by Alex Kings
“So what did you do?” asked Hanson.
Agatha shrugged. “Went to another bar. Got drunk. Got into a fight with a couple of humans and a Glaber.” She grabbed her shoulder and rotated her arm a little, wincing.
Hanson gave her an unimpressed look. “Oh, really? What did you do?”
“Hey. Hey! Why are you looking at me like that!? Why do you think I started it? We're shipmates now. You should have more confidence in me.”
Hanson held up his hands. “Alright, I'm sorry. So the other lot started it.”
“Uh, well, actually, I did start it. But they could have started it just as easily. Anyway, it was a good honest fight. We ended up getting a drink with them after. Anyway, what did you do?”
“Learned the Albascene aren't going to help us,” said Hanson. He shook his head and sat down beside Agatha.
She gave him a friendly, but not terribly gentle, thump on the shoulder. “Well, let's be honest, that's not too much of a surprise, is it?”
Hanson was silent for a while. “I don't know how we're going to get Earth back.”
Agatha's voice softened immediately. “… Earth.”
The waves continued to splash against the side of the city. Off in the distance, invisible, there was the sound of rushing water. Another Battleship had just launched.
“It's weird. I thought I'd given up on Earth years ago,” said Agatha. “But then something like this happens, and you're like, 'Oh shit, all those places you grew up in are under the control of some megalomaniacal bastard.'” She paused to spit into the water. “Maybe I should have gone to see my uncle. But then we'd have just argued again anyway.”
“Yeah,” said Hanson. “When we were there a couple of weeks ago, I thought of going to see my parents. But … I didn't. I was busy, I was caught up in saving the galaxy. Now I don't know if we have any chance of defeating Pierce. I might never see them again.”
Agatha leaned in towards him and put her head on his shoulder. “We can do it. We'll get Earth back and kick Pierce's arse.”
“I wish I could believe that,” said Hanson.
“Hey, shut up, I'm trying to be supportive here!” said Agatha.
Hanson smiled. “I know. Thank you.”
They stayed like that for some time.
Chapter 10: A Potential Asset
The next morning, Hanson called the Tethyans and asked if they could tell him where the free Petaurs were living. Conveniently, they were all in the same location: A section of the city far from any Albascene influences. Hanson took a transport pod.
It was a poor area, though not quite the criminal hive that some areas of Tethya City had become. All species mingled. Even the occasional Albascene. On his way, Hanson passed a bunch of Glaber in business suits.
The building was low and flat. By the broad, arched doors and the elegant iron fretwork on the facade, Hanson guessed it had been built by Varanids some time ago, then abandoned. Since then, the traditional Varanid colours had been painted over with white.
A ramp of metal grating had been placed over the giant steps. It clanged as Hanson walked up it.
Before he reached the door, it opened, and an upside-down furry head peered out from above. “Hanson!” it said.
Hanson recognised the Petaur: Charin. A pilot he'd spoken to aboard the Firmament. “May I come in?” he said.
“Of course!” said Charin in Isk. He dropped from the ceiling to the floor and showed Hanson inside.
Beyond the corridor and past a couple of rooms, the building opened out onto a giant interior space. Everywhere, Petaurs were at work. Some were busy in the guts of an Albascene shuttle. Some were gathered around an extended tablet the size of a whiteboard. And some were reorganising their workspace itself. Gratings and cables and ladders hung from the high ceiling, connecting unused pipes. Petaurs hung from them and glided between them, working on connecting more.
“We're sticking together,” Charin said. “Most of us, anyway. Between us we've got engineers, pilots, lawyers, personal assistants, and security workers. So we're forming a co-operative to try and make our own way.”
Hanson nodded. “Impressive.” They'd only been here for a couple of days.
“We've got apartments around back,” said Charin. His tail flicked about eagerly as he explained. “We're trying to find contracts now. Obviously no Albascene will have anything to do with us, but the other species are more open.”
“I'm sure you've heard about the Alliance fleet coming in,” said Hanson. “We've got many ships in need of repairs or maintenance. I'll send some of them your way.”
“Thank you! If you have any doubts about our capabilities, Yilva can vouch for us. She was here last night, actually …” He gestured at the group of Petaurs by the tablet. “Our math people are working on Ancient communications systems.”
They circled the warehouse slowly. “There's something else I wanted to ask you,” said Hanson “What's going on with the Albascene?”
Charin's tail seemed drained of its energy. His ears drooped a little. “Why do you think we know about that?”
“I assume some of you have contacts back home.”
Charin drummed his claws against each other in a lightning-fast motion. “Yes,” he said. “It's not good. When the Albascene couldn't get us back, they started going after our friends and families.” Seeing Hanson's expression, he held up his hand. “They haven't killed them! Not yet. But they've imprisoned some and increased the indenture period of others. Then for Petaurs generally, they've started adding tighter restrictions. They're not happy. And in return, there are more Petaurs trying to escape, or rioting.”
This was the problem the Albascene were dealing with, then.
Charin stopped and looked at the floor for a moment. “If I knew getting free would cause such damage …” he began, then shook his head. “No. It was the right thing to do.” He recovered his energy a moment later. “Come on, let's see what we can do for your Alliance ships.”
