Galactic Freighter: Scourge of the Deep Space Pirates (Contact) (16 page)

Danko nodded for the comm operator to answer the Minister.

"No, Sir. They're jamming every frequency―"

"They're closing on us," radar interrupted.

"Minister, you're going to be as much of a prize as the blue diamonds," Captain Ravits said. "Not to mention, they are going to be very unhappy when they find we don't carry the jewels. Maybe we ought to make you a deckhand. Just might make the difference."

Buck laughed and agreed. Taking a member of Sebastian's court prisoner would be major coup and a very strong bargaining chip. Well, that was at least what he hoped. Maybe he'd find out just how much Sebastian really valued his counsel. "Well, I worked in the engine room," he paused and commed Tommy and briefed his friend on the decision. "Can you use another hand, Engineer?"

"Yes, if he knows anything at all," came the response.

"I think I can handle it." Buck turned to face Danko. "Make sure our crew understands and doesn't give it away." Of particular concern was the astrogator Danko had relieved.

The Captain said he'd have a very serious talk with the man.

"Colonel, would you please come to the bridge." Buck said into the comm and waited as the Marine made his appearance.

"It may be necessary for Captain Ravits to surrender the ship. Whatever the order, you will obey. If it means capitulation, your men are not to resist." He ordered Danko to have the crew return their weapons to the armory. That meant no hidden weapons, issued or personal. Called a throwaway, it was a common practice for all Marines to carry something, usually one called a finger or palm pulser.

Clearly, the Colonel didn't like what he was hearing but answered with a subdued, "Yes, Sir." He added a sharp salute then left the bridge, clearly an unhappy warrior.

"Captain, our escorts are too far away to be of any help. As much as I hate to yield command when we are in such dire straits, Molly Celeste is yours to do with as you deem fit." He extended his hand to Danko. Buck felt his stomach turn. In his entire career, he'd never done anything so repugnant.

Reluctantly, Buck headed for his quarters and a change in clothes, habits, and job. He would become an engine man—again.

In his cabin, he destroyed everything that might give away his identity and ordered the comm operator to do the same with any telltale transmissions. He pulled up the manifest, deleted his name, and then added an alias, Marcus Detrianos to the listed crewmembers.

Dressed in the traditional blue jumpsuit, Buck headed for the engine room.

"Marcus Detrianos? At least ya coulda used a name I can spell," Tommy said with a chuckle. He repeated the name a dozen times, embedding it into memory.

Ten T-hours later, the hanger crew adjusted the docking rails as a pinnace settled onto Molly Celeste's hanger deck.

Captain Ravits and his senior officers, along with the Marine Lt. Colonel, stood at attention as one officer, a full commander, accompanied by one hundred armored Marines led by a Lt. Colonel, stepped onto the deck.

Strutting, the officer strode to within a meter of Danko.

The man wore traditional gold clover leafs on his collar but Buck could see nothing to denote Barnard's Star, nor did the Marines behind him carry any identifying patches. He introduced himself. "I am now in command of your ship."

Danko showed no reaction to the order, drawing the ire of the officer. "If you are thinking of resisting me, think again. Inform your crew that any act against my orders or any of my men will result in summary execution," he said with a malevolent sneer.

"We are your captives under protest, Commander. We are a merchant vessel and therefore non-combatants. We are subject to the terms of the Federation of Aligned Worlds and all its accords. We are not prisoners of war but civilians. As such, incarceration is unjustified and considered an act of piracy."

"Call it what you will, Captain, but that changes nothing. The way you shot up our three ships when they didn't fire a shot tells me otherwise. You are my prisoner and I will shoot you if that is my decision. Fifty Marines aboard this ship suggests something else." Removing his gloves, he slapped them against his leg, smiling.

Danko didn't challenge the man further. Knowing Buck Fryman, he was sure their time would come and this officer would be among the first to regret his own words.

The Commander paraded back and forth as he continued to outline what was to happen. Molly Celeste's crew would continue at their assigned stations and follow all orders. He reminded Danko of the consequences of any disobedience.

He ordered the ship's non-commissioned Marines moved to the huge transport. The officers would be billeted separately from their men, all under heavy guard.

