Death Ship Quest Read online

  The man answered her smile with one of his own. “I’d love to, Lady, but duty, duty. Uh,” he added, his smile fading, “You’re not going anywhere near the planet, are you?”

  Kas shook his head. “No, sir,” he replied before Jane could speak. “This is just a recal stop as Lady Jane said. If you’d like to escort us to the jump point . . .”

  Raj was shaking his head. “Sorry. We got a tip that a pickup was scheduled about now. I can’t leave this point. I’ll squirt a message ahead to the ship picketing the other jump point, so they don’t give you trouble. But keep well clear of the inner planets. I’m not the only surprise in the system.”

  Kas assured the man that they’d stay well away from the inner planets and then signed off, as the communications time lag was becoming a problem. They began driving toward the other jump point in the system. Finally, Tera completed her computations and Rom set up their course to enter the jump point at the proper angle to take them to their next destination. There was another ship picketing the other jump point, but it didn’t even bother establishing communication. Evidently Lady Jane’s friend had been as good as his word. They jumped.

  Kas breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Lady,” he said, “Thank you. You’re as good as your word. A single word to your friend Raj and we’d have been dead. His approach angle wouldn’t have let our weapons bear.”

  She shrugged. “I’m a trader, and I gave my word.” She took a deep breath, causing serious distractions for Kas. “Where to next, Captain?”

  “A place called Cytan. You know it?”

  She nodded. “Yep. Poor system. Somehow, they’ve never managed to make the system a success on almost any level. They don’t even have an orbital port. If you’re not planning to ground you probably won’t even be questioned, much less searched. They don’t have any ships at all, just a few gunboats with no interstellar capability.”

  This time, Jane was correct. They weren’t even questioned as they recalibrated and drove for their next jump point.

  As soon as they were safely in jump, Kas called Lady Jane and Lar Tennig to the bridge. “I just want to warn you,” he began. “We have three more recal stops to make and two of them are in the Alliance.”

  Jane frowned. “You mean this ship of yours is in Alliance space? If I’d known that, I might not have given my word.”

  Kas shook his head. “No, actually it’s in a system just outside Alliance space. But to get there we have to pass through Alliance space. Otherwise, we’d have to detour through unexplored space and it would take at least six more jumps. We can’t afford the time penalty.” He frowned, his eyes narrowing.

  “Don’t pay any attention to her, Captain,” Lar put in. “She suffers from a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease. We won’t betray our word, or you, just because we’re in Alliance space. So,” he added with elaborate casualness, “What’s the first stop?”

  Kas stared at Lady Jane for a moment. Finally, she nodded, and he shrugged. “Our next recal is at a system called ‘M’Keba’. Do you have any information about it that we can use?”

  Jane shrugged. “Just a general hint. In the Alliance, don’t try to bribe customs agents. Not that they’re not as bribable as any other customs agents, but the Alliance had a big scandal a year or so ago. Some customs agents ignoring a kidnap-and-slavery ring. So for now, you’re better off not trying. You don’t want to attract attention, and you might just get some fool that wants to show how virtuous he is by turning you in for attempted bribery.”

  Kas nodded. “Hear that, Rom? We play it straight in the Alliance. No bribe attempts.” Rom nodded wordlessly. He was scowling at the traders in suspicion. He obviously still did not trust the two Alleys.

  Kas and Jane’s interminable conversations resumed, and became increasingly intimate. It surprised no one but the two of them when they one day found themselves waking in the same bunk after a night of passionate lovemaking.

  Kas seemed dazed. He was having trouble dealing with the concept that this exciting creature could be as interested in him as he was in her.

  Lady Jane, on the other hand, was cheerful and seemed happy. She annoyed Rom with her smiles, jokes and contented humming.

  Kas was still trying to analyze his feelings when they emerged in the M’Keba system. The jump point wasn’t picketed, but almost as soon as they emerged they detected a customs cutter heading in their direction and Toj called on the ship’s intercom.

  “Cap’n!” the usually unflappable engineer reported, “Th’ damned alarm went off. T’was the Alliance as bugged us!”

