Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Consequence (18 page)

              "I planted a bomb on their transport," admitted Tana.  "It would have detonated as they fled the planet."

              "Kill the whole team and everything," said one of the unidentified Confed soldiers, a shocked look on his face.  "For a group of people who claim to be so evolved, you sure seem to be picking up a lot of our dirty human habits."

              "Yes," was all Tana could say.  The camera's operator got up and turned to approach Loren Stone, then the video paused its playback.

              There was silence in the council chamber.  Ravine could hear her own heart beating.  The Commander of the Priman military, conspiring to kill his own people in order to get his way?  To rule and command as he saw fit, perhaps protect his own power base in doing so?  This was a humanoid defect, not something the Primans were capable of.  Wasn't it?

              "A lie, planted by the Confederation," the outspoken council member spat.

              "To what end?" asked the chair woman.  "With Representative Velk here, he could verify or dispute that evidence."

              "Is he still a Representative?" another member asked.

              "That is a relevant question.  We will vote.  Reinstate or ban; fill out your submissions now."

              The council wrote their choices down on old fashioned slips of paper, collected by a page who presented them to the chair woman in front of the whole assembly.  It was a point of tradition that everyone on the council tabulated the numbers to verify the count.  Ravine, having no vote, was left to stand at attention and wonder.

              The chair woman read off the votes, reinstatement carrying by a safe margin but by no means unanimous.

              "He is officially reinstated," noted the chair woman.  "Representative Velk returns."

              "Then we need him to verify this recording."

              "Indeed.  Whether he is a prisoner or escort for the Confederation captive, he must return to us. 

              "There is a greater question to address," the chair woman continued solemnly.  Ravine watched the members faces, and those she'd pegged earlier did indeed look as nervous as she thought they'd be.  "Has the Commander committed a serious enough breach of authority and role that he should be removed?"

              One of his supporters gathered enough courage to speak out.  "The Commander has wide latitude in accomplishing the objectives we've set.  We need to hear him out before accusing him of trying to kill the Representative."

              "I think his actions as of late have spoken for themselves," said a new member, one who had as of yet to utter a single word.  "He has, according to this evidence, conspired to kill Representative Velk.  That is beneath us as a people, and we should expect better of our leaders.  In addition, he is the one who chose to back Senator Dennix of the Confederation, a deceitful and dishonorable man who will mire the Confederation in turmoil as well.  Perhaps they are too much alike?  In any case, I no longer think the Commander should be in control of our entire military."

              New members spoke up, all the way down the table until everyone had said their piece.  In typical Priman fashion, the speeches were not long winded, and averaged only a minute or two. 

              The council voted: remove the Commander or state their confidence in him. 

              The votes were finally counted and Ravine held her breath as they were tallied.

              It was a tie: five to five.

              "We have two members absent," stated the chair woman to the gallery, who had never seen this before. "We still have a quorum, however.  In a tie, the deciding vote falls to the Commander."  She looked around at the other council members, eyes finally settling on Ravine.

              "Since the Commander is not here, his proxy will vote.  Representative Ravine, you are a senior Representative, next in line for the role of Commander."  The chair woman nodded and the page walked around the table, scrap of paper, writing stylus, and a tablet to write on in hand.  He set them on the table off to the side of her lone, creaky chair.

              "Please vote."

              Ravine looked around at the gallery and was met with silence.  She spun her head back to the council.  "But my vote could result in my own promotion to Commander.  I must abstain!"

              "It is an honorable gesture, Representative, and I am happy to hear you express it.  But it falls to you.  Are you not ready to assume the role, should that be what you choose?"

              "No," Ravine admitted, trying to keep her voice strong.  "I have only been a senior Representative for a few months.  The role of Commander is one of honor, dedication and experience.  I am not yet qualified."

              "Who
is
qualified?" asked the chair woman.

              Ravine made to speak but stopped.  Who was in fact most qualified?  Who had all the traits she admired, that would suit a person for the job?  She knew instantly, of course, but realized she had a hard time saying it.

              "Representative Velk," Ravine replied.

              "And yet tradition dictates he cannot resume his duties as Commander," the chair reminded her.  "However, considering the severity of the current Commander's charges, should he be found guilty he would not return as a Representative.  There would be a place for Representative Velk to advise you, should you see fit to do so."

              "To be clear," Ravine said, thinking out loud, "my options are to let the Commander continue on a path that I believe is in the wrong, or effectively promote myself to Commander."

              "Those are your choices."

