Alliance Read online

  PRAISE FOR

  LINESMAN

  A Kirkus Reviews “Can’t Miss” Title

  “Full of fast action, interplanetary intrigue, appealing characters, and a fascinating new take on the idea of the sentient spaceship.”

  —Sharon Shinn, national bestselling author of Archangel

  “S. K. Dunstall’s new series is fascinating and fun: rich with that sense of wonder that makes SF delightful.”

  —Patricia Briggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fire Touched

  “Riveting and fast-paced . . . A great read.”

  —Jack Campbell, New York Times bestselling author of the Lost Fleet novels

  “Thought-provoking.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “If you enjoy space operas, you should give this one a read.”

  —Bibliophilia, Please

  “Linesman caught me from the very first page . . . Fast-paced and full of both tension and action.”

  —Mixed Book Bag

  Ace Books by S. K. Dunstall

  LINESMAN

  ALLIANCE

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  ALLIANCE

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the authors

  Copyright © 2016 by S. K. Dunstall.

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  ACE® is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  The “A” design is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

  For more information, visit penguin.com.

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-18767-2

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Ace mass-market edition / March 2016

  Cover art by Bruce Jensen.

  Cover design by Diana Kolsky.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Once again, there are some wonderful people who helped to make this book what it is, and without them we would not have the book we have now.

  Our agent, Caitlin Blasdell, who does not shy away from telling us when something doesn’t work. We need this.

  Anne Sowards, our editor, who once again turned our book into a better story than it would have been otherwise.

  Sara Schwager, our copy editor, who did such a brilliant job of cleaning up our manuscript.

  Bruce Jensen. We love your covers. May there be many more.

  To everyone else toiling away in the background putting this book together and getting it out there. We know you are there doing all this work, and we appreciate it, even if we can’t name you individually.

  Mum, for sitting through the read-throughs again and for being there. Jenny, for being so enthusiastic when you read the story; and Leigh, who has supported us throughout, for understanding what these books mean to us, how much we put into them, and for celebrating our successes with us.

  We can’t not mention our beta readers, Arthur McMullen and Neil Martin. Your feedback is invaluable. And to Dawn McMullen, for being such a great friend and for arranging it all.

  Helen Montgomery, for taking care of our garden and turning it from an overgrown weed patch back into a pleasant place to be. We couldn’t weed and write; you gave us time to write.

  Last but definitely not least, to all our readers. Your generous feedback for Linesman was unexpected and warming. You are amazing. We hope you enjoy this book just as much.

  Thank you, each and every one of you.

  CONTENTS

  Praise for Linesman

  Ace Books by S. K. Dunstall

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  New Alliance Department of Alien Affairs—List of Lines and Their Purposes

  ONE: SELMA KARI WANG

  TWO: EAN LAMBERT

  THREE: EAN LAMBERT

  FOUR: EAN LAMBERT

  FIVE: SELMA KARI WANG

  SIX: EAN LAMBERT

  SEVEN: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  EIGHT: SELMA KARI WANG

  NINE: EAN LAMBERT

  TEN: EAN LAMBERT

  ELEVEN: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  TWELVE: EAN LAMBERT

  THIRTEEN: EAN LAMBERT

  FOURTEEN: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  FIFTEEN: EAN LAMBERT

  SIXTEEN: SELMA KARI WANG

  SEVENTEEN: SELMA KARI WANG

  EIGHTEEN: SELMA KARI WANG

  NINETEEN: EAN LAMBERT

  TWENTY: EAN LAMBERT

  TWENTY-ONE: SELMA KARI WANG

  TWENTY-TWO: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  TWENTY-THREE: EAN LAMBERT

  TWENTY-FOUR: SELMA KARI WANG

  TWENTY-FIVE: EAN LAMBERT

  TWENTY-SIX: SELMA KARI WANG

  TWENTY-SEVEN: EAN LAMBERT

  TWENTY-EIGHT: EAN LAMBERT

  TWENTY-NINE: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  THIRTY: EAN LAMBERT

  THIRTY-ONE: EAN LAMBERT

  THIRTY-TWO: SELMA KARI WANG

  THIRTY-THREE: EAN LAMBERT

  THIRTY-FOUR: SELMA KARI WANG

  THIRTY-FIVE: EAN LAMBERT

  THIRTY-SIX: EAN LAMBERT

  THIRTY-SEVEN: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  THIRTY-EIGHT: EAN LAMBERT

  THIRTY-NINE: SELMA KARI WANG

  FORTY: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  FORTY-ONE: EAN LAMBERT

  FORTY-TWO: SELMA KARI WANG

  FORTY-THREE: EAN LAMBERT

  FORTY-FOUR: SELMA KARI WANG

  FORTY-FIVE: EAN LAMBERT

  FORTY-SIX: SELMA KARI WANG

  FORTY-SEVEN: EAN LAMBERT

  FORTY-EIGHT: EAN LAMBERT

  FORTY-NINE: STELLAN VILHJALMSSON

  FIFTY: EAN LAMBERT

  NEW ALLIANCE DEPARTMENT OF ALIEN AFFAIRS—LIST OF LINES AND THEIR PURPOSES

  LINE

  REPRESENTS

  1

  Health of crew and lines

  2

  Small mechanics 1—air circulation, heating, cooling, power. Overall comfort and running of a ship.

