Flagship (5 page)

He spent another half hour finishing his sandwich, sipping his coffee, and getting the details of Sokolov's three conquests after the pilot filed a report with Christine. He was about to go to his cabin when the Platinum Duke wandered in, sat down at his table, and ordered some coffee, artificial eggs, mock steak, and something that wasn't quite toast.

"Good evening," said Cole.

"It's my morning," answered the Duke.

"Don't burn your lips on the coffee," said Cole as the Duke's meal arrived. "It's very hot."

"I don't have any lips," said the Duke, lifting the cup to his mouth. A moment later he cursed and put it down. "I do have a tongue, though."

"You heard that your beloved Singapore Station is unscathed and probably turning a hell of a profit."

"You were right," said the Duke. "I still don't like running and hiding."

"You're
running and hiding," replied Cole. "
We're
running and attacking."

"I think I liked you better when you were a customer," said the Duke.

"I liked you better when you supplied me with elegant meals from your private kitchen."

The Duke chuckled. "We had a good thing going. David and I would line up lucrative contracts, and you and the
Teddy R
would fulfill them." He paused. "How the hell did we get from there to here in so short a time?"

"We had help," said Cole grimly.

"Yes," agreed the Duke, remembering the attack on Singapore Station and the events that had precipitated it.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Cole felt a familiar wave of dizziness, and realized that they had emerged from the worm-hole and would now be approaching the Cicero system. If Briggs or Christine were looking for signs of the Navy, it could be an hour before the
Teddy R
left the vicinity of the wormhole. Jacovic would take half that time and be almost as thorough—and Val, if she was on duty, would glance at the viewscreen, declare the area free of Navy ships, and hope she was wrong as she proceeded to Cicero.

The Duke finished his meal and left. Cole was on his third cup of coffee when the all-clear signal came through and the
Teddy R
lurched forward.

"Sir, would you like to come to the bridge and take command?" asked Christine.

He stared at her image. Unspoken was the fact that she had been promoted to Second Officer for her loyalty and her other skills, but that she was totally unversed in spacial warfare.

"You're in charge during white shift," replied Cole. "Take us to Cicero VII."

"I have no landing coordinates to give to Wxakgini."

"Lafferty knows that."

"I don't follow you, sir."

"He didn't invite us out here as a practical joke. When you get close enough, I'm sure you'll be told where to land. If you aren't, that'll be time enough to discuss our options."

"Yes, sir," said Christine. "Thank you, sir."

He resisted the urge to tell her to call him "Wilson" or "Cole" or "Hey You," only because he knew it wouldn't do the least bit of good, and ordered a piece of pie to go with his coffee.

David Copperfield spotted him and entered the mess hall.

"Hi, David," said Cole as the little alien approached his table.

"Good morning, Steerforth. I heard the all-clear."

"You know anything about the Cicero system?"

"I know a smuggler named Krieder or Krieter used it as a storage dump for a year after the Navy killed off the local population. There are ten planets in the system, six small ones close in and three gas giants far out. I believe the only oxygen planet is the seventh one. Not very hospitable to us humans."

Cole decided not to comment on David's last sentence. "Any word about the Navy setting up a small station anywhere in the system?"

David shook his head. "Nothing of value, once they locked Kreider away and confiscated his goods."

"Why would they pacify an out-of-the-way planet like Cicero VII?" continued Cole.

David shrugged. "Why do they do anything? They're the Navy."

"I used to be part of that Navy," said Cole. "There had to be a reason. Maybe not a good one, but a reason."

"You can't prove it by me," said the dapper alien.

"Fuel costs money. Ammunition costs money. Taking a ship away from the war with the Teroni Federation costs money and men. You don't do that on a whim, not in peacetime, and certainly not in the middle of a war."

"It's the middle of a war to you and me, Steerforth," said David. "But half the people fighting it can't remember a time when there
wasn't
a war."

"Even so . . ."

"We'll land and you'll see for yourself," said the alien.

"Sharon, are you peeking in again?" said Cole, raising his voice.

"But of course," she replied as her image flickered to life.

"I don't believe the Navy wiped out Dozhin's race for no reason."

"I'd prefer not to believe it, but we'll never know."

