Commander Br'dar led the group through the tube to the Mur'daz. They exited the tube into a ship's corridor much like the one they left on the Strak'zar. There were several officers waiting for them. One of the Mur'daz officers was standing by the Terran prisoner.
"Commander Ti'chak, it has been too long," Br'dar greeted the commanding officer of the Mur'daz. "We seem to always be working together, but never actually in the same room."
Ti'chak laughed. "It is because we are too powerful as a team. The other commanders would never be able to match our skills, so the Emperor keeps us apart to make them happy."
Br'dar gave a brief chuckle and then returned to a more serious demeanor. "Allow me to introduce Commandant-General K'oron of the V'drellz Stragizi, and his aide, Major Danielle Hart."
Ti'chak looked them both over. "It is an honor to meet you, General," Ti'chak said with a bow. Then he offered a similar bow to Danielle, "It is an honor to meet you as well, Major. The first non-V'drellian ever to be admitted into the V'drellz Stragizi is most welcome on board my vessel, however, brief your visit."
"We appreciate you're assistance in this matter, Commander Ti'chak," K'oron responded with a nod of the head. "I see you have the prisoner ready for transfer."
Danielle walked and stood in front of the Terran man. "You said your name was Ridgeway correct?" The man nodded in response. "I've heard of you. You may just be the only person in the Commonwealth more hated than me right now. I can't wait to have..."
She was cut short by the sound of the ship-wide comms channel. "Commander Ti'chak, contact the bridge immediately!"
Ti'chak activated him personal comms unit. "What is it, Yon'ga?"
"We have inbound ships from the Commonwealth approaching our position!" The voice of the Mur'daz tactical officer shouted. "They have already crossed the border and are in Dominion space!"
There was suddenly a shout from the Strak'zar engineer at the other end of the tube. "Commander! General! Major! I need you back over here now! Bridge says we have to disconnect!"
Danielle grabbed Ridgeway by the shoulder. "Get moving! You're still coming with us."
K'oron, Danielle, Br'dar and Ridgeway all ran the full length of the tubes. As soon as they cleared the airlock, the engineer immediately began the disconnect process. They started moving while the tube was still retracting. K'oron and Br'dar started toward the bridge, but Danielle escorted the prisoner to the brig first.
"I'll be back to talk to you later," she told Ridgeway as she placed him in a cell and engaged the force field that served as a door.
"Looking forward to it," Ridgeway told her. "Maybe you'll be willing to listen to what I've been trying to tell people."
Danielle ran as fast as she could to the bridge. Why would the Commonwealth be sending ships into the Dominion? Are they coming after Ridgeway? Then a more disturbing thought crossed her mind. Are they coming after me? The bridge was already a flurry of activity when she arrived. Br'dar was shouting orders, and bridge officers were passing them to their various departments on the ship.
"Set battle conditions throughout the ship!" Br'dar ordered. "Ready all weapons! I want all defensive measures active! This is not a drill!"
K'oron was standing in the back of the bridge out of the way. Danielle walked over to him.
Danielle chuckled to herself. "I thought it would be different."
"What would be different?" K'oron asked. She turned at the sound of his voice. He had thought that she was talking to him.
"The moment before a battle," she answered in a muffled voice. "I thought it would be different on a Dominion ship than a Commonwealth ship, but it's really not. I mean, we use green and red lights instead of orange and blue, but I swear that alarm sound is exactly the same. The people still get those same semi-scared looks. I guess battle is battle, no matter what kind of ship you are on."
"Yes," K'oron replied quietly. "The outcome of a battle is always the same, regardless of the individuals fighting. Someone wins, and their people celebrate. Someone loses, and their people mourn. Either way, Th'warzin collects the souls of the departed so that he can judge them."
The tension on the bridge was becoming palpable. Every officer was staring at Br'dar waiting for him to give them instructions, but mostly for him to give them a sense that everything would be okay.
"Commander, I have three Commonwealth ships now on short-range sensors," Jok'na reported. "Putting them on screen now."
All eyes turned and faced the screen. Three ships could be seen on the main display. Danielle recognized the shapes immediately and felt a knot form in her stomach.
