SWEET HOME ALLE BAMMA (SOLBIDYUM WARS SAGA) (38 page)

I laughed as I dropped into the chair at the weapons console.  “I don’t think they’ll be needing their camouflage any longer.”

When I originally found the
TRITYTE
back on Earth, I spent weeks aboard with nothing else to do while the ship navigated through the galaxy on autopilot; so I let the ship teach me how to use most of the ship’s flight and navigation controls.  Though the ship didn’t actually allow me to take control, due to its prime directive, I was permitted to simulated flight and navigation as much as I wanted.  I was, however, restricted from learning any of the weapons systems during my passage through space; so I made sure to have Marranalis and Reidecor teach me some fundamentals of locking aim and firing the basic armaments during our long clandestine trip to Megelleon from the
DUSTEN
.  It seemed that the technology for these control systems was pretty much consistent in all ships designed in the area of the Federation territories; so by learning one, I could pretty much understand and successfully execute the same commands in any ship.  The only problem was – the bigger the ship, the more screens and controls there were to manipulate.  I was a bit slower to get oriented than I would have liked, but eventually I found the appropriate controls.

Kerabac raised the ship about 50 meters above the compound
, which allowed me to take aim with a clear view of everything on the ground.  The first thing I took out was the drug laboratory.  Then I started taking out the smaller patrol ships parked about the compound.  In just a few minutes the entire compound was ablaze.

“Okay, get us out of here, Kerabac. 
Take us to the
NEW ORLEANS.”

“Your wish is my command,” Kerabac said with a grin.  “Just before you got back from the prison building I received a message from Marranalis that he and his men were on their way to retrieve the
ALI
.  They should be arriving planetside about now.”

“Great!” I said.  “Let’s hope that the Brotherhood called all their troops in to help here at the camp and that there are relatively few, if any, left
to guard the
ALI.”

“If they use Federation procedure, which is how most of them have been trained, they’ll leave only a half dozen or so to watch the
ALI
and the rest will be called back with orders to stay on the lookout for us, in case we are fleeing back to the ship.  But by now I suspect they know we’re the ones in control of this ship, so they may just pull them all back from the
ALI
.  Considering that we just destroyed all the ships at this compound, they’re grounded until they can get reinforcements from another base.  I just wonder how many bases and processing plants they have here.”

“I’m getting readings on the weapons screen of dozens of ships taking off from various locations on the surface
.  It looks like we have our hands full.  Send word to Stonbersa that we’re on our way and to get the Mirage Fighters out of the hangar and ready for a fight.  Once the enemy is in range, have them cloak and wait until the rebels begin to attack the
NEW ORLEANS
before they open fire.

“
This ship should fit in the hangar of the
NEW ORLEANS. 
I want it docked safely inside until we can at least get a cloaking device on it.  We should arrive long before the enemy gets mobilized sufficiently to figure out where we’re headed.

“Oh, be sure to let Stonbersa know what we look like
, so he doesn’t blow us out of the sky as we arrive.”

Kerabac grinned, “I agree with you there, Tibby, and I promise you I will make every attempt to make sure the
NEW ORLEANS
knows who we are.”

The approach and berthing with the
NEW ORLEANS
went smoothly.  I could see the Mirage Fighters holding a broad formation some distance from the ship as we approached.  We were no sooner aboard and opening the hatch than we were greeted by a dozen of my security forces who were ready to retrieve the prisoners.

As they escorted the captives from the ship, I overheard their captain muttering
to Felenna, “You’re
dead
.  I promise you, you filthy doesee, they won’t be watching us all the time; and the first chance we get, you
will
die!”

I could see that Felenna was shaken by his comment as tears of despair filled her eyes.  I stopped the guards escorting her and said, “I don’t want this prisoner going with the rest.  Find her a
small, modestly furnished cabin and post a guard at her door.  She is not to have contact with any of the other prisoners.  Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” they answered together.

I told Kerabac to accompany me and we headed to the bridge to see Captain Stonbersa.  When we arrived, Kerabac went directly to the captain to brief him as to the nature of the unique ship we took from the compound and that more of them would likely be among the pursuing ships.

In the meantime, I noted A’Lappe sitting in the chair normally occupied by the communication officer; rather, I was able to see his short legs dangling inches above the floor until he
spun the chair around to greet me.

“Tibby, so good to see you back,” he said.  “Were you able to acquire the
ruguian eggs?”

“I fear we only managed to find a portion of what is needed before we ran into the Brotherhood.  We’re going to need to clear them off the planet before we can continue our search.”

“I noticed that you brought back a prize ship; I was monitoring it as you approached.  She’s a beauty.  Markazian, from the looks of her.”

“Markazian?  Is that a planet or a style?” I asked.

A’Lappe chuckled, “Markazia is a planet – a nonaligned world noted for making some of the best armed ships in the galaxy.  They’ll sell to anyone for any purpose.  They really don’t care how the ships are used, as long as the buyer pays for it.  Do you mind if I look it over?”

“Not at all.  In fact, I
’m hoping you can work you magic and get a cloaking system installed on it in short order.  We’re going to have a battle on our hands soon and we’ll need every ship we can get.  We may not have the luxury of giving her an RMFF shield before the action starts, but we can give her cloaking ability and that’s almost as good.”

“I’ll get right on it, Tibby.  I think I have a cloaking unit already built that should be able to cloak a ship of this size.  What’s the ships name?”

“Damn if I know.  We were so busy I never looked to see.  Kerabac, do you know?”

“It’s the
RUNANA
,” answered Kerabac as he scanned the captain’s console and discussed a deployment plan for the Mirage Fighters.

