Belinea

by Andrew Mack

  Annella looked at Kimakawa and said, “The Valmay. That is who your DAG team is trying to contact, correct?”

  Kimakawa nodded. He continued. “Yes. We can continue to buy it from the smuggler’s who purchased it from the Valmay, but the amounts are minimal. Our goal was to set up a purchase agreement directly with the Valmay for much more, but we have yet to make contact.”

  Yi countered, “Then how did the Belineans find out? Is it possible your team accidentally made contact with the Majavkee instead of the Valmay? At least that would explain how the Belineans know.”

  Kimakawa continued. “It is possible. There is another theory, though. Perhaps the DAG group went rogue. Bribed and are now working as spies for the BRG. Either way, I believe the leak came from them.”

  Annella countered, “A mistake or the Majavkee simply finding out and relaying it to the Belineans is more plausible. Working for the BRG is a crazy theory, even for you, Taichi.”

  Kimakawa continued, “Is it? My source tells me a mole in our group channels information to the SS and BRG. The belief is the mole is in my inner DAG circle at headquarters. But I trust the four in the circle and both of you. Therefore I must consider other options. The DAG team would make sense.”

  Annella asked, “Who is leading the DAG team?”

  Kimakawa hesitated, then said, “You know I can not tell you that.”

  Annella responded, “If we are going to flush out the mole, we need to start by trusting each other on everything.”

  Kimakawa hesitated again before replying, “The DAG team is led by Commanders Nolan Willits and Avery Jones.”

  Annella smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Willits and Jones? I know those two. I highly doubt they are conspiring with the Belineans. And if it were someone on their team, they would know. If there is a mole, Taichi, it is internally in your office. Or one of us.”

  Kimakawa smiled, and while looking at Yi, continued, “Nevertheless, I have come up with a plan to sniff the mole out. Ambassador Garvalin is still on our side about expanding personal security, intelligence, and small military among the planets, correct?”

  Yi nodded and answered, “Privately, Garvalin and I are aligned. Defense Director Hassara has let me know that at some point, there will be an initiative to ask the Council to increase the BRG and AuFa budget by ten percent. Perhaps that is the reason for leaking the rumblings, using Avolian turmoil as the excuse. Garvalin and I are merely waiting our time to drop the counter-proposal for an expanded guard.”

  Kimakawa said, “What if we give them Ambassador Bird, instead?”

  Annella questioned, “What do you mean?”

  Kimakawa, now looking at Yi, continued. “You said Bird has wanted to talk about reducing our budget to the AuFa and BRG and allocating the money to our own defense. So let him. In fact, encourage it. Let him start the rhetoric, make big speeches, write memos, make it his public platform. Let’s see what the BRG does in response.”

  All three looked at each other, pondering what Kimakawa just said. After ten seconds, Yi said, “Hassara and the rest of the family would likely be pissed, but I could spin it where I still had their trust. I could say let me talk to the new junior Ambassador, smooth things over. It might work. But what about the mole? You said sniff out?”

  Kimakawa answered, “I am going to pull Willits and Jones off assignment and tell them I need the best two officers to lead Bird’s security detail, mainly because of all his new rhetoric. If they are the mole, and I think they are, the BRG will be ecstatic to have a spy that close to the guy giving public speeches questioning their effectiveness. The BRG would certainly want to talk to Bird, at the very least, monitor him. They would likely go through Willits and Jones to do it. Alexis will observe the whole situation and report any unusual activity when it does.”

  Yi countered with, “You will take the whole team off assignment?”

  Kimakawa quickly answered, “Just the two of them. I found an apparent loophole. I will let Meyers pick a couple of his pilots to join the detail team.”

  Annella asked, “Meyers knows your plan?”

  Kimikawa answered, “Not entirely. The inner four in my circle know the DAG team is inquiring about Vait, but nothing about Willits and Jones seeking out the Valmay group. Meyers will suspect something when I pull them off assignment. My disdain for their insubordination, which doubles as the truth, and the lack of progress with the Vait inquisition will be reason enough.”

