Interlude-Scoring Position
Nora had some choice words for Marshal Tispas when they got back from this stupid invasion. He’d lied about psionics without consulting her, as well as demonizing Caleb in the name of public safety.
Light delay on the feeds was more than an hour, so by the time she saw anything change, it would all be over.
“[You’ve been back a week, and you’re already flying away…]” Dustin told her. “[Not a good look, just saying.]”
“[Everyone will be fine with it,]” Nora said. “[I brought you with me, didn’t I? Everyone will sleep easier tonight knowing you’re not around to mess with them.]”
Besides, she’d left Halax with Jacob and Caroline. They only had to hold down the fort for a day.
“[Harsh,]” Dustin chuckled. “[So why are we flying to this ‘ENVY’s space station?]”
“[Because I can’t teleport,]” Nora huffed.
“[Not the transportation,]” Dustin said. “[The destination.]”
“[Because I can’t teleport,]” Nora repeated. “[I’d love to blink halfway across this star system, grab Caleb, and drag him back here, but I can’t. So I’m holding it together by focusing on what I can do.]”
“[And that’s something with ENVY’s space station? I thought we were letting the Vorak handle that.]”
“[Did you even read Tox’s report?]” Nora asked.
“[Yeah, he asked for some human help.]”
“[They,]” Nora corrected, “[and you didn’t read the whole thing, because ENVY isn’t talking to them. So I’m doing what I can when I can.]”
“[Gotcha. Can’t save a gunshot victim or stop a hurricane, so you’re going to pistol whip the trucking industry,]” Dustin mused.
“[What the hell are you talking about?]”
“[Nothing. It’s from TV,]” Dustin said. “[We can probably leverage this, right? They want to know what ENVY is as much as we do.]”
“[We’re leveraging everything,]” Nora agreed. “[It’s the whole point of a collaborative relationship. They help us help them help us.]”
“[What’s the plan then?]”
“[Call ENVY’s bluff.]”
“[…What bluff?]” Dustin asked awkwardly.
Nora materialized a stack of papers and threw them at him, scattering the sheets all over the ship’s cabin.
“What’s going on back there?” Trakin asked.
“Berating Dustin for not doing the assigned reading,” Nora explained, glaring at him.
“[Okay, okay, I’ll take my lumps,]” Dustin said, throwing his hands up. “[But we’re still on the clock, so either explain it to me or give me the reading again…please?]”
Nora succeeded in resisting the urge to throttle him, but only just.
“[Well, Tox found ENVY’s new station only for some fairly unambiguous signs to be left on the lawn,]” Nora said, handing Dustin a materialized photograph.
Trespassers will be detonated, ENVY’s message blinked steadily on all the station’s exterior displays in a dozen different languages.
Detonated.
“[…And the otters think we won’t count as trespassers?]” he asked.
<[Maybe,]> Nora said, switching to psionics. <[I noticed ENVY got a lot more chatty with me when there wasn’t an alien around with me, but there’s a lot of other possibilities for what prompted that.]>
Dustin flinched at the psionics.
“[Gah, don’t do that without warning me. This shit’s weird.]”
<[Get used to them,]> Nora said. <[You want to talk about leveraging things? Once we prove psionics aren’t to blame for the Beacons, aliens from everywhere are going to want to learn about this stuff.]>
“[Well you take to them more easily than I do,]” Dustin shrugged.
Unlike Dustin, Michelle had taken much better to Caleb’s brain child. From the handful of Adept abductees who’d accepted them, Michelle was the clear standout. She’d already begun experimenting with self-made updates and optimizations to the intro-module. Nora had taken roughly six weeks of nearly constant practice to forge a superconstruct, and the damn thing had fallen apart after just a few minutes of operation.
Judging by Michelle’s progress, it wouldn’t take half that time for her to come up with a superconstruct, and Nora had a hunch hers would hold together far better.
What it would do? That was anybody’s guess.
But despite Michelle’s psionic skills, her mental afflictions were unchanged. She’d confided that having psionics weren’t reducing her hallucinations, and whatever neurological problem was making her stutter was still in full force.
