Invasion (The K'Tai War Series Book 1) Page 2

  Harvik’s sense of puzzlement returned as he retook his seat and awaited Sidal’s explanation.

  “If I may beg your indulgence, my lord? What do you think the effect of a blockade of the Paral sector will be?”

  Harvik’s puzzlement turned to caution. Sidal was an experienced strategist and the effect of a blockade must be as obvious to him as it was to Harvik. Was the heir to the throne testing him? Testing him to see if he would give an honest answer or the one that Sidal expected from some sycophant who only wanted to ingratiate himself? Well, Harvik was too old and too weary to disguise the truth.

  “A simple blockade of Paral will have the effect of cutting off the supply of Redlazore to both loyal Imperium forces and those of the secessionists. If the blockade holds, then eventually both sides will exhaust their supplies and both sides’ fleets will be incapable of interstellar action. The conflict will simply grind to a halt through lack of mobility.”

  Sidal pointed a long finger at Harvik to emphasize his point. “Exactly, my lord! Paral is the only major source of Redlazore in the entire Imperium. With neither side having access to it, then the war is a stalemate…unless…”

  Harvik leaned in toward Sidal, eager to hear more. “Unless what, Your Highness?”

  The smile that spread across Sidal’s lips was one of satisfaction, he had the older warrior’s full attention. “What if the Imperium had access to a nearly unlimited supply of Redlazore? A supply which I want you, my lord, and Lady Kara to secure for me.” The look of confusion on Harvik’s face only made Sidal’s smile grow.

  “But you have said so yourself, Your Highness. There are no other sources of Redlazore within the Imperium. The original mines on Rove and Kula are long exhausted. Paral has been our only source of the mineral for a generation, unless by some great fortune and in the greatest secrecy you have discovered an alternative source?”

  Sidal enjoyed his fleeting moment of one-upmanship as Harvik keenly awaited the smiling Sidal to reveal his secret. “Not at all, my lord. I intend to take what we need from the humans. On the planet the humans call Agate are deposits of Redlazore which make those on Paral pale in comparison. You will plan and execute an operation to seize and hold Agate. In a single stroke, we will neutralize human expansion on our borders and rid ourselves of the secessionists once and for all.” Sidal sat back in his comfortable seat as he watched Harvik process what he had just said.

  For the older warrior’s part, he fought back the urge to stare in disbelief at the audaciousness of Sidal’s plan, instead allowing time for his brain to consider the idea. An idea which, when he got over the initial shock, had merit. For years the humans had been pressing up to the borders of the Imperium as they rushed to colonize any world where they could scratch out a meager living. Their expansion had only been limited by their meager supply of the essential Redlazore. The humans had been in trade talks with the Imperium to negotiate access to the Redlazore mines on Paral, but the Imperium’s negotiating team had, much to the humans’ frustration, successfully blocked them at every turn. However, with the discovery of the massive deposits on Agate, the Imperium had lost its most important card in the negotiations. A move by the Imperium to take Agate would put them back in control of the supply of Redlazore again and therefore in control of human expansion. On the other hand, the Imperium had not launched a war of expansion for over 200 years. Fighting the secessionists was one thing, but fighting another multi-star species was something else entirely. From deep within his mind, Harvik accessed what he knew about the humans’ fighting ability. Since the Imperium had first encountered them, the humans had fought two major interstellar wars, both of which they had won. The most recent conflict had been with the Lorentian Confederation. The Confederation was roughly twice as large as the Human League of Planets and had been widely expected to defeat the humans easily. In a move which had shocked observers, the humans had launched a surprise attack on the capital world of the Confederation, which had succeeded in forcing the Confederation to sue for peace under the gun barrels of human warships in orbit. The human victory had left no doubt in anyone’s mind that they had a proficient military led by competent leaders. Nevertheless, the K’Tai Imperium was several orders of magnitude larger than the Confederation. The fleet that Harvik alone commanded was equal to that fielded by the Confederation during the entire war, and the defenses on and around Tarava would not be so easily circumvented by an attacking force, as had happened to the Confederation home world.

