Sitrel’s hate burned hotter than ever, but he took Piras’s warning seriously. “Is it not obvious? We can use Rokan’s assets and sell off any excess product to fund other needs.”
Piras shook his head. “Rokan does offer some profit, but not enough to bring in half the Earther battlecruisers and a substantial portion of the destroyer fleet. And then there’s Haven, a small farming colony which is less than meaningless to the overall strategy. I’ve never seen such a ridiculous amount of effort for so little return.”
“Are you questioning the Basma’s wisdom?” Sitrel’s eyes glittered.
“I’m trying to win him a war. Don’t play games, Sitrel. You know Rokan and Haven have no value to the war effort. Why are we wasting time with them?”
Sitrel snorted, as if Piras was an idiot for not grasping the answer. “Sometimes, it’s not about winning territory. It’s about winning, period.”
“Speaking as a military man, that makes no sense. Educate me.”
“Taking Haven, a colony which represents everything the Basma believes is wrong with the Empire, would strike an emotional blow. Haven is symbolic of the Earther infestation destroying our legacy as the superior race.”
Piras steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “So it’s a move to lower the enemy’s morale.”
“And a statement of our higher purpose. To erase Haven would be a token of our determination to restore Kalquor to its purest form.”
Piras caught the emphasis. “Erase it?”
Sitrel grinned at him, making his lean features a death mask of grinning skull. “Entirely, my dear temperamental admiral. Copeland’s ships have those battle drone devices. They would take care of the problem nicely. All we need to do is fight our way past the defensive cordon the Imperial Fleet has placed between us and Haven.”
Piras’s guts curdled. He was well aware of the battle drones which were part and parcel of the deadly battlecruisers’ armaments. Capable of blowing up an entire city, a single battle drone was sheer devastating power if it reached the target it was launched at. There were hundreds of the things on board each battlecruiser, but it would take only one to finish Haven.
“Maf wants to vaporize the colony,” Piras said, the words coming slowly on the tide of disbelief. “And the people? The women and children?”
Sitrel shrugged. “Earthers and half-breeds. Who cares about such pollution?”
His dismissive tone made Piras want more than ever to rip his face off his skull. The man had no honor. Worse still, he was a coward and a monster.
Betraying none of the hatred he felt for the man, Piras gave him a level gaze. “Browning Copeland has different plans for the Earthers on Haven. He wishes to make a public demonstration of those people.” An equally repulsive idea, but Piras was sure the fanatical Earther and Maf were at cross-purposes where Haven was concerned. The united front was not so united after all.
Sitrel sniffed derisively. “Copeland is a tool, useful to us as long as he cooperates. We’re playing along for now, but when he no longer serves our needs, we’ll eliminate him too. The Basma has made that plain to me.”
“The Earthers who serve him may have something to say about it.”
That got an outright laugh from Sitrel. “The ragtag remnants of Earth haven’t a chance against the warriors we’ve put on their ships. Our men will be trained well enough to take over the battlecruisers once it’s necessary. Only Copeland’s ship has none of our men on board. It will be easy enough to obliterate the Sword of Truth.”
Piras thought of General Nath, working so hard to make the alliance feasible. Of his ferocious and entrancing daughter, flexible enough to trade jokes with a Kalquorian. His simmering anger at Sitrel threatened to flare anew.
He concentrated on his role. “You’re telling me the actual plan, the one I’m now hearing about, is to have Copeland help us get through Haven and Rokan’s defenses. Once we’ve defeated the fleet, we eradicate Haven Colony. If Copeland resists, we take over the battlecruisers and destroy his crews.”
“Kill all of the Earthers. Period.” The bastard appeared merry at the thought.
Piras gave him a withering stare. “I think not. A number of the prisoners must be kept alive. Especially Copeland and General Nath.”
Sitrel’s pleasure dimmed. “Whatever for? They are of no use to us.”
“No? Will the Basma begin openly trading Kalquorian prisoners to the Bi’isils then?”
The other Dramok stared at him, his mouth hanging open.
