by John Walker
He shook it off and approached, turning the ship to find a suitable point to set down. Reporting back to the Behemoth, he let them know they’d found their target and were on a final approach for landing. Revente acknowledged but the tension in his voice said he was worried. Now I feel like I should be more concerned.
Rudy matched the drift of the vessel and brought them down on what used to be the hull near the engineering section. It was the largest part of the ship still intact and he hoped it was the one that Clea needed to perform her investigation. The other part was some three hundred meters away, tethered to this part by a series of wires and a single metal panel that refused to break.
“Good luck, Ma’am. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“Me too, Rudy,” Clea replied. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
***
Clea and two of the technicians, a woman named Tria and a man, Derra, stood in the airlock just off the mess area. They each double checked their environmental suits, ensuring none of them missed anything. Their computers stated everything was secure and sealed but sensors could break so visual inspection was necessary.
As the doors opened, Clea fought back a sense of panic. She’d never done anything like this before. Her zero G training was for disasters on ships, not trudging around on the outside of them. They’d get into the corridors soon enough but before then, they had a one thousand meter walk to the first access point, a shattered hole where the ship took a blow.
“I’ll lead the way,” Clea said over the com, forcing herself to take the first step. An irrational fear of her magnetic boots failing made her nearly hyperventilate but as soon as she felt them secure to the hull, she calmed down a little. Her companions seemed much more at ease, pacing out behind her without hesitation.
The second part of traveling in open space came from the difficulty of fighting the magnetic boots. It was like walking in deep snow and by the time they were half way to the hull breach, Clea’s legs ached. She risked a look down at her computer and she looked back up, a rock sailed by at an alarming rate, nearly striking her in the head.
“Be careful,” she said to the others. “I don’t know if you saw that, but if the debris is moving that fast, it could be very dangerous.”
“Understood, Su-Anthar,” Tria said. “We’re almost there.”
The majesty of open space had to be acknowledged. Looking out over the boneyard, Clea couldn’t help but feel awe at the carnage she looked over. Years of conflict and history floated out there in what amount to the middle of nowhere. Every broken up ship held a story of some kind along with lives lost or altered.
They arrived at the breach and cast a light inside. The floor was intact but they would need to use a bit of thrust from their oxygen pack to get down there. Once within proximity of the deck, their boots would do the rest but jumping wouldn’t do anything but make them float off. Clea double checked her understanding of the controls before attempting it.
The last thing I need is to throw myself into deep space because I had no idea what I was doing.
“I’ll go first, Ma’am,” Tria said, stepping off the edge and engaging her thrust. Clea watched as the young woman descended, bending her knees as she connected with the deck and backing away easily.
Derra went next, leaving Clea alone to contemplate the area. She glanced over her shoulder and gasped just as a large rock connected with her shoulder. The force of it made her magnetic boots disengage and she floated, rotating so she was staring down at the deck below. “Engage your thrusts!” Tria’s voice filled her ear. “Do it now, Ma’am!”
Clea nearly hit the wrong button, the one she would’ve needed had she jumped and not been shoved. As she tapped it, she began to sail toward her companions. The speed was alarming. She engaged the thrust to slow herself down but it took both Tria and Derra catching her to prevent her from hitting the deck.
“You okay?” Derra asked.
Clea nodded. “Yes, I’ll probably have a bruise from that rock…but I’ll be fine. Thank you for the help.”
“No problem.” Tria gestured. “The scan data we pulled suggests we need to go this way.”
Clea cast her light about the area and instantly felt a rush of nostalgia and sadness. Yes, you’re right. It’s that way. I walked this hallway a thousand times when it was part of a functioning starship. This is how I got to work every shift. Seeing it in such a state makes my heart hurt.
She’d loved her time on the Tempered Steel. Her commanding officer had been a fantastic teacher and mentor. Those around her did their jobs professionally and made each day a joy to work. They were all reassigned to different vessels after the incident and she only spoke to a few of them ever again.
“Let’s go.” Clea swallowed hard and started along the deck, moving with a purpose. Her light illuminated the way but in her mind’s eye, it was brightly lit as the day she first boarded. This visit bolstered her memory but she wasn’t sure that was a good thing. As it filled in gaps she didn’t even realize she had, it made her miss the ship all the more.
I guess most people look back on fond memories with nostalgic regret. I just wish I would’ve had more time with them.
They rounded a corner and paused. The wall to their left was missing, open to space like a window at a luxury hotel allowing a view of something exotic. Far off, they could just barely see the Behemoth. We really came a long way! Considering how large the ship was, to see it so small gave Clea more respect for the speed of their ships and the overall vastness of space.
“We need to keep moving.”
They pressed on, coming to a door jammed shut. Tria stepped forward and pressed a rod roughly the size of a screwdriver at the center where they would open. She tapped something and it began to vibrate, wiggling its way between the doors. Once it was fully wedged into place, she pulled hard to the side and the doors slid open easily.
“Is that new?” Clea asked.
