The Price of Conquest

"Sensors, what have you got on long-range?" Jonathan asked from his command chair on Stingray One's bridge.

The sensor officer glanced at him, and then turned to his station to manually run the sweep program the sensor computer had been running automatically for hours.

"Nothing out there, Captain," the man said in a stiff voice. "Everything shows normal."

Jonathan gave a curt nod. "Very good. Carry on."

The sensor officer had done an admirable job of hiding the uneasiness Jonathan knew his anxiety and incessant questions were causing on the bridge—and perhaps throughout the rest of the ship, as well—but Jonathan had seen the apprehension in the man's eyes.

Commander Aerhom gave him a similar look, but Aerhom did not bother to mask his concern. "Captain," he began, moving from his navigation post toward Jonathan's chair.

Jonathan shook his head to curtail his first officer's comments. He knew what the man wanted to say; he didn't need to hear it.

"You have the bridge, Kai. I'll be… somewhere."

Jonathan wondered if the worried looks the bridge crew gave him as he left the room reflected concern for him personally, or if he had conjured that worry with his inappropriate behavior.

Things were not going all that badly. Not really. Lab tests indicated the black diamond ore Kressa obtained was exactly what Teneia needed to begin growing the crystalline hull necessary for the proper functioning of an ITD. Jonathan had sent the good news to Teneia. Soon after, a Teneian transport fitted with its own ITD arrived to begin loading the ore in an attempt to get as much of the precious material off of Calton as possible before Gaunis arrived and took back the planet.

But Jonathan had promised himself that would not happen. Somehow, he would prevent Gaunis from reclaiming Calton. He'd spent a long time pondering how to do that, and the first couple hours of his shift on the bridge brooding over the results.

On the surface, the task was relatively straightforward: Convince Gaunis to abandon his hold on Calton, get him to accept the fact that Shaw had taken the world and gone independent, allied with neither the United Galaxy nor the Confederacy, and ask him—politely—to leave. All without firing a shot or provoking one. But whether or not Gaunis would go along with any of it remained to be seen. And whether it could be done without starting a full-blown war…

That was the tricky part.

The knowledge of how completely Gaunis had controlled Calton's Salkair House and the uses to which the High Admiral had put its men and money over the past couple of decades—payoffs to people on both United Galaxy and Confederate worlds, political and military coups, credits funneled to secret projects, disruptive activities of both overt and covert natures, assassinations of prominent military and civilian figures; all of it documented by Salkair House records—could ignite deadly conflict within the ranks of the Patrol should it be released. Because of that, there was a good chance Gaunis would stop at nothing to secure or destroy those records, or at the very least, insure they were never brought to light.

Shaw had given a copy of the information to Jonathan, and control of it was the only angle he possessed. He hoped it would be enough.

Some might argue that he should release the records and let the Patrol destroy itself from the inside, but that would cost the lives of too many innocent people and too many whose abilities might be used on a less violent route to bring the United Galaxy under a leadership not headed by Colliard Gaunis. Besides, there was no guarantee that the resulting strife would end with the overthrow of Gaunis and his forces. Jonathan felt certain that Calton represented only a portion of the High Admiral's power; losing it would hurt him, but it would not cripple him.

No, civil war within the Patrol was not the answer to the Confederacy's problems, or the United Galaxy's. The information Jonathan had on Gaunis was little more than a dangerous ace, one that could do as much harm as good. One he would have to use very carefully, if at all.

Still, if things got too far out of hand, there was always Stingray Two. Jonathan had contacted Mathan and assured himself that the defense plans for Dar were going well. He had also warned Mathan to keep Two away from Calton unless Jonathan called for his assistance. Calton was too tentative a prize to risk both Stingrays.

Jonathan's aimless wandering through the ship brought him to his quarters. He paused outside the door, briefly considered returning to the bridge, and then entered the room.

Kressa was asleep in his bed. Jonathan quietly crossed the room and smiled down at her, his one point of light in an increasingly dark world.

She opened her eyes.

"Hello, sleepy head." He took a seat on the bed beside her. "You must've been tired, letting me sneak up on you like this."

She blinked hard and brought an arm out from under her pillow. In her hand, she held a Teneian stunner.

"Don't be too sure of that," she said with a confident, if still sleepy, smile.

He leaned forward and kissed her.

"Mmmmm… I should carry guns more often," she purred.

"Don't you always?"

She arched one dark eyebrow. "Isn't that why you love me?"

"One of the reasons. And speaking of guns…" He plucked the stunner from her fingers and set it on the bedside table. "I want to talk to you about taking concealed weapons in to see the governor."

"Just protecting my cap'n." She gave him a patronizing pat on the cheek, then sat up and stretched. The bedclothes fell away from her lithe form. She wore only a thin tank top and panties. "What time is it?"

"By whose clock?" Jonathan asked. "Seems to me you've been living by three or four during the past week, and ignoring them all."

