War of the Spheres Read online

  In my guts, this fact didn’t sit well. I didn’t mind having my ass on the line as long as I was there on my own merit. I trusted that but often had a knot of concern when I was forced to rely on the questionable work of others.

  A few hours later, Toby’s scheme was ready. He signaled me, and it was just in time.

  The other side, those who ruled this space station, were moving against me even as I moved against them. The first play in their scheme came from Niederman, who contacted the project leadership.

  “I’ve been in touch with Control,” he said sternly. “I’ve been authorized to ask you and your team to leave Luna, Colonel Hughes.”

  We were all standing around near Fairweather when the call came in. Niederman had purposefully broadcast his announcement to everyone who was in earshot, using the public address system. His fat face was displayed in alarming detail on every monitor in sight.

  I had filled in Colonel Hughes about our ambitious plan, so she opened her mouth to respond—but I beat her to the punch.

  “Good!” I said. “That confirms what we have to tell you, General Niederman.”

  His eyes slid to me, and they narrowed. He looked like a cat facing a bath.

  “You…” he said. “I was under the impression you were in custody for treasonous acts.”

  “A false report,” I said firmly. “I’m the project security chief, and I will remain in that post until this mission is complete. But that shouldn’t concern you, General. The good news is: we’re planning to leave Luna as fast as we can.”

  He blinked, but he looked guardedly pleased.

  “Very well,” he said. “Consider your ship cleared for takeoff. Cast away your mooring cables, and—”

  “One moment,” I said. “There’s more to the situation than that. We’re transferring the engine to another ship. That ship will take us to a safe distance, where we’ll execute our tests.”

  I’d informed Hughes about my designs to get Fairweather aboard Viper. She was skeptical about pulling it off but convinced it was our best bet. I hadn’t told her about my ace in the hole.

  Hughes was frowning at me now. She was running this project, and she didn’t like my usurping of her role. She’d crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. I could tell she was about to interrupt.

  “What ship?” Niederman demanded. “Are you talking about Whitman’s transport? Unacceptable.”

  “No, sir—not the transport—”

  “—seeing as you’ve managed to destroy all the other local shipping, there’s little else that would serve. You aren’t planning to move onto a tug, are you? If so, I can’t spare one.”

  I waved to Hughes, who stepped forward and took over. She was still eyeing me unhappily. I knew she thought I’d overstepped my bounds and my authority—fortunately, I didn’t care about her opinions as long as this transfer plan worked.

  “What Chief Gray was trying to communicate is that we’ll be moving the project to Viper. It should only take a few hours to—”

  She broke off, because Niederman’s big face was flapping in amusement.

  “Are you mad?” he demanded, laughing. “Captain Jessup would rather dive his ship into the nearest crater than—”

  “Please hear me out, General,” she said.

  “Sir,” I interrupted again, addressing Niederman. “If you’d check with The Ministry of Control one last time, you might find that what we suggest has already been approved at the highest levels.”

  Hughes looked at me again, blinking in surprise. I hadn’t told her about Toby’s editing work. For one thing, there hadn’t been much time. He’d only just finished it. For another, I was worried it wouldn’t hold up to her scrutiny, as she worked with Control regularly. It was my sense that she wouldn’t approve or cooperate with a scam on the dramatic level of what Toby and I were trying to pull off.

  “I’ll do that,” Niederman snapped. “In the meantime, don’t you dare attempt the transfer. Niederman out.”

  When the screens went dead, I stepped close to Hughes and spoke to her urgently.

  “We need to get Fairweather ready to move aboard Viper,” I said. “We need to get this done fast.”

  Her eyes searched my face. “What’s going on down at Control?” she asked. “Some kind of power struggle?”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “I think that’s an accurate description.”

  “In the meantime, we’re up here in space with our asses in the breeze! Do you really think moving the engine aboard Viper is the best choice?”

  I shrugged. “If we can pull it off, it’s definitely safer than being aboard an unarmed transport. For all we know, the aliens are about to spring their next surprise on us.”

  She stared at the deck for a moment, then lifted her head back up, nodding. “I don’t like any of this,” she said quietly.

  “I never would have guessed.”

  “But it doesn’t matter. I feel certain that you really want to see this through. I trust your instincts and your tenacity, and I know we’re in danger. I just wish I felt certain about Control’s support. Whose side are they on?”

  “Control employs something like a hundred thousand officers, administrators and support personnel,” I said. “When have a hundred thousand government types ever agreed on anything?”

  “I see…” she said. “All right. I’ll have get things packed up here. Why don’t you go break the news to Captain Jessup about his beloved Viper?”

  “Why me?”

  “This was all your idea, wasn’t it? Sell it to him.”

  My face twisted up, and I sighed, but I couldn’t refute her logic. This scheme was definitely my baby.

  Ten minutes later, I managed to get Jessup to answer my calls. Allie had to trick him, telling him that Control was online, to get him to respond.

  “Chief Gray?” he asked in surprise. “I’m not talking to you. Go destroy someone else’s shit.”

