by James Edward
“The problem with you, Blondie, is that you only think of tomorrow, not the next few months or years,” the bald man stated. “Listen, there is going to be a war within the next ten years, if not sooner, to have control of a system, and being that close to the populated worlds gives us the key to the henhouse. We can raid and disappear, refuel, and be ready to raid again. The authorities will be too busy fighting to go chasing after us, and we can harvest slaves at our leisure while the big boys are off fighting themselves. That system is ideal for our newest base.”
“I agree,” the fourth man, known as Bear, said. “My contact in the PRC says that if we take it, we can put it in the hands of Great Ursa, and they can lend a level of legitimacy to it.”
“Okay, why let Ursa have it?” Blondie said. “As soon as the PRC is in power, you know that they will turn on us. Ursa is only a front for PRC, so we are doing the legwork, and they are getting the prize. I say let Ursa take the system, and we take it from Ursa.”
“You are just about as stupid as stupid can be, blond man.” Dog snarled. “The PRC are our suppliers through Great Ursa. Great Ursa lets us know when there is a system ready for raiding or passenger ships that can be taken. If we cut their throats, we are back to squabbling over pieces and trying to get weapons and munitions. Blond man, you are a fool if you think that I am going to go up against the PRC. On top of that, if they take the system, then they will be better able to defend it than we would be in taking it. The time to take it is now. Each faction should supply three major ships each. Twelve ships should be enough to take a small system.”
“Dog, you talk to me like that again, and we will be down to three factions,” spat Blondie. “Anytime or system we can meet and see who is who. I don’t like to waste my ships or manpower on nonproductive efforts. Baldy said it all when he said that there is going to be a war and we can benefit from it. I am in for that because there are plenty of profits to be gained later. But don’t push me, Dog. You could very well end up dead.”
“Bah, you and your crew of fumblers take me and mine out!” Dog snarled back. “How about now, stupid? The winner takes the other faction over.”
“There won’t be anything of the sort.” Bear slapped the table. “We stay like this ’cause we all want four equal partners, not two small and one big. That causes infighting and assassinations. No, if you want to have a battle, then we all pick the system, and we duke it out to see who will consolidate the raiders. No profit in it, is there? Okay, so it’s done. A twelve-ship raiding party, nothing smaller than a frigate. We will move and prepare for a strike two weeks from now.”
They finished their drinks and left. No one thought to ask them to pay for the drinks. The last bartender that did ask ended up being fed to some exotic wild animal. An overweight, one-eyed woman that looked like she had lost a fight with a badger limped over to the table and started picking up the glasses and bottles. With a quick flip of her hand, she recovered the recording chip and palmed it. She finished wiping the table and limped back to the bar to cough all over the bartender, who jumped back and smacked her with is towel. She whined and sniveled and skittered out of the way. Eventually her shift was over, and she made her slow and crippled way to the flophouse where she lived.
She sat down and relaxed for a bit to get the kinks out. Then slipping the recorder into a small transmitting unit, she listened to the conversation. She pulled a tight beam sender out of a hole in the back of the bed and lined it up to the coordinates that she had memorized.
“Tell the CEO that it’s on for two weeks, twelve ships, frigate or bigger.” She closed the device, destroyed the recorder, and put away the sender. Later she made her way to another house where she transformed herself from an overweight, crippled serving woman to a thin man that had the look that he could handle himself, blaster and all. He/she made his way to another nondescript building at the end of the block, knowing that she was being watched from the moment she entered the neighborhood. Making his way up the stairs and through an open doorway, he leaned against the door jam and nodded to Bear, who was sitting at a table going over some video feeds.
“Razor,” was all that Bear said as he continued to read the feeds.
“You are aware that Baldy and Dog are going to move against you,” Razor said quietly. It was a statement only. “Word is that you hold them back and always protect Blondie. Blondie’s crew needs a new leader. One that will align with us.”
