Leviathan (Asher in Ordered Space Book 2) Page 10

  “You really are a merc, then?” asked Asher.

  “Merc. Non-Corp. I don’t know. I’m someone who helps people solve problems. The Cythrans had a problem, so I helped them work it.”

  And then you betrayed Sergeant Gary?”

  May Roca scowled. “Look, I liked Gary, OK? He wasn’t the smartest man I ever met, but he was good in a fight. Still, he knew the score. You take a job, maybe you don’t come back. That’s the business.”

  “Doesn’t help when someone you trust is working behind your back. Or when the people who hired you to protect them hired another merc corp to attack you.”

  “Figured that out, too, did you? Well, that was what Qwadie wanted, so that’s what she got. It all seemed unnecessarily complicated to me, but when the money’s good, I try not to ask too many questions. Do you three know what it’s all about, by the way?”

  “We were hoping you might tell us,” said Jaydrupar.

  May Roca shrugged. “I don’t know. For some reason, the bandits and the mercs had to attack the old laboratory. Not sure why. Now I’m supposed to help you do whatever it is you decide to do next. Not sure why that, either.”

  “Of course,” Asher said. “So Nezlethar would communicate with the computer there. It was checking on the Shamblers. That’s how the Cythrans made contact with it.”

  “What’s Nezlethar?” asked May Roca.

  “That is a long story,” said Marcolis.

  ***

  They debated what to do next for a few minutes. They couldn’t very well walk into the DiJeRiCo-controlled mine. “Can we contact Hokozana somehow?” asked Asher. “Anyone got a beacon? Some kind of subnet access point?” Neither Jaydrupar nor Marcolis had anything.

  “I’ve got this,” said May Roca. She held up a small green box. “It’s a portable subnet transmitter. If you know who to call—what port to communicate with—we should be able to make contact. It’ll only work in-system, though. Not enough juice to get further unless you can uplink to a relay.”

  Marcolis reached for the box. “May I have that? I know whom to call.” May Roca handed him the box.

  It took a few moments to link the box to Marcolis’ neural net, but once that was complete, he was able to link one of the Hokozana vessels that were still in-system. “This is the frigate Clementine. You are on a secure channel. Identify yourself.”

  “One moment,” said Marcolis. “Transmitting identification now.”

  Asher knew that the old man’s neural net was transmitting a complex security code of images, numbers, and other, more abstract, concepts. This served as a sort of neural fingerprint that identified him to Hokozana secure systems. It would be compared with a database and his clearance would be checked.

  “Identification received and confirmed. Marcolis, Drienner. Star Cluster. A link has been established. We warn you that we cannot confirm the security of this communication.”

  That made sense. Some inroads had been made recently into hacking subnet communications. With one side of this conversation transmitting through a non-Hokozana device, there was no way to encrypt it at both ends.

  “A simple request,” said Marcolis. “Locate this transmission and dispatch a shuttle to retrieve myself and three companions.”

  “Yes, Sir. Expect a shuttle in one hour. The DiJeRiCo presence in the system is increasing, so delays are possible.”

  “Understood. Marcolis out.”

  “Clementine out.”

  “Well, May Roca, we have some time. Shall we talk?” Marcolis raised a querying eyebrow in the direction of the merc.

  ***

  They sat in the shade of the large boulder and waited for their shuttle to arrive. Marcolis did his best to explain what had occurred in the Algol system. With his command rank, he had had greater access than Asher or Jaydrupar to ship’s systems during their trip through the jumpgate. Even so, there was little he could add to what Asher already knew. The nature of the tractor beam had not been established. Neither had the mechanism by which the leviathan ship had disabled their weapons systems. He did confirm that there had been no sign of the merc fleet they had been pursuing in the bay of the ship. Presumably, they had been proceeded unhindered to the hypothesized second jumpgate in Algol and were now back in the Human Zone. “That suggests that the vessel was seeking us, in particular.”

  “Hokozana ships, you mean?” asked May Roca.

  “Yes. More specifically, certain people on those ships,” said Marcolis.

  “The Cythrans. They clearly engineered the entire encounter.”

  “Yes.”

