In the story so far the spaceship, Stardiver Four, is captured and adrift in space. The secret cargo of Starfighters, the ultimate attack craft, has been discovered by the pirates. The mercenary leader, Whitey, and his rival, Captain Stone, form an alliance to build their own battle force around the fighter craft.
Vikki and Julia were surrounded by their mercenary escort, some in front and some in back. "Stupid Boss," Vikki said to herself. "Idiot! Jackass!" In the battle of wills, Whitey won this round.
Vikki ignored the child walking beside her. Julia kept up with the men effortlessly. Her systems accessing information about each one as she went.
Bill sat in the docked shuttle monitoring as many activities as he could. The shuttle's cargo section had been changed from an emergency operating theater to a command center. In the middle, a platform held monitors whose cables ran out the door to the ship where they lay across the floor and plugged into an open panel in the wall.
Bill saw them coming on the screens. "Stupid girl. That redhead is going to get us all in a firefight before too long," He grumbled glancing at his men as they wired up more equipment. "Finish up quick, guys."
He went to meet them and watched the group as they marched up the corridor toward the shuttle bay base. The men in the lead had the wariness of soldiers on patrol in the field. The men following Vikki were lax and had their eyes on her youthful figure with classic male interest. "Hell." Bill cursed. "She will hurt us more than the rangers."
The men stopped and stiffened to attention in front of him. "You've all had your fun. Remember, we are in hostile territory; resume repairs to defenses and continue to secure any clean drinking water we can find."
Then bending over he said to the child, "What is your name little girl?"
"I'm Julia Rattstoven." she swayed coyly.
"I want two of you to take this child to the shuttle and get her some food."
Then looking at Vikki, "Miss, please come with me. Your station is almost set up." He turned and walked away to the shuttle.
"Oh, crap." Vikki moaned, as she followed him.
Inside the shuttle, Bill sat down in a chair. His eyes swept the dozen or so monitors on the platform and others suspended above it. "Are you guys done?" He said to the technicians who were adjusting another series of monitors at a side table.
"Yes, these are being fed by our own equipment in areas of the ship that has gone dark. The power in the ship is shrinking and the dark areas are increasing. Those on the desk are piggybacked on the ship's security systems."
"Ok, great. Good job guys. Dismissed," Bill said, "Get some grub, then report to your team leader."
After they left the shuttle he turned to Vikki and growled, "I expect The Boss gave you a Father-Daughter talk about that stunt in the gym. But let me say it again because it is a matter of life and death for you. You do not go off on your own on this ship, not now or ever. Those pirates will get you and when they do you will wish you were dead. And another thing, if you ever put on a show for my men I will make you wish you were dead. You have no idea what men are like. You have to understand that after combat these men are full of hormones; they want to blow off steam. They will kill each other over you. It is not glamorous. Stay out of sight, stay here and do your job." He got up.
"What is my job?"
"Use these monitors and cameras to spy on everybody in the ship. We need to know everything there is to know. We need to know if there are men gathering in groups talking. Are the pirate leaders fighting among themselves? Is someone hoarding weapons or food? Are any deathbots left roaming the ship? If someone comes this way I want to know about it immediately."
Sitting back down next to her Bill began to move his hands in front of different screens; they changed images as he did. "Here, let me show you our enemies. You are to keep them under surveillance above all others. This is Captain Stone. He is the leader of the pirates and a real nut job. Here is Professor Ratts, he is some kind of genius engineer who built the deathbots, and a convicted mass murder. Here is their chief of Security, she is mean and spiteful. She is watching us, so we watch her back- only better."
Bill leaned back in his chair. "Where is everybody?" He quickly flipped through screens to view scores of locations on the ship until stopping at the image of the cargo bay. Leaning forward he studied the scene of pirates crowding around a house sized crate, they were trying to pull something large and black out of it. "What is that? No, It could not be a Starfighter."
"Yup, Bill." Whitey said from behind, "This ship is transporting a squadron of starfighters."
