The Star Cross (17 page)

“You have
twenty-two hours to have the credits deposited in either your account at the
spaceport or the one at the station,” the Controller said. “Failure to do so
will result in forfeiture of all credits currently in your accounts.”

“The credits will
be in our account in the morning,” responded Lieutenant Tenner.

As the meeting
broke up, Kurt glanced at his watch; nearly three hours had passed. It was past
time for him to meet Keera for the meal he had promised her. For the first time
in quite a while, he was actually looking forward to something.

-

“Second Clan
Leader Castel gazed at a large viewscreen, showing the human cargo ship so
tantalizing close.

“We’ve
finished interrogating the captive human female,” Dalet reported. “It took
time, but, in the end, we got what we wanted or at least most of it.”

Castel turned
his attention to his second in command. “Is there more gold on that cargo
ship?”

“Yes,” Dalet
answered. “Unfortunately her mind collapsed from the use of the mind probe
before we could learn how much. We know they came to Kubitz to buy back their
people and to learn as much as they could about the Gothan Empire. She admitted
that the gold on the cargo ship was taken off Earth during the time High
Profiteer Creed was absent.”

“Why did the
machine fail to get us all the information we wanted?”

“When pressed
for how much gold had been removed from Earth, her thought pattern
disintegrated due to the high setting we were using on the mind probe. Her
answers now are mostly gibberish.”

Castel sighed
and shook his head. He knew, in time, her mind might return to normal or her
thought patterns might never reestablish. It was dangerous to use the mind
probe. The machine was banned on most worlds, including Kubitz. “Imprint some
basic memories and sell her to the Brollen Pleasure House. She’s good-looking
enough to bring a fair sum, and they’ll stay quiet about the transaction.”

“It will be
done,” Dalet replied. “What will we do about the cargo ship?”

“We take it!”
Castel answered with greed in his eyes. “Put a hyperspace tracer on the ship.
When they leave the Kubitz System, we’ll follow and take the ship when they exit
hyperspace.”

“That
battlecruiser is equipped with particle beams that can penetrate our shields,”
warned Dalet.

“Yes, that’s a
problem,” admitted Castel, as he thought up a plan. “We’ll have High Profiteer
Creed’s battlecruiser and two escort cruisers come along as well. We’ll let
them take the first hit from the particle beam cannon, and then, while it’s
recharging, we’ll move in and take out the battlecruiser. Use our energy
projectors to take out the cargo ship’s hyperdrive, so it can’t escape. Once
the battle is over, we’ll dock and remove whatever gold is still on the ship. I
suspect it will be quite a lot. They won’t be comfortable with leaving all of it
here on Kubitz.”

“They’ve set
up a diplomatic compound,” Dalet pointed out. “They’ll need credits to operate
it.”

“We’ll let
High Profiteer Creed worry about that,” responded Castel dismissively. “Our
interest is in that cargo ship and what it might be carrying.”

-

“I’ll be
leaving shortly,” Kurt said, as he looked across the table at Keera.

She had done
her hair and put on a little makeup since he had seen her last. They were in
the small cafeteria on the bottom floor of the main building of the compound.
One of the cooks from the
Star Cross
had come down to show the locals, who
had been hired how to run the place, the type of food the human staff would
want.

“I’m sorry to
hear that,” Keera replied, as she took a bite of the chicken on her plate.
“This meat is quite tasty. What’s it called?”

“Fried
chicken,” answered Kurt, smiling. “It’s very popular on our home world and our
colony on Newton.”

“You’re
embarking on a dangerous path,” Keera said after a moment.

“What do you
mean?”

“I saw the
Kubitz arms people leaving,” she explained with a grimace. “Lomatz only deals
in big weapon orders.”

“It’ll be
expensive to protect what remains of my people,” Kurt answered.

“That may be
true,” Keera said, as she stirred her mashed potatoes and gravy with her fork.
“But the Profiteers will know that you have credits to spend when they learn
what you’ve purchased. They’ll be curious where the gold came from and may pay
a visit to your colony. I’m sure the word is already out on the streets.”

