Warpath (7 page)

“What makes you think
you’ll walk out of here with anything? Even your freedom is a long
shot at this point. I don’t care that you’re a murderer, or that
you may have had something to do with the leadership changes at the
top.” Governor Tate told him. He only needed to know who his
visitor was so he could read the situation and find his footing.
Wheeler was a destructive force, even when he failed in his mission
there was some kind of wreckage left in his wake. Even still, the
only reason why Wheeler would beg an audience with the highest power
in the Codis solar System was because he wanted something, and there
were a number of things Tate could think of that Wheeler could
deliver.

“I’m going to make
you the leader of the Order of Eden,” Wheeler said. “You’re one
of the only Governors who have passed on the framework program, and
have been smart enough to stay away from the current leadership.”

“Powerful people who
get too close to Eve or that Beast tend to end up in their place with
no hope of advancement or dead, with very little in their epitaph,”
Governor Tate said. His bot brought him a mug of nutmeg cocoa as he
sat down in a firm armchair across from Wheeler. The drink was an all
natural treat, the ingredients cost thousands of credits when they
were available.

“Very good, Nancy,
now could you record everything that is said here?” Wheeler asked.
“I really do plan on taking you with me, and we’ll make more than
point zero zero seven percent use of that wonderful brain of yours.”

A sip of his drink
revealed a perfect texture, flavour and temperature, something he’d
been trying to have his bot, Nancy, to master since she’d entered
his home. “I don’t know if I want control of the Order. They’ve
fallen in line behind Eve, and the military feeds on the image of the
Beast. They’re zealots, near crazed.”

“Then the Regent
Galactic Forces, corporate control,” Wheeler said, “That’s even
easier. You’re right, the Order is so crazed now, it’s like a bag
of flaming cats. That is, except for the segments of the Order you
already control. I hear recruitment is down thirty five percent
thanks to Valent’s game of Chinese Whispers.”

“It’ll come back
up. People want the community and opportunity Order membership
brings, and if I can do that without demanding the fervour that Eve
does, then they’ll see the rational choice.”

“That’s not going
to be possible. Eve is coming here,” Wheeler replied. “Just
something I heard on the Order of Eden Command Network. She’s going
to gather your Order members into the fold.”

“What? She travels
with so large a group, getting her onto this side of the Ironhead
Nebula would be a massive undertaking, I would have heard something,”
Governor Tate said.

“No, not if she had a
double spreading her message elsewhere. She wants to surprise this
sector, appear as though by some miracle,” Wheeler said. “It’ll
work for some, and the rest of the Order followers here will see
that, by taking her lead they can elevate themselves faster than they
could if they just stayed here, fighting in your ranks. You’re
about to have a workforce shortfall on three of your planets,
probably four. All the biggest ones, really.”

“And you’re going
to tell me that you have the solution, that you can put me in a
higher position than the Mother of the Order?”

“No, I’m going to
put you up as her equal. I’ve seen across this digital landscape,
the plains that remember our footsteps like they are pressed into
stone. The Beast hates the zealotry and sacrifice that Eve demands as
much or more than you do. He could use an ally in Regent Galactic
too, especially on this side of the Iron Head Nebula, where the
majority of their resources and fabrication assets are. If you drop
all your suppositions about him, and forget his public persona, which
is a farce, if you ask me, you’ll find that he’ll become an easy
ally. I can get you in front of him through his own secure network,
and I know you’ll be able to take it from there if you respect
him.”

“That’s all, just
respect him,” Governor Tate said, deeply interested. The Beast
commanded forty two battle groups at last count, half a billion souls
engaged in military service, and his forces grew every time they
conquered a new outpost or world. Even his manufacturing capabilities
were growing, especially over the previous two months. “There has
to be more to it.”

