by Terry Mixon
Honestly, it felt a little like an ambush and he’d probably feel differently if he hadn’t planned to speed the process along himself.
Now he was aboard Invincible and immersed in the planning session with the captains and executive officers of each ship in the fleet. They’d come into this mission with a rough idea of what would happen, but now they were gaming out the things that might go wrong.
“As I see it,” Admiral Mertz summed up, “the two worst possibilities are that they see through our ruse or a random ship happens to chance across us on the way there. What can we do to further mitigate those possibilities?”
“If the status delivery takes place like all those over the last ten years,” Marcus said, “there is only a very small chance of them finding anything in the message or the destroyer to cause them to look deeper.
“And by small, I mean inseparable from zero. The reports are virtually copied and pasted from one year to the next and Athena is programmed with all appropriate responses the robotic destroyers have had.”
“And if they do get frisky, we have a fleet of ships that has significantly more firepower than we anticipate finding in that system,” Sean added. “That doesn’t guarantee anything, but we should keep the odds in mind. Frankly, I think a random ship is a much bigger threat.”
Mertz nodded. “I agree. We have FTL probes out in all directions, as well as positioned in the flip points ahead of us and behind, in this system and the ones beyond. What else can we do?”
They batted various options around, but nothing seemed more effective than staying slow to not show up on a ship’s scanners. Before they transitioned to the next system, they’d send scouts and use a spread of FTL probes to make sure the area was clear.
There was always going to be a risk that they missed a ship, but these actions made it far less likely they would be seen.
After an hour of exploring the possibilities, Mertz seemed satisfied. “Okay, we’ll maintain that posture until we’re one system away from the target system. None of the intervening systems is occupied, so that won’t be a worry.
“Now, while this meeting is adjourned, I’d like to ask you all to remain for a little longer.”
He turned a wide smile toward Sean. “It so happens that our very own Sean Meyer and Coordinator Olivia West have asked me to wed them today and I think this is the perfect time and audience. All of the other guests have been impatiently waiting for us to finish talking and the time has arrived.”
Sean’s stomach did a little flip, but it wasn’t fear. No, never that. Just a little nervousness.
The sour expression on Captain Drake’s face pleased Sean, but the man couldn’t know that was why Sean was grinning. Well, okay, he probably did.
“I’ll need a few minutes to change into my dress uniform, Admiral,” Sean said.
“They’ve taken the liberty of setting up the next cabin over as a dressing room,” Mertz said. “The ladies are done and it’s all yours. While you change, we’ll get the decorations up. No rush. I hear the coordinator has scheduled you an entire twenty minutes to get ready.”
That caused a wave of laughter among the officers present. Even Drake smiled a little. His Olivia must’ve had many of the same traits.
“Well, I suppose I’d best go get ready,” Sean said as he stood. “I don’t suppose there’s a honeymoon suite on Athena that I missed.”
Mertz grinned. “And you’d be wrong. I’ve had the officers and men under your command rearranging the schedules so you have the next few days off and setting up what amounts to a lavish hotel suite for your honeymoon. The manservants that my wife insisted guide my new steward are making sure nothing is forgotten.
“Now, if it were me, I’d plan on taking a trip somewhere very nice once we return to the Empire, but this will do for now, I hope.”
The admiral made a show of looking at the door. “Your bride is impatiently waiting for you to get into the changing room so she can get here unseen, Commodore. You are dismissed.”
Another laugh filled the room as Sean headed for the hatch. Knowing his bride to be, that wasn’t too far off the mark. He’d make sure to dress quickly and ping the admiral through his implants to be sure they were ready before he returned.
Anticipation of being married to his love overrode the anxiety about the ceremony itself as he strode down the corridor and into the waiting arms of four stewards. He gave Drake’s discomfiture one last pleasant thought and then put the man out of his mind.
This was the first day of his new life. He wanted to focus on his bride. His wife. After all, if things went badly, he might be leaving her a widow in a week and a half. Best to live each day as if it were their last.
22
Ten days later, Jared Mertz sat on the bridge of the destroyer Athena as she prepared to make the flip into the target system. He’d done everything he could to prepare, but realized this was going to be the make or break moment for the new Terran Empire.
Sean Meyer stood beside his chair, obviously just as nervous as he was. “What do you think we’re going to find?”
“The same thing that every destroyer from Harrison’s World has found for the last ten years,” Jared said. “There’s no reason to expect anything different. If something has changed, there has to be a reason for it, and that means trouble.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know a lot about what is here or what the procedures are. The records merely report the destroyer made the trip and transmitted the report on command. The specifics are unknown.”
The helm officer, Commander Janice Hall, turned in her seat. “We’re ready to flip, Admiral.”
“Take us across,” he said firmly, suppressing his worry.
