Demon Star

by B. V. Larson

  “But Marvin has no reason to finger Hoon, and Hoon has every reason to lie.”

  “Unless Marvin has been lying all along and he’s the one trying to kill you.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve considered that possibility several times from every direction and it doesn’t hold up. Marvin maneuvered the original captain and officers into being killed by the Pandas so that I would end up in charge. If he wanted to kill me all along, that makes no sense. No, he’s saved us many times over. It’s not Marvin.”

  Kwon finished his fourth bottle, belched, tossed the plastic empty into a corner for the smart metal floor to recycle and reached for another. “Even though you’re sure it’s not Marvin, that doesn’t mean he’s right. He’s been wrong before, especially about biotics. He’s not human, so he doesn’t really know what humans think.”

  I raised a finger and then paused with it in the air. “Damn, Kwon, that’s true. I thought he’d make a good investigator because he was objective…but maybe I need someone else.”

  “But who else can you trust that’s brainy enough? And don’t look at me.” He said this with an utter lack of self-consciousness. Kwon was a man who knew his place in life, and that was a rare thing.

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Kwon. You’re not stupid, but I get what you’re saying. It’s not your thing. I need to find a biotic with the free time, the brainpower and the motivation to keep digging until he finds the truth.”

  Kwon laughed. “That sounds like Hoon. Maybe you could have him investigate himself!” He slapped his knee and finished off his fifth bottle.

  I gave up even trying to match him drink for drink, but I drained my third and opened a fourth.

  “Who else could I get?” I asked. “I’m pretty sure I could trust Cornelius, but she’s overworked as it is, and she’s not really a technician. She’d have to get help from one of her people, which would undercut any chance of confidentiality.”

  Kwon leaned forward, putting his massive arms on the small table that held our beer, making it creak. “Take it from an old chief who’s been leading grunts for thirty years. You don’t have to trust everyone. You only have to know what makes them tick. Like, if I got a guy who can’t stay away from whores, I don’t try to make him.”

  I looked at him thoughtfully. “What do you do?”

  “I just make him tell his squad leader which cathouse he’s in, so we can find him if he doesn’t answer his com-link. I also tell him to report back to me if there’s any funny business, like if our people get robbed there. You gotta give guys like that a job that lines up with their flaws, so they stay on your good side. Like you did with Hansen.”

  I sat back, crossing my arms while holding onto my bottle with the tips of my fingers. “See? You’re wise, Kwon. But how do I apply that to the current situation?”

  “Boss, you gotta use someone that wants to find out the truth just as bad as you do. Someone who has the skills and the time.”

  I sighed, exasperated. “There’s no one left.”

  Kwon shrugged. “What about Kalu?”

  I choked. “Are you crazy? She hates my guts.”

  “Only ‘cause you blew her off when she tried to hook up with you, but not as a captain. Everybody in the crew hates her for the way she acted with Sokolov. The only place she can go without catching shit is the science lab and her quarters—or Ensign Achmed’s. That guy’s getting himself some good squeeze every night.” Kwon leered and made lewd motions with his hands. “But what if you were her? You’d want to get everyone mad at someone else for a change.”

  I thought about what Kwon said. “That actually makes a lot of sense. She has the technical skills, and I’m as sure as I can be that she wasn’t behind the attempts to kill us.” I clapped the big man on the shoulder. “I knew this was a good idea.”

  “Beer’s always a good idea, boss.” He finished off the rest of his six-pack and glanced at mine.

  I pushed the two I had left over to him. “All yours. Thanks. I need to go see Kalu.”

  “Better put your battlesuit back on first!” Kwon guffawed and belched.

  “Thanks for the advice,” I said, throwing Kwon a mock salute. “Later.”

  My first stop was on the gun deck, where I gave Cornelius the outline of the situation. I assigned her to work with Hoon and ordered her to focus on the lobster and his possible role in anything nefarious. I didn’t tell her about Marvin’s parallel investigation or the possibility of Kalu joining in. I figured the more hounds I had independently sniffing at this trail, the better.

