“And the rest of my task force?”
“You will have five more Class-A cruisers. I have located suitable vessels that can be pulled from their current assignments, with captains and crews who will be up to the task. I have another ship for you as well, although it’s presently undergoing repairs at the Usile shipyards. However, I have designated it as high priority and it should be ready to rendezvous with your task force in a fortnight or three weeks at the most.”
What appeared to be a large frigate appeared out of hyperspace, decelerating as it entered the outskirts of the Phalamkian system. It was in fact one of the smaller variants of a Phalamkian Cruiser. It had carrying capacity for a shuttle and a single squad of fighters and to top it all off, it only required a small crew to run it.
Presently, that crew consisted of Selina at the helm, along with Asten, Drackson and Carla. And in its one hangar, Asten’s precious ship the Lady Hawk was safely stowed away.
Selina switched on the communicator as they approached the main Phalamkian world. “Spaceport control, this is Selina Erama on board the Harpy, heading in for parking orbit. We’ll be taking a private ship down to the Kerali spaceport, the Lady Hawk.”
“Understood. Ah, one moment. There’s a flag in the system.”
“Oh.” Selina gave Asten a grin. “Are we in trouble or something?”
The controller laughed. “No, of course not. You have a message though. You have a passenger with you, we believe. Carla Casdan?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Well, it seems she has visitors. They’re waiting for her with your father. In his private quarters, not Kerali Central Control.”
“Okay. Have they been waiting long?”
“I’m not sure. Let me see. Ah. They arrived the day before yesterday.”
Selina nodded. “We’ll be there shortly. Harpy out.”
The Lady Hawk docked in a special bay that was reserved for Selina’s sole use and they disembarked and made their way through the spaceport toward the surrounding buildings. They then took an air speeder to a large nearby bluff, with a number of structures built along its slopes.
“Well, here we are,” Selina said as they all climbed out.
“Oh, Carla,” Asten said, tapping his friend on her shoulder. “Drackson and I can wait down here if you’d like.”
“Don’t be silly,” Carla admonished him but without any sting.
It was a short walk through the various residences until they came to Selina’s father’s place, a modest one-level building. It was rather simple when compared to some of the homes around it but it was exactly the kind of place he would have.
Lord Erama opened the door when Selina rang the bell.
“Hello, Father. It’s us.”
“Selina,” he beamed, embracing her with all four of his arms. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Wonderful. And I see your young man is with you and... oh, yes. Drackson and Carla too. Good. You got my message.”
“I trust you’re all well?” he asked as he ushered them inside.
“We’re very well,” Asten replied.
“Good, good,” Lord Erama said, clasping two of his hands. “Now, we’d better attend to our other visitors but would any of you like some refreshments?”
“We’re fine,” Selina told her father, waving a hand. “Asten and Drackson can look after themselves. Me too, if you’d like.”
“Oh, everyone can come with me,” Lord Erama said. “I imagine our guests would be glad to meet you all.”
The others glanced at Carla but she just shrugged.
They then proceeded into the main living room where they were greeted with a vision in triplicate. Closest to the door was a young woman around Carla’s age with sun-bleached blonde hair, while behind her stood two older women with cascades of red hair flowing around their shoulders. One of course was Selina’s mother, the Lady Erama, an attractive lady in her own right, while the other was luminous, a resplendent image of buttery brown skin and dark eyes.
“Mom! Lyla!” Carla exclaimed. She hugged the other woman with the red hair and then the younger blonde woman. Then she turned to Asten, Drackson and Selina. “Everyone, this is my mother and my sister, Lyla.”
“Hello,” her mother smiled. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
Carla then gestured to Asten, Drackson and Selina, introducing each of them in turn.
“So, you’re Carla’s family,” Asten said. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“Well, we’re most of Carla’s family anyway,” Carla’s mother said. “Her father’s not here at the moment and we’re still looking for her other sister. Oh, and you can call me Laila. Don’t bother with Mrs. Casdan or anything like that. It makes me feel old.”
