by Chris Hechtl
Part of the problem of getting the oddly named Sweet Revenge into flight wasn't just the thin amount of fuel they had but also the need for one critical item that Ilmarinen didn't have in her inventory. And Horatio was loath to expand resources on making since it would eat up the fuel needed for the ship's journey.
But the Veraxin quartermaster came to the rescue. Lieutenant V'r'x had kept meticulous records. While the work crews worked on patching together the ship, he took a small crew and dug out a trio of aerospace shuttles he had stored away for future use or trade.
Horatio felt a bit of relief when he heard the news from Ilmarinen's boat bay officer that all three shuttles were viable. She and the bosun had already turned the bored tug pilots loose on them to knock them back into shape.
With the shuttles he would be able to touch down on the planet's surface, something Ilmarinen's compliment of lighters and tugs couldn't do. The shuttles would allow the crew to transfer tons of trade goods to and from the ship.
“So, this is it? We're not building anymore?” Mack asked dubiously during the meeting on Quantum. There was a selection of officers from both the station and ship. Gemma and Leo were absent however; both officers were busy on Ilmarinen keeping an eye on things there so the skipper and chief engineer could attend.
“For the moment,” Horatio nodded, looking as Mack did to the neat lines of derelict ships arrayed in rows near the station or docked to the two rings. “We've got every ship in the star system now. At least, those that are in relatively one piece that is. The rest can wait.”
“But not all the cargo and material,” Mack warned.
“No,” Horatio said with a shrug. “We'll get to it when we get more fuel,” he stated.
“I see. I know you said to focus on Sweet Revenge, sir, but shouldn't we focus on the yacht? After all, she needs less work and we can get to Bek …”
“The crew needs are the same,” Horatio interrupted. “And Bek for the moment is out. We need a simple test,” he stated.
“I see, sir,” Mack rumbled, clearly unhappy with the decision. Horatio eyed him and then turned to the rest of the crew. “The station has passed the third phase of construction. We're halting it here,” he said looking at Commander Decoure. “At least until we have more supplies,” he stated.
“Understood. I think my people would love the rest,” the Centillian stated, flexing his mandibles and feet. He had reared up like an old Earth Cobra in his seat. It didn't seem to faze Mack, but Captain Clayton wasn't too enthused by the bug.
“We've got a report that a transport, the modified Liberty class Justica is en route to the nexus from Pyrax,” Horatio said, glancing at the bullet points on his HUD. He saw most of the officers stiffen in surprise. Here and there a few of the officers looked eager, but a few like Mack showed a shadow of wariness.
“They are carrying supplies for us, plus some additional crew and officers to cross-pollinate and fill out the station's ranks,” Horatio stated. “Sorry, no civilians to run the businesses this time around,” Horatio said with a slight bow to the Centillian.
“Well, there is always next time,” the commander replied.
“Her current rough ETA to get here is four months, give or take whatever she runs into in the rapids. That means we should be back from Nuevo by the time she arrives,” Horatio stated.
“We, sir?” Captain Clayton asked carefully.
“I'm taking Sweet Revenge as her captain,” Horatio stated. The captain's eyes flared wide and then narrowed in speculation. “That will leave you in charge of the star system for the duration I'm gone, Captain. Hopefully, you two can get along,” Horatio stated, nodding a chin to the Centillian Commander.
“I'm certain the captain will step on my claws. Fortunately, I've gotten used to it from you, sir,” the Centillian quipped.
“And you've got so many, I tend to forget where I put my feet,” Horatio replied with a brief smile. “Sorry about that.”
“No, you aren't,” the Centillian accused.
Horatio had opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He gave the bug a look, then shook his head. “He's right,” he said with a sheepish smile. That earned a chuckle from the group. When it subsided he snorted.
