Project - Prometheus Ch. 26

"I'm afraid that I have to agree with my crew mates on this. Such a weapon is far too powerful to be just traded like that," Inari stated.

"Now wait a second! What do you take us for? A bunch of second-rate rookies who don't know how to do their jobs?" the destroyer commander shot back heatedly.

"We could use that weapon for other applications, more peaceful ones, if we are allowed to study it!" an older male administrator argued.

Some other attendees were less civilized in their arguments, and their voices climbed in pitch. Until Saubath pounded the table hard, his claws popping out as the cracking sound echoed through the room. Everyone shut their mouths right after that, not wanting to piss off the Commodore.

"Might I remind you all that we all serve the UCW, despite our traditions, philosophies and ways of life. The mandate we have here is to protect Veldhern, to the best of our abilities, no matter the cost. I think you would all do well to remember that," Commodore Williams told the attendees icily. Her words cut them right down, gutting any arguments they had.

"Though I will say that we nearly failed in that duty today. If it wasn't for the Darkstrider being here when they were, then we'd all likely be dead, or worse," Ana continued. This earned a round of nods from everyone present at the table as the Commodore carried on.

"If you aren't willing to part with the schematics to the Hades Cannon then, what are you willing to part with?" the Slavic woman asked.

"Since you asked nicely, there are two items that I believe would help turn the tide of many future engagements. The first of which would be our communications array, along with the set of signals we used to broadcast. With the proper tweaks and workarounds, it can cut through nearly any jamming signal in existence, as I'm sure that Commodore Williams would attest to," Inari told them.

"And I believe that our Pulsar cannons would also be appreciated among the defense fleets," Kasumi interjected.

A round of eager grins and nods accompanied this proclamation, which left both Williams and Saubath smiling. Many of the officers were also happy at this turn of events. Sure, it wasn't the Hades Cannon, but it was better than nothing. If nothing else, it would help their ships with stripping an enemy's shields away before they could take theirs out. With the shields gone, it would leave attacking ships vulnerable to torpedoes and other hard ordinance.

"How much would such technology be worth to the UCW?" Alex questioned, taking measure of everyone's reactions.

"We are authorized to initiate purchases of such tech, for up to fifty million credits, after a demonstration of such technology is deemed an upgrade for the UCW. The demonstration in the battle that had just occurred warrant the acquisition of this technology. Would fifty million credits suffice as an acceptable price for it?" Saubath asked, hoping it would be.

"It is. We can begin the transfer right now if you wish," Inari offered.

"That would be splendid! Use the console built into the table to send us your information, so we may authorize the transfer of funds," Williams told her.

Inari did so, entering her info into the console, so the Commodore had access to it. She also sent a request to Jaesa through the network, to send her the relevant files and schematics for the Pulsar cannon and the comms array. Once she had them, Inari kept a digital hold on them as the funds transferred. It took a few minutes, but the funds cleared and now Inari and the crew were fifty million credits richer.

"Thank you, Commodore Williams! As promised, the schematics for the Pulsar cannons and the communications array," Inari told them, releasing the hold on the files, allowing the Commodore to have them.

"Thank you! These will be put to good use! Maybe even a smaller fleet might have a chance at holding the line!" Williams commented.

"Indeed! Such weapons will go a long way to dropping insurgent ships faster than they could hope to drop us!" Saubath agreed.

"Was there anything else you wished to discuss with us?" Inari asked.

"Not at this time, Captain. Again, thank you for selling us this tech!" the head administrator told her. With their business concluded, the crew stood up and left, letting the bigwigs of the station speak among themselves. Only once the door was shut behind the crew of the Darkstrider did the conversation pick up in earnest.

"These new schematics, can you confirm their veracity Chief Williams?" Ana asked her husband, who had been sitting the background, unnoticed by almost everyone.

"I just finished running checks on the schematics. I can confirm that the specs are genuine. Far too much of what I was looking at lines up for it to be fake," Graham confirmed.

"Excellent news! What about the status of the pirate vessels that were disabled rather than destroyed?" she questioned. The administrators were talking among themselves and let the military officers chat while they debated what needed upgrading first.

