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‘We’re one system jump point away from Dunia,’ he said, in utter command of the room. ‘But we’ll not just be jumping into theatre. Instead, we’ll be coming in quiet, cold and in stealth mode, which means we’re four hours away from the start of our attack. The countdown starts now. Commander Xion - call name Phoenix - has been testing the scanning sensors of The Technocracy for the past few days to determine whether they can be interdicted. Our stealth tech has held up to its reputation. None of Phoenix’s attempts to slip in and around the crats’ blockade have been detected. To The Technocracy, all our fleet ships are wisps of smoke. Ghosts. Invisible to any sensor scanning. Our mission is to slip past the Technocracy’s three capital ships and, from what we can tell, up to fifty fighters. We have seven corvettes that will act as blockade runners, their small size and speed making them ideal for ghosting through at seven ordinal points. We also have a proven and mapped route for the corvettes to infiltrate the System. None of the corvettes can deviate from their course once set; otherwise, the sensors will pick them up.’
He pointed to the screen to orient everyone to the plan. ‘Our two frigates, Notus I and Notus II, captained by our friends, Majors Ira and Azriel from our tri-alliance corps, will act as bait. They’ll approach and fire on the capital ships while cloaked. The crats will likely go after them; instead, they’ll eat our cannons. Giving our corvettes an even better chance to slip into Dunia’s atmosphere. The second the frigates or the Phantasm makes a manoeuvre away from our designated course; it’ll instantly light them up to everyone simply by exposing our heat emissions and exhaust plume. The Technocracy will be able to see us by tracking the burn. We must manoeuvre as quickly as possible so we don’t give them time to calculate any new orbital trajectories. We’ll also concentrate on blasting them from existence. Notus I will act as our backup for an attack if the blockade is a feint. Notus II will provide turret cover for all corvettes, then head in after them to protect the inner System should the other battlecruisers fail in our mission.’
Rina leaned into her screen. ‘What if the enemy’s patrol ships send for help from their main fleet?’
Behind her, the rest of the Free Dunia Council shared worried looks.
Kainan was quick to address their concern. ‘The Technocracy’s main fleet was last seen in the Omega IAZL System, returning to HD 638974 b. It’ll take them at least five or more days to return to Pegasi, even at full burn through hyperspace. By then, it’s our hope we’ll have taken back Dunia and give them nothing to come back for. Does that answer your question?’
‘To some extent,’ Rina said. ‘The Technocracy, however, are known to be relentless, unyielding.’
Kainan nodded. ‘We know, which is why we’re working on how to get rid of them for good. To end their terror for all time.’
This was news to Selene, who sat up in her station, surprised. Neither Kainan nor The Sable Riders had ever discussed ending the crats. She gave Rina a loaded look via the holo feed. Seconds later, a message pinged on her wrist comm, and she checked it. It was a message from her friend.
What’s spooking you about what he just said?
Selene typed out a quick reply.
Don’t worry about it. I’ll chase it up with Kainan later.
She hoped that would deter her friend from openly probing Kainan further during the meeting. Yet tendrils of nascent doubt began to niggle at her.Why hadn’t he mentioned this ‘End to The Technocracy plan’ earlier? Were they being played? Was Dunia a pawn in a much bigger plot?
She made a mental note to quiz him herself as soon as the briefing was over.
Meanwhile, Kainan’s reassurances had worked, and the Free Dunia Council members looked visibly relaxed. He continued the briefing.
‘Once we have control of the airspace in and around Dunia, we’ll keep Notus I and II on patrol. Two Sable corvettes, led by Commanders Kage and Riv, call names Shadow and Wraith, respectively, will simultaneously take out all the enemy-controlled surface-to-orbit weapon platforms and gain control of the spaceport. Phantasm will remain in orbit on patrol while I go down to the surface with Mirage and set down at Zulu One. Behind us will come landers and transport helos to deliver the troops and equipment necessary to help the Free Dunia Council take control of the capital. Until we’ve set down on Dunia, no ships in this alliance fleet should transmit to each other. Unless and only if absolutely necessary, you can comm the base on Zulu One, which has adequate orbital comms and a tracking network to bounce the signal to the ship you want to reach. The downside is that ship-to-ship messages will take considerably longer. Please be advised that any inadvertent comms between ships could be the single point of failure that could cripple the op.’
Kainan paused for a moment to let the battle plan sink in. ‘Are we all clear? Any questions?’
Those he addressed shook their heads, confirming they’d no doubts.
‘No questions,’ Selene spoke up quietly, speaking for everyone. ‘All clear.’
Except for that one niggling issue which she’d tackle in private.
With no other matters raised, Kainan closed the meeting, and the screens winked out.
‘Phantasm and the Free Dunia fleet, please prep for stealth flight,’ Kainan announced, stalking back to his captain’s seat.
The engines, which had been warming up, rumbled in readiness.
He swivelled his chair and looked about the room, giving each bridge crew member a nod, a chin up and a dip of his head in encouragement.
His eyes sliced over Selene on the bridge’s upper deck, and she felt the freeze before his chair swivelled forward.
‘Ghosts away,’ he snarled, and with his words, the armada leapt forward into the void of space as one.
Selene
Once the fleet was well underway to Dunia, Selene stepped down the stairs towards the command deck floor.
She wondered at the steadying power of Phantasm’s inertial dampers, for it felt like they were sliding like silk through space. Not a tremor nor vibration marred their progress.
So why did her feet wobble and her hands shake as she approached the captain’s ready room?
The door to the private office slid open, and she stood there watching the man sat before a series of screens. His hands flew over a holo pad; his head cocked like he did when speaking non-verbally with the other members of The Sable Riders, some of whose faces she could see on the feeds.