He left out the part about Admiral Sienkov. Admiral Irons had restored Admiral Sienkov's rank of full admiral, and he carried orders to relieve Admiral Childress. Unfortunately, Admiral Sienkov was running late. The admiral had yet to arrive in Pyrax so he would catch a later flight it seemed. The transport had the navigator, Brock, and most of the helm team from Caroline on board. Apparently, someone had listened to him or some other voice of reason. He didn't care; he just appreciated the support, even if it would take time to get to him.
“As I said, the transport is carrying supplies and personnel for this station and has been ordered to pick up some of the personnel here in a swap and then pick up personnel in Nuevo, which I'm supposed to arrange. So, now we've got to go,” Horatio said, “or at least I do.”
“It looks that way, sir,” Commander Decoure said. “We'll miss you.”
“No you won't,” Horatio retorted dryly, echoing the commander's earlier retort. The Centillian froze, which earned a chuckle from the group.
“To be honest, I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner. We should have done this with Second Chance,” Horatio said with a shake of his head.
“What, sir?” Mack asked, eyeing him.
Horatio indicated the freighter. “Sent a ship to Nuevo first. I should have thought of it. In fact, I had. But I decided in the end to try Bek. By going to Nuevo, we've got a shorter route to get the fuel and stuff we need. It would have been a safer test for the ship and crew. It also would have allowed us to gain some supplies, and we would have known they were safe. I hate not knowing,” he said.
Mack and some of the officers nodded. “True, sir,” Mack replied. He frowned, then decided to take the plunge. “If I may ask, who are you going to put in charge of her engineering compliment?”
“I am going to take her to Nuevo personally as I said. So, I thought I'd act as captain as well since we're shorthanded as it is,” Horatio stated firmly. Mack wasn't the only one to blink at him in surprise. “I thought I'd take Leo and Gemma along to cover engineering. If I get Captain Clayton and your blessing,” he said with a smile to the chief engineer and then to the captain.
“I think I'd approve,” Mack said slowly. “I think.” He too looked at the captain.
“I do too. This mission is vital if we're going to keep the station going,” Captain Clayton stated.
“Good. Thank you, Captain. Once we're back, I think Ilmarinen can return to Bek,” Horatio stated as he turned to the captain. That earned a look of surprise from the captain. “I'll keep Sweet Revenge on a regular milk run to Nuevo. One of the things Justica is carrying is a proper crew for her. And she's got several hundred officers, noncoms, and enlisted to act as prize crews for the other ships too,” Horatio stated.
That earned a startled gasp from the group. Horatio waited as they murmured about it. He took a sip of his coffee and then set it back down again. It had grown cold to the point of being barely room temperature.
Mack's eyes narrowed in speculation as he gamed out that scenario. With personnel from Pyrax and supplies from Nuevo, Horatio would be able to keep the Harbor Station running indefinitely. He wasn't certain if his bosses back home would like that or not.
“Settle down,” he said mildly. When the compartment was quiet again, he smiled. “They won't go through the rapids obviously. They'll move the ships to Bek so the yards there can rebuild them. I doubt any of the ships will ever chance the rapids. They'll be used to jump-start interstellar trade in the nexus,” Horatio stated.
“Sir, was that part of our orders all along?” Bailey asked. It was the first time the Neochimp had said anything in the entire meeting. Horatio wasn't certain, but he could bet credits that the Neochimp had been in the station net doing some paperwork or software work or
hell, even a game while the meeting had played out.
He wasn't so certain of that anymore since obviously the Neochimp had been paying some attention to what he'd said. “Not quite. They are long-term plans Admiral Irons outlined,” Horatio stated. “Very long term. We're getting a jump-start on them.”
“I see, sir,” Bailey replied with a respectful nod. He wasn't thrilled about being in the deep end with Bekians, but he had gotten to know Decoure and some of the stationers. He hoped they wouldn't change their coats when the commodore left.
But there wasn't anything he could do about it.
~<><{<^>}><>~
“Are you serious? Us?” Gemma asked, staring at Mack in disbelief. “Please tell me he's off his rocker or something,” she said in a scathing tone of voice.
