“When did we program Athena to notify us for flags on criminal bounty rewards?” Australia activates the alert at her monitoring station to read it for herself.
“I never have. Automated alerts hide worm viruses tracking your location when accessed. I filter them all out,” Doug says.
“What’s the significance?” Reynard asks.
“Not entirely accurate, Doug,” Australia says. “Athena has been programed to monitor channels for certain alerts—pertaining to a list Admiral Maxtin provided agents.”
“If Maxtin wanted us hunting for someone, why didn’t he personally assign us to do so?”
“Commander, this reward is on someone who works for Maxtin, like we do,” Australia says.
“One society’s criminal is another’s patriot,” Amye adds.
“No. This bounty activation is a form of secret communication from the Admiral,” Australia reports.
“So this guy works for the Admiral same as us?”
“I have no details on his assigned operations,” Australia informs her captain.
“How do you know about this?” Reynard asks.
“When Admiral Maxtin assigned me to the crew, he informed me of a short list of names. If any of them were to become active bounties, it was to communicate a coded message. We are mercenaries, Commander. It is not uncommon for pirates to hunt down bounties.”
“Maxtin expects us to hunt this guy down and bring him in?”
“Based on the broadcasted consignment he has been comprised and we should extract him before he is eliminated by Mokarran authorities,” Australia reports.
“Won’t he think we’re hunting the bounty and try and kill us?” Amye asks.
“Commander, there are risks. Considering what the Admiral has tasked us to perform on secure transmissions, we must find out what he’s unable to transmit now.”
“Lock in a course. Let’s get him out of there,” Reynard orders.
“I don’t like this,” Kymberlynn whispers to Amye. “This guy will shoot at us just like any other bounty hunter. If he’s got stolen information for Maxtin, he won’t be taken alive.”
“HAVE YOU BEEN monitoring the Summersun situation?” Kantian’s holographic image hums before Admiral Easter.
“Keep your military maneuvers going. The Mokarran show no interest,” the vice-presidential admiral remarks.
“I would take little interest in a single UCP battle cruiser in the next star system if there had been seventeen new Javelin class jumpships dropping off Lance after Lance of Mecat mercs on my planet.”
“Jumpships were designed to convoy Mecats. Not an unremarkable tendency.”
“Mercenaries only appear when there’s blood in the water.”
Easter brushes off Kantian’s implication, “Mercs are consorts, not enlisted military. They go where and when they wish. If there is pay.”
“Summersun’s the perfect staging point to invade the Nuri system. Even if I’ve calculated high on their number, I don’t have the fighters to prevent an incursion,” Kantian concludes why he’s assigned to perform military exercises this close to the border.
“They have no reason to invade, and the Mokarran won’t pay conscripted mercenaries credits.”
Kantian shares with Easter, “Several of those Merc Lances have been advanced credits just before arriving on Summersun.”
“Are you sure?” she questions.
Kantian contemplates whether the Admiral knew or not. She plans for the protection of the UCP, so she must know someone has paid all these mercenaries to quarter on Summersun. “I have my own intelligence contingent.”
“You do want my chair as ruler of the UCP.”
He has to ask even though he knows she won’t answer. “Did you pay the Mercs to visit Summersun?”
“No. I’ve no part in what transpires on the surface. My intelligence only offers a storm brewing. With it comes the opportunity to raise you into the spotlight as my successor. I haven’t spent my whole life dying for this Confederation to not have it continue past my death.”
“This is about legacy?”
“Don’t be so elementary. Stop the Mokarran at the gate and allow those who wish to immigrate to our Confederation to do so. The armistice has ended, and if you secure Summersun for the UCP, it will force the Mokarran to concede or invade. They’ll be unable to sustain a prolonged war on two fronts, so I’m gambling on them accepting new concessions, including a clause allowing any Tri-Star Federation planetary system to vote out Mokarran rule and join the UCP.”
“The Mokarran would never allow any planetary system to simply vote to remove their rule.”
“Vote is a relative term. We both know the process will take place at gunpoint.”
With Summersun gone it will weaken steady food sources. Kantian now understands his importance to the VP-Admiral’s plans. “If I fail, you lose your linchpin.”
“Nothing you do will be a failure in my plan. We’re locked in a war in which we will grab territory and weaken the Mokarran enough they will fall to the Throgen Empire. We do it on paper, or we do it by gun barrel.”
Kantian continues to mull over his conversations with the Admiral. They have been replays of the same argument. Her impending death frees Easter of any concerns about the future. If her plan fails, she may be a blemish in UCP history. If the Mokarran win, she may not even rank a footnote.
Their last conversation clears up many of his doubts. Now the real question for him becomes, does he act and invade Summersun, seizing control of the planet? His act of war will save millions only if it forces a treaty, and his swift action will draw attention to him and any political ambitions he pursues. If he wins. Gods know people love to vote in war heroes.
Failure on Summersun will lead the UCP into a war and end with him possibly taking the rap as a rouge warmongering captain whose hatred of the Mokarran drove him to revenge. He wants them destroyed. Easter’s about establishing a new treaty, not grinding the Mokarran to dust. Even as a VP-admiral he needs the votes of the other four to invoke war. Difficult since Admiral Maxtin openly opposes it and Maxtin puppets the other three Admirals. No, if he is on the fast track to being a ruler of the UCP, he needs to coordinate
