The Prodigal Sun by Sean Williams, Shane Dix Page A

critical.
    Gone also—and more important—was his hope of executing his mission smoothly and without error.
    “Captain?”
    Atalia Makaev regarded him with a steely expression. It always felt to Kajic as though she were looking into his soul, seeing all of his personal doubts, searching out his weaknesses.
    “Yes, Atalia?” he said.
    “We have regained contact with Captain Hage. Communications are currently restricted to coherent transmissions. Galloglass ’s main communications nexus was overloaded by neutrino flux at the peak of the explosion.”
    He nodded. “As would be expected, given the Galloglass’s close proximity to the Midnight. It was ready to dock the moment the frigate’s shields fell.”
    “With all due respect, sir,” said Makaev. “The self-destruction of the Midnight should have been anticipated.”
    Kajic noted her thin, almost imperceptible smile with some irritation. “It was not a consideration,” he said. “There was nothing within Captain Klose’s professional or personal profiles to suggest that he would take such drastic action.”
    “Nevertheless, Captain,” said Makaev, “he did self-destruct.”
    Kajic hesitated, fixing his stare squarely upon her for almost a full minute. He had his doubts about her true role aboard the ship, and how that role related to his own, but this wasn’t the time to let suspicion interfere with duty.
    “Bring us back to yellow alert,” he said eventually. “Stabilize our orbits and commence repairs. I want all fighters returned to the Ana Vereine. We must be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “What of the target? Has a sighting been confirmed?”
    “Debris scanning is under way.”
    He returned his attention to the data flowing from the sensors. “Replay the destruct sequence. Bring reserve computers on-line to plot the dispersal pattern and extend scan accordingly. It has to be out there somewhere,” he said. “I want it found.”
    “Sir.” Makaev’s left arm snapped a salute; then she turned away.
    On the main screen the fiery death of the Midnight returned to haunt him. He could have accessed the data directly, but for the moment he preferred the luxury of viewing the information from a distance, allowing him a more... Human perspective.
    The outcome of the battle had indeed taken him by surprise. A protracted engagement had always been a possibility; on that point the tacticians agreed, and Kajic had prepared himself for Dato Bloc losses—but not for this. Not for the complete annihilation of the frigate and all its contents.
    detain or disable COEA Midnight
    His orders, hardwired into his circuitry, sprang into his thoughts unbidden. With his mission suffering such a spectacular setback, he was not surprised that they had. They were intended as a prompt, to surface with any doubt or uncertainty over the success of his mission.
    capture and return Commander Roche and AI JW111101000
    They continued—and would keep doing so until his thoughts were once again focused upon his mission, and all reservations concerning its success were dispelled.
    priority gold-one
    He shrugged aside the mental prompts and concentrated upon the recent battle:
    Operationally, the strategy had been a simple one, and had been well executed. With the DBMP Lansquenet, Galloglass, and Paladin in support, the Ana Vereine had translated with extreme precision to the coordinates provided. The Midnight had been exactly where the Espionage Corps had reckoned it would be—too far in-system to make a run for the nearest anchor point, and foolishly vulnerable in Sciacca’s World’s orbital ring. Decelerating, outflanked, and outgunned, the Midnight had, ultimately, no choice other than surrender—or so reason would have had it.
    The destruction of an Armada frigate in COE space, by its own hand or not, unplanned or not, had all the makings of a major diplomatic incident. A high cost, even if the mission ultimately proved to be