Stars in the Sand (7 page)

 “
Just after nothing at all interesting happened at Uranus, he did a ninety-second piece about the settlement at Ragnarok, about how it opened up the whole universe to us, about what the Triplanetary ships were doing. That’s why I dropped out of college and signed up, even if my mother did just about disown me for it.”

 “
And so far the frontier hasn’t been exciting enough for you?” Barbara said, shaking her head. “I’d hate to be on a cruise you’d find interesting.”

 “
So you aren’t going on Ouroboros, then?”

 “
If the Captain decides to go for it, then I’ll sign up.” She looked across at Cooper, then said,  “Someone has to keep him out of trouble.”

 “
From what I saw during the boarding action, he can take care of himself.”

 “
Obviously you’ve never been on leave with him before.”

 “
Come on, it’s a big mission, and a chance to actually do something hands-on. Smaller crew, so we all get to share the fun stuff. I’m bored with data analysis and replacing burned out relays.”

 Cooper’s datapad bleeped; he glanced down at the screen and smiled with glee. “I just got a diary update.”

 “
That’s a cause for celebration?” Barbara said.

 “
It is when the update is instructing me to report to the briefing room at noon tomorrow for a meeting with the senior staff.”

 Cantrell whistled, then said, “That’s it, then. The Captain’s way of telling you the mission is happening.”

 “
At the very least, he’s giving you a chance to present your plan to the senior staff,” Barbara said. “I don’t think he’d do that if he wasn’t in favor.”

 “
My God,” he said. “We’re going to do it. We’re actually going to get to do it.”

 “
Looks like it,” Cantrell said.

 He looked at the two of them, then up at the clock, “Feel like pulling an all-nighter?”

 Barbara frowned, then said, “What do you have in mind?”

 Waving his datapad in the air, Cooper said, “I want to get this report perfect for tomorrow. I’m not going to have time to work on it in the morning, so…”

 “
So you want the two of us to beat it into shape now,” Barbara said. Cantrell bristled, but made no attempt to move.

 “
Look, if this is a chance for me to sell this plan, I don’t want to mess it up. This needs to be as good as I can make it, so I need to get it right.” He swung over to sit opposite them, moving his datapad in front of him. “Barbara, you pretend to be the Captain. Lisa, you are Zebrova.”

 “
Must I?”

 “
Try and tear my plan to pieces. If I can make it bomb-proof tonight, we might get to go on the mission tomorrow.” He cleared his throat, took a swig of juice, and started to read.

Chapter 7

 Alamo’s senior staff were sitting in the briefing room, most of them looking puzzled. Cooper was sitting at the far end of the table, fidgeting with a datapad, and Zebrova fixed her stare on him, trying to interrogate him through thought alone. Marshall walked into the room, taking his seat at the end of the table, and looked around the room.

 “
Good afternoon, everyone. First things first; Mr. Quinn, is your estimate of Alamo’s repair schedule still good?”

 
“
I’ve inspected the facilities at Hydra Station,” replied the engineer, “and I think everything will be satisfactory. Eighty to ninety days remains my estimate, probably towards the beginning of that time period. We’ll have the orbital defenses in position in ten days.”

 “
Excellent.”
 
“
Three months drifting in orbit,” Orlova said. “The crew could use the break, sir. I’ve already had several requests for shore leave.”

 
“
That sounds like a good idea,” Marshall replied. “What about Ouroboros?”

 “
My team has completed a damage survey, sir,” Quinn said, “and I don’t think it will take much to repair. A few days should see it back to full working order.”

 “
Are we taking it with us, Captain?” Zebrova said. “We have got the personnel to man it, and having a second ship could be useful.”

 His father, looking at him from his chair, shook his head, “I think he has something else in mind.”

 Nodding, Marshall said, “Last night, Corporal Cooper came to me with some new information regarding the fate of the Espatiers captured by the Cabal. I think he should begin this briefing; Corporal?”

