Payback Is a Given: Pirates of the Badlands Series Book 2 Read online

  Alexis had studied hard in school and excelled at sports. At eighteen, she had attended The Academy and graduated with a commission in the Navy. Her original orders had been to the naval base on Zelenka close to home, but she had gotten them changed to the destroyer flotilla in the Cerelia system. She had been posted to the destroyer Cobalt in the operations department. What should have been a three-year tour was interrupted after twenty-six months. Among the millions to die in the Bracelot Flu epidemic was Sophia. Alexis was required to resign from the Navy and returned home as she was now second to the throne behind Prince Matthew.

  It was thought the new royal responsibilities put on Matthew might mature him and focus him on his future and his duties. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. Matthew had always liked the privileges of royalty while ignoring the responsibilities. Sophia had been one of the few people in his life to whom he would actually listen, and her loss had affected him deeply. He continued his former life with a vengeance bordering on a death wish. In an air car race on Midori, he failed to negotiate a turn and died in a flaming explosion. Alexis became the crown princess.

  Alexis’ father, King Jacob IV, had doted on his children and the loss of two out of three in short order had drained him of will and vitality. Two years after Matthew’s death, he simply faded away, and Alexis ascended to the throne. That was eight years ago.

  Despite the circumstances of her crowning, Alexis had quickly proved she was equal to the task. She had few real powers under the constitution, but did have the power of persuasion and the power to call, or not call, the parliament into session. She took an interest in all facets of government. She visited as many planets in the Empire as her schedule would allow. She supported several charities and good causes. The people reacted warmly, and she was highly popular with all segments of the population. She was no longer the “accidental queen” but “Queen Alex.”

  The Queen finished her work and looked up. She raised an eyebrow as an invitation to her Prime Minister to state his business. Strickland launched into his sales pitch on the pirate proposal. Although the Queen had no authority to decline the government sanctioning the mission, if she was opposed to it and it failed, life for Strickland’s government and party could be very uncomfortable. The Queen’s disapproval would be a rallying point for the opposition and fuel the coverage by the media. With her approval, she could provide protection for the party and government if the mission failed, or if somebody wanted to argue over the pirate connection. Strickland covered the mission proposal from start to finish. He noted the cost, the timeline, the potential military gains, and the political ramifications of using the pirates. He finished by stating the government would endorse the mission.

  The Queen focused on him throughout the presentation, but did not interrupt him. At the conclusion, she said flatly, “I have one question. Will it help us win the war?”

  “Yes.”

  “You have my full support and, if it fails, or there is some sort of fallout over the pirate issue, please refer those people to me.”

  “There may be risks concerning the pirate angle from several people in the opposition party and from the Goths if they find out about it.”

  “I can live with it. I don’t give a damn about the loyal opposition here at home, and the Goths can go to hell after their support of the OrCons in the Badlands during the war’s first days. If their ambassador complains, send him to me and I’ll tell him that to his face. I will then add that I hope all the money we paid the pirates for the mission will be spent in fighting his government in the Badlands, and if the ambassador continues to protest, I will tell him we might fund the Badlands pirates just for the hell of it.”

  The Queen leaned back in her chair and gave Strickland a hard look. “This is an easy call. I’d do a deal with the devil if it would advance the war effort. Besides, if memory serves, Raferty Hawkins was the pirate who helped Skyler Mallory in the Badlands fight. So we are already tied to him in some people’s minds. I have absolutely no problem with this, and if it blows up in our faces, we’ll take the heat together.”

  Strickland stood up. In working with the Queen, he had learned of a few traits of hers not readily apparent from casual observation. She was decisive and a risk taker. She was also totally ruthless. It suddenly struck him that she would have made a good pirate in a different lifetime. But in the meantime, she was an excellent monarch. He bowed slightly. “Your Majesty.”

  She stood and inclined her head to him. “Mister Prime Minister, thank you for the information, and I pray for the complete success of this mission.”

  Strickland departed the palace and returned to the government offices just down the road at a brisk walk. He was quite happy with the results so far. The Aurora Empire had been fighting the war entirely on the defensive up to now. This mission would be the first to strike a blow in OrCon territory. Not only that, it would be in the heart of the region at a base the enemy thought was unknown outside of a small group of their own leaders. As pointed out by Lord Cunningham in his video brief, even if the mission fails or achieved limited military results, the blow to their psyche would be immense. It was well worth the cost in credits, and in potential fallout, regarding the use of pirate mercenaries. He worried a bit about the pirate aspect of this mission and wondered if the Queen’s observation about doing a deal with the devil was that far off the mark in this instance.

  Strickland entered the government building and moved to his offices on the third floor. He sat at his comm station and typed a short message to Lord Cunningham. “Sir, proposal approved. Initial payment authorized.”

  He encoded it, hit the send key, and leaned back. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Then he reached into the bottom desk drawer and took out a bottle of fine scotch. He poured two fingers worth into a glass and swirled the amber liquid around slowly. It had been awhile since the bottle had been out. Not much to celebrate of late, but today was an exception. He held up the glass in a silent toast. May this be the first step on the long road back. He emptied the glass in one swallow. It tasted great.

