by Kal Spriggs
As the Ensign's eyes rolled back in her head, Forrest looked up in surprise. "Don't worry, she'll be right as rain when she wakes up," the ship's surgeon said. "Safe and sound and probably in a level three intensive care hospital back in the Faraday system. Until then, she's staying under and I'm putting her on ice. We haven't the facilities to treat that level of injuries."
She gave him a nod, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've other patients to attend to besides your girlfriend."
She turned away before Forrest to could tell her that Alannis wasn't his girlfriend.
***
Ensign Medica lay back in his sickbay berth. The past day had been relatively horrid. The radiation exposures he'd been subject to with the beam generator casing open had required a full flushing of his system, which given the loss of his legs had been an uncomfortable and undignifying situation to say the least.
He had severe burns across his face and arms, but the tissue damage was stable and responding to the healing treatment... which meant that severely wounded Marines had precedence. That, in turn, meant he would spend the months-long journey to Faraday on pain medication, in relative isolation and covered in anti-viral, anti-bacterial goop in order to prevent infection.
When he eventually got home, he would have months of rehabilitation in order to be able to walk again. But I saved the ship, he told himself, that makes this all worthwhile.
"Ensign," one of the medics said from outside his isolation tent, "you've got visitors."
Even before he looked over, he felt a sense of dread.
"Ensign Medica," Rory gave a friendly smile and a cheerful wave, "you look terrible!" The scientist looked at the medic and said in a loud voice, "He's not contagious, is he?"
"I can hear you," Ensign Medica said. "And I'm not sick, just burned."
"Oh, right, from modifying the beam generator," Rory nodded. "Say, you have had them check your... uh, reproductive organs, right? The radiation coming off the inside of that generator is pretty impressive."
Ensign Medica closed his eyes and counted to ten. He opened them again, and unfortunately, the two scientists were still there.
"Well, I can tell you're moved by us coming to visit you," Rory said. "We just wanted to congratulate you for that work you did. I mean, Feliks and I had figured you were relatively smart, otherwise we wouldn't have given you those tasks, but putting that data together and modifying the beam generator... that's really incredible."
"Thanks," Ensign Medica muttered.
"Yes," Feliks nodded, "you are almost as smart as we are."
"Now, Feliks," Rory shook his head, "I wouldn't get too energetic in our praise. I mean, he did a passable job modifying the beam generator, but I'm sure either of us could have easily managed that with the data set."
"Hold on!" Ensign Medica protested, "You both said it would be impossible!"
"Ah, no," Rory shook his head, "I actually said it would be impossible to do without running the data."
Feliks nodded, "We thought we could do it, but we were working on other projects."
Ensign Medica's jaw dropped, "But if you could have done it, why not?"
"Well, for one thing, we figured it would slag the firing control systems... which it did," Rory said with a smirk. "They'll have to tear out all of the firing control runs and replace them. For that matter, Feliks and I have a running bet on whether they'll have to scrap or completely rebuild the beam generators."
"Almost definitely scrap," Feliks nodded. "The ionizing radiation that your modifications produced have irradiated the metal far beyond safe usage and destroyed entire sections of molecular circuitry."
"Well, we'll just have to see, won't we," Rory said. "I still think the integrated gluon plasma generator is functional, but we won't know that until we do a full teardown."
"Yes, but while it may function it will not function as intended..." Feliks shook his head. "You've no head for the detail work."
"And you lack perspective on the big picture," Rory waved a hand, "Anyway, we figured you would need some cheering up, what with having been barbecued after losing your legs. Since we'd underestimated your intelligence before, we brought down a lot more for you to work on, you know, to keep you distracted. Captain Beeson seemed thrilled by the idea of us spending time down here with you. Since we have a few months journey back to the Faraday system, we want you to start going over the design of this shield emitter we recovered from the wreckage at the Enforcer Platform..."
