AMP Colossus (15 page)

Second Lieutenant Thomas "Tommy" Gunther typed away at his console. "Calculations say 780,000 or so. Not bad, Mr. Grange."

I nodded towards the lieutenant. "Captain, I have an idea. I think we leave the transport alone and focus on those warships."

The Captain replied, "Go on. Tell us what you are planning, Mr. Grange."

I spoke. "As the nation of Defiant, we made a good living of taking ore haulers from the Milgari. I say we look at that transport the same way. To me, that is 780,000 android soldiers that can be captured and converted to do some of our dirty work. We can use the jammers to control them until they can be deactivated. After that, it would be up to Dr. Touchstone to reprogram them. I say we look at them as a commodity, Captain!"

The Captain thought and then spoke. "Dr. Touchstone—is he the same Touchstone that our simulator AIs use?"

I replied, "Same guy. A little strange, but very smart. I met him briefly before coming back out here."

The Captain turned to her officers. "I want profiles worked up within the hour for possible strategies. We have eighteen warships out there to either disable or kill. I want in-lanes, target slants, and a mapping of their weapon ports."

The Captain turned back towards me. "If that Yacabucci generator works, we may have a small fleet for Dr. Touchstone and his kind to play with, Mr. Grange. Gurt Station may not be much of a challenge then either."

I replied, "Let's hope you are right, Yvette. I do like charging into a fight, but I also like a fight where the other side isn't shooting at me too. That takes a little of the fun out of it, but that's fun I can live without."

The plans were put forth to lie in wait for the Colossun ships to come to our position. Our image projectors would be used to hide our existence until the fleet was upon us. The Yacabucci would then be brought online. If all went well, the battle would be won without a shot being fired.

The Captain spoke. "Mr. Gunther, when the fleet is within range, bring the generator online. And you can flip on the battle light. Let everyone know it's time for action."

A series of red lights flashed three times in every hallway and room on every deck, followed by a solid red color for several minutes. The pattern would repeat so long as our guns were at the ready to fire.

Several minutes later, Tommy Gunther spoke. "Yacabucci is up. Waves are being generated, Captain. As soon as that field overtakes that first frigate, we should know if it's effective or not. In three... two... one..."

The negative ion field reached the first of the Colossun ships. As was hoped, the ship's systems shut down and its engines dropped offline. As the second and third ships did the same, the crew on the bridge began to show their excitement through increased chatter.

The Captain spoke. "Pipe down and mind your posts. There will be time to celebrate when that last ship goes dark. Mr. Gunther, what is our progress?"

Gunther replied, "Happening quick now, Sir. Fourteen, now fifteen ships are in the web. The others are changing course... gotcha! We have the fleet, Captain. Sensors show all major systems are offline. We are holding at a nominal 26 percent power usage, Sir. We have an indefinite hold."

The Captain turned towards me and smiled. "Officers! Check your stations. And if you wish, mild celebrations would no longer be unwarranted!"

A shuttle was sent to each of the ships with a boarding party and a jammer. Without the threat or aid of the Colossun androids, the Tribuk crews were quick to surrender. After six hours of disabling androids and thorough ship inspections, the Colossun fleet was awaiting our instructions. If sent to the Grid, they would not reach it for another seven months; their sub-light drives were now a hindrance.

The Colossun fleet was under our complete control.

I spoke. "Captain, that was too easy. I feel like we somehow cheated."

The Captain replied, "I say we count our blessings, Mr. Grange. An outcome like that is unheard of. If Gurt Station turns out to be the same, we may end up dominating this empire in a few months’ time."

I sat back in my chair. "That would be a change I could live with. This would be the first time we stopped and owned the systems around us. It would be good if we could fill those hydrogen tanks on the Grid in record time. Maybe even think about jumping further on before the Durians or anyone else who decided to follow us arrives. We might even be able to set up the Grell to run the empire and give them the means to defend themselves against the Durians."

The Captain laughed. "I think you are getting a little ahead of things, Mr. Grange. It’s a nice idea, but I wouldn’t put much faith in another species looking out for our interests. The Durians are dealmakers. All they would have to do would be to show the Grell how it is in their best interest to cooperate. We know that would be a bad move in the end, but there are always those individuals in power who will fall for it."

I replied, "Yeah, I know. I think we have learned that lesson a few too many times. As you say, though, there is always a new generation of individuals who come along and fall for it all over again."

As our conversation continued, I had a nagging feeling that was pulling at my subconscious. Something was wrong with how easily we had taken the Colossun fleet. Our technology was advanced for this sector, from what we had seen, but the whole encounter had gone too smoothly for my mind to accept.

I spoke. "Captain, I want to change the orders for that captured fleet. Send them to Ponik and have them park there. Let our men know to go through that transport and disable every one of those androids. Other than that, just have them hold there until we are certain of what is going on."

The Captain replied, "I don’t know, Captain. I would think the Grid could make use of those ship structures to get us a few more warships out here. What has you so worried?"

