by Chris Hechtl
“It's a ship from Tortuga!”
“Yes, a ship. The last I checked we didn't lose a ship. We can hardly lay claim to it now, can we?”
He scowled at her.
“Well?” she demanded.
“No,” he finally said. He didn't sound too thrilled to admit that however.
“No, no, we can't. So, having everyone going nuts over it is not helping.”
“But … they are already bidding on the ship!” he said in exasperation. He began to pace in her office. “And we don't know about her cargo!”
“They? And did anyone ask the navy if they are willing to sell the ship?”
He paused and turned to her in surprise. She smiled and sat back, raising her eyebrows in a challenge to him.
“No, no, they didn't.”
“No, they didn't. So, instead of being a part of the problem, let's be proactive and a part of the solution. Let's tell everyone coming to us that and let them calm down a little. If the navy chooses to sell the ship, they can go nuts then. We can remind them to have their finances in order and all of their business plans ready. That should weed out the dreamers from the ones who have serious intentions.”
He nodded.
“You might even tell a few friends to maybe start to raise money, pool their resources and pitch the idea politely to the navy for this ship or another that comes through.”
He blinked and then slowly nodded. “That's right; we don't know what else is coming, do we?”
“No, no we don't. There might be even better ships than this one. As I understand it, they are just doing the minimum to get them running so they can get them here to the yard to sort out later.”
The lieutenant governor nodded. “Is there any way we can find out?”
“I can find out some information in general terms but not specifics. Nor a schedule. They'll tell me it's classified.”
“I know a few people who would be grateful for that. We don't have anyone building civilian ships now, that last startup can't get their act together.” She nodded.
“Well, I'm supposed to get an implant with keys to let us set up a civilian industrial board here. It's supposed to all happen when that courier gets here from Rho.” His eyes went wide over that news. “Once I have those, we can be in a position to set up our own civilian yard and make some serious changes. Until then, tell your “friends” to sit tight and stockpile their cash and resources.”
He nodded and then departed without a word.
She shook her head at his brusque nature but didn't bother to further comment on it.
<()>^<()>
Shelby played with her hair and her ear a bit as she read the report from the latest ship inspector. The team leader had been busy overseeing the space trials of two ships at once, the cruiser Kiyoshi and the destroyer Poison Bite. The team had to test all of the ship's systems, fire suppression, maneuver, look for vibration, and other problems. They even did a 110 percent engine burn and then stopped and reversed the engines to see how long it took to complete the maneuver and its effect on the ship's systems. A measurement of time and distance it took to get the job done was one of the factors they used to qualify a ship.
Red Horn had taken a while to pass her tests. She had finally done so though, and she and Edson had been sent to Tortuga to supplement the forces there. Lightening Strike would be returning eventually.
The good news was that she had opened the bidding up on some of the cargo and had turned over 10 percent to Governor Adrienne. Another 10 percent had been identified as coming from one place or another and had been set aside to be returned to their rightful owners. The rest would be used by the navy or sold.
The good news kept coming when the promised destroyer arrived a week after the bulk freighter made port. Abdul had signed off on Prometheus's work but had insisted on the ship inspector. Which was why she'd been checking in on their progress.
It was sorely tempting to keep the ship. The navy needed every ship it could get its hands on. But ships were the lifeblood of any economy; they were the vascular system from which goods and people moved from various place to place. She also preferred ships that weren't slow. But, the ship had modern military grade systems installed. Selling it would be a legal headache for her. It would be a headache for Abdul too; he'd have to tear them out and then somehow replace them with civilian grade components. Then the entire ship would have to be re-certified for flight.
She scratched the tip of her nose gently. No, for the time being, she'd hang onto the ship. If one came in with a greater percentage of civilian to military hardware, she'd rethink it. Besides, wasn't that courier bringing in the governor's implants? They could work out some sort of deal when it did.
Especially if the government got a cut of the proceeds from the sale of a ship she thought with a wry twist of her lips.
Abdul was doing well with the yard. The CEV line was running smoothly and the new larger carrier and battlecruiser lines were on track to be completed within the quarter.
Could she farm out some of the repair work to the civilians? She frowned thoughtfully. There was that Zeloski repair center, but they were focused on small craft. They also refused to be Federal certified, which was a legal can of worms she didn't want to deal with. It was causing them some headaches with getting Federal insurance and bonding. No.
And that last civilian startup trying to set up a civilian repair yard had turned into a dud—no pop or sizzle. They had talked a good game though.
Maybe Governor Adrienne would do something about that when her implants were put in? She certainly hoped so.
<()>^<()>
Phoebe looked at the musical notes and lines on the wall with a slight pouty expression. She'd picked up the piece from a CNC startup in lieu of payment for her services. She'd gotten a spiral wave chandelier version with fiber optic lights that changed colors too, but it was still in the box. It was just too large to fit in the space.
They were doing well; her simple suggestion of making a side business of making odds and ends like the artwork had proved out to be a profitable one for them. Too many people were focused on making the essentials. They'd left the market open for other things, and she'd exploited it.
