by B. V. Larson
“Damn. When we fired on Altair we didn’t go into a spin.”
“No, but the angle was different then.”
“Right. We’ll have to deal with it. Has the beam reached them yet?”
“Yes, but we don’t have the data—there. A hit.”
My face froze. “A hit? Zye, you hit the rock rat ships?”
“Yes,” she said with a hint of pride. “An excellent shot, especially since it was my first.”
Rotating my seat around, I regarded her sternly. “I ordered you to put a shot over their bows, a shot outside the likely cone of—”
“Take a look,” Yamada said. “The miners have been spreading out. Their new positioning got them killed. They fanned out to make it harder to hit them, so when Zye fired off-center, she still got one.”
“Two,” Zye corrected. “That’s confirmed, the battle computer has completed the new count.”
“Two…” I said in shock. “Two ships with a crew of five men each, on average? We just killed ten miners.”
“Ten rebels, you mean!” Rumbold interjected. It was clear where his sympathies lay.
“I don’t understand how you hit two with one beam,” I said. “That’s pushing the odds, Zye.”
“I took the step of widening the aperture on the cannons. The beams were broad and diffuse. I reasoned that option would work best against these targets as they’re small and widely spread out.”
My face was a mask of displeasure. “Cannons? As in plural? Am I getting this right? You fired multiple cannons with a wide dispersion? I ordered a single shot!”
Zye blinked. “Perhaps you aren’t yet completely familiar with Beta weapons systems. When a battery of cannons fire, they all fire. There is no option to fire a single gun. That would disrupt the automatic gas dispersion, reloading pressure systems, and the—”
As she spoke, I realized then how we’d hit Altair so hard. We’d fired a full battery of cannons right into the bridge. It was no wonder we’d knocked out the ship in one punch. I had to be more careful. There were bound to be mistakes made when operating a captured ship like this.
“All right, all right,” I said. “Forget it. Let’s deal with the situation at hand. We’ve just blasted a full-bore barrage into them and taken out two ships.”
“Sir?” Yamada said. “There’s another incoming message. Do you want to hear it privately, or…?”
“Play it on the PA again. You might as well.”
“…butchery! Never again will the Independent Contractors trust the Guard! You’re all fiends, arrogant thieves! There will be repercussions, I assure you. We’ll not be cowed so easily next time!”
The transmission ended. I was left with a desire to close my eyes and rub my temples, which I indulged.
“Sir…they’re breaking off,” Yamada said. “They’re splitting up into squadrons and flying away in every direction.”
“Just like rats swarming out of a garbage dump!” Rumbold laughed. He kept laughing until he coughed and hacked.
“How long until their missiles impact our hull?” I asked with my eyes still closed. I was tired, I realized. How long had it been since we’d slept? I wasn’t sure.
“They won’t hit us,” Zye said.
I opened my eyes again and looked at her. “Don’t tell me you managed to blast their missiles out of the sky with that single barrage as well.”
“No Captain—but the missile contacts have disappeared. I believe our attackers ordered them to self-destruct.”
“You see?” Rumbold crowed, getting up out of his rotating chair after a brief struggle. “They ran away the moment you blasted them. They even blew up their own missiles out of fear, so you wouldn’t have an excuse to keep firing! You gave them a hard knock on the nose, Captain. Don’t be sorry for that. You had no choice. That’s what rats understand.”
“There’s another interpretation,” Yamada said. “Maybe the missiles were a bluff all along. Perhaps they were dummies, or maybe they planned to have them miss at the last moment.”
“Why would you think that?” I asked her.
“Because they want this ship intact, remember? They don’t want to damage her, not really.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “I tend to agree with your assessment, Ensign. But that doesn’t leave me resting easily. The miners want this ship badly enough to kill us all and rebel against Earth. They won’t give up so quickly next time.”
“Singh wanted this ship badly enough to betray both the Guard and Earth itself,” Yamada said. “That indicates other factions might feel the same way. To what lengths might they go to capture Defiant?”
