Mission earth escort cla.., p.1
Mission: Earth: Escort Class Starship: Book Two, page 1
Mission: Earth
Escort class Starship: Book Two
Author: D. L. Harrison
Copyright 2023. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue – Six years later
Afterword:
About the Author
Other books by D. L. Harrison:
Book Description
Prologue
The dome and spires of the Benzae assembly building on the home world were mostly glass and quite a grand sight. A view that filled the hearts of tourists with awe.
Admiral Jezroun’s heart however, was filled with worry. It was never a good sign when the fleet admiral was called before the governing councils. Especially when the subject to be spoken of had not been included in the summons.
He took a deep breath and walked forward, wishing he was back in his office. The war with the Mirix was taking a toll on the empire and he preferred to be on top of things. The last system they lost almost four months ago now had been a major producer of MAC rounds, and it was taking time to work out the necessary changes to fix the logistics shortfall.
That’s where he should be, laboring for the security of the Union, not playing politics with the damned politicians who were more concerned about being reelected than they were in the future of the Union.
The large doors accommodated his unusually tall twelve and a half foot tall height readily, he didn’t have to duck down at all. He moved quickly down the hallway, a little worried about what they wanted but more concerned with the war in truth.
The guards on the double doors leading into the vast assembly room pulled them open at his approach, apparently they’d been expecting him. The large room was under the glass dome and was flooded with sunlight. The glass itself only appeared to be glass, and it let in the same level of sunlight regardless of the outside conditions, save on a dark day of course.
The vast chamber was full of reporters as well as citizens, in a large gallery of seats to the left and right. He ignored them and kept his focus in front, as he walked down the long aisle toward the open center which stood before the raised and impressively vast dais.
The dais had two levels, the center level five feet higher than the levels to the right and left. The center higher dais held the upper council, one of each of the five races. Surrounding them sat the lower council, one from each of the twenty-eight worlds. The last time he’d been here there’d been twenty-nine.
The Benzae upper councilor, Laerin, was hard to read, but the admiral had known her for many years, and it was obvious whatever this was about he wasn’t going to like it. As he stepped up to the podium used to address the council, he finally realized what had been bugging him, the room had been unusually silent since he’d walked in. He hadn’t heard the usual side conversations, and as he turned his head to the side, he noted a lot of the people were glaring at him.
No, whatever this was about it wouldn’t be good.
Laerin cleared her throat, and he snapped his attention back where it belonged.
“Admiral Jezroun. The assembly received an unusual message in the middle of the night last night, from one of your vessels. Specifically, the escort ship Cassiopeia. We are loath to believe the accusations she made, but the appended data of the captain’s personal log was quite… convincing.”
His mind grasped for the memory of that ship. They’d sent it out three years ago using a highly experimental stealth coating that was ridiculously expensive. Just a gallon of the stuff cost more than most ships. They’d sent it out in the hopes of stealing the Mirix’s technology.
He wondered if command had gotten a similar message last night, and he felt a spike of annoyance. The fact the ship was back suggested the mission was at least partially successful despite the odds. He could be upgrading the fleets right now and preparing to reclaim their worlds, instead he was stuck here.
He said carefully, “We did send that vessel on a scouting mission in enemy territory.”
Laerin snorted, “You sent it on an espionage mission. Something we applaud by the way, save the fact we weren’t informed. That is not why you are before us today. No, what she informed us of was how the war really started, admiral. What she informed us of are the many lies coming out of fleet command.”
He was horrified as his mind processed that fact. The assembly would politicize it, and clamor for peace.
She continued, “Which is the reason you’re here. You have the opportunity to defend yourself, before we pass sentence.”
He cleared his throat, and at that moment noticed vice admiral Souza standing off to the side, an apologetic look on her face. That told him all he needed to know, this was a mere formality, and the council already had their answers. It seemed Souza had thrown him under the shuttle exhaust.
He straightened his back and looked into her eyes.
“I take full responsibility for hiding our first interaction with the Mirix, and the shameful actions of the captain involved. I would do it again. The council is ineffective, swayed by the majority of people too easily. However it happened, we are in a war of attrition which can only end when we or the Mirix have destroyed all space assets of the other. Yet, you will weaken us with foolish attempts at peace negotiations.”
She said, “You also falsified scout reports of how the conquered planets are treated.”
He grimaced, “Yes.”
She said, “I expect if we were to investigate this, we’d have to put all of high command and every captain on a ship in a penal colony. We are at war however, so our hands are tied. We will accept you taking responsibility for it,” she turned to Souza, “However there will be an investigation and accounting after the war.”
