Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi (15 page)

Liao thought so, too. “How did she react on the surface, surrounded by Toralii?”

“Aside from her quick trip down to the surface to talk to you and the initial landing party, she didn’t really participate. I don’t think she even managed a visit, except when work took her there. I asked her twice, but she insisted she didn’t want to. I… well, to be honest, I think it had something to do with the Toralii. She probably didn’t want to be reminded of the battle.”

That troubled Liao. She had enjoyed her time on Velsharn immensely and had hoped some time spent on the surface might speed the redhead’s emotional recovery.

Liao motioned for Kamal to turn down the corridor to the Operations room. “What about the rest of the crew?”

He smiled at her, folding his hands behind his back. “Once the first reports came back from the surface about how beautiful it was, the Broadswords couldn’t shuttle people back and forth fast enough. I think the pilots that stayed should be given some kind of reward or something–they were working flat out, and I’m pretty sure they barely got a moment on the surface. From speaking to the senior staff, I think the crew had a relaxing time, and they’ve returned refreshed and ready to work.”

“And what about you?”

Kamal seemed momentarily flustered, glancing over his shoulder and waiting until they were in a secluded section of the corridor before speaking.

“I stayed on the ship, Captain. With Lieutenant Peng. It was karaoke night, so…”

She gave him a nod. “So you needed a drinking buddy, huh?”

Kamal flashed her a playful wink. “A little more than that, Captain.”

Liao blinked as the man’s meaning settled in. “Oh.
Oh.
”
She grinned. “Well, good for you. I felt guilty about leaving you with the ship while I bummed around on a beach, so I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

Liao did not think much of Peng, but she could admit that he was attractive. And, apparently, Iraj’s type.

“Believe me, Captain, I was
much
happier up here.”

They stepped into Operations, giving a curt nod to the skeleton crew on duty, then moving over to Liao’s office. When the door was closed, she grinned at her XO.

“I bet you were. He’s cute.”

“He is.” Kamal smiled, then deftly changed the subject. “But I am worried about Summer. If you could have another chat with her, I think she’d appreciate it.”

Liao nodded. “I’ll have a word with her about it.”

She walked over to her desk and eased herself into her chair with a light groan. A slight frown appeared on Kamal’s features as his eyes took in her posture.

“There was one more thing, Captain.”

She squirmed to get comfortable, reaching down to smooth her uniform. “Yes?”

Iraj hesitated, as though reluctant to say anything, then sighed. “Don’t take this personally, but I think you should allocate more time in your day to the upkeep of your personal fitness. I don’t know if it’s because you relaxed a little too much on the Toralii planet, or if it’s just the stress of what you’ve been through over the last few weeks, but I noticed you’re putting on some weight.
It’s not good for the Captain to appear out of shape or unfit. It makes a poor impression on the crew. We need everyone at our best, especially you.”

Melissa felt a surge of anger and, before she had a chance to consider the implications her words tumbled out of her mouth. “I’m not
fat
, I’m preg… pregnant.”

She didn’t know why she said it, and she regretted it immediately. Iraj’s eyes widened.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air. “I… Kamal, I’m sorry you had to find out like this. Obviously, I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while and I promise you, I was going to tell you eventually, I just had to wait until the time was right.”

Kamal nodded slowly. “I understand. How long have you known?”

“I’ve… I… since I was injured in the battle with the
Seth’arak.
Doctor Saeed is the only one who knows, apart from Saara. And now you.”

His posture changed, becoming more formal, his gaze locking on Liao’s. She imagined he was annoyed–and rightly so–the Toralii civilian had known about an important development before he had, but his sense of duty and stoicism prevented him from raising the complaint directly.

The Iranian man’s voice was even but firm. “I see.”

Liao sighed and put her head in her hands. “I’m sorry, Kamal. I am. She found out while we were on Velsharn. I let my defenses down, and it kind of slipped out. Now that she knows, it’s probably good you do as well. I can’t keep it a secret forever.”

