No Safe Harbor: The Silver Liner

by Daniel Sullivan

  “True, though you really ought to move your beer and liquor to a location closer to the kitchen and dining areas.”

  Kendrick shook his head and laughed. “I keep a private stash in my cabin; and I found that room to be more convenient for me when I have to come from my own cabin or the bridge.”

  Lena looked at him dubiously.

  “You’re probably right though,” he conceded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  She smiled for a moment, but her expression returned to seriousness, the issue of Keyes still at the forefront of her synthetic mind.

  “Lena, we’ll come through this.” He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I’ve got a new life. Fiona, you, Heather, Mun and Father Ronan … it’s time to stop living in the past.” He laughed. “Spent five years doin’ that. Now that I have a family, I ain’t doin’ that no more. I got somethin’ to fight for and I’m fixin’ to win this one.”

  “Thank you, Captain. You are … what the term … all aces is.”

  Kendrick kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Lena; so are you.”

  He floated from his seat and exited the bridge; it was time to visit Amanda Keyes. Kendrick wondered if Lena felt the same kinds of physical symptoms in response to anxiety that humans did. Did she get knots in her stomach? Could she? He pondered these things as he floated into the lift, selected Pod Beta and hung onto the rail as the elevator made its way to the spin induced gravity of the pods. Then, there was Keyes herself. He knew little about her, other than that she had been tasked with bringing in Fiona and now claimed that the U.P.A. no longer had any interest in the aging doctor. That, he believed, but the rest? Was she really as friendly as she made herself out to be? Kendrick doubted it. Keyes was a spy and was trained to effect whatever demeanor she needed to in order to accomplish her mission.

  While rescuing her had been the right thing to do, Kendrick had serious concerns about having the agent aboard. He would be relieved once they deposited Amanda Keyes on Mars and got on their way.

  The heavy doors closed behind Amelda Delgado as she entered the office of Verner Ness. Hans Falco was already there for the emergency meeting. The call had come in at three in the morning and instructed her to be in Ness’s office within thirty minutes. A business suit and flats, no makeup; and a hot cup of coffee; it was her emergency meeting ensemble and this was definitely an emergency. Verner Ness never called people into his office in the middle of the night on thirty minutes’ notice. She nodded and took a seat in front of the large desk next to Falco, looking expectantly.

  “It seems that Captain Lorgen has gone completely rogue,” observed Verner Ness. “One of our frigates, the Ramos, reported that when they got to Venus, the facility was destroyed, Lorgen and his men the only contacts. He also reported that after bringing them on board, Lorgen had taken over the ship and was killing the crew. Lorgen is apparently responsible for the facility’s destruction.”

  “What does this mean for NessCorp?” Amelda Delgado was aghast at the report. “Without that facility, a major resource has been destroyed and the loss of a frigate and her crew is not insubstantial.”

  “This is not insurmountable, but it does create major problems,” Ness replied. “At least this will give us the leverage we’ve been after with the United States. It was their rogue captain who did this, so we should be able to get them to push for the proposals that go before the Alliance parliament in three months. After all, they wouldn’t want their own interest in what that facility actually did to become public, now would they?”

  “I suppose not,” she replied.

  “Well, at least we got back the stolen biotech,” noted Hans Falco. “Our friend in the American government really came through on that one.”

  “Of course he did,” snorted Delgado. “He’s out for himself and his investments make him more loyal to us and Weigert-Massey Semiconductor than the United States. I understand he’s ordered Lorgen shot on sight. He’ll help us.”

  “Is he aware?” Falco looked back and forth between them. “If he knows, then you can bet he’s already found a way to worm his way out.”

  “No, we’ll keep this to ourselves,” Ness said. “Until the time is … just right. The rest is settled. Now, with the biotech returned, I move that we resume the Promethean Project. The United States government is proving less reliable, particularly with the election of President Robinson, but the Alliance is amenable.”

  “When one door closes, another opens,” observed Falco.

  Amelda nodded and Ness grinned.

  “Exactly, Hans,” the CEO said. “Exactly.”

