Spinward Fringe Broadcasts 1 and 2

by Randolph Lalonde

  Stephanie could listen to her talk forever. Confidence oozed from every enunciated syllable. She could tell there were layers to this woman that few had ever seen.

  “You have made Regent Galactic turn their heads. We intercepted a battle group headed straight into our space. Their departure point was Thadd. They were after you.”

  “I'm honoured.”

  “You should be. If it weren't for you that battle group wouldn't have fallen into a trap we set for them at the last second. If we weren't there to stop them they would have taken you and your crew, most likely in order to execute you publicly. Their media and imperial system of government thrives on examples.”

  “We would have gotten clear,” Captain Valance said with a smile.

  Minister Timmer chuckled and nodded. “You might have at that. The information we have on you and the Samson is incomplete, but it's enough to verify your reputation. We are on the defensive, and we need people who are eager to do the opposite,” she turned and brought Captain Valance's records up on a holographic display above her desk. It was an account of bounties delivered, ships captured, even some information on his last privateering venture. “I have to admit, I didn't even know you existed before you brought Minister Lorne's brother back to face grand theft charges. You saved his career, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “So you are aware, the only reason why you're talking to me is because you did manage to save thousands of lives in the Thadd system. The unfortunate part of that is that Regent Galactic bombed the planet before taking possession. They'll be putting fires out for years, St. Kitts is unrecognisable.”

  “I'm sorry to hear that. It was the closest port with rescue personnel.”

  “You're right. In the end the rescue vessels did end up in our space. The waking slaves have been freed but we're still rousing the ones that were in stasis. None of them have any personal memories from what we've seen so far. Vindyne technology was used to suppress them without physically damaging their minds.”

  “To suppress them?”

  “That's right. Some of our medical personnel are working on a way to bring their memories back but we're well behind on that kind of research.”

  Captain Valance looked at her quietly for a moment. “Did you find anything out about my daughter?”

  “I was wondering when you'd ask,” Minister Timmer said with a smile as she sat down. “We did. She was recently spotted on a frontier base. No one would have noticed her at all if she hadn't been responsible for putting three ship thieves out of business,” she brought up video footage of Alice throwing a handgun at a much taller fellow then running into her ship.

  “She must have been out of ammunition,” Stephanie said quietly.

  “Actually, port law prohibits the departure of ships carrying anyone who discharged a firearm. Law enforcement must clear them before they can depart.”

  “Smart girl. Looks like something you'd do sir.”

  “Thanks to this incident we know she flies the Clever Dream, an Arcyn Starskipper model craft with a wormhole generator. One of her eyes has been replaced with a very high end prosthetic that can gather more information than the average person can handle and she uses the same kind of vacsuit some of your crew wear. She was using the name Fran Molleneuvre on that base. Is that enough for you to start working for us Captain Valance?”

  “Did you find out where her next destination would be?” Jake asked.

  “She didn't register a plan with the Port Authority. That, along with a number of other obvious traits, seem to run in the family.”

  “All right, I'll work with you as long as you keep digging.”

  “And after we find her? If we manage to arrange a reunion or she refuses to see you?”

  “I'll do the publicity, I can guarantee that we'll make a few captures, but I won't stick around past what I've promised. There are a few things I'd like to chase down. My daughter is only the first.”

  “I understand. It may not be easy though. Much like you, any minor information we find on her is difficult to obtain and it's like she just appeared out of nowhere a few years ago. Just a year or two before you did.”

  “Being elusive runs in the family,” Captain Valance said quietly.

  “So it does.” She stood up and put a small data chip down on her desk. “Here is your letter of marque. It's ready to be programmed into your ship computer using whichever transponder you like, but only one. After you've accepted this you will be legally permitted to seize and destroy Regent Galactic vessels and property in the name of Aucharia. We've also gathered volunteers who may like to join you. They're all military so they should take orders easily enough. Our current administration doesn't take things slow. The Lieutenant waiting in the hall can show you to them.”

  Captain Valance stood and offered his hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you,” he said quietly.

  “And you, Captain. Bring us a storm.”

  Stephanie stood and was about to turn and leave, but the Minister offered her hand. She took it gently and locked eyes with her for a moment. A small smile peeked through the stern expression on the tall woman's face, Stephanie was forced to mirror her. “The hero is nothing without his pedestal. Be strong for the crew.”

  Stephanie could only nod as the woman slowly let go of her hand.

  A young Ensign led them down the hallway into an express tube. It shuttled them vertically and horizontally through the large ship until they arrived at the intersection of several hallways. It was a large square with a transparent dome ceiling with a vista of stars beyond. Dozens of citizens were moving about, most of them in light clothing suitable for the equatorial regions on the surface of the planet. A few wore robes of office, but the majority of the people there seemed to be civilians.