Bill jumped. "Damn-it, Whitey! I am going to put a bell on you so you won't sneak up on people like that."
"I've heard that before."
Looking at the starfighter in the monitor Bill said, "This changes everything without making any difference."
"A captured starship carrying civilians and cattle is one thing." Whitey said, "Someone will eventually ask questions and wait for years without a straight answer. But a captured assault carrier carrying a unit of starfighters means everybody will come for them. It won't be long before some government turns up to take them."
"How would anybody know that we have them, boss? It was a secret cargo right?"
Whitey looked at the ceiling with a smug sigh and slowly said, "Well, somebody just might let it slip out in a conversation with the Supreme Kaka-mander over an unsecured transmission."
"Why would anybody do that?"
"When the revolution falls apart I hope to be in possession of the starfighters I could return them for a reward or sell them. It doesn't hurt to stir up a little interest ahead of an auction. What do you think a starfighter is worth on the black market?"
"A planet's ransom. But from what I see, they do not look ready to fly," Bill observed.
"No, they need assembly. Professor Ratts will be in his happy place putting them together."
"Ratts. I wonder," Bill mused. "Boss, what is Ratts short for?"
"Dr. Rattstoven."
"That's interesting because we have a child named Julia Rattstoven."
"No! Where is she now? Bill."
"Here in the shuttle."
"If she is his daughter we might get some information out of her before taking her back." Whitey looked at Vikki who glared back at him then looked at monitors changing views rapidly. "Bill you and Security Girl here can debrief her.
"I will be in my quarters for a few minutes," Whitey said as he walked deeper into the shuttle.
"Hey!" Vikky yelled. "That is my room."
Whitey turned cold eyes at her and remembered the locked door the night before. Know your battles, he thought. A concession now may have benefits later. "Right. I'll be in the pilot's seat. And it's. 'hey, that's my room, sir.'"
Once in the shuttle's command station Whitey closed the door behind him and sat down at the console. He swung a monitor down from above and entered a code. The lovely face of the Supreme Commander emerged from its darkness.
"What do you have to report, Whitey?"
"Nothing you don't already know. Stone's an idiot, his men are mostly drunk and fighting among themselves, we are still dead in space without command of the ship. Oh, and by the way, the cargo contains a dozen or so starfighters in transport containers." He watched her face for a reaction, but there was no clue as to what she was thinking.
Slowly her jaw tightened and her lips barely moved as she hissed. "You know this is not a secure signal, Whitey. You just announced to the whole universe that we have the greatest tactical weapons ever made by man."
"Oh sorry. Just a habit from my days in salvage. You know I was in the salvage business and still have a salvage license."
"I don't care what you were, are or will be. I have a contract with you to act as my independent agent in cooperation with Captain Stone," she hissed. "As my agent, I expect you to look out for my interest and that of the revolution. Those starfighters are spoils of war and belong to the Liberation now, not you, so don't flaunt your salvage license at me."
"Oh, Your Severity, you misunderstand me. I was only trying to reassure you of my qualifications to get the starfighters in shape and battle ready."
"In that case, I expect you to do that quickly, in cooperation with Captain Stone."
"Of course."
"If you are so experienced in salvage why is the Stardiver not operational? Why is she not on her way to the fleet?"
With a shrug of his shoulders and mock innocence, Whitey said, "I am cooperating with Stone as best as I can."
"Do what you have to do to get the ship on the move. I want an update in twelve hours." The screen went blank.
Whitey got up and slowly smiled.
"Boss" Bill was knocking on the door. "We have a new situation."
"What now?" He said as he opened the door.
"A lost civilian hiding," Bill said pointing to a monitor where Julia was sitting. "Lucky the kid touched the screen and it brought her location up."
Whitey looked at the monitor. A child was sitting in what looked like a church crying. "Red," he said to Vikki, "Do you know that place?"
