Interlude 9
The reaction of the appearance of the Andromeda Ascendant and her captain was much the same as if a family relative had returned from the dead. At first there was skepticism about their authenticity, then the feeling that the captain's plan to rebuild the Commonwealth was a madman's dream. But the captain was, if not an eloquent speaker, an impassioned one, and with Andromeda herself a physical reminder of the glory that was, skepticism and derision changed to consideration. If not a new Commonwealth, at least an alliance of planets that would provide for the defense of its member worlds against incursions by the Magog, the Nietzscheans and other external threats. First Sinti, then Castilia, then Mobius agreed to a self defense and trade pact. But while there were those who welcomed the idea of a new Systems Commonwealth there were others who preferred the status quo. These others began to put plans into motion to insure that the embryonic Commonwealth would be stillborn.
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Alternity - Chapter 10
War Council
Time: CY 10090 AD April 5167Location: in orbit over Sinti IV
"So
that's the situation. Halcyon is willing to come on board the
Commonwealth, but not until we convince them that there's something in
it for them. In particular they want us to clear out the pirates that
have been raiding commerce in their system. So far they've been unable
to find their base of operations and have stated that if we can do the
job it will be proof that there's reason for them to join up. Any
comments?"
The speaker was Dylan Hunt. He and his crew were sitting in the Andromeda's main conference room where he was briefing them on his latest attempt to bring a world into the New Systems Commonwealth.
"Oh, you're such a good girl," cooed Trance as she spooned mashed banana into her daughter's mouth.
Dylan rolled his eyes heavenward. It had been a long six months since the crew of the Maru had signed on. He had expected that he would have to train them, but there were times when he thought that instead of training they needed domesticating. The past few months of dealing with his new crew members had shown him just how much things had changed over the past three hundred years.
The first time his crew had shared a meal with him had been an eyeopener. To begin with they had all seemed astounded when he assured them that they could eat as much as they wished, and when the food was placed before them they wolfed it down as if they hadn't had a good meal in months. The real surprise came at the end of the meal when Andromeda sent a couple of Maria bots to take the plates back to the galley. Harper's plate still had food on it and when the bot attempted to remove it he had snatched the plate from the bot growling like a wild animal warning off a would be scavenger. It was then that Dylan learned that to him leftover food was garbage, but to all to many of the people in this time leftover food was their next meal.
His one attempt to chastise Trance had resulted in the girl fleeing his presence in tears and Beka railing at him. The Maru's captain had not so politely informed him that if he had any problems with HER crew then he was to come to her with his complaints and she, not he, would apply discipline as she deemed appropriate.
And then there had been the time when he had ignored Andromeda's warning not to enter the hydroponics bay as Trance and Harper were 'presently engaged'. He had decided to ignore her warnings. since it was his ship, and as captain he had the authority to go wherever he wanted. He still squirmed inwardly at the scene he had stumbled upon when he entered the bay. The young couple had been locked in a passionate embrace on the grass beneath the flame tree that dominated the garden, their clothes scattered helter-skelter about the bay. He had had just enough time to see one of the more exotic things Trance could do with her tail before he backed out of the hydro bay.
"I meant comments concerning to how we fimd the pirates and induce Halcyon into joining the Commonwealth," said Dylan striving to keep the exasperation he felt out of his voice. "We need to eliminate Halcyon's pirate problem if the Commonwealth is going to have any credibility.
In spite of their efforts so far only three planets had agreed to his idea of a new Systems Commonwealth.. The planetary governments all agreed that a new political organization was necessary, but that was about all they could agree on. They couldn't even agree on how the Andromeda should be manned, each government insisting that the majority of crew members should come from their planet. As a result, the Andromeda's crew had yet to be augmented.
"And just how are we going to do that?" asked Beka. She had a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be and she didn't think she was going to like it.
"We use the Maru as bait, and when the pirates take it, the Andromeda rides to the rescue. Just like the last time."
