“It’s dislocated,” I said, but I checked for breaks anyway. Finding none, I told Genness to hold her tight.
I grabbed her arm and pulled, and she screamed and seemed almost to come to, spitting my name and cursing soundly. She was out cold for sure after that, and Gen and I moved her back to her cabin. I gave her a shot for pain, mixed with a sedative, and we left her bungeed to her bunk, fully asleep at last.
four
*
There was a lot of work to do before any of us could take the time to stand vigil. I drafted Genness because I needed an extra pair of hands in a couple of places. We worked in silence for the most part, except when I gave him instructions on what to hold, or press, or lift.
My intention was that with just one of these batteries aboard, we’d return artificial gravity to only half normal. That was still a big draw, though, and I wanted all our basics online first, before pressing for convenience. Plumbing and general power access had to come next.
The water lines all had electronic control valves, so Sally and I had physically disconnected the tanks, in case anything failed out when the power was cut (drowning in zero gravity is no joke). That had gone fast and easy. Reconnecting them now, though, without her experience and expertise available, was proving less so.
And Gen was still quiet.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked at last.
He replied quickly, and with conviction, though he didn’t look at me at all.
“I said that we shouldn’t do this from the start, and now Sally’s been seriously injured. Don’t be silly, Ejoq, of course I’m mad at you.”
“You ought to know…I’d never intentionally hurt her,” I countered with embarrassment, because I found myself choking up suddenly. “We needed that battery, Gen. What choice did we have? Besides, you, of all people, have no right to complain about putting others at risk!”
I hadn’t meant to say it here…I’d wanted to wait until we’d gotten back to Deegman – and then, only to the proper authorities.
He stopped holding and stared at me for a long moment.
“Do you want to qualify that?” he asked, very low and very evenly – almost flat.
I didn’t, but now I had to.
“PONTE knew DAAF’QA’s location well enough to target it. Their missile had a lock from the start. With DAAF’QA’s stealth suite, and as powered down as we were, they’d have needed military-grade scanning equipment to detect either one of us – especially at that distance. But I did a quality analysis of their sensor wash; those guys were just using off-the-shelf stuff. No matter what kind of enhancement algorithms they might have had running, it wouldn’t have been enough for combat purposes on the fly. Not unless they knew exactly where to look.”
“They could have been tracking our personnel comm signals,” he replied in the same dead voice. “And we’d contacted them directly several times as it was.”
“Tight beams only, which are easy enough to draw a bead on, but we changed directions after that. PONTE didn’t have a basis for triangulating our signal, and they didn’t have our comm frequency anyway. Or did they…?”
“There are a dozen ways to figure out a spacecraft’s location that I can think of just off the top of my head. You’re talking nonsense.”
“Probably, in which case you have my apologies. But if I’m not, Genness, then I only have one question…why did your partners on PONTE double-cross you?”
Dead.
Silence.
Easygoing Genness suddenly wasn’t easy or going. He gathered there like a storm cloud: dark, patient, quiet but for a distant rumble.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about Ejoq.”
“I think you do. PONTE may not have had a great sensor suite installed, but DAAF’QA sure did, along with a bona fide AI to analyze the readings. Even powered down like we were, it should have picked us up on its passive systems immediately. I’m guessing that it actually did, but had been instructed not to bother us unless we bothered it. We bothered it, so it tried to fire on us. But you run the sensors. You run comp systems. If I hadn’t spotted that proximity alert by accident, DAAF’QA would have slipped in completely unnoticed, and could have met up with PONTE without the rest of us ever knowing about it until we got back to Deegman. I did notice it though, and you knew I would have followed it up if you’d tried to play it off as a ghost contact or a glitch, so you had no choice but to treat it as seriously as I did.”
I took a breath to gauge his reaction. He still had none. That bothered me, but I went on.
