by T J Bryan
"Not that I can see. No scans, no radar, no M-pulse. But I did ping the beacon"
"Isn't this the place some of the pirated food from the Bountiful was sold to. Some tramp freighter purchased the food for shipment here."
Farn replied, "That's right. They purchased some but not all of the foodstuffs. If I remember correctly they took quite a bit of the food."
Silvi thought a moment. "Well, lets leave them alone. Nomi do you have a plot to get us home?"
Nomi nodded.
Lennie said, "I have the plot now. Greenland has it as well and will follow. But it is going to take us 105 days tunnel time to make it to Wu. Then home after about 9 days from Wu. Abel is going to be very upset."
Silvi replied, "Not as upset as he would be if we never returned."
"True."
Silvi knew that Abel might wait three months before sending out a team to track their course. He might even wait four months. But if Ragnarök and Greenland held to the schedule then they would be almost five months overdue. Abel would certainly not wait that long before sending someone to track them. And if successful that rescue mission would end up trapped in Harappa unable to leave due to the masked portals.
"Pilot Karrlson, on my mark let us go home."
Buddy suddenly spoke, "I have a transmission. It's weak. But it's audio. They seem to have detected us in system."
"On speaker Mr. Brunner," said Silvi.
The speaker buzzed and crackled but a faint voice could be heard. "... and help us. We want to leave. Help us. This place is a hell hole. Please before they kill us all. Please take us with you. We are dying. We want to leave. We must leave."
Silvi stood from her Captain's Chair. "Mr. Brunner can you raise them?"
"I think so. I know the frequency they are on although it wobbles a bit. I can try to respond."
Silvi thought. If there were still about 200,000 inhabitants of Elegy there was no way the Greenland could take them off planet on a 105 day voyage to the nearest refuge. Even the station at Wu could not take in that many refugees. Greenland had room for 430 marines, and had a supercargo area for 60. Under extreme circumstances the total could be pushed to at most 800 and then only for a very short journey.
"Mr. Brunner, Please acknowledge their distress call. Ask them for a summary of their condition and if possible..." Silvi gave consideration to how she phrased her instruction. "If possible without directly asking determine how many people we would need to take on board or for that matter send some future ship to rescue those here."
Buddy keyed open his transmitter and acknowledged their call. Rather than receive a direct response to his query about their condition all they heard was wailing and crying for help. Then the transmission stopped. It seemed to Silvi to have been cut off mid stream.
"Mr. Brunner, can you play that broadcast again?"
"Yes Captain," Buddy threw a few switches and the speaker came to life. "... and help us. We want to leave. Help us. This place is a hell hole. Please before they kill us all. Please take us with you. We are dying. We want to leave. We must leave."
Silvi returned to her captains chair and sat. "I wonder what they meant by 'before they kill us all?' Who is the 'they'?"
Lennie spoke first, "Could be aliens or pirates."
"Yes," replied Silvi. "Could be. Might also be themselves, or some faction in their cult. Cults do have a way of self destruction when their messianic ways fall apart and their leaders are revealed for what they are." Silvi then directed Buddy to monitor the radio frequency and for Lennie to move the Ragnarök into high orbit over the planet. Further she ordered Emmitt on Greenland to stay well away from the planet and to assume stealth mode. The last thing Silvi wanted was to raise the hope of 200,000 that they were to be momentarily relieved of whatever suffering they were subjected to. Panic never aided a rescue.
Three hours later Ragnarök was in high orbit over the frozen planet. Buddy had completed a full scan of the planet and found only one low energy signature that might indicate human habitation. The energy was from an old fashioned fission engine and Buddy could tell by its' radiation signature that it was on its' last legs. He estimated perhaps 10 years at best it might last, but then again it could go tomorrow.
"One other thing Captain. I have an ice ball headed to the planet with an impact in 46 hours 29 minutes. It won't be near the energy source, but I'm certain they will feel it. The ice storm resulting will be horrific. How can they live in a place like that?"
Silvi replied, "Buddy it appears that at least some have come to that very conclusion. The question for us is how many?"
