The Wrong Side of Space (TCOTU, Book 3) (This Corner of the Universe)

by Britt Ringel

  “I understand, Komandor, and I won’t,” Heskan assured. “We’ve received new formation and sailing orders. I’ll be sending them over shortly.” He cut the channel and saw the Vernay-adjusted formation waiting for approval on his console. Kite and Curator sailed on either side of Phoenix and slightly behind her. The Tarvos warships were positioned in a line slightly ahead and 7ls off Phoenix’s in-system beam. A compromise, Heskan thought. Hopefully, it’s enough to satisfy everybody. “It’s good, Stacy. Send it.”

  He reached down to his chair arm console to initiate a voice-only message. “Captain Hill, greetings from Kite. Thank you for your escort. I have amended the sailing orders to fit the current situation with my flotilla. Phoenix is sailing under a flag of truce. She is a neutral party and must be treated as such. All further communications should be open and uncoded out of respect for our Hollaran emissary. Consequently, neither marine contingent nor technical expertise is required. Heskan out.”

  Hoplite’s open response arrived as the two-ship formation closed to 3lm of Kite. “Message received and understood, Commander. Hoplite and Carbine will take up positions as you requested. Once we have inserted our ships into your formation, please prepare to receive our shuttle as per Standard Regulation Twenty-two Seventeen Point Three. On behalf of the Tarvos Council, we welcome our Hollaran dignitaries.”

  Vernay’s head cocked sideways as she worked her console. After a moment, she asked, “They’re sending a shuttle to us per the regulation that deals with engine maintenance?”

  “No,” Brown snorted. “That commander is tryin’ to be sneaky. Since he knows Lombardi is listenin’, he’s comin’ up with a bogus reason why he’d send over a shuttle so he can have a private conversation. My guess is that he still thinks Phoenix is a threat.”

  “My God,” Heskan complained, “if there’s this much scheming in Tarvos, how bad is it going to be in Anthe?”

  Chapter 20

  “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant,” Heskan said while extending his hand to Hoplite’s first officer. His eyes darted over the officer’s companion, an extremely large man in a poorly fitting navy uniform. He might be dressed like a petty officer but that man’s demeanor screams “marine.”

  “Captain.” The man shook hands vigorously and then turned slightly to acknowledge Chief Brown.

  Heskan felt his smile fade. “And now that the pleasantries are over, perhaps, Lieutenant, you can call over to Hoplite and Carbine and tell them to stop pointing their batteries at Phoenix?”

  The lieutenant looked around the shuttle bay. “Why would we do that, Captain? She is the enemy, after all.”

  “Not that ship, Lieutenant. Phoenix has served as a critical asset in our return home.”

  Again, the lieutenant searched the bay. Not finding what he was looking for, the man stepped close to Heskan and whispered, “Are they monitoring us, Captain? Can Phoenix hear us here? Blink twice if they can.”

  Heskan rolled his eyes and exhaled forcefully. “For God’s sake, man! We aren’t being spied on and I’m not speaking in code, you moron.” He pointed belligerently back to the shuttle. “Go back to Hoplite and tell your captain that Phoenix is not a threat unless we force her to become one. A lot of men and women from that heavy cruiser died protecting Brevic sailors, and if Hoplite insists on continuing to insult our friends by pointing weapons at them then you might want to watch your back.”

  The lieutenant stared dumbstruck at Heskan before opening his mouth to speak.

  Heskan cut the junior officer off. “I wasn’t kidding, Lieutenant. Get off my ship and take your undercover bodyguard with you.” Heskan stepped forward and jabbed his finger into the lieutenant’s chest. “And tell Commander Hill that if he jeopardizes this truce with a blatantly provocative action, he’ll have more concerns than just who that Hollie ship is targeting.”

  The first officer closed his mouth and spun in place. Shaking his head in disgust, Heskan heard the man grumble quietly to his adjutant, “Time to go, Peter. I don’t know what’s up that man’s ass but let’s not find out.”

  Chief Brown watched the pair stomp back to their shuttle. “You think that was a good idea, Capt’n?”

  “Probably not but I’m tired of it. I’m already sick of watching my fellow sailors treat Phoenix like the enemy,” Heskan said irritably.

