Salvation: The Globur Incursion Book 7, page 26
“The senator will have a meltdown,” Simmons pointed out. “He will insist they have immunity and that they be released. He will also insist that we are not at war and have no right to conduct a trial for imperial citizens.”
“He might be right,” Stukov admitted, “but in the meantime, we will be able to interrogate and hold these individuals. Ironically, he is doing exactly the same to the personnel at Gateway, not that he sees it that way.”
Stukov stroked his chin thoughtfully. “By the time the senator can meaningfully intervene, I expect they will already be under a death sentence, as the evidence is incontrovertible. Senator Alexander was in violation of the Fleet Accords when he boarded the yard and well outside the jurisdiction of his delegation. That and the embarrassing fact that one of those men tried to kill Captain Kallow will make this very messy for him. His friend and protector, Senator Tien, is likely to distance himself from the entire mess.”
“It will certainly keep him distracted for a while - and angry,” Simmons agreed.
“So that means I will not be dispatching any TF16 ships to aid TF17?” asked Kallow.
“Probability of intercept is low, and once the ships leave, they will be out of contact until they link with a Fleet relay in an imperial system.” Stukov’s face showed his regret. “Considering recent developments, TF16 needs to stay intact. TF14 alone holds the rim once again.”
“Yessir,” replied Kallow. “It seems I have a court-martial to assemble.”
“We all have work to do,” Stukov answered. “Simmons, get in to see Brown. Tell him he has not been forgotten, and he will not be forsaken.” The anger in Stukov’s voice was hard to miss.
“I will, sir. I will see him within the hour.”
“Stukov out.” Stukov killed the link and sat back. That court-martial will be like the fuse on a powder keg. Locally the senator is outmanned and outgunned, but if he draws in more support…
***
TF14 transitioned near the edge of the Mongolia system and immediately picked up nuclear detonations from Khan. It was old light from the marine weapons that had occurred many hours ago. The Marine assault transports were in close orbit over Ulaan, and shuttles moved down to and up from the surface. The jamming in the system seemed to be gone, and Rear Admiral Pang was relieved that she had set up a rudimentary FTL communications relay network in the system.
TF14 linked with the Fleet relay and verified that there were no track detections. TF17 had left hours ago to chase the mysterious track.
Pang’s orders were to support the Marines on Khan and keep the Mongolia system secure. She immediately opened up communications with the Marines on Khan.
Colonel Shaka appeared on the main holodisplay. “Rear Admiral Pang. It is good to see you. Welcome back.”
“Colonel, we are ready to offer any assistance you might need. What is your disposition?” asked Pang.
“We have secured Ulaan. We have some grav cars and Marines are out mopping up stray Globur, but we have liberated Ulaan.”
“We read some tactical nukes when we transitioned—old light,” Pang pointed out, full of curiosity.
“Indeed, we used those to neutralize any surprises in the river for our assault on the palace. We have disabled the Globur bioconstruct. It receded, releasing tens of thousands of humans trapped inside. Now we are trying to make them comfortable and get them fed. It’s quite a sight. Tens of thousands of barefoot, naked people. Disorientated, but alive.”
Pang felt surprised. “What about the warehouses?”
“We found more constructs, but they appear stable for now,” Shaka confirmed. “It seems that we managed to destroy the central nexus or brain of this construct, and once the gel decomposed into a liquid and drained away, the people simply regained consciousness. As you can imagine, we are dealing with a lot here. The governor and his people have been immensely helpful. There is no longer any sign of a Globur presence in scanner range. The assault transports also indicate they cannot detect any alien activity anywhere around Ulaan.”
Pang checked the flag plot to see that TF14 was decelerating to make orbit around Khan. “We can sweep the planet, but let’s not forget that TF17 got caught out when those surface batteries opened up.”
“There is something else, Rear Admiral Pang.” Shaka’s voice became suddenly formal. “For your ears only.”
Pang pulled the comm feed off the main holodisplay and went secure. Now only she could see and hear the colonel. Her augmentation projected the colonel’s holopresence in her field of view.
“We found some prisoners,” Shaka said carefully.
“Prisoners? Like the ones in the warehouses?”
Shaka shook his head. “No, these have been with the Globur much longer. We detected some Fleet personal transponders once the jamming had ceased. We found Rear Admiral Parsons and Captain Gomisch from IFC Singapore, TF4. I believe you know Rear Admiral Parsons personally.”
Pang was speechless. Everyone - including her - thought Parsons was dead. Killed with his task force in the Tirakoni system. How could he be here hundreds of light-years and two years later?
“Admiral Pang?” Shaka sounded concerned.
“Yes, Colonel,” Pang replied, jolted out of her shock. “I knew - know him. Can I speak with him?”
“Not at the moment, Admiral,” Shaka replied gravely. “He had to be sedated after he was found. He and Captain Gomisch seem to have suffered significant mental trauma. We were about to lift them to one of the assault transports for further medical attention.”
“I will bring them aboard Ryoshi,” Pang said in a voice that did not invite disagreement. She flipped navigation to make all speed for Khan orbit. “We will arrive very soon, so if you could have them standing by…”
“Of course, Admiral. I can have a shuttle meet Ryoshi once you make orbit. That will speed up the transfer,” Shaka replied.
