“I’m sure it’s angered Admiral Rameira on my ship, as well. Thank you, Mr. LeMons. Obviously they want to hunt us down and kill us, so there’ll be no witnesses to the massacre. It also means we can’t hope for help in attempting our escape.”
Turning to Eaves she said simply, “We’ll go with your plan. We have to make it happen quickly or we’ll certainly be discovered. Tell us how to proceed.”
“Mr. LeMons and his accomplices have given me the piece needed to complete the puzzle. There’s a small garbage ship launched each evening at twenty hundred hours to take refuse from the palace into an orbit and released. The release position assures that the garbage will be completely burned up as it reenters the atmosphere, providing complete privacy to the Royal Family’s dealings. Because the launch is automatic, I’m hoping we can make it aboard without arousing suspicion. Lieutenant Carter will take manual control if something goes wrong. He’ll be joined by Captain Carling, the LeMons, and four other members of the household staff.”
The LeMons protested. They didn’t want to leave Keswick. Eaves carefully pointed out that since they aided both he and the others, they would be considered traitors to the new government. They had to go or they would be tried for treason.
“Magill will be the navigator on our fighter. We’ll activate our invisibility shield and launch slightly lower than the garbage scow so we can merge our contrails with its. That way we’ll be hidden and available to defend against any enemy fighters that attempt to destroy the scow. We scrounged some missiles from other disabled Kalenden fighters and, once we’re in low space orbit, I’ll activate the “friendly forces” beacon so the Allegro knows who we are. At that point they can use their lasers to beat off any attacks.
“Two wounded men piloting a fighter? Somehow that isn’t reassuring,” said Carling.
“I’ve got great feet, Magill has two good arms. Between us we’ll get the job done.”
Tara studied the flight plan of the scow and remarked, “This really doesn’t bring us very close to either the Allegro or the Princeton. We’ll be exposed for at least a third of the distance. How can we protect ourselves against ground lasers?”
“We managed to find some reflective grape canisters in an abandoned palace armory. If we’re attacked, we’ll scatter enough reflective debris between us and the planet so that they can’t get a clear beam on us. We’ll easily create thousands of reflections, which will confuse their targeting.”
“Okay,” she said. “Sounds pretty convincing. Where’s the risk?”
“I think Lieutenant Carter can best address risk,” said Eaves in a flat voice.
Carter flashed him an irritated glance, but delivered, “The risk is that the rebels may shoot the scow down before we clear the lower atmosphere. While we doubt their sensors are accurate enough to detect life onboard, they may decide that even a drone shouldn’t violate their grounding order. So, if we’re engaged at too low an altitude, Lieutenant Eaves won’t have time to eliminate the opposition.”
“Well, my guess is that we’ll be toast before we reach 30,000 meters,” Tara said, “but frankly I’d rather die in space than be held as a hostage. I guess it’s time to retrieve your fighter.”
It was agreed that Carter and Carling would dress in civilian clothes and proceed upriver in a fishing boat, pretending to be husband and wife. Once they reached the fighter, they’d activate the invisibility shield and float downstream to the Palace Lake, where their accomplices would disable the alarms and open the gate to the garbage bay. Given the time required to get upstream, drift back and get everyone secured inside, it was going to be very, very tight timing.
The LeMons shoved them off and Lieutenant Carter immediately activated the anti-gravity-membrane cell to silently propelled the boat forward at a surprisingly brisk speed. Located below the water line with a horizontal orientation, the cell acted against the water in much the same way as two magnets that repel one another. As they drifted out of sight, they looked like a peasant couple out trying to land a fish or two.
“I know you’re jealous,” said Eaves to Magill. “Carter’s out there with your girl.”
“You know, Travis, sometimes you’re a real jerk.” Magill turned and hobbled towards the ancient dungeon which had been chosen as their hiding place until evening. Glancing up at John LeMons, he said, “Thanks for the crutches. It’s nice not to have to depend on my friends for assistance.”
