Hero's Return, page 20
When the passenger convoy had first arrived from the Empire of Britannia in the Pegasus System, two of the converted dreadnoughts had sailed into the inner system to drop off colonists who wanted to settle on Pegasus. After refueling, the remaining six ships had traveled on to the Sol System.
The convoy contained a mix of Imperial citizens wanting a new life and former fleet officers and spacers who wanted to join the new Federation Fleet. After dropping off all the new Federation citizens, the eight dreadnoughts would make a return trip to the Empire. They’d be carrying the remaining fleet personnel and Marines who’d chosen not to remain with the fleet.
But the two dreadnoughts left behind to load personnel returning to Britannia hadn’t been ready when Dorothy had arrived. Instead of pausing in the outer system to allow the ships to join the force, Admiral Evers had to wait at the hyper limit as they finished loading and then crawled out to the edge of the star system.
“Sixteen more hours,” Captain Mary Henderson, Dorothy’s chief of staff, informed her.
The only saving grace is that this will be the last convoy for a while, the convoy commander thought.
“Unscheduled hyper portal,” the flag tactical officer called out. “Combat Space Patrol is vectoring to intercept.”
Dorothy nodded. The battle carrier Constellation was her flagship, and even though the space around the Pegasus Star System was safe, the carrier maintained a patrol of four space fighters, just in case. If the shit hit the fan, those fighters would engage a hostile attacker while Connie launched additional fighters.
“I need an ID, Tactical,” Captain Thompson barked. “It’s taking too long.”
“Sorry, ma’am. I should have called it out as non-military right away, but I had to double-check the ID. It’s a Cat long-range trader.”
The admiral and her chief of staff shared a curious look.
“Tactical, is there any record of a Pyrassun trader ever visiting Pegasus?” Thompson asked.
“No, ma’am. At least not since we kicked the Mordorians out of the system.”
“Curiouser and curiouser,” Dorothy mumbled.
“You know, it’s likely a spy,” Mary Thompson pointed out.
Admiral Evers nodded. It was widely known that Pyrassun merchant ships transported Pyrassun Intelligence officers and/or supplied the Cat intelligence service with information.
“Incoming transmission, Admiral,” the comms officer announced, “from the trader. They’re asking to speak to you.”
With little to do, Dorothy didn’t see a need to have a conversation with a Pyrassun Intelligence officer sitting in her command seat in front of the entire staff.
“Send it to my cabin,” Dot ordered. “Captain Thompson?”
When the chief of staff looked at her, Dorothy nodded toward the small admiral’s cabin the ship’s builders had attached to the flag bridge.
“Tactical, you have the deck. Try to keep us out of trouble,” Dorothy ordered as she stood and walked toward the combination office/sleeping quarters.
* * *
When the image appeared on her wall display, Dorothy realized it shouldn’t have surprised her. The person calling was indeed an intelligence officer, but a human one. A human she knew.
“I should have guessed it would be you, Snake.”
“When I learned of your special passenger, I came as quickly as I could. This trader hauled me to the Cegvath border on the mission you sent me on. I need to see him.”
“He’s still in cryo, Darrel. Based on what the doctor is telling me, he’ll be that way for several weeks.”
“He’s my best friend, Dorothy.”
The passion the spy was exhibiting surprised Admiral Evers.
Darrel Atwater is the most controlled human being I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen him this passionate about anything.
“Well, come on over,” Dorothy said. “We’ve got to wait for the last two supply dreadnoughts to join the convoy. That will take another nine hours. Then we’re on our way to the Empire. That should give you enough time to see our friend, talk to the medical staff, and get back to your Cat friends.”
“I’m going to Britannia with you.”
Mary and Dorothy exchanged looks.
“And before you ask, no, I don’t have President Adams’ permission, but I don’t need it. I conveniently forgot to sign the paperwork to become a citizen of the Federation.”
Or you signed it and made it disappear, Dorothy thought.
