Matt & Michelle 1: The Fugitive Heir

by Henry Vogel

  “Where did a wormhole come from?” Michelle asked. “It’s not on any of the charts.”

  “Worry about that later.” I snatched the comm from Michelle’s hand, drawing a startled look. Glancing at the scanners as I keyed on the mic, I saw the big ship was once again close enough to register on them. “Pursuing mining ships, break off now! There is an open and uncharted wormhole just ahead of you. I repeat, break off pursuit now!”

  A puzzled expression crossed Michelle’s face. “What-?”

  The comm crackled with static induced by the debris field. “Nice try, boyo. People been minin’ this system for over a century. Ain’t no way we got an uncharted wormhole.”

  “Scan the theta band, mining ship. I am deadly serious.”

  “You’s doin’ a good actin’ job, kid. I give you that. Most people don’t know minin’ scanners don’t go up to the theta band.” The voice assumed false joviality. “Now, less’n you’s gonna outbid our boss, we be comin’ to get you.”

  “Yes! I will outbid your boss. Two years pay if you just break off.”

  “Riiiiight. An’ where’s a kid like you gonna get that kind o’ money?”

  The building desperation in my voice convinced Michelle something was wrong. She leaned over and spoke into the mic. “The kid is the heir to the Connaught fortune. He could buy Rockville Station with pocket change. He can pay you. Look, I don’t know what this is all about, but there really is an open wormhole in front of us drawing our ship into it.”

  “Never mind, Michelle.” The defeat in my voice was clear. “It’s too late.”

  The mining ship and dozens of one man sleds burst out of the debris field and into the wormhole’s field. As the cursing and screaming began, I switched off the comm. There were some things I just wasn’t willing to listen to.

  Michelle rubbed a hand up and down my arm. “I don’t understand, Matt. What’s the problem?”

  “All those pursuing ships? They’re designed for in-system work, not wormhole jumps.” I looked into her still puzzled eyes. “None of those ships have inertial dampeners. When those ships enter the wormhole, they’ll accelerate beyond light speed in an instant. Everyone on board will be blasted to atoms.”

  Her face paled. “Can’t they change course or something?”

  “Not this close to the wormhole. I don’t know the physics behind wormholes, but you and I are the only ones who are going to still be alive thirty seconds from now.”

  Then we jumped and the gray fog of wormholes replaced the debris field.

  During our first hour within the wormhole, Michelle listened to me and held me and talked to me and kissed me. I ranted about Paco and ranted even more about Paco’s father and even railed at the miners for refusing to listen to me. I cried and then listened to Michelle. When she kissed me, I responded with a passion that surprised us both.

  During our epic, hungry lip lock, Michelle’s emotions shone bright and clear. I had her shirt unbuttoned before I knew what I was doing. Through a supreme force of will, I pulled myself back. I caught Michelle’s hands as they tugged on my shirt.

  “No. We need to stop.”

  In a breathless voice, Michelle said, “You’re the empath, Matt. You know I want to do this.”

  “So do I. God knows, I want to.” I leaned back and caught Michelle’s eyes. “But not this way. Not for this reason. I want our first time to be loving and passionate and wonderful and not adrenaline-driven survivor sex.”

  Michelle leaned back, a small smile playing across her lips. “Isn’t this what all guys fantasize about? A girl throwing herself at you after you heroically save her?”

  I held her hand. “Yeah, we do. But it’s always some fictitious beauty we’ve just met, not the girl we’ve loved for years.”

  Michelle pulled one knee up, rested her cheek against it, and gave me a coquettish smile. “Are you saying you don’t have any fantasies about me?”

  “Of course I do. But not that one.” I took a deep breath and released it. “Please stop looking so damned irresistible. And button your shirt or I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else.”

  We each took a few minutes to compose ourselves and straighten our clothes. Then Michelle fixed some coffee while I checked all of the ship’s systems to ensure everything was working properly.

