Chapter 13

Alpha Rikev fights back

            Rikev Alpha stepped onto dock 409 of Regional Headquarters ready for action. His dark brown flightsuit was austere with none of the ornaments or fancy enhancements so many Alphas preferred. Except for one datarod in his pocket, he left everything else behind in the transport including his two Solian slaves.

He surveyed the open space of the round commercial dock, knowing that someone would meet him here. As soon as his transport had entered the main gravity slip outside the Canopus solar system, he had sent his projected arrival time to Heloga Alpha, the Commander of the region. Canopus Regional Headquarters was set deep inside the solar system, requiring another twenty-six hours of intrasolar slips. That gave the extensive base on Canopus a buffer against attacks that his own spacepost had lacked.

"Rikev Alpha?" a slender Gamma asked politely.

"Yes. And you are?"

"I am Pring Gamma." She clasped her hands behind her back. She had crescent-shaped eyes and mouth, and she was nearly as smooth as an Alpha. "Heloga Alpha orders that you will accompany me to her office."

            Rikev considered the fact that the request was in the form of an order. The Gamma knew he was out of favor, though she had no idea of the extent of his disgrace. But soon everyone throughout the region and beyond would hear about the destruction of Spacepost T-3. Word was already spreading in the outer sectors. His concern had been to get to Canopus first so he could tell Heloga personally. Apparently he had succeeded.

            "Very well," he agreed languidly.

* * *

            Pring escorted Rikev through the security checks where he was scanned, genetically verified and cleared of weapons and biohazards. Rikev repeatedly stated his name, rank and number - Rikev Alpha 5G-177- for the security-conscious enforcers.

Then Pring accompanied Rikev down to Canopus Regional Headquarters, situated on a large no-core moon orbiting the second planet. The entire moon was covered in complexes and warehouses with expansive roof-top gardens. The atmosphere and gravity were artificially enhanced, while the low mass allowed easy transport of bulk goods. Today the milky sky was tinted pink by particulates high in the air.

Pring took him to a new self-contained complex with transparent walls and floors. It might be challenging to some, but Rikev didn't hesitate as he walked over the heads of  administrative staff and watched others sit and stand above him. The furniture was also molded from transparent materials. It was likely the latest fashion among the Alpha Regents living on their secluded paradise planets. Frankly, it looked like a giant slave cube, but Heloga probably liked it for that reason.

Heloga's office at the very top was not transparent. Instead, the walls appeared to be mirrors, reflecting back everything in the see-through building.

Rikev was scanned and cleared a final time by Heloga's Beta assistant.

Then Rikev was kept waiting for some time so he worked on his dataport without pause developing a new freighter schedule that would optimize the ore deliveries to their new destination. He had sent the intact processing equipment and the surviving staff to Starbase C-4 in the Archernar sector, ten days closer to Regional Headquarters than his damaged spacepost. The old processing station was the clear fall-back position.

"Heloga Alpha will see you now," the Beta assistant told Rikev.

Rikev entered Heloga's office. As he suspected, the mirrors were one-way so Heloga could see through the walls and floor. She had been able to watch him working in the reception room.

But Rikev's expression registered none of this. He stood before Heloga, his arms relaxed at his sides and his weight evenly balanced. "Rikev Alpha reporting."

Heloga was reclining back in a plush grav chair, her chin resting on one hand. Her ivory skin was so pale as to be almost white, but her eyes were a brilliant violet. Heloga had been managing the Canopus region for longer than Rikev had been alive so she must be very old. But her face was youthful and smooth.

"So...," Heloga drawled. "You've come to see me. I thought you'd be in Qin by now with the Diligence, getting the ore shipments back on schedule."

"Spacepost T-3 was attacked," Rikev said flatly. He told her as succinctly as possible what had happened while placing the datarod with the logs on top of her desk.

"One warship?" Heloga glared at him in disbelief. "A Qin warship? Destroyed one of my newest spaceposts?".

"Spacepost T-3 was damaged, Heloga Alpha. It can be repaired."

Heloga slapped both hands on the crystal surface in front of her. "And what were you doing? Lolling around like you were at a Regents' fete? What about the Diligence?"

