“What you’re saying is that if the Nandrians knew about Yoko, then this secret hasn’t been as closely guarded as you thought it was,” remarked Singh.
“Not true,” countered Ruby. “All they had to do was keep their eyes open. We’ve been going to great lengths to protect Yoko, ever since Naguchi brought her aboard the Hub. And it’s common knowledge that live animals are forbidden on ships and hubs, and yet Yoko rides all over the station on Rob’s shoulder. Clearly, she’s a very special creature.”
Lydia spoke up then, adding, “The Galactic database includes information about Earth’s fauna. The Nandrians wouldn’t have had to look too hard to discover the average lifespan of a rattus norvegicus. After that, it would just be a matter of putting two and two together. And the Nandrians are really good at that.”
As she returned her attention to her console, an idea began to glimmer in Drew’s mind. “So the Nandrians believe that Yoko is our… tseritsa?” Holchuk nodded. “And if even one tseritsa comes to harm, every House has been disgraced?”
“You getting a brainstorm, boss man?”
“I think I am, Mr. Holchuk. Our first priority right now is finding a safe hiding place for Yoko and Bonelli,” he said. “Cisco will be here in a few hours to search every corner of the Hub, and he’ll be armed to the teeth, so we can’t simply refuse to let him dock.” Drew turned his head in Lydia’s direction and opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to the punch.
“I’m receiving another transmission, Mr. Townsend,” she said brightly. “It’s from the Krronn. The tekl’hananni scores have been posted, and Trokerk is ahead by twelve. Nagor is requesting docking module one. He’ll be arriving in less than five hours.”
Drew tried to make his expression reproachful. “You sent that mayday, didn’t you?”
She just smiled and busied herself with her communications board.
It was all Drew could do to contain his glee. Cisco would arrive on Daisy Hub to find a Nandrian victory party in full swing. It was almost poetic.
“Mr. Holchuk, is there a script for requesting the safekeeping of a precious object and sanctuary for a wrongly accused man?”
Holchuk nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll tack it onto your generosity appreciation speech,” he said, then wheeled and headed for the tube door.
“Isn’t there something we can do about Cisco, Drew?” asked Ruby, her voice and expression both strained. “He’s like a poisonous spider lurking on a web. Is there any way that we can prevent him from returning to the Ranger station once he leaves here?”
“What if we convinced him that he’d killed Bonelli?” suggested Gouryas. “That would take care of two problems at once.”
Drew shook his head. “Not really. First, he’d insist on seeing the body. Then he’d insist on taking it back as proof that he’d served the warrant.”
“What if we convinced the Rangers that he’d killed Bonelli?” mused O’Malley.
Drew considered this for five full seconds and could find no downside. “Keep talking, O’Malley.”
The ratkeeper leaned forward, warming to his subject. “We transmit a medical report and death certificate to the Zoo, as soon as Cisco docks here. We let him search the Hub. He finds nothing. He demands to search the Krronn, but the Nandrians won’t permit it. So he has no choice but to leave, threatening to return with an armed boarding party once the Nandrians have gone. Back on Zulu, he walks, unsuspecting, right into a mutiny.”
“Fourteen Rangers against one ninja?” said Smith. “Don’t forget, I’ve seen what a martial arts expert can do. It’s entirely possible he’ll be able to put down the mutiny. Then what?”
O’Malley was unfazed. “If we also transmit the medical documentation to Earth, Space Installation Security will have to Gatecast an arrest warrant. Rangers will be waiting for him wherever he goes, and they won’t hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later. Even if he survives his arrest, he’ll be completely discredited. Of course, there is a trade-off: Bonelli won’t be able to go anywhere either.”
“He can’t go anywhere now, with that bogus warrant hanging over his head,” Gouryas pointed out.
Drew grinned. “Trust me, people. It won’t be a problem.”
