NUA’LL
A Silver Ships Novel
S. H. JUCHA
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by S. H. Jucha
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Published by Hannon Books, Inc.
www.scottjucha.com
ISBN: 978-0-9994928-8-8 (e-book)
ISBN: 978-0-9994928-9-5 (softcover)
First Edition: June 2018
Cover Design: Damon Za
Formatting: Polgarus Studio
Acknowledgments
Nua’ll is the eleventh book in the Silver Ships series. I wish to extend a special thanks to my independent editor, Joni Wilson, whose efforts enabled the finished product. To my proofreaders, Abiola Streete, Dr. Jan Hamilton, David Melvin, Ron Critchfield, Pat Bailey, Mykola Dolgalov, and Yolanda Timmons, I offer my sincere thanks for their support.
Despite the assistance I’ve received from others, all errors are mine.
Glossary
A glossary is located at the end of the book.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Haraken Fleet
Chapter 2: Carriers
Chapter 3: The Freedom
Chapter 4: Mickey
Chapter 5: New Terrans
Chapter 6: Tough Decisions
Chapter 7: Final Details
Chapter 8: Three Transits
Chapter 9: The Wall
Chapter 10: Comm Sphere
Chapter 11: En Masse
Chapter 12: Ice Giant
Chapter 13: Final Assault
Chapter 14: Sisterhood
Chapter 15: Scout Ships
Chapter 16: Dead System
Chapter 17: Boarding Party
Chapter 19: Homsaff
Chapter 20: Faustus
Chapter 21: Biologicals
Chapter 22: New Admin
Chapter 23: Etoya
Chapter 24: Wild Ones
Chapter 25: Enlightenment
Chapter 26: Hector
Chapter 27: Omnia
Chapter 28: One Ship
Chapter 29: Nua’ll
Chapter 30: Debrief
Chapter 31: Reinforcements
Chapter 32: Invitation
Chapter 33: Ude
Chapter 34: Target Star
Chapter 35: Observations
Chapter 36: Fêtes and Goodbyes
Chapter 37: Indecision
Chapter 38: Dangerous Data
Chapter 39: Null Horse
Chapter 40: Freighter
Chapter 41: Lost Opportunity
Glossary
My Books
The Author
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Haraken Fleet
<Admiral, the Haraken carriers have arrived,> Commodore Cordelia sent to Admiral Tatia Tachenko.
<Are they alone?> Tatia asked, replying with a thought via her implant.
<Negative, Admiral, more ships are transiting now,> Cordelia replied.
Tatia had exited a lift into the Freedom’s grand park. She was intent on spending some time walking through the exquisite gardens, while she organized her thoughts. The impending encounter with the massive alien fleet that was seen at the wall was foremost on her mind. Forgoing the peace and quiet Tatia sought, she turned around and caught a lift to the city-ship’s uppermost deck. She anticipated that by the time she reached the enormous vessel’s bridge, the remaining ships would complete their transit to the Omnian system.
As a SADE or self-aware digital entity, Cordelia was easily capable of multitasking, as she acted in the capacity of the enormous city-ship’s captain. She maintained communication with the arriving ships, coordinated the Freedom’s services, managed the arrivals and departures of shuttles from the bays, and hundreds of other sundry aspects of command. And, of course, she reserved ticks of time to communicate with her partner, Julien.
<It begins,> Cordelia sent to Julien. <Years of preparation, and now the time is near.>
<We’re capable of such long lives,> Julien sent in reply. <But, in light of coming events, they might become as short as those of the humans we love and support.>
<I ran alternate scenarios of our possible lives until I grew bored of the effort,> Cordelia sent. <Inevitably, I reached the same conclusion.>
<It was the same for me,> Julien replied. <The end comes for us, whether it’s in ten years or ten thousand.>
<So, as Tatia has said many times, we bet on Alex and attempt to prevent what would seem to be unavoidable,> Cordelia added. <Excuse me, my partner, the admiral has gained the bridge, and I’ve updates for her.>
“What’s the status of the arrivals?” Tatia asked. Her dark blue uniform jacket, with its short collar, bore fleet admiral insignias, and her New Terran, heavy-worlder figure completely filled it.