  Yi asked, “What if Alexis finds something that proves Willits and Jones are the moles. How will she contact you? What do we do?”

  Kimakawa smiled. “She can always contact me through Annella. We have another DAG team waiting for them on Belinea. Arresting the two DAG officers who are spying for the BRG in front of the Council on Belinea? This is how we save face with Hassara, the family, the BRG, and the SS. We are secretly buying Vait? You are spying on us. We are even.”

  Yi asked, “What if you are wrong about Willits and Jones?”

  Kimakawa answered, “If they get Bird to Belinea without incident, and Alexis doesn’t witness anything unusual, then the mole is likely in my inner-circle. I will deal with that accordingly.”

  Annella took a sip of tea before responding, “I am alright with this plan, as long as neither of you interferes with Alexis. I do not believe it is Willits and Jones, so I am sure Bird will get to Belinea just fine. But any communication has to go through me. Otherwise, it sets off a red flag, and her life is in danger, understand?”

  Yi and Kimakawa, reluctantly, nodded in approval. Annella continued, “However, Taichi, I think this is a big waste of time. If there is a mole, it is right under your nose.”

  Belinea 7.2

  The Frigate - Leaving Molar

  Nick Devanoe was in the cockpit chair of the Frigate. The Frigate was a small patrol cruiser, usually with a crew of fourteen. This particular one, a loan from Lord Malovex, had a two-person crew of Captain Kimmel and Commander Devanoe. They now had an additional four passengers. Cadet Miguel Trujillo was in the chair next to Nick, as Nick gave him a brief rundown on how to fly the Frigate. Nick continued, “Your fuel gauge is here, bearing and course is here, speed and trajectory are here, got it?

  Trujillo nodded, “Yeah, easy. I got it. This thing moves faster than I thought.”

  Devanoe nodded and said, “These new ones are faster than the Battle Cruisers. I am going to the back to talk with Alexis as long as you feel good.”

  Trujillo turned to him and said, “How do you know I won’t turn this thing around and head back to Molar? I still think we should have waited on Commander’s Willits and Jones.”

  Devanoe answered, “There is no guarantee they even made it off Torsalli. They have the entire AuFa and BRG looking for them.“

  Trujillo responded, “Willits told us if we didn’t hear from him to get the Ambassador to Belinea by any means possible.”

  Devanoe countered with, “And that is what you are doing, onboard an AuFa Frigate no less.”

  Trujillo said, “But we didn’t wait, and those were my orders.”

  Devanoe replied, “Given the circumstances, you are following orders. You guys did well.”

  Trujillo looked back at his control panel and said, “Willits also said not to trust anyone.”

  Nick gave a small smile and said, “That is wise. I don’t know who you trust at this point. If I wasn’t Alexis’ brother, I am not even sure how much you should trust the AuFa.”

  Trujillo added “Or the BRG?”

  Nick looked at him again for a second before responding. “Look, I have worked with a lot of solid AuFa officers, including Captain Kimmel back there, who don’t look at me differently for being human.”

  Trujillo asked, “Are you saying I have a chance in the AuFa?”

  Nick asked, “I thought you and Tunsall wanted to join the DAG?”

 
Trujillo responded, “We got recruited for this assignment. We would rather be flying Sirator’s on a Carrier.”

  Nick smiled again and said, “So would I. Despite what you have heard, it’s getting better. You will find out, the AuFa is changing, becoming more diverse. The BRG and the SS? That’s completely different. Lords Malovex and Argo have their own agenda; it doesn’t include anyone that is not full Quill Belinean.”

  Trujillo went back to looking at his control panel. “Good to know.”

  Nick continued to walk out to the back, past the empty Captain’s conn chair. As he left, he said, “We’ll talk later.”

  Tunsall and Alexis had got done wrapping and fixing Bird’s ankle. Tunsall said, “Stay off it for an hour or two, the blood-mix infusion will help the swelling, and you should be fine.”

