Stranded on Haven

by William Zellmann

  Even if he were in space, though, they had a good chance of catching him by surprise. The sanctimonious bastard refused to train Haveners to fly the landers, so he wouldn't be expecting Faba's attack force. Once they cut him off from the "landing bay", they could scour the ship centimeter by centimeter, if necessary. Of course, with the ship obeying his orders, it wouldn't be easy, but Faba was confident he had the best troops on Haven, and they would cope.

  Once they had Carver, of course, they had Haven! Oh, everyone claimed that the ships were unarmed; but the King's historian was certain that the colony ship was well equipped to defend itself. In fact, Faba had seen star weapons in the Firstlanding Museum. Duke Richard had even seized them, though they were apparently too corroded to tell his armorers much. The techs couldn't even identify some of the alloys used in their manufacture.

  But give them a few functioning samples, and Faba had no doubt the King's armorers would put them to good use. This raid was sure to spread a lot of hate and discontent among the other nations; but if King David's army was armed with star weapons, the wars would be over quickly, and there would be no doubt of their outcome.

  "Approaching the Zone, sire," came the voice of the pilot over the hand radio Faba carried. He nodded. "Any problems?"

  "No, sire," came the reply. "We're expected, and apparently no warning was broadcast."

  Faba nodded again. "Very good." He raised his voice. "All troops to ready positions. Beachhead teams take weapons." The force's weapons were stacked neatly near the airship's two exit doors. At his words, the six men nearest each door stepped forward, took up their weapons and stood braced for landing.

  Electric arc lights illuminated the incoming airship, following its slow progress to the mooring mast. Once the airship was attached to the mooring mast and was being winched toward the ground, the teams' leaders watched through the small hatch windows until the airship was two meters from grounding. Then they threw open the doors and the teams jumped to the ground and subdued the startled line handlers. One of them tried to escape into the surrounding darkness, but was quickly knocked down by a rifle butt.

  They were followed by two fast reaction teams, consisting of Faba's fastest troops. They jumped to the ground and raced to the radio room and Carver's headquarters. The rest of Faba's men descended from the airship, fixed bayonets, and established a perimeter.

  Faba's stolen airship was followed by a larger military version, carrying a hundred-man backup team and even a small diplomatic contingent. They would assume control of the International Zone, and the diplomats would trot out their stories for Carver's "assistants".

  Faba jumped the last half-meter to the ground just as his radio came alive. "Red team Okay". But Faba didn't relax. Red team had control of the radio, telegraph, and even the telephone, and no warnings had been broadcast. Good. But what was taking Gold team so long? He began pacing. After a few moments, his radio spoke again. "Gold Team. No joy. Assistants in custody."

  Faba cursed. Carver wasn't there. He must be in space, aboard one of the ships. Oh, well, it wasn't unexpected. And as they said in the Grand Army, "the only easy day was yesterday". At least they had those foreign agents under control.

  The second airship glided overhead toward one of the temporary mooring masts erected for the party and not yet removed. Under Faba's teams' guns, the ground crews winched the larger airship to the ground, and streams of troops in that silly blue and red streamed from its oversized doors. Oh, well, Faba thought, At least they have proper weapons.

  The soldiers paused briefly to fix bayonets, and then began quickly dispersing over the enlarged International Zone. A special detachment headed for the warehouses containing the stuff brought down from Adventurer. They would clear out the foreigners, and prepare for the horde of New Home techs that would be coming shortly.

  But Faba had no time to worry about such things. He nodded as Colonel Trin – er, ex-Colonel Trin approached and threw him a crisp salute. Faba frowned. "No salutes, Tar, remember? we're civilians now." He spat the word derisively.

  Trin grinned. "Yes, boss. Looks like you're all ready for us."

  Faba nodded. "Communications are secure, Carver's building is secure, though he wasn't there. Make sure you mount a good guard on those star gadgets providing power. If somebody shuts them down, we won't be able to start them again, and your job will get much harder.

  Trin nodded. "Yes, sire, Gen – uh messer Hunto."

  Faba threw him a faint smile. "Very well. Carry on, messer Trin. I have to go see a robot about a lander."

