Trampship Wars 2

by L. D. Roberts

  Climbing out of th e Mk-4 tank the First Class was gone as Mark climbed up the side of the Tigger and basked in its roomy interior with all the luxuries of a ship for its 4 man crew compared to the Panther. Even with a 155mm gun in its turret , it could still whip around surprising ly fast. The fighting and troop compartment s were separated with an armored bulkhead between them with a couple of stations for operating the small pedestal turrets Mark had seen on the back of the outside that again could drop down into protective valley s in the hull or sit some 8 feet up for maximum coverage of their weapons. The large turret having another pair on its top though the crew were positioned down in the hull away from the turret that had an armored deck between them protecting the crew for most hits . Again Mark had to shake his head at the 200 ton weight of the monster.

  Mark stepped out of the back of the troop compartment , walking around to the display aisle to find a half dozen personnel with an officer come running up as soon as they spotted him.

  The Officer stopped a couple feet away as his men surrounded Mark and said. “I can’t get ahold of Rear Admiral Edwards or Captain Summers but if the Admiral left you here , he would have given you a badge and I don’t see any badge Tramp.” The Lieutenant looked like he would ra ther be anyplace but there right then and just wanted to get Mark out of his warehouse so he could go back to his hole and do anything else. “Now come with me or my men will force you to come very unpleasantly .”

  Mark looked at the Lieutenant for a few seconds baffled and then his face lit up. “Oh yes. I am sorry Lieutenant. I did not want to lose it so I put in in my pocket.” Mark fished the badge out of his pocket and showed it to the Lieutenant. “Sorry for the trouble Lieutenant Br iggs but Vice Admiral Edwards is probably half way to the Mercury Station by now which is why Captain Summers will meet me here . Please accept my apology for bothering you and your men. I should have shown the badge to Humphry but it skipped my mind.” Mark smiled from ear to ear shaking his head as he looked around . “ I really can’t believe what I am seeing. I w as expecting a few million uniforms and pots and pans not all of this.” Taking a deep breath. “I guess I am still a little shocked.” Looking around Mark spotted a vehicle down the aisle. “If you will excuse me , I need to take a look at that APC with the big turret o n top and what looks like a 105mm gun . Talking about radiation. ”

  Mark pushed passed the Lieutenant since the ratings had suddenly became bored with the whole proceedings and backed up a couple steps from around the lieutenant and Mark after he produced his guest authoriza tion badge. “Smil ing at the Lieutenant. “Don’t worry , I won’t break anything or steal even a bolt. I a l ready have gotten a good 10 million credit s worth of bombers and th e Panther back there looks like it would be a good addition but that will depend on what I find that we may need more . Af ter all , the Queen still has to lift cargo to pay for it. ” Winking , Mark started down the aisle still gawking at all the equi pment as the group stared at his back .

  After that Mark started noticing the personnel walking around the warehouse mostly ignoring him unless he started getting excited about a piece of equipment and interacting with the tank or missile launcher or ship’s turret and rotating th e turret and elevating the gun. T hen he would get dirty looks from the bored rather be someplace else person who would watch the crazy stranger grinning from ear to ear rushing from one piece of equipment to the next for a few seconds or minutes and in some cases head back toward the of fices at the front of the warehouse continuing to give Mark dirty glances . Only to come back a few minutes later passing Mark without saying a word or giving him a glance.

  Wondering through the warehouse Mark put down on his list just about anything that caught his eye trying to place everything in order of need with the priority things at the top . F f or the better part of an hour Mark slowly wondered toward the back of the warehouse, changing the ir order of items on the list time and again as he thought about and found new things. Then Mickey interrupted as he was playing with a small remote operated recon, gun equipped grav-disk called a Frisbee. “Mark: Captain Summers has removed the light weight armored suits from the list.”

  “Well add them back on at a higher priority.” Mark continued to play with a little remote gundisk for a few minutes and then an armored exoskeleton that he proceeded to put on with Mickey’s instructive help.

  “The Captain has removed the suits again Mark.”

  “Well , add them back on again.” Mark walked around thumping across the concrete floor and picked up what looked like a large heavy shield generator just to see if he could.

