Interloper (The Askirti Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  Seeing this, she knew the earlier reports of Yusif injuring the woman in a “defensive” capacity was all crap. She was suddenly concerned about the abruptness of Commander Campo’s transfer from the medical facilities here over to the Colt.

  Then she opened the doctor’s files on Jacqueline. The confidential files. At her rank, and with the seriousness of the ‘incident,' this was all well warranted.

  She saw pieces of the surgical room video where they repaired the injuries to Jackie, injected her with Quick Heal, and how her healing shifted into overdrive on the stuff.

  Then she saw something fascinating. The doctor had found other, older injuries. There were severe wounds had been surgically hidden. On the surface, the skin looked like nothing ever happened. The process of smoothing the skin was done using the same process Jackie would undergo again to hide her most recent injuries. Tabitha looked at a mapping, a guesstimate the doctor made of the old wounds, it painted a gruesome picture. Her entire back showed signs of mutilation through what she guessed was a whip with a small metal tip, striking many dozens of times on the back of this little woman. Tabitha closed her eyes, pressing two of her fingers on the bridge of her nose.

  DING

  Her tablet notified her that the report she requested from Rear Admiral Josh Waters had arrived. Josh was a good friend, someone who had always played it straight with her. Until two days ago, the Colt was part of his fleet, and so she reasoned he would have the best information on her.

  And wow, what he sent. The un-redacted files of Jacqueline Campo, and his personal reports. Her lie about her origins.

  Earth.

  Her pulse jumped slightly.

  Orlando.

  Her pulse jumped more.

  Then she read her age.

  Forty.

  Well, most women could forgive her for that one. Tabitha did, especially since the photograph on file looked too young. Was it altered?

  Then she considered the old wounds, Earth, Orlando. And she sat up straight. This woman was a survivor, one of the few from right smack during the largest mass murder in the Federation’s history.

  Once she got to the personal report Rear Admiral Waters had prepared, and rear admirals make very few reports on people that do not report directly to them, she shivered. The hero of Kapa-Gamma-4, the hero of Anderson Station. The naval officer who almost single-handedly took out a company of elite marines during a wargame where her side was supposed to lose.

  Commander Campo was someone she wanted to meet.

  ##

  Tabitha’s arrival on the Colt was dreary. The little destroyer was a relic from a time long since passed, and she was shocked that something this old was still serving in the fleet. But the ancient hanger deck she arrived in was spotless.

  Nice to know a clean ship is being run here.

  The color guard was out to greet her. She grew tired of such greetings, but it was not just military tradition, but protocol.

  There before her was the very distinguished Captain Jeri De Vitis, a man whom she had pulled his jacket too. She liked very much what she had learned and was appalled at his assignment to this tin can due to his speaking up on a terrible incident on Remus-5. Josh had filled her in some time back, and it was also that incident which had Josh relocated away from her out to Anderson Station.

  As she appraised the Colt’s captain, she noticed he was without his XO. She took a moment to remember the woman she came to see was the XO and was injured, hence would not be with the greeting party. Next to the captain was the rest of his bridge crew, Lieutenants Shepard, Mansfield, and Turov.

  “Welcome aboard, Commodore,” greeted De Vitis.

  “Thank you, Captain! Please lead the way!” she retorted.

  ##

  As they walked into the tiny conference room on board the Colt, there before her was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. Barely over a meter and a half in height, with the whitest of hair, white, unblemished skin and the most beautiful green eyes. She was on crutches, trying her best to stand at attention.

  “At ease, and please sit down!” she said looking directly at Jackie.

  “Commander Campo, I was not expecting to see you here at this time.”

  “Are you ordering me to leave, sir?” Jackie said.

  “No, not at all. I wanted to meet with you too. I just figured you would still be in the infirmary, and I would see you there.”

  “Thank you, sir. If it is all the same to you, I’d rather meet you here.”

  “That works for me. So, do you have a thing for swords, or was it just convenient?” the commodore asked.

  Jackie blushed brightly at that.

  Good, at least she’s not the type to seek this stuff out, Tabitha mused

  “It was under his bed,” Jackie had no problem looking the commodore in her eyes, but she couldn’t hold the fire in her own eyes. “After he picked me up off the ground, he threw me across the room into his bookshelf. After smashing it and hitting the ground, I saw the sword under his bed. I figured it was part of some fancy collection. I figured it was left there for me so that I could end his life,” she said coldly.

  “You figured?”

  “Sometimes things happen for a reason, sir.”

  They continued to speak at length, covering all the events. Jackie was released first, due to the need for more bedrest. Tabitha went over the evidence and testimony with the rest of the command staff, eventually asking them to meet with her individually to recap their stories.

  I will have no trouble laying this investigation to rest, she said to herself thoughtfully.

  I must keep an eye on this Commander Campo, though.

  Chapter 16

  In the Loyola Sentra System

  Tabitha Summers sat in her plush seat on the flag bridge of the Westerly Federations newest creation, the WFS Nemesis, a Titan-class battlecarrier. It was impressive in every respect, except for some of the command crew. Commodore Yusif Donners tainted her views of anyone connected to him. She knew that was not a principled stance, guilt by association, but the vibe she got from Captain Breaux was these two were cut from the same soiled cloth.

