The Star Traders: The Star Traders Series Volume One

by Gary W. Feather

  “How about hitting this one with an aft missile, Tiffany?”

  “Sounds good to me, captain.” Tiffany nodded and worked away at her station. “Firing aft missile!”

  Alberta watched the map screen and data screens. Several minutes flew by as the missile crawled through the distances of space. Come on! Come on! The drone fighters tried several maneuvers to avoid the missile, but missiles weren’t brainless either. The missile’s artificial intelligence locked on its chosen target performed various maneuvers of its own to avoid being shot by the drone fighter’s two lasers. That’s right get! Get it! Thirty-eight minutes later the missile struck one of the drone fighters and exploded. Everyone cheered.

  “Firing a second aft missile, captain.” Tiffany announced.

  “Don’t wait get another missile launched, Tiffany. Keep firing as quick as possible. I know we don’t have military grade missile launchers that can take that kind of overuse, but we don’t have a choice. Do it.”

  “Yes, captain.” Tiffany went into action.

  After a second drone fighter was destroyed by a missile the other four drone fighters continued to dog their pray. But this pray had teeth and they weren’t going to allowed into laser range again. After a couple of hours of pursuit the last drone fighter exploded into bits of pieces of fire and burning metal and plastic.

  “Thank you, Goddess!” Alberta shouted around the loud cheers on the bridge. Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever thanked the Goddess as much as I’ve done since we’ve crossed paths with these damn aliens.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDREDTWENTY-NINE

  Surrender!

  Everyone on the bridge sighed in relief when Guinevere’s Daughter docked at the main spacestation orbiting Naoe the second planet from the local sun. Alberta glanced again at the damages they’d received from the drone fighters. She shook her head in distress. Piper rubbed her neck and shoulders harder. At least my wife came on the bridge help me with my tension. Damn it! We need a lot of repairs. That’s going to cost us.

  #

  Alberta tried to help herself and other relax by inviting many of her department heads and their wives(and one husband) to dinner at a nice restaurant on the main spacestation. Jacob Musashi was there too, though he wanted tea rather than wine. Security Chief Piper had brought along several of her security women and scattered them among everyone around the large table that Alberta had reserved for her group and none of them were drinking anything with alcohol either. Which includes my wife. My woman needs to take a break every once in awhile to relax. That’s what this is suppose to be about. Oh well. Maybe I can help her relax in bed in tonight. Or not. Alberta chuckled and then smiled devishly at Piper when she looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Tiffany raised her glass of wine and stood.

  “I salute our captain! She has hidden our children and brought us through another battle alive! Thank you, captain! You have our gratitude and love!”

  Alberta blushed when Tiffany was applauded. She heard shouts of I agree and me too. Alberta tried wave the applause off. “I did what I had to do to save all our butts.”

  A few more glasses were raised for more toasts. The waiters and waitresses brought in the food and refilled everyone’s glass. Piper snatched up Alberta’s hand and gave it a warm squeeze. Alberta laughed and dug into her beef streak. Several minutes everyone was laughing at Tiffany for she’d ordered barbecue ribs and had wound up with a face, shirt, and part of her hair covered in barbecue sauce. Tiffany’s wife was laughing with her hand over face.

  “What? This is how you ribs!” Tiffany snapped at everyone, but then she starting laughing too.

  #

  Alberta noticed that Piper had stopped laughing and was looking behind Alberta intently. A number of Piper’s security women also did the same thing. Alberta looked back to see a strange Suiko man walking cautiously towards them with an envelope in his hand. Piper stood up and stepped in front of Alberta. Piper’s security women stood up and searched the room for more threats.

  “Yes? Can I help you?” Piper asked the man, who’s had was shaking.

  “M-my name is Oba Yayoi. I-I was sent to give this message to Junior Captain Alberta Williams.” The man shrugged. “I was approached in the Sado star system by a man-well it wasn’t a man. I don’t know what it was. An alien of some kind.”

  “Did it look like a human sized lizard with four legs and two small arms?” Alberta asked him. She gave Piper a knowing glance.

