Chapter Four
Opening Moves
“I have it programmed to be in Transit Space for about an hour and a half, then exit and return after a long-range scan if possible,” Boone reported as the Orb launched from the Sparklight.
The Carrier had been moved into position a short distance away from the Jump Point that had brought them to this system. As far as they knew, it was the only one not guaranteed to be guarded on the other end by the Imperial Line fleet. They had their scan data from the Last Chances' arrival, plus what they had managed to scrape from the computers when they seized it, but that was no guarantee. Brenda had a habit of hard wiping navigation data, probably so it could not be used against her, not that she would be causing any more issues for them.
In short, they had a chance, even if it was just a small one.
“Trajectory mapped, matching thrust and vector information with the recorded jump trail.” Boone double-checked the information and then turned to Nellie, waiting for the order.
“Go,” Nellie nodded.
That one word was all it took, and the Orb skipped into a micro-jump, arriving at the jump point in a precise match for the original arrival, followed by a sharp course correction, and then… it was gone.
“Orb away. Mark the time and start the countdown.” Boone tapped on the console in front of him, and a series of countdowns appeared on the command screens.
Earliest Return: 3h 20m 5s
Short Scan: 3h 25m 23s
Full Scan: 3h 45m 12s
Recorded Lost: 1d 0h 0m 0s
The difference between the first two estimates was a little over five minutes. Not a huge difference, but it would mean everything. The Orb would attempt to reverse course immediately if it arrived at the other end of the Jump and found an enemy fleet.
If it was undetected, it would take a short scan before returning. That was the second estimate. Either one was bad news, but the Short Scan would at least give them some information.
Nellie personally hoped for the full scan, which would mean a system open for them to trade with, effectively bypassing the blockade entirely. Even now, the Rest was bustling with people as a quick and dirty trade mission was put together. If they could establish an agreement with another system, they could acquire some of the more obscure materials they needed to manufacture more ships and possibly even other technologies.
They had not asked Blagden about any of it simply because they could not trust him—or anyone, really. Not when the lives of her people were at stake.
Time slowed to a crawl as they waited, the tension thick on the bridge while Nellie resisted the urge to tap her fingers on the arm of her chair. It was vital that she looked relaxed and confident, no matter how much she was twisting into knots on the inside.
“Passing emergency return threshold in three, two, one. Mark!” Boone flicked up the scans, showing all clear.
Everyone held their breath and watched the jump point for any sign of the Orb.
Nothing.
So, it either had time for that short scan or was destroyed immediately. The time ticked on, and everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion, their eyes constantly flicking between the scan and countdown readouts.
“Short Scan threshold in five seconds,” Boone called, not that anyone on the bridge was not already watching. “Mark!”
“Scans all clear!”
“No sign of Orb!”
“Settle,” Boone called out, returning silence to the bridge. “We don’t stand down until we see that Orb on our scans again.”
Nellie sat forward, and her X.O. immediately shifted his focus to her.
“I think we need to pass the time a little better, Mister Boone. Let’s run some targeting drills while we wait.” Nellie smiled at the collective groan from the bridge crew. At this point, they could probably target and shoot individual grains of sand, what with how often Boone had them practicing, but it was better than sitting and watching the clock count down.
“Excellent, Admiral,” Boone smiled. “Perhaps a random emergency drill as well?”
“Why not?” Nellie smiled as the bridge crew grumbled.
Sometimes, staying busy was all you could do. It kept the mind from obsessing over the worst-case scenarios, and you got things out of the way you had been putting off for ages.
Speaking of which…
===<<<>>>===
Brix was loading the Talon's hold with the last of the trade goods when his implant pinged with the incoming message.
“Ma’am?” He called respectfully back, finding himself standing at attention without having consciously made the choice to do so.
“Hey, Brix. Do you have a minute?” Nellie sounded strange to him these days, a tension to her voice that he had never noticed before.
“Of course, Ma’am. How may I be of service?” He winced even as he said it.