"The Diligence was docked with engines off-line. Supplies were being loaded for our departure to Qin later that day. The battleship had no warning to respond. It was destroyed."

Heloga stood up, pacing away from her desk. She had a liquid, studied grace. Every pause, every gesture was for effect. Rikev didn't admire her style, but she had a personal power that went well beyond lesser Alphas. Heloga was pleased to surround herself with admiring men, and she had made one or two overtures towards himself in his early career. He had studiously ignored the hints. He saw that favorites were kept in close servitude while those who stayed too long eventually bored her and were sent to dull dead-end posts. He had played it well and Heloga had assigned him to a series of administrative posts in the Capella and Archernar sectors. His big break came when Heloga assigned him as Second Commander at the newly built Spacepost T-3, which was intended to accelerate ore production in Qin. He rose to commander on his own merits.

Heloga quickly inserted the datarod into the viewer and flipped through the images of the damaged spacepost. "How is this possible, Rikev Alpha?" she demanded coldly.

Rikev was not prepared to admit the attack was his fault. "The Qin grow increasingly aggressive. My plan to take a battleship into their territory is necessary now more than ever."

"You are very bold to suggest that I send you into Qin, after you allowed this to happen to my spacepost!" Heloga's frown brought out wrinkles that Rikev had never seen before. "I suppose I'll have to transfer ore production back to Starbase C-4."

"I took the liberty of sending my staff and some salvaged processing equipment to Starbase C-4. They are preparing to set up there on your order."

Heloga narrowed her eyes at him, refusing to give him any approval. "You will coordinate the renovation of the ore processing lab on Starbase C-4. I will supply you with a small budget and you must accomplish it on that or your failure will be considerably worse."

She could easily carry out her threat, summarily downranking him with no possibility of appeal. He could be relegated to the role of Subcommander on a frontier colony, and he would never rise again. Some Alphas in the Fleet chose to terminate their lives rather than endure the disgrace of downranking. It would send repercussions throughout his line, perhaps preventing them forever from reaching the Regents level. Rikev intended at all costs to remain the Senior Alpha in Sirius.

"More processing equipment must be salvaged from Spacepost T-3," he told Heloga. "And certain repairs must begin at once so my staff can ward off the raiders who will attempt to salvage the remains."

Heloga frowned as she accessed the data and rapidly clicked through the pertinent numbers. Rikev had not been stupid enough to leave out any of the bad news.

"These repair estimates are exorbitant!" Heloga declared.

"We must have a spacepost in Sirius. If the Domain retreats in the face of this attack..." Rikev shrugged as if he didn't want to say what the consequences would be.

Heloga considered his proposal. The spacepost would be picked clean inside of one standard year if it wasn't protected. That would add to the cost when the structural damage was eventually repaired. Surely she saw the necessity for having a spacepost in that busy four-slip pocket in Sirius. The only question was whether Heloga would leave Rikev in charge of his spacepost and as Senior Alpha in the sector.

"For the time being, you will retain command." Heloga tapped the viewer. "If ore production is not resumed at full capacity by the end of this quarter, you will be removed as Commander of Spacepost T-3."

Rikev almost protested. With two more freighters gone and the extra 10-day delay in transit time, that was unreasonable. But he had the jump on Heloga despite what he had reported. It was obvious that ore production could go nowhere but back to Starbase C-4 in Archernar, so he had already ordered Jolene Alpha to make the old processor operational immediately. They were there at this moment preparing for his arrival with the necessary supplies.

So instead, Rikev said, "I will submit a preliminary report in one day."

Heloga didn't blink. "You walk a fine line, Rikev Alpha. Beware you don't stumble again."

Rikev nodded shortly, then left. Heloga was worthy of respect, but he would bend her to his will in the end.

* * *

Rikev got started immediately. His first target was Pring Gamma, who was assigned to be his assistant. Rikev knew she was Heloga's spy; she would be reporting back to her boss on his progress.

 Rikev subsumed Pring for the first day, determining that her need for approval was a strong motivating factor in her character. He focused on her, making her feel worthy when she did what he needed. Soon enough, her crescent mouth curved every time she saw him and she hung on his every word. It was possible she was deceiving him, but Rikev tracked the most subtle physical signs because they were the hardest to control. The tensing of shoulders, shifting eyes, breath rate... all indicated that he had captured her sympathy.

