The Star Cross (29 page)

Lomatz’s mouth
turned up in a wide and satisfied smile. “As soon as the contract is signed,
I’ll give the orders to begin the work.”

“Prepare it,”
Kurt told Nirron. “Do we need to pay the credits now or from our account on Kubitz?”

“Forty percent
now, and the rest from your account on Kubitz,” Nirron answered. “I can
calculate the weight in gold needed for the payment. Tell me when, and I can
come to this station and collect it, and I’ll bring you the updated contract to
sign at the same time.”

“I’ll make the
arrangements,” Kurt answered.

Part of the gold
he had taken from the Profiteer cargo ship would be used to make that payment.
He found it slightly humorous that the gold that High Profiteer Creed had
stolen from Earth would now be used to make Newton impervious to any future
attacks from the Profiteers.

-

For the next
several hours, Controller Nirron watched silently, while Lomatz, Kurt, General
Mclusky, Colonel Hayworth, Captain Simms, and even Grantz discussed their different
needs and what was to be done. They made up a list of priorities and set up a
time schedule. When they finished, Kurt felt drained of energy. Between Lomatz
and Grantz, Kurt had to stay on his toes and guide the conversation in the direction
he wanted. The others in the room had numerous questions about the defense grid
and what would be done to the station. General Mclusky, Colonel Hayworth, and
Captain Simms asked detailed questions about the systems to be installed and
what they were capable of.

When it was finally
over, Kurt left the conference room, intending to take a shuttle to Newton to brief Governor Spalding.

“I did good in
there, didn’t I?” said Grantz, as he followed Kurt into the corridor. “I saved
you millions of credits with my negotiating skills.”

Kurt wasn’t so
sure of that. “I do want to thank you for rescuing Private Dulcet.”

“It was the
least I could do,” Grantz responded, as the two walked down the corridor.

“I suppose you
want a reward?”

“I wasn’t
expecting one,” Grantz answered with a gleam in his eyes. “Why did you not
mention the fleet you purchased? With my negotiating skills, I could have saved
you millions of credits.”

“Keep an eye
on Lomatz. I’m not certain he’s completely honest about why he’s here.”

“A Controller
is here,” Grantz quickly pointed out. “Lomatz wouldn’t dare try anything with
him around.”

“I know that’s
what you think,” Kurt answered, “but keep an eye on him nevertheless.”

“All right,”
Grantz agreed huffily. “I’ll do it.”

-

Kurt took his
shuttle and flew to Newton to meet with Governor Spalding. For nearly three hours,
he described to the governor his battle with the enemy convoy fleet and his
meeting with Lomatz on board the shipyard.

“I’ll be glad
when the defense grid is operational,” Spalding said, as he walked over to the
large window in his office and gazed out at the city. “It will ease a lot of
people’s minds. When the cargo ships and your new warships arrived, it nearly
caused a panic. I had to go on all the airwaves and explain who they were.
Hell, I nearly panicked when Rear Admiral Wilson told me the size of some of
those ships. Two thousand meters!”

“They’re big,”
admitted Kurt, watching the governor. “They have to be, considering what
they’re carrying.”

“It’s so hard
to imagine the ship manufacturing capability that’s available at Kubitz. I don’t
know if we could ever build something like that.”

“It’s just a
difference in needs and technology,” Kurt explained. “I suspect, if we ever
decide we need really big ships, we’ll find a way to build them.”

“Or just order
them from Kubitz,” Spalding said with a grim laugh. “I know you told me anything
could be bought on Kubitz for the right price. I guess I didn’t really believe
you until those ships arrived.”

“I’ll sign the
contract in the morning and deliver the necessary amount of gold to Controller
Nirron. Within five days the defense grid will be operational.”

Spalding
nodded. He left the window and walked to his desk. “With the defense grid up,
Newton Station being finished, and your new ships, we have only one more thing
to worry about.”

“Earth,” Kurt
said evenly. “We need to decide how to go about freeing our home planet from
the Profiteers.”

“We have a lot
of refugees who would like to return home someday.”

“Also a few are
building good lives here,” Kurt reminded the governor. “More may want to stay
than you think.”

“I hope so,”
Spalding replied. “We have a good world here. I just want it to stay that way.”

