Loyalty to the Cause (TCOTU, Book 4) (This Corner of the Universe) (5 page)

We
have been devoted to the Republic, many of our shipmates giving their lives in
defense of it.  And what has the Republic offered in return?  Imprisonment? 
Worse?  I now look sadly at a Republic that is no longer my own.  Perhaps she
died in this war, just another casualty among millions.  All that remains now
is a bloated corpse of a government willing to throw its faithful citizens into
the abyss.  Bree has turned against us.  They are as much the enemy now as the
Hollarans.  Both are responsible for this injustice and both will suffer the
consequences.

Escape
was never our intention.  Enlightenment is.  It is my hope that our next
actions will remove the mask from this dead thing and show all loyal citizens
that the Republic must be refreshed.  If you doubt our loyalty, Commander,
perhaps our heroic rebellion, in service to the TRUE Republic, will remove any
doubt.

You
deserved some warning to be careful in this system.  We owe our captain that
much.  You are a loyal and true citizen and perhaps you will feel it is your
duty to report this message.  Before you do so, reflect on the comrades we have
lost due to Hollaran aggression and Republic incompetence.  Both governments deserve
to pay for those lives wasted.  I know that because of your oath to the
Republic, you place your trust in the wheel of justice regardless of how slowly
it turns.  However, I can act and I will!

Doesn’t
justice demand that good citizens stand up and defend the Republic from all
enemies?  Aren’t I merely accelerating the inevitable process where the
Republic once again fights for the people?  I respect you tremendously,
Commander Heskan.  I believe you feel the same call to action as I do. 
Therefore, I know the hands that hold this message will do the right thing and
let our enemies, Hollaran and Brevic, reap what they have sown.  Perhaps after I
have delivered swift and decisive punishment to our enemies and exposed the
Republic for what it is, all of the people of the Republic might reconsider their
loyalties.

Respectfully,
J. Truesworth

Brewer
slowly scratched his chin while he considered the contents of the message.  His
fingers found the groove of the scar that bisected the skin.  “This is the ranting
of an unbalanced mind,” he judged.  “Garrett, do you believe this man is capable
of actually making some kind of an attempt on the Hollaran prisoners or our government?”

Heskan
paused as if considering the question.  Finally, he looked grimly into the
secretary’s eyes.  “I’m afraid so, Mr. Secretary.  Both Truesworth and
Selvaggio harbor an intense hatred of the Hollarans.  I told you this during
our first interview.  I can even show you holo-logs of Selvaggio arguing with
my first officer over why Bree was right to use fusion weapons on a Hollaran
planet.”  Heskan looked past the seated man as if in deep thought.  “As far as this
hatred of the Republic… I think something has tripped in Truesworth’s mind. 
He’s always hated the Hollies, but I think he believes the Republic has
abandoned Selvaggio and the pilots.  I think he believes he can prove his
loyalty to me by acting, by killing the Hollarans on the orbital and unmasking
the Republic, whatever that means.”

“Such
an attempt would be suicide,” Jennings stated.

“Probably,”
Heskan agreed but faltered.  “However, Truesworth won’t see it like that and
after his audacity on Kite, do we really dare to underestimate him?”  Heskan
once again looked firmly at Brewer and added, “I think the prisoners are in
danger, and maybe even you, sir.”

Brewer’s
lips pursed into a thin smile as he assessed Heskan.  “Perhaps you have a
greater aptitude for this type of service than you first thought, Garrett.”  After
a slight pause, he added cryptically, “It’s in your blood.”  Brewer glanced
once again at the conference table before ordering to Neal and Jennings, “Find
these traitors, gentlemen.  Failing that, and I am sure you will, you must gain
more information about how these renegades plan to act.”  He gestured toward
the chair next to him and said, “Garrett, sit down.  Together we are going to
compose a response to this madman.”

Heskan
moved around the table as directed.  Jennings stood immobile until Brewer
announced to the I.S. agent, “Leave us now.  Perhaps you can find productive
use of this time and demonstrate to me that the Bureau’s credits have not been
squandered on your training.”

