Dubious Heroes: a novel Read online

  Her words were followed by the now familiar darkness of a place that for us, was only a reality for an instant. Then we were through, and that cold, alien place returned to just being a mathematical abstract.

  "Alpha Centauri", Eng confirmed, checking the nav system. "We're only off by thirty-five clicks."

  “Not bad", I said. We'd figured we might be off by as much as a hundred kilometers, with a transit of over four light years. The new star drive was even more accurate than we'd allowed.

  "I have the shipyard on Tri-D", Kyra said. "Three ships in the area, as well."

  "Can you identify them?" I asked.

  "There's a standard UPDF cruiser orbiting the moon. There's also a cargo ship, but it's on a departure vector. The third is what I'd swear is a full-blown ship-of-the-line."

  "A what?" I asked.

  "A battleship", she said. "One of the old ones. It's gotta be at least a hundred years old."

  "If it's out here, I'd bet they've taught it some new tricks", Eng said.

  "They're powering up weapons", Kyra said. "That thing must mass fifteen-hundred tons."

  "Put the shipyard onscreen, Angie", I said.

  The view of the Tri-D radar vanished, replaced by the image of a frozen moon, as it hung in orbit around a gas giant, very similar to Jupiter. The shipyard was in orbit around the moon, a maze of scaffolding and pressurized modules, all connected via tubes.

  "According to our database, this is supposed to be a mining colony", Eng said. "I'm not picking up anything on the moon itself; just the orbital station."

  "Zoom in", I said, and Angie did so. We could see two of the shiny hulls of vessels, nestled amid the supports of the station. One looked similar to the Revenge, while the other was different; more aerodynamic, and it seemed to be a single structure, rather than the usual collection of modules.

  "Why aren't they firing on us?" Eng asked.

  "The station is between us and the battleship", Kyra said. "They don't want to risk an errant missile hitting the shipyard."

  "Close at one-half gee", I said, and felt the pulse engines fire, pushing me back into my seat.

  "Aye", Angie said. "Pulse drives engaged."

  "We're being scanned", Kyra said. "Activating jamming. That cruiser is trying to sneak around the moon and get the drop on us."

  "Get us to that station, Angie", I said. "Fast."

  The drive slammed us deeper into our seats, as Angie ramped the engines up to three or four gees acceleration.

  "Decel in eight seconds", she said. "Hang on."

  She wasn't kidding, as the flipped the Revenge right on their doorstep, and blasted us to a six gee stop. We coasted the last few hundred meters to the station. There were several empty docking ports. Angie picked one she liked, and using the attitude jets, eased us into it.

  "We're being hailed", Angie said.

  "What a surprise", I said. "Onscreen."

  The main screen lit up with the image of a man in a UPDF uniform. I recognized him at once.

  "Captain Jorgensen", I said. "I see you have a new ship."

  "Captain Doon", he said. "Yes, this is the UPDF Dominion. I see you've brought the Montreal back to me. That was very devious of you, pretending to have destroyed her. Perhaps we can see that the job is done properly, this time."

  "That depends", I said.

  "Depends on what?" he asked, his brow furrowed. I was beginning to think he really didn't like me.

  "On whether or not you value this shipyard", I said.

  "You'll have to undock and move away from there, eventually", he said. If he truly believed that, I wasn't about to tell him otherwise.

  "I look forward to that moment", I said. "So, this is what happens to someone who loses a ship, huh? I can't imagine you liking being stuck out here in the boonies."

  His face darkened by a couple of shades, but he managed to keep his composure.

  "What are your intentions, Captain?" he asked.

  "I intend to board this shipyard, and have a look around", I said. "Then, we'll leave peacefully. No one has to get hurt, here."

  "You'll leave peacefully, having stolen what you came for", he said. I smiled and shrugged. He continued. "You will encounter resistance from station personnel. They aren't under my command, so I can't stand them down, even if I were so inclined, which I'm not."

  "I expected as much", I said. "Remember, we only needed four soldiers to take the Montreal. We brought a few extra, this time."

