Leviathan

Three

“How do we stop two battle cruisers like that with sixteen heavy cruisers?” Desjani asked. “If they were typical battle cruisers, we could do it, but the dark ships are not typical.”

Geary indicated the intercept point on his display. “We don’t have to stop them. We just have to push back their time to reach Ambaru and push up the time when we get within range of the dark ships.”

“Make them maneuver off a straight shot at Ambaru?” She nodded, then tapped a symbol. “The heavy cruiser formations are under Commander Rosen. What do you know about her?”

“That she’s commander of the First Heavy Cruiser Division,” Geary said, “as well as commanding officer of the Tanko. And that in previous engagements she has shown a tendency to hit hard.”

“Then you need to realize that when you send Rosen after those dark ships, she’s not going to just dance around,” Desjani said. “She’s going to go after them and try to land some hard blows.”

“Rosen has seen the data on how heavily armed those dark battle cruisers are.”

“And she’s going to try to hit them hard,” Desjani repeated.

“I know,” Geary said. “That’s the idea.” He saw her surprise, then the dawning realization. “Because,” he went on, “I wouldn’t do that, throwing heavy cruisers against battle cruisers in a head-on fight. I’d order a feint, and a diversion. Something to fool my opponent into doing what I want, which in this case would obviously be to throw those dark ships off a direct vector toward Ambaru.”

“Even if you fool the dark ships,” Desjani cautioned, “that won’t fool their fire-control systems or prevent them targeting any heavy cruisers that close to firing range.”

“Hopefully, I’ve got a solution to that as well. You know how our fire-control systems are programmed. They prioritize targets based on threat and on the highest hit probability.” He touched his comm controls. “Commander Rosen, this is Admiral Geary. Your orders are to try to stop those dark ships. Get in close enough to hammer them. Try to knock out their main propulsion or maneuvering systems. My estimate is that they will not attempt to evade a firing run by you but will hold their vectors, assuming that you are conducting a feint. Set up your formations and attacks so that two leading heavy cruisers in each of your formations will clearly represent the highest hit probabilities for the fire-control systems on the dark ships and have those two heavy cruisers do last-second evasive maneuvers to throw off enemy targeting on them. I’m trusting your skill in this, Commander, as well as the skill of each cruiser commander. Geary, out.”

“You’re trusting in the finesse and subtlety of Sel Rosen,” Desjani grumbled. “Good luck with that.”

“She’s not going to do exactly what I would do,” Geary replied. “That may be our best hope of stopping those dark ships before they can hit Ambaru.”

Five light-minutes separated the battleship screen from the heavy cruisers. The dark battle cruisers had maintained point two light speed, so it would take twenty-five minutes for them to reach the heavy cruisers. If the heavy cruisers accelerated to contact, that time would shrink, but Geary knew that Commander Rosen would be smart enough to instead bring her warships in at the battle cruisers from high angles in order to keep down the relative speed of the engagement.

The sixteen Alliance heavy cruisers were formed into two boxes, each composed of eight warships arranged in two columns, with each ship a little higher than the one ahead of it so that the formations stepped upward from front to back. One heavy cruiser formation was above and to one side of the projected track of the dark ships, while the second formation was below and to the other side. It was a classic positioning, which would allow the heavy cruisers to react effectively even if the dark ships made some major course changes to try to evade the Alliance defenders.

“She’s taking into account the maneuverability of the dark ships,” Geary noted approvingly.

“Let’s hope she’s taking into account their firepower,” Desjani said. “We’re still closing, but too slowly. We’ll be within two light-minutes of the dark ships when Rosen’s heavy cruisers hit them.”

“Still nothing from Ambaru or any of the fixed defenses?”

“Nothing, sir,” Lieutenant Yuon replied.

“If the dark ships continue down their current vectors,” Lieutenant Castries added, “we will still be thirty light-seconds distant from them and twenty minutes’ travel time from intercept when they reach Ambaru Station.”

Thirty light-seconds didn’t sound like much, unless you knew that a single light-second was the equal of three hundred thousand kilometers of distance. Nine million kilometers, the equivalent of thirty light-seconds, was hopelessly distant in terms of trying to defend Ambaru.

