Sol (The Silver Ships Book 5) (25 page)

“Who is this?” Tarek demanded. Unfortunately, for Captain Tarek, the answer became self-evident. Two Haraken fighters sat in front of his bow’s windows, holding their positions, despite the forward velocity his tug still held. To Tarek, it appeared their deadly noses were pointing directly at his face. “Per … perhaps I was mistaken,” Tarek stammered, ordering his pilot to veer off and hoping the Harakens would allow him to leave unmolested.

As Jorre watched Tarek’s tug angle off, the two Haraken fighters holding pace with him, a huge grin slid across his face.

“
Homeward Bound
, this is Commander Cohen. We’ve been asked to keep you company until your salvage freighter arrives, if you don’t mind?”

“Never been so happy to have company in my life, Commander,” Jorre replied.

Franz smiled at the relief evident in the tug captain’s voice. This story would circulate quickly among the Harakens for its ironic similarities to the events eleven years ago when a Méridien SADE was rescued by a New Terran captain piloting his tug, the
Outward Bound
. This time a SADE was reciprocating by rescuing a young tug captain, piloting a ship, of all the names, the
Homeward Bound
.

When the freighter eventually sailed close, Jorre watched the pair of travelers wiggle briefly and disappear back to Idona, no engine flares or emissions whatsoever.

“
Homeward Bound,
this is the freighter
Treasure Chest
approaching your position, Captain Liston speaking. Son, I had no idea you had friends in such high places. I just lost the bet with my first mate that you’d hold onto your salvage.”

“Hello, Captain,” Jorre replied, “Yes … yes, it’s good to have friends.” When Jorre signed his contract with Liston, he headed back to Idona a happy young man with enough credits transferred into his station account to last him six more years without needing to retrieve a single salvage.

Once back aboard Idona, Jorre would spend a week crisscrossing the station looking for a unique gift. A discussion with an ex-rebel would send him deep into the inner ring and the station’s food banks, which were in full production. In a small bed of the banks, a dedicated horticulturist, a young dark-haired beauty by the name of Pauline, cultured her grandmother’s prizes, strikingly delicate and exotic orchids.

“You want one of my orchids as a gift for a woman? A girlfriend? A wife?” Pauline asked, taking the measure of the young captain.

“Neither, really,” Jorre replied, pretending to look over the orchids, but keeping the young woman in sight. Her smile was warm and inviting, and he had to work not to stare.

“So, do you often buy unusual gifts for women that you hardly know?”

Jorre knew he was being teased, but he didn’t care. “I do when they help me land a salvage prize worth six years of income.”

“Well, such generosity should be rewarded. I think this one should please her.”

“How many credits do you want for it?” Jorre asked. He would pay any price, but being on his own since he was young had taught him to be prepared to negotiate at any time.

“A dinner at my choice of restaurant should suffice,” Pauline replied, adding a bright smile.

Later that day, a Haraken trooper wearing a huge grin entered Alex’s planning room. “Your pardon, Mr. President, but I was told that these required immediate attention. They’re a gift for Cordelia.”

Humans and SADEs turned to look at Cordelia, who smiled and said, “It’s nice to be appreciated.” She opened the top of the slender package as the trooper held it out to her, revealing delicate white orchids with fine pink and green lines that originated in the petals’ outer rims and flared and softened as they traveled to the flowers’ centers.

“And who is your admirer, Cordelia?” Renée asked eagerly.

A small handwritten note on paper, rare on the station, held the answer. “The captain of the
Homeward Bound
,” Cordelia replied.

“There’s mysterious symmetry in that I think,” Renée replied, leaning into Alex’s shoulder.

Cordelia kept Jorre’s message to herself, which said, “I owe you my thanks twice. Once for the salvage and twice for your gift; the search for your present led me to a wonderful woman, the grower of these orchids.”

Inside, Cordelia’s emotional algorithms were rising and cascading.
You were in my care but for a moment, Captain,
she thought.
I wish you a safe journey and good fortune.

Knowing Admiral Portland would send his own version of the truth to his superiors, Alex chose to preempt the admiral with a communication of his own. He assembled others to support the call.

