The Ares Weapon

by D. M. Pruden

  “We had better go.” I didn’t care if the relief in my voice was obvious.

  I looked at Bogdan and said, “We can talk again, later, if you like.”

  I really hoped he wouldn’t want to take me up on my offer.

  Chapter 35

  Talus Varr arrived at the garden almost an hour after Regis Mundy was informed of his arrival. He didn’t expect his uninvited visitor came to give him good news, so he instructed the escort to bring him by the longest possible route.

  Talus, a fit man for his age, seemed only slightly out of breath and did not try to hide the annoyance written clearly on his face. Mundi remained seated on the stone bench and continued to feed his pigeons which gathered about him and stupidly jostled for the bread crumbs he offered them.

  “So this is how you treat your guests, then?”

  Mundi did not look up. “Guests are invited. You arrived unannounced. I am not presuming you bear any news I want to hear.” He tossed the last of the offering to the pigeons and brushed his hands together.

  “You would be correct. The agreement your man Felix forged for you is terminated.”

  “You no longer wish to prevent the Terrans from obtaining your weapon?”

  “We don’t require your services.”

  “Oh?”

  “Our own agent is about to secure it for us and the deal with you isn’t necessary.”

  “I see.” Mundi fought to keep his temper.

  “However, in light of your relationship with some of the Triumvirate, it has been agreed that you will be compensated for all reasonably incurred expenses. We recognize that your initial efforts to locate the virus have been of assistance.”

  “You are most generous.” Mundi ground his teeth around the words.

  “We will also grant you a small charter for mining transport. Perhaps, with time, you will prove yourself worthy of a Martian citizenship and can expand your business ventures from this foothold.”

  “Once again, your generosity overwhelms me.”

  The two men stared toxically at each other for a long moment. Mundi nodded his head to the armed guard standing at attention a respectful distance behind his visitor. Without a word, Varr turned and left with the escort.

  When he was certain they were gone and could no longer hear, he leapt to his feet and startled the pigeons into panicked flight. He waved his arms in mockery of them and screamed incoherently at the top of his lungs.

  They inserted their own agent into Dunn’s group. The man’s betrayals compounded themselves at every turn. He couldn’t really blame the Triumvirate for using their own resources. He would have done the same. But the fool, Dunn somehow permitted his organization to be penetrated, and that was unforgivable.

  With the virus about to be acquired by their own man, he’d lost the last leverage available to him for regaining his former position on Mars. His long dreams of a triumphant return were now fading nightmares, and it was all the fault of Erik Dunn.

  This changed everything. He would not permit Dunn any chance of escape. Nor would he allow the Triumvirate an opportunity to retrieve their bio-weapon. It was time to reset the game board. It was time to destroy the nano-virus and everybody involved in this project.

  Chapter 36

  The ship approached orbit without incident. The specially constructed Helios could withstand solar prominences and any other close proximity dangers from the sun. It wouldn’t be able to maintain this distance indefinitely, but we were well within the safety margins for our tight swing around to the other side. Once out of visual contact with the pursuing Terran ship, the plan called for a course correction to double back towards Luna under their noses. The Terrans seemed to guess our intentions because they maintained constant acceleration in an effort to catch us before we vanished around the edge of the star.

  The mood on the bridge was understandably tense. Garrick and Limn intently focused all their attention on executing the orbit. Dunn appeared nervous, repeatedly examining the monitors displaying all the shipboard functions.

  I glanced at Hodgson, seated beside me. He surreptitiously removed the palm-sized receiver from his pocket and revealed it to me. He nodded towards Dunn to suggest he was its owner. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me and turned to discover Bogdan also saw what Hodgson showed me. The colour drained from his face and sheen of nervous sweat formed across his forehead.

  I leant back and whispered to him over my shoulder, “Calm down. Everything will be all right.”

  He became more agitated and nervously glanced around in expectation of some imminent doom.

  “I need to check the inertial transfer coils. They were acting up and I don’t want them to fail,” he blurted. He jumped up and rushed off the bridge, ignoring Garrick’s order to remain seated.

  Dunn leaned forward and patted the Captain on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll get him.”

  Garrick nodded his assent. Dunn unbuckled his restraints and pursued Bogdan through the doorway.

  Hodgson and I exchanged looks. Before I said anything, he too unstrapped himself and followed the parade.

  Garrick shouted himself hoarse in his unsuccessful effort to call him back to his seat. His attention was called back to something at the helm and the bridge fell awkwardly silent, except for the hushed discussion between captain and copilot.

  Anxiety filled my mind as I impotently sat like an obedient crewman; the only one on the ship from the look of things. Scenarios of Dunn cutting the power to the lab rushed through my imagination. I envisioned Hodgson and Bogdan both lying in pools of their own blood, shot by Dunn.

  I mentally reviewed how to put on the pressure suit I stored nearby after Hodgson’s warning. I had been dismayed to find mine the last one remaining in the locker, and I started to believe the scenario Hodgson painted for me.

  Gone for over five minutes, no word had come from any of the three who’d left. I couldn’t abide waiting another second for disaster to strike. I unbuckled myself and sprang towards the doorway.

