by Dan Worth
Chen turned to Andrews.
‘Any chance of getting a visual feed?’ she asked.
‘Signal’s rather weak,’ the ensign replied. ‘I’m picking up some sort EM interference, though I can’t pin down the source. My guess is that they’re trying to jam our comms with the base’s outdated equipment. Patching though a feed from Captain Aziz, I’ll see what I can do to clean it up.’
‘Thank you Ensign’ Chen replied. Now she rode on the man’s shoulder. Technically she could have whispered in his ear too and issued orders, but like most Spec Ops personnel, the captain and his men were best left to operate independently. The last thing he needed right now was her distracting him. Through the electronic snow of the EM interference she could discern the drab, grey interior of the base. Cheaply constructed and poorly maintained, the discoloured wall panels barely served to conceal the ducts and cabling behind them that stretched across the gaps where panels had been removed and never replaced and hung in loose bunches from the holes left by missing ceiling tiles.
‘Approaching the brig now,’ Aziz commented as he reached a sturdier looking door than the others and shouldered his weapon. ‘Pearson, Rockwell, blow that hatch.’
Two other figures stepped forward through the gloom and got to work on the hatch, placing charges around the rim, before quickly retreating. She heard the calls of ‘Fire in the hole,’ before there was a blinding flash and the hatch collapsed inwards in one piece.
There were shapes inside, humanoid figures that quickly resolved themselves into the forms of men and women as they hurled themselves forward toward the Spec Ops team. The first through the gap had a grenade in each hand.
That was when the firing started.
The Spec Ops drop-ship lurched crazily away from the asteroid base. The struggling figures of the base’s enslaved crew clung to the retracting landing gear and wing weapon mounts even as said bodies finally succumbed to the destructive effects of exposure to total vacuum. The vessel fired parting shots from its rearwards facing cannons, immolating the section of base from which the surviving members of the team had made their escape.
The mission had been a failure. Under assault from wave upon wave of suicidal attackers the Spec Ops team had fought their way into the brig, only to discover the truth: that the President and his cabinet were beyond any rescue. What was left of the cabinet members had been fused together into a melding of machine and flesh, their skulls linked by snaking cables that issued from drooling mouths and blankly staring eye sockets. Only the President himself remained apparently untouched. He had stepped forward past the nightmare sculpture that had been his ministers and extended a perfectly manicured hand to Captain Aziz, who had rugby tackled him to the floor and as two of his men restrained their Commander in Chief, had held the Shaper detection scanner against his temple and having noted the result, had shot the President of the Commonwealth through the head with his rail rifle at point blank range, scattering brain matter and alien machinery across the deck. Aziz’s men then took the opportunity to administer a similar coup de grace to the other unfortunates in the room.
The team then beat a hasty retreat. Fighting their way to the nearest airlock they lost two men to a suicide bombing whilst another was leapt upon and literally torn limb from limb by the mob. As they leapt aboard the drop ship, Aziz was forced to resort to the combat shotgun he always kept handy to remove several individuals clinging to the boarding ramp whilst another almost made it inside the craft, only to have his already freezing hands severed by the ramp as it closed.
Chen watched the drop-ship as it sped towards the Churchill and docked safely without a word. Then she spoke:
‘Gunnery. Target the Arkari cannon at the asteroid base.’
‘Targeting, aye.’
‘Fire.’
Space in front the Churchill distorted in a hyper-dimensional tunnel that vomited forth from the muzzle of the Arkari weapon slung underneath the carrier and struck the asteroid base with full force. The titanic forces unleashed by the device immediately destroyed the asteroid base, and blasted a crater five kilometres across and ten deep into the face of Chiron. A fountain of shattered rock began to rise from the blast zone only to be caught by the immense tidal stresses of the cannon and flung out at oblique angles, further pulverising the debris as the pieces collided with one another.
Chen’s balled fist struck the armrest of her command chair then she put her head in her hands.
