Dubious Heroes: a novel Read online

  "Why is this?" Vassily asked.

  "We've received a distress signal from the surface, so we're dropping from orbit, where we'll land, and render aid to these victims of the disaster", Scott said, which wasn't an outright lie, at least. "As a rescue vessel, under United Planets law, we have an obligation to do so."

  If the UPDF was listening, and it was a safe bet that they were, they might grant the Erebus the status she was supposed to have, as a rescue ship. It did leave the Defender of the Crown in orbit, where there was no guarantee that Jorgensen in the Dominion would leave them alone. I knew he would, if I could speak to him, but that wouldn't be happening; I was supposed to be dead.

  "Copy that, Erebus", Vassily said. "We will wait here in orbit, until your return. Let us know if you need assistance. Godspeed."

  "Many thanks, Defender", Scott said. "See you back up here in a few. Erebus out."

  "They may still move to intercept us, when we drop", I said. "You don't have to put your ship and crew in harm’s way, on our behalf."

  "I appreciate that", Scott said. "Nevertheless, I believe it's a capital idea to land down there, and have a look about. See who's trying to attract our attention. We're a rescue ship, Captain Doon. This is what we do."

  "In that case, thanks", I said.

  "From all of us", Kyra said.

  "I can have us on the surface in nineteen minutes", Daniel said. "Provided no one interferes with us."

  "Make it so", the Captain said.

  "Look on the bright side", Argo said.

  "What bright side, Mister Argo?" Scott asked.

  "If we get into a shooting match with anyone, at least it will be a short one."

  "A very short one", Scott said, smiling grimly.

  The Erebus carried no weaponry of any sort.

  The ride back down proved a lot less traumatic that our first one had. A couple of UPDF jets intercepted us, then stayed in the area, shadowing us from several miles away. Given what was going on, I thought that was pretty big of them, giving us the benefit of the doubt.

  Out in space, the Bismarck was still moving away from the Earth, albeit slowly. I suspected that Mac was hanging around, just to give the Dominion something to worry about besides Vassily in the Defender.

  Mac was also trying to find someone else with the United Planets, who had the authority to negotiate with him. We listened in as one official on Earth essentially told him to piss off. A few minutes later, he reached some undersecretary on Luna, then tried to explain how Geneva had been an unfortunate accident, which he was very sorry for, but still needed to come to some sort of formal agreement to end hostilities on a more permanent basis.

  The official pointed out that hostilities would end naturally, once Mac had either surrendered, or been eliminated. Mac expressed a difference of opinion, and that ended that.

  None of this was a surprise to me; when you're in the midst of negotiating with someone and you bomb them out of existence, anyone left to speak with you probably isn't going to be all that cooperative.

  "Onscreen", the XO said, drawing my attention back to the moment. The main screen lit up, all white. It was supposed to be the view of our landing zone.

  "Damn", Scott said, glancing up at it. "Clouds."

  "Clouds?" I asked. "Wasn't it clear when we lifted?"

  "Yes, it was", Argo said. "Take a guess what they were caused by." This was his somewhat diplomatic way of telling me to shut up and quit asking dumb questions. "It's going to get a little rough in a minute. I'm showing a layer of heavy shear."

  "How much?" Scott asked, as he switched the main vidscreen to a radar-mapped view. "Never mind, I've got it."

  "Trauma teams Alpha and Bravo are prepped to deploy", Argo said. The Erebus crew was divided into two response teams of four people each. One team was led by Scott, the other by Argo. Everyone aboard was cross-trained in multiple skills, so any of them could rewire a door control, set up a triage, or even do field surgery, if necessary. The two teams could operate independently, as was sometimes required when rendering aid to a large ship, like a passenger liner.

  "Copy that", Scott said. "Anything showing up on our sensors?"

  "Nothing that might be the Revenge", Argo said. "Not a trace of RF, no infrared, not even a peep of radiation from the reactor. If it's-" he paused, as the ship lurched, then settled back to the usual, less violent shaking- "If it's there, we should be picking up something."

