Pursue the Past: Samair in Argos: Book 1 (71 page)

              He switched off the feed, not wanting to watch any more of that.  He changed the display over to the sensor feed, seeing the incoming ship growing closer to the fueling station.  Ka’Xarian should be seeing them soon, hopefully the zheen would be able to communicate with them, find out if they actually were the wayward ship.

              He knew he was being unreasonable about all this.  No one did altruism, not here in the Cluster.  Okay, there were occasional acts, but they were never anything like rebuilding someone’s ship.  And he knew that his crew thought that fixing them up and then letting that ship just fly off into the dark was the stupidest decision he could have made.  He was hard pressed not to agree with that as time moved forward.

              Looking into other stupid decisions, he turned off the feed.  “Stella?  Are you there?”

              The AI’s face with the stripes on her cheeks and her hair appeared on the display.  There was a holo projector in here, but she didn’t always use them.  In some cases, she only brought her voice on the PA system, or in rare cases, over the speakers on someone’s communicator.  The captain thought she did it for no particular reason than it amused her to see people’s reactions, thinking that they might be able to predict how she would show up next.  So far, no one could and the captain had stopped trying.

              “Yes, Captain?”

              “Have the station authorities called back yet on my request on leasing some office spaces?”

              This was another controversial idea, one that stemmed from the crew’s perception of his wanting to form a co-op with the
Emilia Walker
.  If one didn’t work, then why waste time and effort on the second?  He wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to use these offices since he had no intention of leaving his ship.  But if something of a permanent headquarters was going to be set up here, they were going to need a place to operate out of.  Of course, the station people were acting squirrelly about him renting space here as well, which was starting to annoy him.

              “I’ve had only two messages back from the station, Captain,” the AI replied, all business.  “The first was to confirm a meeting on the station tomorrow at 1600 to visit the space.”  She hesitated.

              “And the second?” he asked with a sinking feeling in his gut.

              “The second was to delay the meeting for another day.”

              He thumped a fist on the table.  “What the hell?  It’s a simple business transaction.  I have the funds to do this.  What’s the problem?”

              “Maybe they’re… what’s the word?  Jittery.  Maybe they’re jittery about leasing space on their station to strangers.”  Stella shrugged.

              He chuckled.  “You’re sounding more like one of us with every passing day.”

              “Thanks, Captain,” she replied, beaming.

              “But you’re right,” he sighed.  “Maybe it is just that simple.  But something’s nagging me about this.  It shouldn’t be that big a deal to rent out a few offices.  And I’ve seen that station.  They could use all the credits they could scrape up.  You’d think they’d jump at the deal.”

              The AI had no answer for that.

              Ka’Xarian was enjoying a bowl of nutrient paste in one of the mess halls on the fueling station.  Things were going well; it wouldn’t be more than a few days more.  This was something the zheen would be very happy about.  Goris Hana was a thug, plain and simple, one that was used to running his little fiefdom for his overlords exactly the way he liked.  Ka’Xarian had a very bad feeling about that fat toad that he might be striking out to rule more than just the fueling station.  The cabal running the orbital would be well advised to watch their backs.  But that, thankfully, wasn’t Ka’Xarian’s problem.  He knew that the Captain was putting out feelers to potentially set up shop here, but the zheen knew that would be a mistake.  One that he fully intended on addressing as soon as his team returned to the
Grania Estelle
.

              His communicator beeped.  He chittered angrily. 
Will I never get any peace?  One lousy hour, that’s all I wanted.
  Setting down the spoon, he pulled the communicator from his pocket and flipped it open.  “Ka’Xarian here.”

              “We’ve got that ship on shuttle sensors,” Jesma’s voice sounded form the communicator.  “It’s a light freighter, ID’d as the
Emilia Walker
.”

              “Suns and stars,” the zheen swore.  “The Old Man was right.  The lucky bastard was
right
!”

              “What?”  She didn’t sound like she understood.

              “Are they hailing?” Ka’Xarian said instead, ignoring her question.

