by Robert Boren
“Okay.” She went through the door.
“It’s really that frightening to let them form the first time?” Kaleb asked.
“It wasn’t for me, but it is for some,” Nolan said. “Your body gets used to these quickly. You won’t even notice it’s on after a while. It is truly like a second skin.”
Simone came out after a few minutes, the short suit loose on her. “This feels like silk.”
“Yes, it does until it forms to you,” Nolan said. “It will tighten in a split second when you zip it all the way up. Go ahead.”
She nodded, pulling the zipper up the last couple inches, her eyes showing panic as it tightened up. “Wow.”
“You can go into the locker room and change,” Nolan said to Kaleb. He left the room, as Simone walked around in the suit, going to a mirror.
“Wow, the support is flattering, but it doesn’t leave much to the imagination.”
Nolan chuckled. “That’s what JJ thought.”
“Has anyone been injured or killed while wearing these?” Simone asked.
“Not so far, but they aren’t indestructible,” Nolan said. “Wait, I take that back. There was the unfortunate incident on Hellion, where the bay was de-pressurized on us. That killed two people in nano suits.”
“That was regrettable,” Simone said.
Kaleb came out with his suit loose. “Feels like I’m in my pajamas.”
“Zip it up, and we’ll get started,” Nolan said.
Kaleb zipped his suit up, trying not to panic as it tightened. “I can see why this gets to some people.”
Nolan nodded. “Let’s begin.” He ran them through the training step by step, pausing to make suggestions about training to Kaleb as they went along.
***
Captain Clarke sat at the corner table in the bar, waiting for JJ, feeling exhausted.
Captain Clarke looked up, seeing JJ approach with a big smile. He stood, hugging her.
“What was that for?” JJ asked, sitting down.
“We’ve been busy, and I missed you,” Captain Clarke said. “Is that okay?”
She slid closer to him as he sat, and kissed him tenderly. “It’s more than okay. Me too.”
“Have plans for me later, do you?” Captain Clarke asked.
“Probably similar to the plans you have for me.”
“Good, we’re on the same page. You want a fancy dinner later, or pub food here?”
“Let’s see. If we stay here, we’ll be naked in bed sooner. We’ll eat here.”
Captain Clarke chuckled. “How lewd. Glad the children were asleep. Let’s see if you’ve ruined the new barmaid yet.”
JJ laughed. “There you go again.”
Captain Clarke got the barmaid’s attention, and she came over.
“Hello, Captain Clarke. What would you like?”
“He’d like a Gin Martini,” JJ said. “I’d like a White Russian. We’re celebrating our anniversary.”
“Congratulations,” the pretty young woman said. “Coming right up.” She hurried away.
“Anniversary?” Captain Clarke asked. “I’m already forgetting them?”
JJ laughed. “Yeah, we’ve been together for three months now.”
“Maybe I should wake Butch and check on that. I think you only said it to denote ownership with that new barmaid.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“If it’s our anniversary, I expect special treatment later.”
“It’s been a week, so we’ll curl each other’s toes,” JJ said. “I love you, Captain Clarke.”
The drinks arrived.
“Here you are,” the barmaid said, brushing back her long brunette hair. “Will you be ordering food?”
“Yes, in a little while,” JJ said. “Thank you.”
The barmaid walked away.
“That was a tad icy, wasn’t it?”
JJ shrugged. “Oh, maybe a little. Cheers.”
They clinked glasses and took their first sips.
“Oh, and I love you too,” Captain Clarke said.
“Well at least you didn’t call me an Ensign this time,” JJ said. “You don’t have to say that every time I do.”
“Yeah. I say what I feel. You should know that about me by now.”
“All right. Anything going on?”
“What, we’re gonna talk shop now?” Captain Clarke asked.
“I’ve been out of the loop, after all the work on the Razor ships. They’re impressive in their own way, you know.”
“So I’ve heard. Wonder how many Aeon has?”
“Or how many more he’s got in the pipeline,” JJ said. “Yes, it does scare me a tad. Nolan wasn’t too worried, though. He’s got a lot of confidence, that one. Doesn’t think Aeon has anybody as smart as him.”
“He might be right, JJ.”
“Well, we know Nolan is related to Ecason, and I’d rank Ecason’s intellect right up there with Alexander Carlson’s.”
“You mean Drake,” Captain Clarke said.
“I have a hard time wrapping my head around that one, especially since that might be our future state as well.”
Captain Clarke nodded. “Well, there is that. What are your plans, now that the Razor ships are all retrofitted?”
“I’ll work with Deacon on the waste pods for the refinery,” she said.
“I thought those were finished.”
“The prototypes are finished, but we have to work the manufacturing processes. They take a long time to build as currently configured, and we learned some things in testing that need to be incorporated into the design.”
“You don’t need Nolan for that?”
“He may help, but it’s not his forte,” JJ said. “What are you doing for the next few days?”
“Waiting.”
“Waiting? For what?”
“For an attack on this position,” he said. “Remember why we’re here.”