She started to explain why, as convoy commander, she could keep him from going, but then decided against it. Snake Atwater was a close friend of Hazard.
“Jump on a shuttle and come on over. We'll work out the details when you get here.”
The spy’s image nodded, then the screen went blank as Atwater ended the call.
“It’s going to be an interesting trip, Mary.”
“If you say so, ma’am,” the chief of staff responded. “I’m thinking Mr. Atwater is going to be a pain in my ass.”
Dorothy laughed. “Oh, that’s a given. Still, it’s a long trip, and his presence will make it entertaining, if for nothing more than the stories he’ll tell.”
“You know him well?”
“Not really, only indirectly through the emperor at first. But when Julie went to Britannia and left me in charge, we developed a professional relationship.”
“I’ll arrange staff quarters for him and meet him when he arrives,” Thompson said.
Dorothy nodded. “And give Doctor Solinger a heads-up that a VIP will stop by to see the emperor and ask about his condition.”
“I will, ma’am,” Mary said as she rose from her seat. She then strode across the cabin and exited into the main passage.
Yes, it will be an interesting trip, Dorothy thought as she watched the hatch close behind her chief of staff.
* * *
“He’ll make a full recovery?” Snake asked the doctor without taking his eyes off the body of his friend, visible through a viewport in the upper casing of the stasis chamber.
“I didn’t say that,” Doctor Keefer Solinger, Constellation’s chief medical officer, answered. “I said I could repair his body and fix all the injuries. But he’s been through a lot. I can’t promise you he’ll be the same man he was before the battle.”
“His brain—did he suffer…” Snake trailed off.
Solinger waved a hand. “His neural patterns seem fine. Of course, we won’t know for sure till he fully awakens. What I’m beating around the bush trying to say is—he’s probably suffered more than just physical injuries. In prepping for the procedures I’ll be performing, I reviewed the emperor’s medical records. They include psych evals. In the past, Emperor Hazard demonstrated serious depression when he felt he’d screwed up and gotten people killed.”
“I can confirm that,” Darrel stated. “I was there and witnessed it. But there are people who can help with that, aren’t there? People he can talk to?”
“There are, and I’ve arranged for one to be on board in case we need him, but a therapist can only succeed if the patient wants to be helped.”
Solinger paused, tapped some information into his computer tablet, and turned back to look at Snake.
“I’ve been told you were one of his closest friends.”
Darrel nodded. “I am, and that may be a problem.”
Doctor Solinger quirked an eyebrow, and the spy elaborated.
“Hazard had a circle of close friends, but over time, that number has dwindled. The emperor concluded that if he hadn’t been in their lives, they’d probably still be alive. So he stopped letting people get close to him. When he awakens, Hazard will learn that several of his few remaining friends died during the attack on his ship.”
“And he’ll blame himself for that,” Solinger observed.
“Definitely. I’m hoping my presence might help.”
“So you’re going to Britannia? But I thought…”
“That because I’m in charge of Federation Intelligence, I’d be staying in the Sol Sector?” Snake asked. “Not a chance, Doctor. And not only to deal with the ghosts that will haunt him. There will be many in the Empire who will not be happy to see Emperor Hazard return from the dead. He will need me to protect him from the vultures.”
The doctor nodded. “I’ll keep you informed of what’s going on.”
“When will you start surgical procedures?”
“Based on the rate of the nanite repairs, probably two weeks for the first procedure.”
“And then?”
“Like a military operation—or, I suspect, a spy mission—the timeline will depend on how the procedures go. I hope to do them in three-day increments. Pull him out of cryo, perform the procedure, pop him back into cryo, then leave him in the chamber for two days and let the nanites take over. All told, I have eight procedures scheduled.”
“So if everything goes according to your plan, he may be awake before we reach the Baldor System.”
“I don’t know about that, since I don’t know how far away that is.”
“Seven weeks’ travel from Pegasus.”
