The Burden of Command, page 5
part #14 of Empire Rising Series
“Sergeant Samuels, status update,” Jamison voice requested seconds later.
“Bridge is secure Lieutenant,” Becca replied. “We have eleven dead pirates, ten more in custody. They were deleting files.”
“Good work. We have the engines and living quarters secure. Lieutenant Jackson, you can inform Captain Domingo the ship is in our hands.”
“Yes Sir,” Jake responded. He switched COM channels to connect with Resolute. “Captain Domingo, I’m pleased to report the ship’s main control centers are in our hands. I have also recovered some interesting files. I’m sending them over now.”
“Very well Lieutenant, make sure you and your team search that ship for anything else noteworthy…” Domingo broke off for a moment as she looked down. “My, my,” she said moments later. “Interesting indeed.” Jake smiled as he imagined how Captain Domingo looked as she stared at the holo image of the asteroid. “Keep searching,” Domingo continued in a more serious tone. “Find me more of this if you can.”
“Yes Captain,” Jake said as he gestured for his crew to move to the other bridge consoles and begin investigating them.
*
IS Resolute
In total, it took four hours for Jake and his team to search every compartment and analyze every data file on the freighter. When Captain Domingo recalled them, Jake liaised with Lieutenant Ahoka, and together they prepared a report for Resolute’s officers. As he stepped into Resolute’s main briefing room, Jake couldn’t keep the excitement from his face. He had seen more action in one day than in his previous four years of active duty. And with luck, it was only going to continue to increase. His excitement faded slightly when he saw Captain Domingo and the rest of Resolute’s senior officers were already there. Butterflies began to jump around in his stomach. Following behind Ahoka, he came to a halt in front of them all. He was glad Ahoka was going to speak first.
“You may proceed,” Captain Domingo said with a wave of her hand.
“Yes Captain,” Ahoka replied as she activated the briefing room’s holo display. Images of the two captured pirate ships began to rotate. “Both pirate ships are converted freighters. Rather, they are ships built from freighter hull components and have been adapted for pirate activity. From our analysis of the construction techniques used, and the ships’ crews, we believe Human pirates both built and served on the ships.
“The ship my team boarded was called Wolf Fang, she had a crew of thirty and was armed with six missile tubes and eight laser cannons. She holds almost no point defenses to speak of. All of her weaponry predates the Karacknid war era technology. Ten more ships like her wouldn’t be able to threaten us.”
“Yet that’s more than enough firepower to threaten most freighters,” Lieutenant Gonzales commented.
“Which is exactly what it appears they have been doing,” Ahoka said. “The crew of Wolf Fang didn’t try nearly so hard as the other pirate ship’s crew to delete their files. We have been able to extract the flight path of the pirate vessel for the last year and a half.” The holo display changed to show a star map of local space with a dotted line tracing out all the systems Wolf Fang had visited. “It seems the pirate ship has been patrolling in The Wilds for most of that time, though four months ago, she came into our sector of space. From her flightpath, it seems certain that she was the ship who attacked and destroyed the freighter we encountered in the Cambria system.” Ahoka glanced at Jake. “The prisoners Lieutenant Jackson freed confirmed this. Twelve of them were from the freighter. Originally, there were sixteen crew, the pirates killed four of them.” Several officers shook their heads or made sounds of disapproval. “Combining Wolf Fang’s flightpath with known reports of pirate activity and information from the prisoners we freed, I believe this vessel has been responsible for at least three attacks on our ships over the last four months, and possibly as many as six more in The Wilds. All of that is available in my fuller report. The crew of the ship have already been transported over to Resolute and are in the brig.”
“Thank you Lieutenant Ahoka,” Captain Domingo said. “What is the condition of the ship herself? Is she space worthy?”
“Her systems are relatively new,” Ahoka replied. “Though their maintenance has been poor. I have my crew running diagnostics and carrying out essential repairs on her main systems as we speak. She is space worthy, though I wouldn’t want to have to put her through the rigors of a combat drill.”
Domingo nodded. “Very good. And Lieutenant Jackson?”
