An Airless Storm: Cochrane's Company: Book Two

by Peter Grant

  “I think I’ll keep the S5 function, Plans, in my own hands for now, until we have more staff-trained officers. For S3, Operations, I have Commander Shearer in mind. He’s currently Officer in Command of our Second Corvette Division. What do you think?”

  “What about Commander Darroch, sir, of the First Corvette Division?” Cousins asked.

  “I have something else in mind for him. We’ll have to replace both in divisional command.”

  “Who’s going to take their places, sir?”

  “I want you to recommend the best two corvette commanding officers for promotion. If you need to consult with Darroch and Shearer before making a final selection, do that. Let’s promote from within.” There was a buzz of approval.

  “And what about my replacement, sir?”

  Cochrane smiled. “Frank, take a bow.”

  “Me, sir?” Frank’s jaw dropped in surprise. “But… I’ve never commanded more than a single ship.”

  “That’s why I want you as Officer Commanding Mycenae Station. You’re going to command our first frigate division soon, and possibly lead a combat squadron further down the road, if things go on as they are with the Albanians. You need broader command experience of multiple units, and Mycenae will give it to you. I won’t promote you to Captain immediately, because you’ve been a Commander for less time than some of our other Commanders, and I don’t want to provoke jealousy. However, after a few months running things out there, it’ll be clear to everyone whether you’re ready for a fourth stripe. I’m willing to bet that you are.”

  Cousins grinned. “I’ll second that, sir. Come on, Frank. He’s put you on the spot.”

  “Oh, well! If I can’t have Bobcat, and if you think I can handle Mycenae, sir, I’ll take it on.”

  Cochrane inclined his head. “Thank you. As soon as our first two arsenal ships have passed their trials and worked up their crews, I’ll send one to you. She’ll need at least one corvette with her at all times, to control her missiles if necessary. You’ll also have to figure out tactics to make the best use of her. You and I will liaise about that as we go along.”

  “Yes, sir. Ah… there’s one staff position you’ve left out. Who’s going to be your Chief of Staff, and look after your administration?”

  Cochrane half-smiled, and turned to Hui. “Captain Lu,” he said formally as her eyebrows shot up in surprise, “you’re officially a liaison officer from the Qianjin Fleet, assigned to Hawkwood Corporation to share information concerning the Albanian threat to both our forces. However, you’re also staff-qualified, and on excellent terms with everyone here. Would you please accept a temporary position as my Chief of Staff? I’d like to make it permanent, but we all know there are issues that need to be resolved if that’s to happen.” He winked at her, and she blushed, even as the others laughed and applauded.

  “I… I don’t know what to say! My Admiral might complain long and loud about one of his officers serving in another fleet.”

  “We’re not another fleet, if it comes to that. We’re a private company. Besides, if you’re our liaison officer, what better way to know everything we’re doing, and be able to report it to him, than to have your fingers in every one of our pies, as Chief of Staff?” The others laughed again, clearly amused by Hui’s confusion.

  “Won’t your people resent taking orders from an outsider?”

  “Not if I officially order them to do so, and make it clear your rank is as valid inside Hawkwood as it is in Qianjin’s Fleet.”

  “Well… I…” She glanced around the table. “Thank you all very much for being willing to have me in so critical a position. It’s very flattering. I accept, subject to the condition that I write to my Admiral to obtain his permission. If he agrees, good. If he objects, I’ll have to step down. Is that acceptable?”

  “It is to me,” Cochrane assured her, and a chorus of approval from the others showed they felt the same.

  “All right. I’ll make a start, and we’ll see what happens.”

  9

  Recall

  PATOS

  Agim looked up from his terminal, bleary-eyed with weariness, as his secretary knocked at the door. “Jehona Sejdiu is here to see you, sir.”

  “Thank you, Vesa. Send her in, please, and bring coffee for us.”

  “At once, sir.”

  His eyes glowed as the woman was shown into his office. She smiled warmly as she saw him, her eyes meeting his frankly. He ushered her to the group of chairs in the corner of the office, and waited until the secretary had poured coffee and left them alone.

  “It is very good to see you again, Jehona,” he began. “I hesitated before asking your husband’s permission to see you, because… well, I have never forgotten what we once were to each other. You changed me, helped me to become a man rather than a foolish, headstrong boy.”

  She blushed, and looked down at her cup. “We were… different people then, yes. Even though things did not work out between us, I have never forgotten, either. When Pal used to get jealous, in our early years together, I reminded him that the woman he married was, in some measure, the product of what you and I had shared, and that he should be grateful for that. After our children came along, that cleared the air, and we’ve never had that problem again.”

  “I am very glad to hear that. He gave me permission to see you readily enough. That was good of him.”

  “Why did you want to see me?”

  Agim sighed. “I… I need you to serve our cause once again, as you did before.”

