Stargazers: "Olympic Dreadnought Agamemnon"

Olympic Dreadnought Agamemnon

            In the empty, impartial cold of space, under the violet glow of the star Theta, Siegfried appears.  It slips from the undulating folds of dive space, light and void distending around it as it forces its way into place there.  It drifts a few meters before blasting air from the front and easing to a stop.  A short distance away, the dreadnought Agamemnon appears, a mass of steel painted blue and white, decked with rows of cannons.  Each cannon is fixed on Siegfried as Agamemnon stops parallel to the other ship.

            They form a slow, delicate circle, hailing each other and then matching drift.  Their hulls line up and connect to make the trade.  Four Olympic soldiers, wearing white armor and carrying assault rifles at their backs, meet the Federation soldiers halfway.  The three prisoners are put between them and will be the first to die should shots fire.  They are handed off peacefully.

            Arthur leads them to the Olympic soldiers, who give stiff nods to the Federation soldiers before leading them away.  In the safety of Agamemnon, Arthur gives a sigh of relief and thanks the soldiers.  They respond curtly and order him to the bridge.

            It has been decades since Arthur has seen the interior of an Olympic ship, and he is surprised to find it similar in build to the Federation ship he was just on.  After brief consideration, however, it makes sense to him.  Most ships are built by third party dealers selling to both armies, especially during times of peace.  A certain degree of uniformity, born primarily from function and cost, is to be expected.

            They are walked to the bridge, a wide, angular room with five walls lined with enormous monitors.  Thirty people work from consoles spread tightly through the deck.  From a raised platform, a tall, broad-shouldered man keeps watch.  He wears a uniform heavy with medals and keeps a neat, trimmed beard that is going gray.  He greets them with a humorless smile and a long stare.  “Hello.”  He nods to the other two and shakes hands with Arthur.  “Jameson, it’s been some time.”

            “It has.”  Arthur speaks without warmth.  His scowl betrays his feelings.  “You’ve been promoted,” he says, regarding first the medals and then the ship itself.

            “Some circles might see it that way.”  The man looks past Arthur, to the others.  “I am Rear Admiral Gerald Galahad, and this is my ship: Agamemnon.  You are all welcome here and will be granted the protection due to all citizens under Olympic law.  Men, take the ladies to the infirmary and make sure they’re properly bandaged.  You can never trust a Feds shoddy work.”  He looks Arthur in the eyes.  “You, however, can stay and tell me what the hell is going on.”

            Chastity hesitates, watching Arthur as the soldiers flank her.  She remains rooted, and they wait beside her, reluctant to move her by force but willing should they need to.  Arthur gives her a smile.  “It’s okay.  We can trust them. I’ll be along soon.”  Hearing this, she nods and allows herself to be led away.

            Now alone with him, Arthur fixes his attention on Galahad.  Old memories surface, pushed along by equally old feelings and lingering regrets.  Arthur finds that the only thing that has changed about Galahad in eleven years is the number of badges he has sewn into his jacket.  Galahad, in return, is disappointed by what he sees in Arthur.  He paces a circle around him, hands folded behind his back, and appraises him before turning his attention to the monitors on the walls.  Each shows the inky blackness of space, broken by the faint glow of distant nebulae catching the light cast by the stars.

            “You’ve had a few promotions since we last met,” Arthur says.  He has moved only enough to follow Galahad’s movement.  Galahad meets his gaze with a stiff smile.

            “I’ve done well,” he says, and he turns toward Arthur in full.  “And you, you went into the private sector, didn’t you?”

            Arthur shrugs.  “After everything that happened, the military didn’t have much to offer me.”  He looks around the impressive bridge interior and adds, “It still doesn’t.”

            Galahad give a cold laugh.  “You always were difficult.  Still, I suppose that I’m glad to see you alive, and lucky, too, from the looks of things.  So, will you tell me the truth about what happened on Canaan, Jameson?”

            “I’m assuming you knew about the project there?”

            “Which one?”

            Arthur scratches his head.  “Well, I hope I’m not stepping on any toes here by saying this, but the Guide ruins.”

