Sol (The Silver Ships Book 5) (28 page)

“Let’s not forget the opportunity for sabotage,” Z added, enthused with the concept.

“Idona’s bond came about by the presence of our people,” Julien said. “Cordelia, this bond you speak of could only be forged on two conditions. The first is that the two long-standing enemies, the militia and the rebels, believe in a truce and a different future. They must be convinced of a fundamental change in UE policies.”

“That could only come from the Tribunal,” Patrice said. “On a change as fundamental as this, no one else’s word would be accepted.”

“And the second, my friend?” Alex asked.

“We will be asking people across the system to believe in something that they might have only dreamed of but have never experienced. It’s a great deal to ask of the Earthers,” Julien supplied.

“Unless, we don’t ask them to believe in what’s been accomplished. We show them,” Nikki declared excitedly. “This system will have heard from sources on high or secondhand rumors, but they won’t have heard from us.”

“Yes,” Patrice declared, laying a hand on Nikki’s shoulder. “I heard from Z that Tribune Brennan conferenced systemwide to the commerce leaders, soliciting their support. Why can’t we use the same concept and communicate to the system about life on our new community.”

Alex glanced around at his associates, who were nodding their heads in agreement. “So we request the leaders of our pro-naval forces to proclaim a fundamental shift in UE policy, which will surely drive the enclave into the open. On the heels of that, we need a demonstration of Idona that will convince the people of the outer rim to forgive generations of strife and suddenly unite to deny services to capital ships of the judiciary. Sounds simple enough.”

“So, no, we’re not doing any of this,” Patrice stated, after hearing the impossible laid out in such stark terms.

“On the contrary, my dear lieutenant,” Renée explained with a big smile. “This is our leader’s way of stating the ironic. We’ll be doing exactly that.”

“For the station presentation, Nikki and Patrice, work with Julien and Cordelia to prepare your presentation. You two will be surprised at the incredible, artistic skills of this one,” Alex said, pointing to Cordelia.

“Our presentation?” Nikki asked incredulously. “You aren’t intending to leave it in our hands to sell the entire rim on this plan, are you?”

“I can’t think of two better people to sell it. Like you said … they’ve heard from admirals, commerce leaders, tribunes, station managers, and even the rumor mill, but an ex-rebel turned station master and a militia lieutenant standing together, what better imagery could you have?” Alex replied.

When the two women continued to stand dumbfounded, Alex said, “Go … get planning. Julien and Cordelia will join you shortly.”

Reiko waited until Patrice and Nikki left the room, leaving only Harakens and her. “May I ask, Alex, exactly what your plan was when you came to our system?” Reiko was surprised when her question broke the Harakens up into laughter. Tatia was even laughing so hard she started choking.

Reiko stared at Alex in amazement. “You didn’t have one?” she accused, and her answer was the shrug of Alex’s shoulders. “What are you three laughing at,” she asked, pointing to the SADEs. “You’re supposed to be the geniuses, the cognitive intelligences, or whatever! How can you start out for a foreign system, with only three FTL-capable ships by the way, and no clear plan on how you intend to deal with an entire system, which has already proven to be your enemy?”

Julien stopped laughing and smiled at Reiko. “As illogical as it might seem, we bet on Alex.” The room quieted and Reiko found herself the center of the Harakens, who were regarding her with steady eyes.

“Hmm … magic man,” Reiko murmured.

“Careful, Reiko,” Renée admonished, “We have enough trouble keeping his head to this size.” She kissed the top of Alex’s head by way of apology, but returned to staring straight-faced at Reiko.

Z facilitated Brennan’s second conference call at the assigned time, and despite the protest of commerce heads who wanted to discuss the issue, Brennan proceeded to call roll and ask for the first vote. When the woman whose name was called, objected, Brennan said, “Sendra Deveening abstains.”

“Wait,” Sendra called out. Brennan waited, hoping he had made his point. “Sendra Deveening votes for the military.”

After that first vote, Brennan moved quickly down his long roster, with minimal objections. The final tally was 87 percent in support of the military. Only a few of the remaining 13 percent said they supported the judiciary, while most attempted to sound neutral by stating they supported the status quo or abstaining.

