Daniels couldn’t help but feel guilty. After all the terrible things he had done during his lifetime, he didn’t deserve to live.
STEINER sighed with relief as he watched Daniels and Spider begin to move on one of the security monitors. A neighboring screen showed the decompressed engine chamber icing up.
Once the fire had broken out, Mason pulled the Marauder back to a safe distance until the engineers could get the situation under control.
“The drive systems have stabilized,” Tramer announced. “We are ready for another run.”
“Haven’t we put up enough of a fight?” Sanchez asked. “Let’s flee while our enemy is disabled.”
Steiner looked at Mason, who shook his head. “The dimensional drive is down,” the pilot replied. “We can’t run.”
No one argued.
“I doubt we can take many more hits,” Steiner told Mason.
“They won’t touch us again,” the pilot replied. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Then take us in for another pass.”
Mason dove the Marauder back toward the Conqueror.
CAPTAIN Peters stared in horror as the tiny U.S.S. ship made another destructive pass. Explosions rocked the bridge, and the interior lighting started to fluctuate. Power reserves were almost depleted. Soon they would be at the mercy of their opponent. He caught another glimpse of the woman on the tactical screen, removing her top.
“She’s stripping,” Horace muttered.
Before Peters could stop himself, he punched Horace in the face. It felt refreshing to release some of his pent-up anger. He grabbed Niles by the collar. “Send more viruses.”
“It’s useless, sir. No matter how many we send—”
He didn’t let the young officer finish. He shoved him away from his station. They’ll pay for this,he swore as he sent another virus through the connection.
BRICKET’S hands raced across the control board so quickly that Sam couldn’t tell what keypads Bricket pressed. On a small screen below the one where Princess danced nude, lines of text scrolled so fast Sam couldn’t read them.
The main terminal was the last operational unit left in the room. The air stank of burnt wires from all the smoldering consoles.
“If they send another virus, we’re finished, aren’t we?” Sam asked.
“Not if I can help it,” Bricket replied, without losing rhythm in his rapid pace. “I’m planting Princess into the Separatist ship’s own computer network, so that they will think that we still control their systems, even after they have destroyed our capability to do so. The only problem is where to put the program so they won’t find it.”
“Wherever you put it, do it fast.”
“Aha, Refuse Control.”
The red light above the terminal flashed.
“Bricket,” Sam shouted.
“I know—I saw it,” the bartender said, working more frantically to finish.
The glowing indicators on the entire board dimmed, warning of an impending overload. With all his strength, Sam pushed Bricket back just as the terminal exploded. They both toppled in a heap as flaming debris rained down on them.
The bartender patted out the patches of fire on his clothes.
“Were you able to finish?” Sam asked.
“I hope so.”
The Marauder had just completed another charge across the bow of the Conqueror when all the instruments in the command center went dark.
“What happened?” Mason said.
“I don’t know,” Steiner answered. “Use the manual controls to get us out of range.”
“On my way,” the pilot said, putting distance between them and the other vessel.
Steiner looked back at the weapons officer. “Mr. Tramer, are any of your systems online?”
The weapons officer pressed a few keypads, but nothing happened. “Everything is inoperative. It appears we’ve lost the computer room.”
“Try to contact Bricket.”
The cyborg nodded and went to work on it.
Steiner stared out the front viewport at the Conqueror, motionless in space. Small fires emanated from the battlecruiser’s hull where the Marauder had hit it. It looked badly damaged, yet it still outmatched them.
“Captain,” Bricket answered over the ship’s intercom. “I succeeded in deadlocking the battlecruiser’s network, but it cost me every terminal I had.”
“Every unit?”
“Except life support.”
“Without the computers, we can’t find our way back to across the border,” Palmer said.
“He’s right,” Mason added. “We might be able to guess a direction using the constellations, but we’d never know for sure if we were right.”
“The Separatist captain is signaling us,” Simmons said from the communication console. “He must be demanding our surrender.”
Steiner looked back at Tramer as if searching for an opinion, but the weapons officer remained silent.
“Piece together whatever you can, then get back to me,” Steiner told Bricket. “We’ve got a problem up here.” He closed the channel.
“The Separatist captain wouldn’t bother asking for our surrender,” Mason said. “He would rather destroy us.”
“I agree,” Tramer said.
“What if it’s a trick?” Palmer said.
“I’ll speak to him in private,” Steiner said. “Maybe he won’t be able to detect our current condition.
“Mr. Tramer, if the Conqueror tries anything during the discussion, initiate another attack run with manual systems. Maybe we can take them out with us.”
The weapons officer nodded once.
Steiner descended the stairwell into the private chamber. Could the Separatist captain be surrendering? It didn’t seem possible, yet was there any other logical explanation? If it was true, it might be their only way to get home. If he planned on bluffing the other captain, Steiner would have to project superiority over him.
Steiner sat back in his chair, put his feet up on his desk, and activated the wall monitor.
On the screen, a man in his fifties appeared, his face bright crimson. “Tell me who it was,” he demanded. “Who betrayed us?”
