Conquerors' Pride

by Timothy Zahn

  "I thought we had an appointment."

  "We do. We're almost an hour into it now."

  Aric snorted under his breath. "Sounds to me like he's hiding."

  Cavanagh glanced at the Marine. "It's starting to look that way, isn't it?"

  Beside Aric, Kolchin stirred in his seat. "Maybe we shouldn't wait for official clearance," he said.

  Cavanagh looked at him. The young bodyguard was studying the Marine, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Whatever you have in mind, Kolchin, I don't think it would be a good idea."

  "It would get us their attention," Kolchin pointed out.

  "It would get us thrown off Edo," Cavanagh corrected. "And possibly get you a trip to the hospital."

  Kolchin wrinkled his nose. "Hardly."

  "Let me try something," Melinda said, pulling out her phone and punching up the directory. "Quinn, do you know the layout of this building?"

  "I know some of it," he said.

  "Good." She found the number she was looking for and punched it in. "Let's see if this works."

  The screen cleared. From Cavanagh's angle the picture wasn't all that good, but it looked like a middle-aged man. "Hello, Dr. Haidar," Melinda said brightly. "This is Melinda Cavanagh. We were on Celadon together last week... right, the Billingsgate team.... Oh, it went fine.... No, actually, I'm right here in the building. My father's here to see someone, but he's in conference and we're stuck waiting. I was poking through the directory and found your name, and thought I'd call and say hello.... Why, yes, that would be terrific.... I think so; let me check."

  She looked up. "We all have Class Three clearances, don't we?"

  "Yes," Cavanagh told her, wondering what she was planning. Surely building security wouldn't be fooled by anything this transparent.

  "Yes, we're all clear," she confirmed, turning back to the phone. "Great. We'll be waiting."

  She closed down the phone. "He'll be here in a couple of minutes. We're going to get a tour of the medical facilities."

  "That sounds wonderful," Cavanagh said, frowning at her. "We will, you realize, have an escort all the way there and back."

  "We're not here to see Admiral Rudzinski," she reminded him. "We're here to find out about Pheylan." She looked across at Quinn. "And every Peacekeeper medical lab I've ever seen has had at least one terminal with a Mindlink jack."

  Cavanagh looked at Quinn, too. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Melinda."

  "No, sir, she's right," Quinn said. His face was tight, but his voice was firm. "It's our best bet."

  "Can you can handle it?"

  Quinn gave a short nod. "No problem."

  "All right. If you're sure." Cavanagh stood up. "Let's get ready."

  He stepped toward the guard; and as he did so, the door behind the Marine slid open. Admiral Rudzinski stood there, flanked by two more Marines. "That won't be necessary, Lord Cavanagh," the admiral said quietly. "All of you, please: come with me."

  The admiral led them down the maze of corridors, his two Marines following closely behind. Aric walked beside Kolchin, keeping a careful eye on the bodyguard's face. Kolchin had that coiled-spring look about him, and if he decided that Rudzinski was taking them to detention instead of an office, he was likely to object rather strenuously. Aric wanted to be ready to hit the floor if that happened.

  They reached a door with Rudzinski's name and a number three on it. "You two wait here," the admiral instructed the Marines as he palmed it open. "The rest of you: inside, please."

  It was a conference room, small but impressive even by the corporate standards Aric was used to. A holographic map of the Commonwealth and nonhuman worlds dominated one wall, with a corresponding tactical map on the wall opposite it. Filling most of the room was a stylish French curve-shaped table equipped with a central display spine and surrounded by a dozen comfortable-looking chairs.

  Seated in one of those chairs, looking like a cross between a thundercloud and an extremely sour lemon, was Parlimin Jacy VanDiver.

  He opened his mouth to speak; Aric decided to get in the first word. "Well, well," he commented lightly. "Old-home week on Edo, I see. At least now we know what the delay was."

  "One more time, Admiral," VanDiver warned, clearly intent on ignoring Aric completely. "This is both ill-advised and unnecessary."

  "Would you rather they find out another way?" Rudzinski countered. "They have no right-"

  "They have every right, Parlimin," Rudzinski cut him off. "They are Commander Cavanagh's family."

  "None of whom have clearance for Class One information," VanDiver snapped. "Or any official standing in either the Peacekeepers or the NorCoord government."

  "Are you suggesting that I'm a security risk?" the elder Cavanagh asked quietly.

  VanDiver looked him straight in the eye. "I'm saying,Lord Cavanagh, that contrary to what you seem to believe, you're no longer the Parlimin from Grampians on Avon. You're a private citizen. You don't rate any special treatment."

  "Thank you for reminding us of that." Deliberately, the elder Cavanagh turned back to Rudzinski. "You have information for me about my son, Admiral?"

  "To be perfectly honest, Lord Cavanagh, we don't have anything solid enough to qualify as information," the other said, gesturing them to seats around the table as he sat down at the inner-curve chair. "What we have comes more properly under the heading of vague speculation."

  He touched a key on the control board, and a field of slow-moving points of light appeared on the spine displays. "A section of the battle scene near Dorcas," Rudzinski identified it.

