Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) (65 page)

"I'm
ready," he gave a thumbs up.

"Right,
launch when ready. Target the nearest ship secure it then get that shuttle back
so we can get the others secured with prize crews." The marine
straightened to parade rest and then saluted. Irons saluted as well then cut
the channel.

"Marine
boat bay is clearing now. Two minutes to atmospheric evacuation." Firefly
reported. "Sun-Yat is maneuvering again. Factory ship is pitching down."
Irons nodded.

"Time
to first impact on Frigate, one minute thirty two seconds," Harris said.
"Right. Comm. open a channel. To all surviving pirate ships. Stand to and
prepare to be boarded. Surrender your ships and your crew will not be harmed.
Any resistance will be met with maximum force." He nodded to the tech who
smiled and cut the circuit.

"Good
copy Admiral. If they weren't shaking before, they soon will be," she
grinned down at her station. Irons chuckled.

"They
deserve it, Patty," he looked over to Shelby.

"Shields
are stable Admiral. We've lost a couple pods though and our wedge is
unbalanced. We'll have fifty percent shields in... five minutes," she
grimaced. "I've got electrical fires in a couple of compartments. DCC and
fire crews are on it now. Firefly is cutting atmo in those compartments once
they are cleared," she announced.

He
winced. "Casualties?" he asked.

"Light.
A couple burns when a plasma conduit burst. A couple other minor injuries,
mostly from people moving around when the ship was maneuvering." Irons
grimaced.

"Not
bad."

She
nodded. "Glad that's over," she said sinking into her couch.

"We've
got a hit on the frigate!" Harris thrust his hand up into the air then
fist bumped Dan next to him. They slapped each other on the shoulders.

"Frigate
is tumbling. She's straightening out. Second broadside is going to miss,"
Firefly reported. Dan and Harris sat back abruptly.

"Damn.
I thought we got her for sure," Harris said chagrined. Irons nodded.
"Goes to show, don't count your kills till they are confirmed dead."
He nodded as the pirate slowly lumbered toward the jump point for all her
worth.

"She's
jinking too now, no way will we get her," Harris sighed.

"Maybe,
maybe not." Irons sat back and closed his eyes.

"IF
your thinking what I think your thinking, you’re crazy!" Sprite said. She
felt his determination. "All right, I'll do it." The AI gathered
itself then launched itself through the communications.

 "Comm.
Channel bandwidth is going through the roof!" the officer looked confused.

"We're
doing it," Firefly said. "I've infiltrated the non combat ships
systems and have locked the crew out," Firefly reported. Irons gave a
short nod. "Two minutes," Firefly intoned.

"Frigate
is ten minutes from jump point," Harris said, sounding leaden.

After
five minutes Irons felt the AI return. "Got it," she said slotting
back into his net.

"Intel
or destruct?" Irons asked, opening his eyes.

"What
do you think?" she said coyly. He sighed in exasperation. Quickly she
relented. "A little of both. The destruct could be aborted though,"
the AI reported.

"Wish
it was a clean sweep," Harris muttered. Dan patted him on his arm.
Suddenly CIC cheered. The crew looked at the plot in consternation as the
frigate vanished in a nuclear fireball.

"What
happened?" Harris asked dumbfounded.

"Could
we have damaged her more than we thought?" Dan said.

Irons
smiled. "Something like that." The crew looked at him. He shrugged.
"Admiral did this have anything to do with that transmission?" the
comm. tech asked. The Admiral's smile widened into a satisfied grin. Somehow,
despite the odds they'd done it.

Harris
snorted. "Right. Now I get it. You sent the self destruct?" he asked.
Irons nodded.

"It
was a last resort. I had actually dismissed the idea because I was certain that
they had changed the codes to prevent that." He shrugged.

"What
changed your mind?" Dan asked curious.

"We
didn't have anything left to lose. It was a one shot try, I didn't expect it to
work." He shrugged again. "Let's get our prizes sorted out and start
picking up any enemy life pods. Start scanning for wreckage now," he
nodded to the scanner tech.

"Right,
accessing data, running a sweep now..."

Irons
and Mayweather turned the corner and looked over to the marine sentry.
Mayweather paused, hand on his arm. He paused turning to her. "Are you
sure about this Admiral?" she asked. He smiled.

"It'd
take a bit more than a bunch of brig rats to get through my defenses," he
chuckled. She nodded letting her concern go.

"All
right son, let's do this." He wasn't surprised to see the major arrive
right behind them. Inside the brig he looked around to each of the cells.

"Great,
another jumped up twit. This one thinks he's an Admiral!" someone
snickered.

"Lively
bunch aren't they?" Sprite asked. His smile was a bit forced. "Seems
to be." He looked over to the guard. "Who do we have here?" he
asked.

"Fourteen
of the trouble makers sir, not including the nine in sickbay. None of them
claim to be officers." The guard was short but well built. He had
obviously started to work out, his muscles rippled under his uniform. The major
nodded.

"So
who the hell are you?" someone cat called. Irons looked over to the brig
cells once more. The men and women were a motley group, dressed in dirty
patched coveralls. A few had greasy bandannas tied on their arms or legs. Most
of the men were unshaven, a few sported dreadlocks and an over abundance of
piercings. He grimaced. Someone had watched way too many pirate flicks.

The
surviving bridge crews of the civilian ships had committed suicide to a man
once they were boarded. These were the only ones to surrender or be taken
unconscious. Apparently the rest of the crews were slaves. Or at least they
were. Now they were falling all over themselves to join up.

"For
those of you who don't recognize me, I'm going to make this simple. My name is
Irons. John Henry Irons. FLEET Admiral of the Federation navy." He stood
with his hands at his sides.

