Inadvertent Adventures

by Jones, Loren K.

  “Drop into normal space immediately, Olaf,” she commanded by way of reply and the ship shuddered. “Change course to match the navigator’s settings and go back into hyper.” She looked at Silver and smiled serenely. “Getting lost in hyper is one of our main dangers, Silver. I’m hoping that whoever that captain is thinks we’re a lost ship when he gets to Nova Norway. We should emerge somewhere near Lung Chin, not close enough to reach, of course, but close enough to plot. Then we’re going back to LaFontain and make our delivery.”

  Silver shook his head and took a deep breath. “Yes, Ma’am. I sure hope you’re right.”

  The Jolly Jane emerged from hyperspace three light months beyond Lung Chin, but that was a near miss considering their inaccuracies in plotting the course. Silver and Captain Denise both plotted the course to LaFontain.

  Before emergence three days later, Captain Denise gave her orders. “Mister Silver, plot us a course to Columbia as soon as we are clear. Update it every ten minutes, including while we are in port. I’ll be damned if I’ll let that bastard put me out of business,” she snarled and received grunts of agreement from her officers.

  This time it took longer to be challenged. “Space vessel entering LaFontain space, please identify yourself as soon as you receive this transmission.”

  “They don’t recognize us,” Olaf observed.

  “Why should they? They aren’t expecting us this time, and I doubt that their system control got a good read on us before.” Captain Denise sat back and steepled her fingers as she thought. “I just wonder who is behind this at Amberson’s.”

  LaFontain Control sent them a course and instructions to dock at Alpha-7-India. The next nine days saw the crew of the Jolly Jane making the standard preparations to enter port. Docking was routine, but that was the last thing that was routine about the trip.

  The boxes of parts were unloaded without incident until the last one was being removed from the Jane’s hold. The port lifer failed and the heavy box fell, breaking open to reveal an assortment of trash.

  “What’s the meaning of this!” the dock supervisor shouted at the top of his lungs.

  “That’s a damn good question,” Captain Denise snapped. “That container was sealed by Amberson’s in New Britannia, and the seals are all still intact.” She pointed to where the container’s seal was still visibly holding the container’s door closed.

  “The cartel wouldn’t ship us junk,” the supervisor snarled back. “You stole our cargo.”

  “Your cargo is all present and accounted for. Maybe you should talk to your supplier.”

  The confrontation was getting heated when a junior manager came down. “I have examined the cargo. All of the boxes are full of junk. However, all of the boxes are properly sealed, and the micro circuitry of the seals is intact. Sign here,” he said as he handed over a memo pad to register their payment. When she handed it back he sneered at her. “Now get out of here. I don’t know what your part in this game was, but I’m not amused.”

  “We need fuel…” Captain Denise began, but the dock supervisor cut her off.

  “Get it someplace else. I won’t fuel you.”

  “Exactly where else is there to get fuel? This is the only dock in the system.”

  The man smiled nastily and said, “Well ain’t that just too bad for you.” Then he turned and walked away while Captain Denise gaped at his back.

  Olaf and Will were standing by the hatch as she turned around. “This is bad, Captain,” Will said. “We barely have enough fuel to get out of this system.”

  “I know. I’ve always been afraid of something like this in one of these remote ports. Olaf, get with Silver and get a course plotted to the closest system. Forget about Columbia.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Olaf said. He hurried away while Captain Denise and Will closed up the ship.

  “We can make it back to Lung Chin, Captain,” Olaf announced as soon as she entered the control room. “It’ll be close, but it’s doable.”

  “Very well. Set course and keep our acceleration low to conserve fuel. It might take a day or three longer, but we won’t arrive with empty tanks and have to call a tug to catch us.” Captain Denise collapsed into her chair. “Take us out, Mister Olaf.”

  The Jolly Jane had been underway for seven days when Silver started catching some strange signals. “Captain, someone is using a coded transmitter in the system. First from ahead, then behind, then ahead again.”

  “Can you decode it?” she asked, leaning forward to see his panel.

