by Neal Jones
"In simple terms, major, I believe that unless strong measures are taken, my people are going to face annihilation very soon. I'm not certain exactly from where the source of that destruction will come, but I am certain it will happen soon."
"Tell me more about the fleet and the project you were in charge of. Exactly how many ships were built? In what system were the shipyards located? You said it was started by your grandfather. How long ago was that?"
"If you allow me a computer pad, I will write out those details, and I will even provide you security codes to get a reconnaissance crew across the borders without detection. I'm sure that it will be several days before the military can completely clean up that system. I can say with a fair amount of certainty that the senate and the lord emperor are more concerned with sifting through the debris to find evidence of how this sabotage was carried out."
"Since you've disappeared, it seems logical that they will place the blame on your head."
"Yes, but they won't believe that I was capable of carrying out an act of this magnitude on my own. There's plenty of rebel groups and insurrectionists within the empire and Erengaar is going to make as many arrests as he can."
Saveck pondered the senator's response for a few moments. "Just so I understand you correctly. You're willing to provide us with information that will allow the Federation to prevent the Emperium from its attempts to conquer the rest of this quadrant?"
"Yes. But there is one condition to my agreement. I will not provide any and all intelligence on my people and my government. I will dispense only that information that I feel is relevant. I still believe in the ideals of the Old Republic, of the empire that existed before we became known as the Emperium. I didn't go to all this trouble just to stand by and watch the Federation conquer my people. All I want is to ensure that the balance of power that has existed thus far between our two empires remains as it is. Make that clear to your chain of command." Jolan sat back as he waited for Saveck's response, and it was hard to judge the major's expression.
Saveck looked at the pair of Jha'Drok for several moments before giving his reply. "I will admit, senator, that I don't know how to handle this. I have some command experience, but this situation is new to me. Commodore Gabriel suffered extensive injuries during the battle yesterday, but Doctor Rosenberg is confident of his recovery. I will pass your request and everything you've told me thus far on to him, and he will meet with you as soon as he's able. For now, I will instruct Captain McKenna to assign you guest quarters. An armed escort will be assigned to you at all times, of course, and you'll probably be restricted to your quarters during your stay here. It might be as long as a week before the commodore can meet with you. Understood?"
"Yes. That will be fine." They all stood. "Thank you, major."
Saveck only nodded and then walked out of the room. When he returned to the security office, McKenna was standing behind the desk, facing the terminal monitors, shaking her head.
"I've heard a lot of things in my time, but this is the first that someone has claimed a vision from the Gods as a reason for requesting asylum."
"He's old," Saveck growled. "He's either crazy or bordering on dementia."
"Neither of you believe him?" Lee asked.
"Of course not," Saveck replied, and the venom in his tone startled the other two officers. "Everyone these days is playing the religious card, and I'm sick of it. Doctor Lom believed she was acting according to her god's will, and so did Isaac Blacke. And now this lunatic claims he's receiving visions from his god. Where does it end?"
"What about that fleet he said he destroyed?" Lee asked, tactically changing the subject.
"If he's telling the truth, we'd need permission from the chain of command to send out a scout team," McKenna said.
"Captain, I'd like to finish our conference." Saveck started for the door.
"Of course." She fell in step beside him as they walked out of the office. "If you don't mind, major, let's continue the briefing in the infirmary. There's someone I think you should be introduced to. We made a ... surprising discovery on Gateway Prime."
( 6 )
Commander Decev charged out of the cardon field before the field itself was fully completed, and she nearly collided with a male nurse. "Where's my son? Petty Officer Maguire said he was brought up here!"
"Room seventeen." He pointed down the corridor to his right.
Joshua was sitting on an exam bed, and Siyri was close by, her arm around Tjase's shoulders. Doctor Rayburne looked up as Mariah entered, and he stepped back just in time. The science officer seized her son, embracing him so tight that he yelped, and she quickly released him, apologizing profusely before hugging him again. She blinked back tears as she turned to Rayburne.
