Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Reprisal Read online

  “Loren, sir,” Merritt started, “please don’t just tell me he’s the XO. I figure you can’t gripe about him to the masses, but this is me and Cory. We have to do something; we missed a great opportunity today.”

  “I think he’s more interested in some sort of personal vendetta against us or me, and that little episode with the flagship is all the evidence you need, delivered on a silver platter and suitable for framing,” Cory added.

  “I agree,” said Loren. “I’ll talk to the captain about this again. I just need to choose my words and get my presentation right, but for what it’s worth, I was going to go see him later about this anyway. Messing with us is one thing, but causing problems for the ship and fleet is another. Just lie low and keep away from him until I talk to Captain Elco, ok?”

  “So,” Merritt questioned, “when I pee I should use an actual bathroom instead of Shae’s quarters from now on?”

  “Good idea.”

  Chapter 3

  Halley sat at the kitchen table of her small apartment lost in thought. She had just seen the morning news feeds that she had clandestinely accessed through Callidorian security. Though the reports were whitewashed pretty thoroughly, she got the gist of it: a force had attacked the Priman’s new mobile shipyard whose location she had discovered and sent off-planet with Garrett, and it hadn’t gone well for the Primans. She had later hacked into several other databases and, making a whole picture out of many different sources, reconstructed the battle in some detail.

  Her work had proven to be useful, but she was sure she was on the trail of something larger. Shipments of blood and DNA from captured planets were being routed to Callidor, while an unusual amount of medical supplies were being diverted there as well. Halley had done her research, and had decided she would need to infiltrate the lab she had tracked down the previous week. Anticipating finding something useful, she had already scheduled a meeting with Garrett for after the job, which would begin tonight. The facility was operated by Primans, but was secured by Callidorian police forces. Her nanites could mimic the biological signs of a Callidorian, which would come in handy once inside. She went through the small satchel of equipment on the table once again- electronic lock busters, forensic computer tools, restraints, stun sticks, and some other materials she planned to plant as evidence to misdirect any investigations, should she set off any alarms or otherwise be detected. It was imperative that the Primans not suspect she was on to whatever they were cooking up. She also carried a small handgun, manufactured on Callidor and thus fairly common. It had an integral silencer, and magnetically fired solid projectiles much like part of the dual-fire function of the Confed SSK. She hoped she didn’t have to use it, especially on a Callidorian, since she doubted they were very enthusiastic about their jobs guarding the Primans, and any casualties would tip off the Primans that there was someone snooping around the building. However, if it was that or mission failure, she knew which one she had to choose.

  Deep in space, the moment Captain Josias Krent had dreaded was upon him. The Union stood off with a Priman cruiser, roughly equal in terms of firepower but in Priman space, putting the Enkarran at a severe disadvantage. Krent had gambled on cutting through a recently occupied system to take some time off the transit on his way to meet up with several other Enkarran ships. He couldn’t spare the fuel for a long voyage, but apparently his luck had run out. Having sent the Imminent and Horizon ahead so he could use the Union to watch for tails, he had instead become the one who was stalked.

  “Captain,” the communications officer said, “the Priman cruiser is hailing us.”

  Captain Krent stood up from his chair and walked to the center of the bridge so he would feature prominently on the Priman’s display when the channel opened. “Ok then, connect us and put it up on the main screen.”

  The image popped to life, showing a neat, brightly lit and somewhat sterile looking Priman bridge. Their bridge design reflected their ships- consoles and displays were smooth, curved, and mounted flush with the surroundings. Polished chrome and alloy metals featured prominently in the construction. But the biggest shock of all was the officer who introduced herself.

  “I am Captain Salm, of the Priman ship Summoner.” If she was caught off guard by Krent’s presence on the bridge, she showed no sign. Krent would have been disappointed if she’d reacted any other way. “I appear to be addressing Captain Krent of the Enkarran ship Union. Are you aware that you are trespassing in Priman space?”

