Chapter 24: From the Far Side of the Sun
<strong>Top-Up </strong>
This is Reena, shieldmaiden of the Royal Elyran gship, Talon, battleship of the Earths Fifth Fleet. I am calling in behalf of EarthForce. Greetings to all of Colossus and the Gctic Federation of Free Races, and request permission to approach.
This is Colossus Control to Talon. TChahn, shieldmaiden. From all of Colossus, wee to the Zeos system. But our detection systems do not see you yet. Are you ship-maneuverable?
I am aware of that, Colossus. We are still about fifty Earth hours out, I mean sixty-two! You are receiving my signal real-time via a radio ry from the Earth Embassy. Please inform the Lady Tasha of our impending arrival.
We understand, Lady Reena. We shall be contacting the princess shortly.
Thank you Colossus. Reena of the Talon signing off.
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The arrival of Talon and the other ships wasnt going to be met with the same pomp and pageantry that the Shepherd Moon and her six ships received. Many assumed this was due to the machinations of Councilor Cor, who was rapidly bing one of the Earthers favorite people, but that didnt stop the Fifth Fleet from doing its own reception ceremony.
Through Tasha, they were able to secure permission to use an ancientnding field in the long-abandoned Zeos Three, the only habitable in the Zeos System.
Of course, there were no running electronics and other systems in the abandoned spaceport. It had remained unmaintained and unused for several thousand millennia, after all, as were the rest of the structures on the. In fact, the structures on the only survived because of the unvarying weather and nearly-constant below-32 degree Fahrenheit temperature of the an effect of its near-circr orbit around its primary and its tidal locked synchronous rotation, and the absolute absence of any volcanic or tectonic activity. For the Federation, the was a useless and inhospitable, and remained abandoned and untouched after the giant Colossus station wasmissioned.
DSC Mikasa, the Fifth Fleets newest ship, boasted the most advanced electronic systems amongst all the seven Fifth Fleet Earth ships. She had thereforended at the edge of the ancientnding field and was used as a temporary spaceport tower, beacon and ILS system. She was actually the first ship to ever enter thes atmosphere and actuallynd in a very, very long time.
DSC Kirov, the one that was designated as the Fifth Fleets de-facto cargo ship, carried the least number of shuttles and fighters in order to maximize deck space. Like the Mikasa, she alsonded, and was used to provide temporary facilities where an authentic Elyran, Dixx, Arachnian, Earther and Telcontari wee meal would be served.
The crews of both ships had spread out and, using portable heaters, started melting the excess ice off the tarmac to prepare for the arrival of twelve more ships. They had to do it slowly so that they wouldnt have explosive melting or crack the tarmac. Their tiny efforts didnt melt the permafrost under the ground, but that was good since all they needed was to just clear the surface.
The five Elyran and Dixx cruisers, escorted by the Fourth Fleets cruisers Gibraltar and Windsor, finally entered Colossus area of responsibility. It was met by several traffic control shuttles from Colossus traffic control instead of the big Dravidian warships that met the Shepherd Moon. But that was fine. As soon as the ships entered Colossus traffic pattern and after a fly-over inspection of the shuttles, the Shepherd Moon, Constetion, Hermes, the Bismark and the Victoria met them and escorted them to Zeos Three. Those onboard Colossus that couldnt get to the monitors crowded around all the avable transparent ports so that they could see the ships as they passed. As the Federation ships passed near Colossus, many could see that they had gone through a lot:rge areas of their hull were reced with new ting, and there were lots of dinged and scorched sections. Manymented that what happened in Earth System probably was as bad as was reported.
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After all the ships hadnded on the de-icednding field, there was yet another ceremony on the ground, what the Earthers called formal guard mounts, but much modified and abbreviated in consideration of the ambient temperature and the unfamiliarity of their Federationrades with Earth protocols.
There were a few guests that had asked if they might attend, and these were the Telcontari, Kembels, Daemons, people from Star 453-A, and some others. Most surprisingly, people from the Erocii Mission had also asked toe. With the Elyran, Dixx and Arachnians, their visitors represented the most powerful and influential races in the Federation, with the exception of the Dravidians.
Subtle questions circted, but Mia had briefed her people really well so she was fairly confident that no one wouldmit any gaffes. In the end, everyone to enjoy the wee dinner.
Mia had required all of her senior staff to circte, and make sure everyone got to have some face time with the leaders of the Fifth Fleet. That included Reena and Areeya themanders of her two Elyran crews, and Tr, Rexx and Er from her three Dixx crews. Mia was pleasantly surprised that the first thing her alienmanders did uponnding was to report to her. The esprit-de-corps was at an all-time high.
At the end of the day, when everyone had returned to Colossus (except for several curious Telcontari), her twelvemanders reported to her, Daxx, Tasha and the First Ambassador. She told them how pleased she was, and had brought up the idea that perhaps Daxx and Tashas people could already be tired of thepany of provincial Earthers. Everyone smiled but Captain Trughed out loud. Reena inconspicuously hit the tall Dixx captain in her side with her elbow, and Tr let out a small, aristocratic ooof!
I apologize, My Lady, Reena said. What the Captain meant was that we are far from being tired of our Eartherrades. Rather we are very pleased to be in thepany of the doughty and gant warriors of Earth. But we shallply if Admiral Steele would rather terminate our affiliation with the Fifth Fleet, with the concurrence of Lady Tasha, of course.
Mia smiled in delight, approached Reena and put her hands on her shoulder. No, my dear, she said. I would not.
Reena blushed at the touch and at her words. She felt oddly proud and humbled at the same time. I will follow the Lady Amelia to Hell and back she thought.
It is settled, then, Tasha said. The Talon and zing Star shall remain with the Fifth Fleet until further notice. Admiral Daxx?
Indeed, Daxx replied. The Flying Cloud, Crimson Sun and The Protector will likewise remain with the Fifth Fleet with the concurrence of the Ambassador and Lady Amelia, of course.
But what would your homeworlds say? Mia said.
We have full authority to do this, My Lady, Daxx said. Worry not.
Indeed, the First Ambassador said. In fact, I have gotten instructions from the homeworld
How did you get word from
The little Arachnian shrugged his upper shoulders at the Dixx admiral. As usual, it was ryed to us by the Shepherd Moon
So what did they say?
The hive masters were dismayed to find out that both of the ships that Arachnia sent perished in the Battle of Pluto. Our people have been so incensed that they petitioned our leaders that we Arachnians must participate more fully. Our leaders havemanded that one of our two cruisers presently assigned to the Colossus squadron be transferred to the Fifth Fleet as well. I have been instructed to inform Colossus Command of this, and that we convey this request to the Secretary-General, to Admiral Silverman to Admiral Daxx, and to Lady Amelia.
We believe we can offer a distinct advantage to the Fifth Fleet, in that our ships move more quickly than other Federation vessels. Our Arachnian constitutions are more resistant to the effects of eleration and deceleration so Arachnian cruisers are ship-maneuverable at higher velocities, and can fly faster and are more maneuverable in-system than any other vessels in the Federation.
There is no need to wait, Ambassador, Mia said. EarthForce epts your offer, with thanks.
All the other captains murmured their thanks and congrattions as well.