Heskan
saw the agent’s eyes narrow at the rebuke as Jennings glared at him before
spinning in place and launching himself toward the chamber’s portal.

Brewer
tapped the table with a knobby, wrinkled finger.  “Pay attention, Garrett.  Watch
how a hunter sets his trap.”

Lieutenant
Vernay ensured she was the last person to disembark the
Jewel of the Night
. 
The climate conditioning on
Jewel
had gradually increased the
temperature by two degrees and decreased its humidity by three percent over the
last seven hours to match the climate levels on the lone station orbiting
Baradis.  Leaving
Jewel
, the only environmental difference Vernay could
detect was the faint but pungent aroma of disinfectant.

Vernay
exited the docking tube to be greeted by the ever-present smile of
Jewel’s
Chief of Passenger Relations, Joanne Scott.  “Thank you for choosing Lux
Liners, Ms. Vernay.  Your baggage has been forwarded to orbital receiving.  We
hope that all your expectations were exceeded.”  Scott let her statement hang,
seeking validation that the voyage to the Erriapius star system had been sufficient.

“Things
were great, Joanne.  The accommodations and, more importantly, the privacy
afforded to my group were outstanding,” Vernay praised.  Indeed, the crew
aboard
Jewel
had been so eager to give Vernay’s charges such great
seclusion that attending to their needs had been tempered by an obsessive fear not
to disturb them.

“We’re
so pleased to hear that, Stacy,” Scott said through a magnificent smile.  “In
fact, Captain Juradashi has instructed me to inform you that the Jewel would be
willing to stay in port up to two weeks if your group wanted to charter passage
back to Anthe.”  Scott gingerly stepped closer to Vernay and confided, “This is
highly unusual for a Lux Liner but we’re thrilled to contract with your, um,
outfit.”  Her brilliant smile became even more luminescent as she added, “It
would also help us offset the local fee the orbital charged us to obtain
priority docking.”  The fee had come to the
Jewel’s
captain as a rude
shock.  Upon approach to the orbital, the station had notified him of an
additional tax to avoid “stand-by” docking status.  With limited traffic around
the station, the fee seemed little more than a shakedown by the local
officials.  Scott continued, “Jewel is always willing to serve the Republic.”

I’m
sure you are,
Vernay thought wryly. 
With how much Captain Heskan paid, I bet I could
convince you to stay here for a month if I dangled additional, lucrative
Republic contracts in front of you. 
Vernay’s smile matched the intensity
of Scott’s, the combined display threatening to produce a supernova in the
narrow docking bay.  “That is lovely, Joanne, but I’m afraid my team has already
booked passage to our next destination.”  Scott’s smile diminished to mere
bright-giant status making Vernay feel obligated to add, “But I will be sure to
make special mention of how Lux has treated us.  You, in particular, Joanne.”

The
pair shook hands and Vernay walked a hastened pace to catch up with her group. 
They were splitting up, with Lieutenant Truesworth exiting the docking bay
toward the orbital’s meager commercial deck in an attempt to secure hotel
rooms.  Lodging would be cramped in the small, outdated orbital but Vernay knew
they would only have to endure the austere accommodations for one or two
nights.  A second group, consisting of the sixteen pilots and the two gunners
who aided their escape were led by Ensign Gables and moving toward orbital
receiving to retrieve their baggage.  Vernay looked upon the large group with
pride.  During the final night on the
Jewel
, each person in The Star
Lounge had committed to returning to Anthe to rescue the Hollarans.  Vernay was
unsure whether they had made their decisions based on loyalty to Commander
Heskan, a sense of comradery with the Hollarans, or a personal calculation on
best chances for survival and true freedom.  She was not sure she cared at this
point.  Mostly, she was just incredibly relieved to be returning to Commander
Heskan with the full crew that he had provided her. 
I would have felt like
I let him down if someone had wanted to abandon us
, she thought as her attention
turned to the third and final group, waiting patiently for her.

Lieutenant
Selvaggio and Chief Brown greeted Vernay as she joined them.  All three wore
their duty uniforms.  Brown appraised Vernay’s apprehensive look as he shifted
the weight of the single bag he held.  Vernay asked, “Ready for the moment of
truth, Chief?”

