All That Glitters Ch. 52

"<Gorlat would like to do the same, offering comparative anatomy and medical practices of the Asocans," Heyya explained.

"Will you be working at the hospital in the same manner as Kayl and Hend?" Zilina asked.

"She will need to if she is going to certify on humans. You heard of the woman who came in on the Djinaëte ship? <Gorlat is the one who kept her alive until we could get to her," Heyya confided.

"How bad?" Zilina asked.

"Very bad. It was fortunate that <Gorlat was on that ship, otherwise Lindsey would not have made it here," Heyya confided.

"Then I for one will be pleased to help you gain your certification, Doctor <Gorlat," Zilina said with a smile. "As the administrator for our campus, I have the authority to hire you with the same contract as we have given to Dr. Kayl-Ur and Nurse Hend-Ur. The contract at the hospital you will have to take up with the hospital administrator, Dr. Mae Anne Mirren, though if the Asocan Embassy is paying for your position, she will welcome you."

Zilina introduced <Gorlat to Dr. Xavier Kuaté, who would do the comparative analysis of her education vis-à-vis the differences between the Asocan system and Malton University. Noting that Dr. <Gorlat already had a comp, she passed the information package to her comp and told her to finish it at her leisure.

Heyya then took <Gorlat back to the hospital to seek out Dr. Mirren.

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

"Hello May Anne. This is Medical Surgeon Class One <Gorlat Mutt Inett. She has been tentatively hired by the Asocan Embassy to work here for Asocan needs," Heyya advised.

"Medical Surgeon?" May queried. "Isn't that a little overqualified for the small number of Asocans on station?"

"It is," <Gorlat replied. "However, I wish to take advantage of the opportunity to gain my certification with other species. This is, apparently, the place to do so."

"We are getting a reputation that we don't necessarily deserve," May mused.

"We already went round to see Zilina. She has made the same offer to <Gorlat as she made to Kayl and Hend-Ur," Heyya explained.

"Right. Are you comfortable working at the wages that the embassy will pay you for?" Mae asked. "Being a surgeon, that will probably be a big come down."

"I am told that there are many more Asocans that will now remain in the area of Liramor-23. I am certain that I will have the opportunity to use my craft while I am here." <Gorlat answered.

"You are probably correct," Mae admitted. "Very well, we shall make the contract and allow you to work here as required. Heyya will inform you of your duties within the hospital. She and her staff will give you instruction on hospital procedures and the equipment we use. You will have to advise us on the equipment that you will need to help care for Asocans. You have a very steep learning curve ahead of you, but I look forward to your lectures on Asocan physiology and medical practices."

They shook hands, something that <Gorlat found amusing but, as the euphemism went, when in human space, you did what the humans did...

PV The Wanderer, Parking Orbit, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

The next morning found the Asoc in the ship's gym. The Asoc was used to being up early in the morning for her briefs, she was not used to having to exercise at this hour. Raymond gave her no choice.

"You have told me that Unaayel is one of the more formidable combatants on your world. Her skill with the >Curlat is unmatched, including by you," Raymond reminded her. "You will have to learn new skills and practice them in order to take on Unaayel. We would like to keep you out of a challenge fight with her but we must act for every contingency. If Unaayel gets the opportunity, she will take the option of personal challenge against you."

The Asoc grunted her understanding but she was not happy about it, especially when Kim and Ululla started teaching her new sword techniques.

Damn, but those two are good! the Asoc thought.

While she was conducting her practice, she noted the combined crews of humans and Asocans working out together. There was a comradery there that pleased the Asoc. She just wished she could feel the same about these two...

The pair were working the Asoc hard, taking turns to drill her in new defensive and offensive patterns that she would eventually translate to use with the >Curlat. The Asoc was very much impressed with the capabilities of the two females, especially Kim. She had been shown several vids of incidents that Kim had been involved in, where her slashing steal ended the life of some fool that had attempted to attack her or those she was guarding. Her respect for the small female went up remarkably when she saw those.

Mbibo, on the other hand, was formidable in unarmed combat techniques. Her strikes had power behind them. The Asoc's level of respect went up even more so when she discovered that Mbibo was holding back for fear of seriously damaging the Asoc. She shuddered to think what all-out combat against either of these two would be like!

