Linton Chronicles - Hyperwitchspace
05 May 2018Andrew Linton
The story so far02 Mar3304, Aries Dark Region KC-V d2-73, planet A 1
"What's your story, Wang Shu?" I ask while we wait at the rendezvous point. "I know you worked for Farseer before joining Canonn, but what led you to become a rocket scientist?"
"It's a long story and probably not that interesting," she says, diffidently.
"Try me. For instance, where were you born?"
"Nowhere."
"Come on, everyone's born somewhere."
"Not me."
"Explain."
"The truth is I was born in hyperspace on a ship that was jumping between systems. It was one of those long jumps that you think will never end, a drive malfunction, or so my father told me."
"Now you've got to tell me more. What did your parents do?"
"My father, Wang Min, was an archaeologist and his field was looking into the cultures and practices of the early empire. My mother, Wang Fen, was a sensor engineer; she worked on some of the early detailed surface scanners. They met at a remote sensing conference. Wang Min was looking for ways to identify archaeological sites from orbit and my mother had some ideas in that area."
This is the most I've heard Wang Shu say in the short time I've known her. I think she's beginning to trust me.
"But…born in hyperspace; how did that happen?"
"After they married, my parents went on expeditions together, even when she was pregnant with me. They were on a planet in an unpopulated system just a few jumps from Achenar. My father was exploring in a scarab while my mother stayed with the ship. She was full-term by then, maybe even a few weeks past her due date."
"And she went into labour?"
"That's right. Wang Min was gone for hours and she couldn't contact him. Turns out he was underground; he'd found a tomb and was engrossed in examining its contents. I was born on the day that my father discovered the army of terracotta spacemen that Henson Duval had ordered to be buried with his body after his death."
"Henson Duval? Wasn't he the first emperor, the first ruler of The Empire?"
"Yes, crowned in 2320, died in 2402."
"I can understand why your father was so long out of contact; I've heard about the terracotta warriors – even seen a few of them in a touring exhibition."
A sadness spreads across Wang Shu's face.
"When Wang Min finally returned to the ship my mother was screaming in agony. There was some complication with the labour that I don't understand. He needed to get her to a hospital and took off immediately while she lay on the deck of the bridge. It was during the final jump to Achenar that I was born…and my mother died. He told me all of this years later when I was old enough to understand."
I touch her gently on the hand. "That must have been tough."
"It was that day, the day he told me about my mother, that I decided to get into rocketry. If the frame shift drive had been more reliable or if my father could have reached Achenar in a single jump, my mother might have survived. It became my life's work; and now I want to see how far Dieter is taking us."
"We need to rescue him first."
At that opportune moment we get an incoming call.
"Thanatocoenosis, this is Rask 289, are you receiving me?"
It's Agneta's voice I hear.
"Rask 289, receiving you loud and clear. How did it go at Obsidian?"
"As planned. We waited until Cobham was on duty and we flew slowly away from Obsidian so he had plenty of time to scan the manifest. Funny thing was, he nearly crashed when the scan was complete; just avoided ramming a Beluga. Must have been overexcited about the prospect of a two hundred million haul."
"Well, it's good that he didn't crash," I say, "or it would have put an end to our plans right there."
"True. So, what happens next?"
"I've been thinking about this for a while. We're on planet A1 just now, so first thing is to join you in supercruise, then it's a textbook mass-jump procedure."
"Okay, we'll see you in five."
*
"Reading back target system," Pnin Re says in a clipped, military style that I've not heard from him before. "Hotel Yankee Alpha Delta Echo Sierra Sierra Echo Charlie Tango Oscar Romeo Hotel Romeo dash Whisky Delta one dash seven six. Please confirm."
"That's correct and we have targeted that same system, and you're right, we can't risk making the mistake of jumping in different directions. In a few minutes I'll give the thirty second mark. At that time we set throttles to zero and start charging our frame shift drives. At ten seconds, I'll start a countdown and on the zero we'll hit boost and throttle up. Wang Shu will be monitoring witchspace for anomalies."
"Understood," Pnin Re responds. "Can I suggest that we avoid the effects of each other's mass by keeping a good separation between us?"
"Good point; let's do that, oh, and by the way, once we jump and if we are hyperdicted, don't forget that we don't know each other; I'm a pirate who's chasing you."
There's a long silence which I eventually realise is Pnin Re adopting his role as my prey.
"Thirty seconds! Throttle to zero, frame shift charging."
The FSD is fully charged and humming eagerly as I watch the clock.
I give the countdown and see Rask 289 jump to hyperspace half a second before the Corvette. After several uneventful seconds it starts to feel like a normal jump; I look across nervously to Wang Shu; she's listening intently to the hyperdiction detector and moments before I think we'll arrive safely at the target system she nods and looks back at me with no signs of emotion.
