Jesse and I ended up talking for several hours.

  We reminisced about our parents, about how we’d been told mom died in a shuttle accident and had never arrived at the dig she’d been travelling too. About how dad had tried, but had never really been the same after she was gone. He’d tried to hide it from both of us, refused to even admit to me how much he was hurting. I can only imagine how this news about her fate would have affected him, how he would have reacted.

  Somewhere along the line that discussion turned back to how I’d disappeared for ten years, and how it had made her feel. It caused me quite a bit of guilt to hear the things she had to say, but I tried to remember advice Boudya had been giving me since we reconnected, to listen and accept that it’s their point of view, even if it hurt. I could tell my side of the story after, but it was important to actually listen to what they said. Effective communication, she called it, something Tindron brought into their relationship.

  It turns out her and Tindron had been talking about my own part of the whole thing, and she’d been trying to understand. He’d been pushing her to actually talk to me about it, but one thing we Aacen’s are, if anything, is stubborn. So, while she was thankful I’d arranged for Boudya to get her to safety, she’d mostly been avoiding me since we’d picked them up.

  By the time we were done talking, we were both a bit emotionally drained, and I knew I should really be getting back to work in engineering. I couldn’t help myself though, I had to help out a friend.

  “You know, Toftri’s a pretty good guy, and he was pretty worried about you earlier.”

  The eye roll Jesse directed at me was epic. “Ugg, don’t you dare go playing matchmaker. Or go all protective brother either!”

  I laughed, and hugged her. “Wouldn’t dream of it!” I told her, “I’ve been doing my best to ignore how cozy the two of you look. I’m just pointing out he was worried, and wanted to check on you. Maybe go find him and let him know you’re okay? Be a shame to damage whatever it is you guys got going on…”

  “Oh piss off, jerk.” she spat back, but I noticed the blush on her cheeks.

  I laughed as I slipped out the door.

  “Attention unidentified vessel.” The voice was hard and filled with borderline hostility, “This is a restricted system under Commonwealth Order 867349 subsection six. You have thirty seconds to identify yourself or defensive emplacements will begin firing on you.”

  We had transitioned out of hyperspace at an observational distance only minutes earlier. We hadn’t gotten any further information from Admiral LeBeau before getting here, so Jo had decided it was safer not to drop into conspace directly in orbit around the planet, and it seemed like her instincts were right again.

  “This is Commander Jophixa Throhx of the Giobhioni Vessel Elegance in Light,” she announced immediately, “Operating in partnership with Admiral Thea LeBeau of FleetSec Intelligence. We are here on a matter of galactic security. Unless you wish to declare war on the Giobhioni Republic, royally piss off an admiral of the fleet, and likely have the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth come down on you like the hammer of Lawkapt, you will ease up on the threats and put your commanding officer on the comms immediately.

  I felt my jaw go slack at her words. The admiral had certainly given us her backing in regards to our mission in dealing with the ktonshi, I hadn’t heard anything about Prime Minister Mandela putting his support in as well. Was Jo bluffing? Or had there been communications she hadn’t said anything about?

  There was a long pause over the comms, then “Commander Throhx, Colonel Aberdeen will be with you shortly. You are to hold position until he gives authorization. Any deviation from your current location and defensive systems will engage.”

  “Fine, but none of your people better have itchy trigger fingers. We are trying to help this region of space. We have no time to play…I believe the expression you use is ‘sillybuggers’.”

  With that, she motioned to Jesse to mute our side of the comm channel.

  “Stacy, if you would kindly check in on them to make sure they aren’t doing anything underhanded? I’d prefer to have some warning if we’re about to get shot at. Toftri, be prepared for evasive maneuvers. If you have to, get us back into hyperspace the moment you see signs of aggression.” She sighed, “I know your hypercomm network isn’t realtime, but I was hoping maybe LeBeau could have raised them before we got here.”

  “If Enigma Osiris still has any influence on matters here, I’m not even sure that would matter.” I muttered. The unrestrained corporatism of the twentieth century might be long over, but we’d already seen how much influence companies like Enigma Osiris could influence things.

  Jo glanced over in my direction and gave me a sardonic smile, telling me she wouldn’t be at all surprised if that was the case either.

  “Commander,” Stacy put in, “I’ve managed to breach their systems, at least enough to confirm that a hold fire order has gone out. Still no joy in uncovering any information regarding the dig site. As before, it seems they have all the data airgapped.”

  “Well at least they don’t appear to be looking to catch us flat footed. Can you pull up any information about this Colonel Aberdeen that was mentioned? Would be useful to know who we’re dealing with.”