“It’s supposed
to be a secret,” answered Kurt, leaning back, curious about what this young
doctor had to say. “It’s in the contract I signed with the Controller and
Lomatz.”

“Perhaps,” Keera
said, as she took a curious bite of the potatoes. Her eyes widened, and she
smiled. “These potatoes are very good, particularly with the gravy. We have similar
foods, but every culture puts its own spin on them.”

“You don’t
think the Controller and Lomatz will keep our purchases a secret?”

“Oh, they’ll
try,” Keera said, shrugging her shoulders. “But on Kubitz, nothing stays a
secret for long. There are spies everywhere, and enough credits can buy any information
that’s supposed to be secret. Once the Profiteers learn of your purchases, they
may decide to strike your colony to see what riches it has before your weapons can
be delivered.”

“I considered
that,” Kurt admitted. He was enjoying Keera’s company. “If they do, we’ll be
ready.”

“I hope so,” Keera
said in a softer voice. “I would hate to see anything else happen to you or
your people.”

-

Later that
evening, Kurt sat down with Lieutenant Tenner. “I intend to leave as soon as
possible. Is there anything else that you might need?”

“I’m sure
there are a hundred things,” Tenner responded with a partial smile. “We have
the
Dallas
in orbit, and, if she can’t provide what we need,
we’ll just add it to the list.”

“I’m leaving 120
million credits in the embassy account,” Kurt said. It had taken some time to
determine just how much Tenner might need. “We’ll change out the light cruisers
every month or two, depending on what happens at Earth. Each time a new ship
arrives, they’ll be accompanied by a passenger liner, in case you have had to
buy the freedom of any more of our people.”

“What about the
warships?” Tenner asked, his eyes narrowing. “We need to tell Lomatz what you
want. I still can’t believe that warships are for sale, as Lomatz indicated.”

“I was
surprised also,” admitted Kurt. “It was something I wasn’t expecting. Right now
I’m leaning toward four battleships and ten battlecruisers. The problem will be
finding the crews to operate them.”

“Earth,”
Tenner answered simply. “There are bound to be some fleet people still on the
planet, and others who could be easily trained. If you can find a way to sneak
into the system and get down to the surface, I’m sure you can probably contact
Fleet Admiral Tomalson and explain what your needs are.”

“It’s a
thought,” Kurt answered, as he considered Tenner’s suggestion. He would think
about it on the return trip. “I’ll meet with Lomatz again tomorrow. I spoke to
Dolman earlier, and he confirmed that a hyperspace detection system surrounds
the Kubitz System, so they can detect inbound ships before they arrive. I want
such a system for Newton. It might also be useful in tracking Profiteer ships
leaving Earth.”

“I’ll make the
arrangements for a meeting early in the morning,” Tenner answered with a nod.

“I’m still
greatly concerned about Private Dulcet,” Kurt added with a deep frown. “I know
that Dolman feels she’s probably dead, but you keep Grantz searching for her.”

“I will,”
Tenner promised with a nod. “I’ll push Grantz to find her.”

“As far as
Dolman goes, use him and his sources as needed, just watch the amount of
credits he demands for his services,” Kurt said.

Tenner allowed
himself to smile and nodded. “I suspect there’ll be a lot of bargaining between
me and Avery Dolman.”

Kurt hesitated
for a moment and then spoke. “The young doctor I was with earlier tonight, I
think it would be wise to offer her a contract to care for the embassy staff.”

“I thought you
might suggest something like that. I’ll have a simple contract drawn up for her
to sign.”

Kurt nodded.
He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling he would be seeing the young doctor
many more times in the future.

-

Captain Randson
was in his quarters with his wife and daughter. It had been a huge relief to
finally rescue them. Alexis was still having a hard time sleeping and had woken
up several times, screaming.

“What’s Newton like?” asked Alexis, looking at her father.

