The Long, Dark Night

by Ben Winston

  Warmake interrupted it. “So can we be sure that the Pirates actually wanted to kill her? It seems to me that they were only going through the motions.”

  “The simple fact that they used the weapon that they did indicates that complete destruction was their goal. Instead, we believe that user incompetence explains the actions of the missiles. Intelligence had no idea that the Pirates had weapons of this strength and has increased their threat assessment of the group.”

  “We lost a life this time, so don't try to point out any clear skies in this very dark storm. We might have gotten lucky in downplaying this to the public, but if the details were known we would have wide-scale panic.

  “Have we been able to identify how the weapons got here or where they might have come from?” Warmake asked the computer.

  “Negative. Not enough of the second missile survived for positive identification. Due to errors in the records of the Planetary Defense Net, we cannot even rule out that it came from here.”

  “Blessed Maker! How can you misplace a weapons system of that size?” Warmake shrugged. “Unfortunately, that's not our problem. Continue the report."

  “The first missile has not been recovered and it is assumed it either self-destructed, or returned to its origin for ordinance recovery.

  “Based on the transcripts of her conversation with her controller, we have limited the area of origin down to a four sector area. However, we cannot rule out that as not being used as a decoy also. Satellite scans of the area have not yet located a facility capable of firing the weapon and the possibility exists that it was a ship launch. At the time of the incident, a storm was covering the area and no satellite coverage was available.

  “The destruction of Addson Dee's skipper did not come as a result of the missile making impact with it. Evidence suggests that she was attempting to 'leap' the floater in an effort to evade the second missile. Damage on the floater supports this as moderate damage on the top of the floater that was not caused by the missile.

  “We believe that she was successful in evading the second missile, but was not successful in clearing the floater, resulting in the destruction of her skipper. The escape module could have sustained enough damage to sink in the rough seas created by the storm. However, recovery of the module is no longer possible due to wave activity and oceanic currents. By the time rescuers arrived on scene, the debris field was spread over the entire sector. If the module took on enough water to sink, then there would be no energy signatures to trace.

  “Conclusion: Addson Dee was killed when her escape module sank. She was put in that position by the efforts of the group currently labeled as 'Pirates'. Therefore this group is indirectly responsible for the death of Addson Dee.

  “Charges leveled as a consequence of this action: Code three-nine-two: Assault with intent to do bodily harm. Code six-three-four: Destruction of private property. Code four-one-one, alpha: destruction of emergency equipment resulting in the death of an individual. Code three-two-two, beta: indirect premeditated murder by proxy. Code Nine-nine-four-two: illegal possession of military grade weapons for the purpose of terrorism or rebellion. Code four-”

  “Hold” Warmake said. “Obviously there are a lot of laws that have been broken. I don't need to know of them all. Do we have any data that might give us a lead as to who the Pirates are? And would it be possible to call for Imperial Ranger assistance in solving this case?”

  “No data exists in relation to the identity of the Pirates. No evidence exists as grounds for requesting Imperial assistance. Such a request would be denied. Our Duke is not known for his love of the Imperial Ranger Corps.”

  “You got that right!” Warmake said, thinking. “New orders to all Aeries in the region; No solo prospecting flights are to be allowed for the duration of this crisis. No unarmed skippers are to make any excursion farther than fifteen minutes flight time from an Aerie, unless accompanied by an armed skipper.”

  “Orders confirmed and sent. I've also copied your orders to the other regional headquarters offices as a suggestion for precautions,” the Computer replied.

  “Thank you. Can you give me an estimate on cost and availability to install enhanced tracking systems on a few of our armed skippers? I'd like to do it for all our craft, just to give us another tool if we need it.”

  “Governor Danella will have a fit with even your first suggestion. She would not approve the entire fleet being upgraded.”

  “I know; that's why I asked for an estimate. If I could, I'd just authorize it. It's easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. Especially when dealing with politicians,” Warmake said.

  Office of the Prime Councilor

  Command Pod Alpha One

  19 Apr. 8255 CE

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol System

  Taking a break from the never-ending pile of reports, notes and whatnot, Ben decided to take a walk around the Pod. The new addition of a bodyguard was something he wasn't crazy about because it felt like he was isolating himself from the people. However, the Council had insisted and since the guards hadn't been officially formed yet, he got a Marine.

  At least this one was pretty and she walked with him like a companion. She didn't have the presence of a bodyguard, so people still smiled and waved at him and a few even approached and spoke to him. He was actually beginning to relax and enjoy the walk when Mother asked him to return to his office immediately.

  “What's wrong, Mother?” Ben asked as he took his chair.

  “The AI of the pods in the northwest of the former United States reports a surface explosion in the twenty to sixty kiloton range. Echolocation would place the epicenter near the former city of Great Falls, Montana,” Mother reported. "The Pods in that area report actually feeling the shock from the explosion.

  “Data from Addson Dee's navigational equipment places the Great Falls Aerie as the origin of the explosion. We have to assume that the Aerie has been destroyed.”

  "Nuclear?" Ben asked fearfully.

