I nodded my head to show my approval. “Nice work Jarrod. The cause will make use of them in some way. That haul may pay for an entire construction dock by itself. George will be excited. You say you are interrogating the pilot? I would love to sit in on that and listen.”
Jarrod stood and gestured towards the door. “Absolutely Sir, so far he hasn’t told us much, but we are working on softening him up. Daniels is leading the questioning; he has this jar of bugs that he likes to set on the table in front of whoever he is talking to. They are really nasty looking things although he says they are really harmless. Can’t say I like them being on the ship, but they serve their purpose.”
We entered the conference room and a male, who identified himself as being of the Teldaki species, was sitting in a chair on the far side of the table. He was heavyset with a heavy beard and six eyes just below his forehead. Each eye maneuvered individually just as the images of chameleons I had seen in the Grid archives as a school child. The eyes were constantly on the move giving the species a chaotic appearance.
Daniels nodded and then turned back towards the alien. “So, your name if Ribin and you are a Teldaki… while that is nice, I am more interested in your cargo and your destination.”
Daniels pushed the jar of bugs an inch closer. All six eyes of the Teldaki turned and focused on the Jar. “My friends here… they love to consume flesh, especially this big red one. Ho… I tell you, I could sit and watch him eat all day. He is just relentless and from what I’ve seen. He likes to start with the eyes.”
Ribin squirmed in his chair. The intimidation continued for several minutes with the Teldaki not saying a word.
I looked at Daniels and spoke, “You mind if I have a shot?”
Daniels stepped back, “Be my guest Sir. He clammed up about a half hour ago after stating his name and species. The bugs have only been out a few minutes… but they are getting hungry.”
Daniels smiled at Ribin and then pulled the jar back from the table.
I started with my attempt at gaining knowledge. “Mr. Ribin is it? I hope my colleagues have been courteous to you on your visit. Mr. Daniels here, he gets a little impatient sometimes, but he means well.”
I turned towards one of the guards in the room. Mitchel, can you go over to Mr. Ribin’s ship and see if there is some food over there he would like to eat? He’s looking a bit hungry.”
The alien then moved briefly towards the table and spoke. “The Credish, please bring the Credish. You will find it in the heated compartment in a blue jar.”
I seized the moment to break open the conversation. “Credish? I’m not familiar with that dish. What does it consist of?”
Ribin immediately opened up, telling about the Credish and the variety of other dishes he had available on his ship. He was big for a reason and that reason was made abundantly clear. Once he had food in front of him he began to tell his story. His world was rich in Emeralds. When the Milgari took over his population had mostly been slaughtered. Those that remained behind worked in the mines.
“You see, I was once in the mines myself. I was an accountant and tallied the stones each day. When a job opened as a shuttle pilot I applied and moved up. My apprentice moved into my old job as tally master. Then, two of your years ago, my fortune improved again when the pilot of this vessel passed away. It is the highest job on my planet. Many would kill to take my place.”
I leaned back and crossed my arms. “Hmm, highest job. That makes you like the president or king or something of your people doesn’t it? Are you the representative of the Teldaki? Do you have authority over your people?”
Ribin looked nervous. “Oh no, it is nothing like that. The overlords run everything. I just do my job without question and I do it well. So long as they receive their tally they leave me alone. I do sometimes get lonely though as the trip to the drop-off and back is a six week journey. But Jeoffry, the new shuttle pilot, I get to talk to him when the ship is being loaded, him and the grocery clerk at the drop-off.”
I placed my hands together and set them on the table in front of me. “So, every six weeks you take a new load of Emeralds to the drop-off?” Ribin continued to talk as he feasted on his Credish. “Yes, I was on the way there when your men intervened.”
Ribin then once again became nervous. “I hope you will not keep me long. If the shipment is overdue they might turn the job over to Jeoffry. He talks about how wonderful I have it. He is my friend, but I do like the position I have.”
I turned to Daniels. “Do you have the position of the drop-off from his nav computer?”
Daniels replied as he stood up. “Working on that now Sir.”
He exited the room as I turned my questioning back to Ribin. “What can you tell me about the drop-off?”
The Teldaki smiled. “I can tell you what I know. It is an enormous vessel with a tremendous capacity. Each of the worlds in this region bring their mined goods to the drop-off. It takes almost a year to fill its holds with the riches from the Milgari worlds in this region. There is a small celebration each year when the big ship departs. It is something the ore pilots all look forward to. Last year was my first time at a departure. It was a grand event!”
Daniels soon returned and sat back down in his chair. “Got the location Sir.”
I thanked him and turned my attention back to Ribin with a smile. “When is this departure celebration to occur next?”
Ribin licked the Credish from his fat fingers. “I am hoping it is this journey, if not then it will certainly be the next. I will know when I arrive if there are a number of ore pilots parked and waiting.”
I then stood and held out my hand. “Mr. Ribin, I thank you for your time and my men apologize for any inconvenience we have caused.”
As he shook my hand I could feel the grease from the Credish soaking into my pores. Daniels stood along with us while giving me a confused look.
