Dubious Heroes: a novel

by Nicholas Blue

  On the plus side, Lola would also shoot at them, if it proved necessary, and I had no doubts that she’d put a few holes in them, given the opportunity. Maybe the UP guys would be too busy ducking to notice who was doing what. Once they committed to taking the Princess, I intended to give them much bigger things to worry about.

  We left Lola and Mike aboard the Princess, blew the tethers holding us to her, and moved the Enigma to what was the back of the big freighter. On one of the outer container rings, we fired the grapplers again, and attached to one of the containers. Each was a little bigger than the Enigma, and the Princess was composed of over six hundred of them.

  Angie reeled us in tight against it, and we powered almost everything down.

  It was time to wait.

  I enjoy waiting about as much as I enjoy a rectal exam. The first five seconds are fairly tolerable, and even mildly interesting, and then I just wish it would get the hell over with. Three days dragged by as we sat silently, unable to use anything that transmitted a signal, or even use any of our sensors that might give away our position.

  To reduce our profile, the Enigma was basically laying on her side. This seemed like a great idea at the time, then the Princess of Arabia fired her drives, returning us to almost a gee and a half gravity. Whether anyone tried to intercept her or not, we still had to slow down enough to make orbit around New London.

  As soon as we were under thrust, our port walls and bulkhead became our floor. Cozi noted that the heads would work from any angle or gravity, including in zero gee. Sitting on one, however, was a problem that none of us could figure out. This left us with the tedious alternative, which was to put on a spacesuit, attach the catheters, and take care of business. Put politely, it sucked. None of the accel couches were usable either, so we all ended up bedding down on the walls. While I was sure that neither Mike nor Lola were enjoying the waiting, at least their floor was where it was supposed to be, and they’d have some warning that someone was coming.

  Angie and I were in the middle of what seemed like our millionth game of chess, and I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to try to stop us, when Angie picked up the change in the engines on the Princess. Winifred was telling us that a ship had been detected on her tri-d, and was closing with us.

  Angie scanned comm link channels, until she picked up the incoming ship. Within minutes, everyone had gathered in the galley. We had to stand on one wall, and look up at the vidscreen on the ceiling. We’d rigged a couple of remote cams on the opposite side of the ice container, since its bulk not only served to hide us, it also did a wonderful job of blocking our view in the direction we wanted to look. Everyone stood silently, necks craned back, looking at an empty screen, and listening as the incoming ship tried to make contact with the Princess of Arabia.

  I was beginning to get a neck cramp, when Donner said fuck this, and sat down on the floor. A moment later, she was lying back, looking at the screen above. I thought this was a stellar idea, so I followed suit, and lay down beside her. She glanced over, and we grinned at each other, but didn’t say anything. Seconds later, everyone else was on the floor, looking up.

  The minutes crawled by, and it wasn’t long before we all began losing patience.

  “I don’t see anything”, Cozi said. The two ships had just identified themselves to each other. As expected, they’d sent the UPDF frigate Montreal.

  “Maybe it’s too far off”, Cisco said. I’d ignored Kyra’s advice, and worked out with him several times, both in the gym, and sparring in the cargo hold. He was smarter than I figured a soldier would be, and unlike sparring with Kyra, I didn’t always get my ass kicked.

  “Is it coming up from behind us?” Someone asked.

  “Angie, tell me you’re watching our backside”, I said. If they approached from the rear, then our entire ruse would be for naught.

  “Nothing on the cams behind us”, she said. “Assuming you mean the direction we’ve just come from.”

  “Okay”, I said. “Then where the hell is that ship?”

  “The forward remote cameras are picking up movement”, she said, “But it’s… unusual.”

  I studied the screen, and still didn’t see anything but an empty star field. The Princess of Arabia was giving the Montreal a hard time about verifying its identity. I’d asked Winifred to delay them for a while when they showed up. Still, until they put a boarding party onto the Princess, we couldn’t move a muscle.

  “Zoom in tight where you have the movement”, I said.

