And revenge on their minds.
So why were the Dactari making this easier for him? Why demand that the conference be fed live to every outlet screen on the planet below? Even remote villages with minimal connectivity would be getting a live holo feed, projected by their mysterious host.
“It was demanded by Flota Mas,” Flemming offered, “before requesting the presence of the Triumvirs. When they got here, the feed was already running. They could hardly demand it be shut down, not after the flota’s stirring speech to the entire planet.” He got up and started to pace, chewing absently on a fingernail.
“His force was sitting on an ideal ambush site between our three worlds, then they suddenly start heading for home.” Flemming came to a stop, looking straight through his admiral. “Storozhevoy,” he muttered.
“Gesundheit?” Harry ventured.
Flemming’s eyes darted to Harry, slightly confused for a second, then he shook his head. “No, there was a Krivak-class Soviet frigate called the Storozhevoy. In the mid-seventies one of her officers led a mutiny. They were going to sail her up to Leningrad and broadcast a message, outing the corruption that was destroying their great socialist experiment.”
“You think this Mas fella was doing the same thing?” Towers shook his head. “He doesn’t seem the type.”
“I agree,” Flemming finally returned to his seat. “He would be the one who set up the ambush site. Someone else could have led a mutiny.”
“But if he lost his fleet to a mutiny,” Caul began pointedly, “then why is he still in command?”
“We know their tracers sat at Gaemhaeg station for a long time,” Flemming said with a shrug. “He may have regained control with the help of the station’s security staff.”
“That’s a hell of a reach, even for you,” Harry said. “We’re spinning a fairy tale out of thin air here.”
“Then where’s the commissar?” Flemming shot back bluntly. “This is a negotiation; the Dactari don’t negotiate a bloody thing without a political officer present. Our friendly flota didn’t ask for him, so he’s either locked up in his cabin or dead.”
“Nithhöggr!” Lothbrok exclaimed. “That’s our mutineer for sure but, if the mutiny was put down, why did Mas ask for full public coverage?”
Towers looked over at a sudden movement through the glass. The Dactari delegation was exiting their lounge, spilling out into the conference area. “We may never find out,” he said as he rose to his feet. “But his interests seem to be aligning with ours for the moment, so let’s just run with it.”
It was surprising how boring a meeting of two enemies could be. Tommy was having a hard time keeping his eyes open as the two sides haggled over the planets that would fall into their spheres of influence. As the hours progressed, accountants, economists and lawyers were brought in by both the Republic and, to Tommy’s amazement, the Alliance.
The fleet actually brought accounting officers and economists? He suspected the economists and accountants were simply logistics officers who had majored in those fields while at university. The lawyers were less surprising – the Navy had probably put them through law school so they could serve as JAG officers.
Kale, sitting to his left, leaned over. “After all the fuss of coming here and smashing their defenses, the Alliance is just gonna make peace and leave ‘em intact,” he whispered in disgust. “I’d rather take a Dactari blade in the gut than listen to much more of this fertilizer. The new structure won’t last a year.”
Almost a sixth of the Republic was slated to become Alliance territory.
Tommy nodded. “This business of planets suddenly having to switch over to the Alliance is going to be a major problem. Not all of them want out of the Republic, so the fleet is going to end up policing hostile populations as oppressors, rather than liberators.”
“Which leaves two questions to answer,” Kale hissed, holding up a finger. “Can we win ‘em over?” He unfolded a second finger. “And when we find out the first answer is ‘no’, will the economic benefits of holding them pay for the cost?”
I think there may be a more pressing issue, Keeva suggested to their minds. A junior official in the lounge has just contacted one of the Dactari captains in the defensive fleet. He’s been promoted to armada second class.
Tommy frowned at Kale, then held up a finger, nodding to indicate that he would ask the necessary question. Please link our overt thoughts. He waited for a second. How does that impact the situation? They had to keep the conversation on a non-verbal level to avoid giving away important knowledge.
