Haraken (The Silver Ships Book 4)
Page 12
Terese swept forward when she saw the master sergeant balancing on one leg and wincing as he tried to straighten the other. “One moment, Sergeant Hinsdale,” she said, as she knelt behind him, pulled up his pants leg, and dug in her small kit for a tube of nanites gel, which she applied to the reddened skin, courtesy of Étienne’s hand strike.
“If you would care to teach a class sometime, Mr. Escort,” Hinsdale said, “we’d be pleased to have you.”
“I am Étienne de Long,” Étienne replied, giving the master sergeant a polite nod of his head for the compliment.
“Master Sergeant Jeffrey Hinsdale,” the burly man replied, offering his hand to Étienne, who accepted it as intended, an acknowledgment of the extraordinary skills demonstrated. After the two Méridiens rejoined their group, the master sergeant glanced down at his leg when he realized that the pain was gone from the nerve strike. To his amazement, the redness was also fading, and he threw a quizzical look at Major Barbas.
Terese sent back.
Alex glanced toward the speaker and the major out of the corner of his eye as they observed the master sergeant shake off the numbed leg and walk around the mat with a smile on his face. He appreciated the fact that without implants the two men were forced to communicate verbally and visually. In this case, their faces were open books and the writing read lust for another discovered technological treasure.
Speaker García came up to Alex, stopping briefly to regard Étienne. “You Méridiens are full of surprises,” he said with mirth, but his gray eyes weren’t smiling.
“I dare say, Speaker García, it’s just a matter of different techniques,” Alex replied. “Well, it has been a most entertaining experience, but we must be returning to the Le Jardin. The staff is planning a fête this afternoon, and we wouldn’t want to miss out. If you will be so kind as to return us now, we would be appreciative.”
Without waiting for the speaker’s reply, the Harakens turned and exited the workout room, heading back down the corridor from the direction they came.
The first lieutenant, who accompanied them during the shuttle journey, hurried to catch up with his guests and lead the way back to the bay, never knowing that every Haraken implant held a map of the entire route. Quite possibly they could have run the route in the dark.
* * *
The Harakens sat by themselves in the Reunion shuttle’s interior. Only a pilot, copilot, and the first lieutenant, who was seated with the pilots, accompanied them back to Le Jardin.
In the midst of the laughter, Alex sent,
Once the Harakens gained the Rêveur, the original attendees of the first meeting, Captain Cordova, Mickey, Pia, Alain, Christie, Eloise, and Amelia, joined the group in Alex’s stateroom. Z took a moment to change into his director’s avatar, having noticed how uncomfortable he made others while speaking through Miranda’s avatar.
While thé was served, Z downloaded the Shadow’s content onto the Rêveur’s data banks. He set up the holo-vid to receive a spool of the vid data. In the meantime, the discussion revolved around Étienne and his display of skills against the Earther.
“Julien, I take it you recorded the entire event?” Tatia asked.
“I did, Admiral, it’s already on the Rêveur’s data banks,” Julien replied.
“Excellent, can’t wait to watch that one,” Tatia said.
“At this rate, Admiral, you might be the last to view it. Half the crew is already watching it,” Julien said.
“Étienne was superb … admirable, one might say,” Renée said, adding a grin.
“That he was,” agreed Alex, his eyes warm with appreciation.
Étienne, who stood by quietly during the discussion, nodded his head to Alex. The master sergeant proved to be a worthy opponent, and Étienne wasn’t pleased that he harmed the man, Earther or not. They are a mix of people, worthy and unworthy, Étienne thought.
Z sent the little Shadow’s imagery spooling through the holo-vid and streamed his telemetry recording to the humans’ implants. Most blocked the telemetry data except for Alex and Tatia. The group watched the Shadow’s entire visual record of its trek through the explorer ship, and when it was finished, Alex restarted the sequence. This time, individuals stopped, rocked the imagery back and forth, or expanded the view. The spool was viewed for more than two hours until no one asked for another replay.
Everyone in the cabin sat or stood absolutely quiet, alone with their thoughts — none of which were any good. Most hoped that the various analyses of the Reunion’s ports were flawed, despite the fact that they were observed and analyzed by SADEs. It was a common and fervent hope that the Earthers were boisterous and obstreperous but not aggressive. The little machine’s visual records made a lie of those hopes.
“Those missiles would appear to use a type of chemical propellant, but it’s difficult to determine what might be loaded in their heads,” Tatia said, the first to break the silence.
“As well, I am unable to determine the type of engines in the fighters,” Julien said, “but it’s obvious they rely on missiles in their engagements.”
“More telling,” Z added, “is that the Shadow recorded four bays of fighters adjacent to one another. The probability is that only a few shuttles lie behind that ship’s extensive array of bay doors. I apologize, Ser President. If the power bead was just 10 percent larger my Shadow might have gained the tubes beside the fuselage.”
“And its increased dimensions might have prevented its movement through the vent covers and fans, Z,” Julien said sympathetically.
