Spinward Fringe Broadcasts 1 and 2

by Randolph Lalonde

  The bulky appearance and grey hull suited her owner perfectly. Bruce wasn't a complicated man, and he believed in the merits of dedication, hard work and little else.

  One huge armour plate had been removed from the lower port side engine and Alice could hear someone rattling around inside as she approached. She hesitated for a long moment.

  “You've come all this way. No backing out now,” Lewis coaxed through her subdermal communicator.

  “Not now Lewis,” she replied mentally. It was her memory of him, the quiet times they spent together and the life she enjoyed with him for just a few months. Ara Enormis wasn't a place she'd choose to call home, but in a short time she had made friends there, found acceptance, had even played the hero once when raiders went after a large convoy and she drove them off. Alice had also fallen in love.

  Bruce's head came up out of the engine compartment. His blond brow was furrowed, his shoulder length wavy hair was a mess and he was stripped to the waist. He was frustrated with whatever difficulties he was having down there. At first he didn't notice her, then she stepped forward.

  He noticed her, his grey blue eyes looked her up and down then locked with hers. For a moment he still looked irritated. Before long his expression softened. “Sasha?” He asked quietly.

  She nodded and took a few more tentative steps forward. “My real name is Alice.”

  He pulled himself out of the engine compartment, took three long steps and caught her up in his arms. “I know,” he said quietly as he held her to him. “I missed you.” He was a large man, two and a quarter meters and still had the thickly muscled build of a colonist farmhand.

  “I'm sorry I had to leave the way I did,” She pressed her head against his chest. How could she have thought he would be anything but kind to her?

  “I understand. They got to me, put me away for a few weeks but turned me out when their machines told them I didn't know anything. I wouldn't have told them anything if I did.”

  “I wish I could have warned you, told you to run. I was so worried but I couldn't look back.”

  He turned her face up to look at him with a finger under her chin and gently wiped a tear away. “Hey, ease up. Everyone's fine here,” he whispered before kissing her slowly. Long moments later he picked her up and walked her straight up the entranceway ramp.

  This wasn't anywhere near the reception she expected. “Didn't get married while I was away?” She asked, nibbling his earlobe.

  “You're a hard act to follow. Haven't had so much as a weekender.”

  “So you're just going to drag me to your cabin and have your way?” She teased, slowly drawing her finger down the centre of her vacsuit, opening a slit down to her navel.

  He took the bare metal staircase leading up to the berth three at a time. “Yup, might just keep you locked in there for a while. Don't want you getting away too soon.”

  Alice feigned an exaggerated expression of shock and squirmed a little, his arms tightened around her knees and shoulders in response. “Oh no! What will I have to do to win my freedom?”

  Bruce laughed as he stepped through the doorway to his quarters. “We're about to find out.”

  Happy Landings

  Ashley stood in front of the new materializer. It was her first time using one made primarily for dispensing food. The machine was smaller than the other dispensers in the galley, but according to Finn it was just like the expensive ones fast food places used. The Captain had one built into his command unit, he had loaned it to her a few times to make vacsuits for herself, but it couldn't do food very well. She had secretly tried.

  “One serving apple sauce,” she ordered. It listed what she had requested on a small screen with various pictures showing different varieties. She selected one and it appeared a moment later. In one swift motion the spoon went into the sauce and then her mouth. “It tastes so real,” she whispered to herself as she savoured it.

  Looking around to make sure the galley was still empty she put the small bowl on the table and looked back at the materializer. “Peach sauce,” she ordered quietly. The screen displayed only two varieties and after she selected one it appeared in a similar bowl. She picked it up and smelled it. “Oh my God, Vindyne employees ate like kings.”

  Putting it down, she giggled and looked at the materializer. “Okay, now let's try something a little more interesting. Banana cream with chocolate sprinkles in one bowl with a larger bowl on the side,” her eyes went wide as the built in computer concocted an image on the screen that depicted what she was looking for. Ashley selected it and a moment later she carefully took it out of the machine.

  With great care and precision she poured the apple sauce and peach into the larger, empty bowl simultaneously so they were each taking up half the space then she transferred the fluffy banana cream on top. She just stared at it for a moment, holding her spoon at the ready.

  “Having a late snack?” Stephanie asked as she walked into the galley.

  “Couldn't sleep anymore, kept thinking about the magic food machine.”

  “You know this thing can make a pair of boots in a few minutes just as easily as it can churn out chow,” Stephanie said as she took a spoon from the cup on the counter and made to join in on Ashley's snack.

  “Oh no you don't! I created it, I'll eat it!” she called out, holding her spoon up like a weapon.

  Stephanie laughed and shook her head. “What is it anyway?”

  “Peach sauce on one side, apple on the other, banana cream with sprinkles on top,” Ashley said as she took her first spoonful of apple sauce and cream. She rolled her eyes and sighed after a moment, enjoying her creation.

  Stephanie thought for a moment and snapped her fingers. “Hot chocolate pudding cake,” she said to the machine. “With whip cream,” she finalized her selection and it appeared, steaming in an insulated bowl.

