Chapter 2: Our first capture

It had taken a week to get everything I wanted including quality meal packs. I also got and modified prospector hard suits for each of the crew. I had picked the people for the pilot, scan and engineering. The ex fleet crewmen were the exception, they were trained in loading and using the missiles.

I had interviewed each and they were competent and easy to get along with. Captain Jennings was the one to start briefing me and Peter, Lorenz’s spouse and the one I had chosen as my executive officer. There were twenty five systems in the Saint League and most were a good target for us.

I had picked Grindal as our first system. Trying to catch a ship on their jump in was difficult unless you knew where they were from. Captain Jennings had told us that the independent systems had claimed neutrality but they suspected several of providing new technology and supplies.

I grinned at Sonia, our third pilot as I sat in the captain’s chair, “Okay Sonia.”

She grinned as she turned and used the thrusters to move us away from the station. She rotated the ship above the plane of the asteroid belt before starting to accelerate. It was a couple of hours before we were above the belt and heading towards the heliopause. I stood and turned towards the bridge hatch, “Ship is yours.”

We were running three shifts with the six crewmen from fleet doing the daily shipboard chores in equal shifts. Almost three weeks later we jumped and the universe twisted around us until we emerged a week short of Grindal’s heliopause. I nodded back to Peter and he left with Lorenz as I gestured to the scan tech, “Passive only.”

I changed course and reached onto the pilot console to flip the switch that shut the SFT off. I accelerated up to thirty percent which was as fast as we could go and stay off the system scans. It was thirty minutes before the scan tech sat back, “Nothing within two weeks of us.”

I nodded, “We have another week before we will be in position.”

We were in position for another week after we arrived before I woke to the general quarters alarm. I rolled out of bed and dressed quickly before walking to the bridge. We were accelerating at max speed after a large cargo transport. I sat and brought up all the section holographs, “Weapons.”

Samantha glanced at me, “We have him Alex.”

I nodded, “I want a warning shot detonated ten thousand kilometer in front of them.”

She nodded and a moment later a kinetic missile flashed out and a few moments later it exploded. I opened the comm after reading their SFT, “Greek’s Folly come to a full stop or you will be destroyed.”

The cargo ship began slowing, “We are a neutral system ship.”

I opened the comm, “You are in a hostile system. I will be destroying your ship in ten seconds.”

The ship was suddenly coming to a stop, “We surrender!”

I nodded to Sonia as I stood, “The port airlock.”

I started for the hatch,”Tell Greek’s Folly to abandon ship using their life boats.”

Unlike a life globe that could last a few days, a life boat was a small ship capable of a few weeks in space with a ships crew. When I got to the airlock the ex-fleet crew, Peter, Andy and Edgar where putting the hard suits on. I striped quickly and joined them and once we were dressed I opened the intercom, “They abandoned ship yet Sonia?”

“Two life boats were jettisoned.”

I moved to the airlock as the inner was closed. I opened it and moved through holding the plasma pistol. After everyone was in the other ship’s airlock I opened the inner and stepped into the ship, “Engineering party check for traps and get the reactors and engines online. Andy, Edgar with me, the rest of you clear the ship.”

I headed forward to the bridge, checking everything as I went. I cursed when the console did not respond and opened the comm to the corvette, “Sonia, do you still have the lifeboats on scan?”

“Yes.”

I leaned back in the pilot seat, “Use the emergency comm freq. Tell them you are going to put a missile in each boat unless they tell us in the next thirty second what they did to the ship.”

“Standby.”

I moved out of the seat and crawled under the console and stared at the improvised bomb. I pulled the power connectors and then removed the bomb before plugging the power connectors back into the boards, “Check under the consoles for bombs.”

We found three on the bridge before Sonia called back, “They left bombs scattered through the ship.”

I used the intercom, “Check under all the consoles that do not have power.”

I looked at the one I had pulled out to see the timer, “We only have a few minutes before they detonate. Make sure someone checks the fuel tanks and the reactors.”

I went to check under the captain’s chair and sighed when it was clear. It was a minute before everyone called back and we started the ship moving. I let Andy take the controls as I headed towards the airlock, “Prize crew the ship is yours, everyone else back to the corvette.”

I was the last aboard and closed the airlock hatches on both ships before starting to strip out of the hard suit, “Move us away Sonia and fall back to follow.”

When I walked onto the bridge Tana glanced at me, “We have a dozen destroyers heading this way.”

I nodded as I sat and opened the comm, “Greek’s Folly, jump when you are ready.”