Kaine's Retribution

by D. M. Pruden

  General Malkovich’s office, in contrast, was expansive and panelled in dark mahogany. The stone floor of the cavern was covered by a polished hardwood beneath richly embroidered carpets. Memorabilia and what appeared to be archaeological artifacts decorated the room on occasional tables and bookshelves that lined one wall.

  Behind a large desk sat a man who, under any other circumstance, could have been a beardless Yegor Pavlovich.

  The man stood and walked around to greet him, right hand extended. “It is a great privilege to meet you, Lieutenant Kaine. I am Cesar Malkovich. Welcome to our humble lodgings.”

  He directed Hayden to be seated before resuming his own seat. Kaine’s escort was dismissed with a casual wave of the hand. The men saluted and departed without a word.

  “I do not believe you have been completely honest with us.”

  Hayden raised his eyebrows. “Oh? What gives you that impression, General?”

  “My men went to recover your vessel, and it was nowhere to be found.”

  “Are you sure they remembered where I parked it?”

  Malkovich was amused. “I can see why Yegor selected you to be his first officer. He shares that sort of humour.” His expression hardened. “Please explain where your ship is.”

  “In all honesty, General, I have no idea where it went. It is under the control of an advanced AI, with strict security and evasion protocols.”

  “And where would Yegor have acquired such technology?”

  Hayden smiled disarmingly. “Ten years is a long time to experiment.”

  “You’re saying your people developed it? I am familiar with the qualifications of Scimitar’s crew. I find your claim difficult to believe.”

  He shrugged. “As I said, we had a lot of free time to brush up on things. Besides, your people seem to have been industrious. The stealth technology I witnessed is impressive.”

  Malkovich studied him warily. “I suppose it is possible that your captain located the cynosure...”

  “The what?”

  The general smirked. “No, you aren’t much of a liar, are you?” He shifted in his chair, placed his hands on the desk, and leaned forward. “Speaking of your commanding officer, where might I find him, were I to bother looking?”

  “He and the rest of the crew were taken aboard one of Stromm’s ships to the central planet.”

  “Yes, yes—so you explained. I presume he went willingly?”

  “He thought it wise to cooperate. Especially since your fleet was destroyed.”

  Malkovich smiled. “There is no need to measure your words. I am aware that Yegor played both sides. He hasn’t changed.”

  “Am I to be considered an enemy combatant, General?”

  “Are you my enemy, Lieutenant? Where does your loyalty lie?”

  Hayden tried to swallow the lump in his throat. “Sir, I have no quarrel with you or Stromm.”

  “Simply a neutral bystander, caught up in all this?” He shook his head. “Your captain’s actions have revealed his loyalties. What about you? I don’t believe he did you any great favours by leaving you behind.”

  “What are you asking?”

  “I think you know.”

  “I prefer to hear you say it, General.”

  “I want your ship, Lieutenant.”

  “I told you, I don’t know where it is.”

  “I mean Scimitar.”

  “What is so valuable about her? Both you and Stromm sacrificed your ships in a battle over us. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Malkovich grinned. “Do you know the story of the pearl of great price?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t.”

  “An ancient parable, referring to a treasure of such value that someone would sacrifice everything to possess it.”

  “Scimitar? Now you’re the one who’s joking.”

  He studied Hayden for several seconds. “I’ll make you a deal, Lieutenant. Help me secure it, and you won’t die horribly.”

  Even though he expected an ultimatum, hearing it set Hayden’s pulse racing. “Actually, I’d prefer another choice, General.”

  “Give me access to the ship and I’ll consider it.”

  Hayden frowned. “As much as I appreciate the opportunity to gamble with my life, sir, and at the risk of throwing that away...”

  “Yes?” Malkovich appeared amused.

  “Scimitar is just sitting up there in orbit. Except for one of Stromm’s ships keeping an eye on her, she’s ripe for the taking. Given your cloaking technology...”

  “Don’t play coy, Lieutenant Kaine. I know my cousin. He would hardly have hidden the key to the front door under the mat. Neither he, nor you, would have left his ship unguarded, and if my suspicions are correct...”

  “About the cynosure?” he ventured.

  He felt like he was dumped into the middle of an ocean without a life preserver. Whatever the thing was, it was incredibly important both to Stromm and Malkovich.

  Pavlovich was a liar, Hayden had no doubt. It was entirely possible that he kept some dark secret, one that might more believably explain how he’d acquired faster-than-light technology and survived falling into a black hole. It was also within reason that his contemporaries were aware of it too and coveted it.

  He needed to tread very carefully until he could figure it all out.

  Hayden smiled and spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “If I betray my captain’s confidence, what does that say about me? You would never be able to trust me.”

  “And yet you would still live.”

  So there it was.

  “Until Pavlovich found out. Either way, I’m a dead man.”

  He would not turn his back on what was left of the UEF by betraying his commanding officer. His father would be proud if he knew. The realization that he’d signed his own death warrant, however, squashed any pride he might have indulged in.

  Malkovich stared daggers at him from across the desk. Waiting for the general’s inevitable explosion of rage, Hayden thought his heart would burst from his chest.

