Rebel (10 page)

"Maybe they are."

"With six warships?" Cole shot back. Then: "Is Briggs on the ship?"

"I believe he's sleeping, sir."

"Lieutenant Domak, wake Mr. Briggs up and tell him to get his ass up here on the double."

"Yes, sir," said Domak, activating a new section of her computer.

"Keep watching the situation in the Braccio system, Christine," said Cole. "Let me know if it changes."

"The
Distant Drums
is already out of the system, sir," she said. "The other five aren't leaving, they're not going into orbit, and they're not landing."

"Something's very wrong here," said Cole.

"They're still holding their positions, sir."

Briggs approached the bridge just then, his hair unkempt, his tunic much the same.

"Sir?" he said, blinking his eyes rapidly.

"I'm afraid we need your services, Mr. Briggs," said Cole. "I.ieutenant Domak, let Briggs take over your computer, No offense, but I need my two best operators, and he's one of them. Mr. Briggs, there are half a dozen Republic ships in the Braccio system. Christine is busy monitoring their movements; I want you to do the same with their messages. They'll almost certainly be scrambled and coded."

"Yes, sir," said Briggs, slipping into the chair as Domak vacated it.

"What can I do, sir?" asked Domak.

"Find another computer and help Briggs," said Cole. "He's monitoring the Navy ships' messages. You monitor everything else. There's a damned powerful computer in my office that I never use. Why don't you go there?"

She saluted and went off to find it.

"Still no movement, sir," said Christine after a few moments had passed.

"And if they're passing scrambled messages, or any messages at all," added Briggs, "they're doing it on a frequency that's beyond our capabilities."

"They're not," said Cole. "Until three or four years ago this
was
a Republic ship. We should be able to able to read anything a Navy ship sends."

"Then they're just going to stay out there between the fourth and fifth planets, send no messages, and make no threats," said Christine. "Why would they do that, sir?"

"I don't know, Christine."

"Me neither," added Briggs.

"I know," said a voice, and they all turned to see Domak's image, transmitted from Cole's office.

"Okay, what's going on?" asked Cole.

"The ship that landed was evacuating the Navy survivor."

"There were two passengers on it," insisted Christine.

"The other was the Molarian prostitute that informed the Navy that Commander Forrice was there. They wanted those two off the planet." Domak paused. "They know that the
Teddy R
was responsible for destroying the
Endless Night.
They don't know where we are, but they're convinced that someone on Braccio II must know. They've given them one Standard hour to reveal our location."

"I haven't heard any messages about it," said Briggs.

"You're monitoring the Republic ships. I heard a broadcast from the planet to a merchant ship that was returning home there. They told the pilot the situation. They warned him off, though they seem certain that everything can be worked out, that the Republic isn't going to kill two million inhabitants simply because they can't tell them where we are."

"Don't bet on it," said Cole grimly.

"But they're Republic ships, sir," protested Briggs. "They wouldn't—"

"They did to Four Eyes," said Cole.

"He had a price on his head. These are just civilians."

"Use your brain, Mr. Briggs," said Cole. "If it was just a threat, they didn't need six ships."

"But there are two million people down there—Men, Molarians, Lodinites, according to my records more than fifteen races, none of them at war with the Republic."

"This is the Frontier," said Cole. "Their status doesn't matter. If they'll kill men and Molarians, who serve in the Navy, they'll kill races who don't serve just as fast."

Jacovic came onto the bridge. "Colonel Blacksmith informed me of the situation, sir," he said. "I thought I should be here."

"Fine," said Cole. Then, raising his voice slightly, "Good thinking, Sharon."

"Is there anything I can do?" asked the Teroni.

Cole checked his timepiece. "There's nothing any of us can do except wait and see if they're bluffing."

Sharon's image popped into existence.

"Do you want me to send for anyone else?"

"Not unless we have any crew members from Braccio II."

"No," she said.

"Just as well," said Cole. "The bridge is crowded enough already."

"They could lie, I suppose," said Christine after a few minutes had passed. "The planetary government, I mean."

Cole shook his head. "Anyone who gives the ships any info is going to get hooked up to a Neverlie Machine, and the first time he lies it's going to burn out every brain cell he's got."

"I've never seen one on the
Teddy R,
sir," she said. "Maybe they don't have one."

"They have one," said Cole. "It's standard issue."

"Where is ours, sir?" she asked.

"I jettisoned it a few years ago."

"Before or after?"

"Before or after what?"