  Kas thought fast. “Thanks, Toj. Now tear that damned thing apart. If they search us we don’t want them finding and recognizing it.” He turned to the others on the bridge. “All right. These are the people that bugged us. Now in theory, since they’re not getting their alarm signal, they should assume we’re not the ones they’re after. But we take no chances. Play it straight and play it for all you’re worth. They’ll be suspicious of any ship coming from the Empire, even without the damned alarm.” He whirled to confront the traders. “Here’s where we find out for sure how good your word is.”

  Both Jane and Lar nodded soberly. Rom was less than successful in concealing the needler he still carried.

  They were hailed and ordered to prepare for boarding. Kas told Rom to bring the ship’s papers and accompany him to the main personnel lock.

  Chapter 6

  The man that boarded was small and businesslike. He examined the ship’s papers and manifests as well as the identification documents of her crew and the ship’s log in minute detail. Even Jane and Rom seemed inhibited by the man’s ruthless efficiency. Surprisingly however, the physical search of Starhopper was so casual as to be cursory. It was as though the official was convinced that if the papers were in order, the ship must be in order as well.

  “Bloody smuggler’s paradise,” Rom muttered as the man headed for the lock. “Gotta come back here after this’s over!”

  Lar overheard, and nodded. “Looks that way. The man was nothing but a paper pusher.”

  Jane grinned. “Yeah. Guess they figure hiring cops got their fingers burned, so they’re hiring admin types. We may have to visit here more often. At least for awhile. Not that we do a lot of smuggling you understand, but . . .”

  Kas snorted. “I don’t give a damn about the smuggling opportunities. I won’t be coming back here to trade. Let’s just get out of here before they change their minds.”

  They boosted max for the jump point while Tera completed her computations. They had been in the system only two standard days when Kas signaled Rom and they jumped.

  “One more,” he exulted. “One more recal and we can stop worrying about being found out.” He saw Rom open his mouth to speak and continued, “Okay, it’s actually two, but the last one’s in an uninhabited, unclaimed system.” He shrugged. “Oh, someone might stumble across us while we’re working on the Rekesh. Sheol, they might even be there now! But those are normal military problems; the kind we’re trained to handle.”

  Jane didn’t seem to share his optimism. “What is our last Alliance recal stop?” she asked.

  Rom grunted from his station. “Place called To-Han. Near the edge of the Alliance and the edge of known space. If it’s like most frontier systems, it should be easy!”

  But both Jane and Lar were shaking their heads. “Wrong. To-Han’s got a small naval base,” she said. “Oh, I guess it’s not much of one, but it’s still an Alliance Navy installation.”

  Kas frowned. “Why would they have a base ‘way out here? There wouldn’t seem to be any threat.”

  Lar shrugged. “You know how it is. Their representative to the Alliance Congress had a lot of pull some years back. He rammed it through on the grounds of protecting the borders of the Alliance from the unknown. And there are half-a-dozen systems, both Alliance and independent, within one jump of the place. The real reason, of course, was to boost To-Han’s economy. From what I’ve heard, the units stati
oned there mostly do pirate interdiction.”

  Jane nodded. “And that means that they may be suspicious, and that they’re experienced in searching ships.” She hesitated. “If I’d known To-Han was one of your scheduled stops, I’d have recommended going around, even if you had to go months out of your way!”

  Kas slammed a fist on the arm of his chair. “Damn!” He shouted. “I hate having lousy intelligence! You’d think Imperial Intelligence could have told us about a goddam base on our route!”

  Rom snorted. “They probably figured we didn’t have ‘need to know’.”

  Kas clamped down on his anger. His tone was calm and cold as he turned to Jane. “Well, we can’t change our minds in mid-jump. We’re committed, now. Is there anything else you can tell us about To-Han? Are they likely to have the jump points picketed or is there a chance we can get by without Navy involvement at all? After all, they’re not likely to expect pirates to come to their home system.”

  Jane shrugged. “It’s possible. I haven’t actually been to To-Han; few people have. It’s so far out that I wouldn’t expect that they’d get a lot of traffic. So you may end up being right; it may be ridiculously simple. On the other hand, if they’ve conned the Navy into handling security for the whole system, it could be a nightmare.”

