Chapter 7a: Checkmate
Command Deck
Merciless
Hyperspace En Route to Mitoc
"Minus five minuets, Strategos sir."
One of the junior officers said, one whose name Jacques couldn't remember, or even bothered to remember.
"Alright then, contact the rest of the fleet, instruct them to weapon ports, activate ECM's and prepare for phasing into normal space."
Jacques replied as he was silently inspecting the performance of the crew in the command deck, then made a look at Sherone. She was standing beside him, looking good as always, in her skin tight skin suit. As Jacques was still inspecting the contours and the way her uniform molded to her body. The doors of the deck slid open revealing three, the only three non-Draka inside the ship. It was the League ambassadors. The sound of the opening door made a few Draka, including Jacques look at the door. Seeing the League Ambassadors made them felt a bit uneasy, for no Draka loves having foul Xenos stepping in the C&C of any fleet. However this unease did not pepper out of any of their faces.
"Greetings Strategos Jacques Bourgouin"
The Abbai Ambassador said, in her thick accented Draka.
"Am Glad that you and the rest of the League Ambassadors are here to witness this momentous occasion, Ambassador Kalika."
Kalika nodded, then Xil and Kani also nodded back, Kalika then spoke.
"Witnessing the liberation of an enslaved population is indeed a momentous occasion, who knew what the people of Mitoc suffered during the year long Dilgar occupation of their planet, and I do hope for the well being of your fleet as you bring freedom to Mitoc."
Jacques almost smiled when he heard the word enslaved, well almost anyway. This made him long more the day when the League and may be the entire sector with fall into the yoke.
"Ahh, yes don't we all, we estimate around two thousand Dilgar ships would be garrisoned in the planet, however they wont be as experienced as the one we defeated at Bestine, so I wouldn't worry too much about the well being of our fleet, as we expect this battle to be a walk over."
"But in Bestine you had the League fleet with you, this time our fleets is a day away at best speeds."
"We didnt really need your fleets esteemed Ambassador, they were just there to prevent the escape of the Dilgar fleets, as you will soon see in this battle we can hold on our own more than the entire League."
Kalika merely nodded, what did she know about tactics, she was a diplomat. And even though the previous statement was a bit arrogant, she knew that the Draka and their Domination has the right to be for they had the power to back it up.
Seeing the nod Jacques went back to the task he had done before.
"T minus 60 seconds till phasing into normal space."
Hearing that the League ambassadors shifted positions, although they have been with the Draka for a while now they were still uneasy with the fact that Draka ships phased in and out of Hyperspace unlike the rest of the races of the sectors which merely opened hyperspace windows.
"Signal the fleet to battle stations, and charge all weapons, I want our guns to be blazing when we phase into normal space."
Sherone nooded.
"Ok, you bunch of ferals, you heared the Strategos, to battle stations! Service to the State!"
Hearing that the crew went into their matching tasks with machine like perscision. The deck began to change in lighting signaling their battle stance, panels which at the walls of the deck transitioned from showing the Dragon of the Domination to showing the live stream of the faces of the wing leaders with in the fleet. The holographic projection at the center of the deck activated and was currently showing the fleet deposition.
The Strategos was talking and issuing last min. commands to his crew and the wing leaders on the pannels, but Kalika couldn't care much about what they were saying, assuming she even caught up with what they were saying as she was not that fluent in Draka yet. She was just cherishing the moment as she had been instrumental in getting Draka aid into the League and now they are going to liberate their first Dilgar occupied world, with that she knew lifting the the siege of her home world was not that far away.
Then Sherone began counting down,
"Normal space in...
Five...
Four...
Three...
Two...
One..."
40 Eridani
New America
Jah'dur was staring outside the balcony of the building admiring everything she saw, such wealth this people had, she thought to herself as she watched a couple sitting inside one of the city's gardens. and as far as what she saw in her stay here she did not see any poverty, wealthy to some degree, the power of having advance nano technology, she thought. Then it struck her, one of her new goals would be to make her people this wealthy. Ahhh, yess to make her people as wealthy as her hosts and to make Beta 4, the would be new Dilgar Home world as beautiful and as prosperous as what she saw in new America, would be her top goal now, well just under her goal for the quest of immortality she thought. She thought to herself, but to do that she needs to make her people and her hosts as good allies. Then she snapped back into her senses and away from her dreams of prosperity and back to herself, she almost forgot that the Admiral was talking to her.
