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The Meeting - Part Twenty-Two
In Direct Violation
25.03.2268
Epsilon Indi Star System
Toriope L5
Bulap Orbit "Mission update coming in on FTL,
Captain," said Bates. "It's directly from Vice Admiral Wexler."
"I have it, Edwina. Thank you.
Maybe this is our confirmation," Lejeunne answered as he operated the controls
to unlock the transmitted briefing document. The Commonwealth symbol appeared
along with the standard security codes before Wexler's voice could be heard
over text that scrolled by with the details of a new briefing.
"It saddens me to say that we
have indeed found the perpetrator of recent acts of treason and terrorism
resulting in immeasurable loss of life and materiel in Tau Ceti, and now in
Alpha Centauri. The CNV 534 Redoubt has been pursued across the
Alpha Centauri system, and was last seen fleeing two separate engagements, in
which a number of naval vessels were destroyed. These vessels were destroyed
while trying to peacefully detain the Redoubt, and shepherd her crew
back to base for debriefing. The footage you are about to see shows very
clearly the destruction of the CNV Almeida, the CNV Crusader,
the CNV Fairfax, and the CNV Ompah by the rogue
ship Redoubt. By a turn of good fortune, and the heroic efforts of the
crew, the CNV Plevna survived the battle, confirming the
allegations against the Redoubt."
A series of clips replayed
recordings of vessel IDs, their vector trails, missiles and PBC fire in a
chaotic flurry of firing, manoeuvres and spectacular explosions. Lejeunne
watched in silence as he studied the marker tags identifying missiles launched
from the Redoubt slam into the Almeida and PBC fire from the Redoubt
tearing through the Fairfax moments before it exploded.
Pictures didn't lie, but they could be taken out of context. Wexler's voice
could be heard again in the briefing document, after the footage was seen.
"We are uncertain where the Redoubt
is at present, but they are not likely to remain in the Alpha Centauri
system for long. We are currently engaged in blockading the exit points, but
need assistance watching all possible system exits. Proceed to the waypoint
provided in this document and join the blockade forces there. If you sight the Redoubt,
send for immediate backup, and treat them as an extremely hostile target. Good
luck. A strike fleet is being mobilized at this moment. Wexler out."
"Eh bien, it's official, the Redoubt
is indeed a rogue ship, a traitor, and our primary target. We've wasted
enough time sitting here doing nothing. We are ordered to proceed to."
"Captain, something's emerging from
capsule space at the L-point," Bates sounded excited. "You aren't going to
believe this, but the Redoubt just arrived here in the Epsilon Indi
system. They aren't wasting any time either. They're hightailing it out to the
rim of the system on full burn."
"North. Pursue them," Lejeunne
ordered with excitement building in his voice. "But keep us as far astern of
them as we can until we know where they're going. I want to avoid detection by
them for as long as possible. Bates, FTL for backup to Wexler, and advise them
we've sighted the Redoubt. Stand by to open fire on them as soon as they
exit LDS." He looked over at Iwamasa's back, at the ENG station. "Sorry Kenji.
I don't like this any more than you do, but we have orders."
Iwamasa remained silent, as he
worked the board at his workstation. A moment later, as the LDS drive engaged
and they raced after the Redoubt's vanishing trail, Less than a minute later,
Iwamasa turned in his seat and faced Lejeunne.
"Captain Lejeunne. Don't do this.
You know it's wrong. I'm begging you don't attack them."
"Kenji, you know I can't break
off now. We tried to avoid them, but it's too late. Despite our best efforts
not to, we found them. We're committed. I'm hoping we can disable them and wait
for the Purdue to arrive, but we cannot stop now."
"They're my. my friends," Iwamasa
stumbled. "They saved your lives. Doesn't that mean anything?"
Lejeunne looked down. He turned
to face the front of the bridge, his jaw clenching and unclenching. He shook
his head. "I'm sorry. I will not disobey direct orders during my first mission
as captain."