              There was a pause.  “No, nothing yet.  They’ve been incoming pretty much on a ballistic course ever since they got out of hyperspace.  Just a good puff on their sublight drives to overcome inertia and then they’ve just coasted on in from there.”

              “How fast?”  She gave him a figure.  “Damn that’s slow.  How long until you can get into range?”

              “Without blowing through my entire fuel supply?  I’d have to wait another seven hours or so.”

              His antennae twitched.  “All right.  We wait.  How long until you can call them?”             

              She chuckled.  “I can call them right now, but it’ll take about forty minutes for them to receive and call back, even if they do so immediately.”

              He sat and thought for a moment.  Apparently that moment stretched on so long, Jesma spoke up in a sing-song voice.  “Xa-ar?  You still tracking?”

              “Yeah, I’m still here.  Go ahead and send the message now.  Just standard hail ‘it’s us from
Grania Estelle
, how are things?  Do you need assistance?  Meet up at the fueling station.’  That sort of thing.”

              “Oh, you mean the sort of message I already have recorded and ready to send?”  She sounded smug.

              “Good, you’re correctly anticipating orders.  You get to keep your meager yet undeserved paycheck this week.”

              Jesma laughed.  “You love me, Xar.”

              “Good thing,” he grumped.  “Call when the reply comes in.”  And he closed the communicator.

              “Aahh!” Tamara grunted as Corajen’s hand struck her shoulder and her foot easily hooked behind hers.  She crashed to the mat, off-balance and landed hard.  The breath whooshed from her and she could hear that awful whining noise one made when one got the wind knocked out of them.  Her body was screaming at her to get air, but she forced herself to roll to the side, and she tried to lash out with a foot, but it was more of a wild flail.  Pain wracked her body as she gulped in a breath, then another.  Finally, her breathing began to return in gasps.  It was then she realized that the exercise (or rather the beating) had stopped.  Picking her face up off the mat, she looked around, seeing the lupusan dropping down to her haunches, tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth.

              Corajen was panting a little, but it was clear that she wasn’t winded.  “You’re getting better,” she said, praising her victim.
              “Doesn’t feel like it from my end,” Tamara gasped, pushing herself to a sitting position, but leaning back to make sure she could keep breathing.

              “I know it’s been a while, a
long
while since you’ve gone through Basic, but it seems like your muscles haven’t forgotten.  It’s starting to come back.”

              “Yeah, but it’s clear it isn’t good for anything against you.”  She rubbed her shoulder where Corajen had hit.

              The lupusan flicked her ears in amusement.  “I’m Security.  I’m supposed to be good at this sort of thing.  Besides, I’ve been doing this sort of thing for years.”

              Tamara let herself flop down onto her back, her breath still coming rapidly.  “And how again is this supposed to help me?”

              “Right now, I’m sure it feels like it won’t,” Corajen replied.  “You’re getting pummeled and you hurt and your lungs feel like they’re going to burst.  Tomorrow you’re going to have some very nice bruises and assorted aches and pains.  We’re going to continue tomorrow but it’ll be a bit lighter, more stretching to loosen you back up.”

              “Yay,” the engineer said, her lack of enthusiasm showing.  “I get to do this again.”

              “See?” the lupusan said, getting back up to her feet.  “That’s the right attitude to have.  You ‘get’ to do this again.  Not you ‘have’ to do this again.” 

              “I feel like I’m back in boot,” Tamara grumped.

              “Please,” Corajen said.  “You’re going to make me blush.”

              Tamara groaned and stood.  She slowly twisted from side to side, wincing in pain from a half-remembered hit to the side twinged.  “I think I’m going to head down to sickbay.”

              “Probably a good idea.  Say hit to the Doc for me.”

              Ka’Xarian’s communicator beeped.  He set down his datapad where the last of the refueling status figures were scrolling and answered it.  “Ka’Xarian here.”

              “Xar, it’s Jesma,” the woman’s voice sounded clear, but upset.  “I just got a response back from the
Emilia Walker
.  She’s in bad shape.”

