Diamond Cut: Book Three in The Glass Complex Trilogy

by John Hindmarsh

  Steg identified the dreadnought’s core system and reached into its command unit. He sent out a login command designed to overwhelm its inefficient security structure and strengthened his control. It was a laborious task to establish the routines that would see Xuotang gradually descend to the surface of Jochum II. The landing would be rough; however, its crew should survive. He locked the bridge crew and engineers out of all their systems and modified programs to prevent anyone from regaining control of the helm. The system—Xuotang—was his. He re-programmed its detection arrays; the starship would not report the location of Wanderer or the transit of Red Desert.

  “That was interesting to observe,” Alke said. “The beings on board will be safe, although some may suffer injuries when the dreadnought lands.”

  Startled, Steg replied, “Correct. I didn’t realize you were monitoring my activities. Can you do what I did?”

  “I believe so. Next time you have a need to control a system, let me attempt the takeover.”

  “I will.” The suggestion generated a niggle of worry in the back of Steg’s mind.

  It was 01:00 hours local time. Red Desert drifted across the distance separating Wanderer from Xuotang. Neither the two attendant destroyers nor the dreadnought warned bridge crews of the approach of the small corvette. One destroyer now carried a new master AI. Tobias had adjusted the program parameters with the result that the new AI appeared and spoke as a male.

  The Acolyte explained, “Its name? Zhu. That’s an ancient language word for either torch or dragon. No, I don’t know which. The name was provided by the Complex, and it seems appropriate. We needed to strike a balance, so it’s male.” No one argued.

  Zhu was awake and had successfully assumed control of all the ImpSec destroyer’s functions. It was monitoring Red Desert’s course while assisting Alke and the two Acolytes with clone installations on the other destroyers.

  Steg had caused a large portion of Xuotang’s interior to be locked off by creating warnings of an apparent gas leak. The duty ImpSec officer had deferred a search for the cause until the change of shift, which was still five hours away. No one on the dreadnought’s bridge detected the arrival of Red Desert, and after the corvette docked, Steg instructed the Imperial starship’s system to seal the huge bay doors. Fifty armored marines exited Red Desert and entered the unguarded lock into Xoutang’s interior.

  Kirby left five of his Ebony Company to secure their starship in case they needed an emergency exit, and he provided Steg with ten North Guards for his foray to the bridge. Steg confirmed for Kirby that only two engineers were on duty in the engine room, barely enough to monitor the power generation required to keep the dreadnought in its orbit above the Imperial base. Both men thought it unlikely the engineering shift would be alert at an hour or so after midnight. When Steg set off for the bridge, Kirby headed to the engine room, taking the remaining marines with him.

  Steg’s small force quickly overpowered the surprised skeleton shift on Xuotang’s bridge. The ImpSec duty officer and two junior members of the watch were asleep, and they were too surprised to fight back. Duties on a bridge during the down hours on a starship in a fixed orbit above a minor Imperial base seemingly did not provide enough excitement to keep them awake. Steg instructed two of his force to take their prisoners to the area flagged as gas contaminated and lock them in a secure cabin.

  Zhu was remotely monitoring Kirby’s activities and reported to Steg when he captured the engineers. It was another easy task—the engineers also had been asleep. Kirby left ten North Guard marines in control of the engine room and headed to the starship’s accommodation section that was officer territory.

  Steg had overridden cabin door security and ship comlinks, ensuring all ImpSec officers were locked inside their cabins and lacked communication links. Kirby and his team woke and restrained each officer. They removed comlink devices and weapons and relocked each cabin door. Steg grabbed an ImpSec officer’s spare uniform; he planned to wear it on the Jochum II base.

  Later Kirby reported to Steg. “Twenty officers—you’d be surprised at some of their bed companions. We’re left with the general crew and a small force of ImpSec marines. What do you want to do with them?”

