The Tabit Genesis (36 page)

Behind the brave face of a leader navigating a crisis, Chancellor Jade was resigned to defeat. Moving briskly from one decision to the next, the nightmares had prepared her for this moment for years. The Gift, she now understood, was a curse. Glimpsing the future was pointless without the means to change it. The
Archangel
was just one variable in the calculus of causation, a distraction from countless unknown, vital details she had missed – the greatest of which was herself.

By taking the Chancellorship, Vespa had assumed responsibility for the fate of humankind. Failure was not supposed to be an option. If she survived, she would have to accept the possibility that her premeditated actions had done more to doom Orionis than anything Vladric Mors had already done.

On the
Tabit Genesis
, the War Room was located on the main centreline of the original mothership. The microgravity environment was ideal for expediting the evacuation of government VIPs if necessary; a police gunship was docked directly outside the hull.

Real-time information from every Navy asset in Orionis was routed to this room. Unfortunately, the emergency response team of her government relied almost entirely on the Navy OPCOM leadership tier for strategic insight, and the members of that tier were either unresponsive or confirmed dead.

As the most senior Senator in the Orionis parliament, Brandon Tice was in attendance, assuming Augustus Tyrell’s responsibility for civilian safety. A Navy Police technician, Lieutenant Marson Andrews, was coordinating the intelligence feeds and deployment logistics. Colonel Haley Tors led the Chancellor’s security detail, and attending virtually was Captain Samson Jankovich, captain of the ONW
Sacramento
and commander of the battle group charged with the protection of Tabit Prime.

‘Contact with the
Gettysburg
has been lost,’ Lieutenant Andrews reported. ‘TACLNK command now transferring to the
Brisbane
. Captain Dodson, do you read?’

The ONW
Brisbane
was one of six frigates assigned to Admiral Larksson’s group, and had only just arrived as the battle was winding down, far too late to help.

‘
Brisbane
copies,’ Captain Dodson said. ‘The
Gettysburg
is down … no beacons …’

Vespa felt a pang of dread. To a man, Admiral Larksson and his crew had fought to the end.

‘Where is the
Archangel
?’ she asked.

‘Same location,’ the
Brisbane
captain answered. ‘No activity since the hangars closed.’

Vespa felt the only aspect of the crisis she had managed correctly was approving Commander Tyrell’s plan to get Wyllym Lyons into the fight.

‘Captain Lyons, have you heard from Commander Tyrell?’ she asked.

There was no answer.

‘Chancellor, we lost contact with Gunfighter One-Three and Lieutenant Reddeck when the
Gettysburg
exploded,’ Captain Dodson finally said. ‘No beacons from either ship. The debris field is too expansive to scan at this time.’

‘What about Augustus?’ Senator Tice asked.

‘Unreachable since his announcement,’ Captain Andrews said.

Vespa waved for both of them to be silent.

‘Is the
Archangel
communicating with anyone?’ she asked.

‘Negative, no comm emissions,’ Captain Dodson reported. ‘No search or fire control radars either. She’s just sitting there. The orphaned Ceti ships are fleeing. Some have surrendered. We’ve taken massive casualties and shifted our priority to rescue and recovery.’

‘We’re going to send help,’ Vespa said. ‘Proceed with caution, but move your fleet away from the
Archangel
as soon as you can.’

‘Wilco,’ Captain Dodson said. ‘Chancellor, if I may, those Ceti orphans thought they were boarding the
Archangel
. Vladric hung them out to dry. I’d swear on it.’

Vespa understood the implications.

‘Thank you, Captain,’ she said. ‘Now, why is it just sitting there?’

‘The leading theory is she’s crippled,’ Senator Tice said. He would know, considering he had oversight of distributing government subsidies to contractors who had participated in the
Archangel
’s construction. To get the funds, the corporations had been forced to disclose all the building plans and supporting technology. ‘The engineers we’ve spoken with all said that drive was at least a year away from live tests.’

‘Well, clearly they were wrong,’ Vespa said.

