Rumors of Salvation (System States Rebellion Book 3) (8 page)

“Well,
let’s see if we can make those rumors a reality. What do you think Trojan or
should I say Majestic will do when your ship becomes overdue? Will it send
another ship or two here?” asked Murphy.

“I’m
convinced of it. Majestic won’t be able to ignore the possibility that
Tigershark found the Brain Trust and was destroyed or captured. Taking into
consideration the other planets on our target list, we won’t be due back at
Hadley for another…17 weeks. If Majestic sends another ship here as soon as
we’re overdue, it’ll get here almost 8 weeks after that, so we’ve got at least
half a year.”

“Okay.
We can have all the refined metal we need to build our second ship by then.
When we get close to that point, I’ll order the mining operation on the moon
shut down. When Majestic’s reinforcements get here, there’s a good chance that
they won’t notice anything unusual and will assume that your ship ran into
trouble at another location. Since your ship is too big to fly down into the
volcano, you’ll have to hide it somewhere else. You asked me earlier if I
wanted you to attack Hadley again. I don’t, but an attack on Makassar would
certainly make an impact. That was going to be our next target when Sorcerer’s
missile load was replenished, but that’ll be a while yet. Can you hit Makassar
without tipping the Empire off that’s it’s your supposedly destroyed ship?”

“Yeah,
we can do that, but we’re low on consumables. Can you resupply us before we
head for Makassar?”

Murphy
wanted to say no. Sorcerer and the Base were buying food and other supplies
from the Midgardians with FED currency left over from the first covert
operation, but there was a limit to the currency they had. Now that Earth was
conquered, some Midgardians were starting to question whether FED currency was
still worth taking. If he used some of it to replenish Tigershark, there’d be
less available for his own ships. On the other hand, her ship wouldn’t be going
anywhere if they didn’t have enough food, etc. to last that long.”

“Our
logistical resources are limited, but I think we can spare enough to get you to
Makassar and back.”

After
hesitating for a couple of seconds, Molitor said, “If we time it right, the
attack on Makassar could take place AFTER Majestic’s reinforcements leave
Hadley to come here. That way there’ll be less chance of Tigershark running into
other Empire ships during the attack.”

Murphy
suddenly had an idea. “You can take that line of thinking one step further.
What if you take Tigershark to the other planets on your list, make sure your
ship is detected by the locals who will report to the follow-up fleet that a
warship did look them over, and after leaving those false clues, head for
Makassar, arriving after the reinforcement fleet is likely to leave. That way
the reinforcement fleet will be chasing its tail for months before they report
back that Tigershark has disappeared without a trace and that the Brain Trust
is nowhere to be found. Let Majestic chew on that mystery for a while.”

Molitor
grinned. “I love it. If you can give us enough supplies to get to our next
destination, we can take care of our logistical needs ourselves from there on.”

Murphy
smiled back at her. He was beginning to like her in a strictly professional
way. He still felt the loss of his beloved Cate. “Very good. Let’s go somewhere
less gruesome and work out the details.”

Day
344/2553

Zanzibar

Murphy
waited impatiently for Sorcerer to settle down on Zanzibar’s rudimentary
spaceport. As soon as the ship landed, the boarding ramp lowered, and Murphy
quickly walked down to greet the local leaders he had briefly talked to by
radio on the way in. There were half a dozen individuals, and the woman
standing in front seemed to be their spokesperson. Before Murphy had a chance
to ask anything, she spoke first.

“Are
you Empire, or Federation, or what?” Her voice had an undertone of suspicion
and hostility.

“My
ship is part of an anti-Empire force composed of former Federation and SSU
personnel. I personally used to be an SSU naval officer. My name is Bret
Murphy.”

“Let
me guess why you’re here, Murphy. You heard there was an SSU research project
going on here, right?”

So much for being subtle,
he thought to himself
before responding. “Yes, if the R&D people have developed new military
technology, and if we can make use of it, our chances of overthrowing Emperor
Trojan and his demonic computer will go up tremendously. I know that project isn’t
here anymore, but if you can point me in the right direction, my ship and I
will be on our way.”

The
spokeswoman kept her skeptical expression as she looked around at the others to
get an idea of how they felt. Murphy watched carefully. No one said a word.
Communication was strictly non-verbal. With a consensus apparently achieved,
she turned back to him.

“We’ll
tell you the same thing we’ve told every other ship that came here and asked
that question. The only information we got as the R&D people prepared to
leave was that they were headed for Freiland.”

