Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [222]
His tactical adviser said, "We did everything we could, Adar. We eliminated fourteen times as many warglobes as Adar Kori'nh did at Qronha 3. Never have Ildirans destroyed so many of the enemy."
Zan'nh felt no triumph. Lights flickered inside the ship, and sparks continued to fly from the control panels. "But it wasn't enough. We did not bring enough ships." That single mistake would doom the Ildiran Empire.
"If we had brought more ships, then not enough would have remained to protect Ildira," the tactician said.
Zan'nh raised his hand. "This is for the protection of Ildira! We were commanded to deal a mortal blow to the hydrogues. If we do not defeat them here, they will destroy all of our worlds, one by one." He lowered his voice. "Already warglobes may be leveling Mijistra! Can you not feel all those deaths?"
Robot-seized EDF vessels continued to hammer their human-crewed counterparts. Verdani treeships destroyed diamond spheres one at a time, but still the hydrogues pushed closer to Earth.
"Adar!" The sensor operator looked up as if he couldn't believe his readings. "More ships arriving--hundreds more!"
Zan'nh's heart sank. Did the Klikiss robots and their Soldier compies have further reinforcements? Or was it more hydrogue warglobes? "Do our comm systems work?"
In answer, an image resolved itself on the ship-to-ship screen to show the anxious face of an older Ildiran officer. "Adar, this is Tal Lorie'nh. Please acknowledge if you're still out there. We detect no functioning warliners."
Zan'nh leaned closer to the screen. "Yes, Tal Lorie'nh! We are here."
The older Solar Navy officer responded with a thin smile. "The Mage-Imperator thought you might require some assistance."
"He has brought a full cohort!" cried the sensor operator.
Hundreds more warliners. Zan'nh held on to the command rail to keep his balance. "We had thought the battle was lost."
"Not yet, Adar. We have a final strategy." Lorie'nh gave an order to his seven quls, each of whom directed seven septas.
Lorie'nh had once been Zan'nh's commanding officer, but the older man had no aspirations to increase his rank; in fact, Lorie'nh had been surprised to achieve the level of tal in the first place, a promotion that he credited to good personnel serving him, including young Zan'nh.
With a sinking in his heart, the Adar realized that this cohort, dispatched at the last moment, had never been part of the plan. These were not empty, automated ships like the other sacrificial vessels, but the Mage-Imperator had sent them here anyway. When planning this appalling gambit, Zan'nh had been aware of the potential cost, but had salved his conscience by relying on the new remote-controlled systems Sullivan Gold and his engineering team installed. He hadn't expected to ask hundreds of thousands of crewmen to sacrifice themselves. So many torn threads of thism!
On the screen, he met Lorie'nh's bright gaze. "Tal, are you and your subcommanders prepared for this? Do you at least have minimal crews aboard?"
Lorie'nh answered with a wry smile. "These warliners carry the full crews for which they were designed." The group of ornate ships accelerated as they entered the fringes of the space battlefield.
Zan'nh's heart ached. Had Adar Kori'nh felt the same resolve as he drove his maniple down into Qronha 3?
Lorie'nh said, "Do not count our deaths, Adar. If we were to fail now, then our entire race would die."
Zan'nh knew it was true. "Safe journey to the Lightsource."
Lorie'nh gave a brisk nod. "May we all meet there someday."
Three hundred forty-three warliners streaked past, diving like a meteor storm toward the remaining warglobes. With glistening eyes Zan'nh watched the spectacular ships flow by. He had never seen such a beautiful sight in his life.
131
QUEEN ESTARRA
Under OX's piloting, the hydrogue derelict rose smoothly against gravity. Earth's skies