Buddy shouted, "Got a broadcast. Same frequency. Should I put it on?"
"Yes," replied Silvi.
After some static a voice sounded on the speaker much clearer than the first transmission. "Unknown ship. Elegy does not need assistance. You are instructed to leave our system immediately. Your filth and your sins contaminate the purity of Elegy. Leave. Leave now. Let the Wounds of Aram flow with the blood of the pure." Then the voice stopped. Buddy called out, "Carrier wave is down. They must have shut the transmitter off."
"Mr. Brunner can you compare the two transmissions. Were they made on the same equipment? I am curious. They sounded quite different to my untrained ear."
Moments later Buddy replied, "Definitely different gear. The first transmission had a weak carrier wave and it wandered around a bit. Further the audio quality was poor, while the second seemed to be from a standard RF transmitter receiver. I'd definitely say they were different radio sets. The first one seems to be home built."
"Sounds like someone wants off, and someone else wants us to go away," said Lennie.
Silvi returned to her captains chair reached for her comms and contacted Emmitt on Greenland. "Did you hear that Emmitt?"
"Yes," he replied. "Apart from some folks asking to get off the planet what really
bothered me was the part about letting blood flow. That might be a metaphor, but it might be something else. Cults are often literal."
Silvi responded, "Yes, that's what bothered me as well. The issue is what we do from here. We need to get home before we loose a rescue ship at Harappa. But leaving these folks here to their own fate, without knowing that fate bothers me as well."
After a long pause Emmitt replied, "I think we can afford a day or two, not more, to try to figure out what's happening down there. Remember there is an ice comet headed here and after impact the ice storm will probably last for months. Work on the surface will then be impossible. Then again it might just be some foolish kids with a home build radio set, although I doubt it. Just the same let's take a day to find out."
"Agreed," Silvi responded.
"Oh," Emmitt said. "Silvi I think we need a new directive for our navy."
"We do?"
"Yes, after the events at New Carthago I think we need a rule that says Captains are not allowed to leave the ship."
Silvi laughed, but she knew that Emmitt had a point. If she had died or been severely injured at New Carthago, Emmitt would find himself trying to run two ships. Captains playing hero on planetary surfaces where danger and the unexpected ruled. Captains leaving the ship was clearly a very bad idea. "I'll give it some thought Emmitt. Some thought."
Chapter Fifty One
Jamon System - Nolo's Diner - Year 3246. April 11 ET: 12:33
Abel, Helen, Dilli Ketill, and Taylor Schmidtt sat eating lunch at Nolo's Diner on the Public Dock.
Helen was finishing up her shrimp curry. "Abel, these shrimp you managed to put into production are excellent and the curry sauce from spices we obtained at New Carthago make a wonderful combination."
Abel smiled but he had hardly touched his fried fish and salad. "I'm getting concerned with the late arrival of Greenland and Ragnarök. Have you any idea why it is taking so long for them to complete the mission?"
Helen thought a moment before replying, "I wouldn't be too concerned. At least not yet. They might have stopped at Sargon or one o
f the other systems along the way. Don't forget that in addition to the two ships Greenland and Ragnarök they have another four SARs on board. If they had an equipment failure then one of those ships would surely be dispatched to us." Helen considered what she had just said. "Hmm... Then again if a ship does not show up soon then the whole group must have a common problem. Just the same, lets not get our undies in a bunch. Not just yet."
"Nomi will get them home," said Dilli with conviction. "She won't let them get lost or stranded."
Abel hoped Dilli was correct, but with the passage of time he could not help but to begin to worry. "I know we don't need a backup plan at this point, but I would like you all to consider the planning requirements and the route for a retrieval voyage if it comes to that. Now I'm sure they will arrive soon, but it is probably a good practice to plan to retrace their route even if such a plan proves unnecessary."
Taylor Schmidtt stood, "I have a class to teach so I need to run. But Dilli and I can talk about this this afternoon at the Collegium. I'm sure they will be here any day." Both Taylor and Dilli soon set off for the Collegium.
Helen turned to Abel, "How long will you wait?"
