Galactic Freighter: Scourge of the Deep Space Pirates (Contact) (26 page)

"Brenna and I have a history of trusting each other." A glance to her friend brought a smile and nod. "She's given me to believe you are an honorable man. She said you face a dilemma and I could be of help. I believe her and rest assured, what you say to me will remain so." She looked resolute and Rasby didn't doubt her word.

He repeated much the same introduction he'd given Brenna and waited.

"Sebastian and Lord Fryman? Is that Buckley Fryman the freighter?"

"Buckley?" Rasby's effort to hold back the laugh wasn't successful. He apologized, saying she was the only person he'd heard call the Lord Buckley was the Emperor.

"I know both rascals. Is Buck here?"

"Not on the planet."

"Any chance I can talk with Lord Fryman?"

"The only way that can happen is if you can get to our ship. Doctor, I'll have to put the question to the Lord. If he suspects it will put the mission in jeopardy, the answer will be no."

"If you don't have a doctor on board, I can get to your ship. You do have some sick people on that tub don't you?" Brenna had told her it was an old ship.

Rasby shrugged.

Dr. Giddings continued, "I met Buck on Borcom quite some time ago. Lovely man but a bit contrary. Not the type I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Sebastian, I met during a professional trip to Iona. He attended the symposium. We hit it off. I stayed a week beyond the meeting and spent a great deal of the time with the Emperor."

Rasby said nothing noting the tenor of the woman's voice. She clearly had feelings for Sebastian.

"I'll be on the communal launch that goes up in a few hours," Dr. Giddings concluded. "I've made dozens of trips to on-orbit ships and this one shouldn't be any different."

Don said his goodbye to Brenna and that he'd be back. The look on the woman’s face seemed to doubt him. "I'll be back," he repeated with emphasis.

Her look didn't change.

***

Ivan supervised the barley seed unloading stopping long enough to allow the arriving communal pinnace to disembark. The commander took his time walking up the passageway. He dreaded Lord Fryman's reaction to Dr. Mirabelle Giddings' participation. He paused at the Lord's cabin, finally pushing the stud.

"Enter." Buck waved the SEAL into a chair. "Well, Commander, how did it go?" Anticipation filled his voice.

Rasby cleared his voice, twice, looked at the bulkhead, and finally very quietly mumbled, "Brenna approached Doctor Mirabelle Giddings."

Buck's hands clasp his head and leaned back in the chair as his eyes followed rolling back in his head. "No shit? Oh, crap." He shook his head. "Anyone but her.

"What did she say? I mean when you mentioned my name."

"Sir, much the same thing as you." Unsuccessfully, Rasby tried to hide the smile.

"I suppose I'll have to live with it and make the best of…" Buck didn't ask the Commander to keep his reactions quiet. It would be up to Mirabelle to decide if their history became common knowledge. He suspected, no knew, it would be told and retold on the ship.

Buck told Rasby precisely the results he needed from the doctor's effort. She was to orchestrate the rumor and documents so that a pinnace could approach the Teutonic unchallenged and with no supervision from Barnard's Star. A tall order, he admitted.

Rasby told the Lord of his promise to Brenna.

Buck assured him she would be welcome aboard Forager, as would the doctor.

"You might tell her yourself. She says she's coming up on the next launch. Then she'll make up her mind. Says she'll log the trip as a doctor's house call with the orbit master."

Buck's concern rose over the attention drawn to Forager. But he knew Mirabelle and stopping her wasn't an option.

***

A few hours later, Dr. Giddings stepped off the launch onto Forager's hanger deck.

Buck, with a wide grin and a giant hug, greeted the doctor. "Mira, it's great to see you again. Come on, we've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Buck, you a Lord?" the amazed woman said. "You're a freighter. As rough as they come. Why in the world would Sebastian make such a move?"

"I married his cousin," Buck responded unapologetically. "When I proposed, I had no idea she was a royal. Tell you the truth, I wish she hadn't been. Those people have to put up with so much crap. Stuff not meant for a freighter." 

Followed by Rasby and Tommy, they walked up the passageway to Buck's cabin.