“No, I don’t think you can.” His face softened slightly, forming the beginnings of a smile. “Congratulations, though. I’m guessing it’s—”

“Yes, it’s James’s.” She emitted a soft groan. “The press are going to have a field day with this one.”

“I imagine they will.”

Liao returned her hands to her lap. “Well, at least the distance between us and the nearest reporter is measured in light years.”

“Small mercies.”

Liao nodded, echoing Kamal’s sentiment, but she didn’t have anything meaningful to add. It was her fate, something she would have to deal with when it came up.

Kamal excused himself to make sure all the crew were back on board, leaving Liao with her thoughts until her radio crackled and Operations informed her she had an incoming transmission from the
Sydney
. She requested that Hsin, their communications officer, place the call through to the internal communicator on her desk.

“Good evening, Matthew.”

There was a moment's pause. “Good evening, Commander Liao. I hear you’ve returned from Velsharn.”

Liao frowned slightly at the small beige box sitting on her desk. The Australian-accented captain seemed far more formal than he had been previously, something that set off alarm bells in her mind.

“That’s correct, Captain, I have. What can I do for you?”

“Are you alone?”

She took a moment before answering. “Yes, Captain, I’m in my office.” A pause. “What’s going on?”

“I wanted to speak to you about the mining outpost Qadan mentioned. According to my people on the ground, you were eager to assault it.”

Liao stared at the communicator, her hands flat against the desk. “Forgive me, but were you spying
on me?”

A thin chuckle came through the speaker. “No, no. Nothing like that. Our translator, Andrews, he spoke to Saara yesterday and the conversation you had was mentioned.”

Liao grit her teeth. “Yes, I suppose that’s logical. The Toralii tend to be far less secretive than we do.”
And far less protective of the secrets of others,
she mused.

“Uhh, yes. Anyway.” Knight coughed softly. “I’m calling to remind you of what we discussed earlier. I know there’s a possibility James might be there, so I imagine you’re chomping at the bit to attack that colony, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to do so. We have two ships, Captain, and your crew have already been to Karathi.
Neither of us have laid eyes on the colony.
Even setting your potential bias regarding Captain James Grégoire aside, it makes logical sense for the
Sydney
to assault the colony–which by reports is not well defended–while the
Beijing
returns to Karathi and retrieves the parts.”

“But—”

Knight cut her off. “You
agreed
, Captain.”

She had, but it was one thing to make a promise and another to uphold that promise in the face of enormous temptation.

With a sigh, she nodded, although he couldn’t see. “Very well. The
Beijing
will retrieve the parts from Karathi. The
Sydney
can investigate the mining outpost.”

Knight’s voice carried his relief through the communications channel. “Thank you, Captain. You’re doing the right thing.”

With as much strength as she could muster, Liao forced herself to sound agreeable. “You’re right.”

Operations Room

TFR Beijing

Orbit of Karathi

One hour later

They finished up the last of their business on Velsharn and jumped the ship to Karathi. Once the jump sequence was complete, Liao retired to her office, officially to catch up on paperwork.

Unofficially, she cried her eyes out.

The
Sydney
was, at that very moment, investigating a Toralii Alliance mining colony where James might
be held captive. Would he be fit and well? Or were they starving him? Torturing him? Had he already perished?

Dark visions played in her mind for a time, but the hands of her wall-mounted clock crept towards the hour, and she could indulge herself no longer. The ship needed its captain.

She spent a moment checking her composure, making sure her makeup was fixed and her eyes were no longer red. She also made sure her uniform was tucked in as well as it could be to try to hide the growing lump in her abdomen. Her confidence returning, Liao stepped into the Operations room.

When she did, she took a breath to clear her thoughts and instantly felt her command instincts return. Liao looked at her tactical officer. “Mister Peng, report.”

Peng twisted in his seat. “Jazz and Butcher are flying escort for the Broadsword
Switchblade
. It will enter Karathi’s atmosphere in two minutes. Distance from us is one hundred thousand kilometres.”