  His ears reddened, but his voice remained calm and even. Despite my efforts, I couldn't seem to rattle him.

  "We'll see", he said. "You've renamed the ship the Revenge. That's very fitting, actually; almost poetic, as I intend to see that the Revenge is indeed mine."

  "I applaud your sense of humor", I said, as I clapped my hands a few times. "Not only do you have a quick wit, but you're extraordinarily lucky, as well."

  "How so?" he asked, suspiciously.

  "You're lucky I don't need a battleship", I said.

  "Very witty, yourself", he said. "Let's see how a boarding party of two-hundred marines amuses you, shall we?"

  "I'd advise against that", I said. "While we're busy aboard the station, if either you or that cruiser make any move which we deem to be hostile, we'll detonate the nuclear weapons we have aboard, and this shipyard will cease to exist. Much like the two ships you've already lost to a similar fate."

  "You wouldn't dare", he said.

  "Try me", I said. "You know me well enough by now to know I don't make idle threats. Tread carefully, Captain."

  "You as well, Captain Doon", he said. "Dominion out."

  "Looks as though he's under the impression that we need to be clear of structures to transit", Eng said.

  "That won't last", I said. "I'm surprised they didn't figure it out when we left Triton."

  "Speaking of which", he said, "We know we can transit with large objects; just not as large as a moon. Why don't we secure ourselves to the shipyard, and take it with us? I doubt it masses even half of the Princess of Arabia."

  "Cozi and I looked at that", I said, "And we might have to try it, as a last resort. If DEC has a lab aboard this station, I'm a tad hesitant to go transiting willy-nilly with something that has who knows how many functioning DEC devices. We might not end up where we intend. We might not end up anywhere at all."

  "Definitely a last resort", Eng said. "Personally, I'm going to make damn sure those clamps are blown, before we transit out."

  "That makes two of us, Mister Eng", I said. "Angie, arm one of the weapons, please."

  "Aye, Captain", she said. "The device is armed."

  "How are you controlling them?"

  "Encoded commlink", she said.

  "Commlink", I said. "That makes me a bit nervous."

  "It's quite secure", she said.

  "Can we hardwire a controller to it?"

  "Certainly", she said. "A standard data cable should work."

  "Have Cozi install one", I said. "The Admiral may be certain that encoded commlinks can't be jammed or tinkered with, but I'm not."

  "Aye", she said. "I've relayed the order to Engineering."

  "Remember the criteria", I said, knowing full well that if she forgot, it wouldn't be an accident. "If they screw with us, use it."

  "Aye", Angie said. Kyra looked over at me, an eyebrow raised.

  "I mean it, Angie", I said.

  "I know you do", she said.

  I still wasn't convinced that she'd detonate the weapon if the need arose. I hoped Jorgensen didn't put her to the test.

  "We are docked and secure", Eng said. "Deploying the walkway to their airlock."

  "Any response from the station?" I asked.

  "Negative", Kyra said. "Not a peep. They're ignoring our hails."

  "Okay", I said. "Remember, we're on the clock here. We have maybe thirty minutes left, before everyone gets Speedlink back online. When that happens, we're going to have company. Let's be gone when they get here."

&nbs
p; "Not a problem", Kyra said. She tapped the commlink in her ear, and spoke. "Sergeant Major, you're up." I could hear them, via my own commlink, tuned to the command channel.

  "Aye, Commander", the marine leader replied. They'd been geared up and waiting before we'd even left the IDF base, all of them wearing full vacuum armored combat suits.

  Kyra's plan was straightforward. In the first phase of the operation, the marines would invade the station, suppress any resistance, and secure the facility. Phase two was my baby. I'd go aboard the station, escorted by Kyra, Cisco, and Donner. Malach and Jones would remain on the Revenge to ensure ship security, which was their normal job, when not babysitting me.

  Once inside, I needed to track down any data I could, then make off with it. This was assuming that anything went according to plan, which thus far, had never happened.

  We sat aboard the Bridge, and watched the marines via a combination of helmet-cams, and surveillance flybots. No need to stick your head around a corner to see what was there, when you could get a fist-sized flybot to do it for you. Of course, flybots make great targets, so they tended to have a short lifespan, in combat.

