The Deadly Pact

by Michael Freeport

  Stokes stood and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Admiral Misato. The information we have on Earth is very sketchy. For whatever reason, the Alliance holds Earth in a kind of reverent regard. We’re not sure if they have colonized it or if they revere it for some other reason, perhaps because it was once the homeworld of humanity. Without going there and checking for ourselves, we can only guess as to their reasons.

  “I will be organizing a fleet to go to Earth and see what’s actually going on there. Victorious and three other battleships will depart along with cruisers and destroyer flotillas. The strength we plan on taking represents more than three quarters of our current strength. The shipyard is fully operational, and the new power distribution systems have been integrated into our designs. The Woduur don’t have the ability to turn our ships off again. The Lashmere Military Academy is turning out officers and crewmen very quickly. More ships are being built, and crews are being trained to operate them.

  “Our population has been severely depleted. Ten percent of all humans were lost on the Behemoth, and we still don’t know where they may have gone or if they survived the trip. With luck, they’ll turn up. We’ve also designed a series of automated system defense platforms that integrates automated drone control, torpedoes, and mines. Any fleet coming to Lashmere expecting to find us as weak as we were when the Ulef attacked is in for a very nasty surprise.” Stokes’s mouth was set in a grim line. We will not allow the people of Lashmere to be victimized again.”

  Chapter 13

  Hanlon awoke with a start. She’d been sure someone had been talking to her. Her sudden movement made Watkins, who was sitting along the wall nearby look at her sharply.

  “Are you okay, ma’am?” His features showed concern.

  “I’m fine, Kiran. I just thought I heard something or someone talking to me is all. I’ve had this feeling for a couple of days, now, ever since I met Tolon and they did… whatever it is they did to amplify the signal they say I’m receiving. What’s more, do you remember the dream I told you about?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kiran said.

  “I haven’t had it since then. I’m not sure why, but I feel like something inside my head is different, now. It’s like something is more focused. I can’t explain it better than that.”

  Watkins pondered Hanlon’s words for a moment when they heard Kelper’s voice come from behind the bed where Hanlon had been lying. “You can’t trust them, ma’am.” Hanlon jerked, startled, when Kelper spoke. “No matter what you think you know, the only thing they will do is hurt you.” Kelper’s diminutive form stood from where she’d been lying on the floor. She leaned over Hanlon. Her expression was icy, but her eyes burned like hot embers. “You can’t trust these crabs, they are messing with your mind. Do you understand, ma’am?”

  “Lieutenant, please. Back off.” Kelper straightened up and took a step away from Hanlon. Hanlon rubbed her eyes and sat up. “Miss Kelper, I understand you hate the Ulef without reservation, but we have an opportunity here to negotiate our release if the situation continues to improve. We’ve managed to talk to one of their leaders and the information we shared makes it seem possible there is common ground between us.”

  Kelper’s features tightened. “You’re wrong.”

  “Lieutenant Kelper,” Watkins said, his tone was sharp. “I will not have you speaking to your commanding officer in that tone. When Captain Hanlon gives you direction, you follow it. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” Kelper said, but her tone said this was far from a finished conversation. Kelper spun on her heel and stalked off, muttering under her breath.

  Watkins watched her go few a few seconds before turning back to Hanlon. “We’re going to have a problem there, ma’am.”

  “No doubt about that, Kiran. We’ll keep working on her.” She sighed deeply. “We have enough problems without having to deal with this. It’s almost enough to make me lose my sunny disposition.” Hanlon smirked at Watkins for a few seconds before her expression sobered again. “Keep a close eye on her, Kiran. If she attacks one of the Ulef, it could cost us dearly, especially if we’re on the cusp of beginning true negotiations with them.”

  Watkins nodded soberly. “Agreed, ma’am. Speaking of negotiating, I was thinking about what you might use as bargaining tactics.”

  ”What’s on your mind, Commander?” Hanlon’s eyes held curiosity and interest.