  “I’ve locked their quarters and cabins and disconnected their starship comlinks. The marines are locked out of their weapons and armor lockers so even if they force their way out of their cabins, they’ll be unarmed. We’ll leave them where they are for now. I’ve given Zhu a task to monitor events here. He has more than enough processing bandwidth to manage his destroyer, help with clone installations, and monitor Xuotang. If there’s any danger, he’ll let you know. Keeping everything quiet won’t be difficult, with everyone locked up. The bridge is yours—you’re not going anywhere, and besides Alke and Zhu have control. You can sit here and contemplate your past. Now, it’s time to prepare for the next stage of our operations. Give me half your marines. I’ll use Ebony Company; I’ve worked with them before.”

  “The North Guard are good, from what I’ve seen so far.”

  “Homeworld military typically are well trained. We keep a standing militia and five guard battalions. The problems with the Imperials a year ago was caused by betrayal.” He spat out the words. “It was more than betrayal—they murdered members of my family. I don’t have much admiration for most of the Empire’s forces and none at all for ImpSec. If you can allocate marines, include Sergeants Velez and Riddell, Corporal Stark, Cerpio, Banryū, and others who worked with me on the freighter. While you’re doing that, I’ll get an update from Alke.”

  Wanderer’s master AI was quick to respond. “Admiral, the clone uploads are going well. Zhu is helping. He has developed faster than we expected. We have partial control of all the remaining destroyers, and the clones will be in complete control in less than two hours. Each bridge has been cut off from communications and weapons. We’re taking over helm controls next, and finally, we’ll block off access to the engine rooms. Even if a crew is alerted, there’s no way for them to regain control. We have it all completed by 05:00. Once we have control of these destroyers, we’ll commence a gradual increase in each orbit, moving them away from the planet.”

  “Very good. What records did you find on Boston and Denke and the others I mentioned?”

  “Denke is in the base medical center, recovering from what appears to be a severe beating. Boston is in a cell in the base’s small detention block, with Majors Justin and Trench in adjacent cells. There are other officers and sergeants also detained in the block.”

  “They haven’t been beaten or injured?”

  “No, only Denke,” Alke said.

  “Did you access details of his injuries?” Steg did not hide his concerns about his friend. ImpSec would suffer even more if Denke was seriously hurt.

  “Yes, sir. He is not in a life-threatening situation. Some broken bones—fingers and a leg. Lots of bruising according to the medical record. He’s recovering.”

  “Good. Upload base maps to Sergeants Velez and Riddell; they’re going to the planet with me. What have you discovered about the base and the ImpSec force?”

  “Two of the dreadnoughts were lured to Jochum I on false orders, and this base was left without their support. Most of General Boston’s men were away on detached duties; it seems he was also issued with false deployment orders. ImpSec landed an armored battalion and took control of the base. Apparently, their commander was satisfied he had control of the IIS installation, and two days ago he authorized departure of their starship transport with most of his troops.”

  “You’ve been busy. I’ll add another task. Monitor base communications. Stop any attempt by ImpSec to communicate with their home base or any starship. Now that I come to think about it, prevent all communications with anyone anywhere, except our people. Monitor internal comlinks and let me know if anyone has been alerted or suspects our presence. Give the task to Adrias.”

  oOo

  CHAPTER 8

  TWO HEAVYWORLDERS
HELPED Steg unseal and open the heavy door into the dreadnought’s portal room. It had not been recently used, and it seemed ImpSec were still unaware of the portal transfer system. Velez and Riddell were at the front of the line followed by twenty-five armored marines, all of whom were wondering how they were going to reach the Imperial base. They were silent, waiting, prepared for action.

