The meeting convened in the front cargo bay of the Greyhound. All of the Scrapyard officers were present along with Chiefs Allen, Hawkins and Jenkins. Sergeant Kelly of the marine detachment was present as well. Also in attendance were Clancy Davis-Moore of the Dingo, the two mining ship Captains O'Connell and Patrick and Norman Copeland, captain of the City of Darwin, the NiTrans freighter that had come from Catskill-Soroyan with the two mining ships when they had fled that system several weeks ago. Admiral Kingston was present in an anti-grav chair but had warned Kresge that she was taking some fairly potent drugs and was there to observe only. The Ambassador was unable to attend. He had to remain on the Istanbul because, later in the day, he had scheduled another of the endless diplomatic wrangling sessions that were necessary to maintain a semblance of morale among the delegates.
Kresge called the meeting to order.
"I think you all know why we need this meeting but I'll give everyone a complete rundown on the situation as I see it, just so we're all on the same page. We are the sole remaining stronghold of the United Terran Federation in the entire Santana Quadrant. As such, we are duty bound to look after Federation interests in this Quadrant to the best of our abilities."
He paused to look around at his audience before continuing. "The political situation here in the Santana Quadrant is probably best summed up in two words: total chaos! Terrorist or Revolutionist forces, whatever you want to call them, have managed to occupy the Santana Nexus Station and are using it as a base to consolidate a stranglehold on the Quadrant. Naturally we need to do everything in our power to oppose them, to stop them from getting any stronger than they have already become."
He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing.
"The Revolutionists know we're here and they would like nothing more than to remove us as a threat. As you all know, we've been able to repulse two separate and very determined attacks on the Scrapyard just within the last couple of weeks. We now think that this star system, at least, is pretty well protected and I'm not ashamed to say that I am a great deal more confident about our future since we figured out a way to beat back this latest attack!"
Kresge paused here to scan his audience again, making sure that he had everyone's attention. Seeing only attentive looks, he continued.
"I won't pull any punches," he said. "Our supply situation is critical. We are good out here for a few more days, perhaps as much as a week or so but we are running out of almost everything. Just as important as our immediate supply crises is the need to establish secure supply lines to ensure that we don't run out of food and other staple materials again anytime soon."
He scanned the audience again. "We will be sending the Asimov to the Heard's World system accompanied by a freighter to stock up on food. Clancy Davis-Moore, I'm thinking the Dingo would be a good choice for that foray."
"We'll be happy to go, Commander," said Davis-Moore, "but I may need the better part of a day to get the Dingo unloaded. We were supposed to be on our way to Meridian when this war broke out and I have three holds that are pretty fully loaded with luxury goods. These goods aren't going to be of much use in a war situation but I do need a place to store them until this whole revolution thing blows over."
"I think we can find an empty hold or two out here in the Scrapyard...," said Kresge, "...somewhere."
The last brought a few chuckles.
"Thank you, Clancy," said Kresge. "Now as to the recruitment of personnel. I propose sending the two mining ships and the City of Darwin on a route that loops through Catskill-Soroyan and Patagonia. We would like you to re-establish contact with the Piedmont mining station and the asteroid colony in Patagonia. You're the perfect choice because the people in both systems already know and trust you. I don't imagine that either of those places has all that much food to spare but we'll certainly take whatever they feel they can part with. Mostly we need all the able-bodied men we can find to who feel the same way we do about this confounded Revolution!"
"The hydroponic farms inside that hollow asteroid are pretty extensive, Commander," said O'Connell. "I wouldn't be surprised if they could spare us some provisions, especially if we can pay for them. The Patagonians always seem to be a little short on cash."
"I think we can still transfer Federation credits," said Kresge. "Chief Jenkins?"
"We can draw on Federation accounts at the Bank of Progress on New Ceylon," said Jenkins. "With the government of New Ceylon behind us, we should have access to all the currency we need."
"We also have some stores of precious metals onboard the Glendaloch," said Captain Patrick. "We loaded them up before we left the Piedmont station, to make sure the terrorists didn't get them. Must be a small fortune in there."
"The Federation can pay back anything we might spend after we get through this crisis," said Kresge, "Isn't that right, Jenkins?"
"That is absolutely correct, Commander," said CPO Jenkins, "You can count on the Federation to pay their debts!"
That also brought a few chuckles.
"Thank you, Gentlemen," said Kresge. "At least we shouldn't be wanting for money. I need all of you to get moving on these projects as soon as possible. Does anybody need reaction fluid for their ships?"
A few hands went up.
"We have all the reaction fluid we could possibly need out here in the Scrapyard. See Chief Jenkins here and he'll get you fixed up. Naturally, there will be no charge!"
This comment also triggered a few chuckles.
Again Kresge looked over his audience. "Anybody got anything else?" he asked.
"Are we really gonna try and recapture the Santana Nexus?" someone asked.