  “Doctor! Remain in your seat! That is an order!”

  I froze in my tracks, held in place, not by his command, but by his tone and a lifetime of conditioning. I stared at Garrick and disgust for him rose in my gut. He may be my commanding officer, true, but he’d shown me nothing but contempt since my arrival.

  For most of my life I’d endured derisive comments and accepted treatment as second-hand garbage, much of it at the hands of scum a lot worse than Garrick. But for some reason, today, I knew I deserved the respect he denied me. Yes, I used to be a whore. I couldn’t change that. I was also once a prominent physician and researcher. Neither of those stations in life had any bearing on my value as a human being. I understood Garrick wasn’t contemptuous of my whoring past. He reviled my personhood, which made all the difference. It spoke more of him than me, and in that moment, I believed Cinderella could stay at the ball because she was worthy in her own right, not because of the fleeting boon of the fairy godmother. Before I mustered the words to tell him where to stick it, the helm warning panel lit up.

  “Report!” he shouted.

  “Another ship has shown up on our long-distance scanners,” said Limn.

  “Where?” He forgot all about me and resumed his place at the pilot station.

  “They are just clearing the solar horizon now.”

  “Identity?” Uncertainty shook Garrick’s voice.

  “We are not receiving a transponder signal. It’s getting scrambled this close to the chromosphere.”

  “What is their heading?”

  Shigeko Limn’s hands flew across the controls. “They appear to be changing trajectory.”

  Both Garrick and I watched as she computed the new ship’s course and position. Sweat beaded on Garrick’s brow. I looked uselessly out the front window, its adaptive graphene molecules having adjusted it to dim the blinding glare outside.

  “What is the delay, Limn? What are they doing?”

  “Give me a moment, Sir
. The sun is interfering with the readings.”

  The solar interference seemed to be affecting most of our systems.

  “Captain. The solar activity might be disrupting the confinement grid around the virus. I should go and check it,” I said.

  Engrossed in Limn’s efforts to track the movements of the mystery vessel, he didn’t seem to hear me. I decided to exploit the opportunity to leave. I also wanted to find Hodgson and warn him about the other ship.

  “Got it!” said Limn. “It has changed its course since we’ve sighted it. They are now on an intercept trajectory with us.”

  “How long?”

  “They have accelerated. We will pass in six hours and eighteen minutes. Oh, and I now have a clearer ping on their transponder. It is encoded. They are Rego Corporation. Military class. The Victorem.”

  The Captain relaxed at the news. “Excellent.”

  “Is it the ship we are expecting?” I asked.

  Garrick started at my question, reminded about my presence. He scowled at me and addressed Limn. “Prepare to send them a coded hail. I’ll supply you with the message when you’re ready.”

  He then got a far-away look in his eye. I suspected he tried to flag Dunn using his CI. He frowned and leaned over the console to activate the comm. “Mister Dunn, please contact the bridge.”

  After several tense seconds, he repeated himself twice more with no reply returned.

  “Mister Hodgson, contact the bridge.” Annoyance tinged his voice.

  With no response, he made the same request of Bogdan with identical results.

  “Solar activity must be affecting those systems as well,” said Limn. “I’m ready to transmit the message, Sir.”

  “We need Mister Dunn,” he said as he rose from his chair. “I’ll get him. Tell the Victorem to stand by.”

  He’d reached the door when she made a panicked announcement, “They have locked on us with a tracking beam.”

  “What?” Garrick returned and examined the readouts for himself.

  “They must think we’re Terran. Explain to them we are Rego Corporation. Send my personal ID code.”

  Corporations all employed military class vessels to secure their own interests against piracy, corporately sanctioned and otherwise. I was concerned Victorem did not seem to be aware who we were.

  “No response. Beam still active.”

  “The solar activity must be scrambling all our communications. Send an old style encoded laser signal with our Rego transponder ID.”

  “That was the first thing I tried,” she replied, frustration in her voice.

  Garrick stared at the console, out of ideas.

  “Sir, they are close enough now to give me a visual on the long scope,” said Limn.

  She studied the image for several long seconds before she looked at us, shock written across her features.

  “Their missile ports are open.”

  Chapter 37

  Victorem orbited Sol exactly where and when the original crew had been instructed. Felix Altius watched Helios rise above the solar horizon on the scope. They entered an orbit opposite of Victorem’s and at an extreme velocity, allowing them to skim the chromosphere much closer than the pursuing Terran vessel. With Helios’ specially shielded hull, they were certainly nearer to the sun than Victorem had the capability to match. That set of facts alone was all the confirmation he needed that Dunn had no intention of meeting with this ship and had made other plans, likely to use their superior orbital velocity to outrun the Terrans and make their final escape.

  What had he offered his crew to entice their complicity? Did they actually believe they would be able to betray the Corpus Rego and live, retelling the tale into their old age? Of course, he may have betrayed them and, if he hadn’t yet killed them, intended to leave them for the Terran Captain to deal with.

  “Sir, we’ve sighted another ship.”

  Felix searched his memory for the young officer’s name. “What is its vector, Bates?”

