The Deadliest of Intentions

by Marc Stevens

  “Nathan, as much as I would like to participate, I have been informed by my superiors that no Chaalt will take part in any more missions that violate the territorial boundaries of the Murlak home worlds. I have been specifically told not to commit another act of war if I value my position as the Principal Investigator of my people. To be honest with you, we have a hold on all military excursions. The only exceptions to those orders will have to be Prule related.”

  “Sael, we will not be going to the Murlak home worlds. We have information on a Murlak base called Shurmosk. It is where the pirates and corrupt members of the Galactic Council store their stolen treasures.”

  The silence lingered long enough I started to ask if she was still on the IST channel.

  “I have heard intel reports on such a place,” Sael said slowly. “The stories vary enough that I wrote them off as a myth. How can you be sure you have accurate data?”

  “The Sig captured a Murlak pirate by the name of Illam Pove. He is now in our custody. One of our sources has positively identified him as one of Eiger’s highest ranking enforcers. The Troop Master convinced him to reveal the location.”

  “Pove is known to me, and yes, he is high in the ranks of the pirate leadership. You say you also have evidence that implicates members of the Galactic Council collaborating with the pirates?”

  “Yes, as well as the involvement of their clan siblings.”

  “Why are you not asking the Sig to back you on this operation?”

  “They would if I asked, but they have no fleets anywhere close to the base coordinates. The travel time involved to move a task force would be well outside of the time frame we have to execute the mission. Their equipment is inferior to ours, and I fear they will take unnecessary losses. You know as well as I do that a small, highly capable strike team can move faster and be more effective. Our weapons and equipment are a huge force multiplier. The longer we wait, the more chance there is of the pirates getting a warning that the base has been compromised.”

  “I will be at Alpha Base within two hours.”

  “We will be waiting for your arrival.”

  We transferred Pove and the Hivemind’s containment chamber to the security cells under Alpha Base. Klutch and Coonts made themselves busy with swapping out the assault shuttles. They loaded a fully-armed Eagle Two in the hangar and were going to put all five of the Daggers in the cargo hold. We hadn’t come up with a scenario where we would need them, so I nixed the idea in favor of an empty cargo hold. The Troop Master bitched about it until I told him we would be shooting and looting. I made contact with the Zaens and told them we might have need of the freighter. It was my plan to have it take up a covert position within a short jump of Shurmosk. If our engagement was successful, we would take as much of the pirate’s assets as we could and destroy the rest if we had to. It was my intention to decapitate the pirate leadership and deprive them of the wealth they used to continue their illegal operations.

  Justice reported the sighting of a lone Chaalt warship entering our star system. The Operative had arrived. The ship rapidly moved above Alpha Base, and a few minutes later we heard the loud report of Sael transporting down. Tria and I were just leaving the munitions storage building and went to meet her. She was wearing Chaalt heavy combat armor with her sword and anti-transport rifle clipped behind her shoulders.

  “I wonder if she did that just to rub in the fact, we don’t have a transporter. At least it looks like the old witch is raring to go,” I whispered to Tria.

  Tria’s response to my comments was a crushing squeeze of my hand that made me flinch. She chose to be a lot more cordial than I was.

  “Principal Investigator, you will be wearing my backup armor on this deployment,” Tria said. “Justice informed us how well you adapted to it on our last joint mission. If that is agreeable to you, please go to the ready room on the Legacy. Justice has the suit prepped and will give you a quick refresher course on the weapons systems.”

  We followed her to the Legacy and had to wade through the gathered scientists and engineers. Sael stood on the boarding ramp and watched as Tria and I made hand contact with each of them. Jaran, Graf, and Felix waved to us.

  “I will begin production on the torpedoes for the Legacy,” Felix called to us as we boarded. You have a prototype loaded in the Legacy’s launcher. By the time you return, I will have a complete loadout awaiting you.”

