Junkyard Dogs 1: The Scrapyard Incident (22 page)

The man came out fearfully,
certain that this avenging female tigress from Hell was going to waste him at
any second.

"Don't kill
me, please! I'm just an engineer!" With fumbling fingers, he managed to
get his clothing back into some semblance of order.

"What do we
do with him?" asked Harris.

"Just give
the word," said Carlisle, through clenched teeth, "and I'll be more
than happy to waste his ass! Maybe I'll start somewhere painful but not
lethal." She pointed the pulse beam at the man's knee. If anything, the
man's look became even more frightened.

It was a classic
"good cop, bad cop" situation. Harris, in spite of the trauma of the
last few minutes, recognized the opportunity immediately.

"Easy,
Ensign, no need for that...Provided he answers a few questions."

The man, who had
seemed somewhat at odds with his companion to begin with, began talking like
there was no tomorrow.

"Don't let
her shoot me. Like I said, I'm just an engineer! They took me along to hook up
the pulse beams and keep them working. They told me they
was
after pirates that was robbin' their cargo ships." He looked at each of
the defenders in turn. "You folks ain't pirates are you?" The last
was more statement than question.

"No, we're
not," said Harris. "We're Federation Navy, on assignment here at the
Reclamation Center. Why did you attack us?" He glanced meaningfully at
Carlisle with her pulse pistol at the ready. "Be truthful now," he
added.

"I swear I
don't know. I was just along to install the beam weapons and keep 'em workin'.
I know we were in two other engagements before we came here, but they never
told me where we were or who we were shootin' at. They told me it was pirates
we were after."

"So you're
telling me you don't know that your two ships attacked the main facility out
here, killing all one hundred and eighty-five people on board, and then went to
New Ceylon and destroyed the
Boise
and captured the orbital station?"

The little man's
face turned to a look of horror. If it was an act, it was a good one.

"What do you
know about the Meridian ambassador?" asked Harris.

"Ambassador?
They never said nothin'
about no ambassador."
Still wearing a look of anguish, the man
thought for a moment. He frowned. "Good Lord, no! Maybe that's what they
meant?"

"What are
you talking about?"

"Look, I was
never included in their plans -- I'm not in the Brotherhood -- but I did
overhear somethin' about making an example and some talk of a public execution
or somethin' like that. I thought they
was
talkin'
about the pirate leader."

"So you
think they mean to take this person alive?"

"That's what
I overheard."

"Tell me
about the pulse beam weapons."

"Like I
said, they needed me to hook 'em up and keep 'em workin'."

"That's not
what I mean, where did they come from?"

"We took
them off from the wreck of an old Succession War cruiser."

"Where?"

"Someone had
put it down on a moon in the Heard's World system."

"Someone
landed a starship on a moon?"

"Yeah...I
mean... it's a small, low-gravity moon. If you'd seen the ship it would've made
sense. It was damaged pretty
bad
. I don't think it
could've been repaired. Besides, it was really old. Them beam weapons are the
oldest ones I've ever worked on. First generation Parkinson Capacitor Banks -
fussy as heck!"

"Where would
the Veritian Brotherhood get access to a Succession Cruiser?" asked
Harris?

"Beggin'
your pardon, Sir, but the Brotherhood had one. They commanded and
crewed
an Excalibur Class heavy cruiser at the request of
the Heard's World government during the Succession War."

"Carlisle,
can you verify that?"

Carlisle kept the
pulse pistol and her gaze firmly locked on the prisoner while she verbally
accessed the wealth of data on her wrist comp.

"Veritian
Brotherhood...Succession War...Heavy cruiser..." She continued to keep one
eye on the prisoner while she consulted the results of her search.

"It's
here," she said tersely. "Opposition ship
Belarus
renamed
God's
Almighty Sword
by the Veritian Brotherhood. The ship was never accounted
for when the final battle ended and was presumed to have been totally
destroyed. There's a footnote saying that rumors persist to this day that the
Brotherhood crew managed to escape with their cruiser during the final battle
after it took heavy damage." She returned her full concentration to the
prisoner again.

"Not the
best news," said Harris. "So they could have what... as many as
another eight of those guns squirreled away somewhere?"

