Redemption Protocol (Contact) (26 page)
After the interview, Havoc went back to his cabin. He was wound up and planned to use the sims to de-stress.
Stone stepped out to catch him in the small rec space between the crew cabins in their quad. Stone stared at him with an intense expression.
Havoc frowned.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing, but I've got to tell you something.”
Stone’s demeanor was deadly serious. Havoc thought maybe Stone had stumbled across something that would reveal the identity of Marsac's murderer.
“What is it?”
Stone's face was grim and determined. Havoc knew it was going to be big. Stone took a breath.
“I think I’m in love with Saskia Novosa.”
Havoc cracked up.
37.
The
Intrepid
hung in orbit, a lonely speck dwarfed by the scale of the enigmatic bronze planet beyond it. Plash was, in turn, an infinitesimal dust mote orbiting the luminous blue hypergiant Jötunn. The massive star, hovering at the limit of physical possibility, hurled out a fierce and unending stream of energy. Yamamoto had positioned the
Intrepid
in the shadow of the planet, using Plash as a giant parasol, since any exposure to Jötunn's searing glare would immediately damage their hull. The planet loomed over the
Intrepid
ringed by a brilliant halo.
Long heat sinks hung off the
Intrepid
like the brace warps of a pelagic trawler, streaming kilometers into space, suspended in the void. The
Intrepid's
cooling system circulated fluids along the spindle to flush heat to the sinks. The vacuum of space made heat difficult to get rid of – one of the best ways to mission kill a ship was to overload its ability to dissipate thermal energy.
All of the discs except disc six were spinning to provide the centripetal force required for artificial gravity. The modules on the discs, including the habitation units, had been rotated on their chains so their floors faced rimward. Discs one, two and five rotated clockwise and discs three and four rotated counter-clockwise to minimize the undesirable forces that would push the ship off course.
Disc six had not been spun because it provided an autonomous platform that was being prepared for launch into lower orbit. Once operational, the disc six platform would provide a launch site for the shuttles, thus allowing the
Intrepid
to stand off from Plash and maneuver more freely. The platform was also intended to provide an additional step for containment security for anything recovered from Plash, though all the protocols were under revision given the imminent arrival of the other ships.
In the meantime, the crew was in disc five preparing the two shuttles for their scientific forays. Havoc leaned back against the window, taking in the impressive view.
Stephanie walked toward him in a silver catsuit, her long hair spilling down over her shoulders and curling around her chest. The suit had an integrated harness and she wore a webbed waistcoat over it, currently hanging open. Stephanie’s suit might not stop a kinetic round, but on her it would halt an entire brigade in its tracks.
“You look good.”
“Thank you, John. You look like a killer robot from the future.”
“It's a Belgiarotta.”
“I love what he's done with the shoulders.”
Havoc rotated a micromissile rack.
“Actually, the shoulders are mine.”
She laughed and shook her head.
“How come my ex-fiancée knows designer names now?”
“Fashion is only sex and stitching, or so a girl once told me.”
She smiled in recognition.
“That girl knew what she was talking about.”
Havoc gestured toward the shuttles.
“I was a little surprised when you asked to come out.”
She looked at him coyly.
“And why was that, John?”
“I don't know.”
She pouted a little.
“Am I not meeting your expectations, John?”
He laughed.
“Come on now, I think we both know that I was the one who never met your expectations.”
“I only said you could have made more of yourself if you'd gone Flag instead of Strike.”
“And stayed in Lond.”
“I think you'll find our nation's capital is where most of the diplomatic jobs are. And when I say most, I mean all.”
“Distance relationships.”
“You could write a book.”
“It would be very short.”
They smiled at each other. Stephanie gestured behind her.
“Whittenhorn said the shuttle crews will be more constrained by roles later, so I thought I'd take my chance now. I was a little disappointed to learn that I'm not on the shuttle with the...” – she made inverted comma signs with her fingers – “crazy person.”
He chuckled ruefully.
“Yeah, badged amber.”
Stephanie shook her head.
“And our whole medical team as well.”
“If you combined Chaucer's liveliness with Leveque's depression, you might get an emotionally balanced person.”
Stephanie laughed.
“True, I don't know how he does it. You, on the other hand...”
“I was too honest.”
“You were always too honest.”
“Some people see that as a positive.”
She spread her hands.
“I'm a diplomat.”
He laughed.
She batted her eyelids.
“We have our uses.”
He looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes.
“Abbott has negotiated exclusive access to surface sites for a limited time, in return for the
Intrepid's
privileged position of arriving first.”
“You mean, for us not mining the shit out of everything?”
“And a two hundred thousand kilometer exclusion zone from the
Intrepid
to the other capital ships.”
“Yamamoto estimates a seven percent probability of surviving an engagement with the
Brilliance
if it starts closer than
five
hundred thousand kilometers away.”
“Oh, you're such a cynic.”
He nearly choked.