Chapter 40
The Ranger shuttle Bonaventure was still an hour away from the Hub when the Krronn requested permission to dock. As it turned out, Trokerk really was the leading House in tekl’hananni. Because the Krronn had been in the process of responding to Lydia’s distress call, however, the Nandrian ship was much closer to Daisy Hub when the scores were posted than would normally have been the case.
Aboard the station, preparations had already been made. Bonelli was in Recovery, ready to be moved. Yoko was in her cage, on A Deck, beside Drew’s left leg. Holchuk had suggested that the station manager carry her on his shoulder, for effect, but neither Drew nor Yoko would have any of that. So the Chief Cargo Inspector had quickly added a paragraph of explanation to Drew’s speech.
As he watched Nagor emerge from the docking archway with his second and third, all of them seeming to move in slow motion, Townsend had a gut-twisting moment of déjà vu. Steady, now, he reminded himself. There was no need to be nervous. He’d already made a good first impression. The speeches were shorter this time and didn’t have to be word for word from a script. The downside, of course, was that the Nandrians were carnivores, with sharp teeth and a venomous bite, who had just come off a killing spree. He’d better talk fast, before one of them got the idea that Yoko was an hors d’oeuvre.
Carefully, Drew bowed from the waist, then said, “Greetings, Nagor ban Nagoram. It is an honor to receive you on my station.”
Nagor bowed as well and replied, “The honor is mine, Drew, son of… Dammit! to be so warmly received.” Then the big alien made a strange sound, somewhere between a wheeze and a snort.
Townsend glanced sharply, first at Holchuk, then at Ruby, but neither of them would make eye contact with him. In fact, Holchuk appeared to be struggling to keep a straight face.
One mistake and he’d been branded for life, Drew thought disgustedly. Oh, well, may as well get on with it.
“I present to you my second and third, Gavin, son of—”
“We have met,” Nagor cut in.
Now all three of the Nandrians were making strange noises.
Undeterred, Drew forged ahead, following the script: “You come here victorious, from tekl’hananni. We beg you to tell us of your triumph.”
Nagor tilted his massive head and replied, “It was short. We won.”
Silence. Now what? Their account was supposed to match. Mentally crossing his fingers, Drew said emphatically, “So did we.”
Nagor nodded his head twice, then made that strange noise again.
“And we wish to thank you for your generosity in giving us the invisibility field generator.”
There was more to Drew’s speech, but the big alien cut it short by leaning forward until his snout was almost touching the Human’s nose. “You… are… welcome,” Nagor said.
There was a strong citrus smell on his breath.
Clearly, the crew of the Krronn had already begun celebrating their victory. If all the Nandrians aboard ship were in this condition, it was a miracle they had managed to dock without knocking Daisy Hub out of orbit.
Holchuk reached out and tapped Drew on the shoulder. “Tell him what we want, boss man.”
“What about the protocol?”
The Chief Cargo Inspector uttered an exasperated syllable. “Do they look like they’re worrying about protocol? Meanwhile, we’re running out of time.”
He was right. The aliens were definitely toxed, if not to the rafters, at least within arm’s reach. And Yoko and Bonelli needed to be safely aboard the Krronn before Cisco docked.
Drew cleared his throat and declared loudly, “Nagor ban Nagoram, we have a problem
and we need your help.”
Instantly, the Nandrians’ merriment stopped. “What is your problem, Drew son of… Dammit!?” demanded Nagor.
Drew sucked in a deep breath. “Earth does not wish us to have a tseritsa. Earth’s High Council has sent an official to take it away from us. He will be docking here in less than an hour. We know that he has no honor, Nagor ban Nagoram. He falsely accused the Ranger captain of a serious crime, then tried to murder him. We have no wish to surrender our tseritsa to this official, but if we refuse him, he will try to take it by force. We are not yet ready to defend ourselves against an invasion. If you were to defend us, our alliance would be revealed and Earth would have no choice but to declare war upon us, defeating the entire purpose of the alliance. Our only hope is to conceal the tseritsa from the official until he gives up his search and leaves. We also need to protect the Ranger captain, who lies gravely injured in Med Services. Can you help us?”