"Before or after we left the Republic?" she said.

"Before."

She smiled. "I should have known."

They all fell silent again. Finally Domak announced that the planetary government had sent out one last message, warning all space traffic away.

"Obviously they no longer think it's a bluff," said Cole.

"We'll know very soon," said Briggs. "There's ten minutes left."

"Sir?" said Christine.

"Yes?"

"The Republic ships are moving into firing range. There are three positioning themselves around the planet, and one each over the poles."

"Message coming through from the planetary government over all wavelengths, sir," said Briggs. "Do you want me to put it on ship's audio?"

"Why bother?" replied Cole. "We all know what they're saying. 'We don't know where the
Teddy R
is, we're telling the truth, and please don't kill us.'"

"They won't really do it," said Briggs. "Not two million people, when they know none of them had anything to do with us."

"I admire your optimism, Mr. Briggs," said Cole.

"They were trained in the Republic, sir, just like us," said Briggs. "No one ever told us to do anything like that."

"In case it's slipped your memory," said Cole, "I was court-martialed for refusing to kill twice that many people."

"Those were unique circumstances."

"All genocides occur under unique circumstances," said Cole. "But they still occur."

"Half a minute," said Christine. She uttered a command and the Braccio system appeared on a holoscreen two feet above her computer.

For a few seconds nothing happened. Then Braccio II seemed to burst into flame, and became a white-hot ball of destruction. The ships, which were not visible on the screen, couldn't have fired for more than two or three seconds, but the planet was still glowing an hour later.

"They did it!" said Briggs in shocked tones. "They really did it."

"What do you expect?" said Sharon's voice. "They're the Navy."

"They killed two million innocent beings, just like that!" continued Briggs.

"They couldn't find us, and they were determined to kill
somebody,"
said Sharon.

"It's . . . it's . . ." Briggs was so furious he couldn't find the words.

"And the worst part of it is that no one's going to lift a finger," said Sharon. "We're the Inner Frontier. The goddamned Navy comes and goes where its wants and kills who it wants. And those bastards are going to get away with it, just like they always do."

Cole stared at the glowing ember that just moments ago had been a thriving world, his face an emotionless mask.

"No they're not," he said grimly. "Not this time."

Cole decided it was time to have a conversation with the Platinum Duke. He half-expected the Duke would be in bed, but the Duke was up and trying half a dozen different types of hangover cures, each of them so noxious-looking that Cole felt they could scare a man off liquor for life.

"You've been out here a long time," said Cole. "You know most of your clientele."

"My regulars, yes."

"That's what I mean," replied Cole. "And you have no love for the Navy. I assume you've shared that sentiment with some of them?"

"Of course."

"I want a list of those who agree, or at least will listen with some sympathy."

The Duke's human eyes stared out at Cole from his platinum face. "You're really serious about this, aren't you? I mean, it's not going to be one or two attacks for payback and then out, is it?"

"No, it's not. This isn't the Republic I was brought up to honor, and it's not the Navy I was sworn to serve."

"It never was," said the Duke.

"Perhaps," agreed Cole. "But if we don't keep them out of the Frontier, eventually they'll destroy another dozen planetary populations looking for us, and two dozen more because we have the temerity to defend ourselves. Someone had to stand up and say 'enough is enough.'"

"Nobody has yet."

"There hasn't been a Navy ship and crew taking up permanent residence here yet," Cole responded.

"I admire you, Wilson," said the Duke. "You remind me of all the reasons I want to see Susan Garcia dead. I wonder if she's still the Fleet Admiral."

"She was three and a half years ago," said Cole.

"You think she knows about Braccio II?"

Cole shook his head. "Not a chance. She's busy fighting a war. This is a sideshow."

"Damn!" said the Duke. "I wish I could blame her."

"You can."

"But you said—"

"I said she almost certainly doesn't know about Braccio," said Cole. "That doesn't mean that she hasn't set a tone that encourages such things."

"So she encourages slaughters, and then jails you for refusing to destroy a populated Republic world. Okay, I feel good about hating her again."

Cole smiled. "I'm glad I could bring a little sunshine into your day. But in all honesty, she's just another victim. They replaced four admirals over the years for not winning the war, and now it's her turn: she wins or she gets fired, though of course they'll come up with a more palatable word for it. She's under so much pressure to win this thing that I suspect there's nothing she won't do, and that kind of attitude filters down."

"You're too generous."

