Traitor's Duty (24 page)

 “This is crazy,” Barbara said. “You’d be throwing your life away, and you couldn’t get in anyway. How do you get through their defenses?”

 “A fighter escort,” Dixon replied. “All four of us in arrowhead formation. If all we were doing was running defense, and we tied all the fighter and shuttle computers into a single network, we might have a chance.”

 “I can handle the engineering,” Quinn said. “And can fly one of the shuttles.”

 “Lieutenant, you’ll be needed here on Alamo,” Marshall said. “Does anyone have another idea?” Silence filled the room, and he continued, “Ensign, I would want it understood that destroying that ship is a last resort. This is not a suicide mission. As far as I am concerned, you are coming back.”

 “Of course, sir. I’m not in any hurry to die.”

 “You could have fooled me,” Barbara said.

 “This is the only way we’re going to stop that ship,” Cooper said, “and if we don’t get past it, everyone on this ship is dead anyway. I’m willing to take the chance.”

 “There is another possibility,” Ryder said. “Get Alamo to Mars orbit, then have everyone pile into the escape pods with copies of all the material we’ve gathered. Someone might make it down.”

 “Or they might just pick off everyone at will on their way down,” Marshall replied. “I don’t think Zakharova is particularly merciful, do you?”

 “Probably not,” Ryder said. “I was just trying to come up with another option. On balance, I endorse Cooper’s plan. Request permission to accompany the attack force.”

 “Denied,” Marshall said. “Your place is on the bridge. We have enough shuttle pilots for the job.” With a thin smile, he said, “I’m half tempted to go along myself and turn command of Alamo over to you, Ryder. I’ll stick it out here if you do.” Looking around the room, he said, “Only the Espatiers on the shuttles, along with the pilots. The fighter wing I’ll leave to Dixon’s discretion.”

 “Then my plan is approved, sir?” Cooper asked.

 “Reluctantly, yes, I agree. I don’t like it, Ensign, I don’t like it one bit.”

 “Neither do I, sir.”

 “Dixon, you will command while the formation is making its way across to Zeus, with Cooper taking over as soon as you get to the airlocks. Understood?” 

 “Yes, sir,” Dixon said.

 “Aye, Captain,” Cooper added.

 Looking at the two of them, he said, “You’ve got a little over nineteen hours to get yourselves ready. I suggest you brief your people, then make sure they get some rest before the mission.” He paused, then said, “I wouldn’t be going along with this if there was any other way.”

 “We understand, sir,” Dixon said. “I think it’s a good plan.”

 Standing up, Quinn said, “I’ll get started on the charges now, Cooper. I think I can give you some nice toys to play with; have your people head over to the armory in about six hours for a briefing.”

 “I thought these were standard models?” Caine asked.

 “Theoretically, they are, but I’m pretty sure that I can make a few improvements. I might as well do the best job I can.”

 “Why do all engineers have a fascination with blowing things up?” Ryder asked, trying for a smile and almost succeeding.

 “I think we’re all masochists at heart, Lieutenant. Or we wouldn’t be in the job in the first place. By your leave, Captain.”

 “One more thing,” he said. “All hands are to get at least eight hours’ sleep in the next eighteen. No protests, that’s an order. That goes especially for all watchstanders; if you can’t get any sleep, get something from the doctor.”

 "Are you going to do that, Danny?” Caine asked.

 “You want to come into my cabin and watch me sleep?”

 “I might take you up on that someday,” she said with a smile.

 “Then dismissed, everyone,” Marshall said, leading the way out of the room.

 “Bradley,” Dixon said as she left, “Head down to the flight deck. I want you and the others briefed on our formation, then we’re going to hit the simulators for a few hours.”

 “Yes, ma’am,” she said. After a moment, she and Cooper were alone, and she said, “What do you think you are doing?”

 “My job, Barbara. Hell, you think you’ve got problems? Quinn’s got to sit down in engineering and watch his wife go out to fight. You at least get to fight during the battle.”

 “And you get to kill yourself.”

 “You’d have been riding fire whatever happened. This way we get a chance of actually winning this one.”

