Starship Conquistador (Conquest of Stars Book 1) (8 page)

Commodore Raptor was just taking off his
gloves in his personal room when the door he had left unlocked slid open and
Colonel Tollvyk walked in and greeted him, “Commodore Raptor, you wanted to see
me.”

    “No formalities are needed in private
Toll,” Raptor said, “lock the door behind you.”

    Tollvyk pressed a switch near the door
and it was now sealed.

    “This room is completely soundproof,
isn’t it?” Tollvyk asked.

    “Commanding officer’s room on a
Starship always is,” Raptor said, “take a seat. There is some fine whiskey for
us abroad.”

    Tollvyk sat down on a chair in front of
a small round table and Raptor took out a whiskey bottle from a cabinet and
poured both of them a glass and then added some soda and some juice.

    “Capitan Alvina…” Tollvyk said.

    “Yeah…” Raptor said taking a sip of his
whiskey, “This could either be the best of the luck or the worst of the luck.”

    “Why worst?”

    “This is the first time that me and you
have been given a chance we never had before in our life. Starship Victory was
an old ship that had seen better days,” Raptor said, “It was essentially parked
in the orbit of this or that planet. Rarely sent into the deep space after
pirates or smugglers. I don’t want to end up with some blemishes on my record
due to some misunderstanding on my first mission as a Commodore.”

    “Take a hands-off approach then,”
Tollvyk said, “Let her be drawn to you, after all you are her commanding
officer.”

    “That is the problem,” Raptor said, “I
have stricter standards to adhere to than if I was just her fellow officer.”

    “I see what you are saying,” Tollvyk
said, “And the Star Commander would love nothing more than to have a female subordinate’s
complaint on your record.”

    “I don’t know…”

    “Trust me, I thank him for giving us a
big, new, shiny ship,” Tollvyk said, “but he has no love for us.”

    “Ok.”

    “I am going to give you an advice that
is the opposite of what I had been telling you for these ten years that we have
been friends,” Tollvyk said.

    “Shoot.”

    “Ignore her.”

    “Ignore?” Raptor said, “She is the only
woman I ever fell in love with.”

    “Exactly”

    “Huh?”

    “In military terms, a temporary
strategic retreat,” Tollvyk poured himself another glass of whiskey, “Focus on
the mission. I can see too that she is pretty but don’t look at her often.
Treat her as another officer. Get this peace brokered, between these Nestorians
and whoever the hell the mysterious aliens are. It’s not the same as returning
home as a war hero, but then again our Imperial Treasury isn’t exactly
overflowing to afford conflicts in the far-flung corners of the galaxy. As a
peace broker you will earn great respect and attention of our state leaders and
the army high command. We will leave this pesky frontier commander Carvyk
behind in our past. You will get to visit House of War. They won’t deny you
your choice of future assignments and officers and staff.

    “We could request to be attached to one
of Interior or Core Fleets,” Raptor smiled.

    “Or even the Central Fleet itself,”
Tollvyk said, “then try to court her.”

     “Hmmm…”

    “You think too much, you are a
commodore now,” Tollvyk said.

    “That’s what VC said.”

    “Rumor has it that he knows his stuff,”
Tollvyk said.

    “Alright, that is exactly what I will
do. Let’s get this mission done,” Raptor said and raised his whiskey glass and
they toasted, “But there’s another problem.”

    “What is it?” Tollvyk asked.

    “Have you seen the officers list?”
Raptor asked.

    “He told us didn’t he, he needed
mediocre officers for a mission,” Tollvyk said, “I am not surprised by the
records of our staff.”

    “I intend to prove him wrong,” Raptor
said, “I will need your help in that.”

    “I am always with you,” Tollvyk said,
“But aren’t you a bit suspicious.”

    “Of?”

    “Our Star Commander,” Tollvyk said.

    “In what way?”

    “I suspect he may have put his spies
abroad?”

    “Why do you say that?”

    “I have always been the suspicious
type, but all the more so due to the whole unorthodox staffing of this already
strange mission,” Tollvyk said, “But we have an advantage here.”

    “In what way?”

    “You should be thinking this, you are
the leader now,” Tollvyk said.

    “I draw a blank,” Raptor replied.

    “Do you remember the Army Regulations
taught to us in the Academy?” Tollvyk said, “On a Starship and especially on a
mission, the Commodore has almost unmatched powers. If we could get our hands
on one spy, we could put him through the full interrogation course.”

    “Star Commander won’t be happy, it’s
risky,” Raptor said.

    “You are going to have to take a lot of
risks from now on, my friend,” Tollvyk said, “Excellence must start at the
top.”

    Raptor twirled his whiskey glass in his
hand for a few seconds and then said, “Alright. How do we find a spy?”

    “A bit of good luck our way has come,”
Tollvyk smiled, “the Army Detective on board is a friend of mine from the
Academy. I will enlist his help.”

    “You do that and keep my updated, now
return to the command room and send flight officer Flyptar to my room,” Raptor
said, “I don’t want other officers to think that I am giving you special
treatment.”

    “Will do,” Tollvyk put down his glass,
saluted him and walked out.

    Three days later their spaceship had
crossed the boundaries of the Starfire Space and were entering the first solar
system that was in the Frontier Space. Raptor was in the Commodore’s section in
the command room reviewing comprehensive data on staff background. He had asked
the statistics officers to analyze the entire volume of records of every person
on the ship and to find common patterns as well as outliers. He had only a
rudimentary knowledge of statistics and intended to have his officers explain
it to him later. Right now the statistics officers had a more important task:
to gather and analyze the data generated by the spaceship and tens of thousands
of machines it was made up of to identify patterns as well as outliers that
might indicate errors.

