Point of Origin (War Eternal Book 4) (16 page)

The suit was a dark gray, with a high, sharp collar. The shirt had some pleating on it while the pants fell to just above the ankle.

"This is fashion?" he asked. It was an odd throwback to centuries old style.

"If you don't want to attract attention, yes."

Mitchell shrugged and began thumbing through the rack, looking for something in his size. He found an outfit similar to the one Calvin had removed, though his was a deep red that shimmered slightly as the light hit it.

"This isn't going to attract attention?"

Calvin looked at him and laughed. "On second thought, it might be better for your to appear as more of an offworlder."

"I'll find you something," Aiko said, approaching them. She had a few layers of clothing over her arm.

Mitchell followed behind her as she scanned the racks. She hummed and clucked at the clothing in distaste.
 

"If I didn't know better, I would say you might be starting to enjoy this," Mitchell said.

"I am, a little. Using my fear." She smiled at him, meeting his eyes with her own. He had been surprised the first time she had looked at him directly. Her eyes a lighter brown than he was used to on Federates.

"I'm glad you learned something from me."

"I learned a lot from you, Mitch. I'm very grateful."

Mitchell felt his heart thump, and for a moment he wondered how grateful. He pushed that part of himself back down, making sure to keep his eyes up as she walked ahead of him.

"Here. This is it." She grabbed a few pieces of clothing. A black shirt, a tan vest, dark brown pants, and boots, along with a waist-length jacket. "You'll look great in this. You'll turn all the girl's heads."

Mitchell took the offered clothes. "If you say so."

"I'll show you to your rooms," Ming said. "You have a few hours before we drop."

"Thank you," Mitchell said.

Ming led them away from the storage area, up two flights of skeletal iron stairs to a long corridor of hatches.
 

"General berthing," Ming said. "Our crew is light enough everyone has their own room, with a few to spare. We were fortunate you're using us for this. I heard some of the other ships are crowded with other Asimov refugees."

Mitchell nodded. The people of Asimov had been assigned based on their occupation and the tactical capability of the starship. They wanted to keep the heavily non-soldier occupied ships away from the fighting if they could.

"We tried to spread them out, but a lot of the people wanted to stay together."

"Understandable. These four are free. They're all pretty much the same."

Mitchell took the first one. He paused at the hatch, watching the others. Calvin, Aiko, and Joon, in that order.

"We'll meet in the hangar at t-minus one hour," he said to them.
 

"Yes, Colonel," they replied.

Mitchell ducked into his room, shutting his eyes as the hatch closed behind him. Three hours to do nothing but wait. If he were back on Greylock, he would have sought out Ella, or maybe she would have sought him out, and together they would release their tension in bed. That wasn't an option here. Unless...

No. He didn't expect anything like that to happen. In another time, another place, with another person, maybe. This time, he was on his own.

Slow.

Steady.

"We're dropping in five, Commander," Seung said.

Ming glanced over at Mitchell, standing on the bridge of the Kemushi with his team. The trawler's command center was tiny for a ship of its size, leaving them crowded in around a single row of control stations to see to the outside.

"Let's hope we get good news," Mitchell said.
 

He was trying not to think about the worst case, that the Tetron were still in orbit around the planet and would blow them to dust the moment they dropped. After what had happened on Hell, it was impossible not to think it possible.

The second worst case was that Watson had somehow managed to beat them here. The rest of the cases cascaded from there to the best case: that their current plan would go according to plan, and they would zip out of the capital port of the planet, Mirai, less than twenty-four hours from now with a solid idea of where to find Pulin.

"Here we go," Seung said, watching the clock on her touchscreen as it hit zero.

Space expanded once more.
 

The Kemushi found itself floating in a crowded field of starships of a hundred shapes and sizes, much further out from the planet than they had expected. A ring of Federation military ships corralled the starships, keeping them within a limited space.

Yokohama was still there, the speckled lights of Mirai visible on the surface below.

Mitchell exhaled while the normally reserved Calvin Hohn let out a soft whoop of excitement. Why wouldn't he? Those were his nation's people down there.

"Looks like we have civilization, Colonel," Ming said, smiling himself.

"It's crowded as anything out here," Mitchell said. "Is this normal?"

"Not at all," Calvin said, his excitement fading as quickly as it had come. "I think we can guess what's causing it."

Mitchell felt his heart drop as he realized the truth of it. "They're all refugees, looking for a planet that hasn't been laid to waste. They found one, but for how long?"

It made sense that the Tetron would leave Yokohama alone if it fit into their goal of finding Pulin. What would happen after that information was either taken or lost?

Would they be signaling the death of everyone on the planet by raiding the Black Hole? Mitchell pushed the thought aside. If they didn't stop the Tetron, every planet would suffer the same fate.

"I have a feeling it may be a challenge to get down there," Calvin said.

"I'll get you down," Ming said. "Federation Import Control knows the Kemushi. I have full clearance and credits in my account if I need to line a few pockets."

"Sir, we're being hailed by the Federation."

"Speak and they shall hear," Ming said with a smile. "Open the channel."

"Tradeship Kemushi, this is Captain Sei of the cruiser Gom. Please verify identity, inventory, and intent on Yokohama."