  The Ensign, a young man with dark hair, led them down one hall a few meters then through a doorway. It was a plain, large common room with tables and chairs for seventy. The walls played host to Newsnet replays, some focused on the breaking storm below on the planet while others featured news of the war. Over a hundred young men and women were inside, all of them fell silent as the Captain entered. “They've all heard of you sir. Everyone has known exactly who you are ever since the Thadd rescue hit the news,” it was the first thing the Ensign had said.

  “These are all volunteers?” Captain Valance asked.

  “Every one of them sir.”

  “They're so young,” Stephanie whispered. “I didn't expect them to be so young.”

  It was true, the oldest of them looked twenty. “Do you have a recorder of some kind?” Captain Valance asked the Lieutenant.

  “Everything in the capitol is recorded.”

  “Then tell your superiors they're about to get their recruitment clip,” he said as he walked to the front of the room. They had set up a simple metal podium for him and he stopped to stand beside it. “I'm Captain Jacob Valance of the Samson. A few days ago I was hired by Regent Galactic to hunt down a cargo train that had been stolen. This wasn't something new. I've been cleaning up messes for super corporations for years. When we hooked up to the cargo train and I saw the dead and dying masses within I was horrified. I said; 'no more.' We turned and set our course for a friendlier star. It was time to start doing the wrong thing for all the right reasons.

  I am a very bad man. I have done what most people would refuse to and moved on to the next dirty deed that would get me and my crew a good payday. That is how I have become the very best at doing my very worst. It is not time for me to retire. It is time to make a change.

  I won't do anyone's dirty work just for the credits. Not after what I have seen, not after hearing a call that beats with the same rhythm of my heart. Regent Galactic and corporations like them take advantage of the weak, the solitary, the immigrants, transients and the minorities while they use marketing and empty entertainments to subdue the masses. Whether they keep their subjects in chains or in the bondage of manufactured culture, Regent Galactic and companies like
them are slavers.

  The Aucharians, your government, have given me the opportunity to go after them in their name. I will disrupt Regent Galactic's trade, take their provisions, free their slaves, steal their weapons and kill their soldiers. Corporations like them helped me become the best hunter, killer and a famous bearer of bad news. I'm going out there to do my worst to all the right people, burn all the right bridges and break the bonds of millions. Come with me.”

  Listeners From Afar

  “Damn, after hearing that I'm almost ready to turn this ship around and sign up as a privateer,” said Captain Engel from the command chair of the Midland.

  “He always was a good speaker,” Ayan agreed quietly from his left. The rest of the recruitment clip was only contact information and other details about the war between Regent Galactic and the Aucharians. She wore a white vacsuit that left only her face open. Over top she wore a white hooded poncho.

  “I'd say he's gotten better,” Laura said from where she leaned on a deactivated secondary communications station.

  “How old is this, Captain?” Asked Ayan.

  “We got it in the last burst transmission ma'am, when we turned around and started heading for home three days ago. It was five days old then.”

  “Do you know if Freeground Fleet Intelligence has sent any requests to these Aucharians?”

  “I wouldn't have access to that Major. It's a little over my head.” Replied the Captain. He had been very patient with the specialist team on board. Ayan, Laura and a team of engineers with the Special Projects division were there testing a new combination wormhole hyperspace system. The tests were going very well, the drive was a success and as a reward Captain Engel would continue as commander of the Midland. It would be the fastest ship of its class for at least a year, most likely longer. The Special Projects team, lead by Major Ayan Rice, was easier to accommodate than he expected. Her team were chosen from a pool of hundreds of volunteers, they all wanted to be there. Most of them, especially their commander, were polite and easy to communicate with.

  The most difficult thing about the last five months was watching Major Rice's health slowly deteriorate. Her energy was waning while her dedication and enthusiasm forced her to constantly overextend herself. Commander Laura Everin, her subordinate and best friend was the only person who could convince the Major to slow down, or pace herself at all.

  Ayan Rice, as he knew her, was a kind, intelligent and driven young woman half his age, in her mid to late thirties. The search for a cure went on, but no news of new treatments had arrived since they departed Freeground half a year ago.

  When the first message about Jonas Valent arrived, Major Rice had assumed command and guided their engine tests towards the Thadd system. It would take them less than three weeks to get there, even using some of the new technology, but she needed to try and reach him even though the chance of Freeground calling them back was high. He didn't agree with her motivation or the change of course, and entered his objection into the record, but she was his senior officer, and her assumption of command removed him from any potential repercussions.

  The order to turn around had come three days ago, and Major Rice had relinquished command even though it wasn't necessary for her to do so. Not even she would jeopardize the Special Projects Program by disregarding a direct order. It would most likely be her legacy, after all.

  “I'll review the details from Fleet Intelligence in your ready room if that's all right,” Ayan said quietly.

  “Be my guest,” he invited.

  She walked to the back of the busy bridge followed closely by Laura. The ready room was brightly lit and its furniture was white and gold. The first thing she did whenever she used the room was dim the lights. The colours, or lack thereof, gave her a headache.

  Ayan eased herself into one of the desk chairs. She was a small woman, under five foot four and was a little underweight for her size but after standing for a few hours she felt like she weighed a ton. Sitting down felt so good. “Bring up the transmission again, we need to look at Freeground Intelligence's assessment and response if there was one.”