The two didn't waste a moment, swapping stories and catching up on each other's lives as they casually walked close together. Rasby and Simms shook their heads at some of the tales told. Neither held back on their laughs. Tommy interrupted to ask if they wanted to be alone and both said no.

"Sebastian's son, Victor,” Buck explained, “was murdered by people who want to secede from the empire. Emperor Sebastian asked me to find the killer. We know those responsible are aboard the Teutonic, on orbit above the planet. We plan to take the ship. And that requires some devious work. Our plan includes participation by a respected doctor." Buck had dinner brought in and gave Mirabelle the details of what Tommy had conjured up.

"I knew you would leave little wiggle room, Buck. I respect that, which isn't to say I will be a part of it." She leaned back in her chair, head lowered, her look like a Decilian hawk, deciding when to strike not whether to do so.

"I have a grudge against this administration, but it doesn't reach the point of treason."

"Mira, what we plan isn't against the government. It does require manipulating some of their rules, but that's all. We have no reason to believe the government of Barnard's Star is involved—officially that is."

"You don't believe that any more than I do, Buck. This government would sanction Jarred Mahoney's killing the Prince and Sebastian."

He'd not mentioned Mahoney, just the ship's name. But then she had served in a high government office and probably knew all the stories.

"Teutonic's being on orbit is probably, no it is, causing debates like you'd never believe," the Doctor said. "This government doesn't want a war with Iona. At least until they believe they have an advantage. Until they get others on board, Barnard's Star wouldn't stand against Sebastian one T-minute."

"I see you know Mahoney, or at least of him."

"Oh, I know him, Buck. He's a bastard, devious, will do what's necessary to get his way and that includes killing. He has no redeeming qualities. I say that with the full knowledge of someone on a first name basis with his mother. She has said she'd kill him given the opportunity. I suspect, beyond the government's restrictions Jarred Mahoney fears he may have to face his mother if he landed.

"What is it you want of me? Once I know, I will give you my answer." With arms across her chest, Dr. Giddings waited.

Buck told her role and waited.

"I'll do it for Sebastian, you and Brenna."

Chapter Twenty-Six:
The Lie

D
octor Giddings sat in her office and prepared for the assault on Teutonic. First, she needed a disease and decided Aribiana Contagion would do the job. It was, as the name suggested, highly contagious and required close specialized medical supervision. Fortunately, she was one of two physicians on Barnard's Star approved to supervise treatment of the disease and the other doctor was off planet. Over the next two days, she set in motion the deception that would mask all efforts from disrupting the plot. She told none of her employees. Keeping them out of the loop would limit any accusations against them and was the only protection she could give. Guilt by association still loomed for any who could not prove their innocence. She prepared documents that stated she acted alone and sent them to her attorney with explicit instructions of when and who could open them.

Mirabelle closed the door to the office and, in her aircar, headed for the government medical building. At the receptionist, her credentials verified, she walked down the corridor stopping at an office labeled
Contagious Diseases
.

"Good evening. It's been some time," she said as the seated man looked up with a bit of a puzzled stare. She knew him professionally and that he sought ways to please his superiors—Mirabelle's experience with him made him easy to manipulate. He would ask the appropriate questions, but as long as nothing alarmed him, notification to supervision would follow standard channels. That would give her at least two days.

"Dr. Giddings, yes, please come in. It's good to see you. Been over a year."

He offered her a chair. "What brings you to the center? Is there something I can do for you?"

She closed the door, claimed a chair, and with a smile said, "What I have to tell
you
must be kept quiet. By that, I mean the newsies. The proper authorities are aware, you'll understand why as I go through this. You know I'm the sole doctor licensed and available to deal with Aribiana Contagion. We suspect the ship, Teutonic, on orbit, has a case and we both know how infectious this disease is. And it's fatal. I need to take a team to the ship as soon as possible and deal with the problem. It must be contained."

The man sat rigid knowing what could happen if control failed. He nodded with each word. "I'd heard no one was permitted on the planet and all communications were on tight beam. It all makes sense now."

Dr. Giddings gave the man the information required to ensure her pinnace made it past the orbit master without questions, graciously thanked him, left the office, and returned to Brenna's condo.

