He Who Dares: Book Two (The Gray Chronicals 2)

by Rob Buckman

  “This is Captain Andrews, and we have received your clearance, Nemesis.” Even so, Mike could hear the puzzlement in his voice. As far as Captain Andrews knew, no one outside of Avalon could negotiate the Rift without a pilot.

  “Thank you Captain. Conner, head for the North WP, and take us through.”

  “Aye-aye, Sir.”

  At last, they dropped out of nth space after a short, one day jump into Avalon space itself.

  “Wow! There seems to be a lot of asteroids floating about the warp point, Skipper, don’t you people believe in keeping your shipping lanes clear?”

  “Yes, we do, but it also keeps ships from wandering about where they shouldn’t be wandering around, if you get my meaning.”

  “As clear as a bell, sir.”

  “Where to, Skipper?”

  “Second star on the left and straight on till morning, Conner.”

  “What? I mean, pardon, sir?” He asked, turning in her seat to look over his broad shoulder.

  “Nothing, Chief, just something I read once. The third planet from the sun, Conner.”

  “That should be second star on the right, and straight on till morning, Conner.” Conner turned in his seat and looked at the XO seeing him grinning.

  “Aye-aye, sir, any speed limit?”

  “None that I know of, so the sooner we get there the sooner everyone can get some shore leave.” Conner rang for full ahead, and started eating up the miles on his spiraling decent down the gravity well to the third planet.

  “I still say it’s the second star on the left, Pete.”

  “Humm, you could be right. I’ll have to look it up. Been a while since I read Pete Pan.” He mused. “They looked a bit trigger happy, Skipper. Their weapon systems were all on line, and they weren’t joking.”

  “The Sirriens have a bad habit of poking their long pointy noses into the Rift once in a while to see what’s going on.”

  “I take they aren’t welcome.”

  “Not in the least. Had I not identified ourselves very quickly, they would have started shooting, and called for backup.”

  “I suspect that’s not far away.” Mike just smiled and said nothing. Pete nodded in understanding.

  Janice had already set an elliptical course to meet the third planet as it came round the sun and sent it to the helm, and Mike got his first look at home in more than six years. It still looked as beautiful as ever, sparkling blue/white, much like Earth looks from space. The twin moons, Lancelot, and Merlin weren’t in view yet, but in his mind’s eye, he could see them. Avalon B, the fourth planet of the system was behind the sun now, but he hoped the crew would get a chance to visit. Avalon was slightly larger than Earth, at a mass of 1.33 and a diameter of 1.53. That meant that its gravity was point three more than Earth. Unbeknownst to the crew, he ordered Adam to increasing the pseudo gravely on board slightly each week, and by now, the crew had become acclimatized. There were a few complaints at first, such as feeling tired, or joins and muscle aches, but the medic had taken care of those with some shots. The crew would thank him later, if he hadn’t, they’d all be flat on their backs the moment they stepped ashore without Ag belts.

  Traffic in the system was light, compared to Earth, but they did see several large cargo ships depart. These were ‘Free Traders’ ships, but Mike liked to think of them as armed Merchantman, half warship, and half freighter. Most of them did the rim run, supplying and servicing the outer colonies with food, medical supplies equipment, and mail. In exchange, they brought back many exotic items, such as wine, furs, precious metals, and spices. In many ways, they imitated the old clipper ships of Earth, except they were armed, fast, tough and able to take care of themselves as they brought back treasures from unknown lands, as they say.

  “Ship coming out to meet us, Skipper.” Janice commented with a yawn.

  “That’ll be the Customs Officer and pilot.” He was right, and within an hour the Customs Officer, a Leftenant Tanner presented himself on the Bridge, with the civilian pilot in tow.

  “How are you, Captain Gray.” He saluted and held his hand out. Mike shook hands with them both. “Had word that you’d be landing, but I didn’t expect you this soon.” He looked around the Bridge, as if expecting to find the reason for the swift transfer. If Mike expected a welcome home, he was disappointed, and he didn’t recognize the man or the name.

  He didn’t volunteer the information that he could take her himself, that would open the door to many questions. The young Leftenant checked his log, and the ship's papers as the pilot directed Conner into orbit, then down into the traffic pattern to land. They made one orbit of the planet, seeing the two major continents and the scattering of islands before settling towards a landing on the daylight terminator. At least they were landing at dawn. Janice commented that the ice caps here were larger than on Earth, and the pilot told her that they were just at the end of a long ice age, about 1500 years ago. They cruised in over a sparkling blue ocean at 5000 feet, before they dropped to 500 for the final approach to a naval base. Mike did note that their course was carefully plotted so as not to take them near, or pass any critical naval installations or defense systems.

