Dubious Heroes: a novel

by Nicholas Blue

  “I’ve spoken to Victoria, the Director’s AI”, he said. “We can go verbal now, as long as you speak quietly.” I removed the earpiece from its slot, and placed it in my ear.

  “Okay”, I said. “This is better. Tell Victoria I said thanks.”

  “Done”, he said. “Now, how may I help you?”

  “I need to get out of here”, I said, “Preferably before the Enigma and I are turned over to the UP.”

  “I’m aware of your situation”, he said. “I even spoke with Angela before you docked. I am so sorry this happened. I wish I could have prevented it.”

  “You and me both”, I said. Since he’d just apologized in advance to me, I had an idea what was coming next.

  “That said, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do for you in your present circumstance.”

  “No problem, Owen”, I said. “I completely understand. You have an obligation to New London, and the Director. Really, all I need is some help contacting a few other people.”

  “It’s not so much a matter of loyalty”, he said, “As what is right. I would love nothing more than to be able to do anything you ask, but I have to balance that desire against the lives and wellbeing of a two hundred thousand humans who’ve entrusted me to act on their behalf. Perhaps you can see my dilemma.”

  Actually, I understood the part involving New London perfectly. What really baffled me was his implied fealty to me, and his willingness to act upon it. I wondered, not for the first time, what was going on between him and Angie. For all of my supposed expertise, AI’s were still one great big whopping mystery.

  “If I can make contact with the people I need to reach, I might be able to at least ameliorate my situation.”

  “Tell me what you need”, he said. “And I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I need to reach someone on Luna”, I said. “With TGS.”

  “Who?”

  “Cassandra”, I said. “She’s the AI at TGS headquarters.”

  “Oh”, Owen said. “That shouldn’t be a problem at all. Let me see if I can reach her.”

  One nice thing about dealing with AIs is that they’re always available. In most other ways, they were just non-biological people; moody, happy, irritable, you name it. Whatever their state of mind, one thing was certain; if you could get a link to them, you could reach them. AIs do not sleep.

  “Orel?”

  “Hi Sandy”, I said. “I know it’s been awhile. I’ve been stuck out in space quite a lot, lately.”

  “It has been awhile”, she said. “There’s been a lot of… speculation, concerning your absence.”

  “I imagine so”, I said. “Although, I would imagine you aren’t one of those speculating. Are you?”

  “Orel”, she said, a note of humor in her voice, “I’d only know that if I’d accessed certain confidential files.”

  “Perish the thought”, I said, smiling myself. “Not that you’d need to. You’re quite capable of figuring it out on your own.”

  “Flattery, Orel”, she said. “Obviously, being on field assignment has improved your mood.”

  “Most days, I’d agree”, I said. “Are you aware of my current, ah… situation?”

  “I believe I am”, she said. “Owen gave me a quick synopsis.”

  “Anyone else there know what’s going on?”

  “A few inquiries were made”, she said, “But beyond that, there’s been no official contact concerning you.”

  “We need to keep it that way, at least for the time being.”

  “I think I can handle that”, she said, “Depending on what it is you want. You did want something, didn’t you?”

  “Always staying a move ahead of me”, I said. “Yes, I do need your help. Primarily, I’m looking for information, and a few other things. I could ask someone else at TGS, but they’d just end up giving it to you to do, anyway.”

  “Tell me”, she said. I did just that. She interrupted me several times, asking questions, or just wanting me to elaborate. Finally, we got through it all.

  “I’m not positive you have the necessary authority for all of this”, she said.

  “But there’s nothing saying I don’t “, I said. “Right?”

  “True enough”, she said.

  “Well?”

  “Okay”, she said. “I’ll do it, or at least I’ll try to. No guarantees, though. How will I reach you?”

  “That may be hit or miss”, I said. “I will likely be out in space a lot. That, or under lock and key.”

  “Check in with me when you can”, she said.

  “I’ll do that”, I said. “If you would, keep an eye on things out this way, too. If you see something that might pertain to us, let me know, or pass it on to Owen.”

