The Privateer (32 page)

Mong nodded. "If we can get them undamaged, we can use three to crew a Din-Class and five for a Chata-class. That means your six could crew two Din-classes, and I can crew a Chata-class."

Cale turned to Zant. "This is where your
Strengl
will really pay off.
Strengl
s are shown in every sensor tech's records; it will be identified at once. And no merchant ship, armed or not, wants to tangle with a
Strengl
. When we close, we'll launch you, and you can zip around, running practice attack vectors, and overall just looking like a bloodthirsty madman."

"In other words," Dee put in, "just act normal. Every time you get in that thing you act like a bloodthirsty madman!"

Zant raised an eyebrow at Cale. "Oh, I just do it to impress the girls," he said with a broad wink. Dee reddened, and Cale burst into laughter.

"
Estrella de Santiago.
Privateers commissioned by the government of Ilocan have captured your ship. You are surrounded by armed vessels, and any attempt to resist or escape will result in your destruction. The crew is ordered to suit up and exit the ship. Rescue officials will be notified of your locations, so you can be picked up. We are aware of the crew size of a Chata-class. You have ten minutes to evacuate, or we open fire."

The reply came in heavily accented standard. "Please! Do not shoot! We will comply. But our suits have not been tested for a long time. We will need more than ten minutes to check them out."

The raider's voice replied in excellent Santiagan. "Understood. It takes about ten minutes to check out a suit, and you have a crew of six. You have one hour, from now. One minute after that deadline, we open fire."

"
Si señor
.
Comprende
."

While the boats and
Ilocan's Revenge
waited for the crew of the Chata-class to abandon, Cale took Zant and
Cheetah
to a fat-looking Din-class, where the same technique was used.

All of the communication with their victims had been on low-power intership comms. Santiago Control was trying to identify the new vessels, and figure out what they were doing; but their hails were being ignored. When the Chata-class had hung in orbit close to
Estrella de Santiago
, Control decided to send a cutter to investigate. The cutter reported a number of small craft in the vicinity, and reported their intent to board the silent Chata-class. No further reports were forthcoming, despite Control's demands and pleadings. A rising level of confusion began to manifest itself at Santiago Control.

The first Din-class, the
Dona Maria
, had an efficient captain; her suit inspections were current. The crew made their ten-minute deadline with time to spare, and Cale's three prize crewmen swarmed aboard and began spinning up her inertial drives.

The captain of the second Din-class, the
Viajero
, wanted to argue. Finally, Cale had Zant hover his
Strengl
directly in front of
Viajero
's main viewscreen sensor, nose on, while a computer voice counted down from ten minutes. The
Strengl
filling the entire viewscreen was a threat no one could ignore. The last crewman out, the Captain, made it with six seconds to spare.

With all three prizes preparing to boost, Mong called Cale. "I suggest we get rid of the prisoners from the frigate," he said. "I see no sense in transporting them out of their home system, only to bring them back later."

"Do you have enough suits?"

Mong shook his head, but smiled. "Nope. But Santiago Control was kind enough to donate a cutter that will hold them all. With the boats gone, we can just bring the cutter into the hold, pressurize it, and load them up. They will be crowded for a while, but they're in orbit. They'll be fine."

Cale thought about it. "It's a good idea, but don't turn them loose until we're ready to leave, and disable their comms and drive, but not their beacon."

The prizes began to boost for the jump point, escorted by
Ilocan's Revenge
. Loaded, they were much slower than
Cheetah
. Cale, Zant, and their five remaining boats stayed behind to spread hate and discontent. Mong was reluctant to leave so quickly; he waited long enough to punch meter-diameter holes in several orbital factories before breaking orbit and hurrying to catch up with his convoy.

There was no thought of bombarding the planet; they wanted to demoralize the Santies, not enrage them by inflicting unnecessary casualties.