  "Well, someone is there, and they were specifically signaling us", Scott said. "At the very least, I'd like to find em, and ask em what the hell they want. Can we get an estimate on the damage around our LZ, Daniel?"

  "Hard to say, Sir", the AI said. "I've been monitoring the emergency frequencies, but ground teams have only begun to respond, mostly in the outlying areas. From what they're saying, plus my own radar analysis, we should see damage similar to that of a major hurricane or earthquake. We won't know for certain until we penetrate this cloud deck, though."

  "I thought this town was, what, a hundred miles or so from Geneva?" Scott asked.

  "It is", Daniel said. "The newsnets are already reporting that the impact caused a ground shock wave equivalent to a Richter eight earthquake, and this is in an area that's been geologically stable for millennia. They're reporting hurricane force winds as far west as London, south to Florence, and east to St. Petersburg. Those are happening right now, by the way."

  "Damn", I said. "So, we're in for at least that, if not worse, when we land."

  "At least", Kyra said. "The Princess of Arabia was around two hundred fifty thousand tons, fully loaded, and she was moving at around forty-five thousand miles per second, when she hit. I calculate the energy at..."

  "Ten to the thirty-fourth KCals", Daniel said. "Which is a really big number."

  "Or, as I was going to say", Kyra said, "About the equivalent of a fifty megaton nuclear weapon. Which translates to an area of total destruction about a hundred miles in diameter. That’s blast radius out to around fifty miles from ground zero. Where we were, we’d have been toast. But Thun? Maybe a lot of wind.”

  "Holy shit", I said. "I guess that explains why the rescue teams are working the periphery."

  "No manmade weapon has ever been that large", Argo said. "That destruction is on par with a small asteroid or comet. Talk about a weapon of mass destruction..."

  "Probably gonna screw up the weather on Earth for years", Kyra said.

  "Five minutes", Daniel said. "I still can't see anything down there. I'm getting a doppler radar reading of forty mile per hour surface winds, gusts to around sixty."

  "We have video", Argo said, as the ground below us appeared onscreen. "If there's anyone down there, they're hiding."

  "Which is what I'd do", Scott said, "At least until I saw who showed up."

  "No kidding", Kyra said. "My troopers wouldn't be out there wandering around sightseeing, and they wouldn't let the rest of the crew do it, either."

  "Interesting news bit", Daniel said. "Someone did a fly by near ground zero. They're saying that Lake Geneva is gone."

  "Vaporized", Kyra said. "And that was a big lake. Definitely gonna screw up their weather for a while."

  "No doubt", I said. "If it's okay with you, Captain, I'm going to head down."

  "That's your call", he said. "Assuming we find anyone, my goal is to treat anyone who's injured, and get everyone aboard ASAP, preferably before the locals figure out that we've landed to pick up our own people."

  "We'll stay out of the way", I said, answering his unspoken concern. "If you need us to help, just ask; we're at your disposal."

  "Thanks", Scott said. "We'll see."

  I went to the lift, and Kyra joined me for the ride down. Cisco and Donner had already gone down, when we began our descent.

  "You okay?" she asked.

  "Aside from this being the longest few hours of my life, I think so", I said. "You?"

  "Ask me again in ten minutes", she said, looking at the lift wall.

 
The lift slid to a stop, and we exited, joining Cisco, Donner, and the crew of the Erebus, all waiting to go into action the second we touched down. No one spoke, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

  "Ten seconds", Daniel said, via the PA. A moment later, we were down, with barely a discernable bump. The engine noise faded to an eerie silence, the sheets of rain lashing the outside of the ship, the stronger gusts of wind nudging her two hundred ton mass.

  I felt a dropping motion, subtle, but there.

  "We're moving", I said. "Sinking?"

  "We're collapsing the landing struts", one of the crew said. "Gets us closer to the ground. That other noise you hear is the external lift deploying." Listening, I could hear the whine of motors, amid the wind and rain. The lift opened again, and Scott emerged.

  "Let's do this", he said, and someone slapped the hand-sized button, opening the inner airlock hatch. The first team entered the lock, and the door slid closed. Two minutes later, the second was cycling through.

