Lord Banshee Lunatic (Nightmare Wars Book 3)

by Russell Redman

  She had always been a clever girl, my match in many ways. With each new ID, she and her children joined a new church under assumed names. In her own way, she was an undercover agent, with colleagues who conspired to keep her original ID secret. She noticed things and was willing to look into odd places to find the truth. Had she guessed that I had somehow survived?

  She was certainly making a statement by staying in the church until the death squad came to kill her. Probably more than one.

  She was making a clear statement of nonviolent resistance to the tyranny that Wolong had imposed. She had not tried to run, not tried to hide, not tried to fight, but stood in front of the altar celebrating her faith. Quo vadis, Dominus?

  She was speaking to Wolong, telling him that the Earth did not oppose his rule, only his violence. Did he notice?

  She was speaking to the Terrestrial Council, who, I had no doubt, would protest this murder amongst so many others.

  But my attention was drawn instead to the soldiers who had tried to defend her in defiance of direct orders from the officer. If my guess was correct, neither the regional militia nor the hidden soldiers were willing to see her executed without trial on a charge they believed was false. More than that, they mutinied and probably tried to have their officer arrested when the police arrived. True children of the Earth, their loyalty was still to Justice. Their courage was exemplary.

  The priests who had stood with her were also making a statement, knowing they were likely to be executed as Ghost Followers. They were martyrs and the Church would remember their sacrifice.

  The same was true of the congregation, who made a personal declaration of support just by showing up. I expected the video had been viewed millions of times already. It would circulate for years. I marveled at the courage of the videographer, who must have been arrested immediately after the video appeared. Ze would be publicly identified as soon as secrecy no longer served a purpose and would become part of the permanent, underground memory.

  But Lucille had always been good at teasing the truth out of scattered clues. Was she also sending a message to me? And if so, what was she saying?

  She had given me an example of solid faith.

  I could not save any of them, I could not honour their sacrifice, I could not be true to Justice, Mercy, or Hope, except by fulfilling my Mission. It was the only help I could give. To do that, I had to free myself from all my entanglements, from family, friends and money because I owned no property.

  At the back of my mind, I felt a brilliant golden glow as a required decision crystalized. A whole chain of decisions. The Path was back.

  I looked back at my Banshees, straightening up, afraid that the glow from my Path was radiating through my eyes. “I know what needs to be done. Gather the whole team, along with Morris and Singh, Wang, and few representatives of the other ministers, the ones who need to escape as well as the ones who want to stay on the Moon. Be sure that Begum is there with the two counsellors. We are going to do the biggest piece of T&A ever. I need to make some calls first. Warn Sergei that it is going to be a weird party, even by my standards, although I will try to avoid making anyone vomit.”

  Katerina warned, “Wang is planning an awards ceremony at 07:00 hours, right before our dinner. He just sent us the invitations. Yours should be arriving soon. Do you really want to mess that up?”

  “No, but I did not want a Martian invasion either. Schedule me before the awards, since I might change which ones he gives. What I will say should not take too long. Tell Wang I want twenty minutes, but some of his guests may have to wait outside until I am done.”

  I closed the connection.

  2357-03-28 04:00

  Negotiations with Prejudice

  I immediately called the Lunar comm centre. I asked to be connected directly but anonymously to the emigrant party who had spoken with me during the conversation I had with Admiral Wang at 2357-03-21 02:00. The operator objected that such information was confidential and could not be released without proper authority, so I passed my security authorization, adding that I did not need the comm address itself but only to be connected immediately for an urgent discussion. A few moments later, I woke the person I only knew as Emigrant1 from a deep sleep.

  Emigrant1/private, “Unhhh, who is this?”

  To Emigrant1/private, “I’m sorry to wake you, but some decisions regarding your future need to be made urgently. I am the head of the Fairy Dust Investigation Team. We spoke through Admiral Wang. I am trying to expedite your departure before the fleet sent by Viceroy Wolong attempts to attack the Moon.”

  That caught his attention.

  Emigrant1/private, “What? Wait? How did you... I need my Vice... FATIMA, WAKE UP. GET IN HERE.”

  Fatima to Me, Emigrant1/private, “Raj, what has happened? Are we under attack? Allah defend us! Where can we run...”

  Me/converse, “Relax, I’m working to ensure that never happens. Do you know that the LR Quetzalcoatl is available? How would it suit your needs?”

  Raj/converse, “I am confused. We cannot possibly afford that ship.”

  Fatima/converse, “Please Sir, don’t toy with us in the middle of the night.”

  Me/converse, “I am completely serious. Ignore the cost, that will be my concern. I am told half the ship has been gutted, but the other half contains beds and obsolete operating theatres. How would it suit your needs?”

  Fatima/converse, “It would be perfect, but impossible. They laughed at us when we asked. They want to sell it to one of the liner companies for ten times what we can pay, even if we liquidate everything.”

  Me/converse, “Please, ignore the cost. There are wealthier people than you involved. What changes would you make in an ideal transaction?”

