Clidepp Deja Vu

by Thomas DePrima

  "Anyway, I threw a combination bon voyage party for the Justice and a celebration for the slaves we had freed and the factories we had destroyed.

  "I'm afraid I drank a bit more than I should have. I'm told I went to the communication's center and sent a message to the Justice. I really don't remember it. And I would be forever grateful if you destroyed it."

  "Without even knowing what you said?"

  "It couldn't have been too coherent."

  "I think it was priceless. Here, let me play it."

  Sydnee tapped a few keys on her computer keyboard and the message played from the overhead speaker. Blade's jaw dropped as he listed to the very brief message.

  "I'm sorry, Captain."

  "Well, at least now we understand the reason for the garbled tone."

  "And I sent it without encryption?"

  "I don't think that fact is important. You didn't say anything that could identify us."

  "I said it in Amer."

  Tapping the delete button, Sydnee said, "I don't know what you're talking about. There's no such message in the computer."

  "Thank you, Captain."

  "You've performed bravely, above and beyond the call, and you've done a wonderful job for the GA and those poor women. My official log repeatedly states that. Since we're on a clandestine mission, the log can never be made public, but people with access at Space Command and the Space Marine Corps will know of your success, Major."

  * * *

  "The TFC has stopped their raids on factories being operated with slave labor," Danttan said. "There hasn't been a single one since we activated our forces all over the planet."

  "How many of the hundreds of missing slaves have we recovered?"

  "None. Not a single one has turned up."

  "A few months ago I would have said that was impossible. Where can they be hiding them? They must have other caverns like the one our informant uncovered."

  "They may have gotten off-world somehow."

  "And gone where? This is the Clidepp Empire. We control every square meter of space."

  "Except the billions of cubic kilometers the Blenod have annexed," Mewaffal said.

  "Shut up, you fool," Plelillo said. "I have to think."

  "The fleet has received their orders to proceed to our border with the Blenod and engage them with the intent of driving them out of Clidepp space, Kurrost," Danttan said. "They'll be departing within a matter of days, leaving just two Bernouust-class destroyers in orbit here. As to the slavery issue, Gustallo, I know of no place in the empire where slaves could run free. We control the slave markets on all occupied worlds within our borders."

  "Do you think the TFC somehow learned that every police officer on the force was waiting to pounce?"

  "The activation should have been secret," Mewaffal speculated. "Perhaps we have a traitor in one of the forces."

  "It's unlikely anyone talked about the activation," Danttan said. "It's more likely that someone in the AR noticed the increased presence and reported it to the TFC."

  "So you believe they're in collusion?"

  "Not necessarily. They have similar goals but vastly different approaches to achieving them. I can't see them working closely together, although they might share a little information."

  "Perhaps it's time we cracked down on the AR," Plelillo mused.

  "But you said they're responsible for a significant part of our wealth," Mewaffal said. "Wouldn't that be cutting off much of our income?"

  "If the AR has become so adept at hiding slaves that we're unable to find them, they're not adding a thing to our bank accounts. We must do something. How are we as politicians supposed to survive if we can't collect the graft we so richly deserve for our ceaseless efforts of using our positions of power to guide and control the sheep? I work tirelessly for the people of this empire. Haven't I earned the right to live well?"

  "I suggest we resume normal operations until the TFC strikes again," Danttan said. "When they do, we should take a more enlightened approach and attempt to infiltrate their ranks so we can crush them all at once."

  "Very well," Plelillo said. "See to it."

  * * *

  "Come," Sydnee said when the computer announced that Lieutenant Kelly MacDonald was outside her office. As the door opened, Sydnee stood up and came out from behind her desk to welcome her friend.

  "It so great to see you, Kel. I've really missed you. You have no idea how much."

  "I think I know because I've missed you just as much. There wasn't anyone I could really talk to in the embassy bunker. Blade's my superior officer and leader, but he's not much into normal conversation."

  "I felt really lost without you, Jerry Weems, and Pete Caruthers. You're my closest friends, and you were all on the planet for so long."

  "Tell me about it. It seemed like we were there forever. I did take my meals with Jerry and Pete, but I missed the girl talk we enjoy. If you have time, let's catch up on things. Tell me what you've been doing out in the vastness of space while I was buried below ground in the bunker."

  "It's been one worry after another. I've got three times as many people aboard this ship than we had as crew on the Perry. And we're so squeezed for room they can't get a moment's privacy. We've crammed the former slaves into an area about one-twentieth the size they should have available to them. Those poor women are practically sleeping on top of one another on the floor in the habitats."

  "At least in the embassy we had tons of space and a few dozen real bedrooms that we shared by rotating daily on three sleep shifts."

  "Our main problem was food. We ran out while waiting for you guys to join us, and I had to highjack a freighter."

  "You highjacked a freighter?"

  "Yep, just call me Bluebeard Without the Beard."

  "What did you do with it after you took all their food?"

  "I didn't take all their food. In fact, I'm sure they hardly missed it. And I paid for it. Actually I overpaid for it. But I was trying to buy a little goodwill along with the food, and the captain of the ship seemed content with the arrangements once he got over being threatened to heave to or else."

