by Henry Vogel
“He’s rather hard to forget. What of him?”
“You saw how easily Orrons waved that tree trunk? It’s the armor which makes that possible.”
“I assumed as much.”
“You did?” Caudill looked closely at me. “For a man from a backward planet, you have a surprising grasp of modern technology, Captain Rice.”
“No, I have a surprising grasp of common sense.” I put a little irritation into my voice. “I may be ignorant of your worlds and your machines, but I’m not stupid.”
“Stupid, no. Dangerous, yes.”
“Was there a point to your comment about the armor, Captain?”
“There was. As you probably guessed, using the armor for brute strength is so easy even you could do it.”
Of course I could. I’d received plenty of training in powered armor at the academy.
Caudill continued, “The real skill is handling fragile things without breaking them. Very few people can do that. Orrons is a master. No, it goes beyond that. He’s a true artist.” Caudill held his palms a foot apart. “Imagine a pretty musician’s head between armored hands. Slowly — so slowly the human eye can’t discern the movement — the hands press together. Inexorable pressure builds in the skull, causing exquisite pain. How much pressure can a human skull take before it cracks? For a former pirate, Captain Bane proved surprisingly uncurious about the answer. And he succumbs to persuasion rather easily.” Caudill shook his head in mock disgust. “All it took was one scream.
“As a native of this planet, you know Tarteg and Mordan have warred for centuries. Now I know as well. And that’s information a man like me can put to good use. You see, Rice, I’m not really negotiating with the prince or the princess. I’m selling my ship and services to the highest bidder.”
Caudill’s smile was as cold as his eyes. “With me backing one of those kingdoms, the next war between Tarteg and Mordan will also be the last war between them!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Decades have passed since the last war between Mordan and Tarteg,” I said. “You’re counting on an enmity that doesn’t run very deep anymore.”
Caudill laughed when the computer completed translating my words. “How very optimistic of you, Rice! Old enmities can lay dormant for ages and then, when you least expect it, spring back with full vigor. And a peace that is desirable when neither country holds a military advantage becomes a burden when you can crush your enemy.”
“Are you so certain your experiences on other planets apply here? I doubt you’ve ever been on a world like Aashla.”
“Men are men wherever they live. And some men will always seek power over their fellows. It’s our nature.”
Caudill was right, something I knew from bitter experience. But I hoped he was wrong about Tarteg and Mordan. “I’ll defer to your extensive experience in that matter. Meanwhile, are you sure you want to send someone as dangerous as me to deliver your message?”
Caudill turned an appraising eye on me. “Now that is an interesting question, Rice. You’ve piqued my curiosity — who would you send?”
“I’d send Megan. Her skills are of no use to you nor to the prince and princess. Your position is not weakened and theirs is not strengthened.” It was a long shot, but worth trying.
“That’s an interesting and accurate analysis.” Caudill rubbed his chin. “Except you left out one vital point. Megan has great value as a hostage against Bane’s good behavior. And, if I read you and the old doctor right, she’ll insure your good behavior as well. While sending her doesn’t strengthen the prince and princess, it does weaken me. No, you’ll deliver my message.”
“Fine. Give me the message then Orrons and I can leave.”
“As long as I have your friends, I see no reason to waste Orrons’ time. I’m sure a fine young officer such as yourself can deliver a message without supervision.”
Five minutes later, I picked my way through the debris outside the spaceship, trying to figure out why Caudill hadn’t sent Orrons with me. There were many possible reasons, but only one which fit our current situation so neatly. Caudill wanted to conserve the suit’s power. Had his armor recharging unit been destroyed in the crash? It seemed likely.
Perhaps Caudill’s position wasn’t nearly as strong as he wanted us to believe.
As before, it took fifteen minutes to work my way clear of the debris from the pirate ship’s crash landing. Once I reached clear terrain, I waved to the airships floating in the distance. Almost immediately, one of the Mordanian ships broke formation and descended.
When the airship was close enough, I called, “Captain Subing, drop a line so I can come aboard. I must speak with Their Highnesses.”
The ascent seemed to take forever but lasted no more than ten minutes. Captain Subing smartly maneuvered his ship alongside the Pauline. Callan and Rupor leaned against the little airship’s railing, all signs of the earlier tension gone. The two future monarchs chatted amicably and tried to hide their apprehension over the news I brought. Callan gave me a dazzling smile which did not wipe away the concern in her eyes. Rupor wore a neutral expression, but I saw tension lines in his brow.
“Callan, greet me as you would any other naval officer.” I saluted as the sailors tied the airships together. “Holding Megan gives Caudill leverage over Martin and led to unfortunate, though understandable, revelations. Caudill is certain to watch this meeting. As I must return to him after our conference, I don’t want him getting the idea he can use me to gain equal leverage over you.”
I vaulted over to the Pauline and bowed respectfully to Callan and Rupor, just as any officer would do. Callan wore what I called her court face, which she adopted whenever she sat in royal court. It gave her that serene, knowledgable look subjects want to see in their monarch. The court face must be something royal family members learn in the nursery, as Rupor wore the male version of the expression.