  My second stop was the logistics chamber, where I found out Adrienne was on her lunch break. I checked my chrono and realized I’d missed our usual appointment. Cursing myself, I checked my appearance in the nearest head mirror, took a leak and hurried to the wardroom.

  The glance I got from Adrienne could have flash-chilled a bottle of champagne, so I put on my best contrite expression and stepped over to her to plant a kiss on her cheek.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I got held up.”

  “Yes, and you smell like you were ambushed by a beer lorry,” she said.

  “I was brainstorming with Kwon. Seriously. Thanks to him, I have an idea.”

  “Kwon? An idea?” Her British sneer was extreme.

  “Hey, he might not be the sharpest tool, but he knows a lot about people. Talking to him helps me think.”

  “And it conveniently provides you an excuse to drink at lunch.”

  “I only had three beers,” I said. Then I frowned and squinted. “Maybe it was five…I forget. Anyway, now I need your help.”

  Adrienne softened somewhat. “Oh, now you need my help? All right then, but it’s going to cost you. The price will be named later. So, what service can I render my esteemed Captain?”

  “Besides the obvious?” I grinned.

  She looked annoyed, but she was flattered. “Yes, besides that. I’m not just a pretty face, you know.”

  “There is the gorgeous body. And, you’re a great conversationalist. Not everyone knows about that part. Let’s not even mention—”

  “Oh, do shut up.” She laughed, and I knew I’d slipped out of the minefield.

  As I broached the next topic, I realized I was entering a new danger zone, but I felt I had no choice…

  “I have to give Kalu a task,” I said, holding up a hand as I saw her face turn sour at the mention of that name. “That’s why I came to you, so you’d be sure nothing funny was going on. Not that I’d want there to be…”

  The look on her face told me I was failing. I pressed on, not knowing what else to do.

  “Anyway, look,” I said. “Kwon pointed out that we don’t really need someone we like or trust to help find out who’s been doing us dirty. We only need someone with the right motivation—and Kalu is in a big deep hole with the crew. She has the skills and the desire to point the finger at the real culprit. If she finds something…”

  “The heat comes off of her,” Adrienne finished. “I see.”

  Her eyes narrowed in thought, not in anger.

  “All right,” she said after thinking it over. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Come along with me to talk to Kalu. Be my wingman.”

  “Be your chaperone, you mean.”

  I held up my palms. “If that’s what you want to call it. Look, we have so few people. If we can get Kalu working for the team instead of against us, everybody wins. And, as I’m sure you know, she and Achmed are keeping each other plenty busy. He’s coming along in his studies. I’m hoping she’ll be satisfied enough with his status.”

  Adrienne nodded, relaxing. “Okay, Captain. Your logistics officer will accompany you during all interactions with Doctor Kalu—for purely professional reasons, of course.”

  I grinned and stood. “Let’s go.”

  Adrienne gripped my hand and let me draw her to her feet. “Aye aye, Captain, sir. Lead the way.”

  I admit I was s
lightly giddy as we walked arm in arm down the passageway, and I forced myself to put on a serious face as we approached the laboratory.

  When we entered, Doctor Benson bustled over to us, his round face concerned. “Good day Captain, Lieutenant. What can we do for you?”

  I glanced past him to see the sexiest portion of Benson’s team adjusting a scanning microscope with one hand while holding a sandwich in the other. “I need to steal Doctor Kalu away from you for a few minutes,” I said pleasantly.

  “Oh, is something wrong?”

  “Not at all. It’s an administrative matter, not a scientific one.”

  Benson seemed puzzled, but nodded. “Of course, sir. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” He turned away.

  Adrienne had already stepped forward to tap Kalu on the shoulder, startling her. My girl leaned down to say something I couldn’t hear, and then the two women walked out of the lab.

  I followed. We ended up in a nearby conference room with the door closed tight. It appeared that Adrienne was taking charge, so I decided to keep my mouth shut and see what she could accomplish.

