Burden of Proof Read online

  "Only one thing to watch, ma'am. We still have that skunk hanging around the edge of the operating area."

  Gonzalez eyed her own display, then shook her head. "Yes, we do. He's outside the area, but I don't like having him that close."

  "He's about sixty degrees to starboard of our firing vector, ma'am. Well clear."

  "Is he within range of the test weapon?"

  Carl didn't have to check. "He will be when we're at the designated firing point, yes, ma'am."

  "Then let's move his butt. Tell comms to send him a 'get out of here, restricted area' message. Medium heat version, for now."

  "Yes, ma'am." A few minutes passed while Carl passed on the order to the communications personnel and the standard scripted message went out directed to the skunk. "He should be getting it about now."

  Paul nodded with satisfaction. "We're seeing an aspect change. He's maneuvering to head away."

  "Yeah." Carl's expression went from casual to concerned as he scanned the readout. "Something doesn't look right."

  Captain Gonzalez raised an eyebrow and checked her own screen. "What's wrong, Carl?"

  "I don't know, yet, Captain. Something about the way that guy's moving makes me wonder which way he's pointing."

  Commander Kwan had returned to the bridge, unnoticed by Paul, and now pulled himself close to Carl, squinting at the display. "You don't think he's going to leave the area?"

  "Sir, he just looks funny to me."

  Gonzalez glanced over to where Captain Hayes had hooked himself to a tie-down near her chair. "Lieutenant Meadows is one of our most experienced watch officers. Sometimes an experienced sailor can spot things your instruments can't."

  Hayes nodded. "Just like back on Earth."

  "Yup. Mr. Meadows, is there -"

  Carl interrupted as his display flashed. "He's lighting off his main drive, Captain."

  Paul slapped his console. "Look at that vector! He's headed in, not out. You were right, Carl. What's he up to?"

  "Beats me. Captain, request permission to order the range safety ship to intercept that guy."

  "Granted. We can't do the test shot with him there. Have comms send a high-heat version of the get-out-of-here message to that idiot."

  The range safety ship, positioned closer to the intruder than the Michaelson, boosted onto an intercept course with the unknown spacecraft. A moment later, a green spacecraft identification symbol blossomed on the Michaelson's display where the skunk had previously been represented by a yellow "unknown" symbol. "He's finally broadcasting a specific ship code. Ah, hell. He's Greenspace."

  "Greenspace." Gonzalez shook her head in disgust. "That figures. No wonder they're messing with our test firing."

  Captain Hayes indicated the glowing symbol. "Do they interfere with a lot of test firings?"

  "They interfere with anything they can. Anything they think is about the 'militarization' or 'economic exploitation' of space. Hell, humans came up here to exploit space economically, and once we started doing that some people wanted to fight over who got to exploit what, which is why the Navy's here."

  Hayes smiled humorlessly. "So, basically they interfere with everything."

  "If they can. But spacecraft are expensive and we're watching for them, so they don't get too many places. Unfortunately, they got to this one."

  "I see. If they enter an operating area like this, do they fall under our jurisdiction, or do we need to call in civil authorities to arrest them?"

  Gonzalez waved toward Paul. "Ensign. . .pardon me, Lieutenant Junior Grade Sinclair there is your collateral duty ship's legal officer. He will provide you with all appropriate guidance in such situations. Correct, Mr. Sinclair?"

  Paul nodded, acutely aware he was the object of two captains' attention. "Yes, ma'am."

  "And such guidance in this case would be . . . ?"

  It's a good thing I checked the rules on that subject before we got underway for this test shot. At least I've learned something since I was a new ensign. "We're authorized to make arrests and seize property if the protesters enter a posted restricted area and disregard instructions to leave." And . . . "We're to notify civil authorities and turn over the protestors and property as soon as, uh, reasonably feasible."

  "Very well. If we end up needing to know just what 'reasonably feasible' means we'll get back to you, Mr. Sinclair." Captain Gonzalez motioned to Carl. "Lieutenant Meadows, did the Greenspacers acknowledge our latest warning to leave?"

  Carl double-checked his panel, then shook his head. "No, ma'am. No reply."