"Then I'd better get used to one of them. What time is it on the ship?"

"Afternoon." He stood up and offered her a hand. "Time for all good ensigns to get up."

She took his hand and slid languorously out of the bed.

"You don't have to move like that," he said.

"Don't I?" She pressed her body against him and fiddled suggestively with his belt clasp.

"I'm on duty," he said.

She looked up at him, head cocked. "Has that ever stopped you before?"

He opened his mouth to protest, only to have his words swallowed by a lingering kiss.

"You don't play fair," he said as she pulled away.

He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close again. Delivering an equally lingering but decidedly more passionate kiss, he decided that an hour or so with Kressa was just what he needed to take his mind off his troubles. But his troubles refused to be ignored.

A clashing alarm shattered the quiet of the room, and Jonathan found himself holding an armful of nothing where a moment earlier he had held a warm, responsive woman. He turned to find her hastily donning her uniform in response to the scramble signal.

She took time between pulling on her boots to give him an accusatory look. "You did this on purpose."

"I didn't order any drills," he said honestly.

And then it hit him. A full-scale scramble could mean only one thing: Gaunis had arrived.

An instant later, Commander Aerhom's voice sounded over the comm, requesting his immediate presence on the bridge.

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"On my way, Commander."

He dashed for the door beside Kressa and paused in the opening long enough for a quick, emotion-filled glance, his mind suddenly brimming with orders he could give to keep her fighter out of the upcoming conflict, but she would never forgive him. He kissed her hard instead. "Good luck."

She nodded smartly and started down the right-hand corridor at a run.

He watched her for a heartbeat, and then turned away, moving left toward the lift that would take him to the bridge.

* * *

"Status report, Aerhom."

The commander turned as Jonathan entered the bridge.

"The Esprit's approaching Calton, Captain. Should I warn them off?"

Jonathan looked at the approaching dreadnought on the main screen and felt his tension begin to build. He shook his head in negation of both his nervousness and his first officer's suggestion. He settled into his command chair.

"Let's see how he reacts when he sees us."

Aerhom nodded and watched the screen. "He must suspect we're here."

"Oh, I'm sure he does more than just suspect we're here, and he's had a lot of time to decide what stand to take with us. I'm interested to see what he's settled on."

"He's also had time to plan an attack," Aerhom pointed out.

"True, but he won't attack until he finds out what's going on. I'm sure of that. Dakk, send a message to Mathan. Let him know our situation and tell him my previous orders still stand."

"Aye, sir. Fighter bay reports all ships launched. Awaiting your orders."

"Have Commander Alyn keep his ships on pre-strike alert. No offensive moves. Right now, they're just a welcoming party. Any word from the Esprit?"

"Not yet, sir."

"I think they've spotted us, Captain," the sensor officer said. "The Esprit has slowed her approach."

"Dakk?"

"Still nothing, sir. Scanning all channels and— Message coming in."

An instant later, Gaunis's voice filled the bridge. "Confederate vessel, what is the meaning of this? You are in United Galaxy space."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, sir." Jonathan struggled to keep his tone neutral.

"Westlex!" the High Admiral snapped. "Are you claiming Calton as Confederate territory?"

"On the contrary, sir. Richard Shaw claims Calton as sovereign territory."

"Sovereign…? He wouldn't dare. Calton is held and controlled by United Galaxy forces. Governor Shaw—"

"No longer claims allegiance to you. Sir."

There was a long silence from the Esprit, a silence reflected on Stingray One's bridge as the crew sat tense, unmoving. Several of them turned questioning looks on Jonathan.

He thumbed the mute button at his station. "Somebody had to tell him. Sensors, on the ball, I want to know if anyone on board the Esprit so much as sneezes."

"Aye, sir."

Jonathan fell silent, waiting. He tried to put himself in Gaunis's place, to imagine what the High Admiral might be thinking, what he might do, how he might react.

"Somebody just sneezed, Captain. The Esprit's bays are opening. Gaunis is launching his fighters."

Jonathan remained calm. His own fighters were already spaceborne; it would be foolish to overreact to Gaunis matching his tactics.

Silently, he watched the strings of fighters emerge from the dreadnought's bays. The Patrol vessels outnumbered his nearly two-to-one. Even odds, Commander Alyn would say. Still…

Keep your head, Reese.

"Captain Westlex," the High Admiral's voice returned, and the communication screen beside the main viewer came to life.

Jonathan looked at Gaunis's craggy visage, expressionless. "Admiral Gaunis?"

"As I understand it, Governor Shaw has treasonously taken control of Calton and is claiming autonomy from both the United Galaxy and the Confederacy."

"That is correct, sir, in essence. Personally, I do not agree with your use of the word 'treason.'"

Gaunis went on, "Further, you—a Confederate officer—have chosen to support that treason by protecting man and planet from the discipline that is their due."

