The Dragons of Jupiter

by Jacob Holo

  “Don’t think you can threaten me,” Three-Part said.

  “Stand down, crusader,” Kaneda said.

  “I ... sir?”

  “We’re returning to the transport.”

  Three-Part snorted out an exhale. “Yes, sir.” He turned his back to the colonel, pulled the caution tape aside, and floated through.

  “That was either very brave,” Kaneda said to the colonel. “Or very foolish. Few stand against us and live to tell the tale.”

  “You don’t frighten me, crusader.”

  “Ah, I see. A fool then. Thank you for clarifying.”

  Kaneda pulled the caution tape aside and joined Three-Part. He opened a private channel with the Martian.

  “I suppose that could have gone better,” Kaneda said, walking back to the transport.

  “Sir, I won’t defy you in public,” Three-Part said. “But you made the wrong call. We shouldn’t have backed down.”

  “He was ready to shoot you. Or at least try.”

  “I know, but I stand by my recommendation. This ‘cleanup’ is not what it seems.”

  “Enlighten me, then.”

  “There’s too much here that doesn’t fit right,” Three-Part said. “The outbreaks are dangerous to anyone not in armor, but that is no reason to throw away valuable intel.”

  “I agree with you,” Kaneda said. “But the simplest explanation is these people are overreacting. The Federacy has been attacked where it thought itself invincible, and scared people make bad decisions.”

  “But think about it, sir,” Three-Part said. “The Europan transports that rammed the station had Federacy IFF codes. They broke through the patrol zone like it wasn’t there, which either means gross incompetence or complicity. And now we have Federacy soldiers eliminating evidence in the name of containment. The outbreaks are just their excuse.”

  “Hmm ... I noticed none of those men bore any identification.”

  “They weren’t the group I was assigned to,” Three-Part said. “I just happened to come across them while working with my assigned escorts.”

  “And where are your escorts in all this?”

  “Apparently, not everyone will walk through a microtech cordon.”

  “Ah. Of course.”

  “There’s more,” Three-Part said. “One of the first things I did after the battle was request the Federacy helmet cam videos. But what I received was incomplete.”

  “That’s unusual,” Kaneda said. “Our security clearance grants us full access to combat records.”

  “Precisely. I looked into it and found out why. The videos are gone. One of the Federacy’s archive servers crashed before the upload was complete. At the same time a signal was sent to the helmets to clear the local copies. Whatever they saw is gone forever.”

  “That does sound suspicious, but to what end?”

  “I don’t know,” Three-Part said. “Something happened on this station that people don’t want us to know.”

  “What about our own records?”

  “Safely stored on Penance. But we witnessed a comparatively small portion of the battle. If something did happen that we’re not supposed to know, it’ll be difficult to piece together with just our records.”

  “It’s better than nothing.”

  “Sir, I trust my instincts,” Three-Part said. “And I know something is wrong here. The pieces aren’t fitting together.”

  A tremor ran through the station. Support struts behind the walls groaned from sudden stress.

  “What was that?” Three-Part asked, steadying himself with feet on the floor and a hand against the ceiling.

  “Station quake,” Kaneda said. “They still haven’t fixed the northern balancers. Don’t worry. Apocalypse may be old, but it’s tough.”

  “I think I’m glad we’re heading back to the transport, all the same.”

  “Let’s assume you’re correct for a moment,” Kaneda said, walking again. “Who is behind this? What is their motive?”

  “I think there’s a faction within the Federacy sympathetic to Europa.”

  “That seems unlikely.”

  “I can only speculate, sir. But the Federacy has access to Caesar’s old machines. They could have made their own versions.”

  “The ones we fought used smartskin,” Kaneda said. “That points firmly at Europa.”

  “They may have received the technology from Europa.”

  “Unlikely,” Kaneda said. “The quantum mind uses technology to maintain control. It does not give it away.”

  “Then perhaps someone reverse engineered it or developed an independent version.”

  “Duplicating smartskin is trickier than you’d think,” Kaneda said. “The crusaders have been trying for almost four years.”

  “Ever since Ceres?”

  “We recovered a few smartsuits in good condition after we took the asteroid,” Kaneda said. “Manufacturing smartskin is doable, but extremely expensive. However that only covers the physical portion. Smartskin is as much software as it is hardware.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “Europan microminds are very good at frying themselves when they detect unauthorized access,” Kaneda said. “The few intact microminds we’ve recovered have proven difficult to crack. Our attempts to write our own software have also failed.”

  “Still, the Federacy must have its own research program.”

  “I imagine so,” Kaneda said. “Any other suspects?”

  “None as strong as that one,” Three-Part said. “A few groups are extreme enough to use robots in that manner. Quicksilver terrorists. Blood Storm machine cults. Maybe some fringe elements of the cometeers. But none of those have motive or access to Federacy networks and personnel.”

  “As disturbing as it is to admit,” Kaneda said. “I think you’re on to something. You’ve done an excellent job here. Insight like this is what we need. It’s why I sought you out.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “It seems to me we are looking at two possibilities, both of them bad,” Kaneda said. “One is a sympathetic faction within the Federacy. The other is Europan infiltration of the Federacy. In either case, the result is effectively the same.”

