In this, the third part of our preview, we join Jake, Ayan and Minh-Chu as they go to meet with the leaders of Freeground Alpha.
Chapters like these allow the characters to explore the situation and they also serve as a mission statement for the first part of the book. You'll be able to see the intensions of many of the characters who are in power, but we all know how often things proceed as planned...
Enjoy!
Preview Part 3
Pride
Captain Jacob Valent, Captain Ayan Anderson, Commander
Stephanie Vega and Lieutenant Liara Erron went aboard Freeground Alpha with
Minh-Chu Buu as their pilot. The five of them rode in one of the oldest transit
cars any of them had ever seen. Jake looked from one member of his team to the
next. There was Minh-Chu, comfortable in his light armour and pilot bomber
jacket – a new one since he’d given his original to Ashley Lamport nearly a
year before. His shoulder length dark hair was loose, he watched the surfaces
of the tunnel go by as though he was riding through a ghost town.
Lieutenant Erron was studying everything she could to
finish learning about Freeground’s history, people and organizational
structure. Jake couldn’t see exactly what she was looking through from second
to second, but those holographic images were flipping by so quickly he could scarcely
believe that she was absorbing anything. In a short amount of time she’d proven
to be a highly valuable communications officer. She didn’t seem comfortable in
her heavy armour yet, struggling against the thick suit covered by horizontal
bands of protective metal. The flexible strips overlapped each other for
protection, and to hide emitters inside that could provide minor propulsion in
space, or more commonly, a personal shield.
Commander Stephanie Vega was right at home in her
black armour. They didn’t need her for security, the group could handle
themselves, but Jake, Minh-Chu and Ayan needed new eyes with them, and those
would be Liara’s and Stephanie’s. Jake had come to trust Stephanie Vega, one of
the few people who had stuck around for almost all of his bounty hunting years,
when he wasn’t even aware of who he was supposed to be. She watched him
transform more than once, following along, supporting him without a complaint
or question. Her trust and loyalty to Jake was proven, and he knew she would
notice if something wasn’t quite right on Freeground Alpha. She was his first
officer, a post she assumed with gusto, studying the responsibilities of the
position, the crew under her command and the details of their ship – the
Revenge – late into every evening. It was about time she was given a clear path
to her own command, but Jake wasn’t ready for her to leave just yet.
Ayan flashed him a smile, noticing that he was looking
at his people, or that he was quiet, well, noticing something. He didn’t think
she should be on the first trip to Freeground Alpha, but he wouldn’t tell her
that. With her along, he was afraid that they would become more involved with
the station’s politics than they could afford to be. Time was not on their
side, if it were up to him, they would make a quick statement about Triton
Fleet’s intentions, find out if Freeground Alpha had any objections, then take
every action they could to assure that the massive station could get out of the
Nebula. Politics would definitely complicate matters.
Even still, Jake had learned not to underestimate her.
They’d had time away from each other, and he could see that she’d changed, she’d
grown in ways he was slowly discovering. Ayan was one of the strongest women
he’d ever known, and he didn’t just love her, he admired her for all she had
accomplished and for her unbreakable spirit. She may have been made to replace
an earlier version of Ayan, named Ayan Rice, but Jake firmly believed that Ayan
Anderson was an improvement on the original. She wore the same style of combat
armour, but hers was blue, designating her as a member of the Triton Fleet
Engineering Department. She was the highest ranking member, technically a
Captain but with more responsibility than any master of a single ship. It was
her task to supervise the upkeep and upgrading of every Triton ship within her
live communication range.
Ayan tucked her curly red hair into a bun, then sighed
and undid it – perhaps because she thought it was too sloppy or loose, then
tried again, leaving her second attempt as it was. He idly wondered how much
time they’d actually have together when they returned home.
“Unearthing strange memories?” Ayan asked him. Her
warm smile lightened his mood.
“It’s strange,” Jake said. “I’ve never been here
before, and I can tell all my memories of this place are from Jonas,” he
shrugged. “It’s like seeing someone else’s home after hearing them describe it over
and over again.”
