Trader Vyx

by DePrima, Thomas

  "I'll control them, Captain, for a while. The longer they remain cooped up in the station, the more desperate they'll become."

  "Then I'll say good-bye now, for the day after you loose control it'll be too late."

  Bacheer stared at her intently. "With most other Spacc officers, I'd say they were bluffing. Space Command doesn't condone mass murder. With you though, I believe that you're deadly serious."

  "Good, because I am, and it's well that you understand that I won't hesitate to fire the torpedoes if you force my hand. And, just for the record, Space Command doesn't consider actions necessary for the suppression of an armed prisoner revolt, to be mass murder. How many people do you have in the habitat, by the way? I'd like to know for my report in case I have to exercise our final option."

  "Until you started firing, we had between seven and eight thousand. I don't know what the count is now, but it has to be closer to six than eight. We haven't had time to recover the bodies. May we have your permission to search the destroyed ships, and also look for people trapped in airtight compartments?"

  "Can you completely control your people? Because if just one of them decides to fire a laser at us, release a torpedo, or tries to send a message while aboard a damaged ship, we'll be forced to terminate the station."

  "I'll control them."

  "Very well. Use non-IDS frequencies to let us know which ship you'll be checking, and check just one ship at a time. Make sure that you've evacuated all your searchers before you start on the next. Any sign of activity after you say that you've vacated a ship will be considered an action against our authority. You have us vastly outnumbered and my gunners are very nervous. Don't give them an excuse to open fire."

  Bacheer stood up slowly, eyeing the cats. "I won't, Captain. Thank you for a delicious lunch. Be sure to drop by so that I can repay your kindness."

  "You're welcome, Mr. Bacheer. I hope you survive the coming days."

  Bacheer looked at her grimly and nodded, then turned. The mess hall door opened as he reached it, revealing an anxious looking Marine guard. They escorted him back to the flight bay where he and the three pilots squeezed into one of the tiny patrol ships. The launch airlock was depressurized, the outer door opened, and the small craft moved out and headed towards the habitat.

  Marine Lieutenant Leese returned to the conference room after the ship had left. Jenetta had taken the cats back to her briefing room before also returning to the conference room.

  "The shuttle and patrol craft that were left are free of explosives or listening devices, Captain. We disconnected the remote manipulation controls."

  "Thank you."

  "Were the two ships the reason for having him come over here, Captain?" Lieutenant Matthews asked.

  "Partially. We needed a shuttle. I also wanted a chance to repeatedly impress upon him the fact that we would take action if any attempt to escape was made. I had one more objective, as well. Doctor Doran helped me with that one. The food and beverages that we offered the pilots waiting near the flight bay, and all the food and wine that was given to Bacheer, were laced with a virile strain of the Kuwloon Flu. It takes a couple of days to fully incubate in a new host, but it then mutates into a highly contagious, non-lethal, airborne pathogen. In a few days to a week, with any luck, the entire station is going to be dreadfully sick. Or at least those that haven't built up the antibodies to fight it. It shouldn't kill anyone, but some will wish that they could die. As you probably know, it takes a human as long as three months to fully recover from the effects of Kuwloon Flu, which is why Space Command requires that all military personnel receive an inoculation booster every five years. There hasn't been a reported outbreak in thirty years, so it's possible that the station personnel are highly susceptible. Our own people are protected."

  Lieutenant Commander Pulsen smiled and shook his head. "Oh, that was nasty, Captain."

  Jenetta grinned. "It's better than firing torpedoes at the habitat to control the Raiders. We're lucky that there are small samples of non-lethal infectious agents in the medical bay. This will buy us some more time for the cavalry to arrive. Let's get down to business. Did you come up with any ideas while we were gone?"

  "Here's a list of the ideas that were put forth while you were gone, Captain," Lieutenant Commander Pulsen said as he handed her a holo-tube.

  Jenetta looked at the list and said, "Very good. Let's discuss each one and define our responses."

