Piece of Nicias: A Sci-Fi Novel

by Francis J Coyle

  “It would depend on the size of the ship sir.” Hammond said. “Do you see any potential problems at Jewel? I have not followed the political situation there.”

  “Two aristocrats have recently been killed in Jewel by a pair of assassins.” Hammond said. “Alfred Dunstead and Sasha LaRue were both shot dead in separate hotels. This has left an upheaval in the political arena and a power vacuum which will create chaos in any negotiations. I am not expecting an assassination attempt against our employer you understand, but you will be the last line of defence.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “You do not seem happy Lieutenant, is there something wrong?”

  “Permission to speak freely sir?”

  “Of course.”

  “I feel like I’m a dog at a pound who has been given away to the first person who asks.” Hammond said. “My loyalty has been sold so, forgive me if I do not seem happy at the prospect.”

  “You could always refuse the order.” Leyland said.

  “I have never refused an order sir.” Hammond said. “I am yours to command.”

  “You will report in two days to Space Station Gamma.” Leyland said. “A reservation in your name will be waiting on the morning shuttle service. There is a ship currently docked at the space station, a small freighter called Piece of Nicias. You will take charge of the two squads of Peace Officers on arrival. Do you have any questions?”

  “No sir.”

  “I will see you in two days.” Leyland said.

  Hammond watched his retreating back. Leyland was scared and that worried Hammond.

  Chapter Four

  “Not over there, the main hold. All goods still packaged in crates go into the main hold.”

  Captain Stone’s voice was getting hoarse. He had been trying to provision the spaceship for two days and it was difficult trying to do it alone.

  “The packaging says it contains missiles for the main gun. Do you still want it in the hold?”

  “You’re right.” Stone rubbed a weary hand across his face. “Place it in the smaller hold for the moment, we can reorganise the missiles once we have gotten underway.”

  The last ship that Stone had commanded was a space liner. Due to its size, the liner would have moored several miles from the space station and a network of shuttles would have serviced the space liner, transporting passengers and provisions to and fro across the vastness of space. Some of the larger freighters would have equally struggled to approach the space station.

  The Piece of Nicias was small enough to dock at the station. Three umbilical tubes connected to the ship, giving access to each of the two cargo holds and also to the main deck. Ships obviously were not allowed to make contact directly with the station as any unexpected movement would damage it. Instead the tubes would expand and flex without losing the critical seal. The cargo haulers could drive the provisions into the spaceship’s hold without the need for a bulky spacesuit.

  A large bus navigated across the concourse towards Stone and stopped. Stone watched as twenty Peace Officers stepped out, each carrying a single military kit bag. An officer joined them then approached Stone and threw him a crisp salute.

  “Lieutenant Hammond reporting for duty sir.”

  “Lieutenant Hammond?” Stone said. “I was not expecting any Peace Officers to join us on this trip. What do we need Peace Officers for?”

  Hammond opened a leather satchel and withdrew a sheaf of papers.

  “These are my travel orders sir.” Hammond said. “The document at the bottom was given to me by Mr Leyland from the Opaque Cat Consultancy group. They requested my presence and that of my men for the passage on board the Piece of Nicias.”

  “But what are you to do?” Stone said. “I do not have provisions for your men, nor do we have sufficient bunk space.”

  “I’m sorry sir but my orders are non-discretionary.” Hammond said. “If necessary, we are willing to bunk in the corridor or broom closet.”

  Stone sighed. This task was becoming more difficult than expected.

  “The small hold,” he said finally. “Your men can remove the missiles from their packaging and deliver them to the magazine room for the main gun. That will free up the small hold. Meanwhile I will order some lumber and small cots. Your men can literally make their own beds if they want to lie in them. Will that do?”

  “Show us the way.” Hammond said.

  Stone could see a number of the Peace Officers stir uncomfortably at the back. He pointed to the tube leading to the small hold and watched as Hammond led his men towards it.

  Two of the Peace Officers peeled off to stand in front of each of the entry tubes. They each hurriedly strapped on guns.

  “Hammond.” Stone called.

  Hammond ordered his men to halt and hurried back to Stone.

  “Lieutenant.” Hammond said. “You need to address me as Lieutenant.”

  “Lieutenant.” Stone said. “Why are your men wearing guns?”

  “I have been given orders to protect this ship.”

  “But guns? There is a reason they are banned in space, onboard space stations and spaceships. If one of your Peace Officers shoots his weapon. Then this will cause a problem with the integrity of the ship.”

  “My men are well trained sir. They will only discharge their weapons if ordered to.”

  “Regardless. If you wish to travel aboard my ship, none of your men will be armed. Collect the weapons quickly before someone notices and we are ejected from the space station.”

  Hammond hesitated, then threw Stone a sharp salute. The Peace Officers guarding each of the tubes were disarmed, the rest were marched into the small hold.

