Belis stepped forward. "I am not worthy, my Emperor! But I ask for a chance to make my efforts right!"
Belon scowled as he smacked Commodore Belis and pushed him back in line. "I only spare you today because you name starts with a B. I will not hesitate to kill you all should another transgression occur!"
The Emperor then stepped in front of the officer in the middle. "Are you worthy of my trust, Admiral Pellok?"
The admiral stepped forward. "I am, your highness! The transgression did not happen on my ship. My crew was fully prepared to protect you if needed, Sire!"
Belon looked down at the nervous admiral. "Pellok. You have served me well, but I loathe arrogance in my command."
Belon reached out with one of his large hands and took the admiral by the head. The admiral struggled as he was lifted off the ground. A crunching sound could then be heard as the Emperor squeezed the head of his officer. Pellok’s headless corpse fell to the ground.
The Emperor spoke. "Commodore Belis, you have just been promoted to run the security on my ship. And the rest of you clean up this mess. I want a candidate for promotion from each of you before you leave this room."
York spoke over the comm. "OK, Sir, we are looking at the Emperor. It looks like he is ripping his officer corps a new one. We are standing by."
I opened a QE channel to Frig. "We are in position. Let me know when you are ready for us to take them out."
Frig replied, "In five, four, three, two, one. Go!"
I yelled the command to York and Frost as my team powered through the wall. As Frig blinked in and out, the Emperors knew immediately that their signals from the complex had been lost. That moment of indecision was our opening to fire.
My first round struck a leg, blowing it from its socket. Two rounds from my cohorts then tore into the Emperor’s abdomen, while a third caught the two arms on the right. As the stunned Emperor squatted to make a leap, a fourth round impacted the transparent shell that held his head.
In under three seconds, the Emperor Belon android that had stood before us was now defunct. The remainder of the headless torso slumped to the floor in front of us.
York and Frost had a similar fight on their hands as the Emperor sprang straight upwards in an attempt to evade a second hit. York’s first round had nearly cut his torso in half. The battle for the second Emperor raged for all of eighteen seconds as York and Frost followed the Emperor’s attempts at escape. In a final move, York blinked in and stepped on the Emperor’s head as it flashed and sparked in a pile of debris that had once been its upper torso.
The Emperor spoke with an angry voice. "Who are you?"
York smiled just before smashing down hard with her prosthetic fist. "We are Humans!"
As York withdrew her hand, she turned to the small group of officers that had been standing before him. "You are all dismissed to now go about your lives. Oh, and if you decide to hang around this sector, you will end up like your boss here. So, scram!"
Frost spoke. "You are just too kind, York. We should be turning them over to the Klatt. I’m sure they would enjoy handing out a little justice."
Our coordinated attack on Emperor Belon had been a complete success. We were all soon aboard the
Swift
and jumping back to the Grid. As we arrived, the destroyer with Frig and the others appeared just in front of us. After setting down in the docking bay, I made my way up to the bridge.
I spoke. "I take it our strategy at the complex worked?"
Frig replied, "It did. The Emperor never knew what happened. Once we pulled back from that position, I used the Yacabucci to freeze up all of the power converters in a section several hundred kilometers square. That caused a gravity field containment issue for the generators surrounding it. They quickly overloaded and the whole section collapsed. The collapse then rippled out from that point. I will return to check in an hour, but I expect to find nothing more there than a brown dwarf star in orbit around its sister star."
The first of the four androids had been eliminated. Our efforts would now move on to the second.
After a quick jump to confirm the destruction of the Emperor’s complex, we returned to our location just outside of the Grid. I attempted a lunch with Ashley, only to be rebuffed; she was busy with war preparations and did not have time to spend on niceties. I returned to the destroyer dispirited.
As I walked onto the bridge, Frig spoke. "Sir, I believe our next target should be this one. At fifty-seven light-years from here, it would be the second-closest species to this Grid. I’ve talked with York; her team is ready when we are."
I replied as I plopped down in a chair, "Yeah, whatever."
Frig lowered his brows. "Sir, is there a problem I should know about?"
I shook my head. "No, I’m just a little down. Ashley declined lunch with me."
Frig walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Sir, you do realize that both of you are in BGS suits and no longer require lunch, don’t you?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I understand that. It wasn’t actually lunch. We just go to sit and talk. She said she was too busy to spend personal time with me. I was just thrown a little, that’s all."
Frig squeezed my shoulder with his hand. "Sir, perhaps she is too busy. Given the circumstances, I would think her time is fully consumed with her work. When you have six hundred million lives to protect, you give it your best effort."
I looked up and patted Frig on the arm as he released his grip. "You are of course right, as always. So, what do we know about this next species?"
Frig replied, "The Noorzens are a spiny, swamp-dwelling species. That is all the information we have. I retrieved that information from Belon’s core there on the
Swift
."
I raised my hands. "Why didn’t Quan provide us with that list?"
Frig brought up the list on the holo-display. "Quan was taken before the list was developed. It is a part of the War of Wars rules that all of the participants must provide a list to one another once their final selections have been made. As we saw with the Duke, each participant has four entries in the War of Wars. For the Duke, two of his are Human."
