Star Force 11: Exile

by B. V. Larson

  “Understood. Captain Marvin out.”

  Returning to the bridge, I saw that Hansen had gone leaving Adrienne on watch alone. “Is Nils taking a break?”

  “I told him I could handle the conn,” she said. “All we’re doing is floating and repairing.”

  I waved off her justifications. “No worries. He needed a good meal and a shower.”

  “Not as good as our shower,” she said in a low voice.

  “Nothing ever will be.” I smiled. “Too bad for him, though, because if I know Sakura, she won’t leave engineering until everything’s in tip-top shape.”

  “I quite agree. That woman’s driven. Did you know she often goes days without sleep? Not only during times of crisis like this—just as a matter of routine. It’s like she doesn’t even need it.”

  “Maybe she’s another robot.” I laughed, and Adrienne shook her head.

  I heard a throat clear behind me and turned to see Sakura standing in the doorway. “Pardon, but I need to check some nanocircuitry up here,” she said, her face expressionless.

  “Go ahead, please.” I fought to keep my face from turning red and cursed myself internally for gossiping in a public place. Making fun of one subordinate to another was risky, foolish, and likely to create resentment. I shouldn’t have done it, but I’d been lulled into complacency by being in close proximity to my girlfriend on the bridge. It was especially stupid to talk that way about Sakura, who was one of my best people and a key to the ship’s smooth operation.

  Not certain whether she’d heard my comment or not, I decided to act as if nothing was wrong. Sakura was unreadable anyway, and I wasn’t close to her. I made a mental note to talk to Adrienne and Hansen, in private asking them to tell me if the engineer mentioned anything about it. If necessary, I would apologize to her later.

  Precise and controlled in her movements as always, Sakura walked around me and squatted next to a console. She pulled out a tool kit and opened the housing. I exchanged glances with Adrienne. “I’m going to make the rounds to see how everything is going,” I said.

  She nodded and flicked her eyes toward Sakura. “We’ll be all right.”

  That relieved my mind a bit. Adrienne was good at smoothing things over. She got along with everyone, unlike me. Well, everyone but Kalu…and Moranian…and actually, every woman except Sakura and Cornelius now that I thought about it. I chuckled to myself at this insight as I made my way toward the lower bow of the ship to take a look at the weapons deck. Oddly enough, the fact that my girl had a jealous streak just made her more attractive to me.

  Undoubtedly Adrienne got along with Sakura because the engineer had never shown me the slightest interest. In fact if I had to guess, I’d say Sakura didn’t like me much though she was always properly courteous. Probably it was because I was much younger, with freewheeling ways and a healthy sense of humor, none of which fit with an old geek girl like Sakura. Well, I’d just added to the problem, but it was one small pebble in the mountain on my shoulders, so I decided to quit stewing over it and move on.

  Chief Cornelius was a different story entirely. She was a breath of fresh air despite the damage and chaos of the gun deck. “Get your verdammten ass moving, Higgins, or I’ll cram my boot so far up it you’ll be spitting leather for a week,” the older woman bellowed as I entered the spaces she controlled.

  Steiner stood holding a strut over her head while Higgins hurried to begin nano-welding it into place as a dozen others bustled about repairing our weapons.

  Cornelius spotted me and tossed a casual salute. She still had her bulky pressure suit on, which made it easier to keep my eyes on her face rather than her chest. “Beg your pardon, Skipper, but we’re a little busy now getting the guns working again. What can I do for you?”

  “Keep doing what you’re doing, Chief.” I raised my voice. “Great work, everyone. It was a hard fight but we may have wiped the Macros out of existence thanks to all of you.”

  Scattered cheering and cries of “Valiant!” echoed here and there, and then they turned back to their work. Cornelius stepped closer, and I could smell a whiff of hooch on her breath.

  Perversely, this awoke a craving in me, and I spoke before she did. “I could use a drink. Any chance a bottle of something might be left unbroken in this rubble?”

