"No, I'll bet they will. I'm actually hoping they do, it would clear some of the dead weight out." He shook his head in thought.
"If we're really lucky the so called Port Admiral will join them," Logan growled as he sat down. "Damn parasites." He shook his head. "We've got three point defense lasers, a couple tractors, and the particle shields, nothing to stand up to a ship. Even a pinnace could tear this station a new one." Logan shook his head. "You think this is legit?" he asked.
"Yes." The Admiral took a sip of coffee and looked at it for a moment. He sighed then met Logan's eyes. "Yes, there is something to it, that sounds right. Call it a gut feeling for now. Io was running from a pirate when she picked me up. I caught some references to other pirates preying on systems when I was on Io and here on the station. It sounds right." He shook his head. "It was only a matter of time before someone got smart and pulled a stunt like this. I mean think about it!" He waved. "A couple ships could hold a world hostage. Hammer them from above with rocks. Strip them clean. It could be a rogue colony behind it or some greedy putz pulling the strings," he said scowling.
"Yeah, didn't we have this problem in our time? Looks like the more times change, the more they stay the same," Logan grunted, studying his cup for a moment and then gulped his coffee down.
Irons nodded. "Yeah, sounds about right." He looked out the window.
"Firefly?" Logan asked softly.
"Yeah." Irons went back to looking at Logan. The old man was staring, intent. "She's our best shot. Possibly our only shot for that matter. Going to be tight, getting in is just the easy part. Hell getting there is going to be a pain." He shook his head. "Repairing her in time... Training a crew." He sighed sitting back. "Damn."
The door opened and Shelby came in. She tossed herself into a chair with a huff and sigh, closing her eyes. "I miss anything important?" she asked after a moment, opening her eyes.
Her father chuckled. "Nice to see you too honey. No, we're just trying to come up with a game plan. Only one is viable now," he said with a grimace.
"You mean Firefly right?" Shelby studied her father then turned the look on the Admiral. “You're serious about that? Admiral it's a long shot at best. Hail Mary I think they called it?”
"She's quick," Irons chuckled finishing his coffee.
"Takes after her mother that way," Logan replied.
"Quit buttering me up daddy and give. Are we going after her?" she asked drumming her fingers on the tabletop impatiently.
"Yeah, probably," he replied.
"Then I'm going." Shelby looked at her father. Irons opened his mouth then closed it when Logan sighed shaking his head and held up a hand.
"No use trying to convince her otherwise Admiral, once she sets her mind to something, the entire universe better get out of the way." He smiled. "Takes after her mom in that way too," he chuckled. Irons chuckled as well.
"All right, I've got to get the launch rebuilt and tested. We need a long range tug to get us there, fuel, parts, and a crew." He looked over to Shelby. "Other than you and I." She nodded. "You understand I am in charge right?" Shelby stared.
"She's a Federation Warship," Logan said softly to his daughter. Slowly she nodded.
"You want in, you can be in, but if you want command on her decks you’re going to have to sign up." Logan sucked in a protesting breath as the Admiral finished quietly. "I think you should know that starting now." He locked eyes with her. Slowly she nodded, eyes glowing.
"Dad always wanted to rebuild the Federation, I thought it was a pipe dream until now. I'm in." She smiled at him. The smile was more of a predators grin with only a hint of humor.
"But..." Logan tried to protest.
She looked over to her father. "We can talk about it if you want daddy, but ..." She left the thought hanging. Slowly her father deflated.
"Right. Stubborn.." He sighed. "See?" He turned to Irons who nodded smiling a little.
"She'll need it. Check the crew for volunteers. Don't tell them for what. We're going to need a range of specialties. Power, life support, EVA techs too, though I can handle some of it if needed." He nodded as he stood. "I'm going to check the launch and then get an update from Ops. let me know if you need me." He smiled as he left.
Chapter 11
"You in here Admiral?" O'Reilly's voice echoed in the bay a few hours later.
