“Eh, you learn a thing or two about Jujari tech when you spend a few years on Oorajee.”
Rohoar grunted. Was that satisfaction? Abimbola couldn’t be sure.
“Do you have anyone who can monitor sensors?” Rohoar asked. “I could also use a second person at the helm if you have a good pilot. And any engineers for systems support.”
“Sure. Need more help with defenses?”
Rohoar licked his chops with a long tongue then counted on his fingers. “I will have two more vacancies in turrets.”
“Consider those needs met.”
“Good, good,” Rohoar said, adjusting the shuttle to line up with the docking bay’s shimmering force field.
Abimbola climbed down the ladder into the cargo bay. “Listen up, Marauders. We’ve got enemy fighters inbound. FAF-28 Talons. Rohoar has places for his Tawnhack…” The hyenas let out growls, leaving Abimbola to wonder if he’d misspoken. “And he has two more positions for turrets and one for sensors. Zoll, Bliss, I want you taking orders from Rohoar. Robillard, you’re on sensors.”
“But I want to put blaster bolts downrange, Boss,” Robillard said.
“Trust me, if we make it through this, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to shoot all the horhish you like. I need you calling out targets.”
“Copy.”
“Berouth, I want you backing up Rohoar at the helm. See if you can’t speed up the jump calculations.”
“If it’s all in Jujari, it might make it tough. I’m a little rusty.”
“Boss, boss, boss! Give me a go at this Jujari tech. I know I can help.” Cyril raised arm and waved it like a kid asking a teacher if he could play with a new toy in class.
“Good,” Abimbola said. “Do it.”
“Dozer, Nubs, I want you on systems.”
“Understood,” they said together.
“And Cyril?”
“Yeah, boss?” said the young man in his squeaky voice.
“It’s good to see you in one piece.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“After you help Berouth with the translation, I want you looking for any way to hack their systems—comms, nav, weapons. If there’s a weakness to exploit, I want you slicing it.”
“Right away, sir.”
“The rest of you, look to double up on each position and fill in if anything happens.” His Marauders nodded, looking at each other and at their Jujari counterparts. They hadn’t even left the system, and already they were about to have more action than any of them had bargained for.
* * *
The Talons came at them from all sides. Robillard was designating and redesignating targets faster than Abimbola could keep count. Over the comms, he sounded like a spastic traffic control operator on a capital planet.
“Damn, these Repubs are fast,” Robillard exclaimed.
“Just keep calling ’em out,” Abimbola replied.
The enemy fighters landed blow after blow on the Bright Sun’s shields. Abimbola lost his hold on the bridge’s handrail several times as the destroyer shuddered under the impacts.
“Dozer? Nubs?” Abimbola tapped his earpiece to check in with his gunners.
“We’re here, Boss,” Dozer said. “But damn if these Jujari can shoot! Giving us a run for our creds.”
“Good. Just don’t let them have all the fun.”
“We won’t,” Nubs said. “These Talons keep trying to get inside our shields.”
“Keep ’em out, Marauders.”
“The Jujari seem to be doing that just fine,” Dozer replied.
“Good.” Off comms, Abimbola looked at Berouth, who sat hunched over a side command console, tapping furiously. “How we doing on those jump coordinates?”
“Almost there. Cyril’s translation script has most of the hard stuff worked out but not everything. Jujari math is… special.”
“Ask me questions,” Rohoar added from the captain’s chair. He constantly adjusted the course to account for the enemy’s pursuit, rolling the massive destroyer as if it were a starfighter. “I can translate for you.”
“You just focus on keeping those fighters out of reach,” Berouth replied.
“They are too far away to reach already.”
Berouth made to respond, but Abimbola waved him off. “Stick to the jump. I need to know as soon as we’re ready.”
“Almost there…”
More incoming fire rocked the ship, and Abimbola grabbed the railing.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Cyril exclaimed from a console across the bridge. “I’ve got something here, boss.”
