Haze and the Hammer of Darkness (35 page)

The colonel frowned. “We've already established that the magnetic field is odd, but many planets have different or off-angled fields.”

“Three separate fields, sir? I doubt that.”

“Doubts are not facts, Major.”

“Sir … I am an agent, not a scientist or a theoretical physicist. I was never allowed more than limited access to their commnet, nor to any written material that might explain how they have accomplished what they have, except for what I brought back. Even so, I am a trained observer, and what I saw suggests great caution in dealing with the Dubietans.”

“Tell me.” The colonel's voice was soft. “What do you think that they have accomplished?”

“They have built a subsurface transport system that is faster and more reliable than any planetary air or surface or subsurface transport system in the Federation, and far more effectively designed and operated than any system we have. They have created a layered orbital shield system that selectively admits solar radiation, keeps the planet from being observed by any form of energy, and would probably destroy most vessels trying to land on the surface. They have developed a tight-beam directional broadcast technology that radiates virtually no stray radiation yet allows all citizens commnet access. They have structured their society in a way that makes most continuing or habitual criminal activity extremely difficult, if not impossible. They can launch a dropboat at high velocity and with greater accuracy than any current Federation technology, and they can do so unobserved. Finally, they have some way of observing the Federation, and they have been doing so for centuries.”

“Yet they allowed you to depart?”

“They helped me. The dropboat was badly damaged on the descent. You can tell that from the repairs. They wanted me to return. Why else would they go to all that trouble?”

“The techs have examined the dropboat. They can discern repairs, but no spy gear and no explosives or weapons.”

“I assume they brought it into the engineering bays and totally disassembled it,” said Roget mildly.

“That was unnecessary and unwise. All necessary inspection could be carried out with the craft on tether.”

Since the dropboat wasn't exactly a great military threat, given its minuscule size compared to the
WuDing
and the armament and shields of the battlecruiser, Tian had to be more concerned about possible nano-snoops.

“And what is the nature of the repairs?” asked Roget.

“They're comparable to Federation standards.”

Roget suspected the repairs were far better, and that the colonel wasn't about to admit that.

“Is there anything else, Major?”

“One thing, sir. Dubietan Director Hillis suggested that you make an inquiry into the events of 6556
F. E.
and the disappearance of Federation Exploratory Force Three. She also suggested that High Command review any stellar maps that might exist of this area in the year 4245
F. E.
”

“That's almost a thousand years before the Federation was even space faring.”

“Send a ship twenty-five hundred light years away and record what it sees,” suggested Roget.

“We scarcely have time or resources for such.”

But you and the Federation have enough to start a conflict that will cost far more.
“It wouldn't take that long.”

“I'm sure they suggested that. It would buy time.”

“They didn't suggest anything except looking at maps.”

“I'm certain you believe that, Major.” The colonel offered a cold smile. “That would be in their interests.”

“That may be, sir, but there are unresolved observations about Dubiety. I would suggest looking into those dates before taking any action.”

“We look into everything, Major. We look at the facts, especially.”

Only selectively.
But wasn't that an all-too-human trait?

“You may go, Major. For the time being, I strongly suggest you confine yourself to the wardroom, the exercise spaces, and your quarters.”

“Yes, sir.” Roget wanted to shake his head, but there wasn't even much point in that. Instead, he inclined his head politely and rose. The colonel had made up his mind—or it had been made up for him before the
WuDing
had set out for the Dubiety system.

 

32

23 LAYU 6746
F. E.

After five days alone in the needleboat, the last thirty-odd hours on decel, Roget was restless but worried about what sort of reception might await them at the target destination. He hadn't gotten all that much sleep, either. Despite the vast distances between asteroids and the other ancient debris in the Belt, the needle's speed and course had resulted in the detector's alerting him a good twenty times, usually just after he'd dozed off. By the time he'd made course changes and regrouped the flight, he was awake, and getting back to sleep was difficult.

He considered the situation. According to the briefing materials, the pirates had raided the mining storage and consolidation outpost off Themis just after a solar slow-boat had arrived. They'd discovered and disabled almost all of the tracking devices in the cargo—except several of a newer design. Using those, the FIS had tracked the pirates to the pair of asteroids that was Roget's destination—less than an hour away. Given the raid, the FIS had decided that the pirate colony had been far too disruptive, but not enough to warrant fleet action, given the costs. Also, a needleboat flight had far more chance of making an initial attack unnoticed.

For a while yet, there was nothing Roget could do except wait.

He used his belt flash to project the image of Hildegarde just out from the side bulkhead, so close that he could have reached out and touched her—had she actually been there. The little black dachshund with the tan oval patches above her eyes gazed at him, as expectantly as ever. Just looking at the projected image of the ancient oil painting seemed to relax Roget, far more than viewing one of the scores of holodramas stored in the needleboat's entertainment files. Even the incongruity of seeing Hildegarde sitting on an ancient blue velvet sofa and a hand-knitted maroon and cream afghan, with the entire scene framed by plasticoated metal bulkheads, didn't bother him.

“It doesn't bother you either, does it, little girl?” he murmured.

Hildegarde just kept looking at him, expectantly.

Roget left Hildegarde perched on her sofa in midair above his right shoulder as he checked the needle's course and the data assimilation on the target.

Although the two asteroids revolved around each other, the tracking signalers and the energy indications made it clear that the target was the larger body—an irregular chunk of rock shaped roughly like an elongated potato some eight klicks long and three in diameter at the thickest part, one bulbous end. The needleboat instruments confirmed the briefing materials—that the target asteroid was half-nickel and half solid, stony basaltic material, the larger bulbous end being the metallic part. From the stray energy emanations picked up by his instruments, Roget pegged the “colony” as being located in the middle of what loosely might be termed the larger bulbous polar area.

