Frig was groggy, but he spoke, "Sir, was the Frost able to escape?" I replied, "Yes, they were not detected and were able to leave without issue. I am surprised we made it out of there in one piece. The cargo door looks to be bent on its frame. I'm not sure how it held its seal."
"Both of our battle suits are ragged looking and the interior of this ship is a mess. Other than that you had a concussion and your face got cut up from those mirrors shattering. And there is nothing for you to worry about. The Helix should be here at any moment and we can get you in the medical bay with someone who knows what they are doing. I did what I could, but I'm sure you still have glass embedded in there. Just hang tight and we will get it taken care of."
I could tell Frig was in pain so I again administered a sedative. The Helix arrived and I moved the Hammer into its cargo hold. The ship's medic was waiting and we quickly moved Frig into the automated E. R. "OK, place him up here. And let’s get this battle suit off of him. My bay has to stay extremely sterile if we want our boys to survive when they come through here." Half an hour later Frig had been washed and was resting comfortably. The medic was evaluating his eyes.
Jarrod placed his hand on my shoulder, "Come on Don, let's get a cup of coffee. I sent the Frost back out with the Cougar to continue their patrols. We are heading back to base to get him taken care of. Can't say that I know much about how hardy his species is. His face is... well, torn up. Maybe George will be able to help when we get back."
Two days into our ride back the medic came into the ship's lounge with good news. "I can't say much about scarring, but it looks like the Gambits have an extra eyelid in there that is almost like a hard shell. I think his eyes are going to be fine. As far as his face goes, the automated bay was able to extract another 247 pieces of glass. His healing should proceed at a faster pace now. That swelling is already beginning to go down."
The news was excellent. With my worries for his health withdrawn I boarded the Hammer and began to examine the data from the scans we had done. It was evident that the Durians were now deeply in bed with the Torrians and the Milgari.
Once back at the Suppressor I would have our teams redouble their efforts at finding out just where the Durians hailed from. We knew so little about a species that was now a major player in this war. I thought it was time that they too felt the pain of war and what it meant for their people.
The scans of the Durian ships were revealing. The outer hull was thick while the inner structure seemed almost delicate. I wondered what materials they used for their decking and what advantages they offered. The hulls appeared to have many layers of Tantric just as our ships, but theirs were interlaced with quartz. It was something I would have Gy look into when we arrived home.
I knew my limits when evaluating the technical data from a deep scan and I was soon standing in the medical bay recovery room, asking Frig what he thought. "Sir, if you route the information to the Helix's systems I would be happy to analyze the data. Your thoughts on the Durian armor are interesting and I shall take them into account as I look over what we were able to obtain."
I sat in a chair beside his bed. As I looked at him I shook my head, "Wow. Your face is hideous. Of course I always thought your face was hideous before, but in a nice way." Frig sighed, "You just never quit with the sarcastic remarks do you Sir. I guess I would be worried about my condition if you did. I'm just glad you are transparent enough for me to see through to what you really mean Sir. Believe it or not, I am glad you care."
I sat back and folded my arms, "Well, somebody has to keep you in line. If it wasn't for me you would be back on the Grid working for Felix!" I looked over and received a smile. Frig was going to recover. I would do my best to make sure of it.
When we arrived back at the Suppressor, Frig was up and moving about as normal, but his face was indeed a hideous mess. George met us at the docking bay and gave an immediate evaluation. "Hmmm. We will have to remove down to the structure underneath and rebuild from there."
"I will need to take a few skin samples to grow in the lab. We should have enough skin in a couple months to begin the process. I would guess... this is going to take about a dozen sessions over the next six months." He patted Frig on the back and smiled, "We will have you good as new. And the lab growth will yield skin that looks and feels younger. It might knock half a dozen years off of your age!"
I stepped up with a comment, "Half a dozen years? Doc, is there anything more you can do for him? Half a dozen years ago he was intolerable. I would hate to have to take him back through all that training I've given." Frig shook his head as George replied, "Well, I'm sure you two can work that out amongst yourselves. I try not to get involved in such matters."
George left the room. As Frig stood from his chair I put my hand around the back of his neck and squeezed. "Honestly, I'm glad you will be OK. It would get lonely on the Swift without having you to kick around." Frig replied, "I'm sure you would manage Sir, but perhaps we should investigate getting you a pet. I think maybe a Gernarian hamster, something that is more along the lines of your lower intellectual scale, but with equal wit."
After leaving George's office we made our way to Gy's lab. He was hard at work with his analysis of the scans of the Durian armor. "Don, the Durians are using a combination of crushed quartz and carbon. I'm guessing they mix it into a paste along with the Tantric and then put it through a drying process to make an extremely thin layer of Aerogel."
"It's not quite as tough as our own armor mix, but it would be much easier to apply. And it looks like they have over 500 layers of the stuff as compared to our 26. I looked at the damage our negative ion cannons did to it, but I would guess they will remedy that shortcoming in a hurry. All they would need to do with that quartz mixed in there is to apply a negative field. It would make our negative cannons almost useless."
