Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 251

(Main Bridge, BSN Shinokage, Tsk’neth System, Free Worlds Alliance)

“Admiral, we have an update from the Gugnir. Fourth Group is passing through Dothada with their auxiliary vessels. Estimated time of arrival is in one week. No resistance so far.”

I nodded to Slave-Captain Inatumal. “Thank you, Captain.” As I turned back to my tablet to continue the mundane paperwork that came with command, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Fourth Group getting here.

It was just three weeks since I’d come with the Shinokage to answer Atlanta’s report of a Code: Veronica situation. I’d chosen the name as an offhand joke. Since we were making contingency plans, eventually one of the other Nomads in the Black Star chat channel suggested a Zombie Apocalypse plan, and everyone started offering suggestions. No one really expected it to happen, but, hey, the CDC has a zombie apocalypse plan, so why shouldn’t we? And it wasn’t like the planning wouldn’t be useful in multiple areas.

Turned out, we needed it sooner than we thought. I’d ordered the Atlanta to scout the system because the locals were not shipping food any more, and were instead buying a LOT of weapons, while freighters were going missing. I’d expected to see someone out there preparing for a war, or some other big endeavor. What Atlanta found, however, was a ship full of zombified Ihm.

Of course, that ship was bad enough, but then we’d found that the entire system was infested with the undead. The fourth planet had been completely consumed by the dead. The only solution had been to planet crack the fourth planet, obliterating it and the scores of the undead.

That, of course, was a problem, since Tsk’neth IV had supplied a large part of the food for the entire sector, and was the primary supplier for the mining colony on Tsk’neth III. Right now, the colony was on emergency rations. According to the Work Chief that was in charge of the colony, they had enough food for another six days.

The five Oregon Trail class heavy freighters that Fourth Group were escorting were the answer to that. The Fair Winds was loaded to capacity with emergency rations, enough to feed the colony for another six weeks. Dreamcatcher had quick-grow hydroponic farming technology, which would enable the colony to begin producing their own food. Do You Want Fries With That was loaded with synthetic protein vats and source materials, as well as the tech to shape and flavor them into something edible (it wasn’t meat, but it was as close as many got on the fringe). Ziegler’s Mercy had a full hold of medical supplies, and was set up to serve as an emergency field hospital. And the For Want of a Nail was loaded with manufacturing equipment, which would allow the people of Tsk’neth III to rebuild their orbital infrastructure.

Suffice to say, the people of Tsk’neth III were more than pleased with me. The problem, of course, was that the people were not the only ones with an interest in the system. The system government wasn’t a concern, since they were all quite dead by now, but the Yathru Corporation, which effectively owned the system and all the people in it, even if they weren’t technically slaves, were most assuredly not pleased in the slightest.

Four days after I destroyed Tsk’neth IV, a freighter entered the system, bearing the markings of the Yathru Corporation. The moment they found out that the zombies had been wiped out, and the space stations and planet along with them, they angrily demanded to know if we still had the ‘samples’ for corporate, because they weren’t going to be the ones in trouble for not delivering on time. The corporate officer aboard the freighter was not pleased that I had destroyed them all, and left in a huff.

It didn’t take much guess work (none at all, actually, since Raven hacked their systems) to discern that the Yathru Corporation had been ecstatic about the devolving situation in Tsk’neth before we arrived. Like the traditional Ihm rain covering that they were named after, the Yathru Corporation wanted to have a presence covering all potential markets and revenue streams. That included bioweapons, naturally.

The loss of the ‘irreplaceable’ bioweapons (read: zombies), as well as destruction of so much corporate property that it would be impossible to put a value on it, had infuriated Yathru. The next ship to arrive was an official corporate lawyer, who attempted to file suit and issue invoices, expecting me to pay for the ‘damages’. I quoted the sections of the treaties that covered Exterminatus events, which all quite openly and plainly stated that all property rights on planets slated for Exterminatus are rendered void. I then informed him that I had already sent the relative information, including video recordings of the station and planets, to the Alliance government, the Interstellar Corporate Court, the Unified Mercenary Association, and twenty-seven major news outlets within the Alliance, the Consortium, the Confederacy, the Empire, and the Imperium.

The lawyer frowned, but said nothing. The corporate officer beside him, however, was frothing at the mouth. He swore that we would regret this. Literally, that’s what he said.

Which, naturally, was why I was still on station with Shinokage and the ships I’d brought with me to help Atlanta, and why Fourth Group was escorting the relief ships. The people of Tsk’neth IV would starve if something happened to the ships, which made them a target for people who wanted to hurt Black Star, by any means necessary. And I wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Admiral, communication from the surface, Work Chief Ruak on the line.”

“On my screen.” The paperwork disappeared from my tablet, if only for a blissful moment, and was replaced by the Ihm male’s face. “Ah, Work Chief Ruak. I trust you’re doing well? Have those riots in Hive Seven been broken up?”

“Good day, Admiral. Yes, I am doing well, as I hope you are. The last of the Yathru ‘company men’, as the Marines call them, have been successfully taken down. As expected, the majority of them were surviving corporate security or administrative personnel who abandoned their posts when the work teams were voicing their displeasure initially.”

“Yes, there are always going to be rats who try and hide when things are bad, and then complain that their cheese is gone.”

