Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (167 page)

Vranas nudged a handheld display around on his desk. “We are allowing ships to leave and encouraging organized civilian efforts to evacuate or otherwise seek shelter, but not at the expense of losing control of the streets or the spaceports. The reality is a tiny segment of those who haven’t yet departed will make it off the planet before the aliens arrive, but the military is of necessity concentrating on defending the planet itself, and by proxy defending all its citizens.”

Graham nodded soberly. “No doubt. And as I am beyond confident Marshal Gianno does not need my aid in this regard, I’m betting that’s not why you asked me here at such an hour.” ‘Here’ was Vranas’ office, the hour four in the morning. By the unkempt state of the office and Vranas’ rumpled shirt and sunken eyes, it had been some time since the Chairman had seen his home or even a bed.

“They’ve gone ahead with Project Noetica in Vancouver. We gave our assent, though I doubt refusing to do so would have deterred them.”

“One of ours is involved, right?”

Gianno adjusted her position in the large, wing-backed chair beside him. “Commander Morgan Lekkas. She experienced no notable complications in the procedure, and it appears to have been successful for her as well as the others. I will need to get back to Military HQ soon to monitor events from STAN’s end and ensure it stays that way.”

“What precisely does ‘appears to have been successful’ mean?”

Aristide shook his head. “Damn creepy, that’s what it means. We had a conference earlier with Brennon, Admiral Solovy and her newly ‘enhanced’ daughter. The woman was…it was simultaneously astonishing and frightening as all Hell. But her—its, their, I don’t know—analysis was not only hyper-accurate, it likely saved our asses. Without it we wouldn’t have discovered what the Metigens were planning for another twelve hours or so, and those hours could end up meaning the difference between surviving and falling.”

The man seemed to deflate in his chair. “Still, are we actually going to give this woman—and her Artificial—the power to control the entire United Fleet? She’s not even military, for God’s sake.”

Gianno allowed a long sigh to escape pursed lips. “If she’s Miriam Solovy’s daughter, I have to believe she is both formidable and disciplined. My instinct is to prefer a military officer as well, but perhaps this conflict requires something new.”

“Well it’ll see something new, that’s for damn sure….” Vranas grimaced and reached for the glass on his desk.

Graham leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I can’t speak to disciplined, but Alex Solovy
is
formidable. Whatever else may or may not be true, she doesn’t simply want to defeat these aliens—she is convinced she can do it and is expecting anyone who doesn’t agree to step aside and clear the path.”

He paused and gave them a questioning look. “I’m assuming this is why you asked me here? To get my perspective as the only one of us who’s actually met her?”

Aristide shrugged. “More or less.”

“I suspected as much. She’s not someone you want on your bad side, but I also think she’s on the right side—or at least she was before her ‘enhancement,’ as you called it. I don’t trust Artificials either, but am I correct in saying absent some way to alter the equation, we will lose the war?”

Aristide didn’t bother with the shrug this time. “More or less.”

“Then what are we grousing over? Without this Project Noetica, we’re all dead. With it, we’re only maybe all dead.”

“Wow, Graham, you really know how to look on the bright side of things.”

“I do try.”

Aristide drew his chair in closer to his desk. “We’re grousing over the fact we just stood at the crossroads and made a deal with the Devil without knowing the terms of the arrangement. If there were any other option available to us, if the stakes were anything other than complete annihilation, I would never have allowed it. Humans employ weapons of terrifying power as it is…to put such power in the hands of Artificials?”

“In fairness, Artificials controlled by humans.”

“So they say. Not real clear how it works in practice.”

Graham eased back in his chair, deciding it was best to refrain from provoking Vranas further when he was not in the best state of mind. “What’s Brennon’s opinion on the matter?”

“That we must do whatever it takes. I of course agreed. And I do. I merely hope God forgives us our sins when this is all ended.”

He had no response, so he turned to Gianno. “And Commander Lekkas? How are we intending to use her?”

Gianno smiled; it might have carried a touch of wryness, but it was hard to tell. “She solved the technical difficulties plaguing the arcalaser weaponry in less than three hours—without any help from STAN—so we’re scrambling to install it on as many fighters as we can. The hardware’s unfortunately too complex to push it to the larger vessels in time.

“Then? She’s a fighter pilot, and a damn good one. So I believe we’re going to see what she can do when upwards of a thousand fighters equipped with bending lasers are at her command.”

Graham had been back in his office less than five minutes when Will Sutton walked in.

The agent had arrived on Seneca shortly after he returned from Pandora and had been a tremendous help the last several days. He hadn’t appreciated exactly how much work Oberti had done to keep Division running smoothly.

While Sutton was not asking to nor would he likely accept if offered the position of Graham’s deputy, the man had a keen mind and an eye for detail. They had worked together to track down the perpetrators of the safe house bombing and continued cleaning up the mess left in Oberti’s wake.

He motioned to one of the chairs opposite his desk and decreased the tint on the window behind him. A steel-hued sunrise bathed the office in early dawn light. “I just left a meeting with Chairman Vranas. It seems we’ve taken the leap and assigned our fate to some Artificials, a hot-shot fighter pilot, an uber-wunderkind and Alex Solovy.”

