by Ben Winston
The timing was perfect because another person took form at the table, and bowed to the King. “Majesty, to what do I owe the honor?” Her British accent was a surprise to John. He hadn’t heard an accent that strong in hundreds of years.
“The Tammerain sent three cruisers to Bethel. It is unknown whether they are scouts or a simple retrieval team, but that’s irrelevant at this point. I want you to destroy them as quickly as possible,” Mark replied, smiling at the older woman. Naval officers did not have to be enhanced to serve, but it was recommended for them to be, since it improved their chances for survival if they got hit in combat. However, since they were not front line troops, it was not required for them. Admiral Surry was one of those not enhanced.
“I see, Major Aster, Major Diamond, may I assume that this is the plot?” she asked indicating the displayed hologram.
“Yes Admiral, I had to work on it, but we got the Flyer to find them,” Chloe replied.
“Very good! Could I impose on you to send a link to the Gladiator? We can remove that little problem from here,” the Admiral said, grinning. “We got new toys from Father Christmas last year.”
She turned her head and spoke to someone else. “Halsten, stand by for a data feed from the TG Flyer. Warm up three hyper-missiles, and let me know when you have a lock.”
“Hyper-missiles?” John asked looking at Mark.
“A breakthrough in tracking as well as hyperspace physics and miniaturization. They still require a Capitol class ship to launch them, but they should be a nasty surprise,” Mark replied.
Chloe was typing on her keyboard, and nodded to the Admiral. “All yours, Admiral.”
“Thank you Major, we’ll take care of this for you,” the woman winked. ‘Halsten’ must have replied to her, as she nodded. “Fire tubes seven through nine!”
She waited a moment, then echoed, “Missiles away, five minutes to impact.”
“What if they have their shields up?” John asked.
“Won’t matter. Downward translation takes place microseconds from impact. The missiles are still in flux on impact, and don’t actually detonate until they are inside the hull of the enemy vessel. The drawback is accuracy. The only reason we can be assured of a kill is because we are so close to n-space ourselves. If we tried to fire them on a target that was more than five lights out, the reentry vector drifts slightly. The further away, the more drift,” the Admiral explained. “Also since we are using real time data instead of our own sensors, the distance wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”
“In effect, once launched, the missiles are using Flyer’s guidance instead of the command ship that launched them, these are capable of targeting hand off. Right now, Flyer has the missiles. The only thing Gladiator can do is abort them,” Mark said.
“Nasty, but isn’t the data load on our computer systems an issue? Adding this couldn’t have helped that problem any,” Chloe asked. She was more in touch with the technical side of warfare than John was, and knew that combat data flows were beginning to become an issue since there was so much information shared among a fleet during combat. In war games, there had been several smaller destroyers that had simply locked up due to overload.
“Yes, in our current environment this would be a crippling addition. However, a new system has been developed that will resolve the issues. We simply haven’t had the time to get it installed in the entire fleet. In fact, if this little issue hadn’t flared up, I’d have ordered the Flyer to Xanadu for upgrades,” Mark said referring to the mysterious shipyards John had visited centuries ago. It’s exact location was still a secret, as well as much of went on there, but just like the ancient ‘Area 51’ from old Earth, Mark would never officially confirm its existence.
“So, it does exist!” Surry said, grinning.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Gladys!” Mark said quickly. The Admiral just leaned her head back and laughed.
“Admiral, once you break out, could you give me call? I need to get my kids loaded up and on to our next task as soon your Marines can relieve us,” John said.
“Certainly, Major. I’ll issue the order and get them loading now, that way there will be less of a delay once we’re in system. I show break out to be in sixty-five minutes. I’ll send the transport ahead to Bethel’s Anvil as soon as we’re clear of the jump,” the Admiral replied. “Thirty seconds to impact.”
“Thank you Ma’am, that would be a great help,” John said, respectfully.
