You never betrayed those words, Jan. I trusted you for that. I trusted you until you took my work and twisted it.
"You look like a man wrestling with the past," said Sarno.
Her words brought his attention to her. She was no longer kneeling at the altar but sitting beside him. Her crucifix glittered in the light from within her fingers.
"I have much to wrestle with," he said.
"Many of us do, Doctor." Sarno set her hands together. "You're a League defector, yes?'
He nodded. "I will not hide it."
"I understand why you would. The League wishes you dead and many others would wish you harm."
"I've learned to accept my life as a fugitive. Captain Henry has been generous."
"So he has." Sarno placed her hands on her knees, leaving her necklace alone for the moment. "Now that you have turned your back on the society you were raised to cherish, what belief do you have in your life now?"
"My belief in Humanity, and my duty as a doctor to heal," Oskar answered.
"But you remain an atheist?"
"I do." He gestured around them. "I appreciate that this brings much comfort and consolation to those who believe, but even after learning how religions truly work, I have no faith in their truth. The universe is the universe, to me. I mean no offense, of course."
"None is taken, Doctor. For a man raised in the heart of the League, you are by comparison a spiritual man simply to say such things." She smiled gently. "Whatever you believe, for you to have such compassion despite the League's inhumanity means God has already touched your heart. In time, I believe you will accept faith into your life, with our Church or another."
Oskar did not share that belief, nor could he hide that, but it did nothing to dent her smile. He chose to reply with a neutral, "Perhaps."
He wondered if she would continue on this course. Early on, Vidia had sometimes pushed the envelope of his patience, so he was familiar with the need of the fervent believer to convert. But when she spoke, he found himself wishing she'd done so. "You clearly had a role in this 'neural control device,' Doctor. I can see it troubles you."
"Profoundly," he confessed. "Since I came to Sagittarius, most of my medical work has been in the camps. Healing the broken bones and cuts of the inmates there, seeing them die slowly from malnutrition when they refused to work, or could not work. I was not ready to see our people act like that toward other humans. We were supposed to be liberating people, not tormenting them." He couldn't hold back his tears as the guilt filled him. "I was desperate to be a real doctor, to heal meaningfully, not to mend wounds that cruelty would inevitably re-open. So I began research into a device that would help people with lost or damaged limbs. We don't have the means to clone replacement limbs like people in Sagittarius do. I thought I could make a cheaper alternative to help people. The neural interface would wirelessly connect a functioning brain to artificial prosthetics, bypassing damaged or degenerated nerves."
"I think I understand," said Sarno. "Someone figured out that it could work both ways?"
"Yes. My mentor came to believe the interface could be turned in the opposite direction. Instead of a brain remotely controlling a machine, a machine could remotely control a brain." Oskar shook his head. "I begged him not to do it. That it was a travesty. It would reduce people to automatons. But he wouldn't listen. He saw it as a way to make socialization camps unnecessary. He wants to plant the device in people and make anti-Social thinking impossible. He was convinced it would result in an end to suffering. An end to the cruelty."
Sarno pursed her lips. "'The road to hell is paved by good intentions,'" she quoted.
Oskar knew enough to recognize the reference. "I… maybe I should have killed him," he stammered, the tears in his eyes flowing ever more greatly. "I had him at my mercy the day I defected. He was sedated, unconscious. Instead, I destroyed our notes, the test implant, the tooling for it. I set him back to the start, and without my input this time. I thought I made it impossible for him to resume, that he would just give up. But I was wrong. I was wrong. I… I could have ended this for good if I'd just pulled the trigger!"
The guilt was too much. Oskar broke down sobbing.
A hand touched his. Through his sobs, he heard Sarno speak again. "You can't blame yourself for the sins of another, Doctor. That day, you chose to be a healer and did not kill a helpless man. And you were right to make that choice. Life is precious. It should never be taken lightly."
