Starswarm

by Jerry Pournelle

  "So what are you going to do?"

  "Lieutenant, I'm not going to do a damned thing but wait for the Colonel."

  "What about the kids?"

  "Priority One search," Karabian said. "Direct orders from Mr. Tarleton. As soon as the new ships get here, we go looking for them."

  "But not until then."

  "Got nothing to look for them with until the new ships come in."

  "Right. Carry on."

  "Yes, sir."

  Dr. Henderson punched in numbers on his own telephone. "Nothing. They've got all calls blocked," he muttered. "Sergeant, this is Dr. Henderson, Director of this station. I must speak with Governor Trent."

  "Can't do that, Dr. Henderson," Karabian said.

  "If I am not connected with the Governor's office immediately, I will bring charges against you personally."

  "Then I guess you just have to do that," Karabian said. "Colonel Baskins will be here in an hour. Talk to him."

  Mike reached over and cut off the phone. He looked at Fuller. "Is this place bugged?"

  "Not by me," Fuller said.

  "Which doesn't mean somebody else didn't do it," Mike said. "Like your buddy Kettering."

  "He might have," Fuller said.

  "I never let him in here," Dr. Henderson said. "I knew he was Bernie Trent's agent."

  "More like Henry Tarleton's man," Mike said. "Baskins sure as hell is, I remember when Tarleton brought him into the force. God help me, Doc, I'm beginning to believe Bernie Trent's the best chance we have. The only one, for that matter. Fuller, how well is the supply chopper guarded?"

  "Why should I tell you?"

  "Because your ass is in as big a sling as ours," Mike said. "Kettering was Tarleton's man, but you're not, are you? You're just a cop trying to do his job."

  Fuller frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Yeah, you do." Mike looked thoughtful, then nodded in decision. "It's all going to come out anyway. Doc, Kip's name isn't Brewster, it's Trent. He's Bernie Trent's nephew, and he owns one hell of a big block of GWE stock. I was Harold Trent's man, from before he was married even. I came with him and Michelle from Earth to look into corruption here on Paradise. Found it too, right in HQ. We thought it was Bernie, but now I'm not so sure. I'm damn sure Henry Tarleton was in on it, though, because his cops killed Harold and Michelle Trent and damned near got me. Michelle set me down in the bush with Kip, and her last orders were that if they got her I was to keep him safe until he was old enough to vote his shares." Mike spread his hands helplessly. "Only I didn't manage to do that, did I?"

  Chapter Forty

  Four Minutes to Spare

  "I KNOW who you are," John Fuller said. "You're Captain Gallegher! I saw you when I first joined the force. It didn't connect until you mentioned Harold Trent, but I remember you now, you came here with him. From Earth."

  "C'est moi," Mike said. "I can't say I remember you."

  "No reason you should," Fuller said. "I was just one of the entering cadets. You made a speech to the class. So did Harold Trent, and he introduced his family. Then we heard they were dead, and you were supposed to have killed them."

  "I was also supposed to be dead," Mike said. "Yeah, they told us that—"

  "They lied to you. About me, about what happened to Mr. Trent. About everything. Just like they're lying to you now."

  "So let me get this straight. You say that kid we're hunting is the Trent heir? Christ, if that's true he owns the Company! We all work for him."

  "You got it," Mike said. "Want to change sides?"

  "I don't know what I want to do," Fuller said. "Not that it matters. Tarleton clearly doesn't trust me. I can't do anything either way."

  "I can tell you something useful to do," Mike said. He glanced at his watch. "You've got eighteen minutes."

  "Baskins can't get here in under an hour," Fuller said.

  "Not Baskins I'm worried about. What we need, Lieutenant, is a way to make a couple of secure phone calls."

  "Where to?"

  "One to a local mobile phone. The other to Pearly Gates. But they have to be secure."

  "There's no way I can get you through to Bernard Trent," Fuller said.

  "Wasn't asking you to. Just a number in Pearly Gates."

  Fuller thought for a moment. "All right, I might be able to do that. The question is, should I?"

  "What do you have to lose? Tarleton has already taken your command away."

  "He'll take more than that if I cross him," Fuller said.

  Marty Robbins and his father came back into the lab. "It's enriched uranium," Dr. Robbins said. "Not weapons grade, but it's clear that whoever made that sample knows how to do isotope separation. Eric, Marty says you should look into a file called Endgame."

  "Yeah, I forgot, Kip said it was important," Marty said.

  Dr. Henderson turned to his computer console. "Endgame. I have no idea where such a file would be, I'll have to search for it." He punched keys and waited. "It must be well hidden—Ah. It's a wave table file. A sound recording. I'll play it—"

  It was a woman's voice. "This is the last will and testament of Michelle LaScala Trent. My husband, Harold Trent, is dead. I have good reason to believe that he was killed by agents acting under the orders of Henry Tarleton, Chief of Security for Great Western Enterprises on this planet. I do not know who else is involved.