Piras snorted. “Of course he won’t. You know full well many of our soldiers will not go along with handing over our own kind to Bi’is for its research projects.”
“They are loyal to the Basma first and foremost.”
“Many are just pissed off they didn’t score Earther Mataras of their own. Maf has a large contingent of men who joined his side simply because of that. They could give a shit for race purity.”
“Heresy!”
“Honesty. Don’t play games with me, Sitrel, and don’t play them with the truth of our position on this. I know Dramok Maf is well aware of how our troops shake out. He invited them to turn on the Empire and stand with him using that reason. Shall I replay those vids for you? You seem to need your memory refreshed.”
Sitrel scowled, but he didn’t deny Piras’s assertions. Instead, he said, “You believe Copeland and Nath will continue to be important in keeping the less fervent element in line?”
“There is no doubt in my mind on that account. The Basma needs the lie of their involvement with Bi’is in order to keep many of our troops from walking away from the fight. Until we have access to the Empire’s treasury, Maf needs the money from the slave trade. It means keeping Copeland and Nath, at the very least.”
Sitrel blinked at him. Piras had to restrain himself from delivering a punch to his idiotic ronka’s face. The man was too stupid to live. Hopefully, Piras would get the chance to remedy the matter soon.
Piras spoke slowly, hoping to penetrate the fog which had apparently eclipsed Sitrel’s ability to think. “Dramok, we need Copeland and his most powerful officer as puppets to keep sending Kalquorian lab subjects to the Bi’is. The Earthers must be the face of those transactions, not Maf. Don’t you see that?”
The other man came to his senses at last. “It is a concern that our Nobeks will see the trade as the worst kind of treachery. It is an abomination that we are forced to sell our own kind to those repulsive monstrosities. The Basma knows it is, but it is also the only way to continue our glorious fight for the Empire’s salvation.”
Piras had never wanted to rip apart a man so much in his life. He hated the part he played, but play it, he must. To win.
If I had irrefutable evidence to show Maf was indeed behind this horror, the war would be over. Unfortunately, it was something the forces behind Maf would have to see for themselves. Vid footage and captured records could be faked. Maf and his closest associates had alleged the materials the Empire had gathered thus far to be staged productions, and the traitors had accepted their accusations. No one wanted to believe Kalquorians would trade their own kind to the Bi’is.
“The war fund is the sole reason I support the trade,” Piras said, sickened at the taste of the words. “It is also my hope that once we clear out the Earther infestation, we can turn our attention to Bi’is itself.”
Sitrel had recovered enough to grin. “Oh, we most certainly will. We will wipe their plague of a race right out of existence. The Basma has declared their destruction to be his first order of business once the Empire is returned to its former glory.”
Piras couldn’t imagine how Maf would pull it off. The war was depleting the Empire’s treasury. Even attempting to do away with Bi’is, never mind destroying them outright, would turn the whole of the Galactic Council of Planets against them. Kalquor would be cut off from all of its allies, relegated as nothing more than an outlaw state.
One mess at a time, he reminded himself. At least he knew the ful
l, horrible truth behind the demanded attack on Haven. Piras suspected that even if Copeland could be convinced to go along with Maf’s plans for the Earthers there, the Basma would still exterminate the Holy Leader’s battlecruiser crews. Whatever honor Maf might have once had, it was long gone in the tidal force of his fanaticism. He would turn on his Earther allies in the end.
Pretending not to care, Piras told Sitrel, “I will consult with the captains of our forces the moment Captain Kila’s destroyer is added to the system. At that point, I will make all haste to put together our plan of attack.”
Plan of attack. He had plans, all right. Piras would take obscene pleasure in seeing Sitrel and Maf reap the benefits of his plans.
Chapter 7
Because they were unsure of the Earthers’ ability to scan Piras’s shuttle, Lokmi and Mostar did not switch off their phase devices until they landed in the destroyer’s bay. The shuttle’s official occupant felt no shame for the relief he experienced to know they were safe and sound.
“No problems,” Lokmi told Piras cheerfully. “Mostar must have been bored senseless.”