"Maybe we will," said Cole. "Get our best computer ace— Christine's on duty, so is Briggs, so it'll be Domak or Jack-in-the-Box—and work with him or her. They'll be able to dig out almost any fact, hack into any computer in nearby systems, but they won't know what they're looking for. I want you to oversee and direct them, and see if you can find out just what the hell the Navy wanted with Cicero VII."

"All right," she said. "But if they did wipe out the race to get their hands on something, it's gone by now."

"Let's find out anyway," he said.

"Okay, I'm on it," said Sharon as her image vanished.

"Why go to the effort, Steerforth?" asked David. "As Colonel Blacksmith says, whatever it was is almost certainly gone by now."

"Didn't they teach you anything in that boarding school, David?"

"Hah!" cried the alien happily. "You admit we were classmates!"

"It was a rhetorical question," said Cole. "Let's find out if whatever they wanted was a renewable resource, like drugs or organic medicines. And even if it's not renewable, wouldn't you like to learn what the Republic wanted so badly that they wiped out an entire planetary population to get their hands on it? Not only that, but they didn't want your pal Kreider to find it."

"How do you arrive at that conclusion, Steerforth?"

"There's a war on. The Navy doesn't waste its time arresting smugglers. They leave that to planetary or system police—unless the smuggler is either trading in something they desperately want, or is likely to stumble upon the Navy's cache."

"It's their cache," said David suddenly.

"You're sure?"

"Krieder dealt in fine jewelry and expensive art," answered the little alien. "You're right: the Navy wouldn't waste their time with that." He smiled. "I do believe between us we've figured out that there's something valuable there."

Cole returned the smile. "The benefits of a public school education."

David chuckled and ordered a cup of coffee. The table asked him if he wanted any cream or sweeteners, and he explained that he-men took their coffee black.

"David . . ." began Cole as the coffee arrived.

"It's been a good day so far. I'll break my diet."

"You're not on a diet, and if you want to live to the end of the day you can't drink any coffee. You know that, David."

"Maybe I'll sip it, maybe I won't," replied David. "Don't ruin the celebratory mood."

"Could be worse, I suppose," said Cole.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You could have read Mowgli or Tarzan. At least you don't kill your food in mortal combat, and you remember to wear clothes to the table."

"Why do you persist in making fun of me, Steerforth?" said David.

"I thought I was complimenting you."

The coffee arrived. David stared at Cole, then his coffee, then Cole again. "It's too hot," he said. "I'll let it cool."

"Good idea," said Cole. He decided to take pity on the little alien. "I've got some work to do in my office," he said, getting to his feet. "You'll want to stay here and finish your coffee."

"Yes," said David. "I'd just spill most of it if I tried carrying it. I'll join you when I'm done."

Cole left, and figured David would dump the coffee out by the time he reached his office. He sat at his desk and contacted the bridge. "Any sign of the Navy?" he asked.

"So far so good, sir," said Briggs, who was still manning the scanners.

"That's a comfort," said Cole. "While I'm thinking of it, any sign of Lafferty?"

"No, sir."

"Well, he'll be in touch when he's ready."

Cole broke the connection, called up a book he'd been reading on his holoscreen, and picked up where he had left off. A few minutes later David Copperfield entered the office.

"How was your coffee?" asked Cole.

"Well, it wasn't Brazilian, but I suppose it was all right, considering our circumstances."

"You have a drop on your chin."

David continued the fantasy by wiping the nonexistent drop away. "No sign of the Navy yet?"

"No," said Cole. "I don't think we'll have to put your bulkhead's defenses to the test today."

Suddenly Sharon's voice rang out:
"Bingo!"

"Bingo?" repeated Cole, making a face.

"You prefer 'Excelsior'?" she asked as her image popped into existence.

"Just tell me what you've got."

"Cicero VII was rich in fissionable materials," said Sharon.

"Was?"
repeated Cole.

"All mined out in a four-year period," she replied. "The planet has been abandoned for the past five years. Dozhin and his friends and relations can go back now—if they want to."

"Thanks," said Cole. "See if you can dig up anything else."

"We're on it, Domak and me," said Sharon as her image vanished.

David stared curiously at Cole. "You are smiling from ear to ear."

"Humans can't smile from ear to ear," said Cole. "But if we could, I would."

"Why?"

"You heard the same thing I did," said Cole. "Use that Salem House education, David."

