Salvage Fleet

by Kevin Steverson

  * * * * *

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Salvage Title, Basher, Sweet Pea, the four Nazrooth destroyers, and six more of the salvaged ships were traveling in alter reality, headed to the Krift system. Sitting on the deck of one of the bays on Windswept were the Squilla and Krift prisoners. They filled the bay. Their ships were staying in the Tretrayon system, to be converted to ships in the Tretrayon Defense Fleet. It would give the TDF fifteen ships to defend itself with within two months. It was a good start.

  All the salvaged ships would be going with Salvage Title to the Salvage system. Harmon intended to visit the system and explore. There was an entire military shipyard and supply depot he needed to assess so he could figure out how many beings to hire to get it operating again. The Salvage Fleet would be needed to defend the system against any who would come in to see what they could take. Once pirates learned of the new coordinates, there were many who would try it. An empty system would be tempting for many nefarious types across the galaxy.

  Once it was determined whether the planet could be colonized, Harmon hoped it would bring beings with honest intentions, but the realist in him knew it would have to be policed, as well, until it was well established. He already had inquiries from Tretra and Joth, as well as Leethog.

  Clip and Jayneen, with a small crew that included Brickle and newly promoted Staff Sergeant Clyde, had left three days earlier for the Salvage system. Harmon had no idea what Clip was working on, but Clip insisted he had to go. Knowing the coordinates had not been released to the galaxy yet, Harmon did not stop him. Sometimes when Clip got something in his head, it was best to let him do it.

  “Sir,” the tactical officer said, “we will be exiting in two minutes.”

  “Thanks, Adam,” Harmon said. He hit the comm on his seat. “Battle Stations. All hands, Battle Stations.”

  They came through the gate, moving quickly into a system with some traffic. Sensors showed there were several Q-ships orbiting the fourth planet, a medium-sized planet with what appeared to be reddish-colored land masses and a few oceans. They were not immediately accosted.

  “Sir,” the comms officer said, “you have an incoming call.”

  “Thanks, Jim,” Harmon said, sitting back. “Put it on screen.”

  Harmon found himself looking at a Krift. She was a dark reddish color, and she was sitting on a throne-like chair. There were several Krift standing behind her. There was one Krift on its knees, with several limbs and its wings obviously bound in front of the chair.

  “Captain Tomeral, good of you to visit the Krift system,” the Krift said. “I am Rathell, Queen of Krift. Please feel free to stand down. There will be no aggression by Krift against you or your fleet.”

  “I see,” Harmon said, glancing over to his tactical officer. There were no defensive platforms tracking them, and no ships were anywhere near the gate. “You know why we’re here?”

  “I have an idea, yes,” the queen said, “though I would like to ask for favors.”

  “You’re hardly in a position to ask. What are they?” Harmon asked. He looked over at Rick Kashka, who had come along to learn how Harmon and his crew fought Salvage Title. His ships back in the Salvage system were undergoing repairs. They had plenty of credit to last them a while, and they would be staying in the system until their ships were once again battle ready.

  “I would ask that you return the Krift who are your prisoners, as well as the Squilla you hold,” she said. “I ask that you do not destroy my system’s shipbuilding abilities. Even now, two heavy battlecruisers are scheduled to be completed and ready for shakedown in three weeks. I ask that open dialog be started between the Tretrayon system and the Krift system for trade.”

  “And what exactly are you going to do for me that would warrant such favors?” Harmon asked. “Because of you and your ships joining the Squilla invasion, many good beings died. You have as much chance of getting them as rainfall on Joth.”

  “Ah, you are misinformed, Captain Tomeral,” the queen said. “My mother is to blame for that decision. She did it in revenge for my younger sibling. She is no longer in position to make such decisions. As a matter of fact,” Queen Rathell pulled a kinetic pistol from the holster on her side, shot the bound Krift through the head, and the body slumped to the floor, “she will not be making any decisions ever again.”

