The Stellar Death Plan (Masters of Space Book 1)

by Robert E. Vardeman

  You’re the man I’m looking for,” Kinsolving said, relief flooding through him. “Humbolt sent me.”

  “He did, eh?” Cameron smiled, his mouth flaring in the sunlight. Gold rimmed teeth and embedded reflecting gems made Kinsolving squint. Something about the mechanic made Kinsolving wary. His mouth alone carried more wealth than the vast majority of people on weary, worn Earth saw in a lifetime. But the manner more than the riches so ostentatiously displayed put Kinsolving on his guard.

  “Do you know what’s been happening at the mine?” he asked.

  The mechanic smiled even broader and shook his head. “Don’t care. I take my orders from the big boss. Whatever Mr. Humbolt says is law, far as I’m concerned.”

  This bothered Kinsolving even more. Cameron’s tone mocked, as if he knew something that no one else did.

  “Where’s the shuttle? It’s supposed to be ready for immediate takeoff.”

  “That one. See it? The one with the white steering fin?”

  “I see it,” Kinsolving said, “but it looks deserted. There’s no activity in the firing pit.” Before shuttle launch the heavy lasers required massive amounts of liquid nitrogen coolant. The plumes of condensation were vented to either side of the shuttle. During launch the plumes became so thick it appeared that the shuttle had developed a rocket thrust kicking up dust. Only when the vessel reached an altitude of a few hundred meters did the illusion vanish.

  “Told to keep everything quiet. You running from something?” Cameron cocked his head to one side, as if listening for more than Kinsolving’s reply.

  “Just follow Mr. Humbolt’s orders.”

  “Will do. Start hiking. By the time you get there, the pilot’ll be anxious to push the launch button.” Cameron pointed with the end of the wrench. Kinsolving started walking, only looking back when he’d gone a few paces.

  Cameron had vanished into the building. On impulse, Kinsolving reversed his path, stopping just outside the door. From inside he heard Cameron’s voice plainly.

  “Is it wrong to obey the law, Agent-Captain?”

  “No,” came a Lorr’s deep voice. “But why do you insist on obeying our law? This fugitive might have escaped. Are you a traitor to your own kind?”

  Cameron laughed. “No sir, nothing like that.” Kinsolving winced at the viciousness carried in those words. “But Director Humbolt ordered us all to obey your law to the letter. Said we’ve had enough trouble, and he wants to smooth out relations between the company and you … people.”

  “Shuttle twenty-three is the fugitive’s destination?”

  “That’s right. You can pick him up easily enough. He took off walking. Be a good ten minutes to get to the shuttle.”

  “When is your shuttle due to launch?”

  Cameron laughed louder. “Not for a week or more. Got a busted steering vane and a fused control circuit that looks like glass. Couldn’t lift if it had to.”

  Kinsolving looked around frantically. Cameron had betrayed him. Or had it been Humbolt? His mind raced, tiny pieces that had troubled him falling into a more coherent picture. Other than Humbolt’s arrival weeks ago, there hadn’t been any new IM personnel grounding on Deepdig. Cameron couldn’t have just come in, as he claimed. And Kinsolving knew most of the ground crew by name and the rest by sight from his many trips here to ferry the ore into orbit.

  It had to be Humbolt who betrayed him. He’d ordered him to seek out Cameron.

  Kinsolving ran to the vehicle and powered it up. If shuttle twenty-three wasn’t the one for him, another would do. Get off Deepdig, get into orbit, hijack Humbolt’s speedster and get away. Back on GT 4 things would look different. Humbolt might try to throw him to the Lorr in exchange for Ala Markken and the others, but Kinsolving thought he might be able to follow the spurious plan — and still come out a free man.

  The vehicle powered up, Kinsolving shoved the throttle forward to the maximum position. Acceleration slammed him into the cushions and caused a cloud of dust to rise from the tarmac. He rotated about the vehicle's vertical axis as he changed direction and headed for the far side of the launch field. The telltale plumes of nitrogen liquid turning to vapor came from beneath shuttle seventeen.

  But Kinsolving’s heart turned into ice when he saw that the shuttle didn’t prepare for liftoff. Technicians worked on the launch laser, testing its cooling system.

