Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades (38 page)

“Not at all,” he
replied. “We’re distancing ourselves. Our mandate is to stand
ready in this territory in case of an attack from the Order of Eden
or their allies and increase our vigilance. We can’t play a role in
local politics.”

“Even if it results
in needless bloodshed?” Ayan asked.

“I’m afraid our
stance is firm in this.”

On a whim, Ayan brought
up the surveillance logs from Haven Shore and found footage of
Minister Sunny Zinnes meeting with the Carthan Minister, Cory Green,
along with several other high ranking members of their military. The
recording was scrambled, so she couldn’t hear what they were saying
clearly, or have her software read their lips. “Why were you
meeting with the Carthans last night?”

“They approached me
for advice,” Sunny replied. “They were worried about the split
between Haven Shore and Triton Fleet, and wanted to hear my opinion
on your motivations.”

“And? What’s your
opinion?” Ayan asked, aware that there must have been much more to
the meeting if they used a surveillance scrambler.

“I’m afraid I had
to be honest with them. You are making big waves while sitting in a
very small boat, Ayan, and I told them that you would pursue war with
the Order with or without their approval. I did advise them against
this attack.”

“You knew this was
coming,” she said quietly. “You didn’t give us any warning, but
you knew last night. ”

“I’m not in a moral
position to grant either side a tactical advantage, and that’s what
I would have been doing if I warned you. I am here, however, in one
of your buildings, and that must count for something.”

Ayan forced herself to
slow her breathing, to focus on her current objective. The
conversation wasn’t any help, so she had to take another tact. “I
want to resolve this without firing a shot. Give me something to
start with, Sunny. When they reply to my hails, how do you think I
should start my negotiations?”

Sunny Zinnes seemed
almost stunned at the sudden turn in the conversation and stared at
her for a long moment. “How do I think you should start
negotiations?”

“Yes,” Ayan said.
“They’re going to have to communicate with me soon, so give me
something to start with, like what this is really all about. Is there
some transgression I missed and should address?”

“Transgression?”
Minister Zinnes asked.

“Yes, something we’ve
done that brought this on, a law we broke, or some line we crossed,”
Ayan asked, trying not to sound as exasperated as she felt.

“You helped the
Warlord recruit new people, started establishing military bases
without their clearance. I’m sorry, Ayan, but I wouldn’t put
myself in your position. I’m a better diplomat, but if I found
myself in your place I would tell the Carthans that you’re willing
to negotiate terms while they occupy Haven Shore, and you might get
them back to the table.”

“What do they want?
Resources? Housing? To address me as a security concern, or-“ Ayan
stopped, recognizing a glimmer in Sunny Zinnes eye. “It’s housing
– they’re short on facilities, so they want ours.”

“I’m sorry I can’t
help you, Ayan, it’s outside of my mandate,” Sunny replied,
smiling a little. “Good luck.”

Ayan watched as the
hologram faded. “So we rescued hundreds of their people, and now
they’re all out of room.” Ayan said. “I’ve never heard
something more wrong-headed in my entire life.”

“Could that really be
what’s behind this?” Lacey asked. Lieutenant Garrison joined
them, ducking to avoid the hatch’s upper seal. He was one of the
tallest humans Ayan had ever seen. “Did I hear that right? They’re
surrounding our home because they’re low on bunk space?”

“I know that’s not
all,” Ayan said. “Our recruitment drive had to be the breaking
point. We’ve been testing them, pressing at the boundaries of the
rights they gave us when we settled here.”

“Pardon me for
saying, but they gave you those rights,” Lieutenant Garrison
reminded gently. “Everyone knows that you’re the signing
Sovereign. So far more than half the people in Haven Shore have been
happy with it too, especially since you and the Council generally
don’t back down when the Carthans tell you that you can’t do this
or that.”

“Either way, we kept
pushing,” Ayan said. “And while the Carthans weren’t able to
repair any of the old structures on Tamber and they were taken over
by gangsters or squatters, we built something brand new.” She
gestured at Haven Shore. “It’s one of the only large residences
with anti-bombardment shielding on Tamber, and as of today,
everything in that building is working. They’ve been waiting for
this.”

