The Tabit Genesis (30 page)

‘Nearly?’

‘Shields need time to recharge,’ Augustus said.

‘Why was it cancelled?’ Wyllym asked, eyeing an apple.

‘Officially, for budget reasons,’ Tobias said. ‘Unofficially, we have no idea. Hedricks signed off on the funding termination.’

‘Did it work?’

‘Apparently, we’re all going to find out,’ Tobias said. ‘Either Ceti picked up where our research left off, or the tech always worked and bogus results were recorded in the logs. Trouble is – there isn’t time to find out.’

Wyllym took a bite from the apple. It was bitter, but that didn’t stop him from tearing off a few more bites.

‘The closer the
Archangel
was to completion, the more Hedricks compartmentalised information,’ Augustus said. ‘And there are highborns managing the political and legal implications for him.’

Wyllym thought the pile of discarded strawberry leaves on the table was more interesting than anything they were saying. He crunched into the apple again.

Augustus tapped his fingers impatiently.

‘Just so you know,’ he said, ‘Hedricks had every armed soldier removed from the
Archangel.
He also tampered with your pilot list.’

Wyllym stopped chewing.

Augustus nodded.

‘I believe the lieutenant can provide details,’ he said.

Vronn Tarkon cleared his throat. He had yet to make eye contact with Wyllym.

‘Sir,’ he began. ‘While you were in jail, pilots Decanto, Navokov, and Mosa were grounded by Rear Admiral Lao. He said the order came directly from Admiral Hedricks, and that they were subject to a misconduct investigation.’

Wyllym set the apple core down.

‘What “misconduct” did they commit?’

‘Admiral Lao didn’t say, but word is they’ve been accused of worshipping the Red.’

Wyllym stifled a groan. If it was true, they could be expelled from the Navy. Even if they were innocent, the accusation alone was enough to ruin their careers.

‘Well, are they?’

Vronn’s face reddened.

‘No, sir, they are not,’ he said.

‘Would you say that in a court martial?’ Wyllym asked.

‘Yes, I would,’ Vronn affirmed. ‘They don’t believe in anything except their vow to the Navy.’

‘Who did Lao replace them with?’

‘Solomon, Adams, and Nkembeh.’

‘Worst of the bunch,’ Wyllym snorted.

‘Grandparents are all living highborns,’ Tobias noted.

‘Sir, permission to speak freely,’ Vronn asked.

Wyllym folded his hands and leaned forward.

‘By all means, Lieutenant,’ he said.

Vronn took a deep breath.

‘When the programme started, a lot of guys flaunted their highborn status while muscling for influence,’ the pilot began. ‘Dom and I were among the few who kept our distance. Eventually Solomon won the popularity contest. From the start, he set out to undermine you. He appealed to highborn elitism, spoke often of his hatred of ghosts. The only thing that kept his camp from open revolt was the fact you’ve never been beaten, in the sim or in space.’

Wyllym kept his eyes locked on Vronn’s.

‘Solomon despised you to an unnatural extent,’ the pilot continued. ‘Eventually he began threatening the rest of us, the ones who wouldn’t go along with him. He knew deeply personal information about our parents or siblings and tried to blackmail us with it.’

Vronn’s anger was evident.

‘It is true that Dominic has great interest in the Raothri,’ he said. ‘He studies them because he believes they’re the ones we should be training to fight against. But the notion he worships them is ridiculous. While Solomon ran his antics, Dom hosted open sessions to study Raothri engagements in the final hours of Earth contact. His grandparents were
Christians
. They raised him as one. For him to be accused of worshipping an alien species … that is bullshit, sir.’

Vronn was looking at his hands as though he was ashamed.

‘Lieutenant Tarkon contacted us right after you were arrested,’ Tobias said.

‘We wanted to approach you about this much sooner,’ Vronn blurted out.

‘Then why didn’t you?’ Wyllym asked.

Vronn shook his head in apparent disbelief.