Brennan stood up to go find Alex but stopped and adopted a foolish expression. “Could I speak with Alex, Z?” he asked.

“He’s online, Tribune,” Z said with a smile. “Go ahead and tell him your news.”

Armed with Tribune Brennan’s poll of the commerce leaders, Alex requested Z connect Woo and Chong to his comm with Brennan. It was Woo’s turn to be interrupted from her sleep, which had been restless at best, but Chong was deeply annoyed at being pulled from his bath.

“Apologies, Sers,” Alex began, noticing both of his contacts were dressed in robes and one was toweling wet hair.

“The pressure of the times,” Woo acknowledged. “What news, Mr. President?”

“Good news, Tribune, Admiral; you have the support of Tribune Brennan’s people.”

“Do you have the numbers?” Chong asked.

“A solid majority of 87 percent, Admiral. The station’s revival makes a compelling story.”

“You taking the credit, President Racine?”

“For relieving these people of UE’s crippling policies? Yes, I am, Admiral, but make no mistake, they did the work. We simply granted them the freedom,” Alex said, bristling. A glance at Z caught the SADE wincing, and Alex shrugged an apology to him.

“Sirs,” Woo interceded. “We need cool heads. With yours still being wet, Admiral, one would think that would be sufficient.”

“Sorry,” Chong grumbled grudgingly.

“You were saying, President Racine,” Woo prompted.

“I have been listening to the scientists who fled your explorer ship at Hellébore and the stationers. The consensus is that the military faces an enormous problem with naval officers who owe allegiance to the patronage of the high judges, and the longer that we let these individuals remain hidden, the worse it will be for the pro-naval forces. I’m also told that the militia is solidly under your control, Tribune Woo. Is this true?”

“Yes, Mr. President. Any usurpation of the militia will be at an individual post level, not the commanders, as far as we know.”

“So where is this heading?” Chong demanded.

“We force the judiciary commanders into the open. Get them to expose themselves.”

For the first time during the call, the admiral stopped drying his hair, and tossed the towel aside.

“If we seize the initiative, the enclave will be forced to respond to us,” Alex continued.

“So what’s the plan?” Chong asked, more intrigued than angry. He could get his head around strategic maneuvering.

“The plan is simple. We make a systemwide announcement … more of a presentation. As tribunes, you are the hosts of the presentation, with a couple of special guests.”

“That’s it?” Chong asked, deflating.

“Hold on, Admiral,” Woo said sternly. “What’s in our announcement?” Woo asked, suspecting the president was waiting to drop the second boot.

“Ah … that’s the good part, Tribune. The three of you begin the show by announcing several things: the decision of the military and corporate legs of the Tribunal to change the direction of UE-governing policies, the enclave’s intentions to prevent this change, and a proclamation of amnesty for the rebels.” Alex punctuated the end of his announcement with a bright smile. His audience was having a mix of reactions: the admiral was stunned; Woo seemed to be thinking; and Brennan was smiling.

“Let’s take this plan of yours, piece by piece, President Racine,” Woo said slowly. “We use your real-time communications system. I assume, Tribune Brennan, that you received systemwide coverage for your poll of the commerce leaders?”

“Systemwide, yes, Tribune Woo. It was fantastic,” Brennan gushed.

“Do you expect your announcement to be received by the various systems, especially our encrypted military communications?” Chong asked, more comfortable with working through the details than dealing with the huge question on the table.

“Communication to any of your systems is not a challenge for my people, Admiral. Our SADEs have your comm protocols, your government and military encryption keys, and your systemwide addresses.” Alex could see that with every question and answer he was angering the admiral more than encouraging him, but was unsure how to reverse course.

“So next question,” Woo said, “what changes are we announcing?”

“They don’t have to be detailed, but it must be a promise to shift from the punishing judgments of the high judges, the guilty receiving life incarceration or death sentences. I think you should present this shift as an opportunity to increase the economic opportunities for the entire system.”

“And that’s where the amnesty for the rebels ties in,” Woo said, twigging to Alex’s idea. “We use Idona as the model that will help the entire system … more freedom, forgiveness, fairer judgments … and everybody wins.”

