The Last Praetorian (34 page)

Jason and team, worried that the yawn-inducing political
sessions of the Senate might turn off the now agog public, issued their next
clip.  On the assumption that nothing sells better than sex, they released a
short clip of Miranda disembarking from the
Eagle One
, releasing the
tight zipper from her figure hugging flight suit, with her dark raven hair
unravelling.  She was every teenager’s wet dream (and quite a few of the aforementioned
teenagers’ fathers).  Suffice to say that applications to the navy pilot
program quadrupled overnight.  Frankly at this rate, Jon felt that the
Confederation Navy could do far worse than turn over the keys to their
recruitment program to Jason and his team…

The Senate sub-committee officially sat for their first
session the following day, the quickest session organised in the brief history
of the Confederation Senate.  None of the Senators had little idea what the
hell was going on, as the Navy were being as usual, tight-lipped.  The Navy in
fact were busy investigating multiple breaches of security around the on-going
investigation, still troubled by the fact that the leaks seemed to be occurring
prior to the investigation actually
uncovering any evidence
.  Therefore
when in doubt, and when in urgent need to be seen to be proactive, the
sub-committee subpoenaed the board of directors for CCBS, along with the entire
executive management team.  The lawyer representing CCBS uncomfortably informed
the Senate sub-committee that nobody was able to attend, citing prior
commitments.

The sub-committee mulled over this response for a full-half
day, then ordered the Navy to send in the Marines, the real ones this time, to
seize…well anything. 

Jon organised another cinema night on
Terra Nova
and
with the usual popcorn and peanuts flying back and forth.  The Marines and
station security cheered as the (real) Navy Marines boarded and seized all
Syndicate facilities throughout the systems.  According to Gunny they didn’t
make too much of a half-assed job doing it…

Not surprisingly they mostly found abandoned facilities,
wiped computer cores and lots of foot-troops, the senior Syndicate personnel
even quicker to see the oncoming storm, had long since hotfooted it out of the
system.  However, at least they did so with only the clothes they wore on their
backs as the Senate had already frozen all Syndicate accounts, with the
supplied details from Jason and his team, via Navy Intelligence, a more obvious
oxymoron yet to be discovered.

However, for Jon the crowning moment of the entire affair
was the (brief) statement from the Confederation President, Sofia Aurelius. 
Biting on the inside of her cheek, which Jon knew for a fact that she did only
when worried about something (doubtful) or royally pissed about something (much
more likely) she announced that the Senate investigation would be thorough and
leave no stone unturned. 

Jon had a fairly strong hunch that Sofia knew exactly who,
or what was behind the incident and planned for pretty much all of it to remain
untouched.  After all how could she not?  If she did not recognise the
equipment and tactics deployed, then she most certainly recognised some of the
faces in the short video clips supplied, Doctor Richardson had delivered Sofia
at her birth, and was the personal physician for her father and her for over
ten years!

Finally with her prepared statement coming to an end, she
resignedly asking if there were any questions. 

The enterprising journalist from
Transcendence
,
obviously having been promoted, was straight out his chair once again with the
same question.

“Can the Confederation Navy confirm which active unit the
Marines in the holoclip belong to?”

Sofia however was not some young, naive Navy spokesperson.  Giving
the reporter a withering glare, with eyes burning furiously and a voice like a
whip demanded. “Are you deaf, as well as being an idiot?  Did you even listen
to what I was saying?  The Navy has no knowledge of these actions.  Now
sit-down before you make yourself look even more idiotic.  Does any other idiot
have a stupid question?”

The more astute reporters quickly lowered their hands,
realising that the President was not in the mood to take any further
questions.  However, some people were slower than others, and one reporter shouted
out a question from the back of the room.

“I’m sorry, I did not get your name and who you worked for?”
Sofia called back sweetly.

Uh oh,
Jon thought.

“After all, we would not want some editor firing the wrong,
poor, innocent reporter by mistake for your inept question would we?”  The
aforementioned reporter sunk deflated back into his seat along with the
remaining questions.

You go girl!

“In closing remarks,” Sofia said.  “I would like to remind
all
Confederation citizens that the Government will not allow vigilante justice and
any such action in the future will result in the full force of the
Confederation Government and her military forces.”

Jon raised his bottle of beer in mock salute to the holo-projector
and stated out aloud to the empty office.  “Message received and understood, Princess.” 

As the broadcast concluded, Jon wondered at what point their
relationship hit such a new low that they now had to use the Confederation
media to talk to each other.  It had been some years since Jon last saw Sofia
and was surprised at how much she had aged, while Jon still thought she looked
as beautiful as ever, still possessing the spark that had so dawn Jon to her.  However,
he could not fail to notice the dark rings under her eyes, eyes that seemed to
have lost that sparkle that Jon could so clearly remember. 

Frankly Jon thought she looked tired and weary, a thought
that left him in a melancholy mood for many days thereafter.

Present Day

Terra Nova, Zeta Aquilae System

Jon was not the only one on the station anxiously waiting to
see what the Syndicate’s response might be.  While Jason and his team might
have fooled the entire Confederation, with the possible exception of the office
of the President, they had no such illusions about the Syndicate.  The
Syndicate had ample time to review the logs from the station before having to
abandon it.  This included the voice communication of Miranda requesting
docking clearance, and possibly sensor recordings of the
Eternal Light
and
Eagle One.
  No - the Syndicate knew exactly who was behind the attack,
and while they had underestimated Jon and his crew once, he doubted that they
would do so again.

Hence, late at night, station time, almost eight weeks after
the attack on the Syndicate facility, Jon was working in his office, reviewing
the latest status reports.  It was therefore, with only little surprise, that
Jon noticed his office lights dim for a moment, before returning to their
original brightness.  A few moments later they flickered again, before
extinguishing completely.  The office suddenly plunged into darkness, the only
illumination coming from the viewport and the energy screen holding back the
depths of space.  Jon’s gaze was immediately drawn to the screen as it wavered
for a heartbeat before it too vanished, to no longer hold back the deep
emptiness of space.