  We waited until they cleared the lock, before it was our turn. I wasn't exactly pacing by this point, but I wasn't far from it. As the door slid closed behind us, I realized I still didn't have a commlink earbud. They were probably already talking outside, and I couldn't hear them.

  The outer hatch opened, and we found the open platform of the external lift waiting for us. I stepped onto it, followed by Kyra, Cisco, and Donner. Someone touched a button on the railing, and we descended the thirty feet to the ground.

  The wind lashed at us, the rain cold and stinging, even through our clothing. The Erebus sat in the middle of a large grassy field, bordered by a wind-whipped lake on our left, and heavy forest ahead and to our right. In almost every direction, I could see mountains, rising up to the clouds. Except for Scott and his people milling around the base of the ship, the area was deserted; the town of Thun was a mile or so away.

  We stepped off the lift, and immediately, Cisco dropped to the ground, aiming his pistol. Donner did the same, a split-second later.

  "Movement!" he yelled, "Two o-clock."

  He wasn't kidding, either. The edge of the forest had suddenly come alive with a swarm of marines, all wearing full combat spacesuits. I'd thought the suits were always black, but saw that these had changed to some sort of camouflage pattern, matching the foliage around them. Neat trick.

  "Stand down", Kyra said, still standing beside me. "Those are our guys." She was right; they moved toward us, forming a protective cordon around the ship. They stopped about a hundred feet out, and assumed defensive positions. One of them waved toward the forest, and the rest of our crew emerged, and walked toward us. Five were being carried by others. I couldn't tell if they were dead, or just injured.

  Once the civilians were inside the cordon, they began to close up, drawing nearer to the ship, using some sort of pattern where every other person moved. It was fascinating to watch.

  Eng was the first to reach us. I stepped forward and took his hand, then embraced him.

  "Mister Eng", I said. "I am very glad to see you."

  The feeling's mutual", he said. A moment later, he was bustled aside by Cozi, and I hugged my hairy little friend.

  “Thought I lost you”, I said. “Figured you guys had transited off into oblivion.”

  “Hell, we heard you guys were dead”, he said. “Kinda glad you aren’t.”

  “Kinda glad about that myself, too”, I said.

  I was greeted by several other crew, and was shaking Donovan’s hand, when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned, and saw that it was Solomon Scott.

  "I hate to interrupt your reunion", he said, "But, is there anything else for us to do here?"

  "This is everyone?" I asked, looking at Donovan.

  "It is", he said. "A few people are injured, and we lost four. We brought their bodies."

  "Who?" I asked, as I realized they were all wearing their spacesuits, most carrying their helmets. The lift was already being used, Scott's crew apparently deciding to start herding us into the ship, out of the wind and rain.

  "Two of the marines", he said. "Also, Maylona, the cook, and Ferris, one of Lola's people."

  "Damn", I said. "Still, we thought all of you were dead."

  “Heard you got shot down”, Donovan said.

  Eng and Boo materialized next to Scott, and they greeted each other.

  "Well, the shot down part is true", I said. "Still alive, though. So far. Where did you guys go?"

  "You'd have to ask Boo that", Eng said.

  "And I'll tell you the same thing I told them", Boo said. "I have no idea."

  "Okay", I said. "Does anyone have any idea what happened?"

  "More or less", Cozi said. "We lost the ramjets, and were in freefall. I was trying to get them restarted, but it looked like we were going to hit before I could make that happen. I told Eng that we were probably, in a word, fucked."

  "So, I figured what the hell ", Eng said. "We're dead anyway. I had Angie program a location, and we engaged transit."

  "That's when things got a little... weird", Cozi said.

  "No shit", Eng said. Boo nodded in agreement. "We experienced the normal transit effect, and then we were back. I could tell we were still under gravity, and still falling. I asked Angie where we were, and she said we were still over Switzerland, though not where we'd transited from. Then, the power on the Bridge went out, and I lost her."

  "Which was sort of my fault", Cozi said. "We came out of transit, and I could tell we weren't out in space, and we were still falling. Ergo, I figured the transit had failed, and we hadn't gone anywhere. I couldn't think of anything better to do than to keep trying to get the engines started, so I began rerouting power. Figured that if we were gonna crash, we'd go down trying."

