The Honour of the Knights, Stephen J. Sweeney [reading women .txt] 📗

is that which has made my next decision so very difficult because I need you five to go and get it from her.”

He scanned the group as he finished speaking, noticing, as he had expected, Chaz's narrowed eyes upon him. The others said nothing, turning to look at one another. Parks pressed on, looking to head off the two dozen questions he could see coming. “So, I will be requiring you to travel, in the ATAFs, to Arlos starport, where you will meet the agent, retrieve the stolen data card that was her mission target and return to Griffin.”

It sounded very simple when Parks put it that way. He only wished that it was.

He tapped the keyboard in front him. “This is who you will be looking for.” Parks turned the monitor of his desk around to face the Knights, keeping a close eye on Chaz as he did so. Unlike the others, whose attention was focused on the screen, studying the profile of the woman they were to meet, Chaz's eyes flickered to the monitor for only a couple of seconds before darting back to meet Parks'. For a while, the two men locked eyes, Parks maintaining a serious and unwavering expression, Chaz keeping his own just as steady.

Parks said, “This is Clare Barber, an agent working for the Confederate Secret Service. She has a long-standing history of providing her government with outstanding results.” He continued to lock looks with Chaz. None of the others had picked up on the exchange, their eyes remaining focused on the screen, which detailed Barber as being light-skinned, thirty-nine years old, five foot nine inches tall, and with shoulder-length, straight black hair.

“She's likely to be maintaining a low profile, so you will need to put in a little extra effort to find her when arriving at the starport. She is obviously not aware of your coming to meet her, so do not expect her to come running and waving her arms in the air the second you arrive. We are aware that the Imperium has extensive information on some of our operatives, so she will undoubtedly be on their watch list, due to her persisted presence within their space.”

He had still not broken eye contact with Chaz.

“I shouldn't need to remind you all of the very hazardous predicament that we all find ourselves in right now,” Parks said, before he swivelled the screen back around. “And as such, it is necessary that upon leaving Griffin and travelling to the starport you take maximum precautions. That means avoiding detection by hostile forces at all times.”

Estelle cleared her throat, then said, “Pardon my ignorance, sir, but whilst they are black, the ATAFs are not invisible.”

“You're half right, Lieutenant. They are indeed black, and the cloaking device fitted into each of the fighters is a feature we wished to keep under wraps for as long as possible. However, circumstances like these often force matters forward.” He paused for a moment to watch their expressions, the look of total surprise clear on all of their faces; his own deadly serious.

“Sorry, sir. Did you say a cloaking device?” Dodds said.

“Yes, Lieutenant, I did. And it is exactly what you likely believe it to be: a system designed to render the fighter totally undetectable by almost any means,” Parks said. Now that he had their total and undivided attention, he went on to explain the activation and features of the device. The system would render the ATAF completely invisible to both the naked eye and all radar systems, with the exception of those on-board the ATAFs themselves. Even the glow of the engines would be effectively masked by the device.

“The invisibility effect of the cloak itself is linked to the ATAFs' shields, so they must be enabled at all times, even when you disembark upon entering the port. I want to make it absolutely clear right now that if you disengage the cloak or the shields then you will expose yourselves and blow your cover. You will therefore have to push yourselves back through the shield when you wish to re-enter the fighters, a tedious but elementary exercise as you all should know.

“You should also know that although you can use your weapons whilst the system is activated, it is not recommended as it will have detrimental effects on your cloak. Should you do so, then your shielding will react for a few seconds and light you up like a Christmas tree. Similar effects will be caused by anything that tests your shields to any degree.

“Unfortunately, I'm not a scientist, so I cannot list every conceivable failing of the device. But since you are not to engage any hostile forces at all, I would strongly advise against using any of your weapons whilst cloaked. The technology is something that we do not wish anyone to become aware of – whether allied or enemy - and that means not de-activating the cloak for any reason whilst you are proceeding with this mission.

“Now: do you all fully understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” the five mumbled.

“What?” Parks said. It had been a lengthy brief, but he needed to ensure they were all still very much awake.

“Sir, yes, sir!” they repeated much louder, though with the exception of Chaz.

“Excellent.” Parks tapped at the screen before him and Omar Wyatt re-entered his office, coming to stand by the Knights. “de Winter, Dodds, I want you two to remain here for a moment whilst I discuss some extra details with you. The rest of you head back down to the cargo hold. I have already made the flight team down there aware of my plans and they should have almost completed preparations by the time you return. Dismissed.”

The head of security led the other three out. Parks watched them go, Chaz meeting his eyes for one last time before he left the office.

* * *

Dodds watched as the commodore rose from his chair and paced back and forth in front of his office window for a moment, the grey and uninviting form of Arlos just visible to one side of his view. He began contemplating why Parks may have requested he and Estelle remain behind. Parks did not take his eyes of either of them, studying them as if they were a pair of wanted criminals he had chased for years, having at last been brought before him.

Parks stopped his pacing and fixed him with a stern look. “I don't suppose I need to ask if you're sober now, Dodds?”

