“Captain Scott, I have Vice-Admiral Weiskoff onboard.”
“Oh. Vice-Admiral. It is good to have you back.”
“What is your status, Captain?”
“Well, Vice-Admiral, Commander Marston has had Heimdallr upgraded to a jump-drive ship with enhanced stealth technology and gravity generators.”
“Marston says that you are currently locating the abandoned hulls in Atlantius. Status?”
“I was just going to report to Commander Marston, Vice-Admiral. We are currently searching for the last four ships. We’ve located forty-seven, so far.”
Weiskoff glared at Marston. He knew that he needed Marston if he was going to get his flagship. Weiskoff knew that he needed to placate that miscreant if he wanted his fleet. He didn’t want to give an inch, but he did.
“Once you have located and tagged those last four ships, you are to immediately jump to Ballison for reassignment.”
“Sir, yes, Sir.”
“Dismissed.”
Krag and Keiko exchanged looks and rolled their eyes, careful to not let Weiskoff see their judgement.
“Vice-Admiral, do you wish to take command of the Mortek cruiser? Let your crew familiarize themselves with the alien tech?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Mr. McCauley has prepared operations manuals for most of the systems, Sir. His most detailed instructions are on the bridge operations consoles.”
“Send them to Captain Brewer.”
Krag looked at Igaklay.
“They have been transferred to Captain Brewer’s personal tablet, Commander.”
“Thank you, Preceptor. Keiko, please jump us to the docking port on the cruiser.”
Except for a slight tremble, nothing seemed to have happened.
“The docking port is off our personal pressure lock, Commander.”
“Thank you, Keiko.” Krag looked at the ceiling. “Mack, suit up. We need a pressurized causeway to the cruiser.”
“We have got to give her a better name than that, Cap.”
“That is Vice-Admiral Weiskoff’s prerogative, Mack.”
“On my way, Cap.”
“It will be a moment, Sir. Perhaps you would care to join your crew while you are waiting?”
Without even a nod, Weiskoff rose from Mack’s gravity chair, headed off the bridge and climbed down the gangway.
“He is going to be nothing but trouble, Krag.”
“With Igaklay’s help, we will be able to keep him on task.”
“We have tribunes and legates like him in the Elonian forces, Commander. They are always pushing for more control, more power. They are willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to increase their power base.”
“Very astute, Gopai. Every species has them.”
“I just plain don’t like him, Captain.”
“This stays here. I don’t like him, either, Sue.”
“And, boy, but he doesn’t like you.”
“Well, Sue, Krag took away all his toys. Then gave them back, under his rules.”
“Oy, Cap. The causeway is in place and pressurized. Weiskoff is leading his minions onto their new, shiny ship, as we speak.”
“Once they’re across, close us up and get back up here.”
“What? You don’t want me to head on over and wipe their bums? Maybe burp the Vice-Admiral while I’m at it?”
“Show some respect for your betters, Mack.”
“They’re across, Cap. Vice-Admiral Weiskoff is making them double time it.” Everyone heard the sarcasm when Mack mentioned Weiskoff. “Closing up, now.”
Everyone waited the few minutes for Mack to arrive and retake his formerly absconded gravity chair.
“Keiko, let’s go pick up our gimpy Buster.”
Keiko didn’t bother to say a thing. She just jumped Griffin to the entry hatch of Limpet.
“Nellie, Stein, you there?”
“Yeah, Hawk,” Sergeant Nelson answered for the two of them.
“Sit-rep?”
The sergeants heard the formality in Krag’s voice. “Almost finished securing the shipyard, Commander.”
“I want to bring back Legate Buster and the Leopards. Would that be a problem?”
“Not a bit. We have everything under control. Thanks for the support. Your heavy artillery really did the job, Hawk. And those leopards, man what a force.”
“I’ll pass on the compliment. Buster, are you there?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Good. Return to Griffin. Let Mack have a look at you. Bring the Leopards.”
“And bring your leg, Tinman.”
“Why? So that you can beat me with it, Wrenchy?”
“Nah. I figure, once we get you out of the android, I can patch it up and put it back the way it was.”
