by T S Paul
“Wilson? Dammit you are the top of the line, Don’t let this hunk of junk win! Damn it Wilson! Answer me!”
The walls of the compactor still moved. I pried the cover off the lock and dismantled it. There was no manual override! Stupid lowest bidder crap! The hinges were on this side! I started to pry out the pin on the top hinge.
“Athena, I’m back!”
“Wilson, thank the gods! Can you stop this thing?”
“That crazy computer is an AI! It locked me out of everything. I can’t get back in to shut it down. I’m sorry.”
“Damn it,” schematics of the station flashed through my brain. “Wilson shut down power to the system at junction 326-382-7, do it as fast as you can!”
The walls of the compactor got closer and closer. I was now starting on the second hinge, there were three in all. Suddenly the room when black as all the power went out. Emergency lights stuttered on. Ensign Stone was huddled in the corner crying.
“Athena, I think you broke another Ensign. If you keep doing that they won’t give you your deposit back on him, when you return him. Ha ha” Did I mention I had my own crazy AI?
With help from the maintenance crew we got out of the compactor. I had Wilson pinpoint the location of the rogue AIs computer module. I assigned one of my teams to pry it out and make sure it was securely locked up and not connected to a power source. We would deal with it later. Ensign Stone had to go back to personnel. Wilson was right, they would not let me have another Ensign.
OK back to work.
Only someone who was poking around as much as I was would have spotted them, but I found a couple of questionable systems. Hidden underneath the former Governor’s office was a fully functioning communications suite. It was a near carbon copy of the one located in command, except this one did not show up on any scan or schematic. I had been outside the station, working of the base of the communications array, and found an extra relay switch that did not belong. It took most of the day but Wilson and I managed to trace the signal of the array. A secret entrance was found inside a maintenance storage closet. Inside, hidden stairs led to secret door inside the Governor’s office. Further inspection disclosed that all of the equipment was not of a Imperial Navy design. Minerva had her investigators crawling all over the site
The scariest and most disturbing discovery was a hidden weapons room located near the hangar deck. While scanning the schematics looking for problems, Wilson found an obscured area on the plans. There were no details as to what the 30 sq foot room was for. Taking along a security team, we located the section of hallway in question. My engineers scanned the walls searching for an anomaly. I hidden keypad was found underneath a false motion detector. Using security equipment we ‘hacked’ our way in. The door slid open revealing a large room filled with armament. Un-powered armor lined the walls of the room. Racks of automatic weapons and handguns lined the floor. Large shelving units stood at the end of the room filled with ammunition and explosives. Much of what we found had been purchased over the last five years. My teams immediately dropped most of their other projects and began an intensive search of the station. If there was one, there might be more.
There were actually five more hidden spaces. Our security teams found three more weapons cache’s, one interrogation room, and a hidden shuttle. The shuttle was the Empire’s newest the X71. That model was not supposed to be in production. It was not even listed in Empire records as existing. They also found a hidden construction drone left over from the original builders of the station. The large drone had become stuck between two of the support beams inside the engineering section, above the fusion engine area. Instead of removing it, they had walled over it. We only found it because of a oil leak from nowhere that had us puzzled. Scans showed an ‘hidden room’ and there it was.
Visibly disturbed by these discoveries, my sister, Minerva stationed more security on the station than had been planned. The hidden rooms were stripped of their contents scanned again and converted into storage areas or office space. The shuttle was sent to the shipyard for evaluation.
Chapter 5
Down on the planet the people were noticeably riled up. The ‘revolution’ that had restored the beginnings of the Pan Pacific League had brought new life to the planet. Old laws were being revived and many of the Empire’s marks of progress were being erased. The Sector offices had been taken over by the new Planetary Army which incorporated the older Militia forces with all of the newer recruits. All that remained of the Empire’s influence was the new industry and entertainment sectors on the planet. Many of those business’s days were numbered. The owners of them, rapidly losing influence, wanted all of the changes stopped.
Hannibal Lee, formerly Major Hannibal Lee, was not in a good mood. His own family had turned against him. His sisters reviled him, his father demoted him. Even the workers on the farm thought him a laughing stock. He reached behind the bar and grabbed another bottle of whiskey. The bartender was glaring at him. “Screw him, he owned this bar!” He could do what he wanted in here. Pouring himself another short, Han stared up at the vid screen. The ‘talking head’ was announcing the revolution talks with the neighboring systems. Stupid talks! Han threw his glass at the wall where it shattered. He hopped off the stool, and headed for his office in the back.
Several hours later after closing down the bar and locking the doors, Han heard someone banging to get in. He walked to the door and yelled. “We’re closed! Come back tomorrow!”
The banging continued. “Han open the door! Han!”
Han unlocked the door and jerked it open. “What!”