  "Then have comms tell that ship to get out of here now, or we will intercept and seize it. Make sure they know there'll be no more warnings."

  "Aye, aye, ma'am." Carl bent to the task, but halted as an alarm sounded. "What the hell? That Greenspace ship is launching something."

  "A lot of somethings," Paul added. "What are those?"

  Gonzalez was chewing on a thumbnail. "Since that's a Greenspace ship, at least we can be reasonably sure they're not weapons. I want a quick ID on those things."

  Paul and Carl exchanged a quick glance. When ships' captains said 'I want,' their crews knew they'd better satisfy the request. Commander Kwan wedged between them, his expression and voice harsh. "Let's get that ID for the Captain. Now."

  As if we needed the XO telling us that, and as if leaning on us will get the Captain a faster answer. Bad Kwan strikes again, but then he might still be ticked off at me for screwing up earlier. Biting his lip to help hide his reaction, Paul tapped in commands which up'd the priority on a target ID. The Michaelson's targeting system beeped a moment later, calling attention to its identification of the objects. Paul stared at it. "They're short-range emergency escape pods."

  "Escape pods?" Gonzalez checked the ID herself, as did Commander Kwan.

  "There's nothing wrong with that ship," Paul insisted.

  "I'm sure there isn't." Gonzalez looked seriously out of sorts now. "But they've just sown a dozen of those pods through our firing area. It'll take us and the range safety ship so long to round them up that we'll have to postpone the test firing."

  "Sweet," Commander Kwan muttered. "Maybe we should just leave them."

  "Wish we could, George, but those short-range pods have real limited life-support capability. If we don't pick them up within a few hours, those protesters will be dead meat, and letting them die because of their own stupidity will make us look real bad. Go figure. I've got to give them credit for thinking of this." Gonzalez unbuckled her harness and swung out of her chair. "I'll go get on a private line to the Commodore and let her know what happened. Lieutenant Meadows, plot intercepts to those pods. Tell the range safety ship I'd appreciate it if she seized that mothership."

  "Aye, aye, ma'am. Best-speed intercepts on the pods?"

  "Naw. We've got to postpone the firing, anyway. Make sure we take a while to get to those pods. Not too long, but long enough to make 'em sweat on whether their life support'll hold out."

  Carl grinned. "Aye, aye, ma'am."

  The bosun mate of the watch stiffened to attention again as Gonzalez and Hayes exited through the hatch. "Captain's left the bridge!"

  Commander Kwan pointed at Carl. "Keep me informed."

  "Yes, sir."

  Paul glanced at Carl after Kwan left. "Not exactly the nice, routine evolution you were looking forward to."

  Carl shrugged in an exaggerated fashion as he worked on the intercept plan. "No. But that's okay. This is kinda fun. Maybe I can meet our 'visitors' when we haul them aboard. 'Welcome to the USS Michaelson. We hope you have a pleasant stay in the two-meter-square compartment we're going to cram you all into.'"

  Paul chuckled despite the stress of recent events. "Thanks for mentioning that. I'd better give the Sheriff a heads-up." He quickly paged the ship's master-at-arms. "Hey, Sheriff. We've going to have some hippie peacemongers coming aboard." Paul vaguely knew "hippies" had been a group of some sort back in the twentieth century, but the term had long ago entered t
he permanent vocabulary of the military to describe any particularly unmilitary appearance or anti-military civilians.

  "Once again you have made my day, sir." Master-at-Arms First Class Ivan Sharpe, the Michaelson's onboard law enforcement professional, didn't sound thrilled.

  "Happy to oblige. You've got . . ." Paul checked the maneuvering plan Carl was finalizing. "About two hours before we haul in the first one. The rest will dribble in over the next couple hours after that."

  "They'll be prisoners?"

  "Until we turn them over to the civilian cops on Franklin Station, yeah."

  "Fine. I'll set them up in our finest minimal living standards compartments."

  "By the book, Sheriff. These Greenspace guys love publicity. We don't want to give them any bones to gnaw on."

  "Ah, shucks, there goes my idea for feeding 'em."

  "Once you've worked it up, give me a rundown on your plans for confining them until we reach Franklin. I'll brief the XO after that."

