Slipspace: Harbinger

by P. C. Haring

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  October 18, 2832

  13:30

  Mjöllnir

  VIVINE MELOR COULD NOT SIT STILL. She could not calm herself down. She could neither eat nor drink. Her legs ached from moving from place to place in her quarters as she struggled to focus on any one task. Under all the tumult, all of the chaos, one thread spun through it all- her life was over.

  She had given Rashar everything she needed to force the Captain to turn her over. Her own narrative damned her and while she could not have known that last transport was Remali, the General would not accept her ignorance as justification. Rashar would see her as another Verasai terrorist attacking another Remali target. Rashar would not accept ‘no’ for an answer and Amado would be forced to sacrifice her to the Remali in order to prevent an armed conflict. After the extradition, she would face trial in the Remali legal system which would end in a guilty verdict and a life sentence, if not worse. That was it. It was over and done.

  Well, almost.

  Nothing had been decided yet and that brought her the only comfort she feared she would ever see again. The Captain had ordered the hearing into recess so the data the General had presented could be verified and authenticated. Under any other circumstances, Melor would have been the one leading that effort. But she had been again confined to her quarters and the analysis handed over to someone on her staff. Their work would be flawless. But at the same time, she had no doubts: that data would be proven genuine. The more she thought about that operation, the more she went over the look and feel of that unknown ship. The more she applied what she knew about the Remali today to that ship so many years back, the more crystal-clear her instinct had become.

  She was guilty.

  It was her own damn fault. Attacking the orbital station and taking out that ship had been a necessity. The Remali were in the wrong place at the wrong time and their presence was unfortunate collateral damage. Agreeing to this inquiry had been her error. The Captain had even told her he wouldn’t do this without her consent. But he had asked for her trust, for her confidence in him. Now it had blown up in their faces and she was fucked. Maybe this had been his plan all along; feed the Verasai terrorist to the Remali wolves and us that as a boon with which to start gathering the information they needed. It might even work. But she would be rotting in a Remali hell hole, or dead long before that plan came to fruition.

  Despite his best intentions, the Captain couldn’t protect her. Not anymore. Not if he wished to keep the peace. But that sentiment was not shared by everyone in her life. In fact, there were others who were just waiting for an excuse to start a war with the Remali. She unclenched her hand and turned the transceiver over in her palm. Her mother had said to save it in case of an emergency. Even so, it came as a bit of a surprise when she went for it in the draw of her desk first thing after the guard had left and locked her inside. It was a simple device; a small black unit with only two buttons. One, green in color, would send. The other, would cancel. She shuffled back and forth in her quarters. If she did this, the ramifications would be significant. If a fight did brew over all of this, it would be on her. Besides, what loyalty would she be showing the Captain if she did this?

  Screw loyalty. Her life was on the line and loyalty only extended so far.

  The transceiver gave a distinct beep when her finger found the green button.

  October 18, 2832

  14:00

  Mjöllnir - Med-Deck Residence Ward

  CASSIE RAPPED her fingers against the back of her handheld as she made her way from one end of the corridor to the other. The deck had been almost vacant and where she had expected to see far more injured from the Remali boarding action, most of the beds were vacant. She stopped at the door and checked the name on the placard against the name of the marine who had authored the report. Cody had asked her to speak with the first responders during the boarding action. The hearing had not gone well and he was looking for anything he could use to deny Rashar her extradition without setting off a war.

  She offered a soft knock.

  “Come in.”

  She let herself in and closed the door softly behind her. At the sight of her, the marine tried to shift into a more appropriately respectful position, but the wires running from the wall to the intravenous cuff on his arm became tangled, restricting his movement. Cassie moved to help clear the mess and guide him to his side.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “At ease, soldier,” Cassie responded. “How are you feeling?”

  The private grunted in pain. Inwardly, the office winced at the memory of her own war and the wounds she never recalled sustaining. The physical injuries had taken months to heal. Every agonizing moment of pain and discomfort of her rehabilitation had seared itself into her memory and she could not wish that on anyone else, much less the young man lying in front of her.

  “Well enough, ma’am. The doctors are telling me it’s going to be at least ten days before I’m back on my feet, and for once in my life I’m not in any hurry. Those Remali were tough mothers.”

  Cassie smiled for a moment, relieved that the patient had opened the door so she could discuss what she needed to know—without coming across as insensitive to the soldier’s condition.

  “About the Remali, do you feel up to answering a few questions for me?”

  He winced. “Ma’am, with due respect, I’ve already filed a report with Colonel Foster.”

  “I know, Private,” she said, motioning to the handheld. “I’ve read through it and have a few follow-up questions for you if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all, ma’am.”

  Cassie turned her attention back to the handheld and pulled up the list of questions she had prepared. The information displayed and she keyed a second short sequence, causing the handheld to beep as it began recording the conversation.

  “According to your report, your fire team was the first to respond to the threat. How would you evaluate the Remali troops you encountered?”

