Fugitives, p.27
Fugitives, page 27
part #9 of Steven Gordon Series
‘Hello control, the Killara is ready to depart.’
‘Roger that. Have you checked all your bulkheads and doors are airtight and sealed?’
‘All prefight checks have been carried out control. Confirmed both electronically and physically.’
‘Roger that. Opening the hanger doors now and decreasing the oxygen levels. Please wait until you are given permission to use your thrusters.’
‘Roger that.’
‘Killara, you now have permission to use your thrusters to manoeuvre out of the docking bay and pierce the shields.’
‘Roger that. All instruments are still in the green control.’ Charlie lifted off barely a foot and swung the ship around. They went out of the hanger and landed on a pad outside.
‘We are clear of the hanger control and awaiting permission to take off.’
‘Roger that Killara, you have permission to lift off. Please keep your speed down to one hundred miles an hour until you reach the outer marker.’
‘Roger control, lifting off now.’
They lifted high above the moon base and turned towards the great barrier. Both girls were smiling, and both felt their hearts flutter with excitement. It took a good fifteen minutes to reach the outer marker. Charlie swung the ship around so everyone could see Earth in all its glory.
‘Say your goodbyes ladies and gentlemen. It’s going to be a while before you see her again.’
He drank in the sight himself for almost two whole minutes before swinging the ship back around.
‘Control, this is the Killara, we are approaching the outer marker on a course of 365, 204, 149, 266, 531 over.’
‘Roger Killara, your flight path is clear. You may increase to cruising speed for your vessel. Safe journey Killara.’
‘Thank you control, Killara out.’
Charlie increased to interplanetary speed. He spun in his chair.
‘Have either of you seen the outer planets?’ They both shook their heads. ‘You wanna?’ They both nodded, wide-eyed like school children. ‘Then go get your phones, you might want to take a few pictures.’
Chapter 59
By the time they had done a tour of the outer planets, the Killara’s course had changed significantly, a move noticed by everyone onboard except the newbies. Once they were finally on their way Charlie and Lewis took the first watch. They were sitting with their feet up drinking coffee.
‘You sure you dun the right thing Charlie, with those two ladies?’
Charlie thought it over for a couple of minutes. ‘I think so Lewis, but only time will tell.’
‘I noticed you changed course.’
‘I just have a highly suspicious nature.’
‘Komoru told me you had a meeting with all the bigwigs.’
‘Aye, they aren’t really happy with me.’
‘What you tell them?’
‘Remember all the high tech we took back?’
‘It still in the hold. I noticed.’
‘Aye, and it’s going to stay there until they find the arsehole that’s been trying to kill me. They all denied responsibility, and I accepted the fact that none of them knew what was going on. My argument was that until I can come home and stay home for a few weeks without someone trying to arrest me or kill me, I am going to stop helping them. If there is so much as a single incident that involves me, my staff, my family, I am going to persuade the Modloch Empire to cut all diplomatic ties with Earth, and of course economic ones.’
‘You got that kind of clout Charlie?’
‘No, but I got in touch with Darrick and he agreed to play along. He made a video stating that he would, and I played it to them. I also pointed out that I am the designer of a whole new fleet of ships that is better than anything either the Empire or the Federation has. My death would and could bring disaster to the whole world. If I was forced to stay away from Earth I would simply go and work directly with the Federation and cease all production of warships for the Earth’s defence forces. Steven backed me up on that one.’
‘That should do it.’
‘It is a bloody ridiculous situation Lewis.’
‘You didn’t even get a full week at home.’
‘I want to get me a nice house on a beach somewhere. I want to buy a real expensive car and rip it up. I want to go party with my friends. I wanted to learn to dive and do all kinds of shit. Instead I’m stuck in outer space. Darrick has me by the balls and the Federation want to lock me in a room for the rest of my life building damn ships for them.’
‘They might give you a good deal.’
‘Aye, all the grass, hay and silage I can eat. Along with all the females I can handle.’
Lewis roared with laughter. ‘Don fancy that none.’
‘Reminds me of the old joke about the farmer who went into his barn naked with nothing on but his wellington boots. Somewhere on Earth, I am sure there is at least one male who could get it up at a line-up of bovine hotties; it just isn’t this Charlie.’
Lewis laughed that hard, he almost fell off the chair. He wiped away a tear.
‘I like this life Charlie.’
‘So do I, but that was the first time I had been home in years.’
‘I get you. It’s nice to walk down the street and just see people. Ain’t no one screaming and running away. That is why I liked the Empire. I ain’t never going to be able to take Trinnie home with me, but in the Empire, we would be treated more as equals.’
‘It was a lot of fun.’
‘Would have been a lot more fun if we hadn’t been on the run.’
‘Did you strip down some of those weapons to their bare components?’
‘Sure did.’
‘Can we replicate them?’
‘Sure can, even without Babe’s help. What you wanna do with it?’
‘Redesign all of them, then we sell them.’
