Creation's Guardian Ch. 13B

Over time the Trogs have managed to improve somewhat on the original star drive. They can cruise at warp four and even manage warp six for short periods. As you can see, their warp engines are cumbersome and extremely inefficient. The Trogs aren't very bright when it comes to developing their own technology. However, they are pretty good at reverse engineering, and as already noted, they can improve a little on what they already have. They don't seem to have energy weapons. Everything seems to be projectile based. The shielding on their ships seems to be minimal. Just slightly above what we would use for navigation shields. Battle strategy is simple; throw a huge force at a target and hope at least one ship survives. It works because they reproduce very quickly. It's not unusual for a female to lay two dozen eggs at a wack. They're also fully mature in about a year. They have billions of slaves they use for food, breeding stock, and manual labor. Right now they have a couple of thousand starships, but nowhere enough antimatter to power them all. This area of space was explored by them a few hundred years ago. They found six lifeless planets and decided not to go any further at the time. They came back this way because they need more sources of antimatter. That's what they were really looking for when they stumbled on us."

Cailin switched to a star map. "Okay now this data is about four months old so I'm not entirely sure it's still accurate. The stars highlighted in yellow have colony worlds. The numbers on them represent the number of occupied planets in each star system. The orange dots are the various space docks. The single red star is where the Trogs home world is located. The black lines with arrowheads show their planned routes of expansion. Some of this will most likely change due to the ships they've lost in the battle with us over Neuveia. Those ships contained almost a quarter of their current supply of antimatter. It won't take them too long to realize something's happened; though I doubt they'll know exactly what. They've lost a few ships from species that had very basic missile defenses before; but never an entire fleet.

Just how they're gonna react is anybody's guess. But I suspect they'll try sending out some kind of search and rescue fleet to recover the antimatter, if for no other reason. They use a very low frequency subspace channel. So if their fleet commander made his daily report before we wiped them out; it'll be three days before it reaches their home world. Give it another three days for the home world's response to reach here then another three or four days before they realize something's wrong. So we're talking anywhere from six to ten days before they figure out they have a problem. Then it'll be another four months or so before their slow ass ships can get here. One last thing, most of their ships are gathered near the space docks. Without antimatter they can't go anywhere. Take out the ships and the space docks and you'll cripple them. After that, you'll have free reign to do whatever you want. You can arm the indigenous populations allowing them to fight for their own worlds. You could send the Trogs all back to their home world and keep them confined there. Or you could just simply eradicate them all. There are of course other options; but I don't really see them as something you'd seriously consider. However, I can list them if you'd like"

"No, that's okay, Cailin; I'll decide how I want to handle the Trogs themselves later. How long do you think it would take to just wipe out their space docks and fleets, "Bob asked?

"That would depend on how you go about it. Cassandra's Vengeance could do it by herself in about three weeks. But that doesn't include the extra time you'd need to track down the warp capable ships which I'm sure would disappear as soon as you started your counter attack. There's about two hundred of them and they're spread out across six different star systems. The problem is that the Intel you got from your prisoners is at least four months old. There's no way to tell how accurate it is now. Those six fleets could be anywhere. Since time is on our side for a change; I'd suggest you prepare for the worst case scenario of having to hunt down all six fleets. To explain anymore, I'd have to divulge more classified information, and I'd need your permission to proceed, Master"

"All right, Cailin. I have a pretty good idea where you're going with all this. But I know you've already thought it all out. You've weighed the pros and cons, and made a plan. From now on, I want you to consider Lyssa and Jacobia trusted friends and allies. Feel free to talk to them about anything, including classified information, unless I specifically order you otherwise."

"As you wish, Master," Cailin highlighted six star systems with a blue overlay. "These six star systems are the last known position of the enemy fleets. Lyssa's battle cruisers are more than a match for anything the enemy has. If we split them into five groups of four that would leave three ships to escort the transports. Each group could hit one of those star systems while we take on the sixth. If the fleets are there great, if not, no harm done. We would have attacked those systems eventually anyway. The problem is that with their current speed, it would take them months to get there. However, if we equip them with a suitable transwarp engine, and set a transwarp beacon in place, they could be there in seconds. In fact you could set Beacons near every space dock cluster; assign each group a specific set of them and they could just jump from one to the next. Doing it that way; the whole operation would take less than a full day."

