Mutiny (13 page)

Fujiama straightened up to his full height, which was very close to seven feet. "Don't tell me my duty, Commander Podok," he said, articulating each word. "Yours is to put this man on report, and I have no problem with it. Mine is to listen to any input my officers have and to ultimately make a command decision. Mr. Cole, please answer my question."

"There's only one reasonable answer as to why they didn't chase us out past the edge of the cluster and eventually destroy us, sir."

"And that is?"

"They don't know that only three ships were assigned to the Phoenix Cluster," said Cole. "A Republic starship is a valuable trophy, so why wouldn't they chase us until they got within range of their pulse cannons? There can only be one answer: they're guarding something even more valuable. That's why I had the pilot circle around them—to see if they'd chase us in earnest if we weren't heading for deep space, where we might join up with a wing of the Fleet. When they didn't come after us hell for leather, I knew it had to be that they're afraid to get too far from whatever it is they're protecting."

"All I hear is a lot of guesswork," snorted Podok.

"Why do
you
think they're not in hot pursuit?" asked Cole.

"It's no concern of mine," said Podok. "The ship's orders are clear."

Cole looked at Fujiama. "Should I continue, sir?"

"Please do."

"All right. I figure the reason they're here is because the Phoenix Cluster has seen even less military activity than the Rim. Someone very important is having a meeting on a planet in the cluster. The meeting was probably set up when the Republic ships rotated out of here two days ago. The Teronis didn't know that we were bringing in three more ships today."

"Then why did they destroy the first two ships?" demanded Podok, her voice and posture aggressive. "What is it about the
Theodore Roosevelt
that terrifies them?"

"They destroyed the
Bonaparte
because it came out of the wormhole and was a lone ship, rather than part of a military group. Wormholes move, planets move, nebulas rotate; maybe they went after the
Maracaibo
because it got too close to the planet they're protecting." He paused, looking from one to the other to make sure they were following his reconstruction. He was also aware that Lieutenant Briggs was hanging on his every word. "But when we came out of the worm-hole that brought us here, we spotted the debris and came to a dead stop, out of range of their weapons. If we get close enough they'll fire, but they're not going to enter a protracted chase, because they don't know that we're the last Republic ship that's going to show up here, and they don't dare leave the planet unprotected. If they don't mind frightening us away, it has to be because they figure to be gone before any reinforcements can arrive."

Fujiama was silent for a long moment. "It makes sense," he said at last.

"Then we must leave the cluster and report it," said Podok. She turned to Cole. "If it turns out that you are correct, I will enter an addendum to my report, though you still clearly disobeyed standing orders by not protecting the ship."

"The ship's as safe here as it would be in deep space," said Cole. "Pilot, has the Teroni ship turned back yet?"

"It is just doing so now, sir," answered Wxakgini.

"Nevertheless, we must leave instantly," persisted Podok. "Even if you are right, they will be free to hunt us down the instant this presumed meeting is over."

"Captain," said Cole, "I put it to you: They're guarding at least one person they think is worth more than a starship, and they'll be gone tomorrow. Do you really want to walk away from an opportunity like this?"

"It would be quite a feather in the
Roosevelt's
cap," agreed Fujiama wistfully. Then he frowned. "But we've got one functioning gunnery technician, we've only got one medic if we sustain injuries, we've—"

"The
Teddy R
isn't going to fight anyone," said Cole. "We haven't got the firepower."

"Then what the hell are you talking about?" demanded Fujiama.

"We'll get as close to the Teroni ship as we dare and release our shuttlecraft. We won't activate their engines until the Teroni ship has passed them in its pursuit of the
Teddy R.
Then the shuttles fan out and use their sensors to determine which planet is hosting the meeting, drop a well-placed bomb or two, and rendezvous near the wormhole."

"How will you know which planet to bomb?" said Podok. "What if four or five different worlds display life-forms when the shuttles scan them?"

"It'll almost certainly be a planet with no colonies and no native populations," answered Cole. "Even if they think the inhabitants are friendly to the Teroni Federation, why take a chance of an assassination? My guess is they'll find an empty planet, maybe not even an oxygen world, for the meeting. And given where the Teroni ship keeps retreating to, we can probably limit it to three star systems right now, then pinpoint it once we move in."

"Who would command the shuttles?" asked Fujiama.

"I'll take one, and Forrice will take the other."

"We have four shuttles, each named after one of Theodore Roosevelt's children," said Fujiama. "Why use only two?"

