Connor's Gambit

by Z Gottlieb

  Shinny closed her eyes in deliberation. “Brad, there’s more information you need to know. While we might be safe in this room for now, every time I leave, there is a team tracking me. I’ve been able to lose them, but they get better each time. While they follow me, they leave a team behind to watch the room. I’ve been able to lock it with an encryption code, but this room is not safe long-term.” She took a deep breath before she shared the most alarming information. “They’ve already interrogated me a few more times. They wanted more information about Connor’s Gambit. I’ve told them it was named by a trainee as a joke, but they seem to believe there is much more behind it.”

  “Why would they think that if they could see from their sensors that you were being truthful?”

  “To them, I’m telling the truth as I know it, it doesn’t mean I know everything,” she explained. “As soon as you step out of the room, they are going to ask you similar questions.”

  “I’m not going to hide anything. So there shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “There shouldn’t be, but there might be if they find out you were the trainee who named it. I’m getting the impression they think it’s a secondary gate to somewhere in the center of CIG space or Aneplé Prime that’s being kept a secret.”

  “That’s crazy,” Brad blurted. “Never mind, I need to remember who we’re dealing with,” Brad scoffed, correcting himself.

  “Secondly, we have been assigned to units. I may be able to leave and play Aneplé for a while, but you are limited outside this room. If I leave you alone, they will come after you, thinking you know more about Connor’s Gambit. If I stay, then we risk them coming after both of us. They’re serious about throwing people into the recycle bins—I’ve seen it a few times,” she revealed. “There’s no backup for me and despite what people think of Special Combat Officers, we have our limits. In general, most of us prefer to think rather than fight our way out of a bad situation.”

  Brad put his meal down and grabbed his tablet. “There has to be a way. Give me more time; I’m certain we can get off the Kisskalu without the Neslins. When do we need to report?”

  “In two shifts,” answered Shinny, exasperated by her husband’s stubbornness and irrational fear of the Neslins. She stood up and walked to the bathroom and pulled down the uniforms she had cleaned. Shinny walked back into the room and placed Brad’s uniform next to him.

  Brad watched Shinny get dressed. Party’s over, he thought. More than likely her assessment of what they needed to do was spot on, but he wasn’t ready to accept her idea of working with the Neslins yet. “What is the situation on food and water?”

  “We’re good on the water. I was able to print a filter along with a few other items.”

  Brad raised his eyebrows. “You have access to a 3D printer?”

  “Yes, however, they are watching. They have gone back each time to check on what I have printed. I may be able to print a few other things but I don’t want to give them any technology such as my chip shielding technology, nor give them ideas that I’m trying to print a weapon.”

  “Agreed. What about the food?”

  “There might be more packaged food around the ship, but what I have found will only last you a few weeks. I don’t think you will last long if the only food available is tainted with the pollen. The pollen you saw on the platform is pervasive throughout the Kisskalu.”

  He kept searching through the Aneplé databases looking for something that would give them an alternative. It wasn’t looking good at all. It looked like they would need a few more people for support if they were going to grab a Swarm Defender. He stopped and watched Shinny move around the room. If he didn’t know any better he would have thought she was packing for a trip. Realization hit him and he understood what he was seeing. “Have you already decided to move in with the Neslins?”

  “I’ve gone through the personnel records and there are a number of people on the Kisskalu I know personally or recognize, including T’Lentic’s brother. I approached a few to see if we could get help from them. I don’t know what has happened to them during their time on the ship, but they are not the people I knew and I would not trust them. They don’t seem to recognize me and all gave me the impression they would happily turn me in for a reward. I trust the Neslins more, except I’m not sure they trust us.”

  “What do you think happened to the CIG personnel that they are not the same?”

  “It isn’t my area of expertise, but they act as if it is a cross between a cult and being brainwashed. It’s a good thing my appearance is fifteen years older because Major N’Klaftin would have a short shelf life on this ship. Right now, I’m just your average defector.”

