BORN OF HEROES

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 34
 

Joplin was the headquarters for the Spatial Police Force, lying almost dead center of the Planetary Alignment. The planet itself was a barren rock with no real atmosphere to speak of, and the facilities that the SPF called home were built either beneath the surface, or enclosed in bunker-like constructs that could withstand almost anything short of a direct nuclear strike.

  The bay that the Guiding Angel  was directed to dock in was built into the side of a crater that was almost three miles wide and nearly a mile deep, produced when an asteroid had hit the planet eons before. The docking bay had huge armored doors that sealed it from the near vacuum outside, then the bay was filled with breathable atmosphere.

  The crew could use the billets within the facility if they wanted, though all of them elected to stay on the ship itself. There was no reason that any of them felt they should give up their beds for the military cots and Spartan quarters that they would be assigned if they took lodgings within the facility itself.

  Colonel Sander Brees, in full dress uniform with Major Talia Paris at his side, and another familiar face greeted the fox and his people as soon as the pressure had been brought up in the bay. The third individual was in a plain duty uniform of unadorned gray coveralls with crimson trim, Captain’s tabs on his collar. Elias grinned as he saw Chuck Palance looking sharp and more vibrant than when the fox had last seen him.

  “You’re looking well,” Elias told the human as the two shook hands.

  “And feeling even better!” Chuck said with a laugh. “Seems the Colonel had some use for an old spacer like me after all!”

  “And a Captain, at that,” the fox said indicating the other’s rank tabs. “Not even half a year and you equal me.”

  “Ha! This is just temporary until the next hunter is ready. The Colonel’s going to let me take a swing at running my own ship. We’ve been going over crew potentials all week.”

  Elias grinned. “You must have impressed the old lion!”

  Sander stepped forward. “There are those of us that are old, and there are those that are bold. But there’s not a lot that are old and bold. You just watch yourself pup. I know a thing or two that’ll take you down a notch!” He shook the fox’s hand, then accepted a hug and kiss from Cerise. “So, how have you been, son?”

  The smile on Elias’ face faltered. “I’m afraid I’ve got some news that you’re not going to like at all.”  

  “The Shiva thing?” Sander asked.

  “You got it in one.”

  The lion growled softly. “You and your crew get situated first. We’ll have some dinner in a bit and go over it. All of us. I’ll have the meeting beamed to the other ships and crews at a later time. The more people we have in the know in our branch of the family the better.” The colonel rubbed his chin in thought for a moment and looked as if he were about to say something, but a large clang and the sound of a very heavy set of armored doors opening caused him to pause. “First things first, though.”

  The loud warning beep and rumbling of a tractor drew the attention of all. Once the large armored doors that led further into the base opened, a puller that was normally used to move ships around entered the bay pulling a small craft behind it.

  “Considering what happened, I thought you might need this!” the lion yelled over the din the tractor was making.

  Lena gasped and moved so that she could look at the new fighter being hauled into the bay, but well out of the hazard area around the puller and its burden. Her eyes had cleared quite a bit as the blood that had pooled on the surface after being exposed to vacuum had begun to vanish. She still looked a little rough, but the rabbit was not only moving better and speaking more clearly, she was returning to her normal up-beat demeanor.

  The tractor stopped and the motors dropped to idle then cut off as the driver, a sergeant with smeared work overalls climbed out. “Here she is, Colonel. I’ll get her loaded in the bay of the ship when ya’ll clear out. Figured I’d let her pilot look over her first,” the non-com, a koala, said with a knowing smile.

  “That’ll be fine, Hollister. Give it about an hour,” the lion said. “Go grab a coffee and some lunch.”

  The sergeant nodded and gave a relaxed salute before exiting the bay.

  Lena, unable to contain herself, approached the new arrival and ran a hand along the nose, letting her bandaged fingers trail along the smooth, armored fuselage. She went over every inch of the exterior, mumbling to herself the whole time. When the doe reached the nose again, Brees called over to her.

  “Not disappointed, are you Lena?” He chuckled. “Unfortunately we’re fresh out of Raptors at the moment. I didn’t think you’d mind a Kestrel.”

