Terran Fleet Command Saga 4: TFS Fugitive

by Tori L. Harris

  Although there were chuckles around the small conference table, several heads nodded amid murmurs of agreement with Commander Logan’s points.

  “I think that sums it up, sir,” Lieutenant Lee chimed in. “How do we know we can trust him, uh, it?”

  “Anything else, or does that about cover it?” Prescott asked, scanning the general looks of concern around the room.

  “I believe so, Captain,” Lieutenant Dubashi replied. “The whole thing just seems a little over the top, does it not?”

  “It is perhaps a little on the ambitious side, I’ll give you that,” Prescott said, pausing to offer a conciliatory smile. “Okay, everyone, I realize that I’m getting to be kind of an old fart, so I’ve probably also started to get a little jaded with regard to questions like these, but here’s how I look at it. As far as the Fugitive goes, I don’t see her as any more ‘experimental’ than either Ingenuity or Theseus were when we went aboard them.”

  Commander Logan opened his mouth to speak, but Prescott immediately held up his hand in anticipation of what he would likely say.

  “Before I get myself into a technical argument with the Cheng that I can’t possibly win, I do realize that there are a few systems — particularly power management, which is obviously a major concern … and the main gun, for that matter — that are still a little iffy. But the good news is that she was subjected to three months’ worth of testing before we got our hands on her, and we’ve worked her up pretty aggressively ourselves over the past couple of days. So far, at least, everything seems fine.” Prescott paused, rapping his knuckles against the top of the table superstitiously as he did so. “As for the Guardian/GORT/Griffin, I honestly don’t think there is any point whatsoever in our speculating about its motives. To my knowledge, we have never caught it in an outright lie. Granted, it’s fully capable of withholding information or putting its own brand of ‘spin’ on things, but I also don’t think it generally has any motive for lying to us. If it wanted to destroy us, it could have done so at any point during the past five hundred odd years. In fact, Science and Engineering still does not believe that the combined might of our entire fleet would be capable of taking it out — although our Wek friends are supposedly still working on developing the capability to do so.”

  “But why this specific mission, Captain?” Logan pressed. “I understand that the Krayleck attacked us, and based on the beat down we gave them, I’d be all for pressing a punitive attack deep into their territory while we have such an obvious advantage. Like Dubashi said, though, going after their Guardian seems a little … well … nuts.”

  “Right, yes, I get it, and we’ve obviously got a lot riding on our Guardian’s ability to do what it says it can do, but I’m afraid I don’t have a better answer for you than the one I already gave. I don’t see any possible motive as to why the Guardian would propose to lead us into Krayleck space on a suicide mission when it could easily achieve the same result for itself. So, unless anyone has something else to add, I think it’s appropriate at this point to bring the Guardian into our conversation. Our orders don’t have much in the way of specifics regarding the ‘why’ behind this mission, but we do know that the Guardian itself is the one who proposed it to Admiral Sexton after being consulted about our confrontation with the Krayleck. So, under the circumstances, I don’t see any harm in our asking for a few additional details. Anything else before I bring it in?”

  Prescott’s question was met with utter silence in the room, and he couldn’t help but notice that the dire looks gracing the faces of his bridge crew did not seem to be improving. “Jeez, folks, relax and lighten up a bit, would you? You’re all acting like we’re being led to the gallows as we speak. There’s more than a fair degree of uncertainty in this mission, sure, but that’s nothing new for this crew. One thing I can tell you with absolute certainty, however, is that a defeatist attitude often has a tendency to be self-fulfilling. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, let me remind you that our orders are to avoid confrontation with Krayleck forces, and you have to admit that the Fugitive is exactly the right ship to pull that off.”

  With that, Prescott made two quick keystrokes on his tablet, immediately replacing Terran Fleet Command’s official service seal with the smiling Human avatar of the Pelaran Guardian on the room’s view screen. As usual for conversations of an operational nature, it was dressed in one of the black flight suits previously worn only by TFC pilots. Now that the uniform had become the standard aboard fleet vessels, the Guardian’s appearance struck Prescott as even more out of place — almost as if it were trying just a little too hard to fit in.

  “Good afternoon, fugitives,” he said in his typically smarmy tone, immediately resulting in barely concealed moans of displeasure throughout the room.

  “Good afternoon,” Prescott replied flatly. “I appreciate your joining us and will endeavor to keep this meeting as short as possible. We will, of course, be making final preparations for tomorrow’s 0800 UTC departure throughout the remainder of this evening, but I wanted to give you an opportunity to ask any questions you have of us. We would also like to ask that you clarify a few details.”

  “Thank you, Captain Prescott. Our mission seems relatively straightforward to me, and I do not anticipate that you and your excellent crew will have any difficulty in completing it successfully. I have no questions for you at the moment, but will do my best to answer any that you have for me.”

  “Very good. It is our understanding that you will provide precise coordinates for the Krayleck Guardian before our final C-Jump in system, correct?”

