Legacy of the Centaur (RF VIII), Chapter 17

Spoiler alert: This is the work-in-progress of the 8th book in the Reckless Faith series. You may read the prologue here: https://devonai.wordpress.com/2023/10/31/reckless-faith-viii-prologue/

“If word of this gets out, it’s my ass.”

Commander Hadar’s statement was the first thing that he said to Colonel Dietrich as he stepped across the threshold from the airlock on the Bidelman to the one on the Percheron. Cynthia and her crew had been able to make contact with Hadar’s ship using the same ULF pulse communication system he had used to stay connected to his marines, and after a little bit of negotiation, Hadar had convinced the Percheron to land at the far end of a spaceport on Alnair’s southern continent. With the Percheron hidden behind its invisibility shield, and Hadar’s excuse to Admiral Butcher that the waste reclamation systems on his ship needed to be purged, it was his hope that he could retrieve the surviving marines without anyone else knowing.

Waste retrieval ground vehicles, known as ‘shit wagons’ to fleet personnel, were busy pumping out the remains of the crew’s meals on the port side of the Bidelman, while the Percheron had sidled up to one of the starboard airlocks. Reasonably isolated from any of the spaceport’s buildings, and parked on the opposite side of the airfield and landing pads, Hadar had been confident that the Percheron wouldn’t be detected, at least for a short visit.

Inside the airlock, in addition to the ship captains, were two medics from the Bidelman, Lieutenant Brockway, Clerk, Courier, and Scrivener. The Alnairian marines saluted Hadar, though Scrivener did so from a wheelchair. They exchanged a few words, and the medics escorted the troops inside the Bidelman. Cynthia and Hadar shook hands.

“Your cloaking technology is very impressive,” he began. “I’m not surprised your ships avoided detection at Tartarus.”

“I wish I could take credit for it,” replied Cynthia, “but it and much of our tech was given to us by other races. Shall we head to the conference room? We have a lot to discuss.”

“Lead the way.”

The trio entered the central corridor, and made the brief trip to the conference room. Cynthia introduced the others who were there already, including John, Vecky, and several others from each ship. Once Hadar had been installed in one of the chairs, John led him through a thirty-minute summary of everything that had happened since their arrival in the system. Hadar spent much of the briefing in a state of shock.

“So there you have it,” concluded John. “We’re ready to begin shuttling the Thesprotians to Eniph, unless other arrangements can be made.”

Hadar shook his head in disbelief. “If the public gets wind of this, it will be the biggest scandal ever on Alnair.”

“Do you have any idea who hired the Tenchiik assassins?”

“If you had asked me that question a few days ago, I’d say no. But now, I’m forced to consider that it was the Gray Men, or whoever is pulling the strings of our government. By the way, how do you know I’m not going straight to them after this meeting?”

Richter said, “Sergeant Scrivener said you were a man of honor. He doesn’t believe you had anything to do with the decision to leave them to rot on Tartarus. Between that and the fact that we just returned the survivors to you, we’re confident that you’ll at least hear us out.”

“Hear you out for what?”

“The idea of resetting the Thesprotians on Alnair,” said John. “Sergeant Clerk already told us he doesn’t think it’s possible to do so without the full cooperation of your government, Gray Men or no Gray Men.”

“He’s right. You could put them in the middle of nowhere, but eventually they would be found. Though I would’ve never thought anyone would resort to mass murder to keep the tragedy of Tartarus a secret, I also never would’ve imagined such a tragedy happening in the first place.”

Vecky said, “And yet, at the time it happened, the allied countries who built the research facility managed to scrub any record of the Thesprotians from your history books.”

“I can’t say I don’t understand why. At that time, our adversaries could have used the disaster as a pretext for war. Keeping it a secret may have prevented half of the planet being nuked out of existence.”

“We can speculate about that all day,” said John. “Now we need to focus on the possibility of getting the planetary government on board with resettlement efforts, with full disclosure to the public.”

“Full disclosure? Are you insane?”

“It’s the only way the Thesprotians would ever be safe there.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Sergeant Clerk said the message can’t come from us, or the government will deny it and the people will believe them.”

