Fall of the Terran Empire, page 18
“You see, I don’t even know if you know how deep your network runs through the imperium. I’ll carefully extract what you know, but I don’t want to damage you yet. You represent a rare treat for me. You seem to possess the intelligence to help me reason out just how deep this goes. If I do my job right, you will beg me to join my network and become fiercely loyal to me. I could use someone of your cleverness.”
“I’ll die first,” Traci said flatly.
Geneviève purred. “They all say that dear. But I simply have to find the one thing you fear most in this universe.”
Geneviève smiled once more then moved over to stand next to the old wooden construction. She lovingly stroked the wooden frame and pretended to examine the leather seat cushion.
“As a brilliant young spy, you know that your mind is your greatest asset. This instrument will hurt your nervous system, but it’s true purpose is to also slowly burn out your mind. The more we use it, the greater the risk to that delicate brain of yours.”
Traci’s mind instantly recoiled in horror as she realized that she relied so heavily on her rational mind, her logical thought process, her compassion for others. She had developed leadership skill and development of a fearless attitude.
Traci stared down at the table. She was prepared to die for her star nation, but she also knew her captor was correct about what she feared most. She reached deep down to that deepest wellspring of herself. She had to let it all go.
Traci again weighed her loyalties in relation to what she was about to give. But it all came down to this one fact. She could not allow the Terrans to win.
In that moment, Traci made peace with leaving this life. They may burn out her mind, her body, her spirit, but she know that she was more than this mortal form—more than the electrical network that connected who she was to her grey matter. There would always be that part of her that they could never touch—that part that would move unmolested into the next life.
Traci’s resolve was solid. She felt deep down and touched it. Solid. Traci then smiled and looked up at Geneviève. “Do your worst, princess.”
Geneviève’s smile widened as she stood to begin connecting the cabling for the chair. As she was checking the final harness, there was a knock at the door.
Traci looked up in surprise as a Terran marine First Sargent strode into the room with a squad of marines in full battle armor. Geneviève appeared to be just as surprised as she was.
“What is the meaning of this First Sargent?” Geneviève asked with pure malice in her voice. She was clearly not used to having her sessions interrupted.
“Orders from the Admiral, your highness. Miss Ganner is to report to the Admiral at once.”
“I don’t recognize your authority to interrupt one of my interrogation sessions, Sargent.” She said in an icy tone. “You may leave the way you came in.”
The Sargent held his ground as he waved a corporal forward to unshackle Traci from the table. Traci looked up at Geneviève with as much resolve as she could muster. She wasn’t sure how this surreal reprieve was happening, but she was thankful for it.
But clearly Geneviève was not used to anyone disobeying her commands. She walked up to the First Sargent and stared up at his two point four meter height.
“You would be wise to take your marines and evacuate this chamber at once.” She said with pure hate in her voice.
The First Sargent didn’t even look over at the princess’s personal guard. He was made of saltier stuff. They had arrived in battle armor for a reason.
“I’m sorry, your highness. You’ll need to take this up with the Admiral.”
With a final glare, Geneviève motioned to her guardsmen and left the room.
Chapter 19
“Come in, Captain,” Pearson called from his desk as the admittance chime sounded. The door opened to admit Captain Ganner into his day cabin. She was accompanied by a marine corporal, who stepped into the compartment and came to attention inside the hatch. Traci had been allowed to bathe, and was wearing a fresh captain’s uniform.
“It’s okay, Corporal,” Pearson said. “You can wait outside.”
The corporal responded with a smart salute and “Yes, sir,” and stepped back through the hatch, closing it behind him.
“Sit down, Captain.” Pearson pointed to a chair in front of his spacious desk. It was certainly much larger and more ornate than the one she had sat behind aboard the Corsair.
Traci sat down and fixed him with a defiant stare. He found it hard to look into those frozen blue eyes. Her look was harder than it had been the last time he had visited her in the brig cell. It seemed the interrogation had not broken her spirit; if anything, she seemed more determined than ever. Perhaps it was just as well.
“Captain, I need to bring you up to speed on where we stand,” he said. “Our fleet has been attacked and pushed back out of the Antares system. We are now back in Spica. We have sustained heavy losses from encounters with both Fourth Fleet and the Valdi. We are cut off from our main supply bases, and we will very likely not be able to hold the Valdi if they make a serious push into this system.
“The Valdi, on the other hand, have now been heavily reinforced.” He studied the young officer in front of him as he poured a cup of coffee from the dispenser near his desk. He offered her the cup, and she politely refused.
“Let me come to the point, Captain,” he said softly. “I know you know more about the Valdi than anyone else in the fleet, perhaps more than anyone in Terran space. I’ve risked my own career by defying the High Imperial Inquisitor to ask you to be of service to us once more.”
Captain Ganner returned his gaze levelly and said nothing. Admiral Pearson took a deep breath and let it out again. “I know this comes as a surprise Captain, but I need your help. I am running out of ideas, and we need some good ones if we are going to--”
“Admiral Pearson,” the bridge officer sounded through his intercom over the fresh wail of the general quarters alarm.