During
Jewel’s
in-system transit from the Narvi tunnel point to the orbital
around Baradis, Vernay had been unable to determine the identities of the
freighters docked to the space station.  The information was simply not
normally available to a passenger on a private charter.  As Vernay led the
group out of the docking bay to find the commerce deck, she felt her stomach
tighten considerably.

The
trio walked down narrow corridors until chancing upon a small elevator.  The
directory inside the lift confirmed that the commerce section of the station
was its lowest deck, maximizing the number of docking bays the orbital could
offer.  Vernay nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot.  The hum of the
machinery in the elevator dominated the silence. 
If there isn’t a freighter
we think is owned by those Skathi pirates, we’re really out of luck.
 
We’ll
either have to book a ride back to Anthe and show up without a ship or we’ll be
forced to steal an innocent ship. 
The elevator doors opened to the smell
of oil and sweat.  Vernay gauged where the most noise was coming from and
turned to walk in its direction.

“We
just need general departures, L-T,” Brown reminded her.  “That’ll have ship
names an’ their departure clearance windows.”

“Right,
Chief,” Vernay uttered.  Her heart skipped a beat when she saw wall screens
ahead.  Dread began to wash over her. 
My God, what if there isn’t a ship? 
What am I going to do then?
  Reaching the panels, she scanned the screens
intently, her eyes skipping over ship after ship, vainly searching for any of
the names she had memorized over the last four days.  “
Tovas Proud
”
jumped out at her. 
There,
she thought excitedly. 
It’s not a great
choice but at least we have an option.
 She continued to search but the
remaining list held unfamiliar names that sank her spirits. 
Tovas is a
small Handy-sized reefer
, she thought dejectedly. 
She’s also a liner so
she’ll be out of place as soon as we sail her off her established route.  She requires
a lot more crew than we have available which will make it difficult for us to
sail back to Anthe, but maybe we can convert the refrigerated holds into
something that the Hollarans can live in.
 Vernay had begrudgingly accepted
the fact that
Tovas Proud
would be their bounty when the name “
Hussy
”
drew her attention.  It was second to last on the list.  She recognized the
name but was having difficulty recalling the ship’s details.

“That
one,” Brown said as he pointed to
Hussy
.  “Old, but better than the
other.”

Hussy,
Hussy…
 Vernay
strained to recollect as she stabbed at her datapad. 
That’s right, she’s a
tramp, general cargo container freighter.  Cargo capacity is up to twenty-four standard
containers… Oh, that means she’ll be geared.  It says she has a crew complement
of thirty-five.  We’re still short on crew but we ought to have enough to sail her.
 
Vernay continued to scan the vitals of the ship.

CSV
Hussy
was a Loggerhead-class
sailing vessel.  An old design originating nearly one hundred twenty years ago,
Hussy
appeared to be near the end of her lifespan at eighty-two years of
service.  She was small for a freighter, just one hundred thousand tonnes
displacement.  The ship consisted of a deck and a half, with her total livable
space comprising a little less than one hundred meters by thirty meters.  Her
three internal holds were located down her centerline, at the bow, middle and
aft of the ship.  Each hold had the capacity to fit eight standard storage
containers.

The
containers were, essentially, hollow boxes with optional equipment that could
accommodate different types of cargo.  Some containers had refrigeration units;
others had bona fide stasis capability.  The majority were simply empty
receptacles.  Because the Loggerhead design was envisioned to serve as a tramp
freighter and would travel to remote space stations that may not have their own
loading and unloading equipment, each ship was “geared.”  Two loading cranes sat
atop the ship’s superstructure to give her a profile that harkened back to the
days of ocean-going freighters.

Her
propulsion was split between twin, antique Allison CT-B20 drives and a
Hutchins Phot0-Sail.  Her sensors were minimalist, as would be expected on a
ship never intended to stray from controlled, navigable space.  Her crew
requirement, thirty-five, was a bit larger than the more modern ships of her
size.