“…the once revered officer has been formally charged with collusion in the deaths of ten people and the near assassination of the chancellor. Chang, whose brother died during a firefight in an uprising on board a Ch’Tauk transport ship, has been implicated of working with not only the supporters of the disgraced Senator Banu Rao of Earth, but also of abetting the Ixloab of Tonal and the Barathists of Vadne. Sources close to the investigation say the admiral has been tight-lipped about his involvement, but a daring rescue attempt which failed to release the man did take his aide, a known member of the Raoist cult. Admiral Chang will face a hearing on the same station where his crimes were committed, and be sent back to Earth for likely execution. Stay tuned to Alliance Today for more on this breaking story. Next, Signatum will interview a scientist about the erratic solar storm which has been plaguing the Terran system, possibly disrupting tonight’s lottery drawing.”
The image snapped off and the lights slowly rose again. Lee was stunned by the story they had just watched. He had expected the investigation to take longer than the three days they had planned, but it seemed the investigation was moot. Chang had already been convicted in the public court and convicted to death. Gourahaardt had stepped closer and was now humming a tune to himself. Lee wanted to hit the fat felinoid with all his soul and almost stepped aside to let Farthing do the deed, but took a deep breath instead and focused on the mission.
“Senator, I have stated we are on a mission to find someone. Your captain in orbit suggested you knew who I was looking for. Is this true?”
“Of course,” he replied, showing his teeth in an attempt to goad Lee. “We have known for some time you would be coming. After news broke of your rescue of Mister McGraw, we were told of the mission and who had been sent.”
“I don’t understand,” Lee asked. “Told by whom?”
“By me, Captain.”
Lee turned to look at the new voice. In his surprise, he almost failed to recognize Captain Lira standing near a darkened corner of the chamber. The Vadne officer was dressed in a deep gold toga and looked as if he were in pain. As he moved into the room, he had a deep limp which slowed his normally graceful step. Lee walked to meet his fellow captain, surprised that Chang would choose so recognizable a figure for an undercover mission.
“Lira?” Lee asked. “What happened? What did they do to you?”
“Nothing, my friend. I’m afraid living on a ship made me a little clumsy. I fell from the steps last week and damaged my tendons. It’s nothing, really.”
“Captain Lira, what the hell is going on?”Alice asked, stepping closer to the tall officer. “What is this all about?”
“It’s about a threat to us all, Commander Bennett. It’s about something which happened during the war.”
20
“The device turned out to be a computer core of sorts,” Lira replied, settling onto a bench in the chamber’s edge. Our scientists were kept compartmentalized and the data divided. The admiral became obsessed with the object.”
“Whose data core was it?” Jakes asked, trying to take in the entire story. “The Ch’Tauk didn’t really have the knowhow to create something like what you describe, and the Elves weren’t working for them at the time.”
“No, Mister Jakes, it wasn’t the Ch’Tauk or their benefactors. The designs on the data core were nearly impossible to decode. They weren’t in any language we had ever seen before. That’s about when the admiral stopped telling me what his plans were and started acting even stranger than normal.”
“Stranger how?” Alice asked, concern crossing her face. “Ron was never all that strange to me. He was a brilliant tactician and laid out the plans for the retaking of the Terran system. He never seemed strange during that. He was a hero.”
“Heroes are men who have learned to hide the fear,” Lira replied, taking a deep breath and standing again. “Ron began to seclude himself. First, it was just missing a few meetings, and later it was missing weeks of appointments. I tried to get him out of his office, but he would refuse or not be there at all. Preston McGraw, his aide, was almost as curious. That man is a master of evasion and I have never trusted him, but the admiral did.”
“We have McGraw with us,” Lee offered. “He was the first one we went after. You’re right about being evasive, but I think he’s just a good liar. He really didn’t know much more than anyone else.”
“That sounds right. Ron began to meet with the chancellor on an almost daily basis. It wasn’t long after that he began to send us out to the separatists.”
