The Asking Price of Stars Page 8

  It was a strange place of haunting beauty with only a thin atmosphere. Mesas and mountains rose up from dry and dusty plains. The planet’s two settlements were each built at the foot of mountain ranges where a limited amount of liquid water runoff could be found underground. The settlements are constructed below surface with clear covers to let in light and with pressure systems to keep the atmosphere inside at near standard. The thin surface atmosphere was the reason for the cargo aboard White Star.

  The liner had been converted some years ago by ripping out most of her passenger cabins and areas and installing two immense cargo holds. The holds now contained the two largest atmospheric and water concentrators ever built. These would allow the settlements to expand meeting needs of the space station. The units were so complex and delicate they could not be disassembled for shipment.

  The Trocnavar Commander of White Star issued the final order to start the surface landing on Martha’s Hide. Commander Fetel Caniitack transmitted, “As each of you know a surface landing is complex and difficult with even with a small space ship. With a ship the size of White Star, landing is near madness. However, we are all being paid splendidly to take this risk. Two of the escorts Boomers Girl and Dark Fire will remain in orbit to protect us from pirate attack. As planned, the third escort Outcast Lady will act as the pathfinder to the surface. May the Imperial Gods and the Human Gods keep us safe. Begin when ready, Commander Jang!”

  Kat double checked to ensure all crew members were in spacesuits and strapped into seats. Kat then issued the command to begin decent. “Ms. Mill-Watkins you have pilot control, fly her down.” In his mind Kat said, Damn I hope all those hours she logged in gliders and lifters pays off.

  Tracey thought, I damn well will get White Star down safe. She knew the liner would be just two minutes behind the Outcast Lady and would base her flight plan on the information Tracey and the crew sent back to the old liner. It was critical they get correct information back to Caniitack and his crew.

  Tracey began the descent. The ship was turned such that she would enter the atmosphere stern first. Tracey fired the plasma engine and Outcast Lady began to slow. Before starting descent, the crew had done several things. The armored iris was closed to protect the Control Center. The dark matter engine tube was withdrawn into the hull. Finally, the lifter was fully manned with Cici as pilot.

  “Mr. Chahill, give us all the lift you can from the gravity system. Cici, please go to full power from the lifter engine,” Tracey instructed.

  Both these actions reduced their apparent weight. As soon as the plasma engine fired Tracey began to battle the buffeting. She danced the maneuvering jets to stabilize the Outcast Lady. At one hundred eighty kilos from the surface the atmosphere began to create serious drag. Tracey increased power to the plasma engine slowing their airspeed. At a hundred thirty kilometers, the ship hit a massive wind shear.

  Tracey fought to save the ship. My gods she is going to tumble! I need to flip the control vanes on plasma engine plus use all control jets. By the gods, I think she is stable, won’t over react and send us into an opposite tumble!

  Peter, who monitored communications with White Star, checked to ensure the info was received and flashed a signal to Tracey’s console. He watched as minutes later the big ship rode through the wind shear more or less smoothly.

  Tracey continued to dance Outcast Lady down balanced on the plasma engine. The sand storm struck at ninety kilos. She went to sensor control only, finding the best course within the storm for the liner behind her.

  At seventy kilometers, the ground control picked her up. “This is the Control Captain, we have your signals. The course down looks acceptable for both of you. Expect severe turbulence at thirty kilos.”

  Tracey’s mind raced. Find the best path you can in the turbulence. Our little ship will bounce around more than the big liner. White Star should be safe even if the Outcast Lady is damaged.

  She kept the ship balanced on her plasma engine until three thousand meters. Then the plasma engine failed.

  Tracey ordered, “NOW, Kat, NOW!!”

  It was the command Kat hoped to never hear. He flipped the cover on four switches which had not been used in seventy some years and tripped all four. Kat thought, I hope by the gods of Far Star this works. Then he heard the detonation of exploding charges and blasts as four hatches round the outside of the nose blew open. Large yellow bags flew into the slip stream around the ship. After long years in storage the four gigantic emergency parachutes opened fully above the Outcast Lady slowing her descent.

  “Thank you engineers and builders of long ago, the damn things still work, THANK YOU” Tracey whispered fervently.

  Chahill extended the landing legs as the Outcast Lady rushed toward the landing area.

  It was an incredibly hard landing. The scream of bending metal sounded as the four legs were crushed but somehow did not collapse. The tube of the plasma engine was driven into the engine’s retraction housing in the hull. Within seconds Marsborn, Fidelity, and the rest of engine room crew sprayed air seal over the leaks in the damaged housing. Kat announced, “We’re down and the hull integrity is holding. All sections check in. Great job everyone."

  Minutes later they all watched their screens as White Star majestically set down in the cradle prepared for her. A great cheer arose throughout the Outcast Lady.

