Fortunes of War (Stellar Main Book 1) Read online

  Carter forced her mouth open, as dry as the desert, and croaked, “How long?”

  Droplets of water dripped onto her tongue, and the first man replied, “Six weeks. You’re on the Patrol Cruiser Ajax. We’ve just concluded the revival process.”

  “That’s all?” she asked. “I thought…”

  “You were lucky,” the second voice said. “We were on a scheduled patrol, testing some repairs to our deep-range sensors, and we picked up your escape pod floating in the debris. What happened?”

  “Wait a minute, Rusty,” the first man said. “She’s just woken up….”

  “And Captain Petrov is already getting ready to leave.”

  “Can I open my eyes?” Carter asked.

  “Go ahead.” She opened her eyes, blinking to get rid of the liquid coating, forcing them to focus. She struggled to rise, looking at the two men on either side of her, both wearing the uniform of the Commonwealth Patrol. One in medical white, the other in Marine crimson.

  “Who…”

  “I’m Doctor Schmitt,” the white-garbed man said. “This is Lieutenant Garcia. Rusty to his friends.”

  Nodding, she replied, “Victoria Carter. First Mate of the Thomas O’Dell. At least, I was.”

  “That’s what your escape pod reported,” Garcia said. “What happened?”

  “We were attacked. A pirate ship. Scimitar-class. It came out of the asteroids, must have hidden in the rocks, in a sensor blind spot. They came at us without warning.” The tears streamed down her cheeks, and she added, “My father blew up the ship to give me a chance to get away. Are any of the others here? There was a second escape pod in the lower decks, and the engine room gang…”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Carter,” Garcia said, his voice softer now. “We ran a full sweep of debris, and we found the wreckage of the second escape pod.” He paused, looked at Schmitt, and added, “As well as sufficient organic material to account for your crew, and a few others besides. Were you carrying any passengers?”

  “Only for the last couple of minutes. They sent across a boarding party.” Images flooded her mind, and she turned to her side, continuing, “They shot Flores right in front of me. I tried to save her. Tried to take the fire, but she took it for me instead. And my father, and Grady, and all the others.” She looked up, and said, “You’ve got to get them. They might still be around. Those rocks…”

  “I’m way ahead of you,” Garcia said, making his way to a wall communicator, tapping the control. “Sickbay to Bridge, Garcia speaking. I need to talk to the Captain, right away.”

  “Petrov on the line, Lieutenant. Is our guest awake?”

  “Awake and recovering quickly, sir. Doctor Schmitt believes that she’ll be up and around any time now.”

  “That’s excellent news,” Petrov replied. “Do we know what happened?”

  “They were attacked. A pirate ship, coming out of the asteroids. I recommend we institute an immediate sweep of the entire area. There’s a good chance they’re still hiding down there.”

  “After all this time, that seems unlikely,” Petrov replied. “We’ve had no other reports of ship losses in this system. The sort of investigation you propose would take days, and we don’t have the time. Our schedule requires us to return to Gemini Station at once.”

  “Then leave me in a shuttle,” Garcia suggested. “I can run the sweep, and Ajax can come back and pick me up…”

  “Be realistic, Lieutenant. If you are correct about the presence of the pirates, then you would do no good. Except that you would likely be captured yourself. We’ve already run a long-range sensor sweep, and if any pirate ship is in this area, they’re hidden well enough that…”

  “Why wouldn’t they wait, sir? This is a perfect ambush spot, close to a couple of trade routes used by tramp freighters in this sector. And as you say, they must have found a place to hide. We’ve got the logs from the Thomas O’Dell running through processing right now. They’re going to tell us something.” He paused, then said, “Can’t we at least wait until we’ve analyzed the data, sir? If they are hidden here, they won’t stay once we’re gone, and we’ll end up hunting them again. This is the best lead we’ve had for months. We can’t pass it up.”

