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Everyone who knew Camillus, liked and admired him, but even his mother would
not have called him "intelligent". "Handsome", "athletic",
even "eligible" were epithets that might be used to describe him in
matronly circles. But if Camillus ever had an original thought, no-one had
suffered from hearing it. He was polite, deferential to his elders and could be
relied on by his superiors to follow orders to the letter without risk of
deviation. Lacking any imagination whatsoever, and possessing no strategic
technical skills, made him the ideal candidate for a mission of this nature.
Jacko had impressed on him "You will seek out the Admiral of the
Etruscan hub fleet stationed around Perusia. You will only deliver your message
in person. If you are asked about its contents you will refuse to divulge
anything beyond the fact that it is an imperial secret. You have been supplied
with credentials, which you must show when challenged. But your main asset in
getting an audience will be the space-freighter that has been commandeered with
the sole purpose of conveying your message. It carries no cargo and no arms. It
does have a skeleton crew, who are all civilians."
Camillus was inspired by adrenalin "What if the Etruscans try to
search the ship and detain it?" he asked.
"Your concern is not what happens to the freighter. Once you have got
to Perusia and delivered your message, it doesn't matter whether the Etruscans
search the ship, detain it or blow it to smithereens. I would expect them to
search it, and finding nothing of value on board, they will probably release it
again shortly afterwards in the interests of maintaining good trade relations.
It's a Latium freighter anyway. Not one of theirs, not one of ours. If the
Etruscans want to play silly games that's fine. But as the ship has been sent on
an imperial mission any damage or delay would be accountable to the emperor.
Anyway, the crew know the risks, and they will get paid a bonus on their return."
"What do you want me to do after I've delivered the message?"
asked Camillus enthusiastically.
"Once you have satisfied the imperial necessity and delivered the
message, and made sure that it's understood and acted upon, there are no
particular orders for you afterwards. Just try to make a good impression. Answer
with discretion, any questions you are asked. If you ask the Etruscans nicely,
they may even offer you a lift home."
After Camillus departed for the space-port to rendezvous with the freighter
that was waiting for its expensive human cargo of one, Jacko conferred with
Scythia's ruler.
"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" Penelope asked, wondering
what she might have to say to yet another childless mother. Twenty years of
politics had hardened her resolve, but never her heart, which always grieved for
the lost souls.
"There's no particular reason why they should keep him on Perusia,"
commented Jacko. "As long as they don't think he's an assassin he should be
OK... His best chance for survival is telling the literal truth. When the
Etruscans find out what he used to do as his career before becoming an imperial
messenger they'll probably keep him alive and bring him back with them to
Scythia, because they will want to use his knowledge of the palace layout and
defences."
"If we sent someone else..." Penelope began, remembering Camillus
playing with Ireny and Helen when they were all still children. The past seemed
to be prominent in her thoughts during the last twenty-four hours.
"If we sent someone else, they would either have too much information
that we wouldn't want to lose, or they would be too remote from your circle. In
the latter case we couldn't rely on their loyalty, and they wouldn't be
sufficiently credible to the Etruscans. I'm afraid Camillus was the best choice."
'How many names have I heard linked to missions in that context?' Penelope
mused, but she said aloud "I'll tell his mother myself when the ship has
gone. She will deem it an honour he was selected. I suppose we ought to think
about giving him a promotion if he comes back."
"If we survive his coming back" commented Jacko drily, "we'll
all deserve promotions."
Space... Just outside the Scythian system.
Five battle cruisers drift with the debris of space. Strung out in a ten
mile crooked dog leg formation, they are linked by a fibre comms cable. If you
were really close to this cable you would touch it and feel it before you saw
it, and yet you still wouldn't see any of the ships at all. We join a conference
that's scintillating down this fibre.
"What do we have on the bird that just flew out of Scythia? Over."
The voice of Admiral John Wayne Churchill.
"Sven here, Admiral." Sven's cruiser, Bismark was assigned to
watch the Scythian segment. "From the signals we picked up, it could have
been the same one that came in yesterday, or same type. It went into hyperspace
same way as it came in. Noisy. No cloaking. Over."
"A military bird you think? Over."
"Too noisy for a navy boat. Think it unlikely. Over."
"Any other suggestions? Over."
Garble. Several voices. Pause. One voice. "Dianne here." No need
to identify that voice, the others listening thought.