“Once they’ve hit Ambaru,” Castries continued, her voice professionally unemotional, “the dark ships might choose to alter vector toward the nearest jump point.”

“In which case, we will have zero chance of catching them before they reach that jump point,” Desjani said. “Rosen better slow them down, or we’ll have no chance of saving Ambaru or hitting those dark ships again.”

“Fifteen minutes until the dark ships are in weapons range of Commander Rosen’s force,” Lieutenant Yuon said.

They were so close by the time the forces rushed toward contact, only a couple of light-minutes to one side, that the images were almost real-time. As the dark ships neared them, Rosen’s heavy cruisers accelerated out of their orbits. Both formations pivoted around one of the leading heavy cruisers, as if the formations were rolling up to stand one corner, and headed toward the paths of the dark ships, the upper heavy cruiser formation diving toward contact while the lower formation climbed toward the enemy.

This time the dark ships reacted in the minutes before contact by abruptly jerking upward and to one side, toward the higher heavy cruiser formation. The dark ships plainly intended concentrating their fire on one set of Alliance heavy cruisers while avoiding the second formation.

The moment of contact was so quick that there was no hope of seeing the events happen, but Geary was also focused on what the lower formation of heavy cruisers was doing, bending their climb up and over to compensate for the change in the vectors of the dark ships. Instead of missing them completely, the lower formation hurtled past the sterns of the dark ships a few moments after the enemy battle cruisers had encountered the upper formation.

“Damn,” Desjani muttered as the results of the engagement were reported by Dauntless’s sensors and data feeds from the heavy cruisers.

As Geary had instructed, Rosen had ordered her leading heavy cruisers in each formation to evade at the last moment, shifting from targeting the dark battle cruisers to instead aim for the dark heavy cruiser trailing them. The change in vectors had been enough to throw off a lot of the dark ship fire. And the dark heavy cruiser, hit by four Alliance heavy cruisers, was staggering along and sliding off to one side, trying to regain maneuvering control.

But the two enemy battle cruisers had also aimed some shots at the second row of heavy cruisers in each formation. Diamond, Bastille, Hori, and Presidio had all taken significant damage, losing weapons, shields, and in some cases parts of their propulsion and maneuvering thrusters. Personnel casualties were only estimates, but all four heavy cruisers had taken losses.

The twelve heavy cruisers hitting the dark battle cruisers had done their job, though. One of the dark battle cruisers had lost half of its propulsion and been slowed by hits. The other had been battered along one quarter but did not seem to have suffered serious damage to its propulsion or maneuverability.

“Not enough.” Geary sighed, trying to accept the fact that there was nothing more he could do, that catching a force of warships which did not want to fight was nearly impossible when all of space existed to offer escape, that the distances in space meant sometimes there was no way to get somewhere in time to make a critical difference.

“The dark battle cruiser with the damaged propulsion is having trouble regaining its velocity,” Lieutenant Yuon reported. “We can catch it before it reaches firing range of Ambaru.”

“Which leaves one battle cruiser to shoot up the station.” Geary tapped his comm controls. “Commander Rosen, use your heavy cruisers to finish off that dark heavy cruiser. Be aware that it will likely carry out a power core overload once helpless, so stay clear of the damage radius. There are light cruisers and destroyers coming your way from the screen which you are to assume control of to coordinate their attacks with your own.”

He looked at Tanya. “Let’s get that damaged dark battle cruiser. Too bad we can’t—”

“Captain?” Lieutenant Castries called, sounding baffled. “The second enemy battle cruiser is pivoting. He’s… braking his velocity.”

“Why the hell… ?” Desjani demanded.

Geary was staring, trying to understand, when Desjani laughed.

“They programmed them to do what you would do!” she said.

“And I would throw away my chance to hit Ambaru?” Geary said.

“You would if it meant not abandoning one of your ships to the enemy!” Desjani laughed again. “Don’t you get it? You come back for injured ships, you don’t abandon comrades, that’s how you’ve fought, and those dark ships are programmed to fight like you did.”

Geary realized that he was smiling. “Nice. The dark ships aren’t thinking about it, they’re not responding to any moral imperative, they’re just doing what their programming tells them to do in a situation like this.” He hit his comm controls again. “All units in Task Force Dancer, immediate execute, come port one four degrees, up zero two degrees. Engage assigned targets when in range. Geary, out.”