  “Doctor Kalu, we need your help,” Adrienne began, putting on an air of command I’d seldom seen from her. Maybe she was channeling her aristocratic side, as if back on her estate.

  “I’m listening,” Kalu said with a sulky look.

  “I’m listening, Lieutenant,” Adrienne snapped with a flat stare.

  Kalu’s mouth worked as if she was sucking on lemons, but eventually she forced a calm expression. “All right, Lieutenant Turnbull. What’s this about?”

  “This is about improving your life, if you care to. Do you care to, Doctor?” Now that she had established her dominance in this little verbal catfight, it appeared she was going to twist the screws a bit.

  I didn’t mind. Whatever Kalu got from the crew, in my book, she had coming.

  “Of course I care,” Kalu said with a burst of annoyance. “I’m sick of only being able to go three places on the ship. I’m sick of the looks the crew gives me. But I’ve confessed to everything I’m guilty of, and I had nothing to do with trying to kill anyone—or even those vids.”

  “I know that,” Adrienne said, idly running a finger along the table in front of her as if inspecting for dust. She lifted her hand and examined it casually. “That makes you the perfect person to find out who did.” Raising her eyebrows, Adrienne fixed Kalu with an expectant look.

  With a deep breath, Kalu replied, “I’ll do it. Whatever you want. Anything to clear my name.” She held out her hand to Adrienne as if to shake on the deal.

  Adrienne put her hands deliberately behind her back and stared down her nose at the extended limb as if it were dipped in twice used waste lubricant. “Shaking hands is a sign of mutual respect, Doctor Kalu, and you haven’t earned mine yet. Come up with something solid and perhaps you will.”

  By this time the alcohol in my blood left me struggling not to laugh at Kalu’s discomfiture and Adrienne’s roleplaying, so I turned away. I tried to watch them in the reflection of an inactive wall screen. It wasn’t as if I thought Adrienne didn’t actually mean what she was saying, but I’d never seen her treat someone with such exaggerated firmness before—except possibly for me, that is.

  Maybe she was growing into her role as an officer. What was it they said? “Fake it till you make it”? I’d certainly done a lot of that myself, so I couldn’t fault her.

  Kalu dropped her hand, looking as distressed as I’d ever seen her. I struggled not to feel sympathy, telling myself that she’d earned all the crap coming her way. She swallowed and said, “I’ll do my best, Lieutenant Turnbull. I’ll need the restrictions removed on my access to computer systems.”

  Adrienne glanced upward, as most of us seemed to when addressing the ship’s brainbox. “Valiant, grant Doctor Kalu access and copy permissions to all ship’s files and computer systems, but do not allow her to make any changes whatsoever.”

  “Command confirmation required. Captain Riggs, do you concur?”

  “I concur.”

  “Protocols updated.”

  The two women eyed one another for a moment more before Kalu sighed.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant,” she said.

  “Don’t mention it, Doctor,” Adrienne replied immediately, speaking all the while as if she were sipping sherry at a social event.

  Kalu took a deep breath and walked out of the room. Somehow, she seemed both deflated and more relaxed. It must be a great relief for her to have found the beginning of a path back to the inside of our tiny society.

  When your entire world consists of sixty people in a metal box the size of an old seagoing cruiser, every social and psychological event seems magnified.

  -8-

  Late the next day, Valiant relayed a channel from Marvin to me in my quarters—voice only. Adrienne had gone back to the logistics chamber after dinner, so I’d been staring at the wall screen, which showed an overview of the system. I was trying to spark insights into our current strategic and tactical situation.

  “Hello, Marvin. No video?”

  “I’m using the ansible, which allows near-instantaneous transmissions, but it also has drawbacks. In particular, this sub-standard unit I’ve been issued has a much narrower bandwidth and lower information carrying capacity than the standard com-link.”

  I chuckled. “You can always find something to complain about, can’t you, Marvin?”

  “I detect unwarranted sarcasm.”

