Ricci breathed a definite sigh of relief as soon as he received Lindstrom’s acknowledgment of the message he’d sent. Not only was the first part of his plan complete, but he took personal satisfaction in knowing that whatever else might be happening on Tolu, the response meant Naiche was alive and well. When he passed the news onto the rest of the landing party, Jacoway’s obvious happiness let Matt know that Naiche’s well-being had been his chief concern.
Upon learning that the message had been successful, Drawde left, promising to let them know of the Council’s ruling. The group broke out some meal packs and spent their makeshift dinner hour brainstorming a way to get a message to Lovelace regarding their present danger. Ricci assumed Ramsey would realize something had gone far wrong as soon as she learned that all communications with the landing party were blocked. He knew Carla well – she wouldn’t try anything too risky but as the hours dragged on, she might think about sending down another shuttle. Ricci worried that such a move could be deemed as an attack by the agitated Lignatians. When all efforts to contact Ramsey proved impossible, he figured he’d have to rely on her abundant good sense.
“If they’re still monitoring the communication stream with the Aurora,” Kaplita said, “there’s a distinct possibility they may have detected our message to Tolu. If so, that would tell them something of what’s going on.”
“But it was in Chiricahua,” Bayer objected. “How would they even translate it?”
“Commander Sasaki,” Jacoway replied. “Lieutenant Decker’s been teaching him Chiricahua on and off for years. Even if he’s still not that conversant, he’ll have an algorithm that would work.”
Ricci said, “We’ll have to hope that’s the case for now.” He advised his team to get the bedrolls out. “We might as well get some rest. Even when the Council does render their decision, we’ll still have to wait for their entire government to ratify it. Meaning, we’ll be hanging fire here for a good long while.”
Bayer jerked an impatient hand through her short auburn hair. “It’s been hours and they still haven’t even gotten through step one yet. You think they’re dragging it out just to torture us?”
Matt offered a weary smile to his acting head of Tactical. “I wouldn’t put it past Millua, but I think the probable explanation is that the Ruling Council’s rational members are arguing for the more efficient and compassionate move of simply sending all of the humans to Uniterrae.”
Kaplita perked up, his voiced filled with hope as he asked, “Then you think there’s a chance they might retract the death sentence?”
With a sad shake of his head, Ricci answered, “No, I don’t. Their obsessive need to hide their world from the rest of the galaxy combined with Millua’s apparent blood-lust won’t allow for that.”
“Why do you think Millua is like that?” Jacoway asked. “The Lignatians may be xenophobic but they can’t be a truly malicious race – otherwise they’d never have tried to atone for the destruction of the Valiant in the first place.”
“Short answer or long answer?”
“How about both?” Tal actually managed a brief laugh. “We seem to have plenty of time.”
“Short answer – a burning desire for power, is why Millua is like that. Long answer – you start by understanding politicians.” Jacoway interrupted to point out that his parents and brother all worked for the Uniterraen government; therefore, his family was well acquainted with the breed. “Okay, maybe I should have said you need to understand venal politicians. Millua rose to power by promising to rid the Lignatians of the burden of the humans. Sending them all to Uniterrae would effectively do that – but not in a way that aggrandizes Millua. To the average Lignatian, that looks like a problem that solved itself. A leader like Millua consolidates power by appearing to be the one and only answer to their people’s problems.”
“Yeah. It all makes perfect sense, now,” Bayer said, nodding slowly. She leaned forward, her eyes wide. “If we survive this, sir, maybe you can teach me how to get a read on alien leaders that quickly.”
“Lieutenant, I have every intention of surviving this – and reading leaders of any stripe is something you acquire a knack for after thirty-years in the UDC. It’ll come to you in time.”
Kaplita said, “I’m more interested in how you figured out that the Lignatians were responsible for destroying the Valiant.”
“That’s simply a case of recognizing guilt.” Matt shrugged, explaining, “A motivator most fifty-some-year-olds understand fairly well. Some more than others….” He noted Tal’s narrowed eyes and pursed lips. Ricci had a suspicion as to what the young man was thinking – but he wasn’t going to tackle that in front of an audience. He stood up, ordering his crew, once again, to get some rest.
