by Ryan Krauter
The transport docked with the freighter's external hatch, and when Admiral Bak opened the inner hatch he was greeted by Web and Halley, both looking decidedly the worse for wear.
"Web, Halley," Admiral Bak said, extending a hand to shake each of theirs in turn. The lack of formality caught them both a little off guard, but it wasn't the strangest thing that had happened to them today. "I haven't heard from either of you in ages! I'm glad to see you here, though I admit it's a hell of a surprise."
"That's not the half of it, Admiral," Web said with a grin.
"Lieutenant Halley Pascal," Admiral Bak said formally. "I admit I know you by reading some of your mission briefs and hearing your comrades here talk about you, but it's nice to finally meet you in person."
"Thank you, Admiral; it goes the same for you. I don't think we'd be doing as well as we are if it wasn't for your patronage of some of our biggest successes. The Starshakers, Marauders, to name a few."
"You're too kind," Bak said, and Web thought he could see the old Drisk actually blush a little bit. "But you said you had something to show me?"
"If you could follow us, please?" asked Halley, and turned to lead the way. They walked through a side passage until they ended up at the main bow-stern corridor, broken only by evenly spaced frames that held the tracks for emergency bulkheads. Their journey took them to a pair of large cargo doors on each side of the corridor.
"Inside here is what we found on Callidor," Halley stated. She reached over and tapped the button to open the hatch they were standing by. It split in the middle and recessed into the bulkhead, revealing a crowd inside occupying all manner of cots, chairs, and bedrolls on the deck. It took a second for Bak to place their faces; it had been several years since he'd seen any of them.
"It's the senate," he said softly in awe. "Are they all here?"
"All but three, not counting Senator Dennix, of course," Halley confirmed.
"How in the name of the creators did you do this?"
Web grinned. He'd never seen the Admiral at such a loss for words. "Short version: we grabbed the ring data from a Priman facility. During that mission, we found them practically right on top of us. I cleverly got myself captured so I could mingle with them, then Halley rescued all of us and here we are."
"We did sort of blow up a lot of stuff on the way out," Halley admitted.
"Lots and lots, actually. In fact, Confed might get a bill from the government of Callidor one day when this is all over."
"I'd pay it out of my own retirement," said the aghast Admiral Bak. "You two did this... This could fix everything, do you realize that? We already have the ring data you stole for us. We can broadcast it to the entire Confederation and then march the senators right down the streets of Delos to take their places again. Dennix and his treasonous allies will be finished."
"Provided we can convince the population these people are still the ones who are supposed to be in charge," said Web.
"And provided Senator Dennix doesn't have a way to stop us from getting to Delos in the first place," added Halley.
These two were a hell of a pair, Bak thought. He could only imagine the things they might accomplish.
The first of the senators noticed them, and shouts rose among the group. In seconds, they were swamped by the elected officials as they all waited for their chance to shake the admiral's hand and thank him for sending Web and Halley to their rescue, even if it was a few years in the making. Web and Halley faded out of the compartment and waited out the proceedings. Admiral Bak was going to have to shake a lot of hands before he'd be allowed to get back to the mission.
"So," Loren began slowly as he eyed up the conference room he and Velk were sequestered in, "how's it going over there?"
Velk looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "My day could be going better, Commander, as could yours."
"Just checking. Thought maybe something had changed."
Loren adjusted his position in the seat. They'd been placed in a briefing room or conference room of some kind, though all but two of the chairs had been removed. Likewise, all the computer terminals had been deactivated. There wasn't even a viewport, or whatever the Priman version of that might be. Nobody had checked on them in hours, and Loren was beginning to feel a sense of urgency.
"You think Tash can do it?"
"You refer to his plan to charge into Confed space and destroy Delos?" asked Velk. "I believe he has a good chance, yes. He has a fleet of roughly seventy large capital ships. Even if we scraped together what was left over Callidor, we'd have less than twenty in pursuit. So no, nothing my people can do will be able to stop this onslaught. It is up to you."
"Except my people aren't massed for a fight, and when Tash runs into some they'll be bound by the treaty to stand down anyway. Damn, this is a losing game right here." He crossed his arms and as he adjusted he felt something in his inside breast pocket. His face changed as he remembered what he'd hidden there.
"Representative," Loren said, fire back in his eyes, "I might have a plan. It could involve the minor issue of us dying, but it might also get this ship and therefore Tash killed as well."
Velk didn't hesitate. "Tell me."
Admiral Bak had made the arrangements with the fleet, and now he sat in the chair behind Web and Halley as they flew the rough old freighter right into the middle landing bay of the fleet carrier Broadsword, one of two Sabre class carriers in Admiral Bak's makeshift Fourteenth Fleet. Admiral Bak had talked to the Senators at length about the current state of the Confederation. Many of them represented planets or entire systems that had seceded from Confed over Senator Dennix's treaty with the Primans. There had initially been hard feelings among their number over the fact that some of their constituents had abandoned Confed, or conversely supported a crooked leader. Admiral Bak had finally made them realize they were all on the same team and for the good of Confed needed to be united when they reached Delos. That was when the real work was going to start. They'd need to rebuild the government amidst people who had been placed in office through sham elections and who would probably not go quietly into the night. It might have been a first in recorded galactic history, but there had been genuine agreement among all politicians involved to work towards a common goal. For now.
