"Ready," he said.
The Ensign said, "Please put that down and leave it aboard the shuttle, sir."
The enlisted man had already stepped out of the shuttle to gallantly offer his hand to L'Tan as she stepped to the deck. The Ensign stood behind T'Mar, as if to make sure he also got out of the shuttle.
"No, thanks," said T'Mar. "We're taking it to her quarters."
"I can't let you do that," said the Ensign.
L'Tan said, "Nobody asked you. You're only here to walk us to the bridge, and that's where we'll go after we drop the box off."
As T'Mar stepped down, the Ensign said, "I was told to bring you and him. They didn't say anything about baggage..."
L'Tan glanced at T'Mar and said, "Lock the door," half a second before she shoved the Ensign back inside the shuttle.
T'Mar quickly tapped the lock button and entered four numbers, then confirmed the code with another tap on the lock button.
"Good enough?" he asked.
"Good enough," said L'Tan, cupping an ear to better hear the yelling from within the shuttle.
"Uh, sir?" asked the enlisted man, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"It's how they learn," said T'Mar. "They say or do something stupid and something embarrassing happens to them because of it. Makes 'em better officers later, you know. I'll give you the code when we get to the bridge."
He and L'Tan set off at a brisk pace, leaving the enlisted man to make a quick decision whether to stay and try to free the Ensign or accompany them. He trotted after them and wordlessly fell in step alongside T'Mar.
The little group arrived at the bridge a few minutes later, having detoured to drop the wine off in L'Tan's quarters. Tac looked up as they entered and grinned.
"He's still inside the shuttle and you're to go to briefing room two," he said.
T'Mar turned to the enlisted man and said, "Seventeen-oh-one. Make it look as if you figured it out on your own. He'll be impressed and he may even figure he owes you one."
The man saluted them with a smile and said, "Yes, sir," then left.
They headed for the briefing room just as T'Var came out of another room that bordered the bridge and also headed that direction. He didn't seem happy, but he took a moment to greet L'Tan and T'Mar.
"Glad you're back," he said. To L'Tan in particular, he asked, "How do you feel? And I'm not referring to the virus."
"Glad to be back," said L'Tan. "That shuttle would have seemed pretty small after a while. I'm feeling fine, T'Var, but what has you so tense?"
"Something doesn't feel right. I'm hearing one thing and sensing that something else is about to happen. Let's get together after the briefing."
"You think T'Bar is going to pull something? Do something not in his orders?"
T'Var gazed hard at her for a moment, then switched his gaze to T'Mar. He said nothing for another moment, then looked back at L'Tan and said, "Later. After the meeting. I could be worried about nothing."
Having said that, he resumed walking toward the briefing room. L'Tan and T'Mar glanced at each other, then followed him.
Briefing room two was much larger than room one and was filled to capacity with the most senior officers from the other ships of the fleet. L'Tan and T'Mar were guided to their seats at the big table by one of the junior officers, who seated L'Tan, poured them each a glass of water from the pitcher on the table, and then went to stand at the wall.
Both L'Tan and T'Mar noticed that - deferential and polite as he was - he was also armed with a pistol, as were the other three junior officers in the room.
Another officer activated the vid screen on the wall by the door and said, "Sir, they're all here and all ships stand ready to receive your message."
"Thank you," said T'Bar, without engaging the video.
Moments later, T'Bar marched into the room with two envelopes and looked around the table. His eyes came to rest on L'Tan and T'Mar.
Without preamble, he said, "You two each have a decision to make," and handed the envelopes to one of the junior officers standing by the door.
The young officer delivered the envelopes to L'Tan and T'Mar and returned to stand by the door.
"Those are your orders and appropriate insignia," said T'Bar. "I'm not about to hand one of my starships over to a pair of civilians."
A series of chuckles and a few laughs circulated around the table.
T'Mar opened his envelope and a pair of Fleet Lieutenant's insignia mounted on a card slid out. L'Tan's envelope contained Captain's insignia.
T'Mar said, "I was enlisted, Admiral. My brother was the officer in the family."
