Haven Ascendant

by Robert M Kerns

  “To my mind,” Sasha said, “very few people could be looking for Jax Theedlow, and none of them are individuals I’d invite to a social affair. I suppose I could threaten you like you did me, but to be honest, I’m not in the mood.” Sasha directed her attention to the marine standing right behind the man. “Take him to Haven. Put him in the brig, and alert Garrett that he was threatening me for information about Jax Theedlow.”

  “Aye, ma’am,” the marine replied and shifted her eyes down to the back of the man’s head. “Are you going to come along quietly, or will we have to subdue you?”

  The man stood, starting to turn around as he said, “I’m not above beating some sense into a—” He stopped speaking when he saw just how many marines awaited him.

  “Yeah,” the female marine said, “that’s what I thought. Let’s go, tough guy.”

  Sasha enjoyed another sip of her coffee as she watched the marines lead the man out of the café. She took a moment to send another message that her security situation was resolved before going back to the headlines on her tablet.

  Cole’s Quarters

  Battle-Carrier Haven

  Gateway System

  5 August 3003, 18:56 GST

  When the hatch chime sounded, Cole looked up from his tablet to view the corridor video on the large viewscreen. He saw Garrett standing outside and smiled, instructing the hatch to open via his implant. The hatch irised open, and Cole stood to receive his oldest friend.

  “What brings you around at this time of the evening?” Cole asked, shaking hands with Garrett.

  “Sasha went fishing yesterday and came back with a rather nice haul. I’ve been processing it, shall we say, and thought you might want to know about it.”

  Cole frowned, gesturing for Garrett to sit as he resumed his own seat. “I didn’t know Sasha fished, and I’m pretty sure there aren’t any planets in the system with large bodies of water, let alone life-bearing bodies of water.”

  Garrett grinned. “Well, in all truth, the fish came to her. He tried threatening her for information, and she sent an implant broadcast for any available security personnel to come to her location.” Garrett could see Cole was growing impatient, so he cut to the chase. “Vince Comstock.”

  Cole’s only perceptible reaction was a slight tightening around his eyes and fresh tension in his jaw.

  “Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Garrett replied. “I’ve spent several hours with him since he started enjoying our hospitality, and I have assembled a rather impressive collection of information. He’s been Qeecir’s primary lieutenant now for the better part of five years, Cole; he knows that slimy lizard’s whole operation, and he’s told me everything. He even knows the location of Qeecir’s secret mine. It’s an unclaimed system that’s never been surveyed, two jumps core-ward from Baldur.”

  “How did it end up with jump gates without being surveyed, especially so close to Commonwealth space?” Cole asked.

  Garrett shrugged. “Beats me, but it did. The system doesn’t even have a name on the official register, just a catalog number. The lack of a survey might have something to do with the system being part of a seldom-used route to Caernarvon from Baldur, but that’s pure speculation on my part.”

  “So, what else did Mr. Comstock have to say?”

  Garrett smiled. “Qeecir is very unhappy with you. It seems he’s more distraught over the disappearance of the Howling Monkey than the loss of all that metal. I can understand that, I suppose. His mining system seems to have an abundance of the stuff, but he only has so many ships, especially ships with no active warrants.”

  Cole grinned. “It’s so unfortunate I’ve inconvenienced Qeecir, Garrett. Oh, whatever shall I do?”

  “Yeah, I can tell you’re all broken up about it,” Garrett replied, chuckling. “Seriously, though, this isn’t something that will go away. We’re going to have to deal with Qeecir…and probably sooner rather than later.”

  “You’re right,” Cole replied. “Schedule a conference call for tomorrow morning. I’d like Sato, Sev, and Paol to attend from Beta Magellan, plus the usual suspects here. Is Painter still aboard Babylon?”

  “No,” Garrett said. “She returned to Beta Magellan shortly after we left for Charr.”

  “Make sure she’s in the conference, too.”

  Garrett nodded and stood. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

  The next morning, Cole entered the briefing room and found Sasha, Yeleth, Garrett, Harlon, and Emily already waiting for him. Even those conferenced in from Beta Magellan sat at the table in holographic form.

