Shadow of Oblivion

by Richard Tongue

  “We’ll beat them, though,” Lopez said, suddenly looking far younger than his twenty-two years. “We’ve got to.”

  “Damn right we will, kid, but it’s going to be a long, tough war, and we’re going to need to totally commit to it.” She clapped him on the shoulder, and added, “All those ships they’ve got abuilding are proof enough that we are. Don’t worry too much. We’ll get them.”

  “Aye,” he said. “I’m sorry about your fiancé. I didn’t know…”

  “There wasn’t much point making a fuss about it. He was serving on Invincible. Stupid name for a ship. Begging for bad luck.” She paused, sighed, then added, “The Belters caught them cold, out in the Jupiter Trojans. They weren’t even in a convoy, just guarding some prospecting teams. Some damn-fool politician wouldn’t let them abandon the resource sites. He’s theoretically been posted a missing, but I know damn well that he’s not coming back.”

  “I am sorry, Cat,” Lopez said.

  “So am I,” she replied. Before she could continue, there was a chirp from her datapad, and she it from her pocket to scan the incoming message. “About damned time.”

  “What is it?”

  “Response to my transfer request. Formidable’s looking for a new Chief Engineer. Her Exec was in my class at the Academy, and he said he’d put in a good word for me with his Captain. With a little luck, I’ll be…” She paused, scanned through the text, and said, “Damn.”

  Lopez looked over her shoulder at the readout, and said, “They seem to value you pretty highly, Lieutenant.”

  “Too damned highly.” She looked at the display again, and read, “We are unable to spare you from your present duties at this time, and feel that you are best qualified in your current assignment, with the likelihood of promotion by the end of the year.”

  “That’s good news, though,” Lopez said.

  “Are you kidding?” she replied. “You realize that I’m going to end up sitting this whole damn war out at this rate? I don’t want to spend the rest of my life getting ships ready for action and watching them sail off into the stars without me? That’s not what I signed up for.”

  “Perhaps that’s what we both have to do,” the young man replied. “If that’s where we can best serve, then…”

  “To hell with that, it’s that rat Hanson,” she barked. “I’m going to be stuck out here doing his work for him for the next two years, and you can be damned sure that promotion will never actually materialize. When was the last time you saw him crawling around in a maintenance duct?” She paused, sighed, then said, “Strike that, Jake.”

  “I didn’t hear a word you said,” he replied with a smile.

  “Nothing new about that,” she said. “Unfortunately.” The doors slid open, and they stepped back out onto the bridge, the sensors already running through the first stages of their prolonged diagnostic check. “Look, don’t get any crazy ideas about staying on board with me. Get that midnight shuttle, go down and spend some time with your family. You’ve got a reason to take your shore leave.”

  He smiled, nodded, and said, “They’ll probably close the restaurant when I get down, invite every second cousin and great-aunt in for the day. I swear they had a hundred people for my graduation party, and I didn’t know who half of them were…”

  “And you loved every minute of it,” she interrupted.

  “Sure I did. Family’s important.”

  “I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Carter said. “Long story.”

  Lopez looked at the viewscreen, and said, “Look, why don’t you come home with me. There are going to be enough people at the table that one more won’t make a difference, and if you really haven’t got anywhere else to go, why not let me show you some good old-fashioned hospitality. Houston’s still got the best fleshpots in five states, and…”

  “Thanks, Jake. I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I don’t think I’d be very good company at the party, and you should be spending time with your family, not playing nursemaid to your boss.”

  “I wouldn’t have made the offer if I didn’t mean it, Lieutenant. It might do you good to spend some time with real people, not drones like Hanson.”

  She looked at him, nodded, then said, “I’ll think about it.”

  “Lieutenant…”

  “I’ll think about it, Jake, and that’s a promise.” She gestured at the elevator, and said, “Go pack your bags, then swing by the Mess and grab something for us to eat. We might as well camp out here on the bridge and work on some of the fine-tuning. It’ll save us time later.”

