The newcomer sprang from his chair as the three officers walked in. “Colonel Tehrani, so good to meet you. I’m Thomas Grant, with the Coalition Intelligence Service.” He flashed a smile. “Special-activities division.” He glanced between Wright and Whatley. “I requested your CAG but not Major Wright. I’m afraid this is strictly need-to-know information we’re about to discuss.”
“In that case, you can get off my ship, Agent Grant.” Tehrani’s smiled. “On the Zvika Greengold, I give the orders.”
“Colonel—”
Tehrani held up her hand, palm out, as she spoke.“Mr. Grant, whatever you want us to do, my executive officer has to help me implement it. He will be present for this meeting, or you can find someone else.”
Grant blinked. His body language had been that of someone in complete control of the situation, but his shoulders sagged after her statement, and a frown crossed his face. He opened his mouth, shut it, then opened it again. “Okay. Major Wright can stay.” He locked eyes with her. “If a leak comes out of this ship, I’ll have you all charged with treason. Do I make myself clear?”
“You do.” Tehrani crossed her arms. What in the galaxy is this man up to, and what does he want with my ship? Every alarm bell in her mind rang at the same time.
“With that out of the way, I wanted to thank you for capturing the League fighter down in your hangar bay.” Grant smiled toothily in an almost-creepy way. “We’ve been waiting for a break like this. My analysts have been reviewing the onboard navigation data all night.”
“You’ve had people on my ship?” Tehrani interjected.
“Yes.”
She balled her fist under the table. “And I wasn’t notified?”
“Colonel, we’re at war, and loose lips sink ships. Besides, I’m telling you now.” Grant flashed the creepy grin again. “CIS has, for the past few weeks, worked around the clock to determine how the League was able to attack us in such overwhelming numbers with no indication of anything amiss. What we found on the captured craft is a piece of the puzzle. Our Leaguer friends seem to have portable deep-space supply depots scattered across our territory.”
“What?” Whatley exclaimed. “That’s illogical. If nothing else, civilian police patrols would’ve spotted them.”
“Not if they’re outside of solar system boundaries and in interstellar space.”
They all stared at the spy.
Wright shook his head. “Our sensor networks don’t cover that?”
Grant laughed. “The Terran Coalition is exceedingly good at preparing for the last war, Major. The Saurians wanted territory in our conflicts with them. They moved from system to system, engaging in pitched battles for resource-heavy planets. As a result, the CDF is set up to defend planetary solar systems. Our vessels counter theirs. We’re lucky that our technology is better than the League’s. Otherwise, they’d have already conquered us. This enemy brings new tactics to the fight. One of them is hiding out in the vastness of the void.”
“That tracks,” Whatley said. “The reason we have escort carriers for convoy escort is the Saurians never really bothered attacking civilian shipping. They considered it to be dishonorable.”
Tehrani snorted. “The League has no honor. Attacking our capital by surprise. From what I’ve read and heard from veterans about the Saurians, I could respect them in combat. The League—never.” She stared at the spy once more. “What do you want us to do?”
“I want you to help me capture a League facility intact so that we can mine its databases for actionable intelligence.”
Silence filled the conference room.
Tehrani was taken aback and, for once, rendered speechless for several seconds. “I’m not sure I heard you right.”
Grant flashed what appeared to be his trademark grin. “I’ve inventoried your available force assets, Colonel. I’m assured you have the tools at your disposal to accomplish my objective.”
Something about the man’s self-assured tone, as he so dispassionately discussed the soldiers under Tehrani’s command and what seemed like a long-shot plan, rubbed her the wrong way. I get blowing this installation of theirs to hell, but capture it? With just the Greengold? She forced the pique down. “Okay, Agent Grant. Lay it out.”
Grant leaned back in his chair. “You have a larger than normal force of Marines aboard, yes?”
Tehrani nodded. “Yes. I requested additional assets in case we had issues with boarders on the civilian freighters.”
“Which means you’re more than prepared for VBSS actions.”
She tossed his words around in her mind. “In what way would visit, board, search, and seizure actions be useful, Agent?”
“I thought you’d never ask. The Greengold picked up a critical piece of the puzzle. With the captured fighter, we have the element of surprise. We load it into the shuttle hangar of a stealth raider that coincidentally happens to be taking on a load of Starbolt missiles as we speak, jump that vessel into the area of the enemy… and get the League craft close enough that it can deploy an EMP weapon.” Grant spread his hands out on the table. “That’ll neutralize any onboard self-destruct and defensive weaponry. The Zvika Greengold jumps in, deals with any remaining ships or small craft, and deploys the Marines, and we go home with intelligence and prisoners of war.”
“That’s insane!” Wright thundered. “Ops like this require months of planning, tier-one operators, and a lot more force than the Greengold.”
Wright’s complaint was on point. But this is all-out war—a war for survival that we’ve taken horrendous losses in already. Though that didn’t mean Tehrani wasn’t afraid of losing her ship and crew in a futile effort. “I have serious misgivings about what you propose, Agent.” She set her jaw and turned to Whatley. “Your opinion, CAG?”
“We’re not going to win this war