  Commander Donavan Jax surveyed the bridge of the Liberty. He loved the ship and was pleased for Captain Gifford’s, who had made sure Donavan came with her when she took command of the new frigate. Unlike older designs, Liberty’s bridge had spin gravity, with her windows simulated by external cameras. He preferred actual windows; and Liberty did have them, with covers that could be retracted, but a fixed window with spin gravity meant that the view spun; not a good mix.

  Jax had served with Gifford’s ten years ago during the Colonial Conflict of 2102. Gifford’s was a marine lieutenant back then and Jax, a warrant officer. When Gifford’s was asked to serve with the fleet, she personally worked with Colonel Tracht to facilitate Donavan’s transition to Starfleet and made sure that he served with her. It was an opportunity for which he would be forever grateful; Jax was promoted to a junior lieutenant and steadily climbed to his current rank of commander, something he never dreamed he would achieve.

  “We may have the Enigma,” Lieutenant Darcy Henderson, the Liberty’s coms officer announced, bringing him out of his reminiscing. “It’s not exact; we can’t track her, but we can track her quarry. There was a frequency anomaly that was following the Selene after she left Mars, but getting further and further behind. It reads like a tracking beacon of some kind and its speed matches the Enigma’s. Also, an Alliance interceptor, the A.M.S. Orion, was closing on the signal.”

  “What do you mean, ‘was,’ Ms. Henderson?”

  “Both signals stopped transmitting partway to Venus, sir. My theory is that someone planted a tracking beacon on the Enigma, enabling the Orion to give chase. Lorgen figured it out, got rid of it, and then … probably destroyed the Orion.”

  “The Orion is Santiago’s ship,” Jax mused.

  “You know him?” Munroe seemed surprised.

  “Yeah. Childhood friend,” Jax laughed. “We were next door neighbors.” His momentary levity faded. “I don’t like the sound of this. Henderson, ping the Enigma’s transponder frequency. Authorization code seven-seven-six-four-two Alpha Tango Charlie.”

  “Yes, sir.” She began pinging the Enigma’s frequency. This was a backdoor that allowed another ship to be located and tracked, though it required the authorization, which Tracht had given. Henderson’s eyes widened. “Sir, I’m picking up the Enigma’s transponder!”

  “Location?”

  “It’s in the vicinity of where we lost the Orion’s signal.”

  “Move to intercept that signal, but stay just out of their sensor range once we close,” Jax ordered. “Ms. Carlisle, full ahead.”

  “Aye, sir.” Ms. Carlisle keyed up the mic, alerting the crew. “Initiating maximum burn in three … two … one.”

  With that, the Liberty’s engines fired and the ship surged ahead, now careening toward the heading that had been laid in. All on board felt the power of the engines as the ship accelerated to Mach-twenty. The bridge crew were pinned to their seats. Only Commander Jax remained standing, resolute and immovable, even under the ship’s hard acceleration.

  Although the ship was crewed with Starfleet’s finest and Carol Gifford’s was the best skipper in the fleet, Jax had a bad feeling. He could not put his finger on it, but as a former space marine who had fought in some of the bloodiest conflicts in history, he knew when his people were heading into a meat-grinder.

  As the ship’s acceleration leveled off, Jax realized that he must h
ave shown some slight indicator of his feelings, as Ms. Carlisle turned to face him, worry on her youthful face.

  “Sir, is something wrong?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know what. Just something’s not right.”

  He could sense the crew exchange glances. He could hear the murmurs, but he said no more and no one asked anything else. Jax hated giving any indication that he was worried, but he wanted them to be cautious. The commander had experienced the loss of too many friends not to be concerned and he owed it to the crew to be honest with them. Just hope I’m wrong.

  Chapter 3

  Keyes to the Kingdom

  Amanda had been on board the Selene over a week and was going stir crazy. She liked movies and vids as much as the next girl, but there came a point where she needed to do more than just sit in a cabin. Nice as it was, the cabin was a cell. Her jailers were treating her well enough; food that was many steps above what she was used to aboard an Alliance vessel was served to her regularly by Father Ronan O’Carmody, and the priest never failed to engage her in conversation. It was all small talk and Amanda was thankful that he had not used the opportunity of a captive audience for proselytizing. Keyes did not fault Royce for keeping her confined; Amanda had sabotaged the ship last year, after all, but she was getting bored.