Something had changed for him on a fundamental level when the nanites flooded his system. While Crush and his group seemed to have continued almost as normal, Brix had felt entirely different when he woke up. Speaking to Crush and Cara, as well as some others, it seemed like they just felt powerful, not to mention very lucky to be alive. There was gratitude there, sure, but that was nothing out of the ordinary.
Brix, Vicky, and a few others felt reverence for Nellie. It was like something out of an entertainment cube like she was surrounded by an aura of light every time he saw her.
The first few days of his new life, Brix had put it down to the condition he had been in when found. Both legs gone, bleeding profusely; Brix had been crawling toward the Clutch settlement with what little strength he had left when Paren found him.
The sight of her striding over the landscape in rippling silver armor was like a metal angel had arrived, bringing salvation or damnation, just like in the old stories his gran used to tell him as a kid. For just a second, Brix had felt like his soul was about to be judged. It made him realize exactly how worried he was about the idea of that. A single thought ran through his head.
I’m not ready.
Then, the silvery material parted as she crouched over him, effortlessly pulling his large frame close to her. Paren had been crying while she saved him.
Loss and anguish were painted across her face vividly, and then… then the nanites came, and the pain was pushed aside.
So, at first, he had put his feelings down to that.
Shock, trauma, gratitude- it all seemed to make sense.
Then he spoke to Vicky.
Vicky had not been injured in the slightest. That weird-looking Ambassador had given his life to save her from harm, and Vicky had told him she took the nanites out of anger, not gratitude. She had been enraged that someone had to die to save her. That she wasn’t strong enough.
And then after—everything was different.
“I know this might not be the time, Brix,” Nellie said, “But we need to talk about how you and some of the others are feeling.”
Brix swallowed hard.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Can you not just call me Nellie?” Nellie asked.
“No, Ma’am.” Brix insisted.
“Why not?” Nellie asked bluntly. “I’ve noticed you and some of the others are like this, and I want to know why.”
“It is difficult to put into words, Ma’am,” Brix said awkwardly.
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“Try hard,” Nellie snapped. “I want to know what is going on.”
And there it was—the root of it all.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Brix answered immediately. “You are our Queen, Ma’am. If you don’t like that title, I understand, but you are our… commander? No, that’s not it…” He frowned, forcing himself to find the right word. And then, suddenly, it was there. “You are the Sovereign. The Leader. The First in and the Last out. The Spark, Ma’am.”
“Uh…” Nellie seemed stunned.
“With respect, Ma’am, you need to stop acting like you are not. You lead us. You can’t go around saving people and protecting them all the time without being willing to let them follow you. It is not fair, Ma’am.” Brix found his confidence returning at last. Finally, he understood how he and the others were feeling. “You make yourself the light in the darkness, and you can’t complain when people decide to follow that light. Again, with respect, Ma’am.”
“When Salem and the others talk about the Spark, they aren’t referring to me,” Nellie insisted.
“I know, Ma’am,” Brix said quickly. “The Spark is the urge to help others, to improve ourselves, to make more than we have. With respect, Ma’am, you are the spark made real. The flame that lights from the spark. The Beacon in the Endless Dark.” Brix smiled hugely, sending a transcript of the conversation to the others who felt like he did.
“Brix, I appreciate the sentiment, but you did not feel this way before you were converted,” Nellie replied carefully. “I am worried they might be the cause of the feelings.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Brix replied. “They are.”
“You know that?” Nellie asked, and you could hear the frown in her voice.
“Yes, Ma’am. But not how you mean.” Brix swallowed. “The nanites let us feel a connection to each other and to you, Ma’am.”
“I see,” Nellie said, although the doubt in her voice suggested otherwise.
“If I may, Ma’am? We feel connected in a way we never did before. The connection comes with the acceptance of you as our leader. There is not one without the other.” Brix swallowed again, his throat feeling parched. “We could choose not to accept it if that helps.”
“What do you mean?”
“We can opt out of it, Ma’am,” Brix told her. “The feeling of connection, and what else comes with it. We can push it away, even permanently turn it off. One of us tried that as an experiment.”
