The Santana Nexus (Junkyard Dogs Book 3)

by Nolte, Phillip

  "We were informed by the Captain of the Cheetah that such a glorious attack will soon occur," said the young officer.

  "When?"

  "It will occur within the next two to three days, as soon as enough ships have gathered."

  Kresge and the Ambassador looked at one another as the implications of what they were hearing began to sink in.

  "How many ships?"

  "Eight? Ten? I do not know the number for certain. We intend to put together a force consisting of destroyers and there will also be troop transports with boarders in full battle armor." The prisoner managed to smile wickedly, even under the influence of the truth drugs. "You fools do not have a prayer, the Sheik also has a Jasmine Republican Navy heavy cruiser in his fleet. He is using a device on that ship to block the Sol-Terra hyperlink zone. There will be no help from the Federation infidels!"

  The young man had been visibly tensing up throughout the tirade. Finally he released all the pent up tension by shouting: "Long live the Sheik of Barsoom and his Glorious Revolution!"

  Kresge and the Ambassador shared another long, meaningful look before continuing with the interrogation. Try as they might, they could get no information on how the Sheik had been able to block the Sol-Terra Hyperlink point, not because the prisoner wouldn't tell them, but because the man really didn't know anything about it. All he knew was that the Sheik's single cruiser was stationed near the Hyperlink zone and it carried a device that kept the zone from operating normally between the Santana Nexus and the Sol-Terra Quadrant.

  The Scrapyard interrogators were able to glean out a few more details, but after another half hour or so of questioning, they concluded that the prisoner had told them all he knew and they were growing weary of his almost constant ranting and raving. They locked him up in the Istanbul's brig to sleep off the effects of the drugs. The hangover from the drugs they had been forced to use on him was going to be legendary. It would also last for several days. Unsurprisingly, not a single one of the Junkyard Dogs was able to dredge up a scrap of sympathy to spare for the cocky young officer's plight.

  Chapter 13.

  Santana Nexus Station, Tenth Ring. January 2, 2599.

  Meanwhile, back on the Santana Nexus Station, Fahada had been summoned to an audience with the Sheik of Barsoom. She didn't know what it was that the old man wished to talk to her about but it didn't really matter to her. Fahada was a trained killer, ruthless and efficient at her job, but she was, first and foremost, totally dedicated to the Sheik of Barsoom, her mentor and benefactor. Whatever duty he requested her of her, she would perform, without question. She assumed that her mentor and soon to be Emperor had another person or persons that he wanted... neutralized and so she had been summoned. When she was ushered into the Sheik's chambers, she was surprised to see that the Sheik had someone else with him. She recognized Commander Rashaad, former officer in the Jasmine Navy and Captain of the Sheik's yacht Carpathia.

  Rashaad was a handsome, dashing young fellow, perhaps thirty years old or so, and known to be from one of the best families on Jasmine. Fahada was a little surprised to see him there but she also knew that the Sheik had all sorts of business to conduct and figured that he was somehow involved with the reason she had been called.

  "Ah, Fahada, my little jewel," said the Sheik as she entered the chamber, "I assume you know Commander Rashaad, Captain of my yacht Carpathia?"

  "I have met with him on many occasions on board your ship, Sire," she replied. Her dark eyes took him in. "He is an excellent commander and his reputation is impeccable. Good day to you, Captain Rashaad."

  "And to you fair lady," replied the Captain graciously. "Your own reputation is...remarkable."

  She responded to that with an enigmatic little smile and shrugged her shoulders. "I am but one of the Sheik's many soldiers in this his Glorious Revolution."

  "Good, you seem to be getting along," said the Sheik. "That is excellent because I have important plans for the two of you."

  The two of them turned from contemplating one another to acknowledging the Sheik. His next announcement floored both of them.

  "You are to be married to one another."

