by Gary Gibson
‘Whatever this is about,’ Sifra grouched, ‘it had better be really damned important.’
Megan stalked around the base of the astrogation chair, rubbing her hands together as the others took seats by various consoles, swivelling the chairs to face towards her.
‘It has to do with the Wanderer,’ she said, finally stopping her pacing, her body turned rigid with suppressed anger. ‘But mostly it has to do with certain details, Gregor, that you omitted to mention before we left Kjæregrønnested.’
Tarrant gazed back at her coolly. ‘What details?’
‘Details that were deliberately redacted from the research material you passed on to me and Bash.’
Tarrant, unaware of this private communication, nodded expressionlessly. ‘Go on.’
‘I didn’t say anything at first, because I thought maybe there was a reason why some of that material had been redacted. I thought perhaps the missing details weren’t that important. But then I took a look at the source texts – the original Meridian data, from which Schelling’s researchers first extracted the details regarding the Wanderer – and fortunately all the source material was provided as well.’
Her muscles felt sore and achy after a long and mostly sleepless night relieved only by intermittent and angry dreams. She glanced briefly at Tarrant, who gazed back with an innocent expression that brought her anger flooding back. ‘I decided to have a go at translating those source texts myself,’ she continued, ‘after downloading the expert knowledge necessary to manage it. I had to do a lot of backwards engineering to try and figure out how your researchers built their translation algorithms but, once I had, I realized the missing details were still there, in those source texts.’
She now stepped a little closer to Tarrant, not even trying to hide her contempt. ‘That was a mistake on your part, Gregor, thinking I wouldn’t dig deep enough actually to translate the Meridian records myself. I could hardly believe what I discovered, but the real breakthrough came when I cracked the encryption on those low-energy transmissions you’ve been secretly sending back to the Three Star Alliance.’
Tarrant’s eyes widened, his cheeks flushing with anger.
‘You had no right to intercept our communications,’ said Tarrant. He hadn’t moved from where he sat, but he held himself totally rigid.
Megan smiled humourlessly. ‘We do have a right to know how much danger we’re putting ourselves in, Gregor. Even though each of your messages consisted of no more than a few kilobytes of data, the energy cost of sending them through the tach-net array all the way back to Kjæregrønnested was enough to catch my attention. You covered your tracks, but not quite well enough. I dug around until I found older messages buried in a systems cache, full of all kinds of surprising little details you’ve been keeping from us. Imagine my surprise when I discovered we weren’t the first ship from out of Kjæregrønnested to encounter the Wanderer.’
Tarrant’s expression was unreadable, but Sifra glared at her with undiluted hatred. Bash, meanwhile, simply looked appalled.
Tarrant started to say something, but Bash put up a hand, cutting him off.
‘What ship?’ asked Bash.
‘A deep-space research vessel from Al-Jahar,’ said Megan, ‘called the Kelvin. It was ordered to divert from its course more than a year and a half before we set out. Alliance researchers had located the Wanderer with their probes, and since the Kelvin was already on a deep-space exploratory mission, and the only ship available at short notice, it got sent to investigate. But after it arrived, the Wanderer nearly tore it apart before its crew managed to jump it back out of range.’
Bash stood up, his expression thunderstruck, and stared at Tarrant. ‘Is this true?’ he demanded.
‘And, according to those records I translated,’ said Megan, ‘the same thing happened to the Shoal. They approached the Wanderer and it attacked their ships – except they called it the Marauder, and with good reason. It was powerful enough all on its own that they were forced to retreat, and it refused to negotiate with them except on its own terms – ones that were apparently unacceptable to the Shoal.’
‘But what about the Meridians?’ asked Bash. ‘And the Atn? They encountered the Wanderer long before the Shoal did, and it didn’t attack them.’ Doubt flickered across his face. ‘Did it?’
Megan shook her head. ‘No, it didn’t attack them, and I still don’t know why. But there’s no way we can proceed without knowing exactly what we’re going to be dealing with – not if there’s any chance the Wanderer might try and attack us as it did the Kelvin.’
‘You’re getting this all wrong,’ said Tarrant. ‘Of course there are some inherent risks in an expedition like this, the same as there are in any such, and we’ve already assessed those risks. But you’re talking as if we’re going out there without any game plan whatsoever. Besides,’ he continued, ‘last time I looked, I was the one in charge around here.’
‘Maybe,’ said Megan through clenched teeth, ‘we should put that to a vote.’
‘All right.’ He raised both hands in a conciliatory gesture. ‘The fact is that we were going to have to tell you the truth about the Wanderer soon enough.’
Bash moved closer to him. ‘What the hell was the point of keeping us in the dark in the first place?’
‘As Megan says, the records show that different species had different experiences when they approached the Wanderer. Sometimes it reacted aggressively, sometimes it didn’t.’ The way he was talking, he sounded almost reasonable. ‘We’re not clear on the reasons for this discrepancy,’ Tarrant continued, ‘but we’ve made reasonable preparations, given what happened to the Kelvin. That much you must understand.’
