One other person was on the bridge and he'd announced my entrance. Larry Stacey sat in one of the observation seats in what I had taken to calling the gallery. Larry and his fighter spacecraft had been gifts from General Mauer. Larry damaged his eyes in a spacecraft canopy failure. Although he'd recovered well, and his implants made his vision better than ever, the military wasn’t willing to take a chance on a damaged pilot. We were. The General had sent Larry to us along with a state of the art space fighter. Larry had over a thousand hours piloting this craft and was an expert. He’d been one of the first to land on Lola’s new flight deck.
“Hi, boss. Thought I would stop in and watch the landing rotation from the holo-screen. I wanted to see if any of the new pilots were as good as me.” Larry joked but there was a truth to it. He’s a superior pilot and he’ll oversee the fighters, so he did need to observe the talent.
“Larry, you’re always welcome on this bridge. As a matter of fact, I’d like to get you cross-trained to this bridge. You never know when it might come in handy.”
I'd worked for a supervisor back when I was a young policeman on Earth, who believed in cross training everyone. That way, when things went nuts anyone could step in and lend a hand. I’d seen that plan work, so I took it to heart.
Larry smiled at that suggestion. “Yeah, that would be great. Another qualification on my resume would be nice. Right now, I still like to go fast and shoot things.”
Al Hogan chuckled at Larry’s remark. “Boss as long as he doesn’t try whipping Lola around like he does his fighter, he’ll be fine. Lola has some moves, but she wasn’t designed for the moves he does in his little bird.”
“I promise Al, I’ll be good and not break Lola.”
Iwona was sitting at her station, it seemed she wasn’t paying any attention to us. She focused on her console, monitoring sensors showing the ships in the area. She was plotting a route to Chico 7 that would avoid colliding with any of the spacecraft on her screens. Our home planet, Oakdale, was growing in prominence. Increasing space traffic and shipping made the area around us much more congested. Not too long ago you could sit back and go. Now it was a zig-zag around traffic for at least two days before you could get out of the congestion.
“Skipper,” Iwona spoke up. “I have routed us a clear path to Chico 7. Unless something unforeseen gets in our way, we’re good to go. Plan on a 13 day, 20 hour, 14 minute, travel time to orbit at our destination.”
“Good work, Iwona. I’m glad to see someone on this bridge is doing their job. I’ll leave the ship in your most capable hands. Larry, I’ll see that you get some bridge time on our trip. I’ll be in my galley, la deuxième Table de Famille. Julie is waiting for me with a fresh cup of coffee. I’ll be back a little later.”
I turned and exited the bridge. It was a short walk to my small galley. When we did our first upgrade on the ship and designed it to accommodate the troopers from Genus, we designed a smaller captain’s galley. It’s a gourmet cook’s paradise. I’m a frustrated chef, and at times quell my frustrations by helping in the kitchen at my friend Renee’s place, Table de Famille. He runs one of the finest gourmet restaurants in the galaxy.
Renee designed my galley and usually stocked it whenever we were in port. He also provided the staff for the main galley as a paid apprenticeship from his staff. Because of this, you’ll never hear a trooper on board Lola complain about a meal.
The galley was down the corridor and through a door which also served as an emergency locking hatch. Julie was sitting at the large table with Nicky Ceserea and Chris Williams. Chris is the head of Genus, the large private security firm that provides security and police forces throughout the fringe planets. Nicky, was his partner as were Julie and me. Nicky was doing the honors and pouring coffee for everyone.
I sat down beside Julie and took the cup offered by Nick. As always it was a perfect rich brew. Nicky is a coffee fanatic and always has some special beans which he brews into the finest cup I ever enjoyed. Like a good mother, Nicky took care of his people’s needs.
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s go over our plan as we know it.”, suggested Chris. “We receive almost daily reports from our people on Chico 7. There have been no more attempts to land by the organization since Tommy and Jason ruined their first attempt. However, there have been sightings of spacecraft flying overhead. As best they can tell, the Organization bandits remain in orbit until they can figure out a better way to land an attack.”
Nicky added to this. “Our people should be safe until we get there. If the bandits do land elsewhere our people will move into the caves with the Trolls. The network of tunnels is extensive, and the Trolls can extend them or collapse one at any time.”
Chris continued, “Doctor Dora, Rick, Jason, and Tommy have done a great deal of exploring in the tunnels and have learned a lot about the Trolls. Tommy and Jason have spent a lot of time in the spacecraft. They’ve determined that although the ship itself is cemented into the cavern from decades of mineral secretions, the forward part and the inside the ship is almost intact. The cockpit instruments appear to be functional, requiring only power to activate them. A tribute to the engineering and construction of the equipment.”
“Why haven’t they tried to power up the equipment?” Julie asked.
