Chapter 113 - Concern

(BNS Nightforge, Nuevo Edo orbit)

Several hours after the distress call went out over the game chat, I walked into the conference room on the Nightforge, and sat at the table, Raven moving to sit at my side while I looked at the others who were there, either in person or via the screens lining the walls. “All right, everyone, we’ve got a few things to discuss, but there are new faces at this meeting, so we’ll go around the table, so to speak, to get everyone on the same page. The information we’ll be talking about is important, but it isn’t time-sensitive enough that we can’t make introductions.” I took a breath, and said, “As you all know, I am Mirikon Mollen, owner of the Black Star Company, and the one in command of our forcers here. No matter what anyone else says, at the end of the day any discussion involving Black Star eventually becomes my responsibility.”

“Next to me is Raven. She is a type of artificial intelligence called an e-ghost, meaning that she was ‘born’ when a human’s consciousness was uploaded to a computer. She’s been around for decades, and is without a doubt the smartest person here. She’s also my right hand, and second in command of Black Star.”

I pointed at a human mana and the elf male next to him. “Captain Henri Genest is in charge of the Nightforge during combat operations, and Elduin Fatoris is in charge of shipyard operations.” Moving down the table, I pointed out a trio of human females. “I’m sure you’re all familiar with Prime Minister Fukuya Talia, and General Akagi Hikari. Next to them is Admiral Gabriela Saez of the Nuevo Edo Navy.”

I paused, and then said, “I’m only going to t say this once, so listen up. Admiral Saez and her Navy are going to be seconded to Black Star while we work the situation at hand, because while we’ve given them the best we can in terms of training regimens, their navy is still too new and too inexperienced to take the lead on this. That does not mean you get to order them about like servants, or that you can use them as cannon fodder. They are here to learn from us, and you will treat them with respect.” He turned to look at the Admiral, and said, “And I’ll have your people remember that while we are a mercenary group, they are blooded veterans of actual combat, while your crews are barely out of training, and are to be treated with the respect they are due.”

“With that said, I see on the screens that we have all ship captains and squadron leaders with us, as well as Major Khan. General, after this meeting I believe you and the major should get together and work out a training regimen for Nuevo Edo’s Marine Corps.”

“Now, on to business. By now you have all been informed that a distress call went out over the Nomad communication network at 23:52, Nuevo Edo Standard Time. The Independent Trader Precious Harlot, from the Gauz Consortium, came under attack suddenly from forces unknown. The initial attack disabled the communications array and engines, leaving the Precious Harlot stranded and unable to communicate via normal means.”

“Slave-Pilot Samantha Michaels immediately locked down the bridge, and began scanning for the source of the attack. The attacker was only discovered through the use of visual scanners, as the ship blocked the view of several stars. By that time, the attacking ship had closed in to perform boarding maneuvers. Video of the firefight that occurred between the Harlot’s crew and the attackers has been sent to you all.”

“As you can see in the video recovered from the Precious Harlot, the attackers are X’thari raiders. Evidence recovered from the attack indicates that this was an Aeh-class Hunter-Scout vessel. Raven, what do the files tell us about the Aeh-class?”

Raven stood as I took a seat, and said, “The Aeh-class Hunter-Scout Vessel is the primary reconnaissance unit of the X’thari hunter clans. While the Aeh-class cannot stand up to even an Assassin in a head-to-head fight, they are known more for speed and stealth than their ability to win naval engagements. The two primary uses of the Aeh-class, according to what most governments have been able to ascertain is to scout out potential targets for the stronger Hunter Packs or the Great Hunt, and to insert the X’thari version of special forces or recon marines behind ‘prey’ lines to disrupt prey forces.”

General Akagi raised her hand. When Raven acknowledged her, the general said, “What is the profile for these X’thari? They sound like a nomadic hunter group at first, but the way you are talking about them is more like a standard military.”

Raven smiled, and said, “Let me preface this by saying that this is all hearsay. No X’thari has ever been captured alive or held in captivity to allow for a full interrogation. They have an annoying tendency to suicide rather than allow themselves to be captured, and they enjoy using what is the equivalent of a small tactical nuke for their suicide bombs. Before you ask, no we have not managed to reverse-engineer those, as tampering with them tends to set them off. The majority of our information comes from either observation or autopsies on dead X’thari, or by reconstructing information from their techno-organic computers on wrecked ships.”

“It is believed that the X’thari are a descendant species from either the species that built the Gateways, or a species that has been around similarly long. There must have been some sort of devolution in their species to get to the point where they are now, but we have no information on what could have happened. However, we can confirm that the X’thari are, for the most part, a semi-nomadic warrior culture, roughly organized in the manner of tribal warlords. Different leaders have different strengths, tactically, but typically the more ships following a warlord, the better they are at fleet tactics.”

“Small ship captains can be anywhere from fresh commanders to veterans who do not have the fleet skills to advance, but they are all generally proficient with fighting their ships. The exception to this would be the Hunter-Scouts. The Hunter-Scouts act either individually, or in packs, similar to the ‘wolfpack’ tactics most stealth-capable navies use. The primary difference between a X’thari Hunter-Scout and a Black Star Assassin is that the Assassin has a devastating attack which can allow them to do massive damage against even armored foes without closing to ‘knife range’ or giving away their position. X’thari Hunter-Scouts have powerful gravitic lances, but those are only useful within a few thousand kilometers. It is the difference between an assassin who uses a sniper rifle, versus one who uses a dagger. To the X’thari it appears to be a point of pride to close as near to a target as they can and cripple or destroy their target in the initial salvo. All their weapons currently focus on gravitic lances or beam weapons capable of reaching almost 18 million kilometers.”

