“I agree. Now I understand why you have your two friends with you. I approve. I’ll get some of my starship marines stationed here on the bridge, for additional security.”
Steg returned to his cabin and stationed his two escorts outside the door. “I need two to three hours, undisturbed. Allow no one to enter, not even if we’re about to crash. If Colonel Attwood visits, please let me know. No one else. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The two soldiers stood to attention, one either side of his cabin door.
Steg closed and locked his door and made himself comfortable on his bed, fortunately now unoccupied. He wanted to find the half-awake, half-asleep state that he had experienced earlier. He closed his eyes and relaxed. It did not take long for the familiar streams of electronic symbols to reach him; these were, he realized, the same sensations which he had experienced in the past, before his memory loss.
He sought and detected the message queue on the communications device feeding into the alien’s computer. He checked the device and accessed its controls without difficulty. The message stack covered the last two to three weeks—Monty, presumably unaware it was possible to hack into the device, had not cleared his messages. Steg transferred copies to the workstation used by Commander Gillespie with a request for her to arrange their analysis. After he transferred each message, he deleted it from the source system. When he finished, Steg considered his next chore. Somehow, he needed to penetrate Monty’s computer complex, if for no other reason than to ensure it didn’t have linkages into Wasp’s command and control systems. If these links existed, he would need to disable them as quickly as possible.
Steg again tried to find the alien computer and failed. He was unable to detect an access point other than the communication link. He reflected on the problem, struggling to identify a solution. He decided to examine the starship’s system; he should be able to identify if it had links to the alien’s computers. This, he realized, would take time. He relaxed again and reached out for Wasp’s primary mainframe-based system, which controlled the starship. It was controlling and monitoring every electronic-related function on board Wasp. Steg saw commands as they were issued to the starship’s drive, he detected low-level maintenance algorithms, he identified the astrogation star-maps and the relative position of the starship, and he heard conversations between departments. Every so often he observed a strange pulse of data moving into the processing units and in response, a similar pulse returned to an unfamiliar device outside his scope. These pulses, he suspected, represented system penetration by the alien.
He moved his attention to the starship’s hot standby system, located amidships, protected, safeguarded, well away from the primary system. The standby mainframe performed the same functions as the primary system and was designed to be available within two or three seconds if a failure occurred in the primary. He checked and double-checked and did not discover any strange data pulses issuing from the standby system. Monty, he thought, either was unaware of the hot standby or had decided there was no need to duplicate his penetration in all components of Wasp’s systems. Steg turned his attention back to the primary computer and searched for the standby controller. It was designed to detect an electronic heartbeat, a pulsed signal indicating everything was functioning as required in the active primary system, and if the heartbeat did not arrive at the hot standby, it would immediately instruct the standby to take control.
He triggered failure of the heartbeat signal, thus initiating system failover. Emergency sirens roared throughout the starship as the apparent collapse of the primary system was detected. It was a heart-stopping moment for the crew; if the standby system did not step up to take control with a seamless transfer of all functions, Wasp would be adrift until its primary system was restored, a process which would take days to complete. In the interim, nothing would work; basic controls would fail, astrogation, engineering, and weapons functions would be inoperative. The starship would drift, unable to navigate and incapable of defense against an enemy. Steg waited, almost without breathing, as did most of the bridge and crew, until the siren sounded again, signaling a successful failover. He monitored the operations of the new primary system, checking there were no strange data pulses. At last, satisfied, he decided to carry out his next step.
It was time, he thought, to visit Monty, to explore the motives of the alien and his wives. He exited his cabin and signaled to his two-man bodyguard to accompany him. These were the second shift and were wearing exo-armor. Each guard carried a standard military-issue weapon, capable of causing major damage, death, and destruction. Steg checked the time. He had been in his cabin for what had seemed like minutes but which, in reality, was closer to five hours. He shrugged; he needed first to deal with Monty, and afterwards he would meet with Colonel Attwood. Time was running out. He increased his pace.