Oskar drew in a breath to bring his weeping under control. It didn't entirely work, but he managed to speak. "It is precious. I…" His mind flashed back to the day of the Pluto Base attack, when he was forced to shoot a League crewman to protect his comrades. Fights with pirates where he manned one of the turrets and blew their fighters to pieces, killing the pilots inside. "...but I am not innocent of shedding blood. Not anymore. And because I did not shed blood that day, innocent people have suffered and died. Even more will, I fear, unless we stop Jan."
"I pray we will find a way," she answered.
* * *
The starship dealer Mendoza kept an open yard within the spaceport's launch airspace. It was like any such dealer Henry encountered throughout his spacer career. A central building to house the dealer office and facilities stood in one corner while spacecraft of various sizes abounded in the yard.
Most of the ships were little more than intrasystem haulers or cargo shuttles. If they had Lawrence drives, they were short-ranged models only good for jumping to the nearest star systems, and were far too small for his purpose.
Four ships caught his eye. One was a Holden-Nagata Mark IV, meaning it had a similar design to the Shadow Wolf. He and Tia shared a forlorn glance, remembering their lost ship. "Mark IVs had what, GXR-2500s?"
"No, Mark V was the first model with the GXR series," he replied. "Mark IVs still use BPRs."
Her face twisted in disgust. "Those things. I remember Pieter ranting about them. Definitely out."
The next two ships quickly proved undesirable due to visible hull damage. It was only the last ship that caught their eye. It was wider than the Shadow Wolf was without being shorter. Eight holds jutted out from the sides of the ship to touch the ground, four per side, and two ski rail legs held the vessel's center up when landed.
"Well, that's a classic," Tia remarked. "Auber-Eisenburg Mark V."
"Definitely. And she looks refurbished."
They walked along the one-hundred-and-forty meter length of the Auber-Eisenburg. Henry noted no sign of major hull damage or even a hull breach. Her rear drives were arranged in a curving line of five nozzles—three upper and two lower—that weren't quite two rows without being evenly lined like the Shadow Wolf's four GXRs. "What do you think? GXR-5000s?"
"Definitely the nozzles for 'em."
By this time, their presence was noted in the dwindling sunlight. A portly man of olive complexion bounded up. He had a wispy beard on his round, wide face. "Ah, good day to you! Here to shop, I hope?"
"I need a new ship." Henry still ached having to say that. "Got a price?"
"Oh, a lot of ship for two," the man said. "I've got a nice two-man cargo hauler that should—"
"We've got an experienced spacer crew waiting for their new ship," Tia said sharply. "This is the one we want."
"Mendoza, right?" When the man nodded, Henry said, "Mother Sarno recommended you. That's why we're here."
The gregarious salesman vanished. The man let out a sigh. "Well, if you're mixed up with her, I suppose we should get to business. She's a good ship, probably the best used vessel on planet. I can't part with her for less than a hundred million. Coalition."
Henry exchanged a glance with Tia. They barely had half of that in their operating account, and he doubted Chagger had the remaining deficit. He doubted even Sarno could help there. "You offer payments?"
"Ha!" The man's voice was a bark. "I'm not about to spend the money to send a repo crew halfway across the arm to hunt her down if you short me. A hu
ndred million, up front, or she doesn't fly. And judging by the look on your faces, you don't have the cash. So how about you aim your sights a little more realistically? I've got three other medium haulers—"
"—and two of them need at least a week of major hull repair," Henry finished for him. "And given the state of their hulls, I'm sure we'll find structure damage."
"Then how about my Holden-Nagata Mark IV? Forty million."
Tia shook her head. "This ship's too pricey for most of the traffic through here," she observed. "However you got her, I'm betting you don't have anyone biting on her. Especially not for a hundred million. Even the planetary government would have trouble paying that much. So we'll give you 45 million for the ship as-is and tell everyone how reasonable and honest you were. Drum up business for you." Tia smiled at him. "That's useful, isn't it?"
