by Sam Schall
“Angel.” Anisimova fell into step next to her as she stepped off the lift. “Command center has been set up in the ambassador’s office and Admiral Tremayne asked you to comm her with your report.”
“Any word from Vreman or anyone else from the Bureau?”
A bitter smile twisted the sergeant major’s lips. “Several members have commed, demanding we take them in and transport them to one of our ships.”
“And your response?”
“I respectfully declined, pointing out that we were currently grounded just like they were.”
“I take it they didn’t like your reply.”
“You could say that.” Her eyes flashed. “Angel, they will sell us out if they think it buys them another day.”
“I know.” She turned into Izaguirre’s office and shook her head. In the short time since their return to the embassy, the office had been transformed. It was now a workable command center. Too bad it didn’t have a fully stocked armory as well. “Let me report to Tremayne. Hopefully, she’ll have some good news.”
“Colonel, is your position secure?” Tremayne’s image appeared on the small screen on the desk a short time later.
“For the moment, Admiral. Secretary Nelms, Ambassador Izaguirre and the remaining staff are locked in the safe room below the embassy. Corporal Stannis is with them. I’ve locked down the rest of the embassy and activated its defenses. The shuttles are on standby.”
“And the situation with the local populace?”
“The Bureau issued a shelter in place advisory. For the most part, it is being ignored. My people have been checking with allied embassies and those who still have personnel dirtside have also gone to lockdown status.”
“What’s your assessment of the situation?”
“Right now, we’re safe. But you know what will happen if this proves to be more than a feint by the enemy. All hell’s going to break loose down here as panic sets in.”
The admiral nodded grimly. “CIC doesn’t feel this is a feint, Colonel. The approach vector is such that the enemy ships will be in position to fire on the capital within three hours if they maintain their current speed. They will enter our weapons envelop in two hours.”
Ash mentally cursed. There was time, barely, to get everyone to the ships but doing so would leave the fleet open to attack because they would have to lower their shields for the shuttles to dock. It was a no-win situation.
“I understand, ma’am.” And she did.
“Understand this as well, Colonel. We’ve received demands from the Midlothian government for us to evacuate members of the Administrative Bureau. Chairman Vreman said failure to do so means we are in breach of our agreements with his government.”
“I see.” And she did. “He, as well as other members of the Bureau, have made the same demands of Sergeant Major Anisimova. She informed them we are as beached as they are. They were not amused.”
“Do you think they will try to force the issue?”
“I do, Admiral. I also feel they won’t hesitate to sell the fleet out if they believe it will save their skins.”
“Very well. You are to hold your post, Colonel. Your first duty is to keep our diplomats safe. However, if anyone attempts to take action against the embassy, you are authorized to use whatever means you feel necessary to turn back the attack. Am I clear?”
Ash knew better than to ask any questions. Tremayne had given her the opening she needed to do whatever it took to protect the embassy and prevent the members of the Bureau from betraying them. If, in the process, she managed to cut off the head of the snake leading the conspiracy against Fuercon and her allies, all the better.
“Very clear, Admiral.” She looked up as Anisimova appeared in the doorway. “One moment, Admiral. The sergeant major just joined me.”
“Begging your pardon, Admiral, Colonel, but we’ve received another demand from Vreman.”
“Colonel, I leave it to you to deal with him. Tag me if you need me to back you on anything. Tremayne out.”
Ash smiled grimly. Tremayne’s message was clear. She would deal with the battle in space. Ash and her Marines were to deal with the headache of the members of the Bureau. Before she decided how to do so, she needed to hear what Vreman had to say.
“Put him through, Durga.”
She sat back and waited. A moment later, Vreman’s image appeared on her screen. Gone was the assured man she’d seen the last several days during his negotiations with Nelms. Fear and desperation replaced self-assurance.
“Colonel Shaw, where is Secretary Nelms?” Vreman’s expression betrayed how much he did not want to talk to her.
“The Secretary, as well as the remainder of the embassy staff, are secure in a safe room, Chairman, where they will remain until the danger is over.” She let him consider that for a moment. “How may I help you, Chairman?”
“What are you going to do to protect us, Colonel?”
She arched one brow. Then she sat up, letting him see she wasn’t intimidated by him. “Sir, we are doing exactly as Secretary Nelms told you we would. The elements of First Fleet in-system will do everything possible to prevent the Callusians from successfully attacking. In the meantime, my Marines will do all they can to protect Secretary Nelms, Ambassador Izaguirre and the remaining members of the embassy staff still on-planet.”
“That’s not enough!” Panic shone in his eyes. “You must evacuate the Administrative Bureau to one of your ships.”
“Really?” She didn’t try to hide her contempt. “Mr. Vreman, consider the danger doing so would put the Bureau members in if the enemy were to launch an attack before the shuttle could dock with one of the ships. Consider the optics of the move as well. How will your constituents look on it if they learned you and your cohorts chose to leave the planet, abandoning them in the process. Finally, ask yourself this: why would I give any consideration to tying up one of our shuttles and pilots to evacuate you and the others when Secretary Nelms, not to mention the rest of the embassy staff as well as my own people, is stuck here?” She chopped a hand in front of her, cutting off his next comment.
