Double Spiral War Trilogy

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Double Spiral War Trilogy Page 46

by Warren Norwood


  Henley took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m not threatening you, sir. I’m almost as old as you are, and I know better than to threaten a general. I’m just making a promise to Fortuno Mari, the man – the one with pacifist tendencies who beats his pikean mistress.”

  Mari clenched his fists and his jaw, and strained to keep his anger from erupting into violence. Every instinct in his body wanted him to lash out at Stanmorton. Yet even through the red mist of his fury, Mari knew that short of killing Stanmorton, there was nothing he could really do to stop him from carrying out his threat. Mari also knew there was more than enough information in his past to make him vulnerable to a scandal that could ruin his career.

  Henley could almost smell Mari’s hatred for him, but the look on Mari’s face told him he made his point. He might still have to leave Sutton, and he might still find himself locked away somewhere, but at least Mari understood that he would have to pay for doing that – and pay dearly.

  “You don’t quit, do you Mister?” Mari asked through clenched teeth.

  “No, sir, I don’t. Especially when I think I’m right.”

  “Then let me tell you something, Mister. I don’t think you are right. Not one damned bit. I don’t think you belong here, and I don’t want you here.” Mari paused and slowly unclenched his fists, forcing his anger back under control. He had far more important things to worry about than Stanmorton.

  “But I don’t think you’re worth all this trouble, either,” he said with his voice well under control. “So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. You want to report on this war? You want to be with the people doing the real fighting?”

  Henley knew the question was rhetorical, but he nodded anyway, as though by agreeing with Mari he could defuse the general’s anger.

  “Fine. I’m going to send you over to Elias and you can spend your time with General Archer and his troops. Report the war from there, and if you survive this war, don’t ever let me see your face again.”

  Before Henley could answer, Mari turned and left the cul-de-sac, all too aware that he had lost this fight. Yet as he headed for the command section, he felt a grudging admiration for Stanmorton that refused to be dismissed.

  For a long moment Henley listened to Mari’s retreating footsteps and the distant sound of water dripping from the roof of the cave. He wondered more than ever if the torture Mari had suffered had left him stable enough to remain a member of the Joint Chiefs, much less to be leading troops.

  With a quick decision Henley, too, left the cul-de-sac and went to look for the captain in charge of transportation. He wanted to leave before Mari changed his mind. With General Porras now back from the victory at Gresham and all the shifting of troops taking place and the movement of the crudely effective civilian support groups, he just might be able to start on his way to Elias without delay.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Leri had brooded over the decision and turned it in her mind until she knew it could no longer be avoided. Her vision had shown the Castorians helping her people, and the Confidante had confirmed the vision. It was time to contact the Castorians.

  Yet even as she had Weecs make the arrangements for the transmission, her thoughts went back to Exeter. The memory of that horrid Castorian made her shiver. She had trusted him. She had believed that he was worthy of fairer dealing than the inferior humans. But he, he had drugged her and taken her up to his ship and had been prepared to eat her. Leri shivered again and almost told Weecs to cancel her request for a transmission.

  Then she had an idea, a thought that held her in its grip with a special kind of attraction. Maybe there was an answer for her in Exeter’s rude actions, an answer for the revenge she dearly wanted against him.

  It took three seasons before a transmission window opened to Castor. Leri spent most of those thirty hours thinking and rethinking her plan until she was sure of exactly what she wanted from the Castorians and what she was prepared to pay for it.

  Once communications were established, Weecs spent several hours negotiating with several Castorian diplomats before he called Leri to the communications station the humans had built for Cloise. There she found herself facing the picture of a Castorian on the small screen.

  “Proctor Leri?” the scratchy voice of the Castorian asked. “We are most honored by your communications.”

  “Do not rush to judgment,” she said. “I do not expect you to be pleased with me or my people after you have heard my requests. To whom am I speaking?”

  She waited several seconds, expecting a response.

  “There is some natural delay,” Weecs whispered. “The name he gave me was Solliccet.”