“I know how you feel,” Ayan replied. “I’ve never been
here before either, but it’s like Ayan Rice is with us, welcoming me in.”
“Maybe she is,” Stephanie said. “My people still
believe that our ancestors look in on us. Ayan Rice and Jonas Valent are as
much your parents as anyone.”
“It’s like genetic memory?” Liara said. “The Soojoun
have a genetic memory, you might want to look into them. They stay away from
humans and most of the other species because they see them as immature, but who
can blame them. They have a perspective of centuries. The traders who ran into
them also said they were really big snobs, they didn’t want to deal with humans
at all but they needed parts.” As though she just realized who she was speaking
to, she returned to her work.
“Are you all right, Minh?” Ayan asked.
“Just got a case of the welcome back jitters. When I
left here last time, I was technically an escaped mental patient.”
That drew surprised glances from Stephanie and Liara.
Ayan only laughed. “I’m sure they won’t put you away, they’ve got to be past it
by now.”
“I hope so. I don’t know why I came though, I don’t
have family here anymore. The notes in the system say that everyone but my
youngest sister found a Lorander Colony Ship and they’re not even in the same
galaxy anymore.”
“Maybe you’re here for your little sister?” Jake
asked.
“She left me a note saying she didn’t think I’d ever
be back to Freeground, but to be sure I’d be seeing her soon if I did come back
and read the message. It didn’t say where or how or when though.”
“She was always sneaky,” Jake said.
“And loud,” Minh-Chu added. “How she made those two
things work together, I’ll never understand, but that’s the way she is. I hope
she’s okay.”
“I remember her being smart and resourceful too,” Jake
said. “I’m sure she’s fine. For all we know, she’s tracking your route through
the galaxy right now.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Minh-Chu replied, his mood
brightening.
“I’m wondering,” Stephanie said. “Did any of you
expect to see Freeground again?”
The question surprised Jake, and he was still
pondering when Ayan replied. “No,” she said. “Once I’d found Oz, and found out
that Carl was my father, I didn’t see a reason to return. The politics here
have cost the station isn’t viability, it’s not the place I remember from Ayan
Rice.”
“You didn’t know he was your father?” Liara asked.
“I had no idea. I loved him like one, he was around a
lot when Ayan Rice was growing up, was her family doctor, and even joined us on
the First Light, but I had no idea. To be honest, Ayan Rice worshipped him a
little because his career was so diverse and maybe the mystery associated with
that was part of it.”
“That sort of explains your attraction to mysterious
older men,” Liara said. The colour drained from her face. “I’m so sorry, the
classified profile on you is pretty exhaustive.”
“We’re all officers here,” Ayan said. “And I’ve paid
for the wrong turn I took in my personal life. I’d appreciate a little more
discretion, though.”
Jake could see that Ayan was making a real effort to
be kind to the new Communications Officer. In his experience, Liara was
normally graceful, clear and what she said was well thought out, but she seemed
nervous around Ayan and to a lesser degree, Stephanie. Ayan was blushing,
Stephanie and Minh-Chu were watching the exchange with interest.
“Thank you, Captain,” Liara said to Ayan. “I have to
say, I admire you for everything you’ve done with Haven Shore and the Fleet. I
think you’re really amazing.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
“There’s something else,” Liara said. “I’m getting a
data dump from Freeground Fleet via the Triton, not from Freeground Alpha. It’s
navigational and observational logs of the nebula from their journey so far and
from limited scouting missions.”
“Take a quick inventory of the data but focus on the
meeting once we get started,” Jake said.
“Aye, Sir,” Liara replied.
“When I heard my family were off the station,”
Minh-Chu said, returning the conversation to the previous topic, “I didn’t
think I’d ever be back. I loved what I had here after the All-Con War, but I
was restless. Seeing more of the galaxy, even though it was dangerous, was more
interesting to me, especially after I heard my family was safe somewhere else.
