by Saxon Andrew
“What is that?”
“If we’re followed here, we need to have a small cave in between the entrance and the rift to hide it.”
“How would we do that?”
“Use a disintegrator to knock out some rocks. Just use it at low power.”
“It might cause a cave in.”
“Not if you’re careful. We’ll fly around it to enter on this end.”
“What about the other hole?”
“It’s located in a crater. It’s pitch black and angled back into the wall. I don’t think there’s any way it will be seen. I’m going to lock in this location in the computer and it will be one of our escape holes.”
“Alright, let’s head out to another location on the other side of Traugh Territory.”
Pam smiled and lifted the ship. Three weeks later, they had ten sites chosen. Now they were ready to make their presence known. Pam turned on the communication system and they listened to the Traugh give their locations to their leaders.
Pam sat in her chair after a shower eating breakfast. Sparky looked out of the forward display toward the planet their hiding place on the second moon faced. The opening was in a crater’s shadow and the planet was rising over the moon’s horizon. It was beautiful. He looked at Pam when she asked, “What is this fuel depot they keep talking about?”
“What?”
“This is the fifth time I’ve heard a Traugh mention going to a fuel depot.”
Sparky’s eyes narrowed as he put his helmet on and leaned forward. He connected to the ship’s computer and said, “Query. What is a fuel depot?”
The wall speaker buzzed and they heard, “There are more than a thousand fuel depots scattered around the empire for vessels to refuel when they save enough to pay for it.”
Sparky looked at Pam as he said, “Who owns these depots?”
“They are owned by the members of the Supreme Council.”
Pam’s lips turned down as she asked, “Are they armed?”
“Every depot is armed to prevent piracy.”
Sparky sat up straight in his chair, “Do you have an image of one?” The central monitor illuminated and they saw a large structure hanging in space with ten Traugh warships docked around it. He manipulated the monitor’s controls and brought the view in closer. He focused on top of the central hub and whistled, “There’s twenty disintegrators on top.”
“Move the view in closer.” Sparky looked at Pam and moved the view in on one of the disintegrators. “Those disintegrators don’t have mobile mounts. They’re fixed in place.”
Sparky smiled, “Which means that only one or two can fire at a target.”
“I wonder why they didn’t install mobile mounts.”
Sparky shrugged, “The Traugh are profit driven. I suspect they built this thing as cheaply as possible. Besides, I doubt any Traugh Pilot would attack one of their Supreme Leader’s possessions. I think they’re more for show than actual function.”
Pam nodded, “Computer, how far is the closest depot from our current location?”
“Twenty minutes flight time.”
Pam looked at Sparky, “What do you think?”
“A lot will depend on how many Traugh Warships are there.”
“Why?”
“If there’s a long line waiting to refuel, it’s a risk going in. We’ll be challenged before we can attack the installation. If there are more than ten warships that are not docked, they could move on us before we get in.”
“But we’re flying an identical ship to theirs.”
“I think this falls under completing the mission promise. We should decide before we go what will be the limits before we attack.”
“What do you mean?”
“If there’s more than six undocked ships, we back off and try later.”
“We can handle six.”
“That’s assuming we can take out the depot. If we’re attacked before that happens, all the docked ships can back out and join them. And remember, we’re going to have to escape any Traugh Warships giving chase. We have to learn how to do that effectively before we take any real risk.”
Pam blew out a breath and shook her head, “You’re just too smart. I would just go in and hit them and escape as best I could.” Sparky stared at her and she pursed her lips, “I know you’re right. We’re still in the learning process so we should be careful. Do you want to do this?”
“Yes but I’d like to hear how you intend to escape without using our maximum speed.”
“I think the most effective maneuver would be to allow them to get close and then shutdown the stardrive.” Sparky’s eyes narrowed. “If they’re close, there’s no way they can respond fast enough to stop before they blow past us. Once they pass us, we turn on a new course and go to full speed.”
“But…”
“There’s no way they can measure our speed before they can turn around and come back. We’ll be outside their scanners in less than ten seconds and then we’ll change course again.”
“In what direction?”
“Straight up. We’ll move above the galaxy’s disc and shut down all power except for passive receptors. We’ll keep the bow pointed away from the galaxy and present the smallest profile to any ships pursuing us. If a scanner beam hits us, we start the process again.”
Sparky smiled, “We’ll need to be in spacesuits.” Pam nodded. Sparky stood up, “Ok, let’s do this.”
• • •
Twenty minutes later, Sparky pressed a button on his console, “Query, is this closest depot located in open space or inside a star system?”
“It’s located at the outer edge of a star system?”
“Are there any planets nearby?”
“It is holding position above the outer planet.”
“What are you thinking, Sparky?”
“We need to take a look at what we’re up against without being seen. What about coming in from the star and moving out toward the planet? We can use the other planets to shield our approach until we can get a view of what’s going on.”
“They can see a stardrive from long distance.”
