“Dead slow ahead.” Stone ignored the main screen, instead he was studying his console intently.
“What is it Captain?” Hammond asked.
“There are a number of ships on the far side of the space station.” Stone said. “I didn’t notice them until we were within a kilometre of the station. They appear to be fighters but they are of an unusual design.”
“Perhaps that’s another reason we were parked at this side of the station.” Mercer said.
“Perhaps.” Stone said. He turned around in his seat to face Hammond. “Lieutenant you are not to allow your men to approach that side of the space station under any circumstances, is that understood?”
“Can I ask why Captain?”
“If they belong to the Jewel Navy we may have trouble. If any of your men are caught near that part of the station they will likely be arrested and charged as spies. The ship would be impounded and we would be arrested as well. I am too pretty to be shot as a spy.”
“I will so inform my men Captain.”
“Sir we have arrived at docking bay thirty seven.” Mercer said.
“You have the helm Miss Mercer.” Stone said. “Bring her in gently. Let’s show these people how we park ships.”
Mercer flashed him a grin then gently brought the ship closer to the waiting boarding points. The ship kissed the docking clamps.
“Engage the docking clamps.”
The status of the lights changed.
“Confirm external electrics.”
“External electrics confirmed.”
“Internal electrics off.”
“Internal electrics are off.”
There was a momentary flicker of lights as the lights changed to external power.
Stone keyed his comms.
“Engineering.”
“Secure the main engines.” Stone said.
“The main engine is secure.”
“Thank you Rawlins, welcome to Jewel One.”
Chapter Seventeen
Mike Leyland realised when he was half way across the concourse that he was being shadowed.
He had left the spaceship after a long discussion with Paul Simmons. Simmons had insisted on giving him instructions in private, not even Rosie Ire, little miss perfect, had been present. He then insisted that both the crew and all the Peace Officers remain on-board the spaceship while he carried out the instructions.
Leyland could see the central spindle of the space station ahead. Their spaceship was not built for flying through the atmosphere which is why they had to dock at the station and he had to take a commercial shuttle to the planet. He lengthened his stride.
Leyland quoted his landing bay to the attendant at the shuttle and noted that the ship docking fees were increased by the correct amount. The shuttle was very basic, only able to hold eighty or ninety people packed in tight, knees to chest, on the seats. Leyland listened as the roar of the shuttle’s engines dwindled as gravity caught the machine. They briefly roared again to slow the shuttle as it crossed the edge of the atmosphere and placed it on the correct trajectory. Then the giant wings opened and the shuttle glided comfortably to the extended airstrip.
Leyland ignored the man standing close behind him and the two ahead in the customs queue. He suspected that they were attached to him because he came from Soros. They probably assumed he was a spy. His job today would simply be to make contact with the right people, tomorrow he would start to follow Simmons’s instructions and lay the groundwork.
He fixed his eyes on the pitted runway breathing shallowly. He had of course read about the problems of industrialisation on Jewel and the acid rain that was its result. The rain could burn through anything, the only protection was the building sized shields which protected the city, building by building. The air tasted harsh in his throat.
The warm breeze felt strange on his skin after the days spent cooped up in the freighter. Leyland stepped into the customs shed, following the queue. He lifted his satchel onto the conveyor and confirmed he had nothing to declare. The customs officer made a perfunctory check of his satchel and found only a change of clothes and a small radio receiver. He handed Leyland a face respirator.
Leyland gladly donned the respirator.
A hovercraft drew up as Leyland exited the customs area. It was a taxi dropping off passengers. Leyland waved for the driver to stop and climbed into the relative comfort. The hovercraft was the best type of vehicle for the pitted roads in this city.
Leyland flipped open his Pulsaro computer with a flick of his wrist and called the ship. It was Mercer who answered.
“Inform Mr Simmons that I have arrived on Jewel and am proceeding to the hotel.” Leyland said. “I will make the necessary appointments and carry out his instructions.”
He closed the connection and watched the city pass by. It felt strange. He could have been on any other city in the universe. People might live millions of miles apart with different religions and different points of view but the architecture was very similar, clothing styles differed but always changed every twenty years back to something that was practical and comfortable.
The hovercraft stopped with a woosh of its skirts and the door opened to allow Leyland to climb out. He walked up the steps to the entrance of the hotel pausing only to note the three passengers who jumped out of a nearby taxi.
The warm aroma of freshly baked bread greeted Leyland as he entered the hotel. He crossed to the reception where, after a brief pause, the receptionist greeted him by name. Customs must have forwarded his identification. A small suite was requested and granted and Leyland was led to his room.