I was the black sheep after I left on the First Light, no one said it, but I
knew I was the brother everyone relied on before then. I disappointed them, and
I couldn’t handle it, so I left. I’ll have to find them someday, I don’t know
how, but I will.”
The car stopped, several people on an old grey and
white platform tried to enter the car, but the doors were locked. The people
there, most of them in plain vacsuits of various colours, regarded the locked
doors with irritation but stood back as the car began to move again. They were
only a few stops away from the command section of Freeground Alpha.
Jake decided it was time for him to answer. “I never
thought I’d see Freeground. There’s nothing for me here, even Jonas didn’t
really care about Freeground much by the end, his friends were home to him more
than any place,” he took a breath and shook his head. “Okay, it’s time to focus
on the present. We know what we’re doing here, right?”
“Oh, yes,” Ayan said. “We are not offering anything
unconditionally.”
“I have to admit I wish Oz was here,” Minh-Chu said.
“Just because he’s probably the only person who would want to see the inside of
Freeground again.”
The transit car passed into a section of the station
that had taken massive damage. The outer hull was gone for a stretch of more
than a hundred metres, and the rooms behind it were destroyed. The transit tube
was the first thing to be repaired, it seemed, and it passed through open
space. The white, blue and rust coloured hues of the Iron Head Nebula were
visible through the large gap. There were crews removing sections of plating
that was too damaged to be repaired and others working on critical components.
A large shield emitter was being moved into place, it looked newer than
everything they’d seen on Freeground Alpha until then.
The transit car continued into the undamaged section and
began to slow down. “How old is this part of the station?” Stephanie asked.
“Over three hundred years, maybe even older,” Ayan
said. “There have always been rumours that this was the main ring on a large
ship that ran through the middle and provided main power and propulsion.”
The car stopped and the station they arrived at was
filled with Freeground Officers who greeted them with applause. The space was
built like so many other main hallway intersections, only the floor was worn
down by so many feet over the centuries that it shone with the steely silver of
the original metal. The rest of the space was coloured white and grey, and it
was spotless. Memories of a lifetime spent growing up in modules that looked
very similar were instantly revived, and it felt like Jonas was watching from
within.
“This is kind of eerie, right?” Ayan asked him
quietly.
“So glad it’s not just me.”
“If you’ll follow me, please,” an ensign who looked too
old to wear the uniform, but had a youthful gait. They were led down the left
hallway only a few steps before entering a narrower corridor that led directly
into a conference room. There were no chairs around the waist-high table, and
the transparent metal windows along one side overlooked the main control room
of Freeground Alpha. “The members of the High Command wanted to meet you at the
secure station, but the risk was too high,” the Ensign explained. “This
contained Control Centre is the most secure space on the station now. No
attacks have been able to penetrate this area.”
“There have been internal attacks?” Liara asked.
“You haven’t been briefed?” the Ensign asked.
“We’ve only had time to review the information you
provided in summary, we’d appreciate some details, especially if you’re having
difficulty with security.”
“I’m sorry, I haven’t been cleared to give you any of
those details. The members of High Command should be with you soon. Please wait
here,” he told them before exiting through the opposite door set into the
transparent wall.
He swiftly made his way through the busy command
centre, where at least a hundred crewmembers worked at their posts. The work
stations looked like they were built with three-hundred-year old technology,
there were no visible upgrades in sight with one exception. In the middle of
the control centre was a shielded tube with the liquid quantum core of a
massive computer system.
“Oh my God,” Minh-Chu said. “Some nightmares never
cease to haunt.” He said, pointing at the computer core in the middle of the
control centre.
Jake took a longer look and realized what it was. “Is
that what I think it is?” he asked.
Ayan was already scanning, and a moment later she
nodded. “That’s the liquid quantum core the First Light captured when the crew
escaped the Overlord class Base Ship. They have it tied into their navigational
systems, but isolated from any communications devices.”
“Is it installed well? Can there be any outside
interference?”
“They have hardware safeties in place and signal
shielding around it. Even at this range I couldn’t send an instruction to it.”
“Well, I never wondered what happened to it,” Minh-Chu
said. “I know anyway.”