"As I said, sir, I am not supporting treason. I am supporting a decision Richard Shaw made for the good of Calton… and the good of the United Galaxy."

Gaunis did a convincing job of looking perplexed. "I fail to understand how your support of Shaw can be good for any cause, Captain. Unless it is Confederate practice to allow thieves and traitors to not only go unpunished but to retain their stolen property, as well?"

"No, sir, that is not our practice. Let's just say that Shaw has enough evidence to convince me that removal of Calton from the role sheet of United Galaxy planets will benefit the United Galaxy worlds, as well as the admirals."

"What are you getting out of this, Westlex?" Gaunis asked, his expression growing suddenly unreadable save for a slight tightening of his jaw muscles and a narrowing of his eyes.

"That is between Richard Shaw and myself, sir. But I assure you that our presence within the Calton system is sanctioned by the Calton government," Jonathan said in a reverse reprisal of the situation he and Gaunis had played out over Falira days earlier.

"I am the Calton government!" Gaunis snapped. "Calton is my world, and as a representative of the United Galaxy which holds claim to its space, I order you to leave immediately."

Jonathan released the tight rein he had kept on his expression and narrowed his eyes. "Look, Gaunis, do I have to spell it out for you? In doing his appointed job, Governor Shaw took control of a disruptive local faction on Calton. He did not like what he found. Nor do I. Nor will anyone else if we are forced to release our findings."

Whether Gaunis had just realized what he was getting at or had only just decided to show it, Jonathan did not know, but the High Admiral's face went through an amazing range of expressions in a very brief period of time, ending finally with a look of explosive rage.

"But we will not release them," Jonathan said, "now or ever, so long as you accept Calton's sovereignty and leave now. And do not return."

Gaunis did not answer immediately. The audio signal went dead, and he turned his back to the comm pickup to speak to someone off-screen.

Jonathan took the time to glance reassuringly at the bridge crew. He knew they needed it. Only Commander Aerhom knew anything about the damning information Jonathan had on Gaunis, and Aerhom knew only enough to assist him in making command decisions regarding the current situation. The others simply had to trust that their captain had what he claimed and knew how to use it.

Gaunis turned back to the comm pickup a moment later. "How do I know I can trust you not to release this alleged information, Westlex?"

"You have my word, sir. And that of Admiral Shaw."

"Admiral Sha—?" Gaunis bit off the retort, and his eyes held Jonathan's gaze with a look of scorn. "Is your word enough, Westlex?"

"I'm afraid it will have to be."

"Very well. If that is the best you can do…" The communication link went dead.

Jonathan stared at the blank comm screen. "Sensors…?"

"I'm on it, sir. The Esprit is backing off. The other Patrol vessels are following."

Skeptical, Jonathan switched his gaze to the main screen and watched as the ships began to move away. Could it really be that easy? He forced his expression to display no sign of hope and continued to watch the Esprit's fighters head back toward the dreadnought's open bays. But something about their flight paths worried him. They were not moving neatly toward the bays. Something about the globular patterns they assumed as they approached their mothership looked wrong.

"Captain, Alyn here. Gaunis's ships aren't—"

"I see it, Reese. What do you think they're up to?"

Alyn took a moment to answer. "Hard to say, sir. It looks like a defensive pattern."

Jonathan studied the vessels' positions, but he could see no way the six staggered, spherical formations could protect the dreadnought from attack by either Stingray One or her fightercraft. "Not as guard for the Esprit?"

"No, sir. They couldn't do much good like that. They seem to be protecting something smaller. Maybe another ship."

Jonathan signaled the weapons station. "Rojsa, target each of those fighter groups."

"Got 'em, Captain." The reply was immediate, letting Jonathan know that Commander Rojsa Danuk was her usual three steps ahead of him. "They're powering up their weapons," she said an instant later, and then glanced from the telltales on her board to Jonathan and back again. "Uh—null that." She made several adjustments, her dusky features pinched in concentration. "It's just the missiles coming up."

"Just the missiles?" Jonathan echoed, only half in question. "Target as many of the launch tubes as you can, but don't fire unless they actually begin launch procedures. I don't want to be the one to throw the first punch." He looked at Commander Aerhom with a frown. "Did you catch that, Kai? Missiles only. No energy weapons. Gaunis's people must have been doing their homework."

"Review of previous battles would reveal that the use of energy weapons supply Stingrays with additional power," Aerhom said. "With such knowledge, missiles would be an understandable alternative."

Jonathan nodded and turned his attention to the main screen. The Esprit continued to back off, putting distance between itself and Stingray One.

"Defense, get ready for those missiles," Jonathan ordered. "Reese, you're in charge of whatever's left of Gaunis's fighters after our first volley. After that, we may be too busy with the missiles and the Esprit herself to keep track of the fighters, so stop those ships and anything else they throw at us. But don't do anything until I give the word."

"Aye, sir. Awaiting your order."

Jonathan sat back to join the waiting.