The Feeding of Sorrows

by Rob Howell

“Why is that important? It’s our standard procedure for getting contracts.”

  “It is, which is why nobody noticed or cared. However, I needed to know you weren’t on Cimaron 283133-6A for any other reason. That you didn’t try to get the contract directly.”

  “I’d never heard of the place before the Merc Guild informed me of a potential client. The job was well within our capabilities. It was a good opportunity to give a new lieutenant field time in what was unlikely to be a dangerous assignment.” He sighed. “I keep looking back at that decision, wondering where I screwed up. I don’t think I did, though. New el-tees sometimes need long leashes, and I’ve done that sort of thing many times.”

  “I doubt you did anything wrong on Six-Alfa. Tell me about getting your lease on Maquon.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You know something. What is it?”

  “I have a collection of facts that need connections. I’ll tell you everything I can, but please answer the question first.”

  He swiveled back and forth in his chair, his level gaze never leaving me. “We pursued the contract on Maquon. It’s a heavily-forested planet, a perfect match for our skills, and it’s in a convenient spot relative to Peninnah.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “When I negotiated the contract, I offered a reduced fee if they would grant us the land. It was a good deal for both parties.”

  “What was the conflict about?”

  “Two Maquonese corporations had a long-standing border dispute related to a certain sap that’s valuable in pharmaceuticals.”

  “Why did you approach the corporation you did?”

  “It was a tough choice, to be honest. Both corporations had solid claims. Both had the money to pay a merc unit without going broke. Neither had any track record of abhorrent behavior. In truth, I picked the corporation that already owned the most favorable location and had pull with the local government in case any issues arose when setting up the base.”

  “You didn’t go there to fight the Zuul?”

  “No. As I recall, we made our choice, then the other corporation hired the Zuul.”

  “Do you remember the name of the Zuul unit?”

  “The Tahrietha Trackers.”

  “And their commander?”

  “Tahcarran. An honorable being, though stiff and overly formal, even for a Zuul.”

  “When was your last contact with him?”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “Did you escort the Trackers to their off-world transport?”

  “Personally? No, but I wished them well before they left.”

  I sighed.

  “What the hell is going on, Blaine?” he snapped.

  I didn’t answer. Instead, I ran the video on my Tri-V.

  He didn’t move as he watched the video. After it ended, he quietly asked, “What is this?”

  “What do you think it is?” I asked calmly.

  He stood up and paced around the room. “It’s bullshit, that’s what it is.”

  “Is it? How are you going to prove it?” I held up a hand. “I believe it’s bullshit, too. However, it’s first-class bullshit. My company’s techs have checked it out thoroughly and can’t find any inconsistencies that prove conclusively it’s edited or falsified. We suspect it’s computer generated, probably pulling from images in Merc Guild records. Whoever generated it did so on a system set up to provide the correct time stamps. It’s got all the correct watermarks from the Merc Guild. Any court would be hard-pressed not to accept it as factual.”

  “It’s not. We didn’t do this.”

  “I know.”

  “Not like I do. I’d’ve been there when the command was given, and I know my father never ordered it.”

  “Can you prove that?”

  “We’ve got video evidence.”

  “Would it stand up in a court where your videos are no more provable than this?”

  Edmonds opened his mouth. “Put that way, I don’t know.” He shook his head. “And there’s no hint of its provenance?”

  “All we know is that it went through a Zuparti system, at some point, and probably through a Veetanho one, as well.”

  “The Zuparti?”

  “Interesting, don’t you think?”

  “We’ll never work for them again. Kukuluki was only interested in saving his neck during the Peacemaker enquiry. He didn’t even try to defend us.”

  “I saw that in the case record.”

  He took a deep breath, trying to control his rage.

  “Just out of curiosity, did you ever run up against the Trackers again?” I asked.

  He shook his head.

  “Ever see Tahcarran again?”

  “No.”

  “I’m not surprised. There’s no evidence they ever returned home. They’re marked as a defunct unit in the Merc Guild database.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Why should you? The companies fought, and it seems like they fought with honor. You had no reason to keep track of their progress. For all you knew, they had contracts on the other side of the Galactic Union. It’s a big galaxy, after all.”

  He nodded. “You’re right, though. How am I going to prove I didn’t attack them?”

  “I don’t know yet.” I sighed again.

  “What? More bad news?”

  “Yes, Colonel.” I forwarded a copy of Jackson’s reconnaissance photos.

  “How did you get these?”

  “You have a precocious lieutenant who got out when the Zuul attacked. He and a former corporal are watching the base. I’ve set it up so they can upload data to the Maquon satellite system. Assuming they haven’t been caught, there’ll likely be more intel waiting for you.”

  He sighed. “So, it’s confirmed.”

  I tilted my head.

  “My S-2 had a suspicion, and I chartered a ship to go look. I guess I could have saved the money.”

  “You didn’t know I’d find out and get back to you.” I paused. “What are you going to do?”

  He laughed harshly. “Take it back.”

