First Principles: Samair in Argos: Book 3 (46 page)

              Tamara smiled.  “All good then, boys?” she asked. 

              The screen blanked for a second and then the status screens returned.  Nasir appeared on the holo projector.  “The worm has been destroyed, Tamara.  Magnus and I have scoured the data files down to the smallest level, every single nook and cranny.  It’s been eradicated.”

              “And not a moment too soon,” she replied.  “There wasn’t much time left.”

              The lupusan AI shrugged.  “We had a little over an hour left.  An eternity of time to an AI, Tamara.  You should know that.”

              She chuckled.  “You’re right, I should have remembered.  Thank you for the very good work, Nasir.  And please make sure to thank Magnus for me.”

              “I’m not sure he’d want the thanks, Tamara,” Nasir confessed.  “I think he’d take it almost as an insult.  He’s primarily a security AI after all.  He’d say it was his duty to destroy threats like that.”

              “Well then, I hope that he continues to perform with such alacrity.”

              Nasir grunted, flicking his ears in amusement.  “I’m sure that he will, Tamara.  But I will tell him you are pleased with his performance.”

              “Please do.  I am very happy with the result.  Though if you’re not already…”

              “He and I are continuing to scan the data files.  We don’t need any surprises, though we are both confident that we got them all.”

              “Good,” she said.  “Keep checking, even after that time elapses.”

              “Of course.  I don’t want to lose those files any more than you do, Tamara.  Magnus and I have scrubbed each file, sanitizing them from the worm and we poisoned its ability to self-replicate.  Then it was just a matter of peeling away its defenses and ability to activate and then, well…”  He smiled wolfishly.

              “You killed it,” Tamara finished.  She gave a lazy salute.  “And I liked the little movie you two made for me to watch.  I hope you don’t mind, I kept a copy to show the engineering teams.  I think they’ll get a kick out of it.”

              Nasir shrugged.  “I think Magnus would say it was foolishness, but I also think he’d be lying.  Any chance to show what a fearsome warrior he is.”  Another flick of his ears.

              “Yes, that’s my impression of him as well.  But he
is
very good at his job.”

              “Of that I have seen ample proof.  Good work, keep it up.”

              Nasir spread his hands to the sides, bowing slightly and then vanished.

              Her comm panel beeped.  “Yes?”

              “Tamara, this is Galina on the bridge.  We’re receiving a signal from Koolidge on the mining station.  There’s the same light speed delay as always, so we can’t respond immediately.”

              She snorted.  If there was anything Tamara wished had been invented in the two and a half centuries she’d been trapped in hibernation aboard that damned escape pod it was a faster than light communication system.  As it was, she was forced to deal with the same realities of delays in communications across space. 

              “Send it through.”

              The display changed again, showing the middle-aged man’s face.  Koolidge was the mine supervisor aboard the station at the edge of the belt.  He had a huge grin on his face.  “Commander Samair!  Our latest survey bots have come back from asteroid number MJ2061167.  I sent a shuttle out to confirm and you’re not going to
believe
what it was that we found!”

              “This is Dessica Joon with ISC News.  An amazing turn of events here in Seylonique as the First Principles Corporation has just discovered a huge amount of the rare mineral gadolinium in the system’s asteroid belt.  As some of our viewers may know, gadolinium is a mineral that is used in the construction of hyperdrive systems.  The value of such a mineral is calculated in the hundreds of thousands of credits per gram and apparently the FP company miners have struck the mother lode.  We here at ISC News are trying to see if we can get a crew out to the station to confirm this amazing find but from the number of reports that have been received at the Orbital One station today, I don’t think there can be any doubt.  The question that everyone is asking now is: How long can this string of victories run?  It’s coming up aces for First Principles and everyone is trying to get themselves a piece of the action.”

              “Market trading in the mining industry has risen to unprecedented levels today, in response to FP’s discovery…”

              “Unbelievable,” Commodore McConnell muttered to herself as the news broadcasts continued on her display.  “How stars-damned lucky can one company possibly get?”  On the very eve of
Horus’s
departure from this system, FP Inc had discovered a huge vein of gadolinium in the asteroid belt, a rock nearly a kilometer long with a vein consisting of nearly a third of the total mass.  The FP reps were over the moon about this find, of course and they should be.  The monetary value of that find was in the millions of credits, no
hundreds
of millions, more likely even in the billions.  In less than a day, FP had gone from one of the biggest companies in the system to rivaling the monetary power of the
entire
star system. 

              “And of course they’re going to be sending out survey probes to the rest of the nearby rocks in the belt,” Theodosia muttered to herself.  “A find like that?  More than likely there’s more than one rock with minerals they can use.  Damn them.”

              Her comm panel beeped.  She pressed a control, muting the news.  “Yes?”

              “Ma’am, we just received clearance to depart,” Brianne’s voice sounded crisp and professional.  She, like many of the officers, was long past ready to leave this place. 

              “Excellent,” she said, hauling herself out of her desk chair and hobbling to the door.  Her legs were getting stronger every day.  Pulling up her HUD, she thought-clicked an icon which transferred the call from her desk comp to her implants.  “I’m on my way up.  I’m sure you’ve had everything ready to go?”  She was out of her stateroom and walking down the corridor now.

