Saturn Run (The Planetary Trilogy Book 1)

by Stanley Salmons

  Conor stopped the recording. The lights went up. The room was in uproar, the directors speaking angrily to each other, other attendees raising their voices, and the judge banging a gavel and shouting for order. Stott was supporting his head on the fingers of his right hand.

  Things calmed down. Stott was dismissed from the witness stand. Dan watched as he returned to his seat and noticed how people distanced themselves from him. The judge resumed his place behind the bench.

  Conor began his summing up quietly.

  “What you have seen here, ladies and gentlemen, is a first-hand record of events that took place on Spacefreighter Solar Wind when it passed the orbit of Mars on the outward journey to Saturn. If there were time I could show you equally compelling evidence of the asteroid encounter, an encounter that you are being asked to believe," he paused for emphasis, “I say, you are being asked to believe, was the result of a ‘ careless oversight’. However you interpret it, this ‘oversight’ would undoubtedly have destroyed the ship and killed its pilot had it not been for his extreme resourcefulness. The same resourcefulness, ladies and gentleman, that he employed to deal with a vicious pirate attack, an attack that he had predicted but that the Board of Directors had discounted. The defendant does not deny that he acted contrary to the expressed wishes of the Board of Directors.” His voice started to crescendo, the style more declamatory. “The defendant recognizes that the Board’s decision was not taken on expert advice at all. It was not even taken on impartial advice. It was taken on the advice of one who was committed to the failure of this mission as surely as the defendant was committed to its success. And when, despite his attempts to sabotage the mission, Mr Stott saw that his efforts had been to no avail, and that the space freighter and its pilot had arrived safely at their destination, he persuaded his fellow directors to initiate charges against the defendant, the charges that he sits here facing today. He even erased the memory banks of the ship’s computer in an attempt to destroy the evidence you’ve just seen, evidence that must now convince you that the defendant’s account of events was truthful in every single respect.”

  Conor was now in full spate. The pace of his delivery slowed. His voice took on a new resonance.

  “I say to the Board of Directors of this company: you have been badly used, and in turn you have badly used a loyal employee whose only crime was to try to safeguard his own life, ensure the safe arrival of the company’s ship, and deliver safely its valuable cargo. There can be no one in this room now who believes that the weapons removed by the defendant from the holds of Solar Wind and deployed in its self-defence were in any way misappropriated, or that the removal of the panels that formed a necessary part of their deployment in any way constituted malicious damage. There can be no one in this room now who believes that any part of the cargo that the defendant delivered to Station Saturn would have reached its destination had it not been for the courage and skill of this pilot. And let us not forget, ladies and gentlemen, that the defendant also returned with the cargo holds filled to the brim with samples from Saturn’s rings and rock samples and geological cores from Saturn’s satellites Rhea and Titan, samples of incalculable scientific value, and potentially of immense commercial importance, now residing in the Space Science Astromaterials Curation Facility.

  “I do not ask you to find the defendant not guilty on all charges. I ask you to acknowledge the greatness of spirit that enabled this man to complete – single-handed – a mission of more than two years, a mission to Saturn and back, against overwhelming odds, and to complete it successfully, to the enormous credit of his company and his country.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence. Then someone started to clap and soon nearly everyone was clapping, and the judge was hammering for order, and Dan thought they were clapping Conor, but they were all looking at him…

  61

  “I’m so proud of you.”

  Neraya and Dan were lying in bed, snuggled up close, enjoying the warmth of each other’s bodies.

  “I’m glad you could be there. I don’t know how you got into that courtroom. It must have been sealed off like Fort Knox.”

  “I have a high security clearance in this job. I pulled rank.” She prodded her naked shoulder, where she would normally wear her epaulettes with the silver eagles. He kissed the spot and she moved with pleasure. “What do you think of Conor now?” she said.

  “He’s a total ace. Trust you to know who to contact! He went over the top a bit in his summing up but he knew what he was doing. I have to drop by his office tomorrow afternoon. I can thank him then – I didn’t get a proper chance yesterday.”

  She moved her head back a little. “I did. I was speaking to him while they were sorting out the paperwork for your release.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said he hasn’t had so much fun in years!”

  “Yeah, I can believe that. Hey, talking of fun SpaceFreight has to give me my completion package now. It includes a six-week complimentary trip to Hedon.”

  “You could go.”

  “Are you kidding? What could be better than this?”

  She hugged him closer to her. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re back safely.”

  “Karl Stott obviously isn’t. You saw they detained him in the courtroom?”

  “Yes.”

  “Poor bastard, he won’t know what’s hit him.”

  “You’re sorry for him, after all he’s done to you?”

  “In a way. Look at the cards he drew in life: only child of an overindulgent and excessively powerful father. No mother – I think his parents split up years ago. I suppose the Admiral thought his son and heir could do no wrong, always levering him into positions he wasn’t qualified for. Now he’s disgraced himself and his old man as well. Yeah, I’m sorry for him. He had even more to lose than I did. At the moment he’s just seeing the inside of a jail. When he gets out – whether it’s in one year or one day – that’s when his problems will really begin. I should know, I’ve been there. Who’s going to give him a job after this? – even with his father’s influence.”

