“I even tried to get him to make an exception and have them register it. He told me he would allow the registration office to register it but only if it had a title. He then gave me the price quote to build a medium battlecruiser. He said that was what he would instruct the Tretra Title Commissioner, one of his cronies, to use in assessing the value of the ship. The title fee would cost millions. He doesn’t plan on helping at all,” the president said.
Harmon knew all new ships built in-system would have to go through Tretra’s Spacecraft Title Office before receiving a registration. It was so Tretra could receive the bulk of the fees for titles and registrations within the entire system. It was robbery.
Harmon had an idea. New ships? The battlecruiser wasn’t new. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it might actually work. He could get a title.
“Sir, could I ask for a favor?” Harmon asked.
“Absolutely, though I’m not doing very well in that department for you today,” the president said.
“Can I borrow your computer?” Harmon asked, nodding toward the president’s desk.
“What do you have in mind?” President Benter asked as he stood up and motioned Harmon over.
President Benter watched in silence as Harmon pulled up the title offices on Joth, located in the capitol. He started smiling to himself as he watched Harmon apply for a title and wait a moment for it to process; after it went through, he watched as Harmon applied for registration in the Tretrayon System. After a moment, it came through, and he then watched as Harmon applied for a galaxy registration through the local gate with the Bith. It took a little longer, but it came through. He started laughing and didn’t even care that the planet government was paying for the message through the gate.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” he said, wiping the tear from his eye from laughing so hard.
“Nothing to it, sir,” said Harmon. “Sitting here, I realized that I could use the local Vehicle Title Office to get a title. I remember looking at it to see about getting a hovercraft that Rinto owns registered. We had been using it off the yard, and I didn’t want to have to pay a fine if I got caught. The site asks a few questions: Does the vehicle roll or fly? Does the vehicle fly more than one foot off the ground? Does the vehicle have a current title? If NO, see age of vehicle. If age of vehicle is over fifty years, see salvage title.
The president started laughing again. “And it only cost you 100 credits because it was over fifty years old. Stop...stop, I can’t breathe,” he said. He was laughing so hard he was holding his side.
“Hey sir, it’s not my fault the title application system didn’t specifically say it had to be a planet-based vehicle. I didn’t write the regulations. I just found the loophole,” Harmon said.
“I know, I know. But did you have to name it Salvage Title when you registered it?” The president could barely get the last of his words out, he was laughing so hard.
“Yeah, that was funny, wasn’t it?” Harmon asked, then started laughing, too.
* * * * *
Chapter Fifteen
“You got a title?” Clip asked again. He still didn’t believe it.
Harmon tossed him his slate. “Check it out. I even got it registered with the galaxy,” Harmon said, smiling.
“Salvage Title? You named it, Salvage Title?” Clip asked, reading the slate.
“That iss hilariouss,” Zerith said.
Zerith looked at Clip. Clip looked at Zerith. They both looked at Harmon, and they all burst out laughing. Rinto just looked at all of them, smiled, and shook his head.
“Boys, one day there’s not going to be a loophole,” he said. “You might want to head out before they realize what you did and try to impound that ship.”
“Good idea, we should leave right away,” Harmon said, standing up.
“Not until I go sshopping, there iss no more fruit in the galley of the Hauler,” said Zerith as he sprinted out of Rinto’s office.
* * *
They were still using the Hauler as the living space in the bay of the battlecruiser; it was easier since they planned to sell it. There was no sense getting used to the larger cabins. Besides, it was a little unnerving with just the seven of them in the huge craft.
That evening, Jayneen broke orbit and laid in a course for the gate. It didn’t take long before they were hailed on the comm—the fleet had been keeping a sensor on the battlecruiser. They were registered within the system now, so they were no longer unidentified.
“Salvage Title, this is TDF Trevarta,” a voice came over the comm.
“Trevarta…Salvage Title,” answered Harmon with a grin as he looked at the commander of the large missile carrier on the screen.
“Why have you left orbit? State your intentions,” the stern-looking captain said.
“Exiting the system to meet a potential buyer for the Salvage Title,” Harmon said.
“Wait one,” Captain Loid said. The screen went blank.
“Let me know how it goess,” Zerith said. He was headed back to the engine room to check on things. He would probably stop at the Hauler for a snack.
Harmon wondered what the conversations were like within the fleet. He knew whatever was being discussed; it probably went all the way up to the system level. He knew they couldn’t really stop the battlecruiser unless they fired on it or boarded it. Neither was a likely scenario no matter who he had angered.
“Salvage Title…TDF Trevarta,” a voice said. Jayneen put it on screen.
“Trevarta…Salvage Title,” Harmon said looking at an ensign. He guessed that whatever he was going to be told, the captain didn’t want to be the one to relay it.
“Be advised that the Salvage Title is not welcome in this system. Should it return it will be impounded as a threat to the safety of its citizens. Acknowledge…over,” said the ensign, looking above his shoulder and not directly at him.
Harmon waited a full thirty seconds before answering. “Roger. Salvage Title, out.”
