by Britt Ringel
The system plot on Heskan’s console indicated Hussy was cruising at .17c, though at a price. The engineering summary screen displayed gauges that were all in a yellow zone, bordering on red. It was obvious the CT-B20 drives and accompanying inertial dampers were operating at maximum. Hussy’s tiny power core was also flirting with overload. We’ll drop back to standard cruise after the dive, Heskan promised himself. Also alarming was the rate at which the core was burning through her power cells to feed the increasing hunger of the freighter’s inertial dampers. He glanced at the dormant Phot0-Sail status display. When those cells give out, we won’t be able to use the Allison drives at all. We’ll be stuck with only her sail for propulsion.
Heskan looked over his console to his navigator. “Diane, we can’t run the Allisons forever at this rate.”
Her head bobbed as she said, “I know, Captain. I’ve been studying very hard on the sail’s operation. It’s going to be touch and go for a while though; I’ve never used this type of sail before. The masts are horizontal instead of vertical, the smartlines rotate…” Selvaggio shook her head with uncertainty.
“Well, you have until tunnel space to figure it out, Lieutenant,” Heskan warned. “I’m fine with using conventional propulsion in n-space but we have to conserve fuel somewhere and since we’re speed-limited in t-space anyway, that’s the best place to use the sail.”
“Aye, sir. Just realize the ship may wallow or rock a bit when we start out. The compression in t-space makes it difficult to ride solar pressure.”
“Just so we’re moving forward, Diane,” Heskan stated.
Diane snorted lightly. “I can do that, Captain. I’m just concerned about fouling a smartline and tumbling the ship when I start. Sailing is as much an art as it is a science.”
“Uh,” Truesworth’s voice, thick with concern, uttered, “tumble the ship?” He crawled out of his station’s console.
Diane nodded. “Yeah, Jack. This freighter has a square rig and if I screw up bad enough, I can wrap the lines around the topgallant or topsail, which will cause an imbalance in our propulsion. Since the masts attach to our sides instead of dorsal and ventral, Hussy will basically start yawing uncontrollably if I don’t de-energize the sails in time.”
Truesworth shot Selvaggio a horrified look. She merely shrugged confidently as she explained, “If you do that with most ships, they call it a pitch-pole because the ship actually flips forward onto her bow. I’m not sure what the nautical term for doing it with a lateral sail is.”
Ensign Gables, sitting at the auxiliary station, offered, “We call it a flat spin in a fighter.”
Selvaggio nodded and winked at the ensign. “You insecure pilot-types have to have your own names for everything. At any rate, I’m pretty sure I can’t throw Hussy into a flat spin.”
“I would prefer not to find out,” Heskan declared. “Diane, are you really that worried about controlling Hussy under sail?”
Selvaggio looked at Heskan. “Not terribly. I was just stating the worst-case scenario. I’ve piloted lateen and fore-and-aft rigs on ketches before, Captain.” Her assertive smile bespoke of a person with a growing reserve of self-confidence. “I’m good at the helm, sir. I’ll learn this.”
Heskan nodded once to affirm her statement and then leaned into his chair. What a difference in Diane, he considered. She’s really blossomed.
Behind him, the bridge door slid open and Vernay entered. “Lifeboat and pressure suit are ready, Captain.”
Heskan scanned the system display. Ten minutes until we reach the tunnel point and no queue at the Titan buoy. “Let’s get Jennings into the boat.”
* * *
Starzy Sierzant Vidic shoved Jennings through the small hatch leading to Hussy’s port lifeboat. The agent’s head clipped the top of the low-hanging doorsill with an audible thunk.
“Watch your head, ‘Vic,” Vidic cautioned belatedly.
Jennings turned inside the small lifeboat and stared menacingly at the Hollaran marine. “This isn’t over, Hollie. I’ll hunt you down and when I do, you’ll wish I had blasted this freighter into fragments.”
Vidic retreated slowly from the portal and Heskan appeared. Jennings started to move toward him but was stopped by the sight of an M-41. “I’d prefer not to use this,” Heskan stated.
Jennings shot pure malice from his eyes. “You can never run far enough, Commander.”
