Dubious Heroes: a novel Read online

  "Visual?" someone said, croaking under the weight.

  "I have Geneva on the main vidscreen", Daniel said. "We may lose the cameras on impact."

  "Acknowledged", Scott said. The simple fact that he could talk told me that he had a lot more high-gee experience than I did. "Archive everything you get."

  "Aye", Daniel said. "We're at sixteen miles altitude."

  I turned my head slowly, until I could see the main vidscreen. The city of Geneva lay far below, and at least a hundred miles away, but the cameras of the Erebus pulled it in tight, so it seemed as though we were just above it. The buildings and streets had the appearance of a detailed model, perched on the far side of the huge lake for which it was named.

  "Thirty miles", Daniel said, though it didn't seem as though we'd moved at all; the camera held the view of the city steady and unchanged.

  "One minute", the XO said.

  "Forty-two miles", Daniel said. We were really packing on the speed, moving not only up, but away from Geneva, as well. I didn't know how far we'd need to be. I guessed that in less than a minute, we'd know if we were far enough.

  Suddenly, the view zoomed out from the city, as a brilliant blue-white flash lit the screen where it had been. The shock wave rolled across the land from ground zero, moving faster than the speed of sound. It would never reach us, as we tore through the upper atmosphere at nearly escape velocity.

  As I watched the screen, the impact of what I'd just witnessed fell full upon me. Millions of people had died, in the blink of an eye. It shouldn't have happened, but it had, and I was at least partially responsible. I found myself wondering what Mac was thinking, as the screen dimmed, and I slipped into the welcome embrace of darkness.

  I awakened to the sound of Solomon Scott's voice, then Kyra's, as they spoke quietly. I looked around cautiously, as saw that I was still strapped into my seat on the Bridge of the Erebus. The crushing gravity was gone, and the main vidscreen held a tri-d radar view. A moment later, the subtle vibration of the engines ceased, and my inner ear flip-flopped, as it adjusted to zero gee. Scott was speaking again.

  "We hitched a piggy-back ride from Triton on the Bismarck. Governor Arris gave us a job to do, sort of."

  "What job?" Kyra asked.

  "Let's see, how did he put it?" Scott said, smiling. "I believe his instructions were, and I quote, 'Get to Earth and keep an eye on Doon. I have a hunch he'll need rescuing again'. So, we were sitting up in orbit, watching you and the Revenge attempt to take on what looked like the entire UPDF, when we saw you go down. We reported what was happening to the other ships, and dropped out of orbit. We couldn't tell if any of you lot had survived the crash, but figured the Governor would not be amused if we didn't at least check. Of course, there was another reason, too."

  "What was that?" I asked.

  "Oh, you're awake", Scott said. "Feeling alright?"

  "I'll live", I said. "You were saying?"

  "Yes", he said. "The other thing was to try and find you, and get you up to orbit. If we could do that, we might have prevented what just happened."

  "I imagine we could have", I said. "Winifred would have done whatever I asked, regardless of her orders from Mac."

  "You wouldn't have had to countermand anything", Scott said, "Even though you're essentially correct. Admiral MacPherson did order the Princess to break off her attack, and transit out. He did so, repeatedly. Got quite irate with her. He was already negotiating a truce with the UP administration, you see. He ordered her off, and the AI aboard the ice freighter refused, and eventually stopped talking completely. It seems as though she'd been monitoring the UPDF comm traffic, and heard someone report that you'd been shot down, and were dead."

  "I thought he'd already told her I was dead", I said.

  "Not to my knowledge", Scott said. "It looks like she got that idea from listening to the UPDF. Anyway, Mac tried to convince her that you were alive, to no avail. She said the UP would have to pay for what they'd done, and that was the last anyone heard from her."

  "So, all I had to do to stop her was let her know I was still alive", I said, feeling even worse, if that were possible.

  "I wouldn't be so quick to buy Mac's story", Kyra said. "It wouldn't be beyond him to try and pin this on Winifred, when he really wanted it to happen."

  "I don't think so", Scott said. "I heard the exchange myself. The Admiral was quite upset with her."

