"Lieutenant, I need your help," Vyx said.
"Commander Carver has briefed me that you need to borrow one of our Raider ships without anyone else knowing that you borrowed it, sir. She says that you have a very large cargo of special equipment to move."
"Good. That makes things easier. She recommended the ship at docking pier 4-Sierra."
"That would be my choice as well. Most of the Maid is devoted to large storage holds. There're crew accommodations for up to twenty-five. The engines are in excellent shape, and you won't have any trouble maintaining Light-187. The ship can easily be handled by two crewmen. If the hull plating was better it would make an excellent short haul ship for the Quartermaster Corps."
"Excellent. How soon can it be ready to go?"
"It's ready now. The Commander wants me to install a special tracking device though."
"I have a couple of things that I'd like installed as well. Let's go look at the ship."
Ten minutes later, Vyx and Jacoby were in a transport car zipping through the outbound tube that runs along the docking platform to the remotest part of the cavern. Stretching some forty kilometers, the tube passed the dozens of empty piers in Sections One, Two, and Three. The commandeered Raider ships were all arranged along the piers in Section Four.
It was just after 0300 hours, two days later, when the Maid of Mephad released its docking clamps and backed away from pier 4-Sierra. Except for the controller that issued clearance to leave the port, Vyx doubted that anyone else paid any attention to their departure.
Once clear of the base, Vyx built the temporal envelope, and the ship disappeared from visual sight of the station in seconds. The course had been entered into the computer, and there would be little to do over the next four months except relax and find ways to pass the time. The large ship gave Vyx numerous places where he could get away from Byers and Nelligen when he wanted a little peace and solitude to read.
Jenetta had prepared and transmitted a message to Captain Kanes after her meeting with Vyx, in which she gave a detailed report of their conversation and the action that she had taken in turning over the ship. Vyx would be gone for days before she received a reply, but there were still things to be done. Ships would have to be diverted from patrol, or other missions, so that they would be on station and ready when Vyx called for them. Jenetta knew that the opportunity to capture Rivemwilth, or at least confiscate his entire inventory of weapons, would receive the highest priority at the Intelligence Section.
A reply from Captain Kanes arrived sixteen days after Vyx left the base. Jenetta lifted her com screen and pressed the play button. A retinal scan was required to unscramble the message, and the face of Captain Kanes appeared after the computer was satisfied as to her identity.
"Hello, Jen. Your action was correct in providing the ship to Vyx. Space Command has dispatched two ships, the Ottawa and the Geneva, to points where they can monitor the Maid's approach to the rendezvous coordinates that you sent. They'll lay off ten billion kilometers and monitor the movement of the ship using the electronic signal from the tracking device.
I've named you as director of this operation, because you're familiar with the investigation and are best suited to coordinate the activity. Captains Pope and Crosby will make their reports to you, and then you'll report to me.
"Captain Kanes, SCI, Higgins SCB, message complete."
* * *
Chapter Fourteen
~ May 14th, 2274 ~
Managing the base consumed virtually all Jenetta's time and attention so she didn't have time to dwell on Vyx's operation as the months passed. Her one diversion was the time that she allocated to sending messages to her sisters, brothers, parents, new sister-in-laws, and friends. But because of the distances involved, she'd normally send two more messages before getting answers to questions raised in an earlier one. At the end of each day, as she walked wearily into her quarters, she always checked immediately to see if there were any personal messages waiting. When there were, they never failed to lift her spirits.
Her mom was now home alone, as her father was back on active duty in command of an older, retrofitted cruiser. The Octavian, named after the Roman emperor who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD, was assigned patrol duties in deca-sector 8667-3179. Since that was hundreds of light-years on the other side of earth, and it took weeks to receive answers to messages, they avoided asking trivial questions that would be forgotten before an answer could be received. Jenetta sent messages to her mom at least three times a week, hoping that the constant stream of news would help keep her from being so lonely with everyone else off in space. At least she had Richie's wife, Marisa, nearby. Jenetta also sent at least one message each week to her brothers, sisters, sister-in-laws, and father, and did her best to keep in touch with friends and former shipmates. Rarely did a day pass without a message arriving from someone, and frequently she would have several come in the same day.