Standing there were two of his oldest friends and what looked like their fathers.
Opening the door wide he said “Come on in. You might as well have a drink.”
His two friends introduced their fathers and asked if they could go into one of the meeting rooms.
“Sure, use that one over there. I’ll get the lights.”
Han switched on the lights and opened up the meeting rooms bar. “What will you boys have?”
“Nothing for us yet Hannibal. We would like to speak to you about a business matter.”
Han eyed the two older men. He sort of remembered them from his youth. “Sure,” he poured himself a large glass of 30 year old scotch and sat at the table. “What can I do for you gentlemen?”
One of the older men cocked his head and looked at Han. “You might remember me son, I bailed you and Junior here out of jail once.”
“Yes, sir. I remember you. You made us both dig out that septic system of yours. It took all summer!”
He laughed. “Yes, you boys deserved it too. If you are going to set fire to a peasant’s house don’t leave your damn prints on the gas can where the cops can find them!”
Thinking back to that incident, Han nodded. “You didn’t tell my father about that one too.”
“My friend and I,” he waved at the other gentleman. “We represent some of the business owners here on the planet. The Imperial Navy has been the lifeblood of our business. With it gone and many returning to the old ways of doing things we are seeing a reduction of credits and prestige. We would like for you to join us and help stop the destruction of our businesses.”
“You do know that my father kicked me out of the Militia right?” Han was now frowning at these old guys. What were they trying to say here?
“Let us speak plainly Han. Can we call you Han?” At Han’s nod he continued. “We worked closely with former Governor Norton and built the casino’s and entertainment clubs that you see now. We are part of the ‘Greater Galactic’ picture that many aren’t even aware exists. We want for those with the power and the credits to be in charge. Everyone else will bow to us.”
Han, thought through everything they were saying. “So what do you want from me?”
The old men smiled. They had given the carrot, now the stick. “We need your support. The Lee name is still a driving force here on the planet. Even though you no longer wear
the uniform you still can play a part. We need your support to hold on to our businesses and to maybe change the new political system so it benefits us more. Are you interested? It could mean a new way of life for you, out from under the influence of your father.”
Still not sure of what they wanted, Han could only nod. He did think that getting out from under his father’s influence was a good thing. He had heard some of his customers talking about the casinos and clubs. How the government was cracking down and wanted to get rid of them. He really had not given the financial shift in power any thought. Making up his mind, Han looked at the older man. “Count me in. I will help as much as I can.”
The older man smiled. “Excellent! Han, we’ll be in touch! If you get an invitation in the mail, be sure to answer it. We look forward to you joining us. Have an excellent evening!”
“Party on dudes.” Han completed the ritual leave taking. Seeing the men out, he locked up his bar and went upstairs to his apartment.
The two older men got into the waiting car. The younger sons, their job completed wandered off to a bar or club to spend the money their fathers had paid them. “Do you think he’ll show up to the meeting?” the older of the two asked.
“I think the lure of money and a chance to get away from the infamous Colonel Lee will be all the leverage we’ll need.”
“Well, get some leverage of the other kind too. We need to be sure. His co-operation is vital if we are going to save the plan in this part of the galaxy.”
The younger man grew stern. “BE QUIET about that you fool! The intelligence service is already investigating everyone. That kind of talk will bring the Wardens down on us. It’s bad enough that some of them are already on their way here. Now not another word!”
Chapter6
The next few weeks were looking to be the busiest of my life. The Station was finally shaping up. Many vital areas had been suffering from years of neglect and ignorance. The trash compactors were working at peak efficiency now. Wilson had ended up cloning himself again and putting his ‘child’ to work down there. The crazy experimental unit had been sent over to the FLEA facility for evaluation. Wilson had been surprised to find that he had a potential ‘brother’ out there. ‘Dave’ was bat-shit crazy though. Too many years processing trash and waste. How he ended up here is a mystery that we may never solve.
I had been running all over the place fixing things. Currently, I was in a suit out on the uppermost station pylon watching the ships arrive. You might say I was playing hooky from my job for a moment. Space was very beautiful and so was my home planet. Caught between watching the arriving delegation from a nearby system and the slowly spinning planet I almost missed the jump flare of a fleet arriving. Alarms began going off everywhere as the stations fighters began scrambling to alert. I started back down to the access tube. My radio lit up as several units at once tried to reach me for emergency repairs.
I crawled into the engineering section and was removing my suit when Minerva chimed in. “Athena, where are you?”
“I’m here Min, what’s up? I bet you are calling about that fleet I saw jump in.” I know my sister well, though anyone could have guessed that one.
“Yes, I need a Navy representative and you are all I’ve got. Captain Gorshin is out on a training flight with the James Cook and Captain Wang is still aboard the Paney. Can you hurry and get up here to the command deck please?”