  3

  Small mechanics 2—tools. Interact individually with other lines for repair, maintenance, management.

  4

  Gravity

  5

  Communications

  6

  Bose engines (engines with the capacity to take a ship through the void)

  7

  Unknown

  8

  Security

  9

  Takes ship into the void

  10

  Moves ship to a different location in space while in the void

  11

  Links ships together. Allows them to move/behave as a single unit.

  12

  Actual abilities unclear, but known to communicate across all lines and appears to have some control over other lines

  ONE

  SELMA KARI WANG

  CAPTAIN SELMA KARI WANG didn’t recognize the deep tone that cut across the ship comms. At least, not initially.

  “I’ll call you back,” she said to her chief engineer, who had been explaining an issue with line five. He couldn’t possibly have heard her over the loud tones, but he nodded anyway.

  It was only when First Councilor—dressed in full council regalia—came on-screen that she realized what the sound was.

  “Council announcement, people,” Kari Wang said through her comms. “All hands, listen up.”

  They had never had a council announcement in all the years she’d been in the fleet.

  “It must be serious,” Will, her third-in-command, muttered sotto voce to Narelma, the comms officer. “I’ve never seen First Councilor in formal dress before.”

  Kari Wang had. Once. At First Councilor’s swearing-in ceremony. She’d been young, straight out of academy, “honored” to stand guard beside the new councilor all day—in full dress uniform herself—on a day that sweltered at forty degrees Celsius in the shade. It had been the worst day of Kari Wang’s life. She’d kept praying she wouldn’t faint.

  At the end of it all, the councilor had asked for iced water for them both. “I don’t know who was going to collapse first out there,” she’d said, fanning a thin piece of plastic to cre
ate a wind. “You or me.”

  Kari Wang had sipped iced water gratefully.

  “Thank you, Spacer,” and First Councilor had bowed to her, although she hadn’t been First Councilor then, of course, only Tenth.

  Kari Wang had spent the next three days in bed with sunstroke. She hadn’t seen the woman again—except on the vids.

  A long time had passed since then. Selma Kari Wang was a captain now, with her own ship, while Agda Ayemann was First Councilor.

  “Citizens of Nova Tahiti,” First Councilor said, and her voice was steady, if somber.

  This same message was going out to millions of other people across the galaxy at the same time.

  Had gone out, Kari Wang corrected herself, because they were in a different sector from Nova Tahiti, and the message would have been relayed.

  “I am delighted to inform you,” First Councilor said, “that Nova Tahiti has seceded from Gate Union to become a founding member of the New Alliance of Worlds.”

  Standing on the bridge, listening, Kari Wang didn’t believe her to begin with. Yes, they’d had problems with Gate Union. Yes, the Nova Tahitian fleet had been irritated with Gate Union’s tactics and the way Gate Union was trying to push them away from having any real power. But seceding from the most powerful political union in the galaxy didn’t happen overnight.

  Not until a coded, high-security message flashed on-screen. For her eyes only. She held her comms up to scan her irises, then read the message that came up.

  Nova Tahiti Admiralty informs all ships that Nova Tahiti has seceded from Gate Union, effective immediately. All captains to implement immediate change of codes to Nova Tahiti native. There is to be no further exchange of classified information between Nova Tahitian ships and Gate Union. Personnel involved in Gate-Union-led initiatives are to return to their own ships immediately. Further information to follow. Repeat, all captains to implement immediate change of codes.

  It was true.

  Kari Wang looked up to the screen, where First Councilor smiled, although the exhaustion showed through, and the smile cracked at the end. What in the lines was going on?

  “I am sure you will all join with me in looking forward to our new future,” First Councilor said.

  The ship rang with a final boong-boing-bong as the councilor signed off.

  It was so silent on the bridge, Kari Wang could hear the air circulating. Will, intense and focused, turned to her. She held up a hand and turned on shipwide comms of her own.

