Admiral's Gambit (A Spineward Sectors Novel:)

by Luke Sky Wachter

  Edging around to the door, I caught sight of a power-armored figure lurking around the corner. Blast! My wrist communicator was beside my bed, so I couldn’t even use that to sound the alarm!

  Fumbling with one hand, I tried to activate the emergency fire alarm feature on the data slate, while holding the sword in the other. If my attacker was going to give me precious seconds, I was going to take them.

  “Die, slattern,” growled the translated voice, and the head of my childhood teddy bear went flying, trailing a wad of stuffing. By now, the figure was past me and the lighting was such that not only did I think I recognized the translated voice, but the figure that had just hacked apart a precious childhood memory looked like my erstwhile Sword-Bearer. Or, as I tended to think of her, my wife.

  “You stone-cold witch! My mother gave that to me,” I yelled, fury replacing my revolutionary-inspired fear.

  The figure stalked over to the only other room in my small quarters, the comfort room, or 'the head,' as the crewmen referred to it.

  “There’s no one here,” Akantha said, sounding surprised but still clearly murderous as she checked the shower stall. She whirled around and dropped to her knees, swinging her sword under the bed.

  Looking at the mutilated body of an irreplaceable childhood treasure, and then back at the woman who’d just used explosives to break into my room instead of knocking like a normal person, something inside me snapped.

  I didn’t care that sleeping with a teddy bear wasn’t a very manly thing to do (actually, even in my rage I knew it would be quite embarrassing if word got out), I was completely torqued.

  The pit viper in human form had just struck again and played around with the sorts of high explosives that could get someone killed. Someone like me.

  “I'll kill you for that,” I yelled, dropping the slate and using both hands to bring around the sword for a devastating blow.

  Akantha rolled away and the Minos Sword cut into the body of my hapless teddy bear instead. This only served to stoke the flames of my righteous fury.

  “I will not be made a laughingstock,” she snarled, blocking my blow and forcing her way off her knees and back to her feet.

  “Get specked,” I snarled back and raised my sword over my head for a power blow, but unfortunately it scraped the ceiling paneling and the swing lost most of its power.

  She knocked my aborted blow aside and whipped Bandersnatch around for a wicked strike.

  The smaller size and nearly a foot long shorter length of her blade was telling, and I barely got the Minos Sword interposed in time. Actually, it was kind of a desperation maneuver that saw me move my own body as much as the sword, but luckily I was able to intercept the blow.

  We broke apart and then both of us immediately lunged at the same time. Locking blades, we pushed and strove to knock the other back.

  “Did she already leave, or is there some sort of secret entrance in this little love nest of yours,” she demanded through clenched teeth.

  “She?” I said in surprise, struggling to push her back. By the Demon Murphy, this woman was strong!

  “You’ve not been in your own bed once this entire month. So whose bed have you been sleeping in, who is this Flag Lieutenant that causes you to shame me before the entire Citadel,” she spat, all her icy exterior replaced with molten fury. I still imagine that in that moment, her eyes glowed like the heart of a reactor.

  I made a guttural noise, and in my fury I must have lost my balance and slipped, because somehow I was the one who lost the battle of strength and got knocked back.

  Kicking out wildly, I hit her in the knee and then managed to interpose my sword again before she could take advantage.

  “You,” I gasped, “you hateful pit viper,” I said, spitting a name I’d only ever dared use in the privacy of my own mind at her.

  Another flurry of blows sounded as she gave vent to her own rage and drove me around the room. With my larger, heavier blade I was forced onto the defensive.

  “You're upset my uncle tried to kill you, while my mother stood by and did nothing, is that it?” she cried.

  “What are you talking about, you crazy woman,” I roared and muscled my sword around for another attack.

  “Why do you shame me before everyone by seeking out a leman every night, not even pretending to seek the comforts of your own bed,” she screamed.

  She knocked my sword aside and hit me in the ribs with the flat of her blade.

