The Silent War

SELENE: DOUGLAS STAVENGER’S QUARTERS

Doug Stavenger sat tensely in the armchair at one end of his living room’s sofa. At the matching chair on the other end sat Pancho Lane. Between them, Martin Humphries was on the sofa, beneath a genuine Bonestell painting of a sleek rocket sitting on the Moon’s rugged surface.

Pancho looks wary, Stavenger thought, like a gazelle that’s been caught in a trap. The trousers of her trim sea-green business suit hid the cast on her left ankle.

Humphries looks worried, too, he realized. I’ve never seen him so uptight. Maybe being nearly killed has finally knocked some sense into his head.

“This war has gone far enough,” Doug Stavenger said, leaning forward earnestly. “Too far, in fact. It’s got to stop. Now.”

Neither Pancho nor Humphries said a word. They look like two schoolkids who’ve been sent to the principal’s office for discipline, Stavenger thought.

He focused on Pancho. “Despite Selene’s demands, and my personal request to you, Astro has used its facilities here to direct military operations.”

She nodded, lips tight. “Yep, that’s true.”

“And you produced a disaster.”

Pancho nodded again.

Turning to Humphries, he said, “And that fire in your personal preserve could have wiped out all of Selene.”

“I didn’t start the fire,” Humphries snapped. “It was that murdering sonofabitch Fuchs.”

“And why was he trying to get to you?” Pancho interjected.

“He’s a killer! You know that. Everybody knows it. He even killed one of my assistants, Victoria Ferrer!”

“And how many have you killed?” Pancho retorted. “You’ve tried to kill Lars more’n once.”

For the first time in long, long years Stavenger felt angry. Truly angry. These two stubborn idiots were threatening Selene and everyone living in it.

“I don’t care who started the fire,” he said coldly, “the fact is that you’re running your war from here. It was inevitable that the fighting would spread to Selene.”

“I’m sorry for that,” Pancho said. “Really sorry. But I had nothing to do with Fuchs’s attack on the mansion.”

Humphries glared at her. “Didn’t you? You brought Fuchs here to Selene, didn’t you? You protected him while he plotted to kill me!”

“I brought him to Earth to save his hide from your hired killers,” Pancho countered, with some heat.

“Enough!” Stavenger snapped. “You want to fight your war, then fight it elsewhere. You’re both leaving Selene.”

“What do you mean?” Humphries demanded.

“Both Humphries Space Systems and Astro Corporation will move out of Selene. That includes the two of you, all your employees, and all your equipment. I want you both out, lock, stock and barrel. Within the week.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Can’t I?” Stavenger said, meeting Humphries’s angry gaze. “The governing council of Selene will formally declare both your corporations to be outlaw operations. If you don’t move out by the deadline they will seize all your assets and forcibly exile any of your people still remaining here.”

“That’s illegal,” Pancho blurted.

“It won’t be by this time tomorrow,” said Stavenger. “I guarantee it.”

Humphries jabbed an accusing finger at him. “You can’t expect me to—

“I do expect you to clear out of Selene. Now. Immediately. I don’t care where you go. I don’t care if you slaughter each other out in the Belt or in the pits of hell. But you will not drag Selene into this war. And you will not endanger this community. Is that clear?”

Humphries glowered at him for a silent moment, then seemed to relax and lean back into the sofa’s ample cushions.

“So I’ll go to Hell Crater,” he said, with a smirk.

Stavenger turned to Pancho. “And you?”

She shrugged. “Maybe Malapert. Maybe we’ll set up shop in one of the habitats at L-4 or L-5.” Humphries sneered at her. “Good idea. I can wipe you out with a single nuke, then.”

Stavenger suddenly shot out of his chair, grabbed Humphries by the collar of his tunic and hauled him to his feet.

“Why don’t I just break your damned neck here and now and get this war over with?” he snarled.

Humphries went white. He hung limply in Stavenger’s grasp, not even able to raise his hands to defend himself.

Stavenger pushed him back onto the sofa. “Martin, I can see that you’re not going to stop this war of your own volition. It won’t stop until you’re stopped.”

Some color returned to Humphries’s face. With a trembling hand he pointed to Pancho. “What about her? She started it!”

“I started it?” Pancho yelped. “That’s the biggest motherhumping lie I ever heard.”

“You started arming your ships!”

“You tried to assassinate me!”

“I did not!”

“The cable car from Hell Crater, remember? You’re saying you didn’t do that?”

“I didn’t!”

“Liar.”

“I didn’t do it!”

“Then who the hell did?”

“Not me!”

Stavenger’s phone chimed, interrupting their finger-pointing.

“Phone answer,” Stavenger called. Edith Elgin’s face appeared on the screen. She looked tense, worried, almost frightened. “Doug, I know you’re going to hear about this one way or the other. The rock rats’ habitat at Ceres is being threatened by somebody who wants Lars Fuchs. It must be a Humphries operation. I’m safe on the Elsinore so far, but we don’t know what’s going to happen. This could get ugly.”

The screen went blank.

“Edith!” Stavenger called.

The screen remained gray, but a synthesized voice said, “Transmission was interrupted at the source. The system will attempt to reconnect.”

Stavenger whirled on Humphries. “If anything happens to my wife I’ll kill you. Understand me? I’ll kill you!”