Warner was now desperate to explain what happened in the mess and a desperate person is never in a good bargaining position. He was a little unsure of how to start. He expected her to rail at him from the word go, but when she didn’t he felt even more worried. At least when she was angry, he knew where she was at.
Finally Warner couldn’t handle the silence any longer. “I know it looks bad and it’s not what you think.”
“Oh yeh, you bet it looks bad because that’s what it is.” Rihan couldn’t control the anger welling up inside nor the increasing volume of her voice. “Didn’t wait long, did you? Grab the first skirt that comes by and you didn’t seem bothered if it was in front of the Commodore either.”
“That’s not fair” Warner defended himself.
The bulkhead door opened and Adrian Turner stuck his head through, saw and heard the shouting match in progress. This time he decided to turn around and in disgust slammed the bulkhead door with a clang.
And for the first time that day, both Rihan and Dave laughed.
“I was wrong Rihan to jump to conclusions. I’m sorry.”
Rihan saw the anguish in Warner’s face and she felt guilty for abusing him.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I wasn’t fair to you.”
They embraced and kissed. Then kissed again and with the passion rising and the breathing getting faster and heavier Adrian Turner poked his head through the door again and said “Oh for heaven’s sakes Sir, Maam, I’ve got work to do!”
That broke them up and they all laughed.
Finally Turner suggested “How about I put up a partition here Sir?” Warner still holding Rihan nodded to Turner and said “Excellent idea.” And to Rihan “Don’t you think so?”
“Oh yes, I think so” and she kissed him again.
They were still kissing when Turner withdrew. Rihan’s hand had found its way down to Dave’s swelling groin.
“No, we can’t do this here” said Warner.
“Back to your cabin then” and she kissed him on the neck.
“No, we can’t. The Commodore.”
“Oh come on” pleaded Rihan. “I want to eat you up” and she bit him lightly on the neck just to prove her intent.
Warner finally pushed her away a little so he could look her in the eye. “We have to be careful, very careful. I told the Commodore we had broken it off.”
“Oh you didn’t, did you?” said a disappointed Rihan. The passion drained away.
“Sorry, but at the time it wasn’t looking good.”
Rihan leaned back on to the shelving behind her. “What are we going to do? We can’t go on like this. Well I can’t.”
“Until he’s off our case we’re going to have to. So the sooner we get this mission done and he returns to Earth the better.”
“But that could be, who knows how long, …days even.”
Warner nodded. But he couldn’t think of anything else.
“Why don’t you tell him you’ve changed your decision?”
“He’ll just quarantine us for this current mission and send one of us packing when we finish.”
“It’s so not fair” said Rihan.
Warner saw her despondency leaned forward and put her head to his shoulder and his arms around her. “It’ll work out my love. It always works out for the best in the end.”
Chapter 8. Hermes 0400, 11 May.
The alarm fired and Warner struggled to acknowledge it. He’d had less than five hours’ sleep and the emotions of yesterday had drained him. He rose, washed his face and meditated. He had to cut it short as they would be coming out of warp soon. But even the fifteen minutes had a beneficial effect. He only managed to still his mind for a minute but it was so peaceful. It nourished him, and as often happens at the end of the stillness a thought arose and he knew that he had to speak with Art before he left.
He dressed and went to Art’s room. He knocked and Art opened the door straight away. He was fully dressed and his kit was ready. “You got my message” Art queried. “I just wanted to make sure you knew the facts.”
“It’s alright. Art I owe you an apology. I’ve made up with Rihan. We’re good.”
A very relieved Art smiled. “You know in many ways you two are very much alike.”
“You mean in the stupid pig headed ways?” and he smiled.
“More than that Dave. In many good ways.”
“Thanks Art. Is there anything I can do for you before you’re off?”
Art sighed. “Nah. I’m good.”
“You’re not that keen about going in again are you.”
“It has to be done and I realise the importance of it. But I realised last night as I was preparing to go that I’ve lost that edge I used to have. It’s a dirty business that I’m in. I would like to feel clean again.”
Warner appreciated Art confiding in him but now he was worried. He knew that once you lose your edge you make mistakes and in this game that usually ended up badly.
“I hear you Art. But you must stay focussed. Lean on Sue Chalker. She’s as tough as nails. She’s sharp and she has edge a-plenty, too much sometimes. Get through this and then I’ll help you get out of this business. I promise.”
Art looked at Warner and was grateful for his friendship. “Thanks Dave. You’re a good friend.”
“I have to go Art. Good luck.”
“You too.”
Chapter 9. Hermes 0420, 11 May.
Aubrey Bellard had the watch as they came out of warp. The Commodore was there but even his presence didn’t disturb the smooth flow of events. There was a different atmosphere from last night. Everyone felt it. There had been no actions or words said other than the norm. Everyone in the command centre carried themselves with an air of professional competence. There were no interpersonal tensions. In fact people were actually smiling at each other.