“We’ll be aboard shortly, Captain.”
The Griffin crew waited for Buster and her defenders. Sue, monitoring the pressure hatch, watched the remainder of the Elonian Guardsmen and Sasanian Marines filter back in. Everyone on the bridge counted. Six Elonians and five Sasanian Marines. They watched as two of the Elonians sombrely floated their fallen comrade into the cargo bay. The sadness sat as a palpable cloud darkening everyone and everything aboard Griffin.
Finally, Buster, using his gravity pack, floated up the gangway and onto the bridge.
Everyone saw the cracked and spidery reidite armor, the blast burns and the mangled leg.
Shaking from his fugue, Mack brought life back to the bridge.
“Ya look right banged up, Tinman.”
“Nothing a good soak won’t fix,” Buster joked.
“Don’t worry, Buster. Your new body is ready. Once we get back to Ballison, we can make you better than new!”
“I look forward to it, Igaklay.”
“Can you still anchor, Buster?”
“Yes, Captain. I will utilize one of the rails.”
“Igaklay, could you get Weiskoff for me?”
“The line is open, Captain.”
“Vice-Admiral Weiskoff, do you read?”
“Yes, Marston. What is it?”
“Do you have any timeframe for Captain Brewer and the crew getting up to speed?”
“Not yet. What are all those dormant robots? Are they Mortek?”
“No, Sir. Preceptor Igaklay uses service robots for building, repairs and upgrades. They are dormant now because they have not been assigned any tasks.”
“When we get to Ballison, they will be removed from my ship?”
“After all upgrades and modifications have been completed, if that is your wish, Sir.”
“I’ll let you know when we are ready to pull out.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
The line went dead.
“Sue, I really don’t like that man, either.”
“Be nice, Keiko. He has the skillset we need.”
“I know.”
“So, now, what, Cap?”
“We hurry up and wait.”
Aboard Heimdallr – Cencore
Lieutenant Torres dropped her hands from her console, terminating her sweep for the next abandoned hull floating in Atlantius. Hanging her head, she shook it slowly, side to side.
Lieutenant Brooks kept his hands on the pilot console, sailing Heimdallr through Atlantius space, continuing the search for the last four hulls.
“This sucks, Cap.”
“It’s our duty, Brooksy. Vice-Admiral Weiskoff is back in space. He’s The Man now.”
“Yes, Captain. And he makes sure that everyone knows it.”
“Nevertheless, when he says ‘jump’, we jump, Toast. He’ll tell us how high.”
“That’s why this sucks, Cap.”
“To him, we’re nothing but his errand boy. He and Number Two had us running around delivering messages. At least Commander Marston let us do our job.”
“We’re a scout ship, Cap. The tip of the spear. We go in first.”
“And, that’s going to happen again. Look you two. We’re Federac
y. Turns out, Number Three didn’t scream mutiny. He let us slide. He even let us finish our search.”
“Yeah, Cap. That’s new.”
“Do you think that Marston laid down some law?”
“I think Marston has Weiskoff by the short and curlys, Toast. Number Three doesn’t play nice, Hawk doesn’t give him any new toys.”
“Yes, but what happens when the Vice-Admiral gets his new toys? You know he’s going to go all Caesar on everybody.”
“Nah. You forgot. Our little jump drive? It’s in an acid bath. Hawk doesn’t like what’s going on, splash. No jump drive.”
“Well, Captain, four more hulls. Then it’s back into the soup.”
“Here’s what I think, you two. Vice-Admiral Weiskoff ordered us to find the last four hulls. He didn’t give us any time limit. I say, we jump over to Tolimar and take a couple of days of R and R. Griffin will be jumping for two days anyway.”
“I’m liking that, Cap. What do you say, Toast? Ready for a little party?”
“As long as you keep your pants on, Brooksy. I could use some downtime.”
“You heard the lady, Brooksy. Tolimar. Shar’s Bar. I buy the first round.”
“And the steaks, Cap.”
Captain Scott laughed. “And the steaks.”