 Rising to his feet, flexing his newly fitted artificial hand, Cooper looked around the room, obviously trying to conceal his nerves. It seemed strange to Marshall that a man who had been in combat four times should be afraid of public speaking.

 “
Before he died, the traitor Major Diego attempted to trade his life for some information on the location of the prisoners. I couldn’t make any headway in interpreting it with Alamo’s computers, nor with the Cabal database, but I had more luck with the astrogation systems on Ouroboros. The prisoners are being held on Denebola VII, a Cabal resource extraction hub, where they are being used as part of a labor workforce.”

 “
What is your basis for that, Corporal?” Zebrova said, flashing a look at Marshall.

 “
I didn’t know it at the time, but Diego was telling me the colloquial name for the system; it is a variable star, and that was the term the Arabs used for it on Earth in ancient times. More than that, the information we have indicates that the population is predominantly indentured labor, and prisoners are used there by the extraction corporations.”

 “
That fits,” Bailey said. “It’s exactly what they did with us at Ghawar. Though we were kept segregated from the main workforce.”

 “
I expect the same will be true here, Lieutenant,” Cooper said, his manner easing. “My plan is to use the Ouroboros to send in a strike team to infiltrate the planet and free the prisoners, then returning them to Alamo.”

 Zebrova shook her head, “I can’t even begin to tell you the flaws in your plan, Corporal.”

 “
There’s a lot more too it than that. We can trade our way to our destination, disguising ourselves as a normal freighter crew.”

 Bailey nodded, saying, “I’m pretty sure we can provide fake civilian identification documents without too much trouble. We’ve got a lot of examples to work with.”

 “
Once there, we can evaluate the situation and determine the best way to break our people out. It’s a civilian facility, not a military one, so security will not be as tight. And they won’t be expecting it,” he added. “With luck, we’ll catch them by surprise.”

 “
I am always concerned about plans that rely on luck. What if the prisoners are not there?”

 Cooper took a deep breath, then said, “In that case, we make the most of the opportunity to gather some intelligence about the Cabal from the civilian point of view. Most of the information we have is focused on the military.”

 Tyler said, “Our intelligence staff will find such information useful.”

 “
Not to mention the bonuses for any possible negotiations,” Caine added. “Knowing what the civilian population wants as opposed to the military could give us a few extra bargaining points.”

 Marshall looked around the room, then said, “I’ve been considering Cooper’s plan all night, and…”

 “
Sir,” Zebrova said. “The risk factor is great.”

 “
Dammit, these are our people,” Cooper said. “They’re out there waiting for us to rescue them. If we have the guts to try.”

 “
Corporal!” Marshall snapped. “Stand down.”

 Cooper looked around, then replied, “Sorry, sir.”

 “
As I was saying,” Zebrova continued, “In my opinion this mission is too risky. You can’t ask the crew to go any further than they already have. Some of them haven’t been home for ten years.”

 “
I’d like to take a crack at it,” Orlova said. “I volunteer to take out Ouroboros, sir.”

 “
That eager for another command?” Marshall said with a smile. “I’ll be glad to have you with me, though.”

 The room grew silent. It was Mulenga who finally said, “You intend to command this mission yourself, Captain?”

 “
I do indeed, Lieutenant.” He raised a hand, then said, “I don’t want any arguments about it, either. The decision is mine, and it is made. I am conscious of Lieutenant Zebrova’s points, and therefore this mission will be volunteer only.”

 “
Sir, you can’t go yourself,” Zebrova said. “Why not let me take her out.”

 “
I appreciate the offer, Lieutenant, but you are needed here. Alamo will be sitting in orbit for eighty days; the mission is currently timelined out at seventy, including ten days to complete our objective. If it looks like extracting the prisoners is too risky, then we will turn around and come home, with whatever intelligence we have managed to gather along the way.”

 “
Alamo…”

 “
Can manage fine without me for a while. You were talking about shore leave, Lieutenant; I have considerable leave time saved up. More than enough for this mission.”

