CHAPTER THREE
Somehow, the crew fit a week’s worth of preparation and work into four days. When it was time to leave, the Red Fox was in far better shape than she had been when they limped into this system a week ago.
After Bedford had chewed out Henderson and Davis–privately in his quarters–the two men threw themselves into working out what was needed and what was nice to have for the ship and crew.
Pierre had been bunked with the petty officers. If the agent had any reservations or dissatisfaction, he gave no indication to anyone, instead he cheerfully accepted his bunk and locker.
Holt and Norwood, however, didn’t trust the newcomer, and kept a close eye on him while he was aboard.
Soon after, Aveline pulled Bedford aside in a corridor and spoke in hushed, hurried French.
“Pierre is the agent assigned to us, I was able to confirm his identity with the local Agency office,” she began quickly.
“I thought you said you knew him?” Lucas asked. Since she was using French, she wasn’t trying to hide their conversation from the other Agent should he eavesdrop as much as keeping it from the rest of the crew.
She nodded. “We’ve met once or twice, but I felt it was only right to verify him. Officially, he’s the lead agent, having been assigned and sent to deliver the Crown’s orders to me directly. He, clearly, did in a way that accomplished his orders; but satisfied his own doubts about the both of us.”
“I see,” Bedford said slowly. “I can’t fault the man for that.”
“But there’s more. I know of his reputation more than anything else.”
“Oh?”
“He’s utterly ruthless, even for an Agent of the Crown. I trust he’ll do whatever is necessary to complete the mission, but I’ll also warn you he’ll do whatever is necessary to complete the mission,” she said while glancing around to make sure no one else was approaching.
“We are expendable?”
“To him, yes, but only if he deems it needed.”
Bedford mulled this over for a moment. This was why she wanted to reduce the odds of his crew overhearing. “He’ll also keep us alive, if needed.”
Aveline nodded slowly. “Yes. So keep your eyes open and wits sharp.”
Bedford gave a slight bow. “Always, mademoiselle, always.”
On the afternoon of the fourth day, a few hours before they were to depart, Bedford called everyone into the conference room. They all looked ragged and worn down from the intensity of the past several days.
“First, I wanted to call out XO Henderson and Chief Davis. Without their hard work and exemplary teamwork, we wouldn’t be as well squared away as we are now.”
The men cheered and slapped Henderson and Davis on the back.
“And thanks to the rest of your hard work, too!”
More cheers.
“Had we been home, I’d give out week furloughs, but-”
“Two days would be fine, Cap!” shouted Holt.
“But,” Bedford continued with a smile, “we have a job to do. Drinks on me when we complete it!”
Louder cheering.
Bedford waited for a beat, then raised his hand for attention. “Before we turn the rest of the meeting over to the esteemed agents of the Crown, XO, status report?”
Henderson stood with his tablet in hand. “Sir, we’ve completed 60% of Chief Davis’s list of highest priorities. We’ve secured materials to complete the rest where and when we choose. We’ve completed 70% of my list and-”
“Cap! We have the algae plates working!” Quartermaster McElroy interjected, cutting the XO off. “And I’ve stocked enough spices to make them at least semi-edible!”
Norwood groaned. “Why did we fix those?”
“So we don’t starve!” McElroy snapped back. “Ain’t a single planet around here where’s we can hunt game or get water that don’t need some serious purification to drink! Our stores only last so long, hydroponics and algae are the best way to make ’em stretch.”
“Yeah, but the texture and flavor?” Norwood shuddered.
“Noted,” the captain said dryly. “Henderson?”
The XO cleared his throat. “As I was saying, we have supplies and parts enough to complete both our top priority lists. The Fox won’t be like she’s sailing from home port, but we’re getting there. And, as our enthusiastic quartermaster pointed out, our food stores have dramatically improved.”
“Ha!” snorted Norwood.