"Several frigates were damaged and several destroyers are still relatively intact to warrant bringing back online. One of the battleships is still intact mostly, but it will require a proper drydock before we can fix it. The real prize, though, is that carrier! In the counterattack, its engines were disabled and was largely left alone. Several frigates are standing by to storm that carrier and bring it under our control," Graham reported.

"Deploy the frigates and inform the marines to take the bridge and engine room by any means necessary," Ana enthused, happy with taking the prize of the day.

"Your carrier is still on back order, I assume?" Saubath asked with a toothy grin.

"It is, since the original carrier, Shatterpoint, was destroyed in our last major engagement. The Federation has been dragging their heels on sending me a replacement and I've yet to uncover why," Commodore Williams growled.

"You'll get no argument from me about taking the carrier. I'm just lucky that the Shepherd is still in one piece!" Saubath replied.

"Indeed! It's a damn miracle that the transmission got through! Those pirates put on one hell of a convincing show!" Ana breathed.

"What do you mean?"

"We were receiving reports of pirates setting up shop in Tahnago system. Not much there, but a few points where a small base could operate unnoticed," Ana told her compatriot.

"I see. So it was a co-ordinated effort then, designed to keep the fleets separated. With that jamming frigate, there was no way we would have gotten a signal out. Whoever these pirates were, they were well informed and had obviously been planning this for some time. Months even," Saubath mused.

"Indeed! I propose that Veldhern station's first priority is to upgrade our comms array. We'll be no good if we can't call for help if we need it," Administrator Dohbalan stated, breaking into the conversation.

"Agreed. Since Chief Williams here can verify the veracity of the specs, we'll get some of our engineers deployed to assist with its construction," Arcan Saubath told him and the remaining administrators.

"Wouldn't your engineers be better suited to getting the Stalwart online?" Ana asked.

"They've done all they can for the moment. Much of the damage will require a drydock to repair and new parts. The pirates weren't merciful with us," Saubath told the woman.

"Fair enough. If that's the case, then I'll leave you to it. We are agreed that outfitting our ships with the new Pulsar cannon is a top priority for the fleet?" Williams questioned.

"Yes. I recommend that we outfit the smaller ships with this new technology. They're faster and will probably be the first into battle. We should start with the space worthy frigates, and go up from there," he told the swarthy woman.

"Very good. I will task all available engineers to get to work on it. If you will excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. Administrators, Commodore," Ana told the group as she stood and nodded curtly, turning on her heel to leave. Both Chief Engineer Williams and Commander O'Toole were on her heels as they left the room. They were several dozen meters away before Williams turned to her XO.

"Mae, four second head start please. I'd like to have words with my husband," Ana told her friend.

"Of course, Commodore," Maia saluted before stopping. She waited for the allotted time count, before following, keeping her distance as the married couple spoke privately.

"Have you learned anything about this that could have tipped us off about an impending attack?" Ana questioned.

"No. Whoever attacked us, there has been no word of them or what they were planning. This was the work of a rogue group operating in the dark," Graham informed her.

"Your contacts know nothing? I find that hard to believe," Ana scoffed.

"It's difficult to keep track of every conceivable threat to Veldhern. Remember, this system was unknown until a few years ago. Even then, everyone who knew of it, wanted a piece. That hasn't changed with the UCW taking control of the system. Many of them have to be much quieter about it these days though," the Chief told her.

"True. But whoever they were, they appeared to know what was going on and when our fleets would be separated. As Saubath said, this was planned. I want to know how, why and who was involved," Commodore Williams groused.

"I'll get them on it. I also have reason to believe that your suspicions about certain personnel here may be founded," Graham told her.

"Really? You think so?"

"Yeah. It's too early to say anything, but if those you suspect to have other allegiances act as I believe they will, I expect they'll make their moves soon," her husband told her.

"Keep me posted. Oh, and there is one more thing I'd like you to do, if you and your group have the time," Ana posed.

"Which is?"

"Keep an eye on the crew of the Darkstrider if you can," the Commodore put forward.

"You don't trust them? Even after they willingly parted with advanced tech for our fleets?" Chief Williams queried.

"They are more than they appear to be. I'm sure of it."