Odder still, that stutter persisted in her psionic communication. Nora wished she could run the oddity by Caleb, and not for the first time.
She wished she could have had Caleb’s help for a lot of this.
<[Thanks,]> Nora sent Michelle. <[On our way.]>
The Vorak were a lot like the Coalition in the sense that they didn’t like humans going anywhere without an armed escort. On their shuttle of a dozen people, nine of them were Vorak soldiers, and Nora only knew the name of one of them.
“It’s a different kind of platform,” Nora observed when she got to the cockpit. At least it looked different from the ‘Batten-model’ they’d discovered orbiting Paris.
“It’s not a standard model,” Trakin confirmed. “But that’s not surprising. ‘Model’ space station design fell out of popularity in favor of modular designs fairly quickly.”
“So this one is newer?”
“Yes, but that’s not saying much,” Trakin said testily. “The change in design happened more than a century ago. This station could be decades old, and it wouldn’t matter a lick.”
The shuttle drifted closer to the station before a message popped up on the communication display.
A proximity alert, followed by the same warning as before.
Trespassers will be detonated.
“Full stop,” Trakin ordered.
The helmsman complied. Helmsrak?
“Distance?” she asked.
“Five thousand meters,” the pilot replied.
Trakin nodded to Nora, handing her a radio handpiece. “Time to see if you’re a trespasser.”
Nora squeezed the button, “[ENVY, don’t blow us up. It’s Nora. Can we come aboard?]”
The automated message didn’t change, but the pilot saw something change in the station itself.
“One of the lights,” they noticed, “by the airlock.”
A yellow light was blinking in short bursts of three.
“A welcome flag?” Trakin asked.
“[Any chance you could be a little more clear, ENVY? Nobody wants to fly close and blow everyone up,]” Nora said.
Humans only, the display changed for a few seconds, but it quickly reverted to its detonation warning.
“Your English good enough to get that?” Nora asked Trakin.
The otter nodded.
“Then the three of us will go aboard,” Nora decided.
“No. It’s a completely unknown station and even if Tox has insisted our methods change, it’s my job to keep you creatures alive. Plus you’re not dressed to go outside,” Trakin said.
Nora materialized a spacesuit around herself as an answer.
“Got any bottles of oxygen?” she asked.
She stubbornly met Trakin’s gaze. The Vorak might have been a military officer, but the only authority she had was limited to when shooting started.
“You’ve told us this station is connected to your abductors,” Trakin said carefully. “It is a hostile position, threatening us with ordnance. You can’t expect me to allow this.”
“When we first turned up, you and Tispas didn’t know what to do then,” Nora shrugged. “But you let yourselves make the decisions anyway, because no one knew any better. Once again, you have no clue what to do here. But this time, someone does know better than you. I’ve talked to ENVY. If they wanted me dead, they could have dumped me into a gas giant. I am going to talk to them. You are going to wait here, and if the three of us die, then by all means: be smug about it. But I’m going onto that station.”
“…If so, you’re going to stay in radio contact,” Trakin demanded.
“Fine. So I’ll ask again, where are the oxygen bottles?”
·····
“[You’re sure this is safe?]” Dustin asked, tapping the gangway with his boot. “[I don’t want to suffocate out in the middle of space.]”
“[Yes. I promise not to dissolve your spacesuits and murder you,]” Nora said. “[They’re tied off too, so even if I die, they won’t dematerialize for a day or two.]”
“[We have an-n air b-ubble too,]” Michelle reminded him.
“[I’m not worried about the suit or the air,]” he frowned. “[I’m worried about the fucking AI that’s confessed to being involved in our abduction. Who’s to say it’s not going to lock doors behind us, or sic some killer robots on us?]”
“[They’re not hostile,]” Nora said. “[…I think.]”
“[You tattled on its location to a military that it’s been hiding from—apparently for years—and you think it’s not going to be hostile?]”
“[ENVY’s a big girl,]” Nora said, knocking on the side of the station. “[They knew what I might do when they helped me get back here. Isn’t that right?]”
