by Trevor Gregg
Kissing her daughter on the forehead, Geri said, “Oh Alis, I’m so glad you’re okay too. We’ve got to move, there’s a limited window. The Ashari is in port for upgrades, but they are almost done. We’ve got to hurry. Isa, I uploaded authorization codes for you. You’ll be safe to stay here until we return.”
“Thank you, Geri,” Isa replied gracefully.
“Okay everyone grab your gear and get over to my shuttle. Spacesuits if you’ve got ‘em, too,” Geri commanded.
Kyren rounded up his rifle and packed a satchel with gear. As he made his way for the airlock, Tharox fell in behind them carrying a spacesuit and his huge plasma rifle. The others were already filing through the airlock as he approached.
Kyren was about to step onto the shuttle when he paused and said, “Thank you Isa, for everything.”
“I see,” she replied sadly. “You are not coming back then.”
Surprised, Kyren realized she hit the mark so he replied honestly, “Well, we may be able to stop the Crevak from destroying the Consortium. If we don’t, these suckers are gonna steamroll the galaxy. That is worth the risk, isn’t it?”
“I know it is, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it,” she cried painfully.
“Shall I get Tharox?” he asked, concerned but unsure what to do.
“No, we know we love each other. Goodbyes will only complicate matters. We had a second chance, after my death. A chance to remain together. But it was an illusion, we both knew it would end. Just didn’t know how,” Isa said with a sigh.
“Okay, well, it’s not a suicide mission, by any means. We’re planning the exit first,” he explained, hoping she would be comforted by the revelation.
“Goodbye Kyren,” she said, sadness evident.
“Goodbye Isa,” he replied, unable to conceal his own sorrow.
“Kyren! C’mon, get moving!” Geri called urgently.
Kyren dashed inside, the airlock sealing just behind him. Before he had even managed to take a seat the viewscreen showed the craft pivoting away from the Radiant Star and lining up with the distant orbital shipyard. Geri engaged the autopilot and turned to face the others.
“Okay, first, what information do you have for me regarding the Crevak weapon?” Geri inquired.
“Benjam, you explain,” Kyren directed.
“Yes, well, the weapon irradiates the very atmosphere aboard a vessel, delivering a lethal dose of radiation to all within. It also disables ship systems, rendering the vessel dead for all intents and purposes,” Benjam squeaked authoritatively.
“Gruesome, I know. That’s exactly what we surmised. I hope you have something more than we do. If you don’t then we’re in real trouble,” Geri said, a hint of worry tinging her voice.
“Benjam, tell her the part where we can do something about it,” Kyren instructed.
“Well, the weapon utilizes anti-neutrino flow for cooling. Stop that and the weapon overheats and burns out,” Benjam explained plainly.
“Hot damn! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Geri exclaimed. “So what’ll it take?”
“We will need to build a conduit between the anti-neutrino channels to create a feedback loop,” Alis eagerly contributed.
“Do you think you could identify the channels, Alis?” Geri questioned.
“Yeah, I think so. I’m pretty sure I can calibrate my wrench to detect them.”
“Good, now we have a target,” Geri said with fervor. “I would’ve gone for sabotaging the engine core, but this is far more effective.”
“I hate to point out the obvious, but how do we get aboard? It is a Crevak warship we’re talking about. It’s bristling with conventional weapons too. Are we just supposed to walk up and knock?” Kyren asked, sounding a little more exasperated than intended.
“No, we won’t be knocking, but we will be walking up,” Geri began.
“We’ll be using the Ashari’s escape pods to land on the battleship, won’t we?” Elarra cut in, a grave look upon her face.
“Um, yeah,” Geri said, uncertainty darkening her visage. “How did you… Never mind. There is an access shaft we can use to enter the service tunnels. But the point is moot if we have no exit route.”
“Perhaps we do have a way out,” Benjam said, squiggling over to Kyren and pointing a tentacle at his belt. “Yes, that’s a Keljorian warp belt. Limited range though. But with a beacon on the other end, we could gain a significant increase in range. Perhaps enough to teleport ship to ship.”
