The Stones of Silence_Cochrane's Company_Book One

by Peter Grant

  “The money will be my capital budget,” he went on, “to purchase weapons and systems. I’ll need a further one hundred million francs every year to fund our operations – salaries, supplies, spare parts, maintenance, and so on. The first year’s money will have to be made available immediately, along with the two hundred and fifty million in the capital budget.

  “Over and above that, I’ll need the medium-term loan of three spaceships. Two will be freighters, each a quarter of a million to half a million gross register tons’ capacity. They should be ordinary, unremarkable ships, the kind you’ll find anywhere in the galaxy. You can take them from your own commercial fleet, or dry-lease them from companies elsewhere. They’ll carry supplies, serve as depot ships in the Mycenae system in due course, and do anything and everything else I need. At least one, preferably both, should have personnel pods in a couple of holds to expand their accommodation facilities. I’ll also need a fast courier vessel. We’ll draw up formal lease agreements for all three ships, to provide arms-length deniability. I’ll provide crews for them, and pay their routine operating expenses. They’ve got to be in good condition with reliable, trustworthy systems, not worn-out old barges. You’ll get the ships back in two to three years.

  “I’ll also need to borrow some big-budget equipment from the armed forces of your member planets for the same period; for example, cutters and cargo shuttles, and a comprehensive shipboard hospital pod. I presume you can apply pressure through politicians to make that happen?” Silent nods from his listeners. They weren’t even objecting to the sudden absence of ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ from his side – a very positive sign.

  “I’ll need six months to get everything in place, but it’ll take you that long to order new satellites and have them built. Thereafter, I’ll patrol Mycenae and try to prevent any further attacks on them. I should be able to stop anything except a ship with military-grade systems. If one of those turns up, it’ll mean someone’s willing to risk an all-out war with you. That’ll require a military-grade response, which I won’t be able to provide on so small a budget. If that happens, it’ll be up to you to decide how to handle it. I’ll also stop smugglers and pirates from setting up bases in or near your operations, to make your lives hell when you begin to exploit the system. I’ll use anything I capture from them – the ‘resources recovered’ that I mentioned earlier – to fund my ongoing operations. If I capture enough, you won’t have to pay my annual operating budget.

  “I suggest you contract with me for five years. Termination may only be for non-performance – I need that security if I’m to buy high-cost items like armed vessels, and offer stable employment to good people. If, after five years, I’ve been able to secure Mycenae to your satisfaction, we can extend the contract. If not, you can form your own System Patrol Service at that point.”

  Another long silence.

  Marissa said thoughtfully, “You’re effectively asking us to pay to replace our satellites twice over, up front, but with the expectation that we won’t have to do so again.”

  “Yes, unless you face a military opponent, which I won’t be able to handle.” At least, not at first, he thought to himself, but he was careful not to say so aloud.

  “And the alternative to hiring you on those terms, is to spend twenty to thirty times as much, right now, to buy, equip, staff and deploy our own system security force,” Marwick observed.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Marwick glanced at the woman beside him. “I know the Board won’t be happy, particularly at the lack of control over how Captain Cochrane spends the money; but I don’t think any more cost-effective solution is on the horizon.”

  Marissa shrugged. “Control’s all well and good, but as the Captain’s pointed out, there’s a lot to be said for plausible deniability, too. Besides, his reputation precedes him. If we can trust anyone not to cut and run with the money, I daresay it’s him.” She licked her lips as she looked at him, almost like a predator spotting a tasty meal.

  “I promise you, that’s the last thing on my mind,” Cochrane assured her. “If the underworld hears that someone’s on the run with that kind of money, they’ll all be looking for him. Also, if I did steal your money, I’m sure you’d offer a rich reward for its recovery. Either way, my life expectancy would be short, interesting and painful.

  “There are two final points. The first is information. I need to know where your enemies are likely to concentrate their efforts; in other words, which places will be most profitable for them to look. Therefore, I need to know what you’ve found so far in Mycenae.” He saw his listeners’ faces stiffen, and added, “You don’t have to tell me in detail, of course; I’m not in the mining business. However, others are, and they’ll know what to look for. If I can be there waiting for them when they do, I can swat them down before they get started. Otherwise, I’ll have to hunt for them through trillions of cubic kilometers of deserted space. It’ll be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. It’ll take a lot longer, and probably be much less successful.”

  The two directors relaxed. “That makes sense, I suppose,” Marwick agreed. “And your second point?”

  “You’ve got to give me carte blanche in the way I operate. That’s got to be explicitly agreed. Your instructions need to be worded generally, not specifically. There can be no interference, no second-guessing, no nagging, no observers on board my ships to make sure I’m following company procedures. You’re asking me to provide steak-and-potatoes security on a bread-and-cheese budget. I can do that, but only by using methods that are, shall we say, far removed from normal corporate operations. They certainly won’t be politically correct, and they may be legally dubious at best. That’s why you’re hiring me to do them for you, without attribution, rather than doing it yourselves. I’ll take the heat, but you’ve got to stay out of the kitchen, if I can put it like that.