"How is he? Is he all right?" She looked at Josh. "Are you all right? How do you feel?" There was a deep scratch on his forehead and a small bruise was starting to color his left cheek.
"He's okay," Rayburne assured the commander. "He and Tjase were very lucky."
"They were in my quarters," Siyri said. "I was caught on the promenade and wasn't able to get back to them before the attack started."
"Mom, will you please back up?" Josh complained. "Give me some room!"
"Hey!" She smacked him on the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"I'm your mother! I've spent the last four hours worried and panicked, so give me a break!"
"All right, fine." Josh scowled as he rubbed the back of his skull.
"I don't see a reason to keep you here any longer," Rayburne said. "Either of you." He glanced at Siyri and her son.
""Where are we gonna go?" Tjase whined. "My bedroom's the only thing left of our quarters."
The women smiled to one another, each of them so relieved to have their sons returned to them safe and sound that nothing else mattered.
( 7 )
Edmond Brouchard, vice president of the Interstellar Federation of Peace, was working late. Night had fallen long ago on Galadreon-253, and almost all of the Presidential Dome's day staff was gone. Brouchard had wanted to take care of a few last minute details, but he was behind schedule, and he gave a frustrated sigh as he leaned back in his chair and frowned at the report on his terminal screen. In the morning - less than eight hours from now - President Enkaro would be delivering his response to parliament regarding the Jha'Drok/Haal'Chai scandal that once again had put Exxar-One in the center ring of the news media, and if this latest report was any indication, the furor wasn't going to die down for quite awhile.
The door chime interrupted Brouchard's concentration, and he glanced up as Henri entered the office. "Senior Director Caine has arrived, sir."
"Send him in and then go home, Henri. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes, sir."
Nicholas Caine, senior director of Federation Central Intelligence, strutted into the vice president's office, carrying himself with his usual air of calm authority and a slightly inflated sense of self importance. Despite the late hour, he didn't appear exhausted or hurried as he strolled across the room to the trio of chairs that were arranged in front of the vice president's expansive desk.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Nicholas," Edmond said as he keyed a command into his computer that activated the anti-surveillance devices hidden throughout the large office. "I will keep this brief."
"I've read the same reports you have, Edmond, and I already know what you're going to tell me." Caine leaned back and folded his hands in his lap. "I agree that the unexpected nature of these recent events has caused several minor interruptions to our timetable, but the Project as a whole has remained on course. We're simply going to have to have to initiate one or two contingency plans, especially where Exxar-One is concerned."
"And that's why I summoned you for a face-to-face rather than using the holo-comm." Edmond swiveled his terminal screen so the senior director could view the report that had been forwarded to Brouchard from Vice Admiral Quintana's office. "None of our contin
gency plans involved the discovery of a hypergate in the Ontaar sector. Were you aware that five ships from the FCE have been diverted to that sector to tow the gateway to Exxar-One?" He paused, waiting for a reaction from Caine, but, as usual, the other man was nonplussed, his expression neutral. He was so damned hard to read sometimes, and Edmond wished once more for telepathic abilities.
"Edmond, you must really learn patience. This tendency of yours to panic at every unexpected turn is going to be your downfall sooner or later."
"You're mistaking concern for panic. Even you should be a little worried about these reports and what they mean for the Project. Have you received word yet from your liaison inside the Dominion?"
"No. But I have already scheduled a trip to Throlo-four. I'm going to meet with a messenger there. As for these latest events, you should know me well enough by now, Edmond. I knew long ago that it would be prudent to place an agent aboard Exxar-One. Brantar Varis has provided Special Agent Connor with valuable intel, and I'm certain she will keep us updated on the Erayan hypergate as the situation develops. And as for the Jha'Drok, well, that whole mess was to be expected. As far I'm concerned, the monarchy tried to put too much on its plate. That entire project regarding the assault fleet was doomed to fail from the beginning. I'm surprised it took more than a century for it to happen. I also wouldn't be surprised if the new lord emperor decides to begin the whole thing anew."
