by Ryan Krauter
“Flying machines for me,” said Merritt.
“Physical violence over here,” quipped Halley.
“Blowing stuff up,” added Web.
“So please use small words,” said Loren. “You can draw pictures if you like.”
Doctor Elrad cast a sideways glance at Captain Elco, whom she had known for years before her posting to Avenger. “Ask a silly question, get a silly answer,” replied the Captain.
“Point taken,” she said. “In small words, here’s what happens. The weapon attacks the Priman DNA elements in the victim. It prevents the body from producing new cells in the targeted areas. The body is continually regenerating cells and proteins to replace ones that degrade or break down; this virus stops that process, which is problematic because those old proteins need to be swept away. They will either stop working right, or the body could potentially generate a self destructive immune response.”
Nobody felt like talking for a while after that, but finally Web asked what everyone was wondering. “So what happens?”
“I’m not sure,” she said honestly. “The virus targets the higher functioning areas, like the brain, nervous system, that sort of thing. I imagine as the weapon takes hold, those areas will cease functioning correctly.”
“So what do we do?” Loren asked, naturally the one who was ready to go charging ahead.
“Well,” replied Elrad slowly, as if she was still formulating her reply, “if we could get a good sample of this Commander fellow’s DNA, we could see exactly what the virus was trying to find. I imagine the best thing to do is create an antidote that simply tells the virus that the Commander’s DNA isn’t there. That way, if it didn’t see any Priman DNA in the first place, it wouldn’t activate. We’d need to know exactly which DNA markers were present, though, because if we missed even one, the virus would see the DNA and activate. There are other possibilities for dealing with it as well, but they’re all variations on that theme.”
“So we need to go find this Commander guy and drag him into your medical bay so we can hack him up?” asked Loren.
“We wouldn’t need to do any hacking, actually,” replied Dr. Elrad. “A steady supply of blood and genetic material would be sufficient.”
“You said you might have something on the location of the former Commander?” prodded Halley.
“Yes. The research was all being sent to another data storage facility after the one you retrieved this information from. There were comments in the notes that the person in charge of that station, a Representative Velk, would find the project of personal interest because he commissioned and served as patron for the project. Though it doesn’t appear he had anything to do with the weaponization, I believe this Representative is the person we’re looking for. The medical files attached to the research match the basic profile in the Priman database when cross referenced with the personnel stationed at the data facility.”
“So,” Loren summarized, “you think we’re looking for Representative Velk, and that he is probably in charge of the data facility we’re already headed towards?”
“That is my assessment.”
“Excellent,” Loren muttered absentmindedly. He checked the ship’s time on the large wall display. “We’ll be at that system by lunch.”
It took longer than lunchtime, but Avenger was close enough to the system to get a feel for what was going on. Captain Elco was reluctant to launch any recon probes, because if any were discovered, the game was over.
Elco and Loren were on the bridge, hovering around the Sensors stations. They could see most of the details on passive sensors even from this far out, and Elco wasn’t planning on getting any closer.
“Well,” he said to Loren, “what do you think?”
Loren studied the system diagrams again before commenting. “I see the moon installation where the facility must be, and some ships, but what concerns me is that orbital shipyard, or whatever exactly it is. It looks like it’s fitted out more as a vessel or habitat than a construction yard.” He pondered it for a few seconds, grateful that Elco was letting him work it through without trying to prod an incomplete answer out of him. “Maybe they’re building that to replace the moon base?”
“A likely possibility,” Elco concurred. He put his hand on the Sensor officer’s shoulder. “Any traffic between the moon base and this facility?”
“Looks like a slow but steady stream,” the man replied. “I’ll fast forward through the data logs from our arrival until now.” When he ran the data, they saw a shuttle moving between the two locations at least every hour.
“I don’t know if this activity is good or bad, whatever it is,” mused Elco.
“Well, if they’re moving, it could cause some disruption that we could use to our benefit.”
“And it could also mean they’ve moved the DNA research already, or that this Velk character happens to be at whatever location you’re not.”
“Either way,” Loren said firmly, “you know I’m ready to go.”
“Of course,” Elco said softly. “Get everyone together in the hangar bay. We’ve briefed as much as we can already; you’re due to launch in an hour if you want to keep to the profile they’d expect you to be on. I’ll see you down there.”
Loren waited in the Vipers’ hangar bay. He was in his Priman uniform and prosthetics, SSK strapped to his hip. He’d have to swap it out for a captured Priman weapon once they got closer, but he planned on taking the Confed weapon aboard in his Priman ‘trophy bag’ anyway, as well as several pounds of explosives, just in case.
Halley and Web approached him wordlessly, entered the Keeper ship and got it fired up.
“Commander,” Loren heard from the side. Captain Elco appeared from the ready room area.
“Captain,” Loren replied.
“I know this must feel like a make or break operation, Loren,” Elco said, “and that you probably feel like there’s a lot of pressure to make something happen. Just remember to come back, especially if you have that Priman weasel Velk.”