As
Murphy listened to her, he noticed a young woman standing about 150 meters
behind the group, watching the verbal exchange. None of the other colonists
were anywhere to be seen.
Nobody seems to give a damn about a ship landing
except this group and that single woman.
He tried to get a good look at her
expression, but the distance made it difficult to be certain. Was that
disappointment on her face?

Realizing
that the spokeswoman was now waiting for his response, he said, “I can tell you
with certainty that the R&D people did NOT go to Freiland. They spread
those rumors to throw any Federation ships off the scent.” He paused and
stepped closer. In a lower, more conspiratorial voice he said, “I have to believe
that whoever was in charge of the evacuation would have left instructions with
you people on how to handle contact with any remaining SSU ships that might
arrive after the evacuation. What do I have to do or say that will convince you
I’m not an enemy?” When the spokeswoman didn’t bat an eye, Murphy knew he was
on to something.

“You
have to understand that we’re confused about what’s going on out there. We
don’t want to get into any trouble here. Zanzibar is a peaceful planet, and we
just want to carry on with our lives. When you people finish playing war and
settle who’s in charge, just let us know and we’ll co-operate. You say you were
an SSU naval officer. That’s an easy claim to make. Can you prove it? What can
you tell us that an SSU naval officer would know but a Federation or Empire
naval officer wouldn’t?”

That
was a tough question. Offhand he couldn’t think of anything that only an SSU
officer would know. He shrugged. “Nothing specific comes to mind, so I’ll tell
you about myself, and maybe something I say will fit that criteria. When the
SSU’s existence was discovered, I was on Earth. I resigned my commission but
couldn’t get passage to any SSU planet. My future wife, Cate Foster, an Army
officer assigned to Trojan’s planning staff, elected to stay behind as an SSU
spy. I eventually became part of a prisoner exchange and ended up on Sparta
where I helped set up a communication system to keep in touch with Cate. She
was able to smuggle out information about the FED’s Oracle planning computer system
before she had to run for it. She was evacuated by an officer named Roland
Drake.” He was about to say more when he noticed that one of the group had just
nudged the spokeswoman’s arm.

“You
know Drake?” asked the spokeswoman in a carefully neutral voice.

“I
got to know him pretty well. Both of us were together during the prisoner
exchange. My wife knew him pretty well too. She died on Sparta when the Empire
landed troops there. I almost died on Midgard.” As he spoke he undid his
uniform jacket and shirt to show them the scars from the wounds he received
after being shot by an Empire trooper.”

“If
you knew him that well, you would know the name of the woman that he loved who
was a Federation naval officer,” said the spokeswoman in the same neutral voice.
Murphy knew this was a crucial test. If he could answer it correctly, he might
get the information he was looking for.

“I
remember him talking about her, but it was years ago, and I’m not sure I
remember her name. Her last name began with an R; I remember that much. First
name started with an L. Loretta? No, that’s not it. Ah…Lorelei! Yes, that much
I’m sure of because it’s not a common name, and I made a point of remembering
it in case I ever met her.”

“Lorelei
Remington?” said the spokeswoman. Murphy snapped his fingers.

“Remington
yes! That’s it. How do you know that name?”

“She
was here. She commanded the first Federation ship to come here after the fall
of Sparta. It sounded as though she wanted to find Drake. We told her about
Freiland, but we know…,” she turned to look at the woman still standing behind
them, “that Lorelei didn’t go to Freiland. We think she went to Vril.”

“So
the R&D people were evacuated to Vril?”

The
spokeswoman shrugged. “If they didn’t go to Freiland, then we really don’t know
where they went. I’m just saying that this Remington woman apparently thought
that Drake was or had been on Vril.”

There
was something in her tone that told him she either didn’t know anything else or
wasn’t going to reveal anything else. Drake had clearly taken precautions
against making his trail too easy to follow, although Murphy had the impression
that Drake had left enough clues so that Remington could find him. He thanked
the group and boarded the ship. Detouring to Vril would mean that Sorcerer
would not make it back to Midgard before the Tigershark, but that couldn’t be
helped. Finding a way to get a message to the Brain Trust was his number one
priority now.

The
trip to Vril seemed to take forever. As Sorcerer was descending through the
cloud cover, Murphy looked at the colony on the main display. It seemed to
consist mostly of farms, far more so than your typical relatively new colony.
If the Brain Trust was moved to a temporary location before moving on to their
final destination, then it made sense that they would come to a colony like
this to stock up on food and agricultural equipment for their own future use.

By
the time the ship had touched down and the ramp was lowered, there was already
a small but growing group of locals standing nearby. Murphy looked at their
expressions as he slowly made his way down the ramp. The general reaction to
his ship’s presence seemed to be apprehension. There was an older man with lots
of white hair standing at the front. Murphy was willing to bet he was the
Colony Leader.

