Drexler believed leaving Bao on the Fleetfoot II was one of the best moves he made so far. Bao got along well with the Reptilians, and they felt the same about him. In a few short weeks, he became a member of their crew. Spending time with the Reptilian population from New Detroit helped the former Reptilian Military realize how badly they were being used. The entire crew now identified more with the Trade Union than the Reptilian Empire. Free access to tobacco and exotic food helped them enjoy their change of alignment. It also helped that nobody dismembered or ate them if they failed to perform their duties to military standards. Drexler supposed the ship reached its condition due to that lack of consequence.
“You tell him that?” Schaal asked, fixing Bao with both bulging eyes.
“I may have mentioned something,” Bao replied, shifting on his feet. He swallowed hard and fumbled in his flight jacket for a cigarette.
“Yeah, you light that, and I think we need to open the door,” Drexler said. He moved toward the door and stumbled, but nothing seemed to be in his path. “Sorry,” Drexler said.
“Why sorry,” Schaal asked.
“Because I bumped into one of the soldiers,” Drexler replied.
“What soldiers?” Bao asked, looking around.
“This one,” a voice replied where nobody stood.
Schaal hissed and backed into a corner with his claws raised, his tongue lashed out tasting the air.
“Relax, Schaal,” Drexler said. “It’s one of ours. Show yourselves.”
One-by-one, Darzi and her soldiers removed their helmet hoods. The active cloth made a sound like shifting sand as it deactivated and turned loose. At first, it looked like disembodied human heads floated in the air. Forms shimmered into view as the suit deactivated its camouflage.
“We still don’t understand how it works,” Drexler said. “But everyone on my ship has a flight suit that can do that. I can make one for everyone on your crew.”
“Why we want suits like this?” Schaal asked. He relaxed and stepped forward, resuming his cigar. He stepped in front of Darzi, who was closest and tasted the air around her. Darzi stepped back, bumping into Sergeant Kaur, who in turn bumped into Sergeant Jones. The room was very small.
“I thought you come to talk of the eight ships,” Schaal said.
“I did. It’s all part of the plan,” Drexler said. “We’re going to take your ship out to negotiate. While we are negotiating, Darzi and her team will sneak aboard and take control. If they surrender, fine. Darzi and her team sneak back off. If they don’t, Darzi makes her move and takes them by force.”
“I don’t think they will surrender. These are Military Reptiles. Well trained,” Schaal said.
“They have been fighting among themselves for weeks now. The low-rank soldiers have won. Most of the meat eaters are dead. They just need someone like you to convince them to switch sides. Also, I have a new shipment of tobacco from New Detroit. We have more than enough for all thirty-thousand Reptilians in the fleet.”
“You want to give them all over to the leaf?” Schaal asked. To Drexler, he did not sound too enthusiastic about that.
“It’s better than giving them over to to the BJP. If they surrender peacefully, the Medina 3 Government will settle them on an isolated continent and let them go free until the war is over. They will have food and shelter. They can live in peace. If they fight, the BJP will take them back to Kerala 2 and lock them up in detention centers. You, Schaal, have a chance to save them.”
“Can I have time to consider this?”
“Yes,” Drexler said. “Take a few standard minutes. I’ll be waiting in the hallway.”
Drexler left the little room hoping for fresh air. The atmosphere in the corridor was not much better. Every surface of the ship had a patina of nicotine. He supposed having the Reptilians addicted to tobacco was better than having them engage in their other preferred vice of bloody aggression.
Darzi and her soldiers milled about in the hallway looking simultaneously bored and eager for action. A few minute later, Bao emerged. He stood by the Captain and stared. Drexler avoided his gaze until he couldn’t take it anymore.
“What, Bao,” Drexler said. “What’s on your mind?”
“This ship and its crew have been working non-stop for more than a month. We have volunteered for more than fifty of repair crews, hundreds of ship-to-ship supply runs, transport duty, and any other task the refugee cloud has need of.
