The Last War

by Clark Graham

  When Merken approached the pirate ship, it was still dead in the water. All the exit pod doors on the ship were open. “Five volunteers needed to take a shuttle and board that ship to stop any self-destruct timers.”

  A few minutes later a shuttle left the dock, headed towards the pirate ship. It latched on near the bridge. Merken’s heart was in his throat as he worried about losing the men in the shuttle from a sudden explosion.

  “Lieutenant Moore reporting. Enemy self-destruct has been disabled. Ten pirates were left behind to thwart my efforts, but they are all dead. Two of my crew members are wounded. Need more men over here to fight the fires.”

  Moore! He didn’t have an idea that his executive officer had volunteered. “Get fifty Marines over there now!”

  The second shuttle took off. It latched on the rear of the enemy ship, the only other docking port left intact. Soon, the number of fires lessoned and then went out. Both shuttles unlatched and made their way back to the frigate.

  Three destroyers finally arrived and were given the assignment of taking the pirate ships in tow.

  “Looks like I missed out on all the fun,” Finch complained. “Seventy-two now, Sir.”

  “Seventy-two what?”

  “Seventy-two enemy ships left.”

  Merken hadn’t thought about it that way. “Yes, we’re cutting them down to size.”

  As the one freighter limped towards the starbase, the other was taken in tow by one of the destroyers. The other two destroyers pulled the captured pirate ships along.

  The two frigates stayed behind. “Damage report,” the captain asked Moore when he arrived back at the bridge. He wanted to yell at the man for taking such a large risk.

  “The away team suffered two casualties. Both wounded by blasters. The men are being cared for by the medical center. There were more pirates hiding on the ship and the Marines had the length of the ship to go. They suffered two dead and one man wounded. Seven pirates were killed and two captured.”

  Merken regretted sending men to their deaths to capture the ship. Then he realized, he might save more lives with the data he would secure. “Why did you go on the away mission? You didn’t have to volunteer.”

  “Imperial code 72.6 paragraph A. The executive officer heads up all away missions, even when volunteers are called for.”

  “We’re no longer part of the Empire. That code doesn’t apply,” Merken insisted.

  “Sir, there is no other code. Emor approved this one until he writes the new one and he hasn’t gotten around to writing a new one, so the old one is still in force. Begging your pardon, Sir, but the Empire still exists, it’s just under a different manager.”

  Merken thought for a minute. “I guess you’re right, but Emor has his own rules. He makes them up as he goes.” He knew that wouldn’t mean anything to Moore. He was black or white on all issues. He saw the confusion expressions on the lieutenant’s face. “Never mind. Carry on.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Chapter 33

  Keldar Sector

  Frigate Ederic

  Merken knew the escape pods didn’t have enough range to get people to a planet, so they would have to make their way to the enemy’s space dock. Those that malfunctioned would still be in the area so they would have their locator beacons on. He didn’t know what frequency they were at, but wanted to wait around to see if the pirates would send out rescue.

  Two frigates against a pirate were pretty safe odds, but that changed when Judd radioed in. “Sir, one of the hits against my ship cracked my storage cells. I’m leaking fuel. Permission to head back to the starbase.”

  “Permission granted.” Merken hid his disappointment. He wanted his men to think everything was good.

  Turning to his helmsman he said, “See if we can find some of those escape pods. The pirates aren’t known for their equipment maintenance.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  An hour later the helmsman had located one. “It’s dead in the water, Sir. I’m sending a shuttle to pull it in.”

  Merken ran down to the hangar bay to see the enemy. When the pulled the pirate out, he saw it was a boy, no older than seventeen. He was frozen solid, as the pod's life support had failed. Moore walked up. He had piloted the shuttle.

  “What type of escape pod is that? Why am I having a hard time finding them?” Merken asked.

  “Not ones normally used on merchant ships. Those are white instead of black. These are designed not to be spotted. They are not of Imperial manufacture.” Moore bent down and looked at the controls. “This is not written in a language used in the Empire either, I’m guessing Trillian.”

  Merken shook his head. “That name keeps coming up. They are supplying the pirates. That in and of itself is an act of war. It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing Trillian ships on this part of the galaxy.” He looked down at the body again. “Too bad they can’t maintain their equipment.”

  “The pod is in perfect running order, Sir. The boy didn’t have to die. The pod has to be turned on after its launched from the ship. This one wasn’t.”

  A shiver ran up Merken’s spine. “He wasn’t trained.”

  “It doesn’t appear so, Sir. The pod has a return sensor. It follows a beacon back to base. In this case ,it must mean the pirate space dock.”

  “So, if I packed this full of explosives and then activated it, it would return on its own?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Merken smiled to himself. “Good to know.”

  Rushing back up to the bridge, he commanded the helmsmen to find more of the escape pods. Three more were brought onboard, their occupants dead.

  Now that he knew all of the escape pods were programmed to go back to the enemy station, he no longer expected a rescue ship to come along. Satisfied he had done all he could do, he headed back to the starbase. His ship had taken a pounding, too. The two frigates had the element of surprise on their side. That was the only thing that saved the day.