“It’s a
beautiful world,” Andrew replied with a loving smile. “You’ll enjoy living
there. In some ways it’s much like Earth, only cleaner. There’s no pollution. Everything’s
pretty modern, and they have some very good schools.”

“So we won’t
be living in a tent or out in the wild?”

“No,” answered
Andrew with a laugh. “There are over eight million people on Newton with over
six hundred thousand living in the capital. We’ll find a nice house to live in,
and everything will be back to normal.”

“What if the
Profiteers come to Newton? I don’t want to come back to Kubitz. They were going
to sell us to the highest bidder!”

Andrew reached
out and put his arms protectively around his daughter. “I can promise you that
will never happen. We have a large fleet around the planet, and we won’t be
taken by surprise, like the fleets protecting Earth were. We even have the heavy
battlecarrier
Kepler
finished. That ship, by itself, is quite capable of
protecting Newton.”

“We’re safe
now, honey,” Emily said, sitting down next to Andrew and Alexis. “Your father
will see that the Profiteers never bother us again.”

Andrew nodded.
Once the new defense system arrived, Newton would be secure from any
conceivable attack. The only problem was that the new system was still a few
months away from being installed. After all the credits they had just spent on
Kubitz, the word had to be out that the Earth humans still had a large quantity
of gold and possibly other valuable assets. In all probability an attack on Newton would happen before the defenses arrived. He wouldn’t share this fear with his
family, as he didn’t want them to worry. He would do the worrying for them.

-

Fleet Admiral
Vickers was watching the Dacroni battleship on the main viewscreen, when
Captain Randson returned to the Command Center. He had finished the
arrangements for the battleships and battlecruisers, and had deposited sufficient
gold with the spaceport Controllers to cover the costs, as well as to operate
the embassy. He had also spent another twenty million credits on some special
hyperspace detection buoys. He had bought twenty of them, and each one could
detect a ship in hyperspace for a distance of five light-years.

“We’re ready
to leave,” Kurt announced, upon seeing Randson. He knew that Andrew had been
with his family.

“All ships are
in formation,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, as she checked her short-range
sensors.

“We’ve been
cleared by Kubitz Orbital Control to leave,” added Ensign Pierce. “We can’t
enter hyperspace until we’ve cleared the orbit of the sixth planet.”

Kurt nodded.
Turning to Andrew, he gave an order. “Take us out at 60 percent sublight.”

Moments later
he watched the viewscreens, as they pulled away from Kubitz. His thoughts
turned to Keera, and he wondered when he would see her again. He had found the
young doctor to be quite intriguing and enjoyable to be with.

-

On the Dacroni
battleship
Rellal
, Second Clan Leader Castel looked on, while the human
ships broke orbit and accelerated away from the planet. We’ll follow them
shortly,” he informed Dalet. “Let them clear the orbit of the fifth planet, and
then we’ll leave Kubitz. Is the hyperspace tracer working?”

“Yes,” Dalet
answered. “We managed to successfully place two of them on the outer hull of
the cargo ship.”

Castel nodded.
If things worked out as he hoped, that human cargo ship would bring vast riches
to the clan. Clan Leader Jarls would be very satisfied when he heard what
Castel had done. Once the humans entered hyperspace, he would follow and set up
an ambush. He strongly suspected that, once they were away from the Gothan
Empire, the humans’ fears of an attack would lessen. That would be when Castel
would strike. He would eliminate this small human threat and take the cargo
ship. Leaning back in his command chair, Castel was confident of his success.
The humans were such fools to think they could travel all the way to the Gothan
Empire and not suffer the consequences for their rashness. He would shortly
show them the error of their thinking.

Kurt had left
the Command Center to take a tour of the ship. They had just completed their
second hyperspace dropout after leaving the Gothan Empire, and he was breathing
easier. They had made it out of the star cluster without encountering any other
ships. One thing he did want to do, when they made it back to Newton, was see
if they could adopt the science behind the hyperspace buoys, so they could use
a similar detection system on the
Star Cross
. Of course Kurt wasn’t
certain the science was even decipherable.

