***
The Glade Militia ship left the surface of the planet with Susan Gudnight on board. She turned over the information to Colonel Iman, now the ship's captain. His militia used an archaic method of ranks for officers while on the surface and the Navy system of ranks while in space. Susan had to do research to understand just what the relative ranks were that Iman was using on Glade.
His ship had mostly officers and very few enlisted ranks. Had she known it was top heavy, she might not have wanted to be on board. Instead, she could have procured a recorder and given it along with the coordinates to Iman before wishing him luck. But her speciality wasn't with para-military groups, let alone the regular military. For her, it was supposed to be a matter of going out and just telling the pirates that they were captured. Anyway, that was the way her editor made it out to be.
He told her to trust him on that score based on inside information he possessed. Her editor didn't tell her that he had a direct connection with the pirates and had financed them in their attacks. He didn't know that he had fully lost control of them, either, since the incident when they killed a crew. Had he known that, he might have procured a better militia than the one on Glade which happened to be one of the nearer worlds to the area in which the pirates operated. He did, however, send a message to John on board the Dust Bunny advising him that the pirates would be apprehended in a few days by a militia unit from Glade.
***
Admiral Oden accepted a copy of John's latest incoming messages and looked at it carefully on his bridge terminal. As before, they bore a pattern that suggested a code. The last message was mostly information John was already aware of through military sources that sent data to all Navy and Space Marine units. Those same sources also sent the same information to Admiral Oden since he was a Fleet Admiral and still on active duty, even though he was assigned to operate the Space Academy, an independent institution. Dave annotated the copy of the message and retired to his quarters. He closed his door and sat down at his terminal. It didn't take long to transfer a copy of the message from the ship's computer storage to his terminal and begin work on it.
Almost an hour later, Dave had surmised a goodly portion beyond what John knew about the pirates, the militia, and the Daily Bread's part in the whole sordid mess. Dave even worked out the coordinates of the pirate's lair from information inadvertently sent to John since Dave saw no reason for John needing to know that. In Dave's opinion, the sender was an amateur at the art of concealing information.
Just as quickly, Admiral Oden created his own message, using that information, to Naval Headquarters. They could then assign units to slip up on the pirates, presuming that the militia botched their attack as Dave figured they would. With Navy units in place, the pirates could be cornered and possibly taken alive. With their testimony it was just possible that the Daily Bread would lose its press license. At the very least, some of the people working for that press would go to prison for their parts in the conspiracy. Working easily, Admiral Oden encoded his message and then routed it to communications.
***
"Captain Herndon? I just got a message from the admiral for naval headquarters."
Sheila asked, "Is there a problem, Cathy?"
Cathy replied, "Not really, but it's in code."
"Send it anyway. If it's in code, then there's a reason for it," Sheila said.
"But I thought everything on this training exercise was supposed to be open?" asked Cathy.
Sheila replied, "I'll ask the admiral about that later. In the meantime, send it. He's still an admiral, a fleet admiral at that."
***
Cadet Cathy Wodnosski began wondering shortly afterwards about whether there was another case of a message going out in code. She ran a check on the outgoing message logs and looked at copies of all the previous transmissions from the ship. She discovered that the admiral's coded message she just finished sending was the only one. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be responsible for his need to use code as far as what she knew was going on aboard the ship. He hadn't even been in contact with the other ships of the squadron for a day, so it wasn't anything on them that caused him to send a message out in code, either.
However, it didn't take her logic-trained mind long to determine that there was one source of stimulation that might cause the admiral to use a code. That was, of course, contact with John Christiansen. The admiral might feel that a coded message, if it concerned Mr. Christiansen, appeared to be necessary. However, she wasn't aware of any further incidents between the two men. If anything, Mr. Christiansen was considerably quieter than usual and certainly less aggressive.
Then she remembered that John was almost the only reporter who ever had any messages sent to him. She checked the incoming message log and saw that he had one as recently as the previous two hours, just before she came on shift. She called a transcript of the message up onto the screen and noticed two things. One, it was worded oddly. Two, a copy went to the admiral, or, more correctly, had been called up by the admiral shortly after it arrived to two of his terminals.
Cathy studied the message as she thought of what John usually discussed with anyone who would listen. She tried substituting his topics with some of the odd looking words and began to see a pattern. The more she thought about it, the more she believed it was a code. Was there more going on aboard the Dust Bunny than the cadets realized? Cathy was beginning to believe that there was and somehow she had just found it.
Out of growing curiosity, she checked into what Admiral Oden used from the computer and found his call for a code-breaking program. When she spotted that, she realized then that she was right. Mr. Christiansen was receiving coded messages. She scanned the computer memory and soon found the residual memory location where the message was broken into its true meaning. Not all of the deciphered message was still intact, but enough of it was there to tell her that John was involved in illegal activities up to his eyeballs.
"Captain Herndon, you better come over here and take a look at this," Cathy said.
"What's up, Cathy?" Sheila asked.
