“You’ve sold me,” the engineering Comm. Operator said with a sigh—and an expression that suggested he was, in fact, far from sold. “However, the best laid plans of mice, men and Chief Engineers are eventually going to have to run headlong into one unmovable fact. So I wouldn’t get too sold on the notion that most of the work crews currently working on this sideline construction project of yours aren’t going to be pulled.”
“Oh?” Spalding asked in a dangerous voice. “Where there’s a will there’s a way, lad. And as the Sweet Saint is my witness, I’ve got the will! Just what manner of man, beast or feckless mechanical problem do you think could possibly stand in the way of a man determined to breathe life back into the greatest ship that ever roamed these spaceways!”
Bostwell sighed and a moment later the com-link built into the old engineer’s data slate chimed.
“Who is it now?” Spalding barked after activating the link with the wave of his hand.
“Who am I?” asked a gray-haired woman with an arched brow. “I’m the Yard Manager whose work crews you’ve been diverting for the past month or more, that’s who. We need to talk,” said Glenda Baldwin.
“Now, now, lass; don’t get your knickers in a bunch,” the Chief Engineer said hastily. “I was just expectin’ a call from someone else, so there’s no need to take offense at an old man’s honest confusion.”
“Your sly devil’s tongue won’t work on me, Commander. I want those work crews you illegally appropriated back pronto. We’ve wasted enough time on your little diversion,” Baldwin barked.
“I hardly think that anything about this project could be called ‘small’,” Spalding protested, secretly feeling pleased that she thought he had a ‘devil’s tongue.’ “Besides, I can’t just turn them loose, woman! We’re at a very delicate stage in the rebuild here. Can’t just drop it and move on at this point in the operation!”
“Stop trying to change the subject—and, yes, that’s exactly what you’ll do. If I let you get away with claiming things were too delicate to interrupt, you’d keep at it until long after that abortion of a new ship construction—which only you insist on calling a rebuild project—was done with its builder’s trial and ready for space trial. That’s if it doesn’t explode or tear itself apart during shakedown!” Baldwin declared.
“It’s as fine a redesign as a person will ever see,” Spalding argued belligerently, “and I’ll have you know that every bolt, every weld, and every compartment and piece of scrap metal from the original has been included in the new design. It’s a refit, woman, not a brand new ship. Her main keel is in here and that means her soul’s intact!”
“I don’t have time to talk crazy with you. I’ve got ships to repair and newly-captured Battleships to refit and put into Patrol Fleet service. But I can see this isn’t going to work over a com-channel. My office—now!” snapped Baldwin. “And don’t even think about making me hunt you down on the abortion or you’ll regret it.”
“Oh, aye,” Spalding said with an iron glint in his eye, “you won’t have to find me. I’ll come over and talk some sense into your thick head presently—even if I have to do it with a bloody wrench!”
“Threatening me is the surest way to get your project canceled indefinitely,” Baldwin said coldly.
“I’m hurt,” the old engineer declared, rubbing the metallic part of his head as if feeling a remembered pain. “I seem to recall a certain engineer who wasn’t above giving me a little ‘love tap’ to the head when she thought I was getting out of line.”
“You’ll just have to get over it,” Baldwin said bluntly, “although, in a way I’d like to see what a review board would think of you taking a wrench to your superior.”
“Superior?! Ha! This is gender bias, that’s what this is—don’t try and escape it! All my life I’ve strived for equality of labor and treatment based on merit and the principle of reciprocity,” the old Engineer said passionately. “Who would believe that at the end of a long and distinguished career I’d run into a person of such hypocritical values? It’s okay to play ‘where did I hide the wrench’ with my own poor head but when it’s my turn, I’m to be put up in front of a review panel?”
“Get over yourself. We don’t have time to deal with your fit of temper; there’s ships in serious need of repair,” Baldwin shook her head. “And furthermore, as it regards that wrench of yours: you can take it and stuff it—”
“This is rank discrimination of the first order, that’s what it is,” he bellowed over the top of her. “A powerful woman of uncommon skill, and in the prime of her life, feels free to abuse a crippled up old man for no good reason that I can see other than personal pleasure. Abuse of power! Assault!” he paused briefly. “Of course, I could forgive it all; I happen to like a strong woman, yes I do. So if you would just consider the Clover when you—”
“I don’t have time for this,” Baldwin cut the channel
“Women!” Spalding swore, stomping around his metallic duralloy feet clanging angrily with every step. He rounded on Bostwell after a moment, “Don’t fall for their wiles unless you’ve no other choice, lad,” he warned, shoving a finger into the other man’s chest. “They’ll string you along, putting your mind into turmoil, and then hit you alongside the head with an auto-wrench and leave you bleeding on the floor as they proceed to cut out your metaphorical heart. I swear that we’re all better off—”
“Do you want me to secure a shuttle so you can go over and speak with her in person, Commander?” Bostwell interrupted professionally.
“Want?” Spalding cursed shaking his head, “No, there’s no ‘want’ about it. Need?” he sighed bitterly. “I guess I’d better do that, after all. Make it happen; I’m on the way,” he grumbled, turning and stomping out of the room.