An armada outranks a flota, Keeva explained. The Triumvirs are effectively preventing Reis Mas from controlling their forces.
Those fornicating vitros! Gelna’s angry thoughts startled the two Humans. They looked across the table to where he sat at the end of the Dactari delegation.
They found themselves painted into a corner when they came aboard, Kale projected. They were put on center stage by Mas and now they’ll try to get out of this mess by portraying him as a renegade and traitor.
The Triumvirs had looked ready to explode when they learned that the Humans and Midgaard were holding the upper hand in Dactari orbit and that they were being forced to sit down with an enemy the public were only now learning about.
It makes sense, Tommy replied. They’re in it up to their eyeballs. They can’t get out of this now unless they claim that they were being deceived as well. They can claim the military was keeping everyone in the dark and Mas will make a perfect scapegoat.
So regardless of what gets decided here, Kale thought, turning a grim face to Tommy, Mas is going to find himself in hot water. We should warn Towers.
You think there’s a danger? Tommy darted a glance down the table.
Kale’s right, Gelna insisted. Mas leads a large force of Krypteia. They won’t let him be taken in by a pack of lying bureaucrats.
I’m not sure we should be passing information to any particular side, Keeva broke in. We’re here to provide neutral ground, not to take sides.
No, Gelna thought emphatically. We need to warn the Alliance. This is going to turn into a fight and if enemy ships are nearby, they’ll get pulled into it. This armistice will collapse and millions could die if we don’t warn somebody. Come to think of it – and it pains me to admit it – Kale’s right. This peace seems designed to fail.
What if we leave the Firm Resolve here in the Republic to moderate the armistice? Tommy thought. It could put a damper on any flare-ups, help keep the peace.
It might help to have a powerful mediator standing between the two sides, Kale admitted, but Keeva’s controlling the ship. The minute we jump out of here it’ll be adrift with all those refugees on board.
The refugees have a stake in what happens to that ship, Tommy replied. Maybe they can provide a volunteer to merge with it?
They aren’t compatible, Keeva’s thoughts seemed troubled. There is one here who is, though.
Tommy looked around the room. There’s only one attendee who has no other members of their species present. He paused.
Yes, Keeva answered. Eiboekna. I should have made the correlation when we found the Constant Vigil under the Xo’Khov sea.
We hadn’t met her yet, Gelna gave thought to his friends’ confusion.
No, Keeva replied, but I’d met Kobrak and several of his people before we left Khola.
You mean… Tommy suddenly thought of Ailekna, smiling at him on the cliffs outside of Khulmet.
Yes, the Bolshari. Keeva finished Tommy’s thought. I’ve checked the files from when you boarded me and got shot by my drones. The Bolshari all have genetic markers consistent with my people, and more specifically, the crew records from the Constant Vigil.
You’re saying the Bolshari are descended directly from that ship’s crew – your own people? Most Bolshari don’t live any longer than a century. Kale let his gaze wander over to Eiboekna.
No wonder I’ve grown to hate living on this ship. Gelna thought.
My people evicted the Bolshari from Dactar because of their effect on us, and I’ve spent the last three years linked to one of their minds.
Admiral Towers sat in a lounge chair, still looking at Tommy long after he had finished explaining the shifting currents in the Dactari command structure. “Does this have anything to do with your suggesting a Bolshari use one of those giant ships to monitor the armistice?”
Tommy shook his head. “No, sir. We just happen to know of a sister ship that needs a symbiote. It could do a lot of good…”
“It could also do a lot of harm,” Towers cut him off harshly. “Harm to your own people, Mr. Kennedy. How do we know she wouldn’t use that ship against us?”
“The Dactari won’t go for it, anyway,” Harry waved a dismissive hand. “They’re genetically engineered to obey them. The last thing they want is to have one of their old masters looking over their shoulders again.”
