The announcement chime rang, and Leri sighed as she resumed her station. Duty always seemed to interrupt the best thoughts at the worst times.
She pushed the button announcing her readiness and was surprised when Exeter scuttled back in. Surely he had not been gone long enough to –
“My apologies for the delay, Proctor,” Exeter said with a sincere clack, “but communications being what they are, it took more time than I had hoped to make the arrangements.”
“The guarantees?” Leri asked, unwilling to believe that he had accomplished his mission so quickly.
“Ah, here,” Exeter said as he reached under his carapace and pulled forth a small black folder. “A facsimile of course, but I will deliver the original at our next meeting.”
Leri took the folder and opened it. The folder exploded. Dark fumes filled the chamber. Leri lunged for the floor, desperate for methane.
The lights dimmed. Her thoughts faded as someone…who someone? Someone dragged her into blackness.
◊ ◊ ◊
As the Nazzarone settled into orbit around Tomottac, Delightful Childe praised his crew and thanked the gods that they had arrived before the penalty date. When their landing clearance arrived, he would prepare his report for Complete Center, confirm the disposition of his cargo, and begin to think about the future.
The message terminal beside him flashed with a priority notice and Delightful Childe flinched. The last thing he needed was some checkdroid sending him a priority message. With great reluctance he opened the terminal for reception and watched the message splat onto the viewer like the droppings of an ill gummer.
The message was in basecode, so it was with even greater reluctance that he placed the sixth finger of his left hand on the recognition plate and touched the decoder key.
What he read stunned him. The message was written in the spare prose only a communicator could love.
Dispose of all cargo immediately.
Return to Oina.
Conflict is imminent.
Acknowledge without reference.
He whispered a curse in Vardequerqueglot, then asked himself the most important question the message failed to answer. Conflict with whom?
The Oinaise, like the Castorians, the Verfen, and the despicable Cloise with their Isthian symbiotes were determinedly neutral. So who could they possibly be in conflict with? Or could this be some delayed message referring to the war between Sondak and the Ukes?
Delightful Childe checked the universal date. No, this message was less than five extracts old. The checkdroid he had spoken to seventeen extracts before had not only known about the Uke-Sondak war, he had even passed on the new name for the latest insanity between the humans. Called it the Double Spiral War, as though the whole galaxy were involved.
Conflict is imminent.
The phrase hung in Delightful Childe’s mind like a dark stain on the white vestments of Oina’s future. The command to acknowledge without reference only made the stain darker and more loathsome. It meant that Oinaise neutrality might be jeopardized by any reply which mentioned the supposed conflict, and that meant someone, somewhere – someone with the worst intentions had access to the basecode.
Delightful Childe shivered once, then again.
What was happening to everyone? Why this sudden belligerence from all sides of the galaxy? Had no one learned anything from the last war? It was not totally surprising that the humans could not learn from their past mistakes, but Delightful Childe expected much better things from his own people. There was something wrong here – something dreadfully wrong.
After reading the message one more time, almost daring to hope that there was a hidden meaning he had missed, Delightful Childe erased it from the screen. There was no hidden meaning, no disguised release from this dreadful news that might relieve the anxiety he felt. Conflict is imminent.
But wait, he thought suddenly, if someone had access to basecode, might not they have sent the message?
It only took a moment for him to reject that thought. Who would have anything to gain from such an action? Surely neither Sondak nor the U.C.S. would profit by sending the Oinaise home. Both had controlled all the neutrals very effectively in the last war, although Sondak had been perhaps more efficient than the U.C.S. But both governments had sworn not to use the neutrals in any future conflict. Then again, they had also agreed there would be no future conflicts.
Just as he decided to suspend his questions, the message terminal flashed with a second priority notice. Delightful Childe winced, then opened the terminal again. This message was also in basecode, and he was surprised at the anger he felt when he fingered the decoder.
Conflict has been initiated.
Oina attacked.
Return with caution.
