by Jay Toney
I had our guards open the escape pod, and put the prisoners in chains and leg irons. Then they were shuttled down to the surface, where they would be dealt with by the Vorg. They would face slavery or death, perhaps both. The Vorg would want their torment to last, before granting any mercy.
I hadn't heard or seen Nord in the last three days. When I finally caught up to him, I asked about his prisoner. He told me they tenderized him up a good bit then tossed him in the rubbish bins. It was sound proof, so no one but the Vorg heard his screams.
"I lost a good bit betting on that thief. I was sure he would last at least until noon. Cost me 100 credits, he did. It was the best money I have spent in a long time though. I don't think you will have anyone stealing again after that demonstration."
It was money well spent then.
Pit Stop
We needed fuel and food fast. The Persephone still had plenty of fuel, but the Vengeance and the Lucy burnt through most of their remaining fuel getting help for the people of Spicer II. All of us contributed what we could from our ships leaving us short.
Red appeared on my main viewscreen, while I was contemplating our options. We were due to come out of hyperspace, in a uninhabitable star system. Not much was known about the system, other than the fact that its sun had shown its last light long ago. It had once been a bright yellow dwarf star, now all that remained of the dieing star was a black dwarf. The system was still full of nebula gases from the dying star.
Natty took us out of hyperspace on time and in the right location. The system was mostly dark, with the exception of the occasional patch of glowing nebula gas and flashes of light, similar to lightning, caused by the charged particles of gas and dust. Red appeared on our main screen. Sensor data and communications came a lot faster after our upgrades on Haven. Even our AI seemed to be functioning faster.
"Nathaniel, we should be able to refuel, and get some food here. This is one of my better salvage areas. Hidden in the nebula gasses is the remains of a long past battle. I've been able to defuse most of the traps left behind, but not all, so we still have to be careful."
Red gave us the coordinates, and we cautiously approached the doomed fleet. As we got closer we were able to see the dark silhouettes in the flashes of light. The ship in front of me was huge, easily three times the size of Red's battleship.
"A beaut isn't it. That is one of the Alliances last dreadnoughts. It ran out of fuel here, but it still has power. It wasn't easy pulling her teeth. If it could, the AI would already be firing on us. Its food stores are full, and not too bad. In fact they are a lot better than what they manufacture today. While you make arrangements to shuttle food from her, Mike and I will see about getting us some more fuel. On the other side of the dreadnought is a refueling tanker. I left it here, just in case I needed it someday. Today is as good as any to use it. It doesn't have much fuel aboard, but there is enough to fill the Vengeance's and the Lucy's tanks part way. Not every trap the Alliance left has been found, so don't touch anything other than the food stores."
Red sent us a map that would lead us to the cargo holds, and the food. I downloaded it into my comp. Jewel, Amber and I headed to the shuttle bay, 30 workers and cargo handlers were waiting for us there. After everyone was briefed and aboard, we launched.
I turned on the shuttles search lights, to try to give me a better view of the dreadnought. It didn't help much. The dreadnought was transformed from a dark silhouette to a dark gray silhouette. I panned my searchlights over the hull looking for the shuttle bay. After a couple of passes, I gave up. I transmitted the code Red said that would open the hatch.
It was no wonder that I missed it. The hatch was easily large enough to bring the Persephone inside. We flew in and landed near what I hoped was the entrance to the ship. As soon as our shuttles shut down, the hatch began closing. The lights came on, nearly blinding us after being in near absolute darkness. I checked the shuttles instruments before opening the hatch. It showed that the pressure was normal, and the atmosphere was breathable.
The air may have been breathable, but it was definitely stale, and used. The filters, were with out a doubt long past due for changing. I thought that even though they were old, they had only little use, and the air should have been of better quality. They must have been long past due changing before the ship was abandoned.
The dreadnought felt like a tomb. Red assured me that there were no bodies left aboard. We left the shuttle bay, taking with us several cargo dollies. We followed the map on my comp, following what seemed like endless corridors. Eventually we turned down a side passage, and came to a cargo door. There were several long coats and gloves next to the hatch. We put these on, then opened the door. The blast of cold air was beyond anything I ever felt, even with the coats.
We loaded the dollies as fast as we could, so we could return to the warmth. We covered the meals with insulating blankets, then headed back to the shuttles. When our shuttles were full, we each flew to a different ship, to unload our cargo. We made ten more trips, filling our stores. With our ships full, the dreadnought's cargo hardly looked touched. Its hatches were sealed until someone else found its treasures. I would have liked to explore more of the ship, but headed Red's advice. I had heard horror stories about some of the booby traps that the Alliance left behind. They were nothing to fool with. I wondered how many men Red lost, salvaging the weapons from this ship.
We headed out system, our computers busy calculating our next jump to the Nyx System. A chattering sound came over our comm system, Jewel gave me a shrug. It repeated, this time with a translation.
