The Pride of the Damned

by Peter Grant

  “We’ve no idea where they might keep it. I’m willing to bet most will be in the form of refined precious metals, stored at their secret base or elsewhere. However, that isn’t easily used to pay bills through the interplanetary banking system. They or their representatives have got to have a bank account somewhere, converting some of their gold to currency, and disbursing payments to their suppliers. It may also handle investments on their behalf.”

  Caitlin frowned. “That makes sense, sir; but how can we find out who they’re using? It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are hundreds of settled planets, and each probably has hundreds of financial brokers. Big financial centers like Neue Helvetica must have tens of thousands of them, and most are very careful about client privacy and confidentiality. I wouldn’t even know where to start looking!”

  He grinned. “Start at the end, and work backwards. We know they want to buy a planet, for this ‘Fatherland Project’ of theirs. The United Planets conducts auctions of planets and star systems twice a year, on behalf of exploration and survey companies. If the Brotherhood wants to buy a known quantity, with its resources and suitability already researched, tested and guaranteed, they’ll have to do it through those auctions on Neue Helvetica. They can look for an unclaimed planet or system themselves, of course, just as the New Orkney Enterprise did with the Mycenae system; but I think they’re too busy with asteroid theft and processing to do that – and fighting us, of course.

  “To participate in the auction, they’ll have to work through the only brokerage licensed by the UP to accept bids on clients’ behalf. It operates an escrow account. Bidders have to put their money into it well in advance, and have the source and amount verified, before they can place bids. The Brotherhood will probably have made preliminary arrangements already. If you can trace those back to whoever made them, that’s likely to be their bank, or their financial or legal agent.”

  Caitlin’s eyes were far away, unfocused, as she thought. “That… that should be feasible, sir. It’ll probably take some time, and perhaps a lot of money for bribes to get the information we need.”

  “Time is a factor, but we have the money. If you need technical assistance to hack into computer systems, we can give you that, too.”

  She shook her head firmly. “No, sir. At that level, everything’s going to be quantum-encrypted. They’ll notice immediately if anything’s hacked. This will mostly have to be done the old-fashioned way, by human intelligence, sir.”

  “All right. I’ll ask Henry to liaise with you about that. He has useful contacts.”

  “Yes, sir, he does.”

  “One thing, Caitlin.” Cochrane’s voice was deadly serious. “Nobody but Henry – I mean nobody, without exception, but particularly not the Dragon Tong – must know you’re looking for this information. I won’t even mention it to the rest of our staff, not even to Hui. I’m sure the Big Three are planning to get their hands on that money when they deal with the Brotherhood on Patos. I want to steal a march on them. By the time they come looking for it, I want it to be already beyond their reach. You can’t keep any records where anyone can find them, and any you do keep have got to be quantum-encrypted and as secure as possible. That’s an overriding priority. If learning something means you might expose our interest in it, don’t even try. Secrecy is your single most important principle.”

  “Understood, sir. Ah… if I may ask, sir, what do you plan to do with the money if we get our hands on it?”

  “Ask me that when we’ve located it.”

  4

  Quandary

  CONSTANTA

  The guards ushered the three prisoners into the conference room. Despite their status, they were not secured in any way, and walked freely alongside their escort..

  Jehona Sejdiu’s eyes widened to see the Commodore as he rose from his chair. “Good morning, Mrs. Sejdiu, Ms. Tahiri, Sub-Lieutenant Sejdiu.”

  “Good morning, Commodore,” Jehona said on behalf of them all. “This is a surprise. We haven’t seen you since you sent us up here to orbit for safekeeping.”

  “I’ve been busy,” Cochrane replied without elaborating. “However, something’s come up. I need your advice, and perhaps your help.”

  “Advice, sir?” Alban Sejdiu asked with a frown. “We are your prisoners, not your advisers.”

  “Yes, but this is something that concerns all of you. Please help yourselves to coffee from the urn on the sideboard, and sit down.”

  Cochrane waited until they had settled down, then told them in broad outline of the events aboard the courier ship from New Skyros. “I wish Captain Pernaska had been less dedicated to his cause. I realize it’s your cause, too, but I think you’ve all seen another side of it since you were captured, and re-evaluated what you once thought you knew.”

  Aferdita Tahiri shook her head slowly. “I… Yes, I now know how we were… misled… but I mourn his death still. He must have been a very brave man.”

  “Brave?” Cochrane stared at her, his eyes suddenly hard. “In being willing to take his own life rather than risk being forced to talk, yes, I suppose that took courage. However, killing eleven defenseless spacers, hunting them down and slaughtering them without giving them a chance – that was anything but brave. That was sheer bloody murder!”

  “But they were his kidnappers, were they not?” Jehona asked softly. “How else would you expect a man like that to treat the people he knew were delivering him to his enemies?”

  Cochrane was silent for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “One to you, Mrs. Sejdiu. I suppose, if I’d been in his shoes, I might have thought like that, too. They were his kidnappers; and from that viewpoint, wanting to take as many of them with him as he could… it does take on a different perspective. However, I need you to see it from mine, too – and, more importantly, how it will look to outsiders, because it’s going to have an impact far beyond this planet.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You remember I told you, last year, that the Big Three had taken notice of the Albanian Brotherhood’s activities?”