  “From what you’ve told me, the Ulef are at least open to the idea of cooperating with us against the Alliance. I’m hoping we can eventually maneuver them into a mutual defense pact against the Alliance.”

  Hanlon nodded to herself. “Don’t forget, they are still holding us captive. It’s a long way from prisoner to ally.” Hanlon plucked at her clothes for a moment. “Right now, I’d settle for a change of outfit and better scenery.”

  “Agreed, ma’am.” Watkins stared across the compartment where another impromptu marital arts class was forming up. Kelper was eagerly dancing from stance to stance at the front of the group. Her movements were energetic. He sighed and returned his attention to Hanlon. “I think we’re talking ourselves in circles a bit, ma’am.”

  Halon nodded. They’d been repeating what was essentially the same conversation several times over the days since Tolon had introduced himself,,, herself? Did Ulef even have genders? Hanlon filed the question way for a time when it would be more appropriate. “Let’s try listing our priorities.”

  “First up is to be released from this cell.” Watkins said, his voice firm.

  “Agreed. I think before they’ll release us, we may have to try improving our relations with the Ulef.”

  “How so, ma’am?”

  “Well, look at it from their viewpoint. Even though they believe we don’t plan to fight alongside the Alliance again, they know we attacked them. We’re likely responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of dead Ulef. Further, we destroyed a number of their ships. Whatever their economics are, the material loss is probably significant.”

  Watkins nodded thoughtfully. “We’ll have to find a way to make them trust us despite all the bloodshed between our two species. That might be a pretty tough task.”

  “Yeah… I’m not looking forward to the job. I’m also not terribly enthused about the idea of forming an Alliance with beings who so casually employ torture. I’m not sure if it’s an issue of morality or expediency. I’ll have to figure that out, too.” Hanlon grinned at Watkins. “That’s why they pay me the big bucks, though. That actually takes care of our first two priorities. Improve relations and gain our freedom. Third, I’d like to concentrate on improved conditions. Better food, change of clothing and private bathrooms.” Hanlon wrinkled her nose in distaste. The crew had rigged up cloth taken from the clothes, but it still made for some embarrassing moments.

  “Well, alternatively, we could press for our release and our return to Lashmere.”

  “I doubt they’re going to let us go until we get to their system. We’ve been traveling away from Lashmere for weeks now. I don‘t think they’ll turn around until they get the last of the answers they want from us. From me, actually, it seems.”

  “What do you think they have?” Watkins’ eyes showed concern.

  “I still don’t know. I’m worried, though. It must have something to do with the dreams I have been having. There’s another thing, too.”

  “What is it, ma’am?”

  “Last night, when I was going to sleep, I thought I heard a voice. This morning, when I woke up, I was sure I’d been talking to someone. It wasn’t like a dream; it felt more real.” Hanlon rubbed her face with her hands. “I wish I knew if something was really happening to me or if I am just losing my mind.”

  Watkins shook his head slightly. “No, I don’t think you’re losing it, ma’am. From what you told me, the Ulef amplified a signal, and you were sent into your dream. Right after that, you started hearing or at least thinking you heard, a voice. I think the most likely explanation is that these two things are con
nected somehow. Regardless of the cause, it’s nothing to be ashamed of to feel out of sorts in a situation like this.” Watkins put his hand on Hanlon’s arm. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I think you’re fine. What I’m really curious about is the source of this signal that interacts with you somehow, and how the Ulef can measure and control it, at least to an extent.”

  Hanlon smiled and covered Watkins’ hand with hers. “Thank you, Kiran. I think I really needed to hear someone say that.”

  Kiran returned the smile. “Of course, ma’am.”

  About two days later, Tolon came to the prisoner’s cell. As the Ulef leader stepped into the cell, he said, “Captain Hanlon, we approach our system. Come with me.” He waved one claw and turned to lead Hanlon out of the room. Tolon could be told apart from the other Ulef by a long green band on his harness. Otherwise, he was indistinguishable from the others.

