by Ryk Brown
“I’m looking forward to it,” Deliza said, smiling. She turned to look at Yanni. “Aren’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” Yanni agreed. “Very much so.”
CHAPTER TEN
Nathan stepped through the doors into the main arena, pausing for a moment to take in the view. It seemed a lifetime since he had seen the inside of a professional ice hockey arena. He had missed the game, but until this moment he never realized how much.
The building was packed with spectators, upwards of twenty thousand by his estimation. Giant view screens hung over the center of the ice, playing exciting images from past games. Graphic effects using team colors of blue and gold streaked around the perimeters of each seating deck, all choreographed in time with music that played at such volume you could scarcely hear someone talking next to you.
The excitement of the crowd was palpable, despite the fact that the final game had yet to begin. Vendors roamed the aisles, hocking all manner of snacks, beverages, and souvenirs, while ushers helped fans wearing Wolves jerseys find their seats.
The Winnipeg Wolves had been struggling more than most to rebuild their franchise. This was the first time since the Jung invasion that the Wolves had made it to the finals. With the series tied at three games each, the stage had been set for a glorious victory on home ice.
“Wow,” Jessica commented as she stepped up next to Nathan. “I knew these things were big events, but I never expected this.”
“Honestly, this is even more over the top than I remembered,” Nathan commented.
An usher asked for Nathan’s ticket, which he promptly displayed. He and Jessica followed the usher to their seats, only a few rows down.
Unfortunately, they were about as far away from the ice as possible, but considering that it was the final game of the championship series, they were lucky to get them at all. They had been forced to purchase their tickets from a scalper, which had not been cheap. If they were unsuccessful in their attempt to meet with Nathan’s father and sister they wouldn’t have enough money to get back to their plane, let alone the funds needed to complete their business in Cocoa Beach.
It was a calculated risk. Nathan was reasonably certain that his father would have a skybox at the arena. The entire Scott clan, having lived in the Vancouver area for generations, were avid ice hockey fans. Considering how much they all loved the game, Nathan had always found it odd that he had been the only member of the family who had actually played it as a child.
Even if they were unable to meet with his father, Jessica was certain they could find a way to acquire additional funds. Nathan had chosen not to inquire how she might do so.
“I thought it would be colder in here,” Jessica said as they took their seats.
“It’s only cold down closer to the ice,” Nathan explained.
“Why do people pay such prices to sit this far away?” she wondered. “You’d see more in the broadcast, wouldn’t you?”
“It’s about being here, being part of it when it happens,” Nathan explained.
“When what happens?”
“When they win the cup.”
“What if they lose? Then you spent two thousand credits to watch them lose.”
“Didn’t you ever go to games?”
“Not hockey games,” Jessica replied.
“Well, any game.”
“No. We always watched them at home,” she explained. “The whole family and usually several of my brother’s friends. Probably about twenty people, all in all. It was sort of an event at our house.”
“Well, that’s the same thing, just on a much smaller scale, right?” Nathan said.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Jessica looked around. “So, how does this work. Are there four quarters, or something?”
“You know nothing about hockey, do you?”
“I’m from Florida, Nathan. We wore shorts and swimsuits most of the time, not parkas like all you Canucks.”
“Well, you’re in for a treat, then.”
“Try not to forget why we’re here,” Jessica reminded him.
“Don’t ruin it for me,” Nathan objected.
* * *
After passing through several layers of security, Deliza and Yanni entered the presidential skybox at the Wolves arena. The room, located right along the arena’s center line, was a lot bigger than either of them had imagined.
The skybox was deeper than it was in width and was divided into four sections. At the back were catering counters, complete with servers and a bartender. Between them and the bar were four standing-height tables with barstools.
“So glad you could make it, Miss Ta’Akar,” a man in suit and bowtie greeted. “I am Mister Solvang, your host. If there is anything you need, simply squeeze the clip on your security badge lanyard and one of my staff will respond promptly. May I show you to your seats?”
“Yes, thank you,” Deliza replied, smiling. The man was very pleasant and likable, and his demeanor put her immediately at ease in an unfamiliar environment.
Deliza and Yanni followed Mister Solvang toward the front of the room, down two steps to the next level. This level contained two rows of seats that appeared roomy and comfortable, with sidearms that had beverage holders and a small table that folded away. And, there was plenty of room to walk past those already seated without bothering them, unlike the seats she remembered at the polon games back on Corinair.
Each row of seats was nearly a meter lower than the other, giving the spectators unobstructed views of the arena below. There was a clear partition between them and the next two rows of seats, which were on a balcony in front of the skybox itself.
“You may sit anywhere you like, with the exception of this row here,” Mister Solvang explained, touching the back of the row behind him, “which is reserved for the president. You may also go out and sit in the balcony. Some prefer it as they feel it makes them more a part of the event. However, I must warn you that the crowd can be quite loud.”
