Double Orange Radiation 1

Double Orange Radiation 1:

A Skrilxya and Ben Story:

Skrilxya Yonamey, a First Commissioner of the Mind Empire Armada, has taken a mission from the Admiralty to investigate the border systems for pirate activity and aid the Allied Ombroj tribes against their antagonistic kin. Several Ombroj tribes use the system of 61 Cygni as a waystation for their nomadic fleets. A pair of merchants now lay claim to an asteroid rich in Crimson Matter, the volatile fuel for FTL travel that all the great powers of the galaxy crave. Skrilxya and her trusted Second Commissioner, Ben Rikaron, are traveling with the merchant team of Marc Tomadilla and Tiluddu to 61 Cygni to protect their claim and to flush out potential pirates.

The jump into 61 Cygni was uneventful. The fleet found itself in a quiet region of space not far, in spatial terms, from a heavily ringed and milky clouded gas giant. That was Volador. Its name meant “flyer” in an old Earth dialect that many Hamans still spoke, including the original surveyor and her family. Volador was unique because of a complicated “figure eight” orbit it performed around both stars in the system. Such an orbit was usually impossible, but the two orange stars of 61 Cygni had an unusually stable resonance, allowing Volador and many much smaller objects to circle them.

The fleet was not on course for the gas giant itself, but a dwarf planet locked in Volador’s Lagrange 2 point. This dwarf planet was un-named and until recently unnoticed. But thanks to the Haman merchant Marc Tomadilla and his Ombroj associate Tiluddu, it was now known to be a rich source of Crimson Matter. The pair had bought the rights to mine the rock and profit from their benefactor in I.R.D.a.C. but had to defend it themselves. At least that was until now, or so Marc Tomadilla was hoping. The help of the Mind Imperial Armada never came cheap.

Skrilxya was having similar thoughts on board the Gungnir. She was given a budget by the Armada to complete this task, and carte blanche to use the money where she saw fit. She had already used some of it to purchase information from Tiluddu. He knew how many tribes maintained a regular presence in the system, he knew a little information about the Huuk tribe’s mysterious alliance with a rogue Nebulan queen Kirimella, and most important: Tiluddu didn’t fully trust Tomadilla.

Skrilxya would keep this information to herself for now. She would need to meet with her Captains and Executive Officers to discuss the implications of this data but for now, they would have to be patient. Ben and his team were still on board Tomadilla’s ship for the time being. He would invariably have more to say on the situation when he returned. First, they had to reach the dwarf planet in one piece. Easy enough in empty space, but Volador had radiation and rogue comets in generous amounts, and there was the chance of an ambush around the planet. They were approaching from the “sun-side” and preparing to glide over the planet’s north pole.

Walking around the bridge Skrilxya peered over her crew’s data-boards and control panels. Everyone was hard at work adjusting the Gungnir and the fleet's coordinates and monitoring all channels for other communications. Leading the latter task was Gordon Siwakoro. He stood hunched over a younger adjutant who was typing furiously into a code input station. He was muttering about the code that needed to be entered. As Skrilxya stepped closer and her feet clicked on the laminate-plasteel floors Siwakoro straightened himself and respectfully saluted. “Channels clear for now Captain!” Lieutenant Siwakoro was always polite but frank. Skrixlya returned the salute and asked, “no rogue signals or stray static?”

“All is quiet” said Siwakoro, “I was expecting to hear at least something when we exited phase space but the whole system is without chatter. The only thing I can pick up for now is the automated sensor-relay from the waystation. If anyone is there, they are keeping their chatter off the radio.”

“Do you know anything about the waystation in this system?”

“It’s the standard model, I can pull the schematics up at my station” Siwakoro gestured for Skrilxya to follow him, but not before telling the Adjutant Palmiron to try a different channel and the same code. Once they reached Siwakoro’s desk he clicked his wrist-bound display and pulled up a projection of the local Waystation’s model.

“This assumes they haven’t added anything to the station in the last year or two. It’s operated by a controller AI who hired seasonal teams of non-AI employees for cleaning and maintenance. Of course, because this system is on the fringe and not settled by Hamans, the last time a Ministry records keeper was here was ten months ago, and the Queen’s Alliance Tax Collection Agency won’t share their files for this year with the Imperial Ministry until next month. The Controller has almost complete control over its station.”

“Do you think this AI would cooperate with us if we contacted it?”

“It’s supposed to, but if you want my honest opinion, I think it’s probably working with the Ombroj tribes here too.”

“If I ask for opinions, you may give them honestly Lieutenant, as of now we need more data before we become opinionated. You will alert the system AI and try to establish whether there is anyone else in the system. If 61 Cygni is currently unsettled, then we will have an easy approach. If not…”

Siwakoro stood silently awaiting her word.

Skrilxya responded “which of your cohort do you trust the most?”

