Gate Quest (Star Kingdom Book 5) Read online

  “I know.”

  “I’m just disturbed that you seem to be attracted to him.”

  “I know that too. Don’t worry. My libido isn’t what it once was. I’m sure I can keep my flagging hormones in check for the trip to System Hydra.”

  Qin wasn’t sure she believed her.

  “System Hydra?” Viggo asked. “I was just going to tell you about the goings on there.”

  “What goings on?”

  “A courier ship came through the gate a few hours ago and transmitted news updates from around the Twelve Systems. Tiamat Station in System Hydra recently underwent a civil war in which its president was killed and replaced, via a vote from the citizens, by the secretary of education.”

  Bonita grunted. “So? What’s that have to do with us?”

  She sat in the pilot’s pod and started the undocking procedure.

  “Casmir was there, and there are rumors that he helped the new president gain power, against the Kingdom’s wishes.”

  “That seems implausible.”

  “The rumors also say he took over all the robots on the station and sent a computer virus to a bunch of pirates to deactivate their ships.”

  “That sounds more like him.”

  “Isn’t that where Johnny wants us to take him?” Qin asked. “Tiamat Station?”

  “Shit, you’re right.” Bonita turned and squinted at her. “You say this news just came into the system, Viggo?”

  “Approximately 2.4 hours ago.”

  “He must have heard about the trouble before it was officially announced. You don’t think he’s telling the truth, do you?”

  Qin wasn’t sure if the question was for her or Viggo, but she shook her head. “Maybe if there’s some turmoil there, he or the Druckers as a whole want to take advantage of it somehow.”

  “Why would they care about a space station? Or do you think…” Bonita rolled her eyes ceilingward. “It’s that damn gate. It’s got to be. Whatever Casmir was doing at that station, it has to be related to the gate quest. That’s what the Kingdom ships dragged him off for.”

  Qin nodded. If the Druckers had heard about the gate, she had no trouble imagining them trying to get their hands on it. The pirate brothers didn’t have the technological resources to reverse engineer it, nor did they have any interest in archaeology, as far as she knew, but they would know how valuable it was. They might want to get it to sell it to the highest bidder. Maybe they wanted to send Johnny ahead, with allies of Casmir and the others, to gain information.

  Bonita waved her banking chip over a scanner to send the docking fee to the station, then activated the thrusters to take them out into space.

  “Are we going to help Casmir?” Viggo sounded hopeful. The vacuum sucking microscopic dirt from the ceiling seams paused, as if it was also waiting for an answer.

  “Normally, I would say no,” Bonita said.

  “But you agree that he’s a friend and needs our help?” Viggo asked.

  “It didn’t sound like, from your news, that Casmir needs help. But Toes said he’d pay us ten thousand crowns to take him there, so we’re going.”

  “Toes?” Viggo asked.

  “His name is Johnny Twelve Toes,” Qin explained.

  “He doesn’t sound like as appealing a passenger as Casmir,” Viggo said.

  “I’m sorry I can’t always bring you roboticists to caress your vacuums, Viggo.” Bonita held up her finger. “Hold on. Let me check my bank account to see if he actually transferred the first two thousand.”

  “If he didn’t, can we ditch him and go help our friends without any pirate spies aboard?” This time, Qin was the one to sound hopeful, and she knew it.

  The comm panel beeped.

  “It’s the Druckers’ shuttle. They’re demanding to speak with us. They’re still docked, but…” Bonita leaned over to look at the scanner display and tap a button. “They’re powering up their engines.”

  “If this is all a ruse, won’t they let us leave with Johnny?” Qin refused to call him Toes.

  “The only way to find out is to leave.” Bonita tapped her embedded chip. “My account shows the transfer. He actually paid us. Huh.”

  “Of course he paid if he wishes you to take him on a spy mission,” Viggo said.

  The Dragon pulled farther away from the station, and Bonita pointed the nose toward the gate, which was many long hours away. If the Druckers wanted to make a problem, they could. In addition to that shuttle, they had a warship that was in orbit around a nearby moon and was capable of intercepting them.