"Just realistic," he said. "The circumstances of her leadership don't make her any less my enemy." He paused. "I need a meeting place for all the members of my fleet."

"I've got a little theater I can let you use," said the Duke. "Six hundred seats."

"That'll do. I think we number about five hundred forty," said Cole. "I also need to talk finances with you."

"I was waiting for this," said the Duke ironically.

"You're the richest man I know," said Cole. "You're going to have to help finance us at the start."

"Only the start?"

"Only the start," repeated Cole. "Until I need every last ship, we'll still let you and David line up some mercenary work and take your commissions. Also, I'll give you salvage rights to any ship we destroy."

"I want something more," said the Duke.

"Name it."

"On any world that you free from either warlords or the Republic, I want Most Favored Nation trading status."

"You're not a nation; you're a space station."

"A space station with almost eighty thousand permanent residents, half a million transients, and more black marketeers than I think you realize. They are my partners, or they soon will be if they want any slice of these new markets. Do we have a deal?"

"As long as you don't strong-arm anybody or abuse the privilege, we have a deal."

The Duke extended his hand, and Cole took and shook it.

The word was passed that every member of Cole's fleet was to assemble at the theater at 1200 hours the next day.

"I'm as sorry as anyone about what happened, Wilson," said Sharon as they had dinner at the Home from Home that evening. "But you can't just go to war with the Republic. They've got something like three million ships."

"More," said Cole.

"And we've got sixty."

"Less."

"Well, then?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Everyone will have a chance to voice an opinion then." A waiter brought their food to the table. "Now enjoy your meal."

They ate in silence for the next few minutes. Finally Sharon pushed her plate away.

"This is silly!" she declared. "You're talking about facing millions of ships, and you expect me to make small talk!"

He smiled. "I thought Val was the one who couldn't obey orders."

"Are you
ordering
me not to talk about it?"

"I'm asking you not to," said Cole. "Two million beings were incinerated. Tonight we'll mourn them. Tomorrow we'll talk about avenging them."

"It's crazy!"

"It's necessary," he said. "You don't think they're going to stop with Braccio II, do you?"

She looked surprised. "Why shouldn't they?"

"Because they didn't get what they wanted: our location."

"I hadn't thought about that," she admitted. "All right, Wilson. Tonight we mourn."

"Thanks."

They finished their meal, and Sharon returned to the ship while Cole took a few minutes to look at the theater where they would be meeting the next day. Then he, too, went back to the
Teddy R.
He felt restless, but he didn't want to socialize with any member of the crew, because he didn't want any questions about the upcoming meeting. He settled for going to his room, selected a mindless musical holo, and watched it until he fell into a dreamless sleep.

He awoke feeling fully rested, then realized he'd fallen asleep in his uniform. He took a Dryshower, changed outfits, went to the mess hall for some artificial fruit juice and a cup of coffee, sat in splendid isolation as his crew studiously avoided him—Sharon had evidently warned them off—and finally, half an hour before the meeting was to begin, he took a tram to the station and walked to the theater.

Fifty captains and crews filed in, along with the crew of the
Teddy R.
He had designated four seats in the first row for Jacovic, Christine, and Val, his First, Second, and Third Officers, and David Copperfield. The remainder of the first two rows was reserved for the captains of the other ships.

When they were all seated, Cole walked out onto the stage.

"I'm sure you all know that Commander Forrice and Ensign Jacillios were apprehended by the Navy of Braccio II and tortured. Both preferred death to revealing any information about the
Theodore Roosevelt.
They were our comrades, and we honor their sacrifice."

He paused for a moment, then continued. "Some of you may not know what happened yesterday. The Republic sent six military ships to the Braccio system. One of them evacuated just two people from Braccio II—a survivor of our conflict with the
Endless Night
and the citizen who informed the Navy of the presence of our two Molarians. Every other inhabitant of the planet was massacred."

There was some surprised buzzing. Most of them had heard of the destruction of Braccio II, but some, perhaps a fifth of them, had not.

"The Inner Frontier is supposed to be a no-man's-land, with no political loyalties to any empire, federation, or other political entity. The Republic has constantly ignored that fact. It could even be argued that many of the Navy's actions ultimately have a beneficial effect on the Republic; they recruit or impress crewmen for their vessels, they take materials that are needed within the Republic, they confiscate food that is vital to the worlds of the Republic

"All that is on one hand. On the other is that the Navy has operated on the Inner Frontier without any military or moral restraint for longer than any of us has been alive. Thus far, no one has lifted a finger to oppose them, to remind them that they have no right to be here.

