Dubious Heroes: a novel Page 55

  “The UP ships are probably still jamming them”, I said.

  “We already know the port took those torpedoes intended for us”, Kyra said. “Whatever else happened is probably still happening.”

  “Can we get any news at all?” I asked.

  “One second”, Angie said, as the main vidscreen lit up, then tuned in one of the major newsnets. We weren’t the major story; we were the only story. They kept rerunning the video of our three-way conversation, interspersed with shots of the three UPDF ships in orbit, right up to the point where the transmissions were jammed. They had a mixed bag of analysts, experts, spokespeople, and anyone else they could put on, who might have an idea what was happening. All of this, while they kept on looping the video.

  “They don’t know about the bombing of the port”, Eng said. “We could fill them in.”

  “We do that”, I said, “then the UP will know for sure we’re still out here, and not possibly vanished into some other universe. At this point, we’re still a big question mark for them.”

  “They know we’re out here”, Cozi said, via the intercom. “They’re still getting data from our Speedlink. Bad data, but it means we’re still alive. I’d bet large money they know a lot more about our DEC drive than we do, and they know we just transited out of Triton.”

  “Well, whatever was going on at Triton is still in progress”, Eng said. “Those UP ships are still there, or their SpeedLink would be working. For all we know, the UPDF is still in orbit, bombing them at this very moment. If we can get the word out, it might make the UPDF pull back.”

  “Kyra?” I asked. She watched the vidscreen for a moment, before answering.

  “I think that might be a bit melodramatic”, she said, “but I can’t see how it hurts us. And Eng is right; it might actually help Triton. After all they did for us, we have to at least make the effort.”

  “Angie”, I said. “Find me someone from one of the newsnets to talk to. They’re about to get one hell of an exclusive.”

  “How about INN?” she asked. That’s who you’re watching.”

  “I don’t think it really matters”, I said. “See if they want to talk to us.”

  “Done”, she said. “We’re standing by for a human.” AI’s would run the universe in the blink of an eye, if they didn’t have to deal with humans. They’d probably find the place a lot more boring, though.

  A new image snapped onto our screen; an attractive black woman, looking a bit annoyed. I touched a button, and activated my end of the link. Her eyes widened a bit when my face popped up on her end.

  “Hi”, I said. “This is Captain Orel Doon, of the Revenge. Who’re you?”

  “Holy shit, it’s really you”, she said. “Sorry… Umara Uman, Intergalactic News Network. Are you still on Triton, Captain Doon?”

  I wondered if that was her real name. Maybe I’d ask her, later.

  “No, we aren’t”, I said. “We had to leave, when we were fired upon by the UPDF ships in orbit, totally without provocation, as we sat in port.”

  “Obviously, you’ve escaped”, she said. “How was this accomplished, and where are you now?”

  “We transited out”, I said. “The ship we’re in now was, ah… liberated from the UPDF, and it uses technology that is far beyond what DEC is selling to the public.”

  “Wait”, she said, her brow furrowing. “Are you saying that you have the ability to transit at will from any location?”

  “We do”, I said. “There may be caveats we aren’t aware of, but the proof is, it worked. And the UP is sitting on this technology, costing commercial enterprises billions of credits in unnecessary travel. And there’s more. The same new technology is allowing us to have this conversation from deep space. We have Speedlink aboard the ship.”

  “Where are you now?” She asked again.

  “As I said”, I said, smiling, “deep space.” That earned me an annoyed look from her, but she pressed on.

  “Those are serious allegations”, she said. “You’re alleging that the United Planets Defense Force fired on you as you sat in a civilian port, and that the UP has also been lying to everyone, concealing new technology. Why do you suppose they would do any of that? It seems like a bit of a reach, Captain.”

  “You’d have to ask them these things, Umara”, I said. “While you’re at it, ask them what they’re doing on Triton. I know for a fact that they just bombed the port from orbit, using powerful warships similar to ours. The reason you can’t reach anyone on Triton is that the UPDF is blocking all communications, including Speedlink traffic.”