Lyssa's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "You have a practical transwarp drive, Bob? No wonder your ship is so damn big! Those engines must be huge! I don't see how you'd fit something like that on my battle cruisers. My scientists have been working on that for over six thousand years, and all they've come up with is zip, zero, nada!"

"Yeah my transwarp engines are huge, Lyssa. But only because they're made to take me from one end of creation to the other in minutes. Yours won't need to be anywhere near as big. But they'll still be able to take you from one end of the galaxy to the other in seconds if you want them. Course I'll have to set out beacons, and give you the nav codes, but I don't see that as a problem."

Cailin interrupted, "Master, Captain Molloy reports that the Seeker is in orbit around Neuveia. She's awaiting orders."

Tell her to transport down here. She can join us in our planning session then have dinner with us afterwards."

A few seconds later the stunning redhead appeared. Jacobia jumped up giving Carolyn a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Jacobia stepped back giving Carolyn a salute. "Congratulations on your first command, Commander Molloy!"

"Thank you and congratulations on your own promotion, Princess Jacobia," Carolyn giggled.

Jacobia kissed Carolyn's cheek again. "You just had to remind me, didn't you, smartass. Come on I'll introduce you to everyone." Once the introductions were finished, Jacobia said "Grab a seat, Carolyn, we're still planning shit."

Lyssa shook her head with a soft laugh. "You sound just like me, Jacobia." She turned to Bob. "Anyway back to business, Bob. If you can equip my ships with transwarp, please do. I know my captains would love you for it. Two quick questions though. Is the process repeatable? How long will it take to train my navigators?"

"You don't have to train your navigators at all. Just punch in the beacon codes and engage your engines. It's all automated. I don't know if the process is repeatable using local materials. The engines require special control crystals that don't exist anywhere in this galaxy. It may be possible to replicate, or grow them; but I'm not sure of that yet. I haven't had time to really look into it." Bob looked over at Kadir. "Kadir, honey, you know what to do."

Kadir winked and giggled. "It's already been done, Master. Every ship is ready to go including the Seeker and the transports."

Carolyn looked at Bob in shock. "Excuse me, I um... I don't know how to address you. But all this talk of transwarp has me really confused. I didn't think transwarp even existed. But it sounds to me like you're saying the Seeker; a simple scout ship, now has transwarp capability."

"We're all friends here, Carolyn; just call me Bob. Yes, transwarp does exist, and all of Lyssa's ships that are in this section of space are now equipped with it. You are the proud captain of the first scout ship in galactic history to have transwarp speeds." He looked around the table. "Change of plans people." He handed Carolyn a slip of paper and pointed to the star map. "Those are the nav beacon codes for each star system highlighted in blue. The last code will bring you back here. Your orders are simple. You are to remain cloaked at all times until you return here. Enter the codes exactly as they are written in the order I've listed them. When you drop out of trans warp, your only job is to see whether or not starships are present. Use your eyes only. Do not do an active scan under any circumstances. Once you make your determination move on to the next on your list. The whole thing shouldn't take you more than five minutes. Report back here to me when you've completed your mission."

Six minutes later Carolyn reappeared in the dining room. "Sorry I'm late, Sir. I had to take a minute to explain how the transwarp worked. My crew loves it, and so do I. We were in and out of each system in less than thirty seconds." She pointed to the star map. "There are no ships here, and here, But there's a shit ton of em in these two, and a small fleet over here."

"Don't worry about being a minute late, Carolyn. I expected you'd have to explain things the first time around. I know I said no active scans; but any estimates on the numbers?"

"No, Sir, we didn't stick around long enough for that." She held out a disk. "We couldn't do a sensor sweep so I had tactical download the images from the view screens. Everything we saw is on this disk."

"That's brilliant; well done, Carolyn! Thank you! Have a seat while we go over this data." he handed the disk to Cailin. "Analyze this and let me know what we've got."

