The Girls From Alcyone (17 page)

"I always come here to watch before a jump," Karen said.

"It's beautiful."

"Have you ever seen a drop before?"

Sigrid shook her head.

"You're going to
love
this."

The
Agatsuma
accelerated toward the Relay and it glowed brighter still as their proximity and velocity increased. She felt several subtle bumps in the floor as the ship continued to make minor shifts in its angle of approach.

Karen placed her hand on her stomach. "Oh—I hate when they do that. That always makes me nervous."

"What do you mean?"

"They're adjusting the approach angle—if the navigator gets that wrong, by even the tiniest fraction, we could pop out on the other side of Alpha Centauri, or who knows where."

"Don't tell me that now!"

But Karen laughed, easing Sigrid's sudden anxiety. "Oh, don't worry. It's all preprogrammed. There hasn't been a warp malfunction in years." Karen pointed ahead. "Here we go."

Sigrid found herself reaching out and holding the ensign's hand as the Relay loomed closer, all at once filling the entire viewport. Sigrid heard the telltale hum, growing ever-louder as the ship's hull resonated with the powerful energy field. She shielded her eyes from the brilliant flash; Karen's hand tightened in her own. The stars seemed to grow, becoming bloated, quickly expanding, coalescing with one another until all were merged into one. For a long while, everything that was became white. And then, like snow falling, the white melted away, scattering, coalescing again into individual stars that shimmered in the darkness as they took shape.

"Not bad, huh," Karen said.

Sigrid could only nod in agreement.

* * *

Captain Maalouf sat in his command chair in the crowded CIC. He looked down in quiet annoyance at the flashing red alarm on the panel of the console before him. Four hundred and eighty-seven drops, and that light had always been green, but now it flashed a red warning.

"Report!" he barked at the Tactical Officer.

Lieutenant Christian Lopez swung into his own seat; his hands danced over the panel in front of him. His eyes widened slightly. "Sir—we have a contact off the port bow," he said, tying in his monitor to the main screen at the front of the bridge so the captain could take a look. A small ship, just a fifth the size of the
Agatsuma
, lay waiting for them some 25,000 kilometers distant. "It registers as the
Morrigan
, a small scout-class vessel attached to the Dalair Military Group."

"Helm—evasive action," the captain barked. "I want some distance between us and that ship."

"Aye, Captain," the Helmsman said.

"Dalair?" the XO asked, looking to the captain. "What the hell are they doing out here? This is a Kimura controlled system."

"Hail them," the captain ordered. His face was fixed in a scowl as he tried to figure out the scenario. The
Agatsuma
outgunned the tiny scout-ship five to one. Attacking them didn't make sense. "Let's see what they want."

Before the Communications Officer could respond, they all heard three loud bangs, reverberating on the hull. Maalouf looked up in alarm.

"Captain, we hit something!" Lopez shouted; he continued to scan the incoming data.

"Missiles?" Tapert asked.

Lopez shook his head. "No, we weren't
hit
, we hit something. Captain…" Lopez brought the new data up on the screen, "…we've been mined!"

The image of the
Morrigan
was replaced by a remote view of the exterior of the
Agatsuma
. They all saw the black, cylindrical object, about three meters long and half a meter thick, attached to the hull of the Corvette.

"Shit," Captain Maalouf, muttered under his breath. "All stop." He turned again to his Communications Officer, who stood frozen, staring at the image of the deadly explosive device attached to their ship. "Well, Ensign, let's get 'em on the blower and see what they want."

The young ensign shook herself out of her funk and set to the task. "They're hailing
us
, sir."

"Well—
put them on
." Maalouf shook his head.
Rookies
.

The forward view screen switched to the image of the
Morrigan
's bridge. Centered on the screen was a very large man. He looked to be shoehorned into the command chair where he sat. Realizing that he was connected, he leaned forward in his chair, his face becoming serious and intent. "This is Captain Gregory Oslov of the
DSS Morrigan
. By order of the CTF and the Federation of Commercial Enterprises, I hereby order you to stand down and surrender your cargo. Failure to comply will result in sanctions and fines—amounts to be set by CTF."

