"Should we still be broadcasting our position with active sensors?" Davis asked, speaking up in a rare instance of questioning anything Jackson did.
"We're running our mains at full power," Jackson said to her. "Anything even casually looking for us will see the light and thermal energy they're putting out. I want the best chance available to see them coming so we'll keep up active scans for now."
"Yes, sir," she said.
"How long until we hit the jump point?" Jackson asked.
"Another three hours, sir," the Nav station operator said.
"Warp drive capacitors are fully charged," Davis said. "Engineering reports the drive fully functional and ready for deployment."
"Good, good," Jackson said absently. "We're going to perform an emergency transition; that includes the fast-deployment of the drive. All of you should brush up on the procedure since we haven't practiced it in a couple of years."
The bridge crew took him at his word and all of them were ready when the call came. The warp emitters were deployed and charged in less than five minutes as the Blue Jacket was quickly reconfigured for warp flight. With one more quick "look" behind them with the aft tactical array, the ship vanished from the devastated Oplotom system in a brilliant flash of energy.
At nearly the same instant an enormous, tumbling asteroid, shaped roughly like a lopsided almond, stabilized its flight and began to move towards the Oplotom/Podere jump point at an acceleration unattainable by human spacecraft. Unlike the long, slender iron ship that had preceded it, the enormous vessel didn't disappear in a brilliant flash of wasted energy. The space around it seemed to fold and tear until it simply slipped through the opening without so much as a stray photon to mark its passing.
Chapter 12
"I'm telling you ... he doesn't have a clue."
"Shut up, Kazenski. Isn't there a batch of latrine gin somewhere with your name on it?"
"Mock me all you want," Ed Kazenski said, his hair disheveled and his eyes wild. "I was up there and he just drove this tub right at that big bastard. He even fired first! For all we know he just started an interstellar war!"
"Didn't you just tell us that Xi'an and Oplotom were both wiped out?" one of the junior spacers in the crowd asked.
"But the point is we don't know," Kazenski pleaded. "He says we're headed to some other Alliance planet for help before heading back to Haven. What if we're actually chasing after this ship that hammered us so bad in one shot?" His question had the desired effect on the small group that had gathered around him, mostly junior spacers that had no specialty rating. He seemed to pick up on the fact that they were swaying his way. "James," he said, pointing to a spacer third class who looked like he could still be in his teens. "Didn't you just propose? Don't you want to see your fiancé again?"
"Just get to the point, Kazenski. What are you selling?"
"All we have to—"
"That will be enough." Everyone simultaneously snapped their heads over to where the voice with the air of command had come from. Many blanched as the Blue Jacket's XO walked from around a stack of equipment racks with two Marines in tow. "This ship is at general quarters and we're in a declared state of emergency," she said. "What are all of you doing just standing around?" Like roaches scurrying when the lights come on, almost all of the junior enlisted ducked and raced away from the area as fast as their legs would carry them.
"Commander Wright," Kazenski said, trying to appear calm. "Just doing what the captain asked ... getting a feel for the crew's mood."
"Master Chief Edward Kazenski," she said, ignoring him. "You are under arrest and charged with violation of Article Six-B of the Terran Confederate Starfleet Code of Conduct. Sergeant, search and detain the chief."
"Yes, ma'am," the burly sergeant to her left said, roughly grabbing a gaping Kazenski. After an equally rough search that turned up a small vial of unmarked pills and an illegal atomizer used to inject them right into the bloodstream, Kazenski had his hands bound behind his back and was marched over to stand in front of the commander.
"It looks like I'll have a few more charges to add to the list before it's all said and done," Celesta said, looking at the pills the Marine sergeant had placed in her hand.
"I can explain those."
"Don't bother," she waved him off dismissively. "These are the least of your problems. You were warned about divulging details of the incident. Not only did you disobey that direct order, you've been quite busy trying to stir up a mutiny."
