Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework (62 page)

Oz joined her on the lift just as it started
rising and smiled at her. “Are you sure this isn’t a distraction
from the fact that you and Liam were logged in the same bunk last
night?” he whispered.

Ayan kicked him in the shin just as she felt
herself turning red. “Not the time.”

“I’m a little jealous. A quick comfort on
the eve of battle. I don’t blame you,” Oz replied.

Ayan couldn’t believe he chose that time to
tease, or that he’d tease about her getting together with Liam
Grady. It was too fresh, too new, and as she exited the shelter
above the bunker entries, she realized it was too important. The
silent treatment was the only answer.

The two levels in the shelter above the
bunker was set up as a medical centre, but for the time being it
was a relaxing post for medical techs and soldiers who didn’t feel
they had a better place to be. She made sure she knocked a
slumbering soldiers’ boot hard on her way through.

“Commander,” said one of the few doctors
they had in their group.

“Hello, Doctor Luff,” Ayan said. He was one
of five medical team members that she rescued from Ossimi Ring
Station. “Everything all right on supplies?”

“This shelter is great, supplies are great.
I’m surprised, to be honest,” he replied in a thick British accent.
“I’m just wondering where you’re getting your information. No one
else in the port seems worried. My friends in the city actually had
a laugh.”

“We’ll find out in a few minutes, don’t
worry,” Ayan said, doing her best to grin and be kind. He was one
of those people who always had questions about whether what he was
doing was necessary. She’d find him much more annoying if he
dragged his feet in his duties once his questions were answered,
but he did the opposite: he was an excellent doctor with a good
bedside manner.

“You’re going up there?” he asked,
incredulously. “Invasion’s coming and you’re going to see the
beginning of the first act from up there?”

The ladder leading up the side of the
two-story shelter was easy to climb using heavy combat armour. She
was halfway up when she offered a response. “Front row, care to
join me?”

“I’m fine here, if it’s just the same,” he
replied.

Liam Grady offered her a smile when she
finished climbing. Having Oz coming up behind her made her feel
awkward. She didn’t feel like it was time to share her relationship
with him with the universe yet. The incoming invasion almost felt
like a welcome distraction from the social complications she was
facing. Almost.

Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one on top of
the shelter. She didn’t know most of the people there well, but
there were some of the stand out soldiers who served on the Triton
even before she arrived, and other people she’d seen around but
spent too much time in Greydock to get to know.

Ayan offered her own smile. Her blush from
earlier was fading until she saw him, and it returned. There was no
time for that sort of thing, so she announced: “Two minutes until
the Leviathan arrives in orbit. I’ve never watched the sky for
something I hoped not to see.”

“What will we be seeing, then?” asked a
woman with greying hair. She looked no more than thirty, but there
was something in her dark brown eyes that told Ayan that she was
much older than she appeared.

“We’ll get a report that the Carthan Fleet
is under attack. An alert, I’m assuming,” Ayan replied. “Three
minutes later, the pods will start dropping.”

“Pods, what do you mean, pods? What kind of
pods?” she asked.

“Drop pods,” Oz replied. “The kind that
carry soldiers.”

“What are we going to do about them, then?”
she persisted.

“We’re going to knock them out of the sky,”
Slick said as he came up the ladder. “With those grounded
fighters.”

“Why are they on the ground? Why not in the
air?” asked Iloona’s daughter. She wasn’t peevish like the dark
haired woman who started interrogating Ayan. The teenaged nafalli
looked worried.

Slick gestured towards the ships and
personal vehicles flying overhead in patterns determined by navnet.
“It’s busy up there, no one’s preparing for a firefight, so we have
to see if it clears. We’re also keeping them under our main shield
until we know how they’ll be needed. They’re good protection, even
on the ground when they’re set up like big turrets.”

“We’ve got more guns on the ground than
anyone, and better shields this side of Greydock,” Oz said.

“True,” said the Carthan Major as he topped
the ladder. “But it’s time,” he told Ayan. “Nothing has happened
and you agreed to come peacefully.”

