The Aftermath

Her smile thinned. “Martin Humphries is the most powerful man in the solar system, right? Well, this artifact, whatever it is, can give me a lever on him. If I can control the artifact I can control Humphries! It’s that simple.”

“It may be a lot of things,” Yuan said, “but it’s not simple. All you’re going to accomplish is getting yourself killed. And me along with you.”

“Don’t be a chick, Yuan. We’re talking about real power here!”

“You’re crazy.”

Her smiled winked out. “Listen, captain,” she mocked, “I’d prefer to do this with you, but I can do it without if I have to. Koop can replace you easily enough.”

“You’re talking mutiny,” Yuan growled.

“Yes, I am,” said Tamara.

ATTACK SHIP VIKING: INFIRMARY

Yuan escorted Elverda and Dorn back to the infirmary, looking decidedly unhappy.

“You’ll be comfortable enough here,” he said, motioning them through the open hatch. “This ship isn’t built to accommodate passengers.”

Elverda thanked him and stepped through; Dorn followed her. Yuan closed the hatch and left them alone.

“She’s mad. Insane,” Elverda said as she went to her bed and sat on it. Three sides of the bed were partitioned off.

“Is she?” Dorn wondered, standing next to her. “She seems to understand how powerful the artifact can be.”

“But how can she hope to control Humphries through it? If he hasn’t already destroyed it he must have it heavily guarded, sealed off from the rest of the world.”

“Perhaps. But she’s a gambler, and she’s willing to play for the very highest stakes.”

“Our lives.”

“And her own. If she’s wrong about controlling Humphries, he’ll snuff her out like a candle flame.”

Elverda felt tired, bone weary. Yet… “Perhaps there’s some way we can use the artifact to bargain for our lives.”

“Your life,” he said. “I’m ready to die.”

“No!”

He looked away from her. In a voice so low she could barely hear it, he said, “Today I realized how brittle this facade is. I could have killed her—all of them.”

“That was the drugs.”

“In my body,” he retorted. “My brain. My mind. I could have killed them all. I wanted to.”

“But you didn’t.”

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t want to go through that again. I want to be released from all this… this… living.”

Elverda searched for something she could say to help him, to ease his pain, to bring him back from his despair. But she found nothing.

* * *

With the enormous reluctance of a man who knew he would regret his decision, Victor keyed his comm console.

“This is the cargo ship Pleiades,” he said, trying to keep his voice firm, unruffled. “We are not in trouble. I repeat, not in trouble. We do not require assistance. Thank you.”

Hardly a moment later the smiling young man’s face appeared on Victor’s comm screen.

“You’re not emitting a tracking beacon, Pleiades,” he said. “We thought you were abandoned.”

Victor could see a glint of sunlight off a ship’s hull on his main display screen. Vogeltod was still too far away for the cameras to show its shape.

“No, we’re not abandoned.”

“But you’re running silent, eh?”

“For the moment, yes.”

The man’s toothy grin widened. “My name is Valker. What’s yours?”

Thinking swiftly, Victor said, “Kaneaz.”

“Kaneaz?” Valker echoed. “What’s that, German?”

“Greek.”

“Ah! That’s why I didn’t understand it. It’s Greek to me!” Valker burst into a hearty laugh.”

Making himself smile back at the man, Victor said, “Well, thanks for your offer of assistance. I’ll be powering up soon and heading deeper into the Belt.”

Valker’s handsome face turned crafty. “Wait a minute. According to the IAA register on my screen, Pleiades is captained by Cheena Madagascar. Can I talk to her?”

“The captain gave orders she’s not to be disturbed.”

“Did she?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you’d better wake her up, Greekie. We’re coming aboard.”

Victor’s main screen showed a flash of rocket exhaust against the starry background. He hesitated a bare fraction of a second, then punched his main propulsion controls. Pleiades lurched into acceleration.

Sinking back in the padded command chair, Victor said to himself, Now it’s a question of who’s faster. And better armed.

* * *

Kao Yuan went from the infirmary straight to the bridge. Koop was in the command chair, Tamara leaning over him in whispered conversation.

“Koop,” Yuan called. “Come with me.”

The big Hawaiian looked like a guilty little boy as he pulled himself to his feet.

“You too, Tamara,” he said.

It was crowded in the captain’s quarters with the three of them there, but Yuan slid his door shut and leaned against it for a moment, eying them. Tamara went directly to the double-sized bunk and sat on its edge. Koop looked at the flimsy desk chair, decided against it, and remained standing.

“Take the recliner,” Yuan said, pointing to the cushioned chair.

“It’s okay, captain,” Koop said. “I’ll stay on my feet.”

“We’ve got a command crisis here,” Yuan said, without moving from the door. “Tamara thinks she can give the orders aboard my ship.”

“I report directly—”

“To Humphries, I know,” said Yuan. “But I’m the captain of this ship. Like Ahab said, there’s one god in heaven and one captain of the Pequod.”

Koop’s chunky face screwed up in bewilderment. “Pequod?”

“You hold the balance of power here,” Yuan said to his first mate. “Whose orders are you going to follow, hers or mine?”