Adapt and Overcome (The Maxwell Saga) (23 page)

Lieutenant Grunion ordered, “Command to Plot, designate that errant missile as Target One. I
know you can’t track it without its drive emissions, and it’s too far away for radar, but extend its last known course as a projected path. What’s the range to Target One’s last known position? Based on its projected path and ours, how close will it come to us and how long will it take to get there?”

“Plot to Command. Range to Target One’s last known position is niner seven million kilometers, I say again, ninety-seven million kilometers. If it maintains its base course and coasts at its last recorded velocity of one-third Cee, it’ll cross
the convoy’s path in… approximately sixteen minutes, at a closest approach of seven hundred thousand kilometers.”

Fran swung to look at Teacher. “Sir, Target One has a live warhead. It’s capable of homing on a random target using its own sensors, and may have enough reactor fuel to restart its gravitic drive for terminal maneuvers if it acquires a new target. Request permission to change course and activate defensive weapons.”

Teacher didn’t hesitate. “We can’t change course without clearance from Exercise Control, but go ahead and ask them, and activate defensive weapons. Do you want me to take over?”

“Negative, Sir. I think we can deal with this.”

“Go ahead.”

She swung back to the OpCen. “Command to Weapons, bring all defensive, I say again,
defensive
missiles to the action state. Power up the laser cannon. Activate the drone and launch it when ready. Break. Command to Communications, all signals Flash priority. Ask Exercise Control’s permission for the convoy to change course to evade an errant missile. Alert the other escorts and order them to assume close-in point defense formation. Break. Command to Plot, what’s the best position for the drone?”

Steve’s fingers flew over his keyboard. The ship’s capacitor bank had kept all its weapons ‘warmed up’, with their basic operating systems active, but that was a long way from readiness for immediate action. No live weapons were normally kept in the action state during exercises, for reasons of safety. He drew on the ship’s reactor for a surge of power, activating the micro-reactors in each of the ship’s twenty defensive missiles and its drone and bringing all of their systems online.

The Plot Officer called, “Plot to Command, recommend sending the drone out as far as possible straight ahead of us. It won’t have time to move far, but its sensors will still be that much nearer to Target One than ours, and we can use its electronic warfare systems to decoy it if necessary. Also, if we use its radar we don’t have to broadcast from our own antennae, so the missile is less likely to pick us up and target us.”

“Command to Plot, concur. Break. Command to Weapons, make it so.”

“Aye aye, Ma’am.”

Steve waited a few seconds until the drone’s system checks were complete and a green light illuminated on his console, then stabbed with his finger at the ‘Launch’ button. They all felt the slight jerk through the hull as the three-hundred-ton electronic warfare and decoy drone dropped from its housing next to the keel and accelerated away. Almost at once an icon appeared on the Plot to indicate its position.

Steve continued to issue commands to the drone through a tight-beam relay as he said, “Weapons to Command, drone launched. I suggest we instruct it to simulate the gravitic drive signature of one of the merchant ships, and shut down our own drive and order all the ships in convoy to do the same, so that the drone will be the only drive signature that Target One can track.”

“Command to Weapons, good idea.
Do it. Break. Command to Communications, make it so.”

“Communications to Command, aye aye, Ma’am.”

The candidate at that console tapped at her keyboard, sending a flash priority message to all the ships in company. Within a minute all of them had shut down their drives and were coasting through space. The patrol craft used their reaction thrusters to tighten their point-defense formation around the freighters, defensive missiles and laser cannon ready. The latter would be used for close-range defense if the missiles failed to intercept the intruder.

Steve
sent instructions to the drone to modify its drive signature, then watched his console until the ‘missile ready’ lights began to blink from red to green. “Weapons to Command. Defensive missiles coming online. No target indicated on the Plot as yet.”

Fran nodded.
“Command to Weapons, thank you. For your information, I do not intend to fire unless and until we have a verified target.”

“Weapons to Command, understood
, Ma’am.”

Steve knew Fran had made the logical, reasonable call. A defensive missile was a
n ultra-high-performance spacecraft in its own right, and very expensive. The twenty main battery and twenty defensive missiles aboard the patrol craft had cost more, in aggregate, than the ship itself. To launch some of them when it was still not known whether they’d be needed would be potentially wasteful. Nevertheless, his skin crawled at the knowledge that a nuclear-tipped main battery missile was approaching. In Fran’s shoes, he’d have ignored the cost and sent out a couple of missiles to fly in formation alongside the drone, that much closer to a potential target in case of need.

“Command to Communications, what’s the word from Exercise Control on that course change?”

“Communications to Command, no response yet, Ma’am.”