  As he'd ordered, his 25-man attack team had assembled at the so-called "duty lander" and surrounded it. They hadn't attempted to board it, though. Faba had been coached by the eggheads on what they thought would be the proper procedure to take over the vessel. The troops had gathered to keep the lander grounded in case one of the ships' thinking machines noticed the takeover of the Zone and tried to lift it off. Duke Richard's experts were certain that the robot pilot would be unable to lift off if doing so would harm a human being – or 25 of them; and all were within the lander's blast radius. Faba's only real worry was that everyone knew that the landers could take off on something called "gravs", and he didn't know whether such a takeoff would harm humans.

  So he relaxed as he saw the lander sitting quietly in the center of his gathered troops. He hurried toward the boarding hatch, struggling to conceal his worry and yes, fear. This was a make-or-break point for the operation. If they couldn't deactivate the robot and launch the lander, they would have precipitated an international incident to no purpose. Seizing the Zone would be meaningless if it didn't give them access to the ships. Carver could simply redirect his landings to another, perhaps more hostile, site.

  The robot was sitting motionless in the pilot's seat. Dressed in a shipsuit, it looked completely human, except for the shiny, featureless ovoid of its head. Faba took a deep breath. "Robot," he said in a commanding voice, "go to the hatch." He watched nervously as the robot silently rose to a standing position, and walked to the hatch. "Robot," he repeated, "deactivate and prepare for shipping."

  He released an explosive sigh as the metal man folded itself into a tight squat, arms wrapping tightly around its lower legs. The ovoid head bowed, and with a faint click, froze. Faba grinned. In its current position the thing would fit into a normal shipping crate. But Faba didn't care about that. He cared that it was easily transportable by his men.

  It wasn't that easy, though. Faba had assumed the robot would be about as heavy as a man. But two men couldn't lift it, and four struggled to shift it. It finally took six men to ease the robot out of the hatch and into the arms of another crew. Faba was surprised, but he wanted that lander cleared except for his men; besides, the thinking machines in orbit were sure to react when they lifted off, and he did not want that thing trying to interfere with them in space! It was only as the robot was dropped on the field that he realized he could have simply ordered the robot to leave the lander before deactivating it. Oh, well.

  His men hurried aboard, led by former Lieutenant Truse, New Home's most skilled test pilot. Truse had been practicing for months, and in fact the exact "go" time had been his to set.

  Truse slid into the seat vacated by the robot, and began surveying the instruments.

  "Well?" Faba asked nervously.

  The young Lieutenant, barely twenty years old, flashed a jaunty grin. "No prob, Gen – uh, sire. It's just like the mockup. And now that I can see the live controls, I'm sure it'll be easier than the practice runs."

  Faba didn't respond to the grin. "Very well. Study up while we load. Liftoff in ten minutes."

  The grin faded. "Yes, sire. I'll be ready."

  Faba nodded and whirled. "All troops board! Sergeants – er, supervisors verify your men's weapons are unloaded; I don't want some fool to kill us all!"

  Men began swarming aboard once their weapons were checked. Faba had the "supervisors" check the safety belts in each seat. "The robots can keep
the gravity constant; but this is our first try at it." he said. "Any fool that drifts out of his seat will be placed on report."

  He turned back to Truse. "Are you ready?"

  No grin this time; just a crisp salute. "At your command, sire. But I recommend you belt in yourself, sire. This is my first flight in this thing."

  Faba gave him a wintry half-smile. "As you say, pilot." He assumed the copilot's position and fastened the seat's belt. He took a deep breath. "All right, pilot. Let's go."

  The grin flared again. "Aye, Aye, sire!"

  Chapter 17

  Truse's fingers moved over the buttons and knobs, and the lander, a large work boat reconfigured for passenger use, lifted. The liftoff was clumsy, the lander sweeping from side to side until Truse got her under control.

  Then, cautiously, Truse began gently touching knobs and buttons, and the lander lifted clear of the field. Despite himself, Faba gasped as they rose silently past the moored airships, and continued to lift.

  "How long, Truse?" he asked as the mission once again became his focus.

