Chapter 17
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Gretchin came over the comm. “Congratulations! I hear you got high marks in the training qualifications, and that your instructor was impressed with both of you. It must also feel good to get back into the Daunte.”
Joni replied, “It was a seriously enjoyable class, and I think we are both happy to have gone through it. We're more mission capable by far, and I feel like we could fly this ship in and out of just about any situation.”
Gretchin smiled. “That is good news, Miss Salton, because we have a mission already planned out for you. You'll be swept out to the Corrigan system, where you'll turn off your transponder and sit in observance of all the traffic coming in and out of the area for the next two weeks. We're expecting activity from the Free Alliance in that system.”
I said, “Couldn’t that be handled by dropping a passive probe? Why tie up the ship for two weeks for surveillance?”
Gretchin replied, “I don’t make the orders, Mr. Beutcher. I only forward them to you. I have to expect that the analysts who came up with this plan have their reasons. They are smart people, and they are experienced at what they do. All the resources, including you, are valuable to them, and we have to trust that they are making the best use of our team.”
I nodded. “I guess I have to agree with that logic. That question wasn’t directed at you personally.”
Gretchin smiled. “No offense taken, Mr. Beutcher. Now, I’m sending over the data for the mission. If something were to happen while you are out there on station, please just use your best judgment to determine what you should do. We will not be leaving a microportal open for your return.
“I also took the liberty to check your food store manifest. You should be receiving a package on your ramp-way at any time. When you have that safely aboard, you may begin your comm with portal transfer.”
The package was delivered shortly thereafter. A quick sweep had us parked on the far side of the last planet in the system. Our transponder was off and our signal emissions kept to a minimum.
I opened the food package that had been delivered and began to stock the galley shelves. “I see a large assortment of vegetables for the plant eater. I have borak, Callimo toads, and Damaree eel. The last two are a favorite of my people and are difficult to come by lately. I shall at least enjoy our meals while we're camped out here.”
“Say what you want about Gretchin, but she does seem to go out of her way to get us those extras. I wonder if anyone else in the organization gets this kind of treatment?”
I stopped for a moment as a thought entered my mind. “Joni, what if there is no organization? No Zed Corporation?”
J“What do you mean?”
I set a package of borak on the galley counter. “What if the organization was all made up so your father could keep a team of his people around you at all times? I mean, think about it. We've encountered maybe a couple dozen people who are supposedly members of the organization. They could all just be members of your father’s security team. The ship upgrades? Could just be your father trying to protect you further.”
Joni frowned. “Now, why do you have to start out this mission putting those thoughts in my head? We'll probably be sitting here for two weeks, and I won’t have anything to do but to think about that.”
I laughed. “I apologize for my suspicious nature. I just find some of what’s happened too coincidental to have just happened. You almost get killed, and suddenly we have a big ship upgrade?”
Joni shook her head. “Regardless, you've ruined this deployment.”
I pulled another borak steak out of the box and set it on the counter. “Of course, there's always the possibility it is real and that we are going to need the upgrades because the missions are going to be far more dangerous.”
Joni slapped her hands on her armrests. “What are you trying to do to me? I thought you were my friend. I’m starting to think you're just trying to screw with my head!”
I returned a half smile. “The original thought was genuine. I probably should have thought that through before mentioning it. We don’t have any evidence to suggest it other than my flimsy suspicion.”
Joni turned back to the holo-display, “Being suspicious is what we are, Knog. It’s what detectives do. I’ll try not to dwell on what you proposed, if you promise we can have a chat session about it after we're settled.”
“I can agree to that.”
The food was unloaded and stored. Joni moved our position to park us on a moon orbiting the fourth out of five planets. After two days of monitoring, only five ships had come and gone from the small colony on Corrigan III. Fifty thousand farmers produced enough Selian beets to keep half of the sector in full supply.
Corrigan III was a small world with a thin atmosphere. The carbon dioxide levels required for decent growth were supplied and kept elevated by a system of raised transparent tents. From high altitude, the planet appeared to be covered with large, shiny bubbles.
After a lengthy discussion with Joni, it was determined that we didn’t have reason to suspect trickery on her father’s part regarding the organization. Coordinating the events that had transpired and getting all the parties involved to say just the right things at the right time was too much of a stretch.
Joni settled back into her chair with a cup of coffee. “What do you suppose it is we're looking for out here?”
“At this point it could be just about anything. A fleet of ships, a single transport, flying space monkeys, we have no way of knowing.”
Joni looked at me with one eye squinted. “Flying space monkeys? Where did you get that one from?”
I sipped on my own coffee. “When I was a child, a traveling Human circus visited our village. They had a trained monkey with them; they called it a flying space monkey, although it was just an ordinary Human monkey. I was allowed to feed it and to then shake its hand.”
Joni laughed. “Human monkey? You mean Earth monkey? And that obviously left a lasting impression with you?”