***
"Captain Beeson," Fleet Consul Maygar said with a friendly bellow, "I wish to again extend the gratitude of my entire race for your assistance. I think you can tell Emperor Giovanni that I consider the loan of a ship repaid in full."
They had better be, Daniel thought to himself. Yet despite the losses to his crew and damage to his ship, he had to admit that the price was worth it. Burbeg and the Goronto had escaped their pursuit and linked up with the survivors of the Ghornath Fleet. They had arrived only a day after the battle, surprised to find their new Empress awaiting them.
Empress Hycar had not just reclaimed her ancestral worlds, she had awoken over fifty billion of her loyal subjects from stasis. Many of them weren't very clear on who these "humans" were, but they were all too grateful for their assistance in the return of their ruling dynasty.
With those fifty billion subjects came factories, farms, warships, and weapons, all of it carefully looked after for the past ten thousand years. The Ghornath fleet would be stronger than it had ever been before... and their empire would be allies to the United Colonies.
Not bad for the loss of eight Marines and three shuttle crew, he told himself, yet the sentiment felt hollow. Eight Marines had died. They had died fighting a foe whose origins and motives they still didn't know... and they had died under his command.
"Thank you, Fleet Consul," Daniel nodded in reply. "I take it the Empress is still getting settled into her new duties?"
"Indeed," Fleet Consul Maygar said with a nod. His weathered hide darkened with pride. "I am told that the stories of the fight on the Throne have already spread to all corners of our Empire. There is already talk of a monument honoring the sacrifice of your warriors."
"I appreciate that," Daniel said. Not that it will bring them back, he thought, but they'd appreciate it too.
"We've finished repairs, the Constellation departs on schedule," Daniel said.
"You have already informed your nation what occurred here?" Fleet Consul Maygar asked.
"I did," Daniel nodded. In fact, the reports had flown back and forth over the ansible, with the first one from him being a notice that someone had the ability to tap into ansible communications. From what he understood, they were looking at methods to mitigate that risk, but it wasn't going to be a quick fix. "Have we learned any more about our enemies?"
Fleet Consul Maygar shook his big head, "No, they remain as mysterious as ever. We have put samples of the wreckage aboard your ship as requested. Hopefully your scientists will be able to make more of it than ours have."
Daniel nodded and though he didn't discount the skill of the Ghornath scientists, he thought that if anyone could make sense of it, then Rory and Feliks could.
"I also bear a gift, for Princess Giovanni, who I understand was injured in defending the Empress," Maygar said. "She wishes that she had the opportunity to say her farewell in person, but I convinced her that her duties too precedence over a farewell to someone in cryosleep."
Daniel nodded, though he privately thought that saying farewell in person would have meant more, even if Ensign Giovanni wouldn't see it, the rest of the crew would. Fleet Consul Maygar held out a small wooden box, the surface enscribed by symbols. "This is a gift and a token of friendship for her. The Empress will not forget that the time she needed to activate the Throne was bought and paid for by United Colonies Marines... and by a Giovanni."
Daniel took the box, but he didn't open it. That would be for Ensign Giovanni to do. "Thank you, I'll give it to h
er when she's out of the hospital." Daniel stepped back and gave the old warrior a sharp salute. "Good luck, Fleet Consul, and please give my regards to the Empress."
"And you, Captain," Maygar returned the salute with one of his own. "Please give my regards to your Emperor."
***
Epilogue
Minder finished his communion with his superiors and then slowly, tiredly, settled into his chair. Things had gone very badly out on the rim... but not as badly as they could have.
Fortunately while Hunter had failed, he had at least left no clues to the origins of their forces. Minder's agents had seen no signs of fleets massing to move on his strongholds. Furthermore, Minder had managed to show that it was Hunter's incompetence that had brought failure. He had gone far outside of Minder's orders, to the point of driving the humans into a desperate gamble rather than simply quietly killing them from ambush.
