Castle Vroman

by Thomas DePrima

  * * *

  Jenetta's prediction of possible increased Milori activity turned out to be completely inaccurate. Following the attack on the Lisbon, the sectors around Stewart immediately resumed their formerly tranquil status. Not a single sighting of Milori ships occurred in the months following the attack.

  With the arrival of more and more Space Command ships, and no sightings of Milori ships, Jenetta made the decision to extend the patrol area to fifty light-years out from Stewart. Thus far, eleven small spotter ships had been seized and their crews taken into custody. In each case, the engines and communications equipment were in good working condition and the small crew couldn't provide a reasonable excuse for why it was sitting in the same place along normal shipping lanes for months at a time. A replacement crew of several Space Command crewmen took their place onboard each ship, with orders to report all ship passages.

  * * *

  Eighty-three days following the attack on the Lisbon, Milori guards took Admiral Vroman from the brig and escorted him to the shuttle bay of the Milori cruiser Rowlidph, where they prodded him to board a shuttle. He moved into the small ship and took a seat, then stared venomously at the guards while senior officers from the Lisbon slowly took the remaining seats. The guards stepped off the ship after ensuring that all seats were occupied. Within minutes, the small vessel was sealed and it moved out of the shuttle bay. Simultaneously, a message began to play over the announcement system.

  "Attention, Space Command personnel. You are being shuttled down to the third planet in a system identified on your charts as Siena. The planet has a breathable atmosphere, with a gravity that's 1.13 times that of Earth. The landing site, presently in what you would describe as springtime, offers a temperate climate with all the necessities of Terran life. If you make no resistance to this resettlement, the last delivery to the surface will be cargo containers with basic tools, food for thirty days, scientific equipment that can analyze water and food to ensure it's safe for consumption, and medical supplies. If anyone attempts escape, we'll put down the rebellion with extreme prejudice and won't send down the cargo containers. We are piloting this shuttle remotely so you cannot overpower a cockpit crew and assume the controls. Should you attempt to take control, the shuttle will most likely plummet into the atmosphere and burn up. We are maintaining a targeting lock on the ship, so if you somehow override our control, we will simply open fire."

  The Space Command officers, whose first thoughts had been of attempts to storm the cockpit now that the guards were gone, settled back into their seats. No one doubted that the Milori would shoot the craft down without a second's hesitation. And if the Milori were marooning them in a primitive environment, they would need the promised equipment and supplies.

  As the shuttle settled onto the planet's surface, the hatch opened. The Space Command officers waited until Admiral Vroman rose from his seat and walked to the door before moving into the aisle to follow, in order by rank. The scene that greeted them was of a primeval world, unblemished by civilizations or intelligent life, where giant trees stretched upwards, as if reaching for the system's single sun. The dense undergrowth showed no sign of ever having been trampled underfoot. Flying creatures, probably stirred by the noise and appearance of the shuttle, circled overhead. Even at this midday hour, two of the planet's four moons were very visible in the sky, although obscured somewhat by the bright light of the sun as it diffused in the atmosphere.

  The Milori had chosen to land their prisoners in a large clearing atop a rocky knoll. The LZ offered a panoramic view of a sizeable green valley, surrounded by barely scalable mountains with snow-capped peaks. Narrow passes at two places appeared to limit entry and egress. Water flowed from the mountains in a dozen places, forming a river that ran the length of the valley.

  Admiral Vroman led the way down the landing ramp and away from the ship, which resealed and lifted off as soon as the officers were clear. He turned and watched the shuttle climb into the atmosphere before addressing the group.

  "I don't know whether we're better off here or in the Milori ship, but I'm looking forward to having a decent meal as soon as we learn what's available on this planet; Milori food is barely fit for human consumption. I'm going to assume from the way they worded the announcement that our crew will be following us down. The most important task we have before us now is maintaining order and discipline. We're alive, and we'll be getting off this planet as soon as we can get word to Space Command, but we may be here for a while. I'm sure that Admiral Carver is already scouring the deca-sector for us. I don't know where this Siena system is in relation to Stewart, but we know that it's less than ninety days away from the base, if I calculated the days correctly."

