Federation Reborn 2: Pirate Rage (23 page)

A few people tittered at that idea.

“Then of course there was Amazonia in the Delta sector, where a group of feminists wished to create a world completely bereft of males. They succeeded initially, and their plan to use artificial insemination was smart on the face of it as was their intent to reform themselves into hermaphrodites. It didn't work out however,” he said.

There were more titters from the males in the audience. He could understand that.

“Yes they eventually lost their technology. They had put so much effort and investment into art, agriculture, and medicine that they had neglected the industries needed to
maintain
the
tools
for such arts,” he said. That got a thoughtful murmur going. He put up a before and after comparison image of the Amazonians. They had all been buff, but doing jobs normally intended for a machine or man had been hard on them. “They had thought they could lead an idyllic life. That was incorrect; a colony, any colony is hard. You have to work hard to scratch out a living. Some clung stubbornly to the lifestyle they had planned past reason. When the crops failed and they faced famine, a few survivors left the colony early. Those who clung to it and somehow survived ended up seducing or in some cases raping male crew members of a passing ship.” He heard the men titter again.

“Rape isn't a joke,” he said, face hard. “You may think it is, but it's not. Some of the women weren't above killing their prey once they were through with them.” That sobered the group. “In order to silence any witness against them. Others weren't above cutting off their genitals or using electric prods to induce semen release without copulation. Milking …,” he waved a hand as he realized the group was becoming increasingly uncomfortable at the X-rated lecture. “Suffice to say it wasn't pleasant or pretty.”

“Like a praying mantis or a spider,” Rodney murmured. The admiral nodded curtly to the analogy. A few Amazonians and their descendants had become able marines or in many cases, pirates. They were particularly cruel and vicious to men they caught.

At least he'd gotten them to get off the idea that rape was okay he thought blackly before he got himself back on track. “Many species like Terrans resorted to genetic engineering when they couldn't modify the environment they wished to go to. Like heavy worlds for instance,” he said, nodding to a few rather buff humans in the group. “Eventually such practice was altered as a sort of swap of unsuitable planets was enacted during the early days of the Federation.” He put up an image of a Tauren and other species, then had arrows showing them going from one planet to another. “It wasn't without teething problems, but nothing worth doing ever is.”

“Back to the genetic issue, it was a given that some female species, many crew members on passing freighters or colony ships would carry a child to term and then sell them or adopt them out to the planet they were visiting,” he said. That settled them down. “At the time it was highly illegal since women who were pregnant were supposed to be restricted to ground or station duty where they won't be exposed to toxic air, danger, or radiation. The children that were sold …,” he grimaced. “Not only was it highly illegal, a form of slavery, but they sometimes were sick. It was a welcome breath of bio-diversity to some, but at great hidden cost.” Beside him an image of a human baby with a medical chart detailing the genetic damage. The child grew up at a rapid pace, twisted and sickly. It repulsed many of the students.

“Sir, will we be seeing more colonies in the future? By that, I, um, mean terraforming our own?” Rodney asked during the brief silence the admiral had left for the class to digest that point. "I understand Pyrax has considered the option of reforming one of their habitable planets or converting one of the few remaining dwarf planets, sir? And that you were ultimately behind the idea?"

The admiral's memory flashed back briefly to his encounter with the Pyrax government during its early days around the time of the constitutional convention. He nodded once. "I did. There was interest after we inflated an asteroid into an orbital fort. A Doctor Genshi, an amateur planetologist was behind the idea. I tried to temper his … enthusiastic ideas with more … realistic ones." He remembered the doctor's plan to create micro black holes and gravity wave inducers to push the Eden belt back together into a planet. It had been a silly costly plan compared to terraforming a dwarf planet or moving one of the rocky worlds in the outer system inward and then starting there.

"You can say that again. And most of the money went down a rabbit hole and into someone's accounts," Protector said on his HUD. He grimaced but didn't say anything in reply. "For the moment we have to deal with what we currently have. Yes, we will renew the exploration department. In fact, we're sending ships out even now and cataloging information brought in by traders who cross the sectors. They are few and far between and charge a premium for their information, but it is valuable." He shook his head. "First we have to find new worlds to explore, let alone terraform and colonize. But before any of that is to happen, we have to deal with what we currently have … including a certain nest of pirates." They seemed to sit up straighter. "And we need to deal with them once and for all."

He stepped back as his audience applauded.

---<>))))

Commander Vestri Sindri wasn't having a good month. Well, it had been fine until the Horathians had decided to put in an appearance he thought with a sour grimace. He cursed the investigation and repairs to
Bismark
and the wreckage of his carefully planned schedule. That and his carefully crafted budget. He'd robbed Peter to pay Paul to get both ships done in a timely manner only for this to come up. His reserves couldn't hope to cover everything. In some areas they were going to have to start over from scratch. He knew he, like a lot of people, were pissed over the damage. He damn well had every right to be. Security had
seriously
fucked up. Heads had
damn
well better roll!

He shook his head. It meant
Quirinus
was going to face further delay. Most likely for
months
as they dealt with
Bismark's
damage. That was likely to throw his future schedule all to hell. Just dealing with the damage to the docks was bad enough! He shook his head, looking at the tangled ruin. It was a mess, and until they got it straightened out, everything in that section was at a standstill.

Leopold would survive. Commander Sprite and Lieutenant Veber had both agreed after a lot of consult time. Unfortunately, the ship A.I. would be down for weeks until they managed to get around to repairing his matrix; both officers had too much on their respective agendas for the moment. That sucked; the A.I. would have been great to help pick out what the hell happened and where the damage was.