  “Am I of so little value in your eyes that you would cast me aside like a gift from an unwelcome relative,” she yelled, spit flying from her lips as she came down with an overhand blow, this time leading with the edge, clearly intending to split me in two.

  I rolled along the floor to avoid the blow. “Space rot!” I bellowed.

  “Liar,” she screamed, and went to bring the sword up for yet another attack.

  I sprung to my knees and struck her on the rump as hard as I could with my sword. It was too bad my grip was wrong, and she only got the flat of the blade.

  She showed impressive agility, as she jumped forward with the blow and brought her sword around in an arc that would have taken my head off if I’d been on my feet.

  “I’ve been sleeping in the same room, this room, for the last ten months,” I grunted, blocking another blow while still on my knees.

  She pressed her sword down, pushing the blade closer to my head. “I demand the truth!” she hissed.

  “I’m not seeing anyone, I swear. Although that seems to be part of the problem here, if I understand you correctly," I panted. "Plus, I’ve never even set foot in the Admiral’s Quarters. Not once,” I said through teeth clenched with the effort of keeping her sword away.

  “How can I believe you,” she demanded hotly, but thankfully she hesitated in launching another barrage with Bandersnatch.

  “Just ask anyone. I’ll bet that if you look me up on the ship’s register you’ll see these are my assigned quarters,” I said, hoping the room assignments hadn’t been lost along with the Imperial database. Someone should have re-logged me as staying in the Flag Lieutenant's quarters.

  “What man would stay in the spartan room of an underling, when he could take for himself the highest status and most spacious rooms on the ship,” she hissed, but I could see the seed of doubt in her eye.

  “The same kind of man who still sleeps with his teddy bear. One who doesn’t like change. Besides, this way just makes it harder for assassins to find me, if everyone thinks I’m somewhere else,” I retorted. I didn’t put forth the main reason I hadn’t moved into the Admiral’s Quarters, which was because I didn’t feel like a real Admiral, or that I hadn't really earned the right to be there. The assassin thing was just a red herring, as anyone who wanted to find me wouldn’t be confused as to where to find me. Not since I’d been living in the same spot for the last ten months.

  She actually looked doubtful and I took advantage of this to surge to my feet and knock her sword down and out of the way.

  We stood there chest to chest (or at least, as 'chest-to-chest' as we could be with the height differential), breaths coming in short gasps and I didn’t know about her, but my arms felt like they were made of jelly.

  In the half-light she looked stunning. So without so much as half a thought, I stood on my tip toes, grabbed a handful of her golden hair to pull her head down, and kissed her. I couldn’t help myself; it was an impulsive action, probably brought on by all the exertion and the tension of the situation. But I readily admit that it was the best kiss to which I had ever been party.

  At first she seemed shocked. Then she dropped her sword and grabbed my head with both hands and gave me a fierce kiss in reply. I heard my own sword clatter to the floor. We stayed there for what seemed like a minute, but I'm sure that in reality it was little more than a second.

  Then, without warning, she threw me away and I crashed into my brutally assaulted bed.

  “You are the Admiral and should be seen in your quarters. I wil
l verify your story,” she said severely and, stopping only to pick up Bandersnatch, stalked out of the room.

  I adjusted myself slightly for comfort and lay back on my bed.

  Just like that she was gone. An insane woman had just broken into my room using high explosives and power-armored minions. In a jealous rage, she’d swept in to kill my supposed lover, engage me in a sword fight and then almost as rapidly as she’d come, she left.

  I made a mental note for the future; directing pleas to Akantha asking her to explain what was bothering her and asking her how I could fix whatever it was would only result in brutal night time raids. Avoid attempting direct communication in the future and stick to delay and avoid tactics.

  So far, avoiding her seemed to work much better than my attempt in the ready room to find out what was wrong. At least with the old plan it gave me the chance to change the subject, or at least buy a little more time to figure it out for myself.