His warships angling in faster to hit the slowed dark battle cruisers, Geary made sure that enough of his warships were targeted on each to ensure they would be knocked out. What would I do if I was on one of those battle cruisers? Dive down. And port or starboard? Starboard, to get back on a direct vector for Ambaru.

He ordered a slight, last-moment change of vectors on his warships as his formation slammed into the dark battle cruisers from one side. The seven Alliance battle cruisers and the remaining heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers in Task Force Dancer threw everything they had at the dark ships, three of the Alliance battle cruisers passing close enough to the dark ships to unleash their null field weapons that ate chunks out of the enemy warships. One of the dark ships deployed a null field as well, taking a fortunately small piece out of Intemperate.

Geary called out orders sending his formation curving up and over for a second firing pass in case one of the dark ships was still a threat to Ambaru. But as the results of the engagement were evaluated by the sensors of the Alliance ships, it became clear that wouldn’t be necessary.

One dark battle cruiser was gone, replaced by a spreading cloud of debris. The second consisted only of its forward portion, tumbling off at an angle, which self-destructed while Geary watched.

The dark heavy cruiser still survived, but Rosen was leading her heavy cruisers at it. When her firing run was complete, nothing was left of the dark heavy cruiser but pieces of wreckage.

Desjani let out a cross between a whistle and sigh, pointing to her display.

Ambaru Station was only two light-seconds away, everyone on it apparently still oblivious to how close they had come to destruction.

“All units in Task Force Dancer,” Geary sent. “Well done. We’re going to brake our way around the star, so that when we’re back in the vicinity of Ambaru we’ll be able to match the station’s orbit easily. All destroyers are priority for fuel cell replenishment.”

“What are you going to do about Ambaru?” Desjani asked.

“It looks like we may have to invade it.”

The Marines came off the shuttle ramp in full combat mode, their battle armor sealed, their weapons active. They took up positions around the landing dock, scanning for threats. Behind them, the shuttle pulled away, making room for another shuttle also loaded with Marines.

Ambaru had a lot of docking stations. Right now, a dozen of those stations were receiving Marines who were equipped for battle and moving as if conducting an invasion of an enemy-held facility. General Carabali was aboard Dauntless, which had moved in close to Ambaru to oversee the assault.

“Admiral,” the Marine captain in charge of the force with Geary reported, “all we have in sight are two civilians, no weapons visible, broadcasting identification as station officials, dock supervision department.”

Geary studied the view from the captain’s battle armor. The two station officials, the sort who normally met incoming traffic, were staring at the Marines in shock. But despite their astonishment at being on the receiving end of an Alliance assault, both were smart enough to avoid doing anything rash. The two stood absolutely still, their arms extended to show empty hands.

The captain had waved forward two scouts, who scanned the surroundings outside the dock. “My scouts report all clear, Admiral. Just civilian pedestrians.”

“I’m on my way.” Geary, wearing only his working uniform, came down the ramp and nodded to the officials. “I’m sorry for this, but we don’t know what the situation is aboard this station. My ships have been unable to communicate with you.”

“Unable?” the senior official of the two asked, surprised. “There isn’t anything wrong with our comm systems.”

“Then you might explain why my ships kept getting an ‘incompatible message protocol’ response when we tried to talk to anyone on Ambaru,” Geary said.

The officials exchanged baffled glances. “We tried calling you on your inbound, Admiral,” the senior explained. “But our comm system said it couldn’t shake hands with yours. Are we… are we prisoners?”

“I hope not,” Geary said. “Where—”

His words were cut off as General Carabali called, her voice calm but authoritative. “Admiral, we have troop movements detected near shuttle docks seven, nine, and twelve. No specific data yet, just indications of troop presence in those areas.”

“What kind of troops?” Geary asked.

“Alliance ground forces.”

“Make sure your Marines hold fire until given authorization to shoot,” Geary said.

“Admiral?” The captain commanding this force of Marines sounded urgent enough to shift Geary’s attention instantly.

“What is it?”

“Our armor systems are fending off attempts at software upgrades,” the captain reported. “None of the updates are asking permission, just moving in and trying to apply themselves. If not for the firewalls we had added to our armor’s systems before boarding the shuttle, the new software would already be installing.”

