Left him alone.
She wouldn"t come back: he was sure of that. Not when Davies needed her so badly. I"m alone here. I can"t do this many jobs at once. I"m alone here. I can"t do this many jobs at once. Ciro trusted her implicitly, even though she"d nearly driven him crazy. Ciro trusted her implicitly, even though she"d nearly driven him crazy.
His heart pounded like terror in his chest. A A dozen different vitriols seemed to burn through his veins. dozen different vitriols seemed to burn through his veins.
The mutagen stays in you.
Somehow he forced himself to wait until he heard the wheeze of the lift as it strained against the fierce g. That sound meant Vector was on his way to the airlock. The central pa.s.sage of the gap scout was probably clear.
At once Ciro ripped his g-sheath aside, flipped off the bunk, and flung himself toward the door like an unleashed animal; frantic for freedom.
It stays alive.
A dread coded into the most primitive structures of his DNA compelled him. Out in the pa.s.sage, he moved directly to the nearest emergency toolkit. He knew where it was: in his demeaning role as Trumpet"s Trumpet"s cabin boy, he"d been given the job of putting the C-spanner with which Nick had attacked Angus several days ago back where it belonged; and so he"d learned where all the toolkits were stowed. cabin boy, he"d been given the job of putting the C-spanner with which Nick had attacked Angus several days ago back where it belonged; and so he"d learned where all the toolkits were stowed.
It works its way into every cell and wraps itself around your DNA strings.
If anyone else came into the pa.s.sage now, they would see what he was doing. Mikka, Davies, even Morn: any of them would try to stop him. But he ignored the danger. There was nothing he could do about it except hurry-and he was already hurrying as much as the gap scout"s thrust allowed.
From its g-case he retrieved the spanner. Flakes of dried blood and a crust or two of tissue still clung to its shaft: he hadn"t cleaned it very well. But that didn"t matter. Angus" blood was still human. So was his scalp. Ciro tucked the spanner under his belt. Into his pockets he put a circuit probe, a small utility laser, an a.s.sortment of wires, clamps, and solder.
Then he went looking for an access hatch which would let him into Trumpet"s Trumpet"s drive s.p.a.ce. drive s.p.a.ce.
That"s why I serve them, Ciro. If I don"t, they"ll cut me off from the antidote.
And that"s why you"re you"re going to serve going to serve me. me.
The job would probably take a long time. He"d never seen the inside of the drive s.p.a.ce; had no idea how the circuits and equipment might be arranged. And he didn"t want to risk wrecking the wrong systems. The idea that he might cripple, say, life support and leave the drives active terrified him. He would have to probe and test and search until he found the right control panels. But he knew how to do that. Vector had taught him. And he carried the vial Sorus Chatelaine had given him. He could afford to spend a few hours carrying out his mission.
In his own way, he was as loyal as Mikka.
HASHI.
As he expected, he was the last to reach Warden"s designated office-one of the private, utilitarian, and above all secure rooms in which the director of the UMCP officially ceased to exist for the outside world. Koina Hannish and Chief Mandich were there ahead of him.
Koina sat against the wall to the left of the door where Hashi entered: a deliberately self-effacing position which may have expressed her awareness that Protocol had only a small role to play at the moment. Opposite her stood Chief Mandich. The two of them approximately bracketed Warden"s desk.
Obviously the UMCPED Security Chief was here to account for his own inadequacies in person; but he also represented Min Donner by proxy. His discomfort was plain in his refusal to accept a seat. Although his back was to the wall, he did nothing so casual as lean on it. He stood with his hands clasped behind him and his shoulders stiff. The heat which had mottled his face and neck earlier had subsided, but it remained apparent.
Warden sat behind his desk with his forearms braced on the desktop and his palms flat. His single eye glittered with penetration, complementing the resources of the IR prosthesis hidden by his patch. He was not an especially large man, but the strength of his frame and the immobility of his posture made him appear carved in stone; as unreachable as an icon.
Hashi shuffled quickly into the room, strewing apologies in all directions, although he hardly listened to them himself. The door closed behind him: he heard the seals slot home, metallic and final. That sound gave him the unsettling impression that he"d entered the presence of ultimate questions. When he neared the front of Warden"s desk, he stopped; glanced around him for a chair. But he didn"t presume to sit until Warden made a gesture of permission with one blunt hand.
"Don"t apologize, Hashi," Warden said harshly. "Explain. Tell me why we"ve been twiddling our thumbs here for the past ten minutes as if we didn"t have anything better to do."