"That remains up in the air at the present time. We'll have to see how well these recruiting and supply missions go. Obviously, for the long-term interests of the Federation and for the legitimate government of Jasmine, not to mention Meridian, gaining back control of the Santana Nexus station will be vital. Whether or not we can scrape together the men and material to get that job done remains to be seen. If we are going to make some kind of move, it would be best if we didn't wait very much longer. Our best chance will be to move before the enemy has a chance to get really established on the station."
"I heard that we are cut off from the Sol-Terra Quadrant, Commander. Is there any truth to that?"
"We aren't completely sure about that. There are some pretty strong rumors making the rounds that someone who is allied with Barsoom has figured out a way to block macrojump tranfers through the Sol-Terra hyperlink point. Whether there is any truth to the rumors or not remains unknown. We do know that no ships have come through from Sol-Terra for more than a week now so it surely looks as though something out of the ordinary is going on."
When there were no more questions, Kresge adjourned the meeting.
"Sergeant Kelly? Will you see me afterwards, please?'
The personnel in the cargo bay filed out leaving Kresge, Harris, Carlisle and Kelly.
"We have a special assignment for you Sergeant," began Kresge.
"Whatever you need, Sir!" replied Kelly, "My men and me are at your disposal."
"Very good, Sergeant. You remember that Veritian wreck in the Heard's World system?"
"Yes, Sir," said Kelly, "she was a right fine mess, she was."
"We need you to go back out to that wreck while the Dingo is being loaded up. The story will be that you're going to be disabling the rest of the big weapons. Actually, it would be a good idea to do that if you can but we have another job that could turn out to be a lot more important."
"What is it you need us to do, Commander?"
Carlisle took over, "I need you to go to the auxiliary bridge down near the engineering section and bring me all of the computers in that area. If you can't bring the computers bring me the storage drives."
"That shouldn't be too much trouble," said Kelly, "Can you show us where to find this auxiliary bridge?'
"There's a schematic on this memory chip, Sergeant," said Carlisl
e as she handed him a standard chip.
"Do I dare ask what this is all about, Sirs?"
"I think it's too early to say for certain," replied Kresge, "Let me say this: It's a follow up on some information that Dr. Carlisle got from the quantum drive she removed from the bridge computer during your last visit to the wreck. We don't know for sure what it all means yet but it could be big. I mean really big!"
"I think I understand, Sir," said Kelly, "You want us to secure all the storage devices left on the auxiliary bridge?"
"Correct, Sergeant. We believe that after the main bridge was damaged, the Captain of that ship used the auxiliary bridge to con the ship and escape the final battle of the Succession War. One or another of the computers down on that auxiliary bridge may have information that we would really like to have a look at. It's a long shot, but the information is important enough that we think it's worth retrieving those drives, especially since you're already going to be in the Heard's World system. "
"Understood, Commander," said Kelly
"Thanks, Kelly. I will inform Captain Nesbitt of the Asimov of the need to visit the wreck as well."
"That's probably a good idea, Commander."
"Carry on, Sergeant!"
Kelly saluted smartly and left to get busy making his preparations for the mission.
Kresge called over to Jenkins, who was at the communications console.
"Can you get me the Ambassador, Chief?"
"Right away, Sir."
Within two minutes Kresge was addressing the Ambassador on his viewscreen.
"What can I do for you, Commander?"
"I'd like to try to contact Heard's World and let them know that we're coming."
"Do they still have Stage II communications capability?"
"As far as we know, Excellency. The communications platform was intact when the Greyhound was there just a week or so ago."
"I must inform you that I am not entirely sure that our Stage II communicator is secure, Commander."
"What precautions have you taken?"
"We have reassigned the technician to a different position. To allay his suspicions, we have put him on the less critical Stage I communicator. We have also thoroughly looked over the storage buffers and can't find anything that looks out of the ordinary. It may be fine, but we won't know for sure until we've completed a more thorough investigation."
"Do you think it's alright to send a simple message that we are coming to pick up some supplies?"
"It seems a routine enough communication that it shouldn't cause any huge problems, Commander. I'll compose and send a message right now. Give us a few minutes."
"Thank you, Excellency."
Kresge went and got himself a cup of coffee and took stroll around the bridge, finally stopping to chat for a few minutes with Helen Murdock who was watching readouts while Hawkins and Talbot worked on the weapons module down in engineering. By the time Kresge sat down again, the Ambassador was calling him back.
"We sent the message, Commander, but we did not get a reply."
"Thank you, Excellency. It means the platform remains unmanned or that it has been destroyed. We had to try sometime. Good luck with your meeting."
"Thank you, Commander, I will almost certainly need it. Saladin out."
Chapter 27.
Santana Nexus Station, somewhere on the third ring January 4, 2599.
Having absolutely no say in how the next events in his life were going to unfold, Ezra Hellfire Brimstone went with the strange men. The group headed immediately around the ring to the nearest spoke and took the elevator to the central spindle area. Here they transferred to one of the four north-south spindle elevators and headed southwards all the way down to the tenth ring of the station, an area which Brimstone knew had been the military area of the station before the current course of events had altered everything.