  “No, Ma’am. The Kiev could, but that’s just asking too much from this gear.”

  Captain Denise sat back and shook her head. “I don’t like this. That raider knew who we were and when we were going to arrive. Silver, start scanning with the navigation sensors. That raider may be back, and if we’re right about Amberson’s they may be setting us up.”

  “Aye, Ma’am,” Silver replied and immediately began scanning. It didn’t take long. “Captain, I have a ship at zero-zero-one by zero-six-three. He’ll cross our course in two hours.”

  “It’s got to be the raider, Captain,” Olaf said as he looked over his shoulder.

  “Oh, Lords of Space,” Captain Denise softly cursed. “Olaf, do what you can. Silver, can you think of a way for us to make it to a fleet base system closer than Columbia?”

  “No, Ma’am. There may be an alternative, though.”

  “I’m listening.”

  Silver grinned up at her. “Ann took Willy and the boys to Hobson’s Planet. It’s not much farther than Lung Chin and the heading’s not that far off.”

  “Plot it and change course, Olaf. Silver, record everything you can about the raider as we pass.”

  Both men said, “Yes, Ma’am,” and began their tasks. Two hours later the raider was bearing down on them and made contact.

  The close range radio beeped and a voice announced their choices. “Jolly Jane, cut your accel and prepare to be boarded. Or you can try to run and be blown into fragments.”

  “Silver, can we break free?” Captain Denise asked.

  “It’s close, Captain. We’re almost up to point one C, and we’re far enough out to break into hyper. Unfortunately, we’re in his weapon’s range. Germanicus recorded that very clearly.”

  Captain Denise sat back and closed her eyes, then pushed the button on her console for the ship-wide announcing system. “Crew, we’re going to make a run for it. All hands suit up.” She thumbed the button again and looked at Olaf and Silver. “You two get suited up. I’ll go as soon as one of you gets back. Make the jump as soon as you are secure.”

  Silver and Olaf hurried to their quarters to don their environment suits. They were on their way back when the Jane suddenly shifted sideways. Olaf’s shouted comment was cut off by the scream of the ship’s emergency alarm. Both men rushed back to the control room to find the captain slumped in her chair.

  “Denise!” Olaf shouted as he dove for her.

  Silver dove for the controls. “Hyper insertion now!” he shouted and the ship lurched again just before the nebulousness of hyperspace enfolded them. “Olaf?”

  “She’s alive but unconscious. Help me,” the first mate commanded and the navigator obeyed. They carried their captain down to her quarters, then, without regard to her feelings or modesty, stripped her down and hooked her into her environment suit. She remained unconscious during the whole procedure.

  “I’m going to check the rest of the ship. We took two hard hits.”

  “I noticed,” Olaf said without taking his eyes off Denise. “Get with Will and make sure the engineering spaces are in good shape. I’d hate to not be able to get out of hyper.”

  Silver left him and went aft. What he found wasn’t encouraging. “Will, how are we? And how are you?”

  “We’re screwed, Silver. We are well and truly screwed,” he replied as he gazed at the slagged remains of the primary engineering panel. “I have a few broken ribs, but I’ll live. The auxiliary panel will ge
t us to a port, but we’re not going to be comfortable. How’s the rest of the ship?”

  “The captain’s out cold. Olaf is with her. We’re in hyper and on course for Hobson’s Planet.”

  “What about Jeremiah?” Will asked and it suddenly occurred to Silver that he hadn’t seen or heard from the loadmaster.

  “I don’t know. Let’s go find him.” The two started their search at Jeremiah’s little office. It was empty, so they went to his quarters next.

  Will pounded on the hatch and shouted, “Jeremiah! Wake up, it’s your turn to cook!” he stood back and grinned, but there was no answer.

  “Check pressure?” Silver asked, and Will headed forward to the control room. Once there he activated his internal instrumentation.

  “Jeremiah’s cabin is at vacuum.” He reached up and keyed in a sequence to activate the internal security cameras. What he saw made him close his eyes. “He’s gone. One of those hits was right on his cabin.”