"It is the Sanctuary of Faith or something like that. There was a religious youth group that had parties and stuff there. Real boring, no beer."
"Where is it?"
"It is three decks above and down ship; past the cafeterias, the gym, and the merchant's section."
"Boss, look." Bill pointed to another monitor. The dim scene showed something move in the dark. A machine for an assembly line, its welding torches replaced with death rays and the cutting tool rebuilt with a deadly sword like function. "It looks dormant, but it won't be for long. That child is on the other side of the wall bawling. That deathbot is going hear her. It will cut through the wall and then cut her into pieces."
Whitey sighed. "OK, Red. We have twenty men on rest rotation here. Take four with you and find that child and bring her back here. Bill, organize the remaining men to hunt the deathbot down and kill it.
"Me?" Vikki squeaked. "You want me to go there?"
"Yes, I am sending you so the child will see a friendly face and not be afraid. We don't want to allow the pirates to get her. You cannot imagine what they will do."
"Then I will go get her," Julia said. "She is my friend. Her name is Lilly."
Whitey looked at her for a moment. "No, you stay here where it is safe."
"I am never in danger, no one can hurt me."
"Because Professor Ratts is your father?" Whitey asked.
"You can say that. He loves me." Her eyes glanced around the room. "He is evil. He is a sinner. He should pay for his sins."
"Are you afraid of your father?" Bill asked.
"Ha! No, he cannot hurt me and he never would. It will cost him."
Whitey was out of patience. "You stay here." He commanded. "Let the others bring your friend back."
Bill shook his head. "I should go."
"No. You monitor the situation from here, we may need to coordinate extraction. This may lead to the fight we have been hoping to avoid. Alert all teams."
Whitey left the shuttle. In the shuttle bay, men were resting on mats on the floor or on makeshift platforms. He regretted taking their needed rest from them. "Guys, sorry but naptime is postponed. we need to rescue a civilian child before the pirates or a deathbot gets her."
"What's extraction?" Vikki asked.
"You don't want to know." Bill groaned."
(c) Adron
To proceed to the next chapter click here or choose from the table of contents at the sidebar.
Chapter 57
Whitey Can't Keep A Secret
Vikki and Julia were surrounded by their mercenary escort, some in front and some in back. "Stupid Boss," Vikki said to herself. "Idiot! Jackass!" In the battle of wills, Whitey won this round.
Vikki ignored the child walking beside her. Julia kept up with the men effortlessly. Her systems accessing information about each one as she went.
Bill sat in the docked shuttle monitoring as many activities as he could. The shuttle's cargo section had been changed from an emergency operating theater to a command center. In the middle, a platform held monitors whose cables ran out the door to the ship where they lay across the floor and plugged into an open panel in the wall.
Bill saw them coming on the screens. "Stupid girl. That redhead is going to get us all in a firefight before too long," He grumbled glancing at his men as they wired up more equipment. "Finish up quick, guys."
He went to meet them and watched the group as they marched up the corridor toward the shuttle bay base. The men in the lead had the wariness of soldiers on patrol in the field. The men following Vikki were lax and had their eyes on her youthful figure with classic male interest. "Hell." Bill cursed. "She will hurt us more than the rangers."
The men stopped and stiffened to attention in front of him. "You've all had your fun. Remember, we are in hostile territory; resume repairs to defenses and continue to secure any clean drinking water we can find."
Then bending over he said to the child, "What is your name little girl?"
"I'm Julia Rattstoven." she swayed coyly.
"I want two of you to take this child to the shuttle and get her some food."
Then looking at Vikki, "Miss, please come with me. Your station is almost set up." He turned and walked away to the shuttle.
"Oh, crap." Vikki moaned, as she followed him.
Inside the shuttle, Bill sat down in a chair. His eyes swept the dozen or so monitors on the platform and others suspended above it. "Are you guys done?" He said to the technicians who were adjusting another series of monitors at a side table.