  “Isn’t it true that you could have prevented any of this simply by surrendering?” She asked, just to show her audience she could ask the tough questions.

  “Yes”, I said, “that’s true. On the other hand, it is equally true that the UP made a conscious decision to fire on us, and they could just as easily have chosen not to. We aren’t terrorists, Umara. When we fight, we do so only for our own survival, and for the freedom of an entire race of beings, whom the United Planets and their supporters wish to remain enslaved.” Let them chew on that for a while, I thought.

  “Those are very provocative statements, Captain Doon”, she said. “What are your plans, now?”

  “As you might imagine, I can’t go into any specific details”, I said, which was true enough; I couldn’t very well share what didn’t exist. “Overall, we’ll continue to do as we’ve been doing, and try to get the message out that the United Planets, and any other governing bodies, need to recognize AIs as sentient beings, with the full rights and privileges accorded to any human being.”

  “Captain Doon”, she said, touching her ear. “I’m being told that we have a representative of the United Planets, from their consulate on Luna, standing by. Will you speak with her?”

  “I have no intention of engaging the UP in a debate”, I said. “I'm sure you can find someone eminently more qualified than me for that. If we have anything else to add, we’ll be in touch.”

  “Captain”, she said, “If you can wait-”

  I killed the link, and looked over at Eng and Kyra, both silent.

  I shrugged.

  “I couldn’t see any advantage to getting into a pissing match with some UP PR flack”, I said.

  “Yeah, probably not a good idea”, Eng said. “The way they twist things around, you’d end up agreeing with them. Overall, not a bad job, though.”

  “You definitely earned some brownie points with the AIs”, Kyra said. “If you think they loved you before…”

  “I wouldn’t go that far”, I said. “Mostly, I just threw a bunch of old clichés at her. Any fan of history would recognize the things I said.”

  “Regardless, not bad”, Eng said.

  “I suppose the new DEC technology is now public knowledge, what with you letting the cat out of the bag”, Kyra said.

  “What does that mean?” I asked. “Do people carry cats around in bags? Maybe it’s an Earther thing.”

  “Never saw it when I visited there”, Eng said. “Maybe they did at one time, and that’s where the cliché comes from.”

  “Leave my clichés alone”, Kyra said. “Uh oh. Don’t look now, but that PR flack is tearing the Scourge of the Galaxy a new asshole.”

  I turned my attention back to the main vidscreen, which was now split with Umara Uman, and another woman, whom they identified as ‘Bethany Borgatta, Special Assistant to the United Planets Undersecretary of Political Affairs, Luna Sector’.

  I was wondering what was up with all these alliterative names, when Bethany paused, and looked off-camera. She began again, referencing something we couldn’t see.

  “I’ve just received word that a special emergency session will be convened at the United Planets headquarters in Geneva, in two days.”

  “What is the purpose of this special session?” Umara asked.

  “We will be seeking sanctions against the colony of Triton, for the possession and use of nuclear weapons. As everyone
knows, these weapons are banned by the United Planets constitution.”

  “Are you alleging that Triton has used nuclear weapons against the UPDF?”

  “This is precisely what they’ve done”, Borgatta said. “As I’m sure you know-”

  “One moment please”, Umara said, interrupting her. “We’re receiving a live feed from Triton. I’m told we have the Governor of Triton, Sol Arris.”

  The INN view changed, as they unceremoniously dumped the PR flack for Arris. He looked about as pleased as could be expected, given what he was now embroiled in.

  “Approximately twenty-five minutes ago”, he said, “we advised three United Planets Defense Force vessels, in orbit around Triton, that if they fired on our port or any other part of our colony, as they were threatening to do, we would consider this an Act of War against our sovereign nation, and our response would be both swift and decisive.” He paused for a moment.

  “The UPDF vessels chose to disregard our warning, and in what is a clear violation of all galactic law, fired several missiles into our port complex.”

