Machine Planet (Conquest of Stars Book 4)

by Sid Kar

  “What all does it include?” Raptor asked.

  “Everything we have against Com. Carvyk and Segwyk so far,” Legtar replied, “Capitan Alvina and Kyrtar’s testimony, the verified voice recording of Renegade Romvyk confirming his collusion with Com. Carvyk, the electronic and computer evidence leading to the conclusion that the ambush on our Starship Conquistador was undertaken by our own starships, presumably under orders from the Regional Commander Carvyk and other smaller tidbits to bolster our case.”

  “What about the mechanical evidence that irrefutably shows we were attacked by rogue starships from our own army?” Raptor asked, “That would seal Com. Carvyk’s conviction because there is no other authority in Sixth Frontier Fleet who can order that.”

  “Um…” Legtar hesitated, “That is why I have kept the Chargekeeper still open. I wanted to ask you before including that, but only if you approve.” He looked at VC Barryett and Barryett knew exactly why.

  “I would not approve, if I were you Com. Raptor” VC Barryett said, “If we denote our starship as evidence, then Starfleet Command will seize it as evidence and park it in the spaceyard till the investigation and the court martial is over.”

  “They would do that even in a time of war?” Raptor asked surprised.

  “They wouldn’t want to,” Barryett said, “But only the Supreme Commander or House of War can issue an order overriding the army regulations requiring preservation of evidence. Only if it was an emergency, like an imminent battle and sufficient starships weren’t available, would they send us out to fight. But even then we would have to return soon thereafter and submit the starship for inspection.”

  “VC Barryett is right, Commodore,” Legtar said, “Once you enter the Chargekeeper in the Chargebank, it will all hit the roof and blast right through it. You will have to notify the Starfleet Commander, but he cannot stop you from entering the charges and when you do, you will be officially accusing a regional star commander of treason. Army will try to keep it secret, but I believe it will leak and spread throughout the Starfire Empire and the entire Galaxy like a conflagration. It will be the scandal of a century. The Constellation, the Emperor, SPASI, news companies, masses, everyone will know it, everyone will be on it. It will be the talk of ten thousand planets the next day.”

  “I will love it,” Tollvyk guffawed then stopped and assumed a stern face when he saw Raptor look at him warily.

  “That is what I am afraid of,” Raptor said, “We are staring into the face of a war and we are the only ones with battle experience against and some knowledge of Mercurian weapons and tactics. Our country will need Starship Conquistador to fight a lot more than it will need it as a court witness. I will not enter our ship as evidence. But I am concerned with all the brouhaha that will break out, whether I should even file charges at this time.”

  “Commodore Raptor,” Capitan Dorrvyk the communications officer spoke up, “I have been ignoring and rejecting the messages from Commander Carvyk and our regional star command on Bravo for sometime now. We could pretend that the earlier transmissions got lost in deep space, but we are now well into Starfire Space. I will not be able to justify why our communications section was unable to pick up and decode the signals from our command.”

  “He is right,” Legtar tapped the Chargekeeper with his other hand as he spoke, “Unless you reach the Starfleet Command and put yourself under their own authority by filing the charges, you will be willfully ignoring direct orders from your senior officer. And this is a time of war. In peacetime, you may get a slap on the wrist as a battle hero, but now Commander Carvyk can press for your own court martial instead. Unless you file the charges – then you are automatically removed from your regular chain of command and special regulations take over.”

  “Do it Rap…” Tollvyk began, “…Commodore Raptor.”

  Raptor thought for a few moments and the rest of his officers provided him the space by staying completely silent. Finally, Raptor looked up at the ceiling for a couple of seconds, took a deep breath and said.

  “Alright,” Raptor said, “Alright, I see no better way. Truth has to come out. I will personally take the Chargekeeper,” he reached out with his open hand and Legtar handed over the device, “and file formal charges at the Starfleet Command at Rainmar.”