“Target, ingress, egress. We’ve got a plan!” Geri cried, clapping her hands together with a loud crack.
“Um, mom, sorry to rain on your parade, but how do we get close enough to launch the escape pods? Even the Ashari would be cut down. For that matter, the pods would likely be targeted themselves,” Alis said, looking guilty for bringing up the obvious.
“You’re right dear, no shame in pointing out the obvious,” Geri soothed. “But we’ve got an ace in the hole, we do. The Ashari’s been retrofitted with stealth technology.”
59
Beacon
“So Benjam, what’ll you need to build that beacon you were talking about?” Geri asked, strolling over to him and leaning against the seat.
Benjam considered the question a moment, mentally reviewing the equipment and parts he would need. He hoped his mental calculations were right. Without using his design matrix he was unsure of himself.
“I would need access to a full engineering lab. And are there warp drive parts anywhere? Flux neutron couplers? Maybe a beryllium chamber or magneto-toroidal shell generator?” he questioned tentatively.
There was no way she would have access to such a lab, much less a box full of miniaturized warp drive parts. No, this was going to be an ugly build, he knew.
“You’re in luck, my squiggly friend. I may not have the foggiest idea what you just said, but we’ve got a top-notch engineering lab here. You’ll have access to all the tools and machinery you’ll need. The only question is the parts,” Geri informed them.
Well, a lab is one thing, but the parts, those Benjam was sure she wouldn’t be able to come by.
“The Demetrius is being decommissioned. They’ve removed the warp core. I’ll find out where it is and get you access,” she responded.
It looked like they were in business, although a full size warp core with full size components might be too large for the device to be portable. Now Benjam’s only worry was finishing the build in time. Anticipation gurgled in his many stomachs.
As if to echo his own thoughts, Geri said, “The only thing, Benjam… you’re gonna have to finish the build in an about an hour. Now everyone prepare for docking.”
He gulped. An hour? That was madness, he would be hard pressed to design the blueprints in an hour. Oh dear… He realized he was going to have to wing it.
The shuttle decelerated as it approached the station. The station was a long narrow cylinder linking two large spheres on either end. The shipyards were arrayed in between, ships in all the various stages of repair and rebuilding. He estimated a population of around five thousand. In the background, the planet Coren hung in the blackness of space, a brown crescent dotted with patches of blue and green. The night side sparkled with the lights of dozens of mega-cities.
“Geri, what’s the plan? I’m assuming we can’t just walk right in and claim her,” Kyren questioned.
“Indeed, we’ve got our work cut our for us. The ship is locked by an inhibitor. It requires Consortium access codes to activate the ship, which I don’t have authorization to obtain. But I’m confident my talented daughter can bypass it,” Geri lauded.
“But we still need to get aboard, right mom?” Alis asked.
“Yes dear.”
Geri spent the next several minutes going over the plan as the shuttle approached the dock. Benjam glanced at the viewscreen as the shuttle’s airlock latched on to the station. He was surprised to see the Ashari parked right next to them, but he knew it wasn’t by chance.
The ship’s sheen was immaculate, no doubt a function of the stealth technology she was supposedly equipped with now.
Geri handed Benjam a communicator and a security pass, and said “We’ll keep in communication. Remember, you’ve got an hour before we execute the plan.”
She relayed directions to the station’s engineering lab. “The security pass will get you into the lab, but you’ll be on your own once in.”
“And the warp drive?” he asked.
Geri’s hands flew over her holoconsole. She paged through work orders, inventory counts, and other data before finding what she was looking for. “There!” she said, “It’ll be transferred to lab A-twenty-nine ASAP.”
She opened another holopanel and displayed a map of the station. Benjam noted the route to the engineering lab, and spotted Kyren studying the map as well. Kyren’s sense of direction continued to amaze Benjam. He didn’t have the superior memory and computational abilities of a brontian, yet he was capable of mentally mapping virtually any location.