  “They’ve had almost a month to fortify it.”

  “I know.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “This intel will help, but it’s not going to be easy.”

  “No. There’s one other thing. I found references to an expected arrival. They have been waiting for one of your ships and have set a trap for it. If you can, you need to warn them.”

  He glanced at his monitor. “Shit. The Algonquin should’ve been there over a month ago. And she’s overdue back here, at Earth.” He started ticking fingers. “You came straight here from Maquon, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “You say you never heard anything about the Algonquin? No hint she had fought the Zuul in Maquon space?”

  “No.”

  He let out a deep breath. “That’s great news.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. You would’ve been there when she arrived. It’s possible you might’ve missed a space battle, but they don’t happen often in Maquon space, and you don’t miss much.” He leaned back tapping the desk.

  “What?”

  “You don’t know Captain Gonzalez. Frankly, he’s too good to be with the Foresters, but when my father ran the unit, we saved Gonzalez and his family from raiders. He’s been a fantastic officer for me.”

  “And?”

  “And he’s never gotten over those raiders. He’s twitchy.”

  “Do you think he might have avoided the ambush?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Where is the Algonquin now?”

  “If I had to bet, and I think I do,” Edmonds said with a tired smile, “she’s a hole in space in the Maquon system.”

  “That’ll help immensely, if it’s true.”

  “Yes.” His eyes sharpened. “And now, what can I do for you?”

  “I’d like to come along. There’s a chance I could be useful.”

  He swiveled in his chair. “What can you do?”

  “We deal in
ELINT, friend. And ELINT is just another way of saying ‘electronic warfare.’”

  “True.” He rubbed his chin.

  “And I bet I’m the best Human EW guy when it comes to the Zuul. Jackson and Steele helped me get close to the base. I can’t break into their system. Their security is too good. However, I can talk in a language their systems understand.”

  “What good will that do?”

  “If you’re talking to someone, and another person comes to ask you questions, it’s easy to get distracted, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I think I can distract their systems some.”

  “And every little bit helps.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Fine.” He paused.

  “What?”

  “I want you to go on the Cabot.”

  “The Cabot?”

  “I’ve contracted her to carry most of the regiment. I don’t know who Captain Garrison’s EW people are, but it wouldn’t hurt for them to have you. I trust you can find your way up to her in the next week?”

  “If I can’t, I shouldn’t be there. I’ve some things to do, but I’ll get up to the Cabot as soon as I can.”

  “Fine. Now get out of here, so I can get some work done.”

  On the flight to my office, I reviewed what I could find about Captain Garrison. The files I could easily retrieve held a few too many redactions for my comfort.

  In the taxi, my sweeper pinged. The Lyon’s face appeared in my pinplant. “Rick, you able to talk?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Good. Here’s what I got. I could probably find more, but not without being obvious, and I tried to keep this under the radar. I’ve included all the notes I think are relevant in this file.”

  A message on my sweeper asked me to accept a file from him. I did.

  “Overall, there are a few people Edmonds should fire for incompetence or greed.” He paused with a grimace. “But there are four that have handles someone could use to turn them. Of those, there are two who jump out.”

  I didn’t recognize one of the names.

  I prayed it wasn’t the other. “Shit.”

  “You recognize one?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “I thought you might. I recognized it too. If it’s him…”

  “I know.”

  “I feel for him. If what I think is true, he’s got his butt in a crack, and someone’s got a MAC pointed at his mom’s head, but man…” The Lyon shook his head. “To help fellow troopers get killed?”

  “Yeah.”

  We paused for a bit.

  “You going to tell Edmonds?” he asked.

  “Not until I know. Really know.”

  “If you tell him there’s a mole, chances are he’ll come to me, and I’ll give him all of this. I might, anyway, if Edmonds takes him to Maquon.”

  “I’m not going to ruin a guy’s career unless I know for sure.”

  “I get that, but I don’t want any dead customers because someone stuck a knife in their back.”

  “We’ve still got a little time before we head out. I could give this data to Bullitt and see what he finds. And if this guy stays, which he might, it shouldn’t be an issue until we get back.”

  “If you get back.”

  “Yeah.”

  The Lyon thought about that for a while. “Yeah, do it. Nothing I found out about either of them was told to me in confidence. I just collected a bit of info here and there.”

  “I’ll go through Edmonds’ manifests and orders. See if I can figure out if that one is going along without asking the Colonel.”

  “Do that.”

  I took a breath.

  “There’s another thing,” I continued. “What can you tell me about Captain Garrison of the Cabot?”

  He laughed. “Let me guess. Edmonds told you he was hiring her, then you looked her up, and you found huge sections of null values.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I referred her to Edmonds.”

  “That’s a good start.”

  “Yeah. She’ll charge him an arm and a leg, but she won’t run when the shots fly. Her crew is a wretched collection of cutthroats, but they’re like her. Trustworthy, if you’re the one paying them.”

  “Want to fill in any of those blanks?”