  "How many hippie peaceniks are we talking, sir?"

  Paul checked the number of escape pods, each of which was automatically broadcasting the number of people on board. "Looks like twenty."

  "Twenty? What am I gonna do with that many hippies?"

  "I'm sure an experienced cop and highly qualified petty officer such as yourself will find a solution."

  "Gee, thanks, Mr. Sinclair. Maybe I can stuff 'em into some of the officer staterooms."

  "Can't use mine, Sheriff. The starboard ensign locker is already stuffed full."

  "What a shame. Speaking of ensigns, are the rumors I hear correct, that you are now a lieutenant junior grade in the United States Navy?"

  "That's so, Sheriff. I've been promoted. Any word on whether you're going to make chief petty officer this year?"

  "No, sir. But if I do, I'll know it was all due to your inspired leadership, sir."

  "I'm glad you appreciate that, Sheriff. See you later."

  "Aye, aye, sir."

  Carl grunted with satisfaction. "My, that looks purty." On his navigational display, a smooth curve arced from the Michaelson's current path, aimed at intercepting the nearest of the Greenspace pods. From there, shorter curves leapt from point to point, painting intercept courses to where the other pods would be when the Michaelson reached them. "We should be able to nab those pods on the fly, if their grapple sites are up to specifications."

  Paul studied Carl's work. "That's nice. Hey, maybe we ought to make sure the ship's gig is ready to launch, just in case we miss a pick-up on one of the pods."

  "An excellent idea. I'm glad I thought of it."

  "That's funny, you don't look like Sam Yarrow."

  Carl grinned. Lieutenant Junior Grade "Smilin' Sam" Yarrow had a well-earned reputation among the other officers. "Okay, I'll admit you thought of it. Just don't compare me to Sam." He tapped a communications circuit. "Captain, this is the officer of the deck. I have a plan worked out for picking up the pods for your approval. I'd also recommend having the gig ready to launch in case we have a problem with any pick-ups."

  Gonzalez's voice came back over the circuit. "Shoot me a copy of your plan, Carl. Okay, got it. Wait." A couple of minutes passed while Carl and Paul waited silently. One of the lessons Paul hadn't needed reinforcing was the foolishness of bantering on the bridge when the captain might be listening in. "Very well, Mr. Meadows. Execute your plan as you prepared it, and notify the First Lieutenant to get the gig ready."

  "Aye, aye, ma'am. Execute the plan as prepared and ready the gig." Carl switched circuits. "Hey, Ensign Diego. Are you home?"

  "Uh, yeah."

  "This is Carl Meadows on the bridge. Have I got a deal for you."

  "Carl, I'm working on updating my division's training records -"

  "Not any more. The captain wants the gig crewed up and ready to go while we're hauling in those Greenspace escape pods."

  "What Greenspace escape pods?"

  "Oh, Randy. Being that out of touch with recent events is no way to make lieutenant junior grade. Let me know when the gig's ready." Carl swung and pointed to the bosun mate of the watch. "Broadcast a maneuvering warning when we hit the ten minute mark. Which is about forty seconds from now. Also order the gig crew to stations."

  The bosun stiffened into a semblance of attention. "Aye, aye, sir. Maneuvering warning at the ten minute mark, and crew the gig." Carl spent the next few seconds sending a copy of the maneuvering plan to the XO, then the bosun opened the all-hands broadcast circuit and shrilled his Bosun's pipe in the age-old naval call to attention. "All hands prepare for maneuvering in ten minutes. Secure all objects and materials. Undertake no task which cannot be completed prior to maneuvering. Gig crew to duty stations. I say again, gig crew to duty stations."

  Paul admired the arcs of the maneuvering plan again. "Are we going to do this manually?"

  Carl's eyebrows shot up. "Manually? Hell, no. We'll let the ship handle it. There's too much mass and momentum involved to risk a screw up on these maneuvers."

  Paul hid his disappointment, nodding in response to Carl's order. He'd seen Lieutenant Tweed, the officer of the deck he'd first trained under, use manual control to make the Michaelson dance like a horse under a skilled rider. Someday, I want to learn to do that half as well as she could. But Carl's probably right. Right now, we've got the lives of those Greenspacers riding on whether we execute these maneuvers correctly.