  The flag bridge was expansive and meant to impress. It had every modern feature one could ask for, including a very nice coffee dispenser, required equipment in her view. The space she was viewing did not have a lot of creativity. It was all meant for administration, commodore-level stuff. The flag bridge could in no way double as a bridge. Oh, she knew there was the CIC for that if any of the officers in this fleet still knew how to use it. But for a ship this size, this important, she thought she would make recommendations to the appropriate people. She knew a lot of the dedicated wiring would not be easy to install, but that was not her problem.

  She would, however, have this change, among a few others, forwarded to a friend of hers who would act on these. Getting wishy-washy personnel was bad enough, but if they ever had to fight a real war, she wanted to be guaranteed the tools were at least up to the job.

  “Commodore, a message from the envoy ship,” one of her staffers said.

  “Send it to my console.” She played the message. It was the diplomat they were bringing to the Commonwealth to negotiate a much-needed treaty. Not only would the treaty formally declare peace between the two empires, which had never happened before, but it would open the door for trade. The Federation desperately wanted to trade with them due to the fact the Commonwealth was decades ahead of them technology-wise.

  The diplomat was a man named Michael Trahan. The message was just more of the garbage she endured listening to from these self-important people. His “requirements” for accommodation, special bedding, special mattress, special décor, special foods, blah blah blah.

  While these diplomats always annoyed her, she had to remind herself it was better the diplomat's talk than the guns of the respective nations. She mused that the Commonwealth’s diplomats were probably just as bad. Spoiled little children trying to decide which toys to s
hare. That was how this treaty would be hammered out.

  She forwarded the latest requests to her staffers who, while in-system, would obtain whatever special items or special personnel this clown needed. All she sent back was an electronic acknowledgment.

  And to think, he will probably want, no, demand, to be on the flag bridge.

  She sent another note to a different staffer to be sure the bar was well stocked.

  ##

  The next day, Tabitha was supposed to take the fleet to the Veritas system for a “fly by.” It was supposedly the home system for a few of the key supporters that passed the funding for the Titan-class battlecarrier to move forward in construction. If a few muckety-mucks wanted to see their new toy, she was happy to oblige. The only kicker was the entire task force would be coming, and she thought that was a colossal waste of money. What was the operating cost of each vessel? How many men and women were being paid to go on this parade? No matter, she followed orders like everyone else.

  And to think I get to enjoy all this with Mr. Trahan right by my side. Lucky me.

  With a press of a button, Tabitha spoke. “Attention fleet. This is Commodore Tabitha Summers speaking to you from the WFS Nemesis. Today we move out to go to the Commonwealth. To go to our one-time enemy in hopes of peaceful relations, of which I am confident we shall achieve. But first, we have orders to take the fleet to Veritas for a brief flyby. Once our business has concluded there, we shall be on our way to making history. Form up on the Nemesis with your respective places in the formation according to the file I sent you earlier. Summers out.”

  “Nice speech, Commodore!”

  “Thank you, Mr. Trahan,” she deadpanned. “Short and precise, don’t give the children much to squabble about but just get to work,” she responded.

  “Ha, I see your point! This ship is truly impressive. I didn’t think we needed a warship for this mission, but high command insists,” he said rather annoyingly.

  Michael Trahan was a toad of a man, but he was the man the Federation wanted for this mission. Dinner last night with him was barely tolerable. She did not think he would ever stop talking about himself. Thankfully there would not be many such meals.

  “How many ships do we have in this little party?” said the diplomat in an almost amused tone.

  “Twenty-nine. One battlecarrier, four heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers, twelve destroyers and four supply ships.”

  “That’s a whole lot of firepower, Commodore! I know we want to impress them, but I am not sure we want to impress upon them that we are invading.”

  “We have all have our orders, Mr. Trahan.”

  “That we do.”

  Why high command wanted an entire task force for this little mission was a mystery. Oh well, such is life in the military.

  ##

  “I am glad to have you back on the bridge, XO!” Jeri said happily, looking at Jackie.

  “Glad to be back sir!” she responded with an upbeat tone.

  “It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” Jeri asked.

  “What’s that sir?”

  “Being in a formation this large,” Jeri responded.

  He was thinking about back to when he was in command of the heavy cruiser WFS Victory. It was a beautiful ship. He was a proud commander, and his wife always seemed to beam when she was discussing his command and got to mention his assignment. All gone, taken away by the politically connected.

  The worst part was the Victory was right here in this very task force. He still felt pride seeing her, knowing he once commanded her, even though his command had been stolen from him.

  “What do you think about our mission to Veritas?” Jackie asked.

  “An expensive show and tell, but these are the folks who are helping to move the Federation forward militarily, we need them. So, we put on a small show, make everyone happy and continue on our real mission!”

  A few hours later…

  “Coming up on the planet of Veritas, Captain,” said Lieutenant Mansfield.

  “It’s breathtaking,” whispered Jackie.

  “Many say that this is the most Earth-like planet to be discovered yet,” said her captain.