  “Sir,” I said, “I have new orders, and they involve you and your ship.”

  He listened to me for a few heartbeats. I hadn’t even gotten to the part about commandeering Viper before he lost it. His face suddenly screwed up in anger.

  “I can see where this is going,” he said, “and you can forget it. I’m not escorting your alien-magnet bucket of wires into far orbit for any trials. You’ll have to move out on your own and take your chances.”

  “Uh…” I said, “I don’t think you quite grasp the situation, Captain.”

  In a calm, neutral voice, I explained to him that we were moving the project aboard his destroyer. All the scientists and other staffers were coming with the equipment as well.

  He sputtered in disbelief. “Gray, I’ve got to admit, you’ve got bigger dreams than I would ever have given you credit for. You’ve got to be kidding me! Where would I even house such a large complement of new crewmen?”

  “Viper is a standard issue destroyer, isn’t it? To the best of my knowledge, that means you’ve got a troop-pod on your lower decks.”

  “The troop-pod?” he asked. “That’s—that’s not used anymore. Not since the last rock-rat rebellion. We don’t even pressurize it these days. It’s an empty husk.”

  “Regardless, you’ve got the quarters we need. We’ll take care of any maintenance issues. The engine itself will requires a ovoid space, some ten meters in diameter, which—”

  “Hold on, hold on!” Jessup shouted. “I didn’t approve any of this, and it’s not happening. You’re dreaming, Gray.”

  His hand moved, and I sensed he was about to break the connection.

  “You should check with Control, sir,” I said. “Your new orders are waiting for you at this address in their data-cube.”

  At this point, I transferred the fake link that Toby had given me. We’d kept the content as simple and official-looking as possible.

  The captain would, of course, request confirmation. The link to our AI robot, complete with a manufactured high-res face and speech interpreter. It was all done with dow
nloadable software which Toby had enjoyed configuring.

  If he went past that, contacting Control on his own, our only hope would be the bureaucracy. The Ministry was notoriously slow to respond to special requests. With any luck, he’d be forced to obey the orders now, and question them later.

  But by that time, we’d be away from Luna and on our way.

  Chapter 24

  “We’re doing this Jillian.” I said into my comm-link. “Where are you?”

  “I’m just outside personnel housing—near the hub.”

  She was on the other side of the dockyard. I ran down the passages toward her location in an odd, low-G gait—a sort of striding jog that got you where you were going very quickly.

  “Um…” Jillian said into my earpiece. “What exactly are we doing, Chief?”

  “Colonel Hughes is going to meet us at Fairweather to mount the engine. After that, the whole thing is merging with the south end of Jessup’s destroyer.”

  “What?” she yelped in surprise. “You must be kidding. We haven’t prepared for that.”

  “It’s no joke. I’m heading back to the vault where the generator is now. You need to meet me there.”

  A few minutes later I rounded the last corner. Jillian was already standing in front of it with her arms crossed under her breasts.

  She wore the pulser I’d left her with earlier. It was still in its holster, but the whole picture gave me the impression she meant business. As a side note, it was a good look for her.

  Behind Dr. Brandt were even more of Niederman’s guards than before. They filled the passageway. Evidently, the general was serious when he told us not to attempt the transfer yet. There were six of them this time, and Major Knox was leading them.

  As I drew up and took a breath, six weapons raised in unison. I could see their focusing apertures all dilate broadly, preparing to vomit a barrage of deadly energy.

  Jillian flashed me a very worried look and a slow shake of her pretty head.

  “Easy fellas,” I said, and I showed the guards my hands.

  “That’s close enough, Chief,” Knox told me.

  Stepping forward, I wore a pasted-on smile and showed my palms. They shuffled a little, watching me warily.

  “We’re all on the same side here,” I told Knox. “Colonel Hughes’ exploration mission has been approved to proceed by the Ministry of Control.”

  “I answer to General Niederman,” Knox told me. “The general is the one who deals with the Ministry. My orders are to burn down anyone who makes a serious attempt to get through this vault door. Until I get orders that say otherwise, you can take a walk.”

  I took another few steps, which might have been a bad idea.

  Knox dipped his gun muzzle and quickly fired a tangled wad of blinding energy. It hit the deck near my boots and scattered on impact. The deck was pocked with smoking ruts, and my boots were smoldering.

  “Crazy bastard,” I complained, but I stopped walking and smiling. He had my full attention.

  He glowered at me, but he looked uncertain. After all, my hands were still up, and I didn’t look very dangerous. The rest of his guards were uneasy, too. They said nothing, but they were fiddling with their weapons as if their hands itched.

  “Settle down, boys,” I said. “I’ll turn around. Watch me closely: I’m backing away. We’ll return when we have the general’s blessing.”

  I signaled Jillian to follow me, and she did so.

  Once the guards were out of sight, I grabbed Jillian’s hand. I pulled her into my arms for an embrace and kissed her.

  “You’re still the best looking girl in the place,” I said. “Sorry about ditching you earlier. It was unavoidable.”