Bostwell breathed a sigh of relief as the old engineer walked off, muttering angrily under his voice.
Chapter Thirty-four: Outside Pressures
After a good fifteen minutes of wrangling, everything seemed to be going as per usual when Silverback stood up and dropped his bombshell in the middle of the table. Not literally a bombshell, but it might as well have been one.
“I have evidence here in my hand,” he said, pointing to the data storage device that, in point of literal fact, was not in his hand but laying on the conference table instead, “relayed to me from Aegis High Command mere hours ago via courier.”
He was rudely interrupted by the head of the Blackwood contingent, Admiral Dark Matter himself—rear Admiral, that is, but don’t let him here you say that.
“If it’s the same information I received from Blackwood, our intelligence apparatus two days ago you’d probably be better off tossing that data stick in the trash and giving up the whole thing for a bad game, Silverback,” said Admiral Dark Matter.
“Admiral Silverback to the likes of you, Dark Matter,” the Aegis Admiral barked, looking at the Blackwood Admiral with narrowed eyes.
“I don’t see the need to quibble over such minor things as rank. Do you, Admiral Silverback?” Dark Matter drawled, stroking his red chin whiskers as he leaned back in his chair and laughed. “It seems to me an Admiral should be measured by the size of the contingent under his command, rather than the rockets, comets or stars on his shoulder board..”
“Oh, of course not, Rear Admiral,” Silverback gloated.
Dark Matter slammed his hand down on the table and glared at Silverback, who was just starting to roll his eyes when the Blackwood Admiral threw back his head and barked a laugh.
“Good for you,” Dark Matter chortled.
Admiral Silverback stiffened before continuing, “As I was about to say before being interrupted by my uncouth colleague from Blackwood: Aegis Intelligence has recently intercepted information vital to the Grand Fleet and the war effort to save this Sector as a whole,” he said, turning to sweep the room as he spoke and also pointedly ignored Admiral Dark Matter while he did so.
I could tell that he’d caught the attention of the rest o
f the room. Murphy knows he’d captured mine. I cleared my throat and, even though I knew it had been his intent all along, I still stood up and asked the question that was now on everyone’s mind.
“I think I speak for everyone when I ask what this information is and just how exactly did Aegis obtain it?” I asked.
“Aegis has some suspicion regarding certain individuals recently arrived on our planet and our intelligence apparatus, working in conjunction with our police and security services recently captured an enemy agent,” Silverback said triumphantly. “He was a low-level Reclamationist with limited operational information, which was extracted before he died.”
“What could a low-level agent have to say that was so important?” Dark Matter asked suspiciously. Clearly, whatever he’d heard from his government and chosen not to share with us was different from what Silverback was relaying.
“While his information and understanding of the enemy fleet was somewhat lacking, what he did have was low-level access to a functioning ComStat relay node placed near Aegis,” Silverback said, pausing to turn and grandstand before the audience before continuing. Oh, it might not have looked like grandstanding to the rest of the officers assembled—then again, maybe it did—but either way it was clear to me what he was doing. “Using his codes, a team of our top analysts and computer science experts were assembled into a data extraction team.”
“Come on, man. Spit it out,” said Dark Matter, “and just tell us what you found.”
The Aegis Admiral paused to look at the Blackwood Admiral who was stealing his thunder, or attempting to, before picking up the data-stick and inserting it dramatically into a data port on the conference table before continuing.
“As you can see, our team managed to strip a number of files from the FTL relay before the intrusion was discovered and shut down by the ComStat’s automated electronic defense protocols. While a lot of it was routine traffic and relay-to-relay program updates, we did manage to capture a few key files,” Silverback smiled.
“Which is a longwinded way of not saying much of anything all, Admiral Silverback,” Rear Admiral Dark Matter drawled.
“Take all the fun out of it, why don’t you?” the Aegis Admiral quipped, but despite his words he seemed like was secretly happy with the way everything had gone so far.
I wasn’t yet sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Oh, alright, who was I kidding? Of course I thought it was a bad thing. But then, I’m paranoid that way. Only time would tell if I was right to be or not but I wasn’t about to change my mind without some evidence I was wrong.
Dark Matter just gestured for the Aegis Admiral to get on with it. “In short, ladies and gentleman,” Silverback said, nodding to one of the female Captains in the room who, for her part, just stared back at him coolly, “we have the location of the enemy fleet. Not where they are right now, but where they are going to be. The enemy has called for a routine supply run and we know when, where, and exactly how it’s supposed to happen.”
The room promptly fell into an uproar. “Blighters!” cried one Captain.
“These Reclamationists have to die for what they did!” swore another.
“Remember Prometheus!” shouted a suspiciously familiar voice which, along with a quick glance, I confirmed it belonged to Captain Iorghu.
I needed to have a short heart-to-heart with the man regarding outbursts in the middle of meetings I was conducting. But a quick look around the room showed that I now had bigger problems to deal with, because along with calls that ‘Janeski must die!’—which were personally gratifying on a petty, vindictive level—was the much more concerning notion that we must immediately sally forth to find, meet and repulse the Imperial Fleet.
