Arkship Alliance

by Niel Bushnell

  ‘Great. Can we get out of here now?’ she said in his ear, a fixed smile on her face.

  ‘Soon,’ Wynn promised.

  As they walked past the masses, Faron Dulac joined them, grinning as he offered Wynn his hand.

  ‘I owe you everything,’ Wynn said. ‘If there’s anything you need . . .’

  ‘This makes it worth it.’ He gestured to the crowd. ‘But we must talk. We have to decide what to do about the Draig Empire.’

  THE UNSEEN

  Valine rested in her suite on board the arkship Gargan, letting her mind wander. Music played, a choral arrangement that didn’t draw attention to itself, letting her focus on the pads spread on the floor in front of her. Each one contained information on a different person: Prince Halstead of the House of Kenric, General Leonov of the House of Fedorov, Genshu Hoshino of the House of Li Zhang, and the other members of the Carter & Grey board. One of the files piqued her interest, and she picked it up. It detailed one of her own commodores: Ingeborg Nilsdatter.

  If a rebellion was coming, Nilsdatter would be its instigator. She was in her late fifties, a hardliner with a solid career under Orcades Draig. She didn’t take risks, and she knew how to fulfill her former leader’s orders with ruthless efficiency. There was nothing sentimental about Ingeborg Nilsdatter. Valine couldn’t rely on her sense of tradition to keep her in line, and that was what made her dangerous. Valine’s position was still precarious. The takeover of Carter & Grey had gone to plan, and that had silenced most of the whispering voices. But Valine knew she was still vulnerable, and her grip on power could be easily loosened. She stared at the image on the pad, wondering how ambitious Nilsdatter was. Did she want to be Valtais? She had a son. She might be thinking of her legacy. Valine made a note of her son’s name. She would have him watched . . . she would have him compromised. Perhaps a sex scandal might help? Something to discredit Nilsdatter’s son, just in case she needed it one day soon. Yes, it would be worth the effort. But that wouldn’t fix the immediate problem: Commodore Nilsdatter’s loyalty. Valine had to know where she stood, that was why she had invited her and Reader Mallory to a meeting here, in the calm confines of her suite.

  Valine projected and planned and schemed, playing the variables, weighting each outcome, then, as the time approached for her meeting, she cleared away the pads.

  The door chime pinged; it would be Mallory, Valine guessed. Nilsdatter would be late.

  ‘Come in,’ Valine said, smiling to the Reader.

  ‘Am I first?’ Mallory asked hesitantly.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I can wait outside, if you wish.’

  Valine offered her a chair at the table. ‘Nonsense. The Commodore will not be long.’

  The Reader sat, appearing nervous.

  ‘How have you been?’ Valine asked, noting the startled expression on Mallory’s face. She seemed more on edge than usual.

  ‘I am well, thank you, Valtais.’

  ‘And what of our people?’

  Reader Mallory looked at her, puzzled.

  ‘You speak to them during your services,’ Valine explained. ‘You tend to their spiritual needs. You can gauge their mood. How do they seem?’

  ‘Very happy,’ Mallory replied quickly. Too quickly.

  ‘You can be frank with me, Reader. In fact, I would prefer it if you were. I need to know the state of mind of the Draig people. I need to know if they are troubled by . . . recent events.’

  ‘By your leadership, you mean?’

  ‘Precisely,’ Valine said with a devilish smile.

  ‘They . . .’ Mallory looked down, uncomfortable. ‘They are nervous. Many seem to venerate their older leader, talking of his reign in glowing terms.’

  ‘How soon they forget,’ Valine noted.

  ‘Nostalgia can be a powerful tool,’ Mallory replied. ‘It is the older citizens who talk in this way. The younger ones are more open to change. Your leadership worries them less, but the appetite for further conflict is small. They seek stability and peace.’

  Valine accepted this with a polite nod. ‘Every day, I work to bring that stability and peace to our people, but we may yet have to fight to secure our future. You must help to prepare them, Keres. You must make them see that the struggle is not yet over, and that I am their rightful leader.’

  Reader Mallory said nothing, her spine rigid, her chin down. She was like a trapped animal.

  ‘Can you do that? Can you help me?’ Valine asked.