Acknowledge without reference.
Delightful Childe stared at the message in anger and amazement. Who would dare attack Oina?
Without hesitation he called communications. “Notify Tomottac that we must land immediately to make emergency repairs,” he said curtly.
“Yes, sir,” came the automatic reply.
Next he called the loadmaster. “Prepare to jettison all non-military cargo as soon as possible after landing,” he said quickly, “and do not worry about receipts.”
“But Senior Merchant, we must –“
“Do as ordered!” Delightful Childe cut the contact before his well-meaning loadmaster could respond. This was no time to worry about rules or to abide insubordination. If Oina had indeed been attacked, Nazzarone’s place was at home, not here serving the humans who had precipitated this outrage.
Someone had attacked Oina! It was incredible! So was the growing heat of hatred and revenge that simmered under Delightful Childe’s heart.
◊ ◊ ◊
General Mari read the latest Joint Chiefs situation reports without expression, but his gut churned in anger and fear. In addition to Cczywyck, Fernandez, Umboolu and Ca-Ryn systems, the Ukes had taken the Pierce system, the Ivy chain, and both water planets around Thayne-G.
BORFLEET was stretched beyond its limits fighting skirmishes along two hundred million tachymeters of space, each of its elements totally vulnerable to even half a normal Uke battle group.
What Mari couldn’t understand was why the Ukes had spread their attacks over such a wide area. Oh, he knew that all the systems they had taken were ones to which the U.C.S. had traditionally claimed sovereignty, but they could have taken any of them whenever it pleased them. Why were they taking them all at once? What did they believe they were getting from that?
None of the BORFLEET patrols had encountered overwhelming Uke forces, but rather the commanders seemed to be consistently reporting facing enemy groups just sufficiently larger than Sondak’s to ensure either victory or Sondak retreat. Per instructions from the Joint Chiefs, Sondak’s patrols had retreated, but none of the commanders were too pleased with that. Along with the situation reports came their requests for permission to engage the Ukes in decisive battles.
Mari shook his head sadly and felt the knot tighten in his stomach. Sondak could not afford such decisive battles. And part of that was his fault. It was he who had led efforts to trim the services, decommissioning many able ships in order to save credits for other uses, because he had been convinced that Sondak would have sufficient warning to strengthen the fleets should the Ukes again indicate signs of hostility.
Suddenly he understood what Frye Charltos was doing with his Uke forces and an involuntary smile crept to Mari’s lips. “Get me Admiral Gilbert,” he said into his vidcom.
As soon as Gilbert came on the line, Mari said, “Have you seen the latest situation reports, Josiah?”
“Yes, sir, I have.”
“What are your thoughts on the Uke actions?”
“They confirm what I’ve suspected, General. Charltos is reinforcing his perimeters.”
“Exactly. Every one of those outer systems they take and garrison now will provide a strong point in thei
r defenses that we will either have to bypass or attempt to capture later.”
“Agreed, sir. And if we bypass any of those systems, we could never be sure that our rear and flanks were secure.”
“But if we attack them, the Ukes would be able to slow any counterattack, system by system – and maybe stop us cold. All at minimal cost to themselves.”
“It fits the Charltos pattern,” Gilbert said. “That’s one of the reasons our defense of Matthews system is so important.”
“I still question that, Admiral,” Mari said quietly. “Looks more and more to me like the Ukes are preparing for defense rather than offense. By your own admission –“
“Begging your pardon, sir, but just because they’ve taken the perimeter systems does not mean they are ready to fall back into defensive mode. Revenge is still a big part of their code, and we would be foolish to forget that.”
Mari reddened. “Are you suggesting, Admiral, that I might need some basic instruction in –“
“I’m not suggesting anything personal, sir – just pointing out the situation as I see it. It seems imperative to me –“
“We’ll talk about this later, Admiral,” Mari cut the connection before Gilbert could add anything else and cursed silently. Gilbert was one of those people who fostered the inferiors in the service and should have been drummed out after his insane proposal of alliance with the Castorians. It was bad enough that this war was all wrong without allowing sloppy thinkers like Stonefield and Gilbert to make it worse.