"Okay, Commander, you have one day. I understand you want to arrive before five a.m. Have your pinnace ready to take off early tomorrow morning. That's the entire window we have. Let's hope the orbit master doesn't decide to run a check on your launch."

"You're both coming with me." Rasby looked from Brenna and the doctor.

"Who said I'm going anywhere," said a surprised Mirabelle.

"Lord Fryman, Doctor. He will not leave you here. We both know they'll find you and that your actions would cost your life. He won't countenance that, nor will I."

"I have personal effects."

"You'll have to leave them. Doctor, there is no going back for anything."

She stared hard at Rasby and then Brenna who gave her a knowing nod. "He's right, Mirabelle. We must leave."

The doctor’s shoulders sagged slightly but she nodded her acquiescence.

***

Late that evening, Buck in a wheelchair with Ivan pushing, rolled off the communal launch onto Barnard's tarmac. Rasby had rented a large apartment adjacent to the spaceport and too the two men there.

Buck and Mirabelle exchanged hugs and Rasby introduced Brenna. "You women will take the communal launch and remain on Forager," Buck said.

"Can't," the doctor responded immediately. "I have to sign for the pinnace. No way around it. We have that ship quarantined because of the special medicines it carries. I'm the one who must sign the release." Her voice was not defiant just stating a fact.

Buck didn't like what he heard and shook his head. "Okay, but when we get to Teutonic, you are to stay aboard the pinnace. No matter what happens."

The doctor nodded her understanding, as did Brenna. Knowing Buck didn't like the change, Rasby kept his concerns to himself.

At eleven p.m., Buck and his wheelchair, along with Ivan, Dr. Giddings, two crewmen, former Marines, three SEALs, and Tommy, all wearing scrubs, boarded the airvan to the spaceport.

Dr. Giddings asked the driver to take them to the far end of the tarmac and the appropriated pinnace that would take them to Teutonic.

They departed the airvan and a flight line worker ambled toward the group headed for the waiting pinnace. Buck ordered Tommy to do the cursory inspection of the medical ship and handle the man.

Satisfied, the worker walked back to his station and Tommy continued his inspection. Forager's men boarded, Buck in the wheelchair with Ivan pushing.

After approval by flight control, they lifted off and two hours later approached the Teutonic. Buck said, "Okay, everyone knows his job. No mistakes."

With the pinnace locked onto Teutonic's rails, Doctor Giddings stepped onto the hanger deck and introduced herself. She told the deckhand her assistant needed to see the OD and that the remainder of the medical personnel would wait his return before de-boarding.

En route, Rasby, the supposed assistant, launched into a running commentary on the sleekness of Teutonic ignoring the officer's questioning why they were there. Rasby motioned the crewman to lead through the bridge hatch.

Instead of following, the SEAL tossed both a flash and stun grenade inside, closed the hatch, counted two, opened it and stepped onto the bridge putting ankle and wrist restrains on the crew, all seven of them.

"Bridge secure," Buck's comm squawked.

Tommy ran from the pinnace for the engineering room, ignoring the protesting hanger deck crewmen. The remainder of the shuttle people, except for Dr. Giddings and Brenna Smith, raced into the cavern, blasters on their lowest settings, and quickly had the crew securely bound.

Tommy opened the electronic room hatch, tossed a stun grenade inside, closed it, heard the explosion, entered, and locked down the ship. The bulkhead schematic showed every hatch had an electronic lock and Tommy made sure they all worked before signaling Buck.

The men, except Rasby and Tommy, spread throughout the ship with the weapons on their lowest settings, shooting anyone they encountered. Some would die, but for most, the shots would mean a few days in sickbay. If possible, once they had the ship secured, Dr. Giddings could apply her skills to any severely wounded.

Buck headed for the suites on the upper deck and the Captain's cabin. He commed Tommy, gave the hatch number, and heard the lock release.

He entered and spotted the sleeping Captain. Pistol drawn he woke the man.

"What in the hell is going on and who are you?" The Captain reached for a pulser hanging beside his bunk.

"Don't touch it, Captain. Your ship is mine and you are my prisoner." Buck added, "Get dressed."