Atlantia Series 3: Aggressor (27 page)

‘Take him to the cell block and hold him there,
quietly
,’ the sergeant ordered. ‘No sense in making a fuss now, eh boys?’

***

‘How much was there?’

Captain Idris Sansin sat in his personal quarters and looked at his desk monitor as General Bra’hiv replied.

‘Sixteen barrels of the damned stuff. We’ve transported it already, as per your instructions.’

‘Who found the stash?’

‘Sergeant Qayin,’
Bra’hiv replied.
‘He and his men followed one of Alpha Company’s corporals whom he suspected of being behind the drug’s proliferation. The corporal is now in holding.’

‘Qayin,’ Idris breathed in reply.

The former convict was in many ways like Evelyn, the captain reflected. Both of them were unpredictable and yet loyal in their own ways, both clever and capable of extreme violence when a situation demanded. But whereas Evelyn’s loyalty was virtually unquestioned aboard Atlantia, Qayin remained an unknown quantity.

‘Have the Devlamine mixed with accelerant and loaded as we discussed. I don’t want it useable by Salim and his gangs. Then deploy with Bravo Company to the surface,’ Idris ordered, and then added after a moment of thought: ‘Allow Sergeant Qayin to select his own men personally to join you.’

‘That could be dangerous,’
Bra’hiv warned,
‘the men of Bravo Company are at the highest risk of defecting, especially around pirates when considering their criminal histories.’

‘That’s what I’m thinking,’ Idris replied.

‘Seriously, captain?’

‘Do it,’ Idris confirmed as a beep from his office door alerted him to a visitor. ‘Good luck, general.’

Idris cut off the communication and then flipped a switch to open his door. Mikhain strode in and stood to attention before the captain’s desk.

‘The assault is ready, captain,’ he reported. ‘We’re as prepared as we can be, and this will be our best chance to attack. I still recommend an orbital assault now while we have the advantage of a tactically superior position.’

‘We don’t have enough information about what’s inside Salim’s compound yet,’ the captain replied. ‘I’m not about to commit our forces to a blind assault on an enemy of unknown resources and number.’

The cabin was hot despite the presence of an extractor fan and de-ioniser built into the walls. Images of the captain’s family moved silently on the walls as they detected a human’s gaze, the sound switched off unless commanded otherwise. Mikhain shook his gaze from them and focused on the captain.

‘Sir, we have Evelyn’s information. There is an Atlantia Class frigate down there that could double our strength in an instant and she’s vulnerable. The longer we leave it to deploy our forces, the more chance there is that Salim will use that same vessel to attack us. With his rumoured flotilla of captured vessels he may have sufficient firepower to cause us a great deal of damage.’

‘Noted,’ Idris replied without looking up from the electro-sheet. ‘You’re forgetting about Kordaz, however.’

Mikhain scowled and waved away the air between them.

‘I’d be surprised if we ever see the damned Veng’en again, and I don’t know that I’d trust any information he supplies us with.’

‘You really think that he’d side with Salim Phaeon, after all that he’s done for us?’

‘No,’ Mikhain admitted, ‘but he’d be looking to see our downfall assured just as much as the pirate’s. If he’s down there right now and he’s looking at a second Colonial frigate, you really think he’s not going to consider how that might affect his own people in the future. Our hand will be doubly strong against any Veng’en vessel we encounter and that’s got to play on his mind just as it would on ours were the situation reversed.’

Captain Sansin sighed and set his engineering report down on the desk before him. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, pinched them between forefinger and thumb.

‘I think that you underestimate the value of placing trust in people.’

‘I think that you place too much trust in questionable allies,’ Mikhain retorted. ‘What the hell do you think Taron Forge will do when he gets down there to Salim’s compound?’

‘He’ll provide Salim with Devlamine,’ Idris replied.

‘What Devlamine?’ We don’t have any to…’

Mikhain broke off, his eyes wide as the captain spoke.

‘The Devlamine stash was located by Bravo Company’s Marines. It turned out an Alpha Company corporal had hidden the stash below decks.’

Mikhain forced himself not to try to clear his throat as he spoke. ‘Do we have a name?’

‘Corporal Djimon,’ Idris replied. ‘An otherwise exemplary soldier, although he has in the past been reprimanded for misconduct during operations. He’s being held in the cells.’