The Ukes were building for defense, not offense. That was obvious. Consequently, it was foolish to send the heart of Sondak’s forces to defend Matthews system from an attack which would never come. The thing to do was to pick the weakest point in the Uke defense and strike there – hard.
Mari pulled out his scribblepad and started making a list. It was time to call in some favors and make sure that Gilbert and Stonefield and their friends did not continue to get everything they wanted. With the forces allocated for the defense of Matthews, Mari could put together a strike force that might throw the Ukes off stride. But if he was going to do it, there was no time to be wasted.
12
FRYE CAUGHT HER WHEN SHE SLIPPED on the thick carpet and pulled her close. Then suddenly he wanted her, wanted to feel her skin under his fingers, to kiss every inch of her and smother her in his lust.
Instinctively he kissed her. Without hesitation she pressed her body fiercely against his and kissed him back, and just as suddenly he knew she wanted the same thing.
There was no tenderness in their passion, only a desperate race toward fulfillment as they struggled out of their clothes and fought for a closeness that was too soon blown away in the explosions of their locked bodies.
When his thoughts returned, Frye looked at her tranquil face, her delighted eyes, and he felt only waves of confusion and sorrow. “Melliman…I…”
“Shhh,” she whispered, putting a finger to his lips. “Don’t. Don’t say anything. I understand.”
Frye freed himself from her gentle embrace and rolled to his back. He shut his eyes, knowing that he did not understand and for the moment, did not want to understand what had happened.
Melliman pulled herself close beside him. “Just relax and listen to me,” she whispered. “You are one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever known. I don’t mean as an officer. I mean as a man. I respect you as both, but I love you as a man.”
“Uh…” he was unsure of what to say.
“Please, let me finish. I don’t want anything from you, sir, except your affection. I know I have no right to expect even that, but it would be unfair of me not to tell you how I feel, how I’ve felt for a long time. When I was first assigned to your staff…”
Frye heard her words, but they didn’t mean anything in the presence of the dark, swirling images which crowded his thoughts. He saw Vinita, young and vivacious, calling to him from the top of a hill, heard her voice whispering in his ear, felt her hand circling lightly over his body. He responded as he always had to her with tenderness and patience, using every part of his body to bring her to the highest peak of ecstacy.
Even as he fell a second time into the mindless joy of orgasm, he knew that he had not fooled himself, knew it was not Vinita he had made love to. But in that moment of release and oblivion when everything else in the galaxy dissolved into blindness, Frye Charltos the man did not care.
◊ ◊ ◊
“So where will you go?” Marsha asked sadly.
“Oina, I think.” Lucky put the last, tightly wrapped package in the bundle and answered without looking at her. “I need someplace quiet – someplace away from this damned war – and who knows, maybe Delightful Childe and I can set up some kind of freighting partnership.”
“I thought you didn’t like him?”
“Oh, he’s all right.” Lucky finished tying the small bundle and looked straight into her eyes. He felt like someone had put a restraining strap around his heart. “Besides, at least I don’t have to worry about getting emotionally involved with an Oinaise.” Looking down, he picked up the bundle and handed it to Marsha without meeting her eyes. “Here.”
“Stop it, Lucky,” she said as she automatically took the bundle. “That’s not fair.”
He paused before responding to her, feeling very vulnerable and full of caution. When he finally spoke, his voice was filled with a quiet, angry resignation. “Nothing’s fair in this universe, Mars. Not a damned thing. So what?”
“You know what.” She tried to tell him with her eyes as much as her voice, but the tears clouded her vision. “What is this?” she asked, hefting the bundle with one hand as she whipped the tears from her eyes with the other.
Lucky allowed himself a small smile. “That’s all your personal stuff – things that would have been yours, anyway – things I was going to give you.”
