"Be clear, Moonie, what did you do?" I asked.
"I was the one who told Tullas about our trip to Freedom Station," he said. "That's why she was waiting for us."
My chest tightened. I couldn't fathom why he'd do such a thing. "Why? How?"
"When we arrived in Sol and I picked up messages, there was one from Tullas. She promised me a position in Protective Services Division if I gave up our plans," he said.
"That's ridiculous. She could have killed us all." Anger and frustration filled my voice.
"She said it was the price I had to pay for my part in all this," he said. "It sounded fair."
"It sounded fair to betray your shipmates after Belirand abandoned you in the deep dark?" I asked, wanting nothing more than to throw him across the room. “Don't you get it? Tullas and people like her have been turning people over to the Kroerak and for what? Technology? A pass through their systems? Are you really willing to betray the entire human race?"
He just shook his head which rested in his hands.
Tabby lit into him. "We took you in, Moonie. Gave you a place. How could you do this?"
"I know, I know, I know," he said, still staring at the table. "There's more. She knows we're coming and I gave her the coordinates where we'd be exiting fold-space. They're ready for us."
"How?"
"An agent passed me a quantum comm crystal when I was on Freedom Station," he said.
"Xie?" Tabby asked.
"No. I don't know who it was," he said. "Mie-su almost caught me, though. She was following me around. I thought sure she'd ratted me out," he said. "She threatened to kill me."
"Why'd she do that?" Tabby asked.
"She said she knew I was up to something and I'd better not be making a move against the ship," he said. "Please don't tell her."
Tabby squinted her eyes and shook her head in confusion. "I stuck up for you, Moonie. I said I couldn't imagine you'd be the rat. Now, you want us to save you? Frak off. You don't have to worry about Xie because there won't be anything left of you to worry about."
"Did you kill the Webbers and Ferrantes?" I asked.
"I had to. I couldn't take the chance that Vince Ferrante would give me up or that he'd told his wife," he said.
"Why tell us now?" I asked.
"She wants to talk to you," he said.
"Who?" Tabby asked.
"Tullas," I answered before Moonie could. "Give me the crystal, Moonie."
"You have to promise you won't kill me," he said.
I laughed, humorlessly. "You've given away our position and that’s an act of mutiny. Now, you're bargaining for your life? Give me the crystal or I'll put you in a room with Xie and ask her to find it for me."
His face blanched as he dug in the belt of his vac-suit and produced a small, pink, quantum crystal.
Establish comm, Marny, I instructed the AI. "Marny, would you join us in the civilian conference room?"
"Aye, Cap," she replied, the door opening almost immediately.
I caught Tabby's eye. It wasn't much of a tell, but a raised eyebrow was all I needed. She had looped the command crew into our conversation.
"Would you ask Xie to escort Mr. Rastof to the brig?" I asked.
"You can't. You promised," he said, looking at me in horror.
"Make sure he's given the same cell where we kept the Webbers," I said and turned to Moonie. "I made you no promises. You haven't given me anything, so you'll have to work things out with Ms. Mie-su."
"Wait. There's more," he said. "Promise me you won't let Xie get to me."
"We'll see. What do you have?" I asked.
"They plan to disable Intrepid when you arrive. I've re-established Belirand's control circuits," he said.
"Jonathan, shut that down," Tabby said.
"Not this," he said. "It's programmed to run after we transition out of fold-space. Jonathan won't have time."
"I have a promise for you," Tabby said. "You show Jonathan what you've done or I'll ask Xie to go slow."
Nick entered the conference room as Marny escorted Moonie to the brig. He placed a quantum comm receiver on the table and looked at me expectantly. "At least we have that resolved."
"I have a bad feeling about this," I said as I dropped the crystal Moonie had given me into the device.
"She can't be trusted," Nick said.
"That's an understatement," I said as I pressed the transmit button.
"Ahhh, Mr. Hoffen, finally our little game of cat-and-mouse comes to an end," she said. I was glad I couldn't see her face. "I take it you've talked with Mr. Rastof?"
