by T J Bryan
"Send the manifest Mr. Oneil."
Robbie responded, "Manifest sent."
"Now Mr. Oneil send our request for reciprocation. Ask Wu station what goods they have to trade. Let this be a two way conversation."
Robie asked for the Wu station of trade goods, but there was no reply. Wu station stayed silent for over twenty minutes as Iceland approached the 100 kilometre limit.
"Mr. Zanos, have we rolled the ship to obscure our guns?"
"Aye aye, Captain. Ship rolled. We are presenting only our ship sides."
"Good Mr. Zanos."
"Are our weapons and defence stations manned and ready?"
Simultaneously Nieve Vilulf and Robbie Oneil responded affirmatively.
Helen turned to OM Marx and Farn Mayer who had somehow found old Jamon ship suits that to Helen, now accustomed to Greayson suits, looked shabby and dangerous as well. "Are you ready Captain Marx? And you Farn?"
Both nodded their heads.
"Your trackers are in place and active?" Helen looked over to Robbie as Robbie replied, "The trackers are working just fine. They give me full audio, limited visual, and positioning."
"Very well Mr. Oneil. I wish you well OM and Farn. Be careful. Remember we seek information and Wu Station may provide us with what we need to know to return to Jamon with supplies. Keep focused on our mission."
With Helen's comments OM and Farn turned and approached the ladder to 'J' deck and a four seater runabout last used in the Singleton race three years ago.
OM and Farn swiftly climbed down to the 'J' deck and found Wain Peters in his full Marine armour checking out the runabout. "This used to be mine," Wain commented. "It's sturdy and fast but pulls a bit down on acceleration."
OM and Farn checked each others worn and tattered Habitat ship suits and then entered a runabout with the name 'Catch Me,' painted in bright orange on its' black shell. Soon they exited the Iceland and headed at a slow speed toward the Wu Station. As they departed the station informed them that they were to dock at a position between several dead freighters and at a location called 'End Point'. Farn punched in the coordinates to 'Catch Me's' simple navigation system and they continued in to the station. Neither spoke as the distant hatch that was 'End Point' became visible. On either side of the docking station were two derelict freighters, obviously old and battle damaged. As Farn looked closely at the freighter on her left she realized that the fight over the Wu system must have been prolonged and very deadly. That freighter had taken a knife like hit by a plasma bolt right through its' mid-section. Farn wondered if that was a lucky hit or was the crew asleep at the wheel. Most starships in battle took crippling hits to their engine bays or were simply blown to dust and plasma. Yet this ship seems to have taken a single killing shot targeting the crew.
"Farn take look at the ship on the right."
Farn took a long look as the hull of the ship on the right passed by within 20 meters. This ship too had taken a single shot amidships probably killing the crew in an instant. And then she noticed the overall form and shape of the destroyed freighter. "OM is that Girots' Bountiful?"
OM responded, "Could be. Right size and age. But I don't think so. Bountiful would never come to Wu. It's too dangerous here. And our relations with ..."
OM stopped speaking at the bow of the ship came into view. Painted on its' side were the words, 'Girots' Bountiful.'
Farn spoke up, "Iceland are you getting this. It's the Bountiful. She is here and a wreck."
Helen immediately responded, "Pirates. Wu is a Pirate Station. Get out of there now. Reverse course. Return immediately."
OM reached for the control as grappling lines took hold of the tiny runabout and began to drag them into the open hatch of the station. OM gunned the engines, but the runabout built for speed simply could not fight against the grapples of the station. Rather than tear the ship apart, OM eased off the throttle and shut the engine down. OM turned to Farn. "Looks like were in deep trouble. But let's keep the mission forefront in our minds. Our people are depending on us."
"Yes," Farn replied. "The mission."
The grapples pulled the runabout into and across the cold deck of the Wu Station. Farn and OM knew that the thin shell of the runabout and its' makeshift airlock would provide no real resistance to those who had captured them. Resistance was not possible. At least not possible at this time.