"You better take a look. I can't talk about this out loud, but you need to know about it," Cathy emphasized.
Sheila walked over to the communications panel and looked at the decoded message. "Is that the admiral's outgoing message?"
"No, it's an incoming message to Mr. Christiansen," Cathy replied. "I wouldn't dream of trying to break into the admiral's private communication, but I'd guess that his message refers to this since this predates his by only a few hours. This is the computer memory where he broke the code shortly after it arrived."
"Interesting! I wonder if that's why the admiral puts up with that man on board the ship?" Sheila mused.
"I guess it's one way of keeping track of him," Cathy suggested.
"Certainly is. The admiral still has a few tricks up his sleeve, doesn't he?" said Sheila.
"It would seem so,"replied Cathy.
Sheila said, "Uh, keep this to yourself for now and let me know when Mr. Christiansen gets other messages. I'm still going to bring this up with the admiral, just to be sure that it's pertaining to stuff that doesn't concern us." Sheila walked towards the passageway and said, "First Officer, take over."
***
Captain Herndon knocked on the admiral's door and stood waiting. She didn't expect him to still be in his quarters, but he was. The door opened a moment later and the admiral looked at her for a moment before saying, "Yes, Captain?"
Sheila said, "I need to speak with you in private for a few moments, sir. It concerns a matter brought to my attention just a few minutes ago."
"Has something gone wrong? Is it urgent?" he asked.
"I don't think it fits either of those categories as yet, but I still feel that it's important enough to ask you about it privately. I'm also certain that you don't want me talking about this to anyone than the other person who brought it up to me and yourself," Sheila said.
"That does make it soun
d important. Come on in," Admiral Oden stated.
Sheila entered his room and took the offered seat while the admiral shut the door. She didn't wait for him to reach his seat before she spoke. "We came across the computer memory where you broke Mr. Christiansen's coded message. I presume that you do not want it talked about on board the ship."
Dave said, "You're quite right. Who else saw this?"
"My communications officer, Cathy."
Dave exclaimed, "Ahh! She would find it. Looks like she put her training to good use. Good for her. I'll congratulate her later. What tipped the two of you off?"
"Cathy was curious about why you felt the need to send a coded message out. You're normally so open in everything you do," Sheila said.
"Okay. Well, if you haven't guessed, my message concerns what was in John's incoming message. I didn't want to take a chance on him being around when the message went out. I even sent it to headquarters instead of the nearest squadron to the suspected pirate location, just in case John knew more about unit locations than he appears to know," said Dave.
"We did guess that. I just wanted to confirm that the contents weren't really involving the Academy. You've answered my question. I'm not going to enter this into the log as anything other than personal advice," said Sheila.
"Right. You should make at least that much of an entry. Well, it looks like we're in for an exciting voyage, doesn't it?" asked Dave.
"It seems so. We've already had combat, a rescue, and now intrigue. I think I've learned more in the last two weeks than in a whole month at the Academy, not that the training there is deficient, sir," she said.
"I understand what you mean. That's precisely why we have these voyages. It's a chance for you to put everything into perspective and stretch yourselves to whatever limits you can reach. I'm not disappointed in the least with what every cadet has accomplished so far. I doubt if I shall be disappointed," Dave said.
"Well, sir, I guess you've answered my question. I should let you get back to your work. In fact, I probably should get back to the bridge," she said.
"Don't be too much in a hurry to get back to the bridge. Remember, there will always be others whom you'll want to keep involved so that they can gain the necessary experience and training, even after you become the captain of a Navy ship someday. Always try to get your crew to keep stretching themselves to realistic limits. You'll both appreciate what you're doing for them. It'll give you more time to meet with your crew and show them that you trust them implicitly. When the time comes for them to back you up in something, you'll find that not only are they there for you, but they'll be ready to actually do something for you," Dave advised.
"Oh, then you're saying that, right now, I shouldn't hurry back. I should perhaps find something to check on and let my First Officer stretch a little," she said.
"Sheila, I think you're going to be a fine captain one day," said Admiral Oden.
"Thank you, sir," said Sheila as she got up to leave with better understanding of more than she came to learn.
***
Later, Captain Herndon spoke with Cathy, letting her know that she was right. The messages were about John Christiansen and not pertaining to the Academy.
"He didn't tell me not to continue doing what we did, so keep me advised if there are anymore suspicious messages to or from John," Sheila said.
"All right. What's your thinking on this? Backing up the admiral?" asked Cathy.
"Yeah, not that we're not helping Admiral Oden already. Remember how John turned around when he saw naked women running at him the morning we boarded and got ran over?" asked Sheila.
"Yes, I do. He didn't have the sense to step out of the way first. It served him right getting his wrist broke," said Cathy with a slight laugh. "It's really too bad that the admiral loaded him on board the ship before we launched. The Union would have been better off without people like John."
