“Captain Conway,” she said, “I assure you that everything I have done, everything, has been in the best interests of the Confederation. There are matters of which you know nothing, dangers out in the depths of space that could wipe humanity out as a race. We're engaged in an arms race with the unknown, Captain, and if we do not win, we go extinct. How many empty worlds have we found, all life extinguished. That could be Mars, Captain. Or Earth itself.”
“Where does this arms race of yours end, Admiral? How far do you go to save humanity?” Shaking his head, he said, “We're done here, Admiral. And you know it. You might as well shoot the two of us now, because I will never switch sides, never subscribe to your bizarre philosophy, and my crew will never betray me by making a deal for my life.”
“And your daughter,” she said. “What does she think?”
“I stand with my father,” she replied, looking up at her.
“I think you have your answer,” Jack said. “So you might as well get this over with.”
With a sigh, she replied, “I'm not going to kill you, Captain. Nor your daughter.” Looking at the two of them she continued, “One day, maybe soon, humanity will need all of the defenders it can get, and on that day, you'll be released, and will be only too glad to serve under my command. Don't think I am talking about something theoretical. There is a clear and present danger to humanity, and I will do whatever it takes to end it. Don't doubt that.”
Frowning, Jack asked, “Then why all the secrecy, Admiral? If this threat exists, why not announce it to the universe, have the whole Fleet rallied to the fight? If you are so sure of yourself, then why don't you believe that your evidence will not withstand scrutiny?”
“Life isn't as simple as that.”
“Only because we choose to make it complicated.” Folding his arms, he said, “We're done.”
“That isn't your decision.”
“It takes two to have an argument, Admiral. And I'm done arguing.” He walked over to the bed in the corner, sat down, and folded his arms. She looked at him for a long minute, shook her head, and walked out of the room, flanked by her guards. The door slammed shut behind them, and he shook his head. “She really believes it. At least I know that much now.”
“What if she's right?” Susan asked.
“About some existential threat?” he replied. “It's out there. I know that just as well as she does. Something lurking in the darkness ready to wipe us out unless we stop them. I don't need to see intelligence reports to know about it. It's a big universe, Susan, and take it from one who knows that it is full of threats. I've walked on worlds where all life has been extinguished.
“But if that's the case...”
“Don't fall into the same trap that she has,” he warned. “Sometimes the cost of victory is just too damn high.” He gestured at the pile of rations on the floor, and said, “Pass me one of those, will you?”
“How can you think about eating?”
“Fuel. We're going to need it when we escape.” Looking at the door, he continued, “She might not kill us, but unless we can find a way to get clear of this station, Churchill will. Count on it.”
Chapter 10
Mallory sat in Jack's cabin, looking down at the datapad in her hands, one of the few pictures she had of the two of them with Susan on display. Dropping it to the bed, she looked around the room at the sparse selection of curiosities on the shelves, the collection of a lifetime. Sitting on his desk was a faded holoimage of another picture she remembered, her holding the newborn Susan in her arms at the hospital. Eighteen years ago, half a lifetime, but she remembered it almost as though it was yesterday.
There was a knock on the door, which hissed open to reveal Sullivan standing at the threshold. Without waiting to be invited, he walked into the room and sat next to her on the bed, looking down at the picture.
“That's a good one,” he said. “I remember the day that was taken. Just before we left for Proxima, wasn't it?”
“At my mother's,” she replied. “Damn, look how young we were back then.”
Sullivan looked at her, and said, “It wasn't your fault.”
“What?”
“Jack's capture. There was nothing you could have done.” He sighed, and said, “Nor was the abduction of your daughter.” Pulling a datapad out of his pocket, he continued, “I took a look at Jack's trajectory, after he dropped the missile. We might never have caught it, but he altered his flight path to rule out any chance of an escape vector. I guess he didn't want to outlive his daughter.”
“The bastard,” she hissed. “Leaving me to pick up the pieces again, just like he did after the war. Except this time I'd have to do it alone.” Shaking her head, she said, “What right...”
“He never forgave himself,” Sullivan said. “I think you know that much already. The rest of his demons are behind him, but that was something he just couldn't get past. What did you expect would happen, faced with that decision, knowing that he was going to have to murder his only child?” He sighed, then said, “That's the word, isn't it. We can talk about strategic requirements, and we can talk about the necessities of war, but it still seems to revolve around death.”
“There was no choice,” she said. “I can accept that intellectually, but...”
“But you are a parent desperate to save her daughter. You wouldn't be human if you weren't going through all sorts of hell.” He shook his head, then said, “Remember Jerry?”
“Your son. Didn't he join the Fleet?”
Nodding, his voice somber, he said, “I still look at the letter his commanding officer sent sometimes. When it hurts.” He paused, then added, “Died in the performance of his duty.”
“He died?”
“Six years ago. A training accident. Air leak during a cadet cruise, some beaten-up old transport popped a seam during a high-g maneuver. The bulkheads failed, and the only way to seal it was for someone to go in there. He thought he had enough time to get in and out. He didn't.”
