Terror at Roschin Colony

by Scott Lucas

  She gestured toward the dreadnaught. “Is there crew aboard?”

  Tem nodded. “Dead or secured in the brig.”

  “Good. We will interrogate each of them. Garrow?”

  “Madam,” the Security Chief said.

  “Arrange for the prisoners’ transport to the colony holding bay.”

  Garrow turned his head slightly and spoke inaudibly into the whisper-sensitive microphone that rested perpetually against his jaw.

  Orba DeWilda continued to hold Tem with an impassive gaze. She had not looked away, even while giving orders to Garrow. She stepped closer to Tem, but held up a hand when Vosper and Wurth began to follow. They stood back, fidgeting and exchanging glances.

  “Ahmad did not exaggerate your abilities,” she said. She kept her voice low enough that only Tem could hear. “In fact, he probably understated. You never worked for him, did you?”

  Tem inclined his head cautiously. “It was once my honor to be of service to the Bashir family.”

  “But not as a security officer.”

  Tem struggled to find something to say that would not compromise the image that Ahmad had built for himself over the years. It was not common knowledge that such a successful and influential executive had been a refugee years before.

  Knowing he had been silent for several seconds, Tem decided that declining to answer was better than an outright lie. “I am not a liberty to disclose the nature of my service to Executive Bashir. That is something Executive Bashir should enlighten you about himself.”

  DeWilda nodded briefly. She looked Tem in the eyes and held up the back of her hand to show him the black rose ring.

  “My mother’s,” she said. “She and my father are staunch supporters of the Tribunal.” She lowered her hand. “I take a different view, however. You have nothing to fear from me.”

  She spun and walked back toward the rest of the group. Arno, Vosper, and the security guards parted to let her through, then they fell into formation behind her as she walked back toward the hangar doors.

  Tem breathed a sigh of relief and trudged toward the Wyvern Star. The technicians had just finished their walk-around of the dreadnaught. Tem suspected that the colony heads, and the discovery that the new security consultant was a Paladin, had distracted them. The technicians were eyeing the Wyvern Star hesitantly. Tem ignored them and stepped inside the cockpit of his ship.

  “All right, girl. Let’s see what the damage is.”

  Wyv did not answer. That was not a good sign.

  Tem placed his hand against the hull and felt a momentary pang when the ship’s AI did not respond to him. Tem patted the bulkhead and moved into the cabin.

  The ship's interior was a mess. Anything in the main cabin that was not bolted down or magnetically secured. Fortunately, Tem was not prone to leaving things lying about in the open, and he still had a good number of his rations and tools. One locker had popped open from the blast that disabled the ship, and its door hung open at a strange angle.

  Tem shouldered down the ship’s corridor to the aft cabins. His shoulders were much broader in the Paladin suit, and he almost had to turn sideways to get into the room that contained his cot and the library. The books and data drives had floated free from their containers when the cabin lost gravity, but fortunately, the hatch to this cabin shut, and the last writings of Tem’s Order had floated until they towed the ship into the hangar and fell to the floor when they restored gravity.

  Tem sat on the cot and picked up the nearest data drive in his gauntlet-covered hand. Besides his armor and his ship, this acquired library was most precious to him. He latched the library crate. He could not bear to think what would have happened if they had left the cabin door open.

  “Tem.” Ahmad’s voice came in over the comms. Tem jumped and realized that he had almost fallen asleep sitting up inside his armor.

  Tem pressed his comm switch. “Go ahead.”

  The hologram of Ahmad Bashir appeared. “Orba has asked to speak with me.”

  Tem caught the urgency in his friend’s voice. “She knows, Ahmad.”

  A momentary silence. “Do you have to run, again?”

  “I don’t think so. Not yet anyway. She said she had no quarrel with me, but it could have been a ruse to keep me here until someone from the Tribunal can arrive.”

  “Can the Wyvern Star fly?”

  Tem looked around the cabin, still lit by the glowing red emergency strips. “She’s out of commission for now, I’m afraid.”