Captain Tr bowed. Your countrymen will be truly wee, Ambassador.
The Arachnian bowed as well. My thanks, Captain Tr.
I hope you dont mind, Ambassador, Captain Dupont said, what is the name of the ship?
The Arachnian made the gesture for apology. I am afraid we are not as lucky as you. Arachnian ships are like Erocii ships in that we do not give our ships poetic, meaningful names. Our ships are just referred to by a number. We have been assigned Arachnian cruiser one hundred forty-three, but in Base-10, that would be Cruiser ny-nine. (Transposing the number was unnecessary because of the trantor, but he still did it, out of an unconscious impulse. Most people seemed to do that, it seems.)
Well, Okonkwo said, ny-nine. Admiral? Is there another ship designated ny-nine?
None yet, Mia answered. Ill tell Admiral Silverman. In fact, perhaps the other ships should be given their own hull numbers. What do you think?
The group had responded positively to this. Before they departed for their individual ships, they made arrangements for the departure of the Fifth Fleet for Elyra. Cruiser 99 would join the fleet shortly, as soon as it had topped up its supplies.
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Acquiring consumables from suppliers based in Colossus was a worry for Cruiser 99. She had been on duty around Colossus for a time already, and her supplies were already half gone. And knowing that they would need to top up supplies, they were fairly sure that the suppliers would be gouging them in terms of price. Not that the Arachnians wouldnt be able to afford it, but it would definitely eat into the Arachnian Missions funds.
Kapitan Tereshkova made a suggestion, however that they be the ones to resupply Cruiser 99, as well as all the other Fifth Fleet ships instead.
So, with the help of the Kirov and Mikasas equipment, the Earthers were able to use water sourced from the surface snow and ice of Zeos Three, purify it to get pure water as well as electrolyze it to get hydrogen and oxygen, and topped up Cruiser 99. And since there was hydrogen, oxygen and water to spare, they decided to top up everyones supplies. As for carbohydrate, yeast and protein supplies - using minerals and water, as well as salvaged tankages from the ancient equipment on thes surface, Kirovs crew were able to force-produce enough to supply all the ships with organic consumables as well - even though Earths allies werent used to wheat-based cellulose or soy-based vegetable protein, they were close enough to what they were familiar with and could make do. And with yeast, carbohydrate and protein bases, they could synthesize most of their basic foodstuffs. The food might not be fancy, but the supplies could allow their crews tost for a long, long while.
These efforts of the Kirov and Mikasa therefore allowed the new 13-ship fleet to bepletely resupplied without spending one cent (or crown, rather).
Their Telcontari visitors, curious like children, were running around looking at what everyone was doing. The cold didnt seem to bother them much, which reinforced the impression of little pr bear cubs, and they were looking into everything that the Earthers were doing.
They were very polite, however, asking permission first before approaching and observing, and they werent touching anything, or overly buttonholing people or actually getting in the way. They were curious, though, to know if all the ships from Earth were as well equipped.
Chief Engineer Amazova of the Kirov didnt understand the question though, since they were just using p-dash makeshift equipment.
The Telcontari looked at each other, squeaking and growling at each other in surprise and consternation. One of them asked if they were taking apprentices, but the chief, chuckling, had to say no the Fifth Fleet was a military fleet, after all, and were on their way to war.
The Telcontari also asked about the so-called Earth Alliance, but the chief exined that no such alliance had officially been dered. It was just that Earth, Elyra, Dixx and Arachnia had grown close, and found it convenient to work with each other.
They asked a little bit about themerce and trade alliances that the friends had made, but the chief said that they werent really alliances so much as conveniences that their governments had arranged to keep red tape at a minimum. (She then had to exin what she meant by red tape.)
The little Telcontari who asked, apologized for the question, and moved on to watch another group of Earthers who were loading Arachnian pressure containers onto some tractors. They had just finished filling up the containers with pure liquid H2O and were about to move it over to Cruiser 99.
The other Telcontari had asked the same sort of things, and the officers,manders and leaders said much the same things, although the rest of their crew practically confirmed the alliance. To the Telcontari, this only confirmed the view of the Federation that the alliance that most expected and some feared was a de-facto reality, even if it wasnt official.
They had also asked about the technology that the alliance was using, and they found that most of the Earther technologies were known in the Federation, though the Earthers approach seemed more refined and advanced. For example, they made more use of very expensive integrated circuits, microprocessors and helium-bubble systems, and it was a generally epted thing that Earther equipment were generally the best. However, it was very frustrating that they werent able to get any kind of information about Phase-Wave and the other magical technology that everyone had heard about.
Eventually, the Telcontari said thanks and made their farewells (they were thest of the Federation visitors to depart), and everyone watched their rocket st off into outer space.
On the thirty-minute trip back to Colossus, the Telcontari twittered, squeaked, chirped and growled to each other as theypared notes.
They were disappointed that they were unable to unearth any information about Phase-Wave, but they did establish that the Elyrans, Dixx and Arachnians were actually clueless about Phase-Wave, too. But besides Phase-Wave and a handful of other things, the Earthers had no fundamental advantage in technology in that what they knew and had were technologies that the Federation was familiar with. What made Earther technology better was that they''d pushed them to unprecedented levels of miniaturization, production and excellence. But though the Federation could produce the same, the cost and resources required would be enormous. The Earthers must have ess to unheard of resources and a level of industrialization that perhaps equaled the Dravidians.
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Among all the Federation, it was only the Telcontari that had the cheek to ask how did the Earthers be so fluent in Elyran, and so knowledgeable with the Federation and itsws and customs? Though they kept seeing the in-ear devices and the little electronic buttons pinned to their cors that tranted for them, many seemed fluent enough to converse freely in Elyran without electronic aids. However, the Telcontari was as unsessful and the Earthers never really answered the questions.
It wasnt that they were avoiding answering them. They just thought that the question was not exactly a big deal. The Earther crews said that they were just well briefed and trained.
The Earthers had high esprit de corps, and said they had full confidence in Admiral Steele to steer them in the right direction. As for the Elyrans, Dixx and Arachnian crews, they assumed that the Earthers were just quick studies. They werergely basing their opinions on the interactions they had with the few Earther crewmembers that they had the good fortune of interacting with, and how fast they picked up on things. But mostly, they based this opinion on their perception of the Lady Amelia, and just assumed that all the Earthers were as capable.
The only thing that the Telcontari could conclude was that the Earthers were unprecedented linguists and sociologists. And that their leader, Lady Amelia, was a very capable leader.
Those that they''d talked with felt that the Lady Amelia was very gracious, very friendly, verypetent and very, very smart, and she was held in high esteem. But for the Elyrans, their feelings were more than that - it amounted to something akin to hero worship bordering on fanaticism.
The simrities between Elyrans and Earthers were such that their ideas of aesthetics and beauty seemed almost parallel. The Earthers thought of the Elyrans as universally physically attractive, but to the Elyrans, the Earthers were something that they had not seen the like of before. Most of them were physically very attractive to the Elyrans as well, but they also exuded a kind of telempathic aura that made them extremely sexually attractive.