"We have," I said. "What do you want?"
"I believe the phrase ‘nothing new under the sun’ comes to mind," she said. "You will surrender when you arrive in system. You are badly outmatched as I've brought Stark Justice, Hammer of Justice and Justice Bringer."
"Doesn't it bother you?" I asked. "Selling out humanity to the Kroerak?"
"I assure you that is not what has occurred," she said. "I've bought much needed time and waylaid a Kroerak invasion. You, on the other hand, insulted the Kroerak Empire and have undone centuries of peace between our species."
"I've set a dead man's switch on a message to Mars Protectorate, outlining Belirand and NaGEK's culpability in enslaving civilians. You stand in direct violation of international law," Nick said.
"We have stopped all outgoing communications within the Ophir star system," she said.
"And yet, you're talking with us," I said.
"We're using a quantum communication crystal," she said. "They don't suffer from the same limitations as do ordinary communication systems."
"Good thing we have a direct line to M-Pro," I said. "Or didn't you know that they hand crystals out to all their privateers?"
A long pause followed and when she finally started up again, her voice was low and angry. "Now, you listen here, you worm," she growled. "Do you really want to start a war between Mars and NaGEK? What would be gained? We have to be united when the Kroerak finally arrive."
"Not my problem, Tullas," I said. "You crossed the line. Why should anyone believe you have humanity's best interest at heart? Your best bet is to clear Ophir's system before we arrive and figure out how you're going to retrieve those ten thousand souls on Cradle. Either way, we're done talking." I pulled the crystal before she could reply.
***
"Transition to normal-space in thirty … twenty-nine …," Ada announced.
I gripped the arms of my chair. I couldn't afford to be distracted by the transition. The lives of my crew and likely the people of Yishuv depended on us making it through the next thirty minutes alive.
"We have contact," Ada said sharply before we'd completely cleared transition.
"Evasive," I said. "Tabby, separate!" My orders were mostly unnecessary as we already had a plan for the first few moments.
The forward vid-screen jumped to life, showing that indeed we'd arrived, flanked by the Justice class frigate Stark Justice and Intrepid's sister, the frigate Justice Bringer.
"All fire on Justice Bringer." I reinforced the order I'd already given.
Locate Hammer of Justice, I requested from the AI. The forward vid-screens showed an immediate view of combat and I was unable to locate the third ship. The holo-projector in front of my chair zoomed out and then back in on a bulky, justice class frigate positioned sixty-thousand kilometers away from our current position, just outside the range of Petersburg Station's heavy, defense guns.
"Incoming hail, Justice Bringer," my AI announced.
Accept. "What is it, Tullas?"
"I wanted to make sure you were watching your mother's position. Captain Mussa is about to finish the job he started in Tipperary, and then Captain MacAsgaill and I will put an end to this ugly chapter in our history. Captain Mussa, you are clear to breach," Tullas said.
For a moment, time stood still as Hammer of Justice turned toward Petersburg Station and accelerated, a flight of missiles launching as Mussa slipped
inside of the station cannon's perimeter. I couldn't breathe as I willed the guns to respond and obliterate the enemy.
"Ten seconds to impact." I could hear Tullas's AI informing her of the missile's progress.
All around me, I heard the impact of missiles on Intrepid's hull and the warning of a hull breach in a forward section. I was unable to make heads or tails of the action.
The missiles impacted the gun emplacement at Petersburg and the cannon exploded brilliantly. My mind raced. Would Mussa try to pick off all of the guns or go straight for the kill shot on Mom. We'd disabled Belirand's ability to override the cannons, so why wasn't Mom shooting?
"Number two engine, offline," Xie Mie-su reported. "We're taking heavy fire."
"Your hubris was your end, Mr. Hoffen," Tullas chided, as a second flight of missiles streamed from Hammer of Justice. "Seven seconds to impact."
Dulcinea del Toboso sailed around the asteroid, positioning itself between Mussa and the station with its turrets firing steadily. "Fire your missiles," I whispered. "before it's too late."
