Part 79 (1/2)

271.

That was all. She was now more than acting captain: she had command of a wars.h.i.+p about to fight an alien fleet. This is impossible, she thought, touching the b.u.t.ton that set red lights flas.h.i.+ng throughout the s.h.i.+p. She punched the s.h.i.+p's intercom.

”Ensign Timran to the bridge.” And, off intercom, to Bures, ”Get one of Sa.s.sinak's spare uniforms from her quarters and whatever else she might need. Get it up to Flight Two, fast.”

More orders to give, evicting the Insystem Security monitor teams that had the weapons locked down, to Engineering to bring up the drives.

”Ensign Timran reporting, ma'am!”

He was very quick or he'd been lurking in the pa.s.sage outside. She hoped he would be both quick and lucky with the shuttle.

”Report to Flight Deck Two. You'll be taking a small unit to the surface.”

The admiral had said nothing about an escort, but whatever had happened to Sa.s.sinak, a few Wefts and marines couldn't make things worse. When she looked at Currald he nodded.

”Ten should do it,” he said. ”Leave room for her and that Aygar, coming back.” He picked up another comset and called his own adjutant.

”Yes, ma'am!” said Tim, eyes gleaming. ”Do I have permission . . . ?”

”You have permission to do whatever is necessary to a.s.sist Commander Sa.s.sinak and get her safely ofiplanet at her command. Bures will have some things for you to take. Check with him.”

He saluted and was off at a run. She hoped she'd done the right thing. Whatever had happened to Sa.s.sinak, if she was still alive, she would think she had a cruiser waiting for her. And now we're leaving-I'm leaving, taking her s.h.i.+p, leaving her nothing but a shuttle.

Arly couldn't believe this was happening, not so fast, but it was. Through her disbelief, she heard her own voice giving orders in the same calm, steady tone she'd cultivated for years. Longscans on, undockmg procedures to begin immediately, two junior Weft officers to 272.

report to Flight Two. A loud squawk from the Station Dockmaster, demanding to know why the Zaid-Dayan was beginning undock without permission.

”Orders of Admiral Coromell,” said Arly. Should she tell them about the Seti fleet? ”We'll be releasing one planetary shuttle.”

”You can't do that!”

”We're releasing one planetary shuttle,” she went on, as if she had not heard, ”and request navigational a.s.sistance to clear your Station without damage.” She punched the all-s.h.i.+p intercom and said, ”Ensign Gori to the bridge.”

”But our scans are showing live weapons ...”

That voice abruptly stopped, and an Insystems Security Force uniform appeared on one of the viewscreens.

”You are in violation of regulations. You are requested to cease and desist, or measures will be taken ...”

”Ensign Gori reporting, ma'am.”

Not as quick as Tim, but eager in his own way.

”Ensign, the cap-Commander Sa.s.sinak said you knew regulations forwards and backwards.” He didn't answer, but he didn't look worried, either. ”You will discuss regulations with Insystems Security. We are withdrawing under threat of enemy attack, at the orders of a higher officer not in our direct chain of command.” Gori's lace brightened and his mouth opened. Arly pushed him toward one of the working boards, and said, ”Don't tell me, tell him.”

Yet another screen showed Flight Two, with the hatch closing on one of the shuttles. As the launch hatch opened, the elevator began raising the shuttle. Arly could just see some part of the Station through the open hatch.

”. . . no authorization for such deliberate violation,” the Insystem voice droned on. ”Return to inactive status at once or regulations will require that force be used.”

Arly's temper flared. ”You have a hostile Seti fleet incoming,” she said slowly, biting off” each word. ”You have traitors letting them past the defenses. Don't threaten me. So far I haven't hurt the Station.”

273.

Perhaps not all the Insystem Security were in the plot. This one looked as if he'd just been slugged.

”But. . . but there's no evidence. None of the detector nets have gone off. .

”Maybe someone's got his finger on the buzzer.”

The shuttle cleared the Zaid-Dayans hull, and disappeared. Arly sent a silent prayer after it.

”If I were you, I'd start looking at the systems with redundancies.”

By now, the Zaid-Dayan's own powerful scans were unlocked. Nothing would show, yet. The enemy was too far out. Arly glanced around and saw that the regular bridge crew was now in place. It felt very strange to be in Sa.s.sinak's place, while Tenant Yulyin sat at ”Tier” board, and stranger to see that board mostly dark, after a's.h.i.+p's alert. She pointed to Gori, who transferred the Insystems Security channel to his board.

”Ensign Gori will stay in contact with you.”

”Fleet Regulations, Volume 21, article 14, grants authorization to commanding officers of vessels on temporary duty away from normal Sector a.s.signment ...” Gori sounded confident, and as smooth as any diplomat.

Arly left him to it. The combination of a surprise Seti fleet and Gori's zeal for regulations should keep trigger-happy fingers off the b.u.t.tons until they could get away and raise s.h.i.+elds.

”Docking bay secure, Captain!”

Arly nodded to Engineering. Critical as the situation was, she could not justify destroying the Station to jump-start the Zaid-Dayan and bringing the insystem drive up was a delicate operation. Centimeter by centimeter they eased away from the Station, adding just enough thrust at first to let rotational inertia begin their outward spiral.

”Weapons still locked down,” Yulyin reported, at the two-minute tick.

”Right. Sa.s.sinak and I did some fancy stuff” that should unkink by the time we can use them-” She wondered if this Ssli and that distant one were still in contact. And what was Dupaynil doing there? No time for that, though: her weapons had to come first.

274 McCajfrey and Moon She keyed in the code Sa.s.sinak had left with her, the captain's access to the command computers, the master controls of all weaponry. Then she explained what they'd done, and as quickly crew and marines began scurrying around the s.h.i.+p to restore it to fall fighting capability. One hundred kilometers from the Station, Arly notched up the insystem drive.

So far, if the invaders were getting scan on her, she would look predictable. A rising spiral, the usual departure of a large s.h.i.+p from anything as ma.s.sive as a planet. Then she engaged the stealth gear, and the Zaid-Dayan pa.s.sed into darkness and silence, an owl hunting across the night.

FedCentral: Fleet Headquarters Coromell swung to face Lunzie. ”I never thought of that My mind must be slowing!”

”What?” Lunzie hadn't heard what Arly said, had only seen its effect in the changes on Coromell's face.

”A Seti fleet, inbound-” He told her the rest, and began linking it to what they'd learned elsewhere. ”This Iretan thing . . . you must have come very close to the bone somehow.”

”Unless they had it planned and we just showed up in the middle of it.”

”True. I keep forgetting you were sleeping away the past forty-three years. Like a time-bomb for them. Come to dunk of it, without the Iretan's trial, the Winter a.s.sizes were mostly commercial cases this time. And nothing coming up before Grand Council but a final vote on some financial rules affecting terraforming. Not my field: I don't know a stock from a bond.”