Book 6 chapter 4

General Danma stood on the bridge of his flagship, his callused hands clasped behind his back as he watched the ongoing training exercises.  The entire battle group had mobilized, going to full battle readiness, as they surrounded a small moon orbiting a wandering gas giant. 

Much to his growing concern, the results were lackluster. The veterans responded with speed and precision, while the new recruits wasted precious minutes manning battle stations.

In the heat of battle, their lack of training, and inexperience would cost lives. The veterans were doing their best, but Danma could sympathize with their lack of time and resources to train the others. 

The illusory displays flickered as more drop ships streamed through the thin atmosphere, approaching the surface of the small pale moon.  There had already been three drop ships that crashed, with three dead, and many others wounded. Danma felt a headache coming on. 

They were Pilots with almost no flying experience, flying in a new environment. Losing those soldiers was bad enough but they had also lost the one drop ship, and the others were so damaged they had to scrap them for parts. 

It was hard to lose soldiers under his command, even so, he had expected this. As much as he hated it, people died in training, it was an inescapable fact.  He could have avoided it all together but it was necessary. 

This little exercise was like strolling through a calm meadow in comparison to assaulting the three blood gorger outposts. A few losses now would save them from losing thousands in the future. He would need to personally write letters to the lost soldier's family members, it was the least he could do. A heavy weight settled on his shoulders, the weight of command. Every loss no matter how small always felt like a personal failure. 

His expression darkened as a familiar flicker of spatial energy made his skin tingle.

Without bothering to turn, Danma spoke.

"You two might as well come out, you are not fooling anyone," Danma said in a deep commanding voice.

His aids, and the pilots on the bridge, looked around, confused by his words. 

There were a few gasps and flared auras as two figures appeared seemingly from thin air. 

Danma let out a tired sigh.

"Calm down! Barren, restrain your aura, these are the two guests I told you would be joining us," Danma said.

Looking about ready to burst a blood vessel in his forehead, Barren, his second in command, spoke.

"How could you invite that vile woman aboard our ship?" Barren fumed, looking ready to unleash a skill in the cramped confines of the bridge. 

The woman in question cracked an innocent smile.

"You are looking well Barren, how have you been?" Sendredie asked in a lazy tone. 

Barren's face turned bright red.

"How have I been?! Last time we met, you knocked me out, stole my ship, and stranded me on a dead planet in the middle of nowhere!" Barren spat. 

Unfazed by his shouting, she casually leaned on her crystalline black staff. 

"You can't be mad about that anymore, can you? That was a long time ago," Sendradie said. 

Barren clenched his fists and unclenched them, his powerful aura rippling through the bridge in waves. Many of the aides and pilots on the bridge collapsed under the pressure, many of them passing out. 

"I spent ten years alone on that hell hole of a planet before someone responded to my distress beacon," Barren replied, through gritted teeth.. 

Danma's heavy hand rested firmly on Barren's shoulder.

"That's enough Barren! Restrain your aura before you kill one of our people," Danma ordered, his grip like iron, and his tone as cold as steel.

Still furious, Barren only now seemed to notice the effect his fully unleashed aura was having on the other members of the crew.

Half the crew was passed out with blood leaking from their eyes, nose and mouths, while others were struggling to stand or stay conscious under the pressure.  Swearing under his breath, Barren retracted his aura. 

"Good. Now go get the healers, I will handle these two," Danma ordered.

Tossing one final glare in Sendredies direction, Barren disappeared in a flash of light. 

The woman in question grinned.

"No sense of humor on that one. Can't even take a little joke," Sendredie quipped.

Danma sighed wearily. That headache from earlier returned in full force. Dealing with this insufferable woman was always a pain. 

"Please tell me you are here for better reasons than antagonizing my crew?" Danma asked, the question directed at the man next to her, quietly watching the exchange. 

Julian nodded his head.

"I wouldn't waste your time if it wasn't important. Sendredie here discovered something that you need to hear," Julian said. 

Danma turned back to the insufferable woman curiously.

"Well, what is it?" Danma asked.