"We're aware of that. I'm also aware of your post-military employment. You're a Fleet Lieutenant as of now, assigned to Captain L'Tan, if you accept the commission. Any objections will cause her to need a new adjutant immediately."
Sliding the insignia back into the envelope and closing it as he looked at L'Tan, T'Mar said, "In that case, no objections, Admiral."
"Captain L'Tan, do you have any objections to having your own ship again?"
"None, Admiral."
"In that case, you'll be delivered to your new command after the meeting. Congratulations, Captain L'Tan. Having taken care of this matter, there will now be thirty seconds of polite applause, then we'll get down to business."
There was laughter as the men and women in the room applauded, then T'Bar sat down at the head of the table. He took a sip from his glass and studied the others in the room for a few moments, then tapped his glass with a stylus.
When the room was quiet, he spoke.
"To all crews of all ships of the Confederation Fleet: At this table are the most senior officers of the Fleet. We are most of what's left of the Confederation Fleet, people. We are here to exact retribution. We are to make sure that those who perpetrated so evil an act on the Confederation are never able to do so again. To that end, our orders are to give one day's warning, and then to completely annihilate all traces of contemporary technology on Eirania. We are then to leave six ships as pickets, to prevent any other ships from entering - or leaving - this Eiranian region of space."
T'Bar paused for another sip of water and continued, "But that doesn't quite seem enough to me, in view of what they've done. We could miss an underground installation or two. Someone could get past the pickets, as evidenced by Captain T'Var's encounter with a missile that his sensors couldn't detect. The Eiranian people have thoroughly proven themselves to be a most devious and effective enemy, and I don't believe in halfway measures. Eirania will be destroyed."
He paused to look around the table, then continued, "Nine infected Eiranians were aboard a passenger transport that crashed on Leimar's moon. The ship's computer placed everyone in stasis, which also preserved the virus, and we have managed to replicate the virus in considerable quantities using blood supplies donated by the survivors of the Eiranian attack."
T'Bar tapped a button on his console and said, "Now."
All the viewscreens in the room - and, presumably, on all the other ships - displayed the surface of Eirania. Bright little green dots were fanning out from a central point. Bright little red dots were struggling to intercept them, but many of those red dots disappeared almost as soon as they appeared.
"The disappearing red dots are Eiranian fighters being targeted by T'Var's gun crews as they emerge from hiding. The green dots are drones. One hundred and fifty of them are falling into the atmosphere of Eirania. Each of them is equipped with stasis canisters containing the Eiranian virus. They will release the virus upon those who created it and released it upon the worlds of the Confederation. In about two weeks, this planet will be ready for renaming and resettlement."
Most of T'Bar's audience was staring at him in shock, but some were obviously quite pleased with his announcement. The vid screens suddenly flashed red and a klaxon sounded, then Tac's face filled the screens in the briefing room.
Tac's calm voice said, "Red alert. We're being targeted, Admiral. I almos
t have a source lock... I have a lock. Firing now."
Chapter Twenty
The vid screens suddenly went stark white as the slaved weapons systems of twenty starships focused their collective firepower on a plot of Eiranian soil about one mile square and fired simultaneously. The scream of monstrous amounts of energy being released echoed through the hull of the Alliance as all batteries facing the planet fired at once.
"Target eliminated," said Tac, sounding as if he was talking to himself. "Eight degrees north, another underground source showing. Firing now."
After the guns fired again he said, "They had a redundant targeting system. Damn. I'm getting a lock on another new power source. Firing... Now."
The guns screamed a third time, then were silent.
"Three targets destroyed. No other sources showing."
T'Bar said, "Good shooting, Tac. Cancel red alert. T'Var's lucky to have you."
"Thank you, sir. I tell him that every day."
T'Bar chuckled and faced his audience.
"We just knocked out their brand-new superweapon, ladies and gentlemen. The drones were a ruse to make them deploy it. In the next few days, we'll..."
He was interrupted as the computer reactivated the alert.
Tac's voice wasn't so calm as he said, "Hold it, sir. New source. Target locked, firing... Now."