  "I imagine he was", I said.

  "Where's Mac, now?" Kyra asked.

  "Probably still here in orbit", Scott said.

  "What the fuck did you just say?" Kyra said, beating me to the punch. "Here? In orbit?"

  "Aboard the Bismarck", Scott said. "Commanding her, actually. You didn't know?"

  "That sneaky son of a bitch", Kyra said, again beating me to the punch.

  "No", I said, "We didn't know. He sort of led us to believe he'd be running things remotely, probably from out in the asteroid belt."

  "I should have known", Kyra said. "No one else alive could have taken those UP ships so easily. The man is a walking, talking encyclopedia of military tactics."

  "We need to speak with him", I said. "Now."

  "I wish you could", Scott said. "After we picked you up, we sent him a coded message that we had you. He replied that we were not to let anyone know you were alive, and that we were to maintain radio silence until otherwise instructed. Daniel can play back the message, if you like."

  "Play it", I said, and we listened quietly, as he did so. The message ended, and Kyra looked over at me again.

  "Sounded like him", I said.

  "I agree", she said. "It's genuine. I think I understand why, too."

  "Understand what?" I asked.

  "Why he doesn't want anyone to know we're alive", she said. "We were just party to the destruction of the United Planets headquarters, and the deaths of a couple million people. If we're dead, there's only one person left for them to hold responsible."

  "They'll want Mac", I said.

  "He might even turn himself in", she said. "I don't know..."

  "As long as everyone thinks you're dead", Scott said, "You'll be safe."

  "Assuming he actually takes responsibility for what happened", I said. "If he tries to blame it on the AIs, things could really get ugly."

  "Until we talk to him, we won't know his intentions", Kyra said. "Anyway, he was responsible for the Princess of Arabia. If he hadn't put her in motion, then she would still be out in the belt, and this would never have happened."

  "That's splitting hairs", I said. "This war was as much our doing as his. You can bet that's how the UP will see it, too."

  "This war was the right thing to do, regardless of who started it", Kyra said. "I'd do all of it all over again. The accident with Geneva... that was purely Mac's doing. He couldn't lose control of a situation that he hadn't set up. The responsibility is his, not ours."

  "I tend to agree with her, mate", Scott said. "I'm just sorry we couldn't get you back into orbit, in time to stop it. God knows we tried."

  "I know you did", I said. "None of this falls on you, Solomon."

  "Thanks, Captain", he said, smiling sadly. "Maybe one day even I'll believe that."

  "It's not Captain, anymore", I said. Just call me Doon. Hard to be a Captain without a ship. You probably saw the Revenge go down, too. We were busy getting our asses shot up when it happened."

  "Then I suppose this makes me the bearer of good news, for a change", he said, smiling. "Things are not quite as grim as you think."

  "They made it?" I asked. "They survived?"

  "Well, we only saw one frigate crash east of Geneva", Scott said. "We don't know where the Revenge went; we lost her transponder signal, or they turned it off. So, we don't know where she is, but she didn't crash down there."

  "Maybe they actually landed her somewhere", Kyra said.

  "We're still scanning for the transponder signal", the XO said.

  "I'm betting you won't find it", I said.


  "Boo said they couldn't transit from there", Kyra said.

  "Doesn't mean Angie didn't try it", I said.

  "All I know", Scott said, "Is that they didn't crash there. If they're still around, we'll find them. We have some pretty good gear for finding downed ships."

  "They might have crash-landed, and then been caught in the Geneva blast", I said. "We almost were."

  "That's a possibility", Scott said. "Still, we don't know anything for sure, other than the fact that she's missing. We even tried to raise her via commlink, and got nothing."

  "Probably out of radio range", Kyra said.

  "Way, way out of range", I said. "We can probably reach them via Speedlink, as soon as we have access to one. What are the Bismarck and Defender doing?"

  "A cease-fire was called about forty-five minutes ago, and the Admiral is trying to arrange something more permanent with the UP. We hear that he kicked the snot out of them in the outer systems."

  "I wouldn't count on that cease-fire holding much longer", Kyra said.

