All That Glitters Ch. 38

************

"Why do you bring those silly women into our house?" Marius asked his bride-to-be as she saw another gaggle of women off at the main door.

"Do you not understand politics, Marius?" Aurelia asked him, confusing him momentarily.

"I understand politics very well, wife-to-be," he growled in return.

"Do you believe that all politics is in the hands of the men on this planet? On any Alliance planet?" Aurelia inquired. "The women may not have much of a say in politics on Alliance planets, Marius, they do, however, have a great deal of say with their men. Established wives can influence their husbands.

"A lot more gets done behind the scenes than you may believe, Marius. That is why I am cultivating the women's network here on Planet Adenomere. With their support, anything you wish to accomplish can be done much easier. Ignoring the women's network is a mistake.

"I am setting the groundwork to be part of the women's network here. What I am doing, Marius, is not for me, it is for our family, for the Adenomere name, for our future," Aurelia finished.

She gave him a short curtsey, turned and left.

"She is a sharp one," Jaar Adenomere told his son. "I may rethink doing away with her. She could be a major asset to this household."

"Surely you jest, father?" Marius asked.

"Not completely, my son," Jaar said as he too turned and left.

Marius pondered what had happened to his control of the situation as he stood in the open door.

Pallanders-4, The Punarjanm System

"Pallanders-4 control, this is PV The Trine, Capt. Marisa Bellany commanding, requesting berthing for our vessel. We are delivering to Hanalei Anar, over."

"Control, roger, you are cleared for VIP Bay one, berth three. Follow the route we are providing for your safety in-system, over."

"Trine, roger, we have received your route to Bay one, slot three, Out."

Hanalei was on the station that day, along with Urano and Violletiya. She headed down to VIP reception and met Fayad and Junelliya there. They watched as the ship docked in the bay.

Pallanders-4 had recently installed the new Force Barrier that allowed them to keep the bay pressurized as ships slid in and out through the barrier, so the family was ready to meet the ship as soon as it was de-groused (a term used for removing the static charge from the skin of the ships).

They got the go-ahead and walked into the VIP bay, just as the hatch opened and Capt. Bellany poked her head out.

"Good morning, Mrs. Anar," she said cheerfully on seeing her boss.

"This is the new ship?" Hanalei asked, looking it over. It was in the colours she had specified but it looked much larger than she remembered.

"Yes, ma'am," Marisa confirmed. She is 10.5 meters in width and 32.5 meters in length, still well within the norms for medium-sized shuttles so she can use all shuttle ports, ma'am," the captain informed them.

Medium-sized shuttles were considered to be 40 meters in length and large shuttles to be 60 meters long. Large shuttles could not use shuttles ports designed for small vessels while medium-sized shuttles could. That meant The Trine could land at any shuttle port.

Externally, The Trine looked much similar to the Princess Class Fast Ships, however, it had a large hatch in the center-lower portion of the ship which was meant for cargo, part of the extra length having been given over for this purpose.

They went into the ship and greeted the crew then looked around. At a deck height of 3.3m, there was great deal more head-space in the ship which Hanalei knew would be appreciated by the taller members of the Interspecies Community, especially the Asocan, the Djinaëte, the Feeyan, and the Paacon who could all reach 2.5 meters and more in height.

The extra length in the ship meant that there was a large room centered on the third, lowest deck, which was used for storage and cargo. She still had the same number of quarters for the crew at fifteen, with a much larger captains quarters forward and larger quarters for the ChEng aft, the two senior members of the crew.

There was a little extra room in the two larger VIP staterooms and the ship now had four of the smaller staterooms vice two. There was also more room for the multi-purpose VIP room on the second deck. There was even a little extra space given to the bridge. Tucked away on the VIP deck but accessible to all, was a small Temple to Andanii, which the trine greatly appreciated.

The galley and dining area had an increased size, as did the gym and theatre on the first deck, making it more comfortable for the crew.

The trine was looking over the bridge as the captain was explaining the functions found there.