  Truse shook his head. "I really can't say, sire. Our records show most flights taking about two hours. But that's with a robot pilot who's programmed with the course. I'm flying by the seat of my arse. You can already see that the blips that mark the ships are moving across the viewscreen, and they're all that I have to orient me. I understand it may take two or even three orbits to reach them."

  Faba frowned. During the mission briefing he remembered someone mentioning a two-hour trip, but somehow it hadn't penetrated to his consciousness. And these "orbits" …

  "Orbits are circles around Haven, right? Does that mean we'll be in plain sight? that they'll be able to see us coming?"

  Truse nodded. "Yes, sire. But I'm sure they can already see us coming. Those thinking machines won't have missed our liftoff." He shrugged. "I'm afraid they already know we're coming, sire. But yes, we're already approaching the daylight line, and soon we'll be visible to at least anyone on East continent. On our next orbit, we'll probably be seen on West continent, too."

  All right, Faba thought. they know we're coming. What can they do about it? Adventurer is full of workers. They won't dare risk injury or death to them by trying to get them to resist us. No, Duke Richard was right, as usual. There are two major possibilities. First, that Carver will jump into another lander and head for Haven. Duke Richard's people are watching, though, and once he's on-planet we'll track him down.

  The other possibility is that Carver will have time to fire up that big ship of his and run all the way to outer space. Maybe to that other planet Duke Richard says he mentioned. Faba shrugged. So what if he does? Adventurer won't obey our commands. At least not yet. But the ship is alive, and we can board her. King David can put experts aboard, and with or without the thinking machine, we'll find the weapons we need to reunite Haven; and eventually our experts will learn enough to gain control of that thinking machine. Haven, united once more, will someday send out its own starships!

  ********

  It started with an emergency call from Terry Havens over her comm bracelet.

  "Jerd!" Her voice was excited, but obviously under tight control. "The supply airship landed, but it wasn't full of supplies. It carried what we estimate to be fifty armed troops. They're fanning out throughout the Zone. What do you want us to do?"

  "I've been expecting something like this, Terry," I replied, "and I've made arrangements. Don't resist. Just accept anything they say. Demand to be allowed to report to your government, and so on, but just pretend to accept whatever they tell you. Don't give them an excuse to get rough. And don't worry about keeping me posted. I'll be watching from here."

  She nodded. "All right. I hope you know what you're doing." she clicked off.

  I shook my head, "I do, too, Terry," I muttered under my breath. "Lisa," I said in a louder tone. "The compound has been invaded. Try to get me an image of the leader, and try to identify him, if you can."

  "Yes, Captain," Lisa replied crisply. "The leader and twenty-five armed men have approached the Duty Lander. Should I have the robot pilot secure the airlock?"

  I shook my head. "No, they'd just damage the lander trying to pry it open. I think I know what they're up to. They seem to have reason to believe they can fly the lander. Just watch what they do and keep me posted. If the lander actually lifts off, let me know immediately. Now, though, I want you to connect me with Ollie's tablet on Adventurer."

  "Yes, Captain." She used the emergency signal, so it took only moments for Ollie's startled face to appear above my tablet.

  "Ollie," I said urgently, "armed men have taken over the Zone, and they seem to be headed this way. We've talked about this; sound the evacuation alarm, and get our people off that ship! I want to see Adventurer emptied in less than an hour. And make sure you get a complete head count. Duke Richard's agents might try to interfere and delay you, so watch for stragglers trying to hide out. Make sure everyone knows that in one hour , life support will shut down, and Adventurer will begin pumping all her atmosphere into the storage tanks.

  "It will take them more than two hours to get here and match orbits, especially since they'll have an inexperienced pilot. I want all our people on their way down to Haven well before that. I'm planning to ask Heidi to help you. I suggest you give her the second lander; we don't want anyone hurt. But get everyone off that ship!"

  Ollie nodded soberly. "Will do, Jerd." I heard Adventurer's emergency alarm sound in the background. "I'll let you know when we launch," he continued, "and I'll make sure everyone is aboard one of the landers, even if they have to be carried!" He shook his head with a sour smile. "I knew those drills would pay off!"