“And it was just the three of you?” Connor asked. “Just the Raoists, the Ixloab and the Barathists? No one else was being infiltrated?”
“As far as I know, we were the only ones. Baal was undergoing a full refit, so I agreed to come here. I believe he chose the ensign and Mister McGraw because they were people he trusted. I’m not sure why he chose these three groups, except they were the most … aggressive … of the movements against the Alliance.”
“You sound like you disagree with the admiral’s assessment,” Connor continued. “You think these people aren’t aggressive?”
“By nature, our people are pacifists, Mister Jakes, not terrorists,” Lira said with a sigh. “It was not the admiral’s assessment that sent me here, though. It was mine.”
“So you were the one that sent the spies out?” Lee asked.
“In a way, yes, Captain Pearce,” the man said as though it was being torn from him. “I was tasked with creating a list of the top threats to the security and strength of the Alliance. The admiral came to me on board the ship one night … unexpectedly. I was surprised, but he seemed to be in control of his faculties. He asked me to list any threats which could destabilize the new peace between our peoples. At that time, I believed the Barathists were in that category.”
“And now?”
“I have lived among these people for some time and I believe my assessment was incorrect,” Lira said. “When I created the report, the Barathists were collecting ships and weapons. They looked as if they were readying for an insurrection which could have destabilized the Alliance before it had a chance to consolidate.”
“And now you’ve gone native?” Jakes replied. “You’ve fallen in with these folks and you’re one of them?”
“The Barathists are not terrorists,” Lira replied. “They armed themselves as an act of self-preservation. The Vadne government released an edict against the group so they surrounded themselves with protection and hired security. If my feelings towards these people constitute going native, then yes, I have.”
“That’s just great. Admiral Chang’s sittin’ in jail and here you are sippin’ cider with the local cult and praisin’ Baratha the Fuzzy.”
“Connor!” Lee said, turning on the pirate captain. “Captain Lira, I am asking you to return with us to help redeem the admiral. With your testimony, I am sure we can guarantee his release and set the record straight.”
“I will not,” Lira replied with another deep sigh. “I will not leave these people to be destroyed like the Ixloab.”
The situation suddenly fell into place for Lee. Lellda had been captured by the Ixloab, unable to send the signal to hold off the Alliance. McGraw had already returned by the time of the explosion, so the Raoists had been saved. The Barathists, however, were being protected by the former carrier captain. As long as he stayed among the separatists, he could send the signal and keep the Alliance away. If Resolute took him and tried to save Chang on Earth, the signal would likely be lost and the Alliance would send Trinity to cleanse the planet. It was a failsafe he could not conceive his friend as having created. Lira’s inability to leave was less about loyalty to the cultists and more about the safety of his own people.
“I think I understand,” Lee said. “I can’t believe the admiral put you up to this. I see all the pieces, but I don’t see the motive. Did you ever have any idea why he was so fired up to get you out here?”
“Only a hint of something,�
� Lira replied, stepping over to where Gourahaardt was standing. “Just before I left, I went to see the admiral. He was indisposed as I entered, but Mister McGraw had me wait inside anyway. His desk projector was on and I saw a file name embedded in the code. Have you ever heard the word Gizzeen?”
A shock of recognition leapt through Lee. The file name had been embedded in the files they had extracted from McGraw and he had almost forgotten about the name. Lira may have seen the data before encoding. If the Gizzeen file was important, it was even more vital they get the admiral’s information from the former captain.
“Captain Lira,” Lee asked. “We have extracted files from both Preston McGraw and Ensign Lellda. These file were embedded in implants surgically implanted in their bodies. The information we have extracted points to this Gizzeen as the prime motivator for much of what’s happening now. Do you have any knowledge of an implant on your person?”
“I do,” Lira replied calmly. “I had it extracted several weeks ago.”
