by Darren Beyer
“I’m sorry Mr. Mikel. Truly, I am. But there is more than money at play here, and you and I both know it. You’re hiding something. Technology is for all of humanity to share, not for one to hoard.”
Dagan’s eyes motioned to his side, where he holstered his ancient sidearm.
“Whoever is feeding you this hasn’t given you the entire story.” Jans took another step forward, placing himself between Dagan and the tech. “We’re not hording technology. We’re protecting it. The people behind you don’t want to distribute it. They want to control space and, with it, the future of humanity.” Jans saw an inkling of doubt in the analyst’s eyes. He pressed on. “I assume that their people will be arriving any moment. Turn the security systems back on. Help us save the future from them.”
Peter wavered.
Jans sensed Dagan moving.
“Now.”
Jans dropped to the floor, and Dagan’s ancient Beretta pistol went off just above his head, almost deafening him.
The bullet grazed Peter’s arm. The surprise at being shot sent him tumbling to the floor.
Suddenly another sound carried through the ringing in Jans’ ears—a door burst open, and gunfire sprayed the room. Pieces of wall flew, desks shattered, and equipment exploded, raining debris down around Jans. Instinctively, he curled in a ball and covered his head and eyes against more loud blasts from Dagan’s pistol.
When silence returned, Jans slowly moved his hands away from his face. Dagan lay on his back laboring to breath. He coughed, and blood trickled from his mouth.
“Danny.” Jans crawled to him and placed a hand on his chest. It was warm and sticky with blood.
“I’ve failed you, old friend.” Dagan coughed again, turning his head toward Jans. “I told you this is a young man’s game.” He closed his eyes, and his breath faded.
“Danny!”
A shadow crossed over Dagan’s still face, and Jans looked up into a gun barrel. Clenching his fists, he prepared to leap up.
The sound of wood striking the stone floor echoed throughout the room. Click. Click. Click. The soldiers stood aside. Backlit by the bright lights of the hallway, a hunched shape stepped into view, leaning on a cane and awkwardly wearing a poorly fitting armored vest. Erik Hallerson flanked the figure, an automatic weapon in his hands.
“Andrews!” Jans clenched his jaw and sucked in an angry breath.
“You should have dealt with me when you had the chance, Jans. Now wheels are in motion that I cannot stop. That message you received from—Dauntless, was it? That was not good. It almost threw years of planning into disarray. I’m not sure how they pieced it together, but my hat is off to the crew. Too bad for them.” Andrews motioned with his cane to the feed of the Rampart bridge. “Any minute now, the most powerful navy in history will pop into existence right on top of them with standing orders to obliterate anything it encounters.”
Jans spun to face the screen.
“I’ll give you one last chance to save them. Give me the location of Helios, and I’ll let your message through, instructing your ships to stand down and back off.”
Jans looked at Andrews and snapped again to the feed of the unsuspecting bridge crew of Rampart going about their work. Rampart was a small ship carrying a crew of forty-four. Its three dual high-energy laser batteries and twin rapid-fire missile launchers made it, pound for pound, the most heavily armed ship in existence.
But what if what Sophia had surmised—and Andrews now confirmed—were true? The first thing through the Casimir Bridge would be a Euramerican Coalition capital ship with orders to clear the way for the fleet that followed. Eridani’s small defensive ships would stand no chance.
Jans looked at Dagan’s body on the floor. His swarthy Israeli face seemed peaceful in death.
“What in God’s name—” The voice of the Rampart captain echoed through the room. The three arcs of the Casimir Bridge exit glowed brilliant blue-white.
“You’re running out of time, Jans.” Andrews’ voice was smooth. “The lives of the men and women on those ships lie in your hands.” He locked eyes with Jans. “Tell me about Helios.”
Jans glanced at the screen and back to Andrews. No one else would be hurt. The defense ships would back off and save themselves. AIC was only a company, after all. He stood up and faced Andrews deliberately, lips tight, mouth closed.
