War of the Spheres Read online

  “Not yet I can’t,” I said patiently. “You have to meet me where I said.”

  “All right, all right—but you owe me. Agreed?”

  I thought about it. I didn’t want to owe Toby anything, but I didn’t think I had any choice at this point.

  “All right,” I said. “I owe you.”

  Toby’s voice brightened. “I’ll be right there.”

  Less than two minutes later, Toby arrived. He came down the passage warily, like he thought I might ambush him.

  Stepping out of a shadowy side-module, I confronted him, and he looked like he might bolt.

  “Thanks for coming,” I said, “but I thought you were on the other side of the platform—aboard Viper.”

  Toby shrugged. “I’m fast on my feet,” he lied. “Especially in null-G.”

  Deciding to let him get away with his falsehood, I made a mental note to watch this rodent closely. He’d obviously fabricated his reluctance and lied about where he was to get leverage. What bothered me most was it had worked. He had a favor to call in now, a chip for the future.

  Toby was clever in more ways than one. He was a technical wiz and manipulative as well—all without a conscience.

  After he looked around a bit suspiciously, he suddenly relaxed.

  “What do you need?” he asked, sauntering forward with confidence.

  He’d evidently decided I wasn’t going to attack him, and had returned to his normal cocky personality in an instant.

  I showed him the computer paper with the orders flashing on it.

  “This document is in error,” I said. “The name is wrong. I need it to say ‘Chief Gray’ instead of ‘Lieutenant Shaw’ right here.”

  He took the paper from me, the same one I’d lifted from Shaw. He hooted.

  “You want me to doctor your orders? Why can’t you do it? Your clearance seems to get you past every door, robot guard or pair of panties that you—”

  “It’s from Control,” I said. “I can’t break this without help.”

  His eyes narrowed to slits, and he cocked his head to peer up at me.

  “What makes you think I can do it if you can’t?”

  “You’re an actual hacker. I’m a man with high clearance—it’s not the same thing.”

  “Hmm…” he said, pulling a device from his pocket.

  He applied a box-like object to the bottom left edge of the computer paper. The screen began to blink.

  Toby laughed.

  “Shit-work,” he said. “Control is using outdated algorithms. I learned to break this stuff in my undergrad courses at the university.”

  “Can you open the file?” I asked.

  “I already have.”

  He handed the orders back to me. I took them carefully and saw the document was in editing mode—he’d somehow cracked the security that fast.

  “I’m impressed,” I said as I changed certain keywords and dates with one tapping finger.

  “You should be.”

  “There… it’s done,” I said after a few minutes. “Let’s go back to talk to Colonel Hughes.”

  Toby’s skinny hand grabbed my elbow. “Don’t forget about our deal? Right? And no telling anyone about this. Not even that I could do such a thing.”

  “Of course not,” I said. “What you just did was a felony. I don’t want to see you in prison. You’re too young for that.”

  Toby blinked in a surprise. “Prison?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “This is our little secret.”

  “Yeah… yeah. It’s a secret. In fact, I don’t even know why I’m here.”

  “Sightseeing, I think.”

  “Okay. Whatever you say.”

  Such a compliant attitude! I barely recognized the little runt.

  Walking back to the main passages, I saw foot-traffic again. Mostly, it consisted of damage-control crews. The yard-dogs were working long hours to repair a thousand blown seals and fried electrical systems. Welding robots were all over the place, casting up showers of brilliant, blue-white sparks.

  I didn’t remark on Toby’s change of heart. Apparently, he did fear at least one thing: prison.

  We arrived back at the docking tube that led to the chamber where Fairweather was stored. A surprised tech recognized me, but he didn’t try to stop me from entering. That would have been a mistake on his part. I wasn’t in a charitable mood.

  Making my way directly to Colonel Hughes, I noticed that Toby had vanished. One minute, he’d been walking along at my side, and the next he was gone. I hadn’t even seen exactly where he’d slipped away. Again, I was impressed. Normally, I would have noticed something like that.

