The Black Hawk, Standard Year 403 after founding

  Alanna spent most of the next day sleeping. There wasn’t much to do in the cell, anyway. Someone, probably Clara, had gotten her a blanket. She was getting five ration bars a day, which was two more than what she had on D12. Plus the coffee and seemingly unlimited water. No one was bleeding from their eyes so for whatever reason, the open cups and unfiltered liquid seemed to be working for them. Maybe they drank the liquid fast enough that the bacteria didn’t have time to breed on ship. The ration bars were piled up on the floor in the corner of her cell. The thought of food was turning her stomach. She stared at the bars, blinking her eyes blearily.

  It was hard to keep track of the passage of time on a spaceship, but they lowered the lights as evening approached. Last night, the lights had also dimmed but… Alanna sat up. It was darker than it should have been, and suddenly, very quiet. All she heard now was the sound of approaching footsteps, muffled but becoming more audible. She blinked. Captain James Hawk stood in front of the bars of her cell, but not quite.

  “Am I awake?” She asked sleepily, staring up at the apparition in jeans and a black shirt stretched across his shoulders. Captain James Hawk, out of uniform.

  “What do you think?”

  Alanna sat up, holding her hand up in a fist in front of her and extending her fingers. “Poof.”

  He was laughing at her. “Still here.”

  “The night gets worse and worse.”

  “I’m not your favorite person right now.” He said quietly, entering the cell and setting the bag he brought with him down on the floor. There was an ominous clink as something hard settled onto the floor.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure of this informal visit, from my least favorite person?” Alanna asked grimly, watching him sit across from her on the tiny bunk.

  James remained silent, reaching into his bag and pulling out a compact metal sphere.

  Alanna’s eyes widened, watching him activate the sphere. The murky twilight of the cell block went pitch black. Captain James Hawk activated the EMP emitter, taking out all electronics within a certain radius. Set to full power in the wrong place, that device might be able to destroy the entire ship.

  “I don’t suppose life support is in the vicinity?” Alanna asked hopefully.

  “It’s set to about ten feet and no critical systems are in the vicinity. Real lost opportunity there, not placing life support near the prison cells.”

  Alanna flinched. In the darkness, his voice sounded closer. She heard a match strike, blinking at the flash of light cutting across the darkness, and watched as he lit a candle and placed it on the bed between them.

  James stared at her in the flickering light of the flame. He frowned. “Is that a blanket?”

  “Yes.” Under the blanket, her fingers tightened on the fabric. It was always cold, and they turned down the temperature even further at night. She didn’t want it taken away. She forced her fingers to release the fabric. It wasn’t good for prisoners to become attached to things that could be easily taken.

  “You can keep it.” James shook his head. “No goddamn discipline on this ship.”

  “What do you want?”

  “To save your life.”

  “That seems wildly unlikely.”

  James smiled. “What do you think I want?”

  Alanna eyed him across the bed. “I don’t know. Do you need an EMP emitter for the obvious?”

  James considered, watching her huddled on the other side of the bed. “No. I don’t need an EMP for that.”

  “Then I truly have no goddamn idea.”

  He reached back into his bag and pulled out two beer bottles, opening both on the edge of the metal bunk. He handed her one. “I need the EMP to have a private conversation. That’s all. Take the bottle.”

  Alanna considered the situation. “I’m going to get drunk.”

  “Ok.”

  “Because in retrospect, last night would have gone better with alcohol.”

  “Last night, I needed you sober.”

  “And tonight, you need me drunk?”

  “Tonight, I’m good either way.” He reached back into the bag. “I also brought pie.”

  Alanna took the slice of pie he offered her. She was definitely dreaming. She drank the beer, just in case.

  “The record of Captain Mace’s permanent departure from this world has been deleted with equal permanence. Eat your pie.”

  In the absence of anything better to do, she ate the pie. It was warm and had apples in it. “Were you really going to torture civilians?” She asked.

  James sighed. “Yes, I would have. But I didn’t want to. Let’s talk about something else.”

  Alanna nodded. “Ok. Well, I was just lying here thinking, I’m going to make it into the history books. I’m going to be famous. Little children everywhere will read my name and know, Alanna Summers, traitor. Now, with illustrations. Do you think they’ll use a flattering photo, or one of the really bad ones?”