“And we’ve repaired anything critical or now have the means to do so. Agent Corbusier’s contacts led us to honest merchants, and we resupplied our munitions. Gunny managed to land a good deal on missiles to replenish our stores.”
“Aye, Cap. The miners, from solo to corporate, are very enthusiastic about their weapons here.” Gunny shot a look at Aveline. She pretended not to notice. “Agent Corbusier steered us away from the fell-off-the-back-of-a-loader merchants,” Gunny finished, sounding pleased.
“Good. Anything else, XO?”
Henderson shook his head. “No, Cap, that covers all the important pieces.”
“Ahem!” Doctor Pickering said loudly. “I was able to locate and restock our medical supplies.”
“Thank you, Doctor. And budget, XO?”
“We stayed within twelve percent of the total.”
Bedford looked over at Aveline. “Sufficient, Agents?”
“Quite,” Aveline said, also sounding pleased.
“If there is nothing further to report, then the rest of the meeting is yours, Agents.” Bedford gave them each a small bow before sitting down.
Pierre flashed his charming smile as he stood in front. “We will provide more details when en route, but our first stop is to another station, this one in the atmosphere of Forge V, our neighbor. This isn’t to scale.”
The conference room’s shutters slid closed and the main screen turned on. Forge IV was center, with a small dot marked as the station. Dotted lines showed the flight plan from the station and off the screen. As soon as everyone took in the information, Agent Pierre tapped the remote Henderson had provided him for the debriefing. The view changed to include Forge V and the flight path curved down to meet it.
“Current distance between the two planets is 4.2 AU. As soon as we clear the gravity well of Forge IV, we’ll jump. Navigator Thompson has informed me it will take roughly three days to complete the jump. After we return to normal space, I’ll finalize the landing details. Agent Aveline.”
“Once we are in the jump, we can tell the rest of the details. What we can divulge now is that we will be picking up two passengers and their cargo, then transporting them to Forge II on-planet,” Aveline finished.
Pierre tapped the remote again to change the view to show the entire system. “The distance is favorable this time of orbital cycles, a mere 5.3 AU. Again, Navigator Thompson estimates travel will take roughly three days. Are there any questions we can answer at this time?”
Around the room, the Confederates exchanged glances.
“Possibility of hostiles?” Gunny asked.
“Low, but not zero. We have been keeping a lid on this operation.”
“What’s so important?” Holt blurted out.
Pierre fixed him with a stare until the petty officer wilted.
“Any other questions?”
No one said anything.
“No? Good. Captain?”
Bedford stood. “We leave in two hours.”
“Aye, Captain!” the crew said.
Bedford waited until everyone else had cleared out before he shut and locked the door.
“Now, tell me what is going on,” he demanded of the two agents, speaking to them in French.
Pierre and Aveline exchanged glances. She nodded slightly.
“Fair enough, Captain, but this stays between us until we divulge at our discretion,” Pierre started to say slowly.
Bedford cut him off. “If withholding this information places any of my crew in danger, I won’t agree.”
Pierre nodded. “I expected nothing else. Very well. Only if you feel you must, then.”
“Fine.”
“We are to pick up and escort a highly esteemed member of the Royal Academy, his assistant, equipment, and whatever else he deems necessary, transport him to Forge II, and ensure his safe arrival at the new secure location.”
Bedford blinked a few times. “We are transporting an academic?”
“Yes,” Pierre confirmed.
“Why all the secrecy? What does he even do?”
“Ah, well, that is a little less straightforward. For now, we can only use his code name, ‘Pelican,’ which is a wasted effort. There’s only one man in the Kingdom like him, maybe even in the Galaxy.”
Bedford was growing impatient with the circuitous path Agent Corbusier was taking.
“What the lead agent is getting at,” interrupted Aveline, who seemed just as impatient as Bedford, “is our guest is not only one of the top people in one field, but he’s mastered a dozen others. Metallurgy, orbital mechanics, plate tectonics, geology, astro formation, planetary formation, astrophysics, mathematics, linguistics, interstellar harmonics, field harmonics, sub-quantum particle harmonics, and the list goes on.”
