"Oh no," Jason said, seeing where this was going.
"Don't worry," Kage said, holding all four hands up. "I didn't try to slice into that network. There's no way to do that from a ship in slip-space with all the security measures he has in place. He'd just as likely backtrack the attempt to us."
"So you're saying you didn't try that?" Jason asked, wanting clarification.
"If you have such little faith in me why do you keep me around?" Kage demanded hotly.
"Easy!" Jason said. "I have concerns about the risks you take in your exuberance ... I have no doubt about your skills."
"Oh," Kage said, considering it. "I suppose that's fair. Anyway, would you like to know what I was able to do?"
"Go for it," Jason said. Kage pulled up a set of screens on his terminal and waited as Jason tried to absorb what he was seeing.
"This can't be what I think it is," he said finally.
"Oh but it is," Kage said proudly. "Apparently all the security concerns Crisstof applied to his home office did not extend to securing the com node that is his flagship's navigation beacon. I was able to use some of our old codes and create a new exception that allows us in through the navigation beacon. This is all real-time data from the Defiant."
"Oh my God, Kellea will blow my ship out of the sky if she ever finds out about this," Jason said quietly, looking at the Defiant's position, speed, reactor output, and armament. "How extensive is this tunnel?"
"I can dig in quite deep," Kage said. "I haven't actually probed the extent of what this link is capable of since I already have what we want and I didn't want to chance getting caught by pulling too much bandwidth or accessing a system with independent security."
"I appreciate your self-control," Jason said. "Theoretically what is this capable of?"
"We could listen in on com traffic, even manipulate some of their systems," Kage said with a shrug. "All sorts of things."
"Any chance if they detect the channel open that it'll lead them back to the Phoenix?" Jason asked.
"No," Kage said. "I'm bouncing through a relay station back on Woakx and using one of our secondary com systems that the Defiant shouldn't have any knowledge of."
"Woakx?" Jason said with a frown. "I thought you were just cooking the books on some investment scam there."
"I absolutely love how casually you accuse me of serious criminal activity," Kage said with a dramatic sigh.
"Am I incorrect?"
"No."
"Then answer the question."
"My operation was a little more involved than simply selling the same opportunity multiple times," Kage said. "It involved transferring funds back and forth to off-planet accounts instantaneously."
"I'm familiar with that type of shell game," Jason said. "I did something similar with two checking accounts when I first enlisted in the military ... it took them over a year to figure out I didn't actually have any money."
"Right," Kage said with a nod. "So to do that I had to have four dedicated slip-space com nodes up and active at all times. When Twingo and I decided to come with you on this mission I left everything up and running thinking it might be useful. As it turns out, I was right."
"Fine," Jason said. "Let's leave this link active and pipe it up to the bridge. Install a killswitch into the interface and any other useful features you think might come up, but let's not mess up what you've already got here. This really was a stroke of genius here."
"Thanks," Kage said absently. "While you're here ... what's going to happen to us all when this mission is over, Captain?"
"I couldn't say for sure," Jason said honestly. "Let's just stay alive through this and we'll all talk about it afterwards." He left Kage to wrap up his work, checked the master clock on the bridge, and then walked down to the galley to grab some water before heading to his rack for a few hours.
"Haven't seen much of you the last couple days," Jason said to Kalette, startling her as she tried to manipulate the food synthesizer.
"I have tried to stay out of everyone's way," she said simply. Jason couldn't be sure, but she didn't seem to be especially happy with him.
"I guess we're in the same boat then," he said as he poured himself some water. "I'm pretty much the only person on the crew not doing anything useful. You could come out for a game of cards if you get bored sitting in berthing reading."
"I have long ago learned not to get between the netjere and something she desires," Kalette said with a small smile. "Goodnight, Captain."
"Whatever the hell that means," Jason muttered to himself with a shake of his head. He downed the water and left the cup on the counter for one of the bots to collect. He took one more trip up to the bridge to check on everything, said goodnight to Lucky as the battlesynth settled into the pilot's seat to begin his watch, and walked off to his quarters to get at least one good night of sleep before they hit Wy.
****
--beep beep--
He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, but he could tell the ship was still on night hours when the door chime woke him up. Almost afraid that Kage was coming to report he'd accidentally called down half the ConFed starfleet onto their heads Jason rose with a bit of trepidation, unlocked the door, and keyed it open.
"Hello, Captain ... I am not bothering you, am I?"
"Uh ... no," Jason said, trying hard not to stare at the netjere as she stood in the dimly lit corridor. "What can I do for you, netjere?"
"You may start by inviting me in," she said, slipping past Jason without asking. "Then we can see what it takes for you to cease calling me netjere." Jason made a quick sweep with his eyes out into the common area before turning back and keying the door shut.
"I was under the impression that your name wasn't something an outsider would be permitted to speak," Jason said, trying to figure out a place to sit since she had placed herself at the foot of his bed, directly in the center. She watched him try and maneuver past and slide himself into the desk chair, turning it slightly so he could face her.
"I may be addressed by whichever name I wish, by whomever I wish," she said, the corners of her mouth turned up. Alarm bells were ringing in Jason's head and he knew something had changed between the two of them since they had been playing Rummy earlier in the evening ... but the hell if he could figure out what it was. I really need to get out more.