These Reptiles have done everything within their power to demonstrate that they are not the same as the Lizards who are attacking the rest of the trade union.”
“I read the reports,” Drexler said. “I know they’re working hard. What’s your point?”
“How much is enough? The Refugee cloud accepts us. New Detroit trusts us. You’re acting like Schaal still needs to prove himself to you.”
“You have it all wrong. Schaal works for me. You work for me. I’m doing him the courtesy of asking him about this job.”
“You’re giving him the illusion of choice,” Bao replied.
“Maybe that’s true. Either way, he needs to count his lucky stars for any opportunity he can get,” Drexler replied. “What exactly is your objection? Do you want to be reassigned?”
“No. I’m part of this crew now,” Bao replied.
“Glad to hear it. I just want to remind you one more time, that this crew is part of the Fleetfoot Interstellar Freight Company, which is part of the Resistance Armada. Our job is to take back the Trades. We need those ships to do it.”
Bao dropped his head and pursed his lips. “I understand,” he grumbled and walked off.
“What was that about?” Darzi asked.
“Stress. It’s getting to everyone.”
Schaal emerged from the little room and scanned Drexler and Darzi’s team. “We go now. I negotiate surrender.”
With that, they released the docking clamp from Fleetfoot I and headed back to the bridge. Drexler himself took the helm. He chose a course that kept him from the line-of-sight of the Armada patrols. He arranged it so that the Fleetfoot II could get to the breakaway ships without notice. He did not want the rest of the Armada to know what he was doing until it was done. The fate of the prisoners was a topic of hot debate among the Vanguard captains. Drexler needed control of the prisoners to make his deal with Admiral Luthra.
The flight took a single, silent hour to complete. Drexler latched onto the bridge airlock again, coming at the ship from the keel. Bao took note of the gaping hole in the underside of the ship nose.
“What happened? All the decks are blown out below the flight bridge!” Bao exclaimed.
“They managed to reverse the polarity on all the particle emitters in the nose section. That was the result. We were standing on the bridge when they did it. Only the bridge safety field kept us from turning into mush,” Drexler replied.
“They were in the low-level subsystems then,” Bao observed.
“Yes, but the Thick River locked them out since. Thick River is an AI just like Reggie,” Drexler replied. “And Bao, the breakaway ships are waking up, just like Reggie.” Bao looked uncomfortable at the thought.
“What are these ships?” Bao asked.
“As near as we can tell, they are part of some ancient and long-forgotten plan from the earliest days of the Trade Union. Reggie doesn’t even know exactly what he is.”
29
Alpha Leader Gholss stood in the engine room antechamber. His stubby, dry-skinned Alpha engineer made Gholss wait while he supervised a very delicate operation on the third reactor. Khagoss carefully observed the engineering crew on the hologram light column. One of his eyes flicked for a moment towards his Alpha, then immediately snapped back to the workers. Gholss held fast to his patience. He could not afford to execute another engineer, but he wondered if Khagoss made him wait on purpose. The lead engineer called him here, after all.
The Alpha knew Khagoss was speaking because his jaw moved slightly and his tongue stayed between his j
aws. All sound remained behind the protective barrier between the antechamber and the engine room proper. Gholss watched the holographic figures clad in heavy protective armor to shield them from radiation.
The engineers worked in some chamber deep inside the engine room close to the reactor core, where subatomic particles were harvested from the reactors and sent to various devices. Gholss understood very little about it. Of course, as a captain, he knew the basics. Once collected, the base particles went to the colliders, then the quanta sieve. The particles then flowed to the emitters that generated gravity and protective fields, and when needed, weapons beams.
His predecessor took a great deal more interest in engineering matters than Gholss. The new Alpha Leader simply wanted to know whether or not the ship was capable as a weapon. The ship held no curiosity for him beyond that.
Khagoss finally finished his work. He turned slowly, facing his Alpha on the other side of the thick, transparent, protective wall. Gholss noted with increasing annoyance that the little reptile from the desert continent of the Homeworld did not shy away from making eye contact. When the inner chamber became safe, the passage irised open, and Khagoss stepped through. The approach heralded the end of the new Alpha’s patience.
