Command Center

IMPERIAL PALACE: T-MINUS 21 HOURS 30 MINUTES
  There was stunned silence in the room as people glanced at the Emperor and at the now blank displays coming from the system. There’d been a moment of elation when the Republic ship just shut off in space and the command bubble on the top of the ship exploded when hit by the laser. There was some curiosity as to why the shot hadn’t completely destroyed the ship, but there were approving nodes and high-fives just the same as they viewed the data coming in from the test. They watched as the two LongBows began to match course with and approach the wounded ship.
  There was some real debate whether they would be able to capture this ship too. The command was given to cease firing at the ship in the hopes that they could capture it.
  The mood changed when the Republic ship vanished. Remora immediately reported that the ship had jumped nearly eleven million miles away. There had been a debate for a few minutes, as to what should be done. In the end, orders were given to dispatch a squadron of frigates to assist. When they analyzed the sensor returns from the ship after it jumped, they concluded ship was still disabled. The LongBows were ordered to approach and investigate. They were admonished to not fire on the ship unless it fired at them, in hopes that it could still be captured. The fact it still had a working jump drive was considered a great intelligence coup.
  The curiosity turned to shock when communication with the two LongBows ceased without warning. The Emperor turned to the Admiral, “Bedring, what did we just see?”
  “Your highness,” the admiral began, “we’d need data to confirm it.”
  “Just give me your best guess,” the Emperor said with a soft voice that sent chills through the spines of everyone else in the room.
  “The LongBows have been destroyed. I don’t know how. It’s possible the attached vehicle was launched when it jumped and they didn’t detect it. It’s got the weaponry to destroy a cruiser, not to mention a small ship like a LongBow.”
  “Yet, didn’t the sensors indicate the attached vehicle was still inside the Adventurer?”
  “True sire, but such things can be faked enough to convince the sensors of a warship from a long range, as these apparently were.”
  The admiral was sweating by now. He chose not to mention that Republic ships were a lot stealthier than the Alliance ship’s sensor suites could usually handle.
  “Do you think we could still capture that ship?” asked the Emperor.
  Bedring thought a moment before answering, “I think it is still possible. But if the crew can, the crew of the Adventurer will destroy their own ship before they allow that to happen. That’s what our crews are trained to do at the least.”
  The Emperor nodded and then spoke, “Capture it if you can.”
  Bedring nodded and said, “Yes, your Highness.”
  The Emperor went back to his chair. Bedring signaled to an aide who stood out of site in an alcove in the wall. This aide was one of the palace staff rather than a military aide. She was hired not for her brains but for her smile and figure. She was a brunette, pert smile, and dark eyes. Her hair was coiffed in a bun revealing a slender neck and a delicate chin line. She wore black tights and a fitted tunic.
  She spoke softly with a lyrical voice, “Yes, sir? How can I serve you?” She couldn’t have been more than a teenager he figured. He had older daughters. She simply curtsied, smiled up at him, and waited.
  “I need an encrypted comm circuit with Fleet operations.”
  “Right away sir.” She curtsied again and left.
  He wondered if she really knew what that meant. In a moment she returned carrying a small platter with a black handset on it.
  “The duty officer at Fleet Ops sir,” she said as she extended the platter.
  Bedring took the handset and waved her away. He walked over to an unoccupied alcove in the room. As he entered it, he could sense a privacy field come into place around him.
  “This is Bedring. Who’s there?”
  “Yes, sir, Duty officer Williams sir,” said a masculine voice.
  “Very well. Send a message to Task Force twenty to deploy immediately two Aatrixx cruisers and the frigate squadron in support of Mission order one-one-zero Tango.”
  The voice on the other end repeated back the order.
  “That’s correct; by my authority.”
  “Right away sir.”
  Bedring held the handset in front of him and tapped the button to end the call. He waved it at one of the aides. This one came out immediately and took it away. He watched her walk away. She had a nice figure too. The perfume she wore sent a tingle through his system he hadn’t allowed himself to feel since his wife died several years ago. He noticed the uniforms the aides wore in here, while fully covering the aides, accentuated the figures of the women and the men. He shook his head.
  “Too much cream cheese for this old horse,” he said to no one in particular.