"Certainly from you, senora," Mendoza said pleasantly. "But I'm afraid that's still too low. Sixty-five, and that's the final offer."
They'd clearly pushed him to his limit. There wouldn't be further reductions. "We'll need to consider it," Henry said. He kept his tone careful. "You'll have our answer soon."
He was ready for Mendoza to give a "now or never" ultimatum. Instead, the response was a nod. "I can do that. But I won't reserve the ship. A better offer comes, I sell."
"Right." Henry nodded to Tia. "Let's go discuss it with the others."
They walked away, leaving Mendoza to return to his office. Once he was out of earshot, Tia was quick to make the obvious point. "We're still at least fifteen million short. And I don't see any bank loaning us for a second-hand sale like this."
"Nope," Henry agreed.
"It's a shame if we have to settle for that Holden-Nagata," she said. "The Auber-Eisenburg has a lot of room for smuggling. We could bring in heavier weapons and gear for the revolutionary cadres."
"Which would also cost a lot of money," Henry reminded her. "Right now, we have to face the facts. If we're going to pull this off, we need allies."
"And you're ready to try?" Tia asked. "Just go in and risk everything?"
"I am. I'm damn tired of seeing the galaxy like it is. It's time to do something about it." Henry's voice didn't waver as he said those words. "But I'm not out to throw our lives away either. If we do this, I want our best shot at winning. That means we reach out to our allies in Neutral Space. We gather as many as we can."
"I've already advised Chagger to send the data on to Cyrilgrad and Trinidad Station. Maybe if they pitch in, we can even get that ship."
"Maybe. And we definitely need the Sisters on board."
Tia's link chimed. She held it up and accepted the call. "I'm here."
"Miss Nguyen, you should get back up here as quickly as possible," Chagger said. "We've found something in the captured data you need to see."
* * *
Vidia was waiting when Tia and Henry left the Mendoza lot. It was clear he was curious, but he said nothing while turning back on the engine of their rented car. It was a short drive to pick up Oskar at St. Francis and return to their shuttles. Once they were back aboard, Tia and Henry headed straight for the officer's wardroom on the Majha while Oskar went to resume operations on the liberated Hestian test subjects.
Kaiya was waiting with Major Wu, Linh, and Miri. Yanik stood quietly in a corner. "What did you find?" Tia asked, curious as to what the Majha captain called them back up for.
"There is more to the alliance between Rigault and the League than we imagined," Miri said. With a tap of her hand on the holo display, she cycled several electronic documents around. "The neural control device is a part of a larger matter."
Tia got close enough to read the documents. "Looks like various ores and metals, and some refined alloys. Why would Rigault need more?"
"It's not just metals and alloys, Miss Nguyen," Kaiya said. "The listed elemental makeup means this is for star vessel construction. Military vessels, to be exact."
"Rigault's going into warship construction?" Tia was surprised at that. "The HBC's mutual cooperation relies on their members reducing competition by working in different markets. Fubuki does this work. Rigault's about heavy industrial equipment; they only produce small arms and support equipment in their war industries."
"That would explain why they need these alloys from the League," Miri said. "They can't manufacture them on their own normally."
"The League's been behind us in technology for decades. Why would Rigault go to them?"
Miri gave Wu an immediate answer. "One of the few areas the League's caught up in is metallurgy and starship alloys. These days, their armor and hull is just as good as Coalition sources. It's in other technologies they've remained behind."
Linh cycled the documents. "Not only has he received the materials for ships, he's already built some of them."
The design blueprints were not in-depth, but they made clear what was being built. The ship wasn't just a cruiser, it was a heavy unit. More importantly, the design aesthetic, while unique, had more in common with Coalition ship design than League.
"That's not right." Henry was reading the offered schematics. "These things have mounted neutron cannons. That's Coalition tech."
"Is someone from the Coalition arming them?" Tia asked Kaiya This doesn't make sense. The Coalition's never worked well with the megacorps. Why help?
