Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids (12 page)

“Yes, sir, I’ll see to it immediately.”

“Admiral Wabussie, I’m sorry I didn’t see this.  This is some critical intelligence that nearly fell through the cracks.  I’m not sure yet how best to use this information, but we surely will use it.  If what you are saying is true and we can get one or two Markazian built corvettes and by using Brotherhood codes, get them through their defenses to set up a Cantolla Gate, it could have a huge impact on our efforts to stop the Brotherhood.”

“If we could get a gate set up inside their area and pass through it, and set up another gate in the far side of their territory so you could come at them from both sides, it would even be better,” Admiral Slater said.

“Right, Admiral, that’s an excellent idea.  I think I need to make a trip to Alle Bamma and speak to Captain Felenna.”

“Felenna?  Wasn’t she once a member of the Brotherhood who turned against them and helped you at Alle Bama?”  Regeny asked.

“Yes”, I said, “and she might be able to help us get through their defenses.  Oddly enough, I got a message from her yesterday saying that something strange is going on near Alle Bamma.  She’s reported a swarm of meteors heading toward the planet.  It all sounds suspicious, so I have the
NEW ORLEANS
heading there now to assist.”

“You don’t think it might be the Brotherhood trying to regain Alle Bamma,” Regeny asked/

“I don’t know.  I hope not.  But no matter what the case is, I need to protect the planet.  I made a promise to Thumumba and the natives, I would protect them.”

“How soon will the
NEW ORLEANS
arrive?”  Regeny asked.

“Ah, Marranalis, could you check and see what the arrival time is for the
NEW ORLEANS
at Alle Bamma?”  I saw Marranalis grin slightly before he answered.

“Sir, Captain Kerabac reported this morning that the
NEW ORLEANS
would arrive at Alle Bamma by noon tomorrow.”

“That soon; I thought it would take weeks.”

“Without Cantolla Gates, it would have taken nearly two months, but there are several gates between here and there that expedite the travel time,” Marranalis replied.

“Oh, yeah, the gates,” I said as I started to wonder if I was slowly becoming senile, as I seemed to be missing and forgetting a lot of things recently.

“I think it might be worthwhile calling the other fleet admirals in order to go over this information and discuss some battle plans,” Regeny commented.

“I agree, Admiral.  I can have Marranalis send out a message to them all and we should be able to convene a meeting first thing in the morning if that suits you,” I said.

“Tomorrow morning is appropriate for me, if no one else has an objection,” Regeny said.  No one responded and the meeting was set.

I was beginning to wonder how Lunnie and Reide were making out on Megelleon and since I had a free hour for the first time in weeks, I decided to go to my estate to see how all was going.  This sounds much easier than it was, because, even though I had a Cantolla Gate I could simply step through, to go there I needed to drag a security contingent along with me all the way since I was leaving the ship.

Finding the twins once I was at the estate was not as easy as I thought.  At first, no one seemed to know where they were.  I wanted to call Jenira, but since she didn’t speak that was useless.  I decided the best place to start looking would be the stable where the horses were kept.  As it turned out, Lunnie and five of her friends were there when I arrived and Lunnie was showing off Poccot and tricks she’d taught him.  They weren’t anything fancy like trick riders back on Earth in my day, but they were tricks and Lunnie had taught them to the horse.  Lunnie’s friend’s seemed to be in awe of her and I remember Kala saying how her sister was always the ring leader of her friends as well.  It took a few minutes for Lunnie to see me but when she did she spurred Poccot into a gallop and rode over to me.

“Hi Dad.  Why are you here?” she asked curiously.

“I had a few minutes and thought I would check and see how my favorite daughter was doing.”

“Dad! I’m your only daughter!”  Lunnie exclaimed.

“Right, so you must be my favorite… right?”  I said teasingly, “Are you having fun?”

“Yes, I love it here; my friends and I have been riding every day.  Did you see the tricks I taught Poccot?”

“Yes I did.  That’s impressive,” I said.  “Do you know where your brother is?

“He said something about him and Rory going up to the lake and something about building a treehouse, whatever that is.” 