Steiner didn’t have the slightest idea what the man was referring to. He maintained a confident appearance and smiled, as if toying with the other captain. “You’ll find out as soon as you are processed as a prisoner of war.”
“I will never allow that,” the man shouted.
“Then prepare to become a martyr,” he said, reaching to terminate the transmission.
“Wait,” the captain shouted. “I’m willing to discuss alternatives.”
Steiner knew the man was trying to buy some time in the hope that another battlecruiser would come to his rescue. “Either surrender or fight,” he said. “I have no time for negotiating.”
“First, tell me who gave you the code to sabotage our weapon systems.”
Steiner smiled at Bricket’s ingenuity. “Perhaps your computer network needed a few more security gates.”
“Don’t insult me,” the man snapped. “Our records show us that you used a command code. Who gave it to you? Was it Admiral Scheidner, Richina, or that idiot, Patterson?”
“You’ll find out once we reach U.S.S. space,” Steiner said. “Set a course for the border. Don’t try any tricks. My patience has grown too thin.”
The Separatist captain glared at him for a few seconds.
“You’d better get moving,” Steiner said, then ended the transmission.
Steiner sat in the silence for a few seconds, confused by how Bricket could have accessed the battlecruiser’s computer network with a command-level code.
“Captain,” Tramer’s voice announced through the intercom. “The battlecruiser is beginning to move.”
“Have Mason set a course parallel to its. If we’re lucky, they should lead us home. Steiner out.”
Steiner closed the channel and opened another—one to the computer room. He hoped Bricket could s
hed some light on how he had accomplished such a miraculous feat.
The hull shuddered as the Marauder started to move.
CAPTAIN David Cole stood, looking out a viewport of the Magellan. The Freedom had arrived at the rendezvous point an hour ago. She had been badly beaten by a Separatist battlecruiser but managed to escape. There was still no sign of the P.A.V.
The mission had been accomplished with great success. The base on Macrales had been completely destroyed. The Separatists would not be invading the Northern Territory anytime soon. Cole’s plan had saved the United Star Systems, but none of it would have been possible without the help of Steiner and his team of convicts. What had they gotten in return? Death? It wasn’t fair.
“Anything on sensors?” he asked Cromwell.
“Nothing, sir. We’ve already waited the mandatory length of time. It’s useless to stay here any longer.”
Cole glared at him. “We’ll give them another hour, Commander.”
“Yes, sir,” the officer said grudgingly.
Cole was frustrated about Cromwell’s attitude toward the P.A.V. The commander’s opinion wasn’t an isolated one. All the other captains had tried to discourage him from waiting as well.
“Sir,” Cromwell suddenly called out. “The Excalibur has just reported a Separatist battlecruiser heading this way.”
Cole’s first thought was that there was a retaliation force on the way, but that was unlikely so soon after such a devastating defeat. Maybe the Excalibur had made an error.
“Verify it on our sensors, Commander.”
“It’s there all right, sir.”
Cole made his way to the console. “Is there just one ship, or is it the leader of a team?”
“I’m—I’m not sure—sir.”
Leaning over the console, Cole analyzed the readout for himself. Indeed, there was another ship trailing behind the battlecruiser. It was the P.A.V.
“Sir?” Cromwell asked. “What does it mean?”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say Steiner captured an enemy ship. Helm, set an intercept course.”
The pilot propelled the ship forward toward the target. The two vessels grew in the forward viewscreen.
Cole moved to the communication console and opened a channel. “P.A.V., if you are able, respond with your password.”
“This is the U.S.S. Marauder reporting back from our run,” Steiner’s voice replied.
The monitor printed out PAV:73993.
Whispers of astonishment rose from around the command deck.
Unbelievable, Cole thought. In all of his years of service, he had never heard of such an impossible feat. “Transmission accepted, U.S.S. Marauder. Welcome home.”
STEINER stood silently at the helm next to Mason, watching the other U.S.S. ships discharging their weapons in a salute of respect toward him and his crew.
Simmons, Sanchez, and Palmer shouted cheers. Tramer tried to request repair updates from all sections, but the interfering intercom chatter indicated that the rest of the crew seemed to be so engulfed with elation that no one responded to him.
Steiner wished he could celebrate with them, but that was impossible. He had talked to Mason, and Mason had finally told him the truth—the secret behind their victory. Somehow he had to hide it from his crew and, more importantly, from all the official inquiries that were to come. Everyone would want to know about how a thirty-year-old Peacemaker defeated a Separatist battlecruiser. If the truth were discovered, it could endanger everyone on board.
Mason glanced up at Steiner with evident fear.
Steiner shared it.
CHAPTER 17
IN a restaurant on Earthstation, Steiner drank down the last of his coffee. His gaze wandered over to the large window that currently overlooked the eastern part of the African continent. Even though he had been recalled here to be honored as a hero, the threat of exposure loomed heavy over his head.
