“Chief, what happened?” he asked quietly. “You look a bit rattled.”
Reyes saw the others inside the medical bay over Parker’s shoulder. He made a head motion. “Inside.”
Wilson stepped forward and shook Reyes’ hand. “Good to see you back, sir.”
Reyes nodded at him, his eyes taking the short party in. “Rick, good to see you awake.” After a moment he asked Parker, “Where’s the Captain?”
“The Governor stormed in a while ago and took Skipper for a walk. He was pretty unhappy. What’s got you, Chief?”
Reyes looked around the group. “Captain asked me to keep watch on the Prax after he left with your bunch.”
“Right.”
“Well, my team and I were waiting them out where they’d holed up. Nowhere to go, understand? Then, not that long ago, we hear plasma shots going off and everyone dives for cover. But nothing, none of those nasty rock chips come flying.” He rubbed a cheek where a bright red cut sat. “After a while one of the braver Tavar people goes to look and calls the rest of us in to see.” He blinked—a veritable outburst for the Chief.
After a moment Parker prompted him. “And?”
“And they’d blown each other’s heads off, that’s what. The mess was incredible.” His eyes took on a vacant look. “What that last poor sod had to see just before he put the barrel in his mouth…”
“Sounds like they got what was coming to them.”
Everyone turned to Patredes, who’d uttered the words from his bed.
Reyes nodded. “I’m feeling like it’s time to get back to the ship.” He looked around one more time, turning for the door. “I’ll go an’ find the Skipper.”
A Tavarran policeman stopped Reyes outside. “You and your men come with me.”
Reyes eyed the man's rifle, cradled in his arms at easy reach. His own was slung over a shoulder. “Sure, you here on behalf of someone?”
The policeman read his thoughts. “You can keep your rifle. Governor wants to see you right now, up top.”
“And our Captain?”
The man looked unperturbed. “I expect he’ll be there. Either way, the Governor wants you, so that’s where you’ll go.”
“Sure.” Reyes turned and reopened the medical center door. “Guys, Governor wants us all hands on deck. Follow us.”
The group obediently kept up with the policeman who shepherded them through passages that were beginning to feel familiar after several days at the colony. A cargo lift took the men up to the control level.
“I don’t like leaving Patredes and DeBartelo behind, sir,” said Whitney under his breath to Reyes.
“They’re in good hands. Let’s look out for the Skipper and Captain Kendra now.”
The door opened, and they paraded down a well-appointed passage lined with offices and banks of screens displaying cameras tuned to various points within the colony levels. One in particular caught Reyes’ attention; the medical room where Patredes sat, staring at the wall from his bed.
At the end of the corridor they were turned left and down another, even nicer hall. Numerous people dressed in the gray and orange attire of the police watched them pass. Reyes was nodding in greeting to them as appropriate from his position behind their shepherd. Finally, they arrived at a door made of wood—not something seen much on this rock planet—and the policeman opened it for them, stepping aside with a nod to Reyes as if to say thanks for not making my life difficult. Reyes returned the nod and walked in.
The Governor and the Captain were sitting at the far end of a long conference table. “Come in, gentlemen, and have a seat,” waved the Captain.
Reyes walked left and halfway around the rectangular table before pulling out a chair and sitting. Parker, Wilson and Whitney followed suit, everyone looking a little bewildered. Reyes set his rifle on the floor but within reach.
Jackson looked like a man who’d just finished throwing up his lunch. “There are the two in the medical unit.”
Halloran nodded. “Them and Captain Kendra.”
“She’s on her way.”
Halloran caught Reyes’ glance and shook his head microscopically. No trouble. With a last check of his rifle’s location Reyes set a thin smile on his face and clasped his fingers in front of him on the conference table, which he noticed was made from wood as well. In fact, it had a familiar feel about it…the smooth lacquer marred by scratches, yet…
“These men are all from the military you describe. The ‘US Navy’ circa 2029.”
Reyes saw Parker across from him start with surprise.
Halloran took no notice. “Yes, and the two in the medbay. Plus another dozen or so aboard the Serapis. There are several others…still on Earth as I described earlier.”
So the Captain had told the Governor everything, Reyes realized.
“And the Prax—they devised this time machine? Do you agree with this account?” The Governor addressed Parker.
“Yes, sir.”
The door opened and Captain Kendra and Max from Tavarran Security entered. Kendra looked from Halloran to Jackson, then sat next to Parker on Halloran’s side of the table, which did not go unnoticed by the Governor, who shifted in his chair. Max walked around and sat next to Reyes, looking from the gun on the floor to the Chief with a slightly raised eyebrow as he did.
“Now that we’re all here, Governor, I think it’s time we discussed our departure from Tavar.”
Jackson had his own hands on the table and he lightly drummed his fingers before answering. “Captain, there’s a matter of accountability I must broach with you…and your men here.”
“Go on.” Halloran pushed back a bit from the table, one hand on its edge.
“The record shows that you swore an oath to the Republic of Tavar. I understand your desire to return to Earth as you related to me, but I would contend that you and your vessel should be held accountable, at least in part, for the defense of this planet.”