They waited tensely as the icon representing the drone pulled more than twenty thousand kilometers ahead of the patrol craft. Suddenly the Plot lit up with a new icon. The Plot Officer
called, “Target One reacquired! Its drive has restarted. Range from drone nine hundred thousand kilometers, speed one-third Cee, trajectory – hell, it’s turning! It’s coming around to head for the drone!”

“Command to Weapons,
kill it!
Weapons free!”

Steve
was already tapping at his console’s keyboard, passing guidance information from the Plot to the missiles’ electronic brains. He pressed the ‘Fire’ key twice. Despite its fifteen-thousand-ton bulk, the hull shuddered twice as a missile was ejected from its vertical-launch tube by mass drivers that momentarily red-lined the capacitor ring and reactor with their sudden demand for power. The missiles’ gravitic drives kicked in as soon as they were far enough above the hull to be clear of the ship’s own drive field. They turned sharply towards Target One and streaked away under thousands of gravities of acceleration. The first missile headed for the earliest possible interception point, while the other aimed for a backup point closer to the drone in case the first missed.

F
our hundred thousand kilometers from the ship, the track of the first missile converged on Target One as it struggled to slow itself and turn back towards the drone. Its thermonuclear warhead made a starburst pattern on the Plot display as the defensive missile detonated within a few score meters of Target One, whose fusion reactor instantly added to the nuclear bloom as its fail-safes were destroyed. A cheer ran around the OpCen.

“Weapons to Command, Target One destroyed.”

“Command to Weapons, nice shooting!”

A few seconds later the remaining missile, deprived of
its target, automatically self-destructed. The blast reduced it to its component atoms, removing any hazard to navigation that might otherwise be posed by a drifting missile.

“Weapons to Command,
second defensive missile has self-destructed.”

“Command to Weapons,
very good. Recover the drone. Break. Command to Communications. Tell the convoy that the danger’s over, and advise everyone to restart their gravitic drives. Convoy is to resume course and speed, escorts are to resume screening formation.”

There was a bustle of activity as Fran directed the reorganization of the convoy. Steve ordered the drone to return to the ship, brought it in beneath the hull, and let the automated docking system draw it into its bay and close the door. He reported, “Weapons to Command, the drone has been secured, Ma’am.”

“Command to Weapons, thank you.”

Teacher had observed everything from the observer’s chair behind the Command console, saying nothing. As soon as the convoy had been reformed and was safely under way once more, he rose to his feet. The
candidates all looked at him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, that wasn’t on the agenda for today, but you handled it very well indeed. I think we can safely call it the cherry on top of this particular exercise – a graduation exercise, if you like. Congratulations to all of you. As far as the Crusher is concerned, you are no longer
candidates
for command, but
qualified
for command.”

A rumble of tired, happy appreciation ran around the OpCen. Steve flopped back in his seat, feeling a wave of exhilaration pass through him even as his body complained bitterly about the tension of the past hour on top of the exhaustion of the preceding week – of the entire course, for that matter.
I did it!,
he thought exultantly to himself.
Next stop, Lancaster – and, in a week, Abha will be here!

She emerged through the exit portal of the Elevator, pulling a large wheeled suitcase. Her head was up, her eyes bright as she looked around eagerly. Watching from beside a pillar near the portal, Steve felt as if his heart had leaped into his throat, leaving him almost unable to breathe. Heart pounding, he stepped forward and waved, and Abha saw him. She broke into a run, face alight with joy, dropped the handle of her suitcase, and threw herself into his arms.

What seemed like an eternity later he reluctantly unlocked his lips from hers, took a deep breath, and whispered, “I’ve missed you.”

“Mmm… I missed you too, and now I don’t have to miss you
anymore. What’s more, I have
plans
for you.” Her teasing tone and hips pressed against his added unmistakably erotic implications to the word, sending a shiver down Steve’s spine. “Did you come in your truck?”

“No
. Parking here’s too much trouble, so I took a robocab.”

“Then let’s take another one! The sooner we get some privacy, the sooner I can
answer your lovely message!”

He
felt a thrill of excitement. She’d hardly call it a ‘lovely’ message if she planned to reject his proposal.

He
retrieved her suitcase, and led her past the entrance to the underground mag-lev commuter station and up the escalators to the nearest exit. There was a line of people at the robocab rank, sheltering from a light rain beneath a long translucent awning. They waited in silence, holding tightly to each other, until those before them had taken vehicles. As the next cab pulled up, Steve loaded her case into the luggage compartment, then joined her in the passenger section.

“
What is your destination, please?” The autopilot had a friendly feminine voice.

