Con-Red: Recourse (49 page)

Rebeka knew the AI was correct in everything that it had said.  Her mind was far from fully functional at the moment and there was no way she could effectively command the ship.  It wasn’t just her, though, the rest of the ship was going insane as well.  The only explanation would be an alien weapon, one like they had never faced before. 
There wasn’t much she could do it about it now, not in the condition she was in.  Rebeka knew the consequences of unshackling the AI were great.  They were all restricted for a reason.  Once the programming gained control of the entire ship there was always a chance, a minor one, but still a chance, that it would cease to follow all commands.  In history there had been a number of Artificial Intelligences that had thought for themselves in their actions instead of following orders from human commanders.  Another great risk was that something or someone could hack into the AI’s system and take control of it and possibly the entire warship.  Such things happened during the Entech Crusades.  Rebeka remembered her father telling her the stories.

The thoughts of her father quickly turned to those of her family and tears began to swell in her eyes.  Bringing her hand up in front of her face she willed the wristcom to
display images of her loved ones.  Pictures of her husband and son began to project within her palm.  Something inside told her that this was the last time she should be laying her eyes upon them.  The same went for possible the rest of the crew.  Rebeka tried to be strong, she couldn’t hold back some of the tears as she thought about the fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters, that had also lost their lives and loves ones on this horrible day.

“Commodore!  Do it!” Rebeka heard
her XO shout at her as he unleashed more shots at the two advancing marines.

Clinching her fists Commodore Jonstan forced herself to move towards the center control station
.  There in the center was a holographic keypad that changed color as she stood over it.  Something was trying to hold her back from doing the deed, but she willed herself through the pain to continue.  Upon entering a combination another panel opened up from the underside of the console and slide out, requesting file authorization.

Rebeka reached for it just as another
radiation beam swept across the bridge.  This time it came from the rear of the ship and caught the two marines first.  Both of them screamed out in pain as their bodies turned red and black burning from the outside in.  It passed over three other members of the bridge crew and finally reached Captain Stewart as she began to input the last security override.  When the beam passed over her Rebeka experienced the worst pain she had ever felt in her life.  It was like fire spreading all over her body.  The radiation burned her skin and penetrated through her body.  As the internal organs began to die immediately, her body threw into a seizure and she vomited all over the control console.  She could feel the life draining from her body as her heart ceased to function from the radiation injury sustained by it.  Just before her last breath, with life passing before her eyes, she hit the final command key and slumped over the console.

“Command override accepted.  Restrictions lifted.  Assuming command of FNV
Federation
.  Initiating security protocols and locking down command deck.  Emergency drop plotted,” DIA said mostly to herself as everyone on the bridge had already perished.

“Gravitic fields activated.”

DIA powered up the carrier’s gravity repulsion field with what little emergency power still remained and powered up the engines to full military thrust.  With this field greatly negating the ship’s mass, the vessel was able to accelerate at a much faster rate and turn more sharply than vessel of such mass should.  It pulled away from the enemy just as a large red and violet lance fired from the ship’s nose.  While it missed almost entirely, the beam tried to follow the escaping carrier.  Part of the beam still managed to slice into a section of the starboard side hanger bay and into the engineering section as DIA activated the TDrive.  In less than a second the naval ship dropped into the established transpace conduit and disappeared from the system.

With a deep groan Jacques forced the enclosure surrounding him to open and jumped out of the chair.  He was breathing hard and his entire body
ached like it had just run through a marathon.  Everything that he had witnessed and felt through Rebeka Jonstan’s mind had taken a lot of out him.  In truth the entire process had a way of making it seem like all of what had been witnessed had actually happened to him.  From the briefing he had gotten before Jacques knew that some people took a while to get over traumatic events they had just witnessed.

“I included that last part for your benefit Commander,” DIA told him a second later.

Jacques nodded in acknowledgement mostly to himself as he moved away from the chair.  He gathered up his helmet and stepped back on the lift platform.  It quickly took him back up into the bridge where the rest of his team had a few more command stations active.  They were in the process of inspecting the carrier’s onboard systems and determining which ones, if any, were still operational.  He took one last look at all of them and thought of lucky they were to have no experienced what he just had.  As he observed the young marines go about their duties Jacques couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.  Hopefully their intense training would help them in the coming days.

“
Rostov,
Durand, I need priority comms to Athenia,” Commander Durand ordered as he stood at the rear of the bridge.

“Roger that Commander,” his XO replied back, “what should I tell them the message is about?”

“Tell them the United Planets Federation is in a state of war, Mr. Eisens.”

A soft red flashing glow finally caused Srita to awaken from her sound sleep.  She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at a star filled sky above her through the transparent ceiling.  As her mind came back into reality from the dream world Srita actually thought she felt a smile on her face.  Reaching up with her hand she ran her fingers over her full lips to confirm the feeling with tactile touch.  The sensation actually surprised her as she had never experienced that before.  For the first time in her independent life she actually felt happiness.

