‘Well, it could take years before the Herosians finish with us, right?’ Ella replied. ‘That gives the Torem time to either leave or build their defences.’
‘It’s a viable strategy, sure, but I think they’ll find themselves suffering before then.’
‘I’m not sure how. I mean, if they’re refusing to help we can’t force them to change their mind. There’s nothing anyone can do about it.’
‘Someone will think of something to do, even if it isn’t useful.’
20.6.529 FSC.
‘Well…’ Ella said, staring at the muted screen. ‘Well, you called it.’
‘Somehow my sudden status as prophet gives me no comfort.’
CFM had just played an Administration announcement that all Torem living in Jenlay controlled space were to be restricted to their homes or enclaves. The Torem residents on New Earth were being moved to the enclave on Corax. Businesses were being closed down. All Herosians and Torem who needed to travel had to clear it with the Administration, a process expected to take several days.
‘I hope Tosimna’s okay,’ Ella went on. ‘I don’t even know if she’s still on Corax.’
‘Al?’ Aneka asked silently.
‘Tosimna returned to the Floating University late last year,’ Al replied.
‘She went home last year,’ Aneka said aloud. ‘She’s safe.’
‘Good,’ Ella replied, and then she was silent for a while. ‘It’s all going wrong, isn’t it?’ she finally said.
‘Yes. And I think it’s going to take something pretty amazing to fix it.’
‘Yeah… Well, we could always move to Old Earth.’
‘Huh. Maybe just a summer home there. I prefer the winters here.’
‘Uh, we don’t really have seasons…’
‘Precisely my point.’
16.7.529 FSC.
‘Secure, private message, marked as urgent, has been received for Aneka Jansen,’ the apartment’s computer announced. Aneka had tried tinkering with the settings, but the rather happy tone of the declaration still was not working to impel her to action.
‘Al, could you get that?’
‘I can… It is a message from Winter. Xinti encryption protocol… One of several created on Negral after the Xinti ended themselves.’
‘Winter normally uses her own encryption algorithms.’
‘Yes, she does. Shall I display it? It’s text only.’
‘Show me.’
A window appeared in her vision field and the message scrolled through it as she read.
Aneka, I hope this finds you well. Stupid thing to say, you are always optimal. I have an urgent request, and one which may prove difficult given the current state of things in Jenlay space. Yes, I am monitoring events. This message has attached coordinates. I need you to get there as soon as you can. We may have a way of stopping this war while it’s still not too bad, but it will require you to pull it off. I suggest bringing the Garnet Hyde and its crew, and Abraham Wallace and Cassandra. If possible, see if you can persuade Abigail Linden to come. Tell them all that it will be well worth their while. I know that’s cryptic, but in this case I’m working under orders. Winter.
‘Who gives orders to Winter?’ Aneka mused.
‘I suspect we will discover the answer to that if we do as she suggests.’
‘Right… So she wants me to get the Hyde, its crew plus extras including the Old Earth ambassador, and spirit them out of the system without anyone noticing. Not difficult at all.’
‘Given your talents, I’m sure you can come up with something.’
‘Huh, right.’ Aloud she called out, ‘Ella? We have a problem. Get your butt out of bed!’
Tristar Township.
Aneka stood in front of the wall screen in Gillian’s lounge with everyone on Winter’s list except Abby, plus Truelove and Justine arranged around her. It was starting to get a little cramped, and Gillian had a large lounge. They were looking at her as though she had gone funny, except for Ella and Justine.
‘I know this sounds crazy…’ she said.
‘I’m still processing the idea that Winter is an AI,’ Wallace responded. ‘When that has gone through, I’m sure I’ll be able to make an assessment of your mental state.’
‘Your mind works quite fast,’ Cassandra said, ‘for an organic. You’ll get there quickly enough. I am quite sure that Aneka is sane, my concern is regarding the accomplishment of this operation.’
Drake nodded. ‘If Winter says it’s important, then we go, but it’s not going to be easy. The Navy is restricting non-essential travel. We don’t have a reason to leave the system in the Hyde, and that’s without having Abby aboard.’