Nagor tilted his head to one side. “The tseritsa is from Earth?”
He wanted to know whether Daisy Hub had stolen it. Unsure what to reply to this, Drew cast a questioning glance at Holchuk. To Townsend’s relief and annoyance, the other man immediately stepped forward and answered for him.
“Originally, yes. All Humans came from Earth, Nagor,” Holchuk told him, “as all Nandrians came from Serrussha.”
“You understand,” said Nagor, nodding. Then he turned to his subordinates and spoke to them briefly in Nandrian. “Bring them now,” he instructed Townsend. “We will lock them in my quarters. Only I will have the unlocking code. And tell your Doctor Ktumba they will need food for two days.”
The three Humans bowed deeply and said in unison, as scripted, “We are honored to receive your assistance.”
“I am honored that you would give me the safekeeping of your most precious belonging,” Nagor replied, to all of them. Then, speaking directly to the station manager, he added, “You are a gracious host.”
So they were back to that script. The squirming sensation in his stomach told Drew that he would probably regret this, but he nonetheless replied, “And you are valued and always welcome guests. Please come aboard.”
Making even stranger noises than before, the three Nandrians lumbered back through the archway.
“Looks like they’ve found a way around that five drink limit,” observed Holchuk.
Ruby remarked sagely, “I think we’ve been a bad influence on them.”
Chapter 41
Holchuk observed from a distance as Townsend dealt with Major Cisco.
The ninja was not a happy camper. For that matter, neither was the boss man. The last time the Nandrians had come aboard, Townsend had managed to complete the First Meeting ceremony, then had closeted himself on C Deck, refusing to join the party. As long as Cisco was on the Hub, he couldn’t do that. Admittedly, these tekl’hananni celebrations were very loud. Ruby had once called them “headaches in waiting.” But the station manager needed to be a presence whenever aliens were visiting. Maybe the crew ought to give him earplugs as a birthday present — assuming the boss man bothered with such things as birthdays.
Cisco was waving his arms now, and not in time to the music. Holchuk couldn’t hear what he was saying, but his expression looked cold and menacing. Townsend had drawn himself erect and was standing his ground. Good. Now he was crossing his arms over his chest. That’s it, thought Holchuk. Be firm and rational. Drive the ninja totally nuts.
They were standing in the caf, surrounded by a crowd of drunken aliens laughing at the top of their lungs. The air was so thick with citrus vapor that it could practically be sipped through a straw. The music blaring out of the comm system had already run the gamut from blues to techno-rock and back. Now the Powwow had set up and were jamming, not fifteen meters away, using the speakers they’d built for Teri’s show. Everything in the room was vibrating. Holchuk could feel the bass notes throbbing right through the soles of his shoes.
Suddenly there were large hands on Holchuk’s upper arms, gently pushing him to one side. “Sorry, Gavin,” said Hagman’s voice behind him, “you’ll have to move. Battle re-enactment.”
As if on cue, one of the aliens launched himself from the middle of the room and landed, sprawling, on the deck where Holchuk had been standing. A table and two chairs went flying. And that was just a warm-up. Confident that the boss man wouldn’t be hanging around the caf much longer, Holchuk stepped out into the corridor.
“Looking for a swallow of fresh air?” teased a familiar voice. Lu Xensiu drew up beside him, then straightened his back, widened his stance and crossed his arms.
Holchuk followed his gaze and saw Townsend and Major Cisco, arguing as they walked toward the tube car door.
“That’s him?” Lu remarked, a disdainful note creeping into his voice. For a moment, he sized up the man everyone had been referring to as ‘the ninja’. “I could probably take that guy,” he concluded.
Wordlessly, Holchuk shook his head, recalling the fist-sized dents he’d seen in the metal console cowlings on Zulu. “With all due respect for your skills, sensei, I have to disagree. He’s not only strong and fast, he’s vicious. And he doesn’t play by any set of rules. He’d probably take you out while you were opening your mouth to challenge him.”