I turned to the guard in the room and spoke, “Could you escort Mr. Ribin back to his ship with all courtesies bestowed to a guest? He must be on his way and we are keeping him from his duties.” The guard nodded and smiled.
“Oh, and Mr. Ribin, I hope you will be discrete about our little encounter here. The Milgari do not like unusual circumstances and I would hate for it to jeopardize your position as ore pilot.”
Ribin again looked nervous and then replied. “I will not tell a soul Mr… Sir.” He smiled as he left the room.
Daniels then spoke. “What gives Sir, if you don’t mind my asking?”
I then explained that we would be taking down a freighter that would be hauling precious gems from the entire region. Daniels was soon sporting a big grin. I followed Daniels to the Bridge and explained our new plans to the Captain.
Jarrod replied. “Nice work Grange. You should have been an interrogator!”
I responded, “All I saw was a heavy man who looked hungry. The Credish did the rest!”
We let Ribin go until his ship was just at the end of our sensor range. After following him for two weeks he arrived at the immense freighter that was parked in the middle of nowhere. A Milgari battleship and cruiser sat as escorts beside it. The 26 small ore ships that made up a ring in front of the massive freighter told us that the departure celebration was scheduled to begin.
Ribin unloaded his haul and then joined the other ships, completing the ring. With two Raiders at our disposal the capture of the freighter would be as easy as they came. I turned to Jarrod with my thoughts. “If we wait until their celebration has concluded we can hit that ship without their involvement. If those other pilots are like Ribin, they are just innocent pawns of the Milgari. We can take out those warships as they are moving.”
Jarrod nodded his head. “I was thinking along those same lines Don. The Colonel was very clear about us always looking to minimize any collateral damage. We want these people out here to one day be or friends. You make that a tough sell if you are killing them for no good reason.”
We parked and waited for the celebration to begin. There was no visible sign of anything grand. Jarrod’s comm officer eventually tapped into their comm channel and the pilots could be heard talking about the various things that each had heard over the prior year. New pilots were welcomed and those that had passed on were given a somber sendoff speech. When the giant freighter began to move the pilots all ended their conversations and headed for home. Their grand celebration was merely a chance to converse with others.
Chapter 16
We tracked the freighter and its escorts for a full day before launching our assault. The Colonel barked out commands, “Higgins! King! Get your squads ready and staged, and get those transfer tubes set up. Those two warships should be offline in a hurry. After that we hit the freighter. She’s big and will take us some time to clean out. Grange here tells me that our boys back at the Delta site found two stowaways that were trying to get their ships restarted so they could steal them back. We can’t afford that on this one as this freighter is the mother-load!”
The Hunter and the Helix accelerated well past the position of the freighter and her escort. The turn was made and they charged in head first. The freighter immediately dropped from light-speed and began a zig-zag pattern in an attempt to make her difficult to board. The Hunter and the Helix met the battleship and cruiser escort with their cannons ablaze. The two Milgari ships were soon disabled and then annihilated.
The two Raiders caught up to the freighter, initiated their inhibitor field generators and clamped themselves onto the freighter fore-deck. Breach tubes were extended and the Marines stormed the massive ship. I returned to my locker on the Swift and retrieved my AK. Frig was sitting in the cockpit.
Frig spoke, “Sir, do you really think it wise for you to be storming in there with the others. You are still recovering from your injury are you not?”
I wriggled my shoulder. “Feels fine. And you should know by now that I will go stir crazy sitting back and watching on a monitor.”
I grabbed a backpack full of clips and grenades and smiled. “Time to go have some fun!”
I turned and exited the Swift. A quick jog placed me in one of the breach tubes and I was soon aboard the freighter with the Marines.
Daniels was leading the Helix squads. “Grange! I thought you might show up. Go with Sergeant Meyer and her group. You will be cleaning out the docking bay, maintenance and engineering. I hear you are familiar with the layouts of those. And Meyer! Keep that man out of trouble will yah! We don’t have the facilities out here to patch him up.”
I turned and headed down the hall following Meyer and her squad of seven as Daniels took the remaining assault force towards the Bridge. I jumped as the concussion and thud from the ion bomb could be felt. We were now on conventional weapons for at least the next ten minutes.
Meyer was an attractive middle aged blonde. Her warm smile and innocent face did not match her harsh voice. “Grange! Get your ass behind Marvis and Dell. I don’t want you getting your butt shanked again while in my squad. You want to tag along with us then fine, but if I find you are freelancing I’m sending you back to the Helix. We function as a team here and our first priority is to move as a team and get our jobs done without losing anyone. There are no replacements this far from home!”
I nodded and fell in line at my designated position. Meyer was the first to poke her head into the docking bay. All appeared quiet. She took five steps and ducked behind a container. The next Marine was then waived through the door.
Meyer took half of the squad to the right while the half I was now with moved to the left. We stopped under a stairwell that went up to a crosswalk. As we stared across the bay I suddenly heard movement from above. I instinctively rolled on my back with my weapon aiming up.
Two Milgari then leapt from the rail onto the two Marines beside me.
Ak-ak-ak-ak!
The Milgari immediately to my left slumped over onto the Marine being attacked. The second Marine was not as fortunate. The Milgari drove his wrist spikes hard into the Marine’s shoulders and then began to beat him violently with its arms.