  "Without direct examination, there is no way to say for certain, Prime. However, we have no knowledge of a conventional explosive with enough force to create an explosion of that size," Mother replied. "Nuclear detonation is a viable explanation. I have no sensors available in that area to detect radioactive fallout."

  Great Falls Aerie

  Northern Wall mountain range

  Planet Terral III

  Cassian March

  Duchy of Cassias

  Hyclarion Imperial Consortium

  “Attention Great Falls Aerie. You have twenty minutes to evacuate your personnel before we destroy the facility. Do not attempt to call for help or we will be forced to begin the attack now, before you have evacuated. You're twenty minutes begin... now!”

  The young communications officer turned to her supervisor sitting at the holographic console behind her. “What are your orders, Sir?” She asked fearfully.

  “Bullshit! Those assholes don't have the firepower to attack an Aerie, even a small one like this! They're just trying to get us to abandon the Aerie so they can take it over. Besides, the Duke would have all our heads if we abandoned this processor!” He sat back and thought for a moment. "Pass the message along to the anti-piracy folks at Argassi and let them deal with this; we have work to do! Now what's the status of the number twenty-six intake?”

  Before the Comm officer could point out to her superior that they did say to not call for help, he had already put the whole matter out of his mind and was onto something else entirely. Which was usually how he made sure his orders didn't get questioned.

  Billy, the young man that had been Addson's dispatcher, was in the mess hall having breakfast with most of the other folks of his work class. He had just sat down when he felt more than heard the Aerie shake like there had been an explosion. Suddenly, the alarms began ringing and the Aerie manager, Howarth ip Narranj, addressed the facility.

  “Citizens, it appears that the pira
tes have gotten even bolder. We are now under attack. All anti-piracy personnel and civil constables please report to your duty stations immediately. Everyone else, please report to the evacuation center by work class; day class first. This is a precaution only. Remain calm everyone. This is an Aerie, not even the pirates could hope to inflict telling damage on us. That is all.”

  Since one did not go against the word of the manager if one wished to remain employed, Billy got up and headed for the evacuation center. He was wondering just what the Pirates could be thinking when he felt and heard another explosion. This one was strong; the Aerie lurched and the floor began to cant to the side alarmingly. Getting himself up off the floor, Billy decided to run to the evac center. He never made it.

  Robert Gilly, Md. Residence.

  Command Pod Alpha One

  19 Apr. 8255 CE

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol System

  “... And that's all we know Addson; from what we can tell, Great Falls Aerie has been completely destroyed. I am very sorry, but I thought you would like to know,” Ben said.

  Ellie Lyam was holding the crying Addson, while Persephone cuddled her from the rear. Young Olivia was cuddled up on her father's lap, and together they looked with concern at their new friend.

  “So Ben, do you have any ideas of what could have done this?” Jon asked.

  “It was the farthing Pirates!” Addson cried. “Who else could it have been?”

  Hesitantly, Ben bit his lower lip. “Actually all the data that we have does not indicate the Pirates. From what we know of them this was too big of a job.”

  Jon looked at Ben questioningly. “Who else could it have been then?”

  “We simply don't know.” Ben shrugged. “Other than some limited data on the Duke's forces. We have no information on any other unit capable of doing this. Mother says that the only way it could have been the Pirates was if the Duke's military intelligence services vastly underrated their abilities.”

  “Does that mean that you don't think it was the Pirates that shot me down?” Addson asked sniffing.

  “What that means is that Mother believes the Duke's intelligence services are wrong,” Ben explained. “Mother agrees with you that the Pirates are behind all these attacks. However, the available data and what is known about the Pirates simply does not add up.”

  “How so?” Olivia asked, proving that she was paying attention.

  Ben sighed. “We're not exactly sure yet; we need more information. If the Pirates had been this well armed from the beginning, why didn't they hit bigger targets? We're starting to believe someone is controlling them; someone that has an agenda.”

  “That makes even less sense than destroying an Aerie, who could have such an agenda?” Jon asked.

  Ben slowly shook his head. “Honestly, I have no idea. We have to look at the resulting actions caused by these attacks and try to figure out who gains from it. So far, we simply don't have enough information to make even a preliminary guess. I just wish I knew more about all the players involved.”

  “It has to be the farking Duke!” Addson said through her tears. “Although I couldn't tell you what he hopes to gain, everyone knows he doesn't care a shred about other people, especially humans. He was even in the group of lizard dukes that had to be forced to sign the treaty after the war.”

  “I didn't know that. How many of the lizards had to be forced to sign the treaty?” Ben asked.

  “I'm not sure, I know there were a lot of them, though,” Addson replied.

  Ben looked thoughtful, so Jon asked him, “What are you thinking?”

  “This changes things. If the Duke is the one giving the Pirates their orders, then why would he order his own Aerie destroyed?” Ben asked. “On the other hand, now that we know the Duke hates the Empire, he could have ordered these attacks staged so he can impose martial law; it would give him an excuse to bring troops to this planet.”

  “What good would that do?” Addson asked. “Even if he brought all of his troops here, he would not stand a chance against the might of the Empire."

