The Shattered Empire (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 2) (11 page)

Lauren put her hand up to the plate and put her eye to the scanner.  “Lauren Kelly, recruit.”

“Identified.”

Lauren stepped back and looked around.  The elevator had no obvious signs of controls, yet no sooner had she finished stepping back than the elevator went into motion.    There was a disconnected feel, as the elevator shifted downwards and then to the side.  The motion seemed muffled, almost as if it had inertial dampeners.

“We'll talk more when we get to the command section,” Mason said, his face calm.  “The automated security system is a bit touchy.”

“Automated?” Lauren asked.  She didn't know why so much about the base was automated.  For that matter, she didn't know how a pirate, even a legendary pirate like King, had assembled that kind of setup.  Automated security, even the simplest, wasn't cheap.  For that matter, building it and keeping it a secret would be difficult, at best.

Mason nodded, “It's hard to get trustworthy help, you know.”

The motion settled to a stop.  “Identify.”

Mason went through the procedure a second time, followed by Lauren.  The doors opened out into a utilitarian corridor.  It was clearly underground.  Piping and conduits ran along the ceiling.  The lighting came on just after the doors opened.  Lauren caught the sound of other machinery activating as they strode down the corridor.

Lauren made careful note of the path they took, as they went down several identical access corridors and Mason led the way without pause.  The place seemed like a warren and the echo of their footsteps carried off into a number of empty passages.  She would hate to be lost down here, especially in the dark.

They finally came to a stop in front of a large, vault-like access hatch.  Written in bold letters across it was the word 'command.'  It was also labeled in what looked like Chinese symbols and Cyrillic.  Bright orange lettering warned 'authorized personnel only' and as Lauren looked around, she noticed hatches in the floor and ceiling around the door, the sort of hatches that would hide retractable weapons mounts.

Mason stepped up to the access panel.  He repeated his previous cycle.  Then, while Lauren watched, he typed in an additional code.  “Command, allow temporary access to Recruit Lauren Kelly.”

“Temporary access granted,” the soft voice spoke from overhead.  “Please note, temporary access is only good for forty-eight hours.  You will be required to be read-on to  the project, sign the waivers, and be fully in-processed by that time, is that understood, Recruit Kelly?”

“Uh, yes?” Lauren said.

“Your acceptance is binding under Amalgamated Worlds regulation seven, chapter five, paragraph three,” the automated voice said.  “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Lauren looked over at Mason, “Amalgamated Worlds?”

He quirked a smile at her.  “Go ahead and scan in and we can go inside.  I can explain it all much better from there.”

Lauren entered her retinal and hand scan and spoke her name.  A moment later the hatch behind them snapped shut and the access hatch in front of them ground open.  Lauren looked over at Mason.  “This process seems a little slow.  What would happen if someone outside needed to get to command in a hurry, like in an attack?”

Mason shrugged, “There used to be a duty roster.  Someone with full access was always on duty inside in case of emergency.”  He shrugged, “As you can see, the facility is a little understaffed at the moment.”

They stepped through the hatch and Mason led her down several other corridors and then finally into what was obviously a command room.  Mason swiped a hand over a set of panels and the whole room began to come to life with lights and the hum of machinery.  He pulled up a console and typed in a command, then gestured Lauren over to it.  “This is the read-on and the waivers.  Just flip next all the way through it, no one bothered to read it even when this place was fully operational.”

Lauren glared at him.  “How about an explanation?”

“I'll get to that,” Mason said.  “But I need to deactivate some fail-safes I left.  And unless you want to put this planet into a nuclear winter, perhaps you'll let me take care of business?”  He turned away before she could respond.  Lauren sat down at the console and started to read through the read-on.  It was, as far as she could tell, complete legalese gibberish.  She tried to follow it, even so, but got lost somewhere where it referred to 'signee agrees to the appointment of the signee's assignment.'  After that, she did what Mason had suggested and just hit next until it got to the point where it asked for her voice and biometric verification.