She smiled.

"How much are you willing to pay for vital information?" Sendredie asked sweetly. 

Danma gritted his teeth.

"That depends on how vital the information is," He snapped. "We can discuss the price later, just tell me what you found," Danma said.

"So touchyyy. Fine…. While I was scouting the fringes, I saw an exchange between the Kul a Var and the blood gorgers. Not sure what they traded, but they got two star carriers and fifteen front-line warships," Sendredie said, tossing him a recording crystal.

Danma felt his headache growing more intense by the second as he watched the recording.

Much to his dismay, the recording captured the exchange in excruciating detail.

He had seen Kul A Var ships before and even knew how to differentiate the models.

Sendredie hadn't been joking. The blood gorgers must have sold their wings to pay for the fifteen warships strapped to the two star carriers. His only consolation was that these were older models.

Still, they were extremely advanced, with advanced sensory and weapons arrays the Lorocans could only dream of. If those bug brains actually learned how to use them, they would wreak havoc.

"Do you know where they took the ships?" Danma asked, his blood running cold.

"I figured you would ask that, so I followed them for a few weeks. They are in the Orren star system. That is where I assume they will get an overhaul at the shipyard to suit blood gorger physiology," Sendredie replied.

"How long ago since the ships arrived in the Orren star system?" Danma asked.

The short-haired woman tapped her hooked nose.

"About three weeks, give or take a few days," Sendredie replied.

Danma swore aloud. Three weeks was not enough to overhaul those ships, but it was getting much too close for his liking. He would need to act personally if he wanted to stop those ships from coming into service. The only problem was that the Orren star system was no easy target.

That place was a fortress, with extensive arrays, and a full battle group in orbit at all times. It wasn't on his list of targets, but could he let this opportunity pass? 

The Orren shipyard would be a tough nut to crack, but with surprise on their side, they could do it.

Destroying those Kul A Var ships before they could become battle-ready was of utmost priority. He didn't need to check his logs to know there weren't any other battle groups near enough to respond to the threat in time. 

If he didn't respond to this threat, and change course, the Lorocan's would pay dearly. Firming his resolve he nodded.

"Thank you for the information. I will acquire suitable compensation for you Sendredie. Now, if you two will excuse me I have a training exercise to oversee," Danma said.

A pile of lizard shit had just been thrown into his lap, overturning months of planning. As a great general once said, plans never survive contact with the enemy. After all, our enemies make plans as well.

All he could do was adapt, and trust that his battle group was up to the challenge. His eyes flicked back to the illusory display. 

They would be heading into combat much sooner than expected, within the next month and a half.  The soldiers and war ships of the imperial navy would be up for the task, they would have to be. 

Once this exercise was over, they would change course, towards the Orren star system, doing more training exercises along the way.

*****

The drop ship rattled, jarring the squad as it settled down on the surface. With about half the normal tug of Lorocan gravity, she hit the clasp to release the straps holding her to her chair.  Zee stood, the rear door of the ship lowering in front of her.

Pale white light reflected off the dusty lunar surface, filling the compartment, and lighting up the calm faces of the squad.

By now, this was their fourth time assaulting a Lunar surface. The first two times had been for lack of a better word, adventurous. After General Danma had sent out his proclamation that they would enter into combat within the month, things had gotten only more hectic.

She could see the nervous tension in their shoulders, the anxiety building behind their eyes. This was the last training exercise before their skills were put to the test in live combat.

No longer would they be assaulting an abandoned mine, taking an unguarded mountain, or invading a research base long taken by entropy. No, next time they would be descending under heavy anti-aircraft fire, assaulting positions with entrenched defenders who attacked back. 

Zee tapped a small crystal embedded into her collar, which projected her voice to identical gems in each of her squad's collars.

"Focus up people, this may be a practice exercise, but I expect you to take it seriously. Tag, Rosco, keep the arrays hot, and the ship ready to go at a moment's notice.

