Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades

by Randolph Lalonde

  Focusing on keeping her pace and her breathing constant, maintaining good form and running in a broad circle around that upper deck eventually calmed Ayan down. She could jog along that path, at that pace, for another hour, her comfort increasing by the second. Memories of shrinking away from safe but high places spurned her on to challenge herself instead. Most of the time she was the only one who got vertigo in a crowd, and she wouldn’t have it.

  “Oh, good glory,” she muttered to herself as she altered her path so she was running along the outer edge of the platform, where it joined with the transparesteel window. A glance down confirmed that everything beneath her was fully transparent, and she nearly stumbled as her knees threatened to buckle. “Don’t be a bloody child, outrun the fear,” she challenged herself, pushing from a jog into a full run. “You’re better than all this, everyone else knows it.”

  She slowed down to a pace she could maintain for longer after three more laps and glanced down. Her hands flailed outward as the sensation of falling gripped her momentarily, but she kept running and brought them back into form. “Stupid girl,” she said as she forced herself to look down while she ran, gritting her teeth as she fought the powerful instinct to get off the platform. “Finish strong, or move along,” Ayan said as she stepped up onto the incline of the transparesteel window. An involuntary whimper accompanied the act of running along the forty-five degree tilt of the window itself.

  It was all she could do to keep running along those solid as steel but as clear as air windows. Ayan concentrated on her running form, but forgot about her pace completely, which had become a dead run. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel her pulse in her head and hands. “Oh shut up,” she spat as her comm unit beeped a medical alert. “I’m doing this.”

  It took three full laps before she started to calm down and her comm stopped beeping a cardio warning. Ayan was almost out of energy, but smiled at herself as she slowed a little and decided to do four more laps. “Just to be sure I’ve done this and didn’t dream it.” Her heart was still pounding, and every time she saw too much of the ground she had to fight for balance, but Ayan knew it wouldn’t be long before she grew accustomed to that vista in particular.

  She’d have to continue to challenge her fear of heights until it was gone, but that morning Ayan had claimed an incredible victory. She’d gotten over her fear in little leaps, during obstacle courses while testing Ranger’s training when she had time, and a couple of other times before, but taking on her fear when stepping away from the edge as an option was completely new.

  With just over one lap left, Ayan had almost calmed down about the view, and she was starting her push to the end when her comm vibrated and chimed an emergency signal. As a reflex, she looked at the unit on her arm, saw the distant ground past it, had a sudden episode of vertigo and lost her balance. The transparesteel window, the deck, and the safety railing didn’t yield in the least as she tripped, rolled, and crashed into them in that order. Her vacsuit was in workout mode, so unless an impact was hard enough to break bone, it wouldn’t activate, so she felt every considerable bump and twist, almost falling over the inner edge of the walkway by the time she came to a calamitous stop in a heap of limbs and long red hair.

  “Ayan! What happened?” Lacey asked as she ran up the stairs.

  Ayan carefully straightened herself out, and sat on the edge of the walkway, clearing curls out of her face. “I won the fight against my fear of heights but lost against momentum and gravity.”

  “You took your jog on the platform?” Lacey said. “How did you fall back in here?”

  “There’s a platform outside?” Ayan asked, fearful at the thought of repeating her exercise beyond the confines of the room.

  “Just above the edge, there,” Lacey said, pointing.

  Ayan followed her gesture and noticed the outline of it, a glint of transparent metal that overhung the inward curve of the transparent windows. “I don’t think I’ll be ready for that for awhile,” she said. “Ran along the inside of these though,” Ayan said, glancing at the obstacle she just conquered.

  “Nutter, I wouldn’t even try that and heights are no big thing for me. I’d worry about a panel popping.”

  Ayan turned her attention to her comm unit, finally catching her breath and opened the emergency message. The image of Tyra Kim’s head appeared in front of both of them. She was in disarray, frantic and angry at the same time. “Ayan, the Carthans are coming here, saying that you’ve abandoned your claim and they’re taking Haven Shore. The Council is convening in a moment to discuss our options, but I’m afraid it’s too late. You screwed us, taking the military with you, I hope you’re happy.”

  Ayan brought up her holographic status screen and tactical displays, filling the air around them with images of Haven Shore and the area around the island. “They’re moving in right now and those idiots haven’t put up the Everin Building’s shield or called an alert,” Ayan said. Perhaps it was her already high heart rate, or her already low patience for the behaviour of the civilian government in Haven Shore, but she found herself quick to anger. “If Carl was there the alert would have sounded already.”

  “Checking now,” Lacey said. “He’s still asleep on the Triton. Looks like he was up late viewing Haven Shore civilian transmission logs.”

  “Well, I’m just glad I didn’t surrender my control codes for the Everin Building,” Ayan said, raising the building’s shields. She sounded an invasion alert within. Ayan activated a combat alert for the Triton, the available soldiers in her base and in the other active Order of Eden bunkers. The Clever Dream acknowledged the alert as well.

  “What’s your thinking?” Lacey asked.