  The bosun mate repeated his warning at the five-minute point. A moment later, Ensign Diego called in. "The ship's gig is crewed and ready."

  "How's its fuel state?"

  "Uh . . ." Carl winked at Paul as the pause lengthened. After a few more seconds, Diego came on again. "Three-quarters of maximum."

  "That might be enough, but it'd be a good idea to get the gig's fuel topped off as soon as you can."

  "Yeah. Okay. How long will we be standing by?"

  Carl checked his plan before replying. "About four hours, assuming nothing unexpected happens."

  "Four hours? Man, I've got to get those training plans reviewed -"

  "Randy, Randy, Randy. First off, complaining on this circuit is a bad idea because either the CO or XO might well be listening in to see how our preparations for the pod pickups are going, and neither of them is going to be sympathetic to your problem. Secondly, you can link your data pad to your divisional training records via the status panel in the gig's dock. Just make sure you're paying enough attention to what's going on with the pickups that you'll be able to jump into action if we need to order the gig launched."

  "Oh, uh, okay."

  Carl shook his head, then looked at Paul. "Now you see where ensigns get their reputations."

  Paul snorted. "I've had plenty of painful personal experience on that score. Give Randy Diego a break. He's only been aboard about a month."

  "True. Let's hoped he's learned enough by now to pay attention to good advice." The bosun's three-minute warning interrupted whatever else Carl might have said.

  Paul once again checked the straps securing him to his watch chair, then glanced back to ensure the enlisted watchstanders were properly strapped in as well. "Looks like we're ready to go."

  "Yup. Since you've got the conn, go ahead and authorize the maneuver for the ship."

  "Authorizing the maneuver, aye." Paul carefully depressed two buttons in sequence, telling the Michaelson's computers to carry out the preplanned maneuver when the countdown hit zero. "Maneuver authorized." It had taken a while for Paul to get used to the standard Navy practices of repeating back orders and stating information which everyone should already know, but he'd soon learned how important both routines were to ensuring orders had been properly understood and that everyone actually knew everything they needed to know.

  The two-minute and one-minute warnings passed, then Paul watched the final seconds count down. After long periods spent without maneuvering, any change of course and speed brought some excitement, as well as extra stresses on the bodies of the Michaelson's
crew.

  "Executing ordered maneuver," the Michaelson's voice announced. A moment later, Paul felt his body strain against his straps as the maneuvering thrusters pushed the Michaelson's megatons of mass down and over to a new heading. With the ship swinging toward the proper heading, Paul's back slammed into his chair as the ship's main drive cut in, pushing the ship onto the proper vector to intercept the first escape pod. Paul watched the gravity meter climb swiftly to more than twice Earth's normal gravity under the force of the main drives, then switched his gaze to the main display, where the arc of the Michaelson's actual course smoothly dropped toward the new course laid out by Carl. The main drive cut off, causing Paul's stomach to lurch as zero gravity abruptly returned, then his body hit his straps again as more thrusters fired to halt the ship's bow on the proper heading.

  "Sweet," Carl muttered, eyeing the perfect joining of actual track with the planned course. "How're you doing?"

  "Nauseated and bruised."

  "Welcome to the glamorous Space Navy. It's not just a job, it's physical and mental abuse." Carl checked the display again. "One hour, fifty minutes to intercept of the first pod. Hey, did we notify the bosun mates we'd be needing the grapnels?"

  The bosun mate of the watch cleared his throat. "Beggin' your pardon, sir, I took the liberty of passin' that word."

  "Thanks, bosun." Carl shook his head and smiled ruefully. "Imagine if we'd been bearing down on that pod and suddenly realized the grapnels weren't ready. So many ways to mess up, Paul. I can't say I'll miss it all that much."

  The hour and fifty minutes dragged slowly onward as the Michaelson steadily headed toward the point where she'd intercept the track of the first Greenspace pod. About fifteen minutes prior to the intercept, the XO came onto the bridge, scanned the displays silently, then pulled himself into his chair and strapped in. Five minutes after that, the bosun once again called out "Captain's on the bridge!" as Gonzalez and Hayes entered as well.