"Beggin'
your pardon, Lieutenant, but we canna be worrin' about that right now,"
said Hawkins. "What is bein' the minimum cycle time between pulses?"

Their prisoner
thought for a moment.

"It's a
little different for the two ships. This one was thirty-one seconds, the other
ship is a little newer and she's got a little more power, that bank cycles in
twenty-five seconds."

"What about
sensors?"

"That ain't
my area, but I think they salvaged a couple of old sensor units, too."

"You'd
better be telling the truth," said Carlisle. Her eyes were like blue-green
ice.

"I've told
you as much as I know, I swear it." The man called Caleb hung his head.
"For what it's worth, I am truly sorry. I'll help you in any way I can.
This is really bad. My wife is on the other ship."

"Your wife?"

"Hanna, her
name is Hanna. I don't suppose you care, but our last name is Jordan."

"Is she an
engineer, too?" asked Harris.

"No, she's a
medic and when she isn't doin' that, she's a cook. They wanted us because we
could both contribute to their fight. I hope she's alright."

The defenders
questioned their captive for a few more minutes. It seemed as though the man
really didn't know any more than he had already told them. He might have even
been telling the truth.

"You'll
understand if I tell you we can't really trust you," said Harris.

"You won't
have any trouble with me." Jordan's head hung dejectedly and he seemed
totally defeated.

"Can I shoot
him now?" Carlisle still seemed a little unhinged.

"No, Ensign,
maybe later. Let's lock him in the old sensor room for now, let him stew for a
while. We can jam the door mechanism. He won't go anywhere,
it's
vacuum outside of the other door to the compartment."

"Alright,"
she almost sounded disappointed. "I guess that'll have to do. For
now..."

They locked the
raider in the sensor room.

Chapter 37

New Ceylon Orbital Station, Governor's
Suites, October 8, 2598.

Ezra Hellfire Brimstone
looked at his reflection in the ornate mirror on the wall over the vanity in
the Governor's personal rest room. He scowled at the handsome, blue-eyed,
blond-haired man with the distinctive Veritian Brotherhood
mohawk
that looked back at him. Could none of his men get anything right? How in space
were they to do God's work if none of their plans seemed to go anything but
awry? The part of this operation that was supposed to be the easiest, taking
out the communications capability of the Reclamation Center, had proven to be
unexpectedly difficult. Who would have predicted that both of his ships would
have to return to accomplish that one simple
task.
He
bit his lip; they still hadn't heard any further communication from the first
ship.

He had a brief
bout of concern as he thought about how few of his men remained on the orbital
station. Could they still capture the Meridian Ambassador with only twenty men?
Of course, his forces would be back up to forty-seven if the men on both ships
made it back from that cursed Scrapyard. He frowned at his reflection. What in
heaven's name could have happened to the first ship? A makeshift weapon cobbled
together by a handful of survivors? His jaw set. The men on the first ship had
been taken by surprise; that wouldn't happen again. The second ship would take
those heathens down, repair the first ship, and head back to the orbital
station. Lord willing, the entire group would get back before the Ambassador's
ship came through the Whitney Overdrive point. If they didn't, he'd just have
to come up with something else.

Oh well
, he thought,
the Lord told us that our faith would be
tested
.

He thought
instead of how the huge sum of money they were going to make when they pulled
this bold plan off was going to save the faithful from the traps of Satan.
Enemies of the Ambassador had offered Brimstone a huge sum for the delivery of
the diplomat. An added bonus was another sum, nearly as large as the first,
offered for the Ambassador's wife. Ezra shook his head. She was a mere woman.
How could even the beloved daughter of the Meridian prime minister be worth
that much money? She might wind up sold into slavery -- or worse -- but, with
what was at stake, what did he care about the fate of an infidel woman with
powers that were certainly a gift from the Devil Himself? With these bold and
justified actions, Brimstone and his followers were going to be able to stop
this unholy alliance between the heathens of the Federation and the Infidels of
the Islamic Alliance from ever happening. With them at war with one another, or
at least at renewed odds, he and his followers would be free to continue the
Lord's work of ridding the galaxy of those who opposed the natural order of the
Lord God and any who would have unclean contact with unbelievers and
blasphemers. His face cracked into a smile much
more wicked
than expected from one so pious. Their cause was just. They would prevail.