"You need to call any available ship to get here now!" Danielle said loudly. "Those are Dreadnaughts, heavy battlecruisers, they're about twice the size of this ship and have a tremendous amount of firepower. I don't know how good the defensive measures are on this ship, but I do know that their primary cannons can create building sized craters in a planet from orbit."
"I thought No'tok destroyed one of their ships single-handed?" Br'dar asked.
"The Expedition was a Pathfinder-class ship," Danielle clarified. "Pathfinders are used for exploration and reconnaissance. Dreadnaughts are warships. The Strak'zar and Mur'daz are not going to slow them down for long unless we can pull off a miracle."
"I trust the Major's judgment, Commander," K'oron added. "Call for reinforcements immediately, and notify the homeworld. The Emperor needs to know that the Commonwealth has committed an act of war." Br'dar ordered his comms officer to send word to V'drell Prime and to start requesting assistance.
CHAPTER 10
When Peterson and Chen arrived back at Capital Police building, the entire station was on high alert. A uniformed officer stopped them as they attempted to enter the building's garage. They opened the shuttlecraft's side window and showed the officer their credentials, but he still refused to allow them to enter.
"I'm sorry detectives," the officer apologized. "The entire building is on lockdown. Chief's orders. One of the cyber techs has been killed."
"Killed? Inside police headquarters?" Peterson asked in disbelief. "Wait, you said a cyber tech? Which one? Was it Philmore?"
It was the officer's turn to look shocked. "How did you know? We haven't released his name. Only personnel inside know."
Peterson looked at her partner. "Still think this 'might' be a conspiracy, Darren? Or does this seal the deal for you now."
"We don't know what happened," Chen replied, "so let's not jump to conclusions."
"Jump to conclusions!" Peterson snapped. "I don't think it requires any jumping! That chip seems to have a lot of dead bodies piling up around it. You just got a message from Bobby saying that he cracked the chip, and now he's dead. We found the chip on Baxby's dead body. Someone obviously doesn't want anyone to know what is on that chip."
As much as he hated to fuel his partner's hysterics, she was making sense. Someone was going to a lot of trouble to tie up loose ends.
"Officer Jenkins," Chen said reading the name tag of the officer outside the window, "we have some critical evidence that might be linked to the death of Bobby Philmore. It's imperative that we speak to the Chief immediately."
Jenkins touched the comms device in his ear. "This is Jenkins at the garage entrance. Detectives Chen and Peterson are here and they say they have evidence that might shed some light on Philmore's death. Can you get the Chief down here?" They waited for Jenkins to receive a reply. "Roger that. Jenkins out." The officer returned his focus to the two detectives in the shuttlecraft. "Go on in. The Chief is in the technician area of the basement. Take your evidence with you when you go." He then stepped aside to let them drive in.
After parking, they took the stairs down to the basement level of the building, knowing that the lifts would be locked down. The area was already filled with uniformed officers, detectives, and crime scene techs. There was a definite tension in the air. They had lost one of their own, and it had happened in their own house. Chief of Police, Henry
"Hank" Clawson was visible standing just inside Philmore's office. He had taken personal command of the situation and was giving orders to the various personnel. When he saw Peterson and Chen, he motioned them over.
Clawson was talking to one of the detectives, Owen Cordell, from CTD. CTD was the Counter Terrorism Division of the police force. He was informing Chief Clawson of the CTD's working theory behind the attack.
"The current theory is that it was a member of the Democratic Mars movement," Detective Owen Cordell explained. "One of their central leaders is going on trial this week for the bombing of the Utopia Planitia Spaceport fourteen months ago. They were probably trying to destroy evidence, or just take out a witness for the Crown. Philmore was the lead technician on that investigation. His testimony would have been critical."
Clawson rubbed his chin. "The DM does like like to cause chaos and destruction for all things related to the Crown. Still, sneaking into our main facility and murdering someone is bold, even for them."
"What if it wasn't them?" Peterson interrupted. Chen cringed at her blunt interruption. Clawson and Cordell both locked their gaze on her. "I'm thinking this had to do with a case that Chen and I are working on right now."
"The Baxby suicide?" The chief of police questioned. "How does a suicide connect to an attack here?"
