Sertian Princess

by Peter Kenson

  They also used up two of the spare probes. With no computerised firing control possible on the laser, they had to rely on the skill of the two gunners manning the turret. Firing at a static target is all very well but it does not provide the same experience as trying to hit a rapidly moving probe, programmed for evasive manoeuvres. Under the circumstances, Mikael considered that the expenditure of the two probes was justifiable.

  By the time they were approaching the second rendezvous point, he was satisfied that the Cleopatra was as near combat ready as he could get her, without actual combat experience. The probe which they used for the final jump, reported a ship already in the target area, but it could not identify the type. Mikael brought the Cleopatra to Action Stations before giving the order to complete the jump.

  When they emerged into normal space, all of the scanning systems immediately began hunting for the unidentified ship.

  "We've picked up the ship, sir," Frank reported. "It's a civilian craft: a Super Galaxy class space cruiser."

  "Good. Let's hope it's the one we're looking for."

  "Yes sir.... but there's something a bit odd about it, sir. It's a civilian ship but it's transmitting an IFF signal, and that needs military hardware."

  "I don't think we should expect this to be an ordinary civilian craft, Frank. If this man is an agent of the Centre, their technicians have probably made so many modifications to the ship that its own shipyard wouldn't recognise it. Open a comms channel and issue the challenge, precisely as it is specified in the orders."

  Frank was back inside a couple of minutes.

  "Challenge issued and the correct response received, sir. It is our contact. They want us to come alongside to receive a liaison officer on board."

  "Dammit all, Frank, do they think this is a bloody battleship. We're overcrowded as it is with that squad of Imperial Guard. Tell them we haven't got room."

  "I've already done that, sir. I'm afraid they insisted, and quoted the Admiral's authority to do so."

  Mikael groaned. "All right, then. Who is it they're sending across?"

  "Apparently it's a Communications Specialist, sir."

  "You mean they don't trust us to handle our own comms! Very well, warn our comms people to keep on their toes. And tell them they'll have to double bunk in that section to make room for him.

  "Pilot, lay us alongside that civilian ship. What's her name anyway?"

  "Salamander IV, sir."

  ***

  There are three common ways of transferring people between ships in deep space. The first is to use a shuttle craft to carry them across. This does, however, require docking facilities on each ship, large enough to take the shuttle craft. The Salamander's dock was big enough to accommodate quite a number of smaller craft, but the Cleopatra only had docking facilities for its own Captain's launch and its own jolly boat.

  The second way is for each person transferring, to use a spacesuit and to jet across the intervening void under independent power. It was in this way that the Imperial Guard crossed over to the Cleopatra. This is, though, probably the least frequently used method of transfer as it requires a degree of familiarity with spacesuit controls, which most people do not have. It is very easy for a novice to become completely disorientated and either jet off in totally the wrong direction, or start spinning in a way which is very difficult to correct without training or experience.

  The third way is to physically connect the two ships by an airtight passageway, along which people can float without needing spacesuits. This link cannot be totally rigid because, however much the two pilots try to align the velocities of their respective ships, there will always be some slight movement of the one relative to the other. And so most airlocks, at least on modern ships, are fitted with Li-Matsu flexible extension systems, permitting connection to another ship's airlock up to 400 metres away, or to another extension system, doubling the distance to 800 metres.

  The Li-Matsu system is like an expanding, flexible, corrugated hose, fitted on the inside with handholds for people to pull themselves through, under the zero gravity conditions existing between the ships. The outer end of the hose has a transparent iris opening, so that the crewman who stands there can see where to guide the tube. The steering controls consist of a number of compressed air jets, by means of which the crewman can aim the end of the hose for the target airlock. Once connected and locked to the other ship, the Li-Matsu system has a comprehensive set of stress meters fitted, to alert the crew long before the limit of flexibility is reached and to allow the ships to either disconnect the passageway or to rematch their velocities.

  The physical connection of ships is most commonly used if the quantity of people or cargo to be transhipped, is large, or if the connection is required for an extended period of time. In this case, the rendezvous point had been arranged to be near the route of the Aldebaran, six days out from Andes and, therefore, just before the most likely region for any interference from Parm, if such was the opposition's plan. As the Aldebaran was currently only three days out from Andes, they had roughly another three days to kill before the liner was due.

  Although both ships were fitted with Li-Matsu systems, only the Salamander's system was being used as there was no particular reason to separate the ships by any great distance. Simon, as Senior Officer aboard the Salamander, accompanied Suzanne across to the corvette. When the crewman controlling the end of the extension airlock, saw them approaching, he moved to take down the force field barrier across the entrance, but Simon stopped him.

  "No! I want this force field kept in place at all times. Any personnel moving between the ships, will have to use their personal belt fields."

  The tailoring of a belt field to the wearer's body contours, is a time consuming exercise and so, although some belts were kept for general use, most of the Salamander's crew had their own personal belts. These operated on the same standard frequency as all the other force fields on board the ship and neutralised the effect of these fields, thus allowing the wearer free passage. In an off-ship environment, the operating frequency could be adjusted to allow the wearer to pass through any force field which might be encountered in a similar fashion.