  For several weeks we had been running regular evacuation and even suit drills. In our last drills, we had evacuated everyone, including workmen and the entire hydroponics crew in less than thirty minutes. Despite interference from Duke Richard's agents, I was certain Ollie would be able to launch in less than an hour.

  I disconnected from Ollie and called Heidi. She was aboard Adventurer, too. It seemed that Duke Richard's timing was remarkably bad. Or maybe remarkably good, from his point of view. Normally Heidi accompanied me everywhere, even in space. But Ellie and I had been growing closer and closer, and romance was beginning to blossom. I had invited Ellie to a VR concert of El-Takeri's classic Ancient Symphony, with its homage to the first-century "rock" form. It's an exciting and moving piece, and I was certain Ellie would enjoy it even more in a concert hall with a "live" orchestra, a 'normal' venue for her. Heidi had decided to stay behind, a knowing smile on her face. We were in the midst of the third movement with its slow, sensuous beat, when Terry called. At any rate, Duke Richard seemed to have managed to attack during one of the few times Heidi wasn't with me.

  "I'll be right over," Heidi said when explained the situation.

  I shook my head. "No, Heidi, not this time. It's running time, not fighting time. I want you to help Ollie with the evacuation. Keeping Duke Richard's people from getting aboard Adventurer has to be our highest priority. I'd like you to provide security. Protect him, and help his people round up any New Home holdouts.

  "Get into the safe in Ollie's office and clean it out. The landers won't be landing at the Zone this time, and I want to make sure that every one of our people has at least a hundred crowns to get them home or back to the Zone. You and Ollie can pass out the money on the way down. Ollie's in charge, of course, but I'd like you to take charge of one of the landers, while Ollie runs the other one. Lisa will send your lander to Cellia, and Ollie's to Westin. We've had landing sites picked out for a while, now. They're each away from the capital cities, but close to a town with a rail line and regular airship service.

  "It's hideout time, Heidi. As soon as you ground, do your best to disappear. You know Cellia, and you're an experienced agent. Just go underground. That's what we're going to do."

  Heidi looked doubtful, but after a moment, she nodded. "All right, Jerd. Bu
t how will you get away?"

  "I'm working on that. We're sure to be seen leaving Startrader. But I'll work it out. You get busy helping Ollie. Oh, and feel free to use any of my 'safe houses'." I shrugged. "You're an experienced agent, Heidi, you know what to do better than I do. And we'll still have communications. Lisa is leaving a satellite in orbit that will keep our ultraradio operating. So, if you need anything, you can call."

  She snorted, but her expression was troubled. "I think you're the one who'll need help. If you do, just call. Maybe we can arrange to meet up somewhere."

  I shook my head. "No, Heidi, that's the last thing we want to do. If one of us is being followed, they can grab us all. Just hide out until the dust settles. That's what Ellie and I are going to do."

  She looked doubtful. "All right, Jerd. Now I'd better get going. I have to change out of this shipsuit before we leave, and you're right, it's already a madhouse over here." She sighed. "Good luck, Jerd."

  I forced what I hoped was a confident smile. "And good luck to you, Heidi."

  I was proud of Ellie. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she listened to Terry's call. By the time I'd given Terry her instructions, though, her expression was grim, her chin firm. She listened through my calls to Ollie and Heidi and nodded.

  "What do you want me to do, Jerd?" She asked calmly.

  I sighed. "Well, for now, I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me. Startrader will be heading out to the asteroid belt, but we won't be aboard her. Gather all of your clothes and anything else portable that you think you'll need, and meet me on the landing deck. Time is short; we have to launch when Ollie does. We need the observers on Haven to think there are three workboats, not two. Don't worry, Ellie, I'll make sure you're safe, but you might have to go underground for a while."

  She nodded. "I'm not worried, Jerd. I know you'll protect me."

  I frowned. "Well, I'm worried, but all we can do is follow the plan."

  I took a deep breath. I might be about to set off Haven's first worldwide war. But I had no choice. I took a deep breath and keyed the emergency signals of the six tablets given to the heads of state. Ada Curran of Westin and President Runtz of Cellia responded immediately. King David's tablet was answered by a courtier. I coldly demanded that the tablet be delivered to the King immediately; that this was an emergency.