"I beg your pardon Admiral Nakamura, what was that again?"
She said as she turned around and faced the talking admiral, she was almost embarrassed that she did not hear what he said."
"As I was saying the Republic seeing that your people and your Imperium now rests at the yoke of the Draka, would aid you by supplying your people's resistance forces with supplies, weapons and perhaps ships, not ours of course, but ones resembling the weapons and ships that the others in the sectors use. We would give all of this as a token of support of our people to all those who wish to be freed of the yoke. Plus we would give yourself sanctuary in our space where you could direct your people's resistance forces, however that's subject to certain limitations to safeguard also the security of our people."
"Ahhh it all makes sense now, that is why these Samotheracians were doing all of this and that is why they told the story they told, it was to emphasize that they were the opposites of the Draka and that they were powerful and advanced enough to take on the Draka, because they want her to cause trouble with in the Domination under their watch." She thought to herself, she knew that she even would have agreed to that proposal if she hadn't done her contingency plan, and as the way things are she would be better with her people striving to make a new civilization rather than sit in comfort with the Samotheracians."
She then spoke.
"Admiral, it is not that your proposal is not very generous, when it is how ever my duty is with my people, I must be there when we rebuild."
Jah'dur knew it would be far beneficial for her and for her people that she would disclose of their attempt to build a new society in Beta 4, she knew this was the first thing she needs to do to gain their trust and gaining their trust would be the first step in the road to friendship between their peoples, and she knew that, that friendship would spell the difference between prosperity of her people and being totally enslaved by the Drakas.
"But I highly doubt that the Drakas wouldn't just imprison and play their tricks on you when they find you in their space."
"Admiral Nakamura..."
She spoke slowly but with a bit of force to emphasize the importance of what she's gonna say.
"... Not all of our people will end up in the yoke, some of our people did what you Samothraces did centuries ago and escaped from the yoke.
Upon hearing that statement, the Soujiro Nakamura's eyes widened, not that they would widen too much as he was a person of Japanese decent therefore saving slit eyes. Then he said in startlement.
"Your people did what?"
Mitoc System
The system was empty, devoid of life. no one would have imagined that if you were here a week or even a day before it would have been buzzling with civilian and military ships alike as it was supposed to be the new center of the Dilagar Imperium, an Imperium at its peak was rivaled only in size by the Lion of the Galaxy, but that was a week ago, now it was only filled with the dead, dead rocks, dead ships and dead debris in space. Dead Dilgar and their prisoners alike planet side, and perhaps the planet was already dead too, it was a victim of Dilgar scorched earth, which meant that all they left behind was dead or will be dead soon.
Suddenly the space nearby the planet's moon was bending, a Draka ship has just phased into normal space. It was a light cruiser, a centaur class light cruiser to be exact. It was like any other Draka warship, space black in color, it was pointy in form with many edges, a mean looking little beast, even with it being comparatively small only around four hundred plus meters. A sight of which would have made anyone in the sector think twice, anyone alive that is but all that were left was the dead, which did not think, yet alone think twice. Then space bagan to bend again this time in hundreds of different places revealing a Draka ship after another after another as they transition into normal space. Crowding nearby space with sixteen hundred ships of different sizes, all space black in color and mean looking in design.
Merciless
"By Loki's balls! Did we arrive in the wrong place?"
Jacques asked to no one in particular as he stood up from his chair, which was at the center of the command deck, even with that most of the people in the room didn't mind this action that much as they were hooked at their respective consoles or at the center hologram in puzzlement.
"According to our sensors we are with in out margin of error distance from our intended exit point and that planet is indeed Mitoc, Strategos sir."
Sherone replied, as she was already checking the sensors when they phased out.
"Then why, is that planet fucking empty! It should be filled with Dilgar ships and Orbital Defenses, not with ..."