*
Hanson was in a transport pod, returning from the Petaur warehouse, when his comms chimed.
Chang looked even graver than usual, if such a thing were possible. “James,” he said. “I need to speak to you in private. Come up to the Untamed. I'll have a shuttle waiting in Dock 163, Berth 8.”
“Yes, sir,” said Hanson. When Chang had signed off, he watched the passing cityscape with a frown. What now? Something higher-level than their previous meeting.
Half an hour later, he stepped into Chang's office on the Untamed. Through the window, he could see the fleet. It impressed him. It saddened him. It was an immense military power cut free of its roots.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Things have been chaotic here,” Chang said. “I only learned this morning that the mission was a success. We have Emily Dawes.”
Hanson stared at him for several seconds, then sat down in the chair opposite.
“I sent out an order to rescue her just before we left,” said Chang. “She's on the fleet.”
“Rescued,” said Hanson. “Given that she's family of one of Pierce's senior staff, she's one of the very few people on Earth whose safety is guaranteed. I think 'obtained' is the better term here.”
“Perhaps so,” said Chang. “Whatever your choice of words, she's a potential asset.”
“I thought we agreed we couldn't bring a child into this?”
“That was when Pierce was hiding in the shadows and we still had Earth,” Chang said. “Things have changed, James, and we need to change with them.”
Hanson looked at him in silence for several seconds. Both men knew there was an unbridgeable chasm between them on this matter, and that all they could do was to live with it.
“What are you planning to do?”
“For the moment, nothing,” said Chang. “I assume that simply being unable to find her will itself be demoralising for Pierce's side. But if Yilva's talking-tech plan doesn't work, we'll figure something out.”
Hanson nodded slowly. In that case, he just had to make sure Yilva's plan worked. “I hope the girl's not being too traumatised by this,” he said.
“Quite the opposite, as it happens,” said Chang. He called up something on his tablet and gave it to Hanson. “Here's a report from our man in the field, Red. Apparently, Emily is actually quite excited about the change. Her carer has come along for the ride.”
Hanson scanned the report carefully.
“And it should go without saying that this is strictly need-to-know.”
“And my crew's need isn't that high, right?” said Hanson, without looking up.
“Yes.”
Hanson wondered silently about keeping this from Agatha. Even aside from Chang's orders, he'd have to. If she learned Emily was here, he wasn't sure what would happen.
Chapter 11: The List
The Dauntless was very nearly repaired. Its hull had taken on an odd mottled appearance, the gunmetal grey of the original hull interwoven with the cobalt blue of Tethyan organic resin. The biotech lasers were lines of dark spots running from nose to engine.
It rested in the water by the side of the city. Sunlight rippled on the waves. A couple of the free Petaurs were scrambling over the ship, doing final checks. As Hanson approached the berth, one of them jumped up onto an upper engine and glided to the dock nearby. It smiled and waved at him as he passed, and Hanson waved in return. This particular Petaur didn't speak Isk.
Inside, everything smelled clean, with just a faint hint of high-quality oil and salt in the distance. Hanson walked down the length of the ship.
He patted the corridor walls. “Well, old girl, glad you have you back.” He smiled to himself. “Even if I'm not sure how much of that ship I met all those months ago is still here.”
Everything seemed to be in order.
He'd spent the last week in strategy meetings, going over fleet logistics with Chang and the Tethyans. He'd listened to the little news about the Alliance that was available – apparently the two oldest human colonies, Nova Terra and Shangdu, had been conquered. He'd brokered a deal with the Petaurs as they started to work on Alliance ships. And he'd visited various parts of Tethya City with Agatha, trying to ignore the secret hanging over his head.
Now, finally having his ship back felt like a new beginning. Now he could actually go out there and do something.
An hour or so later, there came a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
Lanik stepped in holding a tablet. “Here are the updates from the Petaurs,” he said.
“Thank you,” said Hanson. He looked the details over. Everything seemed in order. They'd be ready to leave soon. He handed the tablet back to Lanik.
On his way out, Lanik caught sight of the poster-sized sheet of smart matter Hanson had affixed to wall. “What's this?”
“Our to-do list of allies,” said Hanson.
Lanik read down the list, his voice growing more skeptical with each line.
Tethyans [x]
Varanids [ ]
Albascene [ ]
Petaurs [ ]
Glaber [ ]
Shadowwalkers [ ]
In in way, thought Hanson, it was lucky there were only six species to list. If there were any more, Lanik's eyes might have only come to rest on the ceiling.
“Sir. Do you really think we can get all of them on our side?” said Lanik. He thought for a moment, then added, “Or, for that matter, any of them?”
“I think we'll have to,” said Hanson. “Even if Yilva's plan works, we're going to face a hell of a battle.”
Lanik nodded. “In that case, who's first?”
“Well, for the moment, the Albascene are a bust. I've talked it over with Chang, and I think our best bet is with the Varanids. They have the Ancient artefact that Pierce was searching for, which might help with Yilva's research.”
“Their Chancellor also hates us,” Lanik observed.
“Yes … he does,” said Hanson.