  “Will do,” he replied, turning back to the doors. She looked at them as they closed, shaking her head as she returned to the sensor station, watching as the readouts flickered into life, each of the three hundred input feeds working in a series of sequences, sweeping the heavens on their calibration pattern. One more advancement, one more step forward. Everything about this ship felt right, felt good. Ten years of work to get them to this moment. She’d spent her first year here, after the Academy, helping as a quasi-intern with the design team.

  She rested her hand on the command chair, wondering what it would be like to ride this ship into battle, face the enemy for real. One more dream that was deferred, but she was damned if she was going to let Hanson keep her out of the war. Any one of a thousand engineers could do what she was doing, whether or not they were wearing a uniform. Four years at the Academy, nine years after that working her way up the ranks, one assignment after another, and she’d still never had a chance to go beyond the Moon.

  One way or another, that was going to change, and soon. Regardless of what she had said to Lopez, she was far less confident that they’d beat the Belters. It was going to be a long war, long and savage, and nothing less than total commitment would suffice. Sooner or later, she’d be out there for herself, facing the enemy in battle.

  Taking a deep breath, she glanced at the sensor display once more, then walked over to the communications console. Everything needed work, minute adjustments to get the most out of the advanced systems. Soon enough, a crew was going to ride this ship to war. When they did, she was going to give them the best chance she could. No matter the cost.

  Chapter 3

  Corrigan walked into the rec room, a group of sullen faces looking back at him, figures spread around the cavernous facility. Normally, it was used by three hundred prisoners at a time in two-hour shifts, guards all around. This evening, there were six of them, and the guards were noticeably absent, the monitors all disabled.

  “I’m sure you are all wondering what this is about,” Corrigan said, “and I’m not going to waste any time in telling you. Frankly, I don’t have much to waste. We’re on a tight schedule.” Taking a deep breath, he added, “All of you have been hand-picked for the mission…”

  “Mission?” a slight, sad eyed man sitting near the front asked.

  “Yes, Lieutenant, we’ve got a mission. One suited very well to your unique abilities.” Looking around the room, he added, “I picked you all myself. I know what you are capable of.”

  “And just who are you?” a tall, smirking woman asked.

  “William Corrigan. Call me Bill. Nominally I’m still a Commander, but that’s essentially history now. We’re not going to be bothering overmuch with ranks where we’re going.” He glanced at his watch, then said, “We’re going to win the war, ladies and gentlemen, or at least provide the Fleet with a chance to prevent the Belters from winning it before we can mobilize.”

  “The six of us?” the woman replied. “Come on.”

  “Leonidas had three hundred at Thermopylae,” the sad-eyed man said. “My name is Lieuten…” He paused, corrected himself, and continued, “Vladimir Volkov. Weapons Officer. Once.”

  “And a damned good one, according to your flight record,” Corrigan said. Turning to the woman, he added, “Just as you are one of the best pilots in space, Novak. Or is it Vickie?”

  “Call me what the hell you want,” Novak replied.
“I take it this is a volunteer assignment, that this isn’t an order?”

  “In theory, sure, but at least hear me out,” Corrigan said. Looking at the hitherto silent trio sitting by the table at the rear, he continued, “Ranjit Singh, Sandra Collins, Alexander Dixon. Between you, one of the best counter-intelligence teams in the business.”

  “Not that good,” Dixon said. “We got caught.”

  “Not my doing,” Collins protested.

  “Caught?” Volkov asked. “Doing what?”

  “Then-Lieutenant Dixon had the brilliant idea to lift a hundred million credits from the Third International Bank. The heist was a complete success, but the fourth member of their team was careless and cracked under interrogation when they brought him in. He got a suspended sentence in exchange for testifying against the rest of you. I thought that rather unfair.”

  “Tell me about it,” Volkov replied.

  “All of you have managed to bring your careers and lives to a somewhat abrupt halt,” Corrigan added.