“Mo, I'm so sorry...”
“He had a daughter. She was three when her father died.” A thin smile crossed his face, and he said, “Her stepfather and I don't get on so well, but I still see her at least once a year.”
Looking down at the deck, Mallory said, “I should have let Jack meet Susan.”
“You had your reasons.”
“When Jack left,” she paused, then said, “When I left him...”
“You were right the first time,” Sullivan said. “I was there, remember. Jack was in pieces. He couldn't take care of himself, still less a little girl.”
“She cried all the time for her daddy.” Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, and said, “About six months after the divorce, I tried to find him, was going to tell him to come home, but...”
“From what I gathered later, he was back at Proxima by then.” Sullivan frowned, then said, “Though I must admit even I don't know quite what he was up to before I managed to find him again. Until he turned up on Titan, three years after the trial.” Shaking his head, he added, “It was as much my fault as it was yours. The wounds were so deep, and Ginger and I had a hard enough time binding them up as it was. It took years to get him back to any sort of mental stability.” Looking at her, he added, “And you were seeing someone by then, and I think we all thought it was best to look forward, not back.”
“I….”
“Which is exactly the mistake you are making now.” Rising to his feet, Sullivan said, “You're worrying about the past when you should be worrying about the future. My son is dead, and I can't bring him back, but your daughter and her father, a man I am guessing you still have at least some emotional attachment to, are still alive on that station.” A smile spread across his face, and he continued, “Unless I miss my guess, he'll he raising a hundred levels of hell over there before long.”
Nodding, she replied,
“You're absolutely right, of course. It's just...”
“We've been on the move for months. No time to sit back and think. That means it all creeps up on you, all at once, and knocks you sideways. You've got a ship to command, and you've got to find a way to win the game. Now you get to prove you're the tactical genius Jack always said you were.”
“I should get to the bridge,” she said, standing up.
“Not yet,” Sullivan said. “Professor Simmons woke up ten minutes ago. That's why I was trying to find you. He's willing to talk to you about his secret.”
“He's awake?”
“And, according to Strickland, well on the road to recovery, though he'll be confined to Sickbay for a while yet.” The smile lingered, and Sullivan added, “It looked like you needed a few minutes to collect yourself first.”
She nodded, taking the lead, and paused at the door. “Thanks, Mo.”
“That's what I'm here for, Captain,” he replied.
The two of them walked down the corridor, the signs of battle damage evident everywhere. Formally pristine walls had been patched with temporary seals, technicians working to repair the hull breaches before they could become more serious. The lights flickered again, an engineer cursing as he worked on the power feed on the ceiling, sparks flying through too-hasty work. Not enough time, too much to do.
She pulled out her datapad, pulling up a sensor display, and shook her head. Theseus hadn't made the mistake of trying to chase them, instead returning to her defense orbit, slowly drifting around the station, ready to counter any move Churchill could make. Fighters raced around local space, a permanent patrol on standby for attack should she venture too close. By any standard she could think of, an impenetrable fortress in space. Certainly with the means she had at her disposal.
“You're thinking of pulling out, aren't you?” Sullivan asked.
“Back to Belzoni for repairs, new fighters, and reinforcements. With Monitor we...”
“We already ruled that option out, remember.”
“I'm just not sure we have much of a choice. I know that time is of the essence, but there's no sense throwing Churchill back into the fire again. With the load-out on those ships, they'd tear us to pieces before we got close enough to take a shot.” They stopped at the door to Sickbay, Strickland meeting them at the threshold.
“Simmons wants to talk to you. Well, technically he wants to talk to Jack, but...”
“I get it, Doc. How much does he know?”
“I've given him a limited briefing, but you might have to fill in some of the gaps. One thing, Captain. He's an old man who has been through a very traumatic experience, and he's still very weak. Try not to get him too excited, and try and make this as short as possible.” He looked at Sullivan, and said, “Just one visitor, Mo. Sorry.”
“Quite understand, Doc,” Sullivan replied.
“What about the others?” Mallory asked.
“All five will live, but two of them will have to be medically discharged when we get back, and none of them will be fit for duty any time soon.” Shaking his head, he said, “We're stretched to the limit, Captain. Many more casualties and I'm going to lose people I should be saving.”
Nodding, Mallory walked in, and Simmons looked up as she approached, a datapad clutched in his hands. Sullivan waited at the door while she sat down next to him.
“You're Captain Mallory,” he said. “I'm sorry to hear about Captain Conway.”
“He's not dead yet, Professor, and we're going to do everything we can to keep it that way.”
With a smile, he replied, “You might feel differently when I say my piece. I'm sorry I didn't tell Conway before, but I wasn't sure I could trust you.” Sighing, he added, “I suppose I still don't have any complete proof, but I've got to take the risk. I understand you're at Omega Base.”
“The radio telescope facility?”