“It’s all coming through official channels?” Geary asked.

“Yes, Admiral. All codes clear.”

“What are your suits replying?”

“Admiral, we’ve got the Potemkin-software routines running as a quarantined outer shell. Whoever sent the updates thinks they’ve successfully installed.”

Desjani had been listening in as well via Geary’s comm link. “Somebody tried to take out your Marines.”

“We have similar software upgrades being attempted on all Marine battle armor aboard Ambaru,” General Carabali reported. “All intrusions have been repelled but have mimicked successful intrusions to fool whoever sent in those upgrades.”

“Sir, our Potemkin routines are trying to disable our weapons and targeting systems,” the Marine captain with Geary reported.

“All ground forces detections on Marine battle armor have vanished from the Potemkin-sensor picture,” Carabali said.

“Same old game,” Desjani commented.

“But what are the ground forces seeing?” Geary wondered. “How is their armor reporting the Marines?” He looked outside the dock, seeing the area beyond now apparently deserted. “Someone has cut off this area from normal foot traffic.”

Geary checked his data pad, trying once again to access Ambaru’s internal comm net and once again finding all channels blocked to him.

He looked back at the two officials, who were still standing nervously, awaiting instructions. “I need your help.”

Both of the officials reacted with a mix of surprise and elation. “You need our help? Black Jack needs our help?”

“Yes.” Now wasn’t the time to express how much he disliked that nickname. “There are ground forces soldiers nearby. We don’t know what their armor’s sensors are telling them about our Marines. I need to talk to a ground forces officer. Not by comm link. Face-to-face. Will you go out there, locate someone, and tell them I need to talk to them? There may be some danger, but you two are the least likely to provoke any overreaction, and so are the most likely to succeed without any adverse events taking place. I give my word of honor for the personal safe conduct of whoever agrees to talk to me.”

Both officials nodded, their eagerness shadowed by obvious concern over the prospect of being caught in the middle of a firefight. “We’ll do our best, sir.”

Geary watched them walk slowly out into the now-deserted areas outside the docks, knowing that ground forces soldiers must have those areas targeted and hoping that the software messing with comms and armor sensors did not provide a misleadingly threatening image of the two officials that might lead someone to fire. “How does everything look?” he asked Carabali.

“They’re waiting,” she said. “I don’t know what for.”

“Orders?”

“If I were them, Admiral, and receiving commands to move against what looked in every way like fellow Alliance personnel, I would be asking for confirmation. Especially since my Marines are just holding position and not trying to advance.”

“Good. Keep your people in place and keep their fingers off their triggers.”

A single shot could trigger a major fight.

Between men and women who were on the same side.

After five very long minutes, a single figure in ground forces battle armor stepped into view of Geary. “Everyone hold,” Geary ordered the Marines. “Do not target that soldier, do not aim any weapons in the direction of that soldier.”

He nerved himself, then took a couple of steps forward.

The soldier began walking as soon as Geary stopped, moving with a steady stride until coming to a halt directly before him. One hand raised and the soldier’s faceplate popped open. She saluted. “Major Problem, Admiral.”

He returned the salute. “What problem do you—”

“Excuse me, sir, that’s my name,” the soldier interrupted in long-suffering tones. “Major Jan Problem.”

“I see. I’m sorry,” Geary added, not able to think of anything else appropriate.

“I’ve gotten used to it, Admiral. Mostly. What’s going on, sir?”

“You tell me,” Geary said. “What is your armor telling you?”

She gestured toward the Marines. “Hostile forces. Contain. Disarm.”

“As you can see, they’re Alliance Marines.”

“Yes, sir. I did see that, which is why I know they should not be hostile, but if I try to disarm them, they are likely to become very hostile. My colonel has told us to hold position until further notice.”

“Did he give a reason?” Geary asked.

“Yes, sir. The orders to contain and disarm allegedly came from the ground forces commander in Varandal Star System within two minutes of your forces arriving on this station, but that officer is known by us to be on the primary inhabited world, five light-minutes from here. It would have taken at least ten minutes for our general to see what was happening and send those orders back to us. My colonel is trying to confirm where those orders actually came from.”

