Vortex incursion, p.27
Vortex Incursion, page 27
With a wide yawn, Korvath decided to turn in early. It had been a long cycle. Before he could rise from his desk, his comm station beeped, and he accepted the call.
Korvath stilled. No one, not even Kreus, would need to confirm who they’d called. “Yes,” he replied guardedly.
Kelley interpreted the delayed response as fear on Korvath’s part.
“I figured you spoke to Kreus when you appeared in Helgart’s orbit,” Korvath replied. “It was smart to position your ship directly in front of the array. The fleet didn’t pick up any of Kreus’s responses. I imagine you can clear the log like Kreus does.”
Gistamia sent to his associates.
“I’ve certainly time to talk to you, Kelley,” Korvath replied. “You’re another SADE, aren’t you?”
“What about the others?” Korvath inquired. “I managed to get an image from your side of the conference.”
Then Kelley walked Korvath through the individuals in the declinator’s image, identifying each by name and race.
“Chief Timmons is human?” Korvath queried in confusion.
“Thank you for the introductions,” Korvath said. “Could I ask why you chose to speak to me? Kreus didn’t give you my name, did he?”
The Reflection’s outpost members heard the same gurgling sound from Korvath.
“The ease with which you acquire information is outstanding,” Korvath said. “So, you chose me. Why?”
“My patience is wearing thin, Kelley,” Korvath admitted. “Kreus and I had worked hard to convince Imperator Deckus to take the meeting with you. Then Tarbar arrived and turned everything on its head.”
Kelley said, testing his understanding of the inquisitor’s authority.
“It was a fleet maneuver. Tarbar ordered Imperator Deckus, who had to obey,” Korvath explained. “So, Kelley, how can I help you? By the way, you know my position, right?”
“Correct,” Korvath responded. “This means I can answer questions and volunteer information, but I can’t actually do much for you.”
“As if Tarbar’s conference stunt wasn’t a bad enough start,” Korvath remarked.
“I tried to tell Tarbar that you didn’t make for the vortex because of some issue that would develop with the peacekeepers,” Korvath said.
“I thought it might be something like that,” Korvath said, pleased to know he had a better grasp of the visitors’ thinking than others who feared them.
Kreus sent.
“You’re not speaking about destroying peacekeepers, are you?” Korvath said, shocked at the implications.
“A rift?” Korvath queried.
“Within peacekeepers, the crews are rotated around the chronometer, and they’ll be found throughout the ship. It’s a matter of preparation in the event of sudden danger,” Korvath said.
The Reflection’s passengers shared some thoughts. Then Kelley sent,
“You’d give up the element of surprise to save lives?” Korvath said in disbelief. It was against every tactic that he’d been taught in training.
Korvath sat thinking at his desk. He was contemplating a mutinous action, and that hurt his conscience.
“You know that it isn’t,” Korvath shot back angrily.
Korvath pulled up a schematic of his peacekeeper and studied it.
Kelley had requested his companions not to communicate with Korvath. He could imagine the burden that rested on the declinator’s slender shoulders.
In the forefront of Korvath’s mind was the destruction of the iron asteroid. The visitors’ weapon was powerful. A close strike against a peacekeeper would penetrate deeply and render a ship incapable of systems control and maneuvering.
“Can you attenuate your weapon?” Korvath asked.
Via Kreus, the outpost members received a peacekeeper’s schematic. It had highlighted areas from Korvath.
“Our transport bays are about two-thirds of the way from bow to aft,” Korvath explained. “They’re the lowest two decks, but the deck above them has repair equipment and crew control for transport launch and recovery.”
Korvath wanted to know about the visitors’ plans, but the call ended. He expected to hear something supportive from Kreus, but the governor remained quiet. He turned off his comm station. It would only accept emergency calls. Then he crawled into his nest, feeling more miserable than he had in a long, long time.
21: Bluff or Lie?
Deckus worked late on the fleet’s strategic defense plan against the visitors’ ship. He regretted sailing his flagship from the rim to Gretren’s group when the inquisitor set his trap, but he didn’t have a choice. Tarbar had ordered him.
When his comm station activated, he knew it was an emergency call that overrode his privacy setting.
Tapping the call acceptance icon, the imperator said, “Deckus here.”
Deckus froze. Everything that Kreus had warned about the visitors’ tech was true. He’d just received a direct call from them. In addition, Korvath had iterated many times that the visitors were to be taken seriously.
“What do you wish to tell me?” Deckus said cautiously.
Deckus thought to object, but the call ended. Immediately, he contacted Gretren and Korvath and relayed Killian’s message.
“Is there a reason that you don’t wish to issue the directives, Imperator?” Gretren inquired. He couldn’t understand Deckus’s reluctance. The visitors had aptly demonstrated their ship’s capabilities.
“I’m wondering if the visitors intend to make me look foolish by making me give orders that panic the fleet. Then nothing happens,” Deckus replied.
Gretren and Deckus discussed the pros and cons of the possible actions by the visitors’ ship, but they couldn’t come to an agreement.
“Korvath, you’ve been quiet,” Deckus said. “Do you have an opinion?”
