Here we stand, p.42
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Here We Stand, page 42

 

Here We Stand
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  Marc braced. He couldn’t lie because he’d need to remember what he’d said and it was all going to get too bloody messy in the long run anyway.

  “It’s not Ainatio’s technology,” he said. “And we all found out about it a few hours before we left Earth. Right now, accept what the gift horse gave us. I’ll tell you what the catch is later, when we’ve worked it out ourselves.”

  Lawson went quiet again. Marc would have assumed he’d have someone with him listening in on the conversation just as Marc did, but maybe not. The bloke was smart enough to realise he didn’t know what he was going to be told, so he didn’t know who else ought to hear it. He’d want to control the information very carefully.

  “I did wonder why the Americans had decided not to avail themselves of the airlift,” Lawson said at last. “So you’ve got all those civilians with you on Opis. You have a settlement. A base.”

  “Yes, that’s what Ainatio built remotely over the last seventy years using bots. It wasn’t even a secret at the time. Nobody thought Bednarz could do it, but he wrote papers and gave interviews about it, so it’s all out there. We’re still evaluating the situation.”

  “I hope we can speak frankly,” Lawson said. “You must know that we know Cabot wasn’t lost with all hands.”

  “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

  “There were former Royal Navy personnel on board.”

  “They don’t seem to grasp the former bit, actually,” Marc said. “They’re still playing Grey Funnel Lines. Ranks and everything.”

  Lawson sounded like he’d paused to consult his notes. “Captain Bridget Ingram, Commanding Officer.”

  Marc looked at Ingram and shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to let Lawson speak to her, not tonight. “Correct.”

  “Where is Captain Ingram now? Opis, I assume.”

  “She is.”

  “May I ask why hasn’t she attempted to contact us?”

  Marc went into defensive mode. Ingram gestured angrily at him in that give-me-the-bloody-handset way but he ignored her. Later, he mouthed.

  “OPSEC,” Marc said. “Ainatio blocked Cabot’s comms to keep the cover story going. The company doesn’t even exist now, but we still haven’t let anyone contact Earth, least of all crew members who are from APS states. Ingram’s kept the base operating in challenging circumstances, and she evacuated the Americans, which is where you came in. But I will pass on your request to her, though.”

  Lawson was commendably calm and polite. “So who’s in command, then?”

  “It’s joint,” Marc said. “Ingram, me, Chris — who you’ve spoken to — and Ainatio’s head of security, plus the mayor of the town we evacuated. We’ve got a lot of issues to deal with that I can’t discuss yet, and we’ve already lost a civilian member of Cabot’s crew, so believe me when I say you will not want to rush out here anytime soon.”

  “You’ll explain this to me at some point, I hope.”

  Marc stopped looking at Chris and Ingram for reactions. He was going it alone now. “Yes, I will. In the meantime, it might be best not to give politicians this incomplete information. It won’t be conducive to good decision-making.”

  “You’re a natural for the Civil Service, Marc. I too would prefer to have the full picture before I brief ministers.”

  Yes, they were on the same page. Marc could speak Lawson’s coded language. They were going to keep this under wraps for as long as they could.

  “And watch out for Tim Pham and his little helpers,” Marc said. “He’s bound to have some on your turf. He had some unusual ideas about the tech Ainatio was using. He was right about it being FTL, but he was convinced it was all a secret British deal with the company.”

  “How flattering.” Lawson took an audible breath. “Marc, we’re very grateful for all this. I accept whatever’s happening at your end is difficult, so I’ll await your briefings. It’s a testament to your loyalty that you still have time to consider your country’s needs when you’re no longer obliged to.”

  Marc winced. He’d just been caught short by some tosser’s treachery, that was all. He didn’t want unjustified praise, or any praise at all for that matter. But for some reason, however guilty he felt, and however furious he was about being dumped this shit, he felt better that Lawson knew and that Britain had a better chance of survival. It was all wrong in terms of Nomad’s mission, and he’d said so himself. But his gut said it was absolutely right.