Warden Dios, Hashi noted, was not in a good mood.
With an effort he stifled his impulse for obfuscation. "Lane Harbinger has been studying the kaze"s remains." His gla.s.ses had slid too far down his nose to m.u.f.fle him from Warden"s gaze, but he didn"t push them up. "I waited as long as I could-until I received your summons. Then I took the time to obtain a preliminary report."
For the sake of his own dignity, he declined to comment on whether or not Lane"s report had been worth hearing-or worth waiting for.
Warden studied Hashi as he spoke, then nodded once, brusquely. "All right. We"re in a crisis-the worst crisis any of us has ever seen. But the fact that the rest of us have just wasted ten minutes probably doesn"t increase the danger."
Hashi blinked owlishly. Did Warden consider Imposs Alt"s attack "the worst crisis any of us has ever seen?" Impossible. Surely he could not be so entirely divorced from the world of the real. To call that attack anything less than an emergency was foolish: to call it anything more was madness.
"You think we"re here to discuss Suka Bator," Warden rasped. "And some of you"-he seemed to concentrate briefly on Hashi-"are wondering why I took so long to summon you. Well, we are going to discuss Suka Bator. I want to know what happened. More than that, I want to know what it means.
"But an attack on the Council is only one side of our predicament. Before we go on, I"ll tell you what else has happened. Then you"ll understand why I didn"t call for you right away."
What else has happened. Hashi smiled his relief, despite the grimness of Warden"s tone. After some anxious moments, he felt suddenly sure that the UMCP director was about to justify the confidence Hashi had placed in him.
"Crudely put," Warden announced as if he were full of a bitterness he could neither contain nor release, "the situation is this. For all practical purposes, we are at war."
Chief Mandich stiffened. He took a step toward the director"s desk, perhaps without being aware of it. His blunt features became as hard as Warden"s.
Koina leaned forward, her lips parted slightly. Her eyes were dark with shock and dread; with a human being"s essential genetic horror of the Amnion.
War? Hashi"s heart skipped a beat, then started rattling in his chest like an electron barrage. At war? With some difficulty he refrained from asking, Is this why you accepted Milos Taverner as a control for our Joshua? Did you foresee it? Is it what you hoped to gain?
"Two hours ago," Warden continued, "I received a message from Min Donner by gap courier drone from Valdor Industrial. More precisely, the message is from VI Security, but she ordered them to send it. She reports that an Amnion "defensive" has entered the Ma.s.sif-5 system. A Behemoth-cla.s.s Amnion warship.
"At that distance from forbidden s.p.a.ce, I think we can dismiss the idea that she"s there by mistake. According to VI Security, Punisher Punisher has engaged the defensive, but the fight isn"t going well. has engaged the defensive, but the fight isn"t going well. Punisher Punisher is damaged, not at full capacity. The defensive"s shields and sinks are holding. On top of that"-he paused darkly-"she"s armed with super-light proton cannon." is damaged, not at full capacity. The defensive"s shields and sinks are holding. On top of that"-he paused darkly-"she"s armed with super-light proton cannon."
Mandich swore under his breath. Hashi would have done the same if he hadn"t been armored against betraying his emotions. Warden"s tone conveyed images of bloodshed and destruction. They constricted the air in his small office, making it hard to breathe. A super-light proton cannon was especially fearsome because it could wreak havoc through a planetary atmosphere. Matter cannon were useless for that: air protected the surface better than any particle sink. And lasers were too precise to unleash wholesale ruin. In addition, they tended to lose coherence across large distances. A super-light proton cannon, however- Warden didn"t stop.
"VI is scrambling support for Punisher," Punisher," he went on. "Unfortunately those ships aren"t in range yet. For some reason the defensive isn"t anywhere near the main shipping lanes-or the Station itself, for that matter. And our cruiser he went on. "Unfortunately those ships aren"t in range yet. For some reason the defensive isn"t anywhere near the main shipping lanes-or the Station itself, for that matter. And our cruiser Vehemence Vehemence is too far away to be involved in the action." is too far away to be involved in the action."
How entirely typical, Hashi thought. His attention was fixed on Warden; nailed there. Nevertheless his mind ran off on several oblique angles simultaneously. Vehemence Vehemence"s record was far from ill.u.s.trious. No matter who commanded her, or how her crew was composed and trained, she seemed inherently luckless or incompetent. To all appearances Nathan Alt"s months as her captain had put a curse on her.