              “What happened?” he asked, sitting a bit straighter on his hard backed chair.

              “Pirates, Xar,” she replied.  “What else?  They got hit, they got boarded and then were robbed blind.”

              “How many dead?”

              Jesma sighed.  “Six.”

              “Damn,” he breathed, antennae twitching.  “Two-thirds of their crew?  With four people left, that’s hardly enough to even maintain any kind of watch rotation.”

              “Yeah, that’s what Captain Vosteros is saying.  They’re coming in, I’ll be able to link up with them in two hours.  I’m headed outbound now.”

              “Copy that,” he replied.  “Be careful, call as soon as you link up.”

              “Understood.  Shuttle Two out.”

Chapter 23

              “What exactly are your intentions with that incoming ship, Mister Ka’Xarian?” Goris Hana asked via communications vid screen on the fueling station.  Hana was still in his office, while Ka’Xarian was in his quarters.  The man had a wheedling tone in his voice, while at the same time maintaining a level of malice.

              “My intentions?” the zheen asked, confused.  “The ship and her crew are known to me and mine, we were moving out to assist since it’s clear that they are damaged.”

              “And you think it’s your responsibility to do this, do you?”

              “May I ask your interest in this, Mister Hana?”

              “Oh, that’s no business of yours,” Hana replied, looking smug.  “You leave that ship alone.  My people will handle this.”  And he cut the connection.

             
Great.  The locals have decided to start a pissing contest.
  He stood, heading for the door.  He flipped open his communicator.  “Vakkon, it’s me.  We’ve got a serious problem.”

              “Yeah, I saw it boss,” the other zheen replied.  “One of the pinnaces has altered course to intercept the freighter.”

              Ka’Xarian chittered a curse.  The
Emilia Walker
wasn’t a heavily armed ship and certainly wasn’t up for fighting off one of the pinnaces here.  The shuttle would be no help.  Each of the
Grania Estelle
’s shuttles had a laser cannon mounted on a turret on the top of the nose section, but that would be next to useless against the well-armed ship coming to intercept.  And with only four crewmen aboard the freighter and only Jesma and a co-pilot on board, they would not be able to prevent a boarding action on the
Emilia Walker.
  The pinnace had enough space aboard for decent amount of weapons, a flight crew of three and passenger space for at least seven or eight troopers, maybe a high as ten if they were crammed in tight.  There wouldn’t be a lot of room for amenities, but if the ship was heading strictly out for a snatch and grab, the crew might be willing to put up with the cramped quarters.

              Which meant he had to explore other options.  “Call it in.  In fact, can you connect me to the ship?”  Entering the code on his communicator, he waited while the other zheen patched him through.  Vakkon had brought with him a serious communication package that would allow him to make calls across the system.  It wasn’t a large unit and it drew a lot of power.  So far, Xar had made sure that Vakkon had used it sparingly, because he really didn’t want to have to negotiate the use of the fuelling station’s fusion reactor to charge it up.

              “Roger that,” Vakkon replied.  “You’re on.”

              “Captain, this is Ka’Xarian on the fuel station.  We’ve spotted and made contact with the
Emilia Walker. 
They’re in bad shape and they’ve lost a lot of crew.  We were moving to intercept them but the locals seem to have taken an interest as well.  They’re sending one of their pinnaces out.  I think they intend to board her.  Requesting immediate instructions.  Message ends.”

              “Sent, Xar.”

              “Good.  Let me know when the captain gets back to me.”

              “You know I will.”

              “Now what the hell is this?” the Captain demanded as he watched the message from Ka’Xarian.  “Why the hell are the locals going after
Emilia Walker
?  She’s damaged and under crewed and if what Ka’Xarian says is true about her cargo, they’re not carrying anything.  What the hell?” he repeated. 

              “I don’t know Captain,” Stella replied, a bit meekly, her image hovering above the holo projector.  “There was no indication of any interest in them from any transmissions we intercepted from the orbital.”