“There have been false orders issued in the name of Admiral Timbale as well,” Geary said. “I assure you, we are not here to act against the Alliance or in any unlawful manner. We are here because the software in Ambaru, all of it, including that in your battle armor, has been infected by malware which is selectively altering your sensor picture, blocking and changing communications, and possibly causing other harm. We have patches you can use to reboot your systems and give you full control over them again.”

“That’s why the Marines aren’t answering us?” Major Problem asked, her eyes widening in surprise. “Their comms are messed up?”

“Actually, the Marine comms are fine. It’s your comms that are blocking transmissions from the Marines, and from me, and who knows what else.”

“Excuse me, sir.” The major began speaking into her comm system, paused, spoke again, paused, then muttered a few words under her breath. “I tried telling my colonel, and my own comms cut off.”

“You’ll have to do a face-to-face,” Geary said. “Like we are doing here.”

“This is the Syndics, right, Admiral? Playing their damned games again.”

Geary took a deep breath before replying. “We don’t know for certain who is responsible. We only know that the malware involved is coming in through official updates and has all of the latest code approvals and accesses.” He offered some data coins. “These contain the software patches you’ll need.”

The major took them, eyeing the coins dubiously. “These are going to impact official updates? Who authorized the patches, sir? I know my colonel will want to know.”

“I’ve authorized them,” Geary said.

“You’re not in our chain of command, sir, but I’ll leave that up to my colonel to decide.” She frowned, listening as a message came in over her armor’s comm circuit. “Sir, we just received orders directly from Admiral Timbale. Not just the colonel. All of us.”

“Those orders didn’t come from Admiral Timbale,” Geary said. “I haven’t been able to contact him myself for some time. Until I talk to him face-to-face, I won’t believe any messages I receive, even if they have all of the proper authentication codes.”

“I need to pass that on as well. With your permission, Admiral, I will rejoin my forces and personally brief my colonel on what you have told me.”

“The sooner, the better,” Geary said, returning the major’s salute.

He briefed General Carabali and Desjani on what he had learned as he watched the major walk briskly back to her lines. “Make sure the Marines know the ground forces don’t intend moving in, and they should not target or fire on the ground forces under any circumstances. I don’t want anyone accidentally letting off a round at Major Problem.”

“If I were Major Problem,” Carabali commented, “I’d get myself busted to captain as fast as I could. It looks like the ground forces are handling this professionally, but I think I see something else in their reactions.”

“What’s that?” Geary asked.

“It feels as if the ground forces didn’t entirely trust their sensors or comms before now. They’re double-checking orders, and they’re doing visual confirmations of what their sensors tell them. Things must have been happening that have caused the ground forces to adopt such measures.”

“Problems with the official software that created problems for even routine operations by the ground forces?”

“That’s entirely possible, Admiral. The software we use is so complex and interrelated that if you pull one string of code, it creates knots in all kinds of places. Those secret subroutines might have been causing problems all across the board, problems that were having a growing impact on the effectiveness of our combat systems.”

“It’s a good thing we beat the Syndics when we did,” Desjani commented. “From the look of things, we were well on our way to defeating ourselves.”

That might still happen, Geary thought, hoping that he hadn’t accidentally said it out loud. “Once we get this situation stabilized and find Admiral Timbale, I’ll meet with all of the senior military and civilian officials on Ambaru. Then we’ll have to brief the senior ground forces and aerospace forces commanders as well.”

“A lot of other people could have gone to Ambaru to set up that meeting,” she said. “You shouldn’t be risking yourself.”

“Everyone needs to know that I am giving the orders they are seeing,” he said. “My being here in person is the only way to make sure that happens. Would those station officials have risked walking to the ground forces if anyone but I had asked?”

Desjani changed the subject quickly enough to make it clear she knew she would not win the argument. “We’re not spotting any unusual activity in space. No shuttle launches, no alerting of station defenses. It’s all quiet out here.”

“That’s good.” He looked around, seeing what still appeared to be a perfectly normal view from a shuttle dock on Ambaru if you didn’t count the total lack of passing traffic. “But from here it all seems quiet inside the station as well, and we know it isn’t. Hold on. More company is coming.”