I stood and began to pace. "Well, they were right where we expected them to be, and we took the whole fleet without firing a shot. I would rather the Colossuns not know where the Grid is until we are sure we can defend it. I just think it would be in our best interest to park them at Ponik. At least for a while."

The Captain again replied, "You do realize that is a call you can make, don’t you? You are not an officer of the fleet, but I have been given orders to follow your commands should you have any. If you want the ships at Ponik, just say the word and it will happen."

I replied, "Make it Ponik, Captain. It will be months before they get there anyway. How long to Gurt Station?"

The Captain sent out the orders for the captured fleet before responding. "We will be at Gurt Station tomorrow evening. We are in the process of downloading data from that fleet to get any intel we can. I would imagine they would have docking codes or layout diagrams on board."

The Captain continued, "And Grange, you might want to start going over any of that with your teams. I would assume you will be going aboard once we arrive and take out any remaining ships."

I made my way back to quarters, where the four squads of Gray Ghouls were sitting in wait. I took over the cafeteria for an hour and had a quick briefing. As the squads came in, I was greeted with a few familiar faces.

I spoke with a fake scowl on my face. "Oh, great. I asked for warriors, and they sent me gropers and fondlers."

Sergeant Frost replied, "Well, it's nice to see you too, Sir. When you went missing with that harvester, I thought maybe you had run off without me!"

I shook my head. "You'd have probably tracked me down; anyway, glad to have you on the team. And I see you have York and Rodriguez with you. Hello, ladies. Wait... Rodriguez? What are you doing with these deck stompers? I would have thought that as a pilot, you would be looking for something more along that line of work."

Rodriguez replied, "Sorry, Sir; after hanging out with these two, I decided I liked the hard action better. Why keep all this beauty cooped up in a ship when there is a whole galaxy out there to share it with!"

I spoke. "Miss York, I see you have arms and legs with you today."

Sergeant Diane York responded, "And they have been tuned. They move when I tell them to and how I tell them to. Wish I had done this years ago. And check them out, Sir; no varicose veins!"

I replied, "Uh, yeah. I'm sure the guys prefer those steel rods, balled joints, and hydraulics to some old, fleshy legs. Anyway, I am happy to have you all on the team. It gives me confidence that we can overcome almost anything that gets in our way. Have any of you had a chance to look over the station diagrams? We will be going on there possibly as soon as tomorrow evening."

Rodriguez raised her hand. "I have, Sir. Have you seen the diagrams yet, Sir?"

I replied, "No, I haven't. I wanted to go over them with you today."

Rodriguez turned and made use of a monitor screen in the cafeteria. An image of Gurt Station was soon up on the display.

Rodriguez spoke. "It rotates, which tells me it doesn't have a gravity system. The large disk up top is the living space. I can only guess the long tube coming down is to give space between that living space and the ship docks. The docks have eight moderate-sized internal bays and one large, open bay. There are any number of smaller shuttle bays spread around the dock section."

I nodded and spoke. "How long has this information been out?"

Rodriguez replied, "About fifteen minutes, Sir. I kind of cheated on the way over here and took a peek on my arm pad."

The seating in the cafeteria was organized with benches around tables. As we sat looking at the diagrams, Frost slid over beside me and reached her arm around my shoulder.

I turned to look at her. "You do know I'm a married man now, Frost."

Frost smiled and replied as she slid her hand down my back, "Oh, I'm sorry, Sir, but I know space can be a lonely place."

My expression turned to one that sent her a convincing message. Her offending hand was soon balled up and sitting on the table in front of us.

I spoke. "So, I'm looking for opinions here. Should we board at the docks and work our way up? Or do we let Chaulk's boys handle that, and we go straight for the living quarters? We will be coordinating with them either way, but we get to choose how we do so."

Frost spoke. "They are probably most heavily defended at the docking bays, as that would be the normal mode of attack, but we could breach just about anywhere. Our biggest problem is we only have one ship. I would assume that Chaulk's crew will be assaulting the bays, which means the ship is going to be at the bays. I think we just go in there and go straight for that transfer tube."

York spoke. "That tube will be heavily defended. Any thoughts on working our way around externally? There have to be maintenance hatches all over that thing. I'm sure we could cut our way in."

I replied, "Let's take some time to look over those diagrams. If anything stands out, we will take it under consideration. Meet me back here tomorrow morning, and we'll nail down what we want to do."

As we stood to leave, Diane York stopped and held out her hand. "Sir, just wanted to say that I'm happy to be serving with you again. And I hope I can continue to contribute."

I replied, "You have no complaints from me, Sergeant. You are here as a volunteer just like me and the others in our squads. There's no better warrior than one who would do it for free. Self-determination is the best motivator."

I grinned. "Besides, if we are going into battle, there is no one I want standing in front of me more than you!"

York sighed and nodded. "I get that a lot, Sir. Everyone wants fodder for the enemy's blasters."

After an evening of study, I again connected with my squads. We would follow Chaulk's men into one of the midsize bays and then work our way towards the transfer tube. With luck, we would be in the living area within twenty minutes.

As we approached the station, the Captain was surprised that there were no other ships in the vicinity. "I wouldn't think they would send their entire fleet out and leave this place undefended."

