Both Kordaz and Qayin were aboard Atlantia and beyond his reach, and truthfully Mikhain was tired of the deceptions and the lies. He had twice almost been exposed, the consequences of which would be charges of treason, dereliction of duty and many more besides. Court Martial would follow and then in all likelihood Maroon Protocol, his abandonment on an alien world to fend for himself for what few years remained to him.
For a brief moment he considered the solitude of being marooned somewhere and found some meagre solace in the idea of finally being left alone for more than sixty seconds. As if on cue a quiet but insistent alarm beeped for his attention, a command request from the bridge where Lieutenant Scott, another of Mikhain’s problems, was acting as commander in his ‘stead.
Mikhain reached up and activated the intercom above his bunk, where a data screen relayed information to him even when he slept.
‘What is it?’
He had tried to keep his tone reasonable but even he could hear the gruff irritation in his tone.
‘The port fusion core is fluctuating, captain,’ Lieutenant Scott informed him, ‘and we’re having air–conditioning supply issues in the sanctuary as a result. The civilians are getting agitated at the rising temperatures.’
Can we shoot them? Mikhain thought but did not say.
Arcadia’s cores were at maximum output while in super–luminal cruise and as such any power fluctuations could drop them and Atlantia, which was gravitationally bound to her sister ship, out of super–luminal cruise.
‘Re–route the power from the weapons systems to balance the core’s output,’ Mikhain advised. ‘But be on stand–by to reverse that if we should drop out of cruise.’
‘Aye cap’ain,’ Scott replied, and the channel shut off.
Mikhain sighed and dragged a hand wearily across his face, reading the data list above him and wondering at how much longer he could maintain this charade of competence in the face of such overwhelming…
The ship lurched unexpectedly as the light in Mikhain’s cabin became briefly polarised. The captain cursed as he was rolled out of his bunk by the sudden change in inertia as he heard the distant hum of the mass–drive disengage and a flickering of the display screens in his cabin as sensor information began streaming in from around them once more.
Mikhain almost roared in anger as he stormed out of his cabin and along the corridor outside. The two Marines guarding the bridge deck entrance snapped to attention as he raged past them and burst onto the bridge.
‘I ordered you to transfer power from the weapons systems, not drop out of cruise!’ he bellowed.
‘It was Atlantia!’ Lieutenant Scott snapped back as he gestured at the main viewing screen on the bridge. ‘She’s out of cruise and has gone full tactical, shields up and she’s pulling away from us.’
Mikhain’s mind reeled as he struggled to understand what was happening, vast reams of data rushing in upon the ship and his brain as he recalibrated himself to the command position and took his seat alongside Scott.
‘Where are we?’ he asked.
‘Three point four astronomical units inside Galactic Space, and four hundred twenty eight units beyond the Icari Line.’
‘Scramble Renegade Squadron to set up a perimeter, all power to plasma cannons and shields, and open a damned channel!’
Arcadia’s communications officer, Shah, sent a signal request from her station behind Mikhain and the rest of the crew scrambled to bring Arcadia to battle readiness as a low, mournful alarm began wailing through the ship. Moments later an image of Captain Sansin appeared on one of the display screens before him.
‘We’re coming up to battle readiness,’ Mikhain said promptly, ‘Renegades will be aloft in minutes and our plasma batteries are charging. What gives?’
Captain Sansin stared back at him with a sombre expression.
‘Maintain your shields but belay the Raythons and seal all hatches, bulkheads, stairwells and decks.’
Mikhain felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up and he got out of his chair. He glanced at the commander of his Raython squadrons, the CAG a young man like Andaim Ry’ere, and nodded once.
‘What’s happening, Idris?’ Mikhain asked.
‘You’re infected,’ Captain Sansin replied. ‘Lazarus says he could hear the Legion aboard you before we departed the ambush on Akyran V.’
All motion on Arcadia’s bridge ceased and every voice that had been relaying commands to other areas of the ship fell silent. Mikhain felt the weight of their silence and horror upon his shoulders as he struggled for words.
‘And he’s only telling us this now?’