  Steg explained to his two sergeants. “This will take us to the base on Jochum II. I’ll show you how it works, don’t worry. I’ll transit first to check the destination portal is not occupied. I’ll return as soon as I finish checking. My borrowed ImpSec uniform should help me bluff my way if I encounter any guards. If I don’t return? Kirby will take you all down to the base in Red Desert and have Wanderer support your landing with a bombardment of the outlying buildings. Ioke will coordinate targets with the landing party. Be patient. I’ll send each of you through the portal when I return. Once you’re on the planet, stay hidden until the squad has arrived. I’ll be last. If you’re detected, take necessary action and do your best to keep it quiet. Try not to hurt anyone who’s not ImpSec. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.” The reply was from both sergeants, in unison. Riddell said, “I hope you don’t encounter anyone. It would be difficult to explain how we lost our new admiral during our first action.”

  Steg grinned at his sergeant. “I don’t plan on being lost. As I said before, remember to keep up.” He stepped into the shimmering portal, focusing on the base portal below. The rush of cold brought back memories. He stepped out into an unoccupied room. He wondered for a moment whether he had made a mistake by not bringing a heavyworlder with him. He tried the exit door. It was unlocked and opened with ease.

  He slipped through the partially open door and checked the corridor. Soft permalights provided illumination, enough for him to see and avoid obstacles. There were no guards. This section of the base was built into a rock face; the remnants of what once had been a larger mountain, apparently had escaped the attention of the ImpSec force. Steg breathed a sigh of relief.

  He re-entered the portal room and stepped back to the dreadnought. The two sergeants looked relieved to see him reappear.

  Steg said, “Riddell, you’re first. Remember what I said. Relax; don’t think of your destination. I’ll control the portal. Come on. Step up.” He tapped the sergeant on his shoulder, and Riddell stepped forward, disappearing into the shimmer of the portal.

  “Velez, come on, you’re next. Quickly. I’ll follow you.” Velez repeated the process and disappeared. Steg stepped into the portal and returned to the base. Velez and Riddell were waiting.

  “That was an experience, sir,” said Riddell. Velez nodded her agreement.

  “I’m pleased you survived,” Steg replied. “Stay in this room. I’ll commence sending our marines through. Get each of them out of the way of the next person. If the room gets too crowded, set guards outside and position the overflow as you need. Remember, yours are the only working comunits on the base.” Steg didn’t wait for a reply and stepped back to Xuotang.

  He addressed the line of Ebony Company marines. “Velez and Riddell are waiting for you. One at a time, step up here. When I tap you on the shoulder, step into the portal. You’ll exit onto the base.” He looked along the line. “Trust me.” His comment was met with a burst of nervous laughter.

  At his signal, the first marine walked up to the portal; it was Cerpio, a heavyworlder. “Remember, still your mind, and work out how many days old you are.” He tapped Cerpio’s shoulder, and the marine stepped into the portal. Steg signaled the next in line. “Come on, move up. Speed is the essence.” The marines moved closer, and Steg controlled each entry and transit. When the last marine stepped through, Steg followed and exited into a crowded room. Velez steadied him.

  She said, “Everyone is here, sir. I’m surprised we didn’t have losses.”

  “I’m pleased. I told them to calculate how many days old they were; that stopped them thinking about destinations. Did you post guards?”

  “We have two in each direction, one heading out of this complex and the other further into the interior. We’ve not seen or heard anyone.”

  “Good.” Steg caught his other sergeant’s attention. “Riddell, leave me with five marines and Sergeant Velez. I want you to take the remaining force and get control of the detention center. I’ll head to the hospital ward. I want to speak with Denke as soon as possible to discover what the hell has been happening. I’ll take one of our medics in case the colonel needs treatment.”

  “How long do you think you’ll be, sir?”

  “It could take up to thirty minutes. I’ll try to keep it shorter.”

  The ward was empty of patients except for Denke, and there was only one night nurse in attendance. Steg’s team restrained the nurse before he could raise an alarm. The IIS colonel was in bed, asleep, immobilized with his broken leg. The bed was metal-framed, and the room was sparsely furnished; there were no chairs, no storage units, no decorations. Steg assumed visitors were not encouraged. He splashed a handful of cold water onto his friend’s face.

  “Frek. I’ve died, and the ghosts are arriving,” said Denke after he wiped his face. “You’ve new scars, though. Convince me you’re not an apparition.”

