“Keep at it,” Sonya said. “We will try to get a link into the closed Jupiter net. Perhaps you will get better information when we get closer to Europa. Their main fleet base is there from the looks of it.”
“Aye Captain,” Goodwin said. “We are collecting terabytes for the AI’s to analyze.”
Sonya nodded. Everyone was going through what the AI’s thought was worth a second look. Sometimes it could be mind numbing and with several dedicated AI clusters more information was submitted for human analysis than the crew had time to review it. Within the Jupiter subsystem there was even more communication traffic among the different colonies and the Cincinnatus was trying to collect all of it for eventual analysis. Several AI clusters aboard the Cincinnatus were dedicated to the task and even they were overwhelmed with data. There were entertainment stations, Jupiter environment warnings, political messages, sales broadcasts and even individuals with their own transmitters sending information on anything they could think of from rabbit farming to esoteric religious ideology. Besides regular radio communication there were several laser and microwave relays for network access. The colonies of the Jupiter system were all interconnected through high speed links monitored and maintained by the Jupiter Alliance Authority. It was like Earth used to be, but on a much grander scale. Anyone in the system could talk to anyone else. McLaughlin was building a new AI cluster to help with the load. Unfortunately manufacturing such high-quality components took time and generated heat, which would become a problem before long because the Cincinnatus could only contain so much heat before everyone roasted or the ship had to vent and reveal itself.
To Sonya it made the Jupiter seem like a busy, active place but the distances were vast and the population was minimal. After having lived in the Conglomerate for so long, the Jupiter subsystem was like a massive spread out, but busy city, and the Cincinnatus was like a submarine slipping through the harbor listening and watching, trying to join the conversations and activity without being noticed.
Because of Jupiter’s intense radiation, and the fact their magnetic shields would broadcast their presence, only the core of the Cincinnatus was habitable and already it was feeling cramped for the small crew. Jupiter ships were more massive because of the extra heavy radiation shielding, but most Conglomerate vessels relied on magnetic shields. The heat built up and as temperatures rose, so did tempers.
The Combat Information Center was where Sonya and most of the officers spent most of her time these days and she spent most of her time reviewing what people considered most important.
“Despite being open,” Harris said. “It is a very closed system. If we tried to do anything more than receive, we would stand out like a fireworks display at night. The encryption is easily handled but overall everything is static. Most nodes are link to link, it is a mesh, and we aren’t a link. It might be easier to gain access from one node, but we would broadcast our presence if we tried to link to a node from the Cincinnatus. Every transmission, every device that talks on the network has a unique identifier and that identifier is tracked between the colonies.”
“So, if we want to interact with the Social Net or the Jupe’s Internet we have to do it from behind a node?” Sonya asked.
“Yes,” Harris said. “Unless we can take over as a node goes off line. Maybe we could find some unencrypted wireless network at some colony to tap into. That would put us in the mesh, but I don’t know. It seems like every device is cataloged and recorded so we would not be anonymous to authorities if we connected with a strange device we would be red-flagged. I would guess that AI’s in Atlantia or Aquarius monitor the system.”
“So, we just listen,” Sonya said with a scowl and Harris shrugged. It was like having internet access but only being able to see the sites that other people were looking at.
“Unless we want to draw attention,” Harris said. “I have a pair of Cincinnatus AI’s working on a solution but considering how complex it is, I’m not sure it will be easy.”
“Do your best,” Sonya said. “It would help a great deal if we could query the system.”
Harris nodded.
“From what I can see the system is so heavily monitored privacy is a bad joke,” Harris said. “Looks like the Jupiter Alliance is paranoid and controlling. There might be privacy in some of the colonies but I doubt there is much. Everything is encrypted, but that encryption is easily broken.”
“And?” Sonya asked.
“Well,” Harris said with a glance at Goodwin, the intelligence officer. “If we hack in and register as a new node I’m sure the entire Jupiter Alliance network will light up like a Christmas tree and they will use signal triangulation to find us within minutes. For such a free society, they sure are paranoid and controlling. With Jupiter’s radiation, we have to boost the signal, which means we become easier to detect depending on who wants to listen and track us.”
“Solutions?” Sonya asked.
“Wait and watch,” Harris said. “We can crack their regular civilian encryption. We have found military transmissions are harder to crack, but it can still be done. They insist it is not crack able, but it just takes the Conglomerate AI’s a little longer.”
Sonya nodded.
“So, we continue to hurry up and wait?” Sonya asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Harris said. “We can listen but we can’t speak unless we want to find out how many missiles are in range.”
And waiting for someone to transmit the answers to their questions would take a long time.
“Captain you might want to see this,” Harris said over the InnerBuddy link.
Sonya brought up the display. Some news reporter was talking and sounded frantic.
“Horrible,” the handsome talking head was saying, Sonya wasn’t sure if it was an AI representation or a real person. With the labor laws of the Jupiter Alliance it could be based on who had the money to pay the fees. “Initial reports show the Caliphate has infiltrated a suicide team into the Harris Town and has detonated a low level nuclear weapon. The dome has been breached and most of the colony is flooding. The EMP blast has crippled the network and we are still trying to find out how bad it is. Elements of the Jupiter Alliance First Fleet are moving to assist but Aquarius is sending help more directly under the surface. As we learn more, we will let you know!”
