by H. M. Clarke
“Josh, when you were serving with the Alliance; were you involved with any of their Black Ops missions?”
The Val Myran flushed and ran the tip of his tongue over his lips. Even now he felt bound by their confidentiality codes.
“You don’t have to tell me any details. Just tell me yes or no.”
“My unit was assigned to a Black Ops programme for six months. I got to know how they operate.”
“When we go in what will we be expecting?”
“If they think the tunnels are valuable, or think that they cannot escape cleanly from them, they will make it hard. If they’re still there, we can expect booby traps, defensive units and hard fighting. If they aren’t then we will be wasting a lot of time searching empty tunnels looking for them.”
“Skipper, we’re ready to go.” Lieutenant Tran called out to her.
Katherine shouldered her rifle and turned to the waiting squad members. “Let’s go.”
"Stand your people down Commander."
Katherine swung around to see a group of armed NHSIO people coming up the corridor behind them.
"Stand your people down," the lead man repeated.
"On whose authority?" Katherine snapped.
"On the authority of the First Councilor and the Senate of New Holland. If you go through that access hatch you will be exceeding the Authority given to Federation Security Staff by entering a public domain."
"Federation Security Staff!" Bristling at the man's tone and choice of words, Katherine was about to take a step towards him to dispute 'on whose authority' when her comm chimed.
"Kirk here," she snapped furiously at the comm unit.
"This is Ambassador Kirk. I am requesting that you and your people return to the main Foyer immediately. The NHSIO personnel should be there by now to secure the site."
"Ambassador, is that an order?"
A pause on the line, then, "Yes."
"Very well Sir. Kirk out."
She thumbed the unit off and turned away from the NHSIO members. "Steve, you heard the man. We're going back to the main foyer."
"Yes Skipper."
After their talk last night, John knew better than to order her or her people around, so whatever was happening upstairs must be important. It had better be.
Chapter
Twelve
“We’ll start now. They can join us when they get here.” Robert Prockter shifted angrily in his seat. Katherine sat next to her brother at the far end of the table along with Richard Coulthard, Steven Tran, Scott Applegarth and Joshua Val Myra. The rest of the table’s occupants were New Holland security heads, none of whom were in Prockter’s good books at the moment. They had been waiting for the New Holland Council Representatives to arrive, but it seems they are running late.
Her Steward had bought her over a clean uniform and had tutted in disgust at the damage done to her mess dress. Brenton will never let her hear the end of this. Until the next time it happens. A quick wash and a change of clothes made her feel nearly human again. Scott had given Joshua a shirt and trousers that he kept in his locker. And now they were sitting in a conference room buried somewhere in the centre of the New Holland Parliament.
“The shit has just hit the fan in a way this Government, or the SIO, has never even contemplated.” Prockter sat forward in his chair, clasping his fingers together on the tabletop. “The media is already off and running with conspiracy theories and trotting out the usual ‘experts’ dribbling out their own inflated opinions. This city is scared; a direct attack on the Federation is, was unthinkable. But now it has happened. And not one of you had a damned inkling of what was in the works!” Prockter’s clasped hands thumped down hard on the table as his eyes burned around the SIO heads seated there. And then the Director calmed.
“We’ve dropped the ball people and we need to get it back quick smart. What have we got so far?”
Everyone’s gaze moved to the man seated to Prockter’s right. Katherine did not know who he was as no one had offered introductions.
“The bodies of the attackers have been recovered and are now being examined. Some have already been identified as New Holland citizens connected to the Junter United Front; they were involved in the frontal assault on Federation House. The rest are unidentified at present.”
“What are our final casualty figures?”
“Forty two attackers are dead, four wounded. Federation Security and the SIO lost seventeen with six wounded. Federation civilian staff, thirty dead, eleven injured.” The woman to Prockter’s left looked up from her datapad, “Some are still on the critical list so our casualty figures might change.”
Katherine vaguely remembered her from the welcoming party on the first day they arrived. She was the SIO Chief of Forensics – Sonja….But the last name escaped her. The two Adelaide squads had suffered minimal injuries. A leg wound and a shoulder wound, she could live with that. Steve was a good squad leader, he looked after his people.
Murmurs rose from around the table. Katherine saw the shock that the casualty numbers caused in the faces of those around them. Even though the Junter system was in disputed territory, it was on its edge and did not get too involved in the greater ebb and flow of galactic politics. They have never suffered loses this large before on home soil.
Prockter raised a hand to silence the mutterings and he turned again to the man on his right. “Will the JUF try this gain?”
“That we don’t know. Our Intelligence told us that this sort of operation wasn’t even on the horizon for them.” Prockter glared at the speaker and he hurried on. “But I have ordered our field contacts to make the JUF a priority; to try and find out what their leadership is actually up to.”
“Don’t be surprised to find the Alliance twitching their strings,” Katherine spoke up from the end of the table. “The forces we engaged on the upper floors used Alliance comm signals and standard Alliance operational strategy. They were also well armed and armored.”