The guns screamed one more time, but this time, Tac's followup was dour.
"Sir, we hit the source, but it was too deep. They got off a shot before our beams could bore through and hit it. The 'V'Nur' is gone."
"Gone? What the hell do you mean it's 'gone', Tac!?"
"Sir, the 'V'Nur' is no longer on my screen or responding to the weapons link. Sensors can't locate her. She's not there, sir."
"Ships don't just disappear, Tac."
"Sir, I'll look for her in a minute. I'm still reading a power surge of some sort from the source we just hit. The damned thing is almost three miles deep. Firing... Now. Still reading a source down there. Firing again."
T'Mar and L'Tan watched the vid screen in front of them turn white yet again and seconds later heard Tac's voice say, "Same target, still active. Firing again."
T'Var, T'Bar, L'Tan, and T'Mar were on their feet and on their way to Tac's station to see for themselves what he was seeing. Tac was calmly calling another shot at the power source as they approached.
On the screen was a white dot that seemed to refuse to be extinguished.
"Another ship missing, and the power signature down there is off the scale," said Tac. "The 'L'Nar' is gone, too, sirs. Recommend we get the hell out of here."
"Do it," said T'Bar. "All ships retreat to one hundred thousand."
"Another ship gone, sir. I'm pulling us back."
Seconds later, Tac said, "All ships at one hundred thousand. Sir, 'L'Vis' reports heavy damage. She says something just punched a hole completely through her."
"Two hundred thousand, Tac. Move 'em back fast."
"Yes, sir. 'L'Vis' reports another hole. Her engines are out."
"Tell them to abandon ship and get clear. We'll come back for her later."
"Yes, sir. Message sent. Looks as if someone already had that idea. Her pods are all over the place."
"Have T'Lek brought to the bridge, Tac."
"Yes, sir." He tapped his console and said, "The Admiral wants T'Lek on the bridge."
Several seconds ticked by until Tac said, "Two hundred thousand, sir. I can't tell if they've stopped firing, sir, but nobody's reporting any more holes at the moment and nobody else has disappeared."
T'Mar asked, "Could you tell when they were firing at us? We didn't see anything on the screens."
"No, sir, I couldn't. Whatever they're using doesn't show up on our screens."
"That weapon ought to be able to hit us if they can see us. Why aren't they hitting us now?"
"Unknown. Maybe their targeting system failed."
L'Tan turned to T'Bar and said in a flat, firm tone, "I don't think two hundred thousand is far enough, Admiral."
T'Bar looked at her and said, "Neither do I. Another hundred thousand, Tac."
"Yes, sir, and thank you, sir. I wasn't happy here, either."
Tac suddenly stiffened and stared at his screens for a moment. For the first time, his voice betrayed his rising anxiety.
"Admiral! Something's happening!"
Everyone's attention was on Tac's screen as a sizeable portion of the planet Eirania turned bright white. The whiteness began to spread.
Tac swiftly punched a series of buttons as he nearly screamed, "All ships back! Get away from Eirania now!"
Loose objects and some people were thrown flat as the Alliance surged away from the planet. Others encountered furniture or found something to hang onto. When the throttle bars read full reverse, the computer automatically activated the stasis fields.
T'Mar had been in stasis before, but he hated the sensation. He couldn't move, even to breathe more than shallowly, for the long seconds until the computer decided that inertia was no longer a danger. Although he knew that all was being done that could possibly be done, he felt helpless in the grip of the field.
The white, featureless ball that had been Eirania began to swell. The bigger it became, the faster it grew even larger. As the ball engulfed Eirania's moon, T'Mar realized that it appeared to be expanding faster than they were retreating.
L'Tan had realized the same thing and said, "Stardrive, Tac."
"Can't. We're still in-system. The evac pods won't be able to keep up."
"Do it," said T'Bar. "Override all ship protocols and do it."
Tac looked up and said, "Sir, there are another eighteen planets, their moons, and lots of other crap out here."
"Do it or I will, Tac."
Tac didn't answer as he turned back to the control board. He was too late. L'Tan had already keyed a duration of one second at level one and stabbed a finger at the stardrive's 'engage' button.