Watching out the plasticene window of the runabout they saw the station hatch close, followed moments later by clouds of condensing mist which indicated that the cargo hold was being pressurized. Farn and OM had only to wait.
Silvi stood on the bridge of Ragnarök in communications with Helen and Emmitt. "I don't think the pirates will do anything to harm OM and Farn at this time. Eventually yes, but right now they want the Iceland. I suspect they will threaten OM and Farn and force the Iceland to dock in order to obtain the return of the hostages. Unfortunately hostages are never returned and the dead ships surrounding the station are a good indication that we are dealing with murders."
"What do we do?" asked Helen.
"We get them talking. Making demands of Iceland. Hopefully we can learn something about systems beyond Wu. This collection of dead freighters indicates some commerce has survived in this area so lets see if we can find out which outer system is still habitable. Meanwhile we prepare the Iceland, and when the pressure is at its' height we surrender Iceland, dock, and the Marines take the station."
OM pointed out the window of 'Catch Me' as four heavily armed men dressed in a variety of dirty ship suits entered the hold. They spread out to surround the runabout and OM could clearly see them laughing and joking probably about their easy capture of a very wealthy prize. Two of the armed men approached the hatch and threw the outer door open. "Well here goes nothing," said OM. As he opened the inner hatch.
Immediately they were hit by the stench of the air. The smell of unprocessed sewerage and rot almost overpowered both OM and Farn. The deck was littered with all kinds of spent items including empty food tins, plasticene wrappers, and just the accumulated debris of a household never cleaned for hundred years. Farn almost fell to the deck in revulsion and the urge to vomit.
One of the armed men who could not have been more than fifteen years of age nervously motioned with his plasma rifle for them to exit. "The kid looks scared Farn. Take it easy." Farn nodded.
As they stepped out onto the cold dock another man appeared at one of the inner hatches of the hold. He was unarmed, tall and thin, and with a lengthy beard and unkempt hair. Beards and long hair were a danger in a blow-out and often resulted in the rebreather hood not sealing properly with the inevitable result of asphyxiation. The bearded man wore a somewhat newer ship suit, but Farn noticed that the tell-tale on his 02 bottle was not lit. Either the bottle was empty or the indicator broken. Either way it was sloppy safety and dangerous.
"And who may you be?" asked the bearded man as he approached.
OM answered, "We are free traders. I hope your welcome is not an indication of ill intent."
The bearded man laughed. Farn noticed the teen youth with the gun relax as the other three armed men lowered their weapons and assumed a more 'welcoming' but still menacing posture.
"You did not answer. Who are you?" the bearded man repeated.
"I am OM Marx and this is my granddaughter Farn. We are the family Marx and the rest of my family remains aboard the Iceland awaiting our successful negotiations for trade."
"Ah, yes. Negotiations. Trade," replied the bearded man. "You may call me Jahleel."
"We are pleased to meet you Jahleel," replied OM forcing a smile on his face.
Jahleel motioned to the armed men, "Search them. Be quick about it. Wu waits."
Two of the men moved forward and began a rough search of OM and Farn. One rather short man let his fingers linger over Farn's body. He was missing most of his teeth and his breath was as foul as the ships air.
OM submitted to the search as did Farn, but easily showed his disp
leasure at their rough treatment. "We represent no threat to you. Why do you treat us like common thieves?"
Jahleel laughed again. "You might well be common thieves. We take no chances."
Jahleel took a long look at the runabout and then cast his eyes on Farn. His stare did little to engender confidence in the crew of Wu Station. "Wu awaits you in the majestic suite. Wu wishes to see you in person." Jahleel laughed again and turned toward the distance hatch. OM and Farn followed as did three of the guards. The teen remained behind examining the runabout.