  “Hey, McKenna!” Kinsolving called to the head technician. “Are any of the shuttles ready to go up?”

  The woman peered up from her work. “Hi, Bart. Can’t say any are. Humbolt’s been riding us hard about routine maintenance ever since he grounded. Won’t be a launch for another week. You needing to get into orbit?”

  “Right now,” he said. The woman brushed back dark hair shot with strands of gray and shook her head.

  “No time soon. We do have a small shuttle to reach Humbolt’s speedster if he needs it. But it’ll take about six hours to launch.”

  “Not good enough,” he said.

  “What’s the hurry?”

  “Too many problems,” he said. “Say, do you know anything about the new mechanic? Cameron’s his name.”

  “Cameron? Never heard of him. Or do you mean Carmen? She’s over in shipping.” The woman smiled. “She’s still got it bad for you. She’d like nothing better than to console you about Ala.”

  “Can’t a man have any secrets in this place?” he said with mock anger. The sound of sirens turned him cold inside. “Got to run.”

  “Bart, wait. Are they coming after you? We can hide you in the laser pit.”

  “Can’t stay. If they ask after me, tell them everything.” Kinsolving slammed the throttle forward again. He didn’t want to get McKenna or any of her crew in trouble with the Lorr. That the aliens were racing across the tarmac with sirens blaring showed that they were on his trail.

  “Not much of a trail,” he muttered to himself as he weaved in and out of buildings and idled shuttles. Kinsolving worked at the wheel with grim concentration, but the Lorr inexorably narrowed the distance between vehicles. The fleeing human found himself circling about and returning to the same building where he’d met Cameron.

  A new determination filled Kinsolving. He’d never be able to elude the Lorr. Out on this prairie they could see him for kilometers and kilometers. But he might have a few minutes before they caught him.

  Those few minutes might be well spent beating the truth out of Cameron. The pleasure of breaking those gold-rimmed teeth appealed to Kinsolving in a savage way. It might not gain him anything — except needed emotional release — but he’d see.

  He killed the repulsor field and let the vehicle slide along the ground on its underside. Fat blue sparks leaped into space as metal tore off and the car crashed into the side of the building. Kinsolving exploded from the interior in time to get his feet. Cameron came from inside, a curious expression on his face.

  Kinsolving swung and connected with the man’s belly. Cameron doubled up, but the impact sent pain lancing all the way to Kinsolving's shoulder. It felt as if he’d struck a solid steel plate.

  “Wh-what’s wrong?” gasped Cameron.

  “You turned me over to the Lorr.”

  “No, no! You’ve got it wrong! I was only doing as Mr. Humbolt wanted. Part of the escape. Send the Bizzies in the other direction so you can escape.”

  Kinsolving noticed that Cameron used the derogatory term for the aliens that Humbolt and Ala Markken had. He said, “Not a single shuttle is ready to launch. I talked with the technicians.”

  “They aren’t in on this. Shuttle twenty-three’s ready! Did you check it?” Cameron straightened. Kinsolving saw nothing in the man’s face except for the glittering teeth and the cold, cold eyes.

  “No,” he admitted reluctantly.

  “Then — damn! The Lorr! There they come. Quick. Hide inside. I’ll try to decoy them away. Do it!”

  Kinsolving obeyed the sharp command. He ducked inside and pressed himself against the inner wall, listenin
g to what Cameron said to the alien police.

  “Kinsolving. Where is he?” demanded the Lorr agent-captain. Kinsolving heard the shuffle of alien feet as four others joined Cameron. For a moment there was only silence, then a loud shriek of pain echoed across the still launch site.

  Kinsolving hazarded a quick glance around the door. The agent-captain clutched his midsection, inhumanly bright crimson blood spurting around his snakelike fingers. His mouth worked to form another scream but death came first. He fell face forward onto the ground.

  “There he is!” cried Cameron, pointing. “He shot your captain!”

  Kinsolving got a quick glimpse of Cameron slipping a small tube into his coveralls. Then the doorway filled with angry Lorr out to avenge the death of their leader.

