“It was my first
mission,” Paka offered. “I thought it would destroy the drive,
but it just killed most of the crew instead.”
“And you finished the
rest off yourself,” Doctor Anderson said. “I’ve been involved
with the military, I understand. You had your orders.”
“Yes, I had my
orders.”
“Well, thank you,”
Doctor Anderson said. “It’ll take me some time to confirm your
story. For now, you’re going to be kept still from the neck down so
you don’t disconnect from any of the equipment keeping you alive.
If you feel any pain or discomfort, the androids here will take good
care of you. They will do their best to keep you entertained using
the holographic system in the room, but you won’t be able to access
anything yourself, the androids will process any of your requests and
enter them into the system. I’ll see you soon,” Doctor Anderson
said, leaving the room. The armoured door closed behind him.
“She lied,” Ando
Two whispered. “I could hear it in her voice, everything she said
was a lie.”
“I know,” Doctor
Anderson said. “Keep her comfortable. Record everything, and start
installing what we were talking about yesterday.”
“The direct access
device? Are you sure?”
“It won’t do any
permanent harm to her, and we can keep her partially sedated to
eliminate most of the discomfort. I’m willing to walk this line if
you’re willing to delete the records.”
“You are sounding
like the scientists you seem to have a general distaste for,” Ando
Two said.
“You’re right, and
I’ll have to live with it unless she starts telling the truth. The
answers in her mind, the insight she can give us into Citadel are
more important than preventing a mild period of discomfort.”
“I understand,”
Ando Two said. “I was only mentioning it because you told me to
question acts that you may regret later.”
“I know,” Doctor
Anderson said. “Hold the door closed and keep things running until
I get back. I have to go talk to Alice.”
The bridge of the
Dominant was made of dark blue near seamless plating trimmed with
silver. Three-metre thick transparent metal fronted the grand space,
providing an expansive view of the brown, white and gold section of
the Iron Head Nebula. To the sides were two railing ringed levels of
control stations. Over sixty officers worked there. Beneath was a pit
of less important stations, where technicians and lower ranking
officers performed more pedestrian tasks at their stations. The
broad, circular pit was split down the middle by a wide walkway
leading to a platform in front of the tall transparent section of
forward facing hull. Clark Patterson stood in the middle of a raised
island at the centre of the bridge, he could see every officer at
every station, and the only way to join him on the circular
observation platform was a stair at its rear.
The Dominant was the
creation of Fleet Admiral Dron, a servant to the order unlike any
other in the fleet. It took three hard years to build five of the
Regal Class ships, an incredible feat of resource procurement, worker
handling, engineering, and sheer ruthlessness. Building one of the
base ships should have taken eight years, by the Beast’s
estimation, but Dron had forced the building of five in three years.
He took one for himself the moment he saw it.
The gargantuan killing
machine was made for intimidation and sector superiority. Broad,
pointed twin forks with thick layers of armour and covered weapon
emplacements graced the front. Beneath were heavy grade mooring
systems that enabled the ship to transport six full sized destroyers.
The main body of the
ship was a hulking mass of armour plating arranged in a broad
semicircle with thick shards jutting out from its sides. Many of
those extensions were launch bays for middle and small class ships.
There were mooring points for five more destroyers across the bottom
of the vessel.
No weapon emplacements,
exterior sensors or antennae were left without a layer of armour
ready to cover them. Unlike ships built by Regent Galactic, there was
enough space for most of the crew to make the ship feel like a home,
a necessity when the vessel required a minimum of nine thousand
crewmembers. Optimally, the vessel was crewed by twenty eight
thousand. It was a supreme show of force, with enough firepower on
its own to suppress a planet populated by millions. With the addition
of the destroyers and corvettes that made up its accompaniment along
with thousands of small ships, they were a highly mobile fleet.
The Regal Class vessels
were the key to controlling the Iron Head Nebula, and the vessel
wasn’t just presented to Clark Patterson in a complete state, it
was presented to him with plans. The man who was responsible for
their construction built them with a set of strategies in mind, and
it was thrilling to see a commander who spent so much time
meticulously testing his creation in tactical simulations before it
was finished.
Fleet Admiral Dron
wasn’t a member of the Order because he believed in the religion,
or because he strove to become immortal and indestructible. He joined
so he could exercise his military mind, and to find a place of power
in the galaxy. His determination and ferocity was attractive to
followers, and he had brought millions into the fold while recruiting
workers for his little known shipyard. None of them were paid, but
they were all taken care of in return for their service. This was the
man who could stand up to Eve, his charisma and drive was exactly
what Clark needed. The success he had in building the monstrous ships
was a testament to how Dron could lead the population of one single
planet in quietly but quickly undertaking a massive project. The
control it must have taken to keep it secret from the galaxy and even
most of the Order was impressive.
The Beast didn’t know
the man existed until two months before. Dron toiled as an Admiral in
a region of space still controlled by Vindyne, a company that Regent
Galactic acquired some time before. He did have control of a
shipyard, power over a solar system, and he made good use of them
while he spent only as much of his attention as he had to on holding
the territory.
When Freeground was
almost destroyed, Admiral Dron couldn’t escape notice. Freeground
Fleet discovered Dron’s massive shipyard. How exactly it happened,
no one could say, but the Admiral made sure Freeground would be too
busy to tell anyone else what was happening in the Aurora Bella
system.
Admrial Dron took it
upon himself to set Freeground’s destruction into motion. Without
expending a single ship, he created an alliance with an unheard of
group of militant humanoids, the Isek, who hailed from a nearby
galaxy. They already had a foothold in the Milky Way, and were
warring amongst themselves for control over the Thun Solar System,
well outside of Order of Eden territory. Dron convinced the two
largest clans that their philosophies and objectives in the Milky Way
were similar enough to the Order’s to be joined, and that the Order
of Eden would be critical to their goals in the galaxy. They only had
to take care of one problem to prove themselves, and that was
Freeground.
