Tam caught his breath, finally seeing the full size of the base. It was much larger than Rondor, a single sphere rather than a collection of parts. He couldn't see a single ship docked to it. With a base that size he would have expected at least a battle squadron docked alongside, but he couldn't see a single ship-- or even a berth for docking.
"Lenys," he asked, "where are the docking stations?"
"I don't know sir," she said. "The last time I was here they transferred the dispatches to a mauler and sent us on our way. The only reason I knew they kept the planet-busters here was because those are the only maulers in the Guard.
"Well we'll find out soon enough."
Then he saw the opening. Two huge doors slid apart in the lower quarter of the station; ribbed plates of battle steel sinking inwards to open inside the armor. Behind them were shadows laced with blackness. As the battle cruiser towed them towards the opening Tam saw it was easily half again as wide as the battle cruiser was long.
As they passed through the opening the lights came on, one after the other, creating sharp-edged walls of blackness throughout the chamber. Maulers hulked in the blackness, massive spheres studded with weapons and sensors, built around a single weapons emplacement centered on the lower hemisphere; a giant maw surrounded by waveguides, easily big enough to dwarf his own ship. Most maulers simply bristled with weapons, but not these. They were focused around a single weapon. It wasn't the only weapon, there were dozens of hammerbeams clustered around the maw. But these were small turrets, scarcely bigger than those of his own ship. They weren't the massive projectors associated with maulers, they were more like oversized point defense mounts. The more he looked, the more it appeared that everything on those maulers was designed to keep them alive long enough to fire that weapon.
There were at least a dozen of them and he could see battle cruisers beyond them, hanging in docking clamps. The battle cruiser that was towing them blocked out much of what was above them, but even so it was easy to see how big this station really was. There was a bit of a bobble, and the battle cruiser moved away, graceful despite its bulk. They had been handed over to the station's tractors for docking.
Lights flicked on along the frame of the docking clamp. It opened slowly, looking as if it jumped from position to position as the lights strobed. Tam took a deep breath as the tractors pulled them towards the clamps, the lights flashing faster the closer they got. Everyone on the bridge seemed to be holding their breath as they closed, and Tam had to consciously open his hand to avoid crushing the armrest of his command chair.
Vidall started counting off the distance as they closed, but Tam ignored him. The clamp filled the screen, jumping as Vidall shifted the view from camera to camera as they were blanked by the arms. Finally, the ship shuddered as they touched, followed by the rhythmic thuds of the arms closing on the hull.
"Captain, they're extending umbilicals." Vidall's voice echoed in the bridge.
"Let them hook up," the Captain replied, "that's why we're here."
"Aye sir." Vidall hit a few buttons then swung his own seat back around. "All systems read green and we're on station power and life-support."
Tam nodded and took a deep breath before rising. "Mister Vidall, you have the bridge." He turned towards the exec's station. "Commander Kharan, you're with me. I'm sure they are going to want to talk to you, since you gave us their location."
"Aye sir," she replied, rising from her seat and patting one of her uniform pockets. Her face was still, without her normal animation, and he wondered if she was considering what the guard might do. Revealing the location of this station was probably treason, and even without an Emperor the guard was famous for taking a dim view of anything that even hinted of disloyalty.
The air already felt better, less stuffy and more alive, and Tam wondered if it was all in his mind. He barely noticed the crowding as they picked their way back to the main lock. Even the kendradi looked happier, though he wondered how much of that could be because of the lights.
Lenys was quiet beside him. If the guard didn't accept their evidence, she would never see command. Tam would most likely end up taking an early retirement, if he weren't drummed out of the service. Vidall and Deggon would probably suffer minor setbacks to their careers, Vidall more than Deggon since it was unlikely she would ever get put up for command.
