by Terry Mixon
The System Lords couldn’t risk allowing the contagion to escape stellar containment. That probably meant the System Lord there had some kind of escape plan.
“In any case,” Sean continued, “your uncle will be done loading the bioweapon in perhaps ten minutes. As soon as he does, nothing will be holding this ship here. I expect him to call for you.
“We either have to produce you or start shooting. One way or their other, you can stop us. We want to save the lives of everyone on Terra. Are you truly willing to murder millions or billions of people?”
Darrah deflated a bit. “No. Since the Lord pressganged me, I’ve been powerless to change the outcome of this mission. Honestly, does helping you do more than put it off for a few more months? How long before the Lords send a second mission?”
“That depends on how long we can make them believe the mission was a success. If we can, of course. But that’s dodging the question.
“If you help them, you’re a murderer. If you put them off, the people might still die, but you did everything in your power to save them. Which kind of person are you?”
The man smiled a little. “I’ll keep my mouth shut and help you, but I have my own price for that cooperation. When we leave this system and head for Terra, you have to tell me everything.
“I know there’s a big secret you all keep talking around. You’re on an important mission of your own. You didn’t come to stop the attack on Terra. I want to know what it is and see if it’s something worth helping you with.”
Sean considered the man’s counter proposal for a long moment and then nodded. “I don’t control when you’ll be told, but it will be sometime after we leave here and no later than when we reach Terra. You have my word.”
“As a Fleet officer?”
That made Sean blink. They’d been so careful to keep that under wraps.
“What makes you think that I’m a Fleet officer?”
“My eyes and my experience interfacing with men like you. Just like I know these two fellows guarding me are marine officers. Do you deny it?”
Sean shook his head. “No. I suppose you don’t need my confirmation, but you have it.”
He blinked as Jared called him through his implants.
Fielding just asked to speak to our prisoner.
Sean checked the vid feed and saw the crates were all closed now. Kelsey and Fielding were stripping out of their suits. It was showtime.
We’ll be there in a few minutes.
Sean rose to his feet. “He’s called for you. I guess we’ll find out what kind of man you are now.”
35
Kelsey hadn’t known what to expect when the dreadful task of loading the bioweapon was done, but she’d been praying for the rapid departure of Lord Fielding and his people so that she could get the hell out of here.
The sight of Sean and the prisoner they’d captured shot that down. What in the hell was the man thinking? They were so screwed.
Lord Fielding smiled at the prisoner. “Austin, I’m sure this is quite the shock, but I’m pleased to see you.”
“Shocking indeed, Uncle Oscar. I didn’t know that we were coming to Raidon, much less that we’d meet you here. You obviously know far more about all this than I ever expected.”
“Life is a great circle, Nephew. It turns and past becomes future.”
The man turned to Sean. “I’ll want some time with my nephew. No need to displace anyone. I’ll take him back to my cutter.”
“I’m afraid we have an obligation to keep an eye on him. Lady Jocelyn can accompany you while staying out of earshot.”
The Rebel Empire noble considered him coolly for a few seconds. “I suppose we all have to make compromises. Lady Jocelyn, if you would please escort us to my cutter.”
She shot Sean a sharp look. What’s happening?
We’re making lemonade. Keep an ear on them and let me know if our little mouse betrays us. If so, take them down and we’ll try to make a run for it.
Kelsey had seen the scanner readings, so she had no illusions how that would turn out. If the man betrayed them, they’d die here.
No pressure.
She nodded to Sean and fell in beside Lord Fielding. The prisoner—Austin, she corrected—might be his nephew, but she was masquerading as someone higher up the societal food chain, so she got the more prominent position in the parade.
The trip to Fielding’s cutter was short and he walked in silence. He’d already told her more than enough about the damned weapon as they’d loaded it. She’d definitely have even more nightmares now.
She was grateful that she’d managed to do what she needed to do in assisting him with the grisly task. The engineering people and Lily Stone had managed to give her what she needed via her implants and she hadn’t screwed up.
That was a refreshing change of pace.
Lord Fielding’s cutter was different than the Fleet models Kelsey was used to. Not larger on the outside, but significantly more luxurious on the inside. Rather than allowing for as many people, it could hold a far smaller number in absolute comfort. Gold, dark woods, and expensive-looking cloth abounded.
The sight didn’t seem to surprise Austin. This must be more common in his sphere than Kelsey had expected.
Fielding turned to her. “I’m going to step into my private compartment with my nephew. I’ll leave the hatch open so that you can carry out your observational duties. Feel free to sample something from my bar. You’ve more than earned it.”
Kelsey inclined her head and watched them go through the unobtrusive door at the rear of the compartment. This was it. If the prisoner was going to betray them, it would be now.
As she might be under observation, she did pour a glass of something. The dark liquid burned smoothly as she sipped at it. Not bad.
When Lord Fielding spoke, even though he kept his voice low, Kelsey could clearly hear him.
“Austin, I’m sorry. I truly am.”