  Ashley eyed the fragrant desert as Stephanie took a seat at the table. “I've never seen that before.”

  “It takes hours to make from scratch.”

  She slowly inched her spoon towards Stephanie's bowl. “Can I try just a little-”

  “Is your spoon-fu good enough? This is a test you should not undertake I think.” Stephanie said as she took an exaggerated defensive posture with her spoon.

  “Fine, I'll just try it next time,” Ashley pouted. “I shouldn't have more than one desert a day anyway. Regular fitness supplements only do so much in regular doses.”

  “You've got that right. This pudding is going straight to my hips. Especially if we spend this much time in hyperspace between jobs.” She took a bite of steaming cake and pudding. “Then again, we could always have this machine add all our nutritional and physical maintenance supplements to deserts.”

  Ashley's eyes lit up. “Nooo, you're kidding right?”

  “Nope, too many alterations change the flavour though. We could experiment.”

  Finn walked into the galley, glanced at the two women and their deserts then stopped at the materializer. “Chocolate flavoured meal replacement bar, eight ounces.” After a moment it appeared and he sat down.

  Ashley and Stephanie just stared at him silently.

  “What?” He asked around a bite of his snack.

  “You could order any of twenty thousand dishes and you get an energy bar?” Stephanie asked.

  “It's breakfast. We're coming out of hyperspace soon.”

  Ashley checked the time on her small wrist computer and boggled for a moment. “You're right, it's a lot later than I thought.”

  “You mean earlier. It's oh-four hundred.”

  “Still night time,” she retorted as she slowly scooped a spoon full of peach and cream.

  “Only if you're on certain worlds. Local clocks are all different than Core world Time,” Stephanie added.

  “I still think it's night time. They call it night watch anyway.”

  The three ate their snacks quietly, Finn and Stephanie enjoying foods they hadn't had in a long time and Ashley savouring so
mething that she had only dreamt of.

  When Finn finished his bar he ordered another and made his way to the bridge. Captain Valance was already there, looking over a hologram of a silver hulled ship doing combat with a carrier twice its size. It looked like a sleek antique vessel attacking a modern killing machine, only the antique was winning in brutal fashion.

  “Good morning,” Finn said as he handed the meal replacement bar to him.

  “It's still night cycle,” he replied as he rotated the combat scenario viewpoint.

  “I've never seen a ship like that before, what's it called?” Asked Finn.

  “The First Light. The database we stole from those old ships we're hauling says it's called the Sunspire now.”

  “Looks like it's tearing that carrier to shreds, none of her fighters have a chance either.” The losing ship exploded outward from the centre.

  Jake stopped the playback and zoomed in to the impact area. “They must have thrown a couple hundred kilograms of antimatter at this thing along with God knows what else. Headed straight on as well, no fear or hesitation in the tactical approach.”

  “That hull might be pretty thick, I hear they were paranoid when they built some of the long range ships a couple hundred years ago.”

  “Sudden decompression is something everyone avoids however they can. I just can't believe what this database is telling me,” Jake said quietly, Finn could barely hear him.

  “What's that sir?” Finn asked as he checked the ship's status.

  Captain Valance sat quietly looking at the profile of the silver ship in front of him. Just when Finn thought Jake wasn't going to answer he chuckled and went on. “Apparently I Captained this ship. There was a ridiculous bounty on my head and in the database I'm still marked as being in custody. Vindyne had it out for me and it looks like I was caught.”

  Stephanie and Ashley came through the bridge doorway then and judging from their expressions they had heard the Captain's last statement.

  He went on. “I was the Captain of a long range Freeground destroyer. That explains my military experience. I think I know how to call home,” he said quietly. “Too bad it would take over two months for any message to get there.”

  “Two months?” Ashley asked, shaking her head as she settled into the pilot's station.

  “Unless I get something through the high priority Newsnets, then it might be a little over a week.”

  “Expensive,” Stephanie said as she started sending wake alarms to several crew members through the communications station, starting with Cynthia. “I know it would cost my entire savings to send a short encrypted burst.”

  “I'll see if I can get the Aucharians to help. Otherwise we might be taking whatever we get paid for this run and making like civilians. I think the crew deserves a vacation on Enreega.”

  “It would also give your daughter a chance to catch up to us,” Ashley pointed out as she checked the pilot's station.

  “Exactly. It would give the crew a chance to contact their families and get some rest too.”

  “Won't the politicians want you to follow them around for a while sir? You know, now that you're a bit of a celeb,” Stephanie asked with a wry grin.

  Captain Valance cringed visibly. “Okay, maybe we'll find a port that isn't quite right in their political centre.”

  “Coming out of hyperspace in five seconds,” Ashley announced.

  Jake moved to the co-pilot’s seat and was ready just in time.

  The defensive platform cleared them in short order and their vessel was scanned by small support craft as they were directed to the main military port. Once there they dropped the captured cargo hauler and its train, leaving it behind for the Privateering committee to assess and manage, they were directed to dock with the large, round hospitality ring at one end of the massive shipyard.