Ballison
After the first jump and day-long layover, the coordinates which Sue had given Lieutenant Bell, Odin’s navigator, dropped the Mortek cruiser over the HEB Alliance HQ pyramid. Keiko followed Sue’s direction and dropped Griffin closer to the planet.
“Well, Iggy, you’re home.”
“I’m always home, Mack.”
“Ya, but your walk-around self is home.”
“True. What is curious is that I prefer experiencing my surroundings in my avatar. Especially interaction with others. I am able to process much more personal data and analyse the interactions.”
“Keiko, you have the bridge. I need to shuttle Guardsman Suraya and Corpsman Faheem over to the cruiser. Check on the crew. Also, I don’t recall seeing any shuttles on the cruiser. When they’re back on their feet, I’ll shuttle Weiskoff and his crew down.”
“You don’t need to do that, Captain. I can send up a transport. That can become the cruiser shuttle.”
“Thank you, Igaklay. That helps a lot. I prefer to keep our shuttle here. I’ll just drop off our medical specialists and jump right back., When they’re ready, they can shuttle down to Ballison’s surface.”
“Can’t we just leave Weiskoff on the cruiser? I mean, it would be so much more peaceful without him around.”
“It’s a nice thought, Sue. But we are going to be here for a while. We have a fleet to put together. We can’t keep him shut up on the cruiser for more than a month. Besides, Keiko has a job to do. She gets to introduce Weiskoff and the crew to our Elonian friends.”
“Thanks, Krag. I’m really looking forward to that.” Keiko’s sarcasm fairly dripped.
“Such is the life of an interstellar ambassador,” Krag replied with a wink.
“The transport has jumped to the Mortek cruiser, Captain.”
“Good job, Igaklay. I need to get going. Keiko, you have the bridge.
“I have the bridge.”
Reaching the cargo bay, Krag saw Guardsman Suraya and Corpsman Faheem already geared up.
Corpsman Faheem, have you checked on the three Odin crewmates which are staying with us?”
“Yes, Sir. They are sleeping like babes, Sir.”
“No issues?”
“No, Sir. All vitals are strong and steady.”
“We’ll let them sleep. The Mortek cruiser. You two know the drill. You’ve got about a hundred people to look after. Like their three crewmates here, there shouldn’t be any problems. They’re all Federacy Navel personnel. So, they’re all in good shape. Check them, monitor them and get them back on their feet.”
“At your command, Commander.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
“Preceptor Igaklay has delivered a shuttle to the cruiser. Hitch a ride when they come down to Ballison. Griffin will be on the ground. Re-join your squad there. Let’s mount up.”
Krag lead the two medical specialists to Griffin’s shuttle. The delivery proved to be a short flight. Less than thirty minutes after take-off, Krag babied the shuttle back into Griffin’s bay.
After the cargo bay repressurized, Krag exited. He paused for a moment as the remaining five Guardsmen and three Sasanian Marines exited their quarters and gathered for training.
“Sergeant Boulos,” Krag shouted.
The Sergeant rushed over, came to attention and saluted. Krag returned the salute.
“At ease, Sergeant. Notify Tribune Ambakai and the Leopards that we will be landing shortly.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
Boulos headed back to the squad. Krag headed to the gangway. Climbing, he headed to Griffin’s bridge.
“Guardsman Suraya has reported in. so far, the crew is sleeping comfortably,” Igaklay announced
“Tell him to let them awaken normally. Just keep everyone monitored.”
“Will do. I was wondering, Captain. I notice that sometimes Ambassador Suzume refers to you as ‘Captain’ and other times as ‘Commander’. Should I change my response algorithms to refer to you as ‘Commander’?”
“Only when we have other military personnel present.”
“I think that we should make that the norm, Krag. From now on, we should all refer to you as ‘Commander’. We need to keep emphasizing that you are the Commander of this show.”
“Then, the same goes for you, Keiko. Everyone listen up. When around any military presence, I’m ‘Commander’ and Keiko is ‘Ambassador’.”
“Ay, Cap. We understand ya gotta play the role. No problem.”
