Loyalty to the Cause (TCOTU, Book 4) (This Corner of the Universe) (23 page)

“But we must prevent them from leaving this system at all costs,”
Pittman said.

Brooks nodded.  “Right, ‘until help arrives,’ whatever that means. 
Further, if there is more than a single ship, we’re going to need help.  I want
you to send an order with this message attached to the fastest SDSs in the
system.  We need their support, now.”

The first officer looked up at
Hasta’s
system plot.  “Do
you have the ships’ names?”

“No,” Brooks shook his head in frustration.  “Typical I.S. cloak
and dagger crap.  We’ll only know if and when one broadcasts the fake alert. 
Then we’ll move in and I’ll order it to heave to for a random—” he made air
quotes, “—inspection.”

“What if they suspect a set-up?” Pittman asked.  “What happens to
that agent?”

Brooks
cocked his head to one side while shrugging.  “Then I guess Agent Jennings will
have a very bad day.”  He gritted his teeth at his first officer’s reaction. 
“What do you want me to do, Dunc?  We have to stop these ships!”

*  *  *

Emeray Freighter-26
flickered briefly between tunnel space and normal space before
deciding on n-space physics.  The ship’s navigator consulted his console screen
before announcing their arrival at the Bree tunnel point in the New London star
system.

The
captain half-heartedly acknowledged receipt and began to enter the ship’s
passage into the log per the Emeray Commerce Rules and Standard Procedures
Manual.  As he was complying, he ordered the mammoth freighter to set course
in-system.  By the time the freighter set its course, he was already checking
his datapad for any new messages he may have received from the standata sync
with the tunnel point control orbital.

*  *  *

Hasta
was racing toward the Bree tunnel point at .32
c
.  The
conversation with the patrol craft ahead of her had been staggered due to the
12
lm
distance between the two system defense ships.  Brooks promised the
desperate junior grade lieutenant commanding the small craft that
Hasta
would be in position before she was needed.  He only required thirty more minutes
to make good on his assurance when
Hasta’s
sensorman alerted, “We just
received the fake alert, Captain!”  The sensorman zoomed the tactical plot to the
space surrounding the Bree tunnel point.  “Came from EF Twenty-six.  She dove
in twelve minutes ago.”

Brooks felt his stress levels spike.  “What’s its course?”  He
scanned the plot for EF-26’s vector line.

“Heading toward New London proper,” the sensorman said as he raised
a hand to his mouth in horror.  “My God, do they mean to release it there?”

Brooks pressed down on his chair arm console and began to record
his message.  “Lieutenant Thompson, move your patrol craft to prevent EF
Twenty-six’s escape back into the Bree tunnel but make no overt actions.  Hasta
will intercept the freighter.”  Brooks looked at his sensorman.  “Encode and
send it.”

From his left, Brooks heard Pittman groan.  “The other ‘vettes are
still so far away.  What if a second ship dives out?”

Brooks raised his hand and made a calming gesture.  “Thompson can
intercept the next one and once Captain McBride in Poniard receives our
message, he’ll be here in a little less than three and a half hours.”  Brooks
took a cleansing breath.  “We still have things under control.  How long until
we reach that Emeray freighter?”

“Twenty-seven
minutes.”

*  *  *

“Hasta is changing course, Captain,” Truesworth announced.

Twenty minutes ago, the corvette closing on the Bree tunnel point
had dramatically increased its speed.  Now,
Hussy’s
system plot swung
the nimble ship’s vector in a slight adjustment.

Truesworth stared at his station panel and judged, “I think she’s
going to intercept that freighter, sir.”

Both Vernay and Lombardi were standing around the captain’s
console.  Vernay smirked at the news.  “There’s our lucky winner,” she said
sarcastically.  “Wish there was a way to confirm it.”

