Trader Vyx

by DePrima, Thomas

  "What is that?" Byers asked.

  "I don't know," Vyx answered. "It feels like the Tsgardi are blasting the base apart. But it's not close so it must be at the other end."

  "Let's take a look," Nelligen said.

  Vyx tapped the control to open the door, and then slowly peered down the corridor. It was empty, except for the bodies of the four dead Tsgardi. He led the way, silently and carefully skirting around the four Tsgardi warriors and climbing over the bloody mess that remained of the three taken out by the personnel mine in the wall. They reached the galley without encountering any resistance. Turning on the monitor, they saw that the flight bay was empty. The Tsgardi shuttles had left.

  "There's what we heard," Vyx said pointing to the monitor as he changed to a view that showed the flight bay doors open and the entrance covered with rock. "They've collapsed the face of the cliff over the flight bay opening. Either they're burying their dead, or us."

  "Or both," Byers said.

  "That's the end then," Nelligen said.

  "You giving up?" Vyx asked.

  "What chance do we have? No communications, and now the only entrance buried. We're dead."

  "Not me," Vyx said. "I'm still alive. And hungry. I'm gonna make myself some dinner and then we can start cleaning this place up. I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that the Tsgardi won't be coming back."

  Only seven of the dead Tsgardi were inside the pressurized area of the base. The emergency doors had been closed again so that the outer bay doors could be opened by the Tsgardi shuttle pilots. Vyx and Nelligen used an 'oh-gee' sled to take the seven Tsgardi bodies to a storeroom where they were sealed in empty air-tight storage containers normally used for SAMs. Although not as cold as a proper morgue freezer would be, the remote storeroom was unheated and so barely above freezing. Without adequate refrigeration, the bodies would start to decompose soon, but the low temperature would slow the process dramatically, and the storage containers would seal the odors in. Byers directed the base's maintenance bots in the cleanup of the rubble from the mines placed in the corridor wall near the storeroom.

  The work beyond the emergency doors would be more difficult to handle. Using the two emergency doors like an airlock, Vyx and Nelligen were able to tackle the problem of the damage created by the Tsgardi when they used explosives to depressurize that section. Since the wall sections were basically of the same pre-fabricated construction throughout the base, except for the specially reinforced blast walls of the warehouse chambers, they used a section of wall from a utility storeroom to repair the damaged wall at the shuttle bay. After the area was pressurized and tested, the emergency doors were raised. The bodies of the Tsgardi found in that section had already been taken out and stacked in the flight bay. The extreme cold and vacuum in the depressurized area had already begun to mummify the remains.

  "What now?" Nelligen asked over breakfast the next morning. "We've cleaned up the place and gotten the airlock working, but the outer doors are still blocked by hundreds, or maybe thousands, of tons of rock."

  "We'll bury some of the anti-tank land mines in the rocks and blast our way through."

  "What about the explosive blow-back?"

  "We'll pile everything heavy that we can find, behind the blast area. That'll deaden the effect of anything coming back. We have those three old armored personnel carriers in warehouse six. The engines don't run, but we'll reduce the gravity in here to the minimum and we should be able to position them where we want, using 'oh-gee' blocks. After we restore the gravity in the base, they'll provide an excellent barrier."

  It was late afternoon before the charges were placed and the APCs located to suppress the blast forces expanding back into the bay. Since the flight bay wasn't sealed, they'd had to work in EVA suits. The three Terrans retreated into the base and closed the emergency doors, just in case. Vyx also increased the gravity in the base to 3 G's so that any rock blown back into the bay would fall more quickly. The extra gravity also made the APCs three times more resistant to the effects of the explosion. Since the rock they were trying to remove, was outside the area affected by the gravity plating inside the base, the increased gravity should have minimal effect on it.

  "Any questions or answers before I detonate," Vyx asked.

  "Just blow it already," Byers responded. "I'm exhausted from just sitting in this gravity.

  "Here goes," Vyx said as he depressed the button on the detonator.

  As they watched the flight bay monitor, they saw the APCs shift slightly and then dust clouded the room for a few minutes. The gravity and lack of atmosphere caused it to settle quickly.

  "It doesn't look like we even made a dent," Nelligen said.

  "We won't know that for sure until we get in there. Let's suit up and take a look."

  "Decrease the gravity first, so I can stand up," Byers said.

  It didn't take long to suit up since they had only removed their helmets when they came back inside. The rocks had shifted a little, but there wasn't any indication that they had moved the pile covering the bay entrance.

  "This pile must be more massive than I thought. With the moon's lower gravity I expected much more penetration. Well, let's try again. This time I'll use three anti-tank mines instead of two."

  Two hours later they were ready to try again. As before, they closed the emergency doors, just in case, and increased the gravity inside the base. Vyx detonated the mines, but they could tell after a few minutes that it hadn't done any good.

  "It's just too massive," Vyx said. "The Tsgardi must have brought the entire cliff face down. The rock must be thirty meters thick, or we would have seen some movement. They wanted to make sure that we never tunneled out."