  Aric glanced at his father's face. The pain was back, but buried so deeply that he doubted anyone else in the room except he and Melinda could see it. No surprise there: showing that kind of emotion in front of Jacy VanDiver would be the last thing he would want to do.

  "It was taken a few hours afterward," Rudzinski continued. "Here"-a large circle appeared, filling most of the display-"is where theKinshasa was during the battle. We know that both from the watchship data and from the fact that all the honeycomb pod debris retrieved from inside that sphere came from theKinshasa" He paused. "And here"-a hazy and slightly distorted white cone appeared near one edge of the circle-"is a stream of oxygen molecules."

  He paused. Aric glanced at the others, looking for some indication that any of them had the slightest clue as to what that was supposed to mean. If the blank expressions were anything to go on, they were as mystified as he was. "You said that as if it was important," he prompted.

  "We're not sure whether it is or not," Rudzinski said. "What we do know is that it didn't occur during the battle itself. The conical shape's too well preserved for that, and the momentum-vector map too uniform."

  "So where did it come from?" Aric asked.

  Rudzinski glanced at VanDiver. "There's no way to know for certain," he said, the words coming out with obvious reluctance. "But it's not inconsistent with a deliberate, controlled leak from a honeycomb pod's oxygen tank."

  For a long minute the room was silent. "You said you'd identified some of the pods from theKinshasa," the elder Cavanagh said at last. "Did you find any pieces from Pheylan's?"

  VanDiver slapped the table. "There you go," he said, glowering at Rudzinski. "I told you he'd jump to this conclusion, Admiral. I told you he would."

  "We haven't identified any specific pieces, no," Rudzinski shook his head. "But bear in mind that that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Not with the kind of destruction we're dealing with here."

  "But you clearly suspected something," the elder Cavanagh persisted. "Otherwise, why the investigation?"

  Rudzinski made a face. "Blame it on the commander of the Dorcas Peacekeeper garrison," he said. "He took a fact-finding joyride out to the battle site and then filed a recommendation that an effort be made to confirm no prisoners had been taken. One of the analysis team picked up on the suggestion and took it seriously." He waved at the display. "That's what dropped out."

  Quinn stirred.
"Those momentum vectors you mentioned," he said. "What direction were they pointing?"

  "Away from the apex of the cone," Rudzinski said. "And, possibly coincidentally, away from the watchship positions."

  "As if someone was using his reserve oxygen supply to get his pod moving toward safety?"

  "There is no evidence that anyone survived the battle," VanDiver snapped. "Not Pheylan Cavanagh; not anyone."

  Quinn ignored him. "Admiral?"

  "It's not inconsistent with that scenario," the other conceded. "It's also not inconsistent with a simple leak."

  "He's dead, Cavanagh," VanDiver insisted. "They all are. The Conquerors didn't stop shooting until every single beacon was silenced."

  "Beacons can fail," the elder Cavanagh countered. "Or can be shut off." He looked at Rudzinski, a new fire in his eyes. "Or can be blocked."

  "No," Rudzinski said, shaking his head. "We've already run that simulation. An operating beacon being pulled inside another ship would show a distinctive fade curve before dropping below detection threshold. There's no sign of anything like that in the watchship records."

  "That doesn't prove anything."

  "Neither does wishful thinking," VanDiver said, climbing to his feet. "All right, Admiral, you've done your duty. Now if you're quite ready, the rest of the Parliament observation group is waiting for us."

  "Just a minute," Aric said as Rudzinski also stood up. "You haven't said what the Peacekeepers are going to do about finding Pheylan and getting him back."

  Rudzinski's face seemed to sag a little. "I'm sorry," he said, looking at the elder Cavanagh. "There's nothing we can do. Without some kind of solid evidence that Commander Cavanagh is still alive, we can't risk sending out a search party."

  "Why not?" Aric demanded. "He's out there somewhere-"

  "You don't have any proof of that," VanDiver cut him off.

  "Andyou don't have any-"

  "Enough!" Rudzinski barked.

  Aric broke off in midsentence. Rudzinski glared at him, then at VanDiver, and finally turned back to the elder Cavanagh. "In the first place," he said, his voice quiet again, "we wouldn't have any idea even where to start looking. Their exit vector was masked by the watchship static bomb, and without a baseline heat-dump profile for their hulls we can only make a guess as to how far they came. But that's not the crucial point. The crucial point is that if we go charging around out there playing blindman's buff, they're going to pick up on our tachyon wake-trails and follow the search parties straight back to the Commonwealth. And if there's anything certain about all this, it's that we're a long way from being ready to deal with a full-scale invasion."

  So you're just going to abandon him.With an effort Aric kept his mouth shut. An insulting accusation like that wouldn't help solve anything; and besides, he knew it wasn't true. Rudzinski's primary responsibility was to defend the Commonwealth, and he couldn't put twenty-four worlds into unnecessary danger for a single man.