  “Once you enter your code and I enter mine,” Legtar said, “It is final. Chargekeeper can no longer be changed or altered.”

  Raptor entered his code on the small keypad and Legtar followed suit. Lights blinked and then the screen displayed ‘SECURED’ text message on its screen and then it disappeared after a few seconds.

  “Then it’s done,” Legtar intoned.

  “Com. Raptor,” army detective Hartar said, “I will warn you that officers from my own section will conduct the investigation and the starship will be crawling with detectives who will grill you and everyone else very thoroughly. I will vouch for you, but they can be rough and be prepared.”

  “Thank you detective Hartar,” Raptor said then smiled, “We have survived battles, we might even come out with all of our hair still on our heads after an encounter with your friends.”

  The room laughed and the tension subsided a little. Legtar and Hartar saluted Raptor and left his personal office.

  “VC Barryett, please order our flight and navigation section to set course for Rainmar,” Raptor said, “However I do not want to bring Conquistador to anyone’s attention before I have actually done the deed. You will maintain operational silence and a covert presence behind any space object’s gravitational field you feel suitable to mask our signature.”

  “Yes sir,” Barryett said, “I was just going to recommend that. But I also want to recommend that you take ten to fifteen of Capitan Styx’s best starship guards. Carvyk is shrewd and clever and he hedges his bets and buys insurance. He could have his stooges in the Starfleet Command on Rainmar.”

  “I will second that sir,” Capitan Styx said, “I can handpick fifteen of my toughest and most reliable guards for your personal safety.”

  “Alright fine,” Raptor said. Then Barryett, Styx, Alvina and Dorrvyk also left the room. Only Colonel Tollvyk lingered around and dragged his feet.

  “What is it Toll?” Raptor asked when it was only the two of them present.

  “Com. Raptor,” Tollvyk said, “I want to come with you to Rainmar.”

  “I don’t see any harm in it,” Raptor said, “But why? I was thinking of assigning you the task of a thorough inspection of our rocket arsenal. We have been fighting and launching rockets left and right. This is the first time we have some breathing room to do proper maintenance.”

  “My junior officers are capable of it,” Tollvyk said, “But it is not that I want to avoid that tedious duty. I realize its absolute necessity. But I want to get a new Stardjacker for our ship. We have difficult times ahead and we could use an ally.”

  “I can ask Starfleet Command to assign me a new Stardjacker, however I am afraid of the possibility that another one of Carvyk’s man could sneak abroad,” Raptor said, “after all, they will give first preference to a Stardjacker assigned to Sixth Frontier.”

  “That is why you don’t ask,” Tollvyk said, “You let me pick a Stardjacker.”

  “We can’t just order a random officer to our spaceship,” Raptor said.

  “You are right,” Tollvyk said, “But there is an exception. Stardjacker is a super-specialist role, an elite warrior, a singular unit per starship and a large number of boys dream of growing up to be this one man army. The selection process is extremely grueling and the training even more so. But even with all the culling, there are a lot more eligible Stardjackers than open positions. Army allows a Stardjacker to get an assignment if a Starship Commodore will mutually agree to it. And I know this rule because I made friends with just such a man, a Capitan Norvyk Lehyett, when we were stationed on Rainmar for a few months of training. He was desperate for a spaceship assignment and when he found out that I was a command room officer, he peste
red me to no end to put a word for him with our former commodore.”

  “Did you?” Raptor asked.

  “Joking Raptor,” Tollvyk burst out laughing, “Knowing my relations with our former commodore, that would have earned the poor capitan a spot on the blacklist through no fault of his own. I did him a favor by not speaking his name from my mouth.”

  Raptor chuckled a bit remembering their days abroad their former Starship. They resented their boredom in being assigned to an orbital starship with little to no patrol or deep space duties. They did have some good times as the discipline was lax. But they had always yearned for adventure and glory. And now they had gotten it, more than they could handle.