“Palmiron is on the channels monitoring for trace Ombroj communications. I’ve got Gyahuan and Darugon on phase-space resonance tracing, and…”

“Put Palmiron on task to contact the station, switch Darugon to Ombroj comms.”

“Ah, uh, Yes Ma’am.”

“Very good Lieutenant, patch me through to Tomadilla and Tiluddu. Keep your operations quiet.”

“Yes Ma’am, Captain.” Within the minute Siwakoro was opening the screen for a three-way communication between Tomadilla’s ship the Gabriel Cielos, Tiluddu’s ship Urchadki, and the Gungnir. Skrilxya stood proudly before her Captain’s chair, with her arms crossed behind her wide back and her tail whipped behind her elegantly.

Tomadilla and Tiluddu both appeared before her on the bridge’s screen. Skrilxya eyed the two Captains joining her to the dwarf planet with intensity. The screen was unblemished for both and showed all their features in genuine clarity.

Marc Tomadilla looked luxurious and relaxed on the surface. His floral shirt unbuttoned showed his chest hair and his face was scruffy and partially hidden under a mop of greasy curly hair. He smiled wide and raised a drinking glass full of something pink with ice to Skrilxya in salute. “Cap’m” he said warmly.

Tiluddu cut a different figure. The folds over his eyes obscured the four piercing gleams that first showed when he looked up at the screen. His skin looked pale compared to his rich brown fur, only adorned with a tool bandolier, and his long ears curled at the top surrounding his tapered head. He nodded quietly and grunted: “Commissioner.”

“Fair weather for flying gentlemen” Skrilxya said with a colonial twang “we’ve arrived and I haven’t heard a peep from any other ships in the system. We have our course laid straight for your dwarf planet. How shall we proceed?”

“Well Ma’am I was hoping you’d help us set a defensive perimeter around the dwarf planet so we could begin our mining operations,” said Tomadilla.

“That sounds like a reasonable course of action, what about you Tiluddu?”

“I concur with my fellow Captain, a defensive perimeter is essential.” Tiluddu clicked his claws audibly through the screen “this fair weather, as you say, will not last, we will have hostile contacts in the system soon.”

“Oh, How do you know this?” Skrilxya asked with a mild tail swish.

“Leave it to instinct. One of our rivals will be back shortly. They leave regularly to keep anyone else in the system off their trail. But they’ll return. We could have up to two weeks.”

“That gives us plenty of time to get started. Stay on the course I set gentlemen, we will be to your little planet in five hours.”

“Aye aye” said Tomadilla “laying in course.”

“Course locked in” Tiluddu said with a growl. “We’re on our way.”

The screens cut off, and Skrilxya smiled at Siwakoro. “Please patch a message over to the Second Commissioner for me, Lieutenant.”

Ben:

Second Commissioner Ben Rikaron was out of earshot of Tomadilla when he was patched in to speak with Skrilxya and Gordon. The two were speaking quickly but he understood the intent. “Copy, How long do I have until I can re-establish contact?”

Siwakoro said curtly: “five hours, Volador’s magnetic field is strong.”

“Copy, see you then Captain, Lieutenant.”

“Gungnir out.” And the comms clicked off.

Ben turned and re-entered the beach themed bridge of the Gabriel Cielos happy and calm as always. Marc Tomadilla turned to face him in his swiveling captain's chair. “Anything special Sir?”

“Oh no, just telling me how the ship was running,” Ben laughed, “but I did hear that we'll be setting a perimeter in the L-2 zone around your new rock. What were you going to use exactly?”

“Well it might be better just to show you!” Captain Tomadilla said standing up. “I don’t have the money to have a Star fortress of any kind but I did get some pretty nice auto-turrets from a swap shop over I’yrcon. They’re a little banged up from Aliosan fire but my crews have been re-buffing and debugging them since we parked at Bob. Come on, they’re in the holds.”

Tomadilla asked Ben to follow him and the Second Commissioner gladly followed behind. He noticed that the first mate, Val Rayden, took the helm silently and glanced at them until they left the bridge. Ben also gave knowing glances to his companions, including Ensign Bumby. Stay low was the silent phrase.

Tomadilla and Ben made their way through the narrow hallways toward the observation spikes that looked out over the cargo hold of all A.R.E. Class vessels. From here a captain could view their entire manifest by rotating the spike alongside the holds, both internal and external. Ben could see that Tomadillo got a bargain. Twelve Merlon class auto-turrets. These were scrapped or repossessed from trashed stations set up during the Contact War and before. Many like them were being used by planetary defense forces and commercial ventures. Ben had even seen a turret from one of these attached to a star-yacht. Just like Tomadillo had said, Ben saw the crew of the Gabriel Cielos hard at work repairing and adjusting the auto-turrets to make them functional. Six of them were ready for action, four were mostly functional, and two looked like they’d fall apart within the day if not fixed.

