by Chris Hechtl
“Like that bitch? I knew we should have shown her the proper place for a woman before spacing her,” PO3 Kenshin “fuck you” Fukudome growled. He had once been a gun captain and was not happy about his reduced circumstances.
“Hard ass. He's trouble,” Commander Rockland sent to Captain Twitch. “He'll keep the others in line unless we separate him. Making an example of him might scare the others into cooperating.”
Captain Twitch immediately agreed with the psych assessment that he was a hard ass. No doubt a good spook would want to break him out of the group to break down the others. While he was there, he'd be in the way.
Again, something they'd have to deal with. Perhaps a stasis pod was in the gun captain's future? He'd have to inquire about that.
“Given your threat you've just justified keeping her separate from your company. She's confirmed a few things with us and has tried to shield you. No doubt out of some loyalty as former crewmates,” the captain stated. “Well, we'll leave that up to JAG as well. This is just a quick introduction. If you want to help yourselves, let my people know. Don't do anything stupid. You'll be sorry and sore by the time you are done.”
“Yeah, right,” Kenshin snarled mockingly.
He looked him squarely in the eye. The human smirked back at him. “What are you going to do? You are a doctor. Do no harm.”
He just smiled at him, showing his alien teeth. They might be built for eating mostly plants but he had an impressive set and could snap a nutshell in half with one bite. Commander Rockland echoed the smile.
When the human saw something glitter in his eye, some spark of malice, he flinched ever so slightly and then looked away. “Whatever,” he muttered.
“That's what I thought,” the satyr said softly. “I don't like you. I hate pirates for the thousands of people they killed on my homeworld so don't get on my bad side. Ever,” he said firmly.
After a long moment to let that sink in, he nodded to the MP to take them away.
<()>^<()>
Ensign Pons sat in a chair with a human MP nearby. She was nervous. Her knees wanted to shake. She felt like she was being called to the skipper's office. In a way she was, just a different service's skipper.
She'd already faced down the ship's skipper. He'd assessed her and had made it clear he wasn't thrilled about treating her with kid gloves. But he had agreed to give her limited parole and keep her separate from her former crewmates.
Which was a relief to her. A very intense relief.
She frowned when she looked at the door. The yeoman looked up and then over to her. She studied it until she managed to make out the lettering on the brass plaque on the side of the door—Captain Twitch.
Captain? Another captain? Didn't the ship already have one? She puzzled over that for a bit.
When the door to the office opened, she looked up. She wished she hadn't as the MP by the door escorted her former shipmates out. A black, no-nonsense Neobear MP followed them out.
Each of the men was handcuffed. They glared at her in passing; Alan even went so far as to step on her foot in passing. She bit her lip but ignored the slight. She felt terrible at being considered a traitor and betraying her shipmates. She hung her head for a moment, then remembered her training and lifted her chin to stare at the bulkhead beyond them.
Once they were gone, the yeoman silently motioned for the MP at her side to move. She felt him nudge her shoulder so she got up.
She was ushered into a small cabin. It had nice wood paneling or paneling that looked like wood at any rate. It wasn't dark though; it was light. Nice.
The desk was also wood, and the satyr behind it seemed imposing despite being slightly smaller than her.
“Ensign Pons?”
“Sir,” the ensign replied, snapping to attention. She stared at the bulkhead eight centimeters above the satyr's head. It was easy to fall into military courtesy even though her formal training hadn't been much.
Captain Twitch snorted ever so softly. “I see you have been behaving and honoring the conditions of your parole. Good for you.”
Miley didn't know what to say so she said nothing. She looked from the human to the satyr behind the desk. The satyr seemed to be in charge.
“As you might have deduced, you are on another Federation ship, Good Hope. We're a bit confined for space so your billet is a former supply closet, not the brig.”
Miley did react slightly to that, eyes widening in surprise.
“Surprised? As I said, you did give your parole. Also, the quartet of sorry beings who just slouched out of here have reiterated their threat to you. So, we can't have people dying in our custody. It sets a bad example,” the satyr stated.
Commander Rockland cocked his head but said nothing. Instead, he monitored her vital signs.
Miley took the chance and looked down. She was caught by the other being's slight smile. It touched her. She wasn't sure how to react.
“Ensign, I'm not going to eat you so loosen up,” the satyr said dryly, flicking his long ears in amusement.
“Aye aye, sir.” She started to wonder about her gender honorific but then noted he hadn't corrected her so she must have been getting it right.
The satyr sighed. She was obviously a work in progress. The ensign must have built a rapport with Lieutenant Zu apparently. No doubt because they were the same species and gender.
Which made him realize he might need to keep Dasher around.
“We don't have Horathian ship uniforms on hand obviously, so you've got what you've got on and what came over from your former ship. We aren't going to replicate more. You'll have to make do with an orange jump suit like the others if your uniform is in the laundry.”
The ensign wasn't sure how to respond so she just nodded.
