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“Zeus strike me down,” Kendra swore.
“Titania’s tiny titties,” added Davie.
“How accurate is this?” asked Kyran. “I don’t know Hartman, but could this be some sort of probe to get us to show our hand?”
Montana answered as Kendra and Davie were still quietly swearing.
“We’ve confirmed the information,” she said. “Multiple sources, humint and AI.”
“Damn,” they replied. “I was hoping it was a fishing expedition. What’s our move?”
“Let’s go over the ask again,” Kendra said.
“They’re going to request you, Cass, and a bunch of others turn yourselves over to the UE for extradition to Artemis for trial for sedition. That includes me,” Davie added. “If we don’t turn you, us, over, then they’re going to use the ships you’ve been building, the ones meant to take on Artemis, against the Federation.”
“Not going to happen,” Kendra said, echoed by Kyran and Montana.
“How long can we stall?” asked Kyran.
“Cris? Can we scramble their systems?”
“Probably. That’s a question for Mac, but I think Harpo’s up to the challenge. Harpo?”
The security-minded Alpha-class AI, who was always listening for his name, answered.
“Director?”
“You pulled the information from the UE files.” It wasn’t a question.
“Correct.”
“Can you get back in and slow things down?”
“What do you want done?”
“Admiral?”
“Little things that will foul up a bureaucracy. Missed memos. Misspelled names. Wrong titles. Anything that would make a legal order unenforceable.”
“I can do that,” the AI said confidently.
“Ted can help you. He knows the UE bureaucracy as well as anyone in the Federation.”
“I will ask Mr. O’Quinn for his assistance,” Harpo assured her.
“Can’t we just avoid them by staying on-station?” Kyran asked. “It’s like being served with a subpoena, right?”
“Essentially correct, Commodore,” the AI confirmed.
“But a process server won’t have spaceships armed with missiles,” Kendra added. “The UE might. What about that? Can we fight it? Or maybe just stop work on them? What stage are the rebuilds in, anyways?”
“I can answer that,” said Diana, her holographic avatar appearing in her preferred, Gal Godot-inspired form. “Construction has been progressing according to schedule and your instructions. Exterior work has been completed. Renovation of the interior spaces have been completed. All the utility systems have been installed.”
“Hold on,” said Montana. “Define.”
“Electrical conduits, water pipes, air circulation ducts, control runs.”
“Thank you, Diana. Continue, please.”
“Of course, Director. Fuel tanks and missile storage have been installed.”
“Let me see if I can speed this up,” Kyran said. “I’ve been keeping up with this since it’s part of my job. The plan was to first, make the hulls spaceworthy. Second, install all the fiddly bits. Third, put in the guts.”
“That seems backwards,” Davie said. “Usually, if you’re building a warship, you start with the engine and work your way out.”
“That’s true,” Kyran said. “But these are unusual ships. Look up Operation Argo with your ‘plant and you can get the details.”
Davie did, getting the ‘distant’ look common to people consulting the information they retrieved from their implants. Then she frowned.
“Why wasn’t I brought in on this? Not to be rude, but the Admiral put me in charge of the military side of the Federation.”
“I’ve got this,” Kendra interrupted. “That was my call, Davie. This project is strictly a contract for the UE. We weren’t going to get involved in the actual fighting; at least, that was the official plan. Cass and I kinda figured we probably would have to do more than just supply the ships.”
She shrugged.
“Never expected I’d have to worry about using them against us. But it sounds like we won’t have to. They can’t fly, can they, Diana?”
“No, Admiral. Or, more precisely, if the Orion plate they’re on is lifted into orbit, they will travel with it, but that’s all. They have no engines, no weaponry, no power, no environmental systems.”
“So it would be cold and dark and uncomfortable,” Kendra summarized. “Good. Stop work on them immediately. If the UE wants to take delivery, they can have them. As is.”
“I will compose the order,” Diana said.
“And I’ll reach out to my lawyer,” Kendra continued. “Dianna might have some ideas about squashing this.”
She grinned wickedly.
“And if the Primus wants to play hardball? Fine. Let’s dance. Davie, Endeavour is going to return tonight. Once she does, I want Defiant and Defender tracking their warp ships 24/7. Hard locks. If they even twitch in our direction, take them out.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“Kyran, I want every civilian on Njord in skinsuits. More emergency evacuation drills, damage control drills. If El-Baz or al-Battani slip past, we won’t have much warning.”
They nodded.
“Flashdance, Shooting Star.” The two small craft commanders, who had been laying low the whole meeting, seemed to come to attention in their seats.
“Admiral?” said Flashdance. She was the Commander, Attack Group (CAG), and so the responsibility fell on her. Shooting Star was sitting in for her Deputy CAG, Double Dip, still on a honeymoon.
“I want a heavy CAP, interdicting all traffic in and out of Luna. Not a single ship gets off that rock without being cleared by you. If it’s a warship, you either take it down or call for help.”
“Aye-aye, Admiral,” she said without hesitation.
Diana’s avatar frowned. “Admiral, that is in violation of the agreements between –”
“All bets are off, Diana. We’ve recognized the rebels as the legitimate government of Artemis; it’s time to act like it.”
“Very good, Admiral.”
“Finally. Harpo?”
The security AI managed to sound surprised. “Admiral?”
“I want a direct line to Autumn Newling.”