“No, Z,” Alex said, “you did a wonderful job with your Shadow, especially with the brief time you had. All who helped you should be congratulated. I’m quite pleased with what you’ve found out.”
Eloise made a tentative gesture toward Alex with her hand. “Yes, Eloise?” Alex asked.
“Perhaps, I do not understand these people very well, my Protector,” Eloise said. She had never dropped the title her great-grandmother bestowed on Alex, but it only came out when she was nervous or confused — an unconscious action. “This Earther ship has tremendous weaponry. The leaders must realize by now that this system has little or no protection from them. What are they waiting for?”
“Indeed, what are they waiting for?” Christie echoed. “But they are waiting. That’s what the junior lieutenant alluded to before he was hushed by his senior. He said, ‘we are one today, but tomorrow …’ before he was silenced.”
“So are they waiting for a fleet or a giant ship, the likes of which we hoped never to see again?” Tatia asked. Her comment reminded everyone of the Nua’ll prison ship and the losses the Swei Swee suffered to be free of it.
“Whether it will be one large ship or many small ones, it doesn’t matter,” Alex said. “It will fall to us to handle any aggressive moves, but I must warn Leader Ganesh. At the mention of the Council Leader’s name, several individuals groaned. Mahima Ganesh had developed a definitely un-Méridien-like distaste for Alex Racine, and it wasn’t likely to change just because Méridien might be subjugated at any moment by the Earthers.
Pia added a final thought. “Ser President, I suppose it’s no use retreating to Haraken. If the Earthe
rs choose to dominate the Confederation, it will begin here at Méridien, and then it will only be a matter of time before they come for Haraken and New Terra.” Unfortunately, no one could disagree with her.
* * *
The Reunion comms officer was another political appointee, who despite reporting to the captain was loyal to the speaker — a UE check and balance on ships’ officers. He placed a private call to his political superior. “Speaker García,” said the officer, “the guide has detected an unauthorized transmission.”
“Destination, Laurent?” Antonio asked.
“It was internal, Speaker García,” Laurent replied. “A burst transmission of an unidentified signal configuration originated from the lower decks. It was too brief for the guide to gain much more information other than the fact that it existed and it wasn’t our equipment.”
“Has there been a search for the source?”
“Yes, Speaker,” Laurent replied. “I informed the captain about the transmission, and the source location was searched, but the crew and militia have been unable to locate it.”
“What about the strength of the signal, Laurent?”
“Weak, Speaker. It would have been relegated to perhaps 100 meters, not kilometers.”
“Thank you for your report, Laurent,” Speaker García said, and then closed his comm unit, turning to Barbas, who sat across the table from him. Laurent’s report was only a confirmation of the earlier report García received from another appointee, one unknown to anyone else, including the major. In the UE, it paid to have informers confirming the informants.
“The evidence is indisputable,” García said. “Our guests are much more than casual travelers.”
“I don’t understand the value of a focused transmission from a fixed location in our ship, especially one that can’t reach their ship,” Barbas said.
“You’re thinking as someone from Sol and as if these people came from Earth, Major,” García replied. “Maybe they were once like us, but they aren’t any longer. Ask yourself how they got that transmission device to our lower decks when they were in sight at all times. And who or what received the transmission? No one ever accessed a comms unit during their entire time with us. So how did they receive it?”
“I take your point about these people being human but not from Earth. I have been trying to understand how that escort defeated Master Sergeant Hinsdale. I was sure the stripling would be taught a lesson by UE militia strength, when suddenly it was over in two moves,” Barbas replied. The major thought he voiced an intelligent point, but the speaker’s cold eyes stared at him. “What did I miss?” Barbas finally asked.
“The bout was a stall, major. That escort, as you continue to call him, was an extraordinary individual who could have defeated the master sergeant at any time. He was keeping us entertained until our guests obtained the information they sought. How they did it, I don’t know … why, is the easy part. It’s obvious that their leader is no fun-loving runabout. Ser Étienne de Long identified himself as the escort to Ser Racine. Who would have not one but two of these men, since it’s obvious the de Longs are twins, with this level of skill as his personal security?”
“I can’t disagree with you, Speaker,” Barbas replied. “The manner in which Ser Racine’s people treat him smacks of a well-trained organization.”
“Yes, and this secret transmission is just one more piece of evidence about their true nature,” García said, “You might have observed much more, Major, if your nose hadn’t been so deep in Miranda Leyton’s ample bosom.”
Angered by the speaker’s rebuke, Barbas sought to redeem himself. “Enjoying Miranda Leyton’s charms did not dull my wits, Speaker García. You posited that we have met two distinct societies. I believe we have encountered three cultures. The Méridiens have a unique archetype, beautiful, slender people, which Ser Racine and Ser Tachenko do not match. Ser Racine said he was designed for a heavy world, but why didn’t they craft his face. Those are your two societies. But Miranda Leyton represents a third culture. She is neither Méridien nor from Ser Racine’s home world.”