“Tell me why you summon your Alpha here,” Gholss demanded.
Khagoss raised his short, beige snout and tested the air around his Alpha. Gholss had no doubt he tasted anger.
Without breaking eye contact, Khagoss said, “I wish the Alpha to see the state of his engines. My engineers must manually realign the particle collider nodes to get his ship functional again.”
“Those engineers I saw were inside the collider chambers?” Gholss asked with surprise.
“Yes. I have lost four more good engineers to this procedure today,” Khagoss replied.
“Their sacrifice serves the glory of our purpose,” Gholss replied.
“Their deaths serve nothing but wasted labor,” Khagoss replied.
Gholss reached for his ceremonial blade, and the little engineer stepped forward, lifted his head and exposed his throat. “Kill me if you must, Alpha. My kind finds honor in speaking the truth without fear. I wish you luck in finding another engineer in the fleet who will serve you as I do.”
Gholss paused. By right, he should execute the insolent officer and be done with it, but there were practical matters to consider. His previous disciplinary actions decimated the engineering ranks. This, in addition to the engineers, lost when the captured Trader ship escaped.
Gholss recalled his own insolence with the previous Alpha, and how it earned him a place by his side. Gholss himself used blunt talk to achieve his aims. He supposed that allowing this engineer an insult or two might be beneficial after all.
“You do produce results,” Gholss said. “But do not believe this makes you indispensable, especially now that our fleet is here. I have many engineers from which to choose from the main battle fleet.”
“It is not my intention to insult you, Alpha Leader. It is my intention to serve this vessel.
I am an old Reptile. I have achieved this advanced age by doing my job. I have outlived the threats of many Alphas such as you, as well as the Alphas who made those threats. If I care little for courtesy, it is because I care more for my duty to this ship and its proper operation.
If you dispose of me, you will require an engineer just as capable. Right now, we need at least sixty more senior engineers. You will need a hundred more low-rank engineers, two-thousand units of particle conduit, new plates for half the starboard hull, fifty new particle emitters and an officer who can install all of these things in the amount of time you require.
I will even help you find all of this before you kill me. I only ask that you let me see the work begin properly before I die.”
Gholss kept his hand on the blade and listened. As he listened, the words seemed less an act of defiance and more like a statement of purpose. He realized then that he selected the right Alpha Engineer after all. To save face, Gholss kept his hand on his blade.
“We can work on your military etiquette later. Right now, I want you to continue your work. You will have what you need to bring this ship back to its proper condition,” Gholss said.
The desert reptile made a brisk turn and headed back into the engineering chamber. He motioned to his underlings, who gathered close to receive their orders. Gholss stood observing for a few moments, then turned back into the corridor and headed back to the bridge. The Alpha had his own orders to give.
Transit to the central trade worlds took fifteen days, and Gholss still had not selected an alpha. The long travel time meant that more than a month transpired in normal space. The battle fleet carried out its orders to the letter. When the Lead Ship arrived, Gholss found the entire solar system under Reptilian control. Gholss began to fear his lack of a Second Alpha might make him look indecisive and fearful of challenge to the other Fleet Leaders.
The Alphas of the ships who captured every space station, artificial moon and communication relay in the system undoubtedly felt the rush of venom from their efforts. Those in command of the troop ships standing by for planetary invasion might decide their careers better served by challenging a new Alpha than following old orders. Gholss made his presence known just a few cycles before, but decisive orders were not enough. At the upcoming Alphas meeting, Gholss needed a strong Second Alpha by his side.
It was a mixed blessing that Gholss understood the situation exposed a major error in his command practice. While he was intensely involved with his relationship with the old Alpha Sslolg, he neglected the junior officers beneath him. He simply did not know his underlings well enough to make a confident choice. The prickly dilemma angered him as he entered the bridge.
