Dubious Heroes: a novel

by Nicholas Blue

  “Okay, let’s do this”, I said. “Light up everything. I want full scans of that ship.”

  “Sensors are online”, Eng said. “Scanning with millimeter wave.”

  I brought up the scan on one of my screens.

  “Tri-d is clear”, Kyra said.

  “Nobody else lurking about, maybe hiding behind a big rock?” I asked.

  “If they are, their systems are offline”, she said. “When we’re using everything we have, we can tell when one of their crew farts, and probably what he had for breakfast.”

  “Which is way more than I need to know”, Eng said.

  “Trust me, it’s clear”, Kyra said, “There’s not another active ship within a thousand clicks of us; no anomalies, no drive readings, nothing.”

  “What’s our readiness?” I asked

  “Bringing weapon systems online, now “, Kyra said.

  “What about Cozi’s new gadget?” I asked.

  “He said not to use it until we can test it”, she said. “Something about a possible blowback taking out the core of the ship.”

  “Yeah, I think we’ll take a pass on that, for now”, I said.

  “Good choice”, Kyra said.

  “Looks like our friendly neighborhood pirates are having a case of hijackus interruptus“, Eng said, smiling. “They’ve powered up their drives again.”

  “I imagine they think we’re a UPDF warship”, I said.

  “Well, technically, that’s what we are”, Eng said. “Oh, fuck me.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “They’re still grappled to the Defender“, Eng said. “These geniuses must have rigged for tow from the beginning.”

  “Shit”, Kyra said, “He’s right. They never intended to hijack the cargo; they’re going to steal the whole damned ship.”

  “Get Vostock on the radio”, I said. “Can’t have him doing anything.”

  “He lights his drives, they’re both fucked”, Eng said.

  “Not raising the Defender“, Angie said. “Comm links are being jammed.”

  “Well, that plan didn’t last very long”, Kyra said.

  “That’s because these guys are seriously good at what they do”, I said. “And we have no idea what their next move is, because they’re not acting like other raiders.”

  “The plan will still work”, Eng said. “They have to take the Defender somewhere, they can’t outrun us, and they can’t stop us from following them.”

  “If they start to give us too much trouble”, I said, “We’ll shoot out their engines and board them.”

  “There’s a good chance they’ll try to lead us into an ambush”, Kyra said.

  “What are the chances some raiders can handle both us and the Defender?” I said. “I’d think the odds are in-”

  A alarm the claxon sounded, cutting me off.

  “What now?” Eng said.

  “Proximity alert”, Angie said, cutting off the alarm. “Three ships. They’re between us and the Defender.”

  “Vector and velocity?” Eng asked.

  “They’re matching us”, Angie said.

  “Bullshit”, Kyra said. “That’s just not possible. Those ships were not there a minute ago.”

  “They had to be”, I said. “I guess we’re not the only ones who don’t show up.”

  “We show up just fine, if anyone bothers to look”, she said. “And I’ve been looking.”

  “The sensors agree”, Angie said. “Those ships weren’t there a minute ago. They transited in.”

  “They transited in, matching our course and speed?” Eng said. “Not possible, not in any ship I’ve ever seen.”

  “Regardless”, Angie said, “That’s what they did.”

  “You might as well ask them how they did it”, Kyra said. “They’re hailing us.”

  “I have visuals on the main vidscreen”, Eng said.

  The big screen lit up.

  “Oh, shit”, Eng said, which pretty much covered it.

  There were the three ships, all of them very similar to our own, sparkling in the darkness of space.

  “This is just a guess”, Kyra said, “But I think the UPDF wants their ship back.”

  “I don’t suppose we could tell them we’re busy right now”, I said. “Tell em we’re trying to catch a hijacker.”

  “They’re probably under the impression that catching hijackers is their job”, Eng said.

  “Answer their hail”, I said.

  The view of the ships was replaced with the image of a woman in uniform. Her face was angular, her hair graying. She did not appear to be in a good mood. That made two of us.