Jazz and Butcher
. Peng was using callsigns to identify their strike craft. Not entirely against protocol, but Liao did not favour the callsign system and preferred to identify her craft with numbers. That was one problem with having rookies on the bridge, but there was nobody else to replace Jiang on such short notice.

She let the ghost of a smile play over her lips. It had been interesting
how quickly Peng had found himself a bridge position, and now it all made sense. Kamal’s influence.

Liao wasn’t sure how she felt about the obvious favouritism, especially with her connection to James, but she put it out of her mind. The situation with her and James was not the same, but given how high her spirits were after her stay on Velsharn, she merely resolved to investigate it later. Now was not the time to worry about it.

“Very good. Keep me informed about their progress,” she said.

“Aye aye, ma’am.”

Liao moved to her command chair, easing herself into it with a soft groan.

Kamal stepped up beside her.

“Captain, the engineers report said they should have the parts we need within two hours. It’s night on Karathi, so the heat should be bearable.”

That was good. Nice and quick, and the temperature would be a lot more comfortable for her team. “Two hours it is. I hope they brought plenty of torches.”

Liao managed a smile.

From the engineer’s station, Summer spoke up.

“They did. I helped them pack.”

It was a simple statement, but one Liao found gratifying. Summer was starting to overcome the trauma she’d experienced, to begin the healing process that would eventually close the wound in her mind. She trusted Rowe and knew time would heal her pain.

She studied the redhead, watching as she worked her engineer’s console, doing innumerable things which normally didn’t concern Liao. Even though the rest of the ship had nothing to do, Summer was always busy. There were so many systems that needed regulating, so many little things the crew normally took for granted. Liao was grateful for the engineer’s skill.

Time ticked away. There was little for Liao and the Operations crew to do but maintain a high state of readiness. She remained quiet and alert, occasionally checking her readings and receiving reports from the surface.

The quiet moment was relaxing, in a way. A chance for her to avoid any disasters, any great dramas, and just do what she’d always wanted to do—captain her ship.

Those thoughts playing through her head, she heard the voice of Peng calling out across Operations.

“Captain Liao, the landing party reports that they have secured the parts for the jump drive. They’ll be lifting off momentarily.”

She nodded. “Good. Get them back here and let’s get to work installing them.” Liao stood, glancing towards the navigator. “Lieutenant Dao, prepare to—”

Cutting her off, the alarmed voice of Lieutenant Ling rang through Operations. “Captain, radar contact! One large signal in the Karathi L1 Lagrange point! Two hundred thousand tonnes!”

Liao whirled to face Peng, her eyes wide. “Is it the
Sydney
?”

There was a pause as the man studied his screen. Liao frowned, her hands on her hips. Jiang would never be so slow.

“Negative, Captain, it’s not transmitting the
Sydney
’
s transponder signal.”

Ling spoke up again. “Multiple smaller radar contacts. The contact is launching strike craft!”

“Any identification on the vessel?”

Peng shook his head. “No, Captain.”

Almost as though answering Peng, Ling’s voice rang out. “Captain, that vessel is emitting an identical thermal and radar profile to the one we engaged near Mars. It’s a Toralii Alliance cruiser!”

The Toralii had found them.

Missing that crucial piece of information regarding the ship's identity was another rookie mistake from Peng. Liao stepped towards her command console, leaning over it intently. A cruiser. Just
one
of the mighty ships managed to take on the
Sydney
, the
Tehran
,
and the
Beijing
all at once.
There was no way she would or could fight it alone.

“Sound general quarters, Mister Iraj, and ready the ship for combat. Charge the hull plating.” She glanced at Peng. “How long until the contact closes with us?”

“Twenty minutes to effective weapons range, Captain, if they maintain their current heading and velocity.”

Space combat was a strange thing. Once fired, a slug from their railguns would continue to travel until it hit something. That could take a minute, a day, a year, or longer, but eventually that slug, traveling at a fraction of the speed of light, would smash into a solid object at full force.