  "I leave all my worldly goods and possessions, including anything I may have inherited from my husband, and particularly my Great Western Enterprises stocks from whatever sources I may have received them, to my son Kenneth Armstrong Luciano LaScala Trent, and I name Captain Michael Gallegher as executor of my estate and guardian of my son. My personal authentication codes are attached to this file."

  "That makes it pretty clear," Dr. Henderson said.

  "I don't know how legal it is," John Fuller said.

  "Legal be damned, do you believe it?" Mike Gallegher demanded.

  "I don't know what to believe. You could have faked that—"

  "We couldn't have faked the uranium," Dr. Henderson said.

  "He's got a point," Mike said. "I know that will is no fake, but it might be. The question is, Fuller, do you believe it enough to help me make a couple of phone calls? We have nine minutes."

  "All right. I'll go that far," Lieutenant Fuller said. "Come on. All the phone trace stuff is set up in the schoolroom. Right now there may not be anyone there."

  The only person in the old schoolroom was Gilbert Kettering. He looked up as Fuller came in.

  "There you are. Glad you're all right. I've got more of those signals," he said. "Can't tell exactly where they're coming from. Somewhere around the lake. And there's answers from out in the bush, but they're faint and short and I haven't located them at all."

  "Things have changed a bit," Fuller said.

  Kettering frowned, startled, as Mike came in the door, then reached for his pistol.

  "Don't even think about it," Mike said. He showed his own drawn weapon. "Take it out, real slow, and put it on the table. Thanks. Lil! Watch him."

  Diamond Lil came over to stand next to Kettering.

  "Damned dogs," Kettering muttered. "Fuller, what the hell are you doing?"

  "It gets complicated," Fuller said. "I'm not sure we're working for the right people."

  "What do you mean by that?" Kettering demanded. "Mr. Tarleton will have your flipping head!"

  "If he's still in charge when this is over."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "Never mind," Mike said. "Just move away from that console. Go sit over there. Lieutenant, if you please—"

  "Yes, sir." Fuller turned off several switches on the console and typed in an identity code. "Security officials have methods for making untraceable phone calls. There'll be a record that I made calls, but not who to, and they won't be recorded." He punched in a code. "That ought to do it." Without being asked he went over to the far side of the room where Kettering was seated with Diamond Lil wat
ching him. "I thought we were working for the Governor," he said. "Not Tarleton. For that matter, where is Tarleton?"

  Kettering glowered, but didn't answer.

  Mike sat down at the table and looked at Marty Robbins's watch. Four minutes to spare.

  Chapter Forty-One

  This Whole Planet Is Mine!

  IT WAS late dusk at the bluff above the seashore. The trail down from the station plateau was steep but well marked, and Kip and Lara had made good time coming down it. Now they were on a ledge a hundred meters above the water. The base of the bluff was in deep shadow, nearly as dark as night.

  "Time," Kip said. He took out his phone and turned it on. Ten seconds later it chirped. Kip keyed the phone and said, "Yes."

  "Kip, this is Uncle Mike. I'm fairly sure they aren't listening to us, but be careful."

  "Yes, sir."

  "You all right, buddy?"

  "I—yes, sir, only—"

  "Yeah. I know about Gwen," Uncle Mike said. "She talked to me just before they turned her off."

  "Oh. You talked to her? How?"

  "She called me on the phone using your mother's voice. I better make this quick," Uncle Mike said. "It's not safe here, and it's going to get worse, and the only thing any of us can think to do is to get to Bernie Trent. I'm damned if I know whether we can trust him, but I've got no better ideas."

  "That's what Gwen said. There's a file called Endgame that Gwen thought we should show to Mr. Trent."

  "Marty told us. It's a voice-recorded will from your mother, and it's important all right. It names you heir to all her stock, which is probably enough to control the whole company. Bernie will take notice of that! Only we can't get to Governor Trent. The grayskins have all the phone systems blocked. We don't think Bernie knows that. We can try to get to Pearly Gates and see him ourselves. You lay low, it's you they want."

  "Gwen gave me something else to do," Kip said. That puts me in charge, he thought. Or does it? And do I want to be? But I'll be the heir! It's mine, the whole planet is mine! "Are you sure this conversation is safe?"

  "For the next few minutes, yeah, I think so."

  "Gwen told me to go to Pearly Gates and run a program at the main GWE console. I don't know what it does, but Gwen said it was really important, and I think I have to run it myself. Can you get me to the city?" He hesitated. "It could be important, Captain Gallegher."

  "Been a while since a Trent called me that," Mike said. "No, sir. We've got a helicopter, but it's slow, and they're bringing in reinforcements. They'll be looking hard. I don't give us much odds on finding you and then getting to Pearly Gates before they find us. More likely we'd just be leading them to you."

