Over the trip to the shuttle and on the ride over to the Lucky Clover she regaled me with the latest hijinks of our multiple little tyrants.
“Have there been any other issues inside the fleet?” I asked at one point.
“Not as such,” Akantha assured me, “multiple arrests and then more of them after they cracked the encryption on the rebel’s com-links.”
“I’m impressed,” I said, more so with my wife’s increasing competence with terms that had been completely foreign to her as little as four years ago than with the events themselves.
Akantha quirked her lips and looked at me sidelong as we entered what turned out to be our new quarters aboard the 2.0—or at least I took them to be such as they had most or all of our old keepsakes from the Flag Quarters on the Royal Rage.
By enthusiastic mutual consent, there followed a brief but rapid interlude before our conversation continued. We were just getting back into the spirit of all things MSP when the com-panel interrupted us.
“Yes?” I asked, irked by the interruption.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Sir. But we’ve just received an FTL message from Tracto. It’s by way of courier from Sector Governor Isaak, Admiral,” said my Chief of Staff, Lisa Steiner.
I shook my head. “What does the Governor have to say to me, Lieutenant?”
“There are both text and video files if you’re interested, Admiral,” she informed me.
“I’m really not, but I suppose I should be. Is there anything critical in the message like the Governor declaring war or if there’s a fleet on the way?”
“As far as I can tell, no, Sir. But I haven’t had time to intensively review them so there could be something slipped into the fine print,” she said helplessly.
I laughed. “If they’re starting wars buried in the fine print they must be pretty desperate. Shoot me over the files and I’ll see what the esteemed Governor has to tell us,” I said seriously.
“They’re on the way, Sir,” she said, and moments later my com-link chimed.
On the screen, I watched as the smug-looking elected Governor of Sector 25 announced that, at the request of the recently liberated worlds and star system of Sector 26, he was calling for the establishment of a Provisional Grand Assembly in the Spine. He was inviting representatives from Tracto, even though it wasn’t technically a part of the Sector, along with every other world in the Border Alliance to the constitutional convention to be held at Sector Central.
After listening through the message, I paused it and sneered at the frozen the holo-vid. “It appears that as long as he’s alive, a politician never runs out of tricks,” I said coldly.
“They want to unite the Spine in some kind of alliance?” Akantha asked.
“I think they’re trying to make a new Confederation in the Spine,” I informed her.
“Interesting,” she said, looking at the image of the Governor.
I felt a chill—along with a surprisingly possessive impulse. I didn’t like the fact she was looking at another man so intensely, even if it was a murderer with ice in his veins like the former ambassador from Capria.
“Heavy emphasis on the ‘trying’ part. I honestly don’t see how they’re going to pull it off,” I hurried to add for some reason.
Akantha wrinkled her brow and glanced at me. “I wonder if there may be more benefits to an association of some sort with this new alliance, or Confederation in the Spine as you term it, than initially meets the eye,” she muttered as if speaking aloud.
My eyes widened with alarm. “The last thing we need is for Governor Isaak to legalize his position and gain some kind of claim over the MSP,” I immediately rejected. “Right now we’re the ones upholding the laws of truth, justice and the Confederated way. If suddenly there’s a new Confederation in the Spine then Isaak turns from a rebel into a law-abiding citizen and we’re stuck either acknowledging that this new organization is the rightful authority. Or we’re once again the so-called rebels, and it's back to us against the galaxy.”
“Which you assure me won’t happen because the Governor won’t be able to give birth to a new Confederation,” Akantha said.
