Slackers of the Inner Sphere
Chapter 9: Ghost ship
DropShip Bulldog
Nadia Jump Point
Shoreham system
Federated Commonwealth
19th August 3064
"I am so not enjoying my life right now." Swindelli shook his head as he read the results of the latest simulator tests, "This is almost embarrassing. Hell, it is embarrassing!"
"They need time." Dimitri shook his head, "They need to work as a coherent unit."
"That's the same thing I told Kobayashi last month. I don't know how much longer I can keep stalling him. The only Lance we have that works with any degree of competence is Captain Taplin's, and they were together before."
"You doubt that the others will ever be able to work as a unit?"
"No, but I'm beginning to doubt that Kobayashi or our Benefactors will give us the chance. What we need is time and another battle. Not a big one, but something that'll make everyone feel part of the team. Espirit-de-corps is something that no simulator can install."
"That, my friend, is not something I can help you with: it is rare that any officer can make the enemy to meet them on terms they dictate."
DropShip Wabash Cannonball
Zenith Jump Point
Bethel system
Federated Commonwealth
19th August 3064
"They vex me, these mercenaries." Demi-Precenter Jamal looked at the map of the Capellan March that hung in the air above his desk. The worlds of the once mighty Federated Commonwealth were bright royal blue, while those of the Capellan Confederation glowed equally bright emerald green. The lack of any other light in the room cast strange shadows on the bulkheads. "They vex me terribly."
"You were not to know that they had changed their plans." Adapt Hawksmoor did her best to reassure her emotionally susceptible superior, "We have been able to track them since, and have almost caught up with them…"
"Almost is not good enough, not if we want to live. No, we need to catch them, find out how much they know, and destroy them. Something subtle; deniable. Maybe a jump accident or something like that?"
"That would be easy to arrange: a suitably placed explosive device would cripple their ship at the worst possible moment."
"That may be, but first we have to catch them. Inform the JumpShip captain that I want him to hot-charge the engines: we must catch the mercenaries!"
"By your command, Demi-Precenter. Blake's will be done!"
JumpShip Vital Spark
Pirate Point
Uninhabited system
Federated Commonwealth
3rd September 3064
"This is the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas I've had since I joined this unit." Swindelli looked out of the observation bay windows at the empty system beyond, "Jumping into an uninhabited system is dangerous enough, but picking a non-standard jump-point is tantamount to suicide: if anything goes wrong, we have no way of calling for help!"
"Life is about taking risks, Ricardo." Kobayashi shrugged, "Word of Blake may well be tracking us: changing our IFF transponder can only do so much to disguise our ship."
"It's still a bigger risk than I'd like to take…" Swindelli was cut off mid sentence when alarms started going off. The heavily reinforced bulkhead leading to the central corridor started to close.
Both men kicked off of the hand rail in front of them and towards the door, only just making it through before the hatch slammed shut. Red emergency lights illuminated the corridor, flashing on and off as crewmembers rushed to their duty station.
"If something has happened, and we are trapped in this system, know that you will be the first to die!" Swindelli snarled at Kobayashi as he grabbed one of the colour coded hand rails and started to pull himself toward the bow of the JumpShip.
DropShip Bulldog
Pirate Point
Uninhabited system
Federated Commonwealth
3rd September 3064
"MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!" Captain Taplin yelled as the units MechWarriors started to assemble in the briefing room. Most were dressed in standard shipboard coveralls, many covered in patches denoting former units or House affiliations. All were armed.
"We are all here, Quiaff?" Dimitri pulled himself through the hatchway.
"All except MechWarrior Hardcastle: he's babysitting our 'guest'." Taplin nodded as he pulled on a flack vest, "Any idea what's going on?"
"No." Dimitri shook his head, "Take your lance, Sergeant Baker and MechWarrior Shen over to the JumpShip and find the major. I will prepare our defences here."
