Hart Of Vengeance

by Gregory Sanders

  "I found it," Gaelon responded with a smile.

  "Found what?" Lakeisha replied more annoyance in her voice.

  "The location of Kamseth's tomb." The Valuvian waited a moment for the weight of his words to sink in. "Do you think that is important enough?"

  "You actually found it?" The woman was in shock. "I thought Morgal was entirely destroyed?"

  "The surface was, but my agents recently discovered a large, intact underground chamber beneath the ruins of the palace," Gaelon answered. "I had an archeological team exploring the ruins looking for anything with Kamseth's glyph. I received word that they found a large door made into the chamber floor, and that door was sealed with the mark of Kamseth. I ordered them not to disturb it until you arrived. I don't trust anyone with what might be inside other than yourself. I know you understand the importance of such a discovery."

  Lakeisha stood in front of the desk stunned. Kamseth had been the physical incarnation of everything they believed in. He had been an ancient Morgalan warlord that formed the theocratic Morgalan Empire. It was said that Kamseth had such a power of will that none would refuse his commands. He taught his people that freedom was a destructive force that led only to chaos. To eliminate chaos, Kamseth made laws that removed the need for his people to make any decision beyond the most mundane. The discovery of Kamseth's tomb would have a significant effect on the Legion and its followers. It would be considered a sacred place. If his body was still intact, it would be the most sacred object to those who believed in his teachings.

  "Do you think that his body is still in there?" Lakeisha mind was still struggling with this new revelation.

  "I do not know, but I do hope that to be true," Gaelon admitted. "That is why I wanted you to go personally. I would have gone myself, but the restrictions of my current position do not allow me the ability to travel without notice. If his body is there, please take it our people on Zophitan. I believe that we may discover the secret behind Kamseth's ability to control those around him if we examine his body. Even if I am incorrect, his body still belongs with those who understand and respect what he stood for." He handed her a tablet. "This contains the coordinates of the excavation site, as well as all of the research notes that have been sent to me."

  "I should be going then," Lakeisha stated. "The sooner we get his body, the sooner we will know. I will depart for Morgal immediately." She turned and left Gaelon's office, her mind racing. Kamseth's body! If what Gaelon says is true, and we figure how Kamseth controlled his people so completely, it will make the Legion's mission to restore the Morgalan Empire an almost certainty. The Morgalan people will once again possess what is rightfully theirs.

  ***

  Bobby Philmore had been working on the chip that Peterson and Chen had brought him all afternoon, and into the evening hours. The other technicians had already called it a night and went home, leaving Philmore to carry on in silence. He had his computer working on deciphering the type of code that he had found in the file, but he was still staring at it on his screen. He knew it was foolish to think that he would find something that the computer wouldn't, but he liked a good puzzle, and this one was taunting him.

  A box popped up in the middle of his screen. The computer had finished its scan. His heart jumped up into his throat. The computer had been able to find a similar code sample. Oh crap! This is sensor code for a military drone! He touched the console to pull up the detailed report on the code sample. It seems this code will make a drone's sensor array broadcast instead of receive. Why would someone want to do that? He remembered the file on Baxby listed him as a science officer on a Dreadnaught-class warship. This might just be work he took home. Philmore briefly considered, but rejected just as fast. There is no way that he would have machine level sensor array code on his person. If that fell into the wrong hands, it would be a huge threat to our fleet. Unless... He didn't want to take his mind down that road. The only reason that he could think of that Baxby would have this code on his person would be if he were selling the information. I've got to call Chen and Peterson!

  He touched the comms device in his ear. "Dispatch, connect me to Detectives Chen or Peterson now!" He heard the familiar triple pulse in his earpiece as the comms device was waiting to link to one of the detectives' devices. The link finally established, but it was Chen's messaging queue. They must be have turned their comms off, or be somewhere that is blocking the signal. All he could do was leave a message.