  Cornelius grinned. “I don’t doubt it, Skipper. Step into my office, here.” She pushed through the mass and entered a tiny space with a few mementos and framed family pictures, most of which were now on the floor. Reaching down, she opened the bottom drawer of the desk and came up with an unmarked plastic bottle. “Sorry, but I seem to be short of glasses.”

  “That’s all right,” I said, accepting the bottle and opening it. I took a swig and fire burned its way down my throat. “What is that, rum?” I gasped, handing it back. “Has to be at least 150 proof.”

  “You know your schnapps, sir,” she replied, taking two deep swallows without a wince. “I make a small batch from pure factory sugar every now and again. Strictly for medicinal purposes, of course.”

  “Naturally,” I wheezed through a throat only beginning to unclench. “I think I need another dose.”

  We shared a few more rounds with me sipping and her slugging back shots before I told her what I came there for.

  “Chief, we’ve served together since the first mishap and you’ve never let me down. Yet, we don’t know each other well, which is a plus for what I’m about to ask you.”

  “The suits,” Cornelius said with a tap of her fingers on my armor. “You want to know how you turned up dead, right?”

  I nodded. “You’re the only one I can think of who might be able to do some computer forensics and figure it out—the only one who isn’t involved in the situation.”

  “I’ll do the best I can, Captain, but I’m no computer expert. Why not have your robot do it?”

  “Would you trust Marvin, Chief?”

  Cornelius saluted me with the empty bottle. “I take your meaning, sir.”

  “There’s another matter…”

  “The vids?”

  “Holy…does everyone aboard ship know about those?”

  Cornelius shook her head. “Top secret. Chiefs’ eyes only for now. But nothing stays secret on a warship forever.”

  “It would really help if I could prove they’re fake.”

  “Oh, so the vids are fake?” Cornelius grinned. “A fair likeness though, if I may be so bold, sir.”

  “Yes, dammit, they’re fake, falsch, fugazzi, faux. I never slept with Moranian or anyone else but—”

  “But Miss Turnbull?”

  “Not since I left Earth, anyway.”

  Cornelius clucked ruefully, the sound more motherly than mocking. “It’s a pickle, but I might be able to help with that as well.” She leaned toward me, flooding me with alcohol fumes. “One question. Do you have any unusual marks on your body? Scars, birthmarks, tattoos?”

  “I have a couple of moles on my back, I think.”

  Cornelius opened a drawer and took out a small digital imager, a high-tech camera with extra functions usually used for recording and diagnosing technical problems. “Let me take a picture, if you please, sir.”

  I lifted my uniform tunic and let her snap a shot of my back, and then dropped the smart cloth again. “What’s that for?”

  “I may not be the best with the computers, but every Navy chief has got a nose for deception—we have to. I’ve got an idea, so let me work on it.”

  “Fair enough. Thanks, Chief. I owe you.”

  Cornelius grinned, her eyes sparkling at me. “Oh yes sir, you do.”

  As I walked away I couldn’t help feeling the mud was getting deeper and I’d just splashed some on me. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to work—secret meetings and trading favors—but I was coming to realize the model taught in the Academy and the real world diverged a lot more than I’d expected.

  Despite making compromises, I still wanted to do things the right way. I’d always figu
red that if I was a strong enough leader I could bend any crew to my will, and maybe I still could. Sokolov had managed it, after all. They’d followed him into the gates of hell.

  For all my faults and compromises, I knew Valiant’s crew followed me more willingly than they had Sokolov. I couldn’t chalk it all up the roguish Riggs charm. I must be doing something right.

  Returning to the bridge, I saw that Sakura had departed and Hansen had returned. He shot me a hooded look, perhaps of irritation. Maybe he’d already heard about my unthinking slam on his lady. Scuttlebutt traveled fast with such a small crew.