"Who are you to tell us what to do, Wolf?" Steele asked, "We are all of the same rank, Quiaff?"
"Aff, we are all the same rank." Dimitri glared at the over Clan warrior, "But I am this unites Executive Officer, and that places me above you in the chain of command. You will do as I say, follow my orders, or I will shot you for desertion in the face of the enemy!"
"You would not dare!" Steele scoffed.
"Try me." Dimitri smiled the kind of smile you hope never to see from someone holding an automatic weapon, "Go ahead: make my day."
JumpShip Vital Spark
Pirate Point
Uninhabited system
Federated Commonwealth
3rd September 3064
Swindelli and Kobayashi found the bridge in disarray: Gregor Handy, the ship's longsuffering captain stood at the navigation console, his feet held in place by metal eye-rings built into the deck.
"Captain." Swindelli nodded polity, knowing full well that he was in the other officer's territory, "What's going on?"
"Wi picked up summat on the long range scanners." Handy's highland burr was thicker than usual, a sure sign that he was stressed, "Wor trying te worrk oot just what it is. At forst wi thowt it wez just a meteor, but we're picking up man-made alloys."
"A ship?" Kobayashi asked, automatically translating what the other man had said in his head.
"It looks tha way: we're bringing the optical roond te get a closer gandie." Handy pulled an old wooden pipe from his pocket and started to crew the stem.
"Sir." Taplin appeared at the hatch with his party, a laser carbine slung over his shoulder.
"Aha, good: get over here Baker." Kobayashi motioned to the NCO, "You know more about JumpShip's than most of us."
"I know how they work, sir, but will all respect, Captain Handy probably knows more about them." Baker slowly made his way across the room, moving from hand-hold to hand-hold, "What we got?"
"Unknown, but sensors syah approximately 320-meters long, somewhere between 110,000 an 125,000-tons." Handy looked at the navigation console, "Best guess waad be another Merchant tha got stuck oot heor , maybe wi a DropShip?"
"That's not a Merchant." Baker looked at the image that was coming into focus on the main screen, "Look; there and there." He pointed at the monitor, "The superstructure's wrong for a Merchant. It's subtle, but its there if you know what to look for."
"The lad's right. Ah can't tell yee what shes, but she's ne class of JumpShip tha Ah knaa of."
"Something looks familiar. How far back does your war-book go?"
"It waad tell yee if it wez the TAS Dreadnought oot there."
"Pull up the files for the Nightwing and Tracker class ships, and see if you can pick up any energy emissions."
"Yee might be onto summat there. But Ah can tell yee noo tha we're not picking up owt but background emissions: she's deed in the water."
"Care to enlighten those of us who don't have a clue what the two of you are talking about?" Swindelli asked.
"The Nightwing and Tracker class were surveillance ships built by the Terran Hegemony to keep an eye on other nations." Baker explained, "They could pass for regular JumpShip's, and often carried merchant DropShips add to the disguise."
"So they were JumpShip's?" Kobayashi asked.
"Not in the slightest: they were armed warships." Baker smiled to himself, "I never thought I'd ever get to see on: they were supposable all scraped long before the fall of the Star League."
"Well, Sergeant, you're in luck." Handy folded his arms and nodded at the screen, "The war-book confirms it: tha there is a Tracker class spy ship. Must hev suffered a drive failure an abandoned bi hor crew. I'm ernly detecting one DropShip, so they may hev been picked up bi another ship an rescued."
"Or not." Swindelli looked at the screen, "Either way; it's worth going to have a look at." He turned to Taplin, "Tell Captain Penwald to get ready to undock: we've got a possible salvage mission to undertake."
To Be Continued…
New Belt Pirate Commander: according to my copy of 'The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky', The Adventures of Clan Spaniel is a canon Clan TV-show aimed at indoctrinating children to the Clan way of life and the cast system. Doesn't seem any stranger than some of the stuff I watched as a kid (and still do)...
