With slow, deliberate movements, Jade set her glass of bitterfruit juice down on a counter.
Neilson’s weapon followed her. Kuchera remained still. Jade noticed he had uncrossed his ankles and shifted his weight to one arm.
“Tell me why, Neilson,” Jade requested.
“If the Gara’nesh have developed a star-killing weapon, then Member Maricic and the admirals must be informed. It’s too important to sit on just because you don’t feel right about it, ma’am.”
Jade’s thumb and index finger nails worked against each other. “I can appreciate your concern, Lieutenant—”
“No, you can’t!” Neilson burst, her face convulsing. “You can’t at all!”
“Tell us,” Kuchera prompted. “At least do that, Karenina.”
Neilson moved slightly towards him. Her brownish-tan eyes filled. “My whole family was killed by those things!”
“How?”
“They were civilians, aboard a passenger liner that happened to be in the way of a Gara’nesh attack fleet. They never had a chance.” Her voice cracked. “My parents, my brother, my little sister—all dead.”
“You hurt,” Jade said. “But so do we all. I want the killing to stop, Karenina. It’s gone on too long, each side wanting revenge on the other, more of a vendetta than a war. But turning it into a personal blood feud won’t help. It’s up to us to do our part. And sometimes there are no easy choices. But I’m doing what I believe is right under the circumstances.”
“I disagree, ma’am.”
“You have that right. I’m not a Political to insist that you see everything in the same light that I do. But this is my ship and my mission. I am in command. And I insist you follow my orders. Put the gun down, Lieutenant.”
Jade took a half-step forwards.
“That’s far enough, ma’am,” Neilson said. She raised the LW-240, which she had allowed to drop slightly. Her too-thick eyebrows drew together.
“Put it down, Neilson.” Jade rubbed her wrist, easing her silver and turquoise bracelet around.
Neilson’s voice hardened. “I’m warning you, ma’am. Not another step.”
“Don’t be foolish, Lieutenant.” Jade caught a slight movement as Kuchera tensed.
Neilson caught it to, and began to turn. Her finger tightened on the trigger.
Kuchera was already moving sideways. The bolt seared past him. The papasan disintegrated. A flicker of surprise crossed Neilson’s face.
Jade fired.
Neilson cried as the shot blasted the laser from her hand. It bounced off the wall and clattered to the deck. She lunged for the bridge entrance. Kuchera flew forwards and caught Neilson by the ankles, wrapping his arms around her legs. Neilson pitched forwards, arms waving. Her head struck the opening door with a sickening thud. She crumpled and lay still.
“Troy!” Jade bent over him. “Are you all right?”
Kuchera hauled himself off the ground. “Yeah. Nice shot. I didn’t know you were armed.”
Jade swiveled her bracelet back to its normal position on her wrist. “I’m always armed. Short range, but adequate.”
Jade dropped to her haunches beside Neilson. “Help me.” She cradled the younger woman’s neck while Kuchera rolled her onto her back. Jade felt for the pilot’s carotid artery and then peeled back her eyelids.
“How is she?” Kuchera asked.
“Good carotid pulse and her pupils are equal. But that was a nasty blow to the head.” She gestured. “There should be a neck brace in storage.”
Kuchera hurried aft. He returned with the plastic and foam brace.
Jade fitted it around Neilson’s neck. “Help me lift her.”
Kuchera slipped his arms under Neilson’s armpits. Jade took her legs by knees. Together they hoisted Neilson. The pilot’s head rested on Kuchera’s chest.
Kuchera grunted. “She’s heavy. What are you going to do with her?"
Jade nodded aft. “Let’s get her to the doc.”
“Lead the way.”
Moving crabwise along the corridor they conveyed Neilson to the rear of the ship.
Jade touched a sensor pad on the wall. A panel shushed aside and a shelf slid forwards. “Mind her head.”
Kuchera raised Neilson to the level of the doc and eased her upper body inside, onto the shelf. Jade scooted Neilson’s legs in. Once the unconscious woman was fully in the doc, Jade arranged her arms and legs into a comfortable position. The shelf retracted. The panel slid shut. She activated the doc and studied the diagnostic readout.
