Tag straightened in his seat, pride swelling in his chest, and he watched Sofia and Coren working diligently at their stations, bringing them closer to home, closer to the Montenegro.
Victory at last, Tag thought.
They’d pushed back the Drone-Mechs. They’d saved the Montenegro. And his crew was alive.
It was over. For now.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Tag, Coren, Sofia, and Alpha sat around the table in the flag officers’ conference room of the Montenegro. Several oil paintings of Earthside oceans complete with full-rigged sailing ships and circling gulls graced the bulkheads, anachronistic reminders of the planet that was hundreds of light-years away, still unaware of the events that had transpired.
Alpha’s mechanical mouth twisted into a slight smile as her beady eyes scanned over the artwork. Over her short time in the crew, her gestures and actions had grown more uncannily human, but she still had a ways to go before she shed her strange speech patterns altogether. It hadn’t taken long for Tag to find replacement legs for her from spare droid components in engineering aboard the capital ship, and, with Coren’s help, he’d restored her to her full self. Once she’d been refitted, she’d served beside Coren, Tag, and Sofia as they aided in the repairs of the Argo and the Montenegro.
It had taken quite a bit of convincing for the admiralty to realize Coren was not a threat, but fortunately Tag and Sofia’s research aboard the Argo, along with Sofia’s months of research logs on Eta-Five, had eventually persuaded the SRE officers that Coren was no Drone-Mech.
Despite the days of work that had already gone into it, the Montenegro was a wreck. There was no doubt about it. Tag estimated there were more crew members dead than alive, and almost three-quarters of the ship’s assigned fighters had been destroyed. Its escort ships were obliterated, and it would be weeks before they joined up with a new escort fleet. That gave the crew plenty of time to administer the thousands of burials at space they owed the men and women who’d perished, starting with the Argo’s crew.
The hatch to the conference room opened.
Admiral Sheila Doran walked in, followed by Rear Admiral Owen Blank. The two settled down into the seats opposite Tag’s crew. Admiral Doran’s eyes were bloodshot, and heavy bags hung under them. Rear Admiral Blank’s expression was no less weary. Tag didn’t envy their positions. It had been difficult enough for him to witness the deaths of the Argo’s crew, knowing there was little he could do to change the tide of battle. He couldn’t bear to imagine the emotional turmoil those two had endured as they’d watched their fleet fall apart to the Drone-Mechs. Even with all they’d been through, however, the duo sat straight and alert, ready to prepare the Montenegro for the next phase in what looked to be a dangerous and war-filled new era of the SRE’s expeditions in space.
“I’ve dug through everything we have,” Doran began at once. She wasted no time on perfunctory greetings. “My officers and I scoured all the classified information we have access to.” She held her hands out, palms open. “I’m afraid we have no idea where the nanites originated. As far as I can tell, the SRE and Earthside humanity as we know it did not enslave your people.”
“I think the Drone-Mech attack on the Montenegro was proof enough for me,” Sofia said. “Unless the SRE is so devoted to a lie they want to sacrifice a capital ship.”
“Doubtful, I’d hope,” Blank said. “Last we heard from Earth, the political infighting was no worse than usual. But there were no reports of extremism, much less any group capable of infecting an entire unknown race with these nanites. The only possibility is that one of the independence-minded colonies in the far reaches of our space took and developed the technology.”
“But again, there’s no evidence of anything like this,” Doran added. “At least, none we’ve uncovered.”
“Did you find any possible explanation for how this technology ended up in alien hands then?” Coren asked, looking at the two flag officers warily.
“We’re going to examine every possibility,” Doran said. “But the only human ships we know that have come this way are the UNS Hope and the SRES Hanno.”
“Right,” Sofia said. “The Hanno dropped me off on Eta-Five.”
“And the UNS Hope was the generation ship lost centuries ago,” Tag said.
Doran nodded and folded her hands together on the table. “That’s correct. We have no records of the UNS Hope after it passed by the Eta system, so there’s no telling what happened to the technology and everyone aboard, and the Hanno reported no extraterrestrial interactions besides those you studied on Eta-Five. It could very well be that the Hope is our missing link in this disaster.”
“Yes, ma’am, it certainly seems like it,” Tag said. “So where does that leave us?”
“That’s what I’d hoped you’d answer for me. What was your mission aboard the Argo?”
Tag was taken aback but gestured to Alpha. “You’re looking at her. I was charged with developing my synth-bio AI systems and, of course, serving the ship’s medical needs.”
“What about Captain Weber’s mission?”
“Pardon me?”
Doran shared a look with Blank. He picked up where she left off. “What I say here does not go beyond this room.”
Tag and the others nodded.
“We recovered classified records buried within the Argo’s databases that matched some of our own. Unfortunately, these records are a bit cryptic and unhelpful. We believe your mission of scientific exploration wasn’t quite as innocent as it seemed.”
“What do you mean?” Tag asked. He’d never heard anything in his mission briefings other than the directives for the crew’s experiments and research projects, along with an overarching theme of retracing the UNS Hope’s ill-fated journey.
“There was a considerable amount of cargo that was unaccounted for on the Argo when you arrived here,” Blank said.
“Yes, sir,” Tag said. “The Drone-Mechs entered through our cargo bay. I suspect they took much of our cargo.”
“And do you know why?”
