“A repair ship will be dispatched immediately as well as an engineering repair team with the next work shift,” the station’s Second informed.
“What about leisure activities for my crews?” she inquired.
“Of course, upper deck three is the crew lounge and gardens,” she answered this being standard for both visiting crews as well as the station’s personnel.
At that moment the second’s comm. unit on her belt went off with a loud beep. Placing it next to her ear she nodded and said yes several times before she replaced the unit back on her belt.
“The Station Mistress wishes to see you right now,” the Second reported her pale face frowning.
“What’s this about?” the destroyer captain asked sounding tired of petty politics and even pettier politicians.
“I don’t know but she also ordered the station on alert,” she revealed calling to one of her guardswomen to escort the ship mistress and her party to Bie-Tor’s office.
The ship mistress frowned and then followed the guardswoman to the station mistress’s office. Reaching the door, it slid open and they entered to find that the base commander was busy speaking with her command staff via a projection link.
“I want all of the system defense ships moved up to the outer edge of the minefield. Run a full diagnostic and make sure the mines are active and the maser field is operational. Have the maintenance crews onboard the finished ships prepare them for use,” she ordered cutting off the link before the duty officer could even reply.
The ship mistress stood there watching with one hand on her patar’s hilt and the other on her hip. Her guardswomen and junior mistress moved back and waited outside in the hallway.
“Cia-Ta, that is a commoner’s name,” Bie-Tor remarked from behind her command desk.
“I’ve worked my way up to my position over many years,” she replied with a slight scowl.
“I’m sure you have and that many have questioned you over it,” the station mistress said.
“I let my patar answer those questions for me,” Cia-Ta answered wondering where this was going and if she’d have to fight this old and useless noble woman.
“I could use someone who is capable,” Bie-Tor said watching her closely.
“No offense but I’d rather be dead than work on such a station as this. There is no honor or glory to be had in fixing ships.”
Bie-Tor nodded, “I agree but I’m not staying here much longer and will soon be a Fleet Mistress again.”
“What is this all about?” the destroyer captain inquired tired of the old woman’s banter.
“This station will soon be under attack and I need you and your ships to help defend it,” she finally revealed.
“I’m not of your House or under your command,” Cia-Ta said pointing out that she had no authority over her.
“No, I can’t order you to aid me but these human ships are the same ones that attacked your convoy as well as the ones your Grand Fleet Mistress is hunting for. Imagine the glory and honor you’d receive for assisting in such a victory.”
“What do you suggest?” the ship mistress asked curious over her plans
“I have mines and a detection field as well as six heavily armed system defense ships. I also have ten fully operational warships half of which are human ships,” she revealed bringing the images of the stationary ships up on her projection viewer for her to see.
“It sounds like you don’t need my help,” Cia-Ta remarked having seen the parked ships when she entered orbit around the station.
“My problem is that I don’t have enough trained personnel to operate those ships,” Bie-Tor admitted leaning back in her chair.
“So you need my people to help you crew your ships,” the destroyer mistress remarked.
“Yes, I assume you have at least three duty shifts for each of your ships which would allow you to minimally crew six of my ships.”
Cia-Ta nodded, “My people would have no problem with our ships but I have only a few officers that can operate human ships.”
“We have human operators that we can use under proper supervision,” she suggested wanting to get every ship into the battle that she could.
“That would be risky as they may not follow orders when fighting their own people,” the ship mistress said stating the obvious.
“What would you suggest?” the older officer asked interested in the ship mistress’s tactical capabilities.
“Crew them but hold them reserve, use a few of my officers that understand such ships to aid you in this or you could forget them altogether and just concentrate on crewing our ships,” she suggested.
“I would like to get the two human light cruisers into the battle. Your crews could man the vanguard, the two destroyers and the two destroyer escorts and still have enough crew left to operate a cruiser,” Bie-Tor proposed.
“That would give you six ships plus my destroyer and destroyer escort. Along with your system ships you’d have a force of fourteen ships plus the firepower of your repair base.”
“I’d still like to man that other light cruiser as I have some of my people that can operate it,” she stated.
“So, that will give us fifteen ships,” the Ship Mistress commented nodding her head.
“Well, do you think its worth your crews’ effort to stay and fight?” the Station Mistress said with a grin.
“As long as you write a dispatch praising my actions before the battle even starts and that you swear by the Bright Lady that you will repair my ships before all others after the battle is over,” the Ship Mistress said with a grin of her own.
Bie-Tor nodded liking the way this young mistress thought.
“I believe we are in agreement,” she replied.
To make sure of her intention Bie-Tor did something that was forbidden by Karduan society. She reached out to seize the surface thoughts of a fellow Blue female. If she did it right she wouldn’t even know that she had taken a peek at her thoughts. Reaching out she tried to touch her mind and failed. Looking to the ship mistress’s sleeve she didn’t see the leaf pattern of rank that would indicate that she was also a Prendere. Once more she reached out but this time with her full force and again nothing happened.