It wasn’t perfectly timed, but the airlock door hissed open.
“Remember to stay in radio contact,” Trakin demanded, visible from one of the shuttle’s windows.
“I will,” Nora reassured her on the radio. “But seriously, don’t send anyone else in. Just because ENVY let the shuttle come close doesn’t mean they’re bluffing about bombs.”
“Just stay in radio contact,” Trakin grumbled.
“[Shall we?]” Nora gestured.
Ever gentlemanly, Dustin floated in first. But it was only an airlock. Nowhere further to go until it was done cycling.
The room it delivered them to was undecorated except for a screen and camera on the far wall. Cascading the room showed more than one microphone in the setup too.
Figures.
“[This is it?]” Dustin asked. “[Kinda thought we’d get to see some cool robots at least.]”
“[I get the impression ENVY is obligated to be pretty shy,]” Nora said.
“[Welds,]” Michelle noticed on the adjacent doors. “[Are there m-maintenance workers on this station-n?]”
“[Doubt it,]” Nora said, immediately switching to psionics. Better to not let ENVY hear. <[Operating theory is that ENVY was made by an Adept with a computer specialization. We were pretty sure they’ve got drones and shit of all sorts. But…I don’t doubt our host did some redecorating when they realized I tracked them.]>
<[What kind of drones?]> Dustin asked, forcing himself to use the psionics.
<[Surveillance,]> Nora replied. <[I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I don’t think we’re in for a fight though. Even if they’re upset, I don’t think they’ll try to hurt us…yet.]>
Hello, ENVY’s words popped up on screen.
“[Nice new digs,]” Nora said.
Not for long. No thanks to you.
“[You picking up our audio just fine?]”
I’d hear better if you took off the helmet.
“[Not likely,]” Nora snorted.
The air is breathable. I really laid out the welcome mat for you. Even made sure Vorak wouldn’t get ears on this conversation. Again, no thanks to you.
“[Not two minutes ago, I called you a big girl,]” Nora said. “[I didn’t think you were holding a grudge.]”
ENVY seemed to pause before answering.
Even I can be inconvenienced. Your little trick more than qualifies.
“[What does it even matter? So the Vorak get to know where one of your space stations is. Big deal,]” Nora snorted. “[I had to keep track of you somehow, otherwise I would have been waiting for you to contact me, and you were the one who told me there’s no time to wait. So help us now, and I might not care what you do after. Download yourself into another station for all I care.]”
I would have contacted you. Sooner even, than if you hadn’t pointed the Sails my direction.
“[Would you have?]” Nora said. “[I’m already taking a lot from you on trust, because I don’t know what reasons you have to lie. But I can think of a few possibilities. So if you want some trust, you’re going to have to give some first—something that actually helps us, that we can confirm.]”
…Did you really?
Nora frowned. “[Did I really what?]”
Never mind. Alerting the Vorak to my presence…that issue can be addressed another time, as long as they don’t try to access resources I’m obligated to protect.
“[Fine, I’ll make sure they get the message, but I can’t promise how much they’ll listen. We’re here for the rest of the abductees,]” Nora said. “[Where are they?]”
Precise positions are unknown. Distribution estimates are possible, but cannot be considered reliable.
“[Why n-not?]” Michelle asked.
Models don’t function without current data.
“[What models?]” Dustin asked.
Infer.
“[Gee, that’s helpful,]” he drawled.
“[So you can’t locate the abductees. Then how do we get to them in time? What even is our deadline?]” Nora asked.
Not one deadline. Many. The soonest is nutritional. Abductees may already be dead, but initial fatalities are guaranteed three hundred hours from now.
“[That’s…]” Dustin said, calculating it out.
“[Ab-bout two weeks,]” Michelle beat him to the punch. “[B-but that n-number has to b-be fungib-ble. Have ab-bductees already starved?]”
Unknown.
“[How is it unknown?]” Dustin growled. “[You’re involved in the abductions. How do you abduct five-thousand people and lose track of them?]”
It’s much easier to lose spaceships than to find them.
“[Is it trying to be funny?]” Dustin asked.