“A treehouse!!  I built one when I was a kid; I think I must have told Reide about it.  However, I doubt he’s big enough to build one yet.  I had better go find him before he falls and breaks his neck.”  I looked about to see if I could spot any of the Women with Swords that were supposed to be watching Lunnie; it took me a few minutes before I finally spotted one.  They were doing a good job staying out of sight of Lunnie and her friends.  I was hoping that they were doing equally as well watching out for Reide and Rory.

Finding the boys turned out to be easier than I expected.  Long before we reached the lake, I could hear their voices.  They obviously were having a great time.  When I finally arrived at the lake and spotted them, they were both up in a tree climbing through the branches like a bunch of Thumumba’s children.  I think by the time they got up in the tree, they had given up on building a treehouse and decided to have fun.  I looked about to see if I could spot any of the Women with Swords and located two on the ground who appeared most anxious as the two boys climbed higher, but neither of them interfered.  I wondered how many more were around that I didn’t see.

“Hey guys, are you two having fun?” I called up to them.

“Hi Dad.  Look at the great tree Rory and I found!  We want to build a treehouse up here,” Reide called back.

“How do you plan to get the materials up there to do that?”  I asked.

“Well, I was sort of hoping maybe you would get some of your men on the estate to help us,” Reide said.

I laughed at his comment, “If my men help you build it, how can you say you built it?”  This made Reide ponder a minute and Rory chimed in, “Reide will be the designer and the men will be the workers.  Reide is smart.  He makes fun things.”

“Hmm, I see,” I replied.  I had to admit that the tree was perfect for a large treehouse and I could see it would be a wonderful place for the boys to play.  “Why don’t you come down and tell me about your idea for a treehouse and perhaps we can have one made for you,” I said.

“Really Dad?”  Reide asked.

“I don’t see why not.  I had a treehouse when I was a boy and I loved it.  I think you should have one too.”

“Woo hoo!” Reide whooped as he began descending the tree.  “We’re going to have a treehouse, Rory.”

“Yeah!  Rory exclaimed as he descended a bit more slowly than Reide.  Rory’s fingers and legs were shorter than Reide’s and it made it more difficult for him to get as firm a grip on the branches.  However, he was careful and made it to the ground safely.

Once he was on the ground, Reide looked at me and asked, “Dad, what are you doing here?  I don’t have to come back to the ship now, do I?”

“No, I came to see my son and see if you were having a good time,” I answered.

“Dad I’m having lots of fun.  Me and Rory are having a good time.  I wish I could stay here all the time.  It’s more fun here than on the ship.  Will you stay and help us build the tree house?"”

“I wish I could, but I need to get back to the ship, there are lots of things I need to do,” I said.

“If you didn’t have to fight the Brotherhood, I’ll bet you would have time,” Reide said.

“Yes, I would have time.  However, if I don’t fight the Brotherhood, they would win and you would never have a treehouse."

“Dad, maybe if I get the treehouse built, you and mother can come and live in it with me and Rory.”

“Only your mother and I?  What about Lunnie?” I said teasingly.

“Lunnie can live with her stinky horses,” Reidecor said sullenly.  I detected some irritation in his voice.

“But you have a horse, too.  Don’t you like your horse?”

“Yeah, I like my horse, except Lunnie doesn’t want me riding with her.  She only wants to ride with the girls.”

“Yeah,” Rory added,” the girls are like stinky horses.”  I had to grin at his comment as I recognized the pattern in child development when boys and girls begin to identify and associate with their own gender for a time before they develop a new interest in the opposite sex.

“So, listen boys, I need to get back to the ship, but I have enough time to have some lunch with you back at the estate with you if you like?”

“I’m hungry,” Rory said.

“Me too,” Reide said.  And we all headed back to the estate.  Rory was impressed with my guard detail and wanted to walk with them, but Reide told him not to disturb them, as they were watching out for “bad guys.”  The chatter of the two boys kept me amused all the way to the estate and it reminded me of warm sunny days in my youth, playing with my best friend Jimmy Heartsworth on Earth.  I called the estate and had Piebar contact one of the Women with Swords watching Lunnie to invite Lunnie to join me and the boys for lunch.  I received a reply some moments later that she would be joining us, but only if she could bring her friends along.  This wasn’t what I had hoped for, as I wanted some time alone with my kids, but life doesn’t always play out the way we want when it comes to our children.  As it was, Lunnie was all absorbed talking to her friends while Rory and Reidecor discussed their plans for a treehouse.  In their young minds, the tree must have been a lot larger than it was in reality, as there was no way anyone could fit all the stuff they envisioned into a treehouse, no matter how large the tree. Before I knew it, I needed to head back to the
MAXETTE
and the reality of war.