“Son of a bitch,”
Garrison grumbled. “I just traded for a new sofa.”

“There’s no room
for a sofa in your quarters,” Lewis said.

“Sorry, Lewis, it’s
for my apartment in the Everin Building. We can’t spend every
minute together for the rest of my life. I’m starting to feel like
I’ve never known anything but the inside of my quarters and your
cockpit.”

“I understand,”
Lewis said. “Maybe some space would be good. I have noticed that
you depend on me for most of your social interactions. You should
find a few agreeable humans. I know they will probably pale in
comparison to me, conversation-wise, but it may be the best thing for
you nevertheless.”

“Is there anything I
can be doing on top of my regular duties captaining the Clever
Dream?” Lieutenant Garrison asked.

“No, but you’re
going to want to strap on a sidearm,” Ayan said. “Make sure your
suit’s ready for action just in case. I don’t think the Carthans
are going to negotiate.”

“Aye, aye,”
Lieutenant Garrison said. “Good luck.” He turned and bumped his
head on the hatch before making his way to the cockpit.

Ayan opened
communications with the Triton directly and waited for them to
connect from their end.

“If the Carthans
aren’t going to negotiate,” Lacey said. “Wouldn’t it help to
address everyone in range?”

The thought hadn’t
occurred to her. “You mean a general transmission to everyone on
Tamber?”

“Yes, like a speech,
but short, and-“

Oz appeared above the
tactical projection in the middle of the room. “How are things at
point-blank range?” he asked.

“The same. They’re
holding on our border. I get the feeling that they’re organizing
more forces before striking.”

“Or they could be
trying to locate you,” added Carl Anderson as he appeared beside
Oz. “They know where we are, and how we fit into your command
structure, but you’re the owner of Haven Shore, and you have six
other armed claims on Tamber. They take you out, or take you hostage,
then get you to sign it all back to them, and they get Haven Shore
for a bargain. That’s the only way the British Alliance would
approve a property transfer.”

“I’m an idiot,”
Ayan said under her breath. “Lieutenant Garrison,” she called
down the hall to the cockpit. “Get us away from Haven Shore and
anything that could interfere with our cloaking systems.”

Ayan watched the Clever
Dream manoeuvre into a steep climb, weaving and twisting into the
air. Within a second, three beam weapon strikes swept across their
energy shields, and several heavy projectiles narrowly missed them,
exploding against the surface of the water.

“Ayan, are you all
right?” Carl Anderson asked.

Ayan checked the status
of their cloaking device and the origin point of the attacks. The
Cray Severn, the Carthan Command Carrier was responsible, but their
beam weapons had done no damage. The cloak was intact, and Ayan knew
how they were spotted. “We disturbed the surface of the water when
we turned away. Our cloak will work as long as we try not to disturb
the atmosphere much.”

“You have to find a
good landing place under cover,” Oz said.

“We will,” Ayan
replied. “Don’t worry about me, this fight is obviously on, and
we have to show them that they’re taking on more than they can
bear. Can the Triton take the Cray Severn in a surprise attack?”

Oz thought for a
moment, looking at something Ayan couldn’t see in his hologram.
“Give me fifteen minutes to secure any unvetted crew in their
quarters. I’m not going into battle with unknowns running around.
As far as winning an engagement against the Cray Severn? In a
surprise attack, I know we can cripple her – it’s the four
destroyers they have for support I’m worried about.”

“We only need to
destroy their lead ship,” Ayan said. Lacey’s jaw dropped.

“I need to confirm,”
Oz said procedurally, “you said destroy, not disable.”

“Destroy,” Ayan
repeated. “The Carthans have taken this too far already. If we
succeed in defending Haven Shore, they’ll just regroup and come at
us again, and they’ll win. We have to demoralize them completely,
hit them with the Triton’s torpedoes, then you have to disappear so
they can’t retaliate against you.”

“You’re right,”
Oz said. “And we’re lucky we have a top-notch tactical officer
here. Commander Agameg’s telling me we can have a full volley of
torpedoes ready to launch in ten minutes.”

“While you do that,
I’m launching with the Rangers, they’re almost ready,” Anderson
said. “What did our British Alliance friends say about this, just
out of curiosity?.”