”Ambassador Suzume, would you take us down, please?”
“On our way, Oh, Commander, My Commander. It’s good to be home.”
Keiko, becoming more and more confident in her piloting skills, jumped Griffin to within a hundred feet of her normal landing pad. Then, by softly working her slides, she set Griffin down without so much as a bump.
“Nice, Keiko.”
“Thank you, Sue. Your target coordinates were right on.”
“Well, I truly love Griffin, but there comes a time when I have a need to get away from the girl. Can I go, Cap?”
“Absolutely, Mack. But, within the next week, I want you and Igaklay to do a complete inspection. Right down to every nut and bolt.”
“Me and Iggy, we’ll make my girl all pristine, Cap.”
“Speaking of pristine, Buster, where do we stand with your new shell?”
“Igaklay and I are heading over to make the transfer, now, Captain.”
“Wait up. Sue, could you contact Dame Srilin? I would like you two present during the transfer.”
“Will do, Captain.”
“And backup.”
“We plan on leaving Buster in his original body until we have fully tested the transfer, Captain.”
“Good to know, Igaklay. Put Buster’s original in his cannister. Store it in HEBA HQ.”
“I will do that, Commander. Buster will be completely safe.”
“Thank you, Igaklay. See you three later. Buster, release the Guardsmen and the Marines. Let them get settled in. Gopai, I am sure that there is somewhere you would like to be.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
“Ay, Guppy. Let’s go find your true love.”
“You are such a lout, Wrenchy.”
“Aw, Sweet Sue. You love it.”
“Go, get out. I have work to do.”
The four released Griffin crewmates hustled off the bridge and clambered down the gangway. Once they were out of sight, Krag and Keiko locked eyes.
“If Vice-Admiral Weiskoff and the Odin crew are always around, your authority will be constantly undermined, Krag.”
“True. I don’t see how to control that.”
“Out of sight, out of mind? Igaklay?”<
br />
“Yes, Ambassador?” Krag and Keiko heard through Griffin’s speakers.
“Does Ballison have a space port? Of course it does. Dumb question. Where is Ballison’s main space port?”
“Approximately five hundred miles from here, Ambassador.”
“Sounds like the Ballisonian rulers had the same idea as you, Keiko. Igaklay, is there housing at the space port?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Getting into practice, I see, Igaklay. How much housing is there?”
“Enough for approximately three thousand people, Commander.”
“Let’s see. Six cruisers, eleven destroyers and forty-one frigates. Say, ten people per bridge. Five hundred and eighty.”
“Double that for the Atlantius ships.”
“Right. Say, twelve hundred. That will do, Igaklay. Are they the same as the pyramid? Can rooms be built and comforts installed?”
“Yes, Commander. I control all housing through nanite manipulation.”
“Good. That will keep them busy for a while.”
“Here’s the tough part. Fifty-nine Federacy ships. Fifty-one HEBA ships. A hundred and ten ships with crews. The HEBA ships are all over the place. Let’s guess at fifty crewmates per HEBA ship. That’s two thousand, five-hundred and fifty. For the Federacy ships, say, eighty. That’s almost four thousand, eight hundred. So, we need housing for seven thousand, five hundred crewmates.”
“Don’t forget families, Krag.”
“And families. Does Ballison have a town which can hold, oh, fifteen thousand people?”
“All Humans?”
‘Possibly Elonians, too.”
“There is an abandoned town about twenty miles from the space port, Commander. It has been neglected. There will require some clean-up to bring it back to a habitable community.”
“That will keep everyone busy. We’ll need to divide it into halves, keeping the Federacy and HEBA people separate.”
“One other point, Commander.”
“Yes, Igaklay?”
“For any beings over six feet tall, the ceilings may be too low.”
“We’ll work out that problem when we come to it.”
“Igaklay, can you set up an area for Vice-Admiral Weiskoff? Something which presents itself as obviously a residence of power?”
“I understand, Ambassador. To assuage Vice-Admiral Weiskoff’s rather large ego, you wish that I ensure that he has a small palace at his disposal.”
Victory in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 6) Page 24