Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 2 - Hidden Menace Read Online Free

from a frigate sized space ship that seemed different than the ship that had been recently destroyed. He noted that the reports stated the fragments had recent temperature scouring from passing through the atmosphere at speed. However the team’s initial searches of the Trader information and also their own now outdated data had only increased the confusion Robert was experiencing.
    ‘The fragments are from a larger ship, most likely a Tilmud frigate, or even two frigates as the metals vary slightly between the fragments. The fragments each weigh about thirty tons and are in poor condition. Yet a frigate is several times larger than the ship we detected in space….’
    Robert had a suspicion or inkling that humanity was being misled, but he was unsure as to both the intention and the scale of the misdirection. The search for wreckage was being wound down and was due to finish shortly, even if they did find smaller fragments of the ship. He now plugged in the details of the wreckage, plus added another twenty tons of smaller wreckage, into a beta program he had just developed.
    He then added the recent intercept vectors and ran a simulation based on the results he copied across from the beta program.
    Robert ensured that the two pilots were busy flying the ship back to Perth as he viewed the simulation in amazement. He knew now what he was looking for and in moments had a confirmation from the Trader information on his data tablet.
    One of the pilots broke into his concentration as he discretely shutdown the data tablet.
    ‘Sir, the search has just finished for the day and only two smaller fragments have been recovered by two other ships. Are we continuing to search further tomorrow based on these new discoveries?’
    Robert forced himself to give a genial answer as his mind continued to race in the background with the possibilities.
    ‘No Mick, we will close off the search for now and back to the institute as I am satisfied with the results. I am looking over the fragments for a few days before heading off to space. We are expecting uninvited guests before long and I have been seconded to space duty as a commander.’
    The answer interested both of the pilots, and Robert endured a good natured lobbying for assignment to combat patrols from both of the older men. He gave them both a polite smile as replied and casually stowed his data tablet in his back pack.
    ‘Okay Mick and Bob, I will speak with my contacts and get you up into space. However this slow old crate may not be of much good in an actual battle, even if we have plenty of crew and weapons.’
    The two pilots seemed happy with Robert’s answer and an easy silence followed as the old ship made the short journey back to the research institute. As they began the landing approach, Robert considered the ramifications of actually knowing which race had just landed on Earth.
     
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Chapter 2
     
    Altarebe kept perfectly calm as he was introduced to the middle daughters, Helisphan and Isphara. The two youngest females, Cliade and Armuen, had already swum off to fetch the Maveen probe. Seliandre had swum off a short distance under the massive suppression field, which had impressed him from the moment he entered the facility. Nearby he see the slumbering form of the oldest sister, Gementer, now braced against movement on a flat section of the seafloor.
    Altarebe watched as Seliandre then placed the damaged sled carefully in a docking cradle and connecting diagnostic lines through the service ports. He was now distracted and knew that the middle two daughters were still young, but that did stop them from taking an interest in him. Isphara stopped circling him closely and swam back a distance before she asked a question.
    ‘So Altarebe, you have been travelling in the galaxy for many centuries, and you must have seen many an