by Ryan Krauter
“Evening, Captain Lazaf,” Elco began. “Good to see Pullar shipshape again after our last visit.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Lazaf replied courteously. “May I ask what your business here is?”
Right to the point, which was again typically Talaran, but Elco couldn’t shake the feeling that Lazaf was not happy with him. “We’re scouting the place out,” Elco offered. “We have a team on the surface, thought we’d back out a bit and watch for anything interesting. A Talaran task force would qualify as interesting, I’d say. I have to ask as well, are you expecting trouble? We’ve noticed your shields and weapons are ready for action.”
Lazaf studied Elco for a handful of seconds, then replied. “To be honest, Captain, there have been some, developments, between our parties that are troublesome.”
So that was it, Elco thought. At least he was reading the man correctly.
“I’m sorry to be at a loss, but I’m unaware of any problems we might be having. Would you care to discuss this in person?” Elco didn’t know what was going on, but he had enough respect for this man in particular and Talarans in general to want things between them to run smoothly.
Again, Lazaf appeared to pause as he pondered the offer, then nodded imperceptibly. “I think that might be a good idea, Captain. Would you mind if I head to your ship?”
“Not at all. I’ll have my comm officer set you up. We’ll put your shuttle in the portside hangar.”
Fifteen minutes later, Captain Elco stood in the Vipers’ hangar bay awaiting the arrival of Captain Lazaf’s shuttle. He’d ordered the bay cleared of personnel, including Merritt Elder, much to the pilot’s chagrin. Elco appreciated the man’s attitude towards being asked to stay clear of his own domain, but he had the distinct impression that this was going to be a private, off the record conversation. If Lazaf wanted to head to Elco’s cabin, he’d be happy to host him there, but if the Talaran wanted to get right to business and be gone, he’d have that option as well.
Lazaf’s shuttle, blocky and angular like all other Talaran ships, pierced the energy barrier at the rear of the hanger and coasted to a standstill halfway down the length of the landing area, dropped its’ landing skids and settled gently onto the struts.
Seconds later, the engines powered down and the forward hatch opened, revealing Captain Lazaf. He appeared to have flown the shuttle himself, for Elco saw nobody else in the ship.
He stepped down the extended ladder rungs and onto Avenger’s decking, taking in the hangar with apparent satisfaction.
“Captain Elco,” Lazaf started with a salute, “Permission to come aboard?”
“Always,” Elco saluted in turn. “My cabin is a few minutes from here, but I cleared the hangar as well in case your time is limited. I get the impression you’d like to get right to business, though if I’ve read you wrong, I’d be happy to have you longer.”
“Much as I’d like to stay longer, you’re right, this is a business meeting,” Lazaf said solemnly. He stopped walking and turned to look at Elco. “Captain Elco, are we on the same side?”
Elco was stunned. Of all the things the Talaran might have said, he least expected to hear something like this. “Captain Lazaf, is this a friendly visit, or something else?”
“I don’t really know, to be honest. It’s a peaceful one, and something I think is best done informally, which is why I’ve come alone. Captain, what have you heard about the Carlor System lately?”
“Nothing much since Avenger left. We helped clear the Primans off it, you know, but since then we’ve been on the move. I haven’t heard anything officially in the last few days, if that’s what you mean. What are you driving at?”
“It was told to a Talaran government official two days ago that the Confederation would not be returning Carlor to Talaran governance. Senator Dennix and his Governing Committee have stated that, for a variety of reasons, the Confederation will be retaining possession of Carlor.”
“I don’t want to sound callous, but I imagine security and fortifying positions makes sense for a time. How long are we talking?”
“Indefinitely, Captain. We received an official Confederation notice that Carlor was now considered a Confed territory. You aren’t planning on giving it back.”
That hit Elco like a hammer. At a complete loss for words, he just looked at Lazaf, unable to form a reply. Could it be some sort of Priman trick? A diplomatic error?
“You’re wondering if there is any room for error on this issue, yes?” Lazaf offered.
