by Jaleta Clegg
"Why did you drag us all here, Lowell?" Drummond asked as soon as they were seated. "Viya is a bit out of the way, not the place I would have chosen to base my operations from."
"Viya is precisely where we need to be," Lowell said. "Captain Suweya, please replay the message you received. I’ve taken the liberty of having your com officer download it here for me."
Dace’s face filled the screen at one end of the room. The others shifted around to watch. Tayvis watched Lowell. How had Lowell known about this so quickly? There must have been something in the message capsule Suweya sent while they were refueling. Either that, or Lowell really was omniscient. He carefully kept any such thoughts from showing on his face.
The message ended. The others turned back, confused. They looked at Tayvis and Lowell. None of them questioned Suweya, it was apparent he wasn’t the one the message had been aimed at.
"We know she turned pirate," Drummond said. "She’s threatening us? Vague, but a definite threat. What’s the story with that, Lowell?"
"She was coerced into sending us that message." Lowell started the message again, pausing after each phrase. Tayvis looked down at his hands on the table, this was too painful. He wanted to be doing something, not sitting here wasting his time convincing the others to help. He only had two and a half days left.
"The coordinates are for a system not far from here," Lowell said. "Not a settled one, no suitable planets, but there is a small research station and an automated refueling station for ore tankers." He started the message playing again.
"How many days left before the deadline, Tayvis?" Lowell asked.
"Two and a half," Tayvis said.
"It takes a day to fly to the system," Lowell said. "That leaves us a day and a half to come up with a plan. And five million in cash."
"We aren’t paying her," Jenoshi objected. "It would be setting a precedent."
Lowell smiled at Jenoshi. "Of course we aren’t paying them off. We’re merely loaning them the money for a few hours. At most." He turned to Suweya. "What information did you gather on the ship?"
"Small freighter, although the engine signatures are closer to a Patrol courier," Suweya said, referring to a sheet of mem paper he pulled from his pocket. "Overpowered for the mass readings we obtained. No weapons and only standard shields, though. The interference in the nebula prevented us from doing a full spectrum of scans. Best guess is that there are twelve to fifteen people on board. Specs on that particular class of ship indicate a minimum crew of four, maximum of twenty."
"So, they are expecting some kind of backup when we make the drop." Lowell folded his fingers under his chin. Thinking, Tayvis knew. That was the one mannerism Lowell allowed himself. It gave little information away, it was safe to show. Every other mannerism, every other emotion that flickered in his eyes, was deliberate, a cultivated act. Tayvis also knew that Lowell had the specs of the Phoenix memorized. He’d authorized the installation of most of the Patrol equipment on board.
"They had three cruiser class ships hidden in the nebula," Suweya said. "Or else we would have taken them into custody then."
"You should have arrested them anyway," Drummond said pompously. "You’re flying a hunter class ship."
"That was outgunned and outmaneuvered," Suweya objected. "I will make my answers to my superior officer, not you."
"Suweya’s decision was correct for the situation," Querran said sharply. "He was following standing orders."
"Turning tail and running," Drummond replied.
"Keeping his ship in one piece," Querran shot back.
"You’re more concerned with cost than with actually solving this," Drummond said.
"The crime rates for Cygnus Sector are the lowest in the Empire," Querran answered.
"Because you let them run away." Drummond’s face turned red.
Tayvis slammed his fist onto the table. "We don’t have time for this."
Querran turned away from Drummond, studying Tayvis. He could see the speculation in her eyes.
"The Sector Commander is correct," Lowell said, emphasizing Tayvis’ rank. Technically, Tayvis outranked all of them. And Lowell outranked him. How much, Tayvis still didn’t know. He wondered if anyone did.
"We are wasting time arguing and placing blame," Lowell said. "We need to plan. This may be our last opportunity to resolve the situation without major actions."
"Who are we fighting?" Jenoshi asked. "One small merchant freighter turned pirate does not justify reassigning an entire battle group."