There was a chair beside the Captain's chair for the owner, and a small 'fishbowl' aft for guests to watch the activity of the bridge while remaining out of the way of the crew, "Though most guests will watch the activity from the VIP room aft," Marisa was explaining.

"We also have a newly installed ICS antenna and can communicate with anyone who has an antenna wherever we are in known space. Overall, we have a very capable ship here," she finished.

"François indicated that we might have extra jump capability," Fayad mentioned.

"Yes, sir, we do. The tighter weave of the jump grid, combined with the extra length of the ship, and the military grade FTL engines, means we now have 190 light year legs, sir. String two together, and we can jump 380 light years at a time, wait one hour and do it all over again," Marisa explained.

"Damn, Fiona is going to have kittens," Junelliya laughed.

"We have to get home to Liramor-23 in order to show off the new ship," Fayad returned.

"Captain, Comms. Sir, a Capt. Raymond Clark is requesting permission to come aboard," Comms said over the all-ships link.

"Yes, bring him aboard," Fayad said immediately. "We will be berthing this ship off of The Wanderer, which he owns."

They all went back to the VIP room while the ship's cook prepared lunch for everyone. One of the crew was showing Raymond around the new ship, which took about fifteen minutes. He came into the VIP room just as lunch was being placed.

"Good timing, Raymond," Hanalei giggled.

"Damn, Hanalei, this is one fine ship! I have to get me one!" Raymond replied.

"You will not get one with military grade engines, which means you will not have the same legs as this ship," Fayad returned.

"Oh, I think I can convince Pallanders to do something for me on that score," Raymond laughed. "The Wanderer is still doing workups with the other ships and will not return until after the evening meal. We will take The Trine aboard after she returns," Raymond advised. "Does this ship have an ICS antenna?"

"Yes it does, Raymond," Hanalei confirmed. "Do you want to make use of it as part of Sandcastle?"

"Yes, though I will likely use it as a rear comms picket at the jump of point rather than bring it into any of the forward points. What kind of comms capability does she have, captain?" Raymond asked.

"She has a Marconi 3400 multi-channel comms system with a skip capability that allows us to use one antenna and communicate on fifty two channels simultaneously. She also has a dedicated comms computer, so can monitor and make use instantly of any of the fifty-two channels. She also has an ICS antenna, currently set up on the Liramor Prime frequency," Marisa advised.

"But can you change frequencies on the ICS as required? Can you move over to the military channel if we ask?" Raymond demanded.

"Yes, we can do that, but we don't have a military comms system," Marisa advised.

"We can provide that for you," Raymond assured her. "We have a few extra on The Wanderer. As long as you have space for it, we can install it for you."

"Right, if we are doing picket in the rear, then that gives you another ship for forward comms then?" Junelliya asked.

"That's right. We need one more coms picket forward and I was wondering where we were going to get another ship with an ICS antenna. You just provided it, giving us an ace in the hole," Raymond smiled.

"Alright, let us know how you want to use us, and then we will be ready to go. We won't have to do anything other than provide a comms relay for the control ship in the rear," Fayad stated. "What ship will be doing that job?"

"NS Persephone, an older Fairling Class Frigate. She may be older but she was once a command ship and still has the capabilities to provide a tactical link for the ships in the rear and to provide fleet control of ships moving in and out of her area," Raymond told them.

"She is scheduled for refit in six months. She will be given the new jump grid and an ICS antenna. She will be one of the most capable ships in the fleet along with the Saraswati," Raymond ended.

"How soon before the Saraswati is ready for combat?" Junelliya asked, remembering the naming ceremony of the ship and the pride of her new captain.

"Any day now," Raymond advised. "She is slotted as a forward control ship. Her capabilities as a control ship are rivalled only by The Wanderer and The Dewfall."

"The Dewfall is going to Planet Adenomere, isn't it?" Hanalei asked.