“I’m halfway there, on my way!” I tossed my helmet to the surprised engineering tech and rushed out of the bay.
With double the regular security on board the Station the hallways were starting to get crowded. I dodged people left and right as I practically ran down the passageways. Very few tried to stop me, I was a well known fixture around here. A short, (cute) blond in a very dirty navy jumpsuit carrying a tool box. Arriving at the command deck I found one on the engineering chief’s waiting with one of my uniforms all pressed and ready.
“Thank you Chief. You think of everything.” I really meant it. The formerly retired Chief was a blessing in disguise.
“Just making sure you don’t embarrass us ma’am.” He replied. He saluted and returned to engineering.
I ducked into the ready room and switched uniforms. A quick scrub with the damp towel the chief provided and I was ready to go. I walked onto the bridge, my uniform catching the eye. My sister looked surprised that I was able to change and get here on time.
Looking at the big screen I could see the fleet that had arrived. “What is their IFF saying?”
My sister waved at one of her officers who answered. “IFF says that they are Imperial ships. Two Carriers the EOM ships Ausonia and the Roon. One battle cruiser, the Ajax, three frigate’s and five destroyers. Wait…We are getting a message.”
“Put it on screen!”
“This is Commodore Vakulinchuk commander of Task Force 25 to Legation Station and all ships. This system has been declared in rebellion by the Imperial Senate and is now ordered to stand down all Military operations. I am declaring Martial law and halting all traffic in this system. Per orders from the Colonial office the Planetary Governor and all Militia commanders are to consider themselves under arrest.”
“Ma’am, there is a small fleet of inbound shuttles headed straight at us. They read as Marine assault shuttles. We have about 20 minutes until their arrival.” The communications officer looked up at Minerva.
“Contact the planet. Relay that broadcast to my father Colonel Lee. Everyone else, sound Battle stations. I want all fighters launched, including Ghost squadron.” She turned to look at me. “Athena, any way we can talk to these people?”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t think so. This Commodore looks like he intends to follow his orders to the T.”
“What chance do we have against those ships?” She asked.
I walked over to the holographic command console. I pulled up the stats on the ships. “Hmm, those two carriers are really old. Both were built on Planet Hamburg over 40 years ago. According to this database, both were built on former civilian space liner designs. That means that the armor on the sides and bottom is weaker than the top portions. Both of them only carry half squadrons, so the most they can put up is two full squadrons of fighters. From an engineering perspective I don’t think they have the new fighters on board. They require an upgraded fusion generator and special maintenance bays. Those two ships don’t have those.”
“What about the Ajax? What can you tell me about it?”
“Min it is really nasty. Two main turrets, laser cannons, torpedo’s, and anti ship missiles. But, it like the carriers, is really old. This whole fleet looks like they came from the reserve fleet. Those frigates and destroyers are ancient. None of these ships are front line. From a distance they look scary. Up close, I think we stand a chance.”
In my head I heard Wilson chime in. “I broke their encryption, they’re an anti-piracy task force that got co-opted to come and stop the conference. His orders are to investigate, not start a war. He’s gone ‘off the reservation’ in the terms of his orders. Those shuttles are filled with Marines and ESS troops. Don’t let them land!”
“Min! I just heard from a ‘friend’. Those shuttles are filled with ESS and Marines. We Can’t, let them land!”
She pointed at her head. “Your friend?” I nodded. “Well, that changes things a bit.” Min looked at her command staff. “How much time to we have?”
“Ma’am, we have less than 10 minutes before they get here.”
“Commander Lee? I have the Planetary command on the line. Your Father?”
“Put it on screen please.” We both turned to look at the screen.
Father was starting to look a bit old. Colonel Alexander Lee was getting gray hair and had visible lines on his face. At the moment he was the overall commander of the new Planetary Army. Standing beside him was a shorter and much older gentleman, Governor and soon to be President, Roy Stoner. “Good, both of you are there. I saw your reports and Athena? That friend of
yours relayed the ship information to us. I know you have very little time. Minerva? Do what you have to do. Stop those shuttles. We have the beginning of something wonderful here, we can’t let them grind us back down. You have what little support we can provide. Lee out.”
Min looked over at me and smiled. I guess it is up to us then. She turned to the tactical station. “Inform our fighters to take out those shuttles! Send a message to the Black Sheep, tell Commander Conrad to get his squadron back here. We need him.”
“Weapons? Activate station defenses. Prepare for attack. I want all personnel in suits or lacked down in the shelters.” She turned back to me. “Anything I am missing?”
“Yes, the new planetary defense platforms are now on-line. They can’t stand up to the fire of that battle cruiser but they might be able to take on a destroyer.”
“Platforms? What platforms? When did we get those?” She looked shocked.