Harry Heron: No Quarter

by Patrick G Cox

“Aye, my blacksmithing, the commander called it.” Ferghal’s laugh fell into one of those inexplicable silences that occur in crowded situations, and drew the attention of both Dr Glasfiend and the Lieutenant Commander.

  “Gut!” the doctor said. “You are here.” He fired off a string of instructions at his team then turned to Ferghal, demanding in German, “Are you certain everything is correctly assembled?”

  “Aye, sir,” Ferghal replied, letting the implied suggestion that he might have got it wrong pass, and forgetting he was listening to the ship translating. “Everything is installed and ready for the test.”

  The doctor failed to notice that Ferghal didn’t wait for Ingrid’s translation, and he dashed away to another part of the compartment.

  The Lieutenant Commander watched him carefully. “Herr O’Connor, your German seems to be getting very good. You have been teaching him, Frau-Doktor?” To Ferghal’s surprise, he smiled then winked. “Gut gemacht!”

  Ferghal watched him walk away and grinned. “Now I’m in the soup!”

  Ingrid laughed. “Maybe, maybe not. I think he is impressed.” They watched the system being prepared. Now that his part was done, Ferghal felt a little left out of the proceedings, but then he saw Lieutenant Commander Reuter standing to one side similarly excluded, and that made him feel better.

  The system charged up as he watched, praying to all the saints he could think of that nothing would fail. To his own and Lieutenant Commander Reuter’s surprise and satisfaction, the equipment powered up without mishap, although the atmosphere took on the taste of tin once more.

  “So far so good, Herr O’Connor,” the older man acknowledged him.

  “Aye, sir,” responded Ferghal, and then, unable to resist the temptation, added, “Perhaps my blacksmithing work was necessary after all?”

  Lieutenant Commander Reuter’s face froze for a moment as he turned a haughty gaze on Ferghal. Then slowly his eyes betrayed his amusement, and a smile spread across his face. “So it would seem, Midshipman, so it would seem.”

  Doktor Glasfiend seemed to be everywhere as the final checks and adjustments were made by his team of assistants and their technicians, his voice sometimes strident as he chased those he considered to be slow or obstinate in carrying out his directions. Finally, all was ready. The moment of truth had arrived.

  Ferghal watched as his readings leapt up the scale then subsided. He breathed out again as nothing tripped, blew out or failed. The pulse repeated, again nothing failed, nor on any of the subsequent pulses, but his heart stopped as an outburst of excited German from the monitoring console end of the compartment broke the breathless silence.

  “Es funktioniert! Da ist das Shuttle! Die Röntgenbeugung funktioniert tatsächlich — das kristalline Metall im Rumpf und in den Maschinen ist deutlich erkennbar. Jetzt haben wir ihn!” The jubilant doctor was suddenly transformed, becoming as playful and gregarious as a small boy who has just won the biggest prize at the county fair. Ferghal watched, amused, until he was startled by a hand on his shoulder, and the voice of Lieutenant Commander Reuter broke his idleness.

  “Good work, Herr O’Connor. It seems that you were right. Your blacksmith work has provided us with the sort of connection we needed for this device.” He smiled at the surprise in Ferghal’s face. “Alles in Ordnung, Herr O’Connor. And if you stay with us much longer, you will learn to speak our language as efficiently as you have learned to adapt our technology.” He winked. “Now I must go and make sure the madman does not attempt any so-called improvement on his equipment. I do not think even your ingenuity can overcome every problem with this device.”

  Thank you, sir,” replied Ferghal, flattered by the compliment. “I just hope it works when we need it, sir.”

  “So do I, Herr O’Connor. So do I!” He walked away leaving Ferghal to thank Ingrid for her assistance. They’d formed a good friendship, one he hoped to continue.

  As if reading his thoughts, Ingrid said, “It has been fun working with you, Ferghal. May we have dinner together sometime, perhaps?”

  “It has been that!” Ferghal grinned. “I’ll ask the Gunroom Senior if I may invite a guest.”

  Chapter 35 – Surprise

  “Danae to DGK. We are losing our remaining transit drive. We need to drop out on the Beacon Bravo-Bravo-Sigma 449 and carry out repairs.”

