Rita sighed. She hated to lose sixty-two of the highly trained and expert Nidarian spacers. But High Councilor Garatella of Nidaria had declared Humans an enemy. She could not in good conscience keep any of the Nidarian spacers in the Fleet against their will.
Now we just have to find a way to replace them. And with Elliott back on Earth throwing every possible obstacle in front of me.
There’s only one person I can trust to fix this for me.
Chapter Four
Ashkelon System - Planet Deriko
Destroyer Dragon
“I wonder what she wants?” asked Bonnie early the next morning, as she clambered into the shuttle.
Luke Powell leaned forward as he climbed in behind her.
“What?”
Bonnie got situated in the first seat behind the cockpit and grabbed her harness, started buckling in.
“I wonder what Rita wants,” she repeated a bit louder.
Luke shrugged.
“We won’t know ‘til we get there,” he said.
Bonnie gave him a sour look.
“I could have said that,” she spoke. “Why do I bring you along?”
Luke grinned.
“Comic relief?”
Bonnie sighed and shook her head.
“I should know better,” she said, but it brought a smile to her lips.
Settling into their seats, they fell silent as the shuttle’s engines spooled up. The large bay door at the side of Dragon’s shuttle deck opened quickly. The autodock cradle moved through, carrying the shuttle with it. Seconds later, the door behind them closed and they heard the scream of turbopumps removing air from the sortie deck.
“You’d think they could reduce the launch accel for shuttles,” Bonnie complained. “We’re not a fighter.”
Luke half-smiled. “They could. I told them not to. So everybody that launches out of here knows what fighter pilots go through.”
“Oh, really?”
Before she could say another word, the AI started an automated countdown.
“Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Launch!”
As the force of four times her body weight pushed her back into the seat, Bonnie managed to grunt out one more sentence.
“I really think 2g would be enough to make the point.”
Clearing the Dragon, the shuttle turned and made for the Merkkessa, in orbit fifty klicks ahead of them. The EDF flagship was huge - on each side of the battlecruiser, massive engine nacelles protruded from her flanks. Directly in the center of her bow, a short fat tube poked out - her most destructive weapon, the gamma lance. Missile tubes were evident at her bow and stern - eight behind and twelve up front. And short-range point-defense cannon covered her top, sides, and bottom.
From stem to stern, she was covered in scorch marks and discolored hull patches, evidence of recent battles.
Bonnie glanced up at an overhead screen showing the view behind the shuttle. She could see Dragon behind them, also covered in burn marks and off-color patches in her hull. A repair crew worked on her hull where yesterday’s missile had impacted her belly armor.
Bonnie sighed.
My beautiful ship. Now she looks like a patchwork quilt. Will she ever look like new again?
Luke said something, but she didn’t hear over the whine of the shuttle as it decelerated for entry into the Merkkessa’s shuttle bay.
“What?”
Luke glanced at her.
“Whatever Rita has for us, you can be sure it’ll be a dirty job.”
“Not necessarily,” disagreed Bonnie. “She could send us on a milk run. You never know.”
Luke chuckled out loud.
“And when has that ever happened?”
Bonnie thought about it.
“Yep, you’re right. But there’s a first time for everything.”
“Bet ya.”
“With what? You’re still on half-pay from your little escapade on Deriko.”
Luke leaned over conspiratorially, even though there was no one else around them.
“I have other things to offer.”
Bonnie sniffed. “I get that free anyway.”
Luke raised his hands in defeat. “True.”
The shuttle entered Merkkessa’s outer landing bay, touched down with a slight crunch and slid forward a few inches on the deck. An autodock cradle moved into place below it; they felt the shuttle rise a few inches as the cradle centered itself below them and picked them up. The outer door slammed down, and turbopumps screamed as air was pumped in. Seconds later, the inner door opened, and the autodock cradle deposited them into a landing slot on the shuttle deck of the Merkkessa.
