by Ben Winston
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Residence of the Base Commander
Alliance Apollo Base
Selene, Earth’s Moon
Sol System
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Roughly a week after First Daughter Sheiriline came to visit my family, and, at that time, completely unknown to me, Sarah woke the Commodore in the middle of his rest cycle.
“Sir, we have a spy on the base.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Sarah?” Vance asked, drowsily.
“I just had to block an independent, outbound, subspace comm,” Sarah explained. I couldn’t isolate the source, but I know it originated in the residential sector, in between the Novan/Terran section and the Veranorian.”
“That’s not very helpful, Sarah. Did you get any of the transmission?” Vance asked. The conversation woke Coryn but other than yawning, she stayed quiet.
“I could only get some of it, the rest is encoded. I am working on decoding it, though. The message was a data burst directed to the Veranorian Synod. I tried to get as much as I could, but my jamming signal apparently overloaded the transmitter, and destroyed it. The entire message didn’t get sent,” Sarah replied. “I’m sorry Sir, I let you down.”
“I doubt that!” Coryn snorted from her pillow.
Vance chuckled softly as well. “Sarah, how long was the transmission, from beginning to end?”
“Forty-one point nine-two-nine micro-seconds,” Sarah explained.
Vance shook his head. “Would we have even known about it if the old system had still been in place?”
“Perhaps, if security had programmed the system to detect subspace ripples,” Sarah replied.
“That’s not a normal security protocol, so I’m sure they wouldn’t have even thought of that. But, for the sake of argument, let’s say they had, and they detected it. Could they have blocked the transmission at all before it was sent?” Vance asked.
“I don’t think so Sir, the entire transmission would have occurred in the amount of time it would have taken the scanner operator to understand what he was seeing,” Sarah asked.
“So, can you explain to me how it is that you think you’ve let me down?” Vance asked. “If not for you, that message would have made it off the base, and the gods only know what is in that message. Sarah, you acted quickly, decisively, and accurately. You did very well.”
“Thank you Sir, but if I hadn’t over-reacted, I wouldn’t have overloaded the transmitter and we would have gotten the whole message to work with. I might have also been able to identify the source of the transmission,” Sarah explained.
Vance smiled at her. “Live and learn, Sarah. You did wonderfully this time, next time you’ll do better. Don’t belittle the amount you did do. I am certain you have saved hundreds of lives, if not the whole damn base. Relax, you did great. Notify security, and have them scan that area for any residual subspace emissions. It might be good if they checked their security feeds to make a list of everyone that was in that area during the event.”
Sarah nodded. “Right away Sir, I’m sorry I had to wake you.”
Vance nodded and leaned back in bed. “Don’t worry about it. Please ask Chief Solms to let me know immediately if he finds anything definitive, otherwise, I’ll expect a report first thing in the morning.”
“Yes, Sir. Rest well,” Sarah said as she began to fade out.
“With you around, Sarah, I rest a whole lot better.”
Before she completely disappeared, he saw her smile radiantly.
“Sometimes she is so child-like, and others, she is one of the most composed and focused people I’ve ever met,” Coryn said as Vance pulled the covers up.
“Well, from what Eric tells me, she’s only a little over a year old. So she is a child in that respect. She’s also new to this environment. She was never intended for this type of work, you know,” Vance explained.
“Really, what was she intended for?” Coryn asked as she snuggled up to him.
“A personal assistant for traveling businessmen. Eric told me he had intended to create a program that would be secure, and is capable of integrating all the businessman’s data and contacts into one portable unit. It would also track him and direct all communications to the location he was currently at.”
Coryn looked thoughtful for a moment. “That just seems... I don’t know, too mundane for someone like her. She would have gone insane from boredom.”
Vance chuckled. “For the most part, she is doing the same thing here. Yes she is a great help to the research department, and a godsend to the ship designers, but by and large, her duties are not all that different from what Eric had originally intended.”
“So, the Veranorians have a spy here. I would have thought that they were so sure of their control, that they wouldn’t need one,” Coryn asked.
“They may be a lot of things, but no one has ever accused the Veranorians of being stupid,” Vance said. “I’m just glad that transmission was intercepted. There is a lot going on here that we really don’t want the Synod learning of.”
“Remember what Susan told you, the Synod might very well be targeting this base, or at the very least leaking its location to the Hive,” Coryn added. “That sounds pretty stupid to me.”
“Actually, that all depends on what the Veranorian agenda actually is. It may well be that by having the Hive eliminate this base for them would be a smart move. That’s one of the reasons I’ve had the builders moving and upgrading the base defensive weaponry, as well as adding more offensive weaponry further away, but close enough to help us, in a battle,” Vance replied. “Either way, we need to get back to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”
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Whether the Commodore was being prophetic or not was never discovered, but I received a message from First Daughter Sheiriline later that same day. The Protectorate had agreed to allow the information to be given to Commodore Vance; however, accommodations for the Clan Therinate would have to be made, since they would not be able to remain in the core worlds once the information was shared with Commodore Vance.