Admiral Jessica Rice followed by an older looking
woman and gentleman entered the room. Jake couldn’t help but notice that she
looked young for her age, and her gait was particularly spry.
She stopped to stand directly in front of Ayan. “I’m
so sorry for the way you were treated, especially for the way I treated you,
when you were last with us.” It looked as though the Admiral was between
deciding to attempt a hug, a handshake, or even a shoulder pat.
Ayan broke the awkward moment by embracing the woman
warmly. Jessica was visibly surprised at first, then rested her hands on Ayan’s
back gently. Without letting Jessica go, Ayan said; “I know what it is to make
mistakes and regret them more every day. You were still grieving when I was
born, so I understand why you couldn’t accept me then. It’s okay.”
Jacob could see Jessica Rice’s expression relax, as
though she’d found a moment of peace. “Thank you, Ayan,” she said quietly.
“Thank you so much.”
They parted, and Ayan smiled at Jessica Rice. “We’re
going to be okay.” She whispered, and Jessica nodded.
“I’m sorry to interrupt this strange, albeit touching
reunion, but we have little time to spare,” said the grey haired stocky woman
settling in at the other end of the table. “I’m Commodore Merick, and this,”
she said, gesturing at the gentleman in a loose fitted vacsuit and long jacket
with glittering public service medals on the lapels, “is Prime Minister Hemron.
The pair of us are the High Command for the fleet,” she said, gesturing at
herself, “and the Civilian body,” she finished, gesturing at the Prime
Minister. “Admiral Rice is here as a courtesy.”
“We don’t have much time for negotiations, Commodore,”
Jake said. “What we need to know is how long it will be until this station can
jump again, how much distance you can cross, and if you’ve scouted ahead in the
right direction. If any of those parts of your strategy are missing, we have a
lot of work ahead of us.”
“Don’t worry, we have the situation well in hand,”
Prime Minister Hemron said. “What we need are any foodstuffs, or medical
supplies you may have on hand. We also require any spare components that we
could use to restore function to a few damaged sections.”
“From our scans we can see that the Revenge has a
large store of spare parts, long supports that haven’t been installed, and
ammunition that will be compatible with our heavy point defence guns,” the
Commodore said. “The Triton has a great deal of food and equipment in reserve,
including some fabrication systems that we could use. We weren’t able to
complete our scan, however, since it was blocked seconds after we started it.”
“I’m sorry,” Ayan said. “I’m sure the Captains can
come up with a shipment of food, and maybe a little equipment that will help,
but most of what you’ve scanned is essential to the function of those ships.”
“I’m sure they’ll be pleased to know that the Captain
with no ship has spoken for them here,” the Prime Minister said.
“My responsibility is to oversee the condition of the
fleet, and I’m telling you that you’re not going to scavenge in our cargo holds
and fighter bays for parts and supplies. Our mandate is simple: to assist in
the defence of Freeground Alpha and escort you to a safe solar system. We were
thinking of taking you right to Rega Gain, but, unless the tone of these
negotiations changes, you won’t be welcome there.”
“I warned you,” Jessica Rice told the Commodore.
“These people know what they’re doing. They have their own priorities, and
we’re lucky they’re here at all.”
Jake shook his head at what he was seeing. It seemed
more like a staged argument with one of their people taking one side, while
another took the other so their guests would be guided to a conclusion of their
choosing. “I speak for the Revenge,” he said, his voice filling the room. “Your
people are not going to be allowed aboard. We have the supplies and equipment
we need, you can’t have a single crate. Nothing we would provide you with, if I
chose to do so, would be in a quantity that would make any difference anyway.
Captain Anderson is right. Our mandate here is simple: to assist in the defence
of Freeground Alpha and deliver it to a safe solar system.”
“That’s utterly ridiculous,” Commodore Merick said.
“Your ships should join Freeground Fleet, we already have plans, and our
wormhole systems are charging as we speak.”
“How long will that take?” Ayan asked.
“We have to charge for another thirteen point six
hours,” Admiral Rice replied.