  “What? And ruin all your fun.”

  I laughed. “Good point.”

  He sobered. “Don’t have too much fun.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  He cut the connection.

  I had the taxi drop me off at the donut place. Armed with a couple of boxes, I walked into the tech lab. Heidi smiled when I placed the chocolate with sprinkles on her desk.

  “How’s things?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Still got nothing on the Binnig stuff. I thought I had a handle on something, but I couldn’t track it down.”

  “Why not.”

  “I pounded it for a day or two, then Bullitt got grumpy and bucked it over to the anti-malware section.” She grinned. “They couldn’t find anything, either.”

  “Good to know it’s not because you missed something.”

  “You betcha.” She bit into her donut.

  “Found anything else?”

  “Not really. We’ve got full bit-by-bit reports on the files, but they don’t tell me anything. The anti-malware guys are taking a crack at your stuff now.”

  “So, you don’t have any of it anymore?”

  “No.” She seemed offended I’d ask.

  “Sorry, just stressing about opsec.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I went up to the office. Moneypenny nodded and buzzed me in.

  Bullitt was staring out the window when I walked in, and he swiveled to face me.

  “Good morning, boss.”

  “Yeah.” He was quiet. I noticed his pecan dish was filled to the brim.

  “Can you get me all the information you’ve got on a Captain Garrison of the Cabot?”

  “Why?”

  “Edmonds is hiring her to ferry the rest of his regiment to Maquon. He asked me to ride along to help.”

  His eyes sharpened. “That’s smart of him.”

  I blinked. “You’ve got no problem with my going?”

  “You already told him you were going to, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, I guess it’s a done deal. I ain’t stopped you before. Might as well help you.”

  “Ummm. Good. There’s a lot in her past that’s redacted.”

  He booted his system and accessed her files. “She’s definitely had a career.”

  “Yeah. The Lyon recommended her to Edmonds. He probably knows a lot of what’s in those files, and he trusts her, but I’d like to know for myself.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “We’ll be hitting hyperspace in about two weeks. If you can find anything out before we go, that would be nice.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  I sighed. “I think Edmonds has a mole. If the Lyon is correct, it’s one of these.” I popped their faces up on the Tri-V.

  “What’s he got?”

  I went through the notes the Lyon gave me.

  “It’s probably these two. Maybe all four. Moles are everywhere.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me.” I sighed. “I know this one.”

  He glanced down. “Worked with him some on the training software install, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Think he knows your real job?”

  “I didn’t tell him, so unless Edmonds or Russell did, no.”

  “Good.”

  “Here’s his family history.” I highlighted an entry, then pointed out some specifics.

  “So, that’s how they did it.”

  “If he’s the one, this would explain it.”

  “Yes.” He glanced out the window. “Amazing what you can do with the right levers. Turn people against all they hold dear.”

  “That’s why you fou
nded the firm, right?”

  “More fun than making money in the markets.”

  “More fun for you.” I chuckled. “Most people like making money.”

  He shrugged. “I guess I’m not most people.”

  “True.”

  I stared at him. He looked back.

  “What’s wrong?” I finally asked.

  He shrugged. “Too many irons in the fire, I guess.”

  “Didn’t one of the old videos you made us watch say something like, ‘Get your rest. If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything?’”

  “Something like that.” He snorted. “I guess that makes you my eleven-fingered man. Have you killed any Spaniards lately?”

  “What? No.”

  “Keep it that way, and you’ll be safe.” He sighed. “Happy endings are nice.”

  “It’s our job to make that happen, right?”

  “Yeah, I suppose it is.” He got up, poured us each some thirty-year old scotch. “We deal in ELINT, friend.”

  “Yes.”

  We clinked our glasses.

  On the shuttle flight up to the Cabot, I realized he hadn’t eaten a single pecan the entire time we talked.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 30 – Capt. Eric Gonzalez

  EMS Algonquin

  Maquon System

  Wainwright and Pedersen walked onto the bridge. “Captain, may we have a moment?”

  Gonzalez glanced at them, noting their grim looks and the bags under their eyes. “Guns, you have the conn.”

  They went into the ready room.

  “What have you got?” asked Gonzalez.

  Pedersen leaned forward. “Three to four weeks ago, a Zuul unit overran the Maquon base. According to Maquonese media, they’re still there, but there weren’t a lot of details about what’s going on around the base. Most of the GalNet connections to Jeriasker have been cut off. As far as we can tell, the Zuul haven’t done anything to the Maquonese, but they’ve done everything they can to make sure we can’t get good intel about the base’s current status.”

  Gonzalez sighed. “Now we know.”

  “Yes, sir. I’d be leading my men into a trap.”

  “And we’d’ve blithely walked into it except for that damned Type Two.” Wainwright’s face twisted. “What the hell was that captain thinking? Why did he warn us?”

  “I don’t know, XO. I’m still wondering that, myself.” Gonzalez tapped the table. “How did the Zuul manage to get onto Maquon?”