“If you won’t tell me, Jans—”
“Inbound jump initiating.” The voice rang out from the Rampart video feed.
“Location?” That was the Rampart captain.
“Two thousand kilometers. Zero, one, zero, mark one, nine. Centered on the hyperium source. Mass is two zero point four thousand tons. Signature indicates Coalition cruiser, Augusta class.”
“Not possible. Double-check your readings.”
“I served three years in the Third Fleet, Captain. If that’s not the Augie, it’s her twin sister.”
“Open a comm channel, try to—”
“We’re getting painted. They’re locking weapons!”
Andrews smiled thinly across the room at Jans.
Chapter 62
Eridani System
Captain Stanton stood from and paced the bridge, glancing toward the grainy split-screen video feed. The two AIC system defense boats remained on-station, as the Casimir Bridge glowed until it seared its blue-white color into the screen.
“Still no response from AIC Security, sir.”
“Something is wrong.” Captain Stanton paused, his eyes on the screen.
“Why no return message?” Mandi whispered to Sophia.
“Even with no response, Rampart and Ravelin should have fired on the Casimir Bridge by now. Something is happening on the Eridani surface.”
A sudden flash illuminated the feed around the Casimir Bridge. A brilliant blue-white disc formed between the three arcs and grew into a sphere before abruptly disappearing. In its place appeared a massive ship.
“Neutrino emissions consistent with an inbound jump. Mass signature indicates the cruiser Augusta.”
“Good God,” said Captain Stanton under his breath.
“Augusta firing weapons! Laser strikes on Rampart, missiles in flight.”
“Get me a tactical!”
On the main holo screen a tactical diagram flickered to life: a single red triangle depicted Augusta and two smaller green ones the two AIC ships. Six red dots moved from red to green, the volley of missile fire. Rampart and Ravelin split to flank Augusta, returning fire in salvos of six smaller missiles each. Two of the Augusta missiles vanished.
“Do they even stand a chance?” Mandi asked quietly.
“Augusta is bigger and more powerful,” said Captain Stanton, “but it’s designed for long-range combat. This is a knife fight.”
Two more of the large Augusta missiles fell away, while the last two closed on Rampart. The Rampart indicator seemed to skip as the missiles hit. Then it disappeared.
Mandi gasped.
“Wait and watch, Mandi. Our little ships have a few tricks up their sleeves.”
The Rampart indicator flashed green again as six more missiles leapt from it, while Ravelin fired six more of its own.
Captain Stanton met Mandi’s eye.
Chapter 63
Eridani
“Damage control, report!” Jans watched the video feed intently.
“Ventral laser battery offline, main power at seventy-three percent.”
“Sensors, give me an ETA on the inbounds.”
“Impact in ten seconds—”
“Launch decoy, engage ECM, deploy Masskers, evasive delt—”
The feed went static and then black. Jans’ heart sank, and his head fell to his chest. “I’ll give you what you want,” he said softly.
“I don’t believe I heard you.”
“I’ll give you Helios,” Jans spat. “Call off the attack.”
“Give me the information.”
“People are dying!”
Andrews stared coldly at
him.
“I need to access my account.” Jans let out a breath, defeated.
“Do you take me for a fool?”
“I’m the fool. You win, Andrews. But I can’t give you the location without pulling it from my files.”
“You’ll get nowhere near that account.” Andrews walked closer, tapping his cane on the floor. “Tell him—” He motioned to Peter, who gazed slack-jawed at the rip in his shirt and scratch on his arm.
The analyst glanced at Andrews and sat quickly at his station, calling up the login screen. “Login Jans Mikel,” said the analyst. The screen morphed to display a password entry surrounded by symbols. He looked up.
“Octagon in a ‘z’ to the star.” Jans worked his mouth then tightened his lips.
Peter reached into the holo screen, pulled octagon symbol, and traced a Z ending at the star symbol lower right.
“Square straight down to the pentagon.”
Peter followed his instructions.
“Password: ‘omega759, capital Z,’ ” growled Jans.
