AGU SCI 1: The Star Brotherhood (17 page)

"There can't be another freighter in the region that can touch that speed. How did you get it?"

"I found someone who got their hands on a couple of the new drives Space Command uses and made a deal."

"The crime syndicates on Bleadalto would pay a billion GA credits for this ship."

"They don't know about its speed capability. They think it's just Light-300. I suggest you forget you ever heard what our real speed is."

"Of course."

Vyx regretted saying anything about the
Scorpion's
speed as he turned the ship and laid in a course back to the passed object. They were so used to speaking freely while on the ship that he had made a misstep with their cover story as he concentrated on flying the ship.

"Ten seconds to the one-billion-kilometer point," Nelligen said.

"Start all forward and starboard cameras."

"I've activated all cameras, including the larboard and stern units," Kathryn said.

"Ten seconds to target," Nelligen said a few seconds later. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…"

On the count of one, Vyx reduced the speed at which the drive unit generated new envelopes and the ship momentarily paused without dissolving the envelope. Vyx muttered, "Damn," and furiously stabbed at the speed control console to resume the generation of new envelopes.

"It's them," Nelligen said, although everyone on the bridge had seen the image on the large monitor at the front of the bridge that showed the mother ship in sharp detail.

"They should be long gone from here," Brenda said.

"Are you saying that was a Denubbewa ship?" Rolando asked. "It looked like it was covered in soap bubbles."

"Those are missile launching pads," Byers said. "They cover the outside of their ships with them. The bubbles are actually domes that recede as they prepare to fire their weapons."

"Uh-oh," Nelligen said as he stared at the DeTect monitor. "There are three ships departing the mother ship. Their course will take them directly at our stern."

"We're already at Light-487," Vyx said. "I guess now we get to see if the rumors about the Denubbewa's maximum ship speed are accurate. If not, we could be in a whole bunch of trouble."

"You believe they'll attack us if they can?" Rolando asked. "Without even communicating with us first?"

"Space Command ships have tried to communicate with them. The Denubbewa response has always been an overwhelming volley of missiles."

After several minutes of silence on the bridge, Vyx asked Nelligen, "How are we doing with our pursuers?"

"We're slowly increasing the distance between us, but they're not giving up."

"They will once they understand it's hopeless."

"And if they don't?" Rolando asked.

"Once they drop off the DeTect monitor we can change course without them knowing. Eventually, we'll lose them completely."

"Uh, Vyx," Nelligen said, "we've got a new problem. Check the DeTect monitor."

Vyx put the image up on the large viewing screen at the front of the bridge. Three new ships had appeared on the monitor about three billion kilometers ahead at their two o'clock position. "Damn, who is that?"

"Impossible to tell at this distance, but I'd be willing to lay money on them being Denubbewa. They appear to be on a course that will intersect ours."

"Yeah, they're trying to cut us off. Well, it won't do them much good. I've already deactivated the ACS so they can't interrupt our FTL envelope by cutting across our bow."

"No, but they can hit us, can't they?" Kathryn asked.

"Not while I'm piloting this ship. We don't have
much
of a speed advantage, but it's enough."

Several minutes passed before Byers said, "You haven't changed course."

"No," Vyx answered.

"I don't understand."

"If we alter course, the ships behind us get a better angle on us and make up some of the lost space. We'll hold this course as long as we can. The Denubbewa can't hit us with missiles while we're FTL."

"Maybe they can," Nelligen said.

"What are you getting at."

"Look at the DeTect monitor again."

"Damn, what now?"

"They're still a long way off, but my guess is that those flickering dots mean they're firing missiles into our projected path."

"Why would they do that?" Rolando asked.

"Ever ride through a rainstorm on Earth when you were small?" Brenda asked.

"Of course."

"Did your vehicle ever get through without getting wet?"

"No, of course not."

"The Denubbewa appear to be peppering our path with missiles," Nelligen said. "In effect they're creating a sort of minefield. The missiles they use stick to a ship's hull on impact and release an acid that begins to eat through the hull material."