To that end, they'd decided to keep their return a secret until the right time. Admiral Bak had told Broadsword's captain to completely clear the flight deck and a passage to the flag officer's quarters. Between the quarters, work spaces, dining hall, and conference areas, there was enough room for them to stay in relative comfort for the duration of the journey. There would also be time to shower, clean up, and get into some new clothes, albeit Confed military uniforms. Most of the senators had requested their more ornate clothing that was worn during session-and therefore what they were dressed in when captured-be either cleaned or reproduced by their arrival at Delos. The captain of Broadsword and all of the service staff onboard were read into the plan under secret clearances.
"How long to Delos?" Senator Thyatt asked Admiral Bak as they surveyed some of the displays in one of the briefing rooms they had the run of.
"That's the rub, Senator," Admiral Bak said with a barely-suppressed grimace. "We were on station to support a covert op; the kind of mission that can change a war. I need to give the other party some time, preferably hear from them myself, before we move."
Thyatt shifted a bit to look at the admiral. "But won't this right here change the war? We have the Senate, we have this ring data you told us about, and we have a loyalist fleet to take us home. Isn't that everything you could ask for?" The senator's tone, while neutral, left little doubt what he expected of the situation.
"We can get our own house in order, yes. But what about the Primans? Nothing will have changed there, and they might even escalate the conflict when they realize we removed their ally at the top of our government. We need something that will change things on their end as well."
"Such as?"
Admiral Bak lo
oked away from the senator before answering. "An operation that nobody can know exists, at least at present. I'm running it myself with the full knowledge that it might end my career, but Senator, this is the sort of thing that will change the entire war, both sides. It has to be done, and done right."
A pause. "And how much time do we spend here, waiting?"
"I don't know. I was prepared to wait for weeks if need be. Your arrival changes everything, and I admit right now I don't have much of a plan. That needs to change."
Eleven
Loren and Velk were working on their own plan. They needed to alert Confed, give the rest of the Priman fleet a chance to catch up in order to have Tash removed as Commander, and preferably disable the ship they were on so as to make the Commander a nice, juicy target to anyone with torpedoes to spare.
First, they needed to do two things: figure out where they were, and find a way to make contact with Avenger, which Loren assumed would be following. He knew his ship had been out-system in Callidor, and with the Primans' home fleet suddenly mobilizing, he hoped Captain Elco would have given chase.
"We cannot do any of that from this room," Velk stated. "There are any number of places on this ship where we can access telemetry and communications, including maintenance spaces and locations the crew wouldn't think to look. The problem is getting out of here."
"I think I can fix that. You have any problems knocking out a fellow Priman?"
"Incapacitating, no. Injuring or killing, yes."
"Just making them sleep for a little bit is all we need. Please, lie down by the far side of the table there and follow my lead. You'll need to make like I just gave you a beating."
Velk's eyebrow shot up, a look of annoyance on his face.
"For the good of your people," Loren said in as close a scolding tone as he dared, pointing with his index finger. Velk was, after all, bigger and stronger than he was.
With a low grumble, Velk lie down on the deck. Loren grabbed one of the chairs they'd been using and without hesitation hit the display panel next to the hatch frame as hard as he could. He was rewarded with a crash as the panel shattered, chair leg separating from the rest of the piece. There was even a wisp of smoke snaking its way towards the ceiling from a mangled gap in the frame. He hoped he didn't start an electrical fire that killed everyone; that would seriously dampen his escape plan. He yelled once at the hatch and then raced over by Velk, vaulting and sliding across the surface of the table to get on the other side.
No sooner had he landed than the hatch slid open revealing two armed guards. Their surprise turned to anger as they saw Loren standing over the inert form of Velk, chair leg in his hand held high as a weapon. Whatever they might have known about Representative Velk and his reason for being held in this room, they didn't take kindly to having a human attacking one of their own.
They raised their rifles at him. "He started it!" Loren yelled as he dropped the chair leg and hit the deck. The guards advanced, one stopping to take a knee and check on Velk.
Velk, in turn, grabbed the front of the man's uniform and drew him closer as he used his other arm to deliver a vicious elbow to the face. The man was down for the count.
The other Priman, seeing Loren on the ground with hands on his head in a submissive gesture, turned his head to see Velk hit his comrade. The guard swung around and pointed his rifle at Velk, who was now standing. "Representative!" he yelled before Loren grabbed him from behind in a sleeper hold. The Priman tried to spin and dislodge Loren, but it wasn't working and all he did was use up the little oxygen he had quicker.
The guard sunk to his knees, look of confusion on his face as he stared at Velk.
Velk, in turn, got to his knees in front of the soldier who was about to lose consciousness. "You know the Commander is going to destroy this entire galaxy, and our people with it?" He said it softly, as one would to a child who couldn't understand a difficult situation.
