The Black Fleet Crisis_ Before The Storm Part 20

"Tracking! Range! " Herone called out.

"Eleven klicks and closing fast. "

"Get a tractor beam on that s.h.i.+p, and I mean now. "

"Ready, now, Threepio, " said Lando, his face tight with anxiety.

"Don't wait for me. Use every band you have. I'll pipe the standard channels out from here. "

"Very well, Master Lando. I'm extremely glad the colonel agreed to let us test our own theory. "

"He didn't give me a Word of argument, " Lando said. "Ready-here we go. "

There was no more than a heartbeat's hesitation between the end of the vagabond's transmission and Threepio's taking up the song. Throttling the s.h.i.+p back sharply, Lando held his breath and waited, watching the seconds slip by on the bridge chronometer.

"This is exciting, " Lobot said. "Thank you for inviting me. "

"Dying's exciting, too, I hear, " Lando said, shaking his head. "You pick the strangest times-What's the status of the interdiction field? "

"It's up. "

Lando peered at his instruments. "Where's that tractor beam? They can't be this slow. What's happening? "

Glancing sideways at a display, Lobot said, "There's a secondary s.h.i.+eld up. The tractor beam has been deflected. "

"What? " Lando demanded. "The vagabond is protecting us? "

"Yes, " said Lobot. "That appears to be the case. We have been recognized. We have left the colonel's armada and joined the Qella. "

Chapter 10.

In the wee hours of the morning of the Fifth Fleet's departure from Coruscant, a dark-blue bubble-topped Fleet speeder reached the entry gate at Admiral Ackbar's residence on Victory Lake. It slowed only briefly, then was waved through, following the drive up to the house.

There was already a vehicle parked there, a sleek-winged Poranji orbital jumper-the smallest ground-to-orbit s.p.a.cecraft licensed for use on Coruscant, and a favorite of kids with dreams of the stars. But the adult who emerged from the speeder was not beyond the appeal of such glittery attractions. Despite the hour and the weight on his shoulders, General Etahn A'baht paused to look over the Poranji jumper before turning toward the door.

Light flooded the lawn briefly as Admiral Ackbar admitted the commander of the Fifth Fleet. The light also revealed A'baht's tired eyes and unhappy expression.

"Ah, Etahn, come in, " said Ackbar, stepping aside to clear the way. "Thank you for coming. I know you're needed elsewhere, and I will not keep you long. "

"I don't know why whatever business we have at this point couldn't have been conducted by holo comm, " A'baht grumbled. "I should have been at Eastpott two hours ago as it is. "

"I am certain that the Fifth will not sail without you, General, " said Ackbar, guiding A'baht through the house. "And I think you will not begrudge the time. "

"I wouldn't begrudge it if I had it. I could be on my way to theIntrepid right now. I should be. "

"There is someone I want you to meet before you go, " Ackbar said, leading the way into a round-walled Inner room.

"It's a curious hour for a social call, " said A'baht, following.

"It would be, " agreed Ackbar as a third man rose from a wide, soft-cus.h.i.+oned chair and approached them. "Etahn, I want you to meet Hiram Drayson. "

"Admiral Drayson, of Chandrila? " asked A'baht, caught uncertainly between a salute and taking the hand offered him in greeting.

"Once upon a time, " said Drayson, smiling.

"I know of you, sir. I did not know you were still on Coruscant. "

"Let us dispense with 'sirs' and saluting, " said Ackbar. "This meeting is quite unofficial, so it might as well be informal. "

"All right, " said A'baht. "What's this about? "

"Etahn, Hiram is the director of Alpha Blue. Have you heard that name before? "

"No. "

"Good. You should not have, until now, " said Ackbar. "Hiram and Alpha Blue work within Fleet Intelligence, and beyond its reach. They have a charter which recognizes the ambiguities of war and politics, and inherit the jobs which require working outside the rules of polite society. "

"Diplomatically put, " said Drayson, smiling pleasantly.

