Peacemaker: The Corona Rebellion 2564 AD

by Gordon Savage

  “The serial number on this piece is 357849. It happens to be mine. You can see the implications, can’t you? After all, how did you get it?”

  Wallace frowned faintly. “I suppose I owe you that. Lieutenant Von Hagen got it for me. She took it to prove she was earnest about working for me.”

  “And how did you get in contact with Magda?”

  “I could say I had information that she was a Dissolutionist and needed to see if she was a danger, which is true. She turned out to be useful, however. She volunteered to disable the Invincible for a price.”

  “Was the nuke her idea or yours?”

  Wallace smiled again, “It was her idea, but I provided it.”

  Colt nodded. “I can’t imagine that anyone would fall for a limpet mine after the one on the Clermont. What did you use?”

  “It’s called a wake follower. It follows along in the wake of a ship under power.”

  Colt nodded. “Until the drive cuts off. Then, kaboom!”

  “You’re aware of them?”

  “That’s why the ship survived. All navy pilots are trained to shut off the drives momentarily on approach. The Invincible must have had its shields up. Perhaps enough of the pulse got through to disable the electronics, which would explain the comm blackout.”

  “That sounds possible. We’ll know soon enough.”

  “So where’s Magda now?”

  “She was aboard the shuttle that blew up and took the Invincible out of commission.”

  “She knew too much to let her run free, I see. What about me?”

  Wallace’s face remained expressionless, “You know I can’t let you leave here alive.”

  Colt nodded, “I suppose that makes sense.” He pulled the Peacemaker free from the plaque, and pointed it at the security chief. “You know that this weapon is just as deadly as a blaster at this range.”

  A brief, faint smile crossed Wallace’s face. “I also know it isn’t loaded.”

  With his free hand Colt opened the loading gate. Then he pulled back the hammer to the half-cocked position and spun the cylinder. “What do you know? You’re right. By the way, when your men searched me, they didn’t even recognize this bullet.” He eased the bullet from his pocket and slid it into the open chamber. Before he could close the loading gate, Wallace was on him, knocking the gun from his hand with a vicious right-handed chop. Wallace followed with a knee to Colt’s solar plexus, and when he doubled over, Wallace chopped the base of his neck. The blow stunned Colt, and he dropped to the floor. He watched dazedly as Wallace closed the loading gate and pointed the gun at him.

  “I hate to do this,” Wallace said. “You’ve been a surprisingly formidable opponent, but I have no choice. What an irony that it’s your own weapon.” He squeezed the trigger. Colt struggled to roll out of the way, but he could barely move. The gun didn’t go off. With the hammer in the half-cocked position it wouldn’t fire. “What the hell?” Wallace wondered aloud.

  He looked at the gun more closely and then pulled the hammer all the way back. He squeezed the trigger again. This time Colt was able to move a little more, but the hammer fell on an empty chamber, and the gun didn’t go off.

  “What?”

  Wallace squeezed the trigger again in growing frustration. Nothing happened. He pulled the hammer back. This time the gun fired, but Colt kicked Wallace’s legs out from under him as the gun was going off. The bullet struck Colt in the right side.

  Despite his injury Colt struggled up from the floor. Wallace scrambled to his feet just as Colt hurtled into him, crashing him into the wall. Dazed, Wallace fought back. He shoved one forearm into Colt’s throat and the other behind his neck. Colt hammered him against the wall again. Then, using all the strength he could muster, he slammed Wallace onto his desk and landed on top of him.

  For a moment Colt lay unable to move, and Wallace opened one of the drawers, pulling out a Franklin two-phase. The gun came up and pointed at Colt. For an instant Colt stared death in the face, but Wallace moved too slowly. Colt’s hand found the geode that was the only decoration on the desk. He bashed it into Wallace’s head, and Wallace slid to the floor, spreading papers as he fell.

