Citadel: First Colony (26 page)

She had come back on the shuttle just prior to his, and she had apparently had time to get cleaned up and into a change of clothes.

“Hey,” he replied.

“I wanted ... I wanted to say thanks,” she said. Her words and her demeanor were both stiff. Her brow was furrowed and her face was tight, and with her arms crossed at her chest Thomas thought she looked more like she was angry with him than grateful.

“Thanks?” he asked.

“For rescuing me. For helping me look for my parents. For ... ” she didn’t finish.

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry we haven’t found them yet,” he said.

She looked away. “They’re out there. I know it.”

To Thomas, it didn’t sound like an assertion. It was more like hope mixed with dread. As if she feared she might be wrong.

He reached out and rubbed the bare skin of her upper arm. “We’ll find them. I promised, didn’t I?”

She turned and looked up at him, and suddenly her expression was different. Tears were gathered in her eyes, and her face muscles relaxed. Suddenly she sprang forward and hugged him, tight. He was taken by surprise but did manage to hug her back.

When she was done, she turned and fairly ran away. “Penny!” Thomas called after her, but she didn’t pause, just kept moving.

The mystery of Penny Daunder
, Thomas wondered. He shook his head and then hurried to catch up with Taggart before he could reach Somar.

As the White Collar engineer stopped in front of the tented area that was serving as the command center, Thomas finally caught up to them. Taggart was thanking her extravagantly, and she blushed and near-curtsied as she turned to leave. Thomas couldn’t help but grin. “Looks like you’ve got a fan,” he said.

Taggart looked up at him in surprise. “Thomas! Good, you should be here for this meeting.”

Again, Taggart was directing, asserting authority where none had existed before. Thomas marveled at the man’s ability, and then nodded, smiling. He kept it cheerful despite the cold feeling that was coming over him. He was becoming certain that Taggart had more to do with their present situation than he might previously have thought.

The two of them entered the tent and found Captain Somar and a young Blue Collar, Billy Sans, discussing the work of the engineers who had gone out to establish water and power for the colony. Somar looked up as they entered and smiled to see Thomas.

“Mr. Thomas,” Somar said. He stood and, following human custom, clasped Thomas’s hand. It had not been that long ago, less than a week, since Somar had used his own blood to heal Thomas, to give him back the use of his hands. No one seemed to remember it now with all of the business and activity surrounding them, but Thomas remembered.

“Captain Somar,” Thomas said, and he was surprised to hear a hint of emotion in his own voice. He cleared his throat and shook the Captain’s hand firmly, grasping his forearm as he did so.

Through this all, Taggart only watched.
What secrets have you learned from us?
Thomas asked silently.
What will you do with them?

“Captain Somar,” Taggart said. His voice was sudden and loud, filled with mirth that sounded genuine enough. It jarred Thomas to hear him.

He reached out his hand, and even though the alien had just clasped hands in this gesture a moment before, Somar tentatively took it, as if he were unsure of the custom. “I am,” Somar said. “And you must be Mr. Taggart.”

“Just Taggart,” he replied. “It’s the only name that matters.” Thomas wasn’t sure if this were a boast or not.

“How may I serve you, Taggart?” Somar nodded respectfully.

Taggart looked around the command center, taking in the papers and equipment, the makeshift tables and chairs. He moved to stand beside the terminal that Somar and Billy Sans had been using moments before. “I was wondering what the situation was here. I hear that you’re doing a fine job in getting the colony up and running.”

“Yes,” Somar nodded. “We will have water within the week. The engineers are working diligently. I am pleased with them. I asked that they rest before moving to the river, but they took it upon themselves to begin right away.”

Thomas blinked. This was sounding a great deal like a debriefing. Taggart had asked for a status report, and Somar had obliged. Thomas felt his heart sink a little. He saw a future, suddenly, in which Taggart governed the colony. For some reason, this felt like a tremendous injustice.

“Good,” Taggart said. “How soon can we get Citadel back to full operation?”

Somar looked to Billy Sans, who answered, “Best estimate is within five days.”

“Very good!” Taggart said. Thomas thought he showed some personal constraint in not clapping Billy on the shoulders.