"Correct. She will be the command ship for that assault. She has Henadi Noor as her captain and she will carry the Commodore for the assault and direction. The Saraswati will go to New Hadria, in keeping with the order for The Wanderer not to return to New Hadria, and The Wanderer is scheduled to be used as the command ship for Vuelta, the furthest planet from the launch point. She has the legs for that jump," Raymond finished.

"Capt. Bellany, you will have to get in touch with the Battle Bridge on The Wanderer as soon as you board her this evening. You will need to know about the game plan for the rear guard. You will also have to contact Capt. Ned Randolph of NS Persephone to coordinate with his ship for comms purposes. He will be happy to have you.

"Don't take the ship over to The Wanderer too early this evening,"

Raymond told her. "Many of the ship's captains will want to take a look at The Trine."

"Good point," Fayad stated. "We should set up for tours like we did at Denders Resort. We will likely have a lot of the captains coming through to look at this ship."

"Sir, Comms, there is a Mr. David Sprawl asking for permission to board," comms came over the all-ships.

"Speaking of tours. David is the Pallanders representative here on Pallanders-4 and is responsible for the construction and refit of all Navy ships coming off this station," Raymond explained. "Please make sure that the ChEng is available as he will be very curious about the workings of the ship."

That got a smile from Marisa. "Comms, allow for Mr. Sprawl to come aboard, have the ChEng available to brief him, he is the Pallanders rep here in system and will be curious about the ship. We should set up for tours of the vessel. I have been advised that most of the ships will be returning soon after dinner. We will likely have a few curious captains coming aboard.

"We will put off going over to The Wanderer until later in the evening or possibly even after third bells," the captain passed her orders.

************

"She is an incredible ship," Davis Sprawl commented to Capt. Bellany.

"She is that," Marisa admitted, proud of her new command.

"You are lucky to have her, Marisa. There isn't a captain in space that wouldn't give his or her right arm to command this vessel," Sprawl told her. "She is the lead ship of a new class and a ship that will make history due principally to where her home port will be and who the owners are."

"I have only just met the owners, David," Marisa admitted. "I hardly know them but I have a sense, a premonition of their involvement in history. Not the least of which is their current involvement in Sandcastle. Damn! We will be making history with this operation and our ship will pay no small part in this upcoming event. They are currently living on Liramor-23 which will be The Trine's home port and she is going to be used by Fiona Marsh to move back and forth between human and Interspecies space! The next few years are going to be exciting!"

David laughed. "You have a right to be enthusiastic, Marisa, and you are right, you will be in the middle of history. Take care of this ship, Marisa, and take care of that family."

"I will do that, David, and thank you for the use of that military comms unit. It will be essential to us in the near future," Marisa commented on the fact that David had given the ship a new military level comms unit and dedicated comp and had his people already installing it and it's antenna on the ship and were currently connecting it to the ICS antenna. Her people would have to train on the use of the unit and the codes but that would be a minor issue.

Sprawl had been the lead of a steady flow of the people coming to see and admire the new ship. Surprisingly, one of those people had been Capt. Ned Randolph of the NS Persephone. Marisa took him aside and had a little talk with him as to the future role of The Trine in OP Sandcastle. Ned had laughed outright at what had happened.

"Damn! It seems that whatever Cmdre. Dostier needs, fate is determined to put in her path! A ship like this is perfect for the role of rear comms picket with us. Do you have a military comms unit?" he had asked, surprised to be advised that one was being installed as they spoke, courtesy of David Sprawl.

"Then we only need to coordinate the data stream between you and us. We can keep a link to the other command ships and keep abreast of the ongoing situation as we coordinate the operations in the rear. That in itself will be a very useful function between our two ships. You do not know how important your role will be, Captain," Ned told her.

Capt. Bellany was getting a good feeling about her upcoming role...

The Presidential Compound, Terra

"Good morning, Mr. President," Cmdre. Dostier greeted the President. She once again noted the presence of the three admirals, Senator Winslow, Minister Ronter, and the President's Chief of Staff, Jason Carter. "I am pleased to report that we are ready to engage in Operation Sandcastle on your order, sir."