“Are you really, Uncle Oscar? It seems to me that my presence here is your doing. Far from being accidental, you’ve put me in a situation I probably won’t survive. There are two major paths in front of me and neither seem to have a good chance of me getting back home.”
The older man grunted softly. “Contrary to what you think, I didn’t take this step lightly. Like you, I have to balance the demands of the Lords against my family. I made the best choice I could.”
“Against your family or against your own interests? It seems as though you’ve abandoned me to enrich yourself.”
“Don’t be more of a fool than you have to be, boy,” the older man grumbled. “Life isn’t simple. We have to navigate the shoals and whirlpools that are determined to sink us. I did what I had to.”
There was a short pause before Darrah answered him. “I see. Well, let me tell you what I know. They put a bomb in my head and I have little doubt they’ll dispose of me as soon as this mission is done. You’ll forgive me if I don’t see how you’ve done what you could for family.”
“You think you were the only one the Lords forced into their plans against their will? Do you think I wanted to concoct this devil’s brew? Bah.
“The Lords ordered me to do what I’ve done and I did it. Here’s a little surprise for you. I have a bomb in my head, too. Don’t think I’m unaware of how this might turn out.”
Kelsey relaxed a little. Maybe the boy wasn’t going to betray them after all. She sipped the drink again.
“I think you’ve missed the point,” Austin said. “You betrayed me personally. I didn’t have to be part of this. I’m sorry the Lords came after you for this terrible task, but why give them my name? Why train me for a task that will kill your sister’s son? Do you hate us that much?”
Fielding sighed. “I don’t hate you and you know it. I love you both. In fact, I have a gift for you. The code for disarming the bomb in your head.”
Kelsey perked up. They’d removed the device. Even the code controlling it was gone from the prisoner’s im
plants. What would happen if the older man tried to disarm the bomb and it failed to respond?
“Even that won’t save me,” Austin said. “They can shoot me down at any time or shove me out a handy airlock. Don’t think they won’t. That said, I’ll take the code and hold it in reserve. They might know if I turn it off.”
“Here you go. I doubt they’ll know if the device is deactivated, but keep it to yourself.”
“How did you get it and do you have your own code?”
“Let’s just say that I have ears in many places and I’m not worried about my head exploding. I have a plan to keep you safe once the mission is completed, too. I’ll need to speak to Lady Keaton, but it should more than serve to protect you.”
“You sound very confident,” Austin said cautiously. “What will you do?”
“Something that will more than prove I love you, boy. Come on. Your watcher is probably growing concerned. You can watch me work my magic in person.”
Jared sat in Athena’s small conference room with Olivia and nervously waited for Lord Fielding to arrive.
Sean walked in a few moments later. “We’re ready to break orbit as soon as you give the green light. All of the workers have departed in the cargo shuttle that brought the bio agent. Only Fielding and his guards are still on board. Once they leave, we can get the hell out of here.”
“Kelsey said Fielding has some kind of plan to protect his nephew. I hope it doesn’t screw us up. They’re in the lift now. Park it and we’ll find out what curve ball he’s going to toss at us.”
The hatch slid open a few minutes later and let Lord Fielding, Kelsey, and Austin Darrah into the briefing room. Olivia stood, so he and Sean joined her.
“Please sit,” Fielding said. “We have just a few more items to discuss before you embark on the final stage of your mission. Allow me to compliment you on how well you’ve done so far. Excellent work, particularly from Lady Oldfield.”
Kelsey silently inclined her head as she took a seat next to Austin. The young prisoner eyed everyone at the table with what Jared suspected was secret amusement glinting in his eyes.
Once everyone was comfortable, Fielding continued. “First, I need to warn you just how dangerous the agent is. While it’s locked away in the drones, it should be safe enough, but due care must be taken.
“The Lords tasked me to use my labs to bring this ancient weapon back to life. Gods only know why the Dictator felt the need to kill every human being on a world and render it uninhabitable forever. Let me tell you, creating this organism from scratch was no easy task and had more than its share of setbacks. Lethal ones.”
Olivia studied the noble for a long while before she added her thoughts. “While I’ve seen a summary of what to expect, why don’t you fill me in on the details. We have to get this right the first time. What kind of setbacks are you speaking of?”
The man grimaced. “We used all due caution. This mining orbital oversees extraction of rare gases on the giant below us, so it’s isolated. Perfect to maintain the secrecy the Lords demanded.
“In addition, there are smaller stations used for specialized refining. One of them became the primary laboratory. After several months of work, they recreated the correct genomic sequence. That was a tremendous moment for them. The accidental release of the agent inside the station was equally tremendous, but in a very negative manner.
“We all got to see the terrible progression of the disease up close and personal. The System Lord insisted we allow the scientists to perish and record the data rather than ending their lives quickly. It was just as horrible as you might imagine.
“Once the last person was dead, we deorbited the station and allowed it to burn up in the gas giant’s atmosphere. That was more than sufficient to sterilize everything.”
“That’s awful,” Jared agreed. “But as you say, we have the agent in the drones now. What risk is there?”