“Tibby, I’m glad you made it back okay,” said Captain Stonbersa.  We’re tracking fifty ships coming in pursuit from the surface.  They should be here in about ten minutes.  I’ve ordered the
Mirage Fighters to cloak and wait for orders.”

“Good,” I said.  “This should be interesting, keep the RMFF up but leave us uncloaked.  I want to crush the morale of the Brotherhood.  If we can consistently instill a sense of despair and impotence in these conflicts, it will soften their confidence and create dissention within their ranks.  The more battles they lose, the more conflict it will create within.

“By the way, were you able to get the message off to Admiral Regeny about the situation here on Alle Bamma?”

“Yes,” said Stonbersa, “but he was already on his way here.  He and his forces are about two weeks away.  The Brotherhood fell into the trap at Plosaxen when they tried to overtake the fake solbidyum reactor site.  After that, the admiral immediately loaded every
Mirage Fighter onto the
URANGA
that was completed at that point and issued orders for the ship
to head this way at top speed.  He’s aboard the ship.  He’s itching to be in the fight… and I also think he wants to be redeemed in your sight, Tibby.”

“I’m glad the trap on Plosaxen worked,” I said.  I didn’t respond to his last comment.

“Oh, it worked alright.  It worked much better than anyone expected.  The Brotherhood came with three corvettes and close to a hundred patrol ships.  They thought they were prepared for any scenario to unfold, including a trap; but they weren’t expecting cloaked and shielded star ships in addition to the patrol ships… and a dozen Mirage Fighters – also cloaked.  When the trap was sprung and they saw what they were up against, they bolted.  The Federation patrol ships and the Mirage Fighters took off after them and destroyed the better part of their armada.  Two of the corvettes escaped and a hand full of patrol ships; and according to Admiral Regeny, they’re heading this direction.”

“By any chance did you happen to note the departure points of the ships here from the surface so we can deploy ships to their bases?” I asked.

“It’s all recorded in the bridge records.  We can easily backtrack to retrieve their points of origin,” said Stonbersa.

“Good.  As soon as we finish reducing their fleet to rubble we need to go back to the surface and free the natives that they’re holding as slaves before we can blow up their bases.”

We watched calmly as the first of the Brotherhood ships arrived and fired at the
NEW ORLEANS
.  Due to the RMFF, their shots were absorbed as the familiar bursts of energy.  We watched the lightning patterns play on the surface of the field of the ship, waiting for the rebels to realize the futility of their assault.  Meanwhile, I hoped that the cloaked Mirage Fighters were far enough from the line of fire to keep from getting hit by an errant shot.

More of the Brotherhood’s ships arrived and
joined the assault.  Though we were safe, it was becoming difficult to see beyond the shield that was constantly distributing the energy flashes from the barrage of gunfire.

“Well, Captain, would you like to give them the option to surrender before we swat them like a bunch of flies?”

Stonbersa grinned and moved over in view of the bridge’s vid screen, then nodded to Kerabac, who had resumed his normal station on the bridge.  Kerabac opened a universal communication channel and the captain spoke.

“This is Captain Stonbersa of the space yacht
NEW ORLEANS
.  Do you wish to surrender now or would you prefer we destroy your fleet?”

A moment later a rather rugged individual wearing a Brotherhood captain’s uniform appeared on the screen.  “This is Captain Ruraldo of the corvette
MIZBAGONA
.  You must be high on God’s Sweat if you think your space yacht is any match for our ships.  However, if
you
wish to surrender, we’ll be most happy to take that fancy play toy away from you.”

Laughter
could be heard in the background on the
MIZBAGONA
.

Stonbersa said, “I see.  Would you like us to pick you off one at a time or a bunch of you at once?”

On the screen we could see Ruraldo laugh arrogantly.  “Why don’t you pick us off in a bunch?  I’ll enjoy the laugh.”

Captain Stonbersa glanced at me and smiled and then he said to Kerabac, “Tell the
Mirage Fighters to open fire and knock out their bigger ships.”

“Yes, Sir,” replied Kerabac.

A few seconds later the skies over Alle Bamma were lit up with an inferno of explosions in every direction.  The shots from the
NEW ORLEANS
totally vaporized every ship under their fire.  The collective rapid fire coming from the cloaked Mirage Fighters quickly decommissioned Brotherhood ships across the broad expanse between the
NEW ORLEANS
and the planet; and in less than a minute there were thirty ships either gone or out of commission, prompting the rest to flee back to the surface.

One by one, the
Mirage Fighters decloaked and pursued the retreating enemy ships, which didn’t get very far.  Rising from the planet were three patrol ships and another Mirage Fighter – the
ALI. 
Guns blazed as they intercepted the scattering rebels and more Brotherhood ships ceased to operate.  Captain Ruraldo and his crew, however, were still actively transmitting; and the look on Ruraldo’s face was priceless.

“Would you like to reconsider your decision?” Stonbersa asked calmly; but before he could finish, Ruraldo terminated the vid
transmission and turned his ship to flee like the others.

“I wonder how many more ship they have on the surface
,” I said.  A’Lappe had not left the bridge yet so I instructed him to send word to Admiral Regeny to apprise him of the situation.  As he transmitted by way of the instant communicator, the standard communication system activated and Marranalis appeared on the screen.

“We have more ships heading our way – and real fast,” he said.  “Do you want us to re-cloak or to take them out?”

Stonbersa looked at me.  I ordered, “Take them out!  We don’t have time to play games; they’ve made their choices.”

We watched silently.  A few seconds later the sky danced with flashes of light.  Explosions filled the vid screen, as our returning ships wreaked yet more havoc on the Brotherhood.  Even so, three ships managed to elude the
Mirage Fighters and return to the planet where they disappeared into the jungle.  Before they vanished, Stonbersa broadcasted one last message to them.