Zezzis system
...onboard CDS West End...
Katherine O’Rourke was happy to have the colony on Zezzis IV established. She was less happy about it being 3 sectors away from Zezzis XI, a Sergetti planet. In point of fact, Zezzis IV, and Zezzis VIII were both new colonies for the empire. The situation was tenuous. The Sergetti claimed this system as theirs, with five colonies established. The Sergetti backed up their claim with a fleet orbiting Zezzis XI. The Phong also had two colonies in the system, and there was still one Sithrak frigate in the system. The Norak frigate was either out of the system or our of sensor range.
Captain O’Rourke had requested the
Artemis to support her at Zezzis IV. Captain Harrison, the overall system commander, was on
Southampton guarding Zezzis V and his defense was just augmented by 48 mines delivered by
Aztec. Backed up by the minefield - and
Montreal still guarding the warp point, he approved and detached
Artemis. O’Rourke had good reason to ask for the PDS ship. The Sergetti fleet at Zezzis XI included five frigates and a freighter. But the concern to O’Rourke was the light carrier. She had found the home base of the fleet they had seen when they first entered the system. There were also 80 fighters in orbit around the planet. She wasn’t sure how the Sergetti would respond to the new neighbors, but they had been sending messages that were less than welcoming. Zezzis VIII was also colonized, and was being guarded by
Toronto. O’Rourke knew she and
Artemis could survive if the Sergetti moved against the new colonies, but her job was to provide security while the colonies got established. The colonists were doing their part – the new Hercules III weapon platform was available. With two anti-proton beams on large mounts, a new short range ripper beam, also on a large mount, two flak cannons, one beam PDS cannon, and a level five shield; it would be able to give as good as it got. Two of them were scheduled to be built on each of the three colonies. Fortunately, Zezzis V had completed the supply depot, and the ships were fully restocked. The question now was would they have the time to get the job done.
Pantrissa system
...onboard CDS Beagle...
Captain Cabrerra now had the full story. He was in command of a ghost ship. The
Beagle was an intelligence-gathering platform. His ability to operate in the tight quarters of asteroid fields was his prime ability for this job. With this ship, he would be navigating through a different field of asteroids – the kind that fired back.
To accomplish his mission, however, he was getting the best the scientists of the empire had to offer. The “salvage team” was a team of intelligence technicians installing the most advanced sensor arrays the empire had available. There were also a team of the agents he had been introduced to on the trip to Pantrissa. Rita Edwards, the Intelligence Director, explained to Cabrerra through her pre-recorded message that they were there to guard the sensitive equipment and protect the highly trained and intelligent men and women, like himself, she added; from falling into enemy hands should their ship be discovered and captured. Cabrerra wasn’t that naïve, and he wondered if the “highly trained and intelligent” operators on board knew what that really meant.
He also was briefed on the new cloaking technology, the long-range scanners, the jamming equipment, and the ECM capabilities. There was also a minesweeping assembly. Extra supply storage was also included. Cabrerra took note of this – someone expected them to be away from home for a long time. He wasn’t briefed on weapons, shields, or armor for a very simple reason.
There wasn’t any.
His life, and the life of the ship’s crew would depend on their ability to be as invisible as possible.
In a final irony, Cabrerra found, in his quarters, a crate marked “
Commander, CDS Beagle.”
Opening the crate he found a bottle of Sithrak ale.
[i]Report to the board:
Hi everyone. Sorry for the long introduction to cloaking in the story, but it does fit in with the game. I'm losing quite a lot to enemy intelligence - just force concentration stuff and planet scans. The girl at the bar isn't Norakian, but a sympathizer. Of course, Jefferies isn't just a welder, either. I think writing the intelligence side of the game gives a few more possible storylines.
As I mentioned in the story, the Sergetti aren't amused with my intrusion into Zezzis. Neither are the Phong, but the Sergetti fleet in system can actually do something about it. We'll see how they respond.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Feel free to comment if you like, or just enjoy the story.
Next chapter will be tomorrow.
Phil