I had mixed emotions regarding whether this was the best course of action but, from the mood of the room, if I tried to stop them I might just have a mutiny on my hands.
Maybe not the sort that tried to kill me where I stood, or locked me up in the brig to be tortured, but at least the kind where they stopped listening to me and hared off to do whatever they pleased.
“People, please slow down. Now is not the time to be making any final decisions,” I raised my hands quellingly.
“Then when would be the proper time, Admiral Montagne?” Admiral Silverback shouted. “After the information is outdated and they’ve moved on to destroy more of our worlds?”
“Here, here!” called out a number of ship commanders with the Aegis contingent loudest among them.
“At the very least, we still need to confirm this information before preparing a plan of attack,” I said firmly.
“What’s there to confirm? Aegis High Command has already verified that this information is true and accurate. Anticipating your concerns, I’ve already taken the time to outline a plan of attack,” Silverback said dismissively. “All you need to do, as our duly-appointed leader and Confederation Admiral, is lead us to victory.”
“I’ll still want my people to go over the material before proceeding,” I said sharply.
“Take as much time as you need. Just remember that while you’re deliberating, people are dying back at our homes,” the Aegis Admiral said.
“I was unaware Aegis had been attacked, Admiral Silverback,” I said, cocking my head at him.
Silverback’s eyes narrowed. “My point is that time equals lives. I don’t want to discover that yet another world of this Sector was conquered because we were too scared and timorous to go where we know the enemy fleet was and stop them,” he declared.
There was a rumble of support from the officers around him as he continued to look at me sternly.
“I share your concern, which is why I have already engaged the enemy fleet once. As soon as my Battleships are ready for action, I plan to do so again,” I said flatly.
This caused some of the grumbling discontent to lower, but I could still tell that this was a group didn’t want to be delayed. If I tried…
I clenched my teeth. I hated politics—especially politics that forced me to do something I didn’t want to do in the name of expediency.
“Time is something our Sector has in short supply. While I and I am sure everyone else here applauds your efforts—and even your sacrifices in the defense of this Sector—we have a higher duty to those in our trust,” Silverback said passionately. “Tyranny in all its forms must be stopped.”
“I am glad to see that Aegis is suddenly so firm on stamping out any potential sloth and inaction,” I shot back. “It gives one hope that, even in this dark hour, separate interests from all over can put aside their differences and unite in common cause—without rancor or the need to denigrate others.”
“How long do you think you’ll need to…review our findings?” Silverback asked, his gaze cold and calculating.
For a moment, the room seemed to stand still as everyone held their breath.
“The Royal Rage and Armor Prince will both be out of dry dock by tomorrow. At the urging of all those here, I propose that we set out at that time. I should have ample time to review the data and formulate the Grand Fleet’s plan of attack,” I gave a brief pause, “after considering all suggestions. Any refinements necessary can be done on the way there….assuming, of course, that the information is accurate.”
“The data’s good,” Admiral Silverback said evenly. “Tomorrow, you say?”
“I’m sure no one wants to leave a pair Battleships behind when we could be facing an enemy fleet that heavily outnumbers us,” I said mildly.
I could see the stir when that little reminder hit our eager ship commanders, and heads began to nod reluctantly. However, what was not reluctant was the unified feeling in the room that we needed to attack—and to do it now.
On the inside, where no one could see, I sighed. But on the exterior I was cool and collected.
The SDF officers in this room might have been well trained professionals, then again a few of them might not, but either way they appeared to be rather lacking in combat experience compared to my own p
eople.
I guess that wasn’t too surprising when I thought about it. Who were they going to fight, after all, the Empire? Hardly. More likely was pirates and smugglers driven to the edge.
“I suppose we can allow that,” Silverback said, after Rear Admiral Dark Matter gave me a nod of support.
“Allow, Admiral?” I said my voice suddenly turning as frigid as cold space. “No one allows me to do anything. I am the rightful Commander of this Fleet, appointed by the Confederation and ratified by each of your worlds. I warn you to not soon forget it.” I may have had to cave when it came to sallying forth to ram our heads against the proverbial wall that might be an enemy trap. But authority that went unused gradually disappeared into thin air. It was time to remind them who exactly was in command of this fleet.
“A poor word choice caused by a mere slip of the tongue. Please pay it no mind,” said the Admiral duplicitously.
“Prepare your ships, Admiral,” I said coldly, “we sail for the hyper limit on the morrow.”
So I turned and started for the door, saying over my shoulder, “You’re all dismissed.”
Chapter Thirty-five: Spalding and Shepherd
“You doing alright up here, lad?” Spalding asked solicitously from behind the Navigator. He was standing behind and slightly to the left of him, so while Shepherd was still struggling to face him he stealthily leaned around his back and plopped a flask of ale down next to the right side of his station’s touch pad.
“Y-yess,” the Navigator stuttered.
Admiral's War Part One Page 23