  “I suppose I can ask you for a favour, then,” he said.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Can you tell me what happened to the Cho family? The young APDU corporal, his dad, and his sister. Did they claim asylum?”

  “Cho’s father and sister are living here now,” Lawson said. She’s having treatment. But I believe Corporal Cho is in a military prison in Australia awaiting a court martial.”

  Shit. Marc’s relief died on the spot. So Pham had caught up with Cho, then, but at least the kid was still alive.

  “Any location you can give me would be appreciated,” Marc said. “The more accurate the better.”

  “I’ll find out what I can, Marc. We’re not too badly placed in Australia. If you’re thinking of an extraction, though, that’ll be a tall order even for you.”

  “We’ll see. I still have an extensive contacts book. But you don’t need to worry about it.”

  “We’ll stay in touch, then. Thank you again, Marc.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll keep you posted.”

  Marc closed the link and sat at the desk with his head in his hands for a moment. When he looked up, Chris was staring at the wall again. Ingram walked over and patted Marc on the back.

  “All things considered, Bravo Zulu,” she said.

  Chris came out of his trance and nodded. “Yeah. You didn’t even lie to him about Pham and the gate — well, not so blatantly that you’ll need to apologise one day. I wouldn’t be surprised if he works out the alien angle for himself, though. He realised we must have had some fancy FTL in advance to get here in the elapsed time. I’m amazed he didn’t press you on whose it was.”

  “He’s probably saving that for next time,” Marc said. “Okay, so who is it? Who’s our leak?”

  “Someone who’s male, English, had access to the FTL files, knew how to place a call via the Earth probe, and knew Lawson’s number,” Chris said. “Or maybe two or more people who fit at least one of those slots. Because this might not be a lone wolf.”

  Ingram checked something on her screen, frowning and unblinking. Marc could imagine what was going through her mind. The leaker had to be one of her own. Ainatio didn’t have any British scientists out here, and on a base where people were already nursing grievances about Abbie Vincent betraying her colleagues twice and nearly scuppering Nomad, this was going to boil enough piss to run a power station. It’d also fuel the bitching about Brits taking over and feathering their own nests.

  And Ingram took betrayal very personally. Marc could see it on her face, and he understood it. Backstabbing was bad enough in a civilian workplace, but for a comrade in arms to do it was a threat to everything the armed forces stood for and relied upon to function.

  Here we go again.

  People would need to see retribution. There’d be a collapse of discipline and morale without it. However comfortable things were materially, Nomad still had to be united, willingly or not, if everyone was going to survive.

  Chris stood up. “I’m going outside for some air,” he said.

  Marc looked at Ingram. Chris wanted to have a private discussion that he didn’t feel he could have in front of Simonot. Marc tried to work out how to extract himself without making Simonot feel like a leper. Ingram headed for the door.

  “I’d better talk to Chris before he starts rounding up suspects,” she said.

  Marc looked at Simonot. He was a very smart kid. He’d been on comms through every crisis so far and Marc trusted him. They should have been able to talk in front of him, but Chris was right to take it outside, and maybe he had things to say that he felt would embarrass Simonot.

  “I’m not looking forward to telling Lawson about the aliens,” Marc said, trying to be sociable before he made his excuses to leave. “I’m not sure I’d believe it myself.”

  Simonot leaned back in his seat. “It’s Fred.”

  “What?”

  “I think Fred made the call.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Lawson couldn’t place the accent.”

  Marc had to think about that. Fred had learned English from Jeff Aiken with the aid of a language course on his screen, and he’d come out of it with a very similar accent to the posh English bloke voicing the lessons. But the accents of other people he spent time with influenced him as well.

  “I think I see what you mean,” Marc said. “But I’m not sure.”

  Simonot shrugged. “He learned the accent he heard from the English language module, but it’s been modified a bit because of his exposure to American accents.”