  “That shuttle is comming again,” Viggo said. “Incessantly.”

  “Don’t answer.”

  “It hasn’t pulled out yet. It looks like the docking clamps are holding it there.”

  “Good,” Bonita said.

  Qin watched the various displays on the control console, but mostly, she was thinking that Johnny had a lot of sway if he’d engineered a way to detain the Druckers’ shuttle. Bonita’s friends, the Amigos, ran the station and were enemies of the pirate family. They shouldn’t have even talked with him.

  Johnny was not one to be underestimated, even if he was in a dark cell.

  “We are on course for the gate, and then to Tiamat Station,” Viggo informed them after several minutes.

  The shuttle was still stuck at the station. Qin let out a slow breath, though she didn’t know if she should be relieved.

  “He requested Tiamat Station or the Osprey,” Bonita said. “We’ll see which is closest when we get to System Hydra.”

  “The Kingdom warship the Osprey?” Viggo asked. “That’s the vessel that delivered doctors to the Machu Picchu. It may also be the warship that Casmir is on.”

  “You may get your vacuums caressed after all.”

  “I hope this Toes does not have nefarious intent,” Viggo said.

  Qin hoped that too.

  Bonita gripped her chin. “We’ll keep him in his cell and let the warship know we have him as soon as we’re in the system, instead of letting him try to sneak onto their ship or whatever he has in mind. Maybe they’ll reward us for turning over a pirate who seems to have access to intelligence reports from around the systems. We could get paid twice. That’s always a good thing.”

  Qin couldn’t share her enthusiasm. She worried that Johnny was up to something horrible, and that they would inadvertently help him achieve it.

  4

  Casmir walked into one of the Osprey’s two cavernous shuttle bays with Zee trailing after him. The shuttles had been lifted up to the ceiling on harnesses, and the deck space was now dominated by submarines. He wasn’t surprised to see Ishii in the middle of the bay, barking orders. He was surprised that Kim stood near the door, two cases stacked next to her, with a glower that she zapped Casmir with when he entered.

  “They’re making you go too?” he guessed as Zee walked over to the submarines, either to look for threats to Casmir or because of a newfound interest in aquatic craft.

  “If by they, you mean Ishii, then yes. Or are you suggesting the nebulous behind-the-scenes players that influence him?”

  “I’m not sure Romano and Jager are that nebulous.”

  Ishii saw them talking, issued a few more orders to his men, and stalked over.

  “Hello, Sora,” Casmir said cheerfully, deciding not to mention that Ishii looked amazingly grumpy, considering the mission hadn’t started yet. Shouldn’t that degree of dyspepsia be reserved for after things started to go wrong? Of course, it was possible Ishii believed things had started going wrong back at Tiamat Station. Or as soon as Casmir arrived on his ship. “Are you coming with us?”

  “No.”

  “Are you going to explain why we’re going?” Casmir pointed to himself and Kim. He understood that Kim had told Ishii he might be able to deactivate the gate, but he’d envisioned that happening after the marines went in and defeated the astroshamans and pulled it out from under the ice. “I thought I was only here to locate the gate and that Kim
was here to help heal people who get irradiated. She’s also working on a very important project for the crown. I believe Princess Oku would be most displeased if Kim were killed on this mission before finishing her work.”

  “But after is acceptable?” Kim murmured.

  “I’m not sure how strongly she feels about you. Perhaps we could all get together for pizza and fizzop when we get back and have a nice get-to-know-you session.”

  “I’m sure those are the kinds of delights that entice royalty to visit your home.”

  “Do you think she’d come to the house?” Casmir imagined Oku, and however many bodyguards accompanied her wherever she went, going up to use the bathroom and seeing his Robot Remstar shampoo on the tub ledge.

  “I’m sending you to shut you up and get you off my ship,” Ishii growled.

  Kim turned her narrow-eyed glower onto him.

  Casmir blinked. “That can’t be true. You’ve barely been around to hear us speak these past three days.”

