Wandering Engineer 6: Pirates Bane (48 page)

“We can't let them go,” Irina said.

“We're not going to,” the Admiral said. “Are we locked up?” he
asked.

Irina checked her board and then looked up and nodded.

“Then fire Lieutenant. Force beam, half power. Target is the
collier. Take her shields down.”

“Firing,” Irina replied, tapping her board. The Admiral could hear
the slight change in the power grid as it hummed, dropping ever so slightly
when the force emitter's capacitors drained and then drew on a replenishing
charge.

Outside the ship gravitational force ripped across the void
between the destroyer and the unarmed freighter turned collier. The force
ripped into the ship's shields, ripping and tearing at them, blowing the
breakers in her wedge force pods and sending a spike of electrical power from
the no longer working pods through the ship's systems. After a moment she was
adrift, running lights and engines dark.

“She's out Admiral. Tanker is hailing us. They are surrendering,”
Bounty reported.

“Good,” the Admiral said, nodding. “Very good. Tell them...” he
paused and smiled. The smile was a cold one. “Tell them prepare to be boarded,”
he said.

“Aye aye sir.”

ACT III

Once the corvette was secure Lewis was dispatched via the pinnace
to board and secure the unarmed supply ships. He reported success with the
tanker, it had a crew of twelve and all were properly cowed by the turn of events
and the arrival of the marine boarding party.

The freighter went down almost as smoothly. Only one marine was
reportedly injured, Yorrick tripped over a knee knocker and fell flat on his
face, cutting his chin and breaking his nose. But he hadn't dropped his weapon,
and wonder of wonders, he hadn't accidentally pulled the trigger during the
fall. According to the rather amused medic, the quick heal was already setting
in and he'd be back to bumping his nose into things again by next shift.

Lewis reported a significant find. In a sweep of the ship his team
discovered sixty nine human slaves in the brig and one of the small holds of
the freighter. Some were from the eight ships that had been taken in Beta 100
omega and tearful reunions were underway. “That's good news!” Sprite said.
“Right?” she asked, turning to the Admiral. He nodded.

Once the ships were secure the shuttles returned to Bounty with
the prisoners and then made a turn around to bring over navy prize crews. There
was a great deal of celebration over the irony in jacking a pirate ship.

The freed slaves were transported over to the ship in small
groups. Some were terrified, sure that the Horathian's would show up any minute
and punish them if they left the brig.

It took a day for the crews to settle down. While they did Sindri
took a picked engineering crew to each ship to look them over for any hidden
surprises. Sprite, Defender, and Phoenix did the same in the computers of each
of the ships. What the two groups found disturbed them.

“Admiral, a moment?” Sprite asked.

“What is it Commander,” Irons replied testily. He was alone in the
wardroom, going over the latest reports. “Do you have a report.”

“Yes. Commander Sindri expresses his regret in not being here to
report in person. We've gone over it, and combined it with our own,” Sprite
said, sounding formal. That got the Admiral's attention.

“We? Who's we?” he asked absently.

“Lieutenants Bounty, Defender, Phoenix, Ensign Proteus, Lieutenant
Gray, Commander Sindri, and myself,” Sprite replied. Irons frowned. That was
all the AIs. “It's important sir,” she said.

The sir clinched it. The Admiral flipped the tablet he had been
reading onto the table in front of him and then rocked side to side for a
moment. “Let's hear it,” he finally said.

“Just don't shoot the messenger,” Sprite said.

“Okay...” Irons drawled. “I'm sufficiently warned of pending bad
news. Now spill,” he growled.

“Very well,” Sprite said, activating the holographic projector
embedded in the table. She turned and rescaled the image so she was smaller and
under an image of the Apollo corvette as it tumbled on all axis. “We've gone
over each of the ships with a fine tooth comb. We have checked, rechecked, and
checked again, but our facts remain the same. The corvette and tanker are new
construction Admiral.”

Irons instantly scowled. “You are not serious,” he growled.

“As I've said, we've confirmed it Admiral.”

“This I have to see for myself,” he said, holding up a hand. He
was shocked; he had to admit it to himself. It just wasn't possible. “Hold off
on the rest.”