  Cole found his seat and scanned the faces before him, asking, “I’m not late, am I?”

  “No,” Sasha said. “We’re just early.”

  “Oh. Good. I hate being late,” Cole replied. “Garrett, you’re the reason we’re here. Care to start?”

  Garrett nodded once and launched into a quick briefing to ensure everyone was up to speed on the situation at hand.

  “So, this guy is Qeecir’s lieutenant?” Harlon asked once Garrett finished his presentation.

  Garrett nodded. “He’s been the number-two guy in Qeecir’s operation for the past five years.”

  “Does it strike anyone else as a little odd that Qeecir would send his lieutenant on an op like this?” Harlon asked.

  Cole shook his head. “It’s not odd to me. Qeecir always used Vince for tasks where he needed a fast, beneficial resolution. There’s a reason he’s Qeecir’s right hand, as it were.”

  “Is there any chance of achieving a reasonable resolution with this Qeecir?” Sato asked. “Can she or he or it be reasoned with?”

  Cole shrugged. “It’s difficult to say. Qeecir is one of the major crime figures in the region. He and Bosil control all sorts of criminal enterprises from the fringe of our territory core-ward past the former Commonwealth and spinward almost all the way to the Asiatic Concordat. Truth be told, it would probably give his other pilots ideas if he didn’t deal harshly with me for scrapping his ship and stealing his metal.”

  “And his base of operations is the Baldur system?” Sato asked.

  Cole nodded. “Yes. He runs the station Baldur’s Gate like a tyrant. All the shipping in and around Baldur needs his good graces, so the people have problems finding transport away from the system.”

  “Then, we should annex Baldur and remove Qeecir as a threat before he causes us more problems,” Sato replied. “Has he come to the attention of any system authorities?”

  “Oh, yes,” Garrett answered. “Like Vince, Qeecir has warrants in several systems and even a nice bounty in one or two. The problem is that no one wants to front the cost required to get him out of there, and it wouldn’t be long before someone moved in to take his place.”

  “Not if we annex the system and leave a system picket, marine force, and a governor to establish a proper system government,” Paol replied. “It’ll take time to shift the system culture away from criminal enterprises, don’t get me wrong, but that’s the most viable long-term solution.”

  Sato nodded. So did Sasha and Harlon.

  “If I understand the local star charts,” Yeleth said, “Baldur is the next system core-ward from our claimed territory. If we do nothing, how long will it be before the criminals of Baldur make trouble for our miners and freighters? Yes, our miners are protected by system pickets, and our freighters are better armed than some destroyers, but that’s beside the point. We shouldn’t allow a threat to our people to exist.”

  “There are a great many threats to our people, Yeleth,” Cole replied. “Where do we draw the line before we turn into something like the Coalition?”

  “You both make good points,” Sasha said. “Everyone who knows you, Cole, understands that this is a threat that must be faced. The refugees—especially the emissaries—might not. I personally think we should annex Baldur sooner rather than later and put someone in charge who can transition the system away from being a criminal hub, but we have to approach it very carefully.
If we just go ahead with this, people may start whispering that we’re no better than the Coalition.”

  Cole nodded, saying, “You’re right, Sasha. I don’t think there’s any other way to handle this than full disclosure. Painter, reach out to the people in Beta Magellan, and schedule a time where a broad cross-section of the population can be in the Grand Hall aboard Citadel Station. We’ll ask the emissaries to come with us and enjoy a front row seat, and we’ll also broadcast the assembly to every system claimed by Beta Magellan. I think it’s time to tell the story of Jax Theedlow.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Grand Hall Assembly Venue

  Citadel Station

  Beta Magellan

  10 August 3003, 09:30 GST

  The Grand Hall was nothing more than a massive space with a stage and stadium-style seating built to a massive scale. It could seat upwards of five thousand people with a modicum of comfort and almost double that if the occupants were willing to be friendly. Between the exceptional acoustics and the audio system, a person could deliver a speech from the stage with no concerns about being heard by the people in the farthest row.