I outlined what I saw inside the spaceship as well as the situation with Megan, Martin, and Tristan. I spent a lot of time explaining the destructive power of Caudill’s weapons. But I spent the most time trying to explain what it meant if Caudill couldn’t recharge the powered armor. Callan and Rupor concentrated hard on my explanation, asking several questions.
“If I follow what you’re saying,” Callan mused, “it’s like tossing the last of your fuel into a boiler while your airship is flying in the middle of a desert. You can run the steam engine for a while, but once you’re out of fuel the engine becomes nothing more than a useless hunk of metal.”
“That’s a fair description of the situation, Callan.” I said. And Rupor nodded, his furrowed brow clearing after listening to Callan’s analogy.
“In that case, our course is obvious.” Rupor smiled, definitely happy to be back on more familiar ground. “As part of these negotiations, Callan and I must convince this pirate to burn what fuel he has left for his armor!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“That’s a great idea, Rupor, but have you got any idea how to get Caudill to do it?” I asked.
“No prince — or princess — worthy of the title would ever purchase someone’s services without personally observing their capabilities,” Rupor answered. “Waving a tree trunk around, while quite impressive, is hardly a sufficient demonstration to warrant the kind of money Caudill no doubt wants.”
“That’s an excellent point, Rupor,” Callan responded. “David, tell Caudill we will only consider bidding after we’ve seen what his armored man can do.”
“I know what that man can do and I don’t want either of you getting anywhere close to him,” I said. “For your own safety and the safety of your kingdoms, you two must watch Caudill’s show from afar. You must also watch from different ships which hold positions far from each other.”
“If you think that’s best, David, Rupor and I will do as you suggest.”
Rupor nodded his agreement. “But that still leaves us with a problem. Callan and I must have some way to communicate with this pi
rate. How else can we tell him what we wish to see?”
“Devices exist which allow people to talk across long distances. Captain Rice isn’t supposed to know about them, so I’ll have to make sure Caudill thinks to suggest them.” I saluted and then hopped across to Captain Subing’s ship. “Take me down, Captain.”
Twenty minutes later, I presented Their Highness’s demand for a demonstration to Caudill. It did not surprise me in the least that the idea had no appeal to him.
“How dare those spoiled, inbred barbarians make demands of me! They have seen the powered armor at work!” Caudill stood inches from me, his shout filling the small bridge. “Can anyone on this backward planet wave a tree trunk around like it’s a twig? No, they cannot!” Caudill pressed his thumb on the arm of is chair. “I could squash them and their pathetic kingdoms, if I so desired!”
I kept my face impassive and waited for the translation to complete. “If you are so powerful, Captain Caudill, why even bother offering your services to the highest bidder?”
Martin chuckled, “The lad has you there, Caudill. These people may be technologically primitive, but they are not stupid. The two kingdoms may want your services, but they do not need them. You, alas, are in the exact opposite situation.”
“I hold the four of you hostage!” Caudill shot back. “Those arrogant royals should pause and consider that.”
“Sorry, old chap, but we’re all Mordanian. I’m sure Her Highness will be quite put out if something happens to us, but I doubt Prince Rupor could care less. You’re the one counting on old enmities returning in full force yet you expect a Tartegian to temper his demands to save the lives of Mordanian subjects?”
Caudill turned back to me. “Earlier, you said you could negotiate for both countries. I accept your offer. Let’s negotiate.”
I shook my head. “I could have negotiated before Their Highnesses got involved. I no longer have that authority. You negotiate with them or you don’t negotiate at all.”
“And if you don’t negotiate,” Martin added, “you don’t get the food and medicine you need. That’s quite a quandary you’ve landed yourself in, Caudill!”
Caudill ranted and raged for another ten minutes, but my refusal to negotiate blocked his every suggestion. In the end, he agreed to the demonstration.
“Have the prince and princess land so we can get on with this circus.” Caudill turned away, thinking our conversation was at an end.
I dutifully waited for the translation before speaking. “Their Highnesses will be viewing the demonstration from their airships.”
Caudill whirled back to me, his face red. “After all of this, they aren’t even going to come down and watch? No. Absolutely not!”
“The royal heirs of the two most powerful kingdoms on Aashla do not endanger themselves needlessly.” I put every bit of offense I could muster into my voice. After listening to this murderous pirate denigrate my wife, I found I had quite a lot of offense to draw upon.
“Then how will they communicate with me?”
“We’ll use signal flags. The ships have skilled flagmen. Demands and comments will fly between their ships and us in a matter of minutes.”
“Minutes? Tell me you’re joking.”
“Not at all Captain Caudill.”
“Oh for God’s sake, Caudill,” Martin snapped, “give them a couple of handheld radios if you’re too impatient for the flags.”
Eyes blazing, Caudill called for radios. I could only hope the rest of the plan went as smoothly.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The logistics of the power suit demonstration took a while to setup. I took the radios to Callan and Rupor and explained how they worked. Then I offered a suggestion.
“After Caudill shows you a few basic things, Rupor should ask for a demonstration of weapons systems.”
“I agree we should see this man’s weapons at work, but what if Caudill asks how we know about… Drat, what was the red light called?”