  “Are you sure you shouldn't be laying down?” Laura asked as she took a seat across from her and brought up the information.

  Ayan shot her a look. “I got enough of that from Doctor Anderson before he left.”

  The recruitment hologram for Aucharians privateering effort came up between them. Ayan paused it and brought up a list of attachments from Freeground. “The time stamp confirms it, this transmission was originally broadcast eight days ago. At least we know where his home port is.”

  “I know you want to bring him back, or at least show him the way back home, but what if he's so heavily reprogrammed that there just isn't any Jonas left? He's been gone so long that Vindyne could have done anything to him.”

  “I've seen the security footage and the records Intelligence were able to dig up. I know he's not the same, but if this is him, and everything I am tells me it is, I need him to know he has a home. That there are people who care about him.”

  “Look at how different he is. The Jonas I knew isn't the man I'm seeing there.”

  “Look at his armour. Those strands of metal aren't just extra protection. They're emitters. Remind you of anything?” Ayan pointed out as she brought up a still image from the recruitment video. “And I gave him that scarf when we were just getting close.”

  “I remember,” Laura zoomed in a little closer so she could examine the strands of metal on his chest. “I'll be, those are just a bigger version of the emitters I was redesigning into the cloaksuits on the First Light. I never finished it, but I know he got a look at my specs.”

  “He remembers something and I just hope that we can help him remember more.”

  “If you send him anything from all the way out here it could be intercepted by almost anyone. You'd be giving them whatever information you intend for him.”

  Ayan stared at the image of Jake Valance. Her frustration threatened to bubble to the surface. “Almost eight years. He sacrificed everything so we could make it home. Now we know how to get to him and we're sitting on the fastest ship in the fleet.”

  “We can't turn around again, you know-”

  “I know our orders. We have to get the prototype drive system back to Freeground so they can examine it and put the Midland back into service.”

  “Meanwhile Oz is taking command of the First-”

  “She's the Sunspire again, now that she's in the regular fleet.”

  Laura went on. “Like I was saying; Oz is taking the Sunspire and going after him. You know he'll be home in no time.”

  “It'll take them seven weeks to get there, even with a wormhole.”

  “That's unless we take the Special Projects team aboard and implement a version of the wormhole hyperdrive technology. It's the only thing missing on her. You know fleet would go for it, especially since the Sunspire is going to be a front line carrier again.”

  “Well, that would give you a reason to join the crew,” Ayan said, her mood lifting a little.

  “Jason could put in for a transfer from his post in Fleet Intelligence, she's an important ship.”

  “I'm sure Oz would love to have you guys aboard his bridge. It's too bad I can't work with the crew in engineering.”

  “You won't be able to get a post in engineering but if you're directing Special Projects you can work from your quarters if you like.”

  “It was a miracle they cleared me for this trip. If I managed to get clear for another it would be as a short term passenger.”

  Laura took her long time friend's hands in hers. “You have to come. You're the closest he has to real family.”

  “It's like our time aboard the First Light was a dream sometimes. He was just learning to be a Captain, we were just learning to be with each other.”

  “They still study some of our engagements at the academy. You should see the faces of the nuggets when the instructors tell them that we crewed t
hat ship with only two hundred. The Fleet wants him back, you need him back, and everyone who served on Captain Valent's bridge feels like they're missing a member of their family.”

  “I just feel like I'm running out of time.”

  It was something Laura tried not to think about. Her friend was dying. The genetic flaws that had been embedded into Ayan before she was born were causing her internal organs to slowly fail. Replacement and regeneration were only delaying the inevitability. Cures were still months or years off. “Positively, you have to think positively.”

  Ayan forced a smile and nodded. “I know.”

  “We'll find him and you'll have plenty of time to remind him of where he comes from.”

  “I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid or crazy in the meantime.”

  Stupid or Crazy

  The Bridge of the Bakersfield was a modest, clean and simple space. There was a pilot's station, communications, navigation and engineering. Captain Tasha Pauley had been in Jake Valance's employ as her Captain for over two years. He had never asked anything special of her or the crew.

  All she had to do was take on safe, legal cargo, transport it, collect the cash and send him his share. It was easy work, if not the most exciting job she ever had. Excitement wasn't something she craved any longer, however. She had served on the Samson before retiring to the Bakersfield and saw plenty of action.

  When he contacted her and asked that they perform one task for the Samson and leave the sector her curiosity was piqued despite the sense of dread she kept suppressed. The offer he had for her was enormous.

  She had moved into the Bakersfield, more than anywhere else in the universe it was home to her and he knew it. For three quarters of what the ship was worth he was willing to sell it to her. With the partnership of her pilot she accepted the offer.

  This short trip would be the last time she would take orders from Captain Valance. Part of her was relieved, but to her surprise she realized she would miss him. Even though they never ran into real trouble as a hauler, it was good knowing that he was there to bail them out if they needed help.