‘I realise this oversteps my remit, but the reason is because you never engaged with us beyond the flight deck,’ he said. ‘The ghost comments, the prejudice … with all due respect, that was self-imposed, sir. You are the most accomplished captain and pilot in the Orionis Navy, highborn or otherwise. If you led, soldiers would follow.’

Holding his glare at the lieutenant, Wyllym took another sip of coffee.

Augustus held up four fingers.

‘We have stolen Navy tech, manipulation of
Archangel
personnel assignments, withholding critical information from the Chancellor, and a pending Ceti offensive that gives him a convenient reason to take full control of the
Archangel
,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, Orionis law requires us to presume innocence until proof of guilt. But sometimes evidence gathering is just a formality. The implications here are so grave, I move to bring him in right now for an interrogation.’

Wyllym had heard enough.

‘Look at all of you,’ he said. ‘Due cause is a “formality” for you? Who’s the scheming highborn now?’

‘Wait a minute—’ Augustus started. But Wyllym would have none of it.

‘I honoured my oath to Orionis and was accused of
treason
,
’
he said. ‘What was the point of bringing me down here? To get me to implicate myself in an actual crime?’

‘Captain, we need your help to build a legal case against Hedricks,’ Tobias said. ‘But to do that, we need to know what other interactions you’ve had with him or other members of OPCOM, especially if you saw anything suspicious.’

‘I never trusted him,’ Wyllym said. ‘But he gave me all the latitude I needed to train those pilots. Beyond that, I had nothing to say to him, and the feeling was mutual.’

He turned towards Vronn Tarkon.

‘Thank you for sharing your analysis, Lieutenant,’ Wyllym growled. ‘But the wall between people like me and the privileged – which is every one of you! – is
real.
I have no clue what Admiral Hedricks is planning, but he’s on your fucking side of the wall. Deal with it.’

‘You just proved that his opinion of you is spot-on,’ Augustus said.

‘So promote him,’ Wyllym spat.

‘I swore the same oath you did,’ Augustus growled. ‘Hedricks just jailed his best pilot on the eve of a
fucking invasion
. Yes, it’s circumstantial. But you’re an idiot if you don’t think it’s significant. Stop acting like a victim, Wyll. We have to get in front of this!’

‘I’m no combat tactician,’ Tobias said. ‘But speaking on behalf of the Orionis government, we’d very much like for you to be in a Gryphon when Ceti arrives. Chancellor Jade has given us executive authority to do whatever it takes to make that happen.’

Wyllym shook his head.

‘How could that possibly be done?’

‘By taking mine,’ Vronn offered, drawing stares from Augustus and Tobias. ‘I’ll sit in your cell. You take my Gryphon.’

‘It would end your career,’ Wyllym said.

‘My career ended the moment I walked in here,’ Vronn replied. ‘That was my choice, and I would do it again.’

‘This is
mutiny
,’ Wyllym said. ‘You understand that, right? A government-sponsored coup. The irony is striking.’

‘You’re wrong,’ Augustus said. ‘This is a criminal investigation and enforcement of Orionis law. By the way, welcome to Internal Affairs. You want irony? I’m your boss now.’

‘Your court martial won’t happen before Ceti arrives,’ Tobias said. ‘As far as the Navy is concerned, your flying days are over.’

‘And when it comes to flying Gryphons, there’s no one better,’ Augustus said. ‘But you can’t read people for shit. So leave the personnel assessments to me from now on. I know who my loyal troops are. We’re going to get you into the fight, but you’ll have to trust me.’

‘Captain,’ Tobias said, noting the clock on the interrogation room wall.

‘Right,’ Augustus said, rising from his seat. ‘Time for you to go back to jail.’

For a change, Vespa was immersed in a warm social atmosphere devoid of political scheming or overt hostility. She was aboard a government shuttle with twenty children, their parents, and her press secretary, Liza Brenner. The young scholars were the brightest academic performers in their respective schools, all firstborns no more than nine years of age. The reward for their excellence in the prestigious ‘Future Leaders’ programme was a personal tour of Tabit Prime by the Orionis Chancellor herself. Students watched in awe as the domed craft flew past the most impressive spectacles; the torus ring of Luminosity, the Merckon Spire, the Bernal sphere of Vulcan Industries, and the Mulberry Colonies at the space elevator of the Eileithyian moon Amnisos.

