A Galaxy Unknown (26 page)

Now cleaned and ready to provide liquid refreshment, the machine waited for orders. Jenetta picked up a sixteen-ounce mug from a rack next to the dispenser and placed it into the opening.

"Colombian coffee," she said. "Black with two sugars."

"Percentage of chicory?" the machine asked.

Jenetta's right eyebrow arched. She had never been asked that before. ‘
Must be a new program
,' she thought. ‘
Or perhaps the captain placed in command of this ship had instructed the machine to always ask about chicory if it wasn't specified when coffee was requested
.'

"None," she replied, then watched as her mug was filled to within one centimeter of the top edge.

She removed it carefully, sniffed it, then took a small sip. It was delicious. It was hot, but not so hot that she couldn't take a mouthful. She closed her eyes and let it trickle gently down her throat as she savored the flavor. She had dreamt of having a good cup of coffee ever since her first day in the detention center. Drinking the weak tea they'd served with the meals had been excruciating. ‘
Romeo might have gotten further with me if he'd offered me a good cup of Colombian instead of apple pie
,' she thought flippantly, then sobered as she remembered what she'd done. She shook herself mentally to dislodge the image of his broken body from her brain.

"Computer?"

"Waiting," she heard a disembodied voice say.

"You will no longer ask if someone wants chicory."

"Accepted."

"And you will acknowledge me, Jenetta Carver, NHSA class of ‘56, as captain of this ship."

"CT identification recorded and accepted, Captain."

With her coffee mug in hand, Jenetta walked to the enormous wooden desk. Some people might have felt that it was garish and ostentatious, but Jenetta thought it suited the ship and the almost unlimited power of the person who would ultimately command her. She placed her cup down, sat in the large, comfortable ‘oh-gee' chair behind the desk, and spun herself around.

"Jenetta Carver," she said aloud to herself, "you've done it. It may not be an official posting, but for right now,
you
are the captain of the newest— fastest— biggest— baddest— battleship in the entire known Galaxy. Weeeeeeee!"

The door-chime brought Jenetta out of her reverie. She stopped spinning the chair and giggled like a schoolgirl for a few seconds before composing herself. "Who is it?" she asked.

The computer replied with, "You have a visitor with an unrecorded ID, Captain."

"Admit the visitor," Jenetta said.

The computer opened the doors. Gunny Rondell walked in, his arms loaded with clothing.

"There aren't any GSC or Merchant Services uniforms in the storeroom, Captain, but I found a Raider officer uniform that should fit you a little better than the one you're wearing."

"Thank you, Gunny," she said smiling up at him. "That was very thoughtful of you."

"My pleasure, ma'am."

"Gunny, is the ship secure?"

"I believe so, Captain."

"Have you checked the list of crewmembers that had reported aboard against the identifications of the ones that you locked up?"

"No, Captain. Except for the five officers from the two bridges, they're all unconscious."

"Let's at least do a head count. Perhaps the Raiders use ID bracelets or dog tags for identification. If they do, we can determine the situation while they're still unconscious. Better get a count from the Chiron also, to make sure that we found them all over there. If any are missing we'll have to start a search immediately before they can attempt to sabotage the ships."

"I'll take care of it right away, Captain."

"Thank you, Gunny. Oh, Gunny?"

"Yes, Captain."

"I've forgotten completely about the female captives. Are they still in the trucks?"

"No, Captain. I took them to a lounge on Crew Quarters Deck Fourteen where they can relax. I figured it would be better that they remain together as a group for now. They'll be fine. Jergen is with them. The young woman he helped won't let him out of her sight now that we've completed our escape. I'm amazed that he managed to break loose long enough to participate in our effort to take these ships."

"You've done an incredible job, Gunny. Thank you."

"This has been the most fun I've had in years, Captain. It's been my honor to serve in your command."

Alone in the briefing room again, Jenetta gingerly removed the arm sling and then the uniform of the guard that she had killed. She was happy to be rid of it; for it carried the body odors of the dead jailer, and it was a constant reminder of the worst thing that she had ever experienced. It was one thing to fire a laser weapon and destroy a fighter craft that was trying to kill you, or to fire torpedoes at ships that would destroy yours given half a chance, but killing another human in unarmed combat, so close that you can smell them, and hear them gasp for their last breath, was a different matter entirely. She had only done what was absolutely necessary to save her own life, yet she feared that the sight of the guard's broken and crumpled body would be with her for the rest of her days.