“He's not. I can't hold onto you two forever,” Mack rumbled. Leo frowned. “I'm lucky to have you two this long. It is your friendship with him that got you on Ilmarinen in the first place. But it won't last. Besides, I need one or both of you to go alone and keep an eye on him and things.”
“Yes, sir,” Leo said quietly.
“What will you do while we're gone, sir?” Gemma asked warily.
Mack shrugged. “My duty, the same as you and everyone else,” he replied. She stared at him for a long moment then slowly nodded.
~<><{<^>}><>~
Four days after making his announcement, Sweet Revenge made her first test flight. Once it was complete Horatio turned the engineers loose on the list of problems he and the ship's A.I. Buzzkill had drawn up. Gemma and Leo went over the ship from stem to stern to make certain she was ready to go.
They had a few minor teething issues to stamp out, but overall the crew had gotten good at salvaging and reconditioning the ships. She wouldn't win any prizes for beauty or speed, but she'd get the job done Horatio thought.
He left V'r'x to the loading of the ship while he finished any lingering paperwork and wrote out orders to the captain and commander. They would have the ansible to rely on, but he wasn't certain they would.
The following Monday Sweet Revenge embarked on her journey to Nuevo with Horatio on board as captain. It was a gamble; the fuel the ship needed to get to Nuevo would cut the station's supply to the bone and would eat into Ilmarinen's reserves. Horatio left orders for the station to be evacuated and temporarily abandoned if he or another ship didn't arrive to resupply it within six months.
~<><{<^>}><>~
“And there they go, again,” Bailey said, holding Galiet as the duo watched the ship fade into the starry night. “I don't know about you but I'm feeling abandoned all of a sudden. I don't know if I like it. I mean, I love the alone time,” he leered at her.
She looked up, chuffed, and then settled back into his arms since he had no intention of releasing her anytime soon. “Now you know what I felt like when I was on Anvil seeing you and the girls sail off each time,” she said.
“Sorry,” he murmured as he kissed the top of her head and then nuzzled it with one cheek. He closed his eyes and squeezed her gently until she oofed. Then he eased up slowly.
“I think that Sylvia, Clennie, and the brat pack got a similar dose when we left,” Galiet said as she stroked his arm. “I'm hoping they will be on Justica, though I doubt it,” she murmured.
“Me too,” he said. “We can check you know,” he said. She looked up at him. “No, I mean it. We can ask through the ansible.”
“If we can get the time. Remember it is slow and the commodore might have set it up to transmit his reports while he was gone,” she retorted.
“Yeah, there is that,” he said, settling himself once more. After a moment, he rested his chin on the crown of her head. She looked up with her eyes and then rolled them unseen in despair. He slowly rocked her through, so she took comfort in that.
~<><{<^>}><>~
“Nervous?” Gemma asked as she looked over to Leo. Her partner shook his head. “Why not?” she demanded. “Any one of a million and one things could go wrong you know. We have a right to be nervous,” she said.
“I'm too busy to be nervous,” Leo said simply as he pecked at his station. She leaned over and looked over his shoulder to it, then nodded as she sat back. He glanced at her and then returned to monitoring the hyperdrive.
“Well, I'm a little nervous. He's going to be the navigator? No one told me that when we came on board.”
“Apparently, he's got the training,” Leo replied with a shrug. “And he's got the rank so we can't exactly tell him no,” he stated.
“Lovely,” Gemma sighed.
~<><{<^>}><>~
“Sweet Revenge has jumped, sir,” a T'clock rating reported.
“Very well,” the captain replied quietly. “Note it in the log. Attach all relevant files in case we need them.”
“Aye aye, sir,” the rating replied.
Captain Clayton went back to his internal dilemma. Ever since the commodore had announced his plan, he had debated evacuating the station and abandoning the system. Eventually though he had decided reluctantly against it. He didn't want to get into trouble. He would wait for the six months to pass before he acted.
But if nothing turned up on midnight of the last day, he was going to load up and leave.