The report that his
plan worked was startling, and seeing Freeground reduced to its Alpha
segment then forced to run gave Clark a very human feeling of
gratification. He showed his thanks by making Dron a Fleet Admiral, a
position that he earned with cunning.
The Beast watched the
eleven new destroyers that accompanied his new flagship, the
Dominant, as they crossed his view through the transparent section of
the upper hull. The bridge was busy, the main fleet of the Order of
Eden was preparing to enter the nebula. Most of them would traverse
the space, but nearly a third of the massive fleet of thousands of
ships would remain there, taming and taking worlds, rooting out
undesirables.
Just on the left side
of his railing were translucent holograms that displayed news from
the fleet, the overall status of the main departments on his ship,
and the status of each of his destroyers. The holograms to his right
highlighted news from the rest of the fleet, their overall position,
their destinations and orders. The middle section of the railing was
mostly clear of information, reserved for information he needed to
focus on and the announcement of emergencies.
The sectors of
conquered space behind his fleet were well in hand. Strongholds
surrounded by shipyards and billions of followers that unwittingly
protected a secret that their enemies should have already known. It
had taken too long to begin manufacturing on that side of the Iron
Head Nebula, but it was well under way, so they wouldn’t need as
much finished equipment from Regent Galactic. The Order of Eden could
grow on both sides of the nebula at a much greater speed.
He was also confident
that the crisis of information was over for the time being. The risk
that Order followers would try to abandon their posts at hearing that
the Edxi were taking control of a few of their worlds did not
manifest in any meaningful way. Jacob Valent and his followers on
Haven Shore had failed to frighten Order followers by spreading the
truth, that the Edxi were using some of the Order of Eden worlds as
hosts to their broods. Broods that fed on humans.
The galaxy did not
believe. The ones that the Order had not yet converted or conquered
thought the allegation was too horrific and outlandish. The members
of the Order who heard the rumour saw it as propaganda, lies meant to
pull them from the path to elevation in the Order. It was a situation
Clark could not have expected. The efforts of one of his most
dangerous enemies was hampered by simple scepticism.
Fleet Admiral Dron
approached the Beast’s perch. The man did not flinch as Overlord
Patterson turned towards him, the partially transparent red plates
covering his body grinding against each other slightly. The sound was
like small, wet, sand covered stones being rubbed together, and Clark
had learned to love it. If it made him the Beast to everyone else, so
be it.
“My Overlord,”
addressed the Fleet Admiral. “One of our stations has reported that
they have seen the Triton. They attempted to stop their progress
through the Iron Head nebula, but failed. Most of their ships were
ordered to spread out and search the region for Freeground Alpha, so
they had a minimal defence. There was another ship with the Triton as
well.” Dron made a gesture towards Clark’s left hand side,
bringing up a full report in holograms spread out across the railing.
“Thank you, Fleet
Admiral,” Clark said. “You may come up.”
The Fleet Admiral
calmly climbed the steps, his long legs taking them two at a time.
“Thank you, my Overlord, it is an honour.”
“My assumption is
that the Triton is looking for Freeground Alpha,” Clark said. “What
do you think?”
“My first thought was
that Valent and McPatrick were leading a strike to raid the facility.
There are stores of high-density materials there, as well as a
warehouse of fabrication systems that just arrived three weeks ago.
That’s not to mention the food production systems that base
maintains in order to supply ships in the area. My first assumption
was based on both of their ships being fully functional, however.
They are not.” Dron focused in on a hologram of a ship named the
Revenge. “This is one of our ships, captured by Valent, I have no
doubt. They made some significant modifications, but the scan the
base was able to take indicates that two of the ship’s main launch
bays are incomplete. Supplies for construction clog their cargo
holds. That only indicates one thing.”
“They launched
early,” Clark said. “Earlier than was convenient. They know where
Freeground Alpha is, and want to join them.”
“I agree,” the
Fleet Admiral said. “I have run the scenarios and can see no other
reason why they would rush launching such a ship. Significant damage
was done, so the final construction of their vessel will take even
longer. The Triton will be forced to protect the Revenge, which does
not seem to have a cloaking system.”
“They can be
tracked,” the Beast said. “They could lead us to Freeground
Alpha.”
“My Overlord, I know
you have been waiting for the right time to move the Dominant into
the nebula so we can join the forward elements of the main fleet. I
submit that you may have found the perfect time. We can reach Station
Five-Oh-Three in four days from our current position.”
“Prepare the
prototype jump drive, order all ships to mooring positions,” Clark
said. “If they had no choice but to pass through this ice field,
and get past that station, then there can be only a few courses they
would take. Project them. Send twice the combined power of the Triton
and the Revenge to search along each course. We will position the
Dominant so we can respond as quickly as possible when Freeground
Alpha is found.”
“Yes, my Overlord,”
Fleet Admiral Dron said.
“I will brief my
knights,” the Beast said. He descended from his perch on the bridge
and strode through the thick double doors at the rear. He mentally
ordered the computer to pass a message to all of his personal army of
Order Knights to assemble. This is what he brought them together for.
He would take Freeground Alpha and use it as a new base of operations
on the other side of the nebula. He would stand on the Command Deck
of that base as its new master.
It was times like these
that Carl Anderson was glad that the position of Governor came with a
private office. He only had to begin telling Alice that Doctor
Messana was doing serious research into her condition to get an
immediate and clear response. She leaned forward in her seat with a
deadly serious expression on her young face. “If she found a way to
get rid of it, the framework, I mean, I want you to do it.”