  ‘Of course. I am here to serve.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Valine said.

  The Reader hid it well, but Valine noticed the tell-tale grimace, an involuntary expression that was buried behind a pensive smile.

  ‘I’m glad we can be friends,’ Valine added, watching for the micro-responses that would tell her what the Reader was really thinking. Mallory was lying. But there was more than just deception, there was raw emotion too. It was always harder to disguise the more primal urges. Did the Reader hate her? Yes, that was it. Hatred. It was as Valine suspected.

  The door chimed.

  ‘Come in,’ Valine said.

  Commodore Nilsdatter entered, her expression set.

  ‘I was delayed,’ she said as she pulled up a chair and joined them. No apology, Valine noted.

  ‘You are here now,’ Valine said tersely. ‘We can begin. I want to discuss the next phase of our campaign.’

  ‘Campaign?’ Nilsdatter said, almost laughing.

  Valine felt her patience thinning. ‘The Draig Empire is in a critical phase, Commodore. We have taken Carter & Grey, but the coming days will reveal our enemies to us.’

  ‘We already know who our enemies are. We waste time in orbit of this shipyard, while the Kenric fleet have joined forces with the House of Dulac.’

  ‘Their combined strength is no match for us.’

  ‘Exactly!’ The Commodore’s voice became louder. ‘We should wipe them out while we have the chance.’

  ‘That is the old way,’ Valine replied. ‘That is Orcades Draig’s way, not mine.’

  ‘More’s the pity,’ Nilsdatter mumbled.

  ‘Would you show your former leader such disrespect?’ Valine asked. She bore into the Commodore, willing her to reveal her true feelings. ‘You will expend me the same courtesy as you would have done for him, Commodore. Do not forget your place.’

  At first, Nilsdatter wallowed in stony silence, but under Valine’s admonishing gaze, she relented. ‘Forgive me, Valtais.’

  Good, Valine thought. She was not a lost cause.

  ‘We grow stronger by the day, which means our enemies are pressured into more and more desperate measures. The pressure is building, and we need to be ready for the next point of release.’

  ‘Point of release?’ Reader Mallory asked.

  ‘The House of Kenric has joined forces with the House of Dulac. To them, it is a righteous cause. They do not do it for political gain, they do not seek to expand their own houses, or for personal reward. They do this out of a common sense of injustice, they wish to right a wrong, to make us answer for our crimes against them.’

  ‘How do you know this?’ Nilsdatter asked. ‘I thought I had access to all of our intelligence.’

  ‘You must read between the lines of those reports, Ingeborg. Only then will you see the full picture. Prince Halstead and Faron Dulac seek to attack us . . .’

  ‘We will be ready,’ Commodore Nilsdatter said resolutely.

  ‘. . . but they know they are too weak, without help. They will build an alliance against us first. Then, and only then, will they strike.’

  ‘An alliance?’ Reader Mallory said. ‘With who?’

  Valine spread her arms out. ‘Look about you. We have just taken over the second largest shipyard in the entire Cluster. We have made allies of the entire board, save for the House of Addington. If you were Prince Halstead, where would you go to find help?’

  Commodore Nilsdatter brooded. ‘The House of Addington has only a small fleet. They will ma
ke little difference. Let them join the prince.’

  Valine waited, wondering if either of them would see the bigger picture.

  ‘Narwoulf,’ Reader Mallory whispered, thinking. ‘I would go to Narwoulf.’

  ‘They would never get involved!’ Commodore Nilsdatter insisted. ‘They remain neutral.’

  ‘Under normal conditions, I would agree,’ Valine replied. ‘But their main competitor has just been taken over. They will be keen to see the same does not happen to them. They will be open to an overture from Halstead and Dulac.’

  ‘All the more reason to destroy them before they get to Narwoulf.’ Commodore Nilsdatter said.

  ‘No. That will only fuel the flames or war. We must show Narwoulf that we are not their enemy. I want you to go there, Commodore. You will take the Melrakki to Narwoulf and show them that we are their ally.’

  Commodore Nilsdatter nodded. ‘As you wish, Admiral.’ She responded well to direct orders.

  ‘And I want you to go with her, Reader Mallory.’ Valine added.