“Not if the planet they’re orbiting is blocking their view. They would also miss us if we fly directly toward a planet in line with that planet. Query, show us a visual image of the star system the depot is orbiting.” The image appeared and Sparky pointed at the monitor, “We’re in luck. The largest planet in that system is what we can aim for when we come around the sun. We’ll be able to use the optical scope to take a look.”
“I’ve wondered what good that high powered telescope would do us but now I see.”
Sparky nodded, “Query, send the course to the star on the opposite side of that star system from the depot.”
“Course sent.”
Sparky looked at Pam, “It’s your ball. Don’t double dribble.”
“What?”
“Just kidding. If we’re detected, we can escape toward the star. Let’s go and take a look.” Pam took the controls and entered the location in the stardrive. She took a breath and pressed the stardrive button. The stars around them turned into long streaks. Fifteen minutes later, the warship popped out of stardrive and entered normal space. The star was gigantic in the forward viewport and it automatically darkened to prevent them being blinded.
Pam activated the stardrive and took manual control of the vessel. She feathered the thrusters and the ship moved quickly around the star and she brought it to a stop. “Damn it’s hard to control short moves. She turned the bow toward the other side of the star and used the optical scope to find the giant seventh planet. “Where is the outer planet?”
Sparky shook his head and then had a thought, “Query. Do you have the current location of the closest depot?”
“It is located a hundred degrees ahead.”
Pam looked at him, “How did you know the computer would know that?”
Sparky shrugged, “The Traugh Supreme Ruler wants it easy to find to maximize his profits. He
ll, even humans can keep track of comets making hundred year orbits. The planet is slightly to the right of that huge planet. If you can come around the star and line the two up, we can make a run. Just stay close to the star to mask our stardrive and force field.”
“I know!” Pam moved the thruster control with a gentle touch and the ship flew around the star in an instant. She gritted her teeth and backtracked a short distance. She looked at the small light in the distance and moved the thruster’s slightly forward. The ship flew in on the giant planet in an instant and Pam was forced to shut down the stardrive before she overflew it. The ship was rocked with the sudden deceleration and both of them were slammed against their seat harnesses. Sparky shook his head and looked at Pam, “I’m sorry! That’s the first time I’ve ever come out of the stardrive manually. The ship does it slower on automatic.”
Sparky shook his head again and said, “Query, how fast was that stop?”
“Twelve gravities.”
Sparky started nodding his head and Pam rubbed her chest where the harness had hit her. “What?”
“It’s my understanding that the gravity controls are dependent on the strength of the force field. We know our force field is far more powerful than the one being used by the Traugh. I believe they could not stop that fast without destroying their ships.”
Pam stared at him and said, “Query. Have any systems been damaged by the stop?”
“No.”
“Could they handle a faster stop?”
“The ship can survive a stop up to half speed.”
Sparky looked at Pam and shook his head, “Could we physically handle a stop at half-speed?”
“Only if your harnesses are at full tension.”
Sparky looked at the knob on his chair’s arm and turned it fully around the dial to its highest setting. He was pulled back savagely into his chair and he found he couldn’t breathe. Pam released her harness and rushed over to his chair. She turned the knob and Sparky took quick breaths. After a moment he caught his breath and looked at her, “We can only do this for a short time.”
Pam shook her head, “Query. Can you take control of the harness tensioner?”
“Yes.”
“Set the control to automatically release to half after three seconds of full tension.”
“Protocol added to control systems.”
Sparky looked at her, “We need to try this at another time.”
Pam smiled, “Hey, Mr. Risktaker, we’ll do it when we need it. The computer said we would survive.”
“But what if we’re unconscious?”
Pam’s eyes went wide and she tilted her head, “I didn’t consider that.” She thought for a moment and smiled, “Query. If the ship stops at half-speed, a course directly away from the galaxy will be entered in the stardrive and activated at full speed.”
“Protocol changed.”
Sparky rubbed his arms as Pam went to her chair. “I’m taking the ship down into the planet’s atmosphere and move around until I can get a view of the depot on the optical scope.” Sparky nodded and Pam pulled her harness back on. The ship moved into the gas giant’s atmosphere and moved around the planet until a view of the outer system could be made. Pam moved the ship until the bow was above the roiling atmosphere and locked the optical scope on the distant speck of light. She narrowed her eyes and said, “Lock Optical Scope on the Traugh Depot.” The image changed suddenly on the large monitor and they both inhaled sharply.
Chapter Fifteen
Rageon placed another bet on the table and watched the tumbler turn. He watched the six squares fall into the bottom drum and roll around. He had lost too much to continue this much longer. He looked at the status board on the wall and shook his head. There were still twenty ships to be refueled ahead of his. He snarled and heard, “Winner!” He looked at the tumbler operator sliding a stack of squares toward him. Five yellow squares were showing in the bottom cage and his eyes went wide. He had won an incredible sum. He forgot about the long line of ships and placed another bet. This was more like it. He’d have to leave in a couple of hours with his crew and take a shuttle to his ship to move it to his assigned dock. He was no longer in a hurry. He suspected the refueling could have been done much faster but the Supreme Leader wanted the crews to come on board the depot and add to his profits. Rageon smiled. The Leader’s profit had just taken a hit.
