by Adam Gaffen
“No, Colonel. The UE’s responsibility ends when the materials are unloaded at the agreed-upon transshipment point.”
“No problem, then. Materials can be lifted to Capricorn Station, we just don’t let the bastards pick them up,” Kendra said. “Do all the legal things, but we are done playing. Nothing leaves Lunar orbit, and we’re limiting all flights to less than a hundred klicks to protect the legitimate government in the outer warrens. And yes, I’ll talk with Kyra and Tamara and get them to sign off.”
“And if they violate it? Because they will.”
“Any ship other than a warp ship gets one warning. Warp ships, no. I don’t think they’re stupid enough to go to warp that close to Luna, but I’ve learned not to underestimate stupidity.”
“We’ll need a heavy CAP, most of the Direwolves, some Wolves, and probably all of the former ANS ships.”
“Whatever you need to do. Is there anything else?”
“Actually,” said Nicole. “Chief Stone is planning another support mission to Luna.”
“Okay. So?”
“I want to go along, and so does Jake.”
“We can talk about it. Not here, not now, but soon. Suits?”
Crozier nodded.
“Then I think we’re done.”
“Not quite, Admiral; Captain Orloff wants a moment of your time,” Diana said.
“Is she waiting?”
“In your office, Admiral.”
“I’ll meet her there in a few minutes.”
“PETRA. I’M SORRY FOR your losses.”
The normally serious dark-haired woman was downright sepulchral; unsurprising, reflected Kendra, considering her first command had just been consigned to the scrapheap.
“Thank you, Admiral.” The voice matched the mien.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’m working on it, Admiral. It’s not easy.”
Kendra, remembering the loss of 90% of the original Wolf Squadron, nodded her silent agreement.
“I know we were lucky, but it sure as hell doesn’t feel that way.”
“It never does, Petra.”
She allowed the younger woman a few moments before speaking again, letting the silence stretch.
“Was there something specific bothering you?”
Orloff hesitated.
“It may sound silly, Admiral, given what happened and the people dead,” she finally answered.
“It’s funny what the mind picks out as important,” Kendra said, her curiosity piqued.
“Admiral, what’s going to happen to Pallas? I haven’t been able to talk to him, but I know he blames himself as much as I do for what happened to our ship,” Orloff finally blurted out. Pallas was the Beta-class AI who served as the computer core for the Defender.
“Hecate?”
Hecate’s avatar popped into existence.
“Hi Admiral, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, hi Captain Orloff, I’m already working on your new ship, don’t worry, I’ll get you out into the black sooner than you thought possible, what do you need, Admiral?”
“Hecate, what are you doing about Pallas?”
“Oh, he’s perfectly safe, I’ve put my bots under his control to remove his core from the Defender, all of his ancillary memory storage molycirc has been temporarily backed up aboard Njord and will be taken out next, don’t worry, he’ll be perfectly safe.”
Kendra didn’t have to be particularly skilled in body language to see the tension leave Orloff.
Orloff explained. “I, that is, he’s part of the crew, Admiral. I couldn’t save the people who died, nobody could have. I almost believe it, too. But Pallas I can still do something for.”
“I think I understand,” Kendra said simply. “Hecate, does Pallas have station comms access? If he doesn’t, I want him to have it. Now.”
“Yes, Admiral, Pallas has station comms access.” Kendra noticed Hecate carefully didn’t say when he had that access, then remembered Mac’s influence and the pre-teen persona she’d adopted. She’d have to have a chat with Hecate about telling the truth, but an AI who could be flexible might be useful. Later, though.
“Pallas, this is Admiral Cassidy.”
“I hear you, Admiral,” said the deep bass voice he’d adopted. He was a personification of the Titan of warcraft, but she’d swear she heard something she didn’t think an AI could express: guilt.
“How are you, Pallas?”
“My systems are fully functional, Admiral, and I am working with Hecate to expedite my removal.”
“That’s not what I meant, Pallas. How are you?”
Again she heard another impossibility for an AI: hesitation.
“I am somewhat surprised at my continued existence, Admiral. I did, after all, fail to protect my crew.”
“If anyone is to blame, Pallas, it’s me; after all, I gave the order to pursue.”
“I appreciate your attempt, Admiral, but you are, as they say, only human. My computational abilities far outstrip yours; I should have been able to anticipate the consequences.”
“Right,” Kendra said. “This is beyond even my pay grade. Diana, Minerva.”
“Here, Admiral,” came Minerva’s cool voice, followed quickly by Diana’s.
“I want you two to talk with Pallas. Give him full access to everything from the Defender’s encounter, all our records, real-time analysis, your after-action reports. Everything. Pallas, it’s not your fault.”
“I hear you saying so, Admiral, and I am programmed to believe you, but it runs counter to my own assessment.”
“Let’s see if this helps. If I thought you were at fault, I wouldn’t be putting you right back into a starship, just like if I thought it was Captain’s Orloff’s fault she’d be groundside so fast she’d burn up on reentry.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
“Besides, something I learned from Captain Martinez: blame, fault, is stupid and pointless. It’s a refusal to accept what happened for what happened, an obsession with the past. You, we, all have responsibility for what happens next. Petra, what did Alley say about that? I’m sure you got the same lecture.”
