Not yet. We’ve got the strategy meeting to get through first But if any 2s and 3s are slated for one of the scouts Rome can have her choice, but I’ll want to clear on anyone else first. I’ll need the best of kinetics here.
AlisonAnne nodded in response and, while Thian would have liked a quick embrace from her to sustain him, he approved of her moving immediately to carry out his orders.
Rojer, make that `path to Flavia and find out what the captain wanted to know from Captain Soligen.
Right. It won’t take long. I don’t want to miss a moment of this meeting.
Rojer arrived with that information and gave it to Captain Ashiant just as Thian began repeating the message pathed to him by Earth Prime, along with Captain Soligen’s situation. The three Primes setfied back then, to wait until the initial reaction was over and Captain Ashiant called for comments on appropriate tactics. As Thian listened to opinions, options and, more importantly, the almost over-confident optimism of humans, he was half sorry that the recent skirmish with the second sphere and its scouts had ended so successfully. Everyone had recovered from the original scare.
Confidence was useful – in moderation. Presumption, and the Mrdini commanders were the worst in that area, could lead to disaster.
`Prime Thian!’ His name jolted him out of his contemplation.
`Sir?’ and he swivelled in his chair to face Captain Shepherd of the Vadim.
`Did you identify any communications facility on the control board of the Refugee?’ `No, sir, but there was a lot of sort of end-of-the-row positions whose function had not been identified at the conclusion of our assignment.
`Can you find out if such a function has now been recognized?’ `I will query Earth Prime on that point, sir. And when Captain Shepherd looked as if he expected Thian to perform his contact then and there, he added, `With respect, Captain, Prime’s time is at a premium within the Alliance so I was asked to collect all pertinent data for one sending.
`Oh! Yes, I quite understand though that should be a priority question,’ the older man said, his prominent eyebrows nearly touching over the bridge of his nose as he fumed quietly over a delay.
I`Indeed it is, sir, and I’m certain High Council has the Phobos Base working all the hours of a day to discover what and how.’ `What good would that do, Shepherd?’ Cheseman Iaskedlunfly. `We wouldn’t have the foggiest what they were saying even if we did access their communications frequency?’ Shepherd considered that but refused to concede.
`We’d at least know when they were contacting each other, and, if we could determine the direction, be warned from what other quadrants we might expect additional units to join Number Three. I’ll be candid, Cheseman, Ashiant, one sphere posed enough problems. We may have the state-of-the-art missiles which have now proven effective, but the possibility of eight – or more such ships, plus twenty-four of those over-kill scouts makes a formidable adversary.’ `We have reinforcements `Germys began, pausing to frown at the ensign who entered as discreetly as possible to give Ashiant a note.
Shepherd took advantage of that pause and sprang in with: ` Who are themselves not in a favourable situation with a possible third sphere coming up their ass. And what’s this, Ashiant, about sending the scouts out ahead of Number Three, to try to find the one G-star in I don’t know how many astronomical lengths ahead of us that these spheres could be homing in on? If that is what they’re doing? And what is their sudden mass mobilization all about? Frankly, I think they’re assembling a punitive force to despatch this Fleet and end its threat to their colonial expansionism!’ `Captain,’ and Spktm rose to its full height, `what the Hivers do now has never been seen in the two hundreds of years that we have been opposing them. We Mrdini find ourselves in accord with the theory that the three spheres and the Great Sphere went in search of a homeworld to replace the one that was burned up. It is regrettable that the specific nature of that primary is unknown – Ashiant rose, bowing apologies to Spktm for an interruption in its peroration. `As to that, honoured Captain, the specific nature of the Hive primary is known.’ He smiled as everyone eagerly awaited his next words and waved the note in his hand. `As you know, we’ve been examining the systems which the Hivers have by-passed, but one of our bright young astronomically inclined ensigns, Cyra Charteris, hit on the notion of examining tapes from the astronomical files of the Hive quadrant and comparing them with those taken by your good seW Spktm, while at the nova site. We now know that primary’s spectrum signature!’ His ringing voice echoed in the brief silence.