Deep Space Endeavor

by Francis, Ron

  Collin took his finger off the transmission button, while Kimiko came and stood next to the Mayor. “Excuse me, Sir,” she began. “When we went to the city to try and enlist some help for the outpost, we spoke to an officer named Captain Topanar. Would he happen to be any relation to the Sub-Mayor?”

  Mayor Valinor’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Why yes, yes he is. He is the Sub-Mayor’s nephew,” he began, eyes narrowing as he seemed like he might be suspecting there was more to this. “You told him about the pirates and he offered no help?” He asked, suspicion growing in his mind.

  Jesse was becoming more and more interested in what was going on as Kimiko’s reply stunned them both. “Not only did he not send help, Mister Mayor,” she began. “He told us he already knew about the pirates. He said he would have a word with your office and then he had an agent of some sort try and tail us back to our ship.”

  “They knew,” his voice boomed as he found himself growing angry. “They knew about the pirate attack? It was Topanar that convinced me to survey the damage from the last attack. It was Topanar that convinced me not to take my regular detail, and you are telling me Topanar knew of the attacks?” His voice was growing louder as he spoke, and the Mayor was now turning a deep shade of red.

  She wasn’t sure she should continue. “At least his nephew did, he said there was an arrangement in place. The pirates are supposedly free to attack the outposts as long as they do not disturb life on the main continent.”

  By this point the Mayor was livid. “There is no such arrangement; our forces just never seem to find them.” He yelled, a little louder than necessary. He looked at Kimi, an apology in his eyes and said, “Oh please forgive me, young lady, I did not intend to yell at you."

  Kimi just smiled, “No forgiveness is necessary, it has been a rough couple days, and we are all entitled to be a bit rattled by these events.” Even as she spoke the words, she looked over at Jesse. Dirty, beaten, and bloody, he probably needed some time in the recovery pod, again, but he also had a look that she recognized as a plan forming in his mind.

  Jesse looked up from his thoughts and said. “We can use this, Mister Mayor,” he began as the Mayor listened intently. “How are your acting skills?"

  "I do not understand your meaning." The mayor responded in confusion. He had not yet seen Jesse’s point, but he had seen his plan to free them from the makeshift cell work out perfectly, if not a little painfully. He motioned Jesse to continue.

  Jesse began again, "Topanar doesn’t know that you know anything. As long as he doesn’t see Collin, Josiah or Kimi, he won’t even suspect you know the truth. Embrace him as your colleague and trusted confidant after so terrible an ordeal, but do not accuse him of anything. Instead, take the time to begin quietly searching for evidence to convict him. You have to remember, he has at least enough power to keep your forces from engaging the pirates. You don’t want to make a move until you are sure he will not recover.”

  Kimiko added, “And I would start digging around the nephew, too. He did not strike me as shrewd. He may not cover his tracks as well as his uncle.”

  The Mayor nodded in understanding, “You are absolutely right.” he said, “And I want to thank you both, not only for rescuing my wife and I, but for saving those children and bringing this to my attention. I am in your debt.”

  Jesse smiled and said, “No problem, Sir, just be sure to watch your back, I'm sure Topanar has a few more tricks up his sleeve.”

  ______

  Suzy had finally been able to pry Kiah away from Jesse by offering her some food. He had several minor injuries and could possibly use some time in the recovery pod… again, even though she knew he would put it off until everything else was taken care of. As she put a hot meal down in front of Kiah, the little girl began to devour it while Commando sat by her feet, alert for any scraps that may fall from the table. She dropped a small piece of bread. Commando caught it in air and swallowed without chewing. She giggled and Commando wagged his tail. She dropped another small piece to see if he would do it again, when he did, she giggled again and pet him as his tail wagged.

