Junkyard Dogs series Omnibus

by Phillip Nolte

  "I couldn't agree more, Captain."

  "Prepare to charge secondary batteries!"

  "Aye, aye, Captain!"

  The smaller capacitors of the secondary batteries charged without incident as well.

  "Fire secondaries!"

  A series of smaller flashes strobed outward from the stout little warship.

  The three ships of the small convoy continued to head towards the Scrapyard using their reaction engines. The crew of the prototype continued to test their weapons system as they went. They tried even faster rapid fire sequences from the main battery and then worked with higher powered pulses using discharges powered by different combinations of capacitors. In every case, the guns performed flawlessly. Not to be outdone, the crews of the secondary batteries also took the opportunity to test their weapons to the limit. As the small fleet approached the Scrapyard, they ceased firing.

  "Captain Helmsford of the Foul Beastie calling the UTFN Reclamation Center."

  "Kresge here. I take it you'll be here soon?

  "Affirmative, Commander. We should be there within fifteen minutes or so."

  "How's that ship working?"

  "Surprisingly well, Commander. We spent about half of the time since our microjump just testing the weapons."

  "What is your assessment of that ship?"

  "I think that in spite of the rather unconventional appearance of this ship that she is extremely formidable. The main battery is simply astonishing! We've been firing multiple sequential pulses and pulses from combined capacitors and everything worked perfectly. This oddball cooling system seems to really help, the capacitors and the projectors didn't heat up hardly at all."

  "So you think she's ready to fight?"

  Helmsford paused for a moment before replying, "As I said, Commander, I think the ship is extremely formidable. I'd hate to have to face it, even with a real, full-blown cruiser. The ship itself feels like it's ready to fight. The readiness of the crew is another thing altogether. Don't get me wrong; I know that these people are some of the best in the Navy from how well we all worked together on the Larkspur. However, I think that we need all of the time we can get to become familiar with the Beastie and all of her workings. If we work our behinds off, we'll be ready when you need us."

  "Thanks for the report, Captain. We'll meet for a more in-depth debriefing after you get to the Scrapyard. Kresge out."

  Chapter 44.

  Patagonian Star System, January 10, 2599.

  The next stop for the mining ships on their tour was the Patagonian system. After translating through the hyperlink zone, the personnel on the three ships of the Federation recruiting mission were relieved to find no sign of the Sheik's forces for a change. Perhaps the fact that the populace was about ninety percent Christian, most of them Modern Reformed Catholics, might have had something to do with that. After the terrorist forces had effectively neutralized any threat posed by the remote colony by destroying the long-range communications and much of the transportation capability of the people in the system, it appeared as though the Sheik of Barsoom's Islamic Revolution no longer had any interest in the Patagonians.

  The Donegal and the Glendaloch had come through Patagonia on their way to New Ceylon a little over two weeks earlier and had found a colony reeling from the recent and devastating terrorist attack. The unsuspecting Patagonians had been completely overwhelmed by the well-organized and ruthless terrorist forces that had descended upon them without warning. The system's long range communications platform had been destroyed and small pockets of the population had been marooned here and there throughout the system. O'Connell and Patrick had been able to restore some order by rounding up some of the more far-flung stragglers and doing what they could to patch up a couple of the system's less damaged transports.

  Patagonia was known to be a rather poor planetary system but one that had steadily been making progress towards a higher level of prosperity, mostly through the hard work and determination of its constituents. The savage terrorist attack represented a severe setback for the colonists and the continued rise in influence of the Sheik's revolutionary forces in the Santana Quadrant did not bode well for Patagonia's future. After the harsh treatment of the colonists dished out by the Sheik's forces, O'Connell and Patrick figured that the Patagonians would be eager to even the score and the two Captains were hoping to find a rich recruiting ground for more Federation fighters.

  The mining ships were equipped with sensor equipment that was intended to locate valuable minerals, not to find living things. Even so, the total lack of any detectable energy signatures as the visitors attempted to make contact with the Patagonians came as a total surprise. From all appearances, Patagonia was an abandoned system.

  "Neil? Are you picking up anything on your sensors?"

  "No, Seamus, I'm not."

  "You don't suppose they figured out some way to evacuate everybody do you?"

  "I can't imagine how. They only had a couple of working spaceships."

  "I'm going to send out a general call. There must be somebody here, wouldn't you think?"

  "You'd sure as hell think so!"

  "This is Seamus O'Connell of the mining ship Donegal calling anyone in the Patagonian system. We came back to check up on you. Answer please."

  O'Connell repeated his message three times before finally getting a faint reply.

  "Seamus O'Connell? This is Juan Carlos. Is it really you?"

  "Yes, and I have Neil Patrick with me as well. Where are you? We couldn't get any readings at all."

  "We shut everything down and went way deep inside the asteroid when we saw that three ships had transported in. We were afraid you might be another group of terrorists."

  Perhaps the most influential leader among the Patagonians was the man who had responded to O'Connell's call, Juan Carlos Montoya. Montoya was a successful businessman, a respected civic leader and also happened to have been a member of the United Terran Federation Navy when he was a younger man.