“The skipper or master-at-arms will let you know about the code of conduct for limited parole. But I'd like to have you as a guest for dinner tonight.”
“Ah, thank you, sir?” Miley said, unsure of her luck.
The satyr smiled slightly. “Lieutenant Zu said you are worth knowing. I'll be honest. I've spent a long time hating pirates for what they did …,” he caught himself and waved a hand. He could see the ensign react by biting her lip. “So, I guess I'll have to say, I admit to a bit of curiosity over meeting one she says is worth knowing.”
Miley felt her cheeks heat a bit. “I don't know what to say, sir.”
“Well, do you have any other dinner plans?”
“Um, no?”
“So, do you want to come or not?” the satyr asked in just the right exasperated tone of voice to make Miley's resolve break a little. A slight smile threatened to peak out of the young woman's face.
“Yes, sir. I'd be honored.”
“Good. Glad that's settled. The MP will let you know when. Be ready,” he said.
“I will be, sir.”
“Good. On your way then. Get settled in.”
“Aye aye, sir,” Miley said, suddenly feeling good about the whole situation. She was feeling even better than she had before. It was an odd feeling given her captivity.
But, since she had little else, she didn't regret it.
<()>^<()>
Captain Twitch watched the human female go and then replayed the memory of the encounter. He hadn't learned a lot but it was interesting. And, he had to admit, he was curious about the young woman. Was she truly turning over a new leaf or an actor in a play she was free writing to survive?
“What do you think?”
“I think the quartet is trouble,” the commander stated. “It might be easier on our people to put them on ice for the rest of the duration of our trip. As far as the girl is concerned … I think she was picked up at an impressionable age. Piracy was the only path open to her at the time. She's got leadership skills; that's the only way she could have held those other four together for so long,” he said.
The satyr nodded.
“Captain Zu believes she's turned over a new leaf. I don't know what to believe. She migh
t have, or she might be a good actress. I couldn't tell much from the one interview, but my observations said she was genuine.”
The satyr nodded.
“Need me for anything else let me know,” the commander said.
“Have fun making the rounds,” the Bekian captain said by way of dismissal.
Once the human was gone, he sat back and considered the group of prisoners. Only time and exposure would let him know if the girl was genuine he thought as he returned his attention to the reports in his inbox.
<()>^<()>
As they went to leave, a fresh outbreak on the planet was reported. Captain Twitch's people picked up the news broadcasts and then the frantic calls from the governor to stop and help them.
The satyr captain shook his head. The natives only wanted their support when they needed it of course. But, he was here, and the kids on the planet had no choice what stupidity their elders did. So, they'd help out of humanitarian grounds … and to keep the plague from spreading.
He did, however, order Donner to return to the capital with a full copy of their logs, Felicite's cloned databases, as well as her news that he was delayed once more. Dasher would replace the courier until another vessel came along.
<()>^<()>
Tau-247196
Commodore Richards and the crews of Rho Mercy Flight II were all set to move on through the star system since it didn't have the plague. However, a routine download of the messenger buoy in the star system led to a very interesting find, one that Captain Rogers insisted on investigating.
It didn't take long for the warships to use the coordinates Dasher had helpfully provided to locate Félicité'. Captain Rogers ordered a crew to survey the wreck while Commodore Richards dealt with the locals.
His prize crew immediately boarded and took charge of the derelict ship. They took several hours to survey it before calling back with their findings.
The commodore was on hand when they got the report. “Dasher's team did a controlled shutdown on her remaining systems. We've done some checks. It looks like we can work with what we've got here. She's got some issues but nothing we can't handle,” Lieutenant Grammercy reported with a grin of anticipation. She loved a challenge. She turned to defer to the XO who had led the boarding party.
“Did you swab for the plagues?” Commodore Richards interjected.
“That we did, ma'am, and some of the bacteria is still present. We've released several robots to begin sweeping and cleaning the ship, every nook and cranny,” the XO reported.
“So, you intend to salvage her, Captain?” the commodore said, her tone of voice sounding more like a statement than a question.
“Yes. The prize crew can bring Félicité behind us at their best speed. Since we're making prolonged stops along the way, I don't think it will be a problem for them to catch up.”
“Oh.” Helen blinked and then nodded. “Very well then. How much of a delay will this put us back?”
“Ma'am, give us another shift to complete the survey and then I'll get engineers and support over. If there are no major problems restarting her reactor and drives, we can hopefully get out of here in … a week?”
“Most likely less than that, ma'am,” the engineer replied. “Anything we can do to upgrade this tub will be appreciated too. She's old.”
“Understood.”
Chapter 11
Tau-1252
There was some intense relief on the Conestoga bridge when they came out squarely in the center of the Tau-1929 jump point. “We're clear. Hyperdrive spooling down,” the navigator and helmsman stated.
“We're getting an IFF challenge,” a rating reported a few minutes later.
“Professional as expected. Let them know who we are,” the captain said crisply. He'd had some time to knock some of the edges off. And he wanted to keep things professional since he had a couple civilians listening in to the open audio feed.
