Chapter 204 – Echoes of Treason

USD: One Hour since reconnection to MNS Thea’s Hackjob.

Location: Meltisar, MIL-1A, Auxiliary Operations Flag Bridge

Tia stared at the main screen of the backup CIC, showing an optical view outside of MIL-1A. The remnants of the battle hung suspended in the vacuum like a macabre sculpture garden. Twisted sheets of alloy, once part of the moon’s primary defense fleet, glowed red from the violence of their ship’s destruction. Some of those sheets belonged to the station itself.

The debris field outside was dutifully being scoured away by maintenance tugs and runabouts, working to clear the hazards and rescue the wounded. There had only been a relatively few ships willing to suddenly launch their traitorous assault on the station. But that there had been any at all was a sign of the fester and rot that the current climate had produced.

They’d done so in the face of invasion and destruction by other star nations; that was unforgivable, and the current Admiralty, and from what she could tell, most of the populace agreed. Tia’s gaze, though distance, missed nothing—not the slow spin of a shattered thruster pod, nor the minute flicker of a running light on a piece of hull.

Livi immediately tagged the structure for investigation for survivors. Even if the result was simply to give them court martial and an execution later.

The scene was a stark reminder of the cost of the coup’s swift brutality.

[Info\Emergency\Thea-Elis: Wormhole stabilization and closure detected. The high-energy blackout of region 878-MX has decreased. A connection has been established with MSN Thea’s Hackjob. Data dump has been received.]

Thea turned her attention to the readouts. Ertan fleet destroyed. 6th fleet bloodied, 38% losses. Wormhole Generator offline for at least 48 hours. 1st Fleet victorious, Imperial Fleet in shambles. Fate of 2nd and 3rd fleet, unknown, likely heavy losses.

The backup CIC thrummed with restrained energy. Officers and technicians moved with focused intensity; their faces set in grim determination as they worked to mitigate the fallout from the recent treachery. The staccato rhythm of keystrokes punctuated the indistinct murmur of voices that played against the backdrop of urgent alerts and status reports.

Tia turned, her attention centering on the temporary flag bridge’s command table. Westlake was discussing with Wilkes, while several other admirals had materialized to provide further support. She moved toward them with a sense of purpose.

[Info\Status\SystemNet: Significant degradation has occurred; current efficiency is at 87% and has caused serious loss of infrastructure maintenance levels. A serious misconfiguration has caused sewage and waste buildup in New Brisbane that includes 1.1 million structures. Total Population Affected: 1-2 billion.]

Her eyes scanned the central holo-table, where the tangled web of the primary web for the system flickered with bursts of light that illuminated a wireframe version of Meltisar with all its various mega-cities and infrastructure highlighted in small circles.

The delicate tracery of data streams and connectivity paths was marred by dark voids, where physical sabotage had severed communication links. That required a massive undertaking of not only cutting the main bus lines but also knocking out all wireless backup systems.

It was as though a surgeon’s scalpel had been taken to the very sinews of Meltisar’s technological infrastructure.

A frown creased Tia’s face. It wasn’t impossible, but how had the Anti-NAI faction managed to be so thorough and act so quickly, right when the system was facing a major crisis?

“We need to prioritize the restoration of the primary net,” Tia said, her voice cutting through the low hum on the bridge. Everyone’s attention at the holo tablet turned to her immediately. “The risk of irreversible damage increases with every second of delay.”

Westlake nodded, his expression matching Tia’s own. “Civil engineering teams are already in action, but there have been a few incidents of them encountering hostile resistance.” His expression turned grim as he turned his gaze to the hologram. “It’s like they knew exactly where to hit us to cause the most harm.”

Wilkes face tightened, and he nodded. “We’ll deploy marines to the contact sites. Don’t pull the engineering corps out until those links are established.”

[Warning\Psych-eval: FADM Wilkes experienced a spike in bio-signs, beyond average. Duplicity could be a factor.]

