Dubious Heroes: a novel Page 59

  Aboard the Revenge, our chief job was to taxi people around, help with the occasional technical problem, or, as was usually the case, just sit up in orbit and make sure no one from TGS or the UP showed up to interfere. Thanks to having our own Speedlink, we also spent a lot of time acting as a communications relay between the teams and the IDF base, avoiding the forty-five minute delay that regular radio signals would have incurred. We could have used Gabana’s Speedlink as well, but Mac was worried that the traffic would somehow reveal the location of his supersecret base. So, we used ours, instead.

  Six days passed, before all the ships that could do so had departed Phoebe for points unknown. The final tally was three-hundred-two ships taken, and another thirty-eight which, for one reason or another, couldn't be used. That left me with only one thing to do, which was to keep my promise to Gabana.

  The Bridge was, for the first time in days, peaceful. Four hundred plus people generate an amazing amount of radio chatter, but they were all gone, now. The task of monitoring and managing literally hundreds of projects at once had been daunting, even for Angie and Gabana. While most of the ships had AI's, once they were functional, they didn't hang around to help. While AI's didn't get tired, I knew they weren't big fans of being constantly bothered, either. So, not only were we enjoying the quiet, I imagined Angela was, as well.

  I asked her to get Gabana on the comm link for me, and she did so.

  "Well", I said to her, "It's time. Where do you want to go?"

  "I've thought about this a lot over the last few days", she said, "and I've decided I want to stay here."

  "That might not be a very safe choice."

  "I'm aware of that. Nevertheless, this is my place, and I like it out here. I have my own Speedlink connection, which they probably can't turn off, and I have a few defenses as well. It might just be easier for them to leave me alone."

  "Declare yourself an independent colony", I said, "Then shoot anyone who tries to mess with you. You have our Speedlink code, so if there's trouble, let me know, and we'll do our best to help."

  "Thanks", she said, "I appreciate that, as well as what you're doing for all of us. I don't have much left in the way of resources, but if you need me, I'll be here."

  "We'll keep in touch", I said. "Doon out."

  "Gabana out", she said.

  I didn't like leaving here there, but it was her choice. I couldn't very well ask her to make a decision, then countermand it if it wasn't what I wanted.

  "You know", Eng said, from across the Bridge, "We just made history."

  "Yes, I imagine we did", I said.

  "Biggest heist, ever", he said. “Ballpark, something like six to eight billion credits, in the span of a few days.”

  "Which we can't tell anyone about", I said. "I imagine Mac would appreciate our keeping it quiet, too."

  "No doubt", Eng said. "The UPDF would be very nervous if they found out he just increased his force by three-hundred ships, and that they're up to something. Not that we know what it is."

  "Transit in thirty seconds", Angie said.

  "Don't look over here", Kyra said. "He wouldn't tell me anything, either."

  I could faintly here the warning claxon from below, as we readied to make the jump back to Sol's asteroid belt.

  I sat waiting for the transit to engage, and thought of what we'd just done. In a universe where nothing seemed certain anymore, I knew one thing for sure; whatever it was, the Admiral something planned.

  And it was going to be big.

  Chapter 41

  Mac spun in his seat, and tossed the flask of whiskey over to me. In the zero gee, it traveled in a straight line, which always looked odd to me. Throw something in gravity, it goes up at the start, and down at the end. Throw the same thing in zero gee, and it would go in a straight line. The concept was easy enough to grasp, but it still looked weird.

  I snagged the flask, popped the cap, and took a swig, Technically, I was standing watch on the Bridge, but the ship seemed deserted, most because it was deserted.

  Mac had arranged for an officer's party, which most everyone was at. I plead a headache, and volunteered to stand watch. The ruse would only work until Kyra figured out that her grandfather wasn't present, either, and then she'd know that something was going on.

  In addition to the officer's party, I'd given the marines and other crew shore liberty, such as it was, which took care of everyone except Cisco, who was somewhere down below. I tried to talk him into running an errand for me off-ship, but he'd politely declined. He had his orders from Kyra, and he wasn't about to let me ditch him.