  The blue-green marble sat directly in front.

  Jackie marveled that once upon a time Earth, her home, looked so spectacular. What it would be to run through the forests she had only read of. Or swim in the lakes and oceans without it poisoning you. Such natural beauty, a real wonder.

  Many “Earth-like” planets had been found and cataloged. But a rating of how close to “pristine-Earth” was developed on a hundred-point scale. What lay ahead of them had the highest score, a ninety-eight.

  “Okay folks, all we have to do is a slow fly-by. We get close to a few of the orbitals, and then we head back out,” Jeri said.

  Even though they were watching wall screens and not an actual glass window, it was still mesmerizing knowing they were above this world. Something inside of every human identified how beautiful a world was with how compatible it was with them. Even Jackie. Earth was the armpit of humanity, and Copus Prime was only a little better. This view took her breath away.

  Chapter 17

  In the Veritas system

  “Exiting FTL in three, two, one,” reported Lieutenant Mansfield as the Colt with the rest of the fleet exited FTL on their way back to the Gate after a brief fly-by of the Veritas system, making several politicians very happy.

  “Captain, I’m getting strange readings,” reported Lieutenant Shepard.

  “What sort of readings?” asked the captain.

  “Well, sir, you know Alexie took apart one of those Mark-4b’s back while you guys were at the reception,” she replied.

  “Honestly, I do not remember being informed about this,” said a suddenly wide-eyed captain. “Explain. And then I will ask our chief engineer to explain what he was thinking about usurping the chain of command,” said De Vitis in a serious tone.

  Emilia, timid at this point said, “um, sir, he may have repurposed the sensor suite from one of the Mark-4b’s into our forward sensor array.”

  Jeri snickered. Engineers. “Okay,” he said with a little more levity in his voice, “and what do these new sensors show us that the Nemesis cannot?” He was certain the Nemesis had the best in the fleet for hardware and his ship was a trinket on its last tour with him as captain.

  “Sir, I am showing unknown ships, along with a few other anomalies.”

  Jeri sat up straight.

  “And is the communications satellite and Gatekeeper system still operational? Lieutenant Turov?”

  He thought to himself few would even think to challenge the Gatekeeper in this system, and if there were to be trouble, the Gatekeepers would have been the first line of defense.

  “The Gatekeeper system is reporting all normal sir. I queried them for a log, there has been no new ships in this system since we went through the Gate,” stated Marko.

  “Sir, I am clearing up those anomalies!” said Emilia in a concerned tone. “Those are stealth missiles, sir! They are directly in our flight path! Furthermore, those ships are four heavy cruisers and six light cruisers! All old designs! Given more time I may be able to identify which ones precisely.”

  “Battle stations! Condition One! Go active with the sensors! Full military power for twenty seconds then reduce to one-quarter! Deploy Smitz drones!” Jeri yelled.

  ##

  “Captain, you should see this,” reported the tactical officer on board the Nemesis.

  “What is that fool doing?” he snickered. Maron reached down, pressing a button on his console. “Commodore Summers.”

  “Yes, what can I do for you, Captain Breaux.”

  “Take a look,” he sent her the readings of the Colt moving in a rush out of position. “I would like this officer reprimanded. Please contact him yourself and pull his leash back in,” he said in a snooty voice.

  “Has he tried contacting you, Captain?”

  “Yes, but we are far too busy
to take calls from every destroyer captain.”

  “Captain! The other destroyers are moving out of position! Two of the heavy cruisers as well!” his tactical officer screamed.

  “Captain! We are being hailed by most of the ships in the task force!” screamed his communications officer.

  Just then, sensors picked up over five hundred missiles that were not there earlier. Stealth missiles.

  Captain Breaux face went pale. He had nothing to say. The sensors clearly showed an attack taking place, and he just froze.

  ##

  The handful of Federation ships responding to the threat-activated their defenses. They were badly out of position to defend the prize, the Nemesis, but some defense was better than none as all the ships deployed the Smitz drones, and point defense chewed away at the incoming missiles, with the Colt leading the way.

  Just then, one missile broke through the defenses of the other ships, because the Nemesis had not yet activated hers. This missile was a two stage rocket. The first stage broke away from the rocket, ahead of the second. Then once it was upon the hull of the Nemesis, a directional nuclear explosion went off, searing off fifteen meters of protective armor in one particular spot. The second stage of the missile went into that hole, cutting through the interior like a hot knife through butter. Once it reached its target, the bridge, it exploded. The entire Nemesis central nervous system died with hundreds of other naval personnel in that section of the ship. All without the mighty ship firing a single shot.

  ##

  “Sir! The Nemesis is hit!” Emilia cried out.

  The Colt had corralled most of the other ships into activating their defensive batteries and take down the missiles. The two-stage rocket that hit the Nemesis was not the only missile to find its target, but it was the only two-stage missile to do so.

  Then he saw what no captain wanted to see.

  “All hands! Prepare for impact!” yelled De Vitis into the coms.

  Just then three missiles slammed into the aft section of the Colt, and with three powerful explosions, sheared off the rear quarter of the entire ship, and ending most of the crew’s lives in an instant.