Steve gave his address, which the autopilot confirmed by showing it on a map display in front of them, and waved his credit chip over a reader.

“Approved. Would you like conversation or music while we drive?”

“Privacy, please.”

“Privacy noted. We are departing now.”

The
robocab immediately darkened the windows, preventing others from looking inside. The autopilot waited for a gap in the traffic, then pulled smoothly out of the rank onto the road. Abha snuggled into Steve’s arms for another endless kiss that left both of them aching and eager for more.

“You made me cry,” she murmured, looking up at him, the light in her eyes so bright it awed him.

“I’m sorry – how?”

“Silly! They were happy tears, not sad ones. If you pour your heart out like that in a message, you can’t expect me to get it without reacting. You said something I hadn’t been able to put into words for myself until then. I heard about my medal before I got your message, and like you, it didn’t do much for me. It should have – everyone was congratulating me and being very
nice – but I was getting more and more irritated. Even the thought of our prize money wasn’t doing anything for me anymore. It didn’t make sense, until you said that you didn’t want the medal, or the prize money, or anything else – you wanted me. That’s when I knew I wanted you in exactly the same way. You’re the most important thing in my life now. Everything and everyone else comes second.” She fell silent for a moment, looking deep into his eyes. “That’s scary, you know. I’ve never felt that way about anyone before.”

He nodded. “It scared me too. I was afraid to tell you how I was feeling. I mean… we had
a few dates before I left Lancaster, and a few more snatched evenings of privacy together on Rolla. It made no sense at all to be this head-over-heels in love with you after so little time together, but I am. I couldn’t deny it to myself any longer. I was scared I’d drive you away by speaking too soon, but I figured I had to be honest with you.”

She nestled her head on his shoulder. “I needed to hear it from you before I could realize what I was feeling; but now I know I’m just as much in love with you as you are with me.
I liked what you said about having a hole in your life shaped like me. I had one shaped like you, too, but you filled it even before I realized it was there.” She reached up to his lips with hers and kissed him again.

As they reluctantly drew apart to breathe, he said softly, “I was hoping you’d say something like that.
So…
will
you marry me?”

“Of course I will! There’s no way I’m going to let you get away from me!” She kissed him again. “I do have a couple of questions.
Can you handle a wife who’s going to spend the best part of a decade studying very hard, including internships at hospital that will disrupt her time at home very badly? After that, in practice or as a resident, I’ll be working just as hard. Pod gestation means we can have a family easily enough – and I
want
to bear your children! – but we’ll have to hire professional help to look after our kids while I study and work. Can you cope with that?”

“I can deal with that, if you can deal with a husband who’s an active-service officer. I’ll have two-year commissions aboard ships, far from home, interspersed with administrative and training assignments planetside. Will you be able to do without me for that long?”

“I think so. After all, I’m a serving officer myself, and expected to be one for many years to come, until this prize money windfall made medical studies possible for me. I always thought
I’d
have to find a husband who wouldn’t mind
me
being away from home for two-year assignments. I figured I’d have to marry another Fleet officer, because he’d understand that, and we could bear with each other’s absences.” She hesitated a moment. “That’s another point. I love you dearly, but… we’re both leaders, both strong people. Can we get along together without one of us trying to rule the roost and boss the other around?”

“We haven’t had that problem yet, have we?”

“No.”

“Then we’ll just have to work at it – make sure we find ways and means to get along. Sure, there may be friction now and then, but if we each put the other person first, and leave our pride out of the equation, we’ll work it out.”

She smiled mischievously, eyes twinkling. “I can think of one very good way to deal with friction. It involves a different kind of friction.”

He tried
to look innocent. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Of
course
you don’t!” She tickled his ribs, and he squeaked as he jerked upright.

All too soon, it seemed – although the journey from the Terminal to Steve’s apartment had taken forty minutes – the robocab announced, “We are arriving at your destination.” It pulled into a taxi space at the roadside. Steve unloaded Abha’s suitcase, then they walked into the lobby hand-in-hand and took the elevator to his apartment.

Abha looked around his living-room. “This is nice – and so
clean!”
She grinned at him. “Anyone would think you’ve been trying to get it ready for a special guest.”

He blushed. “Er… yeah, you might say that. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?”

She shook her head, smiling. “No, silly!” She glided closer and slid into his embrace, pressing herself tightly against him.

He held her close. “The ancient marriage vow went, ‘
With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow’. I haven’t bought you the ring yet, but all the rest is a given. As far as I’m concerned, we’re married as of now, darling – and this is the start of our honeymoon.”

“And that goes for me, too – so what are we waiting for?”

