You made your bodies too tough to die quickly. If you want to die fast, try pissing off a Kobani, like me, or blowing your brains out.”
Carson rose and established a Comtap link to Mirikami. “Captain, Telour was at a small finger clan’s dome when we arrived. Here’s the location.” He sent the coordinates of where he believed the dome was located, based on the information from Telour’s aide.
“Southernmost continent?” Mirikami was surprised. There are only three minor clan domes there and it’s the coldest landmass, almost at the pole. We didn’t focus much attention on those domes, either this time or by the navy on previous attacks on K1. Obviously, we should have paid more attention this time. Damn. I think Telour probably escaped us about five minutes ago.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Nine of twelve clanships lifted from that small continent, cleared atmosphere and successfully Jumped before our two ships posted near there could take out more than three of them. All of them came off shooting, but three came directly at our ships in a suicidal rush, firing all beams and missiles as they came, clearly a sacrificial diversion. Our ships had to destroy two of them with plasma beams and armed anti-ship missiles, but managed to disable the third one with a Denial chip missile. The Torch was badly damaged in the exchange and we lost two of her crew. I’ll send boarders immediately to Mind Tap the surviving Krall crew as soon as they can capture them. It will be bad news I fear, but thanks for being so fast.”
“Sorry Sir. I was hoping we’d have him trapped in this dome. According to his aide, which Kally and Kobalt caught alive here, Telour’s been spending time visiting lesser clans. He was visiting a dome of a Mordo finger clan, called the Tandal. I think he’s gotten cagey and is avoiding places we’d expect him to be if there was another surprise attack. He has to know the Planetary Union couldn’t keep it a secret that they were willing to give us up to him. The Kobani have shown the Krall we won’t sit on our asses wondering what to do next, like the PU often does.”
“Not all of the PU turned on us or is indecisive, Carson. That is mainly President Medford and her political party, the Leaders of the Old Republic. The LOR holds a majority in parliament and the presidency right now. With the deaths of billions of people in two systems, they either need to find an acceptable scapegoat for the public, or lose their mandate in the upcoming elections.”
“Uncle Tet, I think Telour was taking precautions without seeming to do so to his own warriors, in case we came after his head again. Where do you think he went? To gather ships from Poldark or New Dublin?”
“I don't think so. He had time to hear what we were doing to clanships already here. We couldn’t keep more than a fraction of their communications suppressed after our White Outs in orbit and our surface attacks began. He surely knows about our deactivating their weapons and ships. Perhaps not how we did it, but he certainly knows who did it, since only Kobani can fly their clanships.
“He’ll know now that the technology we displayed today has to be fought at a safe distance. I know of only one weapon he thinks they have that can do that.”
“Sir, you said Huwayla also declared the Krall’tapi distrusted. If she told the other Dismantlers, they won’t respond to them.”
“I’m confident she talked to the other ships. She had the ability to communicate with our Comtaps using the tachyon modulation mode, rather than the electromagnetic mode for local communications. She did that when she was forbidden by the Krall’tapi operator from monitoring or using any of the electromagnetic spectrum. We first spoke via direct contact, by touching her. After that, she used our Comtaps via tachyon entanglement. That has infinite range and is instant. The Olt’kitapi obviously had that same technology. She would have told her
Carson rose and established a Comtap link to Mirikami. “Captain, Telour was at a small finger clan’s dome when we arrived. Here’s the location.” He sent the coordinates of where he believed the dome was located, based on the information from Telour’s aide.
“Southernmost continent?” Mirikami was surprised. There are only three minor clan domes there and it’s the coldest landmass, almost at the pole. We didn’t focus much attention on those domes, either this time or by the navy on previous attacks on K1. Obviously, we should have paid more attention this time. Damn. I think Telour probably escaped us about five minutes ago.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Nine of twelve clanships lifted from that small continent, cleared atmosphere and successfully Jumped before our two ships posted near there could take out more than three of them. All of them came off shooting, but three came directly at our ships in a suicidal rush, firing all beams and missiles as they came, clearly a sacrificial diversion. Our ships had to destroy two of them with plasma beams and armed anti-ship missiles, but managed to disable the third one with a Denial chip missile. The Torch was badly damaged in the exchange and we lost two of her crew. I’ll send boarders immediately to Mind Tap the surviving Krall crew as soon as they can capture them. It will be bad news I fear, but thanks for being so fast.”
“Sorry Sir. I was hoping we’d have him trapped in this dome. According to his aide, which Kally and Kobalt caught alive here, Telour’s been spending time visiting lesser clans. He was visiting a dome of a Mordo finger clan, called the Tandal. I think he’s gotten cagey and is avoiding places we’d expect him to be if there was another surprise attack. He has to know the Planetary Union couldn’t keep it a secret that they were willing to give us up to him. The Kobani have shown the Krall we won’t sit on our asses wondering what to do next, like the PU often does.”
“Not all of the PU turned on us or is indecisive, Carson. That is mainly President Medford and her political party, the Leaders of the Old Republic. The LOR holds a majority in parliament and the presidency right now. With the deaths of billions of people in two systems, they either need to find an acceptable scapegoat for the public, or lose their mandate in the upcoming elections.”
“Uncle Tet, I think Telour was taking precautions without seeming to do so to his own warriors, in case we came after his head again. Where do you think he went? To gather ships from Poldark or New Dublin?”
“I don't think so. He had time to hear what we were doing to clanships already here. We couldn’t keep more than a fraction of their communications suppressed after our White Outs in orbit and our surface attacks began. He surely knows about our deactivating their weapons and ships. Perhaps not how we did it, but he certainly knows who did it, since only Kobani can fly their clanships.
“He’ll know now that the technology we displayed today has to be fought at a safe distance. I know of only one weapon he thinks they have that can do that.”
“Sir, you said Huwayla also declared the Krall’tapi distrusted. If she told the other Dismantlers, they won’t respond to them.”
“I’m confident she talked to the other ships. She had the ability to communicate with our Comtaps using the tachyon modulation mode, rather than the electromagnetic mode for local communications. She did that when she was forbidden by the Krall’tapi operator from monitoring or using any of the electromagnetic spectrum. We first spoke via direct contact, by touching her. After that, she used our Comtaps via tachyon entanglement. That has infinite range and is instant. The Olt’kitapi obviously had that same technology. She would have told her
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