Ashley burst from the gathering crowd and rushed at him, colliding with and embracing him tightly. “We were about to leave,” she said.
He kissed her briefly and wiped one of her tears away. “Told you I’d be back,” he said. “With new stories and more Nafalli than you could meet in a lifetime.”
“A new smell too,” Ashley said, stepping back after getting a whiff of what was wafting up from his collar.
“We’ve been sealed in for a while,” Minh-Chu said.
“Well, you’re wanted on the bridge,” she said. “I have to get back up there too, but you might want to run through a vibro shower before you get there.”
“All humans don’t smell like that?” Minh-Chu heard Woone ask.
“No, very few of them smell that bad,” Caniili replied.
“Thank the ancestors, I thought I’d have to cover my nose for this alliance,” Woone replied, laughing at such a high pitch that it sounded like a sweet, high chirping.
* * *
Ashley returned to her station while Minh-Chu had five minutes of bliss in a vibroshower, luxuriating in the feeling of that suit being scrubbed off his body by the vibrating air. His armour did have the ability to keep him clean, but sections of his inner suit began failing at cleaning his skin half way through their ordeal on the Pursuer III.
The mood on the bridge was sombre. Jake sat on the edge of his seat, and every station around him was concentrating on assisting with the coordination of repairs. As soon as he saw Minh-Chu Captain Valent was on his feet, leading him to the conference room behind the bridge.
“We just got a priority message from the Triton,” he said as soon as they were behind closed doors. “Freeground Alpha was attacked by a major Order of Eden fleet. The coordination and tactics used were better than anything we’ve seen.”
“How bad is it?” Minh-Chu said, sitting down. He noticed the pair of Nafalli he’d transported sitting at the table then and nodded at them both. Woone seemed slightly alarmed, while the more senior woman, Caniili, was so calm that her eyes were closed.
“They destroyed the entire command section. The nervous system for the station is dead. They have a jump drive, it works, but there are no controls connected to it. Backups were targeted as well, and they demolished the main data lines. Oz has people creating an interface aboard the station. They lost all but three Ministers, the Prime Minister and an Admiral who was aboard.”
“So, the only other leadership for Freeground is Freeground Fleet,” Minh-Chu said. “You know, I wasn’t a big supporter of the government there, but I didn’t want to see it cleaned out like this. Not like this. How many civilians were killed?”
“Almost none, the death toll for civilians is up to eleven. The Order soldiers they sent aboard were surgical, only hitting command sections, using secondary docking areas to retreat once they were finished. Oz says he’s never seen anything like it.”
“This new Order Commander fights with honour,” Caniili said calmly. “That will not make him more predictable unless we can understand his goals. What I still do not understand are the actions of the Freeground Prime Minister.”
“What has the Prime Minister been doing?” Minh-Chu asked.
“Oz has jailed him aboard the Triton. The first thing he did when he was rescued from the rubble was announce that he was taking control of the Triton. He was hysterical, so Oz put him in the brig.”
“Sounds like Oz did the right thing. Freeground Fleet will have his back,” Minh-Chu said. “There’s something else, what are you thinking, Jake?”
“That fleet, the one that just came after us, it was meant to wipe the Revenge out completely. They did not expect the Nafalli to be there, I’m absolutely sure. Considering what Caniili said is probably right, and that we’re dealing with a new military leader in the Order, then I’m not sure that we’re making anything better by going to Freeground Alpha. If the Order of Eden has more ships than we’ve seen in the area, we could be headed for a real battle, and we’re not in shape for it.”
“But Freeground Alpha was only disabled. Did the Triton and Freeground Fleet run them off?”
“No, they left while they were winning,” Jake said. “I think they wanted to force us to abandon Freeground Alpha.”
“It would demoralize us,” Minh-Chu said. “We’d have to leave people behind while we made trips out of the nebula.”
“I have only just skimmed through the data from the battle, but I’d like to propose a theory,” Caniili said.
“Please, Minister,” Jake said.
She adjusted her white and green robes, a garment that was made of broad strips of loosely wrapped cloth, so her hands were covered by the long sleeve wrappings and sat back. “I propose that their purpose was not to force an evacuation, but to encumber you further. I don’t know much about Freeground Alpha, but whenever you speak of it it’s as though I’m hearing children with good intentions talking about an ungrateful, ailing and difficult parent. A burden that you assume without hesitation, but one that inflicts incredible hardship. The Prime Minister has lost his sense, so good judgement is absent, and all but the ability to breathe and move is gone.”
“Put it out of its misery,” Woone muttered through one side of her mouth.
“No, Woone, that isn’t what I would advise. In this situation, the body is supporting life – the people – so maintaining that life is important, making sure it is in a safe place is critical.” Caniili summoned the image of a Lorander Gate drifting in space using a projector somewhere in her loose robes and smiled calmly. “This will provide enough support for your ailing station. The gate can be used as a jump drive with only a few modifications, and we can show you the way to it.”
“There’s a jump gate nearby?” Jake asked.