“It will,”
promised Kurt. It would be expensive, but Newton would continue to be the
pristine and peaceful planet it had always been.

-

Kurt had
called Denise and told her that he would stop by for a few minutes. She had
been excited to hear his voice and promised to cook him a quick meal. He also
tried to reach Keera, but the staff at the medical center informed him that she
had already left for the day. Disappointed, he had his driver drop him off at
his sister’s with instructions to return for him in two hours. He needed to return
to the
Star Cross
and arrange for the gold transaction, plus monitor the
installation of the new defense grid. Kurt also wanted to get some crews on the
new warships, so they could start becoming familiar with them.

As Kurt walked
up to the door to Denise’s house, he couldn’t help chuckling to himself. Denise’s
home had everything but the white picket fence. He could remember when, as kids,
she had always dreamed of living in a big fancy mansion with servants and everything.
Now, here she was, living in a modest home with her son and husband.

He wasn’t
quite to the door when it was flung open, and Bryan ran out.

“Uncle Kurt!”
yelled Bryan, his face lit up with joy. He launched himself and wrapped his
arms around Kurt’s waist, giving him a big hug. “Mom said you were coming.
She’s making meat loaf with mashed potatoes and gravy!”

Sounds great,”
said Kurt, laughing as he untangled himself from Bryan’s grasp. “Let’s go
inside and help.”

“Keera’s here
too,” Bryan said, as he took Kurt’s hand and led him inside the house.

Entering the
living room, Kurt saw Keera, sitting on the sofa, talking to Alex.

“Hello, Kurt,”
Alex said, standing up and shaking his hand. “I’m glad you could come by.”

Keera stood up
and came over and gave Kurt a hug with a big smile. “I hear you have some
visitors up in orbit.”

Kurt sat down
next to Keera with Bryan coming to sit on his lap. “Yes, the ships from Kubitz brought
the defense grid and my new warships. Lomatz even showed up.”

“The arms
dealer,” said Keera with a distasteful frown. “He only shows up when there are credits
to be made. How much did it cost you?”

“A lot,” Kurt
confessed. “But if he carries through with what he has promised, it’ll be worth
it.”

“Is there a
Controller with him?”

“Yes,” Kurt answered.
“Controller Nirron came on board one of the cargo ships. I met him earlier
today.”

“Good,” Keera
said with relief in her eyes. “That will keep him honest.”

“More aliens,”
Bryan said with wide eyes. “Can I meet them?”

“When you’re
older,” promised Kurt.

“Are these Controllers
really that powerful?” asked Alex, looking over at Keera.

“They are,” Keera
said, nodding her head. “You have to realize the entire economy in the Gothan Empire
and particularly on Kubitz is based on these signed contracts the Controllers
oversee. They also control all the credit accounts and have a vast amount of
resources available to them. No one dares break a contract for fear of the
consequences.”

“How is Lucy
doing?” asked Kurt.

“Better,” Keera
said with a gentle smile. “She’s gradually getting more of her memory back. She
has had several breakdowns over the realization of what she did at the pleasure
house.”

“What’s a pleasure
house?” asked Bryan, his ears perking up at the unfamiliar term.

“It’s nothing,”
said Alex hastily. “Why don’t you see how close supper is to being ready?”

“All right,” Bryan said, sliding off Kurt’s lap and vanishing into the kitchen.

“Does she
remember any of her military career?”

“Some,” Keera
answered. “Bits and pieces. Her memories are still pretty jumbled up. She vaguely
recalls the attack, being on board the Dacroni battleship, and part of what
happened at the pleasure house. As the weeks go by, she’ll remember more. It’s
important right now that her family stays close by. They’re her anchor to
sanity.”

“Supper’s
ready,” called out Denise, as she stepped from the kitchen. “I hope everyone’s
hungry.”

“I know I am,”
Kurt said, as he stood up and took Keera’s hand, helping her up off the sofa.
He held it longer than necessary, before letting go.

Keera looked
at him with a timid smile. “What’s
meat loaf
?”

“You’ll love
it,” Kurt promised.

“Denise makes
a great meat loaf,” Alex added, as he headed for the kitchen.

“I wish you
didn’t have to return to your ship so soon,” Keera said in a suggestive voice.

