“You think we’re going to take on a group that big?”
Minh-Chu highlighted a section of the destroyer’s hull where a series of dates were written. “They finished building this ship less than two weeks ago, and they have a skeleton crew. I’m guessing they’re just delivering it to the Order, there’s no way Jake is going to let it go, not when we have antimatter bombs and a bunch of new toys loaded. Wrecking the ship then taking the transport is the smart move, but I think your father will want to make more of this opportunity.”
“But there’s something we’re not seeing. Our scanners can’t penetrate the hull on those escort corvettes. What if they’re as well armed as we are?” Alice asked, quieting down so the rest of the bridge couldn’t hear her question Minh-Chu.
“We’ll know it’s too much right away and we’ll have time to bug out,” Minh-Chu replied. “That’s the luxury of having cloaking systems and battleship class shielding on a ship the size of the Warlord. We can stick around for a few minutes and see what we’re really up against.” Minh-Chu checked a timer on his wrist comm unit and smiled. “Your dad is in for one hell of a surprise when he wakes up in fifty seven minutes.”
“You got him to sleep?”
“He’s been asleep for almost eight hours. Bet he’ll feel as fresh as a daisy when he rolls out of bed.”
“I don’t think he’s ever felt like a daisy,” Alice snickered. “Or would admit it if he did.”
“True. Either way, he gets to free some slaves in a few hours. One of his very favourite things.” Minh-Chu said. “Can’t say I blame him.”
CHAPTER 40
One Ship
There was only one major cargo bay left on the Warlord. The others were repurposed as fighter bays, or reduced in size to make room for more on-board systems or berthing. The remaining space was cluttered, to be sure, but there was still enough room for one hundred and ninety-four of the crew to assemble. They sat on crates, on stacked armour plating, stood between stacks of sealed supplies, all gathered in front of the main fore access hatches.
The last day had Alice running around the ship, locking down anything loose, and helping the on-board security teams get ready for combat. Before her new assignment, she barely noticed if something was left out of a locker, or loose from its cupboard, or if a storage bin was open. After a day of running around righting these and other wrongs, she could notice a surplus bolt on the deck from across the room. It was that assignment, chosen for her by First Officer Stephanie Vega, that she wanted to talk to her father about, but he had been busy.
He walked in, followed by Stephanie and Minh-Chu. They were in full combat gear. Minh-Chu wore his flight jacket over a medium armour vacsuit, which looked like a thicker version of a normal vacsuit, but the layers built in took care of much more than the average suit. Most importantly, the extra built-in life support could last for a month or longer in combination with extra supplies from his ship.
First Officer Stephanie Vega wore her heavy combat suit. The dark coloured bands of armour flexed and moved with her as though they were heavy cloth. Those bands had incredible stopping power, and hid hundreds of tiny emitters that could propel someone in space in an emergency, or create a shield barrier in combat. They also helped in heavy gravity situations.
Alice’s father wore his long coat, which had been outfitted with the same type of emitters that were built into his heavy combat armour. She couldn’t see his face with his helmet up, but she could tell from his size, his armour, and the way he walked that it must have been him. He turned towards the assembly, revealing a holographic horror. Through a trick of holography, Jacob Valent looked like his head had been roughly stripped of flesh behind his helmet’s faceplate. The grisly visage moved perfectly as he spoke, and Alice couldn’t help but snicker to herself as many in the crowd cringed and turned away from the convincing illusion.
“There are people who believe that we must be better than our enemies, fight with honour and be civilized. I am not one of those people. When we fight today, our intent is to murder anyone who does not immediately surrender and take whatever is worth stealing. We are making an example of these new Order of Eden soldiers. They’re not technicians, officers, and button pushers. Every one of them will eventually be responsible for killing people on our side, so we’re going to treat them like the murdering traitors they are.” Captain Valent said. He retracted his headpiece, revealing his normal, real face. “It is critical that our engagement here is successful. By now you know we face a large, armed cargo hauler. We’re also facing a destroyer with a skeleton crew and two corvette class escorts, all fresh from the factory. Most of you have never seen one ship like the Warlord approach a combat ready group of this size, but that’s about to change. Thanks to intelligence gathered by my first officer, Lieutenant Commander Stephanie Vega, I’ve had time to plan our attack. Six hours ago, I shared the details with your commanding officers, and we’ve refined it.
“We have already emerged from our wormhole, and have successfully cloaked. Half an hour ago, we entered the range of the waypoint sensor drones on the edge of the Iron Head Nebula and they have not detected us. The only thing the Order knows at this point is that a mysterious ship emerged from a wormhole seventeen million kilometres out from the waypoint. The ships we’re after are still in faster-than-light transit, and have not changed speed or course, so we will have a clear opportunity to attack.
“We have three tasks to perform during this engagement: the Warlord and Samurai Squadron must demonstrate that we can defeat a superior force. We must destroy or capture the supplies and ships being delivered to the Order of Eden, and we will capture at least one of their armed ships. If we accomplish all of this, we will send a clear message to the Order of Eden, establishing ourselves as a clear threat. The overall point to this is to damage morale in the Order.