“Well I am still the Big Bear, and they will take massive damage if they try. We have a run to make in a couple of weeks. You going to be there or are you going sniffing again?” Bear rumbled.
“Sniffing. If I don’t watch your back, no one will. Besides, what will I do on a ship but twiddle my thumbs?” Razor replied.
“My back will be no problem. All of us will be doing this run. I mean all four factions, so it leaves you and a few others to watch the business. Maybe if Blondie dies, you can take his place,” Bear said with an evil smile.
“Yeah, then who will watch my back! Nah you better get someone that wants you dead for that.” Razor grinned back at Bear. “What’s the run? Anything worth getting excited about?”
“Nah, we are just going to kill an upstart group of miners and refiners that managed to get their hands on a few decrepit fleet warships. They chased Dog off, and now we will go and own the system,” Bear stated.
“Sounds easy. Why all four factions if it’s a cake walk?” Razor asked.
“Well there’s the matter that they’re mining a gas giant and have some sort of refining capacity. Great Ursa told us that this outfit was making inroads into their fuel monopoly, so they must have worked out the kinks in harvesting a gas giant. We can’t let one faction claim the system for their own and have all that free fuel, right? So we are all going so that we can each stake a claim. Save fighting later,” Bear said.
“Well watch yourself, Bear. That would be an ideal time to put a missile into your flag by, uh, accident.” Razor smiled, showing his stained teeth. “Dog and Baldy will try to take you out. You know that.”
“Yep, you’re not the only sniffer on my payroll.” Bear grinned at Razor. “I have to keep you all honest, double check all the info you supply me, and see if it’s the same as my other sniffers. Can’t have you planting wrong info on me, can I?”
“Oh, checking the checkers. Wise, my friend. Trust no one,” Razor said. “Well I’m off. I have a girl waiting that wants to explain the facts of life to me. I’ll check in before you leave then.”
“Here.” Bear tossed an envelope full of credits to Razor. “Just keep feeding me the news, and you will stay breathing. If you find out when Baldy or Dog plan to strike, tight beam my satellite.” Not too many people knew that Bear had his own surveillance and communication satellite orbiting the planet. It was a well-kept secret, especially as it was operated under the guise of a planetary entertainment satellite. Bear used it to listen in on the other factions’ communications as well as other players.
Razor made his way out of the neighborhood and disappeared into one of the buildings. An hour later, a woman appeared from the building and called for a lift. The car took her to the spaceport where in a heavily secured hanger her shuttle sat. She met up with three other operatives, and they opened up their counter-surveillance equipment and began the security sweeps. It would be a few hours before darkness and before they could lift off so they would make sure that the old serving woman/Razor/Lyn wasn’t followed.
“Ray, we have a signal from Lyn. The pirates will strike in two weeks, with twelve ships, nothing smaller that a frigate,” Lydia reported. “Suggest that we start a defense lockdown of nonessential departments and residences.”
“No, not yet. Wait a week. We’re in good shape with our drill so we can lockdown fairly fast. Status on the gate?” Ray said, knowing the status. Hearing it through another’s eyes would reinforce what he knew.
“Guar
d One is operational, and the marines are on station. The shipping lanes are marked for access or in our case maximum firing potential. Areas outside the lanes are heavily mined. Guard One is in position for maximum firing of both missiles and lasers. These lasers are battleship equivalent, and the new stealth missiles are ideal for a large platform like that right now. If they get closer, they will fall into particle beam range, and again, they are more powerful than the battleships. The combined firepower from the platform will be devastating.
“We have the cruisers Wolf Fang and Brontus already on station. Destroyers Mercy and Everglade are doing routine war games within a half-day travel along with the frigates Wolf, Bear, and Adder. We will put them on station in a week then. The rest of the ships are scattered throughout the system. Some getting upgraded, some getting the second-generation ceramic coating.
“Cul Dar is towing Guard Two to cure the ceramics and will be tied up for at least ten days. At flank, it can be there before they arrive.