Captain Maalouf chuckled. "
Sanctions?
And what of the limpet mine attached to the hull of my ship?"

Captain Oslov looked up at him from below a raised eyebrow. "Incentive."

"I'm not aware of the CTF permitting the use of mines near a relay point, Captain. Are you sure this is a sanctioned operation."

Captain Oslov shrugged. "You may, of course, take any grievances to the Council—"

"Should I survive this encounter…" Another shrug was all the response Oslov was willing to give. "You say this is by order of the CTF—I don't suppose you're willing to let us wait for verification of your permit for seizure?"

"A formal request for authentication is, of course, your right, but we
will
take possession of your cargo."

"Or you'll blow us to bits."

"I'm glad we understand each other, Captain Maalouf."

Maalouf shifted in his chair. "Not quite, Captain—this
cargo
…there seems to be a misunderstanding. We carry no
cargo
."

"You're carrying an illegal weapon, Captain. We want the girl."

CHAPTER TWELVE

Hostile Takeover

Captain Maalouf handed the data-pad to Kimura's Deputy CEO. On it was a copy of the permit for seizure of the
cargo
.

"This is ridiculous," Shinji said, tossing the pad back across the table in the captain's ready-room. "It's a fake."

The captain nodded. "There's no way to be sure, but I would tend to agree."

"Have you transmitted a copy of this to my mother?"

"Yes, but the transmission won't get to Aquarii for hours; we'll have to wait just as long to receive a reply."

Shinji sighed tiredly. "And how long has the
esteemed
captain given us to comply?"

"Twenty minutes. That gives us another twelve minutes to either respond—or come up with a plan."

"And there's nothing you can do about the mine?"

"We've analyzed it. Any tampering will result in our demise, I have no doubt. Even our scans seem to make it twitchy."

"And our forces on Aquarii?"

"We've monitored several ships heading this way, but any help is days away—which explains Oslov's desire for a hasty resolution
.
"

Shinji pounded his fist on the table. "I don't believe it. Someone's already tried to take the girls once. This is just a trick to get us to hand her over."

Captain Maalouf studied his passenger closely. Although he was in command, he knew that Shinji could still override any action he might take. He chose his words carefully. "I believe you, but it doesn't change the fact that we have a high-explosive limpet mine attached to our hull. Any action we take will result in the destruction of this ship. You may refuse to hand her over, sir, but my first responsibility is to this ship—"

"Your first responsibility is to
me
," Shinji spat.

The captain sat back, his hands open. He'd said his piece, but the rest was up to Kimura. Unless…he had a thought. "If you'll forgive me, sir, we might be missing the obvious…"

Shinji looked at him impatiently. "Continue."

Captain Maalouf straightened himself. "You've told me very little about our…
passenger
, but from what I've seen…"

"Yes, yes—go on!"

"Perhaps we
should
hand her over."

* * *

Captain Maalouf entered the bridge of the Corvette, followed closely by Shinji Kimura and his XO. "Did you contact Ms. Novak?" he asked the Communications Officer.

"She's on her way, sir."

"Good." The captain dropped wearily into his chair. "Time?" he asked his XO.

"Three minutes, Captain."

"Hail the
Morrigan
. Let's see how Oslov wants to handle this."

The officer keyed her console. In an instant, Oslov's large face filled the forward viewing screen. "Cutting it close, Captain."

Maalouf shrugged. "Exploring all possibilities."

"Of course."

"We'll meet your demands, but I want assurances. The codes to that little Christmas present you've attached to my ship would be a good start."

Oslov shook his head. "Afraid I can't do that, Captain. Your ship outguns mine five to one. We'll wait until we're well away, and then we'll send you the codes."

Captain Maalouf spread out his hands. "And what exactly is stopping you from blowing us to bits, even if we do hand the girl over to you?"

Oslov leaned his large frame forward. "Absolutely nothing."

Maalouf sat back, and exhaled loudly. "I see your point. Very well, we'll extend our docking ring and wait for you to come alongside."