  It made perfect sense. Marc wasn’t thrilled, but it was better than having to deal with the fallout of a human traitor.

  “Well spotted, Corporal,” Marc said.

  “I spend my life listening to voices on the net.”

  “I’d better get on it,” Marc said. “Thanks, mate.”

  Marc found Ingram and Chris sitting on the steps outside the main entrance. He could hear the whispered discussion when he got closer.

  “Most of the shit we’re in is down to our own people double-crossing us,” Chris was saying. “We’ve got to crack down and it’s not going to be pretty.”

  “It’s not us,” Marc said.

  Chris looked around as Marc sat down. “What makes you say that?”

  “Simonot says it’s Fred. Modified English accent. That’s what Fred’s learned.”

  “Not Bissey?”

  “Why do you think it’s Bissey?” Marc asked.

  “He’s Mr Moral High Ground. He’d see it as saving Britain.”

  Ingram studied her screen. “I wouldn’t disbelieve hard evidence, but that’s not Peter’s style. He told me I should have handed all the tech over to the MoD, but he wouldn’t do it behind my back. He’d tell me first and dare me to stop him.”

  “But that fits,” Chris said. “He doesn’t try to hide it. He tells Lawson to call Marc about it.”

  “He hasn’t got access to the command network to pull up the blueprints,” Ingram said. “And he can’t access the probe without someone knowing. No, I think Simonot’s right. Sol, where are you on this? You’ve got access to all the logs, haven’t you?”

  “I have, Captain, but I want to make sure I’m interpreting them correctly. Fred ticks all the boxes, though.”

  Chris sighed. “Well, shit. He did say he wanted a lot more humans here. But I didn’t think he was that impulsive.”

  “Remember you’re only here because he is,” Ingram said.

  “Sol, can he pull call logs off the probe relay?” Marc asked. “Because I’m the only person other than Chris who had Lawson’s direct number, and I used it.”

  “That’s definitely possible, and he’ll also be able to call up recordings,” Solomon said. “At least one call in the log over the last four days isn’t showing a number in or out. I’m capable of erasing and spoofing numbers, and I think two of the Ainatio IT staff are as well, but so are the teeriks.”

  “Okay, I withdraw what I said about Bissey, then,” Chris said. “But it would have been easier if it was a human. We’re too dependent on the teeriks to cut them off from the network. Or line them up in front of a firing squad.”

  “Could I just remind you of the practicalities of what we’re doing at the moment?” Solomon said. “I’ve blocked the probe signals to everyone except Joint Command, which means people won’t be getting their news and TV shows now, and most of them will notice in a couple of hours when they wake up. Including the teeriks. We’ll need an announcement to stop the rumour mill.”

  “I’m on it,” Ingram said. “I’m going to my cabin to draft something. Can you bring Dan up to speed as well, please? The sooner he knows the better.”

  Ingram stood up and went back inside the building. Chris looked at Marc and shrugged.

  “I was supposed to be watching Brazil versus Chile on the TV tomorrow night. Ah well.”

  “You don’t even like football.”

  “It’s a date.”

  “Bloody hell, Chris.” Marc tried hard to lighten up, but it was nearly three in the morning and every problem he’d solved yesterday had already been replaced by brand new ones. “Please tell me it’s not Fonseca. You’re a glutton for punishment.”

  “Ash Brice in Water and Waste Management.”

  “Oh. Really?” Marc wondered if he was the last to know, but Chris was very private. “Good for you. If she’s invited you round to watch the footie, though, I doubt she’s planning an evening of educating you about the offside rule.”

  “I wouldn’t even mind if she was,” Chris said plaintively. “So it’s official now, is it? You and Ingram?”

  “No secrets here, eh?”

  “About time.”

  “Can we get back on topic?”

  “Okay.”

