Shadows of Golstar (40 page)

He saw that she was waiting for him to continue. He
guessed that further stalling would only increase her anxiety, and it certainly
wouldn’t help him get the information he wanted.  

He said, “If you’re willing, there’s a subject I would
like to discuss. However, before I start, you need to know some of the
questions I want to ask may be a little sensitive… and to be truthful, a part
of my preoccupation was because I’m not quite sure as to how to begin. You have
already seen my experience is virtually non-existent when it comes to dealings
with officials of state.”

She said, “We did not request a diplomat.”

He nodded, “No. You wanted a private investigator, and
that’s exactly what I am. Consequently, my questions might seem blunt, perhaps
even tactless.”

Brushing aside his disclaimer, she asked cautiously,
“Very well, what are your questions?”

“My questions are related to my experiences aboard the
Saber
,” he began
.
“There were... things I saw before and
during the attack that raised a few questions in my mind. I’m hoping you can
clear up a few of the anomalies I observed.”  

She raised her eyebrows, “Anomalies?”

“That was probably a poor choice of words. What I’m
hoping is that you’ll help me understand what I saw on the
Saber
.” He
saw her eyebrows dip into the beginnings of a frown. “It’s not to say your
assignment doesn’t remain the outstanding question, but right now I’m just
trying to clarify some of my observations before we go on to discuss details of
Golstar’s request for my services.”  

Sharné was puzzled, “I confess I am somewhat
surprised.” She looked at him over the rim of her cup, staring directly into
his eyes. She saw how discomfited he still was and asked, “What would take
precedence over the reason for our request? Is it about the attack? As I have
told you before, I know as little as you.” The lies were starting to pile up.
“I have no idea who might have been behind the strike.” At least, this part was
true, she thought.

In a firmer voice, she did warn, “There may be, of
course, other questions you ask of which I am not in a position to answer.
Nevertheless, for those I can answer, I certainly will try.” Unless, she
thought darkly, it was necessary to tell another lie. “So please, you might as
well go ahead and begin. Ask your questions.”  

She stopped, searching for the proper words and took
another sip of her tea. Then she said, “Owens, with everything that has
happened, you have more than earned the right to ask questions. And if you knew
my… the Grand Patriarch, you would realize bluntness does not necessarily
offend me. In fact, you may have noticed that I have also exhibited that very
same trait, at least in a sense aboard the
Light Saber
.”

Owens felt a lessoning of his tension and with a faint
smile said, “Yes, I do seem to remember a bit of that in a past discussion
about something to do with my gravity harness. He patted the slight bulge in
his jumpsuit. He was wearing a spare harness to compensate for the lower
gravity setting he had had Hec maintain since Sharné boarded the ship.

Owens relaxed a little more. “Okay, first a little
background. Let’s start at the beginning, back on the
Saber
at the onset
of the attack.”

She nodded, “Very well.”

“I remember you seemed just as surprised as I, that it
was totally unexpected for you as well.”

“Yes, of course,” she nodded slowly. “But mere
surprise does seem an inadequate description for what we
both
experienced. I cannot deny it was more of a dreadful shock for me. The
deceitful nature of the attack was not something my government, or I could have
anticipated, nor honestly, were we prepared for. There is nothing in our
history where a similar event has taken place.”

Golstar’s attacks on the Confederated Planets
expeditions immediately came to Owens' mind.  

She went on, “I suppose even shock cannot fully
express what I felt at the time of the incident. For a time it still seemed
unreal, more like a horrible nightmare than a waking reality. Even now, it is difficult
for me to accept fully what has happened.”

Now thinking of the earlier attacks on the
Holmes
,
Owens felt some kinship, “I can understand that feeling. The attacks I recently
experienced were surreal for me as well. It’s hard to accept such things when
you can’t come up with a logical rationale, the motive behind the act of
aggression. ” He shrugged. “So, you’re saying you didn’t anticipate an attack?”

