The Black Fleet Crisis_ Before The Storm Part 14

Officially, Ayddar Nylykerka was a cataloger, and his a.s.signment was a.s.set Tracking. Practically, that meant he made lists, requested lists, collected lists, collated lists, cross-indexed lists. All of the lists concerned the same subject-Imperial warships.

The a.s.set Tracking office had been set up in the wake of an intelligence failure that had nearly led to disaster. Grand Admiral Thrawn had been the first to rediscover the more than a hundred hidden Old Republic Dreadnaughts known as the Katana fleet, and had managed to seize the great majority of them before the New Republic caught up. Thrawn's vastly strengthened fleet then attacked more than twenty New Republic systems. By the time he was defeated, a great price had been paid in lives and material.

a.s.set Tracking existed to make sure that there were no more such painful surprises.

But the office had undergone many changes since it had been established. At first it enjoyed a staff of fifteen-eight researchers, three catalogers, two a.n.a.lysts, and two clerical droids.

The size of the staff reflected the importance given the task, and the chief a.n.a.lyst was invariably well connected in the Fleet Office.

Reports from the a.s.set Tracking office regularly received high-level attention.

Over time, however, the office's star faded. The easy work was done early, and each report contained less new and useful information. The pa.s.sage of time raised doubts about the usefulness of a.s.set Tracking a.s.sessments, since it gave potential enemies the chance to build and launch new vessels. Little by little, staff was rea.s.signed to higher-priority tasks, and the positions that remained came to be viewed as career dead ends. Those who could get out, did-except for Ayddar Nylykerka.

At the time theGnisnal intelligence reached him, Ayddar Nylykerka was the a.s.set Tracking office. Starting out as a researcher, he had moved up to cataloger when no one else had seemed to want the job, and had added the a.n.a.lyst's hat when the office's last licensed a.n.a.lyst had been rea.s.signed. For more than seven years he had carried the burden alone. He had the smallest cubicle in the Threat a.s.sessment section, no more than a box with a door. To go with the absence of creature comforts, he also had no staff, no status or perks, and no contacts to tell him where file AK031995 had come from.

Ayddar Nylykerka did not know about the evacuation of Narth and Ipotek, the destruction of theGnisnal , or the discoveries of theSteadfast .

He had never heard of Captain Oolas, Norda Proi, Ja.r.s.e Motempe, or any of the others whose work had brought the file to him. He was not aware that outside his cubicle walls he was considered laughably humorless and harmlessly obsessive.

But he knew his job, which had not changed since the office had been established to inventory and determine the status of every warship known to the New Republic and not under the control of the New Republic.

And he knew that in the entire history of the a.s.set Tracking office, it had never before had available to it what he now had before him--a complete Imperial order of battle.

It was all there. Every warship, by name, cla.s.s, callsign, and commander, a.s.signed to every fleet and combat command. Every fighter, interceptor, bomber, and a.s.sault squadron posted to every SD, SSD, carrier, and Dreadnaught, with squadron strengths detailed.

Every stormtrooper company and infantry battalion a.s.signed to every transport, occupation force, outpost, and fort. Every cripple in a drydock and every keel in a shipyard, with projected repair and completion dates. Even the second-tier vessels allocated to training commands were included.

The datestamp on the file was more than ten years old, but it was still a treasure beyond price. The order of battle encompa.s.sed information far beyond that which ordinary ship captains and task force commanders would have at their disposal, information that only a ranking sector commander or the Emperor's own military aides would possess.

And that made Ayddar Nylykerka suspicious-suspicious enough to spend the next several hours trying to show that the file was a fraud, a late-discovered Imperial disinformation trick.

When he could not do so, he called his wives and told them not to expect him that night.

Then he threw himself into the real task before him--finding something in AK031995 to justify the last seven years of his professional life, something to remind everyone in the Fleet Command that the a.s.set Tracking office existed for a reason. Having authenticated the order of battle with his highest-confidence intelligence, he put his faith behind it, certain that he would never have such an opportunity again.

As he studied the data, the unofficial motto of the Intelligence Section lingered in his mind: As dangerous as what we don't know are the things we "know" that aren't so.

Ayddar Nylykerka did not leave his desk for three days. When at last he did, it was not to go home. With his datapad tucked tightly under his arm, he ordered an airspeeder from the pool and headed for Victory Lake.

The Coruscant home of Admiral Ackbar was made up of two squat off-white cylinders. One cylinder, windowless, rose from the gra.s.sy sh.o.r.e of Victory Lake. The other, half transparisteel, rose from the tranquil blue water. They were linked by a third cylinder, a long, slender shape that enclosed a second-story skywalk. A graceful single-seat Calamari water skimmer was moored to a pylon in the lake.