Jake cleared his throat. “The pirate freighter is called Container. Not a very imaginative name; it is fitting though. She is stuffed to the gills with captured goods. From the surviving manifests attached to them, my team believes cargo from at least six other ships have been gathered into her holds. Most of the cargo is what you might expect to see being transported along our outer colonies. Though concerningly, we found these.” Tapping his datapad, Jake changed the holo image to show mark VII missiles and plasma cannon rounds. “There are three hundred missiles and ten thousand plasma rounds on board Container. They came from separate freighters. Survivors from two Teal Trading Industries freighters that were attacked confirmed that their ships were transporting these munitions to the Theta-fort system when they were attacked. Two attacks are not a pattern, but it is concerning.”
“Especially if they can get their hands on mark VII launchers to go with those missiles,” Captain Domingo said as she nodded her head. “The pirates would be an entirely different prospect then.”
“Only seven of the pirate freighter’s crew survived. The rest died defending the ship’s bridge. We weren’t able to extract nearly as much flight data from Container’s computers as Lieutenant Ahoka did from Wolf Fang, but we did get this.” Altering the holo image again, Jake displayed the information he had transmitted to Captain Domingo from Container’s bridge. “Twice in the last five months, Container visited this system, designated Zika-seven. According to Imperial charts, there is nothing of worth there. Yet Container went to the same exact spot twice and remained there for over a week each time.” Jake zoomed in to show a large asteroid on the edge of a larger asteroid field. He then zoomed it out again. “Overlaying Wolf Fang’s more complete flight info with Container’s also shows the two ships met once before we attacked them today. Not long after Container headed to Zika-seven. Ahoka and I believe Wolf Fang and the other pirate ship we destroyed acted as hunters, scouring nearby systems for prey to attack. Not being large enough themselves to carry all the cargo they might capture, they would then rendezvous with Container, offload their cargo, and resume their hunt. Container would then bring the stolen goods to Zika-seven.”
“Which means Zika-seven could be some kind of pirate base,” Captain Domingo said. “It could be serving as a center of operations for all the recent attacks on our shipping outside of The Wilds.” She shook her head. “The audacity. And if they are all Humans…” Jake felt the same. Though the pirate attacks had been increasing, no one had suspected they could be coordinated, nor that it might be Humans behind them all. “What about the prisoners the pirates had taken?” Domingo asked as her eyes snapped back to Jake.
Jake glanced at Ahoka. Most of the prisoners had already been transferred from Container, so she nodded for him to proceed. “We have rescued forty-four prisoners in total,” he answered. “Although they are from five different freighters. All report that at least some of their crews were killed. They’re all traumatized, but most are not in too bad a condition. It seems the pirates wanted to keep them as undamaged as possible to be able to sell. As you can imagine, they are very relieved that we found them when we did.”
“And Container is spaceworthy then?” Domingo followed up.
Jake nodded. “Like Wolf’s Fang, she’s not been looked after the best, but she should have no problem making a prolonged journey.”
Domingo turned to Lieutenant Morrison. “Anything more to update us on the pirate ship we destroyed?”
Lydia nodded her head. “Yes, there is Captain. Though, it comes more from the lack of evidence. Scans of the ship’s wreckage revealed almost nothing. The ship was obliterated when it detonated. More so than one would expect from a reactor overload caused by a power surge. I believe the ship’s reactors were overloaded on purpose. Only a full meltdown and explosive release of the excess energy could have destroyed the ship so completely.”
“You think they killed themselves?” Domingo asked.
Lydia nodded again. “I’ve run a hundred simulations, it is not impossible, but it’s highly unlikely the damage we caused to the ship’s engines could have caused such an immediate and overwhelming reactor failure.”