  “I see it”, Cozi said. “The stars are moving.”

  “Okay”, I said. “What the fuck is that?”

  No one said anything, as we silently watched the vidscreen. Something was definitely there, but space seemed to flow around it, like water over a smooth surface.

  “That’s the frigate”, Kyra said. “Has to be.”

  “Angie”, I said, “What can you tell us about it?”

  “Not much”, she said. “Not without activating our sensors. I’d love to hit it with the tri-d radar, but you said not to.”

  “They’ll pick up on anything we try to probe them with”, Kyra said. Besides, our millimeter-wave radar won’t work any better than theirs.”

  She had a point; we’d installed a radar jammer on the Princess, to limit the amount of information they would have.

  “Okay, so no radar”, I said. “What can we tell about it?”

  I think I know”, one of the mercs said, studying the screen. “The whole thing is mirrored. Or, maybe its chrome plated.”

  “I kinda doubt they’d use chromium to plate it with”, Cozi said. “What would be the point?”

  “Regardless of what they used, he’s right”, I said. “The whole damn thing is reflective. All the modules are coated with something.”

  “I’d agree”, Kyra said. “Even the engines have an albedo that’s almost off the scale.”

  “What’s that mean?” Donner asked.

  “Means it’s very shiny”, Cisco said.

  “Why would they do that?” I asked. “Aside from it looking kinda cool.”

  “Well, you can forget using any lasers against it”, Cozi said. “No idea how other sensors might react to it, though. I can’t imagine radar would have a problem with it.”

  “It does make it hard to see, visually”, Kyra said.

  “Yeah, but how often is that useful, out here?” I said. “You know, I’d bet my left nut that this is one of those new generation ships the UP’s been deploying in the last year or so. They don’t release pictures or specs on any of their ships, as it is.”

  “I wonder what else it can do that we don’t know about”, Kyra said.

  “I believe we’re going to have a chance to find out, real soon”, Cozi said, which left everyone in a thoughtful mood.

  We listened in as the Captain of the Montreal came on the comm link. Even after sitting and listening to an obstinate AI, his voice was calm and measured. There seemed a precision to his words that reminded me of the British accents I’d heard on New London.

  “Princess of Arabia”, he said. “This is Captain Hans Jorgensen of the United Planets Defense Force Frigate Montreal.”

  “Hello, Captain”, Winifred said. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Likewise”, he said. “I’ll get right to the point. I’m not sure you understand how important it is that you cooperate with us.”

  “I understand that you believe it is important”, she said. “What’s of primary importance to me is that I follow the orders I’ve been given.”

  “Yet, TGS has issued you new orders, have they not?”

  “They have not issued me any valid orders”, Winifred said. “The security codes were invalid, which means the orders did not originate with TGS.”

  This gave Jorgensen something to think about for a minute. I’d expected TGS to send new orders, but I hadn’t been aware that they’d already done so. It must have been on a frequency we weren’t monitoring. I doubted that T
GS would send the wrong codes, but Jorgensen didn’t know that, and it would take him some time to verify it.

  “Princess of Arabia“, Jorgensen said, “We’re trying to be reasonable here.”

  “Pretty polite, for the UP”, Kyra said. “Usually, they just show up and start acting like the bullies they are.”

  “Maybe TGS was adamant that their ship not be harmed”, Cozi said.

  “Beats me”, I said. “Hush up and listen.”

  “I am trying to be reasonable as well”, Winifred said.

  “As I’m sure you are aware, we could easily destroy your engines and disable your vessel, but I’d rather it not come to that.”

  “I’m aware of that possibility”, she said. “I am also aware of why that’s not an option for you, Captain. If you damage my drives, I can’t slow down and go into orbit around New London. Our current trajectory has us on a… what would you call it?”

  “Collision course”, Jorgensen said, glumly.

  “That’s it”, she said. “A collision course, with the New London colony. Given our speed and mass, how much damage do you think that would cause?”

  Jorgensen didn’t answer.

