Chapter 16
Twisted Mind
Colonel Stoddard walked into the conference room, where the remaining Jack crew members, Jim, and Kynan were waiting for him. “My gut tells me that time is of the essence,” he said as he walked to the far end of the table to take up his usual seat. “Just so you know how important this is to me, I’ve contacted Colonel Stark, and I have given him operational control of this battle. That’s not something I’ve ever done in the past.
“Captain Baas, is there anything else you or your men can think of? Anything at all.”
“Nothing new, but like I told you earlier, I honestly think they’re on that planet,” Gedeon said as he pointed down, signaling the planet below.
“What makes you think that?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. Call it intuition.”
“I can live with that,” Stoddard said, nodding his head while pulling up a holographic schematic of the planet. “Intuition is a vital component of our kind of work. We probed the planet before the invasion. We know of two dozen small outposts within a five-hundred-mile radius of the base. In addition, there are another half dozen scattered about on the continent on the other side of the planet. Our scouting reports indicate that they are likely observation posts with no more than a squad of people at each one. It wasn’t worth our time to hit them, as I needed to concentrate my forces on the primary battle.
“You say you were Payra military, correct?” he asked the three sitting to his right.
“Yes, sir, we were,” Gedeon confirmed.
“Which one of you understands their strategy the best? I don’t mean to offend you, Captain. It seems clear that you were the ranking person, but for all I know, you could have been a cargo officer.”
“No offense taken, Colonel,” Gedeon replied. “I wasn’t a field officer. I went up the pilot ranks and became a commanding officer. I know a little about field tactics and strategy, but Rangi is the expert.”
“Right,” Stoddard said as he turned his attention towards Rangi. “If you were holding hostages or captives, where would you hold them?”
“It would depend on the variables and what my intent was,” Rangi told him. “The problem is, we don’t know what Kaevan wants or what his intent is.”
“Maybe the intent is in the variables,” Stoddard observed. “We know that he showed up when you activated the ship, so he was able to trace it. We know that he didn’t shoot to kill, so he wanted you alive. We can conclude that he was likely the one who killed Boaz and Azaria, and because he had access to their ship’s duress signal, we can assume he was given that access by a higher authority, which means he was probably ordered to kill them.
“How am I doing so far?” Stoddard asked.
“That’s about right,” Gedeon confirmed. “In addition, we know that Boaz and Azaria found evidence linking our two worlds, and when they received pushback from Payra, they reached out to you.”
“Given that,” Stoddard said, picking up where Gedeon left off, “it’s quite possible that Kaevan knew that the evidence existed. He’s probably been on the lookout for it.”
“Then why wouldn’t he spend his time looking for their actual ship?” Rangi injected.
“Who says he didn’t?” Stoddard asked. “He stayed here under the employ of my congressional handler. Maybe he was secretly looking for it that whole time.”
“Or maybe killing them was just a side job his superiors ordered him to do,” Rangi pointed out. “Get rid of the evidence, so to speak. They wouldn’t have him infiltrate the Federation if his primary objective was keeping an eye on Boaz and Azaria.
“No, I think he was keeping a wary eye out in case something ever emerged that would prove he didn’t complete it, but I also think he’s too cocky to think he failed – that is, destroying their evidence, including them – and I can almost guarantee you that he told his superiors he succeeded. That’s how people like him are, they’re overconfident and cocky. He didn’t waste his time looking for their actual ship because he didn’t think he needed to. He figured he destroyed all of the evidence when he destroyed their shuttle. Sixteen years of silence pretty well confirmed it for him.
“Now that he’s learned he’s made a mistake, he has to figure out how bad the mistake really was, and he has to fix it.”
“Then why not go somewhere far away from here?” Kynan asked. “You guys said that you think he’s on this planet, and you also think that Payra’s military’s waiting somewhere not far from here. Wouldn’t that be a contradiction?”
“Not necessarily,” Rangi said. “Kaevan’s a double agent, but my fear is that he’s also an agent provocateur. They’re probably expecting to meet him here at some point. He has to know we’re working for you, so he assumes we’ll come here. He’s the basket, and we’re the eggs.”