Unlike the previous systems, he didn’t dare risk sending an FTL probe into this one. He knew it was occupied. Potentially, there were ships watching the flip point, even if there were none in the current system. If a strange probe popped out, that would set off alarms.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t leave some on this side, which he had.
The rest of the fleet he’d brought with him was located back at the flip point they’d used to enter this system, far out of normal scanner range, but getting data from the probes Athena had deployed for them. That also put them well within the range to receive any FTL communication from Athena from the target system.
The Rebel Empire did not have FTL communications, so they wouldn’t be expecting this capability. That didn’t mean it was undetectable, however. So, unless he had to, Jared would remain silent. The rest of the fleet knew that he’d only call if they ran into trouble. Otherwise, he’d send the report he was required to send and return.
At that point, they’d have to go around the target system via another set of flip points to get to Terra, taking at least a week longer to get there and arriving at a different entry point to the home system. That couldn’t be helped. The lay of flip points was what it was. He’d just hope that didn’t come to pass.
“Flipping the ship,” Hall said.
A brief queasiness accompanied the destroyer flipping into the target system. Everyone had implants, so the nausea that used to accompany every flip was no longer a major issue. Thank God.
“Ships detected,” Commander Johan Berman, their tactical officer, said. “Weapons platforms detected. Significant numbers of both surrounding this flip point.”
Jared tapped into Athena’s scanner feed using his implants. Berman was right. This was a lot of ships and battle stations in a globe around the flip point they’d just come through.
The robotic destroyers that the System Lord sent to make the yearly reports from Harrison’s world did not bring back scanner records from this system. Jared couldn’t be certain if this was new or standard procedure. They’d have to proceed under the assumption that it was standard.
“We’re being challenged,” Hall said. “The computer has responded as programmed. We’ve been instructed to proceed into the system.”
Jared frowned. �
��We’re sending a report. Shouldn’t we be doing it from here?”
The helm officer shrugged. “I have no idea. That wasn’t in the records.”
“Well, if nothing else, this is going to give us a good opportunity to see what else is in the system,” Jared said with a sigh. “We might be coming back with a fleet someday. Without going active, get as good at reading as you can of the platforms and ships. That’ll be useful in analyzing their force strength.”
The computer took the destroyer into the system at about eighty percent of her maximum speed. That was Rebel Fleet standard for nonemergency situations. His Fleet, too.
“Where exactly are they having us go?” he asked.
“The primary world in this system. Imperial records have it labeled as El Capitan, the same name as the system itself.”
“Do we have any indications that it’s inhabited? All of these ships could be under AI control.”
“I’m picking up a lot of signals,” Hall said. “It’s inhabited and these people are not restricted to the primary world. They’re scattered all across the system.”
So these people hadn’t done anything to earn the wrath of the System Lord ruling them. Of course, they probably didn’t have an old fleet base in the graveyard of ships that the AIs were worried about either.
He signaled Olivia through his implants.
I need you on the bridge. We’re going deeper into the system and I’d like your read on exactly what we’re seeing.
I’ll be right there. Should I bring Elise?
The more the merrier. If she’s around, bring Princess Kelsey and Commander Roche. They need to see this, too.
That can’t be good.
I’ll leave it to you to decide about that. See you in a few minutes.
At this rate, it would take them approximately nine hours to reach their destination. They’d have plenty of time to analyze everything they were seeing. Most importantly, he suspected the transmissions they were picking up from around the system would provide them with critical intelligence data.
The only other Rebel Empire system they’d spent any time in had been the one adjacent to Dresden. It hadn’t been that large and neither had Dresden. Even though the latter held the critical research base that Kelsey had stolen.
Unlike Harrison’s World, this system seemed to be in a relatively unfettered state. Sort of like watching people in their natural habitat. By the time they were done here, they should have a treasure trove of information about how everyday people lived under the AIs’ rule.
“If going into this system isn’t standard operating procedure, what do you think this means?” Sean asked.
“Probably nothing good. Worst case, they want to send something back to the AI at Harrison’s World. That might get complicated very fast.”
“Are you going to call the fleet via FTL and let them know?”
After weighing the benefits against the risks, Jared nodded. “Janice, pack all the data we’ve gathered so far into as tight a file as you can manage, along with our status and where were going, and send it back to Invincible via burst FTL.”
“Aye, sir.”
Fifteen seconds later she nodded toward him. “Transmission sent. We received a brief acknowledgment from Captain Marcus that he has received the data and will disseminate it.”
“Any indication the transmission was detected?”
“Nothing so far, sir. I’ll continue monitoring everything I can and look for changes in behavior on any of the ships or signals that seem out of place. If I detect anything, I’ll let you know immediately.”
Jared hoped the Rebel Empire didn’t become aware of their use of the FTL. Even if they didn’t realize it was a method of communication, detecting the transmission would clue them in that something strange was occurring. He’d rather not give them even that little bit of information.