The Asoc was all too pleased when the session finally ended. She turned to note, Varren and Garnal, along with the Asost and Marrat Mutt Semt, being tutored by none other than Raymond and Liea themselves.

The four looked as hard pressed as she felt. She smiled and got grins back from her little group.

"Their training is brutal," the Asost said, getting nods from all of them.

"We need this level of training if we are to prevail," the Asoc stated. She was happy to see that no one disputed her claim but, privately, she was worried about keeping up this grueling pace...

NS Dewfall, Parking Orbit, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

Capt. Henadi Noor personally greeted the Asoc as she came aboard with her entourage that afternoon. Her senior officers were present and were introduced to the Asocans, including the two Asocan Gurd (Commander) that were training on the ship as number one and Executive Officer.

"So, this is a much larger ship than The Wanderer," the Asoc noted.

"Yes, Asoc. This ship is called a Battle Cruiser. Its purpose is to bring the fight to the enemy and make them pay for being in that fight," Capt. Noor replied.

"Your guns are up to the latest specs?" the Asoc asked.

"We have just completed refit, Asoc. All our systems are of the latest specs. This ship is the Flagship of Sector Fifty-Nine. We were given to Admiral Marsh because of our jump capacity, which exceeds 260 light years, Asoc.

"In addition, we have multiple redundant Marilon/Aruna generators, allowing us to string three consecutive jumps. We can jump 780 light years at a time, then wait an hour and do it all over again. There is no place we cannot get to within two jumps within the Greater Community," Noor explained.

"That much?" the Asoc exclaimed, surprised. "I knew that your ships were powerful, but to be able to jump 1,560 light years within two hours? That is indeed impressive. The great ships of the Djinaëte are capable of jumping 940 light years, but they are massive and have a correspondingly larger surface area for the jump grid. However, they cannot string jumps at the moment."

"Our scientists have shown that the power systems of the Djinaëte ships can handle the power coming from our Marilon/Aruna generators," Noor mused. "The size of those vessels means we could put a number of redundant generator systems on them, they would be capable of stringing jumps."

"Agreed but convincing the rather conservative Djinaëte to do something other than the norm will be the issue," The Asoc told Noor. "They do not like to change once they find something that works, even if the change brings major improvement. They also understand their organic power systems in a way that no other species does. It will be a challenge to convince them to modify their systems.

"How many of my people are on this ship?" the Asoc wanted to know.

"Right now, we have just over five hundred, Asoc. They are learning the ship inside and out. Despite the size of the ship, most of our systems mirror the smaller Fairling Class ships. Learning on this ship will prepare your people to deal with your own frigates and The Tarl Asoc," Noor advised.

"Will Fiona allow us to take this ship into battle," the Asoc wanted to know.

"Yes, Asoc. We have your people on this ship. It will go into battle," Noor assured her.

"This ship is more in line to the size of the President's vessel," the Asoc noted.

"Yes, Asoc. The Franz Muller was designed around this ship, the Muller is a little smaller, somewhere between the size of The Wanderer and this ship, but her floor plan is more in line with the Dewfall," Noor explained.

"So the Tarl Asoc will be a little smaller than the Dewfall, then?" Martte Garnal asked.

"That is correct. The Tarl will be a sister ship to the Franz Muller. These vessels will be known as 'The President's Class'. The Tarl will also be an armed ship. In addition, you will have several Valour II Class ships as potential escorts, carried on board. The Tarl will also be able to carry Whippet Class Escorts. When the Tarl comes into orbit anywhere, she will be part of a respectable force," Noor told them.

"I wish I had that capability to hand," the Asoc mused.

"It will take time for your people to be ready to crew their own vessels, Asoc. We are working hard to make sure they are ready for when your ships are completed, but that is still some months in the future," Noor stated.

"We are aware, Sostoc (the Asocan word for ship's captain). We need the help of your people to stop Belgedra. Her attempted coup is, for all of us, badly timed. We will need several weeks of intense training and a great deal of planning to be able to successfully stop her," the Asoc explained to all.

Noor could only agree with that assessment. The Asocans had come a long way in a very short time, but they were not yet ready for this kind of encounter. She hoped that they would be given the time necessary to complete their training and prepare for action.

Noor showed off her amazing ship to the Asoc's entourage, who were quite impressed by it. At the end of a three hour tour, the Asoc allowed herself to smile.