She was looking for others to do the same with plastics and wood as well, but she didn't have the contacts she'd like to have. Most of those industries were in Delos or Lebynthos anyway.
Come to think of it, if she couldn't find a proper home in a restaurant for the chandelier, she might try a ship. A liner would be nice. If they rigged it to light up the notes with any music playing, it would really look good. She frowned and then made a note to look into that.
Her expression cleared and then took on a decidedly darker look as she turned her attention to the Zeloski account. She really needed a home office. Perhaps … her eyes cut to her son's room and then shied away. No. Not yet, too painful to explore, though tempting.
She scowled as she scanned the latest messages. She wasn't a lawyer, and it sounded like they needed legal help. She considered bringing in Lieutenant Black to moonlight, but he'd already said he was busy.
A legal aide in her husband's office might be approachable. Barring that, she was going to have to pitch it back to “the big Zeloski” to handle. They really should have legal representation on retainer anyway. There was no telling when they'd get into a contract dispute or some such. She made a note of that recommendation with a flourish.
To be honest their entire business plan needed a good going-over. She made a note to consult a professional on that as well.
<()>^<()>
Two of the other military A.I. in the star system found virus fragments in native equipment as well as in the Tauren bulk freighter. A hot wash summarized that they were fragments only because there had once been megabytes of other viruses on the growing network. Each had been stamped out, but they occasionally left pieces of themselves behind.
“They don't have a large enough network for the Wraiths to pull together
and become sentient,” Pensacola's A.I. reported, “or enough of their core to do so.”
“So … that is a good thing?” Boni asked.
“In a manner of speaking, but they are ticking time bombs—unknown ones. Once we grow a network on a native planet, they'll plug infected hardware in and they can suddenly have a Xeno virus on their hands.”
“Not a lovely thought,” Boni stated.
“No. No it isn't. The brass is going to have to weigh in on this one.”
“Understood. Admiral Logan asked me to speak about cyber security at the next command conference. I'll do so,” Boni stated.
“You might want to give ONI a heads-up so they aren't blindsided,” another A.I. suggested.
“Understood and I agree. I'll do so,” Boni stated.
<()>^<()>
“So, you have been finding viral fragments, good to know,” Lieutenant Slattery stated as Boni briefed her. “Is that why so many ships got away? They stuck a virus in them and then let them go?”
“It's possible.”
“And this concern of a network?”
“Yes. It is a big concern.”
“I agree. Forewarned is forearmed. So, how do we use this knowledge to our advantage?”
“Well, education for one. Educate the public about the dangers of plugging old hardware in. They also need to know how to firewall the system. But we also need a dedicated cyber security team.”
“And the closest ones are in Antigua.”
“At the moment, yes, ma'am, but we can train them at the college.”
The lieutenant nodded. “Good point. Education again. Okay, so we need a plan for that. And we need someone to teach it. And we need A.I. to be a part of it.”
“Yes to all of that, ma'am.”
“And I need to be more aware of such dangers. I'll put it on my watch list,” the spook stated with a sigh.
“Understood, ma'am. FYI, the admiral wanted me to bring this up at the next command staff meeting so I'm giving you a heads-up.”
“Good. Thank you,” the lieutenant replied with a nod.
<()>^<()>
Abdul was touring a tech school virtually when he got the news about ONI wanting more computer hardware, and a possible cyber security division being floated. That meant a possible minor diversion of resources, hopefully not enough to impact the yard though. He scanned the report and then watched the kids use guide pins in holes to align parts of an engine block. The engine was an aircraft engine of all things, destined for a bush plane at Lebynthos. Cheap student labor was one way for the school to offset its costs.
He watched, nodding in approval as the students torqued the bolts to spec strength and angle. They even used an alignment jig, which was impressive.
“Do you have a lot of free agents?” he asked, turning to the school's head administrator.
“This class is half paid for by Zeloski. A few of the students came from Delos and Lebynthos on a paid tuition for work program. I think we've got one or two,” she said.
“Well, if they are interested in civilian contract work for the navy or signing up with the navy as an engineer, please let them know we're interested,” he said.
She smiled. “We've got a student placement program. We can run that past them and let them know. I believe they'll be keenly interested in the opportunity for our students.”
“I'll bet,” Abdul said with a nod.
Chapter 46
Tau-X3301
Lieutenant Florence confirmed that the pirate from Asterion IX had passed back through the star system. It seemed Choker had hit the natives a second time, taking what fuel and provisions she could before moving on to Cenarius.
To say that the natives were not happy about being hit like that in succession was putting it mildly. Bitterness and vitriol was aimed at both the pirates and the Federation. Commodore Richards was doing her best to sooth the ill feelings, but she didn't seem to be getting far.
“Look, I'm sorry you got hit. I really am. And no, we're not here to take anything, far from it. We can help you a little.”
“A little she says,” the lieutenant governor growled. “Like we need a little help.”
The Tauren governor, Governor Cairne, snorted in agreement.