  It also sounded like she was taking the marriage aspect of their situation a lot more seriously than I had. I thought I had been earning points by playing the gentleman and not doing anything remotely like forcing myself on someone who, at least at first, thought I’d tricked and strong-armed her into marriage.

  Obviously, I would have to rethink the whole situation because, once again, my trying to do the right thing by her had just blown up in my face in spectacular fashion. Not all of it was bad, though, I have to admit.

  With a sigh, I picked myself up off the bed and looked balefully at the devastated metal door. There was no way sleeping in here tonight was going to be a safe and secure option.

  Muttering to myself about superstitious ice maidens and crazy women who let their jealous emotions run away with them, I picked up my old-style Confederation uniform and accompanying bowler helmet. With a change of clothes, a tooth brush and the Minos Sword tucked under my arm, I made my way down the hall.

  The Flag Lieutenant's quarters were within short walking distance of the Admiral’s quarters. Because both positions needed quick access to the Flag Bridge, they were practically neighbors already.

  I eyed Akantha’s guards standing on either side of the door. Neither one would meet my gaze.

  Shaking my head, I activated the chime, signaling I was seeking entrance into the Admiral’s quarters.

  She took her sweet time answering the door and when she did, she looked down on me with that icy cold stare that looked through you and found you wanting.

  “It's been nearly a month since giving me a sword, and now you want to share my quarters,” she asked archly.

  “Right. You just destroyed my room and seemed to indicate I should stay here from now on, so…” I trailed off with raised eyebrows.

  “Come back tomorrow. There’s no room for you here tonight,” she said frostily and, if she could have slammed the door in my face, I’m sure she would have. Instead, the door smoothly and efficiently slid back in place.

  “Of course. That makes perfect sense,” I said a little too loudly.

  There was a snort from one of the armored figures, followed by a clang as the other one punched the one who snorted in the shoulder.

  “You’re welcome to stay in my quarters, my liege,” said a male voice and what turned out to be the one who snorted.

  I glanced back and forth between them. The woman in power-armor didn’t seem too impressed with her Warlord right now, or if she was, she was doing a great job of hiding it under a disdainful mask, while the man seemed to be somewhat sympathetic to my plight.

  “Since I currently don’t have a room to sleep in because I wasn’t staying in the appropriate quarters, I think I’ll just stay in the ready room tonight," I said dryly. I didn’t add that at least there I could lock the bulkhead blast doors leading into the Flag Bridge and get a good night's sleep with the certainty that no one was going to come tear down the door.

  It might be inconvenient for the bridge crew, but since they were going to see me in a disheveled condition anyway, a little temporary discomfort in return for some juicy gossip seemed like a fair trade to me.

  With a resigned sigh, I turned and trudged out of the lift and over to the Flag Bridge. Head held high, I deliberately didn’t look at anyone as I made the walk of shame through the bridge and into the ready room.

  Eventually, I gave up on achieving any measure of comfort and used tomorrow’s uniform for a pillow and just lay down on the floor in front of the desk. Things had better change by tomorrow, or I was first going to get a better couch in here, and second look into a new room with a stronger door.

  In almost no time it seemed it was time to get up and go onto the bridge for the first point transfer of the day. We were scheduled for two a day until we got back to Tracto.

  I allowed myself a lengthy yawn, then changed my clothing and used the sink to scrub my face and hands.

  Squaring my shoulders, I prepared to head out and face the music. I did my best to ignore the hidden smiles and muttered whisperings on the Flag Bridge. There was nothing for it but to glare at anyone who got too loud, and ignore the rest.

  I was just thankful that we’d be returning to the Tracto System before tonight. At least that way if I was still homeless, I wouldn’t be required to be on the Flag Bridge every transition and could avoid gossip by securing alternate lodgings until whatever this thing going on between myself and Akantha was sorted out.