“That only makes him all the more deserving of a beating.”
A second later, Holchuk realized that he was standing alone in the corridor. Daisy Hub’s homegrown ninja had apparently melted into the shadows. Lu watched far too many of those old Asian flat-screen videos.
Meanwhile, Hagman had joined Townsend and Cisco. The major’s search had yielded nothing. Now it was time for him to leave. Holchuk watched the burly dock foreman herd the ninja into a tube car while Townsend maintained what could only be described as a forbidding demeanor. As soon as the tube car door slid shut, the station manager relaxed with a huge sigh and a dramatic change of posture. Then, darting a glance in the direction of the caf entrance, he shuddered visibly and took off down the corridor.
Back to his hidey-hole on C Deck, Holchuk thought reprovingly. Definitely, someone was going to have to give the boss man earplugs at the earliest possible opportunity.
Looking up and down the corridor, Holchuk thumbed the tube car button. He had a few more stops to make before his plan would be ready to present to the Hak’kor’s representative.
Chapter 42
Lydia greeted Drew with a smile as he stepped off the tube car. “So far, so good,” she told him. “Lieutenant Rodrigues has received our message. The Rangers will be waiting with weapons drawn for Cisco to return to Zulu, and Rodrigues has promised to let us know the minute they have him in custody. Also, we have a transmission from the Space Installation Authority — a request for clarification.”
SISCO was breaking silence. This could be a warning about Nestor Quan. Or about Steve Bonelli, the alleged traitor. Or maybe someone had confessed to conspiracy in the death of Karim Khaloub. Wouldn’t that be interesting…
“What’s the matter, Drew?” asked Lydia, frowning. “Too much noise?”
On his way to his desk, he nodded glumly. “I’d better take care of this clarification.”
While waiting for the decryption code in his biowafer to complete its work, Drew felt the faint throbbing at the back of his head settle in and become a full-blown tension headache as he counted all the crimes he’d committed during his short tenure on Daisy Hub.
He’d probably allowed Robert O’Malley to get away with murder. Literally.
He’d appropriated stolen property and turned it to his own purposes. There would be two counts — one for Yoko and one for the stealth cloak.
He’d misrepresented the Hub as an independent political entity in order to make a secret alliance with an alien race. That was treason, a capital crime.
He was a willing accessory, before, during and after the fact, to InfoComm hack
ing. Another capital offence.
He’d organized and abetted a break-and-enter on Observation Platform Zulu, resulting in both deliberate and accidental vandalism.
He’d ordered the filing of a false medical report. There would be two counts on that one as well, one for the fraudulent arrest warrant and the other for aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice.
All that in less than three intervals. It had to be some kind of a record.
More significantly, however, it meant that he could never go back to Earth as himself. This was the part that his EIS handlers had glossed over during his mission briefing. He had to remain on Daisy Hub for the duration. If SISCO decided to terminate his assignment prematurely, he would have to call for an extraction and a complete identity change. He had no choice in the matter. The EIS would not hesitate to order the kill if he became even a perceived threat to its security.
Sensing that he was being watched, Drew turned and saw Lydia staring at him sympathetically across the top of a filing cabinet. She leaned forward, rested her chin on her crossed arms, and asked softly, “Is there anything I can do?”
What he really wanted her to do was leave him alone so he could read the bad news from SISCO. But the headache was seriously beginning to bother him, so he said, “Get me some pain medication from Med Services?”
She nodded and disappeared.
As soon as he heard the tube car door sigh closed behind her, he started to call up the decrypted text on his display screen, then changed his mind. Regardless of the content of this message, Nestor Quan had to be neutralized and Spike had to be extracted. And whether or not Khaloub’s death was an EIS hit, he had to protect O’Malley, whatever the cost. Anything SISCO had to tell him would only complicate his plans by making him question his own resolve, and he didn’t need that right now. Especially when his head was now pounding like a percussion beat from the Daisy Hub Powwow.
The Genius Asylum: Sic Transit Terra Book 1 Page 25