  Everyone’s nerves were on edge as they emerged. Kas’ heart fell as he saw the armed satellite that picketed the jump point. Over a hundred meters in diameter, it fairly bristled with lasers, particle beam weapons and missiles. An automated beacon was repeating, “Welcome to To-Han. Please kill all motion relative to this station, and stand by. Any attempt to maneuver will be considered a hostile move. Your cooperation is appreciated.” At Kas’ nod, Rom complied with the instruction.

  Several hours went by before Rom detected a corvette approaching at a relatively high speed. It was almost another hour before it was in normal communication range. As soon as the communication lag was down to five seconds, Edro reported that they were being hailed.

  Kas had decided that the best defense was a strong offense. As soon as the screen cleared to reveal an Alliance Navy Commander, Kas shouted, “What the hell’s going on here? We just want to recal here, not invade! Do you . . .” His voice trailed off as he realized that he recognized the face in the screen.

  And the recognition was mutual. The Commander frowned for a moment, then his face cleared. “Well! Captain Kas Preslin of the Empire Fleet. And out of uniform. How interesting!” A predatory smile crept across the man’s face.

  Kas was shaken, searching desperately for a response. Finally he sighed. “Hello, Tarn. I was hoping not to run into anyone I knew.”

  The Alliance Commander leaned forward intensely. “I’ll bet you were. You wouldn’t be looking for stray Battle Cruisers, would you?”

  Kas looked puzzled. “Stray what? What the devil are you talking about?”

  The Commander grinned. “All right, then, suppose you tell me what you’re doing out here in a civilian ship, and out of uniform?”

  Kas forced an embarrassed expression to his face. “I don’t wear that uniform anymore, Tarn.” The man’s grin faded, to be replaced by a skeptical look. Kas shrugged, then grinned as he continued, “Why don’t you come on across? I picked up a bottle of Penurian Glark on D’Jellabah . . . “

  The Alliance Commander smiled sardonically. “I don’t suppose you know that Glark is illegal in the Alliance.”

  Kas put on a shocked expression. “No!” He proclaimed theatrically, “Then you’d better get over here and help me drink up the evidence before somebody catches me with it!”

  The Commander chuckled. “You always were an arrogant bastard. But Kas,” he continued, sobering, “You’d better be able to convince me to believe whatever story you’re going to run on me. Friends or no, this is duty. And you won’t like Alliance jails.” He shrugged. “I’ll see you in half an hour.” He terminated the connection.

  Kas sagged in his chair. “People,” he declared, “We are in big trouble! Tarn Traskon is no bored customs agent. He’s Alliance Navy and he’s as sharp as they come. One slip and we’ll be in those Alliance jails he mentioned.”

  Rom was looking concerned. “What’re you gonna tell ‘im, Skipper?”

  Kas shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. It’s going to have to be very close to the truth, so it’s not contradicted by our documents.” He turned to the woman at his side. “Jane, I think that story you used on your Singhalese friend should work here as well; but if you’re going to change it let me know. Tarn is quick enough to spot the smallest inconsistency.”

  “The rest of you,” he turned back to the others, intercom open. “Stick to your cover stories no matter what. He or someone on his staff may indicate that they know our covers are false, and that another crewman told them all about it. But that’s just a standard interrogation technique. If they say something like that, you simply don’t have any idea what they’re talking about. And don’t get fancy. You’re just outies who signed on to deliver corpsicles to a new colony. Play your cover story straight, and play it for all it’s worth. I don’t give a damn if things have happened that make it sound totally ridiculous; it’s all you know.”

  Kas, Jane and Rom met Tarn Traskon at the main lock. He was accompanied by a single aide, a lieutenant. As soon as the two had stripped out of their suits, the group adjourned to Kas’ cabin. Kas brought out the advertised Glark and a handful of glasses. Jane helpfully served. Then Kas dropped into a chair with a huge sigh.

  “We may as well get right to it,” he began.

  Tarn nodded. “I can’t figure out why the Empire would send you, of all people,” he said.