The Telcontari had surmised that this had something to do with the so-called Elyran bridge effect that they had heard rumors of. And if to the Earthers, the Lady Amelia was physically beautiful, to the Elyrans, she was more like a goddess.
The Telcontari wondered how it would be if they got to work with her onboard the Shepherd Moon, and chittered happily at the prospect.
<strong>Blind Spot </strong>
After the Telcontari had left, and while the top-up operations were ongoing, Mia took the opportunity to go back to her quarters on the Shepherd Moon and have a rest. The work would probably take about twenty more hours, and then maybe a shift to rest, so that would give her thirty to forty-eight hours to rest and recuperate a bit. She nodded to the two Marines outside the door, and told them to take the night off. No one would be bothering her tonight so she said it was okay.
Going inside and closing the door, she sighed, took off her belt with the sidearm and sword, and then took off her dress uniform. She had two dress uniforms, and she had given both of them a workout these past days. Maybe she needed a couple more. She made a mental note to contact the quartermasterster.
Underneath, she had worn her skintight blue pressure suit, which was great for protecting against the zero-degree centigrade temperatures outside. She unzipped it and ran it through the suit cleaning unit. It was a very fast process since it just involved dunking the suit in a cleaning solvent solution, rinsing it quickly in water and then drying it. The process wouldnt have worked with other clothes since it would have dissolved thempletely. It was only meant for pressure suits.
In a minute, it was clean and dry. Mia hung it in her clothes closet and then stepped into the shower. For the past week, she had been wearing the suit under her uniform almost twenty-four/seven. Many of her people had followed her lead and did the same. It was a reflection of the Earthers uneasiness at not being in Earther territory, but more because they knew some of the Federation representatives were not exactly friendly to them and their cause.
Since the ships water supply was being topped off, Mia decided it was okay to take a long water shower and spent almost half an hour luxuriating in the hot water.
Stepping out of the bath, she rubbed her now-tinum-blonde locks dry.
The doctors in Bethesda had warned her that the bnce of eumninandpheomnin in her cloned hair follicles might not be perfect and might yield lighter-colored hair, especially as it grew out and was exposed to more light in time, but she didnt mind that. What she did mind, though, was that her hair was now down to the middle of her back. She hadnt gone to the ship-board barbers shop yet (it was a unisex service) since she left Bethesda. She still felt a little shy about it, but she noticed the ends of her hair were looking a little frayed. What a time to worry about split ends, she thought and giggled. To her, such worries felt very girl-like, and she kidded herself that she was adjusting well to her new gender.
But she was a little worried that her behavior might still be too much like the old her, and the others might be getting the wrong cues. She had thought that she had adjusted her behavior sufficiently, but maybe she needed to change her behavior even more. She had already tried to tone down her physical expressions of emotion, especially with the men, since she knew they might misconstrue such physicality. If he was still the old Bill, and if a girl behaved to the old Bill the way she did now, the old Bill might think she was being a bitch or, worse, being flirty. One of her theories was, since females were supposed to be more expressive, she was free to be more expressive now, but apparently her physical behavior was still too masculine. It was not to say that she didnt walk, move or make gestures more femininely and speak with more feminine inflexions (she had taken to heart the lessons the people at Bethesda had given her), but she would revert to her old ways during high emotions. She was doing her best, but she was afraid this might the best she would ever be. She sighed.
She looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head. If only my brain matched the rest of me, she thought. At least she was used to her new physical self now. Although she still got a little bit of a thing for the girl in the mirror, at least it wasnt as bad as before.
She sighed again. She felt lonely. She knew that being inmand would always be a little lonely since she had to maintain some distance with those shemanded. But she didnt anticipate the pressure of having to be the one to always be responsible, and the one to make the decisions all the time. She supposed people like Allie Romarkin and Admiral Silverman felt these things, too, but the main difference was that they were on Earth, the Admiral had Allison and Tara, Allie was surrounded by friends, and they didnt need to contend with any change as fundamental as the one she went through. Out here, all the friends she had were also people that she was responsible for, and she couldnt really be close to them.
At the moment, the ones that she felt closest to that she wasnt responsible for were aliens. In fact, if asked, she would probably say that her best friend now was the First Ambassador, her first Arachnian friend. And if she was being brutally honest with herself, she had a growing infatuation with Tasha. She was one of the most incredible-looking woman she had ever seen, and was the crown princess of the Elyran Empire as well. That wasnt a bad thing, of course. She wasnt a racist (she had tough at how appropriate that word was), but she needed to be close to a human. Maybe it was a gic thing. What was bad, though, was that Tasha was married already, and even if she wasnt, she was a goddamned princess! If ever Mia made a move, it might cause an interster incident. Mia thought that she might be cursed, always falling in love with unreachable, married women.
And Mia was still carrying a torch for Miriam, but that rtionship was clearly an impossibility. First, Miriam was married to Marc, one of Mias best friends (though Mia wasnt sure how Marc felt about her now that she wasnt Bill anymore). And also, Miriam had told her on the day Mia said goodbye that she waspletely heterosexual.
Mia could have argued that inside she was still the old William Steele, but she decided that it was best to let her go no matter that her heart felt like it was breaking.
And then there was Sahsha.
Mia and Sahsha (when Mia was still Bill) had a kind of love that was every bit as strong as Bill and Miriams, but it was as doomed to fail, too, although instead of an unresolvable love triangle, what was between Mia and Sahsha was more a conflict of careers, or perhaps a conflict in priorities. Sahsha was bent on following her career while Mia had a saviorplex that was bent on saving the Human Race from the hordes of giant alien amazons and lizardsing their way.
But if both of them ignored these, and if ever anything really developed between them, it wouldnt go well for Sahshas career. Mia knew her career was important to her. And if it really did be serious between them, it couldnt be anything but a long-distance rtionship. Mia wouldnt expect Sahsha to abandon her career and put herself at risk by apanying Mia (if that was even possible), and Mia wouldnt want Sahsha to wait for her to finish her tour of duty with EarthForce, whenever that would be at the molment, it didn''t look like that would be anytime soon. No - despite their mutual attraction, Mia knew it couldnt go further than it currently has.
But it had suddenly beplicated when Sahsha ended up getting assigned to the Shepherd.
Mia told her at the beginning of the journey that they needed to keep their distance. Sahsha agreed but she seemed to have been offended given how she had pointedly ignored Mia from then on.
Mia couldnt help but wonder if Sahsha really understood, if it was wounded pride, or if it was her gender change that was affecting her.
She''d said she understood, so she should be a little more friendly. And almost everyone nowadays didnt think twice about same-sex rtionships. Mut maybe Sahsha was exclusively hetero.
If so, Mia thought that she was so extraordinarily unlucky to have fallen for two of the few remaining exclusively-heterosexual people in the system. I mean, it has to be that, she thought. Has to be. How else can Sahsha possibly resist this? she joked to herself and giggled as she primped in front of the mirror, posing, vamping and showing off her spectacr curves.
The sound of her doorbell interrupted her and she hurriedly put on a bathrobe and bath slippers. Open! she called, and her door unlocked.
Hi, Mia, Sahsha called as she opened Mias cabin door. It was Sahsha!
Oh, hey, Mia responded, trying to be nonchnt. Whats up?
