by Ryan Kirk
Some small part of her conscience was screaming at her about poor decisions, but the rest of her just didn’t care all that much. It was the first time she had relaxed in months, and even if the evening had ended early, it had been fantastic. If she was given the chance to go back in time, she was certain she would do the same again.
Tev was fantastic company. Being in Fleet generally meant you didn’t have too many friends. You moved around a lot and were gone for long periods of time. Usually, Kindra didn’t mind, but when it came time to take a deep breath and think about life, there weren’t always a lot of options. Asking Tev to join her had been a whim, but it had been the best call.
To Tev, everything was new. He had never had pasta, had never had wine. Everything was fresh to him, and his curiosity simply wouldn’t be sated. It made Kindra think about how she was living her own life. In a way, she wished she could be more like him, amazed and questioning the parts of life that she took for granted. Tev would make a wonderful scientist.
But no matter how she tried, Fleet inserted itself into her world. Derreck met them on their way to the senate buildings. No doubt he had tracked her and Tev to meet them en route. His eyes took in Kindra and her dress, but he didn’t say anything. Kindra allowed herself a sad smile. Tev wouldn’t notice the dress because to him, all the clothing he saw was bizarre. She hadn’t dressed up for him, but she was sure Derreck would take it that way.
Kindra closed off that part of her mind. It had been a fun evening while it lasted, but now there was business to take care of. “What’s going on?”
Derreck shook his head. “I’m not sure, but whatever it is, the senate is worked up about it. There’s been a tremendous increase in encrypted traffic heading to and from Haven in the past few days. There’s something happening, something big, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Do you think it has to do with Tev?”
Her captain shrugged. “I really don’t know. I worry that it does, though. My summons specifically requested that he join us, and that doesn’t bode well.”
Tev had overheard the entire discussion, but when Kindra looked at him, he turned away. She would have given any amount of money to know what he was thinking, but she had seen him like this before. Every once in a while, the enormity of what he was going through would hit him, and when it did, he needed a few minutes alone to think.
Kindra had to give Tev credit. He had experienced more than he could have imagined, and the world he grew up in was entirely different from the one he currently lived in. If not for his open and curious mind, he would have gone mad, or at least been frozen in fear.
They got to the senate chambers in little time. From the outside, the building was nondescript, built during a time of colonization where little thought was given to form. The building was one large rectangular block, rising three stories in the air. It was an artifact of an age before the planet had been terraformed. It still had an airlock. Various petitions had been submitted over the years to have the building torn down and replaced with a newer, more modern version, but there was a sense of history, a connection to old Earth, and even though the building was an eyesore, no one could bring themselves to tear it down.
Kindra, Tev, and Derreck entered the building together, completely unsure of what type of disaster they were walking into.
Once inside the building, the three of them were treated like celebrities. Kindra had only been in the senate building a handful of times before, but her memories were of security checkpoints and guards. Today they were escorted through corridors without a single security checkpoint to stand in their way. Under other circumstances, Kindra might have been honored by the treatment. Today, it made her stomach sink.
The three of them were escorted to a small room. The moment they entered, Kindra was surprised to see the other faces present. The first and most important was President Jackson herself. She had a recognizable face, with a strong jaw and sharp eyes. Kindra had never been a supporter of Jackson’s policies, but she had a difficult job and kept the planets together. Arrayed to either side of Jackson were a handful of very important people. Kindra recognized Fleet Admiral Tooney and a group of top scientists.
Her first instinct was to run out of the room. Whatever was happening here, right now, wasn’t something she wanted to be a part of. She wanted to go back to the restaurant, order dessert, drink another bottle of wine while talking with Tev and then go home and sleep for a day.
President Jackson made a motion for them to sit down, and Kindra and the others obeyed. Just like she was in public, she was in private. She got right to business, her voice cold and commanding.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Ambassador Tev, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person, although I wish the circumstances were better.”
Kindra kept a blank face, but her mind was racing. It was clear Fleet didn’t know what to do with Tev. This was his first official meeting in any capacity. Jackson was being polite to Tev, giving him an honorific that was a matter of no small debate. If her understanding of Jackson’s character was at all accurate, it meant there was something happening and Jackson wanted Tev on her side. Kindra’s heart sank even further.
President Jackson continued. “I’ll get right to the point. Recently, there has been an increase in rebellion activity across the periphery worlds. Unfortunately, some of the fighting has even worked its way into central space.”
Jackson continued. “The reason I’ve called you in is that a rebellion agent recently accessed files pertaining to your last mission. Our counterintelligence tells us that they are planning to launch a mission to Tev’s home world, and the other world explored by the Destiny, as soon as they are able.”
Kindra couldn’t keep up. When she thought of the remainder of the rebellion, she thought of small groups of farmers on far periphery worlds. She didn’t imagine an organized movement that had the resources to send a jumpship to Tev’s home planet. It was too much to take in. She couldn’t understand how everything was connected. “Why?”
It was Derreck who answered. He seemed to have already put everything together. “Weapons.”