‘They’ve changed the regulations on flight plans,’ Shannon explained. ‘We would need to put in a request and wait, and have a reason to go. There would have to be a full crew manifest, and we’ve no reason for having Doctor Wallace aboard. I don’t see how we can do it.’
‘That’s why I got everyone here,’ Aneka said. ‘I figured that, between us, we might be able to figure something out.’
Bashford was looking thoughtful and Gillian picked up on it. ‘Bash, you’ve got the look you get when you’re plotting. It’s the same one you got when you sprang that surprise…’
‘I do have an idea,’ Bash said, a little too quickly. Aneka’s infrared overlay detected the increased blood flow in his cheeks, but there was no time to discover whatever embarrassing secret he was concealing. ‘That C-and-C ship they’ve built, the Argus, it’s brand new, right?’
Aneka nodded. ‘Deployed right out of the shipyard.’
‘So they haven’t fully tested it.’
‘I doubt it.’
‘So what if they wanted to run an operational test of the signal jamming systems, and Abraham agreed to assist in the spectrum coverage analysis? Of course, they would need a ship with a full scientific sensor array to do that analysis…’
‘You see?’ Gillian said. ‘He’s not just a gorgeous piece of man meat. There’s a brain in there too.’
Bashford went redder. ‘Man meat?’ he muttered.
‘That means I need the Old Earth fleet on the team,’ Aneka said. ‘I guess I’d better hop a shuttle. Elaine, can you work out how we would get authorisation to do a test like that? Bash, you are a gorgeous hunk of man meat, and don’t you forget it.’
BC-101 Hand of God.
It was getting late by the time Aneka made it up to the cruiser, but Abby and Tasker were happy to meet with her in the office Abby was using. They were less happy about the story she had to tell.
‘You really think this AI, Winter, has some means of stopping the war?’ Tasker asked.
‘If she says she does, then she believes it,’ Aneka replied. ‘Whether it’s fast enough is another matter, and I don’t know why she wants Abby along.’
Abby shrugged. ‘That seems obvious.’
‘It does?’
‘I’m a diplomat from Old Earth. Actually I’m the diplomat from Old Earth. She wants me to do something diplomatic.’
‘Yeah, but who does she want you to be diplomatic with?’
‘I guess we’ll find out when we get there.’
‘You’re going? Just like that?’
‘I’ve done everything I can here. The Argus has a very capable staff of administrators who can handle liaison. I’ll brief them and go on to the next job.’
‘There are going to be a lot of questions,’ Tasker pointed out. ‘The Administration and the Navy are going to scream like cats in heat.’
‘Yes,’ Abby said, ‘and that’s why we’re going to rope Senator Elroy in on this little conspiracy.’
‘We are?’ Aneka asked, her eyes widening.
‘Yes. Not the details, but enough to convince him. Then he can just state that you’re operating under his authority. If he explained it before we left there would be too many questions and a chance the Herosians would find out. After the fact there’s nothing anyone can do anyway. Leave him to me. I’ll get him on si
de.’
‘I love working with intelligent people,’ Aneka said, grinning.
‘Where is it you’re going?’ Tasker asked.
‘It’s actually closer to Earth, your Earth, than it is to here,’ Aneka replied. ‘The Federation designation is G-Two-Six-Eight. It doesn’t have a name.’
‘But the “G” means it has a habitable planet, right?’
‘And that could mean someone living there for me to talk to,’ Abby said, nodding.
Aneka was looking at the data Al was displaying for her. ‘Intermediate Population One star, fairly young. It’s been around three billion years or so. That’s not a lot of time for intelligent life to develop, let alone something that could help us.’
Abby shrugged. ‘Maybe they’re fast learners.’
FScV Garnet Hyde, 18.7.529 FSC.
‘Garnet Hyde to New Earth Control, ready for departure.’ Drake released the transmit key and waited.
‘Garnet Hyde, this is Control, clearance granted, you are free to proceed.’
Drake gave a nod to Shannon, and the blonde pilot’s hands slid over the flight controls with the practised ease of someone who had done this many times before. Of course, none of them had plotted to leave the system without permission before, but at least the flying part was easy enough.
