The Nautilus Sanction

3

“I don’t believe it,” Finn said, throwing his cap down on the bunk. “We haven’t even left the harbor yet and already I’ve blown my cover!”

“What happened?” Lucas said, frowning. “It was Verne, wasn’t it? You slipped up.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” said Finn. “ ‘How’s Phillip’s leg?’ `Oh, just fine, Mr. Verne, he’s all healed up and running around campus like an undergraduate.’ Me and my big mouth. Turns out Phillip Martinson lost both legs at the Battle of Shiloh.”

“Oops,” said Lucas.

“He hasn’t told the others yet,” Finn said. “He looked smug as hell about it, but he didn’t pursue it. I wonder what he’s thinking.” He shook his head. “Damn. I told them it was a dumb idea to have us pose as university professors. And they had to pick well-known universities!”

“It was a calculated risk,” said Lucas. “Samuelson, Devries and Vandenburg didn’t know anyone from Maine or Boston. Nobody figured on Verne, though. He was a last-minute addition. Hell of a thing, running into him of all people.”

“Well, I’m going to have to think of something to tell him,” Finn said.

Lucas thought for a minute. “Why not pretend to be an undercover journalist?”

“That’s not bad,” said Finn. “Only why would a journalist need to go to such lengths just to get aboard? Why not simply come on board as a reporter?”

“Maybe because people, scientists especially, don’t really act themselves when they know there’s a reporter around taking everything down,” said Lucas. “We already know how this bunch feels about reporters.”

Finn nodded. “I like it. We’ll go with it. I’ll make Andre my assistant or something. We might as well hang on to your cover, so long as it’s not blown. Just be careful what you say, especially around Verne. He’s pretty sharp. Those others exist in that rarified atmosphere of academics, but Verne’s a writer and writers watch everything obsessively.”

“I’d say he was the least of our problems. I just keep wondering why there have been so many sightings in this fairly localized period as opposed to any other. It strongly suggests there’s a special reason why that sub is here.”

“Can you think of any particular thing about this time period that might attract them?” said Finn.

Lucas shook his head. “Hell, take your pick. Without anything positive to go on, we’d just be making wild guesses. This has to be the longest shot we’ve ever taken. That sub can translocate literally anywhere. This whole mission is nothing but a giant crap shoot.”

“Well, we can always hope the Fate Factor intervenes,” said Finn. “It would be nice to have temporal physics working for us for a change.”

“Please,” said Lucas. “I’d rather not discuss the Fate Factor so soon after that last mission.” He touched his eyepatch.

“Sorry. That was insensitive of me.”

There was a soft knock at the cabin door and Andre came in.

“The equipment’s all secure,” she said. “I’ve locked the cabin door, but it bothers me to leave it unattended.”

“If we spend all our time watching it, that will only arouse curiosity,” said Lucas. “The cabin’s locked, the ordnance is packed away and locked. No one would know what the hell to do with it if they found it, anyway. Besides, I’ve got my trusty little alarm pager right here. It’s as secure as it can be under the circumstances.”

“Just the same,” said Andre, “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping very well, alone in my cabin with a grenade launcher and ten warp grenades.”

“You can always bring some strapping young sailor in there to keep you company,” said Finn, grinning. “Just don’t tell him what’s underneath the bunk. That might kill all the romance.”

“Or it might make things more interesting,” she said with a smile.

“Well, first order of business is to check the ship out thoroughly and make note of all the crew stations,” Lucas said. “We need to find a place we can fire the grenades from without being seen. If the sub is sighted, we’ll have to move very fast. There will be a lot of excitement and that will work in our favor, because everyone will be watching the sub.”

“Suppose we are seen?” Andre said.

“Then we’ll just have to improvise,” said Lucas. “The important thing is to destroy the sub and verify its destruction. Making sure nobody starts examining the warp grenades is the second priority. Making sure we get away safely only comes third. I don’t think we’ll be in any danger. At worst, Farragut will have us put in the brig, assuming there’s a brig aboard this ship. If we get caught, they’ll want to ask us lots of questions. So let’s get our routine straight. Andre, since Finn just blew his cover-”

“What?”

“It’s not serious. Verne caught him in a lie, so you’re both undercover journalists now. Anyway, since you’re both reporters, we can’t exactly have you playing around with any scientific apparatus. I’ll take over monitoring the SADD and radar and infrared gear.”

“Just make sure none of the others gets too close a look at any of it,” Finn said.

“No problem. I’m a professor, but I’m also something of a scientist and I’ve got ambition. I’ve been developing all this newfangled equipment and I’m very paranoid and possessive about it. Don’t want anyone to steal my ideas. I may ruffle a few feathers, but these people will surely understand that.”

“Good. That should work,” said Finn.

“Andre,” Lucas said, “you’ll be in charge of the grenades. First sign of trouble, you clock out with them.”

“What about you and Finn?”

