Dremiks (45 page)

The commander shook her head in the negative but softened the blow with a smile. “You’re a good officer, Chi. If there was a solution to be had, you’d have found it by now. Get to work on your report. I’ll settle in here until the watch change.”

***

Captain Hill, like Ensign Chi, noticed immediately that O’Connell no longer limped. She stopped to pick up his empty coffee cup as she crossed the officers’ mess. He took a break from reading Chi’s report to watch her. After profaning her coffee with copious amounts of sugar, she brought both cups back to the table. The captain nodded in mute thanks for the refill.

“How’s the arm?”

Her nose wrinkled in pert disgust, the commander shrugged her left shoulder and waggled her fingers. “Muscle tone still sucks, and it tenses up far too easily, but otherwise back to normal.” She jerked her chin at the tablet in his hand. “Thoughts?”

“You both followed procedure. There’s nothing here to indicate, though, why the buoy failed so suddenly.”

“I checked solar flare activity, magnetic disturbances, even the possibility that our communications were being jammed.” She saw the captain’s eyebrow quirk. “Just trying to account for all possible scenarios, sir. Nothing fits, though.” Some of her trademark cockiness slipped back into her expression. “I could take a lander out there—check it out for you.”

He refused to dignify that suggestion with an emotional response. Unknown to the officer sitting across from him, his stomach clenched with concern. With the physical indications of the crash fading, and O’Connell’s attitude returning to what passed for normal, Hill could almost be lulled into relaxing his guard. He needed to keep reminding himself that someone had tried to kill her.

“I think that is an excellent idea, expect for the part about you going alone, in a lander.”

“Sir?”

“At cruising speed
Hudson
could be there in, what, thirty hours?”

She stared vacantly while doing the calculations. “Eighteen at max speed, but there’s no need to stress the engines for this.”

“Not for this,” he agreed. He sipped his coffee while he thought. “I think the colony can survive a few days without us. I’ll notify Trell and Ruger. Get Price back up here from the surface and brief the officers.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

***

Dwax watched the crew go about its daily routine. They didn’t need to perform any extraordinary efforts to reach the failed buoy. If not for the lack of constant lander flights back and forth, it might have been possible to think they were still in orbit above Dremiks. While Dr. Ruger stayed with the rest of the civilians on Dremiks, Mangoda directed Johnson and the rest of the medical staff from his hospital bed. Dwax watched all of this and waited.

Captain Hill looked up from a report. The ship’s clock showed 2300—late for a visitor. He commanded whoever was on the other side of the door to enter. His left eyebrow rocketed toward his hairline when Dwax came into his office.

“Honored One, to what do I owe this late-night visit?”

After facing the captain’s wrath over the right to land on Dremiks and the subsequent attack on O’Connell, Dwax was far less nervous around the commanding officer of the
Hudson
. Still, though, he was fairly certain Captain Hill would not be happy about his news.

“Captain, I disabled your buoy.”

Of all the things Dwax could have said at that moment, “I disabled your buoy” was the last thing the captain expected. “Pardon me?”

“Your buoy. I sent a burst transmission to shut it down. Not permanently, of course.”

“Oh, well, there’s a comfort. Why are you just now telling me this, Dwax?” In his anger, the captain dispensed with honorifics.

“Because there is another communications device just fifty-thousand kilometers away. That device can only be operated with an authorization code. I have… obtained… this code.”

“Obtained?”

“I believe the correct word in your language would be
stolen
. I must ask you to not tell the High Council of this.”

“They aren’t going to notice when we start sending messages on their secret com-buoy?”

Dwax made a trilling sound that might have been a laugh. “Not if I do it correctly, Honored Captain. They will find me out, eventually, as you humans say. I think that this is being one of those times when asking forgiveness is better than asking permission.”

Hill groaned. “Which one of my officers taught you that nugget of wisdom?”

Dwax trilled again. “Lieutenant Price has been most helpful, Honored Captain.”

“I just bet he has. Well, Honored One, who are we going to call once we reach your secret buoy?”