Ayan, Liam, Slick, and Oz’s comms all
buzzed. The display screen warned of a priority message from the
Carthan government. Relief mixed with guilt as Oz checked his comm
and nodded.

Major Yardley turned white as he watched
something no one else could see in what Ayan supposed was an ocular
implant of some kind. “It’s unbelievable,” he whispered.

“What’s going on?” asked the dark haired
woman.

“The Victory, Elmina, Tuol Seng, Tadmor, and
Justice are all destroyed,” Major Yardley said. “All Battleships
with seasoned commanders.”

“They were destroyed by the Leviathan,” Ayan
guessed.

“Yes, and she’s launching ships. More are
coming out of wormholes.”

“Is anything putting up a fight?” Slick
asked.

“Our station,” Major Frederick said, visibly
shaking. He cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. “All our
ships are rallying on the other side of Tamber or the station. It’s
doing damage to the Leviathan, but not enough.”

“What’s next?” Slick asked Ayan.

“Get your gunners ready to shoot at a drop
pod headed for that spot,” Ayan said, pointing at a few parts of
the abandoned shelter where the Weary Traveller had been.

They looked up at the blue sky. The shuttles
and other transports were still rushing above as normal. It was
difficult to see anything past them, then someone shouted:
“there!”

Balls of fire appeared in the sky, more than
Ayan anticipated. It was an awesome sight; time seemed to slow
until each one of them grew a white tail trailing behind.

The sky above was still choked with traffic,
and the upper layers were disrupted by the falling pods first. A
collision far above and to the east between a bulk transport
pulling a high altitude train of cargo containers sent a rain of
heavy debris down into the traffic below. The pod splashed into the
distant sea. Another pod collided with a thick building in Port
Rush City, wrecking the top half of the structure.

Ayan looked straight up and saw a pod with
no tail. It was coming straight at them. “Fire! Fire!” was all she
had time to say.

Several fighters opened fire, but it was too
late. The pod impacted their shield and passed through, its
momentum and mass too great to be stopped. The spot where the Weary
Traveller was only hours before had been reduced to a smoldering
crater. The ground rocked, sending several people to their knees
and shifting buildings on their foundations. Oz rushed to the edge
of the rooftop, scanning. “That pod’s intact,” he declared.

“Everyone get under cover,” Ayan said. “You
should all have emergency plans in your comm units, they should be
right on screen, right now.”

“What do we do?” asked the dark haired
woman.

“What did I just say?” Ayan asked.

Liam put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and
said; “Go where you sleep, they’ve all been made into shelters,” to
which the woman nodded, instantly reassured.

Ayan unslung her rifle only to find Sergeant
Machad’s hand on her shoulder. She looked her right in the eyes and
said: “Your plan is on your comm too, Ma’am. It says you’re
supposed to be in the bunker, and I agree.”

“It looks like you’re getting ready to lead
the charge, Commander,” Oz said. “But your guard’s right.”

“I need to see what’s in there,” Ayan
said.

“You will, from the command bunker,” Oz
replied. “Down you go.”

Ayan re-slung her rifle and started down the
ladder. She couldn’t help but look up at the chaotic mess of
traffic above. The more adept and lucky pilots tried to get clear
of the mess despite the collisions and resulting falling
debris.

“What about my troop carrier?” asked Major
Frederick.

“Too late,” Ayan replied. “You don’t have a
retreat strategy?”

“I can’t get a reply from Command,” he
replied.

“Okay, tell your people to abandon it and
drag whatever gear they can through the gates.”

“I can’t abandon that asset!” the major
called after her. “Especially now!”

Ayan ignored him. The thunderous calamity of
fighters firing from the ground and ships colliding above followed
her down the ladder and through the hatch leading into the bunker.
Only when the hatch was closed did the sounds of war reduce to a
manageable rumble.

None of it was real until she stood at the
makeshift strategy table and saw the expectant faces waiting for
orders. “It’s war. Let’s survive it,” she told them.

