by Hellfire
“Deflector shields at maximum,” Change ordered. The bubble of distorted space-time around the ship would push most of the debris out of the way, but it would also create slipstreams and wake vortices around the ship. Some might penetrate the bubble, but it was more likely that Hellion Prime was in for a heck of a meteor shower when Pegasus made orbit.
The way Change figured it, they had it coming.
Alkema took his place at the tactical station. “I’ve alerted General Kitaen to prepare for a tactical strike to reclaim our Tritium. Do you have any particular type of operation in mind?” Change stared at the forward display as a field of gravel-sized asteroids came into view.
“If we’re lucky, we’ll catch the other three tritium carriers in orbit. In which case, we can disable their systems with directed field pulses. Then, we can send a company of warfighters over to take one.”
“It’s a safe bet the Hellions will defend their ships,” Alkema warned her.
“Yes, it is,” Change agreed. “But. from what we’ve seen, their defenses will be no match for Pegasus. What will be worse is if their ships are on the ground when we arrive at the planet.
That could be a problem.” She frowned and turned to Alkema. “Solve that problem.” Alkema sighed and began working his station. He accessed the primary tactical sensor array. “I’ll have to scan for ion trials, maybe I can track their flight into the atmosphere. It’s going to be tough in this radioactive environment.”
“I know you will find them,” Change assured Alkema. “The hard part will be getting to them. They may be in hangars, and even if they are in the open, they will be heavily defended.”
Alkema added, “According to your mission report, the Hellions rigged their ships to explode. They could destroy them before we get a chance.”
“Then, they won’t have the Tritium either, but I don’t think they will do that,” Change said. “It’s too valuable to them.”
“Either way, it could get messy,” Alkema argued. “We should probably try a negotiated solution.”
“That is one possibility,” Change informed him. “We’ll target the ships from space and give the Hellions an ultimatum: Give us our tritium, or we’ll destroy yours.” Alkema missed a beat, then he said, “Your approach to negotiations is different than others.”
“I would still prefer not to destroy the Tritium,” she said. Then, she challenged him. “If you have a better plan, Lt. Commander, I’m open.”
Alkema’s eyebrows knitted, he stared down at his station, not seeing it but looking past it. Then, that look came into his eyes, and he said, “Maybe there is another way.” Pegasus – Bridge
Two hours and four minutes later, and after a moderate degree of asteroid-related peril Pegasus arrived at the system coordinates. But the planet wasn’t there. Operations Specialist Roentgen, who was on Telemetry, dreaded having to inform TyroCommander Change of this fact. Atlantic was more terrified that he had gotten them to the wrong coordinates than he had been at the giant, doughnut-shaped rock he had dodged an hour and a half earlier.
Alkema spared both of them. “We’ve arrived at the coordinates from Liminix’s navigational core, but I am not detected a planet here.” All were surprised that Change’s disappointment registered only in a frown. “The navigational data was probably out-of-date. The planet must be along this orbital path, but not in this position. Send out a broad scan and see if it’s within range.”
“Stand down weapons?” Alkema asked.
“Our odds of finding them before they have offloaded the Tritium are remote,” Change told him. “If we don’t locate them very quickly…” That didn’t really answer Alkema’s question, but she seemed to think it did, so he kept weapons at ready just to be safe.
Roentgen sent out three-hundred-sixty degree scans along each of the ship’s three axes.
“Commander, I have detected something 4,000,000 kilometers distant.”
“The dwarf planet?” Change asked.
“Negative,” Roentgen reported. “It appears to be a ship.”
“One of the Tritium Haulers?” Alkema asked, but as he was transferring the data to his station he saw that it wasn’t.
“Negative, Sir,” Roentgen told him. “It’s way too big to be a tritium hauler. It’s almost half as large as Pegasus.”
“Is it a Solarite Mother-Ship?” Change asked.