He keyed a command in his Pulsaro wrist computer the moment he was alone.
“Sweep the area for bugs and secure for conversation.” Leyland said.
He watched the dial on the Pulsaro range through different frequencies. It hesitated only once before completing the sweep.
“One device found.” The Pulsaro announced. It blocked the frequency. “The area is now secure.”
Leyland removed the computer from his wrist and placed it on the table.
“Obscure my location on all communications. Obscure my visage on all communications. Obscure my voice on all communications. Place a person to person call to number 4837-RC51-1710-AR51-0232.”
The Pulsaro computer buzzed for several long seconds as it tried to place the call. The call connected and an obscured hologram figure appeared.
“Who is this?” The figure demanded.
“I am who I am.” Leyland replied. “I have been informed that, for a certain price, your services can be bought.”
“Who told you that?”
“The same person who gave me your number.” Leyland said. “That person also said that you owe her dinner with a cantaloupe starter.”
The figure froze for a moment then nodded.
“How is our mutual friend?”
“She is looking forward to the cantaloupe.” Leyland said. “I do not know her current position however she is alive.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to be placed in contact with Paula Hailsten, the CEO of Hailsten Shipyards.” Leyland said. “I want to contact her through back channels, I do not want anyone to know we are talking.”
“Call me back in one hour.” The figure said and disconnected the call.
*
“I don’t understand why I can’t go down to the planet.”
Paul Simmons swallowed a retort. Mike Leyland confirmed a few moments ago that he will be making his first contact within the hour. On hearing this, Rosie Ire responded like a petulant child.
“We need the list of senators, what their voting intentions would be.” Simmons said. “There are a hundred senators, we need fifty one senators to confirm that they would accept this change and effectively cede the asteroids to us. You can only do that if you have secure communications to them. Once you have completed the list of senators, then we can talk about a trip to Jewel.”
Ire nodd
ed and returned to her work.
Stone had arranged a cable from the bridge console to the stateroom. The primary functions of the console were locked out but the communications channels were now open.
Simmons listened as Ire contacted each senator in turn asking for their intentions. He had coached her carefully, pointing out the benefits of a return to normality as well as increased trade that would result from this agreement.
He shrugged and returned to his own work. He was studying the linkages that Leyland had provided him. He had the sheets in a careful pile as he studied each in turn. Some of the links were shaky at best, Simmons wondered how Dunstead kept them all in his head.
One senator was promised the rights to build a selection of hotels in a remote area in return for his promise on a yes vote to reduce the corporate tax rate. To provide the land for the hotels, another senator was bribed with the promise of his bill passing through the appropriations committee. To do that another senator was paid off with bribes and yet another by the threat of blackmail. Reading this list of corrupt politicians made Simmons feel uncomfortable. It was like a mass of squirming worms feeding on the corrupt senate.
“… not sure what this senator has promised.”
Simmons looked up. Ire was staring at him with an expectant expression on her face.
“Pardon me?”
“I’m confused as to what these senators are asking or promising.” Ire said. She waved her hand at several small cards that she had stuck on the wall in the exact middle. “The senators are refusing to commit to one side or another unless they see the specific text of the proposal.”
Simmons nodded. He had been afraid of that.
“Keep it vague for the moment. Just say that the proposal will be placed on the table in the next few days. That will give Leyland some time to tie up loose ends. Once he has done his part, we will be in a better position to approach the senators and put pressure on them.”
“What if he fails?”
“Then we’ll just have to use our charm and our wits.” Simmons said. “I’m all out of both of those so he had better not fail.”
*
“Captain, there is an Imperial Express ship has entered the solar system from Soros delivering messages.” Seána Mercer said from her pilots chair. “They have a number of messages for this ship.”
The only good thing the Imperials had ever done was to set up a galactic wide postal system. The fastest way to travel between different solar systems was through the use of the jump drive. The Imperial express ship was one of a number of relay ships which jumped from system to system carrying messages stored in their vast memory banks.
“Acknowledge the receipt of the messages and put them on my console.” Roger Stone said.
He scrolled through the messages. There were a total of eight messages. The first five were addressed to Paul Simmons, Stone passed them through to stateroom two console.
“Send a comm message to Mr Simmons and inform him that he has messages. Show him how to access the console. The Imperial Express will return to Soros later today so if he wishes to post a reply, he will need to send it immediately.”
