At least, she hoped he was still on their side.
"Put it on the main viewing screen, Cora."
The image of Admiral Franklin in all his gray-haired majesty filled the screen. "Captain Sonders, this is marvelous. Do you know how long we have been trying to break the code of instant communication over vast distances?" he asked, a big smile on his face.
Sara couldn't help but smile in return. "I'm glad you approve, Admiral. However, the congratulatory talk will have to wait. I think we need to have a frank conversation, sir."
The admiral, cuing in on Sara's mood, became serious. "After reading the reports you sent, I have to agree."
"This is not about the reports, sir. This is a different matter altogether," Sara said with hard eyes.
Admiral Franklin raised a bushy eyebrow. "What could possibly be more important than discussing the end of a long and bloody conflict?"
"Let's start with the bomb on my ship."
Chapter 37
"Are you ready?" Gonders asked as she fed the shield spellform in the magical practice room's wall.
Boon adjusted the Aetheric dampener on her head and gave a short nod. "Ready. How about you, Silva?"
The white ferret gave a short nod from her shoulder and chattered in the affirmative.
"Okay, this time I want you to be more aware of your surroundings. If you get shot in the butt one more time, I'm going to spank you," Gonders said in a serious tone.
Boon had to laugh. "If you really want me to watch my back, you wouldn't reward me for failure," she teased, flashing a mischievous smile.
Gonders smiled back. "Okay, how about if you get shot in the butt I won't spank you?"
"Now that's some motivation."
Gonders gave a short laugh, but when she spoke again, her voice was all business. "Don't forget what I taught you. Spells are all good and dandy, but your weapons are just as effective in a lot of situations. You and Sara rely on your spellforms far too much, and it taxes you needlessly."
Boon pulled her pistol from the leg holster she had strapped to her battlesuit. "Yeah, yeah,” she said with an eyeroll. “Start the program, already."
"Good luck, babe," Gonders said, pushing a button on the wall display.
The blank walls of the practice room faded away, and Boon found herself in a modern urban environment. She stood in a tight alleyway between two metal and glass skyscrapers. The base of the buildings that made up the walls of the alley was a dull gray concrete, with the occasional splash of color where it was spray painted with graffiti. There was a row of dumpsters along one wall, and a delivery truck parked in the middle of the alley, blocking her view of the street beyond.
She turned slowly, looking for any signs of attack, but found nothing. The filtered sounds of the city made a sort of white noise that masked any small movements she would normally be able to hear, so she was relying on her eyes to alert her to danger.
Several minutes passed without anything except the normal sounds of a city beyond the confines of the urban valley Boon found herself in. She knew Gonders was trying to lull her into a false sense of security. Even though she knew what Gonders was doing, the inaction and constant alertness were beginning to wear her down.
Even Silva was beginning to relax as the minutes passed.
Boon turned in a slow circle, her pistol held at the ready as she glanced into every shadow like it was full of monsters.
Another minute passed, and Boon blew out a frustrated breath. "Come on, babe. I thought I was supposed to be doing some combat training? This is boring."
Gonders’ voice came out of nowhere. "Combat doesn't abide by your timeline. It happens when it happens. You just need to be ready."
Boon gritted her teeth. "I understand that, but we only have the room for another—–"
She cut off when the sound of running footsteps caught her attention. She spun toward the truck, her pistol aimed at the gap between the vehicle and wall. A figure burst out of the gap at a full sprint, and Boon nearly pulled the trigger before realizing it was a civilian.
"Goddammit, Gonders!" Boon yelled, lowering the pistol.
As soon as her guard was down, the shit hit the fan.
She caught movement above her. She raised the pistol and ducked, all in one fluid motion. A Vitas robot was leaping over the parked truck, its arm cannons charging as they aimed right at her face. She pulled the trigger, sending a three-round burst into the thing’s chest and head. The hypersonic pellets ripped through the bot’s thin, metal skin, sending up sparks. Despite the damage, the bot was still coming, and those arm cannons were still aimed at her.
Silva filled her mind with the requested spellform at the speed of thought, and Boon shot a burst of Aether into it. Instead of trying to shield herself, she cast a force spell across her own body that shoved her back several meters. The particle cannons ripped up chunks of concrete where she had just been standing.
Boon squeezed the trigger of her pistol several more times, and three rounds ripped through the bot, shredding its torso and right arm. The bot spun from the multiple impacts and toppled to the ground, though Boon could see that it was still moving.
On instinct, she powered another spell. A flat shield formed under her feet and quickly lifted her three meters off the ground.
She smiled when a second bot dove through the empty space she had just occupied. She fired shots down over the edge of her shield platform, peppering the bot from above. She must have hit something vital, because it seized up and toppled forward. Its momentum sent it crashing into the one on the ground, and they both skidded under the front end of the truck, becoming lodged under the bumper.
Boon quickly scanned the area and saw three more bots rushing the alley from the street beyond. She powered a second spell, and the concrete wall closest to the charging bots morphed from a flat surface to a spike of stone that speared the lead bot through the hips. The spike ripped out most of its lower torso as well, but the top half of the bot continued forward, ripping the legs free, and took aim at her as it skidded on its stomach, uncaring that it was half the bot it used to be.