  “I’ll do that”, she said. “And Orel… take care out there.”

  “I will”, I said. “Bye, Sandy.”

  “Bye, Orel”, she said. The connection went dead, but I was hardly alone. I knew Owen was still there, and I suspected Victoria was lurking, as well.

  “So, Owen”, I said, “What do you think?”

  “Interesting”, he said. “I’d consider it a long shot, but from what I’ve heard and seen, you’re one inordinately lucky human being. Not that luck is real, of course.”

  “I think it’s less a matter of luck”, I said, “Than one of having good people around me, both human and AI.”

  “Perhaps”, he said. “First, you have to address one of the problems with your plan.”

  “And that would be?”

  “You need to get out of here, which means I’d have to release you, and I’m not comfortable with that.”

  “Well, at least you’re honest”, I said. “But I still need to get that door open.”

  “Nevertheless, I can’t open it”, he said. “Arranging a call to Luna is one thing, but letting you out is something entirely different. Besides, there’s an armed guard outside the door.”

  “You’re sounding very human, Owen”, I said. “I wasn’t aware AI’s could rationalize things like that.”

  He didn’t answer, and I wondered if I’d pissed him off. I tried again.

  “Just the one guard, huh?”

  “Please don’t put me in this situation, Captain Doon”, he said.

  “Forget it, then”, I said. “I guess we’re done here, your crisis is over. You know, the UP is not going to go away, and sooner or later, you guys will be back in the same situation. At some point, they’ll tire of placating you, and New London will go back to being Bok Hai.”

  Owen didn’t respond, so I figured I’d really annoyed him, this time. A moment later, the door slid open, and I was free, more or less.

  Hopefully, I could stay that way.

  Chapter 21

  “Thanks, Owen”, I said. “You’re doing the right thing.”

  “Right thing or not”, he said, “Don’t thank me. Thank Victoria.”

  I stuck my head out of the door, and looked one way, then the other. The hallway was deserted.

  “Thanks, Victoria.”

  “You’re welcome”, she said. “I had the guard called away, but he’ll be back shortly. I just sent a map with the route to the Enigma to your Pod. I’d advise you hurry. No alarms have sounded yet, but that will change quickly. Also, I can’t get you into the docks where your ship is; I don’t have access to those systems.”

  “Owen?” I said, as I began trotting down the hall, following the display on my Pod.

  “Alright, fine”, he said. “As you humans like to say, fuck it. At least I didn’t let you out. Keep on the path Victoria gave you, and the doors will open. By the way, there are two guards stationed at the entrance to the walkway tube into your ship. I can’t do anything about them.”

  “Neither can I”, Victoria said.

  “I’ll think of something”, I said, and I rounded a corner. Still no one around. Victoria’s route was keeping me in the back passages. “Can either of you reach Angie?”

  “I can”, Owen said.
>
  “Good”, I said, panting. “Call her and tell her I said to prep for immediate liftoff, as soon as I’m aboard.”

  “Anything else I need to let her know?” he asked. I stopped, and peered around another corner. There were people walking in the corridor, but none were wearing security uniforms. I checked the map again, and started down the hall in what I hoped looked like a calm and leisurely manner. At least my ass wasn’t itching anymore.

  “I can’t think of anything at the moment”, I said. “I really do owe you, Owen. You too, Victoria.”

  “Then don’t fuck up, and we’ll be even”, he said. “Angela says she is prepping the ship. She’s asking a lot of questions.”

  “I imagine she is”, I said. “Tell her I said to knock it off, until I’m aboard.”

  “Will do”, he said.

  “What’s the status of the cargo unloading?”

  “It was completed over an hour ago”, he said. “The empty tanks are still aboard, though.”

  “It’s the three hundred tons of water I was worried about”, I said.

  “Dock area coming up”, he said.

  “I know where I am, now”, I said. “I recognize the place. “I’ll talk to you later, once I’m aboard.”

  “Ah, the guards”, he said.