“Some kind of rump government that doesn’t represent anything, maybe...I mean, they can claim all day long to be Confederation of Worlds representing the Spineward Sectors but all they really have is just this Sector minus the Border Alliance, plus a few of the worlds liberated in 26,” I sniffed. But I was silently wondering if I hadn’t actually made a mistake by all but ordering the Sector Guard into 26. On the face of it, anything that helped the people of that Sector was a win but, like they say, no good deed goes unpunished. Maybe this was my punishment? “Anyway, without my support they can ask and they can cajole and issue non-binding resolutions all they want, but they can’t actually force anyone to do anything. Outside of maybe a few undefended worlds of course, but eventually their supply line would grow too long and someone would cut it.” Someone like me, perhaps? I imagined silently. “Without us…” I shook my head with a dismissive smile, “they’re going nowhere fast, as far as I can see.”
“I’ll take your word for it. Right now we have more important things to talk about other than interstellar politics,” Akantha said.
“Oh?” I asked, intrigued.
I soon found out what she was talking about.
Chapter 50: The Problem with Kong Pao
Things were starting to look up. I was out of Medical, my new Intelligence Officer had rounded up most of the anti-machine mutineers that we knew of, and I was laying on the couch in my new ready room. Amazingly enough, it looked very similar to my last ready room and almost identical to my old one…oh, wait, it was identical. I gave an internal eye roll. Spalding was so in love with his old ship he was literally taking old pieces of the Lucky Clover, especially the living spaces, quarters and equipment, and installing it in the new ship.
In other news, the series of videos seemed to be having some impact according to the latest fleet-wide polling. And, yes, I was using that most misused and abused tool of the political class: the dreaded e-poll that popped up on your screen at the end of the holo-clip and wouldn’t let you go onto your next video without either answering the poll or waiting for at least fifteen seconds. Faced with the choice of filling out the poll or cutting short their holo-watching by a whole fifteen seconds many people chose to bite the bullet and get it over with. I know because a lot less of them made the same choice when the wait time was only five seconds.
Does this make me a budding dictator. or just a man interested in how effective his propaganda campaign was...wait, I don’t want to know the answer to that.
Fortunately, the repair of the captured Battleships was starting to ramp up and another two were out on their post-yard trials starting next week and after that we’d be able to start work on another pair of large ships.
I was happily contemplating the future, and my rapidly-increasing combat power while also alternating about how I was going to recruit reliable crew to man them in light of the near mutiny cause by nascent anti-machine league supporters, when my com-link chimed.
“Yes?” I asked, activating my earpiece and adjusting the hand-woven Tracto-an pillow under my head, instead of getting up from my quite comfortable position on the couch.
“Sorry to disturb you, Admiral, but we’ve just received a decidedly non-priority FTL message,” reported my Chief of Staff.
“Alright, you have my attention,” I said stretching out and putting my hands behind my head as I closed my eyes, “what’s so important you needed to notify me in person instead of just dropping it off in my mail-box?”
“The sender is in your 'notify if contacted' list, and I didn’t want to risk it getting over looked ,” she said primly.
“Fine. Who is it, and have you read yet?” I asked, curious about the non-answer answer out of my Chief of Staff. It wasn’t like her to be so wishy-washy.
“It’s from Representative Kong and, yes, Sir. Sorry, I just didn�
�t want to take a chance it was missed by your Flag Lieutenant,” she reported.
“Hmph,” I said, the mention of my formerly wayward Ensign instantly souring my mood.
“I’m sending it to you now, Admiral,” she continued, blithely ignoring my lackluster response. Probably a signal that she considered this important enough I shouldn’t wait to read it until sometime tomorrow or next week. Well, I was never one to appoint advisers and then promptly ignore them. That was a road that went straight into a pitfall of your own making.
“Thank you,” I said, waiting until I confirmed receipt of Judge Kong Pao’s message before signing off.
Cracking a yawn, I opened the file to my slate.
It was a short, and what looked like a routine, update from the Sector Judge indicating that he’d be passing through Tracto Star System. Then it gave a date and time. I swung to my feet and then checked the time and date stamp. It looked like he’d be passing through in two weeks. That was it. Nothing more.
I could see why the former com-tech thought I might miss it because, on the face of it, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was short and to the point, a simple notification. So what was I missing? My inner paranoia meter went off with a dull throb.