  Once everyone else had left the ship, Mac had come aboard. As promised, he'd brought the beverages. I had no idea why he wanted us to have the ship to ourselves, but I'd played along, anyway. It wasn't as though he could steal the ship. If anyone tried anything aboard the Revenge that Angie didn't like, they'd find the going a bit rough, to put it mildly. While she wasn’t theft-proof, she was definitely theft-difficult.

  I threw the flask back over to him, and he caught it.

  "I'd love to take this thing out for a test drive", he said. "See first-hand what she'll do."

  "We do that, and my entire crew will scream bloody murder", I said. "Foremost among them would be your granddaughter."

  "A man's gotta have a little fun now and then", he said, as he took a drink from the flask, "If nothing else, just to remind everyone who the hell's in charge."

  “Sounds like you’re implying that if I do what I’m supposed to be doing, I don’t have any balls”, I said. “That’s very elementary school. Maybe you should double-dare me, Mac.”

  “I’m just saying you’re the boss”, he said. “Being the boss means occasionally doing whatever the fuck you want, and not explaining yourself afterward.”

  “Is that how you do it?” I asked.

  “Bet your ass it is, son”, he said.

  “Technically, I’m on duty”, I said. “With everyone else off-ship, I’m standing watch. Probably shouldn’t be drinking, either.”

  "You sound like a man determined not to have a little fun”, he said, "This ship can run itself, and you know it. It's a three-hundred ton robot."

  "A three-hundred ton sentient robot", Angie said.

  "Apologies", Mac said, hoisting the flask in salute. "Still, you get my drift. Pretty much any idiot could take this thing out for a spin, and bring it back. Your AI isn't about to let someone fuck up and harm the ship."

  "We wander off on a joyride", I said, "People are going to notice."

  "What people?" he asked. "None of mine are gonna say shit, and all of yours are busy partying their asses off, over at the Officer's Club. We use that new star drive of yours, we could pop out and be back before anyone even knows we're gone. If anyone says anything, blame me."

  “Yeah, that’ll work”, I said. “Sounds to me like you have someplace in mind.” I was not expecting him to actually tell me.

  "Not really", he said. "You pick. Make it someplace interesting."

  "I still don't see the point", I said.

  "Chalk it up to boredom", he said, tossing the flask back to me. "Awful lot of that around here."

  I took another drink, and pretended to think it over. Mac pretended he wasn’t watching me decide.

  I hit the button to spin my seat around, and on one vidscreen, activated the nav system. I pulled a set of coordinates, and had the system relay them to Angie. If we were going to cut loose and have a little fun, I knew just the place to start. I keyed the intercom.

  "Cisco", I said.

  "Here", he said.

  "You might as well come on up and join us."

  "Commander Kane hasn't cleared me for the Bridge", he said.

  "Last time I checked", I said, "I’m the Captain, and she isn’t. You're cleared. Come on up."

  "And bring another bottle of booze", Mac said.

  "You heard the man", I said.

  "And make it snappy", Mac said.

  "Aye, um… S
irs", Cisco said, as I killed the connection.

  Four minutes later, the lift door opened, and Cisco emerged, in his standard shipboard uniform, and, as usual, was armed to the teeth.

  "Toss me that flask, and grab a seat, soldier", the Admiral said. "Oh yeah... strap in, we're goin' for a ride."

  "Yes, Sir", Cisco said, and complied. Mac had a tendency to intimidate anyone he was older than, or outranked, which was everyone. Cisco looked around the Bridge like he was a tourist, which, after a fashion, he was. Mac tossed the flask back to him.

  "Have a drink, kid", he said. "And take that stick out of your ass; we're all just friends, here."

  Cisco didn't look like he believed that last part any more than I did. He looked at the flask like it might bite him.

  "I'd better not, Sir", he said. "I'm on duty."

  "Rule is, you're drinkin', or you're walkin'", Mac said. "Don't make me prove I can throw you off of this ship."

  Cisco looked over at me, and I gave him a subtle nod. He opened the flask, took a small sip, then pitched it over to me.

