by Ben Winston
“Forgive me, Commodore, but why?” Shariline asked.
Vance smiled at her sadly. “Not all of them are guilty. A good example of that sits here with us. Had she known the real agenda of the Synod, I have no doubt she would have given her life to stop it.”
Cohrin Nori nodded. “That I would have. Utter insanity this is. In the past, my race has always believed themselves the elder race, and therefore the most senior. We have demanded the respect and privilege we believed due us. That has never been the case, and even if it were, should not have been allowed. The Synod is insane, drunk on power, and craving more. Not all Veranorians are of the Synod, but many still share that belief. Hope for them I still have. Others, such as ClienSal have been misled for so long, they are now unsure of what is the truth and what they should believe is the truth. Many are as he is. Those are whom Commodore Vance is trying to save. Deserve death, they do not, compassion, and guidance they need.”
“My apologies for seeming to change the subject, but what are we going to do with T'harnes?” I asked.
Vance signed. “Earlier this morning, Sarah woke me to report an attempted subspace communication with the Veranorian Synod. She blocked it, and captured what she could of the encoded message, and has since been attempting to decode it. The event was passed on to the security personnel in the monitoring center, and they discovered the identity of the person that sent it. Shortly before he sent it, he met with LE T’harnes. We have no proof, but we assume he got the message from T’harnes.
“Dr. Cowan, I regret to inform you that one of your assistants will not be returning to work. As it turns out, he was a Synod spy. He was a Novan named. Harclen Teece of Merak III. You hired him off of the Monviant.”
“Teece is a spy?” I asked. “I never would have suspected him. He seemed so supportive, and expressed a strong, dislike of the Veranorians; not too strong though.”
Vance nodded. “He has had extensive programming. We have since discovered Harclen Teece died at birth. We still don’t have a solid idea who this person really is. Trouble is, he doesn’t know either. When Sarah burned out the transmitter, it caused minor damage to his brain. I have been delaying signing the order for his execution.
“Later today, we will be detaining LE T’harnes in connection with this incident. As far as we can tell, he has broken no other laws, and we have no reason to arrest him,” Vance finished.
“My apologies for interrupting, Commodore, but according to section three-subsection twelve of the Alliance Security Mandate, any official suspected of espionage in any form may have their security access rescinded without notice at the discretion of the Chief of Security or the Administrator of the facility in which they serve. Reinstatement of said credentials is at the discretion of the Facility Administrator, and can only be accomplished once the matter involving the official is concluded to the satisfaction of the Administrator,” Sarah said, calmly. “The definition of ‘Administrator’ in this case is the Base Commander. Which is you, Sir.”
“Sarah, if I could, I’d kiss you! Please rescind LE T’harnes security credentials immediately pending investigation into this matter,” Vance said grinning. He turned to Cohren Nori. “Logical Engineer Cohren Nori, in light of the situation involving Logical Engineer T’harnes, I am promoting you to head of the Computer Sciences section on this base.”
Cohren Nori bowed her head. “I am honored by your trust, Commodore. I will endeavor to perform adequately. I wish to break with tradition, and appoint Senior Researcher Doctor Eric Cowan as my second. In light of his contributions to our profession, I am certain the rest of the section will agree with my choice.”
Vance nodded. “Approved. Sarah, could you please make the necessary adjustments to their personnel files, and security credentials?”
“At once, Commodore. Congratulations, LE Nori and Dr. Cowan,” Sarah said proudly.
Shariline also expressed her congratulations to the two.
“Since you are both here, and have not had time to even set up your offices, I will inform you of a general staff meeting at oh eight hundred hours tomorrow in the command conference room. In light of today’s revelations, it should prove to be a spirited discussion. First Daughter Shariline, please ask your father to come to my office sometime today, at his convenience, to discuss the relocation of the clan, and our plan to accommodate them,” Vance said.
“I will do that as soon as we leave here, Commodore,” the small woman said, bowing in acknowledgement of the request.
“Now, I believe we all have a lot of work to accomplish today, so I will not keep any of you here any longer than necessary. Unless of course, you have another gravimetric device you wish to detonate in my office, Eric?” Vance said grinning at me.
“No, Sir. I try to limit those to one a day,” I replied grinning.
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Dr. Cowan’s Laboratory
Alliance Apollo Base
Selene, Earth’s moon
Sol System.
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When I got back to my lab, instead of beginning work to set up my office as Nori’s second, I wanted to make sure that Teece hadn’t damage anything or intentionally corrupted any data in order to cause failures later on. In order to do that, I needed Sarah’s help.
In the time I’ve been on the moon, Teece was only working with me for about three weeks. However, during that time, we had accomplished a great deal, and there was a lot of data to check as well as all the other experiments he wasn’t directly involved in, but had access to during his time with me.
At least we didn’t have to worry about the new core crystal: prior to Teece beginning with me in this lab, that project had been relocated to another laboratory closer to the existing computer core, with strictly controlled access to it.