He rubbed his brow but couldn't find a way around it. It was what it was; he'd deal with it.

He closed his eyes and then wuffled a sigh before opening them. He felt for John, the admiral. He was a gifted engineer and designer stuck into what was turning more and more into an administrative posting. He was also dealing with all sorts of crap, politics as well as fallout from the
Bismark
incident. He scowled as his thoughts went back to that. He forced himself away from the merry-go-round after a moment.

Granted the admiral was good enough to handle the load, and he delegated as much as he could, but he deserved better. He wondered briefly if he could draw the admiral into a project without disrupting his schedule or some other thing.

Thoughts of mischief and getting the admiral to play hooky for a couple hours made his broad lips twitch in a smirk.

Maybe, just maybe he could draw John in to work on one of the capital ships. Get him in there, maybe under the pretext of inspecting the damage and repairs, and then draw him into doing something. He'd be better for it. He frowned thoughtfully, then nodded. He could enlist Chief Quigon's help he was sure.

---<>))))

Lieutenant Lake hid a smile behind her cup of almost empty coffee as she and the other intelligence officers continued their brainstorming session. She thought of it as their cock and bull session, but it was starting to get some definitive results. Not quite tangible ones, but it was pointing them in the right direction in a couple of places.

That was if they weren't fooling themselves into going down the wrong paths, she thought, smile fading.

Their current topic of discussion was the concept of a traditional intelligence asset, a scout. There were many different classes, and many different uses for them. Many were tossed into one general classification, that of a
Prowler
. A long-range asset with a lot of stealth, a ton of interception gear, and a really good but small crew. Admiral Irons had brought the idea up several times so they knew he was thinking about it. It was definitely something they needed to put into service quickly.

However, ensign Yao Ting had turned the idea on its head. He'd brought up the idea of considering what the enemy might use as their own version, their mission, and how to spot them.

“I'm aware that the enemy has used freighters as spy ships to infiltrate this sector and most likely neighboring sectors for some time now,” Fletcher stated. “But a purpose-built craft?”

“Just because we haven't seen it, doesn't mean it's not there. And if it isn't, it doesn't mean they won't put them into use eventually. Once they know we're creating a fleet …,” the ensign persisted.

“And don't forget, we have to consider the possibilities for how that intel team got to Pyrax to try to steal
Bismark
,” Lieutenant Lake stated. The A.I. turned to her. “Consider this, was it their mission to begin with, which I find doubtful, or was it more likely a target of opportunity? Why didn't they hit the yard harder? A C fractional bombardment …”

“I think if they could have they would have. We might have somehow backed them into a corner. Their exit was compromised.”

“Unless it wasn't a freighter. A scout? Or a
Prowler
as Yao has suggested?”

“How? How could it have gotten in past our defenses?”

“It could have jumped in outside the normal jump zone. Then came in on ballistic,” Lieutenant Lake persisted.

“Scanning would have a record of the jump. Even the flash is noticeable,” Fletcher stated.

“But they are double checking now,” Lieutenant Lake persisted, playing devil's advocate. The A.I. nodded reluctantly.

“If it does exist, it could be more than just a dedicated ship. Even a small ship …,” Ensign Yao Ting mused, rubbing his jaw. “I think, if I remember my history, there was some sort of ship design at one time? Starship I mean, short ranged hyperdrive, but it could enter atmosphere?” He frowned thoughtfully as he tried to pull up the ship design he had in mind.

“You are thinking of a sled,” Lieutenant Fletcher stated, pulling up the specs for him.

“It is a potential idea, I agree. A hyper sled would allow a shuttle to get in, but it has its downsides too. Sleds are very short ranged. They also emit a large energy and gravitational signature since they are very inefficient.”

“Didn't they use them before and during the Xeno war?” Yao asked.

“Yes, indeed the Federation forces did. But those were purpose built … oh, you are implying that the Horathians might have acquired one of those craft? That they aren't using a civilian design or one of their own designs?”

“I'm not. You just did, sir,” Yao replied, eyes widening briefly. “It makes sense.”

“Intelligence craft were supposed to be destroyed if their crews fell in the wrong hands.”

“But people are people. If they wanted off their ship, they might abandon her or it might have been damaged or they might have left her with the intent of reusing her in the future. Who knows,” Yao stated.

“It is a possibility we'll have to keep in mind,” Fletcher replied, sounding reluctant. “The civilian idea has a higher state of probability. With the right crew and support, they could conceivably come in on any vector. Not a pleasant thought I admit.”

“But weren't most of them abandoned before the second A.I. war?” Lake asked, reading the notes on the craft. There was an image of a rather famous craft, called the
Space Duck
. She shook her head. To fly in that thing? To land on water? Well, it was easier than a small colony creating a dedicated landing strip she thought. And water would make the perfect place to pick up fuel since it could be split into hydrogen easily.

“So, they come in, leave their drive ring behind, coast in on ballistic, then land somewhere,” Yao said, his voice picking up in enthusiasm as the idea caught his imagination. “Sounds doable.”

“It is definitely an infiltration method. One well used in the past. However, docking with the sled right isn't without risks. One bad connection and the entire thing could blow up. Or if they can't dock due to something bent or broken, then they are trapped on the outer edge of the hostile star system without enough fuel or life support to get to safety. That is why the idea was classified as highly risky and therefore not viable. Not when alternatives can be used. Safer alternatives that can give better results with much better range.”

Lieutenant Lake crossed her arms as she set her cup down. “Such as?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.