“Okay, Grub, you have my undivided attention, I guess. What do you have for me that’s so important?”
“Sir, as you’re most likely aware, the Libra Alliance had a certain amount of contempt for the League of Planets, and for humans. They didn’t keep any of their frontline ships as part of the home fleet. Instead, they were all assigned to another area of the alliance, where they were deemed more valuable. I haven’t been able to get the specs for those ships, but I have been able to get a rough estimate of how many there are. More than a thousand frontline ships are unaccounted for, and they’re all either heavy cruisers or battleships. I obtained this information from a report that had been filed incorrectly. The report was about an increase in the consumption of beverages among the ships’ crews and the concern over dereliction of duty as a result. Fortunately, the report hadn’t been marked as classified yet, so it wasn’t encrypted. I haven’t found any other references to this fleet, but I decided it was too important to wait until I could decipher other files to substantiate the information.”
“Encrypt that information and send it in a message to Hercules and the Gray Panthers’ senior staff. Tell them to analyze their copies of the data and get back to me as soon as possible. I trust your judgment, but I want two teams working on this to see if the results are the same. Order them to elevate to Bravo Alert status unless or until this can be disproved. Looks like some of the guys will get called back to active duty. I’m going to bed now, though it remains to be seen if I can get a good night’s sleep.”
The ramifications of this new information worried Dan as he headed for the bedroom. Dropping his drawers and climbing into bed, he felt the warmth of Juanita’s body beside him under the covers. Juanita faked being asleep to see what he would do when he realized she was naked. When he made no advance toward her but didn’t fall asleep, either, she knew the news he’d received wasn’t good. She decided to wait for him to share it with her when he was ready.
House of Short Blade, planet Glory
30 April 2129
Short Blade was ecstatic to get off the shuttle and be back home. The seven-hour trip from the Hades Nebula was awkward, with Poland and Namid constantly making the flimsiest of excuses to avoid him. After he caught them in the cargo bay going at it like animals, he didn’t tell them he’d seen them—he just went to his cabin to prevent any other accidental discoveries.
“Come on. Let’s get the ship unloaded. It’ll be one less thing we have to do,” Guns urged the work detail. The thought of a nice ice-cold beer had him work the detail harder than he ordinarily would have.
Namid had only said a simple hello before disappearing. Poland had also been distant, shaking hands all around and then heading straight for Namid’s quarters. The guys figured he must not be acclimatizing well as they proceeded to unload the medical supplies, which they carefully stacked in the corner of the barn, since Namid hadn’t given them any instructions. The cache of alcohol was unloaded and stored in the equipment building in minutes. Guns was impressed—Namid had included equipment to set up two taps for all the kegs of beer she had brought back, along with several cases of bourbon and tequila, and an assortment of bottled beers. The important thing now was to get the beer refrigerated. Jimmy looked over the load of booze and laughed when he saw the cylinders of cola. Namid had made sure she’d get her fix as well.
After checking with Ramirez to make sure everything had gone smoothly in his absence, Short Blade went directly to his office, where Phoenix advised him that he had three priority messages from Dan Daniels. He figured he was busted for providing the AIs to the Fire fleet. Well, I can give him back his shuttle, now that I have the Beater, he thought.
“Project the messages in the center of the main room, please, Phoenix. Let’s see how much trouble I’m in.”
Dan’s face appeared in the center of the room. He skipped the pleasantries and immediately got down to business.
“Short Blade, I have a difficult mission that I believe only you can perform. Pirates in the area previously controlled by the Libra Alliance have captured a couple of Dixie cargo ships. The League of Planets has informed the Dixie government that if they try to rescue the ships and crew, the league will consider it an act of war. I’ve suggested that I would hire an intermediary familiar to both sides to investigate the disappearance not only of the Dixie cargo ships, but all other ships that have disappeared from that area as well. I’m aware of your transaction with the Dixie government, and if you agree to this assignment I’ll have a thousand units of transfer gel sent to them on your behalf.”
Short Blade wasn’t surprised that Dan had found out about his Dixie deal, or by his generous offer if he agreed to the mission.
“Let me know if you choose to accept, and how soon you can depart. I have additional details I can provide you, as well as some other incentives. I’ll understand if you prefer to wait until the Beater is space worthy. This mission could be dangerous. Take care. Dan, out.”
Short Blade tried to read between the lines. Dan was offering him a small fortune simply to attempt the mission, which he admitted could be dangerous. And he didn’t bat an eye when he acknowledged that Short Blade now had one of his ships. The mention of additional rewards didn’t excite Short Blade the way he would have expected. The idea of going into a dangerous situation just made him worry about what might happen to his crew. But, his loyalty to Dan won out, and he had Phoenix send Dan a reply stating that he accepted the mission and would depart as soon as the Beater was mission-ready.
“Comm, Commander Poland.” Short Blade didn’t like the orders he was about to give.
“Poland here.” He was glad the transmission was audio-only, since Namid was bouncing up and down on his lap, totally naked.
