The Honour of the Knights (First Edition) (41 page)

“
Yes, sir,” Dodds said.

“
I want you to understand that this is the
most difficult decision I have ever had to make in all of my
career, if not my whole life,” Parks continued, now looking to both
Dodds and Estelle. “I am leaving my ship and its entire crew
defenceless, whilst I send you off on a mission you were never
trained for. I don
’
t want any of you to take
unnecessary risks. Get into the starport, identify yourselves to
Barber, get the data card and return to
Griffin
. Nothing more. Am I making
myself clear?”

“
Yes, sir,” they both said.

“
de Winter,” Parks said, his voice still
lined with traces of anger. “Upon leaving
Griffin
,
I want you and your team to position yourselves
as close to the underside of the carrier as you can before
activating the cloak. This will ensure that you are not seen by any
of the crew and your close proximity to the carrier will ensure you
cannot be detected by the radars. Do not move away from the carrier
until you are all fully cloaked. As I already stated, it is vital
that we maintain secrecy regarding the device - from both enemy and
allied forces. Is that understood?”

“
Yes, sir,” Estelle answered.

“
On top of that, Lieutenant, I am expecting
you to keep this group together. I am charging you with no less
than the full responsibility of bringing back not only that data
card, but five ATAFs and five starfighter pilots, as well. I want
to make it absolutely clear that you are not to return
to
Griffin
until you have the data card in your possession, or you can
at least reliably determine what has happened to it. If, after
successfully completing your mission, you return here only to
discover that
Griffin
has been blown to pieces by hostile forces, you are to do
nothing but wait for Captain Meyers or Commodore Hawke to arrive in
the system. Even if
Griffin
is nothing more than a burnt-out hulk you will
not disengage your cloak, engage hostile forces, or attempt to
establish any contact with non-Confederation vessels. You will hold
position even if it means waiting for your air to run out. Do not
even make for any of the jumpgates, since they will likely be
swarming with hostile forces. Am I making myself fully
understood?”

“
Yes, sir,” Estelle said again.

Dodds
shifted his eyes in Estelle’s direction. He could hear in her voice
that she was starting to get frustrated. It was only some time ago
that she had led her team to victory against Imperial forces,
saving a great deal of not only Confederation lives, but also those
of the allied United Naval Forces. Even so, she had not been
allowed to be debriefed and receive the congratulations and thanks
she merited. Instead, she had been stuffed into a cargo hold and
been made to sit and wait. And now she was being shouted at. Dodds
felt for her; she deserved the praise.

Parks, however, seemed satisfied that he was being taken
seriously and that he could trust the
Knights
. He relaxed his tone
somewhat and asked the pair if they were clear on what they were
looking for and what they had to do.

After he had finalized all the details, Parks said, “I should
also let you know that neither Commodore Hawke or Captain Meyers
are aware that the ATAFs have cloaking abilities and, circumstances
notwithstanding, I
’
d like it to remain that way. The details of your ‘errand’
are also classified and you should refer either the commodore or
the captain to Admiral Turner if they need to know what you have
been doing. Now, do you have any other questions?”

“
Sir,” Dodds began, before pausing to
consider his question. “Er… some of the
ATAF
’
s
weaponry is not active. Are there any other systems that may not be
operational that we may need to know about ahead of our task?” He
was aware that the question might be just the sort that could
enrage the commodore.

“
If you
’
re referring to the plasma
accelerators, Dodds, then this is intentional. There was an
agreement made prior to the beginning of
Operation Menelaus
that no beam
weapons or torpedoes would be directed at
Dragon
. This agreement was in place
to ensure that we could retake the battleship without causing it
critical or irrecoverable damage. But no, there are no other
features of the fighter that you need to be aware of. Now, if that
is all?”

“
Yes, sir,” Estelle said, whilst Dodds nodded.

“
Good. Now get down to the cargo hold and get going. There is
not much time to spare. Security will escort you back down.
Dismissed.”

Dodds and Estelle started out of Parks
’
office and caught his last words
to them as the doors opened.

“
Good luck,
Knights
. I’ll meet you upon your
return to
Griffin
.”

* * *

A little
way from where Dodds and Enrique stood, Estelle ascended the ladder
into her ATAF, just as they had all done only a few hours earlier,
crew milling around to make preparations for her departure. As
Kelly was beckoned forward to board her fighter and perform safety
checks, Enrique sensed Dodds lean over in his direction.

“
Doesn’t this strike you as weird?”

“
How do you mean?” Enrique asked, keeping his voice low as
Dodds had done.

“
That starfighter is monstrously powerful compared to the
anything else I have ever seen.”

“
Of course it is – it’s the next generation of
fighter.”

Dodds shook his head and leaned closer. “Mate, listen: it
took just
three
of these things to take down an Imperial frigate; Kelly had a
head-on collision with a heavy-class Imperial fighter. That thing
was blown to pieces but there isn’t one single, tiny little scratch
on her ATAF; and now we
’
re being told that these things
can
cloak
? I
mean, don
’
t you
see? You don
’
t
build something like this for no reason. This is a lot more
significant than just the next generation of fighter. What the hell
is going on?”

Enrique
thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “Dunno, man. We’ll
probably find out a little later on.”

“
I’d rather know sooner. There’s something about all this that
doesn’t feel right.”