  “Yes.”

  “They’re making plans to act against it. What’s more, law enforcement authorities are taking an interest, and even the United Planets is getting involved.” Without revealing Hawkwood’s role, he told them of the detention of the Brotherhood’s destroyers in the New Skyros system. “It won’t stop there. When it’s confirmed – as it surely will be – that the Brotherhood used a false end-user certificate to buy warships – destroyers, no less! – that’s going to be regarded as a major threat to interstellar travel. Action will follow, as surely as night follows day. That’s why the Big Three are moving faster. They don’t want interplanetary action on that scale, because it would affect all of their interests; so, to forestall it, they plan to do something about the Brotherhood themselves. I don’t need to tell you that what they do is likely to be very effective and very permanent. When they hear about what Captain Pernaska did, and see the security vid from the ship, they’ll be even more determined to stamp out such fanaticism.”

  There was a long silence in the room. The three prisoners sat stiff, tense, clearly thinking hard about what he’d said. They exchanged glances, then Alban asked, “Why are you telling us this, sir?”

  “Because I hope you can help avoid a bloodbath. I don’t want to wipe out every member of the Brotherhood. I want the guilty punished – after all, their illegal, criminal actions have cost Hawkwood well over four hundred dead so far, and we’ve lost several ships. I’m not prepared to let them get away with that.”

  “But you have destroyed even more of their – our – ships, and killed even more people.”

  “That was in self-defense, young man, and you know it, because it included defending you and your mother! No, I want the guilty punished. However, there must be many others – family members, children, and so on – who aren’t as guilty, except by association. I don’t think the Big Three will bother to make that distinction. They
probably won’t waste time identifying the guilty and sparing the innocent. Mrs. Sejdiu, you told me last year you were familiar with clan conflicts among the Albanians. You said that sometimes entire clans had been massacred, from the oldest to the youngest. Would you agree that that’s the most likely solution to the Brotherhood problem, as far as the Big Three are concerned?”

  Jehona nodded. There was a glitter of moisture in her eyes as she fought for self-control. “Yes. I cannot see any other way for them to be sure.”

  “Then you see my problem. I don’t want that to happen, but I have no way to stop it. Hawkwood is a private space security company. We can’t act on a large scale on a foreign planet. We simply don’t have the knowledge, the resources, or the power. However, the Big Three do. I won’t be surprised if they already have people on Patos, identifying every member of the Brotherhood. When they know them all, and they’re ready, they’ll act.”

  Aferdita was trembling. “But… last year, you said you’d try to save our families!”

  “I did, and I will. I can get one or two of my people onto Patos, and have a ship standing by. If they can persuade your families to leave with them, abandoning everything, they’ll get them to safety. However, if your families won’t agree to come, or they try to alert the Brotherhood to my people’s presence, or delay in an attempt to bring others with them – if any of those things happen, all bets are off. You’re going to have to figure out a way to persuade your people to go with ours, without delay and without making a fuss. If they won’t, they’ll die. It’s as simple as that.

  “I’m hoping for something more. Mrs. Sejdiu, you’ve been in touch with your husband, through the private channel you established before you left. You told him of your arrest, and that your son was not dead, as he’d been told, but alive and well. As you agreed, we monitored the messages you sent, and his replies. I know he was furious with the Brotherhood’s leaders for lying about the loss of Alban’s ship, and his death, and for sending agents to kill you, rather than risk you learning of Alban’s presence on Constanta. I know you’ve exchanged three messages with him so far, and received three replies.

  “This is where I need your help. Will you ask him to help us rescue the remaining members of your family? Even more than that, will you ask him whether he can figure out any way at all to protect the innocent – or, at best, the least guilty – of the Brotherhood from what’s bearing down on them? It won’t do any good for him to warn everyone that the Big Three are coming. The leaders of the Brotherhood would surely denounce him as an enemy agent, and have him shot. Whatever he does will have to be secret, and he’ll have to work very carefully indeed.

  “If he can find a way, I’m willing to send whatever spaceships are necessary to evacuate as many of your people as we can, either before or during whatever the Big Three plan to do. We will check all of them very carefully, of course, including truth-tester examination. Any of the diehards who try to escape will be dealt with. I’m not prepared to allow them to get away. I have no idea when this might happen, or how we might do it, or where your people will go afterwards. I just don’t want the deaths of hundreds of innocent persons on my conscience. If I did nothing, and allowed them to die when I could have saved them, it would be on my conscience.”

  After a pause, Jehona said softly, “Thank you for trying, Commodore. It speaks very well of you. I do not know whether anything will be possible, but I will write to Pal, and ask him whether he can see any way forward. You will read my words, as always, and his reply. At the very least, he can try to arrange to get our children, and my daughter Fjolla’s husband, child, parents-in-law and their other children, to a rendezvous where you can collect them. If he can do more, I am sure he will.”

  “That’s all I can ask for.” Cochrane came to his feet. “I’ll keep you informed if I learn anything more.”

