Chapter 1
 
 
Two officers sat side by side in the cramped command couches of the RSFS Fergus  as the light cruiser accelerated away from the Galway system. The younger officer, a dark-haired woman with blue eyes and pale white skin, wore the double silver bars of a first lieutenant on the collar of her green shipsuit and the embroidered antique silver wings of a junior pilot on its chest. The older officer, a green-eyed, black-haired, sharp-featured man with skin the color of aged fine oak, wore the silver leaves of a commander, with the command star, and the wings of a senior pilot. Below the wings were the faded characters of his name—Van C. Albert.
“Dust density?” asked Van.
“Point three and steady, Commander.”
“What does that mean, Lieutenant Moran?” Van’s implant continued to show minute fluctuations in the density readings, fluctuations that came from the ship systems, not the dust beyond the hull and shields. While the gravs could theoretically handle accelerations as high as eight while maintaining a steady one gee within the ship, Van kept the acceleration at three solid gees. Anything more created unnecessary strain on the systems for a vessel as old as the Fergus. Then, the RSFS Fergus should have been retired or rebuilt decades earlier, he reflected, not that she hadn’t been a good cruiser for her time, but the newer Argenti cruisers wouldn’t take that long to turn her shields to shreds, and even some of the recently commissioned Revenant cruisers were getting to that point. The Eco-Tech ships were roughly equivalent to those of the Argentis, but no one wanted to fight an Eco-Tech pilot, not the way they were modified, trained, and linked to their ships.
“We could fold nets and jump, ser. The coordinates for Leynstyr are set.”
“Would you recommend that, now?”
“No, ser.”
“Why not?”
“If we wait until the density drops below three, we can make the jump with twenty percent less power.”
“How do you know it will drop that far?” pursued Van.
“It does in most systems, ser.”
“How long would you wait to see?”
“That would depend, ser. If we needed to jump, I wouldn’t wait. Now…the collectors are running in the green…another ten minutes.”
Standing wave message for you, ser. The words burned across the shipnet to Van from the comm officer, Sub-major Parnell.
I’ll take it, now. While still monitoring the Fergus’s telltales, Van shifted his concentration to focus on the incoming message. It was short. Given the enormous power requirements, even with compressions, all standing wave messages were short—and urgent. Nothing short of urgency could justify their use and cost.
* * *
Proceed soonest to Gotland, Scandya system, to replace RSFS Collyns, FFA. Orders arriving Gotland via courier…
* * *
The authentication codes indicated that the message had come directly from the Chief of Space Operations at Republic Space Force headquarters on Tara. Van had no idea why the CSO was rerouting the Fergus to Gotland, right in the middle of transit from Galway to their assigned picket station off Leynstyr. The Muir had already been on station off Leynstyr for all too long.
“Lieutenant…” Van shifted his attention back to the junior pilot. “What are the accumulator reserves right now? What will they be in ten and fifteen minutes, assuming a standard density drop-off?”
“Ser…let me check.”
Van waited, still trying to figure out the reasons for the change in orders, then flashing back to Parnell. Did you double-check the authentications?
Yes, ser. They were red over green priority, ser.
Van tightened his lips. Red over green meant trouble. At least, it always had. But why send the Fergus, old and creaky as she was?
“Ser…I see what you mean,” offered Moran from the second pilot’s couch.
“Tell me. Don’t just tell me that you understand.”
Moran stiffened, then spoke. “The accumulators aren’t fully charged. It will take about eight minutes from now. We’d come out of jump with less than full power for shields or acceleration. In a combat situation—”
“Good!” Van forced a smile. “You’ve got it. The way things are now, you don’t ever want to come out of a jump underpowered—not if you can help it. I’d like to spend more time on that, but we’ve got to make some adjustments, Lieutenant. We’ve had a change in orders. Reconfigure for a jump transit to the Scandya system. Then, let me check the setup and coordinates.”
“Ah…yes, ser.”
“We just received a standing wave message from the CSO, ordering us to Gotland with all due haste.”
“Yes, ser.” Moran paused. “Gotland, ser? Scandya system?”
“That’s affirm.”
While Lieutenant Moran calculated, Van called up what background the shipnet had on Scandya, skimming through the data as quickly as he could.
* * *
Scandya system…orange five, plus six, trailing arm [011145 Rel Galactic Center]…two planets with significant population: Gotland © .93 Tellurian norm, 1.02 G at sea level…atmospherics within acceptability for nonmods…Malmot © .72 Tellurian norm, .65 G…atmospherics at limit of acceptability [basic terraforming completed 1104 N.E.]…
 
Government…modified rep. republic, universal adult suffrage. Nonstandard meritocracy overrides…continent-based, single-house, parliamentary assembly, planetary executive with veto power, all executive functions operated and executed at planetary level, limited bureaucracy…two principal political parties, the Liberal Commons (LC) and the Conservative Democrats (CD)…considerable unrest, with local riots, for the past half century, until the election of the present premier [Erik Gustofsen (CD)]…skilled at mediating conflicts…
* * *
What in Moll Magee was a “nonstandard meritocracy override”? Van had never seen that terminology in a background section. And what had been the sources of the past unrest? Most planetary systems were well beyond that kind of dissent.
* * *
Economic…postextractive, belt-mining, and low nanoformulation technology…also large natural food sector…
 
Military…universal military service [unisex]…ground and planetary defense rated superior…in-system space defense limited capability…ten corvettes [equiv. Robartes  class] and two cruisers [equiv. Gregory class]. No dreadnoughts or battle cruisers. No outspace fixed emplacements…
* * *
Van paused and rescanned the military data. Effectively, the Scandyans had no real defenses against out-system attacks. The universal military service meant that Gotland and Malmot could be destroyed, or, rather life on both planets could be, but that neither could be conquered—if  the Scandyans maintained their resolve.
* * *
Political…Scandya system is the closest nonaligned inhabited system to Tymuri [orange five point five, plus six, trailing arm (011157 Rel Galactic...