Kurt felt his
heart flutter. “I do too, but someone has to keep an eye on Lomatz.”

“We’ll have time
later,” Keera said with a smile. “Let’s eat. I’m sure Bryan is full of a
thousand questions he wants to ask you.”

Kurt nodded,
as he led her into the kitchen with its wonderful smells. He wished he could
stay longer, but he knew that, as fleet admiral, he had to put his job first
and his personal life second, at least for now.

Kurt stood in
the Command Center of the
Star Cross
, watching as another of the large
Class Two Orbital Defense Platforms was put together directly over the north
pole of Newton. The platform was one hundred meters across and twenty meters
thick. On top sat a massive ion cannon, four large energy projectors, and eight
smaller defensive energy turrets. There were four pods containing six
hypermissiles with an automatic reloading system. Everything was computer-controlled,
and a crew of six could operate the entire platform. However, the living
quarters were set up to hold a crew of twenty, to allow for routine maintenance
and crew rotation in the small Command and Control Center.

“That’s the
last one,” Andrew said, as he stepped to Kurt’s side. “All sixteen ODPs are
finished, and the sixty-four defensive satellites have been deployed.”

“The Command
and Control Center should be finished tomorrow,” added Kurt, drawing in a deep
breath.

He was glad
everything was going so smoothly. For the first time in a long while, he felt the
pressure of command recede, as he knew now than Newton would shortly be safe
from attack. His sister and her family would be protected, as well as the other
eight million people who called Newton their home.

“How are the
Planetary Defense Centers coming along?”

“Nearly done,”
Kurt answered. “General Mclusky is very satisfied with what he’s getting to
defend the planet with. He seems quite excited at the weapons he’ll now have at
his disposal.” Kurt had spoken to Mclusky earlier, allowing the general to give
him a detailed report of the progress being made on the surface of Newton.

“What about
the station?” Andrew asked.

“That’s a
little different,” replied Kurt, sounding a little perplexed. “Lomatz is becoming
more insistent that we turn over to them the designs for our particle beam
weapons.”

“Why?” asked Andrew,
sounding confused. “Surely they have particle beams of their own.”

“Not in
operation,” replied Kurt, turning from the viewscreen. “I think the problem
once again is costs. An ion cannon or a large energy projector is much cheaper
to operate than a particle beam cannon. Also our recharge time is quicker than
what they’re used to. Lomatz thinks it’s some quirk in the technology we’re
using and so is highly interested in obtaining it.”

“What’s he
offering in return?”

“That’s the
interesting part,” Kurt answered. “Lomatz said, if we give him an operational
cannon and the schematics to build more, that he would be willing to complete
the flight bay on the shipyard free of charge. He’s also offering to revamp our
ship construction bay to decrease the time to build a battlecruiser by nearly
70 percent. Of course, for that, there would be a charge. And we’d make sure
the contract states he can’t use our technology against us, anywhere in the
universe.”

“You’ll take
him up on the offer, won’t you?”

“I think I
have to,” Kurt answered with a slight nod. “We don’t know what will happen when
we attempt to free Earth. With what’s already occurred on the planet, it may be
years before they’re completely back on their feet. It’s very likely the
responsibility for defending both Earth and Newton will fall on us.”

“Can we order
another defense grid for Earth?” asked Andrew, knowing that would help
alleviate part of the problem.

“It’s a
possibility,” Kurt answered. He had discussed it briefly with Fleet Admiral
Tomalson several months back.

“Another Profiteer
cargo ship should be leaving Earth shortly,” Andrew continued. “Captain Watkins
sent word on the
Newton Princess
that he thought another one would be
leaving in a few days.”

“I’m sending
the
Trinity
and the
Carlsbad
both this time,” Kurt said. “As well
as the light cruisers
Alton
and
Birmingham
. We’ve installed a hyperspace
sensor on the
Trinity
, so she should be able to trace the convoy.”

“If the convoy
leaves,” said Andrew, raising his eyebrow. “If High Profiteer Creed receives
word that the other convoy didn’t reach Kubitz, he may decide to hold this one
until he learns what happened.”

“That’s what
I’m hoping,” Kurt said. “We’ve already placed crews on all four of the new
battleships and the ten battlecruisers.”

