Shifting Power by John Walker

Author:John Walker [Walker, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-28T22:00:00+00:00

***

Lyson sat in the command center at one of the side terminals. She worked on their data, organizing it for later consumption. The pilot Hayes sat nearby, acting as an assistant, though she seemed rooted to the comm channel, waiting for any word from the attack force out in the canyon.

I don’t blame her. Lyson struggled not to think about Oliver and what might be happening to him out there. She figured he must’ve been okay, or someone would’ve sent word. They’d been gone just over an hour. Without knowing exactly how long such an operation should take, she wasn’t exactly sure when to start worrying.

Borden sat in his ship waiting for word that he might be needed. Lyson knew he hadn’t been called upon, but she wasn’t sure whether that was good news or bad. All the years she spent around military people, she never paid enough attention to exactly what they did. Her run in with Oliver had been the closest she ever got.

Even that primarily involved trying to stay alive in a dreadful situation.

Graff came storming in, moving over to one of the younger people running the system scan. They spoke in hushed whispers. Lyson didn’t know what they were talking about, but she recognized the tension. It was enough to draw her attention away from moving files around. She nudged Hayes.

“How bad would it be if we crashed that little party?”

“Don’t know,” Hayes replied. “I don’t know that guy, but Borden seemed to think he was okay.”

“Excuse me!” Lyson called. “What’s going on?”

Graff glared at her. “A ship just arrived in the system. Big one. Battleship. Gold Empire.”

“Is that okay?” Hayes asked. “Doesn’t that happen all the time? Borden told me all manner of ships visit this place.”

“That part’s normal,” Graff replied, “but I’m not comfortable with the timing. We’re waiting for the Morrigan to show up and this battleship arrives? That’s not a coincidence.”

“What’re we going to do about it?” Lyson asked.

Something started beeping. Graff sighed. “Answer their hail, I suppose.” He cleared his throat before slapping the screen. “This is Control Center Delta responding to request for communication. Graff Barret responding. What can I do for you?”

“This is Commodore Bleys Alden. I am here on a matter of urgency. Are you and your people safe? I understand you may have some sensitive material under your care.”

“We… may.” Graff squinted. He pursed his lips before continuing. “How did you come by this information?”

“I also happen to know that you’re working with a Confederate captain named Markel. Would you care to deny it? I don’t believe we have time for you to be overly cagey.”

Graff muted the line. He looked around at the others. “I’m not sure what to do. I’d like to speak to Major Peck. Or Captain Blake.” He bellowed toward the door, “Someone get me Captain Blake right now!” He turned back to the comm. “Commodore, please give us one moment. We’ll be back on the line to assist you.”

“Make it fast. We’re en route and will be in orbit in thirty minutes.

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