The Shattering War

by James Edward

  “So except for Lyn, we are all in the same boat, no pun intended.” Bruce laughed. “What do you want from me?”

  “We want you to come work for us,” Mark said. “We are recruiting competent officers and crew that can captain and man starships. We belong to a consortium that is doing R&D in a system that is no longer of interest to the AGW and especially of their opposition. We would like you to join us as a captain of a freighter right now, but eventually you will be slotted into the chair of a state-of-the-art warship.”

  “Well I admit that you have piqued my curiosity.” Bruce smiled. “Why me? What are we freighting and why a warship? Anything illegal and I am still captain of a fish boat.”

  Sean sighed. “What we’re doing is perfectly legal but detrimental to the efforts of the AGW opposition. They would love to remove a burr like us if they knew who and what we are. Therefore, we are doing a lot of our efforts covertly. All freight is legal and above board, but with the rise in opposition-controlled piracy, we have started to accompany our ships with a gunship for protection, which would be where you would come in again eventually.”

  “If you are interested, then we will forward your name to our security who will meet with you and determine how you will leave this planet and where you will end up in the organization. Please understand that one of the reasons you have been recruited now is that you are relatively unattached, and it would be easy for you to disappear or leave. No ties and not really anybody that would raise a fuss if you were gone. Also understand that the opposition, if they get wind of anything irregular, will put you under a microscope. Worst-case scenario would be for them to grab you and use a mind probe on you to see what you are up to. Therefore, total secrecy is the order of the day,” Lyn stated. “The idea is for you to go broke and sell up, which would please Fuggoret. Drown at sea with the loss of the boat except for wreckage, or you would just disappear, which would be logged with the local law boys. My preference and the one that draws the least attention would be to go broke and sell the boat and just drift away. You can spread a story of trying some mining in country or something like that.”

  Four months later after two more “fishing trips,” Bruce put the Ocean Foam up for sale, claiming distressed economic conditions, and within three weeks he had an offer that was better than he expected. Two weeks after that, the boat changed hands to, oddly enough, another Fleet washout, old and grizzled and not at all interested in the new Fleet doctrine or the decommissioning of some of their better start ships. He decided to take retirement and live out his days on a gently rocking boat. Bruce spent a week with him showing him the ropes, fishing areas, and fuel docks and how to dress a large fish, then went to the local wharf bar. He told the girl he was done and either going asteroid mining or in country to try his luck. He paid his tab, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and disappeared from town.

  Outside of town, he was met by two of the “fishermen.” They helped him disguise himself, and they went to the nearest spaceport. He was booked on a flight to Glendor in the Heath system, at which time he would meet up with someone who would look after the final leg of his trip. Then for the near future, Bruce Duely, like so many others, would cease to exist.

  CHAPTER 3

  Recruiting the Best

  KAREN ST. CLAIR SAT AT a table in a very posh restaurant in the capital city of Teliplane. She was a middle-aged woman that had kept herself in good shape. The need, in this world, to be presentable was one of the factors in landing good employment and advancement. Since she was working as department head of administration, she needed to be looked upon as a figure of authority. She had kept her auburn hair short and dressed in stylish suits. She was waiting for a visit from a distant sorority sister that had invited her to lunch. Karen was curious as to why a sorority sister would be in contact with her now; it was years ago, after all, since she had left the university to go onto a career in business. Oh yes, occasionally a sister would call, but usually it was someone that she had actually gone through the university with, not someone that was a few years after her. She expected that the woman was looking for contacts for a job. She was very surprised when an obvious off worlder sat down opposite her. This woman was gorgeous and carried herself with a command presence. This was no shrinking violet.

  “Karen, I’m Lyn,” the woman simply stated as she shook her hand and sat down opposite her. “Thank you for your time, as you are busy, so am I. So lunch seemed to be the best place to have a little chat. Shall we order first or get to business?”

  “Well, you have piqued my interest. But as I am hungry and this is the best place in town, let’s eat first.” Karen smiled back at Lyn. Lyn noted that the smile didn’t hit the eyes.

