by Robert Boren
“We’re on candid camera,” Captain Clarke muttered.
The chamber broke into applause as they looked at the screen.
“Are we on mute?” JJ asked.
“We are, until Peteralinia is ready for us to converse,” Vermillion said. “There will be some who aren’t happy, but they’re hiding it now.” The speakers beeped. “We’re off mute.” He stood, facing the screen. “Thanks for the warm welcome. Great to see you all.”
“You’ve all been briefed on the reason for the meeting,” Peteralinia said. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. Our interests coincide with the Overlords and the Samson Corporation for now. I believe it is wise to make an alliance to fight a common enemy. The choice should not be mine alone. I’d like to open this for questions and answers, preceding a vote of the full Congress. Do I have a second?”
“Aye,” said a large man, on the left side of the room, dressed in regal garb.
“And I second as well,” said Katerinolia, sitting on the opposite side of the chamber.
“Thank you both,” Peteralinia said. “Are there any objections?”
Nobody objected.
“Very well, the motion is carried to proceed with discussions. I ask that we refrain from asking any question which might indicate the location of the Samson Corporation fleet or manufacturing facilities. We will also refrain from discussing military capabilities that are classified, on our side or on their side. Are there any objections to that?”
A tall man stood. “That limits the discussion somewhat, does it not?”
“It does, Egguronia,” Peteralinia said. “There is good reason for this, however, and it is not unusual during time of war.”
“Can we speak broadly without telling details?” Egguronia asked.
“I’ll let Chairman Vermillion or Simone answer that,” Peteralinia said.
“You can take that, Mr. Chairman,” Simone said.
Vermillion thought about it for a moment. “It’s all in the degree of risk. I’d take that on a case by case basis. If you were to ask our current location, I would not tell you which galaxy we were in.”
“Galaxies are large,” Egguronia said.
Simone stood, facing the screen. “This is true, old friend, but Prime Minister Aeon’s forces are vast, and he’s hunting us. We don’t want to tell him which galaxy to concentrate on.”
“I agree,” Peteralinia said. “How about the technical?”
Vermillion stood. “Again, this depends on what it is. All of you know that we have very strong cloaking functionality. We won’t try to hide that. There are other capabilities that we will not discuss openly. We might discuss them in private military meetings, where they are important from a tactical standpoint.”
A woman in the center of the chamber stood, with long purple hair and a striking face. “There are rumors that the Samson Corporation is using germ warfare. Video of the rooftop battle on Devonia Axxiom seems to indicate that is true, with Central Authority troops blowing up in a most alarming way.”
“That is a good example of a subject I cannot discuss, other than to say that we are not breaking any of the laws regarding weaponry.”
“They’re using nanobots,” said a small man in the rear left of the chamber.
Peteralinia banged his gavel. “No speculation, Chauncia.”
“Come now, he didn’t deny it.”
Peteralinia eyed him. “Do you want Aeon’s forces to develop defenses against our allies?”
“This is a closed discussion,” Chauncia said. “We aren’t talking about this publicly. And while we’re on that, it appears you have disabled our communications devices.”
“During this closed session, we have put normal precautions in place.”
“We haven’t been using those for a number of decades.”
Peteralinia chuckled. “When Aeon’s operatives were here and Overlords were in prison, everything said in these chambers was transmitted directly to Central Authority Intelligence. We’re going back to sanity now.”
“Excuse me sir,” Chauncia said, “but we were in fact part of the Central Authority at that time, were we not? We are no longer part of the Central Authority, but we should be considered trustworthy.”
“We are and always have been a sovereign planet,” Katerinolia said, “even while we were part of the Central Authority. We co-founded the Central Authority with Devonia Axxiom and a handful of other planets. At that time we had no intention of handing our sovereignty over to the Central Authority.”
Chauncia shrugged. “That is beside the point.”
Peteralinia banged his gavel again. “Why do you want to share information with our enemy?”
“I do not want to do that, Mr. Prime Minister. I simply want to be trusted, that’s all.”
Egguronia stood. “All of us are trying to deal with this change, Chauncia, but in this case, I’ve got to agree with the Prime Minister. We were attacked, and other worlds are being attacked as we speak, at the rate of ten planets per day. That is tyranny. It is a massive, illegal power grab. We will not stand for it, and we should not put our safety and that of our allies at risk for pride.”
“Thank you, Egguronia,” Peteralinia said. “We are at war. We will not be at war forever. Times dictate certain things, but we will not restrict individual liberty here, in most respects. This detail is different.”
“I wish to register a complaint, and we can move on,” Chauncia said.
“Sergeant at Arms, please note that,” Peteralinia said. “Are there more questions, or shall we come to a vote?”
“Does the Samson Corporation intend to regain the power position it held in the past?” asked a woman in the center section of the chamber.
