Rebel (8 page)

"Do you want to talk?"

He shook his head. "There's nothing to say."

"Would you rather I left you alone?"

"Makes no difference," said Cole. "I'm going to spend the next hour mourning my friend, and the hour after that avenging him."

Sharon took a good hard look at his face and saw something beneath the pain and the sorrow that made her think that the one person in the galaxy she would not want to trade places with was the captain of the Republic ship.

Cole emerged from his cabin one hour later. He stopped by the mess hall, got a cup of coffee, and took the airlift up to the bridge. The makeup of the crew hadn't changed, except for the addition of Domak at the computer controlling the ship's defenses, and he walked over to Briggs.

"Are we getting close?" he asked.

"We'll be out of the wormhole in another six minutes," answered Briggs.

"And is our target still in the area?"

"I'm not sure, sir. The instruments say so, but they're inaccurate from inside a wormhole."

"Sir?" said Christine.

He turned to face her. "Yes?"

"While you were in your cabin I told Commander Jacovic and Mr. Perez to join us. If you don't want them, I can order them to return to Singapore Station."

"Who told you to invite them in the first place?" asked Cole.

"You weren't available, and Commander Forrice is dead. I'm next in command, we're up against a class-M ship, and I thought—"

"You were right," he interrupted her. "And yes, we can use all the help we can get." He paused. "Has anyone identified the ship yet ?"

"Yes, sir," said Christine. "Its registry number was embedded in its subspace messages. We are after the
Endless Night."

"Its captain?"

"Manfred Baltimore."

"Mr. Briggs, do we know what its defenses are?"

"I assume they're standard for a class-M warship, sir," replied Briggs.

"So its weakest point is its shuttle bay?"

"I would assume so, sir," said Briggs. "But of course they won't have anyone posted there, and these modern class-Ms can seal off any damaged area in a matter of two or three seconds."

"I know."

"Then it seems to be counterproductive to attack the shuttle bay, sir," continued Briggs.

"We're just considering possibilities," said Cole. "Christine, didn't you or Briggs say it was covering a goodly portion of the Frontier with its broadcast?"

"Yes, sir."

"Isn't that transmitter also located in the shuttle bay?"

"Let me check on that, sir," said Briggs. He had in his computer case a three-dimensional schemata of a class-M ship. "Yes, sir, it seems to be wired throughout the shuttle bay."

"Good," said Cole. "Now see if you can identify a class-M's sensors."

Briggs uttered a brief command to his computer, and three small protrusions on the ship's exterior began blinking.

"I see three sets of sensors. Are there any more?"

"No, sir," replied Briggs. "Or perhaps I should say, there aren't supposed to be any. That doesn't mean that Captain Baltimore hadn't jury-rigged some."

"Three minutes," announced Wxakgini.

"Pilot, once we're back in normal space, how long until we reach the Braccio system?" asked Cole.

"Six minutes at full speed," replied Wxakgini.

"Christine," said Cole, "as soon as we're out of the wormhole, get me Perez and Jacovic on a scrambled channel."

"They're in the wormhole right behind us, sir," she said.

"Then we should have no trouble communicating, as long as we're all inside it, right?"

"That's correct, sir."

"Fine. Contact them right now."

A few seconds later images of Jacovic and Perez appeared a few feet away from Cole. They weren't as clear as usual, but both captains saluted and waited for Cole to speak.

"Unless it's decided to clear out in the past hour, there will be a class-M Republic ship in the area of the Braccio system," said Cole. "I'm sure you're aware that it has already killed Four Eyes and Jacillios. It is the
Endless Night,
commanded by Captain Manfred Baltimore. That ship is our target."

"What approach do you suggest, sir?" asked Perez.

"We triangulate on it, and try to blind it," said Cole. "Take out its sensors, and blow away the shuttle bay."

"There won't be anyone down there," noted the Teroni.

"We're here to kill the ship and crew that killed Four Eyes," said Cole harshly. "I don't want anyone escaping on a shuttlecraft. It won't be protected by their shields, because the transmitter's wired into the bay, and they can't send out a distress signal through the shields."

"We can't match firepower with it," said Perez. "Even after we blind and partially disable it, its weapons will still work. Without sensors, they won't be able to target us at more than about fifty thousand miles, but if we just stay back and take target practice, their defenses will still protect them, sir."

"I know."

"Then I don't understand," said Perez.

"In the hold of the
Teddy R
are two dozen heat-seeking mines that are programmed to ignore this ship. If we can damage the
Endless Night
to the point where it has to get within fifty thousand miles of us for its weaponry to be effective, we'll post ourselves sixty thousand miles away and begin retreating while unloading the mines. As it pursues us, with its sensors gone, there's every likelihood that it'll collide with one of them."

"And if it doesn't?" asked Perez.

"Then we'll keep our distance and try to think of something else."

"You say you want to destroy it . . ." began Jacovic.

"That's right."

"What if they fly the equivalent of a white flag?"

Cole's face hardened. "We'll show them the same consideration they showed Four Eyes."

"Sir," said Jacovic, "I think you should consider demoting or replacing me before this action commences."

"Oh? Why?"

"I will not attack a ship or a crew that has surrendered."

"I'm not about to replace you," said Cole. "You're a fine commander and an ethical officer. That's why you were in command of the fifth Teroni Fleet."

"And why I left it," Jacovic reminded him.

"This is personal," said Cole. "I won't ask you to do anything you can't do. Stick by your principles. If it becomes necessary, I'll handle the unethical behavior."

"Sir?" said Briggs.

"What is it?"

"We're about twenty seconds from returning to normal space."

"Thanks." Cole turned to the two images. "There will be no ship-to-ship communications until I break radio silence. If we can hear each other, you can bet the
Endless Night
can too. Let's get to work."