"Then I'm sorry, too," Iwamasa
said. He touched a key, and the Niagara dropped out of LDS
instantly. Screens at each of the workstations went dark, and the sounds of
comms, machinery, and engines went silent. The ship began to tumble gently as
it drifted. The bridge was bathed in the red glow of emergency lights.
Bates threw up her hands after
stabbing a few keys. "That's it. We lost them. Happy now, Chief?"
"Everything's out here, too
Captain. We're dead stick and drifting," North reported from the NAV station.
"Lieutenant Iwamasa. Restore
power to the bridge and ship's systems immediately," ordered Lejeunne.
"Uh.that's a negative, sir. We
seem to have encountered some sort of glitch."
"Dammit, Kenji. This isn't a
joke. You're already on very thin ice. Get us our power back. Now. Or you can
consider yourself relieved. Permanently."
"Aye, Captain," Iwamasa saluted.
"I'll get right on it, sir." He began working at the controls, bringing power
back to his console first, but his eyes were actually on the clock. He wanted
to buy the Redoubt three minutes. He worked continually for a couple of
minutes busily redirecting power through a series of pointless shunts. Ten more
seconds and.
"Power and control restored sir,"
Iwamasa reported. "Ship systems should be at your command in a moment or two."
"You are relieved, Lieutenant," Lejeunne
scowled. "An escort will meet you at the aft hatch in thirty seconds. You are
to accompany him to your quarters at once, where you will remain until further
notice." He turned to face his workstation. "Bates, North, get me an
extrapolation of their last known course. We'll use the charts to guess a
likely destination, and try to pick up the trail of the Redoubt there."
Iwamasa remained silent as he exited the bridge.
__________________________
Epsilon Indi Star System
Near Old Man Panemito's Parahelion "Colonel Chen, you're wanted on the bridge
immediately, please," urged the exec's voice from the speaker. She folded the
data pad on her desk into its recessed compartment, placed the stylus into its
clip, and walked out the door of her office toward the main bridge.
The CNV Malta looked
outwardly like any Bastille-class destroyer, but that was where the
similarities ended. She had been modified for long duration intelligence
missions, serving as Chen's mobile base of operations for naval intelligence's
covert ops. Ever since the debacle at Midway, the shrewd Colonel refused to be
stationed on a platform that couldn't flee or fight back. Against the Captain's
recommendations, she had ordered the Malta to take up station as
far out as their sensor would permit. They hung silently in the emptiness of
the Epsilon Indi system, at the limit of her passive sensors and optics, watching
a very specific location: the inoperative, decommissioned FTL satellite that
housed a small remote servicing drone called Sneezy.
Allbright had given her the
location and codes for Sneezy, and she wasted no time retrieving the
data. The sensor readings of two ships, PatComs of a familiar, but unknown
design, were a goldmine. The fact that they employed stealth technology made
these 'black ships' even more interesting to her, adding to the lore she had
been collecting of similar sightings. Her people were analyzing the data three
doors down the same corridor she just exited, as she walked to the bridge. The
lift took her to the main command deck corridor, where armed marines stood
ready to challenge any unfamiliar personnel. She got a courteous nod from the
sergeant at the desk. He touched a key on his console and opened the hatch to
the main bridge for her.
The bridge was abuzz with
activity, and she quickly found Captain Mead leaning over one of the
workstations conferring with the officer working the console. He looked pleased
as he straightened to meet her approach.
"It looks like your gamble has
paid off, Colonel. The Redoubt has just arrived at the location of the
drone, as you predicted. They're just sitting there for now. I imagine they'll
be quite unhappy when they discover it's been wiped."
"Perhaps. I doubt it will come as
a complete surprise, though," she replied.
"Do we move in to attack?" asked
Mead.
"Attack? No. We wait."
"Colonel, do I need to remind you
that Vice Admiral Wexler, of Sector Command has."
".has no authority nor any
jurisdiction here," she finished for him. "We're going to ignore those orders.
Do you understand? I take full responsibility, but we will not be attacking the
Redoubt. Stand by to move the Malta in. I want to wait a
few more minutes to see if anyone else shows up. It will be interesting to see
if ."
"Captain. Colonel," announced the
officer at the next workstation. " The Redoubt isn't wasting any time.