“Mr. Vreman, hear me. Our ships will do everything possible to protect the system. However, if you consider for even a moment selling us out to the enemy, Admiral Tremayne won’t hesitate to withdraw our forces from the system and leave you to the Callusians’ tender mercies. Are you willing to run that risk?”
“She’d be leaving you as well,” he sneered.
“Sir, that is a sacrifice every Marine under my command is aware of and willing to make. We will die if necessary to protect this embassy and those under our protection. Can you say the same?”
She waited, watching as he processed what she said.
“While you consider that, Mr. Vreman, consider this as well. The current events do not change the fact Fuercon still expects you to turn over Alexander Watchman. Since I assume you are sheltering in place, there is no reason your people can’t continue feeding what information you have to our intel officers.”
“You bitch!”
“Negative, sir. I assure you my parents were married when I was born.” She smiled as he gaped at her. “What I am is a member of the Fuerconese Marine Corps determined to carry out my duties.” She ended the transmission and chuckled softly. “I wonder how long it will be before he tries to reach Nelms directly?”
“My guess?” Anisimova’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “After he changes his pants. He didn’t expect you to call his bluff.”
Ash grinned. Then she stood. Even though they were in a wait and see situation, there was still a great deal to be done. That began by having a word with Major Khan.
“Sitrep?” she asked Anisimova.
“The drones are up and we’re getting constant feeds from them. The automated security measures have been activated. I’ve ordered our people to take up posts at the main entrance and at the entrance leading to the hangar. Two Marines are guarding the shuttles and the shuttle pilots are bunking hot there. Major Khan and
his people are setting up camp in the waiting room outside the safe room.”
Ashlyn nodded in approval. “I’m going to do a walkthrough to check things myself. Get with Khan and let him know he has full authorization to not only monitor the public broadcasts but hack into the government comms. Officially, he’s looking for anything linking back to Watchman. Unofficially, he and his people are to be looking for anything that indicates the Midlothians are going to turn against us. I’ll take any heat for it if it comes back on us.”
“The politicians here might scream a bit but none of our people will give you any grief over it,” the blonde said.
Ash merely shrugged. She knew firsthand how quickly the political tide could turn. When it did, politicians looked for scapegoats. She had no intention of letting any of her people fill that role. If that meant standing between them and those screaming for blood, she would. This time, however, she wouldn’t sit quietly as the politicians tried to railroad her. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.
“Tell Howler to maintain a constant check on the battlenet. He’s to tag me and then you of any status change.”
“Roger that.”
“We’ll meet back here in fifteen.” Hopefully, that would be long enough for her to do her own check of their security.
“Watch your six, Angel.”
“You too, Durga.”
They’d all better watch their sixes until this was over.
16
Atlantis Rising, flagship
First Fleet, Fuerconese Navy
Midlothian space
“Admiral, CIC report incoming,” the comms officer said.
Miranda Tremayne crossed the flag bridge to stand behind the young man. “Put it through.”
“Ruzek here, Admiral. We have new readings on the incoming ships. I can report with confidence these are Callusian ships. Sensors identified at least five as having taken part in the attack on the Bennington System.”
“Number of bogies?”
“Still refining that information but our current count stands at more than twenty. Four battlecruisers, half a dozen destroyers, five frigates and a mix of smaller craft. While we’re fairly confident in those numbers, it is possible there are other ships shadowing those that we have yet to identify.”
Even though she wanted to frown, she didn’t. The numbers were larger than she’d have liked, especially since she had to consider at least one or more of the ships carried missiles loaded with the biotoxin. But it could be worse, much worse. “Have you been able to strip their IDs yet?”
“Negative, Admiral. The IDs we have are based on engine readouts, so they aren’t guaranteed.”
“All right, Commander. Pass the information on to the rest of our ships.” She ended the comm and returned to her command chair. For a long moment, she studied the holo plot. This was always the part of battle preparation she hated. Decisions made now would impact the start of the fight and, if she made the wrong choices, could lead to a quick defeat. “New orders. LACs and battle shuttles for our leading elements are to go hot and standby for the launch order. Unless there is a change in status, all ships are to bring up shields in fifteen minutes. The Corrigan is to hail the incoming ships at that time. If there is no response, a warning shot is to follow. Tight beam message to the rest of the fleet. They are to standby for my order to move in. Operation Pincer will commence at that time.”
She listened as the orders were repeated back before being sent back. Then she glanced at the time. If nothing changed, the enemy would be in weapons range in an hour. She could try closing the distance and forcing the issue or she could hold position. There were pros and cons to both approaches. There was one factor, however, that overrode everything else—the need to protect the system. Her ships and their assets were in the best possible positions to meet the attack. Assuming, of course, the Callusians didn’t have additional ships waiting to enter the battle.
“Get me Colonel Shaw.”
Hopefully, she would have some good news.
“Sir, change in enemy status.”