"I see. Then we will need to start Op Asclepius as well?" the President asked.

"Sir, we have informed the President of Planet Varus of her requirements in the upcoming event. She is ready to contact your office once we have permission to engage in OP Sandcastle," Dostier advised the President.

"Very well, please open a comms link to all your ships, I wish to speak to the troops," the President ordered. At his command, Raymond gave Dostier a significant look; she owed him on their bet.

It didn't take long to connect all the ships and Dostier advised the President they were ready for his speech. His image faded briefly, to be replaced by the Presidential Seal of the Union. All ships reported ready to receive the communications and the President's face came up on screen.

"To all of our troops now preparing to engage in OP Sandcastle, I would like to say a few words before we engage in this momentous event," the President began.

"For over twenty years now, the Alliance has been lying about the whereabouts of our citizens, leaving us with a sense of deep loss for the missing people, whom we had initially presumed dead.

"Every few years, we have asked the same question of the new members of the Major Houses of the Alliance, of their politicians, and of the members of the Landstradt: are you aware of any of our citizens that might be being held as slaves on Alliance planets. Every time, those of whom we have asked have lied to us and told us: 'No, we have no information on Union Citizens being held as slaves.'

"Now, we have categorical proof that as many as 500,000 of our citizens have been kidnapped by pirates and are now being held as slaves on Alliance planets. Many of those citizens have died, perhaps as many as 100,000 or more. Which means that there could be around 400,000 of our citizens still being held illegally by the major Alliance houses.

"You, are going to go in and get some of those people out during OP Sandcastle, rescuing them from slavery and bringing them to safety. The plan is to go after 185,000 citizens but it doesn't matter how many we successfully get out. We plan to go after the Alliance of planets diplomatically and to get the rest of our citizens out after the fact.

"There will be no question as to who we have managed to rescue. There will be no question that these rescued are our citizens. There will be no question that the Alliance has lied for more than twenty years. We will use these facts to get the remainder of our people out of Alliance hands.

"To this end, there are other operations being planned along with the diplomatic full court press, even if we need to use the navy to form a blockade until all of our citizens are free."

The President paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing.

"Those of you who will go down onto the Alliance planets, please go with the knowledge that while the citizens of the Union do not yet know what is about to happen, they will be completely informed of this event after the fact, including the courage of those of you who will come face-to-face with Alliance forces and resistance to OP Sandcastle. We have but one objective in this event: to rescue as many of our kidnapped citizens as we can.

"The hopes of thousands of our citizens now rest in your hands. Get them out. Take them to safety. Take them to freedom. Do your duty for the Union and its citizens.

"May the Gods bless us with their benevolence and grant us good fortune in this endeavour. Good luck to all of you," the President began to sing the Union song. His voice cracked more than once as he sang. He could not hear the people on the ships out there but he was sure they were singing with him.

And they were. On over a thousand ships, the full throated roar of the men and women of the navy and civilians attached to the ships accompanied the President in the Union song. Many cried openly as they sang. It was a moment of history that would not be believed by future historians until they saw the clips from the individual ships.

When the song ended, there was absolute silence for several minutes before the President spoke again.

"Commodore Dostier, OP Sandcastle is a go."

The roar that followed that simple statement belied the fact that this was one of the most complicated actions that had ever been planned by the Union. The members of the various ships crews were ready and even eager for their part in OP Sandcastle. They wanted this, in fact, needed it.

"Mr. President, I acknowledge your order and activate Operation Sandcastle," Cmdre. Dostier replied, pride in those around her who were currently giving out a full throated cheer.

Operation Sandcastle was a go. Everyone was ready, or so they thought...

End of chapter thirty-seven.

Please rate and comment but remember to keep your comments respectful.

Cheers! See you all on Liramor-23!

Be well, Be kind to one another, Be safe.

bigtddybr