were, it would not give the Heptari’s military the right to enter our sovereign space without our permission. You will leave our space immediately, or we will destroy your fleet.”
He made a throat-cutting gesture to his radioman as the Heptari commander began a heated response.
The radioman followed the general’s instruction but questioned it.
“Sir, he was not done responding.”
“I know,” the general replied. “ It’s a win when a Heptari counterpart loses his composure. When he raised his voice, he betrayed a lack of confidence. We won this first engagement.”
General Tragge changed his focus.
“What’s the travel time for our deep space heavies?”
He knew his small attack fighters could not defeat the large Heptari cruiser.
“Eight hours, sir, for the capital ships of the 9th. Their flagship is the DS Starship Folvic commanded by Admiral Paad. The 9th has sixteen medium-heavy and heavy star-class cruisers plus a couple dozen fast attack cutters. Other groups are routed to Wallow Minor, as ordered.”
“Good. The 9 th has plenty of firepower to deal with these Heptaris. Order the fighters to remain under our shields. No sense in taking unnecessary casualties. Activate ground-based, heavy cannons and maintain a direct open channel from my command to their fire control.”
“U h . . . sir, last month you approved retrofits for all three ground based batteries,” Captain Ludic responded. “Upgrades won’t be complete for six months.”
General Tragge looked over tactical positions of the Heptari fleet and turned to his adjunct.
“Suspend the retrofits. How long will it take to get those systems back on line?”
Satisfied with the answers to his question, the general left the War Room, confident that the planet was secure under triple redundant shields. In addition, he had an entire deep space battle group on the way, and his ground-based cannons would be back on line within a couple days. The situation was under control.
The general returned to the government Council Chambers. His fellow politicians were abuzz with nervous energy. He strode to the podium, bypassing normal protocol, to address rumors that were already spreading through the governing body. Everyone was anxious to hear his report and gladly overlooked his disregard for time-wasting formality.
“My fellow Councilors, please forgive my departure from traditional protocol. Under the circumstances, brevity demands my actions. As you probably heard, a small Heptari attack group has surrounded our planet. All three shields are in place , and the Heptaris have been ordered to vacate our sphere of influence. They claim to be here peacefully scanning for human colonies. Of course, I denied the existence of humans, and we neutralized their scans. They pose no real threat to us with our shields up.”
The general-politician took a sip of water.
“Our 9 th Deep Space Battle Group has been recalled to local space and should arrive within eight hours. They have more than enough firepower to remove the Heptaris from our space, if that even becomes necessary. The situation is under control.”
General Tragge paused as an undercurrent of discussion broke out among his peers.
In addition to being the leader of Tanarac’s military, he was also a politician. Like all politicians, he was not above using the present crisis to promote his agenda.
“For three hundred years, we lived with this human risk. Our motivation in protecting the humans was noble, and we spared no cost in our scientific efforts to rehabilitate this race . We failed. Just last week, this legislative body made the courageous decision to terminate the human experiment. We chose an ethical closure, consistent with our Tanarac values. I submit to you,” the wily old politician knew when to allow pauses for effect, “it is no longer in our best interest to keep our human secret.”
General Tragge allowed time for his words to sink in . Politicians argued among
He made a throat-cutting gesture to his radioman as the Heptari commander began a heated response.
The radioman followed the general’s instruction but questioned it.
“Sir, he was not done responding.”
“I know,” the general replied. “ It’s a win when a Heptari counterpart loses his composure. When he raised his voice, he betrayed a lack of confidence. We won this first engagement.”
General Tragge changed his focus.
“What’s the travel time for our deep space heavies?”
He knew his small attack fighters could not defeat the large Heptari cruiser.
“Eight hours, sir, for the capital ships of the 9th. Their flagship is the DS Starship Folvic commanded by Admiral Paad. The 9th has sixteen medium-heavy and heavy star-class cruisers plus a couple dozen fast attack cutters. Other groups are routed to Wallow Minor, as ordered.”
“Good. The 9 th has plenty of firepower to deal with these Heptaris. Order the fighters to remain under our shields. No sense in taking unnecessary casualties. Activate ground-based, heavy cannons and maintain a direct open channel from my command to their fire control.”
“U h . . . sir, last month you approved retrofits for all three ground based batteries,” Captain Ludic responded. “Upgrades won’t be complete for six months.”
General Tragge looked over tactical positions of the Heptari fleet and turned to his adjunct.
“Suspend the retrofits. How long will it take to get those systems back on line?”
Satisfied with the answers to his question, the general left the War Room, confident that the planet was secure under triple redundant shields. In addition, he had an entire deep space battle group on the way, and his ground-based cannons would be back on line within a couple days. The situation was under control.
The general returned to the government Council Chambers. His fellow politicians were abuzz with nervous energy. He strode to the podium, bypassing normal protocol, to address rumors that were already spreading through the governing body. Everyone was anxious to hear his report and gladly overlooked his disregard for time-wasting formality.
“My fellow Councilors, please forgive my departure from traditional protocol. Under the circumstances, brevity demands my actions. As you probably heard, a small Heptari attack group has surrounded our planet. All three shields are in place , and the Heptaris have been ordered to vacate our sphere of influence. They claim to be here peacefully scanning for human colonies. Of course, I denied the existence of humans, and we neutralized their scans. They pose no real threat to us with our shields up.”
The general-politician took a sip of water.
“Our 9 th Deep Space Battle Group has been recalled to local space and should arrive within eight hours. They have more than enough firepower to remove the Heptaris from our space, if that even becomes necessary. The situation is under control.”
General Tragge paused as an undercurrent of discussion broke out among his peers.
In addition to being the leader of Tanarac’s military, he was also a politician. Like all politicians, he was not above using the present crisis to promote his agenda.
“For three hundred years, we lived with this human risk. Our motivation in protecting the humans was noble, and we spared no cost in our scientific efforts to rehabilitate this race . We failed. Just last week, this legislative body made the courageous decision to terminate the human experiment. We chose an ethical closure, consistent with our Tanarac values. I submit to you,” the wily old politician knew when to allow pauses for effect, “it is no longer in our best interest to keep our human secret.”
General Tragge allowed time for his words to sink in . Politicians argued among
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