“For a couple reasons. First, they don’t know what power requirements the equipment needs. Dc or AC, how many volts? They’re afraid to fry everything. Second, there is the problem of the combustible gases in the cavern. A spark could cause an explosion. They don’t have the equipment to handle either issue. We’re bringing what equipment we’ll need to do the job, as well as an engineer who’s also an electrical expert for a power-up. We have a linguistic expert, fluent in Runic writings to help decipher the writing they’ve found. Our expert is convinced it’s like the Runic writing found back on Earth. Perhaps, there's a link.” Chris answered.
“What about the Trolls? Have we figured out where they came from?” I asked.
Chris shook his head. “No. Dora has been working on the Trolls lore but all they have is the spoken word nothing is written or recorded. She's interviewed the elders and their leader, but the best is they come from other planets. On the bright side, the Trolls have become very friendly and open to our people. Each of them has learned to converse with the Trolls and the Trolls are all communicating with our people. We’ll all need a crash course in Pidgin Trollian. It is a combination of grunts, English, and sign. I’ve been practicing it and it’s very natural. Our people should pick it up without much problem. You’ll all need the crash course over the next two weeks.”
“Jack, how do you want to enter orbit?” Chris asked.
“We’ll be monitoring from long distance as we approach the system. Using a combination of leapfrogging around planets and orbiting bodies, as well as our active camouflage, we’ll be able to get an idea of what's waiting for us before they know we're near. Once we know what’s in orbit, we can take the appropriate action.” I answered.
“While in route, we’ll be launching and training our fighters daily, so they get practice working together, as well as landing and launching from Lola. It's proven easy so far, but it’s always tricky to try landing on a ship in motion. We’ll be able to work out any bugs that might pop up before we run into any danger.” I added.
Chris smiled and nodded. “Julie, what have you figured out concerning the Carbonado diamonds?”
“Well, that depends on the amount of the lode. If it’s big enough, we’ll use it to set up a trust fund to look after the Trolls for a very long time. More than a pretty gem, it seems these crystals have an unusual matrix that makes them perfect for several quantum uses. They could help power our future space travel and help with faster than light speed travel and communications. The physics is beyond me, but from what I’ve seen there’s a great deal of interest in them. A secure source could be worth billions and billions. I’m sure the Trolls will be well taken care of. We have to make sure no one takes adv
antage of them.”
“So, are you sure Hardcore Mining is interested?” Nicky asked.
“Oh yeah, Hardcore is very interested,” Julie responded. “I'm also sure Hardcore will be contracting with Genus to provide planet security on Chico 7.”
Julie and Nicky were joking because of recent events which made Julie the majority stockholder and head of Hardcore Mining Corporation. Hardcore is the largest interplanetary mining company in the galaxy. Until we’d stepped in, they were also led by a group of thieves and bandits known as the Organization. They preyed on planets, outposts, and shipping among the fringe planets. The entire company wasn’t corrupt but Donal Horan, the prior majority stockholder was. He was the evil genius behind the Organization. That was until he died, and Julie inherited his wealth. Donal was Julie’s uncle and her only relative. She was the sole heir.
We'd done a lot to clean up Hardcore and break up the Organization but there were still bands of these pirate bandits roaming the planets. They weren’t as organized or as well supplied, but they were still a danger.
If Julie wanted Hardcore to adopt the Trolls and take care of them, she had the power to make it happen. She wanted it to happen.
Chris set down his computer pad and spoke up. “I wanted to have a meeting with our new experts we have on board and get up to date on what they’ve developed regarding the Trolls. They should be outside right now. Nicky, can you bring them in?”
Nicky stepped to the door and opened it. “Please come in and have some coffee.” He said to the Cryptozoologist, Linguistic Philologist, and two Animal Husbandry experts.
They came in and Julie and Nicky brought over a fresh coffee pot, cups, cream, and sugar. I grabbed a tray of pastries our friend Renee had stocked onboard for us. Chris made introductions around the table as coffee was poured, and tasty treats were passed around.
“Let me start by introducing Dr. James Francis our Cryptozoologist. He’s our expert on strange and unusual new animal species. He's studied the sightings of the Sasquatch and Yeti on Earth as well as newly found animals on other planets.” Dr. Francis said hello and how excited he was to be on this expedition.
“To his right, we have our Linguistic Philologist, Dr. Robert Mariano. He is an expert in Runic writings and will help us understand what we find in the caves and on the ship.” Dr. Mariano nodded to everyone. I worried about this man. He had to be in his nineties. This trip could be hard on him. Of course, on the fringe, we often had to take what we could find.
“Finally, we have Andy and Terry Kupp. They are our experts on raising hogs. Now don’t go thinking they’re a couple of simple down-home farm boys. They both have doctorates in biology and managed large-scale hog farms and processing plants for Armour Corp on the planet Hardcore until we made them a profitable offer.”
“I’m Terry, this is my brother Andy. The truth of the matter, we would have done it for less but we're good businessmen so you are paying us a lot. The idea of the adventure is what had us. We can set up and get your operation running in no time. We selected some very good breeding stock. If there’s decent forage to feed the pigs, we can be running a nice big operation in no time. By the way, Andy is an award-winning BBQ chef so once we land you can expect some very good BBQ.”