  “The Captain has removed them again.” Mark was just thinking about talking to her when Mickey said. “Tablet channel open Mark.” As Mark parked the exoskeleton back in its cradle , the Captain appeared in front of him .

  “Captain Summers. Could you please tell me what the problem is with the light weight combat suits? If you have to get rid of something find something else.”

  “What the... Listen you.” The Captain paused. “You already have new heavy marine combat suits. You don’t need 2,000 light combat suits for the whole stupid fricking ship.”

  “Actually Captain , you are right , we do need 6,000, no 7,000 for future growth and not just 2,000 light weight armored suits, not only for the hundreds of crewmen that will be scattered all over the cities and planet on every drop but to replace our old rotting fabric vacuum suits for the whole crew. They will provide the extra protection in the hostile space environments we spend half our lives in with 10 times the Radiation protection than our old suits. I am sure you know that Radiation poisoning is the number one killer of Tamp ship crewmen or doesn‘t that matter.”

  “Fine! Then at least make them white suits that don’t look like you are ready to assault the Bestial.”

  “Thank you Captain. I don't care if they are pink just get me those suits.”

  “Mark the color of the suits have been changed to white with several accessories added and the number of suits upped to 6,000. Replacement parts and repair tools have been added as well.”

  “What kind of accessories did she…”

  The Captain ’ s voice interrupted him. “A thousand exoskeletons specific for th o e se suits for the work crews. Will not only allow them to work faster and lift a thousand pounds easily but run faster than most ground cars if they have to leave in a hurry. They are also much more compact than the one you were are playing with though won't lift as much.” The Captain walked up to Mark as she spoke. “I also added a thousand flight packs for parameter scouts and when reinforcements are needed.” Looking down at the tablet she grimaced. “I take it that this second list is for some kind of carnival joke.”

  “What do you mean? It is sale items for the outback pit fairs. Hopefully to make a profit.”

  “Oh profit. Not a joke. Well then do you mind if I make a few suggestions?”

  “Ah, No . Mam. Go right ahead. Be my guest. Knock yourself out.” As the Captain started deleting things down the second list , Mark became more disheartened with her comments.

  S ummers finally looked up at Mark. ”What do you think these people are? Most of them already have more boots and clothes than they know what to do with and pots and pans and chairs and trinkets that can be produced on their planet no matter how primitive the technology has degenerated . At least you have some good ideas. Advanced t T echnology is in short supply out there as are sophisticated manufactured items. Yes , medical equipment no matter how low tech or simple it seems to us, is big deals on a planet that has no hospitals still standing and few doctors . And the cheap radios and long range comms as well as short range personal comms are worth their weight in gold. As are the broadcast entertainment transmitters with a range of half a world. Here I have paired the list down to a dozen items. Spend your money on these and you should make a profit in what is the standard for tramps? 5 or 6 worlds once you make it to the Outback?”

  “Depends on the Profits.” Mark looked at her with surpris
e at her knowing anything about tramps. “If you sell most of your stash on the first planet for a modest profit you are an Ace tradesmen until they find the profit would have been twice as much on the second. A modest profit on the 4th you’re scum and if you make a killing with it on the 6th then you’re a prophet otherwise they are talking about kicking you out the lock as dung.” Shaking his head, Mark continued. “No, my father was head tradesman for 10 years and the last thing I want to do is put my fate in the hands of people I have never met or know. Yes; if I had been thinking about the Outback instead of the pit fairs from the past; I would not have put half the things on the list I did. Thanks, I should have known better.” Mark shook his head embarrassed.

  “So you have your mind on something else. What could that be? The Admiral says you want the big 250 ton armed Assault Shuttles Mk 9’s. To allow the ship to drop cargo without landing. That sounds like a good idea and the Admiral agrees. I would like you to take a walk with me.”

  “Sure but what about these cargo handling exoskeletons. Could we use these for the holds, truck deck and even the shuttles?”