* * *
“Captain, there’s something odd happening in the lower atmosphere.”
“What is it Lieutenant Wight?”
“It appears that a small ship has started a slow ascent into the atmosphere. It was launched from the palace grounds.”
Jesik’s stomach did a flip-flop. Just thirty minutes earlier he’d spoken with Lansing, who indicated they still hadn’t found the missing Alturians and so wanted an extension of time to maintain a no-fly zone. Jesik said he’d review it when twelve hours were up, which was just forty minutes away. Now this.
“Lieutenant Gentry, can you provide a better idea what kind of ship it is?”
Gentry bent over his view screen, running a search against all known ships of that physical configuration and displacement. He also scanned the ship for signs of life.
“It appears to be a garbage scow, Sir. Probably an automatic launch set for this time each day.”
“Any life onboard?”
“None that I can detect. Of course, rotting organic matter often gives off false readings, so it’s impossible to get a good fix.”
“The flight path is obviously under automatic control, if that helps, Sir.”
“Thank you Ensign Wight. Gentlemen, I can’t say why, but I want to see that this ship makes it into orbit. Inform me immediately if any action is taken against it.”
As his words left his mouth, their sensors indicated that at least two rebel fighters were now heading toward the small ship.
“Mr. Gentry, track those two ships and if it appears they’re going to fire on the drone, blind them with a laser blast.”
Gentry acknowledged the order and made the appropriate plot. Fortunately, the ships simply did a cursory search of the area around the drone, then broke off and left it on its flight path.
“Apparently they’ve decided to let it do its duty, Sir.”
Jesik took his seat and pondered his next conversation with Lansing and Rameira. He’d played tough with Lansing, but with nearly 200 potential hostages on the planet, his flexibility was very limited. His only hope for demanding their release was to threaten the use of his ship’s weapons to cause so much destruction that it wasn’t worth it for the rebels to keep his men. But, if he did that, it was certain that many would be killed. In addition, he didn’t know what the rebels would do to the Alturians. He’d hate to see Rameira forced into battle. That would obligate Jesik to intervene to protect the mines. A full-scale war was still a possibility and things would come to a head in approximately thirty-five minutes.
“Sir!” said Lieutenant Wight urgently.
“What is it, Navigator,” snapped Jesik.
“For just a moment I detected a second exhaust from the drone ship.”
“Are you certain?”
The moment he spoke, Jesik realized how foolish the question was. Wight was always certain about such things.
“Yes Sir, but now it’s consolidated back into a single trail.”
“What do you think caused it, Lieutenant?”
Wight carefully considered his answer. Jesik wished he would hurry, but that would simply reduce the reliability of his response. After punching a number of commands into his console, Wight looked up and said, “I believe there’s a second ship, Sir – probably a fighter.”
“How can that be possible?” asked Gentry, “It’s virtually impossible to fly two ships into the upper atmosphere that close together.”
“Yes, it is, Lieutenant,” said Jesik. “That’s what tells me that Lieutenant Eaves is piloting the fighter. Gentlem
en, go to silent alert and prepare to defend the drone ship from both ground and atmosphere attacks.”
Red lights flashed silently on the bridge and all consoles went to double illumination and maximum tactile responsiveness. During regular operations, the console keyboards were quite stiff, so that a bored or inattentive crewman didn’t accidentally relax and push the wrong button. In battle however, the keypads were sensitively tuned to each operator. That way, commands could be executed instantly.
“Fighters have been launched from the planet’s surface under maximum acceleration.”
“Mr. Gentry, when they clear the lower atmosphere, give each fighter a laser blast strong enough to disorient their pilot and automatic systems.”
“Yes Sir. In approximately thirty seconds.”
Those thirty seconds presented the greatest risk to the escapees. The rebels could take a number of offensive actions too complicated for a space-based ship to counter.
“Williams, contact Rameira and Lansing and tell them the garbage ship is under my protection and they should take no offensive action against it. Do it now!”