Steg stopped at the voice-controlled door into the room where previously he had sat talking to Monty. He pressed a button beside the small microphone and speaker unit. “Monty, this is Steg de Coeur. I want to speak to you.” He released the button and instructed his escort, “Keep the door open once he unlocks it.”
The door lock clicked and Steg pulled at the heavy handle. The door opened; he stepped into the room, while his escorts stood in the doorway, preventing closure of the heavy metal door. Monty was busy at his workstations.
The alien turned and stared at Steg through the solid glass panel. He turned away and resumed his workstation task. Steg waited. At last Monty spoke.
“Yes, de Coeur? I’m extremely busy, so make it fast.”
“Yes, I know. I also know you’re dealing with the Xesset.”
The octopus-like alien stilled movement of his tentacles. He turned again and stared at Steg.
“What do you mean?” he demanded
“It’s simple enough. I intercepted communications between you and the Xesset. As a result, I implemented steps to prevent you sending or receiving any more messages. I also cut off your links to the main computer systems. You’re now isolated.”
“What do you mean? Of course I haven’t been communicating with the Xesset. It would be betrayal of Wasp and her crew, of Colonel Attwood and his mercenaries.” Monty’s arms were changing color, moving from blue and green to orange and to red, and the colors were becoming more and more vivid. The alien continued tapping at workstation command buttons while he was speaking. He threshed his arms in apparent frustration, causing the water to froth and bubble around him. “What have you done?” His question was almost a scream.
“I cut you off.”
“You can’t do that—you don’t have the authority—you don’t have the knowledge. I’ll make sure Colonel Attwood executes you for mutiny.” The alien continued his attempts to access computer links. His head and limbs now were all vivid red.
“Monty, your attempt to gain control of Wasp has failed. I’ve enough evidence to present to Attwood. I have a copy of the communication from the Xesset agreeing to your terms, with the starship as your reward.”
“Impossible—it’s not possible for you to know—besides, it’s a collection of lies.”
“Unfortunately for you, it is possible. I have copies of all your communications. I know the Xesset agreed to arbitration under the Dir Commercial Code, although why you’d trust those pirates is beyond me. Commander Gillespie’s people are analyzing all your messages. We’ve obtained enough evidence to hand you over to the Sicca War Merchants. I’m sure they’ll work out how to jail you—I imagine they’d be eager to fill a small tub for you.”
“You think you know everything, don’t you? You’re too late, this time, de Coeur.” The alien gave the equivalent of a snarl. “The Xesset are on their way to intercept Wasp. We’ll see who survives that encounter.”
“Thank you, Monty. I’ve been relaying our conversation to everyone on board. I’m sure you’ll be dealt with fairly.” Steg turned to his two escorts. “Let’s go. I don’t think there’s anything more to be gained here.”
<
br /> *****
Chapter 15
Colonel Attwood stared at Steg with an expression of total disbelief. Steg had briefed him on Monty’s betrayal when he arrived on the command deck. “What?” he shouted, “Monty’s colluding with these pirates? He’s betrayed us? I—I don’t believe you!” The colonel slammed his fist into a bulkhead.
“It’s true, Colonel,” Commander Gillespie confirmed. “I’ve been reviewing messages Monty’s sent and received over the last three weeks. My staff have been assisting me. We’ve proof he’s been communicating with these Xesset and has entered into a contract with them. His reward, once you and your men are defeated, is control of Wasp. In turn, they’d get all our technology. Steg met with Monty almost an hour ago and challenged him about his contacts with the Xesset. His conversation with Steg was a virtual confession; he didn’t realize Steg was broadcasting their conversation, ship-wide. We recorded it all, if you want to listen.”
Attwood glared at the commander and turned back to Steg. “How did you access these messages?”
“They were transferred from Monty’s communications system to Wasp’s. We have headers, contents, validated receipts, everything. There are hundreds of them. There’s enough evidence to arrest and transfer Monty to Sicca without further investigation,” Commander Gillespie replied, saving Steg from a direct answer.
