by Selby, Caleb
“Sir?” replied Kesler.
“Call up Second Lieutenant Tenith to staff the bridge this evening.”
Kesler grimaced as he pictured Tenith, the punk officer that he had never gotten along with, having command of the Iovara. If even for a few hours, having Tenith get a command without a supervising officer aboard before himself, made Kesler rethink the Hornell party altogether. Alas, the allure of fresh food and the chance to hangout with the fleet pilots and his other friends for a few hours was more then he could resist.
“This party had better be worth it,” grumbled Kesler to himself as he reluctantly drafted Tenith’s orders.
***
Kendrick was the eldest of the commanders in the Sixth Fleet by nearly fifteen years. Due to his seniority, he had a certain amount of personally appointed responsibility for the fleet’s well being. He had been loyal to the core to Admiral Nebod when he was alive and was thus a staunch supporter of Fedrin when he was named successor to the Chief Admiralty. Kendrick knew the job was hard but did his best to aid the young admiral whenever and however, he could. With the recent events still weighing heavily on everyone’s minds, Kendrick had decided to take the opportunity to defer some of the fleet’s collective sorrow and stem any unrest in the disasters’ wake. Even if it meant using up the Hornell’s entire supply of real food, he was willing to do it in order to support the admiral and encourage his fellow comrades.
Light music crackled over the cheap dinning hall speakers while the Hornell cooks wheeled out large carts from the kitchen filled with all manners of delectable items. Roasted meats of several varieties, crisp vegetables, and even a small amount of fresh fruit adorned the platters that were placed before the wide eyes of the Sixth Fleet officers and Hornell fighter pilots.
“How did you manage to get fruit aboard your ship?” Commander Colby called out to Kendrick as he eagerly helped himself to a second portion. “I didn’t even know that was possible!”
Kendrick laughed. “It helps when the dock supervisor is your nephew.”
“He risks his position putting unlisted items on your ship just because you’re related?” Colby exclaimed. “He must really love you!”
Kendrick shrugged. “It also helps when I pay him a hundred credits per pressurized container to store the fruit in!”
Colby shook his head and laughed. “You’re one in a million, Kendrick!”
Forty-five minutes after the third course had been served, the celebration was still going strong. Fedrin smiled to himself as he passively listened to at least seven different renditions, each more magnificent than the one preceding it, of one of the encounters in the battle.
Commander Kendrick laughed as he heard one of the pilots from a different squadron argue about some trite detail that had occurred during the skirmish. “Come now, Mr. Cane,” Kendrick said to a pilot sitting across from him. “Surely you and your Kormo wingmen can share some of the credit with Theda Wing?”
Cane laughed and shook his head. “Theda Wing couldn’t hit a Krohn cruiser in the butt end with guided missiles if it was sitting still and had a big bull’s eye painted on it!”
“Ha!” someone else shouted out across the dinning hall. “That Refrac gun ship is the only thing that Kormo Wing has ever shot down! Let them keep their story! We’re better than them any day of the week!” the pilot said and laughed heartily.
Fedrin looked up from his plate and spotted Commander Sanders and Commander Searle in quiet conversation in a calmer corner of the hall. Having both lost close family in the Second Fleet, they felt an affinity toward each other in dealing with their grief. They shared pictures and stories of their loved ones and took turns tearing up. It was a touching, yet sobering sight.
In sharp contrast to the grieving Commanders, Mick, Drezden, and Colby sat at the far end of the commander table away from the commotion of the rowdy pilots and their stories. The men were thoroughly enjoying the meal prepared for them, talking little but eating much. It was indeed rare, even for commanders, to have the dishes being served. None of it was synthetic, not even the thick cuts of rare norpis, which was becoming a delicacy even in the affluent portions of Larep. The three hungry commanders ate more than their fair share and eagerly eyed the portions of others who didn’t appear to be as hungry as they.
Kesler, Jonas and Tarkin sat at the other end of the hall with the command crews from the Defiant and Hornell, all seemingly having a grand time.
