by S. H. Jucha
“I’m listening,” Jarmonin said, folding his arms.
Umlass issued a soft hiss. He expected Jarmonin’s opening demand to be his first gambit. By objecting to that offer, Umlass hoped the lead councilor would have a backup proposal. Now, he’d undone himself.
Jarmonin watched Umlass lower his height by a coil. It was an opportunity he thought to seize. “I can think of only one alternative to the directorate presenting itself to the council,” he said.
“I would be interested to hear your suggestion, Councilor Jarmonin,” Umlass said respectfully.
“The directorate delivers those individuals who negotiated and participated in the illegal contracts,” Jarmonin suggested. “In addition, the directorate must provide the two security individuals who attacked Major Fleetfoot. This must include the Usaanan, Usslert, on the Lemgart home world, regardless of whether he was a member of the original contractors.”
“You want the directorate to send them here?” Umlass asked. He was perplexed by the request. Obviously, this group of Usaanans was guilty of multiple Tsargit infractions, including attempted murder. However, the council had no means of punishing individuals. The council’s deliberations focused on sanctioning a race.
“Of course not,” Jarmonin replied. “What would we do with the enclave’s perpetrators? No, the directorate will send them to the outpost.”
“The outpost?” Umlass queried.
“Your species transgressed against the outpost, which is a separate entity from alliance membership,” Jarmonin explained, as if he was talking to a simpleton. “The commander will have to deal with them as he sees fit.”
“What would that entail?” Umlass asked in confusion.
“I would have no idea,” Jarmonin replied. “The directorate will have to weigh its options with the knowledge it possesses about the Tsargit and the outpost. The council warns you that opinions aren’t divided on the seriousness of these failures to abide by alliance norms.”
“Are there no other options?” Umlass entreated.
“None,” Jarmonin replied bluntly. “You must communicate to the directorate that there are conditions connected to the alternative. If it chooses to send the perpetrators to the outpost, the surrender must be unconditional. The final decision of the commander and whoever else sits in judgment will be irreversible.”
Umlass waited, hoping Jarmonin might say more, but he was chagrined to be dismissed.
The senior staff member crossed the room to stand beside Jarmonin. They stared at the door by which Umlass had slithered out.
“What do you think the Usaanan directorate will do?” the confidant asked.
“What Usaanans always do,” Jarmonin replied. “They’ll seek the easiest way to escape retribution. The outpost will receive an unusual group of guests.”
“I sympathize with the commander,” the confidant replied.
Jarmonin barked. “Your concern should be for the Usaanans. Those individuals are about to learn some hard lessons.”
27: Attack Commander
In the cycles that followed the outpost visit to Hyronzy Station, Alex and his staff were able to sit in on the debriefing of an attack commander, Sastisona. She’d returned to Pyre aboard the carrier, RES Chesterfield.
Jess, Lucia, and Mickey led the group who accepted Sastisona’s report. Alex and his staff sat in the small auditorium’s audience.
The Sylian attack commander delivered a summary of successes. Her carrier and troops, all Sylians, had liberated six domes — four alliance and two non-alliance.
“Unfortunately, I’ve lost eight more troops,” Sastisona stated.
“We lament their loss,” Jess said, which brought the Sylian’s snow-white furred head upright to acknowledge the commander’s respect for her species.
“Your gains were impressive,” Lucia added.
“What of the new technique?” Mickey asked Sastisona.
“We required some adjustments on location,” the Sylian replied. “Afterward, it worked fine.”
Hector and Lydia had spent time transferring outpost data history to the city-ship, and Hector chimed in on the discussion.
After the SADEs’ update, Alex and his companions returned to catch up with Sastisona’s report.
The attack commander was detailing to Mickey how they’d attempted to circumvent the weapon’s placement. “With the shuttle metal dissolved, there was often some amount of reaction mass at the bottom,” Sastisona said. “We resorted to one of the old tricks and tossed a timed plasma weapon into the tube. Earthers commented that the explosions made for some nice fireworks. That was a new term for us.”
“Did that solve the problem?” Lucia asked.