  “Beggin’ yer pardon, sir, but Hoplite doesn’t know ‘em like we do; to them, Phoenix is the enemy.”

  “I hear you, Chief,” Heskan sighed. “Maybe you’re right but I at least don’t have to take this crap from another lieutenant commander and certainly not a lieutenant and his buffoon.”

  “Gonna be higher rankin’ folks ahead, Skipper.”

  Heskan closed his eyes and brought his hand to the bridge of his nose. “I know, Chief, but I refuse to have Phoenix’s crew treated like prisoners of war. I won’t stand for it.”

  Brown placed a hand on Heskan’s shoulder. “You may not have a choice, Capt’n,” he warned.

  “We always have choices, Chief.”

  “Yeah,” Brown responded tepidly. “Well, you won’t have many if the higher ups decide you can’t be trusted an’ decide to push you out of the circle, Skipper.” Brown looked around quickly before continuing. “You know I’m no fan of the Hollies but the people on Phoenix are all right. I’m willin’ to help ‘em but I’m not naive enough to think that I can save ‘em.” He removed his hand from Heskan’s shoulder and said earnestly, “It’s out of our hands, Capt’n, an’ the harder we fight the rising tide, the sooner we’ll lose any say in the matter. Best to prepare the komandor fer what to expect in Anthe.”

  * * *

  The tunnel connecting Tarvos to Anthe was mercifully short. After only two days, the flotilla of five ships dove into the provincial system. The dim, red light from her M8V star faintly illuminated the hulls of each ship as they emerged from the tunnel and into normal space. Unlike in the systems before, a reception party was waiting for them at the tunnel point.

  “She just energized her shields, Captain,” Truesworth’s excited voice called out from his station. “They’re training their weapons on Phoenix.”

  Heskan glared at the optical of BRS Claymore, a standard heavy cruiser. Similar to Phoenix, the Brevic cruiser boasted a mixture of missile ports, heavy lasers and lesser quad and dual GP lasers. He scowled at the ship as he thought irascibly, Like Phoenix has waited all this time to finally launch a surprise attack. When did the Brevic Navy become populated with idiots?

  “Incoming comm request from Phoenix, sir.” Truesworth paused and then quickly reported, “Hoplite and Carbine just raised their shields!”

  Heskan mashed the general frequency comm button. “All ships in the immediate area, stand down! Phoenix sails under a banner of truce and will not initiate hostilities.” Inspiration struck him and he quickly added, “If a Brevic ship violates the truce arranged by Captain Grey, I will press for a full investigation.” His message sent, he accepted Lombardi’s communications call but before he could greet her, he saw an additional comm request from Claymore.

  Merging the two channels, the wall screen split into halves. The arresting image of the Hollaran komandor was juxtaposed with an elder female Brevic commander with a prominent scar running down the right side of her face. Heskan forced himself to smile. “Greetings, Claymore. As you can see, Phoenix poses no threat and is under the truce arranged by Captain Eliza Grey of BRS Eagle. Please reduce your ship’s battle posture.”

  The Brevic commander’s eyes slowly scanned up and down, obviously scrutinizing the image of Lombardi. Finally, she said cautiously, “Greetings, Kite. Welcome home.” She regarded the Hollaran. “Please accept my apologies, Phoenix. I hope our display of power didn’t frighten you but let our rapid reaction serve as notice to what will happen to Hollarans who might invade our star system under a false flag. Claymore is more than prepared to teach you about combat.”

  Lombardi locked eyes with Heskan. After a beat, the komandor began to laugh. “Sant
i mi proteggono da idioti.”

  In front of Heskan, Lieutenant Selvaggio burst out laughing before catching herself.

  Lombardi ignored the outburst and continued, “No apology is necessary, ‘Vic. In fact, judging by the response time of your crew, I thought we had caught you on your third shift. Now that the games have concluded, may we proceed in-system?”

  “You have authorization to make way for Anthe Four where your ship will orbit with us until we receive word from Titan.” Claymore’s captain narrowed her eyes as she warned, “I promise you, Komandor, that any targeting of a Brevic vessel by your weapons systems will be construed as a violation of this truce and may be considered an act of aggression.”

  Lombardi smiled pleasingly. “I can assure you, Commander, that any targeting by my weapons will be followed shortly by the destruction of your ship and will, undoubtedly, be an act of aggression.”

