Gray Panthers Captain Short Blade (26 page)

“Very good, Beater. You’re as good as you ever were. Contact control and coordinate our landing.”
What am I going to do if she’s waiting for me when we land?
he thought, his face wrinkled in concentration.

“Are you all right, Captain?” Guns asked.

Short Blade looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him. “Yes. I was just thinking.”

“About Flower, Captain?” Guns asked, looking him straight in the eye.

Short Blade nodded his head. “I need to end it with her as soon as possible. She’s not the one I want to welcome me home from missions, or share my life. I’ve been foolish.”

“Damn, buddy, you’re not the first guy to bed one gal and wake up with another. You just need to get rid of her before she tries to kill you,” Poland advised.

Short Blade looked at him to judge what he was saying, expecting to see a smile, but Poland’s eyes were cold and his face was set in a scowl.

“Only you can make the choice of whether she’s right for you or not. But remember, it’s not just your life. It’s Flower’s, as well,” Namid said. She was looking at John as she spoke.

“Entering atmosphere. Estimate landing in ten minutes,” Beater announced.

Short Blade went back to observing the descent from his monitor, as did Poland, who distrusted anyone or anything when it came to being a better pilot than he was.

Short Blade was confused by his emotions as he prepared to leave the ship. Although he didn’t want to see Flower there waiting for him, he knew he’d be disappointed if she wasn’t. When he exited the hatchway, it was Knife who was waiting for him. He looked ill at ease.

“Sir, I have bad news. Flower asked for a ride into town, so I had one of my warriors drive her. After they got there, she told the warrior she wasn’t coming back.”

Knife stood at attention, waiting for Short Blade to explode. He was puzzled, and relieved, when it didn’t happen.

“Thank you, Senior Sergeant Knife. The eight volunteers will have tomorrow to make any final preparations for our mission. They’re released from any other duties.”

Short Blade felt ecstatic as he walked to the house. His mood took a dive, though, when he saw that all of the furniture had been knocked over or torn apart. Racing to his study, he found that his small safe was dented and covered in scorch marks, the door hanging open by one hinge.

“Phoenix, did any of the faeries capture an image of who robbed me?” Short Blade knew the answer, but he still had to hear it.

“Sir, Flower is the only one who has been in your house Per your orders, you are monitored, but the material is archived. Is there a problem?”

“I don’t want to see the material. Just please confirm who robbed my safe.”

“Sir, if I’d had permission, I could have told you immediately that Flower robbed you.”

“You have that permission from now on, as does Beater if you are gone.”

Damn, I got out of that cheap! Imagine if she had found the large safe!
Short Blade started to purr as he went about cleaning up the house.

Central space dock, planet Glory

4 May 2129

Thrust had mixed feelings about the new configuration of the flight deck. He liked the fact that the captain’s station could override the other stations. He wasn’t so sure about the navigator station also having responsibility for sensors and communication. He worried that the navigator might get overwhelmed in a battle. The pilot’s station had limited sensors, as well. Tactical had full sensor ability to find targets and control all weapons. The engineering station could control and monitor all ship’s functions. With the press of an icon, every station had the ability to assume another station’s responsibilities.

“It’s time to demonstrate that the Vengeance is mission-ready,” he told the crew. “Attention, Vengeance. You will coordinate the mission planning, departure from docks, navigation, and piloting to the Moise asteroid belt. You may launch when these tasks are completed.”

“Sir, we’ve been given permission to depart the docks and proceed on course submitted to control,” Vengeance replied.

“Sir, a plot has shown up on my nav board as well,” the navigator said, slightly shaken.

Thrust sat back in his seat and monitored every step with amusement. He looked forward to seeing how close the AI would jump the ship to the asteroid belt and how good its marksmanship would be.

Harve was uncomfortable being on the flight deck instead of in engineering, but he accepted it as another sacrifice he had to make for the good of all. The console in front of him had so many functions, he’d be busy for a long time learning them all. One of the new duties he inherited was interior security. In the event the ship was boarded he could close compartments and let loose the mechanical flying bugs. They were almost invisible and would attack anyone on board that wasn’t part of the crew.