  Chapter 16: Big Trouble in Little Tracto

  “Point Emergence,” said the Navigator.

  “Baffling extended, I’m firing up the engines,” said Helmsman DuPont.

  “Point Resistance?” asked Lieutenant Tremblay.

  “All Engines at 10% of maximum,” said the Helmsman. “The lock is still in place.”

  “Shields modulated for exiting the inertial sump,” reported the shields operator.

  I was satisfied that a few days of extra drills had improved Third Shift's confidence and professionalism. The fact that we were entering what was, for the moment, the Lucky Clover’s base out on the Rim probably didn’t hurt anything either.

  I smiled tightly. If only all of my problems would start showing improvement after a few drills.

  The Science Office opened his mouth to comment, “I read fifty gravities equivalent in the sump,” he said shortly.

  The man was still smarting over being placed in the brig, but he would just have to get over it or get the Hades off this ship. As far as I was concerned he’d had his chance back in the Easy Haven System and declined to take advantage of the opportunity. So he was stuck with us for the duration.

  The Sensor Operators were dutifully doing their job by populating the main screen with the results of their latest sensor reading.

  “All engines at 25% of maximum,” said Helmsman DuPont.

  “Shield strength at 95%, shield regeneration is steadily increasing despite the sump drain,” said the main Shield Operator.

  “Engines at 32%,” reported the Helmsman.

  I couldn’t even feel it when we broke free of the inertial sump this time.

  “And… there we go, I know it's harder on the engines, but I thought if I properly modulated the secondary engines we could break free without so much as a sensation of movement,” the Helmsman said, obviously proud of the result of his tinkering.

  “Sensors sound off and verbally identify contacts on the main board,” called the First Officer, looking intently at the view screen.

  We were much further outside the solar system than we normally were when jumping into a star system. The Trillium deposits that had almost killed us the first time had most definitely earned our respect. Just like last time, we were being extra cautious about how far into the system we dropped.

  The tally of planets and nearby asteroids was reassuring.

  “Let's try to stick to standard system emergence protocols, Helm. They’re there for a reason,” said Tremblay pointedly.

  While I wasn’t necessarily sure I agreed, I was the first to admit that I did
n’t know everything there was to know about ship handling. Not by a long shot. So I bit my tongue and let Tremblay run the boards for the moment.

  “Yes, Sir,” said DuPont, sounding slightly subdued.

  Then something new appeared on the board.

  “Contact,” shouted a sensor operator jumping out of his chair. “I’m reading a single large object surrounded by several smaller objects, almost half way from the system edge to the Belter mining operation, Admiral.”

  “Somebody else put their sensors on that contact and verify that reading,” the First Officer barked harshly.

  “I can confirm, there are four. I repeat the count is four objects operating under cold space drive engines and on a course for the Belters. The computer says they match the known profiles of Bug ships, Sir,” reported a second Sensor Operator.

  I clenched my hands to the side of my command chair. Had my decision to pull the Medium Cruiser out of the Tracto System in favor of some kind of big PR push just doomed the settlers in orbit? And what about the Planet, Tracto VI?

  Before I could ask those questions, Lieutenant Tremblay did it for me.

  “Scan for Bug sign in the immediate vicinity of the native world,” Officer Tremblay snapped.

  Apparently, the two of us were thinking along the same lines. It was bound to happen at least once in our time together, I thought with gallows humor.

  I decided to speak up, even though there was little to be done at the moment. But just maybe we could shave a few minutes off.

  “Navigation, calculate me a least-time intercept course on those Bug ships and then Helm, take us to maximum acceleration as soon as possible. I don’t want any deaths because we were any slower getting out there than necessary,” I said.

  “Yes, Admiral,” replied the Helmsman and Navigator in such close succession they almost sounded like twins.

  The Sensor Operators came back with the verdict.

  “No Bugs around Tracto VI, First Officer,” answered the Sensor Section.

  The whole bridge sighed in relief at this revelation.