“Yeah, it’s odd,” Heskan agreed.  “We can embed messages into the
military portion of the standata because of my clearance but we don’t have the
equipment on Hussy to read it.”  He pointed at
Hasta’s
symbol.  “That’s
our confirmation though.  That ‘vette captain received my alert.  Now, that
freighter just dove in with Brewer’s warning about us, which caused the ‘vette
to sprint toward it.”

“That freighter captain is in for a fun time,” Lombardi predicted.

Heskan nodded.  “I’m glad it’s an Emeray freighter.  It’s a
reputable shipping line and that captain will surely comply with any orders he
receives. I’d hate for an innocent freighter crew to get hurt because of my decoy.”

Vernay calculated time and distances before stating, “Based on
when Hasta started sprinting toward the tunnel point, we should know in about
an hour and a half if Poniard is going to move.”  She displayed her crossed
fingers to Heskan.

BRS
Poniard,
a Dagger-class corvette, orbited near the Bianca tunnel point, 66
lm
from the tunnel to Bree.  When Heskan released his message back in Bree, he
hoped his warning about multiple freighters would tie up the majority of the
system defense ships within New London.  Due to the orbital position of the primary
planet, the various system defense ships stationed there would require a very
long stern pursuit if they eventually were ordered after
Hussy
.  Heskan studied
the plot as he thought optimistically,
Only the corvette at Bianca and the
patrol craft at Chelsea are immediate hazards for us.  Bianca is looking more
and more like the smartest choice.
 
Of course, that could change
quickly, Garrett
. 
You know better than most how fast those corvettes
are.

*  *  *

Emeray Freighter-26
was thirty-seven minutes into her journey toward the planet.  The
shipping run had gone like clockwork and the captain knew the entire crew was
looking forward to some time at home.

The captain heard the communication panel’s distinctive warble
before its attending officer said, “Incoming message from that corvette,
Captain.  I’m playing it now.”

The captain groaned inwardly.  He had noticed the lithe ship’s
course adjustment quite some time ago and feared the worst.

“Emeray Freighter Twenty-Six, this is Captain Chandler Brooks of
BRS Hasta.  You will immediately heave to and submit your ship for a ship’s
inspection
per ISC
Rule 4505.25.  Acknowledge.”

“Oh, bloody hell,”
the captain cursed.  “Is there some higher power at work here trying to keep us
from home?”    He looked toward his navigator and sighed.  “You heard the man,
Josey.  Heave us to.”

*  *  *

Over three hours had passed since
Hussy
first dove into New
London, and the timeworn freighter was still another three hours from the
Bianca tunnel point.  Nearly two hours ago, Heskan enjoyed the irony of his
relief when
BRS Poniard’s
symbol on the system plot spun away from the
Bianca tunnel and toward them without warning.  The vector line drawn behind
the symbol had increased dramatically as the corvette sprinted toward the Bree
tunnel point at a blistering speed.

The distance between the two ships had closed precipitously at
half the speed of light before, just twenty-one minutes ago, the freighter and
corvette passed each other.  As their closing speed inverted and the distance between
them grew, a cheer erupted on
Hussy’s
bridge at the passage of their final
obstacle in the system.

Heskan now looked at the system plot with growing confidence. 
Hasta
was at relative rest next to the Emeray freighter and
Hussy
had
transited enough of the system that the patrol craft stationed at Chelsea was
no longer a concern.  The final threat,
Poniard
, was 10.5
lm
behind
them and drawing away rapidly.

He was beginning to believe that their luck would hold out.

Secretary Brewer blinked several times to clear his vision.  In
front of him, he heard confirmation of their arrival in the New London star
system while he scanned the system plot for information.  The plot updated in
seconds and Brewer found what he was looking for.  “Set course for that
corvette and freighter,” he ordered, bypassing
Envoy-3’s
captain. 
Brewer then stared harder at the pair of symbols, resting in space.  The
freighter was labeled
EF-26
.  “That is not Hussy,” he stated calmly
while shaking his head in disgust.

“Maybe he switched ships, sir?” the captain ventured.