“Partial
crews,” corrected Andrew with some concern. “We still need a number of crewmembers
to fill out the ship rosters.”

“How long did
Colonel Hayworth say it would take to modify our last six missile tubes for the
hypermissiles?” Kurt wanted all twelve tubes on the
Star Cross
to be
capable of firing the new missile. He had been hesitant until now to put the
ship inside the repair bay to have it done.

“Two days,” responded
Andrew. “They’ll also need to modify two missile storage pods and set up an automatic
reloading system for all twelve tubes.”

“Schedule it,”
Kurt ordered. “Inform the new crews they have three days to become familiar
with their ships, and then we’ll do some shakedown cruises. In two weeks I want
them ready to go to Earth.”

“Two weeks!”
said Andrew, his eyes widening in alarm “I’m not sure they’ll be ready by then.
There are some pretty raw recruits on those vessels.”

“If we have
to, shift some crews from the destroyers to the new ships. The destroyers won’t
be of much use in a battle and will serve better if they stay here at Newton.”

“That’s a good
idea,” said Andrew, nodding his head in agreement. “We have seven destroyers, counting
the two with the
Vindication
. That would fill all the important
positions with trained crewmembers, including most of the officer positions. If
we shift a few other people around, we should end up with decent command crews
for all fourteen of the new ships.”

“I’ll explain
to Captain Anniston on the
Trinity
that she’s to send the destroyers
Sultan
and
Deimos
back when they reach the
Vindication
,” Kurt said.
“We’re still not certain how High Profiteer Creed will react when he learns
that his convoy never reached Kubitz.”

“He’ll go
ballistic,” predicted Andrew, folding his arms across his chest. “I wouldn’t
want to be around him when he does find out.”

“Let’s just
hope he sends ships searching for the missing convoy and doesn’t take out his
anger on Earth.”

“I guess we’ll
know shortly,” Andrew replied and then continued. “I think he’ll go hunting for
the convoy. That cargo ship was packed full of gold and gemstones. He won’t
want to lose it. Not to mention all the potential slaves he’s taken from Earth
to sell.” Several passenger liners under escort had already returned to Newton from Kubitz with humans that Lieutenant Tenner had freed.

Kurt shifted
his attention to the viewscreen and the defense platform. He knew he should probably
send a message to President Mayfield, briefing him on the readiness of the new defense
grid over Newton. He would also indicate to the president that he was preparing
to initiate offensive operations against the Profiteers.

-

Captain Nathan
Aldrich was once more on the tarmac, only this time in Western Oklahoma at an
abandoned military airbase, dating from the Cold War between the then United States and the former Soviet Union. It still boasted a long airstrip used occasionally for training
purposes. He saw a tumbleweed blow across the wide runway, but, other than that,
there was no movement out here.

“I wonder why
they wanted to land in the middle of nowhere?” asked Private Malone, peering at
the high clouds drifting over the area.

“The cities
are becoming too dangerous for them,” Nathan responded. He heard a loud noise
in the sky, and, looking up, he saw the shuttle descending. A second one was with
it and took a higher orbit above the former airbase.

“We’re late
with this payment,” Corporal Lasher commented, as the shuttle landed fifty
meters from the four large armored trucks.

“We got them
to agree to the delay, claiming it was taking us longer than expected to round
up a sufficient quantity of gemstones,” explained Nathan. “It was hoped, by
making it seem that we were having a difficult time meeting this tribute, they wouldn’t
increase it again.”

When the shuttle
hatch opened and the ramp touched the tarmac, ten heavily armed Profiteers came
forward with another group behind them pulling a number of antigravity sleds.

“It’s hot
today,” complained Corporal Lasher, hoping the Profiteers hated the heat as
much as he did, especially when wearing that gray body armor. The temperature
hovered in the low one hundreds with a strong gusty wind blowing from the
south.

“You have the
tribute?” demanded the lead Profiteer.

Nathan thought
this was the same one he had spoken to the last several times. “Yes, it’s all
here.”

The Profiteer
motioned to the others with him, and the doors to the four trucks were opened,
and they rapidly began transferring the bars of gold and the gemstones to the
antigravity sleds.

“You were late
with this month’s tribute,” the Profiteer stated with a scowl on his face.