“You really think the AIs will let transmissions through?”
“Transmissions that they expect, no. Something different than what we’ve seen so far? Possibly.”
“Now you’re making me nervous, Trey.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve talked about this before. My job is to worry about the safety of our ships and crews. If I’m not concerned, I’m not doing my job.”
{ 3 }
Clan Rendezvous
A dmiral Boeraton came onto the bridge of the Forestall. He nodded at X22945, who looked half asleep sitting in an observer’s chair. “Just about there, Captain Cain?”
“We’ll be coming out of the jump in less than a minute,” Cain said.
“Guess I should wake up a little,” X22945 said, standing, shaking himself out of it. “Sorry I drifted off. Hope I wasn’t snoring.”
“Why didn’t you just go back to your room?” Boeraton asked. “Oh, never mind.”
X22945 smiled. “Are we hiding the fact that I’m onboard from the Prime Minister?”
Boeraton thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “No, if we hide it and Aeon finds out, he’ll kill all of us, and we had a good reason to bring you. I suggest you try to make contact before we give status to Aeon. It’ll ram the point home.”
“You can contact them, I hope,” Cain said.
“They’ll probably be in orbit around Valla Cappos waiting for us,” X22945 said. “I did notify them, remember?”
“All the better, as long as they behave as we expect,” Boeraton said.
“Here we go,” the pilot said as the ship dropped out of the jump.
“Thanks, Kymm,” Cain said.
She looked over at him. “We’re being hailed already, Captain Cain.”
“Put them on screen.”
The main screen lit up, a man with a long face and no hair appearing. “Hello, Forestall. This is Captain U67444 of VCD09, at your service. Is the Ambassador onboard?”
“I am,” X22945 said, moving into the bridge camera’s range. “How many ships are left?”
“Only twenty-four,” U67444 said.
“How is that possible?” the ambassador asked. “You evacuated with nearly fifty ships.”
“We lost several due to the problems at Hodge, and got decimated in the Free Zone by Clan Space Force ships,” U67444 replied. “We’re lucky there are any left. Remember why we contacted you for help.”
“This is Admiral Boeraton of the Central Authority Space Command. Is the Clan Space Force actively hunting you right now?”
“They did not follow us into the Central Authority Zone, sir. Who is the captain of your ship?”
“Stuart Cain,” X22945 said.
“Hello,” Cain said. “Glad to make your acquaintance.”
“I have heard of you, Captain Cain. What are our plans?”
“We can’t discuss our ultimate objective,” Boeraton said. “We can offer protection for you in the Central Authority Zone, if you agree to help us with the mission.”
“How can we help you with a mission we can’t know about?”
“We can tell you where the mission is,” Boeraton said. “That will be enough for what we ask.”
“I have a feeling we won’t like this,” U67444 said. “What is the location?”
“I’ll take this one,” X22945 said. “The location is C1111-A.”
U67444 burst out laughing. “The Clan capitol planet? They’d vaporize us before we got near it. It’s under quarantine, you know.”
“Quarantine?” X22945 asked. “For what?”
“They aren’t telling anyone,” U67444 said. “I think they’re trying to scare anybody off who might want to invade them. We can’t go there.”
“We aren’t looking for you to accompany us there,” Boeraton said. “We need instructions on a route that isn’t being watched.”
“You understand what’s going on in our zone, I hope,” U67444 asked. “I can’t even tell you who’s running the government right now. Our worlds have been rebelling all over the Clan Zone due to the conditions. The Clan Space Force only controls sixteen percent of its fleet, and organized crime groups have been taking control of entire zone sectors. They’re starting to fight each other now, for control of shipping routes and natural resources.”
“That should help us with our mission,” Boeraton said.
U67444 was silent for a moment. “You are probably correct, I’m sad to say. We’re not even sure who was attacking us in the Free Zone. They had Clan Space Force credentials, but they might have been pirates trying to keep out competition.”
“Were they in Razor ships?” U22945 asked.
“No, they were in an older class of battleships. AVC22-3 class.”
“How would those do against Razors?” Boeraton asked.
“Depends on a lot of things,” Cain said. “Not just age. How much older are they than Razor class?”
“What you in the Central Authority call Razor Class are AVC25-2 class to us. The 25 is the main class, the -2 is the revision number. The ships that attacked us aren’t much older than Razors, and are more capable in many respects. Razors were mainly designed for export.”
“But you are using them in your military,” Cain said.
“We are, but the numbers are insignificant compared to AVC22-3 class. We were attacked by three thousand ships. Our technology is slightly better, but we can’t take as much punishment, and the plasma cannon and shields on the two classes are roughly equivalent. Razors are faster. That’s how so many of us escaped.”
“The Clan sent three thousand battleships into the Free Zone?” Cain asked.
Boeraton laughed. “Who’s going to stop them? Nobody on the Clan side will expend the resources to control traffic in the Free Zone, and Aeon isn’t interested. He’s got bigger fish to fry than policing the Free Zone.”
