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I put on a fresh smart cloth uniform and headed to the galley. As I walked through the doorway several of the Grawl got up and came over to me. “Mr. Myers we had lost all thoughts of ever being free again. The probability of you coming to aid us in our most urgent time of need is infinitesimal. Many of us believed you had perished at the hands of the enemies you had made by coming here. I looked around the galley and took a quick head count. Only twenty two out of the thirty seven Grawl scientist were ambulatory. I was thankful Justice had given all a positive prognosis. It would take their combined help to accomplish my immediate goals.
“I will take you from here to places of your choosing. It was my intention to ask you to work for me. I now have a secure base of operations. Whoever joins me will no longer have to answer to the criminals who operate facilities like this one. All who join will be well paid and will be free to study some of the artifacts I have discovered. You will be free to choose what you wish to do.
The Grawl were all talking excitedly amongst themselves. The chatter increased in volume and it soon sounded like a party. I held up my hands and the crowd of scientist quieted. “Since it is no longer safe for you to stay here, I have decided to take as much of the research equipment with me as possible when we leave this place. To achieve this goal, I will need volunteers to collect as much equipment and supplies as you can gather. My plan is to set up proper research labs at my base of operations. I possess artifacts of an unknown nature. Intense study may be required to classify and catalog them.” The Grawl were staring at me with a look of awe on their faces. I took their silence as anticipation to what I may say next. We needed to get this show on the road before hostiles can change my plans. “I will also need a volunteer to operate the cargo bay doors so the Legacy can move back outside this facility to patrol for combatants who will try to stop us from leaving.”
The Grawl got up from the tables and gathered around me. One of the Grawl stepped to the front of the crowd then looked back at his fellow scientist. They were all nodding their assent to their new spokesman. “I am Jaran, Mr. Myers. My fellow scientists have made me their voice. Tell us what you require and it will be done. We cannot speak for those who are in the medical bay, but all here wish to join you.”
I hoped they wanted to leave because they wanted to work for me, not because they would most probably be killed if they stayed. “I need the control room for the cargo bay manned by someone who knows its operation well and will also be able to use the communication equipment to stay in contact with the Legacy. The rest of you are to take the cargo handling equipment you will need to strip this facility of everything you deem useful. We must do this as fast as possible because Kergan’s frigate launched a communication buoy before I could destroy it. That was more than half of a planetary rotation ago.” A joyous murmur rippled through the crowd of Grawl. Jaran turned back to me. “We are pleased Rak’s clan perished with the Murlak pirates. If they would have chosen to remain silent and stayed to the story Xul had told Dema, none would have suffered. They chose instead to betray us all. Dema had them put aboard Kergan’s frigate. They were to be exiled for their deceit.”
I was relieved to know no friendlies were aboard the frigate when I destroyed it. “Start gathering equipment and I will take the Legacy and patrol the system for hostile reinforcements. Hail Justice when you are ready to open the cargo bay. There are several cargo jacks available in the hold of the Legacy. Take them if you need them, I will be standing by for your communications.” The Grawl dispersed and headed towards the Legacy’s hold. “Justice how are our patient’s doing?”
“I made your statements audible to the Grawl in the infirmary. Six are of questionable health but insist on helping to gather equipment. I have administered stimulants and will release them so we can get underway.”
“Justice, enable comms so I can broadcast to the outside of the ship.”
“Roger Commander, comms are ready.”
“Jaran if you encounter any Murlak, tell them the demon who has taken this base will not harm them as long as they do not interfere with our mission.” I looked at the exterior view of the Legacy Justice was projecting onto the galley view screen. I could see several of the Grawl raise their arms and wave recognition of my broadcast.
The Legacy had been in the cargo bay of the station for more than five hours. Jaran was in the cargo bay control room ready to open the cargo doors. “All atmospheric locks engaged and hold doors are opening. Good luck Mr. Myers we hope to see you back when we are ready to leave.” Justice backed us out of the hold and we started a full spectrum scan of the surrounding system. As we flew up over the station Justice called.
