Subversion_Age Of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  “Well, I’m not my grandfather. I’m my own person.”

  “Masquerading as your aunt no less.”

  “Meredith, this really isn’t the time to be critiquing my life choices. Or my operational methodologies.”

  “Right. Well, you just let me know when it is an appropriate time.”

  “I will. Heads up, it’ll be sometime between now and, hmm… lemme see… around the same time Hell freezes over!

  “You have incoming,” Meredith reported coolly.

  Nickie pulled again at Grim’s neck, making sure he was out of the frame. “You’re up Durq.”

  Durq stood in the center of the cockpit now, looking as weedy and nervous as the day she had rescued him from a hellish inferno. He twiddled his fingers just below the frame. Nickie shook her head in frustration and picked up the microphone.

  “This is the vessel Your Future's Devine… You’re talking with Commander Durq. Identify!” she ordered in her deepest, gruffest Skaine dialect.

  I hope your voice alteration is doing some work on this. Any lower and I think I’ll break my vocal chords.

  It will convince them, easily. I assure you.

  Hangar Deck, Gaitune-67

  Molly stood on the hangar deck, waiting for Paige and Maya to arrive. She saw them emerging not from the safe house, but from the direction of the base’s conference rooms and labs. Presumably they had been in Paige’s office, working.

  “You all set?” Paige asked as she approached.

  Molly watched Pieter carrying his gear on board The Empress. “I think that’s the last of us,” she confirmed, nodding in his direction. “You all set for your meeting later?”

  Paige pulled up her holo. “We absolutely are. We’ve been brainstorming possible angles. It’s going to be good to get another set of eyes on it for sure.”

  “Good. And the legal position?” She glanced over at Maya who had been following that up.

  “Moving at the pace of lawyers still,” she explained. “I can’t even get an initial read. But there is a guy that we’ve managed to get a call with. I’ve heard from a few sources he’s a brilliant legal mind. If there is a way out of this, he’ll find it.”

  Molly pursed her lips. Her complexion was pale as if she was tired and run down. The stress around the university situation probably wasn’t helping, Paige realized.

  “Don’t worry, Mollz,” Paige told her, placing a hand on her arm. “Let us worry about it. You need to stay focused,” she reminded her, looking back up at The Empress.

  Molly smiled. “You’re right. I appreciate everything you’re doing. And thank the others for me when you meet, yeah?”

  “I will,” Paige promised. “Just get out there and get the bad guys.”

  Molly hugged each of them quickly and then headed down the side of the ship to the invisible steps. Paige and Maya waved and then hurried back in the direction of the office. There was much to prepare. Bringing Ben’or on board, Paige wanted to make sure that they had all their ducks in a row in order to make a good impression.

  Room 434, Skóli Uppstigs Academy, Spire, Estaria

  Later that afternoon, the group sat around the table in a smaller classroom in the main building. Disposable mocha cups littered the table, along with screwed up napkins and holoscreens that had been left open as they tried to figure out the solution.

  Gareth Jones explained his latest thinking on the issue. “I think the root cause is that we’re just making too many waves. We’ve had a few graduates go out into the workplace and already they’re rising to positions of responsibility. They’re questioning everything, changing established practices to better serve the people. It’s making a difference and the powers that be are feeling threatened. Ultimately, we’re victims of our success.”

  Paige nodded sadly, untidy wisps of her hair falling around her face. “Never saw that coming.”

  Ben’or fitted a lid back onto his empty cup. “So who are they, and what do they want?” His tone was that of a guru. Despite the simplicity of the question, just because it came from Ben’or it seemed that it had more wisdom to it.

  Gareth sighed, leaning back in his seat. “It’s difficult to say really. The order for the H&S investigation most certainly came from the Senate. That means we’re looking at people in the planet’s leadership who have a lot to lose if we undo the current preferential system.”

  “Well then, our solution needs to target them. Make it worth their while to leave us be,” Ben’or explained simply.