  The strategist in Harvik worked the problem of how to secure Agate. The world was right on the border between the Imperium and human controlled space, which meant that there would be no requirement to take and hold any other human worlds en route to Agate. The nearest human naval base was in the sector capital of Doberman, so it was unlikely that he would encounter any substantial naval opposition, although that would need to be firmed up by good intelligence, along with anything they could dig up on planetary defenses and likely ground opposition that the Black Legion would face. The only fly in the ointment was the reaction of the humans to their primary source of Redlazore being taken from them. Surely when they realized that they faced the weight of the Imperium, they would come to their senses and accept the new reality of the situation. It would require a lot of staff work, but the beginnings of a plan were forming in Harvik’s mind.

  Seeing that Harvik had reached some form of conclusion, Sidal interrupted the warrior’s deliberations. “Well, my lord, can you do it?”

  Harvik sat up straighter in his seat. “Yes, Your Highness. It can be done.”

  Sidal stood and Harvik followed suit. “Then I suggest you return to your ship and begin your planning. I expect you to be ready to launch your invasion by the time of my father’s birthday. I think Agate would be a suitable present, don’t you?”

  “Indeed, Your Highness, most suitable.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Fight or Flight

  H HOUR MINUS FIVE HOURS

  The Border Patrol corvette Cadiz was slowly making her way along the final leg of her patrol route, which would see her finish a long two-month tour of the Harbridge Zone, the boundary surrounding any star system beyond which the interstellar Cazmir Engine could be engaged without fear of the massive invisible gravitational eddies that flowed between planets and stars ripping an unwary ship and its crew apart.

  It had been an uneventful patrol for the Cadiz and its complement of seventy-five crew. There had been no sign of any pirate activity, something which had become more prevalent since the discovery of the rich veins of Redlazore on Agate, the single habitable planet in this system. The sudden influx of miners to extract the precious mineral had led to a boom in the once backward planet’s economy. Large corporations had moved in, and overnight the number of cargo ships trafficking between Agate and the sector capital of Doberman, some eight days sailing at the cruising speed of 4.5 light minutes per hour for a million-tonne merchantman, had increased a hundredfold. The rich pickings that these lumbering merchantmen presented had been too much for a few enterprising privateers who, in their hybrid warships, had targeted them as they dragged themselves clear of the Harbridge Zone and entered the relative safety of faster than light travel. Hence the presence of the League of Planets Border Patrol in the space surrounding Agate. The arrival of Rear Admiral Louise Alderman and her 6th Independent Cruiser Squadron had been enough to scare off all but the most ardent privateer, especially since Admiral Alderman was a firm believer in the death penalty for piracy and did not shrink from enforcing it. A combination of the Border Patrol light cruisers riding escort for merchantmen and the vid images of convicted pirates hanging from public gallows had made the Agate system a peaceful place once more.

  A fact that Commander Torborg was grateful for. He, along with the men and women of the Border Patrol, had bigger fish to fry. Agate was located on the edge of human and K’Tai space, and the millennia-old K’Tai Imperium had no love for the fresh-faced humans whom they saw as the ne
w kids on the block. The scarceness of Redlazore, the key mineral in the manufacture of the Cazmir Engine, within human-controlled space had been the only thing restraining human expansion. Redlazore was so expensive and rare that only the military and the richer corporations could afford it, and as such they had a virtual monopoly on interstellar travel. The League had been in negotiations for years with the K’Tai to secure access to their supplies of the mineral, but the K’Tai had been dragging their feet; but now, with the virtually unlimited supply of Redlazore on Agate, there would be no holding back human expansion throughout the galaxy. Something which the K’Tai were taking a very dim view of, if the latest vid reports were to be believed. As the lowly commander of a Border Patrol corvette, Torborg might not have access to the latest classified intelligence available to Battle Fleet, but, the K’Tai had walked away from the trade negotiations and it looked like they had no intention of returning any time soon.