Jesik tuned into William’s calls and heard Lansing’s voice go shrill as he shouted an obscenity at Williams. He also heard Rameira reply that the Princeton would assist in the defense of the ship however Allegro requested.
Lieutenant Wight reported, “Ground-based lasers have been fired.” Just as the screen lit up to register the lasers, a thousand targets burst into view.
“What on earth?” asked Brighton.
“Mr. Eaves has apparently launched grape canisters to confuse the laser targeting systems,” Gentry reported. It worked. The laser beams were scattered in a hundred directions, while the two little ships, now clearly separated from one another, continued their labored ascent into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the ground-based fighters were rapidly gaining on them.
“Can you fire on them, yet?” asked Jesik.
Three brilliant beams emanating from the weapons array answered his question. Two of the fighters spun out of control and burned up in the atmosphere. That left five. Unfortunately, the grape was reflecting the Allegro’s beams, as well, which provided the enemy fighters a measure of protection.
“Captain, the Princeton has modified its orbit and is closing range with the drone. Should we alter course to meet them.”
“No, leave them to it. They’re going to attempt a rescue. How long before the drone has cleared the upper atmosphere?” Wight reported that there were two minutes to go.
“Blast it, the fighters will overtake them in forty seconds.”
Jesik bit his lower lip. Then he saw the exhaust trail of Eaves’ fighter as it broke away from the drone, heading straight for the enemy fighters. The enemy launched a number of missiles at Eaves, but he was able to avoid them. At point blank range, he fired five missiles. In a series of explosions, the five rebel ships each took a direct hit. But, Eaves’ ship was so close that it too lost power and began drifting.
“Mr. Wight, see how close you can bring our ship to the planet’s atmosphere without gravity overtaking us.”
Wight immediately took manual control of the Allegro and maneuvered it toward Eaves’ stricken fighter. At least two of the enemy fighters showed signs of life and were powering up to launch another missile. With sixty seconds to go until they could magnetically grapple their fighter, one launched a missile at Eaves. Immediately, even before Jesik could issue an order, a missile streaked out from Allegro. It intercepted the hostile missile a mere ten kilometers from Eaves’ ship, sending Eaves and Magill end-over-end towards the Allegro. Ten seconds later the magnetic grapple captured the fighter and drew it into their docking bay.
“Good work, Mr. Gentry,” said Brighton. “That’s about as tight a shot as possible.”
“I owe it all to you, Mr. Brighton. That’s the corner pocket shot you taught me in pool!”
The crew laughed, which relieved the tension on the bridge.
Jesik looked to learn the status of the drone and saw it had been ingested by the Princeton.
“Admiral Rameira, it appears you’ve taken possession of some very valuable garbage.”
“We’re inspecting it right now, Captain. It appears we’ve recovered our missing Captain and one of your Lieutenants. They’re unharmed.”
“Admiral, I’ve recovered one of our fighters, but I don’t yet know the condition of its occupants. I’ll get back to you in a few moments.”
Jesik turned the bridge over to Brighton and rushed to the nearest transport tube. He arrived at the docking bay just as Lieutenant Eaves and an Alturian were being lifted onto the deck, either unconscious or dead. As he came closer, he saw that the Alturian was really Lieutenant Magill.
“Are they alive?”
The medical officer looked up. “Yes, Sir, they’re alive, just knocked out. But both have been wounded and I have no idea what happened to Lieutenant Magill’s legs and feet. I’ve never seen that kind of damage.” Holding smelling salts under their nose quickly revived them.
“Mr. Eaves, do you ever intend to make a normal entrance on this ship?”
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Eaves said, “I hope so, Captain, I really do.” Then, he added, “Did the garbage scow make it okay? Carter’s onboard.”
“They’re safe on the Princeton.”
Magill sat up slowly and voiced, “Thank God they’re alright!”