  Suzy looked over and smiled, wondering when the last time this poor child had been given the opportunity to giggle and play like a little girl should. She wondered what would become of Kiah. She knew they couldn’t leave her here. Kaldor’s ridiculous treatment of orphans would make it difficult to find someone Jesse would trust her with, but she also knew that a starship on a mission in foreign galaxy would not make a good home for a child. As she thought about it she realized that Jesse would probably not want to keep her aboard with the danger they were likely to face, but he would make sure she was safe and well cared for. There was no way he would accept anything less for the little girl he had risked his life for.

  SAMMI’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Dr. Baker, Colonel Marcos would like to know the condition of our young guest.”

  Kiah looked up and around, but she couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from. She still hadn’t spoken to anyone except Jesse, which was adorable but also a little sad. Suzy smiled at her inquisitive little charge and replied. “All tests show her to be healthy, a little malnutrition and dehydration, but she is eating and drinking. She is also giggling and playing with her new four-legged friend. I will need to have someone come sit with her while I check in on the Mayor’s wife.”

  “Copy that,” Jesse replied. “Kimi and I are on our way with the Mayor, he would like to spend some time with our young guest, too."

  ______

  Captain Janus couldn’t believe what had happened. His entire landing force was destroyed, including two more ships. His reinforcements had arrived just in time to see two battle groups rising through Kaldor’s atmosphere. The Human, Jesse Marcos, had gotten away, and he himself was no closer to finding the treasure. In fact, with all that was lost on Kaldor, he might be further away. Garrinoras was not going to be happy about this. If this Marcos decided to pursue the treasure, they would have an advantage because of the clues, map fragments and artifacts they now had in their possession. That was assuming of course that they didn't destroy the objects with the ships. He wasn't sure which scenario would be worse.

  Topanar was going to pay dearly for what had happened here. He had been paid very well to make sure things went smoothly. His men were not to be interfered with. Yet, somehow in the last five days, he had lost three of his twelve ships. He had lost the clues to the treasure they did find, he had lost over a hundred men and most importantly, he lost the key.

  The key was not to be redundant, but “the key” to the whole quest. Not only was it an important piece to unlocking the treasure, it was proof of just how old this treasure was. It had been several centuries since anyone on a civilized world used an actual key, let alone a solid gold bejeweled key with an ancient inscription on it. Well, at least they had made a copy of the inscription. A hail from the planet broke into his thoughts.

  “Captain,” Zeresh called out, “Incoming hail from Sub-Mayor Topanar.”

  “On screen,” he angrily replied. “Topanar, you fool!” he boomed as Topanar's face lit up the view screen. “What have you done? My ships and men are destroyed, the children escaped, and now you are sending two battle groups to meet me? I will destroy you for this.” He was pouring his anger into his voice.

  “Me?” Topanar yelled, outraged at being chastised when it was Janus that ruined the plan. “I delivered the Mayor to you on a platter, all you had to do was put a blaster bolt between his eyes. It is not my fault you were too incompetent to complete the job.”

  “Careful,” Janus warned. “You only have the benefit of still being alive because Garrinoras imagines you to be useful. I will not hesitate to remove your head from your body if you continue to speak to me in such a manner.” He was fuming at the thought of this human worm calling him incompetent.

  “I had even spread the word to everyone that the Mayor had been killed in a pirate attack.” Topanar continued. “Imagine
my surprise when I was told that not only didn’t he die, but that he was on his way home. It was he that deployed the fleet. The first time he has ever done so, I might add. Even I don’t have enough power to stop them from coming after you.”

  “This was supposed to be easy; you promised Garrinoras he would not only have the Mayor, but also enough children to sell to the Conglomerate slavers to finance our entire search for the treasure. Imagine my surprise when there were not one, but two offworld teams of professional mercenaries protecting him. Now we will have to capture and sell hundreds of slaves, just to recover what we have lost here.”

  His voice was measured but every sentient on the bridge could tell how angry he was. If Topanar were standing on the bridge with them, he would not be leaving alive.

  “Topanar,” he continued. “You had better find a way to recall those warships and allow us to continue harvesting slaves from your outposts. Otherwise, I might have to convince Garrinoras that your usefulness has come to an end. Then, it will be my pleasure to kill you.”