  Fahada was one of the most imperturbable people that the Sheik had ever known. This last announcement caught her completely off guard. For the first time either of them could remember, she questioned one of his orders. The old man was known to have a somewhat twisted sense of humor on occasion. Perhaps this was one of his jests?

  "You are serious, Sire?"

  "Yes, of course I am serious, my Dear," replied the Sheik. "Is there a problem? Do you find him lacking in some way?"

  Fahada looked the handsome young Captain over again before replying, "No Sire, it appears he would be a very good mate for me. He has wit, he has ambition and he comes from a good family. He is also not bad looking."

  "And you, Captain Rashaad, do you find her to be suitable?"

  Rashaad smiled at her appraisal of him and showed the quality of his wit with his reply.

  "I am without words, Sire. She is your most valued asset and her skills are of the highest order." He stopped here and gave her a very serious look. "She is also a woman of exceptional beauty. That you would offer her to me as my wife is the highest compliment you could bestow upon me."

  "Good. Then it is settled, you are to be married this afternoon."

  ***

  The marriage ceremony was a small private affair that was held in the Sheik's chambers. There were only a handful of witnesses. The Sheik bestowed a few very tasteful and very expensive gifts and, in a private meeting with Fahada, gave her a sealed letter.

  "You are only to open this if something happens to me, my Dear. It contains instructions that I wish for you to carry out. Can you do that?"

  "Of course, Sire."

  Afterwards the newlyweds were left alone for the night in sleeping quarters that had been specially prepared for their nuptial activities. Fahada, in spite of all of the nefarious acts she had performed for the Sheik, had remained a chaste woman. Had she not done so, she would not have been a suitable match for the young Commander of good family. Though it was not a necessity, the two of them discovered that they were well-matched in the bedchamber as well.

  The next day it was back to business for both of them, almost as though nothing had happened.

  Chapter 14.

  "...When we trace our roots back to Old Earth, there are many traditions that have come down to us from across the centuries. One of these is the use of loyal and tenacious canines to guard collections of valuable artifacts. I am proud to say that this tradition is nowhere more alive and well than in our own little system. The references are simply too numerous to ignore; the resurrected Terrier, the Rover I, the Rover II, the Greyhound, the staff from Doebermann's. History will long remember the story of how the brave guardians of our famous Scrapyard came together with our own station security staff and other...concerned citizens... in our hour of need. In honor of all the tenacious canines gathered here to my right, I raise my glass. Ladies and Gentlemen: To the meanest Junkyard Dogs in the Galaxy!"

  Hartwell Wristcomp reference note highlighted for further review by Amanda Steuben. Excerpt is from a speech delivered by New Ceylon Orbital Station Governor Charles "Chip" Larkin during the festivities associated with the signing of the Meridian-New Ceylon trade agreement.

  UTFN Reclamation Center, onboard Federation Auxiliary ship Greyhound, January 2, 2599.

  An emergency meeting to brainstorm some kind of plan for the defense of the Scrapyard against this new threat was convened within an hour after the prisoner interrogations were concluded. All of the Scrapyard Command Staff were gathered in the front hold of the Greyhound, including Kresge, Harris, Carlisle, Murdock, Hawkins, Admiral Kingston, Lieutenant Nesbitt, Ensign Sukamoto and the two destroyer captains who had just arrived in the system, Bishara and Helmsford. The two mining ship Captains, O'Connell and Patrick and the Federation's civilian weapons technician, Caleb Jordan, were also present.
The Ambassador and several of the Istanbul's command staff were linked in via a viewscreen in the front of the hold.

  Kresge called for order and when everyone had settled down, addressed the group. He went straight to the point. "I have some unwelcome news," he began, "We have just been informed that the Sheik of Barsoom is planning another attack on this system sometime during the next two or three days." His look was grim. "We are to expect a force consisting of up to ten destroyers and perhaps a Jasmine Republican Navy heavy cruiser to boot." He looked around the room. "Any ideas on how to best meet this threat? I know we can still run, if we have to, but I don't know for sure where we'd go and I really don't like the thought of simply handing over all the hardware contained in this Scrapyard to the Sheik of Barsoom and his 'glorious revolution.'"