Woo’s lunch was interrupted and Chong’s sleep received the same intrusion by their comms officers, who apprised each of them of the Haraken president’s call. Chong was the last to join the conference, having hurriedly changed into fatigues rather than appear on cam in nightwear.

“Greetings, Space Admiral Li Chong,” Alex said when the admiral sat down in front of his monitor. “Let me begin by updating you on the outcome of Admiral Portland’s attack on the station. At this time, his fleet comprises only his battleship, two cruisers, and five destroyers, which are making their way back to Saturn.”

“Are we to understand, President Racine, that you’ve disabled or destroyed sixteen destroyers and two cruisers?” Chong asked after some quick calculations.

“Unfortunately, that is the case, Admiral Chong,” Alex replied.

“How many survivors were rescued?” Woo asked.

“There were no survivors from the ships you enumerated, Tribune,” Alex answered simply. “Two destroyer captains decided to retreat, and we allowed them to do so.”

“But how can there be no survivors?” Chong asked. He was incredulous and anger reddened his cheeks.

“If I may, Admiral Chong,” Reiko said, stepping closer to the vid pickup. “I’m Captain Shimada of the destroyer
Conquest
stationed at Idona. The Harakens demonstrated a powerful weapon to Admiral Portland in hopes of convincing him to withdraw his forces.”

“What sort of demonstration, Captain?” Chong asked.

“The Harakens fired two small missiles toward an abandoned patrol boat, and what issued from the missiles dissolved every bit of metal in the ship. For some reason, Admiral Portland thought this was a hoax, and he sent a destroyer to investigate.”

“And what did the destroyer discover?” Chong asked, already guessing the outcome.

“That it wasn’t a hoax, Admiral. The destroyer was lost too … dissolved just like the patrol ship. Once the Haraken nanites hit metal, they continue replicating until all metal has been utilized … hulls, bulkheads, safety doors, escape pods, and the metal rings on the crew’s suits.” Shimada’s voice dropped as she enumerated her list, barely whispering by the time she spoke of the environment suits. “In this case, there was no one who could be rescued. The space around the demonstration was contaminated until the nanites reached the end of their lifespans. The president was specific in the distance the admiral’s ships were to remain from the demonstration site.”

“Were all the ships in the battle … dissolved like this?” Woo asked, shuddering at the thought. She was struggling to wrap her mind around people who fought with weapons that ate a ship’s metal.

“No, Tribune,” Alex replied. “After two of the four squadrons received our nanites attack, the destroyer escorts succumbed to metal fatigue. In advance of those ships’ demises, we eliminated those squadrons’ two cruisers, and destroyed most of the other two squadrons, which continued to advance on the station. Unfortunately for your people, our weapons are much too powerful for your warships. Most of your ships detonated after a single pass by our fighters.”

Woo and Chong were stunned by the president’s words. Neither thought Portland would succeed against the Harakens, but they assumed there would be some sort of protracted battle with tremendous losses on both sides.

“Did you have any losses, Mr. President?” Chong asked.

“One of our older fighters was lost, but we recovered the pilot,” Alex said.

“Not much of a fight for you, was it?” Chong asked. “I mean … not much chance for battlefield honors.”

The muscles in Alex’s neck flexed, and he fought to maintain control. “War is not about honor, Admiral. It’s about death and destruction. The great accomplishments come when differences can be resolved and war prevented. Failing to achieve that goal, what follows is just fighting. But while we seem to be attempting to assign blame for the loss of UE crew and ships, why didn’t you send recall orders to Admiral Portland?”

Chong looked completely uncomfortable with the question and even squirmed in his chair.

“We both sent recalls,” Woo finally said. “Admiral Portland stated he was in possession of incontrovertible proof that your people were planning to takeover Saturn’s moons.”

“That’s plasma vent,” Brennan declared, speaking up for the first time. “The Harakens didn’t move a ship until Portland’s forces came close.

“My ship’s officers have been monitoring Idona’s space since the Harakens arrived,” Shimada added. “Tribune Brennan is correct. The Harakens were not making any move on Saturn.” Shimada knew that Woo knew this, but it appeared their personal conversation was to be kept private.

“For all the good that information does us,” Woo said, “we now have to deal with the aftermath.”

