by Robert Boren
“That’s been on my mind since the last battle,” Captain Clarke said. “We don’t have the ships, fuel, and troops to cope with that, and we won’t in the foreseeable future. We need to attack his capability to mount these attacks.”
“Supply lines and bases,” Vermillion said.
Captain Clarke nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking. For that we need intel. Judging by the comments Hamilton Zenos made while he was writing his last release, we’re losing intel resources, not gaining them.”
“Mind if Butch goes on speaker?” Captain Clarke asked.
“Please.”
“Are they on populated planets?” Vermillion asked.
Captain Clarke shook his head. “They have to know we can track them by now, Butch.”
“Or perhaps because of that brutality,” Captain Clarke said. “What would their plasma burst mode do to the flight suits?”
“Why do you say that?”
Vermillion got up to pace. “If they ever get cloaking capability, they might get right next to us and destroy our ships.”
“Do you have reason to believe they’ll have cloaking in the near future?” Captain Clarke asked.
“They’ve got a vast technical team,” Vermillion said. “Just by the numbers they’ll have a good chance of figuring it out eventually.”
“Orders like do that or I’ll kill you might also appeal to people’s self-interest,” Captain Clarke said.
Captain Clarke shot him a blank stare.
Vermillion laughed. “I get what you’re saying, but remember that some humans do work well in collectives. Look at the Clan. They’ve had many achievements.
“Drake, didn’t know you were available,” Vermillion said.
Vermillion chuckled, pouring himself another drink, offering one to the captain, who shook his head.
“Need a clear head for this,” Captain Clarke said. “I know what Butch is getting at. The Clan Zone is falling apart, and part of the reason is their collective social structure. As the society’s output slowed, the government came down harder and harder on its citizens, which accelerated the decline of their society.”
Vermillion smiled, downing his whiskey and putting the bottle away. “Okay, I’m convinced, but this just tells me we shouldn’t lose hope. It doesn’t tell us how to proceed.”
Captain Clarke smiled. “Butch, you have some skills.”
Vermillion snickered. “We all get it. If we try to rush around to every planet Aeon invades to stop him, it’ll be never ending, because the next day he’ll simply attack in ten more places. It takes him time to set up bases, and if we take out fourteen of them, it might just prevent him from doing his ten attacks per day. It’s a much smaller and less-wasteful job.”
“And we can do it with un-manned devices. I need to study our capacity to deliver flight suits via the Zephyrus class ships.”
“Do that, Captain Clarke, and consult the best and brightest on your team. Simone, Nolan, JJ, Kaleb, Skip, and whoever else. Use them and their AIs to develop the tactical strategy. You’ve come up with a good strategic plan.”
{ 2 }
Royalty
K aleb came onto the Spitfire’s bridge, approaching Simone, who was sitting in the captain’s chair reviewing documentation on the extended screen.
“Hello, Kaleb,” she said.
“We start our Nano training session in two hours.”
“Excellent, thank you.” Simone hit a button which retracted her screen. “Have you reviewed the Samson Corporation data?”
“I started last night. Vermillion was very good at hiding things. We have a vast capability, and more is coming.”
“Yes, we’re in better shape than I thought from a spacecraft standpoint. Prime Minister Aeon suspects this, or knows it outright. His strategy tells me that.”
“We can’t continue to hit him the way we did in that last battle, even though it has a good impact on the morale of citizens.”
“Captain Clarke already sent me some ideas to think about. He’s on the right track. The AIs have been tracking Central Authority ships, and have identified fourteen bases so far.”
Kaleb nodded. “Captain Clarke wants to attack them instead of stepping in Aeon’s way on planets under attack.”
“It’s a must,” Simone said. “He’s asked me to study it with you, and we’ll get together for planning meetings in the next several days. Priority number one is still the Nano suit training, though. Any further reports of enemy plants?”
“Not a one,” Kaleb said, “but I’m not convinced we got all of them. They’re laying low, waiting for an opportunity.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. It’ll slow down our conversion to the AI and Nano Suit technology.”
“Yeah, the last thing we want is enemy plants with nano suit capability. They could use strength enhancement and take this ship apart.”
“I’m more afraid of the Variant three and four Nanos,” Simone said. “At least Captain Clarke retains the power to shut down any individual on the system, so the damage would be limited.”
