The Santana Nexus (Junkyard Dogs Book 3) (11 page)

Chapter 18.

Santana Nexus System, Whitney Hyperlink Zone, January 3, 2599.

Captain Yassir Shalhoub on board the destroyer
Sultan
, formerly of the Jasmine Republican Navy but now part of the Sheik of Barsoom's Revolutionary Naval forces, instructed his crew to pause their ship near the Hyperdrive jump zone that serviced the Santana Nexus Station. He checked the readouts on his command display, noting that all twelve of the ships of his Strike Force had formed up into the loose formation that they had agreed upon beforehand.

"Communications?
Open a channel to all ships in the Strike Force."

"As you command, Captain."
The technician worked briefly at his control console. "Channel to all Strike Force ships open, Sir."

"This is Captain Shalhoub of the
Sultan
," he began. "We are set to embark on a mission of no mean importance. We will be entering the Naccobus system, home of the New Ceylon colony and of the United Federation Navy Reclamation Center, the so-called 'Scrapyard.' As many of you know, the Sheik himself led an attack on this facility just fourteen days ago."

Captain Shalhoub
paused to let that information sink in before continuing.

"
The Sheik's attempt failed and his ships were forced to retreat. The intelligence he received regarding the forces defending this Scrapyard had greatly underestimated the strength of the enemy. Even so, his force of three destroyers had been almost equal to the task. Our latest intelligence indicates that this spaceship junkyard is defended by a small force consisting of an unarmed diplomatic ship, an ancient freighter that has been armed with a pulse beam system and at least one mining ship with a very powerful mining laser. The enemy had used the power plant of the diplomatic ship, which is actually a converted cruiser, to charge the weapons on some of the wrecks in the Scrapyard.

These weapons are powerful but a weapon charged in this manner
is only capable of firing a single pulse. In addition, none of the wrecks are shielded and a single strike from any of our destroyers should take these weapons out of action. Use appropriate caution. Our force of eight destroyers will annihilate the opposition. We are to attempt to capture the diplomatic ship as it is where Ambassador Saladin of Meridian is almost certainly hiding. If we cannot capture it we are to destroy it. I will provide more information after we jump. Shalhoub out."

The twelve ships of the
Revolutionary Strike Force began to sequentially enter the jump zone and translate out towards their target system.

***

UTFN Reclamation Center, onboard the wreck of the
FWS
Gibraltar
, January 3, 2599.

While Carlisle and her small crew
had been inspecting the weapons, the first order of business for the power restoration crew had been to determine which of the reactors, if any, on the old ship had the best chance of being returned to operational status. After a cursory inspection, the crew determined that the forward reactors, number one and number two, could probably be made operational but in both cases there were makeshift patches plugging some pretty formidable holes in the outer hull, evidence of the damage that had been inflicted on the old ship during the battle some fifty-odd years ago. The number three and number four reactors, closer to the stern of the ship, had fared considerably better and the compartments that housed them appeared to be intact.

Borrowing
the same tactic that Harris, Hawkins and Carlisle had employed a couple of months ago on the
Terrier
, the crew located several of the emergency life support modules on the battleship and snaked cables in from the
Perseus
to power them up. While part of the team was running cable to connect and power up the life support modules, other team members went through the surrounding compartments and double checked to ensure that the appropriate hatches, those that would seal off only a selected portion of the ship, were locked down. Hatches to the unneeded compartments were deliberately left open to space or open to adjoining compartments that were open to space to ensure that they would not be pressurized or heated. The emergency life support systems would automatically reroute atmosphere and heat away from compartments and areas of the ship that wouldn't hold air.

By sometime in the late afternoon, the salvage team
s had sealed the necessary hatches and powered up the appropriate emergency life support modules. Carlisle had provided support by referring to holographic schematics of the wreck while various team members called her to confirm which hatches needed to be sealed and which should be left open. The salvager's main intent was to provide atmosphere and heat for the engineering section and the reactor compartment for the number four reactor. They also wanted to heat and air up a patchwork string of interconnected compartments that would provide access to the dorsal and ventral main battery turrets. The turrets, each equipped with their own dedicated life support modules, were to be made livable as well.

