Chapter 13: Done playing nice

Everything was right as snow to me. I sat in a command seat surrounded by many of my friends. We were in Union Space inside a very fast and very well armed ship and were on our way to meet the rest of my friends and crew. I was really looking forward to my ship, my own quarters and whatever mission lay ahead.

I reclined comfortable, had my legs crossed and almost dozed off, looking at the soothing sight of deep space displayed on our main viewer, some stars showing as Quasi streaks of light.

I had a chance to GalCom with Har-Hi who was also in his way to Richter aboard a Union fleet Leyland with more members of our crew. He was on his way from Dai Nest and swung by Blue Moon to take Shea, Sodoby, and others.

I talked to Circuit who was already at Richter base. He was confident that all upgrades, refits, and repairs would be done in less than a month. SHIP also exchanged a few words and I told her just how much I missed my SHIP.

Mao lovingly caressed his console.

“She isn’t the Tigershark of course, but this fish has serious teeth.”

Our helmsman, Shaka gave his trademark all teeth grin.

“And it is the fastest ship for sure, even faster than our boat. The latest in Attikan Isah pods, not the super fuel free tech we got in the Tigershark.”

Elfi keeping the Comm said.

“I am getting an APB Union Police to assist request.”

I sighed silently and straightened in my seat.

“Are there any other Fleet Units able to respond? How far is it and what is the nature of the request?”

“Yes, Captain there are other units responding, but we are closest. It is an all-points bulletin to all law enforcement and Union Fleet Units in the region. A prisoner transfer transport with two hundred convicted felons has been hijacked.”

“I am sure Federal Police and other Fleet units can handle this. I sort of promised Admiral Stahl to stay out of trouble.”

Narth said.

“We can not ignore it either. That would be against regulations, the call is registered with our log book along with our position. Ignoring this on purpose could be cause for a hanging, not even the Eternal Warrior could prevent, especially since he would never use his position to circumvent laws or convictions. He did not even do so for himself.”

I frowned at him and noticed every eye on the bridge focused on me.

This time I sighed loudly.

“Elfi we are well within GalCom and GalNet range, call Fleet command.”

“No need Captain, there is an incoming call from Fleet Command, Admiral McElligott. It is sent on the all fleet channel.”

“Put us on then.”

The image of the Old Highlander replaced the view of deep space.

“All units within the vicinity of region US-Q-18-R96 respond to the Union Police assist request. The convicts are arrested pirates and personnel convicted dealing with the Worm. They were on their way to Brisbane, some of them to be executed. The rest to serve life sentences.”

The Admiral pulled up a situation map of the region.

“We do not know how they managed to take control of a ship with marine guards, wearing prisoner control suits unless they had outside help. I want that prisoner transport secured, any surviving officers rescued and whoever helped identified, arrested or eliminated. This is a Priority order issued to all units in the vicinity.”

“There is our answer,” I said.

“It’s an official order.”

Everyone turned to their stations, almost like athletes expecting a start signal.

“Mr. Krabbel lay in an intercept. Mr.Suit and Mao work together and squeeze those sensors. I want to know what’s out there. Cloaked, artificial, beings in suits. Narth please find Mr.Fivcheer and do the same with your minds. Hans, please contact Union Police. I want a prisoner list, a crew list, description of the vessel and every detail of its mission and flight path.”

They all went to do what I told them to do.

I heard Krabbel say to Mao with a satisfied chirp.

“We’re back in business. All that vacation time is for lazy Nuflugs.”

Meateater, the former pirate had very rudimentary memories as to what happened to him. The last consecutive memory he really had was about the Quest for the Celtest depot and a fuel stop on a planet that turned out to be covered with a continent-sized living blanket of sorts. He did try to attack the Silver Streak under that arrogant female captain Black Velvet. After that, his memories really started to get fuzzy. He had no real explanations how he ended up in a Union vessel, stasis hold. He was reanimated by Union Marines, decontaminated, molecule level scanned and searched, stuffed into a virtually indestructible and humiliating prisoner control suit and herded with other members of his crew into a prisoner holding facility. He had no idea where he actually was. It could have been a ship, station, moon or planet just about anywhere.

Most of his crew was there, and surprisingly members of several other pirate crews. He noticed a muscular Togar, just like him in a prisoner control suit. Sitting on a plastic material bench across him, waiting to be seen by registration. Just like his, the suit had bonded with the bench and inhibited pretty much any movement.

“I am not so good keeping Togar apart, but aren’t you Captain Lemakr?”

“I was until I ran into a Union Battleship, that knew I was coming. Now I am Lemakr, the prisoner most likely to see the Executioner.”

“I am Meateater, we both have been on that Quest with the Red Dragon.”

“You can’t be Meateater. We saw you being killed by Black Velvet.”

“But I am not dead. I remember that living continent thing and me trying to get her ship, but then I remember not much else until they reanimated me here.”

“The Quest was a bust. Captain Carrhrh was executed by the Porsthir. For shooting one of theirs and burning off an arm of mine. They actually gave me the proceeds selling the Celestial Nightmare. I called it quits and wanted to fly home, but I didn’t get far. A Union Battleship so far away of Union space waited for me, basically right there. As good as my Kalita is, going toe to toe with a Union monster is suicide.”

Meateater answered.

“Being a known pirate and crossing the path of one of these monsters is suicide as well.”

“Tell me about it, we are all headed for the scaffold. If there is evidence you killed or sold Union citizens, there isn’t much in terms of mercy.”