We spent the next hour talking about Chico 7 and the Trolls. Our experts had some very interesting ideas and already had developed some theories. Dr. James had found the blood samples that we had brought back fascinating. Rather than a double helix DNA that humans have, these creatures had a quadruple helix. Because of this, the Trolls would be able to quickly adapt to changing conditions. In other words, where it might take many generations for humans to adapt to a new condition the trolls could do it in one or two. The Trolls could physically adapt to living in caves and tunnels in perhaps one or two generations. Humans might take twenty or thirty, if ever.
Dr. Mariano had examined the photos of all the Runic script and had found it very much the same as script found in the Himalayas. He hoped to examine this script in place and possibly determine the meaning by examining the surroundings and context.
Everyone was excited and looking forward to the excursion. I didn’t want to burst their bubble today and remind them that we might end up fighting for our lives with remnants of the Organization bandits.
Chapter 3
I always like to walk my ship when I get the opportunity. I had some free time after our meeting in the small galley, so I took a stroll. My first stop was the large galley where the three chefs were busy getting dinner ready. The smell of yeast from the fresh bread, as well as garlic, bacon, and onions, wafted through the area to tease me before being sucked into the air scrubbers and cleansed of any odors.
Those scrubbers were important on a closed system like ours, especially when you had as many people and the cargo we carried. Imagine how pungent and disagreeable if would become if they went offline for a week or two. At least here in the galley, you could enjoy this wonderful aroma.
Over at the far end of the kitchen area, I saw a new face. I knew who he was, though I hadn’t met him. In the tradition of ancient ocean-going ships on Earth, we had taken on a cabin boy. His parents were both employed with Genus and had to ship out on separate operations which meant leaving him to stay with family friends. His mother had mentioned this to Julie, and Julie suggested we take him on as a cabin boy for the ship. He was 13 years old and ahead of the rest of the kids his age in school. This would be a great learning experience for him. It would expose him to running a restaurant, managing a ship, and Genus operations.
Everyone thought this would be a great idea. He’d help in the kitchen bussing tables and fill in with the housekeeping staff. Chris would make sure he learned some engineering and was well paid for his work.
With a head of thick dark hair and an infectious grin, Kenny Genier was hard at work scrubbing a large stock pot at the cleaning station. It was too large for the automated cleaner and needed a human touch. As I approached Kenny he finished rinsing the pot and set it on the drying rack to his right side.
"Kenny, welcome aboard. Let me introduce myself. I’m...”
Kenny cut me off before I could finish, “Sir I know who you are. Thank you for this chance to work aboard Lola. This is great.” He fumbled as he dried off his hands and reached out to shake mine.
“I hope you enjoy your tour of duty onboard Lola and learn a few things. If there is anything you need, let me know.” I said
“Yes sir, thank you, I will.”
I turned around and waved to the rest of the Kitchen staff. All trained by Renee and expert chefs, this would be excellent on the job training for them and they knew it.
Further down the passageway, I came across the medical section. At one time, I had a first aid box on a top shelf. Now Lola sported a complete surgical facility and six hospital beds. There were more beds that folded up into the wall and could open in an emergency. I hope we won’t find the need. Our new staff trauma expert waved to me as he unloaded a container of plasma bags. The plasma was temperature stable and would save a life.
What was once cargo holds on each side of me was now berthing areas for the crew and Genus troopers. There were also training facility and simulators for their entertainment and advancement. It looked very comfortable. Much nicer than any of the troopers had experienced on a military transport. They had a little privacy in their bunkrooms and in their bathroom facilities.
The troopers were all busy, either cleaning and organizing their gear or in simulations. Nicky C didn’t like to see them idle. He said it dulled their edge. Experience with these troopers showed they were finely honed.
Aft from the berthing area was physical training. This is where the troopers spent most their time. On one side, we have a complete circuit of weight training machines and an impressive set of good old-fashioned free weights and benches. On the other side was where all the attention was usually focused. There were three sparring areas. Two practice areas and in their center an a
rea more like an arena. The central sparring mat was three padded steps down from the normal floor providing seats for anyone watching a match.
Sparring had become popular on our last mission aboard Lola. The troopers keep a tally board that shows the ranking of everyone who competes. Up near the top was our head chef. She’d developed her talents on her first cruise with us and earned the respect of all the troopers after she defeated all challengers.
I knew I needed to start spending more time working out back here. I was getting lazy and needed to get back in shape. Too many extravagant meals and not enough physical labor was showing. My coveralls were a little snug.
I continued back towards the aft hold that contained our special porcine guests. As I approached the delightfully scented hold, I could hear Julie talking with the Kupp brothers. She had taken the project under her wing and was now devoted to the pigs.
“Andy, you’re telling me that you can bring all the sows into heat at the same time and fertilize them on the same day?” Julie asked.
Rapparee: The Regeneration (The Journey of the Freighter Lola Book 5) Page 2