"What are your orders, Director?" Chief Mandich put in abruptly. Tension strained his voice to a croak. "Director Donner isn"t here. I have to-"
He may have been as honest as an iron bar, but Hashi considered him inadequate to take Min Donner"s place.
Koina had better sense than the Security Chief: she waited her turn.
Warden stopped the Chief with a rough gesture. The movement of his single eye was sharp as a slap.
"Since then," he p.r.o.nounced trenchantly, "I"ve been making preliminary preparations for our defense. Our shipyards have gone to emergency work shifts. We need to get every ship we can into s.p.a.ce. UMCPHQ is on alert. I"ve ordered Sledgehammer Sledgehammer back. And I"ve sent out drones to recall back. And I"ve sent out drones to recall Valor Valor and and Adventurous." Adventurous."
Sledgehammer was a full battlewagon, the biggest and most powerful warship the UMCP had ever built. Currently she was executing shakedown maneuvers out between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn; training her crew to handle a vessel that ma.s.sive. Too near to return to Earth by crossing the gap: too far to arrive at s.p.a.ce-normal speeds in less than days. As for the other vessels Warden named, the destroyer was a full battlewagon, the biggest and most powerful warship the UMCP had ever built. Currently she was executing shakedown maneuvers out between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn; training her crew to handle a vessel that ma.s.sive. Too near to return to Earth by crossing the gap: too far to arrive at s.p.a.ce-normal speeds in less than days. As for the other vessels Warden named, the destroyer Valor Valor was on patrol around Terminus, the station in human s.p.a.ce farthest from the Amnion. The obsolete cruiser was on patrol around Terminus, the station in human s.p.a.ce farthest from the Amnion. The obsolete cruiser Adventurous Adventurous had been a.s.signed to supervise exercises for the cadets of Aleph Green. had been a.s.signed to supervise exercises for the cadets of Aleph Green.
Other ships were available, of course. Hashi could think of half a dozen gunboats and pocket cruisers within Earth"s control s.p.a.ce. They were paltry, however, for a task the size of defending a planet.
UMCPHQ itself couldn"t do that job. The Station had scarcely been designed to defend itself. It possessed shields and sinks; cannon of various kinds; but nothing that would be effective on such a scale. Any war which came close enough to Earth to threaten UMCPHQ was presumed to be already lost.
"But," Warden pursued, "I don"t want to leave us spread too thin elsewhere-as if we weren"t already-because I don"t know what the Amnion are going to do next. From a strategic point of view, VI isn"t exactly a logical target for an act of war."
Indeed. Hashi followed his director"s reasoning at the same time that he chased his own thoughts. Humankind"s ability to give battle would hardly be diminished-at least in the short term-by VI"s complete destruction. In addition that Station was too well defended, as well as too difficult to approach, for a single a.s.sailant to be sure of success. Any attack on Valdor would probably be a waste of effort.
"I have to a.s.sume," Warden stated, "that subsequent threats might not be logical either. I mean strategically. Since the Amnion aren"t p.r.o.ne to either waste or foolhardiness, I also a.s.sume that this incursion doesn"t imply a full-scale a.s.sault on human s.p.a.ce. It has some other objective.
"I can guess what that is, but I can"t guess where it might go. So I can"t predict where to concentrate our defenses."
Koina had been silent too long. Now her dread seemed to compel her to speak.
"Please tell us, Director," she murmured softly. "I think we need to know."
"I"m sure you do," Warden snorted. However, his sarcasm or disgust did not appear to be directed at her.
"You"re all aware Min Donner is aboard Punisher," Punisher," he answered between his teeth. "And you"ve probably guessed that I ordered her there to help protect he answered between his teeth. "And you"ve probably guessed that I ordered her there to help protect Trumpet." Trumpet."
"No, wait," Koina protested. "I"m sorry, you"ve lost me. All I know about Trumpet Trumpet is what you and Director Lebwohl told the Council. Angus Thermopyle and Milos Taverner stole her-" is what you and Director Lebwohl told the Council. Angus Thermopyle and Milos Taverner stole her-"
"No, I"m I"m sorry," Warden interrupted. For a moment he gave the impression that he"d been overtaken by weariness. His personal defenses had flaws he couldn"t afford. "It"s all these d.a.m.n secrets. I"ve been carrying them around too long." With the fingers of one hand, he rubbed his forehead briefly. "Sometimes I forget I haven"t told you something critical. sorry," Warden interrupted. For a moment he gave the impression that he"d been overtaken by weariness. His personal defenses had flaws he couldn"t afford. "It"s all these d.a.m.n secrets. I"ve been carrying them around too long." With the fingers of one hand, he rubbed his forehead briefly. "Sometimes I forget I haven"t told you something critical.
