Jack Campbell: The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Steadfast

“It is like the enigmas,” Tulev said. “But we have rescreened the systems on Leviathan and can find no trace of software of any kind that might be corrupting our systems to hide these attackers from us.”

“What would the enigmas be doing at Indras, anyway?” Badaya demanded. “This is probably some Syndic secret weapon that has turned on them. Or something one of their rebel star systems is using to hit back.”

“The locals are reporting that they can see what they call the dark ships,” Geary said. “Why would the attackers of a Syndic star system blind our sensors and not those of the Syndics? The Syndic government itself has no reason to attack one of their own star systems, and from the amount of damage we can see, the attacking force has to be much larger than anything we believe the Syndics or any rebellious star systems have in this part of space.”

“If it’s a Syndic worm,” Badaya began again.

“We would have found it already!” Desjani insisted. “My code monkeys are good. As good as they come.”

“Could the Dancers have planted something in our systems?” Tulev asked. “Something as different from what we know as the enigma quantum-coded worms were?”

“That’s not impossible,” Geary said. “But why? What possible reason could they have for doing that, and why would the Dancers somehow assist whoever is attacking Indras?”

“I just double-checked,” Desjani said. “We’ve maintained full isolation of the comm gear that talks to the Dancers. The only way they could have infected our systems is if they have worms that can leave the gear, invisibly crawl across the deck to other compartments, and wriggle into the equipment there. And if they can do that, then we’re dealing with tech so much higher and different than ours that the odds of even spotting it seem impossible.”

“Then what about the Kicks?” Badaya asked, instantly shifting focus. “We had that ship of theirs with us for a long time. Something aboard that, which leapfrogged through the Marine and Fleet systems, slowly infecting every ship.”

“A contagion off of Invincible ?” Geary considered that, his eyes shifting briefly to his display as another Syndic installation at Indras blew up under the impact of bombardment projectiles that were invisible to the Alliance warships.

“These can’t be Kick ships attacking Indras,” Desjani protested. “How would they have gotten here? And the attackers are using bombardment projectiles, which as far as we know the Kicks don’t even carry. Besides, according to my people, the stuff we found on Invincible was totally different from our own. How could Kick software have migrated to our systems when their systems and software don’t match ours at all?”

A momentary silence fell. “We seem to have run out of possible sources for whatever is blinding our systems,” Tulev finally said. “What other enemies does this fleet face?”

“Do you mean besides our own headquarters and government?” Badaya asked sarcastically.

Geary stared at him without speaking for a few seconds. “Tanya, you say your code monkeys are absolutely certain that there’s nothing in our systems that isn’t supposed to be there?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied forcefully. “Not unless it’s something totally new and unusual, using principles totally different from anything we’ve used or considered or encountered or imagined up to now.”

“Captain Tulev? Captain Badaya? Do the system security people on your ships concur in that?”

Both of them nodded. “I wish we still had Captain Cresida here to address the problem,” Tulev added. “But I do not think even she would have any answers.”

“There goes another HuK,” Desjani said. “He was obviously running from something that caught him. I’ve never been in a fight where I can only see one side. Admiral, what are you driving at?”

“I used to read old detective stories,” Geary said. “Really old stuff. In one of them, the detective said that once you eliminate all other possibilities, whatever is left must be the answer. I never forgot that. And now, it seems we’ve eliminated the possibility of unauthorized software messing up our systems and even wiping out images of these attackers from Syndic videos that we’re intercepting. What’s left?”

“Authorized software?” Tulev asked, a rare amount of surprise inflecting his words.

“Yes. Something that’s supposed to be there that’s causing this and isn’t tripping any security screens because it’s not a worm or a virus or anything else. It’s part of the official system software.”

“Why would fleet headquarters do such a thing?” Tulev said.

Badaya began to answer, but Geary spoke quickly to cut him off. “Maybe they didn’t. Maybe the government didn’t. Maybe certain offices or secret programs did it, and a lot of high-ranking people don’t even know it was done. Maybe part of the government did it, maybe segments of fleet headquarters. If my guess is true, that is. Get your people looking.”

“For what?” Badaya asked, plaintive now.

Tulev answered with dispassionate logic. “We do not know under what name or subsystem the software can be found, but we do know what it must be doing. If we know what it must do, then we can search for software that carries out such functions, no matter where it is located.”

“Exactly,” Geary said. “While we search, I’m going to take the task force toward the jump point for Kalixa, but only at point zero five light speed.”

If he had felt powerless while observing events at Midway, here at Indras Geary felt a sense of bizarre incomprehension watching a literally one-sided battle as the Alliance task force swung along the outer edges of the star system.

“Admiral, we have a call from the Syndics. An emergency comm routing. They must be using some alternate command systems.”

That would hardly be surprising given the amount of damage they could see to the regular command systems at Indras. “Bounce it to me.”

The CEO Geary saw was not Yamada. Neither was she immaculately dressed and displaying a false, calculated expression. She looked, in fact, like someone who had just had her normal routine bombed out from under her. “This is an act of war! The Alliance has blatantly and openly attacked us without any warning, causing immense property damage and loss of life! I demand that you cease all attacks and withdraw from this star system immediately!”

Desjani exhaled in exasperation. “She thinks we’re attacking them? Can’t she tell we’re not firing, and that this attack was well under way before we even got here?”

“I wish I knew who or what was attacking them,” Geary said. He tapped reply. “To the leaders of Indras, this is Admiral Geary of the Alliance fleet. We are not attacking you. None of my ships have fired on you, nor will they unless attacked themselves. We are currently trying to determine the identity of the ships that are attacking Indras, but I swear on my honor that they are not under my command and not subject to my orders. To the honor of our ancestors, Geary, out.”

Over the next hour, there were signs that the attack was tapering off as fewer targets were destroyed. “Captain,” Lieutenant Castries said, “from the pattern of the attacks, it looks like the attacking ships may be withdrawing toward the jump point for Kalixa.”

“Could they be a threat to Atalia?” Geary wondered. “And will they stop at Atalia or go on to Alliance space?”

Desjani kept her voice very low. “If we can’t see them because of something that official sources in the Alliance did, that implies—”

“I know what it implies. I also know that even if that is true, I can’t assume those ships aren’t a threat to the Alliance as long as I don’t know who they are.”