Starship Conquistador (Conquest of Stars Book 1) Read online

  “Let’s call Capitan Styx,” a guard said and took out a radio pad from his waistband.

  Capitan Styx and four armed guards escorted Antrar into the command room where Commodore Raptor and VC Barryett were conversing on the floor while other officers frantically worked their computers and panels.

  “Whoa!” Raptor exclaimed upon seeing Antrar’s bloody face, “What happened to Com Antrar? Medical officer tend to him right away.”

  There were two medical officers on duty who were watching from afar. Both of them rushed to Antrar and took out wipes from their pockets to clear blood from his face. An officer got up and offered his seat to Antrar who sat down as the medical officers scanned his face with their handheld machines.

  “I don’t know if I should tell you in the public,” Antrar said.

  “We don’t have time,” Raptor said.

  “Alright,” Antrar said and gave a brief narrative of his encounter and fight with the unidentified infantry officer and concluded by saying, “we have a spy on board.”

  Raptor turned to look at Tollvyk who was intently listening to the story and then nodded his head and said, “I will put our ship’s Chief Detective Hartar on this matter right away.”

  Antrar was surprised that while the rest of the room was listening with gawking eyes, Raptor and Tollvyk were unperturbed.

  “Com Antrar, I am going to transfer you to a room near my quarters,” Raptor said, “The guest quarters are mostly empty and it’s lonely out there.”

  “Thank you,” Antrar said.

  “Capitan Styx,” Raptor said, “I want round the clock armed patrol outside all the weapons chambers. And a second, manual verification of all personnel whose IDs can open the doors.”

  “Consider it done sir,” Styx said, “Me and Hartar will find this intruder.”

  “And double the guards outside this command room.”

  “Yes sir,” Styx saluted him and left the room along with his guards.

  “We have stopped the bleeding,” medical officer said, “he has received concussions and we will have to examine his ankle in our office.”

  “No, it has to be here, I need his advice,” Raptor said.

  “We will do the best we can,” the medical officer replied and sent his assistant to fetch some equipment from his lab.

  Raptor walked over to Antrar and pointed to a large screen that had been newly set up on the floor straight ahead from Commodore’s central section.

  “We picked up a tail about an hour ago,” Raptor pointed to the three dots displayed on the screen some distance behind the central symbol that represented their starship. “We thought it was transit traffic but VC Barryett suggested some maneuvers and our tail adjusted their routes to match our changes.”

  “Pirates?” Antrar wondered.

  “Which pirate would dare follow a Starfire Army’s spaceship?” VC Barryett said.

  “No pirate, except perhaps Jiggermaster,” Antrar said, “Only pirate I chased across deep space whom I did not eventually bring to ruin.”

  “Jiggermaster doesn’t have three spaceships,” Barryett said, “I was sent to shoo him away once after you had retired and he still had one.”

  “Can I see the star charts from our point of origin to the point of destination,” Antrar said, “Sorry I can’t walk over to the navigation computer.”

  “Overyk,” Raptor said.

  “I will get it on there,” navigation officer Overyk walked over to the computer in front of Antrar and displayed the comprehensive star chart of their planned journey.

  Raptor and Barryett leaned over Antrar’s shoulders as he read numbers and coordinates off of the screen and thought for a few seconds.

  “Where is the Lorrvyk Point?” Antrar asked Overyk.

  “Aha!” Barryett exclaimed, “I see what you are getting at.”

  “So do I,” Raptor said.

  Overyk pressed a few keys and a red dot displayed on the chart. All three of them looked up at the large screen at once and realized that their starship was practically on the coordinates of the dot.

  “Best place to ambush a spaceship,” Antrar said, “is at the point in its journey where its distance to any planet, star or asteroids is the furthest.”

  “And it’s known as the Lorrvyk Point of that journey,” Raptor said, “named after Commander Lorrvyk, one of the earliest space warfare theorists who created this concept.” This was all drilled into the officers’ head at the Academy.