“Commander Poland, I’ll need the Beater mission ready in three days or less. We’ll be going on a rescue mission. We’ll have to wait to do a full inspection of the ship when we return. Use anybody or any assets we have to speed you along. I’ll be coming by for updates. Short Blade, out.”
“Damn. I have to get moving,” Poland told Namid.
She ignored his words and sped up her movements, her body glistening with sweat. Her face scrunched up and she mouthed a silent “O” before collapsing on him. He felt himself respond as her body spasmed violently on top of him. He rolled them both over so that he was now on top and ground himself into her one last time. A force from within him made him get off of her and start searching for his clothes, which were strewn around the room.
“At least hop in the shower with me. You stink,” Namid suggested as she watched him.
“If I stop to take a shower with you, I’ll never leave. They’d find our dehydrated bodies in your bed and try to figure out how we managed to die from malnourishment in the middle of a working farm.”
“Damn party pooper. Well, shit, I have to check on my babies anyway. I can’t believe I didn’t do that first thing when we got here.”
As her words registered, Poland stopped and looked at her, his face aghast. Laughing at his reaction, she quickly explained, “My babies are four collies. I can’t imagine what they’ve been up to since I left.” She didn’t catch what he muttered as he left her bedroom. Suddenly feeling exhausted, she decided it was a good time to catch up on some sleep.
The sunlight felt extra bright to Poland as he stepped outside. Blinking and squinting. he headed for the Beater. As he approached, Jimmy was pushing a grav cart with a huge piece of bulkhead on it. The damaged panel reminded him of a strainer, with all the holes that were in it.
“Hey there, Jimmy. I thought all work was on hold until I got here to coordinate the rebuilding.”
Jimmy looked at first like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but then he explained.
“Commander, Guns and I would’ve gone nuts with nothing to do while Short Blade was gone with the Phoenix. We don’t milk cows, so instead we started working on the structural damage, since those repairs were a gimme, and�
��”
“Whoa. You did good. And from here on out, it’s John, not commander, or sir. Looks like we have a mission, so Short Blade needs the Beater mission-ready as soon as possible. We’re going to replace anything damaged and make sure everything that doesn’t look like it was damaged is actually good to go. You and Guns continue with the structural repairs while I take a look at all systems. Soon we’ll be once more unto the breach, old friend.” Poland’s attitude improved after removing his old commission as a barrier with his shipmate.
He entered the ship through the hangar area, greeted by the smell of cleaning supplies and an overall musty odor. Jacka warriors wearing camouflage uniforms were spraying down anything that didn’t move, pushing mops, and cleaning up residue he couldn’t identify. The passageway seemed clear of any damage as he made his way to his cabin. When he got there, he was surprised to see that the bunk was made and the room was cleaner than it had ever been when he resided there. Opening the locker doors and cabinets, he found that someone had cleaned and folded all of his clothing and uniforms. Glancing at the flight suit, he decided it would be better to wear that while he worked instead of the clothing he had on, which was becoming quite rank. He gave himself a quick whore’s bath in the sink, enjoying the hot water and the feel of the washcloth. He felt like a new man as he headed for the bridge. He felt like he was once again a Gray Panther. The stations on the bridge looked exactly like he had left them.
“Beater, how are you doing today?” he asked as he sat at the commander’s station. An apparition appeared before him that looked like a naval officer from the ancient War Between the States.
“Commander Poland, it’s nice to see you back with us. I feel ready to go. Alas, I accept that I have damage that still needs to be repaired. Captain Short Blade is apprehensive about my navigation and sensors. We had some problems on the return to Glory. I hope the fact that I’m here before you speaks volumes in itself.”
“It does, Beater. I want you to coordinate with Phoenix and have it connect to you and run full diagnostics. That way, if something’s wrong with you, it won’t unintentionally hide any problems. I know you don’t like having another AI look you over, but it has to be done.”
“I have no problems with Phoenix reviewing my systems, Commander—”
“Bullshit, Beater. I’ve worked with you and on you for too long. I know it’s going to bruise your ego. Just make the best of it. If it makes you feel any better, ask Phoenix about its secondary air filtering system. Now, until I order different, begin playing music in all sections of the ship. I’ll be able to tell if the sound is off in the least.”
As Poland opened the checklist from the station in front of him, he heard the first few notes of “I wish I was in Dixie.” Well, I guess Beater’s personality is still intact, he thought as he began to softly sing along with the old song while he worked.
Central space dock, planet Glory
30 April 2129
Harve was pleased with the progress that had been made in the last few days. The AI Vengeance had been guiding the droids in assembling and running the conduit for transfer gel during the evenings, and the crew had been assembling various stations throughout the ship during the day. The droids were also installing sensors in every section of the ship. The sensors would provide communications capabilities and status in the event of a catastrophe. Harve knew the crew would assume that the main purpose of the sensors was to spy on them, so he made it clear that the sensors were set to monitor only the conditions of the area where they were installed, and not to interact with the crew unless a crewmember initiated contact.
“Harve, I need to have a word with you, if you’re free.” Superior Captain Thrust stood in the hatchway to the office and smiled at Harve for not noticing his entrance.
“What can I do for you, sir?” Harve felt as though he could read the captain by now and detected no reason for alarm.