“I was too busy assessing the threat level for future missions,” the scarred and chronically humorless weapons commander said. “While the destroyer we evaluated is somewhat undermanned, there is still reason to be concerned about its ability to fight.”
“The maintenance could be better on the engines,” Lokmi said. “But Sitrel’s ship will do what it needs to when the time comes to battle. As long as its crew is ready, there won’t be any problems.”
“The majority of Maf’s destroyers are most likely in comparable repair,” Piras opined. “When Dramok Worthless gets me the system tie-in, I’ll find out for sure.”
“Good meeting, huh?” Lokmi chuckled as the hatch opened and they disembarked. “You were grinding your teeth the whole flight back.”
Piras’s tension eased when he saw Kila waiting for them in the bay. The admiral’s glad welcome to his clanmate wasn’t as official as it should have been with them on duty. He didn’t care. With both his Nobek and intended Imdiko safe and sound at his side, he thought protocol could take a flying leap.
Piras did manage to refrain from hugging the grinning captain, letting the enthusiasm in his tone bear the weight of his happiness. “I’m glad to see you back.”
Lokmi was as effusive and unofficial. “Ancestors, yes. When did you return, Kila?”
Mostar walked past, muttering about filing a report. The sentimental reunion was probably too much for the aloof weapons commander to handle.
Kila jerked a nod in acknowledgement towards him before beaming at Piras and Lokmi. “I got back a few minutes ago. Is all well with you two? Chief, what were you doing off the ship?”
Lokmi snapped to attention. “Recon, Captain. I thought it worthwhile to do a personal inspection of one of the destroyers.”
“Report.”
Lokmi did so, including what he knew of Mostar’s intelligence.
“The destroyers are better off than the Earther ships then. Though if Copeland’s ship is any indication, the battlecruisers are enough to tip things in the Basma’s favor.” Kila eyed Piras. “You appear unhappy, Admiral.”
“And you look as if you’re bursting with good news, which we sorely need after my conversation with Sitrel.”
Piras filled the two of them in on Maf’s plans for Haven, as well as the threat to the Earthers working with the Holy Leader.
Lokmi was aghast to hear about the plan to use battle drones. “Mother of All, I knew Maf was an asshole. Even so, I didn’t think he was monster enough to simply press a button and wipe out all those people on Haven.”
Kila observed, “He might get pushback from his Nobeks on that account. The ground troops will want to go in and fight. Wiping out an enemy while sitting safe and sound at a distance is nowhere in the warrior’s code.”
“Nor is cold-bloodedly slaughtering women and children, no matter how little you like their species. Maybe wholesale murder will shake things up against Maf?” Lokmi dared to hope.
Piras hated to stomp on the Imdiko’s wishful thinking, but they had to face facts. “There are those who consider Earthers to be lower life forms, a view Maf encourages. Some would see killing even the most helpless as little more than stomping out bugs. We’ve noted that from what’s been happening on Lobam and Sib.”
“Most of the warriors wouldn’t do those things though. Lobam and Sib are hellish places for Earthers now, but I haven’t heard of outright butchery. Right?” Lokmi gazed at Kila. “Nobeks are inherently protectors, after all.”
Kila made a point similar to the one Piras had shared with Sitrel. “Many Nobeks joined Maf because they saw no hope of winning Earther Mataras of their own. Those men will hesitate when it comes to murder. The fact many women and hybrid children are still alive on Lobam and Sib testifies to that. Especially now that we know Maf would prefer to exterminate them on sight.”
Piras paced back and forth. “We’ll have to hope it will be the case here if we cannot keep the attack on Haven from happening. Hope is a damned thin line to hang all those lives on, though. One I don’t trust for an instant.”
“Speaking of hope—I have some news on the young lady you keep encountering on Copeland’s ship. Her name is Hope, which I’m sure you wanted to know.”
“General Nath’s daughter? Oh, you saw our second encounter.” Piras rolled his eyes, knowing the teasing that was coming.
“I did. You are a shameless flirt, Piras.” Kila snickered.
