Pursue the Past: Samair in Argos: Book 1

by Michael Kotcher

  “Captain, they’re hailing us,” the communications officer reported.

  “Put them on,” he replied.

  “This is Commander Jensen Tyler of the cruiser Ganges to Republic warship. Please identify yourself and state your intentions in the Hecate system.”

  Harth smiled upon hearing this. “Well, they’re a bit belligerent, aren’t they?”

  “Well, we are showing up uninvited, Captain,” the XO pointed out.

  He nodded. “Quite right, XO, quite right. Well, let’s see what they have to say to us, shall we?” He looked over to the communications watch, who gave him the thumbs up. “Ganges, this is Commander Harth of the Republic heavy cruiser Legacy. We are here searching for a cargo ship we believe may have traveled through here recently. We appreciate any assistance you might be able to offer. We have no hostile intentions toward any of your ships, personnel or cities. We are simply looking for information regarding the particular ship and its personnel. If we can get the information and whereabouts of our wayward ship, we will depart your fair system. I await your response. Harth out.”

  A moment later, the communications watch officer blinked. “Captain, they’re hailing us on an open frequency.”

  “Put them through.”

  The image of a man slightly older than middle age appeared on Harth’s display. He might not be happy to have a Republic heavy cruiser in the star system, but he was hiding any discomfort. “Commander Harth, I am Commander Tyler. Welcome to Hecate.”

  “Thank you, Commander. It seems to be a lovely system,” Harth replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “I am noticing that you are very security conscious.”

  The Ganges’ captain shrugged. “The locals are. There was a recent dustup with a ship that tried to steal some cargoes and that’s made everyone a bit jumpy.”

  Harth frowned. “Someone was stupid enough to try and steal something with all those fighters buzzing around and your ship in orbit.” Then he realized what the other man had said. “You mentioned ‘the locals’. I assume by that statement you are not from here?”

  “By the stars, no,” Tyler exclaimed. “We’re based out of Imogen. One of the consortiums there raised the funds to have the Hecate people build us the Ganges. We’re finishing the last of the construction now and then we’ll be on our way back home.”

  “I see,” Harth answered. And he did. That meant the ship had been here when Grania Estelle came through. “We’re in pursuit of a cargo ship that came through this way.”

  “Yes, I heard your original message,” Tyler said, nodding. “That ship was the one that tried to steal the cargo we needed for out final outfitting.”

  Harth raised an eyebrow. “I assume you got the cargoes you needed.”

  Tyler nodded. “Yes, the cowards tried to run, but in the end they jettisoned the cargo.”

  Now the Legacy’s captain frowned again. “But if they jettisoned the cargo, why did you not board them? Why wasn’t the ship detained?”

  Tyler scowled. “We needed that cargo, Captain. We were in complete low power mode because of the refit, so by the time we got underway they were well across the system. We gave chase and caught up to them only a short distance to the hyper limit.”

  “And yet they still escaped?” Harth asked, trying to keep his tone light, but it was obvious that the other commander picked up on Harth’s derision.

  “They jettisoned the cargo with an explosive attached. It was moving away from them on a perpendicular course at high speed. The bastards gave us the choice of continuing the chase or getting the shipment.” He sighed, slapping a hand down in frustration. “We needed that shipment. We’d been waiting for nine months already and we couldn’t afford to wait for another shipment. So, we let the ship go. It was a good thing that we did veer off. As it was, we barely got the explosive deactivated in time.”

  “Do you have sensor scans of the ship? I’m actually surprised that they’ve been able to get out of the system before our arrival.”

  Tyler sniffed. “Of course we have scans. But nothing is free, Commander. You might know the ship’s vector, I can’t help that. But if you want a better understanding of what you’re up against, you’re going to need my help. So, what can you do for me?”