He dismissed Danko's protest with a hand wave.

"There is a very large ship off your stern," said the officer as if the Molly Celeste wasn't aware of it. "You are to move this ship to within one thousand meters starboard amidships and shut down your engines. Tugs will come along side."

Danko passed the order to the bridge and added, "Commander, I found it necessary to relieve my astrogator. I am the only one that can handle that maneuver."

That brought a quizzical smile from the commander and a motion to head for the bridge.

Following Tommy's orders, Buck manned the thrusters in preparation to approach the massive transport. Ivan Dovacec, usually assigned as a deck hand, unobtrusively approached him, and whispered. "Marcus, this officer, I know. He is a wanted man on my world."

"And why is that?" Buck never took his attention from the console.

"He's a middle man for illicit diamonds," Ivan said and walked away.

Buck smiled to himself as the large man struggled to clear the hatch. Tommy, busy at the controls, called for Buck to assist him. Their guards stayed clear of the instrumentation and equipment taking the summons as routine.

Using the engine noise to cover their conversation from the Marine guards, Tommy, removed his sound-deadening ear covers, leaned close and Buck related Ivan's message. The shift ended and the two made it to their quarters.

Keeping his voice muted, Tommy asked, "You wonderin' who's really in control of Barnard's Star?"

"Sure am," Buck responded. "And if pirates are, that raises a number of questions."

"You think that this has something to do with Katakan? Be just like Barnard's Star to look for revenge, at least what I know about them."

"Perhaps." Buck stopped, walked to the hatch, opened it as the Marine stepped back, a small device in his hands.

"If you're going to put that thing on, hurry up and be done with it. You're making more noise than an Ionian Gaffe. I could hear everything you were doing." He closed the hatch and put his finger to his lips.

Tommy couldn't resist and in a whisper asked, "What's an Ionian Gaffe?"

Buck shrugged. With a smile, he quietly made his way to a desk and retrieved a vid pad. Over the next few minutes, he spelled out his suspicions. Barnard's Star and Iona had been antagonists for years often ending in shooting scraps. Iona's military could take the Star out at any time, but getting along in the Federation, meant hands-off. However, if pirates had cut a deal with Barnard's Star to take the diamonds that would have abrogated their protection and they get a financial windfall without having shown its face.

More importantly, with the pirate's involvement, that meant Jarred Mahoney.

Chapter Sixteen:
Imprisoned

B
uck followed in the line of fifty men, all in their skin suits and helmets, as they walked off the Molly Celeste onto the massive ship carrier, then down a narrow ladder to a forward gangway and into a large room. Ten Marines, or at least armed men, and women dressed as Marines, waited with one man at the head of the detail. From the distance travelled, Buck estimated they were under the bridge structure. Buck learned the massive ship, Blue Marlin, was a repair and retrieve vessel used to render assistance to stranded vessels or effect repairs in deep space.

The lead man spoke. "I am Bosun' Dickey. Follow my orders and you'll have no troubles. Do otherwise and I'll make you sorry." His eyes swept the crew for a few moments. "There are sleeping cots and bedding stored in the aft compartment. Get what you need, and pick a spot. I want wide straight aisles, one meter between bunks, a clean deck, and your billet made up proper."

"You two big guys," he motioned toward Buck and Ivan Dovacec, "you're in charge of these men." He pointed to Buck and added, "You take starboard, you," his hand gestured toward Ivan, "port. Keep order and the area clean." With that, he walked from the bay.

Buck wasn't pleased with the assignment, the less attention he drew the better. He and Ivan stepped to the center of the bay. Buck nodded to Ivan who took the lead. "Okay you heard the man. I don’t want any trouble. Is there anyone who doesn't understand?"

No one offered a comment. Everyone knew Ivan had a temper and that to mention Buck's real name or rank even in private conversation and they would taste his wrath.

An hour later, with bunks aligned and made up as ordered, the bosun' reappeared.

"Well, I'm impressed." He surveyed the layout. "It’s chow time. Chipped beef on toast." That brought a laugh from the men. "Shit on a shingle," someone yelled.

