Christopher Nuttall - Democracy's Light

The display continued to fill up as passive sensors pulled in data from across the system. Even accounting for the speed of light delays — and the limited sensors mounted on the probes — it was an impressive display, almost the equal of Earth’s solar system or one of the systems the Geeks had been establishing before the Fall of Earth. Hundreds of sublight ore freighters buzzed around, convoying newly-mined material from the asteroid belt to the shipyards surrounding the planet, while civilian ships ran from her fleet. Very few commercial skippers would stick around anywhere where the missiles might start flying — after all, they might be mistaken for decoys, Q-Ships or even arsenal ships — and as she watched, most of them flickered out on random vectors. It looked as if most of them were heading for the nearest star systems, but that was hardly a surprise. If nothing else, passing on the warning to Wilhelm’s friends and allies might earn them enough to save them from bankruptcy

She pulled up the data on Cottbus itself and scrolled through it rapidly. Admiral Wilhelm had been busy. Unless she was much mistaken — and she forwarded the probe data to the team of analysts she’d brought along for this purpose — the shipyard had been expanded, while the defences had actually been improved. It was hard to be sure at such a distance, but it looked as if they were deploying free-floating missile racks and heavy-duty energy weapons platforms, adding to the sheer firepower that they could deploy. Two squadrons of superdreadnaughts, floating protectively near the shipyard, completed the defences… or did they?

“Hubert, run an analysis on those freighters in Section Fifty-Seven,” she ordered, coolly. They stood out — no one in their right mind would keep freighters somewhere within range of missiles, unless they weren’t freighters — and she had a sneaking suspicion that they were actually arsenal ships. “While you’re at it, run a readiness check on their defences and report to me.”

She defocused the display and watched as the system continued to unfold, leaving a mystery. A Sector Fleet commonly had three superdreadnaught squadrons to provide the final resort for any Admiral. Admiral Wilhelm hadn’t forwarded the ships to Morrison, so where was the final superdreadnaught squadron? They could be lurking somewhere in interplanetary space, their drives and shields stepped down to make detection difficult, or they could be elsewhere. The latter made little sense — he knew there would be some kind of reaction from the Provisional Government, unless he had an unreasonable amount of faith in Carola — but the former wasn’t that smart either. It was almost as if he were tempting her to attack.

“Those freighters may be arsenal ships or Q-Ships, although I suspect the former,” the tactical officer said, slowly. “I don’t think that they would put Q-Ships in the line of battle for any reason, unless they were desperate, and in any case they don’t have any of the little tips you learn to watch for.”

And most pirates never get that chance , Katy thought, coldly. “And their readiness?”

“It’s hard to be sure at this distance,” the tactical officer said, “but I’d put them at ninety percent, at least. Their superdreadnaughts alone are at roughly ninety-five percent, while their smaller ships range from one hundred percent to ninety-two percent.”

Katy scowled. The Imperial Navy used a percentage system to rate the readiness of any given unit and most starships, particularly before the rebellion, had rated out as around seventy percent. The Morrison Sector Fleet had been lucky to rate forty percent… and that was only through carefully ignoring certain parts of the evidence. The Shadow Fleet had tried to reach ninety-nine percent for all of its units, but clearly Admiral Wilhelm had had similar ideas. Free of the restraints of the Thousand Families, like Colin and Katy herself, he had had the chance to put his ideas into practice.

We’re not going to get a helpful mutiny here , she thought, grimly. The rate of successful mutinies had fallen after the Empire had instituted a harsh new regime; everywhere, but Morrison. There, Joshua had treated his crews decently and humanly… and had been rewarded with loyalty. It looked as if Admiral Wilhelm had been reading Joshua’s notes on the subject and added a few refinements of his own.

She keyed her console. “Minister Goscinny, please report to the Flag Deck,” she ordered. They couldn’t delay much longer. Soon, they would be committed to engagement range of the planet and its defenders. “It’s time to contact Admiral Wilhelm directly.”

Goscinny reached the Flag Bridge surprisingly quickly for a person who hadn’t been used to superdreadnaughts, but then, she had advised him to learn his way around the massive ship. The Geeks had wanted to design starships that were far simpler — one of them had used the word elegant — but experienced officers had talked them out of it. It suited the crews that the vital sections of the ship — the bridge, engineering and life support — were harder to reach than it seemed. Goscinny had been reluctant to spend time on the bridge or the Flag Deck, claiming to be worried about the effects of pushing the wrong button, but Katy had insisted that he join her for the first contact. If nothing else, she wanted to hear what he said to Admiral Wilhelm.

“Plot out a standard firing pattern for multi-missiles,” she ordered curtly. If it came down to blows, she wanted to inflict as much damage as she could in the opening rounds. Cottbus was more than adequately defended by the old rules, but Admiral Wilhelm could hardly be prepared for all the weapons in her arsenal. “Lock them in on first and second-rank targets.”

“Aye, Admiral,” the tactical officer said. His hands flew across the console. “Targeting pattern building now.”

Katy turned and smiled up at Goscinny. The Gaul looked more worried than she had expected, pale and sweating rather than arrogant and confident. She was tempted to insist on making the first transmission herself, rather than sending another impression of weakness, but they’d already agreed that Goscinny would make the transmission and offer Admiral Wilhelm an out, provided he was smart enough to accept it. Katy gritted her teeth as Goscinny took his position. She understood the logic of amnesty, even to spiders and worms, but it didn’t sit well with her. She would have preferred to systematically separate Wilhelm’s arms and legs from his body, and then throw what was left into space.

“Open channel,” she ordered. “Minister, you’re on.”

“This is Minister René Goscinny, representing the Provisional Government of the Empire,” Goscinny said. Katy allowed herself a moment of surprise. Goscinny hadn’t sounded weak at all. She’d forgotten that he’d grown up on a democratic world and his position had relied upon convincing others to vote for him. It was something very few people in the Empire had experience doing. “I speak directly to Admiral Wilhelm.

“Two months ago, starships from the Imperial Navy entered this system to convoy the news of the change of governments and bring Cottbus into the new system,” he continued, his voice as hard and cold as stone. “Those starships were treacherously attacked and destroyed by your forces. One survived to bring back the news of your actions to Earth. This force is here to hold you to account for your actions.”

He paused before carrying on. “Your representative” — they’d agreed that Carola would be denied the title of Ambassador — “has argued that Cottbus is an independent state, having freed itself from the yoke of the Empire, under your control. If that were indeed the case, an admission that the Provisional Government is not prepared to make, your actions would constitute an act of war. We would be justified in investing, invading and occupying Cottbus and any other worlds that followed your banner. We do not accept that version of events.