“[Don-n’t think so,]” Michelle said. “[B-but you’re talking around-nd something. Why?]”
I am unsure how you will take it if I bring it up directly.
“[Don’t sugarcoat it now,]” Nora spat.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The real problem we both face: it’s not just that the ships can’t be located. They’re too many different places, and our combined resources too thin. Even with widespread aid from the Organic Authority, Coalition, Transport Unions, and the Congressional Assembly it’s unlikely all abductees would be reached.
Nora’s heart clenched. They could ask every colony in every system, but that was no guarantee anyone would actually help. No…that wasn’t quite true. Once people learned about First Contacts dying in the middle of space, starving…surely collective pity would demand some kind of aid.
But even thinking that still missed the real problem.
The Beacons and psionics weren’t the real obstacles.
Even if all the Beacons were available right now, how quickly would they be able to reach another group of abductees? Searching just one star system could take months.
It would take immediate mass mobilization to rescue the abductees in other star systems, and Nora hadn’t even heard from anyone outside this star system. She’d sent messages, but even if responses came instantly, how would other star systems respond.
‘Dear aliens everywhere, please go looking for these poor defenseless humans floating in the middle of space?’
She didn’t even know that’s how they could be found. For all anyone knew, the ships were hidden on the surface of asteroids, or quietly in orbit above countless other planets.
Even if people took her seriously…they would never reach all the abductees soon enough. ENVY had implied the abductees were running out of food, but that was the necessity people could forgo longest. Assuming there were still weeks to reach the abductees…
Was it even possible to save half? A quarter?
“[We just don’t have the time…]” she whispered. “[If we’d started solving this a month ago, it would be a different story…But you knew that already, didn’t you?]”
ENVY did not correct her.
“[That’s why you gave yourself away, why you let us find you…Caleb was right, you want us alive, and that’s still true. You need my help—for some reason—to save all those abductees,]” Nora accused. “[Their clock ticked down enough that your priorities had to shuffle. Staying completely secret took a back seat to making sure the abductees stayed alive.]”
That is not inaccurate.
“[Why? What can any of us do that you can’t?]”
Talk to unaffiliated people, ENVY answered. Currently, restrictions prevent me from contacting anyone who hasn’t already interacted with me. That counts in reverse. If the Vorak attempt to contact me, I’ll be forced to make a drastic change. I don’t want that.
“[That’s why you had to do the movie quotes,]” Nora realized. “[You must have been listening when we figured out Nai had learned English…but you had to know—]”
Nora clapped her mouth shut. If the AI had been listening to that conversation, then they would know Nai couldn’t read English, only listen to it. But they’d still bothered with the riddles. But ENVY must have known Nora and Caleb would share information with Nai. On the spot, even. But for some reason, that didn’t trip ENVY’s restrictions.
She thought about how Fran, the Casti criminal, had described ENVY’s contact; only trying to manipulate one of their subordinates. The same had proven true with Asu Tolar.
Intermediaries could relay ENVY’s information to whoever they wanted, and the restrictions wouldn’t be tripped.
What?
Why?
That was such a stupidly obvious loophole in security. Why that was the case, Nora could only guess. That would put the Vorak at ease, at least…as long as they believed Nora wasn’t altering the information.
?
“[Nothing,]” she said. “[I think I understand though.]”
Good.
“[Unaffiliated people: who, specifically?]” Nora asked.
Beacon Senior Technical-Operator Min Shei-Tor-Pin. They need to reconfigure the primary intersystem broadcast modules on one of the still-functioning Beacons.
“[Why? No, scratch that… ‘Transtellar communications are difficult.’ You’re cut off,]” Nora recalled. “[You’re trying to reach back out.]”
The ships cannot be located, ENVY said, but they might still be contacted. More specifically, they might still be updated.
“[Why update them?]” Dustin asked. “[If you regain contact with them, can’t you just…]”
He trailed off as he followed his own question.
“[You could retake con-ntrol of them-m,]” Michelle realized.
