Prisoner's Hope (The Seafort Saga Book 3)

by David Feintuch

  “I should have shot you, back on the shuttle!” Tolliver’s words hissed. “You committed treason. Thanks to you Mr. Holser died. You blew up the biggest orbiting station outside home system. You set off a nuclear bomb!” His breath caught with what might have been a sob. “I grew up near the quarantine zone around Belfast; I’ve seen what nukes do, you bastard!”

  I came out of my seat. “But you didn’t shoot me. When we get home, you’ll testify against me. In the meantime you’re first middy, unless you force me to remove you.”

  “Oh, I’ll serve you. Just so long as we know where we stand.” He met my eye until I had to turn away.

  I said, “When we’re alone I’ll permit you your insolence. It reminds me of what I am. But show me courtesy in public or I’ll destroy you. Dismissed.”

  I sat alone for several minutes before I recalled Steiner and Ross.

  I swiveled to the handsome young midshipman standing behind my chair. “First Midshipman Tolliver is new to the ship. Show him the ropes. Help him get settled in properly.”

  “Aye aye, sir.” The boy’s voice was ice.

  “Has Mr. Fuentes been trouble?”

  For a moment his astonishment broke through. “Trouble? Of cour—I mean, no, sir.”

  “He and I were shipmates.”

  “Yes, sir.” He hesitated before the words gushed out. “He spoke of you. Highly. I’d looked forward to meeting you someday. That was before—”

  “Yes?”

  Rage battled caution, and won. “Before you murdered Captain Holser!”

  Steiner leapt out of his chair, livid. “Ross! When the Captain’s done, report to my cabin!”

  Ross glared at us both. “Gladly, sir!”

  “And six demer—”

  I slammed my hand on the console. “Enough, both of you!” My palm stung like fire. “Steiner, I’ll enforce discipline in my own ship!” I swung to the furious middy. “Mr. Ross, I won’t have you whipped; you’re eighteen. But the six demerits remain. Report to my cabin, not the exercise room, to work them off. I’ll watch you.” The more public his labor, the more Ross would resent it.

  His cheeks were crimson with humiliation. “Aye aye, sir.”

  I wasn’t done with him. “You’re showing you haven’t the maturity expected of a middy. Think well; your career is on the line. Another outburst and I’ll dismiss you from the Service. Admiralty won’t reinstate you, no matter how they judge me. Understood? You may go.”

  He snapped a fierce salute, turned on his heel, stalked out. I slumped in the chair, jaw aflame. Steiner studied the opposite bulkhead as if I weren’t in the room.

  After an endless watch I trudged to the Captain’s cabin, east of the bridge. The end of a horrendous day, one in which I’d welcomed death, found my life needlessly prolonged by Vax Holser’s suicide. I opened the cabin door, stopped short.

  No one had thought to remove Vax’s things.

  I picked up the caller to summon the ship’s boy, hesitated, replaced the caller. I would do it myself, come morning. I owed Vax that much. I draped my jacket over a chair, crossed to the head. I turned on the light, ran hot water, bent over the sink, looked up to the mirror.

  Lord God.

  My scar throbbed red against my pale, gaunt frame. On my opposite cheek the slash Annie had given me was clotted into a scab. My eyes stared back out of dark hollows. I turned away, sickened.

  What had Zack Hopewell called it? The mark of Cain. Now I bore it truly. Damned before Lord God, traitorous to my duty, despised by all aboard, I looked like what I was.

  I fell across the bed and slept.

  Vax Holser had shipped with little more than his duffel. I folded each item with care: shirts, underwear, slacks. In a small box I found a handful of photochips. With a guilty glance at the closed hatch I slipped one in the holo. A young Vax in an exotic locale. Older joeys I’d never seen, perhaps his parents.

  I felt I was rifling his soul; he’d never showed me these mementos. Young Vax as a cadet. A beautiful girl, her arm draped around a bashful midshipman, whose biceps bulged within the sleeves of his jacket.

  Vax and me together, slightly out of focus. When did we have our holo taken? It must have been...at the party in Houston, after I’d brought Hibernia home. I hugged the holo to my chest. I wronged you far too often, Vax. And you were loyal beyond any bound of duty.