  “Understood, Danae,” replied Captain Haakon. “All ships, the entire squadron will drop out on my mark at the beacon. It provides an opportunity to carry out any other emergency repairs to Leander and Dragon. Leander, we will dock with you and do an atmosphere refreshment.”

  “Thanks, DGK. Our air is pretty foul now even with the emergency scrubbers at full power. We’ll follow you in.”

  Manning the Engineers’ desk in the Command Centre, Ferghal grimaced as he heard this. The ship’s atmosphere had been topped up from New Eden, so he had some idea of how bad the smell would be when the exchange took place.

  AWARE THAT CONSORTIUM SHIPS HAD RECENTLY conducted raids on orbital platforms and ships in this general area, Captain Haakon ordered, “I want that new scanner in operation as soon as we drop out. Notify Herr Doktor Glasfiend, please.”

  “Jawohl, Herr Kapitän,” responded the Chief ScanRate, a senior Master Warrant Officer who busied himself with the comlink.

  At his station in Navigation, Harry updated the navigation of the other ships as the DGK approached dropout.

  “Sound Action Stations. Stand by to drop out.”

  The tone of the general alarm sent the crew racing for their stations in the Command Centre where personnel changed and reported their readiness.

  “Dropout at three, two, one. Initiate.”

  The display filled with the scattered planets of a dying sun in the distance.

  “Emitter ready.” The scanning officer checked the newly installed displays.

  “Initiate the scan,” ordered the Captain. “Everything else says the sector is empty. Let’s see what the doctor’s machine can show us.”

  The first pulse returned a positive echo.

  “Weapons, lock to the coordinates from the difraction scan,” ordered the Captain. He opened his Command link. “All ships, lock to the coordinates provided. We have contacts with screened ships.” He waited for confirmation. “Navigation, coordinate all ships. I want a hyperburst to put us on the range.”

  “Navigation linked,” responded Commander Pösen as the general alarm sounded throughout the ship.

  Harry checked his survival suit was handy and switched his monitors to battle mode, suddenly conscious of the feeling that someone or something was following his every action. He glanced round the navigation centre, but everyone was engaged in activity.

  Aft, in Engineering Control, Ferghal had the same feeling, but could not find a reason. With his typical Irish humour, he dismissed it as leprechauns and set about his task of monitoring the power management for the ship’s hyperpods.

  The squadron leapt toward their targets in a coordinated phalanx, the damaged frigates behind them, dropping out precisely in range of their heavy weapons.

  “Open fire,” ordered Captain Haakon.

  Explosions erupted, and a group of ships appeared, flashing up their own weapons in response.

  “All ships, take independent action,” ordered the Captain. “Engage independent targets.” His own ship closed rapidly on the leading enemy, the fury of her fire tearing great chunks of plating from the target as the enemy ship desperately tried to take evasive action. Hemmed in by her consorts engaged by the Swiftsure and the two destroyers, her movement was severely restricted.

  Even the damaged Dragon added her weight, swinging beneath the Consortium leader and scoring hits on her hyperpods. The DGK swung wide, opening her arcs of fire, and her weapons team took full advantage. Dragon danced clear as the enemy’s after end disintegrated, torn open by some internal explosion. Immediately the ship switched target and joined the Bristol in attacking the thir
d ship in the group.

  Emden launched her missiles at close range, swinging beneath the second ship in line even as Swiftsure switched targets to engage the fourth. Emden’s missiles found their target, and Harry winced as he caught a glimpse of the scanner image of the ship tearing herself in two.

  The fury of the exchange, and the fact that the Fleet ships had apparently been able to see them through their screens, was enough for the two survivors to make a desperate effort, and they successfully accelerated into transit and hyperspace, though not without suffering serious damage.

  “They won’t get far,” remarked Commander Pösen with a note of satisfaction in his voice.

  “It will have shaken them badly,” replied the Captain. He paused to order the launch of the ship’s barges to rescue survivors. “They thought they were invisible to us right up to the moment we fired.” Opening the Command link again, he ordered, “Swiftsure, escort Dragon, Danae and Leander to the inner orbit we selected and commence the repairs on Danae. We’ll join you as soon as we’ve secured all survivors and prisoners, and then we can attend to Leander’s atmosphere.”

