TFS Theseus: The Terran Fleet Command Saga – Book 2 (20 page)

There was a long moment of silence as all three officers struggled to come to grips with what might be required of them … and all
before
they even set out to meet the enemy.

“There is an access tunnel linking the Marine barracks to the Admiralty Building. At the moment, it appears that HQSEC either hasn’t discovered it yet, or just isn’t using it for whatever reason. The barracks is less than a kilometer from the only suitable landing location in the immediate area. It’s a heavily reinforced concrete pad that was built by TFC for that purpose. Believe it or not, it’s so large that there wasn’t room on the campus itself, so it was constructed on leased property outside the main boundary fence. Admiral Sexton will meet you there with Naftur and Turlaka. All of the pertinent data has been uploaded to your AI. Any questions?”

Prescott glanced at Reynolds, who had the look of someone with a number of unanswered questions, none of which she was inclined to ask at the moment. “No sir. We will be on our way shortly and contact you when we reach orbit.”

“Be safe and be smart, you two. Patterson out.”

There was a period of uncomfortable silence after the display returned to a view of the five other
Theseus
-class destroyers in the berths immediately to starboard. It was Prescott who finally broke the silence.

“Here’s the thing, Sally. It looks like we’re going to be navigating some very murky waters here, and it’s going to be
very
important for the two of us to stay on the same page. I honestly don’t know what to say about any of what we just heard, other than the tired old platitudes about holding each other accountable and trying to do what we think is right.”

“Uh huh, that’s fine, but if I’m going to participate in a coup, I’d prefer to do so on the winning side,” she said.

Prescott stared back at his XO, incredulous. “You amaze me sometimes. That didn’t rattle you at all, did it?”

“It’s not that it didn’t rattle me, it’s just that I tend to take things like that as nothing more than additional background information. Is it important to keep in mind? Sure. Is it likely to change much about how I conduct myself? Offhand, I’d say not really.” She stopped and stared back at her captain for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she began again. “As far as us being on the same page … I’ve always read how command of a ship of war can become extremely isolating for a captain, so please allow me to respectfully remind you of something I’m sure you knew before you ever sat in the big chair. I don’t follow you — respect you — push myself to ridiculous feats of endurance for you — because it’s my job. I could do
much
less and still be doing my job … and doing it well. I do those things because I know you, because I trust your judgment implicitly, and because you have
earned
it. In over two years of working together, I have never seen a day when I didn’t think you deserved my very best. Rest assured that if that day ever comes, I’ll be the first to let you know.”

Understanding at a fundamental level that there was nothing he needed to say in response, Prescott simply nodded and smiled appreciatively.

“Now,” Reynolds continued, “can we please get out of here and pick up our Wek friends before someone decides to tell us we can’t?”

Chapter 14

Terran Fleet Command Headquarters

(Admiralty Building access tunnel)

“I expect Captain Prescott will arrive shortly to take you aboard the
Theseus
, so this may be the only opportunity I have to apologize to the two of you for the manner in which things have degenerated over the past few days,” Admiral Sexton said as he escorted Wek Ambassador Turlaka and Admiral Naftur down the long corridor leading to the TFC Marine barracks facility. “I don’t recall ever witnessing a more disgraceful breach of protocol and general lack of good sense. I hope you will bear in mind that this situation does not reflect how we normally treat our guests.”

“My dear Admiral Sexton,” Nenir purred with an amused grin, “to my knowledge, we are Terra’s
only
visitors to date, so isn’t it fair to say that this
is
the way you normally treat your guests?”

Sexton stopped dead in his tracks at this and looked Ambassador Turlaka in the eyes. Both she and Naftur lasted only a few seconds before both of their faces took on the rather savage-looking smiles that Sexton had come to appreciate, followed by the usual rumbling growls that he now knew was the Wek equivalent to a good laugh at his expense.

“Oh, that’s good, you two. I appreciate very much that you can both manage to find some humor in this situation,” he chuckled before resuming their progress towards the barracks. “I’m not sure I would be so gracious if our roles were reversed.”

“You have been a most courteous host, Admiral Sexton,” Naftur replied. “I’m sure Ambassador Turlaka would agree that we have been treated with the utmost respect and hospitality throughout our stay. I very much hope to have the opportunity to return after things settle down, and I have every confidence that they will do so once the current crisis has passed. The political unrest is no surprise, after all. Fomenting this sort of global fear and turmoil is very consistent behavior for the Pelarans.” Naftur breathed deeply and let out a long, weary sigh. “In any event, I would like to return to Terra in an unofficial capacity in hopes that I might be able to do some exploring.”

“I would like that of all things. Once it is safe for you to return, you have an open invitation to do so. I will personally see to it that you have the opportunity to experience every wonder our world has to offer. We are deeply in your debt, sir.”