“Taggart,” Captain Somar said, “what is your purpose in the command center?”

The room fell silent. The directness of Somar’s question made everyone suddenly curious about Taggart’s answer.

Taggart blinked and said, “I wanted to know the status of the colony, Captain. What else would my purpose be?”

Somar nodded. “How is it that you came to be on the colony vessel?”

Taggart looked to Thomas, smiling, then back to Somar. “Why, I bought passage and boarded. Not much more to it than that,” he grinned.

“There is,” Somar said. “And I wish to know it. What is your purpose?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Captain.”

“You do,” Somar said. His voice was even, plain. There was no hint of frustration, anger, or fear. Thomas felt his respect for the man grow. “You surely must be aware that by now I would have looked at your travel record.”

Again the room fell silent. Thomas wasn’t sure what was happening, but he felt a sudden tension from Taggart. Billy Sans was standing at Somar’s side, watching with an almost blank expression. It was obvious Somar and Billy knew something that Thomas wasn’t privy to. The fact that they were confronting Taggart in his presence, though, said enough. Somar was bringing Thomas in on the secret.

Taggart looked from one face to another. “Gentlemen, I don’t know what you think you’ve learned, but I assure you that my intentions here were the same as any other passenger.”

“That is not true,” Somar said.

For the first time, Taggart let anger enter his voice. “And how would you know whether it is true or not, Captain?”

“Because,” Somar said calmly, “unlike the other wealthy passengers, you booked no return passage. This implies that you either intended to go back at a much later time or you intended never to return. Upon further investigation, we discovered that you have turned over control of your financial empire to a board of directors. This leaves only one possible conclusion—you never intended to return from this world.”

Taggart laughed, a sharp and sudden sound. “You may be unfamiliar with the customs of humans, Captain. I assure you, I’ve done nothing unusual. Regardless, I can’t see how this is any concern to you. It doesn’t matter what my plans were before. I’m here now. And since I am, I plan to do everything I can to make sure this colony succeeds.”

“That may be true,” Captain Somar said. There was a hesitation from everyone in the room, expecting the captain to go on. But he made no further statement and instead simply stared at Taggart for a moment.

Thomas was elated. Since meeting Taggart, he had seen the man systematically work people, taking charge of every situation. He had been prepared to see Taggart take over the colony and bend it to whatever purpose he had in mind. But now, as Somar watched him with sharp green eyes, Taggart seemed to deflate a bit. Thomas fought the urge to grin.

“Captain Somar,” Taggart said, “I intend to govern this colony.”

There it was. Somar had put the man in a corner and left him with only one option—telling the truth. Taggart had designs on the colony.

“If the people elect you,” Somar said, “then it shall be so.”

Taggart was having trouble, Thomas could tell. He was clearly not accustomed to dealing with someone who could not be goaded, manipulated, or controlled. “Have these people elected you as their leader?” he asked.

“They have not,” Somar said.

“Then by what right do you lead them?”

“By the only right available at the moment. Necessity. These men and women needed someone to direct them and I stepped into that capacity, fulfilling my duties as the only ranking officer present. I will step down again when the people decide it is time for me to do so. At such time, you may well govern here, if you are elected.”

“But not you,” Taggart said, suddenly smiling. “I’ll never govern you, will I?”

Thomas couldn’t handle it anymore. “What is this, Taggart? What kind of game are you playing here?”

Taggart looked as if he’d only just remembered Thomas was there. “Thomas, son, this is about humanity. Something I suspect will always be a curiosity to Captain Somar here.”

Somar turned to the computer, punched a few buttons, and turned the screen for them to see. On it was a photo of Taggart with a short dossier. “Captain Alonzo was curious about you as well, it seems.”

The text of the document was largely a log of things Captain Alonzo had written about Taggart. There was too much to read at a glance but Thomas caught a few alarming phrases right away.

“Earth First!” he said, shocked. He looked up at Taggart who was eyeing him quietly. “You’re with Earth First?”

“He’s their leader,” Billy Sans said. His voice was full of bile.

