Zero (16 page)

“
Captain,” Rami interrupted again. “He's here.”

Hugo froze and people cursed as they had to dodge round him. He shook himself and moved off to the side.
“What?”

“
Webb's here, Captain,” Rami said, voice sounding a little sheepish. “He just showed up.”

“
Is he...?”

“
He's fine, Captain. He -”

“
Tell him not to move a single fucking muscle,” Hugo growled. “I'm on my way.”

“
See, Hugo,” Harvey said. “What I tell you? Nothing to worry about.”

Hugo nearly knocked Spinn over in the
Zero
's main corridor as he stormed through and took the stairs to the bridge two at a time. Rami was at her usual workstation and More was at the controls, the lean figure of Webb bent over his shoulder. The commander straightened and grinned.

“
Captain Hugo,” he said. “Miss me?”

Hugo clenched and unclenched his fists.

“Marilyn?” Webb exclaimed as he looked over Hugo's shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

“
Everyone. Dismissed,” Hugo said in a low voice. The crew paused, glanced between themselves, got up and left in silence.

Webb's grin took on a frozen look.
“Done something wrong again, haven't I?”

“
I gave you an order, Commander. You were to stay put in the boarding pod.”

“
Look, Hugo,” he began, lifting his hands.

“
Captain
.”

Webb ducked his head.
“Captain. Look. I just took myself down to the engineering levels. I know people down there. It was a better place to hide and I could keep my ears open.”

“
Commander Webb,” Hugo ground out. “You have disobeyed me. Again. This cannot and will not be permitted to continue.”

Webb crossed his arms and lifted his chin. The smile was gone.
“You're going to have to starting coming round to the idea that sometimes I know better.”

“
I am your commanding officer,” Hugo snapped, coming forward. “Whatever you think about me, I don't give a shit. You don't have to like me. But you better start respecting me.”

“
Or what?”

“
Or I'll have you court-martialled, that's what,” Hugo said.

Webb grinned again and Hugo wanted to hit him.

“You think you know everything, don't you?” he said. “With your medals and your training and your victories. Guess what, Hugo. You don't know shit.”

“
I've given you all the warnings I'm prepared to.”

“
Dammit, man,” Webb said, voice raising. “You and your orders. Rules, the law? It's all
bullshit
.”

“
I will have order, Commander. And rules. And the law. I make them and you will obey.”

“
Christ above! How can you be this fucking stupid?”

A
lifetime's discipline crumbled away and Hugo found himself slamming his commander against the bulkhead. Webb blinked, dazed. Close up, Hugo could see the scarring along Webb's jaw, twisting his lip up slightly at one corner and the notches missing from his ear and eyebrow. There was fading bruising along his neck and temple and two of his teeth were whiter than the rest.

Hugo let go and staggered back and Webb caught himself on the control chair.

“You don't understand...” Hugo said, quietly, tasting disgust at himself at the back of his mouth. “You've got it all wrong.”

Webb's face was still as he looked up at Hugo through his hair, breathing shallow.
“Have I?”

Hugo glared at his hands.
“You don't... I can't...” He made a wordless noise and slammed a fist on the control panel. “Stop acting like you're fucking
dispensable
.”

Webb's eyes widened. Hugo turned his back on him and strode away. He locked his cabin door
behind him and pulled open his locker, scrabbled around until he found his box of blask sachets. He rinsed out a glass in his basin and emptied a sachet into it. He downed the measure of black liquid in one go and pressed the glass against his forehead, closing his eyes and swearing under his breath. The door buzzer went but he ignored it whilst emptying another sachet into his glass.

“
Captain,” came Webb's muffled voice. “You know I know the code to get in, right?”

Hugo glared into his drink for a moment then paced back across the ca
bin and unlocked the door. It slid open and Webb was stood there, leaning on the doorjamb. Hugo turned away, propped himself against the bulkhead, sipped his drink and stared at nothing.

“
I shouldn't have said that,” Webb said as he came into the cabin. “You're stubborn and you're cranky and that rod up your ass has got to be ten foot long. But you're not stupid.”

“
That's your idea of an apology, is it?” Hugo said, but his voice sounded more tired than reproachful, even to himself. Webb shrugged. Hugo sighed, swirling his drink round his glass. “Well I'm sorry too. Are you hurt?”

“
Nah,” Webb waved dismissively. “Don't worry about it. You're not the first captain to threaten me with bodily harm.” The grin was back. “Tell you what, though. You're the first one that's managed to ground me.”

Hugo eyed him narrowly.
“Is that a joke?”

Webb shrugged again.
“I stayed on the same colony, at least. It's an achievement, Captain. I'm serious. Ask Rami about Captain Akmar trying to get Bolt to weld me into the brig. True story.”

Hugo shook his head.
“How do you do it, Webb?”

“
Do what?”

“
Fight on both sides,” Hugo looked up. “Be everyone's enemy and no one's ally. How can you keep your head together?”

Webb rubbed his jaw.
“As you've pointed out, Captain... I've never known different. The
Zero
is all I've ever had. It's
who I am.”

Hugo sighed again and went back to his locker to find more blask and another glass.

“It's why you should believe me when I say you need to loosen up your thinking. Your head is still Service. It's dangerous.”

