Captain Cosette (12 page)

I
don’t
trust
Lieutenant
Garale
. 
I
don’t
think
I
was
chosen
because
of
my
record
. 

The cruiser’s plasma core was powered up and the drive compartment
sealed by the time Rasora arrived with Major Dyson.  Rasora carried the cylindrical key to the bracelet on Dyson’s wrist, and the two walked side by side. 

The
Major’s
a
powerful
man
in
more
ways
than
one
. 
Look
how
he
walks
with
confidence
,
even
in
the
middle
of
his
enemy’s
stronghold
.

I’ve
read
too
many
Renée
Chevalier
novels
.

Rasora ordered Dyson into one of the back seats, and sat beside him. 
Cosette settled herself into her seat behind the pilot where she could monitor the ships’ systems and if need be, control them.  She was familiar with everything and yet she was seeing it all for the first time.

I’ve
never
been
out
in
space
before
. 
My
heart
is
pounding
.

Of
course
I’ve
been
in
space
before
. 
I
was
flown
up
here
from
Sorine
,
and
this
space
station
is
orbiting
in
space
.
I’m in space right now.

Lieutenant Garale took the pilot’s seat up front.  Alena, the copilot, was a thin woman with short straight hair and a face that showed no emotion.   She ignored everyone as she entered and sat beside Garale. 

The hatch was sealed.  Cosette felt the cruiser lift, then slide forward.  A monitor showed the bay doors opening in front of them, revealing the shimmer of the force field that kept the air inside the bay.

They slid through the force field, and into the cold vacuum of space.

Chapter Eight

The cruiser accelerated rapidly, putting distance between it and the space station.  An hour later they were far enough away from the planet Sorine for Lieutenant Garale to power up the
Shankhdhar drive, and they entered the gray of folded space headed for the planet Aquataine.

Folded space appeared on the monitor as draperies of uneven gray, a constantly shifting sameness.  No part of her layers of knowledge
could explain to Cosette how the Shankhdhar drive worked, how it bypassed the normal dimensions of Cartesian space and pulled a craft to a different position in the galaxy.  She could only watch with wonder.

The Shankhdhar drive had brought remote planets within reach.  Earth-like planets were few and far between
in the Milky Way galaxy, but distance no longer mattered.  No one need struggle to survive on a marginal world merely because it was close. 

However, even folded space took time to transit, and
Cosette used that time to think.

She was a cadet in the army of the Union of Planets.  Why?  Because the Union controlled Sorine, the planet of her birth.  Why had she joined the Union?  She couldn’t remember, but she felt that it was not due to any noble motivation, no
r any desire to serve a greater cause.  If that were true, what she had learned so far about how the Union officers behaved would have been doubly disappointing.

Rasora had said something interesting, though.  He had promised her father to keep her safe. 

She had a father.  Did she have a mother?

For some reason, her father had asked Rasora to watch over her.  Who was Rasora, actually?  Was he a family friend, or…

Renée
Chevalier
would
write
that
Rasora
was
my
beloved
,
watching
over
me
,
waiting
until
my
memory
returned
and
I
would
recall
how
we
had
bound
our
hearts
together
. 
Then
we
would
embrace
,
and
he
would
carry
me
off
to
wherever
strong
men
carry
their
beloveds
off
to
.

No wonder he had been so angry when he found her going to Lieutenant Garale’s quarters.

But there was also Major Dyson sitting behind her, he of the marvelous physique and the haunting pale blue eyes, strong enough to accept captivity without complaint or fear.  Was she betraying Rasora to think of Dyson romantically? 

She sighed.  Life was too complicated.  Up front, in the pilot’s cabin, sat Lieutenant Garale
. He had really done nothing bad to her, just allowed her to drink more than she should.  Perhaps he had been innocent in taking her to his quarters, just so she could freshen up and be ready to tour the rest of the station.

