Well, I’m not stupid. “Yes.”
“Excellent. On your ship’s roster, you’re listed as the engineer. Is that correct?”
“On our ship everyone has a few different jobs they—”
“But you primarily look after the ship’s engines?”
“Yes.”
Hariri documented it on her tablet. “I understand you worked with Professor Petit.”
“After the first journey through the trans-space corridor, he assisted me with repairs. It was handy having an architect behind the Mark IV engine to help out.”
“So, it was then you and the professor who discovered the Iota particles aboard the Argo?”
Aly chuckled. “Well, it was Professor Petit who found them, but I was there.”
Hariri perused her tablet again. “So, would I be safe to assume while the professor was the brains behind getting the Argo home, you had some part in assisting him?”
“I guess, yeah.”
“I would say that makes you an expert in the field, since you’re the only two humans in existence to work with the new technology.”
Aly narrowed her eyes. What is she getting at? “Well, I’d not thought of it that way before. But I suppose I learned a lot from Professor Petit in the time I spent with him.”
Hariri nodded and noted it on her tablet. “Okay, interesting.”
Why the fascination about the Iota particles and my relationship with the professor?
“With the experience you’ve had with trans-space corridors, could you replicate one?”
Aly chuckled. “Not a chance.”
The light behind her flashed. The warm glow of the PLD-4000 bathed the room in red. Hariri’s eyebrows raised.
“Miss Rycroft, I need the truth.”
A lump formed in Aly’s throat at the commander’s abruptness. While she hadn’t thought she was lying, the PLD-4000 could detect someone being untruthful with themselves. She thought about the question again and her work with Petit.
“I guess if I stumbled upon similar conditions to the ones at Psi-Aion, I’d be able to use the same method employed by Professor Petit to reopen a trans-space corridor. However, for that to happen, someone else would need to construct an original corridor.”
The red light blinked out, and Hariri appeared satisfied. “You got a firsthand look at the Seekers’ weaponry when they attacked the Argo. As an engineer, what’s your opinion?”
Aly had tried to put the memories of that day aside. “Isn’t this something Professor Petit would be better off answering? I’m not sure I have the expertise in the area of—”
“Professor Petit covered the subject extensively in his debriefing, but it’s always good to have another perspective from an accomplished engineer.”
That’s a nice way to butter me up. “Their weapons are energy based. They can channel massive amounts of power and hit targets with pinpoint accuracy whether it be in open space or from orbit.” It was something Aly knew the commonwealth had tried to develop for decades but had been mostly unsuccessful.
“What about their defensive capabilities?”
“Not even a tritonium bombardment made a dent.” Aly paused before continuing. “Ultimately, it was the weapon channeling the energy of the sphere that destroyed them.”
“The sphere. How would you describe its power?”
Aly’s mood darkened. She’d seen what it’d done to an almost indestructible ship, making it collapse in on itself and disappear into nothing but vapors.
“Like reliving every nightmare you’ve ever had all at once.”
*
Outpost Watchtower
Javier hated hospitals. As a man of science, it was a ridiculous fear. He’d concluded it was because whenever he was in one, it reminded him of his own mortality. And while he was only in his early sixties, and still considered a young man, he was closer to the end than not.
He approached a nurse walking out of a doorway. “Is she seeing any visitors?”
The nurse looked stressed. “You being here might be just what she needs.” She motioned him toward the room.
Inside, on the solitary bed, was Susan Tai. She stared at the ceiling, not recognizing Javier’s presence.
“Susan,” he whispered.
She didn’t respond at first. But as he walked closer, her head turned. She no doubt heard his footsteps.
“Javier?”
He took a seat at her bedside and put his hand on hers.
“I assume they’ve told you how the surgery went?” she said.
Javier nodded. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t think telling her ‘at least you’re alive’ would make her feel any better. Being the proactive individual she was, her new life wouldn’t be easy.
Her eyes darted to the other side of the room where an elaborate wheelchair sat. “They say it’ll give me full mobility.”
It seemed as much a relic of the past as the sphere discovered on Orion V. The fact that even biomechanical technology couldn’t get her back on her feet spoke volumes of the weapons the Seekers wielded. He hoped one day someone would discover a way to make her walk again.
“While it’s no consolation, Susan, your mind is—”
“What’s the point of my mind when I can’t walk around to use it?”
“One of the greatest intellects of the twenty-first century was confined to a wheelchair for most of his adult life. He—”
“Yes, I know about Stephen Hawking,” she sniped.
“And before regenerative therapy, other people in your condition led fulfilling and productive lives. If—”
“I don’t think I’ll be one of them, Javier.” Susan sighed. “I don’t have the strength.”
“You’ll have the full support of everyone at the Institute.” Petit smiled. “You won’t ever be alone.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “Ever since I was shot, I’ve been having dreams. Vivid dreams. Nightmares really.”
“I think it’s natural when something like this happens.”
“I’ve been reliving things I never wanted to experience again.” She wiped away her tears. “This morning when I woke it was in a pool of my own sweat. I’d dreamed about what happened on Caeneus II.”