  “Sorry,” I said, although I wasn’t sorry at all. “What do you have to report?”

  “I’ve grappled a Demon corvette-class ship, and I’ve begun to analyze it. In accordance with your express wishes to receive regular updates, I thought I would take five minutes out of my day to clue you in.”

  “I detect unwarranted sarcasm.”

  “Sorry,” Marvin said, clearly not sorry at all.

  Damn the robot, he was picking up on idiomatic speech faster than I’d expected. Maybe pushing him toward more natural conversational modes wasn’t such a great idea. It might make him harder to handle.

  “That’s an impressive use of slang, Marvin, but you can save your processing power,” I said casually. “What have you found out so far?”

  “The ship contains one biotic controller, now deceased. It possesses no weapons aside from two external racks for missiles, already expended. Its hull consists of materials designed to absorb or deflect sensors, commonly termed ‘stealth.’ None of the ship’s technologies, such as engines, sensors or communications, appear to be more advanced than ours. It possesses no ansible or magnetic shields.”

  “All good news. Great job, Captain Marvin!”

  Marvin’s voice hesitated slightly. “While my observations are highly preliminary, I did find one apparent anomaly. The interior capsule occupied by the biotic was lined with a thin layer of anti-bacterial fluid.”

  “What? Something like soap?”

  “More like the lining of phlegm inside human lungs.”

  My face twisted up in disgust. “They coat their ships in snot? Why?”

  More hesitation followed, and when Marvin replied, I thought he seemed distressed, perhaps even annoyed. “I have no idea,” he said eventually.

  “That bugs you, doesn’t it?”

  “Is that a joke based on the insectoid nature of the Demons?” he asked. He seemed genuinely uncertain.

  “Not at all. I only meant that puzzles intrigue you, the more mysterious the better.”

  “That’s true.”

  “You don’t even have a theory?”

  “Not at this time.”

  I leaned back in my chair and laced my hands behind my head. “Some kind of natural product of the occupant, perhaps?”

  “Not that I could determine. I examined the possibility the coating might supply warmth or comfort, but nothing is confirmed. As far as I can tell, the slippery coating only makes the ship more difficult to operate
. That’s a significant disadvantage.”

  I blew a long breath out through my nose and closed my eyes, trying to germinate an idea, but couldn’t. “Feel free to consult with Benson or anyone else about it, Marvin. I’m no scientist. When you come up with a theory, let me know. How long until you rejoin us?”

  “Approximately three days. I must reverse course and overcome the outbound inertia of both my ship and this corvette. My estimates show Greyhound will retain less than twenty percent of her fuel capacity when I do.”

  “We’ll top you off,” I told him, “I promise. Anything else?”

  “Not at this time. Marvin out.”

  Marvin’s report was both reassuring and unsettling. I was glad to hear that the Demons didn’t seem to have any super-weapons or technology beyond our capacity to understand, but the unexplained layer of snot had to mean something. What was it meant to do?

  Hopefully, some of our big brains could come up with a reason it was there. Until then, I filed the information away and returned my thoughts to the star system.

  For the next few days, Hoon sent me hourly queries asking when his restrictions would be removed. The lobster was nothing if not single-minded. I told Valiant to add the queries to the log but not to otherwise notify me.

  Cornelius spent her time looking through Hoon’s computer records, which were separate from Valiant’s brainbox, and Kalu combed the ship’s systems. She was allowed to look but not touch, so to speak.

  Shortly before Marvin rejoined us on our long journey in toward Trinity-9, I called Cornelius to my quarters. We took seats in the corner that served me as an office.

  “Drink?” I asked, pulling out a bottle of the best Scotch analogue Adrienne had been able to make in the factory.

  “Natürlich, Herr Kapitan,” she said with her usual rosy-cheeked good cheer. “I presume you would like a report on the lobster?”

  “Of course.”

  “I have found absolutely nothing out of place in his separate records system. Of course, I’m not a cybernetics expert. I do have a good eye for detail though, and everything seems in order.”