  Alexis looked at Tunsall and said, “Thanks.”

  Tunsall nodded and walked up to the map board and communication center, where Captain Kimmel was surveying the screen. Nick Devanoe arrived from the other direction at the same time Tunsall did. Nick spoke first, “Trujillo has the conn. He will alert us if anything unusual pops up.”

  Kimmel looked up at Tunsall and said, “Become good pilots, have we?”

  Tunsall said nothing. Kimmel looked back at the screen and said, “This course will get us to Hovron in under two days. After that, we will look at options.”

  Nick replied, “Get the Ambassador on a Battle Cruiser to Belinea?”

  Kimmel looked up again. “No. We will find a way to get me back to Torsalli. No communications. You take this Frigate, on my orders, all the way to Belinea. After everything that has happened, this will be the only way to get Ambassador Bird there safely. Nobody needs to know he is alive and onboard except us.”

  Nick nodded in agreement and simply said, “Yes, sir.”

  Captain Kimmel then asked, “Commander Devanoe, will you give us a moment?”

  Nick nodded and continued to walk to the back where Alexis and Bird were having a discussion. Kimmel looked at Tunsall and calmly said, “How did you get on this assignment?”

  Tunsall calmly responded, “Two DAG officers asked, so we volunteered. We thought it would be good experience for our careers.”

  Kimmel responded, “You should have told me. These morons clearly cannot go from A to B without getting shot at.”

  Tunsall quickly replied, “They are not incompetent, sir. They are good soldiers.”

  Kimmel gave Tunsall a stern look and said, “They are glorified security guards, and this is too big for them.”

  Tunsall shook his head and said softly, “That is not true. I have learned a lot. Willits and Jones are smart tacticians….”

  Kimmel now raised his voice slightly, “Willits and Jones almost got you killed. Without us, you and Trujillo would be waiting for them on Molar with your thumbs up your ass.”

  Tunsall quickly replied, “I still think we should have waited for them ….”

  Kimmel was now annoyed and said, “Son, do you really think they made it out of Torsalli alive? Even if they did, you think they would still try to find you two?”

  Tunsall looked up and took a breath. Calmly he said, “I do. Just because they are not AuFa does not mean they lack principles. They are loyal and smart enough to get out of Torsalli.”

  Kimmel softly said, “You think those two could flee the entire BRG and AuFa?”

  Tunsall cut him off and said, “Yes. I think you should give them some credit.”

  There was a long pause between the two of them. Kimmel finally said, “There was another attack on the Torsalli Space Port. It was an explosion of the Ambassador’s C-62T. It killed two people on board, which, given it was none of you four, means they were likely BRG or AuFa. You better get used to the fact that you will never see Willits or Jones alive again because the BRG and AuFa are not looking, they are hunting them.”

  Tunsall said nothing.

  Behind them, Nick had joined his sister Alexis and Ambassador Bird. Nick asked Bird, “You feeling better?”

  Bird nodded and just said, “I am fine.”

  Alexis asked, “This Captain Kimmel you serve under….he is Tunsall’s father?”

  Nick just nodded and softly said, “Yeah…”

  Alexis replied, “You trust him?”

  Nick looked oddly at his sister. “He is my commanding officer and a highly respected Captain in the AuFa with almost thirty years experience.”

  Bird acknowledged, “This is the safest I have felt on this entire trip. I am not losing any sleep with him in charge instead of Willits and Jones. It is a wonder we are not dead.”

  Alexis looked at her brother and said, “Do you know where they are?”

  Nick shook his head and responded, “No. They were last seen boarding a transport to Ascarla on the surface. The Ambassador’s C-62T blew up just after, in the Torsalli Space Port. Everyone thinks the Ambassador is dead. (Now looking at Alexis) You too.”

  Bird asked, “Wait, another attack? How did you find us?”

  Alexis held up her wristwatch tracker. Nick replied, “I gave Alexis a wristwatch tracker on Braccus. I have the match. She hit the panic button, which activates it.”