"What's that, Hoffen?" Tullas asked as the second of three defensive turrets exploded brilliantly.
"We can't escape their crossfire," Ada complained as she rolled Intrepid over, attempting to weave out of the trap set by Stark Justice and Justice Bringer.
"Surrender now," Tullas demanded.
We might have had a chance if we hadn't started in the kill-box.
"It's too late for your mother and the traitor, LeGrande," she said as a barrage of missiles launched from Hammer of Justice. Their targeting showed on my holo-projector and they were headed straight for Dulcinea del Toboso. That woman talked too much.
I watched in shock as the smaller ship was shredded by an impossible barrage of weapon's fire and missile explosions. An iron band seemed to form around my heart as I considered the loss of the heroic Captain LeGrande.
A moment later, a fourth flight of missiles was launched from Hammer of Justice as it slid around the ruined hulk of Dulcinea. My breath caught in my throat when, finally, the last defensive turret burped to life. The powerful cannon had no difficulty dispatching the incoming missiles and then oriented on Hammer of Justice, which was now too committed to the station's defensive perimeter to pull away. Round after round from the remaining cannon tore into the vulnerable ship, each more devastating than the last. I almost felt pity for the crew as they attempted to limp from the kill zone, but the arrogant Mussa had overcommitted and no one would escape today. There would be no mercy given by my mother and when the firing finally ceased, all that remained of the stubby frigate was debris.
"Frakking aye! Now mine this, bitch." Tabby's voice rang out over the comm as Hotspur came into view in local space. Twin missiles streaked forward, targeting the center of Stark Justice. I knew from experience that two missiles were not enough to rip open the heavily armored ship, so I wasn't surprised Tullas had allowed Tabby to make her bombing run. Tullas was keeping both her ships focused on Intrepid.
"Number one is at twenty-percent," Xie announced.
"All fire on Stark Just…," Marny never finished the command. My comm with Tullas cut out and Stark Justice shuddered, bright pin-points of light spilling from the middle of the ship as if someone had poked it with a hundred small needles. Gas and debris spewed from the ship as her engines and weapon systems spooled down. “Finish her,” Marny’s voice rose as our turrets tore through the small openings, widening them like a welding laser on a habitation dome.
"Hard to starboard," I demanded. "How many missiles do we have left?"
"Six remaining," Marny replied.
"Focus on Justice Bringer's engines," I said.
"With pleasure," Marny answered.
While a frigate was designed to run, it was always a poor decision to turn tail in a battle when starting from a dead-stop. It appeared Tullas was going to try it anyway. Intrepid was in bad shape, but the destruction of two ships in her battle-group must have shaken Tullas's confidence.
Hail Justice Bringer.
The comm opened, but I didn't receive a reply.
"Admiral Tullas, you need to cut your engines," I said. "Otherwise, we'll shred you on the way out and you'll never get home."
"I would expect nothing less," Tullas answered.
"I'm not going to let you run this time, Tullas. You came for my family again," I said. "You've murdered your own and for what?"
"What I did, I did for humanity. You've brought ruin to our species, Hoffen. At least I won't have to live to see that," she said.
"Surrender, Tullas," I said.
"You'd like that. No, we'll be going now," she said. "I know you well enough to know you won't fire on a ship full of people who won't fire back."
"Cap? She's presented her engines and we're point-blank." Marny stated, muting our comms.
"Give no quarter, Marny. It's time to end this."
LIBERTAS
"Cease fire," I ordered as our missiles ripped into the spine of Justice Bringer and her engines went dark. Sendrei had provided a targeting solution that focused on disabling the ship rather than destroying it.
"Xie. Ship status?"
"Engine one is offline. I'm in the process of shutting down engine two. We lost atmo in a few forward crew sections. The majority of our armor on starboard and port sides along the waterline is ruined. We'll need to get a repair crew out there shortly or we'll have more decompressions," Xie reported.
"Tabby, give me a status," I requested over our tactical channel.
"One hundred percent," she said. "Tullas only had eyes for you."
"What in Jupiter's name did you do to Stark Justice?"