Brewer ignored the speculation and said, “Find Hussy now; I know
she’s here.”  His gaze moved uncomprehendingly to
Hasta.
 The tone of
his voice became menacing.  “And find out why in the hell that ‘vette is
sitting idly there when it should be after Commander Heskan.”

Minutes later,
Hussy
was located.  Brewer was about to curse
how far the freighter had traveled when
Hasta’s
captain appeared on a
side screen.

“Attention, Envoy-Three, this is Captain Chandler Brooks from BRS
Hasta.  We have detained the ringleader ship en route to New London but have
yet to ascertain the identity of any of its co-conspirator vessels.”

Hussy
was 35.5
lm
from
Envoy-3
, just 30.5
lm
from
the Bianca tunnel point.  “What is that fool talking about?” Brewer asked angrily
while gesturing at the corvette captain.

Chandler’s message continued, “I have requested additional
corvette support from both New London and the nearby tunnel points.  Poniard is
currently twenty-six light-minutes from us and will arrive in one hour and
eighteen minutes.  Finally, we have a patrol craft stationed on the Bree tunnel
point to ensure none of the other ships can escape.”

“What other ships?” Brewer questioned, to no one in particular.  “How…
open a channel to that idiot.”

The communications officer worked the controls and then signaled
Brewer.

“Captain Brooks,” Brewer began in an eerily dulcet tone, “please
explain why you have disregarded my personal order to detain the civilian
freighter CSV Hussy.”  He looked at the comm officer and said through gritted
teeth, “Send that.”

Five minutes passed as the message raced to
Hasta
at the
speed of light.  Five additional minutes expired before Brewer received its
reply.  An unsteady Chandler Brooks looked warily at him while he spoke. 
“M-Mr. Secretary,” the young man stuttered, “nearly four hours ago, we received
a priority-one message from the Bureau of Internal Security stating that an
anarchist faction raided a Federation weapons lab and stole several samples of
an illegal, weaponized virus.  We were told that there were as many as five
ships carrying the virus and that these renegades may be targeting New London.”

Brewer’s face grew tight; he shut his eyes and dropped his head as
Brooks continued to speak.

“One of your deep-cover agents,” Brooks looked away to consult the
message, “an Agent Aaron Jennings, confirmed the plot and infiltrated the lead
ship.  The priority message indicates that Agent Jennings managed to embed an
alert hidden in standata that the lead freighter could not access and that when
the freighter dove into our system, it would send out its own priority alert. 
This was Jennings’ signal for us to detain the freighter but not to board it.” 
Fear around Brooks’ eyes caused him to add, “The message is confirmed as
authentic, Mr. Secretary, not only from Agent Jennings himself but from a naval
representative on an I.S. task force.”

Brewer fit the pieces together and shook his head while fighting a
slight smile. 
You used Jennings’ stolen datapad to back up your own
credentials, didn’t you, Garrett?
 The half-smile grew. 
Well done, I
didn’t see that coming.
  Brewer looked up at
Hussy’s
symbol.  “What
a waste,” he lamented.

“Pardon, Mr. Secretary?”
Envoy-3’s
captain asked.

“Get Poniard turned around, Captain.”  The corvette was currently
16.5
lm
from
Hussy
.  
Envoy-3’s
order to pursue
Hussy
would need a full twenty-one minutes to reach her.  “She
must
reach
Hussy before it dives.”

“It will be close,” the captain said.  “If she makes the
interception, what’s she supposed to do?”

Brewer
sighed.  “Obliterate it.”

*  *  *

Thirty minutes later, Heskan’s wait was over.  Once
Poniard
passed
Hussy
, all that remained was to focus on the Bree tunnel point and
wait for the inevitable.  Heskan saw
Envoy-3’s
beacon appear at the
tunnel point before Truesworth could even announce its arrival.

“Well,” Lombardi said, “we knew he could not give up.”

Vernay gave Lombardi a slight nod and added, “Good thing we moved
forward with the captain’s plan or Poniard would be at the Bianca tunnel point,
waiting for us.”