The Iron Admiral: Deception

by Greta van Der Rol

  He waited for a reply. When none came, he said again, “What should I do?”

  His black eyes flashed with anger, frustration, regret? She wasn’t sure. “Let me be me.” She brushed her hand back through her hair. There were so many questions, so many things that didn’t make sense. “My life has changed so much.”

  She looked away. Sean, Xanthor and him. Okay, he hadn’t bombarded Jossur but her father was still dead. Sure, in a corner of her being she couldn’t avoid the fact that she had feelings for Saahren but her father’s death weighed heavily on her. She couldn’t get involved with the man who’d killed him. What could Xanthor tell her? She needed to go home. She needed space, time. Once she’d cleared up where she’d come from she could move forward.

  “Will I be allowed into the SOM in trousers?”

  “If that’s your decision.”

  Saahren ushered her into a large, carpeted room paneled with dark wood. The Fleet’s galaxy symbol hung prominently on one wall, along with what she assumed was the ship’s own crest—a shield depicting

  a rampant, dragon-like creature with the word ‘Arcturus’ across the top. A long row of similar crests, each with a unit number, hung along one wall. A group of comfortable-looking armchairs surrounding five

  round tables clustered in a corner but the dozen officers in the room stood, many with a glass in hand, chatting together. All eyes turned to Saahren and Allysha. She felt like a rabbit in a spotlight.

  A quick, silent check with theArcturus IS established that the handsome, debonair man she’d glimpsed in the hangar bay was Admiral Valperez, the dark haired older man next to him wasArcturus’s commanding officer Captain Karl Pedder, and the shorter, wiry man beside him was Captain Farad, the ship’s executive officer.

  Admiral Valperez stepped forward. “Welcome Miss Marten. May I say how nice it is to have you join us? A pity you didn’t bring the lovely dress you wore last evening.” He grinned at her expression.

  “We’ve all seen the pictures from the ball.”

  Oh, great. She forced a smile, aware of Saahren’s silence. “I didn’t have much time to prepare.”

  By now, several other officers had joined their circle.

  “Looks like dinner is ready,” Captain Pedder said. “Let’s go through.”

  Allysha sat between Captain Pedder and Admiral Valperez, and opposite Saahren. To her surprise, the Fleet ball was the main topic of conversation with considerable interest in the speeches as well as who was there and who they’d arrived with. She joined in with the men beside her. She wouldn’t talk tohim ; she wouldn’t.

  Somewhere between the entrée and main course Admiral Valperez leaned toward her. “How are you going with these officers you’re training?”

  “They’re doing well. It hasn’t been easy for any of them, having to learn that most of what they’ve been taught is built on very shaky ground, but once that got through, we started to get somewhere.”

  “What do you mean, shaky ground?” Valperez asked.

  “That an IS is not the answer to all questions, that it’s built on very deep foundations that can be full of holes, that InfoDroids are not all knowing and can be fooled.”

  Valperez swirled the wine in his glass. “Can you explain in a way that a mere Fleet admiral can grasp?”

  “I can try.” Anything to avoid talking to Saahren, or even looking at him.

  He nodded. “Please do. I’ve heard what you can do.” Valperez leaned on his elbow, hand supporting his chin.

  She explained as best she could. At least this man had technical knowledge. Soon they were talking data flows and system schematics. One or two others listened in.

  “What it comes down to is I find the redundancies in the system and exploit them,” she said.

  “And if there are no redundancies?”

  “There are. Always. But if it’s easier, I find the holes. And if there aren’t any holes, I make them. It’s part of the challenge. I love it.” Just thinking about her work made her smile. She did love it. Systems were her passion.

  “What about the ptorix systems? They’re so different to ours.”

  “But they do the same things. Crack the code and you’re there.”

  “We’ve done that. More or less. But that’s with things like navigation or weapons. Even their color coding is difficult to grasp, since they see a different range of the spectrum to us.”

  “I think I know what you mean,” she said. “They don’t think in the same way as humans. And really, you have to be able to do that to understand their logic. I can do that because I grew up with them.”

