Prologue
“Captain, we have established orbit around Drelious II. All departments report systems are normal. Probes are ready and prepared for deployment.”
“Thank you, XO. Any word from Marsha?”
“Only that she’s happy to be out of Transit, sir. I don’t know how but she can sense Transit motion and she’s not a fan.”
“Oh?” Harmony loved needling his XO from time to time. “Does she manifest this in any particular way?”
“She says it makes her nauseous sir. Fortunately, said nausea has yet to manifest itself as projectile vomition. But she is the only life form aboard that can tell when the Transit drive shuts down. Aside from those in Engineering, of course.”
Frederic Harmony chuckled as his hand opened the mass address channel on his holoCom. “All hands, this is the captain. Gallagher has brought us to our assignment as he usually does. We are here to determine this planet’s capability to—”
“Unknown ship entering the area, sir!”
“More to follow, Harmony out.” The captain turns to the communication technician. “Open a hailing channel, please.”
“Open, sir. They are receiving.”
“Unidentified vessel, this is the science ship Gallagher Captain Frederic Harmony commanding. Welcome to Drelious II. Is there a way we can be of service to you?”
“Greetings, Captain Harmony. You may refer to me as Grinning Jack Grangiere. Thank you for your hospitality. To answer your question, yes you can heave to, accept my boarding party and assist us in transferring your cargo to my ship, Silver Saber. Perhaps afterwards you and I can share a bottle of wine and celebrate my good fortune?”
Captain Harmony looks at his XO and mouths the words, “Is he serious?” The XO shrugs.
“Captain—Grangiere was it? I don’t have any cargo that would be of interest to you. We are a scientific ship, not a merchant.”
Grinning Jack answers, “Don’t sell yourself short, Captain. Perhaps I want to publish an article? Be that as it may, you do have cargo in which I am interested: your crew. Of those that survive, some may join my harem, some may join my crew and the rest will be sold as slaves. Of course the vessel itself will be sold on the black market for a few pennies per pound. That is of course based on the presumption that you have a few active brain cells and accept your fate without question. If you have some misguided idea of resisting me, it will not end in a way you like. Now, may I have your surrender, please?”
Harmony mutes the holoCom signal. “That sonofabitch is aptly named. I can hear him smiling. I hope his cheeks hurt.”
Harmony unmutes his holoCom. “Jack, this is Captain Harmony. I have to admit to a character flaw. I have this idea that I should resist all invitations to surrender. So, you do what you have to do. I’ll do what I have to do. Gallagher out.” Harmony closes the channel.
“XO, sound the alert. Arm the turrets. Everyone into APE and prepare to repel boarders. Have everyone—” whatever else Harmony was going to say is lost in a scream. Which is followed by gunfire. A small man, probably five feet in height weighing a hundred fifty pounds at the most has bitten Harmony on the neck from behind. To call the man “human” would be generous at best. He is more monster than man.
“XO! Missiles inbound!” In moments impacts tear through the ship.
The ship’s lights flicker then go out. The ship’s air is gone. No one aboard knows if the decompression was initiated intentionally or if it’s a result of the attack. The unprotected assailant explodes as the gases in his body boil out in the falling air pressure.
“Helm!” the XO says into his commlink, “What is our status?”
“Sir, systems are not responding. We are out of control and in the planet’s gravity field.”
“How long do we have?”
“Sir, in twenty minutes it won’t matter. Before then, we can recover. After that, we will crash on Drelious.”
“Sir, we’re being hailed.”
“Captain Harmony, this is Grinning Jack Grangiere again. In the interest of science, we’re going to stick around and watch your arrogance lead to the death of your crew. You had the option of doing things the right way. Too bad you elected not to. Oh, and don’t mind my little pet. You’re welcome.”
“Captain Grangiere, this is Commander Hartwell Fox. Captain Harmony is unable to command. As acting captain, I surrender. We are prepared for your boarding party.”
Grangiere’s laughter explodes in Fox’s ears. “Not on your life, commander. Only a fool fights in a leaky boat headed over a waterfall. Your captain had the chance for you to all live. He decided you all die. I will confess it’s a pity as I’m certain that someone on that tub would have been a fitting addition to my harem. Alas, we’ll never know. Enjoy the rest of your life. Oh, goody! The popcorn is ready! Silver Saber out.”