“Good thing we put her in,” she said. “She’s developing a subdural hematoma. A blood clot on the brain. It could have been fatal if untreated. But she’ll be fine. She’ll need regen on her hand, but that will be routine.” Jade activated the treatment program. “I’ve put her in stasis so the doc will keep her unconscious until we get back. Then we can transfer her to a unit aboard one of the star frigates.”
“Are you going to charge her?” Kuchera asked.
Jade sighed. “I don’t know. I doubt it. Discharge, yes. She could never work for Intelligence again. Beyond that—” She shrugged. “The war has hurt so many people, Troy, it’s hard to condemn anybody for what they do.”
She paused. “I could list her head injury as accidental.”
“She implied that she wasn’t a lone wolf,” Kuchera said.
“Not Political, though. IID perhaps? Maybe one of the admirals, or governors, or even Maricic? Who knows?” Her gaze hardened. “You almost got hurt that time.”
“Nah. Not even close.”
“Don’t be nonchalant. Too close for my liking.”
“It wasn’t my fault she had a twitchy finger. I wasn’t really trying to be a decoy.”
“Do you expect me to believe that? I told you, Troy—”
Kuchera put an arm around Jade’s shoulders and pivoted her. They walked back to the lounge. The air smelled of burnt fabric. The material of the papasan had melted but not ignited.
“My favorite chair,” Kuchera lamented.
“It’s coming out of your pay.”
“How do you stand it?” Kuchera asked. “Never knowing whom you can trust? Trust doesn’t matter so much in my line of work.”
“That’s the way it is, Troy,” Jade replied. “You and Rick Emmers are the only ones in whom I have complete confidence.” She shook her head at the recollection of her previous suspicions about Kuchera.
She touched her bracelet with its miniaturized laser linked to her visual implant for targeting. “That’s why I wear this.”
Three days later, Jade sat in the left-hand seat formerly occupied by Karenina Neilson when Starwind transitioned off Gamma Hydra 4. Kuchera filled the other pilot’s seat on her right.
Just to be cautious, Jade made an initial transition a quarter light-year away from Covenant.
“You don’t really think…” Kuchera began and let the sentence trail away.
Jade studied the scan readout, then breathed a sigh of relief. No unusual Roessler-spatial waves—only typical ship signatures.
“Scan’s clear,” Jade said.
The navcomp programmed a short transition to bring Starwind within range of the Third Fleet.
The star frigates were still in position, although Jade noted that their formation had altered. They had assumed an attack configuration. She wondered if Kuchera picked up on the change.
“Or if the Gara’nesh did.”
“We made it,” Kuchera said.
“So far. But I think the hard part lies ahead.”
“Stalker and Maricic, you mean.”
“Um.” Jade opened a communications link to the Third Fleet’s flagship.
“Remorseless, Lieutenant Innes.”
“This is Starwind, Commander Jade Lafrey. We have an injured crewperson to transport over for medical care. Request a shuttle with medical capability.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the lieutenant nodded. “One moment, ma’am.”
His face disappeared to
be replaced after a brief pause by Second Admiral Miriam Vespage’s austere features. The copper-haired admiral sat in her command seat; Jade noticed that all the bridge stations were occupied—which wasn’t a good sign, meaning the ship was on alert, ready for action at a moment’s notice.
“Admiral Vespage,” Jade said, “I didn’t intend to bother you personally—”
Vespage interrupted, “Commander, you’re going to report to Admiral Stalker, I suppose?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And perhaps Member Maricic?”
Jade said nothing.
Vespage accepted the silence. “Very well. Just be aware that the situation on Covenant has deteriorated.”
“How, Admiral?”
Vespage shrugged. “I don’t know.” Vespage’s gaze gave nothing away. “Nor do I know what role you’re playing. But I want you to understand that the commanders of the Third Fleet—myself and Second Admiral Kowalchuk—do not desire a battle. We will fight if so ordered, and fight to win. But we would rather it didn’t come to that.”