  The elder woman gritted her teeth. “There will be no need for us to speak again. Follow your sailing instructions—to the letter.” She reached down to end the transmission while muttering, “Hollie psychopath.”

  Lombardi smiled at Heskan. “See? We are already the best of friends.”

  “Komandor,” Heskan shook his head but returned the smile, “you do have a temper.”

  Lombardi shrugged a shoulder. “It comes from my mother’s side of the family. In all seriousness though, am I really expected to moor my ship around that gas giant? I thought we were sailing to your Titan system.”

  “I guess the plan has changed,” Heskan said with a frown. “They must be concerned about allowing a Hollaran heavy cruiser access to a district system.”

  “But you said that we must go through Titan to return to Hollaran space.” Worry had crept into her voice.

  “And we will, Komandor. It’s better this way. We’ll get things sorted out in Anthe and permission from Northern Command to move through the Republic to get you home. This way we won’t have to continually deal with idi—” He caught himself. “People like Claymore’s captain.”

  “As long as we do not have to hold orbit for too long,” Lombardi finally conceded. “Phoenix’s perishables are beginning to run low.”

  * * *

  The mixed formation orbited Anthe-4 for three days, waiting for word. The lack of guidance from the Anthe Republic Council spoke volumes as to the amount of authority it felt it had over the situation. Each of Heskan’s petitions for approval to continue to Titan and eventually his requests for any instructions at all were met with a distant silence.

  On the fourth day, an Emissary class sloop dove into the system through the tunnel from Titan. Her beacon labeled her as “Envoy-3.” However, even with the appearance of the government ship, Heskan’s expectations for instructions went unmet while the sloop sailed toward the system’s habitable planet, Pallene. After futilely waiting an entire shift on the bridge for orders, Heskan retired from his post and went to eat. Dining alone, Heskan’s datapad finally beeped at him. He quickly accepted the call and answered, “Heskan.”

  “Captain, this is Sensorman Second Class Wells. We have received a message from that courier sloop. It’s encoded and marked private for you.”

  Heskan pushed his tray away and rose. “Send it to my cabin, Wells. Thank you.”

  Several minutes later, Heskan entered his quarters and sat at his workstation. He accessed his messages while docking his datapad to the console. Quickly inputting his private security code and thumbing the face of his datapad, the workstation began to decode the message. Ten seconds later, the recorded video played on the datapad’s screen.

  Heskan immediately recognized Assistant Secretary Brewer’s face looking stoically back at him.

  After a brief pause, the emissary of the Brevic Ministry of Internal Security began speaking. “Captain Heskan, congratulations on your return home and for the capture of vital intelligence assets. To ensure operational security, all communications with Phoenix will begin and end from Envoy-Three, effective immediately. Make sure your people know that failure to follow Op-Sec protocol will result in the harshest of sanctions.” Brewer paused for added emphasis. After several beats, he continued. “You will sail the remnants of CortRon Fifteen to the Anthe Command Orbital, where, upon arrival, the CortRon will be officially dissolved and Kite will fall under temporary authority of Internal Security. You have permission to inform Captain Arnold that after a personal debriefing with me, he will sail Curator to Metis where she will undergo repair. After your debriefing, Garrett, and upon the satisfactory conclusion of this situation, Kite will return to Third Fleet and effect repairs at the Anthe Construction Yard.” The man’s reptilian smile was almost genuine. “You and your crew have done a great service for the people and I know first-hand that the Republic can continue to count on your assistance. Sailing instructions along with the formal authority from Northern Forces Command to dissolve the CortRon will follow immediately after this message. Brewer, out.”

  Although the datapad went dark, the secretary’s outline seemed to linger on the screen. Heskan scanned the follow-up orders and saw Kite and Curator were to begin sailing for Pallene immediately. He thought of Phoenix. I can’t even tell Isabella what’s going on without violating the orders. Brewer is undoubtedly watching for comm traffic to Phoenix so even a personal message is out of the question. What do I do? Brown’s warning raced through his mind. Finally, Heskan paged the bridge.

  “Lieutenant Spencer here.”