Kazenski's face contorted in fear at the word. Mutiny on a Fleet ship was something even his family would be helpless to deflect away from him.
"No! I never did that!"
"It's possible the captain was right and you're simply too stupid to understand the most basic details of your job, but holding impromptu meetings to suggest technicians drag their feet in making vital repairs to this starship along with disobeying their superiors is, in fact, mutiny," she said, walking up and putting her nose almost against his. "The fact that you're a pill popper just makes those charges a little easier to stick. This is going to go very, very badly for you ... I promise." She stepped away before nodding to the Marine escorts.
"Straight to the brig with him, gentlemen," she said. "Be sure to remove his rank and ship marker before tossing him in the cell."
"Yes, ma'am," the sergeant said before grabbing Kazenski up under the arm and marching him out of the area, the former chief blubbering and begging the entire way.
"Specialist Han, thank you for alerting me to the problem," Celesta said to one of the spacers who hadn't fled when she'd arrived. "I will make sure your service to your ship and to your captain are annotated in your record."
"Thank you, ma'am," Specialist Han said, bowing his head slightly. "I was only doing my duty. He's been down in all the key departments today trying to tell us that if the ship wasn't repaired there could be no way we would have to face off with the alien ship again."
"How was this received? Did people seem to react favorably to his ideas?" she asked.
"It is hard to say, ma'am," Han answered honestly. "The crew is scared and we don't feel like we really know what is going on."
"Thank you for your honesty, Specialist," she said. "You're dismissed." She stood there for a moment more looking lost in thought as the spacer hustled back to his work center.
****
"Black Fleet is still a military organization, Commander," Jackson said, his irritation evident. "I'm not about to disregard about a dozen OPSEC regulations because the crew is feeling jumpy. The details of this encounter need to be contained for the time being. I applaud your instincts on throwing that sack of shit Kazenski in the brig—and I wish I'd been there for it, oh so much—but I'm not getting on the shipwide and pleading or cajoling them to do their jobs."
"I understand that, sir," Celesta said. "But even you've admitted ... this ship, this fleet, has been little more than a courier service for decades. I fear the resolve and the instincts needed for a situation like this simply aren't there. I'm not saying you need to divulge details, but simply informing them of the current plan might go a long way."
"That was what that idiot Kazenski was supposed to be doing," Jackson grumbled. "Fine. You put together an intel brief for the department heads, I'll approve it, and you can post it up for general dissemination. Would that satisfy you?"
"I believe it would, sir," she said, leaning back in her seat.
"If that's all," he said, standing up and locking out his terminal, "I'm going to take a look at the prow section and see how the engineering crews are coming along with repairs."
****
The Blue Jacket burst into the Podere system with much less of a perceptible shudder. Daya Singh's team had recalibrated the warp drive emitters back to at least where they were before the ship had gone into dock at Jericho Station.
"Coms?" Jackson asked, his mouth dry.
"I'm receiving the clock ping from the com drone platform!" Lieutenant Keller said,
the relief plain in his voice. "Platform status is normal. I'm also getting all the standard com traffic you would expect from a populated world."
"That is good news indeed," Jackson said. "Announce our arrival to the Eighth Fleet listening station and to the Poderen government."
"Aye, sir. Standard com package transmitting."
"Nav, set a course of the planet. Standard orbital insertion. Helm, when you have thrust you're clear to execute at one-half thrust," Jackson said. "Stand down from general quarters. Set condition 1-Bravo." 1-Bravo was normal watches, but a heightened state of alert shipwide. He received a symphony of confirmation of his orders while he watched the warp drive already being retracted into the hull.
"What do we know about this planet?" he asked Celesta. "I've just read the broad overview."
"Settled by the Warsaw Alliance in 2205," she began. "Mostly immigrants from what would have been Italy on Earth. They had made the trip to New Georgia and decided they wanted a world of their own. They paid handsomely for the right to colonize, but they quickly turned a profit from the fact Podere is able to grow enough food to feed half this sector. In fact, this planet is almost entirely dedicated to agriculture."