“Okay Benjam, you’ve got an hour. Don’t waste any time,” Geri instructed, opening the airlock. “I’ll be in communication.”
Waving a tentacle, he turned and squiggled off the ship, entering the pristine white halls of the Consortium base. It wasn’t long before he encountered others, some in crisp blue uniforms, others in gray smocks. He earned many sidelong glances, but no one seemed suspicious of him. These folks must never have seen a brontian in person, he surmised.
The halls became ever more crowded, filled with humans, blue-skinned saurians, large furry doss, cybernetic bathalians like Tharox, cat-eared rillians, and many, many more species. Nearly all the races that made up the Consortium seemed to be represented here. Feeling the time ticking on, he doubled his pace, slithering frenetically down the corridor.
“Make way!” he squeaked emphatically as he barreled through the crowded halls.
The other pedestrians dodged and spun out of his way as he rushed by. He was getting tired, tentacles beginning to ache by the time he reached the lab. A large door stood at the end of the corridor, an access panel in the jamb. Whipping out the security badge Geri had given him, he slotted it into the panel.
The panel went green and beeped, then it started to slide open. Before it had even retracted fully into the wall he squirmed through. He entered an enormous bay, a cavernous space with a dozen small cruisers, similar in size to the Ashari, scattered about in various stages of assembly or disassembly.
A gray smocked saurian turned away from a workbench lining the wall and made his way over to Benjam. Should he talk to this individual? Or maybe just run away? He thought it more prudent to risk an encounter than draw attention trying to avoid it.
“Welcome, you must be newly arrived. I’ve not seen a brontian in these parts in some time,” he said in a sonorous voice. “I’m Rayjan, fourth-tier scientist.”
“Nice to meet you,” Benjam said nervously.
“So what’s your research? What brings you to Etelbass?”
“Um, well… I’m actually not allowed to discuss it. Top secret and all,” he said, feeling particularly clever.
“Well friend, I’ve got a C-seventeen clearance level, so you can tell me,” Rayjan said.
“Actually, I am in a tremendous hurry. But you can be of great assistance if you can provide an apprentice or two,” he said, hoping his ploy was clever enough.
“Ah, well, I understand, what with the war heating up and all,” Rayjan acquiesced. “But yes, I can provide an apprentice. Rogar, get over here you lout!”
A young black-furred doss ambled over. Rogar was the smallest doss he had ever seen, standing only a couple of inches taller than the short squat Saurian.
“Yes boss, what do you want?” he grumbled.
“You’re now assigned to… I didn’t catch your name, friend,” he stopped and turned back.
“I’m Benjam.”
“Well Rogar, you are going to assist this fine brontian in his research. You’ll be assigned to Benjam until his work is complete. Is that good, Benjam?”
“Yeah, sure, that is great!” he squeaked enthusiastically. “Now can you direct me to the Demetrius’ warp core, please?”
60
The Heist
“Let’s run down the plan one more time, so we are on the same page,” Geri urged, knowing she needed it just as much as they did.
The more times she went over the plan, the better she felt. Hell, the more times she went over any plan, the better it got. Geri knew there was a chance of catastrophic failure, jail cells for the rest of their lives. But even their lives would be short-lived if the Crevak were not stopped. If they destroyed the Consortium there would be no force strong enough to oppose them. They would steamroll the galaxy, one system at a time, pillaging and plundering when they were not just murdering for the fun of it.
Damn she hated the Crevak, they were the most wretched kind of scum. And they had tried to kill her and her family on more than one occasion. No, it was time to take a risk and go for broke. She shook her head to snap out of her twisted thoughts.
“Alis, Elarra, and I are going spacewalking. We’re going to leave the shuttle from the airlock opposite the Ashari,” Kyren began, but was cut off by Alis.
“And then I’m gonna hack the hell out of her door, and go inside, and bash anyone who stands between me and my ship,” Alis said, hefting her wrench.