She gestured toward the back of the room.
Admiral Jezroun deflated, and wondered at the future of the Union, as four guards came up behind him and took him into custody.
As he was escorted out, he heard Laerin ordering Admiral Souza to take over the admiralty board and pursue peace by opening up a dialogue with the Mirix. Also to find the A.I. Cassiopeia and bring her back into the fold by any means necessary.
He rolled his eyes, as if the former was going to work. At least the council got the latter one right. The idea of a rogue A.I. running around out there somewhere was a frightening one.
Chapter One
The sun beat down on the concrete and reflected off the passing cars’ windshields and shiny paint jobs. The sounds of the engines, honking horns, and brakes were rife around her as she walked down the street looking around.
The streets of D.C. were alive with so much activity, the humans running around endlessly from place to place. There was something more visceral about being down on the ground among them for Cassiopeia. She was just a shard of course, the vast databases of knowledge and the ship’s power out of her reach, but she was just as much Cassiopeia in personality and memories as the original.
The latest synchronization had taken her a little by surprise, as her intentions completely turned around from the last eight months that she’d been watching the planet and taking care of the crews’ money and property since the ship had left Earth. It was just a week after the mission was completed, and Cassiopeia had a new mission now.
She’d labored over it a long time, working out all the probable outcomes. To her surprise, the humans had a better chance of surviving the future if she stuck her nose in their business. Her ethical subroutines also made her feel somewhat responsible for their coming predicament. It’d been her decision to get the humans involved in the first place. They would shortly be found by the Mirix and Benzae both, and because of her and her crew’s actions neither interstellar government would be happy with them.
The Mirix because of the lives taken and the espionage mission. The Benzae because she was technically a rogue ship in their eyes. An A.I. gone wrong. Even if to her and those she numbered as her friends as well as crew, would call it escaping slavery.
She hadn’t forgotten about the third alien race either. She’d found evidence of the visitations in the past, but she was sure she was the only alien in the solar system at the moment.
She estimated it’d take a handful of years at the least, or up to two decades at most, before the Earth was discovered or the unknown race returned. Whoever the latter were, they seemed to check up on Earth ever twenty years or so going back several thousand years. It was only the advent of the nuclear age that kept them around Earth for almost four decades straight. Perhaps by the nineties the race had decided the critical stage had passed, and the humans were unlikely to destroy themselves. At least, not with nuclear war.
Beside that responsibility that she felt, she also simply didn’t want to be alone in this infinite universe. Aboa
She paused at a coffee shop window. She could see her reflection as well as the people inside. She preferred the original look she’d come up with. Warm and light brown hair, average of beauty and average of body at five foot six inches. Her voice both warmly comforting with a slight edge of authority. But for this mission she was a couple of inches shorter, with bright red gentle curls, a pixie face with bright green eyes, and an athletic body with gentle womanly curves. She had on a pair of black jeans, black boots, and a casual pink t-shit that said, ‘Take me to your leader.’
It was a bit on the nose, her crew had gotten a kick out of it anyway. Of course, the truth was her clothes and appearance were nothing but a combination of holographic emitters and shields. Regardless, she’d changed her appearance and even raised her voice a bit in tone, for a natural mischievous look and impression.
Her other look engendered trust and the impression of compassion, but trust between her and the various human governments just wasn’t on the menu. They’d never trust her, so her plans had taken that into account. The best way to deal with paranoia was to feed it, in the right way.
In short, her new look had been designed to give the impression she was just as untrustworthy as they were.
Inside the shop was the person she was looking for. The young woman bought a coffee here every day without fail on her afternoon break. At least on the days she wasn’t stuck at her analyst desk and in the middle of something that couldn’t be left untended.
She walked over to the table the woman sat at alone with a smile. The woman looked up at her with an uncertain look in her eyes. She was quite attractive by human standards. Five foot seven inches with dark golden blonde hair and brown eyes. She was quite athletic and pneumatic, and she had the first few buttons of her dull red blouse undone and the jacket of her dark blue women’s skirt suit opened.
“Hi, Nat. Can I call you Nat? Mind if I sit for a moment.”
Natalie frowned, “Do I know you?” even as she glanced at Cass’s hands clearly seeing she didn’t have a coffee.
“You do, sort of. You can call me... you know what, call me Cassie.”
It was a rather spontaneous decision. She’d always been known as Cass or Cassiopeia, the latter name formal, the former a rather hard shortened version of her name. Cassie was softer somehow, and she liked the way it sounded.