Tam didn't know much about the guard, and wasn't sure what he knew was accurate. The guard existed to safeguard the Monarch, the Dynasty and the Imperium, where the fleet concerned itself with the Imperium alone. With the throne empty, part of the guard's duties seemed to just fade away, and their ground forces with it. Security detachments were recalled, possibly forgotten. That left the naval portion of the guard, the fast battle cruisers that protected the monarch travels, and the planet-busters he hadn't really believed in.
A hatch slid open in front of them and he stepped through, nodding to the petty officer on duty. She saluted, then gestured towards the hatch. "They're out there, Captain. Looks like a boarding party outside the lock, but they don't seem to be doing anything right now."
Holron glanced at her monitors. "They could be there in case we were going to board them." He laughed. "One thing I do know, they're not an honor guard."
"Aye sir," she said dourly, pursing her lips.
"There's no point keeping them waiting any longer CPO Husk," Kharan said, then turned to Tam. "With your permission sir I'd recommend we open the hatch before they decide to do it for us."
"I agree. Cycle the outer hatch and let them in."
"Aye sir," Husk acknowledged. "It's open, and it looks like they're coming in."
She hadn't closed her mouth before the first of the boarders entered the compartment, his pulse laser trained on Tam. He wore battledress with light armor and a helmet with a black visor. Half a dozen others followed, each taking a section of the room and covering it with a pulse laser. They moved purposefully and efficiently as if they did this every day. None said a word.
One of them must have sent the all-clear, because it wasn't more than a few seconds later that two more troops entered the room, followed by a Captain wearing blacks rather than battledress. He paused as he entered the compartment, looking for whoever was senior.
Tam stepped forward and saluted. "Welcome aboard ISS Talon, I'm Commander Tam Holron. This is my executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Lenys Kharan." Coming to attention he watched for a reaction.
"This is a very unusual situation," the guard officer returned the salute, making no move to introduce himself. His uniform not only lacked a name plate, but it didn't appear to have ever had one. "Normally you would be kept aboard ship until whatever emergency had been dealt with and then sent on your way."
Tam nodded, that was what he had expected. "However," the officer continued, "this is not a normal situation. According to the data you gave Captain Har Ovrilan the Enemy has returned and nobody else seems to be aware of it."
"Yes sir."
"My troops will remain here, and you and your executive officer are to come with me. The Admiral wishes to speak with you." The words were spoken quietly, without inflection, and Tam was sure the guard officer would not accept anything but complete obedience.
"Very well sir." Tam turned towards CPO Husk, "Ms. Husk, please inform Mr. Vidall that Lieutenant Commander Kharan and I are leaving the ship."
"Aye sir," Husk replied, pointedly ignoring the troops with pulse lasers were trained on her. "I'll let him know you were called ashore."
"Good," Tam turned back to the guard captain who had been waiting quietly. "Lead on sir."
The guard captain did, and a glance over his shoulder towards CPO Husk showed Tam that two of the troopers were following them, pulse lasers slung. He supposed he should be thankful that the pulse lasers weren't actually pointed at them.
Their footsteps echoed as they moved through the base. A couple of times he thought he saw people moving out of the corner of his eye, but that was all. Mostly they jus
t followed the captain down empty passageways with codes marked above the doors. It looked like any base Tam had been on, only emptier. The air tasted dry, even canned, and he wondered how many people were aboard. It felt like it had just come out of vacuum storage. There wasn't even any dust.
"I hope this works out," Lenys muttered.
"At least we got here before the life support gave out," Tam replied. "That's one thing to be thankful for."
"Aye sir," she said.
"Don't worry about life support." The captain turned back toward them. "We're the Imperial Guard, not the Imperial Make People Disappear in the Middle of the Night Secret Police." Even in the dim light Tam could see a hint of a smile. "We do have security procedures to follow, but that doesn't mean we're just taking you for a walk while we figure out where to dump the bodies."
"Yes sir," Tam replied.
"That was a joke, Commander," the captain raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you forgot that you're supposed to laugh whenever a superior officer makes a joke; twice as hard for an Admiral."