  Before Topanar could respond, the transmission was cut. He was so angry that he yelled out loud in frustration. He was alone in a little used office, so he knew no one could hear him. Now, to add to his frustration, he had to go to meet the Mayor upon his triumphant return.

  ______

  The spaceport was buzzing with excitement. While his wife was asleep from her time in the recovery pod, the Mayor had chosen to stay on the ship. He had been in port almost a day before addressing the public. He did have a young man from his office deliver some fresh clothes for him and his wife to change into and a clean outfit for Kiah. He was really beginning to like young Kiah, Seeja had told him how much she liked her as well. In light of their conversation with Jesse and Reece, they were actually thinking about asking Jesse if they could take her off his hands and care for her. They would be an ideal couple to begin to change the culture concerning orphans on Kaldor. Especially now.

  A sizable contingent of Kaldor’s honor guard awaited his exit from the ship. There was a large throng of media; anxiously awaiting what they hoped would be a good story. A large gathering of the rich and powerful, the social elite and even many of Kaldor’s entertainment stars had turned up at the spaceport to welcome Mayor Valinor home. This had turned into Kaldor City’s impromptu social event of the season. The Mayor was beloved, which is why Topanar had tried to have him killed. He knew he could never hope to beat Valinor in an election. Even the Chairman, the elected ruler of all of Kaldor, and his beautiful wife were there to greet Mayor Valinor.

  Endeavor’s landing bay hatch was about to lower, and the event was about to begin. Jesse was wearing his dress blues. He was adorned with all of his medals at the Mayor’s request. He had elected to forego spending more time in the recovery pod. His wounds looked worse than they were. Suzy wrapped his bruised ribs, and tended all of the cuts and bruises he had received during his time “playing with the pirates,” as she had so eloquently phrased it. He did still have a sizeable gash above his right eye and an accompanying bruise circling his eye. It was a nice reminder of the butt of the pirate’s weapon that had hit him while he was carrying Kiah through the smoke.

  Collin, Josiah, Kimi and Kiah were to stay in the ship as part of the Mayor’s plan. The three adults could not been seen in public because young Topanar had already met them. Kiah could not come out, either, because of Kaldor’s prejudice towards orphans. Jesse found her fascination with both SAMMI and Commando to be adorable, and he also found her many questions to be exhausting, although he was sure the rest of the crew enjoyed watching her ask them.

  Before the landing bay opened, a vid began to play on the wall of the spaceport to everyone’s rear. All eyes that were focused on the ship awaiting the Mayor turned to see what was being played out on the back wall. Endeavor’s shipboard cameras had caught much of the battle, including the Mayor and his wife heroically ushering children to safety. The cameras caught Seeja being shot and the Mayor dropping a pirate with his blaster as he made his way over to his injured love. The clip showed the children being returned to their loved ones. The vid ended with Reece and the Mayor carrying Constable Grimm’s body to the elders and letting them know he died a hero.

  Collin, thankful that the Mayor wasn't corrupt as he had originally thought during his first visit to Kaldor City, had an idea to use the footage to show just how heroic Mayor Valinor and his wife Seeja had been during the ordeal. This would probably cement his popularity for life with the people of Kaldor City. The crowd stood in stunned silence, awed by what they had just seen. Then, in theatrical fashion, the landing bay hatch began to descend.

  Mayor Valinor and his wife Seeja began slowly walking hand in hand down the Gralium-plated ramp of the landing bay to a thunderous ovation. The crowd, still moved by what they had seen, was in full celebration at the sight of their beloved, heroic Mayor. Even the honor guard was clapping and cheering, which was unusual for a unit with their discipline. The applause continued for several minutes as Mayor Valinor and Seeja greeted the Chairman and his wife. They moved to greet other people of importance, and even reserved a warm greeting for Topanar himself. When Mayor Valinor had made his way to the podium, he motioned the crowd to silence and began to speak.

