by Dan Worth
‘Well, today we’re off to escort another mining convoy. Navigation?’ she turned to Lieutenant O’Rourke.
‘Yes ma’am?’
‘Plot jump co-ordinates and course to the Watson mining facility in the Garnet system.’
‘Plotting a course aye.’ He worked his console for a moment. ‘Co-ordinates relayed to the helm.’
‘We’re scheduled to meet with the transports at 14:45. I intend to arrive a fraction early. Ensign, proceed to the Garnet system, best speed.’
‘Aye, Captain.’
Under the control of Ensign Goldstein, the Mark Antony swung smoothly to face the new co-ordinates and jumped, the gigantic space time ripple of its passing distorting the view of the star field to any potential observers.
The Mark Antony terminated its jump one hundred kilometres from the Watson orbital mining facility and hailed the station immediately before approaching. The station was a rotating fat, windowless, metal toroid and served largely as a loading and unloading point and service depot. Heavy orbital lifter shuttles brought refined ore up from the surface of the moon below, where it was loaded by a fleet of tugs onto the waiting cargo vessels that kept station by the structure. A number of their course tracks were visible on Chen’s tactical display.
It seemed like a depressingly claustrophobic place to spend one’s working life, thought Chen as she spoke to a bored looking traffic control officer. The shadows under his eyes were visible even on the small virtual display projected in front of her. He directed the Mark Antony over to a cluster of twenty assorted cargo vessels that had assembled four kilometres from the station. They were ugly, battered looking craft, variations on a design of a bulky engine module and a smaller cramped bridge and habitation module attached to a large latticework of girders filled with cargo crates. Though they were all fairly large vessels in themselves, they were dwarfed by the immense warship.
Chen ordered Goldstein to approach the group of ships then instructed Ensign Andrews at the comms station to hail them. A middle aged woman appeared on Chen’s display; she had greying hair tied back in a bun and wore a battered looking Navy surplus flight suit. Her face seemed creased and prematurely aged.
‘This is Captain Mary Elwood of the cargo vessel Sunflower,’ she drawled. ‘I presume you are the vessel we requested as an escort?’
‘Good morning Captain,’ replied Chen. ‘We are indeed your escort; I am Captain Michelle Chen of the naval destroyer Mark Antony. If you and the other vessels would care to slave your navigation computers to ours we can get going.’
‘Roger that, Captain,’ replied Captain Elwood and then spoke to a subordinate off screen. She then turned back to face Chen. ‘I must admit I didn’t expect an escort quite like this! That’s quite a ship you have there, we were expecting a cruiser at the most.’
‘Thank you Captain, though I was wondering why you requested an escort. The cargo manifests we have show nothing of any unusual piratable value aboard any of the vessels in your little fleet.’
‘It was with some regret that we asked for your assistance Captain,’ replied Elwood. ‘We have lost a number of vessels on this route over the past few months to seemingly random attacks and it looks like the ships themselves are what they’re after. They overtake them in hyperspace then jump them as they emerge at the other end and knock out their engines. Then they board them, force the crew into the life-rafts and bring in a larger vessel to tow the ships away.’
‘I see, well whoever’s doing it will get a big surprise if they try that this time I assure you.’
Ramirez cut in. ‘Captain all the cargo vessels in the convoy have linked their navigation computers to ours.’
‘Very good. Helm, wait until all the freighters have formed up behind us then take us away from the station. Navigation, plot a course to the Lonsdale orbital factory in Wolf 1373 and relay it to the helm. Ensign Goldstein, please bear in mind that these cargo ships are a good deal slower than ourselves so don’t exceed their maximum speed.’
‘Aye, Captain.’
‘Captain Elwood, I’ll speak to you again when we arrive at our destination, I estimate that should be in just over a day’s time. Chen out.’ She cut the link and pondered Elwood’s story: It just didn’t ring true; the freighter captain was withholding something from her.