“Twelve ships against eight ships in a hardened fleet that has superior firepower, shields, armor, and missiles, along with a vicious weapons platform. This will be interesting to say the least.”
“Okay, in a week we will institute defense pattern Alpha. Contact Hammer, Les, Merle Olsen, Jeff, Bev, and Early. I want a meeting tomorrow to go over the system defense. Defense Alpha will inform all department heads, and they will be able to activate their lockdowns,” Ray said. “This is a litmus test to see if all our hard work, R&D, recruiting, and developing will do the trick when it comes to the defense of the system.
“I am thinking that we have more than enough ships, guns, and mines at the gate to engage and defeat the pirates. Have Cul Dar pull Guard Two to an area that can’t be seen on sensors and stay there. I would like to hide Matilda as well. Ensure that all ships are at capacity with missiles and have Kimberly move Matilda to a hiding spot. I want maximum sensor jamming. I don’t want them to see anything. I would think that some of their ships will run, and they will only carry info about ships at the gate.”
“Okay, Ray, it will be done,” Lydia said as she typed on her pad. “We will be ready.”
Almost a week to the day, the Blackship flashed through the gate. After getting the appropriate lane clearances, they moved slowly along the transit lanes. Lyn and the captain stood on the bridge deck and took in the weapons platform. It was an imposing blockhouse, visible laser placements, missile launch tubes, particle beam bays, and rows of rail guns. Point defense systems were scattered throughout the blockhouse. This didn’t show the heavy shield emitters or the hidden missile launch tubes or the hidden laser emplacements. What anyone saw was only half of what was there. The top bristled with electronic jamming arrays, interrupters that when fired on a ship would knock the electronics off line and sound bafflers that knocked communication off line. Neither of the observers saw the one solid meter of baked ceramic plating that made the platform almost impenetrable or the two meters of nanobot` molded alloy that was self-repairing. The airlocks were designed to repel docking magnets, and each one had a multitude of point defense and anti-boarding weapons installed around the locks. In all, it was a work of defensive art.
After clearing Guard One, they saw that the two cruisers were standing on station. They were strategically located to have the invading ships move away from the firepower of the platform and out of the lanes to engage either platform or ship. Leaving the lanes put them into a minefield that would cause devastating damage and take their focus away from the missiles that would be launched. As they moved passed the cruisers, they blinked their running lights in respect to the men and women that would be engaged in a battle within a week. As they passed the cruisers, they saw the destroyers sitting in support of the cruisers. Each one of these ships had the second-generation ceramic armor and upgraded weapons. Lyn wondered where the frigates were, not realizing that she passed them at the gate. They were sitting under the cloaking of the projection emitters. When the invaders passed them, they would have an unrestricted view of their engines, a perfect place to put a ship killer missile. After passing Mercy and Everglade, they moved to see the rest of the fleet stand guard between the populated area and the gate. Lyn saw no sign of the Cul Dar or Matilda.
“Communication from the nerve center, Captain Landrew is on the line, sir,” the coms officer said.
“Put him on the speaker,” the captain said.
“Welcome to Conrad, Lady Lyn and Captain Steadman,” Landrew said. “We have some improvements for you and some upgrades to your ship. Ray is looking forward to dining with you both at Darcy. You would be surprised, but we have a decent restaurant there now.”
“Looking forward to it. We will off load and send the ship for a refuel. See you in an hour,” the Captain said.
Later on that evening, Ray was sitting with Lyn and Steadman. They had enjoyed the meal and were sitting back enjoying good coffee.
“The improvements here and all around the system are magnificent, Ray,” Lyn said. “I was awestruck at the platform at the gate. That beast is one mean-looking monster. I think that that platform alone could hold off an invasion.”
“Yup, she is a looker, eh,” Ray responded. “We have developed a mean control point for anyone foolish enough to try to gain access. I imagine that you saw the cruisers and destroyers stationed there, but did you see the three frigates lurking at the gate?”