He glanced over at Sean. “Start rotating the crew so they can get meals and rest. It looks like we’re going to be here longer than we expected. Make sure the marines are prepared to receive any unexpected visitors on short notice.”
Olivia’s brain felt like mush. She’d been reviewing the passively collected data for eight hours without a break. Mind-numbing work, but extremely educational. And unexpectedly productive.
She’d left the bridge, choosing to do her work in the room she shared with Sean. It was tiny when compared to what she normally expected as the Coordinator of Harrison’s World, but her implants made need for space a luxury rather than a requirement.
It took very little time at all to step over to her husband’s office, which was directly next door to their quarters. She savored the thought of their new status once again with deep satisfaction.
Even better, in the wake of their nuptials, someone had convinced Brian Drake to return to Harrison’s World. One less stress on their lives. Of course, the man would be underfoot once Sean and she returned home, but the cooling off period would allow the other man to put her firmly in his past.
Jared had banished Sean from the bridge once it became clear that the Rebel Empire wasn’t taking any notice of them. The two officers had split the intervening hours four on and four off.
Her husband was preparing to return to the bridge when she came into his office. “I found something important. Take a look at this.”
She sent him a transcript of routine radio traffic between the world of El Capitan and one of the moons of the first gas giant in the system.
With his implants, he would be able to scan it quickly, but he wouldn’t notice what she had seen.
“Before you go through that in detail, allow me to point out what I’m looking at. There are a sequence of communications between several sources on both El Capitan and the largest moon. They look routine, however appearances can be deceptive.
“In each of the communications that I have highlighted, either the sender or receiver has used a code phrase known to the resistance.”
Sean sat up a bit straighter. “As in the same resistance that you’re a member of?”
“Exactly so. Everything is context driven, so depending on a number of factors, the recognition phrases will change. Before we were cut off by the System Lord, we were in communication with other branches of the resistance, though not this system.
“These organizations have existed since the Fall. Each system is separate from every other. We don’t know anything about the other organizations so that if we are compromised, we don’t endanger anyone else.
“However, we do know enough to recognize these call signs. Rather, I should say, the leader of the resistance and their top level assistants are made aware of them in case there is ever a need to contact another cell.”
Sean considered her for a long moment. “That seems kind of dangerous. If the leadership of any cell is compromised, they could recognize the presence of the resistance inside any other system.”
“True,” she said. “We take precautions, but they boil down to making certain that none of the senior leadership is allowed to be captured alive. If need be, we’ll make certain of that ourselves.”
“You’d kill yourself?” From his tone, he wasn’t exactly thrilled to hear this.
“Of course I would. And so would you, if the Rebel Empire had the means to get information dangerous to the New Terran Empire. Tell me you wouldn’t destroy your ship to avoid capture under the circumstances.”
He sighed. “You know I can’t say that. Okay, so either one of us would take our own lives before we endangered the people we protect. Got it.
“So you’ve recognized these call signs. What practical effect does that have? It’s not as if we can contact them without raising suspicion from anyone that happens to notice. As far as I can see, there is no reason for a completely robotic destroyer—which is what they think this is—to contact anyone.”
“Ordinarily, I’d agree and I’m not certain of the circumstances where we could arrange contact, but if we can do so in a manner that does not generate undu
e attention, the resistance in this system could give us a lot of data.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Like what?”
“If they are anything like the resistance on Harrison’s World, they’ve had plenty of time to gather detailed information on the military presence here and potentially other systems nearby. It’s even conceivable that they know something about Terra that we don’t.”
That last made him frown. “You make a good point. We’re about an hour away from El Capitan. Let’s go to the bridge and see what the admiral has to say. If he agrees that there’s a need to contact the resistance, he can drag everyone else in to brainstorm the best way to do so.
“For the life of me, I still don’t understand why the Rebel Empire has summoned this destroyer to El Capitan. If, as Admiral Mertz suspects, they intend to place a cargo aboard for the AI at Harrison’s world, things could get very ugly.
“Yet, that may present an opportunity to contact the resistance on the planet itself, if we can work out a subtle method of doing so.”
“Do you really think they’re going to put people aboard the ship?” she asked. “It seems unlikely that they would go any further away from the docking and cargo areas.
“If we evacuate all of our personnel and keep track of anyone that comes aboard so that we can move around them, odds are good that they won’t see anything out of place.”
“That meshes pretty well with what the admiral is thinking,” he said. “Over the last eight hours, he’s had people scrubbing the most obvious locations that anyone could go of any sign of human habitation. Basically, everyone’s belongings are being piled up in maintenance tubes far away from the docking area.
“If no one has come to strip our quarters, it’s only because they haven’t gotten to us yet. We’re leaving nothing to chance.”
“And what happens if they still see something out of place? If something that we never considered triggers them into a wider search and they find us. There are a lot of warships between us and the flip point.”