Knight of the Empire
Chapter 17

I itched around my nether regions under my skinnies I should have known better than to wear basic training issue scanties. It was better than nothing I wasn’t like Marsha or a T’Arni I had some dignity or that was how I justified it. Basic training issue scanties as the drill instructors had informed us during basic training had been designed to absorb blood, sweat and the occasional tears and not transfer it to your skinnies. I reckon they were sadists and enjoyed our torment. I vowed as soon as I could to replace something better even if I had to make it myself but it was all stores had. It couldn’t have been that hard Mr Dabos did it without any effort. He could run up a whole suit of clothes in an hour. I doubted I would be that fast. I decided to forego the vest top having one itchy region was bad enough. With an hour to exit I was seated on the floor of the bridge a cushion under my rear. My view of the rest of the bridge was limited but I was determined not to replace myself on my rear again. Currently I was staring at the screen my vision seeing orange clouds and purple lightening flickering across the hull. Like hyperspace the shields were useless and I wondered how long it would take us to raise them once we exited. Marsha sat on her chair her face a picture of calm. I knew she was tense as I glanced at her I saw her hands grip the arms of her chair her knuckles whitening.

“How long to exit Mr Willmass?” Marsha asked the Fandaren at the helm there was tension in her voice. I couldn’t blame her for that.

“Thirty-seven minutes ma’am!” Willmass replied.

It seemed the longest thirty-seven minutes of my life as we waited to exit. We had no idea of where we were. Suddenly the clouds and lightening vanished and we exited into normal space.

“Helm full stop!” Marsha barked.

The ship jerked to a stop. I slid across the floor as the dampeners cut in.

“When you’re finished playing XO,” Marsha quipped trying to lighten the mood we all felt.

“Sorry about that ma’am,” I replied. “At least this time I haven’t ended up with carpet burn!” I blushed realising what I had just said.

Several crewmembers burst out laughing breaking the tension we were all feeling.

“In your own time XO,” Marsha said.

I got the hint she wasn’t on about me getting up off the floor. I blushed redder.

“Mr Willmass where are we?” Marsha asked the Fandaren.

“Melanos.”

“Melanos?” I gave Marsha a significant look.

“Where?” Marsha said wondering out aloud.

“On the far side of the system from where we exited the last time.”

So on the other side of the system was the exit from Tate’s world. I wondered how many more exits there were into the Melanos system. I got up and walked over to Marsha.

“Comms, lock on the nearest comms relay and inform Com Ops of our location,” she ordered.

“Looks like all road lead to Rome,” I commented.

Marsha gave me an odd look. I guess she hadn’t heard that Terran expression before.

“Head into the system standard speed and I want to go to amber,” she said.

Amber was the alert status that ordered the crew into combat positions but without activating defence systems. It was one stage below red alert.

I got up and returned the cushion to Marsha’s ready room. She was still seated when I returned.

“Ok XO?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Comms anything from Com Ops yet?”

“Message coming through ma’am your ears only,” the comms officer called to her.

Marsha gave me a look and shrugged. “Transfer it to my ready room.”

“Aye ma’am.”

“You have the conn XO,” Marsha said as she stood clearly she didn’t like keeping secrets from me.

“Aye ma’am,” I replied. I understood her predicament but she had her orders. “Helm take us in. Sensors I want a full sweep, maintain amber!”

“Aye ma’am,” Sensors and Helm replied.

I did wonder if Marsha’s message was about me but the sensor operator interrupted my musings.

“Ma’am ships on long range sensors.”

“How many?”

“Two ma’am.”

I didn’t hesitate and commed Marsha. “Captain to the bridge.” This was more important than any message.

“XO?” Marsha said as strode onto the bridge.

“Two ships in long range sensors?” I told her.

She gave me a nod of approval as she sat down. “Sensor ID on those ships yet?”

“Too far away still ma’am.”

“Maintain amber,” Marsha ordered.

“Were there supposed to be ships here?” I asked her.

“One the Elafi. Comms raise the Elafi on channels?”

“Aye ma’am,” Comms replied and added. “Havok to Elafi, Havok to Elafi?”

