The Criminal Streak

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  “You are not supposed to leave me,” Thanis said angrily.

  “I only went to the Treachen.”

  “What did you do there?”

  “Well, it seems that the ship you said only had to make it to the colony planet might not.”

  Thanis shrugged. “That’s no concern of mine.”

  “Well, it’s a big concern of mine. It’s slowing us down.”

  “So leave it.”

  Royd had thought about that but knew he couldn’t. They were still too far away from the colony planet and Captain Nicc had no authorization to purchase fuel and supplies on the trading planets.

  “Can’t do that,” Royd said heading down the corridor.

  Thanis kept up. “I’m going to have to report your breach to Zudo when we land on Pidleon.”

  Royd shrugged. Now was not the time to tell him that he’d decided there would be no leave given to anyone when they reached the planets. They were too far behind schedule to allow that.

  * * *

  Mat brought four men to their cell. Syl was barely conscious but Rebe and Mari pulled her off her bunk and shoved her against the wall by the bathroom.

  “Bring her here,” Gwin said.

  “Get her yourself,” Rebe said.

  Gwin half-carried, half-dragged Syl to her bunk and laid her down as gently as possible. Her arm was swollen, she was hot to the touch, and her breathing was erratic. The smell from her hand was terrible. Syl opened her eyes and half smiled but Gwin wasn’t sure if it was in recognition or just a reflex.

  “Gwin?” she whispered.

  “Yes, Syl?”

  Gwin could barely hear her reply. “I’m really thirsty. Could I have some water?”

  Gwin picked up Syl’s plate and filled it in the washroom. She carefully carried it back. She placed it on the bed while she lifted Syl’s head. It was tough but she got some of the water down Syl’s throat.

  After the men had gone, Gwin got Syl back to her bunk.

  “She needs a doctor,” Gwin told Conni. “Or she will die.”

  Conni shrugged. “It won’t be much of a loss.”

  * * *

  Royd spent two days in the command room waiting for the planet Lodigan to show up on their screen and then watching it slowly grow larger. They should have been there a week ago but the sluggish pace of the Treachen had continued to slow the fleet to the point where he’d been tempted to fly ahead and leave it to arrive on its own time. But just when he’d made up his mind to do that, Captain Nicc had informed him that the Treachen only had enough fuel for one more day’s flight.

  He’d had two choices. He could leave the ship to hang in space, only using fuel to keep the necessary generators running while the rest carried on to Lodigan. He could assign one of the transports to guard it against space pirates and once at Lodigan he could send out a refuelling ship. But the thought of the extra cost made him ask the captains of the ships to measure the fuel in their tanks and the Wenelyn, which had used the least amount, made a fuel transfer to the Treachen.

  While the other ships refuelled at the place Zudo had specified, he had Captain Robi signal to the tower who they were, where they were going and what their mission was. As was standard procedure, all the information about them had been sent to the Lodigan Space Organization by their own space association long before the fleet had left and confirmation had been received back. Very rarely was a spaceship refused refuelling and restocking by any planet. Within a few minutes they’d received acknowledgment from the tower.

  Royd asked permission to land the clipper then turned to the communication officer. “Put me on the ship-to-ship interline.”

  When all the captains had checked in, Royd spoke into the intercom. “Because of the delay in reaching Lodigan there will be no leave time on this planet. We will fuel the ships, replenish our provisions and be on our way.”

  He’d left this announcement until the last minute to limit the amount of time he would have to listen to the protests. And they came immediately.

  “We were promised three days’ leave on each planet when we signed up.”

  “It’s been a long trip so far and our people have been looking forward to some free time.”

  “It’s not our fault the Treachen can’t keep up. Why do we have to suffer?”

  Royd waited until they’d all had their say and there was silence on the system. “As the person in charge of this flight, I have the authority to make a decision like this. You and your people will have the opportunity to go on planet during the trip back.”

  There was more grumbling but Royd interrupted. “Provision ships will be out shortly to restock your ships. Prepare for them.” He signalled the communication officer to cut the interline transmission. He left the control room and headed for the clipper compartment. He had to get onto Lodigan as quickly as possible. When last they’d spoken, Zudo had promised to have the fuel arranged for and all the necessary provisions waiting to be loaded upon their arrival at both Lodigan and Pidleon. Zudo would also be on Lodigan to meet him. Royd hoped their delay hadn’t caused any problems.

  Royd watched for Thanis as he walked the corridors to the clipper. For days now, Thanis had been by his side, wondering when they were going to arrive at Lodigan. Royd had kept telling him that he didn’t know for certain because the Treachen was flying slower every day. He’d kept repeating that he would let Thanis know when they were approaching Lodigan and finally Thanis had tired of following him around.

  Since he wanted to speak with Zudo alone, there was no way he was going to keep his word to Thanis. At the compartment, Royd climbed into the clipper, moved it to the intermix chamber and waited for the air exchanger to work. He then flew out onto the high route and headed for the parking lot. He took the shuttle to the eatery where Zudo had said to meet him. He had to wait while the waiter sent word to Zudo that he had arrived.