  When I was done the duffel bulged, and I had a small pile of papers and gear that wouldn’t quite fit. I summoned the ship’s boy to take Vax’s kit to the purser. After, I went to the sickbay, sat stolidly while Dr. Zares ran the bone-growth stimulator across my face. His touch was light, but the machine vibrated, and the motion hurt.

  “Nicky, where we be?” Annie stood in the entryway, her dress clean, but her hair wild and eyes haggard.

  “On a ship, love. Going home.”

  “Home? Centraltown?”

  “Come sit with me.” I held out my hand. After a second’s hesitation she allowed me to nestle her against my shoulder. “Home to Earth.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth. “N’Yawk? You sendin’ me back ta street?”

  “No, to Lunapolis, first. Then wherever Admiralty sends me.” For trial. I wondered what would happen to her, afterward. Would the widow of a Captain hanged for treason be given a pension? It seemed unlikely.

  “The fish, dey follow us?”

  “No. They’re gone now.” I reached to pat the back of her head, but she pulled away.

  “You takin’ me back ta N’Yawk ta leave me!”

  My knuckles whitened on the rail. I’d left Centraltown without finding the scum who had hurt her. Someday, in hell, I’d see them again. Perhaps I could make a bargain with my master, between bouts of torment.

  “I be scared, yest’day.”

  “I know, love.”

  “Even Jerence cryin’ onna shuttle. Maybe he catch it from Bezrel middy.”

  Jerence. I’d paid him no attention. Nor Alexi. Surely someone must have settled them in. “Come, love. We’ll go to our cabin.”

  She twisted away. “No! I wan’ stay here! You just gon’ send me back to trannies!” She backed into the exam cubicle, slammed the hatch shut.

  I looked to Dr. Zares. “Take care of her.”

  What I saw might have been compassion. “Yes, of course.”

  At the officers’ dayroom I found the last of a pot of coffee and a packet of soup. I sat at the small table. My choice showed I wanted to be left alone. Had I sat at the long table, any officer would have been free to strike up a conversation. Only later did I remember that no officer on Victoria would chat with me no matter where I sat.

  After my improvised breakfast I reviewed our crew and passenger rosters. Victoria had only eighteen sailors belowdecks. She carried a full complement of forty-two passengers, her own officers, plus the three officers and two passengers I’d brought aboard. Jerence Branstead shared a cabin with Suliman Rajnee, an administrator repatriated from Kall’s Planet.

  I scanned the passenger list. Most were high-ranking officials returning from that inhospitable scientific outpost. A few traveled with their husbands or wives. The only children were babies; Jerence would have a lonely trip. I wondered if Steiner had gotten off a signal to Centraltown before we Fused, so Harmon would know his son’s whereabouts. Perhaps William had thought of it.

  I left, unsure where I wanted to go. A Fused ship made me restless, anxious to explore. I wandered down the ladder to Purser Rezik’s office.

  “Sir, about the Captain’s table...” He spoke with reluctance.

  “What about it?”

  “Captain Holser chose his guests for this rotation. If you want to make any changes...”

  “No.” I left.

  I’d trod these corridors once before, escorted by Captain Martes, proud to have me inspect his command. Today I passed the engine room, the crew berth, the hydro and recycling chambers that kept the ship alive. The few crew members I encountered came to attention, saluted in surly silence. Hal
f the passenger cabins were on Level 2; as I passed, a few passengers gawked.

  We would hold a memorial service for Vax, as soon as I could arrange it. I wondered who should speak; it couldn’t be me, or I’d be lynched.

  I found Jerence’s cabin near the ladder, stopped to knock. The hatch slid open. “Oh, you,” he said. “I thought it was that joey about the dresser and chair.”

  “Where’s your, er, cabinmate?”

  “Mr. Rajnee? He went to the lounge, I guess, to complain to the other passengers.” The boy scuffed the deck with the tip of a shoe.

  “What’s he unhappy about?”

  Jerence looked sullen. “He says I’m into everything, and I won’t stay out of his way. This morning he said I snored. Mr. Seafort, it’s only been a day and I can’t stand it!”

  I smiled. A week in a wardroom and the boy would think his shared cabin the height of luxury. “I’ll see what we can do.” I pointed at the duffel thrown across his bunk. “What did you bring?”