Instead of another ground forces officer as Geary had expected, two civilians were walking into the dock, one man and one woman. Neither were the officials he had sent off earlier to speak to the ground forces. Both looked official even though neither wore an obvious uniform. Somehow, though, their generic suits gave the impression of still being a kind of uniform.

They stopped before Geary, and the elder of the two smiled politely at him. “Admiral, we have to speak with you urgently. It is a matter of Alliance security.”

“Is it?” Geary asked. “I’m sort of busy at the moment with matters of Alliance security.”

“We’re going to defuse all of that, Admiral,” the younger of the two said in tones of utter confidence that grated on Geary’s nerves.

“Are you?” he asked. “And just who do you work for?”

“The Alliance, Admiral.”

“That’s nice. Exactly what part of the Alliance?” Geary pressed.

“Sir,” the younger of the two said, “we can tell you that when we are in a secure location, you are briefed into several very important programs, and the necessary security oaths are given—”

“No,” Geary said, holding up one hand, palm out, to emphasize the word. “I’m waiting here. Anything you have to tell me you can say here and now.”

“I’m sorry, Admiral, but we’re not allowed to,” the elder explained. “Please. We don’t want to have to insist.”

“I don’t want you to have to insist, either,” Geary said. “What’s wrong with the comm systems on Ambaru?”

“Once you are read into the appropriate programs and swear to the nondisclosure requirements—”

“No,” Geary repeated.

“Admiral,” the oldest official said with what seemed to be feigned reluctance, “now I must insist. If we have to arrest you, we will. We have that authority from the government.”

Geary gestured toward some of the nearest Marines in their battle armor. “These Marines are loyal to the Alliance, but I think you’ll find that they aren’t inclined to trust you.”

The younger official smiled. “What they think doesn’t matter. They can’t even see us or hear us.”

“You think so?” Geary activated a comm circuit. “Captain, have two of your Marines target these two, one on each.”

“Yes, sir.”

Two rifles came up and around, each centering on one of the officials, whose expressions had gone from smug to worried. “You can get away with a lot when you control the software,” Geary said to them. “But when other people figure out that there’s another source of malware, one coming through official channels, they can figure out ways to block it. Now, you two are under arrest for threatening an officer of the fleet. You will stand to one side of the dock under the close personal attention of some of my Marines. I assume you know that there are very few people who actively seek out close personal attention from Marines? You will wait there until I have had a chance to find out exactly what is going on here and have been able to get security reestablished on Ambaru.”

“Admiral,” the eldest official said, “you are risking the compromise of the most important secret programs—”

“You mean the programs that may have just restarted the war with the Syndicate Worlds?” Geary asked, surprised that his voice didn’t tremble with anger. “Did you bother looking at the vids that were sent here of what happened at Indras and Atalia?”

“We were not authorized—”

“You weren’t authorized to pay attention to what was happening, but you were authorized to risk the lives of everyone on this station?” From their expressions, Geary realized that his voice had gotten a lot louder. He scaled it back. “You idiots. We barely managed to stop an attack on this station, an attack the station was blind to because of your actions. Literally blind obedience is not a virtue. Don’t say another word to me until I ask you to, and don’t do anything until I tell you to, or you will both regret it.”

After only a couple of minutes, another ground forces soldier appeared. The soldier advanced with open hands held out, then popped his face shield when close to Geary. “Colonel Kochte, commander of the ground forces with primary responsibility for defense of Ambaru,” he introduced himself.

“Are we good, Colonel?” Geary asked.

“I’m not moving my people until we get things cleared up, Admiral. Our systems are a mess,” Kochte complained. “The problems seem to be spreading throughout Ambaru and the star system.”

“You’ve got official software fighting official software,” Geary said. “I provided Major Problem with software patches that will fix the problems.”

“Yes, sir, but with all due respect, since you’re not in my chain of command, and as far as we can determine the patches are not officially approved or authorized, that creates some other problems for me.”

“Colonel, I want to ensure that no Alliance troops end up shooting at each other because of the problems with the software on this station and their battle armor.”

“We are in agreement with that, sir.” Kochte hesitated. “Admiral, if this was some Syndic sabotage, I could act immediately.”

Geary considered that. “I cannot rule out Syndic involvement in one way or another. I don’t know with absolute certainty who has been creating this problem.”

