GalaxyBillies

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

“All right, Daughter. As you have just seen and heard, the first rule of battle is to unsettle your opponent. I am willing to bet that some poor unfortunate on Greklor’s ship is about to experience a great deal of pain right now.”

“Father, you are terrible,” Sheanna’Ree said with a big smile on her face. “Did you see his face? I wouldn’t be shocked if he just had a massive coronary* (*assuming, of course, that the Vice Chancellor has one or more hearts).”

The Chairman grinned. “That would make the battle quite short, wouldn’t it? Alas, I know Greklor too well to expect to such a trick to do more than anger him.”

An alarm blared once interrupting him. The Chairman checked a monitor. “Ah yes, there was the response I was expecting.”

“What happened, Daddy?”

“Greklor launched an attack on two of my ships.”

“And? What happened?” Sheanna’Ree was practically jumping up and down.

The Chairman shrugged. “Not much, actually. I expect our dear Vice Chancellor is even more angry now than he was a short while ago.”

“I don’t understand,” Sheanna’Ree said. “If he attacked our ships, why didn’t anything happen? You didn’t disable his weapons, did you?”

“No, nothing like that.” The Chairman looked at his monitor. “Give me a moment. I’ve got to give my captains some instructions.”

Sheanna’Ree nodded and went quiet as her father called his fleet.

“Attention Corporation Fleet, this is The Chairman speaking. As you are no doubt aware, the Galactic Fleet has fired on our vessels. You also probably know it was totally ineffective.”

The Chairman looked directly into the video feed. “I understand if you are all angered by this attack, but I must ask you to refrain from responding. At least for now. You will all get a chance to fight. Do not worry about that. I am finalizing my battle plan now. Wait for further orders. Chairman out.”

He switched off the communications channel and looked at his daughter. “Now, where was I?”

“You were about to tell me why his attack failed,” Sheanna’Ree said.

“Ah yes.” The Chairman grinned. “Remember how I told you I didn’t give the Galactic Fleet ships that were faster than mine?”

“I remember.” Sheanna’Ree stared at her father for a second. “I suppose you’re going to tell me you have better weapons on your ships than he does too.”

“Well…as a matter of fact, my ships DO have better weapons than the Vice Chancellor’s, but that is beside the point. We’re talking defence, not offence now.”

“Go on,” Sheanna’Ree prompted.

“It is a little known fact that every weapon has a weakness. Since The Corporation designed the ships and their weaponry, we know what those weaknesses are. I simply had my ships built to exploit them.”

“So, you’re saying Greklor’s weapons can’t hurt your ships at all?” Sheanna’Ree asked.

“I wouldn’t go quite that far, but his weapons will only do minimal damage. Of course, I’ve also designed my ships to be extremely strong too. That helps.”

“So, what IS your plan, Father?”

“Contrary to what many of my contemporaries seem to believe, I am not a bloodthirsty bastard determined to win at all costs.”