Return to Dakistee (29 page)

"If I allow you to awaken five hundred, will you cease asking for more unless we know it's an emergency?"

"I promise."

"Okay," Christa said as she keyed in her password after using her body to block sight of the keyboard. "You can awaken five hundred, so pick the ones you feel will be of most value in this emergency."

Madu smiled. "Thanks, Christa. Your actions continue to reinforce the trust that's been developing in me."

"Madu, I want to see everyone in this vault awakened, but only when we can guarantee that all can be properly housed and fed unless we must do it sooner to protect their lives. If we had the resources, I'd tell you awaken all of them now."

"I believe
you
, Christa. My concern is that your superiors may not agree with your philosophies or actions."

"Knowing what I do about the actions of the religious dissents responsible for the attempted death of your entire population on this planet, I can understand your reticence to trust what you feel are outsiders, but you must remember that you're part of the Galactic Alliance now unless you wish to withdraw. Until that unlikely event, Space Command will do everything we can to protect you from harm."

"We can withdraw from the Galactic Alliance?"

"Of course. The Alliance is composed of planets that have banded together for the good of all member worlds. If you don't wish to be a member, the planetary government can pull out."

"With no repercussions?"

"There are always repercussions from any action. You'll have to decide if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages."

"Which are?"

"Uh, I think that discussion should be set aside for another time, Madu. We have much more important matters to think about now. I believe you wanted to awaken five hundred people."

"Yes. Of course," Madu said as she turned her attention to the console and began looking through lists of names.

* * *

Admiral Holt's chief aide took a deep breath and pressed the talk button on his com unit. "Admiral, Captain Dommler and Colonel Reilly would like a few minutes of your time to discuss an urgent matter." When the message, 'Send them in,' appeared on his monitor, the aide nodded his head towards the Admiral's inner office.

Captain Richard Dommler, the officer in charge of fleet communications in the deca-sector, walked down the hallway just slightly ahead of Colonel Michael Reilly, the Commander of Marine forces in the deca-sector. They paused for just a second to straighten their tunics, then stepped into the area where the door sensor would detect their presence and alert the Admiral. As the door slid open, they stepped smartly into the room.

"Gentlemen, come in," Admiral Holt said affably. "What's this urgent matter you need to discuss? Does the squash court in the officer's gym need repainting?" When the admiral's jest failed to bring the expected grins, Holt knew the matter was serious indeed.

"Admiral," Dommler said, "We have a major problem on Dakistee."

"I'm listening, Robert. Have a seat and continue."

At the invitation to sit, the two officers parked themselves in the overstuffed chairs that floated in front of the Admiral's desk.

"Sir," Colonel Reilly said, "I've received a message from the North Pendleton base commander that the dig site at Loudescott was attacked by an unknown force. Dozens of people were killed by lattice weapons mounted on aerial craft. There was an unidentified freighter in orbit over the site at the time, but it has since disappeared."

Holt's affable expression had turned cold and hard as Reilly talked.

"Lt. Colonel Diminjik has scoured space around the planet and found no sign of danger. The new facility at Loudescott is closed, and we're assuming the survivors have sealed themselves inside. We have no report of their condition or the number of survivors."

"Of the dead, how many were civilians and how many were military?"

"All were civilians. It's appears they were gunned down as they tried to reach the safety of the facility."

"Sir," Dommler said, "every ship in the deca-sector has been alerted to keep an eye out for that freighter. We believe it might be the one carrying religious dissidents from Nordakia to Slabeca. The Nordakian Space Force asked us to watch them for a while because their intelligence arm suspected the ship might make for Obotymot instead."

"I'm familiar with that issue. So you think those psychopaths attacked Dakistee with the intention of taking the planet for themselves?"

"They may have tried it and then decided the effort wouldn't work."

"Damn," Holt said, "as if things weren't difficult enough in this deca-sector with most of our forces still not returned from our war posture along the old Frontier border. Now we have a shipload of maniacs running around slaughtering innocent civilians in the name of religion. I don't mind if they want to die for their God, but why do these nut jobs always need to take others with them— as if such tactics ever solved anything in centuries of religious hatred on Earth. Won’t they ever learn that they really accomplish nothing with violence except to bring more of it down on their own heads?"