"What would you prefer me to call you?" Jason asked, forcing his eyes up.
"My name is Annada," she said, leaning back a bit and staring at him.
"Okay," Jason said, floundering a bit. "That's good to know—" Uh, oh.
"Would you like me to leave, Captain?" she said with a small frown.
Yes!
"No," he said, ignoring his common sense and conscience, his baser instincts telling them both to get bent.
"Then maybe you'd be more comfortable sitting over here by me where we can talk," Annada said sweetly.
There is no way this doesn't come back to bite me square in the ass.
Chapter 17
"How long until they let us land?" Jason asked. They'd been in a high transfer orbit over Wy for the better part of the day and he was getting impatient. Annada had left his quarters early on first watch, but by the mixed looks he was getting from everyone he could tell that on such a small ship it wasn't exactly a secret. Either that or he was imagining things. One thing he wasn't imagining, however, was the openly hostile look he received from Kalette over breakfast. Now he wanted nothing more than to put the wheels on the ground and escape the confines of the ship for a bit.
"Same as when you asked me ten minutes ago," Kage said irritably. "I don't know."
"Maybe there's something you'd rather be doing in your quarters?" Crusher asked innocently, setting the others to snickering and hiding full laughs with fake coughs. Jason didn't bother replying; that would only be throwing fuel on a fire that was just itching to really get going. It was another ninety minutes of them poking and prodding him for the reaction they wanted before Kage received t
heir landing clearance.
"Standard deorbit," he said, sitting up and becoming all business. "We're coming in over the southern ocean and landing in the medium ship servicing port that's down and around where the big boys land. Flight path data coming to you now."
"I've got it," Jason said. "Standby to deorbit." He dipped the nose down until his indicators greened up that he had the ship oriented correctly and then he allowed the computer to take control and bring them down into the atmosphere. There was a lot of close quarters traffic, or at least close quarters by aeronautical standards, and he wasn't one to risk a collision because he'd foolishly been manually piloting the ship with other vessels so close.
They all waited as the ship bounced and rocked through the higher altitudes as she decelerated via the friction of the shields slamming into the atmosphere. After only a few moments the plasma cleared away from the canopy and they could see they were in a sharp dive towards the ocean, the traffic around them packed tight enough that it was visible with the naked eye.
"Lots of ships coming in and out of here," Crusher remarked. "It'll make it tough to know if the Defiant makes an unwanted appearance."
"We've got that covered," Jason said, looking down and verifying that the Defiant was still flying towards the Eshquarian Empire. It looked like they'd taken the bait, but Jason could tell from their speed that they hadn't fully bought it and were loafing in that direction until new intel became available. He only hoped Jer-An had come through the experience unscathed. "What this will do, however, is help keep us nice and unmemorable when someone shows up asking about us."
"Speaking of," Doc said. "How are we paying for fuel and provisions?" Everyone turned to look at Crusher.
"Really?" he asked. "You don't actually have any money left."
"A little bit for incidentals," Jason shrugged. "But I'm more or less broke. I'm sure we'll be able to pay you back once Annada is back with her people."
"Annada, huh?" Crusher said, looking at Jason the way a cobra would look at a rat at the slip up. "Who is that? Of the two passengers we have aboard that name doesn't sound familiar."
"Yeah," Twingo said, his ears pitching forward. "From what I understand we're not permitted to know the netjere's real name, and the other Avarian is named Kalette. Is there someone else we don't know about?"
"You realize that you're essentially making fun of him for being the only member of the crew who has been with a woman since this mission started?" Doc asked.
"You realize that you still take all the fun out of everything?" Crusher asked.
"Quiet! All of you," Jason said, quickly seizing the moment to end the conversation before the Avarian women happened up onto the bridge. "We'll be landing soon and you all need to get ready for whatever it is you have to do." They all grumbled about how they wish they'd stayed where they had been before he showed up, but they all went back to their tasks anyway.
"Since I'm paying for this trip, and we appear to be well in the lead, can we at least go get a decent meal before starting across the expanse?" Crusher asked as Jason swung the Phoenix down into a wide, sweeping arc that would put them right over the port.
"You won't hear me complaining about a night out and off of this tub," Jason said. "We still need to be careful, however, since the Defiant and her ConFed escorts aren't likely the only ones looking for our passengers."
"Doc, could you make the arrangements?" Crusher asked, not taking his feet off the console. Doc, who was working steadily at his terminal on their projected course and destination, just looked at the lounging warrior and shook his head.
"We're going to be on ... pad thirty-six," Kage said after one more exchange with the landing control authority. "I've already called for fuel."
"Is there any way your accounts can be tracked, Crusher?" Jason asked.
"No," Crusher said, "I'm using a few different Legion operational accounts. They have thousands of expenditures coming in from all corners of the quadrant. A little bit of fuel and food won't be noticed."
"Great," Jason said. "I know we've been flying for a bit and we're all not used to long hauls anymore, but please, please try to keep a low profile while we're here."
"You can count on us," Kage smiled in a way that chilled Jason to his very core.