  Holding the warm mug, I sat opposite Michelle. “The hull took a beating near the end, but the systems are all fine.” I patted the bulkhead next to me. “I expect she looks like an old beater of a ship, now, but she’ll still get us where we want to go.”

  “And where do we want to go, Matt?”

  “I guess that depends on what we find at the other end of this wormhole.”

  “How is it possible the wormhole isn’t on any charts—especially since you figured the debris field was from the first mining outpost?”

  “My best guess is some of the miners discovered it, but kept the discovery secret. It can’t be coincidence that a debris field surrounded the wormhole.”

  “But why keep it secret? Aren’t wormholes good for business?” Michelle’s eyebrows rose as an idea occurred to her. “Do you think those early miners set themselves up as pirates? It would be a lot easier to hit other miners and get away if the pirates had access to an unknown wormhole.”

  “The way our luck has been going today, you’ve likely hit on it.” I sipped my coffee to give my thoughts a chance to sort themselves out. “We need to run dark after we exit the wormhole. If there are pirates on the other end, they’re not going to take kindly to visitors.”

  We spent the rest of the wormhole jump planning for as many contingencies as possible. When the nav computer spoke, it startled both of us.

  “Wormhole exit in one minute.”

  We shut down all extraneous systems, including all active sensors. Then we exited the wormhole. The mining vessels appeared around us, silent as the tombs they were. Michelle and I stared around us dumbly. She was the first to find her voice.

  “I don’t understand, Matt. Shouldn’t there be a star somewhere nearby?”

  The wormhole had dropped us in deep space, light years from the nearest star.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The Messenger Drone

  We floated along with the dead ships, staring out into a darkness whose perfection was broken only by bright pinpricks impossibly distant from us. The lack of planets or a nearby sun worked on our nerves.

  As if afraid to speak out loud, Michelle whispered, “The wormhole we came through will open up from this end, won’t it?”

  “I’ve never heard of one that didn’t open at both ends.” Even to me, I sounded unsure. I tried again. “What I mean is of course it will.”

  “But have you ever heard of a wormhole ending in open space?” Michelle still whispered while staring out the viewport with wide eyes.

  I pulled her into a hug. “I’ve never heard of a wormhole like this one, but remember that someone created that debris field to hide the wormhole. The only reason to do that is if they used it for some reason.”

  An unpleasant realization struck me. “And, when we don’t return from the debris field, whoever knows about that wormhole is bound to come looking for us. We’ve got to hide.”

  “Hide where?” Michelle’s voice was incredulous. “It’s open space, Matt. There’s nowhere to hide.”

  “Yeah, but we can setup a cover story for us, get clear of this funeral procession, and run dark.”

  Michelle shivered once and I kicked myself for the funeral bit. But she rallied.

  “What’s your plan?”

  “Blast a couple of the mining sleds into little pieces. If we’re lucky, whoever comes looking will think the pieces are all that’s left of the M&M. Meanwhile, we’ll be floating somewhere a long way from here with all but our essential systems shutdown.”

  “And you’re sure the systems will all start working again?” Michelle stopped whispering, but she still spoke in a small voice. “The ship took a hell of a beating before
entering the wormhole.”

  “My father and I rebuilt every system in this ship. It’ll take more than a few rocks to knock her systems out. But even if something is damaged, I can fix it.”

  Michelle nodded and, just like that, was herself again. “Okay, Cap’n, give me some targets and I’ll blast ‘em into a million pieces.”

  Moments later, she reduced a couple of sleds to fragments and then reduced the fragments to bits. By the time she was done, the M&M’s sensors could no longer identify the source of the pieces.

  “Wow that felt good. I never knew destroying stuff could be so therapeutic.” She cocked her head in thought. “Is this why you guys hit walls and stuff when you’re angry?”

  “It is for me, anyway.” I smiled at a memory. “My uncle insisted I repair the holes I punched in the walls at home. He said I had to learn that all actions had consequences.”

  “Did that make you stop punching the walls?”