Before Jacques realized why the planet is empty.
"Ohhh shit, the Dilgar are not that stupid after all."
He said, as realization came.
"How so sir?"
One officer inquired, but he couldn't tell exactly which one it was. He just knew that it was from his left side, but answered it non the less, with a smile small sick smile, it was a smile of a predator who just found out that his pray would be more interesting that he previously thought.
"They found out of our plan and is preparing for a gigantic all or nothing battle at the gates of Omelos. I would expect that their ships of the Drazi front would have done the same."
Everyone in the room agreed silently with his assesment, even the League ambassadors were nodding, they just agreed cause they know nothing about battle tactics.
"Signal the rest of the fleet, we move to Omelos in an hour and link up with the 8th fleet, the Dilgar Armada waiting for us in Omelos should fall easily upon the combined firepower of 7th and 8th fleets."
"And one more thing contact the leader of the 43rd Taskforce, His name was Shznighder if I recall correctly."
"Yes, Strategos sir." Sherone replied.
A second later the image of a young Draka male appeared on the holographic projector, replacing the Tactical view of the what was to be a battle field.
"Strategos sir, how can I serve the state?"
Shznighder asked.
"Since you have proven well in Battle of Besine, I have chosen you to be the leader of the garrison of this planet when the rest of the fleet leaves for Omelos. You are to be the CO in the system before the League fleet arrives and after they arrive you should take command of their forces, you are to communicate to Archona about our situation, then inform the 8th fleet of the situation on their scheduled arrival on Omelos."
"Is that all Strategos sir?"
His answer being an understatement.
"One more thing, you are to accompany the League Ambassadors I will transfer them to you in a while. That is all Glory to the Race."
"Ohh, great he thought I have to Babysit a couple of Xenos." Shznighder thought.
"The things I do for the state, he added with a murmur."
40 Eridani
New America
Chancellor's Chambers
"But your Excellency! The Dilgar are no better than the Nazis of the Eurasian war, getting comfy with them defies everything the Republic stands for! Giving their resistance supplies and weapons is one thing but this is another thing entirely."
Admiral Nakamura replied to one of the points given by a Senator on the other side of the Chamber.
It was a small and secretive meeting between the Chancellor, Admiral Nakamura and a few selected people from the brass and the Parliament, but the way it was going it was more like a heated debate.
The Chancellor was just sitting silent and listening to the counter arguments between the opposing sides.
"If we allied with the Nazis during the Eurasian War to kick Draka but, we wouldn't have to be in a situation like this in the first place."
A Senator replied to the Admiral's rebuttal, Nakamura and another Senator from his side was about to make a reply when suddenly the Chancellor spoke, this made both side silence.
"That's enough." The Chancellor said with his Latin American ascent.
"I have heard enough from both side's argument."
"But what I want to hear is what the Deathwalker has to say, bring her in."
Nakamura nodded, went out of the room for a few seconds, then came back in with Jah'dur. Who was just waiting in the hallway outside of the Chambers. She was wearing full Warmaster regalia, which was actually made by her hosts for her for this occasion, she walked with confidence, the way she acted was not seeming like a defeated Warmaster but a defiant freedom fighter, of course that was what she was aiming for. Upon sitting down on a chair on the corner of the table, directly opposite of the Chancellor. The Chancellor spoke.
"What do you have to say Deathwalker, what benefits would this bring to the Republic in particular and the sector as a whole?"
"First we could offer you our most cutting edge technologies."
This made a couple of people in the room laugh.
"What could you possibly have that we don't, well aside from the biological weapons that we don't use."
One of the Brass who was against the proposal replied, judging from the uniform he wore, he belonged to the OSS.
"Well for one thing we could offer you..."
Jah'dur paused for a while as she looked at both sides of the table making sure everyone was listening and also to add a bit of effect.
Then she continued.
"We could offer you Immortality."
She said that with much pride and confidence.
Then suddenly, almost everyone in the Chambers laughed out so loudly. Nakamura and a the OSS man did just a smirk while the Chancellor was sitting silently.
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