by Peter Kenson
"You don't look happy today, your Excellency," he began.
"I fear, Lord David, that my news is somewhat mixed. First, I have secured your corvette. The Cleopatra is due to depart Star Base Runnymede within the next few hours. Ah, I see by your face that you've done the calculations too. The Cleopatra cannot possibly reach your area in under seven days, more probably eight. However, she has been given your rendezvous co-ordinates and her captain has explicit orders to place the ship under your direct control once he arrives.
"The news regarding the passengers and crew of the Aldebaran is not so good. Every single one of them checks out as far as we have been able to establish. What are of more interest, are the late bookings joining at Floreat and Andes but, unfortunately, I have not yet received all of their details. The best I will be able to do is to leave a message for you at Andes spaceport. Can you arrange for its collection?"
"Yes, no problem. The girls can pick it up on their way through. What about the cover stories?"
"Cover stories for both your parties have been established with as much background detail as I could provide. I'll send Sam all the details, together with the passenger and crew lists."
"Ok. So what you're saying is that you have no idea at all about the strength of the opposition or the identities they may be using?"
"None I'm afraid. You're on your own now. If I get anything more, anything at all, I'll leave it for you at Andes. Good luck."
He broke the connection and clambered out of the Communications module. Simon had relieved Elida as Officer of the Watch and was waiting for him.
"Set up the final jump, Simon. Take us in as close as you can. I want the ship rigged for silent running and I want all nonessential systems closed down."
"Yes, my lord."
"And send a message to Corin on the Phoenix.... Burst transmission Code Red. Ask him to check the information desk at Andes spaceport for any messages or packages for Mr. Held.
"Now, how long before we can make that jump?"
"The positions have all been calculated. I'm releasing the probe now. We should be clear to jump in five minutes, my lord."
"Hell, don't be too efficient, Simon. Make it 15 minutes to give me a chance to tidy some things up first."
"Yes, my lord."
"Sam, where is Marie now?"
"She left a message that she's gone down to the docking area to check out the penetrator, boss."
"Ok. Pass the word that I'm on my way down there myself. I want to be on our way as soon as this jump has been cleared."
***
Marienna was inside the penetrator doing a final instrument check when he got there. He dismissed his bodyguard and climbed into the copilot's seat.
"Hi, Marie. How's it going?"
"Instrument check completed, my lord. All systems are functioning normally."
"Ok, close it down and power off."
The two minute warning sounded as he waited for her to go through the close down procedures. When she had finished, he checked that the voice recorder in the control position was off.
"I've been trying to catch you alone all day: there's something I want to say to you without too many flapping ears around. I was wrong and I apologise. I should have woken you and let you come with me to the Control Room when that message came through. I put you in an impossible position and I apologise for that. I didn't think it through properly."
"You don't have to apologise to me, David.... I mean, my lord."
"David will do for now. We're on our own and the recorder's switched off."
"But it was my fault. I was your bodyguard and I had no right to be asleep."
The 10 second warning sounded followed by the stomach wrenching feeling of disorientation. He reached over for her hand and smiled at her.
"Then we were both to blame: now we've confessed our sins, let's forget about it. We've a job of work to do."
She powered up the penetrator again as they waited for the all clear from the Control Room. When it came, the technicians began opening the airlock doors and the tiny craft was picked up and moved towards the opening as if by a giant invisible hand. Once clear of the docking doors, the tractor beam released them and Marienna accelerated away towards the surface of the planet.
"It's got to be first time, Marie. We can't afford to circle the planet and come back for a second try."
"The course has already been laid in to avoid all inhabited areas as far as possible, my lord. The problem will come at the landing zone. We don't have sufficiently detailed information to pick out a site in advance. We'll have to search for a suitable site when we get there."
Their target was a luxury hotel complex on the edge of the spaceport. If they could land reasonably close, they could walk into the hotel lobby and wait for the courtesy transport to the spaceport itself.
As they started to touch the outer edges of the planet's atmosphere, Marienna killed the forward velocity and dropped gently towards the surface. The penetrator was quite capable of making a fast approach but the heat generated by the friction with the atmosphere would easily have registered on infrared detectors and would have probably resembled a 'shooting star' to the naked eye.
Once safely into the atmosphere Marienna continued the descent to get below any search radar systems. The penetrator was equipped with interference screens which would absorb most radar frequencies but 100% absorption was very difficult to achieve and often a ghost signal would still appear on the radar screen.
"The spaceport should be just over the next ridge," he announced. "When we get over the ridge, drop down a little so that we're not visible on the skyline and stop. We'll have a look round from there."
"There's the hotel over there to the left," Marienna said.
"Right. And the grounds slope down to that artificial lake there. Now on the far side of that lake there seem to be some woods. Let's head over that way and see if we can find a big enough clearing in the trees."
"If we do that, my lord, it will be light before we can get back round the lake. We may be seen walking up to the hotel."
"What's the time? 06:14. We've got about 40 minutes before sunrise but it'll start to get light before then.... You're right: we'll have to go in closer. We could drop down right on the edge of the lake but on the hotel side and send the penetrator straight back up. Then if anybody sees us going up to the hotel, we could be out for an early morning jog."