“Sorry I can’t give you time to recover, gentlemen, but I’ve got 200 men on the planet now under rebel control. And the rebel Coalition is mad as hell because of your escape. Talk to me on our way to the bridge.” Eaves pushed Magill, in a wheelchair, through the ship. Eaves did his best to explain to Jesik intelligence on the military situation on the planet as Magill filled in details of the political situation.
By the time they reached the bridge, Jesik opened a line to Rameira and asked him to join his conversation with Lansing. Carling and Carter had already briefed Rameira.
“Mr. Lansing, you chose to disobey my instructions and fired on our ships in spite of my warning. Please explain yourself.”
“Explain myself?” Lansing replied indignantly. You violated a planetary grounding order and killed seven of my best fighter pilots. I’m afraid that was an act of war. Your men here are now our prisoners.”
“Before you do that, Mr. Lansing, you should hear from my three subordinates and the Alturian Captain. They were in the room when the Palace Guard murdered the Royal Family and the Alturian advisers.”
“That’s preposterous, Captain. Your people are saying that to cover their own duplicity in the murders. We demand your officers surrender themselves to a planetary military tribunal.”
“You are in no position to make demands, Mr. Lansing. We do not negotiate for hostages and, as you know, we have enough firepower to completely destroy your planetoid. So, you will listen and negotiate with us.”
Other members of the rebel Coalition clamored around Lansing with angry faces
“Captain, we’ve tried to be civil with you and the Alturians. But you will not blackmail us. We have powerful friends outside your two systems and if you attack, we will destroy the orchidite mines. You have no right to interfere with our internal affairs; particularly with no proof of your accusations.”
Jesik paused. He had no proof. While he believed Magill and Eaves, their testimony would not stand up in court. He was trying to decide how much farther he could push his bluff when he heard Lieutenant Carter’s voice come over the speaker.
“Captain Jesik, perhaps I can help.”
The various monitors showed Jesik, Rameira and Lansing turn to this unexpected interruption.
“What is it, Lieutenant?”
“Well, Sir, perhaps you’re aware that I’m enrolled in a Social Studies class through the electronic Academy.”
“A Social Studies class?” asked Jesik in astonished voice.
“Yes, Sir and I have an assignment to write a paper about an alien social system. So,
while I was assigned to the palace, I took it upon myself to interview members of the household staff. To make certain I could recreate the conversations later, I recorded them on a portable video recorder.” He pulled a small device out of his pocket. “As it turns out, this was operating during the attack on the Royal Family. Perhaps it will show everyone what really happened.”
A man next to Lansing shouted that they would not view any contraband videos, but Jesik hit a control that made it impossible for them to break the connection. For the next three minutes, everyone aboard the Allegro, the Princeton and at the rebel Coalition watched as the horror unfolded before their eyes. Carter then skipped ahead to the corridor where Magill gave his explanation of the motives of the rebels in executing the family and the Alturians.
Jesik turned to the monitor and said in an icy voice, “Mr. Lansing, yours has been a cruel and vicious coup d´ e´ tat, laced with nuclear assault and assassination. Perhaps they’re all that way, but this is the first time it’s cost the lives of any of my crew.
Lansing looked completely abashed, struggling with his emotions. He tried to interrupt, “Captain, I had no idea…” but Jesik was in no mood to listen.
“Save it, Mr. Lansing! You’ll have a chance to explain yourself, later. But for now you have no reason to restrain my troops. If you agree to the immediate return of all Kalenden and Alturian troops, we’ll refrain from destroying the buildings in which you now stand. Once our troops are safely onboard, we’ll meet with you aboard the Allegro to talk about the interim government that will take control on Keswick. Do you agree to these terms?”
The men around Lansing looked like trapped animals who wanted to lash out and kill every Kalenden and Alturian they could get their hands on. Nevertheless, Lansing said firmly, “We agree to your terms, Captain. We will guarantee the safety of your troops. Will you provide assurances of our planet’s safety from an Alturian counter-attack?”
Assault on Cambriol: The Manhattan Trials Page 14