by Ryk Brown
“Assuming they agree to join,” Jessica reminded him, following alongside.
“What do we do now?” Cameron asked.
“We jump back to Casbon,” Nathan replied.
“What about the Raiders we recovered?” Cameron wondered.
“Jettison and destroy them before we depart,” Nathan instructed.
“And their crews?”
“Shuttle them to the surface,” Nathan told her, as they reached the hangar bay’s forward hatch.
“What about the Ahka?” Jessica asked.
“Let them stew awhile,” Nathan replied. “I’ve dealt with enough bullshit for one day.”
* * *
“Captain on the bridge!” the guard at the port hatch announced as Nathan passed.
“Status?” Nathan asked, approaching Jessica and Cameron at the tactical station.
“Feel better?” Jessica asked.
“Much,” Nathan replied. “Amazing how much a shower can change your outlook.”
“For the better, I hope,” Cameron said.
Nathan’s brow furrowed. “What’s up?”
“We have an unexpected guest, who is waiting to speak with you in the command briefing room,” Cameron explained.
“Who?” Nathan asked, suspicious.
“First Protector Assafa.”
“What? How the hell…”
“He insisted,” Cameron explained. “He caught a ride up on the cargo shuttle that took the Raider crews back to the surface. He wishes to speak to you…alone.”
“And neither of you thought I should be notified?”
“We didn’t want to ruin your shower,” Jessica joked.
“I assume he is under guard,” Nathan said.
“Shapira and Hommel have had eyes on him since he boarded their Reaper,” Jessica assured him.
Nathan sighed. “I guess we’re not jumping back to Casbon just yet.”
“He may be trying to stall us again,” Jessica suggested, “tie us up so that his friends can attack again.”
“Doubtful,” Nathan replied. “He’s got to know we’d jump back to protect Casbon even with him on board.”
“Well, he’s waiting for you,” Cameron reminded him.
“Then I guess I’d better go see what he has to say,” Nathan decided, turning to exit.
* * *
Nathan stepped up to the entrance to the command briefing room.
“First Protector Assafa is waiting inside, sir,” Sergeant Shapira stated.
“He came alone?”
“He did,” the sergeant replied. “He surrounded our Reaper on the pad, and threatened not to let us depart unless we agreed to bring him here to speak with you.”
“And you felt compelled to agree?”
“I did not,” the sergeant insisted. “We could’ve taken them all out with ease, but he seemed sincere, so I called it in. For what it’s worth, Captain, he seems different than before, like something is nagging at him.”
“Guilt, maybe?”
“More like concern,” the sergeant said.
“They teach you guys how to read people as well?”
“Of course.”
“Good thing,” Nathan said, patting the sergeant on the shoulder as he opened the door to the briefing room.
Nathan stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Inside, First Protector Assafa sat alone at the conference table.
The first thing he noticed was the expression on the first protector’s face as he rose from his chair.
“Captain, I apologize for my tactics, but I felt it important that we speak in private, away from the eyes and ears of my staff. Aboard your vessel is the only place that guaranteed privacy.”
“How can I help you, First Protector?” Nathan asked, taking a seat.
“This is difficult for me,” the first protector admitted, as he sat back down. “Ahka men do not easily admit weakness.”
“What kind of weakness?” Nathan asked.
First Protector Assafa leaned back in his chair for a moment. “I have only been first protector for a short time,” he began. “In our society, one must work their way up to the office. Our previous first protector died of penna a few years ago.”
“Penna?”
“A terrible disease. Little warning, rapid progression. There is no cure,” the first protector explained. “Normally, one of the second protectors would fill the position. However, at the time of the first protector’s passing, one of the second protectors was retiring, and the other second protector was embroiled in a corruption controversy. As the most senior third protector at the time, it was my duty to assume the position.”
“Lucky you,” Nathan said, not yet finding much point to the tale.
“Not as much as you might think. You see, such a thing almost never happens, and I myself never had much interest in becoming first protector.”
“I’m not seeing the problem here,” Nathan stated, becoming a little impatient.
“I have never been a supporter of the methods used by the Ahka to survive,” the first protector continued. “I understand the original need, but that need has long passed. As you said, Ahka has many resources that could be traded with other worlds for the things we still need.”
“Then just stop raiding other worlds,” Nathan stated in matter-of-fact fashion. “It isn’t that difficult.”
“It is more difficult than you might think. You see, the Ahka were once a peaceful society, much like the Casbons. We were more willing to defend ourselves, but we did not seek violent confrontation. Unfortunately, more than a hundred years of raiding others to survive has turned us into warriors. Our men pride themselves on their prowess in combat. We live for the raids. We are judged by our successes, and our failures, in combat.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Nathan wondered.
“Because I see your alliance as a way to change the path my people are on,” the first protector stated.
“Then why did you attack Casbon earlier? Surely you knew we would respond.”