Dommler and Reilly maintained their silence and a staid appearance during the Admiral's little rant.

"Okay," Holt said, "where are we with the search?"

"No one has sighted the freighter yet. The destroyer Portland was the ship assigned to babysit the freighter until it seemed reasonably certain they were headed towards Slabeca. The Portland is presently only a couple of days from Dakistee and Captain Gregory has announced he'll commence a search as soon as they reach the area."

"Good. Frank's a good officer. He'll know where to look. Anybody else out that way?"

"We have several other ships about a week to ten days out. All are headed for the area at top speed."

"I wish we had a few scout-destroyers available. What about that diplomatic corps yacht?"

"I don't know, sir. I could check to see if it's available. It's only lightly armed, though."

"That's fine. We only want their speed for assistance in the search. Let's pull out all the stops, gentlemen. I want that freighter found, and if they
aren’t
the ones responsible for this attack then I want to know who
is
. This kind of atrocity ended when the Raiders were sent packing and I don't ever intend to let anyone gain another foothold like that in my deca-sector."

* * *

"Gxidescu," Vejrezzol said, "What's going on? I gave the order to fire."

"There seems to be a problem, Excellency," Gxidescu said from the tactical console. "The explosives have failed to detonate."

"Try again."

"I have, Excellency. I've sent the code three times."

"Find the problem!" Vejrezzol screamed.

"There might be a break in the wiring. A conduit may have been pierced when the warship was firing on us."

"Gxidescu, those infidels will be boarding us at any minute!"

"The ship is depressurized, Excellency. We can't leave the bridge without EVA suits."

"That's unacceptable."

"Yes, Excellency. But nevertheless, it's a fact."

"Distribute weapons. We'll fight them when they attempt to enter the bridge."

"We have no weapons on the bridge. We never anticipated a need for them since taking control of the ship from the real crew."

"We
are
the real crew."

"Yes, Excellency. Of course, you are correct. We are the real crew."

* * *

"Captain, we're about to enter the freighter," XO Pasquale said from the bridge of a shuttle. "Any final orders?"

"Just play it by ear, XO. If any still live and want to continue living, accept their surrender. If they insist on dying, help them along the path to whatever God they worship."

"Aye, Captain. Message received and understood."

Thirty minutes later, the boarding parties were outside the bridge. A deck by deck search had shown that only the bridge was still pressurized. Pasquale had sent for a portable airlock, and, when it was in place, the XO and three of his people entered and forced open the doors to the bridge.

As they stepped onto the bridge, the Raider boarding party was wide-eyed to find themselves facing eight Nordakians, all of whom were flashing in colors of orange and red. There were no weapons in sight, but the Raiders continued to train theirs on the bridge crew nevertheless.

"I'm Commander Pasquale of the Hell Fire," the XO said as he removed his helmet. "Do you surrender this vessel?"

"What is the Hell Fire?" Vejrezzol asked.

"It's a Raider destroyer. Now, do you surrender this vessel?"

"And why have you chosen to attack this ship?"

"We don’t allow competing companies to operate in our territories. Do you surrender?"

"Competing companies? We're not in competition with you or any other company. We are on a religious pilgrimage."

"Religious pilgrimage? You killed dozens of people on Dakistee."

Four more Raiders entered the bridge as the airlock completed its cycle.

"They were all infidels," Vejrezzol said. "It was done in the name of God, so it is permissible. For our acts, we shall ascend to paradise and sit at the feet of Nallick, as shall all true sons of the Most Holy."

"You believe that murdering innocent people reserves a place in paradise for you? You're even sicker than some of our people who kill because they enjoy it."

"Blasphemer!" Vejrezzol screamed. "Infidel! You shall die for your words."

