Dremiks (48 page)

The captain dismissed the technician, then, turned to Lieutenant Guttmann and Dwax. “Lieutenant, I believe you have watch soon. You are dismissed until that time. Dwax if you will be so kind as to start on these data disks with Ensign Chi?”

Dwax nodded his narrow head. “I will be happy to assist. Thank you, Honored Captain.”

“Sir,” O’Connell said. “I will change my clothes and assist Dwax and Chi with the data transfer.”

Hill was already walking toward the hallway. “Later, Commander. You’ll accompany me a moment. I wish to review my report.” He did not turn his head or slow his stride as he spoke. O’Connell had to trot to keep up.

“Sir,” she blurted as they entered the ante room to his quarters, “about the expedition, I apologize for not informing you sooner of my plan, of the... I mean to say…” Her voice trailed off in uncertain embarrassment.

Captain Hill settled into his chair and leaned back. His fingers tapped absently on the armrests. “Which details are troubling you, Commander? The detail of my washing your feet? Those concerning your insubordinate actions that caused bodily harm to my crew? Or is it perhaps the part where I failed to strangle you for the complete idiocy of your actions?” His last statement was issued in a cold, biting tone.

She stiffened to attention and focused on a spot slightly over his left shoulder. “I completed the mission, sir. We went there—”

“We went there to gain information from an alien species!” He shouted his interruption. “We did not go there for you to put your own life at risk in a coy little stunt. The Kigvans obviously played us tonight, Commander. I will
not
tolerate a repeat performance.” He distracted himself to keep from yelling further. His hands idly shuffled the sensor logs left on his desk.

“When did you learn about this blood oath concept? It sounds entirely ridiculous, like something from Western American fiction.”

He wasn’t yelling anymore, which was progress, Maggie thought. But the captain’s condescending tone still rankled. “I read about it, in the documents Dwax gave us. I suspect the Dremikians have something similar.” The look she gave him would have made a lesser man flinch.

He knew Dremikians had blood oaths, it was how he’d coerced Dwax into helping them. She didn’t know that, though. Features neutral, he said, “Between your crash injuries and the cut on your arm, your medical status is questionable. I’m considering removing you from flight status, Commander.”

“Sir, that’s unfair!” Maggie took a step forward. She stopped cold when the captain rose out of his chair and walked around to stare down at her.

“You were saying?” His tone had returned to the brittle professionalism that was his trademark.

O’Connell refused to be intimidated by his physical presence or his damned voice. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

He snorted. He was so close that the hair on her head moved. “Denied. You’ve done plenty of free speaking this evening.” His cold blue eyes flicked over her. “You’re out of uniform, Commander. Go change your clothing and inform Lieutenant Price of your return.” The captain turned around and sat back down at his desk. He leaned over the sensor logs. After a minute, he seemed to realize that Maggie was still standing there. He lazily raised his head. “You’re dismissed, Commander.”

She pivoted and marched out. He watched the green dress sway and cling to her hips as she strode away. Once the door had snapped shut, the captain rubbed a hand over his jaw and, ever so slightly, smiled.

Chapter 28

O’Connell slipped into the officers’ mess as unobtrusively as possible. She slid into a chair near the door, rather than interrupt the briefing further. Her usual seat was all the way across the room. The captain did not turn to look at her, although everyone else looked up when she entered.

Captain Hill nodded at Ensign Chi to resume his report.

“The Kigvans have been monitoring our conversation with the Dremikians, as you suspected, sir. According to the files they gave us, they have nearly fifty years of records; which, as you all know, is almost the entire span of our relationship with the Dremikians.”

The captain turned his head incrementally to look at Dwax. “You knew of this?”

“It is possible the High Council knew and kept it a secret. I only guessed. I did tell you, they are listeners. Kigvans love to learn.” Dwax mashed his thick fingers together. “Tell him the rest, Honored Ensign.”