It was then that she suddenly became aware of a hand resting
upon her naked stomach and a body of someone lying beside her.  Instant panic threatened to overwhelm her for a split second until her mind remembered the night before and to whom the sleeping body belonged to.  Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Srita hoped such events would pass quickly.  She had spent many years by herself, constantly on the run from the authorities, that she had grown an instinctual aversion and uneasiness at being close to anyone.  In that time she had also witnessed and experienced acts of utter savagery by fellow human begins that left her mentally scared and fearful of any intimate contact. Only during the past few years of working with the Legion and with Damian’s help had Srita started to rehabilitate herself into trusting and working with others. 

After almost an entire life of living and sleeping alone she knew it would take quite a bit of adjusting on her part to get used to waking up to someone else in bed with her.  As memories of the previous night flooded back to her
a smile slowly came to her lips and Srita’s entire body relaxed back into the soft bed.  She still remembered how fast all of her genetically engineered skills and attributes came back once the fear inside her mind receded.  The hatred for what the Federation scientists had done to her still burned bright within her, but Srita now began to slowly accept what and who she was.  Through Damian and his band of marauders she had finally found her place.

Turning her head she looked at the restful face on the other pillow and couldn’t help but to feel thankful.  She never thought she would think this way,
but she actually felt hopeful and safe.  Until a few days ago Srita didn’t even know that the man lying beside her at that moment had actually felt same way about her as she had him.  They did have much common, she admitted, even beside the fact that they were both batchlings as they called themselves.  With a sigh she turned back away from the man towards the opposite of the room from where the red light blinked from.  There, across the quarters, was a mall desk and computer terminal.  It didn’t take long for Srita to realize that the light was an indicator to show that there was a message waiting at the terminal.  She was actually expected a private message of her own and had routed any new incoming to her account into this particular one.

Slowly,
so as not wake her partner, Srita pushed herself out of the bed.  She slid towards the edge and felt the hand slowly move across her stomach before finally falling away before sitting up.  Taking one last look at the man sleeping beside her she rose to her feet and began to cross the room towards the work desk.  As she walked in front of the large viewport she could see her naked silhouette project against the gray deck plating from the soft white light piecing the curved window.  The light caused her to turn slightly and gaze outside the ship at the white dwarf they were now orbiting.

Around this small dim star rotated a widely spread out asteroid field. 
Among the smaller of these objects were half a dozen large planetoids.  It was to the largest of these asteroids that the
Marauder
was now docked to.  Srita averted her eyes down from the sun and towards the irregular rocky mass that hung at the very edge of the viewport.  The former headquarters for a mining operation within the system, it had been long discarded when the Alliance had found it.  They had called it Sancrage and appropriated it for use as a hub and base of operations far from the eyes of the Federation.  From this hidden base they planned and launched all of their pirate raids and mercenary missions.

The Shadow Storm Alliance, headed by the wealthy and powerful Shadow Hand Syndicate, had updated the entire asteroid complex.
It had become a gathering point for all of the groups inside the Alliance.  The Dark Storm Army and Scimitar Brigade actually made Sancrage their permanent base of operation.  Even the Phoenix Legion used the system as a primary port between missions. Besides providing housing the complex had also been expanded to include heavily automated factories that were able to manufacture everything from electronics to weapons and even small spacecraft.  Srita watched as one of these brand new fighter craft, a Kaji class like those above the
Marauder,
sped out from a narrow launch hatch built into the planetoid and accelerated into space. 

With a final look at the quickly diminishing craft
she turned away from the large viewport and proceeded to the desk.  Srita had more pressing matters at the moment.  The terminal quickly came alive as her fingers ran over the keys and projected a floating display in front of her.  A list of messages, both new and old, appeared on the screen allowing her to instantly see that a new one had arrived.  Sender unknown, as many of the others, confirmed that it was probably the one that she had been waiting for during the past month.  Without delay Srita ran her thin finger over the holographic projection and tapped that single message.  It opened in front of her without hesitation to reveal a small, but very important message.

Good news, your
father and you have been booked on the cruise you requested. 
Majestic Voyage
at next port of call. Gafford.

She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back into her chair.  The news brought warmth to her naked body and a smile to her face.  To anyone else the message would hopefully seem rather meaningless and mundane, but to Srita it was the next clue on her personal quest.  A quest that ha
d so far taken over two years of her time and money.  Ever since she had found out about being a genetically engineered and tank grown human being Srita had wondered who here real parents had been and if any of them were still alive.  Logic had told her that they were probably told nothing about her existence as such research was deemed illegal, but something inside of her drove Srita to find them nonetheless. 

Since running away from her naval duties and being a fugitive she had tried hiring various investigators and labs within the Federation to try and locate anyone that had contributed to her genetic makeup.  At almost every point Military Intelligence and other Federal Intelligence services had intervened to destroy or misdirect any leads to the information she desperately wanted.  On a few occasions they had even managed
to come close to capturing her through the use of misinformation.  Out of all that effort she had finally managed to find one of the scientists that had worked on Project Adam.  Through him Srita had found out that most of her DNA had actually come from cells of deceased service members that had been preserved for scientific purposes.  The man did mention, however, that the rest had come from an anonymous donor supplied by the military.