"Shit," Jackson muttered. "I suppose it would have been too much to ask for them to have heavy ship construction facilities."
"They do have substantial orbital repair facilities," she said. When she saw the skeptical look he gave her she explained, "They support an enormous fleet of cargo ships that come and go almost constantly. If one of these merchant vessels isn't flying it isn't making any money. The facility is quite modern."
"I wonder how willing they'll be to help us," Jackson said. "We're not here under any official capacity and I'm not about to tell them we just escaped from a planet-killing alien ship."
"That brings up an interesting point," Celesta said, trying to keep her voice down when she saw Ensign Davis' not so subtle attempts to eavesdrop. "We do have some obligation to warn them that something may be turning up on their doorstep."
"True," Jackson said, considering the problem.
"Captain," Lieutenant Keller interrupted his thoughts. "The com platform has forwarded three messages, all encrypted and addressed to you as high priority. They're all classified as well."
"Thank you," Jackson said. "Forward them to my personal address. I'll take them in my office."
As soon as he sat down in his seat and unlocked his terminal he knew he was in for an unpleasant time. One message from an anonymous address, which was unusual, and two from an address he knew very well. He started with those.
"Captain Wolfe," the puckered, humorless face of Admiral Winters filled his screen. "It has taken me some time after reviewing the ... report ... you sent to craft this response. The disjointed jumble of incoherent data and mad ramblings were quite a chore to get through. I did take away that you managed to get a crewman killed while taking an unauthorized trip to the surface of Xi'an.
"Both of these actions are punishable under the Code. As for the rest ... I'm not sure what to make of the fact you're claiming the entire surface of Xi'an has been obliterated. The fact that there were no com platforms in the system leads me to believe the Blue Jacket somehow transitioned into the wrong system or there is much more to the story that you are leaving out. Either way, I will get to the bottom of this.
"I've dispatched the cutter Constantine from the Haven Defense Force so that I can get a clear picture for myself what is going on. Consider yourself put on notice. When I have the truth of this debacle I am sure that it will have a negative impact on how you leave the Fleet. Winters out."
"What the unholy hell?" Jackson muttered, utterly astonished. He'd sent a concise and detailed report along with all the raw data. What the hell was she blathering on about? Confused, he opened the next message.
"Captain Wolfe," Winters began again. "You have simply gone too far this time. As you may have guessed, I have had all the operational reports coming from the Blue Jacket flagged and sent to me first before they go to the archives. I am the one doing your mission analysis on this last cruise.
"Aliens? Aliens, Captain Wolfe? And to add insult you've included another jumble of data files, ostensibly to support your absurd, asinine report. I was able to glean that you were in the Oplotom system, far off-mission and possibly damaging already delicate relations between the Alliance and Haven.
"I have not forwarded any of these reports from your ship to the archives as I'm undecided as to what to do with you. It appears you have suffered some sort of break with reality and it unfortunately means I cannot allow you to remain in command of the Blue Jacket. As of receipt of this message consider yourself relieved from duty. Commander Wright is now captain of the ship and will be responsible for executing her new orders: Return the Blue Jacket to Jericho Station.
"While you aren't under arrest as this point, understand that you will be facing criminal charges when you return."
Jackson watched as Winters struggled to keep the smile off her face.
"Admiral Winters, out."
"Well ... that was interesting," he said. A single knock at his hatch interrupted him from getting ready to put his fist through his terminal monitor. "Enter!"
"Captain," Celesta said uncomfortably.
"Sit down, Commander," he said wearily. "I'm sure you're here to tell me about a message you received that was on a time delay from the com platform. From Admiral Winters."
"Yes, sir," she said as she slid into the seat.
"What's your take on it?"
"I'm not sure what to say," she said. "In her message to me she admitted that she'd only read the cover sheet from you with the synopsis and hadn't bothered to open up any of the data files. She thinks you're making all of this up, sir, and as long as she's blocked the reports from going to the data archives the regular Fleet analysts will never see it."