“Exactly, Tribune Woo,” Alex declared.

“What makes you think people, especially the rebels, will believe us?” Chong asked.

“They won’t believe you, Admiral, but they will believe the people of Idona. Our SADEs are helping our presentation guests, Nikki Fowler and Patrice Morris, put together a pre- and post-show of Idona Station,” Alex replied.

Woo clapped her hands in appreciation of the idea. “An ex-rebel turned station manager and a militia lieutenant, and two women at that. Brilliant!”

“Not my idea,” Alex said. “Credit goes to the two women.”

“See, Admiral, I keep trying to tell you that we are the smarter sex, at least more likely to work together than kill one another,” Woo said, laughing. “Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. President?”

“No argument from me, Tribune.”

“That’s why you asked Tribune Woo if she had control of the militia,” Chong said, catching up. “Once amnesty is declared, we need the militia to uphold it.”

“It might be tenuous at best,” Woo said thoughtfully.

“Which is why we give the rebels, the militia, and the colonists a common cause,” Alex said. “And here comes the best part, courtesy of Captain Shimada.”

“Don’t say it, Woo … another woman,” Chong grumbled, but without any rancor.

“Captain Shimada noted that once the judiciary forces were uncovered, it would be an all-out race for every ship to resupply.”

“Yes!” Chong declared, grasping the concept. “If the people want the life they see on the Idona presentation and know that our pro-naval forces are on their side, they will fight to supply those ships. Yes … clever. We will need to ensure that we have a code system in place to help the people identify our forces. This could work.”

“And what about your people?” Woo asked.

“You will have access to our FTL comms system for instant communication, and our SADEs, top commanders, and I will be delivering real-time intelligence on adverse forces your ship commanders will be facing. It will be critical in the early phases to get your ships free of the judiciary ships in their midst as they are identified.

“That could be an incredible edge,” Chong acknowledged.

“And to answer your underlying question, Tribune Woo, my people will be protecting our investment … Idona Station and the space around it.”

“A wise move, Mr. President,” Woo acknowledged. “This is a UE mess. We need to be the ones to clean it up, although your help will be greatly appreciated. We will attempt to keep the knowledge of your assistance as close to the chest as possible.”

“So, we have agreement … your future stance on UE policies, amnesty for the rebels, the station’s presentation, and forcing the judicial commanders into the open?” Alex asked.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I agree,” Chong said.

“You have the vote of the corporate leaders and me,” Brennan added.

“I am in agreement as well,” Woo said.

There was a pause while Alex tried to think of a diplomatic way of phrasing what was on his mind, but Woo interpreted Alex’s pause correctly.

“You needn’t express your concerns or bother with threats, Mr. President,” Woo said. “Whatever else you think of the UE, Admiral Chong, Tribune Brennan, and I have tried to live by our principles. You have our word, and we will do as agreed, including following through with the changes to the UE. Besides, after promising this Idona-like future, if we don’t deliver there probably won’t be a UE, anymore … just ashes.”

“So be it, Sers. I’ll contact you again once the presentation is ready. The sooner we intercept the enclave’s move, the more its plans will be thrown into disarray.”

“Just give us enough warning to get out of our beds and baths and get appropriately dressed, President Racine,” Chong admonished.

“Certainly, Sers,” Alex replied and closed the comm.

Less than four hours later, Alex was contacting Woo and Chong, and much to the relief of the UE leaders, each was fully dressed, just enjoying a repast.

“Is there a script for this?” Chong asked as he sat in front of his monitor and adjusted his uniform.

“I find it’s better if you speak plainly and directly when talking to people,” Alex said simply.

“Great, something that I’m terrible at,” Chong groused.

“I’ll take the lead, Admiral,” Woo said and received Chong’s appreciative nod.

Alex signaled the SADEs and across the system of Sol, communications were opened from Idona through every Haraken probe and into the comms systems of warships, freighters, passenger liners, private ships, stations, colonies, domes, and planets. Many systems resisted, and as fast as the SADEs could they hacked them. Per Alex’s instructions, time wasn’t wasted on those who resisted heavily. The message would eventually be dispersed to the people who depended on those systems. The goal was to reach the vast majority of people throughout Sol.