by Brown, Ryk
“What about the second one, Rondall?” Mister Willard asked.
“Rondall means respond, retransmit, or repeat. Corpa means… oh, wait… when Rondall is followed by Corpa it means redirect and retransmit at coordinates. I’m pretty sure five-three-nine are the targeting coordinates for a laser transmission.”
“They were sending out a planet wide hail, notifying someone on the surface of an upcoming laser transmission.”
“Did anyone reply?” Mister Willard asked. The mystery was becoming more intriguing by the moment.
“No, at least not according to the comm-logs.”
“Did they retransmit later?”
“Yes,” the technician told him, “at fourteen ten hours they sent another message via laser-comm to coordinates five-three-nine on the surface of Corinair. The second message was a warning to get to assigned safe coordinates.”
“They were warning someone that they were about to attack Corinair,” Mister Willard surmised.
“But the Loranoi didn’t attack the planet,” the technician pointed out.
“You said this was before the Aurora attacked?”
“Yes, sir,” the technician confirmed. “A few minutes after the second message, they went to battle stations. A few minutes after that, they dispatched a high-speed comm-drone to Takara informing them of the Aurora’s attack on them.”
“Then this was all before the Wallach arrived,” Willard surmised. “The Loranoi intended to begin bombardment of Corinair as a show of force after the Prime Minister announced their independence from the empire. They didn’t even know the Aurora was out there yet.”
“What did they mean by assigned safe coordinates?” the technician wondered.
“I’m not sure,” Mister Willard admitted, “but I have an idea.” He moved to one of the many weapons stations on the Loranoi’s bridge and began frantically scrolling through screens. “I saw something before, when I was looking at their targeting packages.”
“Targeting packages?”
“It appears they have prewritten target lists, probably for every planet. For all we know, there could be different lists for the same planet but for different scenarios.” He continued scrolling until he found what he was looking for. “There, package four. It was already selected to be sent to the orbit-to-surface batteries, but once the Aurora engaged them, it was canceled.” He continued scrolling through the various screens, stopping abruptly again a few moments later. “Here it is, the assigned safe coordinates list.” He looked it over for a moment, then collapsed back in his chair in frustration. “There are over two hundred safe coordinates on this list, arranged by priority.” Willard sighed. “I don’t get it, why would they retransmit the message to specific coordinates? If they just wanted to warn all of their people about the impending attack, the first planet-wide broadcast would’ve accomplished that.”
“Maybe they wanted to make sure one particular person got the word. Perhaps someone important,” the technician speculated.
“Maybe, but how could they expect him to be in that location so quickly?”
“A relay set?”
“Of course,” Willard realized, feeling silly for not thinking of that himself. “The guy must have a relay set to forward laser-comm messages to him. Probably using something as simple as the public planetary comm-net.” Willard’s brain started clicking, and he suddenly started snapping his fingers. “We need to find out who lives at coordinates five-three-nine,” Willard ordered.
“First, we have to figure out where five-three-nine is,” the technician corrected. “The Ta’Akar use a different planetary location reference system than we do. We have to translate it into our own coordinate system.”
“Well get on it,” Willard insisted as he rose from his seat.
“I have no idea how to do that,” the technician admitted.
“Contact flight ops on the Aurora,” Willard instructed. “They’ll know how. Then figure out where it is and who lives there,” he added as he headed for the exit. “Once you do, call me on a secure channel and let me know, and do not tell anyone about this, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” the technician promised, “but where are you going?”
“To talk to Lieutenant Commander Nash,” he announced as he came to the exit hatch. He stopped and turned back to the technician. “Get it done, and call me,” he ordered sternly as he turned back and exited.
“Aurora, Dawton, onboard the Loranoi,” the technician called over the comm-set.
“Wilton, Aurora. Go ahead,” Naralena’s voice answered.
“Aurora, please patch me through to flight ops.”
* * *
The shuttle carrying the Prime Minister of Corinair rolled into the Aurora’s main hangar bay. As soon as she came to a stop, her boarding ramp deployed, and the Prime Minister and his translator, Mister Briden, came bounding down the ramp followed by a civilian security guard.
“This doesn’t look good,” Nathan commented, noticing the expression on the Prime Minister’s face. Although he had obviously changed into fresh clothing and had taken care to clean himself up after being rescued from the rubble, his appearance was not of the usual polished and dignified politician. He was obviously shaken, and he appeared impatient as well, which was behavior Nathan had never seen from the Prime Minister in the past.
As the acting commander of all Corinari forces, Major Prechitt greeted the Prime Minister in proper military fashion. The response was not what he had expected.
“What is he saying?” Nathan asked Tug.
Tug listened intently for several moments. “I believe he is challenging the major’s right to take command of the Corinari…”
Nathan wasted no time before intervening. He did not need the two most powerful men on Corinair arguing in the middle of his hangar deck, especially in front of the numerous members of the Corinari working around them. “Gentlemen,” Nathan stated sternly, “this is not the place for such discussions. We should take this to someplace more private.”
“Perhaps my briefing room,” Major Prechitt offered, ignoring the Prime Minister’s continued protestations.