"We don't think it's a suicide anymore, Chief," Chen answered. "Remember the Rylan Starburst tragedy? The lawyer of that Ridgeway fellow showed up at the crime scene looking for Baxby. Said his client to him that Baxby had come to the prison and told him he had evidence to prove that Ridgeway was innocent. Then we found Baxby dead, and he had a data chip on his body. Philmore was deciphering the data for us while we went back to the crime scene for a second look. He called me while I was in the building, but that older building blocked the signal, so he left a message. He said that the data on the chip had something to do with reprogramming military drone sensor arrays. He said he was going to return it to the evidence before going home tonight. If we're wrong, then the chip should be on his desk, or back in evidence storage. If it's gone, then I think that is what the killer wanted."
Chief Clawson gave the idea some thought. "What do you think, Owen?"
"It's possible," the CTD detective admitted. "IWe haven't found any data chips on his desk. What is the case number? I'll see if he checked it back in." He pulled his handheld console out of his jacket pocket.
"Case #451-03," replied Chen. Cordell entered the number into the console. His face began to frown, and he entered the number again to verify what he was seeing.
"There is no data chip listed in evidence storage for that number," Cordell informed the group. "There is an entry for a chip, but it lists it as being checked out to Bobby Philmore. Maybe you two are on to something."
Peterson remembered the evidence bag in her hand. She showed Clawson and Cordell the maintenance cap they found. "This was worn by a man we believe may have killed Baxby and staged it to look like a suicide. If we're right, it might have DNA that would lead us to the Baxby's killer, and possibly Philmore's killer as well."
"I can have one of my techs run it," Cordell offered. "CTD has our own lab. Since this is starting to sound more like a terrorism case than a suicide or homicide, CTD can take the case over if you want."
Peterson never liked dealing with CTD. They always acted like what they did was more important the any what any other cop did. "We'd appreciate the used of your lab, but we'll keep the case." She handed the evidence bag containing the cap to Cordell.
Cordell shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll have my team run this immediately, and we'll let you know what we find on it." He walked off to give the bag to one of his techs.
***
It's too quiet. That singular thought had been repeating through the mind of Admiral Dale Hawthorne since they crossed into Dominion space a little over an hour ago. Surely they have border sensors that would have detected our presence. This was the worse type of military situation that he could imagine. He had been given a point to hold in enemy space without anY reconnaissance. He knew nothing about size or strength of the enemy ships that he would encounter, and encounter them he would. No one lets a stranger move into their home without a fight.
"Admiral!" Ensign Sanburg shouted. "We are picking up two Dominion ships on long-range sensors. They are moving to intercept."
I knew it was only a matter of time. He knew that the Dominion would not let them establish a foothold in their territory without a fight. "Sound general quarters! All hands to battle stations! I want the neutron shields at full power. Inform Athena and Apollo to do the same, but no one fires unless fired upon or I give the order!"
Alarms started going off all over the ship, and personnel scrambled to get to their assigned duty locations. The members of the crew looked nervous. None of them had seen battle before. The Commonwealth Fleet had not seen any active combat in a generation, and that was only a rebelling colony planet. The would be the first actual combat against non-Terrans in the history of the Commonwealth, and no one knew what to expect.
"All decks report battle ready, Admiral," Svenson informed Hawthorne.
"Slow our speed to one quarter. Take us in nice and slow, Mr. Dominguez," Hawthorne instructed his navigation officer.
"Aye sir, setting speed to one quarter," Dominguez acknowledged. "Passing orders to Athena and Apollo."
"Dominion ships are now on short-range scanners," Sanburg stated. "They have taken up a position directly in our course."
"Put them on the primary display," Hawthorne told the sensor officer.
The two Dominion ships appeared on the display. They were smaller than the Poseidon, but Hawthorne knew not to let such things make him careless. The ships were just sitting there, waiting for his group to arrive.
"Admiral, I'm picking up a signal coming from one of the Dominion ships," the comms officer, Lt. Sara Rawlins said. "I believe they are attempting to contact us. It is audio only."
"Open the frequency," Hawthorne replied. They could here a quiet crackling sound as the computer tuned the signal. "This is Admiral Dale Hawthorne of the Commonwealth Ship Poseidon, to whom am I speaking?" There was nothing but silence for a moment, then a voice was heard.
"Br'dar leader of Strak'zar," came the reply in very broken words. "You leave Dominion now!"