  “You’re late,” Zudo stated when he walked into the eatery, “Where’s Thanis?”

  “I know I’m late, “Royd said ignoring the question. “One of the ships is old and slow and we had to wait for it.”

  “Not my problem. You were in charge of the purchases.”

  “I know,” Royd said irritably. “Are the provisions ready to be loaded?”

  “They have been for days. I was very close to sending them back.”

  “Can your loading ships start now?”

  “What’s your hurry? I thought the crews had three days’ leave.”

  “I’ve cancelled all leave. We’ll be heading out as soon as the provisions are on board.”

  “I’ll send out word.”

  Royd waited for Zudo to make his calls and set up the loading schedule.

  “So, are you going to tell me what’s happened to Thanis?”

  “Nothing,” Royd said. “He’s quite comfortable on the Nostra, although by now he is probably very angry.”

  “One of my orders was that he go with you at all times,” Zudo said, sternly. “Why didn’t you bring him?”

  “I got tired of him looking over my shoulder and besides, no one was allowed leave, including him.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “There is nothing for him to report. We’re behind schedule and you know that. We will also be behind schedule in reaching Pidleon, if you could inform them.”

  “How many days?”

  Royd shrugged. “It depends on the Treachen.”

  “You don’t sound too concerned.”

  Royd wasn’t about to tell him about the past week when he had been constantly worried about whether all the ships would reach Lodigan and if the Treachen would run out of fuel. And if it did, how long it would take to send out a refuelling ship? And he’d worried about the cost of that ship, which he knew would come out of his share of the profits.

  “Let’s go to the bank and get my account set up while the ships are being loaded,” Royd said.

  “Sure,” Zudo agreed. “We’ll take my private shuttle.”

 
; It took only a short time for them to shuttle to the bank where Zudo dealt and open Royd’s account. When the profits from the purchases on Pidleon and Lodigan were figured out, Royd’s share would be deposited. And his portion of any future purchases for the colony planet would automatically be added. As he flew back to the Nostra he was glad that this was the final time he would have contact with Zudo.

  In spite of the complaining he knew would take place, the fleet was also going to make a quick stop at Pidleon and then head to the colony planet.

  * * *

  Gwin watched as Mat came up to the bars while making his rounds. He glanced at Syl who lay pale and still on her bunk. “What’s the matter with her?”

  “She’s got infection in her hand,” Mari said.

  “Why didn’t someone send for a doctor?” Mat summoned a guard to stand by the door as he opened it and entered the cell. He touched Syl’s cheek.

  “Conni wouldn’t let us. Will you get a doctor for her?”

  “It’s too late. She’s dead.”

  “She’s dead?” Gwin gasped. “She can’t be. I just checked her a while ago and she was still breathing.”

  A third guard was called to help Mat lift Syl’s body. He put his hands under her arms.

  “Where are you taking her?” Iren asked.

  “She’s going to the discharge port.”

  “You’re shooting her out in space?”

  Mat nodded as he picked up Syl’s legs.

  “Why?”

  “Those are our orders.”

  “Shouldn’t she be taken to the planet for burial?” Gwin asked. That was common space procedure.

  “We don’t have the room to keep all of them until then.”

  “What do you mean, all of them?” Shela asked.

  “I mean the hundred or so who have died since we left home.”

  When they’d carried the body out the doorway, the second guard locked the door. The three of them walked out of sight with Syl’s body.

  Gwin laid back on her bunk. She couldn’t believe that Syl was gone. She’d tried her best to look after her, helping her eat, guiding her to the washroom, checking her hand. She wondered if there hadn’t been something more she could have done to help her. Maybe, if she’d insisted on a doctor….

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Royd’s spirits were high. The situation was finally looking better. They’d fuelled up at Pidleon and were now on the last leg of their journey to the colony planet. It wasn’t a long trip and all the ships, except maybe the Treachen, had plenty of fuel to get there and back to Pidleon. And he wasn’t worried about that ship. It definitely was staying on the planet.

  He’d been thinking about where they should land. Ideally, they should scout the planet to find the most suitable place but he was impatient to begin his new life. So where they entered the planet’s atmosphere would be good enough. Once they landed he would supervise the unloading, which if everyone worked fast, should only take a few days. Then he’d be on his way back home.

  He thought ahead to that day. He would be returning a rich man and his first piece of business would be telling the Space Organization he was quitting. He’d even practiced different forms of a speech he would give. A speech that would tell how much he’d enjoyed his work with them but how he felt he should try something different. He wasn’t going to make a fuss or show his anger at not being promoted; he wasn’t going to bring attention to himself. He was just going to fade slowly from their memories.

  There was a knock at his door. He groaned. Thanis. Ever since Royd had gone down to Lodigan without him, Thanis had been a constant irritation. He spent his time on a chair outside his door so that whenever Royd left his apartment, he was aware of it and could accompany him.

  “You have probably cost me my job,” Thanis had said to Royd when he’d returned from Lodigan.