“What?”
“Think I’ve got something I can exploit—ha ha.”
“Whatever it is, do it fast.”
* * *
Ricio’s squadron was having an unusually hard time breaking through this destroyer’s defenses. Whoever was captaining the vessel had put the turrets on manual—at least, that was what Ricio guessed. While there was nothing faster than an AI, manual operators—good ones, at least—were more intuitive. And these Jujari knew what they were doing. Ricio’s fighters were only ever able to get so close before being repelled.
“Damn, they’re good,” Viper Two said.
“Just stay after them,” Ricio replied. “We’ll find a weak spot.”
“Sir,” Viper Three said, “I’m detecting a drive-core surge. They’re preparing to jump to subspace.”
“Can you clone their jump coordinates?”
“I’m attempting to do so.”
“Get me those coordinates.” Ricio scanned his sensor data and noticed a variation in the shield-generator pattern on the destroyer’s starboard side. “There! Starboard side, near the aft section.” It wasn’t much, but there was enough oscillation in the energy field that there might be some structural incoherence. Ricio lined up on it himself, but Viper Five was already closer.
“I see it,” Viper Five said. “Targeting now.”
“Fire at will!”
Rico watched and waited for Viper Five to fire on the weak spot. But nothing happened.
“Viper Five, SITREP!” Ricio watched as Viper Five peeled away. He decided to take the shot himself. With target lock confirmed, Ricio squeezed his trigger.
Suddenly, music blared over comms. It was an old show tune from Ricio’s parents’ generation, campy and obnoxiously happy.
“What the hell?” Ricio said.
“Where is that coming from?” Viper Five asked.
Ricio looked at his HUD, noting that his cannons had failed to fire. He was still on course, heading toward the shield anomaly. He squeezed the trigger again. The song changed, and a thrashing mega-metal song threatened to blow out his eardrums.
“What’s happening?” Viper Five asked.
“We’ve been hacked,” Ricio replied. It pained him to say it, but whoever was aboard that ship was good. Damn good. He gritted his teeth. “Viper Squadron, fall back.”
Suddenly, coordinates appeared in his HUD.
“Viper Three,” Ricio said, “are those what I think they are?”
“Yes, sir. And just in time too.”
Viper Three had no sooner spoken than the Jujari destroyer streaked forward in a blurry smear across the void. Then she was gone, blinked out of existence.
“We’ve lost them, sir,” said Viper Five.
“No, we haven’t.” Ricio looked again at the coordinates glowing on his screen. “We know right where they’re going.”
* * *
“Command, this is Viper One.”
“We read you, Viper One,” Captain Seaman said. “Looks like they slipped through your fingers, Commander Longo.”
Ricio didn’t like the insinuation. “We’re not completely empty-handed, sir.”
“What do you have for me, then?”
Ricio sent the coordinates with a flick of his eyes. “A jump destination.”
Silence filled TACNET as Ricio waited for the captain to review the data. He knew Seaman would be interested. If a Jujari destroyer
was jumping away from a major galactic conflict—no, the galactic conflict—it meant something important was happening. What, exactly, Ricio hadn’t the slightest idea. It was undoubtedly above his pay grade. But he knew it was big.
Ricio tried piecing together the clues. Granted, he was no investigator, but he did have a curious mind. The ship’s random appearance in low orbit, the shuttle from the surface, and a code slicer who had just hacked a Republic firewall in less than sixty seconds—this was high-level splick.
Finally, Captain Seaman’s voice broke through the silence over TACNET. “Good work, Commander. It seems you brought us something of value after all.”
“Honored to serve,” Ricio replied. “What are our next orders?”
There was another pause. “You are wanted back on the Black Labyrinth for refueling and debriefing.”
Ricio balked. “But, Captain, we just—”
“Those are your orders, Commander Longo.”