Ben was overall impressed with the work. “These will be perfect in an orbital grid! What about the parts for your mining rig?”

“Well we’ve gotta use the Gabriel for now, but I’m budgeting to finish buying the parts for a new rig to sit permanently. It’s the habitat modules and the communication relay that I’m missing. I’ve got the Crimson Matter storage units already so I don’t need to buy more just yet.”

“Do any C-1s come through this system?”

“Not on the regular, you’ve got to special request with the Waystation for the I’yrconian or Nebulan routes to Ys or Ran and the other borderlands systems to come out this way. That also costs a cool credit or two.”

“That’ll make things difficult to start, you’re going to need to get on good terms with the Waystation then.”

“Yes, but it’s just an AI and droids for most of the year. Abbott, that’s the AI, is a bit of a stickler for the rules. He wouldn’t even let me or Tiluddu set up an outpost here without the contract from our patron signed and marked.”

“Oh I see, a true droid then.” Ben laughed knowing the reputation of some AI personalities. He continued to think out loud “If you don’t mind me asking who was your patron? Seems like they gave you a rotten deal.”

Tomadilla furrowed his brow and groaned the name: “James Jalmacon. As part of his bid to dump his unnecessary holdings for easy profit. We and his other beneficiaries received portions from his asteroid speculation in a very public list. That’s the only thing I begrudge. We found the asteroid and we were given the rights legally. I just wish we had more time to make it safe.”

“Ah well, he might have meant well. Maybe he wanted to make sure there was no question of who it belonged to?”

“Perhaps, the I.R.D.a.C. Shareholders are ruthless.” Tomadilla calmed a little bit, and said abruptly: “come back down here now I’ve got more to show you.” Ben followed him gladly, taking one last chance to look out over the cargo. He thought to himself how good the crew seemed to act. He wondered if they’d be as good during a fight as they were completing repairs.

Skrilxya:

The First Commissioner had spent the last hour monitoring the movements of the fleet. With Tomadilla and Tiluddu’s fleets traveling in their group the whole fleet was eighteen high tonnage vessels strong. Every one of them also carried corvettes and dropships that numbered almost one hundred. The high-tonnage vessels were grouped together in a formation that acted like a school of fish, with many vessels including the Gungnir and the Gabriel Cielos weaving between each-other alternating who was on the perimeter and who was in the center. She was watching them move and the trajectory of their course through a three dimensional projection that floated in front of her Captain’s chair in the center of the bridge. Ensign Malkra Dahoney, a young Malluman who was running communiques and data-crystals between stations, took a moment to pause and admire the view as well.

Noticing her fixation, Skrilxya commented: “Are you enjoying the view Ensign?”

“Yes Ma’am” she said bashfully “I’ve always liked the way ships move through space. It’s almost natural. Like fish or birds moving together. Reminds me of home a bit.”

“Yes” she hissed calmly “I believe that was the model the modern scientists used. Where is home for your Clan-branch?”

“It’s on San, near the fingers. My sisters and I are all from there.”

“Very good,” said Skrilxya with a deep sigh. “Do you have tasks to complete Ensign?”

“Yes Ma’am, I’m on my way!” Ensign Dahoney left in a hurry to deliver her goods, and Skrilxya remained in her seat. She pondered the naturality of the ships movement and remembered that Nebulan ships used similar patterns during spaceflight. The merchants had also told her that Kirimella had access to a Hive Factory station and a fleet to accompany it. This gave her pause, for she remembered a crucial detail about Nebulans.

Quietly she approached Siwakoro who was typing at his desk and adjusting his frequencies. “No activity?”

“Nothing but the station” said the Lieutenant who leaned back in his chair and refocused his eyes. Once he was settled he looked at his Captain with a sigh.

Skrilxya asked “did Ensign Palmiron receive any special communications from Abbott?”

“It’s not giving us anything useful, just told us ‘Welcome to 61 Cygni’ and gave us a list of engineering complaints it wanted the Navy repair teams to look into.”

Skrilxya nodded. Then she asked “Have we picked up anything in the psychic channels?”

“Ombroj don’t use psychic channels ma’am, they strictly use radio para-waves.”

“Nebulans do, Lieutenant.” Skrilxya said. Lieutenant Siwakoro froze, sat up, and said “Palmiron! scan for psychic-ping residuals. All frequencies. Gyahuan! Up here now!”

Ensign Gyahuan appeared within five seconds before the First Commissioner and saluted. Siwakoro said “have you had any success using the phase-space resonance tracers?”

Gyahuan said “I’ve only been able to pick up the faintest traces of communication. Around Venena there were a few resonations but nothing concrete. I can’t lock onto anything and neither can Gungnir.