“I’m leaving the Republic, Jennings,” Heskan said. “You’d be smart to let me.” He looked intently at the I.S. agent. “I know more secrets about the Republic than you can possibly imagine. The Parasites… ask Brewer if he wants his plan leaked to the entire universe.”
Heskan looked down and reflected briefly. “It’s madness, by the way, Jennings. You have to convince him not to press forward with it. The Parasites aren’t cattle you can simply herd from one place to the next. They’ll spread across all of humanity.”
“The secretary knows what he’s doing,” Jennings argued.
“Not in this case, and if you chase Hussy I’ll make sure every citizen knows about the Parasites and what the secretary is plotting,” Heskan vowed. “And it’s not just the Parasites.” Heskan stared coldly at Jennings as he threatened, “Ask Brewer if he wants Praxidike out of the bag.” He firmly repeated over Jennings’ confused expression, “I want you to tell Brewer that I promised I’d spill my guts about Praxidike if a system defense ship so much as thrusts in our direction. Do you hear me?”
Jennings remained silent while Heskan continued. “Let this sleeping dog lie, Aaron. I haven’t yet and I never will hurt the Republic… if you let us slip away.”
Heskan reached up to the control panel and the portal slammed shut. Seconds later, automatic thrusters fired and the lifeboat was pushed from the side of the freighter. Heskan activated a second button on the panel and said, “Stacy, commence our dive to Titan.”
Chapter 11
Hussy’s tunnel drive activated and the freighter entered and exited the Type B tunnel simultaneously. The shift in physics caused Heskan to clutch the vertical handrail next to the lifeboat evacuation portal as his stomach twisted into knots. He swallowed fiercely until his vision cleared and he could support his own weight again. Shaking off the last of the nausea, he reached the stairwell and climbed toward the upper half-deck. Once at the top, he took less than half a minute to return to the bridge.
Hussy’s system plot displayed a mass of chaos centered on Titan’s G6V yellow star. Of the six planets extending outward, two were inhabitable outright and a third planet’s surface was dotted with multiple domed cities. While the domed planet was nearly the size of Terra herself, the two fully habitable planets were considered “super-earths.” Yama and Yami, each roughly three times the size of Terra, supported ecosystems suitable for humans. Past the three planets and beyond a mineral-rich asteroid belt resided the gas giants of Titan. The sixth and final body from Titan’s star was a gas dwarf with a strong enough gravity well to heat two of its moons through tidal forces and radiation belts, permitting numerous energy farms on their surfaces. Orbiting well past her planets, Titan hosted numerous Type A tunnel points and multiple, priceless Type B tunnel points. The planets, moons, asteroid belt and tunnel points united to make the Titan system one of the most important systems in all of human space. If the Bree system was the soul of the Republic, Titan was its beating heart.
Scattered around Titan’s natural features, nearly five hundred ship beacons pulsed on Hussy’s system plot. Course lines extended from their sterns to clutter the display to near unreadability. Civilian ships dominated the space lanes in the form of freighters transporting goods between tunnel points and local commerce vessels shuttling between planets. Other commercial traffic, ranging from pleasure craft and transports to ore extractors and maintenance ships, augmented the countless ship markers illuminated on the plot. Sprinkled intermittently among the plethora of beacons, dozens of system defense ships policed the travel lanes and maintained order over what appe
ared to be unreserved anarchy.
Hussy rotated in-system to follow the standard commercial traffic pattern and glided noiselessly past the two mammoth citadel defense forts holding stoic vigil near the Anthe tunnel point.
Heskan displaced Vernay at the captain’s console and ordered, “When we clear the exit pattern, make best course for the Bree tunnel point, Diane.”
Selvaggio’s hand faltered over her controls. “Uh, sir, if you want the most efficient course to Bree then we should head to Lysithea.”
Heskan cocked his head to one side. “What?”
“Best course to Bree from Anthe is a dive to Lysithea and then a dive to Bree,” she explained. “Here…”
Heskan watched Hussy’s main screen flicker and change to a blank star chart of the Republic’s “northern” sector.