That task completed, she found Mason on his way back.  “Good, you're in the system now.  You're now listed as a Lieutenant with full access to the facility.  Congratulations on your promotion.”

“I'm assuming that's a Lieutenant in the Amalgamated Worlds Fleet?” Lauren asked, with narrow eyes.  He gave her a sardonic salute in response.  “Just what is this place?”

Mason leaned back against the console.  “You heard the explanation about the Dreyfus Fleet, right?”

Lauren nodded, slowly.  “They were a sort of ark, to protect and safeguard humanity after Amalgamated Worlds fell.”  That was what she'd heard anyway.  She'd been a bit more focused on her decision to leave with Mason rather than the story of the Dreyfus Fleet, however.

“Yeah,” Mason nodded.  “Well, Amalgamated Worlds didn't know about them.  As far as they knew, the Dreyfus Fleet was just as lost to them as the Agathan Fleet.”  He gestured at the command consoles around them.  “This is sort of a time capsule or maybe a rabbit hole, for a similar purpose.”  He snorted, “Well, not so humanitarian as Admiral Dreyfus.  Think more that the elite of Amalgamated Worlds wanted someplace they could retreat to... live comfortably, and then reemerge to restake their claim.”

“So, how does Tommy King have access?” Lauren quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, that's a question for another time,” Mason said.  “But we aren't even here for what Amalgamated Worlds left.  We're here for something that Tommy King put here, a few years back.”  He activated the main display and then brought up the feed from a hangar.

Lauren blinked, confused for a moment.  A large, harshly angular ship took up most of the hangar.  It had a sleek look, despite the harshness of it, and it tapered back to the engine pods in a way that looked vaguely predatory.  The ship had no turrets, she saw, but she saw what looked like armored bands that ran along the ship's top and flanks.  The ship and hangar both seemed difficult to bring into scale, until she realized that the small dots along the side were access hatches.  “What is
that
?” Lauren demanded.  The ship had to be over three hundred meters in length at least, which meant it was much bigger than a destroyer.  Her knowledge of the scale of warships was somewhat limited.  She guessed it was a custom built vessel of some kind, though she couldn't guess where it was built.

“It's a cruiser, the
Kraken
,” Mason said.  “It is somewhat infamous as the flagship of the pirate Stavros Heraklion.  He's a known enemy of Tommy King.  They had something of a very public, longstanding feud.  Stavros would be just the kind of scum to sign on with some of Mannetti's allies and if he made himself useful, she might just bring him and his crew into her inner circle.”

Lauren frowned, “So we're going to take that ship and go try to join up with Admiral Mannetti?”  She brought up the obvious question, “What happens when Stavros objects to the use of his name... and ship?”

Mason gave her a level look.

“Ah, so I guess Stavros won't be an issue,” she said.  She gave a sigh, “Fine then, what about this Dread Pirate Roberto, or whoever he is, what does he have to do with this?”  She glared at Mason as he burst out with laughter.  As his laughter continued, she started towards him, fists clenched.

He raised one hand as she advanced,
“Roberts.
That's Dread Pirate
Roberts
.  And all shall be clear in due time.”

***

Faraday System

United Colonies

August 5, 2403

“Glad you finally had time to check things out up here,” Matthew Nogita said as Lucius stepped off the shuttle.  “Got a lot going on, as you know, but I know it means a lot to the folks working up here to have you visit.”

Lucius frowned a bit at that.  He really should have made time to visit before now, it was just that things were so damned busy.  “Not a problem.  I'd like to meet with those two engineers that General Mira loaned us, but I should have made time for this before.  I'd assume you have some kind of presentation prepared?”

Matthew gave him a smile, “We could do that, but I figured you'd want to see what we're working on first hand.  For that matter, I think the workers would like to see you.”