The view outside moved as the ship turned slowly away from Watson. With the freighters in tow it powered away from the facility. The ships were now arranged in a cone shape with the Mark Antony at the apex in order to avoid collisions whilst maintaining a tight formation and maximising jump engine efficiency.
The star field distorted then disappeared from Chen’s view as the convoy jumped simultaneously for Wolf 1373.
Chen turned to Ramirez. ‘Commander, what do you make of Captain Elwood’s story?’
‘Well it seemed a little odd to me I must admit,’ he replied. ‘I’d doubt that those freighters or their cargoes are worth much. If I was a pirate I wouldn’t risk myself or go to so much effort over such a small prize. Why not target more lucrative cargoes or more expensive vessels if they’re so well equipped?’
‘They could have been modified with more expensive parts perhaps?’
‘I doubt it, besides, the most expensive part of those ships is the engines and according to Captain Elwood’s story that’s what they destroy to disable the vessels.’
‘And the hulls aren’t worth very much without that are they? I wonder…’ Chen stared into space thoughtfully for a second.
Ensign Andrews spoke. ‘Captain, is it possible that they could be smuggling something valuable that isn’t listed on their cargo manifests?’
‘I think that’s a distinct possibility Ensign, if they are then I’m rather insulted that they think they can pull a fast one on us. I’d like a look at their cargoes.’
‘Captain, our sensors don’t work in hyperspace. If we drop out of hyperspace now and scan the ships it’ll give the game away,’ said Ramirez. ‘If they are smuggling we need to catch whoever they’re delivering it to as well. I suggest we wait until we reach Wolf.’
‘Duly noted Commander, you are of course correct. For now we’ll continue as normal until we reach our destination. Lieutenant Singh, as soon as we drop out of hyperspace in Wolf I want you to scan all of those ships as quickly as possible to determine their cargoes. Set about programming the instruments now please.’
‘Aye Captain, I’m on it.’
Chen spoke to the gunnery control centre located in the bowels of the ship’s midsection. It was separate from the bridge to enable to ship to continue to fight even if the former had been destroyed. Lieutenant Commander Davis was in command down there in the cramped, screen filled room. A large man who sported an impressive moustache, he was apparently the ship’s arm wrestling champion as well as fine gunnery officer. He was no stranger to combat either; the white scars on the dark brown skin of his right arm were a testament to that. He answered Chen crisply in his deep booming tones.
‘Davis here.’
Chen explained the situation whilst Davis grunted in agreement.
‘Okay, we’ll set about programming a firing solution for all of those ships. As soon as we drop out of hyperspace we can lock the anti-fighter defences onto all of them. That should be enough to disable any vessel that tries to make a run for it. You’re sure they’re trying it on Captain?’
‘No, but it is a possibility.’
‘Yeah, it would explain why they keep getting hit all the time if someone else knows what they’re up to. But I’ll need you to say the word before we fire; they could just be innocent traders who really have been targeted by some trigger happy maniacs.’
‘Well I had considered that,’ said Chen, and then added. ‘But it never hurts to be suspicious.’
‘I agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole pirate story is a load of crap. I bet they thought that we wouldn’t check and that a naval escort would also stop anyone at Lonsdale from looking too closely. They’ll as
sume everything is all above board if we’re tagging along.’
‘Well if they are smugglers then they should have learnt to lie more convincingly.’
‘Huh! Bloody hicks. Alright Captain, we’ll have the defence grid ready. How long before we reach Wolf?’
Chen turned to O’Rourke who gave her an answer.
‘Lieutenant O’Rourke informs me we’ll be there in twenty three hours and twelve minutes.’
‘That’s quite a while; I guess their ships aren’t too hot right?’ Chen nodded, ‘Okay, Davis out.’
It was quite a while - next morning ship time in fact, Chen knew that she’d be impatient until then. Secretly she hoped that the traders they were escorting were trying something - it would make this otherwise uneventful trip a little more interesting.
Ramirez noted the predatory look on his Captain’s face and raised a questioning eyebrow. She flashed a grin at him.