  Jenetta walked to her briefing room after the conference room meeting was over. Sitting down at her desk, she sat up straight and pushed the record button on her com unit.

  "Message to Captain Gavin of the GSC battleship Prometheus, from Jenetta Carver, Commander, Captain of the GSC Colorado. Begin recording.

  "Hello Captain. While we were waiting for help to arrive, a Raider destroyer happened across our position. We had buttoned up the ship, trying to look like a hole in space, but we must have been directly in their path and they stopped to investigate. We didn't acknowledge their hails, and they were unable to board us, so they dispatched half a dozen tugs to tow us back to their base before they continued on. We could have destroyed the Raider ship, or destroyed the tugs after the Raider ship left, but I decided that it was best not to reveal our presence inside the ship, and allow ourselves to be taken to their base.

  "After being towed into their asteroid, the Colorado was moved to their reclamation area so that it might be boarded. I waited until the workmen turned their attention to us, then made my move. Using our Sub-Light engines and thrusters, we maneuvered to a position across from the habitat, just inside the entrance of the base. We attacked, and successfully destroyed, all sixteen of the largest warships parked at the airlocks piers. We ignored the ones that didn't have rear torpedo capability. The base commander subsequently surrendered the station to us. Prisoner count is estimated as high as eight thousand, but as many as two thousand Raider personnel may have been killed when we destroyed the warships. We currently have a tenuous hold on this station and request that reinforcements proceed here with all possible haste. The commandant has identified the station as being Raider Eight, however I can't independently verify the accuracy of that statement at this time.

  "My navigator will append an exact position fix to this encrypted message. I realize that the Prometheus is still about six months away, but it would be useful to know what other ships have been tasked to assist us. It would also be helpful if they were to contact us directly. Please respond as soon as possible.

  "Commander Jenetta Carver, Captain of the GSC Colorado, message complete."

  Jenetta calculated that the Commandant could control the Raider group for at least a month. He would first tell them that he was preparing a battle plan to free the station. The intentional release of the flu used to infect the station might extend that by as much as another three months because no one would expect a plan to be implemented while everyone was deathly sick. But then he would start to encounter resistance. Eventually, the Raider personnel would revolt and probably take some reckless action, rather than simply waiting for jailers to come take them into custody. Even a cornered rabbit will fight back, and these were anything but timid rabbits. Another possibility was that Bacheer would actually lead a revolt immediately, or just after the flu subsided.

  In the hours following the visit to the Colorado, Raider personnel went through the wrecked ships and removed bodies and trapped comrades. The Colorado's laser gunners manned their guns and watched nervously, but no one started any trouble on that first day.

  * * *

  Admiral Moore took his seat at the center of the large horseshoe shaped table in the enormous meeting hall that the Admiralty Board used for both private and semi-private sessions at Space Command Supreme Headquarters on Earth.

  "Good morning," he said to the other nine admirals at the table and the room in general. He cleared his throat and said, "I've called this special meeting to discuss a situation that has just developed near the new Frontier Zone bo
rder in sector 8667-3511-0131.5672. I have a copy of a message from Commander Jenetta Carver to Captain Lawrence Gavin of the Prometheus that I'll play now."

  "Dear God," Admiral Hubera said, "not Carver again. What trouble has she gotten into now? I thought we would have some peace and quiet with her stranded in the Frontier Zone."

  Admiral Moore simply nodded to his aide, who played back the message as everyone turned to look at the enormous monitor screen that occupied an entire wall of the room.

  When the message ended, Admiral Moore said, "In answer to your earlier question, Donald, it appears that Commander Carver has, with just a small, damaged scout ship, captured an entire Raider base, like the one she single-handedly destroyed in sector 8667-3855-1639.5273, and the one she helped capture and turn into Dixon Space Command Base. I wish that we had a dozen more officers who consistently got into such trouble."

