Hold the Star: Samair in Argos: Book 2 (28 page)

              “Captain, I don’t like this crap that the locals here are giving us.  It’s so full of impurities!” she complained in her heavy drawl.

              “Chief, we’ve had this discussion,” Harth replied, wearily.  Three other times they’d had it.  “I know you’re not happy with it. 
I’m
not happy with it.  But it’s the best we can do right now.”

              But the chief continued what she was doing, studying the readouts on her display.  “Putting substandard crap in my engines and in my reactors.  Do you have any idea what kind of mess that garbage is making of my power conduits?”

              Harth frowned.  “Yes, Chief, I know.  You’ve told me.  But for now we’re just going to have to run a bit leaner.  Besides, I’ve seen what your makeshift filtration system in the bay did.  You’ve managed to refine the deuterium to something like ninety-six percent pure, haven’t you?”

              She scowled, flicking her ears back.  “That’s not the point, Captain.  The point is that we shouldn’t have to use it in the first place.”

              “You’ve made your position on the matter quite clear, Chief.  I don’t want to hear about it again unless some new problem comes up.”

              Lukai Daan nodded.  “Very well, Captain.  How long are we going to hang around in this system anyway?”

              “Another day or so, Chief,” the captain replied.  “I want to give the entire crew a chance to get off the ship and head over to the station for some shore leave.  It isn’t much, but I’m sure everyone can appreciate wanting to get off the ship every so often, even if it’s only for a few hours.  I also want to give Mister Tran and his crew a chance to get all their systems back up.  He tells me they should be back online in about sixteen hours.”

              Lukai nodded again.  “Are we going to Byra-Kae after that?  I heard that the freighter we’re chasing managed to elude us.”

              Harth smiled.  “Only temporarily.  They pulled a fast one on us in hyperspace and I think they changed course for Tyseus.  Which is where we’re going once we leave here.”

              “All right.  I’ll keep you informed about my engine room, sir.”

              He nodded to her as he turned to leave Main Engineering.  “Carry on then, Chief.”

              It was inevitable that trouble would happen while they were here in the system and Republic sailors were on the station.  It happened on the third day of the crew’s shore leave in one of the drinking and gambling establishments, naturally.  Also, the crew was under orders not to be gambling, but these were people who had been cooped up on
Legacy
and later
Ravage
for weeks and months with little to do but stand endless watches and chase a civilian ship across tens of light years with little to show for it.  Those were the breaks, of course, but even the most disciplined needed a break, some way to blow off steam.  And there were those that found that particular way of stress relief lay in the rush from gambling.

              The establishment where the trouble started was called Orco’s and like most of the places aboard the station, it was a dive, though not the worst by far.  The humans and other patrons there looked rough and had an air of menace about them, but the sailors and chiefs who went inside weren’t intimidated.  The games played here were loud and raucous, some involving cards, dice, even others that looked much more alien and complicated.  Credits, barter and alcohol all flowed freely and emotions and tempers rose accordingly.

              It was unclear who threw the first punch.  Perhaps it was multiple someones, Navy and local alike.  In seconds, there were fists flying, glasses smashing and people being thrown over tables.  It degenerated into a full out brawl before anyone quite realized what was happening.  By the time security arrived less than two minutes later, the whole mess had turned into a just a mob of violence, unchecked, without direction.  If not for the damage being caused or the people being injured, anyone looking upon the scene would almost find it comical, like a vid-cartoon with animated characters in a cloud with the occasional fist or foot poking out then rushing back in to connect with anything within reach. 

              After several minutes, security managed to get control and hauled the main perpetrators, six Navy people and five stationers out of there and down to the brig.  The rest of the people in the bar managed to slip out just before security arrived or else were too injured to be arrested and were taken to the station infirmary.  By the time news reached
Legacy
, the fight had been over for nearly two hours.

              “What the hell happened?” Duncan Harth demanded when Kamerov stepped into his stateroom to deliver the news.

              Kamerov put his hands behind his back, one of them holding his datapad.  “Looks like a drunken bar brawl, sir.  No one seems to know who started it, even the locals are claiming they don’t know.  Surprising, actually, I thought they would have just blamed our people and that would have been the end of it.  But they didn’t.”

              “How many of our people made it out?”

              “Three, sir.  Two are in the station’s infirmary under guard, and six are in their brig.”  Kamerov’s face darkened.  “No word from the station authorities in any official sense, sir.”

              Harth pursed his lips.  Then he nodded.  Standing up from where he’d been seated on the end of the bunk, he went to his closet and pulled out a clean uniform.  He dressed quickly and as he was fastening his jacket, he glanced at his XO.  “Get Gunny Rajendra and the Marines up and ready.  I hope it won’t come to it, but I want him and his full platoon ready to roll in full gear in thirty minutes.  If need be they’ll board the station and get our people back.”

              Kamerov blinked, surprised, but then nodded.  “Yes, sir.  There are a
lot
of people on that station, sir, we have one platoon.  The sergeant and his marines are good, sir, but I don’t think even they could fight them all and win.”

              Harth nodded.  “I know, Lieutenant.  I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” he repeated.  “But I want them ready to move if we need it.

              “Yes, sir, I’ll get them up and moving.”  The lieutenant turned and exited, already talking into his wrist communicator. 

              Five minutes later, Harth was on the bridge.  “Comms, get me Primary Yokusk on the station.”

              The communications watch immediately worked the console and in less than thirty seconds, she turned back to him.  “I’ve got him, sir.  Audio only.”