The rest of you, on me. There is a cave about a half mile up the valley. I hear that cave called Tag a hairy, overweight lizard behind his back. Now, that may be true, but still, we cannot suffer such an insult to one of our squad. I say we go blow it up," Zee encouraged.

No one said anything, but there were a few grins on their faces. None was grinning as widely as Tag himself.  With her motivational speech given, she jogged with bounding steps down the ramp, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the pale light of the lunar surface. 

They were in a shallow canyon, the cliff walls offering litter cover to hide their drop ship.

The concealment arrays were already active, camouflaging the ship well, but still, the lack of cover made her nervous. With only one light grenade launcher on board, If the ship was discovered in their absence it would be a sitting duck. While landed, Its best defense was the powerful arrays that kept it hidden. 

Holding a loose formation, they pushed up the valley, her every bounding step carrying her about ten feet forward. Her boots kicked up a plume of dust each time she landed, which took far longer than normal to come back down.

The silence was deafening, the landscape devoid of all life. This was something about being in the vacuum of space she could never get used to. The only sounds were her calm breathing and the rhythmic beating of her heart. 

The world river was a constant tingle on her senses, overflowing with spatial energy, like an unseen storm that made her hair stand on end. It was much too distracting for her own liking. Moving at their rapid pace, it didn't take them long to find the cave that was their target.  It was a narrow crack in the cliff face, only about ten feet deep and half as wide. 

"Ulga, Olsen, you're up.  Get in there and place the explosives. The rest of you, form a perimeter," Zee ordered.

The two technicians bounded forward and passed her, excitement in their eyes. The rest of the squad formed up outside the cave, with some looking up at the sky, and others scanning the valley for threats. After just under two minutes, Olson's voice echoed through the crystal in her collar. 

"All done mam. Charge is set, and ready to blow on your command," Olsen said excitedly.

"Good work you two, that's faster than last time. Clear the area, we need at least two hundred meters, I don't want to be showered in chunks of rock again," Zee said.

They did as ordered, and the cave was blown up. Zee pulled a fist-sized comm crystal from her spatial ring and channeled energy into it. There was static for a moment before she felt a connection.

"Red Viper to command, do you hear me?" Zee asked.

"I read you loud and clear Red Viper, report,'' came Captain Tanra's hissing voice. 

"Target destroyed, awaiting further orders," Zee replied. 

"Confirmed. Gather your squad, I have sent new coordinates to your mapping crystal. I want the new target destroyed within the hour," Tanra said.

"Yes sir! It will be done," Zee replied, tucking the large delicate crystal safely away.

Tapping the gem at her neck, she turned to face the squad. 

"I have good news, everyone. Since you all did so well, the captain has seen fit to give us another challenge. A particularly ugly rock made fun of Tag's mother, and we can't have that!" Zee said.

Raising one of his bearded axes in a meaty hand, Brick's deep voice echoed from the crystal at their necks, filling their ears. 

"You heard the Ensign! This isn't a sightseeing trip, we have a target to destroy. Move it, on the double! If I catch any of you dragging your feet, the whole lot of you will run laps until your legs fall off," Brick shouted.

Despite his boisterous shouting, their spirits were high.

Getting yelled at by the large man was something they were used to by now.  The last four missions had certainly been learning experiences, but they were getting the hang of it. Not only for the squad, but also herself.  

Zee was by no means an experienced officer, with many of her drills, and punishments taken directly from books. Testing that book learned knowledge in the field had shown her once again the value of practical experience.

There certainly had been a few hiccups along the way, but they had been resolved without too much trouble.  It turned out a lot better than expected. They managed to make it through all four training exercises without anything major going wrong. Sure there was that one time tag almost crashed their ship, and the other time, Ugla almost blew them up, but those were just minor hiccups.

Getting yelled at by the captain hadn't been a fun experience. Explaining to him why six of her squad were covered in injuries from shrapnel after standing too close to one of their explosives was a unique experience.  In her books, the fact no one had died, or been severely injured was a win. It was just too bad the captain hadn't seen it that way.

Thankfully that was all behind them now. From now on, they would be testing what they had learned in live combat.