  “Consider, for example, what I had to do in Cubbie. A lot of people died there – more than were arrested, in fact. I daresay I’ll have to kill some in Mycenae before we’re through, because that kind of money attracts criminals like honey attracts flies. That’s why I’ll need to operate at arm’s length from the New Orkney Enterprise. It’s as much for your sake as it is for mine.”

  Marissa Stone’s eyes were wide as she looked at him. Is she getting turned on by that? he wondered. She wouldn’t be the first person to find the prospect of violent death sexually exciting. I should play up to that. It may get her on my side, and keep her there. I could use a friend at court, so to speak… but I mustn’t let it get out of hand. If I give in to her, I’ll be just another man to be used, then discarded. I’ve got to walk a fine line here.

  Marwick rose from the table. “Very well, Captain. Your initial report certainly impressed the Board. We’ll convey to them, informally, what we’ve just discussed. I think you can expect to hear something within a week to ten days.”

  Cochrane and Marissa stood as well. “Thank you, Mr. Marwick,” he replied politely. “You know how to reach me.”

  “I’d like to ask you some more questions, Captain,” Marissa put in. “If you’ll come with me, we can leave Mr. Marwick to get on with his work.”

  “I’m at your disposal, ma’am.”

  She licked her lips again. “Thank you. This way, please.”

  She led him down the corridor to her office, smaller than Marwick’s, but almost as luxuriously furnished. She closed the door behind them, and walked over to the window, looking out over the city far below.

  “So you’ve had experience of dealing with criminals… the hard way?” she said musingly.

  “I have,” he agreed, stepping up to the window beside her, standing deliberately close to her. She didn’t object. “You might say that hardness is a way of life with me.”

  “And how did you… deal with them, Captain?” Her breath was coming a little faster, he noted with satisfaction. Oh, you’re turned on, all right. I just have to play the part for you, and you’ll be eating out o
f my hand.

  “There are many ways,” he said softly, a purr of mingled satisfaction and menace in his tone. “I’ve always found that a thrust in the right place, at the right time, can be very effective.”

  “A… a thrust?” She gazed at him, the pupils of her eyes widening into dark pools.

  “Yes.” He reached slowly into his jacket and took out a black, deadly-looking polymer spear-pointed dagger. “I’ve used this to… penetrate… many defenses. I’ve used other things, too.”

  Her eyes locked on the short, perfectly proportioned blade. He slid a finger up and down it, and her lips parted, tongue protruding slightly in awestruck fascination… then he returned it to its sheath inside his jacket. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she exhaled, a long, slow sigh.

  He kept his voice steady, unruffled. “Now, Ms. Stone, what did you want to discuss?”

  3

  The Team

  ROUSAY

  Cochrane looked up from his cup of coffee as a knock sounded at the door. He began to rise, but Murray beat him to it. “I’ll get it, sir.”

  “Thanks, Jock.”

  They watched as the tall Scot opened the door. A petite brunette woman stepped through it, looking to be in her mid-forties, her body clearly well-muscled under civilian work clothes. She seemed a little out of place in the plush setting of a mid-ranked hotel conference room, and the more formal attire of those waiting inside.

  “Sorry I’m late, boss,” she said cheerfully as she took a satchel from over her shoulder and dropped it in a corner. It clanked loudly.

  “I see you’re still carrying half the Engineering Department around with you,” Cochrane observed with a smile.

  “Och, it’s just a few things that might be needful here and there.” She headed for the sideboard, where a coffee machine burbled gently to itself. The remains of two trays of breakfast sandwiches and pastries showed that the others had already helped themselves. She followed their example with gusto, loading a plate with two sandwiches and two pastries before bringing it and a mug of black coffee to the table to join them.

  “Still dieting, too, I see,” the other woman at the table said with a cheeky wink.

  “Och, Doctor, you know a girl’s got to look after her figure. What would my muscles do without fuel to stop them wasting away?” The others laughed again.

  Cochrane waited until she’d seated herself, then said, “All right. We’re all here now. For the benefit of those of you who don’t know everybody, let me make brief introductions. Our new arrival is Sue McBride. She was the best Warrant Officer Engineer I ever served with. She got out at the same time I did. She’s now running her own maintenance business for local asteroid miners.”

  Sue grinned through a mouthful of food, spraying a few crumbs as she said, “The independents want someone reliable and low-cost to keep their prospecting boats running, because they don’t have a big company paying the bills for them. I can keep my prices low because most of them pay in cash, or a bit of gold or platinum they’ve sneaked off the refinery ship. The taxman never gets to hear about that, of course. Keeps my overheads down.” More quiet chuckles.

  Cochrane added, “She’s also just completed an engineering degree, so she’s got the smarts to back up her very extensive practical experience. Next, most of you know Dr. Elizabeth Masters. She spent eight years as a fleet surgeon before returning to private practice. It seems she misses the fun and games of those years.”

  “Nice to have you with us, Doc,” a tall, burly, red-bearded man said. His facial hair contrasted incongruously with his clean-shaven and highly polished pate.