Can Ie in?
Mia gestured her toe in, and pointed to a chair. Of course. Have a seat. Coffee? Tea?
She shook her head. No, nothing. I just wanted to apologize.
Mia went to her other guest chair in front of her desk, and sat across from Sahsha.
Well. No chit-chat? No how are you?
Sahsha smiled wanly. Im sorry, Mia. I guess this has been on my mind for a while.
Well, okay. But apologize for what?
I guess for not being too you know. For being distant. And for for
For being cold? For ignoring me?
Mia, dont be like that. You did say we had to be discreet. That our rtionship might make it difficult for you and your job, and me and mine.
Mia looked away. I didnt mean for you not to return my calls, of for you to ignore me.
I made sure it didnt affect my work, though.
Yes, you did, she sighed. But you said you understood.
I did. Its just that
In that case, why all this passive-aggressive crap?
I was mad! What else did you expect!
But I exined! And you said you understood!
Oh, shut up! Sahsha said and started to cry.
Mia didnt know what to do? Should shee over andfort her? She was torn.
Is it because Im a girl now? she asked in a whisper. She was scared of the answer, and she cringed.
In response, Sahsha cannonballed into her, and gave her a kiss like no other.
Sahsha
The little administrator reached down, undid the belt of Mias bathrobe, and slipped her hand inside. She caressed Mias sides and waist, and Mia shuddered.
Oh, Sahsha
Be quiet, my love, Sahsha said. She pulled off Mias robe and pulled her to Mias bed.
Mia found herself lying t on her back, nude, with Sahsha straddling her and pulling off her blouse.
After Sahsha divested herself of her shoes, top and bra, she leaned down and started giving Mia butterfly kisses on her face, lips, shoulders, chest and breasts. She started massaging Mias breasts while giving her a French kiss. Mias heart felt like it was about to pound itself out of her chest.
But Sahsha was just getting started. She resumed kissing Mias body, slowly working her way down but keeping her hands active on her breasts.
Mia wanted to reciprocate but Sahsha wasnt giving her the chance. Soon, Sahsha reached Mias waist and started caressing her vulva. Eventually, she zeroed in on Mias most sensitive parts and started licking around her clitoris, just underneath her clitoral hood and around her outer vaginal lips. Mia thought Sahsha was teasing her because she wasnt touching her clitoris itself, but then when she did, Mia exploded.
Sahsha was relentless and kept her grip on Mias thighs as Mia bucked and writhed. Mia moaned and cried out as her orgasm raced through her while Sahsha used her tongue and lips to suck on her clitoris, relentlessly vibrating and licking, and keeping Mia vibrating on the edge of a precipice.
For Mia, the orgasms were unlike any other she''d had. Sure, she''d yed around in the shower, and shed had lovers before when she was still a man, but this was different, and so much better by several orders of magnitude.
It didnt necessarilyst longer, nor did shee harder, but it was more satisfying. Sahsha knew how to keep her on a knife edge instead of just taking her directly to the summit and then just letting it fade away. And though the intensity wasnt as strong as when she was still a he, it was so much better, so much more all-enveloping.
Mia continued to buck and Sahsha went through it with her. And as Mias main orgasm subsided, her contractions continued to make her buck. But that eventually faded, too, and Sahsha stopped her ministrations. She knew that Mia was about to reach that point of over-sensitivity, and didnt want to make her ufortable.
When Mia had calmed down, Sahsha climbed back up, kissed Mia and hugged her like she would never go.
As one of the best doctors in the world, Mia knew that her hypothmus was just releasing oxytocin into her bloodstream, the so-called cuddle hormone, but she didnt care. She felt such love for Sahsha, and just hugged her.
Sahsha felt her pants were in the way, and despite Mias protests, Sahsha giggled, fended her off and took off her trousers and panties. She then hurried back to the bed. She sighed as she let Mia cuddle her from behind, spoon style, and settled in for the night, with a smile flitting around her lips.
Later on in the night, she found herself gently awakened by Mia. Mias hands were all over her, and all over her breasts. She didnt know if being turned into a girl has upped Mias game, but she couldntin. She tried to reach back to reciprocate but her position wasnt ideal. Mia, however, was all over her. Mias hands were gently kneading her breasts and gently pinching her nipples while she nuzzled her neck.
Mia Mia Oh! Clearly, Mia hadnt forgotten about the sensitive parts of her neck, and she knew just where to kiss her. She had tried to rub her thighs together, but Mia had one of hers in between them. She was about to moan in frustration but then Mia started to move her thigh back and forth, rubbing her pubic bone and gently rubbing her clitoral hood over her magic button, and Sahsha hovered on the edge. She had her hands over Mias restless ones and her thighs involuntarily mped hard on Mias thigh, but Mia persisted and Sahsha trembled on the edge for what felt like a long time.
Oh, Mia! Sahsha moaned. I cant stand it anymore! Do it, Mia, do it!
And Mia responded by raising her leg a little bit more, making the contact stronger and harder, and, like a Roman candle, Sahshas brain exploded in fireworks. She shuddered as her orgasm raced through her, and Mia just kept piling it on and on, and Sahsha felt like the top of her head was about to fly off.
As Sahsha starteding off her orgasm, her thighs unmped and Mia stopped. Sahsha turned around and gave her a hug. But she was so tired, she fell asleep almost immediately.
Mia giggled. She thought only men fell asleep after sex.
-----
That night, Mia and Sahsha did it several more times, and Sahsha introduced her to other sexual positions that Mia didnt know about. Mia gamely tried them all, under Sahshas loving tutorship, and she had definitively put to bed the question if whether her sex change had affected Sahshas feelings for her or not.
Mia and Sahsha programmed their electronic concierges on their CCs to screen out all the unimportant calls, and they spent the rest of the day in Mias quarters, raiding Mias emergency supplies instead of going to the officers mess when they got hungry. Sahsha remotely activated the do not disturb light on her own cabin door to not give others any ideas of where she really was, and no one bothered them until thirteen hundred hours the following day.
Until then, they got caught up with each other, with Sahsha talking about her little day-to-day struggles, and Mia talked about her struggles to adjust to being a girl. Sahsha said she thought Mia was doing well as a girl, but did say that she was a little too flirty with the women.
Sahsha expertly trimmed the frayed ends of Mias hair with a pair of scissors she found in Mias beauty kit, as they chatted and hugged, and rxed in each otherspany.
Mia said she thought she wasnt flirty with women, but Sahsha said she was, and gave her a few examples. Mia tried to understand why she was doing so, and she was open to suggestions, but Sahsha couldnt pinpoint it. And besides, Sahsha said, its who she was now. Sahsha said she just had to stop being jealous of the girls that were fawning all over Mia. And the boys, too, she giggled.
Dont you mean that the other way around? Mia said.
Youd think so, huh? Sahsha giggled.
Mia turned over and put her arm over Sahshas waist. I didnt mean to make you jealous, Mia said. Im sorry.
Sahsha lifted Mias hand, and kissed her palm Elyran fashion. I know, my love, she said. But what else is new? Even as Bill, you were like that, as well. I guess I just have to keep my jealousy in check. The thing is, before, I was just inpetition with the girls. Now I have to deal with the boys, too. She giggled again.