They've been there all of.eight minutes and twenty nine seconds, and they're
moving off already."
"Direction?"
"Astolus-Tifun L4. From
there.unknown. Probably Inchidies. They're entering LDS now."
"Stand by to pursue," Chen
ordered. "How's the tracking program working? Do we have a signal?"
"Loud and clear, so far. As soon
as they tried to connect with the MFD we were in. We can. Wait a moment.
Another contact is coming in behind the Redoubt." The same officer grew
more excited as the situation grew more complicated. "It's coming into
detection range now. It looks like it's following the Redoubt, too. ID
coming in now.it's the Niagara."
"The Niagara." Chen
whispered to herself in thought. "The Niagara isn't one of
Wexler's is it? Give me a roster of her bridge crew, now!"
"Do we move in, Colonel?" Captain
Mead asked.
Chen held up a single finger,
gesturing for him to wait, as she studied the screen in front of her. "Let's
give them another moment or two to see what they do."
"The Redoubt's long gone.
The Niagara is just coming in, now. They must have lost the trail, they're
going to the other FTL relay from the looks of it; the one that's still
active."
"They don't know, do they?" Mead
asked.
Chen nodded, her finger still
pointing at the ceiling plates overhead. "We'll see."
____________________________
"Coming up on the waypoint for Sneezy
now, Captain." McMichael reported. "That was way too easy."
Ferris nodded, fighting a yawn. "I agree. I expected
a lot more trouble getting here than that. Rav, get Allbright up here on the
double. And where the hell are Carr's marines? I asked him to post guards at
all vital points in the ship more than ten minutes ago. I would have expected
at least a couple for the bridge, of all places."
He watched her as she spoke
softly into the jaw mike on her headset. She nodded to him once, confirming the
request, and returned to her scans. "Captain, so far, this region looks clear.
I'm also picking up the small mass where the drone and inactive FTL relay
housing should be. Allbright's coordinates were right on target, elapsed
orbital time and everything."
"Bring us in close, Mac." Ferris
turned to the ENG station to his right. "Skarsgaard, send the codes and begin
the download as quickly as possible."
The Chief worked the controls for
a moment before reporting back. Bad news, Captain. The drone's there alright,
but it's been wiped clean. Very recently, too."
Allbright entered the bridge at
that moment with a trio of armed and armoured marines. Two of the marines
stopped at the entrance hatchway and took up positions on either side, while
the third walked the remaining few steps to the captain's workstation alongside
Allbright. Dupuis remained silent in his fold-down seat at the rear bulkhead
watching the marines impose their intimidating presence on the bridge. He
leaned forward to read their names stenciled on the armour plating. The names Hadley
and Rinaldo, brought a reassuring element of human-ness to the soldiers
that stood in silence next to the entrance hatch. Allbright seemed unfazed by
their presence and stood looking over Ferris' shoulder at the command console.
The third marine placed himself directly behind Allbright, dwarfing him with
his presence, and blocking him from Dupuis' view. Connover was stenciled
on that one's back.
"Wiped, eh?" Allbright said. "Chen beat us to it,
then."
"She's probably watching us right
now," Ferris looked over to Rav.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Allbright
agreed.
"Now what?" McMichael asked,
looking at Ferris in the mirror.
"I just wish I'd been able to get
a decent reading of those ships I picked up on sensors during the fighting,"
said Ravindran, shaking her head. "They appeared out of nowhere, moved, and
then disappeared again. It was almost as if they were stealth ships or
something. If only I could have gotten a heading from them, we might have."
"If the ships I saw here a few
weeks ago weren't stealth ships, then I don't know what is. They were the
closest thing to stealthy as I could ever imagine," added Allbright. "I'll bet
even money they're the same ones watching during the fighting."
A voice spoke our from the rear
part of the bridge. "Stealth ships? Did you say 'stealth ships'? Dupuis
interrupted.
"What is it, Lieutenant?" Ferris turned and looked
at him carefully. "Is there something you can add?"