Ak-ak!
The second Milgari slumped to the floor.
Dell yelled out. “Pucket’s down! Fall back into the hall and let’s get him back on the Helix! Meyer, this is Dell, we are taking Pucket back to the Helix, will return ASAP.”
Meyer acknowledged with a flip of two fingers from across the bay. As we turned back towards the door a second assault came.
Three Milgari crewmen, armed with long sharp crate poles made their move. Marvis turned to fire as the first of the screeching Milgari reached him.
Ak-ak-ak-ak-ak!
“Arrrrgh! Gaw!”
Ak-ak-ak!
A crate pole was protruding from Marvis’ back where he had been run through. The Milgari attacker was dead as Marvis slumped over in pain.
A second pole narrowly missed my head as a crewman heaved it in my direction.
Ak-ak-ak-ak-ak! Ak-ak-ak-ak!
The two remaining attackers fell silent. We again turned our efforts towards evacuating our fellow squad members. Marvis’ condition was critical as the crate pole had punctured his left lung. He began coughing up blood just before losing consciousness.
When the team reached the breach tube I turned back towards Meyer and the others. When I arrived at the bay I pushed the door open slowly and peeked in. Meyer and her team had made their way to a far corner. I could see movement behind a stack of crates in front of them.
“Meyer! Grange. The crates in front of you have movement behind them. Too dark to see how many.”
Meyer responded. “Roger Grange. We’ve have been working our way towards them. Where is the rest of your team?”
I replied, “I’m sure they will be back soon enough Sergeant. I’m going to work my way around to you.”
Meyer came back with an agitated voice, “That’s a negative Grange! Get back to your team and don’t go anywhere without them. And Grange! Don’t piss me off by sticking your neck out on your own. We play by the rules here and I’m the one making the rules!”
Meyer’s attention was then turned back towards the crates in front of her. She was preparing to assault the stack of crates when a screech was let out. A species that we had not encountered then sprinted across the deck, screaming as it ran.
Ak-ak-ak!
The creature fell silent. Meyer turned to the Marine who had fired. “Clark! Who told you to fire! That was a slave not a Milgari. They are not a threat!”
Clark looked out at the dead slave. “Sorry Sarge, nerves got to me. Won’t happen ag…”
Three Milgari then sprang from a crate behind Meyer and her team. The first to reach the Marines was carrying a meat clever. Clark’s head suddenly rolled out onto the deck as the Milgari took its first swing. Before shots could be fired the two remaining Milgari, who were wielding knifes, were on top of two other Marines.
Meyer pulled out a .45 caliber handgun for close combat. Three more Milgari then leapt over the crates she had been watching and raced towards her now turned back. I busted through the doors in a sprint.
Ak-ak-ak-ak-ak! Ak-ak-ak-ak! Ak-ak-ak-ak-ak!
The Milgari behind Meyer dropped to the deck as my bullets ripped through their bodies.
Meyer turned back.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three new Milgari were dead. When the fighting had ended two more Marines were injured with knife wounds, contusions and stab wounds from fist beatings and wrist spikes. I continued to sprint before diving on the deck in an attempt to slide out behind the stacked crates. When I came to a standstill there were three more slaves huddling in fear. The docking bay had been cleared.
I coaxed the slaves from their squatting positions while Meyer and her team began to evac the injured Marines. “Grange! You do everything I ask you not to! But thanks for catching my back. Dell and his team are in
the hall out there. I’ll be taking Dithers and Wells with me and joining him to finish our mission. I’m trusting that you will take our guests there aboard the Helix for some questioning. It should give you something to do to keep your nose out of my business.”
I gestured with my gun for the three alien slaves to move forward. Back on the Helix I took them into the conference room and began to ask questions. Before sitting down I asked the guard with me to get four glasses and a pitcher of water. He complied.
I gestured for the three to sit across from me. They were shivering in fear. I laid my gun on the floor beside my chair and sat down with a smile. “Welcome to freedom!”
The three looked on with confusion in their eyes. “I said welcome to freedom. You are no longer slaves of the Milgari Empire. You are free citizens of whatever world you have originally come from. My name is Grange, Don Grange. I assume each of you have names?”
It soon became apparent that the slaves were all female. The one seated in the middle spoke as the two on either side of her clung to her arms. “I am Missa, this is Tara and Bezith.”
I nodded and continued. “OK, well, we are Humans. What species are you?”
The guard returned with the glasses and water. I poured four glasses and then pushed three across the table at our three huddled guests. I picked up the glass and began to drink and gestured towards the others with my free hand. The three slaves each slowly reached out and took the glasses into their hands. They began to drink.
I continued, “So, we are Humans and we are at war with the Milgari. As I said, you are now free citizens. If you help us by answering my questions, I will attempt to help you in any way I can. Is there a planet you are from? A system?”
The center slave placed her glass on the table. “My name is Missa, we are Thulians. Our planet Thules was overrun 12 years ago by the Milgari. My sisters and I are slaves of the warlord Grakus. He commands this sector. We were selected from our world and were in transit to his ship at Barithia.”
AMP Private War Page 17