  Every class of ship was in for repair or upkeep. There was more military hardware there than any of them had ever seen in one place and the Samson was allowed into the area because of its status amongst the Privateers. It was the unofficial flagship for the unofficial fleet.

  The hospitality docking area was under what looked like a shelf and when the Samson latched on they were hidden on top and bottom by the massive hull of the sub-base. Ashley worked through her post flight list with Jake's help. “You seem distracted,” he said quietly.

  She looked at him and smiled uneasily. “I've never seen anything like this. I should feel safe with all this around but I don't. These warships are huge, but they're half wrecked. Makes me wonder what would happen if the Samson ever got caught in a real fight.”

  Jake looked around the cockpit. Finn was scrolling through the profiles of all the different ships in the area on a secondary display at his engineering station and Stephanie was right there looking on, commenting on some of the more interesting military vessels. It occurred to him then that none of them had seen this kind of thing, but it still didn't feel new or unusual to him. “It's almost like any other port. The real differences are that everyone here knows who we are and we're on their side. This is the safest place in the galaxy for us right now. As far as the Samson getting caught by a big warship, well, we're a lot more manoeuvrable and faster than most ships in that class.”

  “That doesn't mean I'd ever want to experience it.”

  “I can't disagree with you,” Jake replied with a thin smile.

  Finn and Stephanie were still looking through a display of ships in the area. “This destroyer has forty eight guns and it's only three hundred meters long. Some of these ships are just downright malicious looking,” Stephanie commented.

  “But look at the damage. This cruiser's got so many holes in its starboard side that I'm surprised it made it back to port. More than half the ships here are in for serious repair.” Finn said as he brought up the profile of a six hundred meter long multi-role cruiser. It had fighter bays, and was loaded down with guns and armour. “I hope they have five ships out there for every one that's in for repair.”

  “Better hope for fifty,” Stephanie said. “Regent Galactic is much larger than this government and their systems. RG has a couple hundred worlds, most of which produce a profit. Their military has to be pretty impressive.”

  “It is. Good thing this won't be our fight for much longer. It's just about time to move on,” Captain Valance said as she got out of the co-pilot’s seat. “Any transmissions from the station?”

  Cynthia was sorting through the advertising and other chaff, trying to find important messages. “Just the regular acknowledgements and advertising. I think I've almost got a filter built. Too bad I couldn't figure Burke's out, it would have saved me a lot of time.”

  “I'm not surprised. He was a good comms man but he didn't like anyone else using his tools.” Jake watched her sort through the messages for a moment before his personal communicator silently signalled that he had an incoming call. He checked it and sat down in the command chair before bringing up the holographic representation of Minister Timmer on his arm command unit. “We just received the initial report on your capture Captain Valance. Word has already been leaked to the press, we don't know how. Regardless of that, congratulations are in order.”

  “I hope I've met your expectations.”

  “You've far surpassed them. I expected you to take down a few supply ships, perhaps capture a scout or picket vessel if we're lucky. Taking on an armed hauler with thirty warships has several departments very happy you're on our side. I had to give the treasury department a direct order to issue your reward, otherwise they would have stalled for as long as possible. You've caught everyone by surprise.”

  “I hope it makes a difference.”

  “Oh, it will. We'll be putting these vessels into service as soon as possible.”

  “What you do with them is your business. I'm wondering if you've had any word on Alice.”

  “If she's headed here we will know something soon. If she's coming in our direction someone will report it. I expect she'll have
to stop to refuel along the way. You'll be the first to know anything, trust me. I'm wondering, are you going back out straight away?”

  “No, we're taking a break. The crew haven't had a chance to stretch their legs in a while.”

  “They deserve leave after your most recent capture, as do you. I recommend you find somewhere small, quiet. You're becoming a popular man, the press is after you as hard as anyone from Regent Galactic.”

  “Being too popular isn't good for someone in my occupation Minister. I'll wait for the treasury department to deposit our reward then we'll be on our way.”

  “Thank you Captain. If we had a dozen more of you we might just win this thing. Good luck.”

  The channel closed and Jake Valance sat there for a moment. The question everyone on the bridge wanted to ask just hung over them like a wet blanket. What was the bonus? The payday sounded huge, but how big was it really?

  “Regular crew will be getting a bonus. Everyone else has one hour to figure out whether they're staying or going. Make sure they know we may not be doing any more privateering,” he told Stephanie.

  “Yes sir, we'll be undermanned.”

  “I know. We'll probably be down to fifteen.”

  “How big of a bonus do you think?” Ashley asked in a hushed whisper.

  “Big enough to get out of this war zone and not look back.”

  “What about our obligation to the Aucharian government?”

  “They already have enough footage to run a miniseries thanks to the recorders built into our armour and the Samson's holographic sensor logs. I sent everything ahead from hyperspace so they'd know what they would be dealing with when we arrived.”

  “That explains why port control knew what to do with us as soon as we entered the area.”

  “They may not like it, but after we've delivered thirty combat ready ships they shouldn't complain about it.”