The two coming in behind the leader vaulted the concrete spike and sent two particle beams each at her. She powered a shield to deflect the shots, then, letting the platform she stood on wink out, she dropped the three meters to the ground and sent several bursts into the gap between the truck and the wall, cutting down the lead bot.
She powered a shield and grabbed hold of one of the dumpsters, sending it flying across the alley right in front of the truck. The second bot didn't see the dumpster coming until it had cleared the gap, but by then it was too late. The steel box hit the bot at several hundred meters per second, lifting the attacker off its feet and smashing it into the opposite wall. The dumpster was mostly crushed, but it had hit hard enough that the bot was buried several centimeters into the concrete, stuck.
Using another force spell, Boon vaulted over the truck and began pelting the half bot with pistol fire while she was still in the air. She landed, skidding a short distance, and kept the pistol trained on the now unmoving torso.
She smiled and pumped a fist into the air. "Take that, you sons—"
She was cut off as a particle beam shot out from under the truck, knocking her off her feet and onto her stomach. That gave her a perfect view of the first bot—crammed under the front end of the truck, but still very much functional—as it shot a second beam right into her face.
The holo projection stopped just before the beam made contact, fading away.
Boon dropped her head to the deck with a thump. "Fuck."
"That was pretty good, but you need to remember who's still in the fight. It only counts as a win if you can walk away," Gonders said, coming over and dropping into a cross-legged position beside the defeated Boon.
"I know. I totally forgot about that first one. Shit, I was so close," she said into the floor.
Silva came and stood on her shoulder blades and nuzzled the back of her head
in sympathy. Gonders reached out and smacked Boon hard on the butt, making the blonde woman jump.
"Hey! What was that for?" she shouted, reaching around to rub the sore spot.
Gonders shrugged innocently. "Consolation prize."
Boon stared at her like she was crazy for a second before both women burst into laughter. Silva leapt off her mage and into Gonders’ lap, as Boon rolled over and sat up.
Wiping a tear from her eye, Boon smiled. "I'm glad you think I deserved it, but I need to get better. I can't go out there unprepared, I’ll just end up getting Silva or myself hurt."
Gonders cocked her head. "You are getting better. These bots are way faster and tougher than the Teifen program, and a few weeks ago, you could barely handle that."
Boon shrugged and nodded. "You're right. I just feel like it's taking forever. You could beat the pants off me in a fight."
Gonders laughed. "Babe, it took years of training for me to get where I am. This stuff takes time and practice. And if you think I can beat you in a fight, you have some serious delusions going on in that pretty little head of yours. You're a War Mage. I watched you and Sara destroy an entire dreadnought with your powers—compared to that, I don't even hold a candle."
Boon pursed her lips in thought. "Speaking of dreadnoughts, I've been thinking."
Gonders raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I guess we're talking about that now?"
Boon chuckled. "Sorry, it's just been on my mind lately. I want to know what you think."
"Okay, what’s up?" Gonders asked, rubbing Silva's chin and making kissy faces at the ferret, who cooed with delight at the attention.
"Well, there’s a dreadnought just sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic; it seems like a huge waste of a resource. We should be trying to figure out how to use it. I know Sara wants to keep it secret for now, but we should still be getting it ready."
Gonders nodded. "I agree. It could be a huge boon to our operation," she said straight-faced.
Boon rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you think I haven't heard that one a thousand times?"
Gonders laughed. "Sorry, but I'm serious. Having a dreadnought could be the deciding factor in a lot of battles. You saw what the Teifen dreadnought could do, and I bet our version could blow the pants off theirs. There's only one problem," she said hesitantly, giving Boon a knowing look. "We don't have anyone to fly it."
"Actually, I think we might." Boon looked down at Silva.
The ferret took a second to realize the two women were looking at her.
"Errr?" Silva said, wide-eyed.
Chapter 38
"I understand your concerns, Captain," Admiral Franklin assured her.
Sara had sent him the recording of her conversation with Reese Rodgers, in which mention was made of Admiral Smith. Franklin was particularly concerned about the rigged crate of warheads.
He went on. "There are some who are threatened when their authority is questioned. Unfortunately, I believe Admiral Smith is one of these people. However, I never thought she would try something like this."
Sara liked the old admiral. He had been serving in the military since before the Elif had arrived on Earth, and his attitude was that of someone who looked at the results rather than the method. He had been instrumental in the Raven running the operation to retrieve the Elif emperor from the dreadnought, and had defended Sara personally during her hearing for the Elif embassy incident.
Sometimes she wondered if he was the last sane commander she had.
He sat at his desk in his office in Hawaii, the morning sun streaming in through the window behind him. He had a concerned look on his face as he drummed his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.
After a minute’s consideration, he spoke again. "I have a few people who owe me favors. Let me work on getting to the bottom of this, rooting out the problem from the source. It might take me a few weeks, but with the Teifen and Elif conflict at a standstill—thanks to your actions, I might add—we have some breathing room.