"Perhaps," the man muttered, and a second later he went limp as he passed out. Loren gently lowered him to the deck, gasping for air and leaning back on his hands.
"I have to stop getting into messes like this," he said as he tried to get his breathing under control.
"It's not what you want, Commander Stone," Velk admonished as he rummaged through the soldier's web gear for restraints. "It's what is needed of you. One day you shall rest. But this is not the day. Tomorrow does not look good, either."
Loren almost passed out at that. Did Velk just make a joke? He must have been hanging out with Loren too much.
On the bridge of Tash's flagship, which he had named Harbinger, things were quiet and orderly. Tash had been on Velk's command ship at times during the conflict and had seen the room bustle with activity; Tash wanted quiet, order; the tasks of organizing information for the Commander was, in his eyes, best done in another location and made available through aides and Representatives; a calm place was required for him to lead effectively.
To that end, his bridge was staffed like any other ship in the fleet. He had a captain who ran the vessel, and Tash's command dais at the back of the bridge was where he held court. One level lower in the ship, in a layout which Tash would be pained to admit was a close copy of Confed's C3 design philosophy, was where all the information came in and was catalogued.
Tash now stood by the captain's chair, waiting for confirmation on data from the long range scanner station.
"There it is, Commander," said the captain, a confident woman named Sohk, "a Confed fleet. And a big one at that."
Tash looked at the large display where she was pointing and saw it all. Priman sensors were still better than Confed's, and they had a good ten minutes before the Confeds would see his own forces coming. The Confed fleet was outnumbered better than two to one, while their treaty would require their commander to stand down and answer hails from Tash and his fleet. Right about then was when his ships would open up on the Confeds and begin the process of smashing these upstarts once and for all. After that, Delos. Later, the entire spiral arm. Yet today would be the day people associated with the beginning of the final cleansing in this galaxy.
Tash smiled as he looked at Captain Sohk. "You are familiar with the plan, Captain, so I leave it up to you. We will establish communications, and when the time is right, annihilate them."
Aboard Ravine's ship, Scythe, she was having a similar strategy conference with Captain Vol.
"How far behind Tash's fleet are we?" she asked again.
"Less than five minutes, Commander," Vol replied, "but the Confederation forces will allow Representative Tash's forces to get in the first blow. Our sensor operators estimate thirty ships in the Confed formation; combined with our fleet, that still leaves us with only fifty hulls. Representative Tash will have the advantage at all turns."
It was not what Ravine wanted to hear, but they'd have to make due. She needed to stop Tash from his rogue rampage; Representative Velk held such convictions that this war could end short of all-out annihilation that she wanted to give him the chance to make that happen.
"I will use a bridge station to attempt to communicate with the Confed forces once we arrive," Ravine stated.
"My ship is yours, Commander."
Bak was still attending to the senators, though he'd recently brought in a number of crew to hand off that process. He was not going to spend his afternoon trying to coordinate wardrobe requests and repeat the same briefings over and over.
He had almost made it to the hatch leading out of the main guest tactical plotting spaces when one of the senior senators had stopped him to ask one more question. At about that time, his com link chimed and he heard a shipwide page through the address system.
"Captain Montari to Admiral Bak," was the call.
"My apologies, Senator," Bak said without really meaning it. He reached for the panel alongside the hatch and tapped in his code to call Captain Montari on the bridge.
"Admiral Bak here," he stated.
"Admiral, our long ran
ge scanners are picking up a large Priman fleet headed our way."
"On an intercept course?"
"It appears so. We can't trace them much farther back than they are right now, but their course has been unchanged since we logged the contact."
Bak's mind started racing. The treaty required him to heave to and make contact with an approaching Priman force. But this force was about to cross into Confed space. Still, that was allowed by Dennix's ridiculous pact as well. He didn't have any real options other than to comply, but couldn't think of anything near the Vesta System, the location of their vigil for Avenger, that would warrant a Priman fleet.
Admiral Bak turned to the senator. "My apologies, but this requires my attention." He turned to the panel and continued. "Captain, I'm on my way to the bridge."
Admiral Bak was on the main bridge at the captain's station on the starboard forward side.
"How long until we merge, Captain?" he asked.
"About ten minutes, give or take," the Trin captain replied.
"Send the tenders and auxiliaries away," Bak commanded. "If we stay here long enough, we'll call them back, but our ships are topped off right now, correct?"
"Yes, Admiral."
"Alright. I'll make contact from the Flag Bridge then. Make sure our formation looks nice; we can at least impress them with our ship handling skills even if we can't fire on them."
Loren and Velk were in a dim maintenance crawlway at a computer terminal. Velk had scanned the compartment logs and discovered nobody had even conducted a maintenance inspection in over two weeks, which elicited two responses. First, it was shameful that Tash wasn't keeping his 'flagship' in top condition, evidenced by the fact that his crew wasn't even surveying the compartments aboard. Second, that they had a very realistic chance of nobody disturbing them, especially with the ship now rigged for combat.