“There is, I knew the
man, even before he changed. I’ll walk you through it step by step,
I’ll even vouch for you. Once upon a time I had a hand in getting
him into his position. But first, you need to agree to give me a
carrier group. I’ll fight your war my way, and I’ll bloody all
the enemies you have on this side of the Nebula. You think this is
power? This solar system? It’s a great money generator, and, yes,
you could build something impressive here, but you haven’t seen
real power until the local systems start paying you tribute, until an
entire sector feels they need to consult with your people before they
do so much as take a deep breath. If you want to be remembered, to
have the kind of power that generates a legend that can outlast
Earthen Pharaohs, then let me help you, and give me what I need to
draw blood from your enemies.”

“A carrier group,
that’s-“

“A pittance,”
Wheeler said as he accepted an amber drink from Nancy. “Regent
Galactic is waiting for a great leader, and you could be it. You just
need the right backing.”

“The Beast.”

“Exactly,” Wheeler
replied. “And I need a carrier group. I need one of those carrier
groups you have in orbit to get a few things done. All I want is
Tamber, in the Rega Gain System. The rest is yours, along with the
credit.”

“One moon you intend
to capture yourself?”

“Yes, get the carrier
group ready this week, and I’ll get you on the fast track to
becoming the greatest leader this galaxy has ever seen. You have the
mind for it, you have the fortitude, and now you’ll have an in-road
thanks to me.”

“They’ll need two
weeks to prepare, in the meantime I expect to see significant
process, I need to see this is working before you go on some
warpath.”

“Fair enough.”

“Now, how do we get
started?” Governor Tate asked, truly excited for the first time in
years.

“Well, for a start,
you’ll never call the leader of the Order Military the Beast again.
Call him Overlord Clark Patterson. He was human once, and he had a
good soul.”

Jake sat on a balancing
seat that would sway left or right if he didn’t actively hold
himself in place. Jake had almost mastered it, and could stay up
straight without much concentration. His room was unrecognizable
thanks to the holographic display that surrounded him. He was in a
rest period, true, but that didn’t mean he had to rest his mind. He
had been out of commission for weeks, and there was a lot to catch up
on.

His recovery was going
well, according to Alice and Oz, but it wasn’t fast enough for
Jake. Even with a parade of visitors throughout the day, life-like
simulated experiences, and an endless stream of reports, he still
felt like he had been placed in a corner away from the rest of the
universe. He appreciated the fact that the Warlord was on patrol,
training the new crew under Stephanie, Frost, Agameg, Finn and
Minh-Chu. They were doing what he’d wish they would while he was
off his feet, nothing serious and nothing overly dangerous. He still
felt like he should be with them, like he was missing too much.

The Triton hadn’t
operated under his command for months, but he felt like there was too
great a distance between it and him as well. Oz had that well in
hand, Jake knew, but what he actually knew about the day to day
operations of Triton Fleet could fit in a ten minute narrated report.
An evolutionary kind of change was radiating from the Triton, and he
felt like he was missing it. The captured Order of Eden Destroyer had
become part of Triton Fleet after undergoing a refit inside the Solar
Forge that lasted a little over two weeks. With the resdesign that
Ayan’s new engineering team along with Agameg, Frost and Finn put
together, it would have taken six months in a normal shipyard. The
Solar Forge was a wonder, and while Jake was recovering it was
attending to ships that came from across the sector to join Triton
Fleet and Haven Shore Defence. Lorander was truly allowing Triton
Fleet do whatever they liked with their gift, to Jake’s surprise.
The Destroyer was even improved significantly during the refit. New
exterior armour plates that could absorb incredible amounts of energy
and emit nearly as much were added, along with advanced stealth
systems. The lower cargo doors had been rebuilt so the main hold was
a large hangar. The list went on with other minor improvements, some
of which took two attempts to install properly, but one glaring
oversight nagged at Jake: they hadn’t found a captain worthy of the
destroyer yet.