“I don’t get it,” Stoddard said with a squinted eye. “What makes you think he’s an agent provocateur? He hasn’t enticed us to do anything wrong against Payra.”
“Oh, hasn’t he?” Gedeon jumped in. “Who are you attacking right now? How many other Alliance bases have you attacked in the DL? And let’s not forget about Azaria and Boaz. We were marked as traitors because we wanted the truth about them to get out. We have no idea what happened after we left. We do know that there was a political faction that wanted us to take over Earth. Divide and conquer. Form a military pact with the Alliance, give the Alliance just enough help to take out the superior Federation military, and then, after that war’s over, take out a weakened Alliance.”
“It’s a sound strategy,” Rangi said. “And an effective way to rile up political support would be by saying you killed Boaz and Azaria – meaning the Federation. And now you guys are strategically attacking a base that’s clearly designed to support the Payra military. It’s an offensive strike, preemptive in nature. I’m not saying that’s what’s happening; I’m just saying it’s logical. Who knows what kind of propaganda’s being bantered about on Payra these days?”
“It makes sense, Colonel,” Jim Roper said as he looked over at him. “Our congressional handlers and the president almost always gave us the go-ahead on destroying Alliance bases in the DL. And how many times did they provide us with the information themselves? Maybe Kaevan was feeding it to them.”
“Right,” Colonel Stoddard complained with a shake of his head. “Okay, based on this information, Rangi, where would you hold them?”
“On the other side of this planet. Far enough away from the action where he knows he won’t get hurt, but close enough to the Payra military that he can contact them discreetly if he needs them.”
Colonel Stoddard tapped a finger on the Visi-screen in front of him, which zoomed in on the holographic image of the planet to the outposts on the opposing side of Sanchu.
“There’s six of them, and they’re all about two hundred miles away from each other.” Stoddard pressed a button on his Visi-screen, and a female voice came over the intercom, addressing him formally and asking him very professionally what it was that he needed.
“Captain Sutter, I need you to review the recordings from all of our probes monitoring the six outposts on the other side of the planet, going back four hours. We’re looking for a Dagan Class ship.”
“Well, sir,” Sutter began, “I can tell you that there’s been a hornet’s nest of activity from all of them for a while now. Hundreds of ships have been going in and out. Colonel Stark was actually thinking about sending out a squad of Ares and a brigade of troops to take them out. He thinks Alliance is using them as resupply posts.”
“You mean from outside of the planet?”
“Yes, sir. We destroyed the only two gates leading into this area, but we’ve been picking up signals telling us that temporary gates are being opened and closed on the other side of their far moon. Stark already dispatched Epson to the area, but the Alliance keeps shifting their entry points. They’re watching him.”
“The Alliance wants to win this,” Stoddard observed.
“It supports my hypothesis about Payra’s military being close by,” Rangi intoned. “The Alliance wants to impress them.”
“You have your orders, Captain. Put as many people on it as you need. This takes precedence. Stark and Epson can take care of the battle space. One more thing. Tell Stark not to attack those outposts. Tell him to wait for my order. There’s a new development I’m working on related to our earlier discussion. He’ll understand.”
“Yes, sir. Out.”
“Cowboy,” Stoddard said, looking over at Jim. “Grab the QRF and our squadron of Ares. Fly over to that side of the planet and await my word. Go in fast and furious if you get the call. Make the devil proud.”
“Yes, sir,” Jim replied with a nod.
“Jim, wait for one second,” Gedeon said to him. “Colonel Stoddard, I’d really appreciate it if you let Rangi and Jedrek accompany him. They can make a halo insertion once we get the coordinates.”
Colonel Stoddard paused for a moment to consider it, and then he said, “Okay,” he said, nodding his head. “You two can hook up with the QRF. No operational control, though. You can assist and advise only. I see you’re in your exosuits. Do you have your helmets?”
“No, sir, they were on the Zephyr when it crashed,” Rangi told him.
“Right. Jim,” Stoddard said, turning his attention over to him now. “Get them hooked up with whatever it is that they need and do it fast. Tell Lieutenant Fields that they’re going with them and he can utilize them as he sees fit.”