With nothing
much to do for several hours as the sealed compartments were being pressurized and heated, the salvage crew took a break with most of them going onboard the still-attached
Perseus
to shed their spacesuits for a time, get something warm to eat and to perhaps get a few hours of rest before resuming work on resurrecting the battleship.

Harris called Kresge to inform him of the status of the project.

"We've got life support modules operating throughout the projected work area, Commander," said Harris. "We should be able to get back to work in there early tomorrow morning."

"Roger, Lieutenant,"
replied Kresge, "
Things are going okay on this end as well. We've got four cruiser projectors charged up and are working on charging two more. No sign of any enemy activity out at the jump point yet. Work as quickly as you can, Harris, the enemy could get here anytime now."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

***

UTFN Reclamation Center, onboard the wreck of the
FWS
Gibraltar
, January 4, 2599.

After allowing
the selected portions of the wreck to pressurize and warm up overnight, Harris, Hawkins, Talbot and Rahgib went back into the wreck and spent the next couple of hours cold starting the number four reactor. While they worked, the old ship continued to get noticeably warmer as the emergency life support systems performed their function and brought the sealed compartments up to preprogrammed parameters for temperature and air pressure. Carlisle was standing by with her wrist computer, ready to provide more info if needed. Harris and Hawkins were manning two of the engineering computers.

"Everything looks good on this console, Rahgib," said Harris
, as the team finished up with the diagnostics required to determine if it was feasible to initiate the power up sequences.

"It all
be fine on mine too," announced Hawkins.

"Keep a close eye on
all of your readouts, both of you," said Rahgib, "I'm going to initiate the start sequence. Ready?"

T
he two Federation engineers responded almost simultaneously.

"Yes," said Harris.

"Aye," said Hawkins.

"Initiating power up
sequence in...three, two, one, initiate!"

A
n intense electrical hum followed by a deep, throbbing vibration permeated the engineering section. Although all of them knew the theory and understood the necessary sequences, none of them besides Rahgib had ever started up a power plant this incredibly huge before. Knowing the forces they were about to unleash were formidable indeed, the team proceeded with caution.

As the vibration
gradually increased in intensity, it began to smooth out until it became more of a sustained thrum.

"Phase in the generator," said Rahgib.

"Phasing generator in, now!" said Harris.

Another vibration that started out low and smoothed out as
it increased in frequency permeated the reactor room. The regular lighting for the engineering section came on, drowning out the much less intense illumination provided by the emergency lights that were part of the emergency life support systems."

"Looking good, everyone," said Rahgib.
"Let's hold it right here for ten minutes or so to make sure that everything is working properly. Lieutenant Harris? Would you see if you can get that weapons computer console up and running while we get the power stabilized?"

"Right away," said Harris as he
shoved himself across the compartment and grabbed the operator's chair in front of the main engineering console before pulling himself into it and strapping himself in. He activated the power switch and within a few minutes he was working at a live computer console. Hawkins performed a similar maneuver and switched on the main life support computer, located on the other side of the engineering compartment.

"
Weapons computer operational," said Harris.

A minute or so later, Hawkins made a similar announcement. "Life support computers are being operational."

When ten minutes had passed without any major issues, Rahgib gave another order.

"Route power to the life support systems."

"I be routin' power to life support now," responded Hawkins.

The soft whir of the emergency life support system was joined by a more intense sound as the
standard life support systems of the ancient ship came online for the first time in over fifty years. As was the case with the emergency modules, the regular life support systems would not route atmosphere or heating to compartments that couldn't hold air either.

"
Perseus
? You may cut power to the emergency life support modules," said Rahgib. "I don't think we'll be needing them anymore."

A cheer went up from the entire engineering crew.

"Let's continue to monitor these old systems for an hour or so," said Rahgib, "and then we'll try to route power to one of the main battery capacitors. Dr. Carlisle? Perhaps you should get your team back into the topside main battery turret and get those computers booted up and ready."

"We're on our way," replied Carlisle. She left to gather up Caleb and Steuben, calling them on her suit radio as she headed towards the topside turret.

Rahgib nodded his head in satisfaction.

"
By the way, good work everyone," he said.

***

Nacobbus System, Whitney Hyperlink Zone, January 4, 2599.