After they’d arranged four bedrolls on the shuttle’s rear deck, everyone bedded down and Ricci ordered the lights to twenty-percent. Matt hadn’t really expected to get much sleep and in the dim light, he stared at the overhead bulkhead, wondering if he’d done everything possible to forestall the impending disaster. He must have dozed for a while because the next thing he was aware of, was waking to find one of the bedrolls empty. Matt raised himself up on one elbow to look around. The head was unoccupied and the missing officer nowhere in sight. He arose, quietly exiting the shuttle and was intrigued to find Jacoway sitting on the dock, staring out at the unnaturally blue sea.
Ricci walked over and sat down near Tal. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“No, sir.” Jacoway glanced at him, adding, “It looks like you couldn’t either.”
“I never was a very sound sleeper – and especially not when I have something like impending mass murder on my mind.” Ricci heard Jacoway’s murmur of realization and said, “Yes, Naiche gets her insomnia from me.”
“It’s kind of funny because, that’s what has me up – Naiche. That message we sent must have her frantic, wondering what’s going on. And thinking she should be here with us.”
“I’m sure you’re right, and I’m going to get an earful from both her and Kennedy about this whole fiasco when we reunite. The ‘I told you so's’ will echo back to Uniterrae.” He couldn’t stop a quiet huff of laughter at the thought. “I am impressed that with all we’re facing, you’re worrying about her worrying about us.” Matt shook his head at his companion. “Forgive my saying so, but you do have it bad.”
Flicking a braid over his shoulder, Tal flashed a brief smile. “That’s the way with love, I guess.” He studied Matt for a moment before asking, “Was that how it was for you? Were your thoughts always with Naiche’s mother?”
“Yeah, very much so.” He had a suspicion as to why Jacoway had raised the subject so he admitted, “Though, my physical presence didn’t always follow.” Ricci paused for a moment to allow Jacoway to respond. When nothing was forthcoming, he ventured, “Is there anything you’d like to ask me about that?” Tal’s head jerked toward him in surprise. “About what happened between me and Naomi Decker?”
“Uh, no, sir. Naiche told me all about…umm…that.”
“Are you sure? What if we drop ranks? Do you have any questions then?”
“Captain, I had no intention of inquiring into—”
“Call me Matt and try again. If I’m going to be your father-in-law, you’re gonna have to get used to that, anyway.” Jacoway didn’t answer – his eyes were fixed on the hands gripping his knees. Ricci realized he needed to take the lead. “I figure a man like you must wonder how it was that I had a child in the world for ten-years and never tried to see her.”
Finally, Tal swiveled slightly and faced Ricci head-on. “Okay, since you brought it up – the truth is…I have wondered.” He drew a deep breath and continued, “You don’t seem like the kind of person who could…abandon their child. I know you were only twenty when she was born – but what about all of those years afterwards?”
Ricci had gotten the exact question he’d been expecting – yet was still struggling to respond. It seemed like this explanation was never going
to come easy for him. Staring briefly off at the horizon, he admitted, “I have no excuse – because there is no excusing that.” He searched Tal’s face for censure but saw only doubt. “What can I say? Ambition is a hell of a drug. I was so focused on my career, and later, on the war we were fighting, that I avoided anything that could potentially…derail me.” His frown deepened as his mind returned to the days of his youth. “Back then, I was great at plotting a course – but terrible at navigating in a new direction…even when it was absolutely called for.”
Jacoway was silent, nodding, obviously digesting those words. Finally, he asked, “After doing nothing for so long, why did you then try so hard to be part of Naiche’s life? Was it just because her mother had died?”
“It wasn’t just that. Like a lot of fathers, I felt an overwhelming rush of love for my child upon seeing her for the first time. The difference being, she was ten-years old when that finally happened.” To steady himself, Ricci looked up at the hazy sky for a moment before facing Tal again. “I bitterly regret those lost years, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll live with that regret to my dying day.”