******************************

The crew meandered about the station, enjoying their newfound celebrity status. Civilians wanted pictures with them, while soldiers and servicemen wanted to buy them drinks. It was a novel experience for all of them, except maybe Inari, who had worn many hats before becoming a merchantess. They were in the food court, enjoying some free food from the vendors whose lives and livelihoods they'd saved.

"That tech we gave them should be enough to keep them off our backs," Kasumi stated.

"I should hope so. Either way, they will have their hands full upgrading their ships with those new cannons. It will give them the edge they need against such overwhelming odds in the future," Alex commented.

"Well, any way you slice it, we'll be ready to leave for Prodosia as soon as we get our materials order," Inari told them.

"That soon?!?" Alex asked excitedly.

"Yup! Now that we're fifty million credits richer, I can purchase some top grade med tech, which will be the perfect in for us. Provided my contact will play ball," Inari stated.

"You have a contact on Prodosia?" Kasumi asked, curious.

"Yeah. Long story and I'll tell it to you later," Inari said curtly. Kasumi let the matter lie, seeing the look of regret in the older woman's eye.

"Since it will be a few days before the order is ready, maybe we can look into getting some beach time on Veldhern!" Natalya gushed, eager to go down for some rest and relaxation.

"I could do with some sun, sand and ocean!" Korsa agreed, smiling at the thought of it.

"Let's hit the observation deck after we eat. It's always calming when you're just sitting down, watching the planets and stars move," Alex suggested. This was met with agreement and everyone just relaxed, ate and enjoyed life in that moment.

*****************************

The salvage crews from the Second and Third Defense fleets, and the teams from Veldhern station, had been busy for the past few hours. With the amount of salvage floating around in space, they'd be busy for weeks, cleaning it all up. Not that the crews minded, as they rarely got to do much, mostly. They were glad for the break in monotony and happily carried out their work.

Many of the salvagers worked in small, two-man vehicles, which gave them increased maneuverability. That they were so small, also allowed them to go into larger wrecks and bring any delicate parts out. Each ship was equipped with a set of mechanical arms that ended in large clamps, which were shaped like crab claws. This allowed the ships to take hold of any piece of debris and bring it to the station or any of the fleet's battleships to be repurposed or recycled.

"Hey Aiden, you see that hulk out there?" one salvager called out over his comms.

"Yeah! Looks like a destroyer! Seems to be reasonably intact too! This'll be a nice score once we bring it in!" Aiden replied. "Maybe the bonus from this battle will be enough to get those upgrades to my ship!"

"Upgraded lounge and seating areas?"

"And a better bed frame for the main cabin. You know my wife, Farley. She likes to travel in style and to be honest, it's kind of growing on me," Aiden told his friend.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just glad that she didn't try to bankrupt your ass like that bitch from years ago. What was her name again?" Farley wondered as his ship neared the derelict.

"Don't remember and I don't care to. I'm a happily married man and have every intention of staying that way," Aiden stated as he got suited up to step outside. He stopped midpoint as he checked the scanners, which lit up as they neared the ship.

"That can't be right," he mumbled.

"What's that?" Farley called out.

"The destroyer still has life signs aboard and the engines are powering up! Break off the approach!" Aiden called out.

Farley listened to the order and vectored away from the ship, just as he saw the flare from the engine housing. The destroyer they believed to be a derelict was in fact coming back online! Their little salvage corvette cleared the exhaust from the engines before it fried them into a crisp. Aiden was breathing a little easier once they were a safe distance away.

"I thought this thing was supposed to be a lifeless hulk, just like most of the other ships!" Farley growled.

"I thought so too! Where the hell are they going?" Aiden asked as he monitored the destroyer's trajectory.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!!!! They're heading for the planet!" Farley shouted.

"Where exactly?!?" Aiden worried.

"Straight for the villas! Call it in, NOW!!!!" Farley shouted.

"Veldhern station, Veldhern station, do you copy? This is salvage trawler eleven reporting in, do you copy?!" Aiden nearly screamed into his comms.

"Veldhern station here. Salvage trawler eleven, what is happening out there?" the comms tech asked through the line.

"A pirate destroyer just came back online, and it's headed planetside. Straight for the villas!" Aiden reported.