“We hope,” Kaleb said. “Hearing anything from outside?”
“I’ve been trying to raise my friend Katerinolia on Pentant Simtar. No luck so far.”
“Hamilton should be coming out with something soon,” Kaleb said.
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“He’s working on it, but so many of his sources are gone. He can still provide helpful reports, even if they’re a little light on factual reporting.”
Kaleb chuckled. “You mean propaganda.”
“That word has such terrible connotations, but you’re right. I need to get back to this. I’ll see you in the mustering room for the start of the training.”
Kaleb smiled. “Looking forward to it, Simone.” He left the bridge, Simone going back to her study. She was having trouble keeping her mind on what she was reading, but she pushed herself, overcoming the sleepy resistance.
***
Stuart Cain sat in the captain’s chair aboard the Forestall. X22945 and Admiral Boeraton entered the bridge.
“Good morning, Captain,” X22945 said. “How much longer will we be in the jump?”
“Three hours,” Cain said, standing. “Do you think your ships are still near Valla Cappos?”
“We won’t know for sure until we’re out of the jump,” X22945 said.
“I think Captain Clarke’s forces can communicate while they’re in jumps,” Boeraton said.
“They can,” Cain said. “Came up in conversation, when they still trusted Bryce and I.”
Boeraton eyed him. “You never brought that up.”
“True, I didn’t. When we were on Devonia Axxiom, I let you and the Prime Minister lead the conversations.”
Boeraton was silent for a moment, taking one of the observer’s seats. “Okay, relax. I’m not upset, and I understand. I was careful to stay between the lines when we were on Devonia Axxiom as well. Self-preservation is a strong instinct.”
“They really are way ahead of us on technology, aren’t they?” X22945 asked.
“There’s no doubt about that, and it’s obviously not just their spacecraft,” Boeraton said. “I downloaded video of the ground troop action on Xnander last time we came out of a jump. Those suits the Samson Corporation forces were wearing made them invincible. They released something into our base, and it killed every soldier we had inside. They literally exploded. Nasty to watch.”
“They’re using biological warfare?” X22945 asked, his eyes wide. “That’s low, even for Chairman Vermillion.”
“It’s not biological,” Boeraton said. “Unless they’ve figured out a way to turn viruses or bacteria on and off remotely.”
“Why do you think that?” Cain asked.
“The video kept running after all of our people were dead. I watched Xnander forces re-take the facility. They weren’t wearing any protective gear other than gloves. If this is biological or even chemical in the classic sense, the cleanup crew would’ve been in vacuum suits. The Xnander forces were in the facility just minutes after our people were killed.”
X22945 sat silently for a moment, his brow furrowed. “Our ships. Remember? They sent something onboard. It killed everybody.”
“Part of that was the unfortunate choice your people made on Hodge,” Boeraton said. “The timing is interesting, though. It really muddies the waters.”
“We have two distinctly different situations,” Cain said. “Yes, several Clan Razors were lost due to the mistake on Hodge. Before and after that happened, several other Clan Razors were destroyed from within. You have to look carefully at the timeline.”
“What do you plan on doing, exactly?” X22945 asked. “Are we really going to the Clan capital?”
“That will be the plan until we decide to change it,” Boeraton said. “Don’t push me on that. Aeon’s reach is long. We can’t just go someplace in the Free Zone and hide. This ship is illegal there, for one thing, and Aeon has agents everywhere, including the Free Zone and the Clan Zone. We’re required to report in often. If we don’t, he’ll mark this ship for destruction, and he can track us.”
“Yeah, what he said,” Cain said, “although I’m more worried about running into the New Jersey than getting Aeon upset.”
“That attitude could kill us all,” Boeraton said sharply. His eyes softened. “I do understand, Stuart, but don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ve got a fine tactical brain. Aeon has a fine strategic brain. Best not to forget that.”
“Who’s really running the Clan Zone now?” Cain asked. “Do we even know?”
X22945 shrugged. “I haven’t been allowed contact with my government for over a year. The last person in charge was a reformer called XAC22003, but he was running into resistance at every turn. Nobody expected him to survive.”
“Do contenders always take up the extra letters?” Cain asked. “All of them I can remember started with XA and another letter, usually XAA, or XAB, or XAC.”