‘We may be breaking copyright laws, even if it is in the Empire.’
‘The race that built them is extinct.’
‘Forgot about that. Ain’t gonna be a problem then.’
‘Nope.’
‘Who we gonna sell them too?’
‘Earth of course. The weapons are designed specifically for space fighting. They are near to the conventional weapons that we use. The powers that be don’t like grunts running around with weapons that can cut through bulkheads and tanks. I have heard they have already stopped using the weapons that we designed for them and have gone back to conventional weapons.’
‘That to do with economics. Manufacturers in the States were losing billions.’
‘Not just the States, worldwide.’
‘We sell the designs to the manufacturer’s then?’
‘With about one percent of overall sales coming to us.’
‘Through the PD company?’
‘Aye, but as the chief designer, you will get a healthy cut.’
‘You could design it yourself Charlie.’
‘Too much on my plate at the moment, and you’re the guy with the knowledge.’
‘I already got a dozen designs in mind. I kin work in my room for some peace and quiet.’
They sat back to finish their coffees and their eyes turned ever outwards towards the stars.
Chapter 60
Steven had never seen the building before. It had been built to accommodate the new Earth council, which had been evolving since the first day they had made contact with the Modloch race.
‘We are all in a very bad position at the moment Captain Gordon. We simply cannot find the person your man wants us to find.’
Steven shook his head, ‘How can one person hide themselves so thoroughly, yet still wield so much power? We have already learned that there was an arrest and seize order given to our patrols along the barrier. We thought this man had been dealt with a long time ago, yet here we are again, and again and again. Do any of you realise just how important Charlie Murison is to the Human race?’
‘We are painfully aware. You have made it clear, our own commanders have made it clear, the Modloch Emperor and the Grand Commander of the Federation has made it clear. We just can’t find the bastard.’
‘He has to be one of your top commanders in the intelligence community.’
‘We are painfully aware of that too. There isn’t a single man or woman in this room that hasn’t put out orders to their own intelligence community to track him down. We are doing all we can.’
Steven saw the nodding heads and the serious looks on their faces.
‘I can see the sincerity of the people gathered here. I know you want the technology he brought back, and I know he wants to give it to you. I had a long conversation with him last night; he is unmoved. You have to understand, he bought all of it with his own money. It belongs to him. Right now, he and his team are working on redesigning weapons made by an extinct race called the Tilanium. They will be made under licence by Earth manufacturers. As he isn’t the principal designer, he is willing to pass these on.
‘Once I have the designs, I will have a few made up as proof of concept and allow trials. These weapons are advanced chemical weapons, designed specifically for space warfare, by an advanced species.’
‘That isn’t much Captain Gordon.’
‘It is a lot more than you think. These weapons are not out-with the scope of Human technology but can and will advance us. He also built his ship with an armour made by the Tilanium race. It is an armour that a hundred years ago the Imperial fleets found almost impossible to penetrate. It took vast resources and huge fleets to inflict enough damage to destroy one of their vessels. The technology to make that armour was lost when the Empire wiped out the planet and the race. There is only one person who has access to that armour. I will let you take a guess as to who it is.’
The President of the council groaned, ‘Seriously?’
‘He had the foresight to bring samples for analysis.’
‘What advantage would this give Humanity?’
‘We would have the most advanced ships in the Federation, clad in an armour that would make us almost invincible. He believes that the main component to this armour is an undiscovered metal that had to be naturally occurring in the Titanium’s home star system. There is a possibility that the same metal occurs in ours.’
‘Why do you assume that?’
‘Because our star system is virtually untapped.’
‘Couldn’t you search for it?’
‘I don’t have any of the samples.’
‘You could ask him for it.’
‘I did,’ he laughed. ‘Charlie is the best man for the job anyway, but he can’t return home. He is the one who is designing the new ships, the new fleets.’
The President of the council rubbed his face. ‘Then there is no real getting round it, is there?’
Steven raised his hands in a helpless gesture.
‘Alright then Captain, please could you leave now and let us discuss this in private for a while.’
They watched as Steven left the chamber. One of the members groaned and stretched out, face down across her desk. She pushed herself back up.
‘Now, who the hell is this guy?’
‘Which one?’
‘The one who has this whole council running around like headless chickens looking for a ghost.’
‘You have the full briefing, didn’t you read it?’
‘Of course. But I mean, a few years ago, no one had even heard of this guy; he was nothing more than an infantry grunt. Now he is a brother to one of the most powerful people in the whole Federation, a Modloch Lord. He was responsible for the formation of the PD company of Earth, which has now made billions. The guy himself is chiefly responsible for most of the goods that reach Earth. I checked and it seems he now receives a percentage of anything he discovers. I believe he is worth millions. Now he is building entire fleets. Designing them for God’s sake! He did not even go to college.’
They went silent for a while. It was the French member who finally spoke up.