"How long ago did you see this?" the comms tech queried.

"Not even three minutes ago!! It just came online and vectored straight for the planet! It's just entering the atmosphere now!" Aiden told him.

"We're scrambling drop teams and planetside security has been notified. Thank you for calling this in!" the tech thanked the man before he cut the line.

"Rest easy, Aiden. We've done all that we can do," Farley told him gently.

"I hope so. Let's just hope that Captain Fitch has kept up on drilling the teams," Aiden replied, a trace of worry in his voice.

"That hardass? He'd probably run the teams into the ground if command let him. Still, he trains his boys and girls well. No one slacks on his watch," Farley reminded him.

"Yeah. You're right, they'll be fine."

******************************

Shazza, Taal'ani and the Artucian were busy sunning themselves on the beach. The five of them had just spent several hours rigorously swimming through the ocean waters. The sun felt nice on their skin and the feel of it warmed them to the bone. Until an enormous shadow blotted out the rays and they opened their eyes, seeking the source of the disruption.

They heard the screaming sound of a ship careening through the atmosphere before they saw the ship itself. It was a massive hulk that appeared to be some sort of meteor, which initially had everyone oohing and aahing. That was until it was coming right for them, which made everyone scatter, heading back to the villas. People started screaming as the ship dove ever closer to the villas.

"Everyone get down!" one of the security personnel cried out as the ship neared their position. Thankfully, it missed the villas, but only by around a dozen kilometers. The crash was deafening, and everyone screamed as the sound rattled the buildings. Once the initial shock had passed, some guests stood up, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Everyone, please, remain calm. My name is Sergeant Cullen, and I've been instructed by Captain Fitch to keep a watch over everyone here. Don't worry, the situation is being handled by the best soldiers we have," the sergeant told everyone.

Hearing this seemed to calm many of the guests, and some of them relaxed almost instantly. The sergeant had set up a full security cordon, just to make sure that no one wandered off. Though such occurrences were rare, the Veldhern Security Force had plans and contingencies for such events. Right now, one of them was being enacted and Cullen hoped that it would be wrapped up in short order.

******************************

"Commodore Tomisic, sir! I have news that you need to hear, and it cannot wait!" Jaesa blurted out, telling Alex over the system linked into his wrist comms.

"What is it, Jaesa? We were just enjoying the view!" Alex complained as both Natalya and Kasumi were snuggled into him as they watched Veldhern from the Observation Deck.

"A pirate destroyer has just crashed on Veldhern's surface! Shazza, Taal'ani and the Artucian are down there!" Jaesa informed him.

"Wait, what?!? How do you know that??"

"I've been monitoring the comms lines from Veldhern station for the past hour. They're scrambling drop teams to get down to the surface, to help reinforce the planetside security forces! They won't get there in time!" Jaesa told him.

"Inari, you catch that?" Alex called out, catching the Iranian woman's attention.

"Just did! Ladies, scramble! We need to get down there, now!" Inari commanded, bounding to her feet.

******************************

Dorian Johnson groaned as he finally came to, the crash having knocked him out. He blinked as he glanced about the bridge, hoping to see his crew there with him. They were, but more than half of the bridge crew didn't make it. Some of them were crushed underneath pieces of the ship, while others were peppered with shards of metal that had broken off from the paneling.

"Anyone out there alive? Someone talk to me!" he grunted as he unbuckled himself from the harness that had kept him alive.

"Sir?" one man called out, crawling out from underneath a tilted console.

"Rasner! Give me a sitrep, now!" Dorian demanded, barely standing upright.

"I picked up some reports from the other decks just as we crashed," the man replied, moaning in pain. "Most of the crew in the lower decks didn't make it. Those who were in the upper decks did, at least some of them."

"How many?"

"Best estimate? Maybe forty, fifty if we're lucky. Not sure until we go down and check on them," Rasner stated, standing upright.

"You stay put, try to wake the slugs who aren't dead yet. I'll look for the rest of the crew and drag them back here. Get everyone ready, because we've got a fight that we need to be ready for," Dorian told him, as he cocked his gun and ambled for the manual hatch, that would let him to the lower decks.