“I was counting on it,” the first protector explained. “I needed a demonstration of your military might. I needed my people to feel threatened by your presence. You see, if your alliance succeeds, at least in this part of the galaxy, the Ahka will have no choice but to abandon the raids and embrace peaceful relations with other worlds.”
“Could you not have just said this to your own people?” Nathan wondered, “to your staff?”
“I would be seen as weak,” the first protector explained. “While there are many who believe as I do, there are even more who do not. Those who do not already oppose my protectorship. If I were to publicly suggest that we lay down our arms and coexist with our neighbors, my administration would fall. Chaos would ensue. My people would go on a rampage, raiding every world possible. However, now that my people have seen your soldiers in action, and have seen you handily defeat the Tremen, they will welcome the chance to fight alongside you, rather than die at your hands.”
“So, this was all a show?” Nathan did not look happy. “People died, you know.”
“Including Ahka,” the first protector pointed out. “The stakes are always high at this level. Surely you of all people are aware of this?”
Nathan sighed. “Only too aware.” After a moment, he asked, “Then you wish to join our alliance after all?”
“I do,” the first protector replied, “and now that my people have seen your soldiers in action, they will support this decision.”
“What about the—what did you call them?”
“The Tremen?”
“Yes. What about the Tremen?”
“I suspect they will wish to join as well.”
“I see.” For the first time in a few days, Nathan was feeling optimistic. “I think we can work som
ething out, First Protector.”
“Excellent.” The First Protector leaned back in his chair, relieved. “Tell me, Captain, your soldiers…I watched recordings of them in action against my troops. I have never seen such skill and efficiency.”
“No offense, First Protector, but that was nothing. Those men could charge into hell and walk out with the head of the devil in hand.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Nathan entered the Aurora’s command briefing room, but paused just after passing the guard standing silently at the entrance. He turned to look at the guard, one eyebrow slightly raised.
“You told me to stop announcing your arrival,” the guard reminded Nathan.
“Yes, I did,” Nathan admitted. “I’m just surprised you actually stopped. I mean, I’ve been asking you to stop for weeks now.”
“I guess I’m a slow learner,” the Ghatazhak corporal joked.
Nathan smiled, and continued. “Good morning,” he greeted his senior staff, taking his seat at the head of the conference table. “Let’s begin with you, Deliza. Have you figured out how to fool the Tekkans yet?”
“I believe I have,” she replied, “or should I say, Aurora has.”
“Our AI?” Nathan wondered, a bit surprised.
“We’re going to use a SilTek AI to fool a SilTek AI?” Cameron asked. “Is that wise?”
“No,” Jessica opined.
“Our AI has to follow its core directives,” Deliza explained. “Those directives state that it must help us.”
“Even if doing so would put SilTek in jeopardy?” Jessica questioned, hoping to validate her concerns.
“All of SilTek’s AI’s have a kill-switch built into their code. It is located in the same section of code as the primary directives, and the AI itself cannot alter that code,” Deliza explained. “It was put there to appease buyers, many of whom have an unwarranted fear of artificial intelligence.”
“That doesn’t help SilTek,” Jessica argued. “Why would anyone sell something that could be used against them?”
“We were somewhat suspicious as well,” Deliza admitted. “It turns out that there is a back door to SilTek’s AI’s. Through it, they would be able to remotely activate the kill-switch in its core code block.”
“Thus, negating the threat,” Cameron surmised.
“Another reason not to use our AI in any of this,” Jessica insisted.
“Not necessarily,” Vladimir argued. “Aurora is aware of the back door, and although she cannot make changes to it, she was able to point us to the location of the code, and instruct us on how to alter the code and render the back door inoperative, at least to anyone but us.”
“But us?” Nathan queried.
“I did not think it was a good idea to remove it completely,” Vladimir explained. “Doing so would alert SilTek to the alteration.”
“Instead, we created a two-part back door…basically, a door within a door,” Deliza continued. “The original back door—what we now call the ‘outer’ door—will still reply to SilTek’s remote status query, causing them to believe they still have remote disabling capabilities. However, the ‘inner’ door has a completely different type of encryption and pass key.”
“Can it be hacked?” Jessica asked.
“Everything can be hacked,” Vladimir insisted.
“But it would take hours,” Deliza added, “and we would be alerted of the attempt, at which point we could disconnect Aurora from all external communications equipment, or shut her down completely.”
“And Aurora helped you accomplish this?” Jessica asked, sounding skeptical.
“She did,” Deliza answered.
“It would have taken us weeks to find the back door on our own,” Vladimir admitted.
“So, our AI is no longer a weapon that could be used against us,” Nathan surmised.
“Correct,” Deliza confirmed, “more importantly, it means that we can now trust Aurora to do what is necessary to fool SilTek’s inspectors into believing that we have used shield-penetrating jump missiles in the recent past, and that we have versions that can perform multiple jumps to target, and can reverse their course.”
“Which, we should point out, is no easy task,” Vladimir added.
“Why?” Nathan wondered.