  “I-uhm. Yes. That would be him or it.” The shrugged and handed the message to Piper. “May I go. I don’t know what this is about. I just want to get back to my regular life as an accountant back on the planet Hojo.”

  Piper took the envelope. “Go home, Mr. Oba.”

  Oba nodded and quickly left.

  “A paper message?” Agatha Gee inquired. “That’s unusual. Why not send an email like everyone else.”

  “Less traceable.” Piper said. Heidi came around with a tablet in one hand and hand scanner in the other. Heidi scanned the envelope and looked at her tablet.

  “It’s safe.” Heidi announced.

  Piper opened it. She looked over before handing it to Alberta.

  “Thank you, dear.” Alberta accept it and read it once to herself. Damn it! Then she read it out loud to her eager friends.

  “Dear Junior Captain Alberta Williams, chasing you has been a joy. I have never been on such an exciting hunt before. You and your crew have proved yourselves worthy adversaries. I first considered you weak prey, but you have proved me wrong again and again. Your destruction of the human ship that I’d hired was impressive as was your defeat of one of my starships. But I still have many of your people imprisoned on your own starship. I have question many of them and found one of them most useful. I ha-have your daughter Jessica Williams. You will come to the Iki star system and surrender. You will surrender your spaceship and crew to me. If you do not then I will have her dismembered while still alive. I will send you parts of her again and again, until there is nothing left of her or until you surrender. I-it is signed the Admiral.”

  Alberta dropped to her chair as if she had suddenly had the weight of three stars.

  #

  “We can’t just give into these bastards!” Tiffany stood and wiped the sauce from her face with a hand. “If we surrender, how do we know that they’ll let Jessica and others go free?”

  “What if they do let them go?” Agatha asked. “Are the ships really worth the lives of all of our loved ones? At least the children are safe, but still…”

  “No! We have to fight for them. Please, captain.” Tiffany pleaded.

  “Anyone else?” Alberta looked around the table. No one spoke.

  #

  “I think surrender might be our only option.” Alberta sighed. She felt totally defeated. “At least the children are safe. Maybe we can get us another ship. We have insurance on both ships in case their stolen or destroyed. Maybe it’ll be enough to get another ship or two.”

  “No…” Tiffany wined. She searched the department heads for help, but none spoke.

  #

  “You’re being a fool!” Jacob Musashi snapped.

  “What?” Alberta straighted up and looked at the monk. “What else can we do?”

  “Fight back.” Jacob Musashi said. “They want your rocketship. And I suspect the want you too.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes,” Jacob Musashi nodded. Alberta noticed that for the first time the monk wasn’t smiling. “Look the people I brought with me aren’t ordinary monks and nuns. They’re former marines with combat experience. They’ve seen more action than you can imagine, captain. If anyone could get your daughter and others from Lorkiiz hostage terrorists it’s them.”

  “I-you’re sure this will work?” Alberta frowned.

  “I would be lying if I told you it would be easy.” Jacob Musashi replied. “The plan will have to be very flexible, because we’ve never been on a Lorkiiz starship before.”

  “I have.” Alberta
told the man.

  “Really?” There was barely a hint of surprise from Jacob Musashi. “We will need all the info we can get about the Lorkiiz and their starship that we can get from you and your people, Captain Williams.”

  “You’ll get it.” Alberta nodded.

  “We have one more thing to offer.” Piper added.

  “What could that be, Mrs. Williams?” Jacob Musashi smiled at the security chief.

  “A military grade battle armor suit.” Piper swallowed the wine in her glass.

  Jacob Musashi raised an eyebrow.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDREDTHIRTY

  Getting the team ready to go

  Back aboard the Daughter, Jacob Musashi sent one of his nuns to help Mitty and Azzie Williams with the battle armor suit. He’d said the nun was an expert in the use, maintenance, and repair of battle armor. Alberta decided to take Jacob Musashi’s word on that. They’d worked hard on the battle armor while the rocketship transitioned between the Koga star system to the Takeda star system. Until Guinevere’s Daughter jumped out of hyperspace just outside the Takeda star system.

  “Shut the sail down, Donna.” Alberta ordered. She glanced at the map screen that began to show their area of the Takeda star system. Though it’s always better the further that you can see. “Fiona, launch a probe.”

