“Lessons?” I hiss at Alisa.
“He’s been learning about the Moon.” Then, after she notices me glaring at her: “Give me a break. He knows where he is. He knows what year it is. We couldn’t exactly not teach him about his homeworld.”
“Does your facility have a suggestion box?” I ask. “Because I need to fill out a few thousand comment cards and shove them—”
“Stand down, Kangaroo,” Jessica says. “You can vent later.”
“Yeah, you’re on the list too,” I say to her.
She replies with her trademark steely gaze. I lose the staring contest, as usual.
I look back over to where Rich is chatting with Joey about the mineral composition of the Lunar surface.
“Very good, Joey,” Rich says. “What else do you remember?”
“There are three common isotopes of oxygen,” Joey says. “They can tell you which planet a rock came from!”
“That’s great. You’ve really been paying attention to your lessons. Well done.” Rich nods at Alisa. “So, Joey, can you see any craters? Are we still flying too fast?”
Too fast? Too fast for what? That seems bad. Where could we possibly be going? I hope the kid hasn’t been running the engines at full throttle. It wouldn’t take much for a small ship like this to reach escape velocity and spin out into open space.
“Oh, we’re over the Sea of Crises now,” Joey says, matter-of-factly, as if he weren’t in huge trouble. “I started slowing down a minute ago. We’re almost at the Sea of Tranquility.”
“What?” I say out loud.
Rich hits the mute button. “That’s really distracting.”
“Did I hear that right?” I ask. “We’re headed for the Apollo 11 landing site?”
“Unless I can talk him out of it,” Rich says, “which I can’t do if you’re making noise back there.”
“Okay, go,” I say, nodding. “Hurry up.”
He unmutes the intercom. “Hey, Joey, you know that place is going to be really crowded, right? Maybe we should head somewhere else. There are lots of other historical sites around the Moon. Do you remember some of the ones you learned about last week?”
“Oh, it’s cool,” Joey says. “The Sea of Tranquility has been cleared of people. Some kind of security alert or something. I heard it on the news.”
We all exchange confused looks. Rich waves at us to stay quiet.
“That’s very interesting, Joey,” he says. “What else did you hear on the news? Are you listening to the news right now?”
“Nah,” Joey says. “It was too distracting. I need to concentrate on flying the ship. That’s what you always tell me, right? Don’t try to ‘moldy-task’ when you have one really important thing to do?”
“That’s right. That’s very good, Joey,” Rich says. “Are we going to be landing soon?”
“In about fifteen minutes,” Joey says. “Oh, yeah! I need to figure out how to land. Bye!”
“Wait, Joey—”
The intercom beeps, and the screen goes dark, indicating the channel has been closed. Rich taps at the panel, but apparently Joey has control of everything at the moment.
“That’s no good,” Rich mutters, then starts rapping the cockpit door with his fist. “Joey? Joey!”
While that continues, I turn to Hong. “How the hell can he be receiving anything? I thought the stealth hull absorbed all incoming energy.”
“It should,” Hong says. “Maybe some kind of new transductile stealth material? Something that redirects incoming energy instead of just absorbing it?”
“That wouldn’t work,” says a gravelly voice behind us. We all turn, and I see Jane Doe watching us with a toothy grin.
“How long have you been awake?” I ask.
Jane Doe chuckles. With her voice, it sounds like a rockslide ending in a bottomless pit. “The forward shutters are open. The kid’s looking out the window.”
“And radio signals can get through the plexi,” I say. “But then why aren’t we getting signal back here?”
“Bulkhead’s shielded,” Jane Doe says, tilting her head toward the front of the cabin. “Can’t smuggle very effectively unless you can hide your passengers and cargo from scanners.”
“Great,” I say. “So not only does he have control of the ship, he also has more information than we do.” I still can’t quite bring myself to call him “Joey” out loud. It’s just too ridiculous.