The journey to Wolf 1373 passed with unbearable slowness for Chen as the Mark Antony crawled through hyperspace at the head of the convoy. She was itching to know if her suspicions about the freighters were correct, but there was nothing she could do but wait so she busied herself in her ready room writing routine reports and reading assessments of recent drilling sessions. She was pleased to see improvements in her crew’s performance right across the board, though there was of course always room for improvements.
She also briefed the senior crew members on the current state of relations between the K’Soth and the Commonwealth. Some of her officers looked distinctly perturbed at the news and she tried to allay their fears by insisting that it was to be business as usual and until they heard otherwise there was no cause for alarm. It wouldn’t do for her crew’s morale to deteriorate through unnecessary worry, but they should at least know the facts as they stood rather than relying on rumour.
Chen caught a few hours sleep and arrived on the bridge the following morning feeling refreshed. The shifts had rotated so that the same bridge crew were on duty as when they had begun their trip. As she arrived Ensign Goldstein was just settling into the chair at the helm recently vacated by Ensign Nguyen. Chen settled into her own command chair and sat impatiently, waiting for the end of the hyperspace jump. She made a last minute check.
‘Lieutenant Singh, are the instruments configured?’
‘Aye, Captain.’
‘Gunnery control, report status.’
‘Bringing the anti-fighter defences online now, Captain.’
‘Very good Commander. Ensign Goldstein, how long until we exit hyperspace?’
‘Exiting hyperspace in fifteen seconds Captain, we shall emerge one hundred kilometres from the Lonsdale facility.’
‘Thank you. Stand by Mr Singh.’
The star field twisted back into view, the Lonsdale orbital factory was visible as a collection of lights floating against the backdrop of a vivid blue gas giant.
‘Scanning the cargo vessels now Captain,’ reported Singh. He looked puzzled for a second then continued. ‘The sensor returns I’m getting would seem to indicate that one crate on each of the ships does not contain bulk refined metals as stated on the manifest.’
‘Indeed? Helm all stop. Gunnery, lock weapons on the transports. Disable any vessel that attempts to escape. Mr Singh, can you tell what those containers are carrying?’
‘I’m running scans in a higher resolution with several of our instruments. It seems that the containers contain numerous metal tubes packed with some sort of electronics and what could be chemical propellant… wait, those are definitely shoulder launched missiles with AM warheads. I’m getting a high radiation reading from them. At a guess I’d say that they were of K’Soth manufacture: only they still make the things.’
‘Thank you Mr Singh, good work. Comms, send a tight-beam transmission to Lonsdale and inform them of the situation, and I’d like to talk to Captain Elwood please.’
The Captain’s face appeared on Chen’s display, she looked puzzled at Chen’s expression.
‘Something the matter, Captain Chen?’
‘Captain Elwood I’m placing you, your crew and the crews of all the other ships in the convoy under arrest on charges of arms smuggling.’
Elwood spluttered. ‘That’s preposterous! Really Captain I don’t know…’
‘Don’t play games with me Captain, I’m not in the mood. We made a detailed examination of your cargo with our sensor arrays. You appear to be carrying shipments of missiles with anti-matter warheads, banned weapons I might add. If you attempt to flee you will be fired upon and you will hold station until the local police authorities arrive. Good day.’ Chen cut the channel. ‘Ensign Andrews, broadcast on an open channel please,’ she paused whilst the Ensign carried out her order before continuing.
‘This is Captain Chen of the CNV Mark Antony. We are seizing control of the space around this facility. We have uncovered a convoy of gun runners and we believe there may be more in the vicinity. Any ship attempting to leave the area will be fired upon. Please prepare to be boarded and searched by port authority police vessels. Thank you.’ Chen saw a number of boxy police shuttles pulling away from the station as the Mark Antony moved forward again toward Lonsdale, keeping her weapons trained on the convoy. Lieutenant Singh spoke.
‘Captain, a freighter is pulling away from the station and powering up its jump engines.’
‘Hail them Ensign Andrews.’