Checking her InnerBuddy it showed the population of Harris Town was around sixty thousand and was a thriving city under the ice shelves on Europa. Originally founded by Americans about a hundred years ago, it leaned more toward independence and isolationism.
“How do you think the Caliphate managed that Captain?” Harris sent.
“Not sure,” Sonya sent. “Unless the Jupiter Alliance is not as secure as they claim it is. I would think they would have detected any sympathizers long ago. Watch the news and keep me posted. Monitor their rescue attempts and let me know if you see anything odd.”
“Aye Captain,” Harris sent. “Will do.”
Leaning back Sonya replayed it and brought up other displays of local news before she headed to the CIC.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Europa
In the CIC Harris was leaning back watching several displays. Harris called the room to attention as the Captain arrived and Sonya was quick to tell people to carry on.
“Thoughts?” Sonya asked standing over Harris’s shoulder, looking at his visible displays.
“There was a lot of talk about Caliphate infiltrators and hate crimes being committed against Hindi’s in Atlantia because they looked like traditional Muslims to the uneducated. In other places Christians were being targeted because it was claimed Islam was an offshoot of their religion, even some Jewish enclaves are being targeted,” Harris said.
“That makes little sense,” Sonya said trying to find the display he might be referring to. The Jupiter Alliance almost looked like it was falling apart at the seams but there were not enough troop deployments if it was real.
“If I may Captain?” Commander Goodwi
n asked. He was a quiet, thoughtful individual with chocolate-colored skin, a blend of the glossy white walls and solid black uniforms.
Sonya nodded to Goodwin.,
“I suspect it is a government effort to put people on edge,” Goodwin said. “I can’t confirm yet but there seems to be a lot of intentional, or unintentional division among the colonies. It is very subtle, if intentional, but I’ve noticed how the different news agencies report in the different languages. The news, even the rumors, seem biased in various directions depending on who is talking to who.”
“Explain,” Sonya said.
Goodwin nodded. “I’ve noticed in the reporting about Harris Town that rescuing units are from the First Fleet. From what I’ve gathered First Fleet is composed of citizens from Aquarius and Atlantia, but has citizens from other colonies and cultures. I’ve noticed that news reports broadcast to Nyu Tirupati show predominantly Indian rescue teams operating to save people, while the news reports sent to Gaya, a predominantly African colony, shows those of African ancestry conducting the rescue. Both of these broadcasts show little to no involvement of other races. This gives the immediate impression that the rescue of those at Harris Town is not a joint effort.”
“They want to show their people in the best light?” Sonya asked.
“A thought Captain,” Goodwin said, but Sonya could see he didn’t share it. “But by excluding other racial types it ignores their unified efforts. Subtle, and you won’t see anyone mention it, but it is there. I have also noted a biased reporting in crimes. When crimes are reported to smaller, racially stereotyped colony they never seem to show similar racially stereotyped criminals, just crimes committed against the specific racial type by a different racial type. The psychological impact is to keep the people divided and mistrustful of others.”
Sonya stared at Goodwin.
“I thought the Jupiter Alliance is supposed to be about unity and working together,” Sonya said. Had anything changed in over forty years? She tried to remember if it had been like this but she had never noticed. Goodwin was younger, in his late thirties, and was looking at the Jupiter Alliance through the eyes of an outsider. Sonya found that thought disturbing.
“On the surface,” Goodwin said. “That is the official propaganda, Captain, but in reality, I suspect it is intentional since fearful, isolated groups are easier to control and manipulate.”
“Who is pulling the strings?” Sonya asked.
“The Jupiter Socialist Party,” Goodwin said. “Without a doubt Captain. They are only discussed in the most glowing and endearing of terms while their enemies are reviled. It seems obvious if you look at the public news agencies.”
“They have complete control?” Sonya asked.
Goodwin shook his.
“It doesn’t look like it Captain,” Goodwin said. “But they have control of the Alliance Council and news agencies. They have key members in each of the critical posts, as near as I can tell, every colony has at least one JSP office that is involved in local politics, pushing for Democratic Socialism. They seem to have some rich financial backers and the complete support and control of the Alliance military. I can trace a lot of family lines between media executives and the JSP.”
Sonya grimaced.
“Keep me informed,” she said returning to her seat to think about it. It couldn’t be that bad. Right? But they had launched an attack on New Alamo and Athena and there was nothing in the news to show they had lost so many ships although there were news articles about Stockholm syndrome and lots of speculation about whether the colonists of New Alamo could be considered human after spending so much time under the oppression of uncaring aliens.
“Play that again,” Sonya said. She hadn’t been sleeping well and wondered if Captain Moore of the Octavius was seeing worse although last she heard he was still running from a Caliphate task force near Mars.
Most of her attention had been on the main holographic display where a pair of JA cruisers were sliding by at a range of five thousand kilometers. Sonya felt confident the Cincinnatus could handle them, but they were in the heart of the Jupiter system and there were plenty of other ships that could come after them if the Cincinnatus were revealed.
