Victory in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 6)

by D Patrick Wagner

  “The Captain is a stickler for cleanliness and organization, Ambassador. Those new gravity generators really help. All of the floating stuff got sucked down to the deck. Much easier to clean up.”

  “What do you do, Spacer?”

  “Communications, Sir. Since nothing is going on, the Captain had me meet you.”

  By now, the five reached the lift. Stepping in, they waited for the doors to close and the few minutes it took to rise from the bottom deck to the top of the massive cruise liner. Upon exiting, Spacer Watson led everyone to the Captain’s quarters and knocked.

  “Enter.”

  Opening the hatch, the Spacer led everyone in. Krag noted that no salutes were exchanged between the Spacer and the Captain.

  “Thank you, Watson. Go see if we’ve had any incoming.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Watching her leave, Krag commented, “Pretty casual, Captain.”

  “She’s a good kid, Hawk. She needs seasoning, not discipline.”

  “What happens when we get into it?”

  “This is a good crew. Almost all retirees. They know what to do. The newbies, they’re being taught. Not controlled.”

  “That approach is different.”

  “From the Federacy. Not for Civvies, Hawk. What can I do for you?”

  “We’re just checking in, Captain.”

  “Call me ‘Trucker’. That was my call sign when I was hauling for the Federacy.”

  “Okay, Trucker. Where do you stand?”

  “We’re just cleaning up. Getting settled. Like I said, this is a good crew. They dug in deep and fast. All systems are a go.”

  “Tested?”

  “Dry tested. We’re going to run live conflict tests on a few asteroids tomorrow.”

  “That’s fast. Vengeance is a couple of weeks behind.”

  “And that’s the difference between the Federacy and civvie effort, Hawk.”

  “Be nice. There is a place for bureaucracy.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I like this a whole lot better. Shall we visit the bridge?”

  “After you, Captain.”

  Upon reaching Jewel of the Stars’ bridge, the first thing noticed was the seven-foot android standing at a console, its index finger plugged into a socket.

  “How is the android working out?”

  “Right now, really good, Ambassador. We call her ‘Glinda’.”

  “Wizard of Oz?”

  “A good vid. We heard Mr. McCauley call your android ‘Tinman’. So, we thought we’d stay in the same movie.”

  “At least you didn’t name her ‘Gingema’.”

  “Nah. The wicked witch of the east would not do. The north, much better.”

  “Trucker, would you mind if Preceptor Igaklay checked Glinda out?”

  “Will he change anything? So far, we like her just the way she is.”

  “Preceptor?”

  ‘No, Commander. I will just review the code and make any needed recommendations to Honorable Vidhee and Dame Srilin.”

  “Okay, Preceptor. Go for it.”

  The Commander and Captain watched as the Ballisonian avatar approached the combat, heavily modified, android and reached up to place his hand on her chest plate. After a moment, Igaklay turned back.

  “Honorable Vidhee and Dame Srilin have done excellent work, Captain. I found only minor questions to be resolved.”

  “It sounds like you don’t need us, Trucker.”

  “Nope, we’re good to go.”

  “Don’t forget. Glinda is here for precision and speed. Emphasize that during your testing. You can’t afford to remain still in front of those Mortek dreadnaughts and cruisers. They hit hard.”

  “Yeah. I got a reading on their energy spikes when we dropped off those robots. You can bet that we’ll put her to good use, Hawk.”

  “Oh, one more thing. Jewel of the Stars is now officially a member of the HEB Alliance Merchant Fleet. When it comes time to train with the Federacy and go to war, you will be loaned to Weiskoff.”

  “I was worried about that, Hawk. No way did I want to get sucked back into the Federacy.”

  “You aren’t. Weiskoff knows.”

  “I’ll bet little Number Three didn’t like that.”

  “Not one little bit. We’re out of here.”

  “Fly safe.”

  Cencore Shipyard

  Master Sergeant Nelson had removed the stool used by various Mortek leaders. Now sitting in the original, very comfortable, high-back chair, Nellie rocked as he looked over the administrative desk at Sergeant Stein.

  “You’re sure that you’re okay with me running this circle jerk?”