  "Good Lord, Syd, that's going to get back to Space Command. The story has probably spread all over Clidepp space by now. You know how freighters are when they meet in ports. They discuss their trips and pass on anything interesting or exciting that happened because their trips are usually so terribly dull."

  "I had no choice. We were out of food. I requested help from the Denver, but Captain Lidden was denied permission to enter Clidepp space."

  "So Space Command left us here to fend for ourselves and will probably disavow any knowledge of our being here if the Clidepp Empire files a formal complaint."

  "Well, this was supposed to be a clandestine trip."

  "Yeah, but they're the ones who kept changing the mission parameters. What do you think they'll do to you?"

  "I have no idea. We started off with the simple task of dropping off the package. Then they ordered us to travel all over Clidepp space seeding spy satellites. Then they ordered us to do whatever we had to do to recover Winston. The last part proved to be so challenging that we couldn't accomplish either the original mission or the second mission. We still have all but eight of the satellites piled up in the bottom level of that habitat container. On top of that, I twice ordered air strikes on the capital city on Yolongus that wiped out their power generation and distribution, then destroyed their communication systems. I guess they'll bust me back to Lt.(jg), or maybe to Ensign."

  "Bust you back? You mean you got a promotion while we've been out here?"

  "Uh, yeah. Captain Lidden told me the Admiralty Board approved my early promotion and that I had been named to fill one of the vacant slots aboard the Denver."

  "That's great, Syd. Congratulations. How come you're not wearing the proper rank insignia?"

  "I felt it would be less embarrassing if people didn't see I had been promoted when I'm busted back to my prior rank. Don't tell an
yone, okay?"

  "Syd, after what you've done out here, they should advance you to lieutenant commander."

  "Thanks, Kel, but we both know it doesn't work that way. Every time I think about the things I've ordered since we left the Denver, I hear the words Milty once said, playing in my head."

  "Don't never do no wrong?"

  "Yeah. He told you too?"

  "No, you did— while we were still on the Perry. And a couple of times since then."

  Sydnee grinned before saying, "Well— I guess I can't stop thinking about that— and he was right. We've seen it time and again. You can win a chest full of medals, but slip up just once where the number of negatives outweigh the number of positives and your career in the military is over. I think my career might be over. I didn't do just one thing wrong. My wrongs could fill an entire chapter in a book. I'm probably going to be thrown to the sharks when we get back. My next posting could be as a mess cook assistant on a dirt-side base."

  "You've got way over a thousand positives down in the habitat container, plus you recovered Winston— twice. Maybe they won't take away your half stripe. Maybe for punishment they'll just send you back into Clidepp space for two years to complete the two assignments from this crazy mission. I think that would be worse punishment than being a mess assistant."

  "I'd like to do that anyway. I hate not having finished the missions properly. It's only because we're busting at the seams and food would have become a problem again if we had remained in Clidepp space that I made the decision to head home."

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ~ June 2nd, 2287 ~

  "I've received a new message from Sydnee," Captain Lidden said to his XO when they met for their daily briefing.

  "It's about time," Commander Bryant said. "She takes the order to limit messages to Space Command while in Clidepp space a bit too seriously."

  "The latest message is proof of that. She says they're headed back."

  "Back? They couldn't have seeded the satellites throughout the empire in a couple of months. Is it because of the slaves they picked up? What does she give as her reason for returning?"

  "She doesn't."

  "What does she say?"

  "Only that they're returning to GA space."

  "Uh oh."

  "What?"

  "This can't be good. Do you think she might have started a war?"

  "I don't know. God, I hope not."

  "So we don't know why she's returning or if she completed either of her two missions?"

  "That's right. The last communication we had was when I had to tell her she was on her own."

  "Wow. What will you tell SHQ?"

  "All I know. She's on her way back."

  * * *

  "We just received a message from our man on Yolongus, sir," Captain Salido said to Admiral Kincaid when he reported to the Admiral's office after requesting a meeting.

  "Which one?"

  "Lt. Commander Gravely, code name Cornwallis."

  "He was the one we asked the First Fleet to recover because they already had a warship there on a mission for us?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "And after recovering him they lost him."

  "Well, it wasn't their fault, sir. He makes that clear in his report. He told the captain of the Justice that he needed to return to the planet after they had recovered him, and she refused to let him go until he had sent us a full report. So he says she's not to blame. In fact, he praises her actions."

  "Who's the ship's captain of this— Justice?"

  "Marcola, sir. Sydnee Marie Marcola."

  "Marcola— Marcola. Why does that name sound so familiar?"

  "She was the Space Command officer who took command of the Marines on Diabolisto and beat back an attack by superior Yolongi Rebel forces that had been stranded on the planet. It was actually a rout. She then commandeered a defunct Clidepp destroyer stolen by Rebel forces, managed to get it partially functional, and took it into battle against another Rebel-controlled Clidepp destroyer and a freighter with hidden missiles, saving the crew of the Perry as a result."