  And then the older man’s expression softened. A satisfied smile spread across his face, and laughter exploded from him. “My cousin chose an exceptional executive officer. Well done, Kaine.”

  Hayden’s mouth dropped open, and he gawked at the smiling general. “Sir?”

  “Had you even hinted at the possibility of a deal to save your ass, I would have shot you myself.”

  He tried to swallow. “I’m glad.”

  Malkovich grinned. “No doubt. But I shan’t keep you in suspense any longer, Lieutenant. You haven’t been operating with all the necessary information. Some time ago, my intelligence forces infiltrated Stromm’s headquarters. He thinks he’s rooted out my people, but he hasn’t a clue as to how deeply imbedded my agents are.”

  “I fail to see what this has to do with me or with Scimitar.”

  “Please permit me to finish?” the general said playfully.

  Bristling at the mild rebuke, Hayden forced himself to appear impassive and nodded.

  “I am aware of far more about you and your ship mates than you can possibly realize. My sources inform me that a certain young woman is masquerading before Stromm as my cousin’s XO.”

  The words hit him like a punch in the gut. Too late, he realized that his reaction had betrayed his surprise.

  “What bothers me is that while my dear cousin can be unconventional, I have no idea why he would require two executive officers. Can you shed any light on this situation?”

  “I cannot.”

  “Is Miss Gabriel Yegor’s first officer, or are you? I’m sure you can appreciate my consternation?”

  “I do understand. I assure you, General, I am the XO of the Scimitar.”

  “And yet your name does not appear on the crew manifest, while hers’ does, and listed in the same position you claim to hold. What do you expect me to believe?”

  “I think your agents may have gotten bad intelligence, sir.”

  “
Oh, I don’t think so. They also inform me that you and she are...close, to use a polite term. Is that incorrect as well, Lieutenant?”

  For a second time, Malkovich’s comments struck Hayden dumb.

  “I presume,” said the general, “if this woman is no friend of yours and is in fact impersonating an officer, you would have no objections if I simply order her killed?”

  “No!”

  Malkovich sat back and templed his fingers, satisfied. “Now we are negotiating, Lieutenant.”

  Perspiration ran down Hayden’s forehead. His shout had been involuntary. He’d been prepared for almost any threat against his life, but the mention of the danger to Stella made his resolve collapse like a house of cards. Confused, he searched for a response, but it was as if his thoughts were dust scattered on the wind.

  “Let me help you make your decision, Lieutenant. You have been lied to. The fact that you did not know of the cynosure is proof of that.”

  “He kept classified information from a junior officer. That hardly constitutes a lie.”

  “If you knew what the secret is, you would not believe that. You would know that he not only deceived you, but betrayed you.”

  “Those are easy words, General, but meaningless. I know my captain, and he has my trust and loyalty.”

  His brave response tasted like sawdust in his mouth. How well did he really know Pavlovich?

  Malkovich rose and went to the sideboard. He poured two glasses of an amber fluid and returned to hand one to Kaine.

  “Make yourself comfortable, son. We are going to be spending a lot of time together, I think.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Family History

  “WE GREW UP together. Yegor’s parents died when he was a toddler, and mine took him in and raised him as my brother.”

  “Uh-huh,” replied Hayden.

  Malkovich’s presence in the copilot’s seat unnerved him, almost as much as the squad of Rangers occupying the passenger seats behind them. He stole a glance back at them in their battle suits. None of their faces were visible behind their helmet visors. To him they looked like an assembly of automatons, though there was not a synth or even a cyborg among them.

  “We competed at everything, though Yegor more often emerged the victor. I can admit, and even accept it now...”

  “That’s all very interesting, General, but I’m trying to concentrate on piloting. I’m not yet familiar with this interface.”

  “You’re testy, Lieutenant. I understand. You shouldn’t think of this as a compromise or a betrayal. It is an opportunity to save millions of lives.”

  “To be completely honest, I only give a damn about a few people. Once I help you defeat your enemy, you and everyone else in this bloody system can go to hell.”

  Malkovich began to reply, then appeared to reconsider and leaned back in his chair to study a distant moon out the window.

  After several minutes of tense silence, Hayden asked, “What happened to the colonies here?”

  The older man’s expression hardened, and he ground his teeth.

  “Three hundred and fifty-two thousand.”

  “The number of colonists?”

  Malkovich nodded, maintaining his grim stare out the cockpit. He turned to appraise the soldiers behind him. “We all lost someone.”

  “What took place here?”

  “When the network collapsed, it was as if the government knew it was coming. They had everything in place and declared martial law within days of the event. I was in command of the heavy cruiser Agamemnon, patrolling near the light gate. The conspirators were well organized and had operatives on every ship in the system. My first officer attempted a mutiny, supported by a third of my crew. Fortunately, my Rangers remained loyal. We defeated the mutineers, but at a terrible loss of life. My vessel was damaged beyond repair, so we survivors abandoned her and made our way to the colony moons of Elgar. We had no idea if the coup had extended to the local leadership, but we had no other options.”

  Hayden forgot his animosity and became enraptured by the tale. “How were you greeted?”

