Command Authority, page 29
part #5 of Last Hunter Series
He guessed this was president Caroline Ibarra, the planetary leader and head of the Confederation Council in the cluster. He hadn’t planned on meeting the head of state so quickly, though he’d suspected they’d run into one another at some point. He’d just have to see how this changed the situation.
Allen turned and glared at Monahan. “Not more of this nonsense! Those regulations were written during a different time. They envisioned a senior flag officer in command of the battleship division, not some hastily promoted captain almost cashiered from the service.”
“While the regulations that place the battleship division in overall command of the defense against the Locusts were written in a different time,” the other officer said as she came to a halt beside them, “that doesn’t make it any less binding.”
“Everything you’re talking about is a technicality,” the flag officer said as he threw his hands in the air. “That doesn’t make them legal.”
“On the contrary, sir, it’s what takes the unusual and makes it acceptable. As they say, technicalities are the very soul of the law. In any case, Commodore Romanoff’s objection that you aren’t even in the command division also carries weight. You’ll forgive my pointing this out, but his experience fighting the Locusts is significant, and he’s fought several battles. I believe your objections lack merit, and you don’t have the standing to object under regulations.”
“This is outrageous!” the admiral raved. “You’ve turned everything on its head, and I will not stand for it. You’re dismissed.”
“Unfortunately, sir, as you are the liaison between the Confederation Navy and the Confederation Council here in the cluster, I don’t serve at your pleasure. Just because the naval forces here in the cluster have been defeated doesn’t mean we don’t have many naval personnel that count on the Judge Advocate General’s office to interpret and enforce the law.”
“And I believe this is an appropriate time for me to insert myself into this conversation,” the well-dressed woman said. “The situation is convoluted, Troy. There is no black-and-white solution to what’s happening, and in the end, it’s my decision. Your objections are noted. Once the battle is over, if we survive, I’ll interview Commodore Romanoff and decide what I think is best for the cluster. You won’t object that I don’t have the authority to make decisions for the cluster, will you?”
Allen visibly ground his teeth. “This is a Navy matter, and I won’t step aside because you see this as an expedient solution. I’m the senior Federation Navy officer in the cluster, and I won’t allow this to occur unchallenged. This isn’t over.”
And with that, Allen turned on one heel and stalked off. First Assistant McElroy hurried to catch up with him, but he waved her off. That didn’t deter the woman from following along at a greater distance, but she was smart enough not to interfere with him until he’d cooled down. That seemed prudent.
“Well, that went just about as poorly as I expected,” the president said with a wry expression. “Let me make some guesses. You are David Chen, the redheaded beauty beside you is your wife Tina, the older gentleman is Director Prescott, and the final lady is your computer expert, whose name I’m not certain I’ve heard. Apologies for that.”
“There’s no reason you should know who I am, Madam President,” Lisa said diffidently. “Lisa Gane. I’m a contract computer professional from Port Royale. Compared to everyone else, I’m not that important.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard, Miss Gane. I’m impressed that you’ve managed to make a translation program for the alien language in such a brief time, and that speaks very well to the high-level skills you possess. Don’t think the Confederation won’t take notice of something that significant.”
The leader turned her attention to David. “I apologize for Admiral Allen’s obstinance. He’s set in his ways and doesn’t like when others tell him how to perform his duties. I’m afraid the invasion has upset his carefully planned final tour before retirement. Sadly, I don’t have direct authority over him, and I’m afraid he’ll continue causing problems. We’ll just have to make do.”
“We’ve been making do with the situation since the invasion started, so I don’t see why this would be any different,” David said with a smile as he extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Madam President. If there’s anything my people or I can do, you have simply to ask.”
“That’s very helpful of you, and I’m going to take you up on it. I was willing to allow Admiral Allen to interface with the Navy on this matter, but now that the fighting has again broken out in this system, I feel the need to take a more direct role. I’m told you’re acting as Commodore Romanoff’s intelligence officers, Mister and Missus Chen. I need you to brief me and my people about everything that’s going on. I understand you’ve already given such a briefing to Admiral Allen, but I have questions, and I want to make certain nothing gets left out. If you could accompany me, I’d like to get that underway as soon as possible. I pray that Commodore Romanoff will successfully defend Argent, but I need to know more about the new foe we’re facing in case he fails.”
David inclined his head. “We’d be happy to do so, Madam President. I’ll have to see Miss Gane and Director Prescott somewhere safe, though. And I’m sure you’ve got your own people who can go through the data we’ve provided and come up with a good summary for you.”
He looked over at Rowe discreetly. The man was former Confederation Intelligence, so he should have been stepping up to handle this. Why was he concealing his past?
Rowe smiled back blandly. Whatever game he was playing, it seemed he didn’t intend to reveal his role. Until David understood what was going on more clearly, he would have to keep an eye on everyone.
“I do have intelligence people, but it will take time to bring them up to speed,” President Ibarra said as she gestured back toward her cutter. “That’s why I’m going to rely on you to help me. Now, we need to get going. I’m sure we can find a safe place for your people, though things are very crowded in my temporary office.”
