Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades

by Randolph Lalonde

  Eve went on, as she often did. “That was such a barrier to overcome, and we are stronger than ever. That is why I know that we will overcome this new threat I’m here to tell you about now. It is so small compared to the loss of our Prophet, but it represents a disease that plagues the rest of humanity, a disease that we will cure. I’m afraid one of the Order’s oldest enemies has come to threaten us once again. The terrorist Jacob Valent has led a band of pirates against a small training ship and revealed his true nature. I warn you that what you are about to see is quite graphic, but we must be exposed to this so we know how to defeat it. The stage was overwhelmed with the image of a starship bridge. Jacob Valent was pictured holding a weapon to a young crewman’s head telling him, “We’re going to play a game, it’s called Chinese Whispers.”

  The way the holographic image of the bridge lined up with the stage set the scene out like an old fashioned play, but Clark suspected no playwright would ever pen such a rage-fuelled gore show. He flinched when the young crewman almost finished counting down from ten and Jake fired his weapon. Clark couldn’t help but be shocked as Jake made sport of killing crewmembers. After killing one of the crew, Jake retracted his headgear, and in the light of what Clark was seeing, how unhinged Valent seemed, he couldn’t help but think it may be time for him to die. Something had driven the hero Clark Patterson once worshipped out of Jacob Valent.

  By the time Jacob got the codes out of the young ship captain, Clark was thoroughly disappointed by Valent, but more importantly, he didn’t understand why Eve was showing the terrorist recording to her audience, and why she didn’t change what Jake said when he stated, “I’ll fight my way through every captain and soldier in the fleet to get to the real war and they won’t even leave a stain on my memory.”

  That was so potentially damning that Clark was utterly outraged. It made it seem like Jacob Valent barely regarded the Order of Eden as an obstacle, and revealed that he was fully aware that the Edxi were at the centre of the Order’s involvement. That statement may not mean much to the average soldier, but the higher ranks, the few thousand who knew everything about the balance they were trying to maintain in the galaxy, could panic. Most of them were former businessmen, or from wealthy families granted governorship in trade for resources.

  The playback ended with the young ship captain giving up her command codes, leaving Eve’s audience with the worst mental image she could offer – that of weakness and surrender. The image dissipated and Eve stood alone on the stage. “This is one terrible man who thinks that he is powerful because he overtook a small ship on a training mission. While we should mourn for the people we have lost, we should also have faith that this villain is the perfect target for us to show the rest of the galaxy that senseless terrorism won’t diminish our message or our mission. We are blessed by fate, and that will not be taken from us. This is only a test, and we will overcome it. You go with my love, my trust, and my faith.”

  The lights dimmed as Eve retreated from the stage. “What? What does she think she’s doing?” Clark cried aloud. “You’re helping him! This is exactly what he wants!” He scanned through the data stream and found the original recording of the boarding action, and was even more enraged to see that Eve hadn’t used the most helpful part of the recording. Moments after taking the command codes, Jacob Valent collapsed, and the internal sensor logs from the destroyer cited a nanobot infestation as the cause. It was a trap Clark had set months before, adding a nanobot system to Order Knight framework systems so the specialist soldiers could be destroyed if they were captured or turned against their masters. It hadnt’ even occurred to Clark that the nanobots in the Order Knight’s armour would attack other unauthorized and unregistered framework systems if they were encountered. Jake, and possibly Alice, were infested with nanobots that would destroy all the framework technology from within their bodies, deactivating the systems and most likely killing them both.

  “This is what they should see,” Clark said as he mentally ordered his chamber to be drained of all fluids. He set the chamber so only he stood in light, darkness surrounding him, and he looked at the shifting colour of his carapace. The jagged shards of his outer armour were every shade of red and black as his blood pressure rose and renewed the corpulent silhouette he’d grown to hate. In this moment, he accepted it as a helpful aspect of his appearance. It was time to confirm his presence to all Order of Eden followers.