“I—I don’t understand. I can’t hear Monty on my link, either. It’s like I’m deaf. There must be a mistake, a misunderstanding, surely?”
“No, Colonel. We all heard his confession over the intercom when Steg was questioning him.”
The colonel’s eyes seemed to be unfocused. “This is your fault, de Coeur. I’ll have you arrested—for—for—providing false evidence.” The colonel’s move towards Steg was blocked by one of Steg’s armored bodyguard. “What’s this?” Attwood looked aghast at the marine from Ebony Company and stepped back as awareness penetrated his apparent fugue. He glared at Steg. “Are you threatening me?”
Steg surmised the colonel was still under the influence of the narcotic used by the Charion priestess in her pre-battle ceremony. “No, sir. I decided I might need protection while the news about Monty was circulated and verified. People are known to attack the messenger when there’s bad news. Commander Gillespie’s been reviewing the alien’s communications, and she confirmed there is verified evidence of his treachery. You have no basis for suggesting I’m providing false evidence.”
“Well, no, of course not,” muttered the colonel. “But I can’t hear him. It’s so difficult—I’ve lost my link to Monty. We—I—depend on his input, on his assurances and direction. I feel—isolated, yes, that’s it, isolated.”
“Colonel, we have to determine our strategy; this time, without the alien’s involvement. We must also determine what to do about the Xesset,” Gillespie said, adding the weight of her command to the discussion. “My bridge crew’s been reviewing the details Monty provided earlier and so far, we’re unable to find either the freighter or the pirates. Either they’re remarkably well shielded, or they’re somewhere else.”
“Very well. We’ll meet in fifteen minutes—I need to speak with my officers, first.”
Steg raised his hand to attract Attwood’s attention before he exited the bridge. “Colonel,” he said.
“Yes, de Coeur?”
“I’ve placed guards on Monty’s area. I’ve instructed them to prevent any and all access, no matter who tries to contact the alien. There’ll be no exceptions. The guards are armored, and they’re the best marksmen from my company. We’ve also mined the access window to his front—ah—office, much to Monty’s extreme displeasure. I’m sure we can close the blast doors to prevent water from reaching critical areas, if we need to.”
“You’re thorough.”
“Yes, sir.”
###
The mood in the meeting room was noticeably different from the last meeting. All the bridge and mercenary officers were seated by the time Steg entered. His two armored guards accompanied him, and their presence generated negative reactions from Attwood and Fowler. He ignored the officers’ comments, and the guards remained standing behind his chair.
“The problem’s simple,” Steg said to the waiting audience. “Monty’s betrayed us. He’s contracted with the Xesset to help them defeat our forces. He’s agreed to override Wasp’s defenses. His motivation—he gets this starship. The Xesset, in turn, obtain all the technical know-how they can persuade Monty to deliver to them. Of course, they also earn their fees for supplying arms to the rebels on Eos. They likely have an intention to take control of the planet for themselves. I assume Monty has access to your central accounts and can drain any credit balance, if you’re all dead. Monty’s betrayal is verifiable. We have copies of his communications, and Commander Gillespie’s team has reviewed every detail. Additionally, most of you heard my earlier conversation with Monty. I have a recording if anyone wants to listen to it again?”
“What you’re saying is outrageous,” Major Fowler challenged. “It’s—impossible, for you to know he’s betrayed us.” There was a murmur of agreement from some of the other mercenary officers.
The bridge officers protested; they had spent the last eight hours or more working through the messages transferred to Commander Gillespie’s workstation and as a result, were well convinced of the alien’s treachery.
Gillespie voiced her support. “While I don’t know how he managed it, de Coeur exposed weeks of messages between Monty and the Xesset. We’ve read all his communications, including dialogs with each of the government officials and rebel leaders on Eos. He has been playing on all sides. There is a freighter. Yes, it does exist, and we’ve confirmed it’s loaded with enough munitions for an extensive ground war. We’re still trying to locate the Xesset starships.”
