Loyalty to the Cause (TCOTU, Book 4) (This Corner of the Universe) (14 page)

“Affirmative,
Captain,” Vernay answered.  “That took forever; is everything all right?”

Heskan ignored her while
he struggled in the cumbersome suit to pick up Jennings’ discarded
multi-rifle.  Finally, he answered, “Give me a minute to tether myself to a
cargo container and then tell the chief to get us loaded.”

*  *  *

The
cargo transfer took twenty-five minutes.  Heskan secured himself to
Hussy’s
crane rather than a container so he could assist Brown in the grappling of each
FEUS and their transfer and placement into
Hussy’s
cargo holds.  The
transfer of the first container took longer than the second as each man was
more or less “learning by doing.”  Brown’s experience in Operations gave him
some limited knowledge of large cargo container maneuvers but this was his
first time controlling a commercial cargo derrick.  By the time they secured Lombardi’s
container in
Hussy’s
center hold, Heskan was drenched in sweat inside
his pressure suit.

Standing
inside
Hussy
, Heskan pointed upward with his right hand and made a
twirling motion as he spoke into his mic.  “Take her up, Chief.  You’re done
here.”  Seconds later, the massive claws attached to the crane’s articulating
arm retreated upward from the hold and into the void of space.  Heskan walked
toward the hold’s control panels near the aft hatch, the suit’s magnetic boots
clanging on the stained and scuffed metal deck with each step.  After a brief
study of the panel, he closed the hold’s twin doors and added gravity and
atmosphere to the compartment.  The hissing rush of air increased from
noiseless to earsplitting before stopping when the panel lights changed from
flashing red to steady green.

“Stacy,
the middle hold is secure.”

Heskan
heard her response over the speakers in his helmet.  “Roger, Captain.  Aft hold
is also secure but we’re waiting to open up the container.  I think it might be
best to have the komandor present when we do that.  Orbital control has given
us permission to cast off and Diane is setting a course for the Titan tunnel
point.  I’m headed down to you now, Captain.”

Heskan
opened the hold’s hatch leading to the main deck’s hallway.  A slight puff of
air blew past him as pressure equalized.  He broke the seal of his pressure
suit and removed his helmet. 
Why is she bothering to come down here?
he
wondered while running both hands through his sweat-soaked hair.  Heskan looked
down the hallway for her.  The stateroom and sickbay lay opposite each other,
just down the hall.

Heskan
had removed his pressure suit’s gloves and was struggling out of the rest of it
when Vernay entered the hold.  She greeted warmly, “Welcome home, Captain.”

He
offered her a quick nod and smile while shrugging his shoulders through the
opening in the back of the suit.  With his torso free, he let the suit drop to
his ankles and stepped out.  “Are we under way?”

“Yes,
sir.  We’re using conventional propulsion though, because Diane still doesn’t
feel comfortable operating Hussy’s Phot0-Sail and this is definitely the wrong
system to stall out in.”

“Absolutely,”
Heskan agreed.  “Time is our enemy.  As soon as Brewer discovers the Hollarans
are missing, it won’t take him long to find out where they went.”

Vernay
inspected the hold’s wall panel and then looked toward the FEUS container.  Her
face registered distaste for a moment before she said, “You ready to unleash
the Kraken?”

Heskan
scowled slightly.  “She’s not that bad, Stacy.”

“Uh-huh.” 
Vernay rolled her eyes while walking doggedly over to the container.  The
multi-rifle Heskan had left on the deck caught her attention and she diverted
to it.  Upon reaching the side of the container, she rapidly entered commands.

The
container gasped as the pressure equalized.  Its door swung wide but stopped as
collision detection sensors in it perceived the hold’s bulkhead.  Heskan could
see Lombardi at the front of the container, near the gate.  Next to her,
another prisoner had the M-41 pistol trained on a prone Jennings.

Vernay
walked to the front of the container and said without missing a beat, “Good
morning, Agent Jennings.”  The gate rolled upward and Lombardi stepped out from
captivity.  Multi-tool knife in hand, the tall, Hollaran woman met Vernay’s
gaze unwaveringly and nodded curtly.  “Lieutenant.”

