Journeys of the Shepherd

Chapter 13: Ghost From The Past (Part 1 of 2)

Part 1 of 2

'''Let me make this abundantly clear, Commodore. If you do not fullfil this mission, you will lose your rank!''

''Admiral, I'm doing everything in my power to stop this vessel! My crew is working twenty-four hours a day to pinpoint its location!''

''I do not care! You've been chasing this ship for months. We want to see some damn progress, Commodore!''

''I understand, Admiral. Like I said before, we have strong indications that Mr. Hamilton has somehow adjusted his ship's identification system, to cover his tracks.''

''This theory of yours is nonsense! Several top technicians have confirmed that it is virtually impossible to alter a ship's identification system in such a way! Especially on older vessels, like the Space Shepherd.''

''Sir, my technicians are convinced someone could tamper with the ID-system, if this person had military knowledge. There is no other explanation for the sudden disappearance of Mr. Hamilton and his vessel!''

''I'm not going to question the experience of your crew, Commodore. However, Mr. Hamilton did not receive any military training!''

''How can you be so sure, admiral? We know so very little about this man! Hell, we don't even know when or where he was born! His name doesn't appear in our records until 2377! He could have acquired this technical knowledge, maybe he stole it, or the Federation gave it to him.''

''Mr. Hamilton is a barbaric madman from the backwards hellhole that is the zone, Commodore. He is just a pirate, flying an obsolete Federal galleon from the war!''

'Hamilton isn't just a pirate, sir. He is not be underestimated! He has shown himself to be highly dangerous! His ingenuity has not only baffled me and my crew, but other top figures within Fleet Command! Remember, this is the man that managed to take out a state-of-the-art corvette! And ofcourse, let's not forget his daring attack on the freighter carrying the aethi-''

''Commodore, I do not need to hear your gibberish! You're just making excuses for your negligence! Your incompetent behavior is the reason why we lost that damn corvette and her crew in the first place!''

''Admiral, with all due respect. But, I - ''

''Listen very carefully, Commodore. If you do not eliminate Hamilton before the Federation gets his hands on him, you will lose command of your ship! Is that clear, Dahler?''

''Yes, sir. Clear as day, admiral Urachenkov.''

Ivan Dahler put down the phone, and gulped down his coffee. He gritted his teeth, crushed the little styrofoam cup in his hands, and threw it in the garbage bin. He sighed, and dropped himself in his chair. 

He was astonished. After chasing Hamilton and his cohorts for years, Fleet Command was blaming him for not capturing the Space Shepherd. It was them that ignored the threat of piracy, it was them that rejected his concerns time and time again.

They never cared, not until the day that Hamilton took off with two-hundred tonnes of their precious aethirium. Commodore Dahler remembered the phone call he got on that morning in March very well. Captain Hamilton's outrageous attack sent shockwaves throughout the fleet, the Velikan-class freighters were thought to be almost invincible. This had been the first time that a pirate defeated a vessel from the Union fleet, but Dahler wasn't very suprised. He knew it was eventually going to happen. He knew Hamilton too well.

Commodore Dahler was appointed by Fleet Command to hunt down the pirate, as he had the most experience in this field. He found it almost ironic where he got this experience: from Hamilton himself. He had worked as a pirate for many years, and in many ways, he still was one. Of course, he now worked for the Union, and was called a privateer.