The Girls From Alcyone (36 page)

* * *

Sigrid and Karen stared at the three new prisoners in the
Morrigan's
brig. They painted a miserable picture, sitting there in their boxer-briefs as they continued to scowl at Sigrid. But Sigrid wanted more information, and it was time to find out where they'd taken Tarsus, who had taken Suko, and why.

"We've answered your questions,"
One
said. "Now will you give us our clothes back, or what?"

"Not quite," Sigrid said. "These men, the ones who left you on Gliese—"

"We told you. We never met them before."

"And yet, you followed their orders?" Sigrid asked, skeptically.

"Nicola—Kirk…she told us to,"
Two
pleaded.

"And this woman, Kirk, she's your leader?"

"Nicola's a great woman,"
Two
said. Sigrid could see him begin to unravel. "This is crap. This whole thing's out of hand. This was supposed to be a nonviolent movement. It's not her fault. Everything was fine until
he
came."

Three
glared at his companions. "Will you
stop
talking! Don't say anything else. They're nothing but a bunch of Federation stooges."

Sigrid raised an eyebrow. "Federation? You think we're with the CTF?"

"If you're not, then you're working for them,"
Three
said.

"We could say the same of you," Karen said, wagging her finger at them.

Three
laughed. "You Feds are all the same, nothing but a bunch of butchers."

"We're not with the CTF…or anyone," Sigrid assured them. "I'm just trying to find my friends."

Three
eyed her warily. "You're one of
them,
aren't you. He warned us about you."

Karen poked her head out from behind Sigrid, scowling hard. "You tell us who you're working with…or…or we'll throw you out the airlock!"

Sigrid smiled. "That's not a bad idea."

Karen looked surprised. "Really?"

Sigrid drew one of her pistols, motioning the three of them to exit. "Come on. All of you."

Karen opened her mouth and raised a correcting finger. "But, we're still—"

Sigrid elbowed her in the side.

Karen grunted, but she seemed to get Sigrid's meaning. She did her best to look menacing and pointed toward the lower airlock. "Come on, you…
you
."

Two
shook visibly and had a wild glaze in his eyes. "You can't be serious."

Sigrid shoved him down the corridor, putting her boot to the others.

Three
gave her a defiant look. "I told you. You're all butchers." He looked to his companions as Sigrid opened the inner door to the airlock and shoved him inside. "Don't tell her anything!"

"This is your last chance," Sigrid said. "Tell me where they took my friends and I let you go."

Three
spat defiantly. "The Federation is doomed. You're fucked. You won't get away with this!"

Sigrid cycled the lock, sealing him in. There was a frantic pounding on the door until Sigrid opened the outer door.
One
fainted and slithered to the floor in a heap.

Two
stood blinking at Sigrid, completely terrified. "Scorpii! They're on Scorpii. I don't know much more, but that's where the base is. I don't even know if that's where they took Tarsus. You have to believe me!"

Sigrid grabbed him by the collar, moving him toward the lock. "
Who
are
they?
Why did they take them?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. This was a peaceful movement but the Federation…the embargoes are killing us. Then
they
came—"

"
Who?
"

"I thought they were Mercs, but I don't know. They had ships, weapons; the technology…" He shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it."

"How many ships?"

"
I don't know!
They don't tell us anything anymore. I told Nicola she was making a mistake. There's a man—I don't know his name—he came to us a few years ago. He's the one you want."

Sigrid knew he was telling the truth. He was scared witless and he'd wet himself. She felt a fleeting pang of guilt for what she'd done, but she had the information she needed. She keyed her comlink. "It's Scorpii, Selene. I want to be underway as soon as possible."

The airlock opened and Christian came through holding a very angry-looking
Three
by the arm. "I found this guy outside. Who the hell let him out?"

Two
gaped at his companion. "You…you're alive!"

"We're still on the ground, idiot."

Karen covered her mouth with her hand but couldn't hold back her laughter.

