Vindication

by Ken Wolfson

  Venko gaped. In truth, he'd damn near given the order to burn for Vykhor. But he'd pulled up, because Vykhor was temporary safety, and if he fled for the jump shelf his battle group would die like Lady Hamilton.

  "That doesn't make you any less insane. How?"

  "The Wendago don't defend. They attack, they pursue, and they slaughter their prey. Lady Hamilton ran from the jump shelf, they pursued her ships, and then they slaughtered at their leisure. I didn't run. I attacked, for I knew they wouldn't expect that."

  "Translate that to hard military terminology, please," Venko said. His glittering fingers wiggled over the gel keyboard. Augs or synthetic?

  "In their haste to envelop Vindication task group the Wendago completely failed to screen their O'Neill cities; they left their logistics wide open. I ordered a full fighter-bomber strike along that vector and my fleet to follow the attack in. When the Wendago broke off to protect their cities I spread my sub capitol ships and flanked their fleet. The damage from our opening salvo made the fight even; it was enough," Adrian said. He recalled the radiological signatures blooming as Knight Wing's atlatls impacted thinly armored can cities. His officers gasping as several hundred thousand human beings and a few aliens had just died. He'd delivered some encouraging to refocus them on the battle developing around them. "Four hours after contact, Vindication drifted alone in a spreading debris field."

  "Were there any survivors?" Mathias cautiously grinned.

  "There were many survivors from the remains of our task group, but none from the rest of the expedition. We took them aboard," Adrian deflected. Venko cocked an eyebrow, but remained grinning.

  "I meant Wendago. There's enough bleeding hearts that someone will complain if we didn't bring the bastards aboard," he said.

  Adrian nodded. There were dedicated human rights watchdogs who were paid to catch the military on any offense they could. Some were genuinely sympathetic; some were opportunistic lawyers. It was their paid job. And his job was to kill monsters.

  "A few, but my ship was damaged and I didn't want to take risks, so I left them for Vykhor's militia to pick up," he said. That was good as splattering the escape pod with Vindication's point defense grid. The Vykhor were in a vengeful mood after decades of abductions.

  "And you disobeyed a director order from a superior, which is worth a court martial."

  "I'm sure Vykhor command will prosecute me," Adrian said.

  "Fair enough; it matches your reputation enough that you shouldn't bring too much additional fire down on yourself or us," Venko said. He banged away as he spoke. Despite that, Adrian caught the grin on his face. “Did you secure that transport line?”

  “You should be receiving your first paycheck from Artias at the end of the month. I parlayed their gratitude to good use.” Adrian had customarily asked Venko ‘need anything?’ before deploying.

  "Good man. Would you like to add anything else?"

  "The reason we faced more than the normal raiding party is because they were hired as mercenaries," Adrian said. "I advised Fifth of the situation before Vindication's departure."

  "Who could afford an entire tribe of Wendago, much less command the respect to get them to obey him?" Venko said, eyes wide in surprise once more.

  "His name is Emoche Hulle. All the intel I have comes from intercepted Wendago transmissions prior to the battle. He hired the Wendago and apparently gave them some intel on Lady Hamilton's force," Adrian said. Lady Hamilton had ejected the data package moments before Mahimi's structural integrity failed under prolonged bombardment and the dreadnought split in half. "He also survived the battle. Fled in a single Dragoon towards the jump shelf. Do you know the name?"

  Surprise flashed across Venko's face. "No, I've not," he spat.

  "Are you certain, sir? If a warlord had that kind of money..." Adrian leaned in as he spoke, drilling his superior with his gaze.

  "We'd have found out? Wild space is a mess and the Ministry of Intelligence can't keep track of a third of it. I'll dispatch someone to investigate. Possibly Commander Graev and Molyneux on his next deployment. Does that satisfy you?"

  "Hell, yes, it does." Molitor Graev was the best Commander out there, and one of the few people he truly trusted, as a person and an officer doing the right thing. Emoche was fucked the moment Molyneux retracted bridge. "Anything else for me?"

  "For you, of course there is. In the past three hours, the admiralty has received one-hundred and seventy-thousand messages on all forms of communication, demanding we save Vindication from the scrapyard. Tollyon VA has also received twenty million credits in donations." Venko whistled and raised his eyebrows.