I was sitting in my office by the War Room on the
MAXETTE
when Marranalis contacted me to say Kerabac had notified him that the
NEW ORLEANS
had reached Alle Bamma.  I thanked him for the news and finished a few last details with reports and orders for the fleet before heading back to my yacht.  I talked to Kala and made arrangements for us to have a dinner that evening with our crew and Felenna as the guest.  It was some time since we’d all been together and I thought now would be a good time.  I had Marranalis relate to Felenna that I would meet with her first thing in the morning to discuss the meteor situation.

I had given instructions to everyone the meal that evening was to be informal and since we had Cantolla Gates at our disposal, I decided the feast would be on the estate where we could dine outside on one of the balconies’ terraces that overlooked the lower lake.  Weather on Megelleon at the estate site was relatively stable most of the year with only occasional rain showers that occurred mostly at night.  Days tended to be pleasantly warm with night temperatures dropping down to 14.5C.  The temperatures shortly after sunset usually were around 23C making it comfortable for outside dining.  We assembled before sunset and all got to enjoy the display of vivid pastel colors as the sun descended below the horizon and the sky slowly went into darkness.  Piebar was ecstatic about being able to serve us all at one time.  It had been quite a while since I had held a dining event at the estate and I think he was feeling a bit underappreciated and underused.

Kala insisted that we must have something other than fubalo steaks; as she put it, “Tibby, that’s all you want to eat at every event.  Tonight I insist we dine on something new that you’ve never tried before.”  So I had no idea what we would be eating until Piebar announced, “This evening the appetizer we will be serving is poached garnac eggs served with a wassak sauce infused with the oil from toasted marblan seeds; we have a choice of wines, a dry vintage Marmar or a sweeter Gorgeen wine from Vanda 5.  Please be sure to let the
sommelier know your preference.  There will be a small Adjak salad composed of leafy vegetables and fruits, followed by a soup course of Ordean fungus soup.  For an entrée, there will be
cordan kalbac
, prepared to its finest by our own chef here at the estate.  We had the fresh ingredients brought in from Senenalia through the Cantolla Gates an hour ago to assure the best taste and freshness of the dish.  And for dessert, at the request of First Citizen Kalana, we will be serving a specialty from Earth that I am told is one of Tibby’s favorites.  Pumpkin pie with a frozen confectionary called ice cream.  The ingredients of which were produced from plants and animals cloned and grown right here on our very own estate.”

Piebar’s announcement caught me completely off guard and I looked at Kala, who glanced at me with a beaming smile.

“How did you… I mean, well, how did you know pumpkin pie was my favorite?  Where did you get the recipe?”  I stammered.

“You told me years ago how you missed pumpkin pie, she said.  “As for the recipe, that was easy to get from the data cubes the Mars Colony brought with them.

“We had to wait several years, though, to get cattle large enough to produce the milk for the ice cream,” Cantolla interjected from down the table, “and growing wheat and producing the flower to make the crust container for the pie filling.  The chef fared much better at putting the ingredients together than I expected.”  While she was speaking, Piebar instructed the waiters to serve the appetizers.

I had asked that Captains Felenna and Kerabac be seated near the head of the table by Kala and me, so we could catch up on recent events and so I might quiz Felenna on methods of the Brotherhood.  I also wanted to find out if she had any ideas on how to capture one of the newer Brotherhood ships.

“I don’t know, Tibby,” she began when I asked her for some ideas, “It’s been over 10 years since I was part of the Brotherhood.  I doubt it’s anything now like it was back then.  I think Ming has made a lot of changes.”

“Don’t you remember the location of any of their supply bases or any place where we might find a ship?  The name of a planet where they have ships built?”

“Gee, Tibby, most things at that time were more centralized and closer to the center of the Federation; nowadays there is almost no Brotherhood activity in these sectors and they are operating more on the outer perimeter of the Federation.”

“Yes, but there must be some of their old outposts that they still use.”