They walked about a hundred meters down a curving passageway that seemed to have been constructed of bits and parts left over from the debris that once circulated the planet. OM and Farn worked hard to remember their path through the station as Jahleel led them on a circuitous route through the station. Obviously he was trying to confuse both of them to ensure that they could not easily find their way back to the dock. Eventually they came to a complex hatch system. Jahleel motioned for one of the armed guards to open the hatch. As the hatch slid open an even more foul smell overwhelmed both OM and Farn. They entered a poorly lit very wide passageway with rectangular rooms opening on to one side. OM pointed briefly at a small crowd of people staring at them from the distance. They were wearing rags. As they walked further more people appeared and they were in what appeared to be worse condition that the fist group. Farn quickly counted and estimated that in the passageway and its' connecting rooms there must be close to 400 prisoners.
"No young men," OM whispered to Farn and she looked closely. Only filthy children and women. A few very old men as well. But there were no young men or older men. Farn thought to herself, they have eliminated anyone who might stand and fight against them. Many of the filthy young women Farn noted were pregnant.
As they approached another hatch complex they noticed a body lying face down on the deck. It appeared to be a middle aged woman, but in the filth and dishevelled dress OM and Farn could not tell. Jahleel without pausing kicked the body as he passed. The body was stiff. Rigor had set in. At the next hatch Jahleel turned and said to the short man with the bad teeth, "Cricket, clean up that mess back there before it sinks the place up."
The man called Cricket replied, "Sure boss, after lunch I get some of the parolees to clean the mess up." Cricket laughed as if the joke was on Jahleel. Jahleel paid no attention, opened the hatch, and they continued on. As they entered a new passageway they could see that they had entered the 'monitor' portion of the station. While as filthy as the spiral arms, the corridor was clearly purpose built and the air locks, of which were many, were clearly of military grade. Eventually they came to large round chamber perhaps 200 meters wide and 40 meters tall. Farn examined the room carefully and the enormous equipment that took up much of the space. Auto-loaders she realized. A dozen autoloaders, but the supply racks where missiles and torpedoes would have been position ready to be loaded, were empty. The station may look formidable from the outside, but inside it was without teeth. Sometime long ago the monitor has shot its' wad. Farn spoke softly to herself, "No torpedoes. No missiles."
Jahleel led them to a spiral staircase and they climbed up and entered a kind of gallery overlooking the autoloaders below. He paused before another large hatch complex. "Stay here." Jahleel ordered and motion to the guards to watch them. "I shall see if Wu is ready to interrogate you." Jahleel smiled. "I'm sorry, I mean negotiate with you."
Jahleel threw open the hatch cover stepped into an air lock and disappeared down a long hallway. He had not closed the hatch. Bad ship safety etiquette thought OM.
Chapter Forty Three
Wu System - Iceland - Year 3246. February 16 ET: 01:01
The twelve OCN marines stood at attention before Captain Rebbah. At the side of each was the tactical firearms support unit that Helen had named the 'bouncers'. The 'bouncers' were heavily armed droids and looked very menacing. But everyone knew they were more than menacing. They were dangerous. Both Helen and Silvi realized that the OCN Marines had never had any real tactical training but they had mastered the weapons commonly used by the Greayson military and had practiced with the bouncers.
Helen addressed the Marines led now in two combat teams headed by Wain Peters and Jerry Renner. "OCN Marines," Helen thought some formality on the eve of combat was called for. "We have learned much about Wu Station from the trackers you provided to Captain Marx and Farn Mayer. In addition we have scanned the station and have a good understanding of her internal structure. Further we know that her formidable gun emplacements are useless to them. They simply have no ammunition. Further we know that there are a significant number of prisoners taken by the pirates."
Helen paused a moment to take in a full look at the assembled marines. "Our task is to recover our crewmembers and to liberate the prisoners found on the station. To that end let me make it clear that anyone who opposes you by force you are to neutralize. These people are pirates, murders, and killers. If they can be captured without harm to yourselves, or to our crew, or for that matter to their prisoners, let that be the case. On the other hand any threat against crew or prisoners is to be met with killing violence. Are we understood?"