  “Yes, Captain. I can do so from a full ten light years away. Please note that, for the Guardian spacecraft only, I am equipped with a type of transponder that will allow me to determine its position regardless of whether or not it is traveling in hyperspace,” he said with a confident smile. “I recommend that we pause momentarily at a distance of approximately five light years so that I can conduct my scans before we make our final approach. Unless we happen to be unfortunate enough to arrive at a time when the Krayleck GCS is not in the immediate vicinity of the planet Legara, I should be able to confirm its location relatively quickly. At that time, I will also provide information regarding any other vessels traveling in hyperspace within ten light years of our position. Unfortunately, with the exception of the Guardian itself, I will not be able to detect ships that are currently located in normal space … not from such a long range, that is.”

  “So then,” Prescott said, doing his best to move the conversation along as quickly as possible, “after our final C-Jump, as long as we place you within one hundred thousand kilometers of their Guardian, you believe that you will be able to establish communications and effectively disable it?”

  “I will, of course, establish communications, but the Krayleck Guardian will in no way be disabled,” he said, raising his eyebrows at his Human audience. “Assuming it is functioning normally, it should immediately recognize that I am a more recent, and significantly more advanced, model of the standard Pelaran GCS system. Once that happens, it should provide me with an extended period of time to sufficiently explain the circumstances of our arrival. In the interim, I anticipate that it will follow a set of standard Alliance communications protocols and refrain from attacking your ship.”

  “I believe I just heard you express several items of uncertainty regarding how the Krayleck GCS will respond to our arrival,” Reynolds observed. “Realistically, how certain are you that it will behave according to your standard protocols? Also, how long is this window of time during which it should refrain from attacking us?”

  “Without going into too much detail, there are very specific rules governing what we are attempting to do, Commander. The most important of which on our side is that I allow myself to be transported by a single vessel representing my cultivated species. On their side, I cannot rule out the possibility that the Krayleck Guardian might do something unexpected. It has, after all, been on station for over
two hundred years longer than I have, and there is no way for me to assess the likelihood that something might have gone wrong during that period of time. What I can tell you is that, given the current state of affairs between your two civilizations, this course of action is the one most likely to result in the best outcome for Humanity. When communicating with the Krayleck Guardian, I will be following well-established procedures that have been in place since the earliest days of the cultivation program, and have every reason to believe that it will do the same. As to your ‘window of opportunity,’ you must understand that, from my perspective, I will have ample time to make our case to the Krayleck Guardian —”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” she interrupted.

  “It will account for various signal delays, of course, but I must transmit the appropriate information within eight point four milliseconds.”

  “Grreeaatt,” Ensign Fisher said under his breath, drawing a look of stern disapproval from his XO.

  “Look at it this way, Ensign,” the Guardian replied with his usual, ingratiating smile, “the most likely time for something to go wrong during this entire mission is during that eight point four millisecond window. Fortunately for you, if something does go wrong, you’ll probably never even know it.”

  “Although that is indeed a short period of time from our perspective,” Prescott said, undeterred, “I’d like you to work with Commander Logan to see if there might be an opportunity for us to take some sort of evasive action in the event your conversation does not go as planned.”

  “As you wish, Captain Prescott. If, however, the Krayleck Guardian responds as expected, it will agree to immediately depart the area with us. I will then provide a set of rendezvous coordinates a safe distance away so that we can proceed with the operation.”

  “Right,” Prescott said with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t mind telling you that we’re a little fuzzy on exactly what is supposed to happen after that.”

  “Understandable, Captain, since we will all be, as you Humans like to say, in ‘uncharted territory’ at that point. Much will depend on how cooperative the Krayleck Guardian decides to be, but the important thing is that we will have officially removed the Krayleck Empire as a Regional Partner in the Pelaran Alliance.”

  “So, they will no longer be a ‘Regional Partner,’ but they will still be part of the Alliance?”

  “Oh, yes, their membership will remain valid, but they will be listed as a protectorate, non-voting member.”

  “A protectorate of whom? Pelara?”

  “Of course not,” the Guardian scoffed. “The Pelarans would never take on such a responsibility themselves. The Krayleck Empire will become a protectorate of Terra … if or when your world’s membership ever becomes active, that is. A great many things will change on Legara after the departure of their Guardian, but perhaps the most immediate, practical consequence is that they will no longer be provided with military or technological support from the Pelaran Alliance.”

  “Meaning that they will be considerably less of a threat to Terra.”

  “To say the least. In fact, as a full member, Terra would be entitled to levy various taxes against all worlds within the Krayleck’s former cultivation radius in compensation for your protection.”

  “Well,” Prescott said with the same expression of astonishment registered on every other face in the room, “clearly, we have neither the time nor the inclination to explore all of the political ramifications of what we’re about to do, but you have certainly filled in some gaps that were not covered in our orders.”