The Station Mistress fought to control her panic and stay calm in front of her new ally.
“Tell me are you a Prendere?” she asked as casually as she could muster.
The ship mistress made a sour frown, “No, of course not if I was I’d be a mistress of a battle destroyer by now.”
“I will have my station’s Second coordinate with you over the crewing of my ships, thank you,” she said waving her hand for her to leave.
Cai-Ta nodded, turned and quickly left.
As soon as the door was closed she screamed for her slave Darden to come to her.
From out of the garden the traitor Darden ran from where he had been listening to her conversation with the destroyer captain.
“Yes, mistress?” he said appearing out of breath even though he traveled only a few steps.
“Be quiet!” she commanded as she reached out to read his thoughts. Once more she could not read anything from the weak minded human.
“What is it mistress?” he questioned seeing her pain and frustration.
“Come here!” she ordered and then reached out and grabbed his arm and preformed a deep probe but her probe failed, in fact she couldn’t feel anything at all.
“What is wrong my lady?” Scotty Darden asked in a low voice after she released his arm.
“My power to read minds is gone,” she mumbled flopping down into her chair.
“What! How can that be?” he asked stepping back out of her striking range.
She shook her head trying to think of what could have robbed her of her telepathic power.
“When was the last time you were able to read thoughts?” Scotty questioned trying to help.
“I read the mind of that pirate and then was unable to read the human spy,” she remarked th
inking back.
“It had to be him - that Confederation officer!” Darden suggested hoping to get the human officer even more prolonged pain.
At that moment Alexander the Great came in from the adjacent garden followed by the hunched over former commander know as the Dog. Both were attracted from different parts of the garden by the noise coming from the station mistress’s office.
“What’s the problem?” Alexander asked, a bottle of human whiskey in one hand and crude cigar made from a Karduan plant in his other.
“Shut up and follow along,” Darden said rushing after his mistress as she disappeared out of the door and turned to head towards her lab.
The pirate and the Dog did just that, the first hurrying to catch up while the latter just staggered along behind them.
Mike had already gone through two full shock cycles when the station mistress arrived and stop the torture sequence. He had learned that it took him a few minutes to stop shaking and regain some sort of composure. Of course just as soon he would start to feel like himself again the cycle of shocks would start up again.
Bie-Tor couldn’t wait that long and slapped him as hard as she could across his face.
“Wake up!” she yelled panicking at her inability to seize the thoughts of others.
“Has it been three days already?” Collins asked already knowing that it hadn’t.
“What did you do to me?” she demanded slapping him again.
Mike looked at her and smiled.
“Having some trouble with your telepathy?”
Her eyes flared at him in anger.
“What have you done to my power?” Bie-Tor again demanded, “tell me or your end will be ever so slow and painful.”
“Kill me and you’ll never seize the thoughts of another person ever again,” Mike countered stalling for time.
She shook her head and stepped back from him moving to the surgical center’s controls. Resetting the shock sequence, she saw that someone had already increase the intensity of the electrical shocks. She didn’t need to glance back at her slave Darden to know it was him. She could have guessed that it was him even without telepathy. Changing the setting once more she looked to the helpless young officer.
“After I’m done with you, you’ll tell me everything!” the Station Mistress swore.
“What time is it?” Mike inquired before she could touch the activation switch.
“What?” she exclaimed confused by his request.
“He asked what time is it?” Darden repeated trying to be helpful and earning a scowl from his mistress.
At that moment Peter Alexander caught up with them and answered the bound officer’s question.
“Why do you care what time it is?” Bie-Tor now asked with new concern.
“Soon,” Mike said and paused, “Soon your time will be up!”
The one-time fleet mistress had heard enough and waved her hand over the activation pad sending a massive surge of electrical current through the young fool’s body. His screams filled the little room as his body bucked against the invisible force restraints holding him to the table.
“I’m telling you that this plan is insane and has little chance of working,” Cappillo stated back when they were on the Star Wolf and planning for the mission. Captain Hope had ordered them to come up with an alternative plan to rescue the prisoners, recapture the Star Tiger and save the Imperial prince that is if he was even still alive.
“The old man approved it, so end of argument,” Mike countered hurrying with his friend down the corridor and towards the brig.
“If this goes they way you’ve planned, you’ll be right in the middle of it when it hits the fan. In fact, you’ll most likely be the first one killed,” Rufo said grabbing his arm and pulling him to a halt.
“It has to go this way. I’m the only Psi-Void other than Commander Bannon and he’s needed on the Raven,” Collins said peeling his friend’s hand from his sleeve.
“But what happens after they find out that it is all a trick?” the engineer countered.
“Well, I’ll have to hope that a Psi-Void is too valuable for them to kill, or that your sword box does its trick or that the cavalry comes charging in at the right time to save my sorry ass,” he said with a smile.
“That’s a whole lot of things that could get fucked up pretty damn fast there Kemosaba,” the Italian replied.
