Void Ship by Dave Bara

Author:Dave Bara [Bara, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: military sf, SF, science fiction, space opera, Sci-fi, Dave Bara
Publisher: Dave Bara
Published: 2018-02-12T05:00:00+00:00

“SO WHAT’S YOUR PLAN?” asked Yan of Renwick once they were set on their course to the Gataan home world again. The pair were alone at the command console again.

“Plan? Negotiate. Persuade. Bully. It’s what I do best, and all that I’ve got,” said Renwick.

“That’s it? That’s the plan?” she said.

“Do you have a better idea? From what I can tell the future of the whole Orion arm of the galaxy is at stake, the future of at least three civilizations. There is only one potential ally close enough to help us destroy the emitter station and those Void ships, and that’s the Gataan,” he said.

“Has the fact that they’re currently aiding the enemy escaped you, Senator?” said Yan, loud enough that Aybar and Kish looked up from their stations. Mischa Cain, to her credit, kept her head down. Renwick glanced at the other officers and then turned back to Yan.

“Nothing has escaped me, captain,” he said. “If you’ll note our logs, you’ll notice that the Tarchus prime as in state of deep disarray, no doubt due to three centuries of isolation. Tribal warfare is the norm. That was true on Earth many times in the past as well. But there was a modern, operating, military base on that moon. I’m making a supposition here, but I think it’s a good one. If you were an outside force looking to exploit a race for its resources, and you found a planet in the midst of tribalism, what would you do?”

Yan thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know, Renwick. I’m a ship captain, not a tactician.” He crossed his arms, frustrated that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, see his point and he had to spell it out. He opened his mouth to speak when another voice interrupted him.

“Find the strongest tribe, and give them the power to exploit the others in your favor.” The voice came from behind Yan. It belonged to Captain Aybar. Renwick nodded, then motioned her over.

“Precisely,” he said. “What I would have done is set up the leaders of the most powerful clan or tribe as my surrogates, give them the power, the weapons, the advanced technology.”

“That would undoubtedly piss off the rest of the planet,” said Yan.

“Which means they might be willing to work with us,” said Aybar.

“If they have any technological base left,” retorted Yan. Renwick uncrossed his arms and leaned on the console.

“It’s a gamble, I admit,” he said. “But we’re so outnumbered. It’s a chance I think we have to take.” Yan looked contemplative.

“You’ll have precious few hours at Tarchus. I estimate we’re only six hours ahead of the Soloth at this point,” she said.

“Yes, but you’re forgetting something,” said Renwick “Those scoop ships the Soloth had at Vadela are small, designed to open holes into a captive star system, probably with minimal capacity to cut enough normal space to bring something the size of a fleet through. So most likely they’re just content to follow us. They know we’ll have to

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