  “I could see it go either way. Alanna, they renounced you, you renounced them. Your career as a Sarayan military officer couldn’t be more over. And from what I saw, it wasn’t going that well to begin with. Move on.”

  “Move on to what? Getting tortured and freezing to death in a Tundran prison cell?”

  “That will not happen.”

  She drank more beer. She hated beer. “Can I have the second bottle?”

  “Yes.”

  They sat in silence for a while, the candle flickering softly. “Who made the pie?” Alanna asked into the silence.

  “My mom.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, seriously.”

  “I guess I didn’t really picture you as having a mother.”

  “Biologically unlikely.” James murmured.

  “What’s she like?” Alanna asked, suddenly fascinated.

  “Sniper, master class. Very high kill count. Also, makes great pie.”

  “I… see. Is your dad the nice one in the family?”

  “My father…” James paused, an image of Jim Hawk appearing in his mind. “No, he’s not the nice one.”

  “And your parents named you after the president?” Alanna snickered, making excellent progress on her second beer bottle. “Aren’t you a little old for that? Was Jim Hawk even the president when you were born?”

  James paused. “It’s a common name.” He said carefully. It was a common name.

  “You think your mom would want you sharing pie with enemy combatants?”

  “You’re not an enemy combatant.”

  Alanna took a swig from the second bottle. “No. I suppose not. What happens now?”

  James looked down at his feet, stretching towards the bars of the cell “I submitted your application. For asylum.”

  Alanna choked. “You did what?”

  “I was hoping by the second bottle this would go over better.”

  “There is just not enough beer in the universe....”

  “There was a letter of recommendation to go with it. I wrote it.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Has it been rejected yet?”

  James shook his head. “I don’t think you understand the situation.”

  “How drunk do I want to be before you explain it to me?”

  “I’m going to ignore that. Let’s try it this way. How often do you think I’ve failed to achieve a primary mission objective?”

  “You’re going to say never.”

  James Hawk smiled.

  “And what is your primary mission objective for tonight, Captain?”

  “To save your life.”

  Alanna stared, the realization dawning on her. “The asylum application isn’t going to be rejected?”

  “Very good, lieutenant.” He nodded approvingly. “Now you are beginning to see the light. And if it is rejected, we will reapply. You are getting asylum, or we will find another way. My people expect me to fix the mess you’ve handed me and I will damn well make sure it gets fixed. All I need is a minimal level of cooperation from you.”

  “I don’t want it.”

  James nodded. Now they were getting somewhere. “What are you afraid of?”

  Alanna stared at him. The beer was making her head spin and the world was turning upside down. There was a way tonight was supposed to go. She was going to get raped and be left with or without the blanket until her imminent transport to a Tundran prison. Her current reality was not a foreseeable turn of events. “Was that why you made me say those things last night?” She asked finally, ignoring his initial question.

  “Yes. Why else would I have done it?”

  She shrugged. “Why does anyone ever make someone say these things? A power trip, a morale boost for the other side, maybe a dash of sadistic fun. I don’t understand. If that was your reason, why didn’t you just tell me last night?”

  “Would it have worked?”

  Alanna ran her hands through her hair, trying to mask her frustration. “Would that on its own have gotten me to say those words? No.” she admitted. “But why not tell me anyway? If you’re trying to help someone, like you claim you’re doing, why would you hide it?

  James looked at her thoughtfully. “We interviewed your people. I needed to understand you, to know which triggers worked best. And then, of course, I had the answers in your own words. You are suicidal. You will sacrifice to protect your people and self sabotage efforts to help you. Threatening your people was the right trigger. Offering you salvation was not.”

  Alanna sat back, stunned. Once again, Captain James Hawk had outmaneuvered her. No, he had destroyed her.

  “What are you afraid of?” He repeated.

  “It’s not really the done thing to share that in an interrogation.”

  “This isn’t an interrogation.” He gestured at the EMP emitter sitting between them. “This is an unofficial, private conversation.”

  Alanna looked over at him, sitting close enough to hear his breathing. Space age battles were fought in ships. Even close combat typically involved vacuum rated gear. They were all helmets and suits with enemy symbols, not people. Seeing Captain Hawk’s face on video was the first time she had seen the face of the enemy. Now, she was close enough to hear him breathing. The enemy had never been this close. For which she had been intensely grateful. “Have you ever tortured someone?”