“[And use them as hostages,]” Nora followed. “[If you’re just trying to use them for leverage—]”
Relax. The solution I have is not a permanent one, and it will not last long enough for two-way contact with the abductions ships. ‘Update’ was a specific choice of word.
“[What exactly would this update entail?]”
Not much. Override the crafts’ lockouts, distribute instructions, other new key files. The goal would be to enable the remaining abductees to call directly for help, or—barring that—begin maneuvering to the nearest port. A search would be rendered unnecessary.
That…would be disastrous. It would be dumping every abductee everywhere into a situation barely a step removed from Caleb’s. It would take years to track down where they all ended up. It would leave them vulnerable to whoever discovered them, no matter how hostile.
But it would give them all a chance.
“[Fuck, what kind of a choice is that?]” Nora whispered.
“[How do we know this update would do what you say it does?]” Dustin asked.
I’d be happy to walk you through the software architecture, ENVY typed.
“[I’m-m n-not sure there’s a choice,]” Michelle said.
If they did this, every abductee out there was going to be thrust into an unimaginable situation. But Nora could at least help prepare them. Even the tiniest bit.
“[Could you include a video?]” she asked.
Yes.
Were there any other options here? It didn’t seem likely ENVY would go through all the trouble of including them if this were something they were capable of on their own.
It all came back to whether or not ENVY was trustworthy. If the AI wasn’t, then Nora would be helping their abductors reclaim control over the humans scattered in space.
What other choice was there?
No…this was happening whether she liked it or not. The one thing the machine could be trusted to do was keep abductees alive. There was no choice in that.
But there were plenty of choices in how that happened.
“[Dustin, stay here,]” Nora asked. “[Get ornery, grill ENVY about just what this update is going to do and not do, how it’s going to happen, why we need to find this Beacon Operator in particular. Michelle and I are going back to the ship and talking to Trakin. We’re going to need to explain this, and time is still of the essence.]”
“[Aye, aye,]” he grinned.
“[Come on,]” Nora gestured for Michelle to follow.
The two of them floated back out the airlock and back onto Trakin’s shuttle. Explaining the situation went about as well as Nora expected.
“Absolutely not,” Trakin said. “The one limitation Tispas still has you under is don’t go anywhere near the Beacons.”
“We don’t need to go to a Beacon,” Nora reassured her. “We only need to contact personnel.”
“What, and they’re just going to listen to what you have to say? Help out your mystery machine? Do you even know how ridiculous that sounds?”
“I imagine it sounds as ridiculous as people forging matter out of nothing with their minds,” Nora scoffed. “And they won’t listen to us, they’ll listen to a Red Sails Sten requisitioning their aid in an emergency operation to broadcast to…well, everywhere.”
“That’s…not the same,” Trakin sighed. “You’re just whelps. You don’t...agh!”
Nora let herself smirk while Trakin’s back was turned in frustration.
“It’s satisfactory, right?” Nora said. “We steer clear of the Beacons until Tispas can better understand the problem, we arrange this update to be broadcast everywhere—wide beam, high intensity. We won’t need to search systems if the signal can reach every corner.”
“You can’t just broadcast this update once…” Trakin huffed. “It wouldn’t propagate enough. It would have to be rebroadcast in every system. Furthermore, you’d have to publicize exactly what you were doing, or else our situation is simply going to repeat in every other colonized star system!”
“That’s nothing I don’t already know,” Nora said. “What do you think I need you guys for? The Red Sails can alert the other planets and colonies in the Assembly, Coalition too, and most importantly: the Organic Authority . Everyone will hear about stranded humans in their area, and we can figure out who needs to go where to help whom afterward!”
“…You actually did think this through,” Trakin said. A little stunned.
“Full credit to Caleb Hane,” Nora said. “Planning and review? Psionics are mental tools. They make things like that easier.”
“He killed my sister,” Trakin growled.
“No, he didn’t,” Nora said. “And even if he had, you won’t do a [damn] thing about it.”
“[Speak of Caleb-b,]” Michelle said, peering at the shuttle’s monitors. “[Is that him-m?]”
“[What?]”
Sure enough, on one of the console’s monitors, a fuzzy picture showed a lanky figure on a rooftop wearing a white shirt, black pants, and suspenders.