Pious couldn’t believe the transformation at first but then he saw the XO steal a glance at her captain and he understood. There had obviously been a rapprochement between the two and this he had seen before too. Little surprised him these days. But nonetheless he was impressed by the effect it had and now had a better appreciation why this ship and its crew had pulled off the victory on Alpha Phi. He had his hands behind his back and was subconsciously nodding his head just a little but enough for it to catch the eye of Dave Warner.
To Warner, Pious looked pleased and that pleased him. For the first time in 48 hours Warner genuinely felt good about how things were going. Yes, the distractions were behind him. He could now focus his energies on the mission.
“Coming out of warp in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1” said Aubrey. The situational awareness check went like clockwork. No immediate threats and still no enemy sensors on the dark side. The warthog carrying Art and Sue was launched and Parinya at the controls eased it out into the early morning. She adhered to the planned route which was a more gentle run than their last. At 0443 she reported that the payload had been deposited and by 0515 she had returned without event.
There were no enemy bogeys nor warp detections in nearby systems. There was no excitement whatsoever. All was peaceful and on track. Warner looked over to the Commodore. He was deep in thought but he had a content look on his face. “Breakfast, Commodore?” asked Warner.
“Why yes thank you Commander” responded Pious. “XO, would you care to join us?” and turning to Warner “with your permission of course Commander.”
“Certainly Sir, I’d be delighted” Warner responded.
‘Of course you would’ thought Pious.
“Ms Bellard the ship is yours” said Warner and the three of them headed for the mess.
The smell of fresh coffee, toast and bacon pervaded the mess. Warner loved that smell. They sat down at the table. Cranky Jack took their orders. Ivan Kiralenko came into the ante chamber saw the Commodore at the table and decided he could wait for breakfast and made a hasty retreat.
Warner and Rihan waited for the Commodore to speak, which he did. “Well Commander I mus
t say I am impressed with the way things were handled this morning. Like a well-oiled machine. You and your crew are to be commended.”
Rihan was pleased. Warner was delighted. “Thank you Sir.”
“I take it that you two have come to terms?”
Warner first looked to Rihan and then back to the Commodore. “Yes Sir. I think we have.”
“Good. It shows, you know?”
Again Warner turned to Rihan and saw her slightly puzzled look and turned back to the Commodore. “Does it Sir?” he queried.
“Yes and its reflected in your crew’s performance, which I must say is a credit to you both.”
“Why thank you Sir” replied Warner.
“May it continue.”
“Yes Sir.”
“And with a bit of luck we may even see a lessening of demand for the services of both of you in Engineering” said Pious with a knowing smile.
“Right Sir” said Warner realising the game was up. “I think things are finally being resolved in Engineering.”
“Excellent. Ah…here’s our toast!”
Chapter 10. Niku 1100, 11 May.
Art and Sue had finally reached the suburbs of Niku. They had to walk the whole way from the landing zone, about 5 clicks. They were dressed in civies. Each was armed with a pistol but it was out of sight. Their aim was to reach a café that Art had used before as a meeting place with his source. He would then make contact and setup a meet asap.
Niku was the second largest city on Beta Phi. It had about four million people. It was very compact with high rise apartment blocks everywhere. In the early day the planners had agreed on the need to restrict the city radius so it could be more easily defended. But while that need had long passed everyone seemed content to go up rather than out.
The space port and base were located on the eastern side. With the war on, a security perimeter had been thrown around it that extended into the adjacent suburbs. Art knew that his source lived there and that they could not meet at his place. They had previously met at the café they were now approaching. It was on the ground floor of an apartment block. The entire ground floor was devoted to shops of various kinds. Opposite was a clothing store.
While Sue browsed the racks of clothes, Art sat down at the café and called his source. He worked not far away. He couldn’t come till lunchtime, say in an hour. Art didn’t want to hang around there till the meeting so they walked to another café a block away and got a bite to eat.
Sue was watching Art. She knew he was the professional and she the amateur. She would try and learn as much as she could from him. Art’s eyes were not moving but his focus was. He continually scanned the 120 degree arc in front of him. He never made large or sudden gestures. Everything was measured. She did likewise.
But she detected a tiredness in Art that wasn’t physical. In a low voice, but not a whisper, she asked “How’d you get into this?”
“Long story.” He didn’t seem in the mood to chit chat but she continued anyway.
“You were in special ops with Warner weren’t you?”
“Yeh.”
“So how did you go from there to here?”
“It’s not an unusual career path.”
She nodded. He wasn’t opening up. So she tried a different tack. “Do you prefer to operate on your own?”
“No, not really. It’s just that I’ve been on my own now for so long.”
“I thought you had someone with you on Josker?”
“Had...yeh.”
“What, no longer?”
“She was killed trying to help me escape. Just another waste of life.”
“Were you close?”
“Yeh we were” and Art turned his head a little, not looking at anything in particular but Sue could see that his focus was back on Josker. She didn’t interrupt. A minute passed and finally he turned back to her. “Don’t get too attached Sue. That’s the key. Well that’s what your boss keeps telling me anyway.”
