Steg went on to describe their hive-like culture and their inability to even consider other intelligent species, human or other, as possible peers. He mentioned the impressions of evil he had encountered without elaboration. The security lieutenant was taking notes, and Steg was sure he was being recorded.
“Do you know the location of their home system or even a base?” Lieutenant Roscoe asked.
Steg shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. I suspect they move from system to system, like a swarm. Although they must have some industrial facilities—or enslaved planets—to help them build their starships. That dreadnought, for example, would require a substantial industrial infrastructure for its construction.” There was silence for a moment, and Steg waited for the next question.
“Do you have any details of their power systems? Their ships seemed incredibly fast.” The officer’s name tag read Eliza Jones. “I’m Engineering.”
“Eliza, again no, unfortunately. Yes, they are fast. An Imperial destroyer could not match the pace of one of their smaller ships—the one we managed to board, which then fled. The destroyer only caught up when we disabled the Xesset starship’s drives.”
The Engineering commander sat back, her expression worried. “That is scary.”
Steg smiled. “I agree. It was extremely so, at the time.”
“I have a question—it’s the key for me,” Julie said.
“Yes, Commander?”
“Julie, please. As the skipper said, we’re informal, here.”
Steg surrendered. “Yes, Julie?”
“How the hell do you communicate with starship systems? Is our starship safe?”
“Firstly, yes, you are safe. At least from anything I could achieve.” He didn’t say that status would prevail as long as the Alliance starship did not treat him as an enemy. “We do have some skilled computer people on board and they—by error—let loose a virus, which affected data centers on Eos. It also contaminated the way station. Some of the starships docked at the way station may have been affected. You weren’t docked, so you’re safe. We’ll check and clean systems as part of our search and rescue activities. The same virus was loaded into the Xesset dreadnought’s systems; it totally degraded both their defensive and offensive capabilities. Apart from that, I’m not able to provide further details.”
“You realize Julie will spend the remainder of her career—likely to be decades—trying to get the answer you omitted?”
Steg smiled at the Alliance skipper and shrugged. “The answer—you would find unbelievable. Julie, please do not try to explore this; if you did discover the answer and publicized it, your credibility would be in absolute doubt. In other words, no one would believe you, no matter how much evidence you revealed.” He made eye contact with Defender’s Tac and shook his head. “At times, I don’t even understand or believe it myself.”
“I’ll try to restrain my curiosity.”
Steg somehow doubted the restraint would be effective. “Thank you.” He turned back to Montrose. “A couple of topics. The most critical item, we should get search and rescue underway. Could your marine officers liaise with our Captain Dean? He’s in operational command of our mercenaries and is probably now setting up his search and rescue teams.”
Montrose signaled to one of the officers seated at the conference table. “Major Tonyn Carter. Please work with Captain Dean. We’ll excuse you; go organize your marines.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll place a hundred of my men on the station to work with Wasp’s team.” The major rose and edged away from the table.
“That’s welcome news, Major,” said Steg. “We have over two hundred marines available, so altogether that’ll be a good-sized force.”
“I agree,” the officer said. “Captain de Coeur, it’s been a pleasure meeting you, and I look forward to working with your Captain Dean.”
As Carter left the room, Montrose said, “He means it; he’ll ensure his marines fit in with your people.”
“That’s good to hear. As soon as the station’s computer system is running properly, we’ll have access to utilities and repair bots. The bots will re-construct and repair; they’ll also ensure the station has atmosphere,” Steg said.
“I think we all hope there’ll be survivors. That was a devastating barrage.”
“The Xesset don’t make distinctions between civilians and military forces.”
“So we saw.”
“Richard, I have a suggestion, which might seem odd, but which I think will help the planet and its people recover and stabilize. I’m going to recommend Wasp remains in local space to manage rebuilding the Eos way station and to provide security, at least until the local officials are back in control. This will take months, perhaps a year.” He shrugged. “It’s difficult to estimate. If we don’t help, the planet will be exposed to attack by opportunistic pirates and by the Xesset, if they decide to return. Of course, I wouldn’t expect Defender to remain here. However, five or six missile pods and a missile control system would certainly provide additional teeth to Wasp’s weapons. Is there any possibility—?”
“An excellent idea, Steg. Yes, we’ve been enjoying your escapades for far too long, and Defender needs to return to base. I’m not sure what my Admiralty will say when they receive our reports. Missile pods—I can see the advantages. Lay out some passive sensor arrays, with pods distributed to protect the way station and Wasp to oversee. Yes, I can support you. Once Wasp confirms the contract, I’ll transfer two pods each with twenty missiles and arrange for delivery of another four, so you’ll have some spares. Eos will have to cope with Alliance inspections every six months or so, which will add to their security profile. We’ll end the inspections when Eos decide they no longer need our missiles.”
“Thank you. I need to convince both Wasp and Eos authorities.”
“I’m prepared to add weight, if you encounter difficulties with either party.”
“Good, we may need it for the Eos side, at least. Is there anything else I can address?”