  “Then I shall wait to hear your requests,” the Castorian said finally.

  “I want the one who was here as an agent for Sondak, the one the humans called Exeter. Do you know the one I refer to, Solliccet?” She waited patiently this time.

  “I believe I do, Proctor Leri, but I fear he is unavailable to come to Cloise at the moment.”

  “Make him available,” Leri said quickly. “I want to kill him. He is the price of our bargain.”

  “What bargain, Proctor? Castor has no bargain with Cloise.”

  “You do now. Either way you do. If you send Exeter here so that we may extract our revenge for his treachery, you have the bargain that we will not broadcast the location of Castor to every power in the galaxy interested in methane. If you refuse to send Exeter here, you have our promise that your true location will become common knowledge to every methane pirate living.”

  “This is a strange bargain you propose,” Solliccet said after a long delay. “You promise to keep the secret of our location or reveal it in exchange for a Castorian life? Half the galaxy already knows our location.”

  This was not going at all like she had planned it, but Leri was too caught up in the idea of revenge to stop now. She had to let the Castorians know how deeply Exeter had offended her and Cloise by his despicable actions.

  “I’m talking about the location of Castor – the true Castor – not the one you let aliens visit. I’m talking about the planet Castor located on the Standard grid at” – Weecs handed her the coordinates – “polar sector B-four-seven-one-six-six-point-nine-zero-etcetera, equatorial sector A-one-three – but perhaps I shouldn’t continue with this quite yet.” Leri barely had time to shift her weight before his reply started coming in.

  “Stop! Stop! We believe you. For the sake of our souls, stop this Proctor…Ah, thank you. Yes, we would indeed be interested in your bargain.” Solliccet paused and clacked something to someone out of view. “However, Exeter may be something of a problem. You see, we currently have him imprisoned for the crime of eating his offspring.”

  Leri almost laughed when she heard that. “That does not surprise me,” she said quickly, “but should that not make you happy to get rid of him?”

  Again there was a longer than normal pause before Solliccet answered. “That is a question I am not at liberty to answer, Proctor. We are concerned that you would so willingly threaten our whole planet just for the life of one worthless individual. Such an attitude must naturally give us pause to consider any request you make of us.”

  “Then consider this, Solliccet. In exchange for the life of Exeter we also offer you a neutral alliance against the humans – Sondak and U.C.S. both. Let them fight their wards, but let us protect each other.” Desperation was creeping through Leri’s brain. She had meant to start with this proposal and work her way to claiming revenge on Exeter. What is wrong with me? she wondered. What made me change from the plan? Whatever it was, she would have to do something quickly to make amends or her whole proposal would be lost.

  “Now you make us a different offer? Are all of your race as inconsistent as you, Proctor Leri? Or have you yet another of your ‘bargains’ waiting behind this one?”

  “My apologies, Solliccet. My desire for revenge against Exeter has blinded me to the greater purpose we should be considering. Please thin
k on what I have said with that in mind and forgive my impatience.”

  “Perhaps if you told us what offense Exeter committed against you we would be better prepared to consider your suggestions. Otherwise, I fear that these proposals are far too outrageous to merit serious consideration.”

  “He tried to eat me,” Leri said. “He drugged me, took me from my home, and tried to eat me.”

  Solliccet’s reply was preceded by an outburst of clacking. “Understandable,” Solliccet said after the clacking faded into the background, “but hardly acceptable actions for one acting in a diplomatic capacity. You see, Proctor Leri, on Castor you would most certainly be regarded as a delicacy –“

  “You, too?” Leri asked in dismay.

  He continued speaking, quite unaware because of the delay, that she had interrupted him. “ – worthy of the finest meal. However, now that we understand what he did, we will most gladly give your bargain the most intense consideration.”

  “That is all we ask,” Leri said with a sigh. “But we need your answer at your earliest possible convenience, of course.”

  “Of course, Proctor Leri. Of course.”