“Admiral, you will not share operational details until
we’ve negotiated the position of the Triton and the Revenge in terms of where
they will fit in the fleet,” warned the Commodore.
“That’s easy,” Jake said. “The Revenge won’t be
joining your failing fleet. Every single ship out there is damaged, I’ve seen
that scans. You are orchestrating a disaster, and I bet your commanding out of
fear, not wisdom. I bet every ship you have is right here so you can feel
safer.”
“You’re right, Captain,” Admiral Rice said.
“You need ships out there doing small jumps along your
projected course, scouting, making sure you’re not going to run into
opposition, checking for planets where you can salvage supplies and materials,”
Minh-Chu said. “Let us do that for you. We have plenty of fighters with jump
capabilities, and they’re in good shape. I’ll even volunteer to lead a long
range scout ship so we can map a real route for you, one that will make it
harder for the Order to find you.”
“Now that’s a good place to start,” Admiral Rice said.
“We are using long range scans,” the Prime Minister
said. “We see a clear route ahead.”
“Those scans can be tricked without using a cloaking
device in this nebula,” Jake said. “You’re also making signal noise that anyone
can use to locate Freeground. The more deep scans you perform, the longer you
remain here afterwards, the more likely you’ll be discovered.”
“I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet,” Ayan added.
“You need us, but you’re going to have to accept our help on our terms.” She
specifically adjusted her tone and demeanour to one that was almost pleading.
“Our terms are the best you’ll find. We keep the supplies and equipment that
enable us, and help this entire station to safety. I’d like to see a day very
soon when you are welcomed into the Rega Gain System with open arms. We’re
forming a larger fleet there and have a partnership with the British Alliance.”
“The British?” Prime Minister Hemron said, throwing up
his hands. “The Freeground Loyalist Party won’t have it! I’m wasting my time.”
He began storming from the room.
Jake couldn’t take any more. He hadn’t had a flare of
anger since he lost the framework technology, but it was easy for him to
embrace his irritation and follow his instincts. Without a moment’s hesitation,
he moved to stand in front of the Prime Minister, who looked up at him
wide-eyed. With a firm push, Jake sat him down in a chair. “Prime Minister
Hemron,” he said so clearly and loudly that something in the room vibrated.
Jake leaned down until they were nose to nose. “You are going to get your
people killed or sent to a planet where the edxian young will hunt them down
and feed on them.” Jake’s anger was already beginning to dissipate, but he
pressed on. The man he saw in the chair was terrified. To him, the politician
seemed weaker and greedier than any creature he’d ever seen. It was a snap
judgement, but Jake wanted to wear him down quickly so he could see if there
was a rational man under the pride and selfishness. He continued channelling
the mannerisms of every drill sergeant he’d ever seen. “I will not allow you
drag my ship and my crew down with you. The Revenge will put you to our rear
thrusters and make best speed back home the instant I feel push back from you. We
are not Freegrounders, we are not politicians. We are military Officers who
have come to help you. I don’t see anyone else offering you a hand. We have the
solutions you need, the technology to make it happen, and can execute a plan
that will increase your chances of survival. If your greed and prejudice gets
in the way of our solution, this opportunity we’re handing you will disappear.
There’s a war on, a fleet to build, and a whole solar system to defend. I’d
rather be there, so when I see your pride getting in the way of your people’s
survival, I wonder if my ship is even in the right place. You will accept our
help, or you we’ll leave. You don’t have a week to decide, or a day, you have a
few hours. Am I speaking clearly and loudly enough for you? Do you understand
me?”
“Y-yes,” stammered Prime Minister Hemron.
“Get out,” Jake said, stepping away from the man.
Prime Minister Hemron hesitated for a moment, then
slinked from the room.
“You’re not a very bright man, are you, Captain?” Commodore
Merick said.
“I am a pragmatist, and I do not respect people with
more greed than sense,” Jake said. “And we are here to provide a military
solution.”
“We need supplies. That is a fact so we ask you for
them.”