“If it all went well for you, it would have been a big knock against the fledgling Deegman defense program, and we would have been in the center of the crap storm. Some of us, anyway – my thinking is that you have another identity ready to step into back there, but whatever. The point is, the pirate attack was a fake: DAAF’QA jumps in on its own, and PONTE purposely meets up with it. They send out bogus distress calls to Deegman. Then they shift their cargo to the other ship, and the crew messes up the interior to make it look like a struggle occurred. Maybe they concoct some internal data records to imply that the pirates got inside; or perhaps the crew donates a couple of cc’s of blood each, and splatter it around for good effect – stuff like that. p
“However it gets rigged, PONTE is emptied out, the crew shifts to DAAF’QA, and they jump away, easy as you please. I’m willing to bet that most, if not all, the attacks have been scams since the beginning. A campaign like this must have been planned a long time in advance, so you guys probably had to think of something fast once it was made public that a Bechel was being outfitted for anti-piracy. Maybe DAAF’QA couldn’t be reprogrammed in time, or maybe you were worried about it getting damaged in a real engagement with DAME MINNIE. Why bother with violence at all, though, if you could pull your scam again and discredit the defense program at the same time? I figure that that’s where you came in, Gen: your job was to make sure this went off without any interference from us.”
“Why would anyone go to the great expense and trouble of staging a fake attack?”
I shrugged. It started me drifting, and I steadied myself.
“Business, of course. A campaign like this just might be part of some company’s long term strategy. I haven’t had time to research the corporation that owns – or, rather, owned – DAAF’QA, but I’ll bet they’re in a sweet position to profit from the fear produced by all the so-called pirate attacks here. Maybe they sell private security services; maybe they sell gunboats or insurance. Any way you cut it, scared, desperate people are willing to spend freely for peace of mind, and Deegman’s economy is starting to dive because of this climate of fear.”
“That’s all wild conjecture, Ejoq,” he responded, no more life in him than before, and I’ve got to admit, his deadpan was starting to get creepy. “You can’t prove a word of it.”
It was a challenge, a thrust.
He was studying my defences, looking at what I had, or thought I had. Revealing everything now would be a stupid mistake.
But I do stupid things when I’m pissed off – like tell the truth.
“No? Well, weapons weren’t the only toys I had in my duffel, Gen. I jacked a bunch of in-line microcorders into the comm system all over the boat back when we were still doing the outbound shakedown. See, I thought they’d be a good insurance policy for us poor working slobs, in case the owners tried to withhold our bonuses or other compensations, by claiming that we hadn’t been doing our jobs. It’s happened to me before, and I needed proof to give to my union. Well, when Deegman admin downloads DAME MINNIE’s records, the recorders will dump their data, too, as a single backup file. Any discrepancies between the computer logs entered by the crew and that backup data will get flagged and displayed first thing. And since portside always downloads a vessel’s mission data during it’s final approach, Deegman Security Corps would likely be waiting for us with warrants when we docked.”
He seemed to be thinking about it very, very carefully. Th
en, slowly and deliberately, as he floated silently in the companionway, he took out a short serrated knife from a sleeve pocket of his jumper. It might have been small, but it looked sharp and cruel to me, as did Genness now.
“And where are all those microcorders?”
His soft tone held a sector of menace in it, even though he hadn’t changed or modulated it in any way.
Even so, I smiled.
Not because I was feeling cocky or thought the situation was especially funny, but because I was relieved: until that moment, I really had no idea if I was right. I’d felt guilty for thinking ill of him, half-believing that it was jealousy over his relationship with Sally.
“Put the knife down, Genness. DAME MINNIE needs a crew, and we’re still a long way from home.”
“I’m rated for more skills than my CV would have you believe,” he replied, “Running this boat by myself would not be impossible – merely difficult. And, truthfully, killing you wouldn’t even be that. But if we can come to an agreement, we can avoid unpleasantries. You’re very resourceful, Ejoq…I have to say I’m quite impressed. Your skills and ingenuity, to say nothing of your leadership capabilities, could fetch an impressive pay rate in the right circles, and I can make those kinds of introductions.”