“Actually, Keeva has managed to isolate the effect,” Tommy clarified. “The response is triggered by Bolshari beta waves. Any active thinking or problem solving causes their minds to generate enough electromagnetic energy that the Dactari can pick up on it. She altered the EM signature of the ship’s transmitters as a test while we were still out at the table.”
“And?” Towers regarded him with mild interest.
“And Gelna was immediately relieved,” Tommy replied. “Keeva can provide the schematics for a kind of EM ‘white noise’ generator that will render Dactari ships immune to the effect as well.”
“That’s a major plus for them.” Harry glanced over at Towers. “They’ve always worried that Eiboekna’s people would try to resurrect the Empire and return the Dactari to being nothing more than the official muscle. This puts an end to that for good.”
“I’m ever so happy for them,” Caul said dryly. “But how do we ensure that she doesn’t try to restore her family to the throne? She would have a pretty potent force at her command.” He waved a hand out the window at the disabled ships that floated above Dactar.
“She can be stopped,” Tommy answered, “the same way I stopped her predecessor.”
Liam came forward from his post by the door. “You stopped one of these ships?”
A nod. “The Firm Resolve was the guardian of a remote world. The symbiote didn’t care for the progress made by its inhabitants and initiated a global reset of sorts. Everyone would have died within a few weeks.”
“God!” Harry exclaimed. “Tell me there isn’t one of these things watching Earth!”
“There is,” Tommy admitted with a shrug, “but the symbiote controlling it has a much more pragmatic personality. Frankly, he can’t be bothered with re-setting our world so he just amuses himself by watching.”
“All right,” Towers overrode them. “As alarming as that is, it sounds like it can stay on the back burner for a while.” He leaned forward, staring at Tommy. “You stopped the Firm Resolve – how?”
“The symbiote chamber is accessed from the bridge. Keeva gave me the ability to access the door and transported me to a spot directly outside the door of the chamber. By the time he realized his danger, I was already inside and out of his reach.”
“You killed him?” Towers inched forward on his chair.
“Sort of. He’s partially brain dead because I had to disconnect him before the ejection process was complete.”
“He’ll have a great future in politics,” Harry growled.
Towers waved him to silence. “How many people were on that world?”
“Just under fifty million,” Tommy said. “A little more than half now live on this ship, the rest are on the Firm Resolve.”
“Fifty million?” Liam half whispered, staring at his son in amazement.
“I’d bet there’s not a lot of fathers that could say their kid saved fifty million people.” Harry smiled at Liam.
Towers nodded at Liam, grinning, before he turned back to Tommy. “So how do we stop Eiboekna from killing one of our worlds, if she suddenly turns cranky on us?”
Tommy was grateful for the inquiry. He was uncomfortable with the sudden admiration, especially from his own father, and he welcomed the chance to get back to business. He was still conflicted about uprooting an entire planet.
“You’d need to put a constant guard in the symbiote chamber,” he said. “Post a couple hundred Humans and Dactari to the ship and have them sit in the chamber in shifts – a representative from each species at all times. If she gets out of hand, you can disconnect her from the console.”
Towers nodded. He suddenly wondered if the powerful ship might be able to locate the Guadalcanal but tracking down a mutinied ship was peripheral to the main discussion. He filed the idea away for later. “Objections?” He looked around the room. Nothing but nods or shrugs.
“Alright,” he said with a sigh. “We’re in favor of the plan. Now what do we do about Flota Mas? If the Triumvirs are planning to get rid of him and whitewash the whole mess, do we warn him?”
“If we do nothing,” Caul offered, “a potent enemy commander will be eliminated.”
“A potent commander whose interests are currently aligned with ours,” Harry pointed out. “If he’s gone, then the official version of events will have Dactari recruiting centers lined up around the block.”
“Why would they wait until after the negotiations to plead ignorance?” Flemming stared moodily out the window.
“They don’t want to look like fools in front of us,” Caul replied. “They don’t want to show any weakness – even ignorance – in front of the enemy. They’ll isolate him from his forces, ambush him and then start recruiting new troops to come after us.”