"Who are you to trespass in our territory?"
Our viewscreen remained blank, with only audio an audio signal being transmitted. "I am Captain Roberts. This is human commonwealth territory. It is you who are trespassing."
More chattering, "We have claimed this space for our species. You must pay tribute, or die."
"What is this tribute?"
This time we got chattering and screeching in response. "We require 100 of your human lives, all in good health, to feast upon."
"That is not going to happen."
Something that sounded like chattering and laughter assaulted our ears. "We were hoping that you would say that."
What looked like hundreds of swarm ships filled our viewscreen, and began accelerating towards us.
"Persephone, set our ships for a synchronized jump."
"We are synced and ready Captain."
I waited until the swarm ships were nearly on us, before giving the order to jump. I wasn't sure what affect our jump would have them, but I hoped it was devastating. I was sure several of their ships would be caught inside of our warp bubble. I for one didn't like insects of any species. I only kept the niffids aboard because of their beneficial use and they were a favorite meal of our deevils.
The next morning we came out of hyperspace in the Nyx System. I got a chance to see for myself what happened to the swarm ships. Several of them were close enough to be enveloped in our hyperspace warp bubble, and drawn into hyperspace with us.
Their shields and structure were not designed for the rigors of hyperspace. Twisted and deformed metal that once were swarm ships, floated around us. There were no signs of life amongst the wreckage. Natty set our course for the second planet. According to the files, there was a space station there. Red had no other information other than the system should be friendly to us. The meals we salvaged were better than any Alliance rations that I had eaten, but they were still not the prime grade I was use to. I ate them only because they were much better than the emergency rations we were left with. Even my shoe leather would be better than the emergency rations we were down to. I hoped they had a good assortment of prime grade foods for us to choose from on the space st
ation.
We were completely out of staples, having donated them as well as our frozen meals. We needed replenishment. Doc told me to suck it up, we had been in worse situations, and without money. I didn't remember any, so it must have been when I was very young.
I brought up the stations trade goods on my comp, and began ordering medical supplies, food of all sorts, missiles, and other ammunition. I also listed my silver, and the Alliance rations we had on board for sale.
After receiving docking clearance, I allowed the Persephone to be towed into one of the stations hangars. It was unusual to be put into a hanger without major repairs needing to be done. The station assured me that it was to make the transfer of cargo easier. The Lucy was docked nearby, in white section.
Station security and one of the station's delegates were at our airlock to meet us.
"Captain Roberts, you are under arrest for the crime of piracy." He took another look at the biographical information he had on file and said, "I am sorry, there must be a mistake, you are obviously not the Captain Roberts we are searching for."
"I understand, its a common name. I assure you that neither myself, my crew, or my ship have been here before. We have come from the border worlds around Alliance territory. May I see the image on file?" He showed me the image and biographical data on the warrant. It was Doc. "I don't recognize the image or data. It could be a relative, I'm not sure. I come from a large family, and as I said there are many people named Roberts."
"We will see to it that the corrections are taken care of. Welcome to our station."
After the greeting, I hurried to sickbay to see Doc. He was just getting ready to go aboard the station.
"Doc, I am glad I caught you in time. The station has a warrant for your arrest. You have to stay aboard and out of sight."
"Its been a long time since I was here last, before you were born, surely they have forgotten me by now."
"They haven't, I saw your image and the biographical data on the arrest warrant. They had a squad of troops ready to take me in, thinking I was you."
"It would be best that you spend as little time off the ship as possible too, they might discover our relationship."
"If they are curious, they will want to search the ship at some point before letting us go. We will have to get you and Jane aboard the Lucy. You will be safer there in case they do search us."
Doc was disguised to blend in with our Iniguar crewmen and their bond mates, and they were sent over to the Lucy in a group. Jane, Natty, Amber, and Jewel followed after them. Everybody made it there without being stopped. They were either waiting for some type of covert transport, or thought he was still aboard. I waited for what I knew was to come.
The next morning the station delegate and 30 security officers showed up to search the ship. They told me that the search was just protocol and needed to be done to satisfy the release of my ship. I was starting to wonder when, or if it would end.
They started their search from the bridge working towards the stern of the ship. The first problem came with my cabin. Between the outfits, and shoes he could tell I had more than one female living with me.
"Captain Roberts, polygamy has been outlawed in our system."
"My ship and marriage are registered in the Buenos Ares system, planet San Paulos. It is legal there."
"We don't recognize the laws of any other systems, I'm afraid we will have to bring you in."
"That would be a waste of time. Two of my wives are dead. They died in combat. Persephone, playback Natty's and Tanya's death."
A video of Natty and Tanya flying into the path of a missile to save Red appeared on my screen.
"Persephone, can you confirm their death?"