“Stick with calling it a red light. Martin is the only one who knows the name and he never had a chance to tell you,” I said. “Since you’ve seen that in person, it’s easy to explain your curiosity. Seeing one weapon in action will pique your curiosity over other weapons.”
Callan nodded. “I’ll let Rupor ask about weapons first, but we’ll both demand to see more.”
“Good. One final thing — have your ships keep moving. They don’t have to move too fast, just fast enough to make targeting difficult.”
Rupor scratched his head. “Don’t they have some machine that makes aiming easier? It seems like they have a machine for everything else!”
“They do, but they’re designed to target other spaceships. I can’t go into the details now, but those machines aren’t designed to target steam-powered airships. In simple terms, the machine can’t see the airship. That means aiming manually, which is a lot harder.” I looked back and forth between Rupor and Callan. “Just promise me you’ll turn and fly away if the pirates fire at you.”
They both gave me their assurances, as did the captains of the ships they’d be aboard while observing. Then I was returned to the ground, where I contacted Caudill by radio.
“Everything is set for the demonstration, Captain Caudill,” I radioed.
“Very well, Orrons and I are coming out.”
That was unexpected. I hadn’t expected Caudill to step foot outside the spaceship any time soon. Perhaps I could find some way to turn this to our advantage.
“Remember my crew holds your three friends,” Caudill growled, as if reading my mind. “And, of course, Orrons can break you into little pieces. So don’t get any ideas and don’t try anything.”
Moments later, Orrons tromped out to join me, Caudill riding on his shoulder. Orrons gently lowered Caudill to the ground and then awaited orders.
Caudill proved to be quite the showman, putting Orrons through a range of impressive maneuvers. And Orrons proved to be the powered-armor artist Caudill said he was. The longer I watched Orrons, the more I found myself praying the armor’s charge would run out soon — very soon.
After ten minutes, Caudill spoke into his radio, “That’s more than sufficient. Do either of you have any questions before the bidding begins?”
I expected Rupor to ask for the laser demonstration, but Callan got in first and with an unexpected request.
“Yes, have him remove his helmet. I’d like to see Orrons’ face.”
“Why would you care what he looks like, princess?” Irritation crept into Caudill’s voice. “What’s important is what he can do, not what he looks like.”
“Martin has told us of mechanical men. How do we know this isn’t some machine that will always do your bidding?”
“I find myself concurring with Callan,” Rupor said. “I also wish assurances Orrons is not some form of construct.”
Caudill pondered then sighed. “Fine… Take off the helmet, Orrons.”
Callan’s request created a crack in the powered armor. I only had to find a way to exploit it.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Orrons lifted his hands toward the neck of the powered armor and the metal fingers danced and tapped around the seam. Slide locks opened and button locks depressed. After a few seconds, the helmet popped up a fraction of an inch. Orrons grasped the helmet and lifted it off of his head.
I don’t know what I expected to see — the scarred and hardened face of a pirate, I suppose. I did not expect to find a boy, no more than sixteen or seventeen, looking down at me. I wasn’t the only one surprised by the sight.
“Why he’s no more than a child!” Callan’s voice exclaimed over the radio.
Teenage annoyance filled Orrons’ face after hearing the translation.
“Boy he may be,” Caudill said, “but Orrons is highly skilled with the powered armor and will follow my orders to the letter. Be it crushing your foes or crushing that musician’s head, Orrons is man enough to handle the job!”
Orrons smiled with pride and
nodded to his captain. “Aye aye, Cap’n!”
Rupor’s voice crackled from the radio. “Unlike Her Highness, I’m not concerned over the lad’s age. I am concerned that you speak of the lad obeying your orders. If I employ him, I expect him to follow my orders, as well.”
“That’s an entirely reasonable expectation, Prince Rupor.” Caudill smiled broadly at this more traditional question. “All I need to do is order Orrons to obey your orders and he will do it. You do understand that he won’t turn against me or any of my men.”
“Of course.” Rupor’s tone said this was perfectly right and natural. “I wouldn’t trust a turncoat, anyway.”
“All right, I believe we’ve had more than enough talking,” Caudill said. “It’s time to get down to the bidding.”
“I did have one more request-”
The radio crackled to life, interrupting Rupor. “Captain? You requested a call if a certain task was completed while you were outside. It’s done.”
“Excellent! There were times I feared it never would end.” Caudill said. “What have you got for me?”
With Caudill distracted by the call and Orrons watching his captain, I studied Orrons, looking for a weakness. It didn’t take long to determine the boy’s head was his only weakness. If I kept him from donning the helmet again, I could knock him out.
“I’ve got something very interesting, indeed,” came the reply. “I think you should return to the ship and hear my report in private.”
“There is no need for me to go to all that trouble,” Caudill said, impatience in his tone. “Just turn off the translator and spit it out. Whatever you have to say will be private enough.”
“That’s just it, Captain,” the voice responded. “The report won’t be private at all.”
With a sinking feeling, I suddenly realized they’d broken the encryption on the emergency drone launched by my ship!
Caudill’s bantering tone vanished. “What do you mean by that?”