The Navy cruiser
Sacramento
drew
the most wondrous gasps from wide-eyed children who had never seen a warship’s railguns before. As the shuttle flew by, the Navy captain obliged by opening the ship’s missile bays for show. The kids loved it, and the adults applauded. Vespa just sighed, forcing herself to smile through a brief lecture about the armed forces of Orionis. There were a few aspiring naval officers on board, after all.

But as they approached the
Tabit Genesis
, Vespa felt nothing but angst. No one aboard, save for Liza, was aware of the danger they faced.

To preserve a memorable experience for the children, Vespa had ordered security to keep the press away from the hangar. This was to spare them from the mob who wanted her to address the persistent rumours of a Ceti invasion. For weeks, she had answered with political vagaries carefully aligned with the official Navy response: the rumours are unsubstantiated, and even if true, the threat itself was negligible.

As she posed for pictures with the families, all Vespa could think about was
Tabit
engulfed in flames.

A flood of updates assaulted her as the last child waved goodbye. Financial markets, reacting to invasion rumours, were pushing food prices higher. Corporations were stockpiling Helium-3, raising the cost of fuel. The CRO was losing value as the electronic currency was converted into commodities. Angry corporate executives were demanding attention from disgruntled Senators already pressured by nervous constituents. Intelligence agencies were generating lists of potential Ceti sympathisers and cross-referencing their personal history with shipping manifests for potential bomb-making materials.

At least the Freetracks demanding an end to the Heritage Act were silenced in the mix.

Cancelling her appointments for the rest of the evening, she began responding to queries without even consciously reading them. For now, the cognitive functions of her brain were detached from her anxieties; she was half immersed in reality, while the rest of her cowered in the scar left behind by the Gift. A combination of drugs prescribed by ORPHUS and cybernetic implants allowed her to multitask like this, splitting her brain into two separate realms at the price of an urgent need to sleep more often. But then the visions would return, awakening her even when sedated, and the damage was mounting.

The AI reminded her of this as she returned to the suite.

‘You are unwell,’ ORPHUS warned, its blue eye tracking her into the kitchen. ‘I have detected accumulated toxins and elevated radiation levels in your blood. You need a transfusion, and rest.’

‘What else have you learned about the Hades Terminus?’ she demanded. Vespa was determined to learn what the significance of that desolate region of space had to her nightmare.

‘I have learned that a privateer freighter registered with Iopa Conglomerate witnessed Lightspear activity while en route from Hyllus to the Belt. I have also learned that four freighters have reported departure delays from the Heracles fuelling depot.’

Vespa reached for a drug packet. Each one contained twenty-seven pills of all different shapes and colours. More than half were just to control the side effects of the psychoactive agents.

‘For what reason?’ she asked, tearing one open.

‘Unspecified,’ ORPHUS replied. ‘And no ETA was provided.’

‘Compute a role for Iopa in a plot to attack the
Tabit Genesis
,’ she ordered. ‘Run background checks on their employees and contractors. Look for past dealings with Ceti. Based on this information, what are the odds—?’

‘Somewhere between zero and impossible,’ Arturus said, his face a two-metre apparition that ORPHUS projected in her bedroom. Even through the static distortion in the image, he looked younger than when he had first arrived.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she hissed.

‘ORPHUS called me,’ the talking head said. ‘He and I have an understanding when it comes to you.’

Vespa was furious.

‘I should have you arrested,’ she snarled. ‘Have you been listening to every single—’

‘Relax,’ Arturus assured. ‘ORPHUS is concerned about your health, and hopes I can convince you to take his advice. So hello, Vespa. What ails you this evening?’

‘I have work,’ she growled, arranging the pills on the counter. ‘Good night.’

‘I see that,’ he said. ‘Pardon my intrusion, but you really do look awful. ORPHUS is right. You need sleep.’