  With a gesture and a thought, he commanded the holographic systems in the room to show a projection of the entire Order of Eden Fleet drifting in space behind him, and he began recording. “I am the Beast, Master of the Order of Eden War Fleet.” He could feel the grinding of his facial armour as the shards moved with his speech. “You’ve just seen our spiritual leader, Eve, speak about the terrorist Jacob Valent. He is a misguided man from a military organization that has never made a significant mark on the galaxy. His corrupt sense of justice has already led him to a bad end. In an attempt to extend a peaceful gesture to our enemies and attract people who are suppressed by them, Eve neglected to show you the very moment when Jacob Valent fell to our superior technology. I’m showing you this now.” With a thought, Clark started the playback of Jacob Valent collapsing and his friend rushing to his side. “What you have just seen is a weapon we use to counter stolen immortality systems. Jacob Valent used our technology to bolster himself, to overcome his innate weaknesses. We have turned this against him, and he is dead. His people are now in retreat, taking refuge in a place called Haven Shore, well outside of our space. They pretend that the Order of Eden does not exist because they know they are powerless against our superior might, and that a few people have as much a chance to stop us from embracing our fate as they have at stopping a tide from rising. Our destiny will be fulfilled, and every one of you is powerful enough to defeat pathetic beings like Jacob Valent.” He mentally ended the transmission and ordered a communications block for Eve and her command carrier. She would only be able to reach him; as far as the rest of the galaxy was concerned, she had been gagged.

  Another message appeared in his mind’s eye, this one was from Shozo. “My Dominant,” she began, “you were wise to direct us to Lorander. After reviewing our situation, and taking the state of the galaxy into account, we have been led to Haven Shore, where they went to great expense in creating good conditions for us to settle with people you admire – Ayan Anderson and other people from your place of birth, Freeground. I am pleased to announce that we are already beginning to mix the clean fresh water with our habitat aboard the Fallen Star, and expect to be swimming freely within a week. I will be able to send you messages in the future, but the people here tell me I must use their systems, so they can be sure we do not reveal any important information. I do not object, since you did not want us to fight in this war, and they won’t be forcing us to take up arms against you, either. In my most beautiful dreams you are with us, founding a new clutch, building the glory of your House, and I hope that can become a reality soon, when you have brought peace to the galaxy.”

  The recorded transmission ended, and the Beast was struck still, silent. He should have armed the Fallen Star and his House, and sent them to an unexplored sector where they could search for a place that was entirely new, not directed them to Lorander. They used them as a pawn, an extra layer of protection for Tamber and Haven Shore. They tricked Shozo and now House Fallen Star was out of reach.

  He could not clear his head of anger and doubt. He could barely think. “Pilot, take us back down,” he commanded through the comm system.

  The Beast felt his ship touch down, back in the cavern, and he commanded the platform in the middle of his private chamber to lower. “Lower the troop generation pod and activate three hundred framework soldiers,” he said to the officer in the disembarking room as he was handed his Order Knight rifle. The monstrous weapon would see some use.

  “Yes, Sir, your soldiers will be ready in sixteen minutes,” said the armoured lieutenant. Even as he tried to s
tand straight, it seemed like the soldier wanted to shrink away from the Beast, and it irritated Clark to no end.

  “Make sure they are all recording this engagement,” he said. “The Order of Eden needs an example.”

  CHAPTER 55

  Warlord Triumphant

  “This is not what I expected at the end of my tour of the Triton,” Lacey whispered to Ayan as they sat down in the middle of the main bridge. At a glance, Ayan could see that the crew was busy managing multiple repair operations as well as normal management. She hadn’t realized how much she missed the nerve centre of the great ship Triton until then, and was surprised at how comfortable the place was to her.