"If it was the same ship that came in yesterday, that's a fast
turnaround on a hyperspace freighter. Speed of turnaround could be related to
our contact. Over?"
"What purpose you think? Over."
"To tell someone else. Over."
"Why not send a navy boat? Over."
"Maybe they want to keep their assets close to home. Over."
"Any other thoughts? Over."
"Nelson here, John. We've been monitoring signals activity. We can't
read any of it yet, but the density of traffic has increased significantly in
the last eight hours or so. It's a hundred times up on anything we've seen
during the last week. I'd bet it's a result of our contact. Over."
"We expected that. Didn't we? They'll be trying to locate the Explorer.
How about you André? How does this fit into your games model? Over."
"Thanks John. What I've heard just now ties up well. You want a
summary? Over."
"Let's all hear it. Over."
"OK. We've established contact with a hyperspace capable culture. The
signal we intercepted from Carlos indicates he got a friendly reception when
he landed. But the natives are going to be curious and nervous until they locate
his ship. We can assume that a search is underway and will be successful soon.."
Garble. "Sorry André, John again. Just a thought. How long did
it take us to track Explo to its current hiding position? Over."
"Sven here. It took us a couple of hours. But, according to the mission
plan, the drivers of Explorer are unaware at this moment that they have
INVISIBLE technology available. That fact is known only to the naval commander,
who will still be in frozen sleep at this stage. We found them quickly because
we had the advantage of knowing where they were to start off with. Over."
"André again. It will take the natives a bit longer, but they
have had a physical contact which will give them a good starting point for a
search. So far we've detected very little spatial activity, but we can't infer
much from that because our own solar systems can be quiet between navy
exercises. However, the hyperspace events that we have monitored show
conclusively that this is not an isolated system, but forms part of a larger
group. It would be safe to assume the outgoing ship is going to tell someone
else that Explorer is here. Over."
"Thanks André. I agree with that last part, and my instinct
tells me that what we have here does not appear to be the centre. We're at the
periphery of some kind of federation, but we have no idea how large, how close
or where. Dianne, I want you to track the hyperspace ship that just went out. Go
quietly and stick with her for a week. If she's still in full flight at
that time then leave her and get back here. If she arrives at a destination
where she is met by other vessels before that time then observe for a couple of
hours and get straight back here. I want an idea of what's out there and whether
we have to worry about it. If it's far out, it's not such a problem. If it's
close and large, we may have to watch our backs."
Dianne is their hunter/killer expert. Tracking without being seen is her
instinct. Her favourite war game is tracking herself. "I'll be as quiet as
a mouse, John. But how will I find you when I get back? Over." The other
listeners laugh quietly to themselves at this rare display of humour. Even with
INVISIBLE technology, Dianne has successfully tracked them all. But it's a valid
point. Reporting back on her findings could be delayed if she can't easily find
the rest of the battle group. John's voice again on the comm.
"Upload the current coordinates of Explorer from Sven. We'll either be
here when you get back, or visible, or somewhere close to Explorer. Explorer
will be easier to track until they start using their INVISIBLE technology. Don't
get into any situations you can't get out of. We need your data. And try not to
leave a trail of bodies. These natives could be friendly. Over."
"We'll go so quietly, you won't know we've gone. If I bump into
anything, I'll bury the remains. Over."
"OK conference ended. Next one scheduled for sixteen hundred hours, or
any triggering event. That will be all. Over."
Dianne's ship which has been modified over the years with numerous
unofficial improvements slips quietly away without even a creak or bend in the
comms cable which is now maintained in its original position by an automated
cloaked decoy. Better to get away fast, she thought, in case he changes his
mind. She gently slides a muting switch on her console which disables all the
internal voice communications systems and entertainments. When she's hunting,
she prefers not to advertise over the airwaves. Another slide control dims all
the lights below the low levels already approved for navy stealth. She hand
signals her aids to call a conference. This is what she enjoys best. Hunting in
the dark with real prey. She leans back in her chair and smiles in anticipation.
On the control deck of the battle cruiser, which seems brightly lit up in
comparison, John Wayne Churchill flicks off his head mike with a click and turns
to the second in command at his side.
"What do you think Dave? Am I going to win my bet?"
"I think you already have. But it could be a long time before you
collect."
"I always thought it was a stupid idea sending out Explorer alone."
"As far as they know, they are."
"Well that will make them more cautious about getting into trouble,
won't it? But if they do run into any, we'll be close by to give them a helping
hand." |