“Actually, Madam President, I’d be happy to see them to safety,” Rowe said. “There’s no need to worry. I’ve got the perfect place for them.”
Lisa pulled her pack off her back, dug into it, and pulled out a small canvas folder. “I’ve got some of the presentations in these data chips. The blue ones. The red is raw data from my recent searches, so not ready for prime time. Get them all back to me once this is all done.”
He suspected the red chips were the data pulled off Admiral Allen’s computer system and copies of Rowe’s chips. It was probably better she didn’t have them on her. He didn’t expect the other man to try anything, but these were uncertain times, and he didn’t know him.
“Thank you,” he said as he took the folder.
“I appreciate your efforts, Mister Rowe,” Ibarra said. “Mister and Missus Chen, we’ll depart immediately. Commodore Monahan, Commodore Nastasi, you’re also with me.”
As soon as they boarded the president’s cutter, David noted that it was obviously a diplomatic vessel based on its luxurious nature. It even had a human staff waiting to serve the passengers. That seemed a little out of place in the middle of a wartime alert, but he wasn’t in charge.
Because the craft was designed for fewer passengers, there was a fairly large amount of space between the seats, and they could be swiveled in any direction so small groups could sit together. There were tables between the groupings with little clamps meant to hold their drinks in place. If the craft had to dodge incoming weapons fire, those wouldn’t do any good, but he supposed a little turbulence in the air wouldn’t bother a cup of something.
Once they were seated, the cutter quickly took off and began heading somewhere. President Ibarra shooed her staff away so that she could have the newcomers to herself. She did wave over one of the staff and ordered something nonalcoholic. David ordered coffee, as did Tina.
“I’m not ready to begin the full-scale briefing yet, but there are a couple of things I’d like to run past you,” Ibarra said as she leaned forward. “I had an opportunity on the way over to watch the first part of the documentary of the invasion. I have to say things are both worse than I expected and better. Is Commodore Romanoff as competent as he appears? He cuts quite the dashing figure, and it seems like he has a grasp on what he’s doing, but we all know that camera angles and astute editing can make all the difference in how one appears.”
David didn’t know that, but he assumed it was true. Someone like a politician would undoubtedly know.
“The documentary puts him in a good light,” Tina said. “Even so, he’s an experienced, competent officer and doing his best in a terrible situation. More things are going on than the documentary could reveal because it shows only the unclassified aspects of what’s happening. Even when it comes to just the enemies we’re fighting, there are things we can’t speak about publicly for fear that the information would cause widespread panic.”
“That sounds ominous,” Ibarra said. “I’m going to need that information.”
He nodded. “And we’ll give you a complete briefing about it. The story will take quite some time, and I have to say I’m worried about what’s going on in space. It might be best if we find a protected bunker somewhere to finish discussing this.”
Jack wouldn’t be happy, but the vast majority of what they’d discovered would need to be revealed to the political leadership. There was every possibility that some of Jack’s choices would be overruled, but that was the nature of civilian oversight of the military. Unlike the president at New Copenhagen, President Ibarra did have the legal authority to make at least some requests of the Navy during the fighting. She represented the Confederation in the cluster, and it would be her decision whether to support Jack or not. He’d do his best to make sure Jack got the best presentation possible, but he couldn’t predict the outcome. Sometimes one just had to hope for the best.
“As far as my impression of the documentary,” he said, “I think it does show his character and that of the crew. They’re willing to do whatever it takes—up to and including sacrificing their lives—to save the people of the Confederation. You’re not going to find a more honorable man. I don’t know Rear Admiral Allen, so he may be very competent at what he does, but I find myself doubting his ability to command a warship and fight an invasion with multiple enemies. I would be leery of someone upsetting the chain of command during such a critical time.”
The politician sighed. “Troy is a hardheaded, stubborn man. He’s also my brother-in-law. His appointment here was more a favor to my sister than to the Confederation. While I can’t interfere in the internal workings of the Navy, I hope they can settle this without the political infighting I expect. I’m walking a fine line in this matter, but I serve the Confederation. I’m not going out of my way to do something that harms it.”
That was reassuring, but it was impossible to guarantee that nothing untoward would happen. An angry flag officer might still cause them untold grief at some point, even if he didn’t directly assume command.
“I suppose we’ll do the best we can,” David said as he accepted his coffee from the server. “Now, a few months ago, when we were still in Faust orbit, Delta Orionis was just a decrepit museum….”
31
Lisa followed the men and boarded the cutter without incident. She and Professor Prescott sat in the back as Rowe went to the pilot’s compartment. Within moments, they were on their way.
She couldn’t dismiss a nagging sensation that something was off. The way the man was behaving just didn’t feel right. As a criminal, she’d developed a finely honed sense of when a trap was closing in, and that’s how she felt now. If Rowe had been a police officer, she’d have suspected she was about to be arrested.