  Chapter 6

  Three days after the initial meeting on the Home Fleet flagship, Predator and Nemesis appeared in the Wanderlust zone of control. Appropriate radio contact and clearances were made, and Predator proceeded inbound while Nemesis loitered on the edge of the controlled airspace. The pirate vessel remained within sensor scan and was undoubtedly running her own scans. Within three hours, Hawkins, Tactical, and Baby Doll were seated in the same briefing room as before with the same three Zekes as before.

  Lord Cunningham took control of the meeting. “I’m happy to report your proposal has been accepted and the initial payment will be made when you provide a transfer procedure.”

  Tactical immediately stepped forward and place a paper in front of Cunningham who scanned it quickly. “This will do nicely. One moment.” He pressed a button amid a bank of buttons on the table before him and an officer wearing the rank of commander entered via a side hatch. Cunningham handed the paper to him and he departed without a word. “The money should be in this account by the time you return to your ship. I think the next order of business is Ensign Bychovskaya. When the mission was approved, I took the liberty of allowing her time to pack and take care of personal affairs prior to her long absence from here. She is waiting outside to join our meeting with your approval.”

  “Of course.”

  Cunningham pressed the button again and Blondie entered from the same side hatch as the commander. She came to attention at the end of the table.

  Cunningham motioned with his hand to her. “Once the mission was approved, I felt obligated to inform Ensign Bychovskaya about the nature of the mission and allow her a final chance to review her decision to participate. Not only did she choose to be a part of it, she immediately began putting together her requirements for it. If you don’t mind, she has prepared a short brief.”

  Hawkins was surprised and quite pleased by her dedication. “By all m
eans.”

  Blondie took a briefing chip out and placed it in the 3-D projector on the table. A list came up headlined CHALLENGES with three bullets below the title. “This brief is based on the information I have at this time so this is obviously a continuing work in progress. I am also sure you will already know most of what I present here but I want to ensure we are on the same wavelength. Ships moving through subspace create their own magnetic field, mostly due to engine vibration. Finding and tracking the waves generated by this field is how white phones detect ships in subspace. The challenge as I see it is threefold. First, we must get the engines of the four attacking ships synchronized so they operate on the same wavelengths of sound and vibration patterns so any adjustments needed to these engines are equally applicable to all four ships. Second, we must get the electromagnetic patterns of all the natural bodies and military sensors near our target. Third, we must blend our engine patterns into those patterns as much as possible to hide them from detection.”

  Another list replaced the first. This was titled SOLUTIONS. “We will accomplish the first part by overhauling all the engines to ensure peak efficiency and thus minimize noise output and noise made by old or failing components. Once this is done, we must work to fine-tune the engines to get them synchronized so they are putting out noise on the same wavelengths and frequencies. The second challenge is the natural noise generated by the bodies and manmade noise generated by the detection systems near our target. I assume you will get that information from scouting reports or some other means. We will need the noise reports as soon as possible. The third challenge will be blending our noise in with the already present noise at the target. If our engines are all making the same noise in the same narrow bands, it will be easier to adjust that noise and hide it in the naturally occurring noise. We will need to find heavenly bodies in our own training area to use during our training workup to ensure we are making the proper adjustments to our engines. These bodies should generate electromagnetic waves as close as possible to the waves generated near our target. This blending process can be narrowed down using computers and calibration equipment so we can get close to hiding in the ambient noise, but the final adjustments will be completed by trial and error that will probably be time consuming and frustrating to a degree, but there will be no other way. Once I know the number and types of engines and the number and type of heavenly bodies emitting waves around the target, I can give you a fair estimation of the time needed to make the project work.”

  A third list appeared over the projector. This was titled EQUIPMENT NEEDED, and consisted of two lists. “This is the equipment we will need to make the engines all perform on the same narrow band of noise emission and then blend into the waves at the target area. The first list is equipment on hand here which the Admiral has kindly loaned us. I have had this equipment calibrated, and it is currently in the hangar bay ready to load and depart with us. I’m sure you have much of this equipment on hand or you wouldn’t have been able to pull off your demonstration three days ago. However, working on four ships will require multiple sets of the same equipment, so we will use yours and what we have here. The second list is equipment we will need which I can’t get prior to our departure. This equipment is particular to engine maintenance for Edinburgh naval ships and we don’t have this equipment here or anywhere nearby. You may have some or most of it already, and if not, we will need to get it. It is available outside of military channels so I know the equipment is out there, we just have to find it. Cost should be reasonable, and we should not attract too much attention acquiring it, as this equipment has been used in their engine maintenance for decades, not only on military vessels, but also on several classes of other types of spacecraft built in Edinburgh shipyards. It is probably available from several commercial sources and the sooner we get it, the better off we’ll be. Once we have enough sets of equipment, I propose to work on all four ships simultaneously to ensure the work is completed ASAP. This concludes my brief.”