  This base was situated on a broad river, with docks on either side, looking clean and orderly, with no sign of decay or rusting piles of metal. That was another Avalon trait, cleanliness, yet it was funny that he’d never noticed it before. The Nemesis slowed to a crawl as they moved up river, passed the construction yard, then a turn into a slipway. Conner brought the ship to a hover over a landing pool, and nudged her forward over the concrete ramp before settling down. All aboard heard the distinctive whine and thump as the landing sponsons deployed, then felt the ship tilt slightly as they touched. The moment they did, the computer automatically righted the ship and put her back on an even keel.

  “Finish with engine, helm.”

  “Aye-aye, sir, finish with engines.” Conner rang the command down to the engine room and received an acknowledgment. The almost unheard hum of the power plant slowly decreased as the fusion reactor settled down to standby mode.

  “Welcome to Avalon, Captain Gray, I hope you have a pleasant stay.”

  “Oh, I will. Thank you.”

  “Um… I have orders not to give you or your crew the standard orientation lecture.” Again, something out of the ordinary with no explanation. The Leftenant gave Mike a final saluted, and they shook hands again before he and the pilot departed with a Marine escort to show them the way.

  “What now, Skipper?” Pete asked.

  “Not sure, first I have to go see the President, then a few people to see about what’s happening, and how we will be received. For now, hold the crew on board until I get back, or signal you differently.” He knew the crew would be straining at the leash to go ashore, but he could let them just yet.

  “Aye-aye, sir.”

  “Gable, match the local gravity to ship standard.”

  “Aye, sir, matching local gravity.”

  “Conner, you are with me, Number One, you have the Con.”

  “Aye-aye, sir, I have Command.”

  “Pack a small bag, Conner, we might be staying ashore tonight.” He stood up and stretched, preparing to leave the Bridge. “Oh, by the way Pete, you can open the outer hatches to air the ship out, but pass the word to all crew members. Do not under any circumstances kill or hurt any lizard like creature that happens to wander aboard.”

  “Sir?”

  “Friends of the family, so to speak.” He said with a laugh. “They are the indigenous intelligent life form, and one bite could be hazardous to your health.” Saying that he departed the Bridge, and left a puzzled Bridge crew to figure that out.

  “Should I bring anything special, sir?” Conner asked, coming up behind him.

  “Such as?”

  “Umm, side arms?” Mike chuckles.

  “No, I don’t think we’ll need anything like that, but you can wear one if you’d prefer, here it's optional. A couple of bottles of Torgon Br
andy might come in handy.” Conner gave him an odd look and buckled his side arm around his waist.

  “Oh, a little oil to grease the wheels, yes, sir.”

  He smiles and went off to pack. Mike shook his head, Conner was ever suspicious, and it hadn’t really dawned on him that Mike was home. This was the one place in the Galaxy he had little to fear. A car was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp when they stepped ashore, and the driver saluted and held the rear door open for them.

  “Captain Gray?”

  “Yes and CPO Conner Blake.”

  “Yes, sir, if you would step in, I’ll take you to see the President.”

  “Well, at least the chief mucky-muck is going to see you.” Conner whispered as he settled down in the seat. Mike kept his peace and looked out the window.

  They drove out of the shipyards and into the green belt that ran between it and the City, then slowly climbed into the low hills. The Capital city wasn’t large, but that was the way it was planned, and kept. They didn’t want to re-create old mistakes. They passed tree-lined terraces with houses of all shapes, sizes and description scatter among the trees, each house having an acre or more of land around it. With the population density kept in check and strict controls on building, the Government ensures that they would be no overcrowding, or unsightly business districts. Ecology was the key and building an environmentally friendly city with an eye to the future, or so it was hoped. The hover car topped a rise and they could see the Capital laid out before them. Conner whistled, and caused the drive to look round.

  “Impressive, isn’t it.”

  “I’ll say, especially considering where I come from.”

  “The white buildings are all Government officers, the light blue, administration officer, and the yellow, education and social services.” The driver informed them.

  “Don’t see many white buildings, Skipper, mostly blue and yellow, and not too many of them, either.”

  “You won’t, Avalon likes to keep the Government to a minimum.”

  “That’s right, sir, you must have read up on us before you arrived.” The diver commented. Conner started to say something, but Mike touched his hand and he settled back in the seat with a puzzled look on his face.

  “Yes, I did a little reading before we landed.” Mike answered, looking out the window.

  As they drove down the main boulevard, it was difficult to see much of the building between the trees and greenery. Vehicle traffic was light, as most people preferred to walk or use bicycles or electric powered scooters to get about. They did pass under a decorative overpass just as a sleek mag-lift train slid silently passed and vanished into the trees. The driver turned left, then right and stopped in front of an elegant white building and stopped.

  “We are here, sir.” The driver got out and opened the rear door for them, Saluting as Mike got out. “I’ll be here if you need a ride back to your ship, Captain.”

  “Thanks, not sure how long we’ll be.”

  “That’s all right, sir, I’ll wait.”