  “Chief Gray?” Colonel Hughes asked. She blinked at me in confusion. “What are you doing here? Did you leave some personal items with us? If so, we can have them sent on. There’s no need—”

  “I’m sorry, Colonel,” I said. “Things have changed again. I’ve contacted Control and—”

  Offering up the orders, she snatched them away from me before I could finish. She read them in a fast, sweep of the eyes.

  “You’re back on my crew…”

  “It looks that way.”

  She appeared to be angry. “What the hell is wrong with those people down on Earth? Is everyone running Control a screw-up?”

  It was my turn to blink. She wasn’t angry with me—she was upset with Control.

  “I think there must have been a misunderstanding. Either that, or something political is going on. Lt. Shaw was dispatched to replace me, but after contacting my direct supervisor, that move was countered.”

  She made a snorting sound. “Politics. That’s what it is. It’s the same with my supervisors. We’re both pawns on the chessboard. Where’s Lt. Shaw, by the way?”

  “I think he’s left the station already,” I said in a nonchalant tone.

  “Really? He didn’t even… ah well. Maybe it’s for the best. I didn’t like him, anyway. When you blew up that corvette, and he showed up a few hours later, I figured you’d been removed from this project for good reason.”

  “I don’t think—” I began, but she stopped me with a hand.

  “Let me finish. I believed it was legit, but after thinking about it, I wasn’t so sure. I mean, how could Shaw have gotten out here so quickly? The short answer is: it wasn’t possible. That meant he must have been sent from Earth earlier. He’s been on this station all along, waiting to serve up those orders.”

  Of course, I knew that’s exactly what Shaw had done. He’d been stalking me, lying in wait like a spider until I got tangled up, then rushing in for the kill.

  “You’re right,” I said. “Maybe he was a double-agent, trying to get between me and my mission.”

  She looked alarmed. “Do you think that’s possible?”

  I shrugged. “Anything is possible. There are powerful people trying to stop you and your engine, you know. They’ll do anything to stop it from being deployed.”

  “The aliens, yes,” she said. “But you’re talking about Earth people now, right? Our own government?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Have you got any proof?”

  “No, but it doesn’t matter. I’m simply not going to allow this project to become derailed.”

  She appraised me carefully. “I object to your methods, Chief Gray. I don’t even like you all that much… but I have to admit, I appreciate that you seem highly committed to seeing this project through to its conclusion.”

  “I am. Let’s declare an alliance to achieve our shared goals. We don’t have to like each other to cooperate, you know.”

  She heaved a sigh. “All right. For the record, I apologize for all the trouble you’ve been going through. It isn’t right that you’ve been blamed for these alien attacks. I think the trouble is that we’re all having so much difficulty believing they’re real.”

  “They are very real—and very deadly.”

  “You’re right. After listening to your objections when Lt. Shaw
dismissed you, I reviewed the vids that you mentioned. In my opinion, that corvette was a clear and present danger to the project. Hell, it was a danger to everyone aboard this station.”

  “Excellent. Now, if we can get back to the engine and the test—”

  “Hold on,” she said. “We’re not going to test the engine in the manner we discussed earlier. It’s just too risky.”

  I frowned at her in thought. “You mean you don’t want to deploy Fairweather here? How can you test the engine without your experimental ship?”

  “I’ve been thinking long and hard about that, ever since the Maraldi base below us destroyed that pirate ship. I think I’ve come up with an answer. Come with me, and we’ll discuss it.”

  Unsure what she had in mind, I followed her down to the chamber where Fairweather languished.

  Chapter 23

  The small ship was ovoid and smoothly skinned. It looked better than the first time I’d seen it—more polished. It was disconnected from its moorings and ready to fly.

  Dr. Fillmore was there, overseeing the process of readying the small vessel for the installation of the engine. When Colonel Hughes and I walked in, he did a comical double-take.