  That reminded me of something I wanted to discuss with Kwon. I called him on a private channel. “Sergeant Major, I want you to start working on a memorial ceremony—I want full dress uniform, sabers, everything. As soon as Valiant’s back in shape, we’ll take a day off to honor our dead, probably about a week from now.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” he said, sounding pleased.

  Next, I tapped Hansen on the shoulder and led him in to the ready room for some privacy. “I’ve been thinking about something Nils, and I need your input.”

  “Sure, sir.”

  “I think I need to give some of the key staff field commissions. Warrant officer ranks were fine as a stopgap measure, but we have to normalize the ship’s organization.”

  Hansen crossed his arms, thinking. “I can see that.”

  “So you agree?”

  “I…I’m okay with the idea.”

  “But if it was you…”

  “I’d let sleeping dogs lie.”

  I dropped my chin to my chest, sighing. I was disappointed in this lukewarm response. “All right, I hear you. But I believe it needs to be done, so you need to get behind it.”

  “No problem, sir.”

  I stared at him for a moment more. “Also, about Sakura…”

  He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head, staying silent.

  “I have nothing but the greatest respect for her. Anything anyone might have overheard when Adrienne and I were talking needs to be put in that context—private banter, private jokes.”

  “Okay.”

  Hansen wasn’t making this easy, but then again, he never did. “Back to the promotions…”

  “Yeah?”

  I took a deep breath, putting my arms behind my back. “Nils, do you still want to be second-in-command? Or would you rather go back to being the senior helmsman and chief pilot?”

  “You want to replace me?”

  “I want to put each man or woman in the best possible position I can, so I’m giving you an option. Go back to your specialty if you like. I know it can be overwhelming to pilot and manage the ship at the same time.”

  Hansen paced back and forth in the small space, a frown on his face. “You told me more than once you didn’t want a yes-man. Why do I get the feeling this is punishment for not agreeing with you on everything?”

  “It’s not. It’s purely your decision. No pressure. But I’ll tell you one thing. If you want to keep the position of XO, you’ll take a commission, and you’ll have to train another pilot to be as good as you are.”

  “No one is as good as I am.”

  “An officer can’t be constantly losing big-picture focus to attend to the details.”

  Hansen’s face turned angry. “What do you call it when you run off in your battlesuit to play marine?”

  “I only do that when my command presence in close combat outweighs having it on the bridge.”

  “Sounds like a weak excuse to do what you want.”

  He had me there. I was setting him a standard I’d violated myself with regularity.

  “You know, you’re right. I have left the bridge when I thought the close combat was more important. If you stay as XO, I’ll want another pilot at the helm. I’d also expect you to jump in and take over during any particularly critical maneuver, especially if you didn’t think the guy could handle it.”

  Hansen shook his head slowly. “No. That’s a morale-wrecker. I’d be showing the new pilot I didn’t trust him at crunch time.”

  “Then you have to stay hands-off in order to keep your mind on command and not piloting.”

  “Even though you don’t?”

  I could see this had become a no-win situation. “Let’s put this aside for now and think about it some more. Maybe we can figure out something that works better.”

  “Who were you thinking about as XO if not me?”

  “Can’t be Sakura. Her place is in Engineering.”

  “Turnbull?” That came out as nearly a sneer.

  “Absolutely not,” I said firmly. “She’s fine in a supporting role, but she doesn’t have enough background or training. And if I wanted a yes-man, I’d pick Kwon, but he’s just not suited for it. Cornelius is a high-functioning alcoholic. She does wonders on the gun deck, but I couldn’t trust her on the bridge. That leaves—”

  “Bradley.”

  I nodded.

  “He’d do fine, I think,” Hansen said grudgingly. “He’s used to being on the bridge taking orders and then giving them to his drone controllers, so it wouldn’t be much of a leap.”

  I drummed my fingers on a railing. “What would you do in my place?”

  Hansen closed his eyes. “Probably exactly what you’re doing now.”

  I clapped him on the shoulder. “Then think about it. There’s no huge hurry.”