“Anything you need, Major, just ask,” Surry replied, seriously. “To me, you’re pretty much one step below him.” She pointed to Mark.
“I’ll be sure to let Command know that!” Mark said grinning.
The woman winked at her King. “Majesty, I’m pretty sure they already know since that belief is pretty common.”
“Sheesh! The next thing you’re going to tell us is that we’re the real rulers of the Kingdom!” John replied.
“Now, there’s an idea!” Mark said.
“No fuckin’ way, Sire!” Chloe said, grinning.
Mark was laughing. “Gods! I could just see the faces of the Senate if I made that declaration!”
“How is the public responding to this emergency?” John asked.
Mark sighed. “Most of them don’t believe it, and I can’t really blame them. After all, it’s been so long since they were an issue. I’ve heard that some in the Senate think this is only a ploy that will allow me to implement some less popular changes they have been resisting. I’m of half a mind to make all decrees issued during a crisis of this nature temporary for the duration of the emergency.”
“That would make sense. They couldn’t really bitch then,” Chloe agreed. “Of course, they probably will anyway.”
“Probably, I think those guys just need something to bitch about,” Mark replied.
“Missile impact was one minute ago, Major, you should have confirmation any minute,” the Admiral mentioned.
Chloe had been watching the display, and nodded to the Admiral. “They were far enough out that the visuals will take a minute to get here. Ahh, there they are! Just a second,” Chloe said as she typed in commands to the computer.
“Confirmed two total destructions, Flyer still has one of the ships intact, but there are no detectable power readings,” Chloe said. “Looks like your eggheads will have something to look over, Boss.”
Mark nodded. “It’s always good to keep the mad scientists happy. Uh, present company exempted of course!” The last he said to Mary, who grinned at him.
“Shh! Mark! Don’t let these guys know my secret or they’ll never let me work on them!” Mary countered. “Which reminds me, Sire, none of these smart-asses have followed any sort of upgrade path for their enhancements. Have you?”
“Uh... That’s uh, classified Mary! Yeah, that’s it, it’s classified!” Mark replied.
“Which means he hasn’t, either,” the Admiral replied. “I don’t think we were introduced, Miss. I’m Admiral Gladys Surry.”
“Doctor Marebella St. Andres, Admiral. I’m John’s girlfriend,” Mary replied.
“Girlfriend?” the Admiral asked raising an eyebrow. “Did the Majors finally break up once and for all then?”
Mary shrugged. “I’m a civilian, Ma’am, so it’s an entirely platonic relationship, as for Chloe and John breaking up, no they haven’t. We haven’t had a chance to talk it all out, but for the time being, I’m her girlfriend too, at least intellectually.”
The Admiral nodded, “I apologize, I honestly didn’t mean to pry, the question just tumbled out.”
“You’ve been reading too many of those gossip rags, Gladys!” Mark said, teasing her.
The woman nodded. ”Probably, but a person has to have something to read on a long cruise!”
“Highness, would it be possible for me to get the tech sheets on those missiles? I’d like to get updated on the tech,” Chloe asked, changing the subject.
“Sorry, Chloe, not until you take the Flyer in for
her upgrades. That information isn’t leaving the facility it was designed in,” Mark replied.
“Well folks, as much as I would love to stay here and chat, I can’t. You all have your orders, but if something comes up, don’t hesitate to give us a call,” Mark replied. “The Tammerain ambassador is finally calling me back.”
“Thanks, Mark. Try not to have too much fun!” John said, grinning at the man. Mark grinned back as his imaged rapidly faded out.
“Well, if you’ll excuse me Majors, Doctor, I should probably get back to the Gossip Rags his majesty mentioned,” the Admiral said. “See you in a couple of hours.”
After the three close friends wished the woman well, her image also rapidly faded.
“Chloe, could you pass the word for the kids to break camp and get ready to depart?” John asked. “Did Carl and Alice ever finish mapping the facility?”