Pring was a valuable acquisition. She had been at Canopus RH for twenty standard years so she had an adequate network of contacts and understood how to work the Domain bureaucracy. Rikev handed her the list of necessary equipment from the inventory Jolene Alpha had compiled in anticipation of what her needs would be at Starbase C-4. He had done his own checking and added a few other components he believed would be needed to convert the old ore processing facility into a fully-functioning unit once again.

While keeping an eye on Pring to make sure she purchased equipment for the lowest credit, Rikev concentrated on negotiating with the transport lines. With his Senior Alpha status, he could search the files on Canopus transports and find the ships that owed the Fleet for some service rendered or contract bestowed. Rikev knew how to read the files, and he soon narrowed it down to several likely candidates that he could pressure into helping him. Then he visited their offices in person to effectively lean on the senior management. The deal he had to offer would likely mean they would break even on credit, but he phrased his request in such a way that they couldn't refuse.

 By the second day, he had contracts for four freighters for the remainder of the quarter. They would receive the pick of salvaged consumer goods from the warehouses on Spacepost T-3 at the end of their contract. First they would transport the necessary equipment to Starbase C-4, then they would proceed to Qin where they could supplement his line of ore freighters.

Rikev's priority after that was to develop an information network at Regional Headquarters. He spent a fair amount of time getting to know some of the more talkative staff who worked in Heloga's office. His best catch was Oliv Alpha, a low-level Alpha who managed Heloga's staff. Oliv wanted his line to one day attain the Regents level, and that wouldn't happen as long as he was a mere office administrator. Rikev agreed to request him for duty. They would need a new processor supervisor since their old one had been killed, and Oliv would do well in that job. In exchange, Oliv provided some priceless information.

For example, there remained only one battleship patrolling the Canopus sector around Regional Headquarters. Three other battleships had been shifted to distant regions to compensate for those sent to the front. He couldn't find accurate data on the number of battleships that were posted in other sectors in the Canopus Region. It could be the reason why Heloga had immediately rejected his suggestion to send a battleship to Qin - she didn't have any ships available.

The war with Kund was apparently not proceeding as well as Domain official reports indicated. The Canopus region was being squeezed for credit, equipment, supplies and personnel. There were also rumors in the common galleys that there had been some Delta agitation in Archernar sector, also on the edge of the frontier. None had taken place on Starbase C-4, which was his main concern.

Meanwhile Rikev approved Pring's purchases and oversaw the loading of the equipment onto four freighters. Rikev didn't stop, not until he watched the transports pull out one after the other heading for Starbase C-4. They would arrive in eight days and Jolene Alpha should be able to get the facility up and running under Heloga's deadline. Whether it would be full production was another matter.

Rikev was preparing his report for Heloga Alpha when his favorite new spy, Oliv, commed him. Oliv was a fine-looking Alpha, as they all were, but his mental capacity wasn't up to the highest standards. Rikev found dull wits were sometimes useful in a man.

Oliv leaned very close to the viewer, his voice low to keep others from hearing, "I thought you'd like to know there's a Beta Captain waiting to talk to Heloga. According to her assistant, the battleship Conviction went to your spacepost in Sirius."

Several things fell into place for Rikev. "I'll be right there."

"You didn't hear it from me," Oliv warned.

Rikev knew better than to slap down such a useful informant. "I will be discreet, as always."

* * *

Rikev arrived at Heloga's office a few minutes later, datarod in hand. Heloga's Beta assistant scanned him, and then asked him to leave his report. Rikev quietly indicated that he would wait as long as it took.

Since Heloga could see through the walls, he resumed work on his dataport, checking in with Pring who was going off to a well-deserved rest. Rikev now turned his attention to Spacepost T-3. His top priority was to get it functional again so he could resume command. He re-ran the appraisal of the repair cost for one of the weapon arrays based on current Fleet surplus material. The hull of the main structure also needed to be reinforced to ensure integrity was maintained. Clearly Heloga wouldn't contribute any credit. He would have to pay for the initial repairs out of the spacepost's budget. Since the staff and necessary supplies had been abruptly slashed to a fraction of its former size, he had some surplus credit to work with. Extraordinary needs required extraordinary measures.