Jackson nodded, but the answer did nothing to aid Kindra’s understanding. Derreck saw her look and answered before she could ask another question.
“Two things. We are certain that civilization was wiped out on the second planet due to some type of weaponry. The report talked about an advanced civilization destroyed. It would be reasonable to assume, reading that report, that there might be weaponry on the planet to be exploited. But it’s your report, Kindra, they are most interested in.”
Suddenly, the connections fused in Kindra’s mind. If her theory about Tev’s abilities was correct, it meant that there would literally be hundreds and perhaps thousands of top-rated pilots on a planet, pilots who could be easily coerced because of their lack of technology. It would be an easy matter to hold a village hostage. Hell, one armed dropship in orbit could control the entire planet. Kindra saw how her report could be interpreted.
Kindra looked to Jackson. “What are we going to do?”
Jackson pursed her lips, as though the answer was distasteful to her. “Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do. Not as much as I’d like, anyhow. Fleet is already spread thin. Our resources are all committed right now. The only thing I can do is send Destiny.”
Derreck raised his eyebrows at that. “Destiny isn’t outfitted for that kind of duty. She’s a long-range exploration vessel. Her armament is defensive at best. What kind of resources are we up against?”
It was Fleet Admiral Tooney who responded. “Fortunately, not too much. The hold-outs that haven’t signed the treaty have been embargoed, so they aren’t doing well. We’re slowly choking them into submission. At best we’re looking at a heavy jumper with two dropships, and that’s if they commit everything we think they have left.”
Derreck leaned back, and Kindra wished she could read his mind.
“That’s still more than
the Destiny.”
“Yes, but it’s not insurmountable. Frankly, this can’t come down to combat. Even if we win, it’s going to put a tremendous drain on Fleet resources. This is a race, pure and simple. The good news is, we should have an advantage. The distance from here to Tev’s planet is shorter than what we believe they’ll have to travel. We calculate that we have at least two weeks to prepare, and even so, it gives us a few weeks on-planet before they arrive.”
Derreck didn’t look like the answer satisfied him in the least. “And what are we supposed to do when we get there? They’ll still have the ability to overpower us.”
President Jackson looked directly at Tev. “That’s where we need the help of our ambassador.”
Kindra watched everyone at the room. Derreck made a connection that Kindra didn’t. “You’re planning on loading up Destiny with a bunch of suits, aren’t you?”
Kindra almost collapsed in her chair. Fleet wanted the pilots just as much as the rebellion did. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to shut out the world. When she joined Fleet, it was because they were transitioning from combat to exploration. She had never wanted to fight. She had never wanted any of this. A few hours ago, she had decided to stand by Tev, but the urge to quit, to put it all behind her, was stronger than ever.
“Ambassador Tev, I don’t know how much you’ve followed, but I’ll try to keep this simple. Your planet is in danger. There is another group of people who are interested in coming to your planet and harming your people. Our goal is to stop them. Will you help us?”
Tev looked from Kindra to President Jackson and back, not sure what was best to say. Kindra wanted to open her mouth, to tell him to dismiss Jackson, but she couldn’t do it.
Tev responded as best as he knew how. “I will do everything I can to protect my people.”
President Jackson nodded, a look of relief on her face. “That is good, Tev. Thank you. Would you step outside for a moment? I need to discuss something with these two.”
Tev nodded and stepped outside. As soon as the door sealed, Jackson fixed both of them with a stare. “I know you two may not like what’s happening here, but there’s far more at stake than just the lives on Tev’s planet. We cannot allow the Rebellion Conflict to restart. If it does, I fear the civilization we have built is going to collapse. You get to that planet first, and you make sure his people join Fleet. Is that clear?”
Kindra’s tongue loosened, and she was about to unleash a tirade against Jackson, but Derreck’s voice was clear and loud. “Yes, ma’am. We’ll be happy to make sure it happens.”
With that he stood up, his hand virtually dragging Kindra up and out of her chair. He didn’t even give Kindra time to tell the president to go to hell.
It seemed like an unusual place to hold a meeting, but these were unusual times. The bar was dark and quiet, the sort of place Kindra associated with suspense holos. She and the rest of the crew of the Vigilance sat around a small table, drinks in their hands, courtesy of Derreck. They were in a corner booth, surrounded by high seat backs that absorbed the already quiet sounds of the bar.
Derreck nodded at Eleta, their systems engineer and Kindra’s closest friend aboard the ship—although that wasn’t saying too much in the world outside of Fleet. She put a small device on the table and thumbed it on. After a check of her personal display, she returned Derreck’s nod. Kindra frowned. They were going to some extent to make this meeting private.
Alston, their geologist, was the most uninterested of the crew, but that was to be expected. He didn’t seem to care about people in general, their problems at most a distraction to him. He spoke first, annoyance in his voice. “Okay, Derreck, you got us all into your favorite bar. Why all the secrecy?”
Kindra resisted the urge to slap him. As annoying as he was, Alston was an excellent geologist, and fit in well with the crew, mostly by hiding in corners and keeping busy with his own work. He wouldn’t care much about Tev or the danger they had put his planet in.
