The Honour of the Knights (First Edition)

by Stephen Sweeney

  He stood up and paced beside the window. He knew what he had to do and didn't like it one bit. As the admiral had said, the ATAF plans were far more important than all of the lives aboard Griffin - in fact, more so than Griffin, Ifrit and Leviathan combined - and that fact terrified him.

  He stared out the window at the endless void of space. Now that the blast screens had come down from the carrier's windows, Parks was able to make out a dull grey planet hanging all alone, not too far off. He did not need to consult a system map to know that was where Turner needed him to go.

  “Dammit,” he said in a low voice, placing a fist on the window and leaning against the glass. “There must be another way; there has to be a way for Barber to come to me instead of us having to go to her.”

  He racked his brains, giving full consideration to every possibility that he could think of, all the while staring towards the dull grey planet. But his attempts to find a workable solution all hit dead ends. Turner was right: he had little choice in the matter, and whether he liked it or not he was going to have to send the ATAFs and the Knights to Arlos alone, and leave Griffin all but defenceless. And the sooner that was done the sooner they could all get home.

  With his mind made up he turned back to the console and closed the message, before rounding his desk and striding out the door to make for the bridge.

  XVII

  — Of Cloaks —

  Chaz continued watching the security team that guarded the entrance to the cargo bay. He had noticed a new face arrive earlier. The head of the security team had exchanged some brief words with the man before the pair had departed together. It did not seem to Chaz that anyone else had noticed; little details such as that were apparently lost on them.

  Estelle was staring at the floor looking quite glum, though he suspected that her current state owed more to sorrow than to being restricted to the hold.

  “... gonna be a lot of weeping mothers after this one, I can tell ya,” one of the team's conversations had carried to the hold's current occupants.

  “Tell me about it. They pulled out this one girl who had been buried under a collapsed ceiling. Legs were a complete mess. Even if she'd lived through that she certainly wouldn't be using those again.”

  “Not sure I'd take that over being spaced, myself.”

  “Nice looking thing too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That's a shame.”

  Chaz had noticed Estelle's expression change as the two men had spoken, the woman lowering her gaze to the floor.

  “You all right, Estelle?” Dodds had asked sometime later.

  “Just thinking.”

  “Sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay.”

  “Thanks, Simon.”

  Simon. That was a name he didn't hear used all too often.

  The head of security was now back, and speaking with the rest of his team. As he did so he looked around the groups of people sat in the cargo hold, but mostly at the Knights. The other members of the security team were doing likewise. It was clear to Chaz that the man was discussing the Knights and he'd guessed what was going on well before Wyatt strode over to the five pilots.

  “Lieutenant de Winter?” Wyatt asked as he stood over them, flanked by two others from him team.

  “Yes,” Estelle said, getting to her feet.

  “Commodore Parks wishes to speak to you immediately in his private office. Please come with me.”

  The Knights were escorted from the cargo hold by the head of the security team. As they walked through Griffin's decks towards Parks' office they were at last able to see the true extent of the damage. There were still many safety and fire doors closed across every deck and as a result their journey was not straightforward. Parks had insisted that the security team avoid the use of elevators in case they became stuck and delayed the meeting.

  * * *

  Parks turned back from where he was gazing out the window, in the direction of Arlos, as the six people entered his office.

  “Thank you for being so prompt, Omar,” he said. “Please wait outside. I have a confidential matter I need to discuss with the White Knights.”

  “Yes, sir,” Wyatt nodded and departed the office.

  “White Knights reporting as...” Estelle began, before Parks waved her down.

  “At ease. Please excuse me for restricting you to the cargo hold. I intended to explain the reasons behind the move back at Spirit, but that is going to have to wait. You may have noticed that we are currently not in jump.” He indicated to the inky blackness of the world outside the carrier, the scene punctuated by tiny pin-pricks of greys and whites from distant stars. “When we departed Aster, Griffin suffered a miss-jump, and as a result we did not make it to our intended destination. Instead, we have become temporarily stranded in the Phylent system.”

  “Phylent?” Estelle and Kelly both said.

  “We're in Imperial space?” Chaz asked, mimicking Parks' own reaction to the news the first time that he had heard it.

  Parks nodded. “That's correct, and we will be remaining here until we either repair our jump engines, Captain Meyers or Commodore Hawke arrive to assist us, or we are discovered by hostile forces. The situation is not in the least favourable to Griffin from whatever angle you look at it. Whilst rescue is on the way, we cannot count on its arrival for at least several more hours.

  “Griffin has sustained a considerable amount of damage and in the face of an attack would be almost totally defenceless. Our weapon systems are unreliable, our shielding is barely adequate, and we have no means of launching fighters.”

  “Excuse me, sir, but we could launch the ATAFs from the cargo hold,” Estelle chipped in.