“If I keep my mouth shut, you mean. I’m not a pirate, Genness. Is it Genness, by the way?”
“No, of course not. This isn’t piracy – that’s rarely profitable, and certainly inelegant. For now, let’s just say we’re contractors who specialize in…situations requiring finesse.”
“And you think of tactical nuclear weapons as tools of finesse?!”
He gave a sigh and a slight shake of his handsome head.
“For the record, PONTE was piloted by it’s original crew, not colleagues of mine. They were in trouble with their finance company, and amenable to a deal. Recruiting them like we did was a service to Deegman, really: PONTE had done its share of real piracy in the past to make ends meet, and I believe they came to Rilltule for that purpose from the onset. But civilians – corrupt ones especially – are unreliable. I signaled them to sit tight and wait for my All Clear, but they must have panicked. My employers don’t care for loose ends, so if PONTE somehow survived that jump, it will be tracked and confronted in due course.”
I laughed, and actually started working on the water pipe again. “And you really think I’d make a good merc?”
“Part of the rank and file? No. But that would be a horrid waste of your talents. You positively excel at the unexpected, and that’s a rare gift. Now, I won’t lie to you…about this anyway…my mission is a flop precisely because of you. But there’s still a little hope for some personal profit: we get a recruitment bonus for bringing good people into the company. It’s a really progressive outfit. We have competitive pay rates, full life and medical coverage, profit sharing, and a lot of little incentives like this recruitment thing. People like you and me, we’d be on our own most of the time. Good teams even form their own tactical approaches to the company’s strategies. It can be a nice life, Ejoq.”
The knife he still held at the ready had a another thing to add about the advantages of signing on.
“You’ll be wanting the microcorders, of course,” I responded, at last.
“Yes, that’s certainly a condition. But I can even get you a quick ride off Deegman, once we get back…a company transport is in dock now – not that anyone knows it as such – and it’ll be leaving soon after DAME MINNIE docks, whenever that turns out to be. Top accommodations, with a cabin of your own; Associate status, which entitles you to a pay differential for the trip out, regardless of whether or not you get hired; and, believe it or not, some halfway decent ship food.”
I have to say, that sounded sweet.
A good gig that tapped my skills and respected my abilities? One with a career track? One that would get me out of Rilltule system for good, and with some change in my pocket?
“What about the others? Even assuming we actually get our Deegman bonuses for this cruise, money doesn’t last long there.”
“Well, Bayern’s a fine pilot,” he replied with a shake of his head, “but I mean, really! The man could exasperate a corpse without trying – or even knowing it. This is a company of people, and he’s just about the worst people person I’ve ever met. Anyway, he has ties here…an active career and such.”
“Okay then, what about Sally? She’s really good, and she’ll need the work.”
He didn’t respond right away, and even sighed again quietly.
“I was going to approach her about it when we were on our way back to Deegman. Honestly! I’ve grown quite fond of her these last couple of weeks…and I have nothing but respect for her skills and courage. But now that she’s been hurt…well, I don’t know. The company won’t hire someone who’s wounded. It’s a policy. I mean, in this line of work, we’re always on the move. No company can afford to bring someone in who can’t pull a profit right away. I mean, they just wouldn’t go for it.”
“It’s only a dislocation, I think. Well, maybe a slight concussion too. She can be up and running in no time.”
“Ejoq, if it were my call, there’d be no question. But I don’t do the hiring, and, ah…there’s this secrecy policy in place. If I bring someone in who can’t possibly be hired, well…”
He let the finality of that statement hang, and I let it go too.
“That’s not the only reason, is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“C’mon! You’re a good looking guy, half her age. You don’t bunk alone when you’re back with the company fleet, am I right?”
At least he had the decency to blush a little.