“We might be at war soon with the Dixians. They’ve lost a couple of ships in what used to be Libra Alliance space, and now they’re demanding that they be allowed to send in a small fleet to find and recover them. We suspect pirates captured the ships—probably the same pirates we’ve been unable to find ourselves. The humans from Earth have suggested that an independent ship crewed by humans under the command of a Jacka captain perform the search.”
“How would they find that combination superior, Captain?” Harve asked in disbelief. “Humans might get along okay with Jacka, but I’ve never heard of them accepting orders from Jacka—only giving them orders.”
“There is such a ship. It belongs to the son of an important official of the Jacka council. He fought alongside the humans during the war and was rewarded for his bravery and service at war’s end with a ship of his own. Short Blade, the milk Jacka. Some say he’s the richest Jacka on the planet. He’s even rumored to be a special enforcer for the council.” Harve nodded, acknowledging that he had heard of the Jacka, as Thrust continued. “The funny thing about this super warrior cum ship captain, cum entrepreneur, is that they say he’s a runt!”
“That has to be an exaggeration, I’m sure. The Libra press always used to make fun of celebrities, too. Why are we talking about this Jacka, Captain?” Harve knew his boss wasn’t one for idle chitchat.
“We’ve been selected to accompany him, to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. I suspect they’ve chosen us because they think we’ll be in the docks refitting for at least another month. My guess is they’ll use that as an excuse to delay the investigation. Of course we might also have been chosen because we aren’t currently assigned to any mission. I highly recommend that you light a fire under your engineers and finish the upgrade as soon as possible.”
Harve realized this new assignment might make it possible for him to find his wife and daughter. “Sir, I’ll raise the temperature of the entire ship with all the fires I’m going to light under my team!”
The look of dedication and sincerity on Harve’s face reminded Thrust that this was the assignment his maintenance officer had been hoping for most, to go after the pirates. “Very well, Harve. I’ll leave it to you to step up the timetable. Stay seated. I’ll see myself out.”
Harve closed his eyes and imagined seeing his wife and daughter. Opening his eyes, he commed for both junior maintenance officers and his chief of maintenance to report as soon as possible. While waiting for them he tried to think of the best way to inform them of the new task ahead of them. He decided he’d ask for their input on how to get things done more quickly. Then he changed his mind and decided he would tell them how, instead.
All three arrived at the same time, and Harve motioned for them to find seats in the cramped office.
“Today, Superior Captain Thrust informed me that we’ve been selected for a vital mission. We’ll depart when the ship’s upgrades have been completed, so we need to get them done as soon as possible. Junior Maintenance Officer Burn, you’ll be responsible for the starboard side of the ship. Junior Maintenance Officer Cut, you’ll be responsible for the port side. Chief, I want you to help me review all work on both sides. This will be a race, and there can only be one winner. Each side will do whatever it takes to win, with one exception—you won’t do anything to interfere with the other team’s progress. This will be your responsibility and those higher up than me are watching. Do you understand? I expect both sides to be done in three days, at the most. The winner will get to help the loser finish, and then we’ll be able to launch. Chief, you stay here. Burn, Cut, good luck. Now get moving. No questions at this time.”
After the two junior MOs left, Harve looked at the old chief and shrugged his shoulders. “Chief, it’s going to be a scary couple of days around here. I need you to make sure neither of those two does anything dangerous to the ship or crew. You’ll also need to help me mentor the guys. They won’t be happy. Be sure to suggest to both officers that they should coordinate with Vengeance to make the best use of time and materials.”
“Sir, I’ll do a
s you order, but I’m a chief, not a referee. I also don’t give orders to officers, even junior officers—”
“Chief, you’re the heart of this ship. The men respect you, and the officers will listen to you. Too many will get nervous if they see me looking over their shoulders. This might be the only chance to rescue my wife and child—that info stays between you and me, though.”
Chief Edge looked at the officer for a split second before replying, “I will make it so.”
Edge rose and left the office, and Harve felt relief wash over him, knowing he had the old chief in his corner. My wife, wherever you are, I swear I’ll find you, he thought..
Daniels World
1 May 2129
Dan felt like his head would explode as he reviewed all the numbers and production figures from the Libra Alliance records. He finally accepted defeat and called on Grub.
“Can you make sense of these numbers and tell me how many Libra warships might be under pirate control, Grub?”
“The data suggests that up to a thousand ships could be unaccounted for. League of Planets intel reports based on information from survivors rescued from the pirates indicate that they have perhaps two dozen warships, at most. It’s odd that even though the pirates could increase the size of their fleet with the captured ships, they sell them instead. It’s believed they’re selling them to the Republic, but that can’t be confirmed.”
Dan had suspected the Republic of being involved in a secret war for a while. That didn’t make sense, though, since they would have to have been at war with the Libra Alliance, but the border between the two had never been seriously militarized.
“Communication from planet Glory,” Grub announced. “It’s from Short Blade. He accepts the offer and will depart when work on the Beater has been completed. He has requested all the additional information you said you would send if he accepted the assignment.”
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