  Bird responded, “Thank you, Commander. I feel that if you and Alexis were in charge of my security detail instead of Willits and Jones, we would be on Belinea by now.”

  Nick gave a smile. Alexis squinted though, still thinking about this. She then said, “Willits and Jones are not the problem, Ambassador. They split us up because they thought there would be another attack, and they were right.”

  Nick countered, “Or they caused it. The explosion was internal, and the ship was docked.”

  Alexis thought for a second. Then, looking at Ambassador Bird, she said, “They wanted everyone to think you were dead. At the risk of them being fugitives and being on their own. Why?”

  The three of them looked at each other for a few seconds, not saying anything. Finally, Nick said, “Captain Kimmel told me when we get to Hovron, I am to take you to Belinea myself on this Frigate, no communication to anyone. He will find a way back to Torsalli.”

  Bird said, “I was unable to get a message to Kimakawa when I was on Molar, but I’ll be damned if I will not send him one when we get to Hovron. This entire experience has been unacceptable from the start….”

  Alexis had her head down and kept thinking as Bird kept talking to Nick. After a few seconds, she popped her head up and said to the Ambassador, “You will do no such thing.”

  Bird was taken aback. He politely answered, “Excuse me?” May I remind you who you work for, Miss Devanoe?”

  Alexis kept thinking and then answered, “I work for you, sir, but that’s not the point. The Captain is right, no communication to anyone.”

  Bird, still a little miffed at the insubordination, said, “Why?”

  Alexis replied, “Willits and Jones have been one step ahead of everyone this entire time. We keep getting attacked at where we should be, not where they lead us. Tunsall!”

  Tunsall turned around from talking with Captain Kimmel. He said, “Yes?”

  Alexis asked, “The DAG team did a full security sweep on the Ambassador’s C-62T before we left Earth, correct?”

  Tunsall nodded and added, “Yeah. Willits made us do a quick sweep on Vandabri. And the BRG team did a full sweep on Braccus. They found nothing.”

  Alexis turned to Nick and Bird and whispered more to herself, “We were not being tracked. But they knew where we were supposed to be. It’s not Willits and Jones…..”

  Nick was confused, as was Bird. Nick said, “What’s not Willits and Jones?”

  Alexis kept whispering to herself. “Torsalli was not random, that was their out….they knew it was internal….”

  Alexis then turned to Captain Kimmel and yelled across the room. “Captain Kimmel, thank you
for understanding. You are correct. No communication is the best policy. Any further assistance you can provide for us is greatly appreciated.”

  Alexis then grabbed Nick’s elbow and said, “Come with me….”

  Nick followed her down the back hall to the private quarters’ area, Whispering, Nick said, “What the hell is going on….”

  Alexis looked around to make sure they were alone and said, “Big brother, I need a favor out of you when we get to Hovron.”

  Nick looked confused, “What?”

  Alexis said, “Get a secure message to mother.”

  Nick frowned. He said, “I would rather piss a pair of scissors. Why can’t you?”

  Alexis answered, “They might be tracking my communication channels. You can send it via a secure AuFa channel, and it won’t raise a single red flag.”

  Nick was confused. He said, “Red flag with who? Who would be tracking your communication?”

  Alexis continued, “Whoever is trying to kill the Ambassador.”

  Belinea 7.3

  Lowell Province

  Avola

  Sterling had left, leaving Octavious waiting for over an hour, alone in his living quarters. Felicia, Sterling’s wife, walked into the room, this time without the toddler Nix. Octavious stood up, out of politeness. He said, “Forgive me, I will be gone soon.”

  Felicia said nothing as she stood there looking at him. After a long pause, Octavious said, “I would have already left had Sterling not been so adamant about me staying.”

  Felicia asked, “Where is he?”

  Octavious replied, “I do not know. He said he would be right back.”

  Felicia took a deep breath. After a few seconds, she said, “You know, Sterling tries to defend the Majavkee. They made him a supervisor, but all I see is him working more hours for almost the same pay.”