“Commodores Miko Tanaka and Edouard Manet command their carriers, the No Retreat and the Last Stand,” Cordelia stated.
Cordelia’s status had been elevated from captain to commodore in anticipation of the freighters that were expected to accompany the city-ship to the wall. However, her title became tenuous, when the expedition’s leader, Alex Racine, and Tatia decided to accept Mickey Brandon’s concept of transforming the Freedom into a warship to fight with the expedition fleet. Humans and their allies, the SADEs, would sail to challenge the alien races, who sought to expand their territories by usurping humankind’s worlds.
To prepare the Freedom, travelers, the Omnians’ vaunted fighters, were constructed to fill many of the city-ship’s bays, and a ring of rail-mounted beam weapons were installed along the vessel’s circumference. The rails allowed the beam weapons to be extended past the bay doors and swiveled in limited arcs.
In essence, the Freedom, with its assortment of weaponry, became a force unto itself. The addition of freighters, which the city-ship would have to protect, had necessitated the promotion of Cordelia to commodore. In a touching ceremony, presided over by Alex and Tatia, Julien pinned the new insignias on his partner. Their foreheads touched, and the SADEs shared a human’s lifetime of memories in that short moment of communion.
“According to Commodore Tanaka, the last ship in their fleet has transited, Admiral,” Cordelia continued. “In addition to the Haraken carriers, there are twelve Tridents, each carrying their complement of fighters, and two freighters.”
“Considering they’re the contributions of a single world, that’s a good beginning,” Tatia replied, her arms folded across her substantial chest.
“Credit must be given to our accumulated knowledge, Admiral,” Cordelia mused. “It’s been decades accruing, ever since our first encounter with the spheres. Every event has enlightened our understanding of the entities, who wait beyond the wall, and our allies have come to realize the importance of resistance.”
<And every past encounter continues to prove just how insurmountable our challenge might be,> Tatia sent to Cordelia to prevent being overheard by the officers who were passing by.
<Does concern or trepidation rule your thoughts, Admiral?> Cordelia sent in reply.
<I’d be a fool not to worry about the limited probabilities of success, Cordelia, but I can’t think of any other options for us, except to follow Alex. However, I’m hoping that with the help of Renée de Guirnon, you and I can curtail the more adventuresome aspects of Alex and your partner,> Tatia sent.
<I will keep my thoughts private about their ill-considered journey, Admiral, although I’ve shared my irritations with Julien,> Cordelia sent with a touch of pique.
Cordelia referred to Alex and Julien taking the OS Redemption, a Trident and the Omnians’ new warship design, to the wall. Alex had ordered Captain Ellie Thompson to prosecute an alien probe in the nearby system. Then they waited in their lone ship to see who came to investigate the probe’s flare, which detonated on entering the envelope of a gas giant.
When the aliens arrived, Alex and the Redemption’s crew found they faced a fleet led by a small Nua’ll sphere. Soon afterwards, massive carriers surrounded the Omnian ship and dumped an unending stream of fighters into space. The experienced hand of Captain Thompson and the ingenuity of the young pilot, Yumi Tanaka, daughter of Edouard and Miko, narrowly managed to extricate the ship from the trap.
“I presume notifications about the new arrivals have been sent,” Tatia said, resuming the conversation with Cordelia in the open.
“Julien, of course, is aware, which means Alex knows. I’ve updated Mickey. Alex will need to meet with our senior engineer to decide on priorities,” Cordelia replied.
Mickey Brandon, Omnia Ships’ inventive engineer, had his hands full running labs that filled every meter of three of the city-ship’s huge bays. Unfortunately, the scope of his assignments had exceeded the work in those areas. In addition, he was in charge of overseeing the fleet’s upgrades, preparing the carriers for their automated sojourns, and outfitting the Freedom for its defense.