“What! There were frigates there?” Captain Steadman asked. “We didn’t see any frigates or other ships. Were they cloaked?”
“Yes.” Ray beamed. “Completely hidden. They are part of the second-generation shielding and armor plating. We have your ship scheduled for a refit right after our expected visits.”
“How does it work?” Captain Steadman asked.
“The principles of it are a bit complicated, but the gist of it is that the hull will have a series of emitters spotted throughout the hull of the ship. The emitters take whatever is in front of them and project it 180 degrees to the shield emitters on the other side of the ship. It projects an image of the opposite scene on the shields. Sort of what’s on port will be projected on starboard and vice versa. The new second-generation coating has millions of crystal wafers embedded in the coating that deflect sensors away from where they came from. It sort of makes the sensors see nothing, and visually you are masked, and as you are masked, the weapons systems on most of the warships out there won’t be able to get a lock on you. As a side benefit, the ceramics increase your hull protection from laser, particle, or missile fire by over 300 percent.”
“Those ships coming through the gate don’t stand a chance, do they?” Lyn said. “They are going to get a whipping.”
“No not much of a chance.” Ray sipped his coffee. “We will not use everything in our arsenal, but we will beat them so bad that they won’t come back—nor will the PRC or Great Ursa. The time that we will use it the most is when we escort the freighters out of the system to their docks on Omicron 2 or Sempter. More than likely, by the time they get through the minefield and engage the platform, our ships will be there just for the mop up. My concern is with prisoners. I would like to turn them over to Fleet, but it’s going to be hard to coordinate that.”
“I can help out there,” Lyn said. “You still have a fast relay to Cappa? I will send a flag to my boss to meet you here with a prison ship.”
“No, make it Omicron 2,” Ray said. “That way the prisoners won’t know that we are aware of what they were up to, nor will they think we are aligned with the Fleet. We will put the survivors on a freighter covered by marines when we ship them.”
“You realize that this will create a massive power vacuum in the pirate worlds?” Lyn said, laughing at the thought of Bear, Baldy, Dog, and Blondie behind bars. “With those four factions destroyed, there will be a fight to see who will rise to the top. The raiding that they did for Great Ursa and the PRC will be curtailed to the point
that Ursa might have to do some of its own dirty work.
“This, by the way, is great coffee.”
Ray coded a note asking for a prisoner pick up for week’s end at Omicron 2. He checked the final preparations and dispatched a cloaked corvette through the gate. It would stay on the outside limit of the hyper rim waiting for the pirate ships. Eventually it saw the ships coming out of hyperspace and assembling.
“So that’s them,” Captain Shirley Farmer told the XO as she watched the ragtag group of ships appearing out of hyperspace. “I feel like we’re watching chickens go to slaughter. Not one of those ships will survive the platform. Well send the message probe; let them know that company is coming.”
Major Regent Stiles sat in his command chair and watched the screens. Just thirty seconds ago, the probe came through, announcing that company was coming. All systems were at full battle alert with the shields up. As practiced, laser and rail guns were already trained on certain spots around the gate. The missiles were just waiting for a target.
“We have gate movement,” the sensor operator said. “Ships coming in. Counting … twelve ships are in the gate entrance.”
“Open a hailing channel,” Regent said. With a nod from his coms operator, he said, “This is the gate entry clearing platform. All ships are to strike their shields and power down their engines prior to custom search before entry into the system. This is your only warning. Failure to comply will cause the platform’s defensive weapons to fire on you.”
“We don’t drop our shields for anyone,” came the reply. “Any aggressive moves by the platform will result in twelve ships firing on you. Stand down and prepare to be boarded.”
“Forty-five seconds left. Failure to stand down and follow the directives of the System Custom Clearance will provoke the platform to engage you with deadly force. Last chance to stand down.”
On the invading ships, the communications were going at a frenzy. Bear and Baldy wanted to size up the platform, with Blondie and Dog just wanting to engage it.