Wrath of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) (20 page)

She frowned. “That may not be so easy, for I am the Ambassador for Cadmus, not Isolde. Let me think, who is our Ambassador on Isolde?”

Blas played with the console keys. “It says here that Ambassador Shemal Kerawan is our representative on Isolde. I wonder is it the same Kerawan?”

“You mean the former secretary of the Axian leader Merca Gluck?” she asked. “Yes, it’s the same man. There is no other.”

“How does he do it? He was a fanatical supporter of the last government. After they were defeated he became a convert to Xerxes Tell, and now he’s Bartok’s ambassador.”

“It’s politics, Constantine. That and knowing where all of the skeletons are buried.”

“Is he dirty, Nightingale? Can we use him in any way?”

She smiled. “Kerawan is as dirty as they come, but he’ll only side with the winners. It’s how he’s stayed alive this long.”

“What can we offer him?”

She thought about that. “It’ll have to be something good, something very good. An appointment on Axis Nova, certainly. Perhaps Inspector General of the Navy, with the honorary rank of Admiral.”

“What would he have to do? He knows nothing about warships.”

“From what I’ve seen, Constantine, that makes him admirably qualified for the post,” said the Admiral.

She smiled. “Very well. That’s what we’ll give him. Let’s hope he takes the bait.”

They arrived in Isolde’s orbit two hours later. Their request for permission to land was refused.

“This whole planet is a restricted military area,” they heard the Isolde comms officer say smoothly. “I’m afraid landing without military authority is impossible.”

Nightingale moved to the console. “This is the Ambassador to Cadmus, and I am on a diplomatic mission to visit Ambassador Kerawan. Patch me through to him, now!”

The man hesitated only a few seconds. “Please wait.”

It took little more than a minute before Kerawan’s voice came over the bridge speaker.

“This is Ambassador Kerawan, how may I help you, Ambassador Nightingale?”

Blas remembered the oily man from when they’d been enemies during the last war.

“I have a message for you from the President. It is imperative that I speak to you personally.”

“What kind of a message?”

“One that is to your advantage, Shemal Kerawan. More than you could possibly imagine.”

There was a pause for a few seconds. They heard him say, “What are you seeking here on Isolde?”

“To discuss with you a vacancy in the navy.”

“Really? Can’t it wait?” He sounded bored, disappointed. “Send me the message and I will look at it when I can spare the time.”

“The vacancy is for Inspector General of the Navy, and it carries the honorary rank of Admiral.”

Another pause. “This is a serious proposal?” Kerawan asked. There was a detectable shake in his voice.

“Yes, it is. Admiral.”

They could almost hear him saying the word ‘Admiral’ under his breath. The most senior Admiral in the navy, with the control of huge fleets of ships, it was every man’s dream. They smiled when they overheard him shouting orders, bellowing at his subordinates.

“What the devil do you think you’re doing, holding up a diplomatic ship? Give that ship permission to land immediately!”

“But, Ambassador, security procedure requires…”

“You answer to me, Lieutenant! Give them permission immediately or I’ll break you down to trooper and you’ll be assigned to serve on a prison planet.”

“Yes, Sir, at once, Sir!”

They waited less than another minute. “Magellan, you are cleared to land at Isolde Main Spacedock, area Forty-Two, bay G. Please present your ship’s papers on landing.”

Nightingale bent to the console once more. “We are a diplomatic ship. We are not required to present any papers.”

“Understood, Ambassador. I will notify the dock officials. My apologies.”

The landing itself was an anticlimax. As they drifted gently down and settled on the pad, they watched the armada of ships all around them in the Isolde spacedock. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of vessels sat on their pads. Most of them were warships. Some were in transit, others in the process of being fitted out with the latest weapons systems or having their engines overhauled or up rated. The huge open space took up an area of a hundred square miles in total. Robotic vehicles trundled backwards and forwards, carrying men, materials and equipment to their assigned workplaces. As their ramp went down a crewed ground car drew up to take Nightingale to her meeting with Kerawan. They’d hoped to get Kerawan out to their ship first, but he’d forestalled them.

“I’ll take two of the troopers with me for escort,” she smiled. “Don’t worry, they won’t dare touch me.”

“One of them should be Alex Yalonda,” Evelyn said. “Kerawan won’t recognize her and it’ll give you an added edge.”

She accepted the idea and walked down the ramp with Captain Yalonda and Trooper Mathews, one of the Magellan’s marines and previously a fierce supporter of the Xerxes Tell. They helped her into the rear of the ground car and climbed into the front cab. The driver sped away to take them to Kerawan. On the bridge of the Magellan, Ensign Maddox rushed onto the bridge to make his first progress report.

“Admiral, I’ve managed to program the virus, and I’ve already inserted it into the local satellite feed, that’s how it works. It’ll spread out from there, so the first people to hear it will be on Isolde.”

Rusal looked at Blas. Would Nightingale be in any danger when they heard it? They were still pondering the chances of aborting Nightingale’s mission when the second piece of news came in.

“Admiral, a Heavy Battlecruiser is about to land, it’s the Rex Vitas.”

His old flagship, the one he’d used to lead the democratic forces to victory against the Axians. But this time it was in enemy hands, almost certainly the Captain would be one of Fabian Bartok’s men. Half-built ships they could deal with, as well as those with their vital systems ripped out awaiting overhaul, but a fully commissioned Heavy Battlecruiser was another matter.

“Very well, keep an eye on it.”

System Standard 2734.1642 Presidential Palace, Lyra City, Axis Nova
.

“What? What’s that you said?”

“It’s a transmission, Mr. President, came through on the repeater. Something about Xerxes Tell. From the Isolde area, one of our nearby ships picked it up and forwarded it to us here, in case there’s a problem.”