“Alis honey, please relax,” Geri soothed. “There’ll be no need for bashing as long as you follow the plan.”
“Okay fine, you’re going to lure them out so we can sneak aboard and I can disable the inhibitor. Got it.”
“Kyren, you’d better take this, just in case,” Geri said, drawing her pistol and handing it to him.
As he gingerly took it, she continued, “Designator class immobilizer pistol. Fires a stun round, effective for a couple of minutes, give or take a minute.”
She knew he needed it way more than she did. She was more than capable in hand to hand. Being a second-circle master in So-Jan martial arts, she could handle herself.
“Where’s Tharox going to be?” Geri asked suddenly, turning and focusing her attention on Kyren.
“Duh, he’s with you, backing you up,” Kyren replied snarkily. Turning toward Alis, he held his hand over the side of his mouth and whispered, “not that she needs it.”
Geri passed the time scanning the station’s datanet for news of the war. She discovered that the battle at Panalax had begun, but the Crevak flagship had not been seen yet. In fact, reports coming in seemed to indicate the Crevak had not fully engaged, they seemed to be holding back. Because they’re gonna warp to Banuh any minute now, she thought grimly.
Geri raised her communicator to her lips, “Benjam, status report.”
Seconds later the communicator chirped and Benjam squeaked, “making progress, but this hour hasn’t been enough time. I’m not finished yet.”
“We’re moving out now, we can’t wait any longer. We’ll have to pick you up from the engineering lab.”
“Got it! I’m working as fast as I can,” he replied.
“I’ll comm you when we’ve got her. Geri out,” she spoke into the communicator, then turned to the others. “Okay, you three get moving, it’ll take you a little while to hack in. Tharox, let’s go.”
She led him through the corridors to the hall leading to the Ashari’s airlock. Rounding the corner, Geri put on her most charming smile. She spotted two uniformed human crew members outside the airlock, chatting. The man was leaning with one hand, arm extended past the woman who had her back against the wall. He was obviously attempting to charm her.
“Hi there! Where’s your captain?” she beamed.
The pair turned toward her, eying Tharox suspiciously but warming to her smile anyway.
The man, who had more bars on his shoulder responded, “Ma’am she’s currently meeting
with the brass.”
“No matter, I’m sure you two can help me. In fact, I’m really here for you. We’re recruiting you into the OSO! I know, it’s surprising,” she said as they gaped.
“But we’re being deployed to patrol gamma sector,” the officer said, frowning.
“Well why don’t you call everyone out here and we’ll have an impromptu interview. I’ll decide who I find to be the most qualified, that person will pick their team. Then we can wait for your captain to get back so I can issue the official orders.”
The officer brightened up at the suggestion, obviously believing himself to be the most qualified candidate. He strode over to the panel at the Ashari’s airlock and thumbed a button. The intercom went on and a surly voice answered on the other end.
There was a brief exchange and the officer closed the comm.
“Just a moment, my crew is coming,” he said, turning back to her.
A short time later the airlock door opened and two figures stepped out. The first looked like, well, she couldn’t describe it other than a humanoid lobster, complete with eye-stalks and antennae. The second creature had rolls of flesh bursting out around the seams of its uniform, the skin a pallid tan color, splotched with darker brown patches. The face, hairless and pugnacious, held a vacant look.
“Yes ma’am, here we are, the best candidates,” he said, motioning to the others, then emphatically to himself.
This dork wasn’t going to make it easy, she thought. He most certainly had not emptied the ship of crew. He had ordered the two most pathetic crew members front and center to make him look better. It seemed to be working too, if the female crew member was any judge.
“So how do we do this? Do I tell you why I’d make a good spy?” the officer began eagerly. “I’m courageous, I’m clever, I’ve got great experience being an officer aboard multiple ships. And I’m deadly handsome. Oh, and my name is Janko, Lieutenant Janko.”
Geri had to stifle a laugh, no, wait, that would’ve been a guffaw had she let it out. Instead she played along.