"A signal is building in v-space; we can expect a hyperdiction any moment…
…now."
We spin wildly about all three axes, and about a few more that are only experienced in witchspace. It's sickening and disorienting the way we're being tossed about. The feeling of safety I've developed from flying a powerful Corvette evaporates, replaced by a desire to crawl timidly into my happy place.
Then, it's over and we're in normal space, still spinning, and with the HUD ominously dark. Looming large through the canopy as the ship settles is a Thargoid Cyclops; it flies right up to us and tests our shields with a head-on collision.
After the Cyclops backs away, the scene that greets us is astonishing. Nothing that Satnav Patel might have told Pnin Re with his dying breath could have prepared us for the sight of a huge fleet carrier floating a few kilometres away with a dozen combat ships in attendance. Further away is a flotilla of lifeless haulage ships; Types 6 to 9 are well represented, as are Keelbacks and even Pythons and Cutters.
There seem to be two groups of ships: those belonging to commanders who surrendered to the pirates immediately – these are intact; and there are those whose commanders decided to fight their way out. Scrap metal from these ships and the wreckage of their ship-launched fighters tumble alongside countless uncollected, low-value canisters.
I see Rask 289 with six pirates already circling her. There's no weapons fire so I assume that Pnin and Agneta have surrendered. The pirates escort the Cutter to the fleet carrier, presumably to unload the cargo. There's nothing I can do for them right now.
Meanwhile, a wing of pirates approaches us, hardpoints bristling. I feel suddenly fearful.
"Wang Shu, go and hide, and take the hyperdiction detector with you. If we're boarded it will be better for you not to be seen."
"And we must get the detector to Dieter and not let the pirates see it."
She leaves the bridge and I prepare for the encounter to come. I decide on an aggressive stance and I slap my face hard a couple of times to raise the blood.
"What The Jack is goin' on here?" I demand to all and sundry. "There I was trackin' a Cutter with no weapons and a cargo I could retire on, and you come along and get in my way. I'm feelin' riled and I got the urge to shoot somethin'."
There's a chuckle over the comms. "Calm yourself, brother, we got no argument with you. As to shooting something, we may be able to accommodate that. We could let that Cutter pilot loose in a Hauler with no FSD; give him a thirty click head start and you can hunt him down. We do that regular with the pilots we don't like."
"But what's happenin' here?" I say innocently, feeling that I'm over the first hurdle of demonstrating that I'm a fellow pirate. "What's that Tharg ship doin' and why haven't you smithereened it?"
"Ah, it's a sweet arrangement, I can tell you; the Cyclops is workin' for us; we just gotta sit here and the goods come to us."
"You mean you're operatin' the hyperdiction tech of a Tharg ship? How is that possible?" My fishing expedition is well under way.
"Heh, got us some crazy genius workin' for us; he's figured out how to do it."
Bingo! All previous guesses, assumptions, and speculations are confirmed.
"I'm impressed; so, how can I join an outfit like this?"
There's a pause, which I take to mean there's a conversation going on with a third party.
"You'd like to join us? Well it so happens we're lookin' to expand the crew. Come on in; you need to talk to Crabbe."
Hardpoints are stowed all round and I fly slowly towards the fleet carrier. I see the Cutter landing on a large pad and she disappears into a hangar. I don't dare ask, yet, what will happen to the crew; I've already been given an idea, and I hope that Pnin Re is behaving himself.
After landing, I'm met by three armed pirates, a woman flanked by two men. I'm supposed to be a seasoned pirate but my stomach is churning; the decision to wear shades to hide the fear in my eyes is a good one.
She's the tallest of the three, lanky, dishevelled, with some serious scars on her face and a mouth full of radical dentistry. I see two gold fillings and another tooth with a diamond stud. I realise that the two men are twins and their only distinguishing feature is the assortment of symmetrical tattoos on their faces.
"I'm Desirée," she says, "and these are my brothers, Rondextro and Ronlevo. You're to come with us; Crabbe wants to see you."
I've heard of John Crabbe and I suspect he's heard my real name, Andrew Linton, in the context of private investigation; that's why I'm travelling under the alias, Richard Ingle, a fake identity that Vinny Ayr created for me a couple of years ago, complete with backstory, flight logs, and criminal record.
I follow the undesirable Desirée and the two Rons fall in behind us. The smell hits me; it's a complex, heady, cocktail of chemicals; there are strong suggestions of rotting teeth and dried sweat, with hints of stale semen and faecal undertones; a billowing cloud of acrid vapour trails in our wake as we make our way along the clean, brightly lit corridors of the brand new fleet carrier. I'm now worried that the shibboleth that might give me away is that I don't smell badly enough.
We arrive at the command and control centre and I discover that not all pirates are unattractive and malodorous. Jenna Crumlin meets us and dismisses the escort. She's all frills, curls, and sweet fragrance.
