by Jay Toney
Doc found his wife's book fascinating. It isn't a disorganized list of herbal remedies or even a sorted list of herbs by name. The book is categorized by illness and its symptoms, injuries with subcategories for breathing, controlling bleeding, blood circulation, burns, and other trauma. It also has sections with instructions for surgical procedures, pregnancy, and delivery. Every symptom and injury described what herb to use, its properties, and suitable substitutions. The herbs are indexed to pages with pictures of the plant, its healing properties, taste, texture, and aroma. Doc found the journal fascinating and committed himself to memorize every detail. He should have done it as soon as Elaunae finished writing her book.
The Alliance warship arrived four days after The Queen Anne's Revenge. Its transponder signal identified the starship as a cruiser, the Butcher's Ax. This is the first time Doc encountered this warship. He is sure that its captain's personality matches the starship's name. It is his experience that it usually did.
The Butcher's Ax is a newer model, smaller than Doc's heavy cruiser. It has lighter armor and weaker shields. It made up for its size and weaker defenses with faster speed, better maneuverability, and more guns. That didn't bother Captain Roberts. He knew that the Alliance depended more upon its reputation to intimidate their prey than the actual skill of its officers. Doc's crew and officers are experienced. Even his most junior officers and crewmen saw more combat than most Alliance officers saw in their careers.
The Queen Anne's Revenge waited, hiding in the emptiness of the solar system. His ship didn't have a cloaking device. But even without one, Doc knows how to stay hidden. His starship's drives are shut down. Without a visible drive plume, his cruiser looks like any other piece of space junk drifting in the solar system. There are also no comm or transponder signals being broadcast to give away his position. It is a highly illegal trick that smugglers use to get past patrol ships. Anyone caught doing it is apt to lose their vessel. Captain Roberts isn't worried about getting caught without his transponder broadcasting or its legality. He isn't going to lose his starship without a fight, and few dare to face him in combat.
The Queen Anne's Revenge waited for the Alliance cruiser, 30,000 miles from the rendezvous location for the payment owed to the Alliance government. The warship's missile ports are open and ready to fire. Doc waited patiently for the light cruiser to come to him.
The sensors from the Butcher's Ax pinged the Queen Anne's Revenge several times. The heavy cruiser didn't react and continued to act as if it is just a piece of debris orbiting the dead sun. When the Alliance cruiser closed to within an hour of their expected coordinates, Doc ordered, "Battle stations, all hands report to your duty stations!"
Emergency bulkhead hatches closed all over the cruiser sealing off the different sections of the starship. They could still be opened, as long as there is pressure on the other side of the hatch, to allow crewmen to travel to and from their duty posts. The gunners manned the starship's gun turrets and missile rooms. Engineering charged the shield capacitors and brought the reactors up to full power, and damage control teams stood by ready to respond to damage.
Doc didn't raise the ship's shields. He continued to let the cruiser approach, unaware that it is falling into a trap. The Butcher's Ax, like the Queen Anne's Revenge, had its energy shields lowered, and its weapon systems powered down. Unlike the light cruiser, the gun turrets are manned, the missiles ready to fire, the shields ready to raise at a moments notice, and his crew is prepared for battle.
"There are still no comm requests from the Butcher's Ax," Devon reported to Doc. Jadsia used the starship's passive sensors to scan the approaching ship. She added a schematic of the Butcher's Ax to the viewscreen which was already showing their forward view and tactical display. Doc studied the diagram.
"Target the engineering section, sensors array, the bow, and stern with our missiles," Doc ordered Natasha. Her avatar is missing from the bridge. It is in Doc's cabin with Nathaniel. The AI could perform most functions without her avatar but, admittedly, she is more functional with it. Doc is seated at the helm station, ready to maneuver the ship at a moment's notice.