I wondered to myself how in the hell the Veranorians would even know about it, but the Shallans were deadly serious. No information would be shared unless we took responsibility for the Therinate Clan.
Since the message was relayed to me through LE Corhen Nori, I asked her to accompany me to see Commodore Vance in order to give the request we would be asking of him more weight.
Before she agreed, she turned to a nervous looking Sheiriline to get her approval.
The girl nodded. “Given my age, having you there will help give my words truth for him.”
Once she agreed, I asked Sarah to see if Commodore Vance had any time for us today.
Sarah smiled worriedly at us when I made the request. She was busy, but not over-worked. I’d taken to looking at her function logs on a daily basis to see how well she was doing. So far, even with all the new projects, she had yet to exceed forty percent of her capacity.
When I showed the logs to LE Nori, she nodded. “Old system would have needed massive upgrading before undertaking this load. AI Sarah is working remarkably well.”
“Thanks, the new system crystal will be going online in three days. Sarah is very excited about it,” I mentioned.
Nori nodded. “Doctor Ced is also looking forward to it. The new systems brought by you and your mate have gotten all of us excited. A fresh idea or two is always good for everyone; it helps to get stagnated thinking moving once again. Already there are plans in place to upgrade existing technologies with a crystal processor, and not just those we are dealing with. I have heard that the mining guild here on the base is looking into the feasibility of using silicacytes for hazardous mining applications.
Before I could ask her more questions, we arrived at Commodore Vance’s office. Sarah granted us immediate entry. We found Commodore Vance at his desk, and calm. “Al
tuis Anure, Logical Engineer Corhen Nori, Doctor Eric Cowan,” He turned to our companion and bowed. “Welcome to my office, First Daughter.”
“Altuis Denay, Commodore Vance,” LE Nori replied to him, and returned his bow along with Shariline.
I bowed as well. “Good Morning, Commodore Vance. Thank you for seeing us this quickly.”
“It sounded important,” Vance replied. “Can I get anything for any of you?” he motioned to the small replicator he used for refreshments.
“I would like my special blend of coffee, Sir. Sarah knows what it is,” I replied.
“A cup of J’hale would be welcome, Commodore,” Shariline replied.
“I have discovered a most pleasing drink from Earth, Prune Juice. May I have a glass of that?” LE Nori asked.
The request took both Vance and I by surprise. “Forgive me, Corhen Nori, but I did not think Veranorians ate or drank in the presence of other species?” I asked.
“I am not certain of the reason for that restriction, but it seems silly to me now that you are aware of what we truly are. However, that being said, I doubt the way we eat would be very conductive to human appetites, so I doubt we will allow someone to witness our dining habits, but I don’t see the harm in letting you see how we drink.” Corhen Nori held the glass up to her mouth, and when she opened her mouth, a tube extended out and dipped into the juice. From the level dropping, it was clear she was drinking it.
“Amazing. Little Ellie would be enthralled to learn everything she could about you. She is very interested in learning all she can about the diverse species that make up the alliance,” I said.
“Perhaps I will let her observe sometime. She would be one of the first to ever witness such,” Nori replied.
Vance had taken his seat again, he handed Shariline’s drink to her, and after handing me my cappuccino/espresso/chocolate hybrid coffee. He was politely waiting for us to get to the reason for coming to see him.
“Sir, a few days ago, First Daughter Shariline of Clan Therinate asked to speak to me in my home. She sent the request through Logical Engineer Nori, and we invited both over for dinner,” I began. “She was sent by her father, with the approval of the Shallan Protectorate. I say this, so you know that the message she brought me was the truth.”
“Why did she ask to speak to you of all people?” Vance asked, clearly confused, and glanced at Shariline.
“Because of Sarah,” I said. “Sir, I can’t really get into this without first getting a promise from you,” I said.
He grinned. “I can promise I won’t tell anyone, other than Coryn that is...”
“I can appreciate that, Sir, but that’s not the promise we need; The Protectorate agreed to share this with you on the condition that we take responsibility for the protection of Clan Therinate. They will be relocating here, as soon as you agree,” Shariline explained. “They believe that the lives of my entire clan will be forfeit if they remain in our core worlds.”
Vance looked stunned and surprised. “That is one hell of a condition. May I ask how large the clan is?”
“Currently, twelve thousand one hundred and ninety one,” Shariline replied. “Most of them are ship builders and designers. The clan function is spacecraft building and design.”
“So you’re asking me to take on the responsibility for twelve thousand new ship builders?” Vance asked.
All three of us nodded. “My clan is standing by at this moment, awaiting word from me. If you agree, the clan will be leaving the core worlds immediately,” Shariline said.
“How long will it take them to get here?” Vance asked.
“Three and a half weeks, base time,” Shariline replied. “They will be stealing three large vessels to do it. I believe they are two heavy battle cruisers, and one battleship. They will be packed in, but they believe that will suffice.”
Vance turned to his computer. “Facilities". "How can I help you Sir?” a voice said.
“Xarin! Good, I caught you in the office,” Vance said. “How much room do we have in the Shallan area?”
