Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 2 - Hidden Menace by David Buck Page B

be well on the way to the nearest jump point in two hours, so we will alter course to leave immediately. Ensure we continue to broadcast the non-violence clauses as we leave.
    Omerio sat back with an air of accomplishment, for the scenario he had devised earlier was relying upon the Jerecab being drawn to this system. Patiently he discussed the options with Commander Tamerio, and they both quietly looked in satisfaction at the simulation unfolding on one of the smaller console screens.
     
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    Admiral Baunrus raged as he read a series of combat reports from the sectors his armada supposedly controlled. He considered executing the commanders involved until he realised that the humans had saved him the trouble. Apart from the two destroyers his ships had destroyed several days ago, the humans had not suffered any further losses, whereas he was already down over thirty frigates and sixteen lifters. The losses were not yet critical, but he was forming a grudging respect for the capabilities of the human space fleet. The part that galled him the most was that he had lost four large troop transports with a total of six thousand Jerecab marines killed. He looked over the reports and he now noted that a pattern was developing based on his own previous orders to his commanders.
    The admirals’ rage cooled and he made a pithy observation to his silent bridge crew.
    ‘Well we will change our plans and attempt to catch the humans on the wrong foot. We can afford several mistakes but they cannot afford to make any.’
    Two other reports came in, the first one of a sighting of enemy ships well away from the combat zones, and the second one of the presence of a Sspol cruiser at one of the colonies. The admiral sat back to review this new information for several moments before he began issuing orders.
    ‘We will split the armada into five sections of fifty frigates and we will cover the return points for the area of space the humans’ control. The damaged ships will stay at Dradfer three and guard the transports. We will be mindful of the presence of the Sspol for they may have a colony world nearby. Also I want all junior commanders to start driving away the Barus research fleet.’
    The massive armada formed into sections and split up as they headed for the jump location points out of the system. On an asteroid in the outer asteroid belt, a stealth robot made a series of observations before crawling back under an overhang. A small rocket was soon launched and raced for a location in deep space, before it went dormant to await the human destroyers.
     
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    Apinal stopped and slowly looked around her to check if any Deltas Vass drones were in earshot. The drones had earlier taken Apinal and her children to a smaller clearing some distance away from the matriarch’s own larger clearing, and the Quixxe had been supplied with food, water and basic shelter. Apinal reflected for a moment that their open air lifestyle was not unlike that of the countless millions of Quixxe mules on the inner Zronte worlds. She now suppressed a shiver and gave silent thanks that they were now over five thousand light years from the threat of being eaten by a Zronte. Shafinal gave her the all clear song call from the edge of the clearing, so she again moved forward to seek further information.
    Apinal had walked up to and given a full formal bow to a Blue Jerecab acolyte that had then rubbed her whiskers for several moments, before giving a polite half bow back in reply. Apinal noted the braided hairpiece that framed the female Jerecab’s face, for she had found an apologist, and she now knew that she was in the right place. The Quixxe female remained silent as the acolyte looked