“One hundred percent commitment, zero percent attachment?”
“Yeh that’s the one” and he actually smiled. Sue thought he had a nice smile. She smiled back.
“He keeps dropping these pearly words of wisdom at us during training.”
“Yeh he’s like that. We copped it big time in special ops. He was more zealous then.”
“Zealous?”
“About his spiritual path and his Guru. Thankfully, he’s mellowed a bit now.”
“But you got to admit he’s a good commander.”
“I don’t know about that. I haven’t actually served under him till now. But he is a good person, a good friend and you can’t ask for more than that.”
“Oh I don’t know. I think the XO does” and she gave him a wink.
Art just laughed. “Yeh, I reckon she does.” And Sue joined in.
They were laughing quite loudly by this stage and people had turned to notice.
“Come on. We better get out of here” said Art.
Chapter 11. Niku 1200, 11 May.
Sue went into the clothing store and pretended to browse while keeping her eye on the café. Art secured himself a table on the pavement out front, with his back to the window so he could see all who came and went. Sue having never met his source was waiting for Art to ID him.
Speaking quietly Art hailed Sue “Black suit 50 on right heading this way”.
“Roger I have eyes on.”
From here on there would be no conversation between them until it was over or some new development occurred or something went wrong.
Ivanov Gregorious, the man in black, was trying to look nonchalant but in fact was very wary. He was of average height. His business suit and good posture said establishment. His dark hair had been swept back but was now blowing forward with the breeze. He had blue eyes and high prominent cheekbones.
He spotted Art but did not acknowledge him at first. Instead he scanned the area thoroughly, walked past and then returned sitting down next to Art such that his back was partially against the window and he could see the entrance to the café. There was a little nod and then they started to talk as you would expect. The waiter came over and took their order – sandwiches and coffee. Again, nothing special.
Satisfied that the source wasn’t going to blow their cover, Sue’s attention now focussed up and down the street. All looked good. There were quite a few people about and more appeared onto the street as the lunch hour proceeded. But none paid any attention to Art nor looked suspicious. If they were watching, they were good.
Ivanov was a project manager with the Niku Council, which meant he had access to the Senior Council. His main job was in oversight of development plans. Niku was all about development, leastways prior to the war. A civil engineer by profession he had been on Beta Phi for five years now, having migrated with his wife and two kids from Polaris. He had come in search of big money working initially for one of the mining companies but his wife didn’t like the fact that he was always away at one site or another. So he chucked in the big bucks and opted instead for the security and convenience of a government job. He had worked for the Government before back on Polaris, so he came well qualified and was snapped up by the Niku Council. On a new colony planet a skilled professional was a sought-after resource.
When the Alliance systems declared independence from the Federation last year he thought long and hard about packing up and returning to Polaris. But his wife was happy here. The kids were in a good school. Her parents were here now. She had plenty of nice friends here. She was happy here. And if she was happy so was Ivanov. He was a family man at heart. His parents had brought him up with the view that family mattered most and it was this view, this principle that Art had used to manipulate him.
Ivanov’s parents and the rest of his family relations were all on Polaris. He wanted them safe but Art had pointed out that such safety came with a price. And so here he was again paying the price.
After a few introductory sentences Ivanov asked “So what is
it this time?”
“Do you still have access to the Senior Council?”
“Yes but I have to be careful.”
“Understood. Can you arrange for a meeting with the Council Head?”
“What?” he said incredulously and then added “With whom?”
“A senior Federation official.”
“For what purpose?”
“Talks?”
“About what. I’m going to need more than this.”
“Rapprochement.”
“Really?” a surprised Ivanov queried.
“Yes really” said Art.
“They won’t believe it. It’s not credible. Your fleet just wiped out our flotilla and destroyed our radar station on Alpha Phi. Why would you be now willing to talk peace?”
“Tell them we now know that they did not destroy New Hammersley.”
This news struck Ivanov like a freight train. “What?” he said loudly.
“Quiet” said Art.
“Sorry. Is that true?”
“Yes we have evidence that proves the Alliance could not have done it.”
“So what are we fighting for?”
“Exactly!”
But then the next logical thought step was taken by Ivanov. “Who did then?”
“We don’t know?”
“What do you mean you don’t know” said Ivanov, again raising his voice.
“Ssh!” said Art in a quiet measured tone.
“We don’t know. It wasn’t to the best of our knowledge a Federation attack. Why would it be after all?”
“Gelk?”
“No”
“Pirates?”
“They don’t have the capability. We’re talking at least a frigate sized ship here. And what would they gain by doing it?”
“Who then?”
“Who indeed?”
Ivanov was at a loss and looked around all over the place. Then it hit him. “Oh shit. There’s some other race out there setting us up for the chop.”
Art just nodded. Ivanov’s colour just drained out of his face. Art let it sink in for another minute. He suspected Ivanov’s mind was racing with the implications and what it meant for him and his family.
The Awakening: Book 1 of Warner's World Page 19