“Well, let’s go find out what the lady wants,” Luke spoke as they unbuckled. Bonnie nodded and they stood, stretching, as the shuttle’s boarding hatch opened downward, forming a ramp. Stepping out, they were met by a familiar face - Gabriel, Rita’s Nidarian chief bodyguard and head of her Security Division. He braced up and saluted.
“Welcome aboard, Commodore,” he said in passable English.
“Wow, Gabriel!” Bonnie exclaimed in Nidarian, noticing new bars on his uniform. “You’ve been promoted?”
Gabriel’s smile was a mile wide.
“Yes, mum. Ensign now,” he responded, also switching to the Nidarian language and reaching up to touch his new butterbars.
“Well, nobody deserves it more,” Bonnie added as they started walking toward the bridge. “You’ve done a fantastic job.”
Following one pace behind them in perfect Naval protocol, Gabriel spoke again.
“And Raphael was also promoted, mum. Senior Chief now.”
Bonnie turned, smiling.
“As he should be,” she said. “Both of you do such a great job of keeping Rita safe.”
Luke tried his Nidarian, still a new language to him.
“Uh…any idea what…uh…this…uh…meeting is about?”
Gabriel smiled. He knew Luke was probably just trying to practice his Nidarian, rather than expecting a serious answer to a confidential question.
“I’m sure you shall soon know, Commander,” he replied.
In front of them, marching toward Rita’s cabin, Bonnie had to smile.
Expecting Gabriel to give up confidential information was like expecting the planets to start revolving backwards.
***
When Bonnie and Luke entered the Flag Briefing Room, Admiral Rita Page was already standing at the head of her briefing table. Gabriel stayed outside the hatch, moving into a parade rest position beside Rita’s other senior bodyguard, Raphael. As the hatch closed behind them, Bonnie and Luke strode to within a few paces of Rita, braced up, and saluted.
“Reporting as ordered, Admiral,” said Bonnie.
It still felt strange to treat Rita with such formality. After all, until a year ago they had been comrades in arms - and lovers.
Back in those crazy times, they had lived together for more than a year; first for six months in a cramped cabin on the corvette Corresse as they traveled to Nidaria, then for another six months in an apartment on Nidaria as they waited for an audience with High Councilor Garatella.
And their lovemaking in those days - it had been especially passionate, since they shared a common set of memories, knowledge, and feelings.
For Rita was a clone - created by the sentient starship Jade two years ago in a ploy to take her back to Ashkelon as a zoo specimen. When Rita was formed, Jade had downloaded the knowledge, memories and feelings of both Bonnie Page and Jim Carter into Rita’s consciousness. Rita had, in essence, become both of them to some extent - although her female gender had left her more weighted toward Bonnie.
So in those innocent days of two years prior - immediately after her creation - Rita had been practically an emotional twin to Bonnie. She knew everything B
onnie wanted, and exactly how to do it.
For Bonnie, it had been like making love to herself.
But those days were long past. The woman called Rita that stood before them now had been transformed by war into a battle-scarred admiral with the hard-nosed sensibilities required to lead a fleet. She had saved Earth from the Ashkelon twice in the last year. And now she was trying to win an unwinnable war to save Earth.
The only thing they still shared for certain was a last name, and the desire to protect Earth from a brutal enemy.
Rita waved them to seats and sat with them. She stared at Luke for a second, then at Bonnie.
“Nice little raid yesterday,” Rita began.
“Sure was,” said Bonnie. “How many fighters did we lose?”
“Six,” Rita said bitterly. “Against nine of theirs, but of course Zukra doesn’t care. He can build fighters twice as fast as we can. So in the grand scheme of things, we lost ground.”
Bonnie nodded. “Well, that’s his strategy. Grind us down. He’s not yet strong enough to take us head-on, and we can’t take him straight up either. But he can fight a war of attrition until Garatella’s force gets here. Then he’ll come at us for sure.”
“Yeah,” agreed Rita. “I know it. But…I didn’t call you over here to complain about Zukra. It’s the damn UN again. Look at this!”
She handed a tablet to Bonnie. Bonnie took it and read from the screen.