  “I agree, sir. Those two explanations make the most sense.”

  “Continue your investigation,” Kaneda said. He transmitted a copy of his requisition key to Three-Part. “Take whatever resources you require, but I want no open confrontations with the Federacy. Keep things quiet for now. You may involve Alice and Viter in your investigation, but no one else.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  * * *

  “About damn time,” Piller said. “I was ready to leave without you.”

  “Sorry about that,” Kaneda said, floating into the shuttle. He palmed the hatch closed behind him.

  “Duty called?” Piller asked.

  “Repeatedly,” Kaneda said. He took the seat next to Piller.

  “Well, let’s get this over with. Pilot, take us to the command hangar.”

  “Yes, sir,” the pilot said over the intercom. “Calculating course now.”

  Docking clamps released the shuttle and the flextube retracted. The pilot spun the shuttle around and accelerated out of the Apocalypse station hangar, leaving the three crusader transports behind.

  “You know, I could have walked,” Kaneda said.

  “It’s a big station. This is faster,” Piller said. “Besides, König made a stink about your Martian crusader. I trust that won’t happen again.”

  “I spoke to him about it,” Kaneda said. “Consider the issue resolved.”

  “That’s music to my ears. I can only cover your ass so much.”

  The shuttle accelerated past the habitat ring, which had been spun down completely for ease of repairs. Spacewalk construction teams maneuvered around the section that took ramming damage. A long, skeletal transport floated nearby laden with kilotons of diamoplast panels and thousands of laser welders. Brilliant white dots winked on and o
ff as teams welded new sections into place.

  “So,” Piller said with a smirk. “Would you like to hear about the stolen ship or should I assume you already know everything?”

  Kaneda shrugged. “Whichever you’re more comfortable with.”

  “Ha! I knew it.”

  “You should have told me that’s what they were after,” Kaneda said. “Instead I had to find out when that ship vanished right in front of me.”

  “Look, I had no idea we even had a prototype star drive.”

  Kaneda raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, okay. I had my suspicions,” Piller said. “I knew they were developing something on Apocalypse. But come on. Like everyone else I thought the dragons were going for a nuclear launch.”

  “They may have been after both,” Kaneda said.

  “True enough. Though in hindsight, I think the action near the launch center was a decoy.”

  “We’re coming up on the command hangar, sir,” the pilot said over the intercom. “Docking now.”

  “I hope this meeting isn’t another waste of time,” Kaneda said, releasing his crash webbing. He held on to it with one hand. The shuttle lurched to a halt and the docking clamps slammed shut. A flextube extended from the station and pressed against the shuttle’s hatch.

  “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” Piller said.

  “Who’s attending?”

  “Everyone.”

  “Everyone?” Kaneda asked.

  “The whole executive cabinet and the admiralty board, plus a few senators on the armed forces and colonial relations committees. Even the president is remoting in.”

  “Then people are starting to wake up.”

  “Kaneda, you have no idea. I deal with these scumbags every day. These are some of the lowest, most despicable human beings I have ever met. The thousands of boys we lost on the moon mean nothing to them. The hundreds we lost yesterday mean nothing to them. These are the kinds of people who will send us to war because they think it’ll get them reelected.”

  “Your point?”

  “The point is these are hard people. They do not scare easily. And mark my words, they are scared. I have never seen them so terrified in my life. If you’re looking for your chance, this is the best one you’re ever going to get.”

  “I’ll try not to disappoint,” Kaneda said.

  “Then let’s see what happens,” Piller said. He palmed the hatch open and floated through the flextube. Kaneda followed him into Apocalypse where they were immediately scanned by a team of thirty regulars. After that, he passed through three more platoon-sized security details and four biometric scanners before arriving at a wide bowl-shaped room.

  A representation of Apocalypse hovered in the center with a wider sphere around it denoting the patrol zone. Faint blue lines crisscrossed the patrol zone for every interceptor flight, turning it into a pale spider’s web.

  Kaneda, Piller, and a few admirals were the only real people in the room. Everyone else was remoting in via hologram. The stadium-style seating was packed shoulder to shoulder with holographic people, some of them overlapping.

  Kaneda stood with Piller near the top and watched. He knew some of the names in the room, but names didn’t matter here. Instead he activated an identification cheat, which labeled each person by his or her position and the source of their signal.

  A tall man with black hair and a thin moustache leaned forward. He wore an expensive gray-and-white pinstripe suit with a red ascot. A gold crucifix dangled at his throat. The tag over his hologram read: SECRETARY OF DEFENSE - PRESIDENTIAL SKYTOWER, NEW YORK CITY.

  “That is enough,” Defense said. “Ladies and gentlemen, please let the man finish.”

  “As I was saying, there has not been adequate time to perform a thorough investigation.” The man’s jowls jiggled when he spoke. His tag read: SECRETARY OF PLANETARY INTELLIGENCE - THE DOME, BOSTON.

  The chamber broke into shouting. Kaneda had to split his focus across multiple conversations just to catch any of it.

  “We want answers, damn it!”

  “Where did those ships come from?”

  “How did they get through?”