  Before she could answer, I turned away and resumed my striding, half-G jog. “See if you can keep up,” I said, glancing at her over my shoulder and giving her almost no time to forgive me.

  She squinted after me for a moment before she gave chase.

  “So, tell me about this new plan, Gray,” Jillian said as she fell in stride beside me. “We’re merging with Viper? What’s that all about? It sounds like a half-baked idea.”

  “Let’s just call it an executive decision, made out of necessity.” I slowed the pace a little, so we could talk on the way.

  As we twisted and turned down various passages, I made my way to General Niederman’s office.

  “Does that mean you tricked Emily into moving the engine onto a warship, or was that actually her own brilliant idea?”

  “Well honestly, it’s a little of both. It was her idea to merge with a larger ship, but I’m the one pushing for the upgrade to destroyer.”

  “It seems to me like this is getting completely out of hand. We‘re supposed to be on a methodical research voyage, testing new technology. I don’t even know why people are objecting to the original plan—it works for everybody.”

  “Yeah, well there’s a complication. A host of enemies have shown up to rain on our little parade and kill our people while they’re at it.”

  She nodded. “I have to admit the project has turned Luna into a battle zone. I just never envisioned things going like this.”

  “I didn’t ask for this either, and yet here we are. The aliens are aggressive and deadly, which is bad enough. But we don’t even know what these guys want or where they’re coming from. We can’t follow any predictable path. We have to do the unexpected to make ourselves harder to target.”

  “It’s scary to think about these aliens and how determined they are,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I promise you Jillian, they’re not going to beat me. They won’t stop this test voyage from happening.”

  She nodded without speaking, but she didn’t seem totally convinced.

  “Let’s scoot now,” I said. “Too much time is wasting.”

  We saved our breath for jogging and catching handholds as we half-flew down the passages.

  Before we reached Niederman’s office, I could smell food in the air. It wasn’t your standard, ration-grade crap, either. There was something freshly prepared on hand that smelled like home cooking.

  The general’s secretary greeted us as we came up to his desk. He was a lieutenant, pleasant enough, but stern.

  “Do you have an appointment?” he asked.

  “Uh… no sir. We’re from the expedition team. Colonel Hughes sent us.”

  The man tapped at his desk. He gave us a flat, level stare. “The general is occupied. Colonel Hughes can call him herself, if she wants to discuss something of importance.”

  Right off, I knew what was going on. The general didn’t like me, and wasn’t interested in talking to me right now. With my relatively low rank, he wasn’t too worried about stonewalling me.

  Judging by the aroma in the chamber, I figured he was probably having lunch. That gave me an advantage.

  “Isn’t he in his office?” Jillian asked.

  “Well yes, he is, but he’s quite busy at the moment. Would you like to make an appointment for some time next week?” The lieutenant began swiping virtual pages on his smart-desk.

  From behind me Jillian whispered in my ear. “Something smells good.”

  “Maybe we can wait until he has a moment to see us,” I suggested.

  The lieutenant frowned. “Look here, Gray. I was warned you might try to barge in here and demand attention. This isn’t a frigging call-center. This is a military station, and—”

  “I just thought the general might want to know some of the details behind the recent attack on this facility.”

  The lieutenant’s eyes widened, but he didn’t look any happier.

  “We know all we need to know. You’re part in the recent devastation is under investigation. You might work for Control, but that doesn’t give you the right to blow up Luna Station.”

  There was a context behind his words. It was the long-standing rivalry between Control and the military. It had always been this way throughout history. Every government, back to the days
of kings and courtiers, had dealt with rival factions. In the modern case, Earth’s government had a secretive organization of spies and policemen—the Ministry of Control—and the regular military. There had never been much love lost between the two.

  Still, the lieutenant was being quite brave. Down on Earth, even pushy people of low rank didn’t dare argue openly with Control officers. It was just too dangerous.

  I could push that card now. I could threaten this man, his career—even his family. But I didn’t want to go there.

  “Lieutenant,” I said, “do you honestly think Control hijacked the ship that attacked your station?”

  He blinked for a moment. “No… of course not.”

  “Therefore, there must be an enemy out here—a rebel group or whatever. Right?”

  “Uh… I guess so.”

  “Let me assure you, that enemy isn’t me. I’m here to help deal with the threat.”

  For the first time, he looked thoughtful. He nodded his head. “Okay. You can go in there—but I’m leaving first. I’ll be back in less than ten minutes.”

  He got up, put on his jacket and walked out.

  Jillian watched him go, surprised. “Does he just want us to walk in?”

  “He doesn’t want to get in our way—but he doesn’t want to get blamed for letting us in, either. If the general asks, just say the office was empty.”

  “All right.”

  Approaching the door, we tapped on it. When no response came, we opened it and walked in.

  Chapter 25

  With Dr. Brandt on my heels, I advanced boldly through the heavy door to find General Niederman sitting at his ridiculously large desk having a meal.

  A glob of something like custard slipped off Niederman’s spoon and fell back into his bowl. He looked shocked, and his gaping mouth hung wide. It took him a few seconds to register what was happening.

  “How dare you!” he bellowed.