A ghost of a smile played across Orloff’s face.
“Aye, Ma’am. She says that responsibility looks to the future, looks at the what happens next.”
“Exactly. Pallas, consider this an order: you can share responsibility with all of us and help us prevent this from happening to anyone else, but you will not blame yourself.”
“Yes, Admiral.” It might have been her imagination, but did he sound a little more positive?
“Good. Now scoot, all three of you. Petra, not you.” She waited a moment to be sure the AI’s had closed their connections.
“I see why you came to me. I’m not much of a psychologist, but hopefully I didn’t screw anything up worse.”
“No, Admiral, I think you said what he, we, needed to hear. Or be reminded of.”
“Good. Anyone else you need me to play shrink with?”
“No, Ma’am. I can handle the people. Knowing we’re going to get back into space soon helps.”
“Then you know where my office is. If you’ll excuse me, though, I have to talk to a couple planetary leaders.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Artemis Council Chamber; Tycho Under
“Was it worth it?” Atkinson asked, voice bitter.
“The Covey successfully achieved orbit and has rendezvoused with the representatives from Earth. Transfer of the nerve agent is underway. Yes, Councilor, I would say it was worth it.” Phalkon’s pronouncement was blander than usual.
“You didn’t just lose half of your most capable ships to an avoidable accident!”
“Need I remind you, Councilor, this accident was a result of poor training and failure to follow basic safety procedures?”
“You stupid bitch, are you blaming me for this disaster?”
Phalkon’s voice didn’t change tone.
“Not at all, Councilor. I’m
sure you’ve had far more important considerations than the minutiae of crew expertise, and you will take every step necessary to ensure it never happens again, starting with the staff immediately below you. Our faith in your ability to manage your Councillorship is undiminished, you see. For now.”
Phalkon abruptly turned and walked out of the meeting, leaving a still-incoherent Atkinson in her wake.
The Empress’ private chambers weren’t far from the council room, though Phalkon had to pass through three increasingly-stringent security checkpoints along the way.
“Enter,” the Empress called and the door opened.
Newling’s rooms weren’t opulent; in fact, they bordered on spartan. But when she could lay claim to anything within the largest and wealthiest off-Earth nation with a word, surrounding herself with baubles and trinkets seemed unnecessary.
“How did they react?”
“Most of them accepted my presence as yours, though Atkinson did address me most disrespectfully.”
“And what did you do?”
“I did as you suggested, Empress, didn’t react, and left the meeting.”
“Good, well done. We’ll manage these worthless jackals better if we can keep them off balance. I know how I am, and I’m not about to change now. You, however, are a clean slate, a relative unknown, so...”
“So if I seem more sympathetic and approachable, we can find the snakes in our midst. A venerable and proven technique, Empress.”
Newling nodded.
“As for the mission, the Covey is receiving the agent now and should be returning to Artemis by the end of the day.” Phalkon’s usually placid demeanor crinkled in thought. “What of the message from the Federation? Their embargo?”
“Illegal and unenforceable,” Newling said, dismissing it. “Contact the UE and add it to the complaint against the Federation and ask for a summary judgement.”
“And if they fire upon the Covey?”
“Ensure they do not.”
“TOTAL EMBARGO? ARE you sure?”
“That’s what the Admiral told me, Autumn.”
“Damn, Chief. That’s more than I dreamed of!”
Stone’s avatar nodded, which was a bit off-putting. The Q-Net system Mac had secretly installed didn’t have the computational power for full holograms, so it was just her head and neck floating in mid-air. Autumn thought about turning off the feature but then, as she had every other time, put it aside.
“Quite. I’d be minding my p’s and q’s right now, though. Odds are better’n average that they’re going to have to do something. I’d lay money on that bloody cow who calls herself ‘Empress’ getting aggro and moving against you, sooner rather than later.”
“Sharon and Nour are working on a defense plan.”
“Yeah, that won’t be good enough. You don’t have the bodies.”
“What do we do, then?”
“Attack.”
“Chief?”
“Attack. They outnumber you, what, three-to-one?”
“About that.”
“And they have all the ships. They probably think they can just cut you off and let you wither on the vine.”
“They can’t. We have most of the food production, which also gives us plenty of air exchange capacity, and water isn’t a problem either.”
“And how long until your citizens of Free Luna get restless and long for a return to normal? It won’t take long until the fools who supported Vasilia get brave and start talking about how things were better under her and shouldn’t they just go back to the way it was, and you can’t crack down on them or you’ll be just as bad as she is.”
“I know, but attack?”
“They have two advantages: bodies and ships.”
“Yeah, you said that already.”
“But we’re going to take care of their ships. They can’t get close to you, not if we have anything to say about it.”
“That still leaves bodies.”
“Which is cancelled by the element of surprise. Besides, I’d wager that a sizeable chunk won’t fight, either because they don’t care or they’re actually hoping you’ll win.”