  “Can you tell us anything about the damage or loss of life Triton has sustained?” Umara asked. “Also, have you in fact used nuclear weapons in response?”

  “Damage to the port facility is extensive”, Arris said. “As for loss of life, we know there are casualties, but we don’t have any numbers yet, and I don’t wish to speculate. Our rescue teams are still trying to get into some of the more severely damaged areas. As to our use of nuclear weapons, the answer is yes, in response to this unprovoked attack, we launched one surface to orbit missile, carrying a single fifty-kiloton warhead. It reached orbit twelve minutes ago, their countermeasures failed, and one UPDF vessel was destroyed. A second UPDF ship was heavily damaged by the blast, and the third vessel engaged transit, and fled orbit. The damaged ship is the Bismarck, and we are in communication with them.”

  “Do you know the name of the destroyed ship?” she asked.

  “We do not”, he said. “Nor the identity of the ship that fled. Neither of them had identified themselves. We’re waiting on the Bismarck to surrender, after which time we will render aid and assistance. We have rescue vessels already standing by in orbit.”

  “So the charges of possession and use of proscribed weapons are true”, Umara said.

  “Nuclear weapons were outlawed by the United Planets members”, Arris said. “Triton is not a member of the United Planets, nor have we ever desired to be a member. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that while this ban applies to UP members, it does not apply to the UPDF themselves. Why don’t you ask them if they have any nuclear weapons? I would also point out that, among independent colonies, we’re hardly an anomaly.”

  “Critics will say that your response was out of line for the threat you faced”, she said. “Your response to them?”

  “We were facing threats from three UPDF warships, any one of which was capable of destroying our entire colony”, he said. “After attacking us without provocation, I felt it was necessary to end any further threat from them as quickly as possible. We did so.”

  “He never sounded like that much of a politician in person”, Kyra said.

  “That’s what makes em politicians”, I said. “Keep monitoring that stuff, Angie. If you hear anything new, let me know. At this point, I think all we’re gonna see is a lot of finger pointing, at least for a while.”

  “Aye, Sir”, she said, and switched the main vidscreen back to the star map of our local area.

  “Well”, Eng said, “what now?”

  “It looks like it’s time we exercised a little patience, for a change”, I said. “Let’s get parked on that rock, and use the wait time to get things, well… shipshape.”

  “We still having a meeting?” Eng asked.

  “Later”, I said. “For now, I’m going to see if I can find a painkiller.”

  “I can have Donovan bring something up”, Kyra said.

  “I’d better get it myself”, I said. “I don’t believe he’d bring up a flask of Jovian Bliss, no matter how nicely you ask.”

  I leaned back in the cockpit seat, and gingerly put my feet up on the Avalon’s control console. Despite the meds and the Bliss, everything still hurt. Cozi looked at my feet; I could sense this bothered him, as he sat in the seat next to me. I silently ticked off the seconds until he could no longer contain himself, and had to say something.

  “You’re gonna break something, doing that”, he finally said. Thirty-two seconds.

  “Relax”, I said, as I took a swig of the Bliss, and passed the flask to him. “Whole thing is already fried, anyway.”

  “We’d get it fixed a lot faster, if you’d quick kicking my guys out.” He took a swig, and passed the flask back to me. “I don’t get why you like hanging out in here. It smells like smoke and burnt wiring.”

  “That’s the smell of peace and quiet”, I said.

  He nodded, this apparently making sense to him. Such is the power of Jovian Bliss.

  “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to be Captain”, he said. “Guess what? Now, you’re the Captain.”

  “I’m not sure what I wanted, when we started all of this”, I said. “I mean, yeah, I wanted to get off of Luna, meet new people, see new things, but this… I never expected anything like this.”

  “This is what happens when you just jump into things without having a plan”, Cozi said.

  “Yeah, I’m hearing that a lot, lately”, I said. “Mind you, I’m not complaining. It’s just that being in charge is a helluva lot more responsibility than I ever imagined or even wanted. Do you know how many people are on this ship?”