            “Those.”  Galahad nods and rubs his beard.  “Yes, I know.  Despite everything, I am still very well-informed, though that is military high command.  They wanted us watching for pirate activity in the area.  It seems their instincts were right.”

            “Partly right,” Arthur says.  “They acted like pirates, but they had no interest in anything other than the Guides.  They were organized, too, and they were using Gigas Armors.”

            Galahad frowns while rubbing his beard.  “Were they Olympic models?”

            “Some of them, yes, but heavily modified and led by a non-standard armor.  It used an EMP to knock out base’s defenses and communication.  Then, a small team of pilots picked apart the outside before moving in on foot.  The attack was efficient, but they didn’t take anything for loot.  Their target—targets—were specific.”

            “The Guide.”

            Arthur nods.  “Not only did they know it was there, they knew exactly where to look,” he says.  “There must have been someone on the inside.”

            “It does sound like it, but how do the Feds come into play?”

            “Happenstance.  The enemy stopped at Hades on the way to wherever they were going.  At the time, I was able to escape with the others, but we were caught and nearly killed.  The Feds happened to see what was happening and intervened, and it was lucky for us that they did.”

            “And how much do they know?”

            “Nothing hard.  I lied as best I could, but they had me drugged up, and their commander was suspicious.  Plus, it’s hard to hide what we had with us during a physical examination.”

            Galahad rubs his beard, tugging absently at the hair as he thinks.  His face tightens into a scowl.  “Damn it.  This might be trouble.”

            “What’s more, the Lady, one of my companions, is a Guide.”

            Galahad halts.  He gives Arthur a long look before saying, with open disbelief.  “She is a Guide?”

            “It’s crazy, I know, but the Lady woke up and helped us escape.  When examined on the Federation ship, no injuries were found.  The results were strange, vaguely human, but machine.  You must know yourself that the facility was built into Guide ruins.”

            “It’s why, officially, we have nothing to do with it.”

            “The Lady is what was there.  It’s why Chastity was brought in to begin with.  They were trying to wake it up, I think, and they did it.”

            Galahad gives a long look at the floor.  He plucks vigorous at his beard as he thinks.  Folding his arms, he asks, “Is there anything else I should know, Jameson?”

            “One thing.”  Arthur waits until Galahad meets his gaze and then says, “The one leading the attack on our facility was Lancelot.  It was Steven.”

            Galahad’s frown deepens.

            “So, it wasn’t a military operation then?”

            “He was discharged.  You know that.”

            Arthur folds his arms over his chest now and gives Galahad the same incredulity that he was given earlier.  “I don’t trust anything the military says unless I see the results for myself,” he says.  “What about the others? Where is Osceola? Where’s Micah?”

            “Guinevere is still with us, though working under someone else.  I hear she’s been testing a non-standard prototype for field use.”

            Arthur nods.  “Good use for her.  And Micah?”

            Galahad gives a lethargic shrug.  “Last I heard, he was still with us, but I haven’t kept my ears out for him, to be honest.  I want it all behind me, too.”

            “Fair enough.”

            “If that’s all, then you can go and get some rest.  You look like hell.”

            “I’ve been better,” Arthur says.  “But, I do have one more question.

            “Quickly.”

            “Where are you taking us?”

            Galahad grunts and turns away. He stares thoughtfully at the monitors showing the cosmos around them.  “We’ll take you three to the research facility on Athens.”

            Arthur gives a nod and, out of habit and memory, salutes before leaving.  Galahad watches him go impassively, a growing fatigue settling in the slouch of his shoulders.

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Chastity and the Lady are led to the medical bay and then left alone.  Their examinations are brief and note nothing that the Federation medical officers hadn’t already noted.  They order them both to rest and dim the lights on the way out.  Chastity lies on her back across a thin mattress with the white sheets pulled up around her.  The Lady sits at her side.

            The ship churns.  Chastity feels a familiar pressure around her temples that indicates the ship entering dive space.  She closes her eyes and rides out the initial pinch and then stares at the ceiling as unbidden memories take form.  She thinks of Lancelot standing above her as Achilles dived, thinks of his powerful hands seizing her body, of his cold eyes, and she recoils.