“That is correct” said Simon G. over the comms. “No lockable resonations and no pings other than faint background noise. But there have been a few minor resonations near that planet.”

“When did you detect them?”

Gyahuan answered: “When we first arrived in the system, they went silent thirty minutes ago. We did not report them because they did not have a common pattern and we were waiting for more concrete data.”

Skrilxya hissed and stood stoically, looking back at the fleet patterns on her projector and the view of Volador on the primary wall-screen. Lieutenant Siwakoro remarked “it could be nothing, but Nebulans have demonstrated an ability to scatter their psy-wave communications as a stealth tactic.” He looked at Skrilxya and said “Captain, this is a risk we shouldn’t take lightly, even if it is nothing. The Ombroj are one thing, we know how to fight them, but Nebulans have Imperial technology to say nothing of their own.”

“If they’re at Venena, it will take them at least two days to arrive at Volador's current position in the system. And Nebulan Hive fleets don’t travel as fast as their pickets.”

“So that should give us about five days if they travel as a single fleet.”

“And we know they will” Skrilxya said with a smile “because they won’t risk their Hive Factory. Not here anyway.” She patted her right hand on Siwakoro’s shoulder “Keep the psychic wave channels open, if you notice any extra static, try to decipher it.”

Siwakoro sighed “we really need to ask for a Psycomm team with HQ.” Simon G. replied quickly “you don’t trust me to do it?” The Lieutenant laughed “Navigator, you’ve got more important things to worry about on this ship than double working yourself monitoring communication. Even if you have the training, I need you to fly the ship.”

“I’ll fly it for now” Skrilxya said, “Simon G. You can get on the psy-wave frequencies too. Let's figure out their trajectory as quickly as possible.” Skrilxya sat back down in her captain's chair and activated the auto-cameras to track anomalous movement in the system near Venena. In the meantime, she pulled up a new screen and produced an audio-recording about Nebulan culture to wait for results and pilot the ship herself. She plugged herself in, felt the controls of the engines in her nerves, and after a brief period of adjustment guided the ship through space in its zero-gravity dance with the fleet.

Skrilxya knew a bit about the Nebulans from living near I’yrcon. Her mother even had a working partnership with Hive Prednyl and had met Queen Prenulidia once when she was young. But I’yrconian Nebulans were not like all Nebulans, and she needed to refresh herself on their cultural norms. As a Commissioner of the Navy Skrilxya had to be a diplomat as well as a hunter.

As Skrilxya maneuvered the Gungnir through space with the rest of the fleet she listened to the recording discuss the Nebulan mentality and where it came from.

“... as society developed across Oanyo, the Hives began to cooperate through trade and bartering for resources. For the Nebulans dealing with the harsh conditions of their homeworld, maximizing their ability to secure vital resources was essential…”

Skrilxya skipped forward a bit to the foundation of the Queens’ Alliance; she had heard their evolutionary history in public school along with the History of the Mind Empire as a whole.

“... the four thousand and ninety six Hives of Oanyo created what is usually translated as the World Meeting, this would be the center of the new Queens’ Alliance. The over four thousand matriarchs would consider this World Meeting the place to end all disputes, where regulations for trade and business and common currencies would be decided upon. The monthly Grand-Market festival would also take place shortly after the World Meeting sessions on Oanyo…”

She would listen even as she guided the Gungnir and the rest of the fleet through the strong magnetic field of Volador. The fleet would pass within five hundred miles of a comet on a trans-polar orbit of the planet and catch the mist-like debris in their plasma fields. One part of the narration that stuck out to her had this to say about the Hives and their Queens:

“Daughters of older queens who are trying to establish new hives on their own will often act out of desperation to establish their hive by any means necessary. Nebulan colonization of deep space has been helpful in mitigating the stresses of establishing new territory, but presents a new challenge in the modern age: economic niches. The Nebulan market ethos dictates that all Hives should fit themselves into a useful and productive niche, such as terraforming projects, resource gathering, or manufacturing. And every independent Queen needs to establish themselves in a new territory to be measured a success to themselves and by the Queen’s Alliance at large. Some Hives solve this problem by making the growing daughters cooperative directors of a larger Hive Corporation, while others send their daughters to the furthest corners of the Empire where no Nebulans dwell, and unclaimed territory is abundant…”

Skrilxya made a point to remember this as she guided the ships onward through the Magnetic Radiation of the gas giant. Her auto-cameras pinged her attention and she looked in their view herself while she remained plugged into the ship. Through the cameras she could see a blurry but identifiable shape coming from the general direction of 61 Cygni B. Just at the crest of the orange star’s corona, she could see a lumpy asteroid surrounded by smaller specks on a slow but steady course toward Volador.