  A look towards the ramp leading to the Flight Deck was enough of an indication to the ship that she wanted to see the large control centre beneath her feet, and the floor became fully transparent to her. Anyone else not looking towards the Flight Deck would see mostly opaque floor beneath their feet. The Flight Deck had become a fleet control centre for the small percentage of air and orbital space Triton Fleet had taken direct control of. The Haven Shore Navnet, fighter wing command, and several other space organization tasks were under way, keeping thirty officers busy, several of whom were in training. She decided to show Lacey the flight control centre later; there was barely enough room to move down there.

  If it weren’t for the British Alliance’s help with the monitoring and control of the Rega Gain System, there would be chaos. Ayan’s work in politics wasn’t over. She was due to discuss the timeframe Triton Fleet would get for taking over full management of the solar system, and she hoped the British Alliance would take governance of a few worlds for two years at least. Anything to guarantee their continued presence in the system would be a positive step forward.

  “I’ve never felt more conspicuously out of place in my life,” Lacey said.

  “I hear you’re a logistics master,” Oz said as he emerged from the officers’ entrance to their right. He crossed to the centre of the bridge and sat in the middle command seat. “Good morning. Coffee is on the way, the real stuff,” he said to Ayan. “Thanks to Haven Shore’s pickers. Too bad you’re leaving your political career there, opinion is changing in your favour since you announced that Haven Shore was going to be run by the military again.”

  “I think it was what you said about your dreams for the place,” Lacey said. “I’ll see that happen while you’re up here.”

  “I still feel like I’m abandoning Haven Shore,” Ayan said.

  “You gave us the blueprint, that’s what’s important.”

  “Half of the social blueprint is a direct rip from old Freeground lifestyle, I can’t take much credit,” Ayan said. “The rest is either a result of our situation or Liam’s input.”

  “Stop avoiding credit, Commodore,” Oz said with a knowing smile. “You take more responsibility than you should. It’s about time you let someone pat you on the back.”

  “He’s right,” Lacey said. “Carl is taking his place as governor of Haven Shore seriously. It’s early yet, but it looks like he really loves it. He’s happy you’re up here too, we’re all winners here.”

  Ayan didn’t know what to say, and felt some relief despite the sensation of being ambushed by Oz and Lacey. “I’ll just shut up and be happy then,” she chuckled. “Let’s finish the tour, I want to see what the Botanical Gallery looks like now, I hear there were changes.”

  “Make sure you take a walk along the aquatic section on your way there, the Issyrian habitat is almost finished,” Oz said. “There’s a new Botanical Gallery child care section too, I’m sure they’d like a visit. You can’t miss it.”

  “Sir, we have unencrypted data coming in from the edge of the Iron Head Nebula,” announced an older looking gentleman at the communications station. “It’s being broadcast on all emergency and news bands, addresses the Order of Eden, Regent Galactic, and partners.”

  “That’s strange,” Oz said. He brought up the data stream and Ayan’s heart jumped as the header information finished coming through and she read the origin point: The Warlord. “Obviously Jake wants everyone to see this.”

  “Is it just me, or does he really like grand-standing?” Lacey asked.

  “He uses publicity on the networks as a tactical tool, and the British told him to terrorize everyone on the wrong side of this conflict. This could be difficult to watch,” Oz warned.

  The footage began to play back, starting with the image of the Warlord’s guns hammering a pair of Order of Eden patrol corvettes. The warship preyed on the similarly sized, but lesser armed ships as though they were nothing more than cargo carriers. Starfighters swept by, adding their firepower to the exchange as missiles from unknown origin points swept in and exploded against the escort corvettes’ hulls.

  “I thought the Warlord only had a few fighters?” Lacey asked.

  “They probably dropped weapons platforms using mine launchers,” Oz replied. “A section of the machine shop aboard the Triton was used to put some together.” They watched in silence for several moments as the exchange continued. The Warlord stopped firing as the pair of corvettes lost power. Time itself seemed suspended as the victorious ship’s activity ceased for long seconds, as though it was deciding for or against mercy.