  “You believe that this is an active lead, Lieutenant. I disagree. We’re too late. Not to save the young woman in the pod, perhaps, but too late to capture the pirates. We’ll process the data in-flight, on our return to base. Our best chance is to wait at a central location and be ready to respond to any information we receive. Is that understood?”

  Garcia looked at Carter, then said, “I must disagree, sir, and I must request that my objection be formally noted in the log.”

  Schmitt whistled, then whispered, “Careful, Rusty…”

  “That is of course your right, Lieutenant, and if you wish, I will make the appropriate notation. Nevertheless, my orders stand. Ajax will leave the system in eight minutes. Please report to your duty station and prepare the documentation for the formal inquiry. I want to conclude the investigation as rapidly as possible.”

  “Yes, sir. Sickbay out.” Garcia tapped the control, turned to Schmitt, and said, “One of these days, Doctor, I’m going to nail that bastard to the god-damned wall.”

  “Unless he gets you first,” Schmitt replied, as the Marine stalked out of the room. He looked down at Carter, shook his head, and said, “I hope he calms down soon.” He looked at her, and said, “I slipped you a tranquilizer before you woke up. Not really indicated in the revival process, but I thought it might help you hold on for a while. How do you feel?”

  “Like I want to punch somebody.”

  “That sounds about right. Any pain?”

  “Just stiff.” Stretching her arms, she said, “I feel fine.”

  “That’ll last for about thirty hours or so, then you’ll really start to feel it. If the Captain has his way, we’ll be back at Colchis long before then.” He paused, then said, “It’ll hit you like a ton of rocks when it does. Right now…”

  “Right now, I need to talk to the Captain myself.” She struggled to sit up, Schmitt shaking his head.

  “Not a chance. I’ve got about a thousand tests to run on you…”

  “I was in top condition when I went under, Doctor, and you told me yourself that I was recovering more rapidly than you’d expected. I feel fine.”

  With a wry smile, Schmitt gestured at the medical monitors, and replied, “Don’t lie to your Doctor. We can always tell. You’re staying right here until I give you the all-clear.”

  “Then call the Captain and tell him I need to speak to him.”

  “Ma’am, he wouldn’t listen to an Academy graduate with three commendations for bravery and eight years’ flight experience. Don’t take this the wrong way, but…”

  “He’ll listen to me,” she replied. “Help me up.”

  “This is crazy,” he said, placing his hands behind her, supporting her as she struggled to her feet. “Try taking a few steps. And I’m not going to help you. Maybe falling flat on your face will be the shock you need to realize the ordeal you’ve put yourself through.”

  She struggled forward, gently taking an experimental step, then a second, then a third, turning triumphantly to Schmitt, her hand resting on a wall. He shook his head, then ripped off the medical monitors, tossing them in the waste chute.

  “Which way to the bridge?” she asked.

  “Elevator right opposite the exit,” he said. “Just press for the bridge, and it’ll take you straight there.” He sighed, and said, “This won’t do what you’re hoping it will, you know. I’ve known Petrov long enough to tell you that once he’s made his mind up about something, that’s the end of the discussion.” He paused, fumbled in his pouch, and pulled out a hypodermic, jabbing it into her exposed arm. “Stimulant. It’ll work for a little while. Not long. Maybe long enough.”

  “Maybe?”

  He blushed, and replied, “You’re only the second person I’ve brought out of cryostasis, and the fi
rst was back in Medical School. It’s not something we do very often. If it hadn’t been for Rusty, you wouldn’t have been woken up until we got back to Gemini.”

  “Thank him for me,” Carter said, walking through the doors, stepping out into the corridor beyond. The contrast between this ship and her old one was astonishing, all the paintwork bright, some even smelling as though it had only recently been applied, tell tales functioning perfectly, lights gleaming overhead, the deck polished to a glorious sheen. A well-maintained ship. Perhaps too well maintained. It had the air of a vessel that had sat in spacedock for too long.