Ben:

The Second Commissioner ducked under the fuselage tubes that ran along the narrow hallway and into a hidden closet. He was taking this moment of silence to snoop around. Captain Tomadilla had gotten distracted by some of his crew and members of Ben’s party. The Captain told Ben to make his way on his own back to the cabin. “She’s a big ship but you can hardly get lost, '' said Tomadilla to him as he cracked open a bottle of Zoshu with Dreyfos, Bumby, and picked members of his own crew. Try me, thought Ben as he departed, giving Ensign Bumby a pat on the shoulder.

Inside the closet Ben did not find what he was looking for. No handheld weapons tucked away in here, only spare parts for ship maintenance. If this crew was carrying firearms he would have found them by now, or they were all in the individual bunks. He didn’t have time to check all of those. After patting the wall softly with his gloved hands he turned to leave, this location was now cleared and marked.

Exiting the closet without making any extra noise Ben continued his stroll up the hallway. It was easy to follow the spine of the vessel and get back to where he started, these kinds of ships were designed for utility first and space-saving to carry as much cargo as possible. That’s when Ben thought that any smuggled weapons might be in one of the pressurized containers hanging from the hull. He couldn’t go there without drawing unwanted attention to himself, so any investigation there would have to wait.

As he approached the portion of the habitat adjacent to the bridge he was confronted by Val Rayden. The blond mercenary leaned against the wall nonchalantly and nodded hello. “Enjoying the views?” he asked Ben.

“It’s not necessarily the design choice I would have gone with, but it’s less tacky than the beachside bridge” Ben said with the start of a chuckle. He didn’t have a good read on this Val. What was his game?

“Well we don’t all want to feel like we can sip Zoshu and Orange-Juice with our toes in the sand when we fly a ship” Val said, returning the laugh. “But that's what the Boss wanted. He said it made things feel brighter.”

“Right, that’s definitely true,” Ben said. He acknowledged there were very few places where shadow could be seen in the halls.

“It makes it easier to clean up by hand. You know how those cleaning drones break down I’m sure.”

Ben replied affirmatively. He was getting tired of this small talk but played the game some more. He decided to walk with Val who was making his way back to the bridge area too. “How long have you known Mon Tomadilla?”

“I met him a few years ago. We met on Hades Concord actually. Two different outfits back then, but we realized we could work together and next time I.R.D.a.C. held their public forum on Edom I signed a formal contract to join his crew. That was when he also pledged himself as an agent of House Jalmacon’s mining interests. Pouring his shares in with them had to be the best and worst decision he’s ever made wrapped in one.”

“Is that so, how do you measure that?” Ben asked.

“Take what’s happening now!” Val said with a bit of heat. “I mean we’ve got this trouble with the Huuk Tribe and with a rogue Queen, all because they know the boss is new to being independent. If I’ve learned one thing in doing interstellar business it’s to recognize your limits. We should have gotten a better permit with guaranteed protection, but here we are, in the borderlands surrounded by enemies.”

“Do you think the Armada isn’t enough, then?” Ben said bemusedly.

“Not at all” said Val with a wry glance “but I know your assignment to us is conditional. Captain Tomadilla might overplay his hand, but the Armada is more cautious. I know, I used to serve.”

As they continued their walk Ben listened as Val told him about his own career in the Armada during the War with Alios before he turned merchant. He had been a pilot and later part of a bridge crew under Admiral Thessalian Zed. The picture of who this man was became clearer now. Val continued to talk until they approached a door that Val clicked open with a single button-push. “This is your room while you’re here.”

Ben looked in. Simple, but it’ll work for now.

“Thank’s Val, I guess I’ll take a load off until we get to your dwarf planet.”

“That sounds like a great plan” Val said with a tight lipped grin. “And hey, if we come under any kind of fire, there's a comm-wire near the bed that connects to my wrist.” Val motioned to his device as he said this.

Ben sat down and nodded. “Do you think we’re at risk of that soon?”

“Maybe sooner than you think.” Val said before leaving Ben to his thoughts. After the door closed and checked his own device where he had a timer playing. About one hour left before they were out of the radiation zone of Volador. He also took his gloves off and checked a reader on them. It read: “Nanite Storage 0% Full.” Step one was complete, he thought with a soft sigh. Once the hour was up he could proceed to step two.

Skrilxya:

They were closing on the planetoid in the L2 when Skrilxya detached herself from the ship interface and returned flight control to Simon G. She shook off the double-vision with a huff and unplugged herself slowly. As she looked around she saw Lieutenant Jungabney helping her disconnect. “Thank you, Lieutenant,” said Skrilxya with another huff.

“Yes Ma’am” said Jungabney in her chirping tenor. She was not a berserker warrior like Bolamey, she was more of a warrior-poet who was quick on her feet from the look of her. Skinny. Still greater in mass than most Hamans, but skinny in the limbs and the chest. Skrilxya’s grandmother Yuhanyt would say she needed to eat more. Jungabney’s neck looked extra long because of this and she peered around Skrilxya’s seat to check her vitals.