  “Captain Doon”, she said. “I am Captain Helga Danzen of the UPDF Frigate Bismark. You will disarm your weapons, shut down your drives, and surrender at once, or we will destroy you.”

  “Sounds like they’d rather lose the ship that let us have it”, Eng said.

  “They’re weapons are powered up”, Kyra said. “They have missile lock on us. Engaging ECM.”

  “The raiders are getting away with the Defender“, Angie said.

  “One problem at a time”, I said, and pushed the button to turn on my vid camera. “This is Captain Doon. We’re in pursuit of a pirate vessel, and could use your assistance.”

  “So are we”, Danzen said. “Except that you’re the pirate vessel. Surrender or not, it’s your choice.”

  “How about if we discuss this?” I said.

  “No thanks”, Danzen said, and the vidscreen went black.

  “We have incoming”, Kyra said. “Six missiles, two from each ship. They’re locked on, and it doesn’t look like the ECM or the decoys are having any effect.”

  “They won’t”, Eng said, as we were slammed hard against our harnesses. Angie was attempting evasive maneuvers; not an easy task in three hundred tons of starship. Eng continued.

  “If anything, they ought to know how to beat their own countermeasures.”

  “Let’s see about that”, Kyra said. “Two birds on the way.”

  “How long do we have?” I asked.

  “Fifteen seconds”, Angie said, as the gee forces drastically increased. “I’m trying to buy us a little more time. Just hang on.”

  “Fuck that”, Kyra said. “You may get us another two seconds. I’d rather go down fighting. I’m launching everything we have.”

  “Ten seconds”, Angie said. “You can only launch two missiles at a time.”

  Kyra was right; a starship of this size wasn’t about to dodge anything smaller than an asteroid, let alone half a dozen guided missiles.

  “Well, shit”, Eng said, repeating what was apparently his word for the day.

  Another alarm sounded, one I recognized and truly dreaded.

  “Transit in three, two, one… ”, Angie said.

  And then there was darkness.

  Chapter 32

  I wasn’t surprised to find myself back on the mountaintop. This was the sixth time I’d been there, and it looked the same as every other time. I’d been trying to notice something new, some new detail, each time I’d come, since I was apparently destined to keep on coming.

  There were clouds, but they were way off in the distance. Mostly, the sky was clear, a strong, cold wind blowing. I’d never believed that such vivid colors actually existed in nature, with no help from man. But there it was above me, a vast azure canopy, stretching from horizon to horizon. It was both enthralling and frightening. Looking up, it felt as though this huge thing might reach down and pluck me from my perch, and I’d be lost forever in its blue infinity.

  Dizzy, I looked down, barely resisting the urge to crouch. My mind longed for the familiar comfort of a grey stone ceiling overhead. Looking at the ground was better. I kicked at the powdery snow with the toe of my boot. I was dressed in my ship coveralls, the breast pocket bearing the name Revenge, and our emblem.

  Turning slowly, I noticed something new, footprints in the snow, leading down from the summit. Or, more accurately, I thought,
leading up to where I was standing. That meant I’d walked up; I hadn’t just magically appeared. What was down there? Why had I come up here? I contemplated retracing my steps, creating a paradox as I followed the path I’d made, for the very first time.

  Looking back up, a glint of light, low in the sky, caught my eye. It was brilliantly bright, even more so than the sun, but really only a speck, a splinter of fire. As I watched, it grew.

  I stood, mesmerized, as it continued to grow, brighter than the sun-fired crystal mountains it hung above. I knew it was approaching, silently, a fiery eater of souls rushing to collect its prize. The scientist in me said there was no noise, because the object, whatever it was, was hypersonic, moving faster than its own sound waves. The sound would come later, after it had passed. If it had passed. With every breath, it grew measurably larger. It seemed to be headed straight for me.

  Only something from the depths of space could be moving so quickly. Still, I stood and watched, unable to move, the lonely wind calling my name, as the sky before me filled with fire. At the last moment, I looked away. I knew what this was, and that this would be the last time I saw it. Well, the last time I would see it, in a dream. The next time would be real.