“We will begin a full planetary scan when we make orbit, Colonel. I will contact you then. Pang out.”
Had anyone been looking at the rear admiral as she finished, they would have seen a familiar look of conviction and purpose radiating from her. Pang sat back in her command chair. She had known Parsons a long time and had mourned his death. Prematurely, as it seemed.
Shaka had not shared any details about the condition of the two prisoners or survivors. That probably meant there was something he did not want to tell her.
TF14 hurtled through the system, no longer decelerating. They would decelerate hard closer to the planet to shave time off their arrival. Pang knew she should be glad that Ulaan had been liberated, and the Marines seemed victorious. All she could really think of was what it must be like to be held aboard a Globur base or ship.
Her friend had survived along with his flag captain. She had seen the recording from Hound, the destroyer that escaped the annihilation of TF4 in the Tirakoni system. Singapore had been utterly destroyed. The carrier had taken so many hits at close range it never had a chance.
Parsons and Gomisch must have been in a survival pod. For some reason, the Globur didn’t destroy it but brought it aboard instead. For what purpose? Pang knew the answers to some of her questions awaited her in Khan orbit, and she looked anxiously at the flag plot as it counted down the remaining minutes until Ryoshi and TF14 made orbit.
Chapter 31
“Have you lost your mind?” Senator Tien hissed. Senator Alexander shrank away from the holodisplay, visibly nervous.
“You arrested a flag officer? And it was that flag officer?” Tien continued with barely controlled fury. “They are already aggrieved with that butcher label, and you arrested him?”
“He was defying the Senate!” Alexander explained. “He refused to recognize my authority. My advisors assured me I was in the right.”
“He was defying you, you miscreant! You are not the Senate!” Tien snarled. “You were given a specific and innocuous mission. How can this have happened? You have violated the Fleet Accords. The penalty, as the grand admiral will be fond of pointing out, is death.” Tien glared at the sweating Alexander, who sat alone in his quarters at Gateway.
“My advisors,” Alexander repeated, “they said I had the authority. They assured me that—”
“Shut up,” Tien snapped. “Your advisors are fools. I cannot protect you. You went there to represent the Senate, and I sponsored you. I will be dragged into this.” Tien took a deep breath, fighting to control his fury. “You need to fix this. Frame it as an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
“Simmons…he said it was a violation,” Alexander kept trying to explain. “He sent a recording to Fleet headquarters. He…”
“He what?” Tien looked like he wanted to strangle Alexander. “How did he get a recording in your quarters? Surely you have security?”
“His augmentation—it records everything, Senator.” Alexander was apologetic. “I—I was not aware of that. He sent the transmission moments after it happened.”
“Damn you for a fool, Alexander.” Tien was regaining control of his temper. “What else has he told Fleet headquarters?”
“He has said there will be a court-martial of the two arrested after Captain Kallow was shot at,” Alexander admitted.
“Another damn mess!” Tien snorted. “Anything else?”
Alexander had the look of a cornered animal. “Well, he is complaining about the people we have detained—saying it is not legal.” Alexander winced at the last part as he finally realized it might be true.
“How many?” asked Tien. “How many people have you detained?”
Alexander smiled weakly. “Only a few hundred, and I can assure you—”
“What?” Tien shouted as his eyes once again flew wide in fury. “Just what in all lucid hades have you been doing out there? You are charging people and imprisoning them?”
“Well,” Alexander said quietly, “we have not really charged anyone yet.”
Tien’s face contorted in rage, and he visibly struggled to hold himself together. “You moron. Your delegation was to observe. You have no authority to arrest anyone.”
“But the loyalty interviews,” Alexander explained. “They were not cooperative and…”
“This delegation of yours was supposed to be a fact-finding mission, not an inquisition,” Tien said flatly. “I thought the grand admiral was exaggerating when he protested to the committee. If it gets out that you arrested a flag officer - especially in the time of an emergency - heads will roll.”
Alexander looked like he had swallowed something unpleasant. “Emergency?”
“Surely you cannot be ignorant of this?” Tien said, incredulous. “A track - potentially a Globur battlegroup - bypassed the Mongolia and Chard systems heading deeper into our space. The grand admiral indicated he would try to get Rear Admiral Brown to join the chase.”
Alexander turned pale.
“And you arrested him and locked him up with hundreds of other illegally incarcerated citizens,” Tien added.
“They are Fleet personnel…” Alexander stared.
“They are imperial citizens.” Tien cut him off. “You had better find a way out of this, Alexander - and do not mention my name or contact any of my people. Do you understand?”
Alexander nodded.
“If you survive this and are still a senator, you will never mention it or my support. If you do, you will have more than the Fleet to worry about,” Tien said in an icy voice. “That is assuming that you are not arrested and sentenced to death,” he finished with a smile.
Alexander appeared frozen. Tien continued. “Perhaps you need to find a way to release Brown and call it a terrible misunderstanding. A recording is hard to deny, and I assume it is very incriminating, but maybe you can dig yourself out of this hole?”