"That's about the long and short of it," Jackson said. "Shall we talk about the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room?"
"Ah ... yes," she said, squirming. "I know you think that I'm on this ship because she and I have some relationship that would give her cause to do me a favor at your expense."
"The thought had crossed my mind," he said drily.
"She did approach me," she admitted. "She utterly despises you. I mean she truly hates you with religious fervor. I was never comfortable with the things she told me about you, real or not, but the opportunity to be an exec was enough for me to overlook what was obviously an egregious abuse of power by a senior officer to punish a subordinate she had a vendetta against."
"That's plain enough," Jackson said in disgust as his suspicions were confirmed.
"I have no intention of obeying her orders, sir, and trying to take command of this ship," she said. "The Blue Jacket is yours. Knowing what you do now, I'll understand if you think it's best I remove myself from duty."
"You came clean when the cards were on the table," Jackson said after a moment. "You're a good XO and I'm going to need you before this is all over."
"Thank you, sir," she said.
"But," he said, holding up a finger, "I will understand if you don't want to risk your career by defying Winters. I can have you removed from duty and confined to quarters until we reach Haven. It will give you plausible deniability and your record won't be tarnished."
"While I appreciate the kind offer to have me arrested, I would rather remain at my station."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said with a laugh. "Oh ... there was one more message and I think I know who it's from. You'll probably want to stay for this." He twisted the monitor around so she could see it and keyed up the next message. It was from whom he had suspected. He heard a slight gasp from Celesta as she saw whom it was. Despite the apparent recent lack of grooming and hygiene, there was no mistaking the face.
"Hey, Captain," Agent Pike said. "Got your message. So it was really fucking aliens? Wow. I didn't see that coming. Anyway ... as you've probably already seen there isn'
t much of a Fleet presence out there. I'm moving this up my channels here to try and kick Eight Fleet in the ass and mobilize them, but I'm stuck on some shithole world in New Europe. The Commonwealth hasn't been very diligent in maintaining the drone network so I'm not sure if my messages are being propagated out or dying two systems over.
"I also heard from a little birdy that you've got serious trouble coming. Admiral Winters was heard to be storming the halls of Jericho muttering about being able to finally put that Earther where he belongs. I'm guessing the Earther is you and I can only imagine where she thinks you belong. If my source is to be believed, and she usually is—at least about work—Winters is going to try and get Celesta Wright to take command of the Blue Jacket.
"I'm not sure if this is because of what you've reported back or in spite of it, but either way I'm hoping you'll take steps to ensure you stay in command of that ship. Despite your lack of tactics you showed some serious balls charging that thing over Oplotom. You very well may be the only warship out there standing between that monstrosity and another massacre. No pressure.
"Anyway ... I'll work this on my end through my connections. You need to stay out there. Do whatever it takes to make sure that thing doesn't cut a huge, bloody swath through the Confederacy and I'll buy you a beer afterwards. Assuming you survive. Out."
"Who the fuck was that?" Celesta blurted when the video winked out.
"Why, that was Mr. Aston Lynch, junior aide to Senator Augustus Wellington," Jackson said with a straight face.
"Captain—" she began hotly.
"That was Agent Pike," Jackson said, laughing and holding his hand up to head her off. "He's a super spook for the CIS. Mr. Lynch is one of his many personalities as I understand it."
"So that whole time he was a CIS agent just bumming a ride from us?" she demanded, seeming to be very angry about the whole thing. Jackson narrowed his eyes speculatively.
"He sent you another message as Lynch, didn't he?" he asked shrewdly "One that just came in because we've been out of contact with the network." Celesta became flustered and her cheeks burned bright red. "No need to answer, Commander," he said. "But yes, he's a legitimate agent and he's been a help on this mission. Sort of."
Black Fleet Trilogy 1: Warship Page 13