“Some Free Zone worlds have protested at the Tri-Lateral Court,” U67444 said. “They won a judgment against the Clan Authority for military operations in the Free Zone, but there are no teeth in that court unless both the Clan Authority and the Central Authority provide resources, and neither side has. Not for several years.”
“Why haven’t we heard about this?” Cain asked.
Boeraton eyed him. “The Legislature might have recently been disbanded, but the system in both zones has been broken for years. Propaganda reigns supreme. This shouldn’t be a surprise to you, Captain Cain.”
“Okay, okay,” Cain said. “It’s not like we haven’t heard things are bad in the Clan Zone, but I thought the Central Authority was at least keeping things together.”
“We’ll discuss this later,” Boeraton said. “If we’re going to work together, you need to have a full understanding of the situation, and you obviously don’t. U67444, will you agree to help us?”
“I will, assuming we do not have to accompany you into the Clan Zone, and assuming that we will retain safe harbor here in this corner of the Central Authority Zone.”
“Good, I’ll pass that along to Prime Minister Aeon. Thank you. We need to go.”
“Thank you, sir.” U67444 disappeared from the screen.
“Now for the fun part,” Boeraton said. “Contact the Prime Minister’s office and get into his queue.”
***
Ecason watched a scope, focused on the output of the test power supply. “Now, Elizabeth.”
She nodded, turning on a black box in a clear shielded chamber, the unit humming, getting louder and louder, then snapping, a small puff of black smoke coming out of the unit, filling the chamber. “Oops.”
The door opened, XC22272 coming into the lab. “Good, you’re working. How is it going?”
Ecason nodded towards the smoke-filled chamber. “Still the same problem.”
“What is your estimate for success?”
Ecason shook his head. “This is going to take a while. I told you… the way you solve a problem like this is to increment, making a small change and then testing it.”
“That is not good enough,” XC22272 said. “I’ll go get another hostage if I don’t see indication of progress.”
Elizabeth glanced at Ecason, terror in her eyes.
“Yes, she gets it,” XC22272 said. “I’m not sure that you do, Ecason. We know you are a genius. You should be making progress.”
“This isn’t my area of expertise,” Ecason said. “I told you that. Even if it was, this will be a long iterative process. I’m starting from scratch.”
“How do I know you’re really working on it?” XC22272 asked.
Ecason shook his head. “Look, I’ve had enough of this. If you’re going to continue with this murderous tactic, I’ll just kill myself and then you’ll be out of luck.”
“I’m bringing in some more hostages,” XC22272 said, getting up.
“If you do that, I’m done. Right now. Understand?”
“We will prevent you from killing yourself,” he replied, getting out his comm device.
“Fine, then I’ll just refuse to work if you harm any more of the hostages,” Ecason said. “I really don’t care if I live or die anymore. As soon as I deliver, you’ll kill all of us anyway, to cover your crimes.”
“Oh God,” Elizabeth said.
“I’m sorry they brought you into this, Eliza
beth,” Ecason said, “but enough is enough. If they get the capability they’re asking for, they’ll kill many more people than those they hold as hostages. Billions more. I can’t do it. I’m sorry.”
Elizabeth turned towards XC22272. “Why do you need this capability? We know what’s going on with your government and your society. Unlike Ecason, I’ve had access to recent news.”
“That is not your concern.”
“The hell it’s not,” Ecason said. “Who are you working for? I gave you my design for the Razor ships. I’ve done too much already. If I ever get out of here I’ll be executed for treason by the Central Authority, and rightly so.”
XC22272 sighed. He pulled up a chair and sat down. “The Razor ships are for export. They’re going to the Central Authority. They won’t be used by the Clan against your people. The Central Authority no longer does business with the outlawed Samson Corporation.”
“So why the push for a cloaking device?” Elizabeth asked.
“Your side is pushing for it,” XC22272 said. “We’ll lose the deal if we can’t deliver, and we need the sales. As you said, things are falling apart in the Clan Zone.”
Ecason chuckled. “Now I know why you’ve never brought your superiors here. They don’t know what you’re doing. They’d kill you if they found out. It’s against the treaty.”
“The treaty is being ignored by both sides,” XC22272 said.
“He’s right about that, I’m afraid,” Elizabeth said. “Prime Minister Aeon is locking down the Central Authority Zone and killing people in large numbers. We were fleeing. If we give this capability to Aeon, it’ll be used against Central Authority citizens.”
XC22272 shook his head. “It will be used against the outlaw Samson Corporation.”
Ecason laughed again. “I know the leadership of the Samson Corporation personally. They aren’t dangerous to the citizens. Quite the opposite. They’re probably all that stands in Aeon’s way. Oh, and by the way, I also know Aeon, and based on that, I’m sure Elizabeth is right.”
“I still need the functionality,” XC22272 said.
“So I’ll make you a counteroffer,” Ecason said. “I will work on anything you need to help your society get control of itself again. That I’ll do gladly, and enlist the very powerful brain trust that you captured on the Magellan III.”