  With a gulp, Volkov said, “I might as well get this out in the open…”

  “You’re here for murder,” Novak said. “Same here.”

  “There is something of a difference,” Corrigan said. “Vlad’s crime was one of passion, and if he hadn’t killed an Admiral’s son, I have a suspicion that he’d be sitting at home right now. You should have pled temporary insanity.”

  Volkov grew pale, and said, “I didn’t…”

  “Your wife?” Novak asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “The man who killed her. And the rest of his family,” Corrigan replied. “As for you, it was a training accident. Five people died because you screwed up. If you hadn’t tried to cover it up, you’d have been dishonorably discharged. As it was, they threw the book at you. Ten years, right?”

  “Without the possibility of parole,” she said. “I think of it as a long, long paid vacation. What about you, Commander? What did you do?”

  Cracking a smile, he replied, “I saved three hundred lives. I knew the price I was going to pay to do it, and I accepted it. That’s all you need to know. And regarding the crimes the rest of you committed, let’s just say that I am convinced that nobody in this room is going to present a danger to any other member of their crew. If I’m wrong about that, well, once we’re shipside, I will be judge, jury and executioner.”

  “What does that mean?” Novak asked.

  “It means he shoots you if you screw up again,” Collins said. “I guess I can live with that, as long as it’s worth it. Just what is this about?”

  “Admiral Alvarez has managed to find a ship for us,” Corrigan replied. “A brand new, experimental design, called Avenger. She’s designed to mimic a fast transport, but with a heavier punch than I’ve ever seen.”

  “Avenger?” Dixon replied. “I know her. My team and I set up the security systems last year, before she went into final-stage testing. That’s one hell of a warship they’re handing you.”

  “Handing us, Alex. Handing us.” Corrigan smiled, and continued, “We’re going out to, and I quote, raise hell.”

  “Now that sounds like the sort of mission I might enjoy,” Novak said.

  “I hoped you’d be interested,” Corrigan replied. “Our job is to break through the blockade, get clear of the system, and start to cause as much trouble as we possibly can for the enemy. I’ve been given all our intelligence reports on extrasolar activity, and I want you all to start studying them. We’re looking for weak spots, and we’re going to hit them. Hard enough that we force the Belters to pull ships back from the front lines, and give our fleets a chance to hold them back.”

  “They really are desperate, aren’t they,” Novak replied.

  “I’m with her,” Singh said. “This sounds a little…”

  “The Combined Chiefs are pretty damn desperate,” Corrigan said. “We’ve got evidence that the Belters are planning to deploy some Dinosaur Killers. Half-mile to two-mile asteroids, targeting Earth’s largest cities. All of this happens in six to nine months unless we can stop them. It’s risky. It’s damned risky, and I know it, but it’s all we’ve got.”

  “What do we get out of it?” Collins asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I understand how important it is, but they’re not really going to kill a hundred million people. The Senate will surrender first, cut some sort of a deal. I don’t mind putting my neck on the line for the people of Earth, but I’m not going to die to keep some politician in his seat.”

  “Once this mission is over, Fleet Intelligence will provide all of us with new identities. We’re not coming back here, no matter what happens. You all get to start over, doing whatever the hell you want. Rob another bank, if you’d like, or just head out for the frontier and try and lose yourself. That’s down to you, and that’s the deal. You’ll also be paid commiserate with your current rank, the balance to be transferred to your account when the mission is over.”

  “You really think they’ll go through with it?” Novak asked.

  “Does it matter?” Corrigan replied. “Are you doing anything more important right now? Got any plans for the next few years? All of us are stuck here rotting in our cells for the next couple of decades at least. I’m offering you the chance to get back out into space, to take a warship into battle against the enemy. It’s got to beat sitting around down here, regardless of what happens after the war.”

  “If the Belters win, they’ll free us,” Singh said. “Almost certainly.”