Donning the clean shirt and trousers that Gunny had brought in, she marveled at the fit. The shoes were one size too big, but they were much better than the ones she'd been wearing. She pulled on the uniform jacket and smiled when she saw that Gunny had even found captain's bars for her. After she was dressed, she put the arm sling back on and walked to the chair behind the desk.

As she sat down, the com unit buzzed. Lifting the viewscreen, it lit up with the image of the communications station operator.

"Call for you from the freighter Jouraklihest, Captain."

"Thank you, Mr. Kellogg. Put it through."

The image of Captain Phuth Yuixotical immediately filled the screen.

"Captain Yuixotical, it's good to see you again. I understand that you've completed your repairs. Over."

"And it's good to speak to
you
again, Captain," she finally heard. "Your first officer on the Vordoth would only tell me that you had left on a classified mission. Now I learn that you're the captain of a GSC Battleship, and a battle group commander. I'm very confused, Captain Carver. Uh, I don't recognize the uniform that you're wearing. Over."

"It's the uniform used by the Raiders. My own uniform was— lost, while attempting to infiltrate a Raider base. Over."

"I see. And you're still intending to see us to Obotymot? Over."

"I am. And the chances of getting there without further attack are almost assured now. Over."

"And why do you say that? Over."

"I'm afraid that's still classified. You'll have to trust me. Over."

"I do, Captain. Implicitly. In spite of being quite confused about your true identity and mission. Have you injured your arm? Over."

"Just a simple break. I've been told that I'll be fine in a few months. Over."

"I'm happy to hear that. How's your opponent? Over."

Jenetta grinned. "He's— still unconscious. Over."

Captain Yuixotical smiled widely. "I would have expected no less. Over."

"The Prometheus and Chiron will rendezvous with you in about five hours and we can depart for Obotymot two hours after I arrive. Over."

"The Chiron? Over."

"The Chiron is the other GSC battleship under my command. Over."

"I see. Very good, Captain, we'll be ready. Jouraklihest out."

"Prometheus out."

With the completion of the call, which consumed more than an hour, Jenetta sauntered over to the comfortable looking sofa and lay down. She wondered if she could grab ten minutes of uninterrupted rest. Closing her eyes, sleep overtook her within seconds.

The annoying and persistent sounds of a door-chime reached down and pulled Jenetta up from the depths of sound sleep. Startled and confused for a few seconds by the strange surroundings, memories of the past day came flooding back as she became alert.

"Come in," Jenetta said sleepily.

Lt. Commander Michaels entered as the door opened for him. "Captain, I just wanted to inform you that we've reached Periseras and rendezvoused with the four freighters."

"WHAT!? Why didn't someone wake me up?"

"You needed the rest, Captain, both because of your injury, and because of the stress that was evident on your face. You were exhausted. I would have awakened you if there had been any problems."

Jenetta sat up and rubbed her eyes with her right hand. "You're right, Commander, I did need it. Thank you for letting me sleep. How long have we been here?"

"We only just arrived. There are a number of space tugs headed this way, and they're requesting permission to come aboard."

"Granted. Do we have a suitable reception room on board?"

"On a ship this large we should have a dozen conference rooms that would fit the bill."

"Please select one and show our visitors to it. Perhaps you could have someone dig up some refreshments as well. I'd like to wash up first."

"Very good, Captain. I'll take care of it."

Jenetta removed the arm sling and uniform jacket as she entered her washroom, and she was gingerly washing the hand on her broken arm when the door-chime sounded again. She stuck her head out the bathroom door and said, "Come."

As the doors opened, Lieutenant Gloria Sabella entered, spotted Jenetta in the washroom, and walked to her, saying, "I brought over one of your uniforms, Captain. The one you were wearing when we talked looked terrible." Gloria hung the uniform hanger on a robe hook just inside the washroom, and placed the soft-soled ankle-high boots on the deck.

"Thanks, Gloria. It'll be great to get out of Raider clothes."

Gloria wanted nothing more than to hug her friend and welcome her back, but she didn't feel that it would be appropriate behavior to hug her commanding officer. She might have succumbed to the temptation if she knew that Jenetta longed for the same thing.

"What happened to your arm?" Gloria asked.

"I broke it earlier today while I was trying to avoid being shot."

"
Shot?!
" Gloria exclaimed.

"Yes, one of the Raider bridge officers objected to our taking back this ship, and expressed his dissatisfaction with the business end of a lattice pistol."

"Rebecca's here in the reception room with everyone else. She can take a look at it."

"Everyone else?"

