A Matter of Honor (Privateer Tales Book 9) Read online

  "You're just a little ball of energy, aren't you," Ada chimed in, giving him her best patronizing scowl.

  "You have no idea, Chen. The boots are my own little invention. Take a grav generator, power it with… well we can't talk about that. But imagine a suit full of micro-grav generators all tied into your AI. Same controls as arc-jets," he said.

  "How do they work in the deep dark?" Nick asked.

  "You're right of course, James. With nothing to push against, they aren't anywhere near as nice as arc-jets. Although, unlike arc-jets, they don't easily run out of fuel," he said.

  "How long do they last?" I asked, enamored by his description.

  "Can't say… corporate secrets and all. But for the sake of reference, you won't have kids alive when this suit stops operating." He listened for a moment. "What!? I didn't say anything specific."

  "Pardon?" Ada asked.

  "My AI is set to warn me - chastise really - when I'm giving away secrets. Would you mind if we just forgot about that reference?"

  "So, what's on your mind, Mr. Anino?" It appeared that I was going to have to keep us on track.

  "Just Anino. And you wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said. "But let's just say you meant to ask - why are you here and what do I want."

  "I guess that's one way," I said. "I'm not a big fan of being rude."

  "No, you're not. I'm afraid I'm the one who suffers from having no filter. A habit that comes from being an off-the-charts genius with almost zero humility and nearly infinite wealth. So Masters, you really think you could catch me? There's a suit right over there. I bet it'll fit."

  He pointed at a bank of lockers on the wall behind us. There was a locker for each of us, labeled with our last names.

  "Don't you want to talk about your job?" Nick asked.

  "Life's short, James. Rule is: play first, business second. Although you need to sign confidentiality agreements before using the suits," he said.

  My HUD chimed with an incoming priority message. As expected it was from Anino Enterprises, requesting my signature. I'd recently upgraded my AI's capability to read legalese and it found nothing objectionable in the language sent.

  "We good, Nick?"

  "Yup," he answered.

  I opened the locker with my name and found a suit hanging in it. There was an extra helmet on the top shelf. It was an unexpected addition, since most suits didn't require one. I shrugged to myself and peeled off my vac-suit.

  "I'd forgotten about your peg-leg, Hoffen," Anino said. "Does it cause you many problems?"

  He really had no filter, but I reminded myself that he was a teen. "Ladders and sand are two things I still have trouble with. Otherwise, no big deal."

  "You have any privacy panels around here?" Ada asked.

  "What? Going commando?" Anino asked. This earned him a stern look from Marny. "My bad," he quickly amended.

  Locker room layout, he directed.

  "You'll need to step back, Chen," he said.

  She moved over toward the group and an opaque glass wall slid up from the floor.

  "Thank you," she said with a mouth full of sweetness.

  I'd finished pulling on the new suit. "Helmet?"

  "Yeah, more fun that way," Anino answered.

  I pulled the helmet on and looked around. From the outside, it had been medium blue like the rest of the suit. From the inside, I couldn't even tell I was wearing it except for a few faint shadows that were the contours of the helmet.

  "Nice," I said.

  "You'll say that again, I promise," he said.

  A few minutes later Tabby and Ada exited the impromptu locker room holding helmets under their arms. Their suits were the same medium blue and they had bright yellow lines tracing their body contours.

  "Helmets on, ladies. James, Bertrand, last chance. You don't know what you're about to miss out on," he said.

  "Maybe next time," Nick said.

  "Fair enough. Okay, the name of the game is foot-tag. Once you're tagged, you're it. If you touch someone's foot, they're it. And Hoffen, you're it," he said floating, away from me.

  I took a cheap shot at Tabby, which she totally anticipated, blasting up from the ground at a remarkable rate. If I wasn't getting the cheap shot, then I was going for gold. I shot up in Anino's direction. The suit cut through the air so easily that I felt like I was in space.

  I caught a glimpse of him flying behind a large cluster of video displays.

  Track Anino's vector on HUD.

  "Foot-tag rules preclude use of automated tracking," my AI informed me.