“Patch it though to this office. Quick, you fool, this could be serious.”

He made an effort to control his heartbeat. Too many things were going wrong. Too many questions were unanswered. He sat in his chair, unable to work, unable to do anything. When he heard the message, he felt equal parts of anger and fear. He punched the button that put him through to his secretary.

“Glekka, that message, it’s treason, all lies. Where’s Admiral Bose? I need him to deal with it.”

“Still on Cadmus, Sir. Some sort of local trouble down there, I believe it’s a riot.”

“You will contact him at once with an order from me. He is to stop these messages being broadcast, if necessary shoot those damned satellites out of space. I want him to increase his efforts to locate this person who calls himself Xerxes Tell and bring him to me, dead or alive, do you hear me?”

“Yes, Sir. But, Sir, if the Commander in Chief destroys the satellites the message relays won’t work and you won’t be able to communicate with him, at least not easily.”

“Tell him to carry out my orders and get that fucking traitor, Glekka!”

“Yes, Sir.

System Standard 2734.1642 Office of Ambassador to Planet Isolde

“Thank you for visiting me, Nightingale. Tell me more about this vacancy you’re looking to fill.”

He turned to his servant. “Bring refreshments, at once.”

“We want you to become Inspector General of the Navy, as I said in my transmission. The position would of course require you to take the honorary rank of Admiral.”

“Of course,” he said drily. “Does the President know of this offer?”

“Yes and no, Ambassador Kerawan.”

Kerawan smiled grimly. “I heard the transmission just before you arrived, Nightingale. I imagine that the President you are referring to is Xerxes Tell?”

She nodded. “He is the rightful President, which is correct. You can carry out any test, and you will find that he is the genuine article.”

“No doubt he is, although how it all happened is beyond my understanding. I’m not sure that President Fabian Bartok will be so favorably inclined to agree. He is in power on Axis Nova and controls the military. Your man is here on Isolde with what, one ship? Don’t they say might is right?”

“Even though you know he is the rightful President, you would still bow to the impostor on Axis Nova? You would serve a tyrant?”

Kerawan nodded. “Of course I would, I have done so before. That is the nature of politics, my dear.”

Nightingale smiled to acknowledge his analysis of the political process.

“You may be right, but think. How long do you think he will last? The message is going out all over the Nine Systems. Consider the hunger and poverty of the citizens who trusted Bartok’s administration. Their anger and despair. You know there’ll be an uprising. When it happens, when millions, billions of people rise up against the criminals on Axis Nova, wouldn’t you rather be on their side, rather than the defeated tyranny of Fabian Bartok?”

He looked thoughtful for a few moments. She could see that he wasn’t quite convinced.

“Bartok’s fleets are not defeated yet, Nightingale. And they’re well armed and equipped.”

“Until the people who fly the ships and fight in the military decide they’ve had enough, that they’ve been robbed of what is rightfully theirs. Who will fight for Bartok then?”

Kerawan nodded thoughtfully. She could see that he had finally seen where his best interests lay. “Yes, I do see your point, my dear, you may be right. Very well, here is what I propose.”

He talked at length, Nightingale agreed and the meeting ended. Each went away satisfied that they had got the better deal.

System Standard 2734.1643 Battlecruiser Magellan, Planet Isolde Spaceport

She explained it all to them. Kerawan would make sure that the Governor and military on Isolde were kept in ignorance of the Magellan’s real purpose. They would be free to attempt to carry out their plan to secure the output of the naval shipyards. If everything went well, he’d join them. If not, he’d deny all knowledge of them.

“It’s so two-faced, for he could turn on us at any moment. How can we trust him?” Blas said, angry that the wily politician had refused to commit either way.

“We must give lengthy deliberation to what has to be decided once and for all,” Tell replied.”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“It is a quotation from someone who lived a long time ago, Mr. Blas. Ambassador Kerawan has a lot to consider, this had just been sprung on him.”

“You obviously don’t know him very well, Sir. Nevertheless, it is the best we can do.”

Besides, there were other problems facing them. The comms officer looked solemn.

“Admiral, it’s not good. The Rex Vitas has landed. She’s insisting that they send a security team aboard. They say that the Magellan had not been authorized to land on Isolde, and she was due to return to Axis Nova.”

“Did you tell them this is a consular vessel?”

“I did, Sir, but they say that the President himself has given orders to check all vessels that are acting suspiciously or outside of their orders.”

Rusal nodded. So Bartok had heard the broadcast already. There’d be no pleading diplomatic immunity now. It was a Presidential order. That trumped everything, except force.

“Very well, sound battle stations.”

“In spacedock?”

“Do it!”

The siren sounded and the crew rushed to man their stations, a task normally performed when they were in space.

“Weapons officer, confirm batteries at the ready.”

“Confirmed, Sir.”

“Lock on to the Rex Vitas. We may need to take a shot at her.”

“We’re running on reduced power, Sir, so it may not damage her very much.”

“I know that.”

He didn’t want to raise his shields yet. If the other warship detected their defensive shields in spacedock, it would alert them to the presence of an enemy. He had one chance only, to hit the Rex Vitas hard and fast, before they hit him.

“We’re locked on, Sir. Shields?”

“No, leave them down, you can raise our shields the instant after we fire.”

Evelyn touched him on the shoulder. “Is it necessary for us to attack her, won’t they listen?”

Blas shook his head. “No, the second they realize who we have aboard they’ll give orders to destroy us. This is the only way, to hit them first with a massive pre-emptive strike.”

The comms officer turned to them. “They’re hailing again, insisting on sending over that security team.”