"There's an entire contingent of Nordakians, a large group from the Vordoth, and about two dozen scruffy-looking people dressed in uniforms similar to the one you're wearing."

Jenetta giggled. "We didn't have much time for personal grooming before our escape, and most of the men do need a shave and a haircut. The uniforms are the ones used by the Raiders. I guess they're the only thing in ship's stores. We had to leave in a hurry and didn't have proper clothing when we left."

"The Raiders wear uniforms? I thought they were just a motley collection of pirates."

"They're so much more than that, Gloria; you have no idea. You should have seen their base. It rivaled any base the Galactic Alliance has."

Jenetta, in the process of changing her clothes, paused when she noticed Gloria staring open-mouthed at the markings on her chest.

"A little souvenir from my stay with the Raiders. Slavery is just one of their many illegal sidelines."

"I can't wait to hear the full story. I love the underwear, by the way."

Jenetta giggled. "Not exactly Space Command issue, is it?"

"Maybe it should be. GSC uniforms sure don't do much to make a girl feel feminine."

"You don't know how much I longed to have my non-feminine uniform a couple of weeks ago. I spent the first few weeks of captivity in just my underwear, my
original
cotton underwear. Well," Jenetta said as she finished dressing, "let's not keep everyone waiting."

Chapter Twenty-One

~ August 11
^th
, 2267 ~

Lt. Commander Michaels had selected the large conference room on Deck Twelve for the reception and somehow scared up some simple foods and beverages, both those of Earth and Nordakia. When Jenetta made her entrance, the assemblage turned in her direction and applauded strongly and loudly. The three Nordakian captains and a dozen of their officers, all flashing pleasing shades of blue, green, and yellow, immediately approached Jenetta. When Jenetta had entered the room, there were at least half a dozen different hues represented among the Nordakians, but as they reached her, they all adopted her coloration. Hands were extended and greetings quickly exchanged.

Captain Yuixotical spoke first, saying, "The crews of all three ships in your task force have been telling us of your exploits, Captain. You've been quite busy since we last met."

"Yes, a great deal has happened."

"We've been told that you destroyed a Raider spaceport that was hidden inside a giant asteroid, and with it hundreds of large Raider fighting ships."

"So much for classified information," Jenetta said, smiling.

"Is it true, Captain?"

"I wouldn't say hundreds of
fighting
ships. It was more like sixty warships. The rest were pirated freighters and passenger liners."

"Sixty warships is a tremendous fighting force. Their destruction is very welcome. So that's how you can assure me that we'll get to Obotymot without suffering attack?"

"That's not
exactly
what I said, Captain. I said that the chances of getting there without attack are
almost
assured now. We don't know if there are any
other
Raider spaceports in this deca-sector. We only destroyed the one that I was able to locate. There's still a potential danger, but we'll be six armed ships now, two of which are top-of-the-line GSC battleships."

"If the spaceport was as large as I've been told, and given what we suspect about their so-called ‘territories', it seems unlikely they'd have another nearby."

"That would be my first assessment as well, but this Raider organization is so massive, and so well organized, that I'm going to be looking over my shoulder for quite a while. Are your ships all at one hundred percent readiness, Captain?"

"Yes, all repairs have been completed and our crews are anxious to continue on to Obotymot and deliver our cargo."

"I appreciate your eagerness to be underway. I just have a few administrative details to attend to concerning personnel assignments on the Prometheus, Chiron, and Vordoth before we can leave. Now if you'll excuse me, there are others waiting to see me and our time is limited. I'll see you again before you return to your ship. Gentlemen, please enjoy the hospitality of the Prometheus."

"Of course, Captain."

Jenetta detached herself from the Nordakian contingent and moved on to greet the officers of the Vordoth. She shook hands with Charley and hugged Rebecca.

"Captain, it's great to see you again," Charley said. "I'd about given you up for lost when we didn't hear from you after several weeks. Gunny has told us of your captivity in the Raider detention center."

"It wasn't a very pleasant stay, and there were times when I deeply regretted my decision to follow the moving cargo containers. I'm afraid the containers and cargo are lost to the company forever."

"If so, then it was a cheap price to pay for the destruction of a Raider base and dozens of Raider warships. I'll sleep a lot better at night knowing that the Raiders are gone."

"We only destroyed one base, Charley. And from the way the commandant spoke, it was only one of many."

Rebecca, who had been giving Jenetta's arm a cursory examination, said, "I'm sure this ship has excellent medical facilities, Captain. Why don't we slip out and I'll take a look at your arm?"