  Harth suppressed a sigh. This was the Frontier. Hecate was once part of the Republic, though once the war came, it was one of the first star systems to find itself without a Republic presence and its inhabitants decided they liked it that way. Of course, Tyler wasn’t from Hecate, but from what he’d read from the intelligence reports, Imogen wasn’t much better. They had no love for the Republic, even after two hundred and fifty years. Sadly, Harth had no authority to simply start shooting holes in the Ganges to get the information he desired and there was no telling how much damage the ship could take. He needed those scans and it seemed that he was going to have to bargain to get Tyler to give them up. He would send teams down to the planet to see if the locals had any further information, possibly scans of their own.

  “Very well, Commander. What is it that you want?”

  “How the hell did they get these parts?” the XO demanded, looking over the scans.

  “I don’t know, XO,” Harth replied. “But that ship had had a full blown overhaul.”

  “Look at the reactor power output,” Lieutenant Commander Brister, the chief engineer said, pointing to some of the text on the side of the display. “That is way higher than a ship like that out here should be putting out.”

  “How is that possible?” Harth asked.

  “Well, with that output, either they have three distinct power reactors or they’re not running straight hydrogen.”

  “Wait,” the commander said, crossing his arms. They were in the Legacy’s wardroom, several hours later. “Not straight hydrogen? You mean they’re running helium 3?”

  Brister shrugged. “Either helium 3 or at least deuterium. It’s not a milspec reactor, I don’t think, the power output isn’t quite high enough. But they’ve obviously upgraded since Instow. What Fury’s sensors picked up back at Instow and what Ganges recorded here shows a marked difference.”

  “How? And what do we have to concern ourselves with?”

  “Well, sir, shield output is much higher,” Brister started ticking things off on his fingers. “It looks like all the hull damage was patched up. I don’t detect any breaches in their hull structure. They’re also armed with four laser cannons, but I don’t think we really need to worry about those. Our shields should be able to handle that.” He pursed his lips. “But with shield strength as high as it is, and their structure as reinforced as I think it is, I’d be confident to say that ship might be able to make hyperspace levels as high as Yellow.”

  Harth blinked. “Yellow? You’re kidding me.”

  Brister shook his head. “No, Skipper, I’m not. I know they’re not as fast as us, but we’ve been tooling around in the Green because we figured there was no reason to rush. But if they’re flying around in the Yellow?” He paused, thinking. “Well, they could be in Yullankla, Borea, or Tritoll by now if they went through Kazyanenko like we suspect.”

  Harth grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck. “Then I guess it’s time to stop meandering around, XO. Once we depart here, take us up into the Blue.”

  The XO smiled. “Aye, Captain,” he said with feeling.

  “Captain, I’m interested in the debris patterns we detected that are on a vector for Kazyanenko,” Brister replied. The others in the room turned to him. He spoke slowly, as though he was working it out in his own mind. “So, Grania Estelle comes into the system, they steal some sort of cargo and then flee the system.”

  “That’s the consensus of the local officials and the Captain of the Ganges,” the XO agreed.

  “Convenient,” Harth muttered, and there were nods.

  “Skipper, does that make any sense?” Brister asked. “A bulk cargo freighter comes into a system with significant military presence and then they decide to steal an im
portant cargo?”

  “Actually, sir,” Lieutenant Sophia Phillips replied, “From what I gather from the people I talked to, Grania Estelle actually brought the cargo in question.”

  Brister looked over at the Intelligence officer. “Wait, Sophia, when did you get down to the planet? No shuttles have departed the ship.”

  She nodded. “No, sir, they haven’t. I used the comm system and called some of the cargo dispatch people.” She smirked. “They were very forthcoming.”

  They all chuckled. But Brister sobered quickly. “So that makes even less sense. The freighter comes in system, bringing a cargo of gadolinium with them, tells everyone they have it, then says ‘ha ha suckers’ and takes off across the system trying to escape? There’s no chance that Grania Estelle’s captain is that stupid.”

  “So what are you suggesting, Commander?” Phillips asked.