  "This is Bobby Philmore in Cyber-Tech division. I finally got your file cracked. It's a block of code to re-program the sensor array on a fleet drone. Not sure to what purpose. I'll leave that up to you. I'll log it back into evidence storage before I go home for the night." He touched the earpiece to end the call.

  Philmore placed the chip into an evidence bag and sealed it, writing the case number on the label. He heard the door open and swiveled in his chair to see a uniformed patrol officer standing in the doorway.

  "Can I help you, officer?" Philmore asked puzzled. Patrol officers usually didn't come down to the tech area, especially at night. "Are you looking for something?"

  "I hope so," the officer replied, walking towards Philmore. "I'm looking a piece of evidence. It's Case #451-03. Some kind of computer chip. The detective upstairs asked me to come down and get it."

  Philmore's forehead wrinkled. Detectives never send patrol officers down here to fetch evidence. Especially not Peterson and Chen. Something isn't right. I need to get help down here!

  "No problem officer," Philmore replied turning back around to his console, trying to sound as if nothing was amiss. I'll send a message to main dispatch, and let them know that someone is down here! He started typing on the console panel. "What was that case number again? Let me pull it up in the..." There was a combination of a muffled pop and a splattering sound as Bobby Philmore's brain matter exploded from his forehead and sprayed onto the console in front of him. The remains of his head drooped and his body slumped down in the chair.

  The officer removed the silencer and returned it and the small antique handgun to his pocket. He looked around on the desk and noticed the evidence bag with the chip inside. He removed a handkerchief from another pocket. He picked up the evidence bag containing the chip and wrapped the handkerchief around it before stuffing it into a pocket. The officer returned to the door from which he entered, set the lock, and pulled it closed behind him.

  ***

  The Poseidon had been going through basic maneuvering drills for the past three days in the space around Saturn. Admiral Dale Hawthorne wanted to see what both the ship and its crew were capable of. Neither had disappointed him.

  "Commander Svenson, take us on two laps around Saturn, as close to the surface as we can get," Hawthorne instructed. "If we're not shaking from the gravity and atmosphere, we're not close enough." Hawthorne had requested that Svenson be able to be his first officer and that he be promoted to the rank of Commander as was fitting of that role. Admiral Capshaw had agreed to the promotion and transfer.

  "Roger that," Svenson replied with a smile watching some of the green officers get a look of panic. "Mr. Dominguez, you heard the Admiral. Take us around the planet twice. Fast and low."

  "Aye sir," answered back the navigation officer, Lt. Julian Dominguez.

  Despite the circumstances that had led to his presence on the Poseidon, Hawthorne was actually enjoying being in command of a warship again. It had been years since he had sat in the command chair on the bridge of a ship, and this ship was nothing like his last command. The Poseidon was originally intended to be the first production Commonwealth ship to receive the new Yamazaki FTL system, but the prototype was lost when the Odyssey and its crew decided to help aide Danielle Hart and her V'drellian accomplice, and then defected to the Dominion. Danielle Hart a traitor? He still had a hard time wrapping his mind around that idea. He didn't know much about her personally, but Queen Constance held her in very high regard, and that was enough for him. Still, facts are facts, and s
he was spotted trying to help the assassin escape during the assassination of Hobarth. A V'drellian was even momentarily spotted on the dais standing close to Connie, but she swears he was protecting her. The fact that everyone ran straight to the Dominion doesn't help their case though. He hoped that Queen Constance was right. The thought of a traitor in the Commonwealth Fleet was upsetting. He didn't like to think that anyone that served under him was capable of such a despicable act.

  Even with the loss of the Yamazaki FTL engine, the Poseidon still had the latest in offensive and defensive technologies and would be a formidable opponent to any ship that dared challenge it. He didn't like the thought of leading soldiers into battle. He knew that meant that some of them would never return. That mothers and fathers, spouses and children, would lose a loved one and their lives would forever be changed. It was a heavy burden on the souls of those in command of others, and one that Hawthorne bore with humility and care.

