Bral Ranyr chapter 5

         The Udari had been keeping track of the unnamed planet for years. Bral was going through much the same thing that Leren’s father Toret, the previous Emperor, had experienced twenty years earlier. Udari agents served the Emperor alone, and maintained Toret’s plans even after he died, only revealing them to Leren after he had come to power. Part of the Udari purpose was to exist as a check against Imperial Regents, who served if no member of the Imperial family was legally able.

         The system was not often tested, but the Udari had passed the most recent one. Toret had died when Leren was only nine, forcing the appointment of Choriel Du as Regent. There had only been seven Regents, including Du, in the history of the House of Sam’tai. That number became impressive when one considered that Sam’tai had been in power nearly fifteen hundred years. Leren’s ascension insured that the line would continue unbroken for now.

         The Empire had a history of expansion that predated Sam’tai, but Toret had been the first ruler since the Empress Quen six hundred years earlier to expand in this particular direction. Official records said nothing about the planet Bral was studying, but the Udari library said differently. Quen had favored Udari units in certain expansion arms because her own Fleet personnel had been less than trustworthy and she would not take the chance that they would cause a disaster with their first contact. Udari showed more discretion in their ways, but still left their mark on the planet. The first agent to visit the planet, Vohonan, set off a global age of exploration, which in turn led to a system of colonialism that resulted in a number of wars over the next few centuries.

         Naupon, as the indigenous peoples named it, now rated a spot in the third tier as defined by the Fleet’s Department of Galactic Exploration. Global communication was in a crude state, but effective. At least one civilization had discovered the technologies required for space travel, as evidenced by the satellites reported in orbit during the last update to the file. Primitive, when compared to any number of worlds under Imperial rule, or to any ship as large as the Trikin. To be fair, though, the scale ended after the fourth tier, which indicated a planet capable of interstellar travel that was not yet Imperial.

         There had been Udari operatives on Naupon on and off since Quen’s initial order, though never for as long a stretch as the current agent assigned there. Kalengan was well suited to lengthy assignments due to his ability to quickly learn anything. He had a number of cover identities, though the one he favored would allow him to react quickly to news of an Imperial ship arriving in orbit. Bral had no idea how to approach the situation without touching off unfortunate worldwide reactions, but Rerenel said that there were certain tactics that the Udari could use to avoid it. He hoped so, since a third tier planet would probably notice something the size of the Trikin headed directly toward them.

         Again, the Thogos served Bral’s needs. The basic Imperial operational unit was the Armada; there were fifty permanent and a changing number of provisional Armadas at any given time. There were also thirteen Battle Groups, each attached to one of the Command Class vessels like the Thogos. Each ship in the Fleet relied on an immense amount of data from each battle. The flagship of each Armada carried at least two Controllers, or ships which were designed to track and analyze every single moment of a given battle. Larger ships generally carried more, but the system was as effective with two Controllers as it was with six. The largest ships in the Fleet - the Command Class vessels like the Thogos - carried twelve, though they rarely used more than four. To aid in Bral’s operation, Grand Admiral Holden was willing to lend the Trikin four of his Controllers.

         Controllers were unique vessels. Unlike any other ship in the Fleet, Controllers were not equipped with a single weapon. Except for the operator’s seat and the engine, every available space of the six-meter-long craft was packed with sensors and computers. They were little more than cylinders painted a matte black to blend in with the background of space. Maneuverability was limited, but a Controller’s operating radius was massive. It was designed to watch the battle instead of participating in it. And though not intentional, it would blend in perfectly with the network of satellites operating around Naupon.

         Though he did not need to, Bral briefed Fleet Admiral Santos on his plans. He was still very much a student despite the Flag pin he now wore on his uniform, but he was wise enough to know that there was still a great deal to learn. Naupon did not offer much of a threat to the Trikin, but there was still the matter of the ships Dauroodra had tracked to that system. The point of origin was somewhere in an asteroid belt that separated the fourth and fifth planets of the system. Dauroodra discounted the possibility that these bandits were being supplied by someone on Naupon, but that did not mean that the bandits were ignoring the planet.

         His strategy called for the Fourth Armada to be split. Grand Admiral Holden was slowly making his way to the nearest Fleet Annex, orbiting the world of Inalal in Sector 23. He would take a portion of the Fourth with him, putting the ships through various training exercises. Admiral Santos would bring the Adreali to join Bral, though the Trikin would have the command. Bral had the Trikin and the Adreali at his disposal, as well as the carriers Dantiai and Irimo, and four other cruisers: the Kelough, the Throtai, the Moras, and the Tasuq. Eight ships might seem like overkill, but it seemed wiser than to go in alone.

         Rerenel revealed to Bral that every Fleet Admiral had an Udari agent on his or her staff. He would not be joining the expedition, as his duties were to the Emperor, but he introduced Bral to Admiral Santos’ Udari agent Jomoren. Like Rerenel, Jomoren wore the same black jumpsuit all Udari wore with no adornments. In Imperial service, black indicated that whoever wore it was a servant of the Emperor. Bral’s new uniform would be black when he received it, but it would also have a light green stripe across the shoulders to indicate that he worked for Fleet Operations. Among Fleet personnel, only Admirals wore black, and only Grand Admirals wore black with no stripes.

         Jomoren did not seem to be any more friendly than Rerenel, but he said that he agreed with Bral’s plan: the Adreali would be held in reserve on the spaceward side of the fourth planet, hidden from the system’s star. There, it would be able to reach either zone of interest in only a few minutes. The Trikin and the Dantiai would assume a loose orbit around Naupon at a distance of three hundred kilometers while Jomoren attempted to make contact with Kalengan, the Udari agent on the planet. The other ships, under the command of Captain Stoquar on the Tasuq, would investigate the asteroid belt trying to locate the base that Dauroodra theorized was the source of the bandits.

         Bral’s expedition broke from the Thogos and the Fourth Armada at the start of the next cycle. He used the time to meet with the Captains of the ships under his command and to go over each ship’s specific tasks. While there would likely be no need to maintain communications silence, he felt that it would be better for everyone to know what was expected of them going in. Naupon probably had the technology to detect that communications traffic was being exchanged, but it was doubtful that anyone who did recognize it as such would be able to crack Imperial encryptions, or make any sense of what was being said. Reports indicated that several languages were prominently used on the planet, but none of them approximated Imperial Common. Admiral Santos was quite accomodating to Bral, conveniently forgoing the privileges of rank and acting just like any of the other Captains. The situation probably would not require a flashy display of rank, and Santos favored practicality over his own sense of pride.

         The ships entered the Naupon system at quarter speed, not wanting to attract any more attention than necessary. It was easy to focus on the planet and forget that the real objective was in the asteroid belt. The inhabitants of Naupon might not detect an influx of Fleet cruisers and carriers, but the bandits who had launched from here probably could. It had been most of a full cycle since the attack on the Trikin, enough time for the survivors to return here if this was home for them, so an Imperial presence would not be that surprising. Bral could not help but feel proud as he watched all eight ships assume their positions smoothly and begin operations. That was the easy part, however. Now all he could do was to wait for the information to start making sense.