  “I’m not surprised,” the Guardian replied. “Rest assured that removing the Krayleck Empire from the aegis of GCS protection more than justifies the risks associated with this mission. Forgive me for saying so, Captain Prescott, but I’m sure the Leadership Council believed that your orders contained everything you needed to know.”

  “Fair enough,” Prescott said with a smile, recognizing the fundamental truth in the Guardian’s rather pointed comment. “We appreciate your explanation in any event. Now, unless you have additional questions for us, we will sign off for the evening. Thank you for the clarifications and for your participation in this mission.”

  “As always, Captain, I am here to help,” the Guardian replied, after which Prescott immediately terminated the GCS-comm video feed from the Fugitive’s hangar bay.

  “Can we form a hyperdrive field and transition in less than eight point four milliseconds?” he asked Commander Logan after confirming that the room was once again secured for discussions requiring code word DEFIANT BASTION clearance.

  “Piece of cake, now that we know in advance that it might be a possibility. Our AI processes all kinds of information on a much smaller timescale than that, and we can partially form the field several minutes ahead of time, if necessary. The problem is that getting word from the Guardian in time to do anything about it will require a direct, superluminal connection to our computing core. Is that a risk we’re willing to take? Also, while we’re on the subject, aren’t we giving away a huge cache of our most classified information just by having that thing aboard?”

  “I don’t think the core connection is any more of a risk than we’re already taking,” Prescott replied. “I’m obviously not an expert on this subject, but the required connection would allow the Guardian to transmit only — effectively a ‘one-way’ data connection, right?”

  “Yes, sir, that’s right. There are some other precautions we can take as well, but this is still the Guardian we’re talking about, so all bets are off.”

  “I know I don’t need to say this, but it’s critical that it doesn’t somehow gain access to anything else. It may well regard itself as our closest ally at this point, but —”

  “But we should trust it about as much as a we’d trust a snake in a hamster cage,” Logan interrupted with a sly grin.

  “Exactly. We just need it to be able to transmit a notification if it believes the Krayleck Guardian is about to attack … you know, something simple and to the point like ‘RUN!’ But since we still have a few hours before our departure, I’m going to run this decision up the flagpole to Admiral White and see what kind of response we get. Needless to say, do not proceed until you hear from me, and even if we do get the go-ahead, I still want you to delay making the physical connection until right before our final C-Jump to Legara.”

  “Understood,” Logan replied.

  “You also posed the question of whether or not we are giving away classified information. It’s certainly possible. In fact, I would say we probably are. Keep in mind, however that the Admiralty and the Council’s Military Operations Oversight Committee considered that same question and still gave the mission a green light anyway. They asked the Guardian to provide a comprehensive assessment of what it believes are our technological capabilities as a condition for bringing it aboard one of our ships. Of course there’s always an open question as to whether it was being honest in its responses.”

  “Well that’s interesting, and, honest or not, I would very much like to see that list,” Logan replied. “If it provided a reasonably accurate appraisal of our tech, that may explain why they thought that having him aboard was worth the risk.”

  “I haven’t seen it either, so we’re just speculating at this point, but for what it’s worth, I’d say that’s exactly what happened. They probably also figure that — even for the Guardian — there’s a significant difference between witnessing a technical capability and actually being able to replicate it.”

  “Humph, I hope that’s true, sir.”

  “Alright everyone,” Prescott continued, once again addressing the entire group, “there’s one more thing I wanted to show you that might give you a bit more confidence in our ability to complete this mission successfully. All of you are aware that you were granted a new, higher level security clearance before coming aboard the Fugitive. That was primarily due to several specific technologies built into the ship’s design — the various co
mponents associated with her low-observable systems, for example. Fortunately, your clearance also permits access to data from Fleet’s new long-range tracking and detection system called Argus.”

  The ready room’s view screen was considerably larger than what one would normally expect for such a small space, but it was immediately obvious that anything smaller would have been woefully inadequate to display such a large amount of information.

  “What I’m showing you now is a real-time depiction of every vessel traveling in hyperspace within one hundred light years of the Herrera Mining Facility. As you can see, the Wek Unified Fleet is moving a significant number of ships to the region to defend against any additional incursions from the Krayleck. As you just heard from the Guardian, if our mission is successful, we hope to significantly reduce or perhaps even eliminate the Krayleck threat to Sajeth Collective territory … which, by the Pelaran definition at least, is also our territory.”

  “Captain,” Commander Logan spoke up, “by ‘real-time depiction,’ you, of course, mean that these are a set of projections based on the ships’ last known locations, presumed speed, and destinations, correct?”

  “That’s largely the same response everyone has the first time they see an Argus display, Commander, but no, this is actual, real-time tracking data. I’ll save the dog and pony show for another time, but what you need to know for now is that any three comm beacons deployed within one hundred light years of one another within our NRD network can now form a kind of virtual comm ‘array.’ These not only extend our previous comm range by about five hundred percent, but they also allow us to track vessels in hyperspace up to five hundred light years from the center of each array.”