Page 67 of Clan and Command

The walls of weaponry no longer looked intimidating to the irate Dramok. It beckoned as a wealth of hurt Piras could use against the law officer. Who needed a balcony to fling someone off of when there was such an incredible arsenal at hand, begging to be used?

The Nobek held out his hands in a ‘calm down’ gesture. Once more, his shocked expression showed he had been rattled by Piras’s vicious temper and Dramok command. “Hold it, Admiral. I’m not trying to insult you. You have to know I’m charged to investigate anything questionable, even from our highest-ranking officers. Surely you’re aware we’ve had some high-profile spies discovered.”

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Piras seethed. “Did discovering Banrid’s treachery do something for your career, Diwal? Are you looking for more now that you’ve got a taste of heroism? Is that why you’re coming after me now?”

Diwal snarled, his pride stung. “I am protecting Kalquor from traitors. I am doing my job by questioning the activities of Captain Kila, to whom you have such a strong connection.”

“You’re chasing glory, you pathetic dribble of a Nobek. You’ve got nothing but questionable transmissions you haven’t decoded. In short, you’ve got nothing at all. Yet you’re ready to accuse me and one of our finest officers of treachery. I should tear your fucking head off and use your face to wipe my ass.”

Diwal had his expression under control again, though he wiped Piras’s spit off his face with obvious distaste. “I didn’t say I was accusing you. I also didn’t say we haven’t decoded those coms. How do you know that to be true?”

Piras snorted. “Dear ancestors, you truly are an idiot of unfathomable proportions. If you had decoded anything, we wouldn’t be doing this little dance. You’d be arresting someone or, more likely, playing with yourself to get over your disappointment that you’re unworthy of notice. So, you pathetic little tricked-out tyrant, unless you can give me something substantial right here, right now, I am leaving.”

Diwal’s eyes glittered with rage at the barrage of insults. He stood at his full height, which was about the same as Piras’s. He flexed his muscles, which were quite a bit larger.

Piras was not impressed. He’d taken out bigger and much better. He sneered at Diwal, showing him how little he thought of the man’s attempts to daunt him.

Diwal gave up. He bowed stiffly, reluctantly, though it was Piras’s due as an admiral. His voice was tight. “Then I will say goodbye until our next chat, Admiral.”

Piras’s smirk deepened as he took outraged pleasure in getting the best of the man. “There won’t be one, because we have nothing to discuss.”

“We shall see. The coding of the messages is admittedly complex, more than our current operatives can decipher. I’m bringing in a couple of experts from outside. Maybe after they’ve had a look, you and I will have a reason for another talk. Along with Captain Kila, and – who is the new chief engineer you were seen with last night? Oh yes, Imdiko Lokmi.”

He waited. Piras rolled his eyes. “Congratulations on discovering my other lover, the one I openly consort with in the most public of places. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done, Nobek.”

He turned and stomped out of the security head’s office. Personnel in the corridor saw him coming and did double-takes at his glower. Fortunately for them, they got out of Piras’s way.

He headed for the higher levels. As he left the security wing behind, the red-tinged fury and bravado that had carried him through the exchange with Diwal faded. Piras’s heart hammered to know he, Kila, and Lokmi had come under suspicion.

Diwal was bringing in more codebreakers. Someone whose expertise was on the level of Lidon’s maybe? Someone who could unscramble the signal and discover Piras had been discussing Laro with Sitrel?

Too soon. Too soon, damn it! But there was nothing Piras could do to stop Diwal’s investigation. Ready or not, the game was now in full swing.

His next move was no mystery. He needed to warn Kila that Fleet Security was tracking his coms. With that uppermost on his mind, Piras changed his course. He headed for his secret office rather than the official one. He had a nasty suspicion that his public office and computer were under surveillance by Diwal now.

Maybe the second work area and computer were too. Though Piras thought of it as his secret office, he hadn’t made any real effort to conceal his use of it. Fleet Security was aware that he had commandeered the space, having given the approval for him to use it. Still, few people had taken note of his comings and goings through the years he’d been with Fleet Command. Maybe Diwal remained unaware of its existence as far as Piras was concerned. It was the Dramok’s best chance to get a message to Kila undetected.

He decided to take a circuitous route to the office within the power department. Piras had royally pissed off Diwal. No doubt the Nobek would welcome a chance to take Piras down now. Since he might have decided to have the admiral followed or watched, the Dramok wove a tangled path through Fleet Command, winding down corridors through sections he rarely visited.

One department he found himself approaching was Communications Central. In that vast room, fleet personnel monitored coms throughout the Empire. Always the first unit to detect trouble in any sector of Kalquor’s territory, it was often deemed the most important division of Fleet Command. No doubt one of its operatives had been the person to first raise concerns about the coded transmissions coming from Kila’s destroyer.

Piras hurried past the large door that led into the cavernous room. Communications Central was a massive maze with its banks of computers, vid units, and huge com receivers. Someone had once called it the Ears of the Empire in Piras’s presence.

He was nearly past the dark room with its dozens of floating vids and colorful blinking lights when sudden cries arrested his progress. As angry and disbelieving shouts erupted throughout the room, Piras stepped in to discover what had triggered the alarmed exclamations.

He didn’t have to guess. The star maps floating high above everyone’s heads were flashing alerts in one particular sector…the one where Laro Station resided.

Piras grabbed a lower-ranking officer who tried to race past him. “What is it? What’s happening?”

The monitor operator jerked to belated attention as he recognized Piras’s rank pins. “Laro Station is under attack, Admiral! The Basma’s fleet is firing on it with dozens of destroyers. They demand surrender or they’ll destroy the station!”

“What of the unmanned stations nearby? Aren’t they defending Laro?”

“They’re unresponsive. They’re all offline.” The monitor stared at Piras with wide eyes. “But that should be impossible! Shouldn’t it?”

Piras shook him. “Who have we got nearby? What destroyers? Send them in immediately to defend Laro, authorization Rear Admiral Piras.”

“Patrols are too far away to get there in less than two days. There aren’t enough in any case to mount a real defense against what the Basma’s sent in.”

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