  The elder Cavanagh put it into words first. "We understand, Admiral," he said, standing up and offering his hand. "I appreciate your time. And your honesty."

  "I'm sorry I couldn't do more," Rudzinski said, gripping the proffered hand. He glanced at VanDiver- "And I presume I don't have to insult you by reminding you that everything we've said today comes under the Official Secrets Regulations."

  "None of it will leave this room," the elder Cavanagh promised.

  Rudzinski nodded. "The Marines outside will escort you to the exit. I wish I could do more."

  "Thank you, Admiral," the other said softly. "I think you've done enough."

  Across the room the door chimed softly. "Come in," Cavanagh called.

  The panel slid open. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Quinn said.

  "Yes." Cavanagh gestured to the chair beside his desk. "I need your professional opinion on something."

  "Certainly," Quinn said, coming in and sitting down.

  Cavanagh swiveled the desk plate around toward him. "Take a look. Tell me what you think."

  He watched as Quinn's eyes flicked down the text. "Are you serious about this?"

  "Very serious." Cavanagh cocked an eyebrow. "You don't seem surprised."

  Quinn shrugged slightly. "Kolchin's call, not mine. Said you were practically broadcasting it on the drive back to the ship." He gestured to the plate. "But this isn't the way to do it."

  "Why not?"

  "Because freighters aren't designed for military activity," Quinn told him. "They're not warships, no matter how many missiles and particle cannon you cram into them. You send them out against our aliens out there, and they'll be cut to scrap."

  "All right," Cavanagh said. "So how do we bring them up to fighting trim?"

  Quinn shook his head. "We don't. It can't be done. Freighters don't maneuver well, they handle in gravity wells like helium-filled bricks, and their acceleration/mass ratio is a couple orders of magnitude lower than what you need for combat. And they're damn big targets."

  Cavanagh grimaced. He'd sweated for nearly two hours trying to work up a halfway respectable task force from the ships and crews in the CavTronics merchant fleet Two wasted hours, apparently. "Let me put it this way: I'm going to go look for Pheylan. What can you do to give me a fighting chance?"

  Quinn sighed. "Look, sir, I know how you feel. But this doesn't make any sense. You haven't got the weaponry or the experience. And you don't know where he is."

  "We've got the vector they came in on," Cavanagh said. "I'll start with that."

  "He may not even be alive, sir," Quinn said quietly. "Odds are he isn't."

  Cavanagh looked away from him, toward the wall with the inset pictures of his children and his late wife. "Then at least I'll know that for certain," he told Quinn. "Either way, I'm going."

  He could feel the other's eyes on him. "We can't do it with freighters," Quinn said at last. "We need warships. Six attack fighters-Axehead- or Adamant-class, if we can get them. Plus crews. Plus a stardrive-equipped fueler to carry them."

  "Really," Cavanagh said, slightly taken aback by the sudden shift in attitude. "Where do you propose we get them?"

  "We steal them, of course," Quinn said.

  Cavanagh felt his mouth drop open. "You're not serious."

  Quinn returned his gaze without flinching. "As serious as you are about going."

  For a half-dozen heartbeats Cavanagh just stared at him. The man meant it, all right... and the challenge was now squarely on Cavanagh's side of the table. Just how farwas he willing to go to find his son?

  The door chimed, jolting into his thoughts. "Come in," he said, reaching over and swiveling the plate back around to face him.

  "Dad." Aric nodded in greeting as he and Melinda walked into the room. "We interrupting anything?"

  "Not really," he assured them. "How are you two doing?"

  "We're holding up." Aric glanced at Melinda. "We wanted to talk to you about Pheylan."

  Cavanagh glanced at Quinn, got a fractional shake of the head in return. "What about him?"

  Aric's face changed; not much, but enough. He looked at Quinn, back at his father. "We were wondering if there was anything we could do to help get him back," he said, strolling behind Quinn and around the side of Cavanagh's desk. "Some kind of pressure we could bring to bear on Rudzinski or the Parliament."

  "We don't know if he's even still alive," Cavanagh said, watching his son's all-too-casual approach. He'd picked up on the mood, all right, and he was aiming for a look at the plate. "But that's a good idea," he added, reaching over and blanking the screen. "Why don't you and Melinda go work up a list of Parlimins who owe me favors."

  "Sure," Aric said, measuring his father with his eyes. "You want to tell us first what's going on?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Come on, Dad," Aric said. "This is no time for playing games. You and Quinn are planning something. What is it?"

  Cavanagh looked at Melinda. She was watching him, too, her expression firm and alert. He'd never noticed
before how much there was of Sara in her face when she looked like that. "All right," he told them. "I'm going after Pheylan."

  "I see." Aric looked at his sister. "When?"

  "Wait a minute," Melinda said. "Personnel before timetable, Aric. You're not talking about going yourself, are you, Dad?"

  "Yes, I am," Cavanagh said. "And I don't want to hear any arguments about it."

  "Too bad," she said. "Because you're going to get some. This is not some little joyride out to-"

  "Melinda." Aric held up his hand. "Let's hear it from the top first, okay? Dad?"