Once again, he became so absorbed in his calculations that he didn't notice how long he waited.

Then Heloga's door opened, revealing a striking Bariss. The Beta had the strong, lithe body of a mature woman, and she wore a captain's insignia on her white flightsuit.

She must be the one who had brought the information about the Conviction. He angled his dataport to capture an image her face as she stopped to speak to the Beta assistant. The dataport displayed her identity: Beta-Captain Gandre Li of the Solace, an independent courier.

That was the standard blurb, but with his senior ranking, he could access more sensitive information. His database indicated that Gandre Li could be tapped for InSec duty. That meant she was on the Fleet payroll.

Rikev looked up in satisfaction as Gandre Li finished her hushed conversation and hurried out. He noted that the Beta-Captain looked determined. Perhaps she had gotten a commission from Heloga that she didn't like and was trying to hide it

"Heloga Alpha will see you now," the Beta assistant intoned.

The door opened by itself. From across the room, Heloga waved him in with an irritated twitch of one hand. "Your reports have been encouraging, Rikev. Don't tell me there's a problem."

"The freighters left today with the equipment to renovate the ore processor on Starbase C-4." Rikev handed her the datarod with his report. "With the addition of their services, my fleet is back to nearly full strength. Production should begin within another twenty days, ramping up to full quotas within another fifteen days after that."

"On schedule," Heloga said thoughtfully.

"As I agreed," Rikev pointed out. "I should go to Starbase C-4 immediately to make sure the renovation is proceeding smoothly. From there, I can easily reach Spacepost T-3 to oversee the repairs."

"Your duty is getting the processor operational," Heloga said flatly.

"Yes, until the next Qin attack." Rikev kept his voice deceptively light. "Starbase C-4 is not far from the spacepost. It would take little effort for the Qin to make another sneak attack."

Heloga sat up, her eyes flaring. "Never! No commander would be foolish enough to let the Qin get close again!"

Rikev was glad to see her losing control. That meant he was in control. "I understand there are several commanders in the Archernar sector who have also suffered recent attacks."

Heloga grumbled at being reminded of the unrest in her region. "That was not the Qin. It is incompetence, mismanagement, or worse."

"The frontier is not easy. Those of us posted there must endure certain failure at times. It is how we meet the challenges that we are judged."

She grudgingly glanced at Rikev. "You are not my most delinquent commander. You appear to have done an adequate job with the transfer of the ore processing. I will wait to see if the ore shipments come in."

"I will prove myself," Rikev swore. "Let me take the Conviction into Qin territory. Those are my people in the mining ships. They know where to find the rebel bases and supply depots. I will wipe out their civilization before they can strike the Domain again."

Heloga pursed her lips. "So you know about the Conviction, do you?"

She had let the news of his disgrace spread throughout the RH. Now it was his turn to use the rumor mill to his advantage. "Everyone will soon know. They will expect you to retaliate against Qin. There is no other option after the Domain was attacked. And I have the knowledge to lead the battleship to victory."

Heloga considered him for a few moments, then finally smiled. "You are a very sharp Alpha, Rikev. A little too sharp for me." Rikev didn't flinch, so she continued, "I've already sent orders to the Conviction to take care of Qin once and for all. You can go back with the courier and join the battleship."

Rikev almost smiled. "By your command, Heloga Alpha."

Heloga smiled coldly. "But you will not be in charge, Rikev."

Rikev shook his head slightly, ready to protest but Heloga held up her hand. "No, you will merely be an advisor to Alpha-Captain Luddolf, who will be charged with fulfilling my orders. If Luddolf is successful, and if your assistance was necessary to his success, your career may continue to prosper. If not..."

Rikev knew that was the best Heloga would offer. It was a chance to fully redeem himself, the goal he had focused on since the first damage reports on Spacepost T-3 began pouring in and his viewer showed the explosions tearing apart the Diligence. He had realized then that his own life had changed and the future of his entire line was threatened.

"I won't return until the Qin are destroyed," Rikev vowed.