  “Well that is what they are for aren’t they? But they come as supplied equipment where they can be used like the Mk.9 shuttle you want. Though a half a hundred of the armored variety with weapons attachment points for your ship could come in handy for repelling borders since borders, since they are fully enclosed and armored and just as well at handling cargo . T and t he operator does not have to suit up for vacuum work since he is al ready in an armored suit . They are not bad on the attack as well with well-trained crews.” She headed down the center a isle towered the end of the Warehouse as she put them on the list. “What is this your buddy says about some crazy guy trying to bash your head in yesterday with a pipe?”

  “Oh! What?” Frowning Mark stopped in front of a generator and started tinkering with the controls before starring off into space. “It seems someone is interested in my Club ’ s little set of cargo containers in Tramp Town and thought they could take care of two birds with one killing. Or in this case two, as the thugs tried raping and killing Jolleen as well even though the deed they forced her to sign was worthless.”

  “Another girlfriend almost killed. You are rough on girlfriends.

  “Thanks. Jolene is not a girlfriend. We are just friends. You got any ideas how to make Dian like me again?”

  “No! Sorry Mark, but you will survive. And hating you will keep her alive so get used to it. There are plenty of planets in the universe and women. Besides with her becoming a doctor and you a flag Commander and not seeing each other that much because of your busy schedules, you would have broken up in a few weeks anyway. Probably with one or both of you hating the other while harming both of your careers. I have seen it happen dozens of times. You are lucky to get out while the going is good. Don't worry, you will meet someone better suited for your carrier someday.”

  “Not like her. She is special.”

  “Ok , I saw the news story. Who was this Kay holding your hand and sitting on your lap last night if this Dian was your only true love?”

  “Oh just someone I rescued from that damn poison gas sed fortress and now her father and brother are trying to kill her along with me. I can’t seem to get rid of her. She met me this morning coming out of the shower. Damn she is good looking.” He did not say anything about spending the night alone with confused thoughts about Kay , Jolleen and Dian after his mother had several Patrolmen that were waiting , to take Kay to her cabin then guard it all night. Mark had started looking forward to being with her for the night. But he had to admit that his mother was right.

  It would have been taking advantage of a vulnerable rape and abuse victim and could lead to big problems for both of them when she no longer needed him for support. Though by then her tastes and goals and needs would have changed so drastically that all he would be to her was a reminder of her previous life of abuse and grow to hate him. No, in time she would have to move on and that included dumping everything from her old life including the people that helped her leave it. But Mark found it was still hard to say no and let her go since he was grasping at anything himself after being dumped. Even with his mother making sure he knew all that, it was still hard to resist. Then waking up with a stupid dream about something with a lot of hair around its head trying to rape a very strange looking Jolleen in a very strange place. At least he thought it was Jolleen. Though the memory quickly faded and he went back to sleep.

  Mark followed Summ ers down the display a isle but continued to stop at things that caught his interest only to have the Captain look on impatiently waiting for him to get done. Offering comments on some items that were downright rude while approving a very few additions to the list. One was what looked like just another anemic exoskeleton until Mark took a closer look at it and realized it was a human looking robot that could have been confused with a real human bone skeleton hanging in a medical class room a little remote 24 inch square, 6 inch tall platform with a narrow 2 foot tall poll sticking up with a n oblong plate on top. A short 25mm gun was cradled under the plate to one side of the support poll with a smaller 2mm Mach ine gun on the other side of the plate . Its arms and legs and stomach were so narrow. That is if the human had only a skeleton and no muscles. It was remotely controlled by a strange looking helmet that fit over the operator’s eyes and ears but no top , forming a flat ring around the wearers head. Open fingered gloves and little brackets that fit over the operator’s shoes controlled it s movements while sitting in any chair. Mark played with the remote bot it for a few good 20 minutes running around the warehouse and loading do cks until he came across the racks of marine weapons and realized that the skeleton bot with skeleton hands, could pick up and use the standard weapons without any alterati ons. Mark picking up and brandishing just about every weapon around him just for the fun of it as he tried to find the bots limits with no success as far as operating weapons went. Then u u sing the training program Captain Summers commented on , to jump out of the warehouse to attack ing and defend ing ships and installations. His time in the ships Repel Pirate Boarders game now seeming a shallow distant second on the fun side as the helmet, gloves and attachments provided resistance and feedback .