"Angus Thermopyle didn"t steal Trumpet. Trumpet. He"s a cyborg. We welded him after we reqqed him from Com-Mine Station. He works for us. We sent him into forbidden s.p.a.ce to carry out a covert attack on Thanatos Minor. And we sent Milos Taverner along to keep an eye on him. The story that they stole He"s a cyborg. We welded him after we reqqed him from Com-Mine Station. He works for us. We sent him into forbidden s.p.a.ce to carry out a covert attack on Thanatos Minor. And we sent Milos Taverner along to keep an eye on him. The story that they stole Trumpet Trumpet was just cover. We didn"t want to make the wrong people suspicious. was just cover. We didn"t want to make the wrong people suspicious.
"If Igensard asks in front of the Council," Warden added, "you can tell him that."
"But I still don"t-" Koina bit her lip. "Never mind. I"ll need the details later. For now the present is more important."
The director nodded like an act of brutality. "I sent Punisher Punisher to the Com-Mine belt," he resumed, "to wait for to the Com-Mine belt," he resumed, "to wait for Trumpet Trumpet to escape back into human s.p.a.ce. Then she followed the gap scout to Ma.s.sif-5. to escape back into human s.p.a.ce. Then she followed the gap scout to Ma.s.sif-5.
"Why Trumpet Trumpet went there I don"t know. went there I don"t know.
"But if the Amnion chose to commit an act of war by entering that system-and chose to do it now now-for reasons that don"t have anything to do with Trumpet Trumpet, it"s the biggest coincidence in history. I think we can be sure the defensive is after Trumpet." Trumpet."
Hashi felt the tension in the room. Chief Mandich radiated dismay; the anxiety of vast responsibilities. Koina struggled to manage the scale of her incomprehension. Warden had the air of a man who was determined to hold the center of a whirlwind. At the same time, however, the DA director rode an entirely private swirl of oblique inferences and intriguing possibilities. An act of war? Fascinating! Whose game was this? Warden"s? Nick Succorso"s? The Amnion"s?-with or without Captain Succorso"s partic.i.p.ation?
Uncertainties proliferated like ecstasy, weaving unknowns out of the quantum mechanics of the known. In his excitement Hashi dared to say, "It might be argued that we would do well to let this defensive succeed against Trumpet." Trumpet."
Holt Fasner would surely approve.
Koina drew a sharp breath. Chief Mandich swore softly.
At once Warden"s gaze focused on Hashi. He could almost feel his electromagnetic aura frying under the intensity of the director"s IR sight.
"Explain," Warden demanded.
Hashi shrugged; smiled. The risk he took pleased him: it might prod Warden to reveal more of his intentions. The director could stop him if he went too far.
He directed his words and his gamble at Warden, although they were superficially meant for Koina and Mandich.
"Director Hannish and Chief Mandich have perhaps not been informed that our Angus Thermopyle, Isaac ne Joshua, has escaped forbidden s.p.a.ce with a remarkable combination of companions. In particular I refer to Morn Hyland, first Captain Thermopyle"s victim, then Captain Succorso"s.
"This is an unexpected development for several reasons. On your direct orders, Isaac"s datacore was explicitly written to preclude the possibility that he might save Ensign Hyland"s life." Then Warden had switched that datacore for another; a new set of instructions. But this secret was Warden"s to reveal or hide: Hashi had no intention of exposing it. He only used it to put pressure on the director. "She is-or has been-thought dangerous to our purposes. Only a strange, unforeseeable sequence of events could have led to her presence aboard Trumpet." Trumpet."
"What "purposes"?" Koina asked quickly; intently.
Hashi ignored her to concentrate on Warden.
"In addition," he continued, "we have reason to suspect that she has been a prisoner of the Amnion, delivered to them by Captain Succorso to gain some end we can hardly imagine. Thus it is doubly strange that she now accompanies our Captain Thermopyle. Did she escape? If so, how? Was she released? If so, why?"
The DA director was not entirely prepared to surrender his hypothesis that Morn might be a type of genetic kaze: ruin aimed at the UMCP. Angus had rescued Morn-privately Warden had admitted as much-but that didn"t erase other possibilities.
Warden frowned as Hashi finished. For a long moment he kept his grip on Hashi"s eyes: he may have been searching to find out how much Hashi knew-or guessed. Then he nodded. "I"ll keep that in mind."