Pearson stared at his former intelligence officer for a heartbeat longer and reached out to the communication switch.
“What’s going on?” he inquired, not taking his eyes off of Traci.
“Sir, two large fleets have just dropped out of hyperspace,” Santos said. “They’re Orion.”
Pearson saw the hint of a smile on Traci Ganner’s mouth, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. Had he imagined it?
“On my way, Commodore,” he said, and closed the channel.
He stood up and gazed down at her. She stared into his eyes with the look of a chess player that has just taken one of her opponent’s pieces with a sneak attack. With a small sigh, he straightened his tunic vest. Walking past her to the hatch, he opened it and spoke to the marine corporal. “Make sure she stays here, Corporal. Alert me if any attempt is made to remove her from this room.” He turned to look back into the cabin once more, but Traci was still staring at him with those cold, calculating eyes. He turned back to the corporal and left the compartment. The door closed behind him, sealing her inside.
* * *
As Scott Pearson entered the flag bridge, he received a communication from Captain Veiga’s communications officer.
“Admiral, the Orion fleet is hailing us.”
“Pipe it up, Lieutenant,” he said, catching a look from his new staff spook. Waiting for the message link to come to the bridge viewers, he said to the intel officer, “What can you tell me about the fleet, Commander?”
The new intel officer shrugged his shoulders and responded, “Sir, CIC is confirming that it appears to be both of the Orion main fleets. We have dossiers on Admirals Frano and Nagao, but we have never faced both in combat at once. I’m can’t really tell you much more.”
Pearson rubbed his chin and frowned. “Well,” he said as Santos stepped down next to him, “if they came looking for a fight, do we have one we can give?”
Santos shook his head in the negative, looking at the roster of ships in the queue to be repaired at the makeshift fleet docks.
“Admiral Pearson,” the Orion admiral said as the video link was established between ships. The Orion admiral was short but well muscled. His face had the lines of a man who had fought many battles and had sent other men to die in them. Pearson couldn’t put his finger on it, but he didn’t really have the look of a man who came prepared to finish a fight the emperor had started over fourteen standard years ago.
“I am Vice Admiral Nagao, commanding the Third Tactical Orion Starfleet. I understand you have an invasion on your hands. I come to offer a cease fire between our two nations.”
Pirelli let out a sharp breath and got a stern look from Santos. He sheepishly found himself something to do.
Pearson looked back at this opponent and shrugged. “It must be apparent, Admiral, that we are in no position to mount a protracted defense against both of your combined fleets.” Pearson paused a moment and then added, “What are your terms?”
Nagao looked off screen at someone else, Pearson couldn’t tell who, and then looked back. “Admiral, I am prepared to place my two fleets under our joint command in a show of good faith. We are here to help you repel the Valdi.”
“You know what they are called,” stated Pearson with a look of incredulity.
“Of course,” he said. “And now, if you please, Admiral, I would like to speak with Captain Ganner, your intelligence officer.”
“Impossible,” Pearson stated flatly. “She’s under arrest for treason.”
“Treason against an emperor who no longer lives?” Admiral Nagao asked.
“Treason against the people who share her uniform.”
Nagao stared at Pearson for several moments and then responded, “Our fleet will remain here until I am able to speak to Captain Ganner.” With that, he cut the transmission.
Scott Pearson leaned his head back against his seat and looked up at the ceiling with his eyes closed for a moment. He was already going to catch hell for defying the royal interrogator. Opening his eyes, he looked down and pressed a switch on his console.
“Major Vincent,” he said. A moment later, the marine major answered.
“Please have Captain Ganner escorted to flag bridge, Major.”
Commodore Santos was the first to speak. “Admiral, you can’t possibly let her talk to them! She could compromise all kinds of sensitive information. It would be a disaster.”
Pearson just stared at his operations officer until the other man looked away and sighed.
Ten minutes passed before Corporal Hansen and Major Vincent arrived on the bridge with Traci Ganner between them.
“It seems your friends have come a long way to speak to you. Care to tell me why, Captain?”
Traci Ganner stood looking at Admiral Pearson with the same determination she showed earlier. She didn’t speak.
Exasperated, Scott Pearson signaled to open the channel to the Orion flagship. Admiral Nagao appeared on the screen.
“Thank you, Admiral,” Nagao said. “Captain Ganner, you have done a great service to your people. We are in your debt. But before I place my ships into the fleet structure of your commanding officer,” he said, “I would like to offer you a position as squadron commander for our heavy cruiser division. I understand you are not unfamiliar with cruiser command,” Nagao said with a crooked smile on his face.
Traci Ganner turned to Admiral Pearson and said, “Admiral?”
Pearson gazed around his bridge, looking at the eyes of several of his staff, all of them waiting to hear his response. He turned back to face Traci.
“Actually, Admiral,” he said for Nagao’s benefit, “I believe she should remain aboard my flagship. I am in need of a good intelligence officer and an Orion liaison to your fleet.”