He returned his
attention to the work the Solar Forge was doing. It had taken the
repair systems only a day and a half to repair all the damage aboard
the Warlord, inside and out. The skitters aboard learned from the
much smaller reacher droids that the station used to do fine internal
repairs as well. Reports of the Warlord’s skitters efficiency
rising were encouraging. The strides the Triton Fleet’s technology
was making was more than impressive, it indicated to Jake that there
was a will in Lorander Corporation to see them become a major force
against the Order of Eden.

Even if they used it as
a tool to track the number of ships Triton Fleet had, the benefits
still far outweighed that kind of drawback. Oz even had his people
checking every ship for control or tracking devices that may have
been planted by the mobile shipyard, but they found absolutely
nothing. Watching what was going through the ship refurbishing and
building facility was one of the more interesting things Jake had to
do, and even though he could rarely feel the vibrations or hear the
sound of machinery that was right under his feet, he felt like he was
close to one of the main devices for change in the Rega Gain system.

The quiet of his small
medical ward was stifling at times, and when he discovered that there
were over three hundred trainees aboard the Solar Forge, he was
relieved. Two days passed and he only saw them when he was on his way
to the training room he’d come to call the pillbox. They were in
Triton Fleet uniforms, and were specifically being trained to service
the busy ship building vessel by the vessel itself and a few Lorander
guides. Jake was convinced that this was another way for the Lorander
Corporation to observe members of Triton Fleet, but, again, what they
were trading for the opportunity was worth it. To Jake’s surprise,
all the issyrians who were once in the service of Clark Patterson
were among the trainees. He had to wonder if Lorander foresaw that
they would take an interest in the construction ship. It was a way
for the group of issyrians to join Triton Fleet as non-combatants, a
way around the agreement that won them safe Haven on Tamber.

The medical centre
aboard was still empty, and it was where he spent much of his time.
Even though he knew so much was going on aboard, he still felt
separated from everything, a growing sensation that set Jacob Valent
on edge.

It didn’t take long
before he broke down and called a map of recent patrols outside the
Rega Gain system. The circular paths of British Alliance and Triton
Fleet patrols hung in the air above him, traced by lines coloured
blue, yellow, green and red. The red line was always furthest out,
that was his ship and Minh-Chu’s Samurai wing. Samurai Wing wasn’t
out there with the Warlord more than a third of the time, the mission
didn’t always require them.

“Engagement history
for the period since Stephanie Vega has been Acting Captian,” he
told the computer. To his surprise there were five encounters. The
first two occurred while Warlord was on high speed patrol, moving so
fast that, when they returned to orbit around Tamber, an extra half
hour had passed there. What amazed Jake was that one of the
encounters were engaged and concluded at that speed.

The Warlord detected a
weak signal that didn’t match anything on the British Alliance’s
frontier. Within seconds the Warlord determined exactly where it came
from, matched the shape of the ship with a Regent Galactic scout
ship, and then the Warlord fired her main rail guns, destroying the
scout ship completely. The whole engagement took less than two
minutes to resolve.

During the second
engagement the Warlord had time to slow down and follow the scout
ship they found, and offered surrender terms. The ship self
destructed, but transmitted an encrypted stream of data first. “Okay,
there’s something there,” Jake said to himself. The data still
hadn’t been decrypted, but Triton Fleet was still working on it. He
suspected they’d find sensor data from the scout ship along with a
short log from whoever was aboard. What Jake found interesting was
that it transmitted anything at all. That meant there was something
else within range to receive the data. There was something launching
these scouts, and it was within a light year of the Rega Gain system.

From then on at least
part of the Samurai Squadron was present on the Warlord. Jake didn’t
have to check Stephanie’s log to figure out why. She had come to
the same conclusion he did.

“The next thing they
came up on was three days later, the first Regent Galactic Cruiser
we’ve seen,” Minh-Chu said from the door. “You and Ayan review
way too much of your data in hologram,” he said. “Almost every
time I visit she’s looking at something in mid-air.”

“Something like?”
Jake asked.

“Reports, or she’s
building a database, or something for the skitters to put together,”
Minh-Chu replied, sitting on Jake’s bed.