  Kinsolving struck out, fist hitting the first Lorr directly in the mouth. The alien stumbled back, momentarily blocking the entrance. Kinsolving reeled away, unsteady on his feet. He recovered enough to dive through a window, plastic cutting at his body as he went through. He landed heavily. For an instant Kinsolving wondered why he had trouble standing. The ground seemed unnaturally slippery.

  He saw a small puddle of blood from his own cuts had formed under his feet. He rolled to the side and got up. Behind him the Lorr shouted for him to halt.

  The world changed around Kinsolving. Time dragged. He turned to see Cameron standing to one side, an evil smile on his lips. Lorr comically tumbled from the building. The dead agent-captain lay on the ground, muscle contractions shaking him.

  Kinsolving felt as if he pushed through water to get to the Lorr vehicle. He dropped into the uncomfortable seat and slapped the throttle forward. The Lorr scattered as the car rocketed past them.

  Without a vehicle to pursue him, the Lorr were temporarily stranded. But Barton Kinsolving realized the reprieve would be brief.

  He had nowhere to go, no one to turn to.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Barton Kinsolving found it more difficult to control the Lorr vehicle than he’d thought. The controls didn’t respond properly and the seat was uncomfortable; it hadn’t been designed for a bulky human. Weaving and wobbling from side to side, Kinsolving decided that he had to abandon the vehicle. The Lorr might have a tracing device inside. He had no idea how the Lorr police might think. Did it ever occur to them that someone might steal their vehicle?

  He doubted it.

  Pulling to the side of the road, Kinsolving got out and stretched his cramped limbs. He looked around and knew that it would be minutes before they found him. But he wouldn’t surrender easily. He couldn’t. Cameron had murdered the agent-captain and placed the blame all too firmly on Kinsolving. If Ala Markken received forty years in a primitive cell for ore theft and tax evasion. Kinsolving didn’t want to think what the punishment would be for slaying a Lorr officer.

  Forty years of torture? Kinsolving shuddered at the idea. Earth might have problems competing with the stargoing cultures and seem barbaric in comparison, but criminals were treated humanely.

  Humanly; Kinsolving mentally corrected. The Lorr had their own ideas of punishment, and they didn’t seem to include rehabilitation. Did they execute those convicted of capital offenses? He had no idea, nor did he want to find out.

  Barton Kinsolving started hiking. On foot he had little chance against flyers and the repulsor-powered ground vehicles, but he might get lucky. How he had no idea.

  But he had to try.

  *

  “This is a sorry chapter in human-Lorr history, Agent-General. I assure you that Interstellar Materials is not responsible, that we will do all within our power to capture this dangerous renegade.” Kenneth Humbolt studied the Lorr officer to see if his lie had been accepted. It had.

  “We do not understand how such a heinous crime could be committed,” the Lorr said. “We do not slay each other. From all evidence, including the witness of your mechanic, this Kinsolving took a small explosive pellet weapon and fired it into the belly of the agent-captain.”

  Cameron nodded slowly, as if remembering a painful event in his life. “It was a silver tube, not twenty centimeters long. I heard a sound behind me, saw Supervisor Kinsolving in the doorway with it in his hand — and then he fired! There was only a small noise, then your officer doubled over holding his stomach.” Cameron smirked in spite of the sour look that Humbolt shot him.

  “What can we do to aid your search for him?” Humbolt asked.

  “You need do nothing. My surveillance teams hunt him now. They will find him.”

  Humbolt shifted nervously from one foot to the other. “Uh, Agent-General, it’s been several hours since you found the vehicle Kinsolving stole. Is there any progress in capturing him?”

  “We are not used to conducting such hunts. None in my command can remember one; I contacted my superior. She cannot remember such a search, either.”

  “I again offer the full Interstellar Materials equipment and personnel for your official use, Agent-General. My mechanic is skilled in many areas. Perhaps he could construct a robot able to find Kinsolving’s trail.”

  “Yes,” cut in Cameron, suddenly eager for the hunt. “I know of certain ways that ordinary robot maintenance machines can be converted to efficient hunters.”

  “How is this possible?” the Lorr asked, face contorting in thought.

  “Certain devices. Infrared scanners to follow heat imprints, footprints on the ground.”

  “This Kinsolving is hours gone.”