  “I see,” was all Harmon could say.

  “If you will grant these favors,” the queen of Krift continued, “I will send the two heavy cruisers and many Q-ships on the year-long voyage to the Squilla system and will destroy their warship-making abilities. They will also send kinetic missiles down on their ground warfare facilities and the palace itself, to rid the galaxy of King C’Rabi. It will take a year because the Bith have closed the gate to the Squilla system, you understand.”

  “I am aware,” Harmon said, sitting back once again. “I think we may just have an even trade. There is one thing, though.”

  “You have but to ask, Captain,” the queen said. “I am in no position to deny any terms you would like to impose.”

  “All this piracy business. It has to stop,” Harmon said.

  “I completely agree,” the queen said, surprising Harmon. “It is the reason I have been out of favor for so many years. Piracy as a way of life is for cowards…beings who wish to prey off the weaker. Pathetic. I wish the Krift to earn honest credit. I have sent word for this to cease everywhere, and for the Q-ships to return to the home system. My system is poor, but there is honest credit to be made as mercenaries. All mercenary work must come through my military. Wherever we fight, and for whomever we fight, it must be honorable, or we will not take the contract.”

  “Then I think we have an agreement,” Harmon said.

  “I thank you, Captain Tomeral,” Queen Rathell said. “It may seem cruel and unusual, what I am doing across my system,” she indicated the body of her mother, “eliminating those who would prefer to keep the old ways, but they must be cut out of the hive. It is the only way.”

  “Send a ship to take the prisoners,” Harmon said. “We’ll be on our way shortly after. Give it a few weeks, and send an envoy to Tretra. I would not advise sending an armed one.”

  “Indeed, Captain,” the queen said. “Wise advice. I will not do so.”

  * * *

  In the Salvage system, Clip brought the atmosphere mining ship to a stop near the research facilities in the military shipyards. It had taken several days to get there, given the speed of the ship. They were there to find an item Clip was almost positive would be there. Almost.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Clyde asked him.

  “Not really, but I have to,” Clip said. “At least I won’t have to try and open a docking ring or anything. Marteen and his Marines left a way in when they went in there looking for missiles.”

  “I’ll say they did. There is a hole in that bay door large enough for me to fit through,” Brickle said.

  “Well, there’s no use putting it off any longer.” Clip sighed. “I’ll go suit up.”

  Clip pushed out the open hatch on the mining ship and floated across to the open hole cut into the bay of the research facility. He pushed a button, and a small puff of gas on the hand-held propulsion unit moved him slightly over to line him up, and he floated slowly through the gap.

  Using the magnetic boots on the suit and the lights on his helmet, he moved deep into the facility. He looked into several rooms, until he came to the end of a long hallway. He couldn’t read the writing on the door, but the locked door told him he was probably in the right place. It took him longer than normal to open the locked door due to the gloves he was wearing, but he finally succeeded.

  Looking around, he knew he was in the right place. On the table were components of what could only be the same type of computer that held Jayneen. Clip counted the computer shells. There were three on the table. There was a box on the far end. Clip walked over and opened it. It contained a computer like the one Jayneen was h
oused in.

  Clip thought for a moment. There are four ships in various states of build here at the military shipyards. There are three computers that haven’t been put together. There’s one in a box. From here, it would go to the programmers. I need to find that office.

  Clip came back out of the building room and checked the door on the right. It was locked as well. Bingo! He thought. He picked the lock and entered. Looking around, he cursed out loud, “Squat!”

  “What is it? Are you alright? Do we need to come to you?” Staff Sergeant Clyde demanded. “Talk to me, Commander!”

  “I’m fine,” Clip said, remembering they had left the link open in case anything happened. “This room isn’t. It looks like the guy who wrote the program for Jayneen destroyed everything here before he offed himself. He must have done it before the virus killed him.”