  Mallory blinked quickly, taken aback. ‘Me? But my place is here. The Melrakki already has a Reader on board.’

  ‘But I trust you, Keres,’ Valine smiled, reaching out to touch her hand. ‘I want you there as my representative. What better way of showing our peaceful intentions than with my most trusted Commodore and my own Reader.’

  Nilsdatter’s old face remembered how to smile. Even the most cynical could be manipulated with flattery.

  ‘Our intelligence puts the Kenric and Dulac arkships at the edge of the Red Desert. They have yet to move towards Narwoulf. Time is on our side, but we must be swift. How quickly can the Melrakki be ready to depart?’

  Commodore Nilsdatter pulled out a palm pad from her tunic pocket. ‘Three hours.’

  ‘Good.’ Valine turned to the Reader. ‘Will that give you enough time to prepare?’

  Reader Mallory nodded, her eyes wide.

  ‘Thank you, both,’ Valine said, painting gratitude and relief over her features. ‘I am in your debt. The Draig Empire thanks you.’

  She stood, and the others did the same. Nilsdatter and Mallory bowed politely, then turned to leave. As the door closed, Valine allowed herself a smile of satisfaction. She knew Narwoulf would see an approaching Draig arkship as a threat, and Nilsdatter’s record showed that she was no diplomat. She would attack if pressed. Or Narwoulf would strike first. Either way, the Melrakki would find itself in a firefight. And if the Commodore was killed, she would die with full honors. If she survived, she would return to her Valtais in disgrace. Valine would have her under her control. She might not need to discredit Nilsdatter’s son after all. Still, it wouldn’t do any harm. As for Narwoulf, a skirmish with a Draig arkship would be justification for the next phase of Valine’s long-term plan: painting the Draig Empire as the injured party, she would initiate peace talks that would hide her covert take-over of that facility. But she was getting ahead of herself. There was still much to do here before she moved on to further expansion.

  And as for Reader Mallory? Valine couldn’t put her finger on it, but she no longer trusted her. Perhaps she was regretting her decision to join the Draig Empire. Or maybe it was something more, something unseen, beyond the edge of Valine’s scheming. She didn’t like not knowing. Better to send the Reader away with Nilsdatter and remove two problems in one strike.

  THINGS LOST

  Wynn sat on the bed, looking over at Bara as she undressed. He smiled, still unable to believe his luck. He had his wife back, against all the odds.

  ‘What?’ she asked, catching his eyes.

  ‘Sorry,’ he smiled. ‘I just want to look at you.’

  ‘Don’t,’ she replied as she cleaned her face in the bathroom off to the side.

  ‘Can’t I look at you now?’ he teased, jumping off the bed.

  ‘Wynn, don’t.’

  His smile evaporated, and he wandered over to the windows that looked out to the distant haze of The Infinite. Its light was diminished by the grime of stellar dust, but he still found the view spectacular. He brooded there, waiting.

  ‘Look, I’m sorry,’ Bara said as she returned to the bedroom. ‘It’s been a long day, and I’m tired, okay?’

  ‘I thought . . .’ He hesitated. ‘I thought you’d be glad to be home.’

  ‘I’m glad, but this isn’t . . .’ She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  Wynn stared at her, confused. ‘You’re not happy here?’

  ‘It’s not that . . . I just . . .’ Her eyes glistened with tears. ‘This isn’t home, Wynn, not for me. My home was Melchior, but its gone now. I’ve lost everything!’ Bara cried. ‘Lex was the last part of my old life, and now he’s gone as well. You don’t know what it’s like to lose everything, Wynn. I don’t know who I am any more.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Bara, truly I am. But understand, I do know what you’re going through. The Obsidian was my home, and my father was killed just before it was destroyed . . . and now Gofal’s gone as well.’

  Bara looked up, wiping her eyes. ‘Gofal? I, I didn’t know. What’s happened?’

  Wynn leaned against the window, letting his eyes wander. ‘Gone. We don’t know where. He just . . . disappeared.’ He turned to look at her. ‘He was my oldest friend, Bara. I’ve known him since I was a boy. He’s always been there. I can’t imagine life without him.’