“He’s right. It’s an outrageous claim. I’m sorry, but what you’re proposing is simply impossible.”

“He also said a military coup is out of the question.”

“Also right. You’d have to convince every ship captain and garrison commander simultaneously. Even a small number of dissenters would be disastrous.”

Christie spoke next. “What if we were able to flush out and eliminate the Gray Men?”

Hadar scoffed. “I have no fucking clue how to do that. As I said, a few days ago I thought they were nothing more than a myth.”

She leaned forward in her chair. “Have you noticed anything unusual about me?”

“You look like a perfectly normal Terran, assuming that Scherer, Richter, Brockway, Ferro, Mungavin, and Dietrich are also perfectly normal Terrans.”

“Ferro and I are androids. Fully synthetic.”

“Impressive. I’m not sure what your point is, though.”

“We were built by a company called Verisimilitude Android Designs, based on Secundus. However, we also have very powerful scanning and replication technology. We’ve been working on being able to replicate our own models, though so far, the results have been less than satisfactory. With a little bit more work, we should be able to create a remotely-controlled android that could quite convincingly pass for anyone. So, the most obvious candidate to infiltrate the Gray Men would be the president of Alnair. We’d just have to get close enough to scan him and get a decent recording of his voice.”

Hadar barked a laugh. “Ha! Sure, no problem. But even then, what are you going to do with the real president? Abduct him?”

“Exactly,” said John. “We have the technology to interrogate him without harming a hair on his head. Between that information and our doppelganger, if the Gray Men exist, we’ll find them.”

“Doppel ganger?”

“Twin. The android copy.”

“Ah. That’s incredibly ambitious, but you don’t need my help to get close to the president. He makes frequent public appearances. His security team might kill you, but you can find him nonetheless.”

Vecky said, “Just point us in the right direction, and stay out of the way. That’s all we really need from you.”

Hadar shrugged. “I guess. I’m still confused, though. If you have a viable plan for resettling the natives on Eniph, why go through that much trouble?”

Cynthia said, “As Scherer told you, it will take months to accomplish that. In the meantime, the Thesprotians are living in substandard conditions, and we’re stuck guarding Tartarus against an attack if you or your compatriots get ordered to wipe them out.”

“You said you have three ships? I wouldn’t pick a fight with our fleet, cloak or no cloak.”

“We have no intention of that,” said John, “but we’ll do what we have to do to protect innocent lives. And to further answer your previous question, it’s a matter of justice. You must think so too, if you’ve decided not to interfere with our plan.”

“I won’t. Justice isn’t the only consideration, though. You have to do what’s best for the natives, too. It sounds like only a handful of them, if any, are even old enough to remember what was taken from them. Any habitable planet would be a huge upgrade from living in a damp cave for decades. Get them safe and established, and then ask them if they even want to live on Alnair, or have their story told to the populace. There’s really nowhere closer than Eniph? What about Alpha Lupi?”

“We have zero information about that system in our databases,” replied Christie. “However, as it happens, we’re about to meet up with the Leto, Wega Talyn’s ship, which is coming from Alpha Lupi. We could ask her about its viability for settlement.”

“Shouldn’t you investigate that possibility before committing to abducting and interrogating our president?”

“We will,” said John. “Anyway, it will take us several days to perfect our androids…”

“Hopefully sooner,” added Christie.

“Of course. So we’ll have plenty of time to consider all of our options. As for you, Commander Hadar, we’ll be in touch. Richter, Brockway, would you please escort the commander back to his ship?”

“Okey dokey,” said Richter, standing.

Brockway and Richter gestured for Hadar to go with them, and he followed them without another word. John looked at those who remained at the conference table.

“He’s right, you know,” said Christie. “Alpha Lupi is nine times closer than Eniph.”

“We’ll ask Wega about it when she gets here,” said John.

“You seem awfully dead-set on infiltrating Alnair’s government regardless,” said Cynthia. “Need I remind you, we’re not the galaxy police.”

