|
 |
|
|
|
|
Sherlock Holmes' Adventure on the Red Planet
Chapter 9
H.M.S. Tempest moved slowly through the asteroid belt. Her crew had made all the repairs possible this far from a yard and she had resumed her search for the pirate freighter and her captives. On the bridge, Captain Woodward slapped his hand down on the arm of his chair in frustration. Tempest had followed the pirate ship's ęther wake into the asteroid belt until it disappeared in the turbulence generated by countless chunks of rock. He had started a search pattern that spiraled out from that point, but the chances of finding the pirate base by examining every asteroid they encountered were nearly zero. But somewhere out there, were men for whom he was responsible and he would not give them up for lost as long as the faintest hope existed.
A whistle from a voice tube interrupted his dark thoughts. "Lookout to bridge, ship approaching on the port beam."
"Is she a pirate vessel?" Woodward asked.
"Don't think so, Sir. She's big and she's signaling."
The signalman on the bridge had already manned the portside binoculars. "I've got her, Sir. She's a Yank, the Enterprise."
USS Enterprise
One of the Americans' new heavy cruisers, Woodward thought. He'd read about them in the Naval Gazette. The class ship, the U.S.S. Experiment, had been commissioned last year and her sister ship, the Enterprise, six months later. After Britain's Duke class battleships, the new American cruisers were the largest warships flying the ęther. They mounted eight-inch guns and an extra-large solar boiler to allow extended cruising in the asteroid belt. But her most unique feature was her twin ęther propellers. All other ęther flyers got by with a single ęther drive but, apparently, the Americans had found value in using two smaller ęther propellers in place of one larger prop. It seemed obvious that the Experiment class lived up to its name. There were even rumors that the two cruisers mounted a new weapon unlike anything yet seen in the ęther, but it was only rumors, so far.
"Send our name and flag," Woodward ordered. The signalman switched his electric lantern on and snapped the shutters in a staccato burst of Morse code.
"She's asking our purpose, Sir."
The situation was a bit sticky. America still held a good deal of resentment toward Britain for its support of the Confederacy during their civil war. The international court's decision in favor of America in the case of the commerce raider, the C.S.S. Alabama, had engendered hard feelings on Britain's side. And, though the United States had never laid any formal claim to the asteroid belt, the fact that the majority of the Belt's settlers were American often led them to act as if it were their territory.
"Tell them we are in pursuit of pirates who are holding British citizens and naval personnel," Woodward said.
"The Yank's captain is requesting a parlay, Sir."
"Ask him to come aboard," Woodward replied.
In short order, the two warships matched velocities and the American captain and his first officer were in Tempest's airlock, stripping off their ęthersuits.
"Captain Christopher April, at your service, sir. This is my First Officer, Lieutenant Spellicy." April was tall and trim with an open, friendly face, though there was steel in his handshake and confidence in his eyes. Spellicy was a bit taller than his captain. He had a cool, analytical manner.
In Tempest's wardroom, with cups of hot coffee all around, Woodward gave a concise account of the events that had transpired, omitting the details of the stolen documents, about which he knew little anyway.
"I see," Captain April said after a moment. "It happens that we, too, are hunting for a particularly nasty gang of pirates. For months now they've been seizing ships and raiding settlements. They don't leave any witnesses behind. As you've discovered, it is nigh on impossible to find their base by just cruising about. Fortunately, we've narrowed it down, some. Mr. Spellicy, why don't you explain."
"Yes, Sir," Spellicy said. He pulled a rolled chart from a carrying tube and spread it out on the table. "We seldom know the location of ships when they disappear but the settlements' orbits are recorded. I've plotted the positions of the settlement raids on this chart. The different colors indicate distances above or below the ecliptic. Obviously, the pirates won't make raids too close to their base since that would be an obvious give away. But as you can see, the plot of the raids does make a spherical shell several million miles in radius. I believe we will find the pirates' base near the center of that sphere."
"We are still talking about a sizable volume of space, gentleman," Captain April said, "but with both our ships to search it, it is possible. As it happens, the center of the sphere is near our present location, which suggests to me that the gang that ran off with your men is the same one we are looking for. So what do you say, Captain Woodward, do we join forces?"
For the first time since the Monterey disappeared, Woodward felt there was real hope of finding his charges. "By all means, sir. Let's find these bastards and put an end to them!"
Continued in Chapter 10
(Author's Note: This story is set in the universe of Space:1889, which is Frank Chadwick's trademark for his roleplaying game of Victorian-era spacefaring, and is used with his permission.)
Back to the Sherlock Holmes' Adventure on the Red Planet page.
Space:1889 is Frank Chadwick's registered trademark for his game of Victorian Era space-faring. He has granted permission for the use of the background of Space:1889 for the stories presented here. All text, illustrations, photographs and design are © 2000-2007 Dan Thompson, except where otherwise noted.