‘Has he revealed anything more, captain?’ Mikhain asked, his throat tight.

‘Not at this time, but he’s locked down right now and somebody we can deal with later. Our priority right now is to recover our people from Chiron IV,’ he said. ‘It is also to recover the Arcadia from Salim Phaeon.’

‘You’re risking lives by not taking immediate action!’

‘I’m saving lives by not listening to you!’ Idris shot back and bolted upright out of his seat. He towered over Mikhain, his big hands balled into fists by his side. ‘If you’d had your way, you’d have already bombarded the compound and killed many of the people we’re trying to save. By taking our time we’re increasing their chances of survival.’

‘Or condemning them.’

Idris shook his head as he stepped out from behind his desk.

‘This is why we had an admiralty and direct contact with Ethera during time of siege or stalemate,’ he said. ‘Such decisions cannot rest upon the shoulders of just two senior officers.’

‘So put it to a ship-wide vote,’ Mikhain suggested.

‘And have unseasoned civilians casting their opinions on military matters for which they have no training and no experience?’

‘You’ve told General Bra’hiv that you want them to have a voice.’

‘I don’t want to hand them the damned command!’

Mikhain tried to keep his voice level. ‘We only ended up in this situation because you insisted on following a Veng’en cruiser to Wraithe. We would never have set foot on Chiron IV if it were not for…’

‘You can’t possibly know that,’ Idris shot back. ‘We would have needed supplies whether we were following another ship or not. What’s your point here, Mikhain?’

The XO stared at the captain for a long moment.

‘I’m just trying to offer an alternative voice for your…’

‘You’re offering your opinions against mine,’ Idris cut him off, ‘at almost every opportunity. If I didn’t know better I’d say that you’re thinking that I’m not longer fit to command and that you should be the one up there giving the orders.’

‘I didn’t say that captain and…’

‘You didn’t have to!’ Idris almost shouted. ‘It’s written all over your face, Mikhain! You want this command, you always have. Why do you think I chose Andaim over you to act as captain of this ship when communicating with Salim?’

Mikhain tried to work his jaw but it felt suddenly numb. ‘I, I don’t…’

‘You think it’s because I trust Andaim more than you?’

Mikhain kept his expression as neutral as he possibly could. ‘I have no idea, sir.’

‘No, you don’t,’ Idris replied. ‘And that’s the problem. You cannot act while observing your own performance, Mikhain. You command from a bubble of experience and authority, but you never look at the bigger picture from the perspective of those whom you command.’

Mikhain frowned. ‘I don’t think I’m following.’

‘You, if you had felt it necessary, would have ordered a full assault on Salim’s compound the moment you’d realised that Evelyn was telling you the Arcadia was down there.’

Mikhain raised his chin. ‘Yes, I would have.’

‘And yet you would therefore have left Atlantia with a greatly reduced Marine presence in the face of the great civilian unrest that you also can’t seem to shut up about.’

Mikhain blinked as he realised what the captain was driving at.

‘The civilians would be contained and…’

‘It’s not about whether they would be contained,’ Idris snapped. ‘It’s about balancing what you want to do with what you reasonably
can
do. I need the entire ship on my side so that I can deploy Marines without having to worry about whether the Atlantia will be here when they get back. What you don’t understand, Mikhain, is that while you feel strong in a position of command with squadrons of fighters and platoons of Marines at your back, the truth is that we’re
weak
. We are
divided
. We are
insecure
. One false move, one error of judgement and this whole house of cards could fall apart, especially if Salim even catches a whiff of the fact that we’re only half as strong as we look right now.’

Mikhain swallowed thickly.

‘I had not considered that, sir.’

‘No, you had not,’ Idris agreed. ‘Many of the people down there on that planet are our most loyal officers and Marines. Countless others are slaves who have no defence against their piratical overlords and would no doubt welcome our intervention. But if we bombard them from orbit and then launch Marines in an assault, endangering them ourselves and perhaps subjecting them to possible execution from their pirate overlords, casualties from friendly fire and injury from plasma blasts, how do you think they’ll feel about us then Mikhain?’

The XO stood for several long seconds, and then it was as though his lungs emptied in one great blast as his shoulders sagged.