“They finished mapping the local facility, yes, but there was evidence of a more substantive subterranean system here. Will is working with them on that,” Chloe replied.
“Really? Any idea how big?” John asked.
“After clearing a sealed tunnel, they found what Alice called a maglev station. It’s been sealed a long time, probably since the original battle here,” Chloe answered. “I know they were trying to get at least a general idea of its layout for a report to Command.”
“I bet the tunnel runs all the way to Threshold, I remember reading that it was built on the ruins of an old city because of the massive starport that had been there,” Mary offered.
John nodded. “Okay, tell them to finish up and report back to the ship, I want to get up to the Hammer as soon as our relief gets here. This place is my new home, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to leave that facility up there unchecked.”
“Where did the kids stick you for the trip to Vesta?” John asked Mary.
“You’re cabin of course, although, I guess its Chloe’s cabin now,” Mary said. “I didn’t get a chance to ask her, but I hope my staying there is okay with her.”
“I’m sure it is, she likes you,” John replied. “We do need to sit down and figure this out between us.”
“No need to for a while yet, like I told the Admiral, this is all just academic anyway no matter what we decide,” Mary explained. “I’m not going to be concerned about it yet. I only have a few ideas about how to safely accomplish what we need. I do have the computer now, but I’ll need a lab in order to perform the experiments and simulations before I’d even consider attempting anything. Besides, we will have to upgrade some of your systems.”
“Yes Dear,” John replied, grinning.
“Well, at least you’re learning fast.”
Chapter 18
While John and the team had been doing their thing in the base, Mary had been studying and outlining a few experiments she wanted to try when she got someplace she could work. When she got the idea of forwarding a request to the Royal Bio-Molecular Society. There had been a note in the data packet containing Johns records, letting her know that Doctor Manuel Halverez and his entire team would be available to her if she had any questions regarding John’s systems.
She wasn’t sure this would qualify, but she wrote a letter explaining her ideas, and included all the data she had been able to amass in her spare time. She explained that she didn’t have a lab or any facilities to research her ideas and asked if Dr. Halverez and his team could look into it. She sent the packet to Dr. Halverez just before the Flyer left for Bethel’s Hammer.
John had already briefed his teams, and they were armored up and ready as the ship came to rest on the surface of the airless world. Chloe stayed behind this time to run the command center from the conference room, and Mary was keeping her company.
The comm beeped and Chloe answered it. “What’s up, Jenny?”
“Major, I have an urgent comm request for Doctor St. Andres from Doctor Halverez at The Center,” the woman manning the bridge reported.
Chloe looked at a surprised Mary. “You have friends in high places, Sweetheart.”
“I sent him a suggestion from a couple of ideas I had, I didn’t expect him to call me!” Mary countered. “Uh, Sergeant, I’ll take the call in our quarters so I don’t interfere with Chloe.”
“Okay, Ma’am, I’ll put it through to your quarters,” the woman replied and closed the comm.
“I should be back in a few minutes, Chloe,” Mary told her friend.
“Heh, obviously, you’ve never spoken to Manny before! I’ll be lucky to see you by chow tonight!” Chloe replied. “He’s a good man, but very long-winded.”
Mary grinned as she left the room, taking her small computer with her in case she had to answer any questions.
It had taken a few orbits of the planet to locate the Lizard’s transmitter, and then it was only because of the slight temporal distortions created by the use of compressed tachyons. The whole facility was buried under the ruins of a large complex whose original use was lost in the mists of time. However it did serve as excellent camouflage for the transmitter complex. John and the teams would have to search for a way into it, or failing that, create one.
Once they knew where to look, it had been a simple matter to get a scan of the entire facility, and no life signs had been located. John hadn’t expected any, since it would have been difficult for them to support anyone up here without it being discovered.
At one point, a long time ago, there had probably been a team stationed here, because there were living quarters and such in the facility. However, unlike the base on Bethel’s Anvil, this small facility was exactly what it seemed to be, a small remote transmitter complex that had been abandoned a long time ago.