You have nothing to worry about, Mia said.
Really? Sahsha said humorously. Not even Her Royal Highness, Princess Tasha of Elyra?
Mia cleared her throat. I dont know what you mean, she said.
Oh,e on. Its so obvious. Except maybe to you, Tasha and Ren. I dont know what it is about you royals. Youre all so clueless.
What do you mean, you royals?
Sahsha giggled. Oh, nothing, Lady Amelia.
Why you Upon which, Mia tickled her mercilessly until she begged for mercy. And that devolved to another bout of lovemaking.
-----
Mias CC pinged, and since her unimportant calls were being screened, she knew this one was important. She put on her robe and made sure Sahsha wasnt in range of the camera before turning it on.
Yes, Lieutenant?
Sorry to disturb you during your rest period, sir, the duty officer on the bridge responded. We just had a priority call from the Fleet Admirals office. His secretary said hed be calling in fifteen minutes, and hell want to speak to you and the rest of the Fifth Fleetmanders.
All right, Lieutenant. Ill be there shortly. Please page all themanders, and tell them well be in conference call with the Admiral. Also, page the First Ambassador, Admiral Daxx, and Princess Tasha and Prince Ren as well. If theyre on board, ask them to meet me on the bridge.
Acknowledged, sir. And he signed off.
Mia turned to Sahsha. Looks like its back to the old grind for me.
Thats okay. I should get used to things like this. The woman I love is the boss, after all. She reached for Mia and gave her a kiss. You get ready and get a shower. Ill sneak away to my cabin.
See youter, then.
-----
Mia was on the bridge in less than fifteen minutes, in uniform and carrying her pressure suit in a fabric bag. She handed it to Nick to put away, and faced the main screen. OConnell came over and saluted, and Mia nodded. In a bit, Ren, Tasha, Daxx and the First Ambassador also entered the bridge, and Mia smiled and nodded in their direction.
Last toe in was Sahsha.
Hey, Sahsha, Mia said a little nervously. What are you doing here?
Sahsha gave her a merry, slightly mischievous smile. Oh, the Admirals secretary called and asked me to attend, to represent the Secretary-General.
Mia sighed in relief.
On the screen were Captain Mklele Okonkwo of the Hermes, Capitaine in Dupont of the Constetion, Capitan Perdita Alvarez y Zaragoza of the Victoria, Kapitan Anna Valeriya Tershkova of the Kirov, Kapitan Marlena Koch of the Bismarck, Captain Masako Nobunaga of the Mikasa, Captain Tr of the Dixx battle gship Protector, Lady Reena, Ships Pilot and Mistress of the Elyran gship Talon, Lady Areeya, Ships Pilot and Mistress of the Elyran cruiser zing Star, Captain Rexx of the Dixx battleship Flying Cloud, Captain Er of the Dixx battleship Crimson Sun, and the Second Cruiser Commander of Arachnia for Cruiser 99.
Good afternoon, everyone. Im sorry to bring you all here on your rest day. Admiral Silverman has called us all in. But before the Admiral calls, Id like to formally wee Arachnias Second Cruiser Commander, the Captain of Cruiser 99.
The Arachnian bowed in the Elyran manner, and everyone murmured their wee.
You know, pretty soon, were going to need a bigger screen, Mia said, and everyoneughed.
In a short while, the Fleet Admiral logged on.
Good evening everyone, Admiral Silverman said as he came online.
Good evening, sir, Mia said, saluting.
Hello, Lady Amelia, Silverman said. I will cut to the chase. We have spotted another of those smudges approaching the Zeos system.
The Second Commander cut in. Excuse me, Admiral. What is a ''smudge?
Lady Reena, can you summarize for themander?
Reena bowed. The admiral is referring to the Phase-Wave footprint that the EM-suppression field generated by the Empires so-called curtain of light leaves in Phase-Wave scans. This means that there is one or more Empire ships approaching Colossus hiding within that smudge.
Exactly. Thank you, Lady Reena. In any case, at its rate of approach, it should be within the Colossus area of responsibility in about seventy-two Earth hours. We will be transmitting all the information we have shortly. Lady Amelia, I would like for the Fifth Fleet to intercept this iing enemy force. You have carte nche in repelling the enemy. If you need more reinforcements, the Windsor and the Gibraltar from the Fourth Fleet have been put under your temporarymand. They have currently been ordered to remain in close proximity to Colossus, to act as a secondary line of defense. Where is Ms. Delyer?
Here, Admiral, Sahsha said, raising her hand.
Miss Delyer, the Secretary-General has asked me to ask you to take care of raising the rm with the Federation. She has given you the authority to do whatever is necessary in order to aplish this. Do it, and do it quickly. And coordinate with Lady Amelia.
Of course, sir. But why is the Secretary-General not online with you?
She apologizes, but she is busy. We are all busy, actually. Thats because we have detected another of those smudges approaching the Sr System. Its about a hundred hours from Saturn, so we are starting to mobilize. I cannot give you much detail about it since we have just found out. Well send you information as we get it.
Furthermore Lady Amelia: we have detected simr smudges approaching Elyra, Dixx and Arachnia but they are still months away, and are sporadic in nature. We are still gathering data but are transmitting all information we currently have to you. Where is Nick?
Sir!
Lieutenant, take care of warning the ships en route to Elyra, Arachnia and Dixx, as well as the government on the threes. Coordinate with the Admiral and Ms. Delyer.
How about the other Federations, sir?
There are no other smudges near, or approaching, any Federation colony or, other than the five I have told you about. If ever there is a change, we will contact you.
He turned to Mia.Lady Amelia? Are we clear?
Aye, aye. We wont let you down, sir. Good luck.
Good luck to us all, Lady Amelia. Silverman out.
When Silverman tuned out of the conference, Mia turned to Sahsha and Nick.
Okay, you guys. Do what you need to do. Use my office if you need to. Now go send out the word. Okay?
Aye, aye, sir.
Sahsha approached Ren and, after a few exchanges of words, Sahsha, Ren and the First Ambassador left together.
As for the rest, they started discussing strategy.
-----
The iing enemy was approaching Colossus from the other side of Zeos Systems sun, and they had no ships over there.
None of the other Federation people wanted to believe them, especially Cor, who used the Earthers of rabble rousing.
Cruiser 99 was the fastest Federation ship the Fifth Fleet had with the best optical systems, so Mia dispatched it to visually assess the situation. Using the little round ships array of optical telescopes, they had to track back from the coordinates that were given them since the coordinates were real-time. Eventually, Cruiser 99 was able to spot them visually, knowing that the images were several hours behind the data from Earth. Based on Cruiser 99s images, they found out that it was a squadron of twenty-two ships, with two of them fuel carriers. The invaders had simr numbers to the one that was sent to Earth, except these were all Detterex ships.
Cruiser 99 hung back to avoid the effects of the field and ry more data.
The pictures that Cruiser 99 sent back convinced the Federation representatives, and they started deploying their ships. Per protocol, they needed to send an emissary first to give the invaders a chance to reconsider their actions, or perhaps rify their purpose ining to Colossus. But the fact that the enemy wasing from the far side of the sun showed that their motives were less than straightforward. The only reason to approach Colossus that way was to hide their approach.