  Eyes wide, he walked over to us, waving his hands with his palms out.

  “Halt! No unauthorized persons are allowed near my ship! Hughes, you should know better. This man is a saboteur. A danger to—”

  “He’s back on the project, Fillmore,” Hughes said flatly.

  “What? How’s that even possible? Has the Ministry of Control gone insane?”

  “Maybe,” she said, circling the ship with a languid pace. “But that’s how it is.”

  “What about that fine young man—Lt. Shaw, wasn’t it? Where’s he?”

  “He’s enjoying a long return flight to Earth,” I offered.

  Fillmore glared at me, as if disbelieving the fact I had the gall to speak on my own behalf.

  “This is outrageous!” he sputtered.

  “Deal with it, Fillmore,” I said. “I’m here to stay.”

  “Well, don’t get any ideas about planting a missile in Fairweather’s guts. I won’t stand for anything dangerous to come near her.”

  “When are you going to launch?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  “You see that? He’s prying for information.”

  “We aren’t going to launch the ship,” Hughes said. “It’s too vulnerable. I’m worried now that these teleporting aliens are watching us. They might plan to take out our ship the moment we dare to slip from our moorings.”

  “How can you test the engine, then?” I asked.

  “Don’t tell him!” Fillmore interjected. “He’ll just blow something up! He’s an enemy of the state, I tell you!”

  Hughes glanced at him in irritation, then slid her eyes back to my face.

  “We’re thinking about attaching the entire thing to another ship,” she said. “Operating it as a modular addition.”

  “You might as well tell the entire station,” Fillmore grumbled, but we ignored him.

  I frowned at Fairweather thoughtfully. “What ship?”

  “Whitman’s transport, I guess.”

  “How can that work?”

  “Our field-generating device doesn’t use a traditional form of propulsion.”

  “I understand that,” I said.

  Making a wild sound of frustration, Fillmore walked away from us. I, for one, wasn’t sorry to see him go, and I turned back to Hughes.

  “The engine generates a field that surrounds whatever object is within range,” she continued. “The field can be quite large, actually. Everything in its radius will go with us into a warp-bubble—not just Fairweather.”

  “Huh…” I said, thinking it over. “And you want to just switch it on, while Fairweather is aboard Whitman’s transport?”

  “Yes. Fairweather was designed to control and carry the engine—but the field doesn’t have to be so limited in scope.”

  “You’re saying we’ll just turn it on while we’re sitting in the hold? What makes you think Whitman’s cargo ship is safer from attacks than smaller ships are?”

  “It won’t be obvious we’re there, for one thing. The transport will function as camouflage. Transports come and go every day here. We can fly out to a safe distance, and then engage the drive. We’ll be on our way.”

  I liked the thinking, but I didn’t like the details. Her initiative had sparked a new idea in my mind.

  “Why don’t we place the system aboard a warship instead?” I suggested. “That way, you’d have camouflage and increased security.”

  “What warship?”

  “The destroyer, of course,” I said. “Viper would fit the bill nicely. It’s not too big to fit in the warp bubble, is it?”

  “No, but…” she said, eyeing Fairweather thoughtfully.

  Finally, she shook her head.

  “We’d never get permission from The Ministry for something like that. The military won’t go for it. Captain Jessup will go berserk, for one. He’s probably sharpening knives in his ready room right now to carve his name in your skin.”

  My hand slipped into my pocket, touching the orders I had there. I thought about Toby, his hacking device, and all the editing I could do if I had the time and motivation.

  A smile grew on my face.

  “You let me worry about Jessup and Control. Pack up your engine. I have some arrangements to make.”

  Hughes watched me with a mixture of confusion and concern as I walked out of the hold.

  Before I confronted Jessup, I had to have my ducks in a row. That meant getting into further debt with Toby—but so be it.

  Coming up with an angle, I tracked his comm-link signature and approached Toby while he was furtively sneaking around the engine chamber.