“Aye, Captain.”
“It's good to be back in the capital. As soon as we've got the course, head to the capital station. We've got some people and cargo to drop off.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
They had picked up a dozen volunteers in each port of call. There had also been four paying customers who had wanted to immigrate to the capital as civilians. Twenty-four wasn't a bad number given the situation on each of the worlds; he'd heard at the dinner table that most were destined for the ground services though. Hopefully, they'd pick up a few more navy recruits on their next pass.
One thing of interest was the maintenance and supplies his ship received as part of their payment for carrying the volunteers. He was looking forward to that. Each time the navy engineers came on board, they found some way to squeeze a little bit more efficiency out of the old girl.
He cleared his throat. “Let the navy know we've got volunteers for them, and we're looking forward to some downtime for servicing,” he said.
“Aye aye, sir. Sir, will we have enough time to visit the local sites?” the rating asked hopefully.
“Maybe. Why, looking forward to shopping or hitting the bars?”
“Yes, sir. I'd like to see what the girls are like,” the Neodog said with a shrug. He'd come on board from Delos. His entire family had been wiped out by the plagues.
“Whatever float's your boat I guess,” the captain said with a snort, remembering that sailors were alike no matter what ship they were on.
<()>^<()>
Sublight Frigate 3 took the lead with the Conestoga since the other ships hadn't been fully active. Each ship took turns on full battle stations for a half shift, rotating between them to keep their crews fresh and to keep the use of their active sensors to a minimum.
Not to mention it got each of them more time on their records.
“IFF confirmed, it's a civilian friendly,” CIC reported.
“Good. Let the others know. The cruiser will have to use her tachyon system to pass the word,” the captain drawled. “Let the civilian know they are clear to move through our AO and give them the course feed.”
“Aye aye, ma'am,” the rating stated.
“And, now that we're done with that little surprise, it’s back to being bored,” the captain said with an indifferent shrug.
“Could be worse, ma'am.”
“Oh? How's that?”
“It could have been trouble.”
“True.”
“Or, it could have been someone with a ton of paperwork,” another rating chimed in.
The captain cocked her head and then nodded. “Also true. But if you're done speculating, I think we've got jobs to do.”
“Aye aye, ma’am.”
“Spoil sport,” a rating stage whispered.
“I heard that,” the captain drawled, not even looking up from her tablet. There was a chuckle. “Just for that you can do the dishes.”
“Joy.”
“You asked for it.”
<()>^<()>
Shelby scanned the brief tachyon report. So, the arrival was the Conestoga, eh? She cocked her head and then nodded slowly. She'd thought it had been Donner returning. She'd sent the courier out to Commodore Richards with news of the battle and her updated logs. Apparently, Donner had missed her or was still en route.
Well, the Conestoga was a welcome sight at any rate. They had liberated the ship when one of her tin cans had run into her while she'd been in the hands of the pirates. The survivors in the ship's crew had been jumpy but intensely grateful to the Federation intervention. They'd waited out the battle one jump away and had come to the capital when Donner had passed through with news of the battle.
It had taken a few weeks to refit the ship. Initially, the owner operators had opted for the basic package. But, they'd managed to do a little recruiting in their last stop as well as in the capital, enough to flesh out some of their ranks. They hadn't been comfortable with shipping on it though, so she'd come up with a milk run for them. This return was their first run to Lebynthos and back. It was a milk run, but with i
t under their belt, they'd build up some confidence, some money from her, and she'd move low priority freight and personnel around.
She was still seriously considering putting a picket in Lebynthos. After the battle though, she didn't want to put anything smaller than a tin can. She could theoretically ship out a frigate, but after the battle she couldn't afford to weaken the defenses in the capital. She just couldn't lose the ones she had. Not yet at any rate.
The longer construction rates were also a problem. The tin cans took three times longer to build than a frigate. The cruisers even longer. She had yet to finish constructing the lead ship of either class. They had a long way to go before the yard was churning out ships again.
Instead of a warship, she had stationed a courier in Lebynthos with satellites that had been shipped in on the Conestoga. The star system was well on its way to declare for the Federation; if she could scrounge up a proper picket and more support, that would be a sure thing.
For the moment the courier and satellites would have to do. They'd watch for trouble and alert Lebynthos and Delos and Samos on her way to alerting her. It helped push her picket out a few jumps in that direction with a minimum of investment.
She shook her head as she scanned the report. It looked like the recruiter on the civilian ship had a moderate catch to report; that was good. Some was better than none! She shrugged the number aside for the moment and refocused on the ONI report from Lieutenant Slatery.
The navy had picked up a Tau pirate war book with locations, coms, notes, plus nav data from the captured ships, wreckage, and prisoners. The lieutenant and A.I. had worked on incorporating the databases with their own once they'd been compiled. She was fairly certain from the report of harder encryption that the Neolion admiral had changed comm protocols again when he'd gotten to Tortuga.