Authors: Stephen A. Fender
“I trust he’s well?”
Litto smiled. “All things
considered, Commander, he is. He did ask that I find out, before I deliver the
information you requested, if you had made a final decision on a question he’d
once asked you.”
Shawn chuckled, recalling
full well what Voula wanted to know. With his current commission hanging in the
balance, there was certainly little stopping Shawn from accepting Voula’s offer
of a commission in the Rugorian fleet—not to mention the command of a fleet
warship.
Litto was unsure how to
decipher the mixed expression on Shawn’s face. “I’m afraid I don’t know what
Fleet Captain Voula was referring to, Commander, so I’m equally unsure of what
answer he’s expecting.”
Shawn nodded. “Next time
you talk to him, tell him … tell him it’s not out of the question anymore.”
Melissa gave Shawn a puzzled
look, which he smiled at. After all, the conversation in question between the
two men had been for their ears alone, and Shawn had yet to share the proposal
with anyone else. Why should he have? Until the moment his future in Sector
Command had been questioned, there was little reason to leave the Unified
fleet. Now, however, he was beginning to give the proposal some consideration.
Litto nodded curtly. “I’ll
do that.” He then lifted his arm and motioned to the doorway he’d come through.
“If you’ll please follow me. I believe we have a pressing matter to discuss.”
“There were very few humans
that I felt were completely capable of both entering Kafaran space and
operating amongst my people. As much as I admired him, I didn’t believe Shawn
Kestrel was one of them. History, it seemed, had a way of correcting that
oversight.”
-Colonel
(later General) Tausan
Imperial
Kafaran Assault Forces
Once they were out of the
landing bay, Litto ushered the trio into a small briefing room not far from the
bridge. By Unified standards, the room was quite small, and not at all like
what Shawn was used to seeing. In fact, the “briefing room” was little more
than a converted machinery space, with a computer table and several chairs
hastily situated off to one side, and a several generators humming in a far
corner.
“I trust your journey was
well, Commander?” Litto asked as everyone took their seats.
“As well as could be
expected,” Shawn said, his eyes momentarily shifting to Doctor Uudon.
Litto’s eyes followed the
Commander’s. “And … your guest?”
“Doctor Uudon,” the doctor
answered sharply before Shawn had the opportunity to make up another fantastic
story. “Unified Historical Society.”
“I understand,” Litto
responded, but sounded anything but. “Well, you all seem none the worse for
your travels.”
Melissa smiled nervously.
“We’re here, but I’m not entirely sure exactly what that means.”
“Nothing
illegal
, I
trust,” Litto said with a devilish smile.
Shawn gave the former
pirate a skeptical glare. “If it is, then I’m sure we’re in the right company
to make sure it gets done as quietly as possible. Or … are we aboard the wrong
ship?”
Litto didn’t hide his
amusement, laughing heartily at Shawn’s remark. “No, Commander. In that regard,
you are exactly where you need to be.”
“Maybe you can be a little
more specific about that, Captain,” Shawn said, then glanced to Melissa. “I’m
sure we’d all feel a lot better if we had more facts and less speculation about
what you’re doing here.”
Litto nodded as he leaned
back in his chair. “Your request to Admiral Graves was forwarded to Fleet
Captain Voula with more expediency than I have ever seen. Before you ask, I’m
not even vaguely aware of the nature of that request. My orders in this matter
have come directly from Voula, which is why the
Honor Guard
is here to
greet you. He has given me very specific directions about entering Kafaran
space—instructions that come directly from the Kafaran Imperial high command,
it would seem. In that regard, I wonder if I should be asking
you
what
I’m doing here.”
Shawn nodded in
understanding. The Rugorian blockade runner was just about the fastest ship in
the combined Unified fleet—when compared to similar vessels fielded by either
Sector Command or the Kafarans. Besides, being former allies, a Rugorian vessel
would look far less suspicious than the
Nautilus
.
“And what can you tell us
about that?” Melissa asked, sidestepping the captain’s curiosity. “About what
the Kafarans have told you?”
“Colonel Tausan has assured
me of safe passage into Kafaran space. However, I do not know how far that
courtesy extends.”