“It’s hard to know,” I said, “but I have a feeling our confrontations have only just begun.”
Our conversation died. My crew went back to their screens in a dark mood.
Only Zye seemed happy. I could see it in her demeanor. For the first time in her life she’d slain two ships and ten men. That seemed to please her like nothing else we’d experienced together so far.
Given that she was a Beta clone, I could only surmise that the rest of her people were similar in personality. I imagined an entire planet full of grim, warlike giants. They were loyal, but they were also killers, through and through.
That didn’t bode well for our future interactions with them.
-29-
When there were no approaching dangers on our tactical displays, I felt a deep sense of relief. I also felt a deep weariness.
“Crew,” I announced, “I think we’ve all earned a break. Let’s stand down and—”
“If you don’t mind, Captain,” Zye said. “I’ll man the bridge in your absence.”
I looked at her thoughtfully, then nodded. “All right. Zye, you have the helm—or at least you’re standing watch.”
I stood up, took off my helmet and ruffled my hair. “I’m going to look for a shower,” I said.
“I’ll join your search,” Yamada said, yawning and stretching.
Zye and Rumbold eyed her speculatively. Rumbold’s eyes were boggling.
“What?” she asked. “Oh—no, I don’t mean like that!”
She walked off the bridge, embarrassed.
“Captain, sir,” Rumbold said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay awake here with Zye until you’re back. Two watch-standers is customary, after all.”
My eyes slid from him to Zye, then back again. I knew the story immediately: he didn’t trust Zye. Who could blame him? Maybe she had plans of her own now that we’d repaired much of her ship. I thought she was loyal, but I was willing to hedge my bet.
“I believe this ship needs a dozen crewmen on the bridge to operate smoothly,” I said. “Very well, I’ll see you when I wake up. But at that point, you’re going to take your turn in a bunk, Chief.”
“No arguments there.”
I walked off the bridge, found a shower and climbed in. I wasn’t even sure how to operate it, or even if it would work due to damage and neglect. I gave a howl of pain when the hot water finally did come, right out of the reactor’s cooling jacket by the feel of it. Full of phosphates, I was half-scalded by the time I’d figured out how to get the temperature down to a tolerable level.
After I’d mastered the fixtures, I found the water luxurious. I hadn’t had a real shower for a month. The sensation was indescribable.
Afterward, I found a quiet bunk in an empty dormitory. The officers’ quarters weren’t pressurized yet, so I couldn’t go there. It was just as well, I figured. There were a lot of people on this ship I didn’t entirely trust yet. Taranto might have accomplices or at the very least sympathizers, and I couldn’t take the risk of being a target yet again. I was beginning to understand what my father must have gone through all the time.
Sleep overcame me quickly. I dreamed of gigantic invading troops wielding lasers and axes—and then of Chloe Astra. The second dream was much more pleasant. She was wearing her sea foam dress. My sleeping mind seemed to have forgotten that the dress had been worn by an android copy of Chloe, not
the flesh and blood version.
By the time my implants woke me up, the dream-Chloe and I were making love.
Rolling out of my bunk stiffly, I searched for breakfast. I found it with a group of desultory crewmen from Altair.
We ate what the ship’s automatic mess hall produced for us from its flash-frozen stores. The fare was heavy and unforgiving for my guts. Apparently Betas ate gamey, red meats full of spices and preservatives. There was almost no vegetation or any drink other than water to be had. Was this due to the natural tastes of the Betas, or had the vegetables all wilted? I didn’t know, but I was glad we had something solid to eat.
The crewmen from Altair eyed me and muttered among themselves. I saw a few familiar faces, but none that I would have called friend. They seemed content to sit among their own, and I didn’t break in on the party.