‘So far so good,’ Aneka said from the back of the cockpit. ‘First stop is the Hand, to pick up Abby.’
‘I’m aware,’ Shannon pointed out.
‘Sorry. I’m nervous.’
‘You are nervous? This is the kind of thing you do for a living. Well, did for a living.’
‘I dislike plans with too many moving parts. Too much to go wrong.’
Despite Aneka’s misgivings, they were sliding the Hyde into the Hand of God’s hangar bay inside of fifteen minutes, and Aneka went down to meet Abby and Tasker at the airlock.
‘We’re moving out already,’ Tasker said as soon as the inner door was shut behind her. ‘We’ll be in the outer system and ready to run our “test” in about forty minutes.’
‘Gotta love reactionless engines,’ Aneka commented. ‘Any problems?’
‘No. And the techs on the Argus would actually like to run a full test on the sensor and electronic warfare systems. Do you think you can hang around long enough to give us some results?’
‘Run one test, we’ll let you know how it goes, then run a second for confirmation and we’ll bug out during that one.’
Tasker laughed. ‘That actually sounds technically sound.’
Aneka grinned at her and looked at Abby. ‘You ready for this?’
‘The staff on the Argus have been briefed. I’ve sent a message to Prime City explaining what I’m doing. Well, I left out some details and glossed over the fact that we don’t actually know what we’re doing, but it’s the thought that counts. What are the sleeping arrangements?’
‘We just have enough cabins, so no one needs to go into cold sleep, but Drake’s a little concerned about supplies, so the younger members of the crew have volunteered to snooze through most of the trip. You’re not used to it, so…’
‘I can do it, if it would make things easier. It’s safe, isn’t it?’
‘They tell me there are very rarely any problems. I’ve never seen an accident. It’s just not very pleasant waking up.’
Abby grinned. ‘To be honest, getting here was kind of boring. Sleeping through the trip would not make my heart ache.’
‘We’ll discuss it when we’re in flight,’ Aneka said.
‘I’d better get back up to the bridge,’ Tasker said. ‘Abby, you be careful, and good luck to all of you.’
‘Thanks for the concern,’ Abby said, grinning.
‘Yeah, well if you don’t come back it’ll be me that gets it in the neck for letting you go.’ The Captain grinned back at her. ‘So come back. With good news.’
‘We will,’ Aneka replied, hoping she would. ‘And if we’re not back in time… Well, good luck to you guys as well. Tell the crews I’m trying to keep them out of harm’s way.’
‘We did,’ Tasker said. ‘They’re all fairly convinced you’re going to defeat the Herosians all by yourself.’
Aneka sighed. ‘No pressure then, just like always.’
~~~
‘The coverage was very good,’ Wallace’s voice said over the cockpit speakers as it relayed through from the lab to the Argus. ‘I could detect no gaps which were not intended. I’m sending the data over for your technicians to double check anyway.’
‘Thank you, Doctor Wallace,’ the Captain of the Argus said in reply. ‘We couldn’t have done this as effectively without you and the Hyde.’
‘My pleasure, Captain.’
‘Uh, the techs are telling me that they’d like a second run through, just to be sure.’
‘I believe that would be acceptable,’ Wallace replied. Aneka thought he sounded entirely convincing, though the exchange was almost entirely for any Navy ships who might be listening. ‘Captain Drake?’
‘Sounds good to me. Perhaps a different position?’
‘Yes, wait a second, please… Could you take us to two kilometres outside the current fleet boundary? Toward the outer system edge, I think. We’ll scan from there.’
‘We’ll confirm position when we’re there.’ Drake gave Shannon a nod.
‘Are we still going to be covered?’ Aneka asked.
‘That position is within the main jamming envelope,’ Wallace replied, ‘and it will put the fleet between us and New Earth, but there is significantly less danger of our warp field affecting the nearby ships.’
‘Okay. You’re the expert.’
There was a chuckle from the other end of the intercom. ‘Why yes, I am.’
Aneka smiled and said, ‘Aggy?’
‘The warp trajectory is laid in,’ the computer responded. ‘I will initiate engine start-up as soon as the jamming field is in place. We will be ready to leave fifty-eight seconds after that.’