  As they ate, they made small talk about the sites and areas of interest in the capital city. Karen tried to probe Lyn as to when she was in the sorority and who pledged her, but Lyn basically waved it off. Lyn, on the other hand, probed Karen as to her job and level of advancement she expected. In the end, they were sitting back enjoying a coffee after an excellent lunch.

  “To the point, then.” Lyn said, fixing Karen with a hard eye. “I belong to a consortium by the name of the Conrad Group. We are in the process of ramping up our offices and need a top-of-the-line facilitator. Your name has come up to be the head of that department, an office administrator. If you are interested, I will leave you with a memory chip with the company outline and the scope of the job. There will be a contact name and number with the chip that you can use to reach us. As this is a recruiting drive and understandably of concern to your bosses, I would ask that you keep this close to you until you have had time to look over the offer.”

  “I am a bit surprised. This is not only out of the ordinary but a bit unorthodox,” Karen stated. “I am not really looking for a job but can recommend some very good people. I have no idea what Conrad Group is, as I have never heard about it, and it is obviously a new consortium. These companies come and go. They take a long time to establish themselves, and as of now I have a very good job. What is the main purpose of Conrad?”

  “Conrad is going to develop an economical way to harvest gas giants for fuels and purify other gases. We believe there is a major untapped market out there that will be worth billions of credits. For us to develop that market lends to the exclusivity of the market as well. Conrad will be a major player in the field in five years. Our hope is our own fleet of freighters, a research and development base, and refining base. We will need aggressive people that will move the company forward and also be innovative. You were chosen because you had all the qualities that were needed to organize the entire office structure, including departments and secretarial positions. To bring in the right people to build the department and run it. You would be the troubleshooter that would have the power and authority to resolve issues and get the things we need when we need them. And the monetary benefits are impressive,” Lyn listed.

  “I will give this considerable thought. When do you expect an answer from me?” Karen replied.

  “There will be a meeting for the vice presidents in five weeks. Short notice, but you will only need a couple of days to peruse the job outline; the rest is whether you come on board or not. This is an opportunity of a lifetime, Karen, as you get to design, build, and staff your very own kingdom, so to speak. The meeting will be held on Longstat in the Headland system. It will take a week to get there from here, so base your decision and travel accordingly. That’s about all I can tell you. The chip will explain some more, and of course the contact will supply more answers if that is required. If you come on board, please contact the number. They will look after all your travel arrangements and will shut down your dwelling here and move it to Longstat.”

  “I will be in touch then. You are not with the sorority, are you?” Karen said as she rose from the table, pocketing the memory chip.

  “Nope, but it was an easy way for me to meet you,” Lyn said.

  As this
was going on, people were meeting with various other candidates in various fields that Ray had complied on his list.

  In a small meeting room in a five-star hotel, a group of men and women sat around a table. Ray watched as each took his place at the table. There was Bruce Duely, here off his fishing boat, tanned and relaxed.

  Kimberly Kisner, another spacer with impressive captain abilities. She was a solidly built woman, with dark skin and a square face. She possessed piecing brown eyes that could look right through you but also had the easy look of someone with confidence and power.

  Of course Karen St. Clair, who had taken the offer after realizing the magnitude of the job and the challenge. She was eager to deal with the creating of the company.

  Lydia Goodfellow, another discharge from Fleet that had impressive credentials, not only on the bridge but in administration.

  Charles Redone, who was once governor of Austen, until it voted not to join the AGW, at which time he found himself out of the diplomatic corps for failure to get the vote in favor of the AGW.

  Judious Hammerton, major general retired, a very high-ranking marine general that was removed from active duty by the opposition. He had an impressive record of victories in various campaigns on a dozen worlds, including the taking of the pirate world, Tribute. After he left, the pirates returned, and the AGW decided it wasn’t worth the effort or lives to retake it. He was a friendly man with a pleasant personality, but underneath he was rock hard and strong. He had walked around the room introducing himself as Jud or Hammer, his nickname.

