Chapter 5 Railroaded again
The next meal Anna demanded to see Bill. As she was escorted onto the bridge she stated, “That girl, Mary Adams, was allowed to go through training as an engineer. Once assigned aboard the Mauler she was used as a sex slave. She realizes that she'd never have gotten off that ship alive. Her allegiance is to the Adams family. Bye the way, she's heard of you and what you've done for the family. She also knows of Melissa.
“I think if Melissa talks to her, she'll be loyal to you too, especially after she finds out she's not going to be abused anymore.”
“Well Anna, that was quite a mouthful.”
“Aderes, please transfer this conversation to Melissa.”
Yes, Uncle Bill.
“Anna, you need to go back and keep her from doing anything stupid.”
“No problem Mr. Johnson, I put Linda in with her. She's only a few years older and quite a talker. I'll bet you didn't know that Linda's grandmother was an Adams.”
“OK, go to medical and get Doc or Abigail to assign you quarters. Then see Tanya about clothing and other stuff you'll need. Meet the rest of the crew and take care of your people. We'll probably start salvaging those ships tomorrow.”
“Mr. Johnson, with your permission, after eating I'll take my crew over to the other ship and do a complete security sweep. After that we'll get our gear. Can you free Wilbur to help?”
“I'll let him know. Aderes, locate Wilbur and inform him to see me.”
Yes, Uncle Bill. Anything else.
“No thanks.”
Melissa talked to Mary Adams and she calmed down and was simply nervous when taken to the cafeteria for the next meal.
When Susan and James came in, she launched herself at him. In a second she was crying on James's shoulder. Susan took one look and walked over and informed Melissa that she had been one of his students. They'd take care of her.
After lunch, Anna told Mary to report to the airlock. She and her crew took Mary over to the Mauler. Anna looked grim when they returned, but no one would say what happened. After that Mary was much more at ease around the men.
Salvage started the next morning. Aderes grew by leaps and bounds as the two ships were stripped. Four months later, the five new solar drive engines were tested. Every engine was reversible and had the weapons modification.
Bill looked at his tired, but dedicated crew as he declared a day off before they headed for the corporation asteroid. Aderes had made contact with Mother and she updated the crew on the existing situation.
Three months later they were stationary and hidden one light minute from their target. Aderes relayed a message through Mother to Clarice Adams. Clarice had taken control of the board, and was happy to hear from Bill. She also warned him that he still had enemies in both his and her families, plus among the rebels. They'd formed their own separate government. There was sporadic open warfare between the three.
She said she'd bring a supply ship to him. She then put on Colonel Michael.
“Bill, section J has gotten a workout. Only got half of my personnel are still alive.”
“Well David, my original crew is alive and well. I also saved a young engineer from the Mauler. Guess what? I also saved three members of the third platoon. I'll leave it up to them whether they want to renter society or stay aboard.”
“Thank-you Bill, who are they?”
“Captain Wilson, Linda Evans, and Dale Frederick.”
“Good, when you ask Dale, if he hesitates, you might mention that I have a certain field medic that might go either way. I'd hate to loose her, but she's been irritable and moping around for the last year. When her whole family died she almost lost it, then word came in that the ship he was on was destroyed. She's now got more confirmed kills than any other member of section J.”
“David, just tell her you have a hot ship that needs her unique skills including a trauma field surgeon. I'll bet she bites, and make sure she has a full medical kit.”
“OK, boss. Oh, and by the way, the rebels have been reporting an alien ship that took out their best warship near Jupiter a few months ago. It was spotted by Thebes, but they didn't get any good pictures, so watch your six.”
“That was us Dave, make sure Mrs. Adams ships us a full load of missiles, and a couple of mining lasers if they are available.
“Oh Shit, Aderes just put us on red alert, seems we have company.
“Dave, are we on friendly terms with the Assembly? I've got two of them demanding our surrender.”
“Get out of there Bill, they started arming them with nuclear missiles, and they will be hostile.”
The first four missiles were conventional warheads that blew when targeted by our engines. One of the warships exploded when Aderes targeted it.
The other warship launched two more missiles and then tried to accelerate away.