“And?” Nellie asked.
“They seem fine, but they do miss the sense of connection,” Brix admitted.
“No other effects?” Nellie checked again.
“None, Ma’am.” Brix smiled.
“If I ordered you all to turn it off?” Nellie asked.
“We would respect your choice and do as you asked,” Brix said carefully. “But many would feel cheated out of something they had wanted all their life.”
“As long as people are choosing it,” Nellie sighed. “Just make sure everyone has at least a day without it before they decide, okay?”
“We do that already, Ma’am.” Brix grinned. “We are not stupid, with respect.”
“Phew, okay. Thanks, Brix. I feel a bit better now.” Nellie sounded relieved. “Anything you need?”
“I could ask one thing, Ma’am,” Brix said, forcing the words out.
“Go ahead,” Nellie replied.
“Stop fighting against being our leader, Ma’am. We chose you and can appreciate that it puts you in a difficult situation, but we chose you. We trust you, and we will take any consequence of that decision. Give us the respect of accepting our choice. Ma’am.”
Silence for what seemed like years as the seconds ticked by.
“Very well,” Nellie said at last. “I will do as you ask.”
It was there now—the command voice. Brix felt pride swell in him as it flowed even louder than before.
“Thank you, Ma’am,” Brix said, feeling his shoulders relax slightly. “Any orders?”
“Yes,” Nellie replied. “I want you to resume your command of military forces once we have a need of them. I’ll handle the fleet, and Crush can handle the Marshalls. Salem manages the station. I want you to head our ground forces.”
“Ma’am, I was hoping to—” Brix started.
“Being chosen goes both ways, Brix,” Nellie said, and he could hear her smile.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Brix replied. “I kind of walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
“It happens,” Nellie laughed. “Stick your neck out for people, and all of a sudden, they want you to be all responsible and shit.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Brix grinned.
“Got to go, Brix; our scout just reported back,” Nellie said, cutting the comm call.
===<<<>>>===
“X.O. report,” Nellie said, sitting forward and ending the sub-vocalized call to Brix the moment the beacon pinged.
“We have it, Admiral,” Wilkes reported, earning herself a frown from Boone in the process. “Forwarding packets to command terminal.”
“Thank you, Officer Wilkes,” Boone said, quickly scanning over the information on the screen. “We have good news, Admiral.”
“Details, please,” Nellie clenched her fists and resisted the urge to snatch the information herself.
“We have a clear system—no sign of a blockade, and at least one station. There is a sensor shadow suggesting another, but no confirmation at this time—two inhabited planets, both sparsely populated. Traffic in the system is suggestive of a pitstop to other places. Most traffic comes in one jump point and out the other. A couple docked at the station, but no Imperial Line I.D. beacons on any of them.”
“Great,” Nellie nodded. “Now, what about defenses?”
“No sign of warships in the system, no defensive batteries in orbit, but they might have planetary defenses the scout didn’t pick up.” Boone spent a moment scanning back and forth in the recordings again. “The passing ships often have escort craft. That would suggest this is an undefended system.”
“Planetary defenses don’t matter,” Nellie said, dismissing them as unimportant. “We aren’t invading, just getting a little trading done.”
“It would seem like a prime choice,” Boone nodded. “It has the facilities, is busy enough for us to blend in, and out of the way enough that we have a good chance of missing any Imperial Line ships that do pass through the system.”
“That's good. Send Lucy and me the data so we can review it and devise a plan as quickly as possible.” Nellie stood and walked toward her watch cabin. “Navigator, keep us on station for now.”
“Yes, Admiral!”
The scan showed a fairly straightforward system. Two developed planets moved in stable orbits that kept them close to each other, at least as far as they had been able to plot. A large space station had been built at a point exactly equidistant to each planet. It was basically a large sphere, with a large chunk taken out, where ships came into dock. It looked well maintained, but the amount of open bays, large ones, suggested they had built expecting a lot more traffic than they got.
