by J W Murison
‘I can live with that Stevie.’
The scene was cut. Amanda felt strange waves of emotion wash through her, along with regret. She took a deep breath, ‘He didn’t want to start a relationship on a lie.’
‘Pretty much, yes.’
‘You know this means I can’t sanction him.’
‘Are you talking about a medical reason here Amanda?’
‘He has shown compassion and consideration for another person Steven. Quite often people who are mentally ill can’t. Not always of course, but definitely with what I thought he was suffering from.’ She sighed, ‘Are you going to punish me as well?’
‘No, you did nothing wrong. I have spoken to Hailey about this and put her in the picture about how secret the information was.’
‘I see.’ Amanda stood, ‘I had better let you get on then.’
As she turned away, Steven blurted out, ‘I’m sorry Amanda.’
She hesitated, ‘What for?’
‘It is my fault, it was my responsibility, I should have been the one to commit the heinous deed. If I had, you and Charlie might have stood a chance together.’
Amanda found herself shaking her head. ‘No Steven, you reacted in the normal, rational, Human way. As Charlie said himself, it was your first battle. I am quite sure even Charlie didn’t become a mass murderer in his first battle.’
Steven cringed a little inside as she disappeared back on to the bridge.
Chapter 16
Komoru ordered her ship to turn around. The patrolling she found worse than the strenuous work of winding in and out of the asteroids. At least in there the danger was all around you. Out here in the dark void of space it was tedious work that stretched the nerves to breaking point.
‘Two hours until we pick up Steven, thank goodness for that Ico.’
‘It will be good to see my mate again. She believes they are on schedule.’
‘Are we going to meet up? He is on duty right now.’
‘No my heart, Steven is occupied and doesn’t want to be disturbed until they are out of the asteroid belt. Charlie is on duty at the moment.’
‘Oh! I thought Steven and I had the same schedule.’
There was a slight pause. ‘Babes says Charlie is being punished with extra shifts.’
Komoru tried to hide a smile behind a delicate hand. ‘Steven is punishing Charlie, and he accepted the punishment. That doesn’t sound right Ico.’
‘It seems that is what happened my heart.’
‘I can’t wait to hear that story. Don’t ask Babes, I will hear it from Steven himself later.’
‘Yes my heart. As you wish.’
Her attention was grabbed by one of her operators. ‘Captain, I have a large fleet of warships coming into our area.’
‘All crew to battle stations. Make sure we are running silent. Put their progress and our relevant positions up on the screen.’
The bulkhead in front of her turned green. Ico and Babes were white dots. Black dots represented the asteroid field while a cluster of red dots represented the enemy. Babes was just inside the edge of the field.
‘Calculate their projected course.’ A red line appeared and Komoru relaxed a little. The cluster of red dots would pass closer to her than Steven’s ship. ‘Tactical, do you have a report for me yet?’
‘We have eight ships travelling at almost maximum sub-light speed Captain. They seem to be travelling on a course of 370 on a trajectory that will take them right past us at a distance of two hundred thousand miles.’
‘Is there anything that lies on that trajectory?’
‘A Catatarac outpost. A space station that monitors the outer regions of their territory. We don’t have a lot of information on it. It was originally built to protect their miners who were working the asteroid belt thousands of years ago. It is very big and very old. The mining part of the facility has already been mothballed, but there is still a repair facility available, along with other military facilities. It was once a free station but now is in total control of the Catatarac military.’
‘I wonder why they are travelling so slowly. Navigation, place us in a good spot to get a visual.’
‘Yes Captain.’
It took a few hours for the ships to pass. The reason for their slow progress was quickly apparent. Two of the ships towed a third at top towing speed, while the others provided cover. They snuck in close enough to see that the ship had been damaged in a battle. Komoru withdrew to a safe distance. Once they were well out of range, she proceeded to the edge of the asteroid belt to meet Steven.
Charlie had been on duty when the call came in from Ico. He immediately called all hands to battle stations. When Steven arrived, he had relinquished command to Steven and joined his men.
Steven had skulked just inside the asteroid field until Komoru joined him, then they held a consultation with the senior military staff. The two crews then split up again. Steven overtook the Catatarac ships, to a range where beyond there should be no tell-tale signs of the explosions when they happened. Komoru travelled to the same distance in the other direction. It took a few days for the ships to pass, and another half day before Steven triggered the devices. They waited until the pulse of the devices should have reached them. They searched with every device at their disposal, but there was no sign that anything had actually happened. A couple of quick jumps took them back to the asteroid field, approximately the centre. There was no outward sign that anything had occurred.
Lewis checked and reported to Steven. ‘All the devices have triggered suh. Ain’t nothing left to say we been here.’
Steven banged a fist against the arm of his chair. ‘I would love to slip back in there to see how effective we have been, but we daren’t hang about any longer. Order Komoru to withdraw.’
‘Yes suh.’
Chapter 17
Steven and Komoru were drinking coffee when the call came down. They desperately wanted to spend the night together, but were reluctant to take the risk until they were out of the danger area.
‘What now Charlie?’
‘Distress beacon.’