  Silver closed his eyes and whispered a prayer for the little man’s soul. He whispered, “We have to tell the captain,” but her voice came from behind him before he could key his com unit.

  “I heard. Ship status?” she asked and Will gave her the bad news. “Can we make it to Hobson’s?”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Will answered. “It’s going to be uncomfortable, but we can make it in four and a half days.”

  “Thank the Lords of Space that ships can’t use weapons in hyper,” Captain Denise said in very soft tone.

  Chapter 6

  THE JOLLY JANE BROKE OUT OF hyperspace and immediately broadcast a distress signal, as well as everything they knew about the raider. Rather than begin decelerating as usual, they were boosting as hard as they could in system to put as much space between themselves and the raider as possible. They had only been in normal space for seventy minutes when the raider broke out behind them.

  “They’re too close, Ma’am,” Silver reported. “If they lock us up again, we’re dead.”

  “Understood, Mister Silver,” Captain Denise replied. “Olaf, transfer helm control to Silver, then go below and help Will. We’ve got to squeeze just a little more acceleration out of the Jane or we’re going to die out here. Silver, evade as well as you can, but don’t drop accel any more than you have to. Rebroadcast the distress signal and information using the omni-directional gear. Make sure they know we’ve already called for help and that they are tagged. That may give them second thoughts about pursuing us.”

  “Aye, Ma’am,” Silver and Olaf said together, then Olaf hit a few buttons and left. With Will hurt and Jeremiah dead, he was the next best engineer they had. Silver started setting random shifts and jogs into their trajectory to break targeting lock, even though he didn’t believe that the raider was close enough to lock them up yet.

  Captain Denise studied her panel and sighed. “I hope your ex-wife is still here. If she isn’t, we’re in big trouble.”

  “Yes, Ma’am, I hope she is, too.”

  The chase was on, but the raider had the advantage. Captain Denise went below to help out any way she could, but after two hours Silver had to contact her to report, “We are in range of their gamma ray lasers, Ma’am.”

  “Understood,” the captain replied over the intercom. “Make the Jane dance, Mister Silver. Any response from Hobson’s Planet yet?”

  “No, Ma’am,” Silver had to reply. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.”

  It was just a few minutes later that the reply they had been waiting for came. “Space ship Jolly Jane, this is the CSS Kiev, boosting toward your coordinates at maximum military power. Maintain your course as well as you can.” Silver smiled as he replayed the message for the captain.

  “The Kiev?” Captain Denise asked over the intercom. “Is that another of your radio games, Silver, or is it real?”

  “Real as can be, Ma’am.” Silver laughed for a moment with the microphone open. “The Kiev is one of Willy’s escorts. Ann knows about what I—we—did in Germanicus, and I’m sure she told the Kiev’s captain. All we have to do is keep running and not die before they get here.”

  “Not dying may be the hardest part, Silver,” Olaf said in the captain’s place. “We’re having problems with the main drive. If it goes…” Olaf left the rest hanging. It didn’t really need to be said.

  The first blast from the raider’s weapon to hit the Jane was a glancing blow that opened part of the cargo decks to space, but didn’t otherwise affect the crew. The second hit did. Silver felt his ears pop even though there were seven sealed bulkheads between him and the engine room. His suit sealed automatically, and he sent a brief prayer to the Lords of Space that everyone down below had already been buttoned up.

  Captain Denise’s voice came through his suit radio and he sagged with relief. “Silver, we’re in deep trouble. That hit ruptured our fuel tanks and we’re going to lose the mains in about ten minutes. Signal our surrender. Do anything to buy us a little more time.”

  Silver said, “Aye, Ma’am,” before punching the broadband transmitter button. “Pursuing vessel, we are damaged and losing propulsion. Please don’t fire into us again. We surrender.”

  The reply was almost instantaneous. “Jolly Jane, we don’t give a rat’s ass about your surrender. You will be destroyed, and your records with you. And don’t think I fell for your Kiev deception. As the old saying goes, ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’ I’m not going to let you disgrace me again.”