The fact that his superiors had evolved Hunter against Minder's preferences was a mark in his favor. They were unhappy with him, but they at least saw that Minder had done his part and that their interference had brought the failure.
The new fleet commander has arrived, his subordinate sent.
A moment later, Sidewinder came into his offices. Minder, he sent, I am ready.
Minder felt pleasure at the strength of Sidewinder's mental voice. His prodigy had grown, had become sharper and more independent. It always made him feel good to see one of his select offspring progress.
We have begun assembling a new strike force, Minder sent, and relayed the mental images of the fleet they were putting together. We cannot face the Enforcement Platform on anything resembling favorable odds, but the humans are another matter.
Minder had stockpiled components and armaments for decades for such an eventuality. His forethought was one more reason his superiors had left him in power. This was a setback, but it was one he could recover from. Your force will be more powerful than Hunter's was, Minder sent.
There were complex reasons for that... one of them being that their masters didn't trust them with a truly large fleet. How could they when we are almost another species?
What will my first target be? Sidewinder's mental voice was eager. Good, he would need that eagerness to deal with the host of problems that Hunter's incompetence had left.
This human, Minder sent him a mental image, he has begun to collect items of extreme danger. You will find him and stop him at all costs.
He sent everything he knew about Reese Leone, including his former relationship with the Giovannis. Minder spared some of his mental capacity to consider whether it was by happenstance or design that this threat had such close ties to the other.
I will not fail, Sidewinder sent, I will find him and destroy him and his works.
***
Faraday Colony
United Colonies
March 11, 2408
Alannis sat up as her brother stepped into the hospital room. "Feeling better?" He asked.
"Much," Alannis said. Though in truth, everything from when Forrest Perkins had talked her into going along with the medics onwards until she woke up in the hospital here was simply blank space. It was as if she'd gone to sleep then and woken up now... which was probably better than others experiences. She'd heard that poor Ensign Medica spent the rest of his trip being harassed by Rory and Feliks and she wouldn't wish that upon anyone.
"Ready for your next assignment?" Lucius asked.
Alannis felt a mix of dread and excitement. Was she really ready for this? She had nearly died and she had lost eight Marines under her command. Could she really go back into all that? She found herself nodding, "I'm ready?"
Lucius gave her a smirk, the same kind of older-brother expression that had always driven her nuts. It was a mix of big-brother pride and at the same time arrogance. As a child she'd longed to wipe it off his face, now it felt strangely reassuring. "Well, then, Lieutenant Giovanni, here's your orders, fresh from Fleet Command, I picked them up on the way here, along with these."
He tossed the folded set of orders to her... along with the shiny lieutenant bars. "We can do a full promotion ceremony when you're on your feet again."
Alannis's throat constricted a bit. She let out a tense breath, "Thanks."
"I didn't do anything at all," Lucius said. "You earned that, along with a few awards to add to your collection. If anything, I should be thanking you, not only for paying off my debt, but for finding us such a powerful ally. Empress Hycar has already opened discussions for mutual protection treaties and we're talking about joint patrols in the unclaimed systems along the rim." He smiled a bit, "Thanks to Captain Beeson's work, we've also completed initial discussions with Sapphire about annexation."
"Oh?"
Lucius's eyes narrowed, "I gather that James Copely has quite the list of crimes to his name, but he has done an acceptable job of cleaning up his act since Captain Beeson's first arrival there. We'll be keeping a close eye on him, but so long as he keep his nose clean and the Sapphire Colony stays legitimate, we'll probably bring them into the United Colonies."
Alannis thought about the slaves she'd seen shackled there and she shivered. "If you say so."
"It's not an easy decision, trust me," Lucius said, "But bringing them in gives us a chance to clean their act up, and it also gives us a good strategic base down that way as well as some vital intelligence," His gaze went to the windows, outside of which the city sparkled in the sunlight. "Speaking of which... we've learned what Reese was doing there."
Alannis felt her heart race, "Really?"