One thing I did take notice of though, you still had the deep scanners running when you fired upon that ship. I did a spectral analysis of that debris and I think I know how they snuck up on you. The outermost layer has a heavy mix of phosphorus. I think they are able to project an exact, high resolution image from behind themselves onto their hull. We are doing the same thing to reduce our visual signature. It looks like they have figured out a way to ruggedize the process. I'll have another look at the tech they sold us and see if there is a way from there to this."
I nodded as I listened to the information Gy was supplying. The Durians had us outgunned and would have us out-armored, probably by the time we next encountered them. I had a sinking feeling that the tide of the Milgari war was again turning against us. I next made my way to the Colonel's office.
"Grange! Sorry to hear about Frig. Heck-uva engineer that one. We need more like him." I responded, "Well, yes, that would be a good thing. But I came around here to get your thoughts on something. What would you say if I asked you about trying to board a Durian destroyer?"
The Colonel spit a wad of Omega root juice on the floor, "I have about 50,000 Defiant Marines who would be chomping at the bit for that assignment! If we went in there with conventionals... those boys would be ecstatic. Please tell me this is something you are heavily considering."
I sat in a chair across from his desk and looked at the wall of images behind him before looking him in the eye. "I am heavily considering it, but probably not for the same reason you are. I want us to figure out how to fight our way on there so we can leave a transmitter. I want to know where they go and how fast."
"Gy now has an idea of what their outer armor is made of. I want you to work with him on a way for you to blast your way onto one of those ships where we can attach or leave a transmitter. It would of course remain passive until such time as we fed it a signal. But we could have it store the ship's movements for say... the prior year, and then have it broadcast that signal to us once we were within range of them."
"We would have to disguise the raid so that it looked like it had another purpose. Maybe attempt a download of their computer core. I'm sure the encryption would be almost impossible to break, but it might give them concern that we somehow have a way to do just that."
"My biggest concern with that type of raid though Colonel is that we can't afford to have any of our men captured. Otherwise, they would know right where to find us." The Colonel sat up. "Grange. Every time we board one of those Milgari ships we run that risk. It is one reason I have been saying we need to really beef up our defenses here."
"Forget the Durians, if the Milgari were to find this place we would be in a world of hurt. We need some solid set defenses if we are going to continue this war. Otherwise, they wipe us out with one easy blow. The guns we have here on the Suppressor are the best we have, but even they would buckle under the assault of a large force."
"Going back to your assault on a Durian destroyer, I say we work up a strategy and see if we can put it into practice. If we can put a little fear into the Durians, that might be a good thing. They will find us eventually. The more we know about them when that happens, the better."
The Colonel worked with Gy on the best method for our assault tubes to be used to board a Durian craft. Their armor was thicker, our current set of explosives and magnetic pulses would not blow a hole into the side of a Durian destroyer. Until such time as we had that process nailed down we would not be going after the Durians.
In addition, Rita was working on a data recorder with a micro-transmitter that we could attach to a Durian hull. If the Colonel could get his men on-board we stood a good chance of being able to track the Durains back to their home-world. It was something that we were increasingly in desperate need of.
With Frig in full recovery I decided to make another trip to the Pollus sector, I wanted to know what information had been gathered about the Milgari ship movements. Frig insisted on riding along. His injuries were now only cosmetic and George needed time to grow new skin in the lab to be grafted. We departed with the Swift in the hold of the Helix.
We sat with Jarrod, discussing the information that had been gathered before the Durian attack. "Don, if you ask me, the Milgari are gearing up for a major offensive on the Dakar. We had one of our ships stop by the Prassi world and they have managed to assemble a decent fleet in a short time period. They now have 5,000 ships at their disposal. Of course the Milgari ships are now more powerful than before."
"Anyway, what I was thinking was, if the Milgari go after the Dakar, maybe it would be a perfect opportunity for us, the Prassi, and maybe even Admiral Zimmerman and his crew to launch an all-out assault on the Torrian strongholds. I think either Barithia or maybe even Torrus itself."
I took a sip from my cup, "I wish I had your confidence Jarrod. I’m just worried about throwing everything we have into the fight all at once. If we were successful in taking Barithia that would be a big win. It could buy the Grid some time while they work to take it back and then to rebuild."
"I can't imagine getting close enough to Torrus without taking major losses. I'm not willing to ask others to go against those odds, at least not while we don't have to." Frig spoke, "Sir, I think what he is suggesting has merit as it concerns Barithia. That is a major supply hub for them as well as some manufacturing. If we could capture it and destroy that manufacturing, it would be a major blow."
"We would not however be able to hold onto it. That would require building up a defense that places a high cost on an assault by them. We do not have the men or any type of an automated system that would function in that capacity. We are still limited to the hit-and-run strategy that we have developed."