"Ah, Captain Sei, this is Commander Ming Go of the Kemushi. It's been what, six months?"

"Ming, old friend. My apologies but recent events dictate that all import procedures are followed quite strictly. Please verify identity, inventory, and intent."

Ming looked over at Mitchell and Calvin, clearly intrigued. "Of course. Identity: Tradeship Kemushi, clearance code alpha foxtrot delta zero four seven nine seven four echo omega. I'm transmitting the crew manifest now. Inventory: I am transporting four civilians from the outer Rim. Intent: They are looking to establish a trade agreement with AgriCo. They're from the unincorporated planet Calidad."

A long pause followed, presumably while Captain Sei reviewed the manifest.
 

"Tradeship Kemushi, your request for import is denied. You're free to remain in orbit for up to seventy-two hours. If you require refueling or resupply, please contact the appropriate service."

Ming looked at them again, his brow furrowed in anger. "Denied? Dae-san, we've known one another for fifteen years. I've never been denied import."

"I'm sorry, Ming. As I said, recent events have changed things. We've been receiving reports that the Alliance has a new super weapon that it is using to lay waste to Federation planets. We've been working nonstop just to process the incoming ships. New trade agreements have been placed on hold until all of this is sorted out."

Ming leaned forward to close the channel, letting out a low growl as soon as he did.

"That's it then, I guess," Joon said. "We can't get down to the surface."

"Bullshit," Ming said. "I'll get you down. Give me a minute to think."

Ming began pulling on his goatee while staring out the viewport. He was silent for a minute, yanking hard enough that it looked painful.

"Okay," he said. "I have an idea, but it's going to cost, and I can't guarantee you'll be able to get back to the Kemushi. You may need to steal a ship."

"Steal a ship?" Aiko said.

"I suppose hijack would be the most appropriate term. But yes, it may require a bit more dirty work than we had intended. I was there, Colonel. I saw what one Tetron did to our ships, whether we destroyed it or not. We have to stop them, whatever it takes."

"Agreed," Calvin said.

Mitchell nodded. "Whatever you need to do, do it."

It took two hours for Ming to reach his contact at Kido Resupply. It took another hour and nearly ten million Frontier Federate Dollars from Tio's account to convince him to forge documents and lie through his teeth to Federation Import Control to get him to agree to ferry Mitchell, Calvin, and Aiko down to the surface. Mitchell had argued furiously to get Joon included, but Ming had stated that there was only room for three, whatever that meant.

They were standing in the hangar, next to the resupply airlock. The Kido Four was directly on the other side of it, in the process of equalizing air pressure between the ships.

"I don't have the best feeling about this," Aiko said, tugging on her skirt.
 

Mitchell had laughed when she explained how recent Federation fashions were shorter than she remembered, and how she had been surprised when she put the skirt on and found it barely covered her thighs. A pair of long stockings covered her legs nearly up to the skirt, leaving very little actual skin exposed, and flat ankle boots finished up the lower half. A loose fitting, frilly white sleeveless blouse and jacket with a secret placement where she held a concealed pistol, along with a pair of white gloves, finished the outfit.

"Because we're breaking a hundred Federation laws just by stepping through that airlock?" Mitchell asked. "Or because we may need to break a thousand more to get off the planet?"
 

He shifted slightly, the waist-length jacket a little tight across his shoulders. Aiko had been right; he did look good in the outer-Rim style if he did say so himself, especially with the brown lenses and the beard and mustache he had been growing to help disguise himself.

The airlock light turned green. The hatches of both ships slid open at the same time, revealing an older man with a wrinkled face and even more wrinkled clothes ahead of a dozen men pushing crates on repulser sleds.

"Eito," Ming said.

"Ming. I can't believe you got me to agree to this."

"Trust me when I tell you that you'll be glad you did."

"Ten million? I'm already glad I did." Eito looked at the three of them. "Is this the cargo?"

"Yes."

"You didn't tell me I was bringing an Alliance soldier down," Eito said.

"Former Alliance soldier," Ming said. "He's one of Mr. Tio's now."

"You swear they aren't going to cause any trouble?"

"Yes, yes, I told you they wouldn't. They need to get to the surface to speak with a representative of AgriCo about a purchase agreement."

"Since when does Mr. Tio send soldiers to sign receipts?"

"I'm the bodyguard," Mitchell said. He pointed at Calvin. "He's the businessman."

"And her?" Eito asked.

"The escort," Aiko said.

Eito smiled, looking her over. "A pretty one, at that. I bet you aren't a cheap one."

"No. I'm not."

"Can we get on with this, Eito," Ming said. "Things are fragile out here. I can feel it."

"Yes. The rumors have everyone frightened. The local government is doing what it can to calm nerves and appear in control. If what they say is true, it won't matter."

"What are they saying?" Mitchell asked.

"The Alliance has a weapon that can obliterate a navy in one shot, and can destroy a planet within hours. That there's no defense against it. I've even heard one rumor that the weapon is fully autonomous, an AI."

"That sounds ridiculous," Mitchell said.

Eito shrugged. "Something's got all these ships coming here in search of succor. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to close business in a couple of weeks due to lack of resources. Anyway, let's get things moving here."