“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Nathan agreed, gesturing to the Prime Minister. “Prime Minister?” The Prime Minister began a new argument, this one aimed at Nathan yet still in his native language. “That was not a request, sir,” Nathan added.
The Prime Minister discontinued his tirade, noticing the look of conviction in Captain Scott’s eyes. Frustrated that he had little choice in the matter, the Prime Minister fell in step and began to follow the guards out of the hangar deck.
Nathan moved closer to Major Prechitt. “You’re sure about this?”
“I have followed regulations to the letter in this matter, Captain, I assure you,” Major Prechitt answered as they followed the Prime Minister and his party into the corridor.
“Good enough for me,” Nathan stated.
It took less than a minute to reach the flight operations briefing room and even less time once they entered for the Prime Minister to resume his argument.
“The Prime Minister insists that Major Prechitt is not qualified to take command of all Corinari forces,” Mister Briden translated on behalf of the Prime Minister.
“I was completely within military regulations in my assumption of command,” Major Prechitt argued in Angla out of respect for Captain Scott. The major was a firm believer that, on board the Aurora, the primary language should be Angla. He had held his own men to this requirement as well as himself.
“You are a pilot,” Mister Briden protested. “Your command experience is almost nonexistent, and your tactical training is limited to matters of aerial combat. You are not fit to lead the entire military…”
“Show me someone who is,” Major Prechitt interrupted, “and I’ll gladly step down. But until then, regulations state that it is my duty to assume command. The very same regulations that the Prime Minister and the joint nations military council put into effect twenty-
five years ago, I might add.”
“The Prime Minister will take command of the Corinari,” Mister Briden announced.
“Are you joking?” Major Prechitt asked. “How is the Prime Minister more qualified? What military training does he possess?”
Nathan scowled. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Tug said nothing as he observed the Prime Minister’s lack of contribution to the conversation. He nudged Nathan, pointing with his gaze at the Prime Minister, as Mister Briden and Major Prechitt continued to argue.
* * *
“Excuse me, Lieutenant Commander,” Mister Willard stated as he entered the Aurora’s intel shack.
“Mister Willard,” Jessica responded, somewhat surprised, “I thought you were still on the Loranoi.”
“I was, but I discovered something, something I think you might find of interest.”
“You came all the way back to Karuzara just to show me something? Have you heard of comm-sets?”
“I do not yet know enough about your communications systems and their security features. I thought it best that I present this information in person.”
“Very well, spit it out then,” Jessica told him, growing impatient.
“We discovered entries in the Loranoi’s communications log. They transmitted a planet-wide alert to all of Corinair.”
“When?”
“After the Prime Minister openly declared their independence but before the Aurora attacked the Loranoi. The message they transmitted was a warning of a message to follow a few minutes later. While the first message was over radio frequencies, the second message was via laser comm directed at specific coordinates announced in the first message. The second message was a warning to a Takaran operative on Corinair that they were about to bombard the planet. They were warning the operative to get to safe coordinates.”
“We already knew there were Takaran operatives on Corinair. They had an entire Anti-Insurgency Unit stationed there the whole time.”
“Yes, but the coordinates they were transmitting to were not at the location that Mister Dumar indicated as the command center for the Anti-Insurgency Unit.”
“Where were they?” Jessica asked.
“At first, I did not know. Then I remembered a list of coordinates that were on a ‘safe list’ in the Loranoi’s targeting system.”
“What, like a ‘no-strike’ list?”
“Yes,” Mister Willard confirmed. “The coordinates for the laser comm message were on that list.”
“Who did the message go to?”
“I had one of your technicians run the location through flight ops. They still have access to the master database that the Corinairan navigational system used before the network was destroyed…”
Jessica grabbed Mister Willard by the shoulders and shook him. “You’re killing me here! Who already?!”
“Mister Briden. The coordinates are Mister Briden’s residence. I figure he has a comm relay in place there.”
“Of course he does,” Jessica agreed, throwing her hands up as everything fell into place. “All spies have a comm…” Her expression soured. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed reaching up to her comm-set. “Stay here!” she ordered as she tapped her comm-set and headed out the door. “Comms, Nash! Location of the Prime Minister and Mister Briden!”
* * *
Nathan’s gaze shifted between Mister Briden and the Prime Minister as Major Prechitt continued to argue over the major’s assumption of command over the Corinari. He too noticed that the Prime Minister was not saying much.
“Excuse me, Mister Briden,” Nathan interrupted. “I can’t help but notice that the Prime Minister isn’t saying much.”
Mister Briden stopped speaking for a moment, caught off guard by the captain’s statement. “What?”
“I mean, you are a translator, right?”
“Of course, but I don’t see…”
“Well, how can you be translating when the Prime Minister isn’t even speaking?”
Mister Briden suddenly seemed more nervous. “I am well aware of the Prime Minister’s position on the matter,” he defended as his eyes danced from person to person.
Nathan noticed Mister Briden’s dancing eyes as well. They seemed to be constantly checking out not only he and Tug, but also the two Corinari guards at the doorway and the one standing next to him that had accompanied them on the flight from Corinair. “Well, maybe his position might change if you would tell him what everyone is saying.”