Abel thought a moment. "90 days from today. After that we must take action."
"Who will you send?"
"Given our experiences at Wu and the clear dangers out there in The Dark, I would send two SAR's. Perhaps three. We will have the crews by then. I would have them fly together. Just in case there is some hostility. But let's see what happens first. I think your right. We need to just give it some time." As Abel finished he was beginning to doubt his own words about the imminent arrival of the missing ships.
...
Elegy Systm - Ragnarök - Year 3246. April 14 ET: 22:34
"Pilot Karrlson, put us in a low orbit. I want Mr. Brunner to take a very close scan of that colony. Mr. Brunner are you ready?" asked Silvi.
Buddy nodded and began to work his console as Lennie gently took the Ragnarök into lower orbit.
About an hour later Buddy spoke. "I have some preliminary data for you Captain. The habitat down there appears to be half below ground and half above. The fission engine is sitting out in the open where it can be kept cool. The heat signature of the habitat indicates that there is a kind of half dome built into the side of a canyon wall with the habitat extending further into the wall itself. The warmest spot is deep in the recesses of the canyon wall. The dome looks to be habitable but rather cold."
Silvi responded, "Do you see any weapons emplacements? Any idea of how many inhabitants may be there?"
"No weapons I can see. They might have some small stuff. As for how many inhabitants I can't tell. If they were walking around on the surface we could count heat signatures, but I doubt anyone would want to be outside especially with that ice ball about to drop."
"Does the size of the habitat give you any idea of its' potential population."
"I can detect three other similar habitats all within a kilometre, but they are stone cold. I doubt that anyone is there. The temperature on the surface is -36 C."
Silvi thought a moment about the food sold to Elegy from the Bountiful. Bountiful usually carried about 18 month of provisions for 40,000 souls in the Commonwealth on its' annual trip to the Obsidian System. Assuming they took perhaps 60% of the food that would feed 28,000 for 12 months. Unless Elegy had an internal source of food, which now looked highly unlikely, or they had other shipments of food which was possible, the supplies of Bountiful could not feed 200,000, The loss of three of four habitats on the planet, as well as the relatively small food shipment, indicated to Silvi that the population was far smaller than 200,000. Perhaps 50,000 or less. In Silvi's mind probably less.
Colonies in some systems fail to thrive. Silvi knew enough of history to know that over a hundred or two hundred year period that some colonies simply died out or were abandoned. This was true of colonies with favourable conditions, which certainly did not describe Elegy.
Buddy whispered, "What the heck?"
Silvi looked at Buddy.
"I'm getting a bright flashing light from the edge of the dome. Very bright, probably some kind of focused tight bean, Buddy said. "Looks like someone is trying to send us a message."
"In code?" asked Silvi
"Seems so. I need to get my EG. I don't know any code."
Farn stood, "I do. Let me try." After about five minutes Farn stopped looking at Buddy's screen. "The message is just repeating itself now."
"What are they saying."
"I'm not entirely sure. The message is either garbled or contains coding errors. Like from someone who never used code before." Farn paused. "The message seems to say they want to leave. They call themselves the Masses and they seem to be oppressed by the someone or some thing they call the Sads. They say they are 124 souls and that if they are not rescued they will be 'sacrificed' at the hands of the Sads."
"Sacrificed?"
"Yes that's the word; 'Sacrificed.'
Silvi shook her head. Now what do we do. Leave to prevent OCN rescue ships from entrapment at Harrap, or stay to try to salve 124 souls from 'sacrifice.'
"Mr. Brunner, can we send a message back on a tight beam that only those at the origin of this thing can see?"
"Yes, I'll need to rig something up. Might take an hour and we will need to open a hatch. SARs don't come with built in laser emitters for planet side communication."
"See to it Buddy. I think we need to talk to these 'Masses.'
Eventually Buddy was able to establish communication via blinking lights and some old code system named after an ancient philosopher named Morse.
Silvi dictated the messages knowing to keep each element short, direct, and without ambiguity.
"Mr. Brunner send as follows: 'This is Ragnarök. Who are you?"