“Hmm… New battlecruiser Victory is completed and finishing shakedown. Admiral Page is requested to return to Earth immediately for consultation with the U.N. and major powers. Afterward Admiral Page can return to Ashkelon with the Victory as her new flagship.”
Bonnie looked up at Rita.
“You know this is bullshit. This is some kind of a ploy by Elliott - I’m sure you’ve heard how much that pseudo-religious freak hates you. I’ll bet you a thousand dollars he’s going to relieve you of command, lock you up somewhere and throw away the key. Force the EDF under his command. Which is exactly what the Chinese want.”
Rita rose, turned, paced across the cabin, nodding. “I know. I don’t dare go back there. But he’s got me over a barrel. I need supplies, ammunition. I need recruits to replace our losses. And I need the Victory and the other two cruisers the U.N. is finishing up right now. If I simply refuse him, he’ll cut us off. No more beans and bullets. No more recruits to replace our losses. No more ships.”
Bonnie stood, started pacing at the other end of the table. Luke was struck by how much the two of them looked alike, as they both paced in exactly the same way, almost in step, their hands folded behind them identically.
My Lord, they are like twins in some ways. Different bodies, but nearly the same consciousness. It’s spooky.
Bonnie abruptly stopped and turned to Rita.
“We need those ships.”
“Exactly,” said Rita, also stopping to face Bonnie. “I want you to go fetch them.”
Bonnie chuckled. “Fetch them? Just like that?”
Rita lifted one side of her lips in an ironic smile.
“Yes. Go fetch them, please.”
“Just…fetch them,” Bonnie repeated, returning to her seat. Beside her, Luke tried to stifle a laugh, but was having a great deal of trouble hiding it.
Now even Rita had to chuckle.
“I guess it does sound a bit crazy, doesn’t it?” she said.
Bonnie nodded, still trying not to laugh out loud.
“How would you like me to go about ‘fetching’ a battlecruiser and two cruisers from an Admiral that doesn’t want to give them to me?”
Rita shrugged. “That’s up to you. Don’t kill anybody, though. I don’t think we need go that far. But short of that, I’m sure you can come up with something. After all, you found Dragon when the entire Nidarian navy couldn’t. So I think you can handle this.”
“What can you give me to work with?” asked Bonnie.
“You can have Dragon and two other destroyers - two of the Ashkelon ones we captured. You’ll have Dragon’s Marine detachment. And Tatiana said she would lend you Norali and two dozen of her best.”
“Not sure Marines and Special Forces are going to help me much. You said I can’t kill anyone.”
Rita gave a brief smile that flickered and dissipated rapidly.
“I’m sure Norali can help you come up with a plan that will work without killing anyone.”
Bonnie heaved a sigh.
“I swear, Rita, you really come up with a doozie once in a while.”
Now Rita did give a full-on smile. “That’s my job, isn’t it?”
“OK. So what else do I need to know?” asked Bonnie.
“Leave the two captured Ashkelon destroyers there at Earth as a token of my esteem. They’re pretty much junk anyway after this last battle.”
“What response are you planning to make to this order?” wondered Bonnie, pointing to the message on the tablet.
“I’ll send a message tomorrow that I’ve dispatched you back to Earth to coordinate with Elliott. That should hold him for the sixteen days it’ll take you to get back there.”
“I doubt it,” muttered Bonnie. “That asshole Elliott won’t wait sixteen days for a response from you.”
“Well, he’s got no choice, does he?” said Rita. “I’ve told Merkkessa’s AI to send a message to Earth that we’re taking the ansible down for maintenance, and it’ll be down for three weeks.”
“Oh, you’re sneaky. But that won’t stop him. He’ll just send a message to one of the other ships.”
“Yes. And I’ve ordered all other ships to ignore all messages from him for the next three weeks. So you better get going.”
Bonnie stood, Luke rising to his feet beside her.
Bonnie hesitated. Luke, reading their body language, turned and went out the hatch, giving them some privacy.
Rita and Bonnie stood in silence, looking at each other.