              Ravine's mind raced.  Of course she wanted to be Commander someday.  If you didn't want that responsibility eventually, you shouldn't be a Representative in the first place.  But to do the job well she needed more experience.  She couldn't afford to do the job badly; her people were already wandering astray and needed a strong will to bring them back to their simple path.  Still, it seemed fairly clear what needed to be done.

              She leaned over the table and scribbled her answer on the paper, the page then carrying it to the council chair woman for review.  She read the words on the paper.

              "Representative Ravine votes to remove the Commander."  The gallery's noise level rose as people talked, sometimes animatedly so.  The chair woman waited a minute for the din to die down, then looked at Ravine with a hint of a smile.  "I knew you'd made the right choice."

              "I won't let the council down," Ravine assured them as she stood tall in front of them.

              The chair woman removed a pendant she wore around her neck.  It was made of gold, a precious metal since the beginning of Priman legends.  The chain was old, thousands and thousands of years so; long since past anyone keeping track any more.  The chain and pendant were dull now, scratched and scuffed after all the years around the necks or on the desks of council members.

              "This totem is one of several the council uses to display our mandate," she began, holding it high for the gathered Primans in the gallery to see.  "It has been passed down for so long we no longer have any written history that does not include its reference.  I give this to you, Commander."  The council chair held the chain out with both hands across the table.  Ravine realized she was supposed to approach.  She stepped to the table, then leaned forward for the chair woman to place it around her neck.  The pendant sat heavy on her; gold was a substantial metal, and she imagined that one could not help but draw the connection to the weight around one's neck and the power that person also held.

              "What are my orders?" Ravine asked.

              "You will take Representative Tash into custody to face this council.  There is the chance he could be exonerated, should this evidence prove false or testimonies coerced.  If that were the case, you both would revert to your previous roles as Representative and Commander.  But he is officially relieved of his duties and title until that has been accomplished."

              "What of Representative Velk and Commander Stone?"

              "Take them into your custody.  As Commander, you may deal with their situation as you see fit until they are called to return to the council."

              "And what of our position regarding the Confederation?"

              The chair woman paused at that.  She clasped her hands, set them on the table, clasped them again as she looked up and down the table as her peers.  "Our cease fire will remain in place.  Should their government change, we will evaluate all new options at that time."

              That was as big an answer as Ravine had ever heard.  The council chair had essentially told her that all avenues were open at that point, from total war to an actual, legitimate arrangement with Confed and perhaps the rest of the galaxy.  She tried to stop her head from spinning.

              "The fleet is yours to command," the chair woman reminded Ravine.  "Do you have a flagship chosen?"

              "Captain Vol and the Scythe," Ravine replied quickly.  She'd sailed on his ship many times and found him to be capable, loyal, and smart. 

              "Then you are dismissed, Commander.  Retrieve the Representative and stop him from anything else that might bring doubt and shame to our people."

Ten

              Loren and Velk sat next to each other in the shuttle as it approached a Priman heavy cruiser.  Their bindings were tight and there were severe looking guards sitting across from them; no talking allowed, apparently.

              Loren saw through the viewports the ship they were docking with.  Something was different; there were extra blisters by the engines and a protrusion ran around the circumference of the ship around the waist.  It took a second, but he finally placed it.  It looked like the experimental Priman stealth ships Avenger had discovered what seemed like ages ago.  The Primans had attempted sensor cloaking technology like Confed, but they just couldn't master it.  Avenger's fighter screen had detected the arrivals and attacked, decimating the formation.  Apparently there was one more in the inventory.  Interesting that Tash would use it for his flagship.

              The shuttle set down and the guards roughly prodded Loren and Velk to their feet. 

              "Looks like you're more prisoner than you thought," Loren muttered to Velk, and got a rough shove in the back as a consequence.

              They were paraded across the landing bay, then down a corridor a few frames and into a conference room of some sort.  The Commander was waiting there.  He stood and indicated the guards should stand Loren and Velk up against the bulkhead across from him.

              "This will make things considerably easier," the Commander said simply as he nodded, as if checking something off a mental to-do list.  "Commander Stone, anything I can do to impede Avenger and her crew is appreciated.  And Representative Velk.  You are going to ruin the Priman takeover of this galaxy.  Why bargain with these savages?"

              "Many reasons," Velk said.  "They've earned our respect, at the very least.  They won't stop fighting us until we've laid waste to this entire part of space.  And the longer we do this, the more we lose our own way.  I'm absolutely convinced of that now; we have gone astray as a people."