“We aren’t a Democracy. We’re what your societies usually call a monarchy, with a royal family. XA denotes the royal family. The third letter is added early in the supreme ruler’s reign, based on the philosophy they wish to follow. XAC22003 was the first to designate himself with the C in a long time. They tended towards less armed conflict and more personal liberty.”
“But they’re all related, right?,” Cain asked. “Part of the same family, tracked by their genealogy?”
“Anyone with royal blood as XA as their prefix,” X22945 said. “That prefix denotes the ruling class.”
“What about you?” Cain asked. “You’re in the government, and you have an X followed by numbers.”
X22945 chuckled. “It’s confusing to relate our social structure to human social structures. I’m a public servant, born into that occupation. We all start with X. Normal citizens with no family link to government service have prefix letters other than X.”
“We used to have a similar structure,” Boeraton said. “Royal family on top, then nobility of various levels, then the clergy/teacher class, then peasants. There were variations on different worlds, of course, and it’s been so long since we’ve used names to denote class and position that the old connections are meaningless.”
Cain nodded. “On Earth, we have plenty of people named Smith, for example. That name started out denoting the class of Blacksmiths, Silversmiths, and so on. The names have survived much longer than the classes and occupations they used to represent.”
Boeraton nodded. “Well, this is interesting, but I think I’ll retire to my stateroom and study more of the video I downloaded. I’ll put it on the ship net so you can both study it, and you should. Let me know when we’re coming out of the jump. I want to be on the bridge when we report to Aeon, and when we try to contact the Clan Razors.”
“Yes sir,” Cain said.
“I think I’ll hang out here, if you don’t mind,” X22945 said.
“Suit yourself,” Boeraton said as he left the bridge.
“Is he being honest with us?” X22945 whispered. “Can we speak freely and know it won’t get back to Aeon?”
Cain smiled. “I don’t know, and I’m not worrying about it. We were headed for a death sentence on Devonia Axxiom. I’m playing things by ear at this point, but consider myself to be on borrowed time.”
“That’s not very comforting, Stuart.”
“It is what it is, my friend. You’re in the same boat with your leadership, from what I can tell.”
***
Nolan arrived at the Spitfire mustering room for Simone and Kaleb’s Nano suit training. Kaleb was already there.
“Nolan, thanks so much for coming over,” Kaleb said. “It was nice of you to offer. Simone ought to be here any minute.”
“It’s good to have an experienced trainer at first,” Nolan said. “Some of my focus will be on bringing you up to speed for training, so you can develop training staff here.”
“Great, that’s what I’d hoped,” Kaleb said. “Been looking forward to this.”
Nolan smiled. “It’s fun, especially the speed enhancement training.”
Simone came in the door. “Great, you’re both here. Sorry I’m late, I was chatting with Cyrus about an issue on Animus.”
“Problems?” Kaleb asked.
“No, he didn’t understand the structure of the
transport system.”
“What there is of it,” Kaleb said. “I’m already spoiled here. The tin can is very well refined.”
“Picking up the vernacular too, I see,” Nolan said. “Yes, it’s a good system, but the Razor ships have strengths as well. Good design, basically. We’ll develop them to the same level as the New Jersey Class ships eventually.”
“Something wrong?” Kaleb asked. “Is your AI warning you about something?”
“It was just idle chatter. You know how they are.”
Nolan burst out laughing.
“All right, children,” Simone quipped. “All levity on the side, the strength of the Razor design is worrisome to me. Aeon probably has hundreds of those ships. Maybe thousands.”
“And then there’s the Clan,” Kaleb said. “I’m with Simone… I wish they weren’t quite so capable.”
“We still have an edge on improving them,” Nolan said, “but I understand your point. Shall we begin?”
“Please,” Simone said. “Thanks so much for helping us.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Nolan said. “Step one is to fit you with the short suits.”
“Short?” Kaleb asked.
Nolan explained the difference between the short and full suits.
“Interesting,” Kaleb said. “The human body has to adapt slowly, then.”
“Yes, you’ll leave your suit on and put your clothes on over them.”
“We have to be completely naked under these, correct?” Simone asked.
“Yes, it interfaces with your skin,” Nolan said. “Why don’t you go first, Simone. I’ve opened two lockers, just through that door.” He pointed, Simone turning to look. “Pick one, put the suit on, but don’t zip it all the way up to your neck. Come out here and do that.”