The EDI showed only diffuse energy, barely above ambient. That wasn't surprising. While a pirate colony that had survived for any length of time had to have several fusactors, they would be placed where virtually all heat and energy would be used and trapped within the nickel-iron core of the asteroid.

Another twenty minutes passed before Roget collapsed the holo image, returning Hildegarde to her electronic kennel, so to speak, and squared himself before the controls. He donned his helmet, although he hoped that he wouldn't end up with integrity damage after the mission. A week's return in a suit would be sheer hell.

Like any FIS flight, the three needles would attack from widely divergent approach angles because pirate colonies were always energy limited, and a split approach required them to fragment their defenses or to ignore one or more of the attackers.

Digger flight, Digger one. Commence separation this time.

Digger one, two here, stet.

Digger three, stet.

The basic strategy Roget intended to employ was the reverse of the squirrel defense. Because the pirates/unauthorized colonists had to be dug in fairly deeply, the needleboats could appear, fire torps, and cross any area covered by defensive systems quickly enough that it would be difficult to track and acquire the attackers. The downside of the strategy was that the number of such passes was limited because the asteroid was too small for the needles to establish tight orbits and all passes had to be fully powered.

Roget's first pass would target a source of energy emanations—generally comm equipment or the colony's scanners. With luck, that would limit the pirates' ability to focus on the FIS needles.

Digger one will lead. Commencing run this time.

Stet.

The two other needles would follow his pass, but not from the same approach angle. Digger two would slip past the companion asteroid, while three would come in from an approximate reverse of Roget's pass. Roget doubted that the pirates had the equipment or the power to maintain a full sky scan. Most didn't … but there were always exceptions to everything, and unexpected exceptions could cause casualties.

The asteroid swelled in the screen projections before Roget.

Power at fifteen. Target lock-on,
confirmed the needle's targeting system.

Fire one. Retarget to target two.

Roget waited just an instant before the system confirmed its lock on a pile of rock that held a ghostly rectangular shape—most probably a concealed launch or recovery tube and lock.

Fire two.

The screens indicated torp one's impact on target—and the pirate energy emanations died away.

An energy flash alerted Roget, but even before he or his systems could react, a pirate torp was halfway toward the needle. Within instants, it had fragmented into a cone of smaller missiles. Roget increased power, but he could see that the edge of the missile cone would impact his shields.

At the last possible moment, he diverted all available power into the needle's shields.

Even so, the small ship shuddered as the hail of solid-iron missiles pummeled its shields. Iron at even moderate speed was hard on shields. The pirates had one great advantage—lots of iron—and one disadvantage—a lack of power with which to propel it at more than a single incoming craft at a time.

Digger two, three … be advised target launching mass driver torps with iron missile cone.

Stet, Digger lead.

The needleboat's tracking system had flagged the source of the launch—another tube hidden almost a klick from the now-incapacitated comm array—and he relayed it to Digger two and three. Before his system had a chance to determine the location of the scanner arrays that the pirates had to be using to target the Federation needle boats, Roget was beyond the curved section of the asteroid where he'd begun his attack.

The backside showed no energy sources, and no torps rose from the basaltic surface.

Roget shifted his course and eased the needle behind the companion asteroid before readying the third and fourth torps and moving into position behind the third needleboat.

Digger three, will tail-chase you.

Stet.

Roget hung back slightly as Digger three angled toward the pirate installation, instructing the targeting system to search for the energy burst of the mass driver that was flinging the crude torps at them.

Target located,
the system noted.

Fire three.

Digger lead, two here. Shields amber.

Two, break off attack. Stand off this time.

Stet.

Good, thought Roget. There was no point for two to risk getting turned into scattered mass and energy. Not yet, anyway.

A flare of energy spurted from the asteroid's surface.

Digger three, note last impact. Mass driver shaft. Target that impact on next pass.

Stet, Digger lead.

Roget fired his fourth torp at the mass driver shaft, but he was far enough past the target area that the asteroid's bulk blocked his detectors. He'd have to wait for the next pass to see how much damage they'd been able to inflict.

He swung the needle into another powered turn, one that would bring him back over the area of the installations, but at almost ninety degrees to his last pass. No sense in being predictable. The pirates might have something else waiting.

Digger lead, impact on target. Impact on target.

Stet. Coming in for last pass this time.

Once he was clear of the bulge of the asteroid, Roget zeroed in on the target display. Digger three's torps, following his, had opened a small crater in the uneven surface. Roget could see a roughly circular tube at one end of the crater. One advantage of attacking a low-gravity installation was that the debris tended to get blown clear, rather than just piling up in the crater.

The moment he had lock-on, he fired a single torp.

The torp ran true, vanishing into the circular opening. Then a wide semicircle of the basaltic surface buckled. Dust spurted everywhere, as did stone fragments.

Roget cleared the area well before stone fragments flew outward across what had been his flight path.

Digger flight, stand clear of target area this time.

Three, standing clear.

Two, clear.

Roget slowed his needle and swung into a turn that would carry him back over the target area. He expected dust to be hanging over the area because the asteroid was so small that its gravity was minuscule. Instead, the scanners revealed scattered areas of dust and other clear areas where dust plumes were already klicks out from the surface. For a moment, he didn't understand why. Then he swallowed. The last torp had done enough damage that the integrity of much, if not most, of the subsurface installation had been breached, and the release of the internal atmosphere had created those lanes of clearer space, even if the distinction between clarity and dust was so slight that only the scanners could pick it up.