by Daniel Gibbs
The solution of what to do on Lusitania dominated his thoughts. Jules' fate continued to be his priority, so fulfilling Caetano’s orders was at the top of the list. But practical necessity made throwing away Vitorino as a client problematic, to say the least. Independent traders couldn't be selective about who they worked for. He highly doubted Caetano would be the type to bribe the League to export valuable ores and materials to Lusitania, whatever she said about replacing Vitorino as an employer.
The galley door slid open, and Brigitte walked in. She was out of her work jumpsuit and in a plain short-sleeved T-shirt and gray pants, implying she was soon to go to bed herself. "Everything good with the drives?" he asked as she approached the pantry and fridge.
"They're humming right along, sir," she answered, searching for what Henry assumed was going to be a late snack before she went to her quarters. "No problems."
"Good." Henry appreciated hearing it. He watched her retrieve food and, as a thought went through his mind, let out a small chuckle.
She heard that and looked his way. "What is it, sir?"
"That damn mohawk," he said, indicating her hair. "I still don't get the point."
Brigitte smiled at that. "Doesn't matter whether you do, the important thing is you let me have it," she answered.
"I'm more open than most employers. Half the shops in Tylerville would send you packing if you came in looking like that and wanting a job."
"Really?" she asked while pulling a lunch wrap from the refrigerator. "Because the Coalition's supposed to be about freedom, I thought? I know that's what Felix always insists."
"Felix is Felix. People have expectations of appearance. Standards. If you don't measure up, they don't like it." Henry took a small bite and chewed on it for a few moments. Brigitte was busy eating herself, so he resumed after swallowing. "The big difference is that the government doesn't mandate appearance. Short of 'don't be naked' anyway."
"I guess people just love to boss other people around sometimes." Brigitte lowered the wrap for a moment. A distant look came to her face. "That was what it was like growing up—being told what to do. How to act. How to work. How to eat. How to think. How to be the perfect member of Society." A frown showed on her face. "And to never contradict it. Never. Otherwise, you were antisocial, and then it was off to a resocialization camp." As she spoke, Henry saw old pain show on her face. She spoke from experience.
"That's how you met Oskar, if I remember correctly," he said softly.
Brigitte nodded. "He helped me escape. Well, we helped each other. He's a good man."
"He is." Henry drew in a breath. "I'm sorry that this job has us in the League's sights, possibly."
"I get it," she said. "I don't know him, but this Jules guy sounds like a good man too."
"He is, yes, and a truly holy pain in the rear," Henry answered, grinning at the turn of phrase.
"Then we can't leave him to Caetano's people. We're doing the right thing."
"And we're almost done. That's the important part." Having said that, Henry returned his focus to his half-eaten sandwich, and Brigitte did the same to her food.
The pain was mostly gone when Miri woke up. She drew in a breath and felt the familiar sensation of circulated air. She was in a starship running on life support, so they were in space. The air wasn't too stale either, which said a lot about how serious they took maintenance on the air scrubbers and other life support systems. I approve.
The previous day's memories were something of a jumble. She remembered the attack, getting shot, and the helicar that came to her aid. As the details flowed into her mind, she recognized that she was aboard the ship her contacts had sent to her. That was a good sign, at least.
Miri sat up and looked around. Now that she was fully conscious, she could see the lived-in, used layout of the infirmary she was being kept in. A man about her age, maybe a little older, was napping quietly on one of the other beds. Given his coat and the flashes of memory she had, he was the ship's surgeon. Thus he was the man who saved her life. She glanced down and realized she was wearing a patient’s gown, fully covering her above the waist, while below it, she was still wearing what she had when she left her room at the ISU center.
The ISU center. That led to thinking about P&Y, and she immediately frowned. The Astra Mater would not find her at Harron. As far as anyone could see, Karla Lupa vanished from the Harron ISU. That would mean questions. It would also mean doubt about her account of the League seizing the Kensington Star. This isn't how I wanted it!