“Please to remember, Honored Captain, the arbiters that I spoke of, they who decided that we must honor our treaty with mankind. Captain Hill, there are other species in this galaxy. Sentient species. I am thinking it is time you met them.”

For the second time in a brief span of minutes, Brett Hill gaped in shock.

***

Captain Hill waited until Guttmann and Price were sitting before he began speaking to his assembled officers.

“What we need now, more than anything else, is information. For reasons that I do not have time to enumerate right now, I believe that neither the High Council or the ISA have been completely honest with us.”

Dwax paled to a translucent state—a sign of anger for a Dremikian. He clicked tonelessly for a few seconds and then caught the significant glare the captain shot him. Much as it insulted his family honor to have a High Councilor accused of willful deception, his blood oath to his shipmates and his vow to Captain Hill took precedence.

“We thought Najif was on a terminally decaying orbit and they, the Dremikians, needed our help mining lorga. Before we started out, we were told that the moon’s orbit was causing adverse conditions on the planet, but not that the situation was rapidly deteriorating. We were also informed that there had been a colony at the dome site a few centuries ago. What we assumed, erroneously it seems, was that the colony was Dremikian. Some of the evidence we’ve gathered at the bio-dome indicates an unknown alien species inhabited the colony. There is also evidence that a lorga mine existed on Dremiks. Dremikians could not have worked that mine. Where this unknown species went and why they left are two questions I very much want answered.”

The captain paused, letting his words sink in. “The Dremikians have not been truthful with us. We came here to establish a colony for long-term human settlement. At some point during our journey, for unknown reasons, the High Council decided they did not want humans on Dremiks—even if it cost them the entire planet. They went to significant lengths to prevent our colonization. They might have had human help in their efforts to stymie us.”

O’Connell discreetly flexed her left hand and winced at the tingling sensation that rushed along her arm. The thought of how debilitating her injuries were made her jaw set in a hard line.

“So, we need information and we need an independent source.”

Lieutenant Price frowned. “The High Council has never even hinted that there are other sentient aliens within travel range of Dremiks. We’ve asked them for information on stars and the possibility of other life in the universe, but if they’ve ever said anything, ISA command hasn’t shared that information with us. Barring the sudden emergence of another species, who are we going to find that could be independent?”

“And even if such a species was suddenly made known to us, how do we get authority to communicate with them?” Guttmann shook his head. “I don’t see how we can keep such communications a secret for long.”

Dwax watched and listened and felt his despair deepen. Captain Hill, Dwax thought, would be right at home in the High Council chambers. His skill at manipulating others was so subtle it was artful. Dwax felt even more trapped than he had a few moments before. He was raised with the ingrained knowledge that the High Council’s wishes were just and fair, and in the best interests of the Dremikian people. The very survival of his people rested on the success of the human colony on his home world—a home world he’d never visited. The High Council, of which his family was a crucial portion, had decided that their current course of action was the one most likely to succeed. If they failed, Dremiks was doomed. If he worked against them and his efforts contributed to the failure, then he and his family would be exiled, stripped of honor and position.

“I do believe Honored One Dwax has a solution for us.”

“Kigvans. You need to find the Kigvans.”

His words brought instant silence to the table.

“Kigvans?” It was O’Connell who spoke. Dwax found it hard to meet her eyes, still. He felt a deep personal guilt over the wreck of her lander. He saw the captain lean back in his chair, watching with a hooded gaze.

“Yes. One jump from the outer ring of Santalas’ system is the planet Kigva. They are an arboreal species. Their culture is…” Dwax clicked in frustration. “What is the word for being ruled by women?”

“Amazonian?”

O’Connell shot Price a withering look. “Matriarchal is the word you are looking for.”

“Yes, thank you. They have a woman king.”

“Queen,” O’Connell corrected. She realized that Dwax was emotionally on edge, for she was certain he knew the word queen.

“Yes. Queen. They are very traditional and do not travel far—but they know a great deal. Knowledge is money to them.”

“They are intelligence brokers?”