  This was my destiny.

  The end of me.

  The first thing I heard was the comforting sound of Kyra’s voice. She sounded normal, which is to say, annoyed.

  “I really wish you’d stop doing that, Angie”, she said.

  “I didn’t have much of a choice”, Angie said. “It was either hang around for the missiles, or transit. I chose to transit.”

  “It’s the lack of warning that’s getting old”, Kyra said

  “I’m betting she knows where we are”, Eng said, as he tapped on his vidscreen. “Which is about halfway between where we were, and Skydome.”

  “Is that where we’re supposed to be?” I asked.

  “Within about two clicks”, Angela said, sounding smug.

  “How’s that even possible?” Kyra asked, as she pulled up the nav telemetry on one of her vidscreens.

  “I kinda doubt even Angie knows how we did it”, I said. “I’m guessing she noticed the same thing I did, although she probably got to it a lot faster than me, and she was in a position to put the information to good use. I think Mister Eng knows, too.”

  “I believe I do”, he said. “Those UPDF ships did not transit in from the other side of the solar system; they had to be nearby, monitoring us. That’s the only way they could have known our course and speed.”

  “Which means that if they can do a short transit like that”, Angie said, “Then so can we.”

  “Probably a new model Dark Energy Drive”, I said.

  “Bottom line”, Kyra said. “We have a star drive that doesn’t care if we’re near any gravity wells. That’s interesting, but what interests me more is how those morons knew where to find us, at all. There’s no way they could know we’re in Vega. Anyone given that any thought?”

  Eng spun his chair, and looked over at me. Neither of us said anything. Being baffled will do that.

  “That’s easy enough”, Angie said. “We must have a tracking device somewhere aboard. Although, I’m not picking up any signals, and our transponders are turned off.”

  “Even if they were on”, Eng said, “We fixed them. They broadcast our name and ID as the Revenge. I’m looking at the sensors too; there’s nothing else transmitting.”

  “What about some sort of a signal we couldn’t detect”, I said. “One with a seriously long range.”

  “Like what?” Kyra asked.

  “Like a SpeedLink”, I said. “They can transmit to most anywhere, instantaneously.”

  “Ships don’t have SpeedLink”, Eng said, then shut up, as he considered the implications. Ships also didn’t just transit wherever they damn well pleased, but this one did, and so did theirs.

  “Damn it”, Kyra said. “If those guys know where we are, we’re going to have company again. Soon.”

  “Shit”, I said, realizing she was right. I checked the tri-d, then remembered that like us, they wouldn’t show up on it. Still, our other sensors were picking up nothing. I had an idea it wasn’t going to stay that way.

  “Engineering would like a word with you, Captain”, Angie said.

  “I’ll bet he does”, I said. “Go ahead.”

  “Whatever you guys are doing up there”, Cozi said. “Please knock it off.”

  “We just found out that we can transit pretty much whenever and wherever we please”, I said. “Angie moved us to dodge a shitload of missiles.”

  “Yeah, I figured that part out”, Cozi said. “As far as whenever and wherever we please is concerned… well, not exactly. There’s a wee bit of a problem with that. More of a constraint, really.”

  “Uh oh”, Eng said.

  “Okay”, I said, sighing. “Just tell us.”

  “A normal transit takes up quite a bit of power”, he said. “Electricity, from our reactor. Normally, we’d see it get whacked for maybe fifty percent of its output. That last transit? It set off all kinds of alarms down here, and used three times the normal power.”

  “If that’s the case”, I said, “Then how did we do it? We exceeded the capacity of the reactor by what, fifty percent?”

  “Technically, yeah”, he said. “The reason it worked is because of something I noticed a couple of months ago, but couldn’t figure out. This ship doesn’t run on power directly from the reactor; it uses stored energy from a fairly massive battery array. It essentially gives it a helluva lot more power to tap into.”