“Commander, I have detected a life form in the Grawl shuttle and it appears to be in the machine spaces.”
“Roger Justice, give me comms to Jaran.”
“Comms active Commander.”
“Jaran, Justice has located a Murlak, and he is hiding in the Grawl shuttle. Please inform him I plan to take the shuttle. It won’t work out well for him if he continues to hide where he currently is.”
“Affirmative Mr. Myers” Justice took the Legacy into a wide circle of the system and came up empty on hostile contacts. I wondered how long it would take for the Grawl to collect their equipment and gather it in the cargo hold. I hadn’t slept in over sixteen hours and decided to give it a try. Going to my cabin I took a fast shower then went to bed. Sleep came fast, but it was filled with the nightmares of my day. I woke up in a sweat with Justice calling to me.
“Commander! I have detected a transition signature at the edge of the system. It appears to be a small freighter, and it has altered its course to a heading that will intersect the research station.”
“I am on my way to the bridge Justice.” Jumping up I put on a fresh uniform and ran down the hallway to the bridge. Looking up at the big domed screen I saw the yellow triangle on a course that would pass in front of us. Justice had the Legacy cloaked and our negation system up and running. “Have you picked up any communications Justice?”
“Negative Commander, They are using dated scanning technology to scan and locate the research station. They have swept us several times and have not discovered our presence. Commander I am now intercepting a burst communication. It is a sophisticated encryption algorithm and it may take several minutes to decode. They have again sent an identical burst and I now believe they are expecting a return signal. They are now slowing and altering their course. COMMANDER! I have a partial translation and the language is Scrun!
“Justice, disable their star drives if possible!”
“Roger Commander.”
I watched as the freighter filled the overhead screen. It looked like an old wreck that needed a good paint job. I saw our targeting reticle appear on the freighters active discharge nozzles. The blue orange glow from the nozzle suddenly increased to a white hot tail. They were hitting the gas and changing course to take them out of the system. Justice hit the right-hand nozzle with a two second burst from our rail cannon. There was a huge flash of molten metal flying off the star drive nozzle of the ship as it spun into a looping circle. The left side drive was still operating at full power and the captain looked like he was struggling to stop the spin. The Scrun ship bent at a strange angle just forward of the drives then broke in half with a huge orange flash. Shit! I was going to board the freighter to see if there were slaves aboard. “Let’s go take a look at the wreckage Justice.” We rapidly approached the debris field and Justice slowed us to match the drift of the wreckage. I could see several of the cages we had seen on the other Scrun ship we had boarded. I said a small prayer of thanks none we saw were inhabited. There was several Scrun floating here and there but nothing indicating any other species.
“COMMANDER, I have detected a large transition disruption directly astern of our location.”
Kergan’s call for help was being answered. “Justice, see if you can tuck us up against the front half of the freighters hull
it looks large enough to shield us from scans.” It was no small feat matching the drift and spin revolutions of the Scrun hull wreckage. I knew Justice was adept at such maneuvers because I had seen him do it before. The Legacy swiftly closed the short distance to the wreckage. We started a matching spin rotation then Justice parked us on the side of the derelict hull.
“Commander, the target is scanning our location and its shields have come online. I identify the ship as a Murlak Warbringer class battleship. It is not of modern design but still a dangerous advisory.”
The view from my command chair gave me chills as the big blunt nosed warship turned in our direction. Justice boxed it with a big red triangle. We were still miles apart, and it still looked huge. We would not know if we had been spotted until they opened fire on us. I could feel a trickle of sweat on my forehead as I counted the numerous weapons protruding from the battleship’s hull. I could see eight large twin barreled weapons pointing fore and aft. “Are you familiar with the ships capabilities Justice?”
“The records I have used to identify the ship are more than fifty Earth years old and were gleaned from the research station memory cores. A ship that dated would have gone through several updates to remain space worthy. Its current capabilities are unknown at this time Commander.”
I was hoping our negation systems could defeat the Murlak ships scanners. So far they were doing nothing, which was a good thing.