"Because if anything happens to the
Teddy R,
you can cram most of the crew onto two shuttles. As Commander Podok points out"—he nodded at the Polonoi-—"my first consideration is the safety of the ship."

"How long do you suppose we have before they leave?" asked Fujiama.

Cole shrugged. "It's anyone's guess—but if the
Bonaparte
was three hours ahead of us, we can figure they've been here four hours or more. They'd never have set their people down there if the Bonaparte had shown up before the meeting started."

"Captain," said Podok, "surely you're not going to let Commander Cole and Commander Forrice take the shuttlecraft into what must now clearly be considered enemy territory?"

"No, I'm not," said Fujiama.

"You're not?" exclaimed Cole, honestly surprised.

"I am glad to hear it, sir," said Podok.

"I lost my whole family to this goddamned war," said Fujiama. "I felt that enough Fujiama blood was spilled for the Republic, I've been content to serve out my time doing as little as possible, ignoring the problems I see daily aboard this vessel rather than attempting to correct them." He paused. "I was a good officer once. I know it's difficult to believe, but I was. Through his actions Mr. Cole has reminded me of what I could have become had things turned out differently—and whether he knows it or not, he's convinced me that it's time to get back into this war." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Mr. Cole will be in charge of one shuttlecraft, but Commander Forrice will not be in command of the other. Captains don't follow, they lead. I'll be commanding the other shuttle."

"Captain, I must protest!" said Podok.

"That's your privilege," said Fujiama.

"It is more than my privilege," answered the Polonoi. "It is my duty."

"I would never prevent you from doing your duty," said Fujiama. "But neither will I allow you to prevent me from doing mine."

Podok began walking toward the airlift. "I must dictate my report," she said.

"I expect you back here in ten minutes," said Fujiama. "You're going to be in command of the
Theodore Roosevelt
once I depart in the shuttlecraft."

"I will be here," she said without looking back.

Fujiama suddenly realized that Cole had been staring at him with an inscrutable expression on his face. "What are you looking at?" he demanded.

"I was just thinking," said Cole, "that if we survive this mission, I might actually enjoy being an officer aboard the
Teddy R."

Cole let Fujiama pick his crew, then selected Forrice, Briggs, and Christine Mboya to come with him. Podok immediately objected, pointing out that if Forrice left the ship, she would be the only remaining senior officer left onboard. Cole found himself agreeing with her.

"Who do you want, then?" asked Fujiama.

"You know, I still haven't ever seen a Tolobite—ours or anyone else's," said Cole.

"You want the symbiote?" asked Podok in disbelieving tones. "Why would you ask for someone about whom you know nothing?"

"If he's sober, that puts him ahead of ninety percent of the crew," said Cole. "And he figures to be sober. I never yet saw a symbiote of any species that could drink or drug without damned near killing its partner. Has he got a name?"

Wxakgini laughed from his position above them. "If you have difficulty pronouncing
my
name, you'll
never
learn the Tolobite's."

"A minor inconvenience," said Cole. "That's my choice. Jacillios, tell him to meet me at the
Kermit
in three minutes."

"To reiterate," said Fujiama to Podok, "you are to approach the enemy ship until it takes notice and begins approaching you. Then you will change course and begin retreating. Mr. Cole and I will detach our shuttlecrafts, but with all systems deactivated. If we run short on air, and we shouldn't, we'll use our oxygen canisters to breathe, so that nothing registers on the Teroni ship's sensors. If it notices us at all, it will probably think we're just dead weight you jettisoned when it started chasing you. Once it's well past us, we will activate the shuttles and race toward the likeliest planets. When we find the one we're looking for, we'll attack before the Teroni ship can get back to protect it."

"How are you going to get back to the ship?" asked Jacillios. "The Teroni ship will be between you and the
Teddy R."

"That's easy enough," said Cole. "We've mapped the wormholes. The Teroni Federation has never shown any previous interest in the Phoenix Cluster. It's my guess that they don't know where the worm-holes are. We won't try to get past the Teroni ship. We'll head away from it, pick up a wormhole, and meet the
Teddy R
wherever it lets us out."

"You won't have the Bdxeni with you to find the wormholes," said Forrice.

"I'll trust to Lieutenant Mboya's abilities," replied Cole.

"Are you ready, Mr. Cole?" asked Fujiama.

"Yes, sir," said Cole.

"Then let's get going."

Fujiama, Cole, and their small crews made their way down to the shuttlecrafts.

"I'll take the
Quentin"
announced Fujiama.

"I hope you're not superstitious, sir," said Cole.

"No. Why?"

"Because Theodore Roosevelt's son Quentin died when he was shot out of the sky by an enemy plane."