“Enjoying yourself, Admiral?” asked Kendrick as he walked up behind Fedrin.
“Yes, very much,” Fedrin answered with a smile and nod.
“Excellent!” Kendrick said as he pulled up a chair.
“I really appreciate all this,” Fedrin said as he nodded around the room. “I know this is a sacrifice on your part to host but I really do appreciate it.”
“Oh, think nothing of it,” Kendrick said, patting Fedrin on the shoulder. “I just do what I can, when I can.”
“Well, thank you just the same,” said Fedrin.
“My pleasure. Oh, if you’ll pardon me Admiral. Looks like the pilots from Theta Wing are motioning for me again. Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Fedrin answered as he waved toward the group of rowdy pilots.
“Thanks. I’ll be back momentarily,” Kendrick said.
Fedrin’s eyes followed Kendrick toward some of the loudest pilots in the room. He strained to hear what they were saying but couldn’t make it out with all the other ruckus and laughter. He smiled and sipped his lor.
Halfway through the evening, Commanders Mick and Colby, stuffed well beyond their comfortable capacity, began debating about engagement tactics when battling certain types of Krohn heavy cruisers. Fedrin heard their differing arguments and disagreed with both, but didn’t care to chime in. He just sat there, listening.
The party was winding down and Fedrin was contemplating his departure when an on-duty ensign walked up to him and saluted. “Admiral,” the officer said. “We are receiving a priority-one transmission for you.”
Fedrin looked up in surprise. “From where?”
“From Larep, Sir,” answered the ensign. “Unknown party sending.”
Fedrin nodded. “Where can I take it, privately?”
“Right this way, Sir,” the officer said and motioned to a side room off of the main dinning hall.
Fedrin stood to his feet and promptly followed the ensign to a small chart room down the hallway from the dinning hall. Upon entering the room, Fedrin closed and locked the door behind himself and the ensign took up position outside to ensure the Admiral’s privacy.
Once inside, Fedrin walked immediately over to the tele-link terminal and waited for the transmission list to populate. After a few moments, the screen showed several active transmissions taking place aboard the Hornell between various other ships in the fleet as well as between different stations amidships. The priority one message stood out with a bright red flashing border at the top of the screen.
Fedrin touched the blinking message and waited. He didn’t know why but he felt very nervous. He wondered who could be contacting him and even more than that, he wondered why? Finally, the screen flickered to life and revealed a sight Fedrin had not expected to see.
Instead of a familiar face from the war council or the vindictive countenance of the President, an old man looked through the screen nervously. He had a long beard, wild unkempt white hair and wore little round spectacles that were balanced at the tip of his nose. Fedrin immediately recognized him as Professor Jabel, a premier scientist and the architect of the Clear Skies Missile Defense System...the last and strongest line of defense for the home world.
“What can I do for you Professor?” asked Fedrin.
“A lot,” replied Jabel. “And I don’t have a lot of time so you must listen to me very, very carefully. I won’t have time to repeat what I am going to say. Understand?”
“I’m all ears,” replied Fedrin anxiously.
Jabel nodded. “Last week every to
p level scientist, researcher and engineer that developed the Clear Skies system with me was killed or is now missing.”
“Really?” exclaimed Fedrin. “I haven’t heard a thing about it.”
Jabel nodded. “And you won’t. Someone is filtering the news outlets.”
“I know how that feels,” remarked Fedrin as he remembered the slanted portrayal he had received following the dock explosions.
Jabel shook his head. “Once I got wind of my colleagues dying, I went into hiding, fearing that it was only a matter of time before they’d catch up with me.”
Fedrin nodded. “So why are you contacting me? Seems like you’re still not safe.”
“Because I need to warn you Admiral.”
“About?” asked Fedrin as he readied himself for more bad news.
Jabel tilted his head to one side as if pondering what he’d say next. “Since I went into hiding, I’ve been keeping tabs on…things…trying to figure out what’s been going on and who’s responsible. Late last night, I discovered a virus buried deep in the Clear Skies Missile Defense mainframe.”