“Plenty, the units were designed for five thousand inhabitants, and we only have eighteen hundred Shallans on the base,” the female replied.
“I need room for twelve thousand, two hundred more in three weeks,” Vance said. “Can it be done?”
“No, we can add an additional five thousand in a month. The residential units are modular, and self-contained, but they are built as a whole unit,” The woman explained. “We could place them in other modules, spread out, temporarily, until the new units get finished.”
“I would prefer to keep them together, but if that’s all we have...” Vance began.
“It would only be temporary, Sir. We might be able to speed up the process if we took a few people off other projects, in that way we could build two units at once. However, it would slow those other projects down. I would have to run some numbers to give you any hard data, Sir,” Xarin replied.
“We don’t really have a choice, Xarin. These people are refugees, and we will need the room. Please speak to your master on my behalf about creating more units, as I am sure there will be more refugees sooner or later,” Vance asked.
“As you wish, Sir. I will speak to him as soon as I can,” Xarin replied. “Do you wish for me to compile that data on the project completions?”
“Yes please, even though this needs to happen, I would still like to know how long things are going to take,” Vance replied. “Perhaps we should look into getting more builders for you.”
“I’m sure that would be appreciated, Sir. I’ll have Master Foreten contact you about that,” Xarin replied.
“Thank you, Xarin,” Vance said and broke the connection. He turned back to us and smiled. “There you have it, we can do it, but we will have to temporarily split them up until we can get suitable accommodations built for them. We can’t handle any more right now, but you might wish to let the Protectorate know that we will eventually be able to house any other refugees if we have time to build a place for them to stay.”
“Although I can’t speak for them on the subject, Sir, I am sure the gesture will be well received, Shariline replied. “If I may have a moment, I would send the message to my people?”
“Certainly, would you like to step outside? I can have Sarah secure the anteroom for you,” Vance offered.
Shariline smiled at him. “That won’t be necessary, Sir. AI Sarah, please send personal message twenty-five dash five, to Jostline Therinate at Elerts IV communications node.”
“Message sent, First Daughter,” Sarah replied from the room speakers.
“Thank you,” Shariline replied and turned back to Vance. Without preamble, or embellishment, she related all the information to him; she had given me the night at dinner. While she had been speaking, I watched Vance’s face, and he just kept getting paler.
I got up and got him two fingers of Irish Whisky. As she finished her tale, I gave him the glass, and he slammed it down. It brought tears to his eyes.
“I really needed that, Eric, thank you.” He took a moment to get his breath back, and asked Shariline a few questions.
When he felt he had enough information he sat back in his chair, in thought. “So, this actually makes things a lot clearer, and it explains a hell of a lot.”
“In what ways, Sir?” I asked.
“Well, first off, the enemy of the alliance isn’t the Aracnice Grand hive, like we’ve always thought it was,” He said.
Nori nodded. “It is the Synod, is it not? If the Aracnice on Shallan worlds serve the Synod, then must not all of them also answer to the Synod?” Nori said.
Vance nodded. “That’s not the only thing pointing to that either. We’ve received other information that supports that theory. The AI that Fen took to the Synod has been reporting back to Sarah and I. Some of the things they have been programming her to do are criminal, and I mean that literally as well as figuratively. I believe it is their
intention to place this entire galactic quadrant under their control.”
“In a way, they had that until Sarah came along and discovered the subliminal programming,” I said. “Have you had any word from the Alliance? Has the subliminal programming been stopped there?”
“Not yet, AI Susan is still being spread through the Alliance. Once she has been installed in most of the systems of the Alliance, she will shut it all off at once. I ordered her to do it that way in an effort to limit the amount of fighting this is bound to start,” Vance said.
“One of the things that is bothering me the most about all of this is that, at least among the humans of my planet, hypnosis of any kind doesn’t work on everyone. There are those that are immune, or at the least resistant to it, and there are some that can actually detect it when it’s being used. We are the same race as the Novans, and the Simonians are very close, biologically. How did they get such a high percentage of people under their influence?” I asked.
“They did not, in reality, have as many as it appears,” Cohrin Nori explained. “Commodore Vance was never under Synod control. As such, he was never allowed to assume a key role in the Alliance. The Synod had to have been against his assignment here. Order Fen was to lead here, but Order Fen is not military. No others could be spared, so Commodore Vance was sent.”
Vance nodded. “In the past I’ve been one to follow orders mostly without question. Of course, at that time, they never really gave me a reason to question them. Now, however, there is just too much information that tells me that there is a major issue with the Alliance. It is my duty, as a member of that Alliance, to do whatever I can to fix the issue.”
I nodded. “And so we find ourselves at odds with that very same Alliance. Once Susan removes the conditioning programming from the core worlds, what do you expect to happen as fall out?”
“High Command will order the immediate arrest of all Veranorians in the core systems. It is quite possible that they will be executed for treason, with little or no due process, and more as a reaction to the programming,” Vance replied. “I’ve been trying to think of a way to prevent that.”
