(Main Bridge, BSN Shinokage, Tsk’neth System, Free Worlds Alliance)

The civilian freighters didn’t stand a chance, not from the range we started hitting them at. Maybe, if they had managed to get closer, they could have tried to lock on with their grapplers. Not that it would have done them any good, against the composite hulls of the Black Star fleet. But I wasn’t going to let them show off what else they might have.

“Any ships on screen?”

“Negative, Admiral. Only sensor readings are our ships, the Glory, and four space stations, three around the fourth planet, and another by the sixth.”

I looked over to Raven, and asked, “What do we know about the stations?”

“Two of the stations around Tsk’neth IV are transshipping stations, designed for receiving food shipments from the ground and distributing them to outbound freighters, and receiving imported goods before sending them down to the surface. The third is the primary government, economic, and military hub for the system. The station around Tsk’neth VI is listed as a fuel processing plant, for harvesting and refining fuel from the gas giant.”

I nodded, and then looked over to the sensor officer. “Sensors, do we have any readings from the stations themselves?”

“Not at this range, Sir. We would need to go active for more detail.”

I took a breath, and said, “Status on Atlanta’s Marines?”

“They just returned to their shuttle, and are returning to the Atlanta.”

“Very well. Inform Atlanta that they are to destroy the Glory as soon as they are clear.”

“Aye, Sir.”

“Raven, what is the last known population of this system?”

“On Tsk’neth IV, approximately 800 thousand, spread in clusters across the planet. Much of the farming is automated, and requires little maintenance. The four stations combined have a listed population of 50 thousand. Tsk’neth III is a minor industrial colony, and, at last report, had a population of two million, primarily slaves, though the population has been steadily rising as the colony becomes more established.”

“Sir, Atlanta reporting her Marines are clear. The Glory of Juxl has been destroyed.”

“Very well.” I took a breath, and said, “Secure from stealth. All ships switch to active scanning. Take us past the refining station, and then towards Tsk’neth IV. We need to find out how bad things are.”

(Main Bridge, BSN Shinokage, near Tsk’neth VI Refining Station)

The station was dead.

It still had power. The machinery was still functioning. If someone docked at the loading ports, they would no doubt be able to load up a full supply of the fuel the station produced.

But it was still dead.

Or, rather, the people on it were dead. Thanks to Raven, we were now looking at the camera feeds from across the station. And what we saw on the hacked cameras was not encouraging.

The entire crew had been killed, thanks to the single escape pod that had docked with the station. That was all the infection needed. A single zombie made it onto the station, and bit someone. Since there were no Nomads on the station, the crew didn’t immediately shoot both the zombie and his victim in the head before dumping their bodies out the airlock and sterilizing the entire area. No, they started shooting the zombie, and three more workers got bitten before they managed to destroy the initial zombie. And then they took the workers to the infirmary.

The result was a foregone conclusion. In somewhere between two and twenty-four hours, depending on the extent and location of the bites, the workers turned into zombies. And, in a result that any Nomad would see coming, the zombies escaped, and overran the station. Everyone died, and was turned.

The problem was that the zombies weren’t just mindlessly wandering around. They were working the machines, harvesting gas and elements from the gas giant. They were still refining it, and packaging it. Sure, they looked like robots following instructions by rote, but they were actually doing more than mindlessly hunting the living. They were being controlled.

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That made things a hundred times worse.

“Weapons! Destroy the station. Be sure that any wreckage falls into the gas giant. Helm, take us to Tsk’neth IV.”

(Main Bridge, BSN Shinokage, in orbit of Tsk’neth IV)

“Admiral, we’re being hailed. Laser comms only.”

I raised an eyebrow. From the moment Atlanta had entered the system, the only broadcasts had been from the quantum communications system, connecting Tsk’neth to the rest of the galaxy. Now there was someone trying to communicate? “Source?”

“The government space station. Transmission says that it is from a ‘Worldleader K’ren of House B’tch’.”

“On screen.”

The screen was filled with an image I never thought that I’d see, a fat Ihm female. Not just overweight, but looking like one and a half Roseannes at her most obese. I’m pretty sure that there were actual superdreadnoughts with a slimmer profile than her.

“You are encroaching on Tsk’neth space, and have destroyed property belonging to the Tsk’neth planetary government and the Yathru Corporation! Who is this, so I know who to send our lawyers after!”

I stared at the self-important idiot for a moment, and then turned to look at Raven. “Is this dumbass serious?”

“Unfortunately, Admiral, I am not in any position to judge her mental state. However, according to the medical journals, morbid obesity in Ihm is typically associated with decreased mental faculties, so it is possible that she is mentally deficient in some way. Perhaps it would be best to treat her as a small child?”

“WHAT? I WILL HAVE YOUR JOB FOR THIS! DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?”

“No, and I don’t care. We are here investigating an infectious disease outbreak in this system. I don’t suppose you know anything about that, do you?”

“That is just lies told by those lazy workers who don’t want to do some honest work! There is no ‘disease’ outbreak. This is just indolent fools trying to escape their responsibilities. Now, I want to know who your supervisor is! I demand compensation for the damage you’ve done to the system infrastructure!”