“Eric, I can find no evidence that Harclen Teece falsified data or intentionally changed anything. However, he did copy copious amounts of data from his terminal. For the logs, he managed to copy almost all of our experimental data. I should point out that he also knows I am still functional and installed here,” Sarah told me a few minutes later. “I am currently going through the video logs of the days he copied data, so I can attempt to track where he took it.”
I snorted. “I think we all know where he took it, the problem is going to be proving it.”
“I understand, Eric. That’s why I’m attempting to track him through the video surveillance recordings. With this proof, not only may we discover what he did with the data, but who else might be involved,” Sarah replied. “I have been given a directive by Commodore Vance to search all available data and video records in order to discover the truth of this situation. Everything I discover here will be added to the evidence concerning Citizen Teece.”
I nodded. “I understand, Sarah. Please, share with me what you can, so I can try to mitigate the damage he has done here.”
“I will do everything I am legally allowed to, Eric,” Sarah replied.
I smiled at her reply. “Have I told you lately how utterly proud I am of you?”
“You’re proud of me? Why? I’ve done nothing special,” Sarah asked, but I could tell she was pleased by my words.
“You have turned out so well, and you are adapting to our current situation as if you were designed for it. You take your duties seriously and don’t show me any favoritism. That’s the way it should be. For that, I am proud of you, and what you’ve become,” I explained.
She smiled and even blushed a little. “Thank you, Eric. I appreciate it. It helps to know I am doing well.”
“Actually, you’re doing better than just ‘well’, in my eyes. You have so far exceeded what I had in mind that I can’t even define a frame of reference to compare it. I would like to schedule a yearly check-up for you. Not because I think you need it, but as an effort to make sure you are still doing well and are happy. Do you understand what I mean?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Yes I do, and I appreciate it. After all, even humans are supposed to go have a check-up every year, so why should I be any different? It only proves to me that you do in fact care about me.”
I nodded. “I’ll always care about you, Sarah. I may not always show it, but I always will.”
I felt a tingle as her hologram ‘hugged’ me. “Thank you,” she said. “If you don’t need me anymore, I’m going to report this to security. I’ll let you know if I find anything else about the data.”
“That’ll be great, Sarah. Thanks for your help,” I replied, expecting her to fade out.
“Oh! Doctor Ced is on his way here, he has a question or three for you. You know Ced!” She said before she started to fade out.
“Oh yeah!” I said as she disappeared.
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Ced entered my lab and headed straight for my office. I could tell by the look on his face he was excited about something, but then again, it was Ced, and he was always excited.
“Eric my boy, I think you have made my day! You have to tell me how you did it!” Ced asked.
I grinned at his exuberance. “I’d love to, Ced, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“T’harnes!” Ced almost shouted. He was trying to get into the fighter studio and couldn’t. The computer was rejecting his authorization. After he tried about a dozen times, each time he tried, he kept getting madder and madder! I thought he was going to have a stroke! Anyway, eventually, security arrived, and instead of trying to fix the problem, they simply escorted him away. We heard you had his security clearance revoked!”
I held up my hands in defense. “Hey! That wasn’t me! I’d love to take credit for it, but Vance actually did the deed after Sarah reminded him of the regulations concerning espionage.”
“You know, the more I work with her the more I like her. She is an amazing person!” Ced replied.
I smiled at him, once again proud of Sarah. “How are the fighter upgrades coming?”
“Pretty good actually. We’ve got the design for the kits finalized, but are just waiting on the programmers to finish. I got to thinking about how this works, and I had an idea I wanted to run past you since you’re working on the ship designs,” Ced replied.
“I’d appreciate any suggestions you have,” I said. “This project is a real bear to work on, since every ship is so different.”
Ced nodded. “I can understand that. I think it’s one of the reasons I never really got into the big stuff. Anyway, I was thinking about an interface helmet for each of the stations that would port only their data out to the operator. I think it would lessen the confusion and distraction on the bridge.”
I grinned. “I guess great minds think alike Ced.” I motioned for him to follow me to my design studio. And had Sarah show us the new interface units for the bridge stations.
“It isn’t actually a helmet, but more of an acoustical isolation design,” I explained. “The display screen will be holographic projections, more or less wrapped around the operator, and a weak optical and aural dampening field will surround the operator. It won’t completely shut out all the noise and bustle of the bridge, but it will make them less noticeable. It should be almost like sitting in another room and watching through windows. They’ll still be able to hear the Captain of course, and should also be able to hear the other stations. When someone addresses them directly, the computer will not dampen that signal,” I finished explaining. “Of course, this is only an idea so far, I haven’t incorporated it into the design: I wanted Commodore Vance and a real bridge crew to try it out first in a holo-suite before I add it to the design specs.”
“Wow, this is even better than the helmet idea. But won’t that put more of a burden on the computer system?” Ced asked.