“I think here will be fine,” Deliza said. “Yanni?”
“Yes, this is wonderful.”
“Thank you, Mister Solvang.”
“It is my pleasure, Ma’am. Enjoy the game.”
Deliza and Yanni moved to take their seats but were immediately interrupted by a voice from behind them.
“Miss Ta’Akar,” Miri called.
Deliza turned to look. “Please, call me Deliza,” she insisted.
“Of course,” Miri agreed. “Miranda, but I go by Miri.”
“Yes, Nathan spoke of you often.”
“Were you close to Nathan?” Miri asked, as if fishing for cues.
“I am,” Deliza replied, purposefully using the present tense. “I mean, I was. In all honesty, I feel like he is still with us, even now.”
That was all Miri needed to hear. “Please sit with me in the president’s row,” she instructed, gesturing for her to move to the next row forward.
Deliza and Yanni moved down to the next row, and made their way along several seats before sitting. Miri sat down next to Deliza, then pressed a button on the side of her chair. A second later, the din of the crowd outside, and of the people talking in the skybox, faded away completely, leaving them in silence.
“We are within an acoustical shield,” Miri explained, speaking quickly. “No one can hear us. Please face me while you speak, so that no one observing from across the arena can read our lips.”
Deliza turned in her seat toward Miri, trying to do so in a natural fashion as if engaging in a normal, personal conversation.
“Is he here?” Miri asked.
“Section three one two, row twenty-three, seats fifteen and sixteen.”
“Who is with him?”
“Jessica Nash,” Deliza replied. “He wishes to speak to you and the
president, in private. Is that possible?”
“Here? Now?”
“Yes,” Deliza replied. “He is on a tight schedule and must depart Winnipeg tonight. He still has much to do on Earth before his departure.”
“Then you are not really here to request aid, are you?”
“No. We are here to provide you with critical information about the Jung incursions into the Sol sector. Nathan insists on explaining it to your father in person. Can you arrange this?”
Miri thought furiously. “Yes, I think so. Give me a few minutes.”
“We have the entire game,” Deliza replied. “However long that is.”
* * *
“And now, let’s welcome, your Winnipeg Wolves!” the announcer called in dramatic fashion meant to excite the crowd.
It worked, as every person in attendance rose to their feet to cheer as their team took the ice—Nathan included.
Jessica also rose, but more to blend in. “I thought you weren’t a Wolves fan?” she said, leaning in close to be heard.
“What?”
Jessica shook her head. She felt a tug on her sleeve and turned to the man next to her who pointed toward the aisle. Jessica looked, spotting an usher gesturing for her to get the attention of Nathan. She touched Nathan’s shoulder and tipped her head toward the usher at the end of the row. “I think she wants to speak to us!”
“Do you think she wants to speak to us?” Nathan hollered, not hearing what Jessica had said above the roar of the crowd.
Jessica pulled at his jacket, urging him to follow as she began squeezing past the spectators between her and the usher at the end. Once they reached the aisle, the usher leaned closer to Nathan.
“Are you Connor Tuplo?” she asked, also yelling to be heard over all the noise.
Nathan was taken aback by the question, but immediately realized the significance. “Yes,” he replied, nodding.
“Someone needs to speak with you, sir. If you would both please follow me.”
“Of course,” Nathan agreed. He exchanged glances with Jessica and then followed the usher up the aisle and into the perimeter corridor, where they were met by two gentlemen dressed in the same blue blazers as the usher. These two, however, were both wearing comm-sets.
“What’s this about?” Nathan asked the usher, once they were sheltered in the corridor from the roar of the crowd.
“Someone wishes to speak with you, Mister Tuplo,” one of the men repeated.
“Who?” Jessica asked.
“We do not know,” the man replied. “Arena management has instructed us to escort the two of you to a more private location. That is all we know.”
“Are we in some kind of trouble?” Nathan wondered.
“No, sir. It’s probably some sort of prize. Like an invitation to view the game from the team skybox. The Wolves do that kind of thing a lot.”
“Great!” Nathan exclaimed. He didn’t believe him for a moment; there was only one person who could have asked for Connor Tuplo. “Lead the way, fellas!”
Nathan, Jessica, and the men wove their way through the crowds still making their way into the inner arena. After a few minutes, the men led them to a set of secure doors. One of the men punched in a short code and opened the doors, stepping aside to allow Nathan and Jessica to enter. Once their charges had entered, the men closed the doors, remaining outside.
Another man promptly greeted them. “Mister Tuplo, I presume?”
“Yes,” Nathan replied.
“If you’ll please follow me,” the man said, turning and continuing deeper into the complex. He led them into an elevator that took them up two more levels, opening into yet another service corridor, one bustling with activity. In addition to arena staff, there were a lot more security personnel including men in black suits wearing discrete comm earpieces. Nathan immediately recognized them as NAU presidential security. He looked at Jessica, who also recognized the role of the black-suited men.
