The Last Flight of the Argus (36 page)

B’taav eyed the sparse contents within the first aid kit.

“
Is this all we have?”

“
We've got a little more in storage. Not much more. I'll have to check around.”

“
Provided no one else suffers any serious injuries, there’s enough medicine here to keep Maddox going for a while. Three weeks anyway. But if that wound isn’t properly treated…”

“
What do you want us to do? Turn back? Give ourselves up?”

“
He may die.”

“
Do you think I don’t know that?” Frasier spat. “We’ve worked together for over twenty five years. He’s like a…a brother to me. We have to complete our mission, B’taav. If anyone gets their hands on the
Charybdis
bomb…” Frasier shook his head. “I can’t allow it.”

“
Where is the boy?”

“
With Francis.”

“
Did you know the boy was a killer?”

“
No,” Frasier said. He let out a soft, hopeless laugh. “But back on
Titus
, we suspected there was a traitor among us. Little did we know…”

“
When did you suspect?”

“
After Kelly Lang’s ship exploded. Our business with him was done. There was no reason to kill him, yet someone in our group did just that. Then Daniels and his ships arrived. It wasn’t too long after that I found Janet dead.”

“
Who?”

“
Janet Donaldson. She was the best damn mechanic
Titus
ever had. She was never a full member of our group, even though she was my…my wife.”

Frasier rubbed his eyes.

“
Janet did what I told her and never asked questions. She’s the one that got the information from the
Argus
probe’s computer. She did all the calculations and came up with a theory of where that damned ship was. She thought I wanted to find the
Argus
because it would be worth a fortune to me…to us. The last –the only– survivor of the Erebus explosion was within our grasp and she thought I wanted to find her, to salvage her, to sell her. She never knew that was the last thing on my mind.”

“
I found her dead in the machine shop the day before we departed. She was in her cot and...she must have been napping. There was no sign of a struggle. Like Rasp, her killer entered the room and…and…stabbed her.”

“
Why would the boy do this?”

“
How should I know? When Francis Lane arrived, she showed up with him. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why she brought him along. She said he needed her care and couldn’t be left with others…I insisted she take him back, but by then it was too late.”

A wave of emotions passed through Frasier. When they were gone, the man in white stared hard into B’taav’s black eyes.

“
Promise me one thing, Independent,” he said. “Promise me you’ll get us to the
Argus
so that I can blow that fucker to pieces.”

CHAPTER FORTY

B’taav
and Frasier exited Maddox’s room. Further down the corridor were Saro Triste, Francis Lane, and Stephen Gray. They talked in hushed voices and quieted down even more when B’taav and Frasier approached.

Francis Lane broke from the group. She wanted to say something, perhaps an apology, but Frasier waved her off.

The man in white walked past the group and to his room.

“
He’s a good boy,” Francis Lane said to no one in particular. “I know he is—”

“
Don’t blame yourself,” Stephen Gray said. “How could anyone foresee this?”

“
She did,” B’taav said. “How long have you known?”

Francis Lane’s body shook.

“
He…he’s never been violent before. Not ever. At home he’s quiet. He can’t do anything for himself. He’s never hurt anyone.”

“
You should have left him behind,” Saro Triste said.

“
It’s a little late for accusations and second guessing,” Stephen Gray shot back. “Can’t you see she’s under enough stress?”

“
Please, Stephen. Saro is right. I
shouldn’t
have brought him along. Nathaniel can’t handle all these stresses. He’s acted out in the worst way possible.” Francis Lane fought back a sob. “I shouldn’t have brought him.”

“
Is he under guard now?” B’taav asked.

“
Of course,” Stephen Gray said.

“
Good,” B’taav said. “You better get back to your quarters. We’ll be moving again very shortly.”

Oscar
Theodor shot up in his chair and slammed his fist against the intercom button.

“
They’re moving,” he yelled. He flicked the switch off and added: “Finally!”

Theodor worked the controls. The engines of his fighter craft quickly warmed up.

The chase was on once again.

B’taav
pulled at the ship’s yoke. The
Xendos
rose over the edge of the asteroid and descended down its back before the Independent leveled her off.

“
She’s responding well,” B’taav said.

“
Like nothing happened,” Inquisitor Cer muttered. She sat beside B’taav and checked the computer’s system readings. The door to the cockpit was open and just outside of it stood Melchor, one of the two remaining Mercs. They had long since removed the body of Kaspar from the corridor. All that was left of him were blood stains and the smell of burnt flesh. Each proved a grim reminder, if any was needed, of the events of a couple of hours before.

“
Doesn’t this ship have air filters?”

“
The smell bothers you?” Inquisitor Cer asked. “I figured Tamarin Campaign veterans would be used to the smell of dead.”

B’taav ignored her taunt.

“
Get to bed,” he said after a while. “I’m good for at least three more hours.”

Inquisitor Cer rose.

“
By later today we’ll be past the scavenger’s grid,” B’taav said.

“
We may have to use our sensors. But Daniels…”

“
If we’re still free tomorrow, we can safely assume we’ve outrun Daniels and his ships.”

“
Is that wishful thinking or logical analysis?” Inquisitor Cer asked.

“
A little of both,” B’taav replied. “We’ll find out tomorrow, won’t we?”

Inquisitor Cer nodded and walked to Melchor’s side. She paused for a moment and motioned the Merc into the room.