  Within ten minutes Cici De Santis led a team cutting away the lines for the parachutes. High winds often developed on Martha’s Hide. The parachutes would drag the ship over if high winds arose. Working in spacesuits was not easy. The work was going slowly, skin tight suits, light helmets, and a compact air source still inhibited them. Shadow, working on top of the ship, looked up from cutting lines and saw pirates attacking the White Star.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  - A Planet Called Nothing #1 02-13-518

  Three months before and many light years away from the White Star landing, the sun rose on an island on a planet called Nothing #1. At first light a Trocnavar named Artystaar Tiigano awoke on a leaf bed. The arm of a male Human lay across her bare breasts. She was totally nude. Warm tropical air drifted through the windows. She looked to her right, as expected he was no one she knew. She looked to her left; a human woman lay next to her. Doubly good, she barely knew her. The smell of stale yellow spiced liquor and sex mixed with the tropical air.

  Gods be damn, she loved this life; the mindless sex, wild drinking, the battles in space, the screams of the victims, and most of all the killing. It was the close face-to-face killing she relished. Boarding a ship and taking it was pure ecstasy. For a standard year Artystaar had been part of a pirate crew called the Blood Fire. It was the life she had been born for. Recently she was made a team leader by the crew. Of course, her noble Trocnavar family was light years beyond horrified. And they only knew a small part of the life she now lived.

  Born into a noble household the third of three daughters, she was trouble from start. When she was five she drowned her sister’s c-cat. During her eighth year Artystaar tried twice to kill her big sister, once with hot cooking oil. At ten standard years, she told her parents she wanted no part of the family business.

  Her father exploded, “What do you mean you want to be an Imperial Space Force officer? You want to serve in the Blue Fleets! Are you insane? This family has traded in bound labors for hundreds of years! We are nobles! By the gods, the Tiigano clan has resources and we don’t need to send our children to the Blue Fleets!”

  The Imperial Space Force consisted of the outer fleets, The Empress’s Fleets or Blue Fleets and Inner Fleets Emperor’s Fleets or Orange Fleets. The Orange Fleet guarded the core of the Empire and protected about ninety of the one hundred fifty or so inhabited planets in the Trocnavar Empire. All officers were nobles, or high noble Trocs, some even members of Emperor’s clan. Of course, the best and newest ships went to the Orange Fleets.

  The Blue Fleets protected outer edges of the Empire. It was a less imposing force. They were equipp
ed with rebuilt older ships and second class ships. The Blue Fleets were an expendable shield for the Empire. The Blue Fleets were also charged with crushing the frequent rebellions by the outer planets. The officers consisted of poor nobles, common Trocs, and even some humans. Rules and regulations were far less formal in the Blue Fleets, which was just fine with Artystaar.

  Artystaar never made it through Blue Fleet Officer Training. At the end of the first year she killed her lover while drunk. Her current lover had objected to her adding another male for the night. Because she was a Troc, claimed self-defense and the boy was human, she was simply dismissed from the Blue Fleets. Several months of wandering later she found the pirates.

  She took stock of herself. She had the looks of a young Trocnavar Vid star; a short, stocky, strong body, with the smooth curves and the large breasts typical of Troc beauties. Her round face was captivating by both Troc and human standards. Her wide set eyes were deep orange. Artystaar’s blue and gold hair was space cut close to her head. A dyed red streak on the left side of her head marked her as member of the Blood Fire.

  Artystaar recalled last night’s activities. The man was good, perhaps even very good, but the woman was something special. She was older but with a fine figure and trim body. Her breasts were still high. Blonde hair framed a face with a straight nose and cold gray eyes. The lady’s smile was wickedly beautiful. Her skills at sex were extraordinary. Best of all she had three red Kill Dots tattooed on her right arm just below her shoulder.

  I have ten kill dots on my arm. She thought. Only two are red -the rest are black or green.

  Artystaar and the woman met at a tavern called The End of Space. Her name was Sandy and she worked behind the bar. A man at the bar told Artystaar that Sandy had been a passenger on a small trader which pirate raiders captured. During the attack, Sandy seriously wounded two pirates and killed three. The pirate commander was so impressed he let her live. She got her red Kill Dots for the dead pirates. Also during the fighting, she got a raw scar down the left side of her back. After fighting and earning Kill Dots Sandy’s next stop was a job at the tavern.

  After several more months of seasoning working in the tavern, Artystaar decided that Sandy would be a suitable addition to the Blood Fire.

  Chapter Twenty Two –

  Main Landing Field on Martha’s Hide 04-15-518.

  Months later on Martha’s Hide, Shadow stared in shock. It took a moment for Shadow to understand what he was seeing. It was difficult to see the hangers, warehouses, and the field control building across the landing field. The Outcast Lady landed over a kilo from the buildings. Halfway between the Outcast Lady and the base buildings the White Star rested in the cradle built for her. The White Star blocked most of his field of view.

  Two massive mechanical carriers sat near the hangers ready to move out to the White Star. Already moving were six electro-trucks loaded with equipment for the atmospheric and water concentrators. As they drew closer to White Star, Shadow sensed something was wrong with the trucks; instantly Shadow knew! The gun mounts on the trucks were all manned. No one ever manned guns in a peaceful space port.

  Shadow instantly signaled “attack” to the Outcast Lady’s Control Center. He then signaled the team clearing parachute lines to get off the ship’s nose. Shadow thought, you have to admire the bastards! It’s very clever! Attack on the ground where we never expected it. How did they get control of the trucks?