Tag shook his head. He’d barely had time to contemplate the question.
“Okay, do you know what kind of torpedoes the Argo was equipped with?”
“No,” Tag admitted, wondering where this was headed. “That wasn’t germane to my responsibilities, and after the Drone-Mechs boarded us, there weren’t any torpedoes left.”
Again, Doran and Blank shared a meaningful look.
Doran took over the conversation. “The Argo’s torpedoes were no ordinary armaments.”
“What were they?” Sofia asked.
“Ramjet thermonuclear warheads.”
That didn’t make sense to Tag. Such weapons were meant for immobile land-based targets—and they’d never been used. The SRE had no reason to use them as far as he knew. They would only be employed in a scorched-earth policy against alien races with whom peace could not be brokered. “But those are—”
“Yes,” Doran cut him off. “We believe Captain Weber was tasked with a covert mission to wipe out a threat even I didn’t know existed.”
Tag mulled over the ramifications of that hypothesis. “If the SRE knew about such a threat but kept it quiet, does that mean they suspect a mole?”
“I’m afraid so,” Doran said. “There was definitely a good reason the Argo’s crew underwent such extensive background checks. But I think someone at Earth Command has been compromised. Which is why I’m not sure we’ll get any straight answers to my courier drones.”
“So what do we do about the rest of my people?” Coren asked.
“That is the question I leave you with,” Doran said. “Currently, we’re awaiting a response from the SRE Command. We have no crew to extend; we have no ships; and we have little in the way of supplies. But what we do have is a mission for you, Commander Brewer, and your crew.”
Tag perked up at the subtle promotion.
“Commander Brewer, you are all that remains of the Argo,” Doran continued. “
I’m appointing Lieutenant Vasquez to your ship. Likewise, we have no crew records for Coren or Alpha, given they aren’t members of the SRE, so they don’t easily fit into our chain of command right now. But as Commander of the Argo, you may offer them positions aboard your ship of your own volition.”
Tag glanced at Alpha then Coren. The Mechanic held his gaze as if he was going to levy a different answer than the one he gave. “Of course I will.”
“Since I haven’t received any orders from Command yet to say otherwise, I want you to carry out the mission Captain Weber started. I understand that’s going to involve some detective work on your part. But I have a feeling your crew will be up for it. The Argo has been resupplied and should be space ready within the day. Your bots can handle the rest of the repairs on your journey to Eta-Five. I expect continuous updates as you progress. I want to know where you are and where you’re headed at all times. I want to know how the Mechanics fare, and I want to know of any other encounters you may have with alien species.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tag replied. “You have my word.”
“Whoever enslaved the Mechanics is still out there. We must find them. I think Captain Weber’s mission has something to do with those responsible for the nanites as well as the Hope’s disappearance, and it’ll be your job to find out why. As soon as we receive our escort fleet, we’ll reconvene and reinforce your mission, but for now, you’re on your own.”
Tag looked at his crew. Alpha wore her characteristic emotionless face. Sofia seemed eager and ready for whatever journey came next. And Coren appeared stoic, at least to the untrained eye. Tag had, however, learned to read the subtle hints of emotion in the Mechanic’s expression. He saw the small twitch in Coren’s good eye and the slight, almost imperceptible frown turning down his thin lips. The Mechanic carried the weight of his people on his shoulders. Undoubtedly he yearned to be reunited with them.
But Tag had promised the Mechanics he’d bring back human help. And now all it appeared they’d be returning to Eta-Five with was the Argo. It wouldn’t be enough.
“Do you have any smaller transport vessels to spare? Anything at all we can bring to Eta-Five to help the Mechanics?” Tag asked.
“I’m afraid not,” Doran said. “Not without compromising the safety of the Montenegro, especially should the Drone-Mechs find us again for a second assault.”
“If I may, Admiral,” Blank started. Doran nodded for him to proceed. “There’s a fair bit of wreckage floating around out there. I’m not saying it’s optimal, but maybe you can salvage something from the Drone-Mech ships.”
At this, Coren outright grinned. “Yes. Repairing things is something my people are very good at. We might be able to recover enough scraps to repair the vessel we crashed on Eta-Five.”
“Very well,” Doran said. “I don’t want to delay you any longer.” She stood from the table, and the others followed suit. “Coren, your people are relying on you. Good luck and godspeed to all of you.” Then her eyes met Tag’s. “And Commander Brewer, your people might be relying on your success as well.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tag said. The admiral and rear admiral left, leaving Tag alone with his crew. They weren’t a perfect team yet. They had their faults, their inadequacies, and plenty to learn about their roles aboard the Argo. But they’d already survived the icy maw of Eta-Five and brought down a Drone-Mech dreadnought unaided. It certainly wasn’t the crew Tag had left Earth with, but it was the one fate had given him.
He sat a little straighter.
He was a commander now, with his own ship, crew, and mission. And though doubts of his own abilities still haunted him, he had a chance he hadn’t been given before. It was time to prove those doubts wrong. He had set out on the Argo to explore unknown worlds and delve into new scientific mysteries. Never had he dreamed of saving another alien species nor that he would be in a race to save his own—yet now that he was, he couldn’t imagine his life taking any different path.
“You all ready?” he asked.
The others responded with unequivocal determination, ready to take on all that their impending mission had to throw at them.
It was time for the Argo to sail again.
The End of Book 1
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