  “Tony, it’s the captain.” Heskan sighed in resignation and said regretfully, “I’m sending sailing orders to the bridge; forward them to Curator. We’re breaking orbit soon. Have Wells get in touch with Lieutenant Arnold and forward the call to my cabin, please. Heskan, out.”

  He felt like he was falling into a black hole. His entire life’s work counterbalanced by what he believed was right. Feeling dizzy, he reached out to place a hand on the cool desktop in front of him. Light-years away, his datapad chimed. Heskan shook himself and accepted the comm request. “Captain Arnold?”

  Six seconds later, the reply arrived. “Yes, Commander. You wanted me to give you a bell?”

  Heskan nodded even though the exchange was voice-only. “Yes. We’ve received fresh orders, finally. We’re to take CortRon Fifteen to the Anthe orbital where, upon arrival, the squadron is officially dissolved. I suspect that you will receive an invitation for a debriefing on that courier ship and then orders to return to Metis for repairs, and then probably be reunited with your old CortRon.”

  Heskan had to wait several seconds before Arnold’s reply came. “Acknowledged, Commander. We’ll follow you to the orbital.”

  After a brief silence, Heskan said, “Alan, I want to thank you for your support since you joined the CortRon. I know it’s been difficult for Curator but you’ve commanded your ship superbly. I couldn’t have asked for a better vice under these very challenging circumstances.”

  The New Londoner’s accent sounded thicker than normal. “Well, things were a bit shambolic starting but we got it sorted, didn’t we, Commander? It’s been a pleasure, sir. Good hunting.”

  Heskan sat idle for several minutes. The burden of command he had accepted partially back in Sponde and officially in Helike would soon be lifted from his shoulders. Shortly, he would only be accountable to the men and women on Kite and judging from Brewer’s insinuations, perhaps even that mantle would be removed. Well, not so much removed as replaced… but with what, and where? His mind returned to promises made. And what type of man would I be when I got there? His datapad chimed again.

  “Captain, Spencer here. We’ve broken orbit and have a comm request from Phoenix. Shall I forward it to you?”

  Heskan closed his eyes. “Negative, Tony. All communication with Phoenix is now through Envoy-Three. Disregard the comm request.”

  He closed the channel and buried his face in his hands. What type of man, indeed?

  Chapter 21

  Heskan’s trek to Envoy-3 did not require a shuttle. It had
been a simple matter of exiting Kite via a docking tube, catching an auto-cab through the enormous Anthe Command Orbital and entering the government-owned sloop via a different docking tube.

  The security around the courier ship was impressive. Heskan passed through two checkpoints on the orbital before gaining permission to proceed down the docking tube, and then he encountered a third checkpoint when he stepped on board. His armed escort through the ship, a mountain of a man dressed in a nondescript white uniform, guided him to a small room marked “Interview Room Beta.”

  When Heskan entered, he noted the sparse furnishings consisted of a small conference table and two chairs. He was politely asked to seat himself in the chair facing a blank wall. Heskan spied the inconspicuous cameras pointed toward him from the top corners of the room. After sitting, his escort excused himself and left. Heskan felt a strong sense of déjà vu; he had been in such a room once before in his career.

  Twenty minutes later, the door opened and Brewer walked into the room. Heskan jumped out of his chair and thrust out a friendly hand. “Assistant Secretary Brewer, it’s nice to see you again, sir.”

  Brewer shook his hand and seated himself, opposite from Heskan. “It’s just ‘Secretary’ now. The powers that be have seen fit to promote me.”

  “Congratulations, Mr. Secretary,” Heskan offered.

  The man smiled and replied, “Thank you, Garrett. As I am sure you know, the Republic rewards those loyal to her cause.” He placed his visored datapad onto the table, rocked back and said disarmingly, “Commander Heskan, I don’t have to ask you this but as this is a friendly debriefing, you wouldn’t mind if this proceeding is recorded, would you?”

  “Of course not, Mr. Secretary.”

  The grey-haired man nodded with appreciation while he looked down at his datapad. He absently swiped his finger across the screen several times. “Oh, we can skip all that stuff… where to begin…” His hand finally stopped and he looked into Heskan’s eyes. “Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? I’ve received your official report but I’d like to hear it from you now.” He leaned toward Heskan slightly and said, “Tell me everything that happened after Admiral Hayes detached Avenger from Task Group Three-One.”