“No—well, apart from Julie’s outstanding question.”
“I’ve heard disappointment is character building,” Julie said, “However, I think my character is already built. Steg, if you decide you can tell me—any time in the future—I’ll give you my contact details.”
Her fellow officers laughed, and Julie’s face turned pink. “It’s to find out how he did it,” she protested.
“Hmm. Steg, our shuttle’s waiting to return you to the station. I’ll keep that isolated compad open for you, in case you have any requests or problems. Let me know.”
Steg stood and said, “Thank you. Everyone, if I can help in future—” There was a chorus of responses. Steg could feel the intensity of the Tac commander’s curiosity, and he added, “Well, except for Julie’s question, of course.”
*****
Chapter 42
Steg thanked the shuttle crew when they returned him to the way station, and he then headed to Wasp. Once on board he made his way to the bridge. As soon as he stepped through the hatch, the bridge crew stood and applauded.
Commander Gillespie smiled at his discomfit and said, “We all appreciate the defeat of the Xesset dreadnought even if we don’t know how you managed it. You protected Wasp. I know, we could have headed away from Eos and avoided any conflict; however, you and some of our people would have been left behind, so we used our shields to hide and watch, in case we could assist. We appreciate the results of your actions.”
“Thanks, Commander. It was stressful, I’ll admit. I’m hopeful the Xesset won’t return. The cost to them has been exceptionally high, and I think we can assume they won’t keep sending forces against us or Eos.”
“How was your meeting with the Alliance skipper and his officers?”
“Very good. They also were thankful they didn’t have to fight the dreadnought. The CO of their marines should be meeting with Dean; they’re adding a hundred marines to our search and rescue operation.”
“Dean sa
id they were meeting. We’re all hoping we find people still alive.”
“Me, too. I want to discuss an idea with you. Can we use the small conference room?”
Steg looked across the table at Gillespie when he concluded his suggestion. “I think we can establish stability here. Otherwise, if Wasp doesn’t take up this role, the planet will be in total chaos within months.”
“I’m interested, of course. We still have an outstanding contract item to complete, too.”
“The rebels have lost their munitions shipment, they’ve been spared the support of the Xesset, and we’re taking over all their funds. Once search and rescue is done here, we’ll complete the contract.”
“They’ve lost their funds?”
“I trust our two computer experts are making sure of that while they tidy up the mess made by their virus.”
“We’ve some responsibility for the mess; the Intel team is ours.”
“I know. That’s one of the reasons why I’m suggesting Wasp takes on the role of providing reconstruction assistance in addition to mounting a security operation.”
“The Eos government will contract with us?”
“I’m going to talk with the president. We’ve got support from Montrose; he was willing to provide the missile pods, which is a good start.”
“Very well. I’ll schedule a contract meeting with the senior officers. As soon as you have the president’s reactions, let me know.”
“I will. We can use the funds we’ve taken from the Joy producers—after we’ve paid the Stingers and Wasp’s crew—to help with expenses. I think the balance will be substantial. If necessary, I’ll suggest that to the Eos authorities.”
“What are you going to do about the frigate captain who you’ve locked up? The one who assaulted Stacia?”
“I’d like to push him out of a lock. However, I may be able to use him as a bargaining lever with Eos. He’s been transferred to Wasp?”
“Yes. Riddell was adamant he needed to be locked up and guarded.”
“Good. Let me check progress with Howe and Beagle, and I’ll make a call to Eos after that. We need Dean to give us regular status reports, too.”
“You know, if Wasp remains here, you’ll have to amend the arrangements with Djamu? We can’t meet them at Sicca if we’re on duty here.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. They’re probably on approach now. Rose and Kirby are senior and reliable. We can authorize them to sell Djamu—and the weapons, of course—and buy a small ship. Perhaps a corvette? Something large enough to comfortably accommodate Ebony Company on the journey here?”
Gillespie reflected for a moment. “Y-y-yes, that would work. Do you want me to draft a message?”
“Please. Draft and send—I’ll leave the details to you. Specify a top of the line corvette, something like an Imperial Swan class—a craft about fifty thousand tons, which will be large enough. It should be fast and maneuverable. We can install weapons, shields, and so forth, when they return here.”
“Rose will love you. She enjoys the challenge of purchasing warships and equipment. We don’t do it often, though. She should register you as owner, of course?”
“Yes, please.”
“Good. I’ll send the message.”
###
Captain Dean and Major Carter had established an operations center on the docking arm adjacent to Wasp. Search and rescue teams were beginning to explore the seven levels of the core of the way station, identifying breaches in the station hull, and quantifying the degree of damage. Their priority was to find and rescuer survivors. A smaller group was responsible for retrieving wounded personnel—employees or civilians—and bring them to the operations center for treatment by the Fain.
Steg listened to exchanges of communications and realized a number of Fain had ventured out with the search teams to provide medical assistance in situ, for cases where injuries were too severe for the person to be moved or where someone was trapped under wreckage. He made his presence known to the two officers.
“Captain, Major. What’s your progress?”