“Unfortunately, no, Admiral,” Sastisona replied. “As the Colony is wont to do, the reds and the grays of those domes we overtook spread the word about our new technique.” She eyed Kasie, Miriam, and Luther, as she spoke. The message was clear. Find out how the Colony can distribute universal console messaging, without cubes, and intercept them or shut the process down.
“What are they doing now?” Mickey inquired.
“The Colony has taken to draining the shuttles of most combustible material,” Sastisona replied. “We toss in a plasma rifle, which succeeds in blowing much of the debris from the tube, but the blast doesn’t penetrate the thick clear plates that constitute the protective doors over the Colony’s weapon.”
“What’s your latest method for eliminating the problem?” Mickey asked.
Sastisona offered a silent snarl, displaying her long, sharp canines. “Our latest method, Mickey, is to return to the outpost and wait for you and your engineering teams to find an alternative means of effectively penetrating the tubes.”
Mickey grinned. He’d walked into that, and Sastisona had no problem letting him know it.
“Any samples of the protective doors and the weapons?” Mickey asked.
“Some pieces of the doors, but they’re not large, you might call them minute, and none of the weapons,” Sastisona replied. “I’ve a collection for you.” She indicated an Earther in the audience, who served aboard the Chesterfield. He held up a small bag, which wasn’t more than twenty centimeters in length and width.
“Thank you for your report, Commander Sastisona,�
�� Jess said. “Recruits have been waiting for your return. We’ve trained them on the holo-vid deck, which the admiral and I have endeavored to make as realistic as possible.”
“Which doesn’t substitute for encountering the Colony, face to pincers, as you well know,” Sastisona remarked. Her comment sounded harsh and critical. It wasn’t meant to be. She was just stating reality.
“Again, Commander, we’re sorry for your losses and proud of your dedication to liberating alliance space of the Colony,” Jess said sincerely.
“Attention,” Lucia called in a command voice, and every outpost individual leapt to their feet.
Belatedly, Alex and his companions rose too.
Then Jess and company saluted Sastisona. She responded with a deep snarl before she returned the salute.
The Earther deposited the bag in front of Mickey and followed his attack commander from the room.
“The Colony is relentless,” Mickey said, as he undid the bag and sifted through the handful of clear fragments. “I think we’re clever, inventing a new tactic. It lasts a month or so, and then the Colony creates a defense against our work.”
“What if we did something that the Colony couldn’t defend against?” Kasie asked.
“Such as?” Lucia asked.
“We know how to instigate a gate connection from one dome,” Kasie explained. “What if we initiated the process at one dome and used the star-pointer to indicate a dome the Colony held.” She regarded Miriam, Luther, and Minimalist hopefully.
“Before we hear about feasibility,” Mickey said. “What would be the purpose?”
“I don’t know, Mickey,” Kasie replied. “I’m thinking that we need to show the insectoids that we’ve greater control of the consoles and domes than they do. I would hope that gave the Colony cause for concern.”
“Hmm,” Mickey mused, as he considered the concept. Then he nodded at Miriam.
“Unknown, Mickey,” Miriam replied. “There’s no consensus. We’ve executed only a single, successful connection. In our first attempt, we detonated a moon. Not the best engineering track record.”
Alex listened to the outpost individuals discuss the possible strategies and tactics to employ against the Colony. It occurred to him that their understanding of the enemy’s nature and the work necessary to free alliance space far exceeded his grasp of the struggle. At the moment, his heart swelled with pride.
Julien detected the shift in Alex’s biorhythms and observed the expression on his friend’s face, as Alex scanned the outpost leaders.
* * * * *
Candace arrived in the Pyrean dome via the tunnels. She had a meeting with Jatouche security on Rissness.
“Incoming,” the console operator warned Candace, and she waited beside him.
The blue light of the dome emanated from the platform, melded with the hemisphere overhead, and the entangled gates accommodated the transfer.
Six figures appeared on the platform. The console operator, an Earther, froze at the site, and Candace laid a hand on his arm to steady him.
“The serpents are under arrest,” Candace said to the operator. After examining the individuals, she called out, “Look who came to visit.”
Four Usaanans were escorted by two security individuals with energy weapons and shock sticks.
“You,” a Usaanan hissed.
Candace laughed at the sand serpent with the broken fang. Sam would have snapped the fang off when he jammed his stick into the Usaanan’s mouth to prevent being bitten.