“I don’t know,” Roentgen answered. “There’s too much neutrino interference from the sun to get a clear…”
“Then, let’s take a close look,” Change decided, and she ordered Atlantic to take them in closer.
Section 08
The HellFire System – Space
Pegasus pulled up close (relatively speaking) to the alien ship. Approaching from the aft side. It was not as large or elegant as Pegasus, essentially a 2,000 meter cylinder with a large cluster of engines encircling the back and a large round sphere in-front. Both the engines and the front sphere where connected to the cylinder by a cage-work of girders and beams, that also partially enclosed the main cylinder. The plating on the sphere and the cylinder was smooth and mirror-like, reflecting the stars.
The three other tritium haulers were attached to the framework that connected the propulsion sections to the rest of the ship and enclosed three large spheres, just aft of the main cylinder,.
Pegasus – Main Bridge
“The three spheres are tritium tanks,” David Alkema reported, relaying the results of a penetrating neutrino scan and projecting the results to a hologram in the middle of the Bridge.
“Fully loaded,” Alkema added. “There must be 5.7 million liters of tritium on that ship… minimum.”
“Have the carriers offloaded their cargo?” Change asked.
“They still scan as full,” Driver reported. “It’s almost like the haulers are being used as auxiliary fuel tanks.
“I’m reading almost ten thousand individual life signs on that ship.” Specialist Roentgen reported, then wondered aloud. “What are they doing?” Alkema shook his head. “I don’t know,
“They’re leaving,” Change explained to them. “That ship is a multi-generational transport.”
“How can you know that?” Alkema asked.
Change stood, approached the display, and altered it to an internal scan of the ship.
“Look at the schematics, check all these hard connectors between these individual pods and these primary and secondary life support systems. Those pods are stasis pods. There are also massive cargo storage areas in the centerline of the ship.”
“If they were in stasis, I would have detected them,” Roentgen protested.
“They aren’t in stasis yet,” Change answered. “Probably waiting until they’ve left the system. They’ve been losing their war against the Solarites for years, so they’re pulling out.” Alkema agreed. “That makes sense.”
“Do they have any weaponry?” Change asked.
“Minimal,” Alkema reported as he read the scans. “Short-range ion-cannons, missiles with nucleonic warheads, nothing our defenses can’t handle.”
“I don’t think they’ve even noticed us,” Roentgen said.
“Agreed,” Alkema agreed. “I’m not detecting any scans, nor any kind of power-spike I’d associate with weapons or shields being brought on-line.”
“Let’s make them notice us,” Change said. “Roentgen, send out a hail. Inform them that Lieutenant Commander Change of the Pathfunder Ship Pegasus wants their undivided attention and abject fear.”
For a split-second, Alkema thought she was joking.
“I’m not joking,” she told them.
“You just sounded like Commander Keeler for a moment,” Alkema said.
Change scowled. “I’ll forget that you said that.”
Some seconds passed. “They are ignoring our hails,” Roentgen reported.
“Target the particle cannons for a display burst in front of their bow,” Change ordered.
“That should get their attention,”
Alkema said, targeting and firing the weapons. The display burst exploded in front of the Hellion ship in a blaze of brilliant light and sent shockwaves along its length.
They waited. “Still no response,” Roentgen reported.
“Maybe we need to speak up,” Change decided. “Raise the yield and prepare to fire a double burst.”
“Message coming in,” Roentgen told her.
“Stand by weapons,” Change told Alkema. “Give me a message display.” A holo-projection appeared in front of the command station. A middle-aged Hellion in a black uniform, trimmed in white and red, stood stoically before them. “I am Captain Aja, of the starship Legacy X. You are requested to stand down your unprovoked attack before we are force to retaliate.”
Alkema suppressed a little smile. Change simply raised an eyebrow, as she responded to him. “We’ve come for the Tritium, in fulfillment of our honest contract.”
“How did you find us?” Aja demanded.
