ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE

STAR BLAZERS---THE ROAD TO PELLIAS

Being the fourth part of THE RIKASHA INCIDENT--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz

ACT TWO-- THE FATE OF THE GAMILONS?

I. DESSLOK'S THOUGHTS

The Paravendi System

The Gamilon Fleet

Command Cruiser Gamilstadt

Main Bridge

Wednesday, January 13, 2202

2014 Hours-space-time (Earth equivalent)

"Talan, has there been any further word from the rearguard destroyer squadron in the Dalkrandia System?" asked Leader Desslok.

"None, sir. We have not heard from them for over two days, Leader Desslok."

"I thought Captain Harvna was better than that. I thought he could take care of a few enemy space submarines with three destroyers. I think I overestimated him, Talan. So…three more ships lost. Tell me, Talan. How many ships are left in this fleet, and what could we call upon for reinforcements? I know that we don't have many ships left."

"We don't, sir," said Talan as sweat ran down the back of his neck. "The Empire has declined greatly since the days when we controlled thirty-four planets, Leader Desslok, ruled over billions, and had thousands of warships at our disposal."

"I know we had nothing under our centralized control for the period between the fall of Gamilon up until the time my territorial fleets reported to me after Zordar commissioned me to track down the Star Force. For my memory, how many worlds are under our control again?"

"Four, sir. Garalenda, of course, Miralden, Terukon, and the small outpost at Sanzar Twelve."

Desslok's eyebrows went up. "When did Sanzar Twelve report in? I thought the Argo would have surely devastated that world on her way out from Iscandar."

"They never did so, sir. The garrison survived."

"Why did the First Scout Group never report to me, then? Were they out of touch like the Third, Fourth and Second Scout Groups?"

"They were, sir, " said Talan.

"It's good to hear we have Terukon under our control again. Who's there?"

"Fraken, sir. He's there with about…three hundred thousand refugees from around the Great Magellenic Cloud, accompanied by a few survivors who got off Gamilon itself."

"We shall have to stop there as soon as we finish this business, and see to it that the populace is escorted to Miralden." mused Desslok. "With a populace, I can reinforce our provisional capital at Miralden, even though the climate on both Terukon and Miralden was never at its best. Terukon is too far away from its star, and too cold, but we can have some people living there for about a year or so, maybe a bit longer. Miralden is better, but it is too warm, there's not enough land area, and it's not very geologically active…quite shy of the resources we need to be a major power again. Talan, what about our strength here? How much do we have left of the Grand Fleet?"

Talan winced at the application of the term "Grand Fleet" to the shrunken group that followed the rebuilt Gamilstadt. "To review our strength, sir, the Main Grand Fleet around this cruiser now consists of the carrier Meruvor, where the Terrans landed a few days ago, and the battle carrier Garalenda. We also still have the battleship Terukon, twelve escort cruisers, and eight Z-class destroyers. Total Main Grand Fleet strength: twenty-four ships. Further, we still have the Second Fleet and the Third Territorial Space Fleet attached to this fleet, forming the current Combined Imperial Strike Fleet. The Second Fleet, under General Krannen's command, consists of his flagship, the battleship Paravenia. Two carriers, namely the Kenservar and the Partend, accompany his battleship, along with five Z-class destroyers. Total Second Fleet strength: eight ships. Finally, there is Kelzart's Third Territorial Fleet, from Garalenda. He has his flagship, the carrier Eliasite, accompanied by one regular carrier, the Zedig, and one battle carrier, the Farushar. He's down to four Z-class escorts and has had the temerity to complain about it; two of the destroyers we just lost were from his fleet! Total Third Fleet strength: seven ships. Total Grand Fleet strength: thirty-nine ships. The war with Earth hurt us, sir. When I think about what they did to Gamilon…"

"I know, Talan, but we must move on. As for what you've said about the fleet…Hmmm…you're right. It's not much. If I didn't need Kelzart so badly, I'd order him to the flagship for a conference. He has no right to complain to me; those destroyers aren't his…they're mine," said Desslok as he fingered his blaster. "I'll note that should he ever trouble me again. Talan, what about the lost destroyer squadron? What did they report before those space submarines got them?"

"They reported picking up and interpreting transmissions from the Rikashans, sir. Our estimate is that the enemy has about sixty or seventy warships in the region."

"If it came to a battle, we could deal with them, Talan. Our weapons, tactics, and training are superior to theirs, and this time, we have the Star Force on our side. The Argo is surely equal to at least twenty capital ships, perhaps more. However, I do miss Lysis at times like these. Pity he died back at Rainbow Star Cluster, Talan. If you recall the Battle of Xenia, he defeated two hundred and fifty Xenian ships with about seventy of ours."

"Yes. That was an accomplishment, Leader Desslok."

"Did Harvna report how the Rikashan forces are disposed?"