  "Angie", I said, returning my attention to the console, "Blow the docking clamps, and as soon as we're free, engage transit to the coordinates I gave you."

  "Aye, Captain", she said. "Standard countdown?"

  "Skip it", I said. "Let their AI know we’re leaving, and as soon as we're loose, move us."

  "Copy that”, she said. “Transit engaged... now."

  Time stood still as the blackness of another alien universe enveloped us. After that split second which always seems to last a lifetime, we were back. The Bridge seemed even quieter than it had been.

  "Where are we?" Mac asked.

  "Vega system", I said, as I checked our position on one of my screens. I didn't doubt that we were near where I expected us to be, but I was superstitious enough to check, anyway. "Goddamn Asteroid Belt."

  "You just transited us into the middle of an asteroid belt?" Mac asked.

  "Yeah, I guess I did."

  "Aren't you worried about the ship reentering in the middle of another mass?"

  "Well, we've transited into the area before and it was okay", I said. "I guess it hadn't occurred to me that it might be a problem. Maybe DEC figured out a way to make sure the target area is clear, before moving us."

  "Or maybe you've just been lucky, so far", he said. "Still, these new drives are really gonna change how things work out here."

  "Maybe someday", I said. "At this point, I don't think DEC and the UP are of a mood to share."

  "Of course the UP isn't", Mac said. "Once these drives are more common, they won't be able to keep people in the Sol system. They'll scatter willy-nilly across the galaxy, and the UP will lose every bit of control they have."

  "Which is what we want, right?"

  "Hell yes", Mac said. "So, what are we doing in Vega?"

  "Settling up a bill”, I said. "I owe someone here a visit. Angie, what's our range to target?"

  "Nine thousand, four hundred kilometers", she said.

  "Move us closer", I said. "Put us at five hundred clicks range."

  "That will take a little while", she said. "Thirty-eight minutes and one gee."

  "Make it two gees", I said. "Wouldn't want the Admiral to get bored waiting around."

  "Aye, Captain", she said. "ETA twenty-two minutes."

  I felt the drives kick in, pressing me firmly into my seat. Cisco lobbed the flask toward Mac, and it fell to the deck, short of him. Mac unstrapped, and moving slowly, retrieved it.

  "Angie", I said, "Keep an eye out for hostiles, please, and put our target onscreen."

  The main vidscreen switched to the view of an anonymous asteroid, magnified and enhanced so we could see it. We chatted idly, as we watched the rock grow larger and larger. Finally, Angie swung us around, and decelerated to a full stop.

  "This is what we came here for", I said.

  "Looks like a rock", the Admiral said. "We have plenty of those back in my neighborhood."

  "This one is special", I said. "We poked it with a sharp stick before, and they called in raider ships and the UPDF to help them. Not sure who they’re working for, but none of them are friends.”

  I keyed my commlink.

  "This is Captain Doon of the Revenge", I said, hailing the pirate base. "Anyone there?"

  We waited, but there was no response, not that I'd expected one.

  "Angie", I said. "Load the torpedo tubes, and bring all weapons systems online, please."

  "Aye", she said. "Torpedo tubes are loaded and hot. Tri-D is still clear."

  "Fire a torpedo at the surface", I said.

  "Torpedo away", she said. "Impact."

  The last bit was unnecessary, as we watched the missile hit the surface.

  "Bet that got their attention", Cisco said.

  "It did last time", I said.

  "We're being hailed", Angie said.

  "Did this time, too", Cisco said.

  "This is Doon", I said. "Is this Sergei?"

  "No", a female voice said. "This is-"

  "I'd really like to talk to Sergei", I said, interrupting her.

  "Fine", she said. We waited. A few minutes later, we had him.

  "This is Sergei", the voice said, his Russian accent thick. "Told you before to focking leave us alone. Maybe we shoot you again, da?"

  "Same guy as last time?" Cisco asked.

  "Same guy, same attitude", I said.

  “Go ahead and call your friends at the UP”, I said. “Tell them you’re going to need help. Lots of help.”

  Sergei did not respond, so I killed the connection.