The Tumbler Operator released the small square on the control board. The Commanders of the warships gathered outside the depot had to be given a win occasionally or they would stop coming on board. This commander’s win would encourage the others to stay and bet more. The crewmembers weren’t given the same treatment. The gambling room employees were far ahead on their quotas. The torture rooms were all occupied as well. The Traugh would pay for a being to kill at their leisure and that was where most of the blaster operators spent their savings.
The screams could be heard over the loudspeakers and many of those at the gambling tables would make side bets on how long it would take for a scream louder than ninety decibels to be made by those being mutilated in the torture rooms. A large gauge on the front wall kept track of the screams volume. The entire room would erupt in cheers if a scream topped a hundred decibels. The torturer would also have their fee refunded if they managed to make it happen. The brutality happening in the torture rooms was straight from hell.
• • •
“THERE’S AT LEAST FIFTY WARSHIPS AROUND IT!”
Pam nodded and stared at the image on the monitor. She shook her head and said, “Query. Does this depot only refuel ships?”
“No.”
“What else happens on them?”
“There are gambling and torture rooms.”
“Torture rooms?”
“The Traugh will pay for a being to kill in the torture rooms.”
Pam looked at Sparky and shook her head, “I hate to admit it but they have something to satisfy their need to kill.”
Sparky shrugged, “I doubt humanity would ever allow something like that.”
Pam sighed, “No, I guess they won’t but it would really help relieve the pressure to kill.” Sparky nodded and said, “Why did you ask about what’s happening at the depot?”
“All of those ships hanging around the depot are dark. They must be powered down so the crews can go on board the depot.”
Sparky stared at her and said, “Move the view in close to one of those ships.” The image changed and a Traugh Warship grew larger on the monitor. “If they’re powered down, the bridge will be dark.” They watched and they saw the ship increase in size and then they saw no light coming out of the bow’s viewports. Sparky smiled, “What do you want to hit first?”
“Obviously, the depot. We’ll hit the ships after we fire on it.” Sparky nodded and activated the ship’s offensive and defensive systems. “I’m going in directly above the depot. We’ll arrive in less than five seconds and I’m going to come out of the stardrive manually. Take out the disintegrators on the top first.”
“Make sure the force field is at full strength and be ready to run if something unexpected happens.”
“I guess it goes without saying that the ships docked should be the second targets. They do have crews on board.”
Sparky smiled, “Leave the shooting to the professionals. Just get me in close and enjoy the moment.” Pam smiled a wicked grin and said, “In five, four, three, two, one, and NOW!”
The huge Traugh Warship flashed out of the planet’s atmosphere and was on the depot at an incredible speed. They felt their bodies forced against their harnesses as they entered normal space above the depot and opened fire. The huge depot had a force field but it was never used. It would now pay the price for that error.
• • •
Rageon smiled at another win and laughed as he raked the squares into piles in front of him. The piles were suddenly shaken off the table and fell to the floor as the huge depot was violently rocked. The scream meter on the wall recorded a scr
eam louder than a hundred and twenty decibels. It wasn’t made by a victim. A moment later, the roof above the gambling room was disintegrated into atoms as the vacuum of space rushed into the furiously burning fire that swept through the huge gambling room.
The ten Traugh Warships docked to the depot released their clips but were hit before they could back out. All ten warships were struck in the bow destroying their control centers by powerful disintegrator beams. The massive damage continued to spread through the giant structure as the ships gathered around the burning depot began exploding as brilliant white beams began hitting them.
• • •
Death Claws sat in his command chair and suddenly jerked his head away as a brilliant flash illuminated his control room. He jerked his head to the side viewport and saw a warship above the depot raking it with disintegrator beams. He hit the power button and screamed for the system to activate. The ship finally came online and he activated the stardrive. He made a fast electronic scan as he stared at the viewport and hit the stardrive. The Traugh Warship’s light blue field formed around it and it disappeared an instant before a brilliant disintegrator beam flashed through its former position. Claws flew at his ship’s fastest speed from the hell happening at the depot. He knew there was no possible way to attack the ship destroying the depot. All of his disintegrator operators were at the facility gambling. He turned on his communicator and began screaming for help. He sent the scan to his Commander and pushed his thrusters to full power.
• • •
Pam started to go after the escaping ship but Sparky quickly said, “Let it go.”
“Why? It saw us.”
“But it didn’t see us use any of our advanced systems.”
“It saw our disintegrator beams.”
“I’m using them at one third power. Part of our mission is to make sure the Traugh see our presence. There are still twenty undamaged warships we need to eliminate and we will have to use our superior speed to catch it; I don’t really see a benefit worth doing that.”
“You’re right. By the way, did you see the number of Traugh that were blown out of the depot?”