So they headed for the orbital factories, where their powerful lasers and quickfirers wreaked havoc among Santiago's production facilities. As they approached the first orbital station, Cale finally broadcast a message powerful enough to blanket Santiago's Worldnet, telling who they were, and what they intended. Finally, he closed with "Admiral Gonzalez-Villareal will soon have problems of his own. This war was entirely of Santiago's making, and thousands on Ilocan have died in it. If it does not end soon, the people of Santiago, not just its factories, will pay the price. You started this war, people of Santiago; now it is up to you to end it!"

The President's council was in emergency session, and no one was happy.

"You will have my resignation in the morning,
señor Presidente
," said Tomas Santos-Villareal, the Minister of Defense.

The Minister of Trade was angry. "Bailing out on us already, eh, Tomas? Planning to get out from under before the roof caves in?"

Tomas regarded the man in surprise. "Are you insane?" He demanded. "Do you honestly believe that
any
of us can possibly get 'out from under'? He looked around. "Do any of you honestly believe that our political careers are not over? If
any
of us ever runs for so much as dogcatcher, do
any
of you honestly believe your opponent will not throw this in your face? Face it, gentlemen, we are finished."

The President shook his head. "No, we are not. And I will not accept your resignation, Tomas, until we
do
finish this debacle. We got our people into this; it is up to us to get them out, no matter what the personal cost."

The Minister of the Treasury slammed a hand on the table. "This is ridiculous! We have spent billions on your idiot nephew's so-called 'Defense Force', and we are to be beaten by savages?
We
did not cause this, Tomas. Your idiot nephew and his crazy idea caused it!"

Tomas shook his head. "No, Ernesto. My idiot nephew came up with a stupid idea, but the decision to adopt it was unanimous. As I recall, you were one of the most enthusiastic of us."

"Pah!" the Minister replied. "A quick surprise attack," he mimicked the Admiral, "A week to seize Homesafe, and we own the planet and can start shipping our surplus population. We should have known it was too easy!"

"Your hindsight is perfect, Ernesto." Tomas replied. "It is a shame your foresight is less so."

"Stop it!" The President smacked the table. "Recriminations are stupid. We all voted for the war. The problem is what we do now."

"No,
señor Presidente
," Tomas said. "The problem is what does
Santiago
do now?"

"Pah!"" replied the Minister of Trade. "
We
are Santiago. Unless we tell them what to do, the
Congresa
will debate until the sun goes nova. No, it is up to us. Us failures. Tomas is right. Our careers are over. I fear we will go down in Santiago's history as fools and villains."

"Yes," Tomas replied firmly. "Fools and villains. Let us face it. We are all professional politicians. Vote-grubbers of the first order. We have all manipulated the government of Santiago for our own benefit."

"Speak for yourself," the Minister of the Treasury replied sourly. "I have always worked with the best interests of the people of Santiago in my heart and mind."

The President waved a hand. "Nonsense, Ernesto. What about the Ricardo Power Plant deal? No, now is not the time for speeches. I suspect Tomas has an idea, and if so, I want to hear it."

"Perhaps a suggestion, rather than an idea,
señor Presidente
," Tomas replied. "First, we must realize the true size of this debacle. We, everyone in this room, including you,
señor Presidente
, will be defeated in the elections in two years. Our careers are finished. This war will haunt us for the rest of our lives.

"And yet," he continued, "if we can face that, admit to ourselves that history will call us 'fools and villains', we may just be able to do something that will let us at least hold up our heads in our families, and perhaps even change that verdict of history."

"And what is that?" the Minister of the Treasury said with broad sarcasm. "What is this marvelous action that will save us all?"

Tomas ignored the sarcastic tone. "I think it is time for us to stop being politicians. We can no longer grub for votes or pander to the contributors; they no longer exist for us; and in two and a half years, we will all be gone from here. But if we care about our legacy in history, if we really care about Santiago, there is something we can do that no one else can."