  “Do you trust this Capitan Norvyk?” Raptor asked.

  “No reason not to, unless you think Carvyk can see in the future,” Tollvyk said, “He is a good man. And Stardjackers are some of the most fanatically dedicated soldiers. If we convince him we are on the right and for Starfire Nation, he will risk his life without hesitation. Just like Capitan Kyrtar did.”

  “Alright, but just him,” Raptor said, “However, I am worried that Carvyk might find out about our arrival on Rainmar if we put out an alert for your friend.”

  “No, no…” Tollvyk said, “That is why I am coming along. We won’t use Army’s systems. I will talk to him personally.”

  “And you will know how to find him?” Raptor asked.

  “You bet,” Tollvyk smiled, “the fella loves a good game of cards, just like your friend Toll. That is my secret reason to get him assigned, he will be my partner as I try to sucker those thickhead strike soldiers out of their bets.” Tollvyk winked at Raptor.

  Raptor shook his head but couldn’t help smirk. “Alright Toll, you prepare for our departure. And take it easy on those poor chaps back there,” Raptor said, “I will outlaw losses of over 5% of regular pay in card games and wagers if it happens repeatedly.”

  “Yes Commodore,” Tollvyk sharply saluted Raptor, quacked his boots hard on the metallic floor, turned around on his heels and walked out.

  Commodore Raptor, Colonel Tollvyk and fifteen Starship Guards, personally picked by Capitan Styx known to him for their sense of loyalty and confidentiality, boarded the Mystery class spyship, departed Starship Conquistador and flew towards the planet Rainmar. Rainmar was the location of one of the four Starfleet Commands of Starfire Army and the headquarters of all starships based in a wide arc stretching hundreds of light years across space in all directions from the planet. VC Barryett for his part had taken command of Conquistador and parked it in the orbit of a small faraway, icy planet that was the outermost world of this star system.

  Rainmar was also the civilian capital of a large core of the Starfire Empire and a huge industrial and commercial center. Its space lanes were choke full of traffic. The Army Starships called in from regions near and distant, freighters transporting goods, commercial spaceliners ferrying passengers and even private owners of spaceships out for a joy flight through space; they were all rocketing in and out of its spaceports, its satellite bodies and its orbital space stations.

  Their spyship did not exactly have to hide from the space traffic controllers. If noticed on their scanners, they were almost certainly likely to show it deference and not inquire as to its flight and landing plan. As a military spaceship, it may very well have been on a secret mission from top commanders.

  That is if it ever even showed up on the scanners. The spyship’s hull and surface was itself a layered machine designed to broadcast false heat, radiation and electronic signals out in space. And while it could not hide from gravitron scanners completely, it was capable of altering its gravitational signature to some extent. A casual glance by a gravitron officer might not allow him to tell it apart from a comet or an asteroid. However, even a spyship could not hide from a concentrated scan by an experienced gravitron officer.

  “Commodore, it looks like there is a fleet buildup in and around Rainmar and this star system in general,” said one of the two pilots in the front seat of their spyship while he pointed at a couple of large screens, “Look at this pattern and spaceship designations. Our starships are gathering from across many regions.”

  Raptor and Tollvyk leaned forward to look at the terminals. They were sitting right behind the two starship guards who were also experienced pilots. The rest of the starship guards were seated on the benches further behind or in the small rooms all the way at the back of the ship. The spyship was necessarily small, narrow and congested to minimize its signature visible across space.

  “Mercurian Empire must have mobilized with force while we were flying through deep space,” Raptor remarked.

  “Or that fool Segwyk might have gotten himself way over his head in Nestor and now needs rescue,” Tollvyk said.

  “Could be,” Raptor said, “But it looks like a major mobilization from our country too. I definitely want to get back to our starship right after the completion of our task. Conquistador will have the most important role to play in the coming war.”

