by Marc Stevens
“Negative, Commander. Once I have gathered and assessed the intelligence, I will identify several strategic locations for the Operative’s strike team to choose from. I will attempt to locate troop concentrations and slave-holding areas. We cannot rule out collateral damage, so I will carefully select the areas to minimize that possibility.”
“Thank you, Justice, for pointing out we must be vigilant and protect those who are unable to protect themselves.”
I looked at Sael Nalen. “With that being said, do what you must to survive the mission. I have no doubt we will be outnumbered and our enemies will have intimate knowledge of their surroundings. They will use that advantage against us. I am only concerned for the lives of the slaves. Just so everybody understands me: the slaves will be the only survivors leaving the target area.”
If the Operative had any misgivings about my orders, she did not show it. The dark piercing stare and the menacing smile pretty much said she never had any intention of taking prisoners. My crew was well aware of my policy toward slavers. They were ready to go.
The Senior Operative was all business and was ready to iron out the order of battle. “We must ensure we control the orbitals. There could be a large number of spacecraft coming and going from the target area. Since we have no way of determining if they will be carrying slaves, how do you wish to handle hostile vessels?”
“I have the locations of several Sig military fleets. Communication codes and identifiers, I possess will alert them we are friendlies. My intelligence asset has assured me I will have the Sig’s full cooperation. I plan to invite them along so they have an opportunity to train their recruits in combat conditions. They will evacuate any slaves we manage to free and get them to safety. They will control the orbitals and dissuade any interlopers from jumping us while we go about our business. In exchange for their assistance, we will be leaving the facility intact once we remove any items of interest we might stumble across.”
Sael Nalen looked skeptical but did not comment. I noticed Tria had finally quit giving the Operative venomous looks and said: “When we start our attack, it is imperative we keep any shuttles located inside the base grounded. The Scrun will most certainly use the slaves as shields. If allowed, they will load the shuttles with slaves in hopes we will not shoot them down when they attempt to escape.”
“That is a very good point, Tria. Senior Operative, I think that should be the priority of the strike teams. How many can you put down at one time?”
I could tell the Operative was trying to come to grips with revealing what was probably classified information. She finally shrugged her shoulders and said: “You are already familiar with the size of my strike team. The energy collectors require a minimum of ten minutes to recycle the transporter charge. I will also be forced to split my team on our initial incursion. We have to prevent them from activating the base’s shield or we will be unable to transport additional teams into the complex. Ten minutes can be an eternity when you are waiting for backup behind enemy lines.”
The look on her face said she had been there and done that. Timing was going to be a nightmare. We needed to get a strike team into the complex to secure the shield generators and any spacecraft before our suppression package arrives. Our previous data indicated we would have to wait for the arrival of an incoming shuttle before the Scrun would drop the shield. I had hopes that would not be the case, and the shield would be down. If not, Sael Nalen and her team had to be ready and waiting. We would have to have the stealth missile suppression package loitering very close by, so we could strike the Scrun defenses within seconds of the assault team landing. The Sig would need to jump into the system immediately to secure the orbitals.
I knew the Operative had the experience to plan such an operation. She would not be able to do so without the latest intelligence dump from the target area.
“Justice, is the Legacy ready for combat operations?”
“Yes, Commander, thanks to the hard work of the crew and Grawl scientists, all of my systems have the latest upgrades available to us.”
“How is Felix coming along with our new armor?”
“I must say, I am very impressed with the young engineer. What he lacks in maturity he more than makes up for with his understanding of replicator systems. He will have four complete working prototypes available in the next twenty hours. The Overseer and I have designed and manufactured the A.I. modules. Other than the additional weapons systems and larger physical dimensions, you will find your interactions no different from your previous battle armor.”
“When you say additional weapons, would they include a complete loadout for Coonts as well?”
The smirk on Coont’s face was apparently noted by Justice because he did not answer. The little Grawl sat quietly fuming, waiting for the reply that would never come.
The Operative rolled her eyes in exasperation, then said, “Whom may I ask is the Overseer, and why have I not been introduced?”
When the Operative did not get an answer from Justice I quickly added, “Justice is still evaluating your relationship with us, and I am sure at some future date he will enlighten you.”
The expression on Sael’s face darkened. “Do not be ridiculous, just tell me what the A.I. refuses to say.”
“Things do not work like that around here. He has already stated he likes you, but he doesn’t love you yet.”
Sael Nalen turned and headed for the exit. “Have the defective machine send me the location of the Scrun base. We will find a discreet location to observe the target area. I will start planning the assault after you transfer the latest intel.”
It was not hard for me to determine why Justice was practicing spite on the Operative. His feud with Coonts, on the other hand, had me a little puzzled. I could only chalk up his vindictive behavior to Coonts not sharing the blame for the loss of a shuttle. It was irritating as hell knowing Justice had learned his emotions, both good and bad, from me. While the theatrics were going on, Tria had slipped from the room and I wondered if she had her fill of the bickering.
“Justice, when our loadout is complete, transition to the location of the nearest Sig fleet.”
“Affirmative, Commander. Do you wish to wait for Felix to complete the armor suits?”
