Fracture Lines (The Glass Complex Book 2) (20 page)

“The Alliance destroyer is heading this way,” advised Weapons. “She’s got a good estimate of where we are.”

“Hold tight. Maintain external electronic shutdown. Keep our shields at full power,” the commander instructed.

The approaching starship’s position was being updated continuously on the display, and the bridge was silent as everyone watched the progress of the destroyer towards
Wasp
. The Alliance starship commenced a transmission as it approached.

“
This is Alliance destroyer
Defender
to unidentified starship. We know you are hiding somewhere in this asteroid belt, presumably to escape or ambush the two alien starships we destroyed. If your presence is legitimate, you will respond. Otherwise we’ll assume you’re engaged in illicit activities. If so, you will be arrested or destroyed. Respond now.
Defender
out
.”

The transmission looped. Steg and Commander Gillespie exchanged an unspoken agreement. The commander said, “Comms, transmit the data package.” The transmission included ownership details of
Wasp,
of members of the starship’s command and the mercenary officers, and a copy of their letter of marque.

The destroyer’s transmission stopped some seconds after
Wasp
’s data transmission began. There as a short period of silence, presumably while the Alliance bridge crew examined the contents of
Wasp
’s transmission.

“
Defender
to
Wasp
, This is Captain Montrose. I accept your credentials subject to my team physically checking your ship. Please exit the asteroid belt and drop your shields. You have my personal undertaking that
Defender
will not fire on you, unless you do something stupid.
Defender
out.
”

Aadan again took helm responsibility and slowly edged
Wasp
out of the tumbling stream of mountainous rocks. At the commander’s signal, she ceased the starship’s forward motion once she had moved the ship into the relative safety of open space. Weapons then cut the shields. The Alliance destroyer moved from its position and headed closer to
Wasp
.

“
Defender
to
Wasp
. Well done. You have a proficient helm. We’re readying a shuttle and will be at your bay in thirty. Please ensure neither arms nor force are raised against our team. We don’t want to lose men or destroy your starship.
Defender
out.
”

Steg and Captain Dean with their two senior sergeants, Kirby and Riddell, waited for the Alliance team at the lock leading out of the shuttle bay. The four men were unarmed although they were wearing exo-armor. Steg thought the precaution was prudent. He had issued an order that no weapons were to be brought into the presence of the Alliance team. Commander Gillespie had protested—she wanted one of her marines on the bridge, armed. Steg reluctantly agreed and had advised the Alliance captain of
Wasp
commander’s decision to have her bridge guarded, as a matter of prudence, not as a potential threat to the Alliance team. The need had been accepted, with cautions.

Two heavily armed Alliance Marines exited the lock, apparently reported to their team and then stood to attention. Five more armored personnel followed. The apparent Alliance team leader looked at the small group waiting for them and dropped his faceplate.

“Captain de Coeur?”

Steg identified himself and followed with an exchange of introductions.

Steg said, “I’ll lead the way to the bridge conference room. Commander Gillespie is waiting for us.”

He introduced the commander after the Alliance team entered the conference room. They sat at the table, the chairs almost overwhelmed by the weight of the Alliance armor.

“Commander,” said one of the visitors. He was bearded although the growth did not fully disguise the scars on his face.

One of his companions, the apparent team leader, moved as if to protest. “Sir—”

The speaker waved the team leader’s interruption aside. “Not, now, Tomkins. Commander Gillespie, I’m Richard Montrose, captain of
Defender
. I thought I’d honor your courtesy by accompanying my team. Also, I’m curious and want to hear your story first hand. After witnessing the alien starship’s murderous attack when it destroyed the shuttle, I have some understanding of why you were sheltering in the asteroid belt. Now, tell me more.”