  "Well, common folk hear that the first lady of the fleet is going to be chopped up, they get a bit angry." Adrian could barely contain his smugness.

  "We know.” He glared at Adrian. “I spoke with a few people of influence, and House Venko will be purchasing Vindication in the name of the Tollyon department of education, and converting her into a museum. Are you satisfied?"

  Adrian had to fight hard to keep the schoolgirl grin off his face. "I am."

  "Just drop my name when you leak this," Venko said. Always grease the hand feeding you, et cetera.

  "I'll let people know you exist," Adrian said innocently. Venko shook his head, but Adrian caught the amused smile.

  “So, going forward, any idea where I’m going next?” That smile remained.

  "You’re in limbo. Don’t expect another warship command as the admiralty has learned not to trust you, and don’t expect a desk job on Tollyon. I can give you a glowing letter of recommendation to one of the house corps if you want a good job.” As expected, but not any easier.

  "I understand," Adrian lied.

  "I'm done. Do you have anything else you wish to share? A final jab at my existence?" Venko said.

  Time to make his decision.

  "Vindication is my kin. Without her I can’t carry on. I'm retiring, effective now."

  He pulled out his retirement papers and slipped them onto the desk.

  Venko's jaw dropped. "Well, that's...damn, I never expected that. I thought you'd be on the roster until the stars went out."

  "I'm done. I'm going to raise my daughter," Adrian said. A look passed on Venko's face. Adrian nodded, for they both knew he was taking the only good option.

  "I like your move—submitting the form directly to me rather than the VA." Venko printed up a sheath of plastic. "Sign these and take them to the pension board. You'll have a hearing in a couple days and then you can retire, with full honors and quite lucrative pay."

  "No one's going to interfere?" Adrian said. 30 years pension as a Commander was a fine salary, then there was his prize money fund.

  "We know you still have enough friends to rain hell on anyone who tries," Venko said. Adrian stood, and saluted once more.

  Venko returned it with a sigh.

  "Adrian, before you go, a word. You may have been a political liability for the entire time I've had the displeasure, but while underway you were one of the best line officers out there, and you've done a lot for House Venko, Tollyon, and the Systems that no one else could've done. So go in peace, and enjoy your family...and don't be late to your own damn reception."

  "Thank you," Adrian said, and forced a smile.

  The kids were seated in opposite arm chairs. Eric was leaning in and talking in a hushed voice while Alyssa listened in taut awe, knees hugged to her chest. Neither noticed him, so he crept up and listened. Eric talked about all the oddities of Venko the Lesser's daily routine. Eventually Alyssa looked up, and jumped out of her seat.

  "Woah, hello, Dad."

  "Hi. Had a nice chat?" Adrian said.

  "Yeah, we did. Is it time to go?"

  "Time to go," Adrian confirmed. They stood and brushed themselves off. Their eyes danced up and down each other's bodies.

  "Bye, Eric!"

  "Farewell, Aly," Eric stammered. Alyssa lunged in and hugged him, surprising everyone. He fumbled with hand pla
cement until deciding to just hug her by the shoulders.

  "Good luck." They separated. Eric was slack-jawed, but Adrian caught the glow in his eyes.

  "That was unexpected," Adrian said as they walked away.

  "Poor guy needed a hug. Being a squire sounds terrible," she said. Warmth rose up inside Adrian at her sweetness; he patted her back.

  "Only if you have an ass like Venko the Lesser for a protector. There are plenty of good protectors, though, like his brother, and Molitor, when he had one." Sucked for all the kids who got stuck with a bad one, but nothing they could do. As a lowborn, he wasn't legally entitled to a squire.

  "And Amelie?"

  "She's never had one, but she'd do a good job of mentoring," Adrian said. "Anyways, we're going to see her now, so you can ask yourself."

  “Sure thing.” Alyssa checked her comp. “Dad, we’re trending.”

  #

  Chapter Five: Countdown to Retirement

  2210: the decommissioning reception had begun ten minutes ago. Adrian found himself craving an espresso screwdriver with vodka, anything to drive the exhaustion away. Alyssa talked away in his ear most of the ride back, and he took mental notes on everything she said for future conversations. As the monorail pulled into station, his wristcomp dinged again.