  “Yes, captain.”

  Alberta checked the data screens for the first info dump from the nearest buoy. She rubbed the back of her neck. Alberta got a call from Jacob Musashi.

  “Yes?” Alberta pulled forward a visual screen when Jacob Musashi’s face appeared on it.

  “They’ve got the armor ready.” He informed her. “They’re finishing up things on it right now. Sister Eveline is going to use it during the mission.”

  “Well I hope she’s careful with it.” Alberta warned. “That thing is old and it’ll fall apart on you if your not careful.”

  “Yes, Captain Williams.” Jacob Musashi replied. “We were told that.”

  “Good.”

  “Donna, first burst of the reverse engines.”

  “Yes, captain. First burst now.”

  “Captain, the probe has sighted the Lorkiiz starship.” Fiona announced. “It’s further out away from the star system.”

  “Smart. They don’t want us close to heavily traffic areas.” Alberta nodded. “Be ready, Tiffany.”

  “Yes, captain.” Tiffany said. “Shall I raise the shields and warm the missile tubes?”

  “Raise the shields. Don’t warm up the missile tubes, but be ready to do it.”

  “Yes, captain.” Tiffany said that in a grumpy voice. She’s nervous. So am I, but I’m not allowed to show it. Captain’s law or something like that.

  “Let’s get out there, Donna.” Alberta ordered.

  “Yes, captain.”

  “They’re headed our way, captain.” Fiona told her.

  “Thank you.” Alberta checked out the closing distances between and the alien starship on one of her data screens.

  “Captain, we’ve been hailed by the admiral of the Lorkiiz starship.” Agatha Gee told her. “I’m putting the Lorkiiz admiral on your visual screen one.”

  “Thank you, Agatha.” Alberta pushed visual screen two back that still had Jacob Musashi’s face one it. He was waiting patiently. She pulled visual screen one forward as the alien face appeared on that screen.

  “Junior Captain Alberta Williams?” the alien said.

  “Yes.” Alberta licked her lips. “That’s me. You’re the Lorkiiz admiral who wants to speak with me, correct?”

  “Correct.” The alien nodded. “I am the admiral. I command starships. You have destroyed many of them.”

  “I see.” Alberta glanced at Jacob Musashi’s face on visual screen two. Is she or it wanting me to make the first move? Does she want me to beg for my daughter and the others? Should I? Should I wait?

  “I have your daughter. Jessica Williams.” The Lorkiiz admiral said. It snarled. Alberta got a close up of the alien’s two frighting four inch tusks sticking up from its lower jaws. Its upper canines were smaller. Alien biologist from all around human space had suspected the creatures were omnivores, like pigs, rather than carnivores. Alberta didn’t care about that. She wan’t her family back, but she had to stay calm.

  “Should I assume you want something in exchange for my daughter?” Alberta said though the message that the aliens sent had said that they wanted her ship and crew. Time to negotiate.

  “Yes. Traaade.” The admiral nodded her alien head on visual screen one. “You give us ship and we give your daughter back to you.”

  “How do I know if you even have her on your ship. Maybe she’s elsewhere back on the Guinevere in the Kansbar star system.” Alberta smiled at Jacob Musashi on visual screen two.

  The alien admiral snarled in response and yelled at someone off screen. Jesscia’s young face replaced the admiral’s face on the screen. Alberta reached out her hand as if to touch her daughter, but pulled it back. She’s not really here! Her nose was broken and there was dried blood under her nostrils. Her face looked so thin and pale. Malnourished? Goddess!

  “Mom? They dragged me and some of the others onto their ship! They sai-”

  “Silence!” Jessica vanished and was replaced the Lorkiiz admiral. “I have your daughter and others of your crew. Surrender and they live. If not we kill them”

  Alberta bit back what she wanted to say to the cursed alien and gave Jacob Musashi a nod. He returned it. Alberta smiled at the Lorkiiz admiral. “If I surrendered my rocketship I would have no way to go anywhere. We would be stuck in space. May we land our rocketship at the nearest inhabitable planet?” Come Alberta time to negotiate, flirt, and flatter the alien while the real heroes save the day!