  “Why are they looking for you?” Brad asked as he stood. He crossed to Shinny and hugged her.

  “I’m guessing they want to use me as leverage when dealing with my father. There is no love lost between Connor and the Aneplé. They initiated a significant treaty to get rid of him. Unfortunately, CIG did not realize at that time the Aneplé had no intention of keeping their side of the agreement. If the Aneplé discover your relationship to Connor, you won’t be safe, either.”

  Brad chuckled. “Are you saying I’m safe now, confined to a stateroom with thirty thousand Aneplé at the door and close physical contact with one of the Fleet’s fiercest warriors?”

  “You have a point, you may not be safe now,” she said smiling, as she wrapped her arms around him and leaned into him.

  “We can discuss my safety later, but what agreement did you make with the Neslins?”

  “They know we flew onto the Kisskalu and are looking for a way off of the ship. They will work with us and provide assistance on two conditions.”

  “Only two?” Brad interjected. “I can’t wait to hear.”

  “They will provide you with a protective area and assistance as long as they believe we have not been indoctrinated. And, if we are able to escape, we take two of them with us. The conditions are not unreasonable. But defending the Neslins against your irrational fear will be time consuming and a losing battle for me.”

  Brad stood silently, thinking what that meant. “If we have to take two, that would eliminate the Defenders and Vipers because of their size.” He was qualified to fly the transport vehicles, but preferred leaving on something faster and more maneuverable. Beyond those three, he wasn’t sure how much the different vehicles varied. He would have to see what alternatives would be available and discuss it with Travis if he could gain access to a training module.

  “I was told that if we could only obtain a small vehicle, then only one would join us. But their preference is to find a way for two,” she explained to him.

  “Considering how difficult it looks to obtain a Defender or a Viper, it may not be a bad idea to consider other vehicles,” he responded as he led her back to the bed. “Do you know any of the Neslins?”

  “No, I’m not familiar with any of the Neslins on this ship. The database on the Neslins is limited to their physical descriptions. Even if I can’t find more detailed information on any of them, I trust them.

  “That seems odd.”

  “Not really. By treaty, their personnel records are kept on their home planet,” Shinny explained.

  Brad sighed reluctantly, “There doesn’t appear to be any other alternative.”

  “Then you’re okay with moving in with the Neslins?” She asked, sitting down next to him.

  “Hell no, not at all, but considering how much choice I gave you when we flew onto the Kisskalu, I owe you this. I know you are going to join them no matter what I decide. So I might as well follow your lead.”

  “I don’t think we have any other alternative if we are going to get off this ship and back to Earth,” Shinny responded, as she leaned into his embrace.

  “The truth is, I don’t know if that’s true or not. But the more research I do on the alternatives, the more uncomfortable I feel staying in this room, so I’ll give you that.” He kissed her neckline toward her ea
r while brushing her hair back. “The Neslins are physically intimidating and that’s my issue to deal with,” he whispered as he nibbled on her earlobe.

  “Mm, Brad, what are you doing?”

  “Making full use of this room before we give up our privacy. I think I need to conduct a test on how safe it is to be alone with you in a stateroom.”

  Shinny placed her arms around his neck and whispered, “Not very, I guarantee it.”

  Chapter 24

  “Brad, how many bags have you packed?” Shinny transmitted via her chip.

  It was the fourth time she had asked him and obviously, she had not received any of his responses through a mental link. “You haven’t heard any of my attempts to respond to you,” Brad voiced, exasperated with his failure to communicate through the link. “I have six bags.”

  “It’s probably just as well that you can’t use your chip at this time. The Aneplé will notice your eyes immediately,” she sighed, “We need to keep trying at a later time.”