  “As if I care,” Royd had replied.

  Royd opened the door to one of the crew. “Captain Robi wants to let you know we are headed into a dump storm.”

  “A what?”

  “A dump storm. At least that’s what he calls it. He wants you to come immediately.”

  Shaking his head, Royd ran down the corridor, Thanis right behind him. In the command room he looked at the outside view screen. Although still far away a large mass was growing even larger with every passing minute.

  “What took you so long to advise me?”

  “As soon as we saw it we calculated its size,” Captain Robi explained. “Then we did a double check because the numbers didn’t seem right, but they were. When our sensors passed through the particles too easily for them to be rock I determined that it was a flying dump.”

  “How big is it?”

  “It’s thousands of kilometres across.”

  Royd let out a low whistle. “I’ve never heard of one this size.”

  Captain Robi pointed to the right side of the screen. “If you look here you will see that the density is less. If we make a ninety degree turn to the starboard now, we might be able to escape the worst of it.”

  “Then let’s do it,” Royd said.

  “I need you to tell the other captains to follow me,” Captain Robi said. “They have all been on the line with their own ideas. Only one of us can make the decision.”

  Royd signalled for the ship-to-ship linking system to be opened. When it was operational he spoke into it. “You have all seen the storm headed towards us. Captain Robi has suggested we immediately turn to the starboard to head at right angles to it and I agree with him. I have given him full authority to make the necessary course changes to accomplish it.”

  “I think we should turn around and try to outrun it,” one of the captains replied.

  “No,” another spoke up. “With as slow as the Treachen is we don’t have time for either of those. We should stay on course and prepare to outmanoeuvre the larger objects. I have successfully done that in a meteor storm.”

  “What about the smaller ones?” someone else asked.

  “We can only hope they don’t cause too much damage.”

  “I am in charge here,” Royd said. “And I have made the decision. You will follow Captain Robi’s direction.”

  They left the linking system open so all the captains could hear the instructions at the same time. Captain Robi called out a new course and the fleet as one turned to the starboard.

  “Increase speed, three quarters full,” Captain Robi said. They’d been flying at two thirds full to conserve the Treachen’s fuel and reduce the wear on its engines.

  “We have to go faster than that,” one of the captains said.

  “We will,” Captain Robi said watching the Treachen on the side screen. When it seemed to be keeping up, he increased the power to full.

  “We can’t do it,” Captain Nicc immediately came on.

  “You are going to have to try,” Royd interjected.

  “We barely made it to three quarters full. Our engines just won’t do it.”

  “Well, we can’t risk our lives for you,” one of the captains said.

  “Yeah,” another agreed. “You’ll just have to make it on your own.”

  Royd knew that was true. But if he lost a ship of prisoners, there would be an inquiry and the story of the Treachen would come out. He couldn’t risk that, couldn’t risk spending the rest of his life in prison or on the colony planet.

  “Shut down everything else you don’t need,” he said.

  They could hear Captain Nicc instructing his crew to turn off all the lights except the ones in the command and engine rooms, to cut back on the environmental control system, and to shut off all the unnecessary electrical supply. Soon he was back on the intercom.

  “It’s not doing any good. The engines are just not capable of full speed no matter what we do.”

  Royd could see the Treachen slipping further and further behind and the flying dump moving closer. It was no use telling the other captains to wait for the slower ship. None of them would obey and he w
ouldn’t blame them. He had no desire to tell Captain Robi to cut back on the Nostra’s speed.

  “I’m afraid you will just have to do the best you can,” Royd said.

  “Once out of the away, I want all ships to go into counteraction mode so we don’t get sucked into its gravity pull,” Captain Robi said.

  “How hard will it be?” someone asked.

  “We can only wait to find out.”

  * * *

  The four spaceships and the two transports made it out of the path of the dump storm. They slowly turned, and Royd and their captains watched as the debris on the outer edge caught the Treachen. Even without full power it managed to scramble to miss the larger fragments but they could see it being hit by the smaller ones. At last it flew out of the storm to where the others waited. None of them was pulled by the dump’s gravity because, Royd presumed, they were too heavy and too far away from its centre.

  The linking system was still on. “Captain Nicc,” Royd said. “Can you hear me?”

  There was silence, then some static.

  “Captain Nicc,” Royd repeated.

  “Captain Nicc, here.”

  “Congratulations on your success. How bad is your damage?

  “We are assessing that now.”

  “How long do you think it will take?”

  Captain Nicc sighed audibly. “Our lights are out, the environmental control system is working at half capacity and there are injuries to the crew, guards, and prisoners. I don’t know how long it will take.”

  “This is to all the captains,” Royd said. “Get all the technicians and parts you can spare to your intermix chamber. Also, your prisoner doctors and nurses. The clipper will go to each of you in turn and pick them up for transfer to the Treachen. I want all the damage assessed as quickly as possible and the wounded looked after.”

  The spaceships and transports remained suspended in space while the Treachen was given a full inspection. The report was not good. There was substantial damage to the hull, two engines had overheated and some of their parts had seized up.