‘Ready or not,’ said Captain Dodson, ‘we think Admiral Larksson forced the hand of whoever is in command of the
Archangel
. Shielded or not, the Ceti ships that boarded her wouldn’t have survived otherwise. Not against the
Gettysburg
’s firepower.’

‘Hedricks,’ Vespa hissed. ‘He’ll answer for this. If he’s not dead already.’

‘Whatever his fate, we have no friendly assets left on the
Archangel
,’ Captain Jankovich said from the
Sacramento
. ‘The ship is lost.’

‘Can it be boarded?’ Vespa asked.

‘We’re the only group that can even consider it,’ Captain Jankovich said. ‘But getting close enough to breach is a different story.’

The Sacramento Task Force was ferrying one mechanised division. Supporting that group in combat required a cruiser and six frigates, plus a host of corvettes. To put the
Archangel
’s size in perspective, all twenty thousand of that division’s troops, including their armour, mechs, gunships, and supporting logistical equipment wouldn’t even fill a single deck level on the mothership – and there were thirty-five of them.

‘Captain Dodson, how many Gryphons are left?’ Senator Tice asked.

‘We tracked seventeen when the fight began,’ he said. ‘Eight landed. Lyons shot the rest down.’

Vespa blinked.

‘Captain Lyons shot down
eight
Gryphons?’ she asked.

‘Chancellor, I’ve never seen anything like it,’ Captain Dodson said.

‘Hell … I’ve never even
heard
of anything like that,’ Senator Tice grumbled.

‘The
Archangel
’s point defences were designed to blast asteroids out of the way,’ Captain Jankovich said. ‘If they’re operational, we’ll get real bloody on the approach.’

‘That’s the problem,’ Captain Dodson reiterated. ‘There are no good options for determining if she can fight or not.’

Vespa shook her head.

‘The
Archangel
was built for the future,’ she said, refusing to lavish feminine reverence upon the mothership
like the others. ‘New technologies were to be developed during its mission. Now if I’m not mistaken, Ceti just brought Basilisk shielding technology aboard. It’s only a matter of time before it’s completely impervious to our weapons.’

‘So if boarding isn’t a “good” option, what is?’ asked Senator Tice. ‘Nukes?’

‘And draw the Raothri’s attention?’ Vespa asked. ‘Out of the question.’

‘They already know we’re here,’ Senator Tice said. ‘Why bother coming after us now?’

‘It’s pointless to debate their rationale,’ Vespa said, drawing a deep breath. ‘All we know is nuclear weapons brought them to us before. I’d rather take my chances against the
Archangel
. Captain Jankovich?’

‘Chancellor?’

‘Please lead your task force to Corinth. Link with the
Brisbane
group, assist in recovery operations and prepare your troops for assault.’

‘Yes, Chancellor,’ Captain Jankovich said.

‘That leaves Tabit Prime undefended,’ Senator Tice warned. ‘I hope the
Archangel
isn’t bluffing.’

‘We can always ask the corporations for help,’ Vespa said, knowing full well they wouldn’t respond. ‘We’ll rely on you to convince them.’

‘They’re more likely to court whoever they think will win,’ Senator Tice said, with a hint of disgust. ‘They’ve been fortifying their own property ever since this started. None has offered assistance.’

‘Please ask them again,’ Vespa said. ‘If we have to make it worth their while, so be it. Just make it happen.’

Lieutenant Andrews gasped, his eyes wide with surprise.

‘Chancellor,’ he breathed. ‘Harbour Control is tracking hundreds of new contacts approaching from Ares. They’re inside our orbit and heading for Tabit Prime.’

‘It can’t be more Ceti ships,’ Senator Tice said.

‘Whoever they are, they’re ignoring standard harbour approach vectors,’ Lieutenant Andrews said. ‘Eight
hundred
unique contacts and climbing …’

‘Chancellor,’ Colonel Tors interrupted. ‘I’m obliged to advise you of security protocol in the event we have to evacuate.’

‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Vespa snapped. ‘New orders, Captain Jankovich:
defend Tabit.
’

‘One
thousand
contacts,’ Lieutenant Andrews said. ‘Orbital guns are tracking, but there are too many to defend against.’

Vespa’s corelink rang – an emergency message from ORPHUS. There was only one word:

Obyeran.

Lightspears were stealthy ships, Maez thought, but the lack of vigilance in Tabit Prime was appalling. The mission flight plan took them on a wide course skirting the Inner Rim, passing Eileithyia a week ago, then slinging around the sun and slowing at Ares until the time was right. Maez had always assumed the heart of human civilisation would be protected by layers upon layers of defences. Not so. Maez was beginning to realise that Vladric Mors’s ambitions were more plausible than anyone imagined.

The taste of cryo chemicals lingered in his mouth, and a wisp of fog glazed his helmet as he wrenched it free. His genetically engineered body was invigorated by their proximity to the sun; not since his father left the Inner Rim had any Obyeran been this close. Beyond the bridge viewport, the marble-white crescent of Eileithyia loomed. Countless points of light blinked around the world, its space littered with hab modules, machines, and wasteful rubbish.

Maez had never understood why Myrha always spoke so reverently about this place. ‘Because this is where it all began,’ she would say, usually as a lead-in for showering their father with praise. ‘He started there with nothing, and look at all he’s accomplished.’

Maez was less appreciative. As far as he was concerned, the origination of all modern achievement was thanks to rampant sex among primates, and no one considered building them any monuments. People either exploited their potential or they did not. His father deserved no special accolades for being born with genes that would let him accomplish more than the rest.

A devious grin spread across his cheeks as the bright points of light began reacting to their presence. He imagined the spectacle of a thousand warships in one place was causing some concern. As X-band radars painted his ship, Maez prepared for the dirty work ahead.

‘Vanguard lances to point defence positions,’ he ordered.

The Lightspears were approaching Tabit Prime in a ‘lens’ formation one hundred kilometres in diameter, where the deepest part of the lens was furthest away from the fleet’s forward direction. Each point on the periphery was a ‘lance’ consisting of six corvettes flying in close formation; at Maez’s command, heavy beam cannons dropped from the fuselage of these ‘vanguard’ ships and rotated forward. If anyone in
Tabit
lost their senses and fired a railgun, three hundred heavy lasers would melt the slug before it could do any harm.

Reviewing his targeting information, Maez noted with amusement that the corporate ships were vacating first. For good fun, he considered broadcasting ‘Take me to your leader’ on a loop. Their cowardice was making it easier to justify what he had come here to do. Humanity was past due for another round of natural selection. Perhaps this bloody venture would benefit mankind in the long run.

The brightest point of all was taking shape; the ugly
Tabit Genesis
. If only Myrha could see it. She would certainly attempt to say a few inspiring words, to which he would roll his eyes in derision. He missed her deeply. It was time to get on with the ugly business of getting her back.

‘Orionis,’ he began, channelling the diplomatic verbiage he thought Myrha would use. ‘My name is Maez. I am the son of King Masaad, ruler of House Obyeran. I must speak with Chancellor Jade.’

And no, he thought, I don’t have an appointment.

Some elements of Tabit Prime’s meagre Navy were coming into view – a cruiser, numerous corvettes, a handful of frigates, and a shipyard with six half-stripped destroyers in the process of being refitted.

‘Spear Lances, passive locks on that cruiser,’ he instructed. ‘Target its weapons only. The rest of you, steady as you are.’

Maez could sense the weakness of his opponent. They had no idea how to respond.

‘This is a public channel,’
Tabit
’s Harbour Control replied. ‘Do you wish to move to secure comms?’

‘There is no need,’ Maez said. ‘Your people should hear what I came here to say.’

Several more moments passed.

‘Prince Obyeran, this is Chancellor Jade,’ the brittle voice said. ‘Welcome to Tabit Prime. We are honoured by your presence.’