"Seeking out alien artifacts, apparently," Lucius said. "Artifacts on the prohibited list, most of which are listed as severe hazards. I've already ran the list past Rory and Feliks, and the two of them were quiet for the first time since I've met them."
"We have to stop him," Alannis said. Whatever Reese was up to, he'd killed Fleet personnel to achieve it and he probably wouldn't hesitate to kill more people.
"We will," Lucius said. "Those orders assign you to the Constellation as assistant tactical officer. The Constellation is still in refit, but once you and she are fit for duty, you're going after him."
Alannis nodded, "I can't wait."
"No, you can wait," Lucius said. "As soon as you're on your feet, which the doctors assure me will be by later today or early tomorrow, you're going to come home and spend some time with your son. He's old enough to understand you've been in the hospital and some of what that means. You will spend time with him and you will put all this in the background and enjoy yourself... and that is an order, understand?"
Alannis gave a sheepish nod, "Yeah, I understand."
"Good, now get better, there's lots of work to do."
***
Commander Bowder snapped to attention and saluted as he stopped in front of Captain Beeson's desk. He didn't know what the formal summons was about, but he had his suspicions.
"Commander Bowder," Captain Beeson said with a smile, "I'm happy to inform you that Fleet Command has responded to my suggestions on personnel assignments."
He passed over a crisp, folded set of orders. "Congratulations, Captain Bowder, on your promotion. It is well deserved."
He felt more than a few mixed emotions over the news. On the one hand, his work here wasn't done, not by a long shot. He'd put too many hours into the Constellation to just walk away. His first impulse was to turn down the promotion... yet he knew that would be the deathknell to his career. If he showed that he didn't have the confidence to take the promotion then Fleet Command would be left with no choice but to run him out, how could they trust him to maintain his position if he couldn't move upwards?
"Thank you, sir," he finally said, "it's somewhat bittersweet leaving the Constellation, I don't quite feel that my work here is done."
"Work is never done, my friend," Captain Beeson said. "There's always more to be done. Congratulations and I'm sure the crew will give you quite the send-off."
He nodded in re
ply and turned away without saying more. He kept a pleasant smile on his face all the way back to his quarters... until he had his hatch closed.
The crisp paper of his orders crumpled in his fist. Damn it, he thought, this is the last thing I wanted. He took a calming breath. He had never expected to be trapped into Commander Brian Bowder's identity after he had killed the young officer and taken his place, shortly after the coup. The convenient deaths of the majority of the late Commander's associates and friends had proven too useful and opportunity to pass up, however, and his very lack of an established identity meant that he needed one to fall back upon when Admiral Dreyfus’s coup attempt had failed.
He had carefully cultivated the dour and boring outward appearance of Commander Brian Bowder. He had done everything he could to make certain that he didn't stand out, that he was competent but not outstandingly so, to stay as relatively anonymous as he could be while still having the power and reach to do what he needed.
Yet the Constellation had been a step too far. The ship had won a great victory and had reaped the rewards of that victory. He had come to the ship to learn as much as he could about the leaders he opposed... and he had learned a great deal. But now they would force him into a position where he couldn't hide. In Captain Beeson's shadow, he'd been able to act relatively freely, confident that Daniel Beeson's charisma and personality could be a shield for his actions.
Recruiting for his conspiracy as the Captain of his own ship would be much harder. He didn't have his network in place, yet, and the handful of recruits he had made weren't positioned to do much, even if he had fully trusted them.
Yet he had to move forward with the plan. He would take this setback in stride. It would accelerate his timeline, but at least now he wouldn't have to worry as much about tipping his hand to those who had been integral to uncovering Dreyfus's plot.
At least with his promotion came better access to resources, intelligence, and personnel. The day would come when Daniel Beeson regretted his recommendation for promotion. Not that he felt any personal animosity to him... or for Lucius either, for that matter. They were just in the way and he would remove them to create a better, safer future.