“Jim is fine,” said Rita, reading Bonnie’s mind.
“And you?” asked Bonnie.
“I’m fine too. Except I miss Imogen. A lot.”
Rita looked at Bonnie silently for a second or two, then spoke again.
“And I miss you.”
Bonnie nodded slowly.
“I miss you too. Always.”
“I know. But we’re on different roads now. At least you have Luke.”
Bonnie smiled happily.
“Yeah. Luke’s a trip. The best XO a girl could ask for.”
“And in bed?”
Bonnie chuckled.
“A girl doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Rita couldn’t help but grin.
“Yeah. We both have a lot of things we can’t kiss and tell about, don’t we? But one thing about Luke - keep things low-key. Keep that relationship under control.
“I’m letting the fleet have their little love affairs right now because of the Nidarian group marriages, and because of my own relationship with Jim, and because we’re far from home and it lets people blow off steam. But at the first sign of serious trouble, you know I’ll have to step in. And that means you and Luke would be separated.”
Bonnie nodded in agreement.
“It’ll happen sooner or later anyway. We’re resigned to that. Luke’s too good to be an XO forever. He needs his own ship. I know that. So when it happens, I won’t stand in his way.”
“Good. I was actually thinking about bringing that up. Shall we do it now? When you get back from Earth, you can take a cruiser and let him have the Dragon.”
A sadness came across Bonnie’s face as she bowed to the inevitable.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. It’ll hurt, but it’s probably time.”
They paused, letting the necessity of hard change sink in.
“I’ll send the orders, then,” Rita said. “Stay safe.”
Ashkelon System - Planet Ridendo
City of Mosalia
On the Ashkelon home world of Ridendo, Major Oliver “Ollie” Coston walked t
hrough the streets of Mosalia, his body wrapped in loose clothing.
The night was relatively dark. Only Ridendo’s smaller moon was in the sky, and it only a quarter. Around Ollie’s head was a turban, the hallmark of a Dariama citizen of the working class.
Sticking to the back streets of the foreign section of Mosalia, Ridendo’s capital city - and the capital of the Ashkelon Empire - Ollie turned aside as a group of drunken Ashkelon approached. He took a right turn onto an even smaller street to avoid them. His disguise was fair - it would take a close examination for an Ashkelon to realize he wasn’t a true Dariama - but he had no intention of taking chances. The risks were too high. Discovery meant instant torture and execution.
Letting the group of staggering, rowdy Ashkelon pass behind him, he turned back and resumed his path, staying in the shadows as much as possible. Finally he arrived at his destination, a back-street entrance to a private residence. He knocked gently, paused, then scratched at the door in a prearranged signal.
After a bit, the door cracked open. A Nidarian male looked him over, then opened the door and let him in. After the door closed behind him, Ollie shed his turban and overcoat, then moved into the main room of the house. There Lieutenant Helen Frost waited for him. The Nidarian left quietly, leaving them alone.
“How’d it go?” Helen asked.
“Good, I think,” grunted Ollie, reaching for a cup of nish waiting on the table. Bringing coffee to the planet was too dangerous - the Ashkelon would instantly recognize it as a drink of Humans - but the Nidarian drink nish was similar and would raise no suspicions. Ollie slugged a major portion of the cup down, then wiped his mouth, looking at Helen.
“They’re scared shitless, of course. But they’re pretty pissed off that Zukra killed most of their top Admirals and Captains in his coup. They want to do something about it, but they have no idea what.”
“Did you give them some ideas?”
“I did. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I told them some of the things they could do. I thought they were going to pack up and run out the door, they were so scared.”
“It’s strange they’re so aggressive with other species, yet so reluctant to take on their own kind.”
Ollie grimaced.
“Isn’t that the mark of most totalitarian regimes? They make other races into objects - animals to be enslaved or slaughtered - while they look at their own leadership as near-gods who can do no wrong. It’s the classic pattern of a society in thrall to power and corruption. Remember the Nazis?”
The Short End: Broken Galaxy Book Four Page 5