"Ingle, arms up, face the wall, and spread your legs."
"Searchin' for somethin'? I might have just what you're lookin' for," I feel my character is obliged to say as Crumlin frisks me and runs her hands up and down my legs. "Careful with that package, it might explode."
She gives me a playful slap on the butt, "You've got nothing that I want, sunshine, but you're clean. This way."
We enter the control room and I'm face to face with John Crabbe. I recognise immediately the tall form of the commander who led the team against Lodestar Laboratory when Lena Wegener was kidnapped.
He looks down at me with narrow, appraising eyes. "Ingle. Can't say I've heard of you. Where's your home system? Who do you run with?"
I'm wearing Richard Ingle's persona, now, like a second skin; tough this out or die are my options. "Where I come from, you're not exactly a household name either."
Crabbe smiles and I see the respect that one thug can have for another. Not wanting to push this bravado too far, in case my mettle is truly tested, I rush to expand my CV.
"No, I turned to piracy in Colonia. Went there as an Outlander originally when there was only Jaques Station. As the colony grew, I started to see the opportunities. Sure, you can make money tradin' and minin', and even explorin', if you like that mindless stuff. I wanted credits fast and it was there for the takin'."
"So, what're you doing here in the bubble?"
"Well, you can see I'm flying a Corvette now; fooled the Federation into thinkin' I was workin' for them but really I just wanted a bigger killin' machine to take back to Colonia. But now I see this operation I reckon it might be worth hangin' around for a spell."
Crabbe brings up my ship details on a monitor.
"Thanato-what-now? What the Jack kind of a name is that for a ship?"
"Thanatocoenosis. It means 'death assemblage'; it's the jagged mess of combat aftermath that I leave behind me wherever I go."
I'm worried that Crabbe will think this too erudite and will see through my deception, but he nods his head slowly.
"I like it," he says, "and I like you Richard Ingle, so here's the deal; you're on probation for a month. That means you run errands and do what we say and if it looks like there's a fit then you're in. Jenna will show you to your quarters."
He turns away and resumes his conversation with another woman. This one I recognise as Jade Merz; she fits Wang Shu's description of the woman who persuaded Dieter Wegener to leave The Gnosis. We'll have to be careful. I don't think Merz saw Wang Shu but it's possible. I'm glad that Wang Shu is hidden on board the Corvette.
Crumlin leads the way to the accommodation deck. I venture a question.
"What do we do with the crew we take from hyperdicted ships?" I ask as disinterestedly as I can sound. "It's just that I had some banter with that Cutter pilot as I chased him through half-a-dozen systems; wouldn't mind catchin' up with him for a chin-wag."
Her eyes narrow. "Careful, you're not 'we' until we say so; you're on probation, remember."
"Understood, but what happens to them: slavery, ransom, murder?"
"A little bit of each," she says, "depending on individual circumstances. If you want to find someone you should hang around the mess. We're fairly relaxed here; the tightest security is around the docking bay; apart from that people have the freedom of the ship; there's no chance of escape and people know that one of the fates you just listed is waiting for them if they try anything. Some people have even settled here, happy to take on whatever work needs doing."
Somehow I don't think it's one big happy family living here, but I'm encouraged to think I might meet up with the rest of my team. As soon as Jenna Crumlin has left me in my new quarters, I go in search of Dieter Wegener. He must have a lab somewhere on board. It's a big ship and orienting myself is a slow business. I build up a mental map of the ship and think constantly about the quickest route back to the Corvette.
I open a door to go through a bulkhead and there's Wang Shu; she's dressed in her usual flight suit but also sports a hoodie that partly hides her face; she's carrying a tote bag about the size of the hyperdiction detector.
"Wang Shu, what are you doing? It's not safe for you here."
"I couldn't just hide," she says defensively. "I needed to do something."
"I'm looking for Dieter, so why don't you come with me?" I say, thinking she'll be safer with me if I fall back on the 'she's my personal slave' angle.
"Oh, I found him and gave him the detector; last I saw he was taking it apart, melting contacts and ripping out circuit boards; he says he's building something that'll stop the pirates. He sent me to look for his family."
"If he has a plan then I'd like to hear it. Will to you take me to him?"
Wang Shu leads the way back to Dieter's laboratory and I finally meet the man we've trekked across space to find. He's shorter than I imagined from his crowdfunding video and looks considerably more haggard and care-worn, no doubt from sleep deprivation and anxiety for his family. His masses of black hair are now multiple tones of grey.
His eyes, however, remain alert and animated as he takes a component from the heart of the hyperdiction detector and holds it high.
"Here it ist. Mit ziss artefact vee vill shtop the kriminals," he says triumphantly, and then looks at me. "Vang Chew, is ziss your freund?"
