The silver fleet the com.., p.113
The Silver Fleet: The Complete Series, page 113
“Don’t…” Faulkner managed, but then his voice trailed off.
Footsteps were coming down the corridor. Whoever it was they weren’t holding back.
Ardent closed the cylinder before easing the trigger back with her thumb and turning to face the door. As the sound of footsteps drew closer she extended both hands out in front of her. She didn’t even attempt to aim along the barrel, she figured that from this distance it would be hard to miss.
She began to gently exert pressure on the trigger, feeling the mechanism stirring into life.
And then Farnese was standing there.
At first, he didn’t look at her, too taken with the figure on the floor. He kicked the gunman in the thigh, watched as the body settled a little lower.
Only then did he look at her.
“It’s alright,” he said reassuringly. “You can put that down now.”
Her arms seemed to soften at the sound of his voice but then she caught herself. She pushed the gun out straight.
“You know, I don’t think I will.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You’re in shock,” Farnese was saying. “It’s understandable.”
What if I am, she thought? What if he’s right?
But still she didn’t lower the revolver. Instead, she lined it up with the centre of his chest. If he did decide to come at her, she’d be able to get off one shot, at least.
That’s what Karl had taught her. He’d been her bodyguard back on Blackthorn. He’d been delighted when she’d asked him to show her how to handle a gun, although not as delighted as the first time she’d called him to her bedroom.
No, not quite as excited as that.
Karl had been very clear about targeting the upper torso.
“There’s a lot of vital stuff in there. You miss one thing, you’ll likely hit another.”
That was good enough for her and, by the expression on Farnese’s face, he must have shared her confidence because he held back. He didn’t attempt to enter the room.
Still, he was calm even with a gun levelled at his chest. Or at least he appeared calm. She’d slept with him on numerous occasions and there were very few secrets in the bedroom. She knew what he liked and what he didn’t in the same way that she knew when he was acting and when he wasn’t.
And she knew that Farnese was up to something. She just didn’t know what.
“The gun,” Faulkner said, finding it difficult to catch his breath.
Ardent couldn’t look at him without taking her eyes off Farnese.
Did Farnese have a gun? If he did, then he was doing a good job of hiding it. Perhaps down the back of his pants? But she doubted it.
“The gun,” Faulkner said. “On the floor.”
In all the excitement, she’d forgotten about the gunman’s weapon.
Farnese’s eyes betrayed him then.
“What?” he said. “I’m not even…”
He bent forward from the waist as if about to dive for it. But instead of going for the gun, he lunged at her, the full force of his shoulder driving into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The back of her head cracked against something hard and for a moment everything went black.
When she did manage to open her eyes, she found she was having difficulty focussing. She was lying on her back with Farnese standing over her.
In the interim, he’d managed to retrieve the gunman’s stubby weapon and was now aiming it at her stomach.
“Oh, don’t worry, my love. I have no intention of killing you. The Admiralty are going to need someone to blame for all this and personally I couldn’t think of anyone better to take the fall.”
“What are you trying to do,” she demanded but strangely she already knew.
The subtle shift in his demeanour was telling as he shifted back out of reach, transferring his weight onto his back foot while simultaneously bringing up the barrel of the gun. It felt as though her heart was shrivelling away to nothing leaving an echoing hollowness at her core.
Farnese’s smile tightened. “What better than a high-profile scandal to cover my tracks? By renouncing your links to the Confederation you intended to throw in your lot with the Yakutians. That way, you’d be able to cement your role as Blackthorn’s ruler for many years to come.”
Ardent gave him a bemused look. “Okay. But, if that’s my plan, what am I doing here?”
“Trying to please your Yakutian paymasters. By murdering the senior officers aboard the Renheim you hoped to be able to seize the ship, along with all her tech before turning it over to the Empire.”
She didn’t know what was more frightening, what he was saying or the look in his eyes as he was saying it.
Farnese took a step backwards, indicating for her to sit up. From that distance he could keep an eye on both her and Faulkner.
“Why did you do it?” she said. “That’s the one thing I’ve not been able to work out. I mean what’s in it for you?”
Farnese laughed. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because then I’d have to kill you.”
“Well, you’re going to have to kill one of us,” Faulkner said. “You can’t keep us both quiet.”