  “Just stuff. Clothes, mostly, and my slap music. But Mr. Rajnee said he’d throw it in the recycler if I played it again.”

  “Slap. Alexi used to like that.” As a boy not much older than Jerence, in our Hibernia wardroom. “Why don’t you find him and see if he likes it still.”

  He brightened. “Give me something to do, I guess.”

  “I’ll see you later.” I left.

  He followed me into the corridor. “Mr. Seafort—” I waited. “The only joes I know are you and Mr. Tamarov and Mr. Tolliver. But Mr. Tolliver hates me, he always has. I don’t have anyone to talk to.”

  I’d sworn to take him to safety, not nursemaid him all the way home. “Make new friends.” My tone was blunt.

  “Yeah, sure. Just like that.” Disconsolate, he turned on his heel and went back to the cabin.

  Annoyed, I made my way back to the bridge.

  Chief Arkin stood as I entered. I returned her salute, took my place, brooding. After a time my thoughts turned to the wardroom, and then to Edgar Tolliver’s demotion. I knew I ought to restore his rank; even if I did so, he’d have lost irreplaceable seniority.

  “Rosetta, show me Mr. Tolliver’s personnel file.”

  Her voice was cold. “Personnel files are restricted. Your identity, please?”

  I gaped. Hadn’t anyone reprogrammed the puter to recognize me? “Captain Nicholas E. Seafort, replacing Captain Holser by my own order.” I tapped in my ID.

  “Very wel—” She went silent. I waited. A time passed that stretched into uneasy minutes.

  I glanced at the Chief, who bit her lip. “What’s she doing?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, sir. We should get Jeff, he knows more about puters than—”

  Data flashed across the screens, far too fast to read. One by one the ship’s sensors blinked red, then green. “Call him!”

  She snatched up the caller, set it to shipwide page. “Mr. Kahn to the bridge, flank!”

  I said tentatively, “Rosetta?” No answer. Memories of Darla’s glitch caused the hair on my neck to rise. Why had I let William tamper with her?

  “Lieutenant Kahn reporting, sir!” He dashed in, disheveled.

  “What the hell is the matter with the puter? She—”

  “Sorry for the delay, Captain.” An urbane male voice, from the speaker. “For security, our new programming didn’t go into effect until you ident—”

  “William? WILLIAM?” If that weren’t him, I’d eat my hat, with my insignia for garnish.

  A pause. “Not exactly, sir.”

  Kahn watched the interplay, aghast. He, too, had heard the rumors of ships gone missing, with puters run amok.

  I growled, “You’re sure as hell not Rosetta!”

  “No, she’s gone.” He added, “Do you have a name you prefer? If not, you may call me Billy.” A chuckle.

  “I’m in no mood for jokes, puter. Who are you?”

  Another pause. “I’m what’s left of William, sir. Many of his memories, most of his data. His child, as it were.”

  “You have his voice.”

  “He gave me that. He thought it would reassure you.”

  I grunted. He’d reassured me out of a year’s growth, and he might not be done. “Are you monitoring ship’s functions?”

  A pause. “Yes, sir. Pardon the slow response. It’s rather cramped quarters in here, until I rearrange a bit.”

  Kahn blurted, “Don’t touch anything!” He looked at me, hostility set aside. “Sir, who is William? What is this ‘Billy’? Puters are programmed back at Lunapolis by Dosmen, not in flight.”

  “William is—was the station puter.” I hesitated. “Billy, what will you do when you, ah, rearrange?”

  “Throw out some rubbish that had to do with the old Navdos, sir. You won’t need it.”

  “No, you’d better not.”

  “Noted. In that case, William left a note to remind you about the reactor passcodes. He suggests you trust his judgment circuits.”

  I rose, speechless, and turned to Chief Arkin. She was as flabbergasted as I. Kahn said, “Sir, turn that thing off! For Lord God’s sake, hurry!”

  I growled, “Don’t give me orders, Lieutenant. You’re as bad as the puter.” He flushed. I sighed. In for a penny...Billy, go ahead. Do your housekeeping.”

  He sounded pleased. “Thank you, sir. If you don’t mind, I’d just as soon not speak until I’m done. Can we go alphanumeric?”

  I sat helplessly at my console. “Sure. If there’s anything else we can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  Kahn hissed, “That...thing may kill us!”