No.  No reason to make excuses for Garale’s behavior.  He was a rat, and a wretch besides.  Spinner had revealed Garale’s seamy past.  The lieutenant had meant no good.

The cruiser dropped out of folded space, and beneath them lay the planet Aquataine.  Cosette rotated her seat to face Rasora and Dyson.  “I don’t know anything about this planet.”

Dyson looked at Rasora, who shrugged, so Dyson explained. 
“It’s basically agricultural and fishing villages. It used to be an Alliance outpost.” 

Dyson and Rasora
moved a row closer to Cosette, and Dyson continued.  “The civilian population is a mix of Old Earth and native humans.  You should read the account of when they met each other; it’s quite a story.  The natives were not technologically advanced and it was a real cultural shock.  Anyway, the Union took it from the Alliance by force, ran the planet into the ground, and then we came back and drove the Union out.  Right now it’s neutral territory, neither ours nor theirs, which is probably why it was chosen for a prisoner exchange.”

Rasora rubbed his chin. 
“But that announcement we heard back on the space station said that the Alliance was putting pressure on the Union forces here at Aquataine, and that they were fighting back.”

“
I know.”  Dyson frowned.  “I’m thinking the Union doesn’t consider Aquataine neutral territory.”

“
If it’s only agricultural, why does it matter who governs the planet?” asked Cosette. 

“
Recruits, for one thing,” said Dyson.  “And wealth for the Union in the form of taxes, which they impose by force.  It’s also a staging area denied to the enemy.  If the Union can take enough supposedly insignificant planets like Aquataine by force, it can make the Alliance too small to be a threat.”

Cosette
glanced at her screens.  They were entering orbit.  “Do you know anything about the prisoner we’re going to exchange the Major for?” she asked Rasora. 

“
Haven’t heard.”  He turned to Dyson.  “You hear anything?”

“
No.”

“
It’s a three for one exchange,” said Garale, standing in the cabin doorway. 

Cosette
was startled, not realizing he had been listening their discussion.  Garale smiled at her, a thin smile that didn’t reach his eyes.  “Major Dyson’s rank and experience made him valuable.  We’re getting back three pilots.”

“
Only three?”  Dyson grinned.  “You’re getting swindled.  I’m worth six.”

“
Hand me the key to the prisoner,” said Garale, ignoring Dyson’s comment.  “I’ll take charge of him from here on in.  We’ll dock with the Alliance cruiser when it arrives.”

“
Only one ship from the Alliance?” asked Dyson.  Rasora pulled the cylinder from his pocket and handed it to Garale.

“
Of course.  Our ship and their ship, just two cruisers, a peaceful exchange.”  He slipped the key into his pocket.  “The Alliance agreed to pull their ships out of here, and leave Aquataine neutral.  This prisoner exchange will seal the agreement.”

“
You’re frowning,” said Rasora to Dyson.

“
I don’t like any part of it.”  He rubbed the thumb and index finger of one hand together nervously.  “One of the reasons the Alliance wants me back is because of my experience in negotiations, and if there’s one thing I know, the Union doesn’t bargain in good faith.”

“
Nonsense,” said Garale.  “A lot of lives would be spared if you Alliance rabble would be more trusting, stick to your agreements, and let us govern ourselves without interference.”

“
Trusting?  When a world cries out because its freedoms have been trampled and its people enslaved, you think we should trust you?  What kind of people would we be to let people suffer without trying to help them?”

“
That’s just an excuse to spread Alliance power.  I’ve heard it before.”

“
Lieutenant?” called Alena.  “An Alliance cruiser has arrived.  They want us to match orbits.”

Garale sneered. 
“Good.  We can get rid of this noble philosopher and get back some good men.”  He stepped back to his pilot’s seat.

Cosette looked at Dyson. 
“People have called on the Alliance for help?”

