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"WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT now?" said Vossek the second the audio-only link was established and unscrambled.
The man had a tendency toward intentionally and immediately getting people on the defensive. It was his way of trying to control a situation. El Bahari didn’t know if he’d always been like this, but he’d certainly been the same in the year that she’d known him. She had also always completely failed to stop herself from reacting to it.
"We’re on patrol. I told you I would check in when I could."
"That doesn’t answer my question."
Sitting on the floor against her bunk, el Bahari leaned her head back and sighed. A bottle of water at her side and a tablet in her lap, she’d been reviewing status reports from the various ship department when the encrypted call from Vossek had come through.
"We are approximately one hour out from Outrider," she said wearily. "From there, we head-."
"You’re not at Duster’s Range?"
She leaned forward, staring at the tablet as if Vossek’s face would be there. That face, with its chiseled features, had caused no end of trouble for many women, el Bahari included.
"No. Why would we be at Duster’s Range? And besides, I told you and your Dragon Lady that I’d keep you informed as to our movements," she said. "If we’d deviated that far from our course, I would have told you."
"There’s been a security breach at Duster’s Range," he said, as if she hadn’t spoken at all. "My gut tells me Radko had something to do with it."
"Your gut also told me I’d be getting my own ship."
He had no response to that. Even at the time she’d known it was just pillow-talk, but she’d allowed herself to believe it anyway.
"You will," he said. "We have the Ranger fixed up and ready to launch as soon as you complete this mission for us."
Of course, they had never actually specified how long this ‘mission’ of theirs would last. How long would ATC Castle need her to watch Finn Radko, record and report his every move? El Bahari knew the man was a loose cannon and she felt it was only a matter of time before he did something foolish, but she wished he would do it quickly. As proud as she was of her Commonwealth Navy uniform, if the Navy wouldn’t recognize her skills and abilities and place her where she could do the most good, then she would take up with an organization that would.
"I’ll keep a closer eye on Radko," she said. "But we’re nearer icaran space than we are Duster’s Range."
The Vimy Ridge’s internal comms crackled to life.
"Lieutenant Commander el Bahari to the command deck please."
"I have to go," she said to Vossek, but he’d already killed the connection.
"Look at this," said Radko as el Bahari stepped onto the command deck.
He stood at the sand table, the LiDAR technician Staubitz at his side. Staubitz tapped a command in to his tablet and the LiDAR monitoring screen popped up over the sand table, hovering above the full holographic schematic of the Vimy Ridge that had already been floating there. Radko reached out and swapped the two images, the LiDAR screen taking up the bulk of the sand table projection and the Vimy Ridge being relegated to a smaller, inactive selection.
"Is there a problem?" said el Bahari, buttoning her uniform jacket.
"We don’t know yet," said Radko.
Frowning, el Bahari stepped up to the sand table and looked over the LiDAR images. The results Staubitz had generated were being overlaid onto a detailed starmap laying out the nearby contours of icaran border space. Just beginning to cross that border out of icaran space and into the no-mans-land between the Icaran Colonial Empire and the Commonwealth was a large icaran warship.
"Have they tried to contact us?"
Exchanging a glance with Owens, Radko shook his head.
"No," said Radko. "They’re not broadcasting at all. Not even the usual low-level chatter we can usually pick up."
"If they’re running silent...," she said slowly. "Do you think they’re planning an attack?"
"No."
Running a hand through his hair, Radko sighed.
"I mean, I’d like to think not – we have a common enemy after all," he said, then shrugged. "But I can’t even convince our own government of that, so who the hell am I to say?"
Before she could reply, a ping sounded from the sand table. The LiDAR had detected a second icaran warship entering the sector.
"This has to be an attack," said el Bahari, pulling out her tablet and quickly issuing orders. "All gun crews to your stations. Missile batteries on standby."
"Sir," said a comm tech, raising her hand as if she were in school. Which she probably should have been, given her age, thought Radko. "Sir, I have an incoming transmission from the icarans."
He nodded and the girl put the call on speakers.
"Attention Commonwealth vessel, this is Admiral Rhekarr of the Icaran Colonial Navy vessel Venn Shakara."
"Admiral, this is Commander Finn Radko of the HMCS Vimy Ridge. Do you require assistance?"
Radko and el Bahari exchanged a look. The answer from the icarans would of course be no, whether they were planning an attack or not. It was the way in which they declined the offer that would – hopefully – tell the humans whether an attack was imminent.
They waited for a few moments for the icaran officer to respond.
"It is possible, Commander," said Rhekarr.
"I’m sorry," said Radko, exchanging a concerned look with el Bahari. "I don’t understand."
"Nor do we at present, Commander Radko. You have no doubt detected two icaran vessels leaving our established territory."
"We have."
"The Venn Shakara is the second of those vessels. The first is the Vor Tokar," said Rhekarr. "The Vor Tokar has been missing for three months. We have thus far been unable to communicate with the vessel."
"So it’s a ghost ship," said Radko.
"No. It has been making course adjustments. Even now, you will see it beginning to alter its course."
El Bahari nodded toward the sand table where Radko clearly saw the vessel beginning to turn.
"Admiral, this is Lieutenant Commander Amira el Bahari, executive officer of the Vimy Ridge. How long have you been tracking the Vor Tokar?"
"Our sensor relay stations have been tracking her for eleven days. The Venn Shakara was only dispatched to intercept three days ago."
"What can we do to help, Admiral?" said Radko.
"At this juncture, nothing. We just wish you to be aware that we are launching a shuttle to board the Vor Tokar and that we have no intention of taking hostile action against the Commonwealth."
The icaran paused briefly before continuing.
"Once we have regained control of the Vor Tokar, we will resume our prior mission, Commander Radko."
"Understood, Admiral. The Vimy Ridge will stand by until you regain control of the ship," said Radko. "Just in case our assistance is required."
"That is acceptable."
Radko quickly climbed the ladder into the observation dome, el Bahari right on his heels. They watched as the icaran shuttle fired its thrusters and exited the Venn Shakara and headed toward the ghost ship.
El Bahari frowned.
"That ship is firing maneuvering thrusters."
She was right, Radko realized. The Vor Tokar was indeed repositioning itself. But for what? And who was at the controls?
He reactivated the transmission line between the Vimy Ridge and the Venn Shakara.
"Admiral Rhekarr, there’s something not right here."
"I agree, Commander Radko," said Rhekarr, the uneasiness in his voice conveyed easily despite the blandness of the voice used by the translation matrix.
"Look," said el Bahari suddenly, pointing toward the Vor Tokar. "It’s breaking apart."
As she and Radko watched, large sections of the icaran battlecruiser began to separate, like pieces of a three dimensional puzzle.
"No it’s not," said Radko, gripping the observation dome railing a little tighter. "It’s opening."
"It’s a trap!" said Rhekarr, just as loud alert klaxons began to blare throughout the Vimy Ridge.
The automated detection systems had found traces of the distinctive radiation signatures of ril-galas vessels.
Out of the empty shell that had once been the Vor Tokar, two ril-galas battleships and several wings of fighters emerged. The icaran shuttle was vaporized before it had finished turning back toward the Venn Shakara.