  He shifted slightly, but his eyes held her gaze. “Yes.”

  “I will be questioned. It’s unavoidable.”

  James nodded. “I will offer what protection I can. But yes, at some point you will likely be questioned. That doesn’t always mean torture, Alanna. If you…”

  “Will it be you?” She interrupted. “Will you be the one questioning me?”

  James hesitated, his eyes dropping from her face to the EMP between them. “No.” he said flatly.

  “Why not? It’s the natural choice. As you say, you know my triggers.”

  “If asked, I would decline.”

  “And if ordered?”

  “I would decline.” He repeated.

  “Is that an option?”

  “I’m James Hawk. It’s an option for me.”

  Alanna shrugged. “I don’t know what that means. I don’t even know if you’re telling the truth.”

  “The uncertainty is unavoidable. Is that the answer, then? You’re afraid of being tortured, questioned by me, and freezing to death in a Tundran prison. Am I missing anything?”

  “A very comprehensive list, captain.”

  “Want to hear a story?”

  Alanna shrugged, taking another sip of her beer. “Sure, why not?”

  “First, here.” He handed her a second slice of pie. “Eat this and I’m going to tell you how I took Avalon Station.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to know how I took Avalon Station, Alanna? You’ll like this story. No one died in it.”

  Alanna nodded. For the first time, her eyes gleamed with something other than rage. Oh yes, she wanted to hear the story.

  “Now, before I begin, I would like to remind you that you could be dead. Instead, you’re eating pie and hearing the story of Avalon Station. There are advantages to being alive.”

  “There are advantages to being alive. Tell me the story.” Her life had recently years of boredom, frustration, and anticipation of impending doom. She wanted to hear this story.

  James stretched out his feet until they touched the bars, getting comfortable. “Avalon is a medium sized ore mining station out in the asteroid belt. Fully operational with well-maintained defenses, forty stationed military personnel and a crew of about sixty civilian miners. I have a crew of sixty and one man on the inside. I volunteered for the mission. You know the three to one rule?”

  “The attacker needs a three to one advantage to take a defended position.”

  “Very good.” James nodded. “If you count civilians, I’m outnumbered nearly two to one. Why did I take the mission?”

  “Because the man on the inside gave you information about a critical weakness?”

  James shook his head. “No. There are no critical weaknesses on record.”

  “But you took the station.”

  “I did, but not because of a critical weakness in station defenses. Sometimes, human nature is the critical weakness. Before I left, I made a requisition. Two heated buckets of liquid gold. Vacuum rated.” James smiled smugly, watching Alanna’s eyes gleam in pure joy. It was deeply satisfying. “Arthur is our pilot, but he comes from an old mining family. Knows his asteroids, knows what a gold vein should look like.”

  “So you sent him out with two buckets of gold.” Alanna prompted.

  “Wait.” James held up his hand. “Patience is a virtue and details are important. We didn’t just send him out. It was vital to create a sense of urgency for the station personnel. We chose a passing asteroid whose trajectory would take it beyond the station limits within hours. The size had to be such that they felt they could bring it in if they all worked together during that time. The asteroid had to be far enough away that once we drew them out, they wouldn’t be able to get back to the station in time. Arthur’s shuttle had to be camouflaged and even then, traces of fuel are detectable. We spent days running tests. Needed to know how much fuel we could use without being detected.” He paused.

  “And?” Alanna prompted.

  “And if you want to hear the rest, I suggest you admit I’m a hell of a lot better than good.”

  “I admit it.” She looked down suddenly self-consciously realizing she was looking at him much the way the rest of his crew did.

  James smiled. “So we lurked in the area for a few days and mapped out half the damn sector and selected our asteroid, before we encased Arthur’s little shuttle in a much bigger, hollowed out rock and sent the whole thing to drift in the right direction. It took him nearly a day to get there, using minimal fuel to maneuver. And then we sent him out with two buckets of gold. After that, it was up to our man on the inside to miraculously spot the asteroid and fake the readings to say there was solid gold up there. And then” James smiled happily “then there was a gold rush. They barely bothered with a skeleton crew. We jammed the comms” he paused, a shadow crossing his face as he realized that would not have worked if Avalon station had the new technology captain Mace had used so callously. The value of that information… “we jammed their comms and used stunners to take out the skeleton crew. There were fourteen men left on the station so the numerical advantage was on our side. We could afford to take some risks. By the time the others tried to return, we had the station and they were running out of air. They surrendered without a shot fired. A hundred hostages bought back over half the Tundrans in Sarayan custody.”