He nodded to Christine, who ended the transmission, then called down to Gunnery. "Val, are you awake down there?"

"We're ready. Just get close enough to the damned ship for us to get it in our sights."

"Start by killing the sensors, and if Perez or Jacovic haven't beat you to it, take out the shuttle bay."

"Right."

"Bull?"

"Yes, sir."

"Activate the mines and get ready to jettison them, one every three seconds, on my command."

"Yes, sir," said Pampas.

"Got 'em!" announced Briggs.

"Can you get a visual on them?" asked Cole.

The young lieutenant shook his head. "They're too far away, but they can't hide their neutrino activity."

"Where are they?"

"On the far side of Braccio V, sir."

Cole frowned. "That's a gas giant. There's nothing there."

"There's
something
there—the
Endless Night,"
said Briggs.

"All right," said Cole at last. "They assumed that we were going to come to the Braccio system, and since the only inhabited planet is Braccio II, they figure that's where we'll go. The
Teddy R
can't land, but we'd go into orbit and send down a shuttle, and we'd all be sitting ducks." He paused. "Where's Jacovic?"

"I'm sure he's spotted the
Endless Night,
sir," said Briggs. "It's on the far side of the sun, heading toward Braccio VII, another gas giant."

"And Perez?"

"I've temporarily lost him, sir." Then: "Wait! There he is! He's at Braccio II."

"Shit! The
Endless Night
will blow him right out of the sky!"

"I don't think so, sir," said Briggs. "He's not in orbit, sir. He must have spotted the
Endless Night
too, because he let it get a good look at him, and now he's keeping the planet between them. I think he's trying to entice it there so you and Jacovic can attack it while it's concentrating on Perez and the
Red Sphinx."

"Let's see if you're right. Pilot?"

"Yes?" said Wxakgini.

"If the
Endless Night
gets inside the orbit of Braccio III, go after it. If you spot Commander Jacovic going after it, make sure we approach it from a different direction."

"Understood."

"What now?" asked Christine.

"Now we wait and see if Perez can draw the
Endless Night
to Braccio II," said Cole, finally remembering that he was holding a cup of coffee in his hand. He took a sip, found that it was barely lukewarm, made a face, and tossed the cup and its contents into a trash atomizer.

"Do you want all the screens and shields activated, sir?" asked Domak.

Cole shook his head. "We haven't blown his sensors yet, and the first thing they'll spot is a ship with its defenses up. Let's wait until we're close enough for him to do us some damage if he decides to change targets."

It soon became clear that the
Endless Night
had no intention of changing targets. It made a beeline toward Braccio II, and it was clear from its angle of approach that it was going to come over the plane of the ecliptic and hopefully surprise the ship that was hiding on the far side of the planet.

It was within twenty thousand miles of Braccio II when Jacovic opened fire, killing two of its three sensors. Val eliminated the third a few seconds later, and now Perez brought his ship out of hiding, though he kept a healthy seventy thousand miles between the
Red Sphinx
and the
Endless Night.

"They haven't sent any signals yet," said Val. "I'm going to take out the shuttle bay now and the transmitter now."

"Leave it to Jacovic. He's in a better position."

"Well, he'd better do it fast," she said. "There are always a few hundred Republic ships somewhere in the Frontier."

Even as the words left her mouth Jacovic blew the shuttle bay apart. The
Endless Night
came to a halt and turned slowly in space, trying to sniff out its enemies like a dog in the darkness.

"Okay, Val," said Cole. "
Now
fire on it."

"Why?" demanded the Valkyrie. "It won't do any good. We can't break through their shields, and Jacovic has already taken out the shuttle bay."

"Just do it!" ordered Cole. "I want them coming after us, not the others. We're the ones with the mines."

Val used the thumper, a Level 4 pulse cannon. They could see flashes of light as the energy pulses bounced off the
Endless Night's
defenses, and suddenly the Republic ship began approaching the
Teddy R.

"Bull," said Cole, "start releasing those mines. Every three seconds."

"Yes, sir," said Pampas.

"Pilot, keep us sixty thousand miles away from them."

"Yes," said Wxakgini.

"What now?" said Christine.

"Now we wait, and keep our fingers crossed."

"What if they don't hit any mines?" she asked.

"It's more a matter of the mines hitting them. They'll be attracted to heat and neutrino activity."

"But
if
they don't?"

"They can't go light speeds without sensors, so we'll have plenty of time to think of something else," replied Cole.

"It's passed the first three mines," announced Domak. "The first four."

"If they can read the heat, they'll follow it even after it passes them," said Cole.

"Five, six, seven," droned Domak.

And then, suddenly, there was a brilliant silent explosion, and the
Endless Night
hung dead in space.

"With Four Eyes's compliments," said Cole, turning away from the screen.

"What now, sir?" asked Christine.

"Wait half an hour for any other mines to be attracted to the conflagration, then tell Jacovic and Perez to finish it off," said Cole. "I'm going down to the mess hall to have a beer in Four Eyes's memory."

Twenty minutes later Christine's image appeared next to his table.

"What is it?" asked Cole.

"We require some ethical guidance, sir," she replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"Four ambulance ships from Braccio II have flown up to the
Endless Night.
Two returned to the planet empty, but our sensors have shown that the other two possess one casualty apiece. One is returning to the planet even as we speak."

"And the other?"

"It seems to be headed out of the system and toward the Republic, sir."

"Poor bastard must be pretty messed up," commented Cole. "They've got hospitals in the Republic that make the ones out here look like they were built and run by cavemen."

"We need to know what we are to do about them, sir," persisted Christine. "You specified no prisoners and no survivors. But if we shoot down either ambulance ship, we'll be killing not just members of the crew, but innocent medics who are here only to help them."