“That’ll depend on what the situation’s going to be,” said Lucas. “A warp grenade makes one hell of a depth charge. The only chance the sub’s got of escaping complete destruction is to translocate before it goes off. One of us has to stay behind at least long enough to get a reading and make sure it’s been destroyed. Since I’ll be the one monitoring the instruments, I’m the logical candidate. Finn, once you’ve fired the grenade launcher, you clock out immediately. If for some reason that proves to be impossible, make sure you’ve fired your last grenade. Andre will be feeding them to you. No matter what, she has to clock out. I’ll be scanning the instruments, so I won’t be able to cover for her. You make sure she gets away, then if you can’t clock out yourself, make sure the last grenade is fired and dump the launcher overboard.”

“What about the instruments?” said Finn. “We can’t let them get their hands on those.”

“Better the instruments than the ordnance,” said Lucas. “We’ll take it step-by-step. I will already have established that it’s experimental gear of my own design and they’ll have no reason to tie me in with you. In all the excitement, I’ll be able to get my readings. If they’re positive, then we’re home free. I can either toss them overboard when I’m done or clock out with them or just finish out the trip as Professor Priest. On the other hand, it might all go smoothly. We sight the sub, sink same, and Andre clocks out with all the gear. We report she fell overboard in all the fuss, very tragic, then wait until the ship makes port and simply walk off like the others.”

“Sounds too damned easy,” Finn said, scowling.

“The hard part’s going to be getting lucky enough to encounter the sub,” said Lucas. “And nailing it before it trans-locates. Any way you look at it, if we manage to get that lucky, the rest is easy.”

“Yeah, famous last words,” said Finn.

“That’s okay,” said Lucas. “You just keep thinking about what can go wrong. That way we’ll be able to anticipate things better. The only-”

He broke off as the alarm pager went off.

“Shit! Someone’s broken into Andre’s cabin!”

They burst out of their cabin and ran down the companionway, covering the short distance to Andre’s cabin in a moment. The door was closed, but it was unlocked and Andre had not left it that way. Finn reached into the waistband of his trousers and pulled out a small revolver, a Colt baby Patterson. 28 caliber percussion pistol. Not as lethal as a laser, but far more suited to the time. He glanced at Lucas. Lucas nodded. He reached out, opened the door quickly, and stepped out of the way while Finn went in low, in case whoever was inside was armed.

Jules Verne was sitting on the bunk. He had opened the locks on their portmanteau and traveling chest and he had removed the ordnance cases. They were lying on the floor in front of him while he sat hunched over, in a posture similar to Rodin’s Thinker. He did not look up as they came in.

“You know,” he said, “I shall be forever grateful to that convict who taught me the trick of picking locks. I knew the skill would come in handy someday. Still, I was unable to get very far with these,” he indicated the fastenings on the ordnance cases. “Most unusual design. Quite fascinating.”

Lucas softly closed the door. “What is the meaning of this, Mr. Verne?” he said, tensely.

The writer was oblivious to the gun Finn held pointed at him. He kept staring at the ordnance cases.

“Fascinating,” he said. “Absolutely fascinating. I have never before encountered a material even remotely like this. It appears to be of a high molecular weight, containing some manner of synthetic substance as its essential ingredient, possibly derived from a natural substance by some form of chemical treatment. Shaped by flow, undoubtedly, through the application of heat and pressure? Molded or cast. Yes, a laminate of some sort, no?”

“Mr. Verne,” said Finn, “in case it has escaped your notice, I’m pointing a gun at you.”

“Yes, well, mon ami, either you are going to shoot me or you are not. The matter rests entirely in your hands. There is not much I can do about it, in either case.”

Finn glanced at Lucas helplessly. Lucas only shrugged. Andre sat down on the bunk beside Verne.

“Is it your habit to break into a lady’s room and search through her belongings, sir?” she said, putting just the right touch of indignation in her voice. “That is not the way a gentleman behaves.”

“I am not a gentleman, ma chire,” he said. “I am a novelist. Besides, no offense intended, but you are hardly what one would call a lady. One glance at your shoulders and your arms, to say nothing of the way you walk, and an astute observer would instantly perceive you have not had an ounce of pampering in your entire life. As for your compatriot, he looks far more like a strongman than a university professor. And I already know that he is not that. The question is, what are you?”

“Very well, Mr. Verne,” said Finn, putting the Colt away. “I see we are going to have to be forthright with you. I hope we can count on you not to give us away. The fact is, we are reporters-”

“Oh, nonsense,” Verne said, impatiently. He tapped the ordnance cases. “Then how would you explain these?”

“Those are cases containing photographic equipment,” Finn began, but Verne interrupted him.

“You are lying, sir. Perhaps you would care to open them? I would like to see this photographic equipment.”

“All right, look,” Delaney said. “We don’t have to explain anything to you. You broke in here like a common thief.”

“Then call Commander Farragut and demand I be arrested,” Verne said.