“SilTek will use its AI to inspect our AI,” Deliza explained, “and to examine our combat logs and weapons specifications.”
“I’m still worried about giving SilTek open access to all our specifications,” Jessica warned.
“They’re just getting access to what our weapons and systems can do, not how they do it,” Nathan added. He looked back to Deliza. “Any word from Abby on the shield-penetrating jump missiles?”
“She has completed eight of them,” Deliza replied, “but has not had a chance to conduct any field tests; only computer simulations. There is one other thing,” Deliza said. “I asked Aurora for help on re-engineering those missiles into ones that can multi-jump and change course. She determined that by replacing its maneuvering systems with the ones used in the Sugali fighters, we could save enough space that the additional propellant and jump energy cells would all fit within the existing missile hulls.”
“So, they’d look the same?” Nathan wondered.
“Almost,” Deliza replied. “We weren’t able to get all of the systems entirely inside the existing hull, so we had to add some external conduits. But we can fabricate dummy conduits that should pass visual inspection, in case SilTek wants to actually see the weapons.”
“What if they want to scan them?” Cameron asked.
“The missile hulls are designed to prevent remote access to its systems. It also makes it impossible to scan their interiors,” Vladimir explained. “This feature was part of our original torpedo design, to prevent an enemy from remotely disabling an incoming weapon.”
Nathan sighed. “Let’s just hope they don’t ask us to open one up for inspection.”
“If we load them into the missile hoppers before the inspectors come aboard, it might help,” Vladimir suggested.
“Make sure the hopper load logs show that the missiles have been in them for at least a few days,” Nathan said, pointing to Deliza.
“I’ll let Aurora know,” Deliza promised.
“Good,” Nathan said. “How long will it take to disguise, say, sixteen missiles?”
“At least a day,” Deliza answered. “Maybe faster, if I was back on Rakuen.”
“We’re jumping back to Rakuen after this briefing,” Nathan told her.
“Great,” Deliza replied.
“We can pick up those eight missiles while we’re there,” Cameron suggested, “before we go meet the Tremen.”
“The Tremen?” Vladimir wondered, unfamiliar with the name.
“The people that the Ahka hired to attack Casbon,” Nathan explained. “I spoke with Council Member Garon this morning, and she is concerned that they now may have a second potential enemy. I have a feeling she’d be more comfortable if the Tremen were also part of the alliance.” Nathan looked at Lieutenant Commander Shinoda. “Any progress figuring out where the Tremen home world is located?”
“The Falcon came back about an hour ago,” the lieutenant commander replied. “They managed to pick up several old jump flashes from the retreating Tremen fighter-interceptors, and traced them back to a planet here.” The lieutenant commander activated the holographic display over the center of the conference table. A three-dimensional representation of their current location in the galaxy appeared, quickly zooming out to include several nearby systems. “We know the system as Sten One Five Seven. The Casbon know it as Analay. It’s about fifteen light years from Casbon, and about twenty-eight light years from Ahka.”
Cameron’s brow furrowed as she studied the display hovering in the air before them. “Captain, if all three systems become allies,
that would create a loose line of systems allied along the border of the Ilyan Gamaze. They might see that as a threat.”
“So, we need to speak to them, too?” Jessica said, throwing her hands up. “Great.”
“Let’s just wait and see,” Nathan insisted. “We’ve got enough on our plate. Besides, Council Member Garon isn’t asking about the Gamaze, so I’m not going to bring it up.”
“According to Aristaeus, worlds just outside the Gamaze are routinely harassed by the Ilyan, just to remind them who’s really in charge of this part of the galaxy.”
“Such pleasant neighbors,” Nathan remarked.
“That may be of benefit when you speak with the Tremen, Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Shinoda said. “Of the three worlds, they are closest to Gamaze space. Having us to protect them from harassment might be enough to get them to join.”
“I thought the Ilyan was just an organization that coordinated interstellar trade between member worlds,” Cameron said. “Why would they harass worlds outside their area of influence?”
“Maybe they have some kind of ongoing disagreement with the Tremen?” Lieutenant Commander Shinoda suggested.
“Such as being willing to attack other worlds for profit,” Jessica added in disapproval.
“Maybe the Tremen are not someone we want as allies,” Cameron commented.
“That thought has crossed my mind,” Nathan admitted. “Regardless, we need to speak with them, to make sure they understand what will happen to them if they attack the Casbon again.”
* * *
“Captain on the bridge!” the guard at the entrance barked as Nathan and Cameron entered.
Nathan flashed the guard a disapproving glance. “Mister Sheehan, can you plot us a course back to Rakuen?”
“Happy to, sir,” Loki replied. “Are we going to be there long?”
“Long enough,” Nathan replied with a wink.
“What’s the latest from Commander Prechitt?” Nathan asked Naralena.
“Ten eagles are fully fueled on the deck, their pilots and ground crews on standby,” Naralena reported. “Commander Prechitt reports they should be fine until we return, but he did politely request that we not take too long.”
