"What's going on?" Aaen asked, folding his arms and displaying a determined look.
"Intelligence has reason to believe that the Orion and the Rotelan may be working together,"
—Aaen gut sank, and he couldn't help but notice gestures of dread from the rest of the crowd—"No-one is sure right now what their ultimate goal is, but there are suspicions that there may be intentions to sell the Vortex data or—" she swallowed.
"—Or try to find some way to weaponize it," Aaen added.
"Yeah," the Admiral hesitantly nodded, "Right,"
"I'm assuming we have new orders?"
"Yes. As of this message, we are on a special assignment. We are to continue as we are doing: pursue and capture the intruder, secure the Vortex data, and make sure neither the Orions nor the Rotelan get the data. If they already have it, neutralize any attempt to weaponize the data," the crowd gasped in the realization of what has just been asked of them.
"—How do we do that?" Ensign Sorenson asked skeptically.
The Captain looked at Aaen, "Commander?"
"—Very—Carefully," he grinned. "We're dealing with someone who is likely an operative of either the Orion or the Rotelan Empire—I'd be willing to bet it's an operative of the Orion, Admiral. Either way, this is going be something of a Chess game from this point forward. The Orions will want to make a lot from selling the Vortex data, so they'll want to make sure they don't lose control of the data until they've been paid. There's no telling what either of those governments would try to do with the data,"
"You think they're just going to sell the data and that's going to be the end of it?" Lieutenant Mars asked.
Aaen smiled and turned his head, "If there's anything the Rotelan have proven, it's never that easy. They will likely have arranged a location to meet to complete the sale,"
"And what if it's not a question of selling the data at all? What if they have a collective plan to use the data against The Union?" Lieutenant Malcolm asked.
"Right now there isn't enough Intelligence to give us a clear sense of direction about anything, beyond the fact,"
"So what do you recommend we do, Commander?" the Captain asked.
"That Runabout's out there, somewhere. It couldn't have gotten far. If we find the Runabout, we are back on the intruder's trail. It must have been communicating with the Orions, or the Rotelan. I'd be willing to bet on the Orions. There might be records on the Runabout's communication logs on its main computer,"
"—Do I hear a suggestion in there, Commander?" the Admiral asked.
An alarm sounded from the second level of the bridge, "Admiral, we're coming up on the Orion's border!" the Executive Officer announced. Aaen's gut sank again, this time accompanied by a strong sensation of dread. When it comes to the Orions. . .well, there's a reason why ships from any government take extra care to avoid this particular region of space—and everyone on the bridge knew exactly why. . . .
Aaen grinned, "Admiral, I think it's time we dropped out of Translight, turned up the external sensors scan intensity, and then get the commandos on standby,"
"Do you really think that will be necessary?"
"—I agree with him, Admiral," Lieutenant Malcolm said.
She looked down and rubbed her forehead with her left palm. . .
"Admiral?" Aaen asked. She gestured for the crowd to stop talking as though she was directing traffic in two different directions to stop. C'mon. .give the order, Aaen thought emphatically, clenching his fists in anticipation. He sensed he was not the only one who wanted to deploy the commandos—he knew what they were capable of and what they could do if deployed—but he sensed he was the only one who wanted to see the intruder in the brig as badly as he did. . . The commandos' combat methods were special, precise, absolute, and thorough. Despite his profoundly heightened anxiety, his gut told him she was close to a decision. Everyone on the bridge knew, the closer the Station got to the Orions, the greater the danger to everyone and everything onboard. Even the rumors of what they did to crew members on captured spacecraft who are defiant to the. . . Aaen's spine tingled as he recalled some of the rumors that he had heard over the years—but his determination overwhelmed the deeply unsettling sensation. He stayed focused. There have been rare times when captured Orion prisoners have been able to escape and spread the word about them. Some nightmares don't go away for a long time. . . .
The Admiral leaned forward and looked toward the front of the bridge, "Lieutenant Harrison, get me Command on long-range. Secure channel," Aaen recognized that protocol. She isn't sure what her next order should be—
"—Aye!"
"Lieutenant Hammond, how close are we to the Orion's space?"
"About ten light-years out, Admiral,"
—We've still got some time, Admiral—Aaen nodded. She returned the gesture.
"Admiral! I can't get through to Command! There's something interfering with our long-range communications!" The sensation in Aaen's spine dramatically intensified.
"More damage by the intruder?"
"No, sir! It sounds more like passive interference!"
Maybe we're getting too close already! Aaen guessed. "Admiral, I highly recommend we power down Translight, immediately,"
—Lieutenant Mars snapped, "Captain! I'm getting a ping from the Runabout!"
The Admiral nodded, "Do it. All-stop!" she replied sharply.
Aaen immediately started fast-walking to his station. His gut told him things were about to get real. He looked at Lieutenant Harrison and pointed at him and authoritatively declared, "To all decks: Powering down Translight! All-hands, standby!"
"Understood!" Lieutenant Harrison replied directly and immediately began working on relaying the message throughout the Station.
The green maelstrom gradually disappeared. . .artificial gravity levels fluctuated, he noted, as the stars gradually became visible.
He looked at each of his computers, and then gradually looked left, "—Admiral! Confirming all-stop!"
"Exec, where are we?" the Captain asked.
"—We're right around the corner from the Orions' border,"
"Exec, we might want to go to alert condition two," He noted his suggestion sounded like an order—he recalled, an order that had to go through the Captain or the admiral.
He turned to the Captain for a confirmation. She nodded. He responded quickly; the lights changed accordingly, accompanied by a brief, direct, stern alert. The air circulation system felt like it was working harder than before the Station came to a stop.
"Additional security is en-route to the bridge! Deploying reinforcements to sensitive areas throughout the Station,"
"Acknowledged," said the Captain.
The bridge engineer leaned into his station, "Powering-down non-essential systems,"
Aaen felt a sense of relief. More power for propulsion, communication, sensors, and defense! The felt a sense of relief and confidence,
"Admiral, I have Command on the line on a secure channel!" a handset was outstretched.
The Admiral rushed to the second level of the right-wing of the bridge and took the outstretched handset. "Go for Admiral." she said directly. "Yes, sir. Yes, sir, the last report is correct: Magellan as at full-stop just a few hundred million kilometers outside the Orion,"
Aaen thought, we're practically sitting on their doorstep.
*****
Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."
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