Chapter 43: Visits Bring New Troubles

James jumped away from the laser and waved to Tina and me. "Head to the briefing room," he ordered us. Tina dashed off, but I waited among the hanging fabric panels that shielded the ready room from the spray designed to counteract the acid atmosphere as James walked toward the exit.

"Who was that?" the major snapped as James approached the exit. I slipped a bit deeper but remained close enough to hear the conversation.

"Sounded like Ulla," James said.

"I've looked over the list of all the citizens on Ishtar," the major said. "There is no Ulla."

"Ulla is one of the concubines belonging to Timothy," James said.

James had reached the panels, so I started to make my way through them. I continued to strain my ears to hear the major's response.

"What's a concubine doing calling out information? How can she know it so quickly? I know she's not in the command post."

I had to cover my mouth to keep a giggle from escaping. I was now out of the panels and darted over to the chair to sit for a moment.

"No, she isn't in the command post you have seen," James said. "But think about what I told you about how things were when the barbarians still roamed. Do you really think we could have safely manned the command post? Ask Alexis what it was like living on that side of the doors."

James appeared through the panels. I could see him shaking his head as he made it way toward the airlock. I ran over to put my arm in his as the major fought his way free of the panels. He was just emerging when Ulla's voice called out again. "James, the ship has finished emerging. We have a scan, but..."

There was a long pause and then Veronica spoke. "James, what has Ulla puzzled is that the scan doesn't really show us a ship. It looks more like a collection of corvette parts that haven't scattered across a solar system. I can't imagine ... wait, I have an IFF signal."

"Another concubine?" the major asked with a snort.

"Of course," I said as I turned to look at the major. "You don't think Timothy would be in the command post without both of his concubines to keep him company?"

"James, the IFF is saying Cancun," Veronica informed us. "But I think we're going to have to send a tug to salvage the ship."

"Now why would I ask you to do that," the voice of Captain Gates called out. "I'll admit the armor is a bit beat up, but we can still maneuver."

"Captain Gates," Timothy called out. "Your ship has more holes in it than any piece of swiss cheese I have ever seen. Do you have casualties?"

"I believe Gertrude broke her wrist when the concubine barracks was hit," Captain Gates responded. "And Sergeant Reid will need some medical pod time. We had a problem in the missile feed. He went to fix it and a missile rolled over his legs."

"That's all?" Timothy asked.

"Oh, I think everyone has some bumps and bruises," Captain Gates said. "We were making some rather violent maneuvers and the gravity in the ship was fluctuating due to the hits, but nothing too serious. Why?"

"Because I can't believe your ship is still combat-worthy," Timothy said.

I noticed that James had stopped walking and looked around. The conversation over the speakers had captured my attention. We were standing in the airlock and the door to the hallway was opening, allowing us to leave the laser rooms behind.

"We aren't combat-worthy," Captain Gates said. "We have no more missiles and have run out of rail gun projectiles as well. And I wouldn't want to take too many more hits on what's left of our armor."

"Out?" Timothy cried. "But a Patrician carries almost two hundred projectiles for their rail guns, how could you run out?"

"Lots of big transports just waiting to be shot at," Captain Gates replied cheekily. "It was a veritable turkey shoot and the Sa'arm make wonderful turkeys. Now I'm guessing we head to the moons orbiting your lovely planet."

"Yes," Timothy said. "And welcome back to Ishtar."

"Welcome back?" Major Bonham asked.

"Captain Gates brought Cancun to Ishtar about a month ago," James replied. "Strangely enough, it was in just about the same condition last time. Why?"

The major just shook his head. "Never mind. I find that the more I hear, the less I want to understand. I better go alert my marines that we'll have visitors shortly."

James nodded. "You can head back through the doors. Just remember that only one door will open at a time."

"You don't suffer from too much paranoia," the major replied sardonically as he strode off down the passage. James took my hand and started to pull me toward the command post. I giggled and followed.

We had only gone a couple of steps when the speakers came back to life. "Private Rabb," the voice of Colonel Johanes called out. "I am listening to the chatter; it sounds like a ship has just arrived."

