by Jay Toney
Usually, Captain Roberts didn't attack freighters. There was too little profit to be made. Most cargo ships carried bulk cargoes of foodstuffs, metal ore for processing, or agricultural goods such as fertilizer, pesticides, and farming equipment.
The tip that we got was that this convoy is carrying very valuable cargo. The tactical display shows three freighters among the convoy and two armed patrol ships escorting each cargo ship. The escorts are a good sign that the goods that the cargo ships are carrying are valuable.
Nibaru III is a high tech planet. Their spacecraft have FTL drives giving them a trading advantage over most other star systems in this sector of space. Chances are, the freighters are carrying high tech computers or starship parts. Both of which Doc could sell for high profits in the Antares star system, where his base of operations is located.
Natasha's voice interrupted Captain Roberts thoughts, "10 minutes until weapons range."
"Devin, scramble our Marauder pilots and launch our starfighters. Instruct the Reaper squadron to concentrate on the escorts and have the Nighthawks disable the freighters. Our gunners are to target the freighters engines and shield generators. I want them intact," Doc ordered his comm tech.
Jadsia reported, "Two minutes to weapon range. We've been spotted. The convoy is increasing power to their engines and making a run for the nearest hyperspace jump point. They will reach safe jump distance in 20 minutes."
That gave Captain Roberts only a small window of 18 minutes to disable all of the freighters. It is unlikely that he could do it with the starship's energy weapons alone. He needs to disable their shields and engines fast without destroying the payload that the ships are carrying.
"Natasha, I need your avatar on the weapon console. Start computing missile tracking solutions and target the freighter's propulsion sections. Open our forward missile ports and prepare to fire."
****
"All Reapers, split off into your assigned attack groups. Draw off the escorts and disable or destroy them," the Reaper squadron leader commanded. Bill and his wingman split off from the formation to attack the patrol ships escorting the lead freighter. Red bolts of energy shot from his Marauder's particle beam turret. His wingman got a missile lock on the escort fighter he targeted and fired. The starfighter fired chaff and flares, but the missile is too close to the patrol ship to give its defenses time to confuse the missile. It hit the fighter amidships. The explosion is powerful enough to break the spaceship in two.
The two Marauders turned to join up with the rest of his squadron. Energy bolts are exchanged between the escorting starfighters and the raiders. The freighters joined the attack firing their gun turrets at the Marauders. Their guns are designed to repel shuttlecraft filled with raiders, not assault shuttles.
****
"Nighthawks, attack!" Elliott commanded. "We are in the clear. Disable the engines of your assigned cargo ship as fast as you can. We don't want our bonuses escaping to hyperspace before we can spend the credits. Keep your eyes on your scanners, and stay clear of weapon fire from the Queen Anne's Revenge."
****
Seven minutes of the time Doc had left is gone in what seemed like an instant. Three of the escorts are destroyed, the other three are still engaged with the Reaper pilots. Energy bolts from the Queen Anne's Revenge's gun turrets burned away at the freighter's shields. So far, they are holding and protecting the cargo ships. Captain Roberts could bring the freighter's shields down with a barrage from the cruiser's particle beam cannons, but chances are that the weapons would damage or destroy a sizable portion of the cargo. His gunners needed to use caution with the cruiser's guns, or his boarding party would have to work harder for less, sorting through the derelict hulls trying to salvage enough cargo to cover the expenses for the raid.
Time is running out. Using the cruisers missiles is a greater risk than the energy weapons, but Doc didn't have any alternatives. "Natasha, target the lead freighter in the convoy and prepare to fire," Doc ordered. A targeting reticle appeared on the main viewscreen and centered on one of the cargo ships. Natasha's avatar made a few adjustments to the targeting computer. The weapons sight moved aft on the target and locked onto the drive section of the freighter. "Fire missile #1."