“No,” Ayan said flatly. “You told us you would be
taking them. You have your answer, Commodore, so let’s move on.”
“You can’t believe that the scene we just witnessed
was appropriate.”
“It was perfectly appropriate. We are here to deal with
you, the leader of the military. We only have time for a military solution.
Triton Fleet can’t assist any of your civilian people until we get you out of
the nebula and home. We have a situation in the Rega Gain system where we are
on the verge of thriving as a new society,” Ayan pressed. “When we found you
two hours ago, I was already having visions of getting you there, beginning a
peaceful merging of civilians.”
“And growing your military, no doubt,” Commodore
Merick said.
“I realize there are a lot of steps to make between
today and that dream,” Ayan said. “But once you see how Haven Shore has grown,
how we are operating with the British Alliance, I’m sure you’ll understand.”
“The British Alliance will let you lay the foundation,
do the grunt work, then take what they want and claim the glory for their
people,” the Commodore said. “That man wasn’t the only Loyalist in this room.”
“Don’t let politics get in the way of our survival,
Commodore,” Admiral Rice said. “These people were able to find us in days, that
says something about the security of our position here.”
“One of our own ships led you here.”
“That’s completely beside the point,” Admiral Rice
said. “We’re lucky they’re the ones who arrived to save that ship when they
did. If it were another group of Order ships, they could have just as easily
downloaded and decrypted the contents of a navigational computer and gotten to
us. My experience tells me that we’ve been lucky so far, and these people are
willing to risk their lives so we can make our way through the rest of the
nebula in a safer way.”
“I hope you’re right, Admiral,” the Commodore said.
“I’m going to take your word on their intentions and allow them to scout ahead
for us. If they drag trouble back here, I’ll have your commission.”
“This is the only sane way to continue, Commodore,”
Admiral Rice said. “You’ve been retired a long time, a lot has changed in
thirty-three years. If you don’t take the advice of your officers, and keep letting
the Prime Minister cross the divide between the military and civilian
government, we will be caught while we argue about priorities and what course
of action is best.”
“Take the win, Admiral,” the Commodore said as she
left the room.
“I apologize,” Jake said. “I wasn’t sure you were
actually advocating for us at first.”
“It’s all right, Captain,” Jessica Rice said. “Since the
Loyalists took over, things have been getting better, and their priorities are
usually good, but these people are more focused on impressing the few
Freegrounders we have left quickly so they can remain in power. The divide that
existed between the military and the civilian bodies is practically gone,
giving the politicians the idea that they can weigh in on any decision the
Fleet has to make. We’re trying to keep things within the fleet, but the
politicians listen in more and more. What’s worse, most of them are new,
replacing most of our senior representatives and they aren’t thinking long-term.
I wanted to handle the relationship between Freeground Fleet and you on my own,
but the Commodore wants to prove that she can still be a great commander even
though she was just dusted off and put in place a week and a half ago. The
Prime Minister wants to show the people that his party can provide, but
everything is in short supply.”
“I’ll do what I can to help,” Jake said. “But the
Revenge needs everything its got. We’ll try to find salvage opportunities along
the way. My intelligence on the area tells me that there are some good
locations in the nebula. There are even some star bases and settlements, but I
haven’t seen them personally. They’re on the fringes, so we can’t count on
their help until we get closer to the edge, but the nebula isn’t barren, there
are a lot of people who have been living here well before the Order came along.
I doubt most of them are sympathisers.”
“That’s exactly the kind of thing we need. Friends and
supplies. Our faster than light systems are not at one hundred percent, so if
we can find supplies along the way, the station will get stronger as we go. No
one is starving or suffocating yet, though, so there is some time.”
“I only ask that you make
every decision about this journey a military decision,” Jake said. “We can’t
afford the time your government will add with bureaucracy.”
“I agree, Captain Valent,” Admiral Rice said.
“I’m wondering,” Stephanie said. “I heard something
about attacks, and the need for increased internal security.”
