“How about using two frigates?” M’Sada countered. “They would do the job.”
Stven turned to Krys. “He’s right, My Lady. It’s a good plan, maybe the best plan. I’m hesitant to see you anywhere but on Resolve. Our ship is capable of jumping away if things go poorly, but it is the only one in the system with that capability. Your place is here.”
“Who will fly the frigates? Tom has to stay with me. The same applies to our Terran Protectors. We have a highly capable ship, fully crewed and ready for battle. I see no reason to break up the crew. Base your plan on that, Captain.”
Stven turned to Dgoffs. “Suppose we’re successful and take them all out. The Chessori have an interstellar communicator. More will come when they find out what’s happened. What then?”
Dgoffs rubbed his chin as he considered. “Maybe they will, and maybe they won’t. It strikes me as unlikely that they’d choose to take a major stand here. We’re just a district, and from what you tell me, they’re going to have their hands full at sector headquarters soon. If Korban loses Orion III, holding Krandt will become untenable, but if he wins, the Rebels won’t care about this district. It would be too difficult to take it back without a political and physical base here on the ground.
“Posturing can be dangerous, but sometimes it works, and this situation is perfect for it. I was planning to leave anyway, so there’s nothing to lose, but there’s everything to gain. After you leave, I’ll keep three squadrons close to the planet for a while. Anyone coming to investigate will think it was my ships and my men that took out the Chessori, and they’ll think twice about taking on three squadrons. If they send a massive force, we’ll abandon the planet and join your other forces wherever they are. If they send just a ship or two, we’ll consider what to do then.”
Tarn cautioned him. “One Chessori ship would be enough. You’d be helpless against it. In time, we might be able to send some Great Cats. That won’t be our call, but I think it’s a price Chandrajuski would be willing to pay to keep the district for the Queen.”
“There could be terrible retribution if this fails,” Krys said, clearly troubled.
Dgoffs nodded. “There could, and we’re counting heavily on you. In a worst case scenario, my squadrons will be prepared to flee. At least the Queen will have a few additional forces, and I’ll spend the two or three days between the ground fighting and the space battle stuffing those ships full of people. Anyone I can’t bring with me can head for the hills.”
He looked solemnly at each of them. “I’d really like to hold this district. I’ll deal with any Rebels here if you’ll deal with the Chessori. I say let’s go for it.”
Stven looked to O’Brien. “Are you up to it, my friend?”
“Yes, sir. So are Major Washburn and his gunners. And what a grand idea: rescue a district, and rescue two senators while we’re at it.”
“The First Knight informed us that some of the Chessori traders might not be our enemy. Is it necessary to take out all the traders here in the port?” Tarn asked.
“The risk of being wrong is too great,” Dgoffs said. “I want my district cleansed of Chessori.”
Stven’s long neck swayed back and forth as he considered. “I share the sentiment, but historically, the Empire has gone to great lengths to prevent retribution against the innocent. I would caution against a change in that policy. We will one day have to take this war to the Chessori, and it would be to our advantage to have allies among them when we do.”
“But we’re just one ship,” Washburn said. “We can’t afford mistakes. I want to be one of those carrying the war to the Chessori. And consider: there is a certain planet out there that is going to play a big part in taking that war to the Chessori. They’re outnumbered by, probably, a million to one. We’re not in a position to be the nice guy. Those traders are armed. My vote is to take them out. If we don’t, our decision could come back to haunt us, and quickly.”
Stven and Washburn stared at each other for a time, then Stven turned his long neck toward Dgoffs. “Do you know the status of these traders, Admiral? Are they traders, or are they additional protection for the new governor?”
“I don’t know, but my staff can take a look at it.”
“Please do so before we make our decision,” Tarn ordered. “We will err on the side of taking them out, but if we determine they’re truly innocent traders, we will consider alternatives. It will be O’Brien’s fight, and the final decision will be his.”
Dgoffs’ staff determined that one of the traders had, indeed, made a delivery, and it would be taking on outbound trade goods during the next few days. It was decided that O’Brien would have to make the call as he saw fit at the time.
Dgoffs prepared his Imperial Marines for their part in the operation, and two standard protection teams consisting of three Great Cats and three Terrans studied the layouts of the buildings they would infiltrate. One team focused on the governor’s mansion while the other focused on rescuing the two Imperial Senators. There were only two Chessori guarding them, but there were a lot of other guards within the prison.
Dgoffs admonished the teams to kill as few of his men as possible. Some were, undoubtedly, Rebels, but most were not. He would take it upon himself to sort them out after the Chessori were dead.
When everyone was ready, Dgoffs requested a meeting with the new governor, a meeting at which he would offer to reconsider and perhaps allow a few Chessori aboard his ships. All Chessori candidates were to attend for interviews.
Since the presence of Great Cats would give away their plan, the three cats assigned to that team stationed themselves near the front entrance of the mansion but out of sight. Dgoffs marched with Washburn and two other team members to the governor’s office, all three Protectors dressed in the uniform of a fleet captain. Twenty Chessori candidates waited outside the office as instructed.
Dgoffs and Washburn entered the governor’s office, leaving the other two team members outside the office ostensibly studying the Chessori recruits as if they were considering them for training. The governor sat at his desk, and one Chessori stood to the side of the room. Dgoffs closed the door and turned to the governor, a blaster in his hand.
“We can do this peacefully, or we can do it the hard way,” he said. The scree sounded immediately, and Dgoffs and the governor fell to the floor. So, too, did the Chessori, killed by Washburn. Firing erupted from the other room, and he immediately stepped from the office to add his blaster to the carnage. All the Chessori fell without a single shot being fired in return, so quickly had the Protectors reacted.
The moment the Great Cats outside felt the scree, two raced into the building while one remained outside. The scree was still sounding when Washburn and the cats met up. They held a quick conference and split up the team. Two cats would clear the upper floors of the building while the Terrans cleared the main floor. The governor was shackled, then Washburn moved out with his team, stunning everyone they encountered.
When they reached the front of the building, the third Great Cat was pinned down by a heavy weapon on the left corner. Washburn directed two of his men to take the Chessori gunners from the rear. He went right to cover the right side of the building. Borg had responsibility for covering the rear as he cleared the upper floors.
Just as Washburn started moving to the right, a squad of Chessori came around the corner and were as surprised to see him as he was to see them. Everyone started shooting. Washburn took out two Chessori, then he was blown backwards by a blaster shot to his chest. Sergeant Jacobs, assigned to take out the big gun, turned back and took out the rest of the Chessori squad, leaving his partner to take care of the big gun.
Jacobs checked around the corner to make sure no more Chessori were coming, then returned to Washburn who was just stirring. Jacobs crouched down beside him, examining the ruined vest that still smoldered beneath Washburn’s uniform. Their eyes met, but no words were needed.