"Rogue defense contractors." Kaiya's voice vibrated with anger. "Including Kalling, until recently."
"Of course it has to be them," Tia said, glancing at Henry. He didn't seem perturbed, given his history with the company.
Miri brought up a document. "Rigault's been paying them handsomely for very cheap materials, those allowed for export under the Coalition's wartime regulations."
"A cover."
"The main power sources are proton fusion cores." Linh pointed to the listing. "That's Matrinid technology. The most advanced fusion core tech around, and the best power supply until Doctor Hayworth completed the anti-matter reactor project. And the turreted cannons are muonic weapons. More Matrinid tech."
"Coalition and Matrinid technology." Henry kept scanning the documents too. "All in one hull. Considering the size and armament, this thing's a fleet cruiser. Ignoring the relative lack of missile armament, it's got the firepower to match most of the Coalition's largest cruisers."
"What does a Neutral Space megacorp need with that much firepower?"
Tia started sifting through the documents herself. Most were work orders for the cruisers and following classes of ships using the same technology. "How is he affording all of this?" Tia wondered aloud. "This is extravagant for a megacorp, even for their own security fleets."
Miri provided an immediate answer. "My best guess is that Rigault's severely overstretched their financial resources."
Tia felt flummoxed. Something wasn't right with this picture. "That doesn't make sense. They're capitalists. Profit is what they want. What kind of profit will this make them?"
"Maybe they intend to offer them to Neutral Space governments?" Wu ventured. "I'm not a ship driver, I mean, but these ships look good enough for CDF service. I'm betting only the new antimatter-powered fleet cruisers can outperform them."
Tia's efforts were finally rewarded. She found a document stamped with Antoine Rigault's name and header. It was a defense of the ships written to the company CEO, Rene Rigault. She read it. "That's where the profit is."
Henry followed her eyes. "Where?" The others were clearly just as interested.
"Rigault's got four of these things already built. He's planning on using them to compel a number of mineral rich Neutral Space worlds into signing contracts with Rigault." Tia frowned. "The ships are for extortion. He's intending to take out their shipping. To blockade them."
Linh read the document too. "The worlds in question aren't among major trade routes, and don't have strong relations with major worlds. This is overkill."
"Best way to secure a quick surrender," Henry noted. "And I don't think there's anything in Neu
tral Space that could fight one of these things. Even the two or three dreadnoughts in service, like that Lusitanian one, are all Saurian War surplus. These things would run circles around them and rip them to pieces."
"This is too much effort for just that," Tia insisted. "There's probably more, just not on this document. With those ships and a supporting fleet, Rigault will be the top military power in Neutral Space. They can loot any planet they want. Enslave anyone. Especially if they start sticking that implant into everyone else."
"Can we even hope to destroy them without Coalition help?" Kaiya asked.
"No. But we might not need to."
Tia joined the others in looking at Henry, who was grinning. "We need heavy weapons, right? And air cover would be nice. I say we hit the fleet and steal it."
"I doubt that'll be any easier," Wu said.
"They're still working them up, right?" Henry indicated one of the documents, showing a report of shakedown status. "If we get enough people on the station they're keeping them docked at, we could overwhelm the garrison and seize those ships for ourselves. At the very least, we could sabotage them so they can't be turned on us."
"A sound plan, but we're short on manpower," Kaiya said. "I don't have the excess crew to man all of those ships. Even one would be a challenge, and that's with your Hestians, Miss Nguyen, and your crew, Captain Henry. Sabotaging the vessels may be our only viable course of action."
"True. But these ships could also help us if we find another League ship coming in. Or more." Henry gestured to the documents hanging in the air between them. "Look at all this effort they've thrown into it, and they've already lost one destroyer. You really think they're just going to sit back and risk something happening to this God-awful project?"
Breach of Trust: Breach of Faith Book Four Page 27