  "You're likely right", Scott said. "My last orders were to link up with the Defender of the Crown, and to head somewhere safe, where we'll all rendezvous. A location wasn't specified, so I'm hoping you know where Mac has in mind."

  "I have an idea", I said. "Why don't we just hook up with Mac and the Bismarck?"

  "You'd have to ask him that", Scott said. "All we were told is what I just said."

  "The Bismarck is leaving Earth orbit", Daniel said. "We're being hailed by the Defender."

  "Does Vassily know we're here?" I asked.

  "Dunno", Scott said. "You can't be using the commlink, anyway. Answer the hail, audio only."

  "Aye, Captain", the AI said.

  "Captain Vostock", Scott said.

  "Captain Scott", Vassily said. "The Bismarck is leaving, which is only going to leave us for that battleship to shoot at. I'm thinking we should be leaving, too."

  "I agree", Scott said. "Mind if we hitch a ride?"

  "Not a problem", Vassily said. "Anyplace in particular you need to go?"

  "We'll let you know once we hook up", Scott said.

  "Sounds good", Vassily said. "We'll stay put, and you come to us."

  "Copy that", Scott said. "Be there in a few."

  "Defender out", Vassily said.

  Scott turned toward me.

  "Well, you heard", he said. "Doesn't look like Mac told them anything about you. Any other instructions?"

  "Let's just get out of here", I said, as I unstrapped my harnesses. "Mind if I take one last look below?"

  "Feel free", Scott said. "It will take us a bit to match speed and vector with the Defender, anyway."

  I walked over to the Bridge viewport. I touched a button, and the heat shield whisked aside, revealing a field of stars. Someone was paying attention, and without comment, spun the Erebus on her axis. I felt the attitude jets gently move us, until the blue and white orb of the Earth filled the portal. It seemed close enough to reach out and touch. I knew that much of the planet had been spoiled, but there were places, like Switzerland, that were still beautiful. Or, used to be. From orbit, it was still mesmerizing.

  I heard a door swish open, and turned to see Cisco exiting the lift. He walked over to where Kyra sat, and they spoke quietly. I couldn't hear what they were saying, so I returned my attention to the view of Earth below.

  A part of me always knew we might lose the Revenge. The absence of a pile of wreckage was of little solace; I knew she was gone, as did everyone else. Even if she transited out, the chances of us ever seeing them again were very, very slim. Knowledge is not the same as acceptance, though. There was a chance, however slim, that everyone was out there somewhere, and we would see them again. Granted, wherever ships went after a bad transit, most never returned from.

  A cold, hard lump sat inside my chest, an ache I wondered if I'd ever get over. The simple truth was, I was fully prepared to be the one who didn't survive the day. If that had happened, then I wouldn't be around to mourn the loss of anyone. I'd often wondered which was harder; being dead, or being the survivor. Now, I knew.

  Kyra and Cisco joined me at the portal, interrupting my reverie.

  "Sorry to bother you", Kyra said. "Cisco has something I thought you might want to hear."

  "What's that?" I asked.

  "I was sitting down in the Habitat with Donner, when we both picked up a signal on our commlinks, on the combat channel. It was only a few seconds long, but we both recognized it immediately. It was the rally tone, used to tell everyone to rendezvous at some preset location."

  "Which means what, exactly?" I asked. "Those tones are pretty standard stuff, aren't they?"

  "Yes and no", Kyra said. "Command suits can send a variety of signals, and they're usually customized by whichever military unit is using them."

  "Still, tones are tones", I said. "Some other group might be using the tone you think is for rallying, and to them it's for something entirely different."

  "True", Cisco said. "But... there's more. Combat suit commlink range is only about twenty clicks, line of sight. At least, as far as I know."

  "That's what I've heard, too", Kyra said. "To reach Cisco and Donner, the signal would have to be boosted, and aimed in our general direction when we passed overhead."

  "Okay", I said. "Captain Scott, who's your best communications tech?"

  "Why?" he asked. "Is there a problem?"

  "Not so much a problem, as a mystery", I said.