Marienna headed for the lake, hugging the contours of the ground on the way. The lake was an approximate oval with the long axis stretching all along the face of the hotel. At the far end of the lake, the ground dropped away sharply and the lake emptied over a series of ornamental waterfalls. At the foot of the lowest fall, by the side of the water, there was a flattish area of grass, just about large enough to take the penetrator. She landed the craft very gingerly while he checked that they were hidden, by the dip of the land, from any curious gaze from the windows of the hotel.
He climbed out of the penetrator, feeling the chill of the pre-dawn air around him and the dampness of the grass under his boots. The instruments had not indicated any human life forms in the vicinity but he completed a visual check before signalling Marienna to get out also.
"This will be fine. I'll get the equipment. You set the autopilot for liftoff in two minutes."
"Yes, my lord."
"And drop the 'my lord'. From here on we're David and Marie Held. Remember that."
"Yes, David."
They climbed up by the side of the falls and watched as the penetrator lifted off silently and disappeared towards the ridge, backtracking the course by which they had descended. When they could no longer see it, he turned to Marienna.
"Well, Mrs. Held. Shall we finish our morning jog?"
CHAPTER 7
Lieutenant Commander Mikael Boronin stood in the hatchway of the Cleopatra and watched the last of the departing fitters. The old Admiral had been as good as his word. Repair crews, supplies, whatever he needed: it seemed tha
t he only had to ask and they appeared. After all the preceding weeks of flattering and cajoling uncooperative quartermasters and bullying at times downright truculent supply clerks in order to get the smallest item of equipment, it seemed to Mikael as though the corvette Cleopatra had miraculously been transformed into a capital ship of the line with first call on each and every port facility.
He had been given 24 hours to get the Cleopatra ready for space and, although it had seemed unlikely at the start, he was going to achieve it. In less than one hour's time he would be under way and would be able to open his sealed orders and, maybe, learn a little more about the mission. The orders, of course, had already been transmitted into the ship's computers but the authorisation code which would allow him to access them, would not be sent until the Cleopatra was under way.
The previous day had been so hectic that he hadn't found time to meet Anton again until the evening in the wardroom on Runnymede. Then the two of them had retired to Mikael's private quarters on board Cleopatra, with a bottle of Galatian brandy, and had spent half the night discussing the possibilities of the mission while the fitters continued working on the ship. When they had finished both the talking and the brandy, they were none the wiser except to agree that the mission had a lot of priority behind it, which could only mean that somebody very high up was interested in its success.
Anton had received his orders seconding him to the Cleopatra and was due to report aboard just before launch time. He had spent the intervening time collecting together what he called a few surgical necessities, as he reasoned that they would not be seconding a surgeon to the mission unless there was a good chance of some casualties.
He arrived at the Cleopatra with a full gravsled in tow, just as the last fitter was leaving. He ducked through the hatchway and, turning towards Mikael, gave him his best naval salute.
"Surgeon Commander Barasny, reporting on board, sir. Here are my orders."
For a moment, Mikael was completely taken aback as, all through their years of training and then service, Anton had always outranked him. It had never affected their friendship in any way but it had always been there. Now Mikael was the Captain in command of his ship, welcoming on board his new surgeon.
"Glad to have you aboard, Surgeon," he formally replied. Then he grinned at him. "You cut it awfully fine, Tony, and what have you got on that sled?"
"Just a few medical supplies I thought I might need."
"Just a few! It looks as though you're proposing to equip a complete hospital ship. I don't know what you've been used to on the Pushkin, old man, but the Cleopatra has only got a tiny sickbay."
"I'm sorry, Mikky, but I didn't get a chance to check out your sickbay before I came. So I thought I'd better come prepared."
"Prepared for a small war by the look of it."
Mikael turned to the bosun's mate standing at the back of the airlock. "Bosun, show the Surgeon where the sickbay is and have some of the men get these supplies on board and stowed away. And in double quick time."
"Aye aye, sir."
"Join me on the bridge when you're ready, Tony," and Mikael ducked out of the airlock.
The Cleopatra was a short, stubby little ship, built about 50 years previously, primarily for escort duties. She carried a complement of 8 officers and 67 men. Her main offensive armament consisted of two Mark IV Wehner-Metson pulse lasers fixed forward of the bridge and six torpedo tubes, four located centrally and two aft. She carried the latest Mark 85 torpedoes with the MITS (Multiple Independent Target Seeking) warheads, and also SMART Neutron bombs for use either against space targets or against ground based installations.
Defensively, she was equipped with a ring of short range laser cannons around each of the two main airlocks. These served the dual purpose of defending the corvette against a hostile boarding action and also providing close range defence against incoming missiles if the ECM systems failed to deflect them. The force screens around the ship were designed to absorb the equivalent of 100 full power laser pulses in any 10 minute period without overloading, and the Cleopatra carried the latest 'stealth' equipment to reduce the risk of registering on electronic or mass detection devices.