“Thank you, Admiral, but I am afraid that remains to be seen. If you still believe that to be true four weeks hence, I will happily allow you to serve me more of your stimulating carbonated soft drinks.” Both Wek had been given the opportunity to sample a variety of Human cuisine during their stay, in addition to a number of different beverages — both alcoholic and otherwise. Although they both seemed to enjoy several types of wine, coffee, and even beer, Coca-Cola had been their hands-down favorite.

Very few TFC Marines remained on the headquarters campus at this point, and the Leadership Council’s recent insistence on demilitarizing the facility had placed strict limits on the manner in which they were allowed to conduct themselves. Only two Marines had been available to accompany Admiral Sexton’s small group for the rendezvous with
Theseus
. Under normal circumstances, a pair of TFC Marines in full combat armor and armed with pulse rifles would be more than adequate to protect their group from anything less than a full-on assault from a platoon-sized contingent of HQSEC troops. The Marines were now better equipped for office duty than combat. Since Crull’s edicts had taken effect, they had been restricted to wearing their basic black TFC fatigues and were allowed to carry only their sidearms.

Now, as they reached a point roughly thirty meters from the end of the corridor, the Marine in the lead position raised his right hand in a fist to signal a halt. He then turned and signaled the group to hold their position before jogging ahead alone to check the room at the end of the hallway. Not expecting trouble at this point, Sexton wasn’t entirely sure this precaution was necessary, but stopped nonetheless. He was keenly aware that the current rules of engagement did not allow the Marines to use force unless their ‘principals’ were openly attacked — which he thought extremely unlikely. The more probable scenario was that Chairwoman Crull and her allies on the Council would issue new orders in response to his refusal to turn over Naftur and Turlaka the previous evening. If and when that happened, her large contingent of HQSEC troops would quickly realize that he and the two Wek were not where they should be. He felt sure this would immediately lead to something resembling a full-scale manhunt across the entire Headquarters facility. If he could manage to get them safely aboard
Theseus
before that happened, however, it would be a fairly straightforward exercise in bureaucratic spin to delay their return to Earth until the current, volatile situation came to some sort of resolution.

The lead Marine glanced in both directions through the small windows set in the double doors at the end of the corridor, then, with his back against the wall, slowly pushed one of the doors open before proceeding into the barracks facility. The first room was really nothing more than an extension of the access tunnel, with two elevators on the right-hand side. Straight ahead, a double staircase led up to the first floor before intersecting a long corridor running parallel to the front of the building. Hearing nothing, he proceeded quietly up the stairs to make a quick check of the main hallway.

After two full minutes had passed, the second Marine approached the rear. He quickly put a finger over his lips for silence, then signaled the group to crouch down below the line of sight from the doorway ahead. Without any means of communicating with the other guard, he was unsure why his partner was taking so long, but he felt certain that something was amiss.

“Sir,” he whispered to Admiral Sexton. “Sergeant Hicks should have been back by now. I’m afraid we may be compromised.”

“Agreed. I think we need to assume that HQSEC has been mobilized to find and detain us at this point. You know where the LZ is, Sergeant. Do we have any other options for getting there from here?”

“Not good ones, Admiral, no. If we turn back, we’re going in the wrong direction. Besides, I’d say back at the Admiralty Building will be the first place they’ll start looking for us. Also, if we assume they just grabbed Sergeant Hicks, the fact that they didn’t come running down those stairs up ahead leads me to believe they may be waiting for backup.”

“That sounds logical to me. What do you propose?”

“I’m guessing we’re only dealing with a couple of guys, so they are probably sitting tight up there in the main corridor. Let’s move out as a group and see if we can manage to get ourselves into one of the elevators just on the other side of those doors. If we go up to the third floor, we can take the skyway over to the JAG Building next door. If we’re lucky, we can get out the back entrance before they figure out where we’ve gone.”

“That’s right, there’s a picnic area back there that adjoins the wooded area next to the landing pad. Good plan … let’s move.”

“Sir, what about Hicks?”

“He’ll be fine. Detaining him is one thing, but I can’t imagine they would be dumb enough to do anything to hurt him. We’ll find him as soon as we get these two out of here.”

“Aye, sir. Everyone stay low, keep quiet, and follow me.”

With that, the Marine moved over to one side of the corridor and hurried off in a crouch towards the double doors. Upon reaching the end of the corridor, he allowed everyone to catch up, signaled again — quite unnecessarily at this point — for quiet, and then slowly pushed the right-hand door open. Seeing no one on the stairs or in the hallway intersection beyond, he quickly ushered the group through the doorway before allowing the door to close silently behind them. Realizing that the slightest sound would attract unwanted attention, the young sergeant turned to face his three companions and mouthed “
Ready?
” before holding up his hand and flashing a three-count; he then pressed the up arrow to call the elevator. As he had hoped, the elevator was already on their level, but, as he had feared, the doors immediately clattered noisily open, accompanied by a mind-numbingly loud BING.