  Doctor Keane, who now called herself Doctor Kinsale, had visited to make sure Amanda was all right. Though the conversation did not wax beyond small talk and health matters, she noticed that Keane/Kinsale was notably cheerier than she had been after Amanda had revealed that the biotech had been recovered and the GLF betrayed.

  Amanda’s thoughts drifted to Terri, as they often did these days. Keyes was completely cut off from any communication, so she had no idea how her blonde lover was doing. She shook her head, laughing. The irony of the U.P.A. writing Amanda off and leaving her for dead, was that with her skills, Amanda could establish a new identity and settle down with Terri, making her lover’s dreams of family come true. I get through this and maybe we’ll do just that, Terri. She thought about her last night with the air traffic controller and how sweet it had been. Commander Jansen had been fun, but it was nothing more. When she was with Terri, Amanda felt loved. Amanda savored the memory of Terri’s skin against her own.

  The door chime caught her attention, jarring her from thoughts of Terri’s soft body. She answered the door, expecting to see Father O’Carmody standing there with her breakfast. Instead, it was Captain Royce who held the tray with her morning meal. Instead of just one meal, however, there were two.

  “Good morning, Agent Keyes,” he said with a smile. “I thought maybe we could talk over coffee and breakfast.”

  “Well, good morning to you too, Captain.” Amanda stood aside and motioned for him to enter. “And just what is the topic of our conversation to be?”

  He shrugged. “Been meaning to stop by since you’ve been on board, but I got caught up with other stuff.” He set the tray down on the table in the cabin’s small dining area, then pulled out a chair for her.

  “So I’ve noticed,” she said, following him. As she took her seat, he deftly slid the chair underneath her. A true gentleman, she observed.

  Kendrick took a seat across from her. “So, we’ve all be asking the question; what do we do with you?”

  “Right to business, I see.”

  “No point in drawing it out.” He paused, taking a bite of his toast. “The sooner we figure it out, the happier we’ll all be. Personally, I’m inclined to start treating you as a passenger and give you access to the ship’s amenities.”

  “Amenities?” That piqued her interest. “What kind of amenities?”

  “Well, there’s a gym and a Jacuzzi,” he began. “All of the rooms have media access, though there is a theatre room.”

  “Sounds better than being confined to quarters,” she quipped.

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” he replied, sheepishly. “Like I said; been meanin’ to have this chat with you. Anyway, seein’ as how you came aboard with no luggage and have nothing to move, I was thinkin’ of movin’ you over in Pod Alpha with the rest of us. Don’t think you’re a threat and at least you’ll have some company.”

  “And it’s easier for you to keep an eye on me,” she added. “A win/win for everyone.”

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll get you moved over today.” He finished his toast and sipped his coffee, then started on his bacon and eggs. “You know, not everyone was quite as thrilled with the idea as Fiona was, so don’t make me regret this.”

  “Fiona was thrilled?” Amanda was incredulous. “You mean Doctor Joyce Keane, the woman I’ve been tracking for the better part of a year? She’s thrilled?”

  “Thrilled might be an overstatement, but it was her idea,” he explained. “Fiona’s come to terms with what happened and she don’t hold you responsible anyway. Look, you got screwed by Lorgen and a lot of your colleagues were killed. He’s an enemy we got in common. I ain’t no agent, an’ I ain’t no spy. I’m just a southern boy with a fast ship. My instincts tell me you’re okay; so, you’re okay. Oh, we have a gym on the other side too; figured you might like workin’ out with some people around.”

  “So, you’re trusting me because you have a gut feeling that you can?” She looked at him dubiously.

  “Yup.”

