The Asking Price of Stars

by John Baeyertz

  Peter asked, “Then you’re not going to volunteer?”

  “By the Dark Goddess, miss all this madness? Of course, I am going to volunteer!” Fidelity answered enthusiastically as they continued inspecting the wing.

  Before the Outcast Lady left the Moon 9, all of the crew had volunteered.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine –

  In Orbit above the Planet Nothing #8 - 11-3-518

  A month later the Outcast Lady dropped out of the wave near a planet simply called Nothing #8. The planet was fifteen light years from Blue Port. As soon the ship was clear of the wave, Peter called out, "TWD off line, you have ship control Commander Jang. We are eighteen light minutes out. Our speed is 15,860 kilometers per second."

  Kat issued as series of orders. "Ms. Watkins, begin deceleration, power down all ships systems except life support, the gravity controls, plasma drives and the dark matter drive. Ms. De Santis, do not power up any weapons. Mr. Chahill, match gravity power to our deceleration rate. Spider, cut power to our sensors unless they are needed to track the Troc base and ships. We are going to drift into orbit running dark."

  Tracey responded, "Using limited power to the dark matter drive. We will slip in as quietly as possible."

  Three small moons orbited #8. Closer in, two rings circled the planet. The two rings were composed of millions of asteroids ranging in size from dust to the size of a planetoid. Some of the asteroids were comprised of metal, iron, some rock, and some ice. The plan was to use a group of large metal asteroids in the inner ring to hide the Outcast Lady.

  Days later, the Outcast Lady was in an orbit inside the inner ring of the planet. The ship was running dark and hiding deep inside the ring. Seven spaceships orbited further out from the planet. There was no space station. Six ships were Trocnavar built. Five of those ships displayed various pirate devices and colors. The exception was a new Trocnavar light cruiser. The cruiser was without markings and painted dark gray. The final ship was an armed troop carrier. It was a sphere ship built in the ship yards of the League of Free Stars but now in the purple and white colors of the Tri-Star Republic.

  Kat admitted, this is going to be tougher than I thought. We never planned for seven ships in orbit around #8.Thank the gods they are all in high orbit beyond the third moon. Too much risk of an asteroid hit in low orbit. It will be difficult to find us inside the inner ring.

  On the hull Cici, Baryic, Shadow, Light and another dozen crew members worked to release the glider from the cradle mounting her to the side of the Lady. Next, they would reinstall the wings which were folded for the journey and then attached a transfer tube.

  A watch later, the Assault Group gathered on the main deck near the transfer tube. Each one was dressed in camo uniforms of purple, red, yellow, blue and black. The planet below was covered with brightly colored trees and foliage. This was very likely one of reasons the Trocs selected Nothing #8 for their base. The colorful plants reminded the Trocs of their home world.

  Each of the group was armed with a rocket pistol and carried either a second rocket pistol or a compact pistol. Each had numerous clips of ammo. Cici, Peter, and Mark carried hand axes while the twins, Tracey, Fidelity, Nirabella and Spider also had combat knives. Baryic and Centari carried machetes on their belts. Finally, Kat had a curved FSF officer's sword of two hundred years ago strapped to his back. The long weapons and explosives were packed with the three inflatable boats.

  As they floated via the transfer tube, Cici checked the names on the list. No gravity generators were on the glider so they kept floating. The weapons and supplies came aboard with them. Within minutes all the gear was stored and each of the assault group strapped into their seats. Cici called each one out, including herself. "Cici De Santis loadmaster and warrior, Tracey Mills-Watkins pilot and First Officer, Shadow Freeborn warrior, Light Freeborn warrior, Spider Constantine copilot, Centari Shamir warrior, Peter Guderian heavy weapons, Mark Bittman heavy weapons, Baryic Chahill demolition, Fidelity Stone communication, Nirabella Freestar medical, and finally Kat Jang Commander.”