‘Lazarus has been under an information embargo as you know,’ Idris replied. ‘He could not tell whether the signals he detected came from the Legion’s ambush vessels in orbit around Akyron V or from Arcadia as we departed. I allowed Lazarus access to the signals data and he confirmed that they came from your ship.’ Idris sighed. ‘I’m sorry, captain. Some of them must have attached themselves to your hull when you intervened during the escape.’
Mikhain whirled and pointed at the Marines standing guard inside the bridge.
‘Seal all bulkheads, including here. Have the sanctuary sealed and all decks. We’re on permanent lockdown until we can locate the Legion and eradicate it!’
The Marines whirled to seal the bridge as Mikhain turned to Lieutenant Scott. ‘Alert the ship and tell them that we’re on lockdown while we traverse Galactic Space in case we’re intercepted. Don’t mention the Legion – I don’t want the civilians panicking down there. Break out the microwave transmitters and deploy them on all decks and at all intersections to limit the Legion’s ability to move!’
‘Aye, captain!’
Mikhain turned back to Sansin. ‘They’ve been aboard for hours, they could have moved anywhere. Does Lazarus have any idea of how many might have made it aboard?’
‘Not yet, but he’s working on it,’ Idris replied. ‘We both know that it won’t take many to start colonizing the ship.’
‘I know,’ Mikhain replied, ‘but an attack by Hunters is something we can defend against. It’s the Infectors I’m worried about.’
‘The crew’s been immunized,’ Idris pointed out.
‘Yeah, and Veng’en’s were naturally immune, right up to the point the Legion worked out a way to infect them too. Ask Kordaz. There’s no point in risking all, captain. Right now we’ve no alternative but to set Arcadia’s transponder to the plague ship code.’
Mikhain saw Idris bite his lip as he considered the implications of broadcasting Arcadia’s status.
‘If Galactic warships detect that signal they’ll take no chances and blow you to hell.’
‘And if we don’t broadcast and they too become infected..?’ Mikhain challenged. ‘They’ll wipe us all out.’
Idris stared at Mikhain for a moment longer and then he whirled and thumped a clenched fist down on his chair. Mikhain could see Atlantia’s bridge crew watching him in silence, Evelyn and Emma close by his side.
‘Damn it!’ Idris cursed and dragged one hand across his forehead. ‘We need to locate the source of the infection and wipe it out as soon as possible. As long as we’re out of super–luminal we can be detected, and if we’re intercepted before the Legion is wiped out…’
‘I’m on it,’ Mikhain replied as he turned to Arcadia’s helmsman. ‘Take us out to ten thousand cubits, real slow and steady, and prepare to launch a shuttle under remote control. I want to take a look at the hull and see where the little bastards got in.’
Mikhain thought for a moment and then turned to Lieutenant Scott. ‘You said that the port fusion cores were fluctuating?’
‘An intermittent power drain,’ Scott agreed. ‘If they landed on the outer hull somewhere at the stern near the plasma lines, when we broadsided those mining vessels…’
‘Then they could have burrowed their way in,’ Mikhain finished the sentence for Scott and whirled to the helmsman. ‘Shut off all power to that sectio
n of the ship, isolate it from all electromagnetic frequencies and set up a double–screen of microwave emitters on that deck and those above, below and adjacent to it.’
‘Aye, captain!’
Mikhain turned back to Idris. ‘We need a way out of this and fast. It could take days to root them all out.’
‘I know,’ Idris replied as he looked at Emma. ‘I have an idea.’
***
VIII
‘No, absolutely not!’
Governor Gredan stood resolute before the board as Captain Sansin stared back at him, Emma and Evelyn standing either side.
‘It’s the only way. Emma will accompany him aboard Arcadia as additional security for General Bra’s Marines.’
Gredan looked as though he was about to burst a blood vessel, his florid cheeks bright red.
‘Kordaz is about to be tried for murder! He was, by his own admission, infected by the Legion and Governor Sansin’s medical examination confirmed that he had undergone significant mutation. Now you’re saying you want to send him aboard Arcadia?’