Such considerations were pushed aside. Miri's training kicked in. She was reasonably sure she was safe here, but she needed to be ready in case of betrayal. Her firearms were missing for the moment, undoubtedly put away. There were emergency scalpels in sterilized packaging on one nearby tray. A useful weapon if she needed it. Unloaded aero-injectors lay on one counter at the end of the room, beside multiple sets of protective-cradle shelving for vials of medications. More were in a cooler. Probably an anesthetic there she could use to knock out an attacker, if it came to it.
Her sweep complete, and a mental inventory of all possible means of self-defense taken, Miri allowed her thoughts to go back to the situation. Her testimony about the fate of the Kensington Star was worthless if she didn't get to the Astra Mater. She slid off the bed and approached the sleeping man. She gently pushed his shoulder, then made it a stronger push when he didn't react immediately. His eyes opened and he looked up at her. "Ah. Miss Gaon," he said. She noticed the faint German in his accent. "How are you feeling?"
"I am all right, but I must see your captain. You need to get me to the Astra Mater."
"We do?" asked the surgeon. "Why?"
"It is important that I give my testimony about my ship. If they get to Harron and find that I disappeared, they may assume I'm responsible for its loss, and my account was a cover story. I must see them."
"I see." He stood. "I am Doctor Oskar Kiderlein, Miss Gaon, a pleasure to meet you, and I will take you to see if Captain Henry is awake. If not, one of his other officers might be able to help you."
"Please, do," she said. "There is a greater danger here, that I am sure of. I must persuade my employers of the truth!"
Henry was nearly asleep when Felix gave him the heads-up that Oskar and their passenger were waiting in the galley to see him.
When Henry arrived, Felix and Vidia were already present, as was a sleepy-eyed Tia. She stifled a yawn even as Henry took a seat across from Miri. "It's good to see you're still with us, ma'am."
"My thanks to you for the rescue," she said. "You saved me from a terrible death."
"I know how the League treats defectors, and from what I can tell, they're treating you like one."
"In their eyes, I am worse than one. I tricked them into trusting me, and then used that trust to break their campaign against us," Miri replied levelly. "But it is possible they would be after me, even if they didn't realize Karla Lupa was Miri Gaon."
"Oh?" That question came from Tia. "What do you mean?"
"They would want to silence me regardless," Miri explained. "Because I witnessed them seize the Kensington Star."
That news rippled through the room. "So the ship disappearances, it’s the League?" Felix asked, horror on his face.
Henry sympathized and figured that Felix, like himself, only anticipated a peripheral involvement.
"I cannot say for sure. I know they took Kensington Star. One of their cruisers, I am uncertain of the class. I only had a brief look before they jumped out."
"How did you get away?" Henry asked.
"Because of my past, I laid plans on how to evacuate without being seen," Miri answered. "I did so, and ejected myself into space with an EVA suit, a transmitter, and an extra air tank."
Everyone stared at her. "How did ya know you'd be rescued?" Vidia asked.
"I didn't." She could see from their faces that they were imagining the fate of repeating what she did, but not being rescued. Of being alone in the vo
id of space for hours, days, before dying from lack of oxygen. To be all alone in the infinite night before the end, that was the terror of many a spacer. "From my perspective, either I could shoot myself from an airlock with an EVA suit, or the League would do it without one," she added. "And only after my debriefing, which would not be pleasurable in the slightest."
"No, it wouldn't," Felix agreed, sighing. "God Almighty, that took gumption, Miss Gaon. Guess it helped you with whatever op CIS had you pull off."
"It didn't," she answered honestly. "That required me to betray good people to the League, an infinitely harder experience. I am a little surprised HaShem allowed me to survive this long for all the deaths I caused."
"It's war," Felix said. "You had a duty. Simple as that."
Miri directed an intent look at him. "No, it is not," she replied, a little heat in her voice.