The next message was addressed to Lieutenant Nicholas Hammond. He doesn’t look like a Nicholas, Stone thought. He passed that message through to stateroom one.
The last two messages were for himself. Stone keyed open the first. A man appeared dressed in the uniform of the dockmaster from the Soros space station. He looked harried.
“This message is for Captain Roger Stone of the freighter Piece of Nicias. When you left for your passage to the Jewel system one of your crew members was left behind. He says he is your fourth engineer. Can you confirm instructions by return.”
Stone keyed the message closed with disgust. The second message blinked at him. Stone keyed it open. He recognised the small figure that appeared as John Terrence, his sister’s boyfriend. He felt a growing terror as he listened to the message.
“Roger, I don’t know if you remember me my name is John Terrence. Your sister is my girlfriend, was my girlfriend, she kicked me out. I don’t know how to put this. She’s disappeared. I think the Peace Officers have her. They refuse to answer any questions. I don’t know what to do. Call me when you get this.”
Stone closed the message and leaned back on his chair. He looked over at Mercer. She was staring wide-eyed at him.
“What are you going to do?” Mercer asked.
He shrugged helplessly, his mind running in circles.
“If we leave now it will still take a week to get back.” Stone said. “She’s the only family I have.”
“What about friends, do you have any friends who can help?”
“Just Rawlins.” Stone said. “I did have some friends, marines who owed me favours, big favours. They’ve long since disappeared, if they are even still alive.”
“Do you know any Peace Officers?”
“Just Lieutenant Hammond.” Stone said. He sat in thought for a moment. “Hammond,” he said again then got up and abruptly left the bridge.
*
Hammond was sitting on his bunk listening to his message. It did not make sense. The message was from a senior officer in the Peace Officer Corp. It confirmed to him that he was the senior representative of the Peace Officers Corp in the Jewel solar system. He would be contacted shortly by an agent of the Soros government with instructions that he must follow to the letter. If he failed to obey the instructions, he is to consider himself under arrest.
There was no context for the message, nor any hint regarding what the eventual instruction would be. The officer was senior to him but not in his direct line of command so, should he really be following the instructions?
“Hammond.”
The voice belonged to Stone but sounded urgent. Hammond stood up and crossed to the stateroom door. It flew open as he reached for it. Stone burst in.
“Hammond I need you to do something for me.” Stone said. “Not for me, my sister. I need to find her. Her boyfriend said you might have her.”
Hammond raised his hands.
“Stop. Deep breath. Try again.”
Stone closed his eyes for a moment to organise his thoughts.
“I’ve received a message.” Stone said. He explained the message and then brought the message up on his console so Hammond could see for himself.
“That would not be procedure for the Peace Officers to hold someone without charge or without communication.” Hammond said. He thought of his own message. “Not normal procedure anyway.”
“But what if she’s in trouble?” Stone asked. “I would never forgive myself if something happened to her.”
“Think Occam's razor, the simplest explanation is often the right one.” Hammond said. “She has broken up with her boyfriend. I suggest it’s likely that she does not want to be found by him. What I will do is send a message to my colleagues at the Corp. headquarters and ask them to investigate. It will mean that something is already in progress before we even leave for home. Would that be alright?”
Stone sat heavily on his own bunk. His head hanging heavy in his hands.
“Thanks. She’s my only family. She’s taken care of me since my parents died. She was always the wise one.”
Hammond stood for a moment unsure what to do. He poured a drink and pressed it into Stone’s hand. Stone coughed as the raw whiskey burned his throat.
“Thanks Hammond, I needed that.” Stone said as he stood up. “I’ll get back to the bridge.”
He pressed his hand on Hammond’s arm.
“I really appreciate it thanks.”
Chapter Eighteen
Leyland stood at the corner of the plaza waiting. He had been instructed to arrive here at a very precise time, not to deviate or talk to anyone, and wait until he was contacted. Arranging this meeting with Paula Hailsten was costing him five thousand credits and he hoped it was worth it.
At the opposite end of the plaza the three men who had tailed him were patiently watchin
g. They were pretending to drink coffee at a cafe. Leyland wished he could join them as his throat was feeling raw. He adjusted the face respirator to a more comfortable fit.
The plaza was unusual from what he had seen in the city. Because of the acid rain, the buildings each had shields to protect the people. There was no shield to protect the plaza. It was exposed to the effects of the acid rain and it showed. The careful marble decorations were porous with holes from the acid. The concrete slabs on the ground had discrete markings carved into them.
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