by Saxon Andrew
“We will have more than two hundred armed ships ready to come to your defense.”
Leo laughed, “You’re forgetting all the other warships on Tortuga that are honor bound to participate in the chase. If they choose to join in, your two hundred warships will be useless against the thousands that would be involved. You also have to remember that there are always a couple of hundred of pirate ships hanging around at the Tortuga intersection to prevent anything like this from happening. Five million won’t spend well when you’re dead.”
“We recognize that getting him off Tortuga isn’t going to be easy but you should be able to pull it off without alerting his fleet or the other pirates on the planet.”
“That’s easy to say, quite another to do it. If it’s so easy, why don’t you just do it yourself?”
The Chief smiled, “That’s what the wealthy do with their fortunes; hire others to take the risks.”
“What about this? What if I can get the information out of him about who inside the Romanov Organization is using him? Would that be as good as capturing him for questioning?”
“If you can do that, why couldn’t you just bring him to us?”
“Have you been listening? Getting him off the planet is the hard part. Capturing him and questioning him while still on the planet would be a lot easier. I’m reasonably certain Blakely has a deep space emitter inside him that would necessitate killing him to remove it. Are you prepared to lose all of your warships to take him?”
“How will you know you have the information we need?”
Leo shrugged, “I guess you’re hoping that Blakely knows who he’s working for. What if he doesn’t know? I really suspect both you and I could hire someone to do some tasks for us and never allow them to know who’s pulling the strings; that could be the exact situation Blakely is in and all this would just be wasted effort. The point is, killing him is easier than escaping with him. I believe he knows that and will give up whatever you want to know if he possesses that information.”
The Chief hesitated and Leonidas knew he was about to say something he didn’t want to reveal, “We possess a means of getting him off the planet without being detected.”
“And just how can that be done? Are you just going to make him instantly disappear?” Leo asked sarcastically with a small grin.
“We’ll bring you a module to install on your landing bay. Put him in the module and he will be sent to us.”
“WHAT?”
“Just put him in the module and press the red button on the side of it.”
“What you’re saying is ridiculous! You’re talking about teleportation. That’s not possible!”
The Chief smiled, “Yes it is, more or less.”
“I said it’s not possible!”
“I assure you, Mr. Alexander, that if you will do as we ask, you will fulfill your contract.”
“How do I know that module you’re talking about isn’t booby trapped to blow up my ship when we use it?”
“Then install it on a shuttle and put him in there.”
Leo shook his head, “You realize that if he is sent to your home world, his deep space emitter will still be operational. The pirates on Tortuga will know where he is anywhere in the known universe and be coming to take him back.”
“That is not your problem. We’ll deal with that issue.”
Leo shook his head, “If you’re able to teleport objects, just hit him with a teleportation beam and cut out the middleman.”
“It doesn’t work that way. Just like using a communicator, there needs to be a sending and receiving unit.”
Leo stared at the Chief while shaking his head, “You’re serious?”
“I am.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this technology?”
“I would guess it’s because you don’t know as much as you think you do, Mr. Alexander.”
Leo lowered his eyes, “The price has gone up to ten million credits to make the effort and ten million to pull it off.”
“Make it fifteen million for each,” the chief replied.
Leo allowed his eyes to go wide before saying, “And how will I be paid?”
“Do you have a recommendation?”
Leo stared at the display and after a long moment of silence, he said, “First, how are you going to install that module?”
“Give us the coordinates to meet your ship and we’ll install it there.”
Leo stared at him again and then said, “Once it’s installed, send fifteen million credits in untraceable notes through the device to my vessel.”
“Done.”
“Once we send Blakely to you, send the remainder owed to me through the device again.”
“It will be sent the moment we have him in our possession.” The Chief smiled, “You’re doing this to prove our little device actually works.”
“Duh, you think? I just don’t find this technology feasible.”
“Then we need to make sure you do before you put your lives on the line.” The Chief replied.
“I’m going to take your advice and install it on a shuttle. I’ll have my navigator send you the coordinates where the shuttle will be waiting for your vessel to make the installation.”
“I’ll be waiting for the coordinates. Would tomorrow at this time be acceptable?”
“Yes. Please instruct my officer on how to operate the device.”
“All you’ll need to know is how to press one of two buttons. The green button sends whatever is in the module to us and the red button allows us to send you your credits.”
“You know your engineers will be on the shuttle when we press that red button for our initial payment?”
The Chief tilted his head, “Why are you so insecure, Mr. Alexander? You know thirty million credits is nothing to Mr. Romanov. I’m sure he wouldn’t want bad will between you and him. Besides, he might want to hire you again for future tasks that need to be done if you can make this happen.”
Leonidas nodded and said, “I’ll be sending the coordinates momentarily.”
“Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Alexander.”
The display went dark and Leo looked at Embree, “Contact Victoria, now!”
