Descent

by Hamish Spiers

  “Thanks, Kailis,” Carla said. She looked at the helm. “Where’s Marlin?”

  “I think he’s asleep,” Eroim said. “He’s not on duty.”

  “Oh, that’s fine,” Carla said with a wave of her hand. “But I want to talk to everyone.”

  “What are the options?” Eroim asked.

  “Well, I want to follow the trail to Felkar obviously. However, before I do, I need to contact Hellesis and the rest of the group to let them know what’s going on.”

  “We don’t have to go out of our way to do that,” Eroim told her. “There’s a relay station we can get in range of en route. Kailis has already plotted a course.”

  Carla looked at him and turned to Kailis, who smiled and shrugged. “Good work,” she said and turned back to her communications officer. “And I take it you’re willing to go all the way with this, Eroim?”

  Eroim gave her a nod. “That I am, Captain.”

  “Well,” Carla said, “I guess the only thing left is to do is talk to the others and see if they’re coming too or if I need to arrange some transport for them back to Phalamki. Thank you, both of you.”

  She turned to leave but just as she reached the door, Eroim stirred. “Um, Captain?”

  Carla stopped and turned around. “Yes, Eroim?”

  “I just remembered something. I have heard of Felkar before.”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, talking about the good old days when we were selling each other out to the Levarc reminded me. Felkar took that to the next level.”

  “What does that mean exactly?” Carla asked.

  “The government collaborated with the Levarc rather more directly, giving them everything they had on their neighboring systems in exchange for amnesty.”

  Carla drew in a breath. “I see. And how did that work out for them?”

  “Not all that well. Once the Levarc didn’t need them anymore, they just hammered them like the rest of us. Then after the war, Felkar was pretty much ostracized. As good as quarantined. In fact, there was only world that I ever heard of that kept trading with them.”

  “What world was that?” Carla asked.

  “Some place called Imraec Tarc.”

  For a few moments, Carla contemplated the information in silence, while Eroim and Kailis waited. “I’ve heard about Imraec Tarc,” she told them. “And from what I’ve learned, I’d say it’s a world that might be getting a bit more attention in the next little while. It’s been illegally occupying another world called Katara since before the Levarc War and the United Frontier has issued a warning that if it doesn’t relinquish it, actions will be taken against it.”

  “So Imraec Tarc is somewhat ostracized as well,” Kailis said.

  “Not surprising it’s doing business with a place like Felkar then,” Carla agreed.

  “Hang on, Captain,” Eroim interrupted. “How do you know about this place? It doesn’t sound as though all this stuff is front page news.”

  Carla smiled. “Believe me, it’s not. However, I have a sister who’s not only a diplomat herself but is married to one as well. She’s been keeping a rather closer eye on this place than the various media bodies have.” The smile faded. “However, this does change things a bit.”

  6. Moving the Schedule

  Asten looked over his instruments and smiled. At last, he and Selina were on their way to Imraec Tarc.

  He turned to his wife. “So, since we’ve got some time, why don’t we go over the plan again?”

  Selina nodded and pulled out a pad. “Good idea. All right. First of all, an ID.”

  “You really think the Lady Hawk would trigger a flag?”

  Selina shrugged. “Well, probably not. But you never know. This ship may not be high profile but we are.”

  Asten nodded. He hadn’t realized it when had married Selina - not at first - but it was true. Whether he, or Selina, wanted to be or not was irrelevant. There were a large number of people out there who’d know who they were.

  “That’s a tricky thing, isn’t it?” he said.

  Selina looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, our fame and notoriety might make it a little difficult sneaking into the system unnoticed -”

  “But not impossible though.”

  “No,” Asten said. “Not impossible. But when we find Deramar Ardeis, we’re going to be relying on that same fame somewhat to persuade him to come in.”

  Selina smiled. “We’ll be fine. Now, the ID?”

  “Go with the first one on the list.”

  Selina laughed and shook her head. “I can’t believe you’ve still got these things.”

  “Well, they’re like souvenirs,” Asten replied, checking the ship’s transponder signal. “I never really use them. Anyway, here we go. Drifter’s Folly.”

  Selina chuckled. “That’s really lame.”

  “Yeah.” Asten changed the transponder signal. “That is what I’ve been... told.” He turned back to his wife. “Okay. That’s the ID. Now, what about the cover story?”

  “We’re drifters, like our name implies,” Selina said. “We’re checking the place for potential work. Smuggling supplies in and out of the place or providing a little additional protection for the people who are.”

  “And that gets us to Imraec Tarc,” Asten said. “And then... discreet inquiries?”

  Selina shook her head. “No. You told Drackson we’d get a feel for the place first. And I still think that’s a sensible precaution.”

  Asten nodded, remembering. “Right. Scope out the place. Then we might start asking questions.” He took a breath. “Well, I have no idea what the locals look like but it’s probably fairly certain they’ve never seen a Phalamkian before. I suppose Deramar Ardeis would have made something of a splash in his town.”

  “That’s what we’re hoping,” Selina reminded him.

  “True. Now, what if no one can help us? Then what?”

  “If no one can help us,” Selina said, “we just turn around and go home. Then it’s going to be up to someone else to draft up an intervention plan.”