“Komandor.”
The reply came like an echo.

Lombardi
looked around to gauge her surroundings before her eyes came to rest on
Heskan.  She bore at him in an unfathomable stare.  In an instant, she was in
motion.  To Heskan, each step nearer increased the voltage between them.  Heart
racing, the image of a lioness approaching her prey jumped vividly into
Heskan’s mind.  He saw the knife slip from her hand as she reached him and she rose
to grasp his collar.  She pulled Heskan close, wrapping her other arm around
him as her lips pressed firmly against his own.

For
the second time that morning, Heskan felt his knees almost buckle.  Somewhere
far away, there was cheering and friendly catcalls resounding off metal
bulkheads.  Far too quickly, the affection stopped and Heskan felt a gentle,
indulgent caress through his hair before Lombardi pulled away completely.

She
looked unabashedly into his eyes.  A smile had curled the corner of her soft lips. 
“That is how we say ‘thank you’ on New Bari.”

Heskan
stuttered, “I, I then need to go to New Baby.”  He cringed at his words and
more heat rose in his cheeks. 
Smooth, Garrett
.  “New Bari,” he
corrected.  “That’s what I meant to say.”

Laughter
broke out behind the couple, causing Lombardi to spin in place.  “
Silencio
,”
she good-naturedly rebuked.  Grinning, she asked, “Have none of you ever seen a
Hollaran komandor greet a ‘Vic before?”  Lombardi’s eyes played over the crowd
before resting on the chilly gaze of Vernay.  “So what is the plan now, Garrett?”

“The
plan,” Heskan answered, “is for you and Lieutenant Vernay to open the other
cargo container while I discover where the bridge is on my ship.”

Vernay
casually gestured first at Lombardi and then vaguely toward the aft hatch with her
multi-rifle.  “This way, Komandor.”

Heskan
watched the two exit the hold, Lombardi’s distinct voice teasing Vernay.  “You
finally got to point a rifle at me, I see.”

Heskan
turned to the remaining crowd.  “The rest of you, please make yourselves as
comfortable as possible here.  I know that’s difficult given how crowded it is
but we don’t have a lot of room on the ship.  We’ll work things out in a bit
but for now, please just sit tight.  I promise that once Komandor Lombardi is
back, we’ll brief you on what we’re trying to accomplish.”

There
were nods of acknowledgment from the Hollarans.  The group appeared ragged.  Though
tired and dirty, they looked content to be free from their cages and to have
reason to hope again.

“It
will be as you say, Commander,” the fearsome-looking Hollaran with the pistol
answered.

The man looked
vaguely familiar to Heskan.  “Thank you, and I’ll send some people down to take
that man off your hands,” Heskan promised.  After a quick check to ensure there
were no questions, Heskan exited the cargo hold.  He walked down the main
corridor until he reached the staircase and began the climb toward the bridge.

*  *  *

Hussy’s
main corridor was not quite wide
enough for two people to walk in tandem comfortably.  Consequently, Vernay let
Lombardi lead the way while she walked silently behind her.  The overall sense
was of a person being marched forward at gunpoint.

The
impression was not lost on Lombardi.  They had walked in utter quiet through
the hallway, and down the companionway to pass by the crew’s quarters. 
Lombardi finally broke the ice.  “You will tell me where to go, Lieutenant,
yes?”

“Happily,”
Vernay replied callously.

The cool
response brought Lombardi to a halt.  She turned to face Vernay and noted,
surprisingly, that the rifle pointed toward the deck and not at her.  “Is
something on your mind, Lieutenant?”

Vernay
regarded Lombardi distantly.  “I don’t think you realize what sacrifices were
made to free you and your crew—”

Lombardi
brought a hand up to cut Vernay off.  “I understand completely what this means
for your careers, Lieutenant, and I am truly grateful.  However, I did not ask
you
to throw your career away on my account.”