“How much longer until we have functioning prototypes?”
“More than twenty hours, Commander. I have made changes to the design specifications after studying the Chaalt recon armor.”
“Justice, don’t you think the young Zaen has enough on his hands without you throwing a wrench in the works? What, may I ask, do you feel the need to change?”
“I have removed the Tibor fighting knives from the design and added lengthened versions of the Chaalt combat climbing hooks. When extended to maximum length, they can double as fighting knives in close quarters combat. When the three blades are retracted, the curved outside edge of the hooks will greatly increase damage inflicted by fist strikes. When you were in close combat with the Quill, I noted that it took repeated attacks with the Tibor fighting knives to penetrate the Crit carapace. The Chaalt climbing hooks did not exhibit the same deficiencies.”
“Justice, we could really use the armor sooner than later. What else have you changed?”
“I have incorporated the Chaalt folding helmet design. After careful study, I have found that the interlocking seams add structural integrity that the one-piece Zaen design lacked.”
“OK Justice, please carry on. I ‘m sure you are aware that every minute we delay striking the Scrun may determine the future of another slave. Is there anything else I need to know before I make my combat recommendations to the Operative?”
“Nothing that pertains to the mission. That being stated, I do have information you are not currently aware of.”
I stopped dead in my tracks with a frown on my face. “What information would that be?”
“Tria has insisted that I commence the Oolaran carbon fiber bone enhancement and nanite epidermal armoring process. S
he intends to use our delay as her recovery period.”
Oh crap, I knew how much it hurt before your body became adjusted to the structural reinforcement of the carbon fiber. Twenty hours was not near enough time to heal. The pain could be quite intense. Justice had to keep me sedated because I freaked every time he woke me. I took off running toward the down tube that would take me to the med bay. I needed to talk her out of it until a later date. I knew why she had delayed the process. It made my heart ache to know she no longer wished to.
I stepped out of the down tube and ran down the corridor to the med bay entrance. What the hell! The door should have opened before I got here. “JUSTICE, OPEN THE DOOR!”
“Commander, I do not think it wise for you to observe the process. Tria has already ordered me not to halt the process.”
“JUSTICE, IF YOU DON’T OPEN THE DOOR, I WILL TEAR IT DOWN!”
The door slid open and my stomach lurched at what I saw. Tria was lying beneath a small forest of tubes that terminated with a large needle protruding from her beautiful body. Gritting my teeth, I vaguely recalled the distant memory of waking to the same treatment. I remember screaming out loud then waking more than a week later looking like a head to toe bruise. I approached the table shaking my head thinking there had to be a better way to do this.
I wanted to lean down and kiss her. I jerked back in horror when she opened her eyes and looked at me.
I yelled out, “JUSTICE! SHE’S NOT SEDATED! PUT HER OUT NOW!”
“Commander, the Chaalt physiology responds differently to the Oolaran drugs I administered to anaesthetize and deaden the pain of the procedure. I am at the maximum dosage I feel safe administering to her. I recommended she consult with the Chaalt med techs aboard the Operatives flagship, but she refused. She is unable to speak but is aware of your presence.
I placed my hands on her cheeks and lightly kissed her forehead. I closed my eyes in frustration because I could do nothing to help her through this. A dull ache invaded my body and slowly turned to a burning sensation. It was not overpowering but still felt uncomfortable as hell. My legs were rubbery and my face flushed. Tria was embracing me with her aura. I could only hope I was returning the gesture. To my surprise, her pretty green eyes fixed on me and her eyelids fluttered and then closed. The touch of her Sha’leen faded away.
I momentarily panicked. “JUSTICE WHAT IS HAPPENING?”
“Commander, it seems her system is no longer resisting the Oolaran anesthetic drugs. Her physiology is normal and her telemetry indicates no additional stress.”
I took a deep breath and let it out. I knew Justice would have given her a thorough briefing on the procedure. She must have felt it was necessary to proceed with the process before we engaged in our next operation.
I turned to leave and Justice called to me. “Commander, when the procedure is complete, I can move Tria to your quarters for her recuperation period.”
Without hesitation I said, “Please see to it Justice, thank you.”
23
Regardless of Tria’s intentions, I knew twenty hours was not enough time to recover from the bone enhancement procedure. I found it difficult to be mad at her, but none the less, I was irritated by the distraction. When mission time came, I was sure she would claim to be ready no matter how much pain she was in. I was now in the unenviable position of pushing our start time back or cancelling the mission all together. Both scenarios would bring the wrath of the Operative down on my head. She was not someone who takes being jerked around lightly. I saw Coonts coming down the corridor toward me.
“Commander, you do not look well. Is there a problem?”
I unloaded my concerns on the little Grawl and he stood staring at me for a moment. He then took me by the hand and guided me to the lifts.
“Commander, perhaps we should inform the others and seek their thoughts on the matter. I do recall you saying we had other intel to act upon. Perhaps it would be the best way to deflect the Senior Operative’s anger for the additional delay.”