“Never mind how, I just did,” Change answered him. “I will remind you of the terms of our agreement. In return for 600,000 liters of Tritium, we were to pilot one decoy ship to distract the Solarites while you evacuated the remaining Tritium from Hellfire Station 3. We fulfilled our end of the bargain, however, you apparently filled the cargo tanks of our ship with slush deuterium.”
“It was regrettable to have to deceive you,” Aja said, in a monotone devoid of any hint of real regret. “You must understand that we were desperate. We apologize if our actions have caused you any offense.”
“No, we aren’t offended,” Change told him. “And if you just pay us what we’re owed, we’ll be able to put this behind us.”
Aja frowned. “I am afraid that will not be possible.”
“I understand completely,” Change replied. “Lt. Commander Alkema, target Hammerhead missiles on the bridge of that ship.”
Alkema was taken aback, “Commander?”
“Stand by to target an additional brace of Hammerheads on the rear quarter.” Change ordered. She turned to Aja’s impassive face on the screen. “We also happen to be desperate.” Aja began to display signs of nervousness. “If you destroy the bridge, you may destroy the entire ship.”
“Yes,” Change agreed. “That is a possibility.”
“There are thousands of innocent lives on this ship!” Aja protested. “Women!
Children!”
“With any luck at all, we’ll just kill you,” Change replied, and signaled to Alkema to lock weapons.
Aja squinted at them, fear or rage was hard to tell. “If you destroy this ship, you’ll destroy the Tritium.”
“We weren’t going to have any Tritium anyway,” Change repeated. “Lt. Cmdr Alkema?”
“Hammerheads are targeting the Main Bridge, Tyro commander,” he said. The hesitation in his voice was clear, though. It would be apparent to Aja that he was not in agreement with his commander’s strategy.
“Stand by to fire on my mark,” Change told him.
Aja stared hard back at her. “You are a civilized people. You would not fire on a defenseless ship.”
Change did not give a centimeter. “Tactical, Fire the first brace of Hammerheads.”
“Stop!” Aja yelled. He held out a hand as though to hold them off, and spent a few seconds recovering his calm before speaking again. “Perhaps, there is room for negotiation. We may able to give you some of our Tritium.”
Change raised her arm toward Alkema, telling him to hold off, but only for a moment.
“How much Tritium will you be willing to give us,” Change.
“We could spare 10,000 liters. No more,” Aja told her.
“Why are you wasting my time?” Change signaled to Alkema. “Tactical, target a single Hammerhead at their bridge and have a brace standing by. Maybe someone lower in the chain of command will see reason after their captain is dead.”
“How much do you want?” Aja said, with a gratifying edge of panic in his voice.
“All of what we are owed,” Change persisted. “600,000 liters. Not a drop less.”
“That is impossible!” Aja insisted. “At least, let us negotiate before you begin killing us.
We are the last of our people.”
“That is not my problem,” Change protested.
Alkema interrupted. “TyroCommander, we have them in a box. We can take the Tritium any time we want. Please reconsider my plan. Can we at least give my idea a shot and see if it will work?”
Change shot him an angry look.
“We have nothing to lose, TyroCommander,” Alkema insisted plaintively. “And, if it works, we only need a fraction of our load of Tritium.” Change closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. “My executive officer thinks he has a compromise solution. I am willing to give his solution a chance to work, but if I detect any lapse in your cooperation, if I even sense that you’re trying to cheat us again, your ship will not leave this system intact. Is that clear?”
“I think we may be able to agree on that,” Aja barked, still managing to sound arrogant despite the losing hand he was holding.
“Lt. Commander Alkema,” Change asked. “How much Tritium do we need to for the catalytic process?”
“20,000 liters should be sufficient,” Alkema said. “But let’s ask for 30,000, just to be sure.”
Change appeared to agree, but made it clear she was reluctant. “We will need 30,000
liters of Tritium.”
Aja seemed relieved, but tried to remain unemotional. “What catalytic process?” Change explained. “Lt. Cmdr. Alkema thinks that the slush deuterium you provided can be transformed into Tritium, but we need a Tritium catalyst to commence the procedure.”