The equipment rooms had been sealed and filled with an inert gas, while the rest of the base had simply been depressurized. Thick dust covered everything not in one of the equipment rooms. Unlike the base on the planet, this facility had a more common type of power supply, and all the equipment was known to John and the rest of the Guards. After filming and recording everything they could think of for the analysts to go over, they shut down the power unit, destroyed the transmitter, and got back to their ship to see if Mark needed them anywhere else.
Being a prototype ship, the Flyer was equipped with most of the latest equipment and technology. As such, it was very hard for the enemy to detect. Therefore, Mark asked them to drop Mary off at the Vespa enclave, and proceed to the border directly in the path of the incoming fleet to monitor them, and to act as a targeting point for the missiles on the Gladiator and her escorts.
Not only did Mary not want to go to the Vespa enclave, when they got there, Gloria wanted to get on board too. John had to put his foot down, and order them both off the ship. Chloe made sure they did indeed get off, and hadn’t stowed away again. Mary tried to convince Chloe to let her come along.
“Dammit, Chloe, I don’t want you two to go off without me! What am I supposed to do if you don’t come back?” Mary said.
“Live out the remainder of your life knowing that we gave our lives to make sure you had one. Regardless of what develops between us, we both care about you, Mary. But the point of fact is that you have no business in what is coming. Neither John nor I would be able to do our jobs if we had to worry about you being with us. We have to be able to take risks; that’s just what we do. If you are with us, we won’t be able to because you might get hurt or worse,” Chloe said.
“I know that, it’s just I can’t... I’m terrified of you not coming back,” Mary said.
“So help us make sure we do. Stay here and keep us close to your heart. Besides, didn’t Manny want you to go back to The Center for those experiments you sent him?”
“Yeah, he wanted to send a transport for me, but I told him that I was too busy out here, and didn’t want to get that far away from you,” Mary said. “He said he understood completely. He seemed kinda sad about it, but he understood.”
“His mentor fell in love with one of us, and committed suicide when he
was killed in action. Although not many of them kill themselves, a lot of our caregivers tend to develop feelings for us. When something happens to us, they don’t take it very well,” Chloe replied. “Most of us are old enough to know what it costs the doctors and nurses that care for us, and try to keep it from happening. But we still have a desire to let ourselves love you. Even though we know you are born, grow old and die in the blink of an eye for us.”
Mark’s hologram appeared beside Chloe in the hatch of the ship. “Ah, there you are. Mary, I am sending a fast scout to pick-up Gloria and her parents. Manny has filed a formal request to temporarily recall you to The Center regarding a, and I quote, ‘Revolutionary and fundamental breakthrough in the bio-chemical and molecular enhancement field. He has already signed off on the royal grant I was pushing on him for the new research center on Bethel’s Anvil. I would like to ask you to please come back to Centauri with the Saint’s. It’s only temporary since you will be taking over the new center on Bethel’s Anvil. Because of your new status in your field, I would normally just order you to come, but you’re my friend, so I thought I should ask first,” he grinned playfully.
Mary looked at him angrily. “Did John put you up to this?”
“Huh?” Mark said looking completely surprised. He hadn’t expected anger. “What are you talking about, I thought you wanted to come, but didn’t think you could. I was trying to set it up so we paid for the ride. I haven’t talked to John since yesterday.”
Mary closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry, Mark. John and Chloe want me away from here, and I want to go with them. We’re having a... discussion, about it right now.”
“Oh, I see. That makes sense then. Mary, they can’t legally take you with them, even if I ordered them to. Your suggestions to The Center have made you a National Medical Asset. By law, you have to be evacuated to the core worlds during a military emergency, unless exigent circumstances prevent that from occurring. Those circumstances simply don’t exist at the moment.” He shrugged. “I’m very sorry, Mary, but you have to come back here; our laws require it.”
