Yossian stopped talking into his computer comm when he realized he had been locked out. Now he stared at Tallman from his command station. “How dare you override...”
Tallman was having none of it. He cut him off abruptly. “Right now, we are in a very bad situation. We have disrupted a major spaceport by initiating combat. We have engaged Royal Navy ships. We are being fired on by planetary defenses which we cannot reply to unless we want to kill some of their civilians on the surface. Despite all that, maybe, just maybe, this can be explained away as the actions of a renegade commander. If any other Commonwealth ship joins in this fight that means war. With the Zekes for sure, this planet for sure, and, probably the Goths too.” He leaned toward Yossian as he spoke with earnest. “I am damn certain nobody in our Government wants war with any of them over this. If war broke out, we would be lucky to get out of this system alive. We are not going to get the pirate. We should look to saving ourselves.”
“Taking hits on the hull!” cried a sensor operator. The bombardment from Lorelei was starting to penetrate their defenses.
Yossian was beside himself. “They are right in front of us! A few of our ships closing on this position will flush him out.”
“Nobody is firing on any of our other ships now. If any of our ships move to join us, that will draw planetary fire and, probably, Zeke fire. No way the Zekes let a peer of the realm die in a sneak attack.” Tallman stared at Yossian. “It’s over. We are at a lull now in the fighting. We press this and the Zekes will join in, and the pirate will maneuver among the freighters; they take hits, and it goes from bad to worse. Predator can dance out there all day. We can’t just sit in this killing zone taking hits while trying to get a firing solution on her.” Tallman gave his commander a stern look. “It’s over.”
“Penetration! Two compartments open to space!”
Yossian sat back in his seat, a look of defeat registering on his features. Tallman took command. “Helm, depart into open space. All ships, form on the flagship.”
Altair turned away from the planet. The remaining Commonwealth ships came around Lorelei at flank speed and headed for the flagship. Predator stayed in the middle of the Zeke formation as the Commonwealth squadron formed together and departed. Lorelei’s defenses fell silent. Freighters and other ships that had scattered began to rejoin the orbit pattern. The comm overload did not abate. Now curses and legal threats directed at the Commonwealth filled the channels.
Hawkins and Terrant had moved from the day cabin to the rear of the bridge at the beginning of the action, but Hawkins had stayed silent as Reed commanded the ship. As the drama declined, Hawkins moved to his command chair. Reed stood up reluctantly. He looked at Hawkins and then gestured toward the chair. “I need to get me one of these.” Hawkins smiled at him. “You’re doing a good job here. If you want one, we can probably get you one in the future.”
Reed shook his head. “She would never leave here, and I’m not going without her.” Rafe nodded. He understood the feeling. He would not want to be without Tactical either. They both turned to look at Tactical at her station. She did not look up from her work but did speak after a few seconds. “Quit eyeballing me.” She continued to work as the two men looked at each other and smiled.
“I have the bridge,” Rafe announced as he sat down. He looked at the screens floating around him and punched the image of Captain Cassidy. “Captain, thank you and your squadron for your support.”
Cassidy smiled at him. “A nice way to spend a leisurely day in a spaceport. I will file a report with my chain of command and ensure the Queen hears of this. I will also protest to the Goths. This will be fun.”
“Thanks, Lisa.” Rafe switched to the Lorelei planet defense channel and made a call. A general of the planetary defense force came on line. Hawkins thanked him for the quick response and support. The general smiled. “Everyone enjoyed it. First time we have been in a live fire situation in a couple of decades. Let’s see if the Government tries to cut our budget this year like they’ve done in the last seven years.” Now Raferty smiled. “Not a chance,” he responded and then signed off.
He turned his chair until Tactical came into view. “The freighters we hid behind?”
“All fine,” Tactical reported from her station.
“Already paid them,” Baby Doll added from her station.