"That is about to change."

He surveyed his audience. They looked more curious than uneasy.

"I'll be honest with you. Commander Forrice was my closest friend, and a vital cog in the functioning of the
Theodore Roosevelt.
Even so, I would not be taking this action to avenge him. He was a military officer, he was aware that he was taking a chance traveling so far from his ship, and he paid the price—a terrible price.

"But yesterday two million innocent civilians were annihilated, not because they refused to reveal our location to the Navy, but simply because they didn't
know
our location. That arrogance and aggression cannot be allowed to stand without a response."

One of the newer captains stood up, and Cole gestured for him to speak.

"Are you seriously suggesting that we take on the Republic's Navy with a fleet of fifty ships?" he asked.

"No," said Cole. "I may be morally outraged, but I'm not suicidal. We will not venture one centimeter into the Republic. What they do within their domain is their business, not ours. But from this day forth, the Navy is no longer welcome on the Inner Frontier. We will make it clear to them that if they enter it without our permission, they will suffer the consequences. We will not allow another Braccio II."

Perez stood up. "How are we going to stop them? We can shoot down ten ships, but what if they come back with fifty, or three hundred? We can protect
some
planets from retaliation, but there are thousands of populated worlds. How do we protect them all?"

"We start by picking our spots," said Cole. "We don't attack every Republic ship, not in the beginning. We attack those where we know we can win a total victory, and until we're stronger we take no credit for it. We let the Republic worry about who is destroying those ships that enter the Frontier."

"They'll just send the Eighth or the Eleventh Fleet," said another captain. "Neither is stationed that far away."

"Commander Jacovic," said Cole with the hint of a smile, "would you like to tell them why that won't happen?"

"The Republic is engaged in an all-out war against the Teroni Federation," replied Jacovic, standing up and facing the assemblage. "They are at almost equal strength. If the Republic moves either the Eighth or the Eleventh Fleet, they will lose galactic sectors containing upwards of three thousand worlds."

"And they're not going to open the door to the Teronis just to chase what they think are a couple of outlaw ships on the Frontier," said Cole.

"For a while," said Perez. "If we kill enough ships, they'll
have
to notice us."

"I agree," said Cole. "But we're not going to sit still and wait for that day. When the
Theodore Roosevelt
arrived on the Inner Frontier we were a fleet of one. Today we're a fleet of fifty-one. We'll keep recruiting more ships with grievances against the Republic—they should be easy enough to find—until the day that we're willing to let the Navy know exactly who they're up against. In the meantime, the Platinum Duke, who has no love for the Republic and even less for its Navy, has agreed to let us use Singapore Station as our headquarters."

"I don't think you can put together a thousand ships, even in five years' time," said another captain. "The Navy could send in a few thousand ships and never miss them."

"Then it's fortunate the Inner Frontier covers perhaps a fifth of the galaxy and that we know the territory better than they do," answered Cole. "Also, we'll have people on every world who are willing to act as spotters and let us know when and where the Navy shows up."

One very tall captain in the second row stood up. "We've already got a problem, and it's got nothing to do with the Republic," he announced.

"I was waiting for someone to mention it," said Cole grimly. "Go ahead."

"I'm happy to be a part of your mercenary fleet," said the man. "It's been very lucrative, and you've been an excellent commander. But I didn't know anyone on Braccio II, and I'm not willing to put my ship and crew at risk for them, especially with no prospect of reward." He stared at Cole. "I assume you're not planning on plundering the Republic."

"No."

"Perhaps just the nearer worlds?" the captain persisted.

"No," repeated Cole. "This isn't a democracy, and we're not taking a vote on my proposal. We're going to do exactly what I've said we're going to do. But I won't force any of you to join me against your will. I will give any captain, ship, or crew member exactly one Standard day to withdraw from our fleet without any objection. But if you're still a part of us at 1 200 hours tomorrow, then you are placing yourself under my orders and my discipline. This means that you are committing to a campaign whose goal is to make the Inner Frontier off-limits to all ships in the Republic's Navy. I hope that's understood."

There was a general murmur of assent.

"One more thing," said Cole. "With the death of Commander Forrice, Commander Jacovic has been appointed First Officer of the
Theodore Roosevelt.
If I am killed or in any way incapacitated, he is in charge of the fleet and his orders must be obeyed. If anyone has a problem with that, I suggest you withdraw before tomorrow."