He got up and exited the compartment, then sternly marched to the
starboard airlock where the corvette was docked.

He nodded politely to those he passed. Some of the crew paused
what they were doing when they noted him in passing, but his stride and stern
expression made them hold off approaching him. He ignored protocol, moving
quickly. He ducked and stepped through the various hatches until he arrived in
the lock.

Right off he noted the new but crude frame supports. Some of it
was very crude, held together with rivets, not a standard of construction back
in his time. Still, it could be a slap dash repair job or a desperately quick
built ship so he reserved judgment.

Over the next hour he nodded to the crew but remained silent as he
studied the ship and it's components. He found the ship used a mix of civilian
and milspec hardware, but the frame and a quarter of the sub systems were new
construction. Some of that he had known about from Proteus's prior findings,
but this was beyond his expectations and pretty close to his dark nightmares.

He nodded to the crew and then returned to the wardroom. He sat
heavily in his chair and looked at a very sober looking Sprite.

“This changes the playing field.”

“Indeed.
It
also confirms a few things. We're comparing the databases we've captured and
cross-referencing them Admiral. We're getting a clearer picture. One we don't
like.”

“And you've waited to tell me this now?” Irons snarled, furious.
What the hell were they thinking holding something like that back from him he
thought?

“You've been busy. And we classified it as unsubstantiated until
we had a secondary source. Now we do for some of it sir,” Defender replied.

“Lovely. Brief me.”

“You're not going to like it.”

“I'm not going to like a lot of things. That doesn't mean I don't
need to hear it. Don't do that to me, don't go behind my back or only give me
Intel to keep me happy. I need it all.”

“Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam war,” Sprite said.

“Come again?”

“President of the ancient United States. He would fly into rages
if his people brought him bad news, so they censored it. The people in the
field were ordered to inflate the body counts of the enemy.”

“Politics.”

“It's happened with flag officers as well Admiral,” Sprite said.
“And you are right.”

“Don't do it again,” Irons growled.

“Aye sir,” the AI replied, now subdued.

“Now brief me,” he said, getting comfortable.

<----*----*----*---->

When Sprite and Bounty finished their report the Admiral frowned
pensively.

“I was worried about them getting into Pyrax and capturing the
yard intact.”

“That is true. What bothers me is we don't have a commission date
on the corvette because her hardware is a jumble from various sources and
Alverez did his best to wipe her database. Some of the hardware dates back to
our time, but some of the electronics are crude copies,” Bounty said. “Newly
made copies.”

“Yes.”

“So, the ship could have been commissioned last year, or a
century ago.”

“Now that last part I don't believe. Get someone to do a wear
check on her hull and drive. A spectrographic analysis will give you a number
on how long it's been in service. And even though you can't get a hard date,
you can check some of her back up files and look into the ship's usage that
way. Bug reports.”

“They are hashed. Surprisingly though, the ship is free of
viruses,” Sprite said.

“Good.”

“But the mess does explain why our virus attack didn't work.”

“Yes, I realize that,” the Admiral said.

“Admiral, they could have
hundreds
, possibly
thousands
of hulls waiting for the right mix of parts to finish. All mothballed like
Commander Logan is doing in Pyrax. And as they bring back their booty...”

Sprite left the rest for him to figure out. As they processed the
booty, the Horathian's had slotted into various ships. They might have even
taken captured ships apart for their parts. They were more valuable for their
parts than their hulls. “It does explain a few things,” the Admiral replied.

“Yes.”

“And yes, I did figure that part out,” the Admiral growled.
“Unfortunately, we're not in a position to do anything about it.
Yet
.”

<----*----*----*---->

The prisoner was escorted into the Captain's wardroom in chains.
The AI watched him; certain he was the weakest link. She studied the human,
knowing she wasn't as good as a proper interrogator, but she and Defender were
all the crew had.

“Prisoner will be seated,” the marine said gruffly, roughly
maneuvering the young man over to a chair. “That means asshole, sit your ass
down before I break your knees,” Private Yorrick growled, forcing the young man
into the seat.

“Yes, he is vulnerable,” Defender, said. “Observe the heat
signature. The beads of sweat on his brow. The nervous tremor and the way he
gulped and bit his lip. I suggest you make him wait Commander.”

