by David Adams
Liao looked to Vong. “It’s your call, sir.”
Commodore Vong, silent for some time now, didn’t answer immediately. He sat, his hands steepled in front of him, resting his chin on the top of his fingers. “I think,” he said, “there’s a lot of guessing going on and not a lot of fact. It’s clear we don’t know enough about what’s occurred on Belthas IV to make an accurate game plan, and the incident—along with the subsequent significant loss of Toralii naval assets, if confirmed—is a serious matter worthy of investigation, especially if the construct known as Ben is involved. Accordingly, I’m inclined to agree with Captain Knight. Send three ships to Belthas IV with the goal of learning what we can. One of our goals should be initiating dialogue with Ben, if such a thing is possible.
“The Rubens, I feel, needs to spend some time lying low. What Lieutenant Williams proposed is an excellent plan of action. The Rubens’s crew have earned some leave, Flight Lieutenant; make sure they enjoy it.”
Williams’s scarred face lit up. “I will, sir.”
“May I make a suggestion, sir?” asked Liao.
“Proceed,” said Vong.
“We found Ben on the wreckage of the Giralan on Karathi, deep within Toralii space. We didn’t spend a great deal of time exploring the derelict, but there may be some intel to be found there if we sent down a team to investigate. Avaran gave us permission to enter Toralii Alliance space for the purposes of gathering information about Ben, so I suggest we use this offer to the best of our ability. When the Washington arrives, sir, perhaps they can be sent to see what their crew can pick from the bones. It would be a useful pseudo-shakedown cruise and a good test of their jump drive, too.”
Liao could see Vong didn’t approve, but he didn’t immediately say no. After some consideration, he folded his hands. “I think we should, instead, send just the Beijing to talk to Ben and send the Sydney to Karathi. Ben destroyed a staggering number of Toralii Alliance ships without breaking a sweat, a ‘show of force’ of just three of our ships isn’t going to matter one bit. Sending just the Beijing will show we’re there to talk. I’m not comfortable sending the Washington so far away, and possibly into danger, when she’s still unproven. The Sydney can handle that task. We’ll keep the battle-proven Tehran here with the Washington and the Madrid. Anything else?”
It was a sound line of reason, and Liao found herself agreeing with Vong. “No, sir.”
Vong returned his pen to his pocket. “Very well, then. Commander Liao, I’d like to request your presence aboard the Beijing for this mission. You know Ben better than any of us.”
The idea of being sent on a mission on her original ship, even if she wasn’t in command anymore, excited her. “Very good, sir.”
Vong looked around the table. “If there’s nothing else, dismissed.”
*****
Corridor
Cerberus Station
Spotting Williams in a corridor, Liao power-walked to catch up to him, moving through the corridor and excusing herself whenever she had to push past someone.
“Sorry, Lieutenant Williams?”
He turned, giving a lopsided smile with his strange, heavily scarred face. He had a half-dozen thick, wide scars running from his forehead to his chin at a forty-five degree angle, with numerous smaller scars where stitches and corrective surgeries had obviously taken place. The effect was a face that was thick, leathery and uneven.
“Yes, ma’am?”
Liao inhaled slightly, steadying herself. “They call you Magnet, don’t they?”
“That’s my call sign, ma’am.”
“On the Rubens, too?”
He raised a scarred eyebrow. “Pilots are a strange breed, and the Rubens’s an even stranger beast. We run with a small crew on a smaller ship, performing highly risky feats of derring-do well beyond enemy lines.” He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, then back to Liao. “Don’t tell Commodore Vong, but although I’m in command, rank matters little on my ship. It’s mostly pilots or crew from the Sydney anyway, so we run things pretty informally. Why?”
Liao grinned. “Well, for the longest time, we thought that, when Avaran was talking about this ‘lone, stolen ship’, he was talking about the Rubens.”
Magnet laughed, shaking his head. “Really?”