Farnese let out a long sigh. He looked genuinely troubled.
“You know, I was worried you might say something like that.”
“Listen, commander, I’m not sure I can listen to any more of this. Why don’t you just tell us the truth. What was it that drove you to this point? Turned down for a captaincy one too many times. Is that it?”
Farnese levelled his gun at Faulkner while still looking at Ardent. “Honestly, is he always so self-righteous? Just as well it was Meyer I was having to work with and not him. I doubt I’d have got very far.”
“And is that what you were doing?” Faulkner asked. “Manipulating Meyer to the point that, in the end, he was working with both hands tied behind his back.”
Farnese waved his gun dismissively. “Something like that. Everyone has a weakness, a vice they’d rather no one knew about. Meyer’s was gambling. So my people set up a gambling scam. Very simple. In the first few months, he couldn’t lose. All his bets paid off. He couldn’t believe his luck. Racked up over a million creds worth of profit but by then he was hooked. So when the losses started coming, he thought he could handle it. That he just had to ride that losing streak. That, eventually, he’d get through it. He just had to hold his nerve.
“Except when the big losses started, they just wouldn’t stop and the more he did to try and get out of it, the worse it got. Shame, really. I’m not sure of the final sum but it was well south of twenty million credits. He’d lost everything. Property, investments, his pension. All of it.”
“But you weren’t the one in charge?”
“Oh no. I’m just the front man. Without me, none of this would have been possible.”
“Right, so now I understand,” Faulkner said. “But what about your weakness? What was that? Money, drugs, boys?”
“You were right the first time,” he turned to Ardent. “With me it was money, pure and simple. I’d got sick of waiting for my big career break. Decided to take matters into my own hands. I was actually on the verge of resigning my commission when I was approached. They’d already set up an account for me. More money in a month than I could possibly earn in a year. I’d have been a fool to say no.”
“You were a fool to say yes,” Faulkner indicated the gun he was holding. “Look where it’s got you.”
“Oh, it’ll get me a lot further than this. All I have to do is stick with the plan. All payments guaranteed. I’ve got more money than I could possibly spend in two lifetimes.”
“So, why not walk away?” Faulkner said. “Go and spend all that money. Only you can’t, can you? They won’t allow you to leave, will they?”
Farnese gave him a sour smile. “I haven’t got long to wait, now. As soon as they’ve got what they want, I’ll be able to walk away. Go wherever I like.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Faulkner shook his head. “They’ve got their claws in you now, boy. You’re never getting clear of this.”
Farnese rubbed a hand across his mouth, looking like he’d just been slapped.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. They get what they want, then that’s it. I’m a free agent. Do what I like.”
“Really? You think they’d squander an asset like you? No way. Even if you do get through all this they’ll want to keep you exactly where you are. On the inside. Take care of that captaincy you’ve been harping on about. It’s nothing to them and I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
His look of cool amusement vanished then and he stepped forward to press the barrel of his gun against Faulkner’s forehead.
“You know, I think I’ve changed my mind. I was going to get Sigrid here to shoot you but, you know what? I’m going to do it myself. Sort out the details later.”
As he stepped around to confront Faulkner, he momentarily presented Ardent with a view of his back and that was all the time she needed. She lashed out with her right foot, bringing the toe up and into his groin.
As his body pitched forward he let out a strangled cry and pulled the trigger.
The bullet went wide as Faulkner, having seen what Ardent was attempting, had already thrown himself to the floor.
Ardent was impressed that Farnese managed to keep hold of the gun, not that he could do much with it. He was still trying to come to terms with the overwhelming pain. Give him a couple of seconds, though and they’d be back where they started.
But Ardent had no intention of letting that happen.
She grabbed hold of his leg and hauled herself to her feet, desperately scanning Faulkner’s bedside cabinet for something – anything – that she could use as a weapon.
Besides a clear plastic container which held Faulkner’s medication there was a bedside clock but it was too flimsy for what she wanted.
Then her eyes alighted on the aromatic candle she’d brought him the day of his first surgery. It looked like it had never been lit and was housed in a sturdy glass container.
She picked it up with one hand just as Farnese was beginning to turn. She hit him across the side of the temple as hard as she could and, miraculously, the glass didn’t break.
So she hit him again, and this time it did.