"As far as I can tell," Lowell said, "Targon, what’s left of it, and Blackthorne, are behind this. Although it might go deeper than that. The agents I have planted in the organized crime syndicates have been disappearing. Those that are still active have been passing me rumors of a major power shift."
"Rumors," Drummond snorted. "You have a personal stake in that ship, Lowell. What is she, one of your agents who went bad? And now you’re trying to cover it up."
Lowell flicked a glance at Tayvis. "She is a sleeper agent," he said, backing up Tayvis’ stretching of the truth. Tayvis wondered what it was going to cost him later. "She has proven invaluable to me. There is much more involved here than just releasing her and her crew. The leaders of the Targon Syndicate have come out of hiding."
"What’s left of them," Drummond said. "They were broken over a year ago. They are no longer a threat."
"Are you sure of that?" Lowell asked Drummond, his face studiously innocent.
Drummond backed down.
"They still have a very solid power base. We merely disrupted one of their enterprises." Lowell placed a sheet of mem paper on the table and tapped one corner. A three dimensional map of the sector bloomed over it. "Belliff operated here, through this area. I have reasons to believe that Targon is also behind several large businesses in these sectors. That is only the legitimate fronts they run." He tapped the paper again and splotches of sickly blue spread over the map. "Blackthorne Conglomerate has been expanding over the last year, quietly taking over Targon operations. I believe that Targon and Blackthorne have merged."
The room was silent as the implications began to sink in.
"They’re almost as strong as the Patrol here," Jenoshi said. He looked up at Lowell. "I think I know why you sent for an additional battle group."
"Their ships are stronger and more numerous," Lowell said. "They have at least thirty Seeker class ships already in the sector. And those are only the ones I know about." He leaned back, the blue glow from the map reflecting oddly in his silver eyes. "I have heard rumors of the Federation growing, becoming more organized. Whether Blackthorne and Targon have anything to do with that is anyone’s guess. I have not been successful at planting an agent in the Federation."
That was a matter of time, Tayvis guessed. How long had things been building? How long had Lowell been planning this particular move? And why Dace? Lowell had set Dace up, thoroughly. Tayvis was going to make Lowell pay for it. If he could figure out how. He watched the map with the others, studying the spread of blue. If things were as bad as Lowell said, Tayvis needed Lowell and all of his authority to have a hope of pulling Dace out. Even then, it was going to be dicey. He leaned back in his chair, surreptitiously studying the others at the table.
"What’s your plan?" Drummond asked.
Lowell leaned forward, untucking his fingers from under his chin. He tapped the page again. "This is the system the coordinates lead us to." A sullen red dwarf glowed in the middle of the projection. Clumps of rock and ice drifted in orbits around it. None of them were large enough to be called a planet. A single planetoid glowed bright yellow. "The research base," Lowell said, pointing at the yellow dot. "It includes an automated refueling depot. The base is currently unmanned. Funding cuts at the sponsoring university."
"It’s an empty system," Jenoshi said, rubbing his smooth chin. "How many ships are available?"
"Within two days?" Drummond consulted a hand comp. "Thirty seven, including the fifteen in you
r battle group. One heavy cruiser, two Hunter class, five Seeker class, the rest are smaller. Ten of them are couriers, minimal weapons."
Querran cleared her throat. "Does that include the Avenger and the other three ships that came with me?"
Drummond checked his hand comp and shook his head.
"Forty one ships," Jenoshi said, "against a single unarmed merchant ship."
"And at least ten cruisers," Lowell said. "At least that many downshifted into that system within the last two days."
"How do we keep this from turning into a major battle?" Tiyl spoke for the first time. "Viya Station will have to bear the brunt of rescue work. We can’t handle more than five ships at a time."
"What of support from Tebros?" Jenoshi asked, looking at Drummond.
"Three day flight there from that system," Drummond said. "They have the repair facilities." He tapped his handcomp again. "Five tugs, eight rescue pods. They’ll be there two days late, though."