  Simon and Suzanne switched on their belt fields and pulled themselves through into the Cleopatra's airlock, where Frank and a bosun's mate were waiting. The effect was startling. Suzanne was tall, very slender, and had both dark hair and dark eyes. Although she was very demurely dressed in a one piece coverall, her long legs drew admiring glances wherever she went.

  Frank quickly recovered his composure and welcomed them on board. However, his composure only lasted until Simon introduced himself as the Officer temporarily commanding the Salamander, and Suzanne as the Communications Specialist.

  "I beg your pardon, ma'am, but you are the Liaison Officer we were told to expect?"

  "That's right, Lieutenant. Is that going to cause a problem?"

  "Well, it just might, ma'am. You see we haven't got any facilities for ladies aboard this corvette."

  "I'm not looking for any special favours, Lieutenant. I can fit in wherever you've got a spare corner."

  "Uh, yes ma'am. I think we'd better go and meet the Captain. He's expecting us on the bridge."

  Frank turned to lead the way but then stopped and turned back as a thought struck him.

  "Excuse me if I'm being impertinent, sir, but you obviously have a mixed crew on board the Salamander. Could you tell me what percentage of your crew are female?"

  "It's about 50 percent, Lieutenant. We have a more or less balanced crew."

  "50 percent; as high as that." He pursed his lips in a silent whistle. "Thank you, sir. Bosun, I want a double guard mounted on this airlock immediately, with the men to be rotated every two hours. And pass the word for Prince Gerald, the Guards Commander to join the Captain on the bridge."

  As Frank had anticipated, Mikael's reactions were broadly the same as his own had been. "It's impossible."

  "I'm sorry to have to insist, Cap
tain," Simon said. "But I'm afraid it's going to have to be possible.... and I have your Admiral's authority for it."

  Cursing Admiral Wei silently but very comprehensively, Mikael tried again. "I accept that I have to have a Liaison Officer on board, sir, but I'm sure, when he cut those orders, the Admiral did not realise that it would be a lady Officer. Do you not have another Comms Specialist you could give me instead?"

  "I'm sorry, Captain. If it were only a question of normal comms systems, I'm sure your own people could handle the situation without any help from us at all. However, Suzanne is a telepath, the best natural telepath we have and she can relay instructions direct from Lord David, even if no normal means of communication are available. I regret any inconvenience that this might cause in your wardroom, but I'm afraid there is really no alternative."

  Recognising the inevitable, Mikael sighed. "Very well. Frank, you'd better tell Georges Garcia to shift his kit into the berth we'd provisionally reserved for the Liaison Officer and she can have his cabin."

  "Thank you, Captain," Suzanne said.

  Mikael turned to Prince Gerald. "Lieutenant, we've rigged an extension airlock between the Salamander and the Cleopatra but I want to ensure that there's no unauthorised movement of personnel between the ships. Could your men take over the guard duty on the airlock and free my crew for their normal duties?"

  "Certainly, sir. It will give them something to do. I'll see to it straight away."

  "Thank you, and when you've done that, would you join us in my day cabin for a briefing on the mission."

  ***

  The Captain's quarters on a corvette of the Cleopatra's class, consisted of a day cabin about three metres square, and sleeping quarters opening off there, of about half the size. The day cabin had two entrances: one, direct from the bridge, was reserved for the Captain's personal use and was keyed only to his palm. The second opened off the main passageway to the bridge, and it was through this entrance that the officers were assembling.

  The tiny cabin was rapidly becoming crowded. A large part of the floor space was taken up by a desk, an operating console allowing Mikael access to all of the ship's computers, and banks of small screens repeating the information on the main bridge displays. Into the remaining space were crammed Mikael, Frank, Anton, Simon, Suzanne, and the rest of the Cleopatra's officers: Georges Garcia, Communications; Peter Chen, Navigation; Erik van Gelst, Electronics; and Andrew Frazer, Chief Engineer. Last to arrive was Prince Gerald, squeezing in through the doorway with a quiet apology and then closing the entrance behind him.

  When the round of introductions was complete, Simon quickly outlined the situation concerning Princess Nerissa and the perceived threat to her safety, and also Vostov's ambitions towards Serta. Before going into the details of the operation, he paused and looked around to observe the effect of his disclosures so far. He was particularly concerned about the reaction of Prince Gerald, as it was his sister who was the prime target in the affair. However, after a brief moment of alarm had flashed across his face, his discipline and training, both as the son of a reigning monarch and as an officer in the Imperial Guard, had taken over and his face remained impassive.

  There were all the usual questions, of course. How good was the information on which this operation had been based? Did we have any idea of the opposition's plans? Why didn't we pre-empt the opposition and just go in and take the Princess off the liner? Simon dealt with them each in turn. Prince Gerald initially wanted to speak directly to his sister, but eventually agreed that, without any fresh evidence to offer her, he was unlikely to be able to change her mind. She was, he admitted, a very independently minded young lady.