Fielding fixed him with a cool smile. “I suggest you keep the cargo hold hermetically sealed. The little beast is pernicious. It can cross any air gap you’d care to place around it. Only hard vacuum will keep it at bay.
“I don’t think it will leak, but you dare not take chances. Given one moment’s inattention, you won’t be allowed to survive. And you won’t want to. Diving this ship into the nearest stellar body will be the only way to be sure you’ve cleansed it.”
That sounded pretty dire to Jared. They’d be ultra-careful.
“We could detonate the plasma charges to eliminate the threat,” he suggested. Getting the codes for the antitampering devices would be a huge relief, if he could manage it.
“Sadly, the Lord has forbidden dispensing them,” Fielding said with a small smile that seemed faked. “Still, what you say has some merit. The damage to the ship would be severe, but if the agent was limited to the cargo holds, the plasma would cleanse it.
“Your thoughts parallel something I’ve been pondering. The trip to Terra will take two weeks. Secrecy and safety are paramount. I’ve come up with a way to expedite your journey while increasing your odds of arriving at Terra safely.”
Jared felt himself tensing.
“How would that be,” Olivia asked in the guise of their leader. “If we don’t have the codes to the plasma charges, we can’t very well use them to protect the Lords’ secret.”
This time Fielding’s smile was large and genuine. “The original plan calls for you to meet another ship a week out from Terra so they can extend the timer on the charges. An encouragement for you to be speedy and remain on task.
“After discussion with the System Lord, he has allowed that there is another way to accomplish the same thing while increasing the overall odds of success on this mission.”
“How is that?” Jared asked, a sensation of dread settling in his stomach like a lead ball.
“It’s quite simple, really,” Fielding said with a grin. “I’m coming with you.”
“Well,” Austin said into the deafening silence with a wry smile. “This is promising to be a much more exciting journey than I’d expected.”
Wasn’t that the understatement of the year.
36
Nine hours later, Elise snuck out of the maintenance tube where she’d been hiding and made her way to the cramped storage room just off the enlisted crew’s mess.
By Athena’s clock, it was the middle of the night. Their unwanted guest was safely tucked away in the quarters he’d appropriated from Sean earlier, much to the commodore’s annoyance.
The destroyer had just flipped out from Raidon and she had no trouble admitting to the relief she felt. They were no longer under the guns of all the ships and fortresses.
Now, if push came to shove, they could deal with the intruding Rebel Empire noble should he discover their deception.
That wouldn’t save Athena, though. The man was the only person aboard who had the codes to reset the timer on the plasma charges that would gut her. All he needed to do to destroy the ship was sit idly by. In five days, the destroyer would be wrecked and they’d be screwed.
Elise was the last to arrive in the storage room. Jared, Sean, Olivia, Lily, Princess Kelsey, and Commander Roche were already seated on portable chairs around a makeshift table.
Her husband gestured her over to sit beside him. “I’ll bet you’re happy to get out of that tube.”
“I’d be much happier if I could sneak into my husband’s quarters for the night,” she said grumpily. “And before you tell me that’s much too risky, that doesn’t change how I feel. Has there been any change? How are we going to deal with Fielding and his six guards?”
Jared shrugged. “Anytime he is outside his quarters, we keep a close eye on where he goes and what he sees. We’re doing what we can to make certain that he only interfaces with our senior officers. They’ve got the best chance of maintaining the charade.
“I don’t see that situation changing. The odds of us being able to get the codes for the plasma charges is almost nonexistent. That�
��s the only trump card he has to play and he’ll never just hand them over.”
“I think it’s much more serious than that,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “He’s playing some kind of game. There’s very little reason for him to come along on this mission. Oh, I know he says he’s doing it to save his nephew’s life but that’s bull. If we were truly the Rebel Empire nobles in command of this mission, his presence would only assure his own death in the end.”
“So we’ve got a player,” Sean said slowly. “If his end goal isn’t to save his nephew, then what does he hope to accomplish? He’s one man against a ship full of people. Even with his guards, we wouldn’t have any trouble suppressing him.
“Just look at how everyone was armed when we left El Capitan. With the exception of our techie, everyone was armed at all times and their neural disruptors were set to kill. Whatever plan Fielding intends to set in motion, he can’t reasonably expect to overpower us.”
“I’ve discovered that when a bastard is smiling, he knows something that you don’t,” Kelsey said with a grunt. “Are we absolutely certain he doesn’t have access to the computer systems? Is it possible that he could set off the antiboarding weapons? If he stuns all of us, then he has control of this ship.”
“Not happening,” Sean quickly responded. “While we were removing the lockout that our new ally put in place, we checked the entire system to make certain that we had total and absolute control. There’s no way that Fielding can subvert the system. Not even by digging through the manual controls.”
“You’ll forgive me if I’m unconvinced. It seems that things haven’t quite gone as planned on this mission. At this point, I keep wondering when the next disaster is going to happen and if it’ll be our last.”
“I understand how you feel, Kelsey,” Elise said, clasping her hand around the other woman’s. “This has been a very chaotic experience. We came into this mission with a certain expectation of how it was going to work that didn’t work out. We’re improvising.”