I start listening more closely to his speech patterns and begin a real-time translation.
"Can you tell me what this says?" I ask, showing him the image of Vinny's encrypted message.
He glances at the message and says, "Ha, I see you have a clever friend; but I have no time; I must finish this device as soon as I can."
He moves swiftly across the workbench and starts to incorporate the all-important component into another device.
"I have a feeling it's important," I insist.
He doesn't stop working with pliers, screwdriver, and soldering iron as he says, "I can tell you how to decrypt while I work. There's pen and paper over there."
When I'm ready, he says, "Find the key in the centre of the message. It's thirty-six symbols in length; you should arrange them in a six-by-six matrix. Tell me when you've done that."
He continues to build his new device, moving his hands deftly, at various times connecting a wiring harness, using a chip insertion tool to complete a circuit board, and tweaking a hardware setting with the smallest screwdriver you're ever likely to encounter. I stare at Vinny's message and realise how dumb I am.
"Let me," says Wang Shu, taking the pen and swiftly extracting the symbols to build up the matrix. "What's next, Dieter?"
He's bolting the power supply in place as he says, "Take the rest of the message two symbols at a time and replace the first with the symbol that's in the same column but in the row of the second symbol. Then replace the second symbol with the symbol in the same column that's in the same row as the first symbol."
My jaw drops, then Wang Shu says, "I know this; it's a Playfair cipher."
While Dieter is moving the casing into place and lining up its screws, Wang Shu completes the decryption.
"But it's still just symbols," she says. "How do we know what they mean?"
After tightening the last screw, Dieter leans over and looks at the sequence of symbols. "It's my own alphabet; I invented it a few years ago."
"What does it say?" I ask with growing impatience.
Dieter reads it as though it were written in English.
"It says: Andy beware I looked into Cobham's financials like you asked and he's started receiving large sums into an unnumbered USB account in Shinrarta. I also looked into his comms history and he's been in touch regularly with Chief Auer of the Ant Hill Mob. I know you've had dealings with the mob in the past but that won't save you if you mess with their plans. Look for me in Sol."
It's starting to make sense, now. Haulage ships working for Pleiades Resources and Merope Expeditionary have been targeted, but none running missions for the Ant Hill Mob. That's why William Auer wasn't invited to the meeting I had with Rafaela Burgess and Cody Ratcliff. I should have realised before now that Auer would be involved.
Dieter brings me back to the here and now.
"I need to take this device to the Cyclops and install it. There's a Sidewinder they let me use to ferry myself back and forth. They think that I daren't try anything while my family is held hostage, but this time they're wrong – provided I can get them on a fast ship out of here. Can you help?"
It seems he's been planning this escape for a long time and only needed the part taken from the box I brought from Stargazer. It now looks like he's rescuing us.
Wang Shu immediately says, "I'll go with you to the Cyclops; there may be something I can do to help."
"In that case, I'll go and round up your family," I say. "I need to find my own team as well. We'll be ready to go when you get back."
"Very well; the accommodation for prisoners is on level ten, for'ard, on the starboard side."
I make my way to the prisoners' quarters as quickly as my unfamiliarity with the megaship allows. I turn right off the central corridor of level ten and there is Pnin Re standing over the unconscious body of one of the pirates. Behind him, I see Lena Wegener holding Klaus's hand while Agneta is carrying a sobbing Elke Wegener.
"He tried to head-butt my fist when I said we wanted to leave," Pnin Re says.
"Looks like he succeeded," I say. "but this is good; we're all together and only need to get to the Corvette."
"But where is Dieter?" Lena says, looking anxiously behind me for her husband.
I explain that he's gone to the Cyclops and will be back soon.
"I'll just bind and gag this one," Pnin Re says grabbing the pirate lying at his feet by the collar of his outfit and dragging him into the nearest cabin.
"Right," I say, when he emerges, "let's go."
We get slightly lost on the way back to the docking bay until Klaus puts us right. We're almost there when we round a corner and meet, striding side by side, John Crabbe and Chief William Auer. Behind them are Jenna Crumlin and Eric Cobham.
The game is up; both Auer and Cobham know my real identity. I've drained glasses sitting next to Ant Hill Bill when I was allied to the Mob, way back; and I've had several brushes with Cobham since taking this case.
Neither Auer nor Crabbe are armed but Cobham is already drawing his sidearm as Crabbe says, "Ingle, what's this? What are you doing with the Wegener family?"
"This isn't Ingle," Cobham says, stepping to the fore, "his name is Andrew Linton, and he's here to rescue the Wegeners. I warned him not to try."
The four pirates take up formation side by side. Pnin Re steps forward to stand next to me. Agneta puts Elke into her mother's arms and stands next to Pnin.
"Don't worry," she says to him, "I won't let them hurt you."