Barbas waited for the speaker to ask the obvious question, but he was denied the moment as gray eyes continued to stare at him. “Beneath those luscious curves,” Barbas continued, “Miranda is strong with extraordinary reflexes. I sought to stumble against her, and she caught me as if I was a child.”
“Are you sure she is human?” Antonio asked.
The question stunned Major Barbas. He considered it for a moment, but his ego denied him impartial judgment. “She couldn’t be otherwise, speaker. Her femininity is bone deep.”
“So we have a dilemma of evidence,” García mused. “We have at least three societies that intersect here. The local government will not speak to us. Yet, one individual, who doesn’t appear to be from this system, has chosen to meet with us.”
“Could Ser Racine represent the Méridien’s military organization? He has the bearing of a commander, and the other of his build, Ser Tachenko, relaxes one moment and then assumes a parade rest the next moment.”
“Now that’s an interesting question, Major,” García replied. “But our conjectures are of no matter. It will soon be out of our hands. We will simply deliver our information, be debriefed, and await orders.
“Who do you think will come in response to your request?” Barbas asked.
“My message was sufficient to gain the attention of a high judge,” García replied. “He or she can decide what to do here. What we’ve discovered is far beyond the scope of our mission.”
“A high judge will take credit for your discovery, Speaker,” Barbas lamented.
“Yes, Major, that’s as it should be,” García replied. “If we failed to call attention to this enormous discovery it would have been considered as having disobeyed standing orders, a criminal act.”
At the mention of the UE’s most dreaded words, the major blanched. All disappointment at losing the accolades he hoped to receive for their discovery disappeared. It was better to be alive. “Until the UE envoy arrives, what do we do?”
“We continue to watch and learn, Major,” García replied.
“What, if anything, can be done about Ser Racine?”
“Nothing. Despite our precautions, I believe the man got what he came for once we let him and his people aboard our ship. We initiated the ruse, and he beat us at our own game. We’ve been uncovered,” García said, sitting back in his chair and exhibiting a rare, emotional expression for him — one of disgust.
-14-
Alex, Tatia, Renée, Julien, and Z sat and then paced for hours, discarding one plan after another, without success. They needed the ear of Council Leader Ganesh, but she was refusing all contact from Alex. Their plans were escalating from the simple to the complex in an attempt to accomplish their goal — share their discoveries with Méridien Leaders about the explorer ship’s armed interior and their disturbing conversations with the UE senior personnel.
“This isn’t working,” Alex said, tired and vexed at their failure to put together a workable plan. They needed to convince the entire Council of the danger they faced and to take steps to protect the Confederation’s future.
“If subtle and diplomatic isn’t working, then it’s time to consider an entirely different approach, Alex,” Tatia said. Informality was the general rule when these close associates met privately. They had endured too much together to stand on ceremony. “I presume other options have occurred to you before now.”
Alex was loath to respond. Some of his ideas were equivalent to firing a Libran-X warhead into Confederation Hall. Such were the disruptive level of his concepts. He kept his mouth shut, but his old friends sat quietly staring at him.
“If the Confederation is at risk, then all of us are at risk,” Renée finally said.
“And perhaps, my friend, it is time for some radical thinking,” Julien added. “We cannot continue to protect this civilization forever. They must learn to take responsibility for their own
welfare.”
“Yesterday it was the Nua’ll. Tomorrow it might be the Earthers, and what if they come with a fleet of warships that we can’t intimidate or defeat? What will be our options then?” Z asked.
Alex put his head in his hands and slowly wiped them down his face as if he could remove the responsibility. What does it take for intelligent entities to choose to live in peace? Alex thought. “Logic dictates that if the present Council Leader does not want to meet with us, then we must either meet with other Leaders or change the leadership of the Council.”
“It appears we are planning another coup,” Julien said. “Well, to our benefit, we are experienced at this type of operation.” Alex threw him a slightly disgusted look, and Julien returned a bright smile.
“What are the steps for a coup?” Z asked, ready to absorb the details of the process in order to participate fully.
Alex watched Renée for her reaction. Méridien was her world, the Confederation her society. She would know best the scope of the impact of which they spoke.
“If you are looking for my opinion, my love, you needn’t bother,” Renée replied. “I’m a Haraken. We can’t afford to let a group of outsiders usurp the Confederation. It would make for dangerous neighbors. Do what you think is best, and we will back you.”
Alex looked around at the expectant faces in front of him, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. This time, it wouldn’t be a single world he was intending to disrupt, it would be an entire civilization composed of multiple worlds.
* * *
The Rêveur’s traveler landed at a quiet terminal on Méridien. Alex, Tatia, Renée, Étienne, Alain, Julien, and Z disembarked.
Z was ensconced in his New Terran avatar. The large frame provided ample room for a host of weapons armament. When Alex had firmly refused Tatia’s request to allow troopers with weapons to accompany them, she sought alternatives, and in a surprise turn of events, Tatia discovered Z was seeking her.