Four freighters had been brought in to form a line and give Predator a temporary refuge at the beginning of the fight. Risky, as freighter shields can only absorb two or three missiles or gun rounds before collapsing. Predator moved fast to ensure no single ship was long in the line of fire, but Hawkins was thankful there were no casualties among the traders.
“Good job, everyone,” Hawkins announced to the bridge at large. Grins and congratulations were all around. He now turned to the back of the bridge. Llewellyn Terrant still stood quietly in the rear of the bridge. Hawkins smiled at her. “I had my doubts at the beginning, but I was wrong. You were superb. No way he lets our act just pass by him without a response. It will take a few weeks for his government to order him home, but he is finished here.” Hawkins gave her a smile, and she replied with an attempt at one but couldn’t pull it off. A few moments of silence followed as the nearby pirates wondered at her tepid response. Finally, she said. “A word?” and gestured to the day cabin.
“Of course.” Rafe left his chair and followed Terrant through the open hatch. He closed it behind him and gestured to the seats they had occupied minutes before. She sat in her seat, and he pulled his chair around and then sat down facing her.
Terrant stared at him. “How long have you known about the ships?”
Rafe had forgotten about that revelation. After all, he had known about the Marbellan ships the whole time, so the surprise was all Terrant’s. He answered quietly. “I’ve known for several months. They’ve been coming through Last Chance for supplies, and we picked them up there. We know they’ve been at Mistral awaiting orders, so any ships that do not go through Last Chance would still show up at Mistral, and we added them to our watch list. We know they recently moved out from there to get supplies from you before returning.” He didn’t feel triumphant over one-upping her. Terrant was getting an education today on several topics. This should be a time to enjoy their victory, but it was clear she wouldn’t be indulging.
Terrant nodded while keeping a neutral expression. “What now?”
Rafe suddenly realized her dilemma. She was wondering if she was going to get off Predator alive. He had to admit there was a time when that would have been a valid concern but not now. Rafe gave her a smile and kept a soft voice. “Now nothing. We bask in the glory of a job well done. We return you to your ship, and we all go about our business.” He gestured at her outfit. “You got to give the clothes back, of course.”
Terrant let out a soft groan of relief and sagged forward with her head down. The release of tension almost made her limp. She rested her arms on her thighs with her hands together at her knees as she took several deep breaths. Hawkins felt badly for inadvertently causing this crisis. He leaned forward and put his right hand on top of hers. “I am sorry for creating suspense and anxiety here. It was unintentional. You are not in any danger from us today. Maybe later depending on what you do, but not today.”
She looked up at him and did not pull her hands back. “Why are you letting me go?”
“I don’t think of you as a threat anymore,” he answered honestly. “You have fought in several battles with us. You’ve done well, and we have benefited also. Despite the plotting and suspicion, you must realize you are better off with us than on your own. You’ve seen the Goths close up now. You think you can trust them? If you betray us, nobody will truly trust you in the Badlands. The fact of the matter is, we are the best friends you will get here or anywhere else in the universe. I am hoping you will see that, but I can’t force you to. You have some decisions to make. You can leave any time with your ships. I think you are better off here with us, but it is entirely
up to you and your people.”
Terrant nodded. There was one more secret, but she would tell Shane Delacruz first. He was the squadron commander, and she owed him that. She took a deep breath and pulled her hands out from under his right hand. Then she closed them around that hand. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I don’t know what we will do, but I promise we will never turn against you.” She let go of his hand and stood up.
She spoke in a stronger voice. “I’d like to thank Holly for the use of her clothes.”
Hawkins was surprised but nodded. “Of course.” He moved to the hatch, opened it, and called out to Baby Doll. “Captain Terrant wishes to thank Holly for the loan of her outfit.” Baby Doll was surprised also but replied quickly. “I’ll take her down there.”
The two women proceeded to the logistics spaces deep in the ship. As they walked down the corridors, Baby Doll glanced over at her. “Got to give credit where credit is due. You do professional and slightly slutty very well.”
“I guess that’s a compliment,” Terrant replied with a half-smile.
