Meeting in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 3)

by D Patrick Wagner

  “I understand, Doris. I’ll let you get back to work, now. Signing off.” Scott gave Torres the cut motion. She broke the connection.

  “Well, no Odin.”

  “So, another road trip, Captain?”

  “Yeah. We get back in the gate, sneak into Bridgelen, over to Corrinar. Try there.”

  “This is getting to be a real boring run, Cap.”

  “Couldn’t agree more, Brooksy. Toast, get as much Intel about this system, Fill a buoy. We’ll launch in Bridgelen when we’re safe. Let them know that we’re heading to Corrinar.”

  “Roger, Cap.”

  Onboard Odin

  “We’ve reached the assigned coordinates, Captain.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Wright. Mr. Bradley, what do you see?”

  “Just asteroids, Captain. But this is Arium. That’s all you see. Asteroids.”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary?”

  “No, Sir. As we saw before, an inordinate amount of shipping and transports. Other than that, everything is normal.”

  Vice-Admiral Weiskoff watched the main monitor from his command pod. Seeing the same as everyone else, he quietly seethed at Tolimar and Gregor, those civilians who dared to defy the Federacy.

  “Got a communiqué, Captain.”

  “Put it up, Mr. Connors.”

  Everyone saw the image of Doctor Henry McCauley flash onto the screen.”

  “Welcome to the Gregor Shipyard, Odin. I am Doctor McCauley, the Chief Operations Manager of our humble repair depot.”

  “Thank you, Doctor. I’m Captain Brewer. With us is Vice-Admiral Weiskoff.”

  “Yes. We’ve met. Welcome, Vice-Admiral Weiskoff.”

  “Gregor says you can repair Odin. Replace its X-cannons.”

  “Yes we can, Vice-Admiral. We can, and will, do everything you saw in our presentation. We’ve added some refinements. I think you will like them. If you look off to your port side, you will see a rather large asteroid. That is the Gregor Shipyard. I will open a bay door and illuminate it. Please pull up and stand off, approximately thirty meters. Once you have achieve synchronicity, we will extend and connect a gangway. I will wait until you have docked.”

  Looking at the port screen, everyone saw an asteroid twice the size of Odin.

  “If that thing is hollowed out, that’s a pretty good sized shipyard for a private company, Admiral.”

  “Yes. And when this war is over, Letters of Marquees or not, I am going to do something about it.”

  Twenty minutes later, Odin succeeded in aligning with the entry port after the automated gangway connected and secured, and a pressurized seal finalized the linking of the Federacy dreadnaught with the Gregor Shipyard.

  Hank, with his shadow and top two lieutenants, waited patiently for the Odin delegation to arrive. Vice-Admiral Weiskoff and two other men in uniform imperiously strode down the tunnel. Hank pulled the door open and stepped back. Coming to a sort of attention, he waited as the three strode onto the shipyard deck, without asking permission.

  “Welcome aboard the Gregor Shipyard, Vice-Admiral Weiskoff.”

  “Mr. McCauley.” Vice-Admiral Weiskoff missed Hank’s title of ‘Doctor’. Gregor’s lead scientist noted the slight but let it slide.

  “May I introduce you to Mr. Ferguson? He is responsible for the construction of your X-cannons and the platforms.” Pointing to the second man, Hank continued. ”Aston Sumner. Repair manager.”

  “This is my Chief-of-Staff, Lieutenant Clark and this is Captain Brewer.”

  “This way. Let me show you what we plan on putting into Odin.”

  Hank didn’t take the Vice-Admiral on a complete tour, only what pertained to Odin. His first stop displayed a large, open space with workers springing around the floors and the cavernous dome.

  “As you can see, we haven’t installed the electro-magnetic plating here. This will eventually be an expansion to the yard, specializing in small ship construction. The reason I am showing you this area is because of the workers.”

  Everyone gazed around the giant cavern, watching the workers resemble primates jumping tree-to-tree. Most carried diggers and grinders, carving away at the asteroid from the inside.