Stepping into
the med bay, he saw Dr. Willis sitting at a desk with a bored look on his face.
Willis was an older man, graying at the temples, and very qualified to handle
all the requirements of a ship’s doctor.

“Admiral,”
Willis said, standing up when he saw Kurt at the hatch. “What brings you down
this way?”

“Sit back
down,” Kurt said, walking over and taking the other chair in front of the
doctor’s desk. “I’m just making a quick tour of the ship before we jump back into
hyperspace. How are things here in med bay?”

“Too damn
quiet,” Willis said with a satisfied grin. “Only one patient today and he was complaining
about a bellyache. Gave him some antacid medication and sent him to his
quarters.”

“We’ll be at Newton in eight more days,” Kurt said.

He would be relieved
to get back, as it would allow him to know the planet was still safe. He was fully
confident that Rear Admiral Wilson could handle any Profiteers who might come
his way, particularly with the
Kepler
at his disposal.

“I’ll be
glad,” Willis replied. He opened a folder and pointed at some notes he had
written down. “I’ve been making a tentative list of all the different humanoid
and alien species that we encountered in the Kubitz System.”

“How?” Kurt
asked surprised. “Where did you get that information?”

“Your friend, Avery
Dolman,” Willis answered. “I got Lieutenant Tenner to pay him a nice little sum
for this information. He sent a lot of medical files that describe the
differences between the various humanoid species on Kubitz. Even a few files on
some of the alien ones.”

“That’s one
thing I didn’t see,” Kurt commented. “In the time I was on the planet, everyone
I saw was human or at least humanoid to some extent. I wonder where the alien
species were?”

“In another
one of the domed cities that specializes in serving them,” Willis answered. “I
asked the same question and was told that many of them require specific
atmospheric environments in order to survive. I guess the Kubitz government
built a special city, just to take care of their needs, so they could trade
with them.”

“While I was
on Kubitz, I met a doctor. Her name is Keera Jelk. She said she studied at some
advanced institute that specializes in the different humanoid species plus a
few of the major alien ones. I should have arranged for you to meet her.”

“Maybe next
time,” Willis said with a nod. “I would be interested in speaking with someone
with that type of experience.”

Kurt’s
conversation with Willis was cut short when the ship suddenly shook violently,
and the Condition One alarms began sounding.

“What the
hell?” uttered Willis with his eyes widening. “Was that an explosion?”

“Admiral
Vickers, report to the Command Center.” The anxious voice of Captain Randson
came over the ship’s general comm system. “We have a Dacroni battleship closing
on our position.”

“Looks as if
you’re about to get busy, doc,” Kurt said, as he reached across Willis’s desk
and pressed the comm button. “Captain, jump the fleet back into hyperspace. No
need for us to fight that battleship.”

“Can’t,” Randson
replied. “They took out the hyperdrive on the
Lansing
with the first
shot. The crew is evaluating the damage to see how severe it is.”

“I’m on my
way,” Kurt answered, as he turned and rushed from the med bay. The news about
the
Lansing
was disconcerting. The ship only had a weak defensive shield
and a few railgun batteries for defense. The ship also had a crew of seventy,
plus twenty Marines.

It only took
Kurt a couple of minutes to reach the Command Center. During that time he felt
the
Star Cross
shake severely on more than one occasion. Bursting into
the Command Center, he hurried over to his command chair. “Status!”

“We have a
Dacroni battleship, a Profiteer battlecruiser, and two support cruisers closing
on our position,” reported Captain Randson, standing behind the tactical
station. “We’re currently under fire from the battlecruiser and the two support
vessels.”

“Damage?”

“Only minor,” Randson
answered. “Our energy screen was up and has deflected most of the energy
directed toward us.”

“The
Sydney
?”

“Covering the
Lansing
and the
Newton Princess
.”

Kurt knew
instantly what he had to do. Activating the ship-to-ship comm, he contacted the
captains of the
Newton Princess
and the
Sydney
. “Both of you jump
into hyperspace and go to Newton.”