“Understood.” Ricio brought up the Labyrinth’s coordinates and set a course. “Viper Squadron on our way.”
“Good. And hurry.” Seaman’s voice had softened. “It seems your little discovery has some of the brass very interested.”
I knew it. Ricio shook his fist in the air. While he hadn’t gotten the kill, perhaps he’d gotten something worth much more.
“See you shortly, Viper One.”
“Viper One, out.”
“Command, out.”
17
Piper missed Rohoar even though he’d only been gone for a few hours. She’d asked her mother if she could go with him to Oorajee. She thought it would be wonderful to see his home and try his food. But her mother told her that going with Rohoar was too dangerous. Rohoar would be okay, as he wasn’t afraid of anything. Piper figured that was because of how big and strong he was.
Magnus wasn’t afraid of anything either. He was big and strong like Rohoar but in different ways. Less furry ways. Piper had many dreams of Magnus rescuing her too. He always saved her when the city was destroyed. Every time, he walked out of the rubble and took her by the hand. Of course, the dreams felt far more real than just ideas. Her mother had instructed her to call them dreams, saying that calling them anything else might scare people. But Piper didn’t see why.
Piper felt safe when she was near Magnus the same way she felt safe when she was near Abimbola, the biggest man she’d ever seen—as tall as a building. And just as strong. When they’d met, all Piper could do was stare at Abimbola’s beautifully dark skin. She wished hers were that beautiful. Between these three important people in her life—Rohoar, Magnus, and Abimbola—Piper had nothing to be afraid of. She didn’t see the difference between staying on the ship with Magnus or going to Oorajee with Rohoar and Abimbola. In the end, she’d be safe, and they’d all head to the metaverse together.
Piper had made herself comfortable on the ship’s bridge, cozying up beside a smooth staircase with Talisman and three pillows that one of Abimbola’s Marauders had offered her. She refused to stay in her quarters, arguing that if she couldn’t go with Rohoar and Abimbola, she at least deserved to remain on the bridge near Magnus. The adults nodded the way grown-ups did and let her stay.
Piper studied Azelon. The way she interfaced with the ship’s controls was remarkable. Azelon was definitely the most beautiful robot Piper had ever seen. The robot and the ship were linked together, her mother explained, being “one and the same.” Piper didn’t think it was weird that a ship and a robot could be the same thing. In fact, she wondered why more ships didn’t do that. Especially since Azelon was so pretty. Which was why she guessed TO-96 liked her so much.
Azelon stood before the big bridge window, moving the floating holo-displays around the room. Her white body was beginning to glow a soft blue. She was also moving the holo-screens around faster. Bright lights and colored lines linked them together. She was amazing to watch. TO-96 looked at Azelon too. He seemed enamored with her every movement. Perhaps they would fall in love and get married. Piper would like to attend that wedding.
When Azelon announced that they were ready to jump into metaspace, Piper gripped Talisman in excitement.
“Are you okay?” Awen appeared over Piper’s shoulder and placed a hand on her arm.
“I’m so excited, Miss Awen! I’ve never been to another universe before.”
Awen laughed a little. “Well, you have every reason to be excited. I don’t know many other people who’ve been to another universe either.”
“Is it wonderful?”
“Yes, Piper. It’s very wonderful.”
Of all the new people Piper had met, Awen was her favorite. While Piper couldn’t articulate it, she was drawn to something deep inside Awen—an inner beauty that was magical, as if Awen had summoned it from some far-off place in a fairytale and then hidden it inside her soul. Piper wanted to know what that beauty was, where it came from, and how she could have some of it too. It made Awen kind and understanding. But it also made her strong.
Awen’s inner strength seemed to make her more powerful than all other people Piper had ever known. And Piper hoped Awen would teach her about how to be different and still be powerful. Adults always told Piper that she was special. But she started to realize that special was really just a nicer way of saying different. And being different meant she had to change schools, houses, and friends. Piper was tired of being different.