  “Absolutely, Sergeant. You’re all Federacy. I’m just a conscripted retiree. The sooner I and my people get back to Tolimar, the better I’ll like it.”

  “I feel better.”

  “Not so guilty, Nellie? No need.”

  “You’ve walked the yard, run an inspection. Where do we stand?”

  “We own the shipyard. We have about three hundred Mortek prisoners. Weird, though. After most of the fighting, the remainder seemed to quit. Just stand and look stupid. None of them fought back. We just rounded them up and herded them into one of the maintenance bays. Like I said, weird.”

  “I saw some of that.”

  “Yeah, well, now that you’re the big cheese, sitting at the big cheese desk, you got to do the leading, not the trench work.”

  “I was getting too old for that, anyway.”

  “Maybe you could ask Weiskoff for a promotion. The scuttlebutt is that he’s on Ballison, getting his fleet put back together.”

  “No chance of that. Speaking of Ballison, let’s check in with Marston. See what else is up.”

  Looking down at his wrist quant-com, Sergeant Nelson began, “Preceptor Igaklay, are you there?”

  “Always, Sergeant Nelson.”

  “Could you link me to Captain Marston?”

  “We all call him ‘Commander’, now, Master Sergeant. I am linking you, now.”

  “Hello, Nellie. What can I do for you?”

  “Commander Marston. You got promoted?”

  “Kind of. It was pushed on me.”

  “I’ll bet Ambassador Suzume did the pushing.”

  “You know her so well. What’s up? Do you need help with the yard?”

  “No. she’s all locked up. Something weird is going on. We kept running into some fierce resistance then, suddenly none. After that, all the Mortek seemed to turn into zombies.”

  “You must have killed off all of the upper ranks.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “What’s probably left are the workers and the laborers.”

  “Me and Stein, we don’t get it.”

  “Pheromones, we think. Or hive mentality. Not sure. We’ve had discussions with First Cruiser, the captain of the cruiser that surrendered. He was describing how his crew is incapable of refusing his orders. Then he said that, now that he no longer was in contact with his superiors, he was free to make his own decisions.”

  “Some kind of mind control?”

  “We don’t think so. Buster posited the idea of Pheromones. Like bees and ants.”

  “So, we get the pheromones, we control the Mortek.”

  “That’s the thought.”

  “Well, something like that is going on. The Mortek we’ve caught are acting like sheep, just standing around.”

  “How many have you got?”

  “Around three hundred locked up in a maintenance bay.”

  “We’re putting together a prison yard on Tolimar. When it’s ready, we’ll come and get them.”

  “Good. The sooner you get them off the yard, the better I’ll like it.”

  “In about four days, Jewel of the Stars is going to arrive with about a hundred thousand fighters. All with jump packs and gravity guns. Some gravity rocket launchers, too.”

  “You’re planning on taking back Olympia?”

  “That’s the plan. We’ll pick up you
r prisoners then. Where are you with the other three shipyards?”

  “We haven’t gotten to them, yet. We’re short on personnel, munitions and equipment.”

  “Fairstar is on her way with the rest of Odin’s marines. You should be seeing them about the same time that Jewel gets there.”

  “Weiskoff hasn’t grabbed us yet?”

  “I think that he wants Cencore back. So, he’s letting us do the heavy lifting.”

  “I can see that. Besides, he’s busy playing with his new toys. Is Major Wilson coming?”

  “I haven’t checked. Wait one. Igaklay, would you tie in Major Wilson?”

  “Commander Marston?”

  “Major. Sergeant Nelson is on the line. He was wondering if you were going to accompany the marines to the Cencore shipyards.”

  “That’s my plan.”

  “Major Wilson, Sergeant Stein here.”

  “Yes, Sergeant?”

  “Uh, well, we have a confusing chain of command up here. With both me and Nellie being sergeants.”

  “And?”

  “I think that you should give Master Sergeant Nelson a field promotion. He needs to be running the show out here.”

  Everyone paused while Wilson thought.

  “You’re okay with that, Sergeant Stein?”

  “You bet, Major. The sooner I get back to retirement, the better.”