“Sure.” Asten looked at the others before turning back to Laila. “Well, if you and Carla have family business to talk about, we might go and leave you to it.”
Laila waved a dismissive hand and sat down on a lounge next to Selina’s parents. “Nonsense. The way Lord and Lady Erama tell it, you’re all practically family to Carla anyway. Besides, Lyla and I aren’t strictly here on family business and it might be useful to discuss this matter with you too. I have a feeling that you might be interested.”
Asten wasn’t sure how Carla’s mother figured that. He wasn’t exactly known for his selfless devotion to higher causes. However, if she wanted him to stay, then he wasn’t going to argue.
“Sure,” he replied as they all sat down.
“Here,” Lord Erama said, pouring a few glasses of something that looked pleasantly appealing and sliding them around the low table in the middle of the room. “Why don’t we all have some refreshments?”
“Do you know what this is all about?” Selina asked him.
“Of course I do,” her father replied. “And you’ll definitely be interested. And I think you’ll probably want to head over to Koratav and let Maia know too. I’ve told Laila about her and she agrees.”
“What’s Maia got to do with this?” Selina inquired, glancing at their guests and back to her parents.
Lord Erama smiled. “Why don’t you let our guests explain it?”
Selina nodded, smiling. “Sorry. Getting ahead of myself.”
“That’s okay,” Laila told her. She then leant forward. “A situation has come up that concerns me, both personally, and as someone who, let’s say, is interested in the larger picture. Recently, the Federation government was approached by a group of Minstrahn ambassadors. They have some kind of problem in their home territory and they have asked the Federation to send an envoy to assess the problem first hand and assist them.”
“What kind of problem?” Asten asked.
“That, it seems, is a mystery.” Laila smiled. “My people are not particularly famed for being forthcoming about things.”
“You’re Minstrahn?”
“Yes. I take it Carla hasn’t mentioned this then.”
Asten looked at Carla in surprise. “Well, it’s the first I’ve heard about it. Carla said you were all from Laonist.”
“That’s more or less right,” Laila replied, glancing at her daughters. “She and her sisters were born and raised there, and so was their father. The Minstrahn connection’s just on my side of the family. And I’m hardly the genuine article since I left the Empire when I was seventeen.”
“Seventeen,” Asten said, thinking about it. “You must’ve arrived in the middle of the Levarc War.”
“Two fifty-seven,” Laila replied. “Just in time for a particularly brutal period of it.”
“Yeah, I remember my mother talking about how hard it was for everyone,” Asten agreed. “Although, I was seven so... Well, I can’t really remember. But I definitely remember learning about Dardaeis, Pelagia and some of the other worlds the Levarc devastated shortly after that time. I imagine they’ll be on the average history syllabus for quite a while.”
“Yes, it’s not the kind of thing people tend to forget,
” Laila said.
Selina and Carla exchanged glances. Asten and Laila were getting on wonderfully but the topic of the Minstrahn asking the Federation for assistance seemed to have been neatly derailed somewhere along the line.
“By the way,” Asten said, “when the Federation overran Laonist, did you wait out the occupation planetside or did you manage to get out? Carla never told me.”
“We were in the Resistance,” Laila said. “General Kalae’s division. Our defense force formed the core of the division. Actually, I should say Admiral Kalae now.”
Asten shook his head. “It’s so weird. After the attack on the Usile shipyards when we were doing odd jobs and escorting cargo and personnel, we did a number of jobs for Gen-Admiral Kalae...”
“The Resistance was a big organization,” Laila said. She then turned to Carla. “By the way, we tried finding Alia after you visited us but we haven’t had any luck. Do you have any idea where she is? Has she given you any way to contact her?”
“No,” Carla said. “But I could try to find her. I think I’ve got some leads. But what’s actually going on?”
“We’re going to the Minstrahn Empire,” her mother replied. “I don’t know what’s happening there but if a group of people who have never so much as dropped a line to their neighbors send an envoy to a large conglomerate of systems asking for help, then something’s seriously wrong.”