  Valperez ran his thumb along his lip. “These officers you’re training. Will they be as good as you?”

  Allysha shook her head. “No, and it’s totally unrealistic to expect them to be. I’ve done this all my life; my father trained me. They will have half a year of instruction from me and before they could really learn, they’ve had to unlearn lots of things they believed to be true. They’re making remarkable progress all things considered.”

  Captain Pedder frowned. “What do you mean half a year?”

  “That’s the term of my contract with the Fleet. Five months of instruction, starting from the selection of the five officers. It means I’ve got four weeks and four days to go, but who’s counting; then I go home to

  Carnessa.”

  Valperez looked at Saahren.

  “That’s correct,” Saahren said. “Forty-four days.”

  “With your permission, Grand Admiral, may I be excused?” Allysha asked as sweetly as she could manage, her gaze fixed on his chin. “I was up fairly late last night.”

  He hadn’t missed the irony. “You may. Good night.”

  She smiled around the table, rose and left the room.

  ****

  “She’s quite a find. I’m sure the GPR or the Khophirate would be prepared to offer a fortune to have her on their side,” Farad said.

  “Just as well she’s on our side, then,” Valperez retorted.

  “Why is she here, Sir?” Farad asked Saahren.

  Saahren explained, as he had to Pedder and Valperez in the transit. He didn’t mention O’Reilly’s visit.

  Farad was right; the Khophirate or the GPR would pay any sort of sum to buy Allysha. That was why O’Reilly was after her, he was certain. But he was equally certain she wouldn’t be doing anything to help her ex-husband. And soon Leonov’s people would have the piece of filth. He could hardly wait.

  “Can we get back to that half-year contract?” Valperez said. “You’re surely not going to let her go back to Carnessa, Chaka?”

  Saahren shrugged. “Half a year was the best I could do at the time. I was lucky to get that much.”

  “But those kids won’t be able to do what she does in another… what was it? A month?” Valperez said.

  “Those officers will never be able to do what she does,” Saahren said. “Then again, a lot of things can happen in a month.”

  Valperez’s lips curved into a sly grin. “You could always marry the girl. I know it’s a lot to ask but think of the Fleet, the Confederacy.”

  Everybody chuckled. His reputation with women was well known.

  Saahren smiled with them. It was none of their business. But after all, he’d made his intentions obvious.

  “I intend to. And on that note, gentlemen, I will bid you goodnight.”

  They rose with him and waited until he walked through the door. He’d hardly need to guess what the topic of conversation would be in his absence. His eyes felt heavy. Maybe he’d sleep well tonight, if he could get her out of his mind, lying in her bed in a stateroom a few decks away. So near and so far away.

  Women; life was so much easier without them.

  ****

  “Look at this.” Pyndrees pointed at the screen.

  Sean leaned over his shoulder. “Where’s this coming from?”

  “One of our contacts onArcturus . Seems your wife is on the flagship.”

  Sure
enough. A grainy image, but there was no doubt. Allysha, talking to a Fleet officer. Well, that was it. No way of getting to her now. In a way, he was pleased she’d be safe. Maybe it was time to make himself scarce. The very thought of Tepich was enough to turn his legs to jelly.

  “Let’s see where the Fleet’s headed,” Pyndrees muttered. He opened a second screen and searched.

  “Hmm. They’re just cruising. Showing the flag, by the looks.” Suddenly he grabbed Sean’s arm. “Look at this. They’ll be stopping over at Gueri Nestor in a little over two weeks. That might just give us a chance. Looks like you’re off on a space trip, friend.”

  ChapterSixteen

  “Morning, team,” Allysha said, walking into the lab. “And before you ask, it was soup with herb bread or sautéd pretans followed by crumbed schnitzel or roasted smoked hakafish served with vegetables or salad. I had the pretans and the smoked hakafish with salad and it was lovely.”

  “Who’d you sit next to?” asked Anna.