Cailin popped the disk in the dining room terminal and said, "Do you want a full breakdown or just numbers?"

"Just give me the numbers, Sweetie."

"Okay, Master. Ninety in the first system, Ninety three in the second one, and twenty three in the third. Two hundred and six ships total."

"Good work, Cailin. Jacobia, you take fifteen battle cruisers and hit the first group of ninety. Don't worry, just blow them to hell. They won't be able to touch you. If one tries to run send a ship after it. Lyssa, you take the other eight battle cruisers and handle the third group. I'll take Commander Molloy and the Seeker along with me and blow the hell out of the last group of ninety three.

Carolyn looked at Bob with astonishment. "Two ships against ninety three? Aren't those some rather long odds?"

Bob chuckled. "Yeah I know; it's not exactly a fair fight. But if they only have ninety three to throw at us; I guess we'll just have to take what we can get."

Jacobia winked at Carolyn. "Don't worry, Girlfriend; Bob wouldn't even allow you anywhere near those ships if there was the slightest chance of any of them hurting the Seeker. Trust me; you'll be fine."

Bob laughed softly, "damn it, Jacobia, you went and spoiled all my fun. You know me too well already." He turned to Carolyn. "Jacobia's right though, Carolyn. I'd never put you in any danger. As a matter of fact, the Seeker could take on all ninety three ships by herself and come back without a scratch. All you have to do is pick a ship, hit it with your quad of triple beam lasers to blow it's shield to hell then tear it apart with your proton cannons and Gatling lasers. Your quad has a two second cool down so you can either hit the same ship with it every two seconds or just keep blowing shields to hell on the others. Just tell your gunners to watch out for my fighters. I just thought you'd like a little combat experience, although admittedly, it's a bit on the uneven side."

Carolyn laughed. "Absolutely no-one will ever believe that two ships took on that many capital ships and walked away unhurt. Just how many fighters are you carrying on top of all that heavy weaponry?"

"If they don't believe you just show them your battle cam footage. Cassandra's Vengeance is kinda small," he chuckled. "She can only carry two thousand heavy fighters right now." Bob created a huge barbecue and seafood buffet. "Everyone dig in; we leave in an hour." He turned to Kadir. "Put random frequency triple shields over every planet in the federation including Neuveia. I don't want anything in creation to be able to get through them. Aphrodite, you and all my women and the babies will be perfectly safe here now. But if you or anyone else wants to come along, you'll be just as safe aboard Cassandra's Vengeance."

"We all talked about this before you came down, Master. It's liable to get very noisy up there. The babies know this is their home. They're all comfortable here. We'd rather not disrupt their routine. We'll all miss you, and so will your children. But it won't be for very long, so we'll all be okay until you get back."

"Lyssa, Jacobia, I need to know which two ships you'll be using as your flagships along with which ships you'll each be taking with you. Can you separate them into two distinct groups for me."

"Let me handle this, Jacobia. I know the ships and their captains better than you do. Can you open a fleet wide channel for me please, Bob?" Lyssa rattled off fifteen ship names. "You fifteen gather together around Nueveia's moon. Captain Davis, you and the Hunter will be Jacobia's flag for this mission. The rest of you group up on the far side of Neuveia. Captain Sweeney, you and the Victory will be my flag."

"Thanks, Lyssa. I want to make things easy. When you two board your ships you'll find a small green button on the bottom of your right armrest. When you push it, every ship in your respective fleets will be linked to your flagship. Wherever you go they'll automatically follow. Push it again and they act independently. The idea is to make sure you all get to the same place at the same time. Carolyn, you'll be locked to me until we get to our battle site."

Cailin handed Bob three sheets of paper. He handed Lyssa and Jacobia the ones with their names on them and kept the third one himself. "The top beacon code is your first battle. After that just move down your list wiping out any ships or space docks you find. When you're finished, the last code sends you back here. After that we'll decide our next steps. All right board your ships, we leave on my mark."

