He Who Dares: Book Three

by Rob Buckman

  “I’m not privy to those orders, sir, so I cannot comment on them.”

  “Yes, I understand that. However, usually the situation is the other way round in that a junior officer is placed under the command of his senior.” He paused for a moment, as if to choose his words carefully. The unstated part of his comment was, older and wiser, but he was too polite to say it. “Nowhere in those orders is there an explanation of why this should be.”

  “I see.”

  “So, the question is, can you explain it?”

  “No sir...” Mike paused in thought. “Actually, I can explain your orders, but not until we reach Christchurch.”

  “Why Christchurch, if I may ask?”

  “It’s to do with operational security, sir.” After a moment’s thought, the Commander nodded.

  “And, I assume you can’t tell me anything about your odd looking ship either or why your IFF transponder signal is registering you as MS Hemlock.”

  “That is correct, sir.” The Commander took a deep breath and pursed his lips.

  “Then, all I can say is, your explanation had better be a damned good one.” With that, he saluted Mike again and turned on his heels to march away. Mike breathed a sigh of relief, thankful the commander hadn’t pressed him. As the commander walked away the port captain walked up.

  “From the look of it, there goes a very unhappy man.”

  “Yes, he’s a bit peeved I couldn’t explain the situation to him.”

  “You haven’t really explained the situation to me either, other than we, or I should say, the rest of human space is at war.” Mike gave him a sad smile.

  “You can include Avalon as well.”

  “Figured that. No way can we stand in the sidelines anymore.”

  “It’s going to get worse before this is over.”

  “So, what now?”

  “How soon are you going to get any pilots?”

  “Have some coming in today with any luck.”

  “Good. I’ll need three right away. I have to get my three freighters to Avalon as soon as possible.”

  “Three? You mean four, don’t you?”

  “Why four?”

  “Well, one for each freighter and one for your ship, assuming you are going to take her over… wait, you said Avalon. No way. You know the rules as well as I do.”

  “These three ships are an exception, and no I don’t need a pilot. I’ll take my ship through myself.”

  “You? How can you… wait? You’re Rift certified?” He asked, looking astonished.

  “That I am, Captain, that I am.” He laughed.

  “I might have known it seeing you are one of the family.” For once, Mike felt proud hearing that.

  “Boy, are you going to be doing a lot of explaining to your grandfather and a certain Mr. Anderson.”

  “It won’t be the first time.” He laughed.

  As promised, a dispatch boat arrived from Avalon space with six pilots and Mike used his authority to order them to take the three freighters directly to Avalon. After a short argument they gave in recognizing that as a Tregallion, he did have the authority to change their orders. The next twelve hours went by in a blur as shuttles ferried the crews from their ships to the Orion Dawn after landing them on the shallow sea outside Winchester harbor. Not that Mike saw them lining up in an orderly row along the hardpan or the unhappy faces of the departing crews. Sooner than expected he received a comm message from Captain MacManus that he was ready to depart. Mike had Cooper page the pilots of the three freighters to confirm they were ready, receiving confirmation as Conner took the Hemlock to the head of the convoy.

  “Head for solar north, Conner. I’ll take over for the actual jump.”

  “Better you than me, Skipper. That place gives me the willies just looking at it.”

  Even the short distance into the Rift was intimidating, as the roiling mass of proto stars, dust, comet fragments, gas, and radiation made ordinary navigation virtually impossible. Normally a freighter would take on a Rift-certified Avalon pilot/helmsman as the three freighters had done to take the ship through the Rift to Christchurch never Avalon itself. Christchurch was the trading centre, and fully under the watchful eyes of Avalon security. To get to Avalon itself required another short jump, but few ships were ever given permission to make it. With no beacon and one of several viable stars within a five light year radius, Avalon could be any one of them

  “All sensors off and shut down all external screens, Jan,” Mike ordered as he took the VR helmet and slipped it over his head. This time Conner let Cindy Loftland sit in the second helmsman seat.