  Krent wasn’t sure how much of what she’d say was for real and how much was a show for her crew. He hoped there was still the off chance she felt some sort of camaraderie towards him from the time they worked together on the Union before the invasion and subsequent Priman parting of ways with their former allies. He had to play it neutral and see where she led the conversation. Not as if he had a choice, in any case.

  “Captain Salm, congratulations on your promotion. It couldn’t have gone to a more deserving or dedicated officer. I’m sure you will serve the Priman cause with honor. I was crossing this space in order to attempt a rendezvous with a supply merchant who is arranging foodstuffs and mechanical spares for my ship.” Stretching the truth a bit wouldn’t hurt any; he was attempting a rendezvous, but Salm didn’t have to know it was with Enkarran warships and not merchants. “I was under the impression this system was still contested; I apologize for the intrusion if your claim has been solidified.”

  Salm seemed to ponder that, and in her own mind she did, in fact, still feel a kinship with Krent. Though on different sides and at one time each unknowingly ordered to kill the other, their mutual respect had allowed them both to survive that encounter. She did notice, however, that after months without outside influence, he had defaulted to the long-winded Enkarran orations when speaking publicly. A cultural deficiency that she had always found difficult to wait through, she had hoped he would have been able to talk straight and get right down to business with her. It was the only thing she had encountered that reminded her that they were different people on different sides of this war.

  “Captain Krent, I must inform you that we have in fact secured this system. I can also see that according to my readouts, you have not powered up your weapons systems. A wise move. Since the Enkarran Empire still technically holds noncombatant status with us, I ask if that is how you stand before me now.”

  “Indeed. I am simply trying to keep my crew fed and out of harm’s way.”

  “To what end, Captain?”

  “Perhaps we’ll have to leave this sector of space. Maybe we will wait out the hostilities and hope for a peaceful coexistence with your people. I hesitate to admit I’m not sure where this is going.”

  “Thank you for your honesty, Captain, I could always count on that with you. You may pass, but be informed this system is under our control and will be defended from this point on.”

  “Understood Captain. Until we meet again, then.”

  “For our sake, I hope it will be a while.” Salm broke the connection on her end, and ordered the comm officer to enter the encounter with the Union in the log and sent out to all Priman ships. Having now been warned, if the Union came back into this system, she would be fired upon and destroyed.

  On the Union, Krent stood there in the middle of the bridge, mind racing. He knew his crew was staring at him, most likely wondering if he was about to crack under the pressure. But he was far from the edge; in fact, his thinking was clear and well reasoned. He had finally figured out what he had to do in order to survive. And not just him, but the Enkarran Empire, their entire way of life as a people and a culture. It would be humbling and he was sure to encounter resistance, but the choice was clear.

  “Helm, continue on course, best economy speed.” He turned to his First Officer. “Officer Nestin, summon the senior officers and have them meet in my quarters. You, too.” He turned again and walked over to the comm station. He was inspired now, excited. Having made his decision, he was at peace with it and eager to make
his case to others. The wavering, the not knowing, had pressed down on him for months. The simple act of deciding to commit to a course of action freed him to act again, and it was invigorating. “Comms, hail the Imminent, Horizon, and any other ship broadcasting an Enkarran transponder code near our rendezvous point. Tell them I want to present them with a plan.”

  He strode purposefully off the bridge towards his quarters. The road would be challenging, but he was going to give it a try.

  The weapons research lab was part of a greater complex that included commercial as well as defense projects. It was a series of connected buildings, all surrounded by a tall and decorative but functional perimeter fence. Inside the fence were random patrols by Callidorian police, and every building was secured by a manned checkpoint with a combination DNA/retinal profiler. Add to that roving patrols of small, autonomous recon hoverbots, and it was a fairly imposing task, but Halley had a few tricks up her sleeve for the night.