“And while Admiral Roth’s a fine commander, he’s heading into almost unknown territory here,” Lyla pointed out.
“Admiral Roth is going on this crazy trip?” Carla asked.
Admiral Roth was quite a recognizable figure by then, and not just in military circles. His part in bringing down Corinthe and preventing a catastrophe was quite well known. Although by reason of necessity, some details had to remain secret. There’d been some controversy over the whole event, of course, but that had been anticipated and had now largely died down. Presently, the supreme commander of the Federation navy was held in considerable respect by people in the Federation and the Frontier alike.
Laila raised her eyebrows in mild reproach at her daughter’s uncharitable description of the proposed expedition. “Yes, he is. And he’s bringing his flagship, the Sentinel and two other Class-A Cruisers. He’s taking this very seriously. He’s not making a lot of noise about it but he put out word in the outlying systems of the Federation, seeking the assistance of any resident Minstrahn. That’s when I offered my assistance.”
“How the times change,” Selina remarked. “A year or so ago, most of the resident Minstrahn would’ve thought that was some kind of ruse.”
“Yes. Mind you, I think there are probably quite a few Minstrahn who are still sore about being used as scapegoats for Corinthe’s war on the Frontier.”
“Why are there so many of you?” Selina wondered.
Laila shrugged. “Don’t know. I can’t speak for everyone. I imagine some of the other Minstrahn living in this region of space probably left the Empire because of problems back home. But there have always been Minstrahn who’ve wondered what else was out there as well.”
“Well,” Carla said, getting back on topic. “I think I’d better see what leads I can dig up on Alia. Will Admiral Roth wait for us?”
“Well, he does have some organizing of his own to see to,” her mother replied, “so he’s not leaving straightaway. But he’s not going to wait indefinitely either.”
“Asten...” Carla said, turning to her friend and looking at Selina and Drackson. “I’m going to go with Lyla and my mother.”
Asten smiled. “We figured that.”
“I might be gone some time.”
“No problem,” Asten told her. “And we’re coming with you.” He turned to Selina and Drackson. “Right?”
Drackson smiled. “Of course. As Laila said, we’re practically family anyway.”
“And don’t forget Maia’s going to probably want in,” Selina added.
Carla nodded. “Right. Her mother was a Felariam but her father was Minstrahn. I almost forgot.”
“It’s all right.”
“Good,” Asten said. “So we’ll bring Maia along if we can tear her and Zak away from Koratav.”
Selina shrugged. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
“No, probably not,” Asten said, standing up. “Actually, maybe we can ask the kind folk there if we can borrow some of Zak’s wing mates as well.”
“Three Class-A Cruisers, remember?” Laila reminded him. “Fighters too.”
“Which I’m sure will make the admiral feel nice and secure,” Asten replied. “But if we’re going too, then I think it’d be nice to have some more people we know along for the ride. Now, have you got a ship? Oh, of course you’ve got one.”
The others watched in wonder as Asten, who was generally happy to sit back and let others organize things, took control. “So, let’s reconvene here in a few days. And we’ll assume you’ll be back within the week, with or without your other daughter?”
“Yes,” Laila said.
“All right. Then whoever gets back first can brew some coffee while they wait and if Admiral Roth hasn’t set off before we get our own little group together, then we can hook up with the main envoy then.”
He frowned as he realized everyone was staring. “What?”
Carla chuckled. “Way to go, Asten.”
3. Everyone On Board
With the slightest sensation of kickback from the engines, Commander Zak Materson brought his Harskan Cortek into a portside roll, descending through the void of space. Another fighter shot through the gap he had just opened, but in the opposite direction, and veered up before looping back to take a rear guard position off his starboard flank.
“Nicely done, Maia,” he said into his in-built helmet comm. “All right. Ja’is. Adaria. You’re up next. Layson, I see you. You’re up after them.”
