Vertigo: Aurora Rising Book Two (58 page)

“I’m afraid this can’t wait. Open the door.”

“Sir—”

“Open the door. That’s an order.”

“Yes, sir.”

The door slid open to reveal a visibly startled General Foster. He dismissed the holos above his desk. “O’Connell, this is most unexpected. I was under the impression you had taken a leave of absence.”

And that was the key.
The military leadership’s abhorrence of public scandal had led them to issue a cover story concerning his replacement on the EASC Board. The official word said he had resigned from the Chairmanship for personal reasons and taken an indefinite leave of absence from active duty; the request to return to Earth was ostensibly to wrap up technical matters.

He believed solely Brennon, Solovy, Lange and Navick—and possibly Rychen, since the man had tied himself in knots kissing Solovy’s ass for the past two weeks—knew of the charges filed against him under seal. But he’d had no way to be certain until now whether the other Board members had been informed.

“Not any longer. They sent me out here to get this disgrace of a Regional back into shape. You are relieved of command pending a summary hearing. Officers, escort General Foster to a protective custody cell.”

Foster’s face flooded beet red until his jowls appeared as though they might burst. “You haven’t the authority—”

“But I do.” The MPs’ eyes veered from Foster to Liam and back again, wavering. “Don’t ask me to repeat myself, officers, lest I make an effort to remember your names in an unfavorable manner.”

The taller MP moved toward Foster. “I’m sorry, General. I’m afraid I have to take you into custody.”

“This is an outrage! I have a right to notice and a defense!”

The other MP succumbed to the peer pressure and joined his colleague at Foster’s side. “Sir, please come quietly or we’ll have to place you in restraints.”

Liam sneered malignantly. “Yes, Foster. Think of the morale of your men and women. It wouldn’t do for them to see you being dragged through the halls like a common criminal, now would it?”

Foster snarled at him ineffectually but acquiesced to the MPs urging him toward the door. As he passed, Liam clasped him on the shoulder.

Foster shrunk away, but it didn’t matter. The purpose of the gesture was to place a small nanoweave on his uniform, one which scrambled the man’s outgoing comms so long as the jacket remained in a five meter vicinity, ensuring they never reached their intended audience. The garment would stay close to Foster for long enough, Liam hoped.

After they departed he roamed around the office, counting down the seconds until Foster would be far enough away to not trouble him further. When his mental timer hit zero he pivoted and headed back out, waving to the stunned secretary on his way by. “You’re dismissed. Go home for the day.”

He allowed no one to distract him on this traversal of the Command Building and was out the back door and headed to the hangar in less than thirty seconds.

Despite being surrounded by meadows, the sprawling hangar complex did present an impressive sight. The paint had barely dried it was so new; it made the forty-year-old complex on Deucali look regrettably drab by comparison.

It was also a hotbed of activity, with soldiers bustling around hauling in gear and supplies and foodstuffs and mechanics effecting repairs. Most of NW Command had been recalled in anticipation of shipping out east. The Second Crux War was over and there were aliens to fight.

The chaos was going to aid him, though the notion of Solovy throwing the entire Earth Alliance military at a bunch of aliens irritated him greatly. He shuddered to think of how the Southwestern Headquarters was surely being stripped bare and left a ghost town. Were he back on Deucali he’d put a stop to it, but there were more important matters at stake now.

Five cruisers were docked end-to-end along the far left side of the hangar. The
Akagi
hung at the front of the line. But first things first. He sent a message to the captain of the
Yeltsin
and began making his way down the long double-row of frigates.

The XO of the
Yeltsin
was reviewing stocking reports with the master sergeant beneath the hull. He caught Liam’s approach out of the corner of his eye and snapped a salute, which Liam returned.

“General O’Connell, it’s an honor to see you again. I didn’t realize you were on-base.”

“Good to see you, too, Major.” Major Peltski had been stationed on Deucali four years earlier, doing a two-year stint in Space Logistics. He was a competent officer and Liam had gotten along with him as well as he was capable of getting along with anyone. More importantly, Peltski was a follower. He could carry out even difficult orders with efficiency and skill but displayed little in the way of initiative or ambition.

“Peltski, I’m here with good news. Your captain received a reassignment as XO of the
Brandenburg
. You’re receiving a field promotion to Lt. Commander. The
Yeltsin
is yours.”

“Sir, I…I don’t know what to say. Thank you, sir.”

The other key facet of his plan was very simple, and the most basic of all rules in the military: subordinate officers did not question the orders of generals. It had been true for millennia and was no less true today.

“You deserve it, Lt. Commander. When will you be ready to ship out?”

“Another hour, hour and a half tops.”