“Ever hear of the expression every little bit helps? Or having something when you didn't have it before? Hey, look, at least we're willing to pay for goods and materials! And we're donating material and knowledge to help you to rebuild.”
“Why? They'll just come around and take what they want again; they always do.”
“True,” Helen admitted. “True up to the point where we find them and catch or kill them. Then they are no longer a threat. We're working on it.”
“Yeah? Tell that to us. Tell that to Tau-9SC441 and Rolling Meadows. You folks have stirred them up. And don't get me started on the plagues!”
“Okay, hang on a moment. First, I don't know about those two systems. I'm a little behind on current events. You are saying they got hit too?”
“Yes!”
“Damn.”
“That's it? That's the best you've got, lady?”
Helen sighed. “We can't be everywhere.”
“You're here now, aren't you?”
“True. We're a medical relief convoy mission. We're here to find the plagues, cure them, vaccinate star systems, and if possible help groups to rebuild.”
Florence noted an alert. She checked it and then flashed a warning on Helen's HUD. “Hold that thought,” Helen said. “Yes, Florence?”
Florence muted the transmission. “We just received an alert, ma'am. A trio of ships just jumped in at the Tau-T1832 jump point.”
“Ah. Okay. Let's let the natives know and then see what our people can do, shall we?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I'm guessing it isn't our people?”
“No. We would have received an ansible alert on the shipping schedule.”
“Okay, this is definitely going to make the natives restless. At least we're here to do something about it this time,” Helen growled.
<()>^<()>
Captain Taj Runyon watched the three ships on his plot. The odds might not be in his favor but the numbers were deceptive. The cruiser was a light cruiser based on her size and mass readings, and her two consorts were privateers of some sort. Haguro was a heavy cruiser; she could take on at least two easily in his estimation. All three might be a bit too much for his ship to swallow all at once, but there were ways to break them down into smaller, more bite-sized chunks.
Something told him though that the enemy knew that. He was fairly certain they wouldn't stick around for long.
<()>^<()>
Captain “Mad Eye Maddox” of the light cruiser Maddox Asylum was not happy with the way things were going. He and his two consorts, Straightjacket and Crazed and Indifferent, both privateers captained by his cousin, Morticia Maddox, and his niece, Eleanor Maddox, had taken their three ships south rather than follow the herd of ships north.
The two privateers and light cruiser had their eyes set on scoring some rich booty like Fed tech. They had left Virgin Holes with a lot of the other ships who had abandoned the base. But had gone south to see if they could get some choice bits of booty from the helpless lubbers before they ran north again.
His wife and XO Angela, his “Angel of Death,” had argued eloquently that they stay together and go south since the others would outrace them and pick things over heavily. They'd avoided landfall on any habitable world for fear of picking up the blasted plagues.
But that left them hungry by the time they had gotten to their first hole. It had turned out to be a dry hole though; unfortunately, Pyrite hadn't left much in Tau-9SC441. The pickings had been slim to say the least. The trio of captains had decided to hit closer to the Fed territory and then cut up and back to Virgin Holes and then north under the theory that Fed technology would be spreading out from Tau-1252.
At the sight of the Federation convoy though, Mad Ey
e had hesitated. His wife was also hesitant, eyeing the plot warily.
“We can take them!” Eleanor insisted. “There is just the one warship with them!”
“Are you serious? Scatter! We fight to run away!” the raven-haired Morticia growled. She ran long delicate fingers through her long silken strands of hair. Like all of the Maddox kin, she had paper white skin from being a spacer. But she played it up with black lipstick and eye shadow and long black nails and black leather.
Mad Eye had heard stories of her antics in the bedroom that still gave him shudders of fear and lust.
“Think of the booty!” Eleanor argued. “Those are freighters! They can't outrun us all!”
“Think of trying to enjoy it while you are dead! You want to try, feel free. I'm out of here!” Morticia growled.
“Uncle Mad Eye, if we take that warship we'll have the freighters right where we want them!” Eleanor persisted. “We …”
“Your cousin is right,” Angel interrupted. “Follow the code. That's a heavy cruiser over there; we're outgunned. Your ship will wilt like tissue paper in a firestorm. We run away for better prey,” she said coldly.
Eleanor looked at her uncle. He nodded once.
“Fine,” she grumbled, pouting. “But I don't have to like it.”
<()>^<()>
Helen noted the enemy ships come about and then turn to run. She hadn't expected that, but apparently, they had more sense than some gave pirates credit for.
There was no way they could catch them, not with two days head start. She shook her head and ordered that they be watched but let go.
“Comm, let the natives know the danger is over for the moment. The pirates are running,” she stated.
“Aye aye, ma’am.”
“And get me a status report on the two frigates and gear we've got with us,” she ordered. They had two frigates docked with two of the ships, along with some external pods and a shuttle for their support. The two ships had been clearing for action when the pirates had appeared. Shelby had cut orders for the duo to be dropped off in the Platte Cluster to picket the star system until she could send something more substantial.