  That was fine by me. I could catch him no matter how we went about it. I zipped around the front of the video panels fully expecting to intercept him, only to find that he'd used the sight-blocking displays to change direction and was now accelerating straight up toward the domed ceiling, twenty meters above.

  "Careful, Anino. You're going too fast," I said.

  "Don't chicken out now! You'll miss the big splash," he said.

  The kid was certifiably nuts, but I wasn't about to be outdone by crazy, so I pushed the suit hard, closing the distance between us. I marveled at how quickly the suit responded to my directives and hoped I wasn't about to wind up as ceiling paste. As we closed on the ceiling, my HUD displayed a circular outline a meter in diameter, directly ahead. The AI was detecting a port or hatch. I pushed harder, stretched, and finally slapped Anino's foot with my outstretched arm. At the same moment, the hatch popped open, revealing an energy barrier.

  I followed Anino through and almost came to a complete stop. Instead of popping into space, we'd entered into a viscous, nearly pitch-black material, dropping from thirty meters per second to five instantaneously. My spine should have been crushed by the rapid deceleration, but other than being disoriented, I felt fine.

  "What the frak?" Tabby's excited voice called over the comm, no doubt she'd followed us through.

  I swung my head around trying to gain my equilibrium and saw a faint blue glow in the distance. It was then that things became clear to me. "We're underwater?"

  "Took you long enough," Anino chirped. "And, TAG, you're it, Masters."

  My HUD outlined Tabby's wriggling form in bright orange. Anino's pronouncement snapped her from her struggles and she straightened with one arm reaching for me.

  "Oh no you don't," I said. I wasn't about to be tagged again and stretched toward the blue above us.

  Water rushed past and I discovered that arm position made a difference in controlling direction. I'd spent a lifetime training my AI with a series of subtle gestures to work with arc-jets. In water however, every maneuver was encumbered, causing me to fight the medium. My best path was straight up, so I tucked my arms to my sides and pointed my toes. The blue glow above widened and in a few seconds I broke the surface of Curie's Radium Sea.

  "Where are you?" Ada's worried voice came through the comm.

  "Look for a blue splotch and head toward it," I said.

  "But there's a huge monster here," she said. "I don't want to move."

  "How big?" Anino asked.

  "Ten meters, glowy fins, big mouth," she said.

  End game, Anino commanded immediately. "Don't move, Chen. It doesn't see that well, but feels things moving in the water."

  "What is it, Anino?" I asked.

  "Likely a Sephelodon, but I can't be sure. Chen, your suit should protect you - not completely sure of the bite pressure, though. It might be close. They also have electroreceptors along their sides that are super sensitive to movement in the water."

  Tactical display of all friendlies and Sephelodon, I instructed my AI as I flipped over in mid-air and dove into the water.

  "Nick, Marny, suit up. We've got a problem," I said.

  Marny's voice was clipped. "Aye, Cap, already on it."

  "Ada, I'm coming in hot. Tabs, take the tail. Diagram shows electroreceptors along its side," I said.

  "It's circling," Ada said. "I need to move…"

  "Don't do it, Chen,"
Anino said.

  For the second time in only a few minutes my eyes had to adjust to a radical change in illumination. Fortunately, the light change in the dive downward was less abrupt than when we'd exited Anino's underwater lair into the inky depths of the sea.

  My HUD displayed the Sephelodon and it was indeed circling Ada. Anino was closer, but I hoped he'd stay back. I was far from an expert at swimming with a grav-suit, but I also knew that I could trust Tabby and Ada to work with me as a team. The last thing I needed was to have to worry about Anino.

  "Liaaaaam," Ada's voice grew louder as her nerve was tested by the direct approach of the Sephelodon.

  "Ada, take a close pass on me and give me a completely negative delta-v. On my mark," I said. In spacer pilot speak, I'd told her to sail past me and keep going.

  "Roger that," she said. I could hear the tension in her voice.

  "Go!"

  Ada shot directly up and at me. As I'd both predicted and feared, the big shark-looking thing flicked its large tail, accelerating at an incredible rate.