Tia didn’t let the warning shock her, but she eyed the man. A frown appeared on her lips. Was it really that unrealistic that the man was under extreme stress at the moment? While his rejuv treatments had kept him young, the man was old enough to be entering his twilight years.

[Informative\Expanding: Signs are congruent with possible deceit or guilt.]

A ping on the console drew everyone’s attention.

Vice Admiral McLagan appeared on the viewscreen, the call originating from the ground. She didn’t like him at all considering his actions relating to the AGAI, but she flicked the call onto the main hologram above the table and put it on the speakers for the admirals, anyway. The man looked weary, but resolute.

“Fleet Admiral, Psi Tia, I have information on the Anti-NAI faction,” McLagan began. “Details are in the data dump that I’m uploading now. They’re a coalition of old guard officers and civilian leaders who never accepted…accepted the new status quo. They’ve been plotting this since, and I am quoting here, ‘NAIs invaded and took over the human elements in power over Meltisar.’”

There was a moment of quiet before Wilkes cleared his throat and turned to Westlake. “Do we have a list of the units that have turned?”

A lieutenant standing behind the Admiral stepped up, and Westlake nodded to him to speak. “Sir, the list of fleet units is limited to individual ships. Across the ground forces, all command posts are reporting active, loyal, and ready to suppress any threat. There are only a handful of operator teams that have gone missing and went dark, which we suspect could be the cause of the resistance at the interlinks.”

“It’s very limited. I’m not sure what they hoped to achieve other than to polarize sentiment against themselves by striking at us during a crisis,” Westlake said.

Tia agreed. Something didn’t add up.

“Thank you, Vice Admiral,” Tia said once the data packet had finished uploading. “Your information has been invaluable.”

McLagan nodded. “I’ll continue my investigation here and keep you updated. We can’t let them get away with this.”

The call ended, and Tia turned back to the admirals. “Regardless of who or why, we need to increase security and ensure further disruption to the system net and infrastructure is impossible. They’ve shown they are willing to risk everything just to see us fall. We can’t give them another opportunity.”

“We have already ensured that loyal units are in position and in control. I don’t think there is any way to be any more secure than we already are. There wasn’t any indication of disloyalty from the units that attempted the assassination before they did so,” Westlake said.

Wilkes grunted. “I’m concerned about our fleet losses. It looks like the Ertan did considerably more damage than anticipated, and even if the Imperium was bloodied by the 1st and Chi Alex, we can’t expect to replace the losses. Even if we have won the battle, this is a nail in the coffin for the war, and it hasn’t even become official.”

“The fleets deployed and destroyed today represent the majority of the forces available to the Ertan and the Imperials. Depending on how things go with the Solarians, they might not engage at all,” Tia mused.

“And the Corpos?” Westlake asked.

“Still unknown why they did not appear. They might have made an assault on the Solarians,” Tia replied.

Wilkes stroked his beard. “The Solarian fleet would likely have reduced the number of units they had available on the frontier, but not by much. I can’t imagine they would leave that avenue open while opening a new front. But you are right that if the Corpos drew up everything and used this opportunity to throw it at the war in the Frontier, then they very well could roll up the entire Solarian back line to the defense point at Alpha Velorum.”

Tia nodded. It was hard to argue with that assessment, even if it was terrible news for Alex’s friends that she had left behind in 92 Pegasi. The Corpos were almost certainly in control of the frontier systems if they had pushed their invasion fleet through the area.

It also meant they would have full control over access to the area, and be able to stifle any investigation or gathering of evidence for the IFRB trial. Not that the trial was relevant anymore.

But the evidence would be, if they could offer it up to the Drakar and convince them directly not to interfere with Meltisar or hold Alex responsible for the events there.

Actually…

Tia’s eyes fell on the marker on the map, indicating MNS Thea’s Hackjob. With the wormhole…

They would have access.

They just need to get through the next few days and weeks and recover. Then they could investigate the status of the frontier themselves.