  Bara laughed sadly. ‘Look at us, crying over a ship and a bot.’

  ‘But they’re more than that.’

  ‘I know, I know. And I wish I could have them back.’ Bara stood and walked to join him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gazed out to space. ‘Maybe we’ve lost too much, Wynn. Maybe that’s all we see in each other now, the things we’ve lost. You look at me and feel a mountain of guilt . . .’

  He made to object, but she was right.

  ‘. . . And I look at you and I feel inadequate.’

  ‘That’s crazy!’

  ‘It’s how I feel. I wasn’t born into a family like yours. I can’t do all of this duty and tradition. For you, it’s second nature.’

  ‘I don’t mean to be like this, really.’

  ‘I know you don’t,’ she said, resting her head on his shoulder. ‘It’s just who you are. Maybe we can’t change, even if we wanted to. And I don’t want you to change, Wynn, not really. I love the man I met, back on that junk barge, but I feel like I’m losing him to Prince Halstead. There’s less and less of Wynn every day.’

  He pulled away to see her face. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I . . . I’m afraid, Wynn.’

  ‘Afraid? Of what?’

  ‘The future.’ Bara replied. ‘When you had the visions, when you saw into the future, what did you see?’

  Wynn shrugged. ‘It’s so vague now, like a dream.’

  ‘But what did you see for us? You never said. Did you see our future? Together?’

  ‘No,’ he confessed. ‘But that doesn’t mean anything. I can’t remember details, not really. All that matters is that I love you, and you love me, right?’

  ‘I hope it’s enough, Wynn.’

  He held her, and later they made love. Afterwards, as Bara slept in his arms, Wynn lay awake in the dark, thinking. Their passion hadn’t felt like a reunion, it was more like an apology, like two people who knew they were saying goodbye to each other.

  CONVICTION

  Reader Keres Mallory watched the arkship Melrakki as it prepared to leave. It was hard to see from down here on the lower levels of the Gargan, amongst the water processing vats, but she refused to move from her hiding place until she was certain the arkship was underway. The airlock window was covered in a sheen of decades-old grime. She had given up trying to clean it, doing her best to look beyond the smeared surface. The cold stung her fingers and face, dragging out the hours as she watched and waited, tempting her to leave. But she couldn’t, not yet. She had to be certain.

  As soon as Valtais Valine had said she wanted her onboard the Melrakki,
Keres knew something was wrong. Perhaps her search of the data files had been observed. She couldn’t be certain, but she had to act now. She’d taken her belongings over to the Melrakki and made sure she was seen on board prior to departure. Then, she had disguised herself as one of the maintenance team and managed to return to the Gargan on board a shuttle. The Church made sure to train all of their Readers in subterfuge and espionage, but this was the first time Keres had been forced to use it. Her heart was still pounding, she felt certain that she’d be caught at any moment.

  The distance between the two arkships grew as the Melrakki prepared for Cube transit. With any luck, no one would bother to check on a Reader’s locked quarters for a while. They would presume she was resting, or in prayer. They wouldn’t question her absence until they were at the Narwoulf shipyards, Gods willing.

  The Melrakki moved away, a visible distortion forming around its hull. Space seemed to crack apart and form into a bubble, and then the giant arkship was gone. Keres gasped, realizing that there was no going back now. She had disobeyed Valine. More than that, she had turned her back on the Church. She was a lone fugitive, a woman without a name, hiding in the dirty bowels of this arkship. If she was seen, if she was captured, it would mean certain death. She had disowned the robes of her vocation, but the golden pendant remained around her neck. She lifted it out from under the maintenance worker’s uniform, holding it in her tight fist.

  Her heart began to slow as a new realization dawned. She had chosen her path, and this time it felt right. She had betrayed the House of Kenric out of anger. She had turned her back on Derward because of pent up rage. Even her faith in the Church had become more routine than conviction. But this felt different. She had a purpose, something bigger than herself, something worth risking everything for.

  She thought about the message she’d prepared. It would be transmitted any moment now, back to Icarus. Until then, it was up to her. She was on her own, but the knowledge comforted her, driving her on.

  Keres Mallory knew where Derward Tarkkail was, and she was going to free him.