"Stop teasing me and just tell me what you think you know!"

"The Navy could have negotiated for mining rights," began Cole. " They could have just bought the whole damned planet. But instead they killed off the entire population. Why?"

"Clearly they were short of fissionable materials," said David. He frowned. "But that's obvious."

"Think
, David," said Cole. "They needed the materials so much that they chose to wipe out an entire race rather than take the time to negotiate a lease. It can only mean one thing: the war was going badly, probably still is, and they couldn't take even an extra month to get their hands on that stuff."

"It makes sense," admitted the alien.

"It also means we aren't going to run into any opposition in this sector."

"Why do you think so, Steerforth?"

"The planet's mined out. It was the only thing they wanted or needed, and they're long gone. There's no sign of them, and Mr. Briggs is as thorough as Christine. If they'd left a single ship behind, he'd have spotted it. It's obvious that they've moved their ships to where they're needed against the Teronis." He raised his voice. "Sharon?"

There was no response.

"Damn it," he said. "The one time I wish she was listening, she's doing something else. Okay, David, I'll let you do it."

"Do what?"

"Tell the bridge they can stop searching for the Navy. It's not there, and it's time we kept our rendezvous with Mr. Lafferty."

"They won't listen to me," said the alien.

"Sure they will," said Cole. "Tell them I'll confirm it if need be, but I can almost guarantee they won't bother asking."

"What makes you think so?"

"Because you're out of your bulkhead. That means you have inside information that it's safe."

"Approaching planet, sir," said Christine's voice.

"Approaching
the
planet, goddammit!" muttered Cole to himself. Aloud he said, "Where does he want us?"

"Coordinates have been fed into our computer. It seems we meet inside an extinct volcano."

"Okay. Patch me through to the planet on every available frequency."

"Done."

"Lafferty, this is Wilson Cole. We've got your coordinates, but the
Teddy R
can't land. It was built in space and will die in space, hopefully not in the immediate future. I'll bring a party down in two shuttlecraft."

"Not necessary," said Lafferty's voice. "I was going to take you, but I suppose it's just as easy to lead you. You sure no one's followed you?"

"Pretty sure."

"That'll have to do."

"Not to worry," said Cole. "No one's bothered us since we left Singapore Station, and this system is some of the least desirable real estate in the Republic."

"Tell me that in an hour," said Lafferty.

Jacovic's image suddenly appeared. "That was piped all over the ship, sir. What do you think he's got?"

"Beats me," said Cole with a shrug. "Maybe he's found some uranium or plutonium that the Republic missed."

"I found better," said Lafferty's voice. "First I had to make sure no one was tailing you; that's why I directed you to Cicero VII. Now you can follow me."

A ship emerged from within the volcano and began making its way toward an asteroid belt between Cicero VIII and IX.

"Follow him, Pilot," said Cole.

"You're going to need a shuttle or two when we get there," said Lafferty.

"Son of a bitch likes guessing games, doesn't he?" said Cole.

"I request permission to accompany you in a shuttle," said Jacovic.

"Granted," replied Cole.

"Thank you, sir," said Jacovic as his image vanished.

Cole left his office and began making his way to the shuttle bay. When he reached the airlift he met Bull Pampas and Braxite, his one remaining Molarian officer.

"Should we draw our weapons from the armory, sir—or should we use those from the shuttles?" asked Braxite.

"We're visiting allies, not enemies," answered Cole.

"If there's an attack, we could be virtually helpless," continued the Molarian.

"There won't be," said Cole. "The Republic hasn't had a presence here in years. Besides, Jacovic's coming with me, and Christine's shift is almost over. That means Val will be in command. Do you really think she's going to let anyone attack us?"

"How deep into the duty roster do we go, sir?" asked Pampas.

"Five per shuttle," answered Cole. "I assume you and Braxite were at the top of the list?"

"Yes, sir."

"Interesting," said Cole. "You were at the top the last time too, Bull."

"Val puts me at the top every time," replied Pampas uneasily. "She says I'm the only crew member who can last a full minute in the ring with her."

"She's probably right. Okay, I'll be in one shuttle and Jacovic will be in the other. He stays in orbit until I give him an all-clear signal. You're in charge of the crews; split 'em up any way you choose."

Pampas saluted. "Yes, sir."