Frig punched in the coordinates, and we slipped the fifty-seven light-years into the system that housed a Grid with the Noorzens. Our scans yielded a mixed result.
Frig spoke. "Sir, I am showing signs that two fleets are observing the Noorzens."
I replied, "Maybe they have a reserve fleet or something."
Frig shook his head. "I don’t think so, Sir. The ion energy I am detecting from each has a different signature."
I offered a half laugh. "Well, let’s go check them out. Come on. Get with it!"
Frig grunted.
I spoke. "What was that? Did you just grunt at me?"
Frig replied, "I did, Sir. And you were deserving of it."
I laughed. "Well, at least you know how to get me in a better mood. Take us to either one of those fleets, and we’ll scan them to see who we are dealing with."
The next wormhole created by our generators slipped over and around the destroyer, positioning the powerful ship a few thousand kilometers from the first of the two hidden fleets. A deep passive scan soon yielded results.
Frig swiped away at several screens on the holo-display. "One hundred thirty-two ships, Sir. All but one of them are cruiser sized. The other ship is a large disk-shaped structure that would probably fit all 131 cruisers in the area it occupies."
I replied, "That’s a big disk. Any stats on who is occupying it?"
Frig again swiped at his display screens. "It would appear that the cruisers each have a crew of approximately two hundred bio life-forms. The saucer has more that eight hundred thousand of those same beings. And one android."
I shook my head. "You gotta love passive sensor technology. Imagine if we had to go in there to find out who was on board. It would take us forever."
Frig opened a microwormhole and performed a deep scan of the decks above and below where the android had been spotted.
Frig spoke. "Sir, the android appears to be in the shape of a sphere, approximately two meters in diameter."
I replied, "A sphere? What does he do, just roll around to where he wants to go?"
Frig smiled. "I believe he does, Sir. The initial analysis is showing multiple Tantric layers surrounding his inner core. The scan is counting 212 layers, to be exact."
I crossed my arms. "We are going to need a new strategy for this one. A round from my coil gun might only knock off a couple of those layers; my blaster wouldn’t be enough to even scratch it. If we start shooting, he is just going to roll on away from us."
Frig thought for a moment. "I don’t believe either of these fleets is going anywhere. Perhaps we should scan the other fleet to see why it is here."
I pointed at Frig. "Make it so, Mr. Worf!"
Frig replied, "I recognize that reference from the archives, Sir. How long have you been waiting to use that one?"
I laughed. "Too long. I have a couple dozen that I got from Sarah Rogers’s computer memories. I’ve been saving them for that special occasion."
Frig shook his head. "And this was that special occasion?"
I smiled a sarcastic smile. "Every occasion with you is special. Now, zip us on over to the other fleet before they fly off."
I continued, "You know, we haven’t named this ship yet. I’m thinking we call it the
Sarah Rogers
. ‘The
Rogers
’ kind of has a nice ring to it."
Frig replied, "I believe that would be a fitting tribute, Sir."
The wormhole portal slipped past the
Sarah Rogers
, leaving us several thousand kilometers from the second source of ionized particles. A deep passive scan was performed and the data evaluated.
Frig spoke. "Sir, those ships are Durian!"
I replied, "Durian? What are Durian ships doing out here?"
Frig shook his head. "If I were to guess, I would say that the Duke is planning a little unfair play in the War of Wars. There are three thousand Durian battleships in that formation."
I looked over some of the scan data. "Why are they just sitting there, then? They could take out that Grid and the other fleet. Which brings up the question, who is the android we were just spying on?"
Frig replied, "That was His Supreme Master Tardette. If I were to speculate on the reason why the Durians are inactive, it would be that they are waiting for the Supreme Master to leave."
I turned towards Frig. "Why would Tardette leave his fighters?"
Frig made another swipe to bring the list of species up. "Here are the Noorzens. Since this list is not in alphabetical order, I would surmise that the Braguns are the Master’s other species. If the Master wishes to observe his other species, he would leave this one, giving the Durians a perfect opportunity to attack."
I nodded. "It stands to reason, then, that the Noorzen don’t match up well with us. The Duke might be worried that we would have too hard a time beating them."
Frig turned back towards me. "Sir, that is an astute observation. I believe we are seeing the Duke attempting to manipulate the War of Wars. If a species is unable to fight, I would guess that would stand to be a default, a forfeit, leaving the Humans to win the first round."
I spoke. "Well, we can either sit here and wait for something to happen, or move on to the next species. If Tardette leaves and the Durians kill off the Noorzen, it is not necessarily a bad thing for Humans. Then again, why do we want any species killed off? They are here in this mess just like we are, not of their own doing."
I continued, "Of course, we could go in and grab Tardette’s core, and then kick the crap out of the Durians, exposing the Duke’s plot."
Frig replied, "Only we aren’t sure how we are going to capture Tardette with all those Tantric layers he has protecting his core. Should we start an assault and not disable him to the point of retrieving that core within a few seconds, he could easily sweep it out through a portal, leaving us with no way to find his complex. I believe we first need a firm plan, Sir."