“They’re sitting
back and enjoying the show,” Ayan said. She was thankful for the
Clever Dream’s excellent gravity control systems as she saw the
ship dip into a large jungle cavern and hover. Lieutenant Garrison
and Lewis were several steps ahead of her, hiding the ship until they
were needed. “I won’t soon forget.”

“Maybe Ayan should
make a speech?” Lacey broke in unceremoniously. “I mean, if the
Carthans won’t listen to us directly, maybe Tamber should know
what’s going on?”

“No doubt people on
Kambis are watching, too,” Oz said. “Good idea.”

The tactical hologram
alerted everyone that the energy shield surrounding Haven Shore was
taking orbital strikes from two of the Carthan destroyers. “Looks
like they’ve given up on finding you,” Oz said. “Can we have a
full volley of torpedoes ready in five minutes?” he asked over his
shoulder. He nodded at a response and looked back to Ayan. “Agameg
says we can strike in seven. You’d better get going, Carl.”

“Aye,” he told Oz.
“Stay safe, Ayan,” he said to her.

“You too,” Ayan
replied. “Wait until I finish talking to everyone in the planetary
system, then hit that command carrier as hard as you can.”

“Aye, Commander.
Don’t leave anything out, it might be the last thing they ever
hear.”

“We have a response
from the Carthans,” Lacey said. “It’s text only.”

Ayan accessed it and
was confronted by a document that was thousands of words long,
bearing the digital seals of most of the Carthan administration.
“Lewis, can you summarize this? It looks like a petition for
nationalization.”

“You’re right,”
Lewis replied. “The Carthans are claiming that two of your claims
are illegal, and that Haven Shore is no longer sovereign territory,
but a privately owned section of land. With this document, they’re
nationalizing it, making it the property of the Carthan government
and your people have one hour to vacate the property.”

“Then it’s
official,” Ayan replied, a chill running down her back. With a
gesture, she opened communications on all channels, relayed through
their fighters, Haven Shore, their captured bunkers, and every other
broadcasting system the Clever Dream could access. It was as though
the reality of the situation smothered her anger. Ayan’s mind had
never been so clear, and she knew exactly what to say. “I’m Ayan
Anderson, and I negotiated for Sovereign status with the Carthan
Government nearly a year ago. They provided us with a land grant that
we used to build a home. While we built our main habitat, we
continued our active partnership with the Carthans, clearing Order of
Eden forces from Tamber, rescuing over a thousand of their people,
and we assisted in the maintenance of security over large sections of
Tamber. We didn’t do this for free. We made sanctioned land claims,
were paid small fees for our rescue efforts and for our patrols. Just
a moment ago, the Carthans made it clear that they want us to leave
the home we built so they can make it their own. After everything
we’ve done for them, despite the partnership we’ve nurtured, the
Carthan government has turned on us. One of our most seasoned
captains said something only days ago that I wish I had taken to
heart: Never trust a government that brainwashes their criminals to
become soldiers.

It is important to me
for everyone within range of this transmission to know that the
Carthans are opportunists, slavers, and our relationship with them
has come to an end. They have fired on our main civilian structure,
the Everin Building, and on my command ship. Haven Shore and Triton
Fleet will not abide this. We must protect the most vulnerable of our
people, and we will do so using the full extent of our arsenal.
Please, if you value your lives and property, do not interfere.”

Ayan ended the
transmission and opened a channel to the Skyguard. “Slick, are you
ready?”

“Aye, Commander. Your
orders?”

“The Clever Dream
will be joining you in destroying all armed elements of the Carthan
fleet near Haven Shore’s perimeter. Other targets will be marked as
they become relevant.”

“Aye,” Slick
replied. “Understood.”

Ayan opened a channel
to the Triton. “You have a go. Destroy the Carthan command carrier
and fall back to assess further targets.”

Agameg’s hologram
appeared in the middle of the room. “Understood, we are
proceeding.”

“Where’s Oz?”

“He is taking care of
another urgent matter. I doubt it will take more than a moment.
You’ll also be happy to know that Rangers One and Two are be
available for orders. The cloaked shuttles have passed their test.”