"Now wait just a damn minute, Dylan. Harper, Trance and I just spent the past six months repairing the damage the Maru received the last time we had a run in with these pirates. She's finally fully spaceworthy, and now you're going to suggest we take her out to get her shot up again. I don't think so."
"The last time," said Trance, "Harper nearly died." Apparently she had been paying more attention to the briefing than Dylan had thought.
The holographic image of Andromeda came into view. "The situation isn't quite the same. For one, the Maru isn't the same Maru. We've replaced your two 30 Megawatt point defense lasers with 50 Megawatt lasers, installed two ELS missile tubes and a twin rack fragmentation mine dispenser. Your weapon control system is now a PAS-37Q, the same system that a Shrike fighter uses, and your deployable false target generators are of High Guard manufacture. Frankly you're better equipped than the Q ships the High Guard once used for anti pirate duties."
"I still don't like it," muttered Beka.
"Whether you like it or not isn't the issue. You ARE going to do it", snapped Dylan. Despite having worked with his new crew for six months he still found their tendency to question his authority irksome. Intellectually he knew that they weren't High Guard military, but it still bothered him on an emotional level.
"More importantly," interjected Harper, placing a hand on Beka's arm as he stepped into the conversation before Beka could snap back, "how are we going to insure that they take the sacrificial lamb, err I mean bait. They don't attack every ship that enters the system, only a select few."
"Yes," said Trance, also trying to keep the discussion from degenerating into an argument between Beka and Dylan. "They seem to have knowledge of which ships have valuable cargo."
She shifted her daughter into a more comfortable position. Dylan tried not to be distracted. After all these months he still had not adjusted to having a child on board a warship. The fact that Trance had come to what he considered to be a staff meeting wearing a purple terrycloth robe and pink fuzzy bunny slippers and was once again feeding mashed banana to her daughter didn't help his train of thought or his mood.
"Harper and Beka are going to take the Maru to Winnipeg Drift," answered Dylan. "We have good reason to think that the pirate organization has agents there, so they'll make a lot of noise about the valuable cargo they're carrying. That should get some attention."
"Uh, Dylan," said Beka. "I'd hate to say your plan has some gaping holes in it, but it's not exactly a secret that Harper, Trance and I are associated with you and the Andromeda. What makes you think that if we show up there the pirates aren't going to suspect a trap?"
"You'll be traveling without your good luck charm, Beka. Trance is going to stay here on the Andromeda. Sorry, Trance, but you're just a bit too conspicuous. And as for you and Harper, you'll be going as Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas and Henrietta Lockhart. Trance, I'm sure you can help your husband change the color of his hair. Beka I expect you to do the same. Andromeda has manufactured several colored contact lenses for each of you, so your eye color will be different also."
"That still leaves the Maru," said Beka. Her registration papers and transponder will still identify her. She was still looking for some excuse not to send her ship out to be used as a target.
"Not any more," said Andromeda's holographic image. "I took the liberty of creating new registration papers and altering the transponder. The Maru is now The Busted Flush operating out of the El Dorado Drift."
In spite of her doubts about the plan Beka grinned. "Forged registration papers and illegal modifications of a ship's transponder beacon. Andromeda, I'm impressed. I didn't think you went in for such activities."
The image of Andromeda's alter ego appeared on the conference room's main viewscreen, a look of disapproval on her face. "It's the company she's been keeping," she said then vanished from view, leaving an embarrassed looking hologram.
Dylan finished up the meeting. "OK, folks, that's it. If we can get Halcyon to join we will have four worlds on board. Let's get to it."
Trance gathered up her child in one hand and her husband in the other. "Come on, Harper, let's see what we can do with your hair. I bet I can make it look nearly as good as mine."
Harper resisted the urge to lock himself in one of the engineering workshops. His wife had just recently changed her hair color; it had gone from blonde to alternating rows of pink, purple and blonde.
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