Mitchell's Revenge
Mitchell’s Revenge, U.S.E. shipyard

It took three standard days to getback to the shipyard. The Cygnus followed them back towards EQ2 and watchedthem dock safely. Admiral Bokkveld then headed his ship towards the transporthub orbiting CX9 on the outer edge of the Karhu system.

Lauri watched from the control roomas Lucy manoeuvred Mitchell’s Revenge into the repair pod. He sighed as he examinedthe damage to the ship’s skin. This would take some time to fix. He hoped theyhad enough parts.

Business was tougher since thelaunch of the repair service. The Universal Starship Enterprise contract withthe Karhu system military was one of the few things keeping the company afloat.Other corporations were holding onto their orders, waiting to see what happenednext. They had been assured that U.S.E. had returned to their previouslyreliable software supplier, and that there was nothing to worry about. Butstill they held off.

The Tigerline court case had takentime, money and energy to fight. A lot of publicity had surrounded it due tothe death of Tatiana Orlov. Speculation about what the IGM might do was rife. Erikwas exhausted by it all. In the end they were found not responsible for thefault in the FTL drive. Tigerline had joined U.S.E. in suing BSC, the softwaremanufacturer, and it looked like they had a good chance of success.

Lauri had never seen Tim sostressed. The business issues coupled with the kidnapping of his daughter agedhim ten years. His blond hair was now entirely white, his blue eyes were bloodshotand the bags underneath them made him look as if he hadn’t slept for months.

Sibil had lost weight as a resultof her frantic exercising in an effort to distract herself from the loss of herdaughter. She burst into tears at the slightest mention of Anja. She lookedterrible. Tim and Sibil were scheduled to visit the shipyard in the next fewdays. With Jake and Lucy sidetracked for repairs, they wanted to discuss boththe business and a plan to rescue Anja.

Lauri’s reverie was interrupted by theappearance of Lucy and Em in the control room. Em padded straight to Lauri’sside and pushed against his legs, begging to be stroked. He reached down andstroked her head and rubbed her ears. A low rumble of satisfaction came fromthe panther.

“She likes you!” said Lucy as shewalked towards them. Lauri grinned at her.

“You’ve really made a mess of myship,” he said. Lucy nodded.

“We were out of options,” she said.“I don’t know how the Zond got away, but they must have been damaged too. IfAnja was on board I hope the damage was minimal. As far as we can figure out,they’ve gone to Tarasov, and there’s an asteroid belt to navigate before youcan get to the planet.”

Lauri nodded. “I looked at thecharts too. That belt’s mined as well. So if you don’t know what you’re doingyou won’t last long. Going there is not a good idea. The IGM’s holding thespace around Tarasov too tightly.”

“I know,” said Lucy. “We’re goingto have to wait for them to leave the Laika system for some reason. Have you learnedmuch about the crew of the Zond?”

“A little,” replied Lauri, stillstroking Em’s head. He found that the simple action of stroking her fur washelping him to think.

“The Captain, Maxim Volkov, was atalented pilot when he was young. Just like you,” Lauri went on. “I bet hestill is. Their current pilot trained with a commercial outfit. He joined theZond after a bar brawl with an IGM mercenary. He’s been with them ever since. Fromwhat I’ve read he’s very competent, but he’s not a risk taker like Maxim.”

“We need a reason for them to comeback into the Karhu system,” said Lucy. “If we could get them out of their homesystem, maybe we could capture them and question them about Anja. Then we’dhave something to work with.”

“That’s assuming they took her inthe first place,” came Em’s voice in Lucy’s mind.

“You’re starting to sound like amercenary!” said Lauri.

He began to pace up and down. Emtrotted along behind him, waving her tail high in the air. The rear door to thecontrol room slid open and Jake came in. Em bounded towards him and butted herhead against his thigh. He scratched her ears. She rumbled some more.

“The ship’s a mess Lauri,” Jakesaid brightly. “How long are we going to be stuck here do you think?” Lauriglared at him.

“At least a week, depending onparts,” he said.

“You’ll have another repair to dealwith in a few days,” Jake went on. “The Guardian Angel will be joining us. Shetook a few hits on the way through the Spansion Shipping Lane and lost herantennae down one side. She’s partially blind. She’s ugly too.”

“Isn’t that the ship that salvagedthe FTL drive from Ripley’s Revenge?” asked Lauri.

“Sure is,” replied Jake. “I offereda repair bay for a few days. We should be able to replace out the truth whilethey’re here. And by the way, their pilot is probably the best I’ve seen sinceI met Lucy. We ought to see if he could be persuaded to join us.”

“Pilots, pilots, and more pilots,”came Em’s voice in Lucy’s mind. “What do pilots like to do most?”

“Fly, of course,” said Lucy. Lauriand Jake stared at her.

“What?” they asked together.

“Em’s had an idea,” she replied. Nowthey just looked confused.

“If pilots live to fly, and theirships are grounded, even temporarily, they need something to distract them. Whenwas the last time we hosted a pylon race?”

“That’s brilliant!” said Lauri. “Ifwe set it far enough ahead, maybe we could get Volkov to compete. Lure him awayfrom the Laika system.”

“And it’d bring ships and money,”added Jake. “Money that we badly need. Let’s put it to Dad when he gets here.”

“Now my work is done!” came Em’svoice in Lucy’s mind. “I’m going to have a sleep.” And she padded off towardsher quarters.