Sahsha warned them of the EM suppression field, but the Federation people said they couldnt detect anything.
Of course, you cant detect anything, you OConnell thought.
Colossus fastest courier ship sped towards the twenty-two Detterex cruisers, while a fourth of the Colossus squadron, more than thirty ships from several different races, was deployed. With a numeric advantage over the enemy, Federation strategists assumed that was more than enough to beat the enemy back if necessary.
Mia had informed them of the Fifth Fleets n, which was to hide their ships behind the sun and wait until the veryst moment before attacking. The Erocii squadron leader scoffed at their very cowardly strategy and left them to it while they proceeded to the enemy. Following the flight n of Cruiser 99, the thirty ships moved around the sun and started to directly make for the Detterex ships. Cruiser 99 asked for instructions, and Mia told them to move to a higher orbit and stand by for the rest of the Fifth Fleet.
Mia had exined about the Curtain of Light, but the Dravidians said that they werent worried. They''d just have to search for the appropriate frequencies that were not affected by the EM disruption. Mia said that was very unlikely, but the Dravidians ignored her.
By the time the courier was near the lead ships of the enemy, the enemy was already down to ship-maneuverable speeds. Telemetry andmunications from the courier disappeared, which meant that it had crossed the fields radio boundary, and when that happened, the lead Detterex ships opened fire with their missiles, and the courier exploded.
It was clear what that meant, and the fact that they lostmunications meant that the EM suppression field was in effect. Themunications people on the two Dravidian ships started beaming EM probes to get clues about the field but the beams all seemed to just disappear.
The Detterex made adjustments to their course to intercept the Federation ships directly.
Mia radioed that the radio boundary of the field was about to close over them, but the Erociimander said not to transmit again as they were disrupting theirmunications. It was like a p, so Mia just switched off before she said anything shed regretter.
With the Detterex fleet moving towards the Federation ships, and the Federation ships moving towards the Detterex fleet, the distance between them disappeared very rapidly.
Several of the lead Detterex ships deployed what looked like shuttles, and with their thrusters on full burn, they rapidly elerated towards the other group of ships, but after a few thousand kilometers, they decelerated rapidly and just cruised at the same pace of their fleet. The Federation cruisers started firing at the iing shuttles but their energy weapons just fizzled out when they hit the EM field. Given the information that the Earther ships had been constantly transmitting about the location of the field boundary, the Dravidians calcted that the shuttles were riding the very edge of the field. The Dravidians used every sensor they had but nothing they used seemed to do anything. As ast resort, they radioed the Earthers and asked for advice. Mia responded and told them to pull back.
Laboriously, the two extremelyrge Dravidian cruisers pulled up. They couldnt reverse immediately if they wanted to as far as Mia knew, only Earther ships could so they changed their so-called angle of attack, and started angling out and away. The slow and ponderous movements of the Dravidians just confirmed what Mia had thought the Dravidians had traded their ships maneuverability and eleration for solidity and strength.
Everyone! Spread out! Move away from each other! The Detterex are closing in! If you dont, the enemy will be able to get you in one shot. Come on,e on!
Earther, an electronic-sounding voice came on. It was the Erociimanders trantor. I have told you before. Get off this frequency. You have been warned.
But, Commander! You have to spread your squadron. Youre making it easy for the enemy to target your ships.
I know strategy better than you, Earther. You should be quiet and pay attention to how your elders do it.
Like with the Dravidians, a few did listen to Mia and, following the Dravidians lead, started to move out of formation. This angered the Erocii and he sentmands to his fleet not to break formation.
By that time, the six enemy shuttles that were leading the Detterex fleet suddenly elerated. They started making for the Federation squadron, which triggered the Federationmanders to react. Since the shuttles were out of the EM field, that meant that they were now vulnerable to energy weapons. However, the surprise at the sudden maneuver didnt help the Federation ships with their targeting so the shuttles were able to get through. The six streaked through and in between their ships, and when they were well within the squadron and spread out, they detonated simultaneously.
The shuttles were nuclear suicide bombs.
In that one shot, the Detterex took out twenty-two of the Federation ships. Only the outermost ships, which included the Erociimanders cruiser in the lead and the trailing ships at the rear escaped the atomic explosions.
As for the Dravidians, they were well away from the st and were just oveing their inertia and moving up and over to return to the fight. In the future, Federation pilots would call such maneuvers Earther tactics, or, moremonly, mentally deranged Earther tactics, but one thing they had to agree about if executed properly, Earther tactics are the most useful whenrge battle cruisers go toe-to-toe against each other.
But for this particr situation, the tactic didnt help much since the Dravidians were incredibly massive and incredibly slow.
Once their kamikaze shuttles hadpleted their deadly mission, the Detterex turned the EM suppression field, or their curtain of light to maximum effect, rendering the entire Federation fleet, as well as Colossus, deaf and dumb. It was only then that the Federation crews realized everything that the Earthers said was true. At least Colossus wasnt as dependent on non-wiredmunications as the Earthers, so theyd probablyst longer.
The Phase-Wave suppression also went into full effect, affectig the Earther ships and rendering them deaf and dumb as well.
In this deadlyms silence, the Detterex streaked by the remnants of the Federation squadron, and continued on and started to round the sun. The sr winds and waves never wavered so it seemed the EM suppression field didnt affect the sun, which was not unexpected.
What was unexpected by the Detterex were the Earthers lying in wait.
As the Detterex ships started their run around the sun, they ran into a virtual curtain of missiles that were fired by the Earthers seconds earlier. Three of the leading ships, and another three plus one of the tanker ships immediately behind them were hit. No doubt they were wondering where the ships thatunched them were, but they werent around. The EM field was working against them in this instance because they had no sensors to look for the Earth fleet. The trailing Detterex ships made adjustments to avoid the suddenly-crippled ones. Those that were hit had lost most of their angr thrust since their engines seemed to have beenpromised, and they stopped going around the sun and, instead, just continued in a straight escape trajectory away from the sun.
As for the remaining ships that were undamaged, they continued on in their journey around the sun. Again, not expecting it, they walked into yet another curtain of missiles. Another seven of the ships were hit. Like the first group, five of them couldnt maintain their course and drifted away, with one of them having aplete power systems failure. The remaining ships continued on, but this time they tried to retaliate, firing blindly, but since there were no ships to hit, it was all in vain. As their missiles flew away ineffectively, the twelve Fifth Fleet ships came up into view. The three Earther cruisers in front the Kirov, Hermes and the Bismarck - fired their rail guns while the zing Star, the Flying Cloud and the Crimson Sun fired yet another brace of missiles. Another six ships were hit, and two of them couldnt stay on course as well. Only seven of the enemy battle cruisers, and the one tanker, remained on course for Colossus, and they roared past the Fifth Fleet without firing an additional missile.
I guess we need to activate our n now, Admiral, OConnell said to Mia.
Yes, Captain, but before that, we need to send out a shuttle past the EM field and transmit a copy of our logs and telemetry records back to EarthForce via Phase-Wave.
What? Now, Admiral?