A woman with white scaled skin came out of the registration office, guarded by two marines and placed on a bench.

Meateater had no problem identifying her, this was Lia Bassett. Officially the black sheep of the Bassett family, Meateater suspected her to be in cohorts with the Shiss.

There was some revelation dawning in his head.

“It appears everyone associated with the Quest ended up in Union custody.”

Lia heard him and grunted. She could not speak as she was not only incapacitated by her control suit, but she was gagged as well.

He realized there was something odd going on. The list of pirates had been reduced in significant numbers.

All this happened several months ago, now he was aboard a Prisoner transfer transport on his way to Brisbane, this was to be his last journey. The jury found him guilty and the Union Judge sentenced him to death. The execution was to take place at the notorious Union Maximum Security Stockage 12, also known as Brisbane Prison Colony. It was the oldest and perhaps most infamous prison facility of the Union. In no small part due to its most famous prisoner and the only one ever escaping. It was none other than Admiral Stahl himself.

That happened over 1500 years ago, no one ever had escaped since. Brisbane, so he learned was a special place, it was a Union Fleet stockade and a prison for non-Union citizen convicted on the most severe crimes. In terms of Union laws, there weren’t much more serious crimes than piracy and the trade in sentient life.

There was no real defense. He could not argue against visual footage and physical evidence tying him to over 400 cases of murder, piracy, rape and the capture and sale of sentient beings of Union origin. He did not deny them.

The same fate befell on the surviving Togar and the Bennett woman.

Some of the captured pirates received lesser sentences, but all were to serve them at Brisbane.

While he had lost all hope, it struck him odd that Lia Bennett was defiant and full of spunk. She tried to tell him something with her eyes, he was just not human enough to identify even half of what her facial expressions tried to tell him.

Whatever it was, it became apparent that it had to do with an escape attempt and a prisoner revolt.

It happened during the fifth day of their journey when the prisoner control suits suddenly deactivated and were removed easily.

Lia and several beings of her crew, came into his cell, brandishing Union TKU blasters.

“Want to meet the hangman or fight with us?” She asked.

There was no choice and no alternative. He got up and she tossed him a TKU.

“Black Velvet and the Red Dragon were in cohorts with the Union all along. They sold us out to a Union Captain named Olafson. This Olafson was known to the Thauran. We almost captured that Union Ship too.

Meateater stormed after her.

“Good riddance to Red Dragon, but I am going to make it a personal mission to kill them both if I ever meet them again.”

He saw several dead Ultra Marines, the special guards.

“How?”

“I got mighty friends, the ship’s AI has been replaced. The prisoner control systems are offline and the containment and internal weapons are under our control.”

The corridors were dark, except for the flashing lights of the red alert strobes. He could smell the putrid smell of superheated materials and the stench of burned flesh.

Lia had about sixty prisoners freed so far.

“Our friends should be cutting into the bridge of this Union shit piece. She wore a communication wrist band and spoke into it.

“Did you guys secure the bridge and roasted a few Union officers?”

“No, we have difficulties.

“The bridge is defended, despite us flooding it with the most lethal gases.

“You idiots! There are hundreds of Union members that do not breathe air. Whoever is there most likely had time to call for help. We need to move!”

Hans made a puzzled face and said.

“This is weird, this is not a standard prisoner transfer ship, but a modified Meteor freighter leased to the Justice Department. The reports are more than screwed up, Captain.”

“Keep digging, I like to know everything about that transport. Who authorized it? Who decided to use a Comet freighter and so forth.”

“Aye Captain. The prisoner list is a similar mess.”

“What is our ETA?”

Shaka did not remove his Virtu Helmet, but he answered giving evidence that he was very aware of bridge conversations.

“We will be within one light year in fifteen minutes, Ma’am.”

“Narth, this bird can cloak right?”

“Yes it will be invisible to known sensors, but the Quasi Shock of us dropping into standard space cannot be cloaked.”

“Activate it anyway. Let them figure out what dropped. Mao, get your weapons hot just in case.”

I missed Har-Hi as I almost asked him to sound Battle stations, but Narth was mentally connected to me. The alert sounds revibrated through the small ship. I also missed SHIP, she would have already raised my seat into the battle view. Realizing that this ship didn’t have one, a virtu view helmet was lowering over my head instead. While the resulting battle view was almost the same, I decided to ask Circuit if he could install the same battle view dome as I had on the Tigershark. While the difference was small, it was noticeable to me.

Hans’s Icon or rather the Security station symbol blinked in the second tier, another thing I wanted to be fixed. While standard layout delegated ship internal security to second tier during Battle stations, I wanted my bridge officers on the priority tier. I blinked active.

“Hans?”

“Captain, you not going to believe me. We know several of the prisoners, first and foremost Meateater and Lia Bassett.”

“Rotting Fangsnapper dung! I thought we heard the last of them. Wasn’t that Lia thug frozen to my command chair the last time I saw her?”

Narth answered.

“She is more Shiss than human and cold-blooded. She survived the freezing and we put her in stasis with the rest.”

I cursed again and said.

“Shaka, drop us at a good light-hour distance and set us to drift.”

Meateater now knew this wasn’t a regular prisoner transport, but a purpose converted freighter. I did not have robots and only six Ultra Marines. The marines were neutralized, thanks to the intruder containment equipment. And now he found out, how Lia was able to do all this. She was joined by the beardless Kermac and six tough looking mercenaries, with strangely colorful battle suits.