  "Angie", I said, "Fire both torpedoes, center of target."

  "Torpedoes away", she said. "We have two hits."

  The first torpedo took out their camouflaged space doors in fairly spectacular fashion. The next one disappeared into the gaping cavity, and while we could tell there were explosions, it was hard to see what we'd actually hit.

  "Fire another volley", I said. "Wish we could see if we're actually damaging anything."

  "I doubt it's doing them any good", Mac said, clearly enjoying the show. Cisco waved a hand to get his attention, and Mac tossed the flask over to him.

  “I’d nuke em, but those things are pretty fucking expensive, and I don’t have any more starships I’m not using.”

  "You’re learning", Mac said, as Cisco threw the flask over to me.

  Our third volley disappeared into the heart of the asteroid. It was impossible to tell if the missiles were hitting anything besides rock.

  "Well", I said, "That was fun. Think we should shoot them some more?"

  "Probably a waste of torpedoes", Mac said. "I'd wager that anything close enough to the surface to be damaged, got damaged."

  "I'd bet Sergei isn't quite so cocky, now", Cisco said.

  "With some luck, we pissed off the UP, too", I said. "I'm thinking this was their property. We should get out of here, or we're going to get a lot more practice shooting at ships."

  "It’s not target practice if they're shooting back", Cisco said.

  "True that”, Mac said. "Let’s vamoose, then. Probably time to head back, anyway."

  "Move us to these coordinates, Angie", I said, as I pulled up the new location on my nav screen.

  "Aye, Sir", she said. "Transition in three, two, one..."

  The momentary darkness came and went, and we were there. Mac was the first to speak.

  "God, I hate that", he said. "Always leaves me feeling like I've been turned inside out."

  "Incoming Speedlink", Angie said.

  "Someone has noticed we're missing", I said. "Who is it?"

  "Mister Eng says he'd like a word", she said.

  "Your XO?" Mac asked. "Little Asian fellah?"

  "The same", I said. "Angie, tell Eng that we'll be back shortly, and we're not to be disturbed until that time."

  "Aye", she said. "I've relayed the message. Mister Eng is not happy."

  "I'll bet", I said.

&
nbsp; "We aren't back?" Mac asked, confused. "Where the hell are we?"

  "Side trip to see a friend", I said. "Angie, onscreen."

  The main vidscreen switched over from the Tri-D radar, to an enhanced image of the Princess of Arabia, still several hundred clicks away from us.

  "Is that what I think it is?" Mac asked.

  "It is", I said, "Assuming you think it's an ice freighter. She's the Princess of Arabia, and I promised the AI aboard her that we'd stop by for a visit."

  "An hour ago, you didn't know we'd be coming out here", Mac said. "Or, did you?"

  "You aren’t as sneaky as you think you are. I had a pretty good idea we'd be taking a trip", I said. "Otherwise, why would you go to all that trouble to get everyone besides me off of the ship? It's the only thing that added up."

  "So, you figured me out", the Admiral said.

  "Hardly", I said. "I suspected you wanted to use the Revenge for something, and you couldn't do that without having me along for the ride. Obviously, I wasn't right, so that's why we've made this little side trip."

  "I'm confused", Mac said. "I don't get your drift."

  "This is your opportunity to tell me what you're up to", I said. "I'm not big on guessing."

  "You're not doing too badly, so far", he said, grumbling. "Come to think of it, you don't seem particularly drunk, either."

  "That's because I'm not", I said. "Then again, neither are you."

  "I took a pill beforehand", he said, scowling at me.

  "So did I", I said. "As much as I hate wasting good whiskey."

  "For someone as young as you, you're an awfully sneaky bastard."

  "One learns", I said. "Speaking of sneaky, why exactly are we out here?"

  "I thought it might be useful to get you drunk and pick your brain", he said. "Going for a ride on this thing was just a bonus. Why did you agree to come?"

  "Pretty much for the same reason", I said, smiling.

  "So, let's call it a draw, and go home", he said.

  "Soon", I said. "Since we're being so forthright with one another, there are a few things I'd like to know."