  “I have to go,” Ahmad said. “Listen, Tem, I want you to go to the executive’s ship in the hangar.”

  “No, Ahmad.”

  Ahmad ignored him. “The emergency startup code is my wife’s and daughter’s names. If there’s trouble, I want you to leave.”

  Tem hoped his friend’s paranoia was unjustified. He also knew that even if it were, Ahmad would feel more at ease if he knew Tem was only two words away from safety. Despite his reservations about leaving, he gave in to Ahmad’s demands.

  “If there’s trouble, I’ll leave,” he said.

  “Good. Keep me informed.” The transmission clicked off.

  Even though ordered to wait in Ahmad’s ship, Tem remained. Waiting poised to flee seemed cowardly to him. If he had to run, he would run. Until then, the Wyvern Star needed work.

  Tem picked up all the scattered books and data drives from the library on Fable and returned them to their crate. He shut the lid, and latched it. If he had to run, this crate was accompanying him. He hoped it did not come to that.

  Tem removed his armor and plugged it into the ship to recharge. The suit also needed repairs.

  Next, Tem settled down on the floor of the cockpit and removed an access panel beneath the control array. He tinkered with the AI connections for an hour and ended up replacing a few circuits that had shorted out when enemy fire scattered through the hull to the ship’s interior.

  As Tem connected the last fuse, the console suddenly lit up as the AI came back online. The computer spouted the damage report so quickly that her words nearly tripped over each other.

  “Massive breach in hull, life-support inoperative, artificial gravity inoperative, weapons systems disabled-”

  “Wyv!” Tem thumped the edge of the console with his fist.

  “I am badly damaged,” the ship concluded.

  “I’m going to get you fixed, Wyv.” Tem rested his forehead against the console. “It’s good to have you back.”

  “May I suggest…?” said the AI. There was a hint of hesitation in her voice. “That you gain more human friends?”

  Tem chuckled. “You are becoming more human yourself.”

  Ahmad reappeared in hologram. “Tem!”

  Startled, Tem hit his head on the panel, scrambled to his feet, but kept his voice calm.

  “Yes?”

  “Everything is fine!” Ahmad said.

  Tem leaned against the bulkhead. “What? How?”

  “The colony heads are meeting in ten minutes,” Ahmad continued. “It might be a little tense in there, but I don’t think anyone will actively challenge you, since you saved the shipment and captured a dreadnaught.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The colony heads gathered to discuss how to proceed. As usual, Tem felt out of place. Although, he had dressed in his Nytech security consultant’s uniform, but still felt the frequent glances from the colony heads.

  All of those in the room, Arno Wurth seemed to regard him most negatively, though the cybernetics chief seemed more nervous than anything else. He had barely looked at Tem since the rogue android attacked. Tem had a feeling the man was embarrassed, but he also could not shake the evidence against the man. Wurth probably had not meant for his trainee to get in the way, but it was possible that he had programmed the malfunction himself.

  As Vosper stroked his goatee, a worried line creasing the space between his brows. Tem had not ruled out the Baron Administrator as the culprit. There was nothing to incriminate him except for h
is influence on the colony and access to records and certain areas of the base. He had allowed Ahmad to bring in a consultant, but then again, it would have looked suspicious to refuse when it as offered. If Vosper was the traitor, he would have to approve Ahmad’s plan to bring Tem in and play along with the investigation. Perhaps the Baron Administrator was confident that his rank would absolve him from suspicion.

  Orba DeWilda was still difficult to read, but Tem had found her to be stoic in all of his encounters with her so far. He was less suspicious of her after their conversation in the landing bay, but he knew it was unwise to let his guard down. He was certain that there was a secret behind her stoic face. Her chief of security, Garrow, was equally inscrutable, but this was mostly because of the tinted visor he wore over his eyes. His mouth was a grim slash. Garrow had every opportunity to let the rogue android kill Tem, but Garrow had risked his own life to save Tem when they fought the rogue android.

  On a holographic screen in front of Vosper, the audio and visual records of the pirate attack played. The video was of a pixilated quality much of the time, and the rumble of turbulence or explosions occasionally overpowered the audio. The computers cleaned up the audio and video the best it could.