Aderes targeted the missiles and they blew. The backwash caught the Assembly warship and disabled it.
The asteroids nearby started moving and one destroyed one of our engines. James called the bridge to report that the solar engine magnetic field diverted most of the radiation. An hour later the Aderes was far enough away that the radiation no longer blocked radio transmission.
Bill contacted David and asked, “Any reports on the loss of two Assembly warships?”
“Bill, the shit's hit the fan here. The Assembly has contacted us and the rebel government. They had one partial picture of an alien ship and then lost contact with their warships. They are trying to form an alliance with us. That alien ship is listed as enemy number one.”
“That's us Dave.”
“I'll recall our ships, but you've got at least a dozen rebel and Assembly ships headed your way.”
“Dave, send the resupply ship to Thebes. We'll intercept it, and make sure we get plenty of rations and fresh food.”
“Wilco, see you around Bill.”
Two months later Aderes reported three spacecraft on radar. The meals were getting very boring and bland. Bill ordered Aderes to take up a parallel course, and make contact. Then he went back to eating.
Five minutes later, over the intercom, Aderes reported that the Captain of one was Colonel David Michael and the captains of the other two ships were named Adams.
“Aderes, inform Colonel Michael that we'll close to within visual range, and then he can come over. Four hours later all three ships cut their rockets, and one used it's maneuvering jets to close on the Aderes. At a thousand yards the cargo holds opened and several spacesuited figures started pulling cargo out. One spacesuited figure grabbed a large case and approached the Aderes after asking if anyone wanted fresh food.
He was met halfway by Anna and her crew. Aboard the Aderes. David gave Bill and Melissa a hug and then announced. “All three crews are volunteers. I only need one ship to go back in. Clarice is the Captain of one of the ships and she demands that you allow her aboard.”
“I wonder why Dave. I'll bet she wants check up on Melissa. By the way, the survivor off the Mauler was Mary Adams.”
“Oh shit, she's going to upset the balance of power. Mary is her sisters granddaughter, and an heir to part of the family. The other Captain Adams is Mary's sister. She's also out for Assembly blood because she heard rumors about the way they were going to use Mary aboard the Mauler, and then it was reported lost.”
“Are the executive officers trustworthy?”
“Clarice personally vouched for them.”
“Hummm, I want you back aboard your ship. Then send all three XO's over for a quick tour. Tell the captains that the XO's will come over first to ensure security. That will give us time to prepare a welcoming meal for all the Captains. Think they'll agree?”
One of the XO's broke down and cried when Mary walked into the cafeteria. She was a childhood friend. It was almost an hour before Melissa could pry them apart to go back to their ships.
The Captains came across on a jet sled. The three members of section J met t
hem in the airlock corridor and escorted them to the cafeteria. Bill was talking to them when Melissa and Mary walked up behind them. “Captain Clarice, we have one survivor from the Mauler.”
Clarice was grabbing her pistol as she turned around and dropped it when she saw Mary. “Young lady, how dare you allow us to believe you were dead for so long. You have responsibilities.”
“Aunt Clarice, I'm not going back. I've found a new home. My sister can run the family, right Martha.”
“Hell no Mary, auntie won't let me out to kill those damn bastards if you don't come back!”
“My decision is final, plus I've found a man and I intend to keep him.”
“Sister, don't tell me you fell for one of these pirates.”
“Sure did, remember Wilbur Smith.”
“The nerd!”
“Yes, the sweetest, gentlest, man I ever met.”
Clarice Adams slammed her hand on the table, “That's enough, Bill as soon as the cargo is transferred from David's ship and the crews are traded I'll take it back. The other two ships go with you. My ship has enough gear to start a new colony, and build a space station. I want those families out of danger.
“The Adams family has been making plans to escape to the moons of Saturn for almost over a decade. I even found one Johnson family that was trustworthy enough to include. I'll continue to run the Corporation. I'll also ship any supplies you need. Is it a deal. If not those two ships will continue on without you.”
Everyone watched Bill's grin as he said, “Damn woman, you don't give me many options. I'm hunted by the Assembly and the rebels. Now you want me to babysit a colony at Saturn. How do you plan to cover your tracks?”
