“Do you see?” Uazik said, her voice exultant. “We beat them! We destroyed the Species X ship! We did it!”
“Preparing to launch shuttles to retrieve debris from the enemy ship,” Rbemfel said.
“No,” Aahliss said. “That’s not necessary.”
“Excuse me?” Mehta said. “We need to get as much information as we can about them. This debris will give us valuable—”
“You’re no longer in command,” Aahliss said.
“What?”
“I have the authority from the council to relieve you.”
Mehta’s mind jammed. What was going on? More importantly, what was she supposed to say in response? “Not, not because I was successful,” she finally managed.
“You have given us the tactic we requested,” Aahliss said. “We thank you for that. But now, the experiment is over. You and your crew will be returned to Earth.”
Mehta shook her head. “You don’t understand. We’re not finished here. There are a whole bunch of things left to be done.”
“We can do all of them quite ably, without your assistance,” Aahliss said. She motioned to two men standing behind her. “Escort Colonel Mehta and her crew to the shuttle hangar.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“You’re making a mistake,” Mehta said as Aahliss’s security men approached her. And Mehta’s own security, having been briefed that Aahliss had the authority to relieve her, had stepped back.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us,” Aahliss said. “You have saved the Protectorate, and we shall ensure that your planet remains unmolested.”
“You’re going to get everyone killed,” Mehta said. “As soon as Species X figures out your tactic, they’ll develop countermeasures. You can’t stop with just one tactic.”
Aahliss smiled serenely. “Then we’ll come up with another, I’m sure.”
“You need to leave now,” Fmedg said. “Your over-emotional reaction is making us uncomfortable.”
“You should be uncomfortable,” Mehta said. “You know this is a mistake.”
“Please leave.”
Mehta looked at him, then cocked her head. “Do you have a consensus on this decision?”
“There were some who disagreed, but none who said they would stand in our way.”
“I wasn’t consulted,” Trel said. “And I object to this action.”
Fmedg frowned. “A consensus was reached within our group. We didn’t take a ship-wide vote.”
“There is no way you can dissuade us,” Aahliss said. “We are very firm in this decision.”
“Fine,” Trel said. “They’ll need a shuttle pilot. I’m going with them.”
“As you wish.”
“I’m going, too,” Opash said.
“Opash,” Aahliss said, “you’re throwing away a great opportunity.” Aahliss put out her hands, palms up. “I was planning to nominate you to the Council.”
Opash scoffed, then headed toward the door. “I’m going to pack my things. I’ll meet you in the shuttle hangar.”
Mehta looked at Ramirez and Hiranaka, who shrugged. Evidently, no one else could think of a convincing argument, either.
“Very well,” she said. “We’ll each go to our rooms, pack up our things and report to the shuttle hangar.” She looked at Mlendish. “Contact Colonel Davis and give him the message.”
“Right.”
“Thank you for your cooperation,” Aahliss said.
“Bite me.” That got a confused look from the counselor and a snicker from the other humans. At least she had been able to relieve some tension.
Mehta had little to pack, so her visit to her quarters was quick. When, she arrived at the shuttle hangar, Aahliss stood with her fists on her hips. That, Mehta mused, was a universal posture of anger.
Everyone else had already arrived, and one of Aahliss’s enforcers went around collecting datapads and interfaces from each of her crew. Once he’d retrieved all of their Mralan technology, Mehta sighed.
“Let’s load up,” she said.
“You forget,” Aahliss said. “You’re not in charge any longer.”
“But...” What the hell was the problem now?
Aahliss turned to Ramirez, her hand out, palm up. “Give me the diagrams you stole.”
Diagrams? Damn, he had taken some initiative. Too bad it was going to count for nothing.
Ramirez shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Bless him. He may not succeed, but he would give it a shot.
“It’s useless to lie to a Mralan,” she said in a condescending tone. “We can sense your attempt to deceive.”
His frown deepened, and then he said, “All right.” With that, he reached down to his duffel and unfastened the clip, then pulled out a datapad, and handed it to Aahliss.
Aahliss took the datapad and looked at it for a second, then handed it off to one of her security men. “Now, give me the one in your pocket,” she said.
Damn.
“I don’t have anything in my pocket.”
“We do have laws,” Aahliss snapped, “and theft is a serious offense. Theft of technology is worse than murder. Do you understand, or do I need to describe it in painful detail?”
Ramirez looked at Mehta. If she had thought he could get away with it, Mehta would have asked him to continue to deny, but since the Mralans already knew where the contraband was hidden, there was no way to save it, and no point in sacrificing a good man for nothing. “Give it to her,” she said with a sigh.
Ramirez’s expression turned dark as he reached into his pocket and retrieved the datapad, handing it to Aahliss.
“You may go into the shuttle now,” she said. She waved a hand at Hiranaka and Davis. “And you, as well.”
Then she turned to Opash. “You seem to have nothing to hide. You may enter, too.”
As Opash walked into the shuttle, Aahliss turned a stony face to Trel. “You have transferred your loyalties. You value the humans more than your own people.”