“No vital check needed” Skrilxya said bluntly “I’m feeling well.”

“Yes Ma’am, this technology is almost a century old, but it’s mostly used by Hamans. My intent was to ensure your safety.”

“That is the job of any Lieutenant, your sense of duty is recognized” Skrilxya nodded as she regained her full stature and observed the bridge. She whispered to the Lieutenant “speaking of technology, I wish to discuss a matter with you, meet me in the ready room in ten minutes.”

“Yes Ma’am” Jungabney saluted as she returned to her post and gathered her things. The next ten minutes Skrilxya would use to ensure the plan was still in motion. Lieutenant Siwakoro was waiting for her at his station.

“Simon G. has a lock on the approaching figures, Nebulans alright. We know enough to at least confirm they are a day’s travel away from the dwarf planet.” Lieutenant Siwakoro shrugged “I’m not sure whether to be happy it’s not the Ombroj or scared that it’s a rogue Queen.”

“That at least gives us something to work with,” said Skrilxya. “How about between our fleet? I remember seeing the light-comms on.”

“Yes Ma’am” said Siwakoro with a smile “to keep us running silent and to not garble the meaning. I've been light-pinging Captain Sanz and Captain Chalmuney, and they’ve spread the message to the other Captains. They’re aware of the general situation and the light details of the plan.”

“Excellent” Skrixlya nodded happily. “Please keep them informed of the situation, they’ll be on point defense once we are fully arranged.”

“Aye Captain,” said Lieutenant Siwakoro approvingly. He returned to his business as Skrilxya left the bridge for the ready room. Once there, Skrilxya found Lieutenant Jungabney waiting with her data-tablet, rifling through several pages worth of plans. Skrilxya said gruffly: “At ease Lieutenant, speak plainly. Is this plan going to work?”

“Forgive me Captain, I can only guarantee a 65 percent chance of success.”

“How do you figure that?”

“The technology you’re planning to use is still experimental. It is from late in the War and was only used a few hundred times. We still don’t have data on all of the effects.”

“But it has been proven to work?”

“Yes” said the Lieutenant “but it is a high risk. But that’s only one factor against us, the other is the Gabriel Cielos itself, and whether the Second Commissioner was able to disperse the nanites properly. It won’t work without them, and moreover if we can’t perform our step one, we can’t get him back by the same means, and by then he’d be in danger.”

“Just so” hissed Skrilxya. “But Rikaron is resourceful, and he’s probably waiting out the time he needs for us to be back out of Volador’s rad-field. I do trust your intuition Lieutenant, I just want to be sure you trust your own.”

“I tuned the machines myself. We just need marines to use them.”

“Yes, and we have them” First Commissioner Yonamey called her picked Iyns. Ten Mallumans entered the ready room. Two were members of the wider Clan Yonamey, five were from the City Clans of the Panasan Fingers, and another pair were from a minor Clan on San called H’grezodey. The squad’s leader was none other than Sergeant Inaka Bolamey, their “First”.

“A full squad, wonderful” Skrilxya Yonamey beamed. “I expect the swift blade and the silent foot.”

“Yes Captain” said Bolamey with a delighted snarl.

“You will secure the A.R.E. and Second Commissioner Rikaron, when we are out Volador’s radiation shadow I expect to receive a short report and order you to teleport over. Tracking nanites have been dispersed in the A.R.E. You will know the arms capacity of your enemy, but we believe the number of Haman merchants, even armed, are no match for you.”

Rethga Yonamey spoke “Madame, are we leaving prisoners or is this a slaughter?”

“Use suppression tactics, we expect a mutiny when you arrive” Yonamey, “word of the Nebulan approach should be spreading through the ship, and your arrival will send them into chaos.”

Ben:

Ben had not lied to Val Rayden when he said he would be napping. In fact, he almost missed his cue. If he hadn’t thought quickly to set a timer on his wrist device to wake him up within ten minutes of leaving the rad-field he would have slept through the time to move. He quietly departed his room, checking the hallways for any sign of movement. Doubtless if Val had camera access he could find him, but Ben thought his impression of harmlessness had paid off. Besides, the Captain was in his bottles, and Commissioner Rikaron knew why.

Ben moved relaxedly down the hallway toward the observation spire he had viewed the cargo holds with the Captain. He could just hear some of the noise of the crew from down the hall. It sounded like the Captain had most of his hired help partying with him in the cargo-side mess. Ben thought that was strange, but wondered if it had something to do with what they had in the holds. Nevermind, he thought, I’m on the clock.