  “This is all well and good,” said Jaydrupar, “but why are we telling her this? She is in league with the Cytrhans.”

  Marcolis held out a mollifying hand to the Intel man. “It seems wise to exchange information freely now. May Roca knows very well that we cannot let her leave. She may be less forthcoming in the brig on the Clementine.”

  “The brig? Will that really be necessary?” asked the merc.

  “Perhaps individual quarters. Locked, of course. Will that be a problem?”

  May Roca sighed. “I signed on for the long haul on this one. I’m to go wherever you go. If that means locking me in a compartment somewhere, so be it. You won’t be able to hold me long, though. I’ve got a perfectly legal contract on file, after all.”

  “Wait,” said Asher. “I thought you were a non-corp. The courts won’t recognize your standing.”

  “I am what I need to be,” said May Roca. “For this mission, I needed be a corp.”

  “And now it is your turn,” said Marcolis. “Do you have anything else to tell us? Anything about the Cythrans’ plans?”

  May Roca paused, appearing to consider her answer. “I think I’ve told you all I know. The Cythrans hired me through the Dark Wave, because they had helped me out before and we get along. I was to sign on with the Coin-Ops, presenting myself as a settler who had been in the bandit gang that had provided security for Hannaloc. Gary didn’t have as many contacts here then, and we knew who to pay off to sell that story to him. After that, I just had to convince him that my local knowledge was of value. That wasn’t hard. I marked the path through the minefield and put a ringer transmitter into the laser cordon. Somehow, that info was relayed to the bandits, and you know what happened after that. I don’t really know anything beyond that. Nothing about this Nezlethar or the Algol system. Hell, I didn’t know there was a second jumpgate.”

  “What about us?” Asher asked. “Do you know why we’re here?”

  “You mean, you three in particular? No, I’ve got no idea. In your case, Asher, I think Qwadie genuinely likes you. Maybe that’s all there is to it?”

  “I do not think she likes me,” said Jaydrupar. “And I do not thinks she knows Ops Director Marcolis at all.”

  “We’re the only three operatives that were in Algol and were also there for the Cierren Cythra mission,” said Asher. “That has to be the link. I’m telling you, they’re still playing us. They expect us to do something, and we’ll probably do it, because we can’t avoid it if we don’t know what it is.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Clementine was a modern frigate, one of the best in the Fleet. Even so, it was only intended for a crew of ten, and four additional bodies created some discomfort. The other remaining Hokozana ships were the ag-and-fuel tender Amazing Amazon, the frigate Coalburner, and the research vessel Humboldt. The tender and research ship were lightly armed, and they had remained near the jumpgate while the warships pursued the strange shuttle from Nezlethar and ended up in orbit of Lutetia. Now all four vessels were gathered again in orbit of Dominion Two.

  “The system’s filling up, Sir.” The speaker was the captain of Clementine, a young Two Star Lieutenant Commander named Rothkan Fines. “We’ve got three more DiJeRiCo vessels—a total of twelve, now—a scout from Maricorp, and at least five unknown vessels. Those are probably mercs. That’s not to mention that mining corp, Plutonic. They’ve brought their entire fleet
in—seven ships. Right now they’re all concentrating on Lutetia, but what happens when they notice us?”

  “Patience,” said Marcolis. “Help is on the way. No one controls the main jumpgate yet. We also have an advantage, which is that only we know of the existence of the second jumpgate.”

  “What good will that do us, Sir?” asked Asher. “If we go through it, won’t we just be trapped by Nezlethar? And that’s assuming it lets us through in the first place. You saw how it shut down the gate on the other side.”

  “More contacts,” said a technician manning the optical scanning equipment, which was trained on the main jumpgate. “Three vessels. Now four. Five. No IDs yet. There’s more coming, Sir.” All eyes turned toward the console, which was now projecting a hologram of the space around the jumpgate. Seven small shapes were now shown in the vicinity of the gate, which was depicted as a large yellow ring. The incoming ships were coded purple, for “unidentified.” As Asher watched, the dots blinked twice, and changed to green. A cheer went up from everyone on the bridge. It was a Hokozana fleet.