I re-opened the com-link. “Just to make sure: this is all there is? The file seems pretty short,” I said without preamble as the petite lieutenant appeared on my screen.
“You’ve got everything we have,” she confirmed.
The only thing I could find that was suspicious was how short the message was. It read like a routine update and I didn’t like it when I was operating half a step behind everyone else. The Judge was coming to visit Tracto and…
I paused. “The Judge is passing through Tracto?” I asked, cocking my head.
“Yes, Admiral.”
“Do we have any idea where he’s going?” I asked.
“The last time I spoke with the Judge’s staffer, he indicated that the Judge had a large backlog of high-profile cases to take care of back home in Sector 23 and likely wouldn’t have time to leave the bench for at least a year or two unless things became unsettled again. Like oh another invasion or so,” she replied.
“I take it then that we can assume the judge has become unsettled,” I said dryly.
“I couldn’t say, and the Judge himself didn’t indicate why he is coming, and yet here he is again. From my conversations with his staff I doubt he would be visiting because of a trade deal. I just thought you’d like to know. I hope I didn’t overstep, Sir,” said the Lieutenant.
“No, you did the right thing. Even if it’s nothing this is the kind of sensitive approach to detail that I appreciate,” I said, silently adding, especially since this was the first one of its kind I’ve seen from my Chief of Staff.
“Is there anything else that I should know about the Judge’s intended arrival time?” I asked.
“There is supposed to be a large trade convoy passing through around that time, but that’s all I’ve got on the schedule,” she said helplessly.
“And the judge indicated he wouldn’t be back for routine trade matters,” I said.
“The Judge’s staff,” she corrected, “but yes, that was the impression I got…well, actually, that’s what I was told outright.” She shrugged helplessly.
“I wonder if I should be on hand for the arrival of this trade convoy,” I rubbed my chin.
“That’s entirely your decision, but it probably couldn’t hurt. Unless this trade convoy is something other than a trade convoy and this is the Judge’s attempt to notify us?” she asked.
I realized I was still rubbing my chin and abruptly lowered my hand. “I thought I was supposed to be the paranoid one around here,” I said wryly, “but your point is well taken. 'Better safe than sorry,' I always say.”
“Did you want me to query the Chief Engineer on the status of the Lucky Clover?” she asked before arching her brow and adding. “And always, Sir?”
“Hey now, I take no responsibility for occupational hazards,” I informed her. “Besides, I think I know what he’ll say so it’s best if I talk to him directly.”
Steiner saluted. “You’re the Admiral,” she said.
“At least for now, that’s true,” I said darkly. The outside threats I could deal with; external competition was just a fact of life. Someone trying to come in and take what belonged to you was one thing. It was another to have multiple attempts from inside the group you were part of.
It made me start to think I might be as good of a leader as I had thought I was, which smarted for some reasons beyond simply the obvious. The idea that I was better at giving orders than leading men stung. I mean, I was a whole head and shoulders better than when I’d first been dragged into this Admiral business through an act of last-ditch self-defense when surrender had no longer been an option.
“Was there anything else, Sir?” Steiner prompted interrupting my latest bout of self-reflection and castigation.
I gave myself a shake.
“I’m trying to decide if I want to ask for more information,” I said into the growing silence, “well, I was, and then I got distracted with the confounded mutiny that just went down.”
The Senior Lieutenant’s brow wrinkled and bridge of her nose. “I don’t really see the harm,” she said, almost certainly referring to the Judge and not the mutiny.
“If he was free to tell us more then why such a short message, unless there really is nothing to tell in which case why ask in the first place?” I said.
“Again, where is the harm, Sir?” she asked.
“The only thing I can think of is if he wasn’t supposed to tip us off, and by asking outright we’re either putting him on the spot or openly revealing our source to whoever told him to keep mum,” I replied.