  Gareth shrugged. “There’s no way we can do that. We don’t know who is instigating it, or why. Or what they hope to gain specifically. We’re assuming we’re dealing with an ideology. That’s very difficult to counter.”

  Ben’or nodded his huge head sagely. “It is. But they think they’re going to gain something from what they’re doing. If we are able to give them that in a different way, then we may well be able to diffuse the situation and repeal the order. We just need to figure out the who, and then find out what is more important to them.”

  Arlene tapped her finger on the table. “You know,” she mused thoughtfully, “this is a case for more information. If we had more intel, we’d have somewhere to go.”

  Ben’or nodded. “Exactly,” he said, tapping the table gently too, subconsciously mirroring her.

  She pursed her lips for a moment before speaking again. “I think this might be a good exercise for our graduate analysts.”

  Gareth looked at her with an expression like he was trying to do long division in his head.

  “Analysts?” Ben’or queried.

  Arlene nodded. “Well, you know what we do here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, some of our graduates went out into the world. But some were recently sent to a ‘sister’ organization. We affectionately call it Spy School because it is headed up by the head of clandestine services—”

  “Who also happens to be Molly’s Mom,” Paige interjected with a grin.

  Ben’or’s eyebrows jumped. “You’re serious?”

  Arlene nodded. “I’m afraid so. But the good news is that these kids have access to Federation technology, processing power, and have been trained to make the smart call. They’re already proving to be quite an asset to what we’re trying to do… and given what you’ve suggested, it sounds like they could also be the key to helping us narrow the problem down.”

  She made a note. “If we’re all in agreement I’ll reach out to Carol tonight and see what we can get rolling.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Great. Anything else?” she asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Gareth concluded. “Let us know what she says, and perhaps we can reconvene in a few days?”

  “Sounds good,” Arlene confirmed.

  Within a few minutes the meeting had been closed and Paige and Maya were heading down the deserted corridors together back to their pod.

  “Well, at least there is hope,” Maya mumbled, attempting optimism through her fatigue and worry.

  “Yeah.”

  “You ok?”

  “Yeah fine. Why?”

  “You seem distracted.”

  “Oh… I was just thinking. I think I’m going to try and get a few hours of work done before I crash tonight.”

  “It’s already getting late.”

  “Yeah, but I’ve got some ideas I wanna try out in the business. Last ditch attempt to counter the downward pull of futility.” Paige moved her head as if mocking her own melodrama.

  Maya giggled. “Wow! Existential for this time of the day!”

  “I know,” Paige confessed, more lightly now. “I’ve just been thinking. Von’s classes always get me thinking.”

  “Ah, the raison d’être of education!”

  “Exactly!” Paige concurred. They clattered down the steps of the side exit from the building and hopped into the waiting Pod.

  “As long as you don’t work too hard,” Maya warned as they buckled in. “I’m going to finish up
some messages and then chill. Brock said something about group gaming later. Apparently with Oz’s new capacity he can run some pretty incredible immersion graphics that are mind-blowingly disorientating.”

  Paige rolled her eyes. “Sounds like fun though,” she admitted.

  Maya grinned. “Yeah, especially when Bourne gets involved and changes the game dynamics on the fly—and then Oz and Bourne end up arguing. They’re so funny!”

  The tension from the meeting left them as they ascended into the twilight, returning their minds to their home and friends.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Aboard The Empress, Agresh Quadrant

  The cockpit held the hum of quiet research. Pieter sat at the console closest to the back wall, holo screens out and diligently researching everything he might need to know about the Skaines, their ships, and their systems.

  He cocked his head, then straightened up and turned to Brock. “Dude, how are we planning to get on board once we find it?”

  Brock swiveled round in the navigator’s console chair. “Huh?”

  “The Skaines have compatible shuttles which dock into their ships, so they can move from one ship to another, or from ground to space. We haven’t got one of those shuttles.”