  First and Second Wicked Creek Fleet to level one alarm. All ships recall crews from shore leave and prepare to deploy on extended campaign, immediately. This is not a drill.

  Lord Grand Admiral Avarro Venko the Greater, Lord Paramount of the Anchorage and Honorable Commandant of Tollyon, CoP MS, GS.

  "What's wrong, Dad?" Alyssa said. His heart jolted at 'Dad.'

  "First and second fleet are deploying right now, no idea why. Good thing you packed this brick. We might be stuck on Vindication a couple days," he said.

  "Can we explore her, then?" she pleaded with him.

  "Oh, yes, we can," Adrian said. She bounced up and down.

  The portal to Vindication's dry dock slid open. Station hands were unloading supplies. A platoon of troopers stood guard over the airlock itself. Amongst them were half a dozen House Venko soldiers wielding rapiers instead of gladii and wearing green armor of a make Adrian rarely saw. Where rugged plates should have met at sharp angles on the joints, their armor was rounded into a smooth, scaly suit of ceramite and titanium weave. Dragonscale was the official terminology. Adrian stared at it apprehensively. That was expensive stuff, usually reserved for nobles and their handpicked elite bodyguards and servants.

  "Commander!" a woman declared over his shoulder. Two soldiers approached. The first was a Commander near his height, with pale skin and black hair held up in an official bun. She wore a sash striped purple and red. Her white-gloved left hand rested on the hilt of her rapier, thumb on the ruby in its pommel.

  "Hello, Tarly," Adrian said. To Alyssa: "This is Commander Tarly Artreyas, formerly of House Artreyas and COS of the supercarrier Righteous CVS-1070890." He didn't salute. Neither did she.

  "Adrian, you're late for your own ship's decommissioning ceremony. Even for you, that's shameful," she said. One side of her mouth rose in a smirk of contempt.

  "I've been having a long day. The nobles will understand," Adrian said. His adrenaline glands got pumping. His heart pounded in his ears.

  "I hope the Venko spawn does. It would be a shame for you to lose everything because you finally picked a fight you couldn't win," she said. Her attention turned to the girl at his side. "So, this must be your bastard. The resemblance is delicious." She leaned in to give a kiss.

  Aly looked to Adrian. He shook his head, and she withdrew from the advance. Tarly scowled as she tensed for hostilities

  Adrian squeezed his daughter's hand for encouragement. "Aly, we're going inside to meet the honorable nobility," he said. This was more to stop him from drawing. They were not on mutual ground; as a noble, any action he took against her would be looked down on by the courts. Even if she'd been ejected by House Artreyas, she still had the blood connection.

  Tarly's companion blocked their path. "The Lady isn't finished with you, Commander," she said.

  This one wore purple dragon plate scored with a carbonized gash from belly to collar. On her hip sat a curved sword with a round handguard and a shovel tip. A Katana, Adrian recalled. Such weapons were nonexistent in the Expanse regions. They were more popular out in the Metropolis regions, where the Katana relic blades had been unearthed.

  "This is my first sword, Abigail Nordhammer. Abby, look at this kindness. Adrian keeps his bastard by his side rather than sending her to a work house. For someone who claims to be ice cold, he's letting his bleeding heart endanger the inheritance of his legal heirs," Tarly said. She patted the rapier at her hip. Adrian didn't react; this was all posturing to provoke him. He circled about Nordhammer, looking for an opening.

  "Miss, I must oppose this course of action, for insulting a girl for her father's crimes is dishonorable," Abigail said. Still, she grasped the hilt of her weapon.

  "Well, then, we should just let Adrian take her away."

  Adrian stepped towards the airlock.

  Tarly called over his shoulder. "Fleet report said you caught a couple nukes from Emoche Hulle, out in the Tyrant's Crescent? He must've liked you if he let you live."

  Adrian spun about. "You know the name?"

  "Only that if he's putting nukes into Adrian Huxton's ancient carrier, he can't be too bad."

  Alyssa flipped her both middle fingers. Pride surged through him. Then something deadly flashed in Tarly's eyes.

  "I'll finish his work here, in front of your bastard."

  "If you want to be made corpses in front of all the dignitaries, come at us, then," a familiar baritone rumbled, shaking the deck. Tarly retreated a step. An earthquake thundered after her.