Lokmi wasted no time on jumping in. “You were flirting with the enemy? Admiral, your efforts to gain influence and information know no bounds. I like the idea of sex as a spy tool.”
Kila snickered. “She’s not an easy one, either. She must like Piras, though, because she flirted back.”
“Nice. I’m impressed.”
Piras rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Lokmi. She’s an interesting woman.”
Kila’s ever-present grin was the widest Piras had ever seen it. “My Dramok, you have no idea.”
* * * *
Hope had just begun her afternoon rotation when her supervisor, Chief Technician Lopez, showed up at her workstation. He told her, “Technician Nath, General Nath contacted me a moment ago. He advised me you are to be released from duty for the rest of the day.”
Hope looked up at Lopez in surprise. She was aware of those working at the nearest stations watching the interaction. As the lone woman working in Hacker Heaven, she was often under extra scrutiny, though no one ever gave her the slightest bit of trouble.
Lopez’s gaze was bright with curiosity and perhaps some malice. Because she was General Borey Nath’s daughter, Hope felt reasonably sure her safety was not in question. Yet her familial relationship had also earned her the instant dislike of a few. She had no idea how Lopez felt about her. Where she was concerned, he kept his directions brief and to the point.
She got to her feet, nervous at the sudden dismissal. “I’m released, sir?”
He nodded. “You may leave. Report to your station at the regular time tomorrow.”
Her father had never pulled Hope out of work before. “Did the general say why?”
“He requests you com him as soon as you leave the work area. See you tomorrow, Nath.” Since she was as obviously at a loss as he was, Lopez walked off without another word.
Technician Calhoun was a wag who was friendlier than most. He called out, “Hey Nath, ask your dad if I can have the day off too. There’s a nap that desperately needs me to take it.”
Laughter greeted his remark. Hope grinned at the broad face beaming in the blue light of his computer, but she didn’t waste any more time joking with her co-workers. She left the department without further conversation.
Something was up. She hurried down the corridor towards the family quarters. Traffic was low, fortunately. When she found herself in a stretch of uninhabited hallway, she stopped and commed her father.
He didn’t bothe
r with niceties when he picked up. “Hope, go get your sister out of class.”
The tone of his order told her something worse than Chastity pouring salt into a nun’s tea had occurred. “What’s wrong?”
His voice came back low, forcing her to hold the com to her ear to make out the words. “Can I speak?”
“I’ve got the corridor to myself for the moment.”
“The Holy Leader made a visit to the school today, ostensibly to reward the children’s hard work with his presence. He pulled several girls from Charity’s class into a private room for interviews.”
Hope’s heart seemed to stop. “Charity too?”
“She was called in, but her meeting didn’t last long. She made herself—unappealing. She’s still disagreeable to be around, so Sister Miriam is asking Charity be sent to our quarters.”
“Disagreeable? How?”
Borey’s voice eased to allow in a moment of laughter. Hope relaxed a touch. He wouldn’t be able to laugh if Charity were in real danger. “You’ll see. Or smell. I don’t want her on her own, though. I have no idea how she is emotionally or what might have happened. I’ve had you excused from work to pick her up and take her home.”
“On my way.” Hope clicked the com off, her mood going dark. She hurried towards the section of rooms which had been set aside for the ‘school’ on board the battlecruiser. She fought off desperation to see Charity safe. It wouldn’t do to call attention to herself by running the way panic insisted she should.
* * * *
Lokmi was not enthralled with the meeting Piras had called. After bringing the command staff of Kila, First Officer Uls, Weapons Commander Mostar, Weapons Subcommander Nived, and Head Medical Officer Dr. Yel up to speed, Piras got down to their next order of business.
His gaze fell on Lokmi first. “Chief, I hate to do this to you, but your team is going to have to double up on work.”
Lokmi imagined his staff’s reaction to such news and winced. He wouldn’t have to provoke a fight to get one in this instance. “We’re already pulling double shifts, Admiral. The shuttle phase devices are nearing completion, but I need a few more days.”
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