 “Damn it, Cooper…”

 “Look,” he said, softly, “I’ve been living on borrowed time since the first go-around at Hades Station. So have we all, in a way, everyone who went on that mad flight through Cabal space. Think about Forrest.
H
e was held captive by
those bastards
for months, and still went on for another crack at them.”

 “It’s not fair, dammit. You’ve done enough.”

 With a smile, he replied, “I don’t necessarily disagree with you. Life isn’t fair, at least not for us grunts.”

 “You don’t have to stay with the bomb,” she said. “Lomax, or…”

 Shaking his head, he replied, “Don’t automatically assume that I’m going to fail. I want to take that bridge, see home again. Maybe I’ll finally get to go to OCS. But if it comes to it, and we have to blow up that ship, I have to be one of the ones who stay. It’s my decision, and my command, and my responsibility.”

 “Damn it, Gabe,” she said, blinking away tears. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that this isn’t what you are meant to be doing.” Grabbing his arm, she said, “Win, damn it. Come back alive. You understand?”

 “If there’s any way to live through this madness, I’ll find it. You have my word on that.”

Chapter 24

 The shuttle banked low over the Senate Dome, already in violation of a dozen flight regulations, as Nelyubov played the thrusters to bring it down as close to the entrance as he dared. Orlova stood in the airlock, already wearing her spacesuit, Senator Harper standing next to her.

 “We’ve got to take off as soon as you get out,” Chambers said. “Are you sure you’ve got everything?”

 “No,” Orlova replied. “We’re going to have to trust to luck, that’s all. What’s the count?”

 “Nineteen hours and fifty-seven minutes from my mark. Mark,” she said. “Got that?”

 “I’ve got it,” she said.

 “Give ‘em hell, Maggie,” Chambers said, clapping her on the shoulder as the shuttle landed. “We’ll be watching for as long as we can.”

 The two suited figures stepped into the airlock, Nelyubov opening the outer door before full depressurization to save time, sending them both staggering out into the dust. Not the most dignified way to arrive, but the fastest.
P
ress cars were everywhere outside, most of the occupants likely already clustered inside for the kill, a few unlucky ones remaining to cover the landing.

 As the shuttle took off, a pair of uniformed guards raced forward, both of them with pistols in their hands pointed at Orlova, stern expressions on their faces.”

 “Lieutenant Margaret Orlova,” one said, “you are under arrest on charges of espionage, conspiracy and treason. If you will come with us?”

 “I am Senator Orlova,” she replied, “not Lieutenant, and as such have immunity from arrest. Or are you going to shoot me in cold blood outside the Senate with all these nice people from the press watching.”

 The two of them looked at each other, and the first one said with a sneer, “We’ll be waiting outside, Senator, and I don’t think your tenure is going to last very long. Have fun.”

 Walking quickly past them, Orlova and Harper made their way through the tall, ornate airlock, sweeping past a security checkpoint to a waiting throng of people inside.
A
s she suspected, the entrance hall was filled with journalists, pundits, and political hangers-on. A cluster of Republic democrats stood at the far end, looking with interest.
S
he wondered which side they were on in this conflict.

 “Senator Harper, Senator Orlova,” a severe-looking woman in a suit said, “Session will commence in ninety seconds. If you come with me, I will show you to your seats.”

 “Any statement, Maggie?” one of the journalists yelled.

 “Not right now,” she replied, “but hang around. I think you’re going to get a good story out of this, whatever happens in the next few minutes.”

 Long ago, when she was in school, she was taken on a tour of the Senate Dome, a trip that most children made at some point, a chance to personally look at the beating heart of their democracy. Her class had visited while the Senate was resting, one of the periodic breaks to allow the representatives to return to their constituencies to consult the people they were representing, so she hadn’t seen them at work, but as compensation, they had been allowed to look around the Senate Chamber itself. It had impressed her then, and as she was ushered in by the clerk, it impressed her once again.

 A huge circle, divided into four clusters of chairs, representing Mars, Callisto, Titan, and the smaller group from the minor Jovian moons, the Belt, and now Ragnarok. Normally, the Vice-President would sit between the Martian and Jovian delegations, the Chairman of the Senate, but with him temporarily holding the office of the Presidency, he was replaced by the Father of the Senate, the longest-serving member, Senator Olongo, a Titanian and elder of the Freedom Party – and according to Harper, passionately devoted to the middle-of-the-road. He would be fair.