  Niederman wanted us all off his turf as soon as possible, so he’d removed the guard. The man-door still had the normal access requirements, but I palmed my way through and strode into the vault.

  “What are you doing in here?” I demanded loudly.

  Toby had taken cover when he heard the door clang open and was now peering around bulky machinery. He relaxed when he saw it was me.

  “What do you care?” he asked.

  “I’m security chief again, remember? It’s my business to know who gets close to the heart of this project, and why.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, giving me a knowing smirk. “You’re all official now, but just an hour ago you were the crook. I don’t know—”

  Already, I could tell he was beginning to think quite a lot of himself. Inflated egos—that was a failing a lot of people had, but with Toby the process seemed to be accelerated beyond the norm.

  Grabbing him by the scruff, I gave him a shaking, and he squawked about abuse. When he’d settled down and was just glowering up at me, I spoke to him in low tones.

  “Now I know what Dr. Brandt was talking about the first time I met you. Mixed genetics… that’s what she said your problem was.”

  “Mentioning such private data was a crime on her part.”

  “What exactly are your genes mixed with, Toby?””

  He shrugged and looked sullen. “What do you commonly see around any lab?” he asked.

  “Rats… monkeys… is that it? You’re saying you’ve got a hint of such things in your make-up? That you’re not entirely human?”

  He pouted, but he didn’t say anything else. He crossed his arms and slumped dejectedly. He almost seemed chimp-like.

  Perhaps I’d guessed correctly. It was an alarming thought.

  “All right,” I said. “It doesn’t matter to me if your half macaque. What I need you to understand is that we’re in this together. If I get into trouble—you do too. Got it?”

  “Prison again? You’re threatening me?”

  “Monkeys don’t like cages, do they?” I asked in return.

  “No…” he said thoughtfully. “All right. I’ll be more discreet. We’ll share this secret to the bi
tter end.”

  “Good enough,” I said, setting him on his feet again and letting go of his tunic. “Now, what are you doing down here?”

  “Staying safe. These aliens aren’t going to give up. They’re going to keep coming.”

  I looked around at the engine vault. “But this is their goal.”

  He lifted a thin finger and wagged it at me. “There, now you see the genius of my plan. You’re here, aren’t you? Protecting the precious egg in this chamber like nothing else on the Moon. You weren’t planning on patrolling my quarters today, were you? No, because you don’t care who dies. You only care about the engine.”

  I nodded. “So, you’re planning to stay close to the engine because we’re all focusing on it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay… what if I let you stay in here? We’ll invent a reason.”

  “I could be your deputy,” he said, perking up. “Give me a badge or something. I’ll question everyone who comes near.”

  “Hmm… that wasn’t what I had in mind… But never mind. Let’s discuss the next phase of our plan.”

  “Our plan? To do what?”

  “To protect this engine—and our personal well-being.”

  Toby looked interested. “Another scheme? That’s why you’re really here, isn’t it? You need my help again.”

  This teen was sharp. That was possibly his most annoying trait.

  I quickly told him about my plan to move the engine aboard the destroyer. He laughed out loud in response.

  “Jessup will go berserk,” he objected. “He hates you—you do realize that, don’t you?”

  “So far, we’re not on the best terms,” I admitted. “That’s why the move has to be approved at the highest levels.”

  Toby gave me a blank look for a few seconds, then he caught on.

  “Ohh…New orders? A new computer file? Will he buy that?”

  I shook my head. “Probably not. We’ll have to go further.”

  Toby’s eyes lit up. He was becoming excited. He snapped his fingers in my face.

  “I know how to do it. I’ll set up a trap in the local grid. He’ll think he’s checking online with The Ministry, but really, he’ll be looking at a fake AI face we socketed right here on Luna…”

  He went on like that, becoming very technical, but I didn’t listen. Since he was working on a level that was beyond my skill set, it didn’t matter if I understood it all. It would work, or it wouldn’t. My job would be to exploit the success or cover for the failure. In short, I had to trust him.