“We’re here,” Selvaggio stated and a pinpoint of light strobed in the space next to the Anthe tunnel point in Titan. “If we go directly to the Bree tunnel point in Titan, that’s a distance of sixty-seven light-minutes. However, if we travel to the Lysithea tunnel point, we only have to travel thirty-three light-minutes.” Time and distance played out on the wall screen simulation before Selvaggio continued. “Both tunnel points are Type B so they’re instant dives. The distance between the Titan tunnel point in Lysithea and the Bree tunnel point is thirty-one light-minutes, plus the instant dive into Bree.”
Heskan, still slightly confused, asked, “So, we end up saving ourselves…” Thirty-three light-minutes plus thirty-one light-minutes with the two jumps versus sixty-seven from Titan straight to Bree. “…this saves us three light-minutes travel time? Is that right, Diane?”
“Yup,” Selvaggio confirmed, “and it’s even better than that. If we’re headed to Thalassa or New London, we’ll actually dive into Bree closer to both of those tunnel points than if we entered from Titan.” She zoomed in on Bree’s system chart to prove her statement. “We’ll save even more time there.”
“New London, that’s where we’re headed,” Vernay said.
“Then this course is forty-two light-minutes shorter or…” Selvaggio rapidly typed into her console. “About four hours and forty minutes faster.” She spun in her chair to look proudly at her captain.
Heskan’s eyebrows shot up. Four and a half hours! Why the hell is the captain charting the course instead of using his resources properly and delegating the job to his obviously qualified navigator? “Diane, I’m sending you our entire route. Please feel free to demonstrate to Hussy’s captain why he should let the navigator navigate.”
Selvaggio laughed pleasantly. “It’s okay, Captain. Stellar navigation can be counterintuitive. It’s one of the few instances where the shortest distance between two points isn’t always a straight line.”
Heskan nodded. She’s come a long, long way. A year ago, I was the one bolstering her confidence. Now, she’s consoling me! Heskan chuckled inwardly at the reversal. “Navigator, take me to New London. Make your speed point one-five-C.”
“Aye-aye, Captain,” Selvaggio replied with a smile. “Estimated time to the Lysithea tunnel point is three hours and forty minutes. Jack, can you send our dive request to the Lysithea tunnel point control, please. The sooner we get in the queue, the better.”
Off to his right, Heskan heard Truesworth crack, “Aye-aye, Queen Navigator of the Universe. I humbly serve you.”
* * *
Brewer growled in frustration when his datapad chirped with yet another of Neal’s comm requests. He batted the face of the datapad and answered tersely, “What now?”
“Mr. Secretary, they’re gone!”
“Who’s gone?” Brewer asked.
“The prisoners, sir. When I returned to the orbital, I checked in with surveillance to see how the search for Truesworth was going and then walked down to the cargo bay. Everyone’s gone.”
Brewer shook his head. “Did you think to check the confinement facility?”
“Yes, they didn’t return there. I can’t find them and neither Heskan nor Jennings is answering his datapad.”
Brewer felt the first twitches of concern. He rapidly initiated comm requests to both of his missing resources. “Are there signs of a fight, Neal? Did the Hollarans break out?” Both comm requests remained unanswered. Brewer sent an override code to activate Jennings’ datapad remotely. It did not acknowledge his command.
“Negative, Mr. Secretary. Everyone is just missing!”
Brewer read the borderline panic in his assistant’s voice. “Don’t get hysterical, Jackson. They couldn’t have just disappeared. There’s a logical explanation for this. Did you check inside the cargo containers for any clues?”
“The containers are gone, Mr. Secretary. Everything is gone!”
Palpable dread washed into Brewer’s stomach. He was out of his chair between heartbeats and headed for the door. “I’m leaving Pallene immediately. Transfer me to the surveillance team so I can have them start searching for Jennings and Heskan. I’ll be aboard the orbital in twenty minutes. Meet me in Surveillance.” Brewer quashed the connection as he reached the elevator.
* * *
The shuttle ride to the orbital was accomplished in record time. Brewer entered the I.S. surveillance control room at a speed much faster than his age would suggest was possible. During his ride out of Pallene’s atmosphere, he ordered the orbital’s control tower to forward copies of their logs from the last eight hours, well before the beginning of the morning’s events.