  Lena looked at the Colonel with awe and surprise. “I couldn’t have asked for better, Sir,” she said with surprise and pleasure in her voice. “She’s beautiful!”

  “Well, I was thinking that you all might want a bit of supper, but if you’d rather that I leave you two alone…” the lion said trailing off.

  The rabbit simply nodded and went back to admiring the fighter.

  Where the Raptor had an organic wedge shaped body with short wings and the engine pods bulging from the rear of the fuselage. The Kestrel differed in that it was slightly smaller with an angular appearance, though the engines were a little larger with greater power. The expendable munitions were contained in internal bays and not only had the standard dual pulse cannon, but also sported three 20 millimeter mass accelerator guns that could churn out an astounding twelve hundred rounds per minute each with two thousand rounds per gun. Better layout for the maneuvering thrusters and more efficient motors meant that it was even more agile than her beloved Raptor had been. There were also hard points for external munitions on the wings and main body.

  The others filed out of the docking bay, following the Colonel deeper into the station. “Call me crazy,” the lion said with a smile, “but I think she likes her new toy.”

  Randal assumed a look of consternation. “I don’t know why, but for some reason I’m feeling a little jealous.” The others gave him a strange look until he cracked a wide grin.

  As the group continued down the corridor, Elias fell in step with Chuck, now Captain, Palance. Glancing at the human, he saw that the other walked with a little more pride and even seemed younger than when the fox had last seen him.

  “What? I don’t have a spot on my uniform, do I?” Chuck asked, scrutinizing his clothing.

  Elias smiled. “Not at all. I was just noticing that you seem, well, more alive than the last time we met. You’re standing tall, your coloration is better. It’s a surprising change, is all.”

  “I think it was the whole retirement thing. It really was killing me. I have purpose again, now. It’s kind of hard to explain, but I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”

  “It shows,” Elias replied. “I can see how you’d feel that way. I don’t even want to consider what it’ll be like for me. If I even reach retirement age.”

  “Don’t talk like that, Elias. When you start thinking like that, you have given the scum out there odds against you. Why invite disaster if you don’t have to?” The human gave the younger individual a serious look. “I knew pilots when I with the Terran Navy that said things like that. Not a one made it to retirement age. I want to keep the friends that I have now around.”

  Elias nodded, not wanting to cause the man any grief. “So, you get to have your own ship? Do you know what type yet?”

  Chuck smiled. “I sure do. She’s another Okami H model, like yours. She’s named the Rona. I’m having her painted in white and blue. I’d like to show her to you, but they’re still finishing up the little details at the Dennier yard. Sandy and I will be heading there in two weeks to take possession of her with the crew we’re putting together.”

  Elias was smiling. “I can tell you from experience that she’ll treat you right.”

  “Don’t I know that! I’ve been going over your reports and when Sandy offered me the choice of the last two ships, I took the Okami. You just can’t beat ‘em. Especially with what I’ve read about and what you and your crew has gone through. I was just surprised that the Colonel gave me the choice.”

  “How did you swing that? I don’t think he’s given any of the other Captains their pick of ships.”

  The human shrugged. “He said it had something to do with what he saw in my files from the Terran Navy. I’m not sure.”

  There was quite a bit that the human wasn’t saying, but Elias wasn’t going to push. He genuinely liked Chuck and didn’t want to jeopardize that friendship. Especially when he considered that there was a very real possibility that the well-being of his ship and crew might depend on the latest of the Q-ship captains.

  Sander had a lavish meal waiting, and everyone had made it through the first course when Lena decided to rejoin the group.

  “Sorry. I had to get acquainted with Penance,” the rabbit said as she sat down next to Randal.

  “Penance?” Sander Brees asked. “Who is Penance?”

   Lena looked at the lion and smiled. “You just delivered her to me!”

  Sander shook his head. “I never understood why you flyers always had to name your ships. But who am I to argue with tradition.”

  “It’s bad luck not to,” Lena said, doing her best to dish herself out a bowl of salad with her bandaged hands. “Beside’s our ships have personalities, just like everyone else.”

