Neptune's Massif (15 page)

"So how are we to settle this issue?" Noren asked reasonably.

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G
rand Council Chambers

Elysium, Planet New Talos

New Talos System, Carnius Sector

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"S
ince it is obvious that resolution one way or another cannot be made and the only method of reliable tamper proof information is not available to us in this situation. The Council as a whole will be taken into protective custody in a secure location until proof can be presented," the Captain replied.

"So what you are telling us is that you are staging a military coup of your own and holding us all hostage until we do what we are told, right?" Councilor Anewl replied.

"No Sir, protective custody is completely voluntary, but highly recommended. Those who chose to be placed under this protection will be taken from here to an isolated, secure facility. Once proof of either guilt or innocence is provided to us, we will then either detain the guilty or free the innocent as is proven. Councilor, regardless of what you believe personally, the loyalty of the Guard is to the people of New Talos and the laws they have set for us to follow. Favoritism cannot and will not ever be shown under any circumstances. The Guard do not have a house; we have a nation," the Captain replied.

He paused as he listened to a communicator. "Understood. Engage the shield and activate the defense grid. We will need a shuttle for the councilors," he said. "I will give the destination to the pilot once we are in flight. Scramble our fighters for air cover. Do not fire unless fired upon, understood?" He paused a moment, then nodded and turned back to the Council.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the troops that are outside this building have assumed an attack posture. We believe they will begin their attack shortly. I have called for a shuttle to evacuate any who wish to go with us. I feel I should warn you that if you remain, your safety cannot be guaranteed by the Guard.

"As of this moment, and because of the actions of the troops of House Herecin and House Bjorin, The Guard considers them to be attempting to overthrow the government. It is my personal belief, and not that of the Guard, that your lives may be in danger if you are not a member of their 'faction', and I encourage you to remain with the Guard," the Captain said.

Several of the House leaders stood and began yelling, objecting to the entire situation and claiming that no one would be so bold as to attack the government building. Several explosions outside served to immediately shut them all up.

Noren stood. "Listen! Everyone! Please calm down! Regardless of what you have been told, neither I nor any of Admiral Goya's staff have lied to you. We have no proof, but for a few months we have known of a plot within the leadership of Herecin and Bjorin to take over the leadership of the Council. Now it appears they are willing to do so with force of arms. We did not notify anyone of our knowledge because we had no proof and did not want to breed mistrust. Now the Gatais are at the doors, each of you must decide what the truth is. You must do so without any solid proof either way. If you believe the other councilors and I have been acting in your best interests, then please come with us.

"However, if you think we have been misleading or lying to you for some mysterious reason, then remain here. I'm sure you have nothing to fear from those troops outside attacking this building." As she had been speaking, she was looking out at the crowd. She turned slightly to address Anewl about why the troops were attacking, he wasn't there. "Where is Councilor Anewl?"

"Bjorin is gone too!" someone yelled.

The Captain was on his communicator "Guard Command, come in! We are under attack and need assistance. Please respond!" he could be heard to repeat the call.

"Noren!" Goya called. "We need to act now! It's begun!" he said and held up his key.

"They've taken the AI off-line, will it even work anymore?" she asked as she ran toward him.

"Not all of the AI are shut down. If they are dormant, then the command will still be received and acted on. We have to try," Goya replied.

Noren nodded and inserted her hey in the special console built into Goya's place on the dais. Goya copied her.

"If either of you turn those keys, I will shoot you in the head," a voice said from behind them.

Standing behind them, in clear view of the entire gallery, was Patriarch Jermain of House Bjorin. "We couldn't do it the easy way, so I guess it's going to be the hard way. Now remove those command keys and give them to me."

"Why would we do that Jermain? For that matter, what is this coup about? The people will never support you if you overthrow the government and assume control this way," Noren replied.