  Laren Mindar was the civilian head of the procurement for the ground forces on Red 3, which was a ground-pounder training base for the entire AGW. Her reputation was as a no-nonsense boss that didn’t bow to bribery or corruption. She had been fired because her department had massive cost overruns in the procurement of weapons, which were attributed to poor administration.

  Sergie Raspburtan was a diminutive man with a brilliant mind, especially for engineering matters. He took no nonsense from his subordinates or his superiors.

  As well, also seated around the table were Lyn Dawson, Mark Dufferin, Reg Mcgreeder, Sean Wheatly, and Lance Ridley. Ray took a few moments to compose himself and then entered the meeting room and stood at the head of the table.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Conrad Group,” he said. “As you are all new, we will have a small social after the meeting so we can get to know each other. In the meantime, we will go around the table introducing ourselves and giving a brief history of our qualifications and what department we will be in. After that, I would like to get to business. So to start, I am Ray Hunter, a retired ship’s captain and CEO of Conrad Group. As the captain of this ‘ship,’ I expect hard work, loyalty, and commitment. I will be meeting with each and every one of you in the next week or so to flesh out or pare down your departmental demands. To my right is …”

  “Bruce Duely, former Fleet captain and new captain to a freighter,” Bruce Duely said.

  “Kimberly Kisner, former Fleet captain and also a freighter captain.”

  “Uh, Karen St. Clair, office admin.”

  “Lydia Goodfellow. Retired ship’s captain and now in administration.” She nodded to Karen.

  “Charles Redone, ex-governor and retired diplomat, also in administration.” He smiled at the table.

  “Laren Mindar, procurement and warehousing.”

  “Jud Hammerton or Hammer, whichever you like, former marine general now head of site security.”

  “Sergie Raspburtan, ex-Fleet, now R&D.”

  “Mark, Sean, and Lance are on the recruiting side, and I expect that you have all met at least one of them. Reg is our government liaison, and Lyn is my personal security and problem solver. In front of you are binders, which will outline your department and your scope of power within that department. Understand that we are the tip of the iceberg, and we need to develop and bring departments online fast. There are two departments not present at the moment, and those are accounting and legal. I will be bringing these on board very quickly, but at the moment, you are all mandated to start filling your departments. We need to buy or build the mining equipment and get the special refining ship up and running. Procurement will be on task to get this done as well as working with flight to get the freighters that we need. There are a ton of problems and logistics to deal with in every department, so morning and afternoon meetings will be the order of the day.

  “I want a small office building or at least a couple of floors in an existing building. I prefer to have a separate building so that we can have privacy. Throughout today, we will flesh out each department in a rudimentary fashion.

  “Lauren, you’re head of procurement and will get started on buying two freighters as soon as possible, with Bruce and Kim going to inspect and close the deal. You also need to start hiring purchasing agents to get us started. Find a sizable warehouse to start storing all equipment that we will be taking up in space.

  “We will be needing a larger R&D department, so Sergie, that’s your baby so no bitching. You get to design, build, and hire the people you want. We will meet later today to map out what we want R&D on except for the super scoop and refinery.

  “Hammer and Sean will work on security. I want a tight office. Recruiting will be ongoing by the recruiters as lists of required or wanted personnel are passed to them.

  “Charles, I believe that you should carry the mantle of government liaison and will base in the capital with a small working staff. Your job is to work through all the required permits and red tape to give us freedom of movement. Karen can get you set up once she has the office here running. I would suggest that you go to Cappa Tauri and start looking for a residence and an office.

  “Finally I want a short list of trusted XOs or senior vice presidents to head the day-to-day operation of each department.

  “Lydia, you will be my XO or executive VP, and I will be meeting with you most of all.

  “That, folks, is it in a nutshell; each of you has a job to do. I suggest that you take until lunch to put your departments on paper. Get a list for purchasing and a manpower list put together. Bruce and Kim can work with Lauren, as warehouse purchasing is an onerous task with a full staff.”