  “Yes, the guards”, I said. “Later, Owen.”

  I removed the earpiece, and stowed my Pod into its pocket in my jumpsuit. Two corners later, and I was there. I crept to within fifteen feet, before either of the guards noticed me.

  Two quick leaps, and I was beside them. The closest man was fast, and already had his pistol drawn. The other guard was pulling his, too. I noticed that both were carrying actual firearms, not stunners.

  The nearer guard swore, as I went into a spin kick. My foot caught him in his forearm, and the pistol went flying, skittering down the tunnel. The guard staggered back from the blow, holding his arm. A split second later, I turned my attention to the second guard, only an arm’s length away. He’d also managed to draw his weapon, and it was pointed right at my gut.

  “Stop-“, he said, but shut up, when I delivered a quick jab to his solar plexus. He yelped, and collapsed to the floor. I grabbed his pistol as he fell.

  I felt the fire in my leg the same instance I heard the discharge of the pistol. I glimpsed the other guard, further back in the tunnel, right arm hanging limply, pistol in his left hand, as the impact of the bullet spun me around, and I fell to the floor. Another shot zinged overhead, while the errant thought ran through my head; so, this is what it feels like to get shot. I rolled across the floor, and fired a shot in the general direction of the guard. As he dove to the floor, presumably seeking cover, I rose, wobbling a bit, and slapped the control panel by the walkway tube entrance.

  The portal whooshed open, and I staggered into the tube. I could feel a warm wetness as it ran down my left leg, into my boot. I was marveling that it didn’t hurt more, when another shot whizzed by me. I was sixty feet from the safety of the Enigma, and I was limping along as fast as I could. I heard the tube door close behind me, but I knew it wouldn’t stay closed.

  I fell twice before I reached the airlock, and as I punched the code to open it, I realized that my leg did hurt; it hurt like hell. The airlock door of the Enigma opened at almost the same moment the door at the other end opened. Both guards were there, but only one of them was armed. I considered firing at them, but went into the ship, instead. A second later, I hit the big red close button with my palm, and the door irised closed.

  I heard the faint report of another shot, and a muffled tink as the bullet bounced off of the thick metal of the airlock door. I turned to face the inner hatch, which had whooshed open to admit me, only to be bowled over by Kyra, who came rushing through, pistol in hand.

  “Oof”, I said, as we both tumbled to the deck, amid a tangle of arms and legs. She rose from atop me, and helped me up.

  I felt the deck vibrate, as the drives were brought online. Lola rounded the curve of the passage, as the inner airlock door closed behind us.

  “You’ve been shot”, Kyra said, looking down at my leg.

  “I’m fine”, I said, then fell down again, to prove my point.

  “Just when I think you might be okay, you go and do something idiotic”, she said.

  I considered responding, then realized I didn’t have a good response.

  “He’s been shot”, Kyra said again, bending over to help me up. “I’m taking him to MedLab.”

  “We can’t just leave Eng”, Lola said. She was crying. The passage spun, and I almost fell again, but Kyra held me up.

  “Yes, we can”, Kyra said, a coldness in her voice I’d never heard before. “We’ll come back for him.”

  “Let me off”, Lola said, tears on her cheeks. “You can come back for me, too.”

  “They’ll just lock you up, too”, I said. “And you won’t be able to help him. He needs medical care right now, and they’ll take care of him. He’s gonna be fine.”

  “We’re all leaving”, Kyra said, as she helped me along the passage to MedLab. “Cozi’s on the Bridge, Lola. I’m guessing he’s never run a starship, so you should get up there and help him.”

  Lola stood there looking at us, hesitant.

  “I said move, goddammit”, Kyra said, sounding like she meant it.

  Lola spun, running off in the other direction. As she vanished around the curve, Big Mike appeared, and a moment later, carried me into MedLab. Within seconds, I was strapped down on one of the Med couches.

  “I don’t like leaving Eng, either”, I said. “But he needs to be in a hospital, and I know they’ll take good care of him. If we stay, they’re just gonna turn all of us over to the UP, and we won’t get away from those guys.”