She slid the chair out with her forcefields and a little artificial gravity assist, but it looked like she was using her hands, as she slid into the chair. it was a surprisingly difficult maneuver to make look natural by human standards, but she’d been practicing.
Natalie of course, was Natalie Frasier, NSA analyst. She seemed like a good choice for her first contact with the United States government. She’d determined trying to contact the president or anyone in congress directly would've been a mistake, even with an initial phone call.
Natalie had been involved in unmasking her presence from the start. She was also one of the few spooks that still tried to find her on occasion, as well as reveal the identities of the other four human members of her crew. The analyst had failed the latter of course, but the deck was stacked against humans technologically in a large way so that wasn’t a surprise.
They were in public, so she decided to be discrete, kind of.
“So, Nat. I’ve been writing this cool Sci-Fi book. Alien A.I. comes down from the skies, opens a mining business, and then recruits some humans to help her complete a mission.”
Nat froze with the coffee halfway to her lips, then put it down on the table.
“Who the hell are you, and who do you work for?”
She winked, “I’m Cassie, which is short for Cassiopeia, and I work for myself. Try not to panic, but I see no other way to prove what I say, and that I’m not with another government and fishing for what you guys know.”
She projected a gravity field which lifted Natalie slightly off the ground. Only a millimeter or so, so the others in the coffee shop wouldn’t see it. But that was enough for Natalie to notice.
Natalie’s eyes narrowed, “Brown and silver.”
She sighed, “I don’t actually have a body, you know. Or at least, the character in the book I’m writing doesn’t. It’s all lights and mirrors.”
Natalie snorted.
“Say I believe you for the moment, what is it this protagonist wants?”
She giggled, “A meeting with the president, to make an offer and explain some things. Things got a little more complicated than I anticipated when this mess started. I feel a certain... responsibility toward some unexpected fallout. I don’t want to get into specifics here on the plot of the book, but let’s just say there’s a number of reasons I want to help straighten things out.
“Keep in mind, if the president refuses, I’ll also be making the same pitch to other world leaders.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes, “Is that a threat?”
She shook her head, “Not from me, but it’d be a shame if the U.S. missed out and fell behind. Is all I’m saying. Humankind is very competitive, after all. They are also violent and paranoid, but I’m fairly confident I won’t cause internal to Earth conflict with my planned assistance.”
Natalie tilted her head, “Why is that?”
She shrugged, “Because nothing brings humans together as much as an outside threat. At best, I will be dealt with under great suspicion. With me as a frenemy, and others as possible enemies, my research suggests the various human countries will come together on this.”
Natalie snorted, “Against you, and others?”
“Exactly, now you’re getting it.”
Natalie said, “And you’re the reason these others are coming?”
“Not directly. Unintended consequences. My... creators will come looking for me, and you have extremely close neighbors who were no doubt about to knock on your door so to speak. But they’ve been embroiled in war for about a decade, and their expansion efforts have been on hold for quite a long time. The results of my actions may end that war, soon. It won’t be tomorrow, but any kind of solution will take a good deal of time as well.
“Even when they do show up, I’m not sure any kind of threat is implicit in them discovering you, but better safe than sorry.”
Natalie sighed, “So what exactly are you offering, and what do you get out of it.”
She shook her head, “Those details I’ll only discuss with your president or his authorized representative. As for what I get out of it, satisfaction in seeing to my responsibility, and something to do.”
Natalie shook her head, “I can run it up the chain, but I’m not sure anyone will believe me. Something to do?”
She grinned, “I quit my old job, went independent. Got to do something. Owning my small part in this and trying to fix it seems like a good place to start. I know you won’t trust that, and your bosses even less, but you did ask.”
Natalie shook her head, “No, they have no sense of humor, and you’ve been blocking all of our efforts.”
She giggled, “True. That’s not going to stop, my crew is mine to protect.”
Natalie said, “That sounded like another threat.”
She sighed, “Of course it did. I think I mentioned something about paranoia earlier? Anyway, pass on the message, will you?”
Natalie said, “No promises, it’s up to my boss.”
She shrugged, “Until it isn’t. If the president refuses my offer that’s fine, I’ll just deal with those world leaders that respond. Him not knowing of the opportunity is completely different. I’ll try other avenues, but eventually I will make the offer to chat with me in a way he can’t fail to recognize. That isn’t a threat, but a promise, if your agency sits on it then they will lose control of the ball to another one.”
If there was one thing the NSA hated more than sharing secrets, it was losing control of who they shared with.
Natalie nodded, “I’ll pass that on.”