‘The honour is ours,’ Maez said. ‘My King has sent me on a mission of mercy. He has no quarrel with you, nor the good people of Orionis. However, unfortunate circumstances have compelled him to make demands that he concedes are unjust, and evil. At such time as these matters are resolved, he swears, on the honour of our great House, to make amends.’

‘Wouldn’t you prefer to join us here in person to discuss your … offer?’ she asked.

‘That is most gracious of you, Chancellor, but time is of the essence.’

The Navy corvettes were changing course, and the frigates were drifting away from the cruiser.

‘It usually is, whenever weapons are drawn,’ she said. ‘What can we do for you, Obyeran?’

Ah, finally. Some defiance, a little backbone. Good.

‘We demand the following,’ he said. ‘First, do not, under any circumstances, send additional forces to Corinth. This is to spare your Navy any more loss of life. As a token of my respect for your armed forces, I will send ships to assist in your search and rescue operations, and return all recovered property to the nearest Navy asset.’

‘That’s kind of you,’ Chancellor Jade said. ‘Anything else?’

‘My final demand is that you evacuate the
Tabit Genesis
at once. You can guess the reason why. I have no desire to harm anyone, but it would be unwise to challenge my resolve. You have sixty minutes to move your people out, starting now.’

There was no answer. Maez smiled as the queued shuttle traffic outside of
Tabit
’s hangar bay began to increase. Smaller personal craft were already darting out in streams.

‘Chancellor,’ he said. ‘King Masaad wishes to express his deepest apology for these heinous demands. In exchange for your compliance, he offers to help rebuild – no. Not rebuild.
Replace
Tabit
with another ship, a station, whatever you wish. You know he has the resources to achieve this, and he vows to commit them to Orionis. But time is counting down, whether you take his offer or not.’

The Lightspears were decelerating rapidly, but his Obyeran engineered musculoskeletal body was easily withstanding the pressure, no doubt alarming the Navy ships foolishly contemplating their options.

‘Those are indeed cruel demands,’ Chancellor Jade said. ‘I’ve never met King Masaad, but by all accounts he is a decent man. But this isn’t diplomacy. It’s extortion.’

‘Fifty-five minutes, Chancellor.’

‘What compelled him to do this?’ she asked. ‘Is there anything we can do to help?’

Maez had to stifle a laugh.

‘You can help by evacuating that station,’ he said. ‘There is no other solution. Given your inability to keep motherships from falling into the wrong hands, I’m sceptical of your ability to help. Gracious of you to offer, but I won’t discuss the King’s business. However … if you are as wise as the legends say, I think you can surmise that we share a mutual enemy in Vladric Mors.’

Scanning his active targets, Maez noticed the House Alyxander pleasure barges in their remote orbit, a third of the way to Amnisos. Anger twisted at his heart.

‘The company you keep says much about you,’ he said. ‘Fifty-two minutes.’

‘Do you think we’re going to remain passive while you raze the single most important ship in human history?’ Chancellor Jade said.

‘History? Is that what’s most important now?’ Maez snapped. ‘Chancellor, I am not a patient man. History mattered when we lived on Earth. Today, it prevents us from making difficult choices. Would you really risk the lives of your people for the sake of nostalgia?
Get off that ship!
It’s a monument to failure. Build something truly great in its place. We’ll help.’

‘You are attacking the capital of a sovereign government,’ she said. We will defend ourselves.’

‘Chancellor, don’t be a fool,’ Maez growled. ‘Does the captain of the
Sacramento
have a family? Do you think he would like to see them again? Ask how he feels about facing a thousand Lightspears. You cannot win, your soldiers know they cannot win,
and you will die if you remain on
Tabit
.
Forty-nine minutes!’

Maez slammed the seat rest. No wonder his father had left these Luddites to start his own empire. As he watched the panic unfold at the
Tabit
hangars, he shuddered at the prospect of butchering civilians. He had warned his father this could happen, and now bloodshed seemed inevitable. His Lightspears, and the crews that flew them, would follow him across the galaxy. But he did not want their first combat experience under his command to be against unarmed ships.