  We'd used the millimeter-wave radar to scan the entire shipyard, then used the data to construct and three-dimensional map, even pinpointing where most of the people were. Unfortunately, the scan couldn't tell the difference between someone on the cleaning crew, and a UPDF trooper. It had shown that there were people on the other side of the dock airlock, so after the marines hacked the controls of the outer hatch, they moved with some caution.

  We hadn't expected much resistance, and that's about what the marines encountered. The advance team of six got the inner door open, and within minutes, had station security retreating further into the station.

  "Damn", I said, as we watched. "Our guys are good."

  "Of course they are", Kyra said, looking at me like I was some sort of dolt. "This is what they do for a living."

  "Any casualties so far?" Eng asked.

  "None as yet", Kyra said. "We've wounded a few of their people, but so far, we've been hitting them with stunners. You asked to keep the damage to a minimum, so that's what they're doing."

  "There's a reason for that", I said. "The last thing we need if for them to blow up what we came here to get." A flybot caught a small explosion in one of the corridors. "Damn it, who's using grenades?"

  "Them, not us", Kyra said. She touched her earpiece, and spoke to someone, who apprised her of the situation. I could listen in, but Eng couldn’t; he wasn't wearing his commlink.

  "That first skirmish was just with some security personnel", Kyra said. "Our guys barely stopped for them. Now, further in, we've encountered some UPDF troopers, and apparently, they have some heavier weapons. Grenades, anyway."

  Another explosion rocked our view, and the flybot we were using slammed against the bulkhead with an audible clank, where it continued to float in the zero gee, still transmitting video, but unable to move.

  "I hope we have more of those", I said.

  "About a hundred", Kyra said. "Shouldn't need that many, though. This station isn't all that big."

  "How are our guys doing?" I asked.

  Kyra tapped her earpiece again, and spoke to someone else.

  "Donovan says we're okay", she said. "Two injuries, and neither of those are serious."

  I watched as more blasts filled our view with smoke and debris. Our marines definitely weren't using stunners anymore; the audio pickups were relaying the sound of gunfire from both sides. I crossed my fingers, and hoped like hell that nothing important got shot.

  The fighting continued on in spurts for the next twenty minutes, before the UPDF troopers finally surrendered. Angie was keeping an eye on the UPDF cruiser, as well as the Dominion, but neither had moved, even when the troopers on the station had called for aid. Maybe Jorgensen believed we'd really nuke the place, or at least he wasn't willing to risk it.

  On the plus side, only four of our people were wounded in the fight, and the station hull hadn't been breached, which meant we'd be able to board without suits. Their side hadn't fared as well; we'd killed four of their people, and wounded about a dozen more.

  "We're gonna have to hurry", I said, as I unstrapped and rose from my seat. "Speedlink could be back online, any minute now."

  I quickly stepped into my office, and retrieved my belt and holsters, still holding a pistol and a blaster. My ceramic knife was already tucked into the top of my boot. I'd originally picked it up back on Io, and had been carrying it ever since. While I'm not particularly superstitious, nor believe in good luck charms, I wasn't about to go anywhere without my knife.

  I emerged from my office to find Kyra waiting for me beside the lift.

  "You have the conn, Mister Eng", I said, as we stepped into the lift. "Don't leave without us."

  Cisco and Donner were waiting for us at the main airlock, decked out in full non-vacuum combat gear. Either one of them was at least three or four times as dangerous as your average soldier, which left me wondering, not for the first time, just what sort of training and experience they had. I'd asked Cisco a few times, and so far, hadn't gotten a serious answer out of him.

  "We have a map?" I asked.

  "We do", Cisco said. "Just got the latest update from Sergeant Major Garner."

  Kyra and I both pulled out our Pods, and Cisco transferred the data over to us. The map was a combination of our radar scan, along with data the marines had added, as they'd made their way through the shipyard. Someone had labeled a few of the more obvious areas, like the galleys, habitats, and even a hydroponics facility.