  “I hope it was Fred, actually,” Marc said. “If we find it was one of us, we can’t not punish them or it’ll mean anything goes and we won’t survive. We dodged it with the absence of a Mother Death sleeper, but this time we’re not looking for someone who might not exist. We know he’s real this time.”

  Chris looked as innocently wide-eyed as ever. “I’d shoot a civvy for this, Marc, let alone one of us. But if Fred’s offered to talk the Brit scientists through the plans, how can we trust him not to mention the Caisin gate as well? Even by accident.”

  Solomon interrupted. “If we ever get to the stage of talking anyone through anything — which I still think is a bad idea — then I can put a delay on the uplink so I can block the signal if Fred strays into contentious topics.”

  “Like talk radio used to,” Chris said. “The profanity button.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Fred’s quite open about what he sees as being best for Opis. He believes bringing millions of humans out here is going to keep the Kugin in line and give us some protection now we’ve fallen foul of the Jattans. I just have to prove he’s guilty before you take further action, though.”

  “At least that would spare us the inevitable shitstorm when we choose between a firing squad and loss of TV privileges for a month,” Marc said. “We need teeriks. But we don’t have to give them access to everything.”

  Chris shrugged. “You don’t open the door to the same people who made Earth a hell-hole. If they want to find another planet to screw up, fine by me, but not here. I’m with you on this, Sol.”

  “I’m not sure Britain represents that problem,” Solomon said. “But I would expect the situation to be politically challenging, and we’d lose control of Nomad unless we resisted.”

  “Anyway, nothing’s changed. Even with all the glue and instructions, it’s still going to take the Brits years to build a ship. No offence, Marc. Maybe we will need your guys by then.”

  “I’m on to the next problem now, mate,” Marc said. “Try to keep up. I’d better rehearse how I tell Lawson about aliens.”

  “Now that’s a historic role.”

  “It’s going to be a hard day today. I need to get a couple of hours’ sleep.”

  “Go on. I’ll catch up with Dan.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Before you go, though, if you’re thinking of springing Barry Cho from prison, don’t try to con me again and go on your own. I’m a big boy now and I can do this stuff. I’m going with you. And it’s not out of pity. We’re still testing infiltration and exfil using the gate and we need more than one of us proficient at it.”

  Chris looked him straight in the eye. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between a challenge and a plea with him.

  “I don’t really believe you,” Marc said. “But I concede the point. We all need to get good at it.”

  “And it upsets Howie if you go alone.”

  “Now that was below the belt.”

  “Go get some sleep.”

  Marc went to find Ingram. She was still in her cabin, chin resting on her hand as she tapped out a message with one finger. Marc flopped down on her bunk and shut his eyes.

  “If things ever settle down here, we’re going to die of boredom,” she said. “Sorry about Barry Cho, by the way. You’re going to try extracting him, aren’t you?”

  “It’s what I do, sweetheart. Hostage extraction.” His eyelids felt like lead now. “Right or wrong, I can’t turn my back on him.”

  Ingram laughed to herself. “You’ve turned into an old married man in fifty-two hours. God, I nearly said forty-eight. I’m still not used to it.”

  “At least we don’t have to argue about whether to tell the government now.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of other crises to fill the gap. Like what happens when non-British personnel find out and want their country to get a slice of the action too.”

  “That’d be Brazil,” Marc said. “The rest are APS and that’s a hard no from almost everyone. In theory there’s Russia and India, but we’ve got one Russian and no Indians. The rest haven’t got a country now.”

  “Did Canada manage to keep any engineering capacity? We’ve got a couple of Canadians.”

  “Are you asking me if I’ve got intel?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s old intel, but no, they haven’t.” Marc meshed his fingers behind his head. “Y’know, I’m relieved. Whatever the rights and wrongs of leaking the FTL stuff, it accidentally did the right thing for Britain, even if it was for the wrong reasons. And yeah, I know how that sounds. I just feel better for not standing back while Britain sinks and pretending it’s for a higher moral purpose.”

 
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