Jon’s breath froze, the chill of vacuum instantly seeping
deep into his pores, his eyes frozen wide in stunned disbelief.  Moving slowly
as if to conserve whatever life remained, Jon slowly hit the communication key
in his desk to be put through to C&C.

“Lieutenant Patterson here,” came the crisp response.

“Chris, it’s Jon.  I have just lost power in my office. 
What is the status of the energy distribution grid?”

“We’re detecting random power fluctuations throughout the
Station, Commander…” Patterson responded. 

There had never been a power issue, not in the
two-and-a-half years that Vanguard had been occupying the station, never.  One
of their first tasks on arrival was a complete inspection and overhaul of all
the station’s systems, particularly life support and energy distribution.  Jon
was not a big believer in coincidences and he thought he detected a slight
hesitation in the Lieutenant’s voice, as if he was going to add something else,
but unsure if he should mention it.

“Have any ships docked recently?”  The long pause before any
answer was forthcoming demonstrated to Jon that he had correctly identified the
cause for Patterson’s hesitation.

“Yes Commander, the
Santa Maria
docked only half an
hour ago.”

“She was a scheduled arrival?”

“Yes sir, but she was running slightly behind schedule,
approximately thirty minutes late…”

Again Jon detected the note of hesitation in the lieutenant’s
voice.  “Just spit it out Chris.  What was unusual about the
Santa Maria’s
arrival?”  Jon could hear the intake of breath over the communication link and
rolled his eyes in disbelief.  Jon was aware that he had a certain ‘reputation’
among the more junior officers, he guessed at that moment they were adding
telepathy to his list of skills.

“Captain Anderson was not on the bridge at arrival, sir. 
His crew reported there had been an accident on-route and they requested
immediate docking and a medical team on arrival.  As they were not forthcoming
about the nature of the accident, damage to the ship and any possible risk to
the station I assigned then to docking bay fifteen, and dispatched a medical
team.  I was still deciding whether to contact you or the Captain when we picked
up the energy fluctuations and you called sir. ”

Jon thought quickly for a moment, bay fifteen was the most
remote external docking bay they possessed, far on the outer docking ring away
from the main station habitat ring, for this reason it was seldom used except
for dangerous or volatile cargos…

“Very well Lieutenant, have the medical team arrived at bay
fifteen yet?”

There was a pause for a few moments as he was trying to
ascertain the location of the medical team.  “No sir, at this time there was
only a skeleton medical staff on duty, so they were waiting for the off-duty
team to arrive.  They have only just been dispatched.”

“Then withdraw the medical team and seal off the bay…” Jon
thought for a further moment, alone in the dark office with only the starlight
shining through the gaping viewport.  If they were interfering with the energy
distribution grid they could be anywhere on the station by now…

“Sound general quarters,” Jon ordered crisply.  “Intruder
alert.”

“Sir?”  Patterson queried dumfounded.  He could not remember
Terra Nova
, ever going to general quarters before.

“That was an order Lieutenant,” Jon insisted resolutely.

“Yes sir.”

In the background Jon could already start to hear the wail
of the alarms, signifying that the station was now on an alert status.

“I’ll be in C&C shortly,” Jon concluded shutting the
communications channel.  Shifting his gaze away from the viewport to his desk
Jon touched a latch at the side, causing a section of desk to slide open,
revealing a Valerian sword, his sword, the sword given to him by the now long
dead Emperor.

In the darkened office, the only illumination coming from
the stars and the occasional emergency light, the sword seemed to glow with an
inner blue flame, either reflecting the little light from the stars, or coming
from somewhere inside the blade, Jon had no idea.  He hesitated before reaching
for the sword.  He had not wielded this weapon since abandoning his oath to the
Emperor, since he betrayed Sofia, since he turned his back on his old life.  He
did not feel worthy to possess such a weapon, but at the same time he could not
part with it.  The blade was part of him, part of his soul and he could no more
abandon it than cut-off his right hand.  So instead he had kept it close, but
never touching it.

However, now there were possible intruders on his station,
in his home, threatening people, families that he loved…  Shoving aside his own
fears and inadequacies he reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword,
pulling the blade free from the desk.  As always when holding this blade, his
blood seemed to sing with the song of battle.  Casting one more glance over his
shoulder, outside the viewport, still dark with the inkiness of space, Jon
departed for C&C. With his blade still held firmly in his hand, the office
door slid shut and sealing itself behind him.

*****

“Status report,” Jon demanded stepping into C&C, seeing
it a hive of activity, fully staffed even though it was still late at night.

“All departments confirm general quarters, Commander,”
Lieutenant Patterson promptly responded.  “As designated by the new internal
security plan, reinforced security teams have been deployed around main
engineering and all civilians have been sequestered in medical, again with a
reinforced security team deployed.  The rest of the station is now on
lock-down.”

Jon was secretly impressed, for a station of over 300 souls
including families to go into complete lock-down in the time that it had taken
him to get to C&C… Jon doubted that they could have done better in the
Imperial Navy.  Once again he was proud of his crew.

At that moment the doors slid open to C&C, and with half
a dozen officers simultaneously reaching for their side arms, Miranda stepped
out into C&C.

“You’re meant to be in your quarters,” Jon interjected
angrily, as the officers in the C&C re-holstered their weapons.

Miranda just shrugged nonchalantly.  “Nobody ever told me
where I was supposed to be during an emergency.  Anyway I thought that I could
help?” Motioning her over, towards the two most senior officers on duty, Jon
told Patterson to continue with his status report.