The Beast, Clark Patterson, brought
issyrians into the inner sanctum. Eve wouldn’t say that they
contaminated the area; it would be more accurate to describe what
they did as customization. Technicians and robots worked to lower
the main floor. The sides of a large tank that would stand as high
as the third level within the tall space was being built. The work
was going quickly – attempts to counter the Beast’s takeover were
met with severe punishments.

Soldiers who tried to incite mutiny found
their armour sealed tight and their oxygen supply cut off. The
Beast offered no mercy in response to their pleading, but let them
suffocate to death in front of their men. It only happened
twice.

Hampon hid his relatively small section of
the ship from the rest of the Order of Eden and Regent Galactic, so
the Beast didn’t have to convince more than a thousand people. The
fact that Eve didn’t stop him or comment at all was helpful.

The rest of the ship and organization was
completely unaware that a power shift had taken place. Wherever Eve
appeared, she was revered. Knowing her power over everyone she met
was finally real felt both reassuring and unnerving at the same
time. She wanted to connect with people, to understand them, but
most of the people aboard the Overlord Two were either in her
employ or they worshipped her as a living goddess.

She approached the Beast with caution as he
watched the heavy metal frame for the tall tank go up. “You called
for me?”

“I need your help,” he said. His voice was
gentle. “Gabriel Meunez is requesting communication, and I’d feel
more confident if you answered him instead of using one of Hampon’s
digital stand-ins as a puppet.”

“That might be better,” Eve replied. “The
last time I saw Meunez, I infected him with a virus designed to
spread from a cybernetic mind.”

“Every family has issues,” Clark said. “I
need to be introduced. He’s waiting.”

“He has an instantaneous feed?” Eve
asked.

“He’s still aboard the Leviathan, I don’t
know the details.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Eve said, instantly
nervous. She had less sympathy for him than before. Regardless of
how separate the Beast told her Alice’s memories were from her own,
she’d managed to inherit her hatred of Meunez. Eve was sure that’s
where it came from.

The bridge of the Leviathan appeared in
front of them, life sized, on the white floor of the main command
chamber. The Leviathan’s bridge was built like an orchestra, with
rings of people at stations radiating outward from Meunez, who sat
on a chair set atop a dais in the middle. “Eve, where is
Hampon?”

“He is on his way to you with Wheeler,” she
replied. “What’s the status of the raid on the Rega Gain
system?”

“The Eden Fleet’s intelligence was still
correct when we arrived, we were able to avoid most of the system’s
defences entirely. Their fleet never saw us coming, and their outer
system defences are too slow to respond. We have still taken
significant damage. When are Hampon’s forces expected to arrive in
system?”

“What are your chances of success with your
current fleet?” Eve pressed.

“The Leviathan’s survivability is less than
fifty nine percent, but we will be able to reduce the Rega Gain’s
population by eighty three percent, well over the requirement to
complete this mission. When are reinforcements arriving?”

“Hampon should be there tomorrow,” Eve
replied. She looked to the Beast, who stepped in beside her. “This
is Clark Patterson. He is taking Hampon’s place with me.”

“Eve is assuming command of her fleet and
the Order of Eden. I am assisting her,” Clark Patterson said.

“What has Hampon said about this? Why would
he relinquish control?”

“You can discuss that with Hampon when he
arrives, but he is on a mission of his own,” Eve replied.

“I will,” Meunez said. “You can be sure I
will.”

“Will you be able to hold out until tomorrow
morning?” Clark asked.

“If the Carthans don’t bring reinforcements,
yes. We could use more help from the Eden Fleet, most of them never
arrived. The United Core World Confederation are sending ships, but
they don’t follow orders as quickly as Eden ships.”

“Will you be able to maintain system
superiority?” the Beast asked.

“Yes, but with losses. Hampon’s arrival will
be helpful.”

The Beast nodded. “That will be
satisfactory. Good hunting.”

“Where are the Eden ships?” asked Eve.

“I thought you’d know,” Meunez replied. “I
thought you called them to other business. You don’t know where
fleet nineteen is?”

“I’ll get back to you,” Eve said. “I have to
connect to the hub.”

The Beast terminated the conversation and
sat down on the edge of Hampon’s seat. It had been moved aside to
make room for construction.