Kochte smiled. “Then I can have those patches installed, based on your assurances that they are necessary to the defense of this station.”

“They definitely are necessary, Colonel. I understand in their current configurations, your battle-armor systems are designating Alliance Marines as hostile forces.”

“And the Marines are not. Or they shouldn’t be.” Colonel Kochte looked at Geary. “Admiral, since you got back, it has looked like you and your ships were doing some sort of fleet mime game, pretending you were fighting something that wasn’t there. But our systems spotted damage occurring to some of your ships even though there was no indication of anything firing at them. Does this have anything to do with any of the aliens?”

“I don’t think so, Colonel.” He couldn’t rule it out, of course. Maybe the enigmas had figured out a different way to mess with humanity. But he had no evidence for that, and substantial evidence in the other direction. “I suspect this is purely human mischief, but by whom I do not yet have sufficient information.”

The colonel’s eyes went to the two officials standing stiffly with Marine rifles held in ways that covered any movement they might make. “Who are they, sir, if I may ask?”

“I don’t know. They thought they could give me orders.”

Kochte looked uncertain again. “Is it happening, Admiral? They said you wouldn’t.”

“Happening?” The meaning of the question hit Geary. “Do you mean am I moving against the government? No. I am acting lawfully, dealing with threats to my forces and to the Alliance. I am still trying to sort out who is behind this. Even if these two are legitimate, which I think is far from a settled question, I do not think the government really understands what has happened, that layers and layers of secrecy have kept too many people in the dark about what I suspect was actually going on, and that too many other people have used secrecy as a way of avoiding having their actions questioned. I am not moving against the government. I am still trying my best to defend the Alliance.”

“But if those two really are from the government—”

“I know what they claim. I don’t know who they are, and I don’t know where they are from,” Geary said. “Do you recognize them?”

“No, sir.” The colonel took a deep breath. “I do know I still haven’t been able to get comms with my general. Therefore, I am placing my forces under your command as senior officer present. What exactly are we doing?”

“Making sure no Alliance soldiers trade fire with Alliance Marines. I’ll stand down my Marines. You do the same with your soldiers as fast as you can get those software patches loaded. After that, our priorities are to get Ambaru Station working again, find Admiral Timbale, make sure Varandal Star System is ready to defend against any Syndic retaliatory raids—”

“Syndic—?” Colonel Kochte again looked at the two officials standing stiffly to one side. “Retaliation for what? Something they did?”

“Something they’re involved with,” Geary said. “They may not even know about it even though they’ve been helping to make it occur.”

“Ancestors. What the hell happened?”

“A century of war. I keep discovering more people who seem to have learned all of the wrong lessons from it.”

“He’s in there,” the Marine sergeant declared confidently as he worked on a panel next to the hatch for Admiral Timbale’s private quarters. “There’s some kind of override on the security software that is locking him inside and blocking comms in or out.”

“How long until you can get it open?” Geary asked. He was acutely aware of the fully armored Marines still escorting him around, but for once he did not object to the presence of such bodyguards. The discovery of the two apparently innocuous agents hidden among the population of Ambaru had rattled him enough to submerge his usual concerns about seeming too obsessed with his personal security.

“Another minute or so,” the sergeant declared confidently. Something went snick, and a row of lights inside the panel changed from red and orange to green. “Or less.”

The hatch opened slowly, as if still reluctant to free the occupant of the quarters. Admiral Timbale was indeed inside, looking furious enough to eat his way through the armored bulkhead. “Admiral Geary. Thank you.”

Timbale’s voice sounded slightly strangled from both his anger and the humiliation of having to be freed from his own quarters. “I should have guessed you’d be the one to get things under control. If the Syndics think they can—”

“I don’t think it’s the Syndics,” Geary said. He turned to the Marines and gestured for them to withdraw down the passageway, so he could talk to Timbale with a small measure of privacy.

“Have you seen them?” Timbale asked. “Two people in civilian suits. They claimed to have authority from our government.”

“I’ve seen them. I’ve got them,” Geary said, displaying a picture upon his comm pad. “These two?”