The small entourage went deep into the former military ring and finally Brimstone was escorted into a compartment that contained another five or six heavily armed men and a very well dressed and well groomed man sitting behind an impressive desk. The desk had a sign on it that read "Admiral Harriet Kingston." Whoever this person was, he was high up in the power structure of the Sheik's Revolutionary forces. He had been allowed to take over the offices of the former military commander for the Nexus Station!
"Have a seat Mr. Brimstone."
Brimstone had not recognized the man, but he did recognize the voice. This was the same person to whom Brimstone had sold his nuclear self-destruct device. Trying to regain some kind of composure, Brimstone addressed him.
"I did not think that we would ever meet again," said Brimstone.
"Nor did I," replied the stranger, "but then I started thinking."
"That can be both good and bad," replied Brimstone.
"Indeed," returned the stranger. "It then occurred to me that while you claim to have given me the codes to activate the nuclear device I purchased, I have no way to tell if you have swindled me until I actually attempt to utilize the device."
"I assure you, the codes are active."
"You may assure me all you like," replied the stranger, "But we both know that your promises really don't mean much in this situation do they?"
"I...I have no rebuttal," said Brimstone, for once at a loss for words.
"You need to see what I have planned for our device," said the stranger.
"I assume you wish to really blow something up, a warship or something like that..."
"Nothing so mundane as that, Mr. Brimstone, I assure you." The stranger turned to his guards. "Bring Mr. Brimstone along; I have something to show him. We will be returning to the spindle."
With Brimstone in tow and the stranger leading, the group retraced their steps through the tenth ring and took a spoke elevator to the central spindle. Within about ten minutes, they found themselves in a receiving bay near the airlock area at the south end of the station. There were several armed guards in the bay and, unlike some of the other guards onboard the station, these looked to be very alert. Brimstone looked around and immediately saw what it was they were guarding: a very stout-looking cargo container. Through the open side door of the container he could see his nuclear self-destruct device. Only his device wasn't the only thing in the container; the self-destruct unit appeared to be connected to a very complicated looking machine of unknown function. It was hard to make out much detail in the dim confines of the cargo box but the new device was at least five times longer than the self-destruct module. The cargo container was further protected by the shimmer of a force screen.
"I see you are keeping our device well-guarded," said Brimstone.
"It is a necessary precaution," replied the stranger.
"What does this other machine do," asked Brimstone, all but certain that he would learn nothing but willing to try anyway. To his surprise, the stranger explained in detail.
"I believe you've heard that I have dabbled in Whitney hyperdrive research?"
"It has been mentioned," replied Brimstone.
"Then you must have deduced that it is one of my inventions that is keeping the authorities in the Sol-Terra Quadrant from interfering in our affairs out here."
"I've heard some rumors but that was supposed to be impossible!"
"Impossible for others, perhaps, not for me."
"So what is the purpose of this new device?"
"The device that I have connected our 'power source' to is a Whitney hyperdrive field generator powerful enough to transfer very large objects."
"But...that's impossible!" replied Brimstone.
"As I said, impossible for others..."
Careful not to touch the force screen, Brimstone got as close as he dared while attempting to look the device over in more detail. Between the dim light and the shimmer of the force screen, there wasn't a lot to be seen.
"With that fusion device to power it, it must be extremely powerful," said Brimstone.
"Oh, yes."
"Wha
t do you plan to do with it?"
"Turn the Santana and Sol-Terra Quadrants into chaos."
"With this thing?"
"Oh yes, with the nuclear bomb to power it the device generates a hyperdrive transfer field a good two hundred kilometers in diameter in the instant before both the device and the power source are consumed in the explosion. It is quite ingenious, if I say so myself. In the chaos of the current strife, we plan to approach Old Earth and set the device off in the middle of the Federation's Orbiting spaceship docks. The vast fleets of the Federation Navy will be transported into the interior of the nearest star, which would be Sol, in this case. The entire fleet, totally destroyed in a single event. Brilliant isn't it?"
"They said you were mad, but..."
"That is why they call me Al Majnun, 'the madman,' Mr. Brimstone," said the eccentric genius, "Guards? This man now knows way too much. Lock him up for safekeeping. Good day Mr. Brimstone."
The enigmatic stranger left the airlock area.
Brimstone knew that resisting the stranger's men would be worse than useless and allowed himself to be locked in a holding cell some distance away but still in the central spindle. Brimstone found himself looking through a force curtain again only this time the curtain was between him and freedom.
Chapter 28.
UTFN Reclamation Center January 7, 2599.
After a day and a half of intense activity, the two Scrapyard expeditions were ready to depart, the Asimov and the Dingo to Heard's World and the two mining ships, Donegal and Glendaloch, along with the freighter, City of Darwin to Catskill-Soroyan and Patagonia. Those remaining at the Scrapyard were concentrating their efforts on getting the Perseus back into top fighting trim and on the power interface issues on the Greyhound.
The Santana Nexus (Junkyard Dogs Book 3) Page 16