"One more thing, Bull. I assume we're going to be among friends down there—but nobody salutes anybody whenever we're out of the ship."

"I know, sir."

"I'm sure you do, but since the guy who gets saluted instantly has a bull's-eye pinned on his back, I hope you don't mind my repeating it."

"Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir." Pampas looked flustered. "I mean . . ."

"It's okay, Bull. Just relax and get on down to the shuttles."

"Aren't you going there?"

"I was, but I thought of one last thing I have to do. I'll be down shortly."

He stopped at the airlift and contacted the bridge.

"Christine, is Val there yet?"

"Right here," said the Valkyrie's voice, and a moment later her image replaced Christine's.

"This figures to be absolutely routine," said Cole. "I don't know what the hell Lafferty feels we had to come all the way out here to see, but we've checked it out and the whole system looks to be deserted except for Lafferty's ship. We'll be taking off in the shuttles as soon as we get to the asteroid belt, and we'll land wherever he wants us to. I don't know how long we'll be on the ground, but I can't imagine it'll be more than twenty minutes, maybe half an hour. Should be a piece of cake."

"Fine," said Val. "Now tell me why you contacted me."

"It
looks
to be routine, but I could be wrong. I'm going to feed a seven-digit code into the computer. That'll serve as our password. When we come back, if we can't supply it, blow the shuttles to hell and gone."

"Wait a minute, Wilson!" said Sharon's voice.

"What is it?"

"What if you're incapacitated? Does anyone else know this code? You can't program it into the shuttle, because that way the shuttle will respond no matter who's aboard it."

"Good point," acknowledged Cole. "I'll give it to Jacovic and Braxite as well." He paused. "I'm going down to the shuttle bay. I'll feed you the code once I'm onboard the
Kermit."

Cole entered the airlift and floated down to the shuttle bay on an almost-solid cushion of air.
I can remember when visiting a friend in an isolated, deserted star system wasn't a military operation fraught with security concerns
, he thought, and wondered if it would ever be that way again.

"Everybody aboard?" he asked as he entered the
Kermit.

"Yes, sir," said Braxite. "Commander Jacovic showed up about a minute ahead of you. He's in the
Archie."

"Fine," said Cole. "Let's go."

As the
Kermit
took off, Cole sent the code back to the ship's computer, then relaxed as they began following Lafferty's ship.

"What do you suppose we're going to see, sir?" asked Braxite.

"Beats me," said Cole. "If I knew what it was, I'd probably have told Lafferty that it wasn't worth a trip out here." He stared at asteroids in the viewscreen. "I keep wondering what the hell you can find or hide in an asteroid belt."

"We'll find out soon enough, sir," said Braxite. "He's slowing down."

A small two-man shuttle emerged from the belly of Lafferty's ship. "We're just about there," said his voice. "Follow me."

"We've
been
following you," said Cole irritably.

"See that golden one off to starboard?" said Lafferty. "That's our destination."

"It's a big one," remarked Cole. "Are we landing there?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Jacovic, have your crew get into their space suits." He turned to his own crew. "You do the same."

"Very
slowly now," said Lafferty, "or you might overshoot it."

"Overshoot
what?"
said Cole.

"You'll see."

Lafferty's shuttle began circling the large golden asteroid, with the
Kermit
and the
Archie
following him. Finally he slowed down even more, and then landed.

"Preparing to land, sir," said Idena Mueller, who was at the controls. "I still don't see what's there."

"We'll find out soon enough," said Cole, testing his suit's oxygen. "Put me through to the
Archie
, coded and scrambled."

"It's done, sir."

"Jacovic, this is Cole. I want you to start lagging behind."

"Do you want us to go into orbit, sir?" asked Jacovic.

"No, I don't think so. I've walked into my share of traps, and this just doesn't feel like one. Just stay about two minutes behind us. Once we land, I'll signal you to bring your shuttle down. If I don't within, say, thirty seconds, take off like a bat out of hell and get back to the
Teddy R
any way you can."

"Considering that we've pretty much checked the place out, we're being awfully cautious," remarked Braxite.

"That's how you stay alive for four years when you're the most wanted man on the most wanted ship in the galaxy," replied Cole with no sign of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, sir," said Braxite, flustered. "I didn't mean . . . that is—"

"It's all right," said Cole. "I feel like we're moving through molasses too . . . but the operative word is 'moving,' not 'molasses.'"

