A new story, its taken me a while to get this one done, but hope you enjoy it, lovingly edited by Megan
The 15 worlds of the Torngat Rift had been colonised by humanity for over 500 years and despite the War of Ashes and 8 of the worlds joining the Accord, life here had continued much as before, with the economies of the Rift’s worlds remaining largely interlinked with thriving trade between them.
Technically both the Confederation and the Accord had outlawed trade between the colonies, but in practice they both knew any attempt to crack down on it would result in significant rebellion, so the trade, carried out by what were essentially smugglers was allowed to continue much as it had for the past half millennium.
The CAS Cusco mission was much the same as it had been for the past four years, routine patrols of the outer reaches of the Accord systems, mostly to ensure Confederation spy ships were detected and chased off and also to fly the flag.
“Captain on the bridge” called out the Officer of the Watch, Lieutenant Abdi, as Captain Étienne Leclerc entered stepped onto the deck
He took a quick look at his crew standing to attention and nodded, “carry on” he said and addressed Abdi “what have we found then Mr Abdi?”
“Small freighter, bearing two-seven-three, closing on the line, she has been trying to avoid us sir”
Walking over to the sensor operators station, Leclerc looked at the screen and saw the faint blue blip trying to stay out of their sensor range.
“Transponder?” he asked the sensor operator.
“It’s the Lucky Star sir”
Leclerc cracked a smile “our old friend Captain Kell” he chuckled “I suppose supplies in the wardroom have been running a little low”
Abdi through his own smile said “I think most of the crew owe their most recent hangovers to him”
“Pipe the comms” ordered Leclerc as he stepped on the holopad and, a minute or so later, the ghostly image of Captain Kell appeared in front of him.
Immediately Leclerc noticed he didn’t look like himself, his eyes were bloodshot and he looked very tired, his normally clean shave face had a decent amount of stubble, and he seemed jittery.
“Capatain Leclerc” said Kell, his tone was not his normal jovial tone, it was strained and more serious, “I am afraid we are running a bit behind so I won’t be able to stay and chat, my turnaround time is going to be very tight as is it”.
This was very odd, normally he joked about being caught and offered a bottle for the captain and a case for the lads.
“Getting some pressure from the admirality. You know how it is Kell, but we are going to need to come aboard, heave to, and prepare for inspection” answered Leclerc, he suspected Kell was trying to run something other than his usual alcohol, possibly some narcotics.
Kells eyes went wide, his voice cracked, and it was thin, strained “Cusco, aye aye, heaving to now”
Stepping off the holopad the signal cut off. He activated the internal comms – “hands to boarding stations” he announced
He then contacted the ship’s new Marines officer, Second Lieutenant Arlen Vey, “something is queer here Lieutenant, I want you to take across your section, report as soon as you are aboard”.
“Aye aye Captain” responded Vey.
The Type 4 shuttle, commonly called the Jollyboat by the men of the Accord navy, drifted silently across the void between the two ships, Veys 8 men and women sat inside, carbines on safety and their boots braced to the deck.
Corporal Denner, a woman with a scar running right down her left check and filled with so much sarcasm her colleagues swore it cut deeper than any knife, grinned at their new lieutenant. “First boarding sir?” she murmured
Vey looked up from his pad “first since qualifying” he said, trying to sound as confident as possible.
Denner smiled, a smile so wide and toothy that Vey was forced to gulp at the sight “don’t worry Lieutenant, it’s just Kell. Only real danger from him is liver failure”
The Jollyboat clamped into the Lucky Stars airlock with a dull clang and the marines put on their helmets “docking compete” said the computer over those comms
“Visors down, weapons ready, lets be about it” ordered Vey. Denner smiled back at her fellow marines, she thought the officer was taking this action a bit too seriously
As the airlock cycled with a hiss the smell of the Lucky Star’s staler air hit them quickly, its atmospheric recyclers weren’t maintained anywhere near as well as the navies
Stepping on to the Lucky Stars deck, there was a slight queasiness as they adjusted to its gravity plates, which like the recyclers were clearly not as well maintained as what they were used to
Kell was waiting in the corridor with them, along with four crewmen. He immediately started talking about a coolant leak but Vey wasn’t really listening. Almost as soon as they stepped on deck his entire section had taken the safeties on their carbines off, he got the notifications though on his HUD, and he was noticing exactly what they had now.
The crewmen were off and the uniforms weren’t right – one was clearly fitted for a star born, and the sleeves and legs were all rolled up, slight tears, buttons missing, boots that weren’t scuffed like a spacers should be
He slipped his safety off, something was very wrong, the heartbeats of his section were up, and the air was thick with tension
The crewmen were most certainly aware that all the marines eyes were on them, and not Kell, they were making small deliberate movements
Then with a clash, the sound of metal hitting the deck filled the air, one of the crewmen had dropped something, his ill fitting uniform had betrayed him and a pistol magazine spun across the deck
“Weapons up” snapped Vey and all 9 of the boarding parties C7 Carbines came to bear, at the same time the “crewmen” all drew their own pistols
Kells face went white as a sheet, and a wet stain appeared down his leg
“Drop the guns now” barked Sgt Garcia, the small corridor was now a tinderbox, ready to explode
Kell twitched and, with panic overcoming him, he bolted towards the marines. The imposter nearest him moved his pistol and shot Kell who fell to the deck mid stride, a hole smoking in his back.