  “Commodore, where do you want us to land this spaceship?” the pilot asked.

  “Where else but the spaceport of our Starfleet Command’s headquarters?” Raptor said.

  The pilot looked at the co-pilot who cleared his throat and turned his head back, “Umm…Commodore, we were told by Capitan Styx that this was a discreet mission. The regular space traffic controllers have not inquired of us, presumably showing us leeway as an army spaceship. But we will have to file our plans and purpose at the Starfleet Command.”

  “Yes, that’s right,” Raptor said, “You are right. We should find a landing spot near the Starfleet Command where we can catch a ride abroad an airship, but far enough to avoid its specific airspace.”

  “There is a large, open field just outside of the capital city surrounded by forests,” the pilot said.

  “Better to hide the spaceship in the jungle,” Raptor nodded his head, “but we have to drop off Col. Tollvyk first.”

  “Don’t bother about me,” Tollvyk said, “I had the crew pack a couple of Air Jets just for this purpose.”

  “Alright, take us just outside the forest tree line,” Raptor said.

  Soon they were descending down into the atmosphere and the pilots steered the spyship to just beyond the edge of the forest where a rolling meadow began and went all the way to the city borders. They all got out of the spyship, checked their laser guns and Tollvyk fired up the AirJet which was like a small, airborne motorcycle that could seat two individuals.

  “Cover up the spaceship with tree branches and leaves,” Raptor ordered and the starship guards started work on that.

  “The casinos are just over that forest,” Tollvyk said, “just a single hop for all the soldiers and officers from command headquarters. I will bring Capitan Norvyk over here.”

  “Alright Toll,” Raptor said, “We won’t hide it too deep into the forest, lest we forget its location ourselves,” he laughed and the guards chuckled. Tollvyk saluted him and then accelerated his AirJet and was off over the trees and soon disappeared over the horizon.

  “Do you want me to fetch an airship?” a guard asked him.

  “Yes, but a civilian one. Pick a private company, a small no-name firm, better if it’s a single proprietor we could pay in cash,” Raptor said.

  “Yes, Commodore,” the guard replied and opened his box and set up a portable terminal to contact the airship transporters.

  Raptor walked on the meadow, looking at the forest on one side and small hills on the other and beyond the hills was the city. It was quiet and serene, a perfect vacation or a picnic spot. The guards were at work chopping down trees with their lasers and using them to cover up the spaceship. Raptor took out the Chargekeeper from his personal briefcase and held it in both of his hands feeling the gravity of what it represented. Then he looked up at the clear, red sky and thought of all the spaceships zooming in and out of the planet. It was a wonder of nature that one could look up and not even have
an idea of all that lay beyond the sky and out in space.

  After walking out of the Interstellar Trade Financing Bank, detective Rockvyk’s brain was fried into scrambled eggs. He was distraught, he was confused and he was fearful. He aimlessly wandered the streets of Rainmar looking up at the sky, bumping into other pedestrians or street fixtures, stumbling over small objects and mumbling curses that were slightly above whispers.

  A few hours later he was slowly regaining composure over his self but his mind was still out of his control. He could not believe what he had discovered. Supreme Commander of Starfire Empire – Sejavyk Pytar – himself was the secret and controlling member of the Lambda Man. There were two possibilities. Either Commander Carvyk had acted covertly deceiving and hiding his conspiracy from even the supreme commander or… he dare not think it, let alone speak it out.

  But he must. Or… the supreme commander himself was behind the whole scheme. But why? And what could he even do about it? He couldn’t go to SPASI Chief, because even the Chief would be powerless against the supreme commander. Nor could he approach anyone in the Army. And the one national hero he knew– Com. Antrar – had been killed in the ambush that he himself had narrowly escaped. Only the Emperor and the Constellation had the power over the supreme commander, but they were not one individual but a collective ruling institution of Starfire Nation. How could he inform and earn the trust of a collective whose members held different political ideologies?