  Lord Erama stepped out of his personal shuttle and into the hangar of the Phalamkian Battle Titan the Valiant. He was met by Maia and Zak and, together, they walked to an anteroom behind the bridge.

  “It’s good to see that Selina and Asten are finally on the way,” Maia said, starting the conversation.

  “Yes,” Lord Erama said, sliding two of his hands together. “Although I’ll be happier when they’re back. The real problem though is that we may have waited too long to check up on Deramar Ardeis anyway. You know I spoke to Senator Ereis yesterday. But others have raised concerns as well. The consensus seems to be that we should be preparing to strike now.”

  Zak frowned. “Didn’t everyone decide that what we really wanted to do was to find this man and ascertain what the situation was like before we made any overt moves?”

  Lord Erama gave his son a wry grin. “Yes, but people can be impatient and fickle. However, Senator Ereis from Hie’shi made a good point. If the leadership of Imraec Tarc are expecting us to make a move against them, then they’d already be gearing up for war themselves.”

  Zak nodded. “That’s true. I wonder if perhaps we could hear the last message they sent us.”

  “You haven’t heard it?” Lord Erama asked.

  “It was for the diplomats, wasn’t it?” Zak reminded him.

  “I suppose,” his father conceded, pulling out a pad and bringing up an audio file. “But I can’t see any reason why you can’t hear it. It’s not classified. It’s just a case of no one finding it particularly newsworthy.”

  “Katara is rather a forgotten world,” Maia said.

  Zak squeezed her hand. Given that the world of her mother’s people had once been forgotten as well, it was understandable that she felt a more personal connection to Katara’s plight than the average citizen on the Frontier did.

  “Yes,” Lord Erama said, playing the audio file. “Anyway, here it
is.”

  The voice in the recording was somewhat mechanic, clearly altered by electronic means, and had a flat, lifeless intonation.

  “The government of Imraec Tarc wishes to respond to the demands of the United Frontier. You ask us to relinquish our claims over Katara, which has been a sovereign territory in our possession since 233 Corsidan Standard. You coerce and threaten us. You tell us that if we do not relinquish our claim on this world by 290, you will take punitive measures against us. We in turn tell you this: Do what you will, for we will make no such concessions to the tyranny of outside aggressors. If you strike us, we will fight back. If you wrong us, we will avenge. But remember this, and remember it well. You have nothing to gain by interfering in our affairs and you have much to lose.”

  Maia leaned back in her seat when the recording finished. “Charming people, aren’t they?”

  “Has anyone tried to reverse the electronic voice manipulation to find out what the speaker’s actual voice sounds like?” Zak asked.

  “Several attempts have been made,” Lord Erama told him. “But they don’t tell us much. All attempts have revealed more or less the same thing. The voice sounds as though it could be human. Or Phalamkian. Or Felariam. Or a member of another species that has similar vocals to a human being. Or even an individual of a species that doesn’t who’s capable of imitating such speech. For instance, while your average Harskan speaks Corsidan in a noticeably different manner from us, some individuals like your friend Drackson are more than capable of it.”

  Zak nodded. “So it could be almost anybody.”

  “Basically.”

  “But while that message doesn’t shed any light on the mystery of who these people are,” Maia interjected, “it makes their intentions clear enough.”

  “True,” Zak agreed. “Although, those lines about fighting back and avenging wrongs aren’t exactly specific. I wonder what lengths they might go to to protect what they claim to be theirs if they feel we’re pushing them too hard.”

  “Well, that would be the kind of thing you’d have to consider when you start working on an intervention plan,” Lord Erama said.

  “Us?” Maia asked.

  “You and Zak, yes. That was what I was leading up to.”

  “Well, that wasn’t much of a lead up,” Maia said, “but all right. Still, why us?”

  “To start with,” Lord Erama said, “the others I’ve spoken to seem to want Phalamki to spearhead this thing.”

  “That made sense when we were just talking about extracting Deramar Ardeis,” Maia said. “As a Phalamkian field agent, it’s not hard to see why he’d be considered a Phalamkian problem. But the liberation of Katara is larger than Phalamki.”

  “I agree,” her father said. “However, others feel differently. If I were to guess, I’d say it’s a hangover from the resistance against Corinthe. This system did become a rallying point and this was where the hostilities both came to a head and came to an end. For better or worse, a lot of people out there seem to think that makes us the unofficial center of the United Frontier.”

  “All right,” Maia conceded. “So a Phalamkian led operation. Now, why Zak and me? This system may be the unofficial center of the Frontier as you say but Imraec Tarc, should any intervention go ahead, will be an enormous logistical undertaking. Surely, there are better suited people who can plan it. Admiral Kalae or Admiral Draedon both have considerable experience with complex operations. And former military leaders and resistance fighters from a dozen worlds would no doubt have been involved in the liberation of their systems from the Levarc. And then, of course, you’re amply qualified as well.”