I shook my head. “No, I think it was when he rubbed his bum afterward and then offered to shake my brother's hand. My brother was superior to me in almost every way, so it was an enjoyable moment for me.”
“And did he shake the monkey’s hand?”
“No, he did not. He scowled, looked at me, and walked away, never to mention it again. It was one of the few times I was able to best him.”
Joni slapped her forehead with her palm. “Did you ever stop to think about what happened there?”
I tilted my head to one side. “What do you mean?”
“Your brother never shook the monkey’s hand; you did. Do you think it was the first time the monkey had ever rubbed its butt?”
I set my coffee down on my armrest with a distressed look on my face. “Hmm. Thank you for taking that moment of bliss away from me, Miss Salton. I suppose that had never occurred to me.”
Joni laughed. “OK, I think we're even now. You filled my head with a family conspiracy, and I ruined your flying space monkey story. What do you say we just sit quietly and observe for a while?”
I nodded. “I could agree to that.”
The following day, a large freighter entered the system. It wasn't out of the ordinary for a freighter of that size to visit a farming planet. Joni pulled up the specs on the freighter as I looked on.
“The Jurgens has been out here a half dozen times in the last year. I would guess that tells us the harvest cycle on Corrigan, if it was ever something you were interested in.”
I pulled up data on the planet. “Actually, we should be very interested in that.”
Joni spun around. “Whatcha got?”
“The harvest on Corrigan III is monthly. The last legitimate one was two months ago. That freighter is not here for a beet harvest.”
As we watched, a small ship departed the surface, rising through the atmosphere and settling into an open cargo hold. When the hold doors shut, the Jergens began to mov
e.
I said, “I think we just got a reason to leave our station. Take us wide around that planet and shadow that freighter at maximum distance. If needed, we can close on her in about twenty minutes.”
“That time is now seventeen minutes with our new upgrades. I ran the numbers yesterday when I had nothing else to do.”
“I just don’t want to spook them. That small ship might be difficult to track at max distance if they run.”
Joni took the Daunte in a wide arc around Corrigan III. We settled in at a distance that ran 93 percent of our sensor range.
After an hour of tracking, we had a firm destination locked in for the Jergens. The farming colony at Heremethia would be its next stop. A look at the Jergens’s shipping records showed Heremethia to be a regular stop.
Joni said, “Why would they be hiding a ship in their hold for the trip? Space is a big place; certainly it could reach Heremethia without having to hide.”
I scanned the route mappings for the journey. “Here, the shipping lane runs near SS29. The Jergens had an inspection on the way to Corrigan; they wouldn’t be due for one on the way back. If that ship wanted to avoid sensors, it would add at least three days to its travel, crossing multiple other lanes. I would guess they don’t want to take a chance with whatever or whoever is on that ship.”
“Well, if we wanted to be nasty, we could call for a random inspection when it’s at its closest point to SS29.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. We're running with our transponder off, and the security force on SS29 would want to know what we're doing in their area. If we're going to take them, I think we need to do it before reaching sensor range of that station.”
Joni pulled up the map. “OK, how about right here. It puts us a half day outside those sensors, and far enough from Corrigan that they can’t call in any help.”
I nodded. “There it is, then.”
Twelve hours passed before our inspection point came into view on the nav screen. Joni pegged the throttle. As predicted, seventeen minutes later, we slipped in beside the Jergens.
I flipped on the transponder and opened a comm channel. “Jergens, this is the Daunte; you have been selected for a random inspection. Please come to a full stop.”
The Jergens nav officer replied, “Where did you come from? We had nothing on our sensors.”
I replied, “Under order of the New Alliance, you are ordered to come to a full stop immediately.”
Joni said, “The cargo doors are opening!”
I reached up and sent the core shutdown signal. The Jergens continued on its course.
Joni said, “That small ship is coming up. The shutdown was ineffective!”
I replied, “Roll us in behind the freighter’s engines.”
Joni complied. I pulled up the weapons screen as the small craft emerged from the freighter and sped off in a perpendicular direction. I powered up the Daunte’s twin ion cannons and put them to use with a short burst into the freighter. Several explosions ripped through the rear of the ship as its propulsion systems were taken offline.
Joni then rolled to starboard in pursuit of the small ship. Seven minutes later, we had come within striking distance, and a second set of low-power ion bolts were released. The small vessel turned hard, causing a miss. Joni countered, pulling us in closer. A clean shot shut the runner down with minimal apparent damage.
After we pulled alongside and extended a grappling, the small ship was pulled to a stop. I slipped on my helmet and was soon tapping on the outer hull. An air-lock hatch was opened. I stepped inside.
An old Igari was standing inside waving his hand back and forth in an attempt to clear the smoke as he coughed.
I said, “I am Detective Beutcher of the New Alliance security service. Identify yo—”
I recognized the man’s face. “I’ve met you before. Your niece called you Shieka. On SS5. You led an attack in the hallways that killed several guards.”