From my training as an officer, I knew that I should try to bridge the gulf between us, but it was difficult. For years, I’d been assigned to Cutlass and independent operations. Singh hadn’t really wanted me aboard his destroyer, and I’d become comfortable with my exile. Cutlass had been a tiny command, but she’d been mine to rule as I’d wished.
Fortunately, no one in the group was an officer to challenge my rank. The only living man in that capacity was Taranto, and he was still in the detention center.
When I’d almost finished chewing what tasted like a sausage made from dried wild boar meat, Marine Lieutenant Morris came in. He saw me, and after filling his plate, came to sit with me.
The rest of the crewmen stared at us. Neither Morris or I returned their scrutiny.
“Good morning, Captain.”
“Lieutenant Morris,” I said. “I hope you slept well.”
“Hell no,” he said. “How about you?”
“Actually, I was so tired I overcame my adrenaline drenched bloodstream and fell hard.”
He nodded. “Good to hear, and understandable. If those rock rats come back, we’ll need you on the bridge again, bright-eyed and ready to fight.”
Morris was speaking in an overly loud voice. I knew immediately why he was doing so: he wanted the others to hear the truth. He wanted them to believe I was needed and trustworthy. I appreciated the effort, and I hoped it worked. The crewmen were aware that I was a Guard officer, but Singh had probably never given them reason to like or trust me. Worse, I’d recently killed Singh and imprisoned his replacement.
“I heard you shot Taranto,” Morris said conversationally. “I bet he deserved it.”
This statement startled me. I glanced at Morris, who gave me a flat stare in return.
Perhaps I had a political mindset inherited from my father, but whatever the case I understood quickly what was going on. Apparently, there was a rumor among the crew that I’d done away with the last fleet officer aboard.
“No, not at all,” I said. “Taranto is fine. He was injured accidentally and our best medical equipment is inside the detention center, strangely enough. The regular medical facilities aboard this ship aren’t yet repaired.”
“Ah, just a misunderstanding then, excellent,” Morris said, flashing me a smile. “You going to eat that last chunk of sausage? At least I hope it’s sausage…otherwise, I don’t want to know. But we shouldn’t let food go to waste. Who knows how long we’ll be stuck on this ship without supplies?”
“Be my guest.”
He speared it with a fork and actually ate it with gusto. I had to wonder what they’d fed the marines under Singh’s gentle care.
We talked about pleasantries after that, and soon the other crewmen left, having finished their meals. When the last of them was gone, Morris leaned toward me, frowning.
“Sparhawk, can I ask you to stand up right here and spread your legs for me?” he demanded with sudden vehemence.
“Uh…what for?”
“Because I want to kick you in the nuts, that’s why!”
I snorted in laughter. “You wouldn’t be the first to profess such a heartfelt desire,” I admitted. “But if I might make a request: don’t use your plastic foot.”
He glared at me for a moment. “Where’s that hulking female gorilla of yours?”
“She’s standing watch on the bridge, making sure we aren’t killed in our sleep by the rock rats.”
He nodded. “That’s an important duty, but if I were you, I’d keep her on your six with a gun in her hand. You killed Captain Singh, remember? Then the moment they arrived, you cold-cocked the only officer they had left. They aren’t going to start loving your patrician ass anytime soon.”
Shrugging, I confessed he had a point. “I’m glad you’re not in their camp,” I said.
“If I was, you’d already be dead, fancy House name or not.”
I found myself liking Morris. He was a rough, brash man, but he was clearly on my side.
“Tell me,” I asked, “what converted you to my point of view in this conflict?”
Morris looked thoughtful. “It wasn’t your looks,” he said. “Nor your silver-tongued talk, that’s for sure. No, let me tell you the truth: we’re in a dangerous situation, here. If the wrong party gets ahold of this ship…that could spell disaster.”
“Such as Singh? Or our mining friends?”
“Exactly. Just think about it: a madman running this monster? It would be like having a T-Rex loose in a henhouse. The forces of Earth are good men for the most part, but they wouldn’t stand a chance. From what I’ve seen, this vessel will outclass the entire fleet once it’s up to speed.”
