by Terry Mixon
“The Rebel Empire has never done anything like this before,” Jared said. “We had no reason to expect this side mission when we delivered the report. All we can do now is try to accommodate the unexpected and turn the situation to our advantage.
“Look at it this way, so long as we play along with the Lords’ plan, they’ll welcome us into the Terra system with open arms. We don’t have to fight our way in. We don’t have to trick the System Lord stationed there. It will be expecting us.”
“Lord Fielding might not have known the people he was meeting, but the System Lord will,” Kelsey said. “As soon as it sees what you look like, it will know that something has gone wrong. What do we do then?”
“The best we can,” Jared said bluntly. “I’ve got some people working on a filter in the com system that will swap out Olivia’s appearance with that of the dead Rebel Empire noble who was supposed to be running this mission.
“I don’t know how effective that’ll be, but at this point we don’t have a choice. We’re committed to making this run.”
He turned to Lily. “Is there any chance of getting a sample of that virus and concocting a vaccine or an antidote that could be administered after infection?”
The doctor nodded. “Kelsey was able to capture the code that opened the crates. The drones themselves don’t have specific antitampering functions. I should be able to get into one of them and extract a sample safely.
“That said, the laboratories aboard the ship are not exactly cutting edge. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to discover a vaccine in the short amount of time we still have available. Or at all, for that matter. Not without the labs aboard Caduceus.”
From what little Elise had seen of the massive hospital ship, she could well believe the capabilities on the destroyer might be a little short of what they needed.
“Is there any possibility that we’ll be able to rendezvous with the fleet as it makes its way around toward Terra?” Elise asked. “If so, we might be able to use those labs to make this happen.”
Jared shook his head. “The flip point layout makes that impossible. We’re going by the most direct method and the fleet is taking the long way around. At flank speed, they’re still going to arrive at Terra at least a week after we do, and won’t be at the same flip point.”
He looked gravely around the table at all of them. “Whatever happens on this mission, we’re only going to have the resources we have with us now. It’s going to be up to us to make lemonade with the lemons we’ve been given.
“Once we arrive at Terra, we’re going to look the situation over as we make our way to the home world. It’s possible we could gain access to the System Lord and through it all the defensive fortifications that protect the system. If that happens, we can let the fleet in when it arrives.”
“And if there is no reasonable way to access the System Lord?” Kelsey asked. “What do we do then? It’s going to have access to offensive weaponry that could turn this ship into scattered molecules. Not only that, if we deviate from the mission parameters, Lord Fielding is going to know.
“Just how far do we go to maintain our cover? Just how close to an occupied planet do you intend to take this virus?”
Jared grimaced. “If we can’t get access to the System Lord, our options are extremely limited. To answer your basic question, we’ll most likely die but I have no intention of allowing this virus near Terra.”
“We’ve been in more difficult situations,” Elise said firmly, keeping a resolute expression on her face. “The odds might be stacked against us, but the Rebel Empire isn’t going to win this fight. The AIs will not triumph in the end.”
She sat back, hoping that her bold words actually foreshadowed success. Despite what she’d just said, she knew the odds stacked against were damned high.
Jared began laying out potential courses of action. Since they didn’t know precisely what they find at Terra, everything was suitably vague.
Elise consulted her implants and made note of the time. They had about four hours before Lord Fielding had indicated he would join the rest for breakfast.
She set an internal alarm for two hours. If the meeting hadn’t concluded by then, she’d bring it to a close herself. An hour alone with Jared in their quarters would be painfully short, but she was determined not to waste a moment of what might be their last days together.
Kelsey left the meeting in a fairly depressed state of mind. They were probably screwed. She honestly couldn’t figure out any possible way they’d come out alive and in possession of the one thing her people absolutely needed to survive: the AI override from the vaults underneath the Imperial Palace.
When she made to turn toward her quarters and catch a few hours of sleep before she had to be up, Scott turned with her. “If you’ve got a few minutes, I’d like to go over a couple of items with you. Nothing too big, but I’d rather not risk any of our unwelcome visitors overhearing them.”
“Sure.”
When she’d let them both into her quarters, he raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you suppose our associates are monitoring you?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I used the information in my raider implants to build a handheld scanner with a lot more resolution than the ones generally available even to the New Terran Empire in this universe.
“Frankly, it was just to test out my capability to use the data. Something to pass the time. I used it to scan my quarters because I was curious about how far they trusted me, too. No bugs.”
“Could you show me how it works?” he asked politely.
She shrugged, retrieved the scanner from her nightstand, and ran it around the room. The process took less than sixty seconds and came back clean.
“All secure,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like you want to discuss mundane issues. What’s going on, Scott?”
He took a moment to verify the hatch was locked before sitting at the small desk built into the bulkhead. He waited until she’d sat on the edge of her bunk before he continued.
“Highness, I’m more than a little concerned that you’ve thrown our lot in with the Bastard and his associates. Granted, it doesn’t appear that he’s the same man here as he is in our universe, but his primary goal on this mission is the salvation of his own people. If anyone is going to look out for ours, it needs to be us.”