  Brock’s face contorted. “Shit. I hadn’t thought of that. All the work we were doing on the forcefield and the cloaking device…” He grinned and pointed at Pieter. “Good catch though!”

  He turned back to Crash, who remained stoic and motionless but for the flicking of his eyes over the console panel and the odd movement of his fingers on the controls. “You reckon this should be an ops team issue.”

  Crash smirked.

  Brock scratched his head and turned back to Pieter. “I don’t think that would fly with them.” He paused, realizing his pun. “Get it?”

  Pieter sniggered. “Yeah. Funny. Ok, lemme go talk to them.”

  He slipped down from his console chair, flicking the open holoscreens closed. Deep in thought, he headed out to the lounge to find Joel and Jack sitting toward the far end.

  He explained the problem. Joel rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Hmm. I’d not thought that bit through,” he confessed. “Although… I don’t suppose there is any problem with using the pods.”

  Pieter chuckled and slapped his palm against his head. “Sometimes I think I overcomplicate things!”

  Jack grinned at him. “Sometimes we need someone who can deal with the complex.”

  Pieter blushed and scuffed at the floor with his plimsole. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

  Jack flashed her confident smile at him. “You need to start taking more credit for what you bring to this team,” she told him.

  Joel nodded. “Yeah. You’re doing good stuff. And we should have thought of it too. We were kinda distracted with the strategy of how to communicate with them and the various ways that could play out.”

  Pieter cocked his head, curiously. “What are the plays?”

  Joel grunted. “We have a number of them depending on whether they respond to us as Leath or whether they discover that our shields are only projecting the illusion of a Leath ship.

  Pieter’s eyes widened. “What if they’re onto us?”

  Joel shrugged. “I think that was play number 2b.”

  Jack nodded in confirmation.

  He continued. “We start by hailing them in Skaine. Then, if they respond we get into a dialog, and tell them we suspect them of being here for an illegal weapons trade and that we’re here to take them in.”

  Pieter’s brow furrowed skeptically. “When have we ever taken anyone in?”

  Joel jutted his bottom lip out. “First time for everything!”

  Pieter glanced up and down the length of the lounge. ”Where would we even put them? We haven’t got holding cells, and my research has shown that these guys are huge! And powerful. No way you can restrain them with the usual arm restraints. Not without them killing you first.”

  Sean popped up over the chair in front of them. “That’s because we’re never going to be able to restrain them. I think we all know this. These guys aren’t going to be taken alive.”

  Joel tried to suppress a sigh. “We need to at least try and do it by the book.”

  Sean grinned. “Which is why you’ve got the right equipment to do it? Oh no… I don’t see us dragging a holding cell large enough to hold a full Skaine crew!”

  Joel pressed his lips together and gave Pieter a pained look. “He has a point,” he conceded.

  Pieter still looked perplexed. “So how is this really going to go down?”

  “Well,” Joel explained, “going by the probabilities Oz ran up for us, the most likely scenario is that we end up fighting for our lives.”

  “I see,” Pieter muttered.

  Joel had expected him to be a little more anxious. Perhaps it was his preoccupation with the practicalities, or perhaps this once-green kid was starting to acclimatize to operational reality.

  “So that’s why Crash and Brock were spending so much time reinforcing the force field. And hooking up back up power cells?” he mused.

  Joel bobbed his head. “Yep. You got it.”

  Pieter shrugged. “Ok. Well, that’s good to know.” He started back toward the cockpit. “I’m actually quite curious to meet a Skaine.” And with that, he wandered off.

  Jack exhaled sharply as if she’d been holding it.

  Joel looked at her. “You think he’s ok?”

  “I think he’s embracing his role.” She shrugged. “I mean, he’s never going to be a meat-head like Mr. Royale…”

  Sean glared at her.

  “But,” she continued, “he’s actually showing signs of being a damn good operative. A bit more time to grow into his paws, and maybe a few hundred hours in the gym, and he’ll be pretty formidable in the field.”

