by Chris Hechtl
“That means they are charging their hyperdrive and trying to run. Most likely they'll succeed, but I need to pass on a message. Communications, audio only to Ilmarinen,” the T'clock admiral ordered.
“Channel open, sir.”
“This is Rear Admiral Sharp Reflexes. Bek B has declared for the Federation and Admiral Irons. I suggest you do the same. Until we know Bek A is no longer in a state of mutiny, we will be forced to consider all ships coming from Bek A as potentially hostile. Stand down and prepare to be boarded. Message ends.”
“Clean recording, sir.”
“Then send it and let's see what happens. My money is that they'll jump.”
“I'm not taking that bet, sir,” the tech replied with a chuckle.
@
“ … Until we know Bek A is no longer in a state of mutiny we will be forced to consider all ships coming from Bek A as potentially hostile. Stand down and prepare to be boarded.” The voice said. Admiral Childress's lips writhed in a snarl as Sherman's long index finger flicked out and hit the stop button.
Admiral Hill shook her head. “Frack!”
“Yeah, my sentiments exactly,” Sherman replied dryly as he sat back and waited for the fireworks. He didn't have long to wait.
“Those traitorous sons of a bitch! After all this …,” Omar fumed, fists clenching and softly pounding the table edge in his fury.
“Funny how you express that when many people feel the same way about you—us,” Sherman replied with a shake of his head. He got a glare for his trouble. He returned it with a mild look of, you asked for it.
“Now what do we do? I'm getting only minimal intel dumps from our people there. It seems even my people there are turning their coats,” Admiral Hill grumbled.
“Fortunately, for the moment, they are there and we're here,” Sherman stated.
“For the moment,” Omar growled.
“They don't have the resources to fight us, Omar,” Sherman said, pulling up a list of files. “We outnumber them two to one. Based on this, they'd have to send half of their fleet to us. We'd tear them apart.” He had already issued orders stopping all flights going to Bek B. He wasn't happy about what was currently in the pipeline between the components though. There was no way to get a message to those ships to turn around. Even if he did get a message to them, they couldn't do it without refueling anyway.
“I know that! But for them to turn traitor at all and refuse orders?”
“What are you saying, Sherman, that they aren't a threat?” Admiral Hill asked.
“They are, and they are the closest threat, but not the only one,” the red chimera replied slowly. He turned to Omar.
“We can only fight one enemy at a time, Omar. We need to figure out what to do. We have intel here. Intel we can use. But we've got none from the Sargasso star system. Should we wait until another ship is available or outfit this ship to go there? Or do we focus on Bek B? How do we play Bek B? If we try to invade, it will tear our people further apart.” He shook his head. “If we let it simmer, what then?”
“We're getting some flak from the families of people left behind in the Sargasso star system,” Admiral Hill ventured.
Admiral Childress grunted. He could care less about them; he'd already written them off.
“Can we do anything about Bek B? Anything at all?” Admiral Hill asked.
“No. They can't do anything about us either. We're in a detente as I mentioned,” Sherman replied, eyes staring at the screen. He hated that the Republic had fractured.
“What do you propose, Omar?” Admiral Hill asked.
“We … need more information. Both about Bek B and that damn station.”
“You want to scout both?” Sherman asked carefully.
“As you said, we need information.”
“So, we send Ilmarinen back to Bek B on a different heading, get more intel, and then back? They'll get wise eventually,” Admiral Hill said.
“Yes, eventually. We know what they started with. We know what they've got for logistics right down to their last bolt. We don't know how many of their people went over to them and how many resigned,” Omar said, mouth writhing as he pointed out that the resignations might be in his favor for once.
“Okay,” Sherman said slowly. “Generate the intel we need …”
“But, on the other hand we don't have any information about that damn station or Irons’ intentions. We need to go there, see what is going on too.”
“And when she goes there, what is her mission? We're talking about Ilmarinen right now correct?”
“Yes. We can wait on Harmony of Space to get more intel on Bek B. Or we can hell, send a couple tin cans on a ballistic flight. I think I'd rather do that, though there is an obvious delay in time. But they could picket the system, let us know what is going on and give us intel. If we send Harmony over periodically, she could rendezvous with them, resupply, and pick up their data dumps.”
“Okay. But eventually they'll want to go after them. And you didn't answer me about Ilmarinen's mission.”
“We send them there with the stated purpose of resupply. But we'll pull everyone off, grab what we can, and bring it home. If they can grab additional ships, so much the better.”
“You are talking about Justica and Sweet Revenge.”
“Exactly.” He had another mission in mind but had no intention of telling Sherman or Patty right off. He needed to feel Captain Clayton out first.
“Okay, I think we can work with that,” Sherman replied with a nod. “Getting our people home will be good press. That was what we started rebuilding Ilmarinen for in the first place after all. Following through will look good. So …”
@
Zek realized that his play on Omar's paranoia had paid off when he heard through the grapevine that the Admiralty had authorized a mission to allow a limited resupply mission to B-102C. He was fairly certain though that Omar would want to put that station down once and for all, sending a message to Irons that the nexus was off limits, or making it look like some sort of accident.