“You might be right.”
“I’m a bloody Master Chief, of course I’m right!”
Newling laughed, a relatively rare occurrence for the chief executive of the emerging government of Free Luna.
“That’s better. You have to lighten up occasionally, Autumn, or you’re going to turn into your cousin. Now, let’s start planning.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
UE Headquarters, Geneva
“They’re not complying.”
“That’s not my problem, Mr. Lynch.”
The former soldier’s face twisted in rage, briefly, before he regained control.
“Director Hartman, I know you have connections –”
“I will not use any so-called ‘connections’ to try to convince anyone to turn themselves over to a criminal government for what will probably be their own execution!”
“We don’t know that Director,” Lehman said. “The request specifically states any personnel who are repatriated to Artemis –”
“They’re not being repatriated, Counsel. They were never residents or citizens of Artemis. We’re being asked to extradite them, hand them over to a government who seemingly has already convicted them.”
“I suppose, in a technical sense, you’re correct,” Lehman admitted with evident reluctance. “But we are obligated to accede to their demands.”
“If we can get our hands on the people Artemis wants.”
“Precisely.”
“Which brings you two useless pantywaists back to my problem,” Lynch snarled. “They have told me, ever so politely, to get stuffed.”
“And I have told you, Mr. Lynch, that it’s not my problem. Well. Back where we started. Before you ask me again, no, I will not use my ‘connections’ to the Cassidys to persuade them!”
Lynch’s fist clenched but otherwise he showed no other signs of the fury Hartman knew was bubbling. He was trapped; on the one hand he had been there for the creation of the alliance with the Cassidys and was familiar with the basic framework. That provided ample material to pressure Hartman. Of course, he couldn’t reveal her involvement without revealing his own role which would make for some awkward questions.
As if reading his thoughts, Hartman continued.
“Has HLC turned over the project hulls?”
“They have,” he answered. “Gutted. Oh, the frameworks for everything is there, but none of them have engines, or weapons, or even environmentals!”
“Did they explain why not?”
“Their lackey at HLC, a woman named Culbertson, said they were exactly on schedule but if we insisted on delivery before the agreed-upon date we were getting them as-is. I tried to convince her to finish the work, but she won’t bend on the timetable. We can have them now, as they are, or next spring.”
Hartman shrugged, and Lehman said, “Without seeing the contract, I can’t speak authoritatively, you understand.”
“Yes, yes.”
“If you have stated the case correctly, and their contract specified a delivery date, then they are fully within their rights to insist on holding to that date for completion. Demand for early delivery voids the completion cause.”
“What good are five dozen empty hulls?”
“I can’t answer that, Director Lynch.”
“And, on top of that, if we intend to use them we have to pay their launch fees!”
“Was that part of the contract?”
Lynch looked to Hartman. “I don’t know; were they?”
“I’d have to look, Mr. Lynch. I haven’t been tracking the project closely, but I think they were.”
“Again, if it’s in the contract, then you probably have little recourse,” Lehman said. “If you’ll excuse me, Directors?”
Hartman nodded her acquiescence. As soon as the door closed, Lynch was speaking.
“You utter bitch!
Is your loyalty so cheap?”
“Loyalty? Is that what you want to call it, Roosevelt?” she blasted back. “What about loyalty to the people who’ve backed us? Backed your idea to get the Union off our backs?”
“You mean the people who broke my jaw and embarrassed me?”
“Are you still bitching about that? Not to be blunt, but you were being a complete ass. You’re fortunate that Master Chief Stone was so restrained.”
Lynch changed his tactics.
“Mya, how the hell am I supposed to do this job?”
“Frankly, Roosevelt, I would have turned it down. There’s no way we can do this job; we don’t have the equipment, the resources, or, honestly, the right to do the dirty work for Artemis.”
“But I have to do it!”
“Roosevelt, you’re going to have to figure out where your honor lies. Is it following the rules? Or is it doing what you know is right?”
He didn’t have an answer for her.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I have other work to do, as I’m sure you do.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Cislunar Space
“Nymeria Actual, change course to intercept approaching Union cruiser. Coordinates are being downloaded to you.”
“Roger, Njord.” Double Dip checked that she’d received them then switched comm channels.
“Div One, you’re with me on point. Div Three, you’re trailing.” She received acknowledgements from all eleven pilots, then as one they accelerated towards the intercept. Since the Admiral’s order, the CAP had been reinforced again and now two divisions were in the sky at all times. It was tough on her pilots, but they were holding up so far.
“What’s the mission?” asked her AI.
“They didn’t tell me, Boomer, but we’re at ROE Alpha and doing an intercept.”
“Weapons hot, then. Time to intercept, two minutes, eight seconds.”
The target schematics appeared on her primary display.
“Okay, boys and girls. Today’s contestant is the Covey, a Copernicus-class cruiser, just like the BonHomme Richard. They’re nasty characters. Only safe approach is from directly above, or directly below. Forward and chase armament is fixed, but if they catch you you’re going to be so much plasma.”