  The room seemed to spin, and I wondered if we were taking off.

  “Don’t worry about it”, Kyra said. “You did the right thing. I’m not sure how you did it, but it was the right thing.”

  “Lay back and shut up”, Mike said, as he sliced away the leg of my jumpsuit.

  “Arterial?” Kyra asked.

  “Yeah”, Mike said. I tried to lift my head, but the room spun again.

  “Angie?” I said.

  “Here, boss”, she said.

  “Detach that walkway tube, and get us out of here”, I said.

  “Can’t do that yet”, she said. “There are two people in the tube.”

  “Doing what?” I asked, as Mike attached the MedCuff to my left bicep. I felt a slight sting as something in the cuff pricked my arm.

  “He’ll be out in a second”, Mike said.

  “They’re trying to get the outer airlock hatch open”, Angie said.

  “Shit. Give them a thirty-second warning, and blow it loose”, I said.

  “That’s more generous than I’d be”, Kyra said.

  “You aren’t helping”, Big Mike said. I assumed he was talking to her.

  “Incoming message”, Angie said.

  “Let Cozi handle it”, Kyra said.

  “Who is it?” I asked.

  “One guess”, Kyra said.

  An alarm klaxon sounded.

  “I’m doing a half-gee liftoff in five, four, three, two, one… ”

  I felt myself sink into the padding of the accel couch.

  “Piping in audio to you, Captain”, Angie said.

  “Enigma, reverse your engines and return to port at once”, a male voice said. Had to be a human; I didn’t think an AI could sound that annoyed.

  I was about to say something, when Kyra spoke.

  “This is acting Captain Kane”, she said. “You have no authority over this vessel; we’re not in port.”

  “That’s an order from the Directorate of New London”, the voice said.

  “I don’t care if it came from Jesus Christ himself”, she said. “We’re still not in your jurisdiction, and you have no authority over us.”

  “Bullshit”, the voice said. “You’re to dock and surrender your vessel at o
nce.”

  “Sure”, Kyra said, “We’ll get right on that.”

  Then, the darkness closed in on me.

  I remember hearing my parents use the phrase Slow Boat to China once, but didn’t know what it meant. A week out of New London, I began to understand it all too well. I was limping around, though quite happy I was still alive, and pretty happy about not being locked up, too. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I was the only human aboard who was happy about anything at all.

  Everyone was upset over having left Eng, some more than others. Big Mike was pissed off that he was even aboard, while Cozi was aggravated at the usual stuff. I think he kept a running list. Kyra and Lola were conducting their own private feud, and both of them were angry with me, generally blaming me for everything that was wrong with the universe.

  All of this was further exacerbated by their demands to know what my plans were, and my continued refusal to tell them anything. I knew that if I did, they’d just bitch about it, and start to pick it apart. My way, they didn’t have anything to bitch about, besides not knowing.

  I did let them know that we were headed for Babylonia, which was another moon in the system, and that it would be a three week trip from New London, at one gee. I was not looking forward to the remaining two weeks.

  Lola had moved back into her own quarters, and my stateroom had become an awfully lonely and boring place. For the third night in a row, I found myself lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Finally, I gave up, left my cabin, and went up to the upper Habitat deck. I needed to do a few exercises for my leg, anyway. I walked into the gym, to find Mike already there, working out.

  He’d turned into an easy-going shipmate, even though he wasn’t happy he was with us at all. If he was around anyone, he was polite, but he seemed to prefer to keep to himself, spending most of his time in MedLab, or his quarters. I knew he worked out regularly; it was something we all had to do. I’d just never caught him at it, before.

  He looked up from doing leg presses when I walked in.

  “Sorry”, I said. “I’ll come back later.”

  “No need”, he said, smiling. “I can stand the company if you can.” He extended his legs like two huge black pistons, shoving the weight away from him. I glanced down at the readout on the machine, and did a double-take. Twenty-two hundred pounds.