  THE LAST OF THE SURVIVORS WERE BEING DISEMBARKED from the barges when a large freighter dropped out almost alongside. Instantly she was challenged and the ship’s weapons locked to her.

  “Unknown ship, you are under weapons lock. Surrender or I will open fire.”

  There was a moment of silence, and then a voice. “This is the freighter Twee Jonge Gezellen. We surrender, sir. We are unarmed and protest strongly at this unwarranted threat.”

  “Identify yourself,” ordered Captain Haakon. “According to our records your ship is registered as having been seized. My boarding party will require access to all compartments and the holds. If your authorizations are in order, you have nothing to fear from us.”

  A Lieutenant signalled then held up his hand indicating the Command display where two large barges were alongside the freighter, and a swarm of strike craft held position ready to fire.

  Captain Haakon frowned. “My boarding party is alongside. Open the boarding locks, please.” He watched the boarding ports open and the Marines enter. “Etwas stimmt nicht mit das.”

  “Agreed, sir. The Twee Jong Gezellen was taken by pirates several months ago. The crew were dumped out of the airlocks without EVA or life support.”

  “Hmm. Lieutenant Orloff, assemble a passage crew to bring her to the rendezvous with Danae and Leander. We’ll take a closer look at her there while we deal with Danae.”

  “Sir, we have the crew secured. The ship is carrying contraband, and her destination is a planet on our embargoed list,” reported the Marine Lieutenant through the comlink. “Her crew appears to be small for a ship of this size. Her Captain says he had hoped to get some extra hands from the ships he expected to meet here.”

  “Lieutenant Orloff is on her way to bring the ship to our rendezvous with the others,” replied the Captain. “When she gets there, leave four of your squad to assist the prize crew and return to the ship with your prisoners. We’ll go over her thoroughly at the rendezvous.”

  “HARRY, FERGHAL, SHEOBA — YOU’RE WITH ME. Warrant Carolan is rounding up some TechRates. We can sort out our personal effects later if necessary. Right now, we’re just moving her across the system to the rendezvous.” Lieutenant Orloff checked her list. “Harry, you’ll take the Navigation role. Ferghal, the drives. Sheoba can assist you.”

  The Warrant Officer approached and saluted. “I’ve got the TechRates together, ma’am. The barge is ready when you are.”

  “Let’s go then.” She glanced at Harry and Ferghal. “Got everything you need?”

  “Aye, ma’am.” Harry tucked a long bundle under his arm and grinned. “Ready.”

  THE TWEE JONG GEZELLEN WAS DESIGNED TO CARRY a small number of passengers and a large amount of freight. The passenger accommodation was not occupied, but the crew space was. The Marine officer greeted them in the navigation centre.

  “She’s all yours. My orders are to leave you four of my men as guards, and to take the ship’s officers and crew back to the DGK. We’ve searched the ship. Couple of oddities — they were disturbed at their meal, and there are more places set than there are crew. But unless they have managed to jump ship, they’re not aboard.”

  “Okay. We’ll stay alert, but the transit across to the rendezvous should be no more than half an hour anyway. See you there.”

  Busy at the navigation console, Harry didn’t see the Marine leave. “Course plotted, ma’am.”

  “Good.” She touched her comlink. “Got the drives sorted, Ferghal?”

  “Aye, ma’am. We’re ready.”

  The Lieutenant frowned. “Harry, can you access the AI?”

  “Already linked to it, ma’am. It seems frightened of someone.”

  “Frightened? Of us?”

  “No, ma’am — frightened of its Captain.”

  “Well, he’s no longer aboard.” She hesitated. “Tell it to seal all access from the cargo spaces and all unoccupied accommodation. I want just the crew space, our control rooms and the Marines accessible.”

  Harry nodded. “It is done, ma’am.”

  “Good, and one more thing. Check the crew lists. I want to know exactly how many crew she had, when they left her, and all the officers’ names. Something is not right, but I don’t know what the hell it is.”