I muted the conversation as Worldleader K’ren began ranting about the cost of the ships I’d destroyed, and the damages from the refinery, and all sorts of other things I couldn’t care about. Blessedly, the best thing about being my own boss was that I didn’t have to put up with the Karens of the world. It wasn’t like any of them had the power to hurt me, with everything I had at my disposal.

Looking over to Raven and the Captain, I said, “I want a full sensor sweep of the planet, and the stations. Either this idiot traded in all her brains for a fifth helping of desert, or she’s hiding something. I want to know if we have a populace to worry about on the planet below.”

“Admiral, we’re receiving another transmission, from Tsk’neth III.”

“On screen. Keep the Worldleader on a separate line, but don’t let her know we’re talking to someone else.”

An Ihm male appeared on the screen. Big and burly like all of his kind, he sported a large scar running across one eye, which had been replaced by cybernetics. He was wearing the uniform of a supervisor for a mining company.

“This is Work Chief Ruak. I control Tsk’neth III and its mines and factories. I don’t know who you are, but you should know that there is some kind of disease that has run rampant through this system. Don’t let any infected on your ship, and don’t dock with the stations!”

I nodded. “Thank you for the warning, Chief Ruak. This is Admiral Mollen of the Black Star Navy. We acknowledge the existence of a disease, having seen its effects already. We have already purged a few vessels that were controlled by the infected.”

“Good, most people don’t want to believe a miner over the leader of the system.”

“I can’t imagine why, what with the Worldleader’s charming personality. One is tempted to agree to whatever is spewing from her mouth, just to get her to shut up. What is your status? Have the infected reached your colony?”

“Yes, but, so far, we have them contained to a few sectors of the base. We lost a lot of good people when the outbreak started by the docks, and then the guards got themselves killed trying to control the ‘riot’. After ‘demoting’ the Colonyleader, I ordered the affected sections sealed off, and vented them to space. Unfortunately, it seems that vacuum doesn’t keep the infected from continuing to try and get through the blast doors.”

I looked to the side. “Contact the Orgrim’s Hammer. Second company is to gear up for combat. Full biohazard protocols. Work with the Chief to find a site to land troops, and draw up a plan of attack for reclaiming the colony.”

Turning back to the screen, I said, “I am going to send some troops to help deal with the situation. Actual combat troops, not glorified security guards. What is the current situation like?”

“Things are stable, for now. But we’re running low on food and medical supplies. We typically get our shipments from Tsk’neth IV, but with the recent problems, nothing is coming our way. The only ships that come, and aren’t blown away or taken by the infected, are the ones belonging to the government and the Yathru Corporation. Not that it matters with the docks overrun.”

He sighed. “If you can help clear out the docks and allow us to recover most of the supplies and land ships again, that would be a big help.”

“Speaking of ships, I’ve seen five of the ships which are supposed to belong to the system defense forces. Where are the other seven? I don’t want them sneaking up on me.”

“Unfortunately, all seven were lost to the Infected. Four detonated their reactors when they realized they were being overrun. Two others chose to slave their controls and fly directly into the heart of Tsk’neth VI’s atmosphere. The Razorclaw is currently caught in our docks, as the ship had just rotated down for repairs. We haven’t been able to push back past the horde to reclaim it. We may have been able to limit the deaths to only about thirty thousand, but we aren’t soldiers.”

“All right, stand by, and the Marines will be joining you shortly. Please give them as much of a briefing as you can, so they know how to best assist you.”

With that, I broke the connection. I was about to actually try and pay attention to the worldleader, but thankfully Captain Inatumal got my attention first. “Admiral, we have conducted our scans. The transshipping stations have been completely overrun, as has the planet below. Raven is reporting that hacks of the civilian data networks, what we can reach of them, have revealed that the governmental station is in the initial stages of an outbreak. However, we have been able to identify one potential ‘controller’ on the government station.”

A feed was brought up of a female ihm with obvious wounds, like the other infected, but her eyes were glowing black. The female was using hand motions to direct the mindless Ihm in what looked like a docking area, as they maneuvered around the barricades that the station security had set up, overrunning the guards and pressing on into the structure. Raven mentioned, “Facial identification suggests that the controller is the Worldleader’s daughter.”

“Of course, she is. Fine, warm up the main guns. When they are ready to fire, you can unmute her.”

“—and don’t think I won’t be speaking to the Alliance Exchange Service about this! I am good friends with the wife of the president, you know!”

Right. She still hadn’t stopped talking. A warm glow filled my heart, as I found myself finally able to do what everyone who has ever dealt with a Karen has always wanted to do. “Shut up, you scaly cow.” Her jaw hung open in shock, but I didn’t stop to allow her to recover.

“While you have been uselessly prattling along, we have been running scans of your stations, and the planet below. Your stations are infested with the infected, and it appears that your forces are being overrun. The fact that your daughter appears to be controlling the infected somehow puts your leadership in question. Therefore, you have twenty seconds to convince me not to blow your stations to hell before I commence sterilization procedures on the planet below.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Yes, I can. Tactical, destroy the station before the infected can utilize any of the escape pods. And get this garbage off my screen.” As the sputtering K’ren disappeared from the screen, I sighed. “Never negotiate with Karens.”