"Yes, these are being fed by our own equipment in areas of the ship that has gone dark. The power in the ship is shrinking and the dark areas are increasing. Those on the desk are piggybacked on the ship's security systems."
"Ok, great. Good job guys. Dismissed," Bill said, "Get some grub, then report to your team leader."
After they left the shuttle he turned to Vikki and growled, "I expect The Boss gave you a Father-Daughter talk about that stunt in the gym. But let me say it again because it is a matter of life and death for you. You do not go off on your own on this ship, not now or ever. Those pirates will get you and when they do you will wish you were dead. And another thing, if you ever put on a show for my men I will make you wish you were dead. You have no idea what men are like. You have to understand that after combat these men are full of hormones; they want to blow off steam. They will kill each other over you. It is not glamorous. Stay out of sight, stay here and do your job." He got up.
"What is my job?"
"Use these monitors and cameras to spy on everybody in the ship. We need to know everything there is to know. We need to know if there are men gathering in groups talking. Are the pirate leaders fighting among themselves? Is someone hoarding weapons or food? Are any deathbots left roaming the ship? If someone comes this way I want to know about it immediately."
Sitting back down next to her Bill began to move his hands in front of different screens; they changed images as he did. "Here, let me show you our enemies. You are to keep them under surveillance above all others. This is Captain Stone. He is the leader of the pirates and a real nut job. Here is Professor Ratts, he is some kind of genius engineer who built the deathbots, and a convicted mass murder. Here is their chief of Security, she is mean and spiteful. She is watching us, so we watch her back- only better."
Bill leaned back in his chair. "Where is everybody?" He quickly flipped through screens to view scores of locations on the ship until stopping at the image of the cargo bay. Leaning forward he studied the scene of pirates crowding around a house sized crate, they were trying to pull something large and black out of it. "What is that? No, It could not be a Starfighter."
"Yup, Bill." Whitey said from behind, "This ship is transporting a squadron of starfighters."
Bill jumped. "Damn-it, Whitey! I am going to put a bell on you so you won't sneak up on people like that."
"I've heard that before."
Looking at the starfighter in the monitor Bill said, "This changes everything without making any difference."
"A captured starship carrying civilians and cattle is one thing." Whitey said, "Someone will eventually ask questions and wait for years without a straight answer. But a captured assault carrier carrying a unit of starfighters means everybody will come for them. It won't be long before some government turns up to take them."
"How would anybody know that we have them, boss? It was a secret cargo right?"
Whitey looked at the ceiling with a smug sigh and slowly said, "Well, somebody just might let it slip out in a conversation with the Supreme Kaka-mander over an unsecured transmission."
"Why would anybody do that?"
"When the revolution falls apart I hope to be in possession of the starfighters I could return them for a reward or sell them. It doesn't hurt to stir up a little interest ahead of an auction. What do you think a starfighter is worth on the black market?"
"A planet's ransom. But from what I see, they do not look ready to fly," Bill observed.
"No, they need assembly. Professor Ratts will be in his happy place putting them together."
"Ratts. I wonder," Bill mused. "Boss, what is Ratts short for?"
"Dr. Rattstoven."
"That's interesting because we have a child named Julia Rattstoven."
"No! Where is she now? Bill."
"Here in the shuttle."
"If she is his daughter we might get some information out of her before taking her back." Whitey looked at Vikki who glared back at him then looked at monitors changing views rapidly. "Bill you and Security Girl here can debrief her.
"I will be in my quarters for a few minutes," Whitey said as he walked deeper into the shuttle.
"Hey!" Vikky yelled. "That is my room."
Whitey turned cold eyes at her and remembered the locked door the night before. Know your battles, he thought. A concession now may have benefits later. "Right. I'll be in the pilot's seat. And it's. 'hey, that's my room, sir.'"
Once in the shuttle's command station Whitey closed the door behind him and sat down at the console. He swung a monitor down from above and entered a code. The lovely face of the Supreme Commander emerged from its darkness.