  “At least he’s got his father to support him and put a roof over his head. That’s more than you had. No, I have no sympathy for him, none whatsoever.” She hesitated. “I went to see him, you know.”

  “You did? When?”

  “Before you left Earth orbit. The mission was so secret and I was worried sick about you. I wanted to know what was happening. Hal told me that he was out of the loop. He said Stott was the only one who might be able to give me any news, so I went to see him. I asked him if he’d keep me informed.”

  “What did he say?”

  Her skin crawled at the memory of that interview. No way could she ever bring herself to repeat the disgusting proposition Stott had put to her.

  “He refused, of course, in his patronizing way. But more than that: he was very sure you weren’t coming back. `He’d obviously planned the whole thing.”

  “What the pirate attack as well?”

  “Well, maybe not the pirate attack, but he wasn’t unaware of the danger in that sector and he did his best to see you went into it undefended. And in case that didn’t work he swapped the flight paths Mission Planning generated, to make sure you never got further than the asteroid belt.”

  “But why go to those lengths? I know he hates me, but is that really enough reason to jeopardize his company’s ship and a huge and expensive mission? It just doesn’t compute.”

  “All the same you were very nearly killed because of him. And when that didn’t work he tried to get you thrown into prison. He’s evil, Danny. One way and another I think he’s getting everything he deserved.”

  *

  “Here y’are, bud, something to eat.”

  Karl Stott looked up at the warder, who placed a tray of unappetizing food on a table at the side of his cell and turned to go out.

  “Why are they taking so long?”

  The warder paused. “Who?”

  Stot
t’s voice was shrill. “My father, the family lawyers! They should have been here by now. Are you sure they haven’t come?”

  The warder gave him a condescending sneer. “Don’t worry, fella, we’ll let you know if anyone comes.”

  The door banged shut and Stott heard the clank of the lock mechanism. He shivered, wrapped his arms around himself and absently rubbed his upper arm.

  If! It’s not “if” it’s “when”! When are they coming? I’ve been in here for hours. I’ve got to get out of here. I have to speak to Klitgaard. Her people must have a base out beyond Mars orbit. Now it’s come out in court Customs is sure to go after it. She’ll go bananas if they hit it and I never warned her. She’ll cancel the deal. And it’s Thursday tomorrow. I haven’t seen Papillon since Monday. Dammit, I really need to see her. What’s going to happen to me if I can’t get out of here?

  *

  The warder led Karl Stott to the consultation room, where his father was waiting with two lawyers, and closed the door behind him.

  “Thank God you’re here! What took you so long? I’ve been in this ghastly place for ages!”

  His father came over to him and took him by the arm.

  “Pull yourself together and sit down,” he murmured. Then, crossing back to the table, he said aloud, “You know Mr Dwyer and Mr Bayley, don’t you, Karl? We’ve had the benefit of their legal advice for many years.”

  “Can you get me off?” Karl Stott’s voice was high-pitched with panic.

  The two lawyers exchanged looks and their expressions were sour. Mr Dwyer spoke first.

  “You’re facing serious charges, Karl. We’ve been going over them in the State Prosecutor’s Office. They’re talking about falsifying evidence, conspiring to pervert the course of justice, contempt of court, maybe perjury.”

  “It’s not fair. It was a cheap courtroom trick. You heard what the Prosecuting Officer said. He was guilty on all counts.”

  “He was able to demonstrate good cause. What’s damaging to your case is that you erased the files.”

  “I was right to do that. For God’s sake, there were inventories of military equipment on those files, with specifications and operating instructions. Can you imagine what would happen if someone gained unauthorized access?”

  “The stuff he recorded confirms that he also transmitted the coordinates of this pirate attack. Why didn’t you pass those on to Customs?”

  “Pirate attack! People would have laughed if I’d taken that stuff seriously.”

  “What about the asteroids? They know there was no love lost between you and Larssen. It’s being suggested that you deliberately tried to imperil his mission, that you replaced the modified flight path developed by the planning team with the original collision course.”

  He licked his lips nervously. “Rubbish. I’m a director of the company. Why should I do something that would damage its business interests? Someone slipped up, that’s all, and as usual they’re trying to put the blame on me.”

  Dwyer nodded slowly. Bayley said, “To be fair, I don’t think they have any evidence for that.”

  “Of course there isn’t any evidence.”

  Dwyer took a deep breath. “Well, we should be able to get you out of here if your father will stand bail.” He looked at the Fleet-Admiral, who lifted one hand dismissively. “As for the case, we’ll do our best to quash it before it gets to court. Judges get very angry when they think the court’s been manipulated, but I think they’ll have a job to make these charges stick. We can argue that your actions constituted acceptable practice given the information available to you. And a disagreement between two cadets at college several years ago is not sufficient grounds for believing that you acted out of malice.”

  “All right. Good.”

