by C. R. Daems
"What if they have crew on board to take over?" Cooper said.
"That would work, but that would mean new crew and more than one. Certainly worth looking into," I said. "As my old team used to say, there are no bad ideas just ones that don't work out. I think we should also look at missing merchants for the previous year." I wondered how long the current group had been active.
"What if someone tampered with their ship, causing it to have problems? Then when another merchant came along and offered to help?" Newman asked. "If it lost power…"
"That's also possible. Easier than adding crew," I said.
"Or maybe bribe one crew member to do something to cause an emergency," Cooper said, eyes bright with excitement.
"All Right, your next assignments. I'll have Commander Hadley run a list of those merchants’ activities for the year before last. Cooper, have Lieutenant Cintron run his program and give the four of you the results. The three of you, check out new crew on the missing ships and any maintenance performed within three months of the ships’ last jump. Don't worry about finishing everything. I'd prefer quality over speed. We can't know which information is critical and which isn't, so we have to treat it all as potentially important."
* * *
"Hi, Teresa, do you have a moment? I'd like you to run a search for me," I said when her face appeared on my tablet. She was smiling.
"Give me half an hour, then come over. I'll make sure I have enough milk here for your coffee." She laughed and disconnected. I spent the time mulling over my killing problem. If there were a Navy person or persons providing services, what could those services include? Killing, smuggling, stealing, and selling information were the logical choices. But what kind of a search could I get that would differentiate between normal civilian criminal activity and Naval personnel involvement? Mercifully my timer chimed and I took off for Hadley's office. Her senior chief waved for me to enter as I approached. I knocked and entered.
"Thanks for seeing me so quickly, Teresa."
"You're NIA's highest priority and we are all looking forward to helping. What can I do for you?"
"I'd like you to run the same search as before, but for the two prior years. I'm interested in determining how long this group has been operating in UAS space. I'd also like crew and maintenance records…"
"Sorry. Our database doesn't include that kind of information. You would have to get that from the space stations and the guilds. What are you looking for?"
"How the hijacker got on board the merchants' ships." I spent an hour recapping our discussions and possible scenarios.
"So you have to eliminate each one until you find one that the information supports," Hadley said while worrying her lip.
"You don’t keep track of civilian crimes, do you?" I asked, still looking for a way to pursue the killing incidents.
"No." She frowned at me.
"Can you run me a listing of all the military cruisers and their layovers?"
"Yes, but why?" Her frown deepened.
"I don't know why I want it but I'm sure it's important." I shrugged and Hadley stared at me for a long time, then suddenly laughed.
"Does…Red do that often?" she asked. When I gave her a blank look, she continued. "Peek out of your blouse and look around?"
"To be honest, after all these years I hardly notice him moving around."
She laughed long and hard. "Sorry, I was imagining some eager young man sticking his hand down your blouse." She sobered. "Sorry, Anna. I can see how Red could be a problem."
I left sometime later after Teresa shared some stories of her earlier career and meeting her husband. And I learned she had two children—boys in their early teens.
* * *
My next two staff meetings didn't produce any new ideas, and my staff hadn't completed their review. It took time to contact each Merchants' Guild and the space stations the merchants had stopped at to determine if there had been any maintenance performed.
"How is your new position going, Mother?" I asked at dinner.
"It is almost like your Oxax team hours. Judge Appleton has a meeting of the judges once a week to make assignments, I meet with the other two judges for an hour to vote on the cases we have been assigned, and we have an appeal scheduled now and then. Other than that I'm free, which is most of every day. The work is mostly reading the trial records to ascertain whether the appeal is justified, and on occasion writing a majority or minority opinion. It's funny. Our working hours at Oxax have been reversed." She smiled. "But I'm enjoying the change and finding the appeal process and the cases interesting."
"I'm glad. I would hate to think I dragged you away from Oxax and the work was boring, or worse yet, uninteresting," I said. "What about the people you work with?"