  The Navy had been the vehicle that had propelled him off from Old Earth and out of the crushing poverty of his native South American country. The education he received on behalf of the Federation Navy had been eagerly received. With his quick intelligence and his driving work ethic, he had excelled at the Navy's training programs and his advancement through the ranks of enlisted men had been rapid and well-deserved. The travels associated with his stint in the Service had taken him all over Federation space but, as fate would have it, his final transfer had been to a ship that had settled in to an extended tour performing patrol duty between the Patagonian and Catskill-Soroyan systems.

  Over the course of two years, during which he frequently took shore leave in the Patagonian system, he had met a lovely and charming Patagonian girl and had fallen in love with her. He had also fallen in love with the energy and the passion of the Patagonian people, many of whom, like himself, had originated from the South American regions of Old Earth.

  After finishing his stint in the Navy, he had eagerly returned to Patagonia, gotten married, gotten involved with his wife's family business and had slowly and steadily carved out a pretty good life for himself. Now all of these gains were threatened by the Sheik of Barsoom's revolution.

  Juan Carlos explained what had happened.

  "After that attack, we had to figure out what to do if there was another. We've got almost everyone left in the system inside the asteroid. With all this rock around us, we found out that if we shut everything down to the absolute minimum, there isn't any sensor footprint."

  "It sure seems to work, we thought the colony was abandoned," said O'Connell.

  "Come on over to Nova Tierra," sent Juan Carlos, "We'll turn the lights back on!"

  "We're on our way," said O'Connell.

  Juan Carlos was to meet with the two mining ship Captains at the main port of call for Patagonia which was inside a hollowed out asteroid that the colonists had named "Nova Tierra del Fuego," after the historical region of South America whe
re some of them had originated and the unusual red-colored rock that much of the planetoid was made up of. The formerly iron-rich asteroid had been hollowed out years ago by a speculative mining venture that had removed the richest deposits and then moved on to skim the easiest pickings from somewhere else.

  The original Patagonian colonists had pooled all of their financial resources and converted the asteroid into a large enclosed habitat. Most of the habitat was sealed up inside the asteroid, but portions of it were built within the rim of the ancient crater that housed the artificial opening into the asteroid.

  After parking their mining ships near the asteroid and transporting to an intact airlock, the two Captains were ushered into one of the colony's few remaining undamaged above ground facilities. They were left by themselves for a few minutes. O'Connell and Patrick used the time to inspect their surroundings.

  The view from the above ground facility that they had been brought to must have been spectacular before the terrorists had come in and pretty much destroyed anything that appeared to have any value. The facilities were located in a system of caverns that had been laser evacuated within the solid rock of the rim around the crater where the temporary mining station had been anchored. Through large viewports in the walls and ceiling, mounted right into the rock of the artificial cavern, there was an expansive view of an open starscape visible above; while arcing outward from either side was a spectacular panorama of the rim around the opening into the asteroid, encrusted with more habitats like the one they were in. Visible below was the opening into the interior of the asteroid with the blue glow of the now reactivated "force curtain" airlock, easily large enough to admit starships. The view was marred by the obvious damage from the terrorist attack to many of the habitats within the rim.

  Juan Carlos met the two mining Captains with his usual enthusiasm and a huge smile on his handsome face. He gave them each a hearty handshake while he greeted them.

  "Captain O'Connell, Captain Patrick! It is a pleasure to see you again. As you can see, we have managed to recover from the terrorist attacks, at least somewhat. I must take the time to thank you once again, we could not have recovered this quickly without your help."

  "It was the least we could do," said O'Connell.

  "It has been over two weeks since you were here, Captain," said Juan Carlos, "how did the rest of your travels go? Were you able to contact the Federation at the Santana Nexus?"

  "We found the Federation authorities," replied O'Connell, "but we didn't get to the Santana Nexus. Things didn't go quite the way we'd planned..."

  The mining ship Captains related the events that they had been a part of, including encountering the stronghold at the Scrapyard and the ensuing events, including the two separate victories over the terrorists while defending the New Ceylon Reclamation Center.

  "This is best news we've heard in weeks!" exclaimed Juan Carlos. "These terrorists were starting to believe they couldn't be defeated."

  "They were also fought to a standstill and forced to evacuate from the Piedmont mining station. We're beginning to think that most of their success has been due to the surprise element. They have been attacking unsuspecting systems without any warning. By hitting quick and taking out the long range communications, most of the system governments aren't able to get any kind of warning sent off. Seems like if you know they're coming, and have some time to get prepared, they aren't nearly so tough."

  "That is good to know," said Juan Carlos. "Come, sit." He motioned towards the large meeting table in the center of the room. O'Connell and Patrick sat down next to each other. "Would you like a refreshment? I have sent for coffee?"

  "Some coffee would be nice," said O'Connell. Patrick nodded his head.

  "Ah, here it is now," said Juan Carlos. He poured three cups and grabbed one of them before taking a seat himself across from the two Spacers. He glanced back and forth between his two guests. "I am certain you did not come all the way back here just to chat. How can we help you?"