“Wait?”

“You know the drill. Humans have little patience. Making him wait
will activate his imagination. He will think of all sorts of scenarios, none of
them good for him. That should make him more vulnerable.”

“Understood,” Sprite said. She studied the young man.

“While we wait we can access what files we have on him and watch
him closely,” the AI said as the young man nervously looked around the room and
then over his shoulder to Yorrick. Yorrick curled his lip slightly and the
young man immediately froze and then sat rigid, hands on his knees.

“He's certainly not comfortable in that chair,” Sprite observed.
“It's not the normal chair in this compartment either,” she said.

“I ordered it for this occasion,” Defender replied to her alone.
“Not only is one leg slightly shorter to make it off balance, it is a hard
metal chair that is slightly too low. That will make you taller than him when
you appear, giving you a position of dominance. The wobbly chair will make him
uncomfortable over time.”

“Oh.”

“Also, I had the guards provide him with liquid refreshment. Once
it works its way through his digestive system it will build up in his bladder
and cause physical discomfort. It will cause a subconscious desire to get this
done to relieve him soon.”

“Oh, that is wicked,” Sprite, said with a grin. “I like it.”

“I don't care what you like or dislike. Unless it violates my
programming,” Defender replied.

“Yeah, I know,” Sprite, sighed. “Anything else?”

“Play the role of the cold but understanding cop. Use the Marine
as the bad cop. That will induce Stockholm syndrome in the prisoner. He will be
compelled to keep you happy to keep the bad cop at bay.”

“I see. Where are you getting all this?”

“My interrogation manual,” Defender replied.

“I don't suppose I could have a copy,” Sprite asked. “So we could
be on the same page?” she asked.

The other AI just stared at her with red eyes. She sighed.
“Thought not.”

After fifteen minutes it wasn't the prisoner that got angry, it
was Yorrick. “Damn it, we going to do this or not? I'm getting bored here,” he
growled. “And hungry,” he muttered.

The prisoner glanced over his shoulder at him and then back to
the empty desk. Well, not quite empty, the holo projector was there.

Sprite sent the signal and triggered the holo projector. Both men
blinked as the compartment's lights dimmed and her image appeared.

Yorrick came to attention, gripping his weapon. Sprite nodded to
him. “As you were private,” she said.

“Um...” Bobby looked from the Marine to the apparition on the
desk. “Is this some sort of joke?” he asked.

“No joke Bobby,” Sprite said. “I am Lieutenant Commander Sprite.
I am an AI. A class two point one smart AI. I've evolved a bit,” she said,
smiling slightly.

Awe briefly washed over the young prisoners face. That was
replaced by fear when he finally caught up with her artificial appearance.
Sprite was in her formal black day uniform, complete with cover. The uniform
had glowing circuitry patterns embedded in it.

“I see you've met Private Yorrick,” Sprite said. “A bit more
introductions are in order. You see, Yorrick wasn't a Marine some time ago. He
was a prisoner. In the brig you were just in.”

“He... he was?” Bobby asked, turning wide eyes to the Marine.
Yorrick didn't respond, he just stood there, staring as duty and his orders had
laid out for him.

“Yes. We liberated him and the others. They are now members of
the Federation military. As am I. Which brings me to you,” Sprite said sounding
sad.

“Me?” the young man's voice asked.

“Yes. You see, you Horathian's have been terrible to Private
Yorrick and his fellows. Just terrible,” Sprite said, tisk tisking. “I've seen
the footage. You can't deny it. It's what the pirates have been doing for some
time. And you are a pirate.”

“I...” He flushed. “That wasn't me!”

“Raping, looting...” Sprite ticked off the list one by one.
“You're saying you never did any of it? But, and this is important,” she said.
“Here you are,” she said. “And here they are,” she said, indicating Yorrick.

The young man's eyes cut to the marine and then back to the AI
“Yeah, I know, but...”

“Oh hush, let me finish,” Sprite said, rolling right over his
protest. “You see, we have all the records, all the files. We've interviewed
the survivors, we know what they know. And you know what? Raping, murder,
torture, and genocide? Those are all death sentences where we are concerned,”
Sprite said, voice growing cold.