“At least he told us something,” Jessica says. “We need to stop this ship. If we get anywhere near the Apollo 11 site, whatever security forces are there will detect us and mostly likely shoot us down.” She turns to Jane Doe. “How do we get into the cockpit?”
“We don’t,” Jane Doe says. “This is my ship. I made sure nobody back here could cause too much trouble. I’m afraid we’re just along for the ride, Doc.”
“This ride is likely to end with a surface-to-air missile blasting us out of the sky,” Jessica says. “Are you going to help us, or are we going to sedate you again?”
“You could hire me,” Jane Doe says.
“Excuse me?” Jessica says.
“Hello? I’m a mercenary,” Jane Doe says. “I got nothing against the government. I mean, I got no particular love for you feds, but I’ll take any job if the price is right. Especially if I’m saving folks instead of hurting them or stealing their stuff. That’s like a bonus and shit.”
Alisa moves up next to Jessica and speaks under her breath. “I don’t trust her.”
Jessica grimaces at Alisa. “I don’t trust you. We’re still talking.”
“I’m the ranking officer here,” Alisa says. “And I don’t like this.”
“Maybe we should sedate you, too,” Jessica says.
Alisa scowls at her, and now I see the family resemblance. “Do you like being court-martialed? Because I can definitely arrange that, sis.”
“Kangaroo,” Jessica says, projecting her voice in my direction, “what’s our ETA?”
Yeah, I’m predictable. I blinked a countdown clock into my eye as soon as Joey told us where we were going. “Twelve minutes, twenty seconds.”
“You have two minutes to think of another plan, Doctor,” Jessica says to Alisa. “Otherwise we’re hiring a mercenary.”
* * *
After conferring with Rich for ninety seconds, Alisa gives up and grudgingly tells Jessica to go ahead and waste her money. Hong has managed to stay neutral and quiet through all this.
“Are we really doing this?” I ask Jessica, turning away from Jane Doe and lowering my voice in an attempt to get us some minimal privacy.
“Do you have a better idea?” she asks.
“Do you always answer a question with another question?”
“Does that bother you?”
If I didn’t know her better, I’d think she was making a joke. “Forget it. Do you need some cash? I have emergency funds in the—”
“Shut up,” Jessica says. “We’re not reading her in to any classified information. We just need her for tactical support. Understood?”
I nod. “So how are you going to pay her?”
“I have a discretionary fund for medical emergencies.”
“I mean, are you going to use a credit card, or what? I don’t think she’s just going to accept a handshake deal here.”
Jessica makes a noise that could be the most ladylike grunt I’ve ever heard. “Currency is nothing more than promissory notes, backed by the faith and force of the United States government. All she has to do is trust me.”
“Right. And how is that going to work?”
Jessica glares at me. “Just let me handle this, Kangaroo.”
I raise both palms in a gesture of surrender and step back. Jessica walks forward to where Jane Doe is still restrained to the bench against the side of the ship.
Jessica holds up the key for the restraints. “I’m going to release you now.”
“You don’t want to negotiate first?” Jane Doe asks. “Haggle for a lower price while you still have s
ome leverage over me?”
“We’re all in the same boat,” Jessica says, kneeling and undoing Jane Doe’s ankle clasps. “Consider this an olive branch.”
“I don’t know what any of that means,” Jane Doe says, “but I appreciate the gesture.”
After Jessica finishes, Jane Doe stands up and stretches. I hear joints cracking.
“Ah, that’s better.” She nods at Jessica. “You ready to do some business?”
“Fifty thousand dollars,” Jessica says.
Jane Doe doesn’t react, but I have to work to contain my surprise. “Length of contract?”
“One week, or until Joey—the child—is safely returned to a federal facility under our control. Whichever comes sooner,” Jessica says.
“I can live with that,” Jane Doe says. “Also. I want any damage to my ship repaired.”
Jessica snorts. “Dream on. You’ll be lucky if US-OSS doesn’t impound this spacecraft.”
Jane Doe raises her eyebrows. “That’s not okay with me.”