"Their death is confirmed and recorded."
"How many people, and under what names am I legally married to?"
"You have only one wife, Amber."
"What is the status of my other room mates."
"They are legally single, living with you and Amber under their free will."
"Does that satisfy the polygamy charge?"
"I suppose it does, it wouldn't stand up in court anyhow, seeing that two of your wives are deceased."
I had more problems in hydroponics, in our rubbish collection, and in the recycling areas. They were sealed off with airlocks to keep the niffids isolated from the rest of the ship. In each area, I shut down the refrigeration, and allowed the troopers to search the areas. I was sure they collected more than a few hitchhikers. I was hoping at least a hundred or more. After they exited the areas, I restarted the refrigeration units. If any stray niffids decided to jump from the searchers, they would be hunted tonight. I was pretty sure they understood our agreement. It didn't cover what would happen after they left the ship to start a new colony though.
The searchers were finally satisfied after searching the marauders, shuttles, and launch bays. They left, but didn't release the ship. I checked and my ship was still on lock down. If it came to it, there were other means to get the hangar doors to open. In the mean time cargo started flowing to and from my ship. All the Alliance rations were sold at a good price. They were replaced by prime grade meals, and deserts. All of Doc's staples were replaced. He and Rosie didn't have an excuse not to cook now. The spent ammunition for our PDC were replaced as well as our expended missiles. Ten more of our pallets of silver were also sold, adding a tidy sum to our supply of credits. The appropriate percentage was divided amongst the different crewmen.
Now it was a waiting game. We had only been here a few days, and were expected to stay two weeks while our ships were serviced. The niffids that transferred to the space station had plenty of time to locate the rubbish chutes and bins. I was hoping they had multiplied, and were spreading. I would give it a few more days.
I didn't think the niffids were enough to quarantine the station. They were definitely a pest that was tough to deal with. I asked my devil if any devils would want to transfer to the station, and help with the out brake. He shook his head no. He didn't like these people anymore than I did.
I monitored the comms, and when I was asleep Persephone did it for me. Complaints about bites became more frequent as the days passed. The station offices contacted me, and I told them that we had no problems on our ships. Whatever was infesting them must have come from there garbage scows or service ships. The delegate holding our warrant was hospitalized and restrained with a severe rash. Our case was turned over to another agent. The file was reviewed, and our ship released.
I was sort of hoping that I could blow the hangars doors. The niffid infestation would have to be enough to entertain me. The girls returned after being gone nearly two weeks. Doc would be shuttled back after we left. I was sure we were still being watched, and the identities checked on our returning crew. With the niffid outbreak, the Lucy's business was in decline, except from what Red and I were providing.
The space station was infested, and the infestation was spreading to the planet and other habitats. It was to bad they didn't have Hannah's noid cream, and I wasn't going to give them a sample of ours to analyze. Our devils spent the night hunting any niffids that may have stowed away with our cargo. I didn't know how many they caught, but I didn't have any reports of niffid bites amongst our returning crew. The only bites they got happened on station, and they were quick to return for the ointment.
"Nathaniel, did you release our niffids on the station?" Amber asked.
"Absolutely not. A few hitchhikers must have stowed away when they searched the ship. The security forces, made a mess searching the ship and didn't follow protocol by wearing environmental suits and cooling off."
"Still, the cold air should have kept them contained."
; "The refrigeration units malfunctioned at the time. Mikes men are looking into it. They have been working fine since then, it was probably just a glitch in the system."
"We should send them some aid."
"I asked my deevil, and he said no. None of the devils will go there to feast on their niffids. They do not like the people of Nyx."
"Is there anything that you're not telling me about?"
"Only that they wanted to arrest us on polygamy charges."
"That's foolish those charges wouldn't stick. They have to recognize the laws of the rest of the human commonwealth. Its the law."
"I guess what comes around goes around and they are on the receiving end this time."
"What about offering them some cream as a gesture of good will?"
"That would implicate us as the cause of their problems. It would be better to leave it be. They will be able to find their own solution, in time. Several other races have."
"You didn't have anything to do with the refrigeration units shutting down, did you?"
"Amber, you know me. How can you ask such a thing?"
"Its because I know you that I am asking."
"Yes. I shut them down during the search."
"I don't like these people either. There a bunch of pompous asses. Natty, Jewel, and I will have to do something special to thank you for it tonight."
The next morning I contacted the station offices to get departure clearance and was denied. I was told that I had used station services, namely the search warrant and the search of my ship, and needed to pay the taxes to cover the cost.
"Just how much am I indebted for your search of my ship?" I asked the station manager."
"We don't mean to sound unreasonable, 90 percent of your silver should cover the cost."
"If I refuse?"
"Then we will have no choice but to seize it. We would prefer not to use force to take it. If we do consider your ship and everything on board to be forfeit"