Baby Doll looked at her with her own huge smile. “Coming from me, it is. I can do that act with the best of them. Come on now. Admit it. You enjoyed it. Being kinda slutty is fun.”
Terrant shrugged but then smiled in reply. In the logistics spaces, Terrant did thank Holly. The beautiful pirate stepped back and looked Terrant over and nodded. “The outfit suits you. Please keep it as a gift from me.” Terrant demurred, but Holly insisted until Terrant accepted. Baby Doll and Terrant headed to Baby Doll’s stateroom to retrieve Terrant’s uniform.
“Well,” declared Baby Doll. “We beat the Commonwealth, and you now have a party outfit. A good day all around.” Terrant had to agree. It had been a good day all around.
~ ~ ~
Admiral Dietrich was on his flag bridge as his squadron approached Potenka for water resupply and a brief liberty period.
“Call from port authority,” reported the comm station. “Port director herself for the Admiral.”
“I’ve got it,” Dietrich announced as he sat down in his command chair.
Max Westphal, the squadron chief of staff, moved to his side. “Unusual,” he said in a low voice.
A neutral word but the connotation was correct. Dietrich knew his friend meant this was probably a bad thing. Port directors didn’t take time out of their busy day to call you up and say they admire your ship’s paint job or to welcome you to their port. By the very nature of the job, port directors only contact individual ships to impart bad news or give orders.
Dietrich brought up the screen and looked at a woman in late middle age. “Port director, how may I help you?”
She was all business. “Admiral, I am sorry to inform you that all Goldenes Tor warships are banned from Potenka airspace as of four minutes ago. Not sure how long this ban will last. It was nothing you or your squadron personally did, but those are the government’s orders until we sort this thing out.”
Dietrich furrowed his brow. “Sort out what thing?” He didn’t like open-ended anything, including bans. Something like this could stretch on for weeks, months, or years, all the while being “sorted out.”
She looked surprised. “We found out just minutes ago, but I assumed your navy comm would have it faster than us. There was a disturbance in the spaceport at Lorelei. Shots were fired, and the planetary defenses were called into action. I just saw the images from several sensor stations around Lorelei. I’ll send them to you.” She briefly looked down as she touched some virtual buttons. “You should have it now. I am sorry, Admiral. You have always been welcome here and been a fine visitor, but I have my orders.”
Dietrich nodded. “Of course. We will comply.”
“Thank you, Admiral. I have to run. This is creating havoc with our operations.” The screen went blank as Dietrich spoke to the comm station. “I’m expecting a port authority message. Please rout it here upon arrival.”
“Just arrived, sir. Forwarding it to you.”
The message appeared in the screen and Dietrich opened it. There are always many image recorders in operation around every major spaceport so he and Westphal were treated to several views of the recent fiasco in the spaceport of Lorelei. After the show concluded the two officers looked at each other. Dietrich shook his head. “Son of a bitch!”
~ ~ ~
“Son of a bitch!”
Admiral Hochstadt sat in her office and had just reviewed the same images as Dietrich had seen and had the same reaction. Captains Bergman and Senger, the Third Fleet OpsO and IntelO respectively, stood in front of her desk. Hochstadt couldn’t believe her eyes. Starting a gunfight in the middle of a spaceport. It doesn’t get crazier than that.
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She could only recall one other time there had been a shootout anywhere near a spaceport. The OrCons tried to ambush the Zeke Badlands squadron in Potenkan airspace at the beginning of the war. Understandable to some degree. The OrCons wanted the element of surprise; they were not staying in the area, so didn’t care about leaving behind bad feelings or diplomatic protests. It was the start of their major war with the Zekes, so they had bigger concerns than worrying about one planet in the far-off Badlands. As it turned out, the OrCons lost the battle and provided a couple of hours of entertainment for the locals, so Potenka decided to call it even and didn’t even file a protest. The incident was conveniently forgotten except for the bar stories.