"So we can't afford to fly through that hail of missiles," Brenda said.

There was dead silence on the bridge as the ship closed with the makeshift minefield. All eyes were glued to the front monitor, and most hands had a death grip on the armrests of their chair. Vyx's hands were occupied on the piloting controls.

Waiting until he believed the Denubbewa ships ahead wouldn't have time to adjust their fire, Vyx pulled back just far enough on the console joystick so that the
Scorpion
would rise up and over the minefield. The ascent, relative to their previous course, was no more extreme than necessary. It allowed a slight loss of their lead over the Denubbewa following behind, but they should be able to make up the time if no more Denubbewa popped up.

The
Scorpion
cleared the impromptu minefield easily and suffered no damage as it passed the Denubbewa ships approaching on the starboard quarter. The three new ships merged with the three already pursuing and all six followed along in the
Scorpion's
wake. Since the Denubbewa missiles didn't have an electronic brain that could be scrambled from passing through a temporal envelope, the three ships on the starboard quarter had never dropped their envelopes. They were at full speed when they joined the pursuit.

Owing to only a slight difference in speed capability, the Denubbewa were able to pursue the
Scorpion
for several hours. Once the last of the Denubbewa ships disappeared from the DeTect screen, Vyx began altering the course in slight increments and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"What now?" Nelligen asked.

"Now? You and I watch for other enemy ships while Albert prepares a celebration feast."

"What are we celebrating?" Kathryn asked.

"How about— surviving another close call?" Brenda said.

"That always works for me," Byers said with a smile.

"You people make this sound like it's a common occurrence," Rolando said.

"Not common," Vyx said. "But perhaps a bit too frequent— lately."

~ Mar. 2
^nd
, 2289 ~

A month and a half later, the
Scorpion
arrived at the RP. The Space Command Destroyer
Stuttgart
hadn't arrived yet so they stood down. Vyx set the com system to emit a single homing pulse every five minutes on a frequency specified in the message from Space Command. The DeTect system would alert them if any ship approached.

"The ship feels different," Rolando said as the team relaxed in the lounge. "Have we stopped?"

In keeping with Vyx's established policy of not sharing mission information with an outsider, Rolando hadn't been informed about the rendezvous. As far as she knew, they were on their way to Bleadalto.

"Yes," Vyx said. "When I reported finding the
Aloriedeks
, as is required of all captains coming across derelict hulks, they ordered us to an RP to talk."

"Talk about what? Usually you just send them the info and that's it."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough. I also mentioned we had a survivor from another ship aboard. Perhaps they want to interview you."

Rolando didn't appear nervous or agitated, so Vyx assumed she didn't require any extra supervision. Brenda and Kathryn had done a good job of watching her during downtime, and Nelligen watched her while they performed their daily maintenance duties aboard ship. When Vyx had operated alone, scheduled maintenance had suffered simply because he didn't have time to do everything on his then much smaller ship. Since being joined by the other team members, the new ship was always in top condition.

The
Stuttgart
arrived two days later. It halted twenty-five thousand kilometers away until contact with the
Scorpion
had been established and Captain McCoy was assured that it was prudent to come closer. No Space Command ship was allowed to approach a non-SC ship until its captain was confident there was little chance of attack. Although the
Scorpion
was technically part of SCI, it was officially a civilian ship. The one-time captain of the SC Destroyer
Lisbon
had learned that lesson the hard way by approaching a freighter requesting assistance without verifying the true situation. The freighter, manned by Tsgardi mercenaries and supported by Milori warships, had fired upon the
Lisbon
in a surprise attack intended to abduct Admiral Thaddeus Vroman. Following the rescue of Admiral Vroman, Captain Halmar Lindahl, and the surviving crew, Lindahl had been reduced in rank and barred forever from command of a spaceship.

"The
Stuttgart
is sending over a shuttle for Rolando and myself," Vyx said after receiving instructions from the warship. "We'll be back as soon as possible. Anyone need anything from the commissary?"

"Kathryn and I could use a few things," Brenda said. "I'll make a list."