“Just for a moment, let’s put aside Portland and consider the much bigger picture,” Brennan said urgently, stepping toward the Haraken vid drone. “Tribune Woo, have you informed Admiral Chong of our conversations?” Brennan asked cryptically.

“Do I know that the UE is in danger of going broke? Yes,” Chong declared angrily.

Shimada and the other Earthers couldn’t believe what they heard, and the Harakens were signaling furiously back and forth.

“Yes, well … I wouldn’t have put it so bluntly, Admiral,” Brennan said, glancing around at the surrounding faces. “But now that we’re all aware of the problem, let’s talk about the solution.” Immediately, Brennan had Woo and Chong’s attention. “We have a model for the way out of our gloomy future right here on this station, but it requires us to stop thinking in black and white, right or wrong, the UE or nothing. On this station, it’s compromise, tolerance, and goodwill that are working.”

“Yes, with the Harakens as overseers,” Chong challenged.

“Your pardon, Admiral, but that’s not really the case,” Morris piped up.

“And you are?” Chong asked, having noticed the lowly lieutenant’s insignia.

“Lieutenant Morris, Admiral. I’m in charge of the militia,” Patrice replied.

“Allow me to bring you up to date, Admiral,” Alex said. “Major Lindling, the previous head of the militia annoyed me and has proven to have diverted huge amounts of funds from the station. At present, he’s in a holding cell.

Chong glanced at his second screen to see Woo nodding her head in acknowledgment. At the moment, the conversation was too critical to divert his attention, but part of his mind was captivated that he was speaking in real time to a tribune on the opposite side of the sun from him and a station on the outer rim.

“I was informed that Captain Yun was a good fit to help the station director and assigned him there,” Alex continued. “That left the militia’s control in the hands of Lieutenant Morris, who’s been doing a splendid job. Now, please allow her to make her point. Lieutenant?”

Patrice Morris suddenly felt like a sports ball between two formidable teams. She glanced at Alex who smiled encouragingly to her.

“The Harakens might have started the ball rolling, Admiral, by disarming the militia and convincing the rebels to come out of hiding, but since then it’s been Earthers, as the Harakens call us, who’ve been doing the work and putting this station back on its feet. The militia operates as the station’s policing and administrative force, but most of the troopers are on work assignment … maintenance on the station.”

“Maintenance? Who trained them for that?” Chong asked, incredulous at the concept.

“That would be my people,” Nikki supplied. “Since we maintained the inner ring for generations, we’re the best qualified to train other personnel. And since you’re probably wondering, Admiral, I’m Nikki Fowler, the station director and the ex-rebel leader. Personally, I like my new job much better.”

Since Chong appeared to be busy trying to absorb the changes at Idona, Brennan seized the moment to drive his point home. “What these people are trying to tell you, Admiral, is that the old way … the UE way … wasn’t working here. The station was suffering from poor maintenance and credit flow, not to mention unchecked theft of funds by the military. The Harakens offered these people the opportunity to work together and save the station. Then they stood back. It’s the stationers who embraced the concept of cooperation, and it is working incredibly well.

“It sounds beatific, Tribune Brennan,” Chong said, regaining his mental equilibrium. “So in your house of compromise you’ve had no lawbreakers?”

“Oh, yes, we have people, so naturally we have lawbreakers, Admiral,” Nikki responded. “We have a panel of five judges, who review each case. But unlike the UE, our judgments are not innocent or guilty, where the guilty receive one of two sentences, a life sentence or death. That’s a criminal waste of human potential. For instance, convictions for petty crimes receive station work assignments. This is tech work and requires training. A 50-hour sentence might be preceded by 150 hours of training. We’ve hired the majority of those who performed well in their training and sentencing hours.”

“Even if what the bunch of you say is true, we won’t have the Harakens around to set up each colony. Will we, President Racine?” Chong asked. The response he received was Alex’s negative shake of his head.

“But do we need the Harakens?” Woo interjected. “Tribune Brennan represents the corporations that will embrace whatever model boosts their profits. As for me, I want to see a viable government with a future and not one collapsing into chaos. If the military takes the lead to make peace with the rebels and we create local and more flexible judicial panels, we might create a stable, economic future.