Admiral Suzanne Orseman watched the fleet deployment in silence from the bridge of her command ship, the Trafalgar. She had just spent the last six months on the initial shakedown cruise and already the new monitor class ship had been pressed into service. Another outpost dispute had erupted with the Slanchedron, and the fleet was now on its way to the designated neutral space. Once there, the negotiations would start. When the talks ended poorly, the fleet would be there to decide the outcome with force. Given their history with the Slanchedron, hostilities were guaranteed. It was far more civilized this way. At least that was the argument the Navarii made. All of the races who agreed to their terms of transport where forced into this system of conflict resolution. The disputing parties, both negotiators and military forces, would be transported to a system devoid of population centers. There they would settle their differences one way or another.

The alternative was the old fashioned scorched earth policy where habitable worlds would be decimated untill one race either surrendered or became extinct. The Navarii preferred to keep the inhabited worlds with existing infrastructures safe and sound. After all, it served their interests to have developed resource centers remain intact.

Suzanne almost preferred it the other way around. There was something in the system of conflict resolution that just grated on her nerves. The fact that there was never a chance to bring in reinforcements at the last minute, to spring a trap on the enemy. All of the forces of both sides were a known quantity before the battle ever started, and the Slanchedron were notorious for bullying the lesser races to get what they wanted. Their navy was impressive, and Earth had already lost a number of profitable colony systems in this fashion.

She had been there the first time they had lost a colony world; she had just made first officer on the Cole under Captain Miamoto. The Alliance had sent twenty of its finest vessels, but had really expected to negotiate a settlement. That time the Alliance had been the first in the hold of the world ship. They watched carefully as the Slanchedron vessels entered the hold and maneuvered to their assigned berths. The light cruisers had entered first, no less than ten of the sleek hulled craft. Preliminary intelligence had already identified their armaments as light, ideally suited to defensive maneuvers.

The light cruisers were followed by an equal number of heavy cruisers. Each of those contained enough firepower to cause the intelligence officers some worry, and the ships were still coming. Five dreadnought class vessels, two fleet carriers and two monitors completed the force when it was all said and done.

They had never intended to negotiate anything. They were there to take it by force, and that’s precisely what they did. It was a humiliating defeat for the Alliance, particularly because neither side got off a shot. When the negotiation failed and they demanded the combat resolution, the Alliance had no choice but to surrender. Intelligence had calculated the odds of success at ten thousand to one. The loss of life and equipment had not been worth it.

Looking back at that, and what they now knew of the Slanchedron, it might have been better if the Alliance had fought anyway. As a race the Slanchedron despise weakness but respect guile. A fight to the death would have at least earned their respect. Instead they wound up the lizard’s whipping boy. Colony after colony had been lost to the Slanchedron. Every time the Alliance brought a larger force, so did they. The last three engagements did end in conflict, with the Terrans coming out on the losing end.

She smiled to herself, at least that was about to change for the Terran Alliance. The last few years had spawned huge technological advances which were just now starting to bear fruit. As she looked around at the bridge crew, busy organizing the fleet for the journey, she took comfort in knowing that the fate of the Terran Alliance would change with this deployment. She keyed for the tactical display and watched as the ships disappeared one by one into the hold of the Navarii World ship. Even the Trafalgar’s three kilometer length was dwarfed by the Navarii vessel. Reports were coming in from the ships already docked inside. The Slanchedron fleet was already moored inside, a force numbering fifty combat vessels. Definitely a match for the Terran task force, probably more than a match, but surprise would be on their side this time.

“Admiral, the last ship has cleared the opening, it’s our turn.”

“Transmit the disposition of the Slanchedron to headquarters, engage the countermeasures, and begin maneuvering at one quarter standard.”

There was a slight vibration in the deck plating as the engines came on line. and the ship began to creep forward. As the flagship eased into the dark hold, active sensor readings began to confirm what she had already been told. She smiled to herself and thought, “Take a good look at her and think twice before you choose to pick a fight.”

The Terran vessels had docked one by one. The only surprise had been the new electronic counter measures some of the vessels had been broadcasting. It kept them from getting accurate readings on the disposition of the weapons loads, but visual confirmation had identified all of the vessels. Battle experience could be trusted to accurately asses the amount of firepower each ship could deliver. The Terran ship design had been predictable, and explained their lack of willingness to engage in battle. Their shielding was surprising minimal for warships, at least by Slanchedron standards.

When the Terrans had finally engaged in battle, it was almost a slaughter. They expected much the same of this engagement. The bridge of the Slanchedron flagship was normally quiet. Only the chirps and hisses of battle language could be heard, that is until the final ship had begun to cross into the hold. The Navarii vessel annoyingly kept them from scanning outside, so this vessel came as a surprise. The entire bridge fell silent as they all watched the main view screen.

It was the largest ship they had ever seen the Terrans employ. Calculations showed it to be twice the size of the previously known capital ship. The hull was uncharacteristically smooth and fluid. There were no visible armaments to be seen. This was a departure for the Terrans. Their normal tendency for turreted weapon mounts made it easy to discern the capabilities of their ships, even without active sensors.

Fleet Master Shivar’s interest was piqued. The electronic counter measures kept their active sensors from discerning this new vessel’s capabilities, but passive sensors were picking up some information. From the energy signature, a lot of power was going into the ECM and their maneuvering engines. The slow vector might possibly indicate an inordinate amount of armor. Visual scans showed the hull to be dotted with small openings. Given the Terran predilection for missile batteries, it seemed most likely that these were launch tubes, but they were of the smaller point defense size. They could put out a smothering barrage at extremely short range, but would be no threat. The lack of turrets also meant they would have to turn the whole vessel to bring a majority of launch tubes to bear on any one target.

The most interesting feature was an array of some sort at the tip of the vessel. At first glance it looked similar to the Tenotian beam weapon emitters, except this was far larger.

It bore caution. The amount of ECM projected from the vessel gave him doubts about his observations. The Terran force now numbered thirty vessels, numerically they still had a significant advantage. He keyed the analyst den and chirped orders. They would have the threat consideration to him before the start of the negotiations.

Chapter 1
Mon June 28 2004