  “We’re going to force the Carthans to talk to us about this. Within twenty minutes, we’ll have nine times the firepower mobilized than they have in the air, and that’s without sacrificing essential personnel for our settlements.” Ayan gathered all the intelligence and a summary of her actions into a report then sent it to Oz, her father, and the Haven Shore Council. “The Clever Dream will pick us up on top of the tower in two minutes,” Ayan said. She got to her feet with a groan.

  “You might want to change first. I see a lot of support in that outfit, but not much coverage,” Lacey teased. “Unless dazzling the Carthans is part of the plan.”

  Ayan flashed her a sheepish grin and nodded. “Might work with some of the stares I’ve caught from our Carthan rep at the Council table, but armour might be more appropriate for what’s coming. You’ll probably see more people wearing this kind of outfit. I know you didn’t watch much of the Ranger training, but a big part of it is learning how to do things without technology. The human body, even mine, is capable of more than people give it credit for.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with your body,” Lacey said as she walked along side her. “Anyway, back to the present. Do you really think this’ll escalate?” Lacey asked as they ran down the stairs.

  “I think they’re going to try to drive us off, starting with Haven Shore and moving on to our other positions. Fighting may be our only choice.” A signal from Oz with a status update confirmed her thoughts. “Oz agrees, the Triton is launching fighters and manoeuvring into a space where it can cloak.”

  “Why does the ship have to manoeuver to cloak?” Lacey asked.

  “They have to drop out of navnet patterns and get some distance so other ships don’t collide with it. You can’t go around what you can’t see.”

  “Ah. Another question: is it too late to turn down that promotion?”

  “Absolutely,” Ayan replied. “Your job in this is to make sure everyone has what they need to survive so people like me can take command of the combat side of things. I hope we can avert this, but it could become a complicated siege if I can’t, especially since there are no Carthan ships anywhere near our other positions. Their attention is entirely focused on Haven Shore so far, and the largest problem we have is our lack of intelligence with regard to the rest of their flee
t. We don’t know exactly what they’re holding back.”

  Ayan dropped her light vacsuit and slipped into her armoured suit as Lacey changed into her medium vacsuit. She didn’t own anything that resembled Ayan’s combat armour. “Where do I start?” asked Lacey.

  “Make sure you take stock of exactly who is stuck outside the shield right now and forward that to me. The combat arm of our command unit will decide where they should go and what they should do. When you’ve done that, take control of conditions and provisions. Check food levels, make sure the environment control systems are working well enough in Haven Shore structures, and then start preparing a statement informing all the civilians of the situation. Send it to me before you release it to them.”

  “Thank you,” Lacey said. They heard the dull creak of the ceiling above as the Clever Dream set down. “Is that normal?”

  “The structure is fine, the Clever Dream is the first ship to use that landing pad, you’re just hearing the deck plates and the frame fitting together as they take the weight.” Ayan’s mind was working faster than it had in months. Despite the bruises and other minor signs, her morning triumph was already far from her thoughts. As she finished pulling her armour together and started to activate the systems within, Lacey gave her a vanilla meal bar. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t eat until this crisis passed.”

  “I know,” Lacey said. “Don’t worry, I’m watching.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Rattling Sabres

  The lounging area in the middle of the Clever Dream had been converted into a war room. The compartment walls were covered with ever-changing information from Haven Shore and the Order of Eden bunkers she’d claimed. There was little chance the Carthans would turn their interest towards the bunkers since they each had shielding, were hardened against attack, and less than five percent of the structure was above ground. Ayan had to admit that the Regent Galactic manufactured bunker system was ingenious.

  The holographic system projected an image of Haven Shore into the middle of the room; troop status screens, communications readouts and tactical summaries hovered above it. Ayan hoped that the configuration of the war room would be unnecessary before long. She could stand feeling a little sheepish at preparing for a serious conflict if it meant finding a peaceful solution to whatever actions the Carthans were about to take. The fact was, she didn’t know exactly what they were about to do. No Carthan representatives were answering her.

  The British Alliance hadn’t replied either. Her only allies were the Triton and the Rangers. She was in direct control of the Skyguard and Slick, their wing commander, was an excellent leader. Ayan allowed herself a moment to watch their aerial manoeuvres. The thirty-five Uriel and Ramiel fighters they managed to get into the air were split into smaller groups of three. To the untrained eye, it would look like they were scattered around Haven Shore, some flying low altitude over water, others in the upper atmosphere, but every single one of them was in range of the approaching Carthan forces.

  The Carthans had sent a battlegroup of drop ships, eight-man gunships, a handful of fighters, and the communications trackers on the Clever Dream were able to indicate that they were taking orders from a pair of destroyers in orbit. As far as Ayan knew, those two destroyers represented half of their operational destroyer class ships. It was well known they had one command carrier, but other than that, there were no truly threatening ships in their fleet.