We waited for several minutes.

“Ma’am no response from the Elafi?” the comms officer said.

“Go to red alert, Helm slow to one quarter. Arm weapons!”

I felt my hands grip the back of Marsha’s chair, watching as the bridge crew indicated that they were ready. “All stations ready!” I called out.

“ID on the ships yet Sensors?” she ordered.

“One is the Elafi but the freighter can’t ID a registry on it yet?” Sensors replied.

“Message from the Elafi,” Comms called out.

“On screen,” Marsha said and leaned forward.

I released my hold on her seat and stepped back. The image that flashed up on the holoscreen was a young looking T’Arni male with regulation short blonde hair. Something about him made me itch and that wasn’t down to my scanties.

“Captain Yanik, I’m Captain Slanoi of the Elafi. Sorry about the delay I was dealing with an unauthorised arrival somewhat like yours. Frankly I’m surprised to see you. Com Ops put out a galaxy wide alert for you?” the captain of Elafi sounded as if he had a problem.

“I’ve already informed Com Ops of our location and that the wormhole leads from Theadon.” Marsha sounded abrupt to my ears. Perhaps she was mirroring the Elafi’s response.

I gave her a look. She might have had a cause to. The captain of the Elafi stuck me, as odd there was something about him that didn’t ring true in my mind. Perhaps I was being paranoid then after what had happened to me recently I had justification. The presence of the freighter had got me wondering.

“Sensor got a lock on freighter type?” I asked.

“Generic medium range haulage freighter,” Sensors promptly replied.

Medium range freighters had no hyperspace engines and had to rely on hyperspace gates to get from system to system. “Melanos has no hyperspace gate?” I said to Marsha. “How did it get here and how will it leave?”

Marsha leaned forward her eyes on the holo of the captain of the Elafi. “You are right XO,” she said thoughtfully but her words to the captain of the Elafi had an edge to them. “I take it Captain Slanoi that you failed to ask these questions. I suggest you scan that freighter!”

“How dare you dictate how I conduct my affairs. What right have you!” Captain Slanoi spluttered.

“That was a direct order from your superior! I have Com Ops full sanction to take what action I deem necessary to complete my mission.”

The holoscreen suddenly went blank.

“Damn it!” Marsha swore. “Helm full speed, divert all non essential power to the shields.”

“LT,” I snapped into my wrist comms, “Assemble the squad in the shuttle bay full gear.” I called Ross next. “Ross prep the shuttle.”

“Yes ma’am!” he replied.

I turned to Marsha. “With your permission captain?”

“Hold XO,” Marsha ordered me I had to obey. “Just a minute.” She was staring at the holographic tactical display on her chair console.

“Ma’am?” I chaffed at the delay.

“What is that idiot doing?” she said suddenly.

I wasn’t sure whom she was talking about. “Sensors are we close enough to scan the freighter?” I asked.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Scan the freighter,” I said. Marsha was too busy concentrating on her tactical display.

I heard the sensor operator gasp. “Ma’am it’s crammed with fissionable materials!”

“What!” I gasped. It got Marsha’s attention.

“Helm, time to firing range?” she said her eyes still on her screen.

I wasn’t going to pull her up over that she had the experience I didn’t.

“Four minutes!”

“Ma’am the freighter’s powering up its engines and the Elafi’s on an intercept course!” Sensors called out.

“Towards the freighter?” Marsha snapped.

“Us ma’am.”

“Weapons fire when the Elafi is in range,” Marsha sat back her voice sounded terse.

I swallowed hard this was just the sort of confrontation we had at the senate building. I understood her dilemma. I felt confused the captain of the Elafi was T’Arni and unlikely to be ATL.

“Ma’am the Elafi is altering course back to the freighter!” Sensors called out.

An image flickered onto the holoscreen, the face was that of a female T’Arni with lieutenant’s bars on her collar of her dress uniform. “Sorry about that ma’am Captain Slanoi has been relieved of command he was acting odd.”

“Acting odd why?” Marsha sounded puzzled.

“Not sure ma’am took our entire Marine squad to pin him down. We have him sedated.”