“I understand if you’re having second thoughts.”

“I didn’t say that,” she snapped. “What happened to the Thesprotians is incredibly fucked up, never mind the wholesale slaughter of the prison population. You don’t have to remind me. But Hadar is right, if we can relocate the natives to Alpha Lupi, we should.”

John stood up. “Give us the room.”

“Excuse me?” asked Christie, irritated. “Since when do we keep things from each other?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Vecky.

“This is between Colonel Dietrich and I,” said John. “Captain Kitsune, as commander of the Fox, you can stay.”

Vecky folded her arms across her chest. “That’s very gracious of you, Commander.”

“I just don’t think everyone needs to listen to me have an argument with Dietrich. If you really want to be subjected to it, then stay.”

No one moved. John sighed, and sat back down.

“We can’t let our emotions get the best of us,” said Christie. “We all want justice for the Thesprotians, the prisoners, even the marines that died down there, but eliminating the Gray Men is not without risk.”

“Of course not, but we’ve accomplished missions a thousand times more difficult. Captain Kitsune, are you having second thoughts as well?”

“I’m not the one you want to be asking about the wisdom of revenge,” Vecky replied.

Cynthia said, “Though I’ve been entertaining the insanity of this idea only because we’ve got some time to talk about it, I think it’s time to put my foot down. NASA agreed to have the Percheron accompany the Faith on a rescue mission, with which we succeeded. As captain, I’m refusing to involve the Percheron with infiltrating the Alnairian government without express permission from NASA. If they don’t agree, then once Chason Talyn has been reunited with his sister, I’m taking my ship back to Earth. Y’all can do what you want after that.”

“Then you should probably contact them now,” said John.

Cynthia stood up. “I’ll do that. By your leave, of course, Commander Scherer.”

John didn’t reply. She exited the conference room toward the bridge.

“Can’t you both just admit that you’re in love with each other?” asked Mike.

“There’s no way NASA is going to approve your plan,” Christie said to John.

John nodded. “I know that. The only thing I can ask of you is that you pass along any data you have about replicating androids to Ari, if you haven’t already.”

“She knows what I know.”

“Correct,” said Ari. “Still, we should work on it together with whatever time we have left.”

The ship shuddered slightly, and the terrain outside the windows began to shift. Christie stood up.

“We’re underway. John, I think you need to find a middle ground with Dietrich if you want the Percheron to stay. For example, why not replace Secretary Tailor instead of the president? It might be less risky.”

“What’s the ETA for the Leto?” he asked.

“Should be about twenty-four hours from now.”

“Then I’ll work on a tactical plan with Richter and Ari on nabbing the president, with an emphasis on caution. If Alpha Lupi isn’t a viable option, then I’ll present that plan plus the alternative you just suggested to Dietrich. Hopefully by then she’ll agree to one of them.”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

__________

Richter sighed, and set his huge frame into a couch after yet another hour of waiting around Secretary Tailor’s home, while wearing an android version of the Alnairian’s body, and for the most part, not enjoying it. Though he had volunteered to be the puppet master for their well-crafted and expensive piece of bait, he had hoped he wouldn’t have to inhabit it for much longer. He had become quite skilled at controlling an android, but it was still deeply unsettling for him to glance in a mirror, or look down at himself, and not see his own flesh and blood.

He was not alone inside the house. Evangeline, Arianna, and Kyrie were there as well, to help do the dirty work should the android survive the day. The plan, which was responsible for convincing Captain Dietrich to keep the Percheron around a while longer, was to force an encounter with the Gray Men by posing as Tailor, and making it as obvious as possible that the man had returned home. Based on what the real Tailor had told them, being spotted leaving the presidential estate would likely prompt another visit from his shadowy overseers, regardless of whether or not they actually knew why he was there.