Elco merely nodded.
Lazaf handed him a datapad showing the text of the communication, followed by pages of analysis on the validity of the document, both technically and diplomatically. There didn’t seem to be any doubt.
“I have no idea what to say,” Elco finally said. “This seems insane, to be frank. You’re our oldest allies, and between us we’re the only ones with a fighting chance against the Primans. Why in all the levels of hell would our leadership do this?” It was a credit to Elco’s trust in Lazaf that he would speak so frankly with another officer who, officially it seemed, was no longer an ally, but these were strange times. “Where does that leave us, in your opinion?”
“We’re at a crossroads, Captain Elco, but I believe your Senator Dennix is leading this maneuver, and since he’s apparently the driving force behind almost everyone elected or appointed to your Senate right now, he’s nominally in charge of the Confederation. We’ve recently observed a new and previously unknown advisor in his inner circle, a woman named Tana Starr. Ever since she’s joined his staff, he’s become more unpredictable, more anti-Talaran.” Lazaf paused, and Elco broke in.
“So are you saying you’ve been spying on us?”
“Spying is a bit of a reach, Captain. Let’s call it, maintaining contact. Spying implies infiltration, covertness, even illegal means. We simply have people who make a legitimate living on Delos who also happen to be in a position to collect nonsecret data. I realize it’s a gray area, but, especially in light of what’s happening now, it seems it’s become necessary.”
Elco was willing to, for the moment, allow that there might just be some justification to Lazaf’s attitude. “Alright, assuming this is something I might want to investigate discretely, what do you have for me to get started with?”
Lazaf, as if expecting Elco to make just such a request, retrieved a small data chip from one of the front breast pockets of his uniform jumpsuit. “Everything we have on the last week’s turn of events is on there, including what we’ve learned about this Starr woman.”
Elco took the chip and held it in his hand, as if hoping something would transfer by osmosis and give him a glimpse into what it contained. Finally, he continued. “So, Captain, what do we do now? Personally, I have received no orders changing our disposition towards you officially. Are we still colleagues? What latitude do you have from your government?”
“Hmph,” Lazaf grunted bitterly. “My government doesn’t exist in more than name at this point. We have places we’d held or even started new colonies, but we’re very much a collection of independent bodies right now. I suppose that’s the way the Collection started in the first place, though I don’t exactly see this in the bright light that our ancestors did when they struck out. I can tell you what we’re doing right now, though. We’re here to blow the hell out of the Priman garrison on Anderson. If you’ve been here, you know they’re light on their forces. There shouldn’t be any reason for them to fortify here, because even if we took the place, we couldn’t hold it, not that we would try. So, they’re not expecting an attack. We beat them up a bit, then head for deep space before reinforcements show up. We jump off as soon as I get back to the Pullar.”
Elco now had a problem. He didn’t want Loren’s team caught in the crossfire between the Primans and Talarans, but he didn’t know when they’d return or if he even wanted to admit to Lazaf what he was doing, no matter how upstanding the Talaran might be. He was spared the time agonizing over it, howe
ver, by a page for him on his comm device.
“Captain here,” he replied as he held in the small resistor pad on the screen.
“Sensors here, Captain,” came the reply from a voice Elco recognized as Ensign Caho’s. “I’m picking up an unidentified contact headed for the maintenance yard where we left XO Stone’s team. It’s Priman, but we don’t have anything in the computer to help classify it.”
Elco looked at Lazaf as his mind spun. He realized there was a good chance it was Loren and his crew, but he of course couldn’t be sure. The problem was, what should he do with Lazaf? “Any comm signals?” he asked into the comm device.
“Just got one, Captain. Text only; it’s the recognition code for the XO’s team, sir.”