The captain watched his second-in-command for a moment before continuing.

‘I chose Andaim to act as captain because I know that he has strong feelings for Evelyn,’ he said. ‘Those emotions would temper him, prevent him from going to far in his negotiations with Salim Phaeon. Andaim feels as though he has failed, that he has shown weakness before Salim and that he has weakened our position as a result. In fact, he has strengthened it.’

Mikhain frowned. ‘How?’

‘Because Salim now thinks that Atlantia’s captain can be manipulated, an illusion that I’m happy to maintain. I actually have no intention of bombarding Salim’s compound from orbit – I just want Taron Forge to head down there with that impression, and to pass it on to Salim in his negotiations, to make them think that I will sacrifice people if it’s necessary. I have every intention of recovering Arcadia into our hands and liberating those slaves and hostages the pirates might be holding. You’re always telling me how we should give the civilians aboard Atlantia a voice.’ Idris looked into the XO’s eyes. ‘What would you think the best way of liberating the slaves down on Chiron IV would be?’

Mikhain took only a moment to process what he had heard.

‘Turning them against the pirates, provoking some kind of revolt,’ he murmured. ‘They must outnumber the pirates ten to one.’

‘At least,’ Idris agreed. ‘We’re not going to assault the compound. We’re going to arm the slaves and let them revolt together, backed by our Marines.’

‘But it’s suicide!’ Mikhain exclaimed. ‘A single platoon down there can’t hope to succed, and we’ll never deploy in time to support them. It’s like you want the damned mission to fail and…’

Mikhain stared into space as a sudden rush of revelations tumbled down upon him. Using Taron to get Bravo Company’s Marines down onto the surface, the cargo of Devlamine as a draw. Sending Qayin instead of Bra’hiv or C’rairn.’

‘You’re switching the crew out,’ Mikhain realised. ‘You’re putting people you do not trust down on the surface and dumping the Devalmine with them.’

‘People with no interest in supporting either Salim Phaeon or us,’ Idris replied. ‘Given the chance they’ll flee at the first opportunity, thus weakening Salim Phaeon’s position by provoking a retreat and strengthening our own in the confusion.’

‘We’ll deploy as soon as the chaos starts,’ Mikhain imagined the confrontation. ‘Salim will have his hands full trying to contain the revolt and control his own people.’

‘And will be outnumbered and then out-manoeuvered by our Marines,’ Idris completed the picture. ‘Our Raythons will control the skies at the same time, without Atlantia having to launch a single missile against the surface.’

Mikhain’s eyes sparkled at the intrigue even as a terrible guilt and dismay poisoned his innards.

***

The whine of massive ion engines awoke Evelyn with a start. She lifted her head from the bed of soft, clean pillows and cushions that were arranged in massive piles around Salim’s throne room, saw Teera and Ishira likewise look up.

Salim appeared from his private quarters and strode across to one of the broad shuttered windows. He threw it open and the dawn sunlight streamed in and with it a panoramic view of the ocean. There, sweeping in toward the compound, was a freighter that Evelyn recognised instantly.

‘The Phoenix,’ Ishira growled as she spotted the craft. ‘That bastard’s the one who put us here.’

‘Taron Forge,’ Evelyn acknowledged.

The freighter swept past the compound and turned in mid-air as it hovered before settling down onto its landing gear. The whine from its engines faded away as Salim stood with his hands on his hips and turned to two Ogrin waiting patiently nearby.

‘Escort him here,’ he ordered.

The two Ogrin lumbered obediently away and Salim turned to two sleepy looking pirates, each with their arms draped around a hybrid.

‘Go with them,’ Salim snapped. ‘Taron’s too slippery to be left with those imbecilic oafs.’

Both pirates grimaced at the intrusion into their slumber, but they both hauled themselves to their feet and grabbed plasma weapons as they set off in pursuit of the Ogrin.

‘What are you doing back here so soon, Taron?’ Salim asked himself out loud.

Evelyn waited until Salim left the throne room, and then she turned to Teera.

‘Why have they let him go?’ Teera asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Evelyn admitted. ‘Maybe he’s managed to escape somehow?’

‘You captured Taron Forge?’ Ishira asked, one hand draped over her daughter’s still-sleeping body.