‘Aye Captain,’ there was brief pause. ‘Captain they have failed to respond.’
‘Gunnery control?’
‘Davis here.’
‘Commander, you see that freighter making a run for it? Disable it quickly please.’
‘Aye Captain.’
Looking out of the bridge windows Chen saw the ship’s foremost turret rotate quickly to face the target: a large cargo-less freighter constructed with bulky engine block at the rear linked to a cockpit module at the front via an open latticework of struts. A beam of brilliant light briefly joined the two vessels, slicing through the freighter’s midsection and separating the cockpit from the engines. The two halves of the stricken vessel began to tumble away from one another.
‘Hail them again Ensign; perhaps they got the message this time.’
A shaky image appeared on Chen’s display. Much to her surprise the captain of the rogue vessel was a Vendiri. She hadn’t known that any of them owned any interstellar craft, though this one appeared to be of Commonwealth manufacture.
‘Do you not take hints captain?’ she snapped. ‘I mean what I say.’
‘You!’ he yelled in broken English as he gestured at the screen with one hand and hung on for dear life with the other as his cockpit tumbled wildly. ‘You, the butcher of Highpoint! I should have known! Fucking human filth!’
‘Charming.’ She responded coldly. ‘Captain I will not tolerate gun running, especially as I suspect these illegal weapons were intended for the revolution on Urranakar. You are under arrest,’ she said and turned to Goldstein. ‘Helm, close with the remains of that freighter, Commander Ramirez, assemble a boarding party. I think we’ll handle this one ourselves.’
Chen kept the channel open and relished the expression of the Vendiri captain as the gigantic warship bore down on him.
It was evening, ship time, and Chen sat in at the desk in her quarters writing her report of the day’s successes as the Mark Antony powered toward Ross 145. It felt so good to have had a little luck come their way for once. Her cabin’s entertainment facilities were playing her some Mozart as a background as Chen began putting the finishing touches to the document, checking her typing and grammar before she filed it for dispatch to Command at the first available opportunity.
They had spent the remainder of the day boarding the fleet of freighters and seizing their crews and cargoes. There had been little resistance to the squads of marines and police from the traders, who had all been arrested and led away in police shuttles to imprisonment in the system’s penitentiary. The Vendiri captain had been take
n with them after a struggle, during which Ramirez had been forced to stun him. All would be questioned by Commonwealth Intelligence in due course and many could expect lengthy sentences for their crimes.
Chen knew that the incident would look good on the Mark Antony’s record. Their quick thinking had averted a potential bloodbath on Urranakar. The AM Missiles were deadly in the extreme. Just one was capable of destroying a station, or a city block or even a star ship.
Anti-matter had been outlawed as a weapon some decades previously. It allowed far too much destructive force to be packed into an easily concealable weapon and the possibility of them being used in terrorism was appalling. Evidently the revolutionaries on Urranakar knew this full well and were attempting to acquire a cache. Chen suspected that she had actually done them a favour of sorts in preventing them from gaining access to the weapons; the Commonwealth response to their use would have been swift and deadly and would certainly have cost of thousands of lives.
The question still remained though: Were the weapons from an old cache recently unearthed, or had they been recently manufactured by the K’Soth? The second of these two possibilities would do little for interstellar relations if it were so.
There was knock at her cabin door as she pondered.
‘Come in,’ called Chen as she filed her finished report.
It was Ramirez. His handsome clean cut features wore a smile as he held up a bottle of red wine for her to see.
‘I thought we could bend the rules just this once Michelle,’ he said. ‘How about we celebrate the day’s good fortune?’
‘Well why not. Come in and shut the door before somebody sees you. Have you brought any glasses?’
‘Ah, no. I didn’t have any, or a corkscrew for that matter.’
‘Lucky that I do then isn’t it?’ she rummaged in one of the cupboards and produced two glasses and a corkscrew which she placed on her desk. Ramirez uncorked the wine with a grunt and poured two glasses, and then he picked up one and raised it aloft.