‘What does it matter? Who cares what his educational status is? We need to look at this from a different perspective. We have on our hands an innocent victim. He may be a millionaire, but it isn’t like he can spend any of that money in a way that benefits the people of Earth. The Federation has already recognised his genius and is trying to coerce him into joining their ranks as a designer. He is resisting, we know that. If it was just about money, he would have returned to the Federation with the fleet that met them as they crossed the barrier. This man wants to come home. I am sure he would far rather sit on a beach anywhere on this planet, than somewhere within the Federation where the only thing he has to look at is a heard of cows in bikinis.’
That brought a gale of laughter. The Frenchman raised a hand.
‘He has done more for humanity than most realise. The PD company of Earth was a master stroke, that got us our foot in the door and saved the fleet. He asked for nothing, I know because I spoke to Mary Gordon about it. She had to literally force the man to take a percentage of the money the company was making. He helped the other meat-eating races in a similar way too.
‘The other races already value him more than we do. He was made a Modloch Lord. He was the very first Human Federation citizen. That ship he designed, the Killara, could well be the fastest ship in the known universe. Our own fleets could have the fastest ships with the most effective armour there is. He is trying to help us, yet for how much longer? He doesn’t seem to be the most patient of persons. How much of a loss will it be if he discovers the makeup of that armour and gives it to the Federation? What if that armour can stop the neutrons from our sun? Then they could fight their way to this planet and destroy it. We are still very much the junior partners here.’
He received a few nods of understanding. ‘The media look at him as a horrible person, who abandoned a pregnant princess. We know the truth. We know this was what she wanted. We know that this has given the Behema Emperor a reason to reopen a dialogue with the governments here. At some later date, they may well get married. Who knows? That could well mean that both we and the Federation lose the talents of this man. A man who now has royal ties within two great Empires. Consider that for a moment.
‘Now, on the other hand we have a criminal who’s only consideration is to hide the crimes he has perpetrated in the past. A most dangerous person who can order around ships and maybe even whole fleets behind our backs and in our names. We know that because, as Captain Gordon pointed out, three destroyers were commanded in the name of this council to stop the Killara. The fact that none of them came within range of the Killara is meaningless at this point. Those orders had the correct codes. When we tried to trace it back to the man responsible, the trail went very cold, very fast. He must know by now how valuable a person this man is. Yet the orders still come, he is still trying to kill him to conceal his past. He doesn’t care what or how mankind will benefit in the future. He simply wants him dead. For me, it is a simple choice between the two. Who do you think will benefit mankind more? The honest man or the criminal?’
The American delegate stretched again. ‘Thank you for that Andre. We really need to find this fucker and kill him.’
Most of the council laughed, but each knew the truth of her statement.
Chapter 61
Komoru dozed quietly under the umbrella. She could still hear the sound of surf and the laughter of children, so light was her sleep. When someone squealed, she opened her eyes. Steven was looking down at her bikini clad figure with admiration. She felt something stir deep inside her and smiled, glad he couldn’t see her eyes beneath the dark glasses.
‘You had better apologise darling.’
He turned and bowed, ‘I am so sorry to startle you.’
The two young women he had frightened had by now recognised him.
They bowed back, ‘That’s okay, no problem.’
He missed the look in their eyes but Komoru didn’t. She patted the blanket beside her.
‘Get down here.’
Steven made himself comfortable and a lunch basket appeared at his side. Word spread quickly around the beach. Every now and then, a brave onlooker would approach and ask for an autograph. Steven missed the admiring looks of the young women, but Komoru didn’t. She, however, found she had young admirers of her own, many of them male. Eventually an officer appeared, bowed and began to chase everyone away.
Steven and Komoru began to relax.
‘How did things transpire with the council?’
‘I laid it on thick, I am sure they got the message loud and clear. I told them about the Tilanium armour. I also told them Charlie was the only one who had access to any of it.’
‘You lied. Well done.’
He smiled, ‘It didn’t sit right with me, but I am hoping it gets results.’
‘Are we finally becoming diplomats?’
He laughed it off. ‘Maybe. How did you get on with Charlie when you were alone together?’
She took off her glasses and he could see the seriousness in which she took the question.
‘He hardly swears any more, which was nice. We did not argue either. Well once.’
‘What about?’
‘Stripping our captives naked. He refused to let the women be stripped naked. I decided not to push it. Now they are working for him. It is twisted if you ask me.’
‘Did you enjoy working with him?’
‘I neither liked nor disliked it.’ She scowled at Steven, ‘What are your concerns Steven, you shut off his hormones remember? Neither are either of us are attracted to the other.’
Steven flushed with embarrassment. ‘I didn’t mean it like that. Why would you think that?’
‘It’s what most people seem to think when he is alone with a woman.’
‘No! I meant are you two going to keep on clashing?’
‘No, I don’t think so. I actually found it very easy to work with him. We now respect each other and have found some common ground. I no longer dislike him enough to make the same stupid mistakes I did before. I hear we are losing Richard and Abby though.’