“Maintenance Officer Harve, so far everything seems to be going seamlessly. This contribution to the Fire fleet will make it easier for you to apply for full citizenship on any member planet in the League of Planets. If you so desire, I would be willing to sponsor you on Glory. In the short time I’ve known you, my respect for you has only grown.”

Harve listened with astonishment as his captain spoke, but then a caution light appeared on his board and redirected his attention. Water pressure was dropping from the water-manufacturing unit to secondary plumbing systems.

“Excuse me, Superior Captain. I’ve detected a problem. I need to send repair crews to—”

“Hold on, MO. This is something the AI should have spotted. Vengeance, are we experiencing any problems?” Thrust looked at Harve as he addressed the AI, gloating that the crew had found the problem before the AI had.

“No, Superior Captain. A water pipe sprang a leak where a temporary weld was connecting two pipes.”

“Vengeance, why are you speaking in the past tense?”

“My apologies, sir. When you asked me about the ship’s status I had already sent out a droid. The leak has been repaired and noted in the ship’s maintenance log.”

Thrust accepted that the AI had beaten the crew to discovering and repairing the problem.

“MO Harve, perhaps with the AI we won’t need a maintenance officer or engineers.”

“Sir, there will always be a need for an MO,” Harve replied, half smiling.

“Why would that be, MO?”

“Sir, a computer will work no differently if you shout and threaten it, but an MO will. Plus, you’ll get more satisfaction from intimidating a living being.”

Thrust gave Harve a withering look and realized it was having no effect.

“Ha, ha, ha, Harve. I think you have Jacka blood in your veins. You’re right.”

“Superior Captain Thrust, the ship is ready to drop from FTL,” Vengeance announced.

“Time to see where we are. Vengeance, you have permission to drop from FTL.”

The view on the main monitor changed from gray to black space filled with asteroids as far as could be seen.

“How close are we to the Moise asteroid belt, Vengeance?” Thrust asked, gazing disapprovingly at the asteroids.

“Distance is five hundred miles, Superior Captain.”

“Why did we drop so close?”

“I would have dropped sooner, but I was waiting for your approval. Had you waited another few seconds, I would have dropped out of FTL on the other side of the asteroid belt to be safe.”

“In the future, you will adjust any plans that include crew interaction to give a longer warning time,” Thrust instructed, taking satisfaction in having the last word on the matter.

“Vengeance, show on the main display all asteroids in a thousand miles and assign a designator for each one.” Just as Thrust was starting to make a comment, the monitor showed all asteroids with a designator next to each. “Vengeance, destroy targets twenty through forty while avoiding damage to all other targets. Laser fire only. You may begin now.” Ten seconds later, the Moise asteroid belt had twenty fewer asteroids.

“Vengeance, you may take us back to Glory. When we arrive, coordinate our place in orbit around the planet. Since I deem the ship mission-ready, we won’t be returning to the depot. Your performance was satisfactory. Remember, in the future you must include crew in your plans.”

House of Short Blade, planet Glory

4 May 2129

Short Blade woke feeling rested. All he had planned for the day was to inspect his spacesuit and do one last walkthrough of the Beater. Glancing at his wrist computer, he saw that he still had fifteen minutes before the warrior mess closed. He nearly tripped over Namid as he walked out the front door.

“Short Blade, did you make a decision yet?” she asked, a pleading look on her face.

“Yes. I decided I would go to the mess before it closes in fifteen minutes. If you had a spacesuit, I might give it more consideration. We can talk later if you wish.”

The hair on the back of Short Blade’s neck began to tingle as he walked away from her.
That was too easy. Something’s wrong,
he thought. He couldn’t enjoy his liver as he sat quietly in the midst of the warriors while they exchanged their usual morning small talk.