With a minute to spare he had quietly ascended the spire, the system was completely unlocked for him. Ben wondered if there even was a locking mechanism, and decided there might not be one given how trusting Captain Tomadilla seemed. All the better for Ben. When he approached the spire’s peak he dashed for the observatory controls. He found the ones that controlled the spotlights on the tower and aimed them in the direction of the Gungnir.

“Thirty seconds” said Ben to himself as he typed the code to program the light pattern he would send. With ten seconds left he hit “enter” and the signal began projecting. Anyone looking out from on the Cargo Hold, as several in spacesuits repairing the orbital turrets were, could see the signal being sent. At zero-seconds, they were out of the rad-field’s zone of influence. Ben’s device lit up. Lieutenant Siwakoro said “message received Sir, your help is on the way.”

“Copy” said Ben, who was already on the elevator down. No weapons, he thought, at least not in the halls. We’ve only got a couple minutes to do this.

He heard a loud clang. Bumby! That’d better be a turret unhitching. Ben’s mind was racing but he remembered his task. He retraced his steps back down the hall. More of a speed walk now, but he heard shouting. A voice that sounded like Dreyfos at her maddest resounded down the halls, followed by a few thuds of muscle on metal.

The other officers should have been all at their tasks, Regis helping Bumby with the turrets, Welgrin and Davron standing guard at the “entry points”. While he was scouting for weapon-holes, Ben selected the points for covered teleportation. Sure enough he reached his post and a crackle of light and static erupted in the closet next to him.

From out the cramped room stepped three tall Mallumans, led by the tallest: Sergeant Bolamey.

“Glad to see you,” Ben winked.

“The pleasure is mine” Bolamey grunted as she unsheathed a pair of metal daggers curved and serrated like ice skating blades.

Ben lead his team back toward the hold where Dreyfos was incapacitating drunken crew members. Ensign Regis also reappeared and signaled that his part was finished. Bolamey and her Iyns helped Dreyfos finish the job as Ben looked around for Ensign Bumby.

That boy is always getting lost, grumbled Ben as he looked around the spine of the hold. Doors to the cargo carriers were sealed where some had just been jettisoned. Outside it would look like chaos, and no doubt Skrilxya was explaining to the other captains of Tomadilla’s that a mutiny was in progress due to Kirimella’s fleet approach and the Gabriel Cielos would be handed over to Val Rayden to handle the emergency situation. But that could only happen if they had control of Tomadilla.

Ben heard a familiar voice from behind him. “Sir! I got him!” The skinny Bumby pulled the burly merchant captain along with him holding a stun phaser to his neck. “I got Tomadilla!”

“Great work Ensign!” Ben clapped happily. Looking over Tomadilla, it was clear the man was sloshed and incoherent. Better than I could have hoped, He thought.

Bringing him up to the bridge took the efforts of the Mallumans at full strength. But they made it and presented the drunken Captain to Val Rayden who sat comfortably in the Captain’s chair.

“First Mate Rayden, per the Charter of the Armada as the Security Commission for Interstellar Travel, I present you with these options as the acting Captain of the ship. Kirimella’s hive fleet is approaching us and we must set a perimeter defense around the dwarf planet. The Turrets we jettisoned from the ship are being tugged by our corvettes to the appropriate locations. In the face of Captain Tomadilla’s inability to control the ship and prevent his crew from mutiny, you must relieve your Captain of duty and assume command until the emergency period is over OR you will turn this ship over to the authorities and forfeit its contract with IRDaC.”

Val nodded “acknowledged Second Commissioner, I will assume Command of the Gabriel Cielos.”

Ben nodded in return: “Then as the new commanding officer of this ship, I must also ask that the former Captain Tomadilla be assigned to our brig on the Gungnir until the end of the emergency.”

Val scratched his chin and said “Do with him as you please. We serve the Mind Empire here, and I will assist the Armada, or more precisely, the Second Order, in its mission,”

“How do you figure that?” Ben said coyly.

“I used to serve, remember?” Val Rayden said with a smile. “Our employer is still the same.” Rayden gave a look to Tomadilla, who shot back a furious, drunken glance in return. “We’ll talk later” said Val. Tomadilla groaned loudly “yes, we will.”

Skrilxya:

All the Haman leaders of the merchant fleet were hailing Gungnir in a frenzy, and until Rayden came on the call to assume emergency command publicly, they would not stop calling her.

The takeover was a swift move. Depending on Rayden to be a mole for the Military’s economic interests had been risky but it seemed to pay off for now. After the Haman callers stopped, and Ben and Bolamey had confirmed their takeover was a success, a call from Tiluddu patched in to Yonamey’s frequency.

“That was risky,” grunted Tiluddu without as much as a hello.

Skrilxya nodded: “Isn’t there an Ombroj proverb that states risks can come with a fine reward?”