“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Mike countered.
“Yes I do and stop trying to change the subject. You could get very well dead,” Rufo persisted.
Mike shoved his friend down a side corridor towards the ship’s 3-D manufacturing and machine shop.
“Just get that sword box to work right.”
Lt. Cappillo shrugged and then nodded with a big ass smile as he hurried down the hallway to finish his part of the plan.
Mike continued to the brig where he found his lady love and the other part of his plan. Dr. Duarte stood with Lady Seil-Ca watching the pirate Peter Alexander through a digital two-way mirror. He was pacing back and forth as Commanders Hutton and Bannon tempted him with an offer of freedom in exchange for his help.
“Well, how is it going?” Mike asked letting them know that he was there. Both of them seemed preoccupied with the proceedings in the other room.
“He is considering their offer right now,” Angelique replied glancing to him with a worried look.
“Are we ready?” Collins asked looking from the doctor to the Blue.
“Yes, I have giving Seil-Ca a dose of your pheromones without the neural inhibitor that blocks her powers,” Dr. Duarte informed still looking concerned as she stared at the Karduan telepath.
Seil-Ca was looking into the two-way mirror and at the pirate. Her pale blue face looked as if she was concentrating.
“Good, is the aerosol inhibitor ready?” he inquired hoping that everything was falling into place without too many bumps in the road.
“Yes, I was about to take it down to Rufo to install in his deliver system,” she replied holding up an old fashion leather doctor’s bag with a canister of neural inhibitor in its aerosol form.
“Great, I’ll stay with her while you take it down to Cappillo,” he instructed seeing her frown a little at his directions.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure and we will be fine,” Mike said wanting everything ready as soon as possible.
“Ok, but I’ll be right back,” Angelique informed giving him the look while remembering the Blue Lady’s former obsession with him as well as his own paranoia over her trustworthiness.
Mike nodded and moved up next to the Blue telepath looking through the digital two-way mirror.
“So can you read him?” he asked.
“Yes, though I wish I couldn’t his thoughts are very disturbing, especially those about his sexual exploits with women, men and someone named Walton,” she said her pale face making a look of disgust. Then she paused for a moment before asking, “What does any port in a storm mean?”
“In his case you don’t want to know,” he said and continued, “I’m sorry about all of this but I have to be sure of what he plans to do?” Mike explained in part.
At that moment the pirate sat down across from Cmdr. Bannon.
Collins touched a pad to turn up the volume and listen in.
“Alright, I’ll fucking do it as long as I get my freedom, my crew is released and I get my ship back,” he said and then smiled, “And I want it all official and in writing.”
“I’ll take it to the captain for his approval,” Bannon replied getting up to leave.
Mike turned from the screen, “Well?”
“He is lying and plans to betray you at the first opportunity,” she stated shaking her head.
“Yep, that’s what we thought he’d do but I wanted to be sure,” he said and then looked at her smooth pale face. “Thanks for your help.”
“I didn’t do much,” Seil-Ca replied.
“Could you do us another servic
e? I’d like you to check my Werewolf commandos’ mental training to make sure they can’t easily be read,” the young officer requested.
She shrugged her thin narrow shoulders, “I don’t know, I’ve changed so much since becoming your prisoner. I found myself for the first time free of my ability to read thoughts and have discovered that I like the silence of my own mind.”
“Then what’s the problem?” he asked.
“I feel that I’m betraying my people by helping you and the Confederation,” the noble woman admitted.
Mike nodded, “I understand but we have hundreds of Karduan males and females serving with us. They believe that your society has become one without freedom except for those in the upper caste. I’ve studied your language and your culture, and I’ve found that a hundred years ago before the Voroosh came with stolen Kazad technology to your world that your people were quite different.”
“This is true we were very different before the red lizardmen conquered us and made us their servants,” she admitted.
“Before that time Karduan society was relatively enlightened. Your Prendere used their power to promote peace and unity. They were the priestesses of your goddess the Bright Lady who represented peace, love and nature. You had moderate technology that was used to promote agricultural endeavors and you had no history of war or civil conflict.”
“You have studied my people well,” Seil-Ca said thinking of her people’s past and how different it was before space travel and conquest.
“It was easy to learn as my Karduan friends speak of it with passion and how they are fighting to return to that way of life. So in a way they are trying to take back what had been taken from all of you.”
She was quiet for a moment looking into the digital mirror as the pirate captain was taken back to his cell.
“I’ll help you and test the mental barriers your men have learned to form,” Seil-Ca stated seemingly now resolved to this new path that her life had taken.
“Thank you,” he replied in earnest.
At that moment Dr. Duarte entered the security room.
“The sword box is ready,” she announced having successfully charged the box’s hidden gas projectors with the same neural inhibitor that they had been using on Seil-Ca for the past few months.
Wolf's Run: The Chase of War (Star Wolf Sqaudron Book 2) Page 47