  Steg held out his hand and grasped his friend’s left hand; the other one was bandaged. He said, “Will a handshake do?”

  “It is you. I thought for a moment ImpSec had dosed me with something and I was hallucinating.”

  “The ImpSec destroyers are already under our control. I’ve a small force and a large starship, so anything is possible. Speed is the key. Quickly, tell me what’s been happening.”

  “The bastards set us up. Somehow they had orders issued to deploy most of our people away from the base. Likewise, two of our dreadnoughts. Our Special Forces detachment was sent out on a mission somewhere. When the base was near empty, ImpSec arrived, heavy-handed. They shot and killed one of my men, and when I reacted, they did this.” He indicated his leg. “Compound fracture. Fortunately, it’s setting properly. I think they’ve detained all our officers.”

  “Yes, we know. We have a squad taking possession of the detention block. Who’s in charge of the ImpSec force and what’s their objective?”

  “One of those snide ImpSec bastards, you know the type. He was involved in the effort to take control of Homeworld—you should remember him—Marius, of House of Aluta. He’s group commander or something. It’s an ImpSec pretense of the rank of general.”

  “I remember—I fought him in a duel. Cut him badly.”

  “Yes, that’s him. Nasty piece of work. You should’ve finished him off. I think he was disappointed when he discovered you weren’t here. Apparently, they’d heard vague details about our Imperial Intelligence Service. Marius—or ImpSec—claims it’s subversive, that we’re betraying the Emperor.”

  “He has access to a large force—there are five destroyers in orbit. What did he use as bait?”

  “I think he told his friends we have hidden treasures of some kind. He’s threatening execution of all IIS officers if we don’t disclose the details, if we don’t tell him where we’ve hidden our loot. Bastard. They’ve taken over the officers’ quarters.”

  “I have to go. Stay here,” Steg said, pushing Denke back onto his pillow. “Yeah, I know. You can’t bloody move, anyway. We’ll have a long discussion when I sort this out. I can leave a guard here if you want?”

  “Give me a weapon. That’s all I need.”

  Steg signaled to Cerpio. “You have a second Gauss? The colonel knows how to use one, so let him have your spare. All right, Denke, I need to catch up with my company. We should be in control by daylight.”

  “You know what to do. I’ll look forward to that discussion.”

  Steg and his squad quickly rejoined Riddell and the remainder of Ebony Company. They were in control of the detention block; five ImpSec guards had been gagged and handcuffed. The sergeant had found an empty cell and used that to hold
his prisoners. The entry area was now controlled by Ebony Company marines, and Riddell was waiting in an inside office.

  “We were lucky. These ImpSec people like to sleep on duty. I haven’t roused any of your IIS officers, yet. According to the diagram provided by Alke, General Boston is in the third cell down the right-hand side. The AIs have control of all the electronic locks.” Riddell seemed pleased with his company’s efforts.

  “Good. I’ll go and let Boston know we’re here.”

  “Cerpio will show you where.”

  Steg followed the heavyworlder to the now unlocked cell. “General. General Boston?”

  The figure under a blanket on the bed struggled against sleep to sit up. “Yes—?”

  “Sir, remember me? Ignore the uniform. Steg de Coeur.”

  “Well, I’ll be—”

  “Quite possibly, sir.”

  “Damn. You’re alive after all.” The general got out of bed and quickly dressed.

  “Good to see you again, sir,” Steg said, shaking the officer’s hand. “I’ve seen Denke; he is okay. My force is in control of all the ImpSec destroyers. We’ve also taken over your dreadnought. I’ve only a small force on the ground, twenty-five marines, although we have a large starship supporting us.”

  “You’re fortunate. ImpSec reckoned they’d succeeded in taking control and sent off most of their men. They were correct. We were caught out. However, most of the ImpSec force has departed; there’s only a few of them still here to deal with. One of the leaders was disappointed to discover you weren’t here. You have enemies.”