  "Sir," Captain Lindahl said, "I believe that it's located well inside the Frontier Zone."

  "That would make sense, and we could be as far as eighty light-years inside the Zone. There has to be less SC patrol activity, and less civilian traffic here, so the Milori would believe there's less chance of our being found. Very well, from this day forward we shall refer to this planet as Siena, and we have three top priorities. We need protection from the elements, protection from potentially hostile indigenous life forms, and good sources of food and water. Eat and drink nothing until we've checked the source for toxicity.

  "Captain, you're responsible for arming our people. We'll start with rocks, advance to clubs, and then to slings, spears, and archery components. I'm sure the Milori won't be giving us any laser weapons, but eventually we'll want to manufacture rudimentary firearms. Commander Fannon, you'll assemble search teams to locate water and food sources. I'll take charge of providing protection from the elements, so I'm initially assigning all engineers to my group. We'll need to discover what talents, interests, and skills our crewmembers have outside of their normal shipboard duties. For example, are any of our people knowledgeable in agronomy, zoology, entomology, paleontology, ancient weapons, carpentry, hunting, blacksmithing, etc.? I'm sure you get the idea. We have a major advantage over our Stone Age ancestors; we have intelligence and the knowledge of what our species has accomplished on Earth. Once you know what is possible, it's only a matter of figuring out ways to make it happen."

  A noise from overheard drew everyone's attention and they watched as another shuttle descended, touched down, and disgorged its cargo of Lisbon crewmembers.

  "Okay," Admiral Vroman said to the senior officers, "you know what we need to do initially. Let's get started organizing our people."

  The overnight temperature at the encampment dropped to about twelve degrees Celsius, but the stranded Lisbon crewmembers had been able to ignite campfires for warmth. Five hundred forty-six had survived the attack on the Lisbon, owing mainly to the Milori desire to take Admiral Vroman alive, and were now on the planet's surface. They accomplished much on the first day. One group had followed the river to the place where it disappeared down into a narrow, impassable gorge, while others examined the two passes, one of which they designated as the North Pass, leaving the other to become the South Pass by default. Weeks later, some of the crew would argue in favor of changing the name to the East Pass because of its distance from the southern end of the valley where the river disappeared. Although only a quarter of the way from the North Pass, people had been using the name long enough for it to stick. They had established the pole designations based on the travel of the sun overhead rather than planetary magnetic alignment.

  After determining the river water was potable, the engineers under Admiral Vroman's direction established a base camp on a flat area near the river's edge where a wide stream flowed briskly down from the mountain peak. The teams responsible for food foraging had meanwhile brought back numerous varieties of berries, tubers, and vegetation for testing. They would use the food supplies left by the Milori as sparingly as possible while safe alternatives were available, with remaining stocks saved as emergency rations. The hunters sighted a number of small animals, but they remained too elusive for capture. They
also found large cloven-hoofed tracks in soft dirt, but so far there was no sign of the animals that had made them. The hunters speculated that the shuttle arrivals and departures might have sent the larger animals running to the far reaches of the valley.

  The second day on the surface was devoted to laying out the permanent camp and beginning construction of shelters. If the climate was like that of the temperate regions on Earth, they could expect both hotter and colder days ahead. The tools provided by the Milori included half a dozen water saws and power-nailers, powered with cells that quickly recharged by solar power. The saws fired a concentrated stream of water under such incredibly high pressure that it could cut wood, stone, or metal. Actually, it just wore its way through anything within two meters of the jet. It was equally useful for felling trees or making board lumber, but it would have been so much easier if the Milori had simply left them portable shelters. A solar power collection unit that would recharge their power cells was included with the equipment, as well as a few dozen solar-powered camp lights that they placed at work and gathering points, such as the food preparation area, and along the main street of the camp.

  Obviously, the Milori expected the Lisbon crew to be on the planet for some time, but Admiral Vroman had other ideas. He detailed one of the engineers to find a way to transmit a distress call, even if the call was limited to old RF frequencies.