  Hanlon, who had been plagued by dreams of whispers in her ear every time she went to sleep said, “One moment, please, Tolon.” The crab paused and turned to watch Hanlon. She turned her gaze to Watkins. “I don’t know what or how they plan to get the answers they want from me, Kiran. I plan to use it to the best of my ability to parlay for our release. I hope the situation continues to improve, but I can’t help feeling that we’re fast approaching a fork in the road.” She disliked the idea of showing any kind of uncertainty with her subordinates, but Kiran was her second in command. “Just look out for everyone. I have a feeling I just can’t shake that something important is coming.”

  Watkins nodded and said, “I don’t think they’re going to torture you anymore. Ma’am. If they were still doing that, they wouldn’t have sent Tolon, just one of the unnamed goons instead.”

  Hanlon nodded agreement with Watkins before she walked back to where Tolon was waiting and said, “Thank you for your patience, Tolon.”

  The Ulef waved one of his claws again and said, “Captain Hanlon, follow me.”

  Hanlon fell in behind the hulking Ulef as he proceeded down the passageway outside the cell. After a few minutes walking, Hanlon realized they weren’t headed back to the torture chamber. “Where are we going?”

  “To the forward observation dome. We arrive at our planet, and we must see your reaction. It is part of the information we need form you.” He sped up slightly, making Hanlon trot to keep up. “We must move quickly; time is short.”

  “Tolon, I don’t understand. What possible information can I provide by our arrival in another star system?” Hanlon felt her heart begin to race. Every step she took felt like a step towards her grave. Something inside her felt like it was twisting. She couldn’t easily describe the sensation. She felt perspiration forming all over her body, and her skin started to feel tight across her face. “Tolon, wait. Something is wrong.” The Ulef didn’t slow down, in fact, it sped up. “Tolon, please! Wait!” Hanlon felt her feet slipping on the smooth deck. She was sweating heavily, her clothes sticking to her. Droplets clumped her eyelashes together, and she tasted the salt of it running into her mouth. Her breath started to come in labored pants.

  Hanlon fell to her hands and knees. A strangled grunt escaped her lips. Tolon stopped and turned to regard her for a few seconds. “Come, Captain, you must hurry. We are nearly there.” Somehow, Hanlon forced herself back to her feet. She tottered along down the hallway with Tolon bouncing in place each time he had to stop and wait for her. Just as Hanlon thought she couldn’t feel any worse, she started to develop a splitting headache. She staggered against one of the bulkheads. “I cannot carry you, Captain. You must come with me.” When Hanlon didn’t move, Tolon said, “Captain, it is important. You must come with me.”

  “How… far… is.. it…?” Hanlon gasped out. She felt like she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.

  “Not far, another twenty meters. Come, you must see it as we arrive.”

  “What, see what?” The twisting sensation inside of Hanlon’s guts fluttered, and she nearly vomited. She took a barely controlled step, then another. Tolon waved a claw at her, trying to urge her along. She got the sense that the Ulef was quite agitated. She rounded the last corner and saw a set of doors in front of her. Tolon moved to them, and they opened obediently. Hanlon lurched into the small hemispherical room. The forward portion was a substance so clear that it was nearly invisible. Outside was the familiar blue haze visible while a ship was traveling at faster than light speeds.

  Hanlon heard the doors shut behind her. She turned and realized she was alone in the room. Her headache was getting worse, and she was afraid she would pass out at any moment. A sudden slowing sensation and the view forward cleared. Hanlon felt her eyes widen in shock. Hanging in space in front of her was the shape she’d seen in her dreams. Massive and utterly black. It was clearly visible in front of a swirling red and blue gas giant behind it.

  A raspy, mechanical voice sounded in her mind. Accessing terminal data. Neural interface active. Initiating primary boot sequence. A strange snatching sensation occurred at the base of her neck. Bootstrap complete. Sensory data input accepted. Hanlon saw something blurring across her vision. Her head was absolutely throbbing, and she thought it might roll right off of her neck at any moment.