“That's easy, we'll give you a day head start and then change course. Dave's ship has twenty atomic missiles. I'm going to have a great space battle and then limp back to the belt reporting the alien ship was damaged, but managed to destroy two of my ships. We collected survivors, but lost a lot of our crew.”
“Dave, did you know about her plan?”
“Yea boss. I wish I was going with you, but I've got to run security. The Corporation plans to loose a lot of ships in the next few years, so overbuild out there.”
With a scowl Clarice said, “Well!”
Dave interjected, “Clarice and I are making a list of trustworthy people to be on those ships. Meanwhile, we'll use your alien ship as a point to try to unify humanity. You make a good outside threat so put in an appearance once in awhile.”
“Hells bells, all I ever wanted was to go into space, and then after I was rescued, I wanted to explore. I see, I've been maneuvered into my dream. Damn you both, take care of the people back there.
“How long until you're unloaded?”
“Twenty hours, Bill. As soon as the ship is unloaded we need to do some damage with the mining laser.”
“Like what?”
“A glancing shot across the cargo hatch after we pressurize the cargo hole to blow it and one through the missile storage area.
”How many families are on the two ships going to Saturn?”
“Ninety families, including seventeen children. Clarice wanted to use the generation ship hull, but I talked her out of it. It will be finished in four or five years. It will contain the largest group of families.”
“Well, it sounds like you have a workable plan.”
~ ~ ~
Chapter 6 The Plan
After crew transfer, Clarice's two ships accelerated on a new trajectory that would give them a fair orbit to Saturn on the other side of the solar system.
The next afternoon, shipboard time, Dave and Clarice accelerated their ship away and Aderes took an opposite course. Ten hours later Bill and Melissa listened to the broadcast from the other ship. First they reported an unidentified contact. An hour later they reported that it must be the alien spacecraft. Less than an hour later they heard reports of an attack, and then the distinctive scream of atomic warheads going off drowning out the radio broadcast.
Bill sat and counted off the warheads. The radio was silent for almost eight hours. Then a weak signal announcing they'd damaged the alien ship and they were searching for survivors. Bill finally left the bridge.
The next day Aderes announced that another broadcast was picked up. She reported that the convoy ship was returning to the asteroid belt with survivors.
Bill stood up in the cafeteria, “OK, Susan plot us a course for Saturn. Everyone else, figure out what we'll be looking for around Saturn. As soon and we get a good survey of the system, we'll decide whether to build a space station or land and start a colony.”
~ ~ ~
Epilogue
A month out Aderes wakes up Bill and Melissa. Uncle Bill, we have a problem. Something hit two of the engines, and the radiation levels spiked. I cut off all power to the other engines and diverted power to the magnetic coils surrounding the ships hull. That stopped the radiation spike inside, but the detectors on the outside hull still read lethal levels on one side.
# (ToC) #
About the Author
I've loved westerns and science fiction since I picked up my first book at the public library. I guess that makes me a dinosaur, plus the fact that I don't do social media.
I've been writing on my computer for years. I never planned on any of my stories being published, just to be read by myself, family, and friends. The base journal is on forty spreadsheets with links to about a thousand files of short one day paragraphs plus other stories.
If you review my stories, cut and paste a copy to my email address at
[email protected], I'll try to send you a coupon for a current book. I hope you enjoy them all!
Other books by Stephen Brandon
SATURN2020 series
The Impossible Ambition
Az
The Alien Spacecraft
The Asteroid Belt
spin off from the SATURN2020 series
Az's Children
The Ones Before
The Belt Archives - Hacked
Miscellaneous Fiction & Short Stories
Grandpas Hot Sauce
Pacific 41
Scout Expedition
The Plan and other short stories
From Texas to New York
Just My Opinion Some Old & New Ideas
5 Short Stories
A New Precedent
My Mine series
My Mine (free)
Aderes
War, Three against One
Chronological sequence of Saturn2020 series
Az
The Impossible Ambition
The Plan and other short stories (The Plan is the applicable short story.)
The Asteroid Belt
Az's Children
The Alien Spacecraft
The Belt Archives – Hacked
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