The
Sultan
, with Captain Shalhoub on the bridge, phased smoothly into the hyperlink zone for the New Ceylon system. Some thirty seconds later, a second ship phased into the system followed by another ship a half minute later. Within a little over six minutes, the entire Scrapyard Strike Force had completed their jumps. Shalhoub waited for another five minutes, to give all of the crews time to recover from the effects of the jump, before once again addressing the entire force.

"We will remain in position here for
the time required to perform additional reconnaissance before microjumping towards the Scrapyard to begin our attack. Further instructions will be forthcoming. I suggest that all crewmembers utilize this time to recheck all systems. Shalhoub out."

***

UTFN Reclamation Center, onboard the wreck of the
FWS
Gibraltar
, January 4, 2599.

"Gibraltar?
This is Commander Kresge. I believe the attack we've been promised has begun. We have multiple ships phasing in through the jump zone. When they microjump towards us, you'll maybe have an hour or so to do whatever it you still need to do before they get here. Are you at a point where it is feasible to continue or would it be best to abort?"

"We're almost ready to start charging the main battery capacitors now, Commander" replied Harris. "Let us know when they start microjumping, we can make a decision on whether or not we'll have to abort at that time."

"
Will do, Kresge out
."

Chapter
19.

UTFN Reclamation Center, on board Meridian Imperial Diplomatic Ship
Istanbul
, January 3, 2599.

Sondia Saladin was on her way to her chambers after another of what seemed to be an endless string of diplomatic meetings. This last one had been particularly demanding and she was relieved to be able to stand down from the intense level of concentration she had maintained for most of the last three hours. She had been interfacing with one of her stealth truthseer net generators again and had been able to gain valuable information regarding several of the diplomats but, as was usually the case, the effort required left her exhausted. The sometimes unexpected movements of the ship as the
Istanbul
jockeyed into position to charge the weapons on several of the wrecked cruisers as part of the plan to protect the Scrapyard, just added another level of stress to the situation.

Now i
t seemed that their battle-weary little band was about to come under attack again.

Sondia
walked slowly, occasionally stopping to brace herself against the corridor wall with her right arm as she headed back for her quarters. The Ambassador had remained behind at the meeting since he had more business to conduct and would not be able to disentangle himself from the group of disgruntled diplomats for at least another half hour.

Sondia's personal servant, Shawndra, was
about three meters in front of her as the two of them made their way through the
Istanbul
from the conference room, which was near the ballroom in the bow of the ship, towards Sondia's chambers which were on the deck beneath the bridge area. They came to an intersection of corridors and Shawndra, still a short distance in the lead, crossed the intersection. Behind her servant, as she stepped into the cross corridor, Sondia caught a movement out of the corner of her eye in the shadows to her left. There wasn't supposed to be anyone in this area of the ship besides the Ambassador's personal guard and even in her fatigued state she knew this was very suspicious behavior. She dashed across and out of the intersection as quickly as she could and called out to her servant as she began to run.

"Shawndra," she exclaimed, "Someone is in the side corridor! Run!" She then shouted at the top of her lungs, "Guards! Guards! Come quickly! There is an intruder!"

Instead of running to safety, her loyal aide turned around and ran back past her ladyship, intending to use her slightly shorter but wider body to shield the Ambassador's wife from what could be a possible threat. A stranger appeared at the intersection just as Shawndra sidestepped back to block the middle of the corridor after having dodged to the left to get around Sondia. Something flashed in the poor light and Shawndra cried out as the handle of a ceramic throwing knife sprouted out of her chest. With her face twisted into a grimace of pain, Shawndra grabbed at her chest with both hands and turned involuntarily to brace her back against the wall of the corridor.

Mumbling a curse, the attacker disappeared
back down the cross corridor.

A horrified
Sondia turned around, covered the two strides between her and her servant and was able to catch Shawndra before she could fall and make what appeared to be a serious injury even worse. The older woman immediately slumped against her employer. Sondia wrapped both arms around her beloved servant but she was unable to handle the limp and unexpected weight of her wounded companion and the two of them collapsed to the floor, with Shawndra partially on top. In an instant, Sondia's hands and the front of her robes were slick, covered in Shawndra's blood.