  “You’re going to love this, Cindy.” Conner gave her a shark-like grin.

  “Why do I get the funny feeling I’m not going to love this?”

  “Orders, Skipper?” She asked.

  “Just observe, Cindy,” Mike answered cryptically.

  “All sensors shut down, and all external screens off, sir,” Jan reported.

  “Good. Let’s get this show on the road. Sit down and strap in.”

  * * * * * *

  From Cindy’s perspective under her VR helmet, the trip inward was akin to a roller-coaster ride. It wasn’t long before she started wondering if she had the skill to pilot the ship through the Rift as her captain clearly had. The Rift was simply a minefield from the moment they jumped through the warp point inside a dust and gas cloud and entered the Rift itself. She marveled at Mike’s skill at the helm as he deftly negotiated his way through or around the massive gravity shears from collapsing dust clouds that one day would be new stars and planets. The density of debris inside the Rift made an asteroid belt or Oort cloud look positivity thin by comparison yet Mike micro jumped his way between all the hazards with a degree of skill she had rarely seen except in fighter pilots. Without knowing where the beacons were, or what to look for within the swirling dust cloud and radiation, it was virtually impossible for a ship to pass through the Rift. After three grueling hours and one last micro jump, they exited out the other side of the Rift into clear space. Cindy felt completely exhausted from just watching, so God only knew how her captain felt. Mike used reverse thrust to bring the Hemlock to a stop and sat back with a deep sigh as he pulled the VR helmet off. The moment he did, Cindy handed him a towel. Mike wiped the sweat off, nodding his thanks.

  “It’s no wonder no one ever gets to the other side without a pilot.”

  “True, Cindy, and also the reason why shipping companies are so eager to get to Christchurch and trade from what the Free Traders bring back.

  “Christchurch traffic control is paging us, and wants to know who we are,” Cooper reported.

  “Just send ALPHA-ALPHA-ALPHA-King Three.”

  “Are they magic words to open all doors, like open sesame from Aladdin and the forty thieves?” Cooper chuckled as Mike moved back to the captain’s chair.

  “Mr. Standish-Owen, do I hear someone likening the people of Avalon and Christchurch to the forty thieves?”

  “It would appear so, Captain Gray. Very disrespectful. Mayhaps we should keelhaul the said individual.”

  “I never did!” Cooper blurted out in her defense, turning bright red. The rest of the bridge crew broke into laughter. It helped break the tension of the jump through the Rift, as Conner had obviously told the crew the story about their last passage.

  “What now, Skipper?” Pete asked.

  “I suppose I’d better go down and face the music, Pete.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Worse. I broke several major rules and a certain security chief is going to have my guts for garters.”

  Pete winced. “Better you than me, Skipper.”

  * * * * * *

  “Before you start with the uncle Andy bit. I have to tell you I’m a little upset with the stunt you just pulled,” was the first thing his uncle said, “if you think just because you are a member of the Tregallion family, that gives you the right to violate Avalon’s rules and regulations, it doesn’t!” He sn
apped. In respect, Mike stood at attention, his cap under his left arm.

  “No, sir. You are right.”

  “Damn right I am. You send three uninspected ships directly to Avalon and bring god knows how many Sirrien spies right to our damn doorstep. What in god’s name do you think you were doing?” Unlike some, Andy Anderson didn’t raise his voice. Even so, Mike had some idea just how pissed off he was.

  “I was ordered to bring them to Avalon…” He started to say.

  “Ordered! Ordered by whom?” Andy shot back, glaring at his nephew, outraged that someone would dare violate Avalon’s security.

  “The King.” Mike answered simply.

  “I see. And what is so bloody important that it had to go straight to Avalon?”

  “That you will have to ask Mr. Cromwell. I was never told.”

  “Cromwell… isn’t he, or wasn’t he the King’s private secretary? I thought he was dead.”