The two passed a knowing look, ‘Okay, I will be right up.’
Komoru grasped Steven’s arm. ‘We knew if we travelled in this direction we may well encounter whomever the Catataracs were fighting. We should just slide past, leave it to the Catataracs.’
‘But why haven’t they already rescued them?’
Komoru sat upright, ‘Oh! That’s a good point.’
Steven stood and gestured towards the bridge, ‘Shall we?’
Charlie got up off the chair and Steven sat down. ‘What’s happening Charlie?’
‘One surviving pod. By what Babes can tell from this distance, it is a very old freighter. That’s about it, apart from that it seems to have been completely destroyed.’
‘That’s strange, most freighters are covered by intergalactic law. Why the hell are they destroying freighters? Are you sure there are no other signs of fighting in the area? One of those Catatarac ships was quite badly damaged.’
‘Babes says there is residue of energy weapons being used. More than one type. She can’t categorise them, but yeah, two different races at least. All in this small area we are approaching. She may be able to detect more when she gets closer.’
‘Why can’t you categorise them Babes?’
‘I am not a warship Steven. I have never had that sort of information.’
‘I understand, thank you Babes.’
‘Are you already thinking about acquiring that form of data my heart?’
‘You know me so well.’
The bridge crew laughed.
Komoru grasped his shoulder, ‘I am going to return to Ico in case a problem occurs.’
‘Yes please. Separate as soon as you are on board.’
Her eyes conveyed her reluctance, and Steven smiled his understanding.
When they had separated, Komoru took up a station behind Steven to cover his back as Steven brought his shi
p in close.
They were within a few hundred miles of the freighter when Steven made a decision.
‘Do a full in depth scan Babes.’
‘Yes my heart.’
Steven waited about ten seconds. ‘What have we got Babes?’
‘There is nothing there my heart. Please turn away now.’
Steven was shocked, ‘What! Wait a minute. What about the signal?’
‘It is of no importance my heart, please leave the area.’
Dr Chapman had been monitoring the data as it appeared on his screen. ‘There is a survivor, and he is still alive.’
‘Why do you want to leave him behind Babes, isn’t that against galactic law?’
‘He is a meat eater my heart, the rules do not apply.’
‘So am I. Hailey, take us in closer.’
‘He is Ortea, please just leave him.’
Steven understood immediately. ‘The ones that chased your previous crew through the great barrier.’
‘Yes my heart.’
‘There is word that the federation is planning to use Human troops in land-based operations against these people to eradicate them. If that is the case, I want to meet them.’
‘It is inadvisable.’
‘I got an idea,’ Charlie interrupted. ‘Do you have their language on record Babes?’
‘Yes Charlie.’
‘Then let me deal with him. We take him on board and isolate him. I will go in and interrogate him. Pass your questions through me.’
Babes and Steven thought it over. ‘I like that idea,’ Steven eventually agreed. ‘Babes?’
‘What do you need Charlie?’
‘A room big enough to accommodate that pod, with a bit of dancing room.’
‘I don’t understand what you mean by dancing room, Charlie.’
‘If the Ortea attacks me, I will need room to evade.’
‘I have a room big enough.’
‘Good, take the shine off the walls. Make it look like a bulkhead or something with a big door.’
‘Like it was a room off a docking port?’
‘That’s right, it will disguise exactly who we are.’
‘I understand. It will take me ten minutes to prepare.’
‘Anything else Charlie?’ Steven asked.
‘Beam out any weapons he has.’
‘Right.’
When the room was ready Charlie went inside. He looked around. ‘This is too clean Babes; you say this race resembles dogs of some kind? Chances are he will have a heightened sense of smell as well.’
‘I understand Charlie.’
She beamed in strange objects, and the smell of grease soon began to permeate the room.
‘That should be enough now Charlie.’
‘Beam the pod in then.’
The pod materialised in front of him. ‘I’m going to bash it around a little Babes, to make it feel like it has been grabbed by a passing ship.’
Charlie began to slide it across the room. He bounced it off the walls a couple of times.
Charlie’s mind reached out. ‘He thinks he has been picked up by a passing ship and is preparing to fight for his life.’
‘Be careful, I have removed a pistol, but he also has a knife. Do you want me to remove that as well Charlie?’
‘No, leave him with that. Don’t worry, I won’t get caught out.’
Charlie banged on the outside of the escape pod, and leapt back out of the way. Despite his words, Charlie was almost caught out. The beast within blew the door and leapt out. Charlie thought he would be slower, having been confined for days in the pod. Charlie side-stepped in time and a hand helped propel the Ortea towards the wall. He bounced off it, his eyes quickly taking in the situation. His reflexes were like lightning. He leapt at Charlie again. This time Charlie was ready. He caught the reaching hand with the knife and tossed the being hard against the wall.
The Ortea gasped with pain, winded, but he was able to maintain hold of the knife. Charlie didn’t give it a chance to recover; he leapt after it. Charlie dragged the Ortea away from the wall by his knife wrist, then locked the arm straight with his knee. Charlie simply squeezed the beast’s wrists and it bellowed with pain. Every time it began to struggle Charlie squeezed again; it soon got the message. It turned its head towards Charlie. Charlie took the translation device from his pocket and held it up so that it could see it. The beast gave a slight inclination of its head. Charlie leaned over and placed it in its ear.
