Test of Mettle (A Captain's Crucible Book 2)

by Isaac Hooke

Jonathan worked his jaw. The man wasn’t going to make it easy.

  “Your answer, Captain Dallas?” Barrick pressed.

  “We agree to a temporary truce,” Jonathan said finally.

  “Excellent,” Barrick replied. “But what about the planet-side mission?”

  “We’ll send a team down to the planet with you,” he said grudgingly. “But once everyone is on the surface, my team is in charge of the operation. Do I make myself clear?”

  Barrick took some time to answer. Finally: “The Raakarr have agreed. See you on the surface.”

  sixteen

  It was agreed that both sides would orbit on opposite flanks of the planet, well away from their mutual weapons, and at the designated time Jonathan would launch four shuttles; the crafts would land near the coordinates of the anomaly, where they would be met by Barrick’s team.

  The enemy fighters withdrew, allowing Jonathan to position the fleet on his agreed upon side of the planet. He kept the telemetry drone in place, and in fact launched another one, watching both the Raakarr and the inner portion of the system that was shielded by the planet. The CDC had detected a similar object keeping tabs on them from the alien side.

  Jonathan kept the fleet well-spaced, and deployed in defense pattern delta, with their most vulnerable ships, the Grimm and Marley, residing at the rear of the imaginary pyramid formed by the Callaway, Aurelia, Maelstrom, Dagger, and Salvador.

  The ship remained under Condition Zebra, which ensured the hatches and scuttles between compartments formed an airtight seal, thereby preventing the entire ship from explosively decompressing in the case of treachery from their temporary allies.

  With the alien fighters no longer there to pester them, the captain had ordered two drones launched through the cloud cover to explore the surface—he didn’t consider the action a violation of their truce, as the aliens had never specifically said he could not scout in advance, after all.

  The Callaway had been able to maintain contact with the drones, but so far the mechanical scouts had encountered nothing unusual on the surface. But it was a big planet, and without knowing the general area of the gravimetric anomaly, finding it could take some time. Assuming the thing even existed. At least there was no sign of any Raakarr ships lurking in ambush.

  “This is unusual,” Lazur announced.

  Jonathan glanced at the comm officer. “What do you have, Lazur?”

  “I’m receiving another audio-only transmission redirected through the high orbit telemetry drone. It’s on a completely different frequency band, though.” He paused. “The signal modulation is so low, it’s almost indistinguishable from background radiation. I wouldn’t have detected the signal at all if not for the fact it’s aimed directly at the telemetry drone sensor ports.”

  “Tap it in.”

  Barrick’s voice came on the line. “Captain Dallas.”

  “Barrick,” Jonathan replied in distaste. “I suppose the aliens are angry because we’ve gone ahead and launched preliminary scouting drones?”

  “While they aren’t entirely thrilled,” Barrick said. “That’s not why I’m calling. I actually have someone else here who wants to speak with you.”

  “Bridgette?” the captain asked hopefully.

  “No.”

  Jonathan frowned, glancing at Robert.

  “This is another Raakarr,” Barrick continued. “A representative of a rogue faction among the aliens.”

  “A rogue faction...” Jonathan said.

  “Yes, there are two main Raakarr races, which I’m calling the Wapiti, the Shawnee term for elk, and the Zarafa, Arabic for giraffe. The distinguishing features of the Wapiti are the curving, horny plates that extend outward from the heads of its members, covering the eyes. These plates are absent on the Zarafa, who have slightly longer necks on average.”

  “Why not simply call them Elk and Giraffe?” Jonathan said.

  “Well I would,” Barrick said. “But that sounds a tad silly, wouldn’t you say?”

  “No sillier than Wapiti and Zarafa.”

  “Fine,” Barrick said. “I can go with Elk. But I’m keeping Zarafa.”

  Jonathan didn’t really care either way. “Okay. So who do you want me to talk to?”

  “Well, first of all, let me make it clear that this is an Elk ship, through and through. But a few Zarafa have stowed away on board. They’ve physically modified themselves, using gene therapy to give their heads the requisite horny plates, and to pass the on-board biometric sensors. They’ve been acting as spies.”