More than four and a half months had passed since Jenetta had been appointed base commander of Stewart. By that time at Dixon, the base was already a thriving community of Space Command and civilian personnel, but not so at Stewart. The dangers of traveling in the former Frontier Zone had previously kept such travel to a minimum. Although safer, now that another Raider Base had been neutralized and Space Command had started patrolling the territory, travel was still minimal this close to the new border. Jenetta knew that wouldn't last forever so she kept pushing ahead with her plans for developing the station. The concourse was far from complete, but it was shaping up nicely, and should be ready for partial occupancy by the time civilian entrepreneurs arrived to set up their businesses.
Several ships, underway to Stewart for as long as eight months, were getting closer with each new day. Carrying personnel and supplies for the new station, they were the ships so hastily equipped and dispatched soon after Space Command learned of the base's seizure by the tiny Colorado. One of the first to arrive would be the Chiron, which was in port at Dixon when the Colorado sent the seizure message. Jenetta was more excited about seeing her sister Christa than she was looking forward to getting the replacement personnel and supplies that the ship was carrying. The Chiron was close enough now that replies to messages sent to Christa could come in hours.
* * *
As the Maid of Mephad reached the rendezvous point, Vyx brought the ship to a halt. Ten days earlier, he had sent a message that would alert the people who would lead them to the arms cache location. There wasn't anyone waiting so Vyx set the sensors to summon him if any ships were DeTected approaching. He then joined Byers and Nelligen, who were playing cards in the main lounge.
"No one here," Vyx said. "I guess that we wait."
"They're probably watching to see if anyone tailed us," Byers said.
"You don't survive long in their business by being stupid," Nelligen quipped as he dealt the cards.
"Nor in ours," Vyx said as he sighed.
"Any changes in the plan?" Byers asked.
"No," Vyx responded, "no changes. We load the ship and get underway for the new base. After a few days I send the message to Space Command, and they move to block our path. Our anti-collision system will shut down the light engines and Space Command will take the ship. As I promised Commander Carver, I've removed all the detonation triggers, so the torpedoes won't explode, and I've sabotaged the laser control system so that it will overheat after only a few shots and then cycle down. The Space Command ships won't have to return fire."
"And Space Command won't move in until we summon them?" Nelligen asked.
"That's the plan. They wait until they hear from us. Until then they stay at least ten billion kilometers away."
"And they're out there now?" Byers asked.
"I assume so. I don't think that either Commander Carver or Captain Kanes would leave us swinging in the breeze. But we won't know until we yell for help."
"But, just for argument's sake, what if they don't show when we call?" Nelligen asked.
"We
play it by ear. I'm sure that Rivemwilth isn't going to trust us alone with his entire cache, so he'll want some of his people on board. We don't know how many will be on the ship, for one thing, and for another, we don't know how closely they'll be watching us."
* * *
"Commander, you have a message from Captain Crosby of the Ottawa."
"Thank you, Lori. Pass it through."
Jenetta raised her com screen and pressed the play button. The face of Captain Crosby appeared.
"Good morning, Jen. Using triangulating information provided by the Geneva and Stewart, we've determined that the target has come to a stop at the coordinates you provided. We'll maintain the ten billion kilometer distance until they summon us or we receive new orders from you.
"Jeffrey Crosby, Captain of the GSC Destroyer Ottawa, message complete."
Jenetta hit the record button to send a reply. Captain Crosby should receive the message in about twenty hours.
"To Captain Crosby, GSC Ottawa, from Commander Carver, Stewart SCB. Begin message."
"Thank you for the update, Captain. Good luck."
