Christopher Nuttall - Democracy's Light

“It’s quite simple,” Gwendolyn said. “I have been asked by Ambassador Wilhelm to arrange a meeting between her and you, concerning — I believe — trade deals between the Empire and the independent state of Cottbus. Would you like to meet her?”

Kathy stared at her. She’d seen Carola in Parliament, but she agreed with Colin; they needed some answers about what was actually going on in Cottbus before they actually made any decisions about it’s future. Gwendolyn shouldn’t have had any ties to Cottbus at all and she wondered, vaguely, if it was some kind of power play.

“No,” she said, finally. Her house was just coming into view and the aircar began its descent. “I’m not interested.”

The aircar settled neatly on the ground. “Are you sure?” Gwendolyn asked, coldly. “You’re in a very exposed position…”

Kathy rounded on her. “I am part of the Provisional Government,” she snapped. “If anyone is in an exposed position, it’s you!”

She climbed out of the aircar and walked quickly up the path to the door, aware of Gwendolyn’s eyes following her until she opened the door and entered the house. If she was actually dealing with Carola…

I have to discuss this with Jason , she thought, grimly. This changes everything .

There were some who said that the entire Hawthorn System was an artefact, created by supremely power aliens thousands of years ago… and, looking at the system as the 2 ndFleet flickered into existence, Katy could almost believe it. The planets were maintained in unnaturally regular orbits, orbiting in a formation that suggested a long chain of beads, somehow perfectly placed to remain in a line. The outermost planet, a gas giant with its own series of moons, moved around the parent star far faster than the inner worlds, and yet it too maintained its position. It was almost a work of art… and the highly-classified papers Katy had read when she’d been assigned to the system suggested that that was exactly what it was.

The Empire had been reluctant to admit the possibility of far more advanced aliens and had created a scientific theory to explain that perfect orbits, in perfect lines, were possible, if very unlikely. Katy, who’d seen more star systems than the average traveller, was inclined to doubt the logic. The random effects of planets, jostling each other for supremacy, didn’t lead to perfect orbits, although most orbits were fairly stable. The Hawthorn System was just too perfect. It was also one of the most interesting systems to navigate. The gravity shadow literally stretched from the star to the outermost world, and, as it moved with the planets in their orbit, it produced a significant threat to anyone without up-to-date charts. Katy had ordered the fleet to come out of flicker-space above the plane of the system — the plane was perfect, naturally — just to make certain that they had accurate charts. A mistake would have been disastrous.

“The charts were fairly accurate,” the helmsman confirmed, finally. Gravity moved through space faster than light — unfortunately, despite considerable theoretical work, no one had managed to find a way to translate that into a viable faster-than-light communications system — and confirming the location of the planets was easy. It was far less easy to confirm the presence of starships or defence fortresses. Very few of humanity’s constructions in space were large enough to generate a gravity shadow of their own. “There are odd gravity fluctuations around the worlds, however.”

“Interesting,” Katy said, as the display updated. The fluctuations seemed to run from the star out to the outermost world, and then back again in a surprisingly regular pattern. There were, she’d been told, hundreds of scientists studying the fluctuations, trying to decipher their cause and meaning. One theory was that they were an interstellar communications system, although no one had ever detected a reply. “Adjust our course for Hawthorn and flicker us out when you’re ready.”

“Yes, Admiral,” the helmsman said. Space twisted around them and Katy winced, even though the transition shock was a lot smoother than on a smaller starship. “We have arrived at the edge of the gravity shadow.”

Katy looked over at the tactical officer. “The defences remain intact and IFF signals correspond perfectly to the recorded signals, including the emergency signals from Admiral Goodwin,” she said, calmly. “The only starships within sensor range have been identified as ships assigned to the Sector Fleet.”

“Good,” Katy said. Hawthorn had been stripped bare during the later stages of the rebellion. The Imperial Navy had dispatched everything they could in hopes of stemming Colin’s advance, even though some of the ships had mutinied once they’d left the system. Not all of them had made it to the Shadow Fleet, but those that had had been warmly welcomed. Hawthorn’s weakness had been a persistent worry, despite the massive defences; Admiral Wilhelm could have jumped Admiral Goodwin at any time. She was rather surprised that the Empire retained control the system.

Perhaps he still hopes that we will recognise his independence and forget about the cruisers he destroyed , she thought, coldly. Goscinny had made that point quite clear. The Empire might, in the interests of not having to fight another war so quickly, decide that the cruisers had been expendable, after all. Katy hated that logic, even though she couldn’t dispute it, for it sent the wrong message to other warlords. Punching out Cottbus, she felt, would be much more effective.

“Tie us into the system command network and inform me if there are any changes,” she ordered, as she stood up. She suspected that Admiral Wilhelm already knew that her fleet was on the way — his wife and ambassador could have sent him a message — and not flying straight into an ambush was an encouraging sign. “Communications, I want to receive a full report from each and every starship regarding their training progress and inform them that we will be holding a drill tomorrow.”

She left the bridge and walked quickly down to her cabin. As she had expected, Goscinny was waiting for her there, making small talk with the pair of Marine guards. Katy received their salutes, opened the hatch, and invited Goscinny into the room.

“No surprises, then?” Goscinny asked, as he took a chair without being invited to sit. He was an interesting conversationalist, Katy had discovered, but he could also be blatantly unfamiliar with military protocol. “Admiral Goodwin is still in charge and all is well?”

“It seems that way,” Katy agreed, tapping her terminal and requesting a secure link to Admiral Goodwin. They were, technically, equals, but under the old order he would have been her superior. Admiral Goodwin didn’t have a bad reputation — and nor, she remembered, did Admiral Wilhelm — but he had little in the way of imagination. He would be fine as long as he didn’t actually have a crisis to deal with. A safe pair of hands for an Imperial Navy base, in other words. “One moment…”

Admiral Goodwin’s face materialised in front of them. He was a short, balding man, with a slightly chubby face and body. He could have had both of those conditions corrected with ease, in any medical lab, and choosing to keep both of them suggested either supreme self-confidence or a sheer lack of concern about appearances. It made a pleasant change. In Katy’s experience, most men who had access to cosmetic technology gave themselves the bodies of Greek Gods, with the sexual stamina to match. It spoke volumes about their insecurities.

“Admiral,” he said, without preamble. “I can’t say how glad I am that you’re here.”