  Stone sighed then grinned as he noticed a familiar figure walking along the concourse. David Rawlins was late as usual. He was carrying a large kit bag over one huge shoulder.

  “What time do you call this?” Stone asked with a grin.

  “I call it too early.” Rawlins replied. “What was up with the Peace Officers, do they think you are transporting contraband?”

  “I wish it was as simple as that.” Stone said. “They are joining us as passengers. I have given them the small hold to bunk in. I’ll order them some lumber and let them sort themselves out.”

  “Have the rest of the crew arrived?”

  “All but the engineers. I have got three additional engineers to help you in the engine room. That will allow us to set an eight hour shift pattern with an overlap at the start and end of each shift.”

  Rawlins brightened at this.

  “I will miss the space liner where we had twenty engineers, enough for each engine.”

  “That won’t happen anytime soon.” Stone said. “Get below and engage the station keeping engines we will be leaving in an hour.”

  Rawlins picked up his kit bag and trotted to the main entrance. The two Peace Officers had watched the exchange and waved him through.

  *

  James Rivan slowed his pace slightly as he turned to look back at Tyler Hart.

  Hart had revealed during the journey on the shuttle that he had never been to space before, not even to visit the Flower hotel nor the Selune Playing Grounds. He looked a little ill, the thrust of the shuttle had pressed him back into his seat, and complained he could not breath the thinner, oxygen-rich atmosphere of the concourse on the Space Station. He dragged his heels ignoring the wonderful views of the planet floating below.

  “There’s the Captain ahead.” Rivan said. “Smile. Pretend to be happy to be here, otherwise the Captain might send us back.”

  Hart smiled though his smile did not extend to his eyes. They both approached Stone.

  “Sorry we are late Captain.” Rivan said.

  Captain Stone looked at them with a harried expression.

  “About time the two of you arrived.” Stone said. “Where’s your kit bags?”

  Stone got distracted by a question from another of the drivers of the delivery trucks. He spoke for a moment before turning back to the pair.
<
br />   “Go below on the ship and find engineering. You will be reporting to Rawlins, he is the First Engineer on the ship. He will confirm where you are to bunk and get you sorted.”

  Rivan and Hart were waved into the freighter by a pair of Peace Officers. They strode across the brightly lit entrance tube and through the outer hull.

  The inner passageway of the ship had several sealed doors. Four of them were numbered staterooms, the fifth marked kitchen, the next toilet, and the last door, which had a Peace Officer standing guard, was marked as the bridge. The Peace Officer gruffly told them to use the kitchen door.

  They stepped through the door into a large kitchen and dining area. There were perhaps a dozen Peace Officers talking excitedly to each other. They stopped talking as the door slid back revealing Rivan and Hart. Rivan froze for a moment as all the Peace Officers turned to stare at him.

  “Engineering?”

  In silence one of the Peace Officers pointed to a door at the far end marked ‘Engineering and Holds’. They scurried across the kitchen, careful not to step on outstretched legs. The door unsealed at their touch and they stepped through.

  The corridor was narrow but warm. It was very dimly lit. Pipes led along the bottom of the corridor and had yellow warning signs ‘do not touch’. On touching them, Rivan confirmed they were the source of the heat. They had to squeeze past some more Peace Officers who were carrying small thin boxes from the small hold, along the corridor and up some steps.

  Hart waited until they were alone in the corridor before whispering.

  “What have you got us into. I was expecting a nice brightly lit cabin, perhaps a desk job in a cruise ship, instead I’m aboard a tub of a ship following you into the bowels of it.”

  “Trust me.” Rivan said. He indicated an airtight hatch on the left. “It’s a lot better than exile and the Captain has an agreement that we will actually get paid for this.”

  Hart started to mumble a reply but then the airtight hatch swung open and the engineer stepped out.

  “James Rivan.” Rivan offered his hand. “This is ...”

  “Tyler Hart, I know.” Rawlins said. “Captain Stone told me to expect you. Have you seen Shank Patters yet, he is the last of the engineering crew?”

  “Just us.” Hart said. “We came up together on the shuttle with the Peace Officers.”

  “Come in.” Rawlins said. “Let me get you settled.”

  They stepped through the airtight hatch and Rawlins secured it after them. He led the way through a narrow passageway which opened up into a large and very brightly lit compartment. Each bulkhead wall was covered in dials and lights. A pair of computer consoles sat in one corner. There was a hatch on the far wall and a similar hatch on the floor.

  “This is an older ship than what you might be used to.” Rawlins said. “The principles are the same so I’m sure you will find it easy to pick it up. The hatch on the far wall leads to our quarters, as there are four of us, we will take turns in sleeping there. It is not large enough for a kitchen however, so we will be sharing with the remainder of the crew upstairs.”

