by John Walker
They parted ways and Gray returned to his quarters, flopping on the bed. He risked a great deal when he brought Clea’s request to the Earth council but it paid off in the end. He believed in her but doubt nibbled his mind when they started. When they spoke to high command, they’d likely say the same.
Pragmatists always found the negative side of a situation, even when the results were overwhelmingly positive. It was how a man could win a battle and still receive a reprimand. In this case, Clea had an advantage though. The data she uncovered may end a conflict that went on for longer than Gray could even imagine.
That had to count for something and Gray planned to ensure it did.
***
Gray, Clea and Durant met with the council, discussing the latest mission from a high level view. There were several questions involving the pirate base, mostly to understand the operation and how the untimely involvement of the kielan military caused them some trouble. Gray expressed his opinion that it would be wise to coach some trust into the various captains rather than have them second guessing fellow commanders.
His criticism was met with surprisingly positive responses, even from the military high command. When they finished, they directed Gray and Clea to speak with the war council while Durant stayed behind for further discussion. Back in the hallway, Gray waited for them to be out of earshot before he spoke.
“That went better than I anticipated.”
“They know when to listen to a good commander,” Clea replied. “I’ve heard far worse come from captains during after action reports.”
“Wow, I can’t imagine.”
“Don’t try. Some of them are embarrassing.” Clea grinned. “Anyway, the war council is on level seven. Let’s get going.”
They took an elevator down and found their way to a massive room guarded by over a dozen soldiers. After their credentials were cleared, they were allowed entrance and stepped in to see holographic displays of star maps and systems from all over the galaxy. Men and women moved about, pulling data from computers and organizing action plans.
An older man Gray hadn’t met yet approached. “Captain Atwell, I presume?”
“Indeed.” Gray shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you um…”
“Atha-Dae Valance Tox’Pree, at your service.” Gray knew Atha-Dae basically meant admiral to the kielans. They didn’t have many higher ranks than that so this man likely oversaw most of the military operations or at least had his hand in many of them. As a result, his most likely peer in the Earth military structure may’ve been someone on the Chief of Military Operations staff. “Thank you for coming.”
“We understand you’ve got some kind of urgent request,” Gray said. “Oh, do you know my liaison officer? Clea An’Tufal?”
“Yes, we’ve met.” Valance shook Clea’s hand. “It’s been a long time Su-Anthar.”
“It has.” Clea turned to Gray. “Our families have been close for many years.”
“Perfect.” Gray nodded. “Okay, so what’s going on?”
“We have studied your briefing,” Valance replied. “The people you fought out at Durant’s planet are a group called Orion’s Light. We thought they might simply be some fringe group unworthy of concern but they’ve managed to elevate themselves on the severity list. They’re attacking colonies now, conscripting people and murdering civilians. Few have escaped so far.”
Gray frowned. “That’s awful. How many ships could they possibly have? How organized are they? Or…I suppose I should just ask what do we know about them?”
“Not as much as we’d like but we are aware they command a fleet rivaling some of our smaller, better established allies. Their structure seems to follow a modified form of our own according to the witnesses we’ve got. They have no mercy and adhere to a doctrine of religious zeal. Honestly, your assessment from the pirate you captured has given us most of our data.”
Gray winced. “I hope he can help more. He was hurt pretty bad during the assault with those guys. We brought back as much of their technology as we could. Their weapons mostly but they seem to have been stolen. And they blew up their ships.”
“Yes, they’re quite insane.” Valance shook his head. “And it gets worse. We believe they may have hit a planet we recently colonized. It’s several parsecs away but we’ve lost all communication with them. They missed three check ins…all the settlements I mean.”
“You believe Orion’s Light attacked them?” Clea frowned. “To what end? I’m sure I don’t have to say anything could’ve happened to those settlements.”
“You’re quite right but if they did, then they’re on some kind of rampage. It will be the sixth planet they’ve assaulted in less than a month. They move swiftly and kill any survivors.”
“I’m sure we can look into it,” Gray replied. “But I’d have to speak to my government first.”
“Your representative has given us leave to task you with this.” Valance tapped his tablet. “I’ve sent you the orders from your people.”
Gray checked, running them through the security analyzer. Once it came back as authentic, he nodded. “Good enough for me. When do we start?”
“As soon as you offload your passengers, technology and are resupplied. No more than twenty-four hours. We need to move quickly to avoid another attack.” Valance stepped closer, lowering his voice. “These attacks combined with the enemy are putting many people on edge. Some are on the verge of panic and we must avoid that at any cost.”
“Of course.” Gray turned to Clea. “We’ll get underway as soon as possible.”
“Sir,” Clea said. “I need to deliver a letter to the family of someone who was killed in action during our operation. May I have your leave to do so?”
“I’ll take the responsibility, Clea.” Valance smiled sadly. “They’ll consider it quite the honor if I make the delivery in person.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m sure they will.”