“How many illegal modifications have you made to this vehicle?” Jessica asks. “No, wait, don’t answer that, let us figure it out for ourselves. It’ll be more fun that way. Don’t worry, we’ll compensate you for the blue book value of the original spaceframe.”
“You’re just going to let the feds steal my personal property?” Jane Doe asks.
“You were going to kidnap a child,” Jessica says.
“I didn’t know,” Jane Doe snaps. Apparently this is a sensitive subject for her. “The job spec just said to grab her”—she points at Alisa—“and her medical equipment and anybody traveling with her. They didn’t tell me it was a kid.”
Whoever hired Jane Doe couldn’t possibly have known about Joey, but Jessica doesn’t reveal that. Better to let Jane Doe stew in her own guilt for a bit and soften her up for the ongoing negotiations.
“You can ask for an independent appraisal of this ship if you prefer,” Jessica says. “But I recommend you let my department’s Equipment officer perform the inspection. He’ll give you fair value for the parts, if nothing else.”
“Serves me right for agreeing to work with a government,” Jane Doe grumbles. “Anything else?”
“We’ll compensate you for any reasonable expenses. That includes all consumables: food, water, ammunition, medical supplies.”
“Right. I’ll make sure to save my receipts.”
“And you report to me,” Jessica says. “No one else.”
“What if you’re called away? Or sleeping?” Jane Doe asks. “Who’s your second in command?”
“Nobody,” Jessica says. “If I’m out of commission, you follow the last standing order you got from me, or you keep your own counsel. I’m paying your bills for the next week. Do we have a deal?”
Jane Doe smiles and extends a hand. “Sounds good to me, Doc.”
“The name’s Chu.” Jessica shakes Jane Doe’s hand.
“Whatever. You got a preferred handle?”
“Call me Surgical.” Jessica turns to include the rest of us. “Let’s talk about getting into that cockpit.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
The Moon—nearside
11 minutes before we start buzzing tourists
Jane Doe is awfully sanguine about discussing possible ways to take apart her own ship, but maybe the idea that the feds are going to take it away anyway has softened the blow already.
“What about the cockpit door?” Jessica asks. “That’s our most direct point of entry.”
“Heavily reinforced,” Jane Doe says. “Sorry. I transport a lot of, shall we say, unusual cargo back here. It’s in my best interest to make sure the door stays locked. And it appears you’ve already bypassed the lockpad”—she points at the panel we cut through earlier—“so we can’t use that trick again.”
“It’s still just a door, though, right?” I ask. “Didn’t you build in any kind of failsafe, just in case you got into a situation like this?”
“Where I’m trapped in my own cargo bay?” Jane Doe gives me a dirty look. “I figured if I ever ended up here, I’d already be dead.”
“Pessimistic much?”
“It’s the life I chose,” she says. “I don’t have a government or a guild to hide behind. But I also don’t have to pay taxes or union dues. I call that an even trade.”
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” I say.
“What are you, a socialist?”
“Let’s stay on topic,” Jessica says. “Are there any other ways into the cockpit? Through a service hatch? The avionics array?”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Jane Doe says, “but I’ve made a lot of special modifications to guard against intruders.”
“Hey!” Rich shouts from the forward part of the compartment, next to the intercom. “Has anyone else noticed we’re not descending yet?”
“I guess he hasn’t figured out the landing sequence yet,” I say. “That’s good. It gives us more time to figure out how to get into the cockpit.”
“No, he knows how to work the thrusters,” Hong says. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to tilt the ship upright from dragging along the ground.”
“He might be—” Alisa starts, then clears her throat. “Joey might be unconscious.”
“Um, why?” I ask.
She glares at me. “You know about his medical condition.”
“We should send somebody outside to look in the window,” Hong says, looking at Jane Doe.
“Yeah, sure,” Jane Doe says. “I’ve got a cable rig for my suit. We’ll be able to talk to each other while I’m outside.”
“Go ahead,” Jessica says.
I step close to Jessica and lower my voice to speak to her while Hong and Rich help Jane Doe into her armored spacesuit.