“Meaning?” Doctor Uudon
said in frustration.
Litto leaned forward,
placing his hands before him on the tabletop. “Meaning, Doctor, that it’s
unclear just how far into Kafaran space we’ve been allowed to navigate. As you
may have heard, there is a war going on, and the Kafarans have become very …
selective
about who travels through their space.”
“As if they weren’t
before,” Shawn mused.
“Quite right, Commander,”
Litto nodded and smiled faintly. “In fact, we have a secure data channel
established with Commodore Savath’s flagship, the
Saa’krular.”
“For what purpose?” Melissa asked.
“Colonel Tausan feels—and I
fully agree—that any protracted journeys into Kafaran space could be
exceedingly hazardous, both to yourselves and to this vessel. Concentrated pockets
of Meltranians abound there. Due to the fact that the Kafarans have divided
their forces evenly between two battle fronts, we’re going to be far removed
any appreciable assistance.”
Shawn nodded. The Kafarans
weren’t just fighting alongside the UCS, they were also battling the
Meltranians in their own backyard—or, the Darkness, as Savath had once called
it.
“But as you said, you don’t
know why we’re here,” Melissa began. “That doesn’t worry you?”
Litto made an almost
imperceptible shrug. “It does concern me, my lady, but in the end, I trust
Fleet Captain Voula implicitly, and he seems to place a great deal of faith in
Commander Kestrel and yourself. That is all the assurance I require.” He then
turned his gaze to Shawn. “I trust, Commander, that you have a heading in mind
for our journey? I’ve been asked to relay the information to Commodore Savath
in order to make sure our path is free of …
unnecessary
entanglements.”
Shawn looked to Melissa for
assurance. Perhaps it was the glint in her eyes, or the slight twitch in the
left corner of her mouth—but whatever it was, she wanted to discuss the matter
with Shawn in private.
“If Miss Graves and I could
have a moment, Captain?” Shawn asked, to which Litto nodded in response.
“Your affairs are your own
until I’m needed, Commander. I will return shortly.” Litto then rose and bowed
slightly toward Melissa before exiting the compartment.
“Do you think it’s wise,
giving him the information?” Shawn asked, guessing that was the question she had
on her mind.
“I don’t see that we have
much of a choice in the matter. I’m finding it difficult to fault the logic of
his plans.”
Shawn stood, then walked to
a nearby generator. Not really examining the bulky equipment, he nodded slowly.
“That’s what worries me.”
“You think Savath knows
more than he’s letting on.”
Shawn wagged his head
softly. “I’m just taking your father’s advice to heart. I’m not trusting anyone
until we have some concrete evidence stating otherwise.”
“Regardless, Savath and
Tausan know
something
at this point, as does Voula,” she replied.
“That means your father has
let them into the loop. Let’s just hope it’s only the outer edge. Otherwise we
could be walking directly into a big mess.”
Melissa glanced down to her
footwear. “Well, I wore my tall boots just in case we get in deep.”
Shawn smiled kindly at her.
“Always prepared. That’s my girl.”
Doctor Uudon looked from
one to the other. “Could someone please tell me what on Third Earth this is all
about? I have important research to get back to.”
Shawn turned his smile to
the doctor. “You’re the one with the coordinates. Something tells me you’re
going to have a lot more research on your hands when we get to wherever that
transmission was sent. As for what we’re going to find there, I haven’t the
faintest idea. That’s why you’re here.”
Uudon glared at Shawn a
moment before speaking. “I have little faith
you
will lead
me
to
anything of stellar importance, Commander. Must I remind you that I am here
totally against my will, and that I fully intend to file that complaint with
Sector Command when we return?”
“By the time you do, I’ll
be out of the service at this rate,” Shawn jested, but knew there was more than
a modicum of truth to the statement. The look he got from Melissa in return was
anything but jovial. “We need to give Litto the heading, but nothing more. He
doesn’t seem to want an overabundance of information anyway, so I’m not in a
hurry to spill my guts.” He got a nod of understanding from Melissa, then he
turned to the doctor. “Believe me, I don’t want you here anymore that you want
to be here, Doctor. I don’t much care for putting civilian lives in jeopardy,
especially ones as fun-loving as yourself. However, you’re the expert on the
Meltranian sub-space amplifier, and I have a feeling the receiving station is
going to have similar technology.”