"No," Tayvis said. "We can’t let this turn into a major battle. Three ships, no more. And we deal with them only long enough to get the Phoenix out. Then you can attack whatever other ships are there with everything you’ve got." He looked over at Lowell. "Will it net us the leaders of Targon and Blackthorne? Can you guarantee they will be there, at the rendezvous point?"
"We have not been able to find their main base," Lowell admitted. "We can attack their ships as we find them, but you are correct, Commander. If we want to stop them, we have to cut off the head. This time we have to catch the real leaders."
"And what of the five million credits?" Tiyl objected. "You’re proposing we buy that ship back. What prevents Targon from flying off with the cash?"
"There are some things more important than money," Lowell said. "What are you planning, Tayvis?" The silver eyes watched Tayvis, opaque and unreadable.
"You need an inside agent, if we can’t get the crew free," Tayvis said.
"And you’re volunteering? What a change, Commander." Tayvis didn’t miss the sarcasm of Lowell’s answer.
"It’s insane," Drummond objected. "We take all the ships we can and we destroy them. Now. We rescue the ship if we can."
"And what if the Phoenix isn’t in the system?" Tayvis asked. "What if it’s a feint? What if it’s a trap designed to drag the fleet away so they can attack elsewhere?"
That stopped them for a moment.
"Why is this ship so important?" Jenoshi asked. He glanced between Tayvis and Lowell. "Why do I get the feeling the two of you are playing a personal game of your own?"
The door to the room opened. Tayvis looked over with the others. Paltronis, Lowell’s personal bodyguard, came in the room. The stocky woman radiated a very quiet, very deadly sense of danger. She walked over the soft carpet and handed Lowell a printout. She gave Tayvis a small nod of recognition.
"Thank you, Paltronis," Lowell said. "Bring me any updates as soon as you receive them."
She nodded and left. Lowell put the paper on the table.
"New information," Lowell said. "The ships in that system have left, as of this time yesterday. It is beginning to look as if Commander Tayvis is correct. I believe it is time to revise our strategy."
"Sir?" an aide looked nervously into the room. They all turned. The aide looked to Drummond. "The courier finally arrived. The one that was two days overdue. You should come, sir." The aide swallowed hard. "It came in on automatics."
"What happened?" Drummond said, rising to his feet.
The aide shook her head. "The crew is dead, sir. It’s awful."
"A warning," Lowell said. "Or a distraction."
Drummond left the room, hurrying after the aide.
"I think we’ve just received an official declaration of war," Jenoshi said, almost to himself.
"One ship to the system," Tayvis said. "I’ll track her down. Dace is the key to this problem."
"Again," Lowell said with a faint smile.
The others stood, the conference was breaking up. Lowell stayed in his chair, studying the glowing blue map in front of him. Tayvis stayed where he was. He had to convince Lowell to let him go after Dace. Before someone blew her ship into dust. Darus and Suweya stayed. Querran steepled her fingers under her chin, watching the map.
Lowell waited until the room was clear of all but the five of them before he looked up at Tayvis. "You’re going after her. Would anything I say change that?"
Tayvis shook his head.
"A direct order, commander?"
Tayvis shrugged. "She’s at the heart of this, thanks to you, Lowell. And you know I’m the only one she trusts."
"I could send Paltronis."
Querran shifted in her seat, drawing their attention. "Who is she, really, Grant?" she asked, addressing Lowell by his first name. "Why so important?"
"Tayvis is right," Lowell said. "I used her as bait. I didn’t expect to net such a big fish. Targon had a price on her of half a million credits, with rumors that they were raising it to a million. How long do you think she would have lasted with every bounty hunter in the galaxy trying to cash in? The only way to stop them was to make the reward unavailable."
"By selling her out yourself?" Tayvis drummed his fingers on the table. "What did you spend the money on?"
"They haven’t paid it yet," Lowell said, allowing himself a smile. It looked strained. "I had to convince them to leave her alone, that it wasn’t profitable to cross her."