According to his sources, Omar and his backers wanted the ships that the station had been working on, which was why they were sending Ilmarinen with extra crew and fuel. Zek reasoned that the stationers didn't have the crew to man the ships, nor the fuel. Admiral Childress had his own plan in mind for the station most likely, as well as the ansible.
Would he go so far as to destroy it and destroy his only communications link to the outer Federation? It was possible. He gamed it out carefully. He could also go so far as to get a warship or two to the Sargasso system to picket it. Wouldn't that be fun? Any ship coming in from the rapids would be out of sorts upon exiting hyperspace. They'd be sitting ducks, either forced to surrender or be blown away.
He grimaced and decided to put his plan into motion.
@
Captain Edgar Clayton waited in the anteroom. He declined to sit, instead standing with his cover under one arm. He felt like an errant school kid being called into the principal's office, even though he hadn't done anything wrong.
Or had he? He had submitted to Admiral Toronto and the orders to arrest Admiral Logan. Even in the depths of his mind, he flinched internally at calling Logan an admiral and not going with the rest of Admiral Childress's supporters and denying the ansible promotion.
He felt like he'd been wrung through the wringer with the trial. It sucked. Fortunately, his time on the stand was over; he had nothing left to contribute.
“Sir?” the yeoman startled him out his revere. “The admiral is ready for you now,” he said, pressing a button to buzz him in.
The captain nodded once and then again to the MPs at either side of the door. He took a deep breath and then pushed into the room. He kept his expression vacant as he marched up to the desk and then stopped at attention a meter from it. “Sir, Captain Clayton reporting as ordered,” he said, saluting the other man.
“I've got orders for your ship, Captain. Your ship wi
ll take on fuel and stores, no more than necessary to complete your mission,” the admiral said gruffly, pushing a chip over to the captain.
The captain bent slightly and picked it up and then palmed it in his fist.
“I'm not going to sugar coat this; it is not your typical mission. Ilmarinen is to go to the B-102c star system and destroy the ansible platform there.”
“Sir, that is … destruction of naval property,” the captain said slowly.
“I know that. Can you handle the job? If not, say so and I'll have you up on charges for refusing to obey an order. And I'll find someone else who can handle the job.”
“I can do the job,” the captain replied quietly.
The admiral gave him a long searching look for a moment. Finally, he grunted. “Any questions?”
“What of the people on the station, sir? What if they object?”
“They can object all they want. Just get it done. That ansible has been a sore in my side long enough.”
The captain thought fast. “What if there is a warship there? Caroline?”
Admiral Childress shook his head. “Our last report said she was laid up with significant damage from her last transit through the ansible. She won't be there.”
“But what if she is? Or another ship, sir?”
“She won't be,” the admiral insisted harshly, making the captain rear back in surprise. Omar forced himself to smile slightly and cool off a bit. “Look, they have no reason to picket the star system at the moment. There are no warships to salvage either. Just get it done.”
Edgar didn't like that little bit, the they in that statement. The us against them bothered the hell out of him, but he was wise enough to keep his face impassive, or so he hoped. He nodded once when he saw the admiral waiting for a response. “I see, sir.”
Admiral Childress stared at him, long and hard, gauging his commitment to the mission. Finally, he rose and came around the desk. He leaned against it with his backside and crossed his arms in front of him. “Any warships will most likely be headed here or Nuevo. So, don't worry about them. I've got supplementary orders to extract our people off the station on the chip,” he said, pointing a finger down to the captain's hand. The captain glanced down at it and then back to his superior officer. “It boils down to this. Can you do this?”
“I'll get it done, sir,” the captain replied quietly.
The admiral stared at him for a long moment, then clasped his hand on the other man's shoulder briefly. “Good. I see stars in your future. In fact, as soon as this mission is complete, I'll pull you from that ship and give you a real command. We've got a lot of holes in the chain of command to fill. I think a man of your caliber can handle a squadron.”
“Thank you, sir. But first I've got to get through this mission.”
“Yes indeed.”
@
Captain Clayton read his full orders once he was back aboard his ship.
He grimaced at the rat's nest he was entering. No, not a rat's nest, more like chum-filled waters with hungry sharks. All with cuts all over his body he thought as he scanned the mission brief bleakly.
It was just as bad as he'd feared. Not only was he supposed to destroy the ansible, but he had other orders. They were all billed as non-discretionary and his eyes only. Wonder-fracking-ful, he thought with a glower. He couldn't even vent or plan with his bridge crew. Not good. And just as he feared, there were no contingency plans.
He wasn't certain what he'd do if there was a warship there. Bluff? Wait? Or surrender? He'd have to decide if and when it came to that. For the moment, he had to stay the course. He continued to scan the orders.
His orders included provisions to board and take Sweet Revenge and any transports there as well as the station itself. That explained the extra personnel coming on board. They were all MPs, not one was a marine. He was to ignore calls from the ansible. His orders were to take the ships and evacuate the station, then destroy it and make it look like an accident.
He snorted. Fat chance of that, he thought. What he was doing would be considered treason against the Federation. In fact, it was, but he saw no way out of it. His crew would be kept in the dark until the last moment, but the new people, they were adherent supporters of Childress and Draken. They were armed, and they'd make certain they followed through with their mission, no matter how unpalatable the captain thought it was.
And that was what bothered him the most; he was caught in the middle. He wuffled a sigh and touched a control on his tablet to reach the bridge.
“Bridge watch, Lieutenant V'n'll. How can I help you, Captain?” a helpful voice asked.
“How goes the loading?”
“Just about done, sir. There is no mission brief however.”
“We're going to B-102c. I'll …,” he caught himself and then grimaced. “We'll be checking in there,” he said lamely. I'll let the rest of the senior officers know once we're underway for the jump point.”
“Aye aye, sir. We're scheduled to complete the loading by 0700.”
“Then have the ship buttoned up and ready to get underway by 0800.”
“Aye aye, sir. The order has been logged.”
“Good,” the captain replied as he sat back. “Good.”
@
Admiral Callisto got an earful at the next meeting. She wasn't too happy about being told to rush every capital ship back into service as quickly as possible. “I don't care what it takes, get it done,” Omar growled at her.
So, when she got back to her office the refit of Harmony of Space and the other starship was shut down as she shunted resources to the capital ships.
@
Commander Dreamer of Ships saw his resources just drain away within minutes and was initially confused. Finally, an email caught up with him telling him why. He was at first furious, then concerned. Were they serious about getting into a shooting war with Bek B? Civil war? Was it truly going to come down to that? Or, worse, a three-sided war with the Federation as well?
Was he even on the right side? He wasn't certain if he wanted an answer to that last question.
@
Zek checked the repeater plot. He didn't have the feed from the sensors in orbit, but what he had access to suited his purposes just fine. In another hour, Ilmarinen would be away. The die was cast. How things would go from there, well, it was most likely out of his hands.
@
Admiral Childress watched the plot repeaters from the jump point fortresses as Ilmarinen powered up to jump. It was too late to stop them; he was committed to the action. He had faith in Clayton though; the man knew which side he was on.
Besides, it wasn't like he could send a flag officer since he had so few to spare he could trust. Those he had he needed right in Bek A. With possible war looming ever closer with Bek B, he would need them to keep things in line. The promise to Clayton to promote him was sincere; the captain would prove himself if he finished the mission. He needed people like that.
He watched the flash and then grunted as the ship disappeared. The data was several minutes old. He knew if he wanted to do so he could go to an airlock or clear dome and look outside to see the ship's flash. The pinprick of light would be visible for a brief moment, but he had other things to deal with. It never seemed to end he thought as he turned his attention to the next project and put the fate of the starship out of his mind.
Chapter 28
Bek B
Ten weeks after leaving Bek A, Governor Nibs' sublight liner arrived at Bek B's main docking port. She was met by her delegation and support staff she'd left behind.
All throughout the trip she'd tried to keep abreast of what was going on. When they'd gotten to Bek B, she'd made contact with her staff as well as Admiral Sharp Reflexes. She was gratified and even cautiously pleased to see the admiral had sided with the Federation, just as she'd hoped.
“I'll take care of the civilian side; you take care of the navy. And together we'll put one in the eye
of that bastard Childress and his buddies,” she said when she finally got a chance to call the bug flag officer.
“Agreed, ma'am.”
“So, what do you need from me?”
“We need a budget. Also as much support as we can get. Industrial support to start with,” the T'clock said. They'd begun refitting the ships with Commander Walengrad's changes, but it was slow going in some cases.
“Okay. I'll get my staff right on it. What else?”
“Well, we're trying to keep a cap on the media. Did you hear about Ilmarinen?” he asked. The Neocat shook her head. “She showed up while your ship was in LOS during her braking maneuver. They were a scouting mission. I declared for Irons.”
“So, we're committed?”
“Yes ma'am. Most likely they have cut off all support to us by now.”
“Okay. Well, I guess that both simplifies and complicates things. Life should be interesting from here on out. It should also make up for the inactivity I was forced to endure on that ship. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Harmony of Space. I got spoiled being able to cross between components in a couple days.”
“I do miss her as well, ma'am.”
“So, any ideas on how to fix that? And fix Childress's wagon while we're at it? Hopefully permanently?” she asked with a hint of hope in her voice.
“We're working on that, ma'am.”
“Good. Excellent. Keep me posted.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
@
Fourteen weeks after her message, Alice received word something was up when Hobs called her. “Have you seen the latest shipment?”
“No …,” she said.
“I'll meet you there,” he said with a trace of humor in his voice.
“Okay …,” she drawled, but he'd already disconnected.
She found out what he was talking about when he showed her the manifest and there was gear for Albacore in care of her engineering department. “I don't remember ordering self-sealing stem bolts, let alone a couple cases of them. And food preparation equipment? How is that an engineering thing? Shouldn't it go to the galley?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