Natasha began calculating the missile targeting solutions and added the target information to the schematic of the Alliance warship. Another screen opened; this one, a comm screen. The captain of the Butcher's Ax filled the viewscreen. He is older than Doc Roberts, with graying short hair. He had an ugly scar on the right side of his face that extended from his forehead, over his eye, and down his cheek to the bottom of his jaw. A simple nanite treatment would have healed the scar tissue, but he left it there because it left him looking more intimidating.
"Captain Roberts, is that you our there? You are a week early. Respond!" he ordered.
"Range?" Doc asked his AI.
"50,000 miles and closing," Natasha answered the query.
That is close enough. The cruiser wouldn't have the time to respond with its countermeasures. "Fire all missiles," Doc ordered Natasha.
Four missiles exited the cruiser's launch tubes and accelerated towards the Alliance cruiser. The Queen Anne's Revenge's energy shields snapped on, and its guns came to life adding their firepower to the missile attack. Red, yellow and black symbols appeared on the schematic of the light cruiser showing damage levels to the cruiser's weapons. Red symbols indicated severe damage, yellow areas are moderately damaged, and black icons indicated systems that are destroyed. The missiles struck their targets moments later.
"Cease fire!" Doc ordered. He wanted the cruiser destroyed and its crew dead, but he needed the ship intact for now. The Alliance warship sustained substantial damage. It could still maneuver, but its captain knew better than to try. Two squadrons of Marauders launched from the Queen Anne's Revenge and surrounded the enemy warship.
Devon activated the comms. Doc spoke, "Prepare to be boarded," he cut the communications before the Alliance captain could respond. Captain Roberts hurried to the shuttle bay and his Marauder. He waited inside of his starfighter for a moment. Doc had gotten used to Elaunae flying into battle with him. He realized that she isn't coming and she never would again. She is gone from his life forever; Doc's anger grew. Twenty crewmen wearing power armor and armed with blaster rifles entered his Marauder in single file. They strapped themselves into the empty jump seats. Doc sealed the hatch and powered up the ship. Natasha powered up the forcefield projectors and opened the port side door. There is only one ship launching. There isn't a need to depressurize the hangar just to launch a single starfighter.
Doc took off, leaving the Queen Anne's Revenge behind him. The light from its shuttle bay vanished from his rear view with the cruiser's hangar door closing behind him. Doc flew towards the disabled Alliance cruiser. He ordered the Nighthawks and Reapers to board the disabled warship.
Doc flew his Marauder into the Alliance cruisers open shuttle bay. The hangar doors closed after he landed and shut down his Marauder. He opened the starfighters rear hatch as soon as the hangar was pressurized. He and his troops exited the ship. The forces he transported joined the other members of the boarding party, got their assignments, and proceeded into the bowels of the Alliance warship.
Doc's crew had orders to secure the critical areas of the starship and to bring the survivors and the dead crewmen to the shuttle bay. Anyone who resisted them were to be shot and killed.
Doc, Bill, and Angel took one of the shuttle bay lifts up to deck one. They stepped out of the elevator into a corridor filled with smoke. Amber flashing lights and red emergency lighting replace the ship's normal lighting. The trio headed forward to the bridge.
The few crewmen they passed are on the way to the shuttle bay. A small group of the Alliance soldiers chanced to look at Doc, saw the fury in his eyes, then they quickly turned away. What they saw terrified them more than their captain or any other Al
liance officer. They saw death, destruction, and the loss of all hope. Those who dared look into Doc's eyes saw Tisiphone unleashed staring back at them from Doc's eyes, and the fury is very, very angry.
Doc, Bill, and Angel stepped onto the Battle Ax's bridge. Its captain turned to Doc and said, "Captain Roberts, or rather Pirate Roberts, you will be executed for this. When the Alliance hears about your treachery, you will be hunted, tortured, and hanged."
Doc ignored the Alliance captain's threat. He glanced at the name tag sewn above the left pocket of the uniform. Then he said, "Captain Hemler, I am not here to argue my fate. If I were you, I would be more concerned about your own fate. I want to know everything you know about the heavy cruiser Ajax and its commander, Captain Thornton. I want to know where the starship is, its port of calls, and its schedule. I know that Alliance captains operating in this region share that information," Captain Roberts told Alliance commander.