              "On the contrary, Representative.  We will win.  And I'm going to do it right now."  The Commander touched a panel on the bulkhead behind him.  "This is the Commander.  Execute my previous cached order; we move for Confederation space."

              Loren and Velk both looked at him in shock.  "What are you doing?" asked Velk.

              "I'm going to settle this now," the Commander explained as if he were talking to a dim pupil.  "We have a treaty with Confed.  We will approach and your fleet will do nothing.  Once we are in your midst, we will open fire and ravage your fleet before you can fight back.  We will repeat this until we are at Delos itself and I raze the planet to the bedrock.  No more of this talk of concessions, of negotiations.  We are in charge here, and after we destroy the Confederation nobody else will stand against us either.  We will take back this galaxy!  And once that is done, the council will see I was right after all.  You have grown weak, Representative.  You started this war with such purpose; where has it gone?"

              "I look at you and see why we must change, Commander.  That's what happened."

              The Commander stared daggers at Velk, then turned to leave, motioning for the guards to stay with the captives.

              In orbit above Callidor, seventy Priman capital ships formed up, cruised away from the planet's gravity well, and engaged their hyperdrives.

              "That is all kinds of not-good," Lieutenant Caho muttered as she watched the sensors at her bridge station on Avenger.  The ship was far out-system, floating just above the surface of a rogue moon with the mag-shield at full and passive sensors cranked up to their maximum.

              "Problem?" asked Captain Elco as he walked back to her station.  

              "The biggest, Captain."  She pointed to the large display in front of her.  "The Priman home fleet just detached most of itself from orbit and formed up before jumping into hyperspace.  They're headed roughly back towards Confed territory."

              Elco sighed.  It was always something, and in this case 'something' was enough firepower to seize a planet or take on any fleet Confed had.  "Any news about Loren and Velk?"

              "Nothing I've been able to-" she stopped talking as she snapped her head back towards the screens.  "Comms?" she called out to the communications station. 

              "Got it!" the young human male replied.  "Incoming tight beam message from the surface to the Ravine cruiser.  It's in the clear; not coded at all."

              "Think we were meant to hear whatever they're about to send?" asked Elco of the comms officer.

              "Maybe sir.  I'll have something shortly."

              True to his word, the officer put the message up on the main viewscreen on the forward bulkhead.  It was a translated text-only message.  It read: Representative Tash has been relieved as Commander pending an inquiry into his actions.  Representative Ravine named new Commander.  Will arrive shortly.  We will gather remaining fleet and pursue Representative Tash; he may be headed to Confed territory.  Had Representative Velk and the Confed officer with him.  Will depart as soon as Commander arrives aboard Scythe."

              "Yes, I definitely think that was meant for us," Elco said heavily.  He'd seen enough to know that this was destined to end in a shooting match.  He sat back down in his chair and keyed the shipwide intercom.  "Attention Avenger.  The XO and our Priman ally Representative Velk have been taken into custody by a large Priman fleet that just left this system.  We don't know where they're headed for sure but they can't be up to any good.  More Primans are forming up for pursuit; it seems like there might be a power struggle here.  Our plan is to shadow them and keep track of our XO and Velk.  We'll attempt a rescue if it warrants.  Battle stations, all crew.  Let's be ready."

              Elco turned to the front of the bridge.  "Helm, keep us to the aft quarter of this second Priman fleet with the Ravine cruiser in it.  They'll probably be able to track their own ships better than us, so we'll just stay passive and tag along for now."

              "Yes sir," was the crisp reply.

              Aboard the battleship Majestic, Admiral Bak paced around the flag officer's plotting room just behind the main bridge.  While originally sequestered aboard Fleet Admiral Privac's carrier and on a short leash due to his house arrest, he'd recently been cut loose and had placed his flag aboard Captain Montari's battleship.  His orders from Fleet Admiral Privac had been to use this fleet to patrol this particular section of the Confed/Priman front lines. 

              The real reason, of course, was that the off-the-books op he'd been running for the fleet admiral required him to be hereabouts in case Avenger came back from Priman space in need of assistance.  He'd given Avenger loose orders and plenty of discretion on how to get Velk back among his people; Captain Elco knew that a small fleet was here waiting if he needed help.

              He'd been keeping to the flag plot against his normal patterns.  He usually liked to be seen in the main bridge, especially one so large as a battleship's that he wouldn't get in the way.  But for now, it was best if fewer people saw him and remembered his presence here.

              "Admiral," an aide called from over at a bank of consoles, "I have a transmission you might want to see.