              The captain could help but smirk at that.  It wasn’t until the AI had been integrated into his ship that he decided that intercepting
any
transmissions from other ships or stations was a good idea.  Now, he found it an invaluable resource.  “Were there
any
transmissions from the orbital and the fueling station?”

              “Yes, Captain, several.  Only two did not contain regular status updates.  One was a personal message from the head of the fueling station to one of the leaders on the orbital wishing him a happy birthday, the other was a thank you message back.”

              “A happy birthday message?” the Captain said, tipping his head to one side.  That didn’t make sense.  “The people here don’t seem to be the fuzzy cuddly type.  Maybe it’s code of some sort.”

              “The only thing that does make sense, Captain,” Stella replied. 

              “Get me the admin from the orbital on the line.”

              Stella looked away for a moment, then nodded.  “Kutok has a channel open.  Go ahead, Captain.”

              “This is Vincent Eamonn on the
Grania Estelle
,” he began.  “I understand that a freighter has entered the system.  They are friends of mine, why are you boarding them?”

              “This is Orbital Control,” an unidentifiable voice came over the comms.  There was no video image accompanying it.  “We are not seizing the vessel.  Our pinnace is moving to intercept the freighter as it is showing damage and we have heard that the crew is in need of assistance.  We are moving in to provide aid.  That is all.  We would appreciate it greatly if you do not interfere with official business.  End transmission.”

              The Captain raised his hands to shoulder level in disbelief.  “Why is it that I don’t believe a single word of that?”

              “Well, Captain, the ship
is
damaged,” Stella pointed out.

              “That is as may be, Stella,” the Captain conceded, “but I get a nagging suspicion that this is no mission of mercy.”

              “What makes you think that, Captain?” she asked, concerned.  It was clear that the AI didn’t understand his thought process.

              “I think it’s that birthday message, Stella,” he said, leaning his rear against the edge of the wardroom table.  “That’s just too weird for it to be genuine.  And then there’s the polite but firm ‘stay the hell out of our way’ message.”

              “Yes, but you’d expect that kind of a message in any space-faring system,” she replied.

              “Yeah,” he acknowledged.  “But this was nastier.  As though they knew they were doing something I wouldn’t approve of.  Not that they need my permission to do anything,” he growled.  “And it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it, either.”

              “Why not?” she demanded, flaring.  “I’m armed for battle!  I have fully functional shields.  Let’s get the crew back aboard and go find my sister!”

              He blinked at her sudden ferocity.  “You’re not a warship, Stella,” he reminded.

              “No, but the only warships here are trying to steal that ship,” she raged.  “They might be there to imprison or kidnap the crew.  I can’t just sit here and do nothing.  Please, Captain.  Let’s go get them.”  She stared at him, her eyes pleading. 

              He hesitated for just a moment.  “Kutok!” he barked.  “Recall the crew, now.  Drop what they’re doing and get back to the shuttles.”

              “One of them is on board, Captain,” Stella said.  “I’m getting a pilot down to the boat bay now.”

              “Get Moxie and Corajen out of the workout room,” he ordered, heading for the hatch.  “I want all crew to stations, now.”

              “Understood,” the hak’ruk replied.

              A moment later he was on the bridge.  It was ridiculous, really, him being here.  But he felt as though he needed to be here now that momentous events were occurring.  But it would be at least two hours before the shuttles were back and the ship brought back up to full crew strength.  He had absolutely no intention of taking off without them, leaving those left behind to the tender mercies of the orbital’s population, especially after the cabal saw what Eamonn intended to do.  But he was antsy.  He wouldn’t be able to sit still and in truth, he
wanted
to be here on the bridge.

              “Captain, are you sure about this?” George asked.  He flinched when the captain turned an iron glare at him, but he didn’t back down.  “Seriously, Cap.  I mean, I told you before when we entered the system, we
might
be able to stand up to two of those pinnaces, but certainly not three.  And that’s almost a day’s long jog to get over to the fueling station.  By the time we get there, any fight will be long over and the
Emilia Walker
and her crew would be docked, in station hands.”