“Well, that’s that. You want me to hack their supply system and short the toilet paper order on that ship the next time they receive supplies? Because I can, you know,” Clip said.
“No,” Harmon said. “It’s not anyone on that ship’s fault. I blame it on the president of the system. It’s ridiculous…trying to control honest capitalism. That’s what it is.”
“Where would you like me to take the ship?” Jayneen asked over the overhead speakers.
“We’re going to the Nilta System,” Harmon said. “I put an ad out and the buyer there looks the most promising. She agreed to the price: 100 million credits. I can’t even picture that kind of money.”
“Would you like me to show it to you on the screen?” the AI asked.
“Just a figure of speech, Jayneen,” said Harmon.
“What are we going to do with it all?” Clip asked, turning toward Harmon.
“Pay the crew, buy a bigger salvage ship, hire some more folks and go make some more credits, I guess. I never thought we would make this kind of credit…ever,” Harmon said.
It was a ridiculous amount. A new ship of this size would have cost a lot more to build, but Harmon couldn’t ask that price. They were headed to a small system two days’ gate time away. Harmon hadn’t heard of it before his advertisement was answered by a Krift, an insectoid race. They looked like seven-foot-tall ants. Apparently the being he had communicated with was in charge of system defense there and wished to purchase the ship.
“I did a little research; this place doesn’t have the best reputation. It doesn’t even have anyone assigned to guard the gate,” Clip said.
“I agree. There are several supply companies who have publicly announced they will no longer trade in that system,” the AI added.
“That’s why I have a plan,” Harmon said.
Harmon was going to fly the Zax out of the Hauler’s bay…out of the battlecruiser’s bay. He would fly it into the space port that was only five hours from the gate. The dea
l would be conducted there. Once the transaction was complete, Harmon would fly back and land in the Hauler and then collect Clip, Zerith, and the crew from the battlecruiser. They would leave the bay open so the new owners could occupy their craft. It was too easy. What could go wrong?
* * *
In the Nilta System, on board the Q-ship Awaken, Tachell rubbed her top two legs together. She looked over with her multifaceted eyes at her second in command, a young female Krift, while her antennae spread apart repeatedly. It was a sign of impatience among her race. Twill was standing over the weapons drone as he selected several missiles and relayed the information to the drones in the forward compartment. The missile tubes had been added to the converted freighter and had to be manually loaded. It was best to be ready.
If Tachell had to use missiles on the ship, she wanted to be sure that they would not cause too much damage. The missiles the drone selected would provide a large magnetic pulse when they struck the target, causing systems to temporarily go offline. With well-placed shots, her soldiers could board the powerless battlecruiser and take it quickly.
Her intention was to pull away from the space dock when the fool that she was meeting was close. If she waited until the battlecruiser was far enough from the gate, she could chase it down. She would destroy his transport ship and then take the battlecruiser. She had no intention of paying for it.
Tachell paid for nothing. Especially in this system. It was hers. The system paid her. She collected protection fees from the space port, any merchant ships that entered the system, and the planet itself. The docile beings were only too happy to pay after she threatened to drop a few meteors on their heads.
The system had hardly any space traffic before she and her small swarm descended on it, and her tactics hadn’t harmed its trade that much. The Nilt’s only export of note was the thick liquid sweetener used in cooking by several systems. They farmed it from huge flowering trees on the surface of Nilta, the fourth planet from the slightly orange-tinted star. It was actually a poor planet as far as systems within the galaxy went, but she still demanded payment.
There was another planet in the system with an atmosphere, but it was uninhabited. A world of sand and rock. She never bothered to learn its name.
The Nilts had built a small space port to service the haulers they used to ship the sweetener. It was her base of operations now. Its manager had been kicked out of her office and quarters. She had four ships docked there: her Q-ship, two small freighters that were Q-ships, and a small local hauler. The hauler had been converted to a modified dropship that would carry her soldiers to the battlecruiser to board it.
She still could not believe her luck in convincing the human she was willing to purchase the ship. She clacked her mandibles quietly together as she thought of descending upon the next system with a warship at her control. She could create an empire. The fool had even let her know it was coming with a skeleton crew when she had inquired about the number of beings needed to operate it. This was too easy. What could go wrong?
* * * * *
Chapter Sixteen
Salvage Title exited the gate into a system with just six planets orbiting its light orange sun. It was five hours from the gate to the space port where Harmon was going to meet Tachell. Jayneen turned the ship and slowed it down as it came into the system. They had entered the gate at a slow rate of speed so it wouldn’t take too much time to slow and stop the battlecruiser well away from the space port.
Harmon eased the Zax out of the Hauler into the bay. Once the deal was done, Clip was going to disconnect the AI from the battlecruiser and wait for Harmon to come back and land the Zax. She definitely wasn’t going with the ship.
He eased the Zax out of the battlecruiser’s bay and turned it toward the port. He kicked in the thrust and shot away, feeling little of the G-forces. The suit he had purchased to help reduce the effects of high-G was working fine. It was credits well spent.