  The big lifter, piloted by Czajka with Anna Morgan riding gunner, locked on to the glider. Czajka, the ship's business agent, turned out to be fair lifter pilot. She would use the lifter to slow the orbital speed of the gilder and keep it from burning up. She would drop the glider and return to the Outcast Lady hidden in the inner ring. To the Troc ships in orbit and the base on the surface, the gravity abnormalities created by their unpowered glider would look like a meteor dropping from the inner ring field.

  They needed to enter the atmosphere at an exact time and point. Tracey watched the instruments and called out, "Five, four, three, two, one, launch." The lifter and glider floated free of the Outcast Lady. Czajka began slowing their speed and they dropped toward the planet below. Minutes later Tracey told Czajka, "Drop us on my mark; five, four, three, two, one - Now!"Anna’s final words, "Victory, Honor, Ship, my friends!" rang out as the gilder dropped clear of the lifter.

  Tracey flew the beast toward the surface. Spider began calling out air speed, altitude, and distance to the landing zone. Tracey fought the controls, the CG-17 had only limited power boost for the controls making the descent a test of strength. Soon Spider was working the controls with her, matching her moves. It was an exotic dance where Tracey was leading with Spider matching every move. Sitting just behind them, Kat took over calling out air speed, altitude, and distance. He thought, by all the gods, the ladies are dancing with our lives. I told everyone the mission was high risk. That was a hell of an understatement. I striped the Lady of the key officers and crew to staff this team. If we fail will Erica Nguyen, the only time wave navigator left be able to get the Outcast Lady back to Blue Port?

  Minutes later they passed through an opening in a mountain range. Tracey flew over the storm below. The storm raged just as predicted over the hill country. Turbulence tore at the old glider as Tracey hoped the wings would hold together.

  Soon they were over the forest covered hills. Holes in the clouds reveled flashes of lighting illuminating the brightly colored plant life. The colored camo uniforms were perfect, Tracey thought.

  Kat called out, "Fifty clicks to our landing zone."

  Tracey saw only storm clouds around them and nothing of the lake fifty kicks out. I hope we make a smooth landing, she thought."Strap down for landing," Tracey instructed.

  Cici yelled, "Damn Tracey! You had this crew all strapped down a long way back!"

  Spider asked, "Flaps?"

  Tracey responded, "One quarter down". By lowering the flaps (movable sections on the back edge of the wing) lift increased and allowed the glider to fly at lower speeds for landing.

  At twenty-five clicks out Tracey called for flaps half down. The CG17 glider hit major turbulence as they passed through the front of the thunder storms. Tracey and Spider fought to control the ship in a five-hundred-meter freefall. They stabilized the ship in the calm air in front of the storms.

  Kat calmly said, "Ten clicks out."

  Tracey found the lake ahead of them; a wedge of shinning silver surrounded by the darkness of the forest at nightfall. None of the bright colors showed in the gloom. "Spider, give us 3/4 flaps at five clicks and full flaps half a click out," Tracey instructed.

  Tracey focused for the landing. Ok, here we go. Good job Spider on the flaps. Now, four clicks out. Speed and altitude dropping and I see more of the lake. Looks good, water is calm with the storm a half an hour behind us, should be time to unload and get us into the boats before the storm hits. Final approach, focus on the landing. Two hundred meters’ altitude, bring her nose up a little and ease her down. CG 17 was never designed for a water landing. Down and skimming across the water. What in the hells? DAMN NO!”

  At 150 clicks an hour they hit a submerged log as big as the gilder. They went airborne and then nose first into the lake, flipping the gilder on its back. The screams of ripping reinforced plastio-ceramics and breaking metal fill the air. Those noises were soon replaced by the sou
nd of water rushing in.

  Chapter– Forty

  - Trocnavar Base on the Planet Nameless #8 - 11-07-518

  The main hall was round, built with stone walls and a high dome of timber. Officers and other leaders gathered within the inner circle on rings of comfortable chairs. The separation from the outer stone wall was formed by a stone ring pieced by archways. At each archway stood a sergeant facing outward whose sole function was to ensure the total isolation and safety of those within. Gathered within the hall was a mixture of Trocs and humans dressed in wildly assorted robes and uniforms. Imperial officers dressed in color splashed robes, Tri-Star officers in purple and white dress uniforms and humans in every kind of uniform or pirate dress.