  “Except that he didn’t know we were a few miles higher up than we were before the transit”, Eng said. “So, we did go somewhere; up about three miles.”

  “And fifty miles to the east”, I said.

  “Interesting”, Boo said, but didn’t elaborate.

  “Isn’t it?” Eng said, frowning at him.

  “Long story short”, Cozi said, “I got the ramjets restarted, and even restored power to the Bridge, so it would do us some good. Angie almost had us slowed enough for a landing, and we might have managed it.”

  “If it hadn’t been for that huge fucking blast wave that sort of swatted us”, Eng said. “I’d just gotten a radar screen working, in time to see the Erebus hauling ass for orbit, way above us. I was trying to get a commlink to work, when we hit.”

  “Hit where?” I asked. “I don’t see the ship.” Not for the first time, I realized I was being a little dense. Everyone, including Scott, who hadn’t been aboard the Revenge, was looking over at the lake.

  “You landed my ship in the lake?” I said, loud enough to draw glances from other people nearby.

  “Landed might be a little inaccurate”, Cozi said. “I’d say hit is closer to the truth.”

  “Hit and sank”, Eng said. “Turns out, we must have had a lot of holes in the hull, so the flooding started almost immediately. Fortunately, I thought we might not be airtight, so I’d had everyone suit up, before we lost the engines.”

  “It’s not like it was going to float, anyway”, Cozi said.

  “The people we lost drowned”, Donovan said. “Suit malfunctions, probably. Frankly, I’m amazed that any of them worked. They’re meant for vacuum, or an atmosphere or two of something that isn’t breathable, but certainly not water, and not several atmospheres of it.”

  “Yeah”, Cozi said. “That lake is damned deep. I’d guess six or seven hundred feet.”

  “Don’t divers have to decompress or something on their way up?” I asked. “I think I saw a show about it, once.” I looked around at everyone. Donovan shrugged, and so did Eng.

  “Beats me”, Cozi said. “I grew up on Luna, just like you. I’ve never been in water much higher than my dick, and if I’m never in it again, it’ll be too soon.”

  �
��No shit”, Eng said. “We had to crank the airlocks open manually, and found out that these spacesuits float. We shot to the surface like nobody’s business.”

  “Speaking of which”, Scott said, “I’m cold and wet, and we’re standing around chatting in a place where the locals are not very fond of us. I suggest we leave.”

  “I was just about to mention that”, Kyra said, from beside me. I hadn’t realized she’d joined us. I also hadn’t noticed that, aside from our little group, everyone else was already aboard.

  “Alright, good point”, I said. “I imagine Vassily’s getting nervous waiting around for us. Sooner or later, someone is going to ask him to either surrender, or leave.”

  “So, what’s our destination, anyway?” Scott asked.

  “Phoebe”, I said. “One of Saturn’s moons.”

  “That’s out there”, he said. “All the more reason not to miss our ride.”

  “Wait”, I said, stopping at the lift. “We can’t just leave the Revenge sitting in a lake.”

  “I don’t think we have much of a choice, Captain”, Scott said. “We’re not equipped for this sort of thing.”

  “It’s just a salvage job”, I said. “I thought you guys do a lot of salvage work.”

  “Not like this”, Cozi said. “That ship’s under hundreds of feet of water, laying on her side.”

  “What about grapplers?” I asked. “They’d be long enough.”

  “Magnetic grapplers don’t work on your ship, remember?” Scott said. “We had a bitch of a time rigging you for tow the first time, and that was in space. On top of that, even if we could somehow attach to her, we couldn’t lift her, not even on dry land, not in this much gravity, let alone with her full of water.”

  “It’s going to take a professional deep-water salvage team”, Cozi said. “I’m sure we can find someone to do it, but not without attracting a lot of attention.”

  “Okay, I get it”, I said. “Any chance of sending someone down, and lifting her under her own power?”

  “No chance”, Cozi said. “If you could seal the hull, and pump the water out, you’d still have several weeks of work. All the electronics are probably shot. They can handle vacuum, but not water.”