Nagao smiled. “Very well played, Admiral; that will be acceptable. Please communicate your plans through Captain Ganner at your earliest convenience. Nagao clear.”
As the monitor returned to displaying tactical data, Pirelli stalked over to the Admiral’s chair.
“You can NOT be serious, sir!” he said emphatically. “She is an Orion, and a traitor, who murdered her entire crew and put us in the mess we are in now. Effectively, she murdered the entire royal family!”
“Yes, and she may also be the only one here who is capable of saving what is left of the Empire. My order stands.”
“She should be turned over to the Royal Inquisitor and bled for every scrap of information, Admiral,” Pirelli continued, standing his ground.
“As the new Terran emperor apparent, there is a certain amount of clemency I can extend,” Pearson reminded him.
Pirelli seemed to deflate at that last statement, and with a scowl at Traci, he returned to his station.
Pearson turned his attention back to Captain Ganner. “You realize of course that you will be under constant surveillance. In addition, you will have a marine escort everywhere you go, including in your personal cabin.
“Fine,” she said, conspicuously omitting the “sir” from her response.
“Coordinate with Admiral Nagao and let him know we will be commencing fleet maneuvers tomorrow morning at 0800 hours,” he said, and then crossed over to the tactical section to concern himself with other matters.
Traci Ganner looked over at a very angry Admiral Pirelli and then left the bridge. Corporal Hansen shot a quick glance at Major Vincent and followed her out of the compartment.
* * *
Traci sat in her cabin looking at her computer console. She typed in her access code and was rewarded with an “access denied” message when she tried to log in to the intelligence network. Clearly, she was locked out of the access points for shipboard data, except for the workstation on the bridge. She sighed and passed the next half hour playing online poker against Chief Williams and Petty Officer McGrew. They were cheating of course, looking over each other’s screens as they cleaned her out of about seventy credits. It didn’t matter; by all appearances, she wasn’t a very good poker player anyway.
Standing up and stretching her back, she moved to the door and left her cabin, followed closely by Corporal Hansen.
Her first stop was the crew mess area, where she found a biometrics monitoring station. She sat down in the diagnostic chair and slipped her arm through the flexible cuff mounted to the computer. She tried to relax as the cuff inflated and read back her blood pressure and pulse rate. She scanned the summary and stood up, looking at the chronometer on the bulkhead wall. Two crewmen were seated at one of the far tables, finishing a late night meal. She walked over to the automated chef station and called up the menu. Scrolling down the list, she selected the vegetarian menu and then looked at the vegan offerings. Dissatisfied with those, she called up the selections of special crew meals and perused several protein and peanut sensitive selections before finally selecting a bean and fruit salad.
Leaving the mess hall, she walked down several flights of stairs to the hydroponics section of the ship. As she walked inside, closely followed by her marine shadow, she made her way over to several varieties of herbal and floral specimens that she had helped to plant. They had grown almost four inches tall by now, and she inspected them carefully, inhaling their delicate fragrances. With a sigh, she went over to a selection of personal reading devices stacked neatly on a table. She selected one at random and found a chair nearby and seated herself. The marine corporal stood against a wall where he could see the captain out of the corner of his eye, but she pretended he was not there and began to leaf through the periodical offerings stored in the reader.
Satisfied that the latest copies of Astronomy Today and Botany Cultures of Ancient Times had been received by the ship’s library, she opened Botany Cultures and began to read. Among the reader’s menu items was a channel selector for relaxing music. She tuned her electronic earrings to the same channel as her reader and smiled as soft music was piped through them. After reading several pages, she came to a page with a number of advertisements embedded within.
Modern cryptography use sophisticated computer algorithms to scramble messages into undecipherable text. To reverse the process and render the message legible again, a symmetrical key is needed. The best keys use single-use pads consisting of a secret phrase or a set of letters that can be used to both encrypt and decrypt a message and then destroyed after use, preventing the message from being decoded by unintended recipients.
However, there exists another encryption scheme consisting of everyday text--a magazine advertisement for example. The text is subtly rearranged using various phrases from its original form. Whether the article reads “use daily for most effective results” or “used daily, this product will have the most effective results” the message is effectively the same. Except that the subtle differences in syntax, context, and punctuation are, in fact, the means to encode a hidden message based on a single-use pad--a pad memorized long ago by Captain Traci Ganner.
Satisfied with the message, she then scrolled on the reader listing to a list of reference books on seismic tremors in the north continent of the Vegan planetoid during the years 2104 to 2270. After she keyed in a special pass phrase that she had decoded just moments before, the reference book that was displayed on her reading pad was erased and replaced with several graphic icons representing intel, group sensor data, special instructions, and passcodes. She memorized the presented data, entered the passphrase which scrambled and then deleted them, and turned off the reader.
Stifling a yawn, Traci stood up, re-racked the reader with the others, and went back to her cabin to sleep for the night and prepare for a busy day as intelligence staff officer for Third Fleet.
Chapter 20