  Highlight electroreceptors on Sephelo.

  My HUD superimposed a delicate series of thin geometric swirls clustered around its mouth and gills. The lines narrowed and stretched along the creature's center line, fading out a meter before the start of the tail.

  As Ada whooshed past, and just before impact, I curled into a ball and slammed into the top of the monster's great head. At the last moment, it anticipated my approach and opened its great maw. Fortunately, my speed had been sufficient that I skipped off the top of its jaw, narrowly missing becoming its next meal.

  The impact should have been crushing as I'd been moving at fifteen meters per second. The suit, however, absorbed most of the energy and I rolled off and straightened out.

  The Sephelodon, only stunned, forgot about Ada. I barely had time to move out of its way as it recovered and charged with mouth wide open. Its agility in the water was both fantastic and terrifying, but there wasn't time for panic. I shot away with all the speed I could muster. Ada was free, but I'd jumped into hot water to make that happen.

  Light amplification.

  The HUD within the grav-suit displayed a rich overlay onto the dark landscape in front of me. Indistinct shapes snapped into sharp focus and hidden details were revealed. The HUD also displayed the Sephelo's trajectory and delta-v. I was losing ground and contact was imminent. Worse, I wasn't close to cover.

  "On me, Cap." Marny's alto voice cut through my search for a solution. A throbbing light glowed at the bottom of my vision, letting me know that her location was behind and below me.

  "No good. I lose speed on turns. It doesn't," I said.

  "I'm going to try to give you a distraction, be ready," Tabby said.

  My HUD had been showing an outline version of me and the Sephelo. It was the same strategic display I used in ship to ship combat. Listening to the conversation, my AI expanded to include Tabby and Marny. Tabby was indeed on an intercept course with the Sephelo's tail.

  "How are you getting that speed?" I asked.

  "Stay focused, Cap," Marny said. Someday I'd learn and she wouldn't have to remind me. Today was not that day.

  Tabby's body struck the beast two-thirds aft on its starboard side. The impact didn't push it far off course, but the beast instinctively turned toward the contact. Tabby neatly, albeit in slow motion, tumbled around its tail, straightened out and shot away.

  I used her distraction to peel away from my original trajectory and curve back towards Marny. My concern was that now the Sephelo would shift its pursuit to Tabby. Relief, however, wasn't exactly the feeling I experienced when I recognized it was once again closing on me. Tabby had given me room to move and it was up to me to make something of it.

  I calculated the distance to Marny and then to the entrance to the Anino's dome. I might be able to make it to Marny, but I certainly wasn't going to make the dome.

  "Close pass above me, Cap. Closer the better," she said.

  "We've got company," Ada said. "Two at twenty meters, more further out."

  "Everyone inside," Marny said. "We've got this. That goes for you too, Cap. Don't stop until you're in."

  "I can't leave you with this thing," I knew better than to question her in combat, but it felt like she was making a sacrifice I couldn't live with.

  "Appreciate that, but this one isn't going to be our problem. Trust me, Cap."

  "Roger that," I said.

  I focused on Marny's position as I approached. She was moving slowly through the water with her hands in front, arms bent, holding something. At five meters, my HUD picked up the detail that I'd been unable to see. She held a long, narrow sword. I twisted around so I would pass above her face-to-face, wanting to be sure I didn't kick her on the way by. Once past, I arced slightly downward to keep the beast on its original path.

  "AAAAAHHHH…"

  My AI filtered out the rest of Marny's war cry as she held her ground and plunged the blade into the bottom of the passing beast. I slowed and turned to watch. It was a horrific scene, as the beast's entrails spilled out, clouding the sea around her. I felt both the thrill of combat and sadness, knowing this beast had simply been doing what it had to survive.

  "Marny, get out of there," Ada said. "You've incoming."

  My HUD showed multiple Sephelodons making a beeline for our position, cutting us off from the dome.