  “Those miners will be the ones working on your hull, replacing the damages plates, repairing your external equipment.”

  “Where are you getting our plating?”

  “We have a forge on another asteroid. Close. Once we get you measured, we can begin pouring and shaping. The plates won’t be exactly the same. We couldn’t get the right metals and minerals for that, Admiral. But we’re close. Say, eighty-five, ninety percent as protective.”

  “If that’s what you’ve got, then that’s what we get. It will have to do.”

  “We’ve got the materials. We’ve got the people. We’ll make Odin right, Captain.”

  “We have some internal damage. And electrical.”

  “We’ve got people for that, Captain. All we need is a peek at the specs. If we don’t have the proper materials, I just call Shelley. He’ll get it up to us.”

  “Shelley?”

  “Yes, Admiral. Governor of Latinia. He has all the connections.”

  “Yeah. I’ve met that weasel.”

  “Now, now, Admiral. We’re giving you solid results. With no charge, I might add.”

  “Be that as it may.”

  “Let’s take a gander at your new popguns. Ian. You’re up.”

  “This way gentlemen.”

  Hank passed out noise-cancelling helmets. He and Ian gave the exact, same presentation of the X-cannons and their generators to the Odin officers as they had given to Gregor and his people. At the end, the seven men ended at the door to the Federacy Dreadnaught.

  “When will you begin?”

  “Immediately, Admiral. All we need is the schematics. Oh, and your chief engineer. We’ll need him for the X-cannon and Fission reactor placement.”

  “Captain?”

  “I’ll contact Lieutenant Hartman, right away. Mr. McCauley, thank you for the tour. Mr. Hartman should be contacting you momentarily.”

  “Excellent! The sooner, the better.”

  “You do realize that you are given access to top secret information?”

  “Of course, Vice-Admiral. And I understand that you are releasing this under the duress of the alien war. I give you my word or, if you prefer, we all will sign something. We will not betray your trust. Everyone is on the same side here.”

  “Just make sure this does not leak out. I’ll be watching.”

  Onboard Thor

  “Captain, another buoy.”

  “You know the drill. Send the info to HQ. Put it up on the screen in my ready room.”

  “Already done, Captain.”

  “Good job, Mr. Morgan. Gentlemen, shall we?”

  As before, Captain Russell’s XO, Weapons Specialist and Launch Specialist followed him to his ready room, took their familiar seating and waited for the new Video.

  “Lieutenant Torres of FSS Heimdallr. The following is a summary of the latest observations of the Alien armada.”

  Heimdallr’s Sensor Specialist worked her table, reviewing her notes.

  “As previously reported, the three alien fleets have coalesced in the center of Bridgelen. The resultant armada continues to hold position, aimed at the Cencore gate. All ships are currently undergoing some kind of modification or upgrade. A fleet of possible repair ships are coating the armada with some kind of black texture. Purpose unknown. We are not able to approach and obtain a sample. As you will note, the visual feed does display the activities of the repair ships and the substance being spread.”

  Captain Russell paused the playback.

  “Comments?”

  “No idea, Captain.”

  “Mr. Butler?”

  “Not a weapon, Sir. Something for defense?”

  “A counter, you’re thinking?”

  “Just spitballing, Sir. Some kind of an absorption layer? Maybe for the X-cannon?”

&nbs
p; “I hope not. That’s the only thing that reliably works against them.”

  “We’ve gotten the Intel from inspecting the alien derelict, Captain.”

  “And?”

  “Nothing special. Just tougher. We’ve upped the explosive power of our torpedoes. Also our rockets. Those will punch some holes now. Maybe not on the super dreadnaughts. But all of the other ships.”

  “That’s good to know. Captain Brewer developed a combination attack with the X-cannon and torpedo follow-up. That seemed very effective. I want us, the entire defensive force, to create a joint, combination attack. XO.”

  “Sir.”

  “Get with the other ships. Work up a joint defensive plan using the stronger torpedoes and rockets.”

  “Aye, aye, Sir.”

  “Mr. Butler. Is the rest of the fleet upgraded with the new torpedoes?”

