The Carlson Chronicle Chapter 1
Chapter 12

16-Jun-2345

Ericka watched the security feed for the hundredth time if it was her first. She gasped each time Jayce step from the shadows, little pistol in hand, and began blasting at Jett. When Becca stepped into view, the look of utter contempt on her face sent a chill down her spine. Alex, Jett, Amy, James and Elisha all sat around the table in the shipyard’s mess area, as the feed ran again, all in attendance shocked at what it showed.

“I gave birth to demon seed.” Ericka said, head in her hands, as she quietly wept.

“Hey now, it had to be an outside influence, either that, or they didn’t take to the re-education programming.” Alex said, holding her as she cried.

“No, I think they learned from it, made contact with the Garshans somehow, and decided to throw in with the winning team.” James said with disgust.

“Well, whatever or however they did it, we need to decide how to handle this. With the Garshans here now, we don’t have the luxury for second guessing and grieving. It’s done, their choice has been made. Now we hunt them, same as the Garshans.” Amythyst said, very coldly, so coldly in fact, it even made James pause.

“Well, we’ll need all hands on deck for this, and I have to admit, I’ve kept something from you son, for a very long time. My lust for power ended the day you killed the ‘Three’, and I’ve been trying to convince them I’m a changed man. Old deeds leave a lasting impression I guess.” He finished, as Alex turned toward him.

“What have you kept from me?” He asked. James made a call on his i-COM, and in a subdued white flash, Barnard and Claudia appeared!

“ALEX!” Barnard yelled, seeing his son for the first time in nearly 45 years. Claudia teared up almost instantly, as Amythyst ran and hugged her tightly, the two sharing a good long cry. Alex stood, hugging his father, then hugging James as well, tears running down his cheeks...

Several minutes later...

“Like I had said, I almost killed Barnard back in ’23, but something, something he said made me pause.” James remarked, as everyone sat back down, Amy being held tightly by Claudia on one side, and Alex on the other. Barnard just beamed with pride at his son.

“Oh? And what was it that spared my life?”

“That Alex was supposed to replace the Marrokians. I sent probes out that day, looking for these people, but so far, nothing.”

“How far did you probe?” Barnard asked.

“100 light years.” But Barnard just chuckled.

“147 parsecs James. Nearly 480 light years away. If the star map for this area of known space were laid out on a table, the Marrokian Sector would be in the lower right hand corner, while you and Terra are mostly settled in the center to upper left hand corner.” He finished as James sat back, thinking.

“The Marrokians don’t matter. They’re too low tech to bother saving. It would take years, decades even, to get enough of them re-educated enough to make a difference.” Alex said with a wave of his hand.

“Oh, but Alex, you never met Cygna. I think if you had, your life would be very different.” Claudia said, thinking back to the 12 years she and Cygna spent together.

“Possibly, but I have no regrets as to who I share my life with. Between Amy, Ericka and Jett, I don’t need any other distractions, good or bad.” He said, hugging and scratching Jett. She coo’ed at the attention, a soft purr starting in her chest. James laughed.

“So, do we roll over and die now?” Elisha asked, time being very kind to her, she still stunning at 46.

“How many of these new ship designs do you have built, son?” James asked. Alex nodded at the son part, Barnard not offering even a token of offense.

Karen came in carrying a tray of coffee and mugs, set them on the table, and moved over to James, whispering something into his ear that made him smile, then she turned and left. Alex arced both eyebrows at that, considering when they spoke back in ’30, she wanted nothing to do with James Carlson.

“Ok, what was THAT all about?” He asked. James smile broadened.

“Seems as though she wants to talk, over drinks later.” He said with a wry grin. Ericka simply rolled her eyes, while Jett giggled. Turning back to James, he answered.

“20,000 of the Graf Spee, 30 of the Struggle class, and my compliments to Lorelei on this bit of advice, but 1210 of that Andromeda class, complete with spinal weapon array.” He finished amid whistles from both Jett and James. The former broke out in giggles afterward while James just smiled to her.

“I’ll be scrapping the original Spee, considering the damage done to her is too great to repair. The blast sprung her frame, and would be far easier to simply scrap it and build a new one, then try to fix it.”

“Ok, so where do we go?”

“We, along with Leo, Flow and Val, plus a compliment of Marines from Summer, and a compliment of Mechs, also from Summer, will be taking Andro #2. The Andromeda, ship of the class, will be your’s Pop. 100% Galhadian, stem to stern. Jayce and Becca want to play at being Garshans, I’ll hunt them down like the cur they are.” And even James could hear and feel the strength and hardness of his voice.

“How long until we leave?” Elisha asked, sitting back down.

“Us? Immediately. The rest of the ships? Upwards of 5 years. I know, I know, seems like forever, but Summer needs that long for the next crop of Gideons to finish weening and begin real training, and Kyle needs that much more time to get the rest of his unit, the War Wolves, off of Earth and to Summer to finish their training.”

“Will you be assigning any of them to the Empire?” James asked, curious as to how far he would trust Tiberius.

“Earth and Taucente have been stripping their borders of ships, sending their crews to Center for training. As each class of combined Empire and Colony crews finishes the 4 year course load, those crews will be assigned to an Andro. After eating, sleeping, sexing and studying with folks from the other side, I’m hopeful that the axe will be buried forever. Plus, with the influx of Gideons into the mix, to act as a buffer between friend and former foe, I’m really banking on them, the Gideons, to make that role work. Only time will tell however.”