  “Thank you for letting me know that, Lieutenant,” Parks answered with a hint of sarcasm. “But the situation is no longer as straightforward as that, and I have just received a communication from Fleet Admiral Turner that has further complicated matters. I believe you were all present when CSN Cardinal was boarded and destroyed by a raiding party?”

  “Yes, sir,” Estelle said, the others nodding.

  “We believe that the raider who escaped stole some highly classified and sensitive data that, if it were to fall into enemy hands, could spell utter disaster for the Confederation and all her interests.”

  “What was it?” Enrique asked.

  “As already stated, Mr Todd, that is classified,” Parks shot. “Now keep that big mouth of yours shut. This is very important and I need you all to listen very carefully.”

  Enrique did so.

  Parks pressed on. “All you need to know is that we have to get it back. As it happens a government service agent has tracked the raider to this very system and is in the process of reacquiring the data. She planned to immediately return to Confederation space once she had done so, but the instability of this entire region could make that considerably more difficult than she first expected. And it is that which has made my next decision so very difficult, because I need you five to go and get it from her.”

  He scanned the group as he finished speaking, noticing, as he had expected, Chaz's narrowed eyes upon him. The others said nothing, turning to look at one another. Parks pressed on, looking to head off the two dozen questions he could see coming. “So, I will be requiring you to travel, in the ATAFs, to Arlos starport where you will meet the agent, retrieve the stolen data card that was her mission target and return to Griffin.”

  It sounded very simple when Parks put it that way. He only wished that it was.

  He tapped the keyboard in front him. “This is who you will be looking for.” Parks turned the monitor of his desk around to face the Knights, keeping a close eye on Chaz as he did so. Unlike the others, whose attention was focused on the screen, studying the profile of the woman they were to meet, Chaz's eyes flickered to the monitor for only a couple of seconds before darting back to meet Parks'. For a while the two men locked eyes, Parks maintaining a serious and unwavering ex
pression, Chaz keeping his own just as steady.

  Parks said, “This is Clare Barber, an agent working for the Confederate Secret Service. She has a long standing history of providing her government with outstanding results.” He continued to lock looks with Chaz. None of the others had picked up on the exchange, their eyes remaining focused on the screen, which detailed Barber as being light skinned, thirty-nine years old, five foot nine inches tall, and with shoulder length, straight black hair.

  “She's likely to be maintaining a low profile, so you will need to put in a little extra effort to find her when arriving at the starport. She is obviously not aware of your coming to meet her, so do not expect her to come running and waving her arms in the air the second you arrive. We are aware that the Imperium has extensive information on some of our operatives so she will undoubtedly be on their watch list, due to her persisted presence within their space.”

  He had still not broken eye contact with Chaz.

  “I shouldn't need to remind you all of the very hazardous predicament that we all find ourselves in right now,” Parks said, before he swivelled the screen back around. “And as such it is necessary that upon leaving Griffin and travelling to the starport you take maximum precautions. That means avoiding detection by hostile forces at all times.”

  Estelle cleared her throat, then said, “Pardon my ignorance, sir, but whilst they are black, the ATAFs are not invisible.”

  “You're half right, Lieutenant. They are indeed black, and the cloaking device fitted into each of the fighters is a feature we wished to keep under wraps for as long as possible. However, circumstances like these often force matters forward.” He paused for a moment to watch their expressions, the look of total surprise clear on all of their faces; his own deadly serious.

  “Sorry, sir. Did you say a cloaking device?” Dodds said.

  “Yes, Lieutenant, I did. And it is exactly what you likely believe it to be: a system designed to render the fighter totally undetectable by almost any means,” Parks said. Now that he had their total and undivided attention he went on to explain the activation and features of the device. The system would render the ATAF completely invisible to both the naked eye and all radar systems, with the exception of those on-board the ATAFs themselves. Even the glow of the engines would be effectively masked by the device.

  “The invisibility effect of the cloak itself is linked to the ATAFs' shields so they must be enabled at all times, even when you disembark upon entering the port. I want to make it absolutely clear right now that if you disengage the cloak or the shields then you will expose yourselves and blow your cover. You will therefore have to push yourselves back through the shield when you wish to re-enter the fighters, a tedious but elementary exercise as you all should know.

  “You should also know that although you can use your weapons whilst the system is activated, it is not recommended as it will have detrimental effects on your cloak. Should you do so then your shielding will react for a few seconds and light you up like a Christmas tree. Similar effects will be caused by anything that tests your shields to any degree.

  “Unfortunately I'm not a scientist, so I cannot list every conceivable failing of the device. But since you are not to engage any hostile forces at all, I would strongly advise against using any of your weapons whilst cloaked. The technology is something that we do not wish anyone to become aware of – whether allied or enemy - and that means not de-activating the cloak for any reason whilst you are proceeding with this mission.

  “Now: do you all fully understand me?”

  “Yes, sir,” the five mumbled.

  “What?” Parks said. It had been a lengthy brief, but he needed to ensure they were all still very much awake.

  “Sir, yes, sir!” they repeated much louder, though with the exception of Chaz.