  “By the way, the Company is demanding your resignation from the Board.”

  “What? That’s outrageous! I’m not resigning.”

  “You can take that stand if you like, but if you don’t resign the Board will vote, and you’ll be out anyway. The difference is they’ll make their reasons public in a report to the shareholders, and that would bring a lot of unwanted publicity down on you and your father.”

  Stott buried his head in his hands. “This isn’t fair. It’s just not fair. They’re all against me.”

  Fleet-Admiral Stott intervened. “Gentlemen, I wonder if you’d mind leaving us for a moment?”

  Dwyer’s mouth tightened. He inclined his head, and he and Bayley gathered up their papers and withdrew.

  As soon as the door had closed behind them the Fleet-Admiral leaned forward.

  “Look, Karl, it’s best if you resign. Rightly or wrongly, your fellow directors think you advised them badly. You’ve lost their confidence. They’ll be hard to work with now, so you may as well do what they ask. I don’t want the details to go out to the shareholders. It would be too damaging for both of us.”

  “I’m ruined, father.”

  “No you’re not. They’ve thrown a bit of mud at you and some of it’s stuck, that’s all.”

  “But my career’s finished. Who’ll ever give me a job now?”

  “For the moment let’s just concentrate on getting you out of here. Don’t worry about a job. You can come and work in my office for the time being. You’re already familiar with the computer system; we’ll find something for you to do. We’re just going to let things cool off, Karl. It won’t last for ever. In a year or two people will have forgotten all about it and you’ll come back, you’ll see.”

  Karl Stott looked up at his father. “You think so?”

  The Fleet-Admiral frowned. He peered closely at his son’s face, registering for the first time the small pupils and pasty complexion.

  “Are you all right, son? You’re not looking well.”

  “I’m okay, really. It’s just this whole rotten business, it’s enough to make anyone ill. Larssen’s behind it. You saw how he works, with those memory tiles and cheap lawyer tricks. He was always out to get me. He tried at Academy too, only it backfired on him and he was the one to get thrown out.”

  “I know. I had him pegged as a troublemaker back then. I should have dealt with him more firmly. One thing I’ve learned about strategic warfare, Karl, is the value of the disproportionate response. You can pull the wings off a wasp and it will still turn round and sting you. Best to crush it with your boot.”

  “That’s what I’m going to do, father – crush him.”

  “Not now, son. You’re angry, and angry people make mistakes. Take my advice: bottle your anger. Bide your time. Stay in control. When the right moment comes you can act, but do it with a cool head.”

  62

  Conor was brimming with energy. He left Dan to sign the documents on his desk while he paced restlessly around the room.

  “Did y’see the face on that Prosecutin’ Officer?” he asked, gleefully rubbing his hands together. “Jesus, I’d love do it all over again!”

  “Once is enough for me, Conor.”

  “Ah, I can understand that well enough, Dan.”

  “I’m just grateful you were in my corner. I don’t know how it would have panned out otherwise.”

  “Ah no, you were safe as houses. A case like that, any lawyer could have got the same result. I just like to feel I did it with a bit more style, that’s all.”

  “Oh, you did that all right. It was a bravura performance.”

  Conor beamed. “A performance – that’s it! It is very like conducting a symphony! Quiet at first, introducing the themes...” He waved his arms to an imaginary orchestra, riding the swell of sound. “Gradually you build it to a grand climax, and… the memory tiles!” He stopped conducting suddenly and looked at Dan. “It wouldn’t have been so easy without the memory tiles, mind. I never did ask you why you recorded them.”

  “It was when I crossed swords with that tight-assed Commander at Station Saturn. I knew what to expect when he put his report in, so it seemed like a good idea to make a complete record of my own. I just
downloaded the ship’s flight logs – unfortunately for Karl Stott.”

  “His lawyers got him off, you know.”

  “Yeah, I heard.”

  “He still had to resign from the Board, though. The other directors made sure of that.”

  “I’m not surprised. They must have been quite angry.”

  “Angry? They were spittin’ tacks! And when the judge awarded you costs it was just more salt in the wound. They couldn’t get rid of him fast enough! I’d be careful, Dan. He’s a nasty piece of work, that fella, and he must be sore as hell.”

  “Thanks, Conor, but I don’t think he’s in a position to hurt me now.” He signed the last document and pushed the pile away from him. “You going to be around much longer?”

  “I have a couple more cases on this side of the water. Then I’ll go back to the European office.”

  “Taking the hypersonic?”

  “No, those damned things are too fast for me. Supersonic’s just fine. Gives me time to go through my briefs.”

  “Well, safe journey.”

  “Good luck, now, Dan.”

  “Conor.”

  They clasped hands and their eyes met. There was no need to say more.

  *

  Dan put his head round the door of the Mission Overview Office. The table was strewn as usual with plans and papers. Hal was obviously planning the next mission.

  “Hi.”

  “Hey, Dan! Come in. Good to see you!”

  “I wasn’t sure I’d find you here, Hal. I didn’t expect you to put your job on the line for me.”