  In a vain attempt to chase away a burgeoning yawn, Torborg heaved himself from his seat, only to find himself suddenly and violently flung to the deck plates as the Cadiz bucked wildly.

  “Report!” he screamed as he tried to get to his feet, only to be picked up as if by some invisible hand and launched into the back of the helmsman’s chair as the Cadiz lurched sideways. The raised voice of the weapons officer penetrated the spinning of his head.

  “We’re under attack, Captain! High-order energy weapon impacts on the upper starboard quarter!”

  Blood was streaming from a nose which Torborg suspected to be broken, but there was no time to waste. The Cadiz was under attack! “Shields up. Weapons free to return fire.”

  “Shields up. Weapons free to return fire. Aye aye, sir,” repeated the weapons officer as he raced to raise the Cadiz’s energy shields to protect her from the onslaught of her unseen enemy.

  Torborg forced the pain in his head from his mind as he clawed for the back of the helmsman’s chair and levered himself back on his feet, staggering the few steps back to his seat. Restraints automatically engaged as the seat sensed his body settling into it. Torborg used his sleeve to wipe his eyes clear, ignoring the trail of blood his action left on his once impeccable uniform.

  The impact of more enemy fire wracked the Cadiz to its very frame and damage alarms rang across the bridge, only to be promptly silenced as they were acknowledged. The sound of urgent orders dispatching emergency teams battled with the raised voice of the weapons officer as he urged the crew to battle stations. This is no pirate firing on us. The power of the weapons… They’ve gotten within range to use them without detection… they are professionals, thought Torborg.

  An ear-piercing shriek filled the air before thick white smoke blanketed the bridge. The Cadiz shook as if an ancient, angry god had picked her up and tried to pull her apart.

  “Captain! Hull breaches reported on decks one through five. We’re venting atmosphere! Shields have failed along the entire starboard side. Another hit like the last one and…”

  Torborg did not have to hear the unsaid words. The Cadiz was finished.

  “Comms. Signal to Admiral Alderman. Am under heavy fire from an unknown number of warships. Suffered significant damage. Attempting to withdraw. Torborg. Commander. BPS Cadiz.” Torborg didn’t wait for the communications officer to acknowledge before he rattled off his next order. “Helmsman. Make your course one-eight-six mark-four full military power. Roll ship to bring the port shielding between us and the enemy. Weapons, have you identified a target yet?” When the weapons officer failed to reply immediately, Torborg spun to face him, ready to repeat his order; but the words stalled in his throat as his eyes registered the form hanging limply from its restraints, the control panel in front of it a shattered, smoking wreck. The weapons officer’s body had taken the full impact of whatever had destroyed his station. Before Torborg could order another station to take over weapons control, Cadiz was battered by another salvo which rattled Torborg’s teeth in his head. The hit was a bad one. The strangled, horrified scream from engineering only served to confirm his suspicion.

  “Containment breach! The core is going critical!”

  Cadiz was finished, and there was not a moment to lose if Torborg was to save as many of his crew as he could. His finger mashed down on the all hands announcer on the seat’s armrest. “All hands, this is the captain. Abandon ship! Abandon…”

  #

  Aboard the fleet carrier Walak--named after the First Lord of the House of Jal, a house that its current head, Lord Harvik, was determined to lead in honor and success--Harvik watched on impassively as the pale blue icon which had represented the beleaguered human corvette blinked three times before vanishing from the display that covered one entire wall of the command deck, returning it once more to the sereneness of vast emptiness that was the outer reaches of the Agate system. His eyes swept over the display, searching for anything which might indicate that his great armada had been detected. Nothing. The corvette had been the only human ship out this far. Probably just carrying out a routine patrol of the Harbridge Zone, thought Harvik. Never expecting to run slap bang into a cruiser screen comprising the latest and best the K’Tai Imperium had to offer. Harvik felt a momentary pang of sadness for the little ship’s crew; however, their deaths were vital if his keenly orchestrated plan was to succeed. The armada needed to get as close to Agate as possible before being detected. The humans had a cruiser squadron based in the system, and if they managed to get loose among the neat rows of troop transports carrying the ground elements of the invasion force, then the potential losses were catastrophic and without a ground invasion Harvik would be reduced to a simple blockade of the planet. Yes, that would stem the flow of Redlazore to the humans, but it would also deny the mineral to the Imperium, a resource that was desperately needed now that the Imperium’s own supply was running low. Harvik felt his fingers tightening on the guard rail as his anger bubbled just below the surface. Curse the secessionists. Did they not see what they were doing to the Imperium? Harvik took a deep breath and forced his anger back under control. Now is the time for a clear head. With a grunt, he fixed a confident smile on his face before turning to address his waiting staff.