Oslov chuckled. "Not going to happen, Captain. You'll not come anywhere near my ship, not with that mine attached to your hull."

Damn—but it had been worth a shot,
Maalouf reasoned.

"You'll transfer your Cargo by EVA."

Maalouf's eyes widened in surprise. "You want her to EVA over twenty-five thousand kilometers? I don't think so."

"What I want is for you to send her out in an EVA suit, and then back off ten thousand klicks. We'll move in as you back away, then pick her up. Once the transfer is complete, I'll transmit you the deactivation codes."

Maalouf considered the proposal. It was as he would have done. Docking with the
Agatsuma
would be a foolish mistake, allowing his crew to board the smaller craft, possibly even blowing them to bits while cradled together. This way Oslov would keep his ship at a safe distance, allowing him to activate the mine if he sensed any duplicity on Maalouf's part.

"Very well, Captain. She'll be on her way in a moment."

The captain signaled an end to the transmission and Oslov's image winked out. Commander Tapert, who'd observed the exchange, leaned over. "He's no fool—so far."

"Let's just hope our
cargo
is everything they seem to think she is."

* * *

Sigrid stood by the airlock, stripped of everything but her underwear. Her clothes, weapons, even the earrings Ensign McTeer had given her had been taken from her, as ordered by the captain of the
Morrigan
. Shinji Kimura and Ensign McTeer stood by observing as two EVA technicians helped her into the bulky pressure suit and adjusted the boots around her feet and ankles. Sigrid noted the distress on Karen's face as she looked worriedly at her new friend.

"Is this really necessary?" Ensign McTeer asked, frowning at Sigrid's state of undress. She was protectively trying shield Sigrid with her discarded clothes but was just getting in the way.

"Those were our instructions, ma'am. She's not allowed to take
anything
with her. The instructions were quite specific."

"I'm very sorry about this, Ms. Novak," Shinji said. "I'd intended to present you to my mother before anything like this happened. We hoped to complete your training on Aquarii before asking you to undertake any field operations. It appears your first
mission
is coming just a bit sooner than anticipated."

Sigrid pulled the pressure suit up over her waist, hooking her arms into the shoulders before zipping it up over her chest. "Don't worry, sir. I'll manage." The words echoed strangely brave in her ears. But wasn't this like just another exercise? Rosa loved to concoct elaborate scenarios when training the girls. Sigrid wondered what he would think of this one with all its caveats.

Shinji and Ensign McTeer briefed her as much as they could. She knew the ship was in peril, and the lives of everyone on board depended on her. The captain had little choice but to surrender her to the
Morrigan
. Failure to do so would result in the destruction of the
Agatsuma
. If they were lucky, once they had Sigrid on board, the captain of the
Morrigan
would transmit the deactivation codes.
If
they were lucky…

But Captain Maalouf was concerned that Oslov had no intention of deactivating the mine. If the permit was indeed a fake, if Dalair was acting in violation of Guild Law, then eliminating the
Agatsuma
and its ship full of witnesses would make sense. They needed Sigrid, but the rest of the crew was only a liability. It would be imprudent to gamble on Oslov's sense of honor allowing them to live. The captain was emphatic; Sigrid would have to take the small Scout Vessel and
persuade
Oslov to release both herself and the
Agatsuma—
all without blowing them to bits while doing so. It was desperate, ludicrous even, but there seemed to be no other option.

One of the techs held up the suit's controller, pointing at the array of buttons. "This looks a little tricky at first, but it's really a cinch."

Sigrid donned the helmet and linked the suit's control system to her PCM. "It's okay." She tapped the suit's helmet and winked. "I got it all in my head."

"Looks a bit big, don't you think?" Karen said, eyeing the bulky suit, which was clearly intended for someone larger.

The tech frowned. "It's the smallest we got. It's all sealed and secured, though." He nodded to Sigrid. "You'll be fine."

Sigrid had already checked the suit's seals and knew everything was in the green. She gave the thumbs-up signal and stepped into the airlock.