Yes, Captain. Now. The enemy back home is nearing striking distance of Saturn. If they pull the same gimmick they just pulled here
Youre right. She turned to themunications officer. Lieutenant. Get on that. Send out a shuttle quickly. And tell the pilot to stay out there and wait for a response.
Aye, Captain.
Having done that, they turned back to their current predicament.
Per their n, the Hermes, Bismarck, Kirov, Mikasa, Talon, and Flying Cloud went into full eleration and shed around the sun. Midway around the sun, on the side opposite to Colossus the six would start maximum braking and, if they timed it right, theyd get to Colossus before the Detterex. The rest of the Fifth Fleet made for the runaway enemy ships the Constetion and zing Star made for the closest ones while the Victoria, Crimson Sun and the Protector made for the next ones, and the Shepherd Moon would rendezvous with Cruiser 99 for thest group.
OConnell left the others to their own missions and concentrated on her own. Maximum eleration please, and bring us to thest location of the first breakaway group, Lieutenant, she said to the Shepherds pilot.
Aye, sir, he responded. Haveputed for theirst location using dead reckoning. Setting course.
Execute.
He activated the ships engines, went to maximum, and in a minute, they were there. He had to use maximum to reach the appropriate velocity for the inertia converters to work. At the appropriate time, he blipped the converters and they came to a virtual standstill.
Okay, find Cruiser 99 and the enemy. Theyve probably moved already.
In a few moments, a tactical disy was put on the main screen, and they found Cruiser 99 already engaging the enemy ships several hundred thousand kilometers away. Apparently the enemy had already recovered and were now harassing Cruiser 99, and she was valiantly turning away missile volley after missile volley with her anti-missile defenses, but a seven-to-one ratio meant that it was just a matter of time. She was in desperate need of help.
All right, OConnell said, get us fifty kilometers to the rear of Cruiser 99.
Wait! Mia called. She tapped thems officer. Get the chief engineer on the inte.
Engineering here, the chief engineer said.
Chief, this is the admiral. I have a question?
Yes, Admiral.
Can you modify the output of the inertia converters into coherent beams?
Lasers? But, Admiral I thought the whole point of the converters was to disperse converted energy in unfocused visible EM light waves
I know. Just answer my question.
Sure. It can be done. Theyre pulse emitter turrets, after all. In fact, I can do it from here, provided that we can power them up properly.
If we can, can you change them into weapons-typesers?
Admiral, current energy shields makesers obsolete, and even without shields, the structural integrity fields would render such coherent light emission weapons as effective as shlights.
They would?
Yes, except if you pump the wattage up by a whole hell of a lot. Wait The chief engineer paused, thinking. Aye, sir! Ill have them ready in a minute. Well need to charge them, though.
Mia grinned. Were on it, Chief. She turned to OConnell. Captain, you now have one more distance weapon.
OConnell grinned. Aye, sir. Lieutenant, lock the energy converter turrets onto the enemy, and keep it locked in.
Which ship, sir?
Any of them. The one closest to Cruiser 99.
Aye. Standing by.
Execute.
The Shepherd went to maximum again to reach point-5 C, and then came to a virtual stop at a point about fifty kilometers off the rear of Cruiser 99.
Chief! OConnell called. How are we on the energy converters?
The capacitors are at two hundred and ten percent, Skipper. Need to get rid of the all that power now or we may be in trouble.
Lieutenant, are the turrets still on target?
Aye, Captain.
Okay, full discharge. Execute!
The Shepherds navigator pressed the button that would normally discharge the energy converters, but instead of a sh of light from the sixteen converted turrets, four bright fingers of light came out of the top-most turret - one sapphire blue, one ruby, one emerald green and one pure white and they speared out into space and directly into one of the Detterex ship. Each beam had about three petawatts of power behind it, and they punched through the ship like a bullet through tissue paper.
Whatever they hit caused several explosions and the ship shuddered as it broke apart. Arge set of explosions on the lower starboard hull caused it to spin counterclockwise, and the other ships had to scatter. Not that they were bumper-to-bumper, but even with clearances of at least five kilometers between them, they werent taking chances. This gave Cruiser 99 a chance to break away and escape the barrage.
The Shepherd started maneuvering, picked the closest Detterex cruiser and started bombarding it with her forward rail guns. Aside from that, she deployed herplement of Shrike fighters and they made for Cruiser 99 to give her cover long enough for her tounch her own fighters.
Since the Arachnian fighters didnt havemunications they took their cue from the Earther fighters and backed them up in shooting down missiles.
-----
The arrival of the Shepherd was totally unexpected, catching the Detterex unawares. Theser attack and the follow-up rail gun bombardmentted the Shepherd two more kills.
As for the remaining ships, OConnell tried the lure-and-attack gambit that worked before, but though the enemy had recovered a little bit from the original missile attack, the enemy ships werent capable of following. Because of the EM suppression field, the Shepherd had very few advantages over the enemy at the moment, and since they were in open space, OConnell waspletely out of any crazy Earth maneuvers. It would be a war of attrition, and the one whosted longest would win. And with a five-to-two ratio, it wasnt looking good, even though one of them was a tanker.
That gave OConnell an idea.
Is thatserm receiver on Cruiser 99 working?
I believe so, sir.
Okay. Send themander a message and tell them we will try to maneuver the enemys tanker closer to the other ships. Tell them to target the tanker as soon as were away. Wait for an acknowledgement.
Aye, sir. Theyve acknowledged.
Okay, then. She turned to the pilot. Lieutenant, pull away from the bulk of the enemies and maneuver us nearer the tanker.
Aye.
Using her flywheels, the Shepherd pivoted thirty degrees and fired her anti-gravs. She was then moving around the somewhat-clustered Detterex but still out of the range of their anti-ship weapons. Her rail guns were enough to turn away any missiles fired at her, and she was soon able to approach the tanker ship unscathed, which was flying several thousand kilometers away from the Detterex warships.
As the Shepherd got nearer, the tanker crew started to panic. They fired arge wave of missiles at Shepherd and started moving their tanker closer to the other Detterex ships looking for cover. But the other Detterex cruisers didnt want the tanker to get closer to them and opened fire. Ironically, Shepherd found herself protecting the tanker, and used her rail guns to knock out the missiles aimed at it.
But the Shepherds approach was relentless and the tanker was pushed closer and closer to its sister ships. The Detterex ships shifted their target to the Shepherd, which made her turn away.
At that point, Cruiser 99 came into the fray, traveling faster than the Shepherd could manage at sublight, and started firing her missiles at the tanker. The sheer volume of missiles, and the fact that the Detterex ships focus was on the Shepherd, allowed Cruiser 99s missiles to hit the mark, and the tankers liquid oxygen and hydrogen mixed together in an explosive manner. Though a lot of the explosion was towards empty space, most of it was towards the other Detterex ships. Three of the ships were caught like moths in a me, and they were taken out of the fight. And with only two left in the fight, it became more of an even match.
By that time, the Federation ships that had escaped the nuclear sts were now within weapons range. OConnell made the decision to leave the disabled Detterex and started to recover their Shrikes, preparatory to moving on and helping the rest of the Fifth Fleet. She sent aser message to Cruiser 99, and theirmander said they would do likewise.