“The carnage would be unimaginable,” Jade said.
“Exactly.” Vespage’s brown eyes were clear. “If it has to be, it has to be. But there have been too many unnecessary losses."
“I understand, Admiral.”
“Good. A shuttle is on its way. Transport your patient over. Vespage out.”
“Tough lady,” Kuchera remarked when Vespage’s image had faded.
“But a good admiral,” Jade replied. “At least she cares.” She stood. “Come on, Troy. Let’s ready Neilson for transport. Then it’s down to Covenant.”
A medical team arrived on the shuttle from Remorseless, performed a brief evaluation of Neilson, and then took the unconscious pilot away in a portable doc unit.
Jade instructed Starwind’s navcomp to hold the ship on station keeping within the Third Fleet, then she and Kuchera flew Starwind’s Sunfire to Covenant.
Neither spoke during the short journey.
“Later,” Jade said, as she parted from Kuchera outside the docking bay.
He gave her a quick squeeze of the hand, said, “Good luck,” then turned down the corridor towards his quarters.
Jade considered reporting to Stalker and gaining his input, but decided that Member Georgia Maricic would be expecting her first. A functionary informed her that the afternoon negotiating sessions had just finished. Jade announced herself at Maricic’s suite, and was promptly admitted.
Maricic stretched out on a full-length custom-contoured divan in quarters that made the newly refitted Starwind seem tawdry by comparison.
The Member wore a coral-colored blouse and slacks secured by a gold belt; her loose hair splayed over her back. She turned her neck as Jade announced herself and entered. She held a thin, fluted glass filled with an iridescent green liquid.
“Back safely, I see, Commander.” Maricic regarded Jade over the rim of her glass.
“Thank you, Member, yes.” Jade paused in the center of the luxurious suite.
“And successful?”
“In a sense.”
Maricic shifted her position. She gestured. “Please, be seated.”
Jade perched on the edge of a chair.
“Care for a drink?”
Jade shook her head. “Thank you, no.”
Maricic sipped her beverage. The level in the glass dropped a minuscule distance. “Well, Commander. What did you discover?”
Jade debated again—as she had on the shuttle trip down—how much to tell Maricic. She decided to stick to the basics. And honesty.
“We found the BlackHoler, Trevarra, at Southern Cross, and recovered additional information she sold to Watford. A location proved to be a red giant star called Markher 12, which lies in contested territory.”
Maricic continued to sip, her eyes unblinking.
“Unfortunately, Markher 12 has gone supernova, and so any evidence has been obliterated,” Jade said, searching for a trace of surprise on Maricic’s fine features. There was none.
“Was there any sign of Gara’nesh activity?” Maricic asked.
“None that we could detect, Member.” Jade studied an embroidered pattern on Maricic’s divan.
Maricic finished the last of the green liquid. She rose and carried her empty glass over to a table and set it down. She remained standing.
“Was it a natural supernova?”
Jade glanced up sharply.
“Red giants don’t explode,” Maricic added.
Jade made a helpless gesture with her hands. “I don’t know, Member.”
“I see.” Maricic rustled back to her divan. “I may as well tell you, Commander, that rumors of a nova-triggering device have come to our attention from time to time.”
“I’ve heard rumors too,” Jade said. “Although that’s all they’ve proved to be.”
“But if this is real—” Maricic gestured.
“We won’t know that, Member, until a science team investigates—”
Jet black hair whirled. “We don’t have the time for that, Lafrey. To detach a science vessel and then wait for the report would take more time than we have available.”
“But, Member—!” Jade exclaimed.
Maricic’s grey eyes were unreadable. “Yes?”
Jade caught herself. “I’m not convinced of the situation, Member,” she said finally.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Maricic demanded.
“Only that there are various intangibles which don’t add up for me. Involvement by Politicals trying to kill me, for example.”
Did she detect the briefest flicker of the grey eyes?
“Explain.”
Jade described the incident on Southern Cross.