“Be careful, man; I still don’t like this whole arrangement,” said Clip over the comms. “It seems to me this Krift could have met us in a neutral system. Like, maybe a system where she is not in charge of its defense. Everything I’ve read about this system has not been good. The only thing the net has that’s good to say about this place is that the main export is pretty good in a glass of tea, for what that’s worth.”
“I’ll be fine,” Harmon answered back.
Harmon was ten minutes from the port when he noticed a large ship back away from it and turn toward him on his sensor. Three other ships pulled away shortly after, leaving no ships docked to the port at all. Something funny was going on. He eased off the thrusters and called back to the battlecruiser.
“Hey Clip, do you see this?” Harmon asked.
“We see it. It looks like a welcoming party. What do you want to do? We’re two hours from the port and three hours from the gate. We are also at a dead stop, but it wouldn’t take too long to pick up some speed,” Clip said
“I’m turning back now. Frost!” Harmon said, turning the fighter back toward the battlecruiser.
“Do not make me destroy you,” a translated voice said over the comm. “Turn around and dock at the port. I will have that ship. You cannot escape through the gate in time; I will fire upon the battlecruiser. You yourself told me there is a skeleton crew. You cannot fight the ship.”
Harmon kicked in the thrusters in an attempt to get away. The big ship was eight minutes behind him and picking up speed. He glanced at his sensor and saw two missiles separate from the ship and streak toward him. The missiles would catch him. They were not piloted, and G-forces were irrelevant. They were gaining.
“They just fired missiles!” Clip screamed over the comm.
“I know, I see them. Not so loud, you almost burst my eardrums. I hear you just fine,” said Harmon.
Harmon was thinking. He had never expected to be fired on. He checked his gauges. There was plenty of fuel and he had the lasers. Would he be able to hit a missile with the weapons on the fighter?
He banked hard and came back around, and his computer lined up his reticle on a missile and started firing. His rate of fire was double what it had been when new; Zerith had beefed it up. He hit the missile and it went twisting off to his starboard side.
The computer lined up his sights on the second missile; it was going to be close. He fired off a shot and banked hard around. He needed some distance between him and that ship. He lined up his heading for the battlecruiser, cut the thrusters, and flipped the fighter around. He was still headed for the Salvage Title, but now he was facing the missile and the incoming ship. He lined up the reticle using his small maneuvering thrusters and squeezed the trigger. The fourth blast hit the missile, and it exploded with a blinding flash at the outer edge of the missile’s effective kill radius. His engines went out, his panel started flickering, and then everything went offline.
Harmon tried resetting the systems one by one, but they would not come up. He unplugged from the ship’s environmental system. It was going to get really cold really fast. His suit had an emergency air supply good for eight hours…if the heater in his suit didn’t run the battery down first. And if the next missile didn’t destroy the craft.
He tried resetting the comms again, but they still didn’t work. The missile that had hit him also had a magnetic pulse that had killed his equipment; he was amazed it hadn’t affect his suit. The Q-ship was coming, though, and there was no way for him to avoid it. Even with the distance he had put between them, it would be there within the hour. He was drifting at a pretty good speed toward the battlecruiser, but that Q-ship was under power and accelerating. He wasn’t going to make it.
* * *
Clip was watching the sensor screens and saw the Q-ship gaining on the Zax. Jayneen had turned the big ship and was headed toward Harmon. She told Clip that if they got close enough, she could engage a tractor beam and draw the fighter in. It was a system designed to pull fighters, small craft, and rescue pods into the bay of
the battlecruiser. It wouldn’t stop a ship under power, but it could reach out and hold a small craft that was drifting.
“They have launched,” Vera said in muffled voice over the comms.
“Vera? Who launched…launched what?” Clip said, as he noticed two small ships exit the bay of the ancient battlecruiser.
“We are going to get Harmon,” Zerith said. “I am in the mech. Hank and Sstan are wearing two of the light battle armor ssuitss and piloting the fighterss. I am locked to the landing gear of Hank’ss fighter. It is very excciting.”
“They will reach Harmon before the Q-ship reaches him at the rate they are traveling,” Jayneen said. “Though, the calculations change. The fighters are not flying in a straight path toward the Zax.”
“They’re all crazy,” Clip said, sitting back. “This is a ship of fools.”
* * *
A flash caught Harmon’s attention. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. One of the sleek alien fighters from the Salvage Title was lining up above and in front of his fighter as it drifted backward, and it had the mech locked to its landing strut. He hoped the fighter didn’t get too close and smash the mech through his cockpit.
He wondered who was in the war machine. It had to be Zerith…did that mean Clip was flying the fighter? He didn’t know who else it could be. Then he saw the other fighter loop around and fire missiles at the Q-ship. Frost! That meant the brothers were flying the fighters. This was definitely not good. Whoever thought up this plan was not sane.
* * *
“I can’t believe Zerith let them get into the cockpits of those fighters. Is he insane?” Clip asked Jayneen again. He continued to try to contact Harmon and watched the sensors.
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