Operation Orion - Kevin Dockery [101]
They did so, and the captain was not surprised to see the ship making for the same massive industrial space station from which the other supply ships had departed. The installation was in the same orbit as the Bazaar, where Jackson and his Teammates had gone to seek the prisoners, though there were tens of thousands of kilometers of distance between the two artificial moons. The Pegasus took up an orbit matching the station, barely fifty kilometers away, and still was drifting there when Olin Parvik hailed him over the intership communicator.
“I’m coming back with the Starguard II, Captain, in case you find it useful,” the Assarn pilot announced. “Request permission to come aboard.”
“Granted,” Carstairs replied immediately, unable to hide his relief at word from at least one of the missing actors in this galactic dance.
An hour later the Assarn pilot, dressed in a clean uniform and with his long blond hair braided down his back, boarded the frigate and met with Sanders and Captain Carstairs.
“Lieutenant Jackson was working on a lead when I left him at the Bazaar,” Parvik explained. “He thinks he’s located at least some of the missing humans and was looking for a means of establishing contact with them. In the meantime, I think I’ve picked up some information about your ship, the Pangaea, though judging from your orbital position here, I’m guessing that you’ve found her already.”
“Yes, a matter of hours ago. We’re still observing. She looks dark and cold, but there’s some activity going on.”
“Yes. That would be Tezlac Catal’s men,” Parvik said, spitting the savant’s name angrily.
“We’ve seen a steady stream of shuttles coming and going. They seem to be carrying some cargo up to the ship or else bringing every stick of furniture off. It’s not like she was carrying anything other than a lot of people,” the captain said.
“No, I think they’re loading her up—with what, I don’t know,” the Assarn said. “She’s quite a prize with those Shamani drives and the unique touches you humans added. For all we know, he intends to use her in his own fleet.”
“But she’s really only outfitted for carrying passengers,” Sanders said. “Why would he use her for cargo hauling?”
Parvik looked at the lieutenant, his expression dour. “You remember one of Catal’s major trading commodities, don’t you?” he asked.
“Slaves!” Carstairs said at once. “She’d be perfect for hauling lots of people across the galaxy—lots of life support capacity, more than a thousand berths. That son of a bitch!”
The conference was interrupted by a radio operator from the CIC. “Captain!” she called urgently. “I have Lieutenant Jackson calling for you!”
The three hastily made their way from the wardroom into the combat information center, where Carstairs took the mike and the other two men crowded close. “Stonewall!” he said. “Damn, it’s good to hear from you.”
“Good to be able to report, sir. We’ve made some progress here on the Bazaar.” He described briefly the infiltration that had led them to the captive delegates and Admiral Ballard. “The admiral guessed there are about a hundred captives from the ship aboard the station. He thinks, and I hope, that the rest of them are still aboard the Pangaea.”
“That’s our thinking, too,” Carstairs replied. He told the SEALS officer about their discovery of the hijacked ship. “Olin Parvik is back here and suggests that Tezlac Catal might want to use her as a slaver. Why not, when he has nine hundred captives already aboard?”
“Damn,” Jackson snapped. “But at least you’ve found her. Now we have to figure out a way to get her back.”
“We’re working on that up here,” the captain replied. “But what about getting the hostages out of their cages down on the Bazaar? I wonder if I should make a request through channels?”
“With all respect, sir,” Jackson replied, “these bastards don’t give a shit for channels. We’ll have to break ’em out the old-fashioned way. But we’ll need a ride. Sandy, are you there?”
“Right here, LT,” Sanders replied.
“I’m going to work up a jailbreak down here. I think it’s going to be