A waitress came by, refilled his coffee cup, winked, and walked away. He looked down at his collection of freshly printed magazines lying on the table with his picture prominently displayed. Sinking in his chair, he began organizing the booklets into a stack. The headline of each told him the public’s reaction to his and his crew’s success. “Convict warriors possibly aided by aliens from a distant galaxy,” read one. “Prison raiders in league with Separatists in plot to bring down the United Star Systems.” The last theory hit so close to the truth that Steiner squirmed in his chair.
After the capture of the Separatist battlecruiser, when Cole had inquired about their victory over the Conqueror, Bricket had conjured up some technobabble that satisfied the commodore, but the phony explanations wouldn’t fool Military Intelligence. Only with Suzanne’s help did Steiner stand a chance of protecting Mason’s secret.
“Jake!”
Suzanne walked toward him, but never as he had seen her before. Her red hair hung loosely down around her shoulders. She wore brightly colored civilian clothes. He got up and held out his hand. She thrust it aside and gave him a long hug.
“You did it,” she said. “You made it work. I knew you would. When did the P.A.V. dock?”
“The Magellan escorted us in three hours ago, but our ship isn’t called P.A.V. anymore. Commodore Cole has officially christened it, the U.S.S. Marauder.”
She laughed. “You left a convict and returned a hero. Everyone is proud of your accomplishments.”
“Not everyone.” Steiner read off some of the headlines on the newsdisk.
“That’s scandalous trash. The President of the United Star Systems wouldn’t be holding an award ceremony for you tomorrow night if he believed that.”
“President Lindsey?” Steiner asked, half in disbelief and half in terror.
“Of course. Your initiative saved us from an invasion. You’re the biggest war hero to come down the line since Louis Harrison. Thanks to you, we might still prevent the Separatist Empire from forcing its ‘New Order’ on the rest of the galaxy.”
Steiner swallowed hard at the irony of being compared by her to Louis Harrison. Before the civil war had begun, Suzanne had unknowingly met Louie under a different name and thought him to be a scoundrel, loyal only to the highest bidder, unaware that he was secretly part of the Cyrian Defense and played a huge part in defending the United Star Systems on the Day of Betrayal. As far as she knew, Louis Harrison was an upstanding member of Military Intelligence whom she had never met.
“Have you heard about Pattie?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, I’ve already seen him. Cole brought him here about a week ago on the Magellan. We’ve just been waiting for your slightly slower ship to return. The sergeant really came through for you, I’ve heard.”
“I owe Pattie more than you know. Can you see that he receives better medical treatment than the standard for convicts? I would really like to get him back walking in any manner that you can.”
“He’s already been provided the very best care available.”
Steiner took a second look at her. “The military just put up the money without question?”
“Not exactly. A private donor stepped up to pay for his treatment.”
“Donor? What donor?”
“I don’t know. Some patriotic citizen who wanted to honor a war hero, despite any mistakes of his past. Everybody is thrilled by what you have accomplished.”
Steiner cleared his throat. “Yes, about what we accomplished … there’s something you don’t know yet about our victories.”
“What do you mean?”
He struggled with how to answer her, then decided to tell her straight-out. “Someone gave Bricket a Separatist command code to disable the battlecruiser’s computer defenses.”
Suzanne looked confused. “But your report says he used a special program to break through their security gates.”
“I made that up.”
“You falsified an official report,” Suzanne exclaimed.
“Calm down.” Steiner glanced around to make
sure no one had heard. “I had no choice. If the truth were known, this person would be in a lot of danger. I can’t risk that.”
“Why not? What harm would it do as long as this person isn’t a member of your—Oh no, it’s one of your convicts, isn’t it?”
Steiner gave a slight nod.
“How can that be? I did a full background check on all of them.” Her eyes widened. “Except for that pilot you asked me to transfer on board. It’s him, isn’t it?”
“Don’t worry. He’s not a spy.”
“How did he get possession of a Separatist command code? Emperor Staece doesn’t just distribute them among his subjects—only to the highest admirals in his fleet.”
“He stole it.”
“How can you steal something like that? Was he in the Separatist military?”
“Yes.” Steiner hadn’t been able to believe it when Rick had finally confessed.
Suzanne’s expression soured. “You have ruined my otherwise-perfect day. How high up was he?”
“A lieutenant.”
“Even a lieutenant in the Separatist military couldn’t have stolen a command code. They’re kept as secret as our codes. How did he get it?”
“I can’t tell you any more than that.”
“Why not?”
“It would endanger him. If Military Intelligence ever found out, they would create such a scandal that Mason could end up being wrongfully condemned, maybe worse.”
“If it’s that bad, why risk falsifying an official report? It automatically makes you his accomplice.”
“I don’t want Military Intelligence to tear him apart. My crew wouldn’t have survived the raid of Hurot IV or the battle with the Conquerorif Mason hadn’t helped us. You and I are the only protection he has.”
“So you want me to be a coconspirator against the truth, is that right?” Suzanne asked.
Steiner’s stared into his coffee cup. “I’m asking you to prevent an injustice.”
Suzanne shifted her gaze out the window at the landscapes thousands of miles below. She sniffed. “You want me to jeopardize my career without even knowing the whole story.”
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