Commander Gillespie said, “Thank you. In brief, we, that is,
Wasp
officers and crew, together with some two hundred and fifty troops, constitute a mercenary team authorized by Sicca. I included a copy of their letter of marque in the data pack we transmitted earlier, and I can show you the sealed original. We recently negotiated a contract with the government on Eo 3d to intercept a freighter heading their way. It’s loaded with heavy weapons and munitions intended for a rebel group that is challenging the authorities. The freighter is—was—under escort of three small alien starships. You destroyed two. We believe the aliens also were planning to take control of the planet.”

“Very succinct. Who was in the shuttle that the aliens destroyed?”

“That’s where the details get a little complex,” Steg said. “There’s some more background you should be aware of. Three years or so ago
Wasp
rescued a small group of aliens—cephalopods. They were accommodated on board and provided technical support to
Wasp
and to our military force. Unfortunately, they betrayed our operation to the Xesset; in return, the cephalopods wanted to gain possession of
Wasp
. The mercenary commander, Colonel Attwood, was also involved, possibly misled by his trust in the cephalopods—we detected message packets he sent on behalf of the cephalopods to the Xesset. We held a meeting and as a result of our majority vote, he and his three supporters resigned. I took charge of the military force. The colonel and his group disliked their new role as passengers. They attempted to steal a shuttle, and we had a minor engagement during which one of his group was injured. We had a Charion priestess on board, who was working with the cephalopods and assisting their attempt to takeover
Wasp
. Later, the colonel, his supporters, and the Charion priestess, together with the surviving cephalopod, succeeded in another attempt to steal a shuttle. We suspect they were planning to warn and join with the Xesset. Then you turned up.”

“Again, a succinct briefing. I hope you have log records to support these details?”

Steg replied, “We’ve produced a more detailed briefing pack and included comprehensive files—copies of bridge logs, videos, audio recordings, copies of unauthorized communications, everything we thought was relevant.” He hoped the Alliance visitors did not raise questions about how he had gained copies of the Xesset communications.

“Tell me about the surviving cephalopod,” the Alliance captain directed.

“When we discovered the communications between the Xesset and the cephalopods, we challenged the leader. He admitted his involvement to me; unbeknownst to him, our conversation was communicated to the entire ship—I was broadcasting our conversation live. We then had a minor on-board engagement when the cephalopods tried to take control of
Wasp
. Only one of the four cephalopods survived. Details including copies of operational reports are included in the second data pack, which we’ll send to you.”

“You’ve had an interesting few days,” said the visiting captain.

“It’s not finished,” Gillespie said. Dean nodded.

Steg explained, “We have to complete our contract with Eos—we’re required to stop the freighter reaching the rebels. If our data’s correct, there’s only one remaining Xesset starship to deal with, although Xesset might be on board and in control of the freighter. We’re also negotiating to remove the threat of the rebels on the planet.”

“Understood. I’ll have my teams examine the additional data you’re providing. If they raise questions, I’ll expect you to respond with answers, clarification, and so forth.”

“Of course.”

“Now, I’d like my team to examine your ship. We prefer to be aware of who is operating in regions we sometimes visit. It’s a case of know your enemies and your friends. If you can make some of your people available, too?”

Steg looked at the Alliance skipper and asked. “Can you clarify that last request?”

“Oh, we’d like to talk to some of your crew and the mercs, so we get to know you better. If everything you’ve told us here is above board, we don’t plan to engage in intensive cross-examination. No, it’s simply to understand who you are.”

“I can make Dean available. There are two sergeants whom you’ve met. We have a Fain medical team. I’m sure they’ll be forthright.”

“Fain? A medical team? On board?” Apparently the Alliance captain had not expected to hear of Fain involvement.

“Yes, and they’re trained and experienced to surgeon level.”

“Interesting, indeed. Yes, we’ll talk to one or two of your Fain.” He turned to Commander Gillespie. “What about your bridge officers? You have a tactical team?”

She replied, “Weapons. Yes, you can meet with my Weapons lead. However, while I understand why you’re proposing these meetings, I want all of them recorded, and I want a member of our senior team involved in each meeting.”

Steg said, “I agree.”

