Shadow Space Chronicles 1: The Fallen Race (24 page)

Lauren stepped forward and held out a hand, “I’m Lieutenant Lauren Kelly.  I’m here to kill Chxor.”

The man smiled and took her hand, “Well, what do you know?  So am I.”

***

February 2, 2403 Earth Standard Time

Zeta Proxima System

Colonial Republic Space

“
You’re either a historian with a sense of irony or a tactical genius.” Kandergain muttered over Lucius’ shoulder as arrived on the bridge.

He looked up at her, “Excuse me?”

“You just happened to pick Zeta Tau and Alpha Seven as your base, which has rapid transit to Zeta Proxima,” Kandergain said.  “Which in turn has quick transit through shadow space to Faraday.  Either that, or you were thinking of the PCRA attack on the convoy from Alpha Seven.  They just happened to stage that here, as well, I believe.  First successful strike against the might of Amalgamated Worlds.  Seeking a bit of that luck?  Or was it just the opportune transit time?”

“
Can’t I do both?” Lucius smiled slightly, “Though I’d hardly consider the butchery of that convoy a victory, I do feel that launching our first strike from here may be slightly auspicious.”  He shrugged, “I’ll take what advantages I can.”

Kandergain only nodded, then took her new seat there on the bridge.  She’d suggested a spot at navigation and Lucius made room for her there.  She looked odd, dressed in her rugged civilian dress amongst the uniforms of the crew.

Lucius rapped his fingers on the arm of his chair.  He mentally ticked away the seconds.  The
War Shrike
and the
Gebneyr
along with the converted fighter carrier
Success
sat with weapons, engines, and shields online and active.  He didn’t really expect any of his allies to pounce in and attack directly.

He just couldn't trust that they wouldn’t.

“I’m surprised no one was here waiting for us yesterday, sir,” Anthony Doko said.

Lucius nodded, “I honestly expected it.”

“Well, just as well—“

“
Multiple contacts, Baron!” Lieutenant Palmer cried, “A lot of ‘em too!”  There was a long pause, “Looks like a Desperado battleship and a couple Independence-class light cruisers.”

Lucius let out a sigh, “Admiral Mannetti then... and that would be the
Peregrine.
”

Captain Doko grimaced, “I wish there’d been some way to stop her.”

Lucius shook his head, “If we had, we wouldn’t have her support now.  We need the
Peregrine
and otherwise the Chxor probably would have destroyed her by now.”  It felt good, somehow, to know that the
War Shrike
still had a sister ship left, even if it was in the dubious hands of a traitorous pirate.

Lucius opened a link to the other ship, “Lady Kale, I’m glad you accepted my invitation.”

“It was so graciously offered, I could do nothing but accept, darling.  When do we leave?”  Kandergain rolled her eyes and Captain Doko made a gagging gesture.

“
I’ll do a briefing once we have all our companions.  We should be expecting Admiral Collae as well as some Garu vessels soon.”

“
Oh, marvelous, I do so love working with… experienced partners.”

Lucius managed to say something gracious before he cut the link.  “Is she just out of practice, or has she always been that annoying?”

Captain Doko frowned, “She’s pretty nasty to those she doesn’t need to suck up to, trust me sir.”

“
Oh, I believe you.” Lucius said.  He fingered the scar on his chest.

“
Sir, I got 'nother bunch emerging from shadow.” Lieutenant Palmer said.  “Looks like them no-mads.”  A half dozen ships appeared on the screens.  They were all cruiser sized, but Lucius knew that much of their hulls consisted of cargo and living space.  The Garu ships would be formidable, but not as dangerous as true warships their size.

Before Lucius could open a link, Lieutenant Palmer forwarded him one from the Garu.  “Baron Lucius, I see that your other allies have arrived.  When do we discuss terms?”  The dark haired man still wore his purple scarf, and the same bright gold hoop earrings.