  "Then you'll be wanting to talk to me", the XO said, from his station. His name was Jimmy Argo, and we'd seen him around quite often, we'd never really gotten to know him. As was the case with most executive officers, they tended to stay pretty busy, with one thing or another.

  Kyra and Cisco explained it to him, as they'd done with me.

  "Has the signal recurred?" Argo asked.

  "Negative", Cisco said. "Just that once, and only for a few seconds."

  "How long ago did this happen?"

  "Not sure exactly", Cisco said. "Maybe twenty minutes ago? Oh yeah... it was just a few seconds after the main engines cut off."

  "You're listening, Daniel?" Argo asked.

  "Got it", Daniel said.

  "What was our position at MECO?" the XO asked.

  "Well, we lifted up and to the east, against the planetary rotation, trying to put as much distance as we could between us and ground zero at Geneva. By the time MECO occurred, the planet had rotated beneath us, and... we were still over Switzerland."

  Everyone was silent for a moment.

  "A hundred-plus miles is a lot further than twenty clicks", Kyra said.

  "Wouldn't be that big of a problem, if someone knew something about electronics", Argo said.

  "Which means, we could pick it up again in what, half an hour?" I asked. "Isn't that about when we'll pass over the area again?"

  "Forty-eight minutes", Daniel said. “We’re orbiting at nearly twenty thousand miles an hour.”

  "Can't we speed that up any?" Cisco asked. I felt the same way, but already knew the answer.

  "Not without fucking up our orbit", Argo said. "Not to mention, it would make reentry a lot more difficult. That's assuming we pick up the signal again, get a fix on it, and that you want to go back down there again."

  I looked at Cisco and Kyra, and we all looked over at Argo, our faces telling him all he needed to know.

  "Um... Captain?" Argo said.

  "Yes, Mister Argo?"

  "I think you're going to want to hear this."

  He was right.

  Chapter 49

  The next forty-eight minutes were the longest of my life, ticking off at an agonizing pace. Donner had joined us on the Bridge. Their commlinks wouldn't be necessary, this time. The AI, using the equipment aboard the Erebus, could do a much better job of monitoring, even pulling in a weak signal we might otherwise never hear. As the time neared, I wasn't on the edge of my seat; I couldn't stay in it.

  Vassily's crew was also
monitoring, somewhat nervously, as they were still being shadowed by the Dominion. It would be interesting to see how the big ship reacted, if the Erebus dropped from orbit again. As a DSRV, she carried transponders which identified her as a rescue ship, and as such, was considered a non-combatant. Which didn't necessarily mean anything, especially in light of what had happened to Geneva.

  The graphic on the main vidscreen tracked our position above the planet. Soon, the moment had arrived, and we were passing over Europe again.

  No signal. Silence.

  "Patience", Argo said. "We have a couple more minutes. You can bet that whoever rigged that commlink is also smart enough to calculate when we'd be overhead again, but I still imagine they're having to wing it."

  "So, why not just turn it on, and let it broadcast continuously?" Donner asked. Normally, she tended to be quiet and reserved, at least when she wasn’t holding a rocket launcher.

  "Well, they might not have the power to do that", Argo said. "Although, I suspect the real reason is that they'd rather not draw a crowd."

  "Oh", Donner said, and went back to watching the vidscreen.

  I jumped when, thirty seconds later, the rally tune blared from the ships PA, in its entirety, to the accompaniment of our shouts and whoops.

  "Got it", Daniel said, and moment later. "Central Switzerland, approximately two hundred kilometers east of Geneva. According to my database, there's a town there named Thun, on the shore of a lake of the same name."

  "Hell, we passed right over that, on the way up", Scott said. "That's probably how they saw us."

  "Do we have a lock on the signal?" Argo asked.

  "We do", Daniel said. "I can put us down within a hundred meters of it."

  "Set up the reentry, and give me an ETA", Scott said. "And get me the Defender on the commlink."

  "Aye, Captain", Daniel said. "I have the Defender."

  "Captain", Scott said.

  "Vostock here", Vassily said.

  "We're going to have to delay our departure for a bit", Scott said.