“A virus?” remarked Fedrin. “What sort of virus?”
Jabel shrugged. “Near as I can figure, it overrides the firing protocols making the system effectively inert.”
Fedrin nodded slowly. “So you’re saying if an enemy ship approaches Namuh Prime right now, the missiles won’t fire?”
“That’s correct,” answered Jabel.
Fedrin shook his head as he marveled at yet another horrific issue that needed immediate solving. “Can this virus be rooted out?”
Jabel sat back in his chair and stroked his beard. “The virus has rewritten a number of critical systems in the grid. At this point, nothing short of a total mainframe reinstall would fix it.”
“Can you do that?” Fedrin asked frankly.
Jabel shrugged. “It can be done, but I need a non-infected copy of the program in order to do it. Reprograming from scratch could take years.”
“And I take it you don’t have a copy?” asked Fedrin.
“I did,” answered Jabel. “It was hidden in a safe in my home which has since burned down...no doubt thanks to the same murderers that killed my colleagues.”
“So where does that leave us?” asked Fedrin. “We can’t exactly leave Namuh Prime to fend for herself without that grid.”
“Quite right Admiral,” commented Jabel. “Which is why you must retrieve the second backup copy of the program I created.”
“Second copy? Where is it?” Fedrin asked, growing weary with the conversation.
Jabel smiled. “It is with Governor Onkil.”
“Governor Onkil?” Fedrin exclaimed, his eyebrows raised. “As in the Voigt colony?”
Jabel nodded.
“Why? How’d you get it there?” exclaimed Fedrin.
Jabel shrugged. “When Governor Onkil was here three weeks ago for the annual Federation Economic Summit, I slipped into his shuttle and tucked it beneath one of the passenger seats.”
“Why Onkil?” exclaimed Fedrin. “Why him of all people? He’s half a dozen star systems away!”
“That’s why,” answered Jabel. “I wanted to send it somewhere safe. Somewhere far away from here.”
Fedrin shook his head and then shrugged. “So have Onkil send the files in data burst through the relay system,” suggested Fedrin. “You’ll have them by tonight and we’ll be back in business by tomorrow.”
Jabel shook his head. “The relay system was destroyed when the Second Fleet went down.”
“Of course,” Fedrin said with a shake of his head. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Besides, I don’t know Onkil well enough to trust him with the task,” added Jabel.
“But you trust me?” Fedrin asked.
Jabel shrugged. “With how much everyone keeps trying to run your name down and pin all our problems on you, I figured you must be legit.”
“I see,” replied Fedrin, unsure of the logic but satisfied with the conclusion.
“So as I was saying,” said Jabel, “the files will have to be retrieved physically from the Voigt Colony and returned aboard ship until you at least recross the break in the relay system at which point you could send them by burst.”
Fedrin nodded slowly as he decided a course of action.
“And incase you were considering sending a single ship to retrieve the device, you should also know that a Krohn Battle Fleet is in system thirteen, apparently tracking toward Voigt.”
“Thirteen?” Fedrin exclaimed in shock. “There’s no way a Krohn fleet could be in thirteen. It’s impossible!”
“Impossible or not, it’s there,” answered Jabel. “And if you want to get the data device before it’s destroyed, you better get there quick!”
Fedrin felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him yet again. The flood of bad news knew no limit.
“I’m sorry Fedrin,” Jabel finally said in response to Fedrin’s evident distress. “But I thought you ought to know.”
Fedrin nodded in a daze. “I didn’t want to hear any of this but I’m glad I did. Thank you for risking so much to contact me with this information. Many lives may be saved by your efforts today.”
Jabel nodded solemnly. “I fear many lives will still be lost by acting on this information but the greater good must be sought.”
“Indeed,” said Fedrin. “You better stay alive and well in the meantime. You’re the only man that can fix Clear Skies now and we need you in one piece when we send you the program files.”