  “We old hands aren’t as sharp as we once were,” Lord Erama said. “And there’s another thing. You mentioned Admiral Kalae and Admiral Draedon but you know both of them are planning to step down by the end of next year. Admiral Garam already has. And I doubt any retired resistance fighters from the war would want to get involved in something like this. They’ve done their bit. And remember, for the average civilian out there, not only is Imraec Tarc not their problem, it’s not even on their radar. Which is the other issue. At its heart, this isn’t going to be the United Frontier coming in to liberate Katara. We’re not going to send in every ship we can spare. In the end, it’s all going to come down to a small group of us.”

  Zak gave Maia a nod. “That’s true enough, Princess.”

  Maia blushed a little and smiled.

  “But there’s another thing too,” Lord Erama said. “And that’s that sooner or later, my generation is going to have to step down anyway and your generation is going to have to take over. And if it’s got to happen eventually, this seems like as good an opportunity to begin that change as any.” He smiled. “However, if you want some help with organizing the ships we’ll need, you can still always talk to Dainard Emerson.”

  Emerson had been a general in the resistance movement against Corinthe but he had also been the quartermaster of the main organization, and he was good at acquiring ships and getting them where they were needed. Since the Resistance had given him a larger profile than he had had previously, he didn’t have quite the network of shady contacts he’d once had but if one needed specialized ships at short notice, he could still point them in the right direction.

  “Well, it’s nice to know we’re not entirely on our own,” Zak said. “And I might actually have a chat with Emerson about another matter anyway.”

  Lord Erama nodded. “Ah, yes. That’s right. However, there’s something else I have to tell you here.”

  “What’s that?” Maia asked.

  “People are pushing for this thing to go ahead sooner rather than later.”

  Maia made a face. “What’s the hurry? I thought no one even cared.”

  Lord Erama shrugged. “I think that more or less is the problem. No one involved wants to be involved and the sooner they can wrap this thing up, so to speak, the sooner they can get back to whatever they were doing before.”

  “That’s not exactly a responsible way of approaching it.”

  “Whoever said bureaucrats were responsible?” her father countered. “Anyway, the deal is that there’ll be a meeting on Hie’shi in a week’s time and there will be a number of attendees, both military and civilian, representing several systems. And they’ll be expecting to see your intervention plan.”

  “In a week?” Maia asked. “That’s a tall order.”

  Lord Erama sighed. “I know. It’s not much time but there’s something else I have to tell you. I’ve talked about people wanting this thing to be a Phalamkian led operation, but that’s a preference for them rather than the sole option being considered. And here’s the thing: you don’t have to have an intervention plan ready by next week. No one will fault you if you don’t. But if you don’t have one ready, Senator Ereis tells me some not so level headed people are planning to take over. And I’d prefer it if they didn’t.”

  Jiang finished buttoning up the shirt of the uniform she had acquired. Well, stolen would be a more appropriate word but it was stolen in a good cause. She gave Alia a little smile. “What do you think?”

  Alia shook her head. “What do I think? I can’t believe you found something in your size in there.”

  Jiang took one last look at the storage cupboard in front of her before closing it. Alia had a point. Most of the uniforms inside were made to fit much larger people, which also told her something about the how the people running security on this particular station thought.

  She shut the door, locking it as she did so. For a moment, she glanced at the electronic keypad on the lock.

  “Do you think anyone will notice you’ve tampered with this thing or that one of their uniforms is gone?”

  Alia shrugged. “Not in the next hour or so.” She handed Jiang a card. “And don’t forget this. If I’m right about this, this is a top level clearance card. It will give you access to anywhere in the station and allow you to reassign security detail anywhere you want. Somewhere out of yo
ur way.”

  While she got a good look at the cargo hold of the Drifter’s Folly. Nodding, Jiang smiled and clipped the card to her belt. “Thanks. All right. Let’s get going before anyone sees us here.”

  They left quickly, Alia heading off one way and Jiang another. She checked the time as she walked; the security guards on the current shift were just about to go off duty. After that, there’d be a ten minute window in which she could get into the hangar where the Drifter’s Folly was without station security noticing. The crew of the ship would be another matter but she’d worry about that if and when it became a problem. According to the registry that Alia had uploaded from the station’s data banks, the ship was due to fly out by eighteen hundred hours and Jiang wanted to get a good look at its cargo before it did.

  As she approached the Drifter’s Folly, the corridor adjoining that group of hangars was largely empty and all the security personnel had cleared out entirely. Swiping her card into a terminal, she was given immediate access to the station’s computer system, just as Alia had told her she would be. Then it was the work of one minute to find a way to unlock the maintenance hatch in the middle of the corridor and another two to reroute security - by requesting an additional security presence at the other end of the station.

  That done, she shut down the terminal and stole across the corridor and through the maintenance hatch before anyone noticed her.

  She was now in a service tunnel that branched off in several directions, each branch running alongside and slightly underneath one of the hangars. Each of these were numbered according to the hangar they serviced and she followed the branch marked as ‘32’.

  As she walked the length of it, she observed fuel lines running along the walls - ruptures in the lines could easily be repaired here - and occasional small metal grates, through which she could see the hangar and the Drifter’s Folly inside.

  The only guards outside the ship were two bored looking men near the nose of the vessel and facing the main entrance to the hangar. And the hatchway to the vessel was open.