In unison the 12 marines fully kitted out in their black on black armour shouted, "Yes Sir."
Helen wanted to make sure her green Marines understood their mission and the dangers so at the risk of repeating herself she continued. "Our primary goal is the return of our crew and the release of any prisoners. Please remember that prisoners held in long term captivity, and under the horrible conditions we believe present on Wu station, often become confused as to their loyalties. We will be strangers to them and they will be undoubtedly fearful and terrorized as we take the station. So exercise caution if you see confusion on the prisoners part. They may even choose in their confusion to oppose you, either passively or actively. If threatened with violence you know what to do, however as for the prisoners let compassion be foremost in your thoughts. As for the pirates, we need some alive in order to learn more about this system and where we may find the supplies we desperately need. These pirates have probably never faced real opposition and have relied on terror, intimidation, and murder to further their crimes. I expect an initial hostile reception from the pirates, however I anticipate that once the pirates know they are under attack by a superior and dedicated force, their resistance will crumble. If not, and they continue to resist, that is their decision, and they will suffer the consequences. Am I understood?"
"Yes Sir," rang out from the Marines.
Sergeant Peters, Sergeant Renner, prepare to deploy your troops.
Now Helen knew all she had to do was wait, Wait for Wu to make its' demands.
...
Wu System - Wu Station - Year 3246. February 16 ET: 03:35
OM and Farn were eventually taken down a long wide passageway and into what must once have been the monitor's commanding officer's quarters. The main room was large and was once comfortable, but now filthy and threadbare, At one end of the room was a dais which rose a full meter and upon which someone had built a large chair or throne from metal plate. Around the dais were several dishevelled young women. Farn could see fear in their eyes as Jahleel led OM and Farn to a place below and in front of the dais.
"Remain here. Do not move." Jahleel said pointing to a place at his feet and well back from the dais. "Wu may arrive soon, or he may..." Jahleel stopped as a hatch behind the dais opened and a large obese man of average height entered the room. He was dressed in a yellow stained gown that Farn thought looked more like a tent than clothing. Around his waist was a thick belt which held two large mismatched plasma pistolas. The man was unsteady on his feet and kept pulling on the belt to keep it from falling to his knees.
Jahleel knelt down on one knee. The guards pushed OM and Farn down as well as the obese man struggled to climb the steps to his throne.
"Oh Wu, we bring these traders to you for your profit and pleasure."
The man Jahleel called Wu leaned forward as i
f to get a better view of OM and Farn. One of the young women sitting at the foot of the throne flinched and drew back.
Wu looked dispassionately at OM, but when his glance fell upon Farn he smiled, not the smile of a happy man, but the smile of a man filled with hatred and rage and about to have his revenge.
After a moment Wu spoke, "I want your ship. Contact them. Tell them to dock immediately. If they obey we shall show mercy, if not your granddaughter shall be the first to die." Wu's voice was breathy and his was breathing irregular. Farn could smell alcohol from the distance. Wu is drunk Farn realized.
OM stood feigning anger and replied, "This is an outrage. We will not comply. Our ship will remain at a distance until we are free to go."
Wu just stared at OM breathing heavily. Then he pulled a plasma pistola from his belt and aimed it at Farn. "You will obey. I rather do enjoy women, particularly young firm flesh. But I have many. So I shall kill your granddaughter."
Farn looked quickly about the room. There was no escape, but in desperation she prepared herself to lunge at Wu. Before she could, Wu turned his pistola toward the woman sitting at his feet and pulled the trigger. The bright flash was followed by the smell of burning flesh. The woman struggled and then fell silent. Wu put out his foot and tried to kick her body down the steps, but failed and nearly fell from his seat.
Wu attempted to gather up whatever dignity he thought appropriate to the situation and spoke, "You see. Killing is easy. Now order your ship to dock or my next shot will not be so forgiving of disobedience."