  Jonathan felt genuinely curious by that. “Spies?”

  “The Elk and Zarafa basically hate each other. They don’t share information, and there are often frequent disputes cropping up along their territorial borders. The situation isn’t too different from the tenuous relations the United Systems has with the Sino-Koreans, or the Russians.”

  “So you’re saying there is a Zarafa spy on that ship,” Jonathan sent. “And he wants to talk to us.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Barrick returned. “Though to be fair, he is both a he and a she. They can reproduce asexually, or sexually.”

  “Fine, I’m listening. But you better hurry up before the others figure out what you’re up to. I’d hate to see our translator executed because he was helping out a spy.” He muted the line and turned to Robert. “Though between you and me, I’m more concerned about losing Bridgette than anything else.”

  Robert closed his eyes and nodded.

  “My contact claims he helped free Wolf and Lin,” Barrick said over the comm. “He ensured the guards were deployed away from the dissection compartment, and he left a tartaan device for them to use.”

  Jonathan unmuted his side of the connection. “Tartaan?”

  “That’s what I call their portable darkness generators.”

  “Onomatopoeia again?” Jonathan said.

  “No. I named it after a tartan, like a Scottish highlander would wear. The designs of tartans are associated with different clans, and the pattern of light and dark given off by the alien darkness generators similarly denote clans, so it seemed suiting.”

  “You’re a veritable wellspring of knowledge, aren’t you?” Jonathan said over the comm. “So. Assuming this spy friend of yours actually exists, which I’m not entirely certain I believe, given that all we have to go on is your word... we can’t talk to him directly after all... but assuming he does exist, what does he want?”

  “To broker a deal with you,” Barrick answered. “If you can give the Zarafa a planet-killer when all of this is over, he guarantees his side will sign a peace treaty with humanity.”

  Jonathan pressed his lips together. “A planet-killer? The United Systems would never agree to such a deal. Not for some nebulous peace treaty. What’s to stop them from turning around and using it against us? Do they think we are fools?”

  “He will also trade technology in return. The means to traverse Slipstreams without Gates. Their particle beam technology.”

  That was something a lot more interesting. Jonathan could imagine the United Systems politicians slavering at the mouth over such an offer. A single planet-killer, in exchange for the Slipstream traversal and particle weapons tech? Some would definitely argue to jump in bed with the rogue alien faction. Not Jonathan, though.

  “Tell him I don’t have the authority to broker such a deal. But also tell him that if he can help return Bridgette, that would definitely be considered an act of goodwill by my government.”

  “He says he will see what he can do,” Barrick returned. “But don’t expect anything until after you have completed the mission for the Elk.”

  Jonathan smiled resignedly.

  “Do you have any more questions before I go?” Barrick asked.

  “I don’t,” Jonathan sent. “But there is something I do want to say, Barrick. For your human ears only.”

  “Tell me,” the telepath transmitted.

  “You’re playing both sides, aren’t you? What�
��s in it for you? What have the aliens promised you?”

  “You’re wrong about me, Captain,” Barrick replied over the comm. “I am playing both alien camps, yes. But I remain firmly on the side of humanity, and the fleet.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Jonathan pressed. “Attempting to turn our ships against each other. Kidnapping one of my crew. Hardly seems becoming of someone who claims to be on the side of humanity.”

  “I wouldn’t be talking to you if I wasn’t,” Barrick insisted. “I’ll regain your trust, Captain Dallas.”

  “You’ll never have my trust again, Barrick. You tampered with my mind, abducted the wife of my commander. Either action in and of itself is unforgivable. But both? All I can say is if you ever return to this ship, you will be promptly sedated. And when you wake up, if you wake up, it will be in the deepest, most isolated prison cell in the robot-manned penitentiary reserved for telepathic psychopaths like yourself.”

  He terminated the connection and glanced at Robert. “Let’s talk in my office.”

  seventeen

  Jonathan sat at his desk across from Robert.