“Well, there might still be something in the data banks on the
MIZBAGONA
you could use,” Felenna said.

“There still is Brotherhood data in the computers on the
MIZBAGONA
?”

“Why yes, it was never erased; we simply disconnected the command functions, but all the data is still there.”

I placed my hand on my forehead and asked myself how many opportunities we’d missed in dealing with the Brotherhood because we didn’t check the computer data banks of captured ships.  We’d checked the computers on worlds we’d captured, but managed to miss the ones on vessels we’d captured early on.

“First thing I want you to do when you return to your ship is to have those computer records copied and sent to Admiral Wabussie at the FSO.  It’s a long shot after all this time, but there still may be something in there we can use.

“Now can you tell me a bit more about these meteors that are headed your way?”

“It reminds me of that trick you played on the Brotherhood at Goo’Waddle when you used a swarm of meteors to run their blockade and get to the planet’s surface,” Felenna said.  “I can’t shake the nagging feeling that there is more to these meteors and that this isn’t natural.”

“Do you think the Brotherhood is using them to get back on Alle Bamma?”

“I don’t know, sir, but it’s not natural.”

“Have you sent any ships to check them out?”

“Yes, sir, but we’ve found nothing.”

“Did you use Gravity Mass scanners to look for cloaked ships?”  I asked.

“Gravity Mass scanners?”  Sir, we don’t have anything like that on our ships,” Felenna said with a look of confusion.

“But surely you were issued some at the same time the… Oh my, Felenna; I'm sorry, after we developed them, I ordered them installed on all our military ships and I forgot my own fleet is not part of the military and I neglected to inform you.

“Kerabac,” I said as I turned to him, “We have Gravity Mass scanners on the
NEW ORLEANS,
don’t we?”

“Yes, sir, A’Lappe used the
NEW ORLEANS
to develop and test them; we were the first ships with them.”

“Thank the stars for that,” I said.  “I totally forgot to order them installed on the ships at Alle Bamma.  Felenna, I apologize for the oversight.  I assure you it was not deliberate.”

“Tibby, with all that’s gone on since I met you; I’m amazed by all you do.  I assure you I am not offended in anyway.”

“Well that brings me to my next question,” I began,” do you think that the
MIZBAGONA
would be able to slip into enemy territory and be mistaken by the Brotherhood as still being one of their ships?”

“Wow, that’s a tough question,” Felenna answered, “You’d be taking a huge gamble trying it.  Perhaps if you had some of their recent security codes, you might be able to pull it off in one of the sectors with lax security and where they don’t see any action.  It would be extremely risky.  You would need to change the ship’s name to one that exists in their fleet.  They would check it against their list in their computers.  I’m positive the
MIZBAGONA
is in their list of ships now in the hands of the Federation.  They'd attack it as soon as they discovered what ship it is.”

As always, the meal Piebar had selected for us was exquisite.  The poached garnac eggs were truly fantastic.  The
Ordean fungus soup was like nothing I had ever experienced before, with a mild taste similar to roasted tomatoes but lacking the acidity
and
with an after taste like roasted peanuts from Earth.  The
cordan kalbac
was a real delicacy.  I glanced down at Cantolla, who had brought
Truath along to the dinner.  I expected to see Cantolla gnawing on a bone, as she often ate ravenously when she was presented with tasty food, but I was surprised to see her eating slowly, though I could see she was trying hard to restrain herself from attacking the food.  She saw me glance at her and she let out a small laugh and mouthed the words, “I’m trying.”

Without any doubt, the highlight of the meal was the pumpkin pie with ice cream.  The chefs had researched the files on the data cubes brought from Earth by the Mars colony and found the best recipes, which they followed religiously.  With wheat and pumpkins grown from the seeds garnered from Earth's seed bank and milk from cattle cloned from DNA taken from Earth, they produced the finest dessert I’d ever eaten.  Kala sat smiling and I devoured the first piece, asked Piebar if there was more and savored the second piece as I listened to the comments of my fellow diners at the table.  When we finished dining, I asked Piebar to have the entire kitchen staff come out so I could personally thank them for the fine meal.  I was stunned by how many people were in the kitchen staff, but I still thanked them all profusely for the meal they had prepared.