  I smiled and waved back. The young Zaen had proven his worth time and time again. He had risen to every technical challenge thrown at him and surpassed all of our expectations. There was no doubt in my mind that I had some of the finest minds in the galaxy working for me. Together they gave us a better-than-average chance of successfully completing all our mission goals.

  “Justice, what is the status of our freighter?”

  “Broza is transitioning to the jump off point. He estimates their transit ETA to be four hours and forty minutes.”

  “I was not aware Felix had finished his schematic and production program for the torpedo,” I said. “I knew we recovered the parts for one at our artifact depot but didn’t think it would be ready to deploy any time soon.”

  “The parts the Grawl collected were of a complete weapon. It only required proper assembly and integrating the onboard AI with my weapons core. The Guardian architecture rapidly assimilated my Oolaran targeting systems, and it is now ready in all aspects. Felix was part of the assembly team and carefully cataloged all of the weapon’s internal specifications.”

  “Okay, Justice, take us to the freighter jump off point. I want to meet with the Zaens and their Sig crew. They need to know what we are going to do and what they will be jumping into.”

  “Roger that, Commander. DEHD core transition in twelve minutes.”

  Tria joined me, and we went to the ready room. We ran into the Operative, and she was suited up in Tria’s armor. In the background I could hear the usual arguments and expletive-laden banter coming from Klutch and Coonts.

  “Your influence on the Grawl and Tibor have rotted their brains!” Sael said to me.

  I didn’t even frown at the slight; she was probably right. I winked at her.

  “I’m still working on yours.”

  She hit her gravity boosters and disappeared into the hangar. I was going to let her know about our encounter with the Scrun and their unknown allies. There was always the possibility the Operative had intelligence on the aliens. I decided my inquiry could wait. It had no bearing on our current mission goals. As we approached Coonts and Klutch, the Grawl was poking home his point on some unknown subject. He was doing it on the front of Klutch’s armor with his index finger. When they noticed us coming, they promptly stopped whatever they were discussing. Both tried their best to look as if they were having a polite conversation. I wasn’t buying it. The two of them were up to something, and I was pretty sure it had to do with another wager of some sort. My expression must have given away my displeasure because they both quickly exited the ready room. Tria smiled at me, erasing the frown from my face.

  “Let it go. They could be doing a lot worse,” she said. “Their behavior is no different than some of the others I have served with. It is how they deal with the stress of constant combat.”

  “I know, but Coonts has never been a good loser, and the weaponization procedure only made it worse. He should have it figured out by now that the Troop Master rarely makes a wager unless the odds are in his favor.”

  I was going to say more and ask Tria if she knew where a Grawl Guild was located. I knew there were much more pleasant ways to deal with stress. That thought was the last thing going through my mind as our reality faded away. Our return from interdimensional space was uneventful, and Justice alerted us the freighter’s projected ETA was three hours and seventeen minutes. My mind was wandering back to the subject of stress elimination, but the Senior Operative flew out of the hangar and set down in front of us.

  “Justice has cleared me for combat operations,” Sael said. “
I would like a briefing on our battle plan.”

  “Justice will use our stealth systems to get us as close to Shurmosk as possible. We will then use the portal device to covertly make an insertion into the Murlak stronghold. Once inside, we will eliminate any and all pirates we come into contact with. Our first priority is to locate Eiger and either eliminate or capture him. If our intelligence proves to be faulty and he is not present, we will attempt to gain control of the base. If we are successful, we will bring in our freighter to remove the pirate’s financial resources or destroy them in place.”

  Sael surprised me by not asking a single question or bitching about anything. I looked her in the eyes, trying to get a read on her mindset. The grim determination staring back at me told me she would like nothing better than to drink pirate blood from her boot. She had more than enough problems of her own, yet here she was, ready to go. It had me speculating whether the council knew about this little adventure or not. I brushed the thought aside. Xul and Coonts were correct. The Operative was an asset to the team. When the scat came raining down, she only got meaner.