  “So,” Jonathan said. “How are you holding up?”

  “Good,” the commander responded. “Under the circumstances.” He sighed raggedly. “Actually, fairly poorly. I don’t think I can take much more of that bastard’s lies.”

  “You don’t believe him?” Jonathan asked.

  “Not a word.” Robert rubbed the tip of his nose with his thumb and index finger. “One moment he says he speaks for all the aliens, and the next he represents a single faction. Elk and Zarafa. Raakarr and tartaan. He’s just making up words, throwing them out there, trying to string us along on some fictitious ride. For all we know he’s actually a prisoner on that ship, and he’s communicating with us using equipment he salvaged from the refugees of the Selene, like Lieutenant Commander Wolf did when he was prisoner.”

  “I have no doubt that Barrick is a prisoner of sorts,” Jonathan said. “He’d have to be, given the value he offers the aliens.”

  “You believe him, then?” Robert said.

  “I believe he can communicate with the aliens, yes,” Jonathan told the commander. “It would explain a lot of things, namely his betrayal. Whether or not the aliens truly want to explore an anomaly on that planet, I can’t say. But they’ve pulled back their fighters and agreed to keep their ship on the far side of the planet, so it would seem they intend to ally with us. For the moment.”

  “How do we know they’re not simply buying time,” Robert said. “They were all too glad to have us position ourselves behind the planet, cutting our sensors off from the rest of the system.”

  “Which is why I’ve left two telemetry drones in high orbit far above the north and south poles. Remember?”

  Robert massaged his forehead. “Sorry, sir. I’ve been distracted lately.”

  “I understand,” Jonathan said. He felt for Bridgette, too.

  “You have to wonder, though,” Robert said. “What if Barrick is manipulating both sides? Maybe he has led the aliens to believe it’s us who want to explore the planet, and that we are the ones requesting assistance in exchange for a truce? We have no idea if we’re following an alien agenda, or his. There’s an old saying on Earth: ‘how can you trust the translator when his headphones are turned off?’ There’s no way to corroborate anything he’s saying. He’s got to be spinning a yarn. Am I the only one who thinks it odd that he always uses audio only communications?”

  “It’s certainly possible that this whole thing is some sort of elaborate trap, perhaps planned entirely by Barrick. Though I think you give the man too much credit. If anyone is plotting our demise, it’s the aliens. I’m going to ignore this faction story of his for now, at least until we see some actual proof it exists. And I’m going to proceed with the mission to the surface. If it’s true there’s some sort of anomaly down there, on this one planet in the system, then we’d be remiss if we allowed the aliens to explore it on their own.”

  “I still think it’s suspicious that they’d invite us along with them,” Robert said.

  “It is,” Jonathan agreed. “But we’ll play along, for now. Maxwell, what would you do?”

  “I would attack immediately,” the AI responded. “While the advantage is still ours. The anomaly obviously does not exist, and as Commander Cray says, it is a ploy to buy time.”

  “And what about the hostage?” Jonathan said.

  “One woman’s life is meaningless compared to the welfare of the fleet.”

  “And what if that woman is the commander’s wife?” Jonathan said. “And his own welfare, and hence performance, would be unduly affected by her loss?”

  “No man is irreplaceable,” Maxwell insisted. “Commander Scott is still aboard. He would make a suitable executive officer.”

  “Commander Scott will never serve in any official capacity ever again,” Jonathan said. “He was placed into the crucible of combat and he froze when the aliens attacked. There is a reason why we stripped him of command and set him to menial duties. Have you been keeping an eye on him, by the way? He hasn’t been trying to instigate a mutiny, has he?”

  “No he has not,” Maxwell said. “But there are other suitable first officers. Captain Chopra, for instance. My point is that we can disable the enemy ship now and potentially capture it. Therefore we must. It is folly to embark on some mission to the planet’s surface in the pursuit of some wishful alliance that will merely fail in the end. The aliens have already admitted they did not edit the Slipstream endpoint. They cannot help us. We do not need them.”

