The Alexanderov Federation
Book 1 The Grendarl War
Part Two - The Tamarian System
Captain Goodman was not disappointed. The Tamarian
system had been mapped 10 years previously by a long range
scout, but it had not been fully explored before the ship
was destroyed, and the first peace treaty with the Grendarl
had forbidden their return. So there was the hope of finding
something new. And his ship did carry some fairly impressive
weaponry for its size, and he had 'authorization' to use this
weaponry on any Rrk'g'kreglin shipping he happened to encounter
if he could avoid being caught in the process. Those Grendarl
bastards had been getting on the collective nerves of humanity
for too long, and soon it would be time to end their meddling
in humanity's affairs forever. But not today. Today he could
only sting them and hope he got them in a tender part of their
smelly hides.
And he now had a proper Captain's chair. As a proper member
of the fleet, no longer concerned with minimizing costs to
maximize profit, he had a chair for the duty command officer
on the bridge. Unfortunately, this meant he and de Campos
no longer shared a shift, since she was in charge of the Beta
shift now. But they made do.
His new navigator, Ensign Chris Stockert, spoke up. "Sir,
we've emerged from the hyperspace jump lane into realspace
in the Tamarian system."
Commander Tannert's voice immediately came over the 'com.
"Captain, the new jump engines performed flawlessly,
and are now recharging in standby mode. We can jump again
within ten minutes if need be.
"Excellent. Lieutenant Turley, what other traffic, if
any, is present in this system?"
His new science officer had already been working his panel
and was immediately ready with his report. Good, not as talented
as de Campos, perhaps, but competent and eager to prove himself.
"Sir, I detect two convoys of Rrk'g'kreglin shipping,
apparently unescorted, on their way to their new colony in
the Wasilkoff system. I cannot tell without going to active
sensors, but from the size of the ships and the numbers in
the groups, it is very possible these are critical supplies
for their new colony."
"Which, of course, they would detect."
Mike Turley shook his head. "I cannot say for sure one
way or the other, sir. This is a very warlike race we are
dealing with. On the other hand, they are also very dumb,
as their skipping this system in favor of the Wasilkoff system
shows. Their sensor equipment has time and again proven far
less advanced than our own. They may be carrying weaponry
without the ability to properly target it or even know they
have been scanned."
Goodman mulled this over briefly. "How long do we have
to decide what to do?"
"Quite a bit of time, sir. Not long enough to call for
reinforcements, unfortunately, but the closest of the two
are a full day away from the jump lane, and the other a half
hour behind."
"A typically stupid Grendarl formation. They keep their
ships close together so they can support one another if engaged,
forgetting that by staying so close the other will easily
be within our jamming range, preventing them from reporting
our actions and calling for reinforcements."
"Aye, sir. At least, most likely, sir. Our jamming equipment
is low power, but against what their transport craft carry,
it should be more than enough. They aren't a race that favors
talking, they prefer shooting at an enemy they can't see."
"Very well, are there any good spots for an ambush along
their route?"
"Yes, sir, they will pass almost right through a low
density asteroid field in about five hours."
"Excellent. Continue passive scans of the area, make
sure we are truly alone. We will use our new homing mines
to set up a minefield in their path and take them out without
firing a shot from our 'primary' weaponry. No point in leaving
an identifiable sensor trace. Lieutenant Lewis, in code to
the Navy, dispatch on a message drone through the jump lane
immediately. Ensign Stockert, as soon as she is done, move
us into position slowly enough to avoid detection by any sensor
platforms in the area."
A trio of voices quickly chimed, "Aye sir."
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