  Sandy stood with a rocket carbine at port arms facing outward from arch number thirty-seven. A thin old man and his party moved toward her. Glittering in white robes, he arrived carried in a sedan chair. A tall woman in reptilian skin armor flashed their pass cards. Sandy stepped aside and the party entered. She watched the Troc commanding officer greet the old man. Who in all the hells was the old man?

  Before she turned back to her guard position, Sandy glanced at Artystaar and Niikia Kaiii-var seated in the front ring. Both rose to greet the old man. Strange, very strange, she thought.

  The Troc commander Count-Viceroy-Colonel Bifusss Markiii rose to address the group. Sandy listened as he spoke.

  "We are here to launch a plan which will drive the Free Space Force from the Green Line,” Markiii said. “The Empire has spent years getting resources in place. Now is time for action. The Empire will take control all of the trade along the Green Line and you, our partners, will no longer be pirates and mercenaries living on the fringe. You will rule the Green Line for the Empire.” Markiii waited a moment before continuing.

  “We shall begin with an intelligence report on our enemies. As most of you know, Rarkiikars are independent organizations, who provide information, security, and assassinations. We have engaged Rarkiikar Clovis to provide all these services. It is headed by a human with great insight. Death Lord Clovis, you may begin."

  Sandy could hear the noise of speakers changing places but with her back turned she had no idea what Lord Clovis looked like. What did matter? She thought. The Count says we are going to be rich. Well, that just might matter.

  Lord Clovis began his presentation, "Rarkiikar Clovis has agents in place throughout the Green Line and the League of Free Stars. I shall present an overview of Free Space Force's Green Fleet and any contract warships that might support them. We will review my team's efforts within League's Parliament to limit support and funds to Ax Bridgeford and his little fleet. Finally, I will describe the political climate of the major trading planets along the Green Line.”

  “The fleet consists of the battle cruiser Lady Delapasse and the heavy cruiser Republican Lady; both are Imperial built,” Lord Clovis said. “The Republican Lady returned to the fleet with a complete refit. We stopped Bridgeford from getting a second battle cruiser via influence in their Parliament. Those fools in their Parliament don’t know eleven of the members are ours.” Lord Clovis waited to observe the reaction of those present. Seeing none, he continued, “The fleet also has two light cruisers called the Sea Goddess and Lady Montoya both of which are League sphere ships. The other ships of Green Fleet are four destroyers and four fast escorts; a mixture of League and Imperial built ships. The destroyer Fire Dancer is a League built sphere ship and the fast escort Summer Storm, an Imperial built ship, is typical of this group of ships. Finally, the fleet is supported by only one armed supply ship named Bighorn Bull. Once more, we were able to drive funding cuts in Parliament for a second one. Not much of a fleet to cover the entire Green Line,” Lord Clovis surmised.

  “The two things we have not been able to impact are the readiness and morale of the fleet. We have lost several agents within Green fleet. Bridgeford's Executive Officer, Colonel Harrison Chung appears to be particularly skilled at hunting down our agents. Our success with contract warships has been much better. We assassinated two key commanders who supported Bridgeford. Bribes and rumors dulled the enthusiasm of many others. My estimate is less than half a dozen will sign on to fight beside Green Fleet. Many of those will run at the first sign of a real battle. My estimates are seldom wrong," He concluded.

  Sandy glanced over her shoulder and watched as the old man quietly arose and spoke, "I believe you are wrong about the skill, courage and commitment of the contract commanders and crews. I recently lost a fine officer to such a crew. I believe Rarkiikar Clovis may have also seen an example when you lost two agents on Horizon." The old man sat down. The room went quiet. Whoever the old man was, he held the respect of many in the room.

  Sandy thought, is the bastard right about contract ships or is the old man, right?

  Lord Clovis was thrown off balance by the old man’s statement but quickly recovered and continued, "Thank you for your observations High Lord. I will review your concerns with my organization."