“The Jupiter Intelligence Service has captured two of the ringleaders as they attempted to escape from Atlantia,” the talking head was saying and drawing her attention back to the news broadcast. “They have been identified as Eric Kaplon and Jennifer Casavant. Both had immigrated from Athena to Harris Town. JIS has confirmed that they believe Athenian authorities knew of their identity and assisted the jihadis in migrating to Harris Town. JIS is searching for additional collaborators from Athena who may have information on other terrorist cells. In related news, the few survivors of Harris Town have been moved to other colonies where they will rebuild their lives in anonymity and safety. Secretary General James Abbott is promising retaliation against the Caliphate. He urges people not to jump to conclusions about Athena being complicit in the Harris Town massacre. JIS is still investigating the allegations but if they are true, the Alliance will use maximum force to bring the criminals to justice.”
“The Athenian authorities knew they were Caliphate terrorists?” Fry asked.
Sonya shook her head.
“No,” she said. “It doesn’t add up. But we need to notify New Alamo as soon as possible. Prep a drone with a full data dump and I want to keep updating it until it jumps.”
“Aye Captain,” Harris said.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Purge
Sarah took her seat next to Lieutenant Darzi Cheema, a quiet young officer from the Kochi colony on Callisto. Darzi was one of the more professional officers in Fox company although he didn’t seem to be too popular with his men. Sarah found him a little stuck up, but then most Marine officers were. You had to have an ego bigger than Jupiter to lead the toughest close quarters fighters in the solar system and the Marine officers of the Jupiter Alliance were over achievers. You also had to do and say the right things to get promoted to officer which seemed at odds with the Marine ethos.
Lieutenant Dace Hunter was the last one in, a loud and outspoken Marine from the African colony of Sky Lagos. He was okay, but too flamboyant for Sarah.
The room was called to attention and Captain Boyd took the stand.
“At ease,” the Captain said looking out over the assembled platoon commanders and other officers of Fox company. Sarah watched his body language. The Captain seemed agitated as he looked around and Sarah thought he was struggling for words.
“This briefing is classified,” the Captain said. “It is not to leave this room. Several days ago, two Jupiter Alliance fleets transitioned to the Josaka system to liberate and secure the colony of Athena. Intelligence has determined, with a high level of probability, that the Athenians provided wormhole technology to the Caliphate and several senior members of the Athena council, including the Chief Executive Allison Perro, have been working with, and selling secrets to the Caliphate.”
The room was quiet, staring at the Captain. Working with the Caliphate was one of the worst crimes imaginable and it carried very stiff penalties within the Jupiter Alliance. Sarah shook her head. How could anybody be so sick as to work with that regime? Not even the despotic Xu’an dynasty of Ceres sank that low.
“It was believed Athena would transit the wormhole and establish a base from which the Caliphate could launch attacks against the Jupiter Alliance. From that base, they would be immune to counterattack,” the Captain said looking around him. “The Caliphate has also demonstrated improved gravity control on their ships so they have more maneuverability outside of the established orbital slingshot routes.”
The Captain remained silent looking at his officers and Sonya could see he was troubled, maybe unsure how to proceed.
“Fleets sent to bring the Athenian traitors to justice were betrayed and destroyed,” the Captain said and Sarah froze.
Two fleets? Thousands of fleet personnel? How could a colony
running from the Jupiter Alliance have done that?
“It appears that the Athenians have co-opted New Alamo to defend them, or,” the Captain checked his InnerBuddy. “The people of New Alamo have spent so much time among aliens they don’t think like we do anymore.”
“Are we facing an invasion by New Alamo?” Lieutenant Andrews, the company’s executive officer asked.
The Captain shook his head.
“Negative,” Captain Boyd said. “From what we know, New Alamo does not have a mobile force capable of launching an attack. They have some very advanced ships to be sure, but not enough of them.”
Lieutenant Andrews nodded.
“Now I want you to take that news with a grain of salt,” Captain Boyd said. “We still don’t have all the facts. Could be the Conglomerate that destroyed our fleets for all we know, but you need to know those two fleets are reported as destroyed.”
Captain Boyd’s eyes fell on Sarah.
“One other item,” the Captain said staring at her. “Valkyries are now considered combat capable and are likely to be deployed in the event of a conflict.”
Sarah tried hard not to smile, but it was hard. The Captain’s scowl deepened, he must have seen her joy, and he turned to look around him at the other officers.
The door slid open and everyone glanced over at it since all the company officers were in this room.
A major wearing dark brown battle armor, with a light blue baldric and a blue beret perched on his head instead of a helmet strode in. Behind him were armored guardsmen with their helmets on and their mirrored face plates looking back at the assembled Marines. They were in full combat kit, as if ready for battle, and Sarah noticed there were other guardsmen out in the hallway. Only the major had his helmet off as he strode up to the Captain, the others looked ready for war and all the Marines had on were their garrison jumpsuits.
New Empires: Conglomerate Series Book 3 Page 7