  Ray looked at the startled blank faces that were staring at him. He barked a laugh and said, “Geez, people, lighten up. I’m not sending you to war, just setting up a business that has very deep pockets with the idea to mine a gas giant and for some of you a chance to rub Fugs’s face in our success outside of the Fleet. The sooner we get started, the lighter the workload will be. Oh daily reports from all departments please. I will be the troubleshooter and the final say. So everybody sit back, meet each other, and talk. Then we will start to work on what we need and how to get it. Lydia, you’re with me.”

  Ray walked out of the room and down the hall to his room. He held the door open while Lydia walked through. She stood in the middle of what was his bedroom and quirked an eyebrow toward him.

  “Taking me to bed, Ray?” she said with a smile. “A little early for me.”

  Ray laughed. “Sit over there at the couch. I have a lot to discuss with you.”

  When they were seated and had a coffee each, Ray brought out a file chip and a small tablet-sized computer. He plugged it in, started the file, and spun it around so that Lydia could see it. He sat back and sipped his coffee while he watched the facial expression on Lydia’s face change as she absorbed the file and what the implications were.

  “Holy shit, Ray!” Lydia exclaimed as the file ended. “Is this for real? Does that rat bastard Fugs think he is going to overthrow the government? Why don’t the spooks just arrest him and nip this in the bud?”

  “My contact says that Fugs is just the visual puppet, not the mover or the shaker. They are well hidden and well entrenched. This conspiracy has been growing for over thirty years and, according to my mento
r, will succeed. The alternative is a civil war that will decimate planets and billions of lives, including the biggest part of the ground forces and most of Fleet. If Fleet goes, then the pirates and rim worlds will start raiding, and the end result will be a dark age of brutal repression and control.

  “Fugs’s part was to weed out the loyal and the best fighters. He wants a weakened Fleet that will follow orders precisely, to include dropping a few Kews on holdout cities or planets. Jud is one of the best generals the marines and ground pounders had, but he as well was cashiered. R&D was shut down over ten years ago so that if there is a battle Fleet wouldn’t get the upper hand.

  “Now my mandate it this. One, develop a working industry that will bring in capital. Two, build an R&D base that will give us a leg up on weaponry. Three, build a fleet and staff it with the right people. Be in place for when we are called upon, and until that time stay out of the view of the PRC and stay ready. If possible, supply a safe haven for people that will need to disappear to protect themselves or family.”

  “Wow.” Lydia blew air through her lips. “What’s to say that your mentor isn’t manipulating you into doing his bidding to further Fugs and the PRC?”

  “Simple. I have carte blanche to build, hire, develop, and set up an organization that will be loyal to the AGW and me. He will have no say on who is in the organization or how, what, and when we develop anything. He will also not know where we are or what we are doing. His only commitment to us is to supply the start-up capital from a black ops slush fund. It is amazing that a slush fund has a slush fund, but that is for the bean counters to explain.

  “So here is my plan, and I need to know if you are totally committed to this because there will be no turning back.” At her nod, Ray continued. “Zn2091 has three gas giants and no habitable planets. The Conrad Group has already bought the entire solar system from the AGW. We own the entire system, lock, stock, and barrel. We will develop a working gas refining industry and start shipping fuel out to the various planets. At the same time, in the Goldilocks zone are five large moons; three are solid, and two are just a conglomerate of ice and rubble. Of these three moons, one is over five hundred klicks wide. Our plan is to drill in and build a base for our R&D and living quarters for our miners and family. If the other two moons are suitable, we will use them as well, maybe for warehousing and fuel storage and one for a military and fleet headquarters. I imagine that exploring the entire system may come up with some surprises. Finally we will build a war fleet. Yes, I know. I can see the look in your eye. This fleet will escort our tankers and freighters as well as give us protection from marauders. I eventually plan on ceding out of the AGW to protect us from taxes, red tape and inspections, not to mention the possibility of the new government establishing a base in our system, as they have the right to do now.”