  Ishii sighed. “No, it’s not true. I don’t want to send Scholar Sato at all, but I need my best people to go because this isn’t going to be an easy mission. You’ll go in the rearmost submarine—both of you—with the marines and my combat officers going well ahead of you to deal with the astroshamans. They’ll secure the base, and then your pilot will take you in. You’ll find the gate, Dabrowski will figure out a way to nullify its radiation-spitting nozzles or whatever it has, and Scholar Sato will be there to help with any bacterial or radiation emergencies.”

  “I’m willing to attempt that, but I have to warn you that this isn’t my area of expertise. You’re basically sending in a plumber to fix a spaceship drive.” Casmir tapped his tool satchel. “I may end up just whacking it with a wrench.”

  “I doubt that,” Ishii said, “but it is possible that we’ve got another civilian expert coming to help you. He hasn’t arrived in the system yet, and we can’t delay the mission, not with Rache sniffing around down there, but I’ll let you know if he arrives in time to help. We’ll leave a submarine here, just in case.”

  “An expert who’s immune to the gate?” Kim asked.

  “Yes. In the meantime…” Ishii leaned over and patted Casmir’s tool satchel. “Do your best with your wrench banging.”

  “Right.” Casmir smiled again, telling himself this would be a grand adventure, not another opportunity for burdening his parents with the need to arrange his funeral. “I’ll do my best. You say we get the sturdiest and most fortified submarine since we’re more fragile souls than your marines?”

  Kim’s eyebrow twitched. Maybe he shouldn’t have called her fragile. She didn’t have to worry about seizures.

  Ishii snorted and pointed. “You get that one.”

  Casmir eyed the long craft closest to them. “Is that a duck painted on the side?”

  “You know very well that they’re from private companies on that station,” Ishii said. “They’re not military grade.”

  “The Waddler,” Casmir read the name on the side. “Ah, yes, I’m sure it’s very fortified and sturdy.”

  He accessed his chip to see what depth the submarines could withstand, but their ratings were based on the gravity of the water-world planets, not this largely unexplored moon. He also checked to see if a galaxy suit such as he was now wearing could withstand much water pressure, because his panic-prone mind could easily envision the Waddler springing a leak and the crew—and innocent civilian advisors—having to abandon ship. Unfortunately, the SmartWeave fabric was designed for the vacuum of space rather than the intense pressure of aquatic depths. It could keep him warm in the ocean, but deep dives would be out of the question. Hard-shelled combat armor, he noticed, fared better.

  “The lead teams are going in the Sea Otter, the Pufferfish, Bubbles 1, Bubbles 2, and Bubbles 4,” Ishii said.

  “Names sure to drive fear into the astroshamans’ hearts.”

  “We think Rache got Bubbles 3.”

  “I believe he’s secure enough in his nefariousness that he won’t worry about riding in a submarine with a wimpy name,” Casmir said. “Can we borrow some combat armor?”

  “What for? You’re not going into battle.”

  “Because combat armor has a crush depth of over a thousand meters on Odin. It’ll be even better here. And, uh, a galaxy suit can withstand significantly fewer PSIs.”

  Kim eyed him, and he expected her to tease him for being fatalistic, but she said, “I’ll take a set too.”

  Ishii grunted. “If I give you suits of armor, you’re not going to puke in them, are you, Dabrowski?”

  Casmir looked at Kim. “Why did he state my name specifically?”

  “It’s a mystery,” she said.

  “Do you get seasick?” Ishii asked.

  “I may not in a submarine. I don’t have any experience with them. But as for boats in general… I once took a passenger ferry to a chess camp on Urin Island just outside of Zamek, and it didn’t go well for my stomach. There were no vomit bags, but I didn’t want to make a mess, just as I wouldn’t make a mess inside your armor, so I used my duffel.” Casmir scratched his jaw, grimacing as he remembered that summer. “Unfortunately, word got out, and nobody wanted to play with my chess pieces the whole time I was there.”

  “You’re all the varieties of special in one gift box, aren’t you?”

  “My parents have always assured me of that,” Casmir said.

  Ishii waved over a soldier and ordered him to get two suits of armor.