"Prepare for landing," announced Idena as Lafferty's shuttle vanished from sight.

"Where the hell did he go?" asked Cole.

"Look!" said Idena, pointing to the viewscreen. Lafferty had landed in what seemed to be a huge quarry, left over from some forgotten time when Men or some other race were mining the asteroids. He vanished from sight when he was still eighty feet above the ground, and could only be seen from directly overhead. Idena set the
Kerm.it
down forty yards away from him.

Cole checked the viewscreen and saw Lafferty leading a number of his men out to the ship. "Get me the
Archie
," he said.

"Done, sir."

"Jacovic, bring it down."

"We're on our way," replied the Teroni.

The shuttle crew had waited for Cole to indicate what he wanted done next. He signaled Idena to open the hatch, and he stood in it until the ramp extended and lowered to the ground.

"Good to see you again," said Lafferty, stepping forward and extending his hand.

"And you," said Cole. "Don't get too far from the shuttles. I've got another on the way down."

They watched the
Archie
make its careful descent, finally landing less than thirty yards from the
Kermit.

Jacovic and his crew emerged, and Cole made some brief introductions. "All right," he said at last. "Suppose you show me why the hell you dragged us all the way out here."

"Happy to," replied Lafferty. "Do I have a big excrement-eating smile on my face?"

"Couldn't be bigger," said Cole.

"Well, there's a reason. Come this way."

Lafferty crossed the bottom of the quarry, which was perhaps half a mile in diameter. After they'd gone a hundred yards he came to a stop, and Cole could see in the dim light that there was something
very
large and formless obscuring his vision.

"Stop or you'll walk into it."

Cole stopped and stared.
Something
was carefully camouflaged, but he couldn't make out what it was.

"Kill the screen," ordered Lafferty, and suddenly the holographic camouflage vanished and Cole found himself looking at a Class L Navy starship without a mark on it.

"What do you think?" said Lafferty, still grinning.

"I'm impressed," said Cole. "That's what the
Teddy R
evolved into over a century. Six Level 5 thumpers, three Level 5 and three Level 4 burners ... It can absorb anything Level 4 or lower in any quantity, and it can take—I can't remember the new specs—two or three Level 5 hits a second with minimal damage."

"You know your stuff," said Lafferty.

"I was a part of the Navy until four years ago," replied Cole. "Holds a crew of seventy-two."

"Not anymore," said Lafferty. "Fifty-six these days. They've automated that many more functions."

"Where the hell did you get it?" asked Cole. "You sure as hell didn't shoot it down. It's clean as a whistle."

"Kobernykov II."

"Never heard of it."

"And you never will again," said Lafferty with a trace of pride. "It's about eighty light-years from here. The Republic just opened it as a shipbuilding world." A grin. "We just closed it."

"I saw what you had at Singapore Station," said Cole. "A Class L ship like this should have been able to fight fifty of your ships to a standoff."

"Probably it would have," agreed Lafferty.
"If
it had an engine." Cole just stared at him. "We found it in the one structure we didn't destroy. It was just sitting there like a newborn baby. But no one had spanked its bottom yet. We knew the Navy hadn't been in the Cicero system for several years, so we towed it here until we could figure out what to do with it." He looked proudly at his trophy. "We couldn't put it down on a planet without destroying it, but there's almost no gravity out here."

"Has it got all its weaponry?"

"Yes."

"Operational?" asked Cole.

"Yes. We tested them out just inside Cicero IX to make sure. I assume the screens and shields work too, but they draw their power from the engine."

Cole studied the ship for a long minute.

"I suppose the next step is to hunt up an engine, forge some insignia, get right next to some other Navy ships, and blow them away before they know what hit 'em," said Lafferty.

Cole shook his head. "No, we have a better use for it."

"Better than destroying a few thousand ships?"

"Much better," said Cole. Suddenly he turned to Lafferty. "As of this moment, you are no longer a combatant."

"What am I?" said Lafferty.

"A mechanic. The sole duty of you and any men you need is to get an engine installed in this ship. It doesn't have to be the one that was designed for it, as long as it's powerful enough to run the ship. And you'll need insignia."

"That's what I said," replied Lafferty. "We get an engine and some phony ID, and we start blowing ships away."