  She wore a black skintight, environmentally regulated suit that blocked her body heat from escaping. A matching hood covered most of her head and face, though it got hot very quickly and she tended to leave it pulled up on top of her head until she felt it was necessary.

  She stood in front of the perimeter wall, waiting for her chance to leap over the top. Finally it came; using her enhanced vision, she saw through the wall that the recon probe there had turned the corner and was passing behind the next building in line.

  Using her boosted strength, she jumped on top of the wall, then just as quietly and expertly slipped back down to the ground. She scanned the area using infrared and light-enhanced vision, spotting the roving probes and occasional Callidorian long before she herself could be seen.

  She approached a side door of the building adjacent to the lab and pulled out the small electronic lock buster. Opening a small door on the top of the unit, she looked through the assortment of probes and connector tips arrayed inside. She withdrew one and stuck it into the service port of the keypad lock panel that controlled the door, then watched as the probe communicated wirelessly with the base unit. Rather than simply trying to brute-force the lock, she had selected a more refined approach. After watching it for several days, Halley had selected an employee that she had seen working in the building. She did some basic research, and was prepared to mimic that person’s identity when opening doors and such. If there was a break-in investigation, the authorities would notice his ID being used late at night to access the lab she had targeted.

  Rifling through the lock computer’s databanks, she found his ID and profile, which she instructed her lock buster to use to open the door. The lock was connected to a bioscanner, which would run a cursory bio profile to see if the ID being entered was a match to what the scanner saw. Concentrating on what she wanted to project, Halley thought her nanites through projecting the man’s biosigns instead of her own, sending out a false heartbeat, vital signs, blood chemistry and respiratory gases. It wouldn’t damage her body if she only did it for short periods and didn’t make a habit of doing it every day, but she planned on living a long life after she retired from the service, and tried to not push things too far unless absolutely required.

  Following a confirmation that the bioscanner agreed with the code ‘entered’ in the keypad by her lock buster matched, the door’s lock released with a quiet but audible click. Looking through the walls into the hallways beyond, she determined it was clear and slipped inside, closing the door behind her a half dozen heartbeats before another recon probe floated around the corner. While it might have been able to pick up faint heat traces of a normal person’s passage, the combined effect of her suit and the nanites’ close regulation of her body chemistry left nothing behind.

  She passed through several more rooms and hallways, dodging humanoid as well as electronic detection. Finally, she was at the main lab. Surprisingly, the room was no more secured than any other she had been through, but she took no chances. She used the lock buster on the door’s keypad to see if any motion, laser, infrared, or other intrusion detection systems were armed, but there were none installed- the room was secured only by the advanced door locks, and nothing more, though since the room was within a highly secure building she understood why the security was a bit lax. Still, it was something she would never have let slide, but scientists were notorious for rebelling against extreme and invasive security. The paranoid part of her also led her to place small, almost undetectable flash-bang charges at the doors and in the hallways leading to the lab, which she could remote-detonate with a small handheld controller.

  She was out of excuses. Though she could swear something was amiss, she didn’t have time to waste any longer; she could see and hear a Callidorian Security patrol heading her way down the corridor. Sending the ‘open’ command through her lock buster, the door clicked open and she slid inside, recovering the lock buster and quietly closing the door behind her again.

  The room was large and dark, filled with workstations and computer terminals, many still active and displaying various holographic representations. Even with her limited training on the subject, she could tell they were biological in nature. She saw cells, proteins, DNA analysis, and more, which she made an effort to study in detail so her nanites could store what she was seeing.

  Though the room was not lit by the overhead lights, a few workstation lamps were on, plus ambient light from the holoprojectors added their illumination to cast the room in an eerie, ever-shifting glow that created a dance of shadows all around her.