  The squadron’s ships were all there when he arrived. He shuttled over to the station to meet with his captains.A line of people waited to talk to him outside the wardroom.

  The first was the chief engineer. “Sir, I can’t fix the Telstar with my limited facilities. She’ll have to go back to Andaria Major.”

  “I see.” His heart sank. He’d had the squadron less than a week and already managed to get it shot up. “Very well.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  The next one in was Gromsom, the commander of the station. “It was hot work out there today. I must strongly suggest you make your quarters here at the station and not continuously risk your life in that tin can you call a ship.”

  There were strong words from Gromsom. Usually he was calm. “I understand what you are saying. I prefer to lead from the front, but I’ll take your suggestion under consideration.”

  Gromsom sighed heavily and walked out.

  His captains filed in next. They sat around the table.

  “First order of business is Lieutenant Judd, you will take the Telstar to Andaria Major for repairs.”

  Judd went wide-eyed. “But, Sir…” He stopped in the middle of his sentence. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Commander Finch, I’m dispatching your ship to escort that transport full of pilots to here. The pirates are getting bolder and I don’t want to give them any more ships than they already have. I need you to leave immediately.”

  Finch left the room after saluting.

  “For the rest of us, we’re going to make a close pass by the enemy space dock. I want them to know that we know they’re there. It might slow down their operations if they have to hold back a few ships from raiding to protect their base.”

  As they stood up to leave the chief engineer entered. “Sir, I can’t fix the Ederic either. One of its engine mounts is cracked. It’s only a matter of time until it begins to give you a lot of trouble.”

  “Very well.” Merken turned to Waller. “Commander, I’ll be tagging along with you in the
Granville.”

  Chapter 34

  Keldar Sector

  Destroyer Granville

  As the two destroyers neared the area where the enemy space dock was, they slowed down. Merken hadn’t expected so much pirate activity. He couldn’t single out a single ship to go after as the enemy traveled in groups of two or three. Not wanting to have any more ships damaged, he had the two captains stop and run silent.

  “Back slowly away without alerting them to our presence.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Waller replied.

  The helmsman threw the ship in a slow reverse. “Group of four coming up on our starboard, Sir.”

  “Any indication that they see us?” Waller asked.

  The helmsman watched his screen for a minute. “They’re not altering course.”

  “If I attack one group, I’m going to have five more on us in a matter of minutes. They have a lot more ships than seventy-five,” Merken complained.

  “Sir,” the helmsman reported. “we’re clear of enemy craft.”

  “Full speed back to the station. Let’s get out of here,” Merken ordered.

  Merken walked into his quarters on the Asclepius. The room was small but it had a large wardroom next to it. The station was built for research and scientist were stationed there for short periods of time. Made back in the time the Empire cared about research. That was before the war. All those stations were now militarized, except they hadn’t strengthened the outer skin, and the pop guns on the top and the bottom wouldn’t do much against anything. They were there mainly for show.

  He missed the creature comforts of the frigate. He felt so inadequate to the task ahead of him. How am I going to defeat all those ships? The helmsman had identified eighty-two unique ship signatures, and those were just the ones that weren’t out attacking the shipping lanes.

  His communication screened beeped on. His father filled the viewer. “Son, Emor is so proud of you destroying those three pirates. Keep up the good work.”

  “Thank you, but I need more ships. I’m looking at over a hundred pirates working from this sector.”

  The admiral nodded. “I know you do, but there isn’t any to give you. Three times the admirals have asked to take back your destroyers, and three times Emor has said no. He knows what you’re facing. I’m doing all I can to keep what you have with you.”

  “Thank you, Father.”

  “We found how the Trilians are getting weapons to the pirates. It’s a space lane right through the middle of the Empire. All those sensor stations we thought were still operating were abandoned during the war. We are reactivating them, but a lot of the men who know how to run them were killed or are furloughed.”

  “I see.” The captain was no longer invested in the conversation. It was a ‘no’ for more help, he didn’t hear much after that.

  “My division has been given the task of cutting their supply line. That should help you out.”

  “Thank you, Father.”

  The line went dead. Captain Merken took a nap. A few hours later, he walked up into the control center of the starbase. Gromsom relinquished the command chair when he walked in so Merken could sit down. “Appraise me of the situation.”

  “The two frigates are undergoing repairs at the Andaria Major. We have three pirate prisoners in the brig. Legister has escorted the Drottning pilots safely to the station.”

  Merken leaned back in the chair. “If we were attacked by a hundred pirates, how would we defend ourselves?”

  “Sir, we have a wall of roc’fis they would have to fly through, then they would be met by three destroyers. If they made it through that, then the station has defensive capabilities.”

  “Popguns that aren’t going to stop anything.”

  “It”s better than nothing.”

  “Were the guns found on the pirate ships serviceable?”

  “Two were, Sir.”