M
oments later, two of the Ambassador's personal guard came running up from the corridor behind the two women and immediately began to attend to Sondia and her wounded servant. Four more guards arrived just a few seconds later from the corridor ahead and immediately gave chase down the cross corridor after Sondia pointed them in the direction that the attacker had fled.

Within a matter of
a few minutes, the two guards and Sondia had contacted the ship's Doctor, transferred Shawndra to a hastily procured gurney and taken her to the sick bay of the
Istanbul
where the wounded woman was receiving medical attention. Sondia, who had remained remarkably calm throughout the entire ordeal, suddenly found herself shaking violently in a delayed reaction to the traumatic event. The Ambassador, having cut short his meeting as soon as he heard about the incident, was in the sick bay within the next few minutes.

"Sondia, Love of my life! Are you alright?" His concern was well founded, as his wife was
shivering and covered in blood!

"I'm fine, Saad," she replied, with
a noticeable quiver in her voice, "but Shawndra was badly wounded."

"What happened?" asked the Ambassador.

"We were going back to my chambers and a man attacked us with a knife at the junction with the corridor that leads towards the dining room. She... Shawndra...she shielded me with her body! That knife was meant for me!" The strongest woman the Ambassador had ever known burst into tears. He took her in his arms to do what he could to comfort her. She buried her face in his shoulder and continued to cry softly. He closed his eyes and held her tightly. After no more than a minute, she drew her head back and looked her husband through tear-stained eyes, her brow furrowed in worry.

"Will she be alright?" asked
Sondia, her voice was soft but steady again as she found herself regaining some control. "What does the doctor say?"

The Ambassador looked towards the
surgeon who had been attending Shawndra and had just then entered the waiting area of the sickbay. Having overheard the question, the Doctor nodded his head in the affirmative.

"The
Doctor says she will live," replied the Ambassador. Sondia gave her husband a firm squeeze before kissing him on the cheek and extricating herself from his embrace. She dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief and ran her other hand through her hair.

"Did the guards catch the attacker?"

"Yes, they managed to stun him as he attempted to escape through the dining room," replied the Ambassador, "He will be bound and watched until he wakes up and we can question him."

"Do we have any idea who was behind the attack
?" asked Sondia.

"
We do not as yet."

"What
do
we know?"

"
Well," mused the Ambassador, "he was obviously a fanatic of some kind because there was no way that he was going to be able to pull off an attack in that part of the ship without getting caught or killed."

"
Then whoever ordered the attack was aware of the fact but ordered it anyway?" said Sondia.

"It would appear so," replied the Ambassador. "
I suppose that the man could have acted alone but I strongly doubt that." He sighed, "We have suspected that there is an informant or two aboard for some time now but this is the first time that anyone has showed their hand since we left the Santana Nexus. I'll wager that the man we caught is part of the Black Storm as the last attackers were. I wonder how many more of them there are that we have yet to identify? If we can keep this one alive long enough to question him, perhaps we can find out. We will need your abilities to interrogate him."

"I'll be more than happy to help you probe him!
" said Sondia, steel in her tone, "I do not think I will feel any need to be gentle about it either." She paused in thought for a moment. "How did he come to be loose in that part of the ship?" she asked.

"He was wearing the uniform of one of the kitchen staff," replied the Ambassador, "but his credentials belonged to someone who was trusted. We
are attempting to locate the man the credentials belong to but I fear the worst; that the worker has been murdered and this would-be assassin took his place. We will have to go through the rest of the staff to ensure that there aren't any others." He shook his head. "This ship, with all of these different factions of people onboard, is almost impossible to keep completely under our control without risking some serious diplomatic issues. We shall have to keep our guard up at all times. They picked this time, while we're all distracted by the preparations for another attack to make their move on you. I...I'm sorry about Shawndra."

"Saad," said Sondia, her face grim, "I fear for our daughter. We must do something to ensure her safety."

"I cannot help but agree with you, my dear," replied her husband, nodding gravely. He thought for a moment. "Perhaps we could find quarters for both of the girls onboard the
Greyhound
. They would be a lot safer over there, I would think."

"I like that idea," said his wife. "Will you check for me?"

"Of course, my dear. As soon as we get through this current crisis."