‘Do you understand me?’
‘I understand you grass eater. Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?’
Charlie smiled, ‘A friend and I tried to eat grass once, we were about eight. We both ended up puking. Look at my face again, look closely and tell me what you see.’ Charlie leaned over and grasped it by the neck and squeezed, the Ortea’s feet drummed against the floor and it howled. ‘If you get it wrong again, then as far as I am concerned you are too stupid to have any relevant information. I will simply snap your neck and toss you out an airlock.’
With watering eyes, it studied Charlie’s face closely. A strange frown crossed its face, then it made the connection Charlie wanted.
‘Your eyes are fixed forward for depth perception; your race are hunters. Are you a meat eater?’
‘Oh yes.’ Charlie took his hand off the creature’s neck and it gasped with relief. ‘Let go of the weapon.’
It released its grip on the knife. Charlie snatched it up and released him. He walked backwards out of range. The Ortea rolled on to his back and lay there gasping. After a few minutes rubbing its neck and wrist the Ortea struggled to its feet. It must have been seven feet tall. Its limbs were well formed, nearer Human proportions. The biggest difference was its face. It closely resembled a dog or a jackal; Charlie wasn’t quite sure which. Its face was covered in short black fur.
Charlie inspected the blade, it wasn’t well balanced and had a long, curved edge. It had been poorly forged. Charlie tested it out with a few knife-fighting techniques. His hands became a blur. The Ortea swallowed and took a few steps backwards.
‘This isn’t a good knife.’
‘It is the best I could afford.’
Charlie snapped the blade in half then into quarters. The Ortea’s jaw dropped open and it took another step backwards, bumping into the survival pod. Charlie tossed the blade away and sent a request to Babes. Charlie felt a blade appear beneath his trouser belt at the back. It was one of the knives Beaver had designed after the fight with the Albany. It was a large Bowie knife, honed to a fine edge with its own sharpening tools contained in the sheath. Charlie reached behind and took the knife out. He tossed it over to the Ortea who caught it deftly in his good hand.
The Ortea drew the blade and gasped at the simple beauty of the design. Then he tested its balance. Despite being designed for Human hands, it fitted well into his.
‘This is a beautiful weapon. Something of this quality would cost me a year’s pay. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen a weapon of such high quality.’
‘Keep it as a good will gesture.’
Its eyes flicked up, ‘You jest!’
‘No, after all, I did break yours.’
‘May I call you friend?’
‘I wouldn’t jump the gun if I was you.’
It shook its head, ‘All meat eaters are enemies of the federation. If you are their enemy, then you are our friend.’
‘We are not their enemy. In fact, we are a part of the federation. Our bid to join has been accepted; of course, it is under constant review. We have about another six years at least before we can become full members.’
‘Impossible.’
‘Whatever! Who are you, what are you?’
‘I am a simple soldier.’
‘Ding, ding, wrong. Let me put things to you so you will understand them a little better. I am this ship’s interrogator. I get all the nice jobs. If you lie to me then you are of no use to me. I won’t torture you, I will simply toss you o
ut the airlock. I have been straight forward and truthful with you.
‘We don’t want any strategic knowledge that you may have, we are just a little curious. We already have a small contingent of ships serving with the federation, and it may well be that sooner or later we find ourselves as mortal enemies. So far all we have heard is the federation side of the story, we would like to hear your side. So, who are you?’
The Ortea thought it over. ‘My name is Morval Oralia. I was second in command of the freighter whose debris you rescued me from.’
‘What were you doing here?’
‘Running weapons to another meat eating race under constant attack from the Catataracs.’
‘What kind of weapons?’
‘Every kind.’
‘We saw a damaged Catatarac ship. Was that you?’
‘Yes, didn’t they tell you?’
‘They are our enemy too.’
‘If your race are meat eaters, then you must have more than one enemy within the federation.’
‘Three we know about. The rest are wisely keeping silent at the moment, but we have plenty time to figure out who they are. You had shipboard weapons mounted in the freighter?’
‘Yes, of course. A Catatarac destroyer got to close, became suspicious. We took it out, damaged it heavily anyway. His friends were nearby, we were unlucky, this part of Catatarac space is relatively unpatrolled.’
‘How many times have you made this run?’
‘Over a dozen. You haven’t told me your name and rank.’
‘Charlie Murison, I am an officer in the Goodwill Ambassador’s guard.’
‘A Goodwill Ambassador from your planet?’
‘Yes.’
‘Now I understand your curiosity. It is a dangerous path your leader takes, and that you take with him. You are, if nothing else, very capable. My race has eaten many Goodwill Ambassadors.’
‘So I have been told. Is there a reason you eat them?’
‘My people starve, neither do we trust the grass eaters. To understand you would have to hear our story.’
‘That is what you are here for.’
‘Will you toss me out of the airlock afterwards?’