  As they rose, Aferdita asked shyly, “Sir, I know you said we had to be confined aboard this spaceship for security reasons; but… could we ask for a brief holiday planetside? It has been over a year since I felt grass beneath my feet, and the wind on my face.”

  He grimaced. “We don’t know whether Agim Nushi has sent more agents to Constanta. If he has, they may be under orders to attack you on sight. I don’t want to take that chance. Let me see whether I can figure out a way to sneak you down to the planet for a week or two, perhaps at an isolated camp in the mountains or something like that, where you won’t be seen.”

  “Oh, thank you, sir!” Her eyes sparkled.

  “Don’t get your hopes too high. You’ll have to give me time.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He grinned at her. “Do I understand correctly that you and Sub-Lieutenant Sejdiu have become more than just fellow prisoners?”

  She blushed scarlet, and Alban flushed as well. “Ah… in a way, yes, sir,” he replied carefully.

  His mother smiled indulgently. “I would never have thought an agent who intended to kill me might make a good partner for my son, but I am forced to admit, they suit each other very well.”

  Cochrane laughed. “Stranger things have happened, I’m sure. It’s good to know that love can still flourish, even in the midst of this mess!” He sobered. “Be as convincing as you can, Mrs. Sejdiu. I don’t know the Big Three’s timetable, but I think they’ll move sooner rather than later. If we have even a year, I’ll be surprised. Your husband will have to move fast, or we’ll lose them all.”

  5

  Quest

  DEEP SPACE

  The drone sped silently through the star system, its gravitic drive and every active sensor shut down, imitating a hole in space. It was moving at one third of the speed of light, with all the inevitable relativistic effects of such velocity on its sensors. Nevertheless, its passive suite searched ceaselessly, registering every active emission within range, cataloging, classifying and considering them, building up a picture of all that was going on nearby. There was a lot to see.

  Orbiting the second, airless, lifeless planet from the dim, unimpressive star were multiple gravitic drive sources. One was from what the drone’s artificial intelligence system realized must be a very large ship, probably well over a million tons. Around it, three smaller emitters, possibly cargo shuttles or cutters, flickered as they moved to and from seven more ship-size gravitic drives in more distant orbits. Four of the latter were large enough to be freighters, probably in the half- to three-quarter-million-ton range. A fifth was a military drive, probably destroyer-size. Two more were smaller, perhaps communications vessels, possibly small freighters or patrol vessels.

  Almost half a billion kilometers from the planet, in the system’s asteroid belt, another freighter-size gravitic drive was active. It was holding its position within and relative to the belt. Asteroids nearby were illuminated by its active radar transmissions. Three smaller gravitic drive sources moved in and out of the asteroid belt, clearly conducting operations there.

  More puzzling were two small emitters, approximately one million kilometers above the second planet. They were stacked almost vertically, and appeared to be about ten thousand kilometers apart. They didn’t appear to be moving relative to each other, but were holding their positions relative to the planet. There was nothing else visible to its sensors in that position, no moon, no asteroids… so what were they doing? The AI didn’t know, and wasn’t programmed to waste its time on idle speculation. It merely recorded the details for others to analyze later.

  The drone sped on its way, its carefully-shaped hull and stealthy coatings absorbing or deflecting every radar or lidar emission that crossed its unwavering path. It would wait until it was two full light-days past the star before hyper-jumping toward its rendezvous point. That far away, nothing less than a full system sensor array would detect its departure. Such a device could reach out to record a hyper-jump signature up to four light-days distant, but the drone’s programmers had determined that its target would be unlikely in the extreme to possess such advanced – and extraordinarily e
xpensive – technology. Two light-days out, they had calculated, would be a sufficient margin of safety for both arrival and departure.

  The group in the conference room looked up as a guard at the door announced, “Commanding Officer and Executive Officer of HCS Caracal, sir.”

  Frank grinned as they walked toward him to shake hands. “Last ones to the party buy the drinks when we get home!”

  “Och, we’re the furthest away from Sorubim, sir,” Commander Beattie protested with a smile. “We’ve further to travel, so perhaps the officer who designated our parking orbit should buy them, instead of us.”

  Commander Murray, skipper of the arsenal ship, mock-winced. “That’s right, blame me. The biggest fish is always envied by all the little tiddlers!”

  Smiling at the exchange, Captain Frank Haldane raised his voice. “All right, people, please take your seats. We’ve got a lot of work to do, so the sooner this conference is over, the sooner we can get on with it.” He moved to the head of the long table as the others looked for their places.

  “Thank you for accommodating us, Commander Murray,” he began when they’d settled down. “Your arsenal ship has much bigger accommodation and administrative spaces than our warships, and you brew better coffee, too.” Chuckles ran around the table.

  “The good news is, I think we’ve hit pay dirt.” He described what the drone had found in the ninth star system to be surveyed. “From now on, in conversation, signals or anything else, let’s refer simply to ‘System Nine’, rather than mentioning the Brotherhood or its base. It’s a nice, innocuous term that doesn’t give away what we’re talking about.” There was a rumble of agreement from his audience.