Leo waited and ten minutes later, both Victoria and Desiree appeared on his display. “Victoria, your former father has set up a scheme where I capture Blakely on Tortuga and put him in a module that will teleport him to Romania. Do you honestly think this teleportation technology actually exists and wasn’t a scheme to steal from stock holders?”
“My father told me he has proof it works. I understand that there has to be a sending and receiving unit to actually teleport anything.”
“He’s planning to install a module on one of my shuttles.”
“That’s better than putting it on your ship, Leonidas. He could just as easily teleport a bomb as anything else,” Victoria replied.
Leo shook his head, “Something about this bothers me but I can’t wrap my mind around exactly what it is.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I just don’t like this technology being in the possession of a ruthless arrogant man like Serge Romanov.”
“Well, I don’t know what you can do about it?”
“What are you going to do?” Desiree asked.
“I’m going to attempt to take Blakely and send him to your father. What do you think he’ll do with Blakely, Victoria?”
“There won’t be much of him left after the Security Agents finish questioning him. They will burn out his synapses getting the truth out of him and it will be extremely painful as they do it.”
“Will this meet your need to have him punished for killing the two in your party on the Starliner?”
“Oh yes!”
“Then I guess that will also make up for Mark’s death as well.” Leo looked at Embree, “Send the coordinates we’re sitting on now. Carl take a shuttle out tomorrow an hour early to this location and we’ll come back to pick you up after the transfer
is made.”
“Send Embree,” Carl asked.
“No, I want you to go, Carl.” Leo said sternly.
“Why me?”
“You’re the best I have on board at understanding how technology operates. I want you present when that module is installed.”
Carl rolled his eyes and Embree laughed, “Take a bottle of water with you.”
Carl said under his breath, “Take a bottle of water with you. You’re so fricking funny!”
“So you’re going to Tortuga, Leonidas?”
Leo looked at Desiree, “Yes, it appears I am.”
“We’re going to start keeping the ship on standby Battlestations starting today.”
“I hope I don’t have to call you in.”
“Before you decide to take Blakely, we’re moving in a lot closer.” Desiree said.
Leo’s mouth opened to respond but Victoria interrupted before he could speak, “This is not negotiable, Leonidas. If you don’t need us, great. However, if you do, we won’t have time to waste getting there.”
Leo stared at them and saw Barney, Carl, and Embree nodding out of the corner of his eye, “Alright. Just don’t get inside Tortuga’s scanning range.”
“Be careful, Leonidas.”
“I will, Desiree.”
Leo ended the contact and saw Embree nod, “The coordinates have been sent.”
“Carl, take the large shuttle tomorrow and stay in touch; we won’t be far.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Carl sighed as Embree said, “Sir, I really think both of us should go?”
It was hard to tell who was surprised the most, Carl or Leo, “Why is that?”
“Because I can fly the shuttle while Carl watches what they’re doing. Two sets of eyes are better than one, Sir. Someone needs to remain at the shuttle’s controls to execute an escape if it’s called for.”
Leo tilted his head and smiled, “Take a bottle of water.”
Carl and Barney both laughed out loud and Embree lifted a bottle out of his pouch, “Never leave home without one, Captain.”
Leo smiled and lifted the microphone, “Attention all crewmembers. You will start going over the list of ships we’ve supposedly destroyed, immediately. We’re going to Tortuga shortly and all of you are going to have to be on the same sheet of music when we go there. I want you to question each other until we arrive to make sure everyone knows the details. That is all.”
• • •
The Spider sat at the console and checked out the panel. The frequency that was used to keep track of what was happening was not active. Someone had changed it. Ummm, something important was happening and it was being missed. Well, whatever frequency they were now using could be found by the end of the day. The Spider smiled, “They just didn’t know who they were dealing with.” But…why did they change the frequency? Were they on to who was inside their organization? No, if they were, the Security Agents would have already arrived to make an arrest. This uncertainty was not something that was comfortable. The new frequency had to be acquired quickly.
Chapter Sixteen
Two days later, the Thermopylae arrived and took the large shuttle into the landing bay. Leonidas was waiting and Carl exited first as Embree shutdown the shuttle’s systems. “Captain, this box they installed in the shuttle is armored with battleship grade armor. I was told by the engineers that any attempt to examine what’s inside the armor would result in an immediate explosion.”
“Did you learn anything about it?”
“Not really. They moved it in and bolted it to the deck. It carries its own power supply so there wasn’t much to see. There was one item I missed that Embree discovered while the Romanov Engineers installed it. The box they installed emits one of two frequencies constantly. One frequency is emitted when it’s in send mode and a different frequency is used when it’s in receive mode.”
“How did he see it and you didn’t?”
“I suspect he discovered it because he’s our communications expert and has forgotten more about electronic frequencies than I’ve ever known. The two frequencies are far off the range of any communications channel I’ve ever seen. I suspect they’d be pretty much invisible to anyone using normal scanning equipment. My scanners did not detect them.”