‘Kordaz can sense when the Legion is near,’ Evelyn explained, ‘just like Lazarus, but unlike Lazarus, Kordaz can hunt them down. He can root them out before the Galactic Fleet locates us. We don’t have time to argue this out, governor. We have to remove the infection before it takes hold aboard Arcadia and threatens her entire crew!’
‘And risk Kordaz allying himself with the Hunters already aboard Arcadia and taking the ship?’ Vaughn asked. ‘You’re talking about a suicide mission in more ways than one.’
‘It is a repugnant idea,’ Governor Ayek snorted.
Idris allowed a smile to creep onto his features. ‘I wonder if you would find it so repugnant were it Atlantia’s sanctuary that had become infected?’
‘You’re talking about once more placing your trust in a dangerous killer,’ Gredan persisted. ‘Why do you have such a desire to place your faith in such unreliable allies?’
‘Desperate times, governor,’ Idris replied. ‘I’m not placing faith in Kordaz, although despite the General opinion of him I consider the Veng’en to be an honourable soul. I’m using all of the resources at my disposal to get the job done. Kordaz is our best bet at rooting out the infection aboard Arcadia before we’re intercepted. We don’t have time to debate this at length and our tactical positon is, to say the least, weak. If we’re bounced now, we’ll likely be overwhelmed with ease.’
The governors watched Idris for a long moment, all of them stricken with genuine concern and apprehension.
‘If we agree to this,’ Gredan asked cautiously, ‘what makes you think that Kordaz will even consider helping out? He’s on trial for murder and faces life imprisonment if convicted. What’s his motivation going to be?’
Idris took a deep breath but it was Evelyn who replied.
‘Amnesty,’ she said, ‘in return for risking his life to protect ours, not for the first time.’
Gredan’s jaw hung open and his eyes widened. ‘Amnesty,’ he rasped.
‘You may see him as a Veng’en assassin,’ Idris said, ‘but Kordaz has done as much to protect humanity aboard this ship as anybody, and ended up infected for his troubles. He no longer possesses his own eyesight, relying instead on the monstrous deformations that the Legion created for him. You and I both know that the moment the Galactic Council sees him they’ll demand he be executed. This is the right thing to do.’
Gredan appeared lost for words. He turned his bulbous head to look at the other governors, who were all staring aghast at the captain. Meyanna’s skin had paled considerably and Even Ishira Morle looked disturbed.
‘It’s a long shot,’ she said finally as Idris looked to her for support. ‘I’m not opposed to it, but Kordaz isn’t exactly Kordaz any more, is he? We can’t possibly know what will happen if he comes into contact with the Legion again.’
‘He killed a senior officer aboard Arcadia,’ Governor Vaughn reminded the captain. ‘You send him over there and virtually every person aboard will want to see him dead.’
‘They’ll leave him be rather than risk exposure to the Legion,’ Idris replied with a confidence he didn’t entirely feel. ‘If Kordaz can eradicate the Legion from Arcadia, we will rid ourselves of two major problems: infection, and Kordaz. With the Veng’en free to leave the system, there will be one less reason for the council to refuse us safe haven.’
‘And the small matter of where he will go? As far as we know, the Veng’en homeworld of Wraiythe might already have been overrun.’
Idris sighed.
‘I can offer Kordaz no answers or solutions, only his freedom. Executive Officer Djimon was himself a murderer and guilty of treasonable acts for which he too would have been tried and convicted. Had Kordaz not been betrayed by Djimon, we wouldn’t have been put in this position.’
Gredan’s eyes narrowed and he glanced sideways at his fellow board members. ‘You have evidence that Djimon was behind the betrayal at Chiron IV?’
‘Djimon was the only link between Qayin, Kordaz and what happened with Salim Phaeon. I have no reason to think otherwise, and Qayin himself has suggested that the only person with a reason to turn Kordaz over in betrayal was Djimon.’
‘And yet both of them hated each other with a passion, as I recall,’ Governor Ayek pointed out. ‘Qayin might have simply pointed to Djimon as the guilty party in an act of revenge.’
‘Djimon was already dead by that time,’ Idris replied. ‘A bit late for such things, I’d imagine.’