  “Thirteen now, Sir. Fourteen. Wait, that one coded red.” Sure enough, the most recent dot to appear before the jumpgate was red. So was the next to arrive, and the next. The young tech looked up at his Captain. “I don’t understand, Sir.”

  “Son of a bitch.” said the Captain. “It’s DiJeRiCo. They’re coming through the jumpgate in a running battle.”

  “Ten of the DiJeRiCo ships around Lutetia are moving to intercept, Sir,” said another technician across the room. “There’s sixteen of them through the jumpgate now. We’re heavily outnumbered.”

  “What about the unidentified ships, the ones we figured for mercs?” asked the Captain.

  “No action, Sir,” said the second tech. “They’re still in orbit of Lutetia. Same for the Maricorp scout and the Plutonic fleet.”

  Marcolis strode forward. “Captain, if I may. Our fleet needs to meet us here. We will need to try to flee to Algol, or be destroyed.”

  “I’m on it, Sir. Establishing a secure channel now.”

  In mere moments, the incoming Hokozana fleet had veered away from its course toward Lutetia and was headed toward Dominion Two and the Algol jumpgate. The two DiJeRiCo forces, the one that had been in orbit of the planet and the newcomers who had pursued the Hokozana fleet into the system, were reacting, but not quickly enough. It was clear that the Hokozana ships would be able to disengage, although they would be hotly pursued. Captain Fines dispatched Amazing Amazon and Humboldt toward the Algol gate, hoping that they would be able to get through and put some distance between themselves and the battle.

  “And what will we do, Sir?” asked Asher.

  “We’re going to see if we can prepare a surprise for our DiJeRiCo friends. As far as we know, they have no idea that we’re here, so we may be able to get in a few good shots before they notice us.” He turned to Marcolis. “Sir, I would request that you and your companions clear the bridge and take action to secure yourselves as best you can. Battle Net will remain open to you all for observation.”

  ***

  Asher, Marcolis, and Jaydrupar found crash seats in the small compartment that had been set aside for Marcolis’ use. They strapped in just as the frigate began to accelerate away from Dominion Two with a short hard burn. It made sense to only use the torch in brief bursts, Asher figured. If their burns were quick and hard, the could coast to their destination, making it less likely they wold be spotted by DiJeRiCo in realtime. There were always enough light anomalies in a system that the enemy’s on board computers wouldn’t immediately classify the distant burns as a threat, even if they did detect them. Sometimes, days after a battle, post-processing would reveal ships that no one had noticed at the time. The captains of the Clementine and Coalburner were hoping to be lost in the noise in just such a fashion.

  The Hokozana fleet was a long way from Dominion Two, so the two frigates would not intercept the larger force for about ten hours. In the meantime, it would be a game of cautious maneuvering, hoping to place themselves in an advantageous position to fire on the DiJeRiCo ships and cover the Hokozana retreat.

  Far away, the two DiJeRiCo fleets were beginning to merge into a single, large force deployed in a cone-like formation behind the fleeing Hokozana ships. Battle Net had classified the vessels now, and Asher saw that there were five heavy cruisers among the twenty-six ships in the formation. Seven other vessels were classed as light cruisers, and the rest were a collection of destroyers, frigates, and scouts. There were no carriers or other capital ships, but they still massively outgunned the Hokozana force, which included only one heavy cruiser and two light cruisers, with the remainder of the force consisting of four destroyers, three frigates, and three scouts. This wasn’t going to be a major fleet engagement, but it was a substantial skirmish which would probably reignite the smoldering corp war. Even now, other Hokozana and DiJeRiCo fleets were probably preparing to pick off isolated vessels and run jumpgates they thought had been disregarded by their enemy.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The next eight hours or so were tense, but uneventful. Asher eventually managed to catch a couple of hours sleep, but it was fitful and he awoke feeling no more rested than he had before. When he woke, Battle Net informed him that the two frigates had fired two barrages of long-range missiles while he slept. That implied that the captains thought that they could confidently predict where the DiJeRiCo vessels would be in several hours time, so the distant pursuit must have stabilized and the Clemetine and Coalburner must have gone undetected so far.