  The last was said with firm conviction and caused the lion to look at Elias with consternation.

  “I’m going to shut up now. If I say something she doesn’t like about her new toy, she might try to hurt me,” Sander said with a straight face.

  The banter around the table was light, though there was an underlying sense of stress. When they were all finished the stewards, cadets from the Academy pressed into service, cleared away the odd oval table they all sat at and vacated the chamber once all in attendance had something to drink.

  Craning his head around to make sure they were alone, the lion tapped a button on a small pad that rested on the right side of his place at the table. A large series of vidscreens dropped from the ceiling. With the touch of another button, everyone heard the locks to the two doors that led into the chamber click loudly as they were engaged. 

  “Show me what you have, Elias,” Brees said, leaning back in his chair with a mug in hand.

  Elias activated a DataPak, using the unit to transfer the data from one of the ship’s three computers to the screens suspended from the chamber.

  “Lena was the one that pointed out the differences that I was missing,” the fox said easily. “These are the two ships that we encountered and engaged with on the edge of the Van Connor.” Pictures of the identical ships, compiled from the data recordings of both the Guiding Angel and the Cherub, flashed onto the screens. The images were replaced with wireframe diagrams then compared with the stock model of the same freighter being turned out from Earth. “This is the Shiva from the first encounter that claimed the Scimitar and the life of Captain Ivanovo. You can see in these comparisons that the vessel has been modified beyond the original specs, by almost fifty feet in length, fifteen feet in the beam, and another fifteen in height.” He touched the screen of his DP with the claw of his right index finger. “When the diagrams are overlaid, you can also see that there have been extensive modifications to the engine housings, and these protrusions here, here and here house the weapons that were in my report. Talon missile racks and Mark V or better pulse cannon.” He indicated blisters that were raised from the hull, his touch on the screen illuminating the illustrations that the others saw.

  “Apart from physical differences, the paint and color schemes have all been identical.” Elias set his DataPak down and let the others look over his presented materials. 

  “There are two less, now,” Brees growled in approval. “There’s something going on in the nebula, I think.” The lion scratched his chin in thought. Seeming to make up his mind about something, Sander nodded to himself. “I want Alistair to head to Earth. I’ll have him sniff around Canberra Space Industries. He’s got a way of making others want to talk to him. If they’re making modifications to ships for marauders, I want to know. With that kind of evidence, the Terran Government won’t have any choice but to intervene.

  “I want to start shifting the rest of the Q-fleet towards the Van Connor. Our new facility near the Ceres asteroid is on line in the Sol Belt. Make your way there for the time being. I want this nebula scoured, and that’s going to require some specialized gear. This will also put Galina and Theo in place to assist you and Alistair, if the two of you need it.”

  “You’re expecting something big to pop, aren’t you, Uncle,” Cerise asked with a sour look.

  The lion nodded. “I am. This just doesn’t feel right.”

  “I have a friend that settled on Earth,” Treena said. “She can find out just about anything. If there’s some way for her to cobble information together, she’ll find it.”

  “What’s her name?” Sander asked. “And is she trustworthy?”

  The ocelot shrugged. “You might call her an investigator for hire. She’s more than that, but she’s also very talented. Her name is Ellie Howell. It doesn’t matter if it’s a computer she’s trying to gather intel from or a person. As for trustworthy, she has a different kind of moral code than others. If you pay her to find something out, she keeps what she finds to herself and her clients. She’ll never tell another soul. Once bought she stays bought.”

  “That’s not too reassuring,” Randal said as he leaned back in his chair.

  Treena gave him a shrug. “I trust her.”

  “That’s good enough for me, then,” Elias said. He looked at Brees. “It might cost you, though.”

  “We have some extra funds thanks to all of you. I think we can afford her rates.” He looked at the ocelot. “Maybe throw in the promise of a favor. Nothing major, and only if you need…hmmm, enticement.”

  Treena nodded and went back to sipping her tea.

  Sander regarded the crew around him. “I think that about covers it. We’ll have you rearmed and resupplied by tomorrow. My recommendations are to sit back and relax in the meantime.”

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.