  -32-

  The next day I watched two tracks in the holotank come nearer and nearer—Marvin and the Macro probe. Our sensor network had been partially restored, but I still couldn’t bring up a good view of the ring that Marvin said was there. I’d plotted its location based on where the two would intersect, but I still found nothing.

  “Valiant, can you tie in the gravitic sensor from the laboratory and feed it to the holotank?”

  “That requires a manually made connection. Shall I form a utility arm and perform the installation?”

  I frowned. “Is someone using it now?”

  “Doctor Benson was the last to operate the sensor. Shall I query Doctor Benson?”

  “No, I’ll do it.” A quick call to Benson got him to grudgingly reconnect the gravitic sensor to the hull, putting it back under the ship’s control. He complained that doing so would delay some other experiments, but I overrode him.

  The results were almost immediate. Because rings were made of high-density stardust, their mass generated a great enough gravitic signature to detect. Soon I could see a new icon about where I expected it to be, pinpointed by its tiny gravity well.

  I was wearing my battlesuit again today to provide me with access to the quantum ansible inside it. When Marvin returned, I’d have him install a bigger one for Valiant herself and one on Stalker, too. Faster-than-light communication would be a major improvement.

  “Captain Marvin, are you there?”

  “I am here, Captain Riggs.”

  “Are you going to be able to capture or destroy the Macro probe?”

  “Such an outcome is possible but unlikely. The probe has attained more than ten percent of lightspeed. At that rate, even my considerable calculative powers begin to approach their limits.”

  “Do your best, Marvin. If you can’t knock it out, I presume the Macro will transit the ring?”

  “So it appears.”

  “Any idea where the ring goes?”

  “The most likely destination would be another star system.”

  I sighed at Marvin’s obtuseness. “Send a probe of your own through as soon as you can to see what the Macro probe does and to map the next system. We’re already heading in your direction under easy acceleration. As long as our destination isn’t a deathtrap, I’d really like to get out of this place. The Ancient slabs could do anything at any time, and a few of the alien ships have found their way outside the golden planet. Hopefully they’ve had enough of battle, but I’m not taking anything for granted.”

  “I have already sent such a probe.”

  “And?”
r />   “Term identification: ‘and,’ a common English conjunction.”

  “I don’t care about grammar, Marvin! What’d you find?”

  “The probe has not yet returned any data.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I did not program it to.”

  “Right... Call me on the quantum radio when you have something of significance to report.” I closed the channel.

  Marvin opened it again immediately. “Captain Riggs?”

  “What is it, Marvin?”

  “I have something of significance to report.”

  “Great. Go ahead.”

  “Emanations from the golden planet have changed significantly within the last hour.”

  I sighed. “Emanations? From what to what? Explain.”

  “The original emanations of the golden planet included many different signatures—the usual electromagnetic spectrum from Extremely Low Frequency up through Gamma plus several other more esoteric items such as gravity waves, quantum foam fluctuations and temporal ripples.”

  “Temporal ripples?”

  “Temporal, or time ripples are—”

  “Never mind.” I massaged my temples, feeling a Marvin headache coming on. “Get to the point. The golden planet looked one way before, and—”

  “When Sokolov destabilized the multidimensional maze, the golden planet’s emanations changed significantly. In most aspects, the planet was losing energy. Now, it’s returning to its former state—what for it might be termed ‘normal.’”

  “It’s repairing itself. Sokolov poked it in the eye, but now it’s recovering.”

  “Your metaphor is crude but basically accurate.”

  “Marvin, you’ve been spending far too much time with Hoon.”

  “He’s the only biotic that seems to enjoy my company.”

  “That ought to tell you something. But back to the golden planet…”

  “Captain Riggs, I suggest you put as much distance between yourselves and the machines of the Ancients as possible. They’re unpredictable and extraordinarily dangerous.”

  I frowned. “You didn’t seem to think so when you were experimenting on the Square.”

  “At that time, I believed I was investigating a dormant remnant not a fully active system.”