Dyson leaned forward and spoke quietly, his long brown hair framing his face. 
“The Union governs from the top down, and they decide who gets educated and who gets put on the farm.  Sometimes they even decide who marries whom.  It’s intolerable, but when you’ve got enough force to back it up, there’s no way for people to revolt.  On Sorine, it looks like the Union forces got beaten back but they’ll return in force when it suits them.”

“
That’s how you got recruited, Cosette,” said Rasora.  “The order went out that the oldest child of fighting age in each family had to serve in the military.”  He wiped his hands on his pants with a sour expression.  “My brother and I made some good money, picking up recruits.”

“
Like me,” said Cosette.

“
Well, yes.”  His face tightened as though he was preparing for her to explode.

“
Why didn’t you tell that me before?”

“
I didn’t want you angry at me and you kept forgetting everything.  I figured you would remember soon enough.” 

So
it
wasn’t
anything
romantic
. 
Rasora
was
just
picking
me
up
like
a
package
. 
He
seems
sorry
about
it
,
though
. 

Maybe
I’ll
forgive
him
. 

Maybe
.

“
So you can see,” said Dyson, “why a world might call on the Alliance for help.”

“
Yes, I do see.”  She checked her screens.  All the cruiser’s systems were good, and she switched to the pilot’s sensors to watch the approaching Alliance cruiser.  “I’m beginning to wonder if I’m working for the right side.”

“
Watch your tongue,” said Rasora.  “You could wind up with a bracelet again if you say that out loud.”

Her eyes snapped back to his face. 
“Again?”

Before Rasora could
respond, Alena spoke up with concern.  “I’m reading some large ships about to come out of folded space.”

“
What?”  Garale leaned over to see her screen.  “I should have expected it.  Alliance treachery!  The exchange is off!  Get ready to leave orbit.”

Dyson grabbed the back of
Cosette’s seat.  “The Alliance doesn’t do that.  We don’t break agreements.”

Cosette
switched her screen to see what Alena was seeing.  Four large ripples in folded space were headed towards them like raptors approaching underwater.

“
I’ve got signatures,” said Alena.  “Those are Union battleships.”

“
Union?”  Garale looked baffled.  “Can’t be.  Nobody told me anything about plans to crash the exchange.”

“
Looks like you’re out of the loop, Garale,” said Dyson.

“
Shut your mouth,” he snapped.  He turned to Alena.  “We’re staying in orbit.” 

Dyson gripped his armrests. 
“I don’t think that’s wise.”

On
Cosette’s screen, four large battleships emerged, black against the starry background.  Her brain catalogued them, remembering their design, their floor plans, and their capabilities.  She pulled her seat harness over herself, buckled it, and then zoomed in on the ships.

“
I’ll hail them,” said Alena, but she never got the chance.  Streaks of light shot out from the lead battleship.

“
They’re firing!” shouted Cosette.  “Evade!”

“
They wouldn’t fire at us,” said Garale.

“
You were bait!” yelled Dyson.  “Expendable!  They’re attacking both ships!”

Cosette
couldn’t wait for the vacillating Garale to take action.  She reached up over her screens, slapped open a panel and flipped a switch that would route piloting capability to her console.

Thank
heavens
I
know
every
circuit
on
this
ship
. 

Her fingers danced across her keyboard and the cruiser plunged towards the planet.

“What are you doing?” screamed Garale, as the maneuver threw him out of his seat. 

She made the cruiser dodge left and right as they descended.  On her screens, two red blips of light emerged from the lead battleship and headed in their direction. 
“Two Charon-2 missiles locked on and headed our way,” she announced. 

“
Charon-2 missiles,” said Rasora.  “Those are bad, right?”

“
Get your hands off of those controls,” Garale shouted at Cosette.  He stood in the doorway of the pilots’ cabin, one hand gripping the door frame and the other holding an ion disruptor pistol.

If
I
don’t
maneuver
us
away
from
the
missiles
,
we’re
dead
. 
But
he
won’t
hesitate
to
kill
me
if
I
don’t
obey
him
.