***
Klostack, the Commander of the small Krelathan attack outpost, was waiting impatiently in his office, troubled and concerned. He had an uncanny feeling all was not going well for his pilots. The base, which was situated on one of the large asteroids in the small belt near the Mabra system, had been constructed in a natural depression, then covered in rock they had excavated to hide it. It was a poorly equipped base, with the bare minimum required to fulfil the expected assaults on shipping.
The ambient operating temperature was much lower than the homeworld of Krelath, so the men stationed there had to wear more clothes than they would usually find comfortable, or tolerable. Until this point in time, the raids had been successful despite the low morale among the crew at being so remote and with a limited source of entertainment or recreation facilities.
The second small hangar was almost full with goods and a couple of transports they had stolen during the raids. They were required to repair the ships, load the goods, and then fly them to Krelath within the next two weeks as per orders decreed by the ruling Senate. Any personnel on captured transports were placed into escape pods and jettisoned, their course set for Mabraant.
The comm unit buzzed. “Yes?” said Major Klostack abruptly.
It was the comm operator Odrian, one of the few Krelathans left on the base. “Sir,” he said nervously, “I thought you would like to know.”
“All starfighters lost?” said Klostack interrupting him.
“Yes Sir. We managed to retrieve the id on the Mabraantan starfighters: Kopaz Squadron. It’s not one we’ve logged before, but it’s the same squadron that destroyed our ships in the Drelena system. According to the latest reports, it also appears that our primary covert agent has been arrested.”
“Very well.” The commander slouched back into his chair feeling disillusioned. “Kopaz Squadron! I will remember that designation,” he said. His fighter group was now down four Kraylons and six TS5s, which happened to be the standard squadron formation. Without new ships he would not be able to engage in any more raids, especially with this new Mabraantan fighter squadron on the scene.
He continued thinking about the situation for a while, realised the future was no longer looking prosperous, and his future as base commander was now in serious jeopardy. The High Command of the Krelathan military forces did not tolerate failure of any kind, and the consequences were dire. There was little hope for him requesting a posting back to the homeworld, not now, not ever, so there was only one option left if Vojargo failed.
He switched on the comm system. “Odrian, I want all remaining goods loaded onto the transports immediately, except those containers marked base spares. Then tell Lieutenant Vojargo to report to my office.”
“Yes Sir.”
The Lieutenant was one of the best pilots on Krelath and a trusted friend. In a clever scheme organised by Senator Kasgorn, and acting on his behalf, Vojargo was the one who killed Governor Kregalton in a spectacular dogfight. The success brought him great favour among the new senators and governor of Krelath, those who had conspired to dispose of the evil Kregalton.
Klostack had had serious reservations about the future of his position for a long time, so had taken a few precautions. One was having Vojargo at his side, and the other, a small token of his success in the raids: Some of the wealth he had stored in the containers marked ‘base spares’.
Although loyal to his homeworld and his people, Klostack would not hesitate in disappearing from sight, and taking his hoarded treasure with him if circumstances made it necessary. The new Governor, Pamarsdin, had promised a better future than Kregalton had, but the fighting continued, and so too had the suffering of many families around the sector. The initial pleasure of his command position had worn thin, and he was finding it more difficult to justify and continue the raids against the Mabraantans.
Major Klostack remained in command more out of loyalty than desire. However, he now believed he had destroyed any honour he once possessed. For the first time in his military career, he regretted the deaths of the innocent civilians caught up in the raids, such as those on board the few transports and cruisers that were inadvertently destroyed. The civilians who had been travelling in the transport ships now parked in the hangar had been safely transferred to another ship in the convoy or jettisoned in escape pods. Klostack ordered that no civilians were to be killed, but fighter pilots were fair game.
There was one transport he remembered being destroyed several years ago: The first occurrence of civilian deaths. It had contained over a hundred people and a cargo hold full of equipment and valuables. Everyone was killed and everything destroyed when it exploded. The young pilot behind the destruction of the ship was killed in the explosion, a quirk of fate, but did not make up for the loss.
What made matters worse was that General Kregarast had been in command of the squadron at the time. He had arrived on the base for a short time to oversee the operation, and took the advantage to display his skills to the other pilots. After the incident, he brushed aside the civilian losses as if it was of no importance or consequence. It was the one loss that had plagued Klostack’s conscience ever since. He was adamant that there would be no more civilian deaths.
The two transports were on their way to Krelath within the hour, both loaded with a large cargo of bounty. The Major hoped this would appease the Senate after they heard the news of another squadron being lost. He also hoped it would prove his posting as base commander was a wise one, and an impressive degree of success had been achieved.
He had formally requested the allocation of updated MCFs instead of the ageing TS5s, which were needed to take on the new MCIs being used by the Mabra Defence Force. If the Senate approved and sent the newer ships, Klostack believed they would be able to deal with Kopaz squadron once and for all, but he did not hold much hope in retaining his command.
His choice was made, but he decided to wait until he heard from Vojargo. If he received a positive answer to his request, he might delay implementing his plans until after the next two attacks. In the meantime, he would load the few crates of hidden bounty, which he had collected, into his personal Kadarex M5 yacht.