  "It's understandable when you realize that we killed twenty of their number," Byers said. "They were pissed, and probably frustrated that they didn't get any of us."

  "They got all of us," Nelligen said. "We'll just go a lot slower than their shipmates did."

  "I estimate that the synthesizers can provide us with food for another four or five months," Vyx said, "unless one of you would prefer to check out earlier."

  "What does that mean?" Nelligen said angrily.

  "It means exactly what it sounds like. You're both talking like we're already dead. If one of you wants to end it, do it now. It'll extend the lives of the others." Vyx paused to sigh. "But in the end we'll all die. Even if Space Command comes looking for us, there's no way that they could find us. We're here until we die."

  "I thought that you never give up until you draw your last breath?" Byers said.

  "I never have, but then I've never been buried alive before. It tends to change one's perspectives, while limiting one's options."

  * * *

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~ August 11th, 2274 ~

  The arrival of two large personnel transport ships, the Hayworth and the O'Keefe, at Stewart SCB, increased the base's staff complement considerably and would allow virtually all of the reassigned personnel to return to their ships when it could be arranged. But none of the more than two thousand new personnel were there to relieve Jenetta. She wondered if she'd know in advance this time, or find out when her replacement was standing in front of her, as when she had been relieved at Dixon.

  Jenetta's workday filled all her waking hours for a couple of weeks as the new personnel were placed. Most of her days were consumed with meetings with the various senior officers in each section as the new staff members were worked in, and space was adjusted to accommodate the enlarged work force.

  One officer among the new personnel was a Senior Food Service Administrator who would take over for the officer on loan from the Asuncion. The Asuncion was still in port, so he'd be able to rejoin his ship as soon as the new administrator was brought up to speed. Jenetta sent for them both, to discuss the transition.

  Lieutenants Charles Mergrove and Heather Gulvil reported to the base commander's office at the appointed time and were sent in after a short wait. They walked
to Jenetta's desk and came to attention.

  "At ease. Sit down, please." To Lieutenant Gulvil, Jenetta said, "It's nice to see you again, Lieutenant."

  "Thank you, ma'am. It's nice to see you again, and an honor to serve in your command."

  "I saw from your file that you've been the Senior Food Service Administrator at the Concordia base since leaving the Ethridge Space Station at Nivella-3?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "You'll have a lot more responsibility here. We'll be serving over ten thousand at each meal until the Raider prisoners begin to be shipped back for processing. As they leave, we'll probably have additional personnel arriving, so the number served will remain fairly constant for a while."

  "Yes, ma'am. I've spent the past two days working with Lieutenant Mergrove. He's explained the current requirements and we've toured the five kitchens being used for food preparation, including your private dining facilities."

  "Very good. How long do you feel it will take you to reach a point where Lieutenant Mergrove can be released back to his ship?"

  "I feel confident that I can take over immediately."

  "Very well. Lieutenant Mergrove, you may return to your ship for reassignment after this watch."

  "Aye, Commander. It's been an honor serving in your command."

  "Thank you for your excellent service. I've noted it in your file. You're dismissed. Lieutenant Gulvil, remain for a few minutes, please."

  After Lieutenant Mergrove left, Jenetta said, "You're looking well, Heather."

  "Thank you, ma'am. You haven't aged a day since we left the Academy, but you look very different. I used to be quite a bit taller, but now you have several inches on me."

  "You can call me Jenetta when we're alone, Heather. My height and change of appearance is thanks to the Raiders. I'm sure that you've heard about that."

  "Yes, I saw the entire court-martial that Space Command put you through."

  Jenetta sighed. "I think that everyone in Space Command saw that. I understand that it's been declassified and released to the media now, so it will probably haunt me until I die."

  "But you were cleared of all charges. Not only that, you've been promoted four grades since then. Obviously, Space Command isn't holding anything against you. In fact, it seems to have helped your career tremendously. You've come a long way since being assigned to the Hokyuu." Grinning, she added, "I still remember your happy dance in the Academy barracks on the day that you got your notice to report to the ship."

  "The happiest day of my life to that point," Jenetta said smiling as she thought back to that afternoon in the barracks when she had received her orders. She had screamed so loudly with glee, that everyone on the floor had come running to see if someone was being attacked.

  "And now you're the base commander of a StratCom-One base; the closest thing there is to God within four-hundred light-years. You've had so many firsts that I'm losing track. You were the first ensign to ever command a Space Command Battleship, the first Terran to be awarded the Nordakian Tawroole medal, the first Terran to be commissioned as an officer in the Nordakian Space Force, and a Captain at that, and now the first officer below the rank of rear admiral, upper half, to ever command a StratCom-One base."

  "It's only a temporary assignment."

  "Temporary or not, it's an official appointment. You've outshone everyone from our class at the Academy, even Gary Bushnell. Heck, I think you've eclipsed everyone who ever attended the Academy. I never expected you to go so far, Jenetta, especially after you smoked the zero-grav lab at the Academy."

  Smiling wryly, Jenetta said, "I've tried to forget that silly incident."