Farnese went down in a heap of arms and legs.
She reached down and helped Faulkner to his feet but he was still unsteady and wrapped an arm around her waist to keep from falling.
For a moment, their faces were almost touching.
“You took your time, didn’t you?” he said.
“I thought you were doing a great job keeping him talking. I was waiting for the best bit: what is it they’re trying to achieve. And now we’ll never know.”
Faulkner took a step back from her and regarded the figure on the floor.
From the movement of his chest it was clear that he was still alive.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. Once we get him talking, we won’t be able to shut him up.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
There had been a great deal of confusion initially about what had occurred – it had all happened so quickly.
Ardent’s first challenge had been to verify Faulkner’s identity. She needed to satisfy the security services before they could move on with anything, so she had contacted Sands and got him to bring down the Chief Medical Director, a man called Samuels, along with two of his most senior clinicians. It had been their job to access the ship’s memory files firstly to verify with one hundred percent accuracy that Faulkner was indeed who he said he was. The director was concerned that any decision they reached would have to have enough reliability to satisfy everyone, but with Sands on hand to provide proof, under oath, of everything that had gone on, the director had been happy to proceed.
But even Ardent hadn’t been prepared for the next stage. The head of the Marines was called. A Major Barclay, completely bald but with perceptive green eyes. He presented himself to Samuels, the Chief Medical Director who quickly brought him up to speed on the situation as it applied to Faulkner but also to Farnese. Then they had turned to Ardent asking for her to repeat what Farnese had told her both about himself and Meyer.
They all agreed that, on the strength of Ardent’s evidence, Meyer needed to be arrested immediately, at which point the Director of Medicine had turned to Major Barclay.
“You know what has to happen now.”
“Technically, yes, sir. Only, I’m a mite confused.”
“How so?”
“Well, this is an extraordinary situation. I’ve never arrested a ship’s captain before but my understanding is that, in these circumstances, I’d be looking to the XO to take up the slack.”
“Which, clearly can’t happen here.”
“Exactly. So we’re looking for the next most highly qualified officer to take over.”
Samuels said, “Why? Is there a problem with that?”
Major Barclay turned apologetically to Faulkner at that point. “I’m struggling, sir. While I don’t mean to be disparaging, I … well… I need to ask you…”
“You’re wondering whether I am mentally capable of taking on this role. Quite understandable. I was wondering the same thing myself.”
All eyes turned to the director who, instead indicated Dr Sands.
He said, “Since Captain Faulkner is currently Doctor Sands’ patient, I’ll leave it up to him to determine whether the captain is indeed fit for duty.”
Sands’ mouth opened soundlessly as he regarded each one of them in turn.
“Captain Faulkner?” he said, finally coming to rest on Ardent. “Yes. I can attest to the fact that Captain Faulkner is mentally fit for duty although physically…”
The director waved aside his other concerns. “Good. That’s settled then. If we can formally swear Captain Faulkner in then we can get underway.”
Faulkner held up a hand. “Gentlemen!” he inclined his head to Ardent. “Madam Governor. Are you seriously suggesting that I take command of this ship? I mean, I’m hardly in a fit state.”
He turned his palms out to indicate his wheelchair.
Samuels stepped off to one side, massaging his temples. When he turned back he did so with renewed vigor.
“Look, I understand that this is highly irregular but then this whole enterprise has been dogged by irregularities from the start. I’m happy for the captain to take charge if Dr Sands says he’s mentally fit enough – that’s the most important thing. It’s not been easy for any of us these last few months having to sit back and watch the ship be mismanaged in the way she has been. Farnese and Captain Meyer allowed that station to be destroyed and none of us could do a damn thing about it. But now, with those gentlemen out of the way, we have an opportunity to put some of that right.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” Barclay said.
“Of course, what is it?”
“Has anyone considered who might be the most senior serving officer on-board?” at this point he turned to Faulkner. “Sir, I mean no offence by this, truly. I’ve followed your career with great interest but as far as your present circumstances are concerned…”
The director had seated himself at a workstation and was currently scrolling through the crew manifest. When he’d finished, he looked up.
“Lieutenant Commander Schwartz is currently the most senior officer on board. Specialist in communications. Qualifications are solid. Masters in Interstellar Relations. Clearly very bright but…”
“Let me guess,” Major Barclay said. “No combat experience.”