~ ~ ~

They didn’t leave the apartment for two days. They ignored messages on their comm
units, left their mail queues untended, and shut out the entire world, lost in each other. They loved, talked, showered, ate, and loved again.

At last, late on the second afternoon, he said reluctantly, “I guess we’ve got to get back to reality, if only because we’re running out of fresh food!”

She giggled. “That’s your fault. You should have provided more emergency rations!”

“Oh, I have some, but they taste like what they are – emergency rations, not real food. Care to come shopping with me? There’s a fine foods store down the road.
I prefer going there to ordering a delivery.”

“You mean I’ve got to put clothes on?”

“Well, I think you’re utterly beautiful naked, but I’d rather keep you to myself when you’re like that. Besides, it might shock the neighbors.”

She stuck out her tongue at him, and he tickled her…
which led to another mutually enjoyable interlude before they showered – again – and put on casual clothes.

As he was about to open the door, she stopped him, nestling into his arms. “You’re scaring me again, making me feel like this,” she said softly, looking up at him. “I don’t want to go out, because that means I have to share you with other people. I want you all to myself.”

He choked up as he hugged her. “I… I don’t know what to say, except that I feel that way about you, too.”

She nodded. “We haven’t spoken of any sort of ceremony yet. I was raised as a Hindu, although I
don’t practice it much. Losing my parents like that, and everything that followed, made me think nasty thoughts about anything or anyone ‘up there’. Besides, there aren’t many temples near the military bases where I’ve lived. Still, I’d like to have a Hindu ceremony to honor my parents and my roots. That’s important in our culture. Do you have a religious ritual you’d like to observe?”

“My parents were Reformed Catholic, and I was raised in a Church orphanage, but I haven’t practiced it in years. I’m not sure there’s any reality to religion, but I’m not sure there isn’t, either! We’ll sign the usual legal contract, of course, but over and above that, I’ll do whatever you want, darling.”

“Thanks. I think we should have a Christian ceremony, too, for your parents’ sake. If I’m going to honor the tradition in which I was raised, you should, too – and we probably need to think about how we want to handle that side of our lives together. I’d like to have some sort of formal ceremony as soon as possible, to mark the change for both of us. Brooks and the instructors will be here next week. Do you think we could hold a military wedding after they all get back from leave?”

“We’ll have a week together preparing for the next part of the mission before we leave for Rolla. I’ll see if a chaplain is available through the Service Corps during that time – perhaps two of them, one Hindu,
one Christian. I’d like Brooks to be my best man.”

“Of course
. I’m going to ask Carol to be my bridesmaid. Other than her and a few Marine friends, I don’t have anyone I really want to invite. And you?”

“Just a few people – maybe a dozen, all told. We’ll make it small and intimate. By the way, I found a very good jeweler’s shop in town while I was waiting for you to arrive. May I take you there tomorrow? I want you to have a really nice engagement ring, even if you won’t be able to wear it in uniform.”

“Thanks, darling. I’d love one – and I’ll wear it, even in uniform. I’ll get a chain to go with it, a long one, so I can hang it between my breasts under my uniform shirt.”

~ ~ ~

Later that night he took an object from his safe, wrapped in a linen cloth. He brought it back to the sofa and sat down next to Abha.

“It’s time I told you about something that’s been a burden to me for more than a decade. I can’t stress too strongly that this is
utterly
secret, strictly between the two of us. No-one else in the world knows I have this, and no-one else must ever learn about it. It’s literally a matter of life or death. I need you to know about it before we’re married, in case it makes you hesitate.”

She looked up at him, eyebrows raised. “
It sounds terribly ominous. What is it?”

“
Take a look, then I’ll tell you about it.” He handed her the package.

She turned back the folds of cloth, revealing a wooden knife scabbard from which rose a stone hilt. Frowning, she drew the knife.

“The whole thing’s made of stone, even the blade.”

“Yes. That’s white jade, the sort they call ‘mutton-fat’ jade.”

She turned the knife over and over in her hands, examining it closely. “This is obviously for decoration rather than use – it’s pretty blunt. It looks very old, too. There are nicks out of the edge of the blade, and several cracks. This one runs more than halfway up the blade from the edge. It must be quite fragile.”

“Right on all counts.
It’s a ceremonial knife. It’s also extremely valuable. The last I heard, there was a reward offered for it of ten thousand
taels
in gold - that’s about twelve and a half million Lancastrian Commonwealth credits. The reward may be higher by now.”

She gasped. “That’s
incredible! Why don’t you hand it over and claim the reward?”

“Because to do so in the wrong way would be an instant death sentence for me.
It’s a hell of a story. Let me start at the beginning.”