"I like my staff. They're a good bunch. The judges vary. We are a cross section of the UAS. Two of us are ex-Navy." She was quiet for a while as she ate. "What about you, Daughter?"
"It's been easier than I had thought and confirms my get the most out of each day philosophy during my growing up years is less stressful. No more future surfing. It's one day at a time," I said as we left for the front room. "Mother, what would you do if you were a merchant and a war cruiser hailed you to stand by for boarding?"
"I assume you mean a foreign cruiser?" she asked, frowning in thought, "and I'm an armed merchant with good engines?"
"30 to 50 centimeter lasers, two missile tubes, ECM, and top-of-the-line commercial engines."
"I think I'd start by running, then a skip or two, and if that doesn't work--pretend to comply but look for an opportunity to use my lasers and missiles. Of course, I'm an ex--Navy captain." She gave me a crooked smile.
"True, but do you think seven seasoned merchant captains would all capitulate?" I asked, as an idea began forming. Even Red seemed interested, perched on my shoulders with his head pointing in Alexa's direction.
"No. There can be no good outcome facing a foreign cruiser. The odds of eluding it may be poor, but allowing them to board would be certain death. Even if they only wanted your cargo, they wouldn't want the UAS Navy to know they were in the area. And the ship would be worth more than the cargo."
"That was my conclusion."
* * *
At my next staff meeting everyone look cheerful, even Red, as he wrapped around my neck and looked around the table.
"Good afternoon," I said as I sat.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," they replied in unison.
"You look very satisfied with yourselves," I said and couldn't help a smile.
"Yes, ma'am. We've finished reviewing the maintenance records and checking out the crew records," Cooper said and nodded to Newman.
"Chuck and I checked each system the merchants visited for two months prior to their disappearance. Only two merchants had any work done, the Aladan and Perseus, and both were routine maintenance," Newman said and nodded to Cooper.
"I checked out each of their registered guilds and only the Free Spirit and Hercule had added new crew members in the last year, and they were lower level positions. Of course, we won't know if they added crew since their last home visit… I did check with the guilds on the systems they visited over the past two months, and none reported a posting or crew positions from any of the missing merchants. And Lieutenant Cintron ran his software against Commander Hadley's new scans. One merchant went missing three years ago. Newman verified it was due to a retirement. Three went missing two years ago. Atkins verified one ship went to salvage. The other two appear to me missing without explanation. And the missing merchants were out of the Middle Corridor and went missing on jumps to Northern Rim systems."
"Well done. That was a lot of work in a short period of time," I said, pleased that we were slowly eliminating possible, if remote, scenarios.
"But that leaves us at a dead end!" Cooper said, looking dejected.
"No. We have eliminated the logical causes so…" I paused, awaiting a response.
"The solution must be illogical," A
tkins said, the laugh lines of his round face active.
"Correct. We agree a well-armed merchant couldn't succeed in stopping the missing ships because they would have fought. In that case, at least two or three would have escaped." I waited until everyone nodded agreement.
"What if a foreign war cruiser approached and demanded they cut power?" I asked. The subsequent discussion lasted for over an hour but the unanimous conclusion in the end was that most would have tried to escape, hence one or more would have escaped or some crew survived or wreckage discovered.
"We've eliminated everything," Newman said to nodding heads.
"No. We're being thorough and eliminating all the logical choices…or rather all the choices that seem logical to us. Obviously, the Hijackers have found a choice we have failed to consider because we feel it is illogical." Blank faces stared back at me.
"What would a merchant do if an UAS Cruiser hailed them, demanding to board?"
"They would have no choice…but an UAS Cruisers wouldn't…couldn't…" several were quick to reply.
"Yes, seemingly illogical." I paused to let them consider the scenario.
"A warship appearing to be an UAS Cruiser!" Cooper shouted. "Sorry, ma'am."