"I could use a few things from their mess supplies," Byers said." I'll make you a list as well."

"Nels?" Vyx said.

"I'm fine. No, wait. We're getting low on ale. This voyage has lasted a lot longer than we planned. Thirty cases ought to hold us 'til we reach Bleadalto. No, wait. Ask for fifty cases, and then settle for thirty cases when they say 'no way.'"

"I'll see what I can do," Vyx said with a grin.

Vyx and Rolando were greeted by Commander Troy Harder and an ensign when they disembarked from the shuttle inside the
Stuttgart
. "Welcome aboard Captain Vyx and Ms. Rolando. Captain, if you'll accompany me, I'll take you to Captain McCoy. Ms. Rolando, Ensign Sagurdo will escort you to an interview room where your statement regarding events aboard the
Aloriedeks
will be taken."

As they left the shuttle bay, a Marine fell in behind each of the two parties. The escorts led their charges in different directions after leaving the bay so Vyx was alone with Commander Harder and the Marine for the eight-minute trip to the bridge.

Vyx realized there were two Space Command captains in the office on the larboard side of the bridge when the doors opened. One was standing, while the other was seated behind the desk. Only the seated officer wore a pip on her collar. A gold pip signified that an officer had been officially in command of a GSC Destroyer or larger warship, while a red pip indicated a current command. The pip on the captain's collar was red. The other officer wore insignia that indicated he was a member of JAG.

The officer with the pip rose to her feet and extended her hand as Vyx entered her office. As he took it, she said, "Welcome aboard, Trader. I'm Captain McCoy. Thank you for rendezvousing with us." Looking towards Commander Harder, she said, "That's all for now, Troy."

"Aye, Captain," Harder said before turning and leaving the office. The Marine had stationed himself outside the door and would remain there for as long as Vyx was in the office, unless ordered to leave.

After the doors closed, McCoy gestured towards the other officer and said, "Trader, this is Captain Reuter of SCI. It was he who requested your presence here today. He's apprised me of your Space Command rank and current mission, but my XO remains unaware that you are a Lt. Commander in SCI and will continue to treat you as a civilian freighter captain."

"Thank you, Captain," Vyx said. "In my line of work, it's always safest to have as few individuals as possible know my real identity." Turning towards Captain Reuter, he said, "Good morning, Captain. I've heard of you, but I don't believe we’ve ever met."

"No, we haven't," Reuter said as he extended his hand, "but your name and fine work are certainly familiar to me." Looking towards Captain McCoy, he said, "Shall we sit down, Captain?"

"Yes, of course," McCoy said. Gesturing towards the chairs that faced her desk, she said, "Please be seated."

The destroyer's office was a decent size, but nothing like the enormous offices found on battleships. There was no informal meeting area, only the desk and two chairs, plus a large overstuffed chair where the captain could relax in comfort, but no sofa. As Vyx and Reuter sat down, Captain McCoy moved around to take her chair behind the desk.

"Trader," Reuter said, "although your assignment was to investigate the slavery issue out here, you changed your focus when you learned of a large-scale counterfeiting operation on Bleadalto. We had already assigned agents to that duty, but we approved of your team's re-tasking because you accidently developed a major lead and because we hadn't heard from the other agents in some time. We've disseminated the ship identification information you provided to all Space Command ships in the region. Everyone is on the lookout for the freighter. The first one to spot her will perform an interdiction operation and just
happen
to identify a problem with one of the false-bottomed containers that requires a closer look, which will lead to a discovery of the secret area at the bottom.

"I know you announced your intention to return to Bleadalto and root out the source of the counterfeiting, but we have a more important investigation avenue for you to pursue before that. You reported coming across the derelict hull of a freighter named
Aloriedeks
and sent images of the ship. We agree that the damage to the hull is consistent with damage caused by a Denubbewa attack. We've been studying the records we acquired following the surrender of the Uthlarigasset government and determined that this part of space has had an unusually high incidence of ship disappearances. What we'd like to learn is when the Denubbewa first arrived here and when they left."