The Alpha Protocol: Alpha Protocol Book 1 Duncan Hamilton (affordable ebook reader .TXT) 📖

‘Peace in our time, Sergeant. That’s what Captain Wright intends for.’

‘Peace with who exactly?’

‘Our gangly pink and purple friends.’

‘He realises that it’s not peace if they’re shooting at you, right?’

‘I’m not sure what thoughts are going through his head at the moment, but I expect most of them involve words like “Admiral”, “President”, or “hero”. He’s running with his sacred site theory, and thinks if we apologise and promise to stay away, all will be forgiven and we can enter into a great, mutually beneficial partnership to explore and civilise the universe.’

‘Modest in his aspirations, then,’ Price said. ‘Ain’t he, sir.’

Samson activated the thrusters. ‘One way or another, I fully expect he intends to hang me, and possibly everyone on this ship, out to dry if his plans fail. He suggested that my actions may have incited war,’ Samson continued. ‘He wants us and our warlike little vessel out of the way so we can’t ruin his peace talks.’ Samson realised he was talking about a superior in the most unprofessional manner possible, but he doubted it would make much difference to his career, considering the other issues in play.

He wondered what Harper was thinking about it all. Might she see siding with Wright as an opportunity to save her career? The thought sent a chill through him. She could portray him as the bloodthirsty xenophobic lunatic he was sure Wright wanted him to be, justify her mutinous actions in their entirety, and hammer another nail in his coffin. Perhaps he’d be better off signing on with the first pirate vessel they encountered. Or tossing her out of the airlock. He suspected his opportunity for that move had passed, however.

‘I don’t know if I’m more curious to see how this plays out, or terrified,’ Price said. ‘He knows they destroyed the Sidewinder without provocation, doesn’t he?’

It startled Samson to hear Price admit he was afraid of anything. ‘Ah, but they had stolen the poor aliens’ sacred artefacts,’ he said. ‘Wright’s scrambling for whatever glory’s to be had out here before Admiral Khaimov’s squadron arrives. After that the plaudits will be diluted, and he might have to actually work for whatever it is he has in mind for his future. He’ll be transmitting the encounter at maximum power. He’ll want all of humanity to know what he’s doing, so at least we’ll be able to listen in on what’s happening. Along with everyone else.’

28

Samson did his best to put the thoughts about what Captain Wright might have in store for him to one side, and go about his duty as best he could. They launched the sensor probe at a spot roughly equidistant between Capsilan’s Nexus portal and Holmwood, then retreated into the darkness of space to run on minimal power and watch who passed by. Anyone trying to smuggle objects from the ruins on Dobson would fall into their net, and then Captain Wright could humbly return the looted objects to his new alien friends. Assuming they didn’t kill him first.

As duties went, it was about as boring as could be, particularly on a small ship like the Bounty. There was virtually no traffic between the two systems, and Captain Wright would have known that. Holmwood, though the capital of that sector, was still little more than a collection point for all the sector’s production for transhipment back to the Core Systems. The raw materials for which Frontier systems tended to be exploited were too bulky for the pirates to steal, or for the smugglers to try and hide in an effort to avoid duties. Arlen was the only person they’d encountered smuggling alien artefacts, although Samson realised that didn’t mean he was the only one doing it. Judging by the lack of traffic the sensor was picking up, it was starting to look like he was, though. At least there were recreation facilities and enough crew members to make life a little more interesting on a larger ship. Here, there was nothing to do but stare at the stars and worry about the future.

With little of interest going on, he brought up the naval database entry for Holmwood on his datapad and started to scroll though. It had all the usual things that made a planet attractive to early settlers: heavy metals, rare elements, and some precious metals. Sooner or later, the very high-value stuff would be discovered—gemstones and the like; every planet had them—but for the time being Holmwood was being stripped of the easily accessible commodities, which were shipped back to the Core to feed its industrial machine. Some would get wealthy, some would be ruined, but once the population grew large enough, the Frontier would move outward, this planet would become like any other, and the process would repeat as another unknown layer of the galaxy was peeled back.

He spent the remainder of the day watching empty space, other than three freighters hauling their wares away from Holmwood. Samson scanned their registrations and manifests, but there was nothing to raise suspicion. He noted the destination of one, and decided he might give them a closer look for contraband on their way back, if he was still on station. They were headed for a system known as a hotspot of criminal activity and narcotics, which might tempt a freighter captain looking to make a little extra on their next run.

Just as Samson was about to go off-duty, a ship dropped out of the Nexus Current close enough to Holmwood to suggest it had a very expensive navigation computer. That wasn’t something Samson expected to see out here, and once he had confirmed it wasn’t a small naval vessel, his curiosity was piqued enough to move off-station to investigate.

They got underway at full thrust, Samson’s boredom causing him to be a little less patient with the Bounty than perhaps he should. The engines thrummed with the increased power being fed to them, and he watched the range between him and