"Hiram has some information for you, " Ackbar continued. "I would listen to him carefully. I myself have found it valuable to do so in the past-and to have his counsel, as well. " He nodded at Drayson.

"And now I will say good night. "

"Wait-where are you going? " asked A'baht.

"This conversation is not meant for my ears, " said Ackbar. "I am going to the water column, to sleep. It is quite late, you know. "

A'baht watched him leave the room, then turned to Drayson. "I have the curious feeling that being favored with an introduction to you is less an honor than a portent. "

Drayson smiled. "It signifies that Ackbar trusts you implicitly, and that's no mean compliment. But I won't deny it-introductions to me seem to have a way of costing folks the blessings of a peaceful sleep. "

"Just so. Well-what did you want to talk to me about? "

"Your travel plans, " said Drayson. "Come, let's sit. "

"I've been trying for months to establish some a.s.sets in the Koornacht Cl.u.s.ter, " said Drayson. "It hasn't been easy, even for me. " He smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Traders will go to the fringes of the Cl.u.s.ter, but the deep Cl.u.s.ter worlds belonging to the League are another story. Apparently the Yevetha have a straightforward method of dealing with trespa.s.sers--they execute them on sight. And frankly, I find that to be reason for concern in its own right. "

"They like their privacy. "

"Perhaps a little too much, " said Drayson. "Which is consistent with the behavior of the viceroy here. The Yevetha stay in their s.h.i.+p, and the viceroy limits his outside contacts to a few hours every other day with Leia. I don't know if there are ten of them in there, or a thousand-"

"You don't trust them, either. "

"No, I don't, " said Drayson. "I'm certain that Nil Spaar has been lying to Leia. The viceroy is a player. I haven't quite figured out the game, and I can't tell how far beyond normal diplomatic posturing the lies go. But one thing I know for certain is that they've been learning about us faster than we've been learning about them. That's another reason for concern. "

"You think they've been studying us. "

"They'd be fools if they weren't, and I don't think they're fools, " said Drayson. "That Yevethan s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p has had access to the Republic hypernet and the planetary NCI channels since the second day it was here. And the viceroy has had unimpeded access to the Chief of State of the Republic. Meanwhile, I can't even confirm how many League worlds there are, or their names and locations. I've been shut out completely, and I'm not accustomed to that happening. "

"Is that why you're having this conversation with me instead of with the princess? "

"That's one reason, " said Drayson. "The other is that you're going out there with thirty wars.h.i.+ps, and she's not. "

"Can you tell me anything about what I'm likely to find? "

"Some. There are several worlds on the fringe of the Cl.u.s.ter which are inhabited by species other than the Yevetha, " said Drayson. "Along the border, there's a sizable colony of Kubaz, two small mining installations owned by the Morath, and a commune of H'kig cultists who apparently left Ris.h.i.+ over a doctrinal conflict. A little farther in, there's a nest of Corasgh established by the Empire and then abandoned, and a droid-run Imperial factory farm, likewise abandoned, which represents a free lunch for any cargomaster willing to risk the trip. "

"The droids are still tending and harvesting crops? "

"Yes. Put a s.h.i.+p down at the loading docks, and the droids fill the hold without even being asked! " said Drayson. "Now, all of those are new since the last general survey of that sector, and there could be more. Based on that survey, there are also at least five indigenous sentient species in the Cl.u.s.ter, none of which have achieved hypers.p.a.ce travel. Some haven't even gotten off the ground. "

"Not a very likely place for the Empire to put a key forward s.h.i.+pyard. "

"Not with the Yevethan worlds nearby. "

"Do you think they have the s.h.i.+ps? "

"It would have been unusually sloppy of the Empire to allow that to happen, " said Drayson. "But I don't rule it out. "

"It would be nice to know. "