Once
Two
, whose real name turned out to be Gene Wehr, started talking, he didn't seem to know how to stop. Sigrid let him clean himself up and gave him his clothes back, before taking him to the Mess for some food and coffee. He'd met the woman, Nicola Kirk, five years ago on his home planet of Hekate. As a student growing up on the impoverished world, he'd been frustrated by the Federation's treatment of his home planet. He'd met Nicola and eagerly joined her movement. But what had once been a peaceful protest movement had grown exponentially into what was quickly becoming a full-scale rebellion.

"And the bombings?" Sigrid asked; she remembered the terrorist attack she'd witnessed on Earth, and the ones that were so much in the news.

Gene scoffed. "Terrorists! We're not terrorists. Ask the Council about the so-called terrorist attacks."

"What do you mean?"

"It's an old tactic, Miss…"

"Sigrid."

"It's an old tactic, Sigrid. They bomb their own people, blame us and garner sympathy. We're not killers."

Sigrid wasn't impressed. "I saw the bodies on Alcyone. You might want to tell them that."

Gene frowned. "This is all so out of hand."

"And you
are
kidnappers."

"I don't know anything about that. I'm not exactly in the 'loop' anymore. That's why they stuck me on Gliese. I—
we
—were just supposed to watch for anyone snooping around and report."

Sigrid rose, putting her mug back in the recycler.

"If you're really not with the CTF, then what will you do with us?"

Sigrid hadn't thought that part through. "I suppose we'll let you go. As soon as we make port somewhere."

"Let us go? Just like that?"

Sigrid didn't answer.

"We could be allies in this. If you're telling the truth, if you're really not with the CTF."

"I only care about my friends, Mr. Wehr."

Sigrid left him there and headed toward the bridge. She was shocked to find the Lady Hitomi working her chair onto the airlock lift; she had a small suitcase balanced on her lap.

"Mistress?"

"Ah, Sigrid—I was going to send for you."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm afraid I have some urgent business to attend to."

"Here? We're not leaving you on Gliese."

"I'll be quite all right—and I'm not staying here. I've arranged for transport."

"Where?"

Hitomi gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't you worry about that. There is little I can do for you on Scorpii. You'll be fine. I'll be of far more use to you where I am headed. There are still the other girls to think of."

"I can't let you go off on your own!"

Hitomi chuckled. "I'll be quite all right, dear."

"But—" Sigrid found herself dreading the idea of Hitomi leaving her.

"Go to Scorpii, Sigrid. Save our girls. Save your sisters. They need you.
I
need you to do that."

Sigrid swallowed and nodded. "Of course, Hitomi-san."

"When you get them, I need you to take them here." Hitomi handed her a pad, detailing the coordinates she wanted Sigrid to jump to. "It's very important. No matter what happens, whether you succeed or not. You
must
travel to these coordinates."

"Of course, Mistress."

"And Sigrid, if you can, as a personal favor to me—please find Dr. Garrett. She's…Lisa…she's very dear to me."

"I'll do everything I can, Hitomi-san."

"That's all I can ask. Good luck, Sigrid. And whatever happens, I just want you to know how proud I am of you, and how glad I am that we met."

Sigrid wasn't sure how to respond so she remained silent as she watched Hitomi exit the airlock and lower herself on the lift to the tarmac. And then she was gone. Sigrid was still considering Hitomi's words as she sealed the lock and keyed her comlink to the bridge. "Take us up, Ms. Tseng."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Scorpii

Nicola Kirk stood in the monitoring station of the abandoned mining facility. She was surrounded by a strange mix of soldiers in their mechanized armor and some very
non-military-looking
types, manning the assemblage of consoles.

One large monitor had been mounted on a stand in one of the corners. Nicola stared at it now, worrying a well-chewed thumbnail. She couldn't take her eyes off the task force of four CTF Naval ships that were marked and moving across the screen.

"I don't think they've seen us," the young woman seated before her at her station said.