"To me, the important thing is what you saw," Tia said, interrupting the exchange. "So either the Kensington Star did something to piss off the League, if they were willing to send a cruiser into the neutral systems, or—"
"—or the League is behind the ship disappearances," Henry finished for her. "And has been for months."
"Again, I cannot say."
"Then, could the peace talks be a fraud?" Felix proposed. "Something to distract the Coalition from whatever they're doing out here?"
"They haven't been attacking Coalition ships, though, just independent vessels and those flagged on neutral worlds," Tia said, shaking her head. "What I don't get is why? The disappearances have almost nothing in common. Medium haulers, big ones, helium-3 and deuterium tankers, even a couple of liners. It can't be for the cargos."
"The ships themselves, maybe," Henry said. "I don't think any light haulers or short-range ships have gone missing." As he spoke, his mind still reeled at the implications. The League doing something like this directly? That was explosive, and it meant he and his crew were in severe danger.
"Now you see why we must rendezvous with the Astra Mater," Miri said. "If you bring me to them, I can persuade them you are good Samaritans trying to protect me from an attempt to silence me. My wounds prove that. But if they get to Harron and I'm not there, they may assume I have gone into hiding over guilt. That I betrayed my crew. My testimony will be tarnished then."
Henry frowned in frustration. He could see the point. He'd love to get rid of her and get out of this problem. But that ran contrary to his instructions from Vitorino and Caetano. Somehow he bet neither would find giving her to the company to be an acceptable outcome, while Jules and possibly everyone else would suffer for it.
"Al-Lahim will understand," Miri assured him. "He will not hold this against you."
"I'd be all right with that, if he were the only one I was answering to," Henry answered. "The fact is, people on Lusitania want to see you. Both Trade Minister Vitorino and Defense Minister Caetano. They've each asked me to bring you to Gamavilla if you were genuine, and you are."
Miri considered the revelation. "I would prefer working with P&Y, Captain, if it's all the same to you. Surely they will understand. The New Cornish authorities are sharing information."
"Cristina Caetano is not the understanding type, and she's a bit of a control freak," Tia remarked.
Felix went for the blunt reveal. "The fascist," he bit his tongue to avoid the swear, before continuing, "is holding my brother hostage until we get you back."
Miri eyed Felix and sighed. "I see."
"Not just his brother. She'll have Felix declared an enemy of the state as well, and she threatened to hurt the rest of my crew," Henry said.
"This does not reassure me," Miri said quietly. "Why would she go to such lengths to hear from me?"
"Lusitania's one of a lot of worlds being impacted by the disappearances," Henry answered. I wouldn't want to be hearing this either if I were her. "And like Tia said, Caetano's the controlling type. She'd prefer being the one to learn information and hand it out to everyone else, not have it handed to her instead." Seeing Miri's worry, Henry shook his head. "I don't think she's working with the League, though. She's a straight-up Lusitanian nationalist."
"I suppose I have little choice in the matter," Miri said, her eyes now locking on Henry's. "As trained as I am, I can't overwhelm your crew. I’m at your mercy."
Henry didn't bother answering, since no answer would work. "The important thing is your story getting out, and whatever the League is up to getting stopped."
Miri nodded stiffly. "To that, I agree." But it was clear she was unhappy with the decision. "I’ll have to construct a new legend then. Karla Lupa's was already losing viability."
"Sounds fun," Tia said. "Let me help."
When Miri gave her a curious look, Henry chuckled. "She has friends in various places, and this wouldn't be her first forged ID," he said.
Miri considered that. "She is Hestian… a revolutionary, then? Hestian Worker's Party?"
"ID number Zero Zero Ten Six Fifteen," Tia said proudly. Noticing the look on the faces of the others, she added, "I memorize things that are important to me," with a tone making clear she'd expect them to remember that about her.
"Explains so much about you that a damned number is part of your identity," Felix muttered. "Statism at its finest."