She looks at the Lady, who is staring over her at the far wall.  Her expression is no longer blank.  Her eyes glow, and there is a hint of emotion.  It is mechanical interest, an expression that is sincere yet unrefined.  A few seconds pass before the Lady realizes Chastity’s interest and returns it.  Her eyes dim in the process.  “I am learning.”

            Chastity sits up on her elbows.  “You’ve accessed the ship’s database?”

            The Lady nods.  “Yes.  It is much larger, more robust than the last, but the information here conflicts with what I found on the previous ship.”  The Lady pauses.  “Historical records differ surrounding key events.  It is unlikely.  Both sides cannot win a war.”

            Chastity laughs as she sits forward.  She hugs her knees and watches the Lady—a Guide, a real, living, speaking Guide—sitting before her.  She wishes, desperately, that her implant was still working and that she could compile information and conduct an interview.

            “We are going to Athens.”  The Lady looks away again, eyes moving as if she is reading, but there are no words in front of her.  Chastity recognizes the response.  She did the same thing when she interfaced with her A.I.  “There is a base there. A military base.  I recognize the star charts.”

“You do? From where?  The Siegfried?”

            “No,” the Lady says.  “From my personal database.”

            “Your personal database? So, you do have memories?”

            “No.  I have a purpose, but I do not know what it is.  My memories are corrupted, fragmented.  My systems feel strange.”

            “The EMP,” Chastity says, and she rests her head on her knees.  “It damaged all of the equipment when it hit.  My implant is fried, too.  It’s honestly amazing that yours works at all.”

            “I am not equipment,” the Lady says, turning to her.

            Chastity balks. “No, no!  I didn’t mean to imply that you are.  I am so sorry!”

            “Your implant, does it hurt?”

            “No.” Chastity pauses.  She feels the metal hidden behind her left ear.  “I can get the pieces replaced easily enough.  Or, did you mean do I have it because I am hurt?”

            “Yes.”

            Chastity smiles.  “Also no.  I had it to help me compile my research.  I was a professor for a short time.  I taught, and I wrote papers.  Did they have professors in your civilization?”

            “I do not know.”

            The infirmary door slides up and reveals Arthur behind it.  He enters, smiling at the two of them in the half-light.  “How did things go? Did they find anything else?”

            Chastity shakes her head.  “We’re both fine.  How about you?”

            “I’m fine,” Arthur says, easing himself into a seat beside the bed.  “I’ve had worse injuries, and on missions, too.  I’ll survive this, I promise you that much.”

            “Good.”  Chastity hugs her knees tight and stares across at Arthur.  “Hey, I just wanted to say—Well, thank you.  For everything.  For fighting for me.”

            Arthur gives a pained grin as he adjusts his posture.  “You’re welcome, but don’t go thanking me yet.  We’re still not out.”

            “I know.  Lady says we’re going to Athens.”

            Arthur looks between them.  “And how would it know something like that?  You hacking again?”

            The Lady looks at him.  “Athens is important.”

            “It is.  There’s a science facility there and Guide ruins all over the planet.  If anyone can figure you out, they can.”

            “Ruins.  There’s something among the ruins.”

            Arthur regards her critically, his brow knitting.  “Yeah? And what’s that?”

            The Lady stares at him and shrugs.

            “Right.”  Arthur leans back in his chair, his head at rest against the softly vibrating walls of the ship.  “Then let’s ret while we can, guides and gals.  I’ve got the feeling that this whole mess is far from over.”

 

-Stargazers part 1-

 

            Athens is a large, blue pearl orbiting Star Beta.  Technically, it was founded and settled as an Olympic planet, but the large number of Guide ruins scattered across the planet’s surface found it open to all governments.  This also made the planet hard to settle despite its fertile fields and rich mineral deposits.  What few settlements are there are centered around research and little else.

            The space just outside of Athens warps.  Ripples form in the light, causing waves of distortion to undulate through the empty space.  Appearing in this forming void, Agamemnon slides smoothly into place and drifts into Athens’ orbit.  Its Yggdrasil Drive purrs to a stop as the ship settles.