  After the briefest of pauses, he replied, “It appears to be on an intercept course with Helios.”

  “Time to closest approach?”

  Another pause. “Five hours and forty-seven minutes.”

  “What is the ID of the other vessel?”

  Another voice on the bridge, Chen’s, responded, “No ID beacon, sir.”

  Annoyed, Felix returned to the scope. He enhanced the image as much as possible. It appeared to be Terran military. Definitely armoured, and well armed. That would complicate matters. Had Dunn made arrangements with the Terrans after all?

  “Feed the imaging into the computer. Get me a match.”

  Felix leaned over Bates’ shoulder and whispered, “I want you to compute a firing solution on the Helios. What is our launch window to hit them before they are close enough to rendezvous with the second vessel? We need to be able to fire and then escape should the other ship respond. Assume their armaments are comparable to ours.”

  Bates nodded without looking up and began to work on the task.

  Firing on them would be the last resort. His mission was to recover the nano-virus. There would be no deal with the Martians without it. But if any chance existed Dunn might escape with it, he would become the biggest threat Regis Mundi would ever face. He could sell it to Terra or Luna, or even make an alternate arrangement with Mars and cut his Dominus out completely. Any scenario Felix could imagine gave the traitor far too much power.

  Bates interrupted his musings. “Sir, I have a firing solution. Our window opens up in twenty-one minutes and will remain open for eleven minutes.”

  Felix stared absently ahead, his mind focused on the tactical situation. They couldn’t change course and follow Dunn, even if he slowed and moved to a higher orbit for his rendezvous with the mystery ship. By the time Victorem responded, he would be long gone in either one of them. There were too many variables.

  “Sir,” announced Chen, “I have a ninety percent positive likelihood for the other craft being the Fortuna.”

  That was the first development in all this which made any sense to Felix. Dunn intended to meet with his original ship. At least, there wasn’t a second Terran warship to deal with.

  There remained the complication of the pursuing Athena. Even though Victorem still had the sun between themselves and the Terrans, eventually they would sight each other and an entirely new set of problems would arise. Unmarked, Victorem traveled without a conventional ID beacon. The warship would be compelled to challenge and engage.

  He didn’t really know what the outcome of a shooting contest between them would be. While the corporation’s military ships were designed to be formidable, they were meant to deter pirates, not Terran battlecruisers. Felix was not concerned for his life, or those of his crew. He always knew he would die in the service of his Dominus. What bothered him to distraction were the consequences for Regis Mundi. The fallout of such an encounter would damage Mundi’s interests on Terra for decades to come.

  “Sir, Helios is attempting to contact us,” said Chen. “The signal contains the ID trace for Captain Clive Garrick.”

  “Garrick? Not Dunn?”

  “No, Sir, should I respond?”

  Before he could answer, Felix’s cortical implant pinged, informing him of a pending hail on the Q-radio, coded with Regis Mundi’s ID code. Things must be dire if his master wished to communicate with him a second time. Leaving the young officer waiting, Felix marched to the shielded communications booth at the back of the bridge and sealed himself inside.

  He activated the Q-radio and waited while it established the quantum link with the corresponding machine in his Dominus’ private office. The screen initiated to reveal only the sigil of the Corpus Rego. Mundi’s obsession with privacy extended to all forms of communication. Even though the nearly instantaneous transmission link between the respective quantum receivers was unhackable, Mundi would not risk being personally connected to any communique in this project.

  Felix pushed down
his anxiety. “Omega Prime ready to receive.”

  “Omega Prime, this is Agricola. Mission changed. Ares will not be attending the bacchanal. The guests are too unruly. Rescind their invitations. We will attempt another gathering at a later date. Agricola, out.”

  Felix turned off the receiver and sat back in the chair to contemplate the coded message. Something drastic must have happened in his absence from Mundi. For some reason, the deal with Mars would not go through as negotiated. They would try another day, and all that remained was to put things to bed.

  He exited the booth and moved to the centre of the bridge, all eyes attentive to him, awaiting his orders.

  “Mister Bates, at the earliest opportunity, lock weapons on both ships and launch missiles.”

  Chapter 38

  “What do you mean?” The question came from Garrick.

  “They’ve targeted us and opened their missile doors,” repeated Limn.

  “Repeat the hail. Send Dunn’s ID flag.”

  She did as ordered and returned her attention to the long range scope. “Oh my god!” She stared into the instrument like she couldn’t believe what her eyes told her.

  “What is happening Shigeko?”

  She lifted her gaze from the scanner, defeat written across her face. “They launched their missiles.”

  “They did what?” Garrick leapt from his seat and pushed Limn away from the scope. “Why would they do this?”

  “Well, they clearly don’t like you or Dunn,” I said. He continued to stare at the image as if he hoped to verify he’d made some kind of mistake.

  “Garrick! Are you not going to do something?” I shouted.

  “What?” He stared at me, confused. He snapped back to himself. “Yes. Limn, give me options. Time to impact.”

  Shocked into action, Shigeko sat down and her hands played across the console. We waited for what felt like far too long. Even though the quantum computer crunched numbers faster than I could imagine, the answer took a lot longer than I had the patience for.