  Brad thought about asking her why was it so important they learn to do this now since they had managed to communicate for thirteen years without the chip, but she looked worn out and weary from preparing for their relocation from the stateroom to the Neslin colony. He was not going to put more stress on her, considering how hard she had worked over the past week keeping him alive. Although he felt close to normal, occasionally he would get a whiff of the green pollen, feel nauseous, and need to sit down to recover, which wasn’t helping their situation. Brad was not looking forward to leaving their room. While confined he felt safe, but, he knew it was an illusion. He trusted Shinny’s assessment that it wasn’t safe to reside in the room any longer than necessary. Yet he couldn’t imagine it would be any safer for him to walk through the toxic air outside the room. Grumbling quietly to himself over their situation, he stared at the mattresses wrapped in plastic covers. “Are you sure you want to take everything that’s not nailed down, including the mattresses?” He understood the need to protect everything from the pollen contamination, but he didn’t understand why they needed to literally strip the room.

  “Yes, we take everything. The Neslins asked us to do it. My guess from what I observed when I saw the colony is that they are living on the edge similar to the people we saw on the platforms. So we are scavenging everything possible for them.”

  “What exactly is their status? Are they prisoners or aren’t they? I’m not sure I understand how we can be their prisoners, if they are prisoners.”

  “According to the Neslins, they are not prisoners, but they are not allowed to leave the Kisskalu and all vehicles capable of easily carrying them have been destroyed. Meanwhile, they are restricted as to what they can do or where they can go on the Kisskalu. So they are essentially prisoners.”

  “I’m not sure I understand why the Aneplé even bother keeping them on the ship. This may sound crude, but it seems odd they allow the Neslins to have a colony but think nothing of destroying CIG’s pods, throwing people into the recycling bins, or shooting individuals at point blank.” Brad’s gut clenched when he said that, but Shinny looked like she took it better than he did. “Sorry, I should not have brought it up.”

  Shinny shrugged. “I’m fine. I knew the praser was empty. It isn’t the first time I’ve been shot at. At least I got the message I will need to wear my armor at all times. I’ll send you an article on the Aneplé’s invasion of the Neslin System. It wasn’t pretty for either side. The Aneplé lost a tremendous number of people and space vehicles. On the other hand, the Neslins did not have enough troops to win a decisive victory without CIG’s Fleet assistance. It’s a similar situation here. The Aneplé are concerned that one Neslin death would result in the disabling or destruction of the Kisskalu. The Neslins are not ready to start a mutiny unless they can escape. They believe the colony would need to be three to four times bigger for a mutiny to be successful. As an alternative they would accept getting two of their people off of the Kisskalu.”

  Brad questioned why just two, but he doubted they shared anything important with her. “Why don’t the Aneplé just drop them off somewhere?”

  “The Aneplé are limited to where they can drop the Neslins off. The Neslins have a low tolerance for the pollen. They refuse to be sent to an Aneplé planet, and the Aneplé are afraid to force them. Their reaction to the pollen is not as bad as yours and it takes a while before they succumb physically. They need to be on a planet where the plant is not grown and there is no pollen in the air. Considering how attached the Aneplé are to their Zorchkrisck plants, I doubt if there is a habitable planet free of the plant.”

  “It would seem to me that it would be easier for the Aneplé to just let the Neslins return home.”

  “At this point, the issue may be the Aneplé do not want CIG to know about the green pollen, the destruction of the pods, and their starvation of the colonists. Although the Aneplé have been successful so far in expanding their domain, I think they are concerned over the reaction the news might cause.” Shinny stared into an opened cabinet in the kitchenette. She ran her hand across the shelf, searching for more items to take with them.

  “Point taken,” he said, watching her open and close doors and drawers. They needed to leave. It was the fourth time she checked the cabinets. “When are we leaving?”

  “As soon as you are ready.”

