Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [98]
The Confederation had scraped together many vessels to make a convincing stand at Theroc. The Osquivel shipyards had responded with remarkable productivity, but Peter did not expect a handful of vigilantes to fulfil the role of an official space navy.
Nevertheless, the show of force was quite impressive, possibly enough to make Basil think twice.
Carrying green priests, Roamer scouts had set up a picket line around the Theron system, scattered ships circling farther and farther out. The moment the ten threatening Mantas appeared, the outlying picket vessels sounded an instantaneous alarm through telink, alerting the King hours before a traditional electromagnetic signal could have arrived.
Newly armed Roamer ships positioned themselves all around the planet, ready for a fight. The worldtree battleships moved to intercept the Mantas well before the rapidly decelerating EDF cruisers caught their first glimpse of what was waiting for them. Even Jess Tamblyn and Cesca Peroni took their small wental vessel into orbit, like a supercharged teardrop.
The admiral was quite surprised.
Peter and Estarra sat together before a transmitter. Because of her swollen belly, it was hard for Estarra to sit very close to it. OX stood nearby, as if reprising his role as a formal ambassador to the Hansa. One of the Roamer engineers opened a channel for the King using the standard EDF command frequency. This is King Peter, the rightful leader of the Confederation. Identify yourself. Why have you brought this unauthorized military fleet into our space? We demand that you withdraw immediately.'
When the screen cleared to show a deceptively maternal image, Peter frowned. 'Admiral Willis, I did not expect you, of all of my commanders, to take part in this nonsense. I'm not surprised the Chairman would pull such a stunt, but why have you turned against your King?'
'Not my idea, King Peter, but I have my orders.' She was struggling to maintain her composure.
'Those orders do not come from a legitimate authority.'
'That's debatable. You've caused quite a stir back on Earth.
Chairman Wenceslas has ordered me to impose order and put an end to your illegal rebellion.'
Queen Estarra leaned toward the transmitter. 'And how exactly do you expect to do that?'
'I'm still working on that part.' Willis was obviously flustered. 'To tell the truth, I wasn't anticipating such an impressive show of force. You've been busy since our last surveillance images were taken.'
'Obviously, with good reason.' Peter's voice remained hard.
Verdani battleships clustered around the ten Mantas, vastly larger and more dangerous than the cruisers. Roamer ships circled in, more than a hundred moving targets with weapons powerful enough to damage the Mantas.
The small wental ship drifted upward until it hovered directly in front of the flagship's bridge observation windows. Willis looked at the bubble with Jess and Cesca visible inside it. 'Now what sort of stunt are you pulling, King Peter?' She seemed more curious than alarmed.
Jess and Cesca, their expressions grave, emerged through the curved membrane and floated, crackling with a faint nimbus of energy that surrounded their bodies. They wore no environment suits, surviving in open space as they drifted over to the thick windows to peer in at the EDF bridge crew. The soldiers stared back at them. The men and women were already amazed and intimidated by the giant thorny treeships, and now they saw a pair of humans floating in cold vacuum with no life support whatsoever.
Jess reached out with a fingertip and drew on the thick transparent screen, leaving a trail of backward letters traced in iron-hard ice. 'EDDIES GO HOME!'
On the next window, Cesca wrote, 'YOU CANNOT WIN'
'What is this?'