Solinger cocked his head, running numbers. “That’s possible. The wild card is how long it takes his body to ‘wake up’ when we pull him out of cryo for the last time. Typically, people who’ve been in a chamber as long as the emperor have taken a while to awaken.”
“If it’s not inconvenient, I’ll be by every day to look in on him,” Snake stated. He was just being polite. Darrel really didn’t care whether the doctor minded or not. He would be by every day to make sure everyone was doing their jobs.
I lost him once because I wasn’t around. I won’t risk losing him again.
* * * * *
Chapter 14: Shadowy Diplomacy
Strec System
Zenkarr Empire
Empire Date: May 1049
Scott Conners sat in the Pyrassun trading ship’s cramped cabin and wondered how he’d ended up in his current situation.
I’m a Marine general, not a diplomat—or a spy—sneaking around in an alien spacecraft.
The Cat trader had just entered the Zenkarr-controlled Strec Star System. The system was deep inside the Zenkarr Empire, one of the earliest systems the Bears had colonized when they developed faster-than-light space travel. It was also the Bears’ second-most-industrialized system.
But it wasn’t as prosperous or as productive as it had once been. During the Empire of Britannia’s war against the Zenkarr, Julie Adams had ordered an attack on the system’s infrastructure. Technically, it wasn’t an attack on the Zenkarr Empire. Humanity and the alien bear-like species had signed a peace treaty. But as part of that treaty, Julie Adams’ fleet had agreed to neutralize a force of rebellious Bear ships. That rebel fleet had taken control of the Strec System.
The resulting battle saw the elimination of the rebel fleet, but Julie had gone a step further. To reduce the near-term threat of the Zenkarr Empire, the Imperial fleet commander had ordered every shipyard in the system destroyed and the other manufacturing stations disabled.
That pissed the Zenkarr Ruling Council off, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it, Scott mused as he studied the images displayed on a bulkhead-mounted screen. He watched as large numbers of shuttles and small transports moved back and forth between several of the large industrial orbitals, a sure indication they were back in service. Scott also saw the frames of two large construction docks being assembled.
When they get those finished, they’ll begin building their super dreadnoughts. That will make them a threat again. But it will take at least two years to finish the docks, and then four years to build one of the enormous ships. That gives us—or likely me—six years to find a way to broker a lasting peace.
And that was why Scott was sneaking into the Strec System. In reality, it was a reciprocal visit. Three months previously, Fleet Commander Nieqids had arrived in the 61 Cygni System to discuss the Eesni threat. More importantly, the commander of the Bear Fleet had explained how the mysterious alien race was attacking the newly colonized 61 Cygni A Star System. The Zenkarr councilor hadn’t actually asked for help, though that was what he wanted. Nieqids informed Rear Admiral Chuck Anderson that the Eesni had captured the Doay Star System from the Zenkarr and were using it as a base of operations to attack other Zenkarr star systems. Nieqids also pointed out that the ships attacking 61 Cygni were likely coming from there.
Anderson and his new boss, Admiral Aiden Doheny, the new Federation fleet commander, were certain that eliminating the Eesni bases in the Doay System would reduce the threat to the new Pyrassun colony in the contested 61 Cygni System. Julie Adams, the Federation president, agreed. She’d sent Scott to meet with Nieqids to discuss possible attack options.
“Ambassador Conners.”
Scott recognized the voice of the trader’s first officer.
“A shuttle about ten light minutes away just sent the recognition signal to us via a tight-beam laser.”
“What’s the captain think?”
“He’s deferring to you, Ambassador.”
No, he deferred to you, since you’re the Pyrassun Intelligence officer aboard, and you’re trying to make me feel like I’m in control. Damn the Deities, I hate this cloak-and-dagger shit. Snake should be doing this, not me. He’s the spy. But he’s on his way back to Britannia with Hazard. Selfish bastard.
“If it poses no threat to your ship, give the go-ahead signal to dock with us.”
“Of course, Ambassador. It will take about two hours for the rendezvous.”