“Do I think the visitors intend to do as they’ve warned? Absolutely,” Korvath declared with certainty. “I would ask you, Imperator Deckus, what would be your response to the peacekeepers suffering strike damage?”
“I would have to retaliate to protect the fleet,” Deckus replied.
“Understood,” Korvath said. He realized the degree to which the visitors would have to go to convince Deckus to reach the obvious conclusion.
After Deckus ended the call, Gretren called Korvath. “Apologies, Declinator, I could tell by your voice that Imperator Deckus disturbed your sleep. What can we do to defend our ship if the fleet commander doesn’t issue the requested orders?”
Korvath wanted to say that their peacekeeper was probably safe. The visitors knew where he resided, but he was reminded of Kelley’s remarks that he tended to give away his thoughts and feelings. “Probably nothing, Imperator,” he said. “It’ll be a matter of fortune as to which ships remain safe and which ones are damaged.”
The Reflection’s members quietly listened to the flagship’s comms. A quarter of the allotted time passed before they heard Deckus issue his directives nearly word for word as Killian had rendered them.
Throughout the fleet, transports began evacuating peacekeeper bays, and the doors were left open. Oddly, the supply ships did the same.
Killian chose a ship on the outer perimeter of the fleet that was stationed closest to the anomaly.
Trium and Bethley calculated an angle of attack to determine minimum penetration by the scout ship’s beam.
Then Killian compared their calculations to his, and he made minor adjustments. In explanation of his changes, he sent,
Tarbar was woken by his imperator to hear the fleet’s preparations.
“It’s a prudent move, Inquisitor,” the imperator said, which halted Tarbar’s desire to talk to Deckus. He chose to wait and see what developed.
Killian executed the controller’s program.
Utilizing the grav engines to limit the Reflection visibility, the scout ship accelerated and shot from under the ecliptic. Within moments, its pass was complete, and Trium transited the vessel into the dark.
Immediately, the strike, as recorded by the hull sensors, was analyzed.
Killian turned and smiled at his companions. “Then we bluff,” he said.
“Call for you, Imperator Deckus,” the comms officer of the flagship said. “There’s no ship ID.”
“Then it’s the aliens,” Deckus replied. “Transfer it.”
When the comms panel lit on the arm of a bridge command chair, Deckus tapped it.
“We’re about to eliminate your advantages,” Deckus retorted.
The words in Deckus’s mouth were stilled. He hadn’t considered that the visitors’ ship might pose a greater threat than previously understood.
“Why do you ask?” Deckus replied. He had a bad feeling about this line of questioning.
“Dissolves?” Deckus queried incredulously.
The more the SADE spoke, the sicker Deckus became. In his long illustrious career, he’d never felt so overmatched. “Will you allow me some time to speak with Inquisitor Tarbar?” he asked.
Prior to the Reflection’s strike against the peacekeeper, the scouts and their companions had gathered on the small bridge.
Lorelei studied Killian, as if seeing him in a new light. “I would have thought it against safety protocols to house nanites capable of dissolving metal on a small ship like this one,” Lorelei proffered.
“We would agree with you, which is why we don’t carry them,” Bethley replied and winked.
“So, Killian lied,” Bethany surmised.
“I don’t think Alex would have characterized a bluff as a lie,” Lily said.
Kelley laughed. “On the contrary, Alex would have agreed with Lorelei that they’re one and the same thing,” he offered. “Of course, he’d have added something like you’re only allowed to bluff in two circumstances.”
“Which are?” Lorelei coaxed.
“With friends, who know that bluffing is allowed,” Kelley replied, holding up one finger and smiling. Then, dropping his smile and extending a second, he added, “And when you’ve encountered entities intent on doing you harm.”
Tarbar regarded his comms panel. He was grateful to see a ship’s ID, which meant the aliens weren’t calling him again. As it was the flagship, he believed the fleet commander wanted to capitulate. With a sigh, he accepted the call. “I see the fleet is taking a defensive posture. That’s an appropriate measure,” he said.
“I would have thought so, Inquisitor,” Deckus replied sourly. “However, I’ve had a subsequent call from the visitors. They profess to have an additional weapon. It’s some sort of nanotechnology capable of dissolving ship’s metals.”
“Have you any reason to believe them?” Tarbar challenged.
“Inquisitor, I wouldn’t have believed a ship could sail without exhibiting engine flare,” Deckus replied. “As well, I was surprised the visitors’ ship could accelerate so swiftly, that it could dodge a massive barrage, and that it could fire an energy weapon without opening a port. The aliens warned me of damage to a peacekeeper’s transport bays, and they kept their word. So, what am I to think when they tell me that they’ll escalate their attack by releasing alien tech on my ships?”
“They’d have to get close,” Tarbar argued. “That would be your chance to destroy them.”
“How do I know they have to get close?” Deckus rebutted. “Killian said they disperse the nanites via missiles. Also, he asked me who was the fleet’s second-in-command.”
Tarbar swallowed with difficulty. He’d ordered his vessel stationed next to the flagship for safety, and the fleet commander was telling him that the nanites would be targeted against him.