Domingo pushed her lips together. Everyone could see she was thinking. “Either they didn’t want to be captured, or they had something to hide,” she said after a few seconds. “My bet is on the latter. That is not good, however… ok,” she said as she brought a hand to rest on the briefing room table. “We have more questions than answers. We need to find out if these pirates are specifically targeting freighters carrying Imperial Fleet weaponry. We need to find out if they were acting alone or as part of a larger group. For if there are Human pirates out there arming themselves with Imperial technology, we need to know about it as soon as possible. We need to know who is behind it. If this really is an operation on this scale, someone has to have thought it up and be funding it.” Tapping on the command terminal to the desk in front of her, Domingo changed the holo display to show the asteroid Jake had zoomed in on previously. “Here’s what I’m thinking,” Domingo continued. “Lieutenant Ahoka, I’m giving you command of Wolf’s Fang. We’re going to transfer the prisoners we freed and the munitions to her. Then, I’m sending you back to Britannia. You can deliver the pirate ship to the Admiralty there and bring a report of what we have found. As for the rest of us, we are going to Zika-seven. That is where we are going to get our answers.”
Chapter 5
Sadly, despite the herculean efforts of many military historians, little is known about the events of the Karacknid Civil War but that which can be gleaned from declassified Imperial scouting reports. A number of historians have tried to visit Gayla in an effort to examine the Karacknid’s own historical records from the time, yet what they found cannot be trusted at all. The reports of the battles are all so one-sided that if believed, one would have to conclude Tanaka-lan could swat dreadnaughts out of space simply by casting his gaze upon them.
-Excerpt from Empire Ascendant 3015 AD.
Container, Zika Seven, 19th August 2508 AD, (three weeks later).
Jake sat perfectly still in his command chair on board Container. Butterflies were dancing around in his stomach like he had never felt before. He could feel his foot wanting to tap away on the bridge’s deck. Yet, he kept himself under control. A quick glance at Lydia and the petty officers manning the consoles around him told him they all looked under control as well. He knew it had to be a façade. They were about to attempt the most dangerous thing any of them had engaged upon before. Is this what it was like in the Karacknid War? Jake asked himself. He had read every battle report on every engagement from a small skirmish to the major fleet actions. Many of them he knew by heart. He had even met some of the famous commanders who had survived the war. Admiral Becket, Vice Admiral Fisher and even the Emperor’s niece, Admiral Emilie Somerville. They had all been different, but they had shared one thing in common. Wherever they went, they brought an uncontainable air of confidence with them. Within moments of seeing them take charge of a room, Jake had been sure they could lead a fleet to the gates of hell and back again.
Turning his eyes from his crew to the holo display of the large asteroid Container was cruising towards, Jake did not feel the same confidence in himself. He had been delighted when Captain Domingo had given him command of the mission. With Ahoka taking Wolf’s Fang back to Britannia and Gonzales needed to help run Resolute, he had been the logical choice. Still, Jake had been very grateful. He still was. Yet now, the full responsibility of what he had been tasked with doing was weighing on his shoulders. All of Resolute’s thirty-six marines, along with another thirty of Resolute’s crew, were on board Container. Keeping to the exact flightpath they knew Container had used before, Jake and his crew were approaching the suspected pirate base. Resolute was in stealth one light hour away at the edge of the system, waiting to spring into action when she was needed. Her presence was reassuring, but Jake knew things could go wrong far quicker than Captain Domingo could come to their aid. “The codes are ready?” Jake asked as he glanced at Lydia.
She nodded to him. “And the hologram. We’re as ready as we’re going to be.”
“Then let’s hope this works,” Jake replied. “Get ready for a full burn on our engines in case it doesn’t. And don’t wait for my permission to deploy the point defenses. If we’re fired upon, engage any incoming ordnance at once.”
“Aye Lieutenant,” Lydia replied enthusiastically. She gave him a quick smile.
Jake returned it. Despite his trepidation, he had to admit it was exciting. They were as prepared as they could be. During the three-week flight to Zika-seven, his crew had worked around the clock to improve the freighter’s engines, install hidden point defenses, and arm the freighter with two single plasma cannons. If the asteroid really was a pirate base, then they were going to get the shock of their lives when Container unleashed her offensive capabilities into them. We have to get there first, Jake reminded himself before he got too carried away.
Returning a stoic look to his face, Jake tried to exude as much confidence as he could. There was no doubt the pirates, if there were any present on the asteroid, would have detected Container by now. Likely, they were tracking the freighter using their passive sensors. Sooner or later, Jake expected to be hailed and queried. That would be their first test. Lydia was Resolute’s COM expert and so, it was over to her when they did. Twenty more minutes passed without anything happening though. Container came close enough that her optical sensors were able to study the asteroid in fine detail. The images made Jake start to doubt himself. There were zero signs of any other vessels near the asteroids. Nor did it look like the asteroid itself had been mined out.