"How personal is this?" Suweya spoke for the first time. "I know the ship scuttlebutt," he said to Tayvis. "Request permission to return to my regular route, sir," he said to Querran.
"Denied," she said. "When and if you meet Dace, I think you’ll begin to understand, Captain. If we play this right, she could singlehandedly wipe out most of Blackthorne and the rest of Targon. She’s done it before."
"Is she really an agent?" Suweya asked Lowell bluntly.
"Over her dead body," Darus muttered.
Lowell ignored the question.
"Captain," Querran got his attention. "I’m putting you on special assignment. Your ship is under Lowell’s authority."
"You trust me that far, Suella?" Lowell said, glancing sideways at Querran.
"Bring it back in one piece, Grant, with all of the crew accounted for, or I’ll take it out of your hide." Querran said it sweetly, but the threat was real.
"You are aware of who we are chasing," Lowell said. "She’s left at least three planets in utter chaos, not to mention the damage she does just by landing sometimes. We’ll bring your ship back. Eventually."
"You’d better." Querran stood and held her hand out to Tayvis. "Good luck, Commander," she said as he shook it. Her grip was warm and firm. "Keep Lowell in one piece." She left the room.
The door swung shut behind her.
"Now what?" Darus asked.
"We find five million credits." Tayvis glanced at the clock on the wall. "In the next three hours."
"You wish me to lay in a course for that system?" Suweya asked, indicating the empty system the coordinates led them to.
"Please," Lowell said. "I’ll make sure your ship gets priority fueling and supplies."
"If you’ll excuse me," Suweya said, standing. "Gunnery officer," he said to Darus. "I believe you are still on duty."
Darus reluctantly stood and followed Suweya from the room. Tayvis was alone with Lowell.
"What price, Lowell?" Tayvis asked when the door swung shut.
"I think you’ve paid it." Lowell tapped the mem paper, the picture disappeared. "Did you enjoy slumming with the enlisted men?"
"At least I didn’t have to question every motive behind every comment."
"Admit you missed it." Lowell reached into a pocket and pulled something out. He laid it on the table and moved his hand back.
Tayvis stared at the sector commander insignia he’d given Lowell a long time back, when he’d resigned from the Enforcers. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Do you have a plan to get Dace out of this?"
"Don’t I always?" Lowell leaned back in his chair, swiveling it side to side as he studied Tayvis. "This isn’t going to work unless we can completely destroy Targon and do major damage to Blackthorne. We have to convince them that crossing Dace and the Patrol is not worth any price."
"A million credits for her? We’ll have to be thorough," Tayvis agreed. He took the insignia, rolling them across his palm.
"What are you planning, Tayvis?"
"Tell me your plan and I’ll tell you mine."
The door opened again. Paltronis crossed the thick carpet, silent and stealthy as a jungle cat. She took the seat to one side of Lowell. "You paged me?"
"Did you get the money?" he asked.
"Three million," she said. "There isn’t any more cash than that available. Not in time."
"Then it will have to do. What’s your plan, Tayvis?" Lowell asked again.
Tayvis leaned forward, elbows on the table. "My goal is to get Dace and her crew out, alive. Nothing more, Lowell."
"True, catching the entire elite of two crime syndicates is my job. You get Dace and the others safe. The only question now is how are we going to do it?"
"I don’t know yet, but I have a few ideas."
"I’m listening."
Chapter 27
My ship slid through hyperspace. The engines were starting to develop a hesitation that bothered me. I itched to go check the valves and fluid pressures. Maintenance on my ship was not a high priority for Harris, if it was even a priority.
It must have been driving Habim crazy, listening to it. I heard him banging around in the cabin. That bothered Harris. He finally slammed his stylus down in exasperation.
"Bud!" he shouted at one of the thugs. "Make them stop. I need quiet."
The thug opened the cabin door. There was loud shouting and the sound of a slap. The thug closed the door. "He won’t listen."
"Then drug him, space him, whatever," Harris snapped.
"He needs something to fix," I said. "The engines are out of tune and it’s driving him crazy listening to it."