  “If they are hostiles they should attack us just about now,” Barryett said.

  “The unknown spaceships are accelerating and closing distance,” gravitron scanner officer Horyett proclaimed and the whole room saw the dots moving in closer towards them.

  “Red Star Battle Alert,” Raptor said.

  Communications officer Dorrvyk hit the switch for the alert and red lights started flashing all across the starship along with a distinct siren of the impending battle.

  “Battlestations!” Raptor shouted.

  Chapter 14: Nectar

  Capitan Jag Manus let the Nectar’s space traffic administration guide his plane through the incoming queue and landed it on a spot on one of the spaceports that was assigned to him. There was no question of trying to evade the space scanners and the radars on this planet. Nectar had a significant population of 73 million people and a well-developed civilian and military infrastructure. It was an oceanic planet with two small continents which had been colonized and settled by the Nestorians. The temperature was mild and the climate similar to the home planet of Nestor. If it hadn’t been so far out towards the frontiers it would have attracted a much larger settlement.

  Jag Manus fetched a taxi at the spaceport. It was a small airship with two seats up front for the pilot and the passenger and four seats in the back. Jag was alone in the taxi airship with the taxi pilot.

  “Where to mister?” Taxi pilot asked.

  “Headquarters of Boutrous Golus,” Jag replied.

  The taxi pilot raised up the airship fifty feet in the air and then rapidly accelerated into the taxi air lane. Jag was thrown back against the seat and he clutched the handle above the window to keep him steady.

  “You haven’t punched in the coordinates,” Jag said when he realized the airship’s navigation system was off.

  “I know the location by heart,” Taxi Pilot replied, “A lot of folks from other worlds come to visit that company.”

  Jag thought for a second and then asked, “Did any political or military big shot from Nestor ever come here for a visit to Boutrous Golus.” He realized the possibility that this particular taxi pilot had flown one was very small but it didn’t hurt to inquire.

  “Hmmm…” the taxi pilot thought for a few seconds and then said, “I never get an opportunity to fly big shots because my airship is too small for their guards and the luggage. But my friend who owns a twenty-seat air taxi did fly the Commander of the Republican Guard a while back.”

  Jag was startled from this revelation but he didn’t show any expressions on his face.

  “What is his name…?” taxi pilot asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jag said. That was not the kind of fact a civilian would know off the top of his head and if he displayed the knowledge the taxi pilot could suspect him of being another government agent. He put on his headphones and played music so that the pilot would not pry into his identity and nature of the visit as taxi pilots were of times want to do.

  The flight to Boutrous Golus’ headquarters lasted a few minutes short of an hour. It was a two floor building spread out across a wide acreage and was surrounded by lush gardens and then by forests at a distance. The airship landed on the empty grounds in front of the building. Jag paid a few bills of Nests to the taxi pilot and then walked towards the front door.

  Normally the headquarters of big companies on Nestor were very tall skyscrapers with air pads strutting out from multiple floors. Land was in short supply there but here it was in abundance. The airships could ju
st park anywhere outside the building.

  Jag Manus hoped that the company would not throw him out for lack of a search warrant. He had to be careful and diplomatic and while getting a warrant would not be a problem that would officially register the investigation into the court system and a lot of people had access to that data.

  He opened the door and walked into the lobby. The reception lady greeted him with a smile but the four armed guards standing two on each side with their laser guns eyed him warily. They had never seen him before. He was not surprised by their presence, after all the company sold machines to the army.

  “I would like an appointment with the chief executive of your company,” Jag said to the receptionist.

  The smile on her face evaporated and was replaced by a frown. Who was this man to just walk in and demand an appointment like that?

  “I am sorry, I can’t just…”

  “Tell him…”

  “It’s Mrs. Tory Golus,”

  “Tell her that a representative of Vice-Chancellor Remus wants to meet her,” he handed his Republican Guard ID to her and she looked at it keenly. A guard walked over to the reception desk and the lady handed him the card. He observed it for a few seconds and then replied, “It’s genuine.”