  “No. It turns out fixing the walls is kind of therapeutic, too. I ended up punching more walls just so I could fix them.”

  “That makes no sense, Matt.”

  “Really? Your father understood.”

  “Guys are weird.”

  “And yet you love us anyway.”

  Coming up behind the pilot chair, Michelle wrapped her arms around me and rubbed her cheek against mine. “Well, I love certain guys. But you’re still weird.”

  “Oh, like you women are even remotely scrutable. Any guy who claims he understands women is either lying or certifiably insane.”

  Michelle’s breath tickled my ear as she whispered, “Good. Our master plan is working.”

  I laughed and began maneuvering the M&M away from the mining ships. Michelle started to pull her arms back, but I caught them.

  “I can pilot with your arms around me. Once we’re clear of these ships, it’s not like there’s anything out here I can run into.”

  I punched a button and a dull thunk sounded from the bow of the ship.

  “Did you just hit something, Matt? You said I wouldn’t distract you.”

  “I just launched a directional relay. It can pick up comm broadcasts and beam them to us by laser. If more than one ship comes through, we should be able to pick up their conversations.”

  “Won’t their sensors pick up the relay?”

  “Probably not. All of these ships have power and their signatures should wash out the relay’s power supply.”

  “Why would you have something like that onboard?”

  “It’s actually part of the required emergency supplies for a ship like this. It’s supposed to be programmed to aim the laser at the nearest patrol station, but I reprogrammed this one to aim at the M&M.”

  That earned me a kiss on the cheek. “Aren’t you a clever boy.”

  Michelle stayed there for a while longer before pulling back. “Are you hungry? I’m starving.”

  It had been hours since the sandwich, which had been hours after the burger and fries. My stomach rumbled.

  Michelle headed toward the galley. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  We ate while the ship pulled farther and farther from the dead flotilla. When we were about ten light minutes away, I brought the ship to a stop and began shutting down systems.

  “Will we be able to see the wormhole open from here?” Michelle asked as she helped me power down the ship.

  “If you’re looking at exactly the right spot, it will look like one of those stars, flaring to life for a few seconds before fading away. The passive sensors will pick it up, though, along with whatever comes through. And the relay will pass along any comm traffic.”

  With the systems shut down, we settled in to wait. Two and a half hours later, sensors reported two ships exiting the wormhole and the comm burst to life. The relay worked perfectly.

  “Where in the Nine Hells are we?”

  I glanced at Michelle. “It sounds like Chief Tucker.”

  A new voice spoke from the comm. “How should I know? I found out about the wormhole at the same time you did.”

  In unison, Michelle and I said, “Paco’s father.”

  “It was smack dab in the middle of your grandfather’s claim, Hector. You expect me to believe he somehow managed to mine that patch of asteroids into little bits of rubble and never once figured out there was a wormhole in there?”

  “I said I didn’t know about the wormhole, Chief. I got no idea if my granddaddy knew about it or not.” Hector sounded awfully defensive for someone who didn’t know anything. “Less’n you got a way to talk to the dead, we ain’t never gonna know, neither.”

  “Calm down, Hector. I was just speculating out loud, nothing more. Back to the reason we’re here, I’ve got sensor readings for your mining ships not too far ahead.”

  “Yeah, I been trying to raise ‘em on the company comm channel. Nobody’s answering.”

  “What did you expect, Hector?” The Chief’s voice was surprisingly gentle. “Your men got sucked through a wormhole without inertial dampeners.”

  “I had to try, Chief. You getting any readin’ on the ship they was chasin’? That boy’s debt just got a whole lot deeper.”

  “Why, Hector? Are you trying to say that boy led your ships into the wormhole on purpose? He had never been to Rockville Station before. If you and I didn’t know about the wormhole, how could he?”

  “Didn’t say he did, Chief, but he ran from my boys and my boys all ended up dead because of it.”

  “What the hell did you expect him to do, Hector? He heard you order your boys to blast him out of space. You’d have run, too, if you’d been in his position.”