The three of them exchanged glances. “I think we’ve got a problem,” Andre said.

Verne leaned back against the bulkhead, crossed his legs and lit a cigarette that he took out of a small, thin silver case. He watched them with curiosity.

“Well, Mr. Verne,” said Lucas, “now that you know we are not what we say we are, the question is, what are you going to do about it?”

“I honestly do not know,” said Verne. “You three intrigue me. Your intentions do not seem to be criminal, else you would have overpowered me and thrown me overboard. An accident. Such things occur. But you are not going to do that, I perceive, so we are at an impasse. You can kill me, but you seem reluctant to do so. I can expose you for the frauds you are, but I have no reason to. At least not at the moment. Aboard this ship, there is hardly any chance of your escape. So what do we do now, my friends?”

Finn looked at Lucas. “Do you believe this guy?”

“He’s got nerve, I’ll give him that,” said Lucas.

“What is in those cases?” Verne said.

“That, Mr. Verne,” said Andre, “is none of your business.”

“Well, if whatever you have in there is any danger to this ship, since I am on this ship, I would say it is very much my business. However, let us see what we can infer. You have boarded this ship under false pretenses. Your intentions may or may not be criminal, though I am disposed to think they are not, else you would have handled my intrusion far more drastically. Obviously, the entire matter centers upon this expedition. You are clearly not what you claim to be. You, sir,” he said, looking at Delaney, “have the appearance of a ruffian, yet I perceive you are an educated man. You,” he glanced at Lucas, “have quite a military bearing and I doubt you lost your eye as a result of some disease or accident. You also limp, albeit very slightly, so I surmise you have seen some fairly recent military action. In the civil war, perhaps. As for you, my dear,” he glanced at Andre, “you intrigue me most of all. Although you hide it well, your physical development is striking for a woman and there is something about your speech that is most interesting. I detect an accent, only the barest trace, something most people would not notice, yet I cannot put my finger upon it. I was initially disposed to think you were French, but you are not French. And then there is the curious matter of these cases, made of some sort of unique material and fastened by locks which seem to operate neither by key nor by combination. Astonishing. Truly astonishing. What can we infer from all of this?”

“Mr. Verne,” said Andre, “you are far too perceptive for your own good.”

“And then there is the matter of your timely arrival, prepared to deal with an intruder. You knew that I-or that someone-was in here, yet I made no noise breaking in and I did not set off any audible alarm. However, an alarm there must have been.”

He got up quickly and walked over to the cabin door. Delaney grabbed him by the arm. “That will do, Verne.”

“Should I cry out?” said Verne.

Finn took a deep breath. “Damn you.” He let him go.

Verne bent down over the door latch, checking it and the area around it carefully. “Aha!” he said. “What have we here?”

He removed a small jackknife from his pocket, opened it, and used the blade to pry the small sensor loose.

“Mon Dieu! So small!”

“Finn, stop him!” Andre said.

“How?” said Delaney.

“Finn! An Irish name,” said Verne. “Am I to suppose that Delaney is your real name, then?”

“Yes, they are our real names,” said Finn, wryly.

“Well then, Finn, my friend,” said Verne, showing him the sensor, “perhaps you could enlighten me as to what this is?”

“You’re doing so damn well, you tell me.”

“What logic tells me it must be, it cannot be,” said Verne. “And yet, I can think of no other explanation. It is an alarm device of some sort, is it not? A miniature transmitter, but on such a scale! It is not possible. Yet, what else can it be? Such sophistication is unheard of.”

“Mr. Verne,” said Lucas, “you have inadvertently uncovered a top secret government mission. What you are holding is a highly classified piece of equipment. I must ask you to return it to me. This is a most delicate situation and you have seriously compromised us. If I cannot be satisfied that you can be trusted to remain silent about all of this, I’m afraid we shall be forced to do something very drastic.”

Verne stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, then handed over the tiny sensor.

“Yes,” he said, “yes, indeed. That you are agents of some sort, that I can believe. But there is much here that strains credulity. You may trust me to keep all this to myself, at least for the time being. I would not wish to force you into doing something very drastic, as you put it.” He pursed his lips and stroked his beard. “But you have given me a great deal to think about. A very great deal, indeed. I shall have to sleep on it. Good night to you.”

He opened the door and walked out as casually as if he had been paying them a quiet social visit.

Finn exhaled heavily and turned to Lucas. “You were saying that he was the least of our problems?” he said. He held up his thumb and forefinger, about a quarter of an inch apart. “He’s that far from figuring out the truth.”

Lucas shook his head. “No, that’s impossible.”

“Is it?” Finn said. “You watch.”

“He’s puzzled, true,” said Lucas, “but there’s just no way he’ll ever guess we’re from a future time. It would be too mind-boggling a concept for him.”

“Only you’re forgetting one thing,” said Finn. “This is the man who invented science fiction.”

Lucas bit his lower lip.

“What are we going to do?” said Andre.

None of them had an answer.