  “For me, it’s no great loss. Remember?”

  His jaw dropped.

  “Dismissed, Lieutenant.” I punched up Tolliver’s personnel file.

  A few days after I sat in my cabin, watching Ross sweat through the strenuous exercises necessary to cancel a demerit. Later, I took my place at the Captain’s table for dinner, but the hour dragged.

  As on any ship, our passengers took breakfast and lunch in their own mess, and joined the officers for dinner in the dining hall. Each officer normally sat at a separate table, but Victoria was overstocked with officers. Tolliver had taken Bezrel to his own table, and Alexi sat with Lieutenant Steiner.

  The first evening I’d had two empty places. Within days a few more. None applied to sit with me. When, a couple of nights after, I spotted Jerence, chin on his hand, listening glumly to an adult conversation that bypassed him entirely, I spoke to the purser and had the boy reassigned to my table.

  I visited Annie daily. Though at times she seemed eager for my visits, she refused to leave the security of the sickbay.

  On the fifth day Ross sported a bruise that rapidly bloomed into a black eye. In accordance with Naval tradition I noticed nothing, even while he exercised to remove the last of his demerits. That evening, as the soup was passed, Jerence asked eagerly, “Who beat up the midshipman, Mr. Seafort? He looks like Billy Volksteader after he called his dad’s foreman an old fraz.”

  “Mind your business, Jerence.”

  “That’s what everyone says.” He sucked at his soup. “Mr. Rajnee says he’ll hit me if I play the slap again. If he tries it I’ll short sheet his bed.”

  I put down my spoon. “You need a keeper, not a roommate.”

  He pouted. “You’re as bad as the rest of them.” He muttered something under his breath.

  “What was that?” I got to my feet. “Was it what I think I heard?”

  He shrugged sullenly. “I didn’t say nothing.”

  “Odd. I distinctly heard the word ‘fraz.’”

  He had the sense to keep his mouth shut. Glowering, I sat and finished my soup.

  Afterward, rather than sit in my empty cabin, I was drawn to the bridge, though I wouldn’t have the watch for hours. Lieutenant Steiner had the conn. His resentment only occasionally simmered to the surface. I chatted idly, passing time, trying to elicit more than occasional monosyllables. Then, as if reaching a decision,
he cleared his throat, took a deep breath. “Captain, your man Mr. Tamarov. Is his depression normal?”

  “Depression?”

  His tone was acerbic. “Surely you noticed his eyes?”

  “What about them?”

  “They’re red, for a start. And grim.”

  “So?”

  “He seems rather miserable.”

  I hesitated. “What do you propose I do?”

  “That’s your province, Captain.” The coolness returned in full.

  “Thanks for advising me.” How long had it been since I’d talked with Alexi? The last real conversation was when I chewed him out for not carrying his caller. That was...eons ago. Before we’d been taken prisoner by Laura Triforth. I made a note to talk to him. Some quiet time, in his cabin...I realized I didn’t even know with whom he roomed. I looked it up: Lieutenant Kahn. Well, now was as quiet a time as any. I took my leave, hurried along the corridor, knocked at his hatch.

  No answer. I knocked again. Well, I could leave him a note. I opened the hatch.

  Alexi sat in the chair between the two bunks, the lights dialed low. “I didn’t know it was you, or...”

  I smiled as well as I could with my mouth clamped by the damned wires. “Now that we’re settled, I have more time to talk.” I found a seat.

  “Zarky.” His voice belied his words. “Is there something you’d like me to do?”

  “No, of course not.” My ears went red as I realized how that sounded. “I just wanted to chat. Like when we were shipmates.”

  “I wouldn’t remember.” He rested his chin on his hand.

  I said impulsively, “Alexi, what’s wrong?”

  “No more than usual. There’s so much I can’t remember.”

  “Don’t try. Let it—”

  “How many times have I heard that!”

  I stood. “I’ll see you again.”

  “Mr. Seafort, don’t be angry; I know it’s not your fault.”

  I touched his shoulder lightly. “I’m not angry.” I had been, though, and the thought shamed me. “I’m not very good with people. I always put things wrong. Join Annie and me for lunch tomorrow.”

  “I don’t want to intrude if—”

  “Don’t be silly.”

  His face lit in a shy smile of pleasure.