  Joel smirked. “Aww. Our little boy is growing up…”

  Sean rolled his eyes and slumped back down into the seat behind.

  Karina detected a hint of frustration. “Everything ok?”

  “Yeah,” Sean gruffed. “Just need to watch my back. Sounds like boy wonder over there is after our jobs.”

  Karina chuckled. “Well, would it be so bad if you got to take a back seat now and again?”

  Sean looked at her sideways. “This is where it begins. The beginning of the end of a beautiful career.”

  Karina chuckled, slapping him playfully on the arm. “No silly. We talked about this. I’m happy running around the galaxy running missions. Especially now I have you.”

  Joel appeared over the top of the seat in front of them. “Don’t suppose you have a sick bag? I think I’m gonna hurl!”

  Laughter erupted in the lounge as Sean took a playful swipe at Joel. Even Molly chuckled from the other side of the ship where she was working.

  Hey?” Sean poked his head back up. “Anyone going to tell Pieter that it’s Leath that are the vicious big ones, not Skaines?”

  Director Bates’s office, Special Task Force Offices, Undisclosed location, Spire

  The holo connection opened.

  “Carol,” Arlene stated by way of a greeting.

  “Arlene,” Carol responded. There was a serious lack of warmth and genuineness in her voice. Arlene felt it with every fiber of her being. But she didn’t have to like the woman for her to help save the university. After all, it was Carol’s daughter’s project, so it wasn’t as if Carol was exactly doing her a favor.

  “Long time.”

  “It has been, yes. How are things?” Arlene asked, genuinely curious what this woman had been up to recently to be brought in on a Reynolds-sanctioned project.

  “Very good, thank you,” she responded. “Interesting to be working on the same side of the Federation.”

  Arlene tried to smile. “Well, we all knew this day would come.”

  “Oh, we did, did we?”

  Arlene’s fake smile faded, despite her best efforts. This woman was just as curt and destructive as she had always b
een. And giving her their version of Spy School obviously wasn’t helping her ego. “Well, anyway,” Arlene said, getting down to business, “I’m reaching out because it looks like our attempts to keep the university safe have proven unsuccessful. They’ve failed us on the grounds of health and safety, so they’ll be issuing a closure notice any day now. We have the vacation break to turn it around.”

  “I see. And how can Clandestine Services be of assistance?”

  “Well, I was thinking your new team of analysts might be able to help. We’re trying a new approach, finding out exactly who is behind it—”

  “And shooting them?”

  “Er. No.”

  Arlene closed her eyes for a moment willing herself not to consider the idea after all she heard being taught on the curriculum.

  “No,” she repeated firmly, as if trying to convince Carol rather than herself. “No, what we need to do is find out who and then figure out why, and then find another way-

  “To leverage them?” Carol offered.

  Arlene considered the words for a moment and then nodded. “Sure,” she said. “And then leverage them.”

  “Ok. Sounds pretty standard to me. Any idea who we’re dealing with? Any leads? Names?”

  Arlene shook her head. “Only that it comes from within the H&S department in local government. We’re already pursuing legal angles, so we can send over the details involved there in case there is a lead amongst the rubble.”

  “Yes, that would be useful. I’ll give you the address for a secure server we can both access.”

  “Ok.”

  “Anything else I should know?”

  “At this point? I don’t think so. We’d just really appreciate any light you can throw on it.”

  “Ok. Leave it with me. No promises, but we’ll see what we can do.”

  “Thanks, Carol.”

  “Sure thing, Arlene. Good to see you.” Her tone had all the sincerity of an Uptarlung car salesman.

  “You too,” Arlene responded as generously as she could manage.

  Arlene shook the thoughts from her head and closed the remaining holoscreens at her desk. She got up from her darkened home office and ambled through to the living room, following the light, and faint sounds of movement. Ben’or sat on the sofa waiting for her. He’d opened a bottle of whiskey. He got up and handed her a glass.