  “Where are the engines?” Rivan asked.

  Rawlins indicated the hatch on the floor.

  “The manoeuvring engines are directly below.” Rawlins said. “The compartment also contains the ship’s condensers, evaporators, pumping systems, and generators. The compartment below that contains the jump point drive, do you have any experience with jump engines?”

  When both Rivan and Hart shook their heads, Rawlins sighed then continued.

  “Never mind. By the time we arrive at the planet Jewel I will explain some of the workings of it so you can watch dials.”

  “Watch dials, that we can do.” Rivan said.

  “It’s better to watch dials than look at the computer screen and hope that it diagnoses the problem for you.” Rawlins said.

  “I totally agree.” Hart said.

  “Do you want to go through and choose a bunk?” Rawlins asked. “I have started the manoeuvring engines as the Captain expects to leave the station shortly. I need to keep an eye on it at the moment. Join me when you’re ready.”

  Rivan and Hart stepped through the hatch into a rather cosy bedroom. There were eight bunk beds in the brightly coloured room. A small kettle perched on an untidy book shelf. Tins of coffee and tea sat on another shelf. One bed had a large unopened kit bag resting on it.

  Rivan choose a lower bunk and stretched out on it.

  “Are you sure that this will work?” Hart asked.

  “No.” Rivan said. “However once the ship has left the space station, what can they do?”

  Hart shook his head. He had a bad feeling about this.

  *

  “Heads up.”

  Captain Stone glanced up at the driver then followed his gaze. Three figures were walking along the concourse towards them. The first person was Mike Leyland, the second Stone assumed was Simmons, the third was a very attractive young lady.

  “Captain Stone, I am delighted to see you here.” Leyland said. “May I present Paul Simmons, my employer, and Miss Rosie Ire, his assistant.”

  As Stone extended his hand, Paul Simmons breezed past waving his left hand in apology. The index finger of his right hand was in his right ear, his thumb pressed against his jaw. Presumably he was making a call or discussing something with his A.I.. Rosie Ire pressed a delicate perfumed hand into his outstretched hand before sweeping past.

  “As you can see he is very busy.” Leyland said. “How soon can we embark?”

  “I have arranged for extra provisions for the Peace Officers as well as bunk beds for them.” Stone said. “They have just arrived and will be aboard momentarily. The pilot and cook have also arrived as have three of the four engineers. I want to delay departure for an hour to see if the last engineer arrives.”

  “No delays.” Leyland said. “I want us to leave on time. If the last engineer is not here, then we leave without him.”

  “With respect sir, we can’t.” Stone said. “A ship of this size would normally have eight engineers to deal with the manoeuvring engines, the jump engines, as well as the compressor and other generators. I asked for four engineers as that would be the minimum number we can get away with. Less than that is dangerous.”

  “I’m afraid we will have to take that risk.” Leyland said. “We simply do not have the time. Make the arrangements Captain.”

  Chapter Five

  “Seal outer hatch.” Captain Stone said into the microphone.

  He stood at the outer hatch and watched as the it slid noiselessly closed. He checked the lights and, after confirming that they were red, spun the wheel to lock the hatch.

  “Outer hatch secure.” Stone said and waited for the affirmative.

  “Captain, can I watch the ship leaving orbit and jumping into hyperspace?”

  Stone turned. The strange lieutenant was standing behind him. Stone shrugged.

  “I suppose so.” Stone said. “As long as you stand out of the way and do not disturb us during the process I don’t see the harm.”

  “Thank you Captain.” Hammond said.

  “Have you and your men been squared away?” Stone asked.

  “The missiles from the hold have been moved to the magazine room as requested sir.” Hammond said. “The men are busily building their bunks with the lumber you provided.”

  “If you wish to bunk with me, I have a spare bed in Stateroom One that you can use.”

  “Thank you Captain. I will move my kitbag there.”

  Stone stared at the retreating back of the Peace Officer. If the lieutenant did not unbend, this would be a very long trip sharing quarters with him. He closed the inner hatch and sealed it. He checked the telltale lights that it was sealed properly and sought confirmation from the bridge that it was properly closed. He locked it and made his way to the bridge.

  The Peace Officer guarding the entrance to the bridge stepped to one side to allow the captain to pass. Stone paused for a mome
nt.

  “Who else has access to the bridge?” Stone asked.

  “The Lieutenant said that only you, the Pilot, and the Lieutenant are to have access.” The Peace Officer replied.

  “Add to that the First Engineer.” Stone said.

  Stone stepped through the hatch. The bridge was smaller than his last command. The cruise liner had a huge bridge with twelve officers of the deck, each with a specialised role. On a small freighter like this, the bridge officers each had to double up on the roles. The pilot was also expert in both inner system navigation as well as jump navigation. She also controlled the communications and was in fact now speaking to traffic control for the space station.