  The Poseidon's deck began to vibrate like a building in an earthquake. Several of the bridge officers were looking concerned. Hawthorne was watching on the primary screen as the ship close to the planet's rings. They looked close enough to reach out and touch.

  "Ship's hull is experiencing high levels of pressure, Admiral," his sensor officer, Ensign Aaron Sanburg, informed him. "Perhaps we should increase our distance from the planet?"

  "Negative," replied Hawthorne calmly. "If the ship can't handle a little bit of gravimetric strain and atmospheric drag, what will happen to it if we come under weapons fire? We will hold course and complete the two laps I ordered."

  "Are you intentionally trying to scare your crew, Admiral," the voice that addressed him was female. He turned in his seat to look at the holo-core located on the raised platform behind him.

  "No ALICE, just making sure they are prepared," Hawthorne responded to the holographic face that was looking at him. ALICE, or the Automated Logistics, Intelligence, and Combat Entity, was another one of those things that he didn't have on his last command. The automated system had been designed to operate the ship without human assistance if need be. It was a feature that Hawthorne had no intention of testing. He didn't trust machines to do a soldiers job.

  The ship continued to shake for another six minutes before Hawthorne ordered to return to a normal patrol distance. He knew that some on board would think him crazy, but he had been in military conflict before and knew that your survival is directly linked to the survival of your ship.

  "Admiral, we are receiving an encoded message from Fleet Command, eyes only," his comms officers informed him.

  "I'll take it in my office," Hawthorne said leaving his chair and walking to his office which was adjacent to the bridge. He sat down at his desk and entered his security code into the console. The face of Fleet Admiral Capshaw filled the screen.

  "Admiral Hawthorne, I trust the Poseidon has exceeded all of your expectations," Capshaw began. "Now it is time to put her and the rest of your battle group to work. I'm relaying coordinates to you now. The Regent wishes for you to take your battle group into the Dominion and establish and hold a forward position at those coordinates until the second wave of ships can arrive. The Dominion have attacked us twice without feeling the force of our wrath, but that ends today. It is imperative that we establish a foothold in their territory to show them that there is a price to pay for crossing swords with us."

  "With all due respect, Admiral, are we certain that is a wise move?" Hawthorne questioned. "I agree that action should be taken, but to invade their region of space aggressively will be seen as an outright act of war. Are we ready to commit the resources and the lives that will cost?"

  Capshaw's nostrils flared. "You forget your place, Hawthorne! You are not the Fleet Admiral anymore. You do not advise the Regent, I do. The Regent saw fit to put you where you are, and you will serve as ordered, or you will be court-martialed for insubordination. Is that understood?"

  Hawthorne knew that he only had two choices. Refuse the order and be court-martialed and sentenced to years in prison, or follow the order and probably die in the process. It was a losing scenario either way.

  "I understand, sir," Hawthorne replied glaring at the man on the screen. "We will leave immediately for the set coordinates. Is there anything else?"

  "No," Capshaw smirked. He was enjoying pulling the strings of his former boss. "Capshaw out." The screen then went dark.

  Hawthorne got up from his office desk and returned to his chair on the bridge. He sat for a moment contemplating the orders he had been given. Zhi wants to start a war. He must know that is exactly how the Dominion is going to treat our actions, and we are going to be the aggressors. History never looks kindly on the aggressors.

  "Mr. Dominguez. I am sending coordinates to your terminal. Set your course at maximum speed. Relay those coordinates to the rest of our group."

  Lt. Dominguez tapped his console to input the new coordinates. His face took on a look of confusion when the computer had finished calculating the FTL jump sequence.

  "Uh, Admiral, sir," Dominguez stammered. He didn't want to question his superior but felt like these coordinates needed verification. "These coordinates will take us pretty deep into Dominion space if I am reading them right. Is that correct?"

  "Yes, Lieutenant," Hawthorne confirmed. "We have been ordered to set up a forward position inside Dominion territory." He paused for a moment to let his bridge crew process that information. "The Regent has ordered our battle group to invade the V'drell Dominion. May the Creator have mercy on us for what we are about to do."

