Chapter Six - None-Way Communication

Nothing was faster than light. Nothing ordinary, in any case. The exception, therefore, was the unordinary, and that was something that Core-users had a monopoly on.

Therefore, when Martian Naval Command wanted to know what was going on with the fleet they'd lent out to Ivil Antagonist, they relied upon unordinary communication methods.

They were called the Partridge brothers. Both of them had gained copies of similar cores, and while neither of them were anything more than D-classers, their worth to the nation of Mars ensured that they wouldn't ever lack for anything, unless that thing was free time.

One of the Partridge brothers was laying within a vat filled with a non-newtonian fluid. A breathing apparatus was fixed to his face. His eyes were closed. Wires ran from his neck into a large server bank whose flickering lights were the only source of illumination in the room.

This room was deep within the Star Dreadnought. There were guards by the door. Automated defences tucked away and ready to deploy at a moment's notice. The space wasn't on any of the ship's official blueprints. It was almost as safe as could be.

The only way it could be safer was if its position could be hidden by obscurity, but there was only so much they could do to hide a ship of this size.

Across from him, Ivil stood with her hands casually folded at the small of her back. A semi-circle of plate-sized holographic displays hovered before her.

They flickered, and soon the room was lit by a soft blue glow as seven figures appeared in miniature before her. She recognized three. The others didn't matter. "Admiral, Admiral, Chancellor," she greeted.

The two Admirals, the Admiral of the Martian Defence Fleet and the Grand Admiral of the Navy, both nodded in greetings, but it was the Chancellor that spoke first. "Hello, Ivil," he said. The man had a smooth baritone voice that carried well, and he stood tall and proud, seeming rather regal despite the small stature of his hologram.

"Hello," Ivil replied. "I imagine that you wanted to talk to me for a reason?"

The Grand Admiral of the Navy scoffed. "I'd like to know what's going on with one of my best fleets," he said.

"Our mission on Haumea was accomplished," Ivil said simply. "We will be heading inwards next."

"Back to Mars?" the Chancellor asked.

"No. Ceres first. You can have your fleet once I'm there. Admiral Vestri will likely be pleased to be back home," Ivil said.

"I can imagine," the Admiral of the Defence said. "Though that begs the question, where will you be in that time? Are you going to be staying on Ceres?"

Ivil hesitated for a moment, then gestured to the screens. "Can we have some level of privacy?" she asked.

Four of the seven holograms winked out. The Partridge brothers would still hear, of course, but they had heard plenty of classified things already. All that remained were the admirals and the chancellor who walked within the hologram, likely to a more private location. "Go ahead," he said.

"Once on Ceres I'll be departing for an unknown amount of time aboard a ship called the Held Together," Ivil said. "I don't know for how long, and I'm uncertain of my destination."

The Grand Admiral leaned to the side, inputting some information into a tablet. "The Held Together... a small cargo ship currently en-route to Ceres. Due to arrive today, in fact. Overdue payments all over. It's practically a relic."

"What is its next destination?" the Chancellor asked.

"Jupiter," the admiral said. "According to its flight plans. Though with Ceres, you never know."

"Then I supposed I'll be heading to Jupiter," Ivil said with a shrug. "Is that an issue? I won't require any escorts, nor will I suffer any impediments."

"You seem quite serious about this," the Chancellor said. "You met with the oracle on Haumea, correct? Is this because of her prompting?"

"Obviously," she replied.

He nodded. "I always trusted that you have Mars' best interest at heart, Ivil. Whatever this mission of yours is, rest assured that Mars is ready to support you."

Ivil didn't fail to notice the two admirals holding back some less than flattering expressions at that. The Chancellor's role was important, certainly, and he was, nominally, the leader of Mars, at least on paper.

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In reality, the real power of Mars was in its military. They, of course, paid lip service to the Chancellor, and there were several political realities in play that would require either a lifetime on Mars to understand, or some deep study to uncover.

"I appreciate it," Ivil said. "I might require some assistance, as it happens. I need a cover identity. I've prepared a small brief for MINT with some suggestions for what I need. I'll leave the details to the professionals."

The Admiral of Defence nodded. That would, technically, fall under his purview. "I'll have the boys in black do what they do best," he said.

"Thank you," Ivil said.

These kinds of meetings were always so very tense. The levers of power on and around Mars were a rube-goldberg machine that built itself as it went. They shifted constantly, grew and expanded and changed.

Ivil was a wrecking ball poised over the machine. Able to destroy it, but nonetheless supported by it all the same.

"You asked for privacy," the Grand Admiral said. It wasn't a question, because his position didn't allow him to bow to Ivil. Instead, he brought it up and let her fill in the rest.

"I don't know how Mars will react to my temporary... vacation," Ivil said. "I think I'm more than due some time off, and I don't plan on making much of a fuss. Nonetheless, I'd be remiss if I didn't ensure that the timing wasn't... critical, in some way."

"There's always something," the Chancellor said with a sad smile. "Let's see... there's a refugee crises around the Mercury-Venus circle. I don't think that'll impact us, but it might draw some attention from the Earth Alliance. The Alliance of Moons is acting strangely. I think there might be something new going on with them, though they're keeping mum about it. Deimos is trying to get feelers out, and Phobos is doing its own thing. I don't think either situation calls for your brand of attention."

"No noteworthy military manoeuvres," the Grand Admiral said. One of his eyes, a mechanical implant, was glowing as he reviewed something. "Some training exercises around Jupiter from the Earth Alliance. Some movement from Saturn to Jupiter as well from Titan and the others, but that's likely a show of force since Jupiter isn't keen on being bullied. Ceres is a mess, as usual."

"We ought to do something about Ceres," the Defence Admiral said. "Especially if we're going to park a Star Dreadnought on their front step."

"There are some pirates that we could wipe out. They've been a thorn," the other admiral agreed.

Ivil shook her head. "Do as you will. I don't see any of that concerning me. If the system is at peace, then I'll be able to act as I please without any concerns of some cataclysm pulling me back."

The Chancellor and the Admirals exchanged a glance, then the Chancellor shrugged. "I suppose we can live without your direct assistance for some time. What's that old expression, about having a hammer and seeing nails all over?"

Ivil didn't quite laugh, but she did breath out from her nose. "I have a rough idea of what you mean, yes," she said. "I won't be entirely outside of anyone's ability to communicate. If you're so worried about me, then keep a ship or two on standby."

"We'll do just that," the Grand Admiral said. "Be careful around Ceres, Ivil. That place is a hive of scum and villainy."

"I don't intend to stay there long," she replied.

Ivil said her farewells and ended the communication. When all the holograms finally dimmed, she found herself in the same poorly lit room, eyeing the Partridge brother still laying within his vat.

She wondered what life was like for him and his brother. Eternal subservience to the nation of Mars. Power, but power chained. Something that might have been her lot in life had she not gained power fast and hard enough.

Ivil sighed, noted the time, then rubbed at the back of her neck. If she was going to be away from the Martian fleet for any amount of time, then this might be one of her last opportunities to attend to one of the few things that kept her solidly grounded.

It was about time for her to visit her therapist.

She wondered what he would have to say about her current progress.

***