  “Sael, we will be gathering in the galley,” I said. “Justice has combat stimulants and nutrients selected for our prebattle meal. Please meet us there in an hour.”

  She nodded and went to the ready room. I was again unsettled by her lack of questions or bitching about any little something that didn’t conform with her regimental command style. Sael was a lot of things, but quiet and cooperative was not one of them. Tria picked up on it as well and pushed me toward the ready room. I cocked an eyebrow and threw my hands up, giving her my what-the-hell look.

  “I sense something is troubling Sael, and you should try to find out what it is before we depart,” she said. “We need her help, but she needs to be focused on the mission and nothing else.”

  “I don’t think she needs any of my human idiosyncrasies right at the moment,” I replied. “You should go ask what is eating at her, and I will wait for you in the galley.”

  “She still treats me as a subordinate and will not speak her mind. Though she may not act like it, she considers you her equal in command authority,” Tria argued. “You must find out if we are going to have a problem with her now, and not while we are on our deployment.”

  “You have got to be kidding me! She considers me something alright, but lately, I believe it has more to do with unpleasant things she may have stepped in.”

  “She does that for the benefit of others who may be watching your interactions. I know for a fact that she hides her true feelings for you. She respects you for the things you have accomplished. No one has ever been successful at what you are doing. You are winning a war few will even acknowledge. It is why she has finally chosen to follow you.”

  Tria wasn’t going to budge on the subject. She pointed at the ready room and gave me her I-mean-it look. I frowned and stalked off. I was the ranking officer, and I was the one doing the marching. I went to the ready room and walked up to Sael as she stepped out of Tria’s armor. She had a puzzled look on her face.

  “Commander Myers, is there a problem?”

  “You can save the commander routine for someone who cares. I came here to find out what is bothering you. I have grown used to your normal behavior, and you are not acting normal. If we have a problem, I want to about it now and not find out we have issues during combat.”

  I thought she was going to answer me. She instead decided to remove her suit liner. She was now buck naked, and we were about two feet apart. Her once chiseled muscle and bone physique, had a little more meat on it. She was filling in nicely, and I was having a little difficulty not taking an overly long look. She took a step closer. That was the last thing I expected her to do. My eyes were suddenly dollar-sized and my mouth a desert. She reached an arm out to me, and I almost fell backward over the bench behind me. She shook her head.

  “My uniform, please.”

  I didn’t realize I was standing in front of the locker it was hanging in. I quickly handed it to her. Try as I might, my composure was nowhere to be found. She seemed to be enjoying my bumbling behavior.

  “You primate. Sit down before you fall and hurt yourself.”

  At least I got a response I was used to hearing. I sat down, and she sat right beside me. She didn’t act like she was in any hurry to finish putting on her uniform. I don’t think I could have been any more uncomfortable unless someone lit my ass on fire.

  “Your observations are correct,” she began. “I do have a number of issues troubling me lately. When my people called me Kala Mor Dee, my orders and decisions were never questioned. I felt I had the unwavering trust and respect of all my subordinates and demanded nothing less. After my many visits and interactions with you, I had come to the conclusion I was wrong. They all feared me, and I tried to change that. Unfortunately, when they lost that fear, the ones I counted on the most to carry out my orders turned on me. I believe it is why I have lost the Fury.”

  She was quiet for a moment, then continued, “I will be honest with you. When I saw the way your people respected you, I was at a loss as to why. You rarely ordered or demanded anything from them, yet they would follow you to their deaths if that is where you led them. They only feared what the Oolaran imprinting did to you, but all of them respect and trust you on a level I cannot begin to fathom. I wanted the same for those who served under me, and I got treachery in return. My superiors will not come right out and say it, but the loss of the Fury is a blot on my record that will forever haunt me. I have heard the rumors that there are some who believe my participation in the rescue mission was unnecessary. It is also said by many I should have stayed at my command and rallied the loyal troops to put down the rebellion.”