Jabel smiled. “Glad to hear you’re so concerned about my well being. I will do my best to die only after I’ve repaired it,” he chuckled. “You must know, however, the task that lays before me will not be easy just as yours will not be.”
“Can anyone help you?” Fedrin asked. “Anyone you can trust?”
Jabel slowly nodded. “I know a few. Hopefully they’ll be up to the task.”
“One quick thing,” Fedrin said. “I don’t know much about what’s going on myself, but I do have reason to believe that President Defuria and the Defense Council are not on our side.”
“I’ve had my doubts about them myself but I do thank you for the tip,” Jabel said. “I will keep it in mind.”
“Anytime,” Fedrin said.
“Don’t send the data burst until I contact you” Jabel added. “If I’m not at one of the deep space transmitters when you send the burst, it’ll just bounce off the cortex.”
“Understood,” said Fedrin.
“I must be off,” said Jabel as he slowly stood to his feet. “It will be daylight here soon and I must conceal myself before the world awakes.”
“Best of luck to you!” Fedrin said.
“And to you!” Jabel replied.
Fedrin exhaled deeply and stepped back from the console in a daze. It took all his willpower to reach down to his own tele-link and initiate a new transmission.
“Tenith,” the voice of the acting officer sounded out on the link.
“Tenith, this is Fedrin. Plot a course to the Voigt colony in the Sibid System immediately and then forward it to all the ships in the fleet.”
“Aye, Sir. Is that it?”
“We are going to have an emergency meeting here on the Hornell before I come back over. Look up Grider. I want him to join us.”
“I’m on it.”
9. One Legged Legend
The celebration in the Hornell dining hall ended abruptly when Fedrin reentered the room followed by four guards who immediately took point at all of the exits in the room.
“I hate to spoil your fun,” Fedrin shouted out, “but we have just been called to act on a very important operation. I need the room cleaned up and cleared out in five minutes for a private commander meeting. If you don’t serve on the Hornell, please wait for your commanders in the waiting areas by your respective shuttles. I also need a warp-point network chart and a standard data pad in here straight away.”
The officers, cooks, pilo
ts, and commanders alike, swarmed the room and cleaned it up the best they could. There was electricity in the air as the officers wiped tables, swept the floors and moved dishes. They had been given combat orders, they were almost sure of it. Why else would Larep send a priority one message? Finally, they were going to kill some Krohns!
The room looked like there had never been a party in it when the last officers turned janitors, left the room. The commanders, together with Fedrin, remained in the room gathered around a warp-point chart strewn across a table.
“Let me get this straight,” Colby said after Fedrin had presented a synopsis of the situation. “Whatever the things are back home that wiped out half of the Sixth Fleet and presumably the Second, have now taken over the missile defense network?”
Fedrin nodded.
“And the only way to fix Clear Skies is by getting a set of program files from the Voigt colony?” Searle asked, her voice filled with confusion.
“And a full Krohn battle fleet is baring down on the colony?” Drezden added.
“That about sums it up,” Fedrin said, realizing how impossibly elaborate the situation sounded. “My contact didn’t have time to give me all the details but those are the major points.”
Mick shook his head. “What a load of junk! You didn’t really believe him Fedrin, did you? Tell me you didn’t!”
Fedrin slowly looked down the table to see Mick’s scornful face looking straight at him. “That’s Admiral to you Commander,” Fedrin said sternly. “And yes, I do believe him. With all of the garbage that’s been going down these last few days, it only makes sense.”
Mick rolled his eyes and stood back from the table.
“I don’t get how these Krohns think they are going to get all the way to Voigt,” Searle said as she tapped on the star chart. “They have fuel and supply constraints just the same as us, just the same as always. That’s just too far away from any known Krohn base.”
“I agree,” Sanders said with a nod. “Something here just doesn’t seem legitimate. Could the satellite network be malfunctioning?”
“Is that even possible?” Kendrick asked. “I thought there were a host of safeguards to avoid getting corrupted signals?”