  "How about we do the same thing you did this last time?" suggested Kingston, "Charge up some of the cruiser weapons and hide our ships in the Scrapyard? Only this time it looks like we'd better charge up a lot more of them!"

  "I have considered that as a possibility, and I think we will get started on that plan as soon as this meeting is adjourned." said Kresge, "In the meantime, I'm open to any other suggestions. Has anybody got an alternate plan or additional suggestions to ramp up the old one?"

  "What we did last time worked, Commander," said O'Connell, "but maybe you could make better use of our mining ships. Those mining lasers are pretty powerful, especially at close range. In the alley fight this next battle is likely to be, maybe me and Neil could do more."

  "My thanks, Captain O'Connell, you can be sure I'll factor that in as well."

  "Could we wait until they come into the Scrapyard and ram them with something?" someone suggested.

  "Not a bad idea," another voice countered, "but what are you going to use to get your ram moving?"

  Several other less and less feasible suggestions followed. Over the next ten seconds, the room became abuzz with multiple conversations.

  Carlisle, who had been in intense concentration all the way through the discussion, finished consulting something on her wrist computer and tentatively raised her hand.

  "Order please," said Kresge, loudly enough that all could hear him.

  The room quieted down.

  "Ensign Carlisle?"

  Carlisle came to her feet.

  "Maximum impact...long range...I might have an idea, Commander."

  "And that is...?"

  "We've added a few ships to our defensive capability and we can surely find more cruiser weapons to charge up. With some luck, we might be able to fight off another attack...I see some problems, however."

  From the other side of the room, Kingston frowned at Carlisle's comments.

  "How so?" asked Kresge.

  "We caught the enemy totally by surprise with those tactics last time. This time they'll not only know what to expect but they'll be bringing considerably more firepower. That cruiser is especially formidable, though how well they could fight with something that big inside the scrap cloud would remain to be seen." She gave Kresge a tortured look. "We need to win this fight, Commander! With the Quadrant cut off from Earth and the Nexus in the hands of the Sheik, we are once again effectively the Federation Authority for the entire Quadrant."

  The room remained still for a long moment as that realization hung in the air and began to sink into the consciousness of all present.

  Kresge nodded in understanding before he broke the silence. "So what are you proposing, Ensign?"

  "I suggest that we come up with a much more aggressive defense strategy, one that would not only meet this threat but could also provide long term protection for the Scrapyard."

  "That would sure as hell be nice," replied Kresge, "if we could pull it off! Continue, Ensign, you have my attention..."

  "Charging up the weapons on those cruisers was an excellent idea, and it worked as well as we could have expected it to, but we were only barely able to fight off that last attack. I say we go for something they will not expect."

  "And that is?"

  "How many personnel does it take to operate the power plant on a battleship?"

  There soft buzz of several individual conversations swelled up slightly as the personnel in the considered the suggestion. Kingston looked at the Ensign in open-mouthed wonder.

  "Once you get it started and stabilized?" asked Harris, who was the first to react, but then he probably had the most experience of any of them in dealing with Carlisle's unorthodox thought processes.

  "Of course."

  "I can't believe it would take more than ten people, maybe eight if they were experienced."

  "How many personnel to operate one of the main battery turrets?"

  "That I don't know," said Harris. "Caleb?"

  "Usually it takes at least eight to ten people," said Jordan. "You could get by with less, I'd say three or four would be the bare minimum and your rate of fire would be pretty slow. Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Ensign?"

  "I was thinking that we could power up one of the battleships and use it to defend the Scrapyard. I'm not saying that we actually try to operate the ship, mind you, we'd just need to position it someplace where it could cover any threat coming in from the Whitney jump zone. We'd only have to run one of the power plants to operate the systems we'd need like the main batteries, life support and shields but we'd only need to power up and pressurize a portion of the ship."