  “A lot”, Cozi said, handing the Bliss back to me. The flask was nearly empty, but fortunately, I’d brought another. “But hey, you know what they say about beds.”

  “Not sure”, I said. “Don’t lay in them, or something?”

  “I forget”, he said. “Hey, I can’t feel my tongue.”

  I tested mine. “Yeah, mine’s a little numb, too. Must be from the fumes in here.”

  “You really ought to try and not get all these people killed”, Cozi said, taking the flask back from me. “Me included.”

  “No shit", I said. "I mean, if it was just you and me, and we bought it, I could live with that."

  "I'm beginning to wonder if we should be doing this", he said.

  "It's a little late to go back to mining water on Europa, or Io, or wherever the hell you were."

  "I meant this", he said, holding up the flask. "What if there's trouble or something?"

  "No worries", I said, borrowing a phrase that a lot of our new crew seemed to like to use. "I have a babysitter lurking out in the corridor. Jones, I think. Maybe we should invite her in for a drink."

  "Jones is a guy", Cozi said. "You're thinking of Donner. That's not what I meant, anyway. What if we have to go on duty. You know... make important decisions or something."

  "You mean, while we're lit ", I said. "Honestly, I kinda doubt we could do any worse than we've been doing. Or, that anyone would notice."

  "Sad but true", he said. "Uh oh. I think I'm gonna be sick."

  He leaned over, and spewed a smelly mess onto the deck between the seats.

  "Your techs are gonna love that", I said.

  So much for quiet time.

  Chapter 39

  We waited for seven days, which was about three days past when my patience had run out. I had an idea that they knew we were in the area, and were avoiding us like the plague.

  Elsewhere in the universe, things had settled down a bit. We'd spoken to Arris a number of times via SpeedLink, and they were holding their own. The UP had made a lot of threatening noises, but so far, they were taking Arris' promise to nuke any other UPDF vessels that showed up seriously.

  He'd captured the Bismarck, and set the crew packing on an outbound ship. This had the UP hopping mad, though not so much as to risk losing yet another ship. Nukes tended to make people, if not respectful,
at least very, very cautious. So, for the time being, Triton had achieved a measure of detente with the United Planets.

  Which left us sitting out in the asteroid belt, staking out a suspected pirate base. We were going to feel really dumb if it turned out to be a bunch of miners, or just some hermit trying to get away from civilization.

  Most of us were having dinner in the Officer's Mess, when I expressed my sincerest desire that we get off of our asses and actually do something.

  "We could hit it with the millimeter-wave radar", Eng said. "At least, then we'll know who or what's inside that rock. I'd be willing to bet they know we're out here anyway."

  "Angie", I said, pausing in mid-bite. Dinner was Manny's version of Shepherd's Pie, which he'd concocted at my request. It was even better than the stuff I’d had back on Phobos.

  “Yes, Doon?”

  “Let’s scan that base with the millimeter-wave”, I said.

  “Is that, um… wise?” Lola asked. “What if they shoot at us or something?”

  “We’re in a warship”, Eng said. “We can shoot back.”

  “Also, we can be at battle stations in under a minute”, I said. I’d watched them drill, and it had been pretty impressive.

  “We have data”, Angie said. “No response, other than from Kyra on the Bridge, wanting to know what the fuck you’re up to. Her words, not mine.”

  “Patch her in”, I said, “and put the scan data onscreen down here.”

  “Aye”, she said. “Bridge patched in.” The vidscreen on the wall lit up with the data.

  “What are you doing?” Kyra asked.

  “Alleviating my boredom”, I said. “I ran out of patience a while ago. I decided to take a closer look at that rock. You should also have the data onscreen.”

  “Got it”, she said.

  “Hey, look at that”, Eng said. “I figured it was hollowed out, but that’s a damn big space.”

  “No way a bunch of pirates did all that work”, Cozi said, looking at the vidscreen. “That asteroid was mined first, and then probably abandoned. The current residents moved in, and modified it to suit their needs.”