He sat down with an audible huff and asked between panting breaths, “What have you found?”
Neal towered over an I.S. computer spook, his complexion a stark white and his eyes wide open as if he had seen a ghost. “This,” his assistant croaked out and pointed to a monitor.
On screen, the image of the Heskan-Jennings brawl played out. Heskan then pushed the agent at gunpoint into a container before returning to the control room to don a pressure suit. Several minutes later, the cargo bay camera footage revealed Heskan assisting while a freighter crane pulled both containers from the bay.
A single obscenity tumbled from Brewer’s mouth. He looked toward the deck and added, “Damn you, Garrett. After everything I’ve given you.” He pointed to the panel while locking eyes with Neal. “Find out what ship that is.”
Every person inside the room moved as if cracked by a whip. During the flurry of activity, Brewer placed both elbows on his station and his head in his hands. “Contact tower control,” he mumbled. “I want the records to their Class B control space, everything around the orbital. Once we have that ship’s I.D., I want to know everything about it. Who owns it, where it is now and where it’s headed.”
“On it, Mr. Secretary,” an agent answered timidly.
Next to him, Neal stated, “We have a corvette docked at the orbital. I need permission to invoke the Emergency Powers Act so I can order it to cast off.” He scanned a side monitor and added, “There’s another one inbound for the orbital, only ten light-minutes away.”
“Consider it invoked, Mr. Neal,” Brewer proclaimed. “This is a grave matter of Republic security. I will speak to each of the ‘vette’s captains personally if they make the unfortunate choice to resist your commands.”
An agent at a side station cried triumphantly, “Got her! The freighter’s I.D. is CSV Hussy.”
“Which corporation?” Neal asked.
“United Services Corp, sir. That’s in the Eris corporate system.”
The news did not surprise Brewer. A good percentage of freighters that operated inside the Republic flew “flags of convenience” belonging to corporate systems that offered more generous financial incentives and less restrictive operating standards than Bree. “Where is she now?”
The agent was rapidly fast-forwarding through the controller’s logs. “She headed for the Titan tunnel point… reached it...” The agent sighed before saying, “Dove out nearly five hours ago.”
Brewer stared at the monitor in mute rage.
Neal broke the unco
mfortable silence. “The inbound corvette is forty-five light-minutes from the Titan tunnel point. We could send it back there.”
“Why?” Brewer snapped angrily. “Corvettes can’t dive.” After several moments of consideration, Brewer sighed in resignation. “No, we’ll either have to transmit an alert using the militarized folders embedded in the standata or go after him ourselves.” Brewer pushed himself out of his chair and motioned for Neal to follow.
Walking down the deserted corridor, Brewer stated, “Jackson, I’m leaving this wretched system. Prepare Envoy-Three to cast off the moment I board.”
Neal nodded obediently and asked, “Where are you headed now, Mr. Secretary?”
“I want a look at Garrett’s hotel room. I won’t be long.”
“Sir,” Neal said, “Do you think Agent Jennings is still alive?”
Brewer huffed slightly. “Why would he be? No, he’s floating in space somewhere between this orbital and the tunnel point.” He shrugged dismissively. “No matter, pawns can be easily replenished.”
A long pause took hold between the pair before Brewer said, “The real question is how I word the alert and if I allow it to travel past the Titan system.”
Neal stumbled to a stop and looked gravely at his superior. “You mean, let it flow into Bree?”
“Precisely,” Brewer confirmed. “I’m pleased you understand the significance of that. Pawns might be routinely sacrificed to protect bishops but even the bishops become expendable when the queen is endangered.” Brewer felt chills run down his spine.
Neal’s face tightened as he added, “And Madam Minister has never hesitated to protect herself.”
Chapter 12
“Captain, we’re cleared to dive,” Truesworth announced.
About time, Heskan grumbled to himself. They had been waiting impatiently almost twenty minutes in Titan for their turn to tunnel to Lysithea. As a military captain, Heskan was accustomed to his ships taking priority over civilian traffic. Now, as a lowly freighter, he was forced to wait for what felt like an eternity in powerless silence, contemplating what he feared was trailing them. “Announce and dive, Diane,” he ordered.
