Rebel (6 page)

"So where do we set down?" asked Val, studying the cold, dead moon on the
Kermit'
s viewscreen.

"They invited us, they'll let us know," replied Cole. "There's got to be a structure somewhere. There's no atmosphere, and I figure the temperature is a couple of hundred degrees below zero Fahrenheit."

"We're sitting ducks out here, orbiting the moon," said Val. "We should have taken the
Teddy R
to back us up."

"They'd have spotted it from a light-year away, and they'd have cleared out before we got here," replied Cole.

"You don't know what kind of reception he's prepared for you," said Val.

"I know if he wanted me dead, he could have killed me back at Singapore Station," answered Cole.

"Then why am I here?"

Cole smiled. "He could always change his mind."

A strong voice came to them over their radio: "Captain Cole, I am delighted that you accepted my invitation. Home in on this signal and you'll figure out where to land."

The voice stopped, but the transmitter remained active. Cole instructed the
Kermit
to lock on to the signal, and a moment later the shuttle readjusted its orbit, heading toward the little moon's geographic south pole. The signal got stronger, and the ship closed in on it.

"There it is," said Cole, as a small building and hangar came into view.

He manipulated the shuttle down to where it was skimming just a few feet above the moon's surface, slowed it down to a snail's pace as it approached the hangar, and gently maneuvered the
Kermit
into it.

"The hangar's attached to the building," said Cole. "So let's give them a couple of minutes to make it airtight and fill it with oxygen."

Val made no reply, but began checking her weapons: a burner, a screecher, a pulse gun, and a knife in each boot.

"Remember," said Cole, "you're here to discourage the Octopus's muscle, not to hurt anyone unless I give the order."

"Or die," she added.

"I know you are not enamored of the Octopus, but try not to be so optimistic," he said wryly.

She glared at him and made no reply.

He waited three minutes, checked the hangar's readings, and finally opened the
Kermit'
s hatch. "It'll be a little chilly until we get into the main building," he announced, "but you won't die for lack of air."

He stepped out into the hangar, followed by the tall, statuesque redhead.

"No greeting party," noted Val.

"Why should
they
freeze their asses off?" said Cole. "They know we're coming inside."

He walked to the only door and waited until it transmitted his image to some interior command post. Suddenly the door irised to let him and Val pass through, then snapped shut after them.

They found themselves in a large room, paneled with some alien hardwood, illuminated by unseen light sources, with a plush carpet that rippled gently beneath their feet. There were a few chairs, a sofa, and a kitchenette at the far end.

Two men were facing them. There was no question as to which was the Octopus. He stood almost as tall as Val, with a bald head, dark piercing eyes, and a waxed mustache that seemed to have four spokes pointing off in each direction. He had broad shoulders, and six hands, some quite misshapen, jutted out of his torso, three on each side. He wore no shirt, and Cole doubted that his skintight pants concealed any weapons. The other man was short, burly, heavily muscled, and even more heavily armed.

"Captain Cole!" said the Octopus, walking over and extending his hand—one of the two that were attached to arms. "How good of you to accept my invitation." He turned to Val. "And the delectable Salome—or did you finally change it to Cleopatra as you planned to?"

"That was eighteen names ago, or maybe nineteen. I'm Val now."

"For Valentine?"

"No," said Val. "Talk to
him.
I'm just here to make sure all you do is talk."

She walked across the room and stopped in front of the small muscular man. It was obvious that she didn't intend to move unless he did.

"Too bad," said the Octopus, looking at her. "I had hoped the years might have mellowed her." He turned back to Cole. "Can I fix you something to drink?"

"Perhaps later," replied Cole. "First I'd like to know why you've summoned me here."

"I should have thought the answer would be obvious," said the Octopus. "Just as you are the most wanted man in the Republic, I am the most wanted man on the Inner Frontier. Surely you don't believe two such men could meet in any public place?"

"I was wondering why we should meet at all," said Cole.

"Great men like to converse with other great men," said the Octopus.

"To say nothing of great egotists," replied Cole.

The Octopus threw back his head and laughed. "I
knew
I was going to like you, Wilson Cole!"

"I'd say the feeling was mutual," said Cole, "but you haven't given me any reason to like you yet."

"That's why you're here," said the Octopus. "You and I are going to become friends. Are you sure I can't give you something to drink?"

Cole shook his head. "Later, perhaps."

"Or eat?"

"Why don't you just tell me why I'm here?"

"You're here because you have a healthy curiosity, and because you know that having a price on your head has more to do with circumstance than character."

"Brief and to the point isn't exactly your style, is it?" said Cole.

"I'm infatuated with the sound of my own voice," admitted the Octopus. "It's one of my multitude of sins."

"I would never have guessed," said Cole as the Octopus laughed again. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll listen to the rest of this sitting down."

"That's what chairs are for," said the Octopus. "Well, unless you're our redheaded friend over there, in which case they're for breaking over people's heads."

Cole sat down. "It's been a long day. Nudge me when you get to something interesting."

The Octopus pulled a chair up, sat down next to Cole, and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

"What was that for?" asked Cole.

"I'm nudging you."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"The Inner Frontier," said the Octopus.

"What's so interesting about it?" asked Cole.

The Octopus smiled. "The fact that you and I could own it." He leaned forward. "I am not without my sources. I know that you have gone out on several missions at the behest of the Platinum Duke and the alien that calls itself David Copperfield. Your fleet is now the second largest on the Inner Frontier, behind only my own. If the Platinum Duke and the alien have not yet received an offer for you to try to meet me in combat, it is only a matter of days or weeks before they bring such an offer to you."