Edmond cocked his head in puzzlement. "You really weren't surprised by the failure of that project? The last report that you forwarded to me stated that their timetable was almost at zero hour. You sounded confident that the invasion was going to take place as scheduled."
"All right, I admit it. I was a little surprised by the destruction of the fleet." A slight frown creased Caine's forehead. "I suppose I'm more relieved than anything else to hear of the Emperium's failure. I know that we had factored the invasion into our own plans, but there are several minor operations that I wanted to put into motion before the shit hits the galactic fan, and this has bought us the time we need. Speaking of which, what's the status of Operation Leopard?"
"On schedule. It will take place roughly a year from now, GSC."
Nicholas nodded his approval. "Excellent. That will be plenty of time for us to gauge the Exxar-One and Chrisarii situations. And, if need be, we can always move up Leopard's date of execution. Do you have the results from the latest polls? How's our fearless president's approval ratings?"
Edmond turned his screen back around and pulled up another readout. "Up by six percent. Not a large increase, but we still have three months until election week. I'm certain he's going to win by a landslide. Especially after this latest Haal'Chai/Jha'Drok scandal. I wasn't sure at first that Exxar-One's survival was a good thing, but I think now our operation against it was a mistake."
"Oh yes, I agree." Caine typed a note into his compad. "In fact, I've completely rearranged that facet of Project Tiger. Operation Panther has been completely scrapped and I'm rethinking the details of Project Lion. I'll send you an updated memo as soon as I've worked all that out."
The vice president nodded, wondering dryly why Caine had selected such absurd names for his projects and operations. Our projects and operations, Brouchard corrected himself as he cleared his terminal screen. He walked to the food processor and ordered a tumbler of Kentucky bourbon. He stood at the tall windows behind his desk and sipped his drink as he contemplated the conversation thus far. "What do you make of this new lord emperor? What's his name again?"
"Erengaar. My analysts make him out to be his father's son; just as headstrong and spoiled - if not more so - than Emkai."
Brouchard turned to the senior director. "The Jha'Drok have been itching to expand their territory for a century now. Another war with them is inevitable, and I don't feel the same relief you do at the destruction of their assault fleet."
"That's because you're jumping at shadows, Edmond. You still believe that there was more to their technological discovery than just the hypergate."
"I'm right and you know it." Brouchard's tone wasn't as forceful as his words. "You dismiss anything that isn't backed up with solid proof."
"All the Jha'Drok found when they stumbled onto that hypergate a hundred and thirty years ago was a technological graveyard. That's it. That's all they've had, and I can't help it if their scientists and engineers are just a tad smarter and faster than the boys and girls we've got at the FCE." Caine walked to the dispenser and ordered up a mug of hot cocoa. "You know, Edmond, I used to think of myself as overly paranoid until I met you. I really enjoy these face-to-face chats. I don't feel so ... abnormal after I leave your office." He smiled dryly as he joined his friend at the windows. "You do look a little more exhausted than usual, Edmond. When's the last time you and your wife went to a show? Or out to dinner? Have you been to Regina's yet? I've heard good things about their cleon pasta -"
"Thirty years, Nicholas. Thirty years of careful planning, tactical maneuvering, and more corpses than I care to count. I want your assurance that these recent events aren't going to drastically upset our timetable. I've come too far and drenched my hands in too much blood to be caught with my pants down at the eleventh hour. You and I are in this together, and if one of us goes down, the other goes with him. That was our agreement."
For just a moment, there was a spark of bemusement in Caine's eyes that made Brouchard think he was going to fire off one his trademark quips and blow off the vice president's concern. But then he sipped his cocoa and nodded. "You have my word, Edmond. You've always had it. I would never betray you."