The weapons officer spoke. "Sir, scans are showing the weapons on her to be inactive. I'm not picking up any signs that the pulsers on her are preparing to fire."

The Captain replied, "Mr. Sherbert, take her into bay six as planned. Ensign, signal the Marines that they are on deck. We will be unloading in eight minutes."

The Captain turned towards me. "Mr. Grange. I would suggest you join your squads if you are going to participate. Coming into a bay means we will be unloading in a hurry. I would expect to have all boots on that station in under a minute."

I thanked the Captain as I turned towards the assault doors on the destroyer. The doors were four to a side and twelve meters wide. When the Marines stormed out, there was almost a rush of air coming in to fill the void left behind. I stood ready at the back with my squad.

I spoke. "York, you and Rodriguez take the right side, and Keith, you and Frost take the left. We will be heading straight to the door marked as number five on your displays."

The battle light in the assault bay flashed yellow three times before going red. The assault doors opened, and the Marines began to pour out onto the deck of bay number seven.

As we ran towards our target, Frost spoke. "Sir, I don't like the fact that we are not seeing any resistance. They should be hitting us with everything they've got."

I replied, "Just keep heading for that door, Frost. Once we are inside we can reevaluate. I don't want us to get caught out here in the open."

We reached and made our way through the bay door we had marked as number five. The hallway beyond was empty. We moved at a slow run up through several levels before reaching the tube that connected the docks to the main station.

Frost spoke. "I don't like this, Sir. This place is abandoned. They would not have sent everything they had to put down the Grell."

I replied, "I agree. When we get to the other end of this tube, we are going to have thirty-six decks to explore. That may take some time. I'll check in with the Captain and see if she has any observations."

I switched comm channels. "Captain, this is Grange. We haven't encountered any resistance."

The Captain replied, "I have the same report from Major Hamby. The docking bays are void of any activity, including the androids."

I called for my team to come to a halt. "Captain, send word to the major to finish his sweep of those docks and then to get back on the ship. I want you out of here and cloaked in the next ten minutes. As we finish up checking the living spaces, I'll give you a call for a pickup."

The Captain replied, "Roger that, Mr. Grange. I will make preps for that on our end. Let us know if and when you need help."

I gave the nod for my squads to continue. We soon found ourselves moving through an air lock and into the main disk-shaped area of Gurt Station. As we made our way through the first-level hallways, all we found were warehouses, only a third of which were stocked.

Seven minutes had passed before the Captain signaled that they were pulling out. They would hold a position at five hundred thousand kilometers with the image projectors masking their position.

When we had reached the fifth floor, I called for a few minutes’ rest to further evaluate the situation.

I spoke. "This place is empty. And I have not seen evidence that it became that way in a hurry. Lights are off, maintenance accesses are powered down. It all looks to have been done just recently, just not in a hurried manner."

Rodriguez replied, "When we have this section clear, we might want to turn loose a science-and-tech team to see if there is anything here worth knowing. Just about every species we have ever encountered has something that they do better than us. While we are here, we might as well see if that something exists."

As we continued climbing floors, the layout of the station showed a typical design. There were storage levels followed by working areas followed again by low-level housing. Only when reaching levels thirty through thirty-six did we begin to encounter the makeup of rooms that signaled a government or ruling class, with the deck of opulence being deck thirty-six.

As we entered a room that appeared to be a small auditorium, I spoke. "I think we have seen just about all that we are going to see on this station. I think it is time to signal the Captain to pick us up. Look at this place. I feel like I am back at school and there should be a teacher standing in front of that large screen. Other than being plush for a classroom, it looks like teaching of some sort went on here."

As we turned for the door, the screen behind us came to life. The video showed the back of an opulent chair, similar to the ones in the room we were in. The back of the head of an alien species sat facing away from us. White tendrils protruding from its scalp occasionally wiggled as the screen captured our full attention. Several seconds later, the chair turned to reveal its inhabitant.

The alien spoke. "Welcome to Gurt Station! I hope you have enjoyed your complimentary stay. Let me begin by introducing myself. I am Duke Ferdete."

The Duke held out his arms as he continued. "This station is under my jurisdiction. Please, help yourself to anything you would like."

I replied, "Duke Ferdete, we are Humans. We are new to this sector of the galaxy. I apologize if we have caused you any trouble. We came upon this station and saw that it was abandoned, so we came aboard to check it out."

The Duke spoke. "Do you have a name, good Sir? I believe, at a minimum, an introduction is in order."

I replied, "Don Grange. Again, I apologize; it wasn't my intention to be..."

The Duke leaned into the camera. His nostrils flared as he began to show anger.

The Duke spoke. "Mr. Grange. You are a poor liar. We have been watching your invasion of Ponik and know your language. It is the reason we can converse here today. I find it quite annoying that you Humans have so easily fallen under the spell of the Grell. I was hoping to have a polite dialogue with you to discuss the terms of your surrender, but I don't know that you can be trusted. If you call back your ship, perhaps we can discuss this peacefully, like civilized species."