“I have learned a lot in a short time, Captain Velvet,” he said. “I learned that there are females who have courage and that there are trustworthy pirates. I learned that our Galaxy is even more dangerous than we thought and that your robot engineer is not a robot, but a true magician and a genius. However, I also learned that my gut feeling about the Kermac was true. I am glad there is an alternative we can present to our emperor.”
“Fare well then, Shipmaster Dorrx. Maybe our paths will cross again under better conditions. I will escort your vessel as close to that new Union system as I dare and then you are on your own, but I am sure you’ll find the United Stars a helpful place, and they will restore your vessel so you can return safely.”
“I have much to thank you for. I am not sure if we’ll ever meet again. My prince will still be quite sore about the fact that he is tied up in the freight bay and he will, of course, blame you.”
“You can release your crew and the prince, but remember there isn’t any life support to most decks.”
“Oh, no, Captain Velvet, I’d like to keep him in there as long as possible. I’ll have more peace that way and can blame you pirates for his misery.”
“I am not sure what that means, but I think I have an idea.” I bade him farewell and went to the next airlock.
Specialist Warner scurried alongside. “Captain, we got all our tools and equipment back and Lt. Circuit is down in the engine room putting final touches to these crude nuclear generators. He should be done within the next 10 minutes.”
“Very well then, let us return to our ship. Maybe after the third attempt, we’ll make it to that pirate port. “
“What about the Dolbarians, captain?”
“What about them, Mr. Warner? Did you not say they are Galactic Council?”
“Can we not take them along? I mean, they aren’t very happy GC members and what will happen to these two?”
“We can’t take them along. They are GC, and we only pretend to be pirates, remember?”
“Of course, I know that, captain. I mean that we are pirates, but we could keep them in a room. They won’t eat much.”
“When the Xandrao reach the Union System, I am sure Command will find a way to get them back to their home. It’s not that we are at war against the Dolbarians.”
“Captain, you said we can always talk to you and this is an unfair situation. These two will be interrogated and tortured.”
I stopped. “Mr. Warner, of course you can talk to me any time, but we, I mean the Union, won’t torture them, I promise.”
“Captain, not us, the Kermac. These two were sent to escort two Kermac envoys to the Xandrao and what do you think will happen if they return from somewhere Union side? The entire Dolbarian species is under Kermac control, but not in the nice way where they are mentally controlled but in the demeaning, ‘slave, you do what I say,’ way. The Kermac will torture them to find out what happened to their envoys and then kill them for not preventing the Xandrao from going to the Union side.”
I had to admit he made sense.
“I sure don’t want them to be tortured, but if we take them, we would have to keep them in Zero Stasis for a very long time.”
“Could we not fly to their home world and take a delegation of Dolbarians to Pluribus? I am sure the Dolbarians want to be Union and free of Kermac tyranny.”
I knelt to be on his level and said, “Mr. Warner, we have a mission. We are supposed to be pirates. We can’t simply fly into GC space, land on a Kermac-controlled planet, contact their government, and take them to Pluribus.”
“I know it seems impossible, but you are our captain and you’ll find a way. Besides, it doesn’t have to be now. Maybe after our mission.”
The Holdian specialist was nowhere near as cute as the little Holdian commander I once knew, but he, too, had big, black button eyes and a pointed black snout that shimmered wet. His whiskers hung down and his round ears were somehow sad-looking. He sighed and kneaded his tiny fur-covered hand.
“But, of course, you are right, captain. What can we possibly do? I am sorry I bothered you with that.”
“You drive a harder bargain than that Golden Friend of yours. We really can’t do much about the Dolbarian situation, but we can do something about those two. Go ahead and contact Mr. Neugruber and confine those two. We might indeed have to put them in stasis for a while.”
His whiskers snapped up and his ears turned to a happier position. “Thank you, captain.”
Chapter 3: Orange Sorbet
We dropped out of Quasi into the almost empty star system that the transmitted orders designated, just as Shaka promised, three days later.