  Tem watched the flickering light of the hologram over the table. DeWilda glanced at him several times through the hologram as it unfolded. As the video played out, Tem noticed that he had fought the battle in a Paladin fashion. He had positioned himself as center gun, covering his fellows as they soared about around him. Tem eased back into battle as it was second nature.

  Vosper cheered as if he had been watching a Lugheon game. “You lucky bastard!” He said to Tem. “That was quite the firefight!”

  “It appears it hardly involved luck,” said DeWilda. She shut off the hologram and rested her fingertips against the table.

  A coldness surged through Tem’s body. He was certain that he had played into her hands somehow. If he was in her position, Tem also would have put his enemy at ease before swooping in for the kill. She could be buying time for an Inquisitor to arrive.

  Vosper tapped his ear and said, “Go ahead. Uh-huh. That is great news. Chu out.” To the people in the conference room, he said, “I have just received word that the cargo ship made it to Tenzin station safely and on time. Our first successful shipment in weeks.”

  They all cheered. Tem let out a breath that he had been holding unconsciously. A sudden layer of cold sweat had crept down his entire back.

  “How damaged was the ship?” he asked.

  “We ran it pretty ragged when it landed.” Wurth removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s a mercy that Dorikki’s such a competent pilot. At any rate, the cargo ship will need extensive repairs before it returns to the Fields. They will repair it there and return it.”

  Orba DeWilda said, “We have other obstacles to attend to before we entertain any thoughts of another shipment, Vosper.”

  Vosper sat up straighter. “We’ve gone over the comm systems of the captured dreadnaught.”

  Vosper tapped a few keys on his table layout and brought up a holographic display containing several columns of data.

  “This is a record of all the transmissions sent and received by the pirate ship in the past week.” Vosper touched two pairs of data rows, which illuminated in green. “Look at the coordinates.”

  Arno Wurth pointed to the display. “Those coordinates are ours.”

  Vosper touched the screen again. “Transmissions to and from the colony, one set after we decided the shipment date, another during the combat over the asteroid belt. Someone in the colony was communicating with the pirates.”

  “Can we track the transmission?” Orba asked.

  “We already attempted to locate the transmitter from the dreadnaught’s console. No signal. I can only assume that the traitor destroyed the receiver the moment we captured the dreadnaught.”

  “Is there a record of the transmission? Any way to hear what they said?” Orba asked.

  Vosper pursed his lips and shook his head. “The transmitter was a ghost model.”

  A collective groan emanated from the occupants of the table.

  Tem explained, “Ghosts are often the transmitter of choice for smugglers and spies. There’s less chance of information leaking back if we compromise the person.”

  He did not mention that he was familiar with that transmitter from his time smuggling refugees. He may be unmasked as a Paladin, but he would not volunteer information about what he had done in service of the Order.

  “So,” said DeWilda finally. “We have no more information than we had before.”

  The colony heads around the table sat for a moment in desolate silence.

  “Why transmit during the battle?” Vosper asked. “The attack was already underway. Surely, there was no reason to risk exposure with another transmission. What changed?”

  The traitor had called to warn the Ler pirates about Tem’s approach, and such a warning would not warrant a risk unless they knew he was a serious threat, unless they knew he was a Paladin.

  Tem glanced across the table to Dr. Wurth. The finding reinforced his suspicions concerning the cybernetics chief. Wurth was the only one at the table who had seen him fight the androids.

  “What changed,” said Vosper, “Is that we won. I propose a celebration!”

  “An excellent idea,” Orba said promptly. She tapped the tabletop with her hand like a judge with a gavel. “Nothing too fancy, but I think the stockroom can spare a few bottles of Lograssian brandy.”

  The mood at the table took an instant turn for the better. A celebration was not strictly necessary, but it would serve as a welcome distraction. Orba appreciated the benefits of boosting morale in the colony.

  As the colony heads dispersed down the corridors, Vosper caught up to Tem en route to the hangar bay. “A moment, Blaev.”