“Commander Kirk. I have read your statement and your comments have been duly noted,” the man said. “But if the Alliance had been active in New Holland long enough to have trained members of the JUF, we would have known about it.”
“Just like you knew about the attack on Federation House today?” Katherine knew she sounded petulant, but the man’s patronizing tone annoyed her. “That’s fine. If you don’t want to use my experience or that of my crew then we’ll leave and investigate this incident for ourselves. This attack occurred on Federation Territory and under Federal law the ranking military officer takes jurisdictional precedence.”
“Katherine!” John hissed at her but was ignored. She rose from the table, quickly followed by her XO and her Tactical Lieutenant.
“You can’t do that!” the man said from the end of the table.
“She certainly can Graham,” Robert Prockter stated very quietly.
“Commander Kirk, please sit back down, all of you. I happen to agree with your assessment. And I think that you would not want to waste your resources investigating areas that my people have a more though knowledge of.”
Katherine hesitated a moment and then nodded. “That is very true Director,” she replied aware of John’s pressing gaze. “What concerns me is that this attack was clearly run with the intention of killing the Federation Ambassador. My brother. And I take that very personally. I do not take kindly to either mine or my officer’s expert opinions being brushed aside as if irrelevant.” She glanced at her XO and Tac officer.
“I understand your reasoning Commander, and as I said, I agree with you so please sit down.”
Katherine sat back down in her seat, quickly followed by her officers. From the corner of her eye she saw Joshua trying unsuccessfully to hide his shock. She would not have left just as she would not have taken her right for jurisdiction. Prockter knew that. He knew that she was just ensuring that her people were not just treated as spectators. After all they had spoke at length about acting this little farce before the meet
ing was even called. It looks like there was a lot of internal politicking going on everywhere these days.
The man, Graham, looked at the Director with pursed lips. “That is all I have to report at present.”
“What about you Tracey?”
The woman seated on the other side of Joshua thumbed on her datapad and looked down the table to the director.
“We have found clear evidence that the outer security grid around Federation House had been compromised and we suspect that the same will be found with the internal security sensory system. We are still investigating how the system integrity was compromised. Once we’ve done that then we can try and trace the infiltration back to its source.”
“I have some personnel that are experienced in security systems and with Alliance infiltration methods. They can be made available if you need added assistance,” Katherine said as the woman finished. Katherine recognized her from the side party as well. Tracey Anders, Chief of Knowledge and Information Systems.
“Thank you Commander. I will take you up on that offer.”
“I’ll have Richard organize it as soon as this meeting is finished.” Richard gave Katherine a nod and keyed into his own datapad, already sending reassignments across to the Adelaide.
“Now. Finally.” Prockter turned to the last of the SIO members at the table. “Benjamin, have your team managed to get any useful information from the four surviving attackers?”
“None as yet. They have not recovered consciousness. I do find it interesting however that the four who survived were part of the frontal assault and from what I’ve seen of the dead from the upper floors, several of them looked to have died by their own hand after being wounded.”
“Suicide?” Joshua sputtered. “But why?”
“To protect them from interrogation if they are captured,” Katherine replied. “Its common practice with Alliance Black Ops personnel.” As she spoke Katherine looked pointedly down the table at the man called Graham. And then she remembered the small briefing entry in her mission notes that went with the name. Graham Tolbort, Chief of Internal Intelligence. The man glared back and said nothing.
“That is correct, if they turn out to be tutored by the Alliance. But I will say that there is a good possibility that these men will turn out to be Alliance, not trained JUF members. I agree with the Commander. There is just too much of a coincidence between the attack on Val Myra and this attack.”
“Come now Benjamin. You can’t be serious?” Graham Tolbort fired down the table.
“I am completely serious Graham. And I believe that we are going to have more of these attacks.”
“I’m not going to take any more chances. This attack was obviously directed at the Ambassador and at you Val Myra. We need to keep you both under tight security until this threat is neutralized.”
“I thought I was under tight security at Federation House.” John said as he crossed his arms on the table.
“Yes, you were,” Prockter said. “But I am going to suggest that both you and Elder Val Myra be relocated to the AFV Adelaide where you can be easily protected and can continue your negotiations in peace. With your permission of course Commander.”
“Of course Director,” Katherine nodded. This also had been discussed before the meeting and Katherine was still gritting her teeth over the thought of having Hayes back on board.
“Good. We’ll reconvene when we have some more information. Until then, we have work to do.”
Chapter
Thirteen
“Skipper, I need a word.”
“From the sounds of it you might have several for me.” Katherine gave Richard a wan smile. She felt tired and wrung out, who wouldn’t after the day I’ve just had, but she still had a ship to run. Now was as good a time as any to get her alone, with John and his staff as well as Joshua having been relocated to the Adelaide. And he would not trouble her unless it was important.
“Fine, step with me into my office.” Her briefing room was now the only private place she had left on ship as her own berth had been handed over for use by Joshua Val Myra. Richard had lost his rooms again to her brother. Brenton had set up a hammock at the back of the small room and had stowed away the rest of her gear as best he could.