Shea said, “It is a rather unremarkable M4Ve type. Ten billion years. No planets but a thin asteroid belt and a dense dust ring around the star.”
Krabbel said, “Captain, we are the first Union ship to enter this star system as it is still unnamed in the catalogs. As you know, it is part of my duty to update star catalogs with survey data and it is tradition to name new star systems.”
Yeoman O’Connell approached and handed me a cup of coffee. “Legally, we could claim it, too. The Freespace Treaty clearly allows individuals to claim a star system that is not occupied or claimed by anyone else.”
I smiled at her. “Well, you forget that Black Velvet is not a real person in legal terms. It is just an empty star system. We would need to remain and defend our claim, too. Besides, if we name it, our names will appear in the registry that is open to all, even Non-Union.”
Sobody said, “I could claim it. We Golden are not signatory to the Treaty, and we are not members just yet.”
I smiled. “Okay, Krabbel, you name it, and Sobody will claim it. Knowing him, he’ll find something valuable even here.”
Shaka chuckled. “There is already a planet called Ice Cream, and I think even a star.”
Krabbel made a disappointed sound and said, “Never mind then.”
I looked to Elfi but she shook her head. “We are a little early for the meeting. Captain, the USS Boulder has not hailed us yet.”
I acknowledged that and then said to Krabbel, “You aren’t serious, right? You didn’t say all this just so you can name a star Ice Cream?”
The big spider raised four legs, but Mao turned and answered instead, “That was his plan indeed, captain.”
“Why don’t you name it after an Ice Cream flavor. Isn’t there one that is orange, maybe?”
Krabbel shrieked happily, “What a good idea! The star will be entered as Orange Sorbet.”
“What is sorbet?”
Krabbel sounded all schoolmasterly as he said, “Sorbet typically designates a fruity flavored frozen dairy product with a butterfat content between one and two percent. It’s a less creamy ice cream.”
Shea smiled. “Captain, our Archa navigator is quite an expert in frozen dessert. Do you think we can use the time to closer examine the system, make a detailed survey? I would love to send a probe into the star, collect some of the dust and perhaps detail scan and survey some of the asteroids. I bet all those Chimera units do a lot of clandestine work but no one is doing what we should and what is the prime charter of our fleet.”
I held up my hand and addressed our communications officer. “Elfi, can you hail the Boulder and ask them when they will be here?”
After working on my request, our beautiful Saran officer said, “Captain, they are already here. I am receiving a priority order from Fleet Command.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Shea, why is the ship not showing on our sensors?”
Narth pointed at the main viewer before she could answer. “We are not the only ship pretending to be something else.” He made an adjustment to the viewer and one of the asteroids suddenly moved and changed course.
Shea added, “We did not use our real sensors, only the simulated ones, and that camouflaged ship has no active transponder and seems very well-shielded in terms of energy emissions. Do you want me to activate our actual sensor suite?�
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Elfi interrupted, “We are being hailed, captain. Alpha priority from Fleet Command. They request that you identify to Blue-Blue-Red Protocol and Day Cypher.”
I began the long-winded process, put my key in a special indentation of SHIP AI Master Control at my seat and said, “Day Code is Flyswatter.”
Elfi turned. “Signal protocol verified, captain. Regulations require that you need to take this in a secure location.”
“Put them on. This is my bridge, and it is the most secure location.”
It was an acoustic message only, delivered by a rather harsh male voice. “NAVINT command, code sequence verified. USS Tigershark, you are to switch off your Janus Device and go under full shields. You are to approach the sun from the Nadir level and wait for orbit vector and docking guide pulse.”
“You heard them. Narth, turn off the Janus Mask. Mao, go full shields, and Shaka, take us to Orange Sorbet.”
I leaned back and watched us approach. “Something is hiding in that star.”