“Not near us, but near Freeground Alpha, yes. It should only take one or two jumps to get it there using our charts.”
“Wasn’t there a list of gates in the Lorander database?” Minh-Chu asked.
“No, nothing about their jump gates,” Jake replied.
“We have been here for a long time, and we used to use them regularly,” Caniili said. “Now we’re leaving, and our enemies are taking up residence, so I’m sure my fellow Ministers will be happy to see one of the Lorander gates leave the Nebula with your station. They may be disappointed that we’ll be leaving two behind.”
“That’s going to work,” Jake said, grinning. “All the things I’ve learned about Lorander technology tell me that it’ll work, I just don’t know much about that era of their tech, it’s a lot older.”
“Really? I have three cousins who used to service those things all the time,” Woone said. “We didn’t use them as much, sure, but we still used ‘em enough to keep them working. Until we got invaded, anyway.”
“I’ll contact my fellow Ministers and update them. I’m sure we’ll be happy to do this for you,” Caniili said. “By the time we reach Freeground Alpha in two days, our team will be ready to prepare the station for a connection with the gate.”
Chapter 37
The War Forge
There was no place like it, as far as Alice knew. The decks shone with a new gleam when the light touched the warm brown coloured surface. Wherever the walls were transparent, they were coloured jet black, as was the ceiling. Inner features in the station were off-white and the fixtures – food processors, dispensers of all kinds, and helpful devices – were silver.
Her new room was split into four areas where each student had a working surface with its own light, a bed that was still only the size of a standard bunk surrounded on all but one side, and storage over top of that along with a single comfortable chair. The four spaces had privacy curtains and hidden devices that kept noise from travelling when they were closed.
Everything Alice could see in the station was designed with rounded shapes and high quality materials. Even the gravity felt different, somehow she felt her feet felt more sure on the deck.
The bunkroom she was ass
igned to was decorated in brown and blue, and she had the section closest to the door. “I guess they’re treating us more like Officers now,” Yawen said as she looked her space over. “Why do I get the feeling that there’s no turning back now?”
“Alaka told us the existence of this station is classified,” Alice replied. “So I guess if anyone washes out they’re going to be placed somewhere in the service. It’s not like they’ll let any of us go back to civilian life knowing that this place exists.”
“Yeah, well, I signed up for three years no matter where I land, so I have to pass otherwise who knows where I end up.”
“What’s happening to our gear? Are we leaving everything behind?”
“Check on your team,” Nivee said as she entered the bunkroom. “You guys jumped across. No one told us that was happening today, no one knew we were missing an opportunity by not showing up for physical training today.”
Alice checked the status of the soldiers assigned to her and saw that Regan was on his way with her things. “No one knew, not even the trainees. Suit week was a surprise too.”
“Well, I just lost my first ten points for losing one of the cadets who I’m supposed to be watching,” Nivee said, taking a cursory look at her new living space. “No one told me that could happen, or that taking care of them was mandatory.”
Alice knew that she’d seen the contrary more than once. In their main course literature it discussed the importance of assisting cadets beneath them, and that if any interaction led to the impeding of their progress, points would be docked from them. She decided not to say anything, and was happy she’d kept her mouth shut when Yawen said something.
“What did you do? If you lost points, then you did something to set that cadet back,” Yawen said.
“I was in the middle of doing Flight Qualifier Three and a cadet started calling me about her vertigo problems. I told her to tough it out and keep up with the rest then I blocked her.”
“Let me guess, she made the leap when she wasn’t ready and she started hyperventilating or had some kind of panic attack,” Yawen pressed. “There are treatments for people prone to vertigo. You’re supposed to make sure they get to medical and are seen to properly.”
“Listen, I’m here to become a highly skilled officer, not to wipe the noses of a bunch of cadets when they have these little problems,” Nivee replied.
“What do you think an Officer does, Nivee?” Alice asked.
“That’s a loaded question.”
“They lead,” Alice pressed calmly. “Through their training, whatever experience they have, and by example. I know you’ve been burning though course material, you have five qualifications complete when we weren’t supposed to finish more than one this week, but you have to slow down and pay attention to the people who are depending on you or tell them that you can’t be depended on at all so they know to approach their trainers. If that’s what you’re going to do, then it’s something that will be considered when Captains are making their offers.”
“I just didn’t think it was important,” Nivee said, dropping into her chair. “They should have told us more clearly.”
“They did, it’s in the basic course material!” Yawen said.
“Even if it weren’t in the core literature,” Alice said, gesturing for Yawen to calm down. “This academy doesn’t offer us opportunities like helping a group of cadets arbitrarily. There’s a purpose to every part of our training. Everything we encounter is a potential exercise because they’re watching everything we do. If you’ve never led people before, then reach out to your advisors or one of us, we’ll give you a hand.”
“I get it, thank you,” Nivee said. “I just wish I would have clued in before I lost ten points.”
“How is the trainee?”
“She’s been transferred here, in medical now. I guess the damage has been done, they’ll probably transfer her to another squad after treatment.”