“Yeah. You should have seen our faces, I guess. We were all trying to understand how you’d taken a planet… much less held it against a third of the Toralii fleet.” She gave a cheesy smile. “You’d be more famous than me, and you wouldn’t even have to sleep with Captain Grégoire.”
Magnet smirked. “He’s a bit out of my league. Besides, I got a nice girl back home.”
“Great. Want a free piece of advice? Use a condom.”
He looked, strangely, distinctly uncomfortable at that suggestion, and Liao for a second wondered why.
“So, I’m Magnet, the planet conquerer, huh?”
“That’s what we thought, yeah.”
“I’m struggling to understand how a victory of that—ahem, magnitude—could have been accomplished.”
She laughed. “Yeah, yeah. So were we. We still are, I suppose, but don’t worry. We’re going to find out.” Liao paused. “In the meantime, I have a favour to ask you.”
He tilted his head. “Sure.”
“James and I weren’t expecting to be recalled so we brought our child. There was some personal threat against me, so we didn’t feel safe leaving her on Earth without us. But now that we know nobody’s going to knife me in the dark, I think she’s safer there, really. There’s a very good chance these ships are going to see combat again, and she’s just a baby. So… when you head back on leave, can you take her with you? There’s a babysitter in New York who’s basically a full time house-sitter now, and I’ll happily reimburse you for any costs—”
He held up his hand to stop her. “She can stay with us, if you like. Penny will love her,” he said. “She’s always adored kids, and a trip to New York sounds perfect. Believe me; it would be my privilege.”
Relieved, Liao nodded. “Great. Just pick her up from Ensign Mohammadi’s quarters before you leave. I’ll let her know you’re coming.”
“Will do, Captain. Good hunting.”
She smiled. “Enjoy your leave.”
Magnet turned and left, and Liao stared at his back until he turned down a corridor and disappeared. She began walking back the way she had come, but Rowe appeared through the crowd of people.
“Hey Cappy, off to see the CO of the Madrid?”
Liao blinked. “I thought they weren’t due in for a day.”
“Nah, they came in earlier, while you were at the meeting. I figured you’d wanna know.”
Liao smiled. “Thanks for the heads up, Summer. Walk with me; we might as well see if we can meet him together.”
Rowe fell into step with her and together the two made their way forward towards the docking ring. When they arrived, it was a buzz of activity; the Cerberus station was not a large outpost, and Liao could guess that the number of people who were arriving was probably beginning to exceed the comfort level for the existing crew.
The Madrid, as the name implied, was primarily crewed by elements from the various EU member states. Liao scanned the sea of heads trying to find anyone of suitable rank.
“Melissa Liao,” said a man wearing captain’s epaulets and moving out from the crowd, “as I live and breathe. Heard you might be here.”
The voice triggered a memory. The name ‘de Lugo’ had been rattling around in her head ever since James had mentioned it, but now, seeing his face and hearing his voice, Liao’s eyes widened and she felt herself flush. “Alano?”
Alano de Lugo stepped within handshaking distance, reached out, and smiled widely. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. It’s been a while.”
The first night Liao and James had slept together, they had consumed an excessive amount of strong alcohol. Amongst the various conversation topics—Saara and what to do with her, Spanish as the language of
‘sexy space lust’, and others—Liao had insisted she’d never have sex with another officer. However, almost in the same breath, she’d drunkenly confessed that, during officer candidate school, a “sculpted Adonis” from Spain had visited her co-ed boot camp. Specifically, she’d said he was gorgeous, with a chest that looked like it was carved from marble, and that during his stay, Liao and he had engaged in some ‘interoffice networking’.
And Alano had barely changed a bit, despite being over fifteen years older.
She awkwardly extended her hand. “It has been a while, yeah. How are you?”
“I’m well, thank you,” he said, taking her hand and giving it a firm squeeze.
Liao had no idea what to say. “So, that’s your ship, huh?”
“That’s my ship.”
“How’d you swing that command?”