  “Huh, wha…,” he stumbled over his words in surprise, stopping himself before he said something he would regret. He’s been ready for a while and waiting for her to finish her rechecking. He wasn’t sure if Shinny was nervous or exhausted but her behavior seemed more disorganized than usual, as if she was concerned she was forgetting something important. Brad wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. “I’m ready. The decision to join the Neslins may be as crazy-assed as flying onto the cruiser, but I agree this move may be the only viable option for now. It’ll give us the space and time we need to figure out our next steps.”

  “Thank you. I needed to hear that from you. It’s too bad we can’t just stand here wrapped in each other’s arms and forget the rest of the universe outside our door. But, if we are going to see Dane again, we need to leave,” she sighed, hugging him. “You’re almost ready.” Shinny pulled away and walked over to the counter to pick up a package. She brought the package back to Brad and handed it to him. “It’s a hazmat suit with an air filter. It should allow you to walk out of here on your own. I printed four suits. My guess is that as soon as the Aneplé see you use it, they will restrict my access to the 3-D printers, so you will need to use them judiciously.”

  “You’re probably right about not being able to print any more suits.” He unfolded the package and turned the suit, looking for a slit to step into. Finding the opening, he stepped into it and pulled the plastic suit over his shoulders. “Thanks, this’ll solve one problem for me. I was worrying over how I would fly a vehicle off the cruiser if I had to be carried to it after passing out.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that far in advance, but I’m glad I printed a few extra suits. Unfortunately, these are only good for one use.” She stood at his side. “If you raise your hands and turn around I’ll check the seals at your sides and on the back.” She ran her hands along the seams to ensure the suit’s integrity had not been breached. “Although the suit is crudely made and thin, it should be sufficient for the short distance we are going.” She finished running her fingers along the seams, “I’ll let Wesgwidy know that we are ready.”

  “Who is Wesgwidy?”

  “Wesgwidy is the colony’s senior Neslin. She will be escorting us with a team to their spaces,” Shinny explained as she walked toward the isolation booth. “Help me tear this down and get it out of the way.”

  Brad pulled the booth apart with Shinny and laid the sections against the wall, clearing the doorway. He hated tearing her work down, but it was all part of moving on. “Do you think the Neslins will want any of these materials?”

  “Probably not, considering it wi
ll be contaminated once they step in,” she replied as she stacked her pieces against the wall.

  “When will they be here?” he asked, just as a loud thud, thud came from the door.

  Shinny gestured the door open. “Welcome, Wesgwidy. We are ready to join your colony.”

  Shinny stepped aside to allow the Neslin to enter. As the Neslin entered, Brad choked on the air he was breathing with an audible gasp while his heart rapidly pounded as he slowly backed up. The pumpkin orange being with a green tint had to be well over eight feet tall. Even though it was wearing a tattered Fleet Technician uniform, it was the largest primate he had ever seen in person. Brad was scared beyond belief. He was having trouble containing his fear and continued to step back as three more Neslins almost as large as the first one appeared through the thick cloud of dust creeping into the room and stood behind the first Neslin. Brad backed up more and jumped in surprise as he touched the wall on the opposite side of the room.

  “Brad, get a grip!” Shinny screamed in his head.

  “Uh, sorry, seeing the dust set me on edge,” he stuttered, hoping they would not catch his true fear.

  Wesgwidy looked at the male humanoid across the room. The male was cowering and sweating. She turned toward the major in disbelief that he had been the one who was brave enough to fly a vehicle onto the Aneplé Battle Cruiser. “This is your pilot?” She asked Shinny. “Did I make a mistake trusting you? He doesn’t appear ready to fly anywhere,” she growled.

  “Yes, Pilot Brad Johnson is also my mate. He is trustworthy. He is wearing an isolation suit because of his severe allergy to the pollen. A small tear in the suit could incapacitate him.” Shinny motioned toward Brad to join them. Feeling Brad at her side she gestured toward each of the Neslins as she introduced them, “Brad, I’d like you to meet the Neslin’s colony leader Wesgwidy, her first officer Yancurve, Gleprony, and Ravelstan.”