The Bloodhound Mk II left the launch tube and accelerated towards cargo ship. The freighter's captain fired chaff and flares in an attempt to confuse the missile. It didn't work. The Bloodhound missile uses multiple redundancies in its targeting system. They use a mix of radar, thermal imaging, optical sensors, and other sensors designed to lock onto their targets energy emissions.
The freighter couldn't change course to avoid the missile. The Marauder squadrons under Doc's command blocked every avenue of escape. The missile found its target and detonated on impact with the freighters drive section. The explosion from its warhead destroyed three of the freighter's four sublight engines. The last engine sputtered and died, leaving the ship to drift out of control.
"Natasha, lock onto the next cargo ship, and fire missile #2," Doc ordered. Another missile left the Queen Anne's Revenge's launch tubes and accelerated towards its target. The rocket struck the freighter at an oblique angle. The exploding warhead separated the cargo ship's drive section from its primary hull.
"Natasha, target the last freighter, "Doc ordered.
"Captain, the captain of the Argos, wishes to discuss terms of surrender," Devin reported.
"Natasha, hold fire but maintain a target lock. If the freighter tries to run, don't wait for my order. Shoot to kill.
Devin, announce to all hands, hold your fire. Then put the freighter captain on the viewscreen."
Devin made a general broadcast to our gunners and the Marauder squadron leaders. Then he announced, "Captain Foster of the Argos is on screen for you."
The captain, dressed in black pants, a bright yellow long sleeve shirt, and a reptilian skin vest, is pacing his bridge in a rant. When he noticed Captain Roberts on his viewscreen waiting for his attention, he turned and said, "I will see you hanged for this! You and the rest of the Alliance have broken the 100 Years War treaty for the last time. Your attack was unprovoked. All of you are nothing but bloodthirsty pirates."
"Are you finished?" Doc asked. Instead of waiting for a reply, he continued, "Threatening the person who has your life in his hands is not a very good way to start a conversation. I believe a demonstration is in order.
Devin, signal our Nighthawks to target the bridge of the lead freighter and fire."
Devin relayed the order to the squadron leader. Then he split the viewscreen into two views, one showing the lead freighter and the other our forward view. The Nighthawk squadron formed up into pairs, and each group strafed the bridge of the disabled cargo ship firing their 40mm.
"You can't do that! They are defenseless," Captain Foster yelled."
"Is another demonstration necessary to show you what I can or cannot do?" Captain Roberts asked.
"Another demonstration will not be necessary," Captain Foster capitulated.
"Good. It is an expensive waste of ammunition that I need to replace. Your assumption that I am a pirate is correct. I come from a family of privateers dating back two generations. I am also an independent businessman with no affiliation with the Alliance."
That isn't entirely true. In fact, it is an outright lie. Doc was granted a letter of Marque from the Alliance government. As such, he is a privateer, corsair, pirate, call it what you will. Captain Roberts works for the Alliance government. His purpose is to persuade the Common Wealth of Free Worlds to accept Alliance protection. His position isn't free. It comes at a cost. Doc had to tithe the Alliance 10% of everything he stole from the Commonwealth. That came from the top, not the profits and he is expected to pay not less than three milli
on galactic credits for each Terran Standard month that passed. In exchange, Captain Roberts is granted an exclusive territory to hunt in. He is also allowed to purchase restricted military grade weapons from the Alliance. The Antares system was granted to him to use as his base of operations. Captain Robert's territory extended for 50 light years surrounding the star system in all directions. It isn't as much territory as it seems. Antares is located on the very fringe of the Andromeda galaxy. More than half of his territory is empty space. If nothing else, he could use Antares as a place to hide when things heated up.
"Power down your shields, weapons, and engines. Your freighters will be boarded, and the cargoes seized. Any resistance will be punished by death. I will start with yours. You have one minute to inform your crews of their need to cooperate."
"What is to be done with us?"
"That is yet to be determined.
Devin, end comms."
Doc opened a comm channel to engineering. "Jane, you and Randolph take out a couple of repair pods and bring the first freighter in." Next, Doc opened the ship-wide comms. "All security personnel, report to the main shuttle bay. Prepare to board the freighters."