The shape created a vast bay, but any docked ships were enclosed on both sides. It was not a great place to get trapped. She made a note to ensure that two escort ships were sent with the Talon when they headed out.
The Talon was the natural choice for the mission. Not only was it their smallest cruiser—which meant it wouldn’t leave them significantly weakened—but it was their most ‘normal’ looking craft. It had kept the basic long hull with large engines at the back and docking bays on either side. They had added a couple of extra weapon arrays, copied the track design their enemies had used so well, and added armor plating, but the majority of the changes were internal. In short, it would pass for a heavy trader. A very well armed one, but they were supposed to be pretty common in the border areas.
Crush commanding was an added bonus. If there was anyone who could tell if anything was up in a docking bay, it would be him. The idea of him running a critical eye over someone else’s deck crew was amusing enough to make her laugh, which stopped her from noticing the pain at first.
It grew quickly, and before Nellie could even signal for help, it felt like her head was being split open from the inside. Vision blanking and loud ringing in her ears consumed her entire concentration.
Gasping on the floor, Nellie tried to activate her implant, but it was unresponsive.
The pain kept building as she felt blood start pouring from her nose and mouth. Before a single blink, her eyes began to bleed as well.
Panicking, Nellie reached for the only thing she had—the nanites.
Shutting down her pain receptors, Nellie finally was able to take a breath. Standing, blind and deaf, Nellie sealed the burst blood vessels in her mouth, nose, eyes, and ear canals.
Reaching out to the ship itself, Nellie sealed the door to the Captain’s day cabin. She didn’t need anyone coming in and seeing her like this.
Okay, now what?
Nellie turned her new senses up to the max, becoming aware of the magnetic fields, radio waves, and energy flows in the area around her. It was not precisely sight and sound, but it was close enough for government work.
Clutching her hands into fists to control the trembling, Nellie concentrated on her brain. Immediately, she could see a BUNCH of problems. Two sections of her brain were going dark, probably burst blood vessels. Directing nanites to repair those, Nellie moved onto the two completely dark areas. The first one was her implant. It looked like the connectors that supplied it with power from her body were fused, an easy enough fix.
The last dark area, Nellie had no idea what to do about. It was Lucy’s core. Sitting down at a table, she pushed that aside. Thinking about it would just send her over the edge, and she had to concentrate to control the nanites to this degree.
Vision returned, and a moment later, the sound did as well. Something was wrong with things, however, as everything was upside down. Either that or she was sitting on the ceiling. Carefully examining the light show that was her brain, Nellie realized she was missing several things. For a start, some of the dark areas were not lighting up, even with blood flow restored. Also, she could not remember how to move her right arm.
Worse than that, the dark spots were starting to spread…
What the fuck had happened to her?
Time was running out as the dark spots continued to spread. Any second now, she would end up a vegetable, lying on the floor until she died. Options?
None.
That made things simple then.
Initiating Nanite Fusion….
Nanite Fused Mind - Command Unit - Removed
Command And Control Implant - Removed
Memory Download Module - Removed
Comm Module - Removed
Targeting Module - Removed
Exo-System Controls - Removed
Heads Up Display Module - Removed
Neural Interface Module - Removed
Data collection Module - Removed
Stand By…
There was no real way to describe what she experienced next. The closest she could get was an out-of-body experience. For a couple of seconds, Nell was pretty sure she had actually died.
01001001 01101110 01101011 01101001 01100001 01101100 01101001 01110011 01101001 01101110 01100111…
Nano-Forged Cerebral Unit online.
Dormant AI module retained.
Integration of the downloaded Memory Module is now 100%
A New Memory Module is available for selection.
Recovered Data from Implant downloaded…
Upgrade complete.
“Right,” Nellie stood up, feeling something strange. She had two bodies now… that was new. It only took a thought to find out what was going on.
Personal Nanite Swarm - 50 000 nanite clusters.
Ignoring that for a moment, Nellie did the only thing she really cared about right then.
She tried to contact Lucy.