"I think you have proved that is a logical scenario after having eliminated the more likely causes," I said. "And a reasonable premise to proceed on. Furthermore, I think we can conclude that the Hijackers began operations two years ago. What's next?" I asked. Blank looks stared back at me. I laughed. "That's your assignment for next week. Who are they targeting, why, under what conditions? We have to know that plus much more before we can hope to stop them. You have made good progress but we have barely scratched the surface. This process can't be rushed."
* * *
I waited for Lulltrel's staff meeting, which was the next day, to report our progress. Our hypothesis wasn't a major breakthrough, just progress, and didn't require action. Although I think Lulltrel wanted my report first, she went around the room in her same order—Byrnes, Leyva, Hadley, and then me. Byrnes reported he had developed a Smugglers’ Case exercise and was working on a Raiders’ Case one with me. Leyva reported he was working with Byrnes and me and was testing the puzzles on his people.
"So far they are still working on the WavCom messages, and they know what they are looking for. Great practice," Leyva concluded. "But I'm afraid it's damaged a few egos. Hadley mentioned she had run two scans for me—one for merchant ship activity for the two subsequent years, and one for UAS Cruisers last year. Lulltrel gave me a questioning look.
"You've been busy, Paulus. Any results?"
"I think my team has eliminated all of the logical causes for the ships to have gone missing and the logical ways of convincing a well-armed merchant with good propulsion systems to stop for boarding—boarding is a reasonable conclusion since the ships are missing and no wreckage or crew has turned up."
"All right, I'll take the bait. How do you get an armed merchant to allow you to board his ship?"
"By appearing to be a UAS Cruiser," I said to stunned looks.
"You're joking," Lulltrel said, glaring at me. "You're not!" She sat silently for what seemed like an eternity, drumming her fingers on the table. Everyone was staring at me. Red lay with his head on my shoulder, facing Lulltrel, as if awaiting her response. "Admiral Webb is not going to be happy, foreign warships in UAS space acting like UAS Cruisers and hijacking merchants. Paulus, you've just scored a trifecta—you've hit Admiral Webb's top three nightmares." She gave me a crooked smile. "This should be interesting. Stay close. I imagine the admiral will want to see us immediately." She rose and exited the room. When she did, the three commanders came over to me.
"That was a real bombshell, Paulus," Hadley said and laughed. "You've really livened up NIA Headquarters."
"I'd love to hear Webb's response but not enough to deliver the message. Worse yet, you aren't the messenger, you're the author," Leyva said, shaking his head.
"Don't worry, Norman. I imagine you will be able to hear his response, along with several of the floors below us." Byrnes grinned.
"Ignore these clowns, Paulus. Lulltrel wouldn’t take you if she didn't think Webb wouldn't be calmer hearing from you than her." Teresa started to put her arm around me but stopped only inches away when she saw Red's head turn in her direction. She laughed. "Well, Anna, we know Webb can't strangle you."
* * *
"Seeing as you brought Commander Paulus along with you, I assume you aren't bringing me cheery news," Webb said after returning our salutes. "Grimes, get us something to drink," he said and turned to me. "How is your new assignment going, Paulus? I understand you weren't excited to come here."
"Much better than I expected, sir," I said as Red appeared and wound around my neck with his head facing Webb.
"That snake…Red, is quite fascinating. He seems almost interested in what is happening." Webb stared back at Red and laughed. "Admirals don't appear to intimidate him."
"I know I'm prejudiced after all these years, but I agree. I put it down to our symbiotic relationship. When he's bored he disappears into my clothes."
"He has bitten several people, I understand."
"Yes, sir. But each time I was being physically attacked," I said as Grimes entered and placed a cup next to each of us.
"All right, give me the bad news." He picked up his cup and relaxed back into the chair.
"Sir, my team… I went on to explain the work we had done to date and what I thought it meant. He was quiet long enough to finish his drink.
"I agree." He stood and walked over to his desk, retrieved a card, and handed it to me. "P1A Authority. And I assume you will need to travel." He paused.