  Having maintained stealth through virtue of her silent movements, she was alarmed when she noticed someone else in the room, but not surprised that the man didn’t detect her. She got down behind a row of workstations and began moving towards the man. She could tell he was male, Callidorian or Human, but more likely not Priman. He was wearing a workman’s jumpsuit, badged with what looked like the logo of a large electrical company Halley knew was a frequent subcontractor for this facility. Still, he didn’t appear to be working on a blown circuit breaker; he was standing at one of the terminals, watching the holo display as the module next to it filled up what Halley assumed must be a data chip. As she crept closer, she began to run through the possibilities. Commercial or military espionage, someone looking for blackmail, planting a virus, all were possibilities. And they all required the same solution: she would have to remove the man from the room so she could accomplish her work without him knowing what her objective was. Actually, it made for a beneficial opportunity. She could leave him there, and arrange for him to take the fall for whatever he was trying to steal. She’d have to review what he was stealing, but as long as it wasn’t the DNA research she was after, it would keep the Primans misdirected away from her own theft.

  Resolving to take him down quickly, she crept the last few feet to her attack position. She considered using the silenced handgun, but the chances of a stray bullet were always present; she decided to take him down hand-to-hand. Scanning again for people outside the lab and finding none, she stood up and prepared to launch herself at the man.

  “Please don’t do anything stupid,” the man said, still intent on the keyboard and not looking at her. “I have several high voltage shock guns mounted around me which I am ready to fire. I will be inside the safe zone of their fire, and you will be a crispy attacker twitching on the floor in pain.”

  Halley recovered immediately, scanning the area around the man for surveillance signals. “You’re bluffing.”

  “My cameras that allow me to see you are hard-wired. There’s no signal to detect by people such as yourself who are obviously looking for such a system. Impressive, don’t you think?”

  The mystery man finally turned around, and Halley had the shock of her life. He was on the early end of middle age, with graying hair and a close trimmed beard. He was wearing prosthetics to change his appearance, but she used her enhanced vision to map the real contours of his face and she went from attack mode to standby.

  “Miste
r Drayven,” she smiled. “Of all the places to meet a realtor.”

  The man paused for a second, seemed ready to object, then gave in. His shoulders squared up a bit and his posture straightened. He had been going so far as to adopt an artificial posture to go along with his altered features. She had to admit, he was good.

  “How in this galaxy can you know that without scanning gear?” He started. “Really, you’ll need to tell me some time Halley. Along with what business you’re actually in.” Even though their relationship was amicable, they were both still committing all manner of crimes and felonies, and they would both be keeping their guards up.

  “So, how are we going to play this?” she asked. “Seems like we both came here for something, though I’ll go so far as to admit that what I came for is on a different server at another workstation than the one you’re using.”

  “I don’t see why two reasonable people can’t steal from the same place at the same time, do you?”

  Halley considered it for a second, then decided to accept the offer. Besides, taking him out would take time and require her to obtain the services of another Fixer.

  “Alright,” she replied. “I’ll need five minutes. You?”

  “Same.” In a gesture of good faith, he turned back to his terminal and resumed whatever work he was engaged in.

  Halley wasted no time in activating a terminal farther down the same work area and logging into the system. While her faked ID programs and infiltration viruses worked their magic, she spared a few seconds to go hack Garrett’s connection and try to see what he was after. He was good, she admitted, but he didn’t have the training or equipment she had, either. She saw he was altering shipping documents for the lab. Her first assumption was that he was creating opportunities to use the lab’s cargo schedule to his own ends, either by shipping his own cargo through their system or perhaps intercepting some of theirs. It was no matter to her, in any case. She watched her programs work, breaking into the server and sniffing out the files she had indicated she was interested in. She had received a generous amount of information technology training, and she rated her ability to hack a computer right up there with anyone she knew. Rather than waste valuable time in the building searching through records, she had instead built a virus/search program at her apartment and was letting it do all the hard work now. It had required quite a few cyber attacks beforehand to test their systems, but she was confident the program would beat down whatever doors it needed to in order to accomplish the goals she had given it.