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDREDTHIRTY-ONE

  The Good Fight!

  While Alberta negotiated with the aliens Guinevere’s Daughter and the alien starship came within laser range of each other. Jacob Musashi and the rest of his team stood inside the flight deck just outside the opened ramp at the rear of shuttle. He shook his hand with a glance at Piper Williams. “How did you people get your hands on a state of the art Dinesen Marine Boarding Shuttle?”

  “We found it.” Piper shrugged. Should I tell him the full truth or the half truth? “It was just sitting there on an asteroid in Collard star system.” Half truth is the best. None of his business.

  “Really?” He frowned. “No bodies?”

  “None?” Piper shook her head. “It has stealth technology that should get you over there safely.”

  “Everything works on it?” Josie Packard grumbled. She was the nun who wore the battle armor. Once she’d been a Suiko marine gunnery sergeant. Josie also had the beauty of an ugly Tasmanian devil along with the animal’s temper. “No point in using it if I have get out push it all the way over there.”

  “It works just fine, Sister Josie.” Piper snapped back at the nun. I don’t like this bitch. I thought Buddhist nuns were suppose to be like…kind.

  “I’m sure it does, Piper.” Jacob Musashi smiled at Piper gave her a gentle pat on the arm. “Now your sure that you want to come along?”

  “Yes, Brother Jacob.” Piper nodded and crossed her arms. “That’s my daughter over there and nobody is going to stop me from going to save her.” And if that ugly bitch tries to stop me then I’ll stick my boot up to where the sun don’t shine!

  “As you wish.” He bowed. Jacob Musashi gave Piper a stern look without his usual smile. “But I’m in charge of this mission. Do you understand? Not you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Piper bowed.

  “Thank you.” Jacob Musashi nodded. “You don’t have to bow.”

  “But I don’t I don’t take orders from her.” Piper crossed her arms and gave Josie a hostile look. Sister Josie returned it. Sister Josie was shorter than Piper, but had similar sized muscles. I could take her if I had too!

  “Fine.” Sister Josie nodded after a look from Jacob Musashi.

  Piper joined Jacob Musa
shi and his team on board the Dinesen shuttle. A monk named Bob dropped into the pilot’s seat. Piper strapped herself in to a launch chair and handed her blaster rifle over to Sister Josie, who stuffed it and the team’s blaster rifles in a holding cubical in the wall. Once they launch from the rocketship’s flight deck they would be going at hypersonic speeds. The shuttle is designed to take that kind of stress, but its going to be rough along the way. No need to have objects flying around at high speeds too. Everything must be secured. Still don’t like her. Piper sighed. She checked the zipper on her civilian armor. Helmet was one her head and its straps were secured. Just wait. I got my tablet in a zipped pocket. I can use it to track Jessica. If not, Gunnery Sergeant Nun has a special life form scanner that should be able to locate all humans on the Lorkiiz starship. Right! Here we go!

  Everyone just sat there. The ramp shut. Piper looked forward at where Jacob Musashi sat beside Bob the pilot. Piper was slammed against her chair when they launch out of the flight deck. The shuttle shook like a titanic baby had decided to shake it like a rattle.

  “Oh fuck! Goddess! Shit!” Piper heard someone screaming that over and over again. A few minutes later she realized it was herself screaming, so forced all of the fear back down her throat.

  “Here’s when it really hurts, Mrs. Security Chief!” Sister Josie yelled and then chuckled.

  The shuttle felt like it just struck a wall. Piper forced herself not to pass out. What the fuck just happened? Sister Josie had hopped up and was pulling the blaster rifles out. She started handing them around to everyone.

  “Perfect landing on the alien starship!” Brother Bob the pilot announced. “Drilling a hole!”

  A couple of minutes later Brother Bob said, “We’re in! Ramp is coming down!”

  “Get ready for trouble, maggots!” Sister Josie shouted. “Rifles ready! Helmets ready! Backup blasters! If they’re not remind me to kick your ass later!”

  The way out was open and Piper filed out with the others. She looked for trouble and found none.