  A single podium stood in the center of the stage. A person filled every seat, an accurate cross-section of the entire population of Beta Magellan, and true to Cole’s word, holo-cameras recorded the stage to broadcast the event across the quantum comms network to every system claimed by Beta Magellan.

  The murmur of quiet conversation between those present was an undercurrent of white noise throughout the hall, everyone waiting to learn why they’d been asked to be here or be watching.

  At nine-thirty on the dot, Cole strode onto the stage and stood at the podium. He looked out over the assembled crowd and smiled.

  “Good morning,” Cole said. “I want to thank you for coming or choosing to view this via the broadcast. Many of you know me, or at least know of me. I’m Cole. That’s who I am, but my name is Bartholomew James Coleson. I didn’t ask you here today to discuss my name or who I am. I need to tell you about Jax Theedlow.”

  Cole watched the people in the audience share looks among each other at the non sequitur. Their curiosity was writ large across their expressions. Who was Jax Theedlow, and why did he warrant Cole’s attention?

  “In 2986,” Cole resumed his presentation, “I lost my family in the massacre of this system. It was an organized, orchestrated attack, and rather than risk whoever it was coming after me again, I hid. I spent thirteen years in hiding, working on the fringe of Human space. During that time, I used the name Jax Theedlow.” Cole watched their reactions as he connected the dots for them. “I did all kinds of work during those years, but what I loved most was piloting. I ended up piloting freighters on the fringe of society while I built a stash to disappear. Jax Theedlow died the day I met Srexx, but now, Qeecir is looking for Jax. Qeecir poses no threat to me or any of us, but he could harm those who trade with us or those who desire to start over here.

  “Why is this important? Well, Qeecir rules his criminal empire from the station Baldur’s Gate in the Baldur system, and both Himari Sato and Harlon Hanson have advised me that I should annex Baldur and eliminate Qeecir. Qeecir isn’t going away, and the rules criminals live by won’t allow him to let bygones be bygones. As long as he’s out there and in power, he will try to be a thorn in our side. The thing is, I wanted to discuss this with you. I wanted you to understand what is happening, and I wanted you to know I’m not building the next Coalition. So, you tell me how you think Qeecir should be handled. What do you think we should do?”

  Cole turned and indicated the large screen hanging behind him, where a Net address appeared.

  “Use this site to tell me your thoughts on the situation. Do we ignore Qeecir? Do we proceed as Sato and Harlon have advised and annex Baldur? Is there a better way we haven’t thought of? Yes, I technically own the system, but Beta Magellan is as much your home now as it is mine. You have as big a stake in what we’re trying to build as I do, if not more, and I feel you should have a say in how we handle this situation. The site will be available for input for twenty-four hours. At one second after twenty-four hours, the site will lock out further input. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Thank you for your time.”

  Cole turned and strode off the stage, leaving a stunned silence filling the hall in his wake.

  The next day, the results of Cole’s impromptu poll spoke volumes. Of the 1,524,521 people who claimed Beta Magellan citizenship, 914,713 people cast a vote on how to handle the Qeecir problem. Eighty-five-point-seven-nine percent of those voted to annex Baldur and eliminate Qeecir as a threat.

  Cole leaned back against his seat in the bridge briefing room. Sasha, Yeleth, Harlon, Emily, and Garrett sat with him. Holograms of Admiral Sato, Painter, and Sev occupied seats further down the table.

  “Well, you have your mandate,” Sasha said. “How do you want to do this?”

  Cole sighed. “It’s going to be a mess, no matter how we do it. Since Baldur and the mining system are technically unclaimed systems, we can claim them, but I don’t want to do that until we’ve dealt with Qeecir and his organization. Srexx?”

  “Yes, Cole?”

  “I’m going to be relying on you for a list of all personnel in Qeecir’s organization,” Cole said. “He is obsessive about notes and personnel records, so once you have those files, we should be able to identify everyone working for him. Heh…you might even find a picture of a younger me in there.”