  “Not sure, Captain. I’ll look into it and give you a report.”

  “That’s it then. We just keep sitting and waiting.”

  “It’s driving the crew nutty.”

  “I know. Probably all the other ships are going stir-crazy, too. Nothing we can do. Just wait.”

  Herman Cox’s Private Hanger

  Herman, his wife and five children arrived early. The seven watched as Arthur, Mildred and Lloyd finished loading a flatbed of luggage into Money Gulper’s hold. As they waited, a mid-sized, luxury sedan and a van pulled up. Senator Campbell, with his wife, climbed out of the first. Two workers piled out of the van, pulled the slide open and began unloading another mound of luggage.

  “Senator,” Herman acknowledged as he held out his hand.

  “Mr. Cox,” replied as he shook it. “Are we ready?”

  “Yes. Your son. He’s not coming?”

  “No. He’s currently on assignment at Calius. I couldn’t reach him.

  “A shame. He should be safe there.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping.”

  During the conversation, Campbell’s wife held back, having spent years being controlled by the Senator.

  “Well, let’s get going.”

  “Josh, run the pre-flight. We should be ready to go in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Ok, Dad.” Herman’s eldest son climbed the ladder and vanished into Money Gulper.

  Just then three more vans pulled up, one blocking the nose of Herman’s personal yacht. The logos on the sides of the vans always brought fear, and sometimes panic, to anyone subjected to their arrival.

  Six men and three women scrambled out, flak jacketed, helmeted and carrying small rifles at the ready. The one obviously in charge purposefully strode up to the extremely wealthy businessman and the Federacy Senator then stopped. Pulling his I.D., he flipped it open revealing his picture and his Federacy Sedition badge.

  “I am Special Agent-in-Charge Kuhn of the Sedition Division. Mr. Herman Cox and Senator Conrad Campbell, you are under arrest for crimes against the Federacy. Specifically, defying an Executive Decree during times of war.”

  “You can’t do this! I am a sitting Senator!”

  “A just and legal warrant has been issued and, as such, it is my duty to carry out the wishes of the court.”

  “But, but, I have a signed release. Signed by Captain Fisher!” Senator Campbell reached into his coat pocket as one of the agents raised her gun.

  Pulling out the document, he handed it to Kuhn.

  “Yes. He is being arrested as well. And the substantial payment which Mr. Cox made is being confiscated. Now, if you would please, get in the van.”

  Nodding to one of his men, he watched as the subordinate stepped forward and pulled Herman Cox’s arms to his back then pinched handcuffs on the sagging man’s wrists. Another agent repeated the action with Senator Campbell.

  “Shirley! Call our lawyer! Tell him what’s happened!”

  Herman’s wife just stood, shocked and frozen as she watched her husband and father of her children perp-walked to the van and locked in. Senator Campbell’s wife, in the same emotional state, did the same.

  Suichuu-Shigai

  “Please have General Tanaka and Shuhan Oishi meet me here, in my office.”

  Taishou Suzume spoke to his adjunct, Dono Yokota as he surveyed the room of drone handlers. What he saw saddened Nye-Nippon’s highest ranked military man. Where a hundred drone controllers previously sat, only twenty-one remained. Out of forty thousand drones, just over eight thousand continued to function.

  General Tanaka and Shuhan Oishi arrived just as Taishou Suzume shook off the melancholy and took his place at the conference table.

  “Gentlemen, please be seated.”

  The two men took their places as Suzume nodded to his adjunct. Dona Yokota worked his tablet and a hologram of a wide river within a deep gorge flashed into existence.

  “Shuhan. Your son is still alive.”

  “Thank the Gods.”

  “He and Juro are based here.”

  A green light marked Taketa’s and Juro’s campsite.

  “They have marked an alien dome structure here.”

  The hologram pulled back, displaying a wider area of terrain. A red light marked the pentagram of domes.

  “The Intel sent to us from Sasania indicates that these outside domes are breeding domes. The center one holds our people. People used as food stock.”

  “Poor souls.”