  The situation was tense, but at a stand still for the moment. The Carthans hadn’t breached Haven Shore’s borders yet, but held positions a hundred kilometres off shore, and she’d had no further communication from the Everin Building. Ayan took a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. There were obstacles to negotiating her way out of a massive conflict that went well past the obvious. Her sharp dislike of the Carthans was a major one. They disapproved of the development of the Rangers, were constantly requesting permission to board and inspect everything from the Triton to their smallest cargo shuttles, and allowed Ayan to take new territories if her people killed Order of Eden soldiers in the region, but only did so grudgingly. They didn’t police Tamber, but were constantly trying to dictate terms to anyone who was trying to bring peace to a section, and they sapped resources whenever they could. They were used to getting what they wanted, and they didn’t care who they crushed in doing so. Most of their soldiers were serving prison terms, and had mental reprogramming that ensured obedience.

  Ayan did her best to remember that the truest victory she could accomplish in the next few hours was one that didn’t involve bloodshed. She had to get past how she felt about the Carthans and disarm the situation. If it came to fighting them outright, it could cost the entire solar system in terms of security and stability. Worse, it could bring a horrific end to Haven Shore and death to thousands of her people.

  “Status change alert,” the system said in a gentle tone.

  Ayan looked at the tactical board and saw sixty fighters moving around Haven Shore under water. They were forced closer to the surface as the depth of the sea decreased. They disappeared from sensors when they were able to dive deep enough, but reappeared as soon as they came up above seventy metres. She marked the fighter group and sent the update to all ships, making sure the Triton acknowledged the new data. A few seconds later, it did. Oz was watching, and she had no doubt her father was, too.

  “Lewis,” Ayan asked. “Do you have anything that could hit those fighters under water?”

  “I have several types of missiles that could transition from atmosphere to water then explode, causing incredible carnage as they tear their hulls apart with shockwaves and shrapnel. Environmental damage would be temporary. It would take aquatic life less than three months to recover.”

  “What are the chances that the fighters could counter under water?” Ayan asked.

  “Very little, especially if we fired while I was hovering within a meter of the water’s surface. Their countermeasures depend on detonating missiles early, so even if they did manage to counter under water, they would still be subjected to significant concussive shockwaves.”

  “All right, let’s take a position following their lead ships. Make sure you’re just far enough from the surface of the water so your cloaking systems are still effective.” Ayan replied, marking the lead ship as it reappeared on scanners.

  “You truly expect this to become a battle?” Lewis asked.

  “I’m going to do everything I can to prevent it, but it’s not looking good,” Ayan replied.

  Lacey entered the room. “I just started getting transmissions from Haven Shore again. There was a minor problem with interference from the shield. All the civilians have squeezed into the escape ships in the Everin Building’s hangar,” she said. “They’re not happy about it, but they have supplies and there’s just enough room for everyone. I have volunteers making trips to and from Haven Shore storage for more supplies, but all the basics are taken care of.”

  “Good work,” Ayan said. “All the ships have main power and flight crews?”

  “Yup, they should be checking in on your tactical screen soon,” Lacey said.

  “Good. I hope they don’t have to escape Haven Shore, but…” Ayan allowed herself to trail off as a British Alliance transmission came through. “Thank you for getting back to me, Minister,” Ayan said as a stoic-looking hologram of Sunny Zinnes appeared. The tactical information tagged onto the transmission indicated that he was transmitting from somewhere in the Everin Building. The return signal was sent through hundreds of voluntary and involuntary relays, hiding the location of the Clever Dream.

  “My pleasure, as always,” he replied. “I know why you’re contacting my government, and I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad news.”

  “The BA is taking the Carthan’s side in this?” Ayan asked.

  “Not at all,” he replied. “We’re distancing ourselves. Our mandate is to stand ready in this territory in case of an attack from the Order of Eden or their allies
and increase our vigilance. We can’t play a role in local politics.”

  “Even if it results in needless bloodshed?” Ayan asked.

  “I’m afraid our stance is firm in this.”

  On a whim, Ayan brought up the surveillance logs from Haven Shore and found footage of Minister Sunny Zinnes meeting with the Carthan Minister, Cory Green, along with several other high ranking members of their military. The recording was scrambled, so she couldn’t hear what they were saying clearly, or have her software read their lips. “Why were you meeting with the Carthans last night?”

  “They approached me for advice,” Sunny replied. “They were worried about the split between Haven Shore and Triton Fleet, and wanted to hear my opinion on your motivations.”

  “And? What’s your opinion?” Ayan asked, aware that there must have been much more to the meeting if they used a surveillance scrambler.

  “I’m afraid I had to be honest with them. You are making big waves while sitting in a very small boat, Ayan, and I told them that you would pursue war with the Order with or without their approval. I did advise them against this attack.”

  “You knew this was coming,” she said quietly. “You didn’t give us any warning, but you knew last night. ”

  “I’m not in a moral position to grant either side a tactical advantage, and that’s what I would have been doing if I warned you. I am here, however, in one of your buildings, and that must count for something.”

  Ayan forced herself to slow her breathing, to focus on her current objective. The conversation wasn’t any help, so she had to take another tact. “I want to resolve this without firing a shot. Give me something to start with, Sunny. When they reply to my hails, how do you think I should start my negotiations?”