  O'Connell decided on a direct approach. "We need people who are willing to fight," he said, "We're trying to put together a force strong enough to recapture the Santana Nexus."

  Juan Carlos didn't say anything but his expression said he was interested.

  O'Connell continued, "Most of the Sheik of Barsoom's forces have been concentrating there and if we figure if can defeat them at the Nexus, we can break the back of this 'Revolution' before it gains any more momentum."

  "I have been to the Santana Nexus on many occasions, Captain O'Connell," said Juan Carlos, "That station is a very big place with many places to hide. It will be difficult for this Sheik to run any kind of military operation there."

  "We're well aware of that, Juan Carlos, in a way we're kind of counting on it. Besides that, the enemy has been occupying the facility for a only short time, just a few weeks. The Nexus itself has over fifty thousand people on it and we're pretty sure that only a very small minority are pleased with the sudden change in government. However, the longer we allow the Sheik's forces to consolidate their grip on the Nexus Station, the harder it will be to root them out. If we're gonna, we need to move on them as quickly as we can before they get any more settled in."

  "We still have much rebuilding to do out here after their attack on us," said Juan Carlos, "but we lack the resources to do very much. Our progress is likely to be very slow. I have men, Captain O'Connell, perhaps even a lot of men, who do not have anything to do at the present time. We filed a request for full colonial status with the Federation just over six months ago. So far we have heard nothing. If we help the Federation, perhaps they will help us in return, no? "

  "We will do what we can to help you plead your case, Juan Carlos, but I think you need to make your concerns clear to Admiral Kingston, she is the highest ranking Federation officer in the Quadrant."

  "We have a loosely organized militia and I have the authority to commit several hundred men, Captain O'Connell, many of them former military and most of them not long out of the Service. There is nothing I would like better than to see this terrorist scourge wiped from the universe! What do we do next?'

  "We will be returning to the New Ceylon system as soon as we conclude our business here. At that time we'll take stock of what we've got for men and warships and start formulating our plans to retake the Nexus Station. It would be very helpful if you could come back with us, Juan Carlos. You're the one who knows the capabilities of your men and your input will be badly needed as we finalize our attack plans."

  "My wife will not be happy, but it is obvious to me that I must attend this meeting!"

  O'Connell looked thoughtful for a moment.

  "Why don't you bring her along?" he asked. "The Meridian Ambassdor's wife is at New Ceylon and Commander Kresge has his fiancé there. Both of those women are leaders in their own right, just like your wife. Having her along might actually make things go even better."

  "I'm certain she will see the wisdom of your request," replied Juan Carlos. "When do we leave?

  "I'd like to get underway as soon as possible but I can certainly give you a day or so to make some preparations."

  "Sounds good. I'll go and get ready. Ah...after I have convinced my Rosa of our need to join up with you!"

  Chapter 45.

  UTFN Reclamation Center, January 11, 2599.

  The small fleet returned from the Secret Scrapyard and over the course of the next twenty-four hours was joined by the Asimov and the Dingo, now laden with supplies for the Scrapyard, from Heard's world. As the supplies were being distributed and packed away, Corporal Donahue personally delivered the computers and drives recovered from the Veritian Derelict to Ensign Carlisle. With Kresge's blessing, she took them immediately to Heskim on the Istanbul who accessed them for her and loaded the output onto her wrist computer as he had done with the data from the original computer drive. She then went back to her quarters on the Greyhound to run the decoding software and see if there was additional information concerning the Veri
tian Derelict's special passenger.

  She attempted to access the information from the quantum drive that had been taken from the Command post computer on the auxiliary bridge of the wreck as it seemed to be the most obvious place to start. She noticed immediately that this drive hadn't contained nearly as much information as the one from the bridge had yielded. That made sense because the auxiliary command station had only been used for few days, no longer than a week, before the ship had been set down on the moon in the Heard's World system and then abandoned. She found a concentration of files in the download and set her translation software to work decoding it.

  As had been the case with the first drive, the download contained several days worth of routine, mundane, clerical information. This material was translated quickly. Carlisle scanned the information to see if it contained anything important while the translation software churned away at another of the large concentrations of information that turned out to contain another of the Veritian Captain's video logs. She accessed the file when the software announced that the conversion had been completed. Another video featuring the Captain Josiah Dobbins dictating his log came up.

  "...This is Captain Josiah Dobbins of God's Almighty Sword reporting. With the help of the Almighty, we have managed to escape from the New Ceylon system. We could not have cut our departure any closer; a major battle had just begun as we translated out through the hyperlink point. As we were hoping, the badly damaged state of our ship and the fact that the damage had been inflicted by non-Federation warships meant that we were welcomed and essentially hustled through the jump zone by the ships on guard there.

  We jumped directly into the Heard's World system and will be abandoning this ship as soon as I can reach a suitable spot to hide it. The damage inflicted by our allies to convince the enemy forces that we were on the side of the Federation was almost too thorough. All of the ship's vital systems are still working but I don't know for how much longer.