"Yeah, some things never change." Dickey’s voice lacked any humor.

Crewmen from the transport wheeled in a steam table loaded with food and Ivan detailed men from the Molly Celeste to work the chow line.

Two hours later, with the table removed and the area cleaned, Dickey entered followed, by the Marine guards.

"If you guys keep this up, we're going to get along just fine," the Bosun' said.

No one doubted hardships were yet to come.

Buck took the lower bunk. He was just too big for the upper. Tommy didn't mind the top, claiming he didn't have to worry about the damned thing collapsing on him under Buck's weight.

The Molly Celeste took up less than a tenth of the available space on the huge transport.

Over the next few days, Buck and Ivan directed their crew securing the Molly Celeste to the giant transport. Working in spacesuits, they locked down the million-ton freighter, working under the direction of a loadmaster. One Molly Celeste crewman died crushed when a winch-block struck him.

Ivan recorded his name, held a service, and put the body out an airlock.

Securing the Molly Celeste gave Buck the opportunity to get the general layout of the Blue Marlin. Aft of the bridge, the freighter now occupied the space that had held the eight destroyers. Crew stations were aft of the load area and at the stern was the engine room. Maybe this information would come in handy.

The Molly Celeste crew was ordered back to their quarters, and Buck had no idea what was to come next. Their captors would soon discover the Molly Celeste carried no diamonds. From the Blue Marlin's engine noise echoing through their quarters, Buck could tell the giant ship was underway but he had no idea their destination. He wondered why their captors hadn't already checked the container in Molly's hold for the diamonds. Maybe leaving them under the royal seal negated having to assign their own people as guards.

Ivan organized exercise sessions and tried to find make work for the men. He asked Bosun' Dickey if there were work details available: the answer, a resounding no.

After twenty days with the sailors never leaving their area, tempers flared keeping Buck and Ivan busy trying to maintain some semblance of peace and order.

On the twenty-first day, Dickey relented and agreed to small work groups detailed to minor chores around the transport.

For the next month, Buck made the best of his time and surveyed the big ship. With one hundred Marines and Buck’s own troops locked up, seizing the Blue Marlin didn't appear an option. He'd have to find another way.

"Marcus Detrianos, Tommy Simms, front and center," called out the bosun'.

Both men stepped into the aisle and waited as Dickey approached. "I understand you're both rated master engine men."

"Yes, both of us," answered Tommy. "Got years on most engines—"

Dickey waved him quiet. "Come with me," he said curtly.

With two Marines leading and two behind, the group made its way aft.

"What's up?" asked Tommy. "Got an engine actin' up?"

"We've got a problem on one port engine and can't seem to find it. You're gonna fix it."

Buck and Simms followed the bosun' into the engine room where the Blue Marlin's maintenance crew stood around the malfunctioning engine. Dickey introduced Ken O'Toole, Chief Engineer. The Blue Marlin had four engines but even at that, the gamma level was their maximum in hyperspace.

"What do you think's wrong?"

Buck listened as O'Toole described the malfunction.

"Can we look at the charts?"

The chief engineer stayed out of their assessment. He wanted to see if these two defined the same problem he had.

It took almost an hour to identify the trouble. Tommy and Buck pored over the data, asking questions and getting answers.

Dickey, standing a few meters behind the chief engineer asked, "Think they know what they're talking about?"

That brought a chuckle from O'Toole, "Yeah, they know."

Fronting Buck and Tommy, Dickey said, "These men will approve any alterations you want to make. Don't try to screw up the job. Even if I think you are, it's an airlock for both of you."

With the Marines to keep watch, Dickey left.

Buck and Tommy, along with the engineering crew retreated to the isolation of the control room. Never touching a switch, leaving that to the Blue Marlin crewmen, they ran a series of tests.

Ten hours later, having identified the problem Buck said, "Can't fix it. You'll have to change out the part."

"Yeah, I saw that coming," said O'Toole. "But we don't have a replacement."

Tommy scratched his chin. "Marcus, we can keep that part workin' but it means at least two people at the control board day and night." That meant both would do twelve-hour stints. Fortunately, the two had done this a few times over their years of spacing.