The Alliance captain laughed. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Let’s plan this together now, so we don’t interfere with your internal operations. In the meantime, I’ll arrange to send a copy of your second briefing pack to my security team on
Defender
for them to review.”

“That seemed to go well,” said Dean after the shuttle had returned to the destroyer. The Alliance captain and his men had conducted their interviews—“discussions,” they had called them—and seemed satisfied with their intelligence gathering.

“Perhaps. They were far too affable.” Steg shook his head. “The captain—Montrose—is a very smooth operator. I think
Wasp
’s been contaminated by tracking and listening devices, courtesy of the Alliance team. Tell the men you want them to search everywhere for listening devices, even places the Alliance visitors didn’t check. They shouldn’t destroy anything—we need a map of what the team left behind, first, and then we can determine our response. Let Gillespie know what you’re doing. She’ll want some of her experts working with you. I’m going to be in my cabin for a while.”

Steg was curious to discover, if he could, the reactions and conclusions of the Alliance team and their destroyer captain. He suspected two of the visitors were highly skilled security spooks; their interview approach had been professional. Fortunately, everything the visitors heard and observed had born out the details contained in the briefing packs. He settled back in his bunk and relaxed, seeking the mental state that permitted him to reach out, far beyond the boundaries of his cabin.

The Alliance starship, internally, was a mass of electronic activity. Little of its chatter and random data leaked out beyond the bounds of the vessel, and Steg suspected that when
Defender
engaged its shields, it would be as difficult to find as
Wasp
, if not more so. He spent time looking for communication devices, seeking a way to tap into
Defender
’s electronics systems in order to hear even casual conversations.

At last he discovered a small device located on the bridge, which provided visual and audio possibilities; he determined it was a monitor long superseded and probably forgotten, a surprising omission for what seemed a well-disciplined starship. That worried him—perhaps the device was intended to be found by anyone able to penetrate the starship’s electronic defenses. There might be a telltale indicating to
Defender
’s security team that he was eavesdropping. He stayed connected to the device while he continued to search for other methods of obtaining information, and he also watched as the destroyer prepared to get underway. The captain’s intention, it seemed, was for the starship to resume its anti-piracy patrol.

Steg had his doubts. As the starship began to prepare for s-t penetration, he released the device. He had worked out how to tap into the internal intercom function without triggering any telltales. He had also found the files produced by the captain and the small boarding party when they returned to their ship; he planned on copying and then reviewing them in depth after the Alliance destroyer departed. He listened to the bridge conversation.

“Sir, their eavesdropper has released our AV unit. I think they’d have difficulties maintaining a link at this distance—we’re now over five light minutes away from
Wasp
.” Steg assumed the speaker was a security officer.

“They’ve damned good equipment to link in here the first place. We missed that aspect of their abilities.” Steg recognized the captain’s voice.

“Yes, sir. My guess is de Coeur has some electronic skills—or someone in his team does, whom we didn’t meet. That’s the only way they could’ve intercepted some of the messages they provided to us. He’s good. He’s managed to take over that mercenary unit in a few months. They’re disciplined and loyal. A rare combination.” It was the same security voice.

“And those Fain—I wouldn’t like to be operated on by any of those if I was against de Coeur.” It was another voice; it belonged to one of the team members who had led the interview discussions.

“Just make sure you are never in that situation, McPhee,” said the captain.

“Yes, sir.”

“We’re far enough out to make our jump. Helm, use the course Astro prepared—let’s go visit that freighter. We can stand off to see if
Wasp
makes an appearance. Tac, make sure we’re not detected by either the aliens or by our new friends, when they arrive. Come on, let’s go.”

Another voice said, “Jumping in 5…4…3…2…”

Steg withdrew before the starship began its s-t transit. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he was linked to their system when that transition took place. He now had copies of the Alliance reports, and planned to spend time reviewing their contents and conclusions. Assuming always that the files he discovered were not plants—they hadn’t been encrypted, again a surprising omission for such a professional operation.