“And they’re on a Priman ship, eh?” Elco mused. That could be a technological windfall if it was another one of those Keeper vessels they’d been talking about. He turned to Lazaf. “Well, Captain, it appears you’ve learned why we’re here. We’ve been trying to run down some Priman technology to help us with some problems we have. It seems my team might have something to show for their efforts. If you’d care to hold off on your attack for a short while, you’re welcome to greet them when they arrive.” He doubted the Navy higher-ups would approve, but he felt as though he owed the man something. First, as professionals on the same overall side of the war, it just seemed right, and second, if what he was telling Elco about Senator Dennix was true, it was simply returning a favor.
“I’m very grateful, Captain,” Lazaf replied.
Elco activated the device again, sending a signal to the Communications station.
“Communications,” came the quick reply.
“Comms, send a signal to that Priman ship we’ve just discovered and give them our coordinates. Send them to the Vipers’ hangar here if the ship will fit. If not, advise me first.”
The officer replied in the affirmative and was off the circuit.
“Looks like we’ll have some more to talk about after all,” Elco mused.
Chapter 10
“Well, you don’t see that every day,” Web said for nobody’s benefit other than his own.
Halley heard it, however, and ducked into the cockpit to see what was going on.
“Anything I need to know about?” she asked.
“I made contact with Avenger and swapped codes. They aren’t at the mining facility anymore; they went out-system a ways. I pointed the sensors out in that direction, and I’m not an expert on Priman systems yet, but it looks like there’s a bunch of Talaran ships keeping her company.”
Halley peered over the sensor console and checked the data, which seemed to agree with Web’s assessment. “I suppose you think you’re pretty magnificent figuring their systems out so quickly?”
“Could you in good faith tell me otherwise?”
His grin was infectious, and she found herself smiling as well.
Krenis, however, from his location bound securely to the navigator’s chair at the starboard bulkhead, was not smiling.
“Now what do you do with me and my crew?” he asked.
“I don’t know yet, Krenis,” Halley replied easily. “We need to get into that data storage facility you were going to make a dropoff to. We’ll figure it out once we get onboard our ship. Once we have what we need, then we drop you in a nice quiet and peaceful cell with your buddies.”
Loren appeared at the hatch now as well, having changed back into his Confed uniform.
“If you two want to get cleaned up and changed,” Loren offered, “I can watch our new friend here.” He sat down across from him and stared at Krenis with an expressionless face, which seemed to scare the Priman a bit.
“Now, Commander,” Web said, not entirely without worry. “Don’t kill him, ok?”
Loren simply looked at Web and back at Krenis and shrugged.
“Commander…”
“Fine, I won’t kill him. We only have ten minutes anyway; I wouldn’t be that quick about it.”
Web and Halley left the cockpit and the door sealed back into place, leaving Loren and Krenis alone in the suddenly very quiet space.
Krenis looked at Loren, then glanced away quicker than he was proud to admit. “Would you really do it?” he couldn’t help himself from asking.
“Kill you?” Loren responded. “Look, you don’t know me at all, so let me give you a recap. I’m a pretty happy guy. Fun loving, and one time someone called me a laugh riot. This is not who I normally am.” Loren leaned towards the Priman, who shrunk back involuntarily. “I’ll tell you a secret. You’re going to find out when we get onboard the ship anyway, so here’s a preview of why we find ourselves in this situation right now. You people infected an entire planet- Toral is the name- with a DNA virus that will decompile the Priman elements in human DNA, undoubtedly killing everyone infected in some unpleasant way.”
Krenis started to talk, but Loren held up his hand. “Shut it; I’m not finished with my story. The question and answer session is after that. As I said, Toral has a week and a half to live. That’s when the virus starts going to work on those that are carrying it. Now is when I mention that my wife is on Toral.” Loren could see the recognition and a little fear in Krenis’s eyes. “So, you see Krenis, I have a very vested interest in this, much more than just my duty to the flag I’ve sworn to serve. I don’t hate you as an individual or have anything personal towards you, I can even see a bond in the way you seek out new things just like I do, but make no mistake: I will kill you and every other Priman in this galaxy and give up my own life as well if I have to in order to find a cure for my wife and the rest of the people on that planet. If you cooperate, we’re fine. If you don’t, I continue to travel down a road I never thought I’d be able to take until a week ago. We’re going to go to the Keeper facilities you were headed towards in Priman space, and we’re going to look for a cure or die trying.” Loren leaned back into his chair and let out a long breath. “So, there it is. Any questions?”