Bash drew in a sharp breath, his eyes full of betrayal. ‘You still haven’t answered my question.’
‘Maybe it’s because Bash and I wouldn’t have wanted to come out on this trip if we’d known – is that it?’ asked Megan. ‘We’re just one ship up against something that sent even the Shoal running, so what the hell do you imagine is going to happen to us?’
‘We have,’ Tarrant ground the words out one by one, ‘certain advantages that the Kelvin didn’t possess.’
Megan nodded as if he had answered a question. ‘The anti-matter weapons in the cargo, is that what you mean? The ones that came on board with that final shipment just before we left Kjæregrønnested?’
Sifra finally stood up, uncoiling rapidly from where he sat. He made no move towards her, but something in his expression sent a shiver through her.
‘All right,’ said Tarrant, also standing, ‘maybe we should have been more straight with you, and I’m truly sorry we weren’t. But we were in one hell of a hurry to get away before we lost our chance to take command of the Beauregard. Our mission objective still hasn’t changed, and there’s just as much at stake as there ever was. We weren’t sure how you’d react if you knew the whole truth so, yes, we held some details back.’ He let out a sigh and fixed his gaze on Megan. ‘We should have told you sooner than this,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry we didn’t.’
‘And maybe, if that’s all there was to it, I might have been okay with that,’ said Megan. ‘But I haven’t even got to the worst part yet.’
‘Megan,’ said Tarrant, a hint of warning in his voice.
She turned to Bash. ‘Remember the Accord’s justification for the embargo, and why it threatened war against the TSA? It claimed we were retooling our nova drives into offensive weapons.’
‘Except that was all bullshit,’ said Bash, ‘because they never found any.’
‘I seriously wish that was true.’ She stared hard at Tarrant and Sifra. ‘But it’s not. The Schellings built nova mines – as many as a dozen, all of them stockpiled at different locations throughout the TSA. Enough of them to start a whole new Nova War an
d wipe out half of the Accord, if they wanted to.’
‘No.’ Bash turned to stare at Tarrant and Sifra, his fingers flexing by his sides. ‘That’s impossible.’
‘It’s detailed right there in their secret communiqués,’ she said, and pushed the data over towards him. ‘Take a look.’
Bash’s eyes lost focus for a few seconds as he glanced through the data, his expression becoming more and more angry.
‘Is this true?’ he demanded, looking from one man to the other.
‘No,’ said Tarrant.
‘Yes,’ said Sifra, ‘it’s true.’
Bash swore under his breath.
‘What the fuck else were we supposed to do?’ demanded Sifra. ‘The TSA has to be strong, has to be able to protect itself. Just because we have those weapons doesn’t mean we’d ever need to use them. They were a bargaining tactic, nothing more – a way to force the Accord to treat us as equals.’
‘Let me tell you something,’ said Megan. ‘If there’s one thing that scares me, it’s nova mines. When the Accord claimed we had them stockpiled, I didn’t believe a word of it. Nobody did, as Bash just said, because they couldn’t find any evidence. I didn’t believe that anyone amongst the First Families could possibly be so stupid. You can’t build weapons like that and just hope they’re never going to be used. It’s putting billions of lives at risk.’
‘Then we’ll agree to disagree,’ said Sifra. ‘You’ve already been paid. Therefore, in the meantime, there’s no reason not to get the hell on with this expedition.’
‘You sorry bastards.’ Bash shook his head. ‘Don’t you get it? She’s telling you it’s over.’ He caught Megan’s eye. ‘I think maybe the best thing we could do now is turn this ship around and go the hell home.’
‘I agree,’ said Megan. ‘You all lied to us – not just the two of you, but the First Families as well. And, for pity’s sake, Gregor, were you seriously going to try and blow up the Wanderer with those anti-matter missiles stored in the hold?’
‘Consider them a worst-case negotiating tactic,’ he said, his face like stone.
‘You know what?’ She glared at him with contempt. ‘If this is what the Three Star Alliance stands for, I don’t want any part of it. Not any more.’
She turned and moved towards the astrogation chair. Before she had taken more than a few steps, a hand grabbed hold of her shoulder, yanking her around hard. She found herself face to face with Tarrant, his face twisted and furious.
‘We are not turning back,’ he said.
Megan tried to break loose. ‘That’s not your decision to make any more.’
Bash stepped forward, pushing Tarrant away from her with enough force that he stumbled and fell against the broad flat base on which the astrogation chair rested.
Bash moved to stand over Tarrant, his fists clenched. ‘With the greatest of respect, sir,’ he said, ‘if you lay one finger on her again, I’ll hit you so hard you won’t come out of a medbox for a year and a day.’
‘The Beauregard isn’t going anywhere I don’t want it to,’ Tarrant said with menace. ‘I have the systems override for the ship, and I can lock either one of you out of that chair at any time I want.’
Megan did not see Sifra moving towards Bash until it was too late; never noticed that he had pulled on a pair of dark gloves, whose fabric was threaded through with fine silver filaments.
These were, she realized belatedly, nerve-induction gloves. A long time ago, someone had used a pair on her, too, and it was not an experience she was likely to forget.