"Wouldn't it? But I don't. Chances are you'll end up finding out and telling me, instead of the other way around. " Drayson rubbed his eyes, then finger-combed his short black hair. "But here's something I keep thinking about. The Yevetha had just achieved interplanetary s.p.a.ceflight at the time of the general survey. Very bright, technically clever, rather proud of themselves, but no threat to anyone. "

"Then the Empire shows up. "

"And puts the Yevetha to work for a few years in Imperial s.h.i.+pyards, building and repairing vessels which represent a big leap beyond what the Yevetha had been doing on their own. Whether or not the Yevetha acquired any s.h.i.+ps or s.h.i.+pyards from the Empire, they almost certainly acquired the knowledge of how to build them. "

"They could have created their own Black Fleet. "

"Indeed, " Drayson said. "How's your memory, General? "

"Why? "

"I'm going to teach you a code, " Drayson said. "If you begin a message with it, that message will come to me without ever being seen at Fleet Headquarters. And if I send you a message, that same code will decrypt it. "

"I don't like this, " said A'baht, frowning deeply.

"And I don't believe I like you, Admiral. If Admiral Ackbar hadn't spoken up for you, I would wonder at your loyalty. Now I find myself wondering at his judgment. **** Are you asking me to conspire with you to conceal information from the president or from Fleet Command? "

"Let me answer your question with a question-do you trust Leia's judgment where the viceroy and the Yevetha are concerned? "

A'baht looked away and remained mute.

"That's why, " said Drayson. "The purpose of the code isn't to conceal anything. Just the reverse-it's meant to ensure that you can get the information you need, and that you can provide us with the same in turn. Information that might otherwise be filtered out by the prejudices of those who control the comm channels. "

A'baht drew a deep breath and sighed. "This is the real reason for this meeting. "

"Only one of several, " said Drayson. "I want you to have everything you need to do your job out there, General. I want you and your people maintaining a high level of alertness through the whole deployment. I want you to see the punch coming, if there is one. I want you to come back without ever having had to open your gun ports. But if you do have to open them, I want you to know who you're trying to kill, and why. "

"Is that all? I have people waiting for me. "

"No, " said Drayson. "There's one more thing. I understand you know Kiles L'toth, the a.s.sociate director of the Astrographic Survey Inst.i.tute. "

"We served together in the Dornean Navy. "

"More than that, you were friends. Perhaps he even owes you a favor. "

"Now I'm sure I don't like you. You know too much. "

"You're not the first to think so, or say so, " said Drayson.

"I want a better answer than that, Admiral. What does Kiles have to do with this? "

"Nothing, yet, " Drayson said. "I just think it's been much too long since you and Kiles talked. A pity there's so little contact between the Fleet and the civil service. Sometimes I think they're two completely disconnected worlds. "

The bark in A'baht's voice betrayed his growing anger. "Speak plainly! What are you getting at? "

"The Inst.i.tute is a long way from the Fleet Office, or the Palace, " said Drayson. "About as far away from the Senate and the president and the inner circle as could be. It must be nice not to have everyone breathing down your neck. It must be nice to be able to just do your job, without anyone questioning your every move. And they've been given everything they need-a whole fleet of astrographic and survey vessels. "

A'baht stared, struck silent.

"Maybe you should call him before you leave, " Drayson suggested softly.

A frown hardened A'baht's gaze still further as he weighed the implications. "I don't like you, no, sir, " he growled at last.

"You don't have to. "

"No, I suppose I don't, " said A'baht, and hesitated. "But I suppose you'd better teach me that b.l.o.o.d.y code after all. "

"Kiles. "

"Etahn? What are you doing calling at this hour? "

"Calling in a debt, " A'baht said.

"I'll be glad to have it paid, " said Kiles, touching the stump of his right leg unconsciously. "Long overdue. What do you need? "

"How many of your s.h.i.+ps can you put together quietly, without attracting a lot of attention? "

"How quickly? "