“Every person on this crew has qualified on their station, and more importantly, you joined with the expectation that you would have a chance to take the fight to the Order. Here it is, your first shot. You’ll perform your duties, we’ll fight like hell, and in twenty-two hours, most of us will know what it really feels like to strike a blow to the Order. Your assignments and your part of the plan will be uploaded to your communicators when your senior officers are finished.”
Captain Valent stepped aside and allowed Wing Commander Minh-Chu Buu to take the fore. Alice was already excited and anxious.
Minh-Chu looked more serious than Alice could remember seeing him. “Like the captain said, we haven’t been spotted since we emerged from our wormhole. The enemy will be emerging in twelve hours, and when they arrive, there will be a minimum of two hours before their assistance arrives. We have picked up no transmissions from the enemy that would indicate that they have called for help. There is still a chance that the Order has cloaked ships in the area. Our plan, in that case, is to fight through those extra defences or retreat and reassess. Multiple contingencies have been put together for each scenario.
“All of you have combat experience and you’ve seen the best laid plans turn into panicky chaos before. I think it’s important that you know that your commanding officers, myself included, have survived more chaos minutes than well-planned engagements, so don’t worry if all but the laws of physics change on a dime and our plans go out the airlock. We’ll do the heavy improvising, and you just have to follow orders. All of your commanding officers have won against superior forces without having time to prepare.
“This time we are ready, and the Order of Eden has never seen what happens when we set out to make a point. I think a few imploding ships and some terrifying video on the open ‘nets should be a good start.” Minh-Chu nodded at the gathering and left as Lieutenant Commander Stephanie Vega took his place. Samurai Squadron and their support team quietly followed their wing commander out for what Alice assumed would be a private briefing.
“I didn’t see Pandem first hand like our captain or wing commander did, and they didn’t want to
mention it. When I asked them why they didn’t want to tell you that they were there to see the aftermath of the slaughter and the destruction of a culture, they said there was no point. You have all seen what the Holocaust Virus did for yourselves. I took another look at the roster then, and realized that we have forty-two Aucharians aboard. You were among the first to lose your homes; I saw a part of that happen and will never forget. There are nine here who had relatives on Pandem, and I can only imagine the hate you have for the Order. Dozens of you were stranded in space for days, sometimes weeks, after Eden ships attacked you. Other people on the roster were slaves when the Holocaust Virus hit, and a few of you were even in the middle of labour camps or factories when industrial machines turned on your co-workers.
“No, no one has to mention Pandem. There are thousands of places where the Order of Eden caused incredible destruction, murdered billions either through the Holocaust Virus or in the war that we’ve barely seen in this sector. Wing Commander Minh-Chu did say something I’ll never forget when we were talking about this though. He said, ‘tragedy martyrs some, victimises a people, and makes soldiers of many.” Stephanie took a shuddering breath and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before continuing. “My family is gone. They got in the way of the Order and I wasn’t there to fight alongside them. Pandem isn’t important to me. I was a soldier before I heard of it. I was a soldier before my family was killed. I’m a soldier now, and as a soldier I know that my best chance of victory, of survival, is to put my rage aside and do my job. When our work is done, and we’re on our way back to the Rega Gain System, we can do so knowing that the Warlord was the first to counterattack the Order in this sector. That is an act that will outlive us in history, and when the guns stop firing I’ll be able to say I did it for my family and the friends I’ve already lost to this war. Until then, we all have to do as soldiers do: keep our heads down, listen to orders, think on our feet, and do our jobs. Your comms are being updated with your orders.”
Lieutenant Commander Stephanie Vega turned to Captain Valent then, and he nodded at her knowingly. A few of their subordinates approached them with questions while much of the crew dispersed through several hatches leading to their duty stations. Alice did her best to navigate through the crowd so she could speak to her father.
After weaving through the crowd, squeezing through the door and into the hallway, she caught up with him as he stepped into a side passage with Minh-Chu. “That’s bad timing,” Minh was saying. “Was it at least a good dream?”
“It was Ayan, of course it was a good dream,” Jake replied. “Been trying to put it out of my head since, but it just comes…” he noticed her then and stopped.
It was good to hear that Ayan was on his mind; she had to stifle a grin. Just the same, Alice couldn’t let herself be distracted by a little encouraging news. “Dad, why am I on counter incursion and support duty for this mission?” she whispered to him.
Minh-Chu patted Jake on the shoulder and said, “I’ll see you later,” before leaving.
Jake nodded at him then focused on Alice. He didn’t seem surprised by her question. “That’s Stephanie’s call, and I think it’s a good one.”
“I have more Order of Eden kills than her entire boarding team combined, and I’m improving my team work. You can’t keep me out of harm’s way when I can be useful,” she objected.
Stephanie stepped into the narrow side passage and the trio moved into an adjacent room. It was a storage space for replacement parts. Shelves were marked with a grease pencil, designating places and desired quantities for equipment that was depleted. Most of the shelves were empty. “Okay, I caught part of that,” Stephanie said. “I know you want to be on one of the boarding teams, Alice, and you have improved. There were a lot of factors to my decision, and even though I want you with us, it’s not happening.”