Derreck chose his words with care. They were walking a fine line, and Kindra knew Derreck faced a decision that didn’t have a winning scenario for him. Either he could coerce Tev’s people into becoming warriors for Fleet, or he could act treasonously and have his rank and command stripped from him. She knew he didn’t want either of those events to come to pass.
“We’ve just received new orders from Fleet. We’re shipping out in a few weeks at the most.”
There was a chorus of groans, but all of them were half-hearted. All the crew felt most at home when they were out in space. It was frustrating to have their leave cut so short, but all of them would rather be flying. Kindra couldn’t decide if that was true for her though, not anymore.
Derreck outlined the meeting with the senate and what their orders were. He spoke bluntly. He and Kindra had left Tev in Derreck’s apartment for this meeting. Despite everything that had happened, Tev was still something of an outsider among the crew, and his presence would only complicate the meeting. Derreck needed everyone to speak freely, which meant no Tev.
When he finished, there was a moment of silence around the table. Alston broke it. “Okay, so why all the secrecy?”
“I have a real problem with the way Fleet is going about this. They’ve all but said that we should take Tev’s planet by force if we can’t persuade them to join us. I’m certain Captain Absalon will have orders that say exactly that, unfortunately.”
Alston’s eyes drilled into Derreck the same way they peered at his precious rocks. “What are you asking, Derreck? Get to the point.”
“Fine. I don’t know what to do, but I’m considering disobeying orders down the road. For now, I think we need to go along with it. If we don’t, we’ll be scrubbed from the mission, and perhaps from duty, so they can give Vigilance to another crew. But depending on how everything turns out, I want to know if you’ll back me up if I go against the orders of Fleet.”
Everyone took a few moments to sip at their drinks. Eleta answered first. “I don’t much care either way. I’ll go along with whatever happens. My tour is almost up anyway, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to re-up. If I get kicked out of Fleet, maybe I can finally find a nice guy and settle down.” She gave a wink to Kindra, who smiled her gratitude.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Alston. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion. “If I say no?”
Derreck shrugged. “I’m not doing this unless everyone is behind me. Whatever happens, I’m not going to have my crew at odds with one another. I’d probably ask for all of us to be scrubbed from the mission and see what happens.”
Alston turned his glass in his hands, seeming to consider the bubbles as they floated to the top. “What if the senate is right? It may sound horrible to coerce an entire people into our service, but what if by doing so, we can save the lives of many more people?”
Kindra couldn’t let that question slide. “That’s a dangerous question. Once we start thinking that way, we allow ourselves to do all sorts of horrible actions for the greater good.”
“But isn’t that exactly the point? Maybe we need to consider the greater good instead. I’m not arguing that turning Tev’s people into our soldiers is the right idea, but maybe it’s the best.”
Kindra was about to argue, but it was Derreck who spoke, his soft voice carrying an air of command Kindra had never heard from him outside a mission before. “I can appreciate the logic, Alston, and maybe, maybe there’s something to it. But you didn’t serve during the rebellion. Both sides did horrible things, to each other and to their own people, because they believed it served the greater good. Who knows how history will judge? That’s not up to me to decide. But I know this: I don’t want to live in a society that willingly tramples on those who can’t fight to make life better for the majority. I’ve seen firsthand what that looks like, and that’s not where I want to live.”
Alston fixed his eyes on Derreck once again, considering his words and bearing. Kindra wished she under
stood her shipmate better. He was relentlessly logical and seemed to be uncaring, but that assumption had been proven wrong several times before. She was certain he was a complex man, but he never let anything show.
When Alston spoke, his answer was simple. “I’m in.”
Derreck nodded. “Thank you.”
Eleta asked, “So, what do you want us to do?”
“For now, I want us to prepare. Eleta, I want you to do a full upgrade of your systems, both offensive and defensive. I don’t even care where you find them. Find the best tools to do anything that may be necessary.”
Kindra watched as Eleta’s eyes lit up. Derreck had made a dream of hers come true. Kindra knew her friend had a taste for hacking systems that was sometimes hard to satisfy.
“Alston, I want you on requisitions. I would like it if we are set for any materials that may be useful, and I want the Vigilance to have everything she needs for exosuit repair as well.”
“Kindra, your job is to upgrade the sick bay as well as you can. Our facilities are good, but I want us to be able to go further in case it’s necessary. Get your hands on whatever you can. Does anyone have any questions?”
It was quiet around the table as everyone considered what they would need to do.
“Good. I do have one last item, and I don’t know how you all will feel about it. I want to make Tev part of our crew.”
Eleta looked up. “What do you mean?”
“We need someone to replace Kenan. I recognize how bizarre it might be to have him replaced by the man who killed him, but I think it’s the right thing to do. It’s time Tev becomes part of our crew. Maybe it’s just symbolic, but I think it’s important.”
Kindra didn’t respond right away. She knew she was okay with Tev being part of the crew, but this felt like a decision that needed to rest on Alston and Eleta’s shoulders. The two of them glanced at each other, and some sort of unspoken agreement passed between them. They turned to Derreck and nodded.