“Commander I surmise by the modern design of the weapons systems. The Murlak warship has had extensive updates while the sensor packages have not. Ships similar to Kergan’s frigate and Eiger’s battleship have a more advanced sensing array. The fact we have not been discovered at such close range to the target indicates a limited capability scanning and targeting system.”
“If that is the case then I am thinking Eiger got his hands on some military surplus and made it space worthy so he could intimidate other races. It might also be a way of hauling around large numbers of his pirate troops.”
“Correct Commander, a ship of that design regardless of age would also make a formidable planetary bombardment platform. It would also be capable of destroying the research station.”
“What are our chances of stopping them if they decide to attack the station?”
“Better than average Commander if the quality of their scanning equipment is an indicator of the quality of their shields, I do not believe they will be capable of deflecting two or more discharges of our main weapons systems at this range. Target is now making a turn away from us.”
“If they are headed to the station, we will have to stop them!”
“Commander they are accelerating on a heading that will take them to the station! I recommend we attack before the range between us increases further. This will give our three main weapons optimal performance against the targets shields. The front and rear of the battleship has the largest array of shield emitters. I recommend a high speed pass targeting the upper hull between the mid deck weapons batteries. I will engage them with continuous fire from our main weapons and will launch eight full yield anti-matter missiles before we pass the target. A short transition to the far side of the system will limit our exposer to direct fire from their main batteries. I will initiate the engagement on your order Commander.”
“Engage Justice!” I sat back in my chair and gripped the arm rest and watched as the battleship filled the screen. The big domed display started a nonstop flicker as it tried to prevent white out from the blinding discharges of our three main weapons. I saw white lines originating from around my view screen that moved rapidly towards our target. The entire top half of the enemy ship was enveloped by a flashing yellow white opaque cloud as our weapons struck the targets screens. I never got to see if the target lines from our missiles contacted the battle ship. I felt Justice transition us to hyperspace then felt it again as we dropped back to normal space time. The target was now just a barely discernable red triangle on the back side of my view screen. “How did we do Justice?”
“We received thirteen ineffective weapons strikes on our port side shields from the battleships point defense systems. Our aft shields took two direct hits from their main batteries. Our shield efficiency has decreased by seventeen percent. I detected seven premature detonations of our eight missiles launched. We transitioned before I could account for our last shot. My scans indicate the target is now slowing and I am picking up encoded comms traffic. I recommend another pass to further inflict damage on the previously targeted area. We will also gain battle damage assessments for any necessary follow up attacks.”
“All right Justice, take us in swinging!”
The sensation of the transition felt like we had only made one jump. Any thought of that notion was dispelled when the battleship seemed to appear on the starboard side of the view screen and then moved past us. The huge battleship was literally going to pieces as we jumped back in and out of hyperspace once more. I spun my chair around trying to locate the enemy ship. It was low on the back of the screen and appeared as a small blinking red triangle. The attack happened so quickly I couldn’t tell how well we did the second pass. What I got was a quick glimpse of a giant hole where a gun emplacement used to be.
“Commander our shields are currently eighty one percent and regenerating. The Murlak ship has sheared in half and I am picking up multiple distress beacons. The target jettisoned a hyperspace communication buoy I targeted with a missile as we made our transition. I could not account for the missile or the buoy when we reentered normal space time. I believe it would be advisable to evacuate the scientist regardless of the equipment gathered and leave this system.”
“OK Justice, contact Jaran and let him know the scientist should prepare for immediate evacuation once we return to the station. I will need you to set up decontamination equipment for Kergan and Dema. We will take them with us when we leave. I want them isolated in the brig. No food or water until I say so.”
“Affirmative Commander.”