Jacoway aimed a surprisingly kind smile at him. “You don’t have to. You and Naiche have a wonderful relationship, now – and a lot of years ahead. Too many years ahead to remain focused on the past.”
“I know. But due to my neglect, I missed out on so much of her life – and there’s no getting that time back. That’s my reality.”
“Captain, uh, I mean, Matt….” Tal paused, stumbling over the apparent oddness of calling Ricci by his first name. “It sounds to me like you might still have a problem changing course.”
A surprised chuckle bubbled out of Ricci. “You could be right. Doctor Clemente certainly seems to think so.”
“You mean about this?”
“No – another matter entirely.”
After a moment, Tal murmured, “Oh, the commodore thing.”
Matt sighed heavily, running a hand through his thick brown hair. “Is there anyone on Lovelace who doesn’t know about that?”
“Considering there’s a betting pool going around about when you’re finally gonna break down and take the quals, I wouldn’t think so.”
“The crew has a pool going?” Ricci exclaimed. He put a hand to his hip, glaring at Tal who shrugged sheepishly and disclaimed taking any part in it. Matt waved a dismissive hand, resigning himself to his crew’s shrewd impertinence. He stood up, advising Tal to join him in trying to get some sleep; the young man followed him back to the shuttle. On the way, Ricci asked, “Is Naiche in that pool?”
“Oh, no, sir, she’s not.”
“They wouldn’t let her join, huh?”
“Nope.”
***
By the time Ricci and his crew were heading back to the contact zone in the boat with Drawde, they all knew their fate had been decided: all humans on Jileesa would be “extinguished mercifully.” The only hope for them, the Lovelace, and thousands of innocents lay in Ricci’s plan. Jacoway had his doubts since the success of that plan depended entirely on Millua’s ability to see reason. As far as Tal was concerned, anyone who could order a massacre of this magnitude for nothing but personal gain, was entirely lacking in that quality.
Drawde escorted them back into the same room as before. The governmental chamber they could see on the other side of the barrier was filled with Lignatians; Jacoway estimated there were at least forty of them floating in the hazy green atmosphere. They were arrayed behind four separate tables, with Wayru Millua front and center. Millua asked Drawde if the humans were present; when he gave the affirmative, silence followed, while the Lignatians flashed to each other.
Kaplita asked, “Can’t they see us at all?”
“No, they cannot. Lignatians possess not the capacity to perceive anything in an oxygenated environment.” After a lengthy pause, Drawde explained, “They are preparing the charges against the Lovelace crew as a whole – and you in particular, Captain Ricci.”
“How do you know?” Ricci asked. “I thought you couldn’t understand them when you’re in the communication module?”
“I made arrangements so that I could.”
Jacoway wondered at that oblique statement but had no time to question it since a Lignatian began addressing the humans.
“Captain Matteo Ricci, I, Yhanar Sicuru Manik Puryt, will explain your fate.” Drawde informed them that “yhanar” was the designation for Lignatians in charge of planetary defense. Sicuru continued, “You are charged with Endangering the Welfare of Jileesa, Theft of Lignatian Technological Principles, and Theft by Deception of Lignatian Resources. Your crew is charged with abetting you in these crimes.”
“I plead not guilty,” Ricci interjected, “as does my crew.”
It was Millua who responded. “Your input was not solicited nor is it welcome. You have been found guilty and will be extinguished, along with the Alktata Experiment, as soon as the Aurora returns to Jileesa.”
“How long are you prepared to wait? Because they’re not coming.”
Vipin Aicilef answered, “We stopped receiving the distress signal during our deliberations. The Aurora is most likely on its way here.”
“No, it’s not. If it’s going anywhere, it’s going to Uniterrae. Unless they hear otherwise from me – which they won’t, until you release us all, unharmed.”
Jacoway watched as several Lignatians flashed out white-hot impulses to each other. Wayru Millua said, “I have never had patience for human folly. It is especially undesirable at this time and will not save you. Explain yourself.”
“I sent a message to my people on Tolu. Like I said, they will take the Aurora directly to Uniterrae, unless I send an ‘all-clear’ notification.”