  “Captain Pedder one side, Admiral Valperez the other. Have you finished your homework?”

  Anna, in particular, would have loved to question her but Allysha wasn’t going to give any of them a chance. She worked through the schematic with them, correcting here, adding there. They had managed to find four ways of getting into the InfoDroid. She was impressed and said so and then showed the other

  two, much more obscure, entry points.

  “Let’s have some breakfast, guys, then we’ll start work on the IS on this ship, starting with understanding the architecture.”

  Time passed quickly. It seemed to Allysha that they’d barely started when it was time for lunch and they’d barely resumed from the lunch break when dinner time approached.

  “Okay guys, that’s enough for the day.” She stood hands on hips and straightened her back. “You’ve done well. I’ll meet you in the mess.”

  Allysha hesitated at the entrance to the junior officers’ mess, looking around for a familiar face. Most of the tables were already full and the room buzzed with conversation. Todd caught her eye and waved from somewhere in the middle of the room. She set off down the aisles to the table they had been allocated. Everyone except Anna was there, and she appeared, breathless, just as Allysha slid into her seat.

  Todd flashed Anna a glance. “Just as well you made it. Arriving late at mess would not go down well.”

  He looked stern.

  “Took a wrong turn, is all,” Anna said. “How come you’re the boss all of a sudden?”

  Allysha raised a hand to stop Todd’s retort. This was obviously the sort of thing Saahren had meant when he spoke about obeying orders. “On the ship, you conform to the rules. It was made very clear to me and I’m making it very clear to you. Got that?” She glared at the pair of them and they subsided.

  When dinner was over and the tables were cleared it was time for socializing. Men and women changed tables, chatting. Anna and Siri flicked through images of the Fleet Ball in a news sheet, admiring dresses, sniggering at some of the less flattering ensembles and identifying friends. Allysha listened with half an ear.

  How was she going to find out about these weapons? She already had the results from Leonov’s investigation but where should she start?

  Anna’s giggle jolted Allysha out of her reverie. She stared into dancing eyes. “What?”

  “Look what we found.” She read the words. “‘Has the Iron Admiral Met His Match?’”

  She turned on the audio. “Many of I Spy’s agents sent in accounts of an intimate dance between Grand Admiral Chaka Saahren and lovely civilian technical specialist Allysha Marten at the Fleet Ball,” read the announcer. “The grand admiral has previously been noted for his ability to avoid any romantic entanglements, but it looks like that might be at an end. The pair met during the Carnessa Crisis several months ago and I Spy is not the only one wondering how well they really know each other.”

  Anna pressed the button under the illustration. She danced with Saahren, up close and personal, He bent over her, seeming to whisper. She flushed. He chuckled. Allysha cringed. The heat rose up her neck and she was sure her ears were going red.Please, can I wake up and find I’ve had a nightmare?

  “Tell us again Lysha, this was just to arrange a meeting the next day, right?” said Anna, a gleam in her dark eyes.

  “Look, it was just a dance. I danced with a number of senior officers, not just him. You’re making something out of nothing. Just leave it, will you?” She glared around at them. Maybe she should just go; off to her quarters where nobody could follow.

  “Welcome to the mess, people. May I join you?”

  She raised her head. The owner of the unfamiliar voice gazed down at her, waiting for an answer, a slight smile on his face. He was very good looking with a mass of wavy hair that seemed to be a bit long for regulation and blue eyes framed by long eyelashes. Anna and Sirikit exchanged an appraising look.

  Well, she could use a diversion. “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” He sat down, smiling. “My name’s Andries Jorgsen.” He held out a hand and Allysha took it, intending to shake it, but he lifted her fingers to his lips instead. “Delighted to meet you, Allysha.”

  She almost snatched her hand away and quickly introduced the others. He didn’t kiss anybody else’s hand but then, they were all military officers. As a commander, he out-ranked them all, too. She participated in the small talk for a little while, then stood up, pleading things to do. Which was true. How to get Saahren his data.