Peter slowly and deliberately entered the characters. As he entered the final Z, he looked over his shoulder at Andrews.
Andrews gave a slight nod.
Triumphantly, the analyst hit the Enter key. And the lights went out.
Chapter 64
Eridani System
Silence hung heavy on the bridge as the green triangle of Rampart disappeared from the tactical screen. Tears welled in Mandi’s eyes, blurring her view of the volley of missiles from Ravelin and Rampart striking Augusta.
“Massive radiation from the Augusta,” sensor officer called out. “Readings consistent with internal explosions. Negative emissions from the mains. Augusta is dead in space.”
“Ravelin?”
“Engines are still hot and burning at point seven g.” The bridge officer paused. “Inbound jump initiating at Casimir Bridge coordinates. Mass two-one point one thousand tons, Augusta class, probable ID: Halifax.”
“Enough.” Captain Stanton closed the message. “Weapons, do we have a firing solution on the Casimir Bridge?”
“Range is maximum, but we have a shot.”
“Align spinal weapon and fire.”
“Aye, sir, firing spinal weapon.”
The crew remained silent as the seconds ticked by. The powerful bolt of charged particles raced toward the Casimir Bridge where another Euramerican Coalition ship, the Halifax, materialized behind the dead Augusta.
“Targeting systems indicate a hit. No visual effect. Halifax has launched missiles.”
A missile volley emanated from the Coalition ship and flew toward the retreating Ravelin.
“Another inbound jump initiating. Two-one point one thousand tons, probable ID: cruiser Exeter—”
“Ravelin doesn’t stand a chance—”
“This is not at the same coordinates, sir. It’s point seven miks on the opposite side of Eridani. I’ve got another inbound: dropship Mallory.” The sensor officer looked back at Captain Stanton, as Exeter’s triangle appeared on the tactical screen. “Right on top of Eridani.”
“Gods.” The blood drained from Captain Stanton’s face.
The bridge crew watched transfixed as Mallory coursed across the tactical screen, slowly swinging its nose to escape the gravitational pull of Eridani. Mallory was capable of only one point five g acceleration and labored fruitlessly against Eridani’s gravity, as more Coalition fleet appeared randomly across the screen. Mallory showed rapid changes in data as it was pulled toward the Eridani atmosphere.
“I’ve got multiple signals. I think they’ve launched their drop pods.”
“The angle’s too steep.” Grim-faced, Sophia shook her head. “Velocity too high.”
Mandi shuddered as one by one the launch pods disappeared from the tactical display, until only the Mallory was left, blinking as its red triangle merged with Eridani on the tactical screen. In an instant, Mallory disappeared.
Mandi looked around the hushed bridge.
The bridge officer broke the silence. “Incoming message. Labeled for Captain Stanton only.”
“To my station, please.” The captain’s eyes narrowed.
Mandi watched across the hushed bridge as he ran his eyes over the message. Sophia put a hand on her arm, while the bridge crew stole glances over their shoulders.
“Navigation, plot us on a course to slingshot around Eridani for a burn to Ascension.” Captain Stanton broke the silence.
“Around Eridani?” An edge crept into Sophia’s voice. “We’re not going into orbit? Jans is down there.”
“That message was from Jans, Sophia. He’s activated the Mace Contingency.”
Sophia’s eyes glistened, and she opened her mouth to speak.
“Jans’ orders are clear, Sophia.” Captain Stanton cut her off. “I will not risk this ship. Please clear the bridge—” He turned to Mandi. “—both of you. I want you in your bunks in case one of those Coalition ships drops on top of us next.”
Sophia held his stare for a long moment. Finally she unbuckled herself from the auxiliary station and stood. Captain Stanton turned again to the tactical screen. Sophia’s stare lingered on him for awkward moments until she finally turned and left. Mandi opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it and stood to follow Sophia off the bridge.
The passageway outside was empty. Sophia was nowhere to be seen. The walk back to her quarters was the saddest Mandi had ever taken. She didn’t know Jans Mikel, but that Sophia cared so much about him and could do nothing to help pulled at Mandi’s heart. Without Dauntless he didn’t have a way off Eridani. His fate was sealed.