“How long until the first crews are ready?” Ericka asked.

“I have 10 whole crews waiting in the wings. They’ve been working on simulators now for almost a decade, almost two actually.”

“Why so long?” James asked.

“Ships weren’t ready yet, and I want them to be on top of their game. After the bombing however, ready or not, Andro’s 1 through 10 will be receiving their crews by late this afternoon. Then it’s off to Carcosa to train.”

“Why Carcosa?” Ericka asked.

“Garshan shields don’t like nebulas. It makes them vulnerable. Our shields, or EMF’s, aren’t fazed by nebulas. In fact, the energy discharges that occur in the Deerstalker actually benefit our ships, as the EMF draws in this power and uses it to quick charge the Fold engine. Since Garshan ships, well, newer Garshan ships, don’t use armor, like we do, if their shields go down, they’re even more vulnerable.”

“Ok, Lorelei tells me that despite her best assurances, you went with an experimental gun system, instead of the tried and true Reflex gun. Why Alex?” Barnard asked.

“For the main gun turrets on the Andro, I went with Null Space guns, because of the ammo change that Flow and Tina came up with. Upon seeing how Garshan shields worked with regard to energy weapons, and with rail guns, I wanted something that would foil both systems.”

“Ok, but the Null round is pure negative energy, worse even then anti-matter. How could you have devised something worse then that?”

“The shields the Garshans use, absorb the energy, or lack of energy, and dissipate the round before it can pass through to the hull, and then through that. Our new round banks on that happening.”

“Ok, call me intrigued. Explain.” Barnard asked with a small smile.

“Flow’s Null’Em balls, use the Null energy casing, but that casing surrounds a 5 kilogram charge of pure anti-matter...” He said, letting the rest trail off as Barnard’s eyes widened to their limits. He turned to a confused Claudia and said one thing.

“BOOM.” And laughed, as did the rest of the table.

“Exactly. As the Garshan shield absorbs the Null energy of the round, it releases the stored anti matter, which then reacts to the hull of the ship.”

“Boom indeed!” James said with a laugh.

“4 of these guns per turret, as laid out by the French in World War Two, on their battleship, ‘Richelieu’.”

Now it was James’ turn to whistle, since he had served aboard that very ship before she was handed over to the British Admiralty.

“Is her gun formating the same, fore to aft?” He asked Alex. He nodded.

“Other then her overall appearance to the ship from that animation series, her forward guns are arranged the same, two turrets of 4 guns, letting her bring all guns forward to face a foe, while she mounts 3 triple turrets astern, all Reflex guns, one above a side by side pairing, thus allowing it to bring 6 of the 9 to bear on targets to the sides, and all 9 guns astern. Gatling grazers in AA mounts line both sides, 30 each side, the spinal mount being a Reflex mount, with two guns. The stack is retained, though it serves as a VLS system carrying 20 tubes for Fusion warheaded torpedoes.”

“I know I’m the head of a corporation, but I’d serve you on board that ship, just to see it in action.”

“Good, because I want all the best people on her. She may be the ship of the class, but in honor of the people who inspired her, she’ll be known as the ‘Richelieu’.” He finished. A tear welled up in James’ eye as he nodded his approval.

1-July-2345

Leo looked at all the familiar faces on the bridge of this new battleship. ‘Richelieu’ was no joke, as they ran her through space trials. A group of pirates flying the flag of Carcosa, the Organization’s colors, tried to jump them as they slipped into the nebula, thinking incorrectly that like them, they’d have no shields. As the point defense Gatlings laid waste to the initial torpedo volley, 8 Null Guns accounted for 4 dead Pirate raiders. The rest turned and tried to flee, but as ‘Richelieu’ turned away from the Pirates, Jett’s stern guns gave them what for.

Only three lifepods were recovered from the destroyed pirate ships...

“Damn, why can’t I ever take a ship out on trials, and NOT get attacked?” Alex asked all seated at the Captain’s table. His exec, Amythyst, Adviser, Ericka, and all of his department heads, with exception to Kyle Storm, who was still training at Summer, sat enjoying a fine meal of well prepped venison.

A few chuckled at his statement/question, but all enjoyed their meal.

“What should we expect from Summer Alex?” Jett asked.

“A mech company, maybe a full brigade, depending on their space requirements. A Cutlass squadron, using that new bird Bad Ass and I worked out, the II model. The grazers in the nose give it punch like nothing else. And lastly, a compliment of ship’s troops, tiger and tigresses all. Which is why I have an entire locker full of Magi-Bubble. 12 Pallets of the stuff. Hope it’s enough.” He said with a grin amid chuckles from his senior officers.

“Wow, Summers’ gonna be a ghost planet after we leave there.” Jett said with a giggle. Everyone else nodded or continued to eat.

Later that night...

“Alex? Does losing Jayce and Becca bother you?” Amy asked him, as he pulled her closer to him. Jett lay snuggled against his other side. Ericka chose to bunk with Leo, after he asked her out. She accepted, and they quickly became a couple.

“Yes. But I’m trying not to think about it. What they did is unforgivable, and I hope to put them down on the first Garshan we meet.”

“Yes, I hope we replace them soon too. I wouldn’t mind keeping one as a pet sheep for a few years.” Amy said with a wicked little grin. Jett giggled then snuggled tightly against him, he scratching the small of her back, just above her bushy tail...