“Should, uh, somebody go with her?” I ask Jessica.
“Do you have another armored pressure suit in the pocket?” she replies.
“You really want ‘Scorpion’ in the cockpit? By herself?” I ask. “What’s to stop her flying the ship away after she regains control?”
“We made a deal,” Jessica says.
“You shook hands,” I say. “She’s a mercenary. I don’t think we can trust her to—”
“If she breaks the contract, we have every reason to go after her with all the resources at our disposal,” Jessica says. “Besides, I’m sure she can’t wait to get all these strangers out of her home. Our interests align, for however briefly.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
“Let’s keep our eyes open.”
* * *
Jane Doe goes out the side airlock with a spool of tether cable. We all stare at each other for a minute while waiting for her to connect the cable to the communication port she claimed was on the outside of the ship. I wonder if anyone else is having the same doubts I am about Jane’s trustworthiness.
The intercom chirps, and Jane’s voice comes through in a filtered buzz. “Comms check, repeat, comms check, over.”
Jessica taps the intercom. “We receive you, five by five. Acknowledge, over.”
“Sounds good,” Jane says. “I’m moving forward now.”
I don’t hear her breathing or any other ambient noises. The suit microphone must automatically mute itself until it detects sound that resembles human speech.
“Fuck me, that’s close,” she says after a few seconds. “Moving faster.”
“What’s close?” Jessica asks.
“We’re approaching the museum,” Jane Doe says. “Still got time, though.”
“Can you be more specific?” Jessica asks.
“Hey, I can whip out my range finder, or I can get into the cockpit and stop this bird. Which one do you want?” I’m impressed that Jane manages to say all this with a minimum of attitude in her tone.
“Get to the cockpit,” Jessica says, then turns to me. “Kangaroo, what’s our ETA?”
“Five minutes, twelve seconds,” I read off the countdown timer
in my left eye.
“Maybe we should all get strapped into safety harnesses,” Hong says. “Just in case.”
“Shit,” Alisa mutters while sitting down.
Hong and I help her and Rich get belted in, then sit down and strap in ourselves. Jessica takes the seat nearest the intercom panel amidships and buckles her harness without looking at it. She’s watching the intercom display very intently.
“Shutters are still open,” Jane reports over muffled scraping sounds. “I’m going to take a look inside. Hopefully the kid hasn’t heard me banging along the hull out here…”
She trails off. After a second, Jessica says, “Scorpion, are you still there? What do you see?”
“Kid appears to be asleep,” Jane says. “At least, I hope he’s asleep. His face looks a little blue.”
“Tell her to get in there right now,” Alisa says.
Jessica holds up a hand. “We’re short on time, Scorpion.”
“Copy, Surgical, I’m working on it,” Jane says. I hear more noises I can’t quite identify. “Going to use a small shaped charge to crack the starboard window. Shouldn’t take me more than thirty seconds to get inside and seal it up again.”
“You need to get an oxygen mask on Joey as soon as possible!” Alisa shouts.
Jessica nods. “Did you get that, Scorpion?”
“Oxygen mask on the kid, copy that.” I hear soft beeping noises. “Fire in the hole.”
A muffled thump vibrates the front part of the ship, and then I hear more scraping and banging noises through the cockpit door. Jane must be making a lot of noise for it to be getting through the shielded bulkhead.
“Sounds like she’s in,” I say.
“Twenty seconds,” Alisa says, looking at her wristband. “Come on!”
The cockpit door slides open with a loud whoosh. Jane Doe walks through, her helmet off, and swings her head around the compartment. “Who’s the doctor back here?”
“I am,” Jessica and Alisa say at the same time. They both start unbuckling their safety belts, but Jessica wins the race and bounds forward into the cockpit after Jane. Alisa follows close behind, and I move forward to see if I can look out the window.
“Three minutes to target,” I call out into the cockpit. “If anyone’s going to see us, it’s probably going to happen soon.”
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