“None whatsoever. Pity that.”
“Look!” Faulkner said. “This isn’t a job interview. You have no choice. This woman clearly outranks everyone on board, so the decision’s out of your hands. She can take charge at least until this current crisis has been resolved.”
But Ardent had gone further, scanning the woman’s personnel files also. “No. I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that.”
“Why ever not!” Faulkner protested.
“According to this, it seems that Captain Faulkner isn’t the only one under medical supervision.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Faulkner manuevered the wheelchair so that he could see the screen for himself.
“Oh good Lord! No!”
“What is it?” Barclay asked. “What’s wrong?”
“ It’s Lieutenant Commander Schwartz . Seems she’s pregnant.”
*
With Faulkner’s wheelchair taking up so much space, there wasn’t enough room in Chief Medical Director Samuels’ office to accommodate all of them. So Ardent had no choice but to stand outside with Major Barclay while Faulkner was sworn in as captain. Apart from Faulkner, Samuels was in there conducting the ceremony while his personal assistant ensured that all the paperwork was properly processed.
As soon as the door opened and they started coming out, Ardent couldn’t help herself and started applauding.
Faulkner regarded her sternly. “I think that’s quite enough of that, Madam Governor.”
“Nonsense. May I be the first to congratulate you or your new role as captain of the Renheim?”
“I’m not sure that congratulations are in order at this stage, but thank you.” Without missing a beat he turned towards Barclay. “Major, I’d like you to organise a detachment of men to accompany us to the bridge.”
“Are we expecting trouble, sir?”
“To be quite honest, I have no idea, but when things happen this swiftly there’s bound to be a certain element of confusion kicking around. And we don’t want confusion turning into active resistance now, do we?”
“Very good, sir. I’ll get a team together.”
“You do that. Chief Medical Director, Madam Governor, I’d appreciate it if you’d both accompany me to the bridge. A few familiar faces might help to settle things down a bit.”
Ardent struggled to contain her excitement at being asked. Samuels had been right when he’d talked about how difficult it had been having to stand by and watch while the ship was being mismanaged. But now, with Faulkner in control, she hoped that they could finally redress the balance.
Footsteps were coming down the corridor. Whoever it was they weren’t holding back.
Ardent closed the cylinder before easing the trigger back with her thumb and turning to face the door. As the sound of footsteps drew closer she extended both hands out in front of her. She didn’t even attempt to aim along the barrel, she figured that from this distance it would be hard to miss.
She began to gently exert pressure on the trigger, feeling the mechanism stirring into life.
And then Farnese was standing there.
At first, he didn’t look at her, too taken with the figure on the floor. He kicked the gunman in the thigh, watched as the body settled a little lower.
Only then did he look at her.
“It’s alright,” he said reassuringly. “You can put that down now.”
Her arms seemed to soften at the sound of his voice but then she caught herself. She pushed the gun out straight.
“You know, I don’t think I will.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You’re in shock,” Farnese was saying. “It’s understandable.”
What if I am, she thought? What if he’s right?
But still she didn’t lower the revolver. Instead, she lined it up with the centre of his chest. If he did decide to come at her, she’d be able to get off one shot, at least.
That’s what Karl had taught her. He’d been her bodyguard back on Blackthorn. He’d been delighted when she’d asked him to show her how to handle a gun, although not as delighted as the first time she’d called him to her bedroom.
No, not quite as excited as that.
Karl had been very clear about targeting the upper torso.
“There’s a lot of vital stuff in there. You miss one thing, you’ll likely hit another.”
That was good enough for her and, by the expression on Farnese’s face, he must have shared her confidence because he held back. He didn’t attempt to enter the room.
Still, he was calm even with a gun levelled at his chest. Or at least he appeared calm. She’d slept with him on numerous occasions and there were very few secrets in the bedroom. She knew what he liked and what he didn’t in the same way that she knew when he was acting and when he wasn’t.
And she knew that Farnese was up to something. She just didn’t know what.
“The gun,” Faulkner said, finding it difficult to catch his breath.
Ardent couldn’t look at him without taking her eyes off Farnese.
Did Farnese have a gun? If he did, then he was doing a good job of hiding it. Perhaps down the back of his pants? But she doubted it.