"Yes. He said there seemed to be about twenty ships around Pellias itself, based on their transmissions. The rest of them are about a hundred lightyears away from Pellias, waiting at a location about here, near the Korvaci system, based on the latest movements that Harvna picked up," said Talan as he pointed at a tactical scope on the Gamilstadt's bridge.

"If we rush in towards Pellias and attack the twenty ships stationed there, we can draw the rest of the Rikashan fleet into a trap of my making. Then we can exterminate it at leisure before we land there. Thus, we can wipe out this potential threat to our Empire and our outer bases, and, incidentally, we can also earn Wildstar's further appreciation and cooperation with my plans by ridding the Star Force of their enemies. To achieve this surprise, we can't notify the Star Force of our moves, of course."

"Then we attack?" asked Talan.

"Yes. Send Kelzart in to Pellias first to scout the area, would you? I think that would be a fine punishment for his daring to complain to me…especially if the order comes from you in my name."

"Of course, sir."

"Very well, Talan. See to it."

Talan saluted and left.

"Yes, Captain, we're going to have a nice little battle, soon," said Desslok as he came up towards Captain Vorkil. "I trust the space mines are ready and our SMITE mechanisms are in order?"

"Yessir. They are."

"Wonderful. Soon, Captain, we will be in yet another engagement. And soon, these Rikashans will regret that they made an enemy of Desslok of Gamilon."

And, at that, Desslok smiled.

II. SANDOR'S ANALYSIS

System XL-5

Space Battleship Argo

Mechanical Engineering area

Wednesday, January 13, 2202

2128 Hours-space-time (Earth equivalent)

As arranged, Sandor, Venture, Conroy and Nova were standing around an analysis device in Sandor's lab with Captain Wildstar, Royster and IQ-9.

Connected to a tape player were the chips from the flight recorder from one of the damaged Gamilon destroyers.

"All right," said Sandor. "Through analysis and translation of the data in this recorder, I've been able to pick up the final moments of this vessel. It was named the Z-759 and its commander was apparently named Captain Harvna. From what I can make out of the Gamilon data, this battle apparently took place at around 1000 Hours on the 11^th. That was over two days ago. I'll play the recording now."

Everyone listened as static came over the speakers. Then, there was a low, pulsating humming sound…the sound of the engines and ventilation system of the Gamilon destroyer this black box had been taken from.

"Captain!" cried out a rough voice. "There's another spread coming towards us, now!"

"Range?" snapped a deep voice.

"Four hundred…gerad. By the gods, that's too close! Evasive!"

More humming noises came over the speakers; Wildstar guessed they were the sounds of the Gamilon vessel turning. A banging sound came through the vessel's plates on the recording.

"Shockwave! They got the Z-342, Captain Harvna!"

"Readying aft turret, firing at area where the spread came from."

Derek then heard the distinct hissing sound of the Gamilon ship's guns going off. He almost felt sympathy for the alien combat officer as he heard him yell, "No impact, Captain! By Desslok, where are they?"

"If you don't get them, Leader Desslok will never forgive us. We'll be in disgrace."

"Comm signal!" cried out another rough, deeply accented voice. "It's the enemy commander! Voice!"

"Geldungerad the signal! Warmlische!" barked Harvna. Sandor recognized that the translation had missed two words, probably vocabulary from the Gamilon language not in the Argo's database. However, the urgency couldn't be missed.

"Gamilon scum? Are you ready to die for interfering in our affairs? We R'Khell priests of Rikasha will make sure you pay for your impudence, pus-ridden fools!"

The transmission buzzed out for a bit. Static filled the room.

"Sorry," said Sandor as he turned down the volume for a moment while watching his oscilloscope. "The chips took some damage. We lost about two minutes' worth of what happened on the destroyer. However, the rest of the message is clear."

The oscilloscope danced again and the volume came back up. "Leader Desslok, that is all we can report. These are space submarines of some kind from a nation known as Rikasha. They've destroyed my whole squadron and our reactor is overheating! I've told you our location. We will try to make a last stand and bring our data back to the Fleet."

"Harvna, it is your job to fight harder! Bring down those interlopers and return here with your data. No excuses!" replied the unmistakable voice of Desslok in cold tones.

"Yes, Leader Desslok," said Harvna. "Long Live Gamilon!" he cried as the sound of his guns went off again. Then, a loud bang, shock wave, and a few screams came over the tape. Nova hid her face in Derek's shoulder for a moment as a final pitiable scream came up, and then the speakers abruptly went silent.

"Needless to say, the data came to an abrupt end at that point," said Sandor as he shut off the audio. Around the compartment, a few people had their heads bowed in respect for their fallen allies, while others didn't think such noble thoughts.

"The R'Khells did it," said Venture. "Aren't they the fanatics Cha'rif warned us about, Wildstar?"

"Yeah, they are," said Derek.