Ayddar's Fleet ID was enough to get him past the guardpost at the security perimeter, though he was obliged to surrender his datapad for screening, then park the airspeeder and walk up to the house. There he presented himself at the entrance to the lakesh.o.r.e cylinder.

"Ayddar Nylykerka, chief a.n.a.lyst of the a.s.set Tracking office, Intelligence Section, Fleet Command, to see Admiral Ackbar. "

A few seconds later the curved door flashed open with a hiss to reveal a Fleet valet droid. Folding its arms across its chest, it seemed to take up the whole doorway. "a.n.a.lyst, Admiral Ackbar doesn't see anyone below the rank of commodore when he's home, " the droid said. "He spends enough time out of water as it is. Call his office in the morning and ask for an appointment. "

Ayddar stared disbelievingly. "You don't understand. This is important. "

"Then it's important enough to disturb your immediate superior first, " the droid said. "Run it up through channels. The admiral will consider it if and when it reaches his desk. "

"No, " Ayddar said stubbornly. He tried to look beyond the droid into the house, but all he saw was the inner door of the security lock.

"Not acceptable. I have to see him personally. I can't take the chance that this information won't be brought to his attention. "

"Mr. Nylykerka, Admiral Ackbar is resting. He is not available to see you, " the droid said implacably. "Now, will you leave, or do I need to signal the guard? "

Hugging the datapad to his chest, Ayddar squinted angrily at the droid.

"Very well, " he said finally. "I'll go. "

"Thank you, Mr. Nylykerka, " said the droid. It waited until Ayddar had turned and taken his first steps down the path before closing the door.

The moment the door closed, however, Ayddar wheeled around on the path and ran past the entrance toward the sh.o.r.e. Gritting his teeth and cringing, he waded clumsily out into the water, splashing wildly.

Alarms began to sound, and a brilliant bank of lights on the underside of the skywalk suddenly cut short the twilight. With an animal cry, Ayddar flung himself headlong into the waist-deep water and began to thrash his way toward the lake cylinder in a wretched imitation of swimming.

His simple and single-minded impulse had been to pound on the lake-level viewpanes to get Ackbar's attention.

But as he got closer, he saw that the cylinder was an aquahab, filled with water nearly to the level of the skywalk.

A security airspeeder swooped low overhead, and an amplified voice bellowed orders at him. "Attention, intruder--this is your only warning. You are trespa.s.sing on government property. Antipersonnel blasters are aimed at you. Stop where you are, and you will not be fired on. If you do not surrender, you will be shot. "

Panicked, Ayddar raised his arms. When he did, his fragile grasp of swimming abruptly ended, and he slid below the surface. Before he realized what was happening, he found himself mired hand and foot in a layer of muck on the bottom, unable to push off and free himself to return to the surface.

A ring of lamps around the base of the aquahab flooded the dark waters with light. For the first time Ayddar could see that there was an underwater entrance to the cylinder. He fought his way along the bottom to it, reached up with his free hand, and squeezed the Open lever.

Nothing happened.

In final desperation, with the sound of a jetboat's engines surrounding him and quickly growing louder, Ayddar reached up and swung the datapad against the hatch. It seemed to move in slow motion and to make hardly any sound when it struck.

But to Ayddar's surprise, the hatch slid open. A blur in the water grasped him firmly by the front of his shirt and dragged him inside with an ease that spoke of impressive strength. Moments later Ayddar found himself breaking the surface at the top of the aquahab.

Gasping noisily, he grabbed wildly for the edge. Only when his fingertips had found precarious purchase there did Ayddar realize that he no longer had the datapad.

He looked around wildly and found Admiral Ackbar watching him. The Calamari glided easily through the water on the far side of the pool, making barely a ripple.

"You are Tammarian, are you not? " Ackbar said.

Ayddar was shaking uncontrollably as he clung to the edge of the walkway surrounding the water. "Yes, Ad-Admiral. "

"I have heard that Tammar has an unusually thin atmosphere for an inhabited world, " said Ackbar casually.

"That is t-true, Admiral. "

"I have heard, " the admiral went on, "that as a consequence your people evolved a sort of chemical pouch where you store oxygen while at rest. "

"Yes, " Ayddar said through chattering lips. "Thecbagbizs torre. It al-allows us to expend en-en-energy faster, for-for a short time, than res-respiration alone would al-allow. "

"I am told, " said Ackbar, "that this is why your people can free-live in vacuum for short periods of time. "

Feeling nauseous, Ayddar closed his eyes and rested his head on his arms. "Yes, " he said, his voice small and m.u.f.fled.

"I have also heard, " said the Calamari, gliding nearby, "that your planet is wholly without surface water, and that your people's most powerful fears have come to involve being immersed in standing water. "

Ayddar nodded weakly.