That was, until she met Awen just a few hours before. Awen was different. And beautiful. And strong. Piper wanted to be like Awen. Maybe then she would be strong enough to force the pain from inside her heart. Piper suspected that her mother was lying to her about how her dad had died. The energy in her had done things before. It had danced on the ceiling. It had turned out the lights. And even though her mother had said that her last ten holo-pads had bad batteries, Piper suspected it was the power inside her body that had damaged them. The same energy that had hurt her father.
No. It didn’t damage him. It killed him.
“So you’re going to teach me?” Piper asked Awen.
The woman furrowed her brow, like she’d been concerned with the question. Or maybe she just didn’t understand it.
“You’re going to teach me, right?” Piper repeated. “When we get to the metaverse, I mean. How to use the energy inside me and be like you?”
“I’m going to try my very best, Piper, yes. Is that okay with you?”
Piper nodded, squeezing Talisman. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else.”
“Wait… what did you say?”
Piper looked up. She’d said something she wasn’t supposed to. Being in trouble was the worst.
“Attention, all hands,” Azelon announced, her voice sounding much louder than it usually did, filling every part of the bridge and maybe even the rest of the ship. “Prepare for metaverse transition in ten seconds.”
Piper clapped her hands. Azelon’s body was glowing brighter, and the holo-screens were forming a long line between the robot and the main window. “This is it, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Piper. But hold on…” Awen stepped down from the upper landing and sat on the floor beside her. “What’s this about hurting other people?”
“Nothing.”
Piper didn’t want to be in trouble with Awen. She shouldn’t have said that thing about hurting people. Would Awen tell her mother?
“Five seconds,” Azelon announced. The bot’s blue body was getting too bright to look at.
“Piper, how many people have you hurt?” Awen shook her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Three…” Azelon said.
“Piper?”
“Two…”
“Piper?”
“One…”
Azelon pulled her hands in by her sides. All the holo-screens rushed toward her as if flying into her chest. One by one, they disappeared until there was a very bright flash—
And then darkness. Everything was still. Piper expected some loud sound or vibration o
r feeling. But there was nothing. Suddenly she noticed a star in the big window. It was purple, like Awen’s eyes. Then there was another and another. As Piper’s vision adjusted to the darkness, more and more stars began to appear, connected by a pink cloud. It looked like a giant batch of cotton candy with thousands of purple stars stuck in the sticky strands of sugar.
“Are we in metaspace?” Piper stood up and walked to Azelon. “Are we in the metaverse, Miss Azelon?”
The bot turned to face her. “Yes, Piper. We have arrived in my universe of origin. Welcome.”
“I’m so happy to be here!”
“And I am happy that you are here.”
“Once the bad guys are off your planet, do you think you could show me around?”
“Show you around?”
“You know, show me where you come from, where you live, all that sort of thing.”
“I come from manufacturing bay two hundred and thirty-nine, and I exist in this ship. I am unsure what else there is to show you that is of interest, Piper.”
TO-96 stepped forward. His servos whined as he knelt until his head was at Piper’s level. “I am quite sure that Azelon will be able to facilitate a tour of Ithnor Ithelia such that your questions will be answered to your liking, young Piper.”
Azelon turned to TO-96. “Was my answer insufficient?”
“Yes,” TO-96 replied. “Humans have an interesting way of submitting data queries at times. But once you get used to it, I anticipate you will find it endearing, as I have.”
“Ah. I look forward to learning more about their behavior.”
“Be warned.” TO-96 stood to face her. “It is not always an easy task. It is, however, a rewarding one.”
“Duly noted.”
“You’re both funny,” Piper said. “I think you make a good couple.”
TO-96 turned to Piper while Azelon tilted her head. “I do not understand this designation,” Azelon said.
TO-96’s eyes flashed once. “It means…”
“It means you should get married,” Piper stated. “Are you gonna get married?”
Ruins of the Galaxy Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 82