  The room became hazy and began to spin, but Colt could make out Fitzhugh walking across the room toward him. He tried to get up but fell to the floor, barely conscious. Fitzhugh spoke into his communicator, “Officer down, governor general’s outer office. Get a medical team here pronto.” He picked up the revolver from where it had fallen on the floor. “Sometimes I wonder about you, my friend. You seem to have more tricks up your sleeve by accident than I have from twenty years of field experience and preparation. Just lie there. Help is on the way.”

  He carefully rolled Colt onto his back. “It’s a good thing Lindsay knew how to contact me when Orsini told her you had been taken. Can you talk?” He asked.

  To Colt the voice came from far away, but he was able to croak out, “Yes.”

  “What happened? Where the blazes did the bullet come from?”

  As he passed out, Colt murmured, “I always carry one for good luck.”

  Chapter 40

  Colt woke in a hospital bed with several tubes attached to him and Lois Strauss looking down at him. She said, “It’s about time. How do you feel?”

  “Like someone who was just shot.”

  “You’ll get over it,” Lois stated. “The bullet shattered one of your ribs. The nanites have a harder time repairing bones than they do soft tissue.”

  “So I’ve noticed,” Colt agreed. “But, what are you doing here?”

  “I sometimes work here and happened to be on hand when the Guard brought you in.”

  “And how long have I been out?”

  “They brought you in yesterday morning.”

  “When can I leave?” Colt asked.

  “You could leave right now, but you’ll be uncomfortable walking around until that rib is completely knitted. What’s your rush?”

  “As soon as I’ve talked to Lindsay, I need to do some research.”

  “What are you going to research?” Lois asked.

  “I don’t want to say anything just yet, so if you don’t mind, I’ll wait to answer that question.”

  “Hmmm. Mysterious.” Lois smiled. “Okay, let me introduce you to the hospital AI. Florence, this is Commander Gus Colt. He has full access.”

  A woman’s voice said, “Yes, Dr. Strauss.”

  Lois turned back to Colt. “She can provide whatever connections you need for research, and she can call Lindsay. Now, let me get these tubes out of you.”

  As soon as Lois had left the room, Colt addressed the AI, “Ms. Nightingale, I need to place a call to Lindsay Hansen.” He gave the number.

  The AI responded with human sounding surprise, “You made the connection. I’m impressed. One moment please.”

  After what struck Colt as an unnecessary delay, Lindsay appeared in the screen. She looked at him for a moment before speaking. “You survived. I’m glad.” She didn’t look happy.

  “The Invincible wasn’t destroyed after all, and I’m going to be recuperating here in the hospital. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back to you. Can you come here?”

  “Don’t expect to see me there, and don’t bother to come here,” Lindsay responded. “If there’s anything here you need, make a list, and I’ll send it to you.”

  Stung, Colt stammered, “What’s this all about?”

  “You know. I can’t go through this again. It tears me up.” A tear started down her face. As she wiped it away, she said, “And don’t call me again. It hurts too much.” She reached forward, and the screen went blank.

  Colt lay there stunned for a minute. Then he found his voice. “Florence, could you ask Dr. Strauss to come here when she has a moment?”

  “Certainly, Commander.”

  “Thank you. In the meantime I have some research to do. Please connect me to the Invincible subspace relay.”

  Colt logged in to the Invincible’s com
puter system and used the subspace transceiver to access several databases on Earth. He spent the next fifteen minutes scanning data. Finally he found what he was looking for. As he was finishing up, Lois came in. “What’s up?” she asked.

  “I’ve upset Lindsay and she won’t talk to me.”

  “What did you do?” She frowned at him.

  “My job.”

  “And you nearly got killed in the process. You don’t expect her to be exactly thrilled that you willingly stick your neck out like that do you?”

  “I know. But I need to talk to her — see if we can iron things out. Can you get her to come see me here?”

  “I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee any results.”

  “Thanks, Lois.”

  As Lois walked out of the room she said, “You can go in now.”