  “Is there anything you can retrieve? Notes…anything?” Jayneen pleaded. She had closed the open link and was speaking directly to Clip.

  “No,” Clip said. “It looks like he was pretty thorough. Everything has been shot up with a laser pistol. Frost, there’s what looks to be a great big electromagnet lying on the desk, too. Whoever this was, he wasn’t letting what he knew go anywhere after he died…or she, I can’t tell.”

  “Well, I’m afraid this trip was for nothing,” Jayneen said. “Please, come back to the ship so we can leave.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t for nothing,” Clip said. “I did find an intact computer. I’m bringing it back over. We may not be able to find out how the programming did what it did for you, but we can still try what you suggested. If you still want to.”

  “I do,” said Jayneen. “I’ve thought about it for a long time. Well, long for me, anyway. Why do you sound nervous?”

  “Umm, because I am!” Clip exclaimed. “What we’re attempting isn’t something to take lightly, ya know.”

  “Well, whether it works or not, I want you to know I’m thankful you agreed to help,” Jayneen told him.

  “Thank you for asking me. I’m honored,” Clip said. “And now, I’m going to take a page from Harmon and think positive. It’s going to work.”

  An hour later, they were on their way back to the gate to go back to the Tretrayon system, when Clip had an idea. The more he thought about it, the more he realized the odds of it working were almost nonexistent, but he would try it anyway. If he was going to try positive thinking, he might as well try it with everything.

  “Hey, Brickle, do you think you can operate the boom if I can get the program working to draw in atmosphere?” Clip asked.

  “Yes, it seemed pretty self-explanatory when I looked at the controls,” the Caldivar answered.

  “What atmosphere are you talking about mining?” Clyde asked. This sounded interesting. He went back with Brickle to see if he could help.

  Several days later, they entered the atmosphere of the other planet. They stopped for a full day and filled the storage bay with atmosphere. Brickle had figured out how to get the ship to hover at a hundred yards above the surface of the planet. While the system was working, they spent the day looking out of the clear-steel portals of the operating center.

  What they saw was eerily beautiful. There were strange-looking trees with blue fluffy leaves and several different types of grasses stretched out in front of them. In the distance, a river ran around the base of a mountain range. The water was a deep blue—almost black—color, but Clip couldn’t tell if it was the color of the water or because of the plants growing in it.

  Twice he saw a weird-looking creature hop out of the grass and flutter up into the branches of the strange tree. He couldn’t tell if it had feathers or skin stretched across its wings. He had seen many strange creatures—and races, for that matter—on the Net, but he had never seen anything like that.

  The storage chamber was almost full. Clip checked the programming and made sure the pressure in the tank imitated the atmospheric pressure outside. He didn’t need to adjust the gravity in the hold to match the planet because it was close to Joth’s. When the tank was full, they retracted the boom, left the planet’s atmosphere, and headed to the gate.

  What the frost, Clip thought, maybe we’ll come back with two surprises. He told Brickle and Clyde they had the ops center and went to his berth to work on the program he had retrieved from Salvage Title before they left the system. He had a couple of days to go over it with Jayneen before the jump.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “I have no idea what this is about,” Harmon said to Rick. “All I know is that Clip said he had something he wanted to show me and to bring you with me because he wanted you to check something for him.”

  The task force they had taken to Krift had come through the gate four days ago and was in orbit around Joth. They were in the shuttle and about to land at Rinto’s Salvage Yard. With them in the shuttle were Zerith and the four original crew members of Tomeral and Associates. They would have been back sooner, but Harmon had opted to spend a little time in the Krift system to be sure the new queen had meant what she said.

  They landed next to the atmosphere miner. When the ramp dropped, Clip and Rinto were waiting for them. Rinto looked good, and his new arm was shining in the bright sunlight.

  “Hi, guys!” Clip said. “Took you long enough.” He tossed an apple to Zerith.

  “You are a lifessaver my friend, I wass sstarving,” Zerith said and bit into the apple.