“War is the best way to shore up a failing politician,” Towers said mildly. “And those three bastards are definitely in a lot of hot water unless they can blame it on the military and then whip up some patriotic fervor to hide behind.”
“Warn him.” Harry nodded once to emphasize his position. “Might even spark a civil war, if we get lucky.”
“Warn him,” Lothbrok insisted. “He’s a worthy opponent. I’d rather give him a warrior’s death myself than let some skulking politician murder him in a prison cell.”
Towers looked to Caul. A brusque nod.
“Harry, have a talk with him after we finish the negotiations.” Towers stood up, the rest following suit. “Make sure you get to him before his own people get a chance to lure him off.”
Reis stood with the rest of the delegates. It had taken a long time to work out the details, but it looked as though they had managed to reach a workable agreement. The Republic had just lost a lot of territory, but they were hardly in a position to make any demands, not with an array of mass drivers sitting over Xo’Khov.
At least the public finally knew the truth.
Heig, your mission was accomplished after all, he thought sadly. If only you hadn’t led that mutiny, we would still be sitting at our ambush point.
Eiboekna would serve as monitor. Mistrusted equally by both sides, she would patrol the borders, guarded constantly by Human, Midgaard and Dactari officers. At the first hint of treachery, she would be removed.
The limits of her authority were clearly defined. She could cause a temporary cessation of hostilities, but only so long as both parties were willing to negotiate. If they demanded her withdrawal, then she would have to release them and step aside.
Meanwhile, he would have his work cut out for him. He was already reviewing the assets under his command. Some of his officers would be on those new Alliance worlds within the month, training their citizens in the same insurgency tactics that he had fought against for decades.
We’ll see how the Alliance likes their new role as imperialist oppressors, he thought.
“Flota Mas.” The sudden voice at his side proved just how focused he had been on the fight to come. He turned to find one of the Alliance officers standing to his right. He certainly didn’t waste any time.
“Commodore Young, yes?” Reis nodded a w
ary greeting. “The warlord of Oaxes.”
A return nod.
“It was you who pretended to flee from your own prizes at Chula 565,” Reis added. “That was cleverly done.”
Harry smiled. “I thought it might buy me a few seconds.” He stepped closer, causing Reis’ tail to appear over his right shoulder, ready to strike at an eye. Harry ignored the reflex. “Flota Mas, I came over here to tell you that we’ll be spinning up our distortion drives as soon as we return to our ships.” The Human glanced quickly over to where the Triumvirs were putting on an act for the audience on Dactar – acting as though they had won the negotiations.
“Whatever happens here in the next few minutes,” Harry continued, “we won’t be taking sides. We have no wish to be drawn into an internal matter.”
“An internal matter?” Reis’ tail waved slowly over his right shoulder.
A nod toward the three politicians. “Did you know that they’ve promoted some cruiser captain to armada second class, while we sat at this table?”
Like a game of columns, the pieces suddenly found their places. Promotion to armada was the one rank that could only be handed out by the civilian government. The Triumvirs could make or break any armada-level officer.
They want an officer they can control, he realized. And what better use for an officer they can’t control than as a whipping boy. He looked over at the Triumvirs, watched them congratulate each other.
“We think they’ll try to position themselves as the heroes who made the best of a bad situation,” Harry added quietly. “Of course, step two in the process is to give the citizens a sense of closure, the feeling that someone has been soundly punished for letting things get so bad.
“They’ll turn on you, sure as hell.” The Human grinned. “We have a saying back home – if a politician ever pats you on the back, it’s because he’s looking for a good spot to stick the knife.”
Those motherless clones! Reis looked again at the politicians, starting in slight shock as he realized his hand was resting against his empty holster. Heig was willing to give his life to expose those fools, and now they plan to pin their shame on us?
The Orphan Alliance Page 28