  Raj/converse, “It would take two months to complete the refit. The labs, dorms and instructional halls are all modular, but take some time to assemble. We would want our own labs installed. The Quetzalcoatl was built before the current standard for modular ships was ratified so new connection assemblies would need to be installed and some modifications in the shape of our walls to ensure airtight seals. The existing bed space could accommodate our people, but we would want space for the students strapped on outside the hull, half the existing theatres should be upgraded, the other half turned into instructional space.

  “We have the equipment, but Wolong is going to attack in two days. It is far too late!”

  Me/converse, “Not likely. The TDF is not toothless yet. Just remember what Cap Thieu did with a single FAS. Wolong is a rebel even against his own father and doesn’t deserve our respect. Now, suppose we don’t complete the changes here but send a team of skilled engineers and technicians with you. How long would it take to load your modules? How long to assemble them en route?”

  Raj/converse, “Vishnu preserve us, what are you talking about? We would be shot out of the sky.”

  Me/converse, “I’m in a position to make strange things happen. Please answer the question.”

  Fatima/converse, “Do not lie to us! We were warned that a teaching hospital would be a target for every faction in the Belt. You were the one who warned us. Our plan is dead and we will be in two days.”

  Me/converse, “Would it help if a TDF battleship accompanied you and stayed to protect you? Even half of one? That warning assumed that only the Belter factions would be available to defend a hospital built into an asteroid. Remember that the Quetzalcoatl and a TDF battleship can outrun anything that we have seen in the Martian fleet. We have demonstrated that TDF warships can outfight them many to one. We have shown restraint so far. The time for restraint has passed. I have my own plan. Please, I will need estimates of your required labour and supplies within the hour. Can you do that?”

  Raj/converse, “Fatima, I think he is serious. We prepared some preliminaries before we were told the cost of purchase. Get everybody up. How do I contact you, Sir?”

  Me/converse, “I’m not quite done yet. There is still the equipment that was to be c
arried on the Fairy Dust and other Martian freighters.”

  Fatima/converse, “It will all fit into the Quetzalcoatl. There would be no need to send it separately. The freighters were tiny after the food and fuel requirements were filled. That ship is huge and with external dorms will give us room for expansion when we need it. Please tell me this might work, that we are not just walking dead.”

  Me/converse, “Good. This will work. I will finish putting the pieces in place over the next few hours. Don’t underestimate anything. It will be better to carry enough supplies for four years on site than to depend upon rapid resupply. Send your report directly to Admiral Wang’s office with instructions to forward it to the Banshees. They will know what to do. I’m going to invite the two of you to join a meeting at 06:40 hours. Again, contact Admiral Wang’s office at that time.”

  Raj/converse, “Fatima is waking all our accountants and engineering staff. One hour. We will have something ready.”

  We closed the connection. Battleship Shit-Kicker reporting for duty, Sir. Next call was to Lunar Law Enforcement.

  [LE] Good day, Sir, or Sirs? It is not often I get an anonymous text call. I assume that I am not supposed to ask to whom I am speaking?

  [Me] I was just being cautious until a secure connection was in place. I am now enabling your access to my bio-metrics and am sending my security authorization. I note for the record that you are Julio Porochev of the Legal Secretariat for Personal Identification, Liaison Officer for Lunar LE with the Genetic Database.

  It is amazing how many tools become available when you have a sufficiently high authorization. I had read enough of his ID out of the window that popped up beside the text feed to tell him I had as many tools available as he did so we would not waste time discussing who I was.

  [LE] All the devils in hell... I am sorry, Sir. I have never seen that code in use and had hoped that I never would. It has been... almost fifty years since anyone was given that authority. Not even during the Incursion... I am truly sorry, I am wandering. What can I do for you?

  [Me] A sign of the times. I would like an official ruling on the validity of the legal and economic codes within that authorization for a start. I believe they are supplied by an appendix of the Lunar Constitution that remains in force until it is removed or replaced. I am about to undertake a slightly complicated transaction that would be invalid under more normal circumstances, so I need an independent party to verify that I am authorized to order the transactions.

  [LE] Yes, I can verify that the Lunar Constitution does contain that appendix and all these codes are still in effect. I am quite certain that the new viceroy will object and require that most of them be removed once their existence is made known.

  [Me] Probably true. I intend to use these privileges extremely sparingly because I am more aware than most of how much is at stake. I would request that no one mention their existence until the time when my own need for them becomes moot, which should be glaringly obvious.

  When those codes are raised for consideration, I would recommend they be replaced rather than removed. I expect the Imperium will still have need of such codes on occasion and the Lunar Government will still want weaker versions to handle emergencies like our current situation.

  Regardless, you should now be able to verify that I am authorized to make extraordinary requests of Lunar Recovery, the Spacers Benevolent Society, and perhaps even the Lunar Ministry of Commerce, although I would prefer to keep these transactions private. I would ask you to stay in the call and record it with your highest level of encryption. That record should be deleted after these transactions are complete, but may be needed for reference until then.

  My next call will be to Lunar Recovery Asset Disposal. This call must be anonymous so you will be required to verify my authority.