  Ayan was surprised when the railguns aboard the Warlord flared back to life, ripping the hulls of the battered corvettes wide open from stem to stern. Only three escape pods made it off those ships. The last shots on each corvette struck their reactors, removing any possibility that the ships could be repaired. The Warlord disappeared, not waiting to strike their next targets.

  “No prisoners?” Lacey asked. “They’re not even going to recover the escape pods that made it?”

  “The Warlord and her captain don’t seem interested,” Oz said. “Besides, I think this battle is only beginning. The stream is over an hour long.”

  They watched as the battle progressed and the recording followed the agile Uriel fighters, the brutal mauling the Warlord inflicted on the strange decloaked Edxian newcomers, and boarding operations led by Remmy Sands, Moira McFadden, Jacob Valent, and Stephanie Vega. Half way through the transmission, while Stephanie entered a compartment with her team and sent several guided disintegration grenades ahead, instantly killing four guards and six crewmembers from behind, Lacey stood up. “This isn’t something I need to see,” she said quietly. “I’ll meet you in the Botanical Gallery.”

  “I’ll see you after,” Ayan replied. The broadcast from the Warlord was assembled like a Freeground visual report; there was no consideration for any viewer who hadn’t seen combat or didn’t know the brutality of real war. The lengths the Warlord crew went to during the fight didn’t shock Ayan, but she immediately understood that the unapologetic report would force the vast majority of civilians to turn away.

  Any bridge crewmember who wasn’t already busy at their station watched the report for themselves, and Ayan suspected that millions of Rega Gain residents and transients were doing the same. Not even Remmy Sands and his Ranger squad told the crew of the ship they raided to surrender more than once. It was a whole new chapter in methods as far as Jacob Valent was concerned. His new command style was to offer one set of terms for surrender a single time, then kill everything in their way, and all the boarding teams shared the policy.

  Remmy’s team had the easiest time. Most of the crew aboard the Sunny Shifter abandoned ship in a pair of civilian shuttles before the Rangers finished forcing their way aboard. The small military staff that was left wasn’t able to put up much resistance, but they tried. When Remmy’s people were able to break into the forward section of the vessel, they faced eighteen zealous defenders who fought to the last man and woman. They were able to revive the first officer using the most extreme medical technology they’d brought with them, but the others were too far gone. Ayan recognized immense potential in Remmy Sands. His leadership style was absolutely straightforward, something typical of the top Ranger graduates. He told his people what
to do with confidence, not bravado or aggression. His style of delegation was skill-based. He knew what each member of his team was good at, and moved them like chess pieces.

  He knew to reach out beyond his team for help when it was available too, as evidenced by his contact with Alice. It surprised Ayan, but it all made sense when it resulted in Remmy breaking through security so his team could move ahead as safely and quickly as possible. Remmy Sands had the potential to become a general, but it was a little early for Ayan to tell him.

  Oz focused on the boarding action of the destroyer, watching Stephanie Vega sneak and Jacob Valent rampage through the ship. The first was headed aft, the second was blasting his way to the fore. The sheer merciless quality of their tactics drove all but the most stalwart defenders back. Minh-Chu led the soldiers behind Jacob and Moira, occasionally handing more grenades and replacement shield emitters to one of the fearless leaders as they expended both in a frontal assault that showed no regard for the condition of the ship or the lives of their enemies.

  At the end of Jacob Valent’s rush to the bridge, Ayan heard Oz say, “No, Jake, don’t do it,” as Valent engaged with an Order of Eden Knight in hand-to-hand combat. Ayan and Oz watched as Jake managed to overcome his opponent. Her helmet opened and the feed jumped to Jacob Valent playing Chinese Whispers with a bridge crewmember.

  Oz and Ayan were aghast when Jacob pulled the trigger the first time. After the second, Oz muttered, “What is Minh doing? He should get in there, this is something Jake is going to regret. It’s not who he is.”