  The exposed Paladin slowed his pace and allowed the Baron Administrator to catch up. Vosper whispered, “I want you to watch the colonists closely tonight,” he said.

  Tem had hoped to continue repairs on the Wyvern Star during the celebration, but nodded obligingly. This took precedent. “I presume I’m looking for lapses in the general merriment.”

  Vosper nodded. “That’s the idea. We put a wrench in the pirates’ plans today.” The Baron Administrator paused for a moment. “Thanks to your exceptional talents.”

  Before entering his office, the Baron Administrator told Tem, “If we had more men like you, Mister Blaev…”

  Tem shifted uncomfortably. Now that his identity as a former Paladin spread throughout the colony, he had to be cautious to whom he spoke and for how long. If word reached the Star Chamber Tribunal, the Tribunal would scrutinize the colony’s security videos. Vosper inched close to revealing something incriminating, and even though there would be no audio feed, the Baron Administrator’s body language spoke volumes. Chu was nervous, but not hostile toward Tem. The video would look bad for Vosper if there was any investigation. Inquisitors identified so-called ‘sympathizers’ based on far less than a few seconds of security footage.

  “I must return to my ship, Administrator.” Tem inclined his head, hoping that this eliminated any disrespect his interruption may have alluded. He added. “You have an image to uphold in the colony. I would not see you jeopardize it for my sake.”

  Before Vosper could reply, Tem turned and continued toward the landing bay. He heard Vosper’s door hiss open and shut in the corridor behind him. It pained him that even those who supported him needed to alienate themselves for their own safety. After this job, he might have to cut ties with Ahmad for a while. It would be safer for the Bashir family that way.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Paladins rarely dreamed. A Paladin’s mind became more closely tied to the tranquil epicenter of the universe, what some referred to as the eye of the cosmic storm, where Paladins drifted towards during meditation, battle calm, and sleep. There were no dreams in the eye of the cosmic storm. No
dreams, unless the universe was trying to communicate with him. Master Adeus once told Tem’s class at Baldock Academy that a Paladin’s dream was a rare thing, not to be dismissed.

  Tem never dreamed until after the gold coats and mecchaniks wiped out his Order. After that, the same dream surfaced. The details of the dream appeared blurry as though recorded by an unfocused camera, but showing him ever so briefly the place the Wyvern Star took him the day he stole it.

  Tem awoke with a start and returned to his repairs. He worked steadily repairing the Wyvern Star until a lower-tier employee informed him that the celebration was beginning in the dining hall.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The colonists were rambunctious, and many of them had changed into civilians clothing for the occasion. Rhonda, now recovered from her ordeal with the rogue android, had let her curly hair fly free in a near afro. She set up the music system, and she and some younger workers danced in an area clear of tables.

  Tem sipped his drink and scanned the festivities from beside one wall.

  Tem continued scanning the room, trying not to spend too long on any single person. Vosper was engaged in an animated discussion with the chief medical officer at the drinks table. They appeared to be holding up the line, and the man behind the table eventually urged them to move on so that he could pour drinks for other colonists.

  Across the room, Garrow also stood sentry, sporting a tinted visor over his eyes. Tem wondered if the visor displayed any security readouts, or if the security officer wore it to prevent the distraction of eye contact. Normally he remained within a ten-foot radius of the Vice President, unless there was a security emergency. Tem scanned the room again. Where was Orba DeWilda?

  Tem went to look for her. He turned the corner into the living quarter area when a door down the hall opened and Orba DeWilda rushed out. Tem hid around a corner and watched.

  With unnecessary force, she slapped the button to shut the door, wearing an expression of intense fury on her face. No time to step out of sight. Tem continued to walk forward and pretend he was headed somewhere.

  The Vice President headed back toward the dining hall, when she stopped, startled, seeing Tem approaching. The Paladin did not avoid eye contact. He nodded, but said nothing passing Orba. As their eyes met, he clearly saw that she knew her behavior was suspicious. She veered away and dashed toward the dining hall.