  “Done. Sergeant Nelson, I’ll bring some Lieutenant pins with me. You are now First Lieutenant Nelson.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  “Record this for distribution.”

  “I record everything, Major Wilson.”

  “Of course you do, Preceptor. Here it goes. I, Major Wilson of the Marine Branch of the Federacy Space Force, hereby execute a field promotion to Master Sergeant Nelson, promoting him to the rank of First Lieutenant.”

  “I accept, Major Wilson. Is Number Three going to like that?”

  “Not his concern. He runs me but I run my people. Preceptor Igaklay, please get Nellie’s promotion distributed.

  “Reinforcements?”

  “Odin’s Marines. As Commander Marston stated, four days.”

  “Hurry up and wait. It never changes, does it Major.”

  “Not in this man’s navy.”

  Aboard Reprieve - Ballison

  The two weeks of downtime on Bridgelen did all of the crews of the HEB Alliance Merchant Fleet a great deal of good. With only sporadic scouting missions to break up their rest and relaxation, the Stingers, Fairstar and Jewel of the Stars crews succeeded in getting their ships back to top shape and getting themselves ready for the battles to come.

  Mr. and Mrs. Bailey acted like children, zipping around in their jump-driven RV, exploring this alien planet while two more ships graced the space over Ballison. Galactic Express, under the captaincy of Pilot Rizzman, floated, resting after hard tests of its newly-installed upgrades and weaponry. A small freighter also floated serenely in space, crewed only by a single Elonian. Dame Desinal.

  Sitting in the pilot’s chair, Dame Desinal, for the umpteenth time, worked her console learning the operations of this human ship. Parallelly, she reviewed her life and how she had arrived here, sitting in an empty Human freighter with no real purpose. Being alone and, for the first time in her adult life, without guidance, the ex-Sub-Captain sat and wallowed.

  “Dame Desinal, are you there?”

  This voice over her com system broke into her fugue.

  “Desinal here. Who is speaking?”

  “Captain Overman. Jewel of the Stars.”

  “Oh. Hello, Captain. What may I do for you?”

  “Commander Marston and I were discussing you and your ship.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Well, the Commander was saying that you planned on picking up your family back on Elonia.”

  Desinal sat up straighter and her ears focused forward at this statement.

  “Yes?”

  “He asked me if I could spare a few people. He said that you might need a pilot and a gunner. Is that right?”

  “Yes,” Desinal couldn’t keep the rising excitement from her voice.

  “Well, it just so happens, I have this hotshot kid onboard. He used to race skimmers back on Tolimar. He can fly anything. Gutsy. Name’s Oliver. Oliver Briar. Goes by Ollie.”

  “He will fly with me?”

  “He said so. Treat him fair, he’ll do right by you. I also have your gunner. Used to be a gunner in the Federacy. Did a lot of hunting back home. He’s pretty old. In his fifties. With those nanites though, he’s in good shape. Tough old bird. You’ll like him. Call him ‘Yoni’. His last name is Yonek. I never remember his first name.”

  “Are you giving me your castoffs?”

  “Not really. They’ve got skills. I just can’t use them. I thought you could. If you don’t want to give them a try. It’s okay.”

  “No, no. send them over. Let me look at them.”

  “Will do. I’ll get them over right away.”

  Dame Desinal couldn’t stay seated. She paced, flicking her ears and tail, alternately tightening and loosening her paws, waiting for the two possible crewmates.

  “Ahoy, the ship,” Dame Desinal heard over her speakers. In a panic, she remembered that she hadn’t prepared the cargo bay for the arrival of Jewel’s shuttle.

  “One moment, shuttle. I am opening the bay now.”

  Everyone waited while Dame Desinal tapped the icon which withdrew the atmosphere in the bay and opened the cargo doors. After a time, Desinal saw the shuttle float in and settle down. Tapping another icon, she closed everything up and refilled the bay with atmosphere.

  Hurrying down, she met the young and old Humans as the exited the shuttle.