“It’s fairly simple, really,” de Lugo said with his heavy Spanish accent. “The physical demands on a spacefaring captain are much harsher than those of an ocean going one, so the military is looking for fitter, healthier, younger officers for command positions.”
Fit he was, too. Liao nodded politely. “Right. Well, congratulations. You earned it.” She pointed down the corridor. “We just had the mission brief. In short, the Madrid is staying in town while we go out and have some fun.”
de Lugo smiled his wide, perfect smile. “Have fun. We’ll mind the fort while you’re gone.”
Liao nodded in agreement as one of de Lugo’s crewmen approached bearing a manila folder.
“That’ll be orders from the Commodore,” she noted as he took the folder and flipped it open. “I’ll leave you to it.”
de Lugo nodded politely and with that, Liao and Rowe stepped away, walking away from the large crowd of disembarked crew towards the more empty and quieter corridors of the ship.
“You’re drooling, Summer,” Liao observed.
“Fucking oath I’m drooling.” Rowe craned her neck, looking over her shoulder and trying to spy more of the Spanish captain. “Where the fuck do I get one of those?”
“Spain.”
“Can we go to Spain?”
“No, Summer. We have aliens to blow up.”
“Fuck aliens. I want a piece of that.”
“Thank you, Summer. Enough.”
“Bet he’s got a great big fucking cock, too. I bet he has.”
“I suppose it’s okay.”
Rowe laughed, reaching over and clapping Liao on the shoulder. “Yeah, like you’d know.”
There was an awkward silence. Rowe’s eyes widened. “Oh shit. No way. No fucking way. You’ve never been to Spain!”
She felt a warm flush creep up her neck and frowned at her friend. “It was an officer exchange program—”
“No fucking way!”
“—it was a long time ago—”
“No. Fucking. Way.”
“It was just a thing. We were young. I had no idea he was going to—”
Rowe burst out laughing, a loud, barking laugh that caused eyes to turn upon them.
“Quiet!” she hissed. “This is embarrassing enough as it is!”
Rowe leaned closer, grinning impishly. “I know.” Rowe clicked her tongue. “So, tell me; is there a captain in the Task Force you haven’t slept with yet?”
Liao, completely struck dumb, had nothing to say. Rowe laughed like a lunatic and wandered off down the corridor, leaving her standing around like a lost child. She gathered her wits and stormed off down the passage in the other direction, almost running into Saara.
“Saara, thank God.” Liao gave an exasperated sigh. “Please tell me you’re not going to make my day any worse than it already is.”
Liao expected levity, but she could see that Saara’s face was clouded with anger. [“Reluctantly, I can make no promises about that, Commander.”]
Frowning, Melissa reached out for Saara’s arm, but the Toralii pulled back. “What’s wrong?”
[“Is it true that you had a meeting with Captain Harandi, Captain Grégoire, Captain Knight and Commodore Vong?”]
Liao inclined her head. “Yes,” she said, “it was called by Vong. It finished about ten minutes ago or so. Why?”
Saara’s dark gaze fixed on her, and Liao felt distinctly uncomfortable. She was reminded of how Saara had seen her during their early days, when she was a prisoner aboard the Beijing, an enemy kept captive and not a friend.
[“Why did you bring me here?”]
“I’m… sorry?”
[“Why did you bring me to this station? Why do your people have me here?”]
Liao stammered in confusion. “Y-You’re my friend, but you’re also very knowledgeable about the Toralii, and so much more than that. It’s a huge galaxy out there, and we’ve only begun to understand a tiny bit of it. Your advice has been completely invaluable.”
[“So they tell me. Why, then, was I not invited to the briefing? Why do you spurn my council?”]
Liao frowned. “I’m sorry,” she said. “There’s so much going on, and it was Vong’s meeting. I just didn’t think to invite you.”
[“You are correct,”] Saara growled. [“You did not think. What else am I to do on this station? I am the de facto Telvan representative for your species. I am trying to help you, to guide your species away from the path mine took. Of becoming warmongers, murderers, hoarders of technology, a broken species without a homeworld due to our folly. I had to learn what transpired from James, and quite a shock it was to hear that you are making plans without me.”]