            Arthur, Chastity, and the Lady have been summoned to the shuttle bay.  There, they are escorted by armed Republic soldiers with Galahad at their lead.  He walks steadily in front of them, his hands folded behind his back, while the soldiers keep their assault rifles in hand but with their safeties on.

            They take a shuttle to the planet’s surface.  It is daytime where they land, and the air is warm and fresh.  The leaves are changing in early autumn at the facility, and the summer’s heat is just beginning to fade.  The changing of the seasons is so pronounced and at odds with Canaan’s dusty, arid expanse that Chastity’s finds herself momentarily rooted upon seeing it.

            Galahad leads them into a facility much larger than the one on Canaan and perhaps even better funded.  The research done here, Chastity knows, isn’t just into Guide technology.  It is a military research station interested in weapons, armors, and other secrets beneath all of that.  All of it is strictly guarded and deeply denied.

            They reach a front reception room where Galahad speaks to a secretary behind a thick, glass wall.  Their conversation is brief, and Galahad is shown inside, leaving the three with the soldiers.  Chastity watches Arthur, who waits patiently.  None of them are handcuffed, but the presence of the soldiers makes it clear that they are not free.

            Galahad returns within a few minutes, a group of scientists now following him.  They surround the Lady and examine her with clinical interest.  While the scientists work, Galahad turns his attention to Arthur and Chastity standing nearby.  “You two will return with me to the ship.  The Guide stays here.”

            Chastity looks between Arthur and Galahad.  Finding both stone-faced, she then turns her attentions to the guards.  Finally, she says, “That’s not fair!  She’s not just a test subject.  She…”

            “She is now ours,” Galahad says.  “I understand how you must feel.  This is the find of a lifetime, but with that acknowledged, you must in turn understand what she means not only to the Republic, but to all of the worlds.  She doesn’t belong to you, doctor.  Your work is done now.  Thank you for your service, now come along.”

            “No.  I can stay.  I can help.”

            “You aren’t needed.”

            “But…”  Chastity grabs ineffectually at the Lady’s hand.  A guard steps in to separate the two, blocking Chastity’s view of the Lady.  Arthur steps forward to intercept, but stops as the three remaining guards respond.  All four guards close rank, and Arthur turns to Chastity and takes her by the shoulder.

            “Sorry, kid.  We’re outnumbered.”

            She stares at him, tears in her eyes, as the Lady is led away by the gathered scientists.  By the look in the Lady’s eyes, Chastity realizes that her friend isn’t even there.  With a database like Athens’, the Lady is likely learning so much more than she could before.  Chastity sniffs.  “But Arthur…”

            Arthur nods.  “I know, but she’ll be fine.  There are proper channels we can take to solve this.  Ones that don’t involve trying to take on a whole base with just the two of us.”

            She nods and wipes her nose.  Turning, she glares at Galahad.  “Fine, then.  Let’s go and get this over with.”

            “Yes, let’s.”  Galahad leads them back out.  Arthur and Chastity follow with the four guards flanking them.

            Chastity leans in to whisper to Arthur as they are led back across the landing pad and toward Agamemnon’s shuttle.  “So, what will happen now?”

            “Most likely? We’ll be debriefed and sent back into civilian life with the expectation that we will speak nothing of this,” he whispers back.  “I know it’s rough, but it’s not a fight we can win here.  It’s best to play by their rules.  If we want to get anywhere with this, we’ll have to.”

            “But she’s not just some science experiment.  She’s a living creature, and she’s learning so quickly.”

            Arthur nods.  He is just formulating his response when siren sound.  Everyone stops.  The guards train their weapons on the duo while Galahad takes a few steps forward, searching for the trouble he knows isn’t from them.  His comm buzzes.  “Three Federation ships have been spotted in orbit and are opening fire on Agamemnon.  Repeat, three federation ships have appeared in orbit and are engaging Agamemnon.”

            Galahad turns to Arthur, who meets his gaze.  “They followed us.”

            Arthur nods.