The Alexanderov Federation

#1 - The Grendarl War

By Robert Huntingdon

Chapter Two - The Tamarian System

And he now had a proper Captain's chair. As a proper member of the fleet, no longer concerned with minimizing costs to maximize profit, he had a chair for the duty command officer on the bridge. Unfortunately, this means he and Sarah no longer shared a shift, since she was in charge of the Beta shift now. But they made do.

His new navigator, Ensign Chris Stockert, spoke up. "Sir, we've emerged from the hyperspace jump lane into realspace in the Tamarian system."

Commander Tannert's voice immediately came over the 'com. "Captain, the new jump engines performed flawlessly, and are now recharging in standby mode. We can jump again within ten minutes if need be.

"Excellent. Lieutenant Turley, what other traffic, if any, is present in this system?"

His new science officer had already been working his panel and was immediately ready with his report. Good, not as talented as Sarah, perhaps, but competent and eager to prove himself. "Sir, I detect two convoys of Rrk'g'kreglin shipping, apparently unescorted, on their way to their new colony in the Wasilkoff system. I cannot tell without going to active sensors, but from the size of the ships and the numbers in the groups, it is very possible these are critical supplies for their new colony."

"Which, of course, they would detect."

Mike Turley shook his head. "I cannot say for sure one way or the other, sir. This is a very warlike race we are dealing with. On the other hand, they are also very dumb at times, especially in matters of science, but often they seem to have no sense of tactics either. It's the absolute height of tactical stupidity to not even set up so much as a military outpost here on their way to the Wasilkoff system. Their sensor equipment has time and again proven far less advanced than our own. They may be carrying weaponry without the ability to properly target it or even know they have been scanned."

Goodman mulled this over briefly. "How long do we have to decide what to do?"

"Quite a bit of time, sir. Not long enough to call for reinforcements, unfortunately, but the closest of the two are a full day away from the jump lane, and the other a half hour behind."

"A typically stupid Grendarl formation. They keep their ships close together so they can support one another if engaged, forgetting that by staying so close the other will easily be within our jamming range, preventing them from reporting our actions and calling for reinforcements."

"Aye, sir. At least, most likely, sir. Our jamming equipment is low power, but against what their transport craft carry, it should be more than enough. They aren't a race that favors talking, they prefer shooting at an enemy they can't see."

"Very well, are there any good points for an ambush along their route?"

"Yes, sir, they will pass almost right through a low density asteroid field in about five hours."

"Excellent. Continue passive scans of the area, make sure we are truly alone. We will use our new homing mines to set up a minefield in their path and take them out without firing a shot from our 'primary' weaponry. No point in leaving an identifiable sensor trace. Lieutenant Lewis, in code to the Navy, dispatch on a message drone through the jump lane immediately. Ensign Stockert, as soon as she is done, move us into position slowly enough to avoid detection by any sensor platforms in the area."

A trio of voices quickly chimed, "Aye sir."

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