‘I can have stronger sleep agents synthesised to suit your needs,’ the AI offered.

‘I’m sure you can,’ Vespa remarked, pouring a glass of water. The temptation was greater than she would ever admit. ‘But no thanks.’

‘If you slept, you could see past your fixation,’ Arturus said. ‘Without rest, you have no Gift.’

‘I don’t need a lecture,’ she said.

‘I no longer dream of a
Tabit Genesis
inferno,’ Arturus persisted. ‘I’ve seen hints there may be some benefit to starting over, opportunities in the aftermath—’

Vespa slammed a hand down on the counter, sending several pills over the side.

‘
Stop
,’ she exclaimed. ‘What do you want?’

The smug expression on her brother’s face evaporated.

‘To offer counsel on the eve of the greatest challenge you’ve ever faced,’ he said.

‘It’s not counsel I need from you,’ she hissed. ‘Or House Alyxander.’

‘If I may be blunt,’ Arturus said, ‘votes ought to be the least of your concerns, given your visions about this place.’

Vespa knelt to search for the pills that had fallen.

‘Then why are we still speaking?’ she asked. ‘Ambassadors are busy people. Don’t you have drugs to take? Whores to screw?’

‘I am guilty of those things, but I’d prefer to think that it’s only my message you hate.’

ORPHUS shone two spotlights on the floor, revealing the missing pills.

‘I’d like to be your brother, not a politician,’ Arturus said.

Sleep deprivation always made her vulnerable, but she was especially susceptible to him. When they had been frightened young outcasts, cursed with the Gift and discovering their own sexuality, she had thought that she loved him more than just as a brother. With everyone else in her life being so incapable of understanding her, Arturus was a soul mate.

Senses dulled by wild hormones and emotional frailty made her surrender to a single moment of weakness: an attempted kiss. Not a harmless peck on the cheek as she had done countless times before, but a deep one right on his lips, followed by a pause fraught with passionate anticipation.

As his face had twisted through shock and then anger, Vespa’s world had collapsed. A true love’s rejection is never crueller than to an unsullied heart, and she never forgot it.

Years later, after he was reformed in the cybernetic ways of House Alyxander, he confessed that her action had launched him on a journey of self-discovery that didn’t change his rejection of her, but had instead opened his mind to many different attractions.

Vespa had never accepted that. In her mind, they remained soul mates. The Gift, and the burden it bestowed, united them as one.

Crawling towards illumination, she scooped up a pill and sat back against the counter.

‘It’s impossible for Ceti to hurt us here,’ she sighed. ‘Why do I keep having this vision?’

‘Lance agrees with you,’ Arturus said. ‘Business is brisk. He has no intention of moving his trade barges.’

‘That’s either irresponsible of him, or he thinks your Gift is worthless.’

‘No, he just enjoys daring people to fuck with him.’

Vespa began arranging the pills in order on the counter.

‘Could Hedricks have a part in this?’

Arturus frowned.

‘I’ve considered it. The highborns want another Hedricks to captain the next ark for mankind. I doubt Vadim would turn the
Archangel
against them, let alone the Orionis government. The simplest explanation is that he wants a war to hang his legacy on, and to vindicate the existence of that awful ship.’

Vespa shook her head.

‘Tomorrow I expect he’ll tell us that an invasion is just business as usual for the Navy and nothing to concern ourselves with.’

‘If he even shows,’ Arturus said. ‘What do you hope to gain by confronting him?’

She washed the first batch of pills down.

‘Only to remind him that the Navy serves the people of Orionis, and is accountable to the government they elected.’

‘I think he knows that.’

Vespa shook her head.

‘I’ve ordered Augustus Tyrell to launch a treason investigation against him.’

‘That was rather … bold.’

‘No charges to be filed until this Ceti mess is dealt with,’ she said, swallowing another batch. ‘If we’re still here.’

Arturus regarded her as she fumbled for the next set of pills.

‘Is it your own death that you’re so afraid of?’ he asked. ‘Or everyone else’s?’