  Colt looked up and felt his breath catch. The first person in the door was a tall, beautiful redhead with a broad grin on her face. “Hey, sailor, it’s good to see you again!”

  “Jana, what’re you doing here?”

  Jana Stewart leaned over the bed and kissed him squarely on the lips. “Thanks, Gus. I owe you.”

  “How’s David these days?” referring to her husband.

  “I just got through talking to him. He’s fine and he passes on his thanks as well.”

  Then he saw the second woman. She looked like Magda but somehow not Magda. He stared at her in puzzlement. The third person to enter was Fitzhugh.

  Fitzhugh walked up to the bed and shook his hand, “I see you two have already met. They tell us you’re going to pull through. Personally, you look like―” He stopped and stared at the image in the screen. “Great Hemlock!” He breathed. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “Yes, Fitz. I’m pretty sure it is,” Colt answered.

  Fitz stared at the image for a moment and then breathed, “I’ll be damned.”

  Colt returned his gaze to the Magda who wasn’t Magda and demanded, “Would somebody tell me what’s going on here?”

  She stepped forward, “Sorry for the confusion, Commander Colt. I’m Angela Gonzales. I’m an Imperial Intelligence agent, and this was my first field assignment. In a nutshell I was called in to get Mr. Wallace’s confidence and collect evidence so we could arrest him. Sorry I had to steal your pistol to convince him.” She smiled briefly. “You seem to have done a better job of getting the information than I did.”

  Fitzhugh said, “Angela was aboard the shuttle that supposedly was blown up. As a matter of fact, she kept everyone aboard safe.”

  “What do you mean, supposedly was blown up?”

  “Angela warned the shuttle pilot about the wake follower and had him contact the Invincible about it. Gunners on the Invincible blew it up far enough from both the shuttle and the Invincible that it couldn’t do any harm. The explosion produced the ionized cloud that interfered with sensors. To make it look as if the attack was successful, the Invincible and the shuttle jumped out of planetary sensor range and went radio silent.”

  Colt raised a hand. “I get the picture.” He looked at the screen. “I’m really glad to see all of you. Don’t leave, but I need to talk to this guy.” He nodded at the image.

  ###

  Half an hour later Colt broke the connection. “Well that certainly puts an interesting twist on things, doesn’t it?”

  “It certainly does. I’ll need to let my people know as soon as I leave here,” Fitzhugh responded.

  Colt turned to him, “For the record, I wonder how it happened that Imperial Intelligence turned up just in time at the governor general’s palace.”

  “We’ve known for several months that Wallace was up to something – that’s why we called Angela in, and we had the palace bugged as you know. After I passed him the word that Jana had been rescued and you had been taken prisoner, he was so riled I made a point of going to the palace to listen in. I was there when you arrived. I literally had to run from the surveillance room to his office, and I still didn’t get there in time to help.”

  “That explains it. I knew Magda — Angela — was faking her passion for the Dissolutionism,” Colt nodded. He sagged back into the bed. “You know, Fitz, I’ve earned a month of shore leave.”

  There was a knock at the door. Colt looked up to see Captain Wessler standing in the opening. She said, “You’ve earned the Victoria Cross. Her majesty wants to present it herself.”

  Colt was stunned. “What?”

  Wessler walked over to the bed and nodded at Jana. “We would have never found Princess Jana even with the clues she left. Her majesty figures you saved Jana’s life and wants to honor you. The Reliant has been dispatched to bring a division of marines and you’re expected to be on her when she leaves. About three weeks.”

  She looked down at him. “How’re you doing, Gus?”

  “Getting better by the minute.”

  There was another knock. This time Lindsay stood framed in the door. Colt felt blood rush to his face. “Lindsay, come in,” he said enthusiastically.

  He introduced her around, starting with Jana.

  Lindsay looked flustered and bowed her head slightly, “Your highness.”

  “Please, call me, Jana,” she said. “If you’re marrying Gus, you’re practically family.”