“They said they had authority to override fleet command structures!” Timbale seethed. “I had never even seen them before. Why wouldn’t I have been told if someone like that was on a station under my command? When I insisted on verification, they left to allegedly get it, and I found myself locked into my own quarters with all forms of comms cut off. I don’t care what authority they claim to have. I don’t even care whether or not they are Syndics! I won’t tolerate being treated like one of the enemy!”

“How long have you been trapped in there?” Geary asked.

“A couple of days, I think. With all systems available to me frozen or off-line, I can’t be certain. What happened while I was in there? Did Mortar and Serpentine get clear?”

Geary took a moment to reply as he realized that he would have to deliver some very bad news. “No. They held their orbits.”

“You said there was a threat. Was there a threat?” Timbale demanded with worry growing in his voice.

“Yes,” Geary said, his own tone flat. “A serious threat. Due to malware in official software updates, both Mortar and Serpentine were destroyed without ever being able to see that threat.”

“Damn.” Timbale couldn’t say anything else for a moment, then began again, his voice now trembling with anger. “Any survivors?”

“Seventeen off Serpentine.”

“Seventeen,” Timbale repeated. “From the crews of two destroyers. Those two… agents. They’re the ones who kept me from sending new orders to Mortar and Serpentine. Is that right?”

“I believe so,” Geary said.

“Then I don’t care whatever they are or whoever they work for. I want them shot! Right now.”

“I understand why you want that,” Geary said. “But—”

“Dammit, Admiral, I have asked nothing of you for the support I have offered! This is clearly a war zone once more, and that means I have the authority to order those two to be shot without trial!”

Geary waited, looking back at Timbale’s face, which was distorted with rage. “Is that really what you want, Admiral? Those two might be able to tell us who gave them their orders.”

The light of reason and calculation reappeared in Timbale’s eyes. “Who gave them their orders? I do want to know that. Especially if it was someone supposedly from our side.”

“So do I,” Geary said. “I request permission to take them to a fleet warship for interrogation.”

“You—?” Timbale gazed back at him with suspicion. “Why a fleet warship? Why not here? We’ve got excellent interrogation facilities.”

“You told me that you didn’t even know those two agents were on this station,” Geary explained. “What if they have friends here as well? Friends who would keep them from talking by any means necessary?”

The rage was gone. Timbale wasn’t a screamer, the sort of commander who ruled by fear and intimidation, and now his native caution and control had reasserted itself. “Very good point, Admiral, though I’m surprised that you thought of it.”

Geary made an apologetic gesture. “I’ve been talking to Syndics. Former Syndics, that is, at Midway Star System.”

“They’d be good instructors for this sort of mess.”

“And I’ve spent a while around Victoria Rione,” Geary added.

Timbale actually mustered a cold smile. “She could probably teach the Syndics a few things.” The smile vanished. “Do you think Rione could be involved in this?”

“No.” Geary shook his head for emphasis. “I am certain that she is trying, in her own ways, to find out the same answers that we want, and for the same reasons.”

This time, Timbale nodded somberly. “Her husband. The people who messed up his head to block his ability to talk about that classified research program he was involved with might well be the same bastards behind this. The end justifies the means, and at some point they forget what the end was supposed to be, and the means justify themselves. And then you and your enemies have turned into two sides of the same coin.” He inhaled deeply and met Geary’s eyes. “You reminded me of that. You reminded a lot of us of that. Too bad some people didn’t listen. All right, Admiral. You have my permission to take those two prisoners to one of your ships for interrogation, on two conditions. One, I want to know what they tell you. And, two, I am not relinquishing my right as commander of fleet forces in this star system to order them shot at some future time.”

“Understood,” Geary said. “Many of your subordinates didn’t know you had been malware-exiled. They’re working now to get the station fully operational again using software patches my code monkeys are supplying. The ground forces assigned to Ambaru have placed themselves under fleet command until they manage to reestablish reliable comm links to the star system ground forces commander.”

“Good. People are thinking. I never assume that’s going to happen, so it’s always a pleasant surprise when it does.” Timbale took another long breath, composing himself. “It’s time for the boss to walk around so he can find out what’s going on, and so he can look like he knows what he’s doing. Damn. Mortar and Serpentine. This isn’t supposed to happen. We’re at peace.”

“Some people didn’t get the memo,” Geary said.