“Right you are, Commander. I was just getting warmed up.”
“Well, you look warmed up to me. Adaria?”
“Heading off now,” came the reply.
Forty degrees off, he saw her fighter accelerating and veering away to starboard, disappearing off his viewscreen. Ja’is then executed the same barrel roll he had just pulled off and then Adaria shot through the gap, pulling up before she collided with the imaginary opponent she had theoretically taken out.
Zak smiled. They were really giving these imaginary opponents a hiding today. Still, it was good practice and if they were patrolling out here anyway, then they might as well do some training.
“Nicely done, both of you. All right, Layson. Deacon. You’re up. That is, if you’re warmed up, Layson.”
“Well, I haven’t done my stretches yet, Commander, but I’ll do my best.”
Zak watched as the rest of his squadron went through their maneuvers until the chronometer ticked over.
“Change of the guard, Sigma Squadron,” he said.
Zak was happy with the contract they’d landed with the Koratav defense forces and not just because they’d let them keep their old Resistance squad designation. It was good work for them all and it was particularly good for Maia. Under the guidance of her adopted father Lord Erama, she was preparing to one day take up a position of command in the Phalamkian defense forces and as part of her preparation, she was interested in working with the defense forces of different Frontier nations.
And getting their contract with Koratav hadn’t been difficult either. With most of the squadron graduates from the Koratav academy, they still had many connections in the defense forces. And turning up with their own Harskan Corteks hadn’t hurt either.
When they arrived back on Koratav One, the most populated of the three habitable worlds of the Koratav system, Zak and Maia checked in with control to give their report.
“Nothing out of the ordinary out there,” Zak said. “I think it’s a slow month for pirates.”
“Good, good,” the other officer replied, typing a quick note in the system and checking s
omething. “Although it’s a fairly slow month for interstellar trading too. Stockpiles are up and there’s not much to ship out just yet. Anyway, no pirate activity is good news. Now, Commander Materson, some woman was in here earlier asking after you. Selina Erama?”
“Okay. Is she still here?”
“Yes, she’s in a ship. The Lady Hawk. And it’s presently in the public spaceport in... docking bay fifty-seven.”
“Well?” Zak asked Maia as they left the building. “Shall we go and say hi now or go home and get out of our flight suits first?”
“We can get changed quickly,” Maia said, a hint of excitement in her glowing red eyes. “Our place is on the way.”
A little under twenty minutes later, they were at the Lady Hawk’s hatchway.
“Maia!” Selina exclaimed, embracing her adopted sister and the young man at her side. “Hey, Zak. Come on in.” She waved them through the entrance hatch.
“Where are the others?” Zak asked.
“Carla’s off on a little errand and will be heading back to the Phalamkian system once she’s done. But Asten and Drackson are just picking up some supplies. They won’t be long. So how are things?”
“Good,” Maia said. “Quiet, but good.”
“Sounds like you could do with some excitement to brighten up your dull lives,” Selina said as they all sat down in the lounge area. She poured them some drinks. “What would you and Zak say to a trip out of Koratav?”
“What have you got in mind?” Maia asked suspiciously, brushing a strand of blue-black hair aside and reaching for her cup.
“Well, something has just come up that I think you might be interested in. A group of ambassadors from the Minstrahn Empire have asked the Federation to send an envoy to assist them with some type of problem.”
Maia’s gaze gave away nothing yet. “What type of problem?”
Selina shook her head. “They didn’t say. Anyway, that’s just the start of it. Now, Admiral Roth has organized three Class-A Cruisers to go to Minstrahn and investigate, including the Sentinel. So he’s going personally.”
Zak twitched, almost imperceptibly, but he didn’t say anything. Admiral Roth had almost singlehandedly resolved the crisis that Corinthe had created and he was an honorable commander. However, while he had never been a supporter of the previous security minister, Roth hadn’t always been amiable to the Resistance either and a Wasp pilot under his command had killed one of Zak’s pilots.
Beyond the Veil Page 3