Uudon rolled his dark eyes.
“A brilliant deduction, Commander.”
Shawn’s smile returned.
“Just keep as many comments as possible to yourself. I don’t want to let our
hand show this early.”
The doctor scowled as he
folded his arms tightly across his chest. “Fine, Commander. You will get my
complete silence.”
That was when Captain
Litto reentered the room. His face was flushed, and Shawn could that there was
something going on in his mind.
“Is there a problem,
Captain?”
Litto nodded slowly as he
sat down. “One of our colonies … a Rugorian settlement, that is … was just
attacked.”
“Meltranians?” Melissa
asked, although she already knew the answer.
Litto nodded, his eyes
distant.
“Where?” Shawn asked.
“Enas-Valak. It is … it
was
… an agricultural settlement.” The captain then looked at Shawn. “Two thousand
of my people are presumed dead. We’ve lost all communication with the planet,
and long-range sensor scans show the world to be completely lifeless.”
“I’m sorry.” To tell Litto it
wasn’t a surprise that the entire colony was devastated would have done nothing
to quell the captain’s sorrow. It was all Shawn could do to offer a pitiful
apology.
Litto seemed to regard the
statement, as if it had been said in an unknown language. “Such things happen
in war, Commander.” He smiled faintly, yet his tone was laced with sorrow.
“Now, do we have a course heading?”
%%%
Three hours later, Shawn
and Melissa were sitting in the lavish quarters assigned to them on the
Honor
Guard
. Doctor Uudon, having provided the general heading for the
transmission relayed from Torval, was in the blockade runner’s cargo hold
continuing to analyze the nature of the original signal using some of the
equipment he’d brought along in conjunction with the
Nautilus
’s
computer. Making him promise not to get into trouble, Shawn had reluctantly
agreed to leave the doctor to his work—but not without a pair of Rugorian
security guards posted unobtrusively nearby.
After Litto had relayed the
course information to Commodore Savath, the reply he received just two hours
later betrayed the nature of the mission they were all undertaking. The
Honor
Guard
would be heading directly into Meltranian-held territory recently
taken from the Kafarans. Worse still, the Rugorian vessel would almost
certainly be detected and destroyed not long after entering the area.
Savath’s proposed solution
was twofold: Litto would first alter his course and head for a nearby Kafaran
outpost two parsecs from their current heading. Once there, Commander Kestrel
and his companions would disembark and board a Kafaran freighter that could
take them deep into enemy territory with less chance of detection. When Litto
had voiced his concerns about how the Kafaran vessel would fare any better than
the
Honor Guard
in enemy territory, Savath informed him that it was not
his concern, and that “everything will be prepared by the time the Honor Guard
reaches the outpost.”
Neither Shawn nor Melissa
had taken the news well. Once the
Honor Guard
dropped them off, there
would be no way—save for Kafaran hospitality—for them to get back to Unified
space once the mission was complete.
“This mission just keeps
getting worse,” Shawn said after Litto had left their quarters.
“You didn’t think it was
going to be easy, did you?” Melissa asked from the four-poster bed where she
was resting. The ornate furnishing would have looked out of place on board
anything but a former privateer.
“I was hoping for it.” He
turned to look out the wide window afforded to them. Beyond the confines of the
ship was the Griffin Nebula, a spiraling mass of orange and pink cosmic dust
and particles encompassing several light-years—not to mention the unofficial
border between Unified and Kafaran space in this sector. With the nebula now
well behind them, they had already entered Kafaran territory. “Skipping into
Kafaran space isn’t my idea of fun.”
“If what Captain Litto says
is true, we’re going to be doing a lot more than just skipping.”
Shawn grunted in
disapproval. “I’d feel a lot better if we had the fleet behind us instead of a
useless nebula. We’re a very small fish in very large and unfriendly pond.” He
turned to see Melissa staring at her watch, a look of dismay on her face. “You
late for something?”
“What?” she asked in
surprise, then realized what she had been doing. “Just counting down the
minutes.”
“Until we get to the
Kafaran outpost?”