“That’s not true,” Trel said. “They’ve given us good advice, and you’re throwing away everything we’ve learned.”
“We cannot function the way they do,” Aahliss said. “It’s not our nature.”
“That excuse won’t save you next time you meet Species X,” Trel said. “I think I want to work with people who know how to stay alive.”
Aahliss chuckled. “That certainly sounds credible, but I know what the real genesis of your decision is.” She gave Mehta a pointed look, then returned her attention to Trel.
“For you, the crime of attempting to smuggle technology to a less developed planet is unforgivable.” She held out her hand. “Give it to me.”
Mehta sucked in a quick breath. This was unexpected. Any doubts she’d ever had about his loyalty evaporated like mist in a blast furnace. He was... he was just what she needed. Forty-seven percent be damned.
“You’ve got to let them have this,” Trel insisted. “They’re going to need to be able to defend themselves!”
“They will have our protection,” Aahliss said.
“The Protectorate is about to be destroyed! Your ‘protection’ is going to be worthless.”
“If you don’t hand it over now, we will forcibly remove it from you.”
He frowned, then took a datapad from his pocket.
“I should have you thrown into prison,” Aahliss said as she snatched the pad from his fingers. “But, we need a shuttle pilot, and there’s no point sending someone we could actually use here on the ship.”
“Can I just get on the shuttle?”
Mehta turned back to look at Fmedg. She had to give it one last shot. “Do you remember what grounds I said you could relieve me on?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it seems like Aahliss is enjoying her new-found power too much.”
“You don’t understand,” Fmedg said.
“I understand plenty,” Mehta said. “You no longer have a consensu
s. There are lots of people who think we should stay.”
“They’ll come around.”
She looked at everyone who remained in the shuttle hangar and couldn’t find a friendly face among them. So be it, then. She did an about face and climbed into the shuttle. Then she stopped and turned around. “What if we get attacked on the way there?”
“You’re not much of a target,” Aahliss said. “I wouldn’t worry.”
“I would,” Mehta said. “The Pelmians or the Dakh Hhargash could easily try to capture us. And these shuttles don’t have weapons.”
“Why would they attack you?”
“Why do they attack anyone? Can you tell me what they want?”
“No. But I don’t think it matters.”
“You can’t send us out there defenseless. That would be criminal.”
Aahliss stared at her, motionless. “We can’t install weapons. You know the engines won’t support it.”
“Then give us some small arms,” Mehta said.
After a moment of hesitation, Aahliss nodded to one of her enforcers. “Get them six personal weapons. But make certain they’re not ready to fire.”
Mehta smiled. Aahliss obviously thought Mehta would shoot her right then and there. Well, it was a real temptation.
“One more thing you need to know,” Aahliss said.
Mehta stiffened, watching as the enforcers loaded a set of hand blasters into the shuttle. “What now?”
“This is, of course, our one shuttle that can go into Netherspace. Otherwise, it would take millennia to reach Earth.”
“Very kind of you,” Mehta said, hoping Aahliss caught the sarcasm.
“Of course, that means it has the technology your people want.”
Mehta held her breath and tried not to feel the surge of excitement that realization brought. If their scientists could reverse-engineer it...
“Naturally, your people will be tempted to take it apart. We cannot allow that.”
Mehta looked inside the craft. “There’s no one to fly it back after you drop us off.”
“We thought about putting such a person on the ship with you, but there was too much danger you would stop him before he could leave Earth with the shuttle. So, we developed another plan.”
Mehta’s fingers tightened around the door opening.
“Once you land on Earth, you have fifteen minutes to get as far away from the craft as possible. When the programmed time has passed, the ship will self-destruct.”
“Shit,” Mehta whispered.
“For that reason, you should land in a secluded location. The explosion will affect an area with a radius of a quarter mile. You wouldn’t want to destroy a lot of structures or have to evacuate a lot of people.”
“Quarter mile radius,” she repeated. “Half a mile diameter.”
“You’d best have someone meet you with one of your land vehicles, just to be certain you can get far enough away before the explosion.”
Mehta had heard just about enough. She jerked the ear prostheses off and threw them on the floor, then slammed her fist against the door close button. “Let’s get out of here.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
It was a cramped shuttle, surprising since it could slip into Netherspace. All one room, with a small bathroom and maintenance access in the back, it was obviously intended for short duration flights. She hoped the air processors were up to the task.
Trel and Opash sat in the cockpit, the colors of Netherspace swirling around them, while the four humans sat on chairs lining the walls, facing each other.
“What’s your plan now?” Trel said over his shoulder. There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm or mocking in his voice. He just seemed to think she would have one.
“Let’s have Opash and Hiranaka trade places,” Mehta said. “Give her some training in flying these things.”
Hiranaka’s eyes lit up.
“What for?” Trel said as Opash stood and gave her seat to the human woman.
“Well, we’ve taught you guys a lot. It’s only fair for you to teach us.”
Trel frowned. “There’s more to your plan than that.”
