Honor Among Enemies

Commander Tschu’s headed this way from Fusion One, man!'

'Shit!' Steilman whirled to look down the passage Tatsumi had just come up, then wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist and glared down at Aubrey. 'We ain't done, Snotnose,' he promised. 'I'll finish your 'accident' later.' Aubrey stared up at him in bloody-mouthed terror, and the power tech grinned viciously, then turned his glare on Tatsumi. 'As for you, powder head, I got three people ready to swear I'm in my rack right now, and you didn't see nothing and you didn't hear nothing. This fucking snotnose just fell over his own clumsy feet, didn't he?'

'Whatever you say, man,' Tatsumi agreed, holding up placating hands.

'And don't forget it,' Steilman snarled, and headed down the passage at a trot. Seconds later, one of the maintenance hatchways clanged as he disappeared into the maze of crawlways servicing the ship's internal systems, and Tatsumi bent over Aubrey with a worried expression.

'You don't look so good,' the SBA muttered. He crouched beside the younger man, and Aubrey winced in anguish as gentle fingers touched his blood-streaming nose, 'Crap. I think the bastard broke it,' Tatsumi hissed. He looked up and down the passage, then slid an arm around his shoulders. 'Come on, kid. Gotta get you down to sickbay.'

'W-what about... Commander Tschu?' Aubrey got out. He had to breathe through his mouth, and his voice sounded thick and gluey, but somehow he managed to stagger to his feet with Tatsumi's assistance.

'What about him? Hell, he's still buried up to his elbows in Fusion One!'

'You mean...?' Aubrey got out, and Tatsumi shrugged.

'I had to tell him something, Wanderman. That man was gonna kill your ass.'

'Yeah.' Aubrey tried to wipe blood from his chin, but a fresh, sticky film replaced it instantly. 'Yeah, I guess he was. Thanks.'

'Don't thank me,' Tatsumi said. 'I don't like to see anybody hurt, but you're on your own with Steilman. That's one evil son-of-a-bitch, and I don't want anything to do with him.'

Aubrey looked sideways at the older man as Tatsumi helped him back towards the lift. He recognized the fear in the SBA's face and voice, and he couldn't blame him.

'You mean you didn't see anything,' he said after a moment.

'You got it. I just came along and found you lying there. I didn't see anything, and I didn't hear anything.' Tatsumi looked away for a moment, then shook his head apologetically. 'Hey, I'm sorry, okay? But I've got problems of my own, and if Steilman decides to put me on his shit list, too...' He shrugged, and Aubrey nodded.

'I understand.' Tatsumi got him into the lift and punched the sickbay destination code, and Aubrey patted him weakly on the arm. 'Don't blame you,' he said muzzily. 'Just wish I knew why he hates me so much.'

'You made him look bad,' Tatsumi explained. 'I don't think he's right in the head, but the way he sees it, you got in his face in the berthing bay, and then the Bosun made him back down. Not your fault, but he figures he owes you for that. My guess is that the Exec's deciding to move you to the bridge is the only reason he hasn't gone for you already. Was I you, I'd stay away from Engineering, Wanderman. Far away.'

'Can't hide from him forever.' Aubrey sagged against Tatsumi's support. 'Ship's not big enough. If he wants me, he can find me.' He shook his head, then winced as the movement sent fresh stabs of pain through his skull. 'I've got to talk to somebody. Figure out what to do.'

'Wish I could help, but count me out,' the SBA said in a low voice. 'You heard what he called me?'

''Powder head'?'

'Yeah. See, I got messed up with Sphinx green a few years back. Really fucked me up. I'm clean now, but I've got enough black marks on my record to keep me a second class for the next fifty years. You heard the Bosun that first day, and I ain't got any friends in officer country, either. I get Steilman and his crowd on my neck as well, and I'm just likely to disappear out a refuse lock someday.'

'How come they didn't bust you out?' Aubrey asked after a moment, and Tatsumi shrugged.

''Cause whatever else I am, I'm good at my job, I guess. The Surgeon went to bat for me when they caught me sniffing. Didn't keep me out of hack for six months or save me from mandatory counseling, but it kept me in uniform.'

Aubrey nodded in comprehension. He understood what Tatsumi was saying, and he didn't blame the SBA for wanting to stay out of his problems. How could he, when Tatsumi had just saved his life? But if Tatsumi wouldn't back up his own version of what had happened, it would be just his word against Steilman's. That might be enough, given the difference in their service records... but it might not, too. Besides, if Tatsumi was right and Steilman had a 'crowd' to back him up, and the fact that Steilman had known where to ambush Aubrey suggested that he did, even getting the power tech in the brig might not be enough. Everyone on Aubrey’s watch knew about his explorations, and he hadn't made any particular effort to keep this evening's plans a secret, but Steilman wasn't on his watch. The only way he could have known was if someone else had told him. Aubrey couldn't imagine why anyone would voluntarily associate with an animal like Steilman, but that didn't really matter. What mattered was that somebody apparently did... and that Aubrey had no idea who that somebody was.

He raised cupped hands to his battered face, trying to stop the bleeding, and panic throbbed deep inside. He had to find an answer, but how? He could speak privately to the Bosun, but Sally MacBride wasn't the sort to accept half measures. If she believed him, she'd take action, yet without some sort of proof, all she could really do at this point would be to warn Steilman, and she'd already done that. Obviously the power tech thought he could get away with 'avenging' himself on Aubrey despite that warning, and Aubrey saw no reason to hope Steilman would change his mind now. Steilman was probably wrong about what he could get away with, but whatever the Bosun might do to the power tech afterward would be little comfort to Aubrey if Steilman put him into sickbay, or worse, first.

'Here we are,' Tatsumi sighed relievedly as the lift stopped and the doors hissed open. He helped Aubrey down the short passage, and the younger man closed his eyes. He needed help. He needed to talk to someone who might have enough experience to tell him what to do, but he didn't know anyone with that kind of background!

'My God!' someone said. 'What happened to him?'

'Don't know for sure,' Tatsumi said. 'I found him in the passage.'

'Who is he?' the voice asked.

'Name's Wanderman,' Tatsumi replied. 'I think it's just his face.'

'Let me see him.' Hands pushed the SBA aside and cradled Aubrey's head gently, and he blinked as a surgeon lieutenant peered into his eyes. 'What happened, Wanderman?' the man asked.

Tell him! an inner voice shouted. Tell him now! But if Aubrey told the officer...

'I fell,' he said thickly.

Chapter EIGHTEEN

The GQ alarm yanked Warner Caslet up from dreamless sleep. He roiled over, sat up, and reached for the com key out of pure spinal reflex even before his eyes were open, and light flared in the darkened cabin as the display came up.

'Captain,' he said in a sleep-blurry voice. 'Talk to me.'

'I think we've got a nibble, Skipper.' It was Allison MacMurtree, his executive officer. 'I'm not sure it's who we're looking for, but someone's coming after us.'

'Just one?' Caslet rubbed his eyes, and MacMurtree nodded.

'All we've got so far is a single impeller signature, Skip.' Citizen Commissioner Jourdain moved into range