  Silver couldn’t help being surprised by the response. “You simply want us dead, do you?” he asked the inside of his helmet. Keying his mic, he spoke again. “We are nearly dead anyway, but we’ve broadcast your ship specs to the entire Hobson’s system. They know who you are.”

  “This ship’s specs are of no consequence. We never make port in these systems anyway. We don’t need them. Our employer just wants your nosy asses scattered through space.” The gloating that was evident in the raider’s com officer’s voice was almost palpable.

  “Your employer at Amberson’s? You know, if they hadn’t sent us straight to you, we never would have made that connection,” he radioed back.

  There was a pause on the other end, then the communications officer came back. “We don’t work for Amberson’s.”

  “Sure you do,” Silver almost laughed. “You knew who we were at LaFontain as soon as we came out of hyper. They sent you word to expect us, then loaded us with a cargo of trash that was supposed to be valuable mining equipment. It was heavily insured against loss in transit, of course. The mining facility in LaFontain was surprised to see us when we finally arrived, but not really surprised to open the shipping containers and find garbage. They accused us of stealing from them, of course, and when we proved that the seals were still intact they chased us out of there without refueling. They also exchanged a number of coded transmissions with you, which we recorded for the authorities. Are those the records you want destroyed?”

  “Broadcasting it won’t do you any good. Without your actual records it’s just the word of a tramp freighter against a multi-system conglomerate. I’ve had enough of this. No one is coming to your aid, and we’ve closed to easy killing range.” The broadcast broke off and Silver braced for the impact he was certain was coming.

  The blast of the gamma ray laser blew up through the engine room and sent the Jolly Jane spinning wildly off course. Silver keyed his microphone and asked, “Captain, Olaf, Will, are any of you still alive?” There was no reply.

  “Captain, Olaf, please answer me!” he almost pleaded, though he was sure it was useless. A tear threatened at the corner of his eye, and he couldn’t unseal to wipe it away. He’d hardly known Will and Jeremiah, so their deaths didn’t really affect him, but Denise and Olaf had become almost like family. Then a different voice burst from the communication’s gear.

  “Raider, this is the CSS Kiev, Captain Roman Alexandrov commanding. You have committed murder in the Confederate Star Systems. Said murde
r has been recorded for playback to the Confederate Government’s Anti-Piracy Board. In accordance with my instructions and under my authority, you are condemned.”

  Silver used the little power he had left to lock the Jane’s optics on the raider once again. It began an immediate skew turn to the ecliptic south, but that made no difference. Three hyper drive equipped torpedoes broke into normal space directly in front of the fleeing ship. Three one-megaton globes of destruction engulfed the raider’s vessel and left nothing but a few twisted pieces of metal when they faded. The Kiev reversed course in order to slow down, but they were moving far too fast to possibly stop in time to rescue anyone from the Jane.

  Silver shook his head sadly. “Got here just a little too late, Roman.” He punched the record button on his suit breastplate and began dictating.

  *

  The frigate CSS Larice Ustanov had to use all of her thrust to reverse course and catch up with the drifting hulk of the Jolly Jane. Their headlong fight from the raider had increased their velocity to fourteen percent of the speed of light, but that was not a problem for the fleet little frigate. Captain Dala Harvaln waited until they were along side before broadcasting their presence. “Jolly Jane, this is the Larice Ustanov closing at fifty meters per second. We will grapple your ship and bring you along side for rescue and towing to Hobson’s Choice Station. Do not attempt to maneuver. Jolly Jane, do you understand these instructions?”

  “No response, Ma’am,” the comtech said without looking up.

  “Very well,” she replied. “Lieutenant Arandsen, prepare your boarding party. Search and rescue first, then get their computer core.”

  “Aye, Ma’am. Is it true about the admiral and…”

  “Yes, it’s true. She still wears his ring even though they’ve been divorced for over ten years. It’s just a thought, but you might want to look for Sterling first. He was in their control room. Take extra oxygen with you and adapters in case his—their—suits aren’t standard models. You never know with these independent operators.”