"Just let me make the rounds and then we can go, Doc. Gloria, we have to get together after the reception is over."

"Aye, Captain."

Jenetta moved around the room exchanging greetings with everyone, and spending a little time with each group. Deitrich and Higgiby had received a rousing welcome back from the Vordoth crew. They were telling everyone about the escape and singing Jenetta's praises to whoever would listen. Their fellow crewmembers expended just as much energy telling them of their exploits while Jenetta was captain of the Vordoth. Jenetta accepted congratulations from all and moved on to meet with other groups. None of the women captives had been brought to the reception, and Jenetta approved of that decision. They weren't ready for such activities yet.

After asking Captain Yates to come to her briefing room following the reception, Jenetta returned to the Nordakians. They once again quickly adopted her skin hue. She spent about five more minutes in conversation before excusing herself to go to the sickbay with Rebecca.

Following a complete examination, Rebecca said to Jenetta, "I'm amazed that you're in such good shape considering your treatment over the past month. Your arm will be fine in a few months; the simple fracture of the left ulna is clean and should heal without complications. There's nothing that I can do about your chest, though. As you said, it isn't a tattoo. Perhaps they have some specialists at Space Command who can remove it."

"I hope so, Doc. I'm not happy with the prospect of wearing it for the rest of my life."

"At least your uniform tunic hides it completely, Captain. Let me make you a new, solid cast for your arm and then we can return to the reception."

The thick but lightweight plasti-cast was more of a distraction than the air splint, but Jenetta knew that it would keep her arm better immobilized, giving it a greater chance to heal properly. She decided to return to the bridge instead of the reception, and asked Rebecca to relay that message to Gloria.

She had just taken her seat at her desk with a fresh mug of coffee when the door-chime sounded. The doors opened to reveal Gloria standing there when she said, "Come."

"You sent for me, Captain?" Gloria said as she walked to the desk and came to attention.

"At ease. No, I asked Rebecca to request that you come up. It's Jen, Gloria."

"No ma'am. I can't call my captain by her given name."

"But I'm not your captain anymore, Gloria.
You're
the captain of the Vordoth now. I have this ship to handle, and the convoy to protect."

"I- I'm not ready to become captain. I can't do it. I can't tell you how relieved I was when we heard from you. Not just because we knew that you were safe, but also because I wouldn't have to take over for you and be both captain of the Vordoth and escort the Nordakians to Obotymot."

"Listen to me, Gloria," Jenetta said as she came out from behind the desk. "You're intelligent, an excellent officer, and you know your job; you just lack self-confidence. I recognize that because I've been there. And I also know that you're ready to take command of the Vordoth. Don't you trust my judgment any more?"

"Totally and unquestionably, Captain, but I could
never
do the things that you've done."

"I sincerely hope you never have to. But I know that you
can
command your ship, Captain Sabella. The threat from Raiders has been greatly reduced and you should only have to worry about normal freighter duties for the rest of this trip. And— my name is Jen."

Gloria looked at Jenetta intently for several seconds, then grinned. "Okay, Jen."

"Now, as one captain to another, I have a favor to ask."

"Anything."

"I need about eighteen of your people, including all eight of the gunners that Gunny Rondell trained. These ships are enormous and we have over nine hundred thirty prisoners. I need gunners, a relief bridge crew for each ship, and a few of your biggest cargo handlers to help with the prisoners. I'd also like to have Rebecca for a while, to help me with some of the women that we rescued. I realize that it'll leave you a bit shorthanded, but it can't be helped."

"You've got it, Jen. We'll be accompanying you to Obotymot, so we can share personnel as needed."

"Thanks, Gloria. Two more things. Could you send over all my clothes and personal items? And I left a personal envelope on the desk in the captain's briefing room that I'd like returned. I'd also like you to erase the messages that I recorded before I left the Vordoth; the ones that were to be sent in the event of my death."

"I'll see that the messages are erased as soon as I get back, and your personal items will be returned on the next shuttle. Do you want the escape pod that we found you in?"

Jenetta looked away for a second. "Wow, that seems like a hundred years ago." Lost in thought for a few seconds before looking back at Gloria again, she added, "Yes, Space Command will probably want it."

"Okay. How soon do you want to get underway?"

"Just as soon as everyone is ready. Let's plan on 2100 hours."

"Aye, Cap— Jen."

In response to the door chime, Jenetta said, "Come."

When the doors opened, Captain Yates entered the office and walked to the desk. "You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"Yes. Captain Yates, I'd like to introduce you to Captain Sabella of the Vordoth."