"Good." Brouchard tossed back the last of his bourbon, and returned the glass to the processor. "Let's call it a night. I have an early start tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Edmond." The senior director set his mug, still half full, on the desk and walked out of the office.
The vice president placed the mug in the processor, and then spent a few minutes organizing the clutter on his desk. As he shut off the lights, he allowed himself a small, triumphant smile. Yes, Nicholas, you're right. Despite everything that's happened in the last few weeks, everything is still proceeding according to plan.
( 8 )
Nothing was happening according to plan. Erengaar Valayne paced his private study, furious at the Collective's representative for making him wait this long. He was lord emperor now, not some insignificant underling! He was an equal with the Collective, and it was unconscionable to treat him this way! Erengaar blew a frustrated gust through his teeth, and then paused in his tracks and closed his eyes. Ever since his father's death, ever since the destruction of the assault fleet, he'd been sleeping less and pacing more.
The project that had been started by his grandfather, after the discovery made by Jolan Nejra's grandfather, was now in ruins. The debris field at the shipyards was as thick and deep as the aftermath of a hundred battlefields. The last report said the same thing as all the previous ones: nothing new to report. The only viable theory was that Senator Nejra had somehow placed a virus in the shipyards' primary network, but very little hardware had survived the destruction so the engineering crews were hard pressed to come up with solid proof.
Since his ascension to the throne, Erengaar had not yet met one of the Ko'Mar Collective face to face. "Ko'Mar" was a combination of two Jha'Drok words that meant "darkness" and "servant" or "emissary". Their true name was unknown, as was almost everything else about them. Erengaar had been told only of the original pact, the agreement between his grandfather, S'elrim, and the Ko'Mar Collective's first representative, a humanoid man named Aun'DI. Aside from the Talik'Jhor and the lord emperor, no one in the Emperium knew of that covenant or its agenda. The Collective's presence in the empire's territories was relegated to one of the outer systems, and only on rare occasions did their humanoid representative meet face to face with one of the Jha'Drok.
Tonight's meeting had been "requested" by Erengaar. He hadn't quite demanded the conference, but his message to the representat
ive had been worded so as to make it clear that he wasn't going to be as soft as his father in his dealings with the Collective. It was time for the Emperium to have a firmer hand in the formation of its destiny, and, as far as Erengaar was concerned, his father and grandfather had not availed themselves of all the resources that the Collective had to offer.
Starting tonight, that was going to change.
A transfield appeared in the corner of the study, and Erengaar turned to face it. Vuil'SN, the current humanoid representative of the Ko'Mar Collective, crossed the threshold and stood before the lord emperor.
"Mister Vuil."
"Lord emperor." He bowed once and then pressed a key on a small control interface attached to his wrist.
The transfield reshaped itself, crumpling inward like a discarded piece of paper, and then unfolding to create a more narrow structure. Darkness poured from the opening like winter's breath, shrouding the room and its occupants. The lights flickered and then dimmed, and at the center of the portal, a form appeared. It vaguely resembled a humanoid body, like a shaded sketch on an artist's pad. There was a head, two arms, a torso and two legs, but that was all. No details, no sharp lines, no clear face to identify the alien visitor. Erengaar gave a small gasp as he realized he was looking at one of the Ko'Mar. He suddenly remembered something his father had said once, during one of his fevered states.
"... they're not all there ... like spirits. You can only see part of them because they exist in all dimensions ... not only ours ..."
Vuil'SN spoke. "You implied in your message that you wanted to discuss the future of this alliance."
The lord emperor pulled his gaze away from the Ko'Mar. "Yes. Our plans of conquering the Federation have failed. In exchange for giving you residence in our territories, you promised to assist us as we needed." He faced the other member. "I am asking for that help now."
The voice was like ice cracking on a frozen lake. It was barely louder than a whisper, yet forceful enough to be a scream. It wasn't quite audible, and it wasn't quite telepathic. {WE ALREADY HAVE. YOUR LOSS IS OURS ALSO.}
