Chapter TWENTY-FOUR
Brad stood beside Captain Crisper and surveyedthe scene in the tank on the Dragon's bridge. Scarflounged in an accello-net within sight and sound,as he had for most of the voyage from Pluto.
The Dragon's pilot and communicator, upper bodiesinsulated in instrumented cubicles, concentratedon their tasks. Arms folded across his chest, Zolanstood along a bulkhead where his eyes could takein the full compartment without altering stance.
Ahead lay Triton in its retrograde orbit aroundNeptune. The moon's expanse was only partiallyaccommodated by the tank. The Dragon's penetrationinstruments revealed Triton's jagged peaks andchasms through vaporous nitrogen clouds. Steady,high-intensity beacons marked the location ofdomed mine shafts that probed and sucked at thesatellite's core. A cluster of tank towns and theiroutriders rode the satellite's horizon.
Gleaming slivers separated from the surface,converged, assumed an egg-shape and bloomed intoa flight of spacecraft. They formed up abreastfifty kilometers distant, facing the Dragon's bow.
The speaker above the communicator's enclosurebroke into the bridge's silence.
"Message from Captain Yargoul of the JovianBattle Cruiser Windstorm to Captain Crisper ofthe Plutonian Battle Cruiser Dragon."
Captain Crisper spoke without moving or takinghis eyes from the tank.
"The message."
"Greetings, Captain Crisper. I have been authorizedby my President and the INOR representativesI am escorting to inform you that we are here inresponse to the invitation of your President. Isthe representative of your Government present?"
The Captain glanced at Brad, who nodded. Theresponse was released.
"Greetings from Captain Crisper to Captain Yargoul.My government's representative, Commander BradCurtin, is present and prepared to meet with youand your colleagues. Commander Curtin suggeststhe meeting take place in the Command ConferenceRoom on board the Dragon as soon as the primarymembers are aboard. Is that agreeable?"
A short pause, then the reply "Affirmative."Shortly, utility boats cut away from the ships andconverged on the Dragon. Each utility maneuveredto synchronize axis and align portals. Preciselypositioned, each vessel locked on in turn andextended ship-to-ship catwalks.
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The Dragon's conference room hummed with themurmur of the Dragon's seated guests when Bradentered and took his seat at the table. Zolan occupieda seat against the bulkhead behind Brad, adjacenta glowing view tank.
Scarf was there somewhere along the side, knownand ignored; a security agent to peer over INORcitizens' shoulders was normal.
Professionals long in their trade, they were battlecruiser and destroyer flotilla commanders of themajor INOR powers, backed up by their expertsin military intelligence, tactical operations, andnavigation, logistics and internal security. Brad'smeasure would be taken quickly, and his influenceand INOR's decisions would depend on theirassessments. He expected no less.
Brad's eyes ranged the table, giving each faceequal time. They returned his scrutiny, casual,arrogant, challenging. It was his show, and hisreputation.
Brad did not rise to speak.
"I needn't introduce myself," he began. "We'veall done our homework I'm sure, and you know asmuch about me as I do about each of you. So, tobusiness."
Zolan rose, drew an instrumented rod from its nicheat the base of the tank and brought up the quadrantthat depicted the Special Zone. Manipulating keysalong the rod, eyes on the tank, Zolan quicklybrought the Logistics Depot in toward the coreand increased magnification so that it occupiedmost of the tank space.
"The objective," Brad said, his voice flat and low.
A long silence, then from the far end of the table,"What the hell does that mean?"
"Just that. We're going to take it."
A gasp, this time from his left, followed by, "Youguys are out of your minds."
Feet shuffled on the grav-plates. Several among theseated were arranging themselves to rise and depart.
Brad waited.
The shuffling stopped. They were here to listen,not to commit.
Brad leaned forward, placed his forearms on thetable, one hand over the other. His steady eyesmoved from one face to the next.
"No," he said, "we're not out of our minds. We cando it, and our losses can be kept within acceptablelimits if we work together. Furthermore, the Depotcan be taken with minimum damage to its structuresand to its Slingshot stores."
"What's the point?"
Brad looked at the questioner, a big man in a blackand gray uniform and a soft helmet liner perchedon the back of his head. Brad knew him through thephys-psy profiles he had studied before the meeting.
##
"Captain Yargoul," Brad said, "sooner or later theUIPS must accept that they no longer have masteryof space beyond the Belt."
Altering his tone to include all, he continued, "Ineedn't dwell on the obvious: our collective forcesand Slingshot's distance from the UIPS placesus in a far stronger position than we thought wewould be at this time. I emphasize collective. Onour own, any of us, individually as nations or in analliance of satellites, wouldn't stand long againstan organized assault by a UIPS battle fleet. But,collectively, we will not only resist them, we willwin and take back full control of space throughoutthe Outer Region."
Eyes cold, voice gritty as space-sand, Brad tappedthe tabletop.
"Having the power isn't enough. We've got to showit, and make it credible. Planet Pluto demonstratedwhat can be done with real power during OperationTornado Six. I'm sure you're all familiar with thatlittle exercise, and have studied the tactics."
Closed faces. The silence was broken with low butaudible, "So have their tac ops people."
"Right, and we think they've concluded thatINOR is in a strong position to run its territoriesand voids without any more interference fromthem. Also, that we can devise tactics and takeinitiatives that put them off balance and upsettheir Slingshot schedule. What we did in ourlegally contiguous space can be repeated elsewhere.The result is the end of UIPS dominance over itsformer colonies and space lanes."
Brad paused to preface his next words.
"You can continue to accept invasive UIPS trafficthrough your territorial and contiguous zones. Youcan do the same for their uninvited presence inyour Exclusive Economic Zones even though theLaws of the Seas Conventions over the past severalmillennia expanded treaties to include or affirmeach independent nation's rights. Or you can alignwith Planet Pluto, which is your right as a freeand independent nation. Together -- collectively --we can demand that the UIPS acknowledge INOR'sjurisdiction in the Outer Region. INOR can backtheir demands with military power that the UIPScan no longer ignore."
There was a long silence, followed by, "What doesthe Log Depot have to do with it?"
"First, it's the closest, most politicallyvulnerable target within INOR's legitimateboundaries and jurisdictions. Second, controlof the Depot equates to a strangle hold overconstruction progress and launch of the Slingshotterminals -- which is life-or-death for the UIPS."
"...and not for the rest of us?"
"Not for centuries. If it ever really came to sheersurvival, we'll outlast the UIPS. When they collapsewe can move in and feed off their carcasses fora thousand years, if we have to. Meanwhile, we'lltake over Slingshot and have it ready for the nextlaunch window."
A hard-visaged warrior leaned forward in hischair, and shook his head slowly. "You're a callousson-of-a-bitch, Commander Curtin," he said,directing his eyes directly at Brad.
"Maybe so. I'm also a realist. If we play the gameright, and show a united front, this confrontationwon't escalate to major military actions. The UIPShas got to cross our space, there's no other way.Take the depot and we can force them to finishSlingshot, but with INOR playing a major role.It'll take some negotiating, but it's not likelythat they'll shut down Slingshot."
"How will you take the Depot?"
"You mean, how will we take the Depot?Unfortunately, we can't repeat Tornado Six. Thatwas a crisis we manufactu
red and ran all the way,a one-shot operation. We've come up with anotherstrategy to take the Depot, and that's what thismeeting is about. You're all in on the action."
"This is the first I've heard the Depot is to betaken," said Captain Yargoul, looking around."What about the rest of you? Have yourgovernments cleared this as a joint operation?"
Heads shook in the negative accompanied byshrugs and grunts. Unanimous.