The morning had arrived in Mackenzie’s senior staff lounge in the shape of a five o’clock breakfast summit. Captain Wren Walton sat across the table from her freshly pressed into service executive officer, Commander Benson. Her plate held scrambled eggs, sourdough toast coated with strawberry jam, three Belgian waffles soaked in maple syrup, and whipped cream scattered wildly across the top. A full mug of coffee was nearly empty, and the lounge’s chef slipped by with refills, checking the plates and returning to his duties. Walton passed on the warning that the morning was going to be early for a lot of folks in the senior staff. The chief had grinned like the maniac he was, and settled into his duties. Across from her, Alex Benson was at work.
“Thank you,” Alex said, acknowledging the chef’s eager refill of his coffee. His second? Third? He stared at the cup and tried to remember.
Alex returned his focus on the eggs Benedict in front of him. He ate in silence, savoring the meal. It seemed like forever since he had a meal that wasn’t pre-packed or created to feed an army. Still, Alex was happy to help the colonists and spread goodwill.
A beep emerged from a PADD sitting off to the side. Alex cleaned hollandaise sauce off his finger and picked it up. He scanned the contents, “Interesting,” his voice breaking the silence.
“I have a present for you,” Alex said in a singsong voice, handing the PADD to the Captain.
Walton raised one eyebrow, accepting the tablet from her XO. “I do love presents. What am I looking at?”
“I compiled a list of possible Network agents. I had the computer cross-reference… a bunch of boring factors.” He took a sip of coffee. “It confirmed seven on my list. You’ll note two are government officials. I’d tread really carefully with those,” Alex cautioned.
Walton set her coffee down and read for details. It wasn’t good news and it painted a dire picture of the situation at Edwards Colony and beyond. “You were fairly insistent on going planetside,” she noted.
“I had a few reasons for going down to help, not all were entirely altruistic. You’d be surprised how chatty a tired, drunk disaster relief worker can be. I haven’t built a criminal profile in a while,” Alex grinned, “I forgot how fun it was.”
Wren gave him a nod, “It’s a good thing you’re here then. The Network, in its various forms, has made life challenging in the rimward.” She scrolled back through the report. “You want to take this?” She handed the PADD back to him. “Ensign Athena has been looking to do a little punching back on this whole thing.”
“I always like when I can grant wishes,” Alex smirked, receiving the PADD. “I’ll talk to her after we’re done here, if there’s time.” He made a note on the report to speak with Athena. “Speaking of which: I enjoy a nice, early breakfast, but the notes mentioned Captain Halsey and Commander Hale would be joining us. I’m guessing they love the early mornings as much as I do?”
She tapped at her PADD. “The Mucker Line.” As if on cue, the doors to the mess opened and Captain Halsey strolled in, coffee already in hand, with Commander Hale behind him. Both men slid into seats at the table. Halsey next to Benson, and Hale next to Walton, across from her XO. Walton made the introductions. Leopold Halsey, Olympic CO. Hale, Denver, CO. Benson, Mackenzie XO.
Alex nodded to the two men in turn. “Dr. Halsey, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person. I read about your actions at Murdock Colony. Now that was some creative thinking.”
Halsey replied with a quiet nod. Murdock had been challenging.
Wren waited for the two new arrivals to order their food and pull out their PADDs. She began. “They’re recalling Justice, Relentless, and Perseverance. It’ll take them about a month to get to us.” Sipping at her coffee, she scrolled through her PADD. “In the meantime, we’ve got to hold the line. Task Force assets are being deployed to take the place of the Justice Squadron.”
Hale held his coffee in one hand and PADD in the other, eyes wide awake and concerned. “I can’t help but notice the terminology. No pushing at the line?” He cast a glance at Benson, seemingly curious about the new arrival he’d heard some about.
Alex returned a glance at Hale, resolving the feeling of someone watching him. He didn’t get a chance to read man’s dossier, he hadn’t made it that far. Alex made a mental note to finish the profiles, his curiosity piqued.
Walton shook her head. “Mackenzie and Denver can pack a punch. There’s concern about what they’ll throw at us out here in the rimward without a bigger shield to take the hits. Intel on The Network’s capabilities is still limited.” She nodded to Benson. “Commander Benson’s discovered Voss hasn’t been just throwing space rocks at us.”
Taking a drink of freshly refilled coffee, Alex spoke, “I had suspicions that the Network left agents, both sleeper and active, on the surface. It’s a classic terrorist tactic to create a sort of feedback loop.” He handed the PADD to Halsey. “I wasn’t prepared for how deep it went. I’ve been creating profiles based on rumors and historical actions. The computer is running analyses and double checking my work. The seven listed there are preliminary. I’ve submitted another 12 for cross-referencing.”
Halsey grumbled. “Good work, Commander. We’re going to have to re-evaluate our processes on the Olympic with colonies and ships out here. Voss continues to surprise.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Alex took a drink of coffee; it was time for the big swing. “What if it’s not Voss at all? Pulling the strings behind the scenes maybe, but not on a microcosmic level.” He frowned, “Something that’s been bugging me is the why? Voss obliterates the area, leaves and… comes back?” Alex paused, “I know I’m the new guy here, and there are things I don’t know, but it opens her up to counterattack. Maybe she’s the ‘scorched earth’ type,” He shrugged. “It reminds me of a group I came across, the… Sons of Red Fury? The Furious Red Sons?… Something about fury, sons, and the color red. Their whole thing was destruction. They would level an area, wait for the rebuilding, and come back again. I remember them having fast, highly maneuverable ships.”
Walton caught a glance from Hale. “That tracks. We know Voss has been consolidating plenty of the minor bad actors out here in the rimward and beyond. She’s delegating so she can stay insulated. And that means bringing some of the baddest actors she can find.” She thought for a moment longer. “Halsey, rework Olympic’s security protocols. Hale, conference with Captain Ki and see what she knows.” She turned to Benson. “Get with Athena, but put this Red group in the mix with your search work. If we can get something out of this that keeps these people and the rest of our colonies safe, let’s work the problem.”