  “You’re assuming that both Barrick and the aliens are telling the truth,” Jonathan said.

  “For Barrick, I noticed no inflections or other voice tells that would have indicated otherwise,” Maxwell said. “Though I admit, without visual feedback, the probability of my assessment being accurate is only fifty percent. Plus or minus fifteen percent.”

  “Another reason why he doesn’t want to show his face,” Robert said. “He knows the AI would see through his deception immediately.”

  “And what about the aliens,” Jonathan said. “Who he claims to speak for? You cannot even begin to guess whether they speak the truth, can you Maxwell?”

  “No,” Maxwell admitted.

  “So you agree it’s possible they don’t want us to know they can edit Slipstreams?” Jonathan asked.

  “It is possible,” the AI said. “But I still say we should attack. If we capture them, we can do what we wish with their technology.”

  “Presuming we don’t damage it beyond repair,” Jonathan said. “And that the aliens don’t decide to self-destruct.”

  “And that we can actually reverse engineer their tech,” Robert added. “Our chief weapons engineer has had an alien fighter in his hands for the past six months and he still hasn’t even figured out its power source.”

  Jonathan nodded. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going through with the shared operation. We’ll send down a mixed team of MOTHs and combat robots. Maybe a scientist. Speaking of which.” Jonathan tapped in the chief scientist. “Connie, what’s the status on my request?”

  “For the anti-psi suits?” she answered over the comm. “I sent my latest modifications to my counterpart aboard the Aurelia, and she tells me so far they’ve worked against every invasive attempt from their local telepath. On my end, I’ve applied the shielding to two MOTH jumpsuits and a pair of ordinary spacesuits.”

  “Thank you, Connie,” Jonathan returned. “See if you can put together a couple more suits within the next two hours.”

  “Two hours?” Connie said over the comm. “Respectfully, sir, I won’t have time to build you even one.”

  “All right. We’ll have to make do with what you’ve got then. Captain out.” He terminated the connection.

  Robert was looking at him.

  “Well, what is it, Commander?” Jonathan said. “Speak up.”

  “She says she tested the modifica
tions with the Aurelia’s telepath. I doubt the individual in question has anywhere near Barrick’s abilities.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” Jonathan said. “But that’s the best protection I can offer the human members of the party.”

  Robert scratched his earlobe. “We’ll just have to instruct the robots to watch Chief Galaal and me for signs of nefarious psychic influence.”

  “Robert,” Jonathan began carefully. “I never said you were going on the mission...”

  Robert raised an eyebrow. “I guess I just assumed.”

  “I believe it is an excellent idea,” Maxwell interjected. “If the commander goes, and he dies, then we won’t have to worry about him losing his wife Bridgette anymore. We will be free to attack.”

  “Please, Maxwell,” Jonathan said. “We’re trying to have a serious discussion here.”

  “My apologies, Captain,” the AI responded. “Though in my defense, I was not joking.”

  “Your opinion is noted.” Jonathan returned his attention to the commander. “If I send you, what guarantee do I have that you’re not going to kick the living shit out of Barrick when you see him?”

  “None,” Robert said. “But I do promise I’ll leave him alive long enough for you to have a go.”

  Jonathan stared at Robert for several moments. “Contact Connie in two hours and get suited up, Commander.”

  eighteen

  Rade sat nervously in the mess hall, waiting for his daughter to arrive. He glowered fiercely whenever anyone came close to his table in order to dispel any notions they might have of taking a seat with him. It worked. People would rather stand than sit next to a scowling special forces soldier any day.

  Sometimes he wondered at the paths his life could have taken if he had made slightly different choices along the way. He had told himself that he had no regrets, but that was a lie. He had a whole lot of them. It didn’t matter.

  He probably should have ended his enlistment when he hit fifty. He didn’t really fit in with the Teams, not anymore. Between deployments, all the other MOTHs cared about was drinking their nights away and getting into fights at the bars and strip clubs. Whereas Rade wanted to concentrate on going to the gym and maintaining his specialized training.