“Yes, it pulses energy through the door if you can get it partially open. That simulates the same power which gets the mechanism moving. It’s a search and rescue tool now.”
I’m sure they were using those when they were looking for survivors back at the research facility. I need to keep up with the advances in technology of my own people.
Pressing through, they walked for another five minutes before arriving at Clea’s work area, the tech lab. The door was gone, though not from the combat damage. Clea performed a scan and frowned. Someone cut this out. She exchanged a glance with Tria and Derra. “Are you two seeing this?”
Derra confirmed. “Yes, someone’s been here already.” They all stepped inside and further confirmed the bad news. The entire area had been attacked by scavengers, down to the seats being removed. Most of the computer panels had been taken as well and even some sections of floor were missing.
Damn it!
Clea moved over to her station without much hope but she had to know if her data was missing. Tools weren’t necessary. As she drew closer, she could easily see through the wall where her storage devices would’ve been. Checking the rest of the stations proved out the same information: all of them were missing.
This trip was for nothing!
Clea slapped the wall in frustration and tapped her communicator back to Rudy. “Bad news. Scavengers have already been here and taken everything.”
“Oh crap…” Rudy sighed. “Do you want me to inform the Behemoth?”
“I’ll let them know now, but thank you.” Clea changed the frequency and contacted the ship. Agatha responded and quickly transferred her over to Gray. “Scavengers took everything. The storage devices are gone, sir. I’m…I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Gray asked. “We had to check. Besides, I wouldn’t despair just yet. We’ve got some people on board who might be able to shed some light on the situation. Head back to the ship as soon as you can and maybe when you return, I’ll have some better news to share. Gray out.”
“Come on,” Cle
a said. “It’s time to go back.”
***
Major Harrington Bean was brought down to the brig for another interrogation, this time with pirates operating openly in the sector. These guys surrendered after their two companions were destroyed but not all of them wanted to come peacefully. The marines had to dislodge them from their vessel by venting gas into the ship, which gave them all a nice nap.
The worst of the bunch remained in their cells but the one who claimed to be an engineer was brought to interrogation. He seemed the most amiable to conversation so they figured Harrington would be able to get something out of him. Apparently, the tech crew didn’t find what they were looking for so hope fell to the pirates to give them an idea of where it may have ended up.
The idea made sense. How many places could pirates offload illegal merchandise? Few reputable vendors in the alliance would risk the consequences. Those who didn’t care about their reputation or operated well outside the law were also not likely to be listed in any business directory. All they had to do was find them.
Harrington observed the man through the one way glass for a moment, surprised to find he was human. Once the Behemoth was on the verge of active service again, the alliance had merchant vessels arriving to deliver goods. These ships took on industrious humans as crew members and passengers. They encountered some of them as pirates at the mining facility.
I’m a little ashamed to know my people left the solar system to be crooks.
The man had stringy, brown hair that hung low over his forehead, obscuring blue eyes. He sported a thick beard and his clothes had seen better days. The black vest was frayed and his brown shirt had been patched in several locations. So these guys either don’t spend their money on personal upkeep or it’s a hard life. Probably both.
Harrington stepped into the room and closed the door, opting for a direct approach.
“My name’s Harrington Bean and I’ll cut to the chase. You and I both know I’m in here for information. If you’d like to give it to me, this whole situation will go a lot easier for you.”
The pirate looked up at him, scowling. “I already told people I was willing to cooperate. You took out our base ship. That was our meal ticket. Without them, we’re back to square one.”
“Then good.” Harrington sat down. “What’s your name?”
“Jessy Wilkens.”
“Thanks, Jessy. So let’s talk about how you make your money.”
“Mostly, we just salvage tech from the boneyard,” Jessy said. “We estimate there’s enough here to keep people for another few years at least. Then there’s the competition. We occasionally engage with them and take what they got. Not the most honorable of professions but it gets us by.”
“Off topic, but why did you attack the Behemoth? Did you guys not know it was a warship?”
“We knew but our weapon…it should’ve torn through the shields quicker. We underestimated that part.”
“Okay then.” Harrington shook his head. “So back to how you make your money. What do you do with the salvage? I need to know every place you sell it to.”
Jessy looked uneasy, turning his head away. Harrington recognized the expression as one of regret. He didn’t want to talk about this part and probably had good reason. His compatriots would not look kindly on the guy who snitched out their cash spots. However, this is what he’d promised so he had to come clean eventually.
“I mean…I want to help…I do…but telling you that…”
“Is what’s going to keep you from life in prison,” Harrington said. “If you don’t recall the regulations in this sector, the alliance has stated any act of piracy is punishable by life in a maximum security, work facility. Mining most of the time. You’re looking at twelve hour days in some pretty miserable environments until you die.”
Jessy pursed his lips, getting anxious. “It’s just…I mean, at least I get to live in that scenario.”
“You’re wondering what happens if you tell me?”
Jessy nodded.