“
I’m getting some rest,” she told him. “If the Independent does anything funny, shoot him.”

“
Yes ma’am.”

“
Inquisitor?” B’taav said.

“
Yes?”
“Does Mr. Melchor know what constitutes a ‘funny’ move while piloting a two hundred year old craft through an asteroid field?”

Inquisitor Cer offered B’taav a serpentine grin.

“
You’ll have to be extra careful. It would be a shame if you got shot for nothing.”

The
three hours passed slowly.

B’taav made sure to keep Melchor aware of every turn and twist the ship took on its way. All the while, he kept his eyes on any unusual movements among the rocks. He spotted none.

B’taav wondered if they had indeed lost Daniels’ search party. It was, after all, a very large asteroid field and Daniels could not be sure of where they were or where they were going. Their fighter crafts might well have overshot the
Xendos’
location by hundreds of kilometers, perhaps leaving them in the clear many hours before.

We’ll see
, the Independent thought.

Oscar
Theodor hit the intercom button and said, “Ready to disengage primary flight controls.”

There was a crackle over the intercom. A female voice replied:

“
Secondary flight controls are active. Whenever you’re ready…”

Theodor pressed another button and the panel before him went black. His copilot was now flying the ship from the secondary cockpit below. Theodor pressed a third button and his seat lowered into the body of his ship. He unbuckled his seat belt and unscrewed several life support hoses. By the time the seat had fully lowered into the mid-level deck, he was free of all restraints.

Theodor rose and stretched. The middle compartment was just a little larger than a tearoom. A dozen Blue Rogue soldiers sat on the metal floor. Half of them were asleep while the other half killed time by either playing cards, reading, or examining their weapons.

Theodor turned to his right. A clear glass panel directly below him revealed Karina Wilson manning the secondary flight station and piloting the craft. Behind her was Ramon Mann, the fighter craft’s reserve pilot. It was no secret Ramon was sweet on Karina, though the feelings weren’t mutual. Theodor tapped on the floor and both Karina and Ramon looked up.

“
If you want to take Karina’s shift, do so,” Theodor told Ramon. “Otherwise, she doesn’t need distractions.”

“
Yes sir,” Ramon muttered. To Karina he said: “Would you like to…?”

Karina was already up and out of the chair.

“
Knock yourself out.”

Ramon strapped himself into place as Karina walked to the ship’s mid-section. She stopped before Theodor.

“
Want something to eat?”

“
Yeah, that would be great.”

“
Good,” Karina said. “You know where the food’s at. I’m getting some sleep.”

Karina gave Theodor a mischievous smile and walked past the Blue Rogue Officers. A couple of them eyed the ship’s co-pilot and one blew her a kiss. She ignored them and continued to the end of the corridor. She stopped before a set of doors. One lead to the crew quarters, the other to the food dispensers. Karina entered the door leading to the crew quarters. Before it closed, she pointed to the other door.

“
In case you forgot, it’s over here,” she told Theodor.

Theodor walked to the food dispenser room door. He eyed the crew quarter door and, for a second or two, considered going there. It had been a long time—

No,
Theodor thought.
If there was ever a wrong time to be thinking about that…

Theodor sighed and entered the food dispenser room. He found Richard Loo sitting before the only table. He held a small computer pad in his hands and was reading something off its monitor.

“
Oh,” Theodor said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt—”

Richard Loo pressed a button and the computer turned off.

“
You weren’t interrupting.”

The Blue Rogue leader rubbed his bloodshot eyes and slid the computer into one of his body suit’s many front pockets. “Your shift is finished?”

“
Yeah. I’ll be back to work in another ten hours or so.”

“
Who’s piloting the craft now?”

“
Ramon.”

Richard Loo thought about that for a second.

“
I thought it was Karina’s turn?”

“
They swapped,” Theodor said.

“
I see.”

“
He’ll be fine. He’s fresh.”

“
I’m sure he is.”

Theodor chewed on his lip.

“
I wouldn’t let him pilot the ship if he wasn’t ready. I can vouch for all members of my crew.”

Richard Loo nodded but said nothing.

Theodor reached for the food dispenser. He put a cup under the faucet and filled it with thick brown Nutra-liquid. He sighed.

“
Officer Loo, why do I get the feeling you don’t approve of our way of doing things?”

“
As long as we get results, I don’t much care,” Officer Loo replied.

“
We’ll do whatever you ask. Even if it doesn’t make much sense.”

Richard Loo’s eyes meet Theodor’s sullen stare.

“
We’re alone here, soldier. Speak your peace. You’ve held it in long enough.”

“
Are we supposed to capture the people we are pursuing or not?”

Richard Loo leaned back in his chair.

“
Go on,” Loo said.

“
We could have had them a long time ago, maybe even a little after
Titus
, with minimal effort.”

“
Yes.”

“
So why hide? Why let them move along? And why are we following them around like a horny schoolboy after a cheerleader? It makes no sense.”

“
When did your initial orders regarding this pursuit come through?” Loo asked.

“
Back at
Titus
.”

“
How close were you to our prey at that point?”

“
Not…” the words caught in Theodor’s throat and his eyes lit up. “Not very.”

“
Precisely.”

“
Wait a minute,” Theodor said. “We weren’t expected to capture them at that time? Why?”