“Your assistance in arranging the materials and equipment to facilitate the repair of my ship is greatly appreciated.”
“A ship that is constructed, by your own admission, of Tavarran state property—now captained by a Tavarran citizen as well,” Jackson countered.
“The Captain and crew of the Serapis owe Tavar a debt—of this I am not in dispute.” Halloran smiled.
“As do the people and government of Tavar do to you, in your aid rendered to discover and flush out the Prax infiltration. But, as Governor I feel obligated to clarify this matter before allowing your party to leave.”
Halloran’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t say that earlier. You’re going to hold us hostage?”
Max said, “A debt is owed. The steel and services—.”
“—Are more than repaid by the sensor scans and personnel assistance rendered,” finished Halloran. He leaned in. “We have two men down for you, Governor.”
The room was still as the two leaders glowered at each other. Finally, Kendra broke the tense silence. “Look, it’s my fault that we’re here now.” When the two looked her way she continued. “When the Valor entered orbit, I knew that we needed a new plan. Heres isn’t that stupid; he’ll smell something is up right away when we lift off with a load of steel and then disappear somewhere in mid-orbit.” She looked around the table. “Does everyone remember what happened last time we faced him?”
“We need a distraction.”
Everyone looked at Reyes, who’d blurted the words out uncharacteristically.
Halloran responded first. “The Chief has a point. We need to effect the repairs on the ship, and you need a reasonable exit strategy with regard to this Prax incursion on your territory; when the Fleet hears about it they’ll be down here in force to protect their investment.”
Jackson had the look of someone who’d already come to his conclusion. “All right, Halloran. You can have your repairs but you need to shield Tavar from any consequences from the Fleet once they find out about the Prax here.” His shoulders slumped somewhat.
“And they will; this place is not airtight with regard to Fleet informants.”
Halloran stood; the meeting was his now. “Chief, got any ideas in your mind?”
Reyes was looking at his rifle again. It was in his hands now. “Yes, sir…I think I do.”
After the men had hurried off with Max to work on Reyes’ idea, Jackson, Kendra and Halloran lingered in the conference room. Halloran bent under the table. “This is an old Earth furniture piece; where’d it come from?”
“The first colonists—my family among them—brought relics of their old life on Earth. I don’t know much about it except that their world was badly damaged by the ancient war.”
Halloran ran his hand over the tabletop. “See this inlay? It’s called ‘leather’ and it’s skin from an animal called a cow.”
Kendra rolled her eyes. “How barbaric.”
Halloran tapped the table. “It’s very ornate. Must have come from an important place on Earth.”
Jackson nodded. “Telos would know. He probably has the original records.”
“Telos?”
“He’s an archivist.”
“An archivist?” Halloran was surprised.
“Yes, an archivist collects information of historical—.”
“Right, I know what they are, Jackson. Who’s this guy you’re talking about?”
Jackson shrugged. “Only the elders know much about him. He operates one of the oldest archives in humanity. Those of us from old families periodically use him for research of claims against other families.”
“Is he on Earth?”
Jackson laughed. “No, I should hope not. The Prax would’ve gotten him right away. He and his bots renovated an old orbiting station not too far off, in the Perses system. The Fleet knows about it but leaves him alone. I hear the Haulers keep him supplied.”
Halloran was thinking. “So this archive has a lot of ancient historical Earth data?”
“More than any other I know of between Earth and Coloran.”
Kendra spoke. “What are you up to, Halloran?”
Halloran put a hand on both of their shoulders. “You can both call me ‘Tom’ if you ever get around to remembering that. But not in front of my men, thanks.”
“Two names,” Jackson said to Kendra. “How strange.”
“Once we get out of here I might want to pay this Telos fellow a visit. Can you get me the coordinates for our navigational system?”
Jackson stepped to the door. “Will do that right now. You two should prep for your flight.” And he was gone, bald head reflecting the light of the outside hall as he walked off.
“I like him,” Halloran announced.
“Hmph. At least you don’t call him ‘ma’am.’”
Halloran opened the door for her. “What is that about?”
With a grunt, Kendra pushed by him and took off at a quick gait.
In the hangar bay, the Tavarran lift engine was ready to go and Kendra was waiting for the group in the Serapis shuttle.
Max shook Reyes’ hand. “Safe travels, Abran.”
“Take care of our adopted home planet, Max. And take care of my two men ‘till I come back for them.”
“Will do. I expect your little diversion will stir up some interest from the Fleet gang. We’ll keep your men out of sight if it comes to it.”
“Keep your head down.”
Max grinned. “I like that. ‘Keep your head down.’”
Reyes joined Parker at the lift engine. “So you’ve got this all planned out, right Chief?”
“Absolutely, Master Chief. What could go wrong?”
Reyes slapped him on the back. “Let’s not keep the lady and our two replacements waiting.”
Once the remains of the shore party were aboard, Kendra fired up the ship’s main engine and they lifted into the air. As they watched, the lift engine followed them, its onboard nav computer programmed to track them all the way to the Serapis. Inside it was Anders, who had volunteered to go with the Americans along with…Cassis.
Halloran watched Reyes strap in. “That thing will fly back by itself?” He asked Parker. “The Governor promised me those two men as replacements for Patredes and DeBartelo.”