The marines opened fire, their frangable rounds designed to shred flesh but burst harmlessly on steel lest they damage the vital systems of a space vessel, filled the air.
Thunderclaps filled the corridor, as the marines and imposters fired on each other, the unarmoured “crewmen” stood little chance, two were felled immediately, another screamed as a shot shattered his shoulders, spinning him round into the path of another marine’s weapon, cutting him down
The fourth crewmen had the benefit of some cover and was placing his shots more carefully, but under the hail of bullets he didn’t last very long
Moments later silence returned to the corridor, broken only by the flatline hum of Denner’s vitals in Vey’s HUD, turning around to where she had been stood, she was lying against the bulkhead, her neck a bloody mess, and her vital fluids covering the deck
After getting her body back on the jollyboat, the marines carried out a search of the Lucky Star – the cargo hold was filled with crates of rifles and explosives stacked up neatly
When they opened the cold storage, they were greeted with the real crew of the Lucky Star, murdered execution style, stripped of their uniforms
They had only spared Kell, clearly hoping to trade on his reputation as a friendly smuggler to get through Accord patrols
Vey had been expecting the usual bribes of beer and gin, instead what he found was a war crime
A few hours later, Vey delivered his report in the office of Captain Leclerc, who sat at his desk listening with rapt detail. When he finished, Surgeon-Lieutenant Mariana López delivered the autopsy reports, detailing the exact causes of death of all those involved.
“As for Corporal Denner” Mariana paused, clearly upset – Denner had been a very popular member of the crew – “she sustained a single gunshot wound to the left side of the neck. The round severed the carotid artery and jugular vein, causing immediate catastrophic haemorrhage. Death was rapid and the injury was not survivable under operational conditions.”
The ships XO Lieutenant Commander Tamm commented “based on our reconstruction of the incident, it was a well placed shot, clearly a well trained and capable marksman”
“They were clearly Confederation operatives” said Vey, they all were thinking it, he was sure they had been from the very beginning
Leclerc leaned back in his chair, and steppled his fingers together and let out a long breath. “The official report will state “Terrorist cell destroyed during contraband inspection” there will be no mention of the Confederation” said Leclerc
Vey’s jaw tightened, “Sir they…”
The Captain put his hand up to silence Vey “When you leave this room, there will be no more talk of the ancien régime and any involvement they may have had here, is that understood?”
Those in attendance gave their acknowledgement.
Vey nodded but he was visibly shaking with anger.
“Thank you for your attendance, the meeting is adjourned, and I will get the report sent off shortly. Dismissed”. The attendees all began to make their way to the door to leave but as Vey went to turn, he heard “Lieutenant, stay a minute”
When the room was empty, Captain Leclerc opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of brandy and two metal glasses
“Sit down Vey” leclerc said as he opened the brandy bottle and poured a healthy portion into each glass.
Vey pulled out the chair and sat down as the glass slid across the desk to him.
“I got this from Kell about a year ago”. He took a drink and Vey took a swig of his, he wasn’t really a brandy man but this was pretty nice.
“Son, we all know it was the Confederation who were behind it, but we can’t acknowledge”
Vey finished off his drink and placed the glass down “Sir I don’t understand why, we need to find out if they are doing this elsewhere”
“Of course they are, and we are doing exactly the same to them” Leclerc responded as he poured them both another drink “and it’s been happening for 300 years”
He paused before continuing “look the Foriegn Office would have to make a protest, the border patrols would increase and before you know it, we are back at war again”
“And god only knows we don’t have the ability to fight another war right now, we have barely recovered from the last one”
Vey looked into his drink “sir, Denner was a good marine, her death shouldn’t be attributed to smugglers and terrorists”
“No it shouldn’t, she died fighting a war that’s been going on longer than any of us have been alive” reflected Leclerc
Vey sat in silence for a long moment, staring at the amber liquid in his glass, the warmth from the brandy doing little to soothe the chill running through him. He could feel the truth pressing against the walls of the official story, suffocating, inescapable.
“I suppose,” he finally said, his voice low, “we all have a role to play in keeping the peace, stopping this Cold War from turning hot.”
Leclerc nodded, eyes distant. “Sometimes the hardest part isn’t fighting, it’s knowing who and when to fight, and who to let believe they’re safe.”
Vey drained the rest of his drink, set the glass down, and exhaled slowly. He stood, squared his shoulders, and met the Captain’s gaze.
“I understand, sir. For now.”
Leclerc gave a small, grim smile. “For now,” he echoed.
Vey turned and walked to the door, the sound of his boots echoing in the quiet office. Behind him, Leclerc sat back, alone with the brandy, thinking of all the battles, those seen and those unseen, that stretched far beyond the walls of the room.
The war would continue, hidden from the world, and yet all the same, it had already taken its toll.