  The screen went blank and Leri felt a great weariness as she and Weecs made their way back to her chambers. Neither of them spoke, and Leri was grateful. She had almost ruined a great and necessary opportunity for Cloise because of her personal need for revenge, and did not want to discuss that with anyone. Soon enough she would know if her visions could still become reality.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Marsha sat in her room at the LoSazo Transient Officers Quarters on Yakusan and fought back the tears. Never in her lfie had she felt so isolated and alone. Never had she felt so desperate for something she did not know how to obtain. She was still a hundred light years from Oina, with no guarantee that even if she could find some way to get there that Lucky would be waiting for her.

  A knock on her door helped her maintain her composure. When the door slid back, she was so shocked that she couldn’t speak. In front of her stood a huge Oinaise.

  “A thousand pardons for intruding on your privacy, Captain Yednoshpfa,” the alien said, “but I had need to speak to you in private. May I enter?”

  Marsha stood back with a nervous wave of her hand and quickly slid the door closed after he entered the room. “Are you from…I mean, did Lucky send you for –“

  “Patience, Captain. My name is Xindella, and in a moment I will try to explain what I can.” He slowly settled his bulk on the floor against an empty space along the wall.

  Marsha stood waiting impatiently, afraid to hope and afraid not to. Xindella seemed more concerned with getting comfortable than talking to her. “Please, uh, but if you would just –“

  “Yes,” he said, stroking his long, wrinkled proboscis, “I have come at the behest of my cousin, Delightful Childe, whom I believe you know.”

  “Of course I do. Where is Lucky? Is he with you?”

  “Hardly, Captain. At the moment I believe he is stranded somewhere in the March Cluster with a rather unfriendly official from Sondak.”

  Confusion swirled through Marsha’s mind. “Stranded in the March Cluster? Why? What…I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do I, Captain. However, my cousin assures me that he is quite well, and I have obtained the services of a qualified technician to repair his Gouldrive. All that remains is for us to go to the March Cluster and find him.”

  “But I can’t just leave here,” Marsha caught herself. Why not? Why couldn’t she just leave? “You have a ship?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then if I can get aboard, we can –“

  “I have arranged for that,” Xindella said, “but we must be careful There are those who do not approve of what we are about to do.”

  “My father?”

  “I do not know your father, Captain Yednoshpfa, and I would rather not reveal the names of those who are so agitated about my presence. Suffice it to say that they are powerful and I have something they desperately want.”

  “I, uh –“

  “Come to my ship after dark,” Xindella said rising to his feet. “Enter the launch area through Gate A-Seven, and you will see it immediately. As soon as you are aboard we will leave.”

  “Please, don’t go yet,” Marsha said, putting her hand on his arm. His skin felt like soft leather. “Why are you doing this? What makes you think they will let me into the launch area? I don’t understand any of this.”

  “Just trust me, Captain. If you follow my instructions, I will be able to take you to Captain Teeman.”

  Reluctantly Marsha stood back and let him leave. After the door closed, her confusion overcame her and tears rolled freely down her face. Yet even as she cried she began repacking the few clothes and possessions she had taken from her bags.

  She didn’t know how any of this had happened, or why, but she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity Xindella offered her. If he could get her to Lucky, that was all that mattered.

  23

  OLMIS’S READY BOARD LIT GREEN. The crew was at battle stations. “Ready to exit subspace, sir,” the boater said.

  “Our Castorian still will us, Bon?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Watch him. Boater, by the count from ten, Exit,” Ishiwa commanded. His voice was calm, but inside he felt a tremor of anticipation.

  The boater counted down from ten to zero as the seconds ticked off and Olmis slid back into normal space. Silent tension gripped the bridge.

  Somewhere a braking-day ahead of them lay the hunk tender Osoto. Somewhere behind them was the Castorian ship. If it was going to follow them into normal space, it would have to exit subspace with thirty or forty seconds after Olmis did. Even that timing might be too slow unless the Castorian had a terrific set of inertial dampers.

  “It’s veering off,” Bon said finally.

  “Range?”