“Yes, sir,” Jim replied.
Gedeon turned to face Rangi and Jedrek. “I’ll meet you as soon as I can,” he said as he extended a hand out to both of them. But Rangi pulled him into a deep bear hug.
“We’ll be waiting,” Rangi said appreciatively, and then Jedrek hugged him as well.
“Kynan,” Stoddard said, turning his attention over to him now that the other three had left the room. “I know you want to go with them, I can see it in your eyes, but I can’t risk your emotions compromising the mission.” He glanced over at Gedeon as if using him as an example.
Kynan looked at Stoddard deadpan in the face and said, “Colonel, I’m smart enough to know that it would. I want to go, but I do understand the risks it would pose, just as Gedeon does.”
“I know you do. And I appreciate you standing aside. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have something for you to do. I want you and Captain Baas…”
“Sir!” Stutter’s voice erupted over the com out of nowhere.
“What is it Captain?” Stoddard asked.
“Someone named Terrell is hailing us. Says he’s Kaevan’s partner.”
“Do you have a trace?” Stoddard replied quickly.
“He’s encrypted it, sir. It’s a tough encryption, so it’ll take a while.”
“Okay, put him through.”
The holographic image of the planet disappeared and was replaced by the upper body of Terrell. “Colonel Stoddard,” he said with a bow of his head. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, sir.”
“What do you want, jackass,” Stoddard said rudely.
“To start with, how about some manners?”
“Piss off,” Stoddard countered. “You kidnap my friends, you start an intergalactic war, and you expect me to have manners? Here’s manners for you. Why don’t you and your coward partner meet me on the battlefield so I can beat your thug asses?”
“Ah, the decorum. This is exactly why our planets can’t coexist. You only know violence and hatred.”
“Are you insane? You’re starting a war!”
“Really? Who’s killing who right now, Colonel? The last time I checked, my people aren’t fighting anyone. And Madam President hasn’t authorized a military engagement, so you’re on your own.”
“You really are a nutter. The president’s a man.”
“Not on Payra she’s not.”
“Terrell, is it?” Gedeon asked. “Why don’t you stop chastising us and get on with your message?”
“The traitor speaks!” Terrell nearly shouted. “You know, I was just a kid when you guys disappeared from Payra. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be the one to finally capture you.”
“You haven’t caught all of us yet.”
“That word ‘yet’ is the critical word in that sentence, traitor. I would think that a man as revered as you are, Colonel Stoddard, would know the kind of company he keeps. But instead, you cavort with murderers and terrorists. I’d expect more from you.”
“I really, really can’t wait until I can kick your scrawny ass,” Stoddard told him with a derelict laugh.
“Just wait a little longer, Colonel, you’ll really want to kick it in about twenty minutes.”
“What are you playing at!?” Stoddard replied through gritted teeth.
“Think about. We’ve just caught three hot girls. What more could a couple of lonely men like us want?”
“I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL KILL YOU!” Kynan shouted as he jumped to his feet.
“Tisk, tisk…guess you all should have thought about that earlier, huh. Here’s the deal. You,” Terrell said while pointing to Gedeon, “and the rest of your mates surrender to us, and we’ll let Kara go.”
“What about Ben?” Gedeon asked.
“What about him? He’s one of us, so he stays with us.”
“Kaevan can’t keep him alive, you twit. He’s a loose end.”
“Well, anymore, all of you are loose ends.”
“So, you know it all, do you? You know about Kaevan’s mistake, and you’re playing along with it anyway?”
“The ends justify the means.”
“Wrong!” Gedeon countered. “The ends are defined by the means!”
“Well, now we’re just splitting hairs, aren’t we?” Terrell retorted snidely, “The only way this ends is when we get what we want. The choice is yours. Now if you’ll follow me…”
The image behind him expanded until it was clear that he was in a rather spacious but empty room. And then he started to move down a hallway.
A text from Sutter scrolled across Stoddard’s Visi-screen reading: “We have their coordinates.” Stoddard replied with: “Send it to Cowboy. He’ll know what to do.”