  “Excellent.” Parks tapped at the screen before him and Omar Wyatt re-entered his office, coming to stand by the Knights. “de Winter, Dodds, I want you two to remain here for a moment whilst I discuss some extra details with you. The rest of you head back down to the cargo hold. I have already made the flight team down there aware of my plans and they should have almost completed preparations by the time you return. Dismissed.”

  The head of security led the other three out. Parks watched them go, Chaz meeting his eyes for one last time before he left the office.

  * * *

  Dodds watched as the commodore rose from his chair and paced back and forth in front of his office window for a moment, the grey and uninviting form of Arlos just visible to one side of his view. He began contemplating why Parks may have requested he and Estelle remain behind. Parks did not take his eyes of either of them, studying them as if they were a pair of wanted criminals he had chased for years, having at last been brought before him.

  Parks stopped his pacing and fixed him with a stern look. “I don't suppose I need to ask if you're sober now, Dodds?”

  “Totally, sir,” he said in earnest.

  “And I should damn well think so, Lieutenant!” Parks snapped, his eyes narrow.

  Despite his earlier actions it was very clear to Dodds that Parks did not feel he had redeemed himself. Dodds detected that he was struggling with second thoughts about sending the team away, unsupervised.

  “When you get to the starport I don't want any performances from you, Dodds. You and Todd will fall in line behind de Winter and follow the chain of command. You will do exactly as you are ordered, without letting either your over-inflated ego or have-a-go-hero attitude interfere with your assignment. Got that?” He stabbed a finger onto his desk with each point he made.

  “Yes, sir,” Dodds said.

  “I want you to understand that this is the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in all of my career, if not my whole life,” Parks continued, now looking to both Dodds and Estelle. “I am leaving my ship and its entire crew defenceless whilst I send you off on a mission you were never trained for. I don't want any of you to take unnecessary risks. Get into the starport, identify yourselves to Barber, get the data card and return to Griffin. Nothing more. Am I making myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” they both said.

  “de Winter,” Parks said, his voice still lined with traces of anger. “Upon leaving Griffin I want you and your team to position yourselves as close to the underside of the carrier as you can before activating the cloak. This will ensure that you are not seen by any of the crew and your close proximity to the carrier will ensure you cannot be detected by the radars. Do not move away from the carrier until you are all fully cloaked. As I already stated, it is vital that we maintain secrecy regarding the device - from both enemy and allied forces. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” Estelle answered.

  “On top of that, Lieutenant, I am expecting you to keep this group together. I am charging you with no less than the full responsibility of bringing back not only that data card, but five ATAFs and five starfighter pilots as well. I want to make it absolutely clear that you are not to return to Griffin until you have the data card in your possession, or you can at least reliably determine what has happened to it. If, after successfully completing your mission, you return here only to discover that Griffin has been blown to pieces by hostile forces, you are to do nothing but wait for Captain Meyers or Commodore Hawke to arrive in the system. Even if Griffin is nothing more than a burnt-out hulk you will not disengage your cloak, engage hostile forces, or attempt to establish any contact with non-Confederation vessels. You will hold position even if it means waiting for your air to run out. Do not even make for any of the jump gates since they will likely be swarming with hostile forces. Am I making myself fully understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” Estelle said again.

  Dodds shifted his eyes in Estelle's direction. He could hear in her voice that she was starting to get frustrated. It was only some time ago that she had led her team to victory against Imperial forces, saving a great deal of not only Confederation lives, but also those of
the allied United Naval Forces. Even so she had not been allowed to be debriefed and receive the congratulations and thanks she merited. Instead she had been stuffed into a cargo hold and been made to sit and wait. And now she was being shouted at. Dodds felt for her; she deserved the praise.

  Parks, however, seemed satisfied that he was being taken seriously and that he could trust the Knights. He relaxed his tone somewhat and asked the pair if they were clear on what they were looking for and what they had to do.

  After he had finalized all the details, Parks said, “I should also let you know that neither Commodore Hawke or Captain Meyers are aware that the ATAFs have cloaking abilities and, circumstances notwithstanding, I'd like it to remain that way. The details of your 'errand' are also classified and you should refer either the commodore or the captain to Admiral Turner if they need to know what you have been doing. Now, do you have any other questions?”

  “Sir,” Dodds began, before pausing to consider his question. “Er... some of the ATAF's weaponry is not active. Are there any other systems that may not be operational that we may need to know about ahead of our task?” He was aware that the question might be just the sort that could enrage the commodore.

  “If you're referring to the plasma accelerators, Dodds, then this is intentional. There was an agreement made prior to the beginning of Operation Menelaus that no beam weapons or torpedoes would be directed at Dragon. This agreement was in place to ensure that we could retake the battleship without causing it critical or irrecoverable damage. But, no, there are no other features of the fighter that you need to be aware of. Now, if that is all?”

  “Yes, sir,” Estelle said, whilst Dodds nodded.