"I cannot do that sir," Hawthorne replied. "The Dominion has attacked the Commonwealth on several occasions, and we will not stand for it any longer."
"Lies!" Answered the voice. "Dominion no fight Terrans. Dominion traitors. Traitors fight Terrans."
Hawthorne wrinkled his brow. This attempt at communication was getting nowhere. He didn't speak V'drellian. No one in the Commonwealth did. This V'drellian's grasp of the Terran language was abysmal at best. "I don't understand what you are trying to tell me. Regardless, I cannot change my course. Please stand down and move."
They could hear a second voice in the background. A female voice, but the words must have been in the V'drellian tongue because they were unintelligible to Hawthorne and his officers. Then the female voice began speaking in their language.
"Admiral Hawthorne," the female voice spoke in perfect Terran, "The Dominion has not attacked you. A group called the Legion has. They are made up of people from the Dominion, Protectorate, and even the Commonwealth. We are trying to stop them, as you should be. Leave and return to the Commonwealth. Your fight is not with us."
"We have witness testimony that it was a Dominion ship that attacked us on two different occasions," Hawthorne answered. "Even if what you say is true, which I have no proof of, I have my orders."
"You have invaded the sovereign space of the V'drell Dominion. If you do not leave immediately, your presence will be considered as an act of war against the Dominion, and they will respond accordingly."
The voice sounded as though it was pleading for him to stand down. Not as a threat, but more as a warning. Hawthorne also noticed something else. She said 'they', not 'we'. Is it possible
that there is a Terran on board their ship? His mind pondered the idea for just a second before the obvious answer revealed itself. It has to be Danielle Hart! Hawthorne's jaw locked. Hart had already been deemed a traitor to the Commonwealth for aiding the Dominion, and it appeared that was a correct assumption.
"Lt. Hart," Hawthorne used her name hoping it might shake her. "I know who you are. I know that you have been named a traitor to our people. Queen Constance might have believed in you, but Regent Zhi most certainly does not. If you are innocent of these crimes, then surrender yourself to me to stand court-martial and prove your innocence."
"I can't do that, Admiral," Danielle replied. "I will prove my innocence, and stop the Legion, but I can't do that sitting in jail waiting for a trial. You need to trust me and go home now before a lot of innocent people on both sides die."
"You know that I..." Hawthorne stopped in mid-sentence. He had felt the ship shudder in an all too familiar way. The ship's primary cannons just fired!
***
"Commander, the Terran ship just fired on the Mur'daz!" Tactical Officer Jok'na shouted.
"So much for your Admiral being a man of honor, Major," Br'dar sneered at Danielle. "We tried talking to them, now we will speak with our might! Charge up primary and secondary blaster turrets! Target the lead ship's engines! Fire!"
"As you command," Jok'na replied. She quickly pressed a sequence on her panel and the ship began a rhythmic shudder as the two batteries of blasters alternated fire.
"Commander, we received a message from the Mur'daz," Comms Officer Ro'thal informed his superior. "They have sustained minor damage to the forward section of the ship. Primary blasters are functional, but secondary blasters are offline. No major injuries or deaths."
"Commander, our weapons do not appear to be penetrating their shielding!" Jok'na advised.
Danielle could not believe that Hawthorne would have fired on them while talking to her. It was an underhanded tactic used by less than honorable people, or by those who felt backed into a corner. Neither of which should describe Dale Hawthorne right now. She knew that this situation was going to get very bad for everyone now that the shooting had started. There had to be a way to end this quickly and with minimal loss of life. She was pouring over her memories from the academy. She remembered studying the Dreadnaught-class ships and knew how formidable they could be. The shielding they used was designed to disrupt energy weapons and the deflect physical objects. The only things that had ever disrupted the shielding were the maneuvering thrusters, and that was only when they were in use and only then at the shield locations closest to the thrusters. That doesn't help though since those spots would be on the rear side of the ships. We'd have to be in front of them and behind them at the same time, and they would have to be turning the ship. Even then a large ship isn't fast enough to take advantage of the window. What we need is a squadron of Talons. Then she remembered that the Drah'jik had launched fighters against her squadron during the initial attack. She found the miracle that she needed!
Hart Of Vengeance: A Danielle Hart Novel (Book 2) Page 12