‘Helm, take us back to Earth orbit. Commander Haldane, you have the bridge. Order the Trebia to follow us back in formation, and no-one I repeat no-one is to board that ship until all of her crew have been accounted for and the survivors scanned for the presence of the enemy. Is that clear?’
‘Of course,’ Haldane replied.
‘I’ll be in my quarters. I have to inform Admiral Haines of the President’s death.’
Her father had watched her leave from the porch, gazing after her sadly as she stalked off through the gathering sea fog to catch an air cab back across the bay.
Her parents just didn’t understand, or didn’t want to. Her mother in particular. They were so wrapped up in their cosy little world and didn’t fully appreciate the danger that they were all facing. But still, she did realise that deep down their intentions were to protect their only daughter and prevent her from becoming what her grandfather had been, a killer consumed by his own remorse. She didn’t really have the heart to point out that she had already become that person for a time and unlike her grandfather, had had the opportunity to overcome her doubts and guilt and make good for her mistakes.
She had pleaded with them to leave the city, for in the event of an attack all population centres were possible targets, but her father had shook his head sadly and refused. He couldn’t bear to leave the family home. He told her that he had faith in her to keep them safe. She had held him close for a moment, grateful for the trust he had placed in her. As she held his wiry frame close she closed her eyes and hoped that it wouldn’t be misplaced.
Chapter 35
‘Things started to change aboard the Trebia right after we were transferred to Admiral Cox’s command and we were ordered to the Spica system for crew re-assignment.’
Commander Hersch stood in the centre of the room and delivered his report to the assembled military commanders from both the Commonwealth and the Arkari. The room itself was windowless and inside a Navy lunar facility that been chosen as being discreet enough for this impromptu meeting. Wall screens displayed the barren landscape outside which, here at the Moon’s southern pole, was slashed with the long shadows of the crater rims and boulders that dotted the landscape. Fleet Admiral Haines and Admiral Chen sat beside War Marshal Mentith and his immediate superior Fleet Meritarch Lorali Beklide. The first three sat resplendent in full military regalia. Beklide wore an elegant grey robe patterned with geometric shapes in a darker hue which appeared to move constantly as if caught by a summer breeze. At her breast she wore military insignia, her attire suitable for her roles both as military commander and civilian politician.
Hersch seemed unfazed by their presence as he delivered his report and his expression grew more animated as he mentally relived his experiences. As he talked, a sheen of sweat began to form on the deep brown skin of his forehead.
‘Quite few of the crew were transferred off the ship once we docked. We couldn’t see any sense in it and there seemed to be no real pattern or reason behind it. Numerous crew members both from all ranks were shipped out to other vessels and replacements brought in almost immediately. It’s only with hindsight that I realise that all those who were replaced had access to key systems capable of locking down the ship: Chief Lin in engineering for example, or Sergeant Willis from security who had access to the keys for the weapons lockers or Lieutenant Commander Duffy our chief gunnery officer and of course our entire compliment of Marines.’
‘And what about Captain Moore?’ Haines enquired. ‘When do you think that they got to him?’
/> ‘Around the same time I’d say,’ Hersch replied. ‘Right after we docked in Spica, he and all the other captains of ships that had recently been re-assigned to Admiral Cox were told to report for a tactical briefing at Southern Fleet Command. He wouldn’t tell us what was discussed; only that it was need to know. Afterwards he seemed different somehow; colder, harder on the men. He and I had served together for five years and I’d never seen him behave like this. Bob – Captain Moore – had always had a more informal approach to command; suddenly he turned into a real martinet.’
‘As his XO did you confront him about his change of behaviour in private?’ Haines asked.
‘Yes sir, I did. I figured maybe Cox had called him on his style of command. I know plenty of senior officers who had had a problem with Bob’s methods. But when I asked him he brushed me off - told me to mind my own business. From then on he did his utmost to shut me out of command decisions, especially after it became clear just which side we were on.’