~<><{<^>}><>~
The Xeno virus noted the departure of another ship. If it had an emotional modulator, it would feel frustration. It did not however. It saw the departure as a missed opportunity, but there were still other ships for it to infect out there, including the single remaining operational ship, the factory tender. With it, it could realize whatever mission programming its creators had written … if it found more fragments of itself to integrate that was.
The transfer to the other networks was slow and tedious, far slower than it had expected. Not only was it hampered by the nature of the transfer, it was hit or miss, but also by the limited storage capacity of the organics. It couldn't take up all the data space without eliciting curiosity and risking exposure.
Which just meant it had to be patient. Fortunately, it was a machine, it could do that.
Chapter 49
Sweet Revenge arrived in Nuevo without incident. They were a bit further out than he'd liked to have seen, but he wasn't going to quibble about the results. With Buzzkill's help he set the ship on a low energy burn to the inner planet.
When they got closer to the inner system, they called Alpha's communications satellite network. Horatio listened as the first communications with the startled population came in. He was gratified by the positive response.
It was a pity they couldn't land on the second planet. There were some nice people there he knew, but they didn't have what he wanted and needed. Or at least not in the concentrated quantities that would make it worthwhile to visit at any rate.
“Welcome to Nuevo! We await your visit. We'll talk further when you reach orbit,” Governor Tribek stated.
Horatio liked it. Short, sweet, and to the point.
They had a lot of salvaged goods to trade with. Fortunately, they had taken on cargo that had been already destined for the agro planets. Some of it had been reconditioned by Ilmarinen in anticipation of it being traded. They would be discounted, given the source. He wasn't certain how they would faire with the population.
Hopefully, they would return with everything on the basic list he'd drawn up as well as news, recruits, and stuff on his wish list. Hopefully, he thought again.
Fuel and water were vital; they were getting low. In fact, the ship didn't have enough fuel to return to the station, so they were on his critical list. Trading it though … plus paying the port fees …
It was far easier said than done he realized.
~<><{<^>}><>~
Horatio found out a bit about how the Bekians had exploited Nuevo when he visited the capital city and was ushered into the governor's office. “You don't see what we see. You consider us hostile, correct? And you are a guest?” Governor Tribek asked, eyeing the commodore.
“I wasn't going to
call attention to it unless it got out of hand,” Horatio admitted.
“Okay, well, imagine this scenario. You allow guests over; they come, walk all over you, take what they want, then leave. They come when they want, no warning, and just help themselves,” the governor stated.
“I think that is a little oversimplification of the situation, but I catch your drift. You've been exploited.”
“You're damn right we've been exploited!” the governor thundered. “So is it any wonder we haven't been that helpful?”
There was a long silence.
“Okay, hang on,” Horatio said after a moment. “First, I'm not Bek. I don't represent Bek.”
“Did I say it was just Bek?”
“No, but I'm guessing that is where this resentment and hostility is directed towards. Though I bet the Federation didn't help with taxation,” Horatio stated.
“Very true,” the governor stated.
“You feel exploited. To some degree, you are. But I want you to turn the situation around,” Horatio said.
“Excuse me?”
“Okay, here is the thing. They can grow their own food. They have major pharmaceutical companies, and don't need metals. So, why come here? Why risk the trip? Why use up fuel, resources, and such to come here to trade for goods?”
“I … didn't really see it from that point of view.”
“You saw them exploiting you. Having very expensive goods you wanted and needed and that they traded in bulk for. Thousands of credits for something that should be cheap, am I right?”
“Close enough,” the governor grunted.
“I don't know if they factored in the cost of shipping it here, markup …,” Horatio shrugged. “I'm not a businessman, nor a merchant. I did pick up a lot of talk in Bek about people thinking Nuevo was a dead weight on welfare since you haven't been interested in improving yourselves.”
The governor's face colored. He stuttered and then glared. “How could we! They hold the keys to everything! Industry …,” he shook his head.