“What is this?” Nora asked.
“Battlefield stills, intel,” the Vorak at the station answered. “Our unit is flagged to receive any intelligence about humans as soon as it makes it into fleet ship archives.”
“How long ago was that taken? Where?”
“Light delay is about two hours, and it was taken on Draylend,” Trakin answered. “It’s not the only one. The Marshal predicted he’d be moved there to avoid the fleet.”
“Looks like f-fighting followed h-him,” Michelle accused.
“This is good news,” Trakin frowned. “For you at least. This means Tispas knows where he is. They’ll box him in and take him without killing him.”
“And yet I can’t help but notice your specific choice in words,” Nora said. “He’s going to get hurt if they try to fight, and he’s probably going to hurt some people back.”
“He’s not ‘going’ to do anything,” Trakin said. “Light delay, remember? It’s probably already over. We only get to see the broadcasts now.”
With that crushing reminder, there was no reason to dwell on the images being transmitted from Paris. The clock was still ticking down.
“[Yeah. Fine. Michelle, you stay here with Trakin. Find out what you can about this Beacon operator, or find out who we can ask. I’m going to check back in with Dustin and ENVY and see about recording a video to include. Be thinking of stuff we need to tell all the abductees.]”
“[Okay,]” Michelle nodded.
Nora forced herself to keep moving. All she could do was trust Caleb not to get himself killed, and the Vorak not to do it for him.
·····
Three hours before that, above the skies of Draylend, Marshal Tispas received news.
The assault on Lakandt was threatening to stall. The Coalition was fighting tooth and nail for even the tiny outlying colonies. At this rate it would turn into Yawhere, but in reverse: the Vorak would control isolated pieces while the Coalition would keep the major population centers.
It wasn’t unexpected.
But there was another notice, this one much more promising.
“Marshal, there’s a team near the pole that thinks they’ve found the Warlock,” the strategic officer said.
“How credible?” Tispas asked.
“Tentative. Their suspicions are based on this Farnata utilizing invisible armor.”
That was a more recent trick of the Warlock’s. For almost two years, every combat report involving her read the same way. Blue-green fire, no survivors.
Whatever else happened today, she would be guarding Caleb Hane. She was their biggest obstacle.
Until Korbanok, only one Vorak had fought the Warlock and lived. And their survival was purely luck, certainly a defeat, and not very informative. But Ashgar Kholi had turned the Warlock’s strength against her. Their abilities made them her natural enemy. Megatherium, she’d called them.
They were dead just minutes after receiving the name.
Nai Cal-Yan-Ti was a more resourceful and flexible opponent than any rak could have previously known.
Any rak but one.
“Bestir,” Tispas said into his intercom, “standby. You might be going to Tudsen.”
“Just give the word, Marshal,” they said calmly.
The plan was simple. Split them up.
Coalition Adepts tended to be better on average than their Vorak counterparts, if only just. But they were outnumbered more than three to one.
The Warlock could not be in two places at once. So wherever she and Caleb Hane revealed themselves, if they split up?
It would be Tispas’s victory, and the whole of the cosmos would breathe a hint easier while they solved the Beacon problem.
“Marshal, another report out of Tudsen,” the tactical officer said. “One of the comm units captured an image. It’s from very far away, but…”
They displayed the picture for Tispas, and the Marshal’s eyes immediately settled on the subject. He looked so different from when they’d first met, but he wore clothes identical to the ones he had when Laranta had treated with Tox over screens.
Caleb Hane.
“Bestir, launch for Tudsen,” Tispas said. “You’ll be briefed as you fall.”
“Yes, Marshal.”
“Tudsen colony, strategy?” Tispas demanded.
Fourteen officers on the flagship’s command deck all began putting together a battlefield strategy with one goal: do not let Caleb Hane escape.
“Nothing landed at Tudsen. Their ship must be at Coskit,” one said.
“Why would the human be in the colony though?”
“Power supplies,” another answered. “Coskit’s conduiting is poor. It relies on being connected to Tudsen.”