“As an additional note, their numbers appear to be in a base 9, instead of a base 10 like ours. This is important because most engagements with the X’thari take place at distance and time intervals of 3, 6, or 9, and their ships, if not alone, will usually travel in those types of numbers. If, say, you are in a system and detect seven X’thari ships, then you should be very, very worried, as there are probably two you haven’t noticed, likely sneaking up on you.”

I stood up again, and said, “As you can see in the video, the X’thari cut a hole in the hull of the Harlot, and a standard Hunter-Scout five-member boarding party attacked the ship. The lack of gravity in the ship allowed the defenders to hold out longer than they should have, and they inflicted two casualties on the X’thari before the aliens adjusted. After that, the crew was quickly slaughtered. Thanks to the quick call from Slave-Pilot Michaels, we were able to scramble fighters, and their attack occurred shortly after the X’thari began attempts to make their way through the blast door sealing off the bridge from the rest of the ship.”

“The Hunter-Scout was not prepared for space combat, having thought that it eliminated all communications on the ship, and was easily disabled when the BSN Jubilee, along with the gunboats BSN Zenith and BSN Zachariah, arrived moments later to attack it with ion cannons. The Hunter-Scout self-destructed shortly afterward, further damaging the Precious Harlot. With no free sentients aboard the Harlot, the Black Star Navy assumed control of the freighter and its property and cargo under interstellar salvage laws.”

I continued on, not allowing them time to unpack that statement. “With the immediate threat eliminated, I ordered a tachyon sweep of the system, to ensure we were dealing with a lone scout, and not a Triad. The results of the scan, which are on your screens now, showed a X’thari Sentinel-class probe, which has been destroyed. It is likely that the recent activity here and in the Amazon system attracted the notice of those who monitored the Sentinels, and a ship was sent to investigate. The spies we left in the Amazon system have confirmed that a X’thari Anchor Drive was used there approximately two weeks ago.”

Admiral Saez raised her hand, and I nodded to her. “Commodore, what is the likely response the X’thari will have to the loss of one of these Sentinel probes?”

“Given past responses? If it was just the probe, then they would simply slip a Scout into the system to determine whether the probe was destroyed naturally, or whether there was enemy action that required a Hunt. Given that a Scout was already in the system and had self-destructed prior to the Sentinel being eliminated, we must assume that the Sentinel passed along all information it could about our non-stealthed vessels, and enough to suggest we had stealth capabilities as well.”

I paused, and said, “I will not lie, the chances that we are going to have at least a Hunt sent out after us approach 100%. There’s at least a 70% chance it will be a Full Hunt. The typical Hunt is a squadron of nine frigates, with three triads of Scouts to hunt and harry the prey, much like you would use hunting dogs on old earth to chase foxes. A Full Hunt, however, will have three Triads of cruisers, each with nine frigates, with three triads of Scouts to support the Full Hunt. If we are really unlucky, we may even find a True Hunt, where three Full Hunts will cooperate to take us down with a triad of dreadnoughts commanding. The chances of this becoming a True Hunt are only about 20%, however, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.”

Premier Fukuya’s face was ashen. “Can Nuevo Edo and Black Star’s combined forces protect the planet?”

“Against a Hunt? Certainly. Against a Full Hunt? It could get pretty bloody, and we would certainly take casualties, but yes, we could do it. If a True Hunt shows up? Trickery and guile go a long way, but these X’thari are predators. Hunting a pack of wolves that is hunting you is no simple task. We would do everything we can, of course, but with our current forces, that would be a tall order.”

Admiral Saez nodded slowly, “And what comes after a True Hunt?”

I looked at her, and said, “Admiral, if a Grand Hunt shows up, the best we can do, any of us, with our current forces would be to flee immediately with any civilian ships that can be launched, and run like hell, abandoning anyone left on the surface to their fate. That way, at least someone would be left alive.”

The Admiral slumped back in her chair, “I see.” Yeah, she was probably regretting asking that question.

I paused, and said, “In unrelated news, I have received confirmation through Nomad channels that the Empress of the Terran Empire wishes to see what the ‘long lost children of Terra’ have built here, and is leading a trade legation personally. By pure ‘coincidence’, the Confederacy will have some high-level diplomats on a legation of their own here at about the same time. Both governments may seek to get Embassy space on Nuevo Edo.”

Fukuya frowned. “And why would the Terran Empress come here, now?”

I smiled, and said, “I may have recommended that Nuevo Edo be confirmed by the major powers as a Free Port. You remember Switzerland on Earth, back before the world became unified? Having ‘neutral ground’, with neutral banks and neutral traders who happen to also be defended by capable ships and crews would allow for diplomacy to happen while not being on either group’s ‘home turf’. Empress Merida is keen on lessening tensions with the Empire’s neighbors so she can make needed reforms and rebuild the Empire’s Navy and logistics, which were brutalized in the Civil War.”

“And since we’re so far away from everyone, and haven’t had contact with anyone in so long, our neutrality will be easier to establish and maintain, provided we do so from the beginning.”

“Exactly.”

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