"Fleet
Admiral he says! A man with a long braided beard laughed. "A cruiser and a
couple of beat up corvettes? A fleet?" the man howled slapping at his knee
and shaking his head. A woman next to him picked her nose. She flicked the
contents towards the admiral but it fell short. A short bald male with his arms
crossed spat on the force field. It sizzled and popped before wasting away.

"I
am picking up notes of anxiety in that Admiral," Sprite reported. Irons
nodded. He brought up his right arm and then keyed his implant demo. The marine
guard next to him gasped as his hand morphed.

When
the hand morphed back to normal only the crackle of the force fields could be
heard. Irons smiled. "That's right ladies and gentlemen, I am the real
deal. And I'll make this simple for you. You were caught in the act of piracy.
We've got intelligence that you raided Agnosta as well. Under Federation law
the penalty for that is death."

He
looked at the closest cell. The man inside was built like a bull, broad
shoulders and not much of a neck. His neck and exposed shoulder was covered in
tattoos. He was pale. Irons smiled a small cruel smile.

"I'm
in a forgiving mood, after all, you didn't put up much of a fight when you got
here." He watched the shot go home on some.

"Way
to twist the knife," Mayweather muttered.

"I'm
with her," Sprite said a beat later.

"But..."
Irons looked around. He waited.

"But?"
someone in the back asked, taking up the cue.

"But,
I might spare your lives if you provide us with information. I want it all
ladies and gentlemen... and I use those terms rather loosely.” He gave them all
a look. A few were coming to what they thought was proper attention. “No
holding back or I will space you," he looked around. One of the younger
firebrands looked defiant but his cell mate was pale and his Adam's apple kept
bobbing.

"That's
him, it's really him. I recognize him from the movie!" he whispered.
“Spirit of space it's Irons!”

"Shut
it," his cell mate turned with a glare. His right shoulder was heavily
bandaged. He cuffed the kid.

"He's
real!" his cell mate was near hysterics now.

Irons
nodded. "That's right. I'm real.” He nodded to the marines and captain
Mayweather. "We're real. We're not going anywhere. We're rebuilding the
Federation, one ship, one station, one system at a time." He looked around
once more.

"You're
at a crossroads. Not many get a second chance.” He looked around. “You've got a
decision to make. I'll give you a few minutes to think it over." He looked
at the major who had a pulser strapped to his side. "Those of you who
don't accept my offer will regret it." He gave them one last look.
"Briefly." He smiled grimly and left. Mayweather and the Major
followed.

"Damn,"
Mayweather said shaking her head. "Think any will bite?" she asked.
Irons shrugged. "We've got their databases, or what's left of them. If any
do, we can use multiple points of information to cross check things. I know a
few will try to hold out, think I am bluffing. Most people think the navy is
squeamish about these things. Piracy well...” he smiled. “For piracy we make an
exception.”

"Am
I really going to get the chance to kill them?" the major asked.

Irons
turned. "Not looking forward to killing in cold blood?" he asked
quietly. The major looked away then turned back stonily. "I'll do my duty
sir. They're scum, not worth a pulser dart." He shook his head. “Hell
Admiral, I saw the way they treated the slaves on those ships. They damn well
deserve a long walk out an airlock without a suit....” He cocked his head. “Or
maybe a suit with a small hole and no radio...” Mayweather nodded grimly.

“I
saw what they did to the slaves. I can't believe anyone would do that,” she
shivered. The crew of the surviving civilian ships had been overjoyed at being
rescued. Two of the ships had been caught by the pirates. Some of their crews
had been sport for the pirates in their leisure time. The survivors had told
stories that were giving most of their interviewers nightmares.

One
of the Clydesdales had taken horrific damage. The captured yacht had as well.
It was doubtful either would be rebuilt. One ship, the Destiny was in the best
shape. She was also one of the two that had been captured. She also had half of
her original crew left to build around.

"Give
them a half hour. Then take them out one by one and ask if they wish to take up
my offer. Ask somewhere else somewhere away from the peer pressure of their
mates. If they agree, send them to one of the guest quarters under guard. Have
it prepped for lock down."

"And
if they refuse?" Mayweather asked.

"Keep
them separate from the others until you've hit them all up, then put them back
in the brig. That way they wont know what happened to them until after they
each go through the initial interview. When you’re finished with the last one,
offer them a last meal. If you get any that change their minds, set them aside.
Then call me," Irons shrugged. The major nodded.

"What
are you going to do?" Mayweather asked.

"My
duty," he growled darkly. "They're scum. Pirates deserve no quarter.
They rape, pillage, loot, and burn. Torture and murder are games to the likes
of them," he pointed his thumb back to the brig. "Don't shed any
crocodile tears over them. I won’t. I've dealt with their like in the
past," the Admiral's voice was cold.

"We
had some liberal idiots back in the day who wanted to recondition pirates. They
passed a law that any taken alive would be conditioned and then returned to
their home world. After we ran into the same pirates the second time we were
not happy," he looked bleak. "They had just finished looting a liner.
Raped, tortured, and killed over three thousand people. Sadistic bastards took
their time, that's how we caught them. You should have seen them smirk after we
caught them." He shook his head.

“Cause
they knew they'd just get a slap on the wrist?” the Major asked. Irons nodded.

"What
did you do with them?" she asked quietly.

"Spaced
the lot. Unfortunate accident," Irons replied. She stopped but he
continued on. He looked back over his shoulder as he went. "That way we
didn't have to let them have a third chance at someone else," he said
turning to see her standing there. "Sometimes you have to bend the
rules." He shrugged. "Justice has to have its day too." He
walked off.

"What
happened to those missiles that didn't hit us?" Janice asked Dan as they
shared the bridge watch the next evening.