by Jan Domagala
There was still much work to be done but for now they could enjoy a few moments of peace.
35
I
Col Sec HQ Nellis Base
Sinclair was still at his desk when he felt a call being connected. It was a secure channel, he was aware of that and his back stiffened at the thought that the few moments of peace had ended so soon. When he heard the voice though, he began to relax, just a little.
“President Takagi, to what do I owe the pleasure of a personal call sir?” he said.
“I thought you would like to be informed of the progress I made with the Alliance High Council,” replied the World President with a smile in his voice.
“I would indeed sir.”
“It seems that General Tillic had taken over the mantle of the late General Solon in more ways than the obvious. According to information received from Senator Tovaric, Solon had been running black ops behind the High Council’s back, sequestering funds from legitimate resources when he could and running up a credit line from MaxCorp when he couldn’t. It seems that Tillic carried on with this regime. With Tovaric’s intervention the High Council have been able to bring charges against Tillic and he has been taken into custody. Along with our help in the rescue of those men trapped in the vehicles around Tartaran a new season of openness has begun between us and the Alliance, one that I feel sure will herald in a period of peace and goodwill between us, and General, it is mostly down to you.”
“That’s not strictly true sir, it was a team effort. I have the best men and women working for me, it was their efforts that won the day sir.”
“But you saw fit to inform me of the situation and bring me into it, a risky decision I might add, but one that paid off.”
“Only because it was the right thing to do sir. I am an Intelligence officer sir and quite aware of the plausible deniability factor, but in this case the situation demanded your intervention. You are right in saying it was risky and if the President had been someone else I might have reconsidered, but I knew you were a man of integrity and would do the right thing, as I hoped I had.”
“Quite, I must admit that there was a moment when I almost didn’t make the call.”
“A moment only though, and everyone in the Confederation and Alliance would be grateful for the fact that you did make the call, if they were to ever find out.”
“Yes, the downside of your business, the heroic deeds your men and women perform behind the scenes go unnoticed, not celebrated.”
“They do it because it is the right thing to do sir, the same as you did today.”
“Quite. You have my gratitude General and I’m sure that of the entire Alliance High Council. You can pass that on to those who took part in this mission. A small recompense I know but at the moment it’s all I can do, but if there is anything you need in the future just ask and I personally will ensure you get it.”
“Thank you sir, most kind.”
“Enjoy the peace General, I’m sure it won’t last long,” Takagi said and ended the call.
Sinclair sat back and smiled. “These things never do,” he ruminated.
II
The Liberty
“Well Senator, we’re here,” Jared said as he greeted Tovaric on the bridge. They had arrived at Earth and been allocated a parking orbit near the Legend, Atlantis and Odyssey. The Senator had returned to his quarters to gather his meagre belongings and his thoughts and to prepare for this last part of his journey.
“Thank you doesn’t seem enough, but at the moment it is all I have,” he replied.
Mikal looked at Jared and said, “I told you we wouldn’t get paid for this gig.”
“The funds have already been transferred to your account gentlemen, I did it once we were on board and before my account could be frozen, but that’s not what I meant. You saved my life and in doing so could have prevented a catastrophe.”
Jared gave his friend an ‘I told you so’ look then turned to the Senator, his brows knitting in confusion. “I’m not sure I follow, how?” he asked.
Tovaric gave a wry smile and said, “Perhaps it’s best you don’t know the full facts, just feel confident you played a major part in averting a disaster.”
Jared glanced away at his friend who was receiving data from the helm. Mikal said, “The shuttle’s ready to take you down to the surface Senator, apparently they want you as well.”
When Jared saw that he meant him his eyes went wide in surprise, then narrowed as he pondered why. “They probably want to give me a medal for being an outstanding captain,” he joked.
“Shall we go then, it seems our audience awaits?” Tovaric said, the smile still in place.
Jared turned to his first officer and said, “You have the bridge Mikal, stay alert and keep a comm. line open.”
“That won’t be necessary, you are not in any danger here,” Tovaric told them as he overheard the hushed interchange.
“As you wish Senator,” Jared said but the look he gave Mikal said the opposite. He had stayed alive this long because he didn’t trust anyone and he wasn’t about to change that habit anytime soon.
“Let’s go Senator, as you said, our audience awaits,” Jared said then led the way off the bridge.
III
“Why do we have to be here?” Zara asked Kurt as they waited in the empty hangar near the landing pad.
Before he could reply he heard a voice behind him saying, “Because I invited you two to be a part of the welcoming committee,” Sinclair said, adding, “and I didn’t want anyone else involved. Considering the security level of who we are meeting here today, I thought it best to keep those involved to a minimum.”
Kurt said, “I don’t think ‘invite’ would be the word I would’ve used General.”
Sinclair was at his side then and asked, “What word would you have used Kurt?”
“‘Summons’, maybe, perhaps ‘command’, you know something more along those lines.”