“Yes, me,” Candace replied. “Only the four of you?” she asked.
“More are on the way,” a security member hissed.
The console operator sent a signal for outpost security to attend him on the upper deck, and a collection of Sylians, Norsitchians, and Earthers came running.
The six Usaanans slithered off the platform. Right behind them another six appeared. Then three more arrived. Five security members had escorted ten individuals of their race.
Candace introduced herself to the head of the security team.
“As you are an officer in security outpost, may we leave these individuals in your care?” the team leader asked.
“Any information accompanying them?” Candace asked.
“Such as?” the leader queried.
“Names, enclaves, and the roles they played in the illegal contracting and manufacturing,” Candace suggested.
“I’ve received no information,” the leader said. “I was informed by the directorate to escort these individuals to the outpost. I was to relay to the commander that the directorate has said to do with them what the commander wills. The directorate now considers the matter of any transgressions against the outpost settled. Will the messages be delivered to the commander?”
“They will,” Candace promised.
“We return,” the leader announced, and the five security serpents slithered onto the platform, and the operator hurriedly sent them on their way.
Candace’s implant matched the markings of one particular Usaanan, and she said, “Good to see you again, Usslert. Although, these probably aren’t the circumstances under which you thought we would meet.”
Usslert hissed at Candace. He spread his mouth wide, exposing his sharp fangs.
It was meant to intimidate Candace, and it would have worked if she hadn’t encountered him on the Lemgart home world. Now, she sneered at Usslert. “Do that again, and I’ll personally enjoy stunning you and snapping off both of those fangs.”
Candace stared at the Usaanans, as she strode between the lines of sand serpents and dome security. “Understand me,” she said, addressing the Usaanans, “if you so much as hiss at any outpost individual until the commander decides what to do with you, security has my permission to stun you as many times as they think necessary.”
On that note, several of the security force rolled their shock sticks. Those motions were meant to intimidate too.
“Let’s get moving,” Candace said. To the operator, she sent,
Candace led the security team, who surrounded the serpents, through the tunnels and up the lift to the outpost’s transport dome on Triton’s surface.
“I need a dedicated cargo shuttle, Chief,” Candace announced to the Sylian who controlled one of the dome’s bays.
“I’m sure you do, Lieutenant,” the chief replied, eyeing the sand serpents. “Can’t think of many passengers who would want to fly with you. Your destination wouldn’t be the Jatouche medical facilities, would it? They could help you with Usaanan personality disorders.”
Candace shared a grin with the Sylian, whose jaw reflexively hung open.
“Good idea,” Candace remarked, observing the serpents lower their heights.
It was obvious to Candace that the prisoners had no idea as to their fates. Having made the mistake of being caught for their illegal activities, they’d been sacrificed by the directorate.
Turning to the chief, Candace added, “Unfortunately, they’ve a date with the commander.”
The Sylian stared at the Usaanans and said, “If I were you, I’d choose the Jatouche medical center over the commander.” Then he took delight in watching the sand serpents sink lower.
“Inbound cargo traveler in five,” the chief said, focusing on his implant message. “We’ll have you aboard soon.”
Passengers who’d arrived via the dome stood far behind the security forces. No one seemed in a hurry.
Then, as the chief cleared Candace to board, medical teams arrived via the gates with three occupied tanks. The earlier passengers separated to allow th
e medical teams through, but the med teams halted when they saw the security forces surrounding the Usaanans.
“Change of plans, Chief,” Candace said.
“Understood, Lieutenant,” the chief replied. To security, he said, “Board the prisoners first,” and security hustled the serpents through the wide airlock, into the arrival bay, and aboard the traveler.
“Next,” the chief said, indicating the medical teams with a commanding arm motion.
The medical teams rushed to get their tanks into the airlock and into the traveler.
Candace nodded at the chief and caught up with the medical teams.
The Usaanans were clustered in the aisle, and security bracketed them.
Candace stood between the aft group of security and the medical teams. Her hand itched to grasp a weapon, but she hadn’t carried one, not when her original destination had been Rissness.
Linking to Sam, Jess, and Lucia with an urgent request, Candace received all three bio IDs.