  “Of course, Cole,” Srexx said. “I will need time to peruse the station’s computer and copy its data, and Qeecir being alerted to our efforts might complicate matters.”

  Cole nodded. “I know, buddy, which is why the next part of my plan is going to cause a major argument.”

  “And just what is the next part of your plan?” Harlon asked.

  “We take Vince Comstock’s ship with us, and I fly it into Baldur’s Gate…alone. Haven, the battlegroup, and the system pickets will maintain full stealth close enough for Srexx to plunder the station’s computers. Emily and Harlon, you’ll prep fighters and assault shuttles for an assault on the station, and I’ll keep Qeecir distracted until Srexx has what we need.”

  Silence ruled. Everyone stared at Cole.

  “I…do not like your plan, Cole,” Srexx said. “I have insufficient data to calculate true probabilities, but my initial evaluation is that your proposal places you in considerable danger, possibly extreme danger.”

  “Thank you, Srexx,” Sasha remarked, her voice carrying an edge to it. “Have you considered the possibility that Qeecir might just shoot you out of hand? If you die, Cole, everything we’re building here collapses.”

  Scanning the expressions directed at him, Cole saw that everyone else agreed with Sasha and Srexx. He sighed.

  “Look, I get it, and I appreciate your concern. I don’t think it’s wise to storm the station, though. That would give Qeecir or one of his top people plenty of time to purge their data. We need him distracted. We need him believing he’s in control as long as possible, until we have everything we need to eliminate his organization once and for all. I don’t see how we can do that without having all his attention focused on me. Yeah, his guard might still be up while he’s focused on me, but he won’t be thinking about protecting his data. He’ll be focused on the Howling Monkey and, once I tell him what I did, the ten-thousand kilograms of precious metals I stole from him across four years or so.”

  “There’s just one hole in your plan,” Harlon said. “Won’t he wonder why you’ve returned? Won’t he question you flying into Baldur in his lieutenant’s ship?”

  “May I offer a modification to your plan?” Srexx asked.

  “I’ll always listen, Srexx,” Cole replied. “I’ll always listen to any of you.”

  The briefing room hatch irised open to reveal Scarlett.

  “Srexx said I needed to be here?” Scarlett said.

  “I agree with Colonel Hanson,” Srexx said, “that the likelihood of Qeeci
r seeing through your ruse is potentially quite high. The modification I would suggest is that Scarlett resume her role of Red Pattel and deliver you to Qeecir after she witnesses you killing Vince Comstock. Between the medical staff and my own efforts, she should be able to provide a medical report that will prove Mister Comstock’s death beyond all doubt.”

  Scarlett’s eyes widened for a moment before her expression hardened. “You have Vince Comstock? Why fake his death at all? I’ll happily gut that toad from crotch to sternum.”

  “That sounds like you two have a history,” Cole said.

  “I’ve always said there are different classes of criminals, Cole,” Scarlett replied, “and Vince goes out of his way to harm people even when there’s no need for it. That said, I don’t like trying to fool Qeecir into thinking I’ve captured Cole. I think that has as much chance of going bad as Cole just walking in there alone. Why don’t we go in there together? It’ll put Qeecir off balance, having to face something he expects—which is Cole—and something he doesn’t—me. Knowing that vile lizard, having him off balance is your best shot.”

  Cole gestured for Scarlett to join them at the table, which she did. Then, he looked to everyone else, asking, “Thoughts?”

  “It would give you limited backup on-site,” Harlon said, “and I like the idea of having Qeecir off balance. Since you called him a lizard, Scarlett, I’m guessing he’s a Thurian?”

  Scarlett nodded. “The smaller genome, not one of the massive warriors. I always heard he decided to pursue an alternative career rather than try to excel in his caste back home.”

  “Well, that’s something at least,” Harlon replied. “A Thurian warrior in a blood rage is not something I’d want to face.”

  “They’re not as tough as you’d think,” Cole countered.

  Everyone turned to stare at Cole.