Doc headed to the hangar. He wanted to personally see what is so valuable that the freighters were flying together in a group and why they were protected by mercenary pilots.
Doc watched Randolph and Jane clamp their repair pods onto the first freighter's hull and guide it into the Queen Anne's Revenge from an observation viewport. After the freighter was positioned over the deck, gravity is restored to the hangar, the hangar doors closed, and the shuttle bay began pressurizing.
Doc joined the assault team, and they entered the hangar together. The assault team members were dressed in black power armor, hiding their identity, and protecting them from harm. Captain Roberts isn't wearing any type of armor. He is dressed in what could be mistaken for an Alliance Officer uniform, but there was no rank insignia, medals, or decorations of any type, except for his starship's patch which was sewn onto the left shoulder. Doc is wearing a gun belt with a holstered blaster, and an energy sword clipped to the belt.
Doc tapped on the entrance hatch. There would be few survivors if any after he used the freighter's crew for a demonstration, and there would be no one left alive on the bridge to open the entry airlock. As he suspected the hatch remained closed. The airlock door controls are locked out, preventing him from opening the door from the outside.
Doc signaled to one of his boarding party's breaching experts. He came over and examined the hatch controls. Then he removed a couple of thermite charges from his vest and placed them over the area where the locking mechanisms are located. After he and Doc were a safe distance away from the boarding hatch, the breaching expert remotely detonated the charges.
There was no explosion. Instead, two jets of white-hot flame burned away at the hatch's locking mechanisms dropping molten metal onto the deck. After the thermite finished burning and the metal cooled, Doc pressed the door's controls again. This time the airlock door slid open and a boarding ramp lowered.
A squad of raiders headed up the ramp. The inner airlock door opened and the team entered the freighter. Doc followed the assault team into the cargo ship, and the rest of the boarding party followed him inside. Search teams began searching the freighter for survivors and the cabins for valuables. Other raiders started salvaging the ship for its usable parts. The majority of the boarding party headed for the cargo hold with Doc.
Doc copied the freighter's cargo manifest to his comp while cargo handlers opened containers to verify their contents. Then they loaded the crates onto gravsleds. The cargo is valuable, mostly high tech computers, memory crystals, and AI components, but it didn't rate having an armed escort. Something is missing.
Doc opened a channel on his personal comm. "Sgt O'Connor, get some mechanics from engineering and pull up the deck plates, search the air ducts, and anyplace else where there might be cargo hidden inside of smuggling holds."
"Right away, Captain."
Three survivors were brought to Doc. "Captain, I found these crewmen hiding inside of a smuggling hold," the raider said.
"You are mistaken. There are no survivors." Doc pulled his blaster from its holster and shot each crew member in the chest. Their dead bodies collapsed to the floor. Doc stepped over them on his way out of the freighter.
Every crew member that could be spared was inside of the freighter either loading cargo onto waiting gravsleds or pulling up deck plates to see if there is any merchandise not recorded on the freighters cargo manifest. Two hours after Doc left the freighter, Sgt O'Connor called him to make a report. "Captain, we hit the mother load We found a cache of weapons and Sybilian Nectar.
Sybilian Nectar is highly sought after for its use as a recreational drug. It causes hallucinations and a feeling of euphoria. It is commonly used in holographic simulations to add another level of realism as if they aren't real enough. The drug is highly addictive with most of its users becoming hooked on it after the first use. It is outlawed in most civilized star systems driving the price up on the black market. It regularly trades for 10 galactic credits per gram, and the raiders recovered at least 10 tonnes of the drug.
Captain Roberts' prohibited his crew from using Sybilian Nectar. They needed to be straight during combat. In their off time, they are allowed to use lesser nonaddictive drugs for recreational use. The crewmen and women could and would benefit from what was found. Everyone will receive a healthy bonus after Captain Roberts sold the contraband. Of course, none the credits h made would be reported to the Alliance. Doc needed to make a profit. He has a starship to maintain and a crew that needs to be paid.