“Fair question, Alania,” Peteralinia said. “Chairman Vermillion, would you like to take that?”
Vermillion stood. “We are a private company, and have no plans to control any parts of the Central Authority Zone. We seek a free society in which to operate and an end to the tyranny creeping into our Zone. That is all.”
“You once held power,” Alania said. “The self-destruct was held over all of our heads for hundreds of years.”
“That is true,” Vermillion said. “There were reasons, but the Samson Corporation will never hold that capability again.”
Katerinolia stood. “The time for that situation is well past, but let’s not forget why it was put into place. The Clan and the Central Authority were at war with each other. If you’ll remember, we were losing that war. There was more complaining about the fact that Alexander Carlson gave the Samson Drive to the Clan than there was about the infringement in our rights. That was telling. Our government and the government of Devonia Axxiom wanted to use our Samson Drive advantage to destroy the Clan. Do you think that was a good idea?”
Alania chuckled. “Look at the Clan now. They are unstable, and there are fears that their chaos will overrun the Free Zone and impact our Zone.”
Vermillion stood. “This is a huge concern, and once we settle our issues in the Central Authority Zone, I believe we should help the Clan.”
There was murmuring in the chamber. Alania stood back up.
“Thank you, Chairman Vermillion. I agree with that. It was a wise comment.”
“I agree as well,” Peteralinia said. “Are there other questions?”
Nobody else stood.
“I propose we vote. Shall we build an alliance with the Samson Corporation and the Overlords, to stand against Prime Minister Aeon?”
The Congress got to their feet, saying Aye in a loud voice.
“Wow, unanimous,” Peteralinia said. “The deal is sealed. Now, what will be our first action together?”
Captain Clarke stood. “I would like to suggest that we begin a joint operation in the Valla Cappos system. Something is going on there. Clan ships attacked our ships there, and we lost a major science vessel there as well. I believe Aeon is in the middle of that situation.”
Alania stood up. “W
hat exactly are you proposing, Captain Clarke?”
“I suggest we go there, look for Clan vessels, and capture one or more if we can. Hold their crews for questioning.”
“Capture them?” Egguronia asked. “How?”
“That’s a tactical question,” Captain Clarke said. “Let’s just say I have a plan, and leave it at that, shall we?”
Simone glanced at him, trying to stifle a laugh.
“We’ll convene a sub-team meeting to discuss that,” Peteralinia said. “Anything else?”
Nobody said anything.
“Okay, this meeting is adjourned. Thanks to all.”
The video feed ended.
“I almost lost it when you shut Egguronia down,” Simone said. “Reminded me of our first conversation.”
Captain Clarke nodded, his face breaking into a grin. “I’m glad we’re friends now.”
“Yes,” Simone said.
“Thoughts?” Vermillion asked.
“They’re scared,” JJ said.
“Who?” Kaleb asked.
“All of them.”
“I think JJ has something there,” Nolan said. “Many of them thought the Samson Corporation was evil not so long ago. We need to keep that in mind, and attempt to put their fears at rest.”
“Yes, and that includes some of the Overlords,” Simone said.
“Well, yes, but you’re with us,” Captain Clarke said. “That should count for something.”
“One would think,” Vermillion said. “Katerinolia is on our side. She’s high in the Overlords organization, is she not?”
“She is,” Simone said, “but remember that the Overlords is a big party. I was elected, but it was far from unanimous. It was a close election. The Overlords Party is not monolithic.”
“That’s a good point,” Nolan said.
Simone nodded. “I’m also worried about a couple of those legislators.”
“Which ones?” Vermillion asked.
“Chauncia and Alania,” she said.
“Because they asked questions?” JJ asked.
“Their demeanor when they asked the questions,” Simone said. “I hope I’m wrong.”
“Time will tell,” Vermillion said. “Peteralinia has something in place to see communication with the Central Authority. We’ll know who’s dirty pretty soon, I suspect.”
{ 11 }
Probes
C yrus and Sasha woke up together.
“Hey,” he said.
Sasha stretched. “Hey yourself. I could get used to this.”
“Likewise,” Cyrus said, getting up. “I’d better see who’s on the bridge this morning. Samson, wake up please.”
“Cut the commentary,” Cyrus said, bending over to pick up the cleaning capsule, on the floor next to his nano suit. “These suits still amaze me.”
“Tiki, you can wake up too.”
“Shut up,” Sasha said.
“Yeah, make yourself useful,” Cyrus said. “Is the crew on the bridge?”
Sasha laughed, pulling her Nano suit on. “I’m going to the Tristar, if you don’t mind. Time to start learning more about her.”
“Enjoy,” Cyrus said as he zipped up his suit. “Tonight?”
She hugged him, kissing him passionately. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s gonna be a long day.”
She giggled, then turned to pull on her uniform. “See you later, honey.”
“Honey, huh?”
“Mind?”