He did not wait for the obvious question. "We can stop being politicians," he repeated, "and start being statesmen. We are in a unique situation. Our careers are ruined, and we have no possibility of being reelected. In fact, I expect impeachment proceedings to be filed on several of us. However, we are all wealthy and remain the most powerful body on the planet; we are also skilled in all the tricks of politics. I doubt any of us fear impeachment. I suggest that for the time remaining to us, we cast aside all thought of personal gain, and simply act for the good of our planet."

"Hmph. That is
it
? That's your grand idea?" the Minister of the Interior said incredulously. "Some idealistic nonsense? Bullshit! Oh," he continued savagely, "you're probably right about our careers. So what we
should
be doing is using every ounce of our power to get what we can, while we can! Statesmen? Ridiculous!"

Tomas shook his head. "And if we do that, what then? The new council appoints investigators to come after us." He shook his head. "No, Ricardo,
you
might want to be the richest man in the central prison, but I'd rather spend my remaining years with a family that can respect me."

"And I," the President put in, "would rather be remembered as a good man who made some mistakes than as a crooked politician who got caught with his hand in the till. All right, Tomas, suppose I agree. What do you suggest?"

"I haven't had time to give it a lot of thought, yet,
señor Presidente
," Tomas replied. "But I suppose the best way to start is to deal honorably with the Ilocanos and our own people."

"Hmph!" The Minister of the Treasury grunted disgustedly. "Ilocanos! You mean those savages that even now are destroying the orbital factories right over our heads?"

The President nodded. "Yes, with them. Tomas, you are right. Come, we will together draft a message to our attackers."

The meeting adjourned, with the Minister of the Interior still seething, still determined to milk every peso from his remaining time in office, and wondering how he could turn this 'statesman' nonsense to his own profit; but most of the remaining Ministers were looking thoughtful.

Cale was watching Zant's
Strengl
as it rained destruction on yet another orbital factory. Zant was obviously enjoying the experience, but Cale was finding, as had Emo Arror before him, that destruction for its own sake held no attraction for him. In short, he was ready to leave.

"Captain," Tess said quietly in his ear, "I'm receiving a transmission from the surface."

Cale was startled. "For
us
?"

"It is unencrypted, and is addressed to the commander of the Ilocano forces now in the Santiago system. It bears the seal of the President of the Republic of Santiago, and contains several attachments."

"Let's hear it," he said, then changed his mind. "On second thought, I'll hear it in my cabin." He took one more look at Zant's efforts, and then turned to his cabin to play the message.

The message opened with a distinguished-looking man seated at a large real-wood desk. "I am Alfredo Vincencio Calderon, and at least for the moment, I am President of the Republic of Santiago." The man had apparently undergone body sculpting quite some time ago, as the signs of normal aging were beginning to become apparent; but his voice was deep and resonant, his manner assured, and his standard flawless. A wry half-smile punctuated the 'for the moment' phrase.

"I hope you will cease your destructive activity," he continued, "but I have no means of enforcing that desire, and that is not the reason for this message. Two messages are attached to this one; the first I hope you will deliver to the President of the government of Ilocan. I consider it urgent, as it relates to ending this horrible war. It is my hope that to avoid confrontation, you will place the second in a message torpedo and send it through to Admiral Gonzales-Villareal at Ilocan.

"The message for the Admiral is encoded in Santiago military code, so he will know it is authentic. However, I will tell you what it says. It orders the Admiral to immediately cease all offensive military activity, and to render any appropriate aid to the citizens of Ilocan. It also instructs him to release all prisoners except those undergoing medical treatment immediately, pending discussions regarding ending the war.

"This war has been a horrible and tragic mistake, and it was
my
mistake, mine and my advisors'. We cannot bring back the lives lost; all we can do is try to make amends.

"Please, I beg you; deliver our messages as soon as possible. This tragedy must not last a second more than necessary."

Cale stared at the empty viewscreen. "Damn, Tess, that's the most amazing thing I've seen since Raqal Wilkins took me to the gym after school. Do you think he means it?"

"Based on my studies of body language and speech patterns," Tess replied, "I feel certain the man was sincere. Of course, he could be a pawn in a complicated game, but it is difficult to envision a planetary president in that role."