  Unlike Kendrick, Amanda was a spy and trained to read people. She took stock of her host, grateful that he had been the one to find her. Aside from Kendrick being exceptional eye candy, she found his forthright manner refreshing. No subterfuge or hidden agendas; just a man and his ship, trying to keep his crew alive. His now dark blond hair, parted to one side and cut fairly short, was a much better look for him than the greased up pompadour he had worn before; and his blue eyes sparkled in a way that reminded her of Terri’s eyes.

  “I have one request, Captain.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “I would like access to communications,” she said.

  “Not sure I like that,” he retorted. “We’re kinda runnin’ silent, you know.”

  “Am I a prisoner?”

  “No, but that don’t change our situation.”

  “I just want to let someone — special — know I’m not dead. Please, Captain; I see how you and Fiona look at each other. You understand having someone you love; someone you care deeply for. I just need to know that she’s all right. I can also contact the U.P.A. and let them know that you’re actually helping me. Might grease a few wheels and take some heat off, doncha’ think?”

  He sat for a long moment, contemplating his answer. “Tell me about this special gal.”

  Amanda smiled in spite of herself. “Her name is Terri. You’ve actually spoken with her and may have met her. She’s a traffic controller on Luna; she was the one who directed you in and who sent you the codes when you began the race. She even went to your gig. Cute little blonde thing, not skinny, not too fat, but thick — just the way I like ‘em.”

  “She how you sabotaged my ship?”

  “Hey, no point in being coy about it, Captain. You already know I did. She had no idea what it was that I told her to attach to those codes, by the way. She’s innocent in this. I need to make sure she’s all right. This whole thing has spiraled so far out of control that I can’t take for granted that she’s just going on her merry way without any complications from my involvement.”

  “The honesty’s appreciated. I need to think on that, but I promise I won’t keep you hanging.”

  “I appreciate that, Captain.” Amanda poured on her most gracious, thankful, and pleasant demeanor. “You have no idea what this means to me. And please don’t think that I took any pleasure in doing what I did; orders were orders and we weren’t looking to harm you. Lorgen on the other hand …”

  “Lorgen’s crazy,” Kendrick agreed. “I’ll talk with the others, see what their take is. I’ll keep you posted.” With their meal finished, Kendrick took the dishes and silverware, and stacked them back on the tray.

  “You know, Ca
ptain, I could really get used to the home cooking here.”

  “You mean they don’t feed you like this on U.P.A. ships?”

  “Not even close,” she laughed. “They feed us all kinds of processed crap. That and a lot of protein drinks, along with the vitamins we need to take for extended periods in zero-G. Real food like this is a luxury.”

  “Ain’t no luxury,” he said with a laugh. “I ate like this every day when I was growing up an’ we wasn’t rich. Besides, I hate that processed crap. Got me a line with some of the farms back home; or at least I had one. I had no contact with any of them for over a year, but we tracked down fresh stuff on our last visit to Mars. The eggs were some kind of GMO thing that keeps forever. Don’t normally go for that stuff, but it’s all they had. An’ seein’ as how I had no idea when I’d be able to resupply, it made sense.” Then, he stood. “Anyway, I need to get back to the bridge. I’ll have an answer for you on the communications request before the day is out.”

  “Thank you, Captain.” Amanda had her own instincts and as of this moment, her instincts were telling her that Kendrick was someone she could trust. In fact, though she hated to admit it, she was getting that feeling about the entire crew.

  Amanda ate her first meal with the crew in the Pod Alpha mess the very next day and found the experience enlightening. This was not a well-oiled crew, but a group of misfits who fell in together and made the best of it. Heather seemed to monopolize much of the conversation, her youthful exuberance and bubbly personality overwhelming the more staid captain, priest, doctor and the pensive Lena. Most of the conversation was innocuous and none of them seemed to be trying to avoid certain topics due to Amanda’s presence. The topic of the injured gunner, Mun Kang Hi came up briefly, with Fiona giving a brief update and the priest declaring that he would continue praying for the unconscious man. Amanda was tempted to ask how Mun had been injured, knowing that whatever had happened to him, happened on Venus. While their reactions would be telling, she thought better of it; now was the time to observe and evaluate, not probe for information.