"Ha ha, sir." Tam said in response, snapping a salute as he did so.
"That's better, Commander, now let's pick up the pace, the Admiral does not like to be kept waiting."
The next hatch took them into a busier area, with NCOs carrying 'pads and officers moving from compartment to compartment. The captain finally drew to a stop before a hatch with a sign that simply stated: Base Command.
"It's in here," the captain said. "Just remember, if there's one thing Admiral Torrens can't stand it's someone wasting her time. If you have something to tell her, just say it."
"Aye sir," Tam said.
"Good," the captain replied. "Now follow me."
The two guards stopped at the doorway and Tam and Lenys followed the captain through an outer office to a wooden door that looked out of place on a station. He knocked twice, then opened the door without waiting for a response. Tam squared his shoulders; sure Lenys was doing the same, and followed him in.
As a commander, even one with a command, Tam Holron had not spent a lot of time in admiral's offices. Most of his experience was with their outer waiting rooms, making him a relative expert on the hard seats. He had never had the opportunity to sit down in an admiral's office proper, but he was sure the seats were softer. The admiral herself didn't look any softer than those outer-office chairs he remembered. She looked as solidly dangerous as one of the maulers in the hangar deck below.
He came to attention, snapping the best salute he could. "Commander Holron reporting as ordered, ma'am."
"Sit down, Commander," the admiral said. "You too Ms. Kharan. I'm curious as to why you would bring a shipload of exies aboard a top-secret base that you're not supposed to know where to find. You also managed to surprise Deryn Har Ovrilan, and I happen to know that's not an easy thing to do."
Tam nodded and sat, the chair felt a lot softer than those in an outer office, but he kept his back straight. "What do you want to know first, ma'am, how we found you or why we're here?"
"I already know how you found us," she said. "Lieutenant Commander Kharan there has been here before. It's not too hard to deduce that she had ignored regulations and kept a record of our coordinates." She narrowed her eyes as she went on, her words crisply and perfectly enunciated. "What I need to know is why you and your shipload of exies are here."
"It was strictly a routine mission, Admiral." Holron began.
"It's always a routine mission until something happens Commander. Get on with it."
"Very well, ma'am," he continued, re-ordering his thoughts. "We were sent to investigate a class five extinction event about seventy-five light-years outside the frontier. One of the Long Eyes had picked it up and as the nearest recon platform we were sent out to investigate. We found clear evidence of the Enemy, and it appears they are headed for the Imperium."
"What did you say Commander?" Admiral Torrens leant forwards in her chair. "You not only have evidence that it's the Enemy but you know where they're headed?"
"Yes Admiral. Not only was the system inhabited, but there were survivors and we were able to examine their records." He raised his head, "those records not only show the Enemy, but also indicate that they left that system on a least-time course for Belkrath."
"Belkrath, you're sure about that Commander?" The admiral's voice was sharp. "Aye sir, my engineer's from Belkrath." Tam coughed then went on. "But we have data from one of the kendradi tracking scopes that's pretty clear."
"Kendradi?" Admiral Torrens stumbled a bit over the word. "Are those the exies you have aboard?"
"Yes, that's what they call themselves ma'am."
"Now all we need to do is figure out what to do next," she sighed. "Captain Sandon, you're in charge of our guests. Get their life support repaired and see what else they need. From the sounds of things we're likely to need every hull we can muster."
"Yes, ma'am," the captain pulled out a 'pad. "From what these reports are saying, we'll be best off pulling the kendradi off her. A destroyer just hasn't the life-support capacity for more than a few dozen of them."
"Then do it Captain. We can always find a transport later." Admiral Torrens turned back toward Tam. "Consider yourself seconded to the guard for the duration." She frowned. "Speaking of hulls Commander, what about the rest of your squadron?"
"I don't know, ma'am." Tam swallowed dryly. "They were based at Rondor, but there's no sign of them. It's in the hands of the Tavrolan Sector Guard, and they don't seem to want anything to do with the fleet. I don't think they even got our drone."