  "Yes, I remember it all now. She's reported to be brave and highly intelligent. Is that all Gravely reports?"

  "He has a question, sir. He wants to know what official Space Command rank Marcola holds. He says she's only wearing lieutenant(jg) bars but told him it's not her true rank."

  "Why is a warship's captain wearing j.g. bars? Isn't she a captain?"

  "The ship was the one sent to seed the communication satellites, sir. It's not technically a warship, so it doesn't require the ship's captain to hold the official Space Command rank of captain. It's just a CPS-14."

  "A CPS-14? Oh yes, the tiny, highly-reconfigurable mini Scout-Destroyer that can be altered to make it the ideal ship for special missions. I remember now. But don't regulations require that the captain of a Scout-Destroyer hold the rank of Lieutenant commander at the very least?"

  "Space Command has never established a minimum senior officer rank for the CPS-14. I believe they envisioned the small ship merely as a space tug that can be deployed in unique situations where the firepower of a Scout-Destroyer isn't needed."

  "A space tug?"

  "The keel of the ship is designed to hold habitat containers that very closely resemble the containers hauled by freighters. If one of our forward bases needed food or support materials quickly, the CPS-14 could be used rather than forcing the base to wait for a Quartermaster ship to make its rounds.

  "However, after the ship went into production, someone decided that it should have some basic form of self-protection. So they designed a container that housed weapons. They probably got the idea from that freighter used by the Milori to kidnap Admiral Vroman."

  "Ah, yes. The freighter where the ends of a container flew off and they fired missiles at the ship ferrying him to Stewart SCB."

  "Yes, sir. The Clidepp Rebels also used that disguised freighter container tactic. The weapons containers designed for the CPS-14 house both laser cannons and missiles. The Justice carries two of the containers so they can fire fore and aft within seconds of needing their weapons. It makes them a deadly addition to the undeclared warship category initiated with the development of the Scout-Destroyer. Then someone decided that the ship should be able to transport FA-SF4s inside containers. And not only that, they added the ability to launch the SF4s from the special container so they could function in a support role on special missions."

  "The Justice has two weapons containers and an SF4?"

  "Actually it has eight SF4s. It has its own Wing. They're also carrying a Marine Special Ops team and a full platoon of Marines from the Denver."

  "Well, they're certainly armed to the teeth. That's a tremendous amount of firepower and Marine manpower to put into the hands of a lieutenant(jg). Why was she chosen to command a mission of this importance into Clidepp space?"

  "It's an unusual situation, sir. This is the same ship sent to capture and bring back the government official suspected of being responsible for the Freight-One attack. Lieutenant(jg) Marcola commanded that very successful mission, despite having severe mechanical issues with an early production model of the CPS-14. The Denver's commanding officer, Captain Anthony Frederick Lidden, decided she was the best officer for the new mission. We agreed based on her past impressive successes."

  "Lidden? Yes. Good man. Excellent leader. Too bad he got tied up by that awful freighter mess. If he selected Marcola, she has to be an excellent leader as well. So what's Marcola's true rank?"

  "Officially, she's a full lieutenant."

  "But she only wears lieutenant(jg) insignia?"

  "That's what Gravely says."

  "When was she promoted to lieutenant?"

  "The Admiralty Board approved her early promotion to lieutenant just a few months ago."

  "And when did she leave on this mission?"

  "Four months ago."

  "There it is then. She left on the mission before being notifie
d of the promotion. She's probably been so busy she hasn't had time to have the insignia changed. She probably doesn't even have the right insignia available. That's a tiny CPS-14, not a destroyer."

  "Yes, sir. Should I tell Gravely about Marcola's promotion and correct rank?"

  "Of course. Why wouldn't you?"

  "It's just such a strange situation that she wouldn't tell him. I didn't know if there was something else going on here. Something I might be unaware of."

  "Such as?"

  "I wondered if she was ordered to keep her true rank secret."

  "I doubt that. It might be as simple as he's a man and she's a woman. If she's attracted to him, she might just be trying to seem more mysterious."

  "Yes, sir. Gravely might be attracted to her as well. He says she's an amazing officer and leader. He recommends we try to recruit her for SCI."

  "What do you think?"

  "Her record is impressive. Top grades at NHSA and then seventh in her class at the Warship Command Institute. She was assigned to the Perry, but the record has been corrected to state a clerical error was responsible for the mix-up. She was originally selected for posting to a battleship in Admiral Carver's Region Two command. She reported to the Perry as ordered, and as a crew member of the Perry, her record is outstanding. The fact that she's one of just a handful of officers who have received early promotion this year shows the high regard Space Command SHQ has for her."

  "Okay, run with it. If her captain approves, feel her out when she returns and see if she's interested in Intelligence work. What is she— about twenty-six? She's far too old to become an agent. We need to bring them aboard before they graduate from the Academy and develop the strong habits consistent with SC ship leadership, but we always need good people for other duty assignments."

  * * *

  As the Justice crossed into GA space, Sydnee breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Com, contact the Denver, give them our position and get theirs."