  "How many people are there?" I asked, as I checked the map.

  "About fifty civilian workers", Kyra said. "They were already holed up in one of the Habitat modules, when we came aboard. We're still holding them there. A couple of marines are interviewing each one, getting names, job titles, and so on. We're getting DNA and retinal scans, too. So far, it looks like most of them are contract workers for the UP."

  "We find any DEC people?" I asked.

  "They're probably in among the other workers", Kyra said. "If they don't tell us who they are, then we really don't have a way to tell, at least, not in the next ten or fifteen minutes."

  "So, what's our target?" I asked, as we cycled through the airlock. She tapped her pod screen, and zoomed in on part of the station map.

  "This is probably what we want", she said, as I looked at the screen. "Some sort of design facility, maybe even a research lab. The marines noted that there were several black boxes there, as well as a walk-in vault."

  "So, what's in the vault?"

  "We don't know", Kyra said. "It was closed, and they didn't try to open it."

  "Well, let's give it a shot", I said.

  We entered the station, Cisco and Donner with weapons drawn, which I figured was unnecessary, since the only people wandering around the place were our own. A few hatches had been blown open, and I could see where small arms fire had scarred the bulkhead in places. Otherwise, the station seemed fine. The ventilators had already cleared most of the smoke from the air, but the smell was still strong. We'd done more damage taking the Montreal that we had here, and I mentioned my observation to Kyra.

  "You ordered them not to shoot the place up any more than they had to", she said. "I'm sure they'd be happy to do so, if you've changed your mind."

  "Thanks", I said. "Maybe later."

  A five minute walk took us to the location we wanted, and it looked like they'd been right. Several vidscreens were scattered around the room, as well as half a dozen of the Dark Energy Corporation boxes.

  "Jackpot", Cisco said. "Looks like a lab to me."

  "The only thing missing are the mad scientists", I said.

  "Oh, they aren't missing", Kyra said. "They're over in the habitat module, trying to blend in with everyone else."

  "Which means we're going to have to do this on our own", I said, as I removed my Pod from my pocket, and held it in my hand
. I tapped the screen a few times, and tried to establish a link with the local system. I could see the system, but it refused to recognize my Pod.

  "Damn it", I said, as the others watched, Kyra peering over my shoulder. "Their links are secure. Very secure."

  I removed a thin cable from another pocket, plugged one end into my pod, and the other into the dataport on the nearest vidscreen. It might ignore my wireless signal, but this was something that'd get its attention.

  "Too bad we can't link Angie to it", Kyra said.

  "We could", I said, "easily. We won't, because it's way too dangerous." I tapped my screen, and called up a simple connection hack. "She really doesn't have the tools for the job. It'd be like sending an accountant on a commando raid. If the target system AI is good enough, and I'd bet this one is, Angie could end up getting hacked, and then we're really be screwed… Goddammit."

  "What?" Kyra asked.

  "The AI on the station system just ate my connection hack, and launched a counterattack. The fucker erased my music collection."

  "Ouch", Cisco said. "That was low."

  Donner sighed, as she leaned against a workbench; she was bored. She looked around the room, probably wondering if there was something she could blow up. If I didn't make some headway soon, she'd get her wish.

  "Alright, you prick", I said, as I launched additional defenses on my Pod, and fired off another attack on the local system. "If it wants to play that way, then we can, too." I jumped as an alarm claxon sounded in the lab, almost dropping my Pod.

  "Depressurization warning", Cisco said. "You must have pissed it off."

  "Don't leave just yet", I said, tapping quickly on my pod. A moment later, the alarm stopped. “Okay… good news and bad news."

  "Well, we're still breathing", Kyra said. "I'd call that good news."

  "It came with a price", I said. "I managed to isolate the AI from the rest of the station systems, so it no longer has control of them."

  "What about this stuff in here?" Kyra asked, as she looked around at the DEC hardware.

  "I dunno", I said. "It's clammed up tight, now. I'd need an AI who knows what they're doing here, to break in. If it also had control of those DEC boxes, we'd be fucked."