Hugo took a moment to weigh up his commander, new scars overlaying old and a darkness in his eyes that he hadn't seen even in battle-weary generals twice his age.

“I will not have anyone in my crew acting like their life is cheap, Commander. Especially you.”

“
Why, Captain. I didn't know you cared.”

Hugo glowered.
“The crew look to you. You are their leader. And I can live with that, if you obey my orders. But you don't.” Webb opened his mouth but Hugo raised a hand. “You were reckless when you went off on your own on Earth. You were reckless when you left your boarding pod. I may still have a lot to learn, Commander, but I've known soldiers like you before.” He paused, holding his commander's heavy gaze. “You head into anything bent on destruction, that's all you achieve.” They stood and looked at each other for a moment longer before Hugo said, “Do you understand?”

Webb looked away.
“I understand. Though I'm not sure you do.”

“
It's a start,” said Hugo and he held out a glass to Webb. Webb accepted, frowning at it. “Sit.”

Webb lowered himself onto the bunk, stretching his stiff leg out in front of him and Hugo sat himself in the chair. He lifted his glass.
“To the
Zero.
”

“
May it have a future,” Webb said, lifting his own glass and they both drank. Webb coughed. “Jesus, Hugo. Is this blask?”

Hugo nodded, enjoying the way it warmed his throat.

“Where did you get it?”

“
Kinjo found a supplier on Sunside 4.”

Webb raised his eyebrows, looked at the remnants in his glass.
“Tastes old, too. Bet you grew up drinking this, huh?”

“
My father drinks it, if that's what you mean.”

“
I need a payrise,” Webb muttered. Hugo took his glass from him and poured them both another. “So are you going to tell me where Marilyn sprung up from?”

“
That brings me to why we've come to get you early. She tracked us down on Sunside 5. She was after you.”

“
That can't be good,” Webb mumbled, watching the blask swill in his glass.

“
It's not. The Splinters are running weapons into Lunar 1.”

Webb froze with his glass to his mouth, stared at Hugo over the rim.
“What?”

Hugo nodded.
“It's true. They cornered Harvey into doing a run for them.”

Webb lowered his glass.
“Fuck.”

“
Yeah,” Hugo said. “She felt she couldn't sit on it.”

“
Aye,” Webb said. “Jesus. If they know she's come out with this, they'll be after her skin.”

“
What do you think it could be?”

“
Well, someone's got a nasty score to settle, that's for sure.”

“
Do you think it could be LIL?”

Webb's eyes widened for a moment but then he shook his head and drained his glass.
“No. They're not that stupid.”

“
Just because you're revolutionary doesn't necessarily mean you're smart.”

“
Fitzroy's smart,” Webb said. “Two generations in the Lunar Strip have lost parents and friends to revolution and chemical plague. They may still want to kick the Service out, but they won't fight another war for it.”

“
The timing is not reassuring.”

“
If anyone's going to try and re-establish a Lunar State, it's going to be done through politics. For that LIL needs power, influence. And not the sort bought with fear. Hence cosying up to bigwigs like Gabor. Fitzroy's got something up his sleeve, that's for sure. But no one in the Lunar Independence League would hire the Splinters. This is something else.”

Hugo took one last mouthful of his drink and put the glass aside.
“I don't know if that makes it better or worse.”

“
Tell me about it.”

Hugo folded his arms.
“We're to stop them.”

Webb coughed on his drink.
“Come again?”

Hugo crossed his arms.
“Luscombe wants us to go to Lunar 1 and stop whatever it is the Splinters are planning.”

“
Can't he just use us as target practice for the
Resolution
? It would be quicker.”

“
It was a direct order.”

“
Jesus,” Webb said, rubbing his eyes. “This'll be fun.”

“
We're launching tonight. Once we're on course to Lunar 1 I want us all to meet in the galley to work on a strategy.”

“
Aye aye Captain. And if you have any more of this,” he said, draining his glass. “I'd bring it.”

ɵ

“You're space crazy, the whole fucking lot of you.”

“
Marilyn -”

“
I ain't joking. I don't care what contract you found on them, it ain't worth it. And I ain't gonna be dragged down with you. Let me off at Lunar 3.”

“
We'll drop you if you want,” Webb said. “But I'll bet the
Zero
and the
Phoenix
that the Splinters be on you the minute you try and catch a run out of there.”

“
So we march up and knock on their door instead?” Harvey shook her head. “You're morons. Suicidal morons.”

“
Captain Harvey,” Spinn put in, not loudly, but Harvey still jumped. “I feel it is in your best interests to help.”

“
Do you, professor?” she said. “Well you can feel whatever you want. I like my head where it is.”

“
Marilyn,” Webb said. “If we win... they won't come after you again.”

“
Big fucking 'if' there, Ezekiel.”

“
It would be smaller if you helped.”

She glowered a moment longer then shook her head with a wordless noise.
“I'll talk to some people for you. That's all I'm doing, mind. And only because this'll give the Splinters someone else to want to murder other than me.”

“
Your faith is touching.”

“
Yours is useless.”

Harvey and Webb exchanged glares for a moment longer then looked back to Hugo. Hugo took a breath to make sure his voice was steady.
“Harvey, where did you run your cargo into?”

“
Docking bays on the Earth-side rim,” she said.