  "This is a fantastic development!" Admiral Hillaire said. "If we can convert this base for our own use, as we did with Dixon, it'll give us a ready to occupy base four hundred light years beyond any other. We've been estimating eight to ten years before we'd have a first space station near the new Frontier Zone border, which was ready to occupy."

  "Yes," Admiral Platt said, "we must definitely support this operation with every resource available. Commander Carver and her crew must be commended for capturing this base intact, without any loss of SC life."

  "Commended?" Admiral Hubera said incredulously. "For what? Her incapacitated ship was dragged into a Raider base. All she's done is shoot holes in a bunch of unmanned ships parked at a space dock."

  "Donald," Admiral Burke said, "it's obvious you don't appreciate the danger that the Colorado and her crew are in. They're hundreds of light years away from the nearest SC base, in very hostile space. Other Raider ships can return to the base at any time and engage them in combat. Rather than destroying the tugs, and then using her Sub-Light engines to lose themselves in the blackness of space until reinforcements arrived, Commander Carver allowed herself to be taken into this base. She had to have known what she was doing, and voluntarily taken the risk, just as she did when she entered Raider One. If that's not commendable, then I don't know what is."

  The other admirals around the table voiced their support of Admiral Burke's statement, while Admiral Hubera just muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

  * * *

  A week following the takeover, Jenetta contacted the base and asked to speak with Commandant Bacheer. It took some twenty minutes to get him on the com, and Jenetta understood why immediately. His face was red and puffy, his eyelids were drooping, and he kept blowing his nose. His slack jawed look was absolutely pitiful.

  "Hello, Commandant. I'm sorry to disturb you. I didn't realize that you were ill."

  "Didn't you? The whole station is down with the Kuwloon Flu. It had to be you who infected us?"

  "Me? I've never had the disease."

  "Then it was somebody on your ship. The symptoms of the disease were first noticed in myself and the three pilots who accompanied me to your ship."

  "And it was me that placed you together in that tiny little patrol ship so that the infected person could spread it to the others. I am sorry, Commandant."

  "I'm sure." The commandant suddenly stopped talking and his image dropped from the view screen. Jenetta heard the sounds of retching and then Bacheer reappeared, a long string of vomit or spittle dangling from his chin. "What do you want, Captain?"

  "I just wanted to find out how you're making out. My gunners are getting more nervous with each passing day. It's been so quiet that they think your people must be planning something."

  "The only thing that we're planning is get some sleep and try to get healthy."

  "Very well, Commandant. I wish you a speedy recovery. Contact me when you're well again."

  The commandant scowled and his image disappeared from the view screen to be replaced with a Space Command logo He never had a chance to see Jenetta's wry smile.

  Jenetta waited several more days, allowing the flu to really get a grip on those infected, before commencing an action that she'd been planning since they were first brought into the asteroid base. In the very early hours of the tenth day, the shuttle and security craft stealthily exited the Colorado's flight bay and approached the line of docked Raider ships. They maneuvered using only instrumentation, and night-vision glasses that made use of the dim overhead lights in the cavern.

  Starting with the largest of the ships that hadn't been destroyed by torpedo fire, the Colorado's Marines boarded through exterior airlocks and searched for any Raider personnel that might still be aboard. Once they'd certified the ships were clear, they were joined aboard ship by engineers who backed the vessels away from the airlocks and moved them to an area near the Colorado. They were then tethered to the asteroid's interior wall by waiting engineering staff in EVA suits. No alarms were raised and no resistance was offered. An additional group of shuttles were appropriated for the Colorado's use from the newly anchored ships.

  It took the rest of the morning to search and move all the ships that had been docked at the airlocks in front of the habitat. In all, twenty-four intact ships were moved to the far wall. Either the illness, the fear of the Colorado's torpedoes, or both, kept the Raiders from interfering with their removal. The destroyed ships, or what remained of them, were removed and towed to the reclamation area at the far end of the cavern. When the task was completed, all of the airlock piers were vacated. The only way out of the habitat now was in EVA suits, or in one of the small shuttles or patrol craft that were parked inside the habitat's flight bays. Neither type of craft could be used to mount an effective attack or escape.