Vejrezzol pushed aside his cloak. As his hand came up, Pasquale saw that it contained a lattice pistol. He threw himself to the side as Vejrezzol fired a three-round burst. Only one struck Pasquale, while the other two rounds struck the man standing behind him. The men on either side of Pasquale were on Vejrezzol in an instant. Their heavy EVA suits helped drive him to the deck while the other Raiders covered the rest of the crewmen. Once disarmed, all Vejrezzol could do was scream oaths and obscenities as he urged his followers to disregard the weapons pointed at them and rush the Raiders. None were so foolhardy as he.

As Pasquale climbed to his feet, he looked down at the breastplate on his EVA suit. The metal re-breather unit had stopped the lattice round cold. A laser would have burned through in an instant, but lattice rounds couldn't penetrate anything solid. The man behind Pasquale had taken one hit to his re-breather and one to his helmet. He was also fine.

"Captain," Pasquale said to his com link, "we have eight Nordakian prisoners. We'll need eight extra-large stasis beds in order to transport them to the ship."

"Nordakians?"

"Yes, sir. They claim to be on a holy pilgrimage."

"Holy…"

"Yes, sir. They see killing everyone who doesn't believe as they do a holy crusade."

"To each their own," the Captain said. "The beds are as good as on their way. Did the Nordakians give you any trouble?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle, sir."

When the new slaves were safely loaded aboard the Hell Fire, Pasquale called for instructions.

"I've assigned a team of six engineers to replace the FTL generator," Captain Permenans said, "and the rest of our engineering staff has been sent to begin sealing the hull so it can be pressurized. With any luck, we'll be out of here and headed for Raider Four within a couple of days. You'll remain aboard as Captain until we reach our base."

"Aye, sir. Pasquale out."

Captain Permenans was awakened in the middle of the night when his bed began shaking violently. A second later, alarms began sounding in his quarters and the corridors. He made it to the bridge in eighteen seconds. Still in his pajamas, he shouted, "What is it?" at his second officer.

"It's the freighter, sir. It just exploded!"

Chapter Twenty-One

~ October 26
^th
, 2285 ~

"You're exhausted, Madu," Christa said. "You should go get some rest. You've identified the people who must be awakened. The computer can do the rest."

"I know. I just want to be here in case something goes wrong."

"I know the feeling, but you need rest. It was a very long solar, and the new solar actually began some time ago. If we were on the surface, we could have enjoyed the sunrise and had breakfast already."

"You should talk," Madu said with a weak smile. "You look like you've been up for several solars without any rest."

"But I'm used to it. The activity never stops aboard ship. When an officer isn't on watch, there're meetings and conferences, training sessions, and self-studies. We have to stay on top of everything going on in Space Command and be prepared to meet any situation or emergency. Meal times in the officers' mess are sometimes the only chance we get to socialize. And when I
can
find some free time, I like to spend it in the gym."

"That sounds terrible. It sounds like all you do is work, sleep, and eat. Why do you do it?"

"I guess because I love it. As on any job, there are times when you experience frustration, but most of the time I feel like I make a difference in the Galactic Alliance. For example, my efforts in solving the mystery of opening this facility has led to finding one hundred eighty thousand people entombed for twenty thousand years— people who will shortly join the citizens of the GA and again be able to enjoy life. You can't put a price tag on something like that."

"If I'd had any lingering doubts that you intended to awaken all my people, they would have been expelled just now. The way your face lights up when you talk about your job speaks volumes. I can usually recognize when someone is lying or hiding something, and I also recognize sincerity when I see it."

"Then look at my face when I say, "You need rest. Come on, I'll walk with you to the dorms. Did I hear your assistant say he had set up a room for you?"

"Yes. How about you?"

"The Marines reserved a room for me in their dorm area."

The two women joined the awakened sleepers who were walking to the elevator with escorts. Christa had arranged for dorm spaces to be opened up to accommodate the Dakistians. She had also assigned Carmoody to see that the Dakistians were not disturbed by the Loudescott people, so the archeological people were in a separate wing and would not be allowed access to the Dakistian wing. The dozen Dakistians working on the problem with the rising water could move back and forth between the Vault level and the Housing level, but the others could not go back down once they went up.