  “Fifteen-point-four-plus tachymeters and moving away at eleven degrees,” Kleber said.

  “Any chance for a shot, Kleber?”

  “Negative, sir.”

  “Very well then. Secure from battle stations. It looks like that ship isn’t as interested in us as we thought.”

  Ishiwa felt a quiet flash of disappointment as Bon repeated his order. After all the tension caused by the Castorian, it would have been a relief to have taken a shot at it. “Full braking, Bon.”

  “In effect, sir.”

  “Good. Prepare to alert Osoto to our presence and request instructions for –“

  “ – knowledge Misbarret. This is tender Osoto. You are directed to proceed to us at maximum safe-speed for rearming, refueling, and new orders. Please give your estimated time of arrival at our station.”

  Bon glanced at the instruments. “Twenty-one Standard.”

  “Twenty-one Standard hours,” Ishiwa repeated into the microphone. “Request use of rest and recreation facilities for all crew members as –“

  “Sorry, sir. No R-and-R. We will send your preliminary orders as soon as possible. Confirm E.T.A. twenty-one Standard hours. Osoto, out.”

  “Misbarret, out,” Ishiwa said dully. No R-and-R? But why? The crew desperately needed a rest. And so did he.

  “I don’t like it, sir.”

  “Neither do I, Bon. But before we second-guess headquarters and make any judgments, let’s wait and see what our new orders say. Will you take the first watch?”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Thank you. I shall be in my cabin. As soon as the orders come in, please bring them to me.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Ishiwa returned Bon’s salute feeling more tired than ever. As he went to his cabin to complete the final entry in Olmis’s first hunting report, he suddenly wondered if they were going to be sent back to Yakusan for R-and-R? He doubted it. Headquarters wouldn’t do that unless they also had some new weapons or equipment to add to Olmis. Unless…

  As he entered his cabin it occurred to him that headquarters might call Olmis
back if they planned to present decorations to him and the crew for the success of their first mission. As great a waste as that would be of time and energy, he knew it was the kind of thing Admiral Entungee might think was good for morale.

  With a shake of his head he pulled out the hunting report and folded down the little desk. He was doing exactly what he had told Bon not to do – second-guessing the orders. That was always what happened. It was the rare commander who could sit and wait for orders without speculating about what they might contain, and he wasn’t one of them. The regular spacers were even worse about it. Bets about where their new orders would send them were probably already being made and covered throughout the ship. With a quiet grin he set about finishing his report.

  It was less than an hour later when Bon knocked on his open door. “Orders, sir.”

  “Come in.”

  Bon entered with Kleber at his heels. They both seemed to be in a better mood than he when he had left them. Bon handed Ishiwa the code disc, then he and Kleber pulled down the other two seats from the bulkhead.

  “Want to bet on what they are?” Kleber asked.

  Ishiwa laughed. “No. But I will bet that a lot of credits change hands when we announce this to the crew.” He put the code disc in the slot under his viewscreen, and responded to the disc’s requests for identification. As the first page of the orders came up on the screen, he read them aloud.

  “Refuel and rearm with all good speed and report to –“ As he read the coordinates he had a good idea of where they were going – back to Sondak’s polar systems. “You will command a five-hunk timino, a team consisting Misbarret, Holody, Rader, Porcefs, and Koshina.”

  “Group attacks? We’ve never even considered that, sir, much less practiced it,” Bon said.

  “Then we shall have to think about it, Bon – and practice it if we possibly can. Please, let me continue.”

  “My apologies, sir.”

  Once they knew they were going back to the polar systems and would be leading a hunk timino, the rest of the orders came as little surprise – except that Commander Kuskuvyet would be in overall command of all the hunks. That pleased Bon, but not Ishiwa. Kuskuvyet was another kyosei political hack whose military reputation was not highly regarded by anyone Ishiwa knew. Kuskuvyet had risen through the ranks in Marshall Judoff’s wake of influence, but as far as Ishiwa knew, Kuskuvyet had little respectable military experience.

 

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