I took another sip, the coffee was good, piping hot, almost burning my tongue as it traveled to the back of my throat. "I'll have the Colonel begin work on an assault plan if he doesn't already have one in place. If we could shut down Barithia, even if that was only for a few months, it could buy us substantial time. If the Dakar fall or fold quickly and withdraw, the Torrians will turn their efforts back to trying to take the Grid."
"Our ships are more capable than ever and we now have upwards of 280 of them. But that is a far cry from the 3,000 ships of the Prassi or the possibly tens of thousands of the Milgari. The battlefield keeps changing all the time. And the Durian involvement is accelerating that change. Something needs to break in our favor soon or we are going to find ourselves on the run again."
"Look around at our team Jarrod. We aren't a bunch of spring chickens here. Most of what makes up Defiant is of extended age. George, the Colonel, even you... do you think you will be as prepared to fight in ten or 15 years? I know I won't and I am much younger than you. If the Grid has to jump to survive then most if not all of our efforts here will fall by the wayside. We need to turn this war while we are at our best!"
It was a good speech, but I was preaching to the choir. Frig and Jarrod were both of the same understanding as I. Something needed to happen and we were the ones that were going to have to force it. Whether that happened at Barithia or against the Durians, something had to turn in our favor.
When the Helix arrived at the rendezvous point we waited for the other ships to return with what they had found. The Honcho and the Haven arrived first. The captain of the Honcho was the first to offer the findings. "Gentlemen, we just came from a system near Mortel. The attack on Mortel was with approximately 500 Milgari ships, the fleet we observed was closer to 4,000 ships in size, including eight of the massive globe shaped ones."
"The numbers were also more heavily slanted towards battleships and cruisers. Almost 2,300 of those 4,000 ships were of the upper class. We scouted most of the grids in that sector and that was by far the largest gathering of forces. And the area is thick with pickets out searching for the likes of us. Most of our information was gathered at the extreme range of our sensors."
The next set of Raiders arrived with similar information. The grids they had scouted contained a large force of nearly 4,000 ships which included several of the massive globes. When the remainder of the teams had returned we had a good picture of what the Dakar had coming their way. An armada of almost 17,000 ships was gathering in the grids nearest the Dakar.
I quizzed the captains further and learned that they had each deposited a number of passive probes in the grids where they had been. At a set time each week the probes would all send a snapshot of the information they had gathered, it would flow back towards a single point. So long as nothing interfered with the line of sight between the probes the information would be sent back silently.
With the number of ships they had at their disposal it was evident that the Torrians and Milgari were no longer having supply problems. Our strategy had worked for a while, but they had found a way to compensate for their losses. I again wondered if it was due to their dealing with the Durians.
After several meetings with the captains to discuss the information we now had, I turned to Frig to ask a question. "Do you think it would be of any benefit to warn the Dakar of what is coming their way? If they heed the warning they might flee, leaving the Milgari force to turn after the Grid. But I don't see us having a choice if we want them as allies. If they run, they could one day still join us in a fight."
Frig replied, "I think it is imperative that we offer the warning. If we leave it to chance it may only be a minor distraction for the Torrians and Milgari. The Dakar made a truce with the Milgari before, who says they won't do it again. And if the Grid runs to a new sector, the Dakar might just get left alone, which is what they want. Either way, I believe it would be in our best interest to let them know."
Soon after the meeting we were on our way towards the Dakar front. From there I would attempt to establish communications with Feta Lunge. After our arrival, several days passed before we met with Feta on the Paswari.
We landed in his cargo hold and Feta met me on the deck, "I know this meeting was not planned, but we have information that I believe should be taken immediately to your council. The Milgari are massing a fleet in this sector. We count over 17,000 ships. And we believe these ships have upgraded defenses and weapons."
I took Feta through much of what we had gathered, he replied, "This is quite interesting. Our council has been in contact with the Torrians. They are nearing a truce. They would return several of the contested star systems in exchange for peace and trade relations. Our intelligence places those estimates at only 6,000 ships. Are you certain your people are not inflating numbers for your own political gain?"
I stepped back with a look of disbelief, "Political gain? I just handed you evidence that the Milgari are massing for an attack on your Dakari Expansion! I don’t know where your people got their information, but I can assure you that this is accurate and current, gathered within the last week."
Feta looked down at the data store I had placed in his hand, "As I said, I will pass this on to the council. If what you say is true, they will take the appropriate action. Now I would suggest you go back the way you came. Even though your intentions are good the council might take your entry into our space the wrong way, given our current state of negotiations."
I wanted to punch the snarky alien in the face. We had offered vital intel without any expectations and our offer was being treated as though it was worthless. Feta turned to his robot assistant Passi and gave it a command. The robot turned and moved out of the bay and down a hall. As I started to turn towards the Swift Feta grabbed my arm.