“So what is a guy like that doing in a system like this?” Bedford asked, extremely puzzled now.
“He’s convinced this system was an outpost for a vanished civilization,” Pierre explained.
“Say what now?” Bedford asked, blinking even more rapidly.
“And if he’s right, that’ll end all commercial activity here until all potential sites are identified and excavated.”
Bedford gave a low whistle. “Assuming his wild claims are true, I can imagine many powerful interests would do anything to stop him.”
“Yes and no. He’s well-known and the Crown fully supports him. Killing him, even while making it look like an accident, would bring down a fury no one wants here. Everyone would lose their charters, Enforcers would be crawling over everything, Inspectors given full run of the system.” Pierre shook his head. “Not ideal, to put it mildly. Therefore, while shutting down operations in the system for an unspecified time would affect everyone, the bigger corporations would just move out to other, if not as mineral-rich, at least less cumbersome systems,” he continued, regaining control of the conversation.
“I take it that the smaller businesses that are the most worried?” Bedford asked, now genuinely curious about the political ramifications.
Pierre scoffed and waved a hand dismissively. “Maybe, if they knew this was happening at all. The research is, as you have seen, kept under wraps. And it’s still speculation at this point.”
“But with the weight of a man highly respected in more than just a few fields,” Aveline pointed out.
“I’m still confused, what sort of problems do you expect to need a fighting ship like ours?” Bedford pressed.
“The worst kind, Captain.” Pierre flashed his white smile, but there was an edge. “The unexpected kind.”
Aveline burst out laughing. Pierre whirled on her, eyes flashing. She laughed harder, clutching her sides.
“I’m so sorry, Pierre!” she gasped. “You were just so, so–”
“Dramatic?” offered Bedford while the corners of his mouth twitched.
“Yes! Dramatic. ‘The worst kind,’” Aveline deepened her voice and looked serious, “’the unexpec–’” She lost her composure again, this time doubling over and sinking into a chair as peals of laughter shook her body.
Pierre stood stiffly, glancing between the wheezing Aveline and the barely-holding-himself-in-check captain. Then he sighed, and his body posture loosened. He chuckled and shook his head.
“As much as it galls me, Aveline, you are right. I was swept up in the whole romance of a dedicated academic overturning preconceived notions about galactic civilizations all while turning an entire system on its ear over it!”
Aveline wiped the tears from her eyes. “Again, I apologize!”
“Now that is out of the way, do you understand our position better, Captain?” Pierre asked.
Bedford nodded, still not trusting himself fully. He cleared his throat. “I’ll remain quiet about the details until you decide to share them with the rest of my crew. Nothing stands out as needing immediate action.”
“Thank you. I have to admit, it’s refreshing working with professionals not part of the Agency.”
“You do me honor, sir,” Bedford accepted the compliment graciously with a small bow.
Aveline stood, seemingly in control of herself again. “I have a few items I need to check on before we leave.” She smiled at both men and headed out. As soon as she was out of sight, they could hear her laughing again.
The two men were left alone. A slightly uncomfortable silence stretched out.
“Has she always been like that?” Bedford asked, trying to break the mood.
Pierre considered the question. “No, not really. She was far more serious in the past. I don’t know if she’s mellowing out, or if you people have something to do with it, but in any case, I wish she’d aim her newfound levity elsewhere.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Bedford responded, stonefaced.
“I appreciate it. Now, if there is nothing else?”
Bedford shook his head.
“Then I have things to attend to.” With that, Pierre left. He wasn’t in a huff, but he was close as Bedford suspected the man got.
Bedford was left alone. He pondered what the agents had told him, and what they hadn’t.
Finally, he headed to the bridge. He had to do some of his own work before they could undock and head out.