"I wouldn't tell you if I could," Captain Hemler told Doc Roberts.
"Reconsider. Thornton killed my wife, and I intend to kill him and anyone else involved with her death," Doc told the officer.
"He was just correcting an error of judgment that never should have been allowed to happen. You are an Alliance citizen, or at least you were. Now you are pirate scum.
I am glad your alien whore was killed before she could have any half breed offspring. My only regret is that it wasn't me that pulled the trigger. Captain Thornton, managed to convince the Lord Admiral to let him have the honor of killing alien whore," Captain Hemler told Doc.
"Then you knew about the assassination plan?"
"We all did. Every starship captain agreed that you needed to be taught a lesson and the bitch killed."
Doc's comm buzzed for his attention. He pulled his comm unit from his pocket and answered it. "What is it?"
Elliott's voice came over the comm unit loud and clear. "The prisoners have been rounded up. We are ready to begin searching and processing them."
"We have a change of plans," Doc told the Nighthawk squadron commander. "Have everyone lock their magnetic boots to the deck and open the hangar doors." The powered armor that his boarding party is wearing will protect his people from exposure to vacuum. The Alliance prisoners wouldn't live long in the vacuum of space. Whether they died from suffocation or their blood boiling didn't matter to Doc. All that matters is that they die.
"Understood," Bill acknowledged Doc's orders.
"You are a despicable bastard," Captain Hemler cursed Doc. "There is no need for that. We already surrendered."
"A lesson in judgment and a demonstration of how serious I am is needed," Doc told the Alliance captain.
"If you are going to kill me, at least give me my energy sword so that I can die with some honor."
"I'll show you the same mercy and more honor than was shown, my wife." Doc pulled his blaster from its holster and shot Captain Hemler in the center of his chest. Doc's last words to the commander were, "At least I showed you the courtesy of not shooting you in the back."
Doc activated the cruiser's comm. Devon's image filled the viewscreen on the cruiser's bridge. "I need Randolph and Natasha's avatar to come aboard the Butcher's Ax to hack into its computer files. I want all information pertaining to Captain Thornton and the Alliance fleet movements transferred to our ship." Next Doc called Elliott with his comm unit. "Have the boarding party begin stripping the cruiser of its ammunition and anything of value that we can use or sell. Jettison everything else. I don't want anything left behind that can incriminate us. Then prepare the cruiser for movement. We are taking it with us."
Revenge
Nevis turned out to be the ideal star system to sell the starships that Doc captured, and whatever they had aboard them. The three planets that originally orbited the sun are gone, replaced by a miniature Dyson sphere with an artificial sun at its core.
The people who lived in and governed the Dyson sphere have no love for the Alliance. Their home was attacked by the Alliance space fleet during the 100 Years War causing extensive damage to it.
Nevis didn't like dealing with pirates either, but they were not in a position where they could refuse what Doc had to offer them. Captain Roberts finished dropping off his fifth load of salvaged Alliance starships with the promise of more to come.
Nevis needed the metal for unfinished repairs and the salvageable warship parts to keep its fleet of specialized freighters and mining ships operational. They use their spacecraft to collect material expelled from the star during surface eruptions. The specialized spacecraft collect the material before gravity pulls it back to the star. The ejecta is loaded aboard freighters and transported to ore processing facilities where the hydrocarbon-rich material is used to fuel for their artificial sun.
The agreement worked for both Doc and Nevis. Captain Roberts got a fair price for everything that he brought Nevis. Of course, they bought everything that Doc brought them. Captain Roberts was able to continue paying his crew and paying for the repairs and servicing that the Queen Anne's Revenge needed. Nevis got the metal, salvageable parts, and other items that they could either use, repurpose, or recycle.