“The gun,” Faulkner said. “On the floor.”
In all the excitement, she’d forgotten about the gunman’s weapon.
Farnese’s eyes betrayed him then.
“What?” he said. “I’m not even…”
He bent forward from the waist as if about to dive for it. But instead of going for the gun, he lunged at her, the full force of his shoulder driving into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The back of her head cracked against something hard and for a moment everything went black.
When she did manage to open her eyes, she found she was having difficulty focussing. She was lying on her back with Farnese standing over her.
In the interim, he’d managed to retrieve the gunman’s stubby weapon and was now aiming it at her stomach.
“Oh, don’t worry, my love. I have no intention of killing you. The Admiralty are going to need someone to blame for all this and personally I couldn’t think of anyone better to take the fall.”
“What are you trying to do,” she demanded but strangely she already knew.
The subtle shift in his demeanour was telling as he shifted back out of reach, transferring his weight onto his back foot while simultaneously bringing up the barrel of the gun. It felt as though her heart was shrivelling away to nothing leaving an echoing hollowness at her core.
Farnese’s smile tightened. “What better than a high-profile scandal to cover my tracks? By renouncing your links to the Confederation you intended to throw in your lot with the Yakutians. That way, you’d be able to cement your role as Blackthorn’s ruler for many years to come.”
Ardent gave him a bemused look. “Okay. But, if that’s my plan, what am I doing here?”
“Trying to please your Yakutian paymasters. By murdering the senior officers aboard the Renheim you hoped to be able to seize the ship, along with all her tech before turning it over to the Empire.”
She didn’t know what was more frightening, what he was saying or the look in his eyes as he was saying it.
Farnese took a step backwards, indicating for her to sit up. From that distance he could keep an eye on both her and Faulkner.
“Why did you do it?” she said. “That’s the one thing I’ve not been able to work out. I mean what’s in it for you?”
Farnese laughed. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because then I’d have to kill you.”
“Well, you’re going to have to kill one of us,” Faulkner said. “You can’t keep us both quiet.”
Farnese let out a long sigh. He looked genuinely troubled.
“You know, I was worried you might say something like that.”
“Listen, commander, I’m not sure I can listen to any more of this. Why don’t you just tell us the truth. What was it that drove you to this point? Turned down for a captaincy one too many times. Is that it?”
Farnese levelled his gun at Faulkner while still looking at Ardent. “Honestly, is he always so self-righteous? Just as well it was Meyer I was having to work with and not him. I doubt I’d have got very far.”
“And is that what you were doing?” Faulkner asked. “Manipulating Meyer to the point that, in the end, he was working with both hands tied behind his back.”
Farnese waved his gun dismissively. “Something like that. Everyone has a weakness, a vice they’d rather no one knew about. Meyer’s was gambling. So my people set up a gambling scam. Very simple. In the first few months, he couldn’t lose. All his bets paid off. He couldn’t believe his luck. Racked up over a million creds worth of profit but by then he was hooked. So when the losses started coming, he thought he could handle it. That he just had to ride that losing streak. That, eventually, he’d get through it. He just had to hold his nerve.
“Except when the big losses started, they just wouldn’t stop and the more he did to try and get out of it, the worse it got. Shame, really. I’m not sure of the final sum but it was well south of twenty million credits. He’d lost everything. Property, investments, his pension. All of it.”
“But you weren’t the one in charge?”
“Oh no. I’m just the front man. Without me, none of this would have been possible.”
“Right, so now I understand,” Faulkner said. “But what about your weakness? What was that? Money, drugs, boys?”
“You were right the first time,” he turned to Ardent. “With me it was money, pure and simple. I’d got sick of waiting for my big career break. Decided to take matters into my own hands. I was actually on the verge of resigning my commission when I was approached. They’d already set up an account for me. More money in a month than I could possibly earn in a year. I’d have been a fool to say no.”
“You were a fool to say yes,” Faulkner indicated the gun he was holding. “Look where it’s got you.”
“Oh, it’ll get me a lot further than this. All I have to do is stick with the plan. All payments guaranteed. I’ve got more money than I could possibly spend in two lifetimes.”
“So, why not walk away?” Faulkner said. “Go and spend all that money. Only you can’t, can you? They won’t allow you to leave, will they?”