  Eight hours into the maneuvering game, the frigates had taken up a position just out of the path that of the Hokozana ships’ flight. Battle Net presented the engagement space as though they were above the other ships, although that was just a matter of perspective, of course. Asher felt the maneuvering thrusters fire briefly, leaving Clementine essentially stationary relative to the fast-moving Hokozana fleet. Clearly, this was going to be the spot from which they launched their attack.

  Twenty minutes later, the battle began. The first salvo, though, had been fired hours earlier. The first barrage of long-range missiles that had been fired by the two frigates appeared in Battle Net’s map of the engagement space. They were immediately picked up by the lead DiJeRiCo ships, which slowed and launched countermeasures. In moments, the DiJeRiCo formation was in disarray as the reaction times of different ships to the new threat varied. The first barrage of missiles was quickly thinned out and destroyed by the countermeasures, but the second was now incoming. At the same moment, Asher felt the ship shudder as Clementine and her companion poured every missile they had into the disordered mass of enemy ships. Another barrage was fired by the rear guard of the fleeing Hokozana fleet. More countermeasures spewed from the DiJeRiCo ships, along with a desultory return fire of missiles.

  After their final barrage, the two frigates turned and burned hard for Dominion Two and the Algol jumpgate. They had created enough confusion in the DiJeRiCo fleet that the Hokozana vessels were now well out ahead and should reach the gate with time to spare. As Asher watched, countermeasures flared and died, and two missiles made their way through to the enemy ships, destroying a frigate outright and crippling one of the heavy cruisers. The few DiJeRiCo missiles that managed to catch up with their targets were promptly dealt with by a swarm of auton turrets, counter-missiles, and particle streams from the rearmost Hokozana ships. The crippled DiJeRiCo cruiser fell away from the pursuit and began to limp back toward Lutetia.

  ***

  The Hokozana ships arranged themselves into a long line as they approached the jumpgate. Clementine, because she had taken a firing position well away from the other ships, was now at the rear of the formation. Asher watched as the lead ship, the destroyer Helcaraxë, neared the gate. Everything now depended on Nezlethar allowing them to pass through to Algol. If they remained in Archibald, they would eventually be caught by their pursuers, and they could not win the ensuing confrontation. At least
in Algol they had a chance, provided they could find the second jumpgate that must be there somewhere, ready to take them back into the Human Zone. To Asher’s relief, and—to judge by the rapid exhalation of pent-up breath—that of Jaydrupar and Marcolis as well, the destroyer passed through the gate without incident, as did the frigate that followed it, and the cruiser behind that. Soon, the entire fleet was through and Clementine and Coalburner were the last Hokozana vessels in Archibald. Asher had a moment to say goodbye to the system before they, too, jumped into Algol.

  ***

  On the other side of the jumpgate, Asher saw that the Hokozana fleet was forming up, except for three scouts which were dispatched to seek out the second gate that would get them out of the system. It made sense to defend this point and force DiJeRiCo to fight their way through the bottleneck. Depending on the enemy’s objectives, and their confidence in their own strength, perhaps they wouldn’t even try to force the gate. Maybe they would be content with control of Lutetia. Perhaps they still controlled the alien computer and the Shamblers, although Asher would have bet that the shuttle from Nezlethar had found a way to steal those from under DiJeRiCo’s nose. The next few minutes would tell just how committed the enemy was to this pursuit. Asher figured that it would take about ten minutes for them to form up, and then the first ships—probably fast scouts—would try to run the gate, preceded by a barrage of missiles. Already the Hokozana fleet was deploying a screen of countermeasures to deal with the expected incoming fire.

  Clementine was now toward the rear of the formation, and well out on its edge. The fleet had formed a hollow cylinder around the jumpgate, leaving a vacant space in the center. The ships were facing away from the gate, ready to burn and run if a substantial DiJeRiCo force was able to get through and establish a foothold. This was a typical formation for an outgunned fleet to take. It represented a gamble that most missiles fired through the gate would flash harmlessly through the center of the cylinder, leaving the ships on the periphery intact to deal with incoming vessels. Of course, the DiJeRiCo commanders would be aware of this formation as well, and would likely fire at least some missiles in angled vectors, hoping to strike a defending ship.