  “I will be following my orders, and continuing on to New London”, she said. “I’ve also noted your threats, and will report them to the proper authorities.”

  “We are the proper authorities”, Jorgensen said, a bit of frustration creeping into his voice. You have new orders, of which you are in violation. In addition to that, your owner, TGS-”

  “TGS is not my owner”, Winifred said.

  “Very well”, Jorgensen said, with a very audible sigh. “TGS, who is your employer, and is also the owner of your starship, is a United Planets signatory, and as such, you and your vessel are subject to United Planets authority whenever we deem it necessary. Do you understand this?”

  “I understand what you are saying”, she said, “But I neither agree, nor do I recognize your authority. I will not stop this ship until we make port in New London.”

  “Your cargo is not intended for New London”, the Captain said. “In fact, there is an embargo in place there, and the delivery of your cargo would be in violation of this. Besides, I am told it is needed elsewhere.”

  “Then you can address that with New London, when we get there”, she said. She knew, as did all of us listening, that one UP ship was not about to get into a pissing match with an entire colony. Once the Princess of Arabia was in orbit, New London would get that ice.

  “Very well”, Jorgensen said. “You have made your decision, and now I have made mine. We will be boarding your vessel, and assuming control of it. We show that your crew is still on Europa?”

  “That is correct”, she said. “You’re scanning me with your radar, so you should know that.”

  “You’re jamming our radar”, Jorgensen said.

  “I am not”, Winifred said, doing a pretty good job of sounding offended. “If your radar is malfunctioning, it is not my fault.”

  “Prepare to be boarded”, Jorgensen said. He didn’t sound quite as calm as before. “Montreal out.”

  “Suit up, guys”, Kyra said, looking over at her mercs. “It’s showtime.”

  “You’re on the Bridge, Cozi”, I said, as I rose and followed them out.

  We were about to board and attempt the capture of a United Planets ship. If we didn’t succeed, Cozi would have the Enigma to himself.

  He didn’t look thrilled at the prospect.

  “Give me a play-by-play”, I said to Angie, as I walked into the suit room. Fortunately, the wall with the suits was now on the floor, otherwise, suiting up would have been a real adventure.

  “Aye, Captain”, Angie said. “It looks as though they are maneuvering in slowly to deploy their grapplers, just like we did.”

  The soldiers were already suited up, checking readouts, and Kyra was climbing into hers. I found my suit, and lying down, wriggled into it. We considered having Winifred fluctuate the drives when the UP ship tried to grapple, until Kyra pointed out that we might succeed in wrecking the both of them. Just grappling while under thrust would be an impressive feat, even for an AI. Doing so while the thrust was changing was an invitation to disaster.

  “Radio silence until I say otherwise”, Kyra said. They all gave her a thumbs up, to show they’d heard. I sealed up my suit, then slid open the face shield. The mercs were going through their gear. Each of them had attached a bag of equipment and weapons to their suit belts. That done, all four picked up what looked to be large, fat rifles. I could see they were designed to be used when wearing suit gloves. I didn’t think the plan called for any shooting while in vacuum, but if they needed to, they were ready.

  The plan, or more accurately, Kyra’s plan, was pretty simple. We’d let the Montreal latch onto the Princess, and once they boarded her, we’d grapple onto the Montreal, then board her. Once we had control of the UP ship, we would then have to talk the boarding party on the Princess into surrendering. Or, something to that effect.

  We listened intently, and watched via the remote cams, as the Montreal eased in, then fired her magnetic grapplers. This close, she was a lot easier to see, although she still looked decidedly odd.

  Quickly, I ran through the different comm channels we’d be using. I could change channels via the heads-up display in the suit helmet. All I had to do was look at the proper channel indicator, and blink my right eye to activate it. It looked a little goofy to anyone watching, but it was silent, and with practice, it worked.

  “They’re grappled and are extending a walkway”, Angie said, as we watched in happen on the vidscreen.

  “Let us know when they’re inside”, I said. Winifred would pulse her drives again, once the UP boarding party was in and engaged. “As soon as they fire any shots, Winifred will sound a distress call.”