“Yes, sir, they’ll EVA over to the ship while repairs are underway with the bots. Cassis—the dock guy—has experience with those things. Then the lift will autopilot back home.”
As they rose, they passed a series of viewports in the levels. At one, Halloran caught sight of Jackson standing with his hands behind his back. He pointed the figure out to Kendra with a tap on her shoulder.
“Watching us go,” she commented.
“Man’s got some resolve. He runs quite an operation in what amounts to the middle of a war zone.” He was silent for a moment, then, “Makes me want to return to Earth all the more. We’ve got things to make right.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Jackson’s not the only one with a resolve of steel.”
“Serapis shuttle…hangar control. shell opening. safe journey and send us back our lift and bots.”
“Will do, hangar control. Shuttle out.” Kendra closed the comm. “No point in any further advertising over the comms.”
“Time to ship?”
She checked the readouts. “If they are still in the same orbit, we’ll link up with them in twenty minutes.”
Halloran leaned back and said to Parker. “Chief, twenty minutes to shipside. Then who knows how much time we can give you.”
The Chief nodded. “Give me another thirty beyond that and we’ll be ready to jump out of here.”
Chapter 26
Aboard Valor
“Has it moved?” Heres stopped behind Renno.
“Hard to tell from this position in the atmosphere, sir. As you noted, the anomaly is carefully positioned on the far side of the planet from the rest of the Fleet ships.”
“Captain,” said a tech nearby. “Captain Orris for you.”
Heres sat at his station and pulled up the monitor in front of him. The face of the older Captain lit it up. “Captain Heres, may I ask what you are doing?”
Heres nodded to the tech. “Please switch us to the secondary channel.” The Fleet kept a rotation of alternating comms in order to confound listeners. When the tech nodded back, Heres smiled at the screen.
“Captain Orris. I am moving my ship closer to a scanning anomaly currently in low orbit.”
Orris frowned. “Can you be more specific?”
“May I have permission to conduct this maneuver beforehand?”
“So I understand this; you’ve identified an anomaly in orbit and want to maneuver closer to it—just not in the normal fashion of adjusting to match?”
Heres paused. He was placing a lot of stock in Renno’s hunch that the “anomaly” was being identified by the targeting computer as matching the readings shortly after the Prax warship had disappeared off their sensors back in the Luyten system. Computers were known to be wrong in their target designations before—actually quite often at longer ranges or when conditions weren’t optimal. But—and this was a big but—if that was indeed their prior quarry renegade Captain, Heres knew that simply dropping into a lower orbit and adjusting velocity to match would spook him and send him off to yet another system. Suddenly, Tavar itself and the drudgery had been replaced by the thrill of the chase once again. No, it just had to be Halloran. “Captain, unless there is another more pressing concern to address my crew to?”
Orris’ face revealed that he was perfectly aware that there wasn’t anything else, and that Heres would get his way. “You may proceed with your…maneuver,” he growled with frustration.
“Thank you, sir. Oh, and please, no open-comm communication until we advise otherwise?” He flashed another smile.
“Orris out.” The screen went dark on the annoyed senior Captain’s face.
“Now we’re committed, sir,” observed Renno dryly.
“Sir!” called another sensor tech. “Picking up two small craft in a
scent from the colony.”
Heres leaned over the armrest to see the tech. “Heading is the spaceport?”
She shook her head. “No, sir, the vector is taking them in the opposite direction…one is ID’d as a Tavarran lift engine towing a cargo. The other is…” She looked at him with confusion. “Uncategorized.”
Heres smacked the armrest with a fist. “Renno! Pick up the pace. Weapons powered up and ready to engage!”
The weapons Lieutenant turned to him. “Sir? We’re in orbit with three other Fleet units…what are we powering up for?” She wasn’t in on the “maneuver” yet.
“Just do it, Lieutenant. Renno, talk to me!”
She was flicking between screens, making adjustment furiously. “I think we got them, sir. The vector is a perfect match to a geostationary path to the anomaly.”
Heres stood up, excitement coursing through his veins. “That just can’t be a coincidence. Prepare to—.”
“Sir!” The sensor tech was looking at Renno for confirmation. The latter saw her stare and went back to her instruments. “Confirmed. Captain, there’s been a massive explosion on the planet surface.”
“Sir, Captain Orris on the comm.”
Before Heres could move, the senior Captain’s voice filled the Valor’s bridge. “Valor, abort your current maneuver and prepare to close with the rest of the flotilla. Governor Jackson is reporting a Prax attack on their refining facility!”
“What!” Heres stormed over to Renno expectantly.
Renno pointed at a display. “Readings confirmed, sir. There was a factor-six internal explosion within the colony’s secondary facility.”
“Captain Heres, acknowledge my directive,” Orris said over the comm.
Heres looked from the sensor image of the rising small craft to the other of the expanding cloud of debris that was already dissipating in the harsh surface winds. He squeezed the back of Renno’s chair. “It’s a distraction,” he fumed. “It’s too perfect.”
“Try telling Orris,” Renno offered.
Resolve of Steel (Halloran's War Book 2) Page 20