“One of the few things I miss about the Imperium. They don’t tolerate that kind of behavior, there. Of course, they also have an Empress that’s gone crazy, so I guess you get the good with the bad.”

“Ha! That’s true enough. Well, it is good you got those malcontents under control.”

“Yes, especially given the other reason I called.”

“Ah, I take it your people have gone over my proposal, then?”

The Work Chief straightened slightly, and nodded. “Yes.” I took a moment to set the transmission to record, and gave him the signal to continue. “Given the gross misconduct of the Yathru Corporation, and the fact that all administrative members of the corporation have resigned their posts or been forcibly ousted, under the bylaws of the Tsk’neth System Charter, I, as the senior official remaining on the planet, hereby consider Yathru to have abandoned their claims in this system. Further, after taking a vote of the Hives, we would like to join the Black Star Company, and have a permanent Black Star base established here.”

I nodded once. “As the leader of a registered mercenary company, in absence of any other military or corporate security presence in this system, I, Admiral Mirikon Mollen, concur with the judgement of the ranking official of Tsk’neth III and the Tsk’neth system, in judging that the Yathru Corporation has abandoned their claims to the system.” I took a breath, more to separate the two statements than anything else, and continued. “As CEO and Owner of the Black Star Corporation, I am pleased to add Tsk’neth to our holdings. Pursuant to Black Star regulations, the Tsk’neth system will host a contingent of the Black Star Navy, to not be less than the size of one Defense Group, for the purposes of protecting the people, buildings, and traffic in this system.”

I ended the recording, and grinned at Ruak. “I’m glad your people decided to join us, Ruak. We have a few Ihm in our company already, and they have all been valuable additions to the company, and the fleet. Once Fourth Group gets here, we’ll start working up a defense station for Tsk’neth III.”

“You literally saved the hives from being eaten alive by our own people, and the rations you’ve provided already have kept a lot of people from starving. The fact that you already have freighters on the way with more rations, and the ability to make our own food, rather than relying on shipments from offworld, played highly in your favor. That was one of the things that they used to keep people in line. Restrict the food, water, and air to anyone who ‘got problematic’.

“Yes, I can imagine. People can be pushed much further when they are just well fed enough to not be weakened by malnutrition, and you threaten to take from them. Not a system I wholly approve of, myself, outside the military, or similar organizations, during training, when you’re trying to push new recruits to their limits.”

I was about to say more when alarms suddenly went off on the bridge. Those were the bow wake alarms, detecting incoming ships! I was already looking toward the sensor officer when he said, “Captain, Admiral, we’re picking up incoming ships. Twenty-five signatures total. IFF readings indicate that they are part of the Yathru Corporate Security Fleet.”

I sighed, and looked back at the tablet. “Well, Work Chief, it appears that Yathru has not gotten the memo about this system’s change in status, so I am afraid that I’m going to have to go and explain it to them. I am sorry, but we’re going to have to cut our conversation short.”

“No worries. I said all I meant to say, anyway. But will you be all right? Twenty-five against ten is not exactly the best of odds.”

“Chief Ruak, please believe me when I say that, if I wanted to give them better odds, I would have the Marine ships sit back, and take them on with only five ships. It wouldn’t change the outcome in the slightest, but then I would have to listen to the Marines whine about how they didn’t get to have any fun, and there’s only so much of that I can take.”

“Hah! Point taken, Admiral. Good hunting. Ruak, out.”

As the comm line cut out, I looked over to Captain Inatumal, who was next to the sensor officer. Looking back at me, she said “Sensors identify them as nine Tendix-Class corvettes, eight Ehkal-Class frigates, five Utadi-Class Destroyers, a Tellu-Class escort carrier, and a pair of Bol-Class battle cruisers. All older models, sir.”

They were indeed older models. They were all likely military surplus, left over from the last war, or the one before that. The Tendix, Ehkal, and Utadi-class were all Ihm make, but the Tellu-class came from the Confederacy, and the Bol-class were Regandian models, from the largest Free Worlds Alliance competitor to the Kul Tirans in military strength. Actually, the Regandians might have passed them, given their recent problems.

Still, for a corporation in the Free Worlds Alliance, this was a very sizeable investment of men and materiel. In fact, I’d bet that it was the majority of their mobile military assets. Oh, they probably kept some for the protection of their primary facilities, but this would definitely be the bulk of the Yathru fleet.

“Captain, orders to the fleet. Assassins to form up on us, striker formation. Shields up, weapons hot. Inform the Marines that the crows are to form the second line behind us, with the Orgrim’s Hammer and the Acherus following behind. Have Ebon Blade squadron prepped and ready to scramble. Load for space supremacy dogfighting.”

Captain Inatumal hesitated, then asked, “With respect, Master, dogfighting? Why not just take them out with starbolts?”

“Because starbolts don’t leave enough pieces behind for us to capture and interrogate. The crews of those vessels didn’t order this strike, so I want to know who did, so I can discuss things personally with them.”

“Understood, Master. Orders going out.”

The communications officer looked up. “Captain, we’re being hailed by the Yathru fleet.”

I chuckled, and waved the captain off, before stepping forward, to the center of the bridge. “Well, this should be fun. On screen.”

“Aye, sir.”

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