 Caine chuckled, then said, “A working holiday, then.”

 “
You know how hard I find it to turn off, Deadeye.” He looked across at his father, then said,  “In my absence, Major Marshall will assume command of this ship, as the next-senior officer.”

 “
I must formally protest, Captain,” Zebrova said. “I request that you enter in your log my objections to this mission, and to your assumption of command of Ouroboros.”

 “
So noted,” Marshall replied. “Nevertheless, I intend to do everything we can to rescue our people.”

 “
How many people will be needed?” Mulenga said.

 “
Eighteen,” Caine replied. “That will be sufficient to crew the ship, and leave plenty of space for rescued prisoners.”

 “
They’ll be eager to get out of there,” Bailey said. “I know that we would have given anything to get out from Ghawar. We made the attempt.” She shook her head, “And we know why it failed, now. I think if we can do this, we should.”

 “
Does that mean you are volunteering?” Zebrova asked.

 “
Lieutenant Orlova,” Marshall said. “Are you still wanting to try this?”

 “
Yes, sir.”

 “
Lieutenant Caine has already volunteered also, and I can’t strip the senior staff any further.  Therefore, no-one else in this room will be permitted to go.”

 
“
Sir,” Quinn began, but Marshall cut him off.

 “
We need you here, getting Alamo back into shape for the passage through the Shrouded Stars, Lieutenant, though it would be good to have you with us.”

 “
Are you going to put out a request for volunteers, Captain?” Zebrova asked.

 “
No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I want you all to go around your departments and ask for volunteers. I would prefer if they didn’t have any...attachments back home, though ultimately I will leave the decision to the conscience of the individual.”

 “
I presume we have five already,” Caine said. “Corporal Cooper and Spaceman Bradley.”

 Cooper blushed, and replied, “I have spoken to her, yes, and she has indicated a willingness to volunteer.”

 “
Which means thirteen more people will be required,” she said, looking around the room.

 “
Security will have your forged documents, sir, including a bill of sale indicating that you have purchased the Ouroboros,” Bailey said. “Otherwise someone might ask what had happened to the original crew.”

 
“
You have a devious mind, Lieutenant,” Marshall said, “I approve. It’s even true, in a sense; I presented Captain Newton with a formal requisition from the Triplanetary Fleet this morning, the usual receipt redeemable at Mariner Station.”

 “
If we ever do establish formal relations,” Caine said, “they’ll be a long queue outside the Fleet Disbursement office the next morning.”

 “
As long as I’m not the one manning the desk,” Marshall said. “This is going to need a big effort from all of us; I want the Ouroboros ready to depart in three days. Which means we’re going to need the volunteers ready to go in twelve hours. Mr. Quinn, can you have the ship ready in that time?”

 “
You’re going to need more than I was expecting, Captain. All signs of the battle are going to have to be removed. Fortunately there was no exterior damage...I think that will work.”

 “
Mr. Price has indicated that he will lend us a shuttle from the station; we will not be taking any Triplanetary equipment with us, other than our uniforms.”

 “
Uniforms?” Mulenga asked.

 “
In the event that our capture becomes certain, if we are wearing our uniforms then we will be imprisoned, rather than being shot out of hand as spies.”

 “
A distinction that I am uncertain the Cabal share,” Zebrova said. “Weapons?”

 “
Cabal make only, and again, we can tap Hydra Station for what we need.”

 Cooper looked down at his hand, the mechanical fingers flexing; there had been no time to add the plasti-skin yet, not until he had finished training the new device to work with his nervous system.

 “
Sir…”

 “
Don’t worry, Corporal. Artificial hands all look pretty much alike, and if someone is checking that closely, there are plenty of other things they’ll pick up. Our job is to make sure that they don’t take too much of an interest in us; we’re going to need to use stealth, not force.”
 
“
We don’t have that much force available, anyway.”