“We are not the only species the Kigvans have been listening to. They helpfully included
all
of the communications they intercepted over that fifty year period. There are pages of transmissions from a species called the Valtoza.” The young Asian man looked around the room, noted the serious concentration that hung like a pall in the air. “The Valtoza are not quite humanoid. They replicate by combining their own RNA with DNA strands from host organisms. They cherry pick the traits they want, or those they need to survive in particular environments.”

Chi continued, “At some point, several hundred years ago by what I can determine from these intercepts, Valtoza and Dremikians inhabited Dremiks together. That is why some of the alloys and technology we’ve found on the surface do not resemble Dremikian work.”

O’Connell spoke. “Why are we just hearing of these aliens, Honored One?”

Dwax dipped his head. “With apologies. The Valtoza are just legends among my people. They are not real, things that will come to get us if we misbehave. I am not knowing a good example in your words.”

“Boogeymen,” whispered Price.

“You learned all of this information via intercepts?”

Dwax answered, “The Kigvans enjoying procuring information, but they keep the peace with many treaties. Their... I think your word is
honor
for what it is they do... keeps them from telling others the details of these treaties. They do, though, accept blood payments for general information.” His small eyes fixed on O’Connell’s arm.

Captain Hill concentrated on controlling his breathing while he absorbed what Dwax said. In his peripheral vision, he noted O’Connell’s stiff posture and how she absently traced the new skin growing over the incision on her arm. Guttmann and Price sat stone faced and taking notes. Robertson showed no emotion, in fact, he looked almost bored. Dwax was too stressed to remain stationary as he spoke. He flitted about the room, occasionally reeling ungracefully from a sharp corner or abrupt turn. Above them the air purifiers hummed. Beneath their feet, the
Hudson
vibrated in mechanical harmony with her idling engines.

Point by point, Dwax laid out the clear evidence, provided by the Kigvan files, of a human conspiracy with the Valtoza. Intercepted communications were all in code, but the Kigvans had cracked most of the codes. O’Connell slid her hand out and picked up one of the sensor disks containing the unbroken transmissions. While Dwax paused, and the captain and Swede read the copies of decoded messages, O’Connell glanced at the other files. The others in the room did not miss the sudden sag to her shoulders and the harsh clenching of her jaw muscles. Her pointed chin became more prominent as she ground her teeth.

Deciding that the commander was not going to share with him whatever it was she’d determined, Dwax resumed his briefing. There were no names attached to any of the messages, but the rhetoric used clearly implicated a faction of human society unhappy with the forced peace settlement. In exchange for arms technology, and the continued safety of Earth, the human cabal entered into an agreement with the Valtoza to defeat the Dremikian High Council’s interference in the reconquest of Dremiks. Humans would sell lorga and settlement rights to the Valtoza. Valtozan ships and engineering codes were already being transported to a nearby waypoint.

At the end of his presentation, Dwax stood still and wrapped his arms across his chest. He was obviously distraught. His normally red skin tone turned to pale pink. So close on the discovery that some of his own race had decided to betray the alliance with humankind, the discovery of human treachery with the Valtoza completely undid him.

The captain’s breathing techniques were not working as well as they normally did. He grew increasingly tired of plots, plotters, and being suspicious of everyone around him. O’Connell’s stunt two days before still irked him. His obsession with her safety was unsettling him. Taking a very deep breath, Hill folded his hands in front of him. He turned his head to look at O’Connell. She was still staring at the data on the tablet in front of her.

“Admiralty codes?”

“Yes, sir. Old ones, at that. It will take me a few hours, but...” she trailed off and then shrugged her shoulders. “Mother’s milk to me, really. All those hours of childhood punishment will finally come to some use.”

“You think your father is involved?” Lieutenant Guttmann’s voice betrayed his dismay.

“Having seen these codes, and read what is going on, I’d stake my soul on it.” She shook her head at the lieutenant’s open astonishment. “I have no illusions about my father’s political beliefs or his willingness to sacrifice material comfort to attain a measure of immortality. The worst part is, he’s probably convinced himself that he’s saving mankind.”