"Maybe, but then again, maybe Admiral Oden suspected something then. If he did, then he had a real good reason for saving John's life. I think we should all keep a closer eye on John, just to be safe. We know that he's connected to pirates and personally attacking the admiral for no good reason at all. Maybe he's into other things that aren't right, one way or another," Sheila suggested.
***
Two days later, Captain Iman looked at his sensor screen at the small, obscure planet that the pirates were living on. Its gravity was so light, it barely had a breathable atmosphere. At the same time, the pirate ship came from behind the planet to challenge his own.
He radioed, "This is Captain Iman of the Glade Militia ordering you to surrender."
"Up yours!" was his reply, followed by fire from long range by the pirate ship.
The first shots missed. Both ships fired at each other, almost ineffectually since they were both at extreme range for the size of weaponry they carried. All the while they moved closer to each other where their weapons would have some effect when they scored hits.
"I thought you said they were ready to give up?" Captain Iman said to Susan.
"That . . . that's what my editor told me. Maybe you should let me talk to them?" she replied.
"Go ahead. You're not doing anything anyway. Give it a try," he said as he motioned her over to the communications panel.
Susan took the headset and called to the pirate ship. "This is Susan Gudnight of the Daily Bread. My editor told me he was in contact with you and that you were ready to surrender."
"Screw you and your editor, too, lady. We're not surrendering. We found out what the punishment is for murder in space. We're not surrendering to you or anyone else!"
Susan replied, "Please, don't fight! Please surrender!"
Susan didn't get any reply. Meanwhile, both ships were now in range of each other and made minor hits as their gunners anticipated where the other ship would be as it attempted to evade the other's fire. She felt a sudden vibration and then the radio came alive again.
"Cease firing or we'll destroy you! We've hit your engines and you're helpless now. Either cease fire or we'll gut your ship from behind!"
Captain Iman knew it was true. Without power, his ship was helpless against the pirates who could now move in from behind where his guns couldn't return fire. The pirates could gut his ship by just continuing to fire until one or more of their shots went clear through from end to end. He switched on his intercom and announced, "Cease fire! All gunners cease fire! They've got us dead to rights."
He walked over to the communications panel and ripped the headset away from Susan. He spoke into it. "This is Captain Iman. I've ordered my gunners to cease fire. Part of our intercom may be out. I'm going back to the gun positions now to make sure they all stop firing."
"Very well, Captain. We'll be standing by to board you."
Captain Iman went through the passageways to each gun position and ordered each gunner to stop firing. One man had to be forcibly restrained to prevent him from continuing to fire. When he had the last gun quiet, Iman returned to the bridge and took up the headset once more. "Captain Iman to other vessel. I have been to all my gun stations and ordered each gunner to cease firing. I await your instructions."
"Very good. Make sure that your people are not armed when we board. If they are, we'll pull away and gut your hull completely through."
***
Minutes later, the pirate vessel slowly approached and matched speeds with the now drifting militia ship. The pirate ship's hull neared that of the militia ship. Eventually, the pirate ship was holding position with one of its outer hatches opposite one of the militia ship's outer hatches.
One man left the pirate ship and grappled onto the militia ship with magnetic clamps. Behind him, a tether and cable led to the pirate ship. He opened the hatch of the militia ship and went inside. Soon, he had the cable attached to an eyebolt. He radioed back.
Another pirate inside the open air lock of the pirate ship engaged a winch and the two ships were pulled closer together until the two ships were
positioned at the right distance. The pirate inside the pirate ship engaged two levers. Curved metal plates slid out from around his ship's air lock. Those telescoped all the way to the militia ship and into the open hatch way. He bent down and flipped a hinged plate into place to cover a necessary gap. As soon as that was in place, he flipped some bolts from around the inner hatch and walked through the tube connecting the two ships. Behind him trailed a dura-plas liner that would seal the tube and allow it to hold an atmosphere. When he reached the air lock of the militia ship, he clamped it to the inside of the outer hatch.
The first pirate hit the air lock pressurization switch. The dura-plas liner suddenly swelled as air entered from the air lock of the militia ship. Eventually, the gauge inside the militia ship air lock indicated the establishment of a comfortable air pressure.
Several more pirates entered their air lock from inside the pirate ship. They crossed over to the militia ship and entered it through the now open inner air lock door. Each had an assignment and hurried to reach his area and take control of the ship.
One pirate followed them at a saunter. He carried himself with an air of contempt for anyone else. He looked like he was in charge. The two stingers he held dared anyone to argue with him. He made his way directly to the bridge of the militia ship.
"Which one of you is the captain?" he demanded.
"I'm Captain Iman."
"Good, start off by telling me how many are on board. Then I want to know what you're carrying that might be valuable. I also want to know what each of you does for a living since you're obviously amateurs at doing this kind of stuff."
Iman replied, "There are thirty men and the one woman on board. Except for her, the rest of us are farmers on Glade. She's a reporter for the Daily Bread."
Paravoid (Rust Bucket Universe) Page 7