Once aboard the Cassandra's Vengeance, Bob tapped his button locking the Seeker to his lead. He then opened his intercom. "Attention all decks we'll be going into combat in a few seconds; all pilots man your fighters and be ready to launch on my command." He turned to Cailin. "Patch me through to the two flagships. You two set to go?" when both Lyssa and Jacobia said, "affirmative," Bob began his countdown, "Three, two, one, mark!" Instantly, all three ship groups disappeared.

Three seconds later the Cassandra's Vengeance and the Seeker were about five hundred light-years from Neuveia and facing ninety three Trog capital ships." Cailin, tell Commander Molloy to fire at will. You can open fire whenever you're ready as well."

"I told Carolyn she could fire at will and the smartass said she'd be happy to if she knew which one was Will" Cailin giggled as she blew her third Trog battleship to pieces. She's doing really well for an untested commander, Master. The Seeker's also three for three!"

"That's great, Cailin. This battle is personal so I'm gonna let you two have some fun with target practice for a while. But I'm still gonna launch a couple of wings just to catch any stragglers that try to run. Attention all decks, wings one and two your primary mission is to blow any ships out of space that try to retreat. We have an untried Atlantian ship with us so try to stay out of their line of fire. Launch now!"

After about fifteen minutes, the Trogs were down to about thirty five ships. At that point a battleship, two of their heavy cruisers and a drop ship tried to slip away. Bob's fighters made short work of three of them but the battleship almost made it until Cailin shoved a heavy particle missile up its ass turning it into little more than dust. The other Trog ships hunkered down behind and between all the other derelicts making it difficult to target them head on. Bob just launched the rest of his fighters and had Cailin and Carolyn cease fire. He was tied in ship to ship as he laughed and said, "Let the fly boys have a little fun now. It's our turn to take out any that try to run."

It took Bob's fighters about five minutes to wipe out the remnants of the Trog fleet. He had Cailin recall all the fighters, again. There were no reports of injuries or losses. He was just about to order Asimah to head to the next system on their list when his eyes widened with surprise. He had Cailin bring up the star map and pointed to a star system that was well off the Trogs expected lines of expansion. It was easily a three month, one way trip for a Trog ship. Bob highlighted it in bright red and had Kadir set a transwarp beacon nearby.

"The Trogs stumbled on an asteroid belt rich in antimatter. There is a species that calls themselves Sokilum that had a thriving colony on a planet about two light years away. The Trogs sent a few drop ship carriers and about a dozen automated mining ships. They used the drop ships to take the colony. Then they rounded up every bit of antimatter they could scrape together, Even stripping it out of the reactors of most of their older ships. They sent twelve hundred of their newest battleships and another dozen dropship carriers to hold the colony. A few of the mining ships have been sent to meet and refuel the major fleet. The Sokilum are planning a counter attack but they only have a hundred ships, mostly heavy cruisers, and they have no idea that the Trogs have a massive fleet inbound. There's no doubt the Sokilum need our help if they're gonna survive as a species. The question is how do we best achieve that. I would prefer making them an ally instead of a future enemy."

"I suggest head of state, to head of state, direct contact. Let them know we're also at war with the Trogs, and what's coming their way. Then offer to assist. If they say no then all you can really do is wait for them to call for help. I don't think it'll take them long once they realize you're for real," Cailin replied.

"I agree with Cailin," Cassandra said. "You can't help them if they don't want it, at least not initially. The only problem is that Destiny says the Sokilum are beings of the light. Which means we have both a moral responsibility, and a duty to protect them whether they want it or not. My suggestion is to put our other missions on hold for now. Gather our combined fleets here. Contact their leader from here so that they can see the wrecks of the Trog fleet. Then put us in position behind, but just out of the Trog scanning range and shadow them until the Sokilum can pick up the Trog ships on their scanners. When they see that their outnumbered, and out gunned by more than ten to one, hail their leader again. I think she'll change her mind real quick."

"Okay that's what we'll do then. Cailin tie me in to Lyssa, Jacobia, and Carolyn." Once he was tied in Bob recounted what was happening and what his plans were for countering the threat. Then asked, "Where your transports, Lyssa? We're gonna need them to help take back that colony."