  “What would you have done if it didn’t work? What if the military personnel followed protocol and remained with the station?” Alanna asked.

  To her surprise, James seemed pleased rather than annoyed by her question. “My crew is good and the Sarayan military needs better training. We could do better than three to one and still take the station. My top number was around twenty five. If there were more than twenty five people on that station, I wouldn’t send my people in.”

  “You wouldn’t fulfill the primary mission objective?”

  “I would. But I would find another way. Sometimes plan A doesn’t work. The important thing about getting to plan B is still having your crew with you after plan A fails. Now lieutenant, why did I tell you this story and what bearing does it have on your fears?"

  Alanna stared at him from across her bunk. She was wide awake and feeling more alive than she had felt in a very long time. “You want me to bring a bucket of gold to the interrogation.” She said without hesitation.

  “Very good, lieutenant.” The smile of approval was blinding. “And let me extend my greatest admiration for your drunken reasoning skills. You are under Tundran custody and Saraya has renounced you. Whatever loyalty you wish to extend to them, they will not return it. You have two choices before you. Do nothing and go to Tundra to be questioned. Because as you say, you will be questioned. Or go with my protection and the goodwill of the Tundran people. Seek asylum. Cooperate.”

  She looked over at him, green eyes bright in the candlelight. “I am outmaneuvered.”

  “In your mission to take your own life? Yes, you are outmaneuvered.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  James eyed her with some suspicion. “You’re being very gracious.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be gracious?”

  “Most people aren’t.”

  “After you outmaneuver them?” She asked with a laugh. The two beers had put her in a better mood. There was no way to know if James Hawk was selling her a nice planet out past the asteroid belt or actually telling the truth. But it seemed that she was keeping her clothes and her blanket and on top of all that, the story of Avalon Station.

  “Usually, it doesn’t go over well at all. You already made the video. You are set on this path. You may as well follow it.”

  “I know, I already agreed.”

  “Right.”

  “Are there other arguments you wanted to get off your chest? Really cover all your bases?”

  James thought about it. “No. I’m good.”

  “Ok then.”

  “Will you give me your word? That you will cooperate in good faith?”

  Alanna hesitated. “As long as the requests are reasonable, yes.”

  “My orders are always reasonable. Fine, good enough.” He reached out, offering his hand to seal the deal.

  She reached out and shook his hand. His fingers were unexpectedly warm.

  “So, how agreeable are you feeling, exactly?”

  Alanna drained the last of her beer. “Pretty agreeable. Why?”

  “Because usually, that Avalon Station story gets me laid.”

  Her response was immediate and negative. Alanna wrapped her arms around herself, pressing her back tightly against the back wall. She shook her head.

  “Well, that’s a definite no.” James said, his eyes unreadable. “It’s all right. Just focus on the primary mission objective.”

  “To save my life?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “What’s the secondary mission objective?”

  “What?”

  “You said primary mission objective. That implies there’s a secondary mission objective. What is the secondary mission objective?”

  “I’ll tell you later.” He reached out, picking up the EMP emitter and gathering up the empty beer bottles.

  “What…”

  “Good night, Alanna.”

  He walked out of the cell, closing the door behind him. Alanna stared at his retreating back. Did he just forget to lock the door? She reached over very carefully and pushed the door open with her toe. It moved. The candle remained on the bed, keeping away the darkness. The lights may or may not come back on their own. EMPs could permanently fry electronics. It was not an insignificant step, to turn on that emitter on his own station. She thought back on their conversation. He said he would disobey a direct order. And what he did after that could be interpreted as giving her pointers on how to evade a Tundran interrogation. Actually, it was that. No interpretation needed. Captain James Hawk was a cautious man. She kicked the door with her toe again. It opened slightly wider. Maybe he forgot.