  “I couldn’t resist seeing your beard again, Dave,” she retorted, to further amusement.

  Cochrane smiled too. “Commander Dave Cousins skippered two vessels under my overall command, a patrol craft and a depot ship. He’s a specialist in combat systems and tactics. He left the service two years ago.” He looked at the next person. “Lieutenant-Commander Caitlin Ross is an intelligence officer. Most of you have never met her, or even heard of her, but I’ve had occasion to work with her. She’s good. She’ll leave active service at the end of this month. Next to her is Senior Chief Petty Officer Tom Argyll. He was the Chief of the Ship in my last command, and left the service last year. He’s probably the best senior NCO I’ve ever served with.”

  “You’re just sayin’ that to flatter me, sir,” Argyll said with a wink.

  “Of course,” Cochrane said gravely. They grinned at each other. “Next to the Senior Chief is one of only two civilians among us, Lachlan McLachlan. He’s a shipping specialist in his family’s cargo line. He probably knows more about freight and freighter availability and movements, shipyards, and ships for sale, than anyone within a hundred light years from here. He may not be military, but he’s trustworthy. I’ve seen him demonstrate that on more than one occasion.

  “Next is Jock Murray. He’s an electronics specialist. He rose to Warrant Officer in the Fleet before striking out on his own in the asteroid mining business. He now runs his own contracting firm, providing prospectors and mining boats to the bigger companies, and doing a lot of electronics maintenance that costs too much for them to do in-house. There’s not many who know circuits and chips at his level. I swear he can design and diagnose them in his sleep.”

  Murray grinned. “Not quite, sir, but I do my best.”

  “Last but not least, we have Henry Martin. Henry’s a criminal.” There was a rustle of surprise around the table as the others looked at him. “I hasten to add, he’s not your average crook. He never touches drugs, prostitution, slavery or any of the nastier vices out there. He’s strictly into theft, particularly high-value shipments and well-protected cargoes. He and I butted heads a few times, and honors are about even between us. I came to respect him as a principled man in his own way, strange though that may sound. He helped me clean up Cubbie, because some of what the bad boys there were doing stuck in his craw. I’ve invited him here today because we’re going to need someone with his skills, and I can offer him an opportunity to ‘go straight’ with a nice fat nest-egg.”

  “I thought you were mad when you approached me,” Martin admitted, “but you convinced me to hear you out. If I like the rest of what I hear today, we’ll see what we can do working together, instead of against each other.”

  “With your beauty and my brains, we’ll go far,” Cochrane solemnly promised him. The others laughed aloud.

  “All right, with the introductions over, let me tell you why I invited all of you here this morning. I know you’ve all been looking, in your own way, for a chance to grab the brass ring; an opportunity to make enough money to get the hell out of the New Orkney Cluster, and make new lives in a more promising part of the galaxy. We’ve all had enough of the First Families. They allow us to be moderately successful, but if we get too big for our boots, they move in and cut us down to size.” Growls of angry agreement came from the others.

  “The brass ring may have come along, if we all work together to make it happen. I took a consulting job for the New Orkney Enterprise. Based on what I learned, I made them an offer, and they’ve accepted it.” He described the agreement he’d worked out with NOE. “A lawyer’s already setting up a front company on Neue Helvetica, and the money’s on its way there too – three hundred and fifty million of that planet’s francs, or just over a billion Rousay kronor.” There was a swift intake of breath as his listeners absorbed the number.

  “If you agree to join me, those of us around this table will be the core leadership team, and in due time the board of directors, for Eufala Corporation – that’s the name of our company. Each of us will either run one or more areas of our day-to-day operations, or be our lead specialist in their field. You’ll also help me find the people, equipment and systems we’ll need to do our job. If you prefer to look at it in military terms, I’ll be the admiral, and you’ll be my staff officers.”

  Cousins raised his hand. “What does ‘Eufala’ mean, sir? I don’t k
now the word.”

  Cochrane grinned. “I don’t either, really.” Everyone chuckled. “I came across it in a book I read last year. It was the name of some minor town in a country-within-a-country called Florida, back on Earth, way back when. The writer set a murder mystery there. I’ve no idea if the town was real or not. The name stuck in my mind, so I decided to use it.

  “Anyway, back to business. If we get this right, we can make enough money to set ourselves up as a security company in another system, one so well equipped and so experienced that minor planets and alliances will fall over themselves to hire us. Mercenary companies for planetary operations are all over the place, but there are very few offering space operations, because of the difficulty and cost of buying and operating warships. We’re going to finance them by grabbing all we can out of Mycenae, as quickly as we can.”

  “But that means we’ll all be thieves, not just Henry here,” Dr. Masters objected.

  “Technically, no, we won’t. Remember what I said about the terms of my agreement with NOE? They’ve specifically authorized me to keep and use anything I seize from intruders in the Mycenae system. They’ve even worded it in such a way that I can arguably take resources from the system for my own use. They didn’t intend that, of course, but if it comes to a court case, I think my interpretation of that clause will stand up.”