“Impossible. Our Inspection-Filter would not have allowed this.”
“Your inspection filter has some flaws, it seems. It cannot recognize Chiricahua Apache – one of our ancient languages. One I happen to speak – not well, but well enough to get a message through to my daughter on Tolu.”
Jacoway almost had to shield his eyes from the brightness of the conference raging on the other side of the partition. Drawde narrated, “Millua is asking Aicilef to confirm if any such message was sent.”
Ricci asked, “Will that be possible?”
“Now that Aicilef knows what to look for, yes.” They watched as the senior vipin worked diligently at a small lighted console. After a few minutes, Drawde said, “Aicilef has announced to the entire assembly that you told the truth.”
Millua’s mechanical voice rang out in the small room. “I am proved correct that human treachery is beyond all comprehension. I trust those of this Council who argued against the termination see now their error. Captain Ricci, you have succeeded in warning the humans on Tolu, but that will not save you, or your crew, or any human on Jileesa.”
“If you care for your people, Wayru Millua, you should reconsider. When the Aurora gets to Uniterrae, they’ll figure out that you’re responsible for the destruction of the Lovelace – along with thousands of other humans. The Uniterrae Defense Corps will not sit idly by knowing that you slaughtered their own.”
Yhanar Sicuru said, “We have been told that humans number in the billions. It is not credible that your people would venture so far and risk so much for the loss of a hundred. The others, they have no connection with.”
“Think back on the history of humans you learned from the Valiant’s database. Mankind has rarely been at peace. We’ve done far more, for lesser slights than this. I can guarantee – an outrage of this magnitude will provoke war.”
“Even if what you say is true,” Millua said, “your defense corps will not know where to find us. The human who discovered the location of our home world will perish here, too.”
“Commander Ramsey is indeed a uniquely talented engineer – but not so unique that other humans can’t do what she did. They’ll find your—”
“They will find an asteroid field.”
&nb
sp; “A barrage of photon torpedoes from a couple of command ships will blow away enough of your cover to allow our fighter ships in.”
“Then we must ensure your defense corps never find out what has transpired. Vipin Aicilef, activate the self-destruct sequence of the Aurora, effective immediately.”
Ricci’s hand slipped off the communication panel as he breathed, “Son of a fucking bitch.” He re-opened communications to warn, “Don’t do this! We have a shuttle on Tolu. It will still make it home.”
Jacoway knew a shuttle didn’t have the fuel to make it back to Uniterrae from Tolu – at best they might reach a relay station. He also knew, however, that Ricci was counting on the Lignatians’ ignorance of that fact.
Aicilef said, “We have observed the capabilities of your shuttles. They cannot make it to your home world alone. Even were this the case, it is doubtful your ship is far enough from the Aurora to survive. The blast radius will be considerable.”
“There is a city full of innocent Tolutay near the Aurora – would you condemn them to death for no reason? Would you bear the guilt of those deaths for generations – like it was with the crew of the Valiant?”
Once again, the Lignatians engaged in a private consultation; after a few minutes, Drawde translated for the humans. “They are discussing how it is that you know what happened to the Valiant. Aicilef has astutely laid the blame upon me.” After another pause, Drawde continued, “Millua is arguing that the responsibility for the deaths of the Tolutay will lie with you, Captain Ricci, not with the Lignatians.”
Ricci snorted derisively. “Are they buying that shit?”
“Millua is a most persuasive wayru.”
Jacoway’s despair deepened with each passing minute – Ricci’s plan had crashed and burned in a horrific fashion. The unfortunate Maykure were now ensnared in Millua’s inescapable web of death.
When Drawde said the Council had sanctioned the destruction of the Aurora, Tal’s heart sank. He wondered if it was selfish that his thoughts were now solely with Naiche – his only hope was that she could somehow survive. He opened his eyes from a brief prayer for her, to see Ricci’s jaw clenched and hands curled into reddening fists. Ricci glanced at him, and Tal knew that he was thinking also of Naiche.
The Risks of Dead Reckoning Page 19