Carinae Sector: 01 - Traders' Scourge - Part 2 - Maveen Offer (3 page)

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Chapter 2

Captain Narindestat strode down the rear gangway of the Trader ship and determinedly took several steps onto the white sand. He paused to study the underneath of his ship before issuing a series of orders.

‘I want a pair of suited and armed guards at the bottom of the ramp at all times. I want four hose teams going over the hull from the outside, and we will progressively drop and raise ships shields in the sections they are working on. I want the fuel production process to continue as fast as possible.’

Several crew members followed him onto the island, before the captain knelt and stirred the mix of sand and strange pale rock with interest for a few moments. He looked around his ship further for several minutes before he spoke again.

‘When the engineers are not fixing the fuel process they are fixing the items on the damage list starting with the aero spike engines. Get going crew, all day and all night, or we die here.’

The crew, already with tasks to perform, turned to their section leaders, who were dividing up between themselves the captain’s latest series of orders. Emeria could see that the captain was busy at the moment and put off any thought of interrupting him with her latest news.

‘My discoveries could wait awhile.’

She decided to herself as she turned and returned to her medical laboratory. The loss of Garendestat still deeply cut at her and she was pouring herself into her research and heavy workload to cope with it all. Captain Narindestat wondered were the Maveen were on this planet, as he stood up again and now strode along the small island to inspect first one wing then the other wing of his huge ship.

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The Maveen lead probe watched with relief as Queen Angwene swam back through the massive suppression field to her facilities. The Maveen had not been allowed at this stage to enter the queen’s facilities. The Maveen had been amazed at the size of the suppression field as the probes waited outside the facility. The lead probe had secretly analysed the field, and what it could see of the generating device, earlier when the ancient queen had been elsewhere talking to her youngest daughters.

The lead probe was soon evaluating earlier requests, actually orders masquerading as requests, after the queen had returned. He had later not even discussed these requests with the other probes present in case Queen Angwene considered that the probes would plan to dissent. He learnt at the time that the ancient queen’s two youngest daughters had since returned after hours of high speed underwater travel with several items in storage cavities in their massive bodies.

Four of the six Maveen probes now lumbered north through the underwater depths with these items securely held to the sides of their hulls. Probe three could not suppress a witticism once the probes had left the proximity of the queen and her daughters.

‘So tell me they refer to us as the eternal servants, are you sure that they don’t mean eternal slaves?’

The lead probe could see too well what probe three was getting at, but wisely withheld a reply. The queen had been quite adamant about what the probes would be forced to do to meet the needs of the queen and her daughters. She also had alluded to a reward that was rightfully that of the Maveen should the six probes obey her orders implicitly. As the probes neared once again the location of the two downed Trader ships, the lead probe continued to consider without success what the queen was getting at in her last comment. He felt that the queen was already driving him in the direction she wanted the Maveen probes to behave.

‘So other races consider the Maveen to be difficult or indirect, well we are not when compared to an ancient queen.’

The probe thought quietly to itself, as it led the other probes two hundred meters above the seafloor and still heading north.

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Commander Edward Reed, captain of HMAS Townsville, a second generation Collins class submarine, quietly looked over the sonar operator’s shoulder. The submarine cruised one hundred kilometres north of the Abrolhos Islands on the way from Darwin down to Perth. The old submarine was nearing the end of another patrol, with several refits needed over the years to keep it still operational. The commander was still amazed about the news he had received from Fleet West about the alien ships landing at the Abrolhos Islands.

Commander Reed could also see the logic of their landing at that spot, as he had observed at the time.

 ‘Remote and away from us, and he can hide again quickly if he needs to do so.’

He had given orders that they skirt the seaward side of the Abrolhos to scout the zone and report, and that is when they had detected a US submarine well away from their usual location in the Pacific ocean. The sonar operator quietly voiced his observations on the data they were getting from the towed array.

‘Sir it is definitely the USS North Dakota and I place her direction, depth and speed as listed before.’

Commander Reed confirmed the details with rising concern and now spoke to his warfare officer.

‘If we get the towed array stowed we can still follow them down the coast. I want six torpedoes in the bow tubes, but leave the tubes dry and leave the tube doors closed.’

If the warfare officer looked bemused by the order, he gave no sign as the commander turned to the first lieutenant, James Bell.

‘James, the USS North Dakota is up to something at the Abrolhos, and I suspect they might launch a flight of cruise missiles.’

 The commander was relieved to see the lieutenant commander was as always quick on the uptake.

‘Sir they will be nuclear warheads if the Americans do launch. The convention warheads will not trouble the alien ships at all from what I have heard about those strange force shields they possess. Note that the Abrolhos Islands will have tourists and civilians present.’

The commander was satisfied, but dismayed at the conclusions they had quickly reached. He ordered the HMAS Townsville to close on the location of the USS North Dakota as stealthily as possible. After fifteen minutes the warfare officer interrupted his thoughts.

‘Sir we are four kilometres behind the USS Virginia, she is maintaining a course due south, in two hundred meters of water at twelve knots. The six torpedoes are loaded in the forward tubes, but the tubes are dry as ordered.’

The captain looked over the control room and replied.

‘Thank you lieutenant, we are going to play chicken this afternoon with the USS North Dakota. Helm, slowly bring our speed down to twelve knots please. Sonar, give me two strong active pings forward please.’

Commander John Shepardson was scanning over recent messages received via the underwater antennae routinely trailed after very four hours, when two active pings reverberated through the USS North Dakota. He was hoping that Unified Command had seen fit to change his orders, but no further orders had arrived. The sonar operator wasted no time in reporting to the captain.