“Intangibles are not evidence,” Maricic said coldly when she’d finished. “And Politicals trying to kill you may be completely unrelated—that’s a matter for Internal Investigations to determine. No, Commander, I think we must proceed on the basis that the Gara’nesh have developed a star-killing weapon. Tomorrow morning I will confront Ambassador Halaffi.”
“Member!”
“You disagree?” Maricic’s voice was ice.
Jade’s inside’s squirmed. “That would spell the end of the negotiations!”
“Negotiations which are being conducted under false pretenses. And which, I might add, are not proceeding overly well at the moment.”
“Member, please,” Jade begged. “Give me more time.”
“For what?”
“To follow up on this. To try to verify the truth of the rumors.”
“A supernova isn’t enough?”
“Not if we don’t know whether it’s natural or not.”
Maricic’s mouth began to frame the word ‘no’. Suddenly she paused. Her eyes took on a faraway look. Jade realized that Maricic was listening to a private message over her auditory implant. Undoubtedly coded and scrambled, even if Jade knew the frequency.
She waited.
After a minute had passed, Maricic regained her focus. She nodded at Jade. “Very well, Commander. Twenty-four hours. That’s it. Find your proof or I confront Halaffi.”
Maricic rose again. Jade followed suit.
“Thank you Member,” she heard herself say as from a great distance.
She cringed as Maricic’s door closed behind her, and leaned her back against its reassuring solidity, ignoring the curious stares of the two guards who flanked the entrance. Twenty-four hours! What could possibly be accomplished in that paltry span of time?
She pushed off the door and ambled along the corridor towards her office.
Somewhere along the route, Kuchera joined her. Jade noticed his presence with a start.
“Thought you might need some moral support,” he said.
As she entered her office, Rick Emmers jumped smartly to his feet, vacating the chair behind Jade’s desk. His boyish face crinkled in a welcoming smile, encompassing the upper row of his teeth. His salute was crisp.
“You’re b
ack intact, ma’am.” He caught sight of Troy Kuchera following behind Jade, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of the tan Military Information uniform.
Jade caught the look. “Thanks, Rick, yes. You haven’t met Troy Kuchera in the flesh, have you?”
“Uh, no, ma’am.”
“Just over a commlink,” Kuchera grinned.
“He’s been sort of helping me,” Jade continued. “An honorary agent. Fully trustworthy, despite the color of his uniform and the flippancy of his speech.”
Kuchera held out his hand to Emmers. “A pleasure, Lieutenant. Ja—Commander Lafrey has spoken highly of you.”
Emmers beamed. His wariness disappeared. He returned Kuchera’s clasp. “Welcome to the team, Lieutenant.”
“Troy, please.” Kuchera parked himself out of the way.
Jade dropped into her chair. A great lassitude seemed to have overcome her. She felt tired, drained, devoid of life. She rubbed a hand over her eyes. “How were things while I was gone?”
“Fairly quiet, ma’am,” Emmers replied. “There are several reports for you, but nothing of any great significance.”
Jade cocked an eye. “You seem cheerful. Even more so than usual.”
“A report from Dr. Linde in response to your query arrived, ma’am.”
Jade sat straighter. “He’s replied already? That was fast.”
“It came in last night.” Emmers bent over the desk and on-lined the Hazlett. “Here it is.”
“Is that the astrophysicist?” Kuchera asked.
“Uh-huh,” Jade answered. “Chief of Stellar Science at Greatmount Free University. One of my father’s few friends. He used to take me stargazing when I was a kid, and was very disappointed when I decided to join the Navy instead of becoming a scientist.”
Jade read rapidly. “Here’s what he says. Dear Jade; Glad to hear from you after so long…I’ll skip the personal stuff, Troy…analyzed the transition wave recordings from unidentified supernova…readings highly unusual…not characteristic supernoval patterns for any class…suspect the waves are artificially generated…more detailed studies necessary…Love to follow up in person if coordinates supplied…”
She smiled. “I bet he’d like to examine it in person. Maybe after this is all over, he can. So the supernova could be artificial, but he won’t commit himself to a definite opinion. A small help, I suppose.”
Wreaths of Empire Page 24