The little Grawl may have small shoulders, but right at the moment, their load bearing capabilities were without question. We met with Klutch and Xul and discussed our options. I was glad no one expressed agitation with Tria’s timing, or her decision to be weaponized. We instead concentrated on manipulating the situation to lessen the fallout with Sael Nalen. I now regretted getting her involved. It would have been much smarter to call her when we were actually making our move to investigate the ghost ship. My naïve Earthman ways were suffering from my shallow galactic perspective.
Klutch had no problem with telling the Operative a small lie for the greater good. “Commander, we should tell the Operative we have new information about Eiger’s location. We tell her we must act now and go to Outpost 79584 or we lose an opportunity to locate him. We should argue the Scrun base and the derelict ship are fixed locations, and Eiger’s is not.”
Xul looked like he had something to say, and you could tell he was feeling out of his normal comfort zone, sitting in on a command level briefing.
“Xul, I listen to what all my crew members have to say. If you have input, we would like to hear it.”
“Commander, everyone here sees you as our leader. While we do respect the Operative as a warrior and a valuable resource, she is not in the chain of command. I hope I speak for us all when I say, we follow you and care little if the Operative does not like your decisions.”
The nods of agreement made me smile. “Justice, what is Tria’s status?”
“Commander, the carbon fiber enhancement process is complete and I have commenced the nano lamination procedure. Tria remains sedated and her life signs are strong.”
“I want your assessment of her combat readiness when the procedures are complete.”
“If I were to base the assessment on her past injuries and the observed recovery period, I would speculate she is 70% capable of carrying out combat operations. I know you are aware the physiologies of humans and Chaalt are very similar. If I take into account my manipulations of the human physiology and apply my learned experiences, I can assure you she is capable of performing her duties but would do so with considerable discomfort.”
“Thank you, Justice. I have made my decision. As soon as Felix completes our prototype armor suits, I want you to make a DEHD core jump to the star system outpost 79584 occupies. It will not take the Operative long to decipher the data and determine we have changed our plans.”
“Roger that, Commander, I have already started the deep charge process. DEHD core transition options will be available in fifty-nine minutes. I have been closely monitoring the young Zaen’s progress and can confirm he is indeed a gifted engineer. His insight and ability to operate the Chaalt replicator validates his credentials. If Felix’s immaturity becomes an unmanageable situation, I have recorded all of his replicator interactions and programming.”
“I understand Justice. I very much want him to stay on and become the permanent operator of our replicator. Klutch has assured me the young Zaen is no different than any other raw recruit he has dealt with. He believes that Felix has great potential and just needs time to adjust to his new surroundings.”
No one else had anything to add, so I decided to check on Felix. As a group we went down tube and out to the hangar area. Looking across the huge entryway I could see the top half of the replicator. The rest of the area was obscured by supply crates and material blocks. The crew and I weaved our way through the maze of material containers and came to a small open area. Felix was issuing orders to Graf, Jaran and two other scientists who were busy with gravity jacks moving materials into the replicator intake. We stood back and observed his interactions with his superiors. While he seemed a little demanding, he was also exhibiting restraint and respect for those working with him. I was impressed with what I was seeing. The young Zaen was monitoring the readouts on eleven view screens and dictating the order of material feed while reading the spec sheets for the armor.
I had been
so captivated by the young Zaen’s performance that it took an elbow from Klutch to get me to look at what was standing on the production floor at the end of the replicator. My mouth fell open and I got goosebumps looking at the nine-foot-tall glossy black suit of battle armor. It was complete with our original armor’s ghastly death’s head embossed into its surface. While I gawked at the battle gear, another joined it from the production chute. Our presence was finally noticed by Felix. Rather than stop what he was doing, he gave me a quick nod and waved his arm in the direction of the armor. He turned back to his work and continued directing his willing helpers.
We walked around the deadly looking weapons platform. I noticed several small enhancements that were not present of the spec sheet I had reviewed. The sharply pointed protrusions on the shoulders, elbows and knees were a nice touch that would not invite hugs from any possible combatants. The suit I was inspecting was obviously built for Tria. Her old battle suit had weapons on two of the four arms. This suit had hard points and plugins on all of the upper appendages and a much larger munitions pack. The lower arms had launcher feed tubes connected to them. Tria would now be the equivalent of an artillery battery.
“Justice, can I assume you have built all the modular weapons necessary to arm the suits?”
“Yes Commander, the modular prototypes will be installed when all the suits are manufactured.”
“What about the suit liners?”
“I have replicated the Zaen suit liner and added a noncorrosive protective layer to it as well. The A.I. modules are ready to be permanently installed so I can begin the inspection of all suit functions. By the time the final suit is assembled I will have knowledge of all suit systems and will begin the arming process. The armor will be ready for crew familiarization training in eighteen hours and battle ready in twenty-two.”
The beast within me stirred at the thought of battle. I pushed him from my mind and approached Felix. The Zaen startled when he noticed me standing close behind him. His fine scales roiled then settled, but he continued orchestrating his duties without turning away. I know he was trying to prove a point. Hard work and dedication was what I asked of him, and it was what I was receiving. When there was no acknowledgement of my presence I turned away to leave.