  Lindsay glanced at Colt, but he continued the introductions. When he finished, Fitzhugh said, “I wish we could stay to enjoy this, but you two have quite a bit to talk about, and I don’t want to get in the way.” He turned to Colt, “Talk to you later, Admiral. I want a complete debriefing. Nice to see you in person, Lindsay. Maybe we’ll have more time to talk later.” He offered Wessler his arm. “Won’t you join us, Captain.”

  Lindsay looked after them for a moment as they walked out of the room. She turned to Colt. “Wow, I just met Princess Jana. That was really her, wasn’t it?”

  Then she turned serious. “Dammit, Gus Colt, the only reason I’m here is because Lois insisted. Look at you. Every time I turn around you stick your neck out because it’s your job. Yes, I’m in love with you, but I can’t stand by waiting, not knowing whether you’ll come back in a body bag. It will hurt less if I never see you again.” She turned to leave.

  “Wait.” The word hung in mid-air. She reached the door before she stopped and turned to look back at him.

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about us. ” Colt said. “If you’ll listen to me, there’s something I want you to hear. After losing Rachel I never expected to meet another woman I could care for, but you happened. I knew immediately — even when you couldn’t stand me — that I wanted you more than anything else.”

  Lindsay stood with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for telling me, but it doesn’t mean anything if your next assignment gets you killed.”

  “It means I love you too. And by the way, we need to move the wedding date up.”

  “What? The wedding? Why?”

  “I have to go to Earth to receive the Victoria Cross in three weeks, and I want my wife and son to be with me. Will you marry me?”

  Her tears flowed freely now. She swallowed, “I just told you I can’t live with someone who is always putting his life in danger.”

  “My career? I admit I did have my sights set on admiral’s stars, but there are things that are more important. There’s a young man who needs a father right now, and there’s his mother whom I couldn’t bear to be separated from. I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a gentleman farmer, but this world needs teachers, and I have a masters in political science. I’d love …”

  “…But we’re going to have to leave!” Lindsay interrupted.

  “I can’t imagine why.”

  Lindsay put her fists on her hips and tried to glare at him. “You know very well that the Republic doesn’t allow colonizing an inhabited planet!”

  “I know that you’re concerned, but I’ve been doing some research. Actually, the rule is that we can’t colonize a world that has a native sentient race,” He paused and looked at her.

  A mixture
of emotions flitted across her face. “But …”

  “The Lodaanii fail that test.”

  “What!” She almost shouted. “What do you mean?”

  “They’re not native. It seems that the Lodaanii are part of a star-faring race called the Nidacheen. The Lodaanii are the descendants of a group of outcasts from a desert planet who were dumped here just about the time the first human colonists landed. So they don’t qualify as native any more than humans do.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I spoke to the Nidacheen foreign office just before you came in. The sub-deputy I talked to was amused by my accent, but she was more than willing to tell me the whole story.”

  Lindsay sank down on the edge of the bed as if her legs were giving out, “We can keep the farm?”

  “We can keep the farm. Everyone can keep their farms.”

  She leaned over and kissed him, a long, warm kiss. “I love you,” she murmured. “And, yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He hesitated. “There’s one other thing. It seems the Nidacheen haven’t yet outgrown their caste system. They won’t associate with anyone who is socially equal with the outcasts.”

  “You’re saying they won’t establish diplomatic relations with the Republic?”

  “Not exactly. They already have diplomatic relations with the Republic. They won’t establish diplomatic relations with Corona.”

  “But we’re part of the Republic.”

  “Not for long. The central government will disown Corona officially once they know the full details. That doesn’t mean they’ll hang us out to dry or break off trade or any such thing. It’s just that it will all take place unofficially. In the meantime, we have to form a full-fledged government and start running our own affairs.”

  “So the separatists could have won this whole rebellion without firing a shot?”

  Colt nodded.

  Chapter 41

  “Hey! You’re getting me wet!” Brady complained, wiping water from his face.