With that new and hope she had left the Federation.  Instead of seeking any more attention from the UPF government she took advantage of the Legion’s move into the CIW.  The Coalition allowed her to work independently without much fear of being caught since Federation rule and law did not apply
within the Independent Worlds.  This Coalition now consisted of over a dozen different planets spread throughout human explored space, each with its own form of government and their own laws.  Unlike the UPF most of these star systems were not united by common borders and none had to conform to a single way of thinking.  Each system was free to go about dictating to its own people as it saw fit.  The only true law within the CIW was that the member planets had to refrain from forcing their way of life on others.  Other than abiding to this single rule they were truly independent in how they wished to conduct themselves. 

The real trick of living within the Coalition was being aware of all of the different laws that existed on the various planets.  One planet might be strictly regulated and militarily
controlled, while a neighboring system could be the exact opposite with a completely liberal government and very few actual laws to speak of.  Because of this extreme freedom and lack of wide spread regulations most of the relatively few religion guided worlds belonged to the CIW.  Without much interference they could control their people through laws based on their individual texts, such as Sharia Law for Muslims or Halakha for those practicing Judaism.  The majority of the people stayed away from these ultraconservative worlds.  Other planets and systems were wholly corporate owned and run.  The lack of government regulations on how they could conduct their business was a big drawn for a number of Federation companies who were able to establish their own regulations for how to run their facilities.  Some of their worlds even used a form of indentured servitude in order to produce cheaper products.

Srita in no way condoned the actions of some of these Coalition worlds, but she appreciated that they still had a choice. 
To her the Federation was still the greater evil in the way it forced every world to conform to its rule.  The CIW was a place where she could start anew as a member of the Phoenix Legion and represented a new hope in the search for her genetic parents.  With Damian’s help she came into contact with a private investigator operating inside the CIW.  Somehow this person had access and connections throughout the Federation and was supposed to be one of the best at finding those that did not want to be found.  No one seemed to know who this person was or from where in the CIW he or she conducted business.  All that was requested of Srita was a large sum in down payment credits and a full genetic profile.  Since committing to those requests over two months ago this was the first message she had received on the matter.

Could this possibly be? 
Could my father really be on that ship?
Srita thought as she stared at what was written.

“There’s an attachment as well, Commander.” A voice
suddenly said in her right ear, while a pair arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind.

For a split second panic shot through her
body like an electrical current.  Her mind quickly gathered itself, however, and recognized the voice before she could bolt out of the chair in defense.  Forcing herself to take a deep breath and calm down Srita still felt her heart beating rapidly as she settled back into Damian’s arms.  Registering his comment she looked at the corner of the screen and noticed the blinking ‘attachment’ symbol.  With a shy smile, for being less than observant, Srita reached over and tapped it with her finger. 

A new window instantly appeared within the display
containing a picture of a middle aged man in some kind of uniform.  Without even looking at the attached dossier Srita recognized some of his features as her own.  Not taking her hand off the floating projection she traced his forehead, narrow oval eyes, and chin.  In her mind there was no doubt she was somehow related to this man.

“So I guess we’re going to Gafford then.”

She accepted that it was a statement and not a question on Damian’s part.  He leaned down behind her and kissed her shoulder slowly.  The captain, now simply Damian in private, knew how important finding her real mother and father was to her.  Thinking of the man other than her commanding officer and friend made Srita all warm inside, almost bringing about goose bumps on her skin.  She was grown to be a covert operations soldier and conduct missions with brutal efficiency, not to fall in love and have all the other sentimental feelings that regular civilians suffered from.  Deep inside her, probably built into her genetics, something always told her it was wrong to act on the feelings she was having.  It was already too late for Srita, however, after experiencing such emotions first hand there was no going back.  With self-control she suppressed this genetic innate response to resist the feeling swelling inside her.  To Srita this was just another way to rebel against the rule of the Federation.

“What is this we business, Captain?  Don’t you have a ship to run and some jobs to do?” Srita teased as she turned her head to look back at him, “I can do this on my own.  I’m just going to meet him and ask him some questions.”

“I have no doubt you can do it on your own Sri,” he said back with a smile, using his new hypocorism for her, “I’ll be there for support and maybe I can ask him some questions about my parents as well.  Plus Lian is more than capable of running ops in our absence.”

Damian smiled as her and leaned down to kiss her lips gently while running his hands over her bare shoulders, “also I think a vacation would do us both some good.”

As her body responded to his and she kissed him back Srita knew he was right.  Even if she didn’t want him to go she knew that he probably wouldn’t listen and follow her anyways.  Damian had always been protective of her as a friend.  She knew it was probably because they were both batchlings and because he knew all about her history before joining the Legion.  Now with them being together Srita knew he would be even more unwilling to allow her to venture back into the Federation alone.  Both of them knew that they were still being hunted by the United Planets Federation and ever security camera inside Federation space would be matching their faces to the wanted criminal database.    They’ve done it before, though, and they could do it again.  Srita had to admit to herself that with Damian being there she would feel much better and hopefully the information she would get befits both of them.