"What do you have to report, Whitey?"
"Nothing you don't already know. Stone's an idiot, his men are mostly drunk and fighting among themselves, we are still dead in space without command of the ship. Oh, and by the way, the cargo contains a dozen or so starfighters in transport containers." He watched her face for a reaction, but there was no clue as to what she was thinking.
Slowly her jaw tightened and her lips barely moved as she hissed. "You know this is not a secure signal, Whitey. You just announced to the whole universe that we have the greatest tactical weapons ever made by man."
"Oh sorry. Just a habit from my days in salvage. You know I was in the salvage business and still have a salvage license."
"I don't care what you were, are or will be. I have a contract with you to act as my independent agent in cooperation with Captain Stone," she hissed. "As my agent, I expect you to look out for my interest and that of the revolution. Those starfighters are spoils of war and belong to the Liberation now, not you, so don't flaunt your salvage license at me."
"Oh, Your Severity, you misunderstand me. I was only trying to reassure you of my qualifications to get the starfighters in shape and battle ready."
"In that case, I expect you to do that quickly, in cooperation with Captain Stone."
"Of course."
"If you are so experienced in salvage why is the Stardiver not operational? Why is she not on her way to the fleet?"
With a shrug of his shoulders and mock innocence, Whitey said, "I am cooperating with Stone as best as I can."
"Do what you have to do to get the ship on the move. I want an update in twelve hours." The screen went blank.
Whitey got up and slowly smiled.
"Boss" Bill was knocking on the door. "We have a new situation."
"What now?" He said as he opened the door.
"A lost civilian hiding," Bill said pointing to a monitor where Julia was sitting. "Lucky the kid touched the screen and it brought her location up."
Whitey looked at the monitor. A child was sitting in what looked like a church crying. "Red," he said to Vikki, "Do you know that place?"
"It is the Sanctuary of Faith or something like that. There was a religious youth group that had parties and stuff there. Real boring, no beer."
"Where is it?"
"It is three decks above and down ship; past the cafeterias, the gym, and the merchant's section."
"Boss, look." Bill pointed to another monitor. The dim scene showed something move in the dark. A machine for an assembly line, its welding torches replaced with death rays and the cutting tool rebuilt with a deadly sword like function. "It looks dormant, but it won't be for long. That child is on the other side of the wall bawling. That deathbot is going hear her. It will cut through the wall and then cut her into pieces."
Whitey sighed. "OK, Red. We have twenty men on rest rotation here. Take four with you and find that child and bring her back here. Bill, organize the remaining men to hunt the deathbot down and kill it.
"Me?" Vikki squeaked. "You want me to go there?"
"Yes, I am sending you so the child will see a friendly face and not be afraid. We don't want to allow the pirates to get her. You cannot imagine what they will do."
"Then I will go get her," Julia said. "She is my friend. Her name is Lilly."
Whitey looked at her for a moment. "No, you stay here where it is safe."
"I am never in danger, no one can hurt me."
"Because Professor Ratts is your father?" Whitey asked.
"You can say that. He loves me." Her eyes glanced around the room. "He is evil. He is a sinner. He should pay for his sins."
"Are you afraid of your father?" Bill asked.
"Ha! No, he cannot hurt me and he never would. It will cost him."
Whitey was out of patience. "You stay here." He commanded. "Let the others bring your friend back."
Bill shook his head. "I should go."
"No. You monitor the situation from here, we may need to coordinate extraction. This may lead to the fight we have been hoping to avoid. Alert all teams."
Whitey left the shuttle. In the shuttle bay, men were resting on mats on the floor or on makeshift platforms. He regretted taking their needed rest from them. "Guys, sorry but naptime is postponed. we need to rescue a civilian child before the pirates or a deathbot gets her."
"What's extraction?" Vikki asked.
"You don't want to know." Bill groaned."
(c) Adron
To proceed to the next chapter click here or choose from the table of contents at the sidebar.