That sounded suspiciously like something I had heard before but for the life of me it alluded my thoughts. I was just about to ask Marsha when the klaxons sounded on the Elafi.

The T’Arni lieutenant looked round wildly. “What’s happening...” that was a far as she got.

The screen went blank.

“Sensors!” Marsha barked.

“The freighter rammed the Elafi.”

“Damage?” I asked.

“It seems to have hit the Elafi a glancing blow she’s drifting and out of commission.”

“Comms get me a relay to Com Ops.” Marsha demanded.

“On line ma’am.”

Marsha quickly outlined what was happening. I kept my eye on the tactical display. The freighter was heading away from us at top speed. The Havok was quicker, it wouldn’t be long before we were back in range.

“On this course it looks like its heading for Melanos.” I said to Marsha.

“Why?” she sounded puzzled.

Suddenly something I once read at the palace came to mind. I remembered reading about what the Terrans had called World War Two and a people called the Japanese. I had met more than a few Japanese and they seemed the epitome of politeness.

“They’re making a Kamikaze run on the planet!” I felt cold they weren’t just going to crash into the planet they were going to destroy the Archives. “They’re heading for the Archives!”

“Kamikaze?” Marsha looked at me.

“Tell you later. They’re are trying destroy the Archives!”

“Weapons,” Marsha shouted, “how long to target?”

“Two minutes!”

“Fire within range target their engines.”

Time ticked on. The Havok rapidly closed distances with the freighter it was only a matter of time.

“Fire!” Marsha yelled.

There was no jarring as the twin main railguns fired. I tracked the shots almost moving too fast for the tactical computer to follow.

“Direct hit to engines!” the weapons officer called out.

“Ma’am!” The sensor operator said, “freighter is launching shuttles.”

“Life signs?” Marsha leaned forward her eyes on the tactical display.

“Negative, on remote I’m scanning fissionable materials on them.”

Suddenly there was a blinding flash. The freighter became the centre of an expanding incandescent cloud.

“Brace for the shock wave the EMP will play Havok with the systems.” Marsha told me.

I gripped her seat as the wave hit us. There was very little of the bucking I would have expected from a shock wave. It was the resulting pulse that knocked out our systems. I felt lighter as we momentarily lost gravity, the lights and consoles flicked off. Moments later the power came back on.

“Damage report all sections,” Marsha said to her comms unit. “Sensors where are those shuttles?”

“Drifting they weren’t as shielded as the Havok is. There is a possibility that it will take them longer to restore their systems since they are no longer on remote.”

“Will they have planned for this when they detonated the freighter?” I asked Marsha.

“Ma’am the shuttles are restarting their engines!” Sensors said before she could answer my question.

“Course?”

“Towards the planet.”

“Weapons, point defence only.”

I had seen how deadly the point defence railguns had been on Tate’s World. “Is that wise what if those shuttles explode?” I had to ask the question.

“It won’t be so bad for us.”

“Wouldn’t the main guns be a better option?”

“Not against small fast moving targets.”

“Missiles?”

“Too short a range,” Marsha told me.

I got the hint that was as much as she would exhaust on the subject. I stood quietly at her side my eyes on the tactical display.

“First shuttle in range.” I said to Marsha.

“Fire!” she yelled.

In blink of an eye the shuttle vaporised. As Marsha had predicted it didn’t affect us. The point defence guns had done what they were designed for. I could see her wisdom Marsha knew what she was doing.

“Six more to go!” she said cheerfully. I guess it was her Valkyrie blood talking.

Five more shuttles succumbed to the lethality of the point defence guns. The seventh’s path was more erratic and it was difficult to get a lock on.

As Marsha leaned forward I was certain I heard her growl. “Die damn you!” she muttered under her breath. It wasn’t a side of Marsha I had seen before. She was taking it as affront to her dignity.

I laid my hand on her shoulder. “Deep breath, Marsha,” I whispered into her ear. My face close enough to hers for her to feel my breath on cheek.

Her eyes widened startled. “Where is it going?”

I saw from the display that it was veering away from the Archives and heading off at a tangent. “Can we still target it?” I asked anxiously.