"Fanatics," said Conroy. "Just like your wacky aunt and her crew, Nova," he said with a smirk.

"Conroy, I don't consider her my aunt anymore! " snapped Nova.

"Yeah?" retorted Conroy. "Does the apple fall far from the tree, Nova?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?" yelled Nova, who now had her hands on her hips.

"You and Homer…sorry to tell you this, but you're both nuts in different ways," said the pilot.

"Conroy, if you were a woman, I'd ask you to come down to the gym with me!" said Nova, whose anger shocked the rest of the crew.

"Yeah? Why don't you do it anyway if you're such a rough and tough girl?"

"I just might, Fighter Captain!" bellowed Nova.

"Both of you! Stop it now!" roared Derek. "COOL it!"

Both Nova and Conroy stopped, but they were still looking daggers at each other.

"You're both excused from this conference!" said Captain Wildstar. "Get to both of your quarters, sit down, and think about what you said to each other. We'll have a meeting at 2230 where you'll both apologize and work this out. At any rate, both of you are relieved of your duties for the rest of this watch. I'll figure out your punishments later on. Now get out of here!"

"Yessir," they said formally, looking at the deck as they saluted. Derek angrily returned their salutes and watched as they left the compartment. Neither of them looked back at the Captain.

Sorry, Nova, thought Derek. Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. If I punish him, I have to punish you, too…and you were both acting like idiots. Right now, I have to act with just one thing in mind: I am the Captain of this battleship.

Around 2225, Derek entered the cabin he shared with Nova. He noticed that Nova was already standing "at-ease" before his empty chair. She snapped to attention and saluted when he came in.

"At ease, Mrs. Wildstar," said Derek after he returned her salute.

"Thank you, sir," she said in an emotionless voice. A quick look at her eyes and cheeks told Derek what had happened; she had been up here crying her eyes out.

"I'll comment later on after we're done."

"With my Captain's Mast I take it, sir?"

"No, with your counseling session. I'm trying to keep this informal, but we have to nip this in the bud fast. You damn well know that."

Nova just nodded. She stood there in silence, not looking at her husband, until 2230. At that moment, two raps came at the hatch. Nova snapped back to attention.

"Enter," snapped Wildstar.

"Captain, Lieutenant Commander Peter Conroy reporting as ordered," said Conroy as he saluted and came to attention. Captain Wildstar returned the salute and then glared at both of them.

"You two were the last two members of this crew I thought I'd see up before me for a counseling session. I think we can solve this at this level, but quite honestly, both of you have just pissed me off this evening. Both of you are officers, veterans on this ship since Day One, and you both should know better! Do you both read me loud and clear?"

"Yessir," they said.

"Pete, you started this with a comment that was quite uncalled for. I know that you and Mrs. Wildstar have some differences of opinion on religious faith. However, you can' t make snap judgments. The Lieutenant is by no means a religious fanatic, and you should know that. As a matter of fact, her faith is usually a very private matter, and not to be compared with that of Yvona Josiah. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yessir," said Conroy.

"Nova, you were damn wrong, too," said Derek. "You shouldn't have turned on Pete like that, and by no means should you have threatened to go down to the gym with him. I know what you'll say…and I don't care how insulted you are, and I don't care how Conroy feels. Now, I'm sorry we discussed our personal lives at such length last night. Our spirituality should be a private concern; we don't need to have some kind of damn schism on this battleship over your beliefs. Both of you are going to serve double shifts in succession tomorrow, and both of you are confined to your quarters tonight. Now, apologize to each other and let's end this."

"Sorry, Pete," said Nova.

"Sorry about the comments, Nova," said Conroy. "I don't know what got into me."

"Okay, you're both dismissed," said Derek. Both officers saluted and turned away from the Captain. Conroy left, but Nova remained, staring stiffly at the hatch for a moment.

"Nova, you can chill out now," said Derek.

"These are my quarters, too. Remember?" said Nova icily.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Calm down."

"Don't know if I can," sniffed Nova. "He insulted me."

"Nova, face it, did you act like an officer?"

"No," sniffed Nova. "Guess I didn't. But I did act like a fallible human. A human who can be hurt."

"Nova, I messed up, too. I shouldn't have let religion come up at the Table tonight. I'm sorry about this."

"But it's important to you."

"But it should be kept in its place on this ship," huffed Derek. "What's been getting into us, lately? The closer we've been getting to that planet, the more on edge we've been getting. Haven't you felt it, Nova?"

"Yes…I have. I wonder what's going on? Do you think we're heading towards a trap? Is Aliscea good…or evil? I don't think she's evil."

"Maybe it's the Rikashans..." mused Derek.

Then, the ship trembled under their boots again. A moment later, the ship titled, and both of them fell to the deck.

"All you all right?" asked Derek, their argument forgotten.

Nova nodded. "We'd better go."

They got up, running out of their cabin just as the klaxons began to go off.
 
 

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