"The people will do as they're told. Hell, for most of them, reality is what we tell them it is. We proved that when we discredited you. As for us overthrowing the government, we didn't - you are. It's really too bad our troops couldn't get in here in time to prevent you from killing all the Clan and family leaders and setting yourself up as our new Empress.

"Of course, since all the clan leaders were murdered by you, someone will have to assume control in the emergency. From there it’s very easy to remain in control because of the rumor that ARC is going to attack us in order to use us as cannon fodder in their war with that Empire or whatever it is.

"What are you talking about, Jermain? The Empire is a threat to all of us! Have you forgotten that we have lost colonies of our own to them as well?" Goya asked.

"No we didn't, you simplistic moron, who do you think ordered the ships away from the planets? They were no loss, just simple, poorly producing farming worlds. We had no need to risk our expensive warships defending worthless targets. You'll notice that this Empire has not attacked a single Talosian world of value? The only reason they took the planets they did was because of their proximity to fucking ARC worlds.

"Once I have control, New Talos will be safe from the ARC as well as the Empire. The Empire has no interest in humans! I've been assured by the Emperor himself that once we pull our forces away from ARC, he will leave us alone."

"You're a fucking idiot! Once he defeats ARC, he will roll over us so fast you won't have time to kneel before him!" Goya said.

Jermain moved the pistol he was holding and shot Goya in the leg. The crack of air displacement from the laser made Noren jump. Goya screamed in pain and fell to the floor. In the gallery several people screamed in surprise and fear.

"I'm not going to argue this with you, give me the keys, now!" Jermain demanded.

Noren nodded and turned back to the console. "If you want them..." she quickly turned both keys to the activate position removed them and threw them at the man... then you can have them!"

"Bad move, bitch!" Jermain said and pulled the trigger again.

From across the room a pulse rifle fired, hitting Jermain in the head and killing him.

Noren slowly slumped to the floor clutching her right breast.

A monotone voice issued from the speakers in the room. "Deactivation sequence initiated. General recall orders sent. Warning! Several AI units are not responding and are assumed to be in hostile hands. Self-destruct commands sent to unresponsive units. Twenty minutes to self-destruction of unresponsive units."

"Computer, recognize Goya, Admiral, Omega-zeta-niner-niner-five-omicron. Exemption of units
Prometheus
,
Pegasus
,
Zephyr
,
Hermes
,
Adonis
," he continued to list every ship he knew to be loyal to New Talos. "Confirm exemption," he finished.

"Order confirmation required, waiting."

"Computer, recognize Kentis, Ruling Council member. Eta-zion-seven-three-five-rho-beta. Confirm Orders."

"Order accepted."

"Computer, execute Therimis Protocol for the previous mentioned ships. Condition permanent." Goya added.

"Does Councilor Kentis concur with Therimis Protocol?"

"Yes, Kentis concurs!" the councilor agreed.

"Understood. Therimis Protocol now in effect."

Brekka had put a block on Goya's leg, sealing the wound to stop the bleeding the laser hadn't cauterized. Kentis was trying to help Noren, but the woman was already unconscious and her breathing was ragged.

"How's Noren?" Goya asked.

"Not good, we need to get her to a hospital," Kentis replied.

"I don't think that's going to be possible, Councilor. I think the best we can hope for will be the autodoc on the shuttle the Captain sent for," Goya replied. "Provided it has one."

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A
dmiral's Office (Temp.)

Pleiades One Orbital Shipyard

High Orbit, Planet Atlas

Centauri System, Sol Sector

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"A
dmiral, Captain Serena is on the comm for you, she says it’s urgent." Mel called.

"Thanks Mel, go ahead and put her through," Ian replied.

When Serena appeared on the big monitor Ian was about to say Hi when she spoke. "It’s started Ian.
Prometheus
just informed me that it had received a master override from the Command console in the Council chamber. The first order was lock-down and return to New Talos, which is the emergency default command issued when the keys are turned. However, that command was followed with an exemption for the ship. The final command was the initiation of the Therimis Protocol, permanently."