"Probably, sir. I don't believe they are hijacking random merchants, based on the information we have collected to date. That means a sophisticated information collecting organization. If that is correct, the key to stopping them is understanding their system."
"How many cruisers do you think they have?"
"I'm guessing, but more than one and maybe as many as four."
"Why."
"Because they are targeting merchants heading for one of the four Northern Rim systems."
"So you will need a squadron or two to eliminate them," he said almost to himself. He stood, ending the meeting. "Good work, Lulltrel. Keep me informed."
"That went far easier than I imagined. You have a calming effect on Webb. Are you upset he complimented me and not you?"
"No, ma'am. I not only understand, but I prefer being treated as part of the team rather than separate."
CHAPTER FIVE
Eastar: Complications
"Ma'am, there is an Appellate Judge Appleton on the phone," Stamm said, looking worried. "He said it concerned your mother."
"Forward it to me," I said, knowing it couldn't be good. Appleton was the senior judge and he wouldn't be calling if something weren't wrong.
"Commander Paulus?" a male voice asked.
"Yes, I'm Commander Paulus," I said, having an urge to cross my fingers but instead grabbed Red, who wound around my arm. I brought him to my cheek and whispered a prayer to whoever might be listening.
"I'm sorry to inform you that your mother fell down a flight of stairs and is in critical condition. They took her to the Eastar Medical Center," The voice said.
"Thank you," I mumbled as I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door.
"Where are we going?" asked Staff Sergeant Rodriquez, the senior Marine on my present security detail, as he and a corporal fell in behind me.
"The Eastar Medical Center. My mother had an accident," I said as I stood waiting for the elevator to arrive, nervously tapping my foot and tempted to use the stairs, but my rational mind knew the stairs would take longer. When the door opened, I rushed in and hit lobby and then immediately the close door button. The elevator seemed in slow motion, and I had the irrational urge to jump up and down to force it to move faster. Fortunately, the lobby had only a few people entering and
the exit line was empty, which I ran through, ignoring Navy security. At the bottom of the steps an Eastar taxi waited. I yanked open the door and stepped inside. As I did, the taxi accelerated, throwing me into the seat, causing the door to slam shut, and leaving my security at the curb. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I screamed mentally. Ready, Fire, Aim, I chided myself. I felt Red exiting my jacket and relaxed—panic kills. I drew my multifunctional weapon and shot at the window separating the passenger seat from the driver. Nothing. A few scratches when the pellets hit. I tried the side windows with similar results and switched to laser. Nothing. I sat trying to think when a fog appeared from behind me—gas. The last thing I remembered was thinking, panic does kill.
* * *
The pain in my head was so intense I couldn't focus my vision, but I saw movement and reached for my weapon…my holster was gone… I was in bed… I swung my legs over the side and collapsed when I tried to stand and instinctively realized Red wasn't on me. Laying there sobbing, I realized I was in a hospital. I made no attempt to move and wondered if I were contagious yet.
"Anna." I recognized Renata's voice, confirming my worst fear. "Are you hurt?" she asked as she came and knelt next to me. I laughed. What difference did it make?
"I don't think so. Am I contagious?"
"Anna, let's get you into bed so I can look at you. No, you're not contagious. You and Red have only been separated for a few hours." Renata helped me back into bed. "Colonel, give me a few minutes."
When I looked up I saw Pannell nod and reluctantly leave the room, with two Marines following. Neither Renata nor I talked as she gave me a thorough examination.
"You were gassed with a fentanyl derivative, a powerful and dangerous knockout gas. I assume the thieves intended to knock out you and Red. You couldn't fight and Red would be easy to handle," Renata said as she finished.
"What about the driver?" I asked, seeming clever and stupid at the same time.
"The passenger area was sealed from the front cabin, more or less, and the driver drove with his front windows open. I assume the rendezvous area was only a few miles ahead where he would meet the rest of the gang, collect Red, and take off in another vehicle."