by Sarah Noffke
“I refuse to be renamed,” said ArchAngel.
“What was the name?” asked Knox, looking pleasantly amused. Working with Ghost Squadron had to be a dream come true for him. It was interesting to Hatch that he and his apprentice could come from two different walks of life and find their dream job in the same place.
“Alexa!” chirped Pip, excitedly.
“This conversation is over,” said ArchAngel.
“Oh, okay,” said Pip. “Goodbye Alexa.”
“Grrr…” came her voice before she went silent.
Recreation Hall, QBS ArchAngel, Behemoth System
Cheers erupted from the crowd as Julianna’s bowling ball knocked over all the pins. It was her sixth consecutive strike.
“You really make this look easy,” said Eddie, standing to take his turn just as Chester and Marilla joined the group.
“There isn’t anything to it,” said Julianna. “Unlike with most sports, if you get the initial move down then you don’t have to do anything else.”
“You mean, master the strike and then you never have to learn any other skill?” asked Fletcher, sitting across from her.
“Yes, something like that. The problem comes when only a few of the pins go down,” explained Julianna.
“So I guess you’ve figured out the way to always get a strike,” said Fletcher.
“Given that all factors are the same, then yes. Weight of the ball, surface of the lane and air density does factor in from time to time,” said Julianna.
“But you have Pip to account for each of these and advise,” said Chester, grabbing a ball from the rack and adding it with the rest.
“Usually I would, but he informed me earlier he was going to go and harass someone named Alexa,” said Julianna.
Eddie threw his bowling ball. It sped down the lane at lightning speed and then popped over to the gutter and then to the neighboring lane where it knocked down all the pins.
He turned, expecting to receive cheers. Lars, who was about to take his turn in the nearby lane and was staring at no pins, frowned. “I don’t think I can count that for me,” he said, pretending to be offended.
“Teach, you’re supposed to knock down your pins,” joked Julianna. “Not ones in other lanes.”
“Oops, sorry Lars,” said Eddie. “I’m still getting used to my strength.” He strolled back just as Marilla took a seat. She looked pretty sullen, which concerned him since the girl was usually quite pleasant. As typical, she didn’t join the activity but instead had brought a book. Marilla was always reading, but he respected that she still joined the team building activities. He thought they were important for bonding and morale. Julianna told him she thought it was just his opportunity to show off. That was probably true, although she was the one showing off today.
Fletcher lined up with his ball. He, as Jack had advised, had been a seamless addition to Ghost Squadron. His team, which were dispersed around the other neighboring lanes, playing as well, had been instrumental already. It was strange how fast Ghost Squadron was growing and pressed the significance of what they were doing into Eddie. More than ever before, he was doing something that truly mattered. There was a weight that went along with that, but he hadn’t quite felt it. Maybe when the newness of his enhanced body wore off, although Julianna said that never really happened.
Fletcher threw his ball and Harley sprang out from underneath Marilla’s seat, racing down the lane after it. There was a split second where the dog must have realized he’d entered a slick territory. His legs slipped out from underneath him and he dove chest first on the lane, gliding down after the ball.
Marilla shot into a standing position. “Harley!”
Eddie sprinted forward, running down the area between the gutters after the dog. He was already trying to push up, but the overly oiled floor made it nearly impossible to stand.
Reaching down, Eddie pulled the dog from the lane, carrying him down the walkway. “Someone is going to be pissed at you for messing up the lanes,” he whispered to the dog.
The crowd cheered when Harley was set back down on the floor. He ran under the chairs, looking embarrassed.
Eddie took his seat next to Julianna, a smile on his face.
“Dumb dog,” said Julianna. “You should have left him there.”
“You don’t mean that,” said Eddie.
She looked at him, trying her best to appear serious. Still, under the tough expression he saw something, something she was hiding. “Don’t I?” she asked, challenging him.
“No, I know you. Despite your restraint, you like that dog,” said Eddie.
“I’m not sure why it would matter,” said Julianna, indifferently.
“Because if you can warm up to a ‘mangy dog’ as you like to call him, then anything is possible,” said Eddie, giving her a soft smile. “I have high hopes for you, Jules.”
“Don’t waste your time with such hopes,” she said, standing to take her turn.
Chapter Sixteen
Alpha-line Q-Ship, Airspace outside Unsurpassed, Tangki System
“I still can’t believe you bowled a perfect game,” remarked Chester