Commander Diogo Fryxell leaned forward, studying the plot. His upper lip peeled back into an almost feral smile as his eyes narrowed. He’d warned High Command the danger of moving on the system so soon after the other attacks. Between that and the almost direct line the attacks had taken place on, they’d all but handed the Midlothians notice of their intent to invade. Now it was up to him to bring the system to heel. The only point of negotiation was the system’s immediate surrender. Once he had that in hand, he would conscript its military and manufacturing centers. High Command had been clear. The system was to be punished but not destroyed. Unfortunately, it looked like that might not be a possibility.
“Do we have an ID on the ships?” His tone informed everyone in earshot that they’d better have one. Otherwise, heads would roll, quite possibly literally.
“Preliminary identification suggests they are elements of the Fuerconese First Fleet.”
Fryxell fisted one hand in frustration. Fuercon’s First and Second Fleets had been the bane of Callusian existence for years. Between the two, they had dealt the Callusian Navy more defeats the rest of the allied navies combined. It was just his luck to run into one of them here. Well, they didn’t know what he had in store for them.
An evil smile touched his lips and he pushed out of his chair. “Inform the Weapons Master to prepare the special loads. Let’s give them a taste of what we can do.”
Not only should that convince the damned Fuerconese to stay out of their business, but it would act as a warning for the Midlothians. They either went along with his demands or he’d turn the biotoxin loose on their capital planet.
“Bring all ships to alert. Time to firing range?”
“Sixty-two minutes, sir.”
“Time until we enter their weapons’ envelope?”
“Forty-six minutes.”
He frowned. Somehow, he needed to take that advantage away from the enemy. Otherwise, his ships lost the element of surprise. Not that they really had it to begin with. Still, if the Fuerconese had one weakness, it was their belief in fair play. The enemy commander wouldn’t open fire until they’d gone through the motions of making sure his ships presented a threat. By then, it would be too late. He would see to it.
“Inform the flight captain that he is to launch the first set of LACs at the forty minute mark. They are to launch counter-measures to blind the enemy sensors at the forty-five minute mark.”
The comms officer once again repeated the orders before passing them on. As he did, Fryxell leaned back and considered his options. There was one hold card he hadn’t brought into play yet. Perhaps it was time to do so.
“I’ll be in my ready room.” With that, he stood and left the bridge, trusting the crew to contact him if there was any change in status. It was time to make sure certain members of the Midlothian government understood exactly what their options were.
“Colonel, you might want to listen to this.”
Ashlyn moved to stand at Major Khan’s shoulder. As she did, the intelligence specialist nodded to the woman sitting next to him. She input a code and a moment later, a voice with an unmistakable accent filled the room.
“Do you know who this is, Mr. Watchman?”
“I know what you are,” a second voice responded.
Ashlyn’s eyes went wide. Then she looked at Khan. The major nodded once, confirming it was the former Intelligence Czar.
“I want his location,” she ordered softly as she waited for the message to continue.
“You know the current situation, Mr. Watchman.” The Callusian didn’t wait for confirmation before continuing. “If you want your planet to survive, you will convince your government to turn against the Fuerconese presence and use system defenses to clear our path.”
“If you know the current situation—and I assume you do—then you know that isn’t possible. The way certain members of your navy mishandled things with Fuercon and her allies re
vealed our alliance. Not only have I been stripped of my office but I have a price on my head.”
“That is your problem. You have thirty-five minutes to convince them to do as I said or we will lay waste to the entire system. How will you feel as you watch the biotoxin destroying your homeworld? There will be nowhere safe. You can hide but it will find you and you will be just as dead as everyone else.”
“There’s another minute or so of the exchange before it ends,” Khan said. “Basically, more threats from the Callusian and more excuses from Watchman.”
“Do you have an ID?”
“We’re running that now.”
“Copy it to the flag.” She considered for a moment. “Did you get a location on Watchman?”
“Still working on it, Colonel,” Lt. Okumura said. She paused, her head cocked to one side. “Watchman’s making a call.”
Ashlyn’s brows winged up. Before she could say anything, Khan instructed the lieutenant to let them hear it.
“You know better than to contact me here,” a woman’s voice hissed in anger.
“Listen and we might both live to see morning,” Watchman said. “Our friends.” He spat out the word. “Contacted me. They weren’t please to find we have guests and suggested action be taken to clear them out. Things are a bit crowded here.”
Get me his location, Ash mouthed to Khan.
“How do you expect me to do that?” the unseen woman asked.
“There are certain platforms you can use to support the argument that they’ve outstayed their welcome.”
He was good. Ashlyn had to give him that. Most people hearing the conversation wouldn’t guess he’d just told the woman to use the system’s defense platforms against their ships. What he didn’t know, what the woman hopefully didn’t know, was that they’d anticipated that move and had taken steps to prevent it from happening. But Tremayne needed to be updated. She might have an idea on how best to proceed.
Ash frowned as she listened to another quick exchange between Watchman and the woman. As she did, she leaned forward. She could almost recognize the woman’s voice.