Moments later came a reply, "We are masses. We need to escape."
"Why escape?"
"The Sads are killing us."
"Who are Sads?"
"Killers."
"Human?"
"Yes, but monsters."
"How many want to leave?"
"124."
"Do you have a planetary defence system?"
"No. Must stop now. Sads come."
"The light is not blinking," Buddy said. "Masses quit. I'd guess those Sads must have stopped them somehow."
Silvi thought a while, "Let's contact whoever runs this place on the radio. I have some questions."
Farn interjected, "Your not going to tell them about the Masses are you?"
"Of course not. I'm going to tell them we are here to investigate the piracy of the Bountiful. I suspect they well know the origins of their food. Let's test their reaction."
Moments later Buddy had keyed open the transceiver and Silvi sat in her captains chair with the microphone in her hand.
"Government of Elegy. This is Obsidian Police Cruiser Ragnarök. In your possession are stolen goods. Stolen by piracy from the ship Girots' Bountiful. Prepare to be inspected and if evidence of piracy is found you shall be prosecuted in the High Court of Obsidian. You have ten minutes to reply."
"That was dramatic," commented Farn as she smiled. "Do you think they will reply?"
Silvi thought a moment, "Probably not with this first warning. But the second one will get their attention. Pilot Karrlson prepare to buzz that habitat. Weapons and defence be prepared for any attack, but I doubt they have anything worth while, but lets not take a chance."
As predicted those responsible for Elegy did not respond. Lennie took them in fast and hot on reaction engines and as they passed within 500 meters of the habitat Lennie hit the restart switch on the reaction engines thus over supplying fuel for a microsecond. The result was a very loud boom, that even in the thin air of Elegy could be heard for a hundred kilometres. There was not opposition to their flight. Soon Ragnarök returned to low orbit.
Again Silvi broadcast, " This is Obsidian Police Cruiser Ragnarök. You are in possession of stolen goods. You may ha
ve participated in the piracy Girots' Bountiful an offense for which the penalty is death. Prepare to be inspected and if evidence of piracy is found you shall be prosecuted in the High Court of Obsidian.
Moments later the speaker squeaked, "Be gone. Your perfidy and sins are an abomination. Be gone. The Wounds of Aram bleed that we may be redeemed. Take your vile wicked ways and be gone."
Silvi smiled before responding, "We shall land our Police Cruiser just before your habitat. Prepare to be searched. If you are innocent we shall leave you in peace. If you are engaged in piracy we shall apprehend those who have participated in such act and remove them to the High Court of Obsidian for trial, and if found guilty for execution."
Silvi did not wait long for the reply. This time a different voice spoke in a wavery shaky intonation. The speaker was obviously old or very afraid. "We are not pirates. Please go away. We do not steal. We are simple folk trying to live the life of Aram. Go away. Now. We have done no wrong."
"Your response is insufficient. Our investigation must continue. We will enter your Habitat in two hours. Any resistance will be met by deadly force. We bring armoured police who are prepared for any resistance. Piracy is a violation of section 93-A of the Galactic Anti Piracy Law and is punishable by death. Prepare to be searched. Police Cruiser Ragnarök out"
Farn laughed, "That was pretty thick. What is 93-A of the Galactic law. That's a new one on me.
Silvi smiled, "I just made it up. Sounded right to me."
Lennie pulled from orbit and rendezvoused with Greenland to transfer Jerry Renner with her five armoured Marines. After a brief talk with Emmitt on various contingency plans, Ragnarök returned to Elegy.
"Bring us in hot Pilot Karrlson. Lets scare the bejesus out of them. Whatever a bejesus is. Farn you play good bad cop, I'll play the badder cop. Farn laughed."
Lennie brought the ship in on a straight and direct route but rather than immediately land he held the ship at 100 meters on the tail of the main reaction engines for over a minute. This was a manoeuvre wasteful of energy, but big on display. The frozen ground before the dome of the habitat melted, then boiled, and soon formed magma and melting rock. Finally he set the ship down with sufficient force to be felt within the habitat.