  “This is the captain speaking. I have had confirmation from Admiralty that Nova Tahiti has indeed seceded from Gate Union. I am about to commence a change of codes. Please note that as of now, there is to be no further exchange of classified information between Nova Tahiti and Gate Union. I repeat. No further exchange of classified information between Nova Tahiti and Gate Union. I will provide further information as it comes to hand.”

  She clicked off and started to implement the change of codes. This was something she’d never had to do before, outside of training. Luckily, the instructions had been drilled into her as soon as she became ship captain and redrilled every time she went back for training.

  “We’re not at war with them, are we?” Will asked. “I mean, what about the testing we’re doing? Are we going to deliver the results?”

  The GU Kari Wang was out near the rim, testing top secret warheads. Given the fragile relations between the factions in Gate Union, Kari Wang had been surprised a Nova Tahitian ship had been chosen to test them, but she’d been pleased, too. It was an acknowledgment that many of her crew were weapons experts—especially Will, who was a leader in the field of weapons used in space warfare. She hadn’t realized how fragile those relations were.

  “Nothing until we get further orders,” she said.

  Kelan McGill, her second-in-command, who’d been off duty, came in then, hair still tousled from sleep.

  “Kelan, Will, you are in charge. I’m going to walk around the ship. Call me when something comes through.” No one would call for a while. Who would bother with a ship out so far, with no one for parsecs, when half the Nova Tahitian fleet was actively working with other worlds in Gate Union?

  Her crew were subdued and contemplative, not sure what was happening. Neither was she.

  She was honest. “All I’ve got is official confirmation,” she told them. “I wasn’t expecting it, and I don’t think Admiralty was either. As soon as I have more news, I’ll tell you.”

  By the time she was done and back on the bridge, ship mood was a little brighter.

  * * *

  KARI Wang asked for further information and instructions and was told to wait. News dribbled in, mostly through the media, which you couldn’t believe anyway. Not only that, the news that came was not often about the formation of the New Alliance. For an alien fleet had been discovered at the confluence, and the media ran with that.

  Their rec screens were filled with images of alien ships, and speculation about the—presumed dead—aliens themselves. Who would have thought that a breakdown of the two main political entities in the galaxy could be second-run news.

  “I’m more interested in the aliens,” Will said, when they discussed it the next night at dinner. “Everyone is.”

  Kari Wang agreed, but as captain, the political situation was more important to her and the well-being of her crew. “I just wish they’d tell us something.”

  “Look at it this way,” Will said. “We’re New Alliance. We’ve got the alien ships.” For the New Alliance had claimed them. “Maybe they’ll assign us to them later on,” and his deep-set brown eyes sparkled at the possibility.

  New Alliance. The words left a nasty taste in Kari Wang’s mouth. Two days ago, fifty of the seventy worlds that made up the New Alliance had been their enemy. What had caused such a cataclysmic shift in power? Surely, it couldn’t just be access to alien ships. Or could it?

  “It doesn’t put us in any better position.” Although she tried not to be pessimistic. She’d heard rumors of factions in Gate Union, but she’d thought her home world would come out on top. After all, they had First Councilor on Nova Tahiti, and Ahmed Gann on the Gate Union Council itself, both of whom were strong political negotiators. If any world could come out well, it was Nova Tahiti. It was said Gann could make or break Union worlds by casting his vote.

  Yet here he was, on the news, smiling alongside First Councilor, and if Kari Wang was any judge of smiles, Gann’s was a lot broader and happier than First Councilor’s was.

  * * *

  WITH nothing else to do, she kept her crew busy setting up the warheads for the next round of testing, along with the regular drills and activities that always took place on ship.

  Life settled back into some sort of normality. Eat, sleep, work, and wait for news.

  She asked Will to organize a triball tournament to keep them busy. Six teams of thirty players. Each team played the other twice, and the winners would be decided in a playoff of the top two teams. If they didn’t have time to think, they wouldn’t have as much time to worry.

  That was Kari Wang’s job.

  Sixty-two hours after the initial announcement, Medic Halliday called her up. “You’re scheduled for some suit time. Do you want me to cancel it?”

  In space, there were some things you did automatically, and some things you did over and over, so it became automatic. Every member of the GU Kari Wang—or the Kari Wang now, she supposed—had to spend time in a space suit, and in space. Including the captain.

  “No.” Normality was good. “I’ll do it now.”

  In fact, she was looking forward to it.

  It seemed to her the ship was looking forward to it as well.

  Kari Wang laughed and patted the lockers, then looked around guiltily to be sure no one had seen her.

  “Don’t worry. It’s normal for captains to show outward signs of affection to their ship,” Medic Halliday said from behind her, half frightening the life out of her. “Touching, talking to it. They’ve done studies on it.” He handed over his comms. “Thumbprint here, please. You have three hours out there. Come in when I call, or I’ll send someone out for you.”