  “Yes, General. With no hope. Where is the nearest battery? What do we have in range?”

  After working his own tablet, the hologram pulled back more, displaying more area. “We have three concealed gun placements.”

  Three blue dots appeared with numbers and symbols beside them.

  “For destroying those domes, these two are overkill. Either of their losses would not be offset by the six domes being destroyed. You are talking about destroying the one with our people?”

  “Yes, General. I do not relish this thought. But we cannot save them. The best we can do is end their suffering.”

  “I understand, Taishou. That is a hard decision.”

  “Yes. The third battery?”

  “Three howitzers. Each firing six rounds. They should be able to complete their firing mission before the aliens destroy them.”

  “Three cannons. Six domes. A good trade. Are the coordinates sent by Sousui Oishi accurate enough?”

  General Tanaka studied his tablet. “Yes. We will be able to blanket the whole area.”

  “Thank you, General. Please compose a firing plan and I will authorize it. I would like to execute this operation as soon as possible.”

  “Within two hours, Taishou.”

  “That will be fine, General. I am happy for you and your son, Shuhan.”

  “My wife will be even happier, Taishou.”

  Oishi Scout Team

  The thunder of three howitzers firing broke Taketa and Juro out from their reverie. Scrambling from under their shelter, they grabbed their helmets and dialled up the binocular range. Looking back up the river, seeing nothing, more thunder erupted as the cannons fired again. Between the second and third salvos, explosions echoed up the gorge. Focusing down river, four kilometres away, the two viewed the results of the massive bombardment. Explosions, rising fireballs and plumes of fire jetted into the sky. Great pieces of domes, walkways and alien equipment followed.

  Unfortunately, the two Nightshades saw, not only the burned and shredded alien body parts ejected into the air but also burned and shredded humans. The fourth salvo landed on the already destroyed alien domes.

  “Their suffering is over, Mappai.”

  “Yes, Sousui. A sad day. But a needed one.”

  “We need to verify completion of mission. We move out in five minutes.”

  “Hai, Sousui.”

  Just then two alien fighters screamed overhead, vectoring towards the source of their breeding domes’ destruction. Moments later, more explosions and fireworks lit up the sky.

  The two stealthy assassins worked their way back to the valley floor, recorded the now-bu
rning wasteland and returned to camp.

  “Send it.”

  “Hai.”

  Juro repeated the steps of the last transmission while Taketa worked the drone in the same manner.

  A response returned quickly.

  “Sousui, I have been given the coordinates for our next destination.”

  “Send the following. We require re-supply. A full kit-out.”

  Again, the two went through their procedures

  “We have coordinates for a cache of weapons and supplies.”

  “How close?”

  “In a straight line, four days. Probably closer to six.”

  “Ok. We break camp at dawn. Go catch a fish. I will retrieve our greens.”

  “Hai,” Juro responded as he prepared to do what he best loved to do.

  Chapter 09

  Onboard Griffin

  An hour before Master Engineer Varrini’s arrival time, four humans, two synthetics and one Elonian sat or stood in Griffin’s galley/ward room.

  Taking a sip of his coffee, Krag started the morning meeting. “Vidhee. You are still on parole, is that correct?”

  “That is correct, Captain Marston.”

  “So, from your perspective, what is said or done in Griffin stays in Griffin?”

  “Again, that is correct, Captain Marston.”

  “Good. Gopai, you are still a vassal to me and a crewmember of Griffin. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, Captain Marston.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Sir?”

  “Who holds your loyalty?”

  “Captain Marston, may I interrupt?”

  “Of course, Vidhee.”

  “Elonians have a very strict code concerning the adoption of a vassal. When a member of one clan is given to another as a vassal, that member is now a member of the new clan. All ties are broken with his or her previous clan.”

  “Does that include the passing of information?”

  “I would never do that!”

  “No, Gopai. I am not accusing you of that. I am just trying to understand. You are not in trouble.”

  “What Krag is trying to say, Gopai, is that he is trying to raise his level of trust in you by understanding the boundaries of your loyalty.”