Narth said, “Actually, to be expected. Terrans have thousands of years of experience with star-based stations, ever since they established Sol Castle. The Union can now freely make use of Wurgus solar engineering, and we have a city on Bright Star, the home of the Non-Corps.”
He turned and looked at us with his glowing eye slits. “No other society known to the Narth has ever occupied, colonized, or utilized the very stars like the Union does.”
I moved to the edge of my seat. “I remember a team of water polo players from Sol Castle and ever since my first days at the Academy, I’ve considered Two-Three one of my best friends. I know he told me about Bright Light, but are you sure our shields will hold? I know red suns are not as hot but it is still a sun.”
Narth turned to looked at his readouts. “Our real shields have never been tested to answer your question without any margin of error, but we have far more advanced shields than Bright Star Station or Sol Castle. I am confident my calculations are correct. We should be able to dive past the Corona and even past the Chromosphere, but there are conflicting opinions if the ISAH drives would work inside and if we could develop sufficient thrust to escape the gravitational pull.”
Circuit must have been listening to the bridge audio as he chimed in from engineering. “My shields will hold, but I share Narth’s concern. We might not be able to establish ISAH.”
Inside, I was not as relaxed as I pretended to be. “Well, they are in there, and Elfi confirmed receiving guiding information.” The red star was already filling our entire view screen, even on zero magnification.
Mao said, “Our real shields are fantastic, captain. We are not even at two percent shield capacity and we are bombarded by radiation and thermal energies that could melt an unprotected battleship in seconds.”
Shaka’s voice had a slight edge of concern. “But we are at 45 percent of thrust, just to keep us approaching slowly.”
A green circle appeared and pushed the red swirling energy masses away and created something like a wide tunnel.
Elfi relayed a new message. “USS Tigershark, this is Station Nebuchadnezzar. You are fighting not just the gravitation but our tunnel tractor. Turn off your engines.”
Elfi confirmed, “Codes verified. It is a Union installation.”
“Shaka, cut thrust. Circuit, engines on standby.”
Our ship was caught by an almost invisible greenish tractor beam and we were pulled past the turbulent and truly frightening swirling energies of a real sun. After passing almost half a million miles through this hellish nuclear inferno, close to what Shea called the convection, hung a Gigamon station, almost invisible behind bright glowing purple shields.
Moments later, we were inside the shields and pulled into a hangar.
We were hailed again, and a Human male in black Fleet uniform with a NAVINT patch on his sleeve smiled at us from the main screen. “This is X Fleet Forward Recon Station Nebuchadnezzar, I am Commander Daniel Shadrach. Welcome, Tigershark.”
I said, “Thank you, commander.”
He nodded. “Please stand by for Senior Command Transmission.”
Elfi confirmed, “Captain, it is the Admiral of the Fleet.”
The commander on the screen was replaced by the face of Admiral McElligott, who started to speak without much of a greeting. “Initially, we did not want to reveal Nebuchadnezzar to you. Simply because we didn’t want you to know all secrets, but with you, this seems more or less impossible. I am on my way to Station Nebuchadnezzar and I am aboard a Chimera unit and will arrive in five days. Take the opportunity for some R&R for your crew. The USS Boulder will take the Kermac and whatever else you want to send Union side off your hands.”
“Aye, sir.”
“I am bringing the accumulated mail for your crew and a sizable container of packages for your chief engineer.”
***
While most of my crew was enjoying their first shore leave and the recreation facilities of a full Gigamon station, Har-Hi, Shea, Narth, and I were greeted in the office of the base commandant.
He sat with his back to a big viewpoint that showed the filtered images of swirling energies. The commandant was Human Terran, and he had his black hair slicked back in a very Dai Than style.
He gave us a friendly greeting. “Captain Olafson, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. General Cherubim and the old man have briefed me, of course, and as usual in our business, without much detail. I’ve heard about the Red Dragon Affair, and I am briefed on the Xandrao situation.”
I was wearing regular Union uniform. I could not deny the feeling of pride seeing captain’s gold on my sleeve cuffs.
