“You speak their language? I’ve never met anyone who spoke their language.”
“I’ve been working with them for over a year now. When we ran into the power problems on their ships, they sent some scientists and engineers, and they didn’t speak our language at all. It was a difficult time. Now, I speak some of theirs, and they speak some of ours.”
“Can you read their technical prints?”
“I have to, My Lady. My understanding is a working knowledge, not a scientific understanding.”
Krys nodded. “Their office computers… what do they look like?”
Akurea smiled. “Antiquated, My Lady, and hard on the eyes.”
“Hard on the eyes? Why?”
“I think the Chessori see differently than we do. Their screens are red, and the symbols are blue. You can imagine how hard it is to stare at them for long periods of time.”
Krys’ gaze went to Tarn. He stood up with pursed lips and stepped around the couch to face Akurea. “Commander, are the plans for the hypercom here on Grnlee?”
“I can’t say, Sire. There’s a well-protected computer that might have the whole system, but I’ve only been allowed to work with the input and output sections of the hypercom schematics. Power requirements mostly. I don’t know what other information the computer holds.”
“We have reason to believe the complete system is within a computer here. If it was, would it be that one?”
Her eyes rose to the ceiling as she considered. “Probably. It’s the most protected computer they have, and they’re not shy about protecting it. I’ve never been allowed to page through it to see what else was there.”
“How hard would it be to steal this computer?”
She stared at him, surprised and taken aback. “Sire?”
“How hard, Commander?”
“The Chessori offices are adjacent to their ships. They occupy a full corner of the hangar. There are three guards outside their facility that I know of, and there are usually a couple more inside.”
“How do you know?”
“I have free access to the facility, Sire. It’s part of my job.”
“They let you in whenever you want?”
“Yes, Sire. We share the same work space for this project.”
“Do the Chessori live there when they’re off duty?”
“Not in the laboratory, of course, but they live nearby.”
Borg stood up from his sitting-at-attention-while-guarding pose and padded up to Krys. His eyes shined, and she sensed the blood lust in them.
“My Lady, you need the rest of your officers in here. It appears that we have plans to consider.”
Admiral Mzdak came aboard just after sunset the following night, much to his displeasure. Tarn didn’t waste any time. “We’re considering absconding with your cruiser, Admiral.”
Mzdak’s eyes started moving in all directions. “Sire, you’ll blow my cover! Please reconsider.”
“We will not blow your cover. It’s a simple theft of a ship you’ve entrusted into the care of the Chessori while they work on it. They will be blamed. Have they completed their work?”
“Almost. I’m told they’ll conduct their final tests in two or three days. The regular crew will board as soon as they’re done.”
“The ship is fully operational, and it’s just three Chessori guarding it?”
“That’s what I’ve been told. I haven’t verified if there are more Chessori inside. Please don’t do this thing, Sire.”
Krys chose that moment to enter the lounge, and Tarn introduced her as a ship’s officer. “If we take the cruiser, she’ll be the one flying it,” he told Mzdak.
Krys saluted Mzdak, then held her hand out to him. “It’s an honor to meet such a brave officer,” she said.
Mzdak’s chest swelled, and though it was not one of his customs, he shook the outstretched hand. Krys took his hand in both of hers and held to it for a long few heartbeats. She then stepped away, saying, “What is the latest opportunity for us to abscond with your ship?”
“Tomorrow or the next day will be your only chance.” He turned back to Tarn. “I hope you decide against, Sire. The loss of that ship might cost me my job, and I’m the right one to be leading this repair facility for the Queen.”
“I understand, Admiral. I’ll let you know my decision tomorrow. Good night.”
Borg saw him out. Krys sat down on the couch with pursed lips. “No luck?” Tarn asked.
She shook her head. “No luck. Where does that leave us?”
Tarn paced back and forth before the couch. “If we have the opportunity to abscond with a hypercom, we should do it, but which one? The computer or the cruiser? The evidence, and more important, my gut instinct tells me that taking the cruiser would be a mistake. I don’t like Mzdak, and Akurea’s description of what they’ve done to the cruiser sends chills down my back. But we have Akurea’s vision. I believe it points us down the true path, as all your visions have.”
He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, then stepped away with his back to her, rubbing his chin as he considered what it would mean to the Queen’s forces to have the hypercom. Swift communication with ships would allow forces to be spread much thinner, and with fast ships, reinforcements could be called in from anywhere in good time.
His eyes narrowed as another thought came to mind. He considered the hypercom signals themselves. Was the beam, or whatever it was, directional, or did it go out in all directions, permeating all space? If the beam was broad enough, everyone could hear everyone else’s messages, and it might be possible to eavesdrop on Rebel/Chessori plans. Chandrajuski could easily develop a code to prevent them from listening to his messages.
So, too, could the Rebel/Chessori forces, but if they didn’t know that the Empire had the hypercom, they would have no reason to code their messages.
If they stole the computer, they should do it in such a way that the Chessori did not know they had it.
He turned back to Krys.
“I’m troubled by just one thing. I can’t find the riddle in the words of Akurea’s vision. I’m missing something, and it could be important.”
She stood up and came to him, taking his face in her hands. “The words speak of sacrifice, my love, not death. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“I’m trying not to. If one of us is to die, wouldn’t you have been sent a vision of it?”
“Who can say? We’ve agreed to give all that we are to restore the Empire. It’s our duty to go for it. Just… if one of us has to make a great sacrifice, I hope it’s me.”
Tarn’s eyes widened. “Maybe that’s the riddle,” he said. “The word Knight is singular, but we were both Named knights. It might mean that we both have to make a great sacrifice. Did you get any sense of timing, My Lady?”
“I did not.” She stared into his eyes for a time, then buried her head in his chest.
Washburn was certain he could get a team into the facility without setting off alarms. It was one of Delta’s specialties, and using stunners, the attack would be silent. The Chessori added an unusual twist: he had to prevent a single Chessori from getting a mental message out to the rest of the Chessori.
Akurea would have to accompany the team. He purpose was to identify the computer, then disconnect it without damaging it.
Once the attack started, Washburn allotted two minutes for his team to be back outside. The risk of discovery was much higher on the way out, and it was this portion of the operation that he focused on most intently.
Krys was resolved to go through with the operation, and she insisted that Washburn use whatever resources he needed, even if it meant leaving her and the ship undefended for a little while. Borg objected, but she overruled him. Washburn and Borg decided to go with two full teams, six Terrans and six Great Cats. The cats would have to remain outside the building, but they would provide cover during the escape.
The teams would use skimmers to return to Resolve if they could, but in a worst case scenario, O’Brien would move Resolve to them for the pickup.