"It's just that. Well.this is classified, but I
suppose it doesn't matter much now. The weapons used against the Syracuse
and the entire strike group at the Amarid cluster, were some form of
stealth weapon platform. Unfortunately, we couldn't prove anything.like you, we
never got enough sensor information."
"And.?" Ferris prompted
impatiently.
Dupuis unbuckled from the rumble
seat and walked up the starboard aisle to stand next to the command station.
"The point is, we don't have anything even remotely like it. Not yet."
"What do you mean, 'not yet'?"
"Well," he paused. "This is even
more classified. The Navy has a secret research facility. I happen to know,
through a personal contact, that this same stealth technology is not only the
subject of some big budget research, but its getting close to being ready for
field testing."
"You must mean the same 'secret
research facility' that has been reverse engineering alien technology," McMichael
quipped, "and studying mind control and time travel and."
"Shut it, Mac!" Ferris barked
without taking his eyes off of Dupuis. "Are you saying these ships of Allbright's
could be Navy test ships?"
"No. At least I doubt it. I
haven't heard from Cor.from my personal contact in a few months, but she
said something to the effect that they still had months of research to do
before they went to prototype next year," Dupuis said, ignoring McMichael. "But
someone has these stealth ships already. Whoever they are, they'll likely be
pretty unhappy about the Navy figuring it out and taking away their advantage."
"Even if you're right,"
Skarsgaard said, his eyes narrowed in a disturbing purple shroud around those
pale pink-rimmed eyes, "and the Navy is about to pull off a research
breakthrough in stealth technology, how does this help us? We're rogue in case
you hadn't heard. We can't get anywhere near Sol space, let alone the 'secret'
military research facility on the moon. Even if we could, the asteroid attack
that almost to wipe it out a few months ago gave them an excuse to beef up
security more than ever."
"I never said anything about the
moon," countered Dupuis. "There's secret and then there's secret.
The 'secret' lunar research base is the one everybody knows about. The one I'm
talking about is." he took a deep breath as he prepared to break a few Navy
oaths, professional principles, and a personal promise to Corinna. "It's in
AC-24. It's in Momar." He exhaled heavily before continuing. "It's called the
Singularity Research Facility, or SRF. It's way, way out beyond the periphery
of AC-24. My girlfr.my ex-girlfriend works out there in the materials research
group. She never told me directly, but I figured out that she's with the
research group looking at the stealth materials. I am in intelligence
after all, and I was curious, so I did a little digging and pulled a few
strings to get information that I shouldn't have, about the place. That's how I
know a little about it."
"Great! Good for her," said
Skarsgaard sarcastically, "and Momar's next door, too, which is convenient. I'd
still like to know what good it would."
"Lieutenant Commander
Skarsgaard!" Ferris scowled. "Let him finish. I'm willing to entertain anything
at this moment, because the longer we sit here, the greater our chances of
being seen and destroyed before we learn anything about this mess. You'll get
your chance in a second." He turned back to face Dupuis.
"Captain, I'm convinced that this
whole fool's mission is some kind of set up and the Navy, or at least some part
of it, is involved with these stealth ships." He pointed at Allbright standing
in the opposite aisle. "Allbright's seen them; they're real. Someone in the
Navy doesn't want us to. If we can figure out how to detect them, or
track them, then we can find out who they are and where they go. If we can find
the real culprits and bring them out into the open, then all this manufactured
'rogue' crap will look like the load of horseshit that it is. Our best bet
might be to find and talk to the scientists studying this stuff," he said. He
looked as if he were imploring Ferris to take him to the SRF. He suddenly
realized how desperate he was to see Corinna again, even if the circumstances
were less than ideal.
Ferris studied him for a moment,
looking dubious about Dupuis' motivations. He turned to look at Skarsgaard.
"Chief. What do you think? Should we try for this SRF in Momar? It's possible
that they may not even know about the hunt on for us. At the very least, we
could maybe drop a few people off, get some supplies, catch our breath."
"Captain," said Skarsgaard,
"Dupuis just wants to see his girlfriend and get away from this ship and the
big bull's-eye its got painted on it. I can't say I blame him, either. But I
don't see how going to a top secret research facility will make us look any
less rogue, than we already do, let alone complete the mission to bring down
the spy ship we had in with the Indies."