The information Doc got from the Battle Ax's computers and the other starships that he captured gave him the advantage in each skirmish. He knew where and when the Alliance starships he chose to engage would arrive. Over the last six months, Captain Roberts and his crew disabled and captured both Alliance freighters and capital warships. He didn't leave any survivors or wreckage behind; dead men tell no tales. With no evidence of a battle or debris, the loss of the starships will remain a mystery.
Doc is sure that the Alliance had their suspicions about him and his activities, but they have no proof that he was behind any of the vanishing starships in the regions of space that made up his new hunting grounds. He didn't limit himself to the area around Antares. The entire Commonwealth of Free Worlds is his new hunting ground.
After dropping off his latest acquisition, an Alliance destroyer, and getting paid. It is time to head back to Antares. He didn't take time out for the crew to celebrate their victory with shore leave. Doc wants to return to Antares with enough time to set a trap for the Ajax. Captain Thornton is scheduled to visit Doc's planet in a few days shy of two Terran standard months.
Nevis isn't far from Antares, as far as habitable star systems went. The Queen Anne's Revenge could make it in one jump, but they would be in hyperspace for 41 days plus deceleration time. That didn't leave much time for Doc to set up the conditions that will give him the advantage over the Ajax. He knew from earlier experience that Captain Thornton was a better helmsman than most Alliance officers. He also had four years to train his crew. Without the element of surprise. Doc isn't sure that he can defeat him, but he is willing to die trying.
The Queen Anne's Revenge entered hyperspace leaving the Nevis star system behind. Doc dismissed the bridge crew. Natasha is more than capable of monitoring the starship's systems and alerting Doc if there are any problems. There is still routine maintenance and servicing that needs to be done to maintain the starship, but the pace isn't as rushed.
Jane came to Doc's cabin. Her visit is unexpected. She looked nervous and agitated. That is unlike her. Doc never saw Jane looking like this. She is always calm, cool, and collected.
"What did Nathaniel do this time?" Doc asked Jane. He is sure that his son is behind Jane's agitation. He is getting older, bolder, and more mischievous, taking after him. Nathaniel's fourth birthday is a few days away. The closer he got to it, the more troublesome he is getting.
"He didn't do anything that I know of. Natasha's avatar is keeping him entertained in my cabin," Jane answered.
"Then why are you here?"
"It has been over six months since Elau
nae's death. It is time to stop grieving and get on with your life. I've been attracted to you since I was first hired on."
"I'm sorry Jane, I can't."
"Listen, you self-centered ass. I'm not trying to replace Elaunae, and I am not asking you to marry me. We both have needs. I am offering you a way to satisfy them that will be mutually beneficial. I don't want to be the captain's wife and be paraded like a trophy in front of the crew, so you don't have to worry about that."
"If word gets out..." Doc started to say.
"I don't plan on telling anyone, so if the crew hears about us, it will be from you."
Jane unfastened the tabs on her coveralls, let them fall to the floor, then she stepped out of them. She isn't the frumpy looking engineer with her clothing removed. Her body is fit and lean from hard work. She led Doc to his bed not giving him any choice.
After making love, well, not love, but a hell of a time in bed that satisfied both of them; Doc needed it. He asked Jane, "What do we do about Nathaniel? I can't keep sending him to your cabin every time that we want to have sex?"
"I've given that some thought. It is time to clear out Elaunae's sewing room and put her belongings into storage. Nathaniel is growing older and will need his own room soon. Why not give him Elaunae's room for his birthday?"
"What do we tell him about us?" Doc asked Jane.
"Let Aunt Jane worry about that if the need arises."
The Queen Anne's Revenge came out of hyperspace in the Antares star system. Natasha set the ship's course for the fourth planet. Jadsia confirmed that the ship's sensors showed only normal system traffic. It appears that they beat the Ajax here.
Captain Thornton is due here in the next week. According to the files that Doc acquired, he is coming here to establish an Alliance presence on this planet. No other Alliance warship is scheduled to arrive for another month. Antares belongs to Doc. He paid the Alliance government too much for it. Now they are double-crossing him again. Captain Roberts planned on making Alliance Command pay, but first, he had to deal with Thornton.