 Sitting close to Harper was Senator Norman, the fiery leader of the Progressives, with Wilcox of the Technocrats over at the head of the Callistan delegation, looking at her with a vague air of disgust, as if some sort of vermin had entered the chamber. Orlova lamented inside that she hadn’t paid more attention to politics in the past; she could barely name a tenth of the eighty people in the room, and there had been no time for more than the most cursory briefing.

 Moving to her seat, she sensed that the other Senators in her group, more than half of which were non-voting, with speaking rights only like she, seemed to move away from her, as if wanting to remove any potential for guilt by association. Most of them, she noted, were Technocrats, and were they to win the election, a lot of them stood to gain voting rights – a key part of their manifesto.

 The crack of a gavel opened the session, and Senator Olongo began, “Our first order of business, nearly our last order of business of this session, is the vote on the impeachment of President Newton.” 

 Standing up, Orlova said, “Mr. Chairman, I wish the floor to debate this matter.”

 “The matter is settled, the debate is done,” Wilcox said. “I move for an immediate vote!”

 “I have a right to speak,” Orlova said.”

 “You should not be here at all,” one of the Belter Senators said. “I move that Senator Orlova be stripped of her office and protection, and turned over to face trial for the serious charges laid against her. Having such a person in this chamber degrades us all.”

 “We have a vote!” Wilcox said, but Olongo interrupted.

 “A move to impeach a Senator has priority over any other business of this body, as you very well know. The Senator from Vesta has made a motion, do I hear a second?”

 “Aye,” Senator Norman said. “I agree. Her presence is a disgrace.”

 “Then I call for a vote,” Olongo said. “All those…”

 Still standing, Orlova said, “I have a right to speak in my own defense!” Both she and Chambers had expected this.
I
t was one of the contingencies they had made sure to cover in some detail.

 “Only if someone else wants to hear your mad rants,” Wilcox said. “Let’s get this over with and get back to our real business.”

 “I second Senator Orlova’s motion to speak,” Harper said, standing up. “I for one want to hear what she has to say.”

 A woman sitting next to him hissed, just loud enough to be heard, “Damn it, David, you’ll be impeached yourself if you do this. Let it go!”

 Senator Olongo looked at Orlova, and said, “Senator, you have been granted permission to speak in your own defense by this body. Your remarks must relate only to the charges against you. You have the floor, Senator.”

 A groan went up from the Technocrats, and a more panicked look from some of the Progressives.
T
hey knew that there was a deadline involved here. For most of the Senators, this was just an embarrassment they wanted to be over; for a few, they saw their plans and schemes beginning to unravel. She looked up at the crowded gallery, a thousand and more watching this display, and felt a pang of regret at what she must do first.

 “Mr. Chairman, before I begin, I spy strangers.”

 Olongo frowned, then said, “The Senator from Ragnarok having requested that the gallery be cleared, I so instruct the Sergeant-at-Arms. Senator Orlova, if you will wait for five minutes before beginning your statement, to permit the evacuation of the viewing areas.”

 “Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

 “What’s the problem, Senator?” one of her neighbors., another Belter with ‘Yashimoto’ on the desk in front of him, said. “Scared of the public?”

 Turning to him, she replied, “I don’t want them to hear what I must say, and once you’ve heard it, I suspect that you will agree with my decision.”

 “I await your testimony with appropriately bated breath.”

 As the jeering crowds above were firmly but courteously removed from the room, Orlova took the opportunity to collect her thoughts, and skim through her datapad for notes. Under the conditions she had established, all communications in and out of the room would be blocked, the official records sealed for fifty years, long enough for all of this to be long-forgotten history.

 “Very well,” Olongo said as the doors slammed shut. “You have the privacy you wanted, Senator. The floor remains yours.”

 “Thank you,” she began. “I am permitted to speak on the reasons for my impeachment only, and I am very grateful that I have such wide latitude in my statements. The charges against me – the reasons that you find my presence unsuitable – have been raised to conceal a conspiracy against the very Senate itself, one that has led to countless deaths, and has brought us to the brink of war.”