“But Lucky –“
“Take them. I don’t have any use for them. You might.” Lucky heard the strain in his voice and fought to relax it. “Now we’d better get you up to the Tongasuk.”
“This is a hell of a way to say good-bye,” she said in a tone that was half joking and half sullen. Her weak attempt at humor hid the raging sorrow she felt inside.
“Sure is, Mars. But it’s a hell of a war isn’t it?” His gaze rested on her eyes, and the strap around his heart tightened. “Take care of yourself, Mars, good care. I’m going to miss you.”
“Sure…for a while.” She managed a brief smile through a new wash of tears. “Then you’ll find some cute young spacer looking for adventure, and before you know what’s happened to you, you’ll have a new partner.”
“Yeah, maybe Delightful Childe knows some women who…”
Suddenly they were in each other’s arms with the bundle between them as they hugged each other with hungry desperation.
“I love you, Mars,” he whispered as he stroked her hair – afraid to abandon the touch of her – afraid to hold on. His eyes burned with dry pain.
“I love you, too. Oh, God, how I love you!”
Lucky took a deep breath and let it out very slowly, “We’ll look for each other?” He meant it as a statement, but it came out as a question.
“When it’s over,” she said with a gentle sob.
“Good. Tell your father I hate him.”
“I will.”
After giving her several quick kisses on her forehead, he pulled her tighter against him. He didn’t know what else to say. Finally he gently pushed her away and looked softly into her eyes. “You really need to go.”
She knew he was right, but she did not want to leave him. “Walk me up to the ship?”
“No, I don’t think so. I told Tongasuk I’d leave first. Seems your people don’t trust me. So as soon as you’re clear, I’ll be taking off.”
Without another word they walked arm-in-arm to the port, each caught in a personal web of sad thoughts, each snagged by possibilities of what might have been.
“I sw
ear, Lucky, I’ll –“
“Shhh,” he said putting a finger over her lips. “No more promises. After the war we’ll look for each other. That’s it. Okay?” He kissed her softly on the chin.
“Okay,” she said, moving her mouth to catch his lips.
Then she broke the kiss, turned and ran down the ramp. Moments later she disappeared around Graycloud’s side.
Lucky stared for a long minute at an empty landscape that danced with images of everything he and Marsha had shared. Then something violent snapped inside him, and the images disappeared. With a harsh slap he hit the lever to close the ramp and headed for the controls.
He wanted to be long gone before she reached the Tongasuk. He wanted her to watch him leave and feel as deserted as the center of his heart felt.
Let her stand there staring up at the thin air over Alexvieux watching Graycloud disappear into forever. Let her feel rotten, guilty, and miserable standing all alone on that wretched little planet. And let her cry in his dust as he would cry in the dust of the void.
◊ ◊ ◊
“Mr. Dawson, take a look at these,” Admiral Pajandcan said as she handed him a sheaf of messages. Despite his independent ways, she had learned to respect this dirtsider’s way of thinking. He had certainly made some basic improvements in their defense posture, and several of his suggestions had made her reevaluate her own concepts of defense. Anyone who made her think, even a civilian, couldn’t be all bad.
“Doesn’t look like they’re going to help much,” Dawson said quietly as he flipped through the last of the messages.
“You’re right about that, mister. The Joint Chiefs, and especially Admiral Gilbert, are convinced that the Ukes have spy ships in Matthews. If we start a buildup of supplies and personnel, the Ukes’ll know it, and they’ll know we suspect they’re going to hit us hard here. So the J.C.’s have decided to make us look like an easy target.”
“Wonderful,” Dawson said without irony as he handed the messages back to her. “I only get involved in the worst of situations.”
“But Mister Dawson, had we all the resources we needed here, we would not have needed you.” She hoped he would catch the levity in her tone, but from the expression on his face, she knew he hadn’t.
Double Spiral War Trilogy Page 13
