Vertigo: Aurora Rising Book Two (31 page)

She saw tears stream down his face as he struggled to keep his voice steady and hold onto the chair as the ship began to come apart around him.

“You’ll be all right, Miri. You were always the strong one. You’ll—”

“I don’t
want
to be all right—I don’t
want
to be strong! David,
please
….”

Tears ran freely down her virtual cheeks now as well as she sank to the floor in her own desperation. She had never heard such anguish in her mother’s voice. Never, ever.

Dad, please listen to her, why can’t you listen to her….

“Miri, my darling, my world,
moya vselennaya
, know that I love you with everything that I am. I love you more than all the stars in the heavens, more than—”

With a searing crunch the
Stalwart
exploded.

Yet she lingered for another breath, and so witnessed the true genius of her father’s strategy and the depth of his final act of heroism.

As the hull of the
Stalwart
broke apart, mines it had been carrying spilled out into space. Unable to maneuver away in time, the approaching Senecan frigate crashed into two mines; the resulting explosion detonated a third.

The debris of the
Stalwart
, the Senecan frigate and a dozen mines sealed the gauntlet and blocked the Senecan forces in a final, non-negotiable way.

Finally, mercifully, the scene faded away.

She was left crumpled on the white floor in the white room, her body wracked by sobs. A hand stretched out into empty air, grasping for what was gone.

The number of times she had shed even a modicum of tears could be counted in single digits, but now she cried until she couldn’t see for the tears, then until she couldn’t breathe.

She cried for the wonderful, brave, beautiful man her father had been, and for herself for being robbed of the chance to see and know him as he truly was.

She cried for her mother, left alone to continue on, left to live through endless days and decades knowing what she had lost and would never have again.

She cried because she had been a foolish, selfish little girl who never completely comprehended what had transpired and what it had meant for those around her. The blindness and stubbornness and bitterness of a brokenhearted child had remained with her for far too long.

When there seemed no more tears capable of falling, she struggled past the dry heaves and sat up, resting her weight on one arm. Wiping soaked cheeks with the back of her hand, she gazed out at the empty room. “Thank you.”

We do not understand. This was meant as a gift, a reward, yes. Yet you are obviously distraught. Why would you thank us for causing you such pain?

Sniffles interfered with her catching her breath, but she finally stood, only to wipe away yet more tears. “You’ve been watching us, studying us, for a long time, yes?”

Aeons.

“Yet you still have no idea what it means to be human, do you?”

The pause was noticeable.

You will wake up now. Your companion has proved himself most skilled and persistent. Our time together must come to an end.

“Wait! What about—”

31

EARTH

EASC
H
EADQUARTERS

T
HE CONFERENCE ROOM IN THE
Logistics Building which had been claimed for EASC Board meetings was raucous to the point of chaos when Miriam arrived. Liam shouted ineffectually at the head of the table while aides scurried in directionless circles and small clusters of advisors conferred in hushed undertones. The Earth Alliance was under attack on two fronts, and no one wanted the blame to find its way to their feet.

If those in attendance had any sense, they would merely hope to still be alive and standing when the time came to place blame.

She ignored Liam and went to the control panel on the far wall. Her voice resonated above the furor, calm and clear. “Everyone, take your seats. We’re starting this meeting now.”

The din hushed as the attendees hurried to obey the implicit order. Brigadier Hervé nodded graciously at Miriam as she sat. “Admiral, before we begin let me say how pleased I was to hear your daughter has been cleared of involvement in the bombing. You must be so relieved.”

Miriam’s expression was a mask of pure professionalism. She couldn’t be sure how much Hervé did or did not know about the role one of her employees had played in helping Richard make it happen. “I had confidence the truth would win out. Thank you, Brigadier.” She didn’t need to turn her head to feel Liam’s glare burning into her left temple.

He was so busy glaring at her, in fact, he forgot to take advantage of the momentary quiet and start talking. So she did.

“As you are all aware by now, we lost contact with Messium thirty hours ago. We also continue to be unable to reach the colonies of Gaelach, Zetian, Karelia and Edero. Admiral Rychen, do you have any updated information regarding the situation on Messium?”

Lines were hewed into Rychen’s features like grooves into steel. He wasn’t raging or screaming, but in the twenty-six years she had known him she had never seen him appear so hard. Suffice it to say he was taking the attack on Messium personally.

“Only that all attempts to obtain intel have failed. I’ve sent three recon ships into the region; none have returned. Based on the few images we’ve seen on the news feeds I think we have to assume it is under assault from the alien fleet Admiral Solovy’s daughter warned us about.”

At last she tossed a look in Liam’s direction. “Well, General, I trust you concede the aliens’ existence now?”

“They’re working for the Senecans! Those cretins realize they stand no chance of defeating us themselves so they’ve made a deal with the devil.”

“General, my information says the Federation has similarly lost contact with four of its colonies. We have every reason to believe they are being targeted as well.”

O’Connell scoffed. “Lies. Propaganda.”

General Foster stepped cautiously into the dispute. “How do we propose to fight these aliens? If we can’t even talk to one another once they’re in the region, we can’t coordinate our efforts. We’ll be all but defenseless.”