  [LE] I can make that verification. Please be extremely cautious.

  I added a senior Lunar Recovery Assets Disposal officer to the call.

  [LRAD] Hello. May I ask to whom I am speaking?

  [LE] I am sorry, Sir, but the answer is no. This call is of necessity confidential. I can, however, offer my own identity and state for the record that the caller is authorized to make the requests you will hear.

  [LRAD] I see... I find this highly irregular but please state your business.

  [Me] For a start, I would like to know the value of the highest bid for the LR Quetzalcoatl or the asking price if it is larger.

  [LRAD] That is an extremely impertinent request! Such information is confidential and cannot be divulged...

  [LE] Might I remind you that the caller is authorized to make that request, impertinent or not.

  There was a long pause, which I assumed was a heated discussion between the LRAD officer and Secretary Porochev. At last, the LRAD officer replied with a sum that was less than a quarter of what I nominally had available.

  [Me] Excellent. I am about to transfer the ownership of an investment portfolio to the Lunar Recovery Hospital Service, structured as a charitable donation from a grateful beneficiary of your services. In return, I am placing an immediate halt upon the sale of the Quetzalcoatl, which will instead be given as a charitable donation to Hope University. That institution has recently been incorporated in the Belt.

  You should gain access essentially immediately to the investments, but there is likely to be a delay in donating the ship to the university until the Imperial Directorate of Commerce is properly organized. Notwithstanding, LRAD should grant immediate access and occupation to the new owners and should float them a loan to start the required renovations. I will ensure they have sufficient funds to repay that loan.

  Afterwards, I would like all record of the donations to be deleted from your records. I will impose similar conditions on the other parties.

  [LRAD] Are you still going to tell me that ze is authorized to make that incredible set of demands? It is unethical to balance one charitable donation against another. It is unlawful to delete those records! I would require authorization from senior management and our own Legal Affairs. We would be tangled in endless legal challenges, maybe even subject to criminal prosecution!

  Besides, I cannot delete those records even if I was willing. It is impossible!

  [LE] Yes, I am also choking, but ze has the required authority. I can also offer the services of our Transactional Security operators who will be able to assist in erasing the records over the next few days.

  I do hope this is not some kind of money-laundering scheme, Sir. Regardless of your authorizations, this is MOST irregular.

  [Me] I would ask that you hold off on contacting other offices within LR but stay in the call while I arrange the transfer of ownership of the investments. I believe you will understand my dilemma and the transfer of ownership itself should provide some assurance that I am legitimate.

  I put an additional call to a local account officer of the Spacers Benevolent Society, one of the investment firms that handled retirement and savings accounts for the spacer community. I included my full ID and authorization.

  [SBS] Hello, Sir! Are you finally intending to retire? We expected to hear from you over a decade ago.

  [Me] No, I am afraid other duties have complicated my retirement in a most unfortunate way. I am one of the many people who have recently been condemned to death by the Imperium. Obviously, I will never retire. To pass the investments I own as an inheritance to anyone else would likely sentence them to death as well.

  [SBS] Surely it is not as bad as that?

  [LE] Every bit. I am afraid our client’s profile matches the top two people on the list, who are known only by their code names, plus one further down the list. The top two are rated as so serious that merely having worked with them may be grounds for arrest.

  [Me] I probably match several more down the list, even if they set the wrong criteria. I must apologize for putting both of you at such risk. I would not have done it if it was not that many more people are also at risk, needlessly.

  Notwithstandi
ng, I have had some very good friends in the past. You will note that my retirement account is a tiny part of a much larger portfolio, for which I am the sole surviving beneficiary. There were originally twelve of us, who had lost almost all our heirs during the Incursion. Several of them were much wealthier than I was at the time, black sheep who had turned to adventure to escape their suffocatingly conventional families. We had all been declared officially dead on Mars for operational reasons and our few surviving relatives had received significant inheritance packages that included all the family’s fixed assets like land.

  We formed a partnership to pool our remaining funds. Any of us who survived the war would split the total proportionally to our initial investments. Otherwise, our estates would have been handed back to the government when we died for real. We had become sufficiently resentful of Governor Ngomo that we all wanted to stick it to him.

  I was invited to join as the smallest partner because I was the only one of the group who enjoyed investing enough to ensure that the portfolio would recover its value quickly after the war. Also, I had legitimate access to SBS. None of us would have the time to manage the portfolio while we were in combat, so we placed it all with SBS as a portfolio of blind trusts. Unfortunately, the war went so badly that all the others were killed in action. My own judgement was so questionable when I returned from Mars that I left everything as it was.

  That portfolio is far larger than anything I have ever wanted. My plan all along was to donate most of it to charity. I, therefore, wish to make a three-way split in the investments in the proportions 76:12:12, transferring the ownership as charitable donations to three separate institutions. These have been blind trusts since we first created them and I would be happy to remain blind myself, but the new owners will possess the investments as ordinary portfolios to manage as they see fit. Management of the portfolios will remain with SBS until the new owners decide otherwise.