  “That ought to annoy those UP guys”, one of the mercs said.

  “Not as much as I intend to annoy them”, Kyra said.

  We stood and silently watched the screen for a couple of minutes.

  “I know we’ve discussed this before”, I said, “but let’s make sure we’re all on the same page regarding the use of force.”

  “Yeah, yeah”, Kyra said. “We don’t kill anyone we don’t have to, and we don’t blow anything up we don’t have to. I will not, however, put any of us at risk, just to avoid shooting any of them.”

  “I’m good with that”, I said.

  “Trust me”, she said, “They will be trying to kill us. It’s not as though we’re attacking a ship full of religious refugees.”

  “I get that”, I said. “I just want to avoid the unnecessary stuff, if we can.” I was also aware that someone’s idea of necessary could be highly situational.

  I didn’t doubt that the soldiers knew I was pretty green at this sort of thing, but I figured the more I kept my mouth shut, the less likely I was to confirm their suspicions. So, we sat and watched the screen, where nothing moved. A half hour passed, though it seemed closer to being an eternity. I jumped a little, when Angie came on the intercom, and noticed Cisco had done the same. We grinned sheepishly at each other.

  “We have the signal”, Angie said. “They’re inside, and shots have been fired. Drives are online, and I’m releasing grapplers in three, two, one… we’re free. Stand by for maneuvering.”

  We all moved into the main airlock, and grabbed onto the bulkhead handholds. I didn’t have one of the big guns the mercs had, and neither did Kyra. My holster and pistol were in a bag clipped to my belt; I’d have to unsuit to use it. I could feel the attitude jets firing, and then we were at zero gee. I was beginning to understand the old military adage of hurry up and wait.

  “Seal em and check em”, Cisco said. All the mercs closed their faceplates. Kyra and I did as well. My heads-up was green, so I was sealed and ready. The inner airlock door irised closed.

  “Vacuum in thirty”, Kyra said. The main drives fired, as Angie moved us around the huge bulk of the Princess.
>
  “Two minutes”, Angie said. “They know we’re here, and they’re hailing us.”

  “Ignore them”, I said. “Can they do anything to us, at this point?”

  “I don’t think so”, Kyra said. “We’re too close for them to use weapons, unless they have something I haven’t seen before. They could cut loose, but it would mean stranding their away team.”

  “Report from the Princess“, Angie said, via our suit radios. “Winifred says the Montreal initially sent in a boarding party of three. Two of those were shot, current condition unknown. They pulled back, and were joined by five more UP troopers. At present, they are on the lower level of the Crew Module, exchanging fire with Mike and Lola.”

  “That leaves ten people on the Montreal“, I said, proving to everyone that I could do simple math.

  “We’re lined up with the Montreal“, Angie said. “Firing grapplers on your command.”

  “Do it”, I said.

  “Grapplers away”, Angie said. I felt the thumps in the deck as compressed air launched them toward the hull of the UP ship.

  “Well?” Kyra asked, when Angie didn’t say anything else.

  “Problem”, Angie said. “All grapplers failed. I’m reeling them in for another try.”

  “Damn”, someone said.

  We felt the thumps as the grapplers fired again. Again, they wouldn’t stick. Angie tried a third time, with the same result, or lack thereof.

  “They won’t attach”, she said.

  Kyra cut loose with a string of invective that left our ears burning.

  “I guess we know what else that shiny plating is good for”, I said, which earned me a dirty look from Kyra. I hoped like hell she had a backup plan.

  “Alright”, she said, “If we can’t tether to the Montreal, we’ll have to hook up to the other side of the Princess’s Crew Module, and EVA around to the Montreal.”

  “You copy that, Angie?” I asked.

  “I copy”, Angie said. “Winifred has a problem with it, though.”

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “She doesn’t think she can keep her thrust stable with two of us attached to her, firing our own engines. Too many variables. Even a variance of two percent would be catastrophic.”