  Two days later, the com operator on duty picked up a message from the GSC destroyer Geneva. Jenetta was in her quarters but came to the bridge immediately, going into her briefing room to view the message. She pressed the play button on her com unit and the image of Captain Simon Pope appeared. She had first met him years earlier, following the Battle for Higgins.

  "Hello, Commander. I understand that you've been busy taking the fight to the Raiders again. Congratulations on your latest Raider base acquisition. We're proceeding at top speed to your location, and we should arrive in forty-seven days to support you.

  "See you soon. Captain Simon Pope aboard the GSC destroyer Geneva. End of message."

  Jenetta pushed the com screen down and sat back in her chair. Forty-seven days! They were going to be pretty haggard by the time support arrived, but it was far better than the six months time until the Prometheus arrived.

  * * *

  Chapter Nine

  ~ July 8th, 2273 ~

  "It's amazing it didn't happen sooner!" Jenetta thought as the enormous heavy cruiser entered the asteroid's cavernous opening.

  It was the twenty-second day following the takeover, and a Raider warship had arrived at the base. Jenetta had received plenty of warning, and they were ready The ship had been transmitting a repeating message for over two hours.

  The IDS bands are always filled with encrypted, unreadable traffic, but the repeating frequency of this one suggested that the transmitting ship was not far away. Normally, you sent a message and then waited hours, days, or weeks for a reply, before sending it again. The exceptions occurred when the ship was very close, or if it was sending a distress signal. But distress signals are usually sent in the clear. The Colorado's computer had identified the repeating pattern and alerted the com operator to the irregularity.

  The computer couldn't decipher the encrypted message, but analysis of the signal strength showed that the source was getting closer. There was little doubt that the people in the habitat knew of the ship's imminent arrival, so an engineer was standing by on the Colorado, ready to jam the band, in case anyone attempted to warn the ship off. The garrison in the habitat must have been expecting a large, heavily armed and armored ship to easily overcome the much smaller Colorado, so no attempt at contact was made.

/>   The warship entered slowly and cautiously, stopping while half the ship was still in the kilometers long entrance tunnel. The small Colorado was off its starboard side, mixed in among the ships that had been pulled from the airlocks and anchored to the cavern wall opposite the habitat. To the eyes of the cruiser crew, the Colorado would look as innocuous as the other ships, although they must have found it strange that there were no ships docked at the airlock piers.

  Working on the hypothesis that the eyes of the crew would most likely be looking forward once the cruiser started to move again, Jenetta waited until the cruiser was completely inside the asteroid's large cavern before giving the command to fire. Three torpedoes with high-explosive warheads flew from the Colorado's launching tubes, covering the distance to the Raider ship in seconds. Before its crew could even begin to react to the threat, the torpedoes slammed into the cruiser and plowed through inches of titanium armor before detonating. Explosions ripped great holes in the hull, and filled the cavern entrance with flying debris. Jenetta would have preferred to take the ship peacefully, but she knew that was impossible. They'd fight before surrendering. By striking without warning, there was less danger to Jenetta's crew, and that was her first concern.

  Pieces of the cruiser tumbled in every direction following the attack. Some of it struck the habitat, but didn't penetrate the heavily reinforced outer walls. A few pieces even struck the Colorado, but it naturally did no damage. With the excitement over, Jenetta ordered her engineers to clean up the mess. As several Colorado crewmen left to man space tugs that would be used to tow the major hull sections to the reclamation area, two others left in the patrol ship to get one of the sweeper ships with a large scoop used to keep the cavern's interior clean of smaller items. In an enclosed space, and with the weightlessness of space, space junk was always floating around, and the port would normally be 'swept' several times a day.