Her hand clenched so hard on the paper-thin computer that it quivered. The taunt tendons in her wrist showed a stark white. The captain reached over and removed the tablet. In the process, he lightly squeezed her fingers. Her eyes darted sideways and saw the expression of concern on his face. Some of the tension went out of her posture as she pulled her hand back and folded it with the other in her lap.

“It won’t just be Admiral O’Connell and his Earth-bound friends. They would not have left our efforts here to chance.”

“The sabotage.” It was Swede’s turn to express frustration. “One of the crew has been helping these bastards.” He was so incensed he didn’t immediately apologize for using profanity in front of his senior officers. Ensigns Chi and Robertson quickly looked up, not knowing until that moment about any acts of sabotage.

“More than one, I’d bet, and at least a few of the colonial delegation.” Maggie’s head swiveled sideways and her mouth parted in a shocked “o” of surprise.

Brett Hill had already come to the same astounding realization. “Yes. My brother and his lovely wife are most definitely involved. But, we’re getting caught up with details. We need to focus on a plan of action. That we know what is going on, that human conspirators are among us, must not leave this room. We have to ferret out who we can trust in the process of trying to stop whatever end-game they have planned.”

“If I were to inform the High Council, we could prepare for an attack.”

The captain paused to consider that option, then, shook his head. “No, they will surely have a spy among the councilors. We risk tipping our hand. We might also alarm those already against our settlement of the planet.”

“I believe that the High Council needs to answer for this deception.” Dwax’s voice rung with the sharp tones of steel. “Whatever dangers we might now face from these new betrayers were surely compounded by the Council keeping us in ignorance.”

“Perhaps, and I mean no disrespect, Honored One.” The captain was quick to rush in and head off offending the Dremikian. “But we cannot know if any Dremikians are involved in this larger plot. Even if there are none, their preparations and obvious alarm will be red flags to our enemies.”

“Sir, I think it is safe to assume that the mine we found on the surface was being worked by the Valtoza. They may still be on the surface, watching us,” Price said.

“Then we need to be even more cautious.”

“Who do we trust among the crew?”

“For now, only the people in this room. There can never again be a time when at least one senior officer is not aboard the
Hudson
. Swede, I want the engines ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

The engineer grimaced. “That’s not going to be easy to hide, sir.”

The captain’s smile held no joy. “I trust in your imaginative use of rigorous training and meticulous work. O’Connell, you’ll need to review the duty roster and then draw up a separate roster of over-watches for the four of us.” He paused and stared at the opposite bulkhead for a long moment before continuing. “We’re wading into unknown waters here. I don’t think it would be much of a leap to assume that this cabal of Valtoza and humans are behind the attempt on O’Connell’s life. Their motives for eliminating her are unclear, but it is in the realm of possibility that having eliminated the chief pilot, they hope to hijack the
Hudson
with Lieutenant Price flying.”

The commander bristled. “I’m sorry, sir, but I still do not think that bomb was aimed specifically at me. It’s far more likely I would be used as political bait.”

“Or you’ve angered the cabal.”

She glared at Swede. “Yes,” she hissed, “that does seem to be a popular theory. Funny, that they should pause in their quest for domination of several galaxies in order to eliminate one annoying woman.”

“
Perpetually
annoying,” the captain added, sotto voice.

The moment of levity passed quickly, leaving the officers and Dwax staring morosely at each other. Captain Hill wanted to be able to say something inspiring and hope filled. He wanted to see Swede and Price full of purpose and righteous indignation and O’Connell ready to spit nails. The words dried on his tongue. His spirit was as sapped as theirs.

“We have work to do. Dismissed.” He rose to follow the others from the room.

“Sir? A moment, please?”

Wary of being alone with Maggie with his emotions in such disarray, the captain hesitated. When he turned to face her, he stilled his features to remain as expressionless as possible. She was standing at rigid attention.

“Sir, I think it is dangerous for you to assume that any of us are immune to manipulation by these traitors. It’s your brother and …”

“Your father.” He stood still, resisting the urge to step closer and tower over her.

“Assumptions are dangerous, Commander, and I’m not in the habit of making them. Right now, though, I have no choice. If my officers betray me—betray
us
—then I don’t stand much of a chance.”