    “Commodore, we are receiving a distress
signal from the third outermost planet of the present star system,” Capitan
Dorrvyk said.

    “Analyze the signal,” VC Barryett
ordered as he was walking the floor of the command room.

    “It’s a Starfire civilian spaceship and
the signal is from a Starfire national,” Dorrvyk said, “requesting permission
to board.”

    “Then we will definitely help out but
make sure the spaceship stays in the containment chamber till it is fully
evaluated for any possible dangers,” Raptor said.

    “Should I order the civilian to
rendezvous with us in space?” Dorrvyk asked.

    “No,” Raptor said, “the Army and the
Academy highly recommend a crew to break into a new Starship as early as
possible by performing multiple drills. This is a good opportunity to practice
parking it in an orbit without space traffic control to help or guide.”

    “Good idea,” VC Barryett said.

    “Flight Officer Capitan Flyptar, begin
preparations for orbital parking on the third outermost planet,” Raptor said.

    “Yes sir,” Flyptar replied.

    “Dorrvyk, order the civilian to keep
his spaceship stationary and send us coordinates based on Starfire Geolocation
Navigation framework,” Raptor said, “We will suction it with our magnetic
beam.”

    “Alright,” Dorrvyk said and started
giving directions to his two assistant officers.

    Raptor typed in a name in the ship’s
Master Computer in front of him and the person’s face popped up on the second
screen.

    “Capitan Styx, we are picking up a
civilian and I want you to meet and escort him with a team of ten armed
guards,” Raptor said, “Containment crew will thoroughly vet the ship, do
likewise to the person but don’t rough him up.”

    “Don’t worry Commodore, done this many
times,” Capitan Styx saluted him and Raptor switched away the screen.

    He turned around and looked at Tollvyk
who was giving him a concerned look. Raptor remembered his conversation with
him three days ago and their suspicion of a spy. This could be a way for
Regional Star Commander to get his man abroad.

    A few hours later Starship Conquistador
was smoothly and successfully parked in the orbit of the rocky planet Gertrude
and the magnetic beam was finished suctioning up the spaceship from the
planet’s surface. Raptor was preparing to order his flight and navigation crew
to launch the ship back towards their route when his screen lighted up with the
face of Capitan Styx, the officer-in-charge of Starship Guards, the force that
was responsible for maintaining order and internal security of the ship.

    “What is it Capitan?” Raptor asked.

    “I think you should come meet this man
before you ask me to give him a vetting,” Styx said. There was an awkward grin
on his face.

    “Hold it, I will be right there,”
Raptor said.

    He walked down the stairs and VC
Barryett came over to him with a worried look, “Any problems?”

    “I doubt it,” Raptor said, “I am off to
meet the guest. You have temporary command; get the ship back on the route at
our previous cruise speed plus adjustments to make up for the lost time.”

    “Yes sir,” Barryett replied and walked
over to the flight officers’ station.

    Raptor passed Tollvyk and as much he
wanted him on his side, he had to treat him like a subordinate and not a
friend, at least in public. He hitched a hovercraft and flew to the containment
chamber where armed guards with laser guns saluted him.

    He saw Capitan Styx standing next to a
man in his mid-forties with a stocky built and comb over hair on his forehead
holding a suitcase in his one hand and an envelope and a metallic card in
another. Raptor got off the hovercraft and as he walked closer he thought he
recognized the figure and his jaw almost hit the metal floor when the person’s
identity dawned on him.

    “Commodore Antrar Wyft, am I right?”
Raptor said.

    “Former Commodore. It’s been years
since I have worn that uniform,” Antrar pointed to Raptor’s shirt, “I am a full
civilian now.”

    “I started on Com. Antrar’s starship,”
Styx chimed in, “I don’t believe I should be the one to give him a security
examination.”

    “Nor should anyone else to one of our
living war heroes,” Raptor said, “Styx, you and your guards are dismissed. I
will escort him to guest quarters.”

    “Yes sir,” Styx and guards saluted him
and left the area. Antrar waited for Styx to depart then said to Raptor, “No
offense to Mr. Styx, he is a decent man, but I did write him up for quarreling
a couple of times. How did they make him your Capitan of Starship Guards?”

    “Beats me,” Raptor said and both of
them climbed in the hovercraft and Raptor punched the numbers for the guest
quarters.

    “And for this ship too, what a marvel
this is. We had Starships half the size, roughly speaking,” Antrar said.

    “A new one, frankly surprised myself,”
Raptor said.

    “You are humble, they don’t give
first-in-class starships to mediocre officers,” Antrar placed his hand on
Raptor’s shoulders and smiled. Raptor had an uneasy grin on his face as he
remembered Star Commander’s words once again.

    “I have to ask…” Raptor said.

    “Oh yes,” Antrar handed him the
envelope and the metallic card, “You will find a letter authorizing my presence
and mission signed by a member of the House of War and the card contains
further details.”

    “Your mission?” Raptor wondered wasn’t
this man retired.

    “My work,” Antrar laughed, “old
military habits die hard. I am currently working for Moryett Plasma Company
that manufactured and installed the plasma weapon on this ship. I help them
with testing and simulating the weapon under battle conditions and I am here to
witness and collect data on your live drills with that weapon.”

    “Alright, I don’t doubt you Com.
Antrar,” Raptor said, “But just to square with the army regulations, I will
have to run the letter and ID through the computer. Please confine yourself to
the guest quarters till then. I will run the verification right away.”

    “Thanks,” Antrar said as their
hovercraft came to a stop in front of the guest section of Starship. It was
guarded by the soldiers of Starship Guards who prevented any guests from
wandering off without permission.