A series of beeps from Lydia’s console made him jump. “We’re being hailed by a narrow beam laser COM array,” she reported as her head whipped up from her console. Her eyes were wide as she met Jake’s.
“Send the codes,” Jake responded as his heart began to race. The rest of Jake’s crew stopped what they were doing.
“Sent,” Lydia reported. Seconds dragged by as they waited for a response from whoever had hailed them. Fifteen passed before Lydia looked up again. Jake knew before she spoke. She didn’t look pleased. “They rejected the codes. They are saying they are old ones.”
Jake felt his body tensed. Fear filled Container’s bridge. If the pirates had weapons trained on the freighter, they could open fire at any second. “Prepare to transmit my response,” he said as calmly as he could.
“Transmitting now,” Lydia responded.
Jake mentally crossed his fingers. From the data files Container’s previous Captain hadn’t bothered deleting, multiple recordings of him had been found. Using them, Resolute’s computer had generated a holographic program that would overlay Jake with an image of the Captain. With a tap on his command chair, Jake activated the holographic display Resolute’s Chief Engineer had built into it. “What do you mean, old codes?” He demanded as roughly as he could. “These are the same bloody codes we used two months ago. If you’ve changed them, it’s not my problem.”
Jake held his breath to see what would happen next. He had studied the previous Captain’s mannerisms closely, but there is no way of telling if the ruse would work.
“They’re replying,” Lydia reported.
Container’s main holo display switched to show a woman with long, dark orange hair. Surprisingly, her flight suit looked clean and well-kept. “Captain Rodriguez, I see you are showing the same fine decorum as always. I instructed Prometheus to pass on the new codes to you.”
Jake shook his head. “We haven’t met Prometheus. She didn’t appear at the rendezvous. Only Wolf Fang showed up. We did hear rumors of an Imperial cruiser being sent to patrol the area though.” The woman screwed up her face, clearly thinking. Jake leaned forward, letting frustration fill his face. “Listen, if you don’t want the mark VII missiles and plasma rounds we’ve got, then fine, we can take them elsewhere.”
The woman shot a cold stare at him. She nodded, nevertheless. “Fine, dock at berth four. Have your crew ready to begin unloading at once. We want to get the cargo moving as soon as possible.”
“Of course, your Highness,” Jake said as he gave the woman a mock bow and waved a hand above his head. The woman shook her head and slammed a hand onto her command chair, cutting off the COM channel.
Jake couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. It had worked! Lydia was beaming at him as well. “Good work,” he said to her. “Inform Major Onoda they have accepted us.” He added as he calmed down.
“Lieutenant look,” the crewwoman managing Container’s sensors said as she pointed to the holo display. It changed to show the asteroid once more.
A hole had suddenly appeared in its structure. As Jake watched, it looked like two massive hangar doors were retracting. It is hollow! Jake thought to himself. The doors had been perfectly hidden. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to build and hide this. “Take us in,” Jake said as he nodded to the crewman at Container’s helm. “Have our weapons ready to charge up at once. Make sure Onoda is getting a live feed as we enter, he will have to plan his assault on the fly.”
As Container slowly approached the opening and then began to pass through it, everyone on the bridge fell silent as they waited to see what was on the other side. They weren’t disappointed. Jake’s mouth fell open. The pirates hadn’t just carved out a part of the asteroid, they had hollowed out the entire thing! Lights filled the inside, illuminating the asteroid base. Several of Jake’s crew gasped. There were eight pirate ships already docked within the asteroid. Shuttles and drones were moving back-and-forth between several of them, loading or unloading cargo. From one section of the asteroid, other lights shone on large duraglass windows. Someone zoomed the image in on them to reveal that they were arrayed in consecutive layers. Like levels, Jake thought. Large rooms and hangars could be seen on the other side of the glass. The asteroid itself is part of the base too, he realized.