  Jorgsen stood when she did. “Perhaps we can chat more on another occasion?”

  “I’m rather busy.” As she walked away, she reflected that she’d seen that sort of winning smile before.

  On Sean.

  ****

  “What in space would he see in her?” Allysha heard a woman hiss to her companion as they passed by her table one morning during breakfast. The companion nodded in vigorous agreement.

  Oh, buckrats, it was just getting worse. The stories became more and more incredible every day. The dance deteriorated into a public kiss and cuddle; she was supposed to have left early to join him at his hotel, they were seen having a prolonged kissing session in the garden; Sirikit even said someone suggested she was pregnant with his child.

  Allysha ate in silence and tuned out.

  “Have you heard the latest?” Tensan said, thumping down his breakfast bowl in front of him so hard the contents sloshed around. “The payroll people have started a book so that people can bet on when you succumb.”

  Her shoulders slumped. Oh, good grief. Tensan jammed a spoon into his bowl, jaw clenched. “It’s disgraceful.”

  “What are the odds?”

  He swallowed the spoonful of cereal he’d scooped up. “Never is at one hundred to one. Then it goes on time lines; within a week, two weeks, three weeks etc; or you can appoint a particular day and time.”

  Good grief, it was ridiculous. She grinned. “How would they know I’d… surrendered? Are they going to ask him? Please, Sir, did you get a leg over last night?”

  Tensan wrinkled his nose in disgust. “They would accept a date if it was proved that you stayed with the grand admiral overnight, in his quarters.”

  She laughed. “Start and finish times?”

  “The guards would know when you went in and when you left.”

  “So if I go in for a quickie and leave after, oh, ten minutes, that doesn’t count?”

  He frowned at her over his raised spoon.

  “Sorry, Tensan.” She wished they could find something else to amuse them. But then, isn’t that what somebody had told her? Warships are boring, gossip helps. “The only way I can cope with all this rubbish is to laugh at it. I just wish they’d leave me alone so I can do my job.”

  She caught the eye of a passing steward and asked for kaff. Another gaggle of women sitting at a nearby table looked away a little too quickly when they noticed her looking. Maybe the whole junior mess thing had been a mistake? Then again, if she went
to the SOM,he’d be there and that would be even worse.

  “Your kaff, ma’am.”

  She stared up at the speaker. Commander Jorgsen again, smiling politely down at her as he deposited a cup in front of her. “I was passing this way, so I saved the steward the trouble.”

  He sat himself down beside her. Damn the man. He just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. First it was the kino, then drinks. He’d even tried to chat her up in the gym. All very polite, of course. He always smiled when she said no.

  “You seem to be awfully busy,” Jorgsen said. “I hear you’re working on the bridge, too?”

  “It gives the team practice working with the scan techs.” She sipped at her cup, directing a desperate glance at Tensan.

  He was up to the task. “We find the bridge rotation particularly useful. It’s interesting to see the assumptions made about what we can and cannot see, especially when accessing ptorix data.”

  Thank you thank you thank you. Tensan was a gem, the quietest, most studious and most understanding of them. She liked them all but he was the one she could rely on. She slurped down her kaff while Tensan

  blinded Jorgsen with science.

  Her cup emptied, she stood. Jorgsen did, too. “How about a drink tonight, Allysha?”

  “Thanks. I’ll be washing my hair. Have a nice day, Commander. Come along, Tensan; we’re busy today.”

  “It seems you have an admirer,” Tensan said as they waited for the transit.

  “He’s persistent,” she said. “His type can’t believe anyone would say no. I’ve been fobbing him off for days now. If he’s not careful—” Oops. She’d nearly said she’d tell the GA. As a joke.

  Tensan’s eyebrows puckered.

  “Nothing. Just being silly.”

  The transit car arrived; they waited for three people to exit then stepped inside and headed for the bridge.

  ****

  Allysha gazed around the battle cruiser’s main computer room, more to give her eyes a rest than anything else. A few bored techs checked systems, a couple drank kaff in the break-out room.