“Got a lock!” the weapons officer, shouted.

“Fire!”

This time there was no resulting explosion.

“Did we hit it?” I said.

“Weapons?” Marsha looked at the weapons officer.

“Direct hit ma’am.”

“Helm follow it down. I want to know exactly where it is going?”

The Havok followed the shuttle’s path as it spiralled down.

“All stop!” Marsha ordered.

I watched the shuttle spiral down through the atmosphere until it slammed into the ground in a rocky region of the planet then most of the planet was rocky. This just happened to be rockier than the rest. I waited for the explosion but nothing happened.

“Ok that was a bit of a damp squib.”

Marsha gave me a look.

“I’ll explain later?”

She nodded. “Comms contact the archaeologists camp.”

“Can’t raise them ma’am.”

“XO get your squad and go down!” Marsha said.

“Yes ma’am,” I saluted. I was back in action doing what I had been trained to do.

Dressed in my armour and an AR 32 I had got from the stores in my hand I trotted into the shuttle bay. Lieutenant Tutor was waiting for me beside the shuttle. The others of the squad were already seated inside weapons strapped to their chests.

“Sit Rep colonel?”

I explained the events of the Elafi and the freighter.

“I wondered why the power went out?” he said simply.

“We can’t get in contact with the archaeologists and we’re going in on recon mission.” I really didn’t want a repeat of the last mission we were on to rescue archaeologists. Ellie’s friend Jeanne and a few of Gena’s companions had died in that encounter. Jeanne at the hands of a Terran officer working for the Usurper and Gena’s companions by our hands. All because we hadn’t known until later that they had been innocent pawns in the Usurpers insane scheme. We had treated them as enemy soldiers rather than frightened teenagers. Sarah of my squad had quit so broken up with remorse. I hoped that she was doing well as the surrogate mother of the young woman she had shot and wounded.

“Aye ma’am.”

I glanced at him he had just addressed me navy style. I guess I really wasn’t going back to the 43rd. I had hoped that I would be reinstated but this made it clear I was Spec Ops from now on.

“Get on board LT.”

Strapped into my seat on the shuttle I glanced across to Tutor. He had his helmet on so I couldn’t see his face. “We do this by the numbers LT.”

“Aye ma’am,” he responded no trace of humour in his voice. “Kriaeusus you’re with me, Bacare with Lawrence, Harms you have point with Vorra.”

“And me LT?”

“I’ve seen you in action ma’am you’re an entire squad on your own.”

“Standard spread on landing I’ll cover the shuttle. We move forward in fire teams.”

“You heard the colonel.”

“Aye sir!” the rest of the squad shouted.

“Lets do this!” I replied and commed Ross. “Ross ETA?”

“Landing in two minutes!”

I felt the shuttle slow as we came into land.

“Squad positions!” I ordered releasing my restraints and unclipping my weapon.

The shuttle touched down and the door slid open. I found myself looking at a bleak rocky landscape. Grey sky above and in the distance sharp jagged peaks. I noted on the HUD of my combat armour that the air was breathable and the temperature was not much above five degrees centigrade. I had been to Melanos before and never seen the surface. I was unconscious on the way down and on the way up. The first had been the sedative Camelia had injected in to me, the second when I had fought my first Rhosani and had blacked out. Ross had landed the doors facing away from the entrance to the cave standard practice in combat situations. The shuttle would provide cover if it came to a firefight. Hurrying around the shuttle I stopped and stared at the scene before me. It wasn’t like the vids I had seen at the academy. I had vetoed that trip after Olga had shown me the cost of the trip and the time it would have taken to get to Melanos and back. Huge cargo containers littered the ground between the shuttle and entrance to the caverns about seven hundred metres distant. There was a large cargo lander a good sixty metres in length and two commercial shuttles on a clear space between the containers. I wasn’t sure if they were already here or had come from the freighter. It paid to err on the side of caution until we were certain of the situation. The only other thing that held my interest was the comms tower. I raised my AR 32 to my eye and sighted down the scope. The tower seemed to be intact.