  ABOARD THE DGK, CAPTAIN HAAKON LISTENED to the report and checked the manifest. “This ship has an interesting cargo. Commander Pösen, I want her thoroughly searched as soon as we are at the rendezvous.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll arrange it.” The Executive Officer shook his head. “Even with the people taken from the damaged ships, we’re short-handed with the need to guard prisoners.”

  “I know. We’ll have to make some adjustments. As soon as we have the barges recovered, take us to the rendezvous.”

  LIEUTENANT ORLOFF LOOKED ROUND AT HER TEAM. Warrant Carolan at the helm, Harry at Navigation, two TechRates, Mann and Weimar on the Coms and scanners; in the Engineering Control, she had Ferghal, Sheoba and TechRates Jürgen Sørenson and Horst Werner. “We’re an international mix alright, and interspecies including Sheoba. Everyone ready?” Receiving their confirmation, she smiled. “I’ll get movement clearance from the Captain. They’ve still got us under a weapons lock. Wouldn’t want to get shot up for attempting to move without clearance!”

  She looked up as Harry attracted her attention. “Yes, Mr Heron?”

  “Ma’am, the crew list has been amended in the last hour. It lists only twelve now, but it also seems to show a change of Captain. I’ll have to see if I can persuade the ship to show the erased files somehow, but it may take a while.”

  “Well done, keep digging. There was a change of Captain? When did that happen?”

  “According to the ship, just as the Marines boarded. The new Captain is the man the Royals took away with them, but the old Captain signed the log just before they dropped out, and he has a different name entirely.”

  “The hell you say,” breathed the Lieutenant. “I knew we should have kept the Bootnecks aboard! Where the hell are they?” She glared with irritation when her link chirped.

  “Lieutenant Orloff.”

  “Ma’am,” came Ferghal’s voice, “someone is accessing the engineering controls from outside this space. They are trying to engage the hyperpods. I have blocked them so far, but I need Mr Heron to trace them while I block their efforts to take control.”

  “I heard it, ma’am.”

  Harry focussed his attention on the neural flow of the AI. Within seconds he found the source, then another loophole that someone else was using to input navigation data. He acted quickly, locking both terminals and instructing the AI to refuse all commands.

  “I have them, ma’am. The terminals are portable, engaged through ports in the cargo bay. I have locked the ports against access, but I am not sure that will hold if they can connect another node
in that area.”

  “Right, isolate all terminals and ports in that part of the ship.” She contacted the Marines. “Corporal, have we got the cargo areas completely locked down?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I have lock indicators on all internal access ports.”

  “Good. Sheoba, see if you can turn on the flood lighting in those spaces and record everything in sight. If we have passengers, I want to know who they are. Weimar, contact the DGK and tell them we have stowaways. Harry, you and Mann will stay here and monitor the network. Tell Ferghal to do the same in Engineering, and send Sheoba to me.” She paused to think. “What is the atmosphere status in the holds? Are they under atmosphere?”

  Warrant Officer Carolan checked his console. “They register as under atmosphere ma’am, but this system doesn’t respond as it should.”

  “Right, that does it.” She contacted Engineering. “Mr O’Connor, shut down the gravity field generators in the holds, please, then bang them back on at twice normal. Let’s see what that shakes out. Warrant, monitor your console and tell me if that registers. Harry, what about you? Can you see anything unusual in there?”

  “There’s a lot that is not right with this AI, ma’am. It does not recognise any command not given with a key prefix. I think I can access that and disable it. With your permission, ma’am, I will disable every terminal outside this Control Centre and Engineering.”

  “Do it, Harry. What about the holds, Warrant? Anything show up?”

  “Nothing, ma’am.”

  “Mr O’Connor, have you done as I asked?”

  “Aye, ma’am. Gravity in holds One to Eight is now at two G.”

  “Keep it there. That will slow down anyone in there until we can deal with them.” She turned to Harry. “Do what you can to sort out the network please. Sheoba, take over Navigation and keep station on the DGK. I want to stay close to her until we can sort ourselves out here.” To TechRate Mann she ordered, “Open up a channel to Captain Haakon. We need to keep him in the picture.”