  “To the good people of Kaldor City, and the good people all over Kaldor,” he began. “As many of you know I took a trip with my wife to Outpost Twenty-Three to personally survey the damage of a recent pirate attack. This is part of an initiative my great friend and colleague Sub-Mayor Topanar came up with to help those in need around the planet.”

  Jesse smiled at the Mayor; he certainly was a great actor. Topanar was beaming at the mention of his name, and seemed to have no clue that Mayor Valinor was on to him. He listened as the Mayor continued.

  “We had the bad fortune of being attacked by the very same pirates while we were at the settlement,” he added. “We would not be here if not for these brave men and woman,” he motioned to them to come out.

  Jesse descended the ramp with Reece on his left and Suzy, also in dress blues, on his right. They were flanked on either side by Shadow and Commando, the sight of which caused many ohh's and ahh's to arise from the crowd. He realized that none of them had ever seen canines this big before. At the top of the ramp stood the two remaining warriorbots, turned off for safety, but imposing nonetheless. Jesse and his companions stood to the right of the Mayor and his wife as he continued.

  “These two men rescued and protected my wife and me at great physical cost to themselves and their men. Several good men died protecting people they didn’t even know." The Mayor's face grew contemplative as he continued. "No loss was felt more than the loss of the beloved constable of Outpost Twenty-Three, Constable Grimm.” The Mayor looked over at Suzy as he continued, “The woman there with them is as talented a doctor as I have ever seen, and she saved my wife’s life. To these men and woman we owe a great debt of gratitude.” The crowd once again broke into thunderous applause.

  Jesse looked over at his friend Suzy. She really was as talented doctor as any he had ever seen, and she was almost never recognized for it. She was practically glowing, and he smiled, happy that for once she could receive the accolades due her. While he was still lost in thought, the crowd broke out into another round of applause, and the speech was over. The Chairman approached to shake the three heroes’ hands, and he wished Josiah, Collin, and Kimi could be part of this adulation, too, although he was certain it would have made Kimi uncomfortable.

  ______

  …… Just outside Polisia, aboard their shuttle, Nina and Serge Romanov continued scanning the debris from the battle. This was Nina’s best chance of figuring out what happened to her brother. The military had been stonewalling her, no doubt under orders from Fleet Admiral Natora. As Captain Ambrose feared, he had received a reprimand for trying to go around Natora to Admiral Bliney. He called to send his apologies and to let her know he was no longer in a position to be of service. Dealing with Natora w
as infuriating. The man, if she could even call him that, hated Jesse with a passion, and she didn’t understand why. Jesse had never done anything to the man that would have earned this level of hatred.

  When Jesse deployed his fleet and weapons around Earth, he had saved the planet and the entire Coalition from certain destruction by dealing the Jarlevian a crushing defeat. He thought there was an information leak at Naval Command, so the only man he told about his plans to save Earth, if Earth needed saving, was Admiral Bliney. He had begun building the SSE fleet while Earth was still at war with the Pack. When the war came to an abrupt end due to the decisive victory at Polisia, he kept the ships a secret, and had the company continue to build them, just in case.

  ______

  Two years earlier…….

  The Leviathan Battle Carriers were the biggest warships in the fleet; they could carry twenty full squadrons of fighters and forty assault shuttles. Each Leviathan was accompanied by three War Hawk Frigates. Bristling with weaponry and loaded with assault shuttles and fighters, the four ship battle groups were near unstoppable. Jesse had built eleven battle groups by the time the Jarlevian attacked.

  Earth had only twenty-four ships in orbit and one moon-based anti-ship laser turret when the Jarlevian arrived in a fleet one hundred and fifty capital ships strong. As Jesse had suspected, there had been an information leak, and the Jarlevian went right for the weak spots. But that’s when his defensive technology went into effect. He had deployed magnetic-smart space mines that would reverse polarity and move away from ships while inactive. When activated, they would send a coordinated command so they would each attack different enemy vessels. Admiral Bliney had secretly installed three of Jesse’s anti-ship plasma beam weapons in various locations around the moon.