  “Personnel files also seem to be airgapped.” Stacy replied, “Honestly, these people seem to be extremely paranoid, the only thing I’ve been able to find linked to their comm network is just that, their comms. It’s almost like any incoming data is being shunted to an intermediary system, then wiped from the outside facing systems. Almost as secure as Central Command’s Deep Void archives.”

  “Nothing coming up in the main fleet records?” I asked, “Or are we too far from a database node?”

  “Nada.” She replied, with a hint of frustration in her tone, “This place must be one of those black sites your popular media is fascinated with. Like, Black hole black site. Whoever set this place up wanted to make sure it was completely off the record.”

  Jophixa’s expression darkened drastically. It reminded me of the look on her face when we were running for our lives through the Yantari forests - grim, determined, making me think she would chew the face off of the first son of a bitch that got in her way. It had unnerved me at the time. Now, it made me pity this Colonel Aberdeen if they decided to be an obstacle.

  “Uh…Stacy?” Jesse said hesitantly from where she sat at the comms station, “I’m seeing something odd in the omega band. It’s very faint, but I’m sure it’s a repeating pattern. Could you double check it?”

  “Sure thing! Just give me a moment.”

  That got Jo’s attention. I hadn’t delved that deep into giobhioni comms protocols yet, I’d been so busy with more critical ships systems; Nonetheless, something about the mention of omega band tweaked my memory, but I couldn’t place it. That and the way Jo sat up even straighter than usual, and her ears going completely rigid let me know that detecting that signal was significant.

  “Confirmed, omega channel signal emanating from the planet’s surface.” Stacy’s voice echoed the tension I’d noted in Jo’s body language. “Commander, the encryption is unique, I…”

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  “Alright, you better have a damned good story Commander Rocks,” To say the voice that burst through the comms was irritated would be like calling a honey badger back on earth ‘a bit territorial’. “And I don’t know where you got the name giobhioni from, but you’re in a world of trouble if you can’t prove who you are!”

  The grim set of Jo’s face shifted into a snarl for a brief moment, before she settled back in her command chair. A glance at Jesse, and our comms were unmuted.

  “Colonel Aberdeen, I assume?”

  “Damned right. Now, you’ve invoked the names of a fleet admiral and the prime minister of the commonwealth, claiming their authorization to be here. Explain, and do it quickly.”

  “Colonel,” She said simply, “As I told your underling, I am commander Jophixa Throhx - not rocks. Throhx. Please make sure to get it right in the future. I am a member of the Giobhioni Navy, and have come to this sector of space because a grave threat to all life has made its way here. We have been working alongside your Admiral LeBeau, and with the authorization of your Prime Minister, to keep this from overwhelming your entire sector.

  “I am perfectly willing to explain the whole thing to you, but I would appreciate it if you would extend some diplomacy and quit acting like a kathixa thur.”

  Oh, thank the stars. I’m glad that has no direct translation. I thought to myself. What she had just implied the colonel was acting like would not go over well at all, and it was a sign of how the colonel had cheesed her off. It was like if someone called you a jackass, but added a connotation that your parents were siblings, your genetics lacked stability, and your intelligence resembled that of a toddler. And that only scrapes the surface of its hostility.

  “Commander,” Stacy said softly, into the pause that followed, “I took the initiative to get the admiral on comms. Maybe he’ll respond better to someone in his chain of command.”

  A quick nod, then “Colonel, I understand you are following orders here. So I’m going to make it easier for you.” She motioned to Jesse, “Admiral LeBeau, I apologize for intruding on your busy schedule, but it seems we need your assistance here. A Colonel Aberdeen has taken offense to my ship being here at TOI-532c.”

  “I thought you might run into some difficulties there.” The admiral's holoprojection appeared in front of Jo, her whiskey soaked voice giving a brief sigh, “Prime Minister Mandela is on the warpath, trying to uncover the source of the 867349 dash six order on that operation. Even with that classification, he should have been read in on it… Trust me when I say he’s not a man who likes being left out of the loop.”

  “I understand how he feels.”

  The colonel, who had been silent during this exchange, suddenly found his voice again. “You expect me to believe that’s Admiral LeBeau? There is no way you’ve got her on a comms channel with so little lag.”

  “Colonel Aberdeen,” LeBeau began, “Gary. I’m relaying my security authorization now. But understand that the giobhioni have communications tech our people have been attempting to get working for centuries. They have very kindly provided me with a comms unit in order to better confront the threat we are facing.

  “I’m not sure who it was that locked down that site so completely, but I’m going to go out on a limb that they were in Enigma Osiris’ - and perhaps more specifically Benson Fisch’s - pocket. We know he uncovered references to the current threat years ago and kept it quiet for his own gains. If you do not want to be facing an inquiry into your links to him and his many crimes, you will listen to me and welcome the good Commander.”

