Carson Mach 1: The Atlantis Ship by A. C. Hadfield Page A

center, please.”
    The pod whined through the apartment blocks at the western end of the base. Morgan gazed at the sun reflecting off the shimmering glass structures. They replaced the older traditional-style housing that the humans first built on arrival in the Salus Sphere.  
    Confident that he’d put together the best combination to track and hack the Atlantis ship, it now meant he could focus on the horan threat. They would already know about the Orbital Forty and be carefully monitoring CW movements.  
    The pod stopped him outside the command center block. Morgan returned inside and took the elevator to the eighth floor. As usual, they would report events to him and communicate strategy, and expect him to play nodding dog. But he’d already decided to start taking a more proactive role.  
    Organizing the secret mission had reinvigorated him and stiffened his resolve to get back amongst the action. If the horans were planning an attack, the CW needed combat-experienced officers to lead the fight.  
    Morgan approached the central operations desk. “Update me on the movements.”
    A young fidian lieutenant pointed to a large screen on the left, monitoring the noncombat zone around the sphere and a small area of the Axis territory beyond. “A group of five horan destroyers have gathered on their frontier, a light-year from Retsina.”
    “We think they’re trying to take advantage of the wormhole attack.”
    Morgan gazed at the screens. It didn’t make sense that the horans would use such an unsophisticated plan to probe with five destroyers. They would realize that a heavily armed CW ship would be heading for the area to bolster the frontier.  
    “What formation are they using?” Morgan said.  
    “They’re extended across an AU, orbiting a series of dwarf planets.”
    “The captain’s ordering four more of our destroyers to the area.”
    Morgan shook his head. “Tell them to stand down. Horans wouldn’t send five destroyers into the Salus Sphere. Keep me updated if you see any more buildup.”
    “But, sir,” the lieutenant said. “The captain has authority—”
    “From now on, any CW movements come through me. We may be entering a period of war, and another enemy has returned. Do you have a problem with that?”  
    “No, sir, but I’ll have to speak to the captain. It’s going against his direct orders. ”
    “I’ll speak to the Ops command and let them know the new approval line.”
    Morgan scanned the monitoring screens. The horans had a reason for being in that location. They had a reason for doing everything. This wasn’t just a case of waiting for the CW to commit their resources to a search and taking advantage. If they weren’t planning an attack, their presence could only mean one thing. They were also looking for the Atlantis ship.  
    The consequence of the horans finding it and harnessing the tech sent a shiver down Morgan’s spine. Mach’s mission had taken on an even greater significance.

Chapter Seven

    Mach was sitting in the captain’s chair. He gazed at the two JPs maneuvering the holocontrols. Wet behind the ears, inexperienced, and would likely crumble if the shit hit the fan. The Vekron Valley had been quiet so far, but he’d expected that while on their light drive.  
    During the first part of the journey, Mach rested in the sleeping bays and left them to monitor the ship during the L-jump. He busied himself and read as much information as he could find on the Atlantis ship. Disappointingly, most were Salus network posts by conspiracy theorists. He needed to find a technical expert who had a real interest in the alleged myth.  
    Danick and Lassea changed to the shuttle’s fusion motors as they approached the Valta asteroid belt, telling Mach they were only half an AU to Summanus. This was a prime hijack zone. Ships were forced to slow in order to navigate through without taking significant impacts.  
    One of the console screens let out a high electronic beep.