Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 1 - Purple Blood (21 page)

‘Your plausibility is important Omerio and I understand that the misdirection needs assistance from our mutual friends. The sled will shed the pieces if I am attacked at Earth and the humans will think they have destroyed a different ship. This is basically another exercise in plausibility my friend.’

Omerio wasted no time now as he could see the Maveen already preparing to leave the star system and he needed further reassurances by providing one of his own.

‘Altarebe, once again I will do all I can to protect Earth. However I am not responsible for the actions of the humans and what they may do to either your race or the Sspol. I also would suggest a neutrality clause be adopted by both our races; indeed if I come across one of your race I will transmit such a clause.’

Altarebe noted both the departing Maveen and the condition of Omerio’s ship before he again replied.

‘I thank you for your offer, best wishes and advice. Indeed all are most acceptable, and the neutrality clause being especially welcome. Now I was thinking you left something out in your own calculations as your ship’s hold is empty. I know for a fact that the closest Sspol cruiser carries a cargo of valuable and exotic materials …’

Omerio signalled the now distant Maveen to wait for an additional hour before they left, even as he now carefully approached the Sspol cruiser. Altarebe assisted him by using his long manipulators to place a pair of strange looking pallets from the cruiser inside the Barus scout ship’s cargo hold, before he farewelled his friend.

‘Omerio thank you for your assistance and the best of luck in your coming battles. Once I leave Earth again in the future I will be different and I might not be able to contact you. I am now in debt to you and your race my friend.’

Omerio now took leave of Drannep on his ship and his friend Altarebe, and was followed out of the system by the second Sspol cruiser. He watched with interest as the distant Maveen gate ship left the star system on a slightly different course to his own. He noted that whatever the two other races had placed in his hold, it was exceedingly heavy, as his ship was now not as mobile as expected.

After another hour, his ship also left for the next star system by entering hyper space. Omerio then had the presence of mind to empty the air out of one of his suit tanks before he reactivated the ships’ recorder once he reached the next star system.

Altarebe watched his friend go, before he led Drannep’s cruiser in a different direction towards the solar system and Earth. After three hours, another two coronas of light indicated the last ships had left the isolated star system and endless calm returned to the remote star system.

                                                                     ***

Grant watched his console screens with heightened awareness as the Emerald Sky slowly nosed closer to the first metallic asteroid they had selected in the Arranen system. The Barede freighter turned one side after it was behind the asteroid’s path and the smaller mining craft were deployed. Olav had taken an interest in the asteroid after they had earlier managed to get a small sensor probe alongside. Gayle now took over the landings of the collection of automated mining craft as this task was her specialty. After several anxious minutes the mining craft began assaying their landing sites and the first readings became available to the crew on the freighter. Grant looked over the initial assays and began to speak.

‘Vanadium, Titanium, Gold, Silver, Platinum and fissionable elements, this rock is a treasure trove. We will get the automated software going on the miners and come back later.’

The Emerald Sky slowly backed away from the asteroid and Olav specified an even larger asteroid several hundred kilometres away that they leisurely moved over to search. After another indeterminate wait as the survey probes analysed the new location, the freighter again slowly moved in closer and released a second group of mining craft that landed and began their own tests.

As his ship backed way from the larger asteroids, Grant zoomed out his navigation chart to show more asteroids, he then expanded the chart out further as he again was amazed at the scale of the asteroid belt they sought to mine. Gayle now came over and rested her hand on his shoulder as she spoke.

‘The scale of the place gets to me as well. Hundreds of ships like ours could mind this system for generations and I think we would hardly make a dent in the place.’

They both looked over the chart in companionable silence before Grant eventually spoke again.

‘We cannot have a base or refinery here but the next system over, Bannene, has a larger F class star with two massive stone asteroids, Castile and Pollex, at a distance from the star. There are also plenty of large snowballs elsewhere in Bannene we can use for air, fuel and water.’

Olav looked up from his own console, as he was doing initial estimates on mining tonnages, and ventured his own reply.

‘The two asteroids are each as big as Ceres back at Earth, so they are substantial worlds in their own right. We can use a refinery first to get the consumables ready and then we can build our smelter on one of the big moons.’

Gayle gave Grant’s shoulder another squeeze before she moved back to her own console. Grant gave her an appreciative grin, and looked at his own console again, as he was calculating out the number of ships he would require before he replied to Olav.

‘Well we will invite the Traders to be a part of this as their big ships would be useful. I owe Captain Narindestat a favour so maybe this will help. The Arranen Mines operation looks like it is a going concern.’

Grant now opened out the range of his navigation console as the ship edged away from the massive asteroid belt. Gayle kept the Emerald Sky well away from the navigation probe denoting the approaches to the empty Sspol planet, as they unhurriedly travelled across the system to their hyper drive point back to the nearest Barede colonies.

On the two large metallic asteroids the collection of intelligent bus sized mining robots used small lasers to cut selected rock. The metal rich rock was then collected and bagged in sturdy mesh sacks that were sealed, and left in a series of specified collection points as the robots continued their labour. After ten hours had gone by the robots all stopped their mining efforts. The robots arrayed themselves, and then each opened an impressive collection of solar panels for several hours to recharge their batteries.

                                                                     ***

Emeria had quietly fumed for three days, before she finally got to see Captain Narindestat by inviting him over for dinner. Garendestat had been most apologetic, as he explained what had kept his father from talking to her about something she saw as vitally important to both the Traders and the humans on the colony.

‘Emeria, I am sure my father has not been ignoring your requests. Also my mother has been busy with Pimeria’s wedding plans for when she returns. My father and I have been working on a new weapons system based on the human technology we have been trialling. The reassembly of the Illuria has not gone to plan either as we have had trouble mounting the new aero spike engines...’