Crews and SADEs had expanded the Sardi-Tallen Orbital Platform to keep up with production demand for banishers, the small vessels used to dispatch the alien probes, for rails and tubes for the city-ship’s beam weapons, and for travelers, humankind’s ubiquitous and ingenious fighters, whose design was taken from the Nua’ll. In addition, Omnians, humans and SADEs, produced thousands of circuits, crystals, and other components every week in manufacturing plants outside of Omnia City, the only city on the planet below.
“Shall I notify Rear Admiral Gaumata?” Cordelia asked.
“Negative,” Tatia replied. “I’ll do that myself. Withhold further communication about deployment to the approaching Harakens until I speak with Darius, Miko, and Edouard.”
“Acknowledged, Admiral,” Cordelia replied and focused her kernel’s programs on the host of minutiae demanding her attention.
As one of the first SADEs to be freed by Alex from her box aboard the Freedom, Cordelia had been afforded the luxury of time to develop sophisticated human mannerisms, which she displayed, while her algorithms were busy solving problems and sending orders. Outwardly, she appeared a calm, unflappable senior officer, comfortable with her position and duties, while inside, she processed information and communicated at inhuman speeds.
Tatia linked to the ship’s controller and requested the location of Admiral Darius Gaumata. He was aboard his Trident, the OS Prosecutor, participating in a mock battle. Tatia’s controller link allowed her to view the maneuvers Darius was practicing. She smiled to herself when she saw the Omnian squadron, Tridents commanded by the rear admirals, tucking deep behind a gas giant, surrounded by tens of moons. They were planning to ambush the four squadrons of Tridents, which accompanied the Haraken carriers. Tatia left a request with the controller to be updated on the outcome of the attack.
<Darius,> Tatia sent, via the ship’s controller, <I was planning a face-to-face conference with you, but apparently you’ll be busy for the next day or two.>
<A little squadron exercise, Admiral,> Darius returned.
<You and the other admirals have four OS Tridents against twelve Harakens, Darius. What’re you hoping to achieve?> Tatia asked.
<No fair peeking, Admiral,> Darius objected. <This was supposed to be a surprise for you and them.>
<I don’t intend to tell anyone, Darius, but I’m curious about your intent,> Tatia responded.
<We’ve spent our time training with Confederation forces, Admiral. When I learned the Haraken Tridents would be under my command, I realized that I’ve never seen them in action. I’d like to know how they’ll react to a surprise attack.>
<And you’re saying this, Darius, knowing that it’s two of the most experienced combat veterans who’ll be your direct reports and who are leading these warships,> Tatia replied. Her implant had picked up her chuckle and transmitted it with her thought.
<Perhaps it’s best to think of this as a kind of welcome to the party greeting, Admiral,> Darius sent, his infectious laughter reaching Tatia.
<I’ll be linking with Miko and Edouard, Darius. They need to be notified of ship assignments and our new organization chart, but I’ll keep your maneuver secret,> Tatia sent.
<Thank you, Admiral,> Darius replied.
<Commodores, welcome to Omnia,> Tatia sent, after she added Edouard and Miko to her comm call. <It’s good to have you aboard for the expedition and congratulations on your promotions.>
The Haraken commodores noted Darius’ bio ID on the conference call.
<Thank you, Admiral,> Edouard sent, while Miko responded. <It’s good to be aboard, Admiral.>
<Let me update you,> Tatia sent. <We’ll be keeping your entire Trident force intact. I presume that you’ve organized your Tridents into four squadrons of three ships each, and you’re each commanding two squadrons?>
<We have, Admiral,> Edouard replied.
<Excellent, you’ll be reporting to Rear Admiral Gaumata,> Tatia sent.
<Congratulations, Admiral Gaumata,> the Haraken commodores sent.
<It’s been a long trek since Libre, Admiral Gaumata, hasn’t it?> Edouard added.