Jessica charged down the main corridor aft toward the hangar bay. “Seal off all corridors leading to that section,” she barked over her comm-set as she ran. “I want armed guards at every intersection! No alarms, understood? And no one moves in or takes any overt action until I say!”
Sergeant Weatherly was on his way to chow when he saw Jessica running toward him. “Sir?”
“Fall in behind me, Sergeant,” Jessica ordered.
Sergeant Weatherly fell in behind her, matching her step for step as they jogged down the main corridor. “What’s going on?”
“We’ve got a spy on board, and he’s with the captain and Tug right now.”
Jessica came to a stop at the aft end of the main corridor where it split to wrap around either side of the main hangar bay. She was immediately met by two armed Corinari coming from the port corridor.
“Port side is locked down, sir,” the first guard reported. “Main hangar bay is also locked down. The aft end should be locked down any moment now.”
“What about vertical access ladders?” Jessica asked.
“Men are moving into position above and below that section now. Give them two minutes to get set.”
“Comms, Nash,” Jessica called over her comm-set. “Patch me into the comm-sets of the two Corinari guards that are with the captain and isolate. I don’t want anyone else on the line.”
“Yes, sir,” Naralena answered. “One moment.”
“Weatherly you’re with me,” Jessica ordered. She turned to the Corinari guard. “Tell all your men Briden does not get off this ship alive.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s go,” she announced as she pulled her weapon and brought it up to shoulder level. She held it out in front of her with both hands in a firing position and started moving carefully forward into the starboard corridor. The sergeant brought his weapon into the same position and followed.
“I have you patched into the guards only, sir. As soon as you start talking, you’ll be speaking to them and myself only.”
“This is Lieutenant Commander Nash. Do not respond, do not flinch, do not make any movement that might indicate someone is speaking to you over your comm-set. The man in the room with you, Mister Briden, may be a Takaran spy. We have sealed off all exits and there are armed guards everywhere. Do not take any action until I say. We are moving into position now. We should be set in one minute.” Jessica continued moving down the corridor, turning and heading aft as the corridor wrapped around the starboard side of the main hangar deck. “Stand by.”
The older Corinari guard standing next to the exit and closest to Captain Scott did not move as Jessica’s voice had instructed, he only continued staring straight ahead. His training and years of experience had taught him how to take note of details within his field of vision without looking directly at them. His younger partner, standing on the other side of Tug, was not as experienced. When Jessica’s announcement squawked on his comm-set, his hand instinctively reached for his comm-set. A moment later, his eyes shifted toward Mister Briden, quickly assessing the threat level. The first thing he noticed was that the civilian security guard that had come with the Prime Minister and Mister Briden was standing on Mister Briden’s right side. The guard was left-handed and wore his weapon on his left hip, the one closest to the suspect. Despite his best efforts, the younger Corinari guard’s eyes widened slightly in concern.
The Corinari guard’s sudden change in expression did not go unnoticed by Mister Briden, just as the hushed
chatter over the guard’s comm-set had not. Mister Briden’s complexion paled somewhat, small beads of sweat forming on his brow as his body physiologically prepared itself for action and adrenaline dumped into his arteries.
Nathan, who had not heard Jessica’s comm chatter, noticed Mister Briden’s sudden change. “Is there a problem, Mister Briden?”
That was enough to trigger his instincts. Mister Briden’s right elbow shot up into the nose of the civilian security guard, stunning him just long enough to pull his weapon from the man’s holster on his left hip. In one smooth motion, Briden pressed the activation button on the energy pistol and fingered the safety off just as the tip of the weapon found its place at the back of the Prime Minister’s skull. He held the Prime Minister in front of him as a shield.
Both Corinari guards drew their weapons in an instant, each taking immediate aim at Mister Briden as best they could.
“Drop your weapons!” Briden yelled. “Drop them now, or the Prime Minister dies!”
Neither Corinari guard did as they were told.
“DO IT!” Briden repeated, more adamant than before.
“Shit!” Jessica swore as she heard the yelling from just outside the flight ops briefing room. “Change in plans,” she ordered, changing direction toward the access ladder on the opposite wall. “Follow me,” she ordered Sergeant Weatherly as she dropped her gun back in its holster and slide down the ladder to the deck below.
“Do as he says,” Nathan ordered the men calmly.
The guard to Nathan’s left glanced at him for a second, unsure if he should comply.
“That’s an order,” Nathan added. The guard began to lower his weapon slowly to the floor, his partner doing the same.
“That’s right,” Briden said. “Do as he says.” He watched as the guards set their weapons down on the floor. “Now, kick them toward me.”
The guards gently kicked their weapons, sending them sliding across the deck so they stopped at the feet of the Prime Minister. Briden looked down at the civilian security guard who was down on his knees, holding his bleeding nose. “Move over there,” he ordered the bleeding man. The civilian guard continued to hold his nose, moving across the room to stand next to Major Prechitt and the Corinari guard next to Nathan.