“As I have said, it was totally unexpected.”

Owens deliberately framed the question in general terms.
As he expected, she had carefully limited her response. He went on, “But you
were prepared for some contingency, weren’t you? Perhaps you anticipated the
possibility of an attack from the outside, an external agency?”

 She frowned, and then countered with her own
question, “Why do you ask?”

He shrugged again and trying for a matter-of-fact
voice, said, “Well, based on the welcoming committee awaiting me at the
rendezvous location... it appeared you, and your government were at least
prepared to defend against some sort of aggressor." Owen realized this
might sound like the beginning of a cross-examination and hoped once more that
Sharné would not take offense at his words.  

Her frown smoothing, she replied, “I see to what you
are referring. The presence of three fully armed ships was designed to preclude
any further attacks on your ship. So no one, including myself could have
anticipated what we know now to be a tightly coordinated mutiny occurring
simultaneously aboard two of our own ships and… and the following
incomprehensible attack on the
Light Saber
.”

“How did you determine to come in force?”

“Our intelligence service reaches far beyond our
borders and we knew of the attacks on your vessel soon after they occurred.
Based on those two previous encounters, it was felt that three battle-class
ships would deter any further attacks from the outside. I could have been more
complete in my earlier answer. However, I suppose it was easy for you to see by
the nature of our ships at the rendezvous coordinates that they were well
armed.”  

 “Well, yes,” he replied, relieved that she had
not taken umbrage. “I didn’t have to be a private investigator to note the
impressive amount hardware you had assembled at the rendezvous.” He briefly
thought of Hec’s analogy of a ten-ton hydraulic press folding a napkin. “But,
to be honest, my very first reaction on seeing the assembled battleships was
that it was more for show.”

Surprised, she asked, “What would be the purpose for
such pretense?”

He rubbed his chin, “Now don’t take this wrong, but my
initial thought was those ships there to impress me, and I readily admit they
certainly did.” He watched her for any reaction as he carefully went on, “At
the time it seemed logical to me. All I knew was based on Golstar’s almost
mythical, long-standing reputation. From our perspective, your people are
looked upon as being, uh, powerful and militant in nature; forgive me again,
and more than willing to show the edge of your sword when you feel threatened.”

She remained silent.  

So far, other than a brief expression of surprise, she
maintained
 
an unreadable expression.
She’s pretty good, he thought as he plunged ahead. “So, when I saw your
imposing battleships, I thought they might be there to foster a little awe,
perhaps to remind a citizen of Confederated Planets of exactly where he was.”

Sharné’s face remained impassive, but her response
took on a noticeably cooler tone. “But you now know  you were wrong in
your assumption.” 

Owens kept himself from grimacing at her reply; good
thing he hadn’t made reference to Confederated Planets’ first encounter with
Golstar. He could tell by the warning tone in her voice, if not her expression,
he would have to tread a little more cautiously; he was approaching dangerous
ground. He smiled ruefully, thinking, treading carefully wasn’t exactly one of
his strong suites. “Well yes. It didn’t take me long to reconsider after my
initial surprise wore off. By then it was simple to see the three battleships
were not there for show but were obviously positioned to discourage possible
aggression. I recognized that the battleships weren’t there to impress but
rather to protect.”

Sharné remained silent, thinking about what Owens had
just said, the cooling cup of tea momentarily forgotten. Owens had been drawn
into this because of Golstar’s request. She, along with her father and Uncle
Tal believed they had prepared a more than sufficient escort to protect Owens.
As it turned out, they had been proven quite wrong. Owens had just endured
another serious attack, an attack
within
Golstar’s sphere of control.
That added up to three attacks; three attempts on his life that were all
plausibly linked to Golstar's request for Owens, attacks that would not have
occurred had not Golstar the desperate need for him. She realized that if they
escaped their current pursuers, there would likely be yet other assassination
attempts.  