"Then it's time to even the score," said Fujiama.

"Whatever you say," replied Cole. He looked around the deck. "Where the hell is the—?" He stopped and stared, for approaching him was a squat, shining, bipedal being. He'd have had to stretch the word "humanoid" almost past its elastic limits to include this creature. Its skin, smooth and oily, literally glowed. Its upper limbs were thick and tentacular, more like an elephant's trunk than an octopus's legs. It didn't seem to be wearing clothes, but Cole couldn't see any genitalia. There was no neck; the head grew directly out of the shoulders and was incapable of turning or swiveling. The mouth had no teeth and seemed equipped only for sucking fluids. The eyes were very dark and wide-set. No nostrils were evident. The ears were mere slits at the sides of the head. At first Cole thought it was gold in color, but the color fluctuated with every step it took.

Cole looked for the symbiote, but couldn't see one and wondered if he'd been misinformed.

The being emitted a noise that sounded like it was either coughing or choking. It was only when that was followed by the words "reporting for duty, sir" that Cole realized it was its name.

"Where's your partner?" asked Cole.

"My partner, sir?"

"Your symbiote."

"Right here, sir."

"Right
where?"
asked Cole irritably.

"You are looking at both of us, sir."

"Explain."

"I will show you."

And suddenly it wasn't smooth and oily anymore, nor did it glow or vary in hue. Its skin was a pasty gray and looked somehow soft and very vulnerable.

"It's an epidermis?" asked Cole. "That looks like a naturally occurring phenomenon. How does it qualify as symbiosis?"

"What you call an epidermis is a Gorib—a living, thinking entity, sir," said the Tolobite. "My race does not have an internal immune system, so we live in symbiosis with the Goribs. A Gorib filters all germs and viruses out of the air and protects our bodies from infection, and in exchange we supply it with nourishment. We are each telepathically bonded to our symbiote, and we remain together for life. When one dies, both die."

"Interesting," said Cole. "I'm going to need a name for you that I can pronounce."

"I understand, sir."

He stared at the Tolobite, as the smooth, oily second skin began to reappear through the pores of its own gray skin. "How about Slick?"

"Whatever you wish, sir."

"Slick it is." Cole turned to Briggs and Christine. "From this point on, the Tolobite is Slick, whether you're addressing him or discussing him with me."

"Excuse me, sir," said Slick, "but gender-based words such as 'him' do not apply to either myself or my symbiote."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," said Cole. "Now let's get into the shuttle. We're approaching the Teroni ship, and it's only going to be another moment or two before it notices." He turned to Briggs. "Once we're aboard, fill Slick in on what we plan to do. You and he are going to handle the weapons."

"I have only trained on weapons, sir," said Slick as they boarded the shuttle and the hatch closed behind them. "I've never actually fired one in combat."

"Then it will be a useful learning experience," said Cole. "Don't worry; you'll have Lieutenant Briggs alongside you, and we don't expect our target to shoot back." He turned to Christine. "Lieutenant Mboya, once the Teroni ship has passed us and we can activate our systems, I want you to immediately open a communication channel with the
Quentin.
Then the only thing you'll do thereafter is find us some wormholes somewhere beyond our target. I don't care where they lead. If the Teroni ship has mapped them, we're dead meat anyway, and if not, it'll never be able to figure out where we'll reappear."

"Yes, sir," she said.

Suddenly they were floating loose in space.

"I guess the Teronis finally noticed the
Teddy R,"
said Cole. "We are not going to be able to track them, not with all our systems dead. I doped out their average speed the last two times they chased us off, and I figure they'll pass us in about eighty seconds. Then we'll give them about four more minutes. We can't count on their following the
Teddy R
any longer than that." He paused. "If Forrice was in charge, he'd zig and zag and tease the hell out of them to keep them interested, but I don't think we can count on Podok to do the same."

"Who do you think they're protecting, sir?" asked Briggs. "An admiral, maybe, or a general?"

"Not an admiral. He'd hold any meetings on his own ship. Maybe a general, maybe a politician. My own guess is a turncoat. Their generals and politicians don't have to come to the Phoenix Cluster to talk to one another. Probably someone is busy selling out the Republic right now—not that we're small enough to sell out in one fell swoop, but it can cause problems for a planet or an army."

"Two and a half minutes, sir," announced Christine.

Cole sat at the command console. "While you're hunting for wormholes and Briggs and Slick are making sure the weapons work, I'm going to have to figure out which planet we're targeting. I can't imagine we're three minutes away from whichever one it is, so it ought to keep us all busy."