"The Therimis Protocol? That removes the safeties from all the weapons and systems on the ship!" Ian replied.

"That's part of it, but it also prevents any outside force from issuing commands to the AI. Not even the Ruling Council can give the ship an order anymore unless I approve it.
Pegasus
and
Zephyr
received the same order," Serena replied. "The only way this could happen is if the war has started. Admiral Goya wouldn't need to use it for any other reason."

"What about the ships that had their AI shut down?" Ian asked.

"Self-destruct. With the implementation of Therimis, the count is silent, and only an abandon ship message is given. Twenty minutes later, the ship triggers its destruct programing; even if the crew figures it out, it cannot be stopped. Those ships are toast," Serena explained. "Self-destructs are independent of the AI."

"Yeah, I thought that Talosian warships couldn't be operated with the AI off-line or even dormant. No AI meant no combat systems," Ian asked.

Serena nodded. "That's the way it’s supposed to be, but Maia tells me that the Zephyr had a bypass installed that basically tricked the shutdown into thinking it was in dry dock." She shrugged. "Personally, I think the weapons should be offline while in dry dock as well, but having them active can also help defend the station. There really is no good answer for it."

Ian nodded his agreement. "Has there been any other word from New Talos?"

"No, even the public broadcasting channels are down except the emergency system, which is telling people to simply remain in their homes. No other information has been released yet," Serena said.

There was a soft beep heard, Mel cut into the channel. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is a priority call for you from ARC High Command, Fleet Admiral H’joles requests a moment of your time, Admiral."

"I'll call you back, Serena. I better not keep him waiting," Ian replied.

Serena nodded. "Good luck, Sir."

"Thanks," Ian winked and cut the call. "Okay Mel, put him on."

Ian stood and bowed to the screen. "I am honored, Fleet Admiral. What can I do for you today?"

H’joles returned the bow. "Have you heard about the Talosian situation?"

Ian nodded. "Just now. The units stationed here just reported their ships receiving Council override commands. It looks like their situation has become worse."

"It has. The Benesian Ambassador fled the planet, but called in as soon as she cleared the system. House troops have attacked the capitol city. She did not have much more information on the situation. But we do know now that a state of civil war now exists on the planet." The large gorilla like being sighed. "We at ARC cannot interfere regardless of our feelings or beliefs, as it is considered an internal matter. That being said, the remaining Talosian ships still assigned to us have no command structure. The senior most of the remaining Captains suggested contacting you, as they had received orders to report to you if the worst happens on New Talos. It appears that has indeed come to pass."

"Am I to understand you want me to take command of the Talosian contingent of ARC forces?" Ian asked, surprised. "I had no idea Goya had issued those orders."

"I do not believe he issued them to everyone, Admiral. Six Talosian ships retreated from three separate engagements with Imperial fleets. Those ships have apparently been evacuated on the orders of their computers. Their life pod units have been recovered and are on their way back to a safe base," H’joles replied.

"Those ships were ordered to self-destruct by the Council Override, Fleet Admiral. As I understand what has happened, the ships loyal to the Ruling Council and High Command were exempted from the order. All the others have been set to self-destruct after evacuating their crews," Ian explained.

H’joles nodded knowingly. "This action makes sense. We thought it odd that only the problem Captains were having this difficulty. This helps us."

Ian nodded. "As I understand the situation, Sir, in most cases only the command staff was against the Council. The crews of those ships have been told many untruths and given misleading information. Sir, I do have Belirus here. Before he resigned because of that same misinformation, he was an Admiral. We have determined that he is fiercely loyal to New Talos. Perhaps I should ask him to assist us in this crisis."

"Direct command of the Talosian ships is still being held by the fleets they have been assigned to, but they need a 'home port' if you will. For the short run, we can take care of the rest. But they may need a word or two from you and possibly this Belirus you spoke of," H’joles said. "It is hard to fight for your home when you do not know if you still have one."