“Sir,” replied the major, addressing Steg as his senior officer. “We’re working well. We set up a second retrieval area for uninjured survivors—well, most are in shock and need food and water. Your Fain are marvelous, truly marvelous.”
“They’ll be pleased to hear your opinion, Major. Dean?”
“I agree with the major, sir. I’ve always had that opinion about our Fain. The station’s data center is back on line, and we have atmosphere and electricity in our work areas. We don’t want utilities activated in other areas unless we’ve confirmed they’re airtight. We have a team—led by Beagle—she’s doing an excellent job—setting up the bots. They expect to have the first twenty or so exterior repair bots active in about an hour.”
“Body count?”
“As we expected, sir,” said Dean. “We’ve recovered a hundred uninjured, sixty with various survivable injuries, some serious, and twenty or more alive but unlikely to survive. Also, three hundred bodies. We think a lot more will be classed as missing—lost when the Xesset shells blew out exterior bulwarks. It’s unlikely we’ll ever recover those bodies.”
“We’re making progress towards the center where we expect to find more survivors than bodies; people there should have been sheltered by the structure of the station,” Major Carter added.
“Good. Can you set up a repeater station on the bridge so we can see progress, something to give the crew an idea of how you’re doing? As long as the effort doesn’t detract from recovery efforts?”
“We were planning to do that for both Defender and Wasp. Montrose also has requested status updates. It’s straightforward; we’ll get it done in the next thirty minutes.”
“I’ll leave you to it. I need to talk to the Eos president.”
On his way back to Wasp, he stopped to talk to Stacia and Finch. “How is your concussion?” he asked Stacia.
“Gone, thank you.” She hugged him. “I hear you’ve been destroying aliens?”
“Me? Whatever gave you that idea?” He turned to Finch. “Is she well enough to help you?”
“Yes. Truly. We wouldn’t let her come to harm. We need all the resources we can get.”
“Could you use help from Defender?”
“Definitely.”
“Well, maybe if you talk kindly to Major Carter—he’s the officer with Dean—he’ll contact the Alliance ship for you. I’m confident they’ll assist with medical support. If not, let me know.”
Steg went to the bridge looking for Howe. He wanted to check if he had found and transferred the rebel funds. He wasn’t on the bridge, and Steg headed to the mess, where he found his target and freshly made coffee. He joined Howe at the small table where he was finishing his meal.
“Progress?” Steg asked.
“Very good, sir. I’ve shown the dirtside operators how to clean the virus, and they’ve been appreciative. With our combined efforts, so far we’ve managed to get about 20 percent of the data centers operating the way they should.”
“Did you work on the Joy accounts?”
“Yes, sir. I contacted Sergeant Velez and got some help from the other members of our team. They had lots of details, which helped me identify the accounts. The rebels were certainly making money; the account in the Central Bank now has a balance of almost half a billion standard credits, and I think I’ve found another three accounts. Once they’re confirmed, the transfers will take the balance to well over a half billion. We’ve also discovered details of accounts in other star systems, some Alliance and some Imperial. These people must have been smuggling tremendous quantities of the drug. I’m pleased we’ve stopped them, sir.”
“I think those other systems will be pleased, too. When you have a moment, ask Sergeant Velez if she can spare me a minute. I’ll be in the Ebony war room.”
“Yes, sir. I think she’s helping with the search and recovery now.”
“When you see her. Only i
f she has a spare minute. Keep me updated with the data center progress. Also with the drug account balance.”
“Yes, sir.”
Steg knew he couldn’t stall any longer. He needed to make contact with the Eos authorities, as much as he didn’t like his previous encounters with the president’s aide. He sat at his workstation in the war room and keyed the comunit. A minute or more passed as the unit repeatedly attempted to link to the dirtside communications network. At last someone answered; the link was voice only.
“President’s office.”
“Steg de Coeur. President Morway, please.”
“He’s not—who did you say you are?”
“Steg de Coeur. I need to speak with the president.”
“Where are you calling from?”
“Wasp. We’re docked at the way station.”
“We’ve been trying to contact station management—can you tell me what’s happening there? We haven’t heard from them for days, yeah.”
“I should report to Morway, don’t you think?”
“That old soak—he’s not available and that means he’s had too much to drink again, yeah. You can report to me.”
“I thought he sounded strange when we spoke. I’ll give you a brief report. An alien dreadnought attacked your way station. The dreadnought was Xesset. They are the same aliens who were escorting Djamu, and who were planning to take control of your planet. We fought them off. They damaged your station, and there are casualties, most of them fatal. We’ve mounted a search and rescue operation, to recover survivors and treat them for injuries, depressurization or starvation. We’re being assisted by an Alliance destroyer—they’ve landed a hundred marines, and we’ve got over two hundred of our people on the station. We’re working our way from the docking arm through to the station core. So far, we’ve rescued two hundred plus and have recovered over five hundred bodies. We expect to find more survivors in the center. We’ve re-started the repair bots.”
Fracture Lines (The Glass Complex Book 2) Page 27