  "Mount Molitor!" Alyssa said.

  Commander Molitor Graev had been born in a null-grav environment, to the impoverished lord of an asteroid mining complex. His skin was gray from want of sunlight, and eyes red. Like Cage, he was stretched vertically to inhumane proportions: well over two and a half meters tall. Unlike other nullers, through some mutation he was proportioned as a man born in Tollyon's 1g environment. He was a 200-kilo mountain of muscle and nano-alloy enhanced skeleton, hidden beneath a dress uniform covered in medals. On his hip rode a greatsword that Adrian had seen cleave through dragonplate and the flesh it protected with ease.

  "Pleasure, young miss. And Adrian, it's been too long since we've drunk together," he said. He punched Adrian's shoulder. Adrian took the blow like a sledgehammer. They'd been roommates at the Tollyon Officer's Academy eighteen years ago: the giant from a backwards outpost, and the grubby up-jumped lowborn. The friendship had been immediate, and the woes for their classmates during combat drills unending.

  "My old friend!" Adrian said. They'd faced each other on the dueling circuit 9 times. Molitor, with his sheer size and deceptive speed, had won eight.

  "Lord Molitor, if you threaten my liege again, I'll have to draw," Abigail said. Adrian saw entire galaxies in her bulging eyes. His hand slipped from his belt to gladius hilt. By the time he'd caught himself, Tarly and Abigail were drawing their blades.

  Molitor moved in a tsunami of rippling muscle that ended with his greatsword tip pressed to Tarly's nose.

  "I hear your inheritance battle has moved to the courts. Should I do your family a favor?" A drop of blood trickled down Tarly's face and under her collar.

  "Don't threaten her," Nordhammer said. She set her jaw and raised her weapon. Secretly Adrian admired her refusal to surrender.

  "Threaten? If your liege threatens my true friend Adrian or his wonderful daughter Alyssa again, I'm going to eat her, and finish you for desert," Molitor said. He walked forwards until Abigail was forced away from the airlock. Adrian grabbed Alyssa and hauled her around until their backs were towards safety.

  "I'm leaving. Call me if you want to hide from Emoche Hulle," Tarly said.

  Four of house Venko's swords pushed be
tween them. They drew their own blades, and leveled at the warriors. "Dueling between officers is not permitted in public space. Cease or be shackled," a Corporal declared.

  Tarly spun about and withdrew, her sword on her heels.

  Molitor sheathed his own blade. "I got your back. We're talking Hammer."

  "And Anvil," Adrian said, and shook his hand. He winced as his arm was nearly ripped from its socket. Those had been their nicknames at the academy, and on the field of battle after. One man, usually Adrian, to take the enemy head on, one to take them by the flank. Unstoppable pick-n'-roll combo.

  "Dad," Alyssa said, and hugged him. "What the hell was that?"

  "Don't mind her. She's just a cunt with a sash," Molitor said, making Alyssa giggle and Adrian clap hands over her singed ears. "Anyways, Adrian, I came to find you for the same reason. You're late, and House Venko has sent one of their nephews to carry the banner, plus there's a lot of other fleet officers in a rush to hear your speech and get to their ships, including me."

  "I'm sorry," Adrian said.

  "No problem. My XO's been putting the finishing touches on Molyneux while I'm away." Molitor commanded the newest supercarrier in the fleet. She'd been purchased from the Talwar kingdom's reserve yard just under a year ago, and shipped over to the Systems.

  "Let's go, Aly. Get ready to meet some nobility," Adrian said.

  "Oh, there's also something urgent I'd like to talk to you about, soon as we're done there," Molitor said.

  "Sure thing. How urgent?"

  "Moderately. It can wait until after you show up to the ceremony you're late for," Molitor said. "Don't worry, Lady Alyssa, I'll only need Dad for a few minutes." He and Alyssa shared a wink.

  They headed back into the airlock. Then, a ride on Vindication's monorail to the conference room.

  "Why does Tarly hate you so?" Alyssa said.

  "Tarly Artreyas is the youngest daughter of Lord Novel Artreyas. Maybe you know that name?” he said.

  "Yes. He was one of the Founder's companions in the great rebellion. He was Lord of Forshova, in the Dawn Run region, right?" Alyssa said.