Alice was frustrated, but she recognized that Stephanie was taking some time out to talk to her even though she was very busy. “Okay, why? What can I do?”
Stephanie and Jake looked at each other for a moment before she answered. “I was hoping this would keep until the trip home, but I guess it won’t. Doctor Messana put a hold on your off-ship missions after seeing your medical records. I’m taking her word for it.”
“What’s wrong with me? How could there be anything wrong? I’m a framework,” Alice said, deeply concerned.
“Don’t worry,” Jake said. “We’re just trying to figure a few things out.”
“Like what?”
“Doctor Messana’s just down the hall, let’s go see her,” Jake said. “Thank you, Stephanie.”
Stephanie Vega nodded and backed out of the room. “Sir.”
The trip down the corridor and around a few corners seemed long to Alice. “I’d explain it all to you, but Doctor Messana has a better grasp of the details.” Jake said.
“It’s so weird that you don’t even understand it?” Alice asked.
“I understand it,” Jake replied. “I just don’t know how I’d start to explain it.”
“She’s not some kinda secret researcher, is she?” Alice asked.
“No, but she’s an expert in emerging cybernetics, and she’s experienced in accelerated regeneration. She’s found a few things about you and me that are, unexpected.”
“You’re dancing around this like I have some kind of embarrassing butt plague!” Alice burst. She was immediately embarrassed as a few startled crewmembers glanced at her, wide-eyed.
Her father looked surprised for a moment, then burst into a fit of unguarded laughter. Alice was insulted at first, but couldn’t suppress a smile at seeing him in such a state. It had been a long time since she saw him laugh like that, so long that she’d forgotten what it looked like. “It’s not funny,” she muttered as he strangled his mirth to chuckles.
“I know, I know,” he said, taking a breath. “You’ll be all right, we’re just writing the manual on the framework system, so there are some surprises.”
They entered the Warlord Infirmary, where there were six medical cots, two new humanoid bio-bots that smiled at Alice as she entered, and Doctor Messana. “Early visit,” she said. “Okay, come with me.”
Alice’s boots squeaked against the new self-sterilizing, no-slip flooring as she and her father followed the doctor into one of four private treatment rooms. “Hop up,” Doctor Messana said as she activated a short-range recorder scrambler, a small circular tab the size of her thumbnail that blinked red.
Alice hopped up on the exam table and was instantly nervous. “Testing? Am I in for some jabs and pokes?”
“No,” Doctor Messana said with a comforting smile. “You stay dressed and I don’t have to poke or jab. The latest reading from your vacsuit is enough for me to see you’re healthier than the average human, and much more capable.”
“Okay, so why did you pull me off boarding operations?” Alice asked. For some reason, maybe because of the doctor’s easy bedside manner, she found herself sounding more frustrated than angry.
“I didn’t pull you off boarding operations, but I’m sure my medical advisory played a small part. I’ll get right down to it then,” the doctor said. “You’re a soldier, so you don’t fall under guardianship discretion.”
“Um, that means?”
“Your father can’t tell me what I can and can’t tell you, so I’m going to give you the whole story,” Doctor Messana said. “In this office, you have all the rights of an adult soldier.”
“Oh, okay, what’s wrong with me then?”
“Everything seems to be working fine, as far as frameworks go. With your father’s permission, I’ve been studying everything you have on framework technology and I’ve been investigating the particulars about you both.”
“I thought I was an adult, here? Don’t I have a say in getting snooped on?”
“Not in this case, your superior officers can have me monitor and investigate your medical status as much as they like. In this case, your father is captain, so he had me s
tudy you both after he vetted me as ship doctor. What I found is ground-breaking. Mostly, that the framework system is intelligent when it comes to responding to your needs.”
“Okay, and that’s bad somehow?” Alice replied.
“It’s almost always good. Have you wondered why you changed so much when you regenerated during the battle of Port Rush?”
“I thought the framework system just hooked into my subconscious or something,” Alice replied.
“That’s true,” Doctor Messana said, bringing up a hologram of Jake’s DNA and her own. “But there’s more to it. There is no way your subconscious mind could know your father’s exact DNA, and you had no contact with him before you regenerated as his biological daughter. I had Kadri perform a forensic analysis of your framework’s communication systems on the records from the Battle of Port Rush. We discovered that the framework system accessed your comm unit and downloaded your father’s DNA before the battle even started. It knew, from your subconscious mind that you saw yourself as his daughter, and without your knowledge, it prepared a pattern that used your father’s DNA, so the next time you took critical damage, you’d regenerate as his biological daughter. It also determined what age you’d be based on your mental self-image and subconscious desires. It’s the only explanation here, but one of the potential problems is that your age is locked to a certain range. That means that your framework lets your body age and develop to a certain point, and when that point is reached, it rolls the clock back. You keep your memories, and the framework system allows you to retain muscle memory and development, but everything else gets rebuilt so you are physically sixteen years old. This kind of system is popular in adults where I come from – I have a biological graft implanted that keeps my physical age down to twenty nine – but there are reasons why we don’t allow those types of implants in teenagers.”
Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades Page 32