  Her eyes widened with shock and surprise. “Agim, no! Surely, you’re joking! I haven’t practiced tradecraft in two decades or more, and I’m almost fifty! There’s no way I can compete against youngsters, with all their energy and drive!”

  He shook his head. “I am not joking.” He ticked off points on his fingers. “You were one of our best agents, if not the best in our year. You achieved great things for our cause. The Patriarch congratulated you personally, and held you up as an example before subsequent classes. I cannot believe that such talent simply disappears with age. Next, you do not look like a typical agent. We know the type well, because we are on our guard against our enemies sending them against us. Young, fit, strong, keen-eyed, observant, always on the alert. The best can disguise all that, and perhaps fool us, but lesser agents cannot. You are entering middle age as we reckon our years, and are carrying a little more weight than is good for you.” He flushed. “So am I, if truth be told.” They laughed softly together. “You do not look like someone to be feared, or suspected.

  “Then, there are your qualifications. You are an accountant. You obtained a post-graduate degree from a Neue Helvetica university. Such skills and qualifications are in great demand by businesses on every planet. They may offer you a way to infiltrate our enemies that less qualified agents cannot match, because they will be less likely to suspect you. Finally, there is your commitment. You know what we are striving for, and you believe in it with all your heart. After all, you are the Patriarch’s granddaughter. Who better to serve his vision and bring it closer to fulfilment, by helping to remove the obstacles in its path?”

  She hung her head in silence, clearly thinking hard. At last she looked up. “What about my children? Yes, they are grown now, but they are not yet wise. Fjolla has been married for less than a year, and is expecting her first child. She will need her mother’s help. Alban is a Sub-Lieutenant in our space forces. I see him only occasionally, when he comes home on leave, but I would miss that altogether if I were on assignment. As for the twins, Lindita and Pjeter will graduate this year. Am I to miss that, too?”

  “I understand. I am a father, and I know how much I missed being able to be there for all the highlights in my children’s lives. However, the Patriarch asked me to sacrifice that, for the good of the Cause. You know how hard he worked me, during the years before he appointed me to succeed him as Chairman of the Brotherhood. He was testing me during that time, as he tested many others. Only I passed all
his tests, to become all that he wished me to be. Sacrifice was part of that, and it was a price I paid willingly for the sake of his vision, which has become ours. I am asking you to do no less.

  “Our enemies are strong and capable. You do not know much about them yet, because we have not spoken of them outside the inner circle of the Brotherhood; but they are the ones who killed your grandfather, getting on for two years ago. They grow stronger by the day. I desperately need information as to what motivates them. If I can find that key, perhaps we can find a way to deal with them without all-out war. However, we also cannot back down. You know the Patriarch’s dictum; if we are struck, we must never accept it, but instead strike back ten times as hard. We have been faithful to that.

  “If we are to avenge your grandfather’s death, we must know how and when and where to strike our enemies most effectively, and what their defenses are, and how to avoid them. I need you to get that information for us. I know nobody else with your dedication to our cause, and your skills, which I remember so well. I am sure you can regain them, with a little refresher training and some practice. I do not pretend the job will be either easy or safe. Our enemies have demonstrated that they will interrogate our captured agents as ruthlessly as we interrogate theirs. If it looks like they will capture you, you will have to make sure they can learn nothing from you.” She flinched, but he held up his hand. “Yes, I know you cannot bear the thought of leaving your husband a widower, and your children orphaned. However, you accepted the danger with fortitude during the years we worked together. You understand the need. Will you accept the challenge?”

  She sat in silence for a long time. He thought he saw the gleam of moisture in her eyes, but said nothing. He could not coerce her in this. She had the right to make up her own mind, without undue pressure. He owed that, not just to her, but to her grandfather.

  At last she said, “I cannot give you my answer now. I must speak with my husband about this. You know that, if I am in the field, it may be necessary for me to… behave in ways that might – no, would – violate our marriage oath, in order to obtain the information you seek.” She looked up at him, her face taut, forcing herself to face reality. “I do not want that – the very thought is repulsive, much less the deed! – yet you know as well as I that it may become necessary. You and I both used our bodies to entrap our targets, when we were in the field. It is all too common. There is also the very real risk that I may not return. He must understand both dangers clearly, and give me permission to risk them.”

  He nodded slowly, feeling despair creep into his heart. What man would freely allow his wife to commit adultery, even if it was for the Cause? He quailed mentally at the thought of his wife asking him that question. He managed to say, “What if he will not agree?”

  “Then I will not do this. He is my heart, and my life. I will not go against his wishes.”

  “I… I applaud your commitment. Of course, given who your grandfather was, I am not surprised. I can only hope and pray that his example, and his ultimate sacrifice of his life for our Cause, will help your husband, and you, to consider an equally great sacrifice. I do not ask it lightly.”

  Her eyes softened. “I know you are sincere, Agim. I would never expect less from you.”

  “Thank you,” he said simply.