In under ten minutes, they had recovered their fighters and made for the other ships. After a sufficient run-up, the Shepherd was able to keep up with Cruiser 99 and was soon inserm range of the Victoria. OConnell asked for a sitrep. It seemed their targeted five ships were more damaged than expected and the Victoria, the Crimson Sun and the Protector had quickly taken away their remaining ability to fight. OConnell congratted them and ordered them to leave the enemy to the Federation, and to proceed to the vicinity of the Constetion and zing Star.
Once they were near enough to the Constetion, they found the situation much the same, and OConnell ordered them to join their convoy flying back to Colossus and the rest of the Detterex ships.
Since it would be over eight hours before they would be in range of the still-intact Detterex ships, OConnell initiated a full inspection of all systems. She then had Mia paged via the inte.
Mia sighed. Having to use the inte was starting to get tedious.
Steele here, Mia replied.
Admiral, OConnell said, I have initiated a fleet-wide inspection. Initial reports show that we are mostly unscathed.
Excellent Captain. Please extend mypliments to themanders, and get me their status as well. How about the enemy?
OConnell then gave her a report. Aside from those en route to Colossus, the enemy was dead, drifting in space.
Good work, Mia said. I concour leaving the remains to the Federation ships. Right now, the intact ones are our bigger concern.
Aye, sir. Thank you. Pardon me for asking, Admiral, but where are you?
I am in the rear starboard hold, Captain. Im assembling that package we brought over from the PRC.
Ive been wondering about that, actually. What is it?
Its Dr. Running-Streams prototype of the Curtain of Light.
What! We have our own EM suppression field?
Yes. Can you arrange for this to be moved down to Engineering?
Aye, sir. OConnell gestured and thems officer started to make the arrangements. But why would we need one now?
Im worried that the Detterex might pull the same trick they did before. A couple of nuclear bombs right on top of Colossus could finish off the Federation as a cohesive entity, and then wed all be up the creek without a paddle. With our own field, we can prevent any nuclear explosions.
Got it.
Ill take care of this. Take care of the ship, Captain. Ill join you on the bridge as soon as Im done here.
Aye, sir.
-----
After several hours had passed and they had rounded the sun, they now had a clear view of the enemy. And the other half of their fleet.
The rest of the Federations ships had also been deployed and had arranged themselves as a picket line. After the enemy had emerged from around the sun, the Federation ships divvied themselves up, with about eight ships assigned to each Detterex cruiser. The numbers were so lopsided that the Detterex were guaranteed to lose in a straight-up fight. There was also the Fifth Fleet convoy on their tails approaching from the other side.
It was an impending ughter, and the Detterex surely knew that. But, like the Defiant back on the moon and the strategies she implemented, the Detterex went for broke. They stopped their deceleration, started speeding up again andmitted themselves.
Like arrowheads, they made for Colossus and flew through the ships trying to interpose themselves between them and Colossus. Several of them were hit by missiles but they just powered through. They knew no ship would deliberately sacrifice themselves by literally blocking them, so the Detterex just knifed through, trusting in their velocity to avoid significant missile damage. But if they did sustain any crippling damage, well, with the losses that they have incurred, the nature of their mission had changed now their mission was now simply to destroy Colossus at any cost.
As each Detterex cruiser speared through their own individual cloud of ships, they deployed several shuttles and fighter ships, as well as a brace of anti-ship missiles.
One of the ships, as soon as it reached its cloud of intercepting Federation ships, gigs and cutters, detonated itself, catching most of its pursuers in its fireball.
Soon, the enemys tactic became apparent. The Detterex ships sustained extreme damage but they still flew straight and true, elerating directly towards Colossus like seven arrowheads trailing me and debris, with the intention of mming into Colossus with disastrous effect.
Mia made the decision and ordered her ships to go to full eleration and target one Detterex ship apiece.
Constetion and Victoria got hersered message and went to full eleration. The Hermes, Kirov, Mikasa and Bismarck didnt get the message, but saw them and went into full eleration as well. The Federation ships observing them didnt understand the tactic and just watched as the Earthers quickly went past ship-maneuverable.
The Earthers had onest trick up their sleeves.
As soon as the Shepherd, Constetion and Victoria were near their targeted ships, they blipped their inertia converters just enough and maneuvered to match their chosen enemy ships trajectory.
Shepherd Moon, Constetion and Victoria slowly closed in on their chosen ship inch by inch, and used theirplement of rail guns to target their enemys weapons. When the Captains of the Earther ships were fairly sure that their enemy ship was more-or-less fully disarmed, they then inched slowly towards the Detterex cruisers.
Each then used her thrusters to solidly push herself against the enemy ship, and once it was in physical contact with the enemys hull, it then fired its inertia converters to maximum discharge.
This had the effect of bringing both ships to a virtual standstill. And as soon as they were, the Earthers used their thrusters and flywheels to peel out and away from the enemy, giving them enough distance to start firing, even while the enemy started moving backwards.
Mia had seen the deployment of her enemy ships shuttles so she had Engineer Haskell activate the Shepherds EM suppression field generator. So, even if the enemy switched off their own EM suppression field, Mias would make any nuclear weapons the enemy deployed to remain inert.
Seeing the Shepherds tactic, the Hermes, Kirov, Mikasa and Bismark did the same thing made sure that the enemy couldnt fire back at them, get in solid physical contact with the enemy long enough to be able to get rid of its inertia, and then pull back.
In less than fifteen minutes, the seven Earther ships had rendered the enemy ships dead in the water.
Whatever fight the Detterex had left was quashed. Some of them still had enough capacity to release their fighters and shuttles, so the Earthers deployed their own Shrike and Eagle fighters. Equipped with rail guns topensate for the loss of their energy weapons, andserms (limited though they were) topensate for the loss of Phase-Wave and radio, they had their advantage back. As before, during the battle of Pluto, they dominated the Detterex fighters once again, and were able to win the day. The enemy fought more furiously than ever since they had no option to retreat, but like before, none of the Earther fighters were shot down.
The farthest ship the one that the Hermes had targeted - had also deployed fighters, but not as many. It could be assumed that it was more heavily damaged and therefore had less fighters to deploy. Hermes deployed its own Eagle fighters, and as the fighter-to-fighter showdown started to go into its peak, the Hermes underside the side closest to the Detterex cruiser, exploded.
Later examination of the footage from Hermes and long-distance video from the Talon, zing Star and the Protector showed that the Hermes was hit with a barrage of anti-missiles. In the Talons video, one could see the Hermes actually bend a little, and buckle horizontally amidships.
After which, another escape ship, just like the Defiant, emerged from the scarred and battered Detterex cruiser, and it made a run for it.
The Gibraltar, one of the Earth cruisers from the Fourth Fleet, which was still hanging around Colossus, went into full drive and chased the escaping ship down. Before it could engage its FTL drive, Gibraltar was upon it and fired her entireplement of missiles, even as both were elerating well above ship-maneuverable and bordering light speed.
Some kind of rtivistic effect simultaneously detonated all of the Gibraltars missiles so she fired her converters immediately, escaping any damage from the explosions.
As the explosions faded away, they found that the escaping Detterex ship had disappeared.