Lanik allowed himself a very small smiled. “So I suppose that will make it interesting. I'll tell Lieutenant Fermi to plot a course to Ghroga.”
*
Earth.
Millicent looked down at it through the window in her office every couple of hours. A glowing blue halo of atmosphere. Swirling white clouds. Night falling across the oceans and continents. She studied the Himalayas, the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China. She imagined warm beaches, open oceans, rolling hills.
It meant nothing to her. It was beautiful gift wrapping concealing an empty box, a cruel joke.
Its surface was still off-limits. IL – or as Pierce now liked to call it, the Terran Dominion – controlled space, but not the surface. The Alliance government, on both Earth and Mars, had surrendered under the threat of being planetary bombardment, and IL had cut off all interplanetary traffic and continued to monitor all satellite transmissions, but the surface remained rebellious. There was no way to tame it until they had more Blanks. Pierce didn't go down there and refused to let any of his senior staff do so either.
He was in his quarters half the day, doing God knew what. When he came out, he delegated most tasks to Millicent: They had to grow new Blanks, man the Alliance ships that hadn't escaped or been destroyed during the battle, and work on his special project over Jupiter.
This suited Millicent. She did what he asked with due diligence. Then she went to work on her own project: Finding Emily.
It was clear she'd have to get someone into the Alliance fleet over Tethya. That left two questions: How? And who?
The first was easy enough. Pierce was planning to conquer some Alliance colonies. When he did so, a few ships would naturally escape. She just had to put her mole amongst them.
The second was rather more difficult. She needed someone the Alliance didn't have on register as working for IL. Someone Pierce wouldn't miss. Someone she could trust not to hurt Emily. And on top of that, someone competent enough to dig around, find Emily, take her back, and rescue her, without being noticed.
It was a thorny problem. It took her close to half an hour of comparing records and going through notes. But at the end, there was one candidate left.
She stepped away from the window and put a call through. Encrypted, of course.
A youngish man appeared on the screen. “Hello,” he said. “This is unexpected. What can I do for you?”
“Hello, Mr. Hayes,” said Millicent with a sweet smile. “We have a high-risk mission for you.”
Chapter 12: The Answer is No
The Dauntless travelled alongside the Firmament. This trick saved them time at the border, where the Varanids took note of the battleship and decided not to detain them. A small Varanid cruiser accompanied them silently, for the sake of decorum more than anything else.
Between jumps, there came a knock on Hanson's door. “Come in,” he said, looking up from the book he was studying.
Srak entered.
“What is it?” said Hanson.
Before answering, Srak noticed the book in Hanson's hands. “The Constitution and State Mechanisms of the Varanid Republic?” he said.
Hanson checked the cover and nodded. The book was translated into Isk, of course. “It's actually rather an interesting read.”
Srak shrugged. “Never read it, myself. What are you planning, Hanson?”
“Looking from the book to Srak's face, Hanson said, “Is that what you came to ask?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact.”
“Well, we ask Rok to join us and the Tethyans.”
Srak cocked his head. “He won't.”
“I was hoping the fact that we have a baker's dozen of Ancient ships running around, and the fact that the Tethyans are fighting alongside us, might help sway him,” said Hanson. “But you're right. It's a long shot. So if he doesn't want to play, we have other choices.” He tapped the book.
*
A few hours later, they arrived over Ghroga.
As Hanson predicted, Chancellor Rok did no
t greet them with enthusiasm. What surprised him was that Rok did not greet them at all.
A new Varanid looked down on Hanson from the command console's displays. His face was a symmetrical swirl of orange and red scales. “Hello, Captain Hanson,” he said. “While the Chancellor would love to talk with you, he's quite busy.” Smugness and contempt oozed from every word. “I am Councillor Surrot. Anything you can tell Rok, you can tell me.”
Hanson shared a glance with Lanik. It was clear the brush-off was deliberate.
Still, it was all they had to work with for the moment.
“Thank you, Councillor,” said Hanson. “May we come down to the planet to meet you in person?”
“No,” said Surrot. “After your actions here last time, you are forbidden from setting foot on Ghroga. No matter how many Tethyan battleships you bring along.” Surrot leaned back and smiled. “We can talk perfectly well this way.”
“Very well,” said Hanson. “I take it you've heard about the loss of Earth?”
“I have.”
“That is just the beginning. We know Pierce intends to conquer the whole galaxy with those Ancient ships. Even the Tethyans won't be able to stand again him.”
Surrot nodded. “Go on.”
“We have some ideas about how to stop the Ancient ships. But we need to work together. The Ancient ships over Earth pose a threat to everyone. So – will the Varanid Republic join the Tethyans and the Solar Alliance to take down Pierce?”
Surrot was silent for several seconds. “We're all at risk, so we all need to fight together?”
“Yes,” said Hanson. “Will you pass on our offer to Rok?”
“Wait,” said Surrot. The screen went black while he went to talk to Rok.
Less than a minute later, Surrot was back again. “The answer is no,” he said. Before Hanson could respond, he added, “You may depart in your own time. Goodbye, Captain,” and cut the signal.
“Well,” said Lanik, “that went well.”