  Within seconds of receiving Shadow’s alarm, Kat declared a full battle alert and issued a series of commands.

  “Tracey and Cici man the lifter pilot and gunner slots. Baryic, Nirabella, plus all trained warriors and me to the lifter! Everyone get into suits with full combat weapons!” Kat ordered.

  “Peter, you have control. Man, the turrets and see if you can shoot without hitting the White Star. Notify Commander Caniitack that help is on its way!” Kat continued.

  “Shadow, are there any flags, symbols, or markings on our attackers?” Kat asked.

  Shadow responded, “No identification that I can see.”

  “Peter, find out who in all the hells we are fighting.” Kat commanded. “We leave for White Star in five minutes. Victory, Honor, Ship!”

  Piloting the lifter, Tracey surveyed the situation. The big ship lay ahead of them like a beached giant fish. The plan was to find an air lock door on this side and unload Kat and his troops. Once inside they would attack those boarding the ship on the other side. Tracey, Cici and a rear gunner, would then fly around the big ship and destroy as many of trucks as possible.

  Tracy found the airlock and flew the lifter up to it. The door was twenty-five meters off the ground. Turning the lifter, she locked the transfer tube from the rear to the airlock. Kat was first into the airlock’s outer chamber followed by Baryic. Within a minute all twenty-eight were in the chamber.

  Just as Tracey began to disengage from the airlock rocket projectiles ripped through the lifter. One of the trucks had driven around the White Star’s cradle. Bits and pieces flew everywhere as the unknown gunner hit them with a second blast. Cici whipped around the quad rocket gun turret and destroyed the truck. But it was too late to save the lifter. Cici and Tracey scrambled for the transfer tube. As they passed the rear gunner, Cici said, “Don’t stop he’s dead.” Cici made it into outer airlock chamber, but just as Tracey reached the tube the damaged lifter fell free. Tracey jumped; one hand grabbed the edge of door. She thought this is it! I die on this gods cursed little planet! Then a strong hand seized a strap on the front of her spacesuit. Cici smiled as she pulled Tracey in.

  On other side of the airlock Kat’s team was greeted by Mark Bourey, a White Star officer.

  “First, thanks for coming to our aid. We are fighting to hold the engine room and control center. The control center is the key. The attackers have at least one hundred troops for the assault. Follow me forward toward the center.” As they ran forward Mark said, “The space suits are great; we may lose air pressure at any time.

  Kat asked Mark, “With the lifter crew, there are twenty-nine of us. What is your plan?”

  “It would be best if we attack from the rear while they are assaulting the area around the Control Center. On Deck B two parallel passageways run forward, first to the officers’ quarters then the Control Center. The attackers are using both passageways to reach the Control Center. If we send our main force into the right-hand passageway and send a much smaller force into the left-hand passageway as a diversion, we should break the assault,” Mark explained.

  Kat responded “Mark, we’ll go with your plan! Baryic, you take five of the team and fake an assault on the left side. I will strike the right side with the balance of the team.”

  It didn’t go exactly as planned. Kat’s team almost immediately got hit by a group of attackers hiding in a cross passageway. One of the team was killed outright. Two others of Kat’s team were seriously wounded. Only their spacesuits saved them. The tough fabric slowed the shrapnel turning a certain death into “a maybe.” Nirabella stripped the spacesuit off the wounded crew to begin medical treatment.

  Gods protect them if this ship loses air pressure. In the thin air of Martha’s Hide, they won’t last two minutes, Nirabella thought.

  Kat killed one attacker then reloaded his rocket pistol. Cici killed another. A dozen attackers held the passage in the officers’ quarters just outside the Control Center.

  Nirabella looked up from her patient and screamed, “Stop Kat! You’re hit in the leg!”

  Kat complied immediately with Nirabella’s warning. With Cici’s help Kat kept limping forward.

  Peter’s voice broke into Kat’s ear plug.

  Kat responded, “How in all the worlds did you get an open com link?”

  “Kat just listen!” Peter warned. “You are fighting Tri-Star Republic Shock Troops, a very tough and disciplined force. At least a hundred boarded the White Star. Six more trucks full of troops are on their way!”

  On the left side of the ship, Baryic and
Tracey were making progress. Light, who was with them, found two large metal storage units on wheels and were rolling the units down the passage in front of themselves. So far, they had encountered only three of the Tri-Star Troops. Ahead of them loomed the bulkhead door into the officers’ quarters just outside the Control Room. Tracey quickly keyed in the code Mark the White Star officer had given her and the door opened.

  Kat reversed the plan. He left Marsborn, Shadow and a handful of troops to hold the passageway on the right and brought most of his forces back through the cross passageway to support Tracey and Baryic. The only hope of stopping the attack was to drive the Tri-Troops out of the officers’ quarters before their reinforcements arrived.

  At that same moment, Peter decided to launch missiles. Out of the few crew members left on board the Outcast Lady, Fidelity clobbered together a missile bay crew. Somehow, they got two missiles ready to launch.