  “Yes and no. Apparently his death was faked and he was under orders from the King to load and bring those three freighters to Avalon. I was tasked with escorting them and ensuring they arrived safely.” Even as he said it, he could see the wheels turning in Andy Anderson’s head.

  “Oh, for god’s sake sit down and relax! You’re giving me a stiff neck just looking up at you like that. Mike breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. The ass reaming was over, at least for the moment. He took a seat and placed his cap on the desk. As a salve, Andy poured two mugs of coffee, bringing one to Mike. Once he’d heard the rest of his report, the ass reaming might just start up again, but at least he’d be sitting, and would have a chance to defend himself. Trying to serve two masters at the same time was getting a little trying.

  “I only have sketchy reports from Ambassador MacTavish, and by now they are probably out of date.”

  “They will at least give you some background to my report.”

  “Now that the Sirriens have gone on the warpath, we don’t have to pretend to be friendly with them anymore.”

  “True. They have taken out the Confederate and United States main battle fleets and probably a few others we haven’t heard from yet so the gloves have come off and we can legally shoot them up if they come calling here.”

  “Don’t see how, unless they’ve found a way across or around the Rift.”

  “That’s always a possibility, but I was thinking of us taking the war to them.” Even as he said it, Andy was shaking his head.

  “Unless they declare war on Avalon or take action against our shipping, we can’t exactly go out hunting them, at least not yet.”

  “True, but I can.”

  “You? How so?”

  In answer, Mike handed him the cream-colored envelope embossed with the royal crest. Andy cocked an eyebrow at him as he accepted the letter but said nothing until after he’d read it. Andy was a past master at poker, and nothing showed on his face.

  “And how do you intend carrying out these… um… orders?”

  “Using the King Class ships Avalon is building to start.”

  “Now the light dawns on why you insisted on brining all those crews to Christchurch. You need them to crew those ships.”

  Mike gave him a tight smile. “Right. I need you to vet them and weed out any ringers, dead beats, or suspicious types. Once that’s done I need to start breaking them down into crews and training them.”

  Andy Anderson pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just like that huh. I’m supposed to stop what I’m doing and vet thirty-five hundred odd men and women, build simulators and train them to crew your ships. All so you can take the war to the Sirriens, who I might add, we are not at war with.”

  Mike nodded. “Yes, that about sums it up in the nutshell.”

  Andy looked up at the ceiling, as if pleading with god and shook his head. “And I was under the misconception that dealing with Gordon Tregallion was difficult.”

  “Gordon difficult? Do tell.”

  “You know your grandfather and Max are going to have a fit over this, don’t you.”

  “Whether we like it or not, Avalon is going to get sucked into this war. It would be better if we took the initiative and took the war to them. Besides that I have an ace up my sleeve the Sirriens don’t know about or have any way of countering.”

  “And what magic charm do you have they can’t counter?”

  “Um… well… it’s a little difficult to explain. I can take any number of ships through Harmony space, any time I want.”

  Andy Anderson froze and sat staring at him. “Now I know you have gone crazy. No one, and I mean no one, can enter Harmony space and survive, so you’d better explain how you are going to do that,” he said after a moment.

  Mike sat back and smiled. “Hold on to your hat while I tell you a story.”

  Mike did, starting with his first aborted mission and rescuing a certain King’s Messenger and a mysterious cylinder, then the meeting of the phantom ship in nth space and how he and his crew had saved the life of the queen. If he hadn’t seen it himself he would never have believed it as he saw Andy Anderson’s jaw drop. He concluded the story of how he got the cylinder back and how it had emitted a signal just before they’d entered Harmony space, and what happened after. For several minutes after he concluded the story, Andy just sat there looking at him.

  “If I didn’t know who you are or that you are a very level headed young man not given to telling tall tales, I would call you a liar.” He said at last. “That has to be the tallest tale I have heard in many a long year.”