  “Please inform Lady Kara that she may make her final preparations for deploying the legion.”

  Orders given, his thoughts turned to the location of the human cruiser squadron. He had thought that they would stick close to their base around Agate, but the latest intelligence, gleaned from friendly merchantmen plying their trade between the human-controlled worlds and the Imperium, was that whoever commanded the cruiser squadron seemed intent on keeping the crews occupied, so ran regular deep space training, leaving only a handful of ships, usually those designated as convoy escorts, anywhere near the planet. Lord Harvik had planned his assault on the system to coincide with one of these exercises. He might have overwhelming firepower on his side, but like any good gambler, he liked to stack the cards in his favor, even if that was only by the smallest of margins. The lack of returns on the display was a good indication that he had guessed right. With luck, the fleet would remain undetected until it was too late for the enemy cruisers to intervene. Harvik forced himself to stroll across the command deck to his seat, exuding complete confidence with every step. His officers needed to be reassured that the commander of the first aggressive expansion of the Imperium in over two centuries was content that everything was under complete control. Upon reaching his seat at the center of the command deck, he sat back in its comfortable, familiar surroundings. It would be at least four hours before the armada came within detector range of Agate and he would know for certain what opposition he faced. After six months in the planning, he could wait another four hours. Closing out the low hum of voices and computers, Harvik stilled his racing hearts. His plan was a good one, and if Rig and his ancestors smiled down on him, then victory was assured. Nothing the humans had in the system could hope to stop his fleet. Nagging doubt, however, still pulled at the back of his mind. For all the powe
r the Imperium could wield and the untarnished prowess its warriors had displayed over the centuries, those successes had been in the past. The current struggle which was wracking the Imperium, pitting brother against brother and house against house, saw more and more systems declare themselves in support of the secessionist cause.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Breakfast

  H HOUR MINUS FOUR HOURS

  Mayhem. The best word to describe the Carter household at this time on a school day.

  Dave Carter was pretending badly to be completely engrossed in the morning vid news as he sipped at his steaming coffee mug and steadily worked his way through a second batch of bacon and pancakes.

  “News says the K’Tai have walked away from the negotiating table again.”

  His wife Sue took the seat opposite him and set down her bowl of cereal. For a moment, Dave eyed the healthy breakfast sat before his slim wife, her heart-shaped face perfectly framed by her mousy brown hair. Damn, she still looked as good as the first day they had met twenty years and another life ago.

  Sue smiled at him as if she could read his thoughts.

  Dave could feel his cheeks reddening like a schoolboy’s, so he attempted to hide his embarrassment by shoveling another forkful of pancakes into his mouth. Looks like the gym for me at lunch time.

  Again, Sue used some form of witchcraft to read his mind. “Perhaps you should have gotten your fat ass out of bed and come for a run with me this morning.”

  How did she do that? Dave’s reply through a mouthful of pancakes was unintelligible but sounded rude. Sue was framing an appropriately admonishing reply as the eldest of the Carters’ children, by a whole ten minutes, entered the kitchen in a whirlwind of hair, arms and legs. Dave choked on his food at the shortness of her fashionable skirt, the clattering of her high heels on the kitchen floor drowning out the news commentary. Sue had still not caught sight of her daughter’s apparel; however, her husband’s inability to swallow his breakfast and wide eyes made that a moot point.