  "But Admiral," the engineer had replied after receiving the assignment, "RF communications can only travel at the speed of light. It'll take ninety years for the signal to reach Stewart."

  "Have a little faith, Chief. I remember reading that Admiral Carver ordered transmission of a repeating RF message when the Tsgardi besieged her on Mawcett. Her hope was that a ship in space would pick up the RF signal, then retransmit it to Higgins Space Command Base on the IDS band. With luck, that same tactic could work for us."

  "And did it work for Admiral Carver, sir?"

  "Uh, no, but only because it proved unnecessary. I'll be happy to accept rescue by a Space Command ship or even a private enterprise ship before the signal is intercepted, but let's get a signal out anyway."

  "Aye, Admiral. I'll do my best to make a transmitter of some sort. May I cannibalize some the Milori equipment for parts?"

  "Better check with me before rendering anything unusable."

  "Aye, sir.

  * * *

  A month after being marooned on the planet, the Lisbon survivors had established a camp that would see them through the immediate days ahead. They would soon have protection from the elements. They'd felled trees for the support beams and board lumber needed for shelters, and construction was progressing well. The shelters were simple post and beam buildings with clapboard siding and thatched roofs. Although floors would be dirt initially, plans called for plank floors once they had sealed all shelters against the elements. Scrap lumber was stacked in piles to use for firewood once it dried out.

  Knowing that they would quickly exhaust nearby wild food sources, they had cleared a ten-hectare section of forestland, referred to simply as the farm. They had succeeded in germinating most of the berry plants and tubers found in the valley, and were already harvesting edible, fast growing leafy green vegetables in the thick, rich black dirt that carpeted the former forest floor. Efforts to clear another hundred hectares were underway.

  The fishermen, operating without nets, hooks, or fishing gear, had only had limited success in the river, but they were persistent in their efforts to learn about the aquamarine life. While trying to construct a simple wood and stone trap along the river's edge, one crewman had almost been lost to a plant at the water's edge that wrapped itself around any creature venturing too near and then began to crush the unwary victim. The crewman's screams brought the other fishermen running and they were able to save him before he suffered any serious damage to his legs. Afterwards, they discovered the decomposing bodies of small animals at the base of the plant. One of the agronomists theorized that after crushing its victim the plant pulled the remains into the wet soil at its base so that the decaying body fertilized the roots. They quickly eradicated the plant along the shoreline for hundreds of meters from the camp and so began the first serious efforts to alter the ecosystem for human habitation.

  The hunters at last succeeded in trapping two of the cloven-hoofed animals, and an experiment was under way to domesticate them. They named the four-legged creatures 'gelks' because they had thick, curved horns like those found on Terran mountain goats and were as large as elks. They had so far proven to be unmanageable, but fortunately they didn't have the ability to jump very high, no doubt due to their large size and the seeming lack of predators in the valley. A two-meter high fence was adequate to contain them. The goal was to tame them and train them to pull a plow, but right now the biggest chore was keeping their voracious appetites sated. The production of additional fertilizer for the farm helped make the project worthwhile.

  The hunters had also been providing wild fowl for the table, but they hadn't been able to trap any alive yet. Admiral Vroman kept after them to bring back some specimens for domestication efforts, especially any that were prolific egg layers. A good omelet would be a very welcome addition to the menu.

  Craftsmen had succeeded in fashioning a pottery kiln and were producing terracotta earthenware for everyday use, and for pipes for water and waste movement. They were developing an irrigation system for the cleared land and making wooden farm implements. So far, they didn't have the ability to mine and refine metal ore, but several amateur geologists and mineralogists were working on it.

  Not all was perfect however. Clothes were beginning to show wear and they hadn't had any success yet in finding plants like cotton or flax with which to make cloth. Insects were a problem and they hadn't yet found a repellant for a species of biting flies that left nasty welts on the skin. A specimen of every new creature found was brought to the camp for study by the doctors. Most of the reptile-like creatures were non-venomous, although repulsive in appearance, but one was extremely venomous. They destroyed it at every opportunity. The doctors were working on developing anti-venom. Eventually, one of the creatures would succeed in biting someone.