  After droning on about the details of the political climate of the major trading planets and showing many projections Clovis concluded saying, "A complete and detailed report will be downloaded to your data packs at the close of this meeting."

  Count-Viceroy Markiii stepped quickly to the speaker's platform. "Lord Clovis, thank you for the fine work of Rarkiikar Clovis. Let us proceed to the plan of war."

  It's about time, only the gods know what the Empire paid Clovis. Sandy reflected and added an afterthought; only two planets appear to matter in this plan.

  “Our plan is a simple one,” Markiii said. “The attack will be focused on only one planet. However, we shall appear to attack the other key planet light years apart. General Bridgeford cannot defend the two locations with his handful of ships. The war plan is as follows ----"

  Chapter Forty-One –

  Lake West of Trocnavar Base- 11-07-519.

  The gilder lay upside down and sinking nose first as water rushed in through the shattered front window. Tracey found herself strapped into the pilot’s seat with her upper body under water. She quickly unstrapped herself and flipped right side up. As her head broke the surface she sucked in air. She knew she had to get out immediately. Someone flashed on a light and then she heard the rear door being blown open. Good job Cici, Tracey thought. Most of the team would get out via the rear door. She started swimming out the open window and as she turned she realized Spider was still strapped upside down in her seat and not moving. For a moment, Tracey considered abandoning her and swimming to safety.

  In the dim lighting, Tracey swam down to release Spider's harness. She fumbled with harness and was unable to open it. Returning to surface she took another breath and dove down once more to try to free Spider. She still could not release the harness. Something had been damaged during the crash. Once more she surfaced for air as her mind spun. How can I get Spider free? Tracey thought. The water grew deeper as Tracey made another dive. Wrestling with the harness one more time, her hand slid along Spider's leg, by the gods, of course, Spider's knife was strapped to her leg. Tracey pulled the knife and quickly cut Spider out of the harness. She dragged Spider free and swam out the window pulling Spider to the surface outside.

  In the darkness, strong hands pulled Spider and then Tracey into one of the boats. As she was pulled over into the soft side of the inflatable boat, she thought, Thank the gods; Cici got the boats out the rear door. Lying flat on floor of the boat, Tracey heard the sound of the gilder slipping below the surface. Peter, who just pulled them the out of the water, was administering artificial respiration to Spider. The dull red glow of a combat light illuminated scene. Tracey raised her head and saw that Mark Bittman was deploying the storm shell. The shell was a water proof cover with supports. It would keep out most of rain. Tracey wondered how close the storm was. Just then she heard a sputtering sound and then gasping breaths. Peter yelled, "Breathe, you crazy bitch - breathe!" Spider was alive!

  Tracey pulled herself into a
sitting position with her back resting on the tube which formed the left side of the boat. The first thing she saw was Peter pulling Spider into a sitting position alongside her. Tracey looked over at Spider, saw her head wound, and asked, "You O.K.?” Spider gave a weak smile and turned her thumb up. She then mouthed, "Thank you". It was the first-time Tracey ever heard Spider thank anyone. Tracey said, "I wasn't going lose my copilot".

  Tracey looked around the boat. The two of them and Peter sat near the bow. As she looked back toward the stern, her heart sank. Nirabella was working on one of the team. She could not see who it was because the cargo box in the center of the boat blocked her view. Tracey raised herself slowly to standing. Her head hit the storm shell before she was fully erect. Stooped, she made her way past the cargo box aft to Nirabella. Baryic lay on floor with Nirabella working on him. He was severely injured.

  Baryic was badly busted up; there was something wrong with whole right side. His leg was twisted strangely and his hip and rib cage did not look right. Nirabella had cut away his utilities and applied three medi-packs. These living organisms were loading him with antibiotics, Imperial pain-stop, and drugs to control bleeding. Let it be enough to get the old man through this night, Tracey prayed as she touched Nirabella's shoulder. Nirabella turned to Tracey and whispered, "No". Tracey knelt and placed her hand on Baryic's good arm. There was no response. All she could hear was his shallow breathing. After a minute, Tracey knew she must move on. She was in command of this boat and much needed to be done.