The old Igari detective sat down as the environmental system cleared the air. “Ah, yes, you're the other three star. I see you’ve moved up. One of the guards on SS5 was going to betray us. It was unfortunate that others had to die. Such is the toll of a revolution. How did you do it? How did you get your fourth star?”
I looked at my shoulder. “I managed to thwart the theft of a cesium freighter. Rescued a ship’s crew as well, and captured thirty thousand liters of bleurgh.”
The old Igari nodded. “That was you. I can see how that might do it. Congratulations. If things were different, we might have been good friends. I’m sure you are just doing your job to the best of your ability. It’s what I would be doing too if I didn’t know.”
I looked at the old Igari. “If you didn’t know what? What I don’t understand is why you're fighting the Saltons. There are bigger things at stake than our current form of government. There is a bigger war going on that the masses don’t know about. We're fighting for our lives in Andromeda right now. Millions if not billions have already died, and you're here disrupting our efforts.”
The old Igari pursed his lips. “So, they have already gotten to you. All is lost here, then. My time has come.”
The Igari reached out. “I always thought I would get a fourth star. May I touch it?”
It was an odd request, but one that would only be understood by another veteran detective. As the Igari distracted my attention with his hand touching the stars emblazoned on my space suit, he pulled a hidden mini blaster from a compartment on the side of his chair. The blaster was placed under his chin and the trigger pulled before I could react.
The Igari’s head exploded, splattering what had previously been his brains throughout the small cabin. My chest and arms were coated in a thin layer of remains as I was rocked slightly backward.
Joni spoke over the comm. “How are things going over there?”
I hesitated before replying. “I think he was the Free Alliance leader, or perhaps one of them. He just took his own life. We have this ship tethered; let’s pull it back to the Jergens and get this wrapped up.”
After shutting down the heating system to preserve the remains, I moved back through the air-lock into free space. The blood and guts that adorned my chest were quickly frozen solid. I banged my fist on my chest plating several times and watched quietly as the frozen remains popped free and slowly floated away from my position.
The old Igari’s body would be dissected by the medical teams back on the station, looking for any clue as to where he had been or where he was going. I thought it fitting that my fellow detective, no matter what his current occupation had been, would at least have a small part of him that remained in space, drifting between the stars that he at one time guarded from criminal behavior. I looked back and nodded farewell as I moved up the ramp-way and through the gravity wall.
Joni said, “What happened over there?”
I walked into the cockpit and sat down in my chair. “There was one passenger aboard, an old Igari. He took his life before I could get anything out of him.”
An alarm sounded on Joni’s display.
I asked, “What is that?”
“The interior of that ship just got roasted with a firebomb. I don’t think there will be much for us to pull back to the station anymore.”
Joni looked up. “You look kind of shook up. Did the Igari say anything at all?”
I pulled up my holo-display with an image of the dark, floating ship beside us. “He congratulated me on my fourth star and then asked to touch it.”
“That’s weird; he wanted to touch your stars?”
I nodded my head, still in disbelief. “Yeah, and then he blew his own head off. I tapped off his frozen remains outside before coming back aboard. He said that all was lost here and that his time had come. He also said they had already gotten to me.”
“Who has already gotten to you? It sounds like the guy had already lost it himself.”
“He wasn’t nervous about being caught. He was calm and collect
ed, very lucid in what he was saying. It has me thinking about what it is that we're doing out here. As detectives, what is one of the first things we learn to do before going out and looking for criminals? We learn the rules, of course, but we also learn all we can about those we are hunting. We know their reasons for what they're doing, we know where they like to hide, and we have a good sense of who it is we are chasing.”
Joni replied, “Are you saying you think we need to know more about the Free Alliance?”
“Yes. Who the main players are, where they can be found in concentration, who is sympathetic to their cause. If we're out here trying to catch them, or at least stop them from disrupting the war effort, we should learn everything we can about them.”
Joni sat back in her chair. “Know thine enemy. I’ve heard my uncle say that a thousand times.”
“Precisely. When we return, I’m going to ask to be fully briefed on the Free Alliance. Had we known who we might be chasing, I might have prevented his suicide. We would have a high-value rebel in our custody right now. Instead we're just pulling his ashes back with us.”
The ride back to the Jergens was quiet. We dropped the small flier back in the freighter’s hold and attached our grappling to the much-larger ship. Our progress would be slow. The normally eighteen-hour trip to the nearby SS29 would take three days pulling the freighter.
When we arrived, we were met by two ships that belonged to the Zed Corporation. The tow of the freighter would be logged as a rescue of a stranded ship. We heard nothing further about the freighter’s crew, the Free Alliance rebel, or how he had come to be where he was.
We were told that our mission wasn’t to question why things happened as they did, but to act on the information we had been given. It was not the normal process for a detective to follow. I was beginning to feel more like a pawn than a patriot. If we wanted answers, Joni and I would have to dig deeper on our own.