  Kas frowned. “Send me? Hell, they booted me! Look, Tarn, I get the feeling I’m missing something. Who or what am I supposed to be? I mean, you talked about jail. I just barely avoided being locked up on Prime. Now I come out here, and you want to lock me up. What’s going on?”

  Tarn eyed him suspiciously. “We may get to that, though you won’t enjoy it if we do. Why don’t you just tell me what you’re doing out here out of uniform and in an old trading hulk?”

  Kas put on a wounded expression that was, he was glad to note, echoed by Rom. “Starhopper may be old, but she’s no hulk. She’s sound as an Imperial crown!” Tarn showed no reaction, and after a long moment, Kas sighed deeply.

  “I’d hoped to not have to go into this. The crew doesn’t know. But it looks like I have no choice.” He sighed again. “You remember Admiral Lu-Jenks?”

  Tarn’s rigid expression softened slightly. “Sure do. You were his favorite hate object. He seemed to want to devote the rest of his career to ridding the Fleet of outerworld scum like you.”

  Kas grimaced as he nodded. “Yah. Well, he decided to take it upon himself to do just that. He sent me on a rigged mission in command of a destroyer. I was to raid a pirate base that had been found on an airless moon in an uninhabited system not far from Avalon. But they were waiting for us. We were hit with nuclear-pumped planetary defense lasers, heavy particle beams, and even missiles. We took ship damage and almost twenty percent casualties; over fifty percent in the landing party. The thing was, we succeeded, which Lu-Jenks obviously didn’t expect.”

  “When we finally took the place, we found proof that Lu-Jenks had warned the pirates that we were coming.” He slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. “I still can’t believe that a Fleet officer, an Admiral at that, would do that to his own people!”

  He frowned into his lap for a moment before continuing. “When we limped back to Avalon, Lu-Jenks knew something had gone wrong. He ordered me to his office on the planet to report.” A hint of a grim smile touched his lips. “I reported, all right. I broke his jaw and a few other body parts before his staff pulled me off him. He said he would have me executed for assaulting a superior officer. He would have, too. But I had the evidence, and I made sure it got to the proper people.

  “Proper!” He continued with a sour smile. “They said it would be bad for Fle
et morale to court-martial an Admiral, especially one from as powerful a family as Lu-Jenks’. All they did was make him retire. With full honors and full pension, of course.

  “Naturally, they weren’t quite so considerate with outerworld Captains. I was offered a choice: take early retirement and a reduced pension, or be court-martialed for assaulting that pompous bastard.”

  His expression turned bitter. “So, an innerworld Admiral schemes to get sixty-three Fleet people killed and a hundred and thirty more wounded, and retires with honors. I fight a heavy action against a prepared opponent, and get booted out at reduced pension. So much for devotion to the Fleet!”

  He shrugged, and a sour grin surfaced. “When the story began getting around, I did find that I suddenly had a lot of friends. One of them fixed me up with a civilian Master’s ticket, and few more managed to find me financing to buy the old Starhopper and bid on the charter to deliver these cold-sleep colonists. I signed on an outerworld crew on shares, and here I am.” He finished.

  Tarn was looking skeptical. “And how long ago was this?” He asked.

  “Just over a standard year, now,” Kas replied.

  Tarn turned to his aide and gestured slightly. The Lieutenant nodded, and Tarn turned back to Kas. “Lieutenant Trensa needs to call my ship,” he said. “Is there someplace he can get secure communications?”

  Kas grinned, “This is a trading tub, not a flagship. Secure communications don’t come with the package.” He thumbed the intercom. “Edro, the Lieutenant from the corvette will be coming up to the bridge to use the comms. Show him how to use them if necessary, then you and Tera leave the bridge to give him some privacy.” He turned and looked at the Lieutenant as he continued, “the Lieutenant will let you know when he’s finished, so you can resume your bridge stations.” The Lieutenant nodded silently and slipped out the hatch.

  Kas turned his attention back to Tarn as the latter was saying, “I should have known that anywhere I’d find Kas Preslin, I’d find a beautiful woman! And what’s such a lovely young lady doing consorting with a degenerate like Preslin?”