“As soon as Admiral Collae gets here, I’ll brief everyone, and we can discuss division of spoils.” Lucius answered.

“
Understood.  Garu out.”

They waited several hours before the last group of contacts emerged.  Admiral Collae’s force emerged in tight formation, two destroyers flanking the light cruiser, with the carrier positioned to the rear.  “Looks like an Independence cruiser for Collae’s flagship, sir.  She’s pretty heavily modified, though.” Lieutenant Palmer paused a moment, “He’s definitely changed out the weapons systems at least.”

“Admiral Collae,” Lucius began, “Glad—”

“
Save the greetings for someone who cares,” Collae’s voice was gruff.  “Looks like everyone else is here.  Let’s hear your plan, and haggle on the price.”

Lucius smiled slightly, “Of course, Admiral.  Give me a moment to set up a conference call, and we’ll begin.”  He paused a moment, “I’m not seeing Mistress Blanc.”

“She arrived earlier.”

“
Sir, I’ve got a new contact.”  Lieutenant Palmer said, “It’s, well, she’s…”  He broke off and brought up the icon.  The previously stealthed battlecruiser lay only three thousand kilometers behind the
War Shrike
, easily in striking distance.

He shot a dark glance at Kandergain.

She shrugged, “I’m not omniscient.”

“
Obviously,” Lucius said.  “Lets hope our insurance policy works out.”

***

“…
consists of the plan.” Lucius said.

“
That’s it?” Admiral Collae shook his head, his dark eyes cold.  “At least you won’t be around afterward to take the blame for failure.”

“
It does lack… options.” Admiral Mannetti said.  “If one part of the plan fails—“

“
Then the entire plan will fail.” Lucius said, “Yes, I know.  But we’ve limited resources, and I’m sure, none of you want to split the rewards with any more partners.”

“
Speaking of which… Lucius, we haven’t yet agreed on appropriate division of wealth.” Admiral Mannetti said, her voice sultry.  “I believe the most fair—”

“
The only way to do it is equal shares for all involved parties,” the Garu leader said.  “Each of us gets a quarter of the vessels.”

Admiral Mannetti made a grimace of distaste, “That is hardly equitable, considering the firepower some people have brought.  My own force is considerably—“

“Equal shares is acceptable.” Admiral Collae growled.  “All four of us will take similar risks.”  A slight flicker of annoyance crossed Admiral Mannetti’s face, “If we argue over relative worth of ships, my crews are better trained than your own and Mistress Blanc’s ship, which I bring, will perform a task that no one else can match.”

“
My proposal is that there be five equal shares,” Lucius began.  “One for each of us, and one for the Faraday colony, since—”

“
I don’t think so,” Admiral Collae snapped, “You’re going to control that planet when we finish here and that would mean you get two fifths of the Dreyfus Fleet.”

Lucius let out a breath, “That’s not my intention at all—”

“I’m sure it isn’t darling.” Admiral Mannetti said, “But perhaps cutting them in for part of the fleet is a bit generous.  After all, what have they done so far without our help?”

Lucius stared at her.  He wondered at her callous nature, if she felt nothing for the thousands dying even now under Chxor rule.  “They’re going to be seizing the planetary defenses—”

“And they’ll be rewarded with their freedom from the Chxor,” Admiral Collae said, his gravelly voice stern, “This is not a charity case, Baron.  None of us are naïve.  Let us get on with the bargaining.”

“
The Garu people have little interest in warships, but we want first pick of the transports and cargo ships,” the spokesman for the nomads said.

“
First pick?”  Admiral Mannetti’s eyes narrowed, “I thought we were going with equal shares, split down the middle.”

“
We forgo any rights to warships, we only want ships with cargo capacity or construction capabilities.”  The Garu leader said, “You three may divide the warships equally, but we must receive three quarters of all transport craft in return.”

“
Sounds reasonable enough,” Lucius said.  Neither of the others argued.  He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

“
What about any Chxor ships we capture?” Collae asked, “How do we divide those?”