  “I’m thinking that the locals were less than fair with our freighter jocks,” he said bluntly. “I think Grania Estelle must have brought the cargo from Folston, and the people here wouldn’t pay up. They tried to play hardball and the freighter captain told them to go screw themselves.”

  Phillips lit up and she picked up the thread. “Yes, Commander! I think you’re right. So then the locals decide they’re not going to let some jumped up freighter bums dictate terms to them. They launch their fighters and prepare to board the freighter.”

  “But then the freighter fights them off?” the XO asked. “Yes, according to Ganges’ sensor data, Grania Estelle was armed with a quartet of laser cannons, but does anyone here actually think they’d do well against five or six starfighters?” The rest of the table looked dubious. “So there must be more to this.”

  “I think if they had pocket missile launchers, Ganges would have been happily spouting further excuses as to why they couldn’t take the freighter,” Harth mused. “Four laser cannons is the bare minimum of prudence out here in the Cluster. But missiles? The locals and Commander Tyler would have been screaming that this was an armed merchant cruiser.”

  Chuckles went around the table again. “Even with all her refits, the freighter would be no match for the Ganges, Skipper,” Brister said. “So the locals must have launched the fighters and gone after them. And, clearly, the freighter fought them off and escaped.”

  “Yes, but how?” the XO demanded. “Unless they’ve got modern targeting system and very well drilled crews, I find it unlikely that a freighter the size of this one could shoot down a half dozen of these Centurion fighters.”

  “Tyler is no help,” Harth said. “He’s just touting the strength and power of his ship and how he valiantly chased away the vile pirates until they dishonorably trapped him into sparing their lives or losing the cargo they needed to outfit their hyperdrive.” He leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “Sophia, you and Grey are to go down to the planet and do your thing. Find out as much as you can about the locals, the Imogen people, and especially the encounter with the Grania Estelle. You know what to do.”

  She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Everyone else, put feelers out, but be gentle about it. We’ll stay here for three days and then we’ll be on our way to Kazyanenko.”

  The XO frowned. “Sir, I understand you want to get information, but shouldn’t we be underway immediately? The ship might jump away again before we can get to Kazyanenko.”

  Harth nodded in understanding. “I know, XO, I do. I want to catch that ship. But if they’re able to destroy six starfighters and swan off to another system, I want to know what exactly it is that we’re chasing. They’ve got to have some sort of weapons system that we’re not aware of and I think we need to know what it is. All right.” He stood, putting his hands down. “You’re all dismissed. Get to work. And XO, you can announce liberty. That’s the other reason. I want our crew to have at least a few hours of leave.”

  Fury dropped out of hyperspace in the Trullium system, weapons and shields already raised and ready. Without warning, a small battle station just inside the hyper limit locked on to the Republic corvette and opened fire, its rail guns spewing projectiles.

  “They’re firing, Captain!” the ops officer cried.

  “Easy, Ops,” Wallace Sykora replied calmly. “Helm, bring us to three-two-three mark five-five, increase speed to full. Guns, take out that station, please.”

  The corvette twisted and climbed up over the plane of the ecliptic, grasers and rail guns returning fire. The station’s fire glanced off Fury’s shields, causing them to flare opaque. The station had three rail gun cannons, firing metal slugs at the interloper in the system. The corvette fired back, their own storm of metal slamming into the station’s shields. The grasers hammered bolts of energy into the shields, causing the tiny station to wobble slightly in its position in space.

  “Ready missiles,” Sykora ordered. The ship passed over the top of the station, weapons blazing, taking as many hits as they gave. The portside launcher opened fire, sending three Sierra missiles arcing around to explode against the shields of the station. Simultaneously, Fury’s grasers continuously fired into the brief opening created by the missile detonations. The energy blasts tore into the exposed metal of the station’s hull, ripping it open to space.

  “One more salvo,” he ordered, and the rail guns and grasers opened up once more. The strikes sheared off a section of the station, ripping apart hull plating and vaporizing it in other places, leaving a trail of superheated and super cooled metal streaming away from the station, looking like blobs of metal. A power conduit must have been severed, for all of the lights on the side of the station facing Fury went dark.