  “This man is incompetent! I demand his immediate resignation!”

  “How can you have no information at all?”

  Kaneda leaned next to Piller and whispered. “I don’t see the president.”

  “He’s watching,” Piller whispered. “Trust me.”

  “Enough!” Defense shouted. The room grew quiet. “Thank you. Now that I can think again, let me ask a question. Given the lack of an investigation due to a lack of time, is there any ...”

  Defense stopped. He leaned back in his seat and turned his ear to one side as if listening.

  Piller put a hand on Kaneda’s shoulder and leaned close. “There’s the president. Just off camera.”

  “Yes, sir,” Defense said. He leaned forward and fixed Planetary Intel with an icy stare. “So basically, we’ve been infiltrated by Europa. You have no idea how they did it. You have no idea how bad the infiltration is. Does that sum up your report?”

  Planetary Intel swallowed. He patted his sweating brow with a red handkerchief.

  “Your answer, mister secretary?” Defense asked.

  “Your summary is accurate, sir.”

  The room exploded with shouting and cursing.

  “That will be all!” Defense said, eyeing the room’s occupants. “Please restrain yourselves or we will never finish. Admiral König, your report.”

  König walked into the middle of the chamber. He was one of the few flesh and blood participants on Apocalypse. Holographic light reflected off his bald head. He stroked his salt-and-pepper goatee then pointed to the central holographic plot.

  “Admirals, secretaries, and senators,” König said in a rough, chain-smoker’s voice. “Please direct your attention to the following images taken yesterday from the Jupiter system.”

  The hologram of Apocalypse vanished, replaced by a flat feed showing the caramel, tan, and off-white bands of Jupiter. The three Great Red Spots were not visible from this angle. The image zoomed in, expanding to show two storm bands intertwining.

  A glint of gold appeared in the foreground, moving across Jupiter’s image at great speed. A larger, dark shape accelerated into a flight path parallel with the golden speck.

  The image zoomed again, expanding to show the Needle of Destiny tumbling through space. A black hexagon-etched Europan frigate hovered close by. Two tiger shark interceptors launched from the frigate and maneuvered around the Needle.

  “As you can see,” König said. “The Europan navy has recovered the star drive test ship. These images were taken yesterday less than an hour after the dragons escaped Apocalypse. Another set of images taken earlier today confirmed the test ship was brought to the orbital elevator over their capitol.”

  “So, they have it,” Defense said.

  “Yes, mister secretary,” König said.

  “Has Europa released a statement?” Defense asked.

  “Their ambassador left Earth weeks ago,” the Secretary of State said. “The official explanation was a vacation to see her family. Though at the time, I thought it was a protest over the death of their Lunar ambassador. We’ve requested a statement from Matriarch, but she hasn’t responded.”

  “We raided their embassy earlier today,” Planetary Intel said. “The place has been cleaned out for some time.”

  Defense tapped his desk with a stylus. “Then they knew exactly what they were doing.”

  The senator for South America District Four stood up and thumped his holographic desk.

  “We should impose immediate economic sanctions on Europa! This insult cannot be allowed to stand!”

  “Are you joking?” another senator said. “This was an attack on a Federacy station! We are at war! I say we declare it!”

  “I support my esteemed colleague’s call for economic sanctions. Let us not rush into another war before we’ve finished
the last one.”

  “Then why not start with something smaller? The senate can draft a resolution condemning this act of terrorism.”

  “An excellent idea.”

  “The colonial relations committee could have a first draft done by the end of this week.”

  Defense put a hand to his forehead and massaged his brow.

  “Resolution? I don’t want to talk to these fuckers! Send the whole fleet! Nuke every last one of them! Burn Europa to cinders!”

  “You Red Party hawks are all the same.”

  “All those in favor of a firmly worded resolution?”

  “They attacked us! This is self-defense!”

  “And if we nuke them, we’ll unite every other colony against us. Don’t you ever think ahead?”

  “None of you understand what is happening,” Kaneda said, stepping forward. “Your solutions will not work.”

  Defense looked up.

  “Piller, why isn’t your dog on a leash?” König said.

  “Let the man speak,” Piller said.

  “Crusader Kusanagi,” Defense said. “You have something to add to the debate?”

  “I do, mister secretary,” Kaneda said. He walked down the bowl and stopped next to König and the holographic plot.

  “Well, let’s hear it,” Defense said.

  “Thank you, mister secretary,” Kaneda said. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me start by asking the same question you should be asking. How much mass can the star drive move?”

  “What does that have to do with anything we’re discussing?” König asked.

  “Europa stole it,” Kaneda said. “We need to know what it’s capable of.”

  “The information is classified,” König said.

  Defense leaned back and listened to the unseen president. He nodded.

  “Humor him, admiral,” Defense said. “I’m willing to see where this leads.”

  König snorted. “Very well, sir. The truth is we don’t know. The theoretical limit of the star drive has not been tested.”

  “So, a lot?” Kaneda asked.

  “Theoretically, yes.”

  “Enough to move Apocalypse?”

  “Yes.”

  “Enough to move it anywhere in the solar system instantly?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good God. Is that true?” the Secretary of Commerce asked.