  Malkovich smiled weakly. “Kwong only had claws in the central government and the military. He ignored the civilian colonies, presuming he’d consolidate his rule over them at a later date. It was a key mistake. The purpose for the colonies was scientific research.”

  “So they are the source of your stealth technology?”

  The general nodded. “It took some persuading, but after they saw what was taking place on Pictor Prime, the leadership decided to resist Kwong’s coup. For a while, it was effective; he had too many irons in the fire to worry about some defiant scientists. Then Stromm killed him, and everything changed for the worse.”

  “He saw the value of the research?”

  “Oh, yes. He dispatched a fleet to seize control. By this time, a sizeable but scattered resistance had grown.” Malkovich laughed humourlessly. “Oh, we were so naïve. We thought a group of rebels, armed with some stealth tech and righteousness, would be sufficient.”

  “What did you hope to gain by defying Stromm?”

  “At the time we had no idea of the reason for the light gate being shut down. Almost everyone believed it was a temporary lockout engineered by Kwong. We thought if we could engage and harass the military government—keep it preoccupied—it would only be matter of time before Earth heard about things and sent in troops to reestablish order. It was only much later that we learned of the collapse of the entire network.”

  Hayden swallowed nervously. “What happened?”

  The general looked back again at his men. “We engaged the attacking fleet. Our stealth technology compensated for our lack of numbers, and Stromm’s forces took heavy losses. When he realized we had the upper hand, Stromm changed tactics. He ordered his surviving ships to carpet-bomb every colony on every moon. He never even issued terms for surrender—just wiped out every living person.”

  “So instead of engaging you, he turned his weapons on the colonies?”

  “It worked. We lost our resolve against an enemy who would act so capriciously. Our fleet broke up and retreated to wherever was left to go.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “Six years. Since then, we’ve played a game of cat-and-mouse, hitting them when we can and retreating to our hidden bases scattered throughout the system. Now, much of our time and efforts go to convincing Stromm’s people of his ruthlessness and his atrocities.”

  “But both sides are running out of resources.”

  Malkovich nodded. “Stromm outnumbers us. Eventually, we will lose our last ships before he does. Our only hope is to cut the head off the snake while there is still time.”

  “You still haven’t told me how Scimitar fits in all this.”

  “That old wreck is a key element in ending this conflict. Its secret will draw Stromm out into the open—expose him.”

  “You already attempted to assassinate him. If anything, he’ll be more cautious. What do you think is so irresistible that he will risk exposing himself?”

  “The cynosure. Scimitar holds one of the last pieces of a puzzle we thought unsolvable until your reappearance a few days ago.”

  “I’m calling bullshit.”

  Malkovich smiled patronizingly. “You’re still young and surprisingly naïve.”

  “I’m more familiar with the political machinations within the Confederation than you can imagine, General.”

  “Ah, yes, your family’s history. Believe me, Kaine, and I mean no disrespect to you or your father: you have no idea of what is going on.”

  “I’m aware of Thomas’s plot and his attempts to recruit officers to him. How do I know he didn’t get to you?”

  “My cousin told you about that? That is only a fragment of the big picture, Kaine.”

  “Then why don’t you enlighten me? This farce of intrigue is getting tiresome.”

  “I’d need the cynosure to prove my claim.”

  Hayden shook his head and ret
urned his attention to the console. “That’s bloody convenient, isn’t it? You’d rather threaten the lives of people who might be able to help you than be forthcoming. You’re full of shit, General.”

  Malkovich chuckled. “You sound like Yegor.”

  Hayden frowned at the distracting comment. “Why are you two enemies? You said earlier you were raised together.”

  The older man sighed and studied something outside. “It’s complicated.”

  Hayden watched him stare out the window.

  Bloody secrets every time he turned around. It seemed like everyone wanted to keep him in the dark and use him as a pawn. If there were, as Malkovich claimed, machinations behind the Confederacy, his father and grandfather had to be aware of them. They’d kept him ignorant, feeding him bits of information to motivate him to do his part. That they didn’t trust him enough to tell him anything cut like a knife.

  Perhaps they had waited for a time when his ambivalence would be replaced by something more mature; more malleable. Maybe if he hadn’t destroyed the jump network, he would now be on Earth and steeped in whatever arcane mysteries were kept from him.

  “Ah, there she is,” said Malkovich.

  Hayden looked up and searched the black for what had caught the man’s attention. Then he saw it: a tiny white speck floating in the void.

  Scimitar.

  A second object came into view seconds before a proximity alert sounded on his console.

  The repair ship had entered orbit of Elgar.

  Things were about to get complicated.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Bringing Guests

  “WHAT ARE YOU doing?” asked Hayden.

  Malkovich’s attention was on the control interface as he inputted command codes. “I’m arming missiles to take out that ship.”

  “You can’t. Stromm’s patrol ship is still in the area. If that repair vessel goes up, there’s no telling what kind of shitstorm will unfold.”

  “Well, I’m not prepared to risk Stromm gaining control of Scimitar. Is there anyone aboard her that can put up a resistance? An automated defence system?”