  Hawkins was pleasantly surprised, and he knew Tactical and Baby Doll were also. He spoke in an admiring voice. “Well, welcome aboard, Blondie. I’m impressed by your work in the short time available. You will lead the effort to obtain this equipment, and we will support you in all ways possible. I look forward to working with you, and I know my shipmates feel the same way.”

  Blondie smiled. “I also look forward to it, Captain.”

  Cunningham broke in. “Captain Hawkins, she needs to do one final preparation prior to departing with you. She will be downloading our latest threat databases so you will have the best intel available on the OrCons.”

  “Excellent.” Hawkins turned back to the young woman. “By the way, we have a very relaxed dress code aboard ship.”

  “Sir?” Blondie looked at him in puzzlement.

  “Lose the uniform. And stop calling me sir. It’s annoying.”

  “Yes, sir.” Blondie immediately reddened after giving the junior officer’s rote response to an order. “Uh, sorry…”

  Baby Doll and Raferty laughed. Tactical shook her head and looked off in the middle distance. Rafe responded, “Don’t worry about it. Seriously, I can’t think of a situation requiring a uniform. Leave them here.”

  Blondie glanced at Cunningham and the Admiral. Cunningham nodded at her. “Your Captain has issued an order, Ensign.”

  Blondie nodded and turned back to Hawkins. “Aye, s… Captain.”

  Blondie came to attention, did an about face and departed the briefing room. After the hatch closed behind her, Rafe turned to the three Zekes. “She is definitely going to be an asset.”

  With her departure, Lord Cunningham went to the main point for the meeting. “We will provide the money and the munitions as requested. You should have the initial payment now, and the munitions can be taken now, or upon your return for the final briefing prior to departing on the mission.” He looked at Hawkins expectantly.

  “We would like one hundred fifty missiles and sixty mines to use for familiarization training now, and pick up the remainder in four months when we return for the final briefing.”

  “Excellent.” Cunningham nodded to Admiral Barrett who quietly issued orders over his comm link. The Admiral had a cargo shuttle standing by. The shuttle would be loaded with the munitions and would move to Predator while the briefing was being conducted. Cunningham turned back to Hawkins with a smile. “There is one adjustment we would like to make to the deal.”

  “Oh?” Rafe was instantly on guard. Any change would probably be for the worse from his point of view. “You want to pay us more money. That would be nice.” Rafe smiled at the Defense Lord.

  “Not exactly,” Cunningham replied with his own smile. “We want to add an observer to the mission to aid in weapons employment with the hydra missiles and assess target damage. We believe this could be a valuable asset for you.”

  The tone was light and mildly persuasive, but Rafe knew this really wasn’t a negotiation. He was being told he was taking an observer, and the only way out was to say no. Rafe was not sure what would be the fallout from that answer. He was sure this wouldn’t be a deal breaker as they would certainly still be going on the mission, but what would happen upon their return? Not only the immediate aftermath of their return, but further in the future. Despite himself, Rafe had to admire the deviousness and farsighted view on display here.

  Rafe stared at Cunningham. “We will provide all sensor logs, firing records, and associated transcripts to you when we return so you can assess damage then.”

  “Yes, but we want someone on the scene so she can put it into context upon her return.”

  “She?”

  Lord Cunningham then added what he thought would be a sweetener to this proposal, “Yes, the observer will be Captain Mallory. You have worked together before and we think she can be a valuable asset to you with no disruption to your routine.”

  Hawkins turned and looked at Sky. She started to smile but it froze before it was formed. Rafe was staring
at her and then he stared through her. His face had been carefully neutral in the negotiations, and it now changed to what? Dislike? Anger? No, Sky decided, it was ruthlessness. For a fleeting microsecond, Skyler Mallory had a clear, pristine view into the soul of Raferty Hawkins. This man had survived, even thrived, in the Badlands for years. He was a pirate ship’s captain, a pirate squadron leader, and a pirate flotilla commander. He didn’t achieve those positions through promotion boards and being appointed to command by the Queen. He achieved his position by being right ninety-nine point nine percent of the time and continually convincing a group of independent-minded people they were better off under his command than going it alone. This man was reasonable, educated, and even likeable, but Sky realized that if the situation called for it, this man could be totally ruthless. He had given his ship an appropriate name as Hawkins was a born predator and killer. But the micro moment of insight passed, and Sky found Hawkins was staring at her neutrally, and she stared back the same way.

  Hawkins was good at this type of bargaining while striking a deal, but so were the officials opposite him. Most people would have missed what had happened and what it meant, but these three individuals were not most people. Sky had seen it because she knew the man, Lord Cunningham had seen it because he did this type of wheeling and dealing routinely, and Admiral Barrett had seen it because you don’t get to be an admiral without the ability to read people. It was obvious to all of them that, for one of the few times in his career, Lord Cunningham had miscalculated. Raferty Hawkins didn’t like the observer idea. That was expected. What had not been expected was that he really didn’t like that the observer was to be Captain Skyler Mallory. It seemed the atmosphere in the room had frozen.