Will chuckled as he settled in the chair. “I don’t know about the others, but Alex is good, Director. I admit I never thought I’d see her in this particular position, but I have faith she’s up to the task.” His brow furrowed a little. “Assuming she realizes cursing in Russian at the Metigens will probably not be sufficient to convince them to leave.”

“You never know.” Graham tried and failed to stifle a yawn. “It’s either ridiculously late or horrifically early, I can’t be sure. What you got?”

“Something which I suspect will result in you not getting that elusive sleep anytime soon.”

40

KRYSK

S
ENECAN
F
EDERATION
C
OLONY

“
S
IR, THE STEALTH RECONNAISSANCE CRAFT
is reporting deployment of all mines.”

Liam jerked his head in approval. “Order it to return to the
Akagi
.”

He took a step closer to the viewport, clasped his hands at parade rest behind his back and waited for the fireworks. The
Akagi
hovered too distant for the triple orbital arrays to be visible with the unaided eye except for the occasional glint of sunlight off the scaffolding. The detonations, however, most certainly
would
be visible.

He directed half his observation to the visual scanner as the first array node approached the location of the mines. Their placement had been tricky, as Krysk deployed the most robust array network they had contended with thus far: three stacked arrays moving in a staggered pattern, two synchronous and one counter to the planet’s orbit to provide maximum coverage. All but six of the
Akagi’s
supply of mines had been deployed in the tight grouping necessary to blow a hole sufficiently large in the defenses.

Just before the node came into position his focus sprung to the viewport. His pulse leapt in anticipation.
3…2…1….

A small plume erupted, then petered out into the surrounding space. A puny little explosion. It was followed two seconds later by another, similarly puny event. The array and its framework continued to orbit unimpeded as one by one the interlocking nodes encountered the remaining mines and feeble detonations flared then faded away.

Liam blinked repetitively while his brain worked to process the absence of the expected spectacle.

“Those were
not
nuclear explosions. Were they, Colonel?”

In his peripheral vision his XO scrambled to study his tactical screens. “Uh, no, sir. It looks as if only the mines themselves detonated.”

Liam’s jaw ground tortuously together. “Would someone care to explain to me
why
there were no nuclear explosions?”

“I’m not sure, sir. Scans are picking up scattered pieces of the warheads…they appear to have been torn apart in the primary blasts but….”

“But nothing. Have the stealth craft load up more mines and
try the fuck again
.”

“Perhaps we should inspect the rest of the mines before deploying them?”

A rare intelligent suggestion. “Yes. Let’s do that.”

Liam spun to traipse vehemently across the breadth of the overlook; the space shrank to press in on him. Complications were the last thing he needed now. Krysk’s defense arrays represented a substantial challenge. If he strayed too close they were capable of crippling the cruiser with a single coordinated shot. If he wanted to reach the planet, he required a gap to slip through.

His thoughts had completed several mental loops when he noticed the XO stood fidgeting beside him. “What?”

“Sir, the warheads seem to have been…disarmed.”

“What do you mean, ‘disarmed’? Rearm them.”

“We can’t, sir. They’ve been rendered inert.”

“How many of them?”

“A-All of them, sir.”

“Dammit!” His fist slammed down on the railing to send a shudder through the overlook. “I want the traitors who did this found
now
!”

“I’ll alert the Security Chief to begin an investigation—”

“Get the flight deck and armament officers for the last three shifts in front of me ASAP.”

“Uh, excuse me, General O’Connell?”

He whipped around to the voice behind him. One of the ship systems officers, Lieutenant something-or-other, held a hand up.

“You have something to add, Lieutenant?”

“I might know something, sir. Last night when I was leaving the exercise room around 2030, I saw Captain Kone in the hallway near the armament room. I didn’t say anything at the time because I figured, special forces, he probably had a reason for being there.”

“Security, where is Kone now?”

“On the flight deck. You instructed the ground forces to prepare for possible deployment.”

“Get him up here. Forcibly.”

Captain Gregor Kone arrived on the bridge in the grasp of two MPs, his face blanched but his demeanor stoic. Arrogant, like all the MSOs.

The MPs halted their prisoner two meters from where Liam stood at the edge of the platform. He sneered at the young Marine. He’d have towered over Kone on equal footing, but from the overlook his looming presence dwarfed the man, arrogant or no.

“Captain, why were you in the armament room last night?”

The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed once. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”

“Don’t even try denial with me, boy. You were
seen
leaving the armament room.”

The muscles beneath Kone’s cheeks flexed as his expression hardened and his stance stiffened. His voice resounded with annoying self-assurance. “I’m exercising my right under Earth Alliance Military Justice Code Section 5.1B to remain silent.”

Liam cracked his neck as his lips curled into a snarl. “So you were disarming the nukes then. You would know how to do it. Why? I didn’t think they let peacenik pansies into the special forces.”

“I am exercising my Section 5 right to remain silent.”

“Did you have help? Name the other traitors and I’ll consider mercy.”

“I am exercising my Section 5 right to—”