“
More straightforward with that,” Lucius said, “Whatever group receives the surrender, or whose troops seize a vessel retains it.  They can then trade or bargain with those ships as they see fit.”  He scanned the faces, “Lady Kale, you don’t like that?”

Admiral Mannetti frowned, “That’s… not going to work well for those of us without Marines available.”

“I thought you were heavy on boarding crews?” Lucius asked, eyes narrowing.

“
Yes, quite.” She smiled, “But still, I think you will have the advantage, certainly with the course of your plan.”  She shot a glance over at Admiral Collae, who maintained a stone-faced silence.  “You will be in position to deploy your own boarding parties better than us.  And you’ve given the Garu a tasking that specifically will aide them the capture of ships.”

“
I think I’ll be a bit busy dodging the Chxor to capitalize on ships I damage,” Lucius said, “And as for the Garu…”

“
We have little interest in warships, especially crippled warships.  We’ll trade those we capture at a premium for transport and cargo vessels.”

“
Still…” Mannetti frowned.

“
Unless you have a better alternative, one we can agree on, then we move on,” Admiral Collae snapped.  “We all know what the real prize is anyway.”

Lucius nodded, “Then there are no further discussions on strategy and payment?”

“When do we confirm the presence of the Dreyfus Fleet?” Collae said.

“
What?” Lucius asked.

“
For all we know, Baron, this is all a story dressed up by that smuggler to enable you to capture Faraday.” Collae gave Lucius a basilisk stare.  “When do you give us the coordinates, and how do we confirm the fleet is there?”

“
That, I’m afraid, is going to be a matter of trust.” Lucius said.  Admiral Manneti burst into light, mocking laughter in response.  He spoke over the laughter of Mannetti, “We have no way to enter the system and scan that section of space without alerting the Chxor to our presence and interest.”  He shrugged, “My insertion force discovered the Chxor already seeded the planet and a good portion of the surrounding space with sensor satellites.  We don’t have much time, I fear, before the Chxor discover the fleet themselves, we certainly don’t have time to covertly arrive, verify the Dreyfus Fleet’s position, and then covertly leave.”

Admiral Collae remained silent for a long time, “What happens if you die?  Does the secret of the Dreyfus Fleet die with you?”

“Admiral, the Faraday system is quite large.  I am sure, however, that someone with sufficient patience and tenacity can scan the entire system.  You know it’s there, I can’t very well hide the entire star system from you.” Lucius shrugged, “In this, as I said, I think you just have to trust me.”

“
I think we can take Lucius at his word, on this.” Admiral Mannetti said with a tolerant smile.

“
Thank you, Lady Kale.”

“
Don’t mention it, darling.”

“
How long does our partnership last then?” the Garu leader asked.  “How long until I must watch my back for the knife?”

Admiral Mannetti smiled slightly, “Oh, I think you’re quite safe from that, dear.”

“It lasts until the job is complete, the Dreyfus Fleet is ours and we go our separate ways,” Lucius said, “Or until one partner betrays the others and voids their share of the profit.”

“
Sounds fair,” Collae said, “If you betray us, we cut you out.”  The unspoken part was that only worked if the betrayal failed.  Obviously, neither Mannetti nor Collae expected their plots to fail.

The silence grew long, and Lucius could hear the knives scraped across the whetstones.  He smiled slightly, “Well, gentlemen and lady, do we have an agreement?”

The others responded with nods and polite laughter from Mannetti.

“
Very well.  Synchronize your clocks, the
War Shrike
will depart in thirty minutes.”

***

“
Unfortunately,” the rebel leader spoke bitterly, “the government of Faraday had quite accurate census records.”  He grunted as they eased another crate of weapons into position on the back of a truck.  “They knew exactly who had weapons, how many, and what types.  They collected them within the first couple days.  Any weapons missing and they killed everyone in the house.”