After his crewmen and women finished unloading the freighter and salvaging the cargo ship's valuable parts, Jane and Randolph took the stripped hull outside and dumped it where it could continue its journey out of the Nibaru solar system. At least, until scavengers found its remains and salvaged what was left of the freighter.
After releasing the cargo ship, Jane and Randolph clamped their repair pods onto the second freighter. The drive section separation from its primary hull made bringing it aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge much easier.
This time, when Doc tapped on the main hatch the door opened and the boarding ramp lowered. The crew exited the freighter in single file with their hands in the air. "Sgt O'Connor, line the prisoners up and have them strip," Doc commanded.
Making the prisoners strip is done for the safety of his crew. There are only a few places a prisoner could hide a weapon or other contraband on their body after their means of concealment is removed from them. Those places would be searched too.
One of the prisoners is slow at removing his clothes, and he refused to drop them. He was using his garments to conceal a vibroblade. His concealment isn't good enough, that or Sgt O'Connor experienced this enough times that it alerted him. He instinctively pulled his blaster from its holster and shot the prisoner. When the prisoner fell to the deck, so did the weapon that he held in his hand.
"Natasha, have Captain Foster from the Argos brought aboard, immediately. Another demonstration is needed."
Doc waited patiently. Captain Foster couldn't be brought aboard through the hangar doors without depressurizing the shuttle bay and opening the hangar doors. He would have to be brought in through the small shuttle hangar on the upper deck. It would be faster than evacuating the hangar, depressurizing the shuttle bay, and cycling the doors to launch and recover a shuttlecraft.
It took 20 minutes for Warrant Officer Stevens to bring Captain Foster to Captain Roberts. Doc pointed to the vibroblade on the floor and said, "I can see that not everyone takes my orders seriously. Another demonstration is needed." Captain Foster turned pale but argue with Doc Roberts. "Natasha, transmit the proceedi
ngs in this shuttle bay to the Argos. I want its crew to understand what I meant when I said that if anyone is caught with a weapon they will be killed, and their Captain held responsible."
"Devin and I are transmitting the proceedings live by narrow beam communications to the freighter. They are receiving the comm signal."
"I need the captain of the Juno to step forward." No one moved. Doc pulled his blaster and pointed it at one of the female crew members. She turned pale, and goosebumps raised on her skin. "If no one steps forward in the next few seconds, I will kill each crewman, one at a time, until the captain steps forward or everyone is dead. I will start with this person."
A female member of the crew stepped forward, this one is a short brunet. "I am Tess, Captain of the Juno."
"I really hate killing women, but I have no choice. You are responsible for the actions of your crew and will be held responsible." Doc spun to face Tess and shot her. "Captain Foster, I hope this demonstration is enough to ensure compliance with the rest of the crew." Doc paused long enough to let him realize just how much trouble he is in. Then he continued, "I remember explicitly telling you that I would hold you responsible for the actions of the convoy's crew."
"I didn't know. I gave the order that everyone was to surrender and cooperate."
"Either they didn't understand, or they refused to follow your orders. It doesn't matter which it is." Doc fired his blaster six times, starting with Captain Foster's legs and making his way upward before killing him with his last shot. "The next person that defies me will ensure the death of everyone else. End comms."
The second freighter, like the first, had contraband hidden under the deck plates. It didn't take as long to search and unload the freight and smuggled goods as the first freighter. Unlike the first freighter, this cargo ship only had weapons and power armor hidden under its deck plates. Still, they would bring a hefty profit from their sale. The sale of the weapons from this freighter alone would bring enough credits for Captain Roberts to purchase the last components that are needed to make the Queen Anne's Revenge's main guns operational again. The heavy cruisers main guns being operational is something that Captain Roberts would have to keep carefully hidden from the Alliance inspections.