“Squad spread out and head for the entrance to the caverns.” I commed Vorra. “Maintain comms with the Havok. We’ll lose all comms once we enter the caverns,” I warned her.

“Aye ma’am.”

The entrance to the caverns was a raised mound of earth and rock with an irregular shaped gap that lead down into the ground. Harms and Vorra had reached the entrance and had taken up flanking position either side of the entrance. I took up position at the edge of on of the large containers and waited. At a signal they headed inside. Moments later they had come back out.

“All clear ma’am,” Harms commed me.

“LT head in!”

Inside was what I remembered from my last visit. The floor and roof were smooth while the roof was uneven. Something had cut the path down the floor looked like it had been melted in to the ground while the roof gave me the impression that they just let loose rock fall it had that unevenness. An archway delineated the end of the tunnel and the cavern. Stepping through the entrance I found the rest of my squad waiting for me. The cavern had changed, the last time I had been here there were only a few habitation units. Now it was crammed with units, stairs and platforms. Someone had gone for a long stay. I began to wonder how many people were here. A movement on the edge of my vision had me turning. A young woman stepped out from a unit two steaming coffeepots in her hands. She stared hard at us then let out an ear-piercing scream dropping the coffeepots and ran towards the entrance to the Archives. I was glad my helmet filtered out the worst of her noise.

See her run away relieved part of the dread I was feeling. I hadn’t wanted another encounter like Anwa Padak. I strapped my AR 32 to my chest and removed my helmet figuring we’d have company soon. “Stand the squad down LT.”

As ordered the squad strapped their weapons to their chests although I noted that their hands hovered near their grips ready to draw and fire in a moment. The sound of angry voices from the direction of the Archives put me on alert. Joyce Neilson strode through the entrance to the Archives a number of people behind her. I recognised a number of them as Gena’s former companions they were accompanied by several T’Arni dressed in work clothes. They I didn’t recognise.

“Ah Sandra it’s you!” Joyce Neilson seemed surprised to see me. “Reed no need for an audience. I think we can break for lunch.”

“Sure thing Joyce.” He gave me a wink and herded archaeologists towards one of the units.

I remembered Reed Walters from Anwa Padak. I think Gena’s former companions were now archaeologists I couldn’t think of them any other way. Images of those dead youngsters flashed through my mind. I pushed the images away I had a job to do. If I let it fester then it would end up as another Anoxi for me and I was determined not to go down that road again. The Guardians had cured me of those nightmares but I didn’t want a new set to replace them.

“Professor Neilson,” I said. “We need to talk in private?”

“Call me Joyce, never been big on formality.”

“Vorra,” I called out.

“Ma’am?”

“Head outside and comm the Havok and give them a Sit Rep.”

“On it ma’am!”

“LT?”

“Ma’am?”

“At ease you know the drill.” I turned my attention to Joyce. “This way if you please Joyce.”

“Oh course Sandra lead the way.”

We walked a little way down the tunnel to the surface.

“I am surprised to see you here?” Joyce asked me when we stopped.

“Not as half as surprised we were.”

“Oh?”

“That wormhole by Theadon led here.”

“So Lento did act on my suggestion?”

What didn’t surprise me was that she had addressed the prince on a first name basis.

“I’m still in the dark as to how we activated it?”

“We’ll figure that out later.” She gave me an odd look. “Now really tell me what’s troubling you?”

I found myself telling her about what had happened since I had left Earth. I don’t why I told her but my deepest instinct told me I could trust her.

“My, my you’ve certainly have been at the centre of it all?” she to me.

“I think the Rhosani are growing desperate?”

“That they are, but why attack us now?”

I considered what she was saying. “You are right they’ve had plenty of time to do it earlier. They’ve had control over Com Ops and parts on the Senate for months.” I assumed that was the case I didn’t want to think of the alternatives.

“It’s possible that they’ve been waiting. I’ll tell you now we’ve had no success in replaceing anything further on the Rhosani. Just what everyone knows or in the case of the T’Arni for the last thirty thousand years.”

“Yet in all that time we’ve learned very little about them. They’ve plenty of time to put an action to close this place permanently so why now. I know our sudden presence threw what plans they had into chaos?” I said thinking hard.