Vespa didn’t answer, fixating on the remaining line of drugs.

‘Did you ever consider the Gift tricked you into
making
the future you feared most?’ Arturus asked. ‘And that removing old Don from power was what put you on this very path?’

Although she felt no compelling guilt for ending the man’s life, her eyes filled with tears.

‘Go to hell,’ she said.

‘If you’re so certain the vision will happen,’ Arturus continued, ‘then all that remains is a clear conscience. What are you prepared to do?’

‘I don’t know,’ Vespa confessed. ‘Ceti believes they have nothing to lose.’

‘Then petition them for peace.’

That made Vespa angry.

‘In the purest definition of the word, they are terrorists,’ she said. ‘Vladric Mors does not negotiate. He’s obsessed with destroying this government. What do you offer someone like that? The man doesn’t want peace. He wants … closure.’

‘Give it to him,’ Arturus said. ‘Make him a real offer. Disarm the
Archangel
. Abolish Heritage. Give Ceti no reason to fight.’

‘And let them win the war? On principle alone, the prospect is appalling.’

‘Ceti would win a footnote in history,’ Arturus explained. ‘Your name will be disgraced, but the subtext will be that your actions, by avoiding war, undoubtedly saved lives – millions of
Ceti
lives. Address Vladric, but speak to
them
. They’re just as sceptical of his ambitions as we are. Force the man to answer them.’

Vespa slumped into a chair.

‘“Our dawn and hope for all Humankind”,’ she muttered, quoting the Earth memorial in Liberty Hall. ‘I don’t want to be the one who let
Tabit
burn.’

Arturus shook his head.

‘Take your pills and rest, Vespa,’ he said. ‘Be unafraid of the night. But when you awaken, leave your pride behind.’

It was Sunday, and Liberty Hall was nearly empty. While the odd employee or two could be seen at work, the precious space was otherwise deserted, and the press rarely bothered to lurk about this day of the week. Vespa was counting on that. Behind the hall were smaller antechambers for the Senate’s six committees, which hosted closed hearings. She never appeared unless invited, and then only virtually.

In private meetings with each member, Vespa had convinced the Military Services Committee to force Hedricks to testify. They shared her concern about the Navy’s increasing distance from governance and, as mostly final term senators, they had no political risk in pursuing answers aggressively. From the Chancellor’s office, she was virtually seated on the bench with them. Rear Admiral Jang Lao marched through the door precisely on time, drawing mutters from the seven senators glaring at him. He sat at the witness table, posture perfectly straight, and looked up at them.

Senator Alaister Roddick, the committee leader, spoke first.

‘You’re not the admiral we asked to come here today,’ he said.

‘My apologies, Senator,’ Admiral Lao said. ‘But Admiral Hedricks will attend virtually.’

Vespa watched as Hedricks materialised beside Lao. His arrogance came through even in the delayed feed.

‘Good morning, your honours. Chancellor,’ Admiral Hedricks said, nodding towards Vespa. ‘I’m afraid operational responsibilities prevent me from attending in person.’

Senator Roddick was 110 years old and still talked like the twenty-year-old chemical engineer he used to be. His district was the Mulberry Colonies, and although he aligned with the Freetracks Guild, Vespa enjoyed his company and often worked with him to find common ground on issues with her own Genesis party.

‘Senate subpoenas mandate a physical presence,’ Senator Roddick stated. ‘Notwithstanding emergency extenuating circumstances, you are in contempt.’

Admiral Hedricks didn’t flinch.

‘My primary responsibility is the defence of Orionis,’ he said, ‘and those circumstances are always extenuating.’

‘We’ll be the judge of that,’ Senator Margaery Brusceau intervened. She was one of twelve representatives from the Vulcan colonies on Eris. ‘Admiral, as far as I’m concerned, withholding material information concerning national security is indistinguishable from perjury. Now, is there anything you wish to share with us?’

Again, Admiral Hedricks was completely impassive before the implied threat.

‘Ceti is launching an attack on the
Archangel
,’ he said. ‘Their fleet has already departed Brotherhood.’