"If she is half as capable of the Dewfall, I look forward to being able to sail on the Tarl," the Asoc stated. "Thank-you Sostoc Noor for allowing me to see your ship. Work my people hard, we need to be ready for anything."

Noor bowed to the Asoc, promising that her people would be ready, hoping that her words would be true.

Hollister Apartment, Capital City, Terra, The Sol System

The knock on the door came as no surprise to Mike Hollister, he opened it and motioned to the two men outside to enter.

"Reverend Hollister, I am John Cassey, from the President's Security Team," the obvious leader of the pair stated.

"Let me guess, you have come to talk to me about the ongoing issue and how you see me helping you out? What makes you think I want to help you, sir?" Hollister demanded.

"It doesn't matter if you want to help us or not, sir," Cassey explained. "The Union needs your services, Reverend Hollister. You can assist us or not. But we will remember if you do not."

"Is that a threat?" Hollister demanded, incensed.

"No, Reverend. It is reality. There is a war going on and you have a part to play in it," Cassey explained. "You can do so willingly, or we can arrest you and put you in jail for treason. The choice is yours."

"Not much of a choice, is there?" Hollister snorted. "What is my incentive to cooperate?"

"We are asking you to continue doing what you are doing now, Reverend. Speak out against the aliens. Be the voice of humanity against the ongoing war." Cassey told him.

"Wait, that makes no sense..." Mike started to say, then it did make sense.

"You are going to help them, aren't you? You want me to be a voice that will make people think that we are keeping out of this," Hollister stated. "What keeps me from telling everyone?"

"Given your recent history, who would believe you?" Cassey asked.

"Why then would I want to help you?" Hollister asked.

"The President would owe you, Reverend," Cassey explained.

A surprised look crossed Hollister's face. Well, shit, he thought.

"What do I have to do?" he wanted to know.

"Keep an eye on the news. If you see things suggesting that we participate in the internal affairs of the Asocan's speak out against it. Be vocal, bring in your people. Make it appear as if we humans are very much against this," Cassey instructed. "We will try to inform you of potential situations as they develop but we might not be able to."

That made sense. "What happens after?" Hollister asked.

"If the war goes the way of our allies, the President will thank-you for supporting him and the Senate and explain to the public that you had been asked to do the things you did.

"If our allies fail, you will become the star of the media. It is a win-win for you," Cassey conveyed.

He got a nod from Hollister. A moment later, the pair were gone into the darkness of the late evening.

The Wanderer, In Orbit of Pod-Saar, The Sharanas System, 109 Light Years from Terra

The Wanderer came into high orbit over Pod-Saar and requested a parking orbit from Planetary Control two days later on the 27^th of July 2487. She slid down into her assigned orbit and sent down the Valliant to pick up the Kumar-Pair and their escort. The Asoc, the Asost, Martte Garnal, and Varren, were all in the receiving line when the Kumar-Pair arrived.

"Welcome my friend to the 'Tarl Asoc'," the Asoc said, tongue in cheek to her friends, the Kumar-Pair.

"She is a fine ship, Asoc. I believe that the real Tarl will be just as fine a ship," the Kumaraie told her friend.

The group moved to the large conference room where plans were made for the Asoc's fleet.

"We currently have seven Fairling Class ships that have full Asocan crews training on them. We also have the Wanderer and the Dewfall with full crews of Asocans aboard. I am told that Fiona's Valour II Class is being used for training as well. With the exception of Fiona's ship, all of those ships will have their names painted over to show Asocan names. In three weeks' time, we will have four more ships, this time ships meant for my fleet. They will retain the names meant for them, while the human ships will show the names of the follow on vessels of our fleet. We already have forty names selected.

"That will give us a fleet of eleven Fairling Class Frigates, The Wanderer acting as the Tarl, and The Dewfall, all with Asocan Navy personnel training on them. The Navy has also agreed to send us the next three months worth of Valour II Armed Fast Ships and Whippet Class Escort Ships. However, we do not have the numbers to crew those ships," the Asoc admitted.

"Why not?" the Kumaraie demanded.

"Well, we would need to send ships into Asocan space to recruit those with space training. Human ships cannot enter Asocan space," the Asost told them.

"But Djinaëte ships can," the Kumaroe stated, leaving the comment open.

"The Kumaroe is correct, Djinaëte ships can enter Asocan space," Raymond said. "The key will be to send them to planets that Unaayel's fleet are not present at. We need to find out what planets Unaayel considers to be priorities for her people. We will need to send in scout ships and that will mean smaller ships."