Alexander nodded.
“Whoever is paying you for this foolish show you are putting on had better be willing to exercise some influence on your behalf, or the Fleet will have your head on a plate.” Tien shook his head. “I expect to hear you have resolved this within the week. Good day to you, Senator.”
The holodisplay went blank, and Alexander felt a sinking sensation of doom. His mind was feverishly at work about how he could save face and wiggle out of the current dilemma. He was a survivor and had been his whole career. He needed a scapegoat - badly.
***
Lilly Veranze watched Mick Papaganis pace back and forth excitedly. They were waiting in the conference room of the lab. Waiting for Vice Admiral Yamada. He was in charge of special projects. Their lab fit into that category.
Work at the lab had been busy and very engaging. They were making steady progress in understanding the physiology of the Globur and their biotech. They had carcasses to examine and even some ship hull fragments.
Lilly had been content with that and had been diving into her work, hard. There was little news coming from the Mongolia system. She had gotten a brief communication from Homer to tell her that he was OK and they had landed safely. It was what he did not tell her that worried her.
Sergeant Major Homer Sanderson was a complicated person, but he always tried to shield her from the realities of the Globur. She thought it was amusing but knew he did it only because he cared about her.
She wasn’t fooled. She and Mick had been there at the very beginning, on the first-contact planet as part of the planetary survey. The team leader had reported possible signs of a sentient civilization, and he had been right - terribly so. The attack and later rescue had been terrifying. Lilly and Mick had to be left behind as they could not make it to the emergency evac shuttle in time. That had saved their lives as the shuttle was chased down across the system by a Globur missile. The shuttle was utterly destroyed, killing the entire planetary survey team.
Sanderson had taken Lily under his wing and they had spent a lot of time together as the marines kept a low profile to escape detection. She had been surprised to find an intelligent and caring person under all that armor, real and emotional. Over time she had penetrated the bombastic facade of the big marine. He had let down his guard around her and she had seen a side of him few people knew. That as the side she loved.
Mick Papaganis, a preeminent exozoologist, was fascinated by the Globur and longed to study them alive. His requests to clone them at the lab had been repeatedly denied. He had ended up leading the team and managing the lab - which he hated.
When Yamada had asked them and a few others if they would be willing to undertake some field research, Mick had jumped at the opportunity. He had also convinced Lilly she should come to the briefing as well.
Lilly sat at the table with the other scientists while Mick continued to pace. The hatch slid open, and Mick’s face split into a wide grin. “Vice Admiral Yamada! I’m so glad you could come and brief us in person.”
The vice admiral was a large man, and his smooth olive complexion was tinted the Fleet’s telltale blue. He looked tired. Special projects was small compared to other portfolios but needed much more hands-on management.
Yamada simply nodded and motioned for Papaganis to take a seat. He slid into a seat beside Lilly.
“I will not keep you long,” he said. His augmentation told him the room was secure. “This briefing is classified Tier Six. Nothing said or shown in this room will leave the room. If you decline this mission, you may not reveal its existence to anyone. Do you understand?” asked Yamada, not bothering to sit down.
He waited for the customary affirmatives or acknowledgment of the security classification.
He waved his hand towards the holodisplay in the middle of the conference table. Lilly immediately recognized the Mongolia system and the planet Khan.
“We have confirmed that the Marines are in control of the city of Ulaan. Pursuant to the orders issued by General Pullman, the Marines have secured a small number of enemy prisoners. They also believe that there may be smaller groups of Globur out in the plains of Khan. We want to send a mission there—to examine and observe these live Globur.”
“How many prisoners, sir?” asked Papaganis. Lilly could see his eyes gleaming with excitement. He was the only exozoologist in the room. He was fascinated with the Globur and their behaviors.
“A small number,” Yamada said with finality. “The prisoners are wounded, not seriously, I am told. We want to dispatch a field science team to study some live Globurs since your lab keeps requesting live samples.”
Lilly waved to get the admiral’s attention. “Isn’t it dangerous—on the planet, I mean?”
Yamada nodded curtly. “It is dangerous, and none of you are augmented.” Yamada looked at Lilly directly. “Despite some of you having some combat suit time, the Marines will not be providing the team with combat suits, and the new suits would be difficult for you to use since they were designed for augmented Fleet personnel.”
Some of the other scientists looked very unsure.
Another scientist waved to get the admiral’s attention. “Admiral, is this a special mission? Is this something we are required to participate in?”
Yamada did not seem surprised. “This is a Fleet-sanctioned mission. It is not a special operations or black operations mission. The mission will be overseen by the Fleet and the local task force commander. It is a scientific mission, and the Marines on the ground will provide security. You will be quite safe. Reports from Khan indicate the Globur have been largely neutralized in and around Ulaan.”
Yamada scanned the room, but no one asked any more questions.
“This is a volunteer mission. You have 24 hours to make a choice. The mission will leave tomorrow and make best speed for the Mongolia system.” Yamada flipped the people in the room the data on the place and time of departure from the Fleet yards. “We need a minimum of six personnel. There are ten of you here. If there are not six volunteers, the mission will be scrubbed. Questions?”
No one spoke.