“When I left Mars, it was still a theoretical concept, on the drawing board. They've finished it, and put it into operation?” At her nod, he continued, “Then you must destroy it, as soon as possible, no matter what the cost.” He gripped her hand, and said, “I do not exaggerate when I tell you that the fate of mankind depends on it.”
Her eyes widening, Mallory said, “You're going to have to follow up on that, Professor.”
“I intend to.” With a sigh, he said, “First, let me reference a few interesting discoveries the Triplanetary Fleet has made of late. There are a lot of dead worlds out there, alien races wiped out, either ten or thirty thousand years ago.” He frowned, and said, “The best guess are two extraordinarily destructive wars, both of which involved humanity in one way or another. We've found transplanted human colonies scattered all over this part of space.”
“Six that I know of, as well as more in the Cabal.”
“And several worlds that have been terraformed in the style of Earth. Jefferson being the most obvious example, but there are others. I've heard rumors that the United Nations has discovered a couple as well. Now why would that be? And how? Terraforming plans caused the Interplanetary War, as much as anything else, but even if they had been put into operation, it would be centuries before men could breathe the air on Mars.”
“I thought you were an expert on stellar dynamics, Professor?”
“Circumstances forced me to delve into archaeology to answer a question I uncovered five years ago. Have you heard of the Kowalski Halo?”
“No.”
“I'm actually glad to hear that. The paper was suppressed, and Doctor Kowalski disappeared soon after.” With a sigh, he said, “Killed, I suspect, for what he knew. I doubt it was Admiral Knight. In any event, he discovered a series of stars in this part of space that all had strong transuranic deposits. Far greater than anything we would otherwise expect. Enough to overturn a lot of theories.”
“What's the connection?”
“All of these elements decay rapidly, and all of them can be created by stellar disruption. Nova-scale events, usually.” He looked up with sad eyes, and said, “When I tell you that the deposits all date from around the same time, now do you see?”
Mallory's hands dropped to her side, and she said, “Professor, are you trying to tell me...”
“That it is my belief that Admiral Knight is looking for a device that could quite literally destroy a star.” Raising a hand, he continued, “Perhaps that is a mild overstatement, but such a device as I posit would destroy all life in a system and render the star unstable.”
“Such a weapon...”
“It's worse than you think. The effect would not be limited to a single star. Everything for light-years around would be destroyed. Space-based installations could be shielded, but whole planets could not.” Shaking his head, he said, “Sometimes scientists are accused of having limited imaginations, but mine conjures images of a war, of two wars, fought with weapons capable of extinguishing life on an interstellar scale. Millions, perhaps billions of sentient beings dying through the action of a single ship.”
“What proof do you have of this?”
“The alien ruins, a civilization that died at about the same time as we posit the last major war took place. The transuranic elements. The lack of life forms in this region. All the worlds are barren for light-years around, Captain. Did you know that? Scoured clean by the sheets of radiation that washed clear of the target star.”
“My God,” Mallory said. “If a weapon like that got into the wrong hands.” Shaking her head, she said, “I still don't understand, though. Admiral Knight can't be planning to use that against the Confederation in some sort of takeover attempt. We're the only power that couldn't be hurt by it. Aside from a few remote outposts, we don't have any settlements on inhabitable worlds.”
“No, I suspect she feels her motives are far purer than that,” he replied. “She believes that the weapon will provide us with safety, security. That
it will allow us to defeat the United Nations, the Cabal, or anyone else who ever threatens us. I believe differently.” Still clutching her hand, he continued, “If we developed such a weapon, so would the other powers. So would our enemies, our rivals. How long could we keep such a secret?”
“And every other time the weapon was developed, the result was a war that wiped out every civilization for light-years around, and as far as we know destroyed at least three intelligent alien races. Totally.” Shaking her head, she added, “Then the Earth-like worlds...”
“The radiation would wipe a planet clean, but there would still be oxygen, water, heat, all the thousands of requirements for life. It would provide a canvas upon which a new world could be painted. Maybe some of the survivors wanted to make amends for their actions. I couldn't say.” With a deep sigh, he said, “All I know is that as soon as I learned what Knight wanted, I ran. I hoped that without my knowledge, they wouldn't find a way to win.” He smiled, then said, “I was egotistical enough to believe that I was indispensable, and too weak to prevent Captain Conway attempting to save my life. I'd already decided that I would die before being captured.”
“And you believe that the bomb is on the alien homeworld.”
“The homeworld of one of the warring powers. The homeworld of a race who had such a device. Captain, even if there is only a remote chance that they might find the secret, they must be stopped. Think of what having such a weapon would do to us. By a miracle, twice Earth was spared the destruction. Would we be so fortunate a third time?”
Strickland stepped in, and said, “That's enough for today, Professor. Time for you to get some rest.” He looked at Mallory, adding, “You had to hear that much, but any more questions will have to wait until tomorrow.”
Nodding, Mallory rose, and said, “I understand, Doctor. Do everything you can for him.”
“Of course,” he said, as Mallory walked to a waiting Sullivan.
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