“You can tell, huh?”
“It makes sense,” Trel said. “There’d be no reason to train a pilot if you didn’t think you could come up with the technology. And besides, you’re not the type to give up so easily.”
“You didn’t read my mind?” As much as she liked him, she didn’t want him poking around in her head.
“I just sensed a strong determination.”
“Oh.” Well, that was better. Still, a heavy weight pressed on her. What she had in mind was dangerous at best, unthinkable at worst.
She needed to come up with something else. Only as a last resort would she tell them her current idea.
“Does this thing come with any maintenance diagrams?” she asked. “Any computer files that would give us an idea?”
“Checking,” Trel said as he ran his fingers over the controls. A moment passed, and Mehta held her breath. “Nothing,” Trel said finally. “The computer has been wiped clean of all references to technology.”
“Damn.”
“I give them credit for being thorough,” Ramirez said. He sat across from her, head bowed, eyes gazing at the floor, face sagging.
“I saw some of the diagrams,” Hiranaka said. “And instructions. I know I can remember some of it.”
“What can we do?” Davis asked.
Mehta leaned forward. “We could try to reverse engineer the shuttle before we’ve landed it. Does anyone here have the expertise to do that?” She nudged Ramirez.
He shook his head. “Hiranaka’s the engineer in this crew.”
“I studied engineering, but I’ve never worked in the field,” Hiranaka said.
“What about the Space Station?” Ramirez said. “I’ll bet there are engineers up there. Maybe we can dock there and take one onto the shuttle.”
Hiranaka shook her head. “You can’t reverse engineer something without taking it apart.”
“Then we can all go aboard the space station,” Davis said. “We wait there while they do their thing.”
“And who’s to say it won’t explode on them while they try to take it apart?” Trel said.
“It’s worse than that,” Opash said. She sat beside Ramirez, forearms resting on her thighs.
“How so?” Davis said.
“There’ll be a ship patrolling the sector. They’ll periodically swing by the planet, close enough to see what’s going on. If they see the shuttle docked at your space station, they’ll report it, and they may be told to blow it up.”
“Damn.”
“That would get more people killed than just us,” Ramirez said.
Mehta nodded. “Okay. We haven’t eliminated the idea, but we don’t know how to do it. So, let’s move on. What other ideas are there?”
Another moment of silence passed. Damn, she hated the acoustic voids.
“Is there any way we can find the self-destruct command, and disable it?” Hiranaka asked.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Mehta said.
“They’ll have it well hidden,” Trel said as he tapped on his console.
“It might not even be where we can access it,” Ramirez said. “If I was going to create something like that, I’d put the bomb in a place we can’t reach from inside the shuttle, and I’d rig the detonator to a gravity detector. There’d be no self-destruct commands in the computer, or anywhere else we could get to them.”
Trel pulled his hands off the console. “If that’s true, what can we do?”
“You have a diagram of the shuttle?” Ramirez said.
“Here.” Trel stood and gestured for Ramirez to move into his spot.
Ramirez jumped up and quickly slipped into the seat.
“Okay, what else can we come up with?” Mehta said.
“What about contacting another alien race and asking them for technology?” Davis said.
“You mean like the
Pelmians?” Opash said with a short laugh. “They wouldn’t want to sell you anything, because then you could defend yourselves against them.”
Mehta sat back and let out a long breath. “There could be ways to convince them.”
“Hell,” Davis said, “we could lie to them if we needed to.”
“They’re not empathic, are they?” Mehta asked.
“I don’t think so,” Opash said.
“Then there’s a shot,” Davis said. “All we gotta do is come up with something they want that we’re willing to part with.”
“Who else is there we could deal with?” Mehta said, looking directly at Opash.
In the cockpit, Ramirez shook his head. “I knew we should have been analyzing data on all the species, not just Species X.”
“You were doing what you’d been ordered to do,” Mehta said.
“There are a few others,” Opash said.
“Yeah,” Davis said. “The Rajeen. And they just want to conquer.”
“We could say we want to create an alliance,” Mehta said. “We want to partner with them, help them conquer.”
“Would you do that?” Opash asked. “Go out and conquer?”
“No,” Mehta said. “It’d be another lie.”
“You can just lie to anyone, can’t you?”
“Yeah,” Davis said, “we have a whole segment of our planning process devoted to the lies we need to tell.”
“Really?” Trel said, looking at Mehta. “You plan your lies?”
“It’s called military deception, and yes, just as we don’t want the enemy to know what we’re doing, we also want him to think we’re doing something completely different. It can give us a great advantage.”
Trel leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “The things you do are so unexpected.”
“Yes,” Mehta said. “And the next idea I propose is going to be even more so.”
“What idea?” Davis said. He looked at her like he expected it to be a good idea. Mehta wasn’t certain.
“Well, let’s review what we have so far. We’ve talked about a trade with the Pelmians or the Rajeen, but that’s going to run into the same problem we had with the space station idea. The Mralans are going to spot us, and they’re going to swoop in and stop us before we can get anything negotiated.”
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