Valance looked between them both. “I’m providing you with all the intel we’ve got so far. It’ll be mailed to you shortly. Please disseminate it to your crew and specialists then report back anything you find. Thank you, Captain Atwell. We appreciate your service.”
The two men saluted one another in the Earth way before Clea and Gray stepped out of the room.
“Orion’s Light.” Gray hummed. “I’m surprised we’re faced with some fringe group of anarchists. How can they possibly be organized enough to cause these problems?”
“Never underestimate small forces,” Clea replied. “I believe you taught me that when we were discussing some of the guerrilla tactics of forces on Earth.”
“True…” Gray shook his head. “And these folks must be just like them. We’ll have to discover why they’re attacking our people before we can really do anything to stop them. This may prove more challenging than a frontal assault.”
“Investigations and mysteries usually are.” Clea’s com started blaring and she checked. “Odd. Durant wishes to see us. He’s with the Earth representative. He states that it’s important and that we should get over there right away.”
“Well, by all means let’s not keep Durant waiting.” Gray chuckled. “He’s pretty feisty, huh?”
“Yes, it is his reputation.” Clea scowled. “I can’t imagine what he might want with us. Especially when we’re on the verge of getting out of here. Let’s try to ensure he speaks quickly because if we get caught up in some lecture of his, then we’ll be here all night. I for now need time to study our intel.”
“You probably have good cause to worry.” Gray patted her shoulder as they walked. “The poor bastard spent all that time alone in the wilderness with only robots for company. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to talk all day long.”
“He could do that when he was amongst others every day,” Clea pointed out. “Imagine how much it may have been compounded.”
“Not filling me with hope, Clea.” Gray boarded the elevator. “Let’s see what the genius wants.”
; Chapter 2
Clea primarily knew Durant by reputation only, just as every other kielan with an interest in technology might. He brought about a number of key innovations their people enjoyed both for luxury and the military. When he left, the vast majority of average people had no idea but tech journals wrote extensively about the loss.
While they prepared to head back to the capital, Clea had an opportunity to speak with him privately. They talked while she recovered and the others secured the planet while waiting for reinforcements. She found him as brilliant as reputed but still a person. The legend built up about him didn’t match the kielan with emotions and frustrations who spoke freely with his guest.
Durant fell easily into the role of teacher but also knew when to back off. He proved to be quite impressed with her discovery of the enemy’s codes and home planet location, enough so that he took an active interest in her career. They spoke extensively about her family and goals, education and aspirations. He felt the liaison position was wasted on her, which was one of the few points they disagreed on.
When they finally went back to the Behemoth, she had recovered enough to return to duty and Durant went about observing the ship, making his recommendations while assisting with minor tweaks to optimize systems. She looked forward to talking with him again but it looked as if it might not be possible. As soon as they returned home, he’d be off in a lab someplace, providing upgrades to weapon systems.
The summons to talk with him and the Earth representative seemed odd unless he had some new technology he wanted them to test. This made sense to her and she could understand why they’d all have to meet considering what sort of permission they would need to modify the Behemoth in any dramatic manner.
Clea led Gray to the conference room where they were supposed to meet and upon entering, Durant and an older human male stood, greeting them with smiles. The Earth representative stepped forward and offered his hand to Gray. “Captain Atwell! I’m so glad to meet you. My name is Riley Porter.”
“Good to meet you,” Gray replied. “This is Su-Anthar Clea An’Tufal. She’s our liaison with the kielans.”
“A pleasure, really.” Riley shook her hand as well. “I believe you both know Durant Vi’Puren.”
“Yes, yes, we all know each other,” Durant interrupted. “We have much to discuss and I believe these two have little time before departure. Let’s talk quickly, shall we?”
“I’m curious what this is about,” Gray said. “Besides meeting you. I’d anticipated a trip back to Earth to be honest. We have a lot to tell home.”
“I’ve sent the report,” Riley replied. “I also spoke with our leaders and convinced them to assign you to this new mission. As you may or may not know, the Earth now has ample protection. Kielan war vessels are erecting orbital defense stations in several locations. Not to mention two more of our own ships are on the verge of completion.”
Durant stepped in. “My advances in automation and fabrication have also provided your people with a swifter path toward the construction of vessels. I estimate that when we get these in place, you will have your own fleet in full production in less than a month. As resources pour in, you should have enough ships to protect your system and participate in the galactic theater.”
“But for now?” Gray asked. “We’re supposed to be the shield of our solar system.”
“We’ve taken care of that,” Riley said. “Three kielan ships are there now. The Behemoth’s sister ship is done and they’re igniting the core this week. They’ve been training the crew for some time and a few of your seasoned officers will train the trainers. Smaller ships are also under way, scouts and the like carrying more firepower than any of our others in the past. We’re well defended now, Captain Atwell but this threat we’re facing needs to be addressed.”
“You guys know that they were pretty devastating to our shields,” Gray said. “They almost prevailed in a head to head fight.”
Durant nodded. “That’s why I’ve convinced the council to let me come with you.”