Farnese gave him a sour smile. “I haven’t got long to wait, now. As soon as they’ve got what they want, I’ll be able to walk away. Go wherever I like.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Faulkner shook his head. “They’ve got their claws in you now, boy. You’re never getting clear of this.”
Farnese rubbed a hand across his mouth, looking like he’d just been slapped.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. They get what they want, then that’s it. I’m a free agent. Do what I like.”
“Really? You think they’d squander an asset like you? No way. Even if you do get through all this they’ll want to keep you exactly where you are. On the inside. Take care of that captaincy you’ve been harping on about. It’s nothing to them and I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
His look of cool amusement vanished then and he stepped forward to press the barrel of his gun against Faulkner’s forehead.
“You know, I think I’ve changed my mind. I was going to get Sigrid here to shoot you but, you know what? I’m going to do it myself. Sort out the details later.”
As he stepped around to confront Faulkner, he momentarily presented Ardent with a view of his back and that was all the time she needed. She lashed out with her right foot, bringing the toe up and into his groin.
As his body pitched forward he let out a strangled cry and pulled the trigger.
The bullet went wide as Faulkner, having seen what Ardent was attempting, had already thrown himself to the floor.
Ardent was impressed that Farnese managed to keep hold of the gun, not that he could do much with it. He was still trying to come to terms with the overwhelming pain. Give him a couple of seconds, though and they’d be back where they started.
But Ardent had no intention of letting that happen.
She grabbed hold of his leg and hauled herself to her feet, desperately scanning Faulkner’s bedside cabinet for something – anything – that she could use as a weapon.
Besides a clear plastic container which held Faulkner’s medication there was a bedside clock but it was too flimsy for what she wanted.
Then her eyes alighted on the aromatic candle she’d brought him the day of his first surgery. It looked like it had never been lit and was housed in a sturdy glass container.
She picked it up with one hand just as Farnese was beginning to turn. She hit him across the side of the temple as hard as she could and, miraculously, the glass didn’t break.
So she hit him again, and this time it did.
Farnese went down in a heap of arms and legs.
She reached down and helped Faulkner to his feet but he was still unsteady and wrapped an arm around her waist to keep from falling.
For a moment, their faces were almost touching.
“You took your time, didn’t you?” he said.
“I thought you were doing a great job keeping him talking. I was waiting for the best bit: what is it they’re trying to achieve. And now we’ll never know.”
Faulkner took a step back from her and regarded the figure on the floor.
From the movement of his chest it was clear that he was still alive.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. Once we get him talking, we won’t be able to shut him up.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
There had been a great deal of confusion initially about what had occurred – it had all happened so quickly.
Ardent’s first challenge had been to verify Faulkner’s identity. She needed to satisfy the security services before they could move on with anything, so she had contacted Sands and got him to bring down the Chief Medical Director, a man called Samuels, along with two of his most senior clinicians. It had been their job to access the ship’s memory files firstly to verify with one hundred percent accuracy that Faulkner was indeed who he said he was. The director was concerned that any decision they reached would have to have enough reliability to satisfy everyone, but with Sands on hand to provide proof, under oath, of everything that had gone on, the director had been happy to proceed.
But even Ardent hadn’t been prepared for the next stage. The head of the Marines was called. A Major Barclay, completely bald but with perceptive green eyes. He presented himself to Samuels, the Chief Medical Director who quickly brought him up to speed on the situation as it applied to Faulkner but also to Farnese. Then they had turned to Ardent asking for her to repeat what Farnese had told her both about himself and Meyer.
They all agreed that, on the strength of Ardent’s evidence, Meyer needed to be arrested immediately, at which point the Director of Medicine had turned to Major Barclay.
“You know what has to happen now.”
“Technically, yes, sir. Only, I’m a mite confused.”
“How so?”
“Well, this is an extraordinary situation. I’ve never arrested a ship’s captain before but my understanding is that, in these circumstances, I’d be looking to the XO to take up the slack.”
“Which, clearly can’t happen here.”
“Exactly. So we’re looking for the next most highly qualified officer to take over.”
Samuels said, “Why? Is there a problem with that?”