"We've already met, in the conference room. Hello, Captain."

"Hello, Captain Yates."

"The Vordoth is going to provide us with additional crewmembers for our trip. We'll each have enough for a second bridge crew, and four trained gunners. If we run into trouble, I'd rather have our gunners manning the more powerful weapons on the battleships. The Prometheus will also get a few extra people to help with the prisoners. We'll be leaving for Obotymot as soon as the personnel transfer is complete. I estimate our departure for about 2100 hours."

"Obotymot, Captain?" Captain Yates said.

"Yes, we're going to provide escort for the three Nordakian freighters before heading for Vinnia. Obotymot is desperate for the food supplies in those freighters. They must arrive there safely."

"I see. I've heard of their problem. Well, another couple of months isn't going to make much difference, and I'm enjoying my time on the Chiron. When I was in Space Command, I was a helmsman and fourth officer on a troop transport. I felt I might make captain one day, but knew that I'd never become a line officer. Being captain of a Space Command battleship is a dream come true for me, even if it is unofficial and temporary. What magnificent ships these are."

"The newest, biggest, baddest, and fastest in the fleet. I'm glad that we were able to recover them for Space Command. I can only imagine how much worse things would have gotten if the Raider's plan to use them against us had materialized."

Other than the gunners, the people assigned to the Prometheus and Chiron were all volunteers, and Gloria had to make the final selections since everyone on board offered to transfer over. It wasn't that they didn't wish to be on the Vordoth, but what serious spacefarer could pass up the opportunity for temporary assignment aboard one of the prides of Space Command, before they even became the prides of Space Command. Jenetta made the specific assignments aboard ship once she knew who would be coming over. The relief bridge crews were instructed in the operation of the control consoles onboard the Prometheus and Chiron during the first few hours of travel to Obotymot, and thereafter there were always rested crewmen working on the bridge of both ships.

There were only two laser gunners on each watch, a far cry from the hundred-twelve two-man gunnery teams that would be eventually be part of the ship's full crew complement, so hopefully they wouldn't run into any Raiders. If an emergency did occur, the off-duty gunners would race to one of the dozen weapons control centers located along the center axis of the ship. Like the bridge itself, and the Auxiliary Command & Control center, each weapons center was protected by massive bulkheads of tritanium armor and additional radiation shielding, and compartmentalized to protect the crewmen in the event that surrounding areas were breached. Once there, the gunners could control any of the ship's operational phased array lasers.

The tactical station aboard a warship functions as a mini combat information center, and is always manned by three or more officers. The sizeable tactical station aboard a battleship is designed to accommodate no less than seven officers. The lead tactical officer, a Lieutenant or Lt. Commander, sits amid an almost complete circle of displays and electronic control consoles. Facing him or her, on the outside of the circle, are stations for the rest of the tac team. A bevy of large holo-screens hang suspended over the encircling hardware and the lead can see what each tac team member is seeing, although the image is reversed.

Once launched, torpedoes are normally guided to their targets by specialists sitting at stations in the various weapons control centers. The single crewman presently manning the tactical station can fire any of the sixteen bow torpedoes, but he can hardly continuously monitor and guide more than few as they streak towards their targets. If the ship were to run into trouble, the crew will have to rely on the electronic intelligence built into the weapons. With no one to fire and guide torpedoes from the twenty-eight tubes located in the stern and sides of the two battleships, those weapons would most likely remain unused.

Gunny was given full responsibility for the prisoners and handled the job magnificently. An initial check of the crew records had shown that all Raider crewmen aboard the Chiron had been accounted for, but two men that had reported aboard the Prometheus were missing for the first few hours. Fearing armed resistance, Gunny had organized search parties and begun a methodical hunt for the missing Raiders, beginning in the area near their assigned posts. The two men were found in a cargo hold sleeping off the effects of a private ‘last night in port' party. They hadn't even known the ship had been taken.

There had been enough restraint sets taken from the spaceport detention center to put a complete set on the largest prisoners in the cargo bays, and on the second day out from Periseras, one of Gunny's men discovered a large cache of restraints in one of the ship's holds. Every prisoner was immediately outfitted with a complete set. Observation windows into the bays were manned 24 hours a day, and whenever there was a problem, the guard would just activate the restraints and the problem would be over. After a few days, the prisoners became so subdued that the restraints were only activated during meal-time, while food was delivered or food carts recovered. Unlike in the Raider detention cell, the prisoners were fed three times a day, and crates of fresh fruit were placed in the detention hold, so hunger didn't cause any problems.