They waited in silence, and finally Christine activated the
Kermit.
It shot forward at light speeds, and she opened a channel to the
Quentin
and began charting their position in relation to the known wormholes.

"It looks like three possibilities to me," said Fujiama's voice. "I'll take Crepello IV, you take Bannister II, and whoever gets done first can check Nebout V."

"Sounds good to me," responded Cole. "I don't imagine they came all this way to meet on a chlorine world."

"Let's hope not," said Fujiama. "There must be ten of them in the immediate area; we wouldn't have time to scan more than one or two of them. I don't see how we can have more than three or four minutes at the outside before the Teroni ship returns."

It took Cole less than a minute to determine that there was no life on Bannister II, and he directed his attention to Nebout V.

"Sir," said Christine a few seconds later. "The Teroni ship has broken off the chase and is heading back at top speed."

"Don't worry about the ship," said Cole without looking up. "Worry about the wormhole."

"Crepello IV is clean," announced Fujiama. "Some kind of radiation accident. The whole planet is deserted, and it's too hot for any life-form to survive."

"Okay, then it's got to be Nebout," said Cole. "But so far I'm not getting any life readings."

"Neither am I," said Fujiama. "Could you have been wrong?"

"No," said Cole firmly. "If I was wrong, why the hell is the Teroni ship racing back?" He checked his instruments again. "I think I've got 'em!"

"Which planet?" asked Fujiama.

"None of them—but there's a moon with an oxygen atmosphere circling the gas giant that's nine planets out from Nebout."

"Got it!" said Fujiama excitedly. "And I've found a life reading!"

"Have your computer feed the data to the
Kermit'
s weapons system," said Cole. He turned to Christine. "How are we doing on wormholes? I'll want one out by Nebout IX."

She shook her head. "The closest is near Bannister."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, sir."

"Load its coordinates into the navigation system and then start tracking the Teroni ship."

A ten-second pause. "It's loaded. The Teroni ship should be within range—of their weapons, not ours—in about two minutes."

"How long will it take us to get from the Nebout system to the wormhole?"

She checked her computer. "Seventy-three seconds, sir."

"Lieutenant Briggs, can we reach our target with a pulse torpedo from this distance?"

"Yes, sir," said Briggs. "But the Teroni ship can actually overtake the torpedo before it reaches its target."

"Then we'll have to distract it," said Cole. "Fire the torpedo."

"Fired," announced Briggs.

"And another."

"Fired," confirmed Slick.

"How many do we have left?"

"Only two sir," said Briggs. "This is just a shuttle, not the
Teddy R."

"Lieutenant Mboya, head for the wormhole. Mr. Briggs, fire a torpedo at the Teroni ship."

"This isn't the
Teddy R's
weapons system, sir. We'll never hit it."

"We don't care whether we hit it," said Cole. "We just want to distract it."

"Fired," said Briggs.

"They've sensed the torpedo, sir," said Christine. "They're altering course slightly to come after us."

"They know we're going for a wormhole, but they don't know where it is," said Cole. "That may buy us a few seconds."

"I'll buy you a few more," said Fujiama's voice. "Make good use of them, Mr. Cole."

"Sir!" said Christine. "He's not heading for the wormhole! He's going straight at the target."

"For better or worse, you've done your damage. I haven't done mine," said Fujiama. "If they have a choice, they'll come after me before they'll bother with you."

"You're the Captain," said Cole. "It's not worth losing your shuttle to save ours."

"I'm not doing this to save the
Kermit"
responded Fujiama. "I'm doing it to make sure they come after me and not those pulse torpedoes you fired."

"But—"

"No arguments, Mr. Cole. Just get to that wormhole. I've been playing at being an officer and a gentleman for five years; it's time I started acting like one."

"The Teroni ship has changed course again, sir," said Christine. "They're definitely going after the
Quentin."

"How long before they're within range of him?"

"Maybe thirty seconds."

"Once they nail him, can they reach us, too?"

"It'll be a near thing, but I think we'll make the wormhole by two or three seconds."

"Shouldn't we turn back and try to help the Captain?" asked Slick.

"He's made his choice," said Cole. "The only thing turning back would do is lose two shuttles instead of one. How soon to the wormhole?"

"Forty-five seconds," said Christine.

"Stay on course, and put the
Quentin
on the main screen."

They never saw the Teroni ship; it was still too far away. But one second the
Quentin
was racing for the Nebout IX moon, and the next second there was a blinding flash of light, and then the area was riddled with the debris of the shuttle.