I nodded. “I agree. What do you think I should do with this ship now, Lieutenant?”
“Well sir, the way I see it, there are only two options. You could turn it over to the navy to become our new flagship. Barring that, you could scuttle her. That might be the safest course, in the end.”
I frowned. “Honestly, that idea had never even occurred to me. Why would you suggest such drastic action?”
He leaned over his plate, but he was no longer eating his food.
“Because this thing is frightening,” he said. “It’s like the first nuclear weapon back in Earth’s history. In the wrong hands it could lay waste to Earth—or make a man into a king.”
“Your concerns match my own,” I said. “But I don’t think destroying her is a viable option.”
“Why not?”
“Because, Lieutenant, she has sister ships. A dozen of them at least. Worse, she was clearly beaten in combat. That means that as powerful as this vessel is, some other force out there bested her. So there must be at least two powers in our region of space that presumably could arrive any day in our star system and display overwhelming force.”
Morris frowned in real concern. “A dozen ships like this? The Betas have that many?”
“Yes. That’s what Zye said, and I have no reason to doubt her. Why would they build only one? And even if she’s lying, someone blasted holes in the sides of this vessel. There must be a ship or a fleet out there that can defeat her.”
“Yeah, I see your point. We need this ship. That makes things worse than I thought. There’s no easy solution.”
“No,” I said. “Earth will have to grow up. It’s as if we’ve been dreaming for the last century, while our colonies have become adults. They have vigor. They’ll be tougher than us when we meet them again.”
“If Zye is any example, I can’t argue with you there.”
Finished with our meals, we got up, shook hands, and headed for the exit.
“I’ve got your back, Sparhawk,” Morris said. “But there’s only so much I can do. Try to come up with some kind of demonstration that lets the men know you’re a trustworthy officer, and that they need to keep you breathing—if you get my drift.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
We parted ways, and I made my way to the bridge. My discussion with Morris had been disturbing.
-30-
Following Morris’ advice, I began searching for Zye. I was getting to know the ship by now, and what had once se
emed like a maze of passages was mapped out in my mind.
When I finally found her, she was in the cargo hold. It was still freezing cold down there, and dark. She was standing among the racks of tubes, examining them with a careful tenderness. I supposed that to her, they were children.
Walking up to her, I tapped her on her broad back. That was a mistake. In spacesuits and near vacuum conditions, it was impossible to hear another person approaching.
Her reaction was swift and violent. She whirled, eyes blazing. Sparks flashed, as something struck my personal shield.
I’d had the foresight to turn it on after Morris’ warning. It was a good thing I had. The shield absorbed her wild slash, leaving only a bright tracery of afterimages on our retinas to show it had passed at all.
“Sorry,” I said, staggering back a step. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Captain?” she asked as if dazed. Her sides were heaving, her shoulders hunched for battle.
I was impressed by her reflexes. In less than a second, she’d gone from calm introspection and private thoughts about the embryos and shifted into a killer rage. I filed this fact away for later consideration.
“Sorry,” I said again. She seemed to hear me this time. “I was wondering what you were doing down here.”
She stared at me for a moment. It was the sort of stare a snake might give to any animal that surprises it. Slowly, she calmed down with a visible effort.
“It would be best,” she said, gulping for air and closing her eyes, “that you don’t surprise a Beta.”
“I can see that. When we first discovered your ship, we found tubes like these floating in space around it. Did you know that?”
I had her full attention again. “No.”
“It’s true. Our best guess is that the original miners who discovered the vessel opened the hatch to this hold. The action depressurized the chamber violently. Some of these vials must have been unsecured as they were blasted out into space.”
“Such a crime,” she said, looking around the room slowly. “I’d calculated that there were missing embryos—but I’d hoped they’d been removed when my people abandoned the ship. They must not have had time.”