They all looked at Taggart who suddenly broke into a smile. “Oh, yes,” he said. “That’s me. Leader of Earth First. It’s something of a legacy.” He turned to look at Thomas and his grin deepened, “But of everyone here I suppose you, yourself, are most familiar with my organization. Aren’t you Mr. Paris?”

There was a brief pause. “Paris?” Billy Sans asked, confused.

“Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to John Thomas Paris,” Taggart said in the grand voice of one introducing a man of great importance. Thomas felt his stomach sour, and the blood rushed from his face, even as he knew what Taggart would say next.

“The man who murdered a world.”

T
here
it was.
It had been named for everyone in the room to hear. Thomas turned to see the expressions on the faces of the others. He had never expected anyone to ever discover his secret. Why would they? No one had any real reason to suspect that John Thomas Paris, mass murderer, was still alive, much less on a colony world. He was, after all, the man that history recorded as being the loudest voice against colonization. He was the literal death stroke of man’s first venture towards the colonization of other worlds.

“Well, Mr. Paris?” Taggart said. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

He didn’t. He simply looked from Taggart to Somar, wondering suddenly if the alien captain regretted sharing his own secret with him.

Somar was not looking at Thomas. Instead, he was staring at Taggart. “This man’s historical background is irrelevant,” he said.

“Oh?” Taggart laughed. “Well, maybe it is at that.”

“You are attempting to shift our attention away from your purpose here by placing suspicion on Mr. Thomas.”

“Paris,” Taggart corrected.

“But I, for one, would still like to know what your intentions are.”

“Get used to disappointment,” Taggart said. “I’m not obligated to you in any way. And don’t think you can deny me the right to serve this community. Take a closer look at the name stamped on most of the equipment here.”

He was right. “Taggart Industries” was printed on nearly everything. It was so prevalent that Thomas had stopped noticing it long ago, like overlooking a flaw in a paint job.

“I funded this colony, Captain Somar. Now, by the laws of the Earth Colonization Fleet I can’t claim to own the place, because I signed the colony agreement. But I do own the equipment. “

“That seems clear,” Somar said. “But the people will dictate its use, not you.”

“We’ll see how much they dictate if I decide to turn on the fail-safes and shut down every piece of technology on this world.”

“You would do this and endanger the lives of these colonists?”

“Only if I’m forced to,” Taggart said. He was not smiling now. And he wasn’t looking at Somar. He was looking at Thomas.

“You think I have some influence here, Taggart?” Thomas said.

“More than you’d ever know, actually. See, your name ... it’s hated throughout the colonies. But what if I told you, I could make your name beloved by all of mankind?”

“I wouldn’t care in any way,” Thomas said.

Taggart laughed. “You know, I think you’re telling the truth! Well, that’s ok. I’m going to make you famous anyway.”

Thomas felt his stomach churn. Was Taggart going to reveal that he was still alive? Never mind the impact on the rest of humanity, this small group of survivors would shred him before word ever got out elsewhere.

“Oh, Thomas, don’t worry too much about it. I can see it scares you. Believe me, when I choose to reveal your secret it will make you a hero. No one will think of you as the man who killed a world ever again. Eventually, anyway.”

“You have some sort of plan, I take it?” Thomas said.

Taggart smiled. “Always. And forever. I’m the only one in the colonies who can redeem your name and save humanity.”

Billy Sans, who had been quiet through this conversation, laughed aloud. “Save humanity! From what?”

“From itself, young man,” Taggart said, eyeing him. “From people like you, who would sooner roll over and play lackey to an alien species than stand up and fight for control of what rightfully belongs to you.”

“What, the colony?” Thomas asked.

“
All
of the colonies,” Taggart said.

Again Thomas laughed, “This doesn’t sound like Earth First to me. What kind of game are you playing?”

“Oh, it’s Earth First. But I’m not as narrow-minded as my great-grandfather.” He looked around to see the reaction to this statement. “Oh yes, Earth First is a family business, didn’t you know?”

“You are speaking of the Esool,” Somar said.

They all turned to him. “Yes,” Taggart said. “I’m talking about the Esool. Or rather,
removing
the Esool. Your species occupies several worlds at present that should, by rights, belong to the Earth colonies.”