              Bak walked over and inspected the message packet the woman was showing him.  It was logged by Majestic's comm officer; an in-the-clear message that was apparently emanating from a beat up old freighter a half hours' time out from the fleet.  The odd thing was, the computer had flagged it as having a number of SAR recognition and distress codes in the text.

              Bak stood up and stared out a porthole as he ran through the operations he knew about.  No reason any SAR op he was privy to should be anywhere near here.

              "It's going to cross into Confed space?"

              "In about thirty minutes, Admiral," the crewwoman replied.

              "But it's definitely not a Confed ship?"

              "Nothing our computers recognize."

              Bak pulled in a big breath and held it for a second, then turned to her.  "Have Captain Montari send a destroyer to intercept and investigate once it crosses into our territory.  If there's a SAR mission going on that's leaving Priman space, I want in on it."

              "We've received a response to the hail," Web said softly to Halley.  They were alone on the bridge, the senators off to plan their return to the halls of Delos.  Many talked of action against Senator Dennix; some wanted trials, some wanted a simple investigation, and a few old allies scoffed at the stories Halley and Web had told of his treachery.

              Halley and Web had tuned them out by remaining on the bridge.  Several times, a senator had approached them about either supporting his or her cause or trying to somehow draft them into working for the politician or demanding constant updates on everything from their position in space to the water supply.  They'd politely declined and learned a quick lesson; other than Senator Thyatt, they weren't in any big hurry to get to know their elected officials.

              The freighter's bridge was a sharp contrast to Avenger's.  The freighter's control area was dimly lit, with a section of ceiling lighting inoperative.  Fans wheezed and scraped in their enclosures as they blew cool air around the electronics.  Even the environmental system was noisy and finicky; it had stopped working twice in the day they'd been in hyperspace.  It would all be over soon, they hoped.

              "Good news or bad?" Halley replied as she leaned closer to Web's display to see the information. 

              Web was immediately distracted by Halley's proximity, and he figured she knew it.  She could probably hear his ragged breathing.  "I won't be able to fly this tub if you keep being all sexy with your female charms and all that."

              She didn't move her head, just looked at him out of the corners of her eyes and smiled.

              "I could fly us right into a sun or something."

              "You like it."

              "Maybe."

              "Besides," she countered, sitting back in her chair again, "I'm bruised up, have a gimpy leg, and am wrapped in bandages.  That's not so not, I think."

                "I just imagine helping you remove all those bandages.  And the clothes under them, of course."

              "Of course."

              Halley continued to smile, but pointed a finger at Web's display.  "While you daydream dirty thoughts, can you show me what the message said?"

              "Ah, I don't remember," Web said as he glanced at the display.  "Something about a fleet, Confed, Admiral, yah yah yah.  Get back over here."

              Halley laughed again as she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before getting to the display.  She tapped a few commands and reviewed the information.

              "Um, Web," she said, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and concern.  "You really didn't read this, did you?"

              "Nope; busy staring at you."  He glanced over at her again as he adjusted course a bit and gave a quick once-over on the engine readouts.  Running hot, naturally, but they probably wouldn't explode before they were well into Confed space.  Life was good.

              "It's a Confederation destroyer, attached to a fleet patrolling near here.  We're supposed to heave to and prepare to answer some questions about what we were doing in Priman space."

              That finally broke through to Web.  He sat up straighter and tried to get something more out of the freighter's paltry scanning suite.  "What's the info on the fleet?"

              "Fourteenth, it says."  She pursed her lips and stared out the front viewport for a minute.  "I can't recall that number.  Might be new, which means we don't know anything about the people attached to it.  Are they loyalists, independents, report directly to Senator Dennix, that sort of thing.  I'm not quite ready to have those people back there stolen from us."

              "Let's get on the radio and answer the hail, then," Web said.  "We'll run some Confed Navy protocols so they don't fire on us, then we'll make it up as we go based on who's in charge."

              "That's a pretty sad plan, but I guess it's all we have."  She patted his hand.  "Go for it."

              Web nodded and tapped the transmit toggle.  "Confederation destroyer Magnetar," Web began, "I'm Commander Second Rank Web Exeter, of CSS Avenger.  I'm returning from a sanctioned mission and need to know who's in charge of this fleet."

              There was silence from the other end.  What could be the problem?  Web looked at Halley, who only shrugged.

              "Unidentified freighter," a voice said through the speakers.  "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot.  This is the CSS Magnetar, a Confederation destroyer.   I am attached to a fleet that considers you a potential security threat.  You will heave-to and prepare to answer some questions.  Is that clear, or should I try another language?"