“Because there’s a now an added factor they hadn’t planned for.” Joyce looked at me thoughtfully.

“Added factor?” I couldn’t get what she was hinting at but I had a bad feeling about it.

“You.”

“Me?” I felt as if I was on the edge of a large pit and looking into the abyss.

“Yes you, you’ve stopped their plans more than once. Perhaps they are afraid you’ll replace what you are seeking?”

“I don’t even know what I am looking for. All I’m trying to do is survive.” I felt I had the right to protest.

“You’ve made some very powerful friends and you’ve got the Valkyrie on your side.”

“Yeah less said about the Valkyrie,” I muttered pointing to my face indicating my hair and eyes. “This was their idea of a joke.”

“Valkyrie don’t joke about such things they hold their rights as sacred. They don’t do that without a valid reason. They would have not considered it if you had been anyone other than you no matter what or who you were. I did some digging into your ancestry and found something very interesting.”

I felt more than a little annoyed some comparative stranger had gone looking into my past. “Why?”

Joyce took a deep breath. “I’m going to tell you something. The fewer that know the better. I want you to treat this with the utmost confidence and please don’t interrupt until I have finished.”

I wondered what she was going to tell me. “Ok.”

“Constantina is my niece.” Joyce held her hand up to silence me. “Victor was my father, I’m what they would deem at the palace as illegitimate. He considered my mother a minor dalliance. And before you ask the throne is not mine. I wouldn’t even be considered. My mother came from one of the worlds bordering Confederacy space.”

I began to get an inkling of where this was going but I kept my mouth shut and listened on.

“My grandmother is T’Arni.”

I examined Joyce’s face carefully and couldn’t see any sign that she was a ‘Brid’. Alice was a part ‘Brid’ and from the sounds of it Joyce had the same mix in her blood.

“The ultra-conservatives at the palace would have apoplexy if I ever tried to take the throne. I’m not going to do that I refuse to take away Constantina’s heritage.”

Now that I could understand looking at the determined expression on her face.

Joyce continued. “Besides they’re only interested in pure blooded humans.” I saw her smirk. “I think they would be in for a shock if you ever ascended to the throne.”

There it was again she was alluding to something in my past. I held my tongue she seemed to want to say more.

“Constantine and Camelia knew. Who do you think witnessed their wedding? To all concerned but not Victor I was someone they just roped in as a witness. I’ve always been one of Constantine’s loyal supporters. He was my family treating me as an equal even though Victor wanted nothing more to do with me. Why do you think with all the thousands of expeditions around the Empire he placed Constantina with me? He knew I would keep a close eye on my niece.”

“OK I get that. But what’s it to do with me. Ellie is my cousin although I’m not sure what that makes us?”

“Family. Getting back the point I’m trying to make is that things happen for a reason.”

“Look I’m sorry I must seem to be really dim to you but what has this to do with my past?”

“In a way everything. If you remember from your history lessons about our first contact with the Enari or the Valkyrie as we later named them were intrigued by us. So much so that there were a few human Enari couplings. Unfortunately neither race thought about the consequences of their actions. Well not until several Enari became pregnant, by that time it was too late. In Enari custom the children were handed over to their human fathers to raise. Your great, great, great grandmother was one of those women. The Enari are very through when recording blood lines.”

I was going to ask more questions but the sound on someone running had me on alert. I unstrapped my weapon and stood ready. “Get back down the tunnel and alert my squad!” I said to Joyce. I didn’t turn and see if she complied.

The sound resolved into one person jogging to towards me. I recognised who it was and lowered my weapon.

“Vorra?”

“Ma’am there’s been a situation we’ve been ordered back to the Havok.”

“Ok Vorra, Gather the squad and we’ll head back.” It would be now with everything else I was trying to deal with. I turned to see Joyce standing there. “I’m sorry we have to go.”

“That’s ok Sandra we’ll have plenty of time to talk later.”

She walked back to the cavern as my squad arrived.

“Head to the shuttle LT.”

“Aye ma’am.”

We headed out to what I didn’t know.