“This is a tiny base…” someone muttered.
The exchange was hushed and rapid, but in no more than five minutes, they had a way to separate the Human from the Warlock.
“Copy comms?” Tispas asked. His console indicated their shuttle had already dropped, and was hurtling toward the moon below.
“Copy one,” Bestir said.
“Copy two.”
“Copy three.”
“…Shaper, copy?” Tispas asked.
“Copy four. Don’t tie knots on me…” Shaper growled.
“You’re splitting up once you’re near the ground. Bestir, Lants, and Fuerca are going to hit the power relays at the center of the colony. Be very visible, and take your time. You’re drawing out the Warlock. Your goal is not to kill her, or even win. Just survive, and keep her pressured and occupied. Understood?”
“Yes, Marshal,” three voices replied.
“And I have the alien,” Shaper nodded. “I get it. Where am I setting up?”
“North end of the colony,” Tispas said. “Make a creature and get it to start digging for the power conduits running to Coskit. The plan is to force the Warlock to Bestir’s team. So assuming Caleb Hane and the Warlock are the only Adepts present, he’ll have to go to you. You are to take him alive, Shaper. If you kill him, I promise you will breathe stale air for the rest of your short, court-martialed life.”
“Yes Marshal, Sir,” the Vorak said curtly. “I’ve got just the critter for the job.”
“The goal is to bring Caleb Hane into custody,” Tispas reminded them all. “If he escapes Draylend, the only chance left will be to shoot down his ship. I don’t need to tell you how disastrous that would prove. So focus your efforts on the power infrastructure. Without it, ships shouldn’t be able to leave Coskit. You have your orders. Good hunting.”
The comm clicked off and Tispas could only watch the displays while their shuttle hurtled toward the moon’s pole.
Breaking through the colony canopy was bad form, but Tispas wasn’t taking chances with the timing. The sooner Caleb Hane could be apprehended the better.
Five minutes after the team landed, the flagship’s scopes managed to penetrate the colony’s canopy.
The normally opaque white and gold reflective paneling turned translucent on their screens—though not to the naked eye—and the flagship began taking skysight images of the colony and the deployment in it.
This close to the moon, there was functionally no light delay. They could look at movements in real time.
And two figures were moving quickly through the colony. One toward the center, and the other toward the north.
That was expected.
But something was wrong. Zooming in on the figure darting north across rooftops revealed they were wearing a black Coalition poncho. A hint of greyish blue peeking out from under it where their hands and head were visible.
The Warlock was heading for Shaper.
Worse still, the one moving toward the middle of the colony wore no poncho. Even on a low-resolution image from a starship in orbit through a photo-adaptive canopy, the figure was unmistakably Human.
And he was going headlong toward’s three of the best Adepts the Red Sails had to offer.
Tispas shook. He couldn’t believe what he was watching. He wasn’t the only one. His officers on the command deck were confused, dumbfounded.
There had to be a miscalculation somewhere. They’d missed something critical.
“Operations, load an escape pod trajectory into Tudsen colony. Direct. As close to Sten Bestir’s position as possible!”
Without waiting for a response, Tispas dashed out of the command deck without a word. He trusted his officers. They could—and would—continue to orchestrate the fleet for the hours this might take.
His personal intervention was necessary with Caleb Hane.
He barged his way to the ship’s shuttle bay. A proper craft would take too long. He would need to accelerate toward the surface. That meant an escape pod.
He only took the time to punch an intercom panel next to the pod access door.
“All hands, this is Marshal Tispas. Esten Spirrid has command of this vessel.”
That same rak replied via hand radio instead of intercom.
“Marshal, sir, your orders?”
“Order the fleet as you see fit,” Tispas said. “You know our objectives. My contributions wouldn’t be worth much now anyway. All the strategies are already made. You carry them out.”
He double-checked to make sure his pod’s trajectory was prepared. It wouldn’t be exact, but it could get him close enough.
Just before he launched, he had the wherewithal to remember ordering someone on the other end of the intercom; “Warn Bestir I’m incoming—”
And he rocketed toward the surface.