"Why?" the Kumaraie asked. "Do we not have a contact within Unaayel's team?"

"You mean Shugrand?" Garnal asked.

"Yes, I believe that was her name," the Kumaraie stated. "She may not know much but it would not hurt to ask."

"Marrat, I need you to act as my go-between for Shugrand, can you do that?" the Asoc demanded of the Varren's Caregiver.

"I can, Asoc. I will need to know all that you want to discover," Marrat said.

"We can put you at one of the monitors in the Battle Bridge, Marrat," Raymond told her. "We can have the human crew step out while you make your requests known to Shugrand. That way we can leave the impression that you are actually on 'The Tarl'."

"How would they know that, Raymond?" asked Garnal.

"The number of stations in the background," Raymond explained. "The larger the ship, the greater number of workstations that would be in the Battle Bridge."

"Would they not see human language signs everywhere, Raymond?" Varren asked.

"We can choose which station to put Marrat at and cleanse the line of sight. Any workstation that might accidentally be viewed will have Asocan script on it as the Asocan crew prefer working in their own script," Raymond indicated.

They put Marrat at one of the stations that overlooked the control desk of the Battle Bridge and contact was made with Shugrand...

Selta Shall, ShemetAR, The Dalagent System, The Asocan Realm

"Raddon, there is a call for you from an Asocan on a ship," Shugrand's aid Gashafen Mutt Shemet advised her boss.

"Do we know this person?" Shugrand demanded.

"No, Raddon. I have never seen this person before," Gashafen admitted.

"If she is on a ship, she might be someone of importance," Shugrand mused. "Open the link."

A moment later, the monitor opened with the view of the person in question. She was on a ship with many Asocans working behind her. Shugrand did not recognize any of them nor the ship.

"Good day, Raddon Shugrand. I am Marrat Mutt Semt, Caregiver to Varren Mutt Herrtt é Salalta Semt," the Asocan identified herself.

Shugrand perked up at that name. She knew immediately who this person was calling for. "How is our mutual friend?" Shugrand asked of this new person.

"She is very angry, of course," Marrat admitted. "She is working hard to ready her friends to assist with Unaayel. I have several questions that I must ask of you, Raddon Shugrand, and little time to ask them." Shugrand indicated that Marrat should proceed.

"We would like to know if you are aware of the priority that Unaayel places on the planets of the realm? We would also like to know which of the Raddon would be Unaayel's supporters? Also, is Unaayel recruiting among the spacers of the realm?"

"Interesting questions," Shugrand stated. "I can send you the list of planets that are in support of Unaayel and which planets I believe that she considers as a threat. As far as I know, no one is recruiting among our spacers.

"You intend to recruit them to fill in the numbers for your ships? How will you get them out?" Shugrand wanted to know. "Humans have banned their ships from our space."

"Space is large and mostly empty, Raddon," Marrat explained. "We can move around if we know where her fleet is. That will allow us to recruit among the spacers. We need to know and confirm the location of her fleet in order to complete our plans."

"I will do what I can," Shugrand stated. "Know, however, that Unaayel has a large spy network on ShemetAR and on many of the other planets as well."

"Thank-you for that piece of information," Marrat said, with a bow to Shugrand. "Everything we do will be risky. We have little choice in how we do things. We will try not to bring 'dishonor' on you, Raddon Shugrand"

Shugrand nodded, understanding. The Asoc and her people would not do anything to bring discredit to Shugrand and place her in jeopardy. That was good news for Shugrand.

"How do I contact you?" Shugrand demanded.

"Send an e-mail to this address," Marrat said, the address coming up on the monitor. "If you want to speak directly to me, indicate a time that you would prefer. I will let you know via return e-mail if I can comply with that timing. This ship must be somewhere where we can use the Interspecies Communications System to call you direct."

Any ship that came to a planet would immediately open its comms system for e-mails, this was standard practice of all ships whether human or Djinaëte. That could be done in a relatively short period of time and didn't require a ship to remain long in a system, but direct contact meant the ship would be in system until the contact was completed. Marrat did not disclose that The Wanderer had an ICS antenna, that ICS antenna could be made small enough to place on a ship was something that most Asocans were not aware of. It was going to be another 'ace' for their team.