  There was no guard at the door, and Conner was a little surprised when he discovered that this was the President’s residence, expecting some sort of guard and check points. Entering the main hallway, they were met by an older woman who took their caps before ushering them into a spacious library.

  “The President is waiting to see you, Captain Gray.” She gave a little smile as she opened the door, closing it softly behind them. Mike felt himself tense, and a galloping herd of booted butterflies stampeding around his stomach.

  * * * * * *

  The gray haired man looked up as they entered, his bushy eyebrows drawing together in a slight frown. He was an imposing figure, broad shouldered and tanned. Gordon Tregallion looked at the young man standing before him, tall, 6’- 4” at least and about 220 pounds, and not an ounce of fat. Was this confident young officer the angry teenager, he’d last seen? He doubted it. Security had managed to track him at last, and his time in the Marines seems to have served him well. The Royal Navy had done an even better job than he thought. More than once, he expected to see Mike come sneaking home, maybe begging for forgiveness, and he was glad that he hadn’t. He looked more like Max Tregallion than Max did. Now wouldn’t that come as a shock to the old man? Mike saw his Grandfather smile at some secret thought at the back of his mind. It wasn’t anger, he was passed that now, or was he? Whatever it was, he knew he’d have to settle what was between them, yet standing there neither of them seem to know what to say to each other. It wasn’t a test of will to see who would speak first, but more about how to speak. Conner stood to one side, not sure what to make of the scene. The silence seemed to go on for an eternity.

  “I would say, welcome home, Michael, but I’m not sure if you are.”

  “I’m not sure either. Do we talk or fight?” At that, the President smiled.

  “I doubt I’d win either a physical or a verbal battle with you now.” Conner swallowed softly. This wasn’t what he’d expected. “You rang my bell the last time we talked.”

  “You didn’t really give me much choice then, did you?” Gordon shook his head.

  “No, I guess I didn’t.” He growled. “Either way, I am glad to see you home, and looking like you do. I won’t say I’m proud of you, even though I am, because I had nothing to do with it."

  “Thank you for that.”

  “But, as you are here on official business, at least that’s what I inferred from the diplomatic message I received, let’s take that first, shall we?”

  “Good idea, we are both on safer ground there.”

  Gordon had to admit, this confident young man was a far cry from the one who left, more in control, more sure of himself, and his words. Gordon stood up and came round the desk, holding his hand out. They shook, each carefully squeezing the other hand, yet neither put his full strength into it.

  “May I introduce my chief Petty Officer, and Chief of the Boat, Conner Blake.” Conner stepped forward and shook hands, meeting hard grip with hard grip.

  “A pleasure to meet you, sir.”

  “Same here, please have a seat, both of you.” He indicated some easy chairs around a coffee table instead of those on the other side of his desk. They sat, and Mike took out his dispatches while Gordon ordered up coffee, and brandy.

  “CPO Blake has the distinction of saving my butt on more than one occasion, so I trust him with my life.”

  “In that case, he is doubly welcome.”

  The coffee and brandy arrived, and Gordon indicated they should help themselves. They did, Conner took his black with a small shot of liqueur in it. Mike just took just coffee for the moment. With coffee in hand, Mike brought him up to date as to the situation back on Earth, then passed over the envelope. This raised an eyebrow, as it wasn’t often nowadays that people used paper. Gordon looked at the unbroken Royal seal on the back and pursed his lips.

  “So, his Majesty deems to writes in person now?”

  “This is a full account of my orders, and the request from the King.”

  “And the gist of it is?” Gordon asked, tapping the edge of the envelope on the coffee table.

  “I’d rather you read the letter and decide for yourself, Mr. President.” Carefully breaking the seal, he extracted the document inside and began to read. It was difficult to tell from the expression on his face what he was thinking.

  “I take it that the Governor General doesn’t know anything about this?” He tapped the document with a rough forefinger.

  “No, sir, he doesn’t.”

  “Wise precaution, he's been making noises about the Sirriens and how wonderful they are.” Mike frowned. “He has also been very careful about what he tells us of the going on outside our little star system.” He growled. “Bloody fool thinks we don’t know.”

  “Well, you don’t exactly advertise that Avalon has its own spy network.”

  “True, and the least said about that the better.” He chuckled. “The old bugger has been trying to get spy
units into this building since he arrived.”

  “I bet he heard some interesting conversations.”

  “Oh, between the birds and the lizards, yes, very educational.” He laughed.

  “Have you had any recent visits from the Sirriens?”

  “Yes, we had to chase two of their warships back through the Southern warp point on the other side of the Rift last week.”

  “Any incident?”

  “No, we just told them politely to get the hell out of our space, or else.”

  “That would do it.”

  “Where the Sirriens are concerned, we are not known for our hospitality, speaking of which, the news that you are here is going to get out, you know.”