Read Online New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) by Michael Atamanov - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Michael Atamanov
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showing that I was disheartened by the cold reception, I began my speech:
"The most recent intelligence from our cloaked frigates shows that the Alien fleet is still in the Hnelle system. Their reports indicate that the Aliens have one Queen ; five Mammoths ; one hundred seventy Behemoths ; four hundred cruisers, both Sledgehammers and Chainsaws ; and two thousand five hundred smaller starships. That means this must be the remnants of the very same Alien fleet we went up against in the Aysar Cluster. That is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good in that the Aliens were not able to reinforce their heavy ship losses in the ten months since our last battle. That means their resources are, in fact, limited, and that they are not capable of replacing lost ships. What's bad is that this exact Alien fleet has already met with us in combat and demonstrated its ability to learn from mistakes. We won't be able to pull the same tricks as last time. That's why we're going to have to change tactics. Only light ships will be headed to the battle in the Hnelle system this time."
"But that's suicide!" Someone screamed out from the depths of the hall.
The rest of the officers started grumbling and turned to see who had been bold enough to dispute the fleet commander's decision like that. Admiral Mike ton Akad, scrolling through a list on his palmtop computer, pointed me in the right direction:
"It's the captain of Curse-36 , a total greenhorn. He graduated from the Space Military Academy just last year, and has only fought in one battle."
While I listened to the admiral speak, another two captains loudly voiced their own objections:
"How will we survive the six hours needed to recharge our energy drives? That's plenty of time for the Aliens to make minced meat out of us!"
"Do you not understand that the Prince doesn't give a shit about us? We'll be there dying and distracting the Aliens, while Queen of Sin slips past the dangerous system to safety!"
The audience began buzzing in discontent. Here, the microphone was taken up by Tamara Vuzhek, the highly-decorated captain of Warhawk-4 .
"I want to remind you all that this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Remember before the battle in the Nayal system? The Crown Prince explained clearly what is to be done with cowards," the girl exclaimed, reaching for her holster.
" Warhawk-4, stand down!" I hurried to interfere and ease my subject’s nerves. "Let them talk. This is all understandable stuff!"
I saw on Tamara Vuzhek's face that she did not understand. Many other officers seemed to feel the same, which is why I immediately explained:
"The Alien Queen has one very unfortunate ability: she can attack people's minds. She must be trying to fill us, her potential victims, with a feeling of dread, hopelessness, and futility. The strong of spirit will bear such a mental attack easily, but the weak will break and give in to the suggestions. They will start to believe that the Aliens will reward anyone who joins their side. During our raid through Alien-controlled Swarm space, we had a few officers come under the Queen 's sway. Fortunately, our Truth Seeker detected it before they could betray us, and they were arrested in secrecy. Now, we have another meeting with the Queen ahead of us, so it's important to pick out all those who have already given up mentally before the battle begins. It's better to replace these people with more reliable officers than to have them stab us in the back later. So, ladies and gentlemen, who among you thinks this situation is hopeless? Who among you supposes that Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky has nothing better to do than send his most experienced and loyal people to their deaths?"
I took a close look at the silent crowd. No one was making a peep or voicing their doubts about the forthcoming battle. I could relax a bit. The rebellion was suppressed before it even got off the ground. The officers were listening to their commander
"The most recent intelligence from our cloaked frigates shows that the Alien fleet is still in the Hnelle system. Their reports indicate that the Aliens have one Queen ; five Mammoths ; one hundred seventy Behemoths ; four hundred cruisers, both Sledgehammers and Chainsaws ; and two thousand five hundred smaller starships. That means this must be the remnants of the very same Alien fleet we went up against in the Aysar Cluster. That is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good in that the Aliens were not able to reinforce their heavy ship losses in the ten months since our last battle. That means their resources are, in fact, limited, and that they are not capable of replacing lost ships. What's bad is that this exact Alien fleet has already met with us in combat and demonstrated its ability to learn from mistakes. We won't be able to pull the same tricks as last time. That's why we're going to have to change tactics. Only light ships will be headed to the battle in the Hnelle system this time."
"But that's suicide!" Someone screamed out from the depths of the hall.
The rest of the officers started grumbling and turned to see who had been bold enough to dispute the fleet commander's decision like that. Admiral Mike ton Akad, scrolling through a list on his palmtop computer, pointed me in the right direction:
"It's the captain of Curse-36 , a total greenhorn. He graduated from the Space Military Academy just last year, and has only fought in one battle."
While I listened to the admiral speak, another two captains loudly voiced their own objections:
"How will we survive the six hours needed to recharge our energy drives? That's plenty of time for the Aliens to make minced meat out of us!"
"Do you not understand that the Prince doesn't give a shit about us? We'll be there dying and distracting the Aliens, while Queen of Sin slips past the dangerous system to safety!"
The audience began buzzing in discontent. Here, the microphone was taken up by Tamara Vuzhek, the highly-decorated captain of Warhawk-4 .
"I want to remind you all that this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Remember before the battle in the Nayal system? The Crown Prince explained clearly what is to be done with cowards," the girl exclaimed, reaching for her holster.
" Warhawk-4, stand down!" I hurried to interfere and ease my subject’s nerves. "Let them talk. This is all understandable stuff!"
I saw on Tamara Vuzhek's face that she did not understand. Many other officers seemed to feel the same, which is why I immediately explained:
"The Alien Queen has one very unfortunate ability: she can attack people's minds. She must be trying to fill us, her potential victims, with a feeling of dread, hopelessness, and futility. The strong of spirit will bear such a mental attack easily, but the weak will break and give in to the suggestions. They will start to believe that the Aliens will reward anyone who joins their side. During our raid through Alien-controlled Swarm space, we had a few officers come under the Queen 's sway. Fortunately, our Truth Seeker detected it before they could betray us, and they were arrested in secrecy. Now, we have another meeting with the Queen ahead of us, so it's important to pick out all those who have already given up mentally before the battle begins. It's better to replace these people with more reliable officers than to have them stab us in the back later. So, ladies and gentlemen, who among you thinks this situation is hopeless? Who among you supposes that Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky has nothing better to do than send his most experienced and loyal people to their deaths?"
I took a close look at the silent crowd. No one was making a peep or voicing their doubts about the forthcoming battle. I could relax a bit. The rebellion was suppressed before it even got off the ground. The officers were listening to their commander
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