Mutiny by Mike Resnick Read Free Book Online

intended to land at the spaceport, did you?" demanded Christine.
    "Well, if they'd had a Molarian handy, I wouldn't have had much choice, would I?" said Cole. "Four Eyes, what's the biggest city on the nightside?"
    Forrice checked his computer, then looked up. "There's a city of about two hundred thousand." He paused. "It's called Pinocchio. Does that mean anything to you?"
    "Yeah," said Cole. "It means whoever mapped this planet read too many fairy tales as a kid."
    "May I ask why we aren't landing at the spaceport, sir?" asked (Christine.
    "Just adapting to the situation," answered Cole. "The Bortellites may have parked that warship at the spaceport, but they didn't leave it empty—not something that valuable and powerful. They'll be feeling vulnerable on the ground, so they'll have all its scanners and sensors activated. That means they know we're here."
    "All right, they know we're here," she said, wondering what he was getting at.
    "We're at war," continued Cole. "And they've landed on Republic territory."
    Christine frowned in puzzlement. "So?"
    "So they're not firing at us. What does that imply to you, Lieutenant?"
    "They don't want to get into a shooting war?" she asked, confused.
    "We've been in a shooting war for years."
    "Then I don't see what you're getting at, sir."
    "The fact that they didn't try to shoot us down means they don't mind if we land at the spaceport. I can't think of a better reason not to land there. Let's orbit the planet and see if we can spot whatever it is they don't want us to see."
    "What makes you think there is something, sir?"
    "They're here, and their ship is intact. You don't put down on an enemy planet for supplies or repairs. You do it with a military objective in mind. Right now, the only thing we know is that the military objective isn't in the vicinity of the spaceport, so let's go looking for it."
    "And you think it might be in Pinocchio?" asked Forrice.
    "I doubt it like all hell," replied Cole. "This is a Republic world. You've got to figure someone in Pinocchio would find some way to let us know about it. You can buy off or intimidate a lot of people, but not all of them."
    "Just what is it that we're looking for, sir?" asked Christine.
    "Beats the hell out of me, Lieutenant," admitted Cole. "But whatever it is, we'll find it. Half the trick in finding clues is knowing that they're there—and we know that an enemy warship is sitting on Rapunzel and that it's practically inviting us to land at the spaceport."
    "They didn't land that many hours ahead of us," said Forrice. "Maybe they haven't set anything up yet."
    "This isn't their first trip there," said Cole with certainty. "Or at least they're not the first Teroni Federation ship to land on Rapunzel."
    "That's an awfully far-fetched conclusion," said Forrice.
    "It's an obvious conclusion," said Cole. "At the risk of being repetitious, they didn't fire on us. If they hadn't dispersed their men and equipment yet, if everything was still at the spaceport and vulnerable to an attack, we'd be dodging laser and pulse fire right now."
    "Well, at least we're free to go where we want. The Bortellites aren't going to say 'Don't look there' and the Teddy R's not going to say a thing." Forrice displayed the Molarian equivalent of a grin. "You'd almost think someone planned it that way."
    "Do you think you might pay a little attention to your navigation?" said Cole.
    "What should I be doing, sir?" asked Christine.
    "Rapunzel isn't worth conquering. The Teroni couldn't defend it, not out here on the Rim with Republic worlds all around it—and they obviously haven't destroyed it. What does that imply to you?"
    "That Rapunzel has something they want, something they think they can take with the crew of a single ship."
    "Very good, Lieutenant," said Cole. "What do you suppose that is?"
    "A man, perhaps? A political leader or a scientist?"
    Cole shook his head. "If they wanted a man, they'd have killed him and left, or captured him and