  Instead of turning in my direction, Marny dove downward and away from the approaching mob. It was a good move as we'd been cut off from the dome anyway. I followed her down another ten meters to the sea floor, taking cover beneath bioluminescent mineral formations.

  "You should've kept going," Marny said.

  "Right. And you're nuts attacking that thing with just a sword."

  "Hardly just a sword," Anino said.

  "Tabs, everyone in and safe?" I asked.

  "We're in and you need to hunker down. There are at least fifty predators in a frenzy up here. Some of them make our first friend look like a guppy."

  "We'll come get you," Anino said.

  I switched to a private channel. "You okay, Marny?"

  "Aye, Cap. Might have strained my shoulder, but it'll be okay."

  "Thank you for coming for me."

  "That's what we do, Cap."

  We sat at the bottom for another fifteen minutes before a sleek submersible slid into view and came to rest above our position, its aft sporting a blue pressure barrier promising safety. We didn't require any convincing and jetted into the vehicle.

  "Welcome aboard," Jonathan said, offering two towels.

  I accepted one and pulled my helmet off.

  "Thank you," I said.

  "That was quite a show, Mr. Hoffen. I might not approve of Phillippe's methods, but his efficacy should not be questioned."

  I widened my eyes slightly, an indication to my AI that I wasn't sure what he'd just said. It filled in a definition and I frowned as I considered his words.

  "What are you saying?" I asked.

  "He's saying this was an audition, Cap," Marny answered for him.

  I looked back to Jonathan for confirmation. He simply raised his eyebrows in response.

  "Take us back. We're leaving," I said tightly.

  "Your anger is understandable and I will certainly take you back as you've requested. But, as irritated as you are and as asinine as Master Anino's behavior was, you should hear him out first."

  "What? You're here to calm me down before we get back? All part of the big plan, is it?"

  "No. Phillippe will be upset with me for sharing what I have, but he has misread your team. You work on trust and he has broken this trust early in the relationship. I hope that by exposing the deception now I will avert your natural inclination to walk away."

  "He put my team at risk. It's not something I'm going to forget."

  "As you should not. Please hear him out before you make your decision."

  "We'll see," I said.

  We rode back to the dom
e in relative silence, the only sound being the low whine of the motor propelling us through the water.

  TATARA FURNACE

  Yishuv Settlement, Planet Ophir

  "Eliora, are you hurt?" Amon asked, still clutching the rock in one hand and the bloodied corpse of the Ophie he'd brought down on top of her in the other.

  "No. Help me, we have to check on the expedition," she said.

  Between the two of them, they rolled the body to the side.

  "Your leg," Eliora said, noticing that Amon was having difficulty standing.

  Amon hobbled back to the mule, supporting himself with the reciprocating pick, which he laid gently in the vehicle's trailer. They couldn't afford to leave any of their equipment on the hillside even in an emergency. He hopped back toward the site where they'd been breaking the iron spire into transportable pieces.

  "We can't afford to leave this behind," he said.

  "You want to die? There could be more."

  "Just help me."

  "I hope this was worth it," she said.

  "So do I."

  By Amon's calculation, they'd gathered at least twelve tonnes of iron. That was more material than the smithy could use in five years, given current production levels. The pace would undoubtedly have to change. The settlement's survival might depend on his ability to adapt to increasing Ophie activity.

  Eliora caught up with Amon and slipped under his thick arm, straining to help him into the mule. When he was settled, she handed him her crossbow. She wrapped his leg with a splint and activated foam that would both immobilize and numb the limb until they returned to the settlement.

  "Why have we not developed better weapons?" Amon asked, inspecting the crossbow as they bounced down the mountain trail. "This is certainly good for game animals and small predators, but that Ophie wasn't even slowed by it."

  "They are too well armored and the iron heads are too heavy, they slow the flight," Eliora answered.

  "We've relied on those blaster rifles and are lulled into complacency," Amon said.

  "If the main blaster turret hadn't failed, we'd have easily repelled that last attack," she said.

  "Can't you see it? Our reliance on those blasters is our weakness. What if the secondary turret had failed too? How many more people would have been lost?"