“A Sector Judge taking orders from someone...is that even legal?” she asked.
“You know what? I don’t think it is,” I agreed.
“Whether it is or not, that might be something we, as in the MSP as a Confederation Fleet, would want to know,” she observed.
“I agree. However, I think there’ s no harm in playing the dullard acting as if it slipped us by and being on hand with a squadron of the wall for his arrival,” I said with narrowed eyes.
“If that’s how you want to do it,” she said with a shrug.
“I think it’s time we started flexing our muscles,” I replied confidently, “slowly and prudently, mind you, but it’s time the rest of the Sector and our neighbors took note. The MSP is here and we’re here to stay.”
“Aye aye, Admiral.”
Chapter 51: Kong Pao and the New Confederation Convention
After my conversation with the Chief Engineer, Akantha the children and I transferred to the Furious Phoenix . Thanks to a good six months of yard time the 2.0 no longer had gaping holes all up and down its length but it still needed a serious amount of internal work done. Enough that I’d pretty much decided going into the conversation that the Clover needed to be fully completed and combat ready before we unveiled her again.
I smiled grimly. If the Empire, or anyone else for that matter, had thought the 2.0 was one tough cookie before she'd been completed they’d find themselves in for the fight of their lives once she was done. Of course, to be done she needed to have all her antimatter generators in and operating—something that was currently at issue.
The gross physical construction was proceeding apace with teams of robots operated by individual engineers doing a steady job of putting the colossal whale that was the 2.0 together. But between load-balancing issues and ramping up the antimatter generation facilities to full production, the Chief Engineer had had his work cut out for him.
In the meantime, the family and I were taking a much needed vacation back in Tracto. It had been far too long since I’d taken a vacation, and it showed. I hardly knew what to do with myself but, thanks to Kong Pao’s message fragment, I’d come to Tracto and with nothing emergent for once found the time to take a load o
ff.
The new palace in Messene was something decidedly different. The exterior was almost pure Caprian, based off early foundation models, but the interior had an almost completely Tracto-an flavor. Too bad the beach was no-go, as the whole ocean was filled with monsters of the deep, eager to snatch up lounging beach-combers to fill their angry maws.
I was chasing two of my slowly-toddling children around the interior of the palace, making what I thought were pretty impressive monster sounds to spur them on to every greater efforts at fleeing amid squeals of delight, when my data-slate chimed.
“What is it?” I grumped, looking down at the holo-screen. I grimaced; I’d set the device to notify me anytime there was a confirmed sensor hit. It was another two freighters with a pair of corvettes for escort. I wanted to know every time an FTL-capable ship jumped into any star system I was at, and the system had done just that. For the past week and a half we’d had a slow trickle of freighters jumping into the star system. but not the big convoy we’d been expecting—and the Sector Judge was two days overdue.
I tried not to put too much into it, after all I knew better than most how schedules change all the time. Especially when it came to point transfers and FTL travel. That we hadn’t received a notification as to why they were late made me feel a little ominous, but...
My slate chimed again and one more time. And then it kept chiming non-stop, one after the other, until I hit the mute button.
Seconds later, I was receiving a com-request.
“Accept,” I instructed, using the voice activated program on my slate. My Chief of Staff appeared on my screen. “Report,” I snapped.
“It’s the Sector 23 Convoy, and it’s a big one, Admiral,” she immediately said, confirming that these were the ship’s that we’d been waiting for. “Much bigger than we expected. I’m seeing over fifty freighters and and an equal number of warships, accompanied by three of the wall, two squadrons of Cruisers, and the rest are Destroyer or smaller.” She paused, “Although not all of them are from Sector 23. I’m getting Elysium and Sector 24 transponders from roughly half the ships. Plus there are a couple of ships the computer is tagging as new contacts with no known IFF signals. Wait a second…the DI just cross-referenced the archive and has tentatively identified them as from Sectors 21 and 22.”
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