“Ejoq…this job isn’t always easy. I mean, you have to see that. Yes, there is…someone. But a domestic partnership among professionals is always a challenge.”
“So Sally gets left behind on a rock simply because she’d make you feel uncomfortable? Are you really that much of a heel?!”
“Please, I intend to put some money into her account so she can book passage elsewhere…it’s not like she’d be a vagrant or something.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”
“I know you’re in love with her yourself, Ejoq. But you can’t let that cloud your objectivity. You could have a stellar career with us, but the plain fact is that everything has a cost. Honestly, I don’t understand the implied point, and this shouldn’t be a hard decision for you. A professional does what needs to be done. But it takes more than skill and ingenuity to be one. You have to think like one.”
I kept working for a long time, running through the plumbing resets, and doing diags, and I didn’t even stop working when I finally answered.
“No I don’t. In fact, I won’t. Kill me, and you’ll never find all the recorders, no matter how hard you try. That’s a guarantee. And you’ll have to kill Sally and Bayern too, because there’s no way to hide my death. You say you can fly the boat alone? Well, super for you. You can’t stop an inquiry without me. And either way, you’d miss your flight out…and I’m guessing there wouldn’t be another.”
He pursed his lips in a sour face, and thought for a bit.
“What do you want?”
“Sally and Bayern get ten times their DAME MINNIE sign-on pays deposited in their accounts before we dock.”
“Oh, be serious! I don’t have that kind of money…”
“Then make it happen! You steal it, get an advance from these great employers of yours, or sell your soul – whatever it takes. They deserve it, and you’re going to give it to them. Bayern’s a numbskull, but he came through for us when the heat was on. And Sally is good people – the best, in fact…even if she has rotten taste in men.”
“And what do you want? Blackmail is a bad way to apply for a job.”
“You make it sound like an exclusive club,” I replied tightly, “but if they’d hire you, then they’re just a bunch of pirates after all. Do this for Sally and Baye
rn, and you get the recorders. Nothing more out of you, nothing less out of me.”
His frown held for long moments, but at last he slid his little knife back into his sleeve.
“This will nearly wipe me out, Ejoq. No mission bonus, no recruitment bonus, and most of my savings. Plus, we’re sure to lose the contract with the investment consortium who hired us. It puts me in a tight corner. You’re not being fair.”
That did it.
“Don’t you dare try to play the morality card here! I don’t offend easily, but that would really push it! You’ve been playing everybody for a patsy from the very beginning: from those mining jamokes back on Deegman, all the way up to the woman you’ve been sleeping with – and whose life your actions imperiled! You have no high ground here to argue from; so just drop it, and let’s get some bleeding work done! That water line needs adjusting or it’ll burst when the pressure comes up – hold your end higher. Higher, I said! Use both hands, and keep it steady…”
He was looking very unhappy, even sulky. But he’d put away his weapon, and he held the line like I told him to…and, overall, seemed a lot less menacing.
I picked up a medium spanner and tested it’s size on the water line. It was too big for that job, but not the one I really needed it for.
I smacked “Genness” in the left temple as hard as I could manage, but he had the kind of reflexes I could only dream about, and was able to pull back from most of the blow. He rebounded off the bulkhead, and I hit him again across the back, though I started spinning. I steadied myself with my free hand, and he struggled to do the same. He was groggy, but he sure had experience, because his knife was out again already.
He swung wildly, and I was able to push him away with the spanner. But he was getting his full senses back fast, which was bad news for me.
“That was stupid, Ejoq, but cunning. My…compliments. I take it you actually don’t like the idea of a deal.”
He lunged for me, but I retreated.
“I could live with one, if you’d let me. You can’t afford to do that, though. Your company doesn’t like loose ends. Sure, we’d make port – but sooner or later, I’d get a knife in the back. Maybe Sally and Bayern, too. Go ahead and tell me I’m wrong.”
Motherload: Stardrifter Book 01 Page 7