Before
Murphy had a chance to speak, the older man beat him to it. “What side are you
on, Commander, Federation, Empire or Rebel?” It was a good question, and Murphy
didn’t quite know how to answer it. He definitely wasn’t fighting for the
Empire, and he wasn’t really fighting FOR the Federation, and the SSU was now
just a pipedream.

“The
answer to that question is actually kind of complicated, but I’ll answer it
this way. I consider the Empire to be the greatest threat to Human Civilization
that has ever existed. I’m helping what’s left of the Federation to defeat the
Empire, but my heart is still with the principles that the SSU stood for. Does
that answer your question?”

The
Colony Leader thought that over carefully before replying. “I suppose it’ll
have to do. We haven’t had any news about the war in a long time. What’s been
happening out there?”

By
this time, Murphy was standing half a meter from the Colony Leader. With that
question asked, the others began to gather around.

“My
knowledge is limited, but what I can tell you is that the SSU has been
conquered by the Empire. Earth has also been attacked and is now under Empire
control. My ship and I are part of a small resistance operation that includes
people from both the Federation and the SSU. We’ve all agreed that the Empire
is the greater threat now. That’s why I’m here. I know that an SSU officer by
the name of Drake brought scientists, engineers and their families here before
taking them somewhere else. If they’ve developed breakthrough technologies,
then we need to combine forces to exploit that technology in order to have any
decent chance of overthrowing the Empire.”

The
Colony Leader smiled a sad smile. “If you were hoping we could tell you where
they went, you’re going to be disappointed. We don’t know where they ended up.”

“Surely
some of them must have said something,” said Murphy.

“We
didn’t hear a word about that for the simple reason that they didn’t know
exactly where they were going to set up a new colony when they left here. What
we did hear was that they thought they MIGHT explore the Murisaki Cluster, but
no final decision had been made by the time they left.”

Murphy
struggled to contain his disappointment. He knew enough about astronomy and
astrogation to know that the Murisaki Cluster was a long way away and contained
in excess of a thousand stars. Assuming that the Brain Trust did relocate there
and that this ‘hint’ wasn’t just another attempt at misdirection, finding that
colony would be like looking for the proverbial needle in a very large
haystack.

“Have
they been back here since they left?” asked Murphy on an impulse. The Colony
Leader’s body language changed immediately. He was no longer looking relaxed.
As he looked over to the man next to him, Murphy had another inspiration. “I’d
like to talk to Lorelei Remington. I know she came here.”

The
Colony Leader’s expression now flashed a hint of alarm. Murphy had guessed
correctly. “She doesn’t want to talk with anyone, Commander.”

The
speed of the response surprised Murphy. “She’s no longer on Vril, is she?” His
tone said that it wasn’t really a question.

The
Colony Leader’s face now took on a carefully neutral expression. “We can’t help
you, Commander. It isn’t that we don’t want to help, we’re simply not able to
help you. We honestly don’t know where Drake took all those people.”

Oh, but you have helped me; you just don’t know it,
thought
Murphy. By evading his question about Remington’s whereabouts, the Colony
Leader had effectively confirmed Murphy’s suspicion that Drake’s people had
returned at least once and had taken Remington with them.

Murphy
smiled and patted the old man on his shoulder. “Okay, I’ll be on my way, but
before I go, I’m going to leave you with some information, just in case any of
Drake’s people come back here again. You tell them that the Empire is rapidly
consolidating its control over all occupied planets. You tell them that I’ve
personally seen evidence that the Majestic computer has the ability and the
will to turn humans into obedient slaves against their will. My people have the
ability to build warships, but we’re outnumbered. We need whatever breakthrough
technologies the Brain Trust might have developed, and we’re begging Drake to
contact us. He can find us on Midgard. Now listen carefully, Old Man. That last
part is for Drake’s people only. If anyone else comes here, even if they say
they’re fighting the Empire, don’t tell them about Midgard. The Empire doesn’t
know about our operation there, and that’s the way I want to keep it. I’m
taking a huge risk telling you about it, but I don’t see any other way of Drake
finding us. Any questions before I board ship?”

The
Colony Leader looked like he wanted to ask something, but shook his head
instead. Murphy turned and gently pushed his way through the crowd. When he
reached the top of the ramp, he turned and waved to the crowd. The Colony
Leader hesitated for half a second and then waved back. As Sorcerer ascended
into space, Murphy uttered a prayer to the Gods of War that his message would
reach Drake AND that Drake would take a chance and send a ship to Midgard.