Embree emerged from the shuttle and Leonidas looked at him, “Em, how did you detect those frequencies?”
“I leaned against the box while the Romanov Engineers installed it. I felt a small vibration on the surface of the box.”
Leo looked at Carl and he shook his head, “I placed my hand on the box and I didn’t feel anything.”
Leo looked back at Embree and saw him shrug, “Captain, I could feel it!”
“Ok, let’s assume that it is vibrating; why did you assume it’s a communication frequency and not a mechanical device that has a low frequency hum?” Leo asked.
“Captain, everything that vibrates produces a frequency. Even mechanical devices that have a humming sound caused by a motor emit a frequency vibration that can be detected. When my scanner didn’t detect a frequency coming from the box, I pulled out a device I developed when we were fighting for the Legion to track frequencies and even it turned up nothing.” Leo nodded for him to continue. “Well, then it became the principle of the darn thing and, as you know, I do love a challenge. I made some adjustments to my device and kept adjusting it until it began reading the two frequencies. I detected both frequencies while the Romanov Engineers were testing the module and switching between them. They are way off the normal spectrum of communication frequencies but it’s clear they are making contact with something outside the shuttle.”
“Why would someone use those frequencies, Embree?”
“Captain, they would have to be something entirely new that the device requires to operate or they are used to prevent anyone from detecting the presence of that box.”
“Captain, the credits are inside the box,” Carl interrupted.
Embree smiled, “They’re in large denomination credits but they still filled up the box.”
“Carl, I want you to get the crew to start packaging the credits into bundles that will fit in a back pack.”
“Sir, they will fill every backpack we have on board and then some.”
Leo thought about it and said, “Then put them in large boxes that can be carried off the shuttle.”
“What do you intend to do with them, Captain?” Carl asked.
“When we arrive at Tortuga, I’m going to deliver them to one of the major banks and ask for them to be deposited.”
“Do you think they’ll be safe in a Tortuga Bank?” Embree asked.
“Embree, they’ll be safer there than on our ship. I don’t want pirates thinking they can follow us if we leave the planet and take what we have on board. If we move it to a bank, they’ll realize its wasted effort to go after my ship.”
“Until you decide to withdraw it,” Carl added.
“We probably won’t do that. We’ll use those funds on Tortuga as much as we can.”
Carl nodded and went to the crewmen gathered in the landing bay and shouted, “Go and take some large boxes out of storage and let’s start packing.” Everyone stared at him and Carl snapped, “ARE YOUR FEET FROZEN TO THE DECK!?! GET MOVING NOW!” The crew immediately started moving toward the storage lockers.
Leo looked at Embree, “I need you to do some research and determine which bank on Tortuga has the largest deposits.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Leo lifted his communicator, “Barney, start moving us toward the Tortuga filament intersection and set a course to the planet.” Leo was thankful he had moved the ship close to the Tortuga filament where the installation of the box was done. He had deliberately moved it closer anticipating another call from the Romanovs. It should take just a few hours to arrive at the intersection and several more to arrive at the planet.
Leo yelled at Embree as he left the landing bay, “Once you make that determination, I want you to b
e prepared to connect me with the bank when I arrive on the bridge.” Embree nodded as he disappeared from the landing bay. He looked at Carl, “Was taking Embree with you a good idea?”
Carl turned around and nodded, “Sir, he’s pretty incredible in his understanding of electronics and communication frequencies. I never would have found those two frequencies. I honestly don’t know if they represent anything important but it’s good to know they’re there. I’m pretty certain we can be tracked as long as that box and the shuttle is on the Thermopylae.”
“Thanks, Carl. Let me know when everything is packed up. We’re going to drop the shuttle off the Tortuga filament before we arrive on the planet.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Leo left for the bridge and Embree looked up from his console as he sat in his command chair, “Sir, the First Bank of Tortuga is the largest bank and holds the most assets.”
“Contact them and request that the main officer speak with me.”
“That individual might be difficult to reach, Sir.”
“Tell him there are fifteen million reasons why he should interrupt his busy schedule.”
Embree smiled and began pushing buttons on his panel. Fifteen minutes later, a Tortugan appeared on Leo’s console’s display. Leo tried hard not to smile but the being looked very much like a turtle without a shell. It also spoke in a very deliberate voice, like a professor thinking every sentence through before saying it, “Uhhh…Captain…I understand from…your subordinate…that you wish to make a…sizable deposit into my…care.”
“I do.”
“And…he says it…is about…fifteen million…Unity Credits?”
“It is.”
“And…you contacted me…because?”
“I have never come to Tortuga in the past and I understand that my ship might be stopped by your Traffic Controller to be inspected. I do not wish to put my funds into jeopardy by having that happen.”