He went back out
to the chamber where the governor and his family were confined. The two adults
were tied up and sitting on the floor with their backs to the wall. The two
children were allowed more freedom in the locked chamber, but Ezra's men had
orders to tie them up too, if they got out of hand at all. The boy seemed
oblivious to everything anyway, playing some kind of game on a small console
that fit around his wrist. Every now and then the boy would take a break and
let his little sister play for bit while he kept a close watch on her. All the
better, the game kept the children quiet and Ezra
wasn't
hearing any complaints. That was just the way he liked it.

If only some of
the other things would go according to his carefully-made plans. Perhaps it was
time to start thinking about some of the alternatives that he had so carefully
considered.

The Lord helps them that help themselves
...
 

Chapter 38

UTFN Reclamation Center,
onboard the wreck of
FNS Terrier
,
October 8, 2598.

With their
prisoner secured in the former sensor room of the
Terrier
, the three Scrapyard defenders were once again in charge of
the old destroyer. They looked at one another for a few seconds. Harris spoke
up.

"Ensign,
that was fantastic!"

Before their
eyes, Carlisle underwent a complete transformation. The pulse beam pistol
slipped from her grip, forgotten. She put one hand on either side of her face
and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. "I was so damned scared! And then...I
got so mad!" she spoke softly, her voice suddenly small and shaking. She
opened her eyes and looked at the limp, floating body of the dead raider.
"Omigod!
I killed that man!" To the complete
surprise and consternation of her two companions, she wrapped her arms tightly
around her body and burst into tears. Harris and Hawkins looked at each other.
Their seemingly invincible companion was now wracked with sobs, her arrogant,
avenging tigress attitude completely melted away.

"Easy,
Ensign, it's alright." Harris said, as soothingly as could. He went over
to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You mustn't beat yourself up
about it. It's not like you had a choice. That man would have raped you,
probably more than once. Good heavens, Tamara, you saved us all."

Instinctively,
she reached out and put her arms around him. She buried her face in his
shoulder, which served to muffle her sobs as she cried even harder. Harris, unsure
of exactly what to
do,
held her gingerly, and somewhat
awkwardly, while he spoke soothingly and gently stroked her hair. She hugged
him more tightly, her sobs so intense that they were silent. Her reaction to
the events of the last few minutes was so severe that she was shivering. Harris
had heard many stories of soldiers and sailors slipping into post traumatic
shock the first time they killed someone in combat. As he attempted to comfort
the beautiful but distraught warrior, he felt that futile sense of longing
again, only this time he wasn't able to fight it down as easily.

In the meantime,
Hawkins steered the body of the dead raider off from the bridge and shoved it
into one of the other empty rooms, closing the hatch firmly behind him. Harris
continued to embrace the distraught Ensign, all the while gently stroking her
hair, giving her time for the emotional tidal wave to peak and to finally pass.
After a couple of minutes, she began to regain control.

Concerned about
the possible side effects of shock, Harris said, "Let me know if you're
going to get sick, Ensign."

She took a deep
and ragged breath before lifting her head up and looking into his eyes, just
for a moment. Those eyes, red from weeping, were full of pain. In spite of her
obvious distress, Harris found her achingly beautiful. His breath caught and
his heart seemed to skip a beat. Whether she noticed or not, he couldn't tell.

"Spacers
don't get sick, Lieutenant," she said with a weak smile. Then, embarrassed
by her loss of control, she averted her gaze, gently extricated herself from
his embrace and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Thank you
for that. I'm....I'm sorry
Lieutenant, that
was...
damned unprofessional. It's just that...it was all so overwhelming. I killed
that man! I've never killed anyone before." She looked like she might
start crying again, but she visibly clamped the emotion down and the moment
passed.

"None of us
have before today, Ensign." replied Harris, gently, as his own sense of
pain and loss of innocence seemed to come into sharper focus. He wondered
fleetingly if the trio of defenders would ever recapture the easy camaraderie
of the last few days. "You said it yourself earlier, if not in so many
words. We're military; sometimes we have to kill people."

"I...I know
that in my head, Lieutenant; my heart hasn't taken it all in yet."

"You were
fantastic, Lass. You have my thanks for savin' all of our lives."