"Jenetta Carver, Commander, Stewart GSC Base, message complete."
* * *
The Maid of Mephad sat at the RP for more than eighteen hours before a space tug arrived and approached without apparent hesitation, then docked to a starboard bow airlock. Byers and Nelligen watched the airlock door with weapons drawn as Vyx operated the controls and opened the door. A slovenly looking Terran with several days beard growth, stepped into the Maid carrying a small backpack over his arm.
"I'm Wagner," he said causally, with seeming disregard to the weapons pointed at him. "Any of you, Trader Vyx?"
"I'm Vyx." Pointing to each of the others as he introduced them, he said, "That's Nelligen, and that's Byers."
"Hi, fellahs. I'm here to escort you to the base."
"Okay, we're ready whenever you are."
"I'd just like to get cleaned up a little before we go. Mind if I take a shower? I don't have one onboard the tug and I haven't felt clean for days. We have quite a trip ahead of us."
"Sure. What's in the bag?"
"Clean clothes," Wagner said, holding the pack out. "See for yourself if you want."
Vyx nodded towards Byers who took the pack and looked inside.
"Just clothes and hygiene gear," he said, handing the pack back.
"Byers will show you to the crew quarters section where you can take a shower. We'll be ready to leave whenever you are."
"You fellahs sure seem to be in a hurry," Wagner said suspiciously.
"We've been underway for almost five months," Nelligen said. "We're just a little antsy to do something except sit around on our spreading backsides."
"Oh, I can understand that, and I only spent nine days in that freakin little tug. I won't take too long, although I can tell you that I've been looking forward to this for several days."
"Take your time and enjoy your shower," Vyx said. "Another couple of hours isn't going to make any difference."
"Thanks, Trader. That's right neighborly of you."
* * *
Nine days later, the Maid of Mephad entered orbit around a small moon with no atmosphere, and a greatly reduced gravity. As the tug piloted by Wagner prepared to land on the surface, Vyx and Nelligen climbed into a shuttle aboard the Maid to follow him down. Byers would stay aboard the ship and coordinate loading operations.
Vyx piloted the ship into an open flight bay that had been cut into the base of a rocky cliff. If the bay door was closed, or you didn't approach the opening just right, you'd never spot it, so it was unlikely that anyone would just happen across it. They waited until the doors had closed and the bay was pressurized before climbing out of their seats and walking to the shuttle hatchway.
A man that Vyx recognized as being one of Rivemwilth's personal bodyguards was there to meet them as Vyx and Nelligen climbed down from the shuttle. The man nodded and Vyx returned the nod. Then the man tilted his head to the side, indicating that Vyx and Nelligen should follow. He turned and led the way through a series of brightly lit corridors, at last coming to a door that opened as they approached.
As they entered the ornately furnished room, they found Rivemwilth sitting in an enormous reclining chair, surrounded by several of his bodyguards.
"Trader, come in. Welcome to my little castle."
"Hello, Shev. This is my associate, Mr. Nelligen. Nice place you have here."
"Greetings and welcome to you, Mr. Nelligen. Thank you, Trader. I expected this base to last me for the rest of my life, so I spared virtually no expense in its construction. It upsets me greatly to have to leave it. Who could have guessed that the Galactic Alliance would extend their borders by a hundred parsecs? My new base lacks so many of the creature comforts that I've come to enjoy here. It doesn't even have a swimming pool. Ah, well, that's life. I was most surprised when Ker Blasperra contacted me and informed me that you were offering to move my merchandise. I had no idea that you had the large transport that I needed."
"I didn't, until I learned of the available contract, but I knew where I could get one. I liberated it from Space Command, who had liberated it from the Raiders."
"And Space Command just let you take it?"
"No, I appropriated it from a storage area. They had no use for the ship so they probably haven't even missed it yet. We got away clean, or they would have caught us months ago."
"Very resourceful of you, Trader."
"Just trying to turn a credit, Shev. So, where's the new base?"