The two aliens had spent little more than a day in the prison of their own making. I was still trying my best to hold my anger in check at the way they treated the Grawl scientist. My realization the Murlak had sold the scientist to the Scrun reignited the flames of my hatred for them. I was hoping things were going much better for my crew than it had turned out for me. I desperately needed to talk with Tria about my blinding rage that seems to rear its ugly head with an ever increasing frequency. My murderous tendencies in battle were scaring the hell out of me because it was like I was on the side lines watching my unbridled fury run amok. Justice had to know how conflicted I was feeling about my actions but he has said nothing about it. I was going to talk with him and find out if he had any insight into what was driving my psychopathic rampages.
“Commander, ETA to the station is four minutes. My scanners have picked up a large anti-matter emission from the location of the Murlak warship. I am no longer receiving distress signal transmissions. Jaran has informed me they will be ready for evacuation of the station. They have accumulated a significant amount of equipment and are moving the last two large pieces to the cargo bay. They will be ready to depressurize the hold once the devices are inside.
“Roger that Justice. Is my armor available or is it still being repaired?”
“Several maneuvering nozzles and exoskeleton power servos are still being repaired but the rest of the systems are back to normal. Weapons are fully functional and loaded to capacity.
“I’ll wear my backup armor until the Zaen armor is repaired. The new weapons you designed worked perfectly. The munitions were light enough I would be comfortable carrying twice the load out. That reminds me, Dema, and the Murlaks coughed up a pile of credit vouchers. I put them in my shotgun ammo pack did you run across them?”
“Yes Commander, I found cards totaling four billion two hundred and sixty million credits. I took the liberty of asking Jaran if the credits you had paid the scientist had been confiscated. He stated the scientist secretly hid
their credits in the Overlords restroom. They were confident no one would bother to look for them there. They were correct in their choice of locations because they have recovered the vouchers you had paid them. It turns out many feared Rak’s clan would betray them so the scientist were in agreement if they were betrayed, they would all claim to have given their credits to Rak’s clan to buy their silence. They took several beatings but told the same story. Rak’s clan was accused of withholding the funds they collected and were transferred to Kergan’s frigate. The artifacts that we left behind were also confiscated and transferred to Kergan’s ship. Many of the scientist overheard Yagess and Dema tell Kergan they were to be exiled until they gave up the credits. Most of the scientist thought they would suffer the same fate, which we now know was incorrect. I put the vouchers with the rest of your credits in your weapons safe.”
“Thanks Justice, I will need one of your new shotguns and a magazine pouch ready to go when I get to the ready room.”
“Roger Commander, Jaran says they are ready to depressurize the hold.”
“OK Justice, take us in so we can pick up our passengers and get the hell out of here. We will have no need of ever coming back to this place. Once everything is loaded and the Grawl are on board, I will retrieve our prisoners.”
The pressure doors on the station opened and Justice set the Legacy down beside a huge pile of equipment. Jaran closed the doors and pressurized the hold. The scientist carried their personnel belongings into the crew bunking quarters. I told them to get settled in and get some rest. Justice made quick work of loading the equipment with the tow beam. I walked down the ramp and headed to the hidden storage area. Justice had the decontamination boom extended out of the cargo bay and ready for operation. I used the encryption key to open the deck and then the store room. I was stunned at what I found. Sitting in a corner was a very much alive excrement covered Yagess. Apparently the vile supplement I had introduced into his diet was not as fatal as I thought it was. I could feel my anger rising and turned to Dema and Kergan. “You two come with me now! If you say one word or hesitate in any way, I will execute you!” I waved them up the ramp with my shotgun and they quickly complied. Yagess sat staring back at me with hate filled eyes. I left the doors open and the encryption key lying on the floor at my feet. I marched my two prisoners over to the decontamination boom at gun point. “If you move, I will shoot you!” I stood back, so I had a good angle on the walkway to the storage room and could keep an eye on the two stooges as well. I was wondering how long it would take for Yagess to come sneaking up the ramp. It was almost four minutes exactly when his head peeked up over the edge of the floor. He stood there watching while Dema and Kergan got the cleaning treatment. I had Justice provide smart cloth uniforms for them to wear. As soon as they were clean and dressed, I walked them to the brig. I put each in a cell at opposite ends of the brig and locked them down and shut the lights off.
First of my Kind Page 45