Dupuis leaned over the display
screen to get closer to Skarsgaard. "Don't you get it? There never was a
mission! I'm beginning to think that Wexler put everyone on this ship to clean
up all his loose ends. Think about it: Someone high up in the Navy has to be
helping this group with the stealthy ships and weapons platforms. What if it's
been Wexler all along? He finds out we had a spy in with the Indies and they
see something they aren't supposed to see, like maybe this stealth technology
or something else he's up to. He gets anyone who had anything to do with this
spy," he pointed to Ferris, "or has figured out there's another faction," he
pointed at his own chest, "or has seen the stealth ships," he nodded at Allbright,
"and he puts them all in one mission doomed from the word 'go'. Everyone who
knows anything that can threaten his power disappears in one swat. Pretty neat,
don't you think?"
"Nice theory except for two
things." Allbright said. "First, Wexler didn't put me here. Chen did. Second,
why would Wexler put one of his own people on board to sabotage the ship if all
he wanted was to wipe us out in a space battle." He looked accusingly at
Skarsgaard.
"Whoa, now wait a minute you
little." Skarsgaard started. "I may have been chosen by the Vice Admiral to
keep this ship on track with the assigned mission, but I'm no saboteur. If I
was, believe me, those attacks would have changed my loyalties right quick. My
skin's as much on the line here as yours, you pathetic excuse for....
"Gentlemen," Ferris announced. "If we're going to
start exploring conspiracy theories, or hurling insults, we're going to do it
somewhere else. Let's talk on the way to wherever we're going next, because
sitting here and bellyaching does nothing good. Mac, get us to the L4 point at Astolus;
best speed. It's the one by Tifun. Set the capsule drive destination for
Inchidies, and see if you can find the location for this SRF."
The star field outside the
forward view-port spun as the Redoubt oriented toward Astolus. McMichael
spoke over the roar of the main thrusters as they pushed the corvette away from
Sneezy's grave. "I've already been looking, but I guess its secret for a
reason. Nothing shows up as even a likely candidate for this SRF in the AC-24
system, Captain."
"Lieutenant Dupuis, give our
pilot the coordinates for this SRF in Momar, please."
"Uh. I'm afraid I don't know
where it is."
Ferris rubbed his eyes again with
thumb and forefinger. His fatigue was apparent in the sigh he heaved. "Very
well, then. Tell us what you do know."
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any
particulars, just the few bits that Corinna told me," he stammered. "All I know
is that the SRF itself is out at the rim of the system, there's very little light.AC-24
is very dim, far and small, from what she's said in her messages. Oh and they
go through a final capsule jump within the system to get there."
"That means there has to be an
L-point at both ends, which might help us narrow the search some," said McMichael
as he keyed up new maps of AC-24 on his screen. "Do you remember if she said
anything about what was at the nearer end of that capsule jump?"
"No. I don't think she ever said
anything about.wait, she did mention something like 'Minor Lemon', or 'Minor
LaGrange'. I can't remember exactly. I don't know if it's a moon, or a rock, or
a codeword. Does that help?"
"It may help a little," Allbright
said, "and it kind of fits, but I get the feeling that if she did mention the Miner's
Lament, then we're in for more problems than just finding this SRF."
"Start talking, Allbright," Ferris ordered. "We're
headed to a system that is largely controlled by the Indies. If we can
successfully get in and out of the Inchides system without getting killed by an
Indie patrol, and if we can get ourselves to Momar, we still don't have a
destination for this SRF yet, so anything you can offer is welcome right now."
"Even if it's old spacer lore, or
fairy tales?" Allbright asked.
"At this point, I'll listen to anything," Ferris
said, waiting as they sped toward the jump point at near light speed.
Allbright nodded and offered the
little he knew. "I think Miner's Lament is the name of an abandoned
mining operation near a large asteroid in AC-24. From what I've heard, it was a
big rig, like a Vethonin-class mining rig."