“We’ve been bombed five times since we left our home
territory. The attacks came from within,” Jessica said. “The first one killed
more than half of our house representatives, and the third one took out almost
the entire Admiralty along with the previous Prime Minister and his aides. I
got lucky, I was aboard a ship supervising patrols. Order spies are definitely
aboard the station and we suspect they have rallied small groups who believe
politics ruined Freeground, so we’re taking extra measures in all the critical
areas we can protect. The wormhole generator was hit once. We still haven’t
finished repairing the mass capacitors or the connections between them and our
primary reactors. It’s slowing our recharge rate down and reducing the
effectiveness of our wormhole generator. We have less than three percent of the
jump capability that we entered the nebula with.”
“How long would it take for you to make repairs?” Ayan
asked.
“With the materials we need and a full shut down,
approximately nine days, but it would almost completely restore our systems.”
“I’m guessing the Commodore aren’t allowing for the
shut down time?” Jake asked.
“You have a good grasp of the situation here. As it
is, the best thing you can do to help is give us directions, make sure the jump
route is safe and watch for safe harbours along the way.”
“That, we can do,” Jake said.
“I’ll lead an expedition and get every pilot I can
working on it,” Minh-Chu added.
“There has been a lot of political shifting, so I have
to ask,” Ayan said. “Is your military command structure stable?”
“You can take any information or question to me,”
Jessica Rice said quietly. “The fleet is with me, the Commodore believes that
she’s in control of the station, but there are a lot of people who believe the
laws that took her out of retirement to command are antiquated, that she’s
incompetent. They don’t have much faith.”
“So, the faith is in the fleet.”
“Exactly. Civilians feel trapped, a lot of them are
months into military training, following the desire to help, and a few recruits
are training out of fear. They want to feel empowered, and that seems to be the
only way to do it legally. We’re running into trouble, with hundreds of freshly
trained military personnel who don’t have a place because we don’t have the
ships. I think people are afraid of how the dynamic will change if the Triton
and Revenge are too close for too long.”
“We need people in Triton Fleet,” Ayan said. “Ships
aren’t the problem, manpower is our biggest issue.”
“Don’t let anyone hear you say that. The Prime
Minister, the Commodore, most of the people who run things on the station are
worried about losing more people. We’ve gone from millions to less than three
hundred fifty thousand in less than a decade. It feels like the Freeground
Nation will be gone by the end of next year. If people realize they can
resettle in the Rega Gain system, that might actually happen.”
“What do you want to see happen?” Minh-Chu asked.
“I’m a military animal,” Jessica said, looking to
Minh-Chu at first, then to Ayan. “I’ve sacrificed a lot to be excellent in my
field, maybe too much. There are so many people who would lose their direction
without Freeground Fleet. We need to join a worthy organization with good
leadership. The Commodore thinks that by claiming Tamber and Haven Shore, she
can keep the Freeground Nation and the Fleet together. I just want what’s best
for our people, and if that means joining Triton Fleet instead, then that’s
what has to happen. I’ve seen large military organizations break up, Vindyne’s
fall was a disaster for hundreds of worlds. Military ships with trained crews
became marauders, raiders who preyed on the people they were paid to protect. I
shudder to think of the loss a dissolved Freeground Fleet could do. One of our
ships could hold a small station hostage, or run as a pirate for years, and I
know that there are some young captains that would see that as their best
option if they didn’t have a greater organization to depend on. I can only
speak for myself and the nine ships under my command, but we’ll join Triton
Fleet if you can show that you’re organized and poised to make a difference in
this war.”
“I’ve seen the plan for the Academy we’re building
with the British Fleet, and we have a shipyard. With people training, a growing
community on a planet with a stable environment, and ships on the way, I know
we can offer your people what they need.”
“I look forward to seeing that for myself, but the
journey to it is long yet,” Jessica said.
“Time for us to get to work,” Jake said. “Unless
anything else needs to be said.”
“Not for now,” Ayan said to Jessica. “Thank you for
helping us negotiate here. We’ll talk soon.”
“Good,” she replied. “I have to return to my ship.”
***