I nodded. "Next on the list is the Battha; if your prior speculations about the list are correct, they would be a species for Tardette also. After them we have the Manitars. OK, Man versus Manitars, sounds like fun; let’s go check them out."
Frig entered the coordinates of the next species’ Grid, and we were soon swept away to a new location. Deep scans of the area surrounding the Grid station gave no indication of an observing fleet.
I spoke. "Next up is the Bolics. Let’s see what King Koswal has to offer in terms of a fight."
After a jump and a deep scan, we were again analyzing the data. "Oh, great, the Bolics are a race of spiders. I always enjoy a good fight with anything that has eight legs or more. Really brightens my day!"
Frig swiped several screens before stopping on one in particular. "Sir, I believe we have the King’s fleet. I will move us in for a better scan."
When the localized deep scan was complete, Frig spoke. "The King’s fleet is composed of one single enormous ship. There are no bio-signs on the ship. I am showing five androids, all located in the same room."
I pulled up the data on the holo-display. "Open us a microportal and get us some video of that."
I spoke into my comm. "York, start mapping out an attack plan for that ship."
York replied, "Roger that, Sir."
I turned towards Frig. "So, we have five androids; do we know which one is the King?"
Frig pulled up the video feed. "The five androids appear to be identical to one another other than color. They also have bodies that are a standard biped design."
I spoke. "And they are each wearing a robe and have crowns built into their heads. Nice. I’m wondering why there are five of them, though."
Frig replied, "Perhaps the King likes to talk. With these five androids, he can have conversations with himself whenever he likes. With all five connected back to his complex, they are all identical to one another."
I nodded. "I guess we have to kill all five at once, then. Although we only need one head to get a core."
As we worked over the data, I stopped and again turned towards Frig. "I’m not seeing any armaments. And no guards or crew on that whole ship. Am I missing something?"
Frig replied, "It does appear that they are unarmed. However, this is a million-year-old android. His looks may be deceiving."
After a quick planning session with Frig and York, a decision was made to attack King Koswal. York, Frost, seventeen others, and I would take on the five androids with the goal of securing a single core.
I gathered with my team in the hold. "There are five androids out there. We haven’t been able to discern any weapons, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have them, so, keep on your toes."
I continued, "York, Frost, I think you two should each pick one of the Kings. I will do the same, and we need two volunteers to lead the other squads."
A major stepped forward. "I would like that assignment, Sir. Major Harry Tudor, Sir. I have a family history of overthrowing kings, and I would like that tradition to continue."
I offered a somewhat confused look. "A family history of overthrowing kings? How did you come by that bit of information?"
The major smiled. "Sir, I managed a peek at the new Human data that you provided from the Defender. I was able to trace my ancestors back to King Henry VII, to a place called England. His name was Harri Tudor, so I kind of liked having the direct kinship. He overthrew King Richard III to take control of the crown. I am not looking to assume the throne here, but I would like a shot at an overthrow if that’s all right with you, Sir."
I laughed. "OK, Major. Consider this an opportunity to continue your family’s legacy. Pick three others for your squad."
A second major then stepped forward. "Major Erin Carter, Sir. I would like this opportunity to lead as well."
I nodded. "OK, Major, pick out three team members to go with you."
I turned back. "Frost, grab three for your team, and York, you do the same. I’ll take whoever is left."
We opened a portal onto King Koswal’s ship. Our team of twenty quickly powered through the portal to the other side. As I poked my head through a wall, I could see the five Kings sitting in a circle of ornate chairs while facing each other. The red King was speaking as the others feigned various expressions of attention. I had to wonder if Koswal had at some point adopted insanity in his programming. I gave the word, and the team of twenty slipped through the wall into the room.
Before anyone could pull a trigger, the five Kings sprang from their chairs. Their right eyes turned a fiery red, and beams of laser energy began to blast the room. Three beams met at a point where one of our team members stood. His active skin was overwhelmed, and the corporal was cut cleanly in two as his body became visible.
I yelled as I fired my first round at the red King, "Spread out and keep firing! Don’t hesitate to shoot for the head if needed!"
The Kings were bounding from floor to ceiling and wall to wall as they fired their lasers, combining the beams in an effort to catch another of the attackers. The green King was the first to take a solid hit. An arm was blown from its socket, but the green King adapted and continued to jump around the room in a random pattern.
The yellow King took a tungsten round to his head. The android body in support flipped over, slamming into a stone pillar before sliding to the floor. The yellow King was history.
Major Tudor’s team backed the blue King into a corner with a spread of blaster fire. A well-placed shot by the major severed the blue King’s head from its body. The blue King’s head, however, after rolling to a stop on the floor, continued to fire its laser.
A second and then a third member of our team met with the same fate as the corporal. Their BGS suits were overwhelmed as the combined lasers of three Kings brought their lives to an end.
As the fight continued, York blinked in and out as the white King transited her position. When Major Tudor’s team finished off the blue King, the two remaining Kings could no longer overwhelm our active skins by combining their laser fire. Three simultaneous shots by my team brought the red King’s reign to an end. The green King sprang wildly, taking a different direction with each leap, in an attempt to stay alive.