Slumping into her chair, Katherine gestured for her exec to do the same. Her shoulder ached now that the burn spray was wearing off and she restrained the urge to rub at it. That shot came a bit too close for comfort. But now was not the time to dwell on it.
Richard came as close as he ever did to slumping in a chair. And that spoke more to Katherine than anything he could have said.
“I think we can both do with a drink. And not that piddly stuff that Brenton tries to make me drink.” Katherine rose without waiting for Coulthard to answer and opened the cabinet usually reserved for her uniform jacket and other odds and ends. Now it contained most of the equipment and ingredients that usually sat in her Captain’s Pantry, including what was left of her drinks cabinet. Brenton should have left it in her berth but her Steward was protective of his charge and her belongings. He did not quite trust the ‘Val Myran interloper’ that was now in her quarters.
Rummaging through the neatly stacked bottles, she quickly found the one she was after (Joycie still had not found all the hidey holes in this room.) Katherine fished out two glasses and placed them on her desk. She then uncorked the bottle and poured a double into both glasses.
Coulthard picked up the one nearest and held it gingerly in his hand. “There’s a good reason why Joyce tries to keep this gutrot from you Katherine.”
“He just can’t stand it that he has a charge that likes to drink the cheap stuff.” Katherine collapsed back into her chair. It was old and comfortable, just like she was beginning to feel right now. “And I know that you don’t mind the stuff yourself.”
“True enough.”
Both officers paused to take a drink from their glasses.
“So. You wanted a word?” Katherine leaned back in her seat, resting her glass on her thigh.
“Several remember?” The smile slipped from Coulthard’s face. “I know this isn’t what you need right now after today’s events but I have to get this off my chest with someone.”
Katherine did not move. Her exec had her full attention now. He was not one to complain or worry. He had always been her rock.
“What is it Richard?”
“I don’t like what is going on in this city.”
Katherine blinked in surprise. This was not what she expected.
“What do you mean?” Katherine straightened in her chair and placed her glass on the desk. “Attacks like this are not a common occurrence here in New Holland Richard.”
“I wasn’t referring to that Katherine. It’s just-” Richard paused as he finished off what was left in his glass. “I’d had reports back from personnel taking shore leave yesterday that they thought they were being watched. Since we on the Adelaide can be a bit of a paranoid bunch, I assumed at first that imagination was at play. But when there were more reports of suspected surveillance on our people I began to think it could be Alliance spies or infiltrators keeping an eye on what we are doing here.”
“This is why you requested to have leave yesterday,” Katherine supplied for him. Her exec nodded.
“If there was surveillance on the Adelaide, then the 2IC leaving the ship as well as its CO would have piqued their interest.”
“And you didn’t want to worry me about it.”
“Not until I was sure of what exactly was going on. For all I knew it could have been nothing.”
Katherine poured more brandy into both of their glasses and closed the bottle.
“But it wasn’t ‘nothing’ was it.” Katherine studied her exec over the rim of her glass. “That’s why you were back early.”
“As soon as I left the Port I saw them. And they weren’t very good. I let them tail me long enough to feel sure that that was what they were doing and then I made sure they ‘lost’ me. I the
n doubled back and started tailing them.”
“Alliance tails are usually better than that,” Katherine spoke into her glass as she took a drink.
“They weren’t working for the Alliance.” Katherine raised an eyebrow. “Nor were they NHSIO, from what I’ve seen Prockter’s people are more professional than this group.”
“So Richard, who are they? Did you find out?”
“I followed them back to the New Holland Parliament House, and it was an easy thing to do considering that my Nunga heritage makes me stick out like a sore thumb here,” Richard let out a snort of disgust.
“I’ve noticed that racial diversity is a little bit lax here,” Katherine stated.
Richard grimaced.
“What did you see there to make you think this city is rotten?”
“What I saw was the incompetent bunglers using Gentec ID scans to access the restricted staff area of the New Holland Senate. They made no attempt to hide once they lost me or even to try and hide their way back to base.”
“They could be Alliance plants,” Katherine murmured.
“The Alliance would never use agents as incompetent as these are. Or as incompetent as those who attacked you last night.”
Katherine stiffened. She felt a dull throb as the muscles tightened in her wounded forearm and twinged her burnt shoulder. She did not like where this was leading.
“You think these incidents are both connected?”
Richard pursed his lips as if what he was about to say was distasteful but necessary.
“I have a gut feeling that they are. And, like you, my gut feelings are rarely wrong.”
Katherine stared at her XO as she heard Tom’s words to her as they waited in the Admiral’s office repeated back to her. This time Richard was referring to his gut feelings and so far they had always been reliable.
“What exactly is your gut feeling telling you?”
“That these men that followed me this morning are staffers who work for one of the Councillors on the Hew Holland Senate. After all, they are the only group who has security access to the Senate Restricted Area. Permanent Security acted like they knew them pretty well.”