“I’ll make sure your sentence is much shorter. A year or two at the most in a non-work related environment. You can get some education, clean up your act and come out with a clean slate. Providing you don’t rush back to pirating, you can still make a life for yourself. Does that sound better than dying in prison?”
“Yeah…” Jessy sighed. “But if I tell you, they’ll find me later.”
“I don’t have any interest in shutting down operations,” Harrington said. “I’m only in this to find a piece of equipment. It’s a wild goose chase but one we’re willing to pursue.”
“You’re not here to bust pirates?”
Harrington shook his head. “No, we’re here for information. This sector has all but been written off by the alliance. They don’t care about the tech you’re taking but if they knew what we did, they’d be out here enforcing the law a lot harder. Now, give me the information I need. Every broker who buys your merchandise.”
“It used to move around,” Jessy said. “To different bases in different sectors. Abandoned research facilities on asteroids, tough planets, moons and even a few derelict capital ships.”
“What do you mean by it?” Harrington asked. “Surely, there’s more than one.”
Jessy nodded. “Yeah, but they’re too far away. The one we frequented for the last few years is close by and always made it easy to offload goods from our trips into the boneyard. They’re on a planet now only a short jump away. They set down in an oasis in the middle of a desert so no one could just waltz in from the outside.”
“Defenses?”
“Oh, they’ve got some early warning systems. This big ol’ thing isn’t going to hop in unnoticed, not close by at least. And they don’t let just anybody in neither.”
“Talk to me about how we’re going to get in then. We need to check the shops…the junk dealers.”
“Only a pirate would get through.” Jessy shrugged.
“How would you like to go home then?”
Jessy scowled. “What do you mean?”
“I mean if we need a pirate to get through the defenses and land, it sounds like you’re the right guy for the job.”
Jessy sighed. “This is risky.”
“But not for someone who wants to get their life back.”
Jessy really contemplated the situation for a time and finally nodded. “I need something if I do it.”
“What’s that?”
“If I go to prison, I want a new identity. And some money waiting when I get out so I’m screwed.” Jessy looked into Harrington’s eyes. “I need to disappear if I do this and you have to help me.”
“We can do that. If you get us in there, then we’ll hook you up with whatever you need to get straight. Do we have a deal?”
Jessy nodded. “We do.” He gave them the coordinates for the pirate base. “That’s the place we have to go. I can tell your navigator where this thing can hop into if it has to come along.”
“Thank you,” Harrington said, standing up. “I’m going to have the guards take you to a room to get cleaned up and changed. We’ll probably need your help soon so get some rest. I have a feeling the next few days are going to be challenging.”
Chapter 7
Gray, Adam and Clea sat in the briefing room. Harrington presented the information from the pirate and let them know the deal he made. He was dismissed when he finished and Adam turned to the others, looking grave. Gray figured he knew what the commander was about to say but he didn’t interrupt.
“Clearly we can’t keep this place a secret,” Adam began. “These pirates attacked us immediately and had we not been an advanced warship, they would’ve taken us down. God knows how they treat crews but I’m thinking it’s not five star.”
“I agree,” Clea said, “but we have to be cautious with the information. If we tell the alliance, they’re going to want to come in immediately and roust the pirates. This base has eluded them for a long time. They’re not about to let it get awa
y again.”
“Maybe we can give them the information and let them know about our operation,” Gray said. “Our primary focus is finding the data. How’re we going to get in there?”
“Impersonate the pirates,” Clea said. “Major Bean considered it or he wouldn’t have asked the prisoner to help. We have their vessel, we can just mimic it with the alliance shuttle. It’s far more advanced and will give us an advantage if we have to get out of there in a hurry. Also, it isn’t falling apart so it’ll be safer to fly.”
Gray grinned. “Yes, I saw their craft and it’s not exactly in top condition.” He turned to Adam. “What do you think?”
“Sounds dangerous but doable,” Adam replied. “After all, we’ve seen how well Trojan horses worked in the past.”
“Do you know what they barter with down there Clea? Are you going to be able to buy back the storage device if, through some miracle, you find it?”
“We’ve got the salvage on the pirate’s vessel,” Clea said. “We’ll load that into our cargo hold and provide some of the tech we brought back from our trip. It’s inconsequential to us but to junk dealers needing parts to repair rag tag ships, they’ll be worth something.”
“This plan’s coming together.” Gray hummed. “Okay, but we have to do something to that shuttle. It couldn’t scream alliance more if we made it run a streamer.”
“The insignias will be easy to remove,” Clea added. “We just have to tarnish the hull a bit…take some of the gleam off of her. I think our engineers will have a few ideas.”
“I’ll leave you in charge of prepping the shuttle. Adam and I will figure out how we’re going to get there undetected. You’ll want us as backup. As long as we’re in the system, we can monitor communications through your ship, using it like a satellite. Correct?”
Clea nodded. “Olly can set that up very easily and make it undetectable.”
“Perfect. Sounds like we’ve all got a lot to do. Let’s make it happen, folks.”
***