  “Hey with these, we wouldn’t have to land troops . We could just send these in and if they get shot , no big deal.”

  “No!” Captain Summers snapped. “You are just running around the warehouse and have not had time to stumble upon all the problems these things have. The interface between pilot and bot is not that good , with a slight delay that makes it easy for the bot to stumb le and fall not to mention it is easy for the pilot to lose his orientation and his awareness of th e bots surroundings, giving an enemy the ability to easily take them out. When the bot moves or slips without impote from the con troller , the wearer’s head does not follow the bot . Not to mention that the control s ignal can be jammed. They are not too bad as sentries with their many sensitive security sensors as long as they are hard wired to sentry posts but even then if the operator is more than a couple thousand miles away , the millisecond situational and control delay is even a bigger handicap.”

  Watching Mark pilot the bot around the warehouse she sho ok her head. “You are doing better than most pilots but then you have a damn AI over your eyes helping you and the bot. Most operators when they start out have fallen down and tripped over and run into things a dozen times by now. It takes months of training to use the bots and then it is limited as to what they can do. Which was a big disappointment as thousands were issued to divisions for wounded troops not fit for the front lines to fight in while safe in recovery centers but the problems with control delay ’s and jamming that could not be totally eliminated resulted in them being pulled back from the front lines for s ent r y du ties only. Which did free up a lot of troops for the front lines. So they do have a use. Only I don’t think you have anything your ship could use them for besides a few sentry posts that would justify their weight and maintenance
costs since piloting them from orbit does not work .

  The whole time Captain Summers was telling him about all the disadvantages the remote sentry had with a remote pilot , but Mark was thinking as he ran around the warehouse’s personal weapons section trying different weapons. As Captain Summers ran out of reasons not to take the skeleton bots, Mark added a couple thousand to the list anyway. Mickey had show n ing Mark him the breakdown of the drone while he played. Mark realizing that the old cheap control module for the sentry bot was the size of the much new er tech little AI brain in one of the little 10 by 12 foot one man tanks with a 105 mm gun he had looked at earlier ir fighters and bombers he had seen the day before Mark had looked at in the pit and then when the English Maintenance Chief in the lock had told him about the upgrades for his fighter and the bombers . The more advanced AI was designed to help the tank pilot and even fight th e fighter e tank if the pilot was killed or take the wounded pilot back for medical help. “Will that brain be sophisticated enough to serve as an unattended sentry with limited supervision or even help the bot pilot like you are doing with me Mickey ?” Mark asked Mickey and then added a couple thousand slightly newer more advanced brains for the little things when Mickey said “ Yes No , but it was not a good id ea. . ”

  When Summers told him he was crazy for ordering a thousand bots , Jack added a few thousand more of the little bots which amounted to only a couple of 50 25 foot containers since they folded up into a very small package only 4 by 12 inches across and 7 feet tall . The power unit in the chest and brain core in its head where it was easily cooled, the largest pieces of the bot.

  Another item that seemed to pull the Captain’s chain , was a smart bot platform Mark had first stumbled across when he was running around with the skeleton bot and then walked back to look at himself. The AI controlled , programmable gravcoil platform was only 5 feet across , 10 feet long and 6 inches tall when slid together for storage . A llowing 1 5 0 of them to be stacked for transport or storage in the average 50 foot cargo container . But with the coils slid out from the connecting hollow flat center boxes , they formed a platform 1 0 feet across and 20 feet long able to ca rry 8 standard 5 foot square pallets anyplace on a battlefield wi thout having the need to risk a human driver and then return casualties if needed . The flat platform did not look like much with a fold up rail running around it t o help hold and protect the pallets from falling off. W hich was why Mark had walked past it original ly as he looked at something across the aisle from it. But as he leaped past it using the remote skeleton bot ’s ability to make long jumps, he had accidentally almost landed o n the display platform hanging some 10 feet in the air on its gravcoils , he could not help but notice it . After ju mping back onto the platform as it hovered without it moving enough to say so, Mark got interested in it.