  “Meaning that the question you have to ask is whether or not the price of freedom would be worth it,” Volkov retorted. “I’ll go, Commander. Whatever the others say.”

  “So will we,” Dixon added.

  “You speaking for us now?” Singh replied. “You aren’t my boss anymore, and I don’t have to take your orders.” He paused, smiled, then added, “Having said that, I volunteer. You’re right. It beats sitting around here, and I’d love a chance to play around with those sensors again.”

  “Novak?” Corrigan asked. “That just leaves you.”

  “She’s a fast ship?” the pilot replied. “And we’re not going to be worrying too much about tedious details like safety regulations?”

  “As long as we get where we need to go in one piece.”

  “Then I’ll do it. Just don’t expect me to wear a uniform, don’t expect me to salute anyone, and don’t make me do something stupid.” Cracking a smirk, she replied, “Other than volunteering for the Suicide Express. None of us are coming back from this, you know.”

  “We all agreed to that risk when we first put on our uniforms,” Corrigan replied. “Maybe now that’s a lot closer to a certainty, but if I didn’t think there was a chance of getting through this in one piece, I wouldn’t have signed anyone else up for this mission.”

  “Would you have gone yourself?” Volkov asked.

  “There’s a guard waiting outside to take you all back to your cells. Your possessions should be there, so get them checked over, get something to eat, and get yourselves ready to depart. We’re leaving at oh-four hundred, and the mission begins two hours later. On your way.” He paused, then said, “Dixon, please stay for a moment.”

  “Sure,” the hacker replied. “Sandy, make sure our friendly guards haven’t helped themselves to any of my stuff.”

  “Right,” she said, sliding out of her chair and walking over to the door. As the others left, Corrigan walked over to Dixon, sitting down opposite him, looking over the renegade officer.

  “Do I meet with your approval?” Dixon asked with a smile.

  “I hope so,” Corrigan replied. “I damned well hope so. What do you think of the mission? At least, based on what you already know?”

  “I think that Novak’s probably right. Your Admiral Alvarez expects us to die gloriously in battle, but as long as we hold back the Belters, I doubt she really cares that much. Are they really planning asteroid bombardment?”

  “That’s what I’ve been told, and it makes sound strategic sense.” />
  Nodding, Dixon said, “My gang will go along with me. We’ve been working together long enough that it wouldn’t make any sense to split up now. I take it you’re going to use Singh on External Operations, Sandy down in Engineering?” At his nod, he added, “And me?”

  “You get to be my Executive Officer. As well as riding Security.”

  Nodding again, Dixon said, “I had a feeling it was going to be something like that. By the way, call me ‘Dix’, not ‘Alex’. I haven’t been called that since I was a kid.” He smiled, and added, “Let me tell you a little bit about me. Just so you know what you are getting into. I’m the careful, cautious type. Don’t expect any crazy heroics. I do what I do, and I do it damned well. I can command, though I don’t particularly care for it. Having said that, if you have the misfortune to die in battle, I will do what I can to complete the mission, though I’ll do it my way, not yours.”

  “I’d expect nothing less.” Corrigan looked at Dixon for a moment, then asked, “Just why did you rob the bank?”

  “I suppose you’re looking for some sort of Robin Hood story, that we were planning to give it to the poor or use it to open up an orphanage, but I’m afraid our intentions were strictly mercenary. Fleet Security doesn’t have much of a career path. I was one of the oldest Lieutenants in uniform, and let’s just say that my retirement package wasn’t going to be up to much.”

  “Surely you could have moved into corporate work.”

  “That was the back-up plan. We figured we could hack into the bank, and if we were caught, we’d tell them it was a test. I knew we’d get deep enough to find some weaknesses, some vulnerabilities. If they grabbed us, we trade what we know for a job with one of the megacorporations. That’s why we hit the Paragon Biosystems account.” He grinned, then said, “It was too damned easy. Of course, we figured if we got away clean with the money, we’d just get out of the system and retire.”