The pair
stood in silence for a while, watching as Kelly affixed her helmet
and the ladder was wheeled away from the side of the craft. Dodds
was then called forward to prepare for takeoff, leaving just Chaz
and Enrique together on the cargo bay floor.

“
You okay?” Enrique asked the big man, as Estelle taxied
forward.

“
Will be once this is all over,” Chaz replied.

Enrique noted the usual enthusiastic tone in his voice.
“Shouldn
’
t be
more than a few more hours,” he said. “Let’s say, four hours there,
one hour to find that spy, four hours back. Then we can
relax.”

Chaz
said nothing, the air about him somehow deader than
ever.

* * *

“
So, let me get this straight,” Enrique was
saying, his voice coming in through Dodds’ intercom. “We have to go
and rescue a spy? Shouldn
’
t those guys be able to look after
themselves?”

“
Agent,” Kelly corrected him.

As ordered by Parks, the
Knights
had positioned themselves
beneath
Griffin
,
the starfighters not a few meters from the underbelly of the
vessel. Just ahead of them hung the small, grey, uninspiring planet
that was their destination.

Dodds felt an unwelcoming vibe coming from it and thought it
not a place that would traditionally be home to a starport. As he
had positioned himself underneath the carrier and awaited Enrique
and Chaz to join the others already there, he had studied the
overview of the Phylent system on his
starfighter
’
s
computer, discovering it to be home to a number of asteroid belts
and planets. For the most part, the system was uninhabited, though
it was rich in raw materials, minerals and other elements. It
occurred to him that the port would be favoured by those seeking
their fortunes, typically frequented by miners and
entrepreneurs.

It made
him think back to the time before he had joined the Navy, when he
had entertained dreams of mining asteroids for their raw content.
He had been talked out of it by his father, who had told him horror
stories of the incredible hard work, long hours and many terrific
accidents that went hand in hand with such a lifestyle. He still
sometimes wondered if he may have managed to make enough money to
retire after a couple of decades of hard labour. It didn’t have to
be anywhere fancy, but so long as he had enough cash to buy a bar
on a laid back planet and become the proprietor, he would be
happy.

“
Preparing to engage cloak,” Estelle said, returning Dodds to
reality.

“
Think it
’
ll work?” Enrique asked before
their wing leader activated the system; it was obvious he was
leaving Estelle out of this particular conversation.

“
I heard about the last time they tried something like this
and how it all went horribly wrong,” Kelly answered.

“
It did?” said Dodds.

“
If it does, then
she
’
ll
either end up several hundred miles away from here or
she
’
ll travel
into the future.”

“
That doesn
’
t sound too bad,” Enrique
said.

“
Before coming back a few minutes later having either gone mad
or become one with the ship.”

Dodds said nothing and just swallowed hard as Estelle
activated the cloak. He found, however, that there was nothing for
any of them to fear: the cloak worked just as Parks had described,
and Estelle
’
s
fighter faded gracefully from view. Whilst his
ATAF
’
s radar
could still detect and report the presence of an object in place of
where Estelle once appeared, he could see nothing else.

After
each of them had tested the system for themselves, Estelle
confirmed to Parks that they had blanketed themselves from
detection. Then, as one, the five invisible ATAFs slipped out from
beneath the carrier and set off towards Arlos.

XVIII

—
Of Daggers —

S
itting amongst a huddled group of
blanket-wrapped men and women, Daniel Sullivan
’
s suspicions that he was being
watched and followed had been confirmed. A woman - he assumed it
was, by the way she carried herself - also wrapped in a blanket
against the small chill of the starport, had been hovering just out
of sight for the last hour or so. The blanket rested on the top of
her head, the folds enclosing her and hiding her face from sight.
He was now aware that she had been tailing him as he walked around
the port, whilst he had been attempting to find someone who was
interested in his wares; his efforts so far having been met with
disinterest and the occasional outburst of anger from those wishing
to be left alone.

Usually the massive central hall of the starport was
bustling, filled with all kinds of people: miners, resting from
their labour; traders and couriers seeking work and contracts; and
many, many travellers. Bright, animated signs, and warm inviting
lights from coffee shops, pubs, various food bars and trading posts
lining the walls created a welcoming ambience. Even in the most
backwater star systems, the familiar branding of intergalactic
corporations provided the port
’
s guests with a sense of home and
comfort.

Laugher
and chatter no longer filled the port, the signs of the shops were
inanimate, and the doors were locked, never to be reopened. Many of
the windows of the stores had been smashed and the contents looted.
The central hall had been transformed into a sea of people, settled
on the floor, bags and other personal belongings surrounding them.
Young children lay asleep, cuddled up to their parents.

Sullivan
found that, though the port was not bitterly cold, it could have
been warmer. Keeping warm could be achieved either by wrapping up,
consuming hot food and drink, or by moving around. The scarred man
opted for latter.

Standing
up, he began to stride away from his stalker, partly to put
distance between the two of them and partly to get away from the
place. Though he had only arrived at the port hours earlier, he’d
already had enough of Arlos starport. It was time to move on and
find another place to sell his spoils. Perhaps he’d have better
luck in the inner systems of the Imperium; the frontier systems
that he had visited so far had been almost devoid of
life.