Unity

Chapter 31

It had been five days since the last war council and three days since we recaptured Fraewei and the Tuleeriri were pushing hard to put their plans into action. The last-minute decision to take back Fraewei was a perfect example of their eagerness. My team sat down in the same room the last council had been held in and waited for the other participants. Once everyone had arrived, Queen Shaniir began the meeting. "Thank you all for coming. I know it hasn't been long since our last meeting, but I felt it prudent to discuss what has been done so far."

One of the Tuleeririan generals stood up and started talking rapidly in their native tongue. I activated the translation app that Dr. Thompson had prepared, and the translation streamed to my crews' earpieces. "...waste of time." I hadn't caught the first part of the conversation, but I could guess what it was about. "We should be out crushing our enemy right now, instead of sitting around doing nothing. Every second we delay; our enemies get that much closer to destroying us. These strangers are making us weak. They would have us hide like children. They are cowards who are too afraid to fight. Our victory in Fraewei proves that the enemy is no match for us."

I couldn't take anymore, and I could tell that if I didn't step forward, one of my commanders would. I interrupted the general during a particularly nasty string of insults directed at us. "If you are going to insult somebody, especially a powerful ally, then I suggest you make sure they can't hear you. Better yet never say those things again, especially when it concerns my crew." The room was dead silent. I was barely keeping my temper under control. "You call us cowards, yet where were you when we retook Fraewei? While you were safe back here, your people and my people were risking their lives. I fought the Zrynt face to face, risking my life so your people could eat. The only reason you are still alive is because of us."

I wanted to say more but Queen Shaniir cut me off, which was probably wise. I'm sure I was going to say something I regretted. "That is enough. We are here to discuss how we can eradicate the Zrynt, not fight amongst ourselves. Zalix," Shaniir pointed to the Tuleeririan general, "I want to meet with you after this meeting to discuss proper etiquette in dealing with allies." I could tell that Zalix was furious, but he knew better than to argue against his ruler. Everyone seemed to relax as the tension eased out of the room. "Shahae, since the battle for Fraewei seems to be the most talked about subject, why don't you give us a brief demonstration of the battle?"

Shahae nodded and closed her eyes. An image of the Fraewei system soon appeared. "These were the Zrynt locations when we arrived," she narrated as the ship indicators lit up in red. As our fleets jumped into the system, the red was immediately overwhelmed by blue. "Admiral Ryan took out the three destroyers while our fleet hunted down the rest of the ships that were spread out throughout the area." I watched as the images replayed the battle. I couldn't help but be impressed at the speed which we took out the Zrynt fleet. I only half paid attention to what Shahae said as she pointed out different areas and what happened and before long, she was finished.

An older man stood up once she was done and gave a report regarding incoming supplies. "With Fraewei liberated and the supplies that were already prepared, our stores are now full. With the current production rate, we should be able to provide food and other supplies indefinitely." He went on to give more details, but most of them were meaningless to me. What really mattered was we would be receiving supplies to our ship as well.

It was Argol's turn next to give an update on the new battlestations. As he stood up an image appeared in front of us, "This is the new design for the battlestations. Much of the redesign is thanks to Commander Turner. The battlestation incorporates the best of Terran and Tuleeririan technology. It is fully autonomous and is powered by Galactum and Active Absorption Field Generator. The armor is twenty Glohns thick, with a high-density Active Absorption Field Generator coating." I pulled out my tablet and did some quick math. Twenty Glohns would be equal to about three meters, that was some serious armor. I tuned in to what Argol was saying, "...Weapons include light to heavy lasers, rail guns based on Terran design, and a full range of explosive weapons. Each battlestation will be capable of engaging thousands of ships simultaneously. Also on board is a complex array of sensors and communications equipment. Each battlestation will automatically communicate with subspace sensors and other battlestations. In essence, it will form a network and feed all information back to Narrisal. Each battlestation will have sub-light engines, but subspace and jump drives will not be included."