              “Of course, ma’am,” Brianne replied, a hint of a smirk on her rocky face.  “Kept the engines hot for the last few hours, ever since we got back in from that last shakedown.  All the supplies are loaded and all crew is back on board.”

              “Good,” she said, stepping on to the bridge.  The crew looked her way then quickly went back to what they were doing.  She’d done away with the “Commodore’s on the bridge” nonsense.  Yes, it was a part of life in the Navy, a sign of respect shown to senior officers, but it had a tendency to distract the various crewmembers there and she’d been happier just to do without.  A blink and the call ended.  Making her way to her command seat on the very cramped bridge, she plopped into it, marveling that her legs had managed the very short journey without so much as a twinge or a wobble.  She might be nearly ready to do away with the blasted cane.

              Pulling up her displays, McConnell checked things over and nodded.  “Looking good.  Any word yet from the FP people about the data files?”

              Brianne frowned.  “No, ma’am.  Not even so much as a peep.  I’m not sure what that means, exactly.  Did the worm destroy the files and they’re pouting?  Did it fail to activate?  Did they destroy the worm?”

              “All very good questions, Commander,” McConnell replied, feeling a frown cross her face as well.  “They haven’t delayed us or anything, though the way Samair has repositioned some of her defensive ships here makes me think that they did in fact find the worm.  The fact that no ultimatums have come our way makes me concerned that the worm didn’t do the job it was designed to do.”  She saw a look exchanged between two of the sailors seated at tactical and she sighed softly.  “All right, Commander, take us out.”

              “Aye aye, ma’am.  Mister Klieg, report.”

              “Docking clamps released, Captain,” the zheen replied smoothly.  “All mooring lines retracted.  Engines are on hot standby.  The traffic in front of the slip is clear, we’re ready to depart.”

              “Very good.  Helm, ahead half thrusters.”

              “Aye, Captain.  Ahead half thrusters,” the pilot repeated. 

              There was a hum as the ship eased forward out of dry dock, the displays showing the ship smoothly escaping its steel repair box for the last time in this star system.  None of the shuttles, tugs or defensive ships were within five hundred kilometers of the Republic destroyer as she slid from the build slip, out into space and flying free.

              “We’ve cleared dry dock, Captain,” the pilot reported, his hands on the controls, but held easy.  “We have a clear vector.”

              “Navigation, set a course to the hyper limit,” Brianne ordered.  “Helm, once you have the course, engage at speed one fifty.  No reason to sprint out of here and I don’t want anyone to think that a Republic warship is running out of this system.  And of course, Lieutenant Rever, I want you to plot us a course home.”

              “Goes without saying, ma’am,” the young navigator said, not looking up from her console as he worked out a vector to clear all the FP traffic and get out to the hyper limit.  “I’ll have the course ready and waiting for you.”  It was going to be a long trip home, and the ship didn’t have the fuel to simply make one long jump all the way back to the Republic.  No, they were going to have to go star by star, but it still required a hyperspace course to be plotted over to the next system.  They wouldn’t be going by way of Byra-Kae, of course, but they would make a stop in Ulla-tran before continuing on their journey.

              “Course laid in, ma’am,” the pilot said a moment later. 

              “Then engage engines if you would please,” Brianne said crisply and Theodosia nodded in satisfaction.  Things were running smoothly and efficiently.  Soon enough they’d be out of this blasted system and heading back home.  Though she was sure that Admiral Tandred was going to want to hear about the wealth of gadolinium here.  Perhaps now there might be a reason to get some Navy assets stationed out this way.

              They were underway for less than ten minutes when the comms officer spoke up.  “Commodore, I have a call incoming for you from Chief Samair on the
Samarkand
.  It’s listed as an eyes-only call for you.”

              She sighed.  “All right, I’ll take it in my cabin.”  Pulling herself to her feet, she hobbled off the bridge and back to her cabin.  She sat down in her chair and pressed a control to activate the comms.  “McConnell here.”

              “Good day to you, Commodore,” Tamara said, her image clearly showing she was in her usual office aboard the constructor vessel.  “I just wanted to see you one last time before you left the system, as a send off, you understand.”

              “Of course, Ms. Samair.  I did want to thank you again for all of the excellent work your people have done in bringing my flagship back up to snuff.”  And as much as Theodosia would have liked to object, she couldn’t.  The FP workers knew their jobs and even working on Republic gear they had no problems that she could see.  Her ship had been old, but refitted less than two years ago back just before she’d been given the assignment in Byra-Kae.  Now, a huge portion of the ship was brand new again, and Samair had made good use of the data files she’d manage to pry loose from Theodosia’s and Brianne’s fingers.  There was no outdated tech being used on this ship, no sir.  Everything was as up to date as the Republic specs would allow and Theodosia had to admit, she was impressed with their work.  “She’s riding like a dream.”

              “Excellent,” Tamara replied.  “I’ll let Ms. Sterling know that her teams are doing good work.  We’ve never had the approval of a Republic pennant officer before.”