  ***

  Danielle stood leaning against the back wall of the Strak'zar's bridge. She hadn't moved since the ship set a course for the Mur'daz. K'oron had told her that the trip would take some time and that she should take the opportunity to rest, but that didn't matter. Her mind was filled with too many thoughts. Thoughts of the questions that she wanted to ask the Terran that had been captured. Thoughts of what kind of technology was used by this phantom ship that took out three ships as though it was nothing. Most of all, her thoughts kept circling back to the man she knew in her heart was behind this new ship. No'tok. This attack has all the signs of you. Sneaking up using camouflage, and attacking and destroying a meagerly armed transport. Cowardly tactics of a cowardly man. K'oron had warned her not to assume No'tok's involvement until it was proven, but she didn't need proof. Every fiber of her being was telling her that No'tok was involved, and that was good enough for her. She was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't notice the junior officer standing in front of her until he spoke.

  "Excuse me, Major. Can I get to the panel behind you?" The officer was trying to be polite but was barely concealing the frustration of trying to work around her. "If you want to get some rest, I assure you that we will notify you and the General as soon as we arrive."

  Danielle stepped out of the officer's way. "I'm fine, thank you." The officer made the adjustments on the panel and walked back to his post shaking his head. She knew that none of them understood why she was so consumed with wanting to hunt down No'tok. Even K'oron doesn't get it. He tries, but he really can't. No one can unless they have been shot, beaten repeatedly, starved, and raped at the orders of one man. Her time spent as a prisoner on the Drah'jik was nothing compared to what she went through on the Perseverance. She kept telling herself that she wanted justice. That she wanted No'tok to pay for his crimes, but deep inside she knew that wasn't true. She wanted No'tok to suffer like she had. She wanted to be the one to cause the life to fade from his eyes.

  "I thought I would find you here." It was K'oron's voice. He had returned to the bridge. "You should have had some food and rest while we were traveling. It is one of the skills that you still have yet to master. You have a driven mind, and that is a great asset to any member of the Order, but sometimes that same drive causes you to lose focus of the more immediate needs. You must take care of yourself if you want to help me stop No'tok and the rest of the Legion."

 
She sighed. He was right of course. "I know. I guess that's why you are still training me, huh?" She gave him smirk.

  "I worry about you, Danielle," his voice carrying more of his concern that his words. "I need you to be at your best. Taking down the Legion is going to require pushing ourselves to our limits, and then beyond. I have tried to train you for all sorts of obstacles and challenges, but reality often bestows us with surprises." Their conversation was interrupted by the ship's tactical officer, Jok'na.

  "The Mur'daz is now on our short-range sensors," the tactical officer informed everyone on the bridge. "We should be within visual range in less than three zels."

  "Signal the Mur'daz," Commander Br'dar instructed. "Let them know our estimated arrival time, and that we are ready to accept the prisoner." The comms officer began sending the message to the other ship. Br'dar then turned to K'oron. "I assume that you and the Major will be joining me at the docking bridge?"

  "Indeed, Commander," K'oron replied. "We are most anxious to hear more of what he has to say."

  The three of them left the bridge and made the short trip to where the docking port was located. A member of the ship's engineering department was standing by to finalize the docking procedure with the other ship. Br'dar nodded to the engineer who starting working at the control panel beside the airlock.

  Danielle could see the Mur'daz had stopped a short distance from them and had already extended a tube-like structure from its side. The engineer pressed a button on the panel and a similar tube began to grow from the Stak'zar that was just larger than the airlock door they were standing in front of. Their tube connected to the one the Mur''daz had extended, and there was a hissing sound as the tube was pressurized. A moment later the light above the airlock changed from orange to blue, and the airlock door slid open.

  Commander Br'dar led the group through the tube to the Mur'daz. They exited the tube into a ship's corridor much like the one they left on the Strak'zar. There were several officers waiting for them. One of the Mur'daz officers was standing by the Terran prisoner.