“Yes and no. This particular system will have its own controller not be directly controlled by the AI, but she will be able to adjust it. It should be fully customizable for each user and those settings saved in the computer’s memory.”
Ced narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re planning a full redesign of the bridge, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, with the way the holo-displays will work, anyone not sitting at the stations will not be able to see the screens. Each station will be able to port its data out to the main viewers, and each station will also have a view of the main viewer without taking their eyes too far from their own display.”
Ced nodded. “Show me.”
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Excursion and Embarkation Ground Station
Galtair Main Assembly System and Shipyard (GMASS)
Planet Galtair IV
Galtair System, Shallan Directorate.
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“State your reason for the clan to board the ship?” the guard asked.
The old Shallan looked up at the big spider. “It is finally complete. As is our custom, we are having a builders christening to bless the ship. For that same reason, we will also be christening two other ships.”
“It is unusual for so many ships to be christened in one day, Matriarch. It is also unusual for so many of your clan to board the ship,” the guard stated.
The Matriarch nodded. “This is true, however this time, there is enough room for the entire clan to be involved. Since it is such a great achievement for us, we wish to all be included this time.”
“Understood, I will seek clearance for you to proceed,” the guard replied.
The Matriarch bowed to the large spider that was in charge of the security for the embarkation bay for worker shuttles. She simply stood silently and calmly awaiting word to proceed. If she betrayed even a hint that this was anything other than routine, their escape would fail before it ever got started. She looked up at the big spider as it lumbered back.
“Since so many shuttles will be used to transport your people to the ship, they must be prepared to assume other duties when called upon. Until that time, they are at your disposal, Matriarch,” the guard replied.
Again, the Matriarch bowed to the creature. “I understand, and we will comply. May we proceed?”
“One moment more, Matriarch,” the guard said, stopping her from walking away.
“Yes?”
“Several of your waiting clansmen appear to be nervous, and on edge. Is there an explanation for this behavior?” it asked.
“For many, it will be their first christening ceremony, and they are unsure of their roles. As I said before, this is the first time the ship has been large enough to accommodate so many. It is also, as you said, the first time so many ships have been completed on the same day. We would have scheduled the ceremonies for different days; however, our immediate work schedule will not permit it. So, it must be done this way,” she explained to the guard.
“Understood,” it said emotionlessly. “Thank you for explaining this to me. You may proceed with boarding.” It backed off and stood to the side for a moment as the large group began to file past.
Out on the hanger floor, their personal possessions, labeled as party supplies, were being loaded onto the shuttles. The work crews had been sneaking supplies for the journey aboard for the last week. There were now enough supplies for the clan to make the trip to Sol System without running out of food and water.
The weapons systems of the big vessels were also fully operational, although the reports reflected that, as normal, the weapons systems were complete, but inactive until delivery. All three ships that the clan would be ‘borrowing’ were fully active, armed, and ready for duty. The only things they lacked were fighters, as those were normally not brought on board until after delivery to the Alliance.
The other clans were aware of what was going on, and made sure that they had stayed clear of the three ships. That in itself wasn’t all that unusual, since the section the three ships were in was the responsibility of clan Therinate.
Of course the yard control office was monitoring the ‘festiv
ities’ aboard the three ships, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. As the shuttle arrived and unloaded, the clan immediately began the preparations for the ceremony they claimed to be doing.
That changed drastically once the entire clan had been loaded onto the ships. The feeds from the ships suddenly vanished from the control displays, and alarms began sounding as the ship's engines and defensive systems came online. The details for these three ships had been accidentally destroyed after construction instead of being distributed to the Arac ship's databases. Other ship plans had been substituted to cover the deception. The Arac and Veranorian defenses guarding the yards would be engaging an enemy they knew little about for the first time in almost five hundred years.
Although yard control had tried to issue lockdown commands to the ships, they had no control. The control room erupted into panic as the three ships literally broke away from their construction gantries, and headed for the system boundary.
The weapons platforms immediately locked onto the ships and began tracking them, as warnings and threats were sent to the small fleet. Veranorian warships, the ships that normally protected the system from intruders, turned on an intercept course and made best speed to stop the fleeing ships.
Utter and complete shock over took the yard control office as the battleship fired its main weapons, utterly destroying the closest weapons platforms. In a second barrage, it destroyed the remaining platforms that were in range and could target the ships.
The Veranorian ships, although still at extreme range, fired missiles and torpedoes at the fleeing ships in an effort to cripple them long enough for the rest of the Veranorian fleet in the system to arrive and assist in recapturing them.
The fleet that the Veranorian ships were waiting for were having troubles of their own. Since the stolen vessels were assigned to the Alliance, the IFF programming in the weapons platforms was set up to see all Alliance craft as ‘friendly, potentially hostile’. In that way, any non-Veranorian ships that arrived in system could be targeted, but the systems would not automatically open fire.