              Theodosia blinked.  “I must say, Ms. Samair, I’m surprised you know the distinction.”

              “What, between a pennant and a flag officer?  I’ve done my research,” she said, waving it aside.  “I just wanted to wish you a safe trip home and I hope that if you should be ever out this way again that you drop by and see us.  I’d be happy to give your ship a tune up if he needs it.”

              McConnell snorted.  “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.”

              “Just one last thing before you go,” Tamara went on.  “I just want you to know that I found your destructive programs in the data files you gave us.  Found and destroyed them.  And I have to say that in the future, I won’t be able to accept payment in anything other than credits or some other form of hard currency.”  She gave the commodore a penetrating look.  “That was a nasty trick you tried to pull, Commodore.  I’m sure,
of course
that it was all in good fun and you were just testing the abilities of my code crackers.  You weren’t
of course
trying to weasel out of payment that you made in good faith for the repairs that we did to your warship.”

              Theodosia did her best to keep her expression calm.  “No, of course not, Ms. Samair.  I apologize for any inconvenience.”

              “Thank you, Commodore.  I know you wouldn’t try to cheat a hard-working businesswoman.”  She continued to give her that hard look.  “But I’m glad it all worked out.  I hope, once again, that you have a safe trip home and that if you ever find yourself out this way again, I hope that we can do a little more business.”

              “Thank you very much, Ms. Samair.  I hope the pirates do not give you much trouble.”  And she signed off.  Theodosia sighed heavily and scrubbed her face with her hands.  “Well, I tried,” she said to the empty compartment.  Then she pounded a fist on the desk, wincing and then rubbing her hand.

              “Are you concerned about them?” Nasir asked, as he and Tamara watched the
Horus
’s departure on one of her office displays. 

              “How do you mean?” she asked, never looking away from the display, seeing the destroyer accelerate away from the yard, heading on a vector that would take them toward Ulla-tran.  With the repairs to their hyperdrive engines and shields, the ship would be able to reach well into the Blue levels of the hyperspace rainbow.  He wasn’t a speed demon, but
Horus
was currently the fastest thing in space, or at least, the fastest ship that anyone in Seylonique had ever seen. 

              “Do you think they will be coming back to make more trouble for us?”

              Tamara sighed, rubbing her eyes with one hand.  She leaned back in her chair.  “I don’t know.  I mean, now that we discovered that gadolinium, the likelihood that the Republic Admiralty will forget about the whole thing and just wash its hands of the Argos Cluster just dropped away.  With the survey teams finding and tagging more and more of those rocks out there with gadolinium, I know the local government is salivating about it.  When the Republic finds out, I’m fairly certain that they will be dispatching something back this way, and I can’t imagine it’s just going to be a single destroyer.”

              “You think they’re going to come back this way and try and
take
the minerals?” Nasir asked, concerned.  “They have no jurisdiction out here.”

              Tamara chuckled.  “Apparently, that’s the way things are done nowadays, Nasir.  By the Republic anyway. I guess their Admiral Tandred has no compunctions about just coming into the Argos Cluster and taking whatever he wants.  And if the people he’s taking from argue, complain or try and fight, well, that’s what his battleship is for.”

              “I have a hard time believing that, Tamara.  Obviously I’ve never met the man, but a man that high up in the Republic military hierarchy must have an equally high level of morality and discipline, yes?” the AI asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

              She laughed derisively.  “You’d think, wouldn’t you?  But I’ve seen firsthand what ambitious men, or females, I’ll admit, are willing to do when they want something.  So has Ka’Xarian on the
Grania Estelle
.  And so has Eretria.”

              “Yes, I’ve seen that in my dealings with Ms. Sterling over the last few weeks while she has been working on the Republic ship,” the AI noted.  “While she never actually said anything, she clearly did not like having to deal with the Republic officers, Commander Crgann and Commodore McConnell specifically.”

              “Yeah, well,” Tamara snorted.  “
I
don’t like working with those two.  They
hated
being here, hated having to turn her ship over to civilian workers in an unfamiliar system and she
really
despised me.”  She shrugged.  “Looking at it from her perspective, I guess I can’t blame her.  She’d just lost her star system to Verrikoth’s flotilla and had just gone through some serious surgery, she’d lost people…  The fact that she was even still able to operate coherently is a testimony to her strength.”

              Nasir grinned, laying his ears back against his head.  “You like her.”

              She shrugged again.  “I respect her.  The commodore and I certainly didn’t get along, especially not after we discovered the worm in the data files they paid us with.”

              “Uh oh,” he said, grin growing broader.  “She’s getting angry again.”

              Tamara huffed out a breath.  “Oh, I was
so
angry when we found that worm.  To be screwed
again
by the Republic, two hundred and fifty years later, with a whole different set of officers.  And still, high ranking officers seem to think they can run right over me and I’ll just roll on my back and let them.”  She growled, a very lupusan response.  “Do I have that kind of face, Nasir?  Am I just a gullible looking rube that screams to be taken advantage of?”