He grunted. "Right here." Over the past two weeks since the Io crew had left him the launch he had spent a whopping five hours on her. It wasn't for lack of trying to find the time, it was just that there were other more crucial projects to work on. The crew of Io had left her cargo bay and passenger section stuffed with parts they hadn't finished assembling. He had sorted it out onto the deck and started to install it but it looked like someone had gotten into mischief while he had been preoccupied.
"I see Sergio tried to help again." O'Reilly studied the plasma drive and shook his head.
"What makes you say that?" The Admiral asked tightly as he tugged out a coupler and set it aside.
"You wouldn't be pulling it apart. Not to mention swearing up a blue streak while you did it. Besides I saw him in here trying to piece it together the other night." O'Reilly replied cheerful. "Going to take her to a nearby derelict?" he asked. "No, she doesn't have the legs or life support. Silly me." He shook his head chuckling to himself. The Admiral paused and studied the man. He seemed nervous, he was hiding his nervousness with humor. "Do you have a crew in mind?" O'Reilly asked, clearing his throat.
"Are you volunteering?" Irons asked, wiping a spot of grease off of the leading edge.
"Yeah, actually, I think I will." He studied the man for a moment. "I'm not crackers Admiral, if that's what you’re thinking. I just think I need to do something to protect my family. And if that means stretching my neck out a bit to try to get a ship or two?" O'Reilly shrugged.
"I'll keep that in mind," Irons smiled. "On one condition, keep Sergio AWAY from that." He pointed to the launch. O'Reilly chuckled hands apart.
"I'll do my best Admiral. I suggest a lock," he waved to the door. "Seriously though, I'll do it." O'Reilly smiled at him.
"Well, You, me, Shelby, that's three," Irons shook his head.
"Don't forget Sergio, no way is he going to be left out. The lad has been drooling over this craft since they delivered it," O'Reilly laughed. The Admiral frowned.
"I don't think that would go over well with the rest of the family," he said, grimacing then running his hand though his hair.
"Yeah, true, but I think his mother would rather he went than put up with his whining and moping." O'Reilly shook his head.
"You sound pretty sure of that." O'Reilly jumped as Mrs. Valdez came in.
"Sergio can go. If that craft can fly." She waved a dishtowel to the launch then turned.
"Why the change of heart?" O'Reilly asked. "Not that I'm complaining or anything..." He spread his hands apart as she turned on him.
"I'm going to ream him a new one over this latest escapade, but his father is right, he is a man now, it's time I started loosening up a little." Suddenly she was there in O'Reilly's face shaking a fist under his chin. "That stays between us right?" She locked eyes with him until he gulped.
"Yes ma'am." She turned to the Admiral who nodded solemnly.
"Right." She stepped back and smoothed her apron. "Supper will be ready in a few minutes. Admiral, you better wash up." She gave him a long look and he chuckled. "I'll be right along." He shook his head laughing softly as he followed them out.
They took their seats around the conference table a few hours later and looked to Enrique. The exec cleared his throat to begin.
"We've gotten word from the Yacht, she's docked with Sergio. He's fine, a bit sore, seems he had a pretty bad cramp the last couple hours, nothing serious." Enrique shook his head as he continued. "They've vampired his tug and load and should be at the station in about three hours. The news they are bringing isn't good however," he said sitting down. "They took damage in Agnosta, it se
ems they had a close call with a pirate before they crossed the hyper wall. They are loaded with wounded." He looked over to the Doc who nodded.
"From the ship or planet or whatever?" she asked.
"Ship, they never made it to orbit." Enrique shook his head.
“How are they handling it?”
“Their sickbay is overwhelmed. Some are in stasis. Non criticals are in their bunks or at their duty stations.”
"Any word on the pirates?" someone asked.
"Not much. Several ships are confirmed, but none of the crew were really paying attention to gathering information. They were too busy, scared to death and running across the system to our warp point to take careful readings." He shook his head.
"Wish they could have run somewhere else," someone muttered.
"Here, here," several replied.