Sifra laid his gloved hands on Bash, who let out a terrible cry of anguish, his back arching as he reached up to try and tear Sifra’s hands loose.
Megan ran forward to help him. ‘For God’s sake, Sifra, don’t—’
Sifra reached out with one hand, grabbing hold of her by the wrist. She screamed, her teeth clenching as pain washed through her in a white-hot tide.
Sifra soon let go of her and she scrabbled back out of his reach. Then he released Bash, who slumped to the floor, unmoving.
‘Stay the hell back,’ Sifra shouted after her. ‘I swear to God, Megan, I’ll kill him now if you move.’
Tarrant went over to kneel by Bash, and Megan saw that a beautifully worked knife had appeared in one of his hands. The blade began to shimmer. Meanwhile, Bash’s skin had turned an unhealthy shade of grey, and he looked as if he was having trouble breathing.
‘Gregor, please.’ She swallowed hard. ‘Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t.’
‘I want you to understand something very important,’ he said, bringing the blade very close to Bash’s throat. ‘We’d prefer to have both of you alive but, if you don’t give us any choice, we’ll see how we get by with just one of you. So you can either cooperate or watch him die, understand?’
‘You’re out of your mind.’
‘You’ve just threatened a mission critical to the TSA’s continued survival, something I’d willingly die for. Tell me, Megan, are you prepared to die for your principles?’
Megan said nothing.
‘That’s what I thought,’ said Tarrant, removing the blade from the vicinity of Bash’s throat. ‘There will be no turning back. Once we’re back home, you’re free to go where you want, do what you want, but until then you belong to me. Both of you.’
She saw Bash stir.
she sent.
Bash sent back.
‘Fine,’ she said, in a voice clipped and cold. ‘If that’s how it’s going to be, we’ll pilot you the rest of the way, and back again. But, after we’re home, promise me I never have to see either of your fucking faces ever again. Are we clear?’
‘Entirely.’ Tarrant nodded tautly. ‘But there are going to be some changes. I need to be sure you won’t make any attempt to compromise our mission.’
Megan closed her eyes for a moment and swore under her breath. ‘So what did you have in mind?’
‘You’ll each keep taking your shifts in the chair, but whichever one isn’t on active duty is going to be held under guard. I’m limiting your external access to either the chair, or the ship’s onboard net. Myself and Anil will take turns in guarding you. And if either one of you tries to sabotage this mission again, the other one dies immediately.’
Megan forced herself to nod.
‘I know you don’t want to hear this,’ said Tarrant, ‘but I’m genuinely sorry about how things have worked out. You should never have gone prying into business that wasn’t yours, Megan.’
Megan stepped past them both to help Bash stand up, holding him under the armpits.
‘Bash,’ Tarrant called after them. ‘I hope one day you’ll maybe understand that we did what we had to.’
‘With all due respect, sir,’ said Bash, without looking round, ‘go fuck yourself.’
FIFTEEN
Megan
Sifra followed them to the medical bay and waited there at the entrance. Megan made a point of ignoring him while she helped Bash get undressed. She pushed up the lid on one of the medboxes and held it open while he crawled inside, before sealing the lid over him. After that she pushed her way past Sifra and cracked open the neighbouring box.
‘You sure you need this?’ asked Sifra. ‘My gloves don’t cause any physical damage.’
She paused, one hand on the open lid of the medbox. The skin over her knuckles, she saw, was shiny and bo
ne-white. ‘We’re machine-heads,’ she said in a monotone. ‘For all I know, you’ve damaged our implants.’
‘I’m not sure that’s—’
‘Don’t you understand?’ she yelled, her control suddenly slipping. ‘If you ever want to find your way home, you’d better make sure your pilots are kept in good condition. Because if you did any serious damage to us, you might want to get used to the idea of spending the rest of your fucking life on this ship.’
Sifra’s demeanour turned even more hostile. ‘Fine, then, get the hell on with it.’
‘I don’t want you in here while I’m getting undressed,’ she said. ‘You can go and wait outside.’
He shook his head. ‘I’m not letting you out of my sight for one—’
‘Goddammit,’ she screamed, ‘I want you out of here!’
Sifra’s nostrils flared, and for a moment she wondered if she had pushed him too far. The last thing she wanted was for him to use those gloves on her a second time.
‘Fine,’ Sifra spat. ‘You’ve got two minutes.’
‘Five,’ she said, as he stalked back outside.
She undressed quickly, climbing inside the medbox and pulling the lid down over her.
She kept trying to think of some other way she could have handled things, but however she played it out in her head, it kept coming out the same way.
She felt something gently prick the skin of her arms, back and legs. Bash was right, she thought, in those last moments before she lost consciousness. They’d find some way to get through this, somehow.
Whatever it took.
A few days later, Megan found herself back inside the astrogation chair, while Bash was spending yet more time in a medbox. He had needed four or five consecutive sessions so far, since Sifra’s gloves had apparently caused more extensive damage to his higher-level functions than Megan had anticipated. She had required a few additional spells in the medbay herself.