‘Presumably this included the decision to join Morgan’s coup attempt?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘How did you feel, Commander, when you heard Morgan’s claims and discovered that your Captain was a follower of his?’ Haines leaned forward as he said this, as if scrutinising Hersch more closely.
‘At first, honestly, I didn’t know what the hell to think. It all seemed a bit far-fetched to me, but then later so did the counter propaganda put out by yourselves. To be honest, myself and many of my shipmates became suspicious when it was clear that the most vocal devotees of Admiral Morgan’s grand plan were both the Captain and those officers and crewman who had recently transferred aboard.’
‘Did you take any action?’
‘Not at first, no. Like I said, Captain Moore had become unapproachable and I didn’t know what to think, or who I could trust. Gradually I got talking to some of the other crew, people I knew wouldn’t be happy with this sort of thing. I realised that most of those who didn’t like the way things were going were long standing members of the crew and those who had recently joined the ship were all for Morgan and his personal rebellion. However, we never had any sort of plan for taking over the ship, it just kind of happened.’
‘Go on,’ prompted Haines.
‘After we got transferred to the Solar System we figured maybe we’d get a little shore leave, but instead as soon as we got here we got posted to picketing some goddamn rock. We were there a week before the three other destroyers showed up, and it was pretty clear from the conversations we had with them that they were all firmly in Morgan’s camp. Then the President showed up, except at first we didn’t realise that it was him. About a day after the last destroyer, the Barbarossa arrived, a military transport docked from Earth. We were ordered to let it dock unchallenged. It wasn’t until three days later that the President addressed us from the base on Chiron’s surface. He said he had been persuaded by Admiral Morgan to assist with the purging of Earth’s government of malign alien elements, that loyal cabinet members had come to him, pleading their innocence and asking for protection, but there was something about him that was different, especially the first time he spoke to us… it was if he wasn’t fully in control of himself.’
‘Like someone else was in there instead of him?’
‘Yeah, someone else was looking out through his eyes. As the days went by he seemed more like his old self but there was still something about him that made me uneasy and the things he was saying just didn’t add up. I mean, why did the President need to flee Earth when the only person threatening a coup is off-world, who he then goes to on bended knee? Why the hell would Morgan accept him so readily after denouncing him? I figured we were being played since the whole thing didn’t add up. Part of me thought that that it might be a hoax of some kind, that the transmissions were faked. None of us actually met Rheinhold at all.’
‘Oh they were real alright, he and the cabinet were all on that base, my men will attest to that,’ said Chen. ‘What happened when we showed up?’
‘We’d been tracking you. Our sensors confirmed the wake of a carrier sized vessel and we were ordered to fire on you as soon as you exited your jump. I tried to argue the case that we should at least try to hail you, but the Captain would have none of it. When he gave the order to engage I belayed it, and he relieved me of duty and ordered the marines to the bridge to arrest me and take me to the brig. Luckily most the rest of the bridge crew on duty at that time were on my side. If it had been the other shift I wouldn’t have been so lucky. I relieved Captain Moore of his command and ordered the Marines to stand down.
That was when all hell broke loose. Moore went for a concealed side arm and tried to shoot me, but my comms officer had seen him go for his piece and tackled him to the ground. He lost the gun, but it didn’t do Marcus much good…. I’ve never seen anyone…. I don’t know how he did it but Moore sprang up in an instant and hit Ensign Carson so hard he was dead before he smashed into that bulkhead and Moore started laying about himself, screaming like a wild animal, he knocked out Lieutenant Tariq next and turned to me. I had no choice, I grabbed the gun that Moore had dropped and shot him through the head with his own weapon. Then I saw what was inside…’ Chen saw Hersch’s face wrinkled with disgust. ‘That thing a… a parasite of some kind, like a black maggot. I have no idea what the hell it was.’
‘The enemy, son,’ said Haines gruffly. ‘You got to look them in the eye.’
‘And you were correct, it is a parasite, one that takes over the body of its host,’ said Chen. ‘That’s how they fight.’