The task force had just entered the system and was headed toward Scorpii IV; it would take them the better part of four days to reach the planet. The once-habitable world had been stripped clean of all things valuable by overeager corporations long ago. The planet had been bled-dry and then laid to waste during the first of the Corporate Wars as the giant multinationals had fought to seize control of the planet's riches. That had been decades ago, before the Federation and the Council had decided to extend their reach to planets further afield. They'd used 'peace' as an excuse, but Nicola knew it was all a question of control, of commerce, of power and profit.

Scorpii was a fitting location for her movement, she thought.

The CTF forces would find their old facilities on Scorpii, but she'd anticipated that and moved virtually everything out to one of the larger asteroids that orbited between Scorpii V and VI months ago.

"Let me know if their status changes," she told the young woman.

A major in full combat gear approached her, helmet clutched under his arm. "All our ships are in position. Say the word and we'll move in. They won't know what hit them."

Nicola winced; these military-types were always so eager for a scrap. There was a good chance the CTF ships would simply leave after finding their old base abandoned. The task force would most likely turn around and leave without the need to fire a shot. On the other hand, she had twelve ships at her disposal, and a mercenary force that was spoiling for some action.
Should she order them to attack?
Nicola laughed to herself. Farrington had said she was a closet-general. Perhaps he was right.

"Very well, Major. You may engage them. Just…we can't let even a single pod escape. I don't want anyone reporting on our position."

The major nodded and smiled broadly, eager for the chance to engage the enemy. "Yes, ma'am. We'll take care of them."

* * *

From the bridge of the
Morrigan
, Sigrid looked out at the giant Warp Relay before them; they were still decelerating hard, the distance closing quickly. Selene transmitted the navigational codes to the Relay Monitor. Sigrid watched quietly as the giant construct aligned itself.

"We're clear to jump once the transaction is complete," Selene said.

No one could travel through the Relay without first paying the huge tolls charged by Daedalus. Sigrid leaned forward to key in her account access; it would take a sizable portion of the money Lady Hitomi had transferred to her.

"And don't you think you should take your seat?" Karen asked, eyeing the empty command chair.

Sigrid still felt uncomfortable with the idea of sitting in it; her crew were looking at her expectantly.
What was she afraid of
? Scorpii lay ahead on the other side of the Relay. The girls were there. Suko was there.

Sigrid slid slowly into the chair; it felt surprisingly comfortable.

"It looks good on you," Karen said brightly.

Sigrid felt her cheeks glow warmer; she shook her head and smiled at the lively ensign.

"Begging your pardon, Sig…
Captain…
" Selene said. "But do we have a plan for this? We don't exactly know what we're flying into here."

A plan?
So far, she'd been propelled along, either by the wishes of her masters or by the inertia of events unfolding around her. Did she have a plan?

Gene had told them much of Scorpii; his group had a base on one of the larger asteroids, nestling in an old mining facility. There were only a few hundred people there, mostly workers and students from Hekate, but they had been joined by a paramilitary group backed by a wealthy friend and patron of Nicola Kirk's. His involvement had been the catalyst that had seen their protest movement move from peaceful demonstrations to full-scale military engagements.

It had to be
Smith.

As for having a plan…? Sigrid closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "What will happen if we engage the stealth systems going through the Relay?"

"It shouldn't affect anything," Christian said. "Travel through the Relays is more contingent on mass, inertia, velocity and our entrance vector. I don't see how the cloak will affect that."

Selene let out a long breath. "It does expend a tremendous amount of energy. If it causes some kind of feedback as we enter the effect…"

Christian did some quick calculations on his console. "I see only a small chance of that being a possibility."

"Small? How small is small?" Selene asked, furrowing her brow.

"A little over four percent."

Karen swallowed hard. "But…what would happen—"

"We could end up on the wrong side of the Galaxy," Selene said.

Christian stroked his chin. "More likely, any energy discharge would simply disrupt the Relay."