  There was a long silence, and I was starting to think I should get my ass down to engineering to prepare for a fight. Boudya had volunteered to take the shift to allow me to be up here on the bridge to observe, but if we were going to be dodging heavy artillery, I should be at my station.

  Finally the silence broke, “Respectfully admiral, my orders are that nobody reaches the surface without direct authorization from the Prime Minister himself. You should know that already. So unless you can get Mandela on this miracle comms unit to provide authorization, it’s not happening.”

  The smile that Admiral LeBeau suddenly turned on Aberdeen didn’t quite match the level of vicious hostility I had seen from Jo on a couple of occasions, but it came pretty damned close. “Is that your final word on the subject Mr. Aberdeen?” a curious note of glee in her voice.

  “I will follow my orders, Admiral.”

  “That has become very clear. The question, however, “ her grin, if possible, grew wider, “Is whose orders exactly are you following?”

  A pause, then, “What exactly are you implying admiral? Are you intimating that I am disloyal?”

  What the hell was happening here?

  “I don’t need to intimate it.” Her smile suddenly vanished. “Not when I have the proof. Captain Controy, are you still on the comm?”

  The voice that had originally tried to warn us off suddenly spoke again. “Yessir, I’m here.”

  “Very good. You are to relieve the colonel, as well as Major Atkins of command and confine them to your brig immediately. If either of them attempt to resist, do not hesitate to use whatever force is needed to subdue them, or anyone who tries to aid them. Try to keep them alive, however. I’m going to want to question them at length about their dealings with Mr. Benson Fisch.”

  “Sir?” There was a poignant trace of hesitation in the man’s voice that made me wonder if he would actually follow the orders.

  “Captain,” LeBeau explained, “your record is one of exemplary and loyal service. I see a lot of potential there. Potential that could take you a long way. Please don’t disappoint my read on your loyalty. There are horrors coming down the tunnel for this entire region of space, and the Commonwealth needs people who won’t falter, or sell out to the first corrupt scumbag that offers a payout. Understand?”

  After a pause, Controy replied, “Yes sir, I understand. I will follow orders.” We could hear muffled orders as the Captain instructed someone to seize the Colonel. “Put your sidearm on the desk, Colonel. Don’t do anything any of us will regret! That’s good, now, hands behind your head.”

  “This is a mistake, Controy,” we heard Aberdeen say, “You know how important it is to keep the site isolated.”

  “Just shut up,” was the reply, “don’t dig yourself a deeper hole, she says she already has proof. Geez, selling out to Fisch? You know Mandela has a damned near rabid hate for the man. Connors, if he keeps fighting, break his kneecap. No, I don’t care which one, break both of them. He won’t need them anyway, they’ll probably end up spacing him.”

  I winced, and glanced over at Jo. The look of grim satisfaction on her face told me how she felt about a soldier selling their loyalty. I wasn’t entirely sure I was okay with the idea that capital punishment would be on the table for the colonel. The commonwealth tended to avoid death sentences even in the more extreme crimes, but it was still an option in the case of things like treason, serial killers, etc. Judges really didn’t want to execute someone, not after they instituted rules that a wrongful conviction where that was the sentence could put everyone involved, police, prosecutor and judge on trial afterwards.

  “Are there any other orders, Admiral?” Captain Controy asked.

  “Just one, Captain. I am given to understand that the site your outpost has been hiding is a giobhioni historical site. As such, by the Magdala Convention of 2162, all artifacts belong to the giobhioni and must be returned to them. They are also to be given free access to the site for historical study.”

  Sweet stars and novas, I thought through my implant, I’d forgotten about the Magdala Convention!

  It was certainly a stroke of genius on her part to invoke it. Stacy’s voice through my head held a tone of false innocence. So much so that it immediately made me suspicious.

  You gave her the idea, didn’t you?

  Me? The feigned innocence grew thicker. No way! I don’t know anything about your terran treaties and conventions. How boring would those be to read through? Yuck. I much prefer something called webcomics, the spicy ones. There’s this one by a Croatian guy that focuses on this writer who is interviewing his kinky friends. The art is just sublime!

  “Of course, admiral.” the captain replied. “I’ll make sure they are cleared to land as soon as I’m off the comms.”

  “Excellent. I’ll be making my way there as soon as I get the chance, as will a JAG team to conduct a thorough investigation, as well as the court martials that need to happen. There are a few things I need to take care of before I can get there, however, so keep everything ship shape. If everything is in order, I’ll see about a solid command recommendation for you.

  “Commander? I hope your investigation of the ruins is fruitful. LeBeau out.”

  The Salvager’s Plague

  Ko-Fi or on