"Forgive me, Director," Koina put in insistently. She remained almost motionless in her seat, yet she gave the impression that she"d risen to her feet. A low tremor flawed her tone without softening her manner. "Director Lebwohl said "purposes." "Our "Our purposes." In what sense is it conceivable that Ensign Hyland could be a threat to any purpose of ours? purposes." In what sense is it conceivable that Ensign Hyland could be a threat to any purpose of ours?
"I heard Director Lebwohl tell the Council why we let Captain Succorso have her. I didn"t like that, but this sounds a lot worse. She"s one of our people. our people. Why in G.o.d"s name would a UMCP cyborg"s datacore be "explicitly written to preclude" rescuing her? I would have said that violates our Why in G.o.d"s name would a UMCP cyborg"s datacore be "explicitly written to preclude" rescuing her? I would have said that violates our purposes purposes more than anything she might say or do." more than anything she might say or do."
No doubt Min Donner would have approved Koina"s objection. To the extent that he was capable of thinking clearly, Chief Mandich surely felt the same. Nevertheless Hashi was not swayed by it. Deliberately he pushed his gla.s.ses up on his nose. The smear of the unnecessary lenses aided his concentration.
Now more than ever he needed to understand Warden Dios.
Although Warden sat still, his frame seemed to intensify, almost to swell, as if he were taking on ma.s.s from the air and ambience of his office. He faced the PR director with an un-giving glare while she spoke. When he responded, his voice was gravid with bile and self-coercion. Each word was as exact as the flash of a laser.
"Director Hannish, how did we get the Preempt Act pa.s.sed?"
She answered without relaxing her insistence. "A traitor in Com-Mine Security conspired with Angus Thermopyle to steal supplies." Beneath her professional polish and her womanish softness, Hashi realized, she was tougher than departed G.o.dsen Frik had ever been. "That scared the Council. The Members decided that if they couldn"t trust local Station Security they had no choice but to expand our jurisdiction."
Warden nodded. "Would the Act have pa.s.sed if the Council hadn"t been scared?"
A twist of her mouth suggested a shrug. "They voted it down on two previous occasions."
"Exactly." Warden"s voice sounded sharp enough to draw blood; perhaps his own. "But the Members were mistaken. We misled them. The "traitor" in Com-Mine Security didn"t conspire with Angus Thermopyle. He conspired with us. us. We framed Captain Thermopyle to scare the Council. So the Act would pa.s.s." We framed Captain Thermopyle to scare the Council. So the Act would pa.s.s."
The director"s compressed strength dominated the room. "Ensign Hyland knows he"s innocent," he finished. "She was there. And I"m sure she"ll say so, if anyone asks her the right questions.
"You can tell Igensard that that, too, if it ever comes up."
Koina recoiled as if Warden had flicked his fingers in her face. A pallor of betrayal seemed to leech the color from her cheeks; even from her eyes. Indignation and confusion appeared to flush through Chief Mandich in waves, staining his skin with splotches like the marks of an infection. Knowledge which was commonplace to Hashi had never reached the Security Chief, or the new PR director. Min Donner and even G.o.dsen Frik had known how to keep their hearts closed.
In one sense Hashi noticed the reactions of his companions. But in another he paid no attention to them at all. He wanted to applaud and throw up his hands simultaneously. Warden had astonished him again.
The director was willing to reveal the truth behind the pa.s.sage of the Preempt Act. That was immensely exciting. It shed an amazing amount of light on the nature of Warden"s game: too much light for Hashi to absorb in an instant. He found himself almost blinking in its brilliance. Yet that same revelation was also appallingly dangerous. When the truth was laid bare, the UMCP director-and all his senior staff-would be summarily fired. At best. At worst they might even find themselves facing capital charges.
Just when the Amnion had committed an act of war, humankind"s only defense would be plunged into total disarray.
"My G.o.d," Chief Mandich breathed as if he were unable to stop himself. "Did Director Donner know? Was she part of it?"
For him that may have been the essential question. Could he still trust the ED director? His rect.i.tude was founded on hers. Could he continue to believe that she was honest?
Hashi would have dismissed the issue as trivial; but Warden faced it squarely.
"Yes." His tone was final, fatal: it permitted no argument. "But understand this. We did what we did on the direct orders of my lawful superior, Holt Fasner." He stressed the word lawful lawful with a bitterness like concentrated sulfuric acid. "And those orders included secrecy. There would have been no point to it if we hadn"t kept it secret." with a bitterness like concentrated sulfuric acid. "And those orders included secrecy. There would have been no point to it if we hadn"t kept it secret."