“I will ignore the sarcasm for now Captain because I am aware you and your partner are eager to resume the shore leave I interrupted,” Sinclair said not looking at either of them. Instead he kept his steely gaze fixed on the small dot in the sky that was the approaching shuttle.
“Oh, and in accordance with what I have allocated to the rest of those involved in the recent mission, you will be allowed a further two weeks added on to the time you had left,” he added nonchalantly.
“Holy Shit!” Zara blurted out without thinking.
“You are welcome,” Sinclair said without a trace of humour even though Kurt could have sworn he saw a smile creep along those stoic features.
“That is once you have delivered your full mission report.”
“Yeh, about that, there’s something I think you should know sir,” Kurt said.
“Go on.”
“When we were in the city on the surface we managed to connect to the computer there and we downloaded something that might be of interest to you.”
“Really? Such as?”
“Everything about the planet and the city.”
Sinclair looked intently at Kurt and when his words had sunk in he smiled and clapped Kurt on the shoulder, an uncharacteristic display of emotion that no one had witnessed before. Then it was gone just as suddenly and he turned away to view the approaching shuttle once more, almost as if nothing had been said.
“Now shall we get to work and greet our guests?” Sinclair said. He stepped forward out of the hangar as the shuttle came in to land on the pad before them. Kurt and Zara followed him ready to jump in front if any danger presented itself.
The shuttle’s engines spooled down and the forward hatch opened up to reveal a tall man with swarthy good looks standing in the doorway. He had a hand on a sidearm strapped to his right leg as he scanned the landing pad area.
“You have no need to worry, you are quite safe,” Sinclair said as he strode forward to greet the newcomers.
The man glanced over his shoulder and said, “It’
s okay Senator it looks safe enough.”
“Senator Tovaric is inside with him,” Kurt told Sinclair who shot him a surprised look. “I heard what he said,” Kurt explained.
The swarthy man stepped forward allowing the Senator to follow him down the ramp. Even with Sinclair’s reassurances he still kept his hand firmly on the grip of his sidearm as he walked towards them.
“Senator Tovaric, it is a pleasure to finally meet you,” Sinclair said as he watched the two men walk slowly down the ramp.
“General Sinclair I presume, I recognise your voice,” Tovaric said as he stepped around Jared.
“Senator I wanted to meet you in person to inform you that the situation at Tartaran has been resolved successfully.”
“Tartaran, that name keeps cropping up,” Jared muttered.
Kurt stepped forward slightly, interest showing in his face. “What do you know of Tartaran?” he asked.
Jared’s eyes went wide with surprise as he realised his comment had been overheard. He said, “I was commissioned recently to rescue Prince Aswan from there. We had a lucky break though and were able to liberate him from a group of soldiers posing as Outlaws as they were returning to the Outlaw outpost in orbit close by. We returned him to his home planet safely.”
Sinclair turned to watch the exchange and waited for Kurt to say something, as he knew he would.
“That idiot caused the deaths of hundreds of people just for the sake of a whim,” Kurt snarled as the memory of what happened on the Colonial Queen was still fresh in his mind.
“I know of his actions, but his father paid me handsomely to bring him home safely. I know it would be no consolation to you but I insisted the Emperor paid a million extra for every passenger I rescued along with his son.”
“And for those that died, what of them?” Kurt asked still angry.
“The million would be paid to their families, it was the stipulation I made before agreeing to the commission. Like I said it is no consolation to you but it was the least I could do for those who found themselves included in the Prince’s mad scheme.”
Kurt looked Jared over and his expression softened. Here was someone he could respect, he had integrity, someone who actually fought and did what he could for the little guy when no one else gave a damn. He said, “You did what you could, I just wish I had the chance to bring him to justice for what he has done.”
Tovaric said, “A Prince from a Royal House, what justice would he face? Jared did what he could, like you said.”
“Jared? Are you Jared Saladar?” Sinclair asked, his interest in the man suddenly increasing.
“At your service sir,” Jared replied looking at the stoic expression of the tall man asking the question. He tried to read him, something he excelled at normally but with this man he drew a blank.
“I have heard a lot about you sir, your record is impeccable, or should I say, was,” Sinclair said stepping forward to offer his hand to him.
Jared took it and shook it, his grip firm. He said, “We all make mistakes, mine was to tell my superior officer what I thought of his policies.”
“Which took courage, especially when that officer was General Solon,” Sinclair said.
Jared nodded his head, “You know of the incident, good. Some would have said it was stupid as it cut short my career and also ended that of my crew. They were misguided enough to think I was right in my opinion and also resigned their commissions and followed me out of the door.”
“And you have done right by them ever since, I presume, ensuring they have enough work to sustain them.”
“It’s the least I could do for such misguided loyalty. They obviously couldn’t look after themselves so someone had to,” Jared said with no trace of sarcasm.
“Well, I am sure I can always find work for someone of your calibre and for your crew also,” Sinclair told him.
Jared was taken aback and it showed. He actually took a half step back as he didn’t know what to say. Finally, after studying Sinclair’s stony expression, he said, “I’m flattered that you think so highly of me.”