"About sixty light-years inside the new Frontier Zone, but there's a lot of work to be done before then. When we've finished loading it, your ship will be full from bow to stern. This complex extends a kilometer into this mountain, and it's almost five-hundred meters wide. It has a three-meter thick reinforced roof and, beyond this living area, it's divided into large warehouse chambers with two-meter thick reinforced walls. In the event that an accident occurred, I wanted to minimize damage to other chambers. Most of the warehouse space is crammed with merchandise. I have almost as much inventory as some of Space Command's smaller supply armories."
"How many people do you have for loading?"
"I have eighteen. You?"
"Just myself and two associates."
"Just three of you?"
"I was asked to ferry the arms to the new base. Blasperra never said that I had any responsibility for loading them. I only brought enough crew to handle the ship."
Shev Rivemwilth made a sound that Vyx assumed to be a sigh. "I should have been more explicit in my instructions to Blasperra. Well, that can't be helped now. We'll have to make do. It will just take us longer. Normally that's not a problem, but having a huge transport overhead is like having a sign announcing 'Secret Arms Base Located Here.' We'll just have to work around the clock until everything is loaded."
"We'll do our best, but we're Terrans. If my guys and I don't get at least eight hours sleep each night, we won't be much good, and it sounds like this will take weeks."
"We'll stagger the schedules so that everyone gets their sleep, and we'll reduce the artificial gravity within the base so each man will seem three times stronger than normal."
"How many tugs do you have, Shev?"
"Two tugs and one shuttle."
"That's our bottleneck then, since we only have two shuttles. Send six of your men up to my ship to help my guys and me. The rest can load containers or pilot the tugs up to the ship while we unload and pack it in."
"How soon do you want to start?"
"I'd like to have a tour of the warehouse first. I'll be able to direct the loading more efficiently if I have a feel for what's coming up."
"Of course. Follow me."
The tour lasted several hours as chamber after chamber was visited. The amount of ordnance was phenomenal. For the first time Vyx began to wonder if the Maid of Mephad was going to be able to contain everything. He would have to make sure that every cubic foot o
f hold space was used properly.
"Quite impressive, isn't it, Trader?" Rivemwilth asked at the completion of the tour.
"Staggering, Shev. It's going to be a chore getting it all into the ship though. I suggest that you send up your more valuable merchandise first, leaving the least valuable until last, just in case."
"You think that we might have to leave some behind?"
"We'll pack it so tight that an Aluvian mamot couldn't squeeze into the hold, but it's possible we won't fit everything."
"Damn Blasperra! I told him to get me a ship large enough to carry everything in one load," Rivemwilth said angrily.
"My ship is eight-hundred-fifty meters in length, and entirely constructed around cargo holds. Only the Space Command Quartermaster Corp has larger single hull transports, and you don't have a chance of getting your hands on one of those. The next option is a freighter using link sections, but then you'd need five hundred empty cargo containers, as well. It's your call, Shev. Shall we start loading or should I leave?"
"I can't wait any longer. We'll have to take what we can. Make sure that you pack your ship from bulkhead to bulkhead, Trader. When do you wish to start loading?"
"Now. We'll head back up as soon as you round up those six men to help on the ship. Send the first containers as soon as they're loaded. We'll be ready."
* * *
All personnel arriving aboard the Chiron had been assigned quarters before the ship even docked. Several holds aboard ship had been converted into enormous makeshift dormitories to accommodate the personnel, and most of the replacements couldn't wait to move into their new quarters and get their first real privacy in more than a year. Two hundred replacement Marines would relieve many of those that had been guarding prisoners since Stewart was first taken, and three hundred eighty other SC personnel would relieve personnel on temporary reassignment, allowing them to return to their ships once the replacements had been trained in their new duties.
Jenetta was working at her desk when Lieutenant Ashraf notified her that Lieutenant Christa Carver was in the outer office.
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