Gredan hesitated for a long time as Idris watched him weighing something up in his mind. Gredan was a showman who enjoyed his time in the limelight, enjoyed making people wait as he formulated his responses and decisions. Now, he was playing the moment for all it was worth and his enforced prowess irritated Idris.
‘We don’t have all day to wait on ceremony for your royal damned command,’ Idris muttered. ‘Make the call or I’ll do it for you.’
‘This is a civilian matter, not a military one,’ Gredan growled back, apparently equally irritated at the intrusion into his thoughts.
‘And Djimon was a Marine and the Arcadia’s executive officer!’ Idris snapped back. ‘Any trial related to his death is a military one and as such can be tried by military court martial!’
‘And does court martial apply to Captain Mikhain, or are all senior Colonial Officers immune from prosecution?!’
A ripple of hushed whispers chased around the hall and then fell into silence as Idris stared at the governor.
‘What?’
Gredan faltered, unsure of himself in the wake of his sudden outburst. He glanced again at the board, and this time Meyanna spoke.
‘We have evidence that suggests Executive Officer Djimon was not acting alone when he betrayed us at Chiron IV. In fact, it suggests that he was not even involved in the treachery.’
Idris swallowed thickly as he felt prickly heat tingle on his forehead and around the back of his neck. He resisted the temptation to scratch away the irritating sensation as he replied.
‘What evidence?’
‘This isn’t the time,’ Ishira Morle hissed. ‘Division among the ranks could be fatal!’
‘What’s going on?’ Idris demanded.
Governor Gredan turned to a member of his staff, who in turn activated a display screen. Before the governors, Idris, Evelyn, Emma and the hundred or so watching civilians, Captain Mikhain was shown colluding with the infamous pirate Salim Phaeon.
Idris stood in silence and felt his skin crawl as he watched Mikhain warn Phaeon of the impending infiltration by Kordaz into the pirate compound, the lair from which they had eventually successfully recovered the frigate Arcadia from the pirates and doubled their strength in a single move.
The display reached the end of its recording and shut off, leaving the hall in absolute silence as Idris’s mind raced to find an explanation for something that he had always suspected and yet always hoped was a mistake.
‘Could it be a fabri
cation?’ he asked. ‘Some sort of technical bluff to divert blame onto a senior officer?’
Governor Gredan might have attempted to laugh and suggest that the captain was clutching at straws to defend his own people, but in the wake of the recording he too seemed subdued and he shook his head.
‘As you know, the exchange took place in Atlantia’s War Room,’ Gredan replied. ‘The access pass of Marine Qayin was used, placing the blame on him. We now know that Djimon stole that pass, and things would have been left at that were this recording not passed to the governors by a senior officer, captain.’
Idris felt a hollow pit form deep in his belly as he realized where the leak had come from, Gredan’s implied statement placing the blame squarely with the military contingent. The sheer depths of the fractures in his command staff surprised him and he wondered what other secrets they harboured, that they had not felt confident enough to share with him but instead had approached the governors with.
‘Captain,’ Gredan said, ‘it is evident that neither you nor your command staff can be trusted with the even–handed application of the rule of law aboard this ship. Any Court Martial would be seen as hollow and biased by the civilian contingent and, by extension, the Galactic Council.’
Idris, left with nowhere to go and with his eyes fixed upon Meyanna’s as he stood rooted to the spot, replied in a monotone voice robbed of its authority.
‘What are you suggesting, governor?’
Gredan drew himself up to his full height and lifted his chin as though buoyed upon an ocean of self–importance. Drunk on his own authority, he almost smiled as he replied.
‘Captain Mikhain will be tried by a civil court, and he will be subject to the laws and sentences devised by that court with the assistance of the Galactic Council.’
A rush of whispers hustled around the hall once more and Idris swallowed thickly.
‘That would be little more than a death sentence,’ he replied. ‘The Galactic Council will not waste much time in adjudication of a crime committed by a race they would love to see extinguished. They’ll condemn Mikhain without hesitation, without proper counsel if necessary. He’ll get Maroon Protocol if he’s unlucky, a death sentence if he’s more fortunate.’
Defiance (Atlantia Series Book 5) Page 6