“If you won’t come with us, Captain, can we take the data and have it analyzed?” Lee asked. “We are so close to finding out what this is all about. I think you owe it to the admiral to help us.”
Lira tilted his head slightly and stared at Lee. His crest had risen again and was coloring. Lee felt as if he was at a moment where the man might either give him the information or attack. He could see slight twitches along the ridges of the felinoid face. A long moment passed until Lira let out a chuff of air. He reached into the wrapped toga and extracted a small box, similar in size to the empty box in his own pocket.
“Take it, Captain,” Lira said. “If it will save my friend and help these people survive, then I give it willingly. Take it and leave as soon as you can. I don’t want the Alliance coming here and destroying these people.”
“I will,” Lee replied, taking the box without opening it. “We’ll be on our way as soon as—”
“I suggest you look at this.”
Lee and the group turned to look at Gourahaardt. The man appeared more nervous than before, struggling to keep his emotions from showing. He was pointing at one side of the projection screen. Images were moving quickly and Lee had to move around to get a better look. The scene appeared to be from Earth, and it showed a group of Alliance soldiers firing on a group of humans huddling behind cover. As he watched, the Terrans were picked off by an unseen sniper off-screen. The sound was too low for him to make it out, but Lira, Farthing, and the Baathist leader were listening closely.
“Can you raise the volume?” Alice asked, keeping Lee from having to. “We can’t really hear. Is this from Earth?”
A wave of a furred hand and the sound level rose sharply. Lee could hear distant screams from the image and a constant babble of a news reader in the background noise. The voice confirmed that the image was indeed from Earth, and the Alliance was firing on humans who were resisting with force. A few seconds of the narration and Lee was horrified to find the people being killed were Raoists hiding in an abandoned mine complex in Siberia.
“…sources close to the administration have told us, on the strictest confidentiality, that the Raoists were responsible for the bombing of the peace conference on Vadne. Traces of an explosive compound were linked to the terrorists. This marks the second round of containment against apparently connected groups of terrorists in the last few days. Our source has implied the arrests are only part of a much larger plot to destabilize the peace between the Vadne, Tonal, and Terrans. After these messages, Rusty will let us in on the next Galactic Lotto odds and where you have the best chance of winning.”
“I believe the time has come for you to leave us, Captain Pearce,” Gourahaardt said. “The news service seems to be implying we are about to be attacked.”
“Captain, you have what you have come for. Please leave these people,” Lira said quickly, stepping closer to press the exit.
“I have a few more questions for you, Captain Lira,” Lee said, raising a hand. “In the files we retrieved, there were code names given. You were Sylvester, Lellda was Petunia, and Preston McGraw was coded as Speedy.”
“Yes, the admiral’s love for the ancient animated film series—”
“So you know who Bugs is?”
“I assume this file was indicative of a master code?” Lira replied.
“When we accessed the system, the Bugs file was locked. Sub files indicated the identities of the rest of the operatives. We thought the file might refer to an operative deep in Ch’Tauk space. Nothing we have seen or heard so far has proved to point in that direction. Do you have any operational knowledge of anyone sent to infiltrate the Ch’Tauk?”
“No,” Lira replied. “The admiral always seemed satisfied the Ch’Tauk were contained inside their own space by the Engineers. Now, if you have no further questions, I must ask you to leave before your presence alerts the Alliance and brings our destruction.”
“Captain, I assure you,” Lee said, shocked that the captain would suspect him. “We have done nothing to bring the Alliance down on—”
The chamber door opened and Henry Moore stepped in. The man looked strange, however, as if he had changed clothing while they waited. His uniform was rumpled and looked too big. As he crossed down to meet the others, Lee realized he was smaller than when they had left him, but somehow taller. His shoulders, always broad and muscular, had narrowed and slimmed, while his normally sun-darkened skin had lightened and cleared of any marks of age. Henry looked at least twenty years younger than when they had left and his eyes were changing to a pleasant brown.