The man led them into a large, industrial kitchen also bustling with activity. They made their way across the back of the kitchen and into a locker room, where they were met by a very serious looking young man in similar black attire.
The man who had brought them to this locker room left without another word, leaving Nathan and Jessica alone in the locker room with the young man. Once the door was closed, the young man spoke.
“I am Mister Graves. Miss Scott-Thornton has instructed me to bring you to a private location, so that she may speak with you directly. However, in order to do so, I must ask you both to strip down to your underwear and put on these catering uniforms.”
“Our underwear?” Nathan asked.
“My apologies to you both for the inconvenience,” the young man replied, “but it is necessary for purposes of security.”
“Of course,” Nathan said, unzipping his jacket. He looked at Jessica who was already removing her top, apparently untroubled by the request.
* * *
Vladimir walked up to Robert’s SAR shuttle parked in the back of the hangar at the evacuation complex on Tanna. “Hello?” he called as he approached.
Robert stuck his head out of the side hatch a moment later. “Commander,”
“I am just Vladimir, at the moment,” Vladimir corrected. “There are no ranks aboard the Seiiki. And since technically, I am a deserter…”
Robert chuckled. “As am I.”
Vladimir smiled. “Then I am in good company, I suppose. I was told you were having problems with the output regulator on your shoreline?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Probably because the regulator was designed to control the power levels coming into your ship, not those going out.”
“I wasn’t aware.”
“It is a common mistake,” Vladimir assured him. “May I?”
“Of course.” Robert hopped down out of his shuttle, following Vladimir aft to the reactor bay access panel on his port side.
“It was actually a very clever idea,” Vladimir congratulated him. “Powering this facility with your reactor. You just needed to take a few additional steps, was all.”
“Well, it’s been awhile since I had to do any engineering work on my own,” Robert admitted.
Vladimir tapped his comm-set. “General, this is Vladimir. There will be a momentary interruption in power throughout the building. It will be brief.”
“Understood,” the general replied.
“What do you have to do?” Robert asked as the general’s voice warned everyone on comms of the impending power outage.
Vladimir raised the hatch to the SAR shuttle’s reactor bay, propping it open and turning on the work light inside the bay. “I just need to reverse the polarity of the inline regulator and then make a few adjustments,” he explained as he worked.
“That easy, huh?”
“That easy.” Vladimir reached inside the reactor bay and killed the power switch, plunging the entire facility into relative darkness.
“Can I ask you something?” Robert wondered.
“Of course.”
“How hard was it for you? You know, to leave it all behind? To go AWOL, desert, whatever you want to call it.”
“It was easy,” Vladimir said as he made adjustments to the inline regulator. “My best friend was asking for my help, just like your sister was asking for yours, yes?”
“In a manner of speaking, I suppose.”
“Perhaps it is even easier for you,” Vladimir suggested. “All your family is there, are they not? I mean, you have no ties on Earth?”
“How did you know?”
“I know your type,” Vladimir explained.
“My type?”
“Career man, Captain. You chose to go on long deep space missions, far
from home. You decided long ago that family could wait until retirement. Am I right?”
“Pretty much,” Robert admitted. “I didn’t realize engineers were such good judges of human nature.”
“I cheated,” Vladimir admitted. “Your sister has spoken of you often.” He smiled, then turned the power back on. “All good.”
“Thanks.”
“I trust everything is working properly now?” General Telles asked as he approached.
“There should be no more interruptions,” Vladimir promised.
“Excellent,” General Telles said. “We still have much to do.”
“I thought we just had to wait until Nathan and Jessica returned?” Vladimir said.
“We are teaching as many of my men as possible how to operate the Cobra gunship,” the general explained.
“In two days?” Robert wondered. “Are any of them at least pilots?”
“No. However, they are all intelligent, highly educated men, and it is my understanding that most of the basic flight operations are automated.”
“Yes, but the launch cycle is one of the riskiest operations in a gunship’s service life,” Robert warned.
“Which is precisely why that operation is fully automated. It is my understanding that those gunships could be launched under auto-flight, without a crew.”
“Yes, but that capability is only available in case of crew incapacitation,” Robert insisted. “You need a crew, especially a pilot, in case something goes wrong after departure.”
“I agree,” the general replied. “However, since we will only get one chance at this, it makes sense to try to steal as many ships as possible.”
Robert nodded. “I see your point. But how do you propose to get those gunships back to the Pentaurus sector? I doubt they have a jump series profile for the PC in their database already.”
“Our plan is to jump the ships to a rally point a few light years away from the Tau Ceti system, then have the lead ship, which would be piloted by you, calculate the jump series plot and transmit it to the ships piloted by my men.”