  Michelle turned to me. “Why haven’t they mentioned the debris from the two sleds I blasted?”

  “They need to be closer to pick up stuff that small. They’ll be in range soon.”

  Not a minute later, Hector gave a yell of triumph. “Ha! Looks like my boys got ‘im before they got sucked into that wormhole. My sensors are pickin’ up ship debris.”

  “Well hooray for you, Hector. Now you‘ve got two more deaths to answer for.”

  “They killed my boy ’n I killed them. It’s the way things are out here, Chief.”

  Our passive sensors showed the Chief’s ship heading back toward the wormhole.

  “And what if it turns out to be self-defense, like that girl claimed? When the telepath gets here on his circuit, do you really think he’s going to read Paco’s gang and find anything else?”

  “I don’t care what some ponce psi boy finds out. I did what I had to do, Chief.”

  “And I’ll be doing the same thing when I arrest you for the murder of that boy and girl.”

  Hector laughed. “You can try, Chief, but we both know I got fifty times as many people workin’ for me than you got workin’ fer you.”

  “It ought to make for mighty interesting times, Hector.” The Chief sighed. “There’s nothing else for me to do out here. I’m heading back. You coming?”

  “Soon. I’m just gonna blast these ships, make ‘em funeral pyres for my boys.”

  The wormhole opened and the Chief’s ship jumped away.

  Michelle sighed. “Not that I doubted you, Matt, but I am glad to see that wormhole open up again.”

  “Me too, babe.”

  We watched Hector blast his mining ships and then he surprised me by reciting a prayer for the dead.

  “Why did he broadcast the prayer over the comm?” Michelle asked.

  “It’s an old spacer tradition. Sound doesn’t carry in a vacuum, so they use radio to make sure God hears their prayer.”

  “I like that.” Michelle was silent for a bit. “After Hector leaves, we should say a prayer for them, too.”

  “Even though they were trying to kill us?”

  “Especially because they were trying to kill us. Our words of forgiveness might help their souls to rest easier. And it might help our minds to rest easier.” Michelle saw me looking at her, surprise written on my face. “I don’t know ab
out you, but I don’t want to carry those men around with me for the rest of my life. Forgive them. Let them go. Get on with life.”

  On the sensor screen, we watched Hector’s ship turn away from the wreckage. He looked to be in no hurry to jump back to his home system. Then, just before his ship entered the wormhole, something detached itself from his ship and sped away into deep space. A minute later, Hector’s ship vanished, leaving just us and the mysterious signal.

  “What is that, Matt?”

  “Let’s bring up the full sensor system and find out.” I punched a few keys and got a much more detailed reading within a minute. “Now that is interesting. It’s a messenger drone.” A quick glance at Michelle showed she had no idea what I was talking about. “Messenger drones are small, unmanned spaceships used to carry messages between star systems. They’re a lot cheaper than a courier ship for sending reports and mail back and forth. The military and the Scout Corps have really sophisticated drones that can make multiple wormhole jumps but this is a basic, single jump drone.”

  I finished bringing the engines online and began maneuvering toward the same course the drone was taking.

  “Let me guess, you’re going to follow the drone?”

  “Got it in one, Michelle. There’s got to be another wormhole on that course. The minute a properly equipped survey ship gets here, they’ll discover that wormhole. Whatever is at the other end, Hector wanted to keep it secret as long as possible and send a warning through to them. I want to see what he’s protecting.”

  “But won’t Hector’s buddies be suspicious when the wormhole opens?” Simply asking the question gave Michelle the answer. “No, because they’ll pick up the messenger drone’s signal. And we can just slip away and run dark when they come to get the drone.”

  As the M&M arced into the drone’s wake, Michelle broadcast her prayer for the dead. She surprised me by including Paco in the prayer. We were quiet as I lined us up behind the unmanned ship. Ten minutes later, a new wormhole opened before us.

  For the second time this day, we jumped into the unknown.

  CHAPTER NINE