Rychen responded. “We have to try. We can’t very well surrender without firing a shot.”

Defense Minister Mori interjected. “Given what we’ve seen of this armada, everyone on Messium and the other colonies is probably dead by now. I recommend we pull back our forces and protect the First Wave worlds.”

Miriam gestured for silence. “Gentlemen, please. Everyone on Messium is not dead, and we are not defenseless. Half an hour ago I received this communication.” She sent the message to the display above the table.

Messium attacked by alien ships. Unknown casualties. Comms disrupted by shifted quantum field. Encase transmitter/receiver in photal fiber waveguide confining 520 THz signal to protect qubits at origin and destination. Setting message to repeat. Leaving refuge to locate functioning ships and attempt escape.

“How do we know this is genuine? Why did it come to you?”

Inwardly she groaned; was there nothing which could force Liam to see past his delusional prejudices and be rational for five seconds? If she wasn’t so ridiculously happy about Richard’s miracle work to publicly clear Alexis, she might be annoyed.

“It’s genuine. The sender is personally known to me. I suspect she sent it to me because she needed a precise recipient with a known address and recognized I would be in a position to use the information to maximum benefit.”

“What it says about protecting the qubits—will it work?”

She shifted her attention to Rychen. “Tech Logistics confirmed it in theory before I joined you. It’s not a panacea. We’ll have to adapt every communications hub and for now it will only work for point-to-point communication. One sender and one receiver. But it’s a damn fine start.”

“It damn sure is.” He looked like a man who had just received a stay of execution. Not a pardon, but perhaps a pathway to one.

“Can we refocus on the ultimate enemy here? We bring Hellfire down on Seneca and let the aliens take care of what’s left. Admiral Rychen, I want you to reinforce the blocka—”

Rychen stood in the confines of his holo and focused a laser-sharp stare on Liam. “O’Connell, fuck your holy war. Fuck your blockade. You can tell whoever the Prime Minister is this week I said so, too. Messium is my responsibility. It’s my home. I am going to go defend it, and I am taking my fleet with me.”

Miriam had to cover her mouth to silence the giggle which bubbled forth. She never,
ever
giggled. But that was simply beautiful.

Liam’s fist slammed onto the table. It wasn’t nearly so sturdy as the old one in the HQ penthouse, and it tipped upward from the force, sending those sitting at the other end scurrying backwards. “You’ll be dishonorably discharged. Court-martialed for dereliction of duty.”

Rychen cocked his head. “Possibly. But not until this conflict is won or lost, which is long enough for me to do everything I can to win it.” He glanced around the room. “If you all will excuse me, I have preparations for an offensive to make.”

With that, his holo winked out of existence.

Richard was stepping into his office carrying a mug of coffee when Miriam practically tackled him in a bear hug.

“Thank you…thank you so much.”

He hugged her awkwardly with one arm while directing most of his efforts at not spilling the coffee with the other. He tried to recall the last time Miriam had hugged him, or anyone as he’d seen for that matter. After David’s funeral perhaps? Suffice it to say it had been some time.

She was smiling when she pulled back, the candid smile she only ever allowed a few people to see. It might be argued she was almost effervescent, but he would die before voicing the notion aloud.

He did match her smile though. “It was the least I could do. It’s my job, it helps in our investigation and most importantly she’s my god-daughter. I couldn’t let her reputation be smeared, and I certainly couldn’t let her be arrested for something she didn’t do.”

“Of course all of those things are true. Nevertheless, you’ve earned my undying gratitude.”

He grimaced as he settled in his chair. “And now her claims have been vindicated. Kind of wish they weren’t. Any word on Messium?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. You remember Alexis’ friend, Kennedy Rossi?”

“A Rossi isn’t someone you forget meeting if you possess any sense. Plus, she was kind of memorable I believe.”

“Well she’s on Messium now. She somehow managed to survive the initial barrage, figure out how the aliens are disrupting our communications and get a message out to me.”

“Seriously? Impressive. Alex always did display shrewd tastes in associates.”

“I suppose so….” Miriam face fell, and he belatedly realized the statement was laden with complicated implications.

“Any word from her?” He didn’t need to clarify who he meant.

Her head merely shook silently.

“I’m sure she’s safe. She simply has a skilled intelligence agent covering their tracks, for which we should be glad.”

“But they’ve been cleared now, unofficially. They can resurface.”

“I’m not so convinced. Marano was targeted by the people who are pulling the strings on this conspiracy, and we don’t know who they are. It may not be safe yet.”

She nodded in acceptance, if perhaps contrived, of his better judgment on the matter. “On that note, any more progress on discovering who those people might be?”

“Some. I’ve put a deep trace on any communications mentioning her or his name within the Alliance infrastructure. Predictably there was a huge spike in the hours after the leak broke, but so far nothing more than the expected security department bureaucracy and ass-covering. I’d hoped something would stand out, and it still may.

“I do have a lead on where a portion of the explosives used in the Headquarters bombing came from. I’m optimistic it will turn out to be a lucrative trail. I was also able to determine Marano’s file sent to me is in fact his official Senecan government file, which makes it increasingly likely someone inside their government is colluding with someone in ours.”