"With the arrival of these Vitas, I think it’s more important than ever that we find any other human civilizations out there. I'm under no illusion that we have the manpower to fight this new enemy, even with the new War Mages coming into the fold."
"How many mages have been able to take on familiars?" Sara asked, curious to know how far along they were.
"Six pairs so far, though the Rodgers twins are the only others in the field. Of the remaining five pairs, four only finished the spell in the last two days. I want to give them some time to work with the Alant program you sent us." He furrowed his brow for a second. "Where did you get that, anyway? I was looking over the original report you sent along after delivering it, and there is no mention of its actual origin."
Sara had prepared this lie in advance, even sending follow-up documentation to back it. "We retrieved it from Cora's core. There were some files behind a firewall that took us some time to get to. I've sent subsequent reports since its delivery."
She felt bad for lying to the admiral, but there was some part of her that could not let the truth about the dreadnought get out. She decided to delve deeper into those feelings when she had the time.
"I'll have to take a look at those; I was unaware you had sent follow-ups," he said, making a note. "Regardless, I'm going to send you out to continue your mission to find and contact any other human civilizations. These Vitas are going to be a problem, but even worse are the Galvox."
Sara cocked her head. "Why are the Galvox a bigger problem? From the reports I've read, they don't seem all that sophisticated in their battle tactics."
"Maybe not, but after reviewing your scans of the remains in the Teifen system, we know without a doubt that the Galvox and Vitas are working together. The battle damage showed that the Teifen ships were hit with both Galvox and Vitas weapons, but the Galvox were only hit with Teifen weapons. For whatever reason, the Galvox and Vitas have an alliance, and that could mean that the Vitas are organizing the Galvox into a more efficient fighting force," Admiral Franklin said. "With the vast numbers the Galvox can field, a little organization on their part could spell the destruction of the galaxy."
Sara nodded in assent. "And you think finding the ancient humans could turn the tide?"
"It couldn't hurt. Your reports from that planet you found show a fully developed, advanced civilization. Perhaps they continued with their Aetheric roots and have become even more powerful. We will never know if we don't go out and find them. Obviously they are not coming to us.
"In the meantime, your ship needs to be repaired, and we need to get that Vitas robot to a research facility for study," Franklin said, typing away at his keyboard as he talked. "My son is in charge of Reemass Station and the development of the colony on the planet there. Reemass was the first of three colonies set up for us by the Elif, so their facilities are furthest along and most equipped to study the robot. I'm sending him a message now to let him know that you are coming, and to ask that he keep the information quiet for now."
He hit the return key on his keyboard and turned back to the camera. "The orders have been sent. If you could do me a favor while you are there, it would be a great help to me and the Confederation."
"Name it, Admiral. Whatever you need," Sara said, and meant it. He had shown his loyalty to her, and she wanted to give back in whatever way she could.
"Could you set them up with a core and the ability for this instant communication? I know the core’s creation is a secret the War Mages can't divulge, and we are concentrating on outfitting the fleet with them before we start to incorporate them elsewhere. But if you can provide Reemass with a core, they will be free to study it and, hopefully, can more quickly further our understanding of their capabilities." The admiral gave a warm smile. "And it would be nice to be able to speak with my grandchildren in real-time again."
Sara smiled. "It would be my pleasure, Admiral. Thank you for everything. Especially looking into the matter of Admiral Smith."
"Not at all. You hav
e done more for humanity than anyone in history, my dear. You are a treasure to humankind, and I will fight to protect that treasure at all costs. Be safe, Captain. This planet is counting on you."
"Thank you, sir. We will do our best."
He smiled. "I know you will. Franklin out."
Chapter 39
"Raven, you have been cleared for docking bay two. Welcome to Reemass Station," the air traffic controller said in what Sara thought of as the ‘classic air traffic controller’ voice. She had to smile at his sing-song cadence.
"Connors, bring us in," she ordered, leaning back in her chair and taking in the view of planet Reemass and her orbital station.
The station, while roughly the same design as Xanadu, was comparatively smaller, but still large enough to house several thousand colonists as they prepared the planet for habitation. A large, donut-shaped cylinder was held to a central axis by four spokes, and spun in a lazy revolution to provide artificial gravity. Most space stations employed centripetal gravity to save on power usage, unlike most ships that had power to spare.
In contrast to Xanadu, Reemass Station was actually the counterweight to a space elevator. The long, thin cable was held taut by the weight of the station and the rotation of the planet below. This made the transfer of materials to the surface much cheaper in the long run.
Connors banked around the station, and Sara noted that they were the only warship that would be docked there. However, they had picked up friendly ID tags of four UHF ships patrolling the system when they arrived.
With practiced ease, Connors brought the Raven to rest in the docking clamps. There was a shudder as the magnetic clamps engaged, and a large green light flashed on the station’s hull, indicating they had successfully docked.
Sara opened the ship-wide comm channel. "We have arrived at Reemass Station and will be docked for the next twenty-four hours. Shore leave has been approved for all crewmen, on a rotation. So check with your officers for your slot.
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