“We can help, Admiral,”
protested Captain Danforth from the
Sydney
.

“I know you
can, but there are more than four thousand civilians on the
Newton Princess
.
Their survival is now your number one priority. I want both your ships gone immediately
and don’t stop until you reach Newton. If I don’t make it back, tell Rear Admiral
Wilson that he’s in command.”

“Yes, Admiral,”
Captain Danforth answered. “We’ll do as ordered. Good luck.”

Moments later,
both vessels vanished from the tactical screen, as they jumped into hyperspace.

“
Sydney
and the
Newton Princess
have jumped,” confirmed Lieutenant Brooks.

The ship shook
violently once again, and several warning alarms sounded on the damage control
console.

“I’m tired of
that Profiteer battlecruiser using us for target practice,” Kurt said, his eyes
taking on a dangerous glint. “Target it with our particle beam cannon. Follow
it up with four rounds each from our two forward KEW batteries.”

“Target
locked,” reported Lieutenant Mays from Tactical.

“Fire!”
ordered Kurt, his eyes focused intently on the main viewscreen, which showed
the nine-hundred-meter-long enemy battlecruiser rapidly closing range with the
Star
Cross
.

A dark blue
particle beam flashed from the
Star Cross
, tearing through the energy
shield of the Profiteer battlecruiser. The beam struck the bow of the vessel, causing
a powerful explosion and hurling debris from the ship. Secondary explosions blew
out other hull sections.

“Their shield
is down!” called out Lieutenant Brooks, as her sensors detected the sudden collapse
of the Profiteer’s defensive energy shield. “The particle beam must have hit
something vital inside the ship.”

“Take them
out,” Captain Randson ordered the tactical officer. “Fire the forward KEW batteries.”

The
Star
Cross
shook slightly as her bow KEW batteries fired four projectiles at
nearly 10 percent of the speed of light at the enemy ship. The projectiles
slammed into the main part of the Profiteer warship, setting off massive explosions
and hurling more debris into space. The battlecruiser seemed to stagger and
began to drift, as additional secondary explosions tore through the vessel.

“Helm, turn us
ninety degrees starboard, flank speed!” ordered Captain Randson. “All laser batteries
and defensive railgun turrets to target the Profiteer battlecruiser on
completion of the turn.”

The
Star Cross
quickly turned,
and her laser turrets fired ruby-red beams of energy at the heavily damaged Profiteer
battlecruiser. Explosions erupted across the hull as the defensive railgun
turrets fired their smaller rounds at the enemy ship. Suddenly a bright
fireball appeared in the heart of the battlecruiser, and it blew apart.

“Profiteer battlecruiser is
down,” reported Lieutenant Brooks in a shaken voice.

“The two
support cruisers are still closing, and the Dacroni battleship is making toward
the
Lansing
,” called out Captain Randson, his eyes focused on the tactical
screen. “I think they intend to board her.”

“How long until
the
Lansing
can repair her hyperdrive?” demanded Kurt. “Helm, set a course
for the
Lansing
, put us between it and the Dacroni battleship.”

“Admiral, we don’t
have the firepower to take on a Dacroni battleship,” warned Captain Randson. “Their
shields are too powerful, and their ion beam can penetrate our energy screen,
if they keep it focused on us long enough.”

“I have Captain
Blair on the comm,” reported Ensign Pierce.

“Captain Blair,
how long until you can have your hyperdrive operational?” Kurt asked, as the viewscreen
shifted suddenly to show the Dacroni battleship. “You also need to deploy your Marines.
We believe the Dacroni battleship is sending a boarding party.”

“We can’t,” answered
Blair in an even voice. “Engineering has been destroyed, and it’s open to
space. “It’ll be hours before we can even get a crew in there. We have sporadic
sublight but even that will probably be gone shortly. I’ve already deployed the
Marines to the main airlocks.”

Kurt swore
silently to himself as he weighed his options. “Prepare for us to dock with you
to remove your crew.”