The three
defenders took some time to tidy up a little. There were blood droplets in the air
and here and there on the walls, floor and consoles. After about an hour,
during which Carlisle seemed dull and distracted, she announced that she was
exhausted and asked to be excused. She went back to her locker. To the
amazement of the two men, she was asleep within minutes.

"Well, I'll
be...," said Harris.

"Aye,
Lieutenant, the poor lass is probably all in."

"I've never
seen anything like it!" Harris shook his head in wonder. "Kresge said
she was top of her class in hand-to-hand combat and that she was good with
small arms. That wasn't the half of it! What she just did was absolutely
amazing!"

"And it
be
a good thing too, or we'd probably all be dead by
now!"

"I just hope
she can bounce back," said Harris with slight shake of his head. "She
seemed to take it pretty hard. We'll just have to see how she is after she
wakes up."

The two men spent
another ten minutes cleaning up the bridge area without further conversation.
After looking around the bridge and deciding that there wasn't anything else
that needed doing, Harris looked over at Hawkins.

"We did well
today
didn't
we, Hawk?"

"Aye,
Lieutenant. That we did." Hawkins couldn't suppress a wince as he cocked
his arm up against his body and rotated his sore shoulder.

"That big
guy roughed you up some. Sorry I didn't ask earlier, but are you okay?"

"Aye,
Lieutenant, my shoulder's sore and my jaw
be
hurtin' a
little but I'll survive."

Harris frowned in
thought for a moment.

"I don't
mean to pry, old fellow," he said, "but, just in case you don't make
it, is there anyone I need to contact?"

Hawkins shook his
head.

"Not really,
Lieutenant. I've nay had much for family.
Left home when I
were a lad of sixteen.
Truth to tell, the Navy's been me life for more
years than I care to count."

It was obvious
that Harris wasn't sure how to respond. Hawkins smiled humorlessly and
continued.

"It's nay a
problem,
Lieutenant,
it's been a good life really.
Since Commander Kresge be coming to take command of the Scrapyard, it's been
downright pleasurable."

"I'm sorry,
Hawk. You know I had to ask."

Hawkins thought
for a moment and seemed to come to a decision.
"Permission
to be speakin' freely, Lieutenant?"

"Of course,
Hawk, if I don't respect your opinion after all we've been through the last
couple of days, I never will."

"Thank you,
Lieutenant. It
be
about the Ensign."

"Okay...?"

"I dinna
know quite how to go about this. Last time I stood up for a woman, I be
getting' into a lot o' trouble. Mind you, it were the right thing to do, but I
still be gettin' into a lot o' trouble."

"Don't you
think you can trust me?"

"Lieutenant,
we've been through hell together these last few days. You be good people. I be
havin' more respect for you than I've ever been havin' for any officer.
Ah...with the possible exception of that wee, fair lass over there."

"No offense
taken, Hawk," Harris grinned. "That one is in a class of her
own."

"Well,
beggin' your pardon, Lieutenant, I think we ought to be considerin' her
plan."

Harris looked at
him for a full five seconds before replying.

"It's just so
damned risky!" he said, finally.

"That be
true, Lieutenant, but if anyone could be pullin' it off, it'd be her. You saw
what she did in here."

"There's an
awful lot that could go wrong."

"Aye, but if
we don't be doin' somethin', as she be pointin' out, we all be dead
anyway."

"I'll...
think about it." Seeing Hawkins' doubtful look, he shrugged. "I mean
it. I don't know that I can come up with anything better. We may not have any
choice. Besides, she obviously doesn't know about the remote control capabilities
for the boosters." Harris shook his head. "Thanks for your input,
Hawk.
And for trusting me."

The bridge was
silent again for a few moments.

"The last
time you stood up for a woman," said Harris. "I assume you're
referring to the incident back on the Santana Nexus? There've been a lot of
rumors, Hawk. It would still be awfully easy to die out here. Do you mind
telling me what it was that really happened back there? What I've heard about
it doesn't jibe at all with the man I've come know over the last few
days."

Hawkins turned
his head away for a long moment. Finally he looked back at Harris.

"I've nay
talked about that with anyone since it happened. I...I don't be
knowin'
where to start."

"I heard you
beat the tar out of an officer."