Oskar chuckled at that, and Tia, much to Henry's gratification, did not rise to the bait. "Alright, everyone, I want to get some more rack time. We're still a few jumps away from Lusitania. Stick to watches and make sure everyone gets their rest."
"If you need me to, I can help," Miri offered.
Henry fought to keep any sign of suspicion from his face. He wasn't about to have an ex-CIS operative who didn't want to go where he needed her to go helping run his ship. But he didn’t want her to feel like a prisoner. "There's not a lot to do since we don't have cargo, but if Tia can find you something, I've got no complaint."
"And you'll be paid proper spacer scale on this ship," Tia added happily.
"My pay isn't the important part. I want to pass the time," was the answer. Despite Henry's efforts, his concerns were not unnoticed to her. She stared at him.
He pursed his lips together, but said nothing more. He needed sleep, and right now.
Commander Aristide stepped into Admiral Hartford's office and stood quietly while the Admiral continued to read a report on a digital reader. She could see from the red on his face that the ordinarily unflappable man was furious. It was surprising.
Finally, he reacted to her presence by looking up. "Miriam Gaon." Aristide said the word with a neutral tone and saw the angry flash in Hartford's eye. "The Traitor of Lowery."
"The campaign against New Arabia would have dealt a critical blow to our enemies," Hartford said, his quiet voice a rumble from the anger seething within the tone. "The fall of one of the founding worlds of the reactionaries. It would’ve brought us a step closer to ultimate triumph."
Aristide saw no point in mentioning the outcome of the bold attack and the disaster it was for the League's fleet and armies. It would merely reinforce Hartford's clear sense of failure.
"Li's agent already failed on Harron," Hartford continued. "Now he plans an ambush in space. If only I knew where, I could send the ships to ensure our success."
"It would potentially jeopardize our plans," Aristide pointed out. "Some of the refit work is just now finishing."
"Yes. But I would rest easier knowing that traitor was on her way here, where I could be done with her and no longer worry about how she might ruin my plans." Hartford set his index fingers against his chin again, showing he was in thought. "I will give Li another chance. But I will not let her get away."
"She is irrelevant at this point, sir," Aristide pointed out. "We are too close to our operational date for an investigation to thwart it at this time."
"That’s not enough," Hartford said. "Not nearly enough."
Aristide chose to say nothing more. Not to the Admiral anyway.
With a surge of energy, the Shadow Wolf generat
ed another wormhole and accelerated into it. A relatively empty solar system, with an M5-class star was waiting. On the bridge, Vidia was at the helm, since Cera was off-watch and Piper was resting, while Felix manned the conn with Yanik. Felix looked over the blank holotank and then the liquid crystal display showing the distant red star. Yanik noticed the expression on his face and commented, "You seem concerned, Rothbard."
"I am, S'srish," Felix said. As always, the two referred to each other with formality more than camaraderie, not that they weren't there to support each other if it was necessary, of course. "Empty systems make good ambush points. Less risk of Good Samaritans coming along, or someone getting a call out to patrols. Even worse out here where there aren't a lot of navies that go beyond their solar systems."
"True." Yanik blinked. "Do you believe this Miri Gaon is withholding information from us?"
"She could be," said Felix. "But she looks on the up and up."
"So, you believe she spaced herself to escape?"
"Given what the League would do to her? Damn right I do. I'd do the same in her position."
"Truly?" Yanik seemed interested in that admission. "The prospect of dying alone in the long night does not strike fear into your soul?"
"Well, I don't want to die, but going to sleep surrounded by void… not the worst end I can imagine." Even as he said it, Felix wondered if he was speaking honestly. He'd heard stories about castaways being plucked out of space after days alone. How it could drive people mad. He wondered if he’d go crazy.
"To be alone in the void with nothing but divinity to consider." Yanik's tongue flickered. "There are holy men on my world who would consider it the best end. No distractions in your final moments. Nothing but the Divine."
"There are other, better ways to speak to God."
"If so, I would think you and the Captain would do so more often."