  She lurched into the elevator, hitting the control to take her up to the bridge, grabbing onto the support bar to remain on her feet. Belatedly, she looked down at her clothes, a single, thin medical jumpsuit. She shivered again, waiting for the doors to open. Hardly proper attire for the bridge. The elevator paused for a moment, then opened to admit a slender, severe woman, who frowned at her as she stepped inside.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “The bridge.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to speak to the Captain.”

  Raising an eyebrow, she replied, “Not a good idea.”

  “My idea, my responsibility. And it was my ship that got shot to pieces out there, my crew that was murdered. If he’s going to leave this system without completing a proper investigation, I want him to look me in the eye while he does it. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “I still don’t think that it’s a good idea.” The doors slid open, and she stepped out onto the bridge, making her way to her station. Carter slowly followed, looking around the command deck, her eyes dancing from console to console, sharp-uniformed technicians at their posts, the same view on the monitor screen that she had seen before the destruction of her ship. A stout, balding man sat at the heart of the action, scanning through a datapad, belatedly looking up at her arrival.

  “Who the hell are you?” he asked.

  “Victoria Carter,” she replied, stepping forward, her head suddenly swimming. “Captain Petrov?”

  Turning to face her, he said, “This is a restricted location. Who gave you permission to come up here?” Glaring at the woman who had joined her in the elevator, he asked, “Commander Schultz, did you know about this?”

  “No, sir, I didn’t. I recommended that she return to Sickbay. I suspect Doctor Schmitt still has tests to run on her.”

  “Agreed,” he said, looking at Carter again. “Go back to…”

  “I insist that you run a full sensor sweep of the asteroid field,” she interrupted, taking an uncertain step forward. “Eight people are dead, and their murderers could still be out there somewhere. You can’t just fly off and leave, not when there is a chance of bringing the killers of my crew to justice. I thought the Patrol’s primary duty was the defense of Commonwealth citizens, not sticking to routine flight schedules.”

  “Get off the bridge.”

  “Not until you agree to…”

  “Chief!” Petrov snapped. “I am going to conclude that this young woman is still disoriented and is still recovering from her ordeal. Therefore, I will order that you take her back to Sickbay, rather than to the Brig, but you will still place a guard on the door to prevent her wandering through the ship.”

  “What are you afraid of, Captain? You’re scared to go up against the pirates in this highly-polished ship of yours? We had a single maser turret, and we still tried to bring those bastards down, and we damn near succeeded. If a tramp freighter is more willing to protect the people of the Commonwealth than the Patrol, what does it say about you?”

  A tall, burly man walked towards her, and said, “Let’s not have a scene, ma’am. I’ll take you back to Sickbay, and…”

  She gestured at the sensor display, the tumbling wreckage of her ship still visible, and said, “Eight dead people. People that you were responsible to protect. How many more are going to die because you wouldn’t conduct a proper search?” She gasped for breath, the edges of her vision turning grey. Schmitt hadn’t given her a stimulant. He’d given her a sedative. One that had just taken longer to kick in than he had expected.

  “Chief, take her below,” Petrov said. A few of the technicians turned from their posts, uncertainty in their eyes, while the countdown to their departure trickled away on the viewscreen. “Right now.”

  “If you’ll come with me, ma’am,” the burly man said.

  “Jack Carter,” she said. “Norman Schneider. Samantha Flores…”

  “What?” Petrov asked.

  “Names,” she replied. “Names to faces. The people whose memory you are betraying.” The man pulled her back to the elevator, gently but firmly taking her inside, as the screen flashed Cerenkov Blue, the tachyon drive engaging to throw them back to Colchis, to Gemini Station. The doors slammed shut, and she looked at the tall man, asking, “Do you think…”

  “I think he’s the Captain, and I think you just made one hell of a mistake.” Shaking his head, he said, “I hope like hell that was the medication talking. Though whether it was or not, you just made an enemy.”

  “He’s wrong,” she said.

  “That’s not for me to say,” the man replied. He paused, then said, “We’ll get them. One way or another. We always do.”

  “Sure,” she said. “How many more lives is it going to take?”