Garendestat trailed off as their youngest son, Hurindestat, now thirty in Earth years but equivalent to a twelve year old human child, came over to speak with his parents.

‘Mother, Father, my oldest human friends have got on with their lives yet I am stuck at school getting to know their younger brothers and sisters. It is so unfair in my opinion.’

Emeria was having none of it even as Garendestat gave her a reassuring smile she now ignored. He now moved off to the front room to await the imminent arrival of his father. The Trader mother ran her hand over her eldest son’s head, rather like what she had seen human mothers do, before she stopped herself as she replied.

‘Hurindestat, you know well that we live ten times longer at least than the humans and when you are ready for space most of your human friends will be very old by their standards. Now I am awaiting your grandfather and if you want to see him you had better complete your homework first, now off you go please.’

Her now chastened son headed for his room and he promised to do as instructed. Emeria was glad that Trader mothers fortunately did not have to deal with the restless energy of human male children in particular. Emeria got along well with both her sisters in-law, though both Soneria and Pimeria were now off world onboard the Tongeria. She then sat with Garendestat in their spacious but simple front room, and her husband picked up the conversation where it had earlier left off.

‘We still do not have full levels of control we seek on the new weapons technology and this is frustrating. However once this is all done if we find ourselves in a battle with a vassal race they will be amazed at our new capabilities.’

Something bothered Emeria about his last statement, but she could not put a finger on it, as the door chimed to announce the arrival of Captain Narindestat and Illuria. The captain stooped to get his four metre height under the high door frame before he straightened, and favoured his son and daughter in law each with polite smiles they returned. Illuria made her way into the room and greeted them both with the human custom of a peck on the check. Garendestat flushed in moment’s embarrassment, even as he took the cask of good Barede red wine from his father and led them all into the kitchen.

‘The children are all busy with homework and activities and have been instructed to join us in an hour for dinner.’

None of the Traders moved off to see the children, as the Trader custom of adults completing their work and activities first was deeply ingrained into their culture. Emeria knew that in a human household the children would be climbing all over the visiting adults as soon as they arrived. Illuria smiled at Emeria in a wise manner, as she could see some of the children engrossed in game with their human home tutor out in the large back garden. Narindestat looked out at his grand children with fondness as he took a pre-offered seat and in turn looked at Emeria.

The younger Trader female gave him a nod of respect and began to recall concisely her latest medical research. Once again she felt the feeling of discovery that she had experienced on the hillside.

‘….so in summary the studies of the life cycles of the vassal and independent races have illustrated some interesting possibilities we need to consider further in my opinion.’

The Trader captain again qualified the unwelcome conclusions that Emeria’s briefing highlighted and now asked a series of probing questions. He was not entirely happy with the results, and he pledged to raise the issue in the Captain’s table meeting later in the week. Illuria then asked a question that Emeria replied to in a cool tone not lost on the older Traders.

‘The Overlords and senior vassals have long had a vested interest in the biological control of other races including our race. There can be no other conclusions regarding the various life cycles I used as examples, but I admit that further research needs to be directly done on this matter.’

Narindestat now looked nervously around at both his wife and son as the import of what Emeria was telling him finally sunk home. Illuria had lost her usually happy mood, and now looked at the nearby picture of Emeria’s two deceased human friends from Earth in sadness.

Garendestat did not immediately pick up on the mood and used the latest developments at their space port as method to lighten the conversation. But his father looked him squarely in the eye and brought their focus back on Emeria’s points.

‘Son, the vassals have seen little of us since we helped cleanse those barren worlds infested with the Voorde during that short lived amnesty. They have not seen us for over one hundred years and they could assume the worse.’

Emeria now understood what had bothered her earlier and she spoke cautiously.

‘Now if we suddenly reappear and our technology is too different, and we also have increased military capabilities, then the vassals will consider us to have gone rogue.’

Narindestat fixed his daughter in law a look a both respect and gratitude as he replied again.

‘Right on the money as the humans say Emeria. So this means I need to take any other main Trader ship but the Illuria with our sneak ships to Cephrit space as soon as I can do so. The Captain’s table will need convincing but this should not be a problem. I also want to check several systems out for suitable colonies for us on the return journey.’

Garendestat looked a bit perplexed as he now spoke in turn.

‘Why can we not just take the Illuria and stop by the human home world in the process father? I can see why the technology issues can be a concern with the vassals, but surely a quick trade exchange between Earth and Barede could be arranged?’

Captain Narindestat looked at his son in quiet evaluation as he replied.

‘As you well know I promised the Maveen Earth probe we would not go near Earth or even the former Dradfer colonies in the foreseeable future. We will only take Traders with us on the mission and it is volunteers only with senior experience. We are not taking any Maveen with us either, though I will leave a message for the Earth probe.’

Garendestat suppressed a grin at the last sentence as he knew too well his father’s fraught relationship with the Maveen Earth probe in particular. He asked another question even as he volunteered for the mission.

‘I will be going with you of course father and I will not hear otherwise. Emeria will stay behind and I will obtain a suitable medical researcher to take with us on the journey.’

Emeria gave Garendestat a cool look he chose to ignore, even if she knew he was well within their cultural rights to state she would stay behind. Narindestat was not surprised by Emeria’s change of mood, and he deflected it all by opening his cask of wine as he spoke again.

‘That is what I was waiting to hear son and I will glad to have you with me, now this news needs a celebration. I will probably take the Resuria as she is a modern ship that is fully provisioned and her crew are also off duty for the next two years.’