"It's conceivable," said Cole noncommittally.

"I think if I were to attack your fleet today, I have the firepower to defeat you," continued the Octopus, watching him closely.

"Probably."

"But I won't," said the Octopus. "Consider that."

"I assume you have a reason?" said Cole.

"Of course I do! Why should the two greatest outlaws in the galaxy go to war with each other?" said the Octopus. "Why not combine forces? Between us, we could literally rule the Inner Frontier and plunder it six ways from Sunday."

"What's Sunday?"

"An antiquated word from an antiquated calendar," explained the Octopus with an impatient shrug. He stared intently at Cole. "Your expression doesn't give much away."

"It's not supposed to."

"But you're considering it, aren't you?" persisted the Octopus.

"Not really."

"But you
should
," urged the Octopus. "Our united forces would be powerful enough to discourage any usurpers. I am a formidable enemy, but the same traits would make me a wonderful partner. I know I have a reputation as a cold-blooded killer, but I have never killed anyone who didn't deserve it, or anyone who was willing to walk away rather than fight. I have never assimilated a planet into my little empire if the populace was willing to fight to retain their independence. I know that most people view me as a villain, but in truth I am simply an entrepreneur. I have no desire to interfere with the daily lives of the worlds that I control. I offer them protection, they pay me a tribute in exchange for the comforting knowledge that they can function in absolute safety, and everyone's happy."

"Except the planetary governments," suggested Cole.

"That's where you're wrong," said the Octopus. "As long as they pay us, we don't interfere with them, and they still get to pretend they're important leaders of men."

"And if they don't pay you?"

"Why speak of such depressing things?" asked the Octopus. "If they don't pay me, their successors do."

"It sounds efficient."

"It is," the Octopus assured him. "And if you will join me, we can gradually expand our sphere of influence to the entire Frontier. I've studied you, Wilson Cole. I know that you prefer assimilation to annihilation. Now you can do it on a massive scale. Within ten years we could control perhaps a thousand worlds."

"So you'll get tributes from a thousand worlds instead of a hundred," said Cole. "What will you spend it on?"

"Why, whatever I want," said the Octopus, puzzled.

Cole shook his head. "I assume you can't enter the Republic and spend it there."

"Alas, no," replied the Octopus. Suddenly he smiled. "You may be the most notorious criminal in the Republic, but you are not the only one. I was born a freak, even in a galaxy where mutation is not uncommon. You might say that my life has been an unending exercise in overcompensating for my feelings of inferiority. I developed my body, I actually have two college degrees, I am not without a certain measure of skill in the bedroom—and despite all that, I was still shunned like a freak. So, after appropriating what I considered to be start-up costs from a number of banks, I left the Republic in rather a hurry and came out here where a man is judged by his abilities. My crimes against the Republic may not equal your own, but they are mine and I take an enormous pride in them."

"You still haven't answered my question," said Cole. "If you can't spend your ill-gotten gains in the Republic, can you enjoy them in the Teroni Federation?"

"Not if we're still at war with them."

"We are," said Cole. "So where will you spend your money?"

"The answer is obvious," replied the Octopus. "I'll spend it on the Inner Frontier."

"But if you're the warlord of the whole Inner Frontier, why buy what you can just take?"

The Octopus stared at Cole for a long minute, then laughed again. "I
like
you, Wilson Cole!" The laughter suddenly ceased. "Where do you spend
your
money?"

"We've only been out here for three years," said Cole. "So far most of it has gone into fuel and repairs to the ship, and wages to a crew that can never go home again."

"I thought that just you alone were on the Republic's wish list."

Cole shook his head. "My crew broke me out of the brig while I was awaiting my court-martial. They may not have my notoriety, but every last one of them is wanted by the Navy."

"You don't strike me as a power-hungry man," said the Octopus. "Certainly not as power-hungry as I am. Why in the world did you depose your ship's captain in a war zone?"

"She was about to take an action that would have cost about five million Republic citizens their lives "

"Ah! A genuine hero!"

"The Navy views it differently," replied Cole.

"Besides," said Val from across the room, "if he was a hero, do you think I'd be serving with him? He's a mutineer and an outlaw."

"A telling point," agreed the Octopus.

"She's turning into a fine officer," said Cole. "Her only problem is that she can't hold her admiration for my virtues in check."

The Octopus stared at him. "I've heard that you turn down as many assignments as you accept."

"More."

"Why?" asked the Octopus. "I've got the only fleet you have to worry about."

"For our first half-year as mercenaries, I had a fleet of one," answered Cole.

"So you did," said the Octopus. "I seem to remember hearing that you couldn't cut it as pirates, so you went into the soldier-for-hire business."

"I don't think I'd have worded it quite that way," said Cole ironically. "But, in essence . . ."

"So why have you turned down any assignments at all since you started putting together a fleet?" persisted the Octopus.

"We'll help anyone with a legitimate grievance," said Cole. Suddenly he smiled. "What we won't do is help someone who wants to become another Octopus."

"I think if I were you I'd reevaluate my priorities," said the Octopus. "An ethical mercenary doesn't figure to last much longer out here than an ethical pirate."

"I'll take it under advisement."

The Octopus stared at him for a long minute. "Captain Cole, it has been a pleasure to finally meet you. This interview is over." He reached out and shook Cole's hand again. "I hope we never meet in battle, but I cannot work with a moral man."