“You are a well read woman” Tiluddu snorted “but risk isn’t always the font of great rewards, it can also lead to ruin. We are pilots. Pilots know to practice caution for the safety of the ship. The turret decoupling was too risky. You could have damaged the whole fleet!”

“Our frigates and corvettes had the matter under control. We had been planning this move since we left Kang. It is all part of the procedure.”

“If I may request, Tomadilla is not the smart one but I’ve known him for a long time. His first mate had a better head on his shoulders but is also… one of you.”

“We know, that’s why we allowed him to assume control of the Gabriel Cielos.”

“Are you sure that the interests of myself and my tribe are still in consideration? Are we also part of the procedure?”

“You are” said Skrilxya with a confident tail swish behind her. “Rayden will cooperate with us, and our goal is to support you and the Allied Ombroj in their use and exploration of the Imperial Frontier. We will face Kirimella and the Huuks together, and secure your dwarf planet for you to use.”

“My contract stated that this dwarf planet belongs to Tomadilla and I together, not apart. It was specific when your Lord Jalmacon granted us the charter. Will Tomadilla be released? If not, I don’t think I.R.D.a.C. will see it as proper that Rayden succeeds him thanks to military and alien intervention.” Tiluddu’s trunk curled into what read as a smirk. Skrilxya’s own grin receded.

“Tomadilla will be released. Rayden’s assumed command is only for the duration of the present emergency. Tomadilla is a civilian, and this is unfortunately turning into a military situation. And I will not forget that you are the one that said you didn’t trust him.”

“I did,” Tiluddu said. “Your trust in my word says much, Commissioner.”

“Can we agree to work together on these terms? That Tomadilla will be released after we have established the defense of this dwarf planet, and you and he will share responsibility for it as previously stated so long as we are able to adequately defend it now?”

Tiluddu clicked his nails and his teeth approvingly. “Very well Commissioner, my mechanics will help position the turrets. Give me time to organize my ships. Tiluddu out.”

When the screen fuzzed out Skrilxya groaned with relief and consternation. She was happy things were working out this well so far but realized how many moving parts she had to make move in tandem to pull it off. Ben correctly marked Rayden as a veteran of the fleet, and he, like Tiluddu, recognized that Tomadilla was all flair and no heat, and would not cooperate in the defense of the planetoid against these kinds of threats. The carte-blanche of the military could be excused in this situation, but as Tiluddu pointed out, Tomadilla would need to return to command later. Skrilxya dreaded the damage control conciliation she would have to do now.

When Ben and Bolamey and their teams returned to the Gungnir by shuttle from the Gabriel Cielos, Skrilxya requested that Ben and Bumby bring Tomadilla to the ready room.

Ben and Bumby were still well put together in their Navy Grays which made the defunct captain look all the more disheveled. He had sobered up but had a pitiful look on his face. The Malluman bid the scraggly man sit across the table from her, she was lounging comfortably and tapping her finger talons across the table.

“Commissioner, Ensign, thank you, you are dismissed.”

The two left, leaving Tomadilla with Yonamey alone. Tomadilla shrank in his chair and looked sideways at Skrilxya. “Speak freely” Skrilxya said “I know what you are feeling.”

“You’re not psychic” Tomadilla spat.

“Correct, but I can read faces and pheromones quite well.” Skrilxya nodded. “I can also smell the alcohol in that spit you just put on my floor, so I’d like to ask you, what makes you think I could have left you in command during an assault if all you were going to do was get drunk and cower in the holds?”

Tomadilla had nothing to say to that.

“I don’t doubt you are a good merchant, or that you are skilled at surveying for resources. But I’m not in the business of throwing people into combat without proper experience. You picked a good first mate for that luckily, and a good ally in Tiluddu. Do I speak correctly?”

“You do,” grumbled Tomadilla.

“I will be open with you about our plan then. We defend this planetoid from Kirimella, we establish the defense perimeter and finish the repairs on your turret placements, and then you and Tiluddu profit safely. We will even negotiate with Abbott for regular supplies shipments to this system. But Rayden must have control of the defense afterwards, and if he says that you have a task to complete, I expect you to listen to him.”

Tomadilla nodded pitifully.

“Come now, fighting like anything is a skill one learns.” Skrilxya said this with a smile. She thought she was trying to be comforting, but she remembered Hamans thought of smiling Mallumans kind of like hungry crocodiles and tried not to show her teeth too much. “I will let you stand with me on the bridge and we will observe the combat together. It may not come to that, but if it does, I will show you how to fight ship to ship. Mallumans are not born hunters, it is a skill we learn from observation and practice, much as one learns to fly a ship.”

Skrilxya then had Tomadilla follow her to the bridge, where the preparations for combat and ship to ship communication was taking place at rapid speed. The estimated time of contact with Kirimella’s fleet was twenty-four hours.

To be continued in Double Orange Radiation 2: