Insurrection (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 5) Read online

  I was not alone in my convictions. Many good people stayed. Our 5% were those who felt that this planet was worth saving. They were some of the most skilled or outrageous crew on the station. So, it all evened out.

  “Athena? Are you in here?” I heard my name and looked up from my musings.

  I spotted my girlfriend Marine Lieutenant Dar Zakaszewski and Commander Wang my previous XO from the James Cook. They both were walking toward me. I smiled and rose to greet them.

  “Hey sweetie! I missed you.” Dar gave me a wonderful full body hug and kissed me on my cheek.

  I looked over at Commander Wang. “What, no kiss? Just kidding Commander. What brings both of you up here today?”

  Commander Wang spoke up first. “Militia command wants Dar here to train some of their station crew in hand to hand.Your father says that if it worked this well for you…” He stopped talking when I started laughing.

  Still laughing I quickly apologized to the Commander. “Sorry, sir. My father has come a long way from trying to marry me off.”

  “As I was saying, she needed a ride. I was coming up anyway to look at the Laffey so I gave her a ride.” The Commander just loved these two women. They meshed together so well.

  “Athena, we saw the strangest thing; as we exited the shuttle bay there was some sort of festival and parade going by. All of the people had these perforated round hats on and were dressed like Old Earth vid pirates. There were serving girls passing out bowls of pasta and singing.” Dar looked around the cafeteria. The kitchen staff, dressed as pirates were wearing colanders on their heads. They all were watching the vid screen that was focused on a section of empty space. “Those people are dressed that way too. What is going on?”

  I laughed at her and the Commanders facial expressions. “It is a planetary festival honoring the FSM faith.” I smiled.

  “FSM, what is that? I saw the temples on the planet but was afraid to ask.”

  “It’s either a planetary obsession or a religion, take your pick. FSM, stands for Flying Spaghetti Monster. Blame the Canadian colonists for that. About half of them had claimed FSM as a religion and they were exiled for it. As a joke they continued to worship here on the colony and after time had passed it became a honored tradition.” I pointed at the vid screens. “They are the true believers, the Pastafarians. They believe that his noodleness will descend from the heavens one day and save his followers from injustice. A sign of a true follower is the wearing of the colander. Old Earth pirates are considered to the Prophets of the original faith, hence the costumes. Later tonight they will march around blessing everyone by throwing noodles on them and crying ‘Ramen’.”

  Both my girlfriend and the Commander were now looking at me like I was crazy.

  “That is not what I personally believe so you can wipe those expressions away right now!” I gave them the look that my sister Min gives me when she knows I’m trying to pull something. “I told you before, this planet has a great many religions. Who are we to discriminate?”

  “Sweetie, you come from a very strange planet, but I love you anyway.” Dar gave me a big hug. “I have to get to work, can you show me to the main gymnasium?”

  “Can I direct you somewhere too, Commander?” I looked at Commander Wang expectantly.

  “No lieutenant, I think I can find my own way. By the way, I heard you were in charge of repairing the Navy fighters. Did you ever figure out what made them go crazy and nearly kill those two computer techs?”

  “No, Wilson claims that it was a hold over program from the initial testing more than 20 years ago on that system. I don’t totally believe him but the only person who would know for sure was killed by the Governors men so I guess that we have to believe him.”

  Commander Wang nodded his head. “Were the fighters damaged? I used to fly one of those before I became a line officer.”

  “Did you really? Does Militia command know that?” I smiled at him. I'd learned one of his secrets!

  “Please Athena, don’t tell your father. I like larger ships now no more speed trips for me.”

  “Ahem,” My girlfriend looked a little mad at me. Oops I forgot she needed directions.

  “See you later, Commander!” I ran for the door. Time to make nice.

  As we entered the main hallway Pastafarians were marching behind a giant bowl of noodles yelling “bless you” and throwing noodles. I bowed, caught the noodles and yelled back “Ramen.” Dar was just staring at me.

  “Hey its a tradition!”

  “Uh, huh. Sure it is.” She was still looking at me kind of funny.

  ___

  On the Station’s command deck Major Minerva Lee was hard at work. She was the new temporary station operations manager. She had passed her squadron off to her second in command. The station crew needed a firm hand and she was the best at that. The crew was a mish-mash of trained Navy and local technicians. Other than the recent runaway fighters there have been no problems so far. She was actually glad to be here. Her father was on the planet dealing with Governor Stoner and some internal strife within the Militia. Politics. She hated all of it. Minerva had dipped her toe in Sector politics once, along with her now former husband, and hated every minute of it. Let her father deal with that mess.

  Everything was quiet. Min was hunched over the quartermaster’s desk trying to make sense of a recent requisition for 200 plastic flamingo’s and 30 wading pools. The paperwork was correct and even had her own signature on it. Someone on this station was playing games and heads would roll when she found them. She was just about to start interrogations when the lights in the command center started to flash.

  “Major, a ship just entered the system. It is coming in on an erratic path. It just dropped out of light speed. It’s engines appear to be off, they may have suffered a malfunction.”

  “Is it a hostile ship or one of ours?” Her techs were the best trained on the station.

  “Ma’am it’s the EOM Paney. She wasn't due for another week.”

  “What is that ships armament? If it turns hostile can we stop it?”

  “Ma’am, the computer records show that it’s a Fubuki class destroyer configured for anti-piracy. So torpedoes, laser batteries, and anti-fighter defense systems.” Her intelligence officer looked concerned. “Ma’am that ship is powerful enough to do some serious harm to this station.”

  “Is the Paney answering any of our hails?” Minerva was all business now.

  “No, Ma’am. It is yawing a bit to port, the helm would appear to be unmanned.”

  “Screw it, Battlestations! I want everything but Ghost squadron in the ‘air’ in five!”

  All over Legation Station red lights began to flash and air tight pressure doors flashed warnings, then began to close. Crew and visitors alike ran for the shelters. The Pastafarian bowl was left in the main hall, abandoned.

  ___

  With volunteers in tow the five Marines, slowly made their way toward the command deck and bridge area. So far they had only encountered three unsuspecting pirates. All had been killed silently by the Marines. By Marine standards this operation was becoming a walk in the park. The command deck was one deck up. The lift system opened up in the main corridor between the entrance to the bridge and the weapon stations. There were sure to be hostiles there.

  Lieutenant Mutai considered his options. The only alternative he could think of was to send some of his group up the maintenance tube to try to get behind them. Looking over his volunteers he spotted Ensign Tisiphone. If memory served she was a gunnery officer. “Ensign Tisiphone, do you know where the maintenance tube comes out in weapons?”

  Finally something to do. She thought for a moment, picturing her section in her mind. “Sir, I believe that it comes out inside the storage closet between the two main batteries. If fact, Engineering technicians were just in there last week switching out the conduits.”

  “Do you think that you could lead one of my men and two or the others up the tube to your section? My Marine will help
, but since I can’t be in two places at once, you will have to retake the section. Are you up for it?”

  “Yes, sir. Count me in!”

  “Good; now according to Chief Tod these numbers will open the interior hatch.” He gave her a slip of paper. “Be very careful to not make noise when you exit the hatch. There may not be very many pirates in the section but sound carries. We have noticed that they can be very lazy. Strike hard and fast. Don’t stop for prisoners, just kill them. They all have death sentences anyway and know it. So be careful. Once you control the section, lock the doors down using the second code. Like the cargo bay, that door is armored. The pirates lack the cutting tools to get inside.”

  He gave a look of encouragement. “I am taking my group and we will attack the bridge. The Captain’s distraction seems to have worked most of the pirates have been sent aft. Good luck, Ensign!. See you on the other side.”

  Ensign Tisiphone watched the lieutenant leave, taking with him the other three Marines and four volunteers. She turned to her new crew and directed the Marine to open up the access tube.

  The tube was tight and cramped. The ensign did not know how they did this every day in engineering. Lining the inside of the tube were hundreds of multicolored conduits and wires. How did anyone keep all of this crap straight? She had decided to lead the way. Her weapon skills were as good as most of her small command. And if they ran into trouble in the tube all she would have room to do is point and shoot. For her, climbing the ten feet or so up was not a big deal, she was fairly athletic. Two of the volunteers were from the quartermaster section and looked to be about ten pounds overweight. They almost got stuck climbing up.

  Entering the code, the ensign listened carefully before opening the hatch. The lights were off inside the small room. Marine Private Diamond produced a small light from his pocket. He quickly scanned the room looking for threats. The ensign stepped out first, followed by the Marine private. The last three in her party were careful not to make noise. Private Diamond was proving to be a man of many talents. He handed her a stethoscope as she tried to listen to the door. It was dark but she smiled a thank you to him.

  “Mitch, it’s your bid, Hey! Mitch! Pay freaking attention! Bid or pass?”

  “Sorry, Craig. I thought I heard something.”

  “You heard all your credits going into my pocket is what you heard. Bid or pass?”

  “OK, OK, bid, bid.”

  “What about you Eddie? Bid or pass?”

  “I think Eddie has had too much to drink. He will pass and I will take what he has in front of him. You snooze your lose Ed.”

  “Hey you're gonna share some of that with the rest of us, right?”

  “Sure, sure. Split three ways.”

  “Deal the damn cards, Mitch!”

  Ensign Tisiphone looked whispered to Private Diamond. “There are four, and they're playing cards. One is drunk and asleep the others sound like they've been drinking.”

  The Marine quietly checked his weapon. “You open the door and I’ll slip out. I’ll get their attention with a flash bang, Then I need you to come out blasting. Don’t slow down just shoot them. The rest of you cover the door and watch for reinforcements. Once we're inside, get that door closed and input the code as fast as you can. Everyone understand? OK, let me out.”