"We took a page from the Kroerak," Nick said. "Neither of those ships were moving, beyond just trying to keep pace with Intrepid. We just got a nice super high speed run at them and dropped our load of iron ingots out of the hold. Intrepid's guns did the real work."
"You'll have to watch the data-streams, little man," Marny said cheerfully. "You must have hit something internal. That ship was ready to go when we lit her up."
"Jonathan, how are our passengers? Any casualties" I asked. My stomach knotted as I considered the question.
"Negative on casualties," he replied. "There is considerable anxiety and two women appear to be completing their gestational cycles."
"They're delivering their babies!?" Ada asked. "Are they okay?"
"Yes, they appear to be within the last ten percent of their cycle," Jonathan replied. For all the strides in normal conversation he'd made, I was having trouble following what he was saying.
"Liam." Ada looked at me, her face fraught with worry. She'd taken a special interest in the women from Cradle and it was hard on her to think of them in distress.
"I relieve you, Ada," I said, shortcutting our normal formality.
"I stand relieved." She jumped from her station and bolted out of the bridge.
"Tabby, Nick, we need to look for survivors," I said. My primary status screen was overlaid with a search pattern of the combat arena. Every piece of material larger than the end of my finger was being tracked and scanned.
"We're on it," Tabby replied. "Jonathan is coordinating."
Establish comm with Petersburg station.
"Liam?" Mom answered right away. "Sit-rep," she demanded. You could take the officer out of the military but the opposite was harder.
"Still assessing, but overall we're whole," I said. "LeGrande. I'm so sorry."
"We're showing you have significant loss in engine function and multiple hull breaches," she said.
"Aye. We lost an engine and another is on life support, but we’ve no casualties. Please report your situation," I replied.
"No doubt you saw the loss of the defensive guns," she said. "That was planned. We had to draw Hammer of Justice in far enough they couldn't escape. The station is one hundred percent. Dulcinea del Toboso was unmanned. Jenny Caton rigged a remote navigation device for us. Sorry about your ship, but we had to ensure t
hat Hammer of Justice was completely destroyed."
"MacAsgaill?" I asked, my chest growing tight with anticipation.
"He's dead, Liam. There were no survivors," she replied. I'd heard that revenge was hollow and unsatisfying, but this felt like something entirely different. We hadn't hunted down our adversary -although, if I'd had some idea how, I might have. There was no guilt, because MacAsgaill had decided on this path, not us. No, I mostly felt relieved. The man who had ordered my father killed was dead as well as the executioner who had performed the murder and the universe was a better place for it.
"Understood. Good. We haven't found Mussa or Tullas yet," I said.
Mussa, under MacAsgaill’s orders, had actually launched the missiles at our peaceful co-op in the Descartes asteroid belt He wasn’t any less guilty of murder than MacAsgaill and I wasn't sure what I'd do if we found him alive.
"We have another situation. I'll explain more when we get there, but the short of it is we have pregnant women aboard, giving birth."
"Say again," Mom requested. "You haven't been gone long enough."
I laughed, despite myself. "No one you know," I said. "We rescued a group of mostly women. It's a long story, but the short of it is that thirty-eight of them are pregnant."
"Thirty-seven," Marny corrected, pointing to a corner of the forward vid-screen where Ada was kneeling next to a woman who held a newborn baby to her chest. The Norigan, Jester Ripples, stood next to Ada, adjusting blankets.
"Oh, man," Understanding hit me quickly for once. I flicked the image over the comm to Mom.
"Liam, a warship is no place for pregnant women or babies," she reprimanded. "What am I looking at?"
"That's Jester Ripples," I said. "I really don't have time to explain, but we’re headed your way in a few hours. Grab me on the comms if something urgent pops up."
"I can't believe you're going to leave me hanging like this, but I understand. I love you, Liam," Mom replied. "Petersburg Station out."
"Cap, we need to board Justice Bringer," Marny said. "The surviving crew has surrendered, but we haven't made contact with anyone of command rank."
Give No Quarter (Privateer Tales Book 10) Page 24