Mandi walked up to her berth door, the entrance indicator glowed green, and the door slid open. Mandi let out a surprised gasp as Sophia grasped her shoulder and roughly pulled her in. “Dauntless, berth C-7. Disable voice monitoring. Override: Mikel, Jans C, delta, seven, Oscar, Oscar.” Sophia looked to Mandi. “Jans gave me a few secrets to use—just in case.”
“What the hell is the Mace Contingency?” Mandi fell back against her bunk as the door slid closed and locked.
“A signal, a procedure. Jans and Danny Dagan cooked it up years ago.”
“Dagan?”
“Jans’ Head of Security. They expected one day to break away from the Euramerican Coalition, maybe even Earth altogether. But they also suspected that today could come before they were ready. The Mace Contingency is the plan for this day.”
“Why Mace?”
“Jans is a bit of a history buff. It has something to do with the British East India Company and the spice trade. Evidently when the Portuguese were forced to give up the island where the spices mace and nutmeg were grown, they cut down all the trees rather than give them to their enemies. This is sort of the same thing, but on a more grand scale.”
“Jans would rather destroy everything than let anyone else have it?”
“It’s not being destroyed, and that’s not the reason. It’s to protect something even more valuable. The problem is that the Contingency assumes we’ll have time to prepare—that Jans has a way to get key people off Eridani. But we don’t have time. Jans has no escape.” Sophia turned and paced the room. “You started this adventure in search of a story, is that right?”
Mandi nodded.
“Help me now, Mandi, and you’ll get a story you’ve never dreamed of.”
Chapter 65
Eridani
Only dim, red emergency lighting illuminated the quiet, still control room. Shocked soldiers and technicians glanced up at the lightless ceiling of Danny Dagan’s security center. Andrews stared over his dead body toward the dark security feeds and holovids that had just played the destruction of Rampart.
Only Jans stood unmoved, staring with derision at Gregory Andrews.
“What have you done?” Andrews snapped.
“Nothing. Your lackey here did it.”
Andrews took a labored step toward Jans and abruptly backhanded him with more force than Jans thought po
ssible. The blow painfully jerked Jans’ head back. Rubbing the side of his chin, he glared at Andrews.
Andrews bent with difficulty and retrieved Dagan’s ancient Beretta pistol. He pointed it at the startled analyst. “What did you do?”
“Just what he told me!” Peter yelped in response.
Andrews turned the pistol toward Jans.
“I gave him the login credentials to trigger our emergency fallback procedure. In my office when I turned down your offer you gave me a lecture on the Templars and British East India Company. I know the history. In fact, I’m a student of it. I took a page out of that history book and put it to work here. A worm—an unstoppable virus—is right now infecting every single system, every single file in the entire corporate network and its connections. A scorched-earth contingency is working its way through our systems. Vehicles have stopped running, and power plants are shutting down. New Reykjavik, in fact most of what’s on and around this planet is collapsing into the Stone Age, and with it goes all record of Helios.”
“No!” Rage boiled in Andrews’ voice. “Stop it. Now!”
“It’s irrevocable.” Jans almost smiled. “I can no more undo it than I could cure you of your greed.”
Andrews swung his cane at Jans’ face with such violence that Jans fell to the floor, spitting out a mouthful of blood and a few bits of cracked teeth. Before losing consciousness he looked into Danny Dagan’s lifeless eyes one last time.
Chapter 66
Eridani System
Across the darkened vehicle bay, Mandi made out the advanced skimmers hanging from their mounting brackets.
“Someone needs to document this.” Sophia brushed past her into the bay. “You’re the journalist, so you’re it.”
Mandi followed Sophia through the shadows.
“It takes two people to launch a skimmer. I can’t demount it while I’m at the controls and it takes two separate commands to open the airlock for launch.” Sophia crossed to a control console and began accessing the ship’s systems.