  “My sensors are capable of detecting a trail hours old.” Cameron almost lost his temper. Humbolt motioned him to silence. The assassin paid him no heed. “There are other devices. Scent detectors. The slightest pheromone profile is traceable, after days or even weeks. I’ve found men in the midst of huge cities.”

  “For what reason?” asked the Agent-General. “Are you a policeman for Interstellar Materials?”

  “Uh, no, nothing of that sort. This is … a hobby.”

  “I do not understand the word.” The Lorr turned to an assistant, who worked feverishly at a translation computer. He showed the screen to his superior, who shook his head like a bird pecking at a worm. “There is no analog in our language for this ‘hobby.’”

  “That’s not important,” Humbolt cut in. “Please let us try to find Kinsolving for you.”

  “You do not seek this one of your own kind to aid in off-planet escape?” The Lorr seemed perplexed at this turn.

  “Agent-General, my most fervent hope is that he is brought to justice.” Humbolt waited until the alien bobbed his head once more in agreement.

  “Do what you will, but two of my officers will accompany your Cameron on the search.”

  “We wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Humbolt. For the first time, relief flooded throughout his body and allowed him to relax. When the alien left, Humbolt spun and faced Cameron.

  “You fool! Don’t be so damned eager. And try not to give away technology to them. They don’t seem to have the IR detectors or SAWS for their robots.”

  “I know that part of the Plan,” Cameron said. “There is no need to lecture me, Director.”

  “The Plan,” mused Humbolt. “The damned Plan. You know that Markken spoke of it to Kinsolving?” Cameron’s eyebrows rose. “I had no idea. I would have burned him instead of the Bizzie if I’d known.”

  “She had no reason for mentioning it. He made her angry and it slipped out. She will have to be disciplined for that, but it won’t be anything severe. Markken and the others will be rotated back to GT 4 when this matter with Kinsolving is settled.”

  “Could I be the one to discipline her?” asked Cameron. “She … ”

  “No!” Humbolt snapped. “She will play a larger role in the future. Markken has done well here. She’s kept the Bizzies from bleeding us to death with their severance taxes, and the samarium from her thefts insures us of millions of brain-burners.” Humbolt smiled crookedly. “She thinks the rare earths will be used only for a full fleet of starships otherwise denied
us. She may yet learn the true use for the rare earths. Markken will do well for IM and the Plan in the future.”

  “And perhaps an ambitious director of Interstellar Materials has personal plans for her?” Cameron suggested.

  “That is none of your concern. Get your robots out and find that son of a bitch before the Bizzies do. I don’t want him telling them anything he might have guessed about the Plan.”

  Cameron waved off the suggestion of ruin. “He is discredited in their amber eyes. Nothing your former supervisor has to say will be believed.” Cameron’s laugh echoed throughout the building.

  “I hope so — for your sake.” With that, Kenneth Humbolt stalked out. Cameron’s mocking laugh followed him as he left.

  *

  Kinsolving couldn’t believe his luck. He had hardly abandoned the Lorr vehicle when a heavily laden truck came along the road. As the repulsor field under the truck strained to hold the vehicle upright and propel its mass up the steep hill, Kinsolving raced out from his cover by the road and jumped onto the back. He almost lost his grip when the truck topped the hill and sped downward.

  A quick twist and Kinsolving got into the back. The stench made him want to vomit, but he held down his rising gorge. He’d stowed away on a garbage truck from the city. Trying to decide where it was headed, Kinsolving rested and collected his wits. Events had moved too swiftly to do anything but react.

  It was now time to reflect.

  “Humbolt and IM want me dead — or in Lorr prison,” he said. “Why? To cover up Ala’s thefts?” He couldn’t believe that. Kinsolving didn’t delude himself for an instant. For the huge corporation his skills were more valuable than Ala’s or any of the others’.

  Or were they? The woman had mentioned a mysterious plan. The Plan, she had said. Kinsolving had heard the capital letters as she spoke. Interstellar Materials had to be involved; Kenneth Humbolt knew the details. They cheated the Lorr out of taxes, and Ala had mentioned that IM was responsible. Did IM have a secret construction project to build starships that the aliens knew nothing about?