The sickbay on the Cleopatra was situated on the second level just forward of the rear torpedo room. The Surgeon's private quarters consisted of a small cubicle barely large enough for a bunk, a locker and a foldaway desk. In order to work at the desk, it was necessary to perch on the edge of the bunk. The sickbay itself contained two bunks, an operating table and a lockable walk-in cupboard for storing drugs and equipment.
Anton, when he got there, found that the sickbay was very well stocked for its size. This, while being a welcome indication of his Captain's attention to such details, did cause him some problems with the additional supplies he had brought with him and the already cramped accommodation rapidly became cluttered with half unpacked boxes. He was on the point of deciding that the sickbay, as it currently stood, was more of a health hazard than a place of healing and that, reluctantly, he must leave some of his supplies behind, when he heard the 10 minute launch warning followed by a tannoyed announcement.
"Surgeon to the bridge. Surgeon to the bridge."
Anton sighed. At least it solved the problem of what to leave behind: it would all have to come and he would have to find room for it somewhere. In the meanwhile he would have to leave the boxes half unpacked. He left the sickbay and headed towards the nearest stairwell. Coming from a relatively large ship like the Pushkin, he found the narrow passageways and stairwells of the corvette quite confusing and it took him a couple of false turns and the helpful directions of a passing crewman to find his way to the bridge.
Mikael spotted him as soon as he entered.
"Ah, there you are, Tony. I thought you'd got lost. I was about to organise a search party."
Anton considered confessing that he had indeed got lost but thought better of it as Mikael burbled happily on.
"Come and let me introduce you to my Exec. Frank, this is Surgeon Commander Anton Barasny. Lieutenant Frank Bennetton."
"Pleased to meet you," Anton said.
"Welcome aboard, sir. I hope your quarters aren't too cramped for you."
"Well, they're a bit smaller than the Pushkin's but I'm sure I can fit myself in. I am having a bit of trouble stowing some of the extra supplies I brought with me, though."
"I'll have a word with the Chief for you. I'm sure we can find an odd corner somewhere for a few supplies."
"Thank you. I would be grateful."
While they had been talking, Mikael had returned to the Captain's console. Now he began issuing orders.
"Close outer airlock doors."
"Outer airlock doors closed and sealed, sir."
"Start auxiliary drive."
"Auxiliary drive started, sir."
"Close all bulkhead doors and check the ship for Space."
There was a pause on the bridge as each compartment in turn, checked in. Mikael watched the seconds ticking away on the bridge clock. The departure of a ship from the Star Base would be watched by many eyes, not the least of which would belong to Space Admiral Wei himself. He could still remember the story that circulated while he was a cadet, about the captain of a frigate who attempted to leave the Star Base in a particularly brisk fashion but who, unfortunately, forgot to release the docking arm before doing so. According to the story, the officer concerned was now commanding a desk in one of the remoter outposts of the Empire.
Mikael was determined that his ship would leave in a proper fashion and, furthermore, precisely on time.
"Prepare to disengage docking arm.... Now. Auxiliary drive slow astern.... Stop auxiliary drive.... Come ahead slow. Steer red 30. 10 degrees of climb."
As the Cleopatra slowly nosed away from the Star Base, a pattern of lasers erupted into the space around them.
"Prepare to return salute," Mikael ordered.
The pattern of the laser salute varied considerably, depending on the rank of the office
r being saluted. In this case, the Cleopatra would have to provide the complex pattern due to a Rear Admiral.
"Commence laser salute."
As the laser pattern from Runnymede died away, the Cleopatra began her intricate reply. When it had finished, Mikael spoke again.
"Start main drive.... Ahead one quarter.... Open bulkhead doors.... Red watch may stand down."
Mikael turned to his Exec. "Take her out, Frank. Call me when you're ready for the first jump: I'll be in my quarters. Are you coming, Tony?"
In his cabin, Mikael activated the computer terminal and requested the display of the Cleopatra's orders. The authorisation code had been transmitted from the Admiral's office and as soon as he had completed the sign-on and authentication procedures, the orders flashed onto the screen. They were brief and to the point. Two sets of co-ordinates were given. The first was for a rendezvous in three days time with the frigate Andromeda: the second for a rendezvous four days later, with a civilian craft called Salamander IV under the command of one David Held. This was the agent under whose control he was to place the Cleopatra. If the agent was not personally on board the Salamander, they were to embark a Communications Officer who would establish a direct contact.
It was the first rendezvous which caused the major surprise. They were to rendezvous with the frigate Andromeda out of New London for the purpose of transferring on board a squad of Imperial Guard.
"Why didn't we just take a squad of the Guard from Runnymede," Anton demanded. "What's so special about New London Guardsmen?"
Mikael confessed that he didn't know and the two friends scanned the orders again, searching for hidden nuances in the phrasing which might shed additional light on the mission. That they were unsuccessful in this endeavour was almost entirely due to the total absence of any such nuance waiting to be found.
The intercom buzzed. Mikael reached over to press the button and Frank's voice came through.
"We're clear of the Star Base, sir. Power is up and all systems are green. What course do you want me to lay in?"