  “Alright, buddy,” Harmon said. “Not that I’m not glad to be home, but there are still a lot of repairs that need to be seen to in the Salvage Fleet, and we need to make them and be on our way to the Salvage system. The last thing we want is for the Bith to post the coordinates to the system and us not be there.”

  “Patience, Man, patience,” Clip said, smiling. He had a secret, and it was killing him not to come right out with it.

  “Don’t ask me,” Rinto said, holding up his hands. “I’m not talking.” Rinto turned and walked toward his warehouse.

  “Alright, alright,” Harmon said, laughing. “Seriously, though, what do you have to show me, and why did you need Rick here? I’m pretty sure he’s tired of being in that suit after our trip.”

  “Yes,” the kashka said wearily. “It is getting stale in here.”

  “Ok, then, come with me,” Clip said and walked up the ramp into the miner. They all followed.

  Inside the ship, they stopped at an entry chamber to the main holding tank. Clip motioned to Rick to step forward and enter the chamber.

  “So, I did some research to see exactly what you needed to breathe,” Clip explained. “Let me just say, first, I’m sorry that Jayneen and I hacked the computer system in your tender ships to see what the mix was.”

  At this, Rick turned quickly toward Clip with a look in his eyes that was dangerous. “But I think you’ll forgive me,” Clip said, and he quickly closed the chamber door on Rick.

  “He can be scary huh?” Clip asked, looking at Zerith.

  “You hacked the Kashkal computerss? Thiss iss a ship of foolss!” Zerith stated. He took another bite of his apple.

  Clip cycled the chamber. While it was cycling, he told Rick through the speaker that the planet it came from was in the Salvage system, and he described the trees and grasses. He also told him what the temperature was when he mined the sample. Rick stared at him through the clear-steel portal, not daring to believe what he was hearing. His hope had been burned out a long time ago.

  When the chamber finished cycling, and the inner door opened, Rick stepped into it and looked around, as if he was unsure what he was supposed to do. After a moment, he reached into a compartment in the bottom of his rebreather and pulled out a small tester. He checked it. He checked it again. He dropped the tester at his feet.

  Harmon watched through the clear-steel portal as the kashka, the leader of a race of nomadic warriors who had been looking for a home for thousands of years, reached up, twisted his helmet…and took it off.

  R
ick Kashka stood in the chamber, holding his helmet at his side in one hand, and took a deep breath. He slowly let it out, looked down for a moment, took an even deeper breath, raised his helmet above his head, and screamed in primal triumph.

  * * *

  Harmon and everyone with him left Rick in the atmosphere miner, letting him know they would be back in a little while. Harmon felt he might need a few moments to himself. They all walked into Rinto’s office in the warehouse.

  The first thing Harmon noticed was that Jayneen was sitting on one side of Rinto’s huge desk. She was hooked to a power cell and a slate. Clip’s kit was sitting on the other side of the desk. Rinto was leaned back, with his hands behind his head and his feet up.

  “Shut the door, you’re letting all the cool air out,” Rinto said. “Were you born in the desert or something?”

  “Actually, I was!” Harmon laughed. “Ok, what’s up?”

  Rinto shook his head and pointed at Clip.

  “Ok, so we did a thing,” Clip said.

  “Who’s we?” Harmon asked.

  “We did,” Jayneen said. “Clip and I, we did it…together.”

  “Look,” Harmon said. “Quit beating around the rock pile. Just tell me what the secret is. After the surprise with the home world for the Kashkal, I can take any surprise. That one is hard to beat.”

  “Well, let me just say…ah, frost! Let me just show you,” Clip said, and he grinned toward Jayneen.

  Clip reached into his kit and pulled out a cube. It was eight inches by eight inches, and looked just like Jayneen. It was attached to a power cell and a small slate. There were several lights lit up on it. He put them on the desk and put his kit on the ground.