  "Something like we did with the Terrier, right?" asked Harris.

  "Exactly, Lieutenant, we pressurize and heat up only the necessary compartments."

  "I think I see what you're going for," said Kresge. "There isn't any ship type in this entire quadrant that has the range and power of a battleship. We could pick off bad guys at more than twice the range that they'd need to be within to do any harm to us at all, even if they brought that heavy cruiser."

  "What about missiles?" interjected Kingston, demonstrating that she wasn't completely ignorant of modern Naval warfare, "Those destroyers and the cruiser will almost certainly have missiles,"

  "That's a good point Admiral," said Kresge, "but if this plan worked, they'd have to be firing them from a long ways away. We should have plenty of time to react to any kind of long range missile attack. We have three destroyers of our own. Granted, the Perseus doesn't have her front main battery but all of our destroyers have operational point defenses. Besides, with all of the potential targets in the Scrapyard, a missile would have a hard time getting a lock on anything important. With the destroyers providing point defense and the battleship holding the enemy at extreme distance, they would never get near us. If we had battleship firepower protecting the Scrapyard, they'd think twice about ever attacking us again."

  "There is one major problem though..." said Kresge.

  "And that is...?" asked Kingston.

  "Where in the hell am I gonna find twenty men to spare to run the power plant and the main batteries on a battleship?"

  "I'm thinking we could maybe put Lieutenant Harris in charge of the power plant detail," said Carlisle.

  "There's also Steuben, he worked electrical systems on the New Ceylon Station," said Harris

  "Don't forget we also have the crew of the Larkspur," suggested Captain Helmsford.

  "On the weapons end, we've got Caleb," added Harris, "He was a weapons tech in the Federation Navy and he worked on the big guns."

  "Oh, I'd be counting on him," said Kresge.

  "There is also the crew of the Xerxes, she isn't in any condition to fight or even operate without some major repairs," added Kingston, getting into the spirit.

  "I wonder if we could get a few people from the Xerxes and combine them with some of our own and carry through with this plan?" said Kresge.

  The Ambassador spoke up from the viewscreen, "That last attack was a near thing," he said, "With more ships probably on the way, I agree with that we'd better be doing something more aggressive! I rather like Dr. Carlisle's suggestion."

  Kresge made
a decision, "I propose a multi-part plan. We go ahead and make preparations to defend the Scrapyard as we did before, with charged cruiser weapons and ships hidden as well as we can hide them but we also need to check into the feasibility of this new option. Harris and Carlisle, you are in charge of checking this plan out with the intention of implementing it. Remember, we only have a couple of days to get ready."

  "We'll get started immediately!" said Harris.

  Another voice came from the viewscreen, "Do you have any objections to having me go with you?" asked Rahgib, the head engineer for the Istanbul, "Before my assignment to the Istanbul, I was on a crew that ran the main power plant for the Meridian Orbital Station. It was a very large power plant, much like the ones that power battleships."

  "I certainly don't," replied Harris. "Excellency? Do you mind if we borrow your head engineer for a while?"

  "Take him with my blessing," replied the Ambassador. "We'll get the rest of the crew back to work charging up gun emplacements. If you and your team are successful, perhaps we won't need them."

  After Kresge handed out some other assignments, the meeting broke up with everyone dispersing, intent on getting their assignment done in the little time they had remaining. Admiral Kingston, left behind in the hold, shook her head in wonder at what she had just witnessed. These people, these "Junkyard Dogs" as they called themselves, were...simply put, nothing short of amazing! They had just been presented with what looked like an insurmountable problem but they had somehow shrugged it off and then teamed up to tackle it head on, brainstorming their way through the major issues to come up with what was an outrageous plan but one that just might work! She actually began to believe that they had a chance of survival.

  It had not escaped her attention that it had been Admiral Loftgren's misfit Spacer historian who had come up with the defense plan.

  That one would bear keeping an eye on!

  Chapter 15.