"Settle down folks," Enrique growled. "Look, I don't like it either, but what is done is done, and at least we're getting a warning. I bet the people of Agnosta didn't." He sighed as he sat back.
"But! I mean they have an entire planet to hide on! What can we do!" the communications tech waved her arms. "We're defenseless!" She shook her head. "We can't hide! There are nineteen thousand people here!"
The Admiral nodded. "We and the other colonies can step down power and life support to low levels and try to hide, but if they have neutrino detectors or just good intelligence that wont fool them for long." He looked at the crew looking at him with a mix of hope and fear. "I need more information, we need to know what we are up against, and we need more materials to work with." He held up a tablet.
“Horatio and Shelby are doing their part. The industrial replicators that were working are back online. I've made a start at rebuilding the others, but I'm only one person, I can't be in several places at the same time," he said. "But the replicators are almost useless without the materials we need. We need special materials, preferably processed. The material the Valdez family is bringing in is nice, but it is in raw form and most of it is not the rare material we need." He looked over to Enrique who nodded. "We've got some good news on that front. We have several trade requests. It seems Knox's interview with you bore some fruit. Most of it is for reactor or life support parts, but we're charging a premium for it in raw or processed materials." He handed the Admiral a tablet. "They're desperate so they are going with it. Logan has already started building what we don't have on hand. Jorge is taking the first shipment out to the nearest colony at the start of next shift." He smiled.
“Find other people with tugs and get them serviced and out there,” Irons said looking at the file.
"So?" a tech asked. "What good will that do?" she asked.
"It's a start. We need to lay the ground work for more trades and we need these people to trust us and work with us if any of us are going to get through this," Irons replied looking at her. She looked down and away after a second. "Folks, I know you're scared, but you need to keep a lid on that. We can't afford to let our fear rule us or it will consume us... or worse the station." He shrugged helplessly. "I'm working with a couple of people to come up with a plan, but it is a long shot. Like I said before, we need more info."
He looked over to the comm. tech. "I can't get more from them, their communications is damaged. We're barely getting a single voice channel," she sighed. "They're reluctant to broadcast any data, something about getting a virus." She shrugged. He nodded.
"Right, so we have the Doc and security team at the docks as a reception team, with an engineering team on standby with plenty of medical back up. Are you going to need a clear path to the lifts?" He looked over to the Doc who nodded.
"And a place for triage if it is needed. By now most should be stable and ready to move. I was hoping here, but..." She started to point out the location on the map when the communication channel opened.
"Sir, we've got a situation on the docks. People are crowding into it, it looks like a mob is developing. We're getting reports of panic spreading through the station." The voice sounded terrified.
"Crap!" Enrique said lunging to his feet and rushing out of the room. "Meeting adjourned.”
"Doc?" Irons looked over to her.
"Right, get to sickbay, prep for incoming. I'm on it." She lifted her wrist com to her mouth and started issuing orders as she walked out.
"I'm calling out the guard," the burly head of security growled as he stomped out. "What about those robots?" he bellowed down the passageway. "What do you mean they are guarding the Port Admiral and his quarters! What the hell!"
Irons scowled as he shook his head. He was actually glad the robots were away from the docks. There was no telling what kind of havoc they would cause. Panic alone could cause a stampede. "Get to your stations folks. It's going to be a long, interesting day." He walked out.
"Well, you're certainly living up to the curse," Sprite said cheerfully.
"What curse?" he asked stepping into the lift.
"The Chinese one. May you live in interesting times," Sprite replied.
"Funny. Verrry funny," he grunted shaking his head. "Give me a data feed on the riot. Did that work party finish repairing the audio acoustics in the docks?" he asked suddenly getting a mischievous grin.
"That they did..." Sprite answered sounding malicious.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Irons snarled as he exited the lift and caught sight of the Port Admiral flying by on his gilded bed throne. A series of guards and security droids surrounded him and his entourage. They started up the main concourse but were blocked by the press of bodies. The Port Admiral waved to his guard commander. The commander turned and said something. The men and droids locked weapons.