“No, I like it.” He watched her leave the stateroom. Cyrus finished dressing and left for the bridge. James and Kip were there.
“Good morning, Captain,” James said. Kip nodded.
Cyrus took his captain’s seat. “Everything looking good?”
“So far,” Kip said. “James has the last part of his Nano training in about an hour.”
“Good,” Cyrus said. “How are you liking that so far?”
“Amazing,” James said. “I’m already used to the suit.”
“You’ll get the long one this morning,” Kip said. “I feel naked without mine now. It’s good at temperature regulation, too. I was afraid it would be too hot.”
“Yeah, this nano fabric is something,” Cyrus said.
“Is Sasha coming up here while James is gone?” Kip asked.
Cyrus shook his head. “I’ll be with you. Sasha’s been re-assigned.”
“She has?” James asked. “She’s not in trouble, I hope.”
Cyrus smiled. “She’s the new captain of the Tristar. James, you’re going to remain first mate of this ship, for now. I’m sure as more ships come online we’ll be shuffling and promoting more people.”
Kip grinned. “Sasha’s not working under you anymore. Better look out.”
Cyrus had to stifle a grin. Kip noticed, and laughed.
“She’s got you already, doesn’t she?”
Cyrus shook his head. “Why was I the last one to figure that out?”
“Oh, so it’s true?” James asked.
“Told you,” Kip said.
“Gossip on the bridge, Kip? Really?” Cyrus chuckled.
“I think you’re a lucky guy,” James said.
“She’s a handful,” Kip said. “Not that I don’t love her… like a sister.”
“Well, enough about my personal life,” Cyrus said. “How many are trained now?”
“I’m one of a group of forty,” James said. “It’s tough sliding after that. We brought a lot of people on when we took the security job for Aeon. We don’t know who we can trust.”
“That’s the worst problem I have to deal with,” Cyrus said. “Is it impacting morale?”
“We’ve been hiding the fact that we’re getting trained,” James said. “They’ll eventually figure out something is going on, though.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to hide the existence of the AIs from people,” Kip said. “They know something’s up when you’re trying to hide conversing with them.”
“For now, I’d sleep them while talking to non-trained people,” Cyrus said. “We need to figure out who is good and who isn’t. I’m open to any ideas you guys might have.”
“AIs on speaker,” Cyrus said.
“Any indication they can see us, Gabriel?” James asked.
“They’re trying to exploit what they found out the other day,” Cyrus said. “They’re hoping to catch a random heat signature.”
James and Kip shot him a blank look.
“I know,” Cyrus said. “Remember when we went to pick up those flight suits?”
“Yeah,” Kip said.
“The original plan was for the two Zephyrus class ships to pick them up off the surface of Toatoiana. That was also where we were going to launch the attack from.”
“I don’t follow,” James said.
“While the freighters were attempting to place the flight suits on the surface of the planet, a Central Authority probe caught the heat signature from the atmospheric entry.”
“The Zephyrus ships are pretty good sized, as terrestrial capable ships go,” James said. “They probably put off a large heat signature.”
“The ships weren’t going to the surface. They were using disk launchers to send the flight suits down there.”
James’s eyes got wide. “Oh crap. The probes could see that? Wonder how far off they were?”
&nbs
p;
“So now they’re sending long-range probes here, there, and everywhere,” Kip said. “This is bad. What about our fuel pickups?”
“Nolan and JJ are working a way to mask the heat signatures of the freighters now,” Cyrus said. “Didn’t expect the long-range probes so quickly. I’m going to suggest that we move this ship elsewhere and try to catch one, just to see what capability they have.”
“Please,” Cyrus said.
***
General Corsi waited in the reception room, his heart beating too fast. Calm down or he’ll know. The secretary came out of her room.
“He’s ready for you now.”
“Thank you,” Corsi said, getting up, following her into Aeon’s office.
“Sit,” Aeon said, not looking over from his screen.
The secretary left the office, closing the door behind her.
“You told Boeraton and Cain about the joint session on Pentant Simtar.”
“I did. Still not sure that was a good idea.”
“You let me worry about that. I’ve heard back from both operatives.”
“What did we learn?” Corsi asked.
“Captain Clarke wants a joint mission to go to the Valla Cappos system.”
Corsi eyed him. “For what purpose?”
“They think we’re doing something there. They will try to capture any Clan ships they find, and question the crew.”
Corsi laughed. “If they capture anybody there, it’ll be those deserters.”
“You know that and I know that,” Aeon said, “but there are two things that bother me.”
“What are they?”
Aeon leaned back in his chair. “For the first time in decades, they shielded the Pentant Simtar Congressional Chambers. No communications in or out during the meeting. Our only source of information is what our two Senate operatives told us after the fact.”
“Well at least we got the info. What else?”
“Both our operatives have gone missing.”
“You think they got caught?”