‘We’re in position,’ Shannon said.
Drake hit the comms key. ‘Garnet Hyde to Argus, we are in position. Doctor Wallace suggests a ninety-second jamming burst.’
‘Thank you, Captain. We’re activating the system in three… two… one…’ The transmission dissolved into static.
‘We’ve got a good, solid jamming field,’ Wallace said after a couple of seconds. ‘No gaps at all this time.’
‘Time to warp, fifty-six seconds,’ Shannon said. ‘If anyone wants to jump ship, now’s way too late to attempt it.’
Aneka laughed. ‘What would happen to someone outside the ship when it goes into warp?’
‘The field extends around the hull for several metres,’ Drake said. ‘As long as you’re inside it you’d be dragged with us, but you tend to slip toward the edge. At the edge… Well, it’s not nice.’
‘Part of you drops into normal space,’ Wallace said, ‘while part of you is still within the warp envelope. You get stretched out into a molecular string fairly quickly. It’s a relatively fast, more or less painless death.’
‘Important safety tip then,’ Aneka said, grimacing.
‘Warp in three,’ Shannon stated, not bothering to count it down before she hit the control that launched them into faster-than-light travel. The stars ahead of the ship blurred and shifted rapidly toward the blue end of the spectrum, and they were gone.
19.7.529 FSC.
‘So, what are we going to do about the sleeping arrangements?’ Aneka asked.
The mess room in the Hyde was fairly crowded. Cassandra, who did not eat, had elected to stand. The table was full. Technically the ship could handle the load on the life support systems, but Drake and Bashford were both a little concerned over the logistics, especially since they had no idea what they would meet when they got to their destination.
‘I know I complain every time I get up,’ Gillian said, ‘but I’m happy to sleep this one out.’
‘And if she’s going under, I will,’ Bash added.
> ‘You and Cassandra aren’t really a resource issue anyway,’ Drake commented to Aneka.
‘I guess we’ll sleep it out,’ Monkey said, glancing at Delta. She nodded, even if she did not look pleased.
‘I guess I should,’ Ella put in.
‘And we only need one pilot,’ Shannon stated.
‘We’ll split it,’ Drake said, nodding. ‘I’ll take the first fifty days, you take it from there?’ He received a nod in reply. ‘Which means Abby doesn’t really need to go under.’
‘We don’t have data on how your body would respond, Abigail,’ Wallace said. ‘It should be fine, but if there’s no need, I’d suggest staying awake.’
Abby sighed. ‘If you think it’s safer.’
‘You can bunk with me if Ella’s sleeping,’ Aneka told her. ‘Us Earth girls should stick together.’ Abby gave her a grin in response. ‘As long as you don’t mind Cassandra watching you sleep. She probably will.’
‘Which does bring us to my requirements,’ Cassandra said. ‘I will need routine maintenance a few times on the flight.’
‘I can handle that,’ Aneka told her. ‘I learned the basics to keep Ella’s eyes up to spec. I can handle the work on you.’
‘Then we are ready. I assume you will be staying awake, Doctor?’ the android said to her boss.
‘Cold sleep does horrible things to my digestion,’ Wallace replied. ‘I have plenty of work to be getting on with.’
‘All right,’ Drake said. ‘We’ll get everyone in the pods after dinner tonight.’
‘Good,’ Ella stated happily. She looked at Abby. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll be needing the cabin for a few hours to say goodnight to my partner.’
‘A few hours?’ Abby replied.
‘It’s going to be a long night.’
~~~
‘What do you think we’ve got waiting for us?’ Ella asked as she lay in Aneka’s arms.
‘I’ve no idea,’ Aneka replied. ‘The only thing I can think of that would really make a difference to this war is Negral, and that’s a stellar remnant.’
‘Yeah, but what if they survived somehow?’
‘How? Their star was some sort of super-collapsed, ultra-dense degenerate matter and they blew it up. I mean, it’s hard to get a bigger explosion. The gravity wave and gamma pulse almost took out the Delta Brigantia weeks later.’
Aneka Jansen 5: The Greatest Heights of Honour Page 18