This new incident would not go away so easily. Hochstadt opened her eyes and looked at her two staffers. “When Commodore Yossian visited here, I thought he was welded together damn tight, but I didn’t see this coming. What’s the damage?”
Berman took up the question. “It’s still early, but he is banned from several spaceports, and we are banned from the same ones. That includes Lorelei and Marblefall. I expect we will be banned from the more distant ports also. Not enough time has passed to allow the news of the incident to get to them, and then their ban to get to us.”
“Why the hell are we banned?”
Senger spoke. “Several planetary authorities think the Commonwealth ships are our allies as they have visited this base, and everyone knows they are after Hawkins. Some think they are in our pay. A Lorelei official told me that when a dog slips his leash and creates havoc, it is the master’s fault.”
“We also have an official protest from the Zeke squadron, and they have undoubtedly informed their chain of command so our government will hear from the Aurora Empire soon enough,” reported Bergman.
“Just goddamn great,” muttered Hochstadt. She turned and looked out the window behind her desk at the gardens beyond. The idyllic scene was lost on her as she focused on the problem. She turned back to her visitors. “They are banned from all our bases. No ships will support them regardless of the situation, and no more intel reports or supplies. Ask the Commodore for an explanation.” She paused and then added. “Amend my last. Demand an explanation from the Commodore.” She flicked her hand toward her computer. “I want these images forwarded up the chain of command so the Imperial Government can engage Rialta on this occurrence. Rialta will get a chance to chat with the Zekes about this too. Keep the chain of command informed of the results of this incident. This has the potential to limit our operations. If we can’t get into spaceports, we are going to have to change several of our operating procedures and deployment schedules.” She shook her head as she stared at her floating screen. The quick planetary response and convenient location of the Zeke squadron told her it was all a set up. She had no doubt of that. Hawkins had baited a trap and Yossian walked right in and sat down. Damn idiot.
Chapter 33
Captain Jedidiah Tallman looked across the briefing table at his commander. Tallman wasn’t an idiot. After all, those who achieve captaincies of battlecruisers rarely are. However, he felt like an idiot at this moment. He also thought he wasn’t the only person sitting at the table who fell into that category. There was just him and his
boss sitting at the table.
Tallman cursed himself for not knowing what had been about to happen. Given Hawkins’ near success at provoking the Commodore in the safe room, it was reasonable to expect him to try it again. The battlecruiser captain thought that putting the ship at battle stations prior to the conversation with Hawkins had been a prudent move. He thought Hawkins might actually try the reckless move that Yossian ultimately did. A shootout in one of the busiest spaceports in the quadrant. That might be a pirate move, but Tallman assumed every officer of every navy anywhere would be smart enough to never do that. Obviously not. It was now clear in hindsight the entire situation was there to elicit the exact response they got. The planetary defenses had to have been at battle stations to respond that quickly. The same is true for the Zeke squadron. Nobody is at battle stations in a spaceport unless told to be at battle stations in anticipation of combat. It had all been a trap, and it worked perfectly. Yes, he was not the only idiot at the table. He wasn’t even the biggest one there.
Commodore Thaddeus Yossian stared at the tabletop. He knew he had screwed up but was determined to make up for it. Captain Tallman was determined to show him that was not possible.
It had been less than twenty hours since their fiasco at Lorelei, but repercussions had been quick. Tallman spoke with an official tone as he read his report. “We have been banned from entering the orbit of several planets, and I expect more such bans will come in. The Goldenes Tor Imperial Navy is demanding an explanation. They are taking a beating in the media for being allied with us and have also been banned from several ports. They will back off their support for us. Lorelei is demanding an explanation and payment for the trouble.”
He paused and stared at Yossian. The Commodore seemed not to hear him as he continued to stare at the table in deep thought. As the silence lengthened, the man finally looked up at his companion.
“We almost had them,” he declared for what seemed like the one-hundredth time. It was clear the list of grievances caused by his action was of little consequence to him, so Tallman decided to skip the tally of damage done.
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