“
I'm
a cynic.”
She laughed and stepped closer. He frowned as she put her hand on his arm.
“I wanted to say that I'm really glad you're here, John. For lots of reasons.”
She looked up at him.
His wheels spun like a fruit machine.
She watched his face intently.
“And at least you can watch my great diplomatic ass while I walk back to my shuttle.”
“Never without permission.”
She spun on her heel and walked away.
“Permission granted, Havoc.”
38.
Havoc watched Stephanie stroll back to her shuttle and stop next to Karch. It was a nice contrast, Stephanie in silver and Karch in her black vampire hunting costume. Together they looked quite a pair. Ekker came over and stood next to them. Havoc turned away.
Weaver walked through the hangar doors. To Havoc's disappointment she'd decided not to join the skin tight catsuit brigade. Instead she wore a close fitting charcoal flight suit that actually had pockets. Her face was studiously neutral as she stopped nearby. Given they were on the same shuttle, she didn't have much choice but to loiter close by.
He nodded acknowledgment.
“Weaver.”
She frowned at his combat suit.
“Are you expecting trouble?”
The motto of the space cadets sprung to mind.
“Be prepared and be honest.”
She shook her head.
“Huh. Honest.”
It irritated him.
“Oh, I'm in the company of a saint?”
“Compared to you, you mean?”
“I'm here aren't I? Or does my ass count for less?”
“I'm sure you are. Just as long as you get paid.”
“That's me. Snapping necks and cashing checks.”
“Now that is honesty.”
“Don't hate me for the fact you hit on me.”
Her face turned red.
“I
hit
on
you
?”
He eyed her coolly.
“Like a little steam train.”
She gasped in exasperation.
“Why you... you...”
Novosa appeared in a gray flight suit.
“We all ready to go?”
He raised an eyebrow at Weaver.
Weaver scowled.
“We're ready.”
Novosa looked at Havoc’s suit.
“You expecting trouble?”
“You never know.”
Novosa looked around.
“Where’s Bob?”
Havoc smiled.
“Pulling something from stores. He won’t be long.”
After Stone had declared his undying love for Novosa, he'd gone on to describe the kind of man Novosa would be looking for. In order to win her, Stone explained, a man would have to be tough, strong and resourceful. He would need to be a champion of the underdog, always willing to go the extra mile. In short, Stone had said, that man would have to display all the qualities of Dutch McDaniels on Star Quest. Havoc had never heard of Dutch McDaniels but Stone was adamant that Dutch always got the girl. Stone tapped his nose when he said it. Havoc had laughed and conceded to Stone's impenetrable logic.
While they waited for Stone, Shuttle Two launched with Karch, Hwan, Kemensky and Stephanie aboard. Shuttle Two was going to trace the path of the beam and inspect the gravitational anomaly. Not too close, of course; the attractive force of the anomaly was strong and its existence was completely counter to their understanding of physics. They'd all heard Fournier muttering about it as if he was trying to convince himself that what their instruments showed was real.
Stone's entrance caused quite a stir on the far side of the hangar deck. First into view was the dazzle of Stone’s polished dome as he bobbed along behind some storage crates. Stone swaggered around the corner wearing combat pants, a black waistcoat and a Mark 2 Midar Handcannon holstered from a thick belt worn so loosely that it dropped six inches on the weapon side. The Midar was a full handcannon and half a meter long. The result was the barrel of this ominous weapon swung barely off the floor. It would have scraped along the floor itself had Stone not also been wearing thick soled Trivilium Booster Boots. The pièce de résistance, however, was Stone’s reflective gold wraparound shades. If Havoc hadn't known what Dutch McDaniels wore before, he did now.
Stone came to a halt and spoke from beneath his striking eyewear.
“Hi.”
Havoc fought to keep his face straight.
“Hi.”
Stone seemed to have developed an affinity for rolling his Rs.
“You guys ready to rock and roll?”
Weaver looked bemused as she inspected Stone’s ridiculous outfit.
“What?”
Novosa stood in awed silence. Or at least that was how Stone was interpreting it, Havoc thought. He nodded.
“Sure thing, Skip.”
Stone nodded. More verbal tics followed.
“Great. Let's mount up and move out.”
Weaver eyed Stone’s shades suspiciously.
“Can you see in those?”
Stone gave a dismissive laugh as he turned straight toward the clear composite of the open door. Havoc steered Stone so he didn't hit the window then lifted him into the cabin so he wouldn't trip over his gun.
Novosa found her voice.
“That's a big gun, Bob.”
Havoc thought Novosa sounded more concerned than reassured. Stone waved a hand casually.
“Thanks.”
Havoc pointed as Stone advanced into the middle cabin.
“You gonna rack that handcannon, Skip?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course.”
“Want me to do it?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Havoc stepped into the cabin and took Stone's weapon.
> Sure.
> Great!
Novosa joined them in the cabin. She pointed at the three exploration suits locked against the wall.