  “Maybe they need a reminder that it was you saving them from the Hivemind,” I said. “Klutch could not have got them all out as swiftly as we did without you help. If it were not for your guidance, we could not have caught up with the Hivemind as rapidly as we did. I am sure that saved some of the lives of the council members.”

  “I still have the backing of most, but to some of the others, those are memories of convenience. They will not take action against me for fear of losing their connection with you.”

  “Maybe I should remind them that you are the only reason they have a connection with me.”

  “Nathan, please do not do that. It will be taken by those who oppose me as something I put you up to doing. I am trying to put it behind me. You asked, and now you know. I just want to move forward from here.”

  “With all that going on, why did you agree to come with us?”

  The Operative sat silent for several minutes, staring at the floor. She took a deep breath and gave me a small smile.

  “I keep asking myself the same thing. There is only one reasonable answer I can come up with: I guess I am hoping whatever makes you the popular Throgg that you are will rub off on me.”

  29

  My laugh was contagious. To hear Sael do it with so much conflict going on in her life was a relief. She must have been serious because when we walked out of the ready room, she hooked two of her arms in mine. Tria had waited patiently by the lifts. I didn’t realize my little heart to heart with Sael took almost an hour. When Tria saw the smiles on our faces, hers lit up as well. She grabbed my other arm, and as we walked to the lifts, she leaned over and whispered to me, “I hope you aren’t getting any big ideas about a ménage a trois.”

  Freaking evil robot! He ratted me out! I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, almost walking into the side of the lift tube. Tria pulled me inside at the last moment. Sael let go of my arm and gave us the strangest look. We stepped out of the tube and saw Klutch make the turn into the galley. Tria and I slowed down, but Sael kept right on going. I hissed at her to slow down, but she frowned and waved me off. She must have thought we were having a little jealous spat because she turned the corner into the galley. Tria didn’t seem to be upset about my less than truthful disclosure on my use of French axiom
s. She was, however, interested in knowing what was up with Sael. I gave her the summarized version. She shook her head in derision, then swatted me on the ass and pointed to the galley.

  When we got inside, we saw that Xul and Coonts were already seated together. The Troop Master was leaving the chow line and moving in their direction. Sael was finishing making her nutrient selections. Klutch sat next to Coonts and they traded a few insincerities. Xul knew where that was going and left before it could blossom into the usual disparaging discourses. Tria and I again tried to get Sael’s attention, but she was heads down, inspecting the rations Justice had selected for her. She headed for Coonts’s and the Troop Master’s table. I thought she would surely remember the Tibor’s unique eating habits. When Coonts saw that she might sit on the opposite side of the table, he attempted a tactful rescue. He patted the bench beside him.

  “Senior Operative, would you care to join us?”

  Coonts got a polite nod, but Sael still sat on the opposite side of the table. She didn’t make the foolhardy mistake of sitting directly across from the Troop Master and chose instead to sit across from Coonts. It was still close enough; she was inside what the rest of us considered the no-sit zone. Tria and I sat next to Coonts and waited for the fireworks to start. To our shock and surprise, Sael sat straight-faced when Klutch tore into his nutrient bars. She never even looked up when he started making noises like a racoon ravaging a trash can. When the crumbs started flying, she brushed them away and carried on with her meal. We decided to do the same. When we finished, we went over our plans one more time. We would use stealth until it was no longer possible. There were no friendlies in the area of operation, so everyone was a target. Justice had a picture of Eiger that would allow our battle suits to use AI recognition programs to identify him out of a crowd if necessary. We would attempt to apprehend him if the opportunity arose. If not, he was going to be a dead man like everyone else. If we could take control of the base, we would call in the freighter and take as much as we could carry while Justice flew cover. The Sig were already sending a fleet, but it would not show up for another twenty-seven hours. We should be long gone by then. Justice alerted us our freighter had arrived.