  “Let us speak of more practical matters. You say I shall need some refresher training. I agree, of course. How security-conscious are our enemies?”

  “They are getting better by the day. Agents who were recently withdrawn from the field say they have hired experts to upgrade their skills and knowledge. They now have very well-trained security guards, and a strike team as well, for action against individuals and groups they want to take out before they pose a threat. They use crawling nanobugs and flying flitterbugs, as well as larger drones, to secure their premises, including inspecting every cable and environmental duct at least once per week. Their electronic defenses against bugging were lacking in the early years, but have greatly improved, to the point that they may rival our own. I do not think we will be able to penetrate their security by technical means alone. It will require the human element – which is why I asked you to come here today.”

  She was frowning at him. “All that you have described… my husband is Head of Security for our asteroid refining operation, as you know.” He nodded. “He has told me about some of our defensive measures. That is not a breach of security, of course – you and I used to penetrate such defenses as part of our job. He wants me to use that background to help him make sure no-one else will do that to us.” He nodded again. “What you have just told me mirrors our own efforts. Where did our enemies learn about them?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You said they would not hesitate to interrogate me. Have they interrogated others of our people?”

  “Yes… yes, they have.” He did not have to add that they had not survived. That went with the territory, in their profession.

  “Then I think we know where they got some of those ideas. Have they, perhaps, used their knowledge of our techniques against us? Are you sure these offices are as secure as you think?”

  His jaw dropped. He was speechless for a moment. At last he ground out, “Thank you, Jehona. You almost gave me a heart attack… yet, still, I thank you.” She giggled as he went on, “I shall discuss this with our security team. Perhaps I should bring in your husband, to shake them up a little. They may have grown too accustomed to their task, too complacent after years of not identifying any threats. You are right. What our enemies learned from us, and now use to defend themselves against us, they can also use to attack us. We must redouble our alertness.”

  She nodded as she rose to her feet. “Then at least I have been able to render you some service today. I shall speak with my husband tonight, and let you know what he says.”

  He stood, and took her proffered hand, bending to kiss it very gently. “Thank you, Jehona. If it is given to our Patriarch to be aware of such things, may his spirit guide you and your husband to make the right choice. Let me walk you out. I shall then visit our security team, and start the process of… shaking things up.”

  “Oh, shit!”

  The ‘building manager’, seated several floors below in his office, had listened with care to the conversation, picked up by whisker feelers against the inner panes of glass in Agim’s office and relayed to him through computers that translated its vibrations into sound. Now his eyes widened with shock. He pressed a buzzer.

  Within seconds, another man hurried into the office. “What is it, Abis?”

  His boss hurriedly explained Agim’s reaction to the woman’s concerns. “I think he means it. I reckon they’re going to go through this building with a fine-tooth comb. Our window whiskers may not survive that close an inspection.”

  The new arrival swore bitterly. “What are we going to do?”

  “We’re going to strip out everything in these offices that might incriminate us, right now, before they can start looking. I want all the recorders and special gear out of here. Take them to our van in the basement parking. Carry them in boxes and bags that don’t show what’s inside. Go to the usual place and leave them there, using every precaution against being followed. Go home after that, and wait for my call. If things look bad, I’ll send word.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What else can I do but work here until closing? This is my job. If I walk out halfway through the day, it’ll look suspicious. That’s the last thing we want right now.”

  “I… all right, but be careful! I don’t want to have to explain to the Admiral what happened to you!”

  “I always am, Fihr. I always am.”

  As his subordinate hurried out, Abis took a small box from his desk drawer and opened it. Inside nestled several strange-looking white objects, almost like half a molar tooth. He reached into his mouth, unscrewed something, and removed an almost identical object, then replaced it with one of those in the box. He had
to suppress a slight shiver as he did so. If the tenants suspected anything, and took him alive, he knew what the inevitable end would be. Death would be infinitely preferable.

  As Fihr came back with a cardboard box, to clean out the gear in his office, he handed him a half-tooth. “Put this in now. I hope and pray we never need them, but…”

  “Yeah. But.”

  As Fihr went out with the laden box, Abis picked up his comm unit and sent an innocuous five-word message to another comm code, one that was not identified in his contacts file. No-one replied, but he knew those who monitored that code would now be on the alert, just in case. As soon as the message had gone out, he erased it from the comm unit’s memory, as if it had never been sent.

  Agim studied the surveillance vid from the basement garage, hissing slightly between his teeth. “When did this happen?”

  “He left only a few minutes before you finished speaking to us. We do not know what was in the boxes and bags he loaded.”

  “They do not know we have installed our own concealed cameras down there?”

  “They have never given any sign of it, sir.”

  “Very well. That may have been routine, for all we know; but it may not. You did well to inform me. Now, join the others in checking the building. If we find anything, it may be an indication that they heard my conversation with Jehona, or what I said to you after she left, and are taking precautions against being found out.”