Guttmann leaned forward excitedly. “Do they accept outsiders? Will they speak with us?”

Feeling on more solid ground, Dwax nodded in vigorous assent. “Yes. They are naturally curious, more than humans or Dremikians. They will wish to know everything about humans.” He anticipated the officers’ next question. “No, we have not told the Kigvans about humans. It was not our place. I am thinking they will know some things. They listen to everything.”

The captain asked, “What will they want in exchange for speaking with me?”

“They will not speak with you, Honored Captain.”

“Oh?”

“The queen speaks only to women. They see men as inferiors. They will think humans weak and disrespect you if you are represented by a man.”

Hill smirked. “Then it is fortunate that we have a commanding female around to represent humanity.”

Maggie groaned. Price laughed out loud, and Guttmann winked at her.

The captain took charge of the discussion again. “I want as little of our plans known as possible. Thanks to Dwax’s intervention, we have the ability to activate a nearby signal buoy and communicate with these aliens. If necessary, we will travel to the planet Kigva. I do not want our communications intercepted or delayed. The colony’s chances of survival are better if we meet these Kigvans and see how they can assist us. I believe that more than justifies a slightly longer departure from orbit.”

O’Connell could not ever recall the captain justifying his orders. She could not ever recall a time when he would have needed to. Their by-the-book captain was planning on deviating from every operational order they’d been given. She was too shocked to do anything but stare at him.

Ensign Robertson was not quite as dumbstruck. “And ISA? What do we tell them?”

“I already informed Chancellor Trell and Vice-Chancellor Hill that we were coming out here to repair the damaged buoy. I will send another message letting them know that repairs will delay us. I will handle any inquires from ISA. Given the distance from here to home, we’ll be back long before the news of our departure reaches them.” Hill paused for a moment. “Communications blackout, effective immediately. I do not want word of this leaking out until we know exactly what we are dealing with.” Nodding to each officer in turn, the captain gave his orders.

“Robertson you will work with Dwax to plot an effective jump sequence to Kigva. Chi, I want you to keep an eye on fuel and food consumption. We’re outside our timeline now. I don’t want to end up marooned out there. Price you’ll maintain your current watch and pilot rotations. Guttmann, get the engines ready. O’Connell, you have some research to do. When Dwax is finished showing Robertson those charts, I expect you to be picking his brain. Questions?” When no one spoke up, Hill nodded smartly. “Get to it.”

***

Nate Robertson rubbed at his sore neck. Having his head bent over a star chart for the better part of four hours had not helped his tension level. Being cut off from communications with the colony was bad enough, but being cut off from asking his father’s advice irked the young ensign. He didn’t like this sudden maverick move by the captain. This plan was more like something out of O’Connell’s playbook. If the two of them were starting to work together, things were going to get crazy very quickly.

He silently cursed the meddlesome Dwax, rogue captains, sarcastic pilots, and communications blackouts. He wanted to collapse in his bunk and sleep for just a few hours, let his head clear, start fresh in the morning. No such luck, though, he had bridge watch for the next four hours.

“You’re late, Ensign.” Price snapped the reprimand. Worse, he didn’t look at all willing to drop the subject.

“Apologies, sir. I was busy plotting a new course.”

Price’s eyes narrowed. “Something you could have easily continued up here, Ensign. Adjust your tone and dress, Robertson. None of us have the time for rebellious snits.”

Jaw clenched to tooth-endangering firmness, Nate nodded. “Aye, aye, sir.”

Glaring one last time, Price walked to the vacuum tube. “O’Connell has the flight watch, call her with any issues.”

“Sir? I wasn’t aware she’d been re-instated to flight status.”

Price’s sneer could curdle milk. “I wasn’t aware the Commander’s flight status required your notification, Ensign. Carry on.” The doors snapped shut, hiding the lieutenant’s sneering face from the bridge. Robertson glared at the two petty officers on watch with him, daring them to comment. Sadly, for the purposes of his temper, neither rose to the bait. He slumped into his chair and stared at the sensor data scrolling past.