To the commander, I said, “We’ve been in space for a little while, yet to me it feels like we haven’t really started our actual mission. For every step forward, we take two back, but my crew can use a few days of R&R and I thank you for making these facilities available.”
He steepled his fingers and leaned back. “We take great pride in our Core Park. It simulates the environment of Para Para, with five acres of sandy beaches and 20 acres of a simulated ocean lake.”
“I hope I find the time to check it out myself. Before you dismiss us, commander, you have been briefed about me and our mission, yet I know nothing at all about this place. Can you tell me something about it, or is it classified?”
He made a wide gesture. “Your security clearances are higher than mine, Captain Olafson. All you have to do is ask, but let me give you a short rundown.”
He called up a holo projection of the star and the base inside.
“This is Station Nebuchadnezzar. As advanced it may appear to you, it is just a matter of strong force fields and most of our tech is based on time-tested systems. This station is based on the same design as Sol Castle and Sol is much hotter and more active than this old—”
He paused and looked at a readout on his desk. His face changed into a disbelieving expression. “Orange Sorbet?” He looked up.” You named a star system we wanted to keep as quiet and unimportant as possible Orange Sorbet?” He pointed at his screen with an accusatory look in his face. “The Union Catalogs have just been updated.”
I said, “I am sorry, commander. We did not know it was occupied, and we simply followed procedures. My navigator named the system, but I approved it and take responsibility if it causes problems.”
The commander gave me a forced smile and sighed. “I doubt anyone will come here just because the name has changed in the official catalogs. I guess I was just surprised to see a name change and technically it makes us, what?”
Narth raised his finger. “Orange Sorbets?”
He grimaced then gestured once again toward the projection. “NAVINT has a few secret bases in Freespace and this is one of them. As remote and lonely as it is in terms of system traffic, it is only 60 light years from Togar Space. Our main task is to monitor Togar Space traffic and coordinate intelligence. We like to keep the traffic as minimal as possible, of course, but we are occasionally
provided logistics to Chimera units of the X Fleet.”
Shea said, “Now I can understand why they call this base Nebuchadnezzar, but your name simply can’t be coincidence, sir?”
He raised an eyebrow. “My name, lieutenant?”
“King Nebuchadnezzar had three men thrown in the furnace for not bowing to a golden idol. One of the men was Shadrach. It is all in the book of Daniel.”
He looked at her, as confused as I was, and said, “I never heard of King Nebuchadnezzar.” Then he got up, “Well, as it might be, I do have a station to run and then there is the imminent visit of the Admiral of the Fleet.” He grinned weakly. “He’s never been here before, and I want everything in tip-top shape before his inspection!”
***
The station was a full-sized Gigamon. We learned that almost 40 percent of the base was geared toward shield generators and gravitation management, but even then, it was a big place with an all-military intelligence community.
We found ourselves in a real officer’s lounge a little later and sat at a table by a large simulated window displaying a beautiful mountain scene with meadows and snow-capped mountains.
Shea tried to explain to us what she meant with her comments about Nebuchadnezzar and the commandant. “He might not know the significance of his name, but I am sure he was picked for this station partially because of it. Admiral McElligott likes these things.” She then told us the story that was part of an old religious book from earth, called the Bible.
A server came to our table and pointed at our drinks and my empty glass. “Captain Olafson, would you like another Holsteiner?”
I smiled. “Yes, I’d like another.”
Then I glanced to Narth, who nursed a glass of water. “You would not want to try again?”
“Oh no, I made quite a spectacle out of myself the last time I was intoxicated.”
Har-Hi quaffed a swell of beer in his glass and said, “Narth was drunk?”
We had to tell them about the incident in the officer’s lounge at Camp Idyllic. Shea and Har-Hi were laughing and tears were streaming down my Dai friend’s face.
This simple gathering in that lounge was perhaps one of our finest moments so far.
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 100