              “Primary Yokusk, this is Captain Harth on the
Legacy
.  I understand there was some unpleasantness on the station and some people got hurt.”  He straightened in his command seat, even though he knew the other couldn’t see him.  “I’d appreciate an update.”

              “We’ve taken eleven people into custody, six of yours, who were part of the brawl, Captain,” the Primary said coldly.  “I’ve got over twenty people in the infirmary, four of them are critically injured.  All because your people decided to get rowdy.”

              “From what I’ve been told, Primary, no one seems to know who started it.”

              “Perhaps not, Captain.  But this fight wouldn’t have happened at all had your people not come there in the first place.”

              Harth sighed.  “Yes, Primary, I can acknowledge that.  But you should also acknowledge the amount of money my crew is pouring into your local economy.  Not to mention the spare parts and fuel that we bought from you.  I should think that might buy my people some leeway.”

              “Leeway?” the Primary huffed angrily.  “You throw some money around and now I’m supposed to be grateful for twenty people in the infirmary?”

              “My people will pay for the damages, of course,” Harth went on.  “And any of yours that need medical assistance, we will be happy to treat in our sickbay, free of charge.  And of course those of my crew who are guilty will be punished.”

              “Aboard your ship?” Yokusk asked suddenly.

              “Yes, aboard my ship.  But I can guarantee they will be punished for this.  I do not encourage such activity among my people.”

              “And then you bring them aboard, you sail out of the system and we never see you again?”  Clearly he was outraged at this prospect.  “I absolutely will not accept that.  We have nothing further to discuss.”

              “He’s cut the transmission, sir,” the comm watch announced.

              Harth tapped the arm of his chair lightly.  He could feel the bridge crew straining to catch his next words, his very inflections, even his thoughts.  No one was looking to him, they were all staring at their various consoles waiting for his decision.

              He took a breath and squared his shoulders.  “Take us to Condition One, inform
Ravage
that we are moving to action stations and they are to do the same.”  He pressed a button on his chair. 

              “Boat bay, Chief Morrigan.”

              “Chief, are the Marines loaded in the shuttles?” he asked.

              “Fully armored up and ready to go, sir,” the chief replied.  “They’re good to go, both shuttles.”

              “Very well.”  He pressed a control, ending the call.  “Bring weapons and shields online.”

              “Incoming call from the station, sir,” the comms watch reported.  “It’s the Primary again.”

              “Thought that might get his attention.  Put him through,” Harth ordered. 

              “How
dare
you!” Yoksusk’s voice bellowed.  “We are in independent space!  You have no authority to act this way or to attack my station.”

              “I haven’t attacked anything, Primary Yokusk,” the captain replied calmly.  “But I’m not leaving my people to rot here.  Because we both know that you’re going to find them guilty and the best they could hope for would be to spend time in a prison cell.”  There was silence on the other end of the transmission.  “So I’m going to ask nicely that you turn over all of my people and we’ll be on our way, and no more said.  If not, then I will send in my Marines to retrieve my people.”

              “This is unbelievable!” the Primary spat.  “You would attack my station and kill people to prevent justice coming to those who deserve it?”

              “Jail or worse for a bar fight?  No one was killed.  The worst punishment that there should be for such an offense would be a fine.  Turn my people over to me, I’ll pay the fines and we’ll leave.  This is the last time I will ask… nicely.”

              “You Republic bastard.  You have no authority here.  You have no right to dictate any sort of terms to me or anyone else.”

              “Very well,” Harth replied.  “Inform the boat bay that they are to launch shuttles.  Weapons,” he said, addressing the bridge.  “Lock on to the station’s weapons and prepare to fire.  You are to provide fire support for our shuttles as they go in.”

              “Understood, sir,” the weapons officer replied from her station.

              “You bastard,” the Primary growled.  “I will have all of your people delivered to the airlock at Section one-aleph.  You can retrieve them there.”

              “And I will have appropriate compensation in hard goods delivered to you as well.”

              “Very well,” Yokusk replied.  “And then I expect you and your ships to leave this system.”

              “Yes,” Harth said easily.  “I feel that we’ve worn out our welcome here.  But I do thank you for your hospitality and your cooperation, Primary.”

              The Primary growled low in his throat and then ended the call.  “Stand down to Condition Two but maintain the weapons status.  Launch the shuttles, but make sure the Gunny knows what the situation is.  If our people aren’t waiting for him at the docking bay, he’s to call
Legacy
immediately.”

              By the end of the third day, six hours later,
Ravage
reported that her hyperdrives and shields were back up to acceptable levels again.  “My shields are holding at eighty-six percent, Captain,” Tran reported happily.  For someone who had just increased his defensive output by almost a third, he was ecstatic.  “Hyperdrives are back up as well.  Though I’m a little concerned with the drives, I’m thinking I don’t want to push them too hard.  We’re going to top out at Yellow level one, I’m afraid, sir.”

              That was a blow.  “That’s all?”  Harth nearly despaired at such a slow speed from the corvette.

              Tran earlier happy mood evaporated.  “Yes, sir.  Without a full dockyard and repairs, upgrades and all the rest, that’s the best we can do right now.  We possibly could get the work done at Byra-Kae, but I’d have to see what they have to offer.”

              “It’s supposed to be a full outpost, but I’ll have to see what kinds of repair facilities they actually have.  The information we got from
Fury
didn’t really give a lot of details.  There is a yard, but I don’t know if they already have ships laid up there.”