  Chapter 2

  Carter waited in the corridor, finally issued with an insignia-free version of the Patrol uniform, stalking back and forth under the watchful eyes of Garcia and Schmitt. She glanced at her watch, shaking her head, then pulled out her datapad again, skimming through the material.

  “What the hell is taking so long?” she asked.

  “The Captain believes in doing a thorough job,” Schmitt replied, “and this is a formal inquiry. One that half a dozen bureaucrats will spend a long time reading for any sign of trouble. Not least of them your insurance company.”

  “You think I care about my bank balance right now?” she retorted. “We’re already heading far too fast in the wrong direction. We should never…” The door slid open, and Commander Schultz leaned through the threshold.

  “We’re ready for you now,” she said. “Come right in.”

  “Thank you, Commander,” Garcia replied, leading the way. Schmitt followed, flashing a warning glance at Carter, who finally entered the Captain’s office. The room reflected the man, orderly to the point of insanity, everything in its proper place, clean as though it had never been used, pristine and perfect. Petrov himself sat at his desk, yeoman by his side, both wearing impeccable dress uniforms, decorations and insignia clean and polished.

  “Board of inquiry now resumes,” the yeoman said. “Captain Ivan Petrov presiding.”

  “I’ve read your reports,” Petrov said. “I do have a few questions that I would like answered, before I close this inquiry.” Looking up at Garcia, he continued, “Lieutenant, you were the officer who oversaw the sensor sweep that found Miss Carter’s escape pod. When you completed the scan, what were your thoughts upon your discovery?”

  “I was surprised to find anyone still alive,” Garcia replied. “We’d found nothing other than debris, and I honestly believed that we wouldn’t find anyone. That the pod responded to our initial remote activation was even more surprising.”

  Nodding, Petrov added, “Could a theoretical attacker have conducted such a search?”

  “Wait a damned minute,” Carter said.

  “You’ll get your turn,” Petrov replied.

  “These attackers are not theoretical…”

  “Enough!” Petrov said, smacking his gavel on the desk. “I will have order, and if that requires charges to be filed against you, I will do it. Do I make myself clear?” He turned back to Garcia, and said, “Please answer my question, Lieutenant.”

  “Certainly, sir.”

  “And what explanation might you have for their failure to do so?” He gl
anced at Carter, as though hoping to goad her to another outburst. “Could it be…”

  “I’ve completed my analysis of the sensor logs from the pod, sir, and they indicate that the Thomas O’Dell scored three direct hits on the pirate vessel. Two of which were on their forward sensor array, and the third on their short-range communication system. That meant that their sensor resolution was way, way down, and they would have struggled to transmit such a signal, even if they had access to military authorization codes. Added to which that the ship had just exploded, and my interpretation is that they didn’t make such an attempt because they didn’t know the pod had escaped.”

  “I see,” Petrov said. “Nothing further.”

  “Sir, I…”

  “Your report was extremely comprehensive, Lieutenant.” A smile curled his lips, and he added, “Miss Carter has seemed anxious to testify, but I have a question for Doctor Schmitt, first. In your professional medical opinion, Doctor, is Miss Carter competent to speak at this hearing?”

  “She is, sir. As per your request, I completed a thorough physical examination. The records are in my report. She’s recovered extremely well from her ordeal, and I consider that she is competent under the terms you outlined. I would caution, though, that psychologically…”

  “That’s sufficient, Doctor.” Folding his hands together. “Now, Miss Carter, I’ve read your report. Exhaustively. I do have a few questions to answer.”

  “Of course,” she said, struggling to remain neutral.

  “When you detected the pirate ship, what was your first instinct?”

  “To run for the asteroids, try and hide.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Our tachyonic drive needed three hours to charge. The enemy ship was faster than we were, and I didn’t think we could last for anything like that long.”

  Raising an eyebrow, he replied, “You hold a Master Pilot’s Certification. Your ship had undertaken some rather special modifications, to say the least, and you tell me that you couldn’t run and hide.”