“Nonsense, you have done more than you can ever know in helping to bring the Senator here today. It has helped cement relations between the Confederation and Alliance for many years to come.”
“My crew will be pleased, they had doubts about me taking this job on and if we could never go home it would have been, well you can imagine what it would’ve been like I’m sure.”
“I am sure I can. You have our gratitude and you and your crew are free to come and go as you please, there are no restrictions here.”
“In that case gentlemen, I will bid you farewell and return to my ship with the good news,” Jared said and turned to walk up the gangway to his shuttle.
“I will be in touch Mister Saladar, of that you can be certain,” Sinclair said as he watched him depart.
From the hatch Jared turned to look at the small group and said, “I look forward to working with you,” and then he was gone, the hatch closing behind him.
They watched as the shuttle lifted off and finally Sinclair placed a hand on Tovaric’s shoulder and said, “Shall we also depart, I am sure there is much you have to tell me Senator.”
Sinclair glanced over his shoulder and said, “Once we have the Senator safely tucked away inside you two can get back to enjoying your shore leave.”
Kurt flashed Zara a smile that told her exactly what he had in mind as regards to what enjoyment meant.
36
I
Garvey Residence
Jake Riley walked up the steps to the grand Georgian-style mansion on the shores of the lake that was the Garvey residence. The three-storey building had been the home to the Garveys when they weren’t at work.
Admiral Garvey was possibly one of the last survivors from the Tartaran conflict and Natasha, his daughter, was once going to be Jake’s wife. Career choices had got in the way of their future together and they had gone their separate ways until their meeting on Tartaran a few weeks ago had brought all the repressed feelings to the surface once again.
Jake knew that Natasha would be home but more importantly that her father would be too.
He knocked on the door and waited for it to be answered. A few moments later the door opened and Jake’s heart fluttered.
“Jake, I didn’t know you were back,” Natasha said as she flung her arms around his neck and held him tight.
“I got back a few hours ago. I couldn’t get here any sooner what with reporting and debriefing, you know how it is,” he said suddenly feeling nervous.
“What’s up?” she said suspecting something was not quite right here.
“Is your father here too?” he asked looking her in the eyes.
“Yes, he’s inside, why what’s wrong Jake?”
“Nothing’s wrong, I just have something to say, something I feel he should know that’s all.”
“Okay, I’ll take you to him then,” she said reluctantly. Jake could tell she didn’t quite believe him but she would go along with it anyway just to find out what was going on.
She led him through the wood-panelled hallway from the grand entrance along to another door that opened out into a huge library. There was a reading table littered with books of every description from the shelves that must have held thousands more. Two high-backed armchairs faced each other before a burning log fire whose dancing flames cast shadows against the only other person in the room.
“Jake, so nice of you to come, I didn’t realise you were back so soon,” Admiral Garvey said as he turned to see who had entered the room.
“Dad, Jake says he has something to tell you,” Natasha said which brought a look of concern from him.
Garvey stood up carefully placing the book he was reading down on the coffee table between the two armchairs. “What… what is it?” he said falteringly.
“What I’m about to tell you is classified at the very highest level, so I don’t have to tell you that it goes no further than thes
e four walls. I’ve just returned from Tartaran. We learned the truth of what really happened there all those years ago. The conflict didn’t end as you said; the planet defended itself. There was a fail-safe device set up by the original inhabitants of the city to prevent anyone from landing there. An EMP was fired which disabled those ships causing the Tartaran Battlefield. It wasn’t caused by the conflict as we were led to believe but by the planet itself.”
Garvey looked sheepish at this information, which told Jake what he had suspected all along, that Garvey knew the truth.
“You knew didn’t you,” Jake said, more of a statement than a question.
Garvey looked down at his feet and nodded his head. “We were sworn to secrecy on both sides. If the truth had come out we thought it would cause panic around the colonies. That there was an intelligent species out there capable of creating a device that could cripple entire starship fleets in one single action was unthinkable. That’s why we monitored the area to make sure everyone kept clear of the planet. After a while though it was obvious the strategy had worked because no one had gone near in decades, so we pulled out from monitoring it. Then we heard of the Outlaws moving in there and they were doing the job we were doing. It was a win-win situation for both of us. The Alliance swore to us they had no hand in them being there and our only mistake was in believing them.”
“And then Prince Aswan coerced the captain of the Colonial Queen to visit the place and it all started again,” Jake said.
“Yes,” Garvey said nodding his head vigorously. “The nightmare was back again, only this time it seemed it wouldn’t go away. There were new players who seemed determined to find the truth.”
“Well we did and it worked out fine in the end. This time there was not the significant loss of life you saw when you went there. This time we learned the truth and both sides have agreed to leave well alone.”
“So it’s over?” Garvey asked not quite believing what he was hearing.
“Yes, I just thought you should know,” Jake told him.
“Will you be in trouble for telling me this?” Garvey asked. Natasha looked from her father to Jake who simply shrugged his shoulders.