<If by that you mean you’re surprised to find my butt in one piece despite all the time I’ve spent under Alex and the Admiral’s auspices, then, yes, it’s been an awfully long haul,> Darius replied.
<And, yet, we’ll be taking on an even greater challenge,> Edouard added.
<Admiral Tachenko, it seems incredible that Omnia has been in development less than a decade. The infrastructure and the activity in this system are incredible,> Miko commented.
<While I’d like to take the credit, Miko, I can’t,> Tatia sent. <It’s the work of the SADEs. After Alex opened Omnia Ships, the credits flowed in at an extraordinary rate, which meant he could hand out stipends to every qualified comer. And, Confederation SADEs have responded by the shiploads.>
<No wonder,> Miko replied. <If anyone can posit future scenarios, the SADEs can. To them, it’s inevitable that the aliens on the other side of the wall will come for our worlds, one day or another. They’re here for Alex. They believe in what he’s trying to do.>
<We’ve been fortunate to have two SADEs join our commands,> Edouard replied.
<Congratulations,> Darius sent. <I look forward to meeting them.>
<By the way, Admiral Gaumata, where are you?> Miko asked. Her question sounded innocuous, but Tatia detected the perceptions of a senior combat officer.
<Why do you ask?> Darius returned.
Wrong thing to send, Darius, Tatia thought. Now, she’s got your number.
<Oh, I don’t know, Admiral. We’ve completed our scans of the system, and, interestingly enough, there isn’t a single Trident visible in the system. Have you lost your ride?> Miko asked.
Miko’s thoughts were enveloped in a sweet innocence, and Tatia had to mute her side of the conference call, while her laughter reverberated down the corridor, as she strolled to her next meeting.
Oh, I missed you two, Tatia thought of her good friends.
<Now, where would I hide if I was the devious sort?> Edouard mused. <That gas giant we’d need to pass by would be an excellent spot.>
<That’s my guess too,> Miko added.
Tatia added a secondary link to the Freedom’s controller. She wanted the system telemetry to see if the commodores intended to talk or act. Already, the Haraken Tridents, which had trailed the carriers, were accelerating. Most likely, they’d be deployed in a fron
tal arc to defend the two big vessels, as they neared the gas giant.
<My compliments, Commodores,> Darius sent, admitting that the ambush had been uncovered. Now, the Omnian Tridents didn’t stand a chance against the larger fleet. <I look forward to renewing old friendships aboard the Freedom, when you arrive,> he added, ending his participation in the call.
<Commodores, update me on the two freighters with you?> Tatia requested.
<They’ve a full crew complement, Admiral, and carry numerous parts: raw metal, nanites, crystals, circuits, and food stocks,> Edouard replied.
<Everything a growing expedition needs,> Miko added.
<Have the freighter captains report to Commodore Cordelia,> Tatia ordered. When she received the commodores’ assent, she ended her participation in the comm.
Miko and Edouard observed the four Omnian Tridents exit their hiding places from among the moons of the gas giant and head inward. They shared their humor with each other.
<You’d think Darius would know better than to try a sneak attack on us,> Edouard sent to his partner.
<If you were suddenly promoted up the ranks to rear admiral, responsible for the lives of twelve Trident crews and their warships, how would you act?> Miko riposted.
<Point taken,> Edouard replied.
<Can you believe the news about Cordelia’s appointment?> Miko asked. <A SADE has become a commodore. It probably has something to do with the Freedom accompanying the fleet, and the rumors about the city-ship being armed.>
Miko waited for her partner to reply, but Edouard was silent. <What are you thinking?> she prompted.
<Hmm, sorry, Miko. I was thinking that in all the years I’ve known Julien, especially during the years he’s been freed, I never once apologized to him.>
<For what?> Miko asked.
<Before the attack on the Rêveur, I thought nothing about his situation. To me, he was a SADE, and a SADE belonged in a case on a starship’s bridge. I can’t believe I ever thought that way, and I’ve never spoken to him about it.>