‘Anyway,’ Hersch continued, ‘it was still wriggling in there, so I unloaded my weapon into it, ‘cept then I wished I hadn’t as the four marines that Moore had sent for finally arrived, took one look at what was going on and opened up on us without giving us a chance to surrender.’
‘Was that when you lost control of the ship?’
‘Yeah. We had no way of effectively fighting back. We retreated and barricaded the exit long enough for some of us to run to the nearest arms locker and get enough loyal people together to retake the bridge. Trouble was, by this point the ship was in chaos. Some other marines had seized gunnery control whilst others were on their way to the bridge to re-enforce it. We lost a lot of good people taking them back.’ His mouth hardened into a bitter line.
‘Commander,’ Haines said. ‘You’re one brave son of a bitch. Your prompt actions saved your ship and your crew. I have no hesitation in promoting you to Captain and giving you command of the Trebia. You and your loyal crew members have shown the highest regard for your duty.’
‘Sir, thank you sir.’
‘Sometimes gut feeling is all we have to go on. Once your crew have been fully cleared and we’re sure we got all the traitors you’ll be getting that R&R you’d hoped for too, though not for too long, we’ll need you back in the fight.’
‘Yes sir, it’ll be a pleasure sir.’
‘That’s good. Dismissed.’
They watched Hersch turn smartly on his heel and exit.
‘Sir, what now? Do we take the fight to Morgan, strike before he’s ready to do the same to us?’ said Chen to Haines. He shook his head sadly in response.
‘Not yet at least,’ he replied. ‘I’m recalling what assets we can to the Solar System. Once they’re here we need to screen their crews for infiltration. All ships will be held in isolation until this has been done. We can’t afford to have fifth columnists within our ranks when we go into battle.’
‘We will happily lend you whatever military assistance you require when the time comes,’ said Mentith, who had been silent until now throughout the meeting.
‘We could certainly use it, War Marshal,’ Chen replied. ‘Just after we docked I received these coded transmissions from Caleb Isaacs. They clearly show that Morgan has been laying down the supplies for a major military offensive.’ She activated a data-pad to project an image of the shipping records that had cost Nikolai Ivanovic so dearly onto the opposi
te wall. The other members of the gathering squinted at the columns of ship manifests. There was some nervous muttering.
‘Caleb Isaacs can be trusted, you’re sure of that?’ Haines queried.
‘Absolutely. He’s joined up with a band of like minded individuals, freelancers who call themselves The Hidden Hand. They’ve been active in the Hadar system for months, though they’ve relocated to Spica to act as my eyes and ears. Furthermore, they’re fully sponsored by the Nahabe and have been working against the Shapers at their behest for some months.’
‘This is excellent news,’ said Beklide. ‘The Nahabe are a long standing enemy of the Shapers. They are only race we know of to have fought them and survived. If the Nahabe have decided to come out of their long isolation then we have a powerful new ally in our fight.’
‘I’ll make these files available to you all. But as you can see, Morgan has been planning this for months. Now with Cox’s ships at his disposal to form a core of his fleet, he has a powerful armada.’
‘The other ships under Morgan’s command: how loyal are they to his orders?’ Mentith asked.
‘We can only guess, however the case of the Trebia gives us hope. Many ships may have only been partially infiltrated and contain a large number of crew who can be reasoned with. After all, many may only be following what they perceive as the chain of command. My bet is that many could be persuaded to change their allegiance.’
‘We have to do this alone, in that case,’ said Haines firmly. ‘War Marshal, Fleet Meritarch, your offer of assistance is generous and appreciated, but if Morgan is to be defeated, it has to be by our own people. Involving your ships in the battle would only lend credence to his claims about malign alien influences. It would most likely turn people against us if they saw an alien government interfering in our affairs, given the slant of Morgan’s claims. Humans have to be seen to be dealing with him alone. We need to save as many of those ships and their crew as possible by getting them to see sense, and we can’t risk Morgan gaining any political sympathy from individual planetary governments who might be inclined to fall behind him if it seems like he may be telling the truth.’