“Excellent.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I’m here on top secret orders from the Prime Minister and EASC Board. I need the
Yeltsin
to accompany the
Akagi
on a secret mission. You’ll receive the details once we’re spaceborne.”

Peltski regarded him solemnly. “I understand, sir. It will be an honor to serve with you.”

“I appreciate it. Now if you’ll excuse me, much to do and little time to do it in. Make sure you are out of dock by 1430.”

He pivoted and continued down the row, grimacing from the effort being so hideously cordial for such a length of time and from the thought of having to do it a second time in mere minutes.

Liam barreled up the ramp to the
Akagi
. The captain of the
Chinook
had been dispatched to the third cruiser and a sympathetic XO, Major Charlton, similarly promoted. Now for the final step in this initial phase.

He was met at the hatch by a female officer, though it didn’t appear intentionally so. The woman was traversing the hall and spun in apparent shock at finding a general in the entryway.

“Name and rank, Marine.”

“Captain Brooklyn Harper, 1
^st
NW MSO Platoon, on loan to the
Akagi
, sir.”

He reminded himself to be polite. Those serving on the ship would be under his command in tense circumstances, and it was best to not actively encourage disloyalty or disobedience. “Captain Harper, can you show me to the Commodore?”

He saw her mouth twitch, though she quickly squelched it. Special Forces types weren’t generally accustomed to being relegated to escort duty, but that was not his problem. “Yes, sir. Follow me.”

Commodore Tinibu met him at the door to the CO office, clearly having been alerted to Liam’s approach—presumably by Harper. His salute was grudging. “General, welcome to the
Akagi
. We’re busy getting ready to ship out, but what can I do for you?”

“I’m commandeering this ship for a special mission. You can go see General Foster about a reassignment.”

“Excuse me? Sir? We ship out in half an hour. It’s rather late to be changing mission parameters now. What is this mission regarding?”

“The details are above your pay grade, Commodore. Now, as you said,
we
are shipping out in half an hour. So if you’ll excuse me, I have a ship to captain.” With that he brushed past Tinibu and headed for the bridge.

Tinibu would ping Foster. Receiving no response, he would head to the Command Building. No one would know where Foster had gone or why he couldn’t be reached.

Liam would be in space long before anyone began to suspect something might be awry.

As Fionava’s sun receded in the edge-to-edge viewport and the blackness of space took its place, Liam retired to the CO office. Though there had been rampant confusion among the officers on board, the departure itself was executed with a minimum of drama.

He drew in a readying breath and requested Peltski and Charlton on holo.

His expression was properly grave as he addressed them. “Gentlemen, I’m now able to fill you in on our mission. The Second Crux War isn’t as over as the media and official public statements may have led you to believe. The Prime Minister and the EASC Board have determined it is necessary to teach the Federation a lesson, one which will make them think twice about attacking us in the future.”

“But sir, I thought a peace treaty was signed?”

“It was, more or less, but our mission has nonetheless been approved at the highest levels. These actions are extremely clandestine. We will run dark, with no communications allowed beyond our three ships. Spies are everywhere, and if word leaks out too early then Seneca will be alerted to our plans. We can’t allow that to happen. Therefore, I’m implementing a full communications blackout beyond a four megameter radius, effective as of now.

“Our first target will be the Federation colony of New Cairo. Set a course.”

62

SIYANE

U
NCHARTED
S
PACE

“
Y
OU’RE INSANE.”

“It’ll work.”

“Which does not alter the fact that you are insane.”

Alex gave him her most beguiling smile. “You said that wasn’t a problem. In fact, you said it was one reason you thought I was, and I quote, ‘kind of amazing.’”

“I did. And I meant it. But the fact
still
remains.”

“Look. The rules of this place are the same as those in our galaxy. The laws of physics will hold.”

“And the portal itself?”

She worried at her lower lip. He didn’t give a damn what she said, the issue concerned her as well. “The portal, whatever it really is, shouldn’t be a problem. Since it’s our portal we don’t have to worry about the shift in axes. And if it is a problem, it’ll be a blip. Even if it knocks us out of superluminal, by the time it happens we’ll be parsecs away. Far enough.”

He found he was on his knees before her once more, and he didn’t care. Still, his chest tightened when she lowered herself from her chair to meet him as an equal.

“You realize we could die, simply by going through.”

She groaned as her forehead dropped to rest on his. “You’re seriously pulling out that line again? We’ll be fine. Promise.”

“I believe you.” He kissed her softly and let her go.

She climbed back in her chair, ran a hand down her hair, straightened her shoulders…and activated the sLume drive.

They were lined up for a straight shot through the portal. An army of ships approached from behind them and more waited on the other side.