Operation Orion - Kevin Dockery [88]
Carstairs nodded. “That’s damned good news, and it jibes perfectly with what we’ve picked up. Tezlac Catal is supposed to be one of the Eluoi delegates at the conference. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s behind the disappearance of the Pangaea. Remember, the destroyer we tracked to the ice moon was the last ship known to be anywhere near her.”
“What about that destroyer, sir?”
“Well, when we didn’t hear from you after twenty-four hours, I decided to focus on that destroyer. She was on the far side of the moon from us, but we were able to get a good analysis of her position by picking up the reflected emissions as they bounced off the planet. Apparently, she needed some repairs, and when those were completed, she bugged out. I would have followed her except I was hoping you and your Team would still show up. And you didn’t disappoint.”
Jackson grimaced. “Still no word from the Pangaea?” he asked.
“Well, we haven’t come up entirely blank. We did a review of our scanners and were able to track her last position in this system. She jumped, but we didn’t really know where. However, judging by her bearing and rate of acceleration, it’s more than possible she jumped to the Darius system—it’s goddamn likely. Somehow her signal was masked from active sensors, so we couldn’t see her or pick up her radar beacon while she was here. But now we have a reasonable idea of where she went—or was taken,” he concluded grimly.
“That’s what Baxter found on the computer of the Eluoi installation,” Jackson noted. “The pirates were supposed to bring Tezlac Catal something, but they failed to deliver it.”
“The shield driver?” the captain speculated, a guess that was completely in line with Jackson’s hypothesis. “I gather they wanted to take it to someplace called the Darius system, to some location called the Bazaar. Catal has a center of operations there. He uses it to run slaves and God only knows what else through the galaxy.”
“And the shield driver would be of great value to anyone who could offer it for sale,” Char-Kane interjected. “Although it is still not operational, I have been informed that only a few details remain to be resolved. If it can be perfected, the shield will represent a quantum advance in spaceship defense; the empire that possesses it could well master the others.”
She said it with no more emotion than if she had been reciting a grocery list, but the military men who were her listeners could not help feeling a sense of real dread at the thought of that technology in Eluoi hands.
“Good thing we have the prototype safe in our hold,” Carstairs muttered. “As for this Bazaar, it gives us a focal point once we make the jump to Darius. And Stonewall,” Carstairs added, his tone dropping still further, “that was a nice bit of work down there. I’m sorry about your man and my own as well, but if you hadn’t learned what you did, we’d be flailing around the whole galaxy right now.”
“Thanks for waiting for us, sir,” Jackson said sincerely. “I presume we’re going after the Pangaea now.”
“Already under way. For now, get your Team settled in; see that your men get a hot meal and some rest. We’ve started the acceleration, but it will be about thirty hours until we’re in position to make the jump.”
“Very good, sir. Captain?” the SEALS officer asked.
“Yes?”
“This mission has already had more twists and turns than the roller coasters at Disney Galactic. I had an idea that might, well, reinforce our capabilities.”
“What is it, Tom? I’m interested.”
“We have better than a dozen survivors from the Troy aboard, I know. Also, five crew from the drop boats, who I’m guessing are out of work for the time being. As I told you, Grafty’s men did a helluva job watching our flank while we were taking out