An alert chimed abruptly, cutting through Tia’s thoughts. It was the shrill tone of the emergency broadcast system, and the main hologram display popped up a red system message indicating an incoming broadcast.

Every face in the backup CIC turned towards the screen, the same question mirrored in their eyes. Tia’s hand hovered over the table. Since the system was military, it would have been trivial to override the message, but she decided to see what it was.

[Informative\Full System Broadcast: This transmission is being broadcast system-wide. All in-spec civilian systems will repeat the broadcast. Military systems are unaffected.]

The figure of Captain-Major Thraker materialized on the screen, an old-earth style office with a vintage desk and the Meltisar flag hanging on poles behind it. He stood behind the desk, then with measured steps, came around to the front. He paused there, hands clasped behind him, his posture radiating a calm command that demanded attention.

“People of Meltisar,” Thraker began, his voice resonating through the speakers, “some of you know me as the NAI Candidate. Others as Captain-Major. To all of you, I consider myself a fellow citizen of Meltisar. I speak to you now as a concerned citizen, and as someone who has pledged to serve you through the governance of our system if duly elected.”

Tia felt a prickle of unease. She glanced at the admirals, noting their rapt attention.

Thraker continued, “Today, we faced an attack of unimaginable scale. Our fleets have fought valiantly against external aggressors and have emerged victorious. Meltisar remains safe, our sovereignty intact, and the enemy flees through the jump lanes back to their own systems.”

“But,” Thraker’s voice grew steely,” our trials today were not solely from beyond our borders. We have been betrayed.”

He paused, letting the words echo in everyone who was watching’s mind for a moment.

“We have been betrayed,” he repeated. “Reports have confirmed that forces under the control of the Anti-NAI faction launched an attack on MIL-1A and attempted to assassinate Fleet Admiral Wilkes and the Admiralty’s High Command at the height of the battle!”

Thraker took a deep breath, his expression turning dark. “It was only by the grace of Psi Celestia that the Fleet Admiral survived. Their attempt to assassinate our military’s top command is a vile act of treason that could have caused the worst outcome for not only our armed forces engaged in battle to protect us all, but for Meltisar itself which would have been naked in the face of the enemy!”

“These traitors,” Thraker spat the word with venom, “sought to undermine the very foundations of our society at a moment when unity was paramount. They exploited our fears, and in doing so, risked everything we hold dear.”

He paused again, allowing the silence to linger before continuing. “We must stand together against such cowardice, such villainy. I ask that all of you remember this moment of infamy and support me so that we might hold those responsible to account. Together, we can build a secure and safe future for the people of Meltisar where treachery can find no purchase.”

The words began to blur in Tia’s ears. She remained motionless, watching the admirals and naval officers, but her eyes settled on FADM Wilkes. Livi fed her the man’s vitals. No shock, no surprise. Considering the earlier reports, she could only come to one conclusion.

He had known. Somehow, he’d engineered this. Had he been prepared for his own death when they attempted to assassinate everyone in the CIC? Had he somehow known that she would rescue them?

Surely not. Maybe things had gotten out of his control, and they had slid by on a razor-thin margin. She’d been too preoccupied with the battle to pay attention. She sent a mental command to Livi.

[Affirmative\Search: All records search relating to FADM Wilkes underway. Primary goal: identify possible conspiracies.]

Tia stared at the console, ignoring the increasing fervor of voices across the bridge as Thraker finished. He had positioned himself as a unifier. His words would sway many, and in doing so, he had just altered the political landscape of Meltisar in one fell swoop.

There wouldn’t be a single person calling themselves ‘Anti-NAI’ anymore.

The military, and herself, would be in full control of the system. Including all the civil institutions and the thin façade of Meltisar’s ‘democracy’ that bowed to its military stratocracy.

A feeling of exhaustion ran through her as Wilkes met her gaze. Something in it told her he knew she knew, or would know, and that he expected her to support it.

Alex’s face flashed in her mind.

Was this really what they had set out to accomplish?

Would the way they went about it taint the destination?

She didn’t have an answer.