  “Should we finish it off, Captain?” Lieutenant Vos asked.

  “No, XO, I think we’re going to leave it as is.” Wallace rubbed his chin. “Helm, alter course, head us in toward the habitable planet. Tactical, remain on alert. I’m sure there are more surprises out there.”

  “Aye, Captain.” Both officers chorused in response.

  “XO, damage report?”

  Lieutenant Vos was nodding slowly as the reports came in, showing up on his display. “Moderate damage to the forward and ventral shields, Captain. No penetrations, though. Engineering is already rebuilding the shields, though. Should be back up to full power in about thirty minutes.”

  “Good.” Sykora checked his own display over the weapons that had been expended in that last encounter. Three Sierra missiles and just under six hundred rail gun slugs. Not bad. No damage to his ship. The crew was performing well. He nodded to himself. “Good work everyone. Continue on course.”

  The trip in system took over a day and a half. Sykora didn’t strain his engines and didn’t want his crew worn out and exhausted once they arrived. This system was dangerous enough without his crew falling asleep on watch from sheer fatigue.

  For the thousandth time since setting off on course to this system Sykora wondered if this was the best idea. He had orders, but Trullium was not a system one came to lightly. The system was well populated, the fourth planet was heavily populated. There were several large cities down on the planet, with a total population at about a hundred million, a mix of humans and aliens a good portion of who were Severites. The planet had a very slight axial tilt, which meant a great deal of the planet was tropical and subtropical. The planet had two large land masses and a fair amount of industry. The cities were formed in areas surrounding the industry, which made sense, though some of those industries had sprung up since the Republic had departed the Cluster since the war. All of these things made the Trullium system someplace that people would want to go; it should be a place of commerce and trade.

  And it was, up until about sixty years ago. A mutiny took place aboard the pirate cutter Ysleth, the second in command murdered his captain and assumed command. At that time, Verrikoth, the new captain of the tiny pirate vessel decided that things needed to change. Verrikoth, a brutal and intelligent male zheen, decided that he would no longer be subject to the old way of doing things.
His previous captain had abided by the limitations of his equipment and personnel. The Ysleth was a small vessel, only capable of carrying a crew of eight, armed with a spinal-mounted neutron cannon and a dorsal mounted rail gun. It had decent speed and excellent maneuverability and the previous captain had retrofitted it with a hyperdrive. The ship couldn’t make anything past Red level three, so what it actually meant it was confined to a small portion of the Cluster, because the cutter couldn’t carry the supplies needed for a long journey, even only for a crew of eight.

  Verrikoth was undaunted by this. His days of being a bottom feeder, latching onto the dregs that happened to pass through the system the Ysleth was in were over. Which meant that the first order of business was to secure a better ship. So he did. The first ship he found was a small cargo ship, needing a crew of twenty and capable of holding a decent amount of swag. The Ysleth was stripped down to the bare metal of the frame and all of its equipment, especially the weapons, was transferred over to the new ship. He got himself a bigger crew and set off into the Argos Cluster to make a name for himself.

  Sixty years later, Verrikoth had certainly done that. He now commanded a small fleet of eight ships; all modified cargo ships outfitted with heavy weapons and had garnered a reputation as a thief and a merciless killer. He had set up a base of operations on Trullium, which now had the umbrella of his protection over it. He did not prey upon his home, though he did retain an enhanced status there. His ships were given priority for refueling and repair and his compound was lavish. Freighters came into this system every month, and currently the shipyard was in the process of building two more cargo vessels to move goods about the Cluster.

  Fury’s sensors detected four cargo ships in orbit of the Trullium Four, but none of them were broadcasting any kind of identification nor were any of them moving out to meet the incoming Republic ship.

  “Should we be concerned that no one is challenging us, Skipper?” Vos asked, sounding a bit concerned.