  “I’m sure you won’t need the armor,” Ishii told them, looking more at Kim than Casmir. Which was ironic since Kim was largely unflappable and probably thought a submarine ride in an under-ice sea on a distant moon sounded like a great adventure that she could one day write about. “I’ve got teams cleaning and inspecting the submarines right now. There won’t be any mechanical difficulties. I’ll also make sure there are several marines riding along with you to keep you safe.”

  “Oh good,” Casmir said. “I get along swimmingly with large, beefy men who can break me with their pinkies.”

  “Just don’t puke in their duffel bags and you’ll be fine.”

  “Uhm, sir?” a young officer said from the open hatch of a submarine. There was an odd note to his voice.

  “What?”

  “Maybe you should see this.”

  Ishii grunted and headed toward the Waddler.

  “Maybe we should request another sub,” Casmir said.

  “They already loaded most of my equipment into that one,” Kim said.

  Casmir looked at the two cases next to her. “So you’re packing light?”

  “I don’t know what we’ll encounter down there. I want to be prepared. I’m not pleased about going.”

  “You’re not? I thought you would believe it a great adventure.”

  “The submarine ride? Probably. Cozying up to pieces of that gate again? No.”

  “Technically, the gate pieces were already gone when you were down in that wreck, weren’t they?”

  “And the lingering pseudo radiation still almost killed us all.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Do you know what they say about being exposed to deadly radiation twice in the same year?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t do it.”

  “Wise advice.”

  “I’m sorry I got you volunteered against your wishes for this, but I hope you can deactivate it.”

  “Me too.” Casmir imagined himself being pushed into some undersea ice cave at the end of a very long pole as the rest of Ishii’s people waited outside.

  “I’m beginning to wish I’d taken your suggestion to let myself be kidnapped by Rache so I could spy on him.”

  “Spy on him? I thought you promised to read a book and discuss sentient bacteria with him.”

  “As a way to get close while spying.”

  “I’m now imagining you explaining that setup to Royal Intelligence.”

  He’d meant it as a joke, but
a sad wistful expression crossed Kim’s usually stoic face.

  Casmir wondered if it was wrong of him to hope that Rache outsmarted the Kingdom teams, made it to the base first, and dealt with the gate himself. After all, he was also immune. Maybe he could figure out how to deactivate it. Or, if all he wanted was to keep Jager from getting it, maybe he could dump it into the deepest part of that ocean down where no submarine could reach it.

  Unfortunately, Rache hadn’t said that was what he wanted to do, so Casmir couldn’t let himself wish for him to get there first. He wanted to believe that Rache wasn’t pure evil, especially since Kim had been flirting with him of late, but he thought Rache was capable of doing something evil just to spite Jager.

  Zee returned to them. He hadn’t gone into the submarines, but he’d inspected the Waddler from the outside. “This craft is approximately thirty years old and may not be in optimal operating condition, but I did not detect any weaknesses in the hull.”

  “I’m glad we’re getting the combat armor,” Casmir told Kim.

  But she wasn’t looking at him. She pointed at the Waddler. “Is that a body?”

  Ishii had climbed out ahead of a team that was extracting a blue-haired woman wearing riotous green and yellow clothing. That definitely wasn’t one of the crew. She wasn’t moving.

  “Maybe she’s sleeping?” Casmir hoped so.

  But it had been three days since the Osprey had procured the submarines from the station and departed. That would have been one long nap.

  “Take her to sickbay for Dr. Sikou to autopsy and ID,” Ishii said.

  Kim stepped to the side of the doorway so she wouldn’t be in the way. Casmir stepped far to the side.

  “It’s probably someone who died in the fighting on the station,” Kim said.

  Casmir remembered the bodies they’d passed in the corridors there and started to nod but paused. “And then stuffed herself into the back of a submarine?”

  “Maybe she was injured and crawled in to hide. Or someone killed her and stuck the body in there to hide the evidence.” Kim twitched a shoulder, not appearing worried about it.

  Casmir would have been less worried if that wasn’t the submarine he was supposed to ride in. A body might leave behind germs or bacteria or… bad mojo.