“Captain Pearce,” Henry said with a pleasant woman’s voice. “Sensors have detected M-space portals opening in-system.”
“Where?” Lee asked, as the Vadne began to rush to the projection screen. “Are they Barathists?”
“Negative,” said the sergeant-major, now fully developing into a pleasant-looking woman in her mid-twenties. “Resolute is reporting Alliance signatures.”
“I don’t understand what is happening,” Gourahaardt said, staring at the now fully formed woman in Henry Moore’s uniform. “How is he … she, receiving a signal in here? We are shielded from outside comms.”
“Senator, allow me to introduce the twins,” Connor said, as the others prepared to leave. “An electrokinetic life-form encased in an isomorphic cybernetic suit. By now, they have already infiltrated your computer systems and are broadcasting whatever they want over all your comms. Handy little buggers to have around, I gotta say.”
“But you said you didn’t bring the Alliance here,” the former Senator said to Lira, his crest turning a dark red. “You said we were going to be safe and they weren’t working for the Alliance anymore.”
“We aren’t working for anyone except ourselves, Senator,” Lee replied, pulling his own small transmitter and nodding to the android. “Patch me through to the Demons and relay to Resolute we’re on our way.”
The woman in Henry’s clothes smiled and nodded as the group headed back to the door. Alice took one last look at the quiet chamber, scared the building and its inhabitants would be destroyed in a matter of minutes. She was more afraid, however, of what the betrayal might do to Lee.
“Jackal,” Lee called to the pilot. “Scramble fighters and get in the air. Princess and I will be right behind you. Don’t worry about Liberty. She can take care of herself.”
“Aye sir,” the tinny voice of the Demon commander replied. “Are we clear to engage?”
“Do not fire unless fired upon,” Lee replied. “If you are under attack, please remember these are our people and not the enemy. We’re not here to kill any of our own.”
“Got it. One more question…” Jackal’s voice said. “If they fire on the Barathists, which side are we on?”
Lee let the question hang as they raced through the maze of corridors. Once again he had been placed in a situation with no good way out. All he could do was say a quick pilot’s prayer and hope whoever listened could give him a way out, and fast.
“The same side as always, Jackal,” Lee said. “Our own.”
21
It had been a long time since Lee had felt the shooting thrill of flying his own ship into a combat situation. Too long he had been stuck on the bridge of his ship, ordering others to fight while he sat in relative safety. As the squadron ascended through the hot Grakii atmosphere and into the deadly cold of space, he was nervous of his skills. He had tried to keep up, keeping his fighter certification primarily through practice runs and simulations in Earth orbit. The projected view on his canopy was very different, though, from any of the simulations. This time he was facing Alliance ships, not Ch’Tauk fighters.
Not wanting to impose on the practiced skill of the other pilots, Lee allowed Jackal to retain her lead. The other fighters, including Alice, kept in tight formation behind the woman. Lee’s fighter, further modified than the others, hung back and kept ready for action. The heads-up display showed a large vessel and two smaller support ships exiting M-space and cooling off. As soon as his flight computer recognized the transponder signals, they identified the ships.
“Captain,” the voice of Josh Goldstein crackled over his comms. “It’s Zeus. Captain Dalton is calling.”
Quickly surveying the ships, Lee evaluated how well Resolute could hold up against the three. Zeus was one of the last of the carrier classes that included Baal. It was captained by a Captain Dalton, a friend of Lee’s and the son of Baal’s former commander, Admiral Hathaway. Accompanying the massive ship were two of the older style cruisers which had been recovered and converted during the war. While the cruisers had advanced shielding and improved weaponry, Lee knew Resolute was more than a match for either. She had been the most extensively refitted ship during the war, and her weapons and crew were far more experienced in battle than the crews of the other two. Zeus, however, was another matter.
Resolute Alliance (The War for Terra Book 6) Page 17