  The lady then called the office of Tory and conveyed the message.

  “She will see you now,” the receptionist said and pointed towards the stairs. Jag walked upto the next floor and followed the signs to her office. It was a big, spacious office with a large wooden desk and a chair that was too big for the woman in it. Tory Golus appeared in her late forties, her hair came down in front of her till her breasts, and her face was long and narrow with high cheekbones but had slightly aged.

  She stood up with a smile and said, “I didn’t know VC Remus was interested in our business.”

  “I will come to that later,” Jag Manus said and took a seat in front of the table. He looked at the two picture frames; one had a photo of her with a slightly older man and two teenage children. Another frame had a photo of a very old couple. Jag pointed to that photograph and asked, “Is that your father Mr. Boutrous Golus?”

  “It is,” she replied, “They died long time ago but my parents had me very late, when both of them were in their forties.”

  “I believe your father maintained a master account on all the long range gravitron scanner databases that his company manufactured,” Jag asked.

  “For testing, but what is this about.”

  “Can anybody in this company still access them?” Jag asked.

  “Mr. Manus,” Tory said, “You can’t just come in here with questions like that. You are an officer in Republican Guard but come with no warrant.”

  “It is an investigation I am running,”

  “Then I should have my counsel present,” Tory said, “And no doubt he will tell you to get a warrant.”

  “You don’t want to do that,” Jag said.

  “I don’t want to? Why not?” Tory asked.

  “It concerns an investigation into an assassination attempt on our vice-chancellor,” Jag said.

  “That’s terrible,” Tory gasped and leaned back in her chair, “But I heard no news.”

  “We are keeping it a secret and I urge you to not mention this to anyone,” Jag said, “Mrs. Golus your company receives a lot of military contracts. VC Remus is the civilian leader whom general Bakus answers to. You don’t want to make me jump through hooves.”

  Tory thought for a few seconds while twirling her pen in her hand and then said, “We are supporters of VC Remus. Our company even donated funds to his election campaign. What help do you need?”

  “A list of names of your employees who can access your father’s master account on army gravitron scanner,”

  “You got it,” she typed a message on her computer to her assistant and then said, “She will bring a printed copy. But Mr. Manus, I don’t know what clues you are following, but this will be a dead end for you.”

  “Why?”

  “The master account of my father is there only because it requires a special password to delete it and he took it with him to his grave,” she said, “We have never accessed it and how could we. None of my companies’ employees would be allowed to enter the computer room or log on a computer with gravitron database. That is an inert account that can never be used.”

  “Have you given its password to an army person who could, for example commander of my republican guard who visited you a while back?” Jag said.

  “No, never,” Tory replied, “And he did visit us but it wasn’t an official government visit. He was meeting an old friend of his whom he took out for lunch.”

  “Who?”

  “I believe it was Mr. Aurus Janus,” she said, “he is on an extended vacation to Nestor.”

  As they were talking Tory’s assistant walked in the office with a printed list and set it down on the table.

  Jag quickly picked it up and looked through the names. There were six names on the list with Tory Golus on the top and Aurus Janus second from bottom. This was the man he needed to investigate. But he said nothing to her.

  “Thank you Mrs. Golus,” Jag got up with the list in his hand, “I do have another question but it doesn’t concern this company. By any chance, does this planet have a facility to beam a very long range signal across deep space?”

  “Define long,” Tory said.

  “Hmmm…I don’t know,” Jag said, “a hundred to two hundred light years across.”

  “We are the only institution on Nectar that has a space signal facility with that long of a range,” Tory said.

  “Mrs. Tory you are going to hate me for asking this,” Jag leaned forward with both of his hands on the desk and grinned at her, “But I really, really would appreciate a list of names who are authorized to use that facility.”