Before the doors were even halfway open, several things seemed to happen at one time. The Marine sergeant pivoted to place himself between the stairway and the rest of the group as they quickly boarded the elevator. From the hallway above came the sound of footsteps hurrying in their direction, followed immediately thereafter by a confusing combination of clattering metal and muffled swearing as a single HQSEC guard came stumbling into view before falling face-first onto the hard tile floor. Before the guard could manage to pick himself up and continue after the group, the elevator doors rumbled closed.

Even with skyscrapers routinely topping two kilometers in height around the world and paired with wondrously fast elevators for whisking their occupants into the heavens with remarkable speed, the elevators in smaller office buildings had changed very little over the past three centuries. Now safely inside, the Marine sergeant, Sexton, Naftur, and Turlaka stood facing the doors, staring passively as the digital indicator above slowly changed to display their current floor. Overhead, a tinny-sounding speaker softly played an ancient, instrumental version of “Memory” from the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical
Cats
. Only a few seconds into their seemingly endless journey to the third floor, a low, threatening growl could be heard radiating from the center of Admiral Naftur’s chest.

Stricken by the comic and rather surreal nature of the situation, and unable to control himself any longer, the young Marine burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, and was immediately joined by all three of his charges. He assumed neither of the Wek had any idea what had set him off, but the fact that they were laughing fully justified his momentary lapse in military bearing as far as he was concerned.

Fortunately for the four of them, the single HQSEC guard who had been lucky enough to surprise Sergeant Hicks had been generally inept otherwise. The fall they had witnessed had been caused by a combination of his headlong rush down the corridor towards the sound of the elevator door and a heavy metal stand normally used for holding a TFC Marine guidon. With the taste of blood in his mouth, one Fleet Marine already in custody, and reinforcements on the way, he had made no further attempt to give chase.

When the elevator doors finally opened on the third floor, the Marine sergeant held the door and listened momentarily, then quickly checked the immediate area before moving to the intersection with the main hallway. Seeing nothing, he motioned for the others to follow and trotted off in the direction of the skyway leading to the TFC Judge Advocate General Building.

“Are you two doing okay?” Sexton asked the two Wek in a low voice from the rear of the group. Both Naftur and Turlaka had already begun picking up a surprising amount of conversational English, sometimes even managing to preempt the tablets they still carried for translation services.

“We are doing quite well, Admiral Sexton, thank you,” Turlaka whispered in English, the corners of her mouth turning upwards in a satisfied smile. She then paused for a moment, furrowing her brow before deciding to let the tablet handle her next sentence. “As long as no one starts shooting at us, this is actually quite stimulating.”

While smaller than average compared to other planets Humanity had long referred to as ‘terrestrial,’ Earth’s iron/nickel core resulted in a density that was significantly above the norm. This, of course, also meant that Earth’s mass was quite high for her size compared to other habitable worlds. Contrary to popular belief, a given planet’s surface gravity was not necessarily higher than another’s simply because it was physically larger. While surface gravity did indeed increase with a planet’s mass, it actually decreased with the square of the planet’s radius. The Wek home world of Graca, for example, while possessing nearly double the Earth’s land mass and a planetary diameter roughly twenty percent larger than Earth’s, had a surface gravity of only 7.85 m/s
2
. This was largely due to the fact that the planet’s density was closer to that of Mars — a full one-third less than that of the Earth.

The twenty-percent increase in gravity coupled with a slightly lower atmospheric pressure and oxygen content made heavy physical exertion a bit of a challenge for the two Wek. Fortunately, both were in excellent overall physical condition and had been on Earth long enough to begin the process of adapting to the environment. Although breathing heavily, neither had much difficulty keeping pace with their Human companions.

“Will the neighboring structure be occupied at this time of day?” Naftur asked as they paused at the entrance to the skyway leading across to the JAG facility.

“Normally, I would say no,” Sexton replied, “but with everything that’s been going on with the Council, it wouldn’t surprise me if there are a few people already in the office. I doubt a few lawyers and custodial staff are what we need to be worried about at this point, though. Sergeant, I think you were probably right about the HQSEC guards downstairs. It was probably just a random patrol … maybe even just one guy.”

“Yes, sir. Otherwise, I think they would have been right on our heels. The bad news is that they will have help on the way by now, so we need to keep moving. At the other end of the skyway, hang a left and head towards the stairwell — it will be the last door on the right at the end of the hallway. There should be an external door on the ground floor that will allow us to exit behind the building. We can run the length of the skyway ahead, but I need all of you to stop before we reach the end so that I can clear the intersecting hallway.”