  “Sometimes I have trouble believing it myself. You want to try TD-Penter on me to see if I’m telling the truth?” Andrew eyed him for a moment, as if actually contemplating doing just that.

  “So you actually believe you can enter Harmony space and go wherever you please without let or hindrance?”

  “That’s what their queen told me. Now that I have her DNA, and she has mine, I’m some sort of prince now.”

  “Better you than me putting that to the test, but I’m not sure I like the idea of you having her DNA inside you. You’d better have the geneticists on Avalon check you over as soon as you get there.”

  “Believe me, I will. If what she said is true, we can strike at the Sirriens from a direction they’ll never suspect, and it gives us a safe avenue of retreat to a forward operating base on this side of the Rift.”

  “True and they could never send in a fleet after you for fear of it getting annihilated.”

  “Yes, they’ve already lost one fleet that jumped in after us. It wasn’t a pretty sight.” Mike shivered slightly thinking about it.

  “A lesson learned, I’ll wager.”

  “One of the things I have to do is find a suitable star system to operate from.”

  “That I can help you with. I know of several good candidates. The only restriction I can see is that you have to be with every group of ships that passes through Harmony space.”

  “That’s true from what the queen told me.”

  Andy held up the Letter of Marque and waved it. “This gives you the authority to do anything you want, but it also means that your operation has to be independent of Avalon. Like the King, it gives him and us plausible deniability.”

  “Resupply, crew turnover, R and R, replacement ships are just a few of the headaches I’ll have to work out.”

  “Don’t try to do it all yourself. Delegate and let people who are good at that sort of thing run that for you.”

  Mike cocked an eyebrow. “How so?”

  “Mike, the one thing you are great at is field command or independent action, as the Navy types like to say. Don’t get bogged down in the administration and paperwork aspect of this.” He held up the letter again. I’m betting there are a host of people among those you brought with you that can run all of those things you mentioned in the background, and let you get on with what you do best.

  “Now you that you mention it there is this Commander Hancock. He is, or was, the commanding officer of a Royal Naval res
upply depot.”

  “So, get him and put him in charge of getting your base logistics sorted out.”

  “First, you better let me know where I’m going to be operating out of.”

  “Later. You need to get to Avalon and hash this out with Gordon and Max. I’m sure they will let you know if this is doable.”

  “Not a pleasant thought. What if they kill the whole deal?”

  Again, Andy waved the letter. “This is all the authority you need. We’ll keep on building your ships, you find nice out-of-the way star systems to operate out of, and we’ll work out the resupply problem.”

  “You make it all sound so easy, Uncle Andy.”

  “Far from it. To start, this is going to be what the German’s used to call a giant kluster fucken.” He laughed.

  With that, he went off to meet with the ships’ crews as they were ferried down from the Orion Dawn. Thankfully, there was plenty of housing on the sprawling base to billet everyone, and set as it was on the southern continent, there was little danger of anyone wandering off and getting lost. It still took two days to get everyone reasonably settled, but while that was going on, Mike had his second meeting with Commander Hancock in his makeshift office. There was the usual awkwardness about salutes and protocol that Mike knew he had to get past as quickly as possible. He needed to know if he could work with this man or needed to find someone else.

  “Please have a seat, Commander, and let’s get down to business, shall we?” Again the awkwardness of a junior officer addressing a senior one. Commander Hancock eyed him a moment as he took his cap off and took a seat, maybe feeling he should be on the other side of the desk asking his junior to sit.

  “Now that we are, I assume, in Avalon space, you can tell me what’s going on.”

  “That’s true, Commander, but first I’d like you to examine and read this letter.” Mike handed him the cream-colored, embossed envelope.

  As requested the commander did examine the envelope first, frowning when he saw the royal seal on the back flap. Pulling the parchment out, he slowly read the contents of the letter, his frown deepening. At last, he sat back and blew out his cheeks.