"They probably detonated it as soon as it dropped into threespace, Commander." Captain Sandon looked up from his pad.
"So the drone didn't get through?" Kharan broke her silence. "Even squawking triple-alpha priority..."
"From what we've seen, an Imperium Triple-Alpha would make it more likely to be destroyed than answered, Commander." The admiral grimaced, "I don't think we can count on drones. In fact, that gives me an idea of what to do with you and your ship, Commander Holron."
"Yes, Admiral?"
"As soon as we get your ship replenished you're to lift for Altiar. Admiral Calthran needs to see this." Suddenly Admiral Torrens looked a lot older. "The entire council needs to see it, but I don't think most of them would notice." She looked back to her own 'pad.
"Aye aye, ma'am." Holron said.
"Show yourselves out, Commander." Admiral Torrens glanced up for a moment. "One of the guards will escort you to your ship. I expect you to be ready to lift for Altiar no later than one standard day from now."
"Yes ma'am." He rose and saluted, then turned towards the doorway.
"Captain Sandon will be in touch." He heard the admiral's voice behind him just before the door closed.
The moment the door was fully closed he let out a long deep breath and turned towards Lenys Kharan, who was just doing the same thing. "That went better than I'd hoped."
"Yes sir." She smiled, "I was expecting more of a harangue than we got, myself."
"I guess we can be thankful she's not the type of officer who shoots the messenger." He quirked a grin. "Now let's find our escort and get back to the ship. We don't have a lot of time to get replenished."
"Aye sir."
Chapter 4
John stretched and rolled over, enjoying the feeling of clean sheets on a real bed. He hugged the pillow, reaching for the warm feeling of sleep. Then it sank in that he was in a bed, and he opened his eyes. Above him were the springs of the upper bunk, supporting a blue and white striped mattress. He was in a bunkroom, with three rows of bunks, one down each side and a third row along the middle. His own bunk was against one of the walls.
He sat up and swung his feet onto the floor, exhaling when his feet hit the cold tiles. John dressed, reveling in the feeling of clean clothes against his skin. His voices told him it was late afternoon, and his stomach clenched, reminding him to go look for food. If they had laundry maybe they had food. He followed the hallway to t
he front office.
"Mr. Doe." He jerked his head around to see where the voice came from. Jayne was looking at him from around a computer screen. She got up smoothly. "What do you want?"
"Something to eat, I don't remember when I ate last," he said matching her cold gaze with his own.
She glanced at the wall, and his eyes followed, the clock said four-thirty and for once his voices didn't interrupt. "They should be serving supper pretty soon." She pursed her lips. "If you wait here for about half an hour I'll take you down to the dining hall. Help yourself to the coffee."
"Thanks," he said, and walked over to the small table with the urn. There was a small stack of styrofoam cups and some sugar packets and powdered creamer in a cardboard tube. He dumped three packets of sugar and a generous pile of creamer into one of the cups and started to fill it. The room was small, with a couple of desks and a coffee table at the back.
A shock of pain made him look down to see hot coffee pouring over his hand and he released the lever. Damn things don't stop by themselves, he thought, reaching for the pile of napkins to start mopping up the mess.
"Don't worry about it," Jayne said. "I can get that, just sit down over there and drink your coffee."
"I can clean it," he protested, mopping at the spill with a napkin which disintegrated into a brown and soggy mess as he tried to sop up the coffee.
"No, let me, just sit down and drink your coffee." She was looking at him with her hands on her hips. "It's my job, not yours."
He backed away, scuffling across the carpet until his legs bumped into a chair and he sat down suddenly, barely keeping his coffee in the cup. Jayne's eyes flicked his way, and he thought he saw something in them, but she turned away and returned to wiping up the coffee, her hand moving in slow, methodical sweeps. John just sat and watched her clean then muttered "thanks" when she passed him on her way back to the desk.
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