              The rest of the crew went completely silent, the only sounds to be heard were the whispering of the blowers and itinerant beeps emitted from the various consoles.  They all knew that George wasn’t speaking out of cowardice, but out of practicality.  This white knight gesture the captain was making was gallant and all, but it wouldn’t amount to anything if they couldn’t get there in time.  And despite all of her overhauls and upgrades, the lumbering bulk freighter couldn’t sprint as fast as those pinnaces across the star system.

              “And there’s another wrinkle, Captain,” George plowed on.  “What about
Kara
?  She’s no fighting vessel either, in far worse shape than us.  If we’re going after
Emilia Walker
with any real chance of saving her, we’d have to leave
Kara
behind.  But if we do that, she’d be a plump target for the locals here at the orbital.”

             
Damn
, Eamonn swore to himself.  He hadn’t considered
Kara
when he’d jumped on the train of enthusiasm Stella was driving.  But his Ops officer was right. 
Kara
wasn’t a warship, far less so than
Grania Estelle
.  She couldn’t come with them into what was almost certainly going to be a firefight and she couldn’t remain behind, either.

              “Kutok, get Administrator Korneyev on the line,” he ordered.  A moment of manipulating the controls and the lupusan appeared on the Captain’s display.  “Administrator, we are going to do something that the
Kara
has no business being a part of.  I want you to break orbit and start on course to Seylonique.  Don’t stop, don’t turn back and don’t wait for us.  We’ll meet you in Seylonique.”

              “I understand, Captain.  We’re getting underway now, but it’ll be days before we can reach the hyper limit.  I’ll try to wait for you…”

              But he cut her off.  “No, I want you to go.  Don’t wait.  Don’t burn your engines out, but hold your best speed until you hit the hyper limit.”

              The Administrator looked unsure.  Clearly this went against her nature, both as a lupusan and as a healer.  But eventually she nodded.  “I understand.  I’ll see you on the other side.”

              He slashed his finger across his throat and Kutok closed the connection.  “Get Moxie on the horn.”

              A moment later, “Captain, it’s me.  What’s going on?”

              “Get your ass down to the boat bay and get your fighter prepped.  We’ve going on a trip and we’re going to unleash hell.  I assume you’d want to partake.”

              She laughed and it was joyous.  “Oh, Captain my Captain, you do know how to make a girl’s day.”

              “You going to be okay?  I know Corajen was giving you a good beating only minutes ago.”

              “I’m in sickbay with the doc.  He’s giving me a shot of Combat Heal, and I should be good to go in a little bit.  Besides, we’ve got long hours before we can get to the fueling station.  More than enough time.”  She stopped and gasped in pain.  “Damn that burns.”

              “You all right?”

              “I’m fine,” she ground out.  “Damn Combat Heal.  Don’t worry, Captain.  I’ll be good to go in a little bit.  How long do I have?”

              “About thirty hours.  I know it’s a long shot that we’ll even be able to do anything, but I’m taking us back there.”

              “Understood.  Samair out.”

              “Captain, they’re gettin’ closer,” Jolene cried, pointing out the front viewport in the cockpit.  “Look, one of the pointy ships is angling toward us.”

              “Great,” Vosteros said, wiping a hand across his brow to get the sweat out of his eyes.  All he did was transfer sweat between his arm and his face.  “What’s the status on the sublights?”

              “Only one lit, Captain,” Jolene replied, her grease smudged face looking grim.  “We couldn’t outrun them even if all of them were.”

              “Maybe not,” he said, stroking his chin.  “But maybe we can make it harder for them to board.”

              “How?” she demanded.  “I didn’t sign up to die!”

              He glared at her.  “I didn’t either.  But I didn’t fight my way out of that hornet’s nest just to get boarded by more hornets here.  I thought this system was supposed to be safe.  Apparently not.”  He stepped out of the cockpit.  “Kay’grax!  What’s the status on our shields?”