“Totally, sir,” he said in earnest.

“And I should damn well think so, Lieutenant!” Parks snapped, his eyes narrow.

Despite his earlier actions, it was very clear to Dodds that Parks did not feel he had redeemed himself. Dodds detected that he was struggling with second thoughts about sending the team away, unsupervised.

“When you get to the starport I don't want any performances from you, Dodds. You and Todd will fall in line behind de Winter and follow the chain of command. You will do exactly as you are ordered, without letting either your over-inflated ego or have-a-go-hero attitude interfere with your assignment. Got that?” He stabbed a finger onto his desk with each point he made.

“Yes, sir,” Dodds said.

“I want you to understand that this is the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in all of my career, if not my whole life,” Parks continued, now looking to both Dodds and Estelle. “I am leaving my ship and its entire crew defenceless, whilst I send you off on a mission you were never trained for. I don't want any of you to take unnecessary risks. Get into the starport, identify yourselves to Barber, get the data card and return to Griffin. Nothing more. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” they both said.

“de Winter,” Parks said, his voice still lined with traces of anger. “Upon leaving Griffin, I want you and your team to position yourselves as close to the underside of the carrier as you can before activating the cloak. This will ensure that you are not seen by any of the crew and your close proximity to the carrier will ensure you cannot be detected by the radars. Do not move away from the carrier until you are all fully cloaked. As I already stated, it is vital that we maintain secrecy regarding the device - from both enemy and allied forces. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Estelle answered.

“On top of that, Lieutenant, I am expecting you to keep this group together. I am charging you with no less than the full responsibility of bringing back not only that data card, but five ATAFs and five starfighter pilots, as well. I want to make it absolutely clear that you are not to return to Griffin until you have the data card in your possession, or you can at least reliably determine what has happened to it. If, after successfully completing your mission, you return here only to discover that Griffin has been blown to pieces by hostile forces, you are to do nothing but wait for Captain Meyers or Commodore Hawke to arrive in the system. Even if Griffin is nothing more than a burnt-out hulk you will not disengage your cloak, engage hostile forces, or attempt to establish any contact with non-Confederation vessels. You will hold position even if it means waiting for your air to run out. Do not even make for any of the jumpgates, since they will likely be swarming with hostile forces. Am I making myself fully understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Estelle said again.

Dodds shifted his eyes in Estelle's direction. He could hear in her voice that she was starting to get frustrated. It was only sometime ago that she had led her team to victory against Imperial forces, saving a great deal of not only Confederation lives, but also those of the allied United Naval Forces. Even so, she had not been allowed to be debriefed and receive the congratulations and thanks she merited. Instead, she had been stuffed into a cargo hold and been made to sit and wait. And now she was being shouted at. Dodds felt for her; she deserved the praise.

Parks, however, seemed satisfied that he was being taken seriously and that he could trust the Knights. He relaxed his tone somewhat and asked the pair if they were clear on what they were looking for and what they had to do.

After he had finalized all the details, Parks said, “I should also let you know that neither Commodore Hawke or Captain Meyers are aware that the ATAFs have cloaking abilities and, circumstances notwithstanding, I'd like it to remain that way. The details of your 'errand' are also classified and you should refer either the commodore or the captain to Admiral Turner if they need to know what you have been doing. Now, do you have any other questions?”

“Sir,” Dodds began, before pausing to consider his question. “Er... some of the ATAF's weaponry is not active. Are there any other systems that may not be operational that we may need to know about ahead of our task?” He was aware that the question might be just the sort that could enrage the commodore.

“If you're referring to the plasma accelerators, Dodds, then this is intentional. There was an agreement made prior to the beginning of Operation Menelaus that no beam weapons or torpedoes would be directed at Dragon. This agreement was in place to ensure that we could retake the battleship without causing it critical or irrecoverable damage. But no, there are no other features of the fighter that you need to be aware of. Now, if that is all?”

“Yes, sir,” Estelle said, whilst Dodds nodded.

“Good. Now get down to the cargo hold and get going. There is not much time to spare. Security will escort you back down. Dismissed.”

Dodds and Estelle started out of Parks' office and caught his last words to them as the doors opened.

“Good luck, Knights. I'll meet you upon your return to Griffin.”

* * *

A little way from where Dodds and Enrique stood, Estelle ascended the ladder into her ATAF, just as they had all done only a few hours earlier, crew milling around to make preparations for her departure. As Kelly was beckoned forward to board her fighter and perform safety checks, Enrique sensed Dodds lean over in his direction.

“Doesn't this strike you as weird?”

“How do you mean?” Enrique asked, keeping his voice low as Dodds had done.

“That starfighter is monstrously powerful compared to the anything else I have ever seen.”

“Of course it is – it's the next generation of fighter.”

Dodds shook his head and leaned closer. “Mate, listen: it took just three of these things to take down an Imperial frigate; Kelly had a head-on collision with a heavy-class Imperial fighter. That thing was