customs inspectors with rights of forfeiture. We get the freighter and its contents, if they are in breach of local customs laws. If we manage to capture the freighter, I expect the planet-side contract will follow.”
“What details do you have of the pirate ships, their crew, tonnage, military supplies, and so forth?” Colonel Attwood asked.
“I prepared a summary. If you open your pads and access the top file, you’ll see the first page summarizes the pirate force. Please read and when you’ve finished, we can discuss the details, and I’ll try to answer questions.”
Steg opened the file and perused the summary details. There was something vaguely familiar about the description of the pirate starships and their configuration. He wondered if he’d encountered them or some similar force before he was injured. He closed his eyes. A synapse triggered, joining others, and another tatter of broken memory surfaced.
“Monty, I’ve some additional information,” Steg said. “I recognize these starships. The pirates are non-humanoid. They’re called Xesset, and I believe they’re a hive-like civilization. Their starships are small and exceptionally fast. If they think they’re losing a battle, they’ll trigger self-destruct mechanisms without consideration of the crew’s survival, to prevent their vessel falling into non-Xesset hands. They’re aggressive and effective fighters. If they take over the planet, those whom they don’t kill, they’ll enslave.”
Everyone was silent, even Monty. After a long moment of consideration, the alien spoke. “You’ve had experience with these Xesset?”
“Yes, I believe so. The details in your briefing file triggered a memory link. I recall engaging with a team of Imperial Special Forces to help capture a Xesset ship. It was almost a disaster. We managed to board the target and took over the engine room. Our destroyer was unable to keep pace. We disabled the destruct device and stopped the drives, so the destroyer could catch up. We had a major battle on our hands. We won.” Everyone around the table stared at Steg, intrigued by the brief details.
“Steg, meet with me after this. I want details, everything you can remember,” Monty said.
“I’ll do what I can, of course. I think Xesset are from way out the other side of the Rim.”
“Does this alter any of your strategy, Monty?” Colonel Attwood asked.
“The basic outline stands. How we handle the pirates requires reconsideration.”
“Please address those details. I like the idea of capturing the freighter and its cargo, plus of course, the ground effort. I want to know how to cope with these aliens.”
“I agree.”
“Steg will meet with you after we conclude this meeting. Review his data. Let’s meet again tomorrow, same time. I want a plan to defeat these Xesset.” The colonel looked around the table. “Any other questions?” Heads shook. “Good. Meeting ended. Steg, go visit with Monty.”
###
Steg spent an hour sitting in front of the huge glass window as Monty drilled into Steg’s recollections, asking question after question and repeating the process with variations of each question. The process was both physically and mentally draining, and his shirt was soaked with perspiration by the time Monty decided he had extracted everything of value from Steg’s memories of the aliens.
“Steg, your information is invaluable,” Monty said. “I’ll change my strategy—it might’ve been disastrous for us, if we’d tried to capture the Xesset, without knowing more of their tactics. If you can recall anything else, for example, how you disarmed the self-destruct device, please let me know as soon as you can.”
Steg sat back in his chair. He had exhausted every thread of his current memories and repeated and repeated the details for Monty. It had been an intense interrogation. He did not know, did not yet recall, all of his own actions on board the Xesset ship. There was a gap; he was
“What details do you have of the pirate ships, their crew, tonnage, military supplies, and so forth?” Colonel Attwood asked.
“I prepared a summary. If you open your pads and access the top file, you’ll see the first page summarizes the pirate force. Please read and when you’ve finished, we can discuss the details, and I’ll try to answer questions.”
Steg opened the file and perused the summary details. There was something vaguely familiar about the description of the pirate starships and their configuration. He wondered if he’d encountered them or some similar force before he was injured. He closed his eyes. A synapse triggered, joining others, and another tatter of broken memory surfaced.
“Monty, I’ve some additional information,” Steg said. “I recognize these starships. The pirates are non-humanoid. They’re called Xesset, and I believe they’re a hive-like civilization. Their starships are small and exceptionally fast. If they think they’re losing a battle, they’ll trigger self-destruct mechanisms without consideration of the crew’s survival, to prevent their vessel falling into non-Xesset hands. They’re aggressive and effective fighters. If they take over the planet, those whom they don’t kill, they’ll enslave.”
Everyone was silent, even Monty. After a long moment of consideration, the alien spoke. “You’ve had experience with these Xesset?”
“Yes, I believe so. The details in your briefing file triggered a memory link. I recall engaging with a team of Imperial Special Forces to help capture a Xesset ship. It was almost a disaster. We managed to board the target and took over the engine room. Our destroyer was unable to keep pace. We disabled the destruct device and stopped the drives, so the destroyer could catch up. We had a major battle on our hands. We won.” Everyone around the table stared at Steg, intrigued by the brief details.
“Steg, meet with me after this. I want details, everything you can remember,” Monty said.
“I’ll do what I can, of course. I think Xesset are from way out the other side of the Rim.”
“Does this alter any of your strategy, Monty?” Colonel Attwood asked.
“The basic outline stands. How we handle the pirates requires reconsideration.”
“Please address those details. I like the idea of capturing the freighter and its cargo, plus of course, the ground effort. I want to know how to cope with these aliens.”
“I agree.”
“Steg will meet with you after we conclude this meeting. Review his data. Let’s meet again tomorrow, same time. I want a plan to defeat these Xesset.” The colonel looked around the table. “Any other questions?” Heads shook. “Good. Meeting ended. Steg, go visit with Monty.”
###
Steg spent an hour sitting in front of the huge glass window as Monty drilled into Steg’s recollections, asking question after question and repeating the process with variations of each question. The process was both physically and mentally draining, and his shirt was soaked with perspiration by the time Monty decided he had extracted everything of value from Steg’s memories of the aliens.
“Steg, your information is invaluable,” Monty said. “I’ll change my strategy—it might’ve been disastrous for us, if we’d tried to capture the Xesset, without knowing more of their tactics. If you can recall anything else, for example, how you disarmed the self-destruct device, please let me know as soon as you can.”
Steg sat back in his chair. He had exhausted every thread of his current memories and repeated and repeated the details for Monty. It had been an intense interrogation. He did not know, did not yet recall, all of his own actions on board the Xesset ship. There was a gap; he was
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