  The over six-foot cat-like being focused on the two humans. The two humans, one old, one young, stared back. For the first time, these three, one Elonian and two Humans, found themselves in something more than simply being in each other’s presence. They found themselves searching to define their relationship.

  “Dame Desinal. Did I get that right?”

  Desinal’s ears ceased pointing at the two arrivals and her tail relaxed.

  “Yes, Mr. Yonek. Hello, Mr. Briar.”

  “Call me Yoni, Dame Desinal. The kid goes by ‘Ollie’.”

  “Welcome aboard, Yoni and Ollie.”

  “Do I really get to fly a freighter?”

  “Yes, Ollie. If you are as good as Captain Overman says you are.”

  “Cool!”

  “He’s young, Dame Desinal.”

  “A cub. I have one about his age. Let us take a look at the flight cabin.”

  Desinal led, the two Humans followed. Multiple times, she needed to slow down as Ollie would get distracted and study something new. Finally, after crossing the cargo bay, walking a hallway and climbing the causeway, they arrived at the top deck. With the hatch open, Dame Desinal led her two prospective crewmates to their work area.

  Having grown accustomed to the level two Synthetic standing at its station. Dame Desinal took no notice. Ollie and Yoni did.

  “Whoa! We have and android? Like Buster?”

  “No, Ollie. This android is a level two. It does not possess self-awareness.”

  “Darn. I’ve heard so much about Buster, I thought that this was one, too. What’s his name?”

  “I haven’t given it one.”

  “Why not? What do you call it when you talk to it?”

  “Android.”

  “Boring. How about ‘Andy’? you know, Andy Android.”

  “I figured that out, Ollie. Yoni, does he always talk this much?”

  “Always, Captain. You get used to it.”

  “Pilot’s chair.” Dame Desinal pointed.

  Ollie raced over and hopped in. After clicking his safety harness in place, he began familiarizing himself with the flight console.

  “Cool beans, Dame Desinal. A gravity chair. No pod. When can we take her for a spin? What’s her name?”

 
; “Reprieve.”

  “Weird name. when can I fly her?”

  “We will see, Ollie. Mr. Yonek, Yoni, that is your chair.”

  Yoni saw where she pointed and took his position. Mimicking Ollie, he reviewed his console.

  “Looks the same as on an attack ship. I got it, Dame Desinal.”

  “As a grey fur, you may call me ‘Tarsi’.”

  “Grey fur. You mean I’m old. Can’t deny that. Although, I don’t feel it anymore. Not since I got hopped up with Preceptor Igaklay’s nanites. Tarsi it is.”

  “Me too?”

  “No, Ollie. You are a cub. You will respect your elders.”

  “Do I have to call Yoni ‘Mr. Yonek’?”

  “That is for him to decide.”

  “Oh.”

  “Nah, kid. ‘Yoni’ will do. Dame Desinal’s the Captain. So you show her proper respect. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Yoni, become familiar with the deflective shield. You will be both the gunner and the defender.”

  “What? Oh, I see the controls. I’ll dig into the docs and get a feel for it.”

  “Ollie, move to the co-pilot chair. I will be flying us out to where I can assess your and Yoni’s skills.”

  “Okay, Cap. You’re the boss.”

  Captain Desinal lowered her ears in resignation and acceptance. Today’s cubs held no respect for their elders.

  Aboard Gazelle - Bridgelen

  For her turn on patrol, Gazelle jumped into Bridgelen, taking the two days required to cover the massive distance from Ballison. Floating at the star system’s edge, Sergeant Brown worked the sensors, pointing them at the Mortek fleet.

  “Captain, there are a lot more ships than before.”

  “Throw it up on the screen. Show me what you’ve got.”

  The cluster of Mortek ships displayed on the main view screen.

  “You’re right. They’re pulling more ships in.”

  “Captain, are you seeing what I’m seeing? Those two in the center. Are those super dreadnaughts?”

  “Damn! We need a count.”

  “No more sitting back and just peeking?”

  “Nope. We need a deep recon. Get a good count.”

  “Where do you think they’re all coming from?”

  “Must be Yeni Persia. We’ve cleaned out Tolimar, Arium and Cencore. So, it’s got to be there.”