Liao blinked in surprise. “I assumed James would have asked you there if he wanted you. He’s your CO now; I thought that was the most appropriate course of action!”
[“Melissa, you are my friend. This fact transcends command structure.”] Saara’s judging gaze burned into her. [“I expected better from you.”]
Liao inhaled, closing her eyes and bringing her emotions under control. When she opened them, she had to fight to keep her breathing steady. “I’m very sorry,” Liao said. “Everything you’ve said is true. I’ve… I’ve been away from this for so long; it will take me some time to get back into the swing of things. I’m sorry we didn’t invite you, and we’ll make sure you are there the next time we have a briefing. I promise.”
Saara seemed reluctant, as though she had more to say, but eventually she nodded. [“Very well, Liao. I accept your apology and will attempt to move past this.”]
Liao sighed in relief, managing a soft smile. “Thank you, Saara.”
The Toralii did not smile in return, but turned and left, leaving Liao to watch her friend’s back as she walked away.
Chapter VI
“Curiosity”
*****
Operations Room
TFR Sydney
Karathi L1 Lagrange point
One day later
The TFR Sydney appeared in the jump point without incident, and Captain Matthew Knight withdrew his key from the jump system, returning it to his breast pocket. His XO, Commander Peter Baker, did the same.
“Jump complete,” came the call from navigation. “We are in position at the Karathi L1 Lagrange point.”
Knight moved from the jump console to navigation, observing on the large monitors what the ship’s myriad of sensors were telling them. An image of the red ball of Karathi floated below them, a barren desert wasteland with very little life, high heat, and no significant resources, geological features or points of interest.
Nothing showed itself except the wreckage of the Giralan, once home to Ben, now a rusting wreck almost completely buried in sand.
“Launch surface teams,” he said, “and have them report in on the hour. Mister Baker, deploy strike craft in a standard seven point CAP. Navigation, clear the jump point.”
The Operations room lit up in a flurry of activity. Two Broadswords were launched, tiny ships sailing out through the void, hurtling silently towards Karathi. A flight of Wasp fighters launched from the hangar bay and began a wide arc, a standard patrol, and th
e ship slowly sailed out of the well of extreme microgravity, gently drifting through space towards the giant red planet. It was a standard deployment for a jump and, so far, everything had been moving smoothly.
A flashing light, red and urgent, on the communication officer’s console stole his attention. Almost immediately, the crewman at that station called out. “Captain, incoming transmission. We’re receiving a signal from…” The slightest pause, and then, “from a nearby asteroid belt, Captain.”
“What’s the nature of the transmission?”
“Unsure,” said the communications officer, a fresh faced midshipman named Finnis. “It’s a repeating signal, no discernible message. Looks to be a beacon of some description.”
Knight made his way over to the man’s console. “Any record of any beacons in this area when the Beijing was here last?”
“No, Captain. This one’s new.”
Knight considered, for a moment, then turned to his XO. “Sound general quarters, Mister Baker, and launch the remaining strike craft and gunships. Recall the patrol and charge hull plating. Marines to their stations. Let’s head into that asteroid field and see what we can find. Mister Cruden, set a course for that beacon.”
Baker moved over to Knight. “Did you want me to recall the ground team, sir?”
He shook his head, and together the two of them moved back to the command console. “No. It’s going to take us hours to get there and we need the intel from the ground. Keep the CAP centred on us, but let the ground team do their work. This could turn out to be nothing. Maybe Liao and her people just missed it or didn’t think to include it in their report.”
“Probably the latter, sir. You know how she is with paperwork.” Baker pulled up the long-range thermal camera output on the command console. “What the hell do you think is going on?”
Knight narrowed his eyes, looking at the radar output which showed tens of thousands of the rocky asteroids floating in space, vast expanses of nothing between them, then focusing on the optical camera pointed at the same region, a black blanket dotted with a faint sea of stars.