Vernay shook her head
curtly and rose up on her toes in an unsuccessful bid to reach parity with
Lombardi.  “Let’s get one thing real clear, Komandor.  I didn’t do what I did for
you.”  She rocked back and bit down hard at the admission.  After a moment, she
collected herself and spoke in a less menacing tone.  “I just hope you realize
there is more going on here than your freedom, which incidentally, hangs in the
balance.  You just might be trading a cell in Anthe for a worse one in Bree.” 
Vernay pointed down the hall with her free hand.  “Your people are behind that
hatch.  Talk to them.  Have them stay in the aft cargo hold until we’ve figured
out what the hell we’re going to do with all of you.  Also, if there is a
doctor among your people, one of those ‘careers’ is dying in our sickbay.”  She
twisted away from a dumbstruck Lombardi and stalked back up the hall.

*  *  *

Heskan
found the bridge quickly.  As he entered, Lieutenant Truesworth rose from the
captain’s chair and announced enthusiastically, “Captain on the bridge.”

Heads
swiveled and friendly greetings from his crew welcomed him.  He returned their
smiles with one of his own and said, “Thank you.  It’s good to see all of you
too.”  Heskan looked around the compartment and remarked, “Wow, and I thought
Ana’s bridge was small.” 
This room is a pit,
he added internally. 
The
chairs are about fifty years old, there are scorch marks on the side of Diane’s
nav panel… is that popcorn between the navigator’s and engineer’s consoles?

Selvaggio,
noticing Heskan’s inspection, explained helplessly, “I can’t reach it,
Captain.  The gap’s too narrow to use anything to fish it out and Stacy
wouldn’t let me remove the gravity from the room to see it we could float it
out.”  Selvaggio’s slender fingers worked their way between the consoles but
caught at the second knuckle.  She struggled to slip her hand in further.  “See? 
It’s driving me crazy.”

“The
burdens we must carry, Diane,” Heskan teased.  His eyes moved up to the front
of the bridge.

Hussy’s
screen displayed the system
plot.  The freighter was cruising at .15
c
toward the Titan tunnel
point.  She was only 1.5
lm
into her 36.6
lm
journey toward escape. 
Heskan saw relatively heavy civilian traffic between Pallene and their
destination.  Most distressingly, a military corvette was docked at the Anthe orbital
with a second corvette traveling toward them from the Titan tunnel point.  The
freighter’s slow cruising speed ensured
Hussy
would lose any race against
a system defense ship.  The plot estimated it would take three hours,
fifty-four minutes to reach the tunnel point at present speed.

“Diane,
can’t we move any faster?”

Selvaggio
looked to her immediate right.  “Ensign Sullivan, will you explain to the captain
why we can’t move faster?”

The
former pilot and apprenticing engineer looked sheepishly at Heskan.  “Well,
sir, I called down to Engineering and asked if we could increase speed but Mr.
Müller said it was impossible with only one qualified
engineer aboard.”

“Maybe the Hollarans have some engineers,” Vernay suggested from
behind Heskan.  “Lombardi’s in the aft hold now.”

Heskan twisted to look at her, and he noticed his ribs were
stiffening up from his grappling with Jennings.  “Stacy, call down to her and
have her send any engineers she has to Müller.  Also, don’t forget to see if we
have a ship’s doctor now.”  He punched at his console controls.  “Mr. Müller?”

There was a brief pause.  “
Ja
?”

“Mr. Müller, this is the captain.  I am going to try to send you
some qualified help but regardless, I need more speed from Hussy.”

An audible sigh sounded over the console speaker.

“Mr. Müller, I assume you’d like to avoid Brevic authority as much
as we would.”

“
Jawohl
.  I will see what I can do,
Kapitän
.”

After
several moments, Selvaggio announced, “Captain, I think I can now push Hussy up
to point one-seven-C and have enough power to keep the inertial dampers
nominal.”

Diane
recalculated her estimate to Titan’s tunnel point to just under three and a
half hours. 
A little better,
Heskan thought.

“Twenty-two engineers
made it off Phoenix including their chief engineer,” Vernay said from the
auxiliary station.  “That’s actually seven more than Hussy needs.”  A smile
formed on her lips.  “We also have a doctor, Captain.  He’s on his way to the sickbay.”

*  *  *