"That
be
God's truth, Lieutenant, but if ever a man had it comin',
it was him."

"What did he
do?"

"He beat up
a girl real bad, Lieutenant, and did... other things to her. She was a
prostitute, but nobody should be treated like that."

"Did you
know her?"

"Aye... I
did, since she was a wee girl. Sophie her name was and she was the daughter of
one of my oldest friends. She went to the Nexus 'cause she'd found a good job
and my friend asked if I could kinda check up on her for him next time I be
goin' there. It was her idea to be meetin' in a bar to talk; I think she didna'
want me seein' her digs." He sighed and shook his head. "Sophie was a
fair
lass
, but, truth to tell, she was always a bit
naïve and way too trusting. The job was some kind of scam and she be runnin'
out of money within a month after she got there.
Took to the
streets, as the sayin' goes, to survive."

He paused and
took a deep breath. Harris could see the pain in his eyes.

"She was
worked over a week earlier, the poor lass, and she was still hurtin' so bad when
I
be
meetin' with her that she could nay hardly walk.
She tried to hide the bruises on her face, but I could still see 'em. It were
just bad luck, but the officer who did it be comin' with a couple of his
toadies 'bout a half hour after we did. Drunk as Lords they
was
and every bit as high and mighty! Sophie turned white and pointed to the one
who'd roughed her up. I dinna want trouble so we were makin' to leave straight
away. Bastard got between us and the
door,
grabbed
Sophie's arm and made like to drag her over to his table."

Hawkins paused
again, swallowed.

"When she
told him to leave her alone, he turned mean! I swear I've never seen anything
like it before or since, Lieutenant. It was like dealing with the Devil
himself! He told her all the things he was gonna do to her, just like last
time. I tried getting' between 'em, tellin' him we dinna want no trouble and we
be leavin' but the bastard took a swing at me. I guess I kinda lost it then. I
think I only slugged him twice, Lieutenant, and in maybe three seconds, he
be
cold on the floor. One of his buddies whacked me with a
chair, one of the bouncers stunned me, and the MPs came. The rest I think
you'll
be knowin'
, I were court- martialed and shipped
out here."

"So, you
weren't involved with her?"

"Heavens no,
Lieutenant, she were my friend's daughter. I was goin' to give her some money
to help her to be gettin' back on her feet, but I never got the chance. I
didn't dare to be sayin' anything; my buddy would have been mortified."

"What
happened to her?"

"The officer
was from a filthy rich family and, to be tellin' you the truth, they weren't
bad people. The mistake they be makin' was thinkin' he'd be changin'. I tell
you, Lieutenant, the bloke was just pure evil, a black sheep, a bad seed. The
family were bein' in the habit of cleanin' up after him. When they be findin'
out about Sophie, they be takin' care of her. In fact, they
be
payin' her a lot of money to keep quiet. That be another reason I could
na
' be sayin' anything. She be findin' a sailor who did
na
' care about her past and they be settled down. I haven't
seen her since the...incident, but her father still be writin' to me. She be
havin' a baby last year and her sailor seems to be a pretty good chap."

"What about
the bad seed?"

"There
be
some justice in the Universe, Lieutenant. He managed to
be stayin' in the Navy, but within six months the authorities be findin' him
near dead in a passageway in a very bad part of the Nexus. Whoever
be
workin' him over was sendin' a message. He'd been cut up
by someone who be
knowin'
how to give pain and how to
be makin' it last. Word is that a pimp be doin' it.
Apparently
his yen for to be hurtin' prostitutes hadn't been changin' any by his
experience with me."

"That's
quite a story, Hawk."

"You'll be
the first person I ever told about it."

"Don't
worry, Hawk, the story is safe with me."

"I dinna
ever doubt that, Lieutenant. So you'll be considerin' the ensign's plan?"

"As I said
earlier, I don't see where we have too many other options." Harris yawned.
"Can you take the watch, Hawk? If I don't get some sleep I'm going to be
totally worthless!"

"No problem,
Lieutenant," said Hawkins. "But there is one more thing..."

"What is it,
Hawk.
"

"Now that I
think on it, if
ought
should be happenin' to me, you
might just be telling Sophie MacPherson. She lives in the Holyrood section of
New Edinburgh."