“It was a
large amount of gold and gemstones,” Nathan replied evenly. “It takes time to gather
up such wealth.”

“Next month
the amount is doubled,” the Profiteer said in a cold and harsh voice. “No delay
will be accepted or you will lose cities. Do you understand?”

“Yes,”
responded Nathan, his anger rising. He wanted nothing more than to pull his
pistol from its holster and put a 45-caliber bullet between the Profiteer’s
large pale eyes.

“I see your
anger at our demand,” snarled the Profiteer, gazing directly into Nathan’s eyes.
“If any harm comes to me or any other Profiteer, the orbiting shuttle will nuke
this landing site!”

“No harm will
come to you,” promised Nathan, drawing in a deep breath and reining in his
anger.

The Profiteer
turned and went to the others, who were loading the gold and gemstones; they
finished shortly and returned to the shuttle, pulling the antigravity sleds
behind them. A few moments later the shuttle took off and headed toward space.

“Double,”
muttered Corporal Lasher, his face turning grim. “Can we do that?”

“I don’t
know,” replied Nathan, as he looked around the desolate airfield. “Let’s get
back, so we can report.” Nathan had a feeling that everything was coming to a
head. The Profiteers were increasing their demands to take the last of Earth’s
wealth. Nathan had a suspicion the Profiteers might have just received their
last tribute.

-

A few hours
later High Profiteer Creed glared at Third Profiteer Bixt in shock. Two
detainee ships had just dropped from hyperspace into Earth orbit and sent a
message that the last convoy fleet dispatched to Kubitz had never arrived.

“Impossible!”
roared High Profiteer Creed, shoving Second Profiteer Lantz to the side, as he
made his way to the communications station. “What do they mean,
the convoy
never made it to Kubitz
?”

“First
Profiteer Hiltol is confirming the message,” Bixt replied, as he listened
anxiously to his comm. “The convoy was fourteen days late when he left Kubitz
with his two ships.”

“Could another
group of Profiteers have captured it?” asked Lantz.

“Someone has interfered
with it,” muttered Creed, knowing his profits had just taken a huge hit. “I’ll
contact Clan Leader Jarls and have him send three of his battleships to Kubitz
on the same course the convoy was supposed to take. Perhaps they can find out
what happened.”

“Could it have
been the humans?” asked Lantz.

Creed stood
still for a moment, deep in thought. “I doubt it,” he said finally. “They’re
too concerned about defending their colony world.”

“Could they
have hired some mercenaries to hit the convoy?”

Creed gazed at
Lantz in surprise, and then anger spread across his face. “That would make
sense,” he said. “They don’t have the forces or the technology to track the convoy
and then attack it. They could have hired someone to do it for them. Just a
split of the gold and gemstones on that cargo ship would make such an agreement
worthwhile.”

“What should
we do?”

“I still think
we should send the Dacroni battleships to search, but it would also be a good
idea to have our people on Kubitz ask around, see if the humans have hired
anyone to hit us. It would have to be a good-size contract, and word of it may
have leaked. I’ll tell them to see if anyone is spending large sums of credits
at the pleasure houses. If mercenaries hit us, stealing our gold, someone will
be bragging about it.”

“How do we go
about replacing our losses?”

Creed’s eyes
narrowed, and he shifted his gaze to a viewscreen, which showed the blue-white
globe of Earth. His accounts on Kubitz were already swollen with the profits he
had made from this world. Perhaps it was time to leave, before his fortunes
turned. This missing convoy might be an indication of that. “Tomorrow we’ll
send messages to all Earth’s countries. Additional tribute will be levied on each
of them. And it will be due in two weeks, or they can face the consequences.”

“Some will
attempt to resist,” pointed out Lantz.

“Then they
will die,” Creed answered coldly. “We’ll hold the current convoy until we ourselves
can escort it safely to Kubitz.”

-

President Mayfield
stared bleakly at Fleet Admiral Tomalson, General Braid, and Raul Gutierrez, who
were all gathered in his office. “Two weeks to raise double what we did this
past month?”

“We have it,” commented
Raul. “But a lot of others don’t. The Chinese Conglomerate has indicated they
will not pay. The same for the Russian Collective.”