“I don’t believe you’ve ever told me about Caeneus II.”
“I wouldn’t have. It’s not something I like talking about.”
Javier sat quietly. He figured the best thing he could do for Susan now was to listen.
“It was in the first year of the war,” she began. “I’d been on the Vanguard no more than three months. We got a call from an observation outpost on Caeneus II that they were being attacked by Centauri forces. I went down with a complement of Marines and got caught up in a firefight. We eventually took the outpost back but found no one alive.”
Javier recalled hearing about it. He’d had no idea Susan was there.
“We discovered the outpost’s memory banks were stolen along with the fleet movements for five surrounding star systems. The call was made to follow the fleeing Centauri through the boggy swamps of the planet.
“Along the way, I fell down the edge of a cliff. I broke my leg and got stuck in the mud below. It was like quicksand. I couldn’t move. I thought I was going to die.” She stopped and looked straight into Javier’s eyes.
“I felt hopeless. I was in there for six hours. It wasn’t until an engineering crew from the Vanguard came down to rig something to pull me out that I was free.”
There was smile on her face before the sadness returned. “Nicolas was the one who pulled me out.” She stared down at her crippled legs. “Once upon a time I would’ve said my work might get me through this, but I’m not sure that’ll be the case anymore.”
Javier knew Susan’s career meant everything to her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s the point? Ever since Nicolas died…”
Petit frowned. She’d told him how her relationship with Captain Marquez had been rekindled on Psi-Aion. “Nicolas would’ve—”
/>
“Come on, Javier, I was in the service, I get the whole speech about dying in the line of duty.” There was a bitterness in her voice. “If it wasn’t for me, they never would’ve sent his ship to Orion V.”
“And if I hadn’t needed Kione,” Petit said, “then you wouldn’t have come. If a mining team didn’t discover the sphere, then I wouldn’t have left Earth. If Orion V wasn’t feasible for mining, then the sphere would never have been discovered.”
Susan glared at him.
“Life is full of variables that aren’t in our control. You can’t get hooked up on—”
“Javier, I’m not in the mood for one of your lectures.”
He relented. “I’m sorry.” He’d been raised in a household of tough love and sometimes didn’t know any better. “I do it because I care for you, Susan.”
She burst out with more tears. “If that’s the case, then you’ll help me.”
“Of course I will.”
“Somewhere on Watchtower, or even the Repulse, you’ll find a drug called cyclotrol.”
Javier had heard of it. “You can’t be serious, Susan?” He stood from his chair. “How could you ask that of me? You’re not dying.”
She tried to say something, but Petit cut her off. “What if one of your patients asked the this of you? What would you’re answer be?”
She had no reply. “Will you help me or not?”
“No,” he said adamantly. “I’ll have no part in killing you.”
“Then it’s time for you to go, Javier.” She turned her head away from.
“Susan—”
“Leave!”
Petit walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him.
Chapter 6
UECS Repulse
Conrad crossed his arms and stared at Commander Hariri while she tapped away at her data tablet. They’d split the Argo crew up and put them in separate quarters on their arrival. His patience was wearing thin.
She finally placed the tablet down. “Mister Althaus, how long have you served aboard the Cargo Ship Argo?”
“Thirty-seven years.”
“And how old were you when you began your tenure?”
He had to do the math in his head. “I was twenty-two.”
Hariri picked up her tablet. “From what it says here, the Argo was purchased by Benjamin Cassidy, thirty-seven years ago, in secondhand condition.”
“That’s right.”
“Benjamin Cassidy? The father of Jason and Tyler Cassidy?”
Conrad uncrossed his arms. “You obviously know the answers to these questions. Why—”
“Mister Althaus, please, I assure you there’s a reason to every question I ask.”
Conrad glared at the red light, realizing she was no doubt testing him so the validity of the mind-reading contraption would be accurate. He relented, wanting the experience to be over with. “Yes, he was their father.”
“And your relationship with Benjamin Cassidy?”
“He was my brother. Half brother actually.”
“And that’s how you came into his employ?”
“We were partners.”
The red light washed around the room. He glanced at it and frowned. While he’d always considered his brother a partner in the business, Benjamin Cassidy was the owner of the Argo and its cargo license. He’d paid Conrad a share of whatever they’d made. “I guess that thing knows everything. We weren’t partners. He was the boss and I was his employee.”
The red light vanished, and Hariri nodded. “Now, Mister Althaus, I’d like to ask you a few questions about your cargo business.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Okay.”
“I’ve been going through your logs. Under the code of the Commonwealth Shipping Network, it’s a requirement to document all assignments with your licenser for tax purposes. Is that correct?”
Conrad didn’t like where this was heading. “That’s right.”
“Now tell me, with all the jobs the Argo has had in say the last five years, would you have logged them all with the CSN?”
Of course not. “I don’t see how this is relevant.”
“Please, Mister Althaus, I need you to answer the question.”