  Private Diamond slithered out the door his pistol and knife at the ready. The Marine hugged the far wall out of sight of the card players. The three pirates were still arguing over the cards, money, and the bottle they were passing around. Pulling a flash bang grenade from his pocket, Private Diamond took a knee and rolled it across the floor under the table. Less than 3 seconds later the small bomb exploded in a bright flash of light and smoke. The four pirates fell backwards out of their chairs. They jumped up and stated yelling.

  Ensign Tisiphone burst out of the closet assault weapon blazing. The Marine private stayed on his knees, firing at the stunned pirates. The other crew members did as they were told and secured the door. As the smoke cleared, all four pirates lay dead in various positions. There was a sudden pounding on the door that cause the young ensign to jump. A few pirates had heard the explosion and were yelling for the four to open the door. “Ignore it,” she ordered the three volunteers. “Help Private Diamond get those bodies moved while I make sure the guns as still operational.”

  ___

  Giving the ensign time to get up the tube, Lieutenant Mutai waited before boarding the lift. He listened up the lift shaft for any sounds of commotion from above. He counted to ten then engaged the lift controls. His men had their guns at the ready, not knowing what was at the top. Halfway up to the next floor he heard a loud bang. This was followed by gunfire. The sounds of running and yelling closely followed. The doors of the lift opened to a now empty corridor. Sounds of banging and loud voices could be heard toward weapons. The ensign had been successful.

  With no time to lose he and his men crossed the hall to the bridge entrance. No guards in sight. The door had even been left ajar in the commotion. Very carefully he pushed the door open his pistol at the ready. A womans voice surprised him and he stopped.

  “Did you figure out what those idiots set off? Why we put up with those beach bums is beyond me. I’ve tried more than once to get Alvin to just kill them. What do you think, McCoy? McCoy, answer me Dammit!” Jenna turned in the Captains chair to find four Marines and several others pointing guns at her. She bared her sharpened teeth and jumped from the chair directly at Sergeant Sveldig. The surprised sergeant jumped back firing his shotgun directly at her removing most of her head in the process. The rest of the stunned bridge crew opened fire on the Marines.

  Ducking behind the Captain’s chair Lieutenant Mutai began firing at the pirate in control of navigation. Sergeant Sveldig yelled at the volunteer troops to “close the damn door.”

  Pirates seeing the navy personnel began firing through the open door. The volunteers rushed back to the door to punch in the locking numbers. They began taking fire, and two crewmen went down in a spray of blood. As the fire intensified remaining crew member John Bigbootee one of the janitorial staff managed to get to the door. Slipping and sliding in the blood and gore he entered the numbers that closed and locked the door. Inside, the bridge fire fight was still going on. A pirate sitting behind the communications console opened up on the Marines with, of all things, a rocket launcher, blowing a giant hole in the navigation station. Another hit with the rocket launcher blew Private Khat to pieces as he tried to pull the sergeant to safety. Shots from all sides killed the rocketeer in seconds.

  The bridge was now a smoking ruin. Navigation was a total loss. Communications was still on fire and weapons had smoke pouring from it. Not being a bridge officer Lieutenant Mutai only knew the basics. The ship was in jump but would exit into the Hong Kong sector in less than an hour. The ship ‘could’ still be controlled from CIC if they could recapture it. Everything rested on the Captain and his force of cooks, now.

  ___

  Minerva had given the flight squadrons five minutes; they did it in three. Within three minutes the station was fully armed and operational. The Paney was still coming in at an odd angle. Min ordered one squadron of fighters to intercept the destroyer. The other was to patrol the system.

  Militia commander Bob Conrad was the commander of the Black sheep fighter squadron. His unit was composed of misfits and one-offs. Most of his pilots flew Fuglies and Stuka’s. When the FLEA scientists had dug into the warehouse looking for things to fight with, they had uncovered a few hanger queens and fighter prototypes. Someone had taken the idea of a vid ship and had twisted it. He now flew Fuglie 1 which closely resembled something a Sith lord would fly. The fighter had nice guns with a really cool targeting system. The problem was that the controls were very touchy. He would need all of his skill and experience to fly this thing.

  “OK sheep, form up. ‘Dive bomb’ get back into formation!”

  “Sorry ‘Papa-san’ I hit the wrong switch.”

  �
�Dive bomb, put down the sandwich and start flying. Don’t lie to me.”

  Commander Conrad call sign ‘Papa-san’, sighed and thought, “Fighter pilots are nothing but big children.”

  “Everyone knows the mission. Don’t fire first. This ship could be on our side! If they do ‘attack,’ take out their engines and power supply first. The Paney is an anti-pirate destroyer is designed to destroy fighters! Let’s go.”

  The rogue destroyer was still at the systems edge. The fighters would not be able to intercept for at least thirty minutes.

  ____

  Alvin-the-taker was angry now. This whole charade was poorly planned. He should have taken control of the ship the first night they were on it. He just had to listen to that Dammed Governor who told him to wait until needed. What a crock of crap that was! Somehow, the Navy pukes had figured out they were not really replacements and had been prepared for his move. To keep control of the ship they NEEDED to take that damned engine room!