“No, Admiral,”
Blair said calmly. “It’s too late for us. I’ve already ordered several self-destruct
charges to be set. They’re wired to a detonator I’m holding in my hand. When
the Dacroni battleship docks, I intend to set them off.”

For several
long seconds Kurt remained silent, as he tried to think of a way to save the
Lansing
.

“He’s doing
the right thing,” Captain Randson said somberly, listening to the conversation
over the command channel. “There’s no other option.” His face was pale, knowing
what was soon to happen.

Kurt closed
his eyes and shook his head; yet he knew Andrew was right. “It’s been an honor
serving with you, Captain Blair,” Kurt said in a calm and respectful voice.
“Your sacrifice will be remembered.”

“Just drive
those bastards from Earth someday!” Blair replied.

“I will,”
promised Kurt, feeling a lump in the back of his throat.

“Signing off,”
Blair announced. “I have a few other things that need to be taken care of
before that Dacroni battleship docks with us.”

The comm went
silent, and Kurt leaned back in his command chair. Then, taking a deep breath,
he looked over at Captain Randson. “Take us into hyperspace and set course for Newton.”

“Yes,
Admiral,” Randson said, as he quickly passed on the order.

Moments later
Kurt felt the
Star Cross
accelerate and then the wrenching sensation as
the ship entered hyperspace. They were safe now, but it pained him immensely
knowing they had left behind the
Lansing
and her crew.

-

Second Clan
Leader Castel grinned in satisfaction as the human battlecruiser fled the
battle, leaving the cargo ship unprotected.

“The human battlecruiser
has jumped into hyperspace,” Dalet reported. “The cargo ship is ours!”

“The cowards!”
roared Castel, as he gazed at the now nearly empty tactical screen. A cloud of
debris expanded from the destroyed Profiteer battlecruiser. An unfortunate
loss, but one that could be made up for quite easily by the gold he expected to
find on the human cargo ship.

“They’re still
attempting to use their sublight drive to elude us,” reported Dalet.

On the
tactical screen, the human vessel changed course and put more distance between
it and the
Rellal
.

“Use one of
our energy beams to disable it permanently,” ordered Castel. “Without its
hyperdrive the human vessel is worthless to us anyway.”

From the
Rellal
a slim
white energy beam flashed toward the cargo ship, drilling through the hull and destroying
the faltering sublight drive. The cargo ship instantly began to drift.

-

“Sublight drive is down,”
reported Ensign Brickman, as his navigation panel died.

“Then that’s
it,” Captain Blair said in the suddenly quiet Command Center. “Once the Dacroni
have locked their ship to ours, I’ll set off the self-destructs.”

No one replied,
as the small command crew were lost in their own private thoughts, knowing
their lives were about to end.

A few minutes passed, and then
the ship shuddered slightly, and a loud clanging noise was heard echoing down
the now empty corridors.

“They’ve
docked,” one of the crew said quietly.

In the distance
they could hear heavy weapons fire as the
Lansing
’s Marines engaged the
boarding Dacroni mercenaries.

“I wish we all
could have seen Earth one more time,” Captain Blair said, as he pressed the
flashing red button on the detonator he held in his right hand.

-

Instantly the
ship’s nuclear reactor overloaded and exploded. Torrents of energy were
released, annihilating bulkheads, walls, and equipment. A second explosion near
the bow destroyed the hypermissiles the ship had been carrying. Several of the
warheads had been taken apart and detonators emplaced, arming the warheads. It
was a slipshod affair but effective.

The warheads
detonated simultaneously, and a brilliant fireball formed in the hold, blowing out
the walls and engulfing the Dacroni battleship. With its shield down, it was
helpless to protect itself from the raging destruction. Three seconds after the
warheads detonated, the Dacroni battleship exploded, as its engineering compartment
was breached, and then its fusion reactor became unstable. A massive fireball formed
where the two ships had been, and, for a moment, it seemed as if a new sun had
formed.