The stars seemed to stretch briefly. The expanding white ball on the screens appeared to instantly shrink to one-quarter of its previous size, even as it engulfed the inert L'Vis.
"All stop," said T'Bar. "But stay ready. Did we lose any more ships, Tac?"
"Just the escape pods from L'Vis, sir. The..."
Two guards escorting T'Lek onto the bridge interrupted Tac's words.
T'Bar said, "No choice, Tac. Who's still with us and what happened back there?"
"I can tell you what happened," said a grinning T'Lek. "The stupid bastards never caught on that I rigged the numbers. They fired their 'superweapon' and it exploded. More precisely, it imploded, then it went critical and consumed first itself, and then the whole maggot-infested planet. Eirania is now a small sun that should last just about a week before it..."
T'Bar drew himself up from the console and his fist connected with T'Lek's face with a crack that could be heard across the bridge. T'Lek fell backward over a bridge rail and into a crumpled heap on the deck. After a moment, he began to straighten himself out and looked up.
T'Bar rubbed his knuckles and said, "Get up, T'Lek."
T'Lek was still trying to clear his head, but he could hear T'Bar's tone and knew that getting up at that moment would be a serious mistake. He shook his head slightly.
In a rumbling tone, T'Bar said, "You lied to me, T'Lek. You assured me that it wouldn't actually be ready to fire. You assured me that the moment they tried to fire the thing, it would destroy itself, and that we'd be out of range. Come over here, T'Lek. No, don't shake your head again. You'll get up or I'll come get you, and you don't want that. Tac, put the last few minutes on the screen for him."
T'Lek warily rose to his feet, then edged around T'Bar to look at the screen. He paled as he watched the mysterious destruction of ships unfold, then viewed the escape of the remaining ships. He paled further as he realized that they'd had to engage the stardrive within a planetary system to avoid the reach of the baby sun.
T'Bar said, "Tac, give T'Lek, here,
the casualty figures from the moment the drones were launched. Put them on all screens, so that everybody will know what this cretin has accomplished today. Number of ships lost and number of people lost on those ships. Show us all what his grand little scheme has cost."
Tac moved to comply and the names and classes of the missing ships, as well as the numbers of their crews, were displayed on all bridge screens at once.
T'Lek's jaw fell and he paled again.
"B-but it wasn't supposed to work! I... I checked and rechecked my calculations a dozen times! It was only supposed to... It couldn't have fired!"
L'Tan asked, "It was only supposed to do what, T'Lek?"
T'Lek only stared at her. T'Bar raised a fist and stepped forward a pace. T'Lek backed away and put the console between them.
"It... It was supposed to do what it did," he said. "But it shouldn't have expanded beyond their moon. I... I just wanted revenge for what they did to me."
L'Tan glared as she opened a drawer and withdrew a sensor probe, then forcefully twisted the shielding lens off the forward end. When she flicked the switch, a bright beam as long as a finger snapped into being. L'Tek paled again and retreated a pace.
"I don't see any scars on you," said L'Tan. Her voice was dangerously calm. "I don't see you in a wheelchair or a hospital bed. What did they do to you that was worth all those lives? Exactly how did they torture you, T'Lek?"
"They... I was a captive for almost a decade. I was forced to work on the power source. I haven't seen my family in years..."
T'Bar said, "Your family? Try some other excuse, T'Lek. Security records indicate that you were divorced and living on another world for three years before the Eiranians contacted you."
L'Tan glanced at T'Bar, then at T'Mar, then refocused her gaze on T'Lek. She was trembling and there were tears in her eyes as she spoke.
"We had friends on those ships, T'Lek. People we've known for twenty years. People I've been to hell and back with at one time or other. People who meant a hell of a lot more to me than an arrogant, egocentric bastard like you."
T'Lek found himself cornered as L'Tan stepped around the console. She held the probe near his throat as he backed up against the rail, then let her hand gripping the probe rest on his upper chest. The heat of the beam evaporated the sweat on his skin and made the skin near it blister.
STARDANCER Page 13