  “You ask too much but it’s for our vice-chancellor,” Tory sighed then spoke to her assistant, “Get Mr. Manus a printed copy of that list. You can follow her.”

  “Thank you,” Jag said and followed the assistant out of the office room to a computer lab where her assistant printed out a list. He compared both of them as he walked downstairs. There were eight names on this list with Mrs. Tory Golus on top once again. He was not surprised that there was much overlap between the two lists as the top managers of the company would have the most access to its facilities. But there was that name again: Aurus Janus. Who was this fella?

  Jag Manus fired up the thrusters of his spaceship and soared into Nectar’s stratosphere. He was going back home to Nestor and he hoped to catch this man Aurus Janus before he ended his vacation. He could have sent a signal out ahead to the Republican Guards to detain him till Manus returned. But he was supposedly an old friend of Commander Nolfus Berrum who could cancel any such order he issued. Then he would have to get VC Remus to override Nolfus and he would have earned an enemy for the rest of his time in the guards. He didn’t want to do that. And he didn’t want to alert Aurus before he had a chance to question him.

  And what was Commander Nolfus’s involvement in this whole sordid affair? Nolfus wasn’t the nicest of the persons but he was an honorable man and Jag could not contemplate any grievance he had against Remus. It could be a mere coincidence. After all the Republican Guards provided security to private military suppliers and Nolfus could have befriended Aurus during one such arrangement.

  Whatever the case the answers lay back home on Nestor.

  Suddenly his spaceship was rocked by a multitude of laser blasts and the computer automatically tried to stabilize and regain the original route.

  “What the hell?”

  He looked at his radar and saw four spacefighters closing in on him. His computer could not identify their make or model which was surprising since his spaceship database contained information on all the spaceships operating in Nestorian Space. He grabbed the sticks and maneuvered in a zig-zag fashion to avoid the laser fire which was continuous.

  “Citizen calling for
Help! Citizen calling for help!” Jag yelled over his radio to whomever might be listening. Unfortunately he didn’t know the exact frequency that authorities on this planet used or monitored.

  The attackers were clever and knew the army’s procedures. Four spaceships chasing another craft might raise hackles in the radar operations room but they wouldn’t dispatch army spacefighters to investigate unless they saw a rocket shoot out of a spaceship on their screens. Lasers were invisible on radio.

  Jag Manus accelerated his ship to the maximum recommended to attain escape velocity. He had to hit light speed as fast as possible then if the spacefighters launched faster than light rockets at him it would light up on Army’s gravitron scanners.

  The lasers were splattering off of his spaceship and taking off chunks here or there. His spaceship was armored as well as armed but only with lasers and no rockets.

  He activated his rear lasers but they mostly missed the pursuers. He had no time to pay attention to them and let the computer try to fire them at the targets. The spacefighters computers recognized another computer’s pattern and decoded the firing algorithm and avoided the incoming lasers.

  He accelerated beyond the planet’s atmosphere and left Nectar behind but the spacefighters kept chasing and kept shooting lasers at him. If he accelerated too fast within the gravity field of Nectar his fuel would run out before Nestor and would have to stop somewhere along the way and risk another ambush. But he had no choice.

  He punched in the keys for maximum acceleration and overrode the computer warnings. His spaceship rapidly accelerated towards light speed and his fuel gauge started dropping as loads of fuel was rapidly consumed to accelerate against the strong gravitational force.

  A rocket warning rang out from his gravitron scanner.

  Two spacefighters had launched a faster-than-light rocket each and they were rapidly closing distance with Jag’s spaceship. Jag pushed the acceleration beyond safe-maximum to absolute-maximum and his ship started shaking and his controls started vibrating. The rockets still closed the distance. The computer indicated his spaceship wouldn’t be able to accelerate beyond rocket’s speed in time. And neither was his ship very much maneuverable to dodge the rockets nor was he a spacefighter pilot to pull off such a stunt.