Major Barclay turned apologetically to Faulkner at that point. “I’m struggling, sir. While I don’t mean to be disparaging, I … well… I need to ask you…”
“You’re wondering whether I am mentally capable of taking on this role. Quite understandable. I was wondering the same thing myself.”
All eyes turned to the director who, instead indicated Dr Sands.
He said, “Since Captain Faulkner is currently Doctor Sands’ patient, I’ll leave it up to him to determine whether the captain is indeed fit for duty.”
Sands’ mouth opened soundlessly as he regarded each one of them in turn.
“Captain Faulkner?” he said, finally coming to rest on Ardent. “Yes. I can attest to the fact that Captain Faulkner is mentally fit for duty although physically…”
The director waved aside his other concerns. “Good. That’s settled then. If we can formally swear Captain Faulkner in then we can get underway.”
Faulkner held up a hand. “Gentlemen!” he inclined his head to Ardent. “Madam Governor. Are you seriously suggesting that I take command of this ship? I mean, I’m hardly in a fit state.”
He turned his palms out to indicate his wheelchair.
Samuels stepped off to one side, massaging his temples. When he turned back he did so with renewed vigor.
“Look, I understand that this is highly irregular but then this whole enterprise has been dogged by irregularities from the start. I’m happy for the captain to take charge if Dr Sands says he’s mentally fit enough – that’s the most important thing. It’s not been easy for any of us these last few months having to sit back and watch the ship be mismanaged in the way she has been. Farnese and Captain Meyer allowed that station to be destroyed and none of us could do a damn thing about it. But now, with those gentlemen out of the way, we have an opportunity to put some of that right.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” Barclay said.
“Of course, what is it?”
“Has anyone considered who might be the most senior serving officer on-board?” at this point he turned to Faulkner. “Sir, I mean no offence by this, truly. I’ve followed your career with great interest but as far as your present circumstances are concerned…”
The director had seated himself at a workstation and was currently scrolling through the crew manifest. When he’d finished, he looked up.
“Lieutenant Commander Schwartz is currently the most senior officer on board. Specialist in communications. Qualifications are solid. Masters in Interstellar Relations. Clearly very bright but…”
“Let me guess,” Major Barclay said. “No combat experience.”
“None whatsoever. Pity that.”
“Look!” Faulkner said. “This isn’t a job interview. You have no choice. This woman clearly outranks everyone on board, so the decision’s out of your hands. She can take charge at least until this current crisis has been resolved.”
But Ardent had gone further, scanning the woman’s personnel files also. “No. I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that.”
“Why ever not!” Faulkner protested.
“According to this, it seems that Captain Faulkner isn’t the only one under medical supervision.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Faulkner manuevered the wheelchair so that he could see the screen for himself.
“Oh good Lord! No!”
“What is it?” Barclay asked. “What’s wrong?”
“ It’s Lieutenant Commander Schwartz . Seems she’s pregnant.”
*
With Faulkner’s wheelchair taking up so much space, there wasn’t enough room in Chief Medical Director Samuels’ office to accommodate all of them. So Ardent had no choice but to stand outside with Major Barclay while Faulkner was sworn in as captain. Apart from Faulkner, Samuels was in there conducting the ceremony while his personal assistant ensured that all the paperwork was properly processed.
As soon as the door opened and they started coming out, Ardent couldn’t help herself and started applauding.
Faulkner regarded her sternly. “I think that’s quite enough of that, Madam Governor.”
“Nonsense. May I be the first to congratulate you or your new role as captain of the Renheim?”
“I’m not sure that congratulations are in order at this stage, but thank you.” Without missing a beat he turned towards Barclay. “Major, I’d like you to organise a detachment of men to accompany us to the bridge.”
“Are we expecting trouble, sir?”
“To be quite honest, I have no idea, but when things happen this swiftly there’s bound to be a certain element of confusion kicking around. And we don’t want confusion turning into active resistance now, do we?”
“Very good, sir. I’ll get a team together.”
“You do that. Chief Medical Director, Madam Governor, I’d appreciate it if you’d both accompany me to the bridge. A few familiar faces might help to settle things down a bit.”
Ardent struggled to contain her excitement at being asked. Samuels had been right when he’d talked about how difficult it had been having to stand by and watch while the ship was being mismanaged. But now, with Faulkner in control, she hoped that they could finally redress the balance.