  * * *

  Chapter Six

  ~ April 6th, 2279 ~

  Jenetta stood at her SimWindow, staring at the operations in the port and thinking about the latest news from her captains. There had been no sightings of any Milori vessel, or the missing crew of the Lisbon, and in the five months since the attack, the sectors around Stewart had remained calm. A message from her aide interrupted her reverie.

  "Admiral, Trader Vyx is here in the outer office. He asks to see you."

  "Send him in, Lori."

  As the door opened and Vyx entered, Jenetta turned from the window and said, "Welcome back, Trader. Was your trip to Koppreco successful?"

  Jenetta's two large cats rose to their feet and sniffed towards Vyx. Recognizing his scent, they relaxed again.

  "Exceptionally so, Admiral. By the time we reached the planet, we had nearly a thousand of the noisy little fur balls in our hold. It took the buyer a few extra days to come up with the additional credits, but he was delighted with the delivery."

  Jenetta sat down at her desk as Trader Vyx plopped, uninvited, into one of the overstuffed chairs that faced her. Although only a Lt. Commander in the Intelligence section, he usually maintained his undercover persona at all times and rarely bowed to military protocol.

  "I've heard that the government of Koppreco is finally considering lifting the ban on Aluvian Mamots," Jenetta said. "They've finally realized they can't stop the smuggling, and hope to at least control the health of the creatures brought in."

  "Although our mamots were all certified virus free by the quarantine station on Aluvia before they were brought on board the Scorpion, I'm sure other smugglers haven't been as careful. Anyway, my reputation as a smuggler and generally disreputable person is secure and I'm available for any undercover assignments you have. I was surpr
ised to find you still in command of the base. I thought you were leaving."

  "I was, and fully expected to be gone by now, but my replacement, Admiral Vroman, was aboard the Lisbon."

  "I heard that a Space Command destroyer was attacked by Raiders. Is that the one?"

  "Yes. They were responding to a distress call. The Raiders attacked when the Lisbon stopped to offer assistance. It turned out that Tsgardi had hijacked the freighter and issued the phony call for help. As the Lisbon was fighting the Tsgardi, three Milori warships jumped them. We released a statement that the Tsgardi were in the employ of Raiders, but they may have been working directly for the Milori. We lost a lot of people and hundreds more are missing and presumed prisoners of the Milori."

  "Milori, huh? I thought we'd seen the last of them for a while. I hadn't heard they were involved."

  "That part of the attack has been kept secret. We don't want the sectors to erupt in panic. We've only briefed key government officials on Galactic Alliance member planets. Since the one attack, there hasn't been any further sign of the Milori."

  "Want me to put out feelers?"

  "Yes. I have reliable information that thirty of the newest Milori ships left the fleet after the Milori headed for home. Their orders were to secret themselves inside our inner border and wait for additional orders.

  "How do you know all this, Admiral?"

  "I'm sorry, Trader, but that's need-to-know information. Our problem now is twofold. One, we don't know where the thirty Milori ships are hiding, and two, we don't know when or where the main fleet is scheduled to begin their invasion. I'm hoping you can glean some information from your sources."

  "You feel sure they intend to invade again?"

  "There's little doubt about that; there can be no other deduction from the facts. They're simply awaiting reinforcements and marshalling their forces in preparation for the next attack. Following the attack on the Lisbon, I recalled all Space Command warships and restricted them from patrolling further than twenty light-years from Stewart, but as reinforcements began to arrive, I expanded that to fifty light-years, and I recently amended it again to allow full coverage inside our inner border and one hundred light-years into the Frontier. The number of ships patrolling in the Frontier Zone is triple the number we have inside the 'regulated space' border in the hope that one will spot the Milori fleet in sufficient time for us to amass our forces. We've also impounded dozens of small Raider spotter ships and replaced the crews with our people, setting up a spotter network of our own."