While Commodore Romanoff had not issued any blanket amnesty, she didn’t think she was in danger of going to jail for crimes she’d committed in the past. If anything, Rowe was suspicious of what she’d been up to aboard the station.
From everything she’d gathered, he had every reason to be worried. He’d possessed something critical to the war effort that he still hadn’t shared. She felt rather clever for having gotten that data off of her person. Good luck getting it off David while he was with the president.
She looked over at the professor. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and his disappearance would raise questions. Maybe she was just overthinking this.
“Is it just me, or does it feel like we’ve been separated from the herd?” Prescott asked quietly. “I feel confident the president will go to a secure facility, so why would Mister Rowe feel the need to get us off alone?”
It was telling that the older man had sensed something as well. Maybe she wasn’t overthinking this after all.
“Let’s hope not. If they have something in mind for us, just remember that we haven’t done anything wrong.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you’re right. It would be conspicuous for him to do anything. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.”
The door leading into the pilot’s compartment slid open, and Rowe stepped into the rear of the cutter. He didn’t close it behind him but instead found a seat across the aisle from the pair and sat down casually.
“Don’t you have something important to do, like flying the cutter?” Lisa asked. “Unless you’ve got a pilot up there that I don’t know about.”
“No,” he said with a casual wave of his hand. “It’s just me. I wanted to take an opportunity to sit back here with you while the cutter is on autopilot. You see, I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. As you undoubtedly already know, my name is Bronson Rowe, and I’m not an industrial liaison. I’m an operative with Confederation Intelligence.”
He smiled more broadly. “I suppose you find that surprising. It is unusual for an intelligence operative to reveal they’re on the job. Nevertheless, the two of you have come to my attention regarding my current mission, and under Confederation law, I’m going to have to request you assist me in carrying out my duties. To do that, I’ll need you to answer some questions.”
Yeah. This was definitely not innocent.
“My life is an open book,” the professor said. “Anything I know, I’d be more than happy to inform you of.”
“That’s very helpful, professor. Thank you. I understand you’ve done quite a bit of research into the hardware used by the aliens. Could you tell me how effective you’ve been at penetrating their security and gaining access to their files? I understand Miss Gane has some voice recordings she’s been utilizing for translation purposes. Have you successfully penetrated the classified information these aliens possess?”
“I wouldn’t say we completely understand how the alien computer systems work, but we’re making great progress. We have several captured systems, and we’re getting more detailed information about their intentions and actions as we proceed.”
Rowe nodded. “That’s very good. You see, we have access to a military computer left behind by the aliens when they fled the system. Or, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that they tried to flee since your ship caught up with them and destroyed almost all of them. That means we have an unparalleled opportunity to gain insight into what they were doing here and what they intend to do in the rest of the Confederation.”
Rowe swiveled his eyes and looked at Lisa. “Your associate has already had access to the computer. Perhaps you didn’t realize that the corridors leading to it were monitored, but I’m aware that you and Mister Chen went there while we were packing up my files and abandoning the station. Did you have any luck gaining access, and what did you find?”
She’d been looking for cameras and other monitoring equipment, but she’d obviously missed something. She supposed that wasn’t too surprising because they’d been in a hurry, and cameras could be tiny.
“I suppose it won’t do any good to deny anything, so I’ll confess. I gained access to that computer and copied some files from it. I haven’t had time to evaluate any of them, and since the alien language is more complex to translate than their spoken word, I haven’t had an opportunity to fully assess what was taken. Does that make you angry?”
He pursed his lips. “I’m not certain I would say I’m angry, but I’m somewhat disappointed. David Chen knows who employs me, yet he worked around me to get this information. That shows a marked lack of trust. Do you distrust me, Miss Gane?”
“I barely know you. When I was asked to penetrate the security on that computer, it was by somebody I’ve worked with for months. Don’t take it personally.”
“When one works in intelligence, it’s best to never take anything personally. After you broke into the computer, I felt the need to do a bit of research about you. You have quite the history here in the cluster. Until you disappeared a few years ago, you’d been suspected of a number of high-end data breaches. You’re not a computer programmer so much as you’re a hacker, am I right?”
She shrugged slightly. “I suppose it depends on one’s point of view. I do what I’m paid to do, and right now, I’m on the Confederation payroll to do any number of things that will give us information about the aliens. I haven’t been told to share that information with you, but I’m willing to do so to a limited degree. What is your mission, Mister Confederation Intelligence operative?”
His smile widened slightly. “I’m not at liberty to discuss the parameters of my mission, but after discovering what you’ve been up to, I have many questions. For example, since I had visual records of your access to the alien computer, I saw the case that David Chen brought you. It’s quite recognizable. That data inside is sensitive, and I’m afraid I’ll have to ask for its return.”
“That’s problematic since I gave it to Mister Chen right before we departed.”
He grunted slightly and nodded. “I suspected that. Still, I’m afraid I’ll have to confiscate your equipment and make certain. It’s unfortunate, but I’ll have to take steps to make certain that Chen and his lovely wife don’t gain complete access to those files.”