He kept his mouth closed, not wanting to play her games.
Hariri appeared to notice his stubbornness. “In fact, it’s common practice not to log certain activities with the CSN, isn’t it? Most cargo ships do plenty of cash jobs.” She frowned. “Understand I’m not here to get you in trouble. I have no interest in your financials.”
Then what are you interested in?
“Whatever you say won’t be relayed to the CSN, and once again, I remind you, you agreed to cooperate with us before this debriefing began.”
What choice do I have? “No, we haven’t logged all our jobs with the CSN.”
“Thank you.” Hariri returned her attention to her data tablet. “Now, in March of 2210, the Argo docked at Station Venicia for extensive hull repairs. Is that correct?”
Conrad did his best to recollect. “That sounds about right.”
“It was in result of a pursuit in an asteroid field by this ship, was it not?” She slid the data tablet over to him and revealed the image of a Richmond Class freighter.
How does she know that?
“In fact, you and your crew had dealings with the owners of this ship, The Gallant Trader, didn’t you? Unlogged with the CSN because the owners in question were part of the infamous McKinley family. An arm of the Taurus crime syndicate.”
Conrad stared at the vessel on the tablet, recollecting those days far too vividly and remembering the trouble the crew of the Argo had got into.
“Mister Althaus?”
He looked up and slid the tablet back over to her. “Yes, we did.”
“The dealings with them must have turned for the worst if this incident with them in the asteroid field is anything to go by. It seems you managed to fight another day, and luckily, a few months later the entire McKinley family were imprisoned with a long list of felonies. I don’t suppose you know anything about that?”
Conrad knew all too well.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to answer.” Hariri smiled. “Okay, now let’s talk about Orion V.”
*
Outpost Watchtower
The crew lounge was a bevy of activity. Admiral Kostecki had given many of the Repulse’s personnel permission for some R&R aboard the space station while they were in orbit.
Javier stared through the viewport at Delta-Hera IX and the massive fleet carrier while it circled the outpost. It was the last place he wanted to be. But he needed a drink and didn’t want to be alone in his quarters. Luckily, the raucous officers around him were stopping him from thinking too much.
Though even with the noise, he couldn’t get Susan out of his mind. What she’d asked of him was unconscionable. He’d never imagined she’d choose the easy way out. She’d had a magnificent career with CDF and the Institute. He didn’t want to see her throw it away.
He sipped on his scotch. Maybe I’d think differently in her shoes.
A hand on his shoulder interrupted his train of thought. He glanced up at a man smiling over him. It took a moment for him to register the face.
“Jonathan Avery? I can’t believe it.”
“Your failing eyes don’t betray you, Javier.” His former colleague sat on the bar stool beside him. His hair had grayed, and there were wrinkles where there’d been none before.
“How long has it been?” Javier asked him.
“I left TIAS after the Mark IV Project finished up. So—”
“That long?” Seems like a lifetime ago.
“What are you doing on Watchtower?”
Javier chuckled. “A complicated story you wouldn’t believe, even if I could tell you.”
“Ah, one of those,” Jonathan said knowingly. “I remember them well.”
Javier changed the subject. “Where did you end up? Last I heard you were hoping to get into the private sect
or.”
“You recall how much I loved chasing money? I worked for a few good companies. I’m currently with DestinyCorp. They design and manufacture satellites, probes, and drones, among other things.”
Javier did indeed recall the man’s love for money. They’d spent many a wild night in Tokyo back in the day spending that money. “What are you working on at the moment?”
“The Destiny Resonance Telescope. That’s why I’m here.”
“Wasn’t that supposed to be finished—”
“And installed years ago. Yes.” Jonathan hailed down the barman and asked for a scotch of his own. “That was the main reason they built Outpost Watchtower, so we could point our gigantic telescope into Frontier’s Reach and poke around it.”
“But the war got in the way?”
Jonathan took his drink from the barman. “Right. The commonwealth government partially funded the telescope and pulled their share when hostilities broke out. We sat in limbo until about eighteen months ago. They finally gave us the remaining funding, and here we are.”
“So now your installing it?”
“We’ve been here two weeks. Everything’s hooked up, but we’re having issues getting it connected to the station’s power core.” He took a sip of his drink and put it down, raising an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t be interested in helping us look at it, would you?”
Javier stared out at the Repulse and wondered about Susan. “I’ve got a lot of things on my—”
“Come on, we could use the assistance. The guys would get a real kick out of working with the famous Javier Petit.”
Javier contemplated the invitation. It might take my mind off things. “Okay.”
Jonathan slapped him on the shoulder. “Just like the old days. We’re getting the band back together.”
Chapter 7
November 4, 2213
UECS Repulse
“You’re the helmsman and doctor aboard the Argo?”
Kevin chuckled at the astonishment in Commander Hariri’s voice. “Helmsman, yes. Doctor, not so much. I heal bumps and bruises because I’m the most qualified.”
Along the Watchtower: A Gritty Space Opera Adventure (Frontier's Reach Book 4) Page 3