"Yes," James replied while we continued to make our way to the command post. "Cancun just emerged from hyperspace. The ship is heavily damaged, but Captain Gates assures us that she can bring the ship to the docks without help."

"I heard," Colonel Johanes replied. "What does this mean to me? Will it disrupt my research?"

"It shouldn't," James said. "I believe you have Linus helping you right now. He won't be required for a standard repair stop. And we can keep the crew out of your way."

"I can live with that," Colonel Johanes replied. "Just keep them out of the labs and out of my marines' way. These artifacts could prove to be very important and I don't need the research tainted."

"We'll do that," James said.

"James," Ulla's voice cried. "I have two more jump points. One in line with Ursus, the second in line with Wolf."

"With the Wolf System? Captain Gates, was there another ship visiting the system when you were?" James asked.

"More!" Colonel Johanes called out. "James, this will not do. I can't have the speakers calling out every ship arrival."

"You can tell the AI to turn off your speakers," I whispered.

"Our duty is to monitor the arrival of ships and to offer assistance as required," James reminded him. "This requires that all citizens be alerted when a ship arrives. You can work with the AI to reduce how much it disrupts your work."

"Just get this over with!" the scientist barked back. "I'm here to conduct serious scientific investigations, not nursemaid a bunch of broken ships."

"I thought we were supposed to nursemaid broken ships," I muttered. James and I had reached the door to the command post. The tapestry slid aside and we stepped through the doorway.

"James," we heard Veronica ring out as we entered. "What do we do?"

"First," James replied. "Captain Gates, was another Confederacy ship in the Wolf system with you?"

"Several," she replied. "Our current tactics are to try to blockade the system. I couldn't tell you which ships were there though. We work independently. Right now, the Sa'arm don't have any capital ships in the system, so we can spread out to catch more of their transports."

"Veronica?" James called out. "Do we have any idea who the two new ships are?"

"Nothing so far," was the reply. Veronica sounded a bit harried, but took a breath and continued. "The ship coming from Ursus has emerged, but I'm getting nothing. The second ship from Wolf hasn't emerged yet."

"Louis! Xavier! We're going to need you in the command post," James shouted. "Ed, get to the medical bay. Brad, you are on transporter duty."

Ulla sighed. "James, can you get the twins in here? The damage to the ships is extensive, and I'm not as good as they are."

"Citizens Tamara and Tiffany have been alerted and are on their way," the AI informed us.

Tina noticed us and ran over to give James a hug. "What was up with the major?" she asked.

"I have no idea," James admitted. "And right now we have a job to do."

"The second ship from Wolf is emerging!" Ulla screamed out.

Everyone was silent for a moment and then Veronica almost jumped from her chair. "Get me Maggie! We need a tug now! And get someone who can run a teleport pod! Ulla, can you get an IFF on the ship?"

"No chance! I don't have a close scan, but the main communications array is gone, and I can see three huge holes in the secondary one," Ulla replied. "Oh god! James, the ship's right railgun just overloaded."

Tamara and Tiffany ran into the room. Tiffany threw her body into an empty chair and started slapping at the controls. I thought she was out of control, but the displays responded to her rapid movements. "Does Cancun have a better scan on the new ship?" she asked. "They came in much further out, but they are closer than my nearest satellite."

Tamara had taken a seat next to Veronica. I noticed she had put an earpiece over her left ear. "Captain Gates? Did you hear the question?"

"I did," we heard Captain Gates reply. "And my tracking officer is shaking his head. We probably can't see much more than you."

Tiffany nodded. "Ah, I think it's Pebble Beach. At least the remnants of the engine signature match what we recorded during the ship's last visit."

"I've finally got a signal from the ship from Ursus, it's Cabo San Lucas," Ulla called out. "Veronica, can you get anything from Captain Dawn Travis? I'm seeing considerable damage to the left side engine."

"James," Major Bonham called out over the speakers. "I need to send a couple of marines to guard the command post. It's standard procedure."

"We don't have time for that!" James snapped. "And it's not like you haven't already got a guard at the closest thing there is to an entrance."