Lucius gave a nod.  “Sounds good.”  Matthew continued down the corridors and Lucius took a silent moment to study the man.  On Lucius's first arrival to the Faraday system, Matthew Nogita had run a machine shop and small ship construction facility which barely scraped by, plagued by the monopolistic competition which sought to cut him out.  Lucius had partnered with the man as a method to produce his fighters from other resources.  Since then, the man had continued to impress him with his abilities.  Matthew was taller than Lucius, of average height.  His skin was pale from time spent indoors or working here on the new station, his dark hair was cut close and his green eyes still held the same confidence that had made Lucius trust him.  He walked with a purpose, his shoulders back with pride and set with determination.  Matthew was not one to let a job set idle... especially not an important one.

The station was a product of that determination, Lucius knew.  Matthew Nogita had taken over the project, coordinating between the Faraday contractors, the various refugee businesses, and the military engineers of the Dreyfus Fleet.  They had put together the first pieces of the station only weeks after they recaptured Faraday.  It had since expanded to include the nascent shipyards.  From what he'd heard, there were plans to establish defensive systems, to include a defense screen and interceptor systems as well as a fighter bay.  The constant expansion had required an authority figure to oversee... and Matthew filled that role perfectly.

Matthew paused outside, “Baron, I've got a few things to set into motion, but as soon as you finish up here, have one of your escort comm me and I'll be right down.”

Lucius gave the other man a nod and then turned to his Marine escort.  “Wait out here.  Make sure we're not disturbed.”  The Marine NCO frowned at that, but he gave a reluctant nod.  The station was one of their most secure areas, everyone aboard had been vetted through multiple levels of security.  Lucius should, in theory, be safe in a room with anyone aboard.

Lucius stepped into the conference room and gave the two engineers a smile.  “Thank you for meeting with me, gentlemen,”  Both looked tired, but they smiled in response.  Lucius hadn't yet met either of them, though Shaden had told him they were both very good at what they did.

The first man was short, had receding brown hair, and blue, bloodshot eyes, “Yes, you see, I'm very glad we've finally got the opportunity to talk to you.  You see, there's so much more effort we could use on this project.” He had a high pitched voice for his frame, heavyset without being obese.

“Rory, You should tell him about the issues with power generation,” the other one said.  He was taller, skinny, and with lank, brown hair.  His voice was monotone, with a heavy Centauri accent.

“Don't interrupt me, Feliks,” Rory said sharply.

“Fine, don't tell him about the power generation issues,” Feliks muttered.

“I
will
tell him about the power generation issues... if you'll let me get to it!” Rory said, with a tone of exaggerated patience.  “Sorry, sir.”  He took a deep breath, “As I was saying, it's excellent that you finally have the time to meet with us so that we can discuss the project.”

Lucius frowned.  “Which project is this?”

Rory gave an exasperated sigh, “Haven't they passed on my briefings?  I spent sixteen hours preparing the last one.”

“Sixteen hours?” Lucius asked.  He looked between the two men.  “Look, before we get into this, I'd just like to ask a simple question.”  He frowned, “Do either of you know a man named Reginald, who may work with General Mira and possibly Kandergain?”

“With Kandergain?” Rory asked.  “Wow, that's a vague question.  She's always zipping across the universe.  She's a cute one, you know?  I once helped her out to repair her ship, she had an issue with the shadow space drive.  Really interesting woman...”

Feliks cleared his throat.  Rory let out a sigh, “Yes, right, uh, Robert... doesn't ring a bell.”  He looked expectantly at Lucius, “So, about this project...”

Lucius rubbed at his eyes.  Of course, the engineer they sent would be attracted to the mother of his child.  “You're certain you haven't heard either of them talk about a Reginald?” Lucius asked.  

Feliks frowned, “The name does sound familiar.”

Rory shook his head.  He sounded exasperated when he spoke, “No, Feliks, you're thinking of Roderick, you know, the strike team leader?”

“No, that's Roger,” Feliks said.  “And he's a pilot.”

Rory cocked his head, “You know, I think you're right.”  He looked back at Lucius and snapped his fingers, “Now I got it!  Reginald, odd fellow, works with Kandergain!”