  Initial sensory interface startup complete. Initiating interface test. Prickling sensations flashed across every inch of her skin, followed by a series of strange odors from burning to rancid to sickly sweet. She suddenly tasted something in her mouth, but she hadn’t eaten in hours. That was good because if she’d had anything in her stomach, she would have long since emptied it onto the floor.

  Her vision swam for a moment, followed by a multi-second period of blindness. Her vision came back with a flash of brilliant white light. A screeching sound filled her ears and then a series of tones from low to high made her headache almost more than she could bear. The torture chamber was starting to sound good. Sensory interface test pass. Initializing user primary interface.

  As soon as the voice in her head stopped, her headache vanished, leaving behind only a dull ache. She was lying on the floor in a puddle of her sweat and tears. She realized she’d been crying during the ordeal, but she couldn’t remember it happening at the time. Her limbs felt weak. She pushed herself up onto her knees, supporting herself with one hand on the floor as well. She rubbed sweat from her eyes and face. Her heart was slowing down, and her breathing was coming slower and deeper. She looked around the room, unsure of how long she’d been lying there, but her body felt stiff. She thought it might have been as long as half an hour or so.

  She looked back up out the window at the huge ship hanging in front of her. She stood and took three shaky steps until her hand pressed against the transparent material of the observation dome. Her whole body was trembling, and she felt lightheaded.

  Primary interface startup. Self-test initiated. Errors found in sectors one through seventeen of primary interface. Secondary interface non-responsive. Initiating tertiary interface protocols. Tertiary interface operational at thirty-four percent. Initiating tertiary interface self-test. Compatibility value nineteen percent. Errors found in tertiary interface protocols. Attempting kernel rebuild. For a moment, all sensations stopped, and Halon felt completely normal. As suddenly as they’d gone, the overwhelming sensations swept over her again. Kernel rebuild complete. Physical data storage damaged. Proceeding with operator registration.

  Operator designation nine one entered into primary user database. Halon realized with a start the voice she was hearing was the shape hanging in front of her. The experience had been so intense up to that point all she’d been able to do was hold on to her sanity and try it ride it out, but she was quickly regaining command of her faculties.

  Operator nine one state your preferred term of address.

  Hanlon stared blankly out the window. She felt a bit silly, but she’d clearly heard the voice in her mind up to this point. “Linis Hanlon.”

  Operator designation ‘Linis Hanlon’ accepted. Greetings. Terran Empire Vessel New Dawn hull num
ber TES-51782 Experimental now responding to your control.

  Hanlon drew her hand down the front of her face and rubbed sweat from her eyes. “Um, New Dawn?”

  Affirmative.

  Hanlon was about to ask another question, but the door opened behind her. Tolon stepped into the room. “Can you hear it, Captain?”

  Hanlon turned to face the Ulef. “I can. What is it?”

  “That was to be my question for you, Captain. We’ve held this object in our care for as long as we have memory. Thousands of your years have we kept it with us. Our only clue to its use is here.” Tolon extended a small datapad. Displayed there was an image of a fragment of what had once been a book, written in English. The lines read ‘operator will respond on neural band signal’ followed by a series of numbers designating the wave form and signal frequency. The text went on ‘On board systems can only be controlled by a compatible human interface. Compatibility can be en-‘ the text broke off where the page was torn away. Other information written on the page was useless, mostly referring to the hull designation and something about the weapon system but it was all gibberish.

  Hanlon pondered the image for a moment before saying, “Is there more, or is this all you have?”

  Tolon was silent for a long moment before he said, “Come, you will meet my leader. They will decide what information you will have.”

  Hanlon shook her head. “No. I won’t cooperate with you any further until you release my crew. We’re still your prisoners.”

  Tolon stood motionless and silent for a long time after Hanlon spoke. She started to worry that she’d said something wrong when Tolon responded. “We will decide. Until we do, the signal will be dampened.” Hanlon felt a sudden absence of the strange sense she’d felt from the New Dawn. “I will return you to your friends while we consider the situation.”

  Tolon motioned with his claw and escorted Hanlon back to the large cell. She stepped into a room filled with shouting between two groups of her officers and crew.