  "Why? It's such a great story. Nobody else, and I mean nobody, would have had the nerve to pull such a prank in Professor Hubera's class." Pointing to the two large cats that were half dozing and half watching from their usual places against opposite walls, Heather asked, "Are these the Jumakas that I've heard so much about?"

  "These are my pets. But don't approach them; they get nervous when strangers get too close. What do you mean, that you've heard so much about?"

  "You're almost as famous for having them as anything that you've done; like General Patton's pair of ivory-handled pistols, General MacArthur's unusual smoking pipes, or Admiral Winstead's iron-crystal walking stick made from a crystal formation he found on Costio during the first interstellar voyage."

  "Jumakas are hardly unusual. They're quite common on Taurentlus-Thur, where they've been domesticated for hundreds of years."

  "But nobody else in Space Command has a pair, or even one; at least not that I've heard about. And they would have to keep them in their quarters if they did. Only the most senior officer, such as a captain or base commander, would have the privilege of keeping them with her during duty hours."

  "I work such long hours that they're better off here than in my quarters, but I suppose that I do claim that privilege of rank for myself. Do you have a pet?"

  "Yes, I have a toy cocker spaniel. Your pets could probably swallow her in one gulp."

  Jenetta smiled. "They wouldn't do that. They actually prefer their meat very well cooked. And they won't eat anything unless I put it into their food bowls, so your spaniel is safe."

  "That's comforting. They look peaceful enough."

  "They are, unless I'm threatened. When that happens, they look anything but peaceful. They're very protective."

  "Considering your past adventures, I can see where they'd be very handy."

  "I sleep a lot better at night knowing they're by my bed. The Raiders would revel at my death, but I know that no one can sneak into my rooms while my cats are there."

  "You think that an intruder could get into your quarters?"

  "A Raider commander actually did sneak into my quarters while I was the captain of the GSC Song, so it's possible. The previous captain had ordered the Marine protection detail canceled, and I didn't think to have it reestablished when I took command of the ship. I guess I'm like most SC officers in feeling perfectly safe while aboard our own ships. But a detail was assigned to watch my door immediately after the incident. Since then I've always had security personnel stationed outside my quarters. On the Prometheus they weren't immediately outside my door since I wasn't the commanding officer, but my quarters were in the same corridor as the Captain's, so I benefited by his coverage."

  "I wouldn't want to be an intruder in your quarters when you arrive with your pets."

  "I hope that potential assassins share that view. I'm sure that any who have seen the images of the assassination attempt on Dixon will certainly think twice. Tayna and Cayla saved my life for sure. Tanya broke the arm holding the laser pistol, while Cayla ripped out his throat. He was dead almost immediately."

  Lieutenant Gulvil put her hand to her throat and swallowed hard.

  Jenetta grinned. "Don't worry. They've never attacked anyone else, and wouldn't unless that person intended me harm, or held ill will towards me and simply got too close. I don't know how they know, but they do. They seem to have some kind of sixth sense."

  With the influx of new personnel and materials from Space Command, the available labor pool from the GSC ships docked in the port, and a small army of construction bots, Jenetta was able to make remarkable advances with the concourse construction. And along with the other career specialists arriving at Stewart, were a dozen skilled intelligence analysts who would finally begin to interview the prisoners, and begin processing them for transportation to judicial courts, and then to proper penal institutions. The interviewers started with the least violent of the Raiders, and then moved them into the now empty personnel transports as they finished with them. The ship's holds were being fitted to function as brigs for the yearlong return voyage, but each transport could still only take about fifteen hundred per trip, which meant that more than half the prisoners would remain at Stewart until other ships became available.

  As the new personnel were infused into the system, Jenetta was able to curtail her office ho
urs to a normal workday. She was also able to start taking a daily walk through the new concourse, as had been her custom on Dixon. The walls of the warehouses in the twenty-five meter high area had been removed wherever possible. Only a few supporting pillars remained, leaving a three-kilometer square area that was almost completely open before the new construction work began.

  The entire area now appeared to be ringed by two and three story buildings, like those that you'd find on many planets. For retail shops, the upper floors could be used for storage, offices, or selling space. A number of buildings would have office space up and down. For restaurants, the upper area could be used for customer seating. About half of the planned restaurants would have open second floors with railings, giving the impression of outdoor dining. The concourse would be illuminated according to Galactic Standard Time. At 0500 hours, dawn would break from the back of the habitat. An enormous light, representing a sun, would intensify slowly and appear to move across a sky-blue ceiling over the course of several hours, reaching its zenith at 1200 hours. Sunset would occur at 2000 hours when the sun set at the front of the habitat. At that point, street lamps would provide illumination on the streets of the simulated city, while tiny lamps, mounted on the eighty-two-foot high ceiling, simulated stars.

  Much of the rental space was now ready for occupancy by the merchants who were sure to be arriving soon. Jenetta had already received confirmation that almost a dozen commercial transports, loaded with materials and supplies to set up shops and businesses, were on their way to Stewart. Stewart was being touted as the newest 'golden opportunity' for entrepreneurs.