  "So there we have it," concluded Simon. "We have the best team we could possibly get, on board the liner. They should be able to deal with any trouble which originates internally. If there is any attempt at external interference with the liner.... well, that's where we come in.

  "The Aldebaran will be approaching within range of our scanners in just under three days’ time. We will pick her up and shadow her at extreme scanner range. If there is to be any action, it is likely to be in the 24 to 48 hours after that.

  "In the meantime, all we can do is wait. And while we wait... Your Royal Highness, Captain Boronin, we should be delighted if you and your officers would dine with us aboard the Salamander, this evening."

  CHAPTER 14

  For most of the 1000 or so passengers on board the luxury liner Aldebaran, the first five days of the flight from Andes to Quental passed very pleasantly indeed, but to describe the days as uneventful would be misleading. The Aldebaran was equipped with every facility to amuse its passengers and to wile away the time on the long journeys between the inhabited worlds. The crew also, at least that part of it in daily contact with the passengers, had been selected as much for their personality and their ability to get on with people, as for their skill at doing their particular job.

  So the days, and nights, were filled with organised events in which the passengers could participate or not, as the mood took them. During the day were the various sporting tournaments; low gravity sports such as space tennis in the Astrodome; normal gravity sports such as squash, pelota and bowling; and aquatic sports, both surface and submerged. At night there were dances, discos, fancy dress parties and in the Astrodome, an aerial ballet of quite breathtaking beauty was performed each evening by a troupe of artistes from the Imperial Ballet School on Petrograd.

  Not all of the passengers, however, could allow themselves to be diverted by the amusements in progress around them. David and Marienna quite openly watched Nerissa and Lynda. They had to tread a very careful line between concealment and disclosure, wanting on the one hand, to attract the attention of the opposition's team, and on the other hand, wary of dancing too closely in attendance on the Princess and her companion, and possibly provoking a complaint to the ship's officers which would seriously hamper their plan of campaign.

  The Blue Star Streak Group split themselves into the same three teams as they had used on Andes, namely, Tessa and Carly, Cerys and Brianey, and Corin and Zara, and operated a shift system between them. While one team rested, the second team maintained surveillance on Stefan Pulowski and the third team kept a very discreet watch on David and Marienna, trying to detect anybody else who might also be watching them. So far they had not been asked to demonstrate their musical talents by performing together as a group, although they had made use of their time aboard the Phoenix to put together some routines in case the occasion arose.

  Morten M. Jorgensen remained a mystery. The automatic surveillance system which David had installed, continued to record his movements every time he entered the lounge area of his suite. Once he had been incautious enough to enter the room carrying a small, compact hand laser: so he was armed. Apart from that he had done nothing to justify the surveillance operation. He had no visitors; he did not make or receive any calls and he never left his cabin. The only detectable abnormality in his behaviour was in his eating habits. He had all his meals served in his room and could be observed to consume anything and everything that was placed in front of him with considerable gusto, which hardly squared with his story to the steward, that he was suffering from severe ulcer problems.

  In terms of learning anything new about the identities or intentions of the opposition, those first five days were a period of absolute frustration for the watchers. It was not until the morning of the sixth day, that their luck changed. Cerys and Brianey were on Pulowski duty. They had taken over from Corin and Zara as he left the dining room after breakfast. Since then they had watched him sit through one of the semifinals of the space tennis tournament and then make his way down to the squash courts to play his scheduled game on the ladder. Now, just before midday, he was back in the first class lounge overlooking the Astrodome.

  On entering the lounge he had looked around the room and paused for a long second, staring at a table at the back of the lounge before crossing to the bar to order one of t
he more lethal cocktails which were on offer. With his drink in his hand he threaded his way through the other early drinkers to a table which was occupied by a stunning blonde, and appeared to be asking permission to join her. It could have been a casual pick-up, except that Brianey had seen her before, in the company of a rather large, red-headed man. Pulowski had looked at her then and for an instant it had seemed to Brianey that there was something between them; that the look was being returned. Then the big redhead had looked round, the contact had been broken and the moment was lost. It had not seemed significant enough to report at the time, especially as there had been no verbal contact nor any opportunity to pass a message. Now though, alarm bells started ringing in Brianey's head as she pointed the contact out to Cerys.

  They decided to split up to get a better coverage of the pair. Brianey went to take a table as close as she could to Pulowski and the blonde, while Cerys put a call through to their room to alert the back-up team, and then took up a position near the door.

  ***

  "Hello Maddie. Mind if I join you?"

  "Be my guest."

  "I see you've finally managed to slip your minders' leash," he said, watching with a badly concealed smile as her lips tightened in reaction.

  "I go where I like, when I like, Pulowski. I don't need any minders. I can look after myself."

  "I just bet you can, Maddie. But just to satisfy my curiosity, which one of those carrot-tops are you really married to, Karl or Bruno?"