‘Sir, we have a series two Collins class submarine four kilometres directly astern of us sir, they appear to be in an attack posture. Sorry for not hearing them sir.’

The US commander was not concerned with the sonar operator making the oversight.

‘Well don’t concern yourself midshipman, if they did not want to be discovered by anyone then they would not be. Helm, bring our speed down to five knots.’

 As he awaited a further development, the commander knew that the Australian submarines had an enviable record in several war games against the submarines of other navies, including the US submarines. The sonar operator then spoke again.

‘Sir they are closing, soon down to three kilometres.’

Back on HMAS Townsville, Commander Reed quietly gave additional orders.

‘When we are down to three kilometres, I want full astern and sixty seconds later all six forward tubes flooded, but leave the outer doors closed please.’

The submarine continued forward for several seconds as the seasoned mariners quickly grabbed something solid and fixed. A deep rumble lasting several more seconds issued from the rear of the submarine. After the sixty seconds had passed a low rushing noise was briefly heard from the forward launch tubes. The RAN officers on the bridge suppressed grins at what the US sonar operator must be hearing.

On the bridge of the USS North Dakota and John Shepardson knew that the game was well and truly up, as the sonar operator hurriedly reported again.

‘Sir, the Australian sub has now come to a stop, we have their position, and then they flooded, but did not open the forward torpedo tubes.’

But the commander would attempt, for the sake of his career to bluff his way past the Australian submarine, so he gave two additional orders.

‘Get me an underwater phone channel to the Australian sub, we will see what they want, or if we can distract them. Also I want two torpedoes in the rear tubes loaded, but do not flood the tubes under any circumstances.’

Within two minutes the underwater phone link between the two submarines was established. ‘Commander John Shepardson of the USS North Dakota to the Australian submarine trailing us, how can we help you today? Over’

The reply from the Australian submarine came back in moments.

‘Commander Edward Reed, captain of HMAS Townsville. You are in Australian waters on an approach to the Abrolhos Islands. In light of recent news, if you launch cruise missiles at those islands I will give orders for my submarine to sink your submarine. I have six torpedoes in flooded tubes. This is not a drill Commander, you will alter course to 315 degrees heading due north west, and leave our waters immediately on the fixed course at fifteen knots. Over’

The US commander looked over at his first lieutenant and received a nod of both understanding and acceptance as he spoke away from the underwater telephone.

‘Well our orders do not state we start a war with Australia, so we are standing down.’

The commander then spoke again into the underwater telephone.

‘Commander Reed, we are coming to 315 degrees, to fifteen knots and will not change our depth. My apologies for this regrettable situation, I was merely following orders, but I am not at the liberty of discussing those orders with you. Over’

The two submarines now headed north-west, and the two men discussed over the underwater phone the recent events that had occurred, and their personal hopes for a peaceful resolution. After three hours the submarines separated and HMAS Townsville extended her own underwater cable to report the encounter with the American submarine, and to request further orders.

Twenty kilometres closer to the Abrolhos islands, in two hundred metres of water, the pilot of a Trader sneak ship had witnessed the strange events. He was confused by what had occurred underwater between the two unusual human submarines well to the north before they had withdrawn from the area. The pilot thought he would have trouble ever understanding humans at this rate.

The Traders had detected both of the submarines even as the second submarine lit up the first submarine with sound waves. The pilot had been speaking with his engineer and keeping his eyes on the targeting screen, as a message was relayed via another sneak ship flying top cover in the upper atmosphere. The humans had attempted a co-ordinated attack, and sneak ship five had just engaged and easily destroyed a rapidly closing single hyper sonic missile.

‘Now why the second submarine would be setting up a brilliant attack on the first submarine, then parley and both withdraw away from the islands? Especially as they were unlikely to know we destroyed their hyper sonic missile?’

The pilot was not worried about any weapons the humans might send at the Trader ships. He had small combat drones that could take down their torpedoes or flying missiles, and they now had orders to deal with the submarines themselves as well.

‘I am just relieved that I don’t have to destroy one or both of those human submarines.’

He observed to the bemused flight engineer as the sneak ship resumed a patrolling arc underwater around their island landing site.

                                                            ***

Steve slowly climbed up the ladder onto the rear deck of the Aurora Discovery and was met by an anxious Samantha, who gave him a hug and enquired if he was okay.

‘I am a bit tired and damp but fine, you should see what I caught in my second fishing trip today.’ He quipped as his wife gave him another hug.

The crew were studiously avoiding Steve and Samantha as they lowered the cable from a small jib crane onto the runabout alongside. Within moments three slings were passed under the backboard holding the alien in his space suit, and two of the engineers carefully used the jib crane until the load was above the deck rails, then neatly swung the alien inboard.

Dan appeared with Rebecca to one side and asked if everyone was okay, before Rebecca rejoined Samantha. Dan walked over briefly and spoke to Steve.

‘I will inform the authorities about our sick friend, and then get the ship over to that strange rig. But I will not go alongside the object at this stage.’

Steve agreed and Dan hurried off to the bridge.

Steve was careful to instruct his crew, who for their part, prudently hung back as the stretchered alien was lowered to the deck.

‘Now no sudden movements or loud noises, we don’t want to alarm this fellow.’

Samantha took a startled breadth as she realised just how large the alien truly was in his space suit.

‘Steve, He must be over three metres tall and weigh well over three hundred kilograms without the suit. The arm is obviously broken, and I don’t know what we can do for pain relief.’

Steve replied as Rick and his offsiders came onboard from the moored runabout.

‘Samantha, I was worried he would sink the runabout at one stage. Only Rick and I will go to him at the moment.’