  “If that’s’ the case”, I said, “Why did the entire ship shut down when Cisco ejected the reactor core?”

  “The ship was running on batteries”, Cozi said. “As to why the ship wasn’t fully functional, I don’t know. Maybe a design flaw. I’ve been a little leery of screwing with it.”

  “I don’t see a problem”, Kyra said. “You’re saying the new star drive uses a lot of power. So what? Sounds like we have a lot of power.”

  “So, that last transit used about a third of what we had in the batteries. I can’t just snap my fingers and replace that. I’m showing that it’ll take the reactor about three hours to generate that much power. A couple more jumps like that, and we’ll be out of power, at least when it comes to doing another transit.”

  “Crap”, I said. “I guess if there’s a bright side to this, it means those other UP ships have the same problem we do.”

  “Maybe”, Cozi said. “On the other hand, they already knew all about this, and they’re probably a lot better at managing their power resources than we are. During combat, we need power for all the usual stuff, like life support, sensors, et cetera, but we also need power for the weapons systems.”

  “I’m hoping there’s a happy ending to this story, Cozi”, I said.

  “Um… no”, he said. “In fact, it gets worse. One of those new weapons I built uses electricity. The other mostly uses compressed air, so I think it’s okay.”

  “Which is something else we need to talk about”, I said. “Come on up, and see if we can figure some of this stuff out, while we still have time.”

  “Be there in a minute”, he said. “Engineering out.”

  “Bridge out.”

  “At least he’s talking to you again”, Eng said. “What did you do to piss him off, anyway?”

  “I didn’t do anything”, I said. “We were thinking up ship names for the lander, and he wanted to name her the Enterprise. I told him, in no uncertain terms, no.”

  “Doubtless, using all of your normal tact”, Kyra said.

  “Doubtless”, I said, and left it at that. No one spoke for a moment, lost in our own thoughts.

  It was Eng who broke the silence.

  “Basically, if we have to jump again, we can.”

  “That’s how I heard it”, I said. “I don’t know if I’d count on us making more than one, though.”

  “I’d just as soon stay put and kick
some ass”, Kyra said. “You start running from fights, you never stop.”

  “The odds weren’t exactly in our favor”, Eng said, as the lift door opened, and Cozi walked, looking even scruffier and hairier than usual. Back at Grissom Junior High, he was the only kid who’d had to shave.

  “Our resident mad scientist”, I said.

  “Engineer“, he said. “Less thinking, more doing. God, I love that lift. Can’t beat it, when you’re stuck down in the ass-end of the ship. Did I hear someone mention odds?”

  “You did”, I said, as Cozi plopped down at one of the empty stations, “And they’re not good.”

  “Sounds about normal, for us”, he said.

  “Eng was just noting that our enemies have us rather outnumbered and outgunned”, I said.

  “You’re thinking they aren’t done with us”, Eng said.

  “Why would they stop now?” I asked. “For one thing, there’s something on this ship telling them where we are. There’s three of them, and one of us. I imagine they’ll try to see this through.”

  “If there’s a transmitter”, Cozi said, “It’s probably sending them a lot more than our location. If I were doing it, I’d want to know location, plus stuff like the status of all our systems, weapons, and so on.”

  “We need to find whatever it is, and shut it down now“, Kyra said.

  “I think I know where it probably is”, Cozi said.

  “Which is?” I asked.

  “Where else?” he said. “Engineering. Along with the other black boxes from DEC. All of which, by the way, have nice little signs telling you not to fuck with them. I’m inclined to take their advice.”

  “There’s no way to figure out which box does what, huh?” I asked. “Preferably without disabling the ship or sending us off into oblivion.”

  Cozi shrugged. “I dunno, Doon. That stuff is way outside my area of expertise. I can take a look at it, but chances are, I won’t even know what I’m looking at.”

  “I just thought of something else”, I said. “As long as we maintain a nice, steady course, all those UP ships have to do is match us, and transit in again, just like they did before.”

  “Good point”, Eng said. “We’re making it way too easy for them.”