Kelsey frowned, crossing her legs. “I’m not quite sure where you’re taking this. It seems as if I’ve thrown my lot in with them it’s because they have the only viable plan to get what we need. There’s only one override. If I want to take it home, I’ve got to help them defeat the AIs in this universe.”
“That’s not true, Highness,” he said deferentially. “We can follow their plan up to a point and still get what we need. Our agreement to assist them wasn’t meant to be a suicide pact. In case you haven’t noticed, these people take unbelievable risks. How long before they overestimate their own capability and take us down with them?
“And you can’t forget that no matter how reasonable he seems now, he’s still the Bastard. How far can we really trust him? Don’t let him pull the wool over your eyes. Don’t be his willing accomplice in this at the cost of our people’s lives just because he puts on a good front.”
“I don’t appreciate even the implication that I would ever cooperate with someone like the Bastard we all know and hate,” she said coldly. “You’d best retract that insinuation right now.”
The Fleet officer bowed his head slightly. “My apologies, Highness. I didn’t mean to suggest that. Let me try to phrase my thought a different way. As decent as these people appear to be, they aren’t our people. We have an obligation to do whatever is necessary to save our Terran Empire, even if that harms the people in this one.”
A cold chill washed through her. “You’re suggesting we betray them. That we help them along until an opportune moment and then seize the override.”
Scott scrunched his face up slightly. “Nothing so blatant. While I have
a mustache suitable for twirling, I’m not a villain. All I’m saying is that we should keep our options open. As distasteful as it might be, saving our Empire is worth any price we might have to pay.
“Jared Mertz and his associates are raving lunatics if they think they can dupe the AI in control of Terra. One misstep and we will be praying for death. You met the Pale Ones the hard way. Do you really want to experience something like that again?”
Kelsey couldn’t repress the shudder before it took her. No, she absolutely didn’t want to give anyone control of her body again. She’d kill herself first.
She considered him for a long moment and then sighed. “Even if I stick a handy knife into Jared Mertz’s back, we’d still be stuck in the Terra system. We have no way to escape.
“You heard them, the AI controls all the defensive stations at every flip point and all the mobile platforms. We can’t control this destroyer by ourselves. Hell, we can’t take it away from them either. I’m tough, but I’m not that tough. Like it or not, all our fates are intertwined.”
“For the moment,” he agreed. “Yet we don’t know what the future might bring. Let’s say that something happens that allows us to bypass the System Lord and gets us to Terra. What are we going to find there?
“That’s all I’m asking you to keep in mind, Highness. These people have made great promises to assist us in our universe but if it comes down to their survival or ours, I know what they’ll do and so do you.”
She shook her head sharply. “They gave us four intact battlecruisers. Fully operational warships that are individually a match for the one the Bastard stole. They’ve transferred an immense amount of information to us. They’re training our people to utilize implants that they are giving us. That is huge.
“And before you suggest they’ve tampered with the implant designs, I found other references to them in places they can’t have gotten to. Not to all of them. They’re being upfront with us. They’re helping us when they didn’t have to.”
Scott shrugged. “Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say that they’re generously helping us. In fact, I’ll even concede that that’s the truth. If push comes to shove, are you going to allow these benevolent folks to survive if it condemns us to death and slavery?”
He let his words hang in the air for a long moment before he continued.
“I just want you to keep our options open. Keep considering what’s best for the Empire. If you decide that’s continuing to assist these people, so be it. If you see that the situation is spiraling out of control and the choice is either to join them in death or act in our own self-interest, I hope you’ll be ready when the time comes.”
Kelsey felt numb. She knew these people were honestly helping her and her people, but Scott was right. This wasn’t her universe. She had to keep in mind that their interests might not always coincide.
She prayed it never came to that, but if these people got themselves into an irretrievable situation she had to have other plans in mind.
“As much as I want to disagree, I understand,” she said slowly. “I refuse to see betraying these people as an unavoidable event and I pray that we can come up with a plan that saves everyone. But if the crisis comes and I see no other choice, I’ll do what I have to.”
That broke her heart, but she had to stand for the Empire. Her Empire.
She prayed that Jared Mertz found a path to success because if it came to a choice between her honor and the safety of the Empire, she’d do what had to be done.
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The Empire of Bones Saga
Empire of Bones
Veil of Shadows
Command Decisions
Ghosts of Empire
Paying the Price
Reconnaissance in Force
Behind Enemy Lines
The Terra Gambit
The Empire of Bones Saga Volume 1
The Humanity Unlimited Saga
Liberty Station
Freedom Express
Tree of Liberty
The Fractured Republic Saga
Storm Divers
The Scorched Earth Saga
Scorched Earth
The Vigilante Duology with Glynn Stewart
Heart of Vengeance
Oath of Vengeance
About Terry
1 Bestselling Military Science Fiction author Terry Mixon served as a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army 101st Airborne Division. He later worked alongside the flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at the NASA Johnson Space Center supporting the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and other human spaceflight projects.
He now writes full time while living in Texas with his lovely wife and a pounce of cats.
www.TerryMixon.com
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