"Kage ... I'm begging you," Jason said with as much sincerity as he could muster.
"I'm being serious," Kage said. "I'm actually going to stay on board and work on our connection with the Defiant. I have a few ideas regarding that."
"Fine," Jason said. He thought about reminding Kage not to jeopardize the link with too much wild experimentation, but that would have been unnecessary and insulting. Slicing into impossible-to-crack systems was the world he lived in; he didn't need Jason standing over his shoulder stating the obvious.
By the time he secured all the primary flight systems and made sure everyone else had taken care of their responsibilities before leaving everyone had already congregated in the cargo bay, milling about while waiting on the fueler to top off their cryo tanks.
"We would like to purchase clothing if we are to be in public this evening, Captain," Annada said respectfully, a tone that automatically made Jason suspicious. Since she'd been aboard she had remained somewhat aloof and very much imperial, even after she'd come to his quarters that night.
"Not a bad idea," Jason said, surprising everyone. "The name of the game is blending in. Two young women in gray utility coveralls would draw more attention than Crusher wearing a dress. We'll need to get you something more appropriate."
"We? Since when are we paying for anything?" Crusher asked before narrowing his eyes. "Why can't Twingo just use the fabricator to make clothes that are more stylish?"
"Actually—"
"Absolutely not!" Annada cut Jason off. "Kalette and I have been stuck on this military vessel for long enough. We wish to go out and enjoy the day ... we will pick up clothing then." Jason looked at Crusher and shrugged helplessly.
"Lucky and I will take them," Crusher said with resignation.
"I need Lucky here," Jason said. "You can take Doc."
"What good will that do?"
"Perhaps you could accompany us, Captain," Annada said.
"I would love to but I'm afraid I'm needed here," Jason said, trying not to smile at Crusher.
"No you're not, Captain," Twingo said with a wave. "Lucky is handling security, Kage is up on the command deck, and I'm supervising the fueling. You're free to go."
"Why thank you, Twingo," Jason said loudly.
"No problem," an oblivious Twingo said with a smile and a wave.
"So it's settled," Crusher said, the smile now on his face.
"Let's go," Jason said, trying not to sound so dejected.
****
Later that evening they all sat at dinner in a moderately priced restaurant near the center of the port town on Wy they had landed in. Jason had flatly refused Annada's request to take the maglev train to the nearest big city for a "night out." As it was, poor Lucky's head looked like it was on a swivel as he tracked everyone in the restaurant simultaneously.
They had a nice, quiet meal with everyone more or less behaving themselves. Annada had positioned herself so she could lean back against Jason's left shoulder, apparently not at all concerned about the impropriety of it now that she was away from her empire.
"Do we really have to leave tomorrow?" she asked in jest.
"Afraid so," Jason said, sipping on a wine that was very dark, very dry, and packed one hell of a punch. "Long flight ahead of us."
"I suppose the sooner we get going the sooner this will all be over," she said. "You should all stay on Avaris for a while as my guests when we get back. We have beautiful beaches, mountains, nothing to do but relax."
"I'm in," Crusher said immediately.
"Me too," Twingo said.
"Nothing to add, Kage?" Jason asked after a moment when the Veran sat stock still at the mention of a free vacation.
"Oh, sorry, Cap
tain," he said. "I'm running data through my neural implant and it's taking a lot more concentration than I had anticipated."
"Ah," Jason said, setting his glass down. "Everybody ready?"
The walk back to the port was quiet and the attack Jason had been half-expecting all night didn't come. They made it all the way back to the Phoenix without incident, even those they themselves were known to cause. Twingo pulled out a scanner and began sweeping the hull for any tampering that might have occurred while they were away while Lucky cleared the inside of the ship.
Kalette went immediately to starboard berthing again, not bothering to say goodnight to anybody. "I am going to go talk to her," Annada said, kissing Jason on the cheek. "This is most unusual behavior from her." Once she had followed her friend into the bay Kage and Crusher pounced on Jason.
"When the hell did this start?" Kage demanded in a harsh whisper. "One night and all of a sudden you two are an item?"
"Wasn't there something you were going to do?" Jason said. "Something other than stand here and gossip like an old woman." From years of practice he knew the expression sent Kage into a tailspin for some reason, and this time was no different. Spluttering indignantly about just wanting to know what was going on with his friends he stormed off, muttering the whole way to the command deck where he shut himself in the com room.
"So what is going on?" Crusher asked once Kage had left.
"Hell if I know," Jason said honestly, shrugging as he grabbed a couple of bottles out of the cooler for the two of them. "She came to my room last night and now she seems completely comfortable about everyone knowing."
"Her friend doesn't seem too happy about it," Crusher said, taking the bottle. "While you were on S'tora did you ... ?"
"Nope," Jason said, not elaborating that he had been in no shape to put the moves on anyone when Kalette first arrived on S'tora. "Whatever. A few more weeks and this mission will be over."
"What happens to all of us then?" Crusher asked, echoing Kage's earlier sentiment.
"We'll figure it out then," Jason said. "There's still some dirty laundry to air out before any of us make any long-term commitments."
Omega Force 7: Redemption Page 20