Most of the bridge crew cowered as Gholss made his way to the command platform. He was aware of his own angry taste in the surrounding air as he passed. He could only imagine the dizzying fear chemicals his anger produced in the others. This pleased the Alpha greatly, as fearful soldiers were much easier to command.
When Gholss stood at the center of the platform where he defeated Sslolg and surveyed the bridge from that vantage point, his attention immediately fell to the only Reptile on the bridge whose posture was not cringing and stooped. The operations officer stood firmly at his station giving orders to those beneath him. Gholss discovered his new Alpha.
“Unit Leader Ahktoh, stand before me now!” Gholss barked.
Ahktoh gave a small start, then continued giving orders for a few moments before turning to his Alpha. Ahktoh moved with firm, yet non-challenging confidence to stand before the command platform with downcast eyes. The Unit Leader’s knees bent slightly in preparation to flee if necessary. Gholss respected that. It meant that the officer was willing to resist an attack, rather than simply accept it. Gholss himself did not assume that posture before the old Alpha Sslolg.
“You will be my new Second Alpha,” Gholss announced.
Ahktoh lifted his snout and stood tall, but kept his eyes firmly fixed on the deck. “I will honor you, my rank and this ship, Great Alpha.”
“You may simply call me ‘Alpha’ until I feel that you and I have truly earned our greatness. We walk in the tracks of the Great Alpha Sslolg. Defeating one so powerful is only the first step on the path to glory.”
“The Alpha is wise,” Ahktoh replied.
“Go to provisioning and take your proper uniform,” Gholss ordered. “Select your replacement soon. When you are done with your uniform, meet me in my quarters, and we will begin our work.”
Ahktoh wasted no time. He scurried from the bridge, and Gholss noticed he took an extra moment to check on his former operations crew. The Alpha appreciated that attention to detail. He knew that he’d made the right choice.
“Communications Unit,” Gholss ordered, “contact all Alpha Commanders of the invasion force. Join their channels and instruct them to await my word. I will receive the transmission in my quarters.”
Gholss left
the bridge with his shoulders spread wide, and his snout held high. He found the taste of fear in the air from his underlings intoxicating. The new Second Alpha waited outside Gholss’ quarters with a fresh Command uniform.
“Guard, wait outside,” the Alpha ordered. The personal escort flanked the portal and stood solid as rock.
“Come,” Gholss said, motioning to his new First Officer, leading him to the small office where Gholss learned so much from his own former Alpha. “We have little time. I will address the Alpha Commanders of the Fleet with you at my side. We must show strength to the others.”
“Yes, Alpha Leader,” Ahktoh said, demonstrating his obedience with downcast eyes and a respectful distance.
“Sit,” Gholss said, and motioned to a chair he once sat in not too long ago.
Ahktoh struggled to lift the chair and carry it closer. He froze at the gurgling laughter that spilled from the Alpha’s upturned snout.
“Drag the chair close to my console,” Gholss said. “You can see the floor is already scratched.”
The First Officer complied, and the sharp skids of the chair gouged a new pattern into the polish of the glossy black floor. Ahktoh took his time to adjust the chair to accommodate the shape of his spinal ridges and the girth of his tail.
“If you are quite done, Second Alpha,” Gholss said pointedly, “We can begin.”
“Thank you, Alpha Leader,” Ahktoh said.
“We are here to erase the mistakes of the Alpha Sslolg. In a few cycle fractions, the Alpha Leaders of our attack fleet will appear on the light column behind you. We will present a united command unit to them.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Ahktoh replied. “I was party to troubling communication from the fleet. Certain officers challenge our position.”
“As well they should. Their work in seizing the Central Trade Union system is key to overall victory. While they did the hard work, our former Alpha ordered this ship to chase after a minor annoyance. He led us to our first real defeat of this campaign. The task for you and I is to erase that defeat and demonstrate our superiority to the fleet.”
Rogue Messiah: Fleetfoot Interstellar Series, Book 2 Page 31