She said, “I believe I understand your initial
reaction. Under normal circumstances, three battleships would not have been
necessary. However, as you know, that was not the case. As I said, we knew of
the two previous attacks and having a vested interest in your survival, wanted
only to avoid further risk to you.” She looked at her teacup then back at
Owens, “So we came in force, not suspecting the very resources deployed for
your protection would be used instead in an attempt at your destruction. No one
could have predicted we would be attacked by those very same sent to shield
you.”

Owens wasn’t so sure but didn’t say it out loud.
 Instead, he asked, “So you do believe the attack was aimed at me? That I
was the primary target?”  

She nodded in agreement, “Yes. I am so very sorry, but
I think there can be no other logical answer.”

“And,” Owens continued, “ the previous attacks are
also somehow related to Golstar’s assignment?”

Sharné looked down at her cup, trying to think of an
alternative answer, but she could think of no credible lie, so instead she
would tell him the truth. She nodded and said with unveiled sadness, “Yes, the
Founder forgive us; no other reason comes to mind.”

He was surprised at her forthright answer. “Well,
whatever it is that you want me for, it sure seems not all the good citizens of
Golstar agree with you.”

The auto-cook took that moment to signal that their
meals were ready. Owens turned looked at the auto-cook’s panel. He smelled
enticing aromas wafting from its vents. Saved by the bell, he thought. “Okay,
let’s take a timeout to eat.” He saw that Sharné finally showed some
expression. She appeared relieved.

● ● ●

Owens had told Hec, that unless he said otherwise, the
AI was on his own and was trusted to make decisions alone. Hec interpreted this
to include all aspects of ship’s operations, including the freedom to monitor
Owens’ conversations with Sharné. Listening to their discussion in the galley,
Hec hoped Owens would soon ask  about why they were here and finally get
the long-anticipated  answer.  

In the meantime, Hec had something in mind that would
normally require Owens’ approval, but the AI didn’t want to interrupt the
current discussion taking place in the ship’s galley. Hec didn’t want to be the
cause for further delaying the explanation behind the Golstar summons. Instead,
he decided he would again act independently as Owens had earlier given him the
permission to do.

Hec hoped Owens had been sincere in his expression of
trust because the AI was going to do something that hadn’t been discussed with,
let alone blessed by, the Boss. Hec didn't want to say anything in front of
Sharné for fear that she might take some offense. So Hec made the decision
alone. It seemed to be the only prudent thing to do; a simple test to verify
the satellites within the net were indeed deactivated, and the orbiting
fortresses would not fire their weapons.

Hec prepped a small drone to send deeper into the
sensor net. The AI deftly guided the ship’s manipulators, resembling the limbs
from some great mechanical insect, to position the sleek, tapered cylinder into
the
Holmes’
launch tube. Hec had used every sensor on board in an attempt
to verify the tiny satellites and weapons systems had received Sharné’s coded
signal and were truly off-line. Failing that confirmation, the AI had decided
to try another approach and directly test the net’s reaction.

It was fortunate that the government do-gooders back
on Denbus had thoughtfully added a number of reconnaissance drones to the
ship’s inventory. The small drone had been set for maximum acceleration and
would arrive at the sensor net about thirty minutes before the
Holmes
did and still have enough fuel remaining to reach well within its center. If
the drone triggered the defensive armaments, then they might have enough time
to take some evasive action. Then again, it may not provide any buffer at all
but, Hec reasoned, it couldn’t hurt.

Hec completed the drone’s placement and sealed the
inner launch chamber. The manipulators retracted back into their overhead
trolley. The trolley then rolled smoothly into its niche. Hec irised an opening
in the forward shield in the area of the launch tube’s opening. Using
compressed air to push the drone out from the tube, Hec waited until its
momentum carried it beyond the ship’s shield perimeter, closed the ship’s
shield, and then fired the drone’s engines. This assured that Owens and Sharné
would not be distracted by the vibration from the drone’s launch.