  Ben shrugged, “I would imagine there is a lot of this plan we have no idea about, if that is truly the scenario we are dealing with. Hell, this could be just a big elaborate scam to get money from the insurance companies. That is if such a thing still exists.”

  “Before he could bring troops here, wouldn't the Empire send its own investigators first?” Jon asked. “Why would he want to bring troops to this planet anyway?"

  “I would think so,” Ben said. “But then again, we have no idea how the Empire operates. As for why this planet: proximity. I've seen the star charts Addson's AI supplied, Earth is the closest inhabited planet to Hyclarion, the Capital of the Empire. If I were going to attempt to overthrow the Empire, I would certainly want this planet as a staging area.”

  ER/SAR Command and Control ship Tiderius

  Sector 3421 alpha quad.

  (1.5 miles south of the Great Falls Aerie crater.)

  Planet Terral III

  Cassian March

  Duchy of Cassias

  Hyclarion Imperial Consortium

  Task Cmdr. Warmake stared at the satellite scan of the area where the Great Falls Aerie used to stand and sadly shook his head. So many deaths, so much destruction. What could the Pirates have possibly gained from this? There was nothing left, except for a smoking hole in the ground to mark the place where thousands of souls lived and died. There was nothing left to take.

  In the data burst received moments before the Aerie exploded, the communication from the Pirates demanded no ransom or gave any reason. They only contacted the Aerie and gave them 20 minutes to evacuate providing they made no call for help. A provision that the Aerie manager decided to ignore, resulting in the Aerie's immediate destruction when the transmission had been detected.

  The communications technician had included the conversation that took place after the message had been received. The Aerie manager thought the message had been a ploy to get everyone out of the Aerie so the Pirates could raid it. He'd been wrong. Of course he had no reason to believe he was; since no one had ever blown up an Aerie before.

  During their last upgrade cycle, the upgrade for the new power supply, the old reactor had been removed and replaced with a smaller, more powerful modular unit. The power room for an aerie was near ground level and it was sealed. The thought being that no one would want to be outside long enough to mess with it.

  The Pirates had to have cut through the steel plate and placed charges on the reactor containment systems. Because of the type of fuel used in reactors, the explosion was nuclear, but there was no residual lethal radiation present. It had been one of the main reasons for implementing the upgrade.

  “Excuse me Sir, but the skimmers have completed their patrols,” A technician said, approaching him.

  The satellite scan had already told him that there are no signs of life in the area. However, he ordered the search to continue anyway and now the report was in. “Please, report.”

  “As per your orders, a thorough search of this sector, and all those bordering this one, was made. There are no signs of any type of life in this sector. In the surrounding sectors, some wildlife did survive in the areas farthest away from the aerie. However, those were mostly birds and small animals. I'm sorry Sir, but there are no survivors. The Patrol skimmers have returned to assisting the firefighting efforts."

  Warmake gave a nod of acceptance and dismissal as he continued staring at the picture of devastation that was given him by the satellite that was still overhead. This attack made no sense to him. Of everything the Pirates had done to date, there had been some motive; a clear reason for their actions. However, this attack was purely terroristic in nature.

  The stocky native of Vega Regulus XXIII knew a thing or two about pirates. This attack had nothing to do with piracy. Something pretty major had to have happened among the Pirates to have prompted this sort of an attack. Up to this point, th
e Pirates had not gone out of their way to kill people, unless threatened. (As in the case of Addson Dee.) Yet here they murdered over a thousand souls for no apparent reason.

  No, something major had changed and he had better figure out what it was before more deaths occurred. The Pirates' profile had changed radically and Task Commander Warmake didn't like it one little bit.

  Office of the Prime Councilor

  Command Pod Alpha One

  19 Apr. 8255 CE

  Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea

  Earth, Sol System

  Task Commander Warmake was not the only one trying to figure out what was going on with the Pirates. Using information gleaned from Alice, Addson's AI, as well as a data tap Mother had managed to insert into the planetary data net, Ben was pondering the very same question as the Task Commander. The Pirates had changed tactics - radically.

  Ben was not limited by loyalties or by being raised in this 'modern' society. He was free to consider issues and scenarios that simply didn’t occur to the Commander. One thing he did know for certain was that he was not an intelligence analyst.

  Although the activity on the surface didn't directly affect the people, Ben knew that any detailed scans of the planet would expose some of the pods that still hadn't gotten shielded from sensors that could actually detect them. At this point, discovery by the residents of the surface of the planet would be the absolute worst thing to have happen to them. Ben knew that as of the moment of that detonation, the survivors of Earth were on borrowed time. This riddle had to be solved quickly and decisively, or all of his people’s lives would be in the balance.

  “Ben, General Greenwold is here to see you; she said it's very important,” Jorga said via the intercom.

  Ben wondered what Gail could have that was so important. “Send her in, please and I think you should come with her. If it’s that important, you'll need to know as well.”

  Instead of a reply the two women entered Ben's office. Gail Greenwold, dressed in a smart looking black utility uniform with a simple silver star on the collar, came to attention and saluted. Behind her, Jorga grinned.