  Sir. He called me sir! Uncle Mike called me sir! "All right, I don't need the helicopter," Kip said. "The centaurs will help."

  "Centaurs. Marty told us they were acting strange. But going on foot, even with the centaurs helping, will take a while," Mike said. "You sure couldn't make more than a hundred kilometers a day. Don't know we can hold out that long."

  "Lara thought of another way. The research boat. That will only take two days if it works—"

  "We might manage two days," Mike said. "OK, what is it you want me to do? Sir."

  For a minute it had been fun to be in charge, but now what? "Uncle Mike, I don't know."

  Mike chuckled. "Well, I don't have any better ideas. You try to get to Pearly Gates, and I'll do the same. Try to see Bernard Trent and get him to listen to that Endgame file. I think he'll be willing to make you a deal. Problem is, the cops will be looking for you, and if they catch you they won't take you to Bernie. You'll end up with Henry Tarleton, and God knows what happens then."

  "I think I can get to Pearly Gates," Kip said. "But I don't know what to do when I get there."

  "Yeah. They won't really expect you to show up at the GWE tower, but Tarleton's smart enough to have people watching the place anyway. Kip, when you get to Pearly Gates, here's a number to call. Ask for Goldie. She's got people who can help. You can trust her. Just don't make her any promises you won't keep."

  "Yes, sir. Will you call again?"

  "I don't think so. This conversation is safe because we've got control of their monitoring equipment, but we won't have it for long. Kip, we'll buy you as much time as we can, but I think it's all up to you now. You have to get through to Bernie."

  "Yes, sir—"

  "Good luck, Tiger. Go get 'em. Sir. Captain Gallegher out."

  Kip wrote down the number Uncle Mike had given him. He thought he would remember it, but he wasn't sure. Being able to remember things like a telephone number had never been important while Gwen could do it for him.

  Thoughts welled up. Gwen was gone, and Uncle Mike worked for him now, or would if they could get control, only they weren't in control. The security police were looking for him, and they wouldn't take orders from him. No one would, really. Just Uncle Mike, sometimes, maybe—

  It was now quite dark, and the lights of the research station a kilometer away were very visible.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Centaurs

  THE research station was deserted. "The boat," Lara said. "There's no boat here." She pointed to the empty davits that hung out over the bluff. They were large enough to hold a thirty-meter tug up and out of the surging tide in the cove below the bluff. "They must have taken it out."

  "There's another research station to the north," Kip said. "I bet they went there."

  "How far is it?"

  Kip tried to remember. Gwen would have known! "Twenty, thirty kilometers," he said. Kip walked around the perimeter of the heavy fence and shouted, "Mrs. Harriman!" There was no answer. The only lights were the security lights. "I don't dare use the phone," Kip said.

  "I know how we can get in," Lara said. "It's in one of the emergency procedures books."

  "Sure, but that sends an alarm signal back to the station," Kip said.

  Lara nodded. "I guess we don't want that. Well, we can wait until the boat comes back, or walk to the other station."

  "I sure wish I could ask you—"

  "YOU REQUEST INFORMATION."

  The Starswarm! Kip grinned at Lara. Then he let a picture form in his mind: the research station boat. "We have to find the boat."

  A picture formed in Kip's head. It seemed to be a map, but the scale was distorted. He could see figures that clearly were himself and Lara standing near what had to be the research station, although the station was represented as not much larger than they were. Northward from them was the boat, and near it was what looked like another research station. Far beyond it was a large smear with the only recognizable object being what appeared to be the GWE towers.

  From the scale, if the GWE towers were a thousand kilometers to the north, the next research station was more like thirty to fifty.

  "I have it," Kip thought. He worked at another picture: Kip and Lara walking north to the station. Once there they took the boat and went north to Pearly Gates. Kip didn't know if the pictures were clear enough, but they were the best he could do without practice.

  "WAIT."

  "Wait for what?" He let another picture form, of a helicopter gunship chasing him, shooting him and Lara.

  "UNDERSTOOD." The map returned, this time showing him and Lara moving northward a kilometer or so to a large tree.

  "What do we do there?"

  "WAIT."

  Kip turned to Lara.

  "Glad to see you back," she said. "It can get spooky watching you talk to someone I can't see. Is Gwen—"

  "No, that was the Starswarm," Kip said. "I told it we want to catch the boat. It said we should wait, but when I told it we couldn't because we have to hide, it said go about a kilometer north and wait."

  "Kip, this is really spooky!" Lara said. "A lake plant is telling us what to do! But all right, let's go." There was a trail at the bluff edge, and she started north along it. It was quite dark now, and the only sound was the crashing of waves half a kilometer to their right. Th
e shore here was as close to a beach as you could find on a major coast, long tidal flats with a carved bluff at high tide line. It would be easier walking along the base of the bluff, but it wouldn't be a good idea. The tide could come in rapidly on Paradise, and the flats would be under three meters of water in an hour or so.