  The marine paused for a moment to consider, before he responded. “There were a couple of things I noticed about them.” As the marine spoke, his words appeared on Cassie’s handheld display: a perfect transcript of the conversation in real time. “They were highly efficient. I reported aboard a month before we launched and I still get lost on this ship. I’m sure you do too, Commander. This ship is a flying city and even with the deck markings, the corridors start running together and you lose sight of where you are. But the Remali...” He paused. “The Remali were aboard for what...an hour, maybe two? And they knew exactly how to get back to the airlock. When we cut them off, they knew exactly where to retreat. It was as if they had the deck plan memorized.”

  That last sentence held in the Commander’s mind for a moment. She would have to check and ensure the ship’s schematics had not been transmitted. Assuming they were still secure, their ability to move about the ship so easily could indicate a high level of detail in the Remali memory.

  “What of their combat tactics, Private?”

  The injured soldier shook his head. “I don’t know, ma’am. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were toying with us.”

  Cassie frowned.

  “Ma’am, when my team arrived, we were outnumbered three to one. They could have—no, they should have overpowered us and put us down. But I don’t think they wanted to.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  He shifted in the bed once again. “Ma’am, the corridors in that section of the ship are very narrow. It’s practically a shooting gallery down there. We were clustered in there pretty tight, even with the advantage of cover. It’s almost impossible for their marksmanship to have been as poor as it was. If those Remali were under the Colonel’s command, he would have flushed them out the airlock for such a poor showing.”

  Cassie found herself struggling to stay neutral in her demeanor. “If they weren’t firing at you, then what was their target?”

  “The co
rridor itself, ma’am. Scuttlebutt has it the decks are pretty torn up from collateral damage. Hell, this wound—” He motioned to his leg. “Wasn’t from a Remali weapon. It was from a piece of shrapnel that sliced through my leg. Ma’am, I think they were checking their fire.”

  Cassie sat back in her seat. In all the excitement, she had not had the chance to review the initial damage assessment from the engagement. With Melor in custody, it had been her first mate, Piper, who had issued the report and it did confirm what this Marine had been telling her- severe damage to the deck and bulkheads affected sections of the ship. Even though Foster’s marines fought with lethal force, the Remali were fighting back by checking their fire in order to avoid casualties. Had Rashar ordered that tactic in the hopes of avoiding a war? Or had this whole thing been but a ruse to manipulate them all into a specific set of circumstances to see how they would respond?

  Cassie stood up and excused herself. Between Rashar’s bullshit attempt to work with her on the investigation, and this report, she did not know what game the Remali were playing, but she had had more than enough.

  October 18, 2832

  14:00

  Mjöllnir Combat Fighter Patrol - Flight Leader

  COLONEL LABONNE LAY her head back for a moment and took in the vibrations of her ship as the engines propelled her through the void of space. As expected, the Remali had displayed fighters of their own, but like her flight, they remained in a tight patrol pattern. Both squadrons protected their mother ships while trying to gather data on the other side…while making it look like they couldn’t care less about what they were doing. She only hoped that the scan data she and her wing was collecting proved useful to the Captain. Things had been quiet, but with the passive-aggressive stare downs across the proverbial school yard, tension hung between her pilots. No one was willing to let their guard down lest the opposition take advantage of any weakness. Even this moment of solace was a risk to her and her wingmen.

  A beeping in her ear piece drew her attention to a flashing alert on her cockpit tactical display. Her wing appeared in formation at the bottom of her screen. The Remali vessel and squadron appeared at the top. The central section appeared clear, save for a single blip, representing one of the Remali fighters moving towards her formation. It moved far slower than she had observed in the past. Clearly, it was not advancing to attack. She continued watching as the tactical data indicated its speed and direction vectors, updating in real time as the lone fighter slowed to a halt in the otherwise unoccupied space between both ships and their support craft.

  Labonne’s eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the situation. No weapons signatures, no active scanner pings. Sensor returns showed only a minimal EM signature, just enough to power the ship and idle the engines.

  “What do you think, Colonel?”

  Mitchell’s question gave voice to the same in her mind and she held her silence as she worked it over. On Earth, there held an ancient practice dating back to the days of wars fought on horseback. When two opposing armies met on the field of battle, the senior commanders would ride ahead and meet in the center. There, the two would parley. Once the conference drew to a close, both commanders would ride back to their forces, under an unstated but implied flag of truce. At least, until they returned to their lines and launched their attacks in earnest.

  That the Remali would be doing something similar seemed a stretch at best, but considering that the fighter had not moved, it seemed that the invitation had been extended.

  “Colonel?”

  Labonne activated her comm. She couldn’t deny the possibility this would end badly, but if she could get close enough, she might be able to pull some thorough scans of their ships.

  “Labonne to Gryphon Flight, I’m going to fly out and see what our friend wants. All units are ordered to remain on patrol. Do not engage any target unless to defend yourself or friendly units. Acknowledge.”

  As the confirmations returned, Labonne broke formation and approached the center of the field. She throttled down, intent on slowing to a stop just a few meters shy of the Remali’s nose.