“That wouldn’t be good for you,” Alice said, reacting more to her gut feeling than to experience or knowledge. “Go see her as soon as you can and apologize. Make sure you’re a part of what gets her back on her feet when they finish treating her for vertigo.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what you should do. She’s a person going through hard training and she probably thinks she let the rest of her squad down, that she already has a black mark.” Yawen agreed. “Make sure she knows she has support.”
“Ma’am,” Regan called meekly from the open hatchway. “They brought your duffel from your old bunk to our squad bunk room.”
Alice accepted it from him with a smile. “Thank you, Cadet. You drew the short straw and had to deliver?”
“Volunteered, Ma’am. Wanted to say the Squad is happy we were assigned to you. The way you led us across was badass, if you don’t mind me saying so, Ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Alice said. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted as an alarm whooped once.
“Attention, attention: Mandatory briefing for all personnel begins in ten minutes. All Officers must attend personally. Cadets may attend in person but must pay full attention to their receivers if they are not in the auditorium. Cadets will be tested on the content.”
A destination appeared on the command interface on the inside of her helmet. It was at least eight minutes away. “Let’s go, we can cut that time in half if we run,” Alice said, dropping her duffel bag on her bunk. She didn’t wait for Yawen or Nivee, but started into a run right away, and Regan followed her. After only a few strides she realized that he was matching her steps in time, counting under his breath; “One, two, three, one, two, three.”
Yawen and Nivee caught up and kept pace as well. They took a turn around a corner and down a ramp and Alice nearly tripped at the sight that awaited them. The distant Rega Gain sun shone across an ocean of black, brown and silver stone that extended out of sight. To the far left she could see the fragments of a rocky moon, it looked like it had been cracked through on two sides. It orbited a grey and white planet with no atmosphere that filled the view to her right. Reflective portions on that world made it look like it was sparsely jewelled in amethyst and icy blue topaz colours.
The lower concourse was almost shoulder to shoulder packed with cadets and their progress slowed until Yawen started shouting; “We walk on pace! One, two, three, four, we walk on pace, one, two, three, four!” As she repeated it in her strong Irish accent, the sound of feet pounding the floor in unison filled Alice’s ears and the crowd sorted itself out into lines.
Iruuk ended up beside her with Ute on his shoulders. With three minutes to spare Alice and her friends were in the auditorium, which provided an even broader view of the asteroid belt and planet outside. The whole hull behind the stage was transparent. “The rest of the squad is meeting up there, in the balcony, Ma’am,” Regan said.
“Go ahead,” Alice said, checking her assigned section. “The Officers are being seated a few rows back from the front.”
“Aye, see you soon, Ma’am,” Regan said with a salute.
Alice returned the salute and followed Iruuk, who had a talent for manoeuvring through crowds, to their seats, where Ute sat on one side of her, and Iruuk on the other. “This is the kind of thing I am here for,” Ute said. “I’ll tell my people about this someday, maybe not where it was, or even what this place was – since it’s classified – but what it felt like to see this, to be here at the beginning of something.”
“Do you know what this is the beginning of?” Iruuk asked. “I’ve never seen this place or this ship before, so I have no idea.”
“Me neither, but it’s exciting,” Ute replied, watching the asteroids lazily move across their view.
“Do you know anything about this place, Alice?” Iruuk asked.
Alice was about to tell him that she knew as little as he did and then spotted a heavy tug ship, it’s large engines splayed out around the core containing the crew and cockpit, move towards a dark asteroid. Judging from
the size difference between the two – the tug was a small dot when it was finished manoeuvring towards it – she guessed the asteroid was at least a kilometre long. Two more tugs joined in and they engaged their thrusters, each becoming a bright light in the distance. “They’re dragging that towards us,” she said.
“Alice?”
“Judging from the name of this place, and the fact that we’re probably here for raw materials, this is a shipyard. If that asteroid is going to be processed into building materials, it’s a very large shipyard.”
“Like the Solar Forge?” Iruuk asked. “It couldn’t process that much material without breaking it up.”
“I bet the one we’re sitting in can,” Alice said.
“How would they have gotten a place like this built in so little time?” Yawen asked. “Just what I’ve seen so far would take months.”
“Oh, the Solar Forge could do it,” Iruuk said. “I was obsessed with it, learned everything I could. If they started making sections of this station when no one was looking, then they could have finished a lot.”
The buzz of the audience started to subside as real senior officers began filing in the first four rows. Most of them wore Haven Fleet uniforms, but there were several others from the British and other military organizations. From their emblems she could see Admirals, Generals, Colonels and other high ranks. She looked over her shoulder at the sea of cadets in white in the balcony and the seats behind. The auditorium had thousands in attendance, and she didn’t miss the hundreds who sat along the sides in blacked out uniforms.
The audience quieted almost completely as a short woman who looked only a little older than Alice walked on stage briskly. “Hello, I am Colonel Violet Black. Yes, that is a chosen name, and no, most of you will never know what I was originally called.” She had an Irish accent that sounded crisper, clearer than Yawen’s.
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10 Page 30