‘Blades, go to delta,’ he ordered.

‘Blades’ were the Lightspears assigned to the long-range damage-dealing segment of the fleet. The ‘delta’ configuration linked five ships with each other, bow to stern, with their beam lens aligned and interlinked. The rear ship would fire the beam, and each successive ship would amplify its intensity to the highest power the lens could stand. Maez was going to use these ‘blades’ to carve up the
Tabit Genesis
, and anything else in his path.

When this ugliness was done, he would devote all his energy to finding Vladric Mors. No matter what happened to Myrha, that bastard needed to die. And before he did, Maez would make him reveal everyone that had assisted him – especially the traitor who had learned where to find Myrha during The Rites.

That was the greatest concern. It had to be someone within; someone very close. The game of Outer Rim influence was tilted towards House Alyxander, and they had deep pockets. Maez prayed they were involved. That was the battle he wanted to lead.

And as if some god heard his prayers, he noticed the House Alyxander pleasure barges were accelerating. If they stayed on course, their trajectory would lead them directly to the
Tabit Genesis
.

Maez was considering the implications of that when a new voice joined the channel.

‘Hello, Maez. I am Arturus Jade, Ambassador of House Alyxander. Since you took to public channels, I see no reason why I can’t join the conversation.’

‘We have no business, Ambassador. I will speak only with Chancellor Jade.’

‘I imagine she’s indisposed at the moment,’ Arturus said. ‘Since she happens to be my sister, I feel I am the next best person to … assist.’

‘Forty minutes left.’

‘Oh, she’s aware, as is everyone else within a million kilometres of here. We have noted your actions, Maez. House Alyxander will assist the Orionis government in the evacuation of civilians.’

‘Thirty-nine minutes.’

‘So relieved the Prince knows how to read a clock – an essential skill for one who commands a thousand ships. One needs to be able to count them all. Orionis is watching you, Maez. Speculating on why Lightspears, Ceti, and the
Archangel
are all in bed together. Speaking of guilty pleasures, we have many beds on our barges. Won’t you join us to, say, get your mind off things a bit?’

The last time Maez had felt this humiliated was when Myrha had taken off his hand.

‘Save one for your own corpse,’ he growled. ‘I’ll send it back to Alyxander with the King’s regards.’

‘How is the old man doing?’ Arturus asked. ‘Off crafting some new technology while you misbehave? Pity, I always thought he was someone who wanted to do some good here.’

Maez took a breath. He would not be provoked.

‘King Masaad is deeply apologetic,’ he said, ‘and vows to help the Orionis government rebuild.’

‘Sure he does,’ Arturus cooed. ‘You know, Maez, I always imagined your sister leading that fleet around. One has to wonder: you’re here, with the crown jewels, so to speak … and your father is sorry? What could Vladric possibly take to make him send a thousand Lightspears all this way to do harm? By the way … how
is
Myrha these days?’

The pleasure barges were closing at terrific speed, turning their bulks around to burn and decelerate. At their current velocity, they would be almost impossible to avoid hitting when the attack commenced.

‘Don’t put your barges between us and the
Tabit
,’ Maez warned.

‘I bet Myrha isn’t well at all,’ Arturus said. ‘So, Vladric found the King’s weakness. I’m sure you’ve asked yourself by now: is she really worth what you’re about to do?’

Seven thousand Obyerans were listening to this. Maez was moving beyond anger, surrendering to the rationale that he had been sent here to do violence.

‘She’s out there somewhere, suffering,’ Arturus pressed. ‘All that strength and intellect rendered moot as she lies bound, gagged, and violated by someone weaker than her, afraid of her, threatened by her greatness. Imagine, to be denied what she was literally born for. And here you are, the beneficiary of her torment. Here’s a thought: perhaps
you’re
the one who gave her to Vladric. We’re none the wiser, Prince.’

Maez snapped.

‘Target that lead barge and fire,’ he ordered.