“Shouldn’t we have Monty online?” asked one of the lieutenants, young and inexperienced, whom Steg had not previously encountered. “He’s our strategy expert.”
Everyone, including Attwood, stared at the junior officer. His ears turned pink, and he looked down at the table surface. He swallowed. “Um—I suppose not.” His voice trailed off.
“Captain de Coeur,” Attwood said.
“Yes, Colonel?”
“You got us into this mess—now get us out of it.”
“You’re hardly being fair—” Gillespie began.
“Very well,” Steg interrupted. “I accept. With conditions. First, I need full operational command of both the starship and your mercenaries. Do you agree?”
Attwood was silent for a long moment. He appeared to be taken aback. Steg thought there was a high probability the mercenary colonel had expected him to protest, to make excuses, to back away from any further involvement in resolving the problems he had exposed. Instead, Steg, the newcomer, had taken, swallowed, and digested the bait, without hesitation. Except now Attwood was possibly the one who had been caught.
“There’ll be a cost,” Steg added into the silence.
“What—ah—reward—do you expect?” the colonel asked.
“The freighter and its contents.”
“What?” came the protest in unison from most of the mercenary officers. Even the bridge crew looked concerned.
“Without my warning, you would’ve walked into a Xesset trap and lost Wasp. Your entire force of Stingers ambushed and more than likely killed. You, yourselves, everyone in this meeting room—if you weren’t killed in action—would be put to death by the Xesset.”
“If we don’t agree?” Attwood asked.
“You’re on your own,” Steg said. He hoped the colonel wouldn’t recognize the falsity of his statement. He would agree to fight the Xesset without hesitation.
“Let me see,” reflected Attwood. “You somehow derived all this data, impugned our strategist, and now expect to take over the operation to capture the freighter. Oh, I acknowledge your potential capabilities, I’ve seen how you’ve organized and trained your company. You’ve demonstrated experience
and capability. But why, for freksake, should I entrust you with my command?”
“Because you’re facing an enemy force, and you know they won’t stop until you all are dead? Because your strategist betrayed you, your ship, and your people? You all heard the broadcast of Monty’s admission? If not, Commander Gillespie can replay the recording for you.” Steg waited.
The debate was noisy and aggressive. The commander and her crew were adamant in their support of Steg and his conclusions regarding the alien’s betrayal. The more experienced mercenary officers, except Attwood and Fowler, gradually acknowledged they needed to support Steg, while the less experienced, younger officers continued to support the colonel.
At last Gillespie cut through the arguments after the same voices repeated the same objections for the fifth time. “Enough. As commander of Wasp, I now call a vote. We have three options open to us. One, we can withdraw from this venture. Of course, if we do so, there remains a high risk the Xesset will still pursue us. Remember, we’ve accepted a contract with the authorities on Eos. In any event, I refuse to risk the ship in the subsequent legal action that would be justifiably brought by the planetary authorities if we withdraw. So, as commander, I’ll override the decision if a majority votes to withdraw. So one is not an acceptable option. Two, we can proceed with this venture guided by Monty, which’d be particularly stupid, and in any case, I require the aliens to be confined under arrest until we can hand them over to the authorities in Sicca. Finally, we’ve the third course of action, for de Coeur to command our forces to counter the Xesset. Yes, there’s a risk. However, as usual, we’ll survive if we’re sensible.”
Gillespie tore sheets of notepaper into strips and handed them around to each attendee, excluding Steg and the two armored guards. “Now write one, two or three on your paper, fold it, and return it to me.” She watched patiently as her instructions were carried out. Eventually, after she annotated and folded her paper, she had a heap of paper strips, all folded, in front of her. She looked at Attwood. “Colonel, I also need your vote.”
Fracture Lines (The Glass Complex Book 2) Page 10