"Crap. Sprite, audio now!" Irons snarled as the men started to fire into the rioting people. A blast of pure sonic fury erupted from the Admiral and the nearby speakers driving unprotected people to their knees. Those closest to the Admiral or a speaker ended up passing out as the barrage of sonic hell filled the room. One of the guards turned to fire on the Admiral, he raised his arms to shield himself. The man smirk turned into a snarl of shock as the pulser darts rippled off the Admiral's shield and into the air or crowd.
"Damn it, knock it off!" Irons charged forward, then raised his right arm. The man’s eyes widened comically as the Admiral's arm morphed and a blast of energy engulfed his enemy. The man screamed as his body was torn apart. "Damn, didn't want to have to do that." Irons turned to the crowd.
"Stay down!" His enhanced voice carried over the crowd. "Security back up is on its way Admiral," Sprite reported. The drones wobbled, turned on him, then turned back and pushed the dais up into the ship's lock.
"Cut the audio but keep it primed. We may need to do that again. Get control of those drones now." He looked around at the crowd. "Breakage is going to be heavy,” he sighed. He dodged a woman as she bent over and vomited.
"Nice. Where one does it..." He looked up as others began to smell the vomit and followed. "Sprite crank the air exchangers and get another triage team here. Hopefully the Doc wasn't in this mess." He shook his head. Several of the Port Admiral's followers crawled off into the lock. "Rats..." he growled.
"Let them go. We've got more important things to worry about." He turned to see Enrique climbing to his feet. He was shaken and had his mouth open. The Doc came in with the security detachment and nodded.
"I leave for five minutes and look what happens. Get me some space to work." She motioned for the others.
Irons straightened. He cleared his throat loudly so those that could still hear turned to him. "Smithy, as of this moment I am taking charge of this station. I Fleet Admiral John Henry Irons, Fleet Admiral of the Federation Navy do hereby exercise martial law under the Federation security act of 2321," Irons turned to the nearest security pick up.
"Since the Port Admiral has abandoned his station I acknowledge your authority Admiral," the AI reluctantly said. Irons nodded. That was one problem settled.
"Right, now that that is over, you've got y
our hands full Doc, get to work." He motioned to the crowd but she was already on her knees helping a woman. "You two." He pointed to a pair of guards. "Guard the lock. No one in except the crew or authorized personnel. You." He pointed to another man as a trio of rats scurried into the ship. "Get me a link to your commander. I want a report now. I want back up here ASAP. Smithy redirect those drones to security control," he turned to look at the camera, then back to the guard.
"Um sir, my boss is in there," the nervous man pointed to the lock.
"Great, who's his exec?" Irons asked.
"She's in there too sir. I don't know who's in charge now. Maybe the sheriff if he didn't go as well." The man tugged at his collar. He kept shooting glances to the lock.
"All right, you’re in charge of this mess until you find someone senior or I send someone with more authority to relieve you. Get these people policed for weapons then help the Doc. Keep them calm. They can't hear but that will change. Make sure they help the ones unconscious." He pointed to several bodies piled together.
"I need to intubate here!" Doc called looking up from a victim. Irons grimaced.
"What a mess," Shelby said at his elbow. Irons nodded as he eyed Enrique helping a uniformed woman to her feet. She shakily brushed off helping hands from the Doc and went into the ship lock.
"Sergio in there?" he asked suddenly concerned.
"No, he undocked and is home. His mom is chewing him out now." Shelby sounded amused.
"Can you handle this while I get what I can from the ship?" he turned to her. "What about him?" she asked, pointing to Enrique.
"He's out of it. The sonics will have him deaf for another hour," the Admiral shrugged then grimaced as Enrique went pale then rushed out clutching his stomach. "It hits people in different ways. Some get sick, some get the runs." He shrugged.
"Great, and you're leaving me in charge. Gee thanks," Shelby sighed wrinkling her nose.
Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) Page 24