"Why would anyone in their right
mind abandon a Vethonin-class mining rig?" Skarsgaard sneered. "That's almost
two Kilometres and millions of creds worth of extracting, processing and
refining machinery. It's like a small colony. It would be a salvage team's
score of a lifetime."
"Who said anything about being in
their right mind?" Allbright continued. "This rig is at the heart of a region
of space that's become a kind of dead zone; like a Bermuda Triangle in space.
Believe me, salvagers have tried.and vanished."
"What's the Bermuda Triangle?" McMichael
asked, genuinely curious.
"You must've come from the
colonies," Allbright said to the pilot in front of him, "Because every kid on
Earth knows that the Bermuda Triangle has been famous for centuries as the
place where seagoing ships disappeared mysteriously without a trace.
"Spacer lore has it that the Miner's
Lament was an operation that ceased for no apparent reason. Kind of like a
boogey man or ghost story people like to tell. Any ship that has gone near
there ever since has also vanished without a trace. Come to think of it.it's
the perfect setup for hiding something and discouraging gawkers."
"Wait a minute!" Dupuis said.
"Captain, Allbright may be right. I never put it together before, but I think I
may have heard of this rig. I mean, not heard of it, but had something
to do with it in another aspect. Especially if it's a Vethonin-class rig. Back
when I was training at Naval Intelligence, some documents came across my desk
that were contractor invoices for some sensor and targeting systems, CPU's,
shielding plates, a bunch of FTL components and stuff like that. It was for a
secret automated defense platform, but I never knew where it was located, or
anything more. From the specs on the invoices, the thing had to have been huge.
I was told to forget it, and in this business, you learn to do that pretty damn
quickly.but this could be exactly what it was.
"The Navy must have gotten the Miner's
Lament, modified it, and made it look abandoned. I would guess that this
thing looks dead but it is very much active and deadly. I don't know how
they've done it, but I'll bet anything this thing guards one end of an L-point.
The only explanation I can think of is that it would lead to the SRF."
"Would you say that you're sure
enough to bet your own life?" Ferris asked bluntly.
Dupuis swallowed, but he seemed
to remain convinced. "Yes sir, the more I think about it, the more I'm
convinced that this is the way to the SRF.
"Sounds pretty thin to me, but
we're low on options. What kind of defenses are we talking about?" Ferris
asked.
"I don't know specifics. It will
look completely abandoned, but be more deadly than anything you've seen before,
if activated," said Dupuis. "It was designed to let you approach. Unless you
provide it with the correct codes within a certain amount of time, or on the
right band, it basically comes alive with weaponry and would probably leave
nothing bigger than a wristwatch when it's finished. For all I know it has a
team of drones that feed it the debris to fuel it. That would explain all the
disappearances."
Ferris studied him for a moment
before breaking the silence. "You hear that Mac? Start combing the databases
for a vessel or an abandoned mining operation, not a planetary body. Look for a
big mining rig listed as inactive. My guess is they'll have parked it near a
decent sized asteroid, not too far from another planetary mass to make the
stable L-point they need for an insystem jump. Once you find it, that's our
destination.
"Outstanding, gentlemen," Ferris
tried to keep up morale with some encouragement. "Assuming we can get through
Inchidies without encountering the Indies, we may actually have a chance at
finding this SRF. If we can find these stealth ships, and whoever is operating
them, we have a chance at clearing our names. Dupuis, Allbright.I'm finally
glad you're along for the ride. Strap yourselves into the spare seats at the
back and stay put. I may want to hear more of your spacer lore and old intel
stories."
"Great!" McMichael muttered
sarcastically as he clicked through the database. "We're running from the
Commonwealth Navy, who are trying to kill us, through a system controlled by
Indies, who are still trying to kill us, to end up at a giant killing machine
that'll leave nothing bigger than a wristwatch. All so we can meet some
scientists who might be able to tell us more about some ships we can't
see, 'cause if we can track them, maybe we'll be able to find out why
everyone's trying to kill us. I liked the original bullshit mission better. At
least we know that the Wolf-In-The-Fold is real."
To be continued . . .
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