"I confess that such fears are completely alien to me, " said Ackbar. "Yet you willingly entered the lake in an effort to see me. "

"Y-Yes, Admiral. I thought it was my d-duty. "

Effortlessly, the big Calamari eased himself out of the water and onto the ledge. Ayddar saw that he held the datapad securely in one big hand.

"Well, " Ackbar said, extending his empty hand to Ayddar, "I find I am not resting any longer. So perhaps you will come to my study with me and tell me what news has inspired such reckless devotion to duty. "

The track outside the officers' gymnasium at Fleet Headquarters wound its way for a kilometer over hilly, wooded ground. Secured, shielded, and privacy-screened, it had been used many times for discreet, deniable meetings-not least by the man for whom Admiral Ackbar waited in the cool morning air.

Ackbar stood at the edge of the line of trees, a few strides from the cinder track, and looked back toward the rising sun as a solitary runner crested a small rise.

As the runner drew near, Ackbar stepped out from the trees. "I see you are still a creature of habit, Hiram, " he said with cheerful gruffness.

Admiral Hiram Drayson slowed from his brisk jog to a walk. "I see you're still as slothful as ever. It's been a long time since you've been in the gym. "

"I do not much enjoy coming here, but sometimes I have no choice, " Ackbar said, falling in beside Drayson. "Will you take pity and walk with me a while? "

"I think I can accommodate myself to your pace, " said Drayson. "What's new? "

"I had a visit last night from the senior a.n.a.lyst of a.s.set Tracking, " said Ackbar.

"Indeed. "

"So-you have already heard. "

"I heard there was a disturbance at your residences-nothing more. "

"I will choose to believe that, " Ackbar said. "Ayddar has uncovered something which concerns me, and about which I would like your counsel. But I did not want to be seen coming to your office, or allow this to be placed on the Fleet net. "

"Go on. "

Even at their modest pace, Ackbar was beginning to pant. "Ayddar has been studying the Imperial order of battle taken from theGnisnal a month ago. He has found a discrepancy. "

"Another Katana? "

"Nothing so large or clear-cut, " Ackbar said. "What the young man has discovered is this. There are an unusual number of vessels a.s.signed to the Empire's Black Sword Command which we cannot account for. "

"Black Sword Command defended the center of the Empire's Rim territories, " Drayson noted. "Praxlis, Corridan, the entire Kokash and Farlax sectors. "

"Yes, " Ackbar said, nearly gasping for breath. He placed a hand on Drayson's shoulder and turned him.

"Please-may we stop? "

"Of course. "

"Thank you, " said Ackbar, his neck and upper chest heaving. "I apologize. The older I get, the harder it is for me to keep my lungs wet in air. "

"Apology not necessary. You were saying-"

"Yes, of course. " Ackbar glanced up and down the track, then dropped his voice. "According to Ayddar, the order of battle for Black Sword includes forty-four capital ships which we have not seen nor heard of since the fall of the Emperor. None smaller than a Victory-cla.s.s Star Destroyer. Three are Supercla.s.s vessels. "

Drayson whistled. "What do you think of his a.n.a.lysis? "

"I find it indisputable. "

"You know that that's more than enough firepower to overwhelm any planetary system in the New Republic, " said Drayson. "Coruscant included. "

"Yes, " said Ackbar. "If those ships still exist, they would represent a serious threat. "

"If? "

"If, " Ackbar repeated. "You see, there are many wrinkles to this matter. All but five of the forty-four were either newly laid keels or in a yard somewhere for refit or major repairs. "

"Which yards? "

"Ayddar cannot say. The names given are either not known to us, or are unknown code names for places we do know. "

"Or they may not exist at all the yards or the ships, " said Drayson.

"Don't rule out the possibility that the order of battle is padded with paper a.s.sets. If neither Daala nor Thrawn could lay hands on these ships to throw at us-"

"That is a consideration. "

Drayson frowned. "What are the chances that some or all of them were simply renamed, and we have seen them since? We've certainly known Imperial Command to play that game. "

"Ayddar tells me that, at most, that could account for five of the missing vessels. "

"Which would still leave a substantial force unaccounted for, " mused Drayson. "How long after the destruction of theGnisnal did the Black Sword Command withdraw from the Rim? "

"Less than a year. "

"Long enough for at least some of those vessels to have been completed or repaired, " said Drayson.

"More than half, if the projected commissioning dates in the order of battle were met. "

"So the Empire may have taken upwards of twenty more ships than we knew back with them to the Deep Core. "

"Yes. But there's another possibility, which concerns me rather more, " said Ackbar. "The Empire preferred to establish military shipyards in every sector they controlled, so that no one facility was critical to the war effort, and damaged ships did not need to travel far for repairs-"

"Which would suggest that those unidentified yards were likely located somewhere in Black Sword Command's patrol area. "