“Understood. Thank you.” Scott closed the channel.
When the Bear fleet commander visited Admiral Anderson, he’d left instructions on how to send messages to him before leaving. Scott had sent a message to Nieqids, requesting a meeting to “discuss matters of mutual interest.” That had been the pre-arranged code phrase to be sent if the Federation was interested in attacking the Doay System.
But it had taken a month of back-and-forth messages to finalize today’s meeting. Since the Pyrassuns continued to operate trading ships inside Bear space, Scott would come to Strec aboard one of those ships. Once in the system, Nieqids’ ship would identify itself, and a meetup would be arranged.
I’m beginning to wonder if Nieqids is doing this on his own authority, Scott thought. He’s the Bear fleet commander, but instead of arriving in a warship, he’s skulking around on a shuttle. Who’s he keeping secrets from? Guess I’ll find out in a couple of hours.
* * *
“We need to stop bullshitting each other, Admiral.”
Scott sat in a shuttle’s passenger compartment. The small space’s only other occupant, Fleet Commander Nieqids, sat across from him.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” the translator’s metallic voice stated.
Scott leaned back in his bench-type seat. He glanced at the closed door that led to the craft’s cockpit.
“It’s locked and they can’t hear us,” the Bear said, realizing the human’s concern.
“I don’t give a shit if they can hear what I say. But you? I think you have things to hide. That concerns me, because you’re all I’ve got. You’re the only Zenkarr who’ll talk to us, and I don’t want to slip and say something that will get you dead.”
Nieqids growled. “Very touching. The pilot and copilot are part of my staff. If they hear something, I trust them to keep their snouts shut.”
Conners nodded. “President Adams is seriously considering your proposal.”
Scott saw the Bear’s ears perk up and raised his left hand, palm out in a stopping motion.
“Hold up. I said she’s considering it. She’s waiting on input from Fleet Command before making the decision, and Fleet Command is waiting on me to talk to you.”
“What’s there to talk about? The Eesni are a threat to both our governments.”
“They are,” Scott agreed, “but there are some who argue that we can manage that threat. That we are managing that threat.”
“Has the Human Fleet suddenly become timid?”
Scott let the comment hang in the air. Rather than get angry, he shifted the conversation.
“The Zenkarr have been confronting the Eesni for generations. Tell me, how many of their warships have your fleets destroyed in combat?”
Scott smiled when he saw his barb had struck a nerve. The fleet commander’s smug grin turned to a scowl.
“Based on our intelligence,” Scott continued, “the answer is zero.”
He didn’t wait for a response.
“Admiral Anderson shared with you that we’ve driven off several Eesni incursions into the 61 Cygni System, but he didn’t tell you about the forty cruiser-sized warships we destroyed.”
Sure, Scott exaggerated the number, but he made his point. If the Federation Fleet had destroyed any Eesni warships, it was something the Bears had never accomplished.
“Using your other-space missiles?” the Zenkarr officer asked.
Scott nodded. “But not without losses of our own. Still, we killed more of theirs. That’s why some commanders believe we can stand on the defensive. When you add them to the number of people who don’t want to have anything to do with the backstabbing assholes who killed our leader, there’s a lot of voices arguing against attacking the Doay System.”
“Now who’s bullshitting?” Nieqids accused. “Why are you here, if you’re not going to attack?”
“Because some influential people believe we should, including Fleet Commander Doheny.”
“What happened to Admiral Evers?”
Conners smirked. “It’s good to see your Intelligence Directorate didn’t completely fall apart. You knew Admiral Dorothy Evers commanded our fleet. That information wasn’t public knowledge. President Adams needed her for another important task. Admiral Doheny took her place, and since she was a close friend of Marshal King, Doheny doesn’t think much of your race.”
“But she favors an attack on the Doay System?”
“She sees the benefits of an attack, but only if the conditions are right. Which brings me to why I asked for this meeting.”
Nieqids gave Scott a concerned look. “You must want something from me.”
