Chapter 7 - Emergence[]
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Captain’s Office, SLS Sybil Ludington
Neptune Mothball Yards, Sol System, 2761-10-27
“So I have good news, and I have bad news.” Lt. Cmdr Daniel Carpentier reported, looking over the manifest.
The admiral nodded. “Of course,” Noriko replied, “it wouldn’t be a BuShips shipment if there wasn’t good news mixed with bad.”
“Well, the good news is we’ve finally started getting our naval autocannons. The yardbirds figure they’ll be able to have them all installed in a month’s time. Assuming no bugs, we should be able to start shakedown and gunnery trials before the new year. We may even be able to participate in the celebration for Lord Richard’s coronation.”
“That will be exciting,” Noriko mused neutrally.
Daniel chuckled. “Afraid of what will happen if the House Lords eat him alive?”
“Afraid of what will happen if they don’t.” Noriko replied, shaking her head. “I’m worried the General hasn’t had enough time to spend with Lord Cameron, given his other responsibilities, and that Lord Amaris has had too much time with him instead.”
“Well, if that that happens, Admiral,” Daniel replied, “and you’ve decided you’ve had enough, we could both resign our commissions and you could join me on Niops. It’s out of the way enough that no one really cares about us there, and it’s not like they’re not doing any AI research.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. But, you also said there was bad news?” Noriko asked.
“There is. Seems the spare SDS computer cores we requested resulted in someone noticing they were short. By a lot, as it turns out. And they have been missing for a while.”
“How long, exactly?” Noriko asked.
“At least 2747. So, under First Lord Simon’s reign. Not something that fell off a DropShip after the Regency started. It has people…asking questions.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” Noriko replied. “I’ll take care of it.”
Daniel frowned. “Is this one of those things I’m not supposed to know about for my own protection?”
Noriko just smiled serenely.
Sighing, Daniel relented. “OK, I get it. If you told me if it was, that would defeat the point.”
“Don’t worry, Daniel,” she replied happily. “I’ve even got stamped orders from a First Lord of the Star League that this is one of those things where they should just shut up and soldier on.”
“Which one? Johnathan Cameron? He liked to squirrel things away.”
“Simon, actually,” she replied. “That shouldn’t be a surprise, really, given that’s when they fell off a back of a DropShip.”
Daniel sighed. “Wheels within wheels...I’m guessing Lord Simon inherited a bit of his father’s paranoia?”
“The apple,” she replied, “didn’t exactly fall far from the tree there, no. Simon Cameron had plenty of his own projects in the wings, some public, some...less so.”
“That almost sounds like the First Lord having his own plots against, what?” Daniel asked. “I mean, the existing SDS is a hedge against the House Lords – you wouldn’t need your own SDS fleet for that...so, who? The Hegemony, if it turned on the Camerons? The SLDF?”
Noriko raised her hand to stop him. “Daniel, ask yourself how deep down this rabbit hole you really want to go.”
“Aren’t we all supposed to be on the same side?” Daniel asked, almost plaintively. “Yes, I get it, the SLDF is the counterbalance to the House militarizes, just like the First Lord and Terran Hegemony counterbalance the Houses. And, OK, the SLDF has the Regular vs Royal divide, and...OK, maybe it’s not so far-fetched.”
Sighing, Noriko shrugged. “It sometimes surprises me, Daniel, how you’ve gotten to the rank of lieutenant commander without understanding exactly how many political circles there really are in the Star League. I’m told even the AIs in the Planning Division can’t keep track of them all.”
“It shouldn't be like this.” Daniel said resignedly.
“No, it shouldn’t,” she agreed quietly. “But until it’s something else. If we’re lucky, one day we’ll be able to do that.”
“But not today.” Daniel noted.
“No, not today,” Noriko agreed. “We’ve had hundreds of years, thousands even, to work ourselves onto this course. That’s not something that can be changed all at once.”
“I suppose not. So where do we, and Sybil, fit into all this? May I assume there are ulterior motives at work here, as well?” Daniel asked.
“Of course there are.” Noriko agreed. “And if all goes well, you’ll get a chance to see them before they promote you out from under me. Well, assuming they get our guns fitted in time for the Coronation.”
“Assuming that, of course.”
A Few Hours Later...
“Sybil,” Noriko spoke.
{”Yes, Admiral?”}
“It’s time to read you in on Project Kolossus...”
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