  She never got the chance.

  Without warning, the Remali fighter’s engine lit up to full power and the ship blew past Labonne. According to the proximity center, the Remali missed her by a mere two meters. Instinct took over as she ducked and when she regained herself a message had appeared on her screen.

  Catch Me If You Can.

  He wanted to play. She throttled forward and spun end over end in pursuit.

  October 18, 2832

  19:00

  Mjöllnir - Captain's Office

  CODY AMADO SAT FORWARD in his seat as he listened to Aler’s report. He had not found anything of use on the legal front. While the incident was well documented, there remained nothing the Lieutenant could find that would disqualify Melor’s actions as either terrorism or murder. Had Melor sabotaged the Ralgon freighter as per the original Mission parameters, an argument might have been made for collateral damage. It would have been an unfortunate incident of the Remali vessel being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But that argument flew out the airlock when Melor changed her target. They had also considered turning the matter over to the Verasai since Melor’s actions had been taken under their leadership. But while that would have successfully saved her from the Remali as there was no chance the Verasai would turn over on of their own, it also had the side effect of likely alienating the General into another attack.

  He let out a sigh. It was all falling apart around him. Melor had trusted him, and now he had been backed into a corner and there was nothing he could do. There would be hell to pay when he got home, if there was anything left of him to get home after Regent Melor caught up with him.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. You may go.”

  “Captain.” Aler nodded in acknowledgment as he set his report on his desk. Cassie remained in her seat, silently waiting to deliver her report.

  “We’re in trouble here,” Cody said, after the hatch sealed. “When this hit the fan, I didn’t put any credibility in the General’s accusations. Now I’m in an impossible situation.”

  “It would seem that way, wouldn’t it, Cody?”

  The tone in her voice hit him more than the question. There was a hint of knowing there.

  “You sound like you’ve turned something up...”

  Cassie shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’ve turned up, quite honestly. I just have a series of events, the logical conclusion to which is not the scenario in which we find ourselves.”

  “Walk me through your findings, please.”

  “We’re getting a lot of mixed messages, Cody. On the one hand the Remali are very demanding. They want Melor in their custody and they will use force to get what they want. They want me to act as liaison between their team on board and the crew. But when push comes to shove, they back down.”

  “I noticed that too. Almost no damage to the ship when they were firing on us, not even retaliation for the severe damage we did to the Remali launch to force it off our hull.”

  Cassie nodded. “Same story goes with the firefight on board. I spoke with a few of the marines who were on that line. They all reported dramatic inaccuracy by the Remali weapons fire. One person I spoke to suggested they couldn’t have accidentally ended up in the cargo bay given how well they moved about the ship. Most of the injuries our people sustained were superficial or caused by collateral damage: shrapnel from damaged bulkheads or console explosions.”

  The obvious conclusion clicked into place. “They’re toying with us.”

  Cassie nodded in silent agreement.

  “The question is why?” Cody continued. “They attack us, a target they can easily defeat. They have no reason to stop, but they do because we ask them to. We invite them aboard as guests, but they begin a firefight and take hostages. They get the jump on us, and move through the ship like they own the place. We respond, shooting to kill, yet we take extremely light casualties. The Remali
box themselves into a cargo bay, but instead of fortifying as they should have, they give up the fight. They level accusations about Lieutenant Melor. We resist those, but instead of bringing the superior force of her own ship down upon us, General Rashar agrees to an investigation.”

  “It’s almost as if she’s unwilling to commit to a full-scale attack,” Cassie offered.

  Cody nodded. “Agreed. If I had the tactical advantage that she does, and felt as strongly as she does about her claims, and was met with the resistance that we’re putting up right now, I would bring the full weight of my forces down. But she...” His voice trailed off. “I’ve never met a General who isn’t willing to fight when provoked. And then,” he continued as his stream of thought took over, “there’s this Ralgon connection. An eighty-five percent correlation between the data points is nothing to sneeze at, it’s almost full confirmation based on the same regs Rashar just shoved down our throats.”

  “But do you trust the Verasai? You still have to consider the source.”

  “I am. Which is why I asked Labonne to have her pilots take their own scans of the Remali ships. They got some good data including some very detailed information on the Remali fighters. Apparently Labonne and one of their pilots got into some showing off out there earlier this afternoon.”

  Cassie nodded. “I’d heard about that. What did the analysis turn up?”

  Cody slid the appropriate tablet across the desk for Cassie to see.

  “Eighty-five percent correlation?”

  “Yeah, between our scans of the Remali ships taken this afternoon and the data we have on file regarding the Ralgon.”

  “Verasai actually gave us good intel?”

  Cody nodded.

  “So, we’ve got them, then? They’re linked to the Ralgon which makes them responsible in part for Artez?”

  In theory, it sounded good. but as he heard Cassie give voice to the conclusion it sounded no better to him than it had when he mulled it over in his mind.

  “I don’t know, Cassie…” He felt his voice trail off. “We have correlation but it’s also circumstantial right now.”