So, the Reckless Faith had dropped Richter and his corpulent avatar just outside the palatial building, and followed him as he procured an air taxi from there to his home in the suburbs of Lucidus. Uninterrupted, the ship then dropped off a team to back him up inside the residence, and took up a spot nearby, hidden as usual by its invisibility shield. That was three hours earlier. In the meantime, the Leto had arrived, and arranged to meet with the Fox at the heliopause of the solar system, some one hundred AU distant. Chason and Wega were doubtlessly having an emotional reunion there, and everyone was eager to hear about the viability of Alpha Lupi as a new home for the Thesprotians.

Eva, Ari, and Kyrie must have been just as bored as Richter. Eva was camped out in the den, with the curtains drawn, while Ari and Kyrie were waiting at the top of the main staircase, just out of sight of anyone below. Richter had soon occupied himself by activating the large wall-mounted monitor in the living room, and exploring what passed for entertainment and news on Alnair. Unsurprisingly, there was no mention anywhere of the recent drama on Tartarus. He had resorted to watching some kind of contemporary medical drama when John’s voice echoed in his ear.

“Heads-up,” he began. “An unmarked ground vehicle has just stopped in the driveway. Three figures are getting out.”

“Finally,” uttered Richter, standing up.

Uncharacteristically, he was unarmed, in the off chance the agents might use it as an excuse to shoot first and ask questions later. He simply waited for the front door to open, which it did a few seconds later. In came three Alnairians, dressed in black suits, looking more like they were there for a wake than an interrogation. He did his best to seem crestfallen as the trio spread out and approached him.

“I thought I was done with you people,” he offered.

“And I thought I made myself clear,” replied the first man, his right hand near his beltline.

“I’m still the secretary of defense. It would be rather suspicious if I didn’t keep up my regular duties.”

“Did the president summon you specifically, or did you take it upon yourself to manufacture a reason to visit?”

“What does it matter? I didn’t tell him anything. Your damnable secrets are safe with me, regardless of how much it might sting my pride to keep them.”

“You’ll have to remind me what those secrets are.”

Richter rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding? As if the threat of revealing my personal dalliances wasn’t enough to secure my silence, I’m not weary of living, either. The truth of Tartarus will remain in your hands.”

The first man glanced at his companions, and Richter knew instantly that he had made a critical mistake. He held his hand to his side, and fanned his fingers out, showing a pre-determined signal to his friends that he had been compromised. Moving like demons, Eva, Ari, and Kyrie emerged from their hiding places, and all three of them wasted no time in firing their plasma rifles. The shots found their targets easily enough, immediately felling their foes. Richter managed to get his oversized frame out of the living room quickly, and relieved the Alnairians of their sidearms.

“Check their pulses,” said Eva, keeping the muzzle of her rifle on them.

“The stun mode seems to have worked,” said Ari as she arrived. “They’re still breathing.”

Kyrie keyed his radio. “Reckless Faith, this is the ground team, we’re ready to extract three tangoes to the ship, over.”

“Copy that,” said John’s voice. “We’re taking her down between their van and the house.”

Almost imperceptible from inside the building, the team could hear the Faith descend and come to a rest outside. A second later, someone on the ship opened up with the ventral GAU 19/A. A quick glance out of the nearest window showed Richter that at least two more men had exited the vehicle in the driveway, only to be cut down by a furious burst from the .50-caliber gun. If there was anyone left inside the van, they were also thoroughly ventilated.

“Fuck ‘em,” spat Richter.

“The LZ is clear for the moment. Extract your quarry at your leisure.”

“Roger that,” replied Kyrie, and bent down to grab one of the other men.

Together, Richter and his team dragged the three Alnairians out of the front door. The cargo ramp on the Faith began to open, revealing the interior. Though several of Tailor’s neighbors had stepped outside to get a view of the ruckus, all they could see was who appeared to be Tailor and a group of aliens emerge from the house, only to disappear seconds later. Once everyone was clear of the ramp’s threshold, Richter again activated his radio.

“We’re on board, exfil now!” he barked.

The Faith took off, and whoever was piloting it swiveled the ship around as the ramp closed, giving the team a brief sight of the burning van and mutilated corpses next to it. Their last glimpse was of fighter craft screaming in from a high altitude. With a hiss of air as the pressure equalized, the ramp closed, casting the cargo bay into silence.