Clea lifted her brows and looked at Gray. She spoke first. “I’m surprised they’re letting you. Is that wise?”
“You need someone who can adjust the shield matrix to match those weapons. I know how they built them and I’m certain I can provide us an edge against them.” Durant shrugged. “This means I need to come with you and provide that support in person. I believe I’m the most qualified for the job anyway. My technical expertise is not surpassed by anyone.”
“How did you get them to let you go?” Gray asked. “I can’t let that point go.”
“They didn’t have a choice. I gave them all my schematics and directed them to find a particular group of scientists to start studying them. When we get back, I’ll help but I need some field time if I’m to be truly effective. They understand my wishes but they weren’t happy, as you can guess.”
“I’m sure.” Gray smirked. “Okay, so you’re going to come with us to take down the Orion’s Light. Or at least figure out what they’re up to and stop them. That’s how I interpret the orders.” He turned to Riley. “Am I right?”
Riley nodded. “You are indeed. This is a benefit to all our people and our new alliance as well. One day we’d like to colonize planets outside our solar system and we don’t need thugs killing our people in the process. This is important, Captain and I will be honest, I pushed hard for us to be the ones to take care of it.”
“More favors?”
“Exactly,” Riley said. “The more we’ve done for them, the better position we have for asking for things. Your ship is proving to be most effective and the more we can leverage you, the more we can ask for. They already owe us in a major way for what we’ve done. Imagine what this will do for us.”
“When are we going to take the fight to the enemy?” Clea asked. “After the data we recovered, I thought more people would be talking about that.”
“Ah.” Durant cleared his throat. “We are…still working on a strategy for how to verify the data and not get caught. We need to be cautious. Intelligence is light in that sector you uncovered. Read as nonexistent. When we gather what we need, make no mistake that we’ll be bringing the fight to their doorstep en masse. But for now, we have immediate threats to deal with.”
Clea nodded her head. “Of course. Thank you.”
“I guess you should find your way aboard the Behemoth,” Gray said. “We’ll get you clearance, which I assume Riley’s taken care of.”
“I have.” Riley smiled. “Everything’s ready to go. You just have to ensure you’re resupplied and have whatever Durant needs to do his job properly.”
“I’ve made a list and it’s all being loaded up in a supply shuttle now,” Durant said. “I’ll head there to oversee their progress. Then I’ll meet you on the ship in say…six hours?”
“Sounds good to us.” Gray turned to Clea. “We have a little time if you want to get something to eat. We’ll head back up after lunch.”
“Certainly.” Clea turned to the others. “It was nice to meet you, Mister Porter. Talk to you later, Durant.”
“You as well, Clea. Have a pleasant afternoon.”
Back on the elevator, they found themselves alone. Clea stared hard at the door, feeling thoughtful. Gray touched her shoulder, startling her from her reverie. She looked up at him without speaking, waiting to see what he wanted. After a moment of observation, he finally cleared his throat.
“Something’s wrong.”
“No, I’m just thinking about this mission. The Orion’s Light people didn’t even hesitate to kill themselves. That’s a kind of zeal I find abhorrent. It’s so wasteful.”
“We know about that kind of fighting.” Gray sighed. “I’m curious what drives them to it. That’ll be part of this mission. Discovering their motivation. I have a feeling we’re stepping into something pretty big here, something no one is anticipating. I hope Durant’s up to the task of helping us too because those weapons are scary.”
Clea n
odded. Countering them would be a trick, especially when they didn’t have prototypes even to work with. If Durant could replicate them in theory, then they might be able to adjust their defenses. She began to work through how when the elevator opened and they headed down to the cafeteria.
There she began playing out equations in her head but Gray finally interrupted her with a nudge.
“Whatever you’re thinking about can wait. We’ll be busy enough soon. You don’t have to lose yourself in work while we’re having a moment off.”
“I’m sorry, their weapons are just…vexing. And the fact that they have them at all irritates me. How did they build them? Or where did they steal them from? We’re not going to be able to investigate that part. We’re stuck researching their motivations and how scary they are. Who they’re killing and why. The technology aspect is secondary to say the least.”
“True,” Gray said, “but the real goal is to stop them. We don’t need a third front. These guys have to be put out of action so we can focus on the real fight. And it’s coming soon. I know you’re chomping at the bit to verify your findings but don’t be too hasty on that. We’ll get there soon enough. Believe me. There are plenty of others who feel as you do. This war has gone on too long for your people.”
“If Orion’s Light truly has a fleet of ships, what good do you think we’re going to do against them?”
“I guess it depends on if they all travel together and we can escape easily enough.” They got their food and took a table. “I’m anticipating more ground action than space though and we do have one advantage…a sad one.”
“What’s that?”
“You heard the briefing. These zealots are conscripting people. Pressed soldiers are never as good as volunteers. Professional military men and women trump their determination and skill every time.”
“But as you said, these people are fanatics. What are they doing to the men and women they force into service? Brainwashing perhaps?”