“That is impossible,” Aja snarled.
“I agree,” Change nodded. “Frankly, I’d rather shoot you.”
“It’s a theory,” Alkema put in brightly. “With a little luck, we can catalyze 20% of Liminix’s cargo into usable Tritium. It’s not a lot, but it should last us until we find a star system with exploitable quantities.” He paused. “If it works.”
“That’s still not a lot,” Change said. She looked up at Aja and stared at him hard.
“We can spare 25,000 liters of Tritium,” Aja told them.
Change reluctantly ssented. “We’ll accept your offer of 25,000 liters of Tritium…
provisionally. If we succeed in catalyzing another 100,000 liters from the Liminix, you will be free to go.”
Aja made a gesture to one of his crew and the screen froze and went silent for some seconds. Then, it returned, as though it has been paused and fast-forwarded. “We respectfully request the presence of a technical crew to observe the catalytic process.”
“Absolutely not,” Change snapped.
Aja held out his hands as though beseeching her. “You must understand, we are desperate. The Solarites have made it impossible for us to remain in this system. We have enough Tritium fuel to reach Fallon. But, if Fallon is untenable as a relocation colony, we will have to then go to Moraine. We have barely enough Tritium to reach Moraine, but if you can really catalyze deuterium into Tritium, that could provide us with enough fuel to be assured of reaching Moraine. Our chances of survival will double.” Change sat in the captain’s seat with an intense expression, weighing her exasperation and anger with the Hellion’s against that sense of decency that compelled her to help. “All right,” she finally submitted. She held up four fingers. “Four technical observers, unarmed.
And one of them must be from the team that salvaged Liminix.” Aja smiled like he had just won. “I had hoped you would be amenable to reason. We will begin preparing our workers. I will inform you when the workers and the Tritium are ready.” He stopped transmitting before Change could say any more.
Pegasus – Hangar Bay
Within a couple of hours, two shuttles had been dispatched from Legacy X to Pegasus.
One carried the first 10,000 liters of Tritium, and was instructed to hold position until the catalytic converters
were ready. A flight of heavily armed Aves held position nearby, in case the Hellions had any notion of detonating the cargo of Tritium in Pegasus’s vicinity.
The other shuttle carried a small technical crew. These were not decrepit shuttles like the one that had flown Change, Driver and the others into the stellar atmosphere to recover Liminix CH-53. They were sleek and white, and looked brand new.
David Alkema and four warfighters met the shuttle in Hangar Bay Delta. The shuttle came to rest at an empty docking station after making a slow, careful passage through the landing tunnel. A hatch on the center portion opened and folded out, creating a kind of staircase. He recognized Technician Logo from the mission reports.
“Are you the leader of this group,” he asked her.
“I am,” Technician Logo answered.
Alkema addressed her and her crew. “The catalytic process will be monitored from a facility in the UnderDecks of this ship. These men and I will escort you there. You are not to leave the facility without authorization from me, and you will at all times be in the company of an armed security detail, is that understood?”
“It is,” Technician Logo agreed. “However, such precautions are not necessary. We have only come to observe the process, and not interfere.”
Alkema said only, “Come this way,” and led them to a tubeway station, where a transport pod was waiting to take them deep into the guts of the ship. They split into two groups, Alkema and one warfighter riding with Logo and another technician whose coverall patch identified him as “Ota.” Another pod took two more warfighters and the other Hellfire personnel into the ship.”
Alkema said nothing at first as the pod took them deeper into Pegasus’s UnderDecks.
“How were you able to find us?” Logo asked him timidly, after the silence had not gone on long enough.”
“Lieutenant Commander Change is extremely smart, and very determined,” Alkema answered. “You would be wise not to cross her again.”
“What will happen if the catalytic conversion process doesn’t work?” Logo asked some time later as the pod continued its descent.