“I didn’t release that weapon,” Krenis said softly. “That’s not how all of us fight; I wouldn’t target civilians like that.”
“I believe you, Krenis, but that doesn’t change what I’ll have to do. Just remember that once we’re aboard.”
The Keeper ship was just barely able to fit inside Avenger’s hangar bay, but Web flew it expertly to a stop just behind Captain Lazaf’s shuttle and dropped it the short distance onto the landing skids.
Lazaf and Elco waited near the main hatch for everyone to disembark, flanked by four Marines. The team had sent a request for prisoner escorts in their last reply, and Elco was happy to have more Primans to interrogate.
The hatch opened and a single step extended from the hull to bridge the distance between the interior and Avenger’s deck. Web showed his face first and exited the ship, saluting Captain Elco on the way out.
“Welcome back, Commander,” Elco said by way of greeting, then gestured to Lazaf. “I’m hosting Captain Lazaf of the Talaran ship Pullar for the occasion.”
“Captain,” Web replied.
“Commander,” Lazaf said. “it appears your mission has been successful.”
“They probably won’t let me keep it, sir,” Web replied, then moved off, not knowing what he was cleared to say to Lazaf and so not wanting to let slip anything that he was supposed to be keeping under wraps.
Elco turned as the Marines stiffened, then saw three Primans being escorted off the ship at gunpoint by Halley. She marched them up to the Marines, then nodded at them. “You have someplace you can put these?” she asked.
“We’ll find something suitable for them,” the lead officer said with a grin.
Loren was last to exit, heading straight to Elco and saluting.
“XO,” said Elco, “welcome back. This is Captain Lazaf of the Talaran Collection.” Loren nodded and added a quick ‘Captain’ to Lazaf, then turned back to Elco, but held off as if unsure what he was cleared to say.
“I can explain the full details lat
er, XO, but I’m going to let Captain Lazaf here in on what you’ve just done.” Elco gave an apologetic glance at Lazaf, then added, “Since most of the Confed Navy doesn’t even know precisely what we’re doing, you can leave out exact details and anything that might compromise the next step, but go ahead and brief us here after our prisoners are gone.”
Loren got the impression that he wanted Lazaf to know what they had done in the interests of sharing intelligence on the enemy, but couldn’t let an outsider in on a highly compartmentalized effort, so he tried to compose his ideas with that in mind. If the Captain wanted more, he’d ask Loren for it. He waited patiently until the Marines had escorted the Primans out of the compartment, then began.
“Well, Captain, here’s the short version. Halley (Loren had grown so used to her operating outside of normal rank structure that he didn’t even refer to hers anymore, something she encouraged, especially while operating covertly) used her computer access to locate a Keeper ship and crew on the surface. She arranged a meet with a local Fixer under the pretense of having some information the Keepers would want to acquire. I have the impression that they are not just couriers, Sir, but that they have the latitude to go and investigate anything of interest to their war effort.
“In any case, she got the crew to agree to a meeting. We met, there was some disagreement on their part about whether they’d like to come with us, but we got them and their ship out without anyone knowing. We had to leave three of them and the Fixer detained in a remote location because we didn’t have enough room to sneak them all out without putting the mission at risk. We left enough water and some rations for a few days, and though Halley promised to alert the authorities in three days, she programmed a remote message timed for five. We left on roughly the course they’d expect us to use, so hopefully as far as they know everything’s on profile. Once the Primans realize that Keeper ship is missing, though, I have to assume that they’ll seriously clamp down on their security. From what I’ve been able to estimate, the missions we’d like to run with that ship will be over with in three days or so anyway.”