After breakfast, he went to his cabin to inspect his spacesuit. As he started to pull it out of the protective carrier, he got a whiff of it and decided to take it outside and do the inspection in the pasture, in the fresh air and sunlight. As if it had been planned, the warriors who would be accompanying him on the mission began to arrive in ones and twos, dropping down around him and spreading out their gear. They’d originally acquired their gear and training from the Libras while serving as mercenaries, yet the gear was almost identical to the gear created by the Gray Panthers because both were base on Flem technology. Some of the warriors just stood and looked at their gear, confused about what to do next not remembering their training from so many years ago.

Short Blade noticed their hesitation. “I think it’s important that we all inspect our equipment in the same manner,” he told them. “I demonstrate. If you have a question or a problem with your equipment, let me know and I’ll assist you.”

He began by picking up his gloves and blowing into them to see if they leaked. Then he checked the seal on each glove where it connected to the suit’s sleeve. He continued through each piece, and then he realized that not every suit had an emergency bottle.

“If you’re missing a bottle, get one from the gear we confiscated. If you can’t find one there, ask one of the male humans to build one for you on the fabricator,” he told the warriors.

On the way back to the ship, he was once again feeling excited about the mission.
Hopefully it will be a cakewalk, as the humans say. It’s better that I save an ace or two, though, just in case.
“Beater, contact the Fire fleet cruiser that is supposed to accompany us and let them know that we’ll depart tomorrow at zero eight hundred hours for the center of the Jangwa system to start our search for the Dixie ships. Send the same message to Dan Daniels.”

A few minute later, Beater said, “Captain, we received a confirmation from the cruiser Vengeance. There’s also a confidential message for you. Shall I play it?”

“Yes, Beater. Go ahead.”

“Captain Short Blade, this is Maintenance Officer Harve, of the cruiser Vengeance. I escaped from the pirates and have a hypothesis as to where they are. I believe they’re in or near the Tupu system, which is in a three-hour window from where I was rescued. Their base has to be away from any shipping lanes, yet close enough for them to have been able to bring derelict ships and ships without FTL drives to build the base. I’m including a map that shows the last reported locations for all one hundred ships that have disappeared in the last six months. The immediate area on our side of the border with Republic space has no missing ships. That area has no real shipping other than navy ships that monitor both sides of the border. No one has been monitoring the old Libra Alliance border with the Republic since the war ended. I believe the pirate base must be somewhere in that area. The pirates have my wife and child, which is why I’m risking sending you this letter and map. Please don’t let anyone know I sent you this information.”

“The poor bastard,” Short Blade said after listening to the message. “It must be hell for him—unless the message has been faked to distract us from our mission. Beater, can you analyze the information attached to the message and see if you agree with his calculation of where the pirate’s base is?”

“I have checked the data, and it’s legitimate,” Beater replied. “The maps and data available on the Fire fleet servers confirm everything he sent you. I concur that the pirates could be in the Tupu system.”

“Send this information to Dan Daniels and include your confirmation that it is correct. Maybe he can light some fires under the right people.”

After her brief exchange with Short Blade, Namid had gone to Poland’s cabin to plead her case with him, hoping that he might be able to sway Short Blade into letting her come along. She figured she’d butter him up first with an early morning romp, but her strategy hadn’t worked. He was adamant about her not going.

“John, I don’t just want to go along for the ride. I have experience and my medical training could prove to be valuable. I think I proved myself when we were attacked by the crabs—”

“Namid, baby, you don’t have a spacesuit. Dying by vacuum in space is not a pretty way to go. And even if you had a suit, you’re not trained on how to use it. That’s another ugly way to die.”

“I’m a big girl, and I can make up my own mind. If I have any say—”

“You don’t have any say. This is a military operation. You have to stay here and wait for the troops to come home. I won’t lie to you—I’m glad you’re staying behind because I’d be worrying about you and could screw up or make the wrong decision to protect you. Then—”

“Argh!” Namid shouted as she stormed out.