Loren nodded, then turned and marched aboard. A minute later, the Keeper ship slipped out of the forward hangar door and disappeared from view.
Senator Zek Dennix sat in his office waiting for Enric Shae to speak. His closest aide, and also the closest thing he had to a friend, had cornered him and requested some time for a question. So here he sat, in his office again. Maybe it was more appropriate to say still in his office, for he felt as if he never left its’ confines anymore. What with managing his own people, the Talaran situation, and the Primans, he was thinking he should consider himself lucky just to be able to sleep, much less leave his offices.
“Sir,” Shae began, “it’s about Tana Starr.”
Dennix knew this was coming. He’d seen the look in Shae’s eyes, a mixture of jealousy and suspicion. He’d had time to prepare his response, and realized that now he was reduced to managing his associates as well as everyone else. Did nobody understand what he was trying to do? Reshaping the Confederation was an all-consuming task, and if he felt that he needed to keep some things to himself, what right did anyone have to judge him?”
“You’re concerned about her unrestricted access to me, and you worry that she’s steering my policy?” Instead of you, was what Dennix left unsaid. It was obvious Shae’s ambitions were being nurtured in this environment, and there was a germ of worry for Dennix that his advisor was starting to wonder when his personal fortunes would take the next step.
“I’d like to think my role so far has been satisfactory,” Shae began, “but my concern, as you have guessed, is over Ms. Starr. I have taken the liberty of doing some research, as I would over anyone which has such access to you. She does not exist, sir. There is no Tana Starr matching her description in any Confederation database. Would you explain her story to me?”
Dennix had to admit, Shae was effective, one reason he was so good at his job. Though he wished the man didn’t know, now that he was on the trail, it was a quick decision to l
et him in on it.
“Ms. Starr is a Priman agent sent here to facilitate possible cooperation between our peoples.” No need to explain quite everything about her story, Dennix thought.
“How much leverage does she have over us?” Shae asked immediately. Dennix was once again amazed at the adaptability of the man. He didn’t ask why they were negotiating in secret, what this implied for the Confederation; instead, he was ready to play the angle with the Senator.
“Considerable, I’m afraid. They are in superior positions when it comes to most bargaining points. She has demanded we shut down our advanced weapons program, SAR troops, and was also the driving force behind our parting of ways with the Talarans.”
“Is she the problem, is or she simply the messenger?”
“The messenger, Mr. Shae. No need to arrange for anything unfortunate to happen to her. Her superior would simply send somebody much worse.”
“How long do we have to play along with her game, then?”
“I’m really not sure. Parting ways with the Talarans was something I’d considered anyway, just as a means to keep our momentum strong here on Delos. In order for me to regain some traction against her, I think we’d need a surprise upset of a victory against the Primans, but if she thinks I had anything to do with it, I fear for harsh reprisals. I am caught in a place where I must actually root for the military that I see as a legitimate threat to my plans for a reborn Confederation. If we don’t keep them busy, they are the only ones with the means to truly see what is going on here and do something about it.”
The team’s arrival went much like it did at the first data facility. Codes and clearances were exchanged, and Web flew the ship to its’ designated landing pad.
They all stood at the bottom of the ship’s ramp, watching as the umbilicals attached and began refueling and provisioning.
“Can we assume the layout here is the same as the last place?” asked Halley of Ensign Roxis.
“It should be,” came the reply, as Roxis studied the information available to him through the base’s data link.
“Well, let’s get going then,” said Web. There was none of the eagerness that had accompanied the first mission. Now, there was only tension and unease. Everyone knew this was their last chance to produce something from this operation. “Where do we look for this Velk guy?”
“The personnel computer like we used last time can also access the location of any Priman aboard,” replied Halley. “If he’s on this moon, the computer will tell us where.”
It was déjà vu, trekking through the base and sneaking into the computer server area. Once again, Halley probed the network, searching for any clues that would help. Finally, she tensed up, and Loren could tell she’d found something.
“Velk is aboard the station in orbit above,” she said in a disappointed tone. “However, he’s scheduled to head down here in an hour to begin an interrogation.”
“Interrogation?” Loren asked. “Of whom?”
“Looks like the Primans captured some Talarans a day or so ago,” she replied. “Files say they attacked the planet Anderson, and had the drop on them. However, the Talarans ran into the unscheduled arrival of an entire Priman fleet, just back from a probing attack on Confed territory. According to the reports, the Primans were fairly beat up, but they outnumbered the Talarans badly and it was over quickly. They are bringing down a Captain Lazaf for a full interrogation, and this base is uniquely equipped to conduct that sort of operation.” Halley paused, then the look on her face changed for the worse.
“Yes,” Loren responded before she could, “the captain who was talking to Captain Elco on Avenger when we got back earlier. The guy who knows we’re roaming Priman space in a captured Keeper ship. If they figure that out, our op is humped.”
“Not like we expect him to roll over on us,” said Web, “but nobody lasts forever, especially when they start with the chemicals.”
“We need to see if we can spring him,” said Loren. “Not just to preserve our operation, but because if there’s a way we can do it, we just plain should. This can work for us, though, since Velk will be here to question him. We can bag both of them at the same time.”
“You make it sound so easy,” quipped Web. “As long as we’re kidnapping a high ranking Priman officer deep in their own space, let’s quick free a POW who’s about to be interrogated.”
“Wouldn’t want you to get bored,” Loren said with a grim smile.
“So what do we do?” asked Web.
“We plant some of those explosives Loren smuggled aboard,” Halley said.
“Hey, that was supposed to be a surprise,” Loren said, trying to look hurt.
“If I hadn’t seen those in your bag, I would have brought some myself. Either way, we split up and plant some fireworks in strategic locations. We can detonate them selectively if we need a distraction, or all at once if we’re on the way out and just want to stick it to them.”
“I love it when you talk like that,” Web added.
“I know you do,” replied Halley with a smile.
“Enough foreplay, then,” said Loren. “Let’s go plant some explosives.” He picked up his Priman case and opened it, handing out the small explosives bundles. “Ensign Roxis, you watch the ship; we’ll be back in twenty minutes or less.”
It took almost that long, but everyone returned to the hangar without incident. They had planted their charges in the main hangar bay, a power generation unit, and the primary environmental machinery spaces.
“Now,” Halley said confidently, “we go find a place to hide near the interrogation area. When Velk and the guards drop off this Talaran, we’ll have some time to work. If the Primans do the same routine everyone else in the galaxy does, they’ll let the prisoner stew and worry for a while. Velk will be near, in case he’s needed, but they won’t be expecting anything right away. That’s our window of opportunity.”
She looked at Loren, all business. “We have to discuss, however, the possibility that we won’t be able to get to this person. If it’s him or the mission, you know what our choice has to be.”
“You don’t need to remind me, Halley. I’m the one with the home planet on the clock. I just think we should be able to tell ourselves we tried to do this.”
“Then let’s head out.”
They split up, Halley and Web hiding in a barracks of sorts for transient crews, Loren in the computer server room they had been spending so much time in lately. Ensign Roxis monitored them, plus the Priman feeds the ship was allowed to access.
“Heads up,” they heard the Ensign’s voice over their Priman earpieces. “Prisoner’s shuttle has docked. He’s on the way, I’m tracking him now.” Ensign Roxis was learning the system at a rapid pace, and now he had several of the ship’s displays configured for the mission. One showed a schematic of the base with moving dots representing the Confed team as well as Priman personnel. Others showed in-system sensor data, as well as another screen that was displaying the results of several data searches he was running.
“Commander, they should be passing your position now,” Roxis continued. A minute later, they heard, “Halley, they just passed your room.”
“Ok, keep your hands off each other now,” Loren said only half jokingly to Halley and Web on the comms. “As soon as Roxis gives the all clear, we go.”
Several breathless minutes passed, and Loren realized he was sweating again. Something about the prosthetics must be causing it, he figured. He never stopped to think that it might have been nerves caused by the laundry list of risks they were taking.
“Ok XO, you’re on,” Roxis commanded.
Loren calmly opened the door and entered the hallway. This base was almost identical to the one they’d been on just over a day ago. It was utilitarian, sprawling, and seemed like it had been added on to in fits and starts without much organization. It was very un-Priman, he realized.
He walked casually down the corridor, only passing a handful of Primans on the way.
His Keeper ship’s uniform, plus the ‘goodie bag’ he carried of what they took for confiscated items meant for Priman use, caused them to be polite but curt. That suited him perfectly. He took up his position at an intersection just one doorway short of the access point to the brig spaces where Captain Lazaf and Representative Velk were located. The door was locked from this side, but Roxis was ready to unlock it remotely as soon as Halley and Web were in place.
For their part, Halley and Web were also doing their best to look casual as they roamed the base on the opposite side of the brig area. The prisoners were in a section that was nestled right in the heart of this part of the base, and so the Confed team could approach from two directions at once and meet up at the last second.
“Two is ready,” Loren heard Web say on the comms. “One is ready,” he added.
“Doors opening, now,” claimed Ensign Roxis, and on command, they obeyed.
Loren walked in immediately, assuming that if he at least looked like he was confidently going about his business, he’d look less conspicuous.
The brig area was sparsely occupied, something Roxis had promised based on his base access. He told Loren to duck into a dark room as he approached it, and he complied. It was an interrogation cell, and Loren instantly became nervous. It suddenly hit home again that he was in an enemy facility; not just that, but the prison part of an enemy facility. He imagined himself strapped to the chair he was looking at, being questioned or worse by a Priman. He shifted his thoughts to something more constructive.
“Velk’s icon is in the room right next to the Talaran captain,” the voice of Roxis said into Loren’s earpiece. “There are three other Primans in the room with him, and I don’t have any sort of real time feed, so I can’t tell you what they’re doing by the second.”
“What are their locations in the room right now?” Loren heard Halley ask.