  “Take those and get the one back from Andaria Major. I want to incorporate them into the defense of the starbase.”

  Gromsom nodded. “Yes, Sir. Good idea, Sir.”

  Judd reported to the captain when he arrived back at the starbase. “Sir, all my repairs are complete.”

  “Good. I talked my father into installing a repair dock here. From now on, when we have small repairs, we’ll fix them here and not have to go to Andaria Major.”

  “Too bad, the planet has a lot more fun things to do than this space ball.”

  Merken smiled. “When do I get my frigate back?”

  “Tomorrow, Sir. The Ederic should be on its way now.”

  “Good, because we have a bigger problem than anyone thought.”

  Chapter 35

  Keldar Sector

  Frigate Ederic

  Merken stretched out in his own bed. It was nice to have his ship back. He rolled out of bed and turned on his view screen. The installation of the repair dock was going along nicely. He had also replaced the chief engineer with someone who was more willing to repair ships instead of sending them to Andaria Major.

  Getting dressed, he headed to the shuttle bay. Still pessimistic about his chances of fixing the pirate problem, he nonetheless had a plan. He could at least chip away at it.

  The pirates were getting their supplies from Null Space. He was going to put his forces between there and the enemy space dock. To watch them, he had talked his father out of one of the abandoned sensor stations, then enlisted two technicians from the Prime Sector to run it.

  The shuttle landed in the docking bay of the starbase. He made his way to the wardroom. His captains were there waiting for him. “Good morning. The Admiral tells me our sensor base will be up and running in a few days. It is currently being towed here. Meanwhile, all ships will do a patrol to the borders of Null Space and try to take a few enemy ships unaware.”

  “Sir,” Finch interrupted. “What about doing a roc’fi sweep?”

  “The Drottnings were shipped in crates. Most of them are still there. They are old and a lot of them are waiting on parts. The men who are tasked with putting them together are currently busy installing the repair dock. The Xanik fighters don’t have the range to be effective in a sweep. They are not much use to us now.”

  “Any other questions?” Merken looked at Finch when he said it. The commander shook his head. “Good, then we leave tomorrow. Get your ships ready.”

  Merken turned to find Moore at his elbow. “Sir, we need to question and then execute the pirates we have in the hold.”

  “Execute them? Do we have to execute them?”

  “Piracy is a capital offense. You are the acting governor of this part of the sector, since there are no nearby planets. You have the power to pardon them if you like, but normally, they are executed.”

  Merken didn’t like the idea of pronouncing death on a person. To kill someone in battle was a whole different thing than to bring someone up in chains and kill them. “Very well, bring them up one at a time and I will pass judgment.”

  The first man brought up was dressed in rags. His unkempt beard failed to conceal a badly scarred face.

  “Tell me where the pirates are getting their supplies,” Merken demanded.

  The pirate's smile revealed missing and rotting teeth. “From your merchant ships, and we thank ye.”

  “How many ships do you have?”

  “Many and getting more every day. Lots of defenseless merchants out there. We take them and more keep coming. Hard to find people to man them all.”

  “Where are you getting your guns?”

  The pirate folded his arms. “I guess I won’t be telling you that. If my blaster hadn’t malfunctioned, I would have taken out a lot of your Marines before they got me. What is it you say in the Empire? Death or glory.”

  “For you, it will be death. Take him away,” Merken ordered.

  The second pirate yielded no answers at all. He refused to talk, so Merken sent him back to his cell, also. The third pirate brought in was a shy, red-headed young girl. He swallowed as he looked a
t her. Her pale skin and thin figure looked out of place for a pirate. She wouldn’t make eye contact, but looked down at the ground. How am I going to order her death? “What is your name?”

  “Leona.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Eighteen.”

  “How long have you been a pirate?”

  She looked up for a minute. “Ever since birth, I suppose. I was born on a pirate ship, grew up in one of their stations and was put at the helm of one of their ships just last year.”

  Merken leaned back in his chair. “Did you participate in any raids?”

  “Yes, of course. That’s how we live.”

  “Anyone killed in those raids?”

  “Yes, on both sides. My mother was killed five years ago in an attack on an armed freighter. My father was killed a few weeks back when a rocket fighter destroyed his ship. He was towing a freighter we were going to add to our space dock.”

  It was getting too personal so Merken said, “Take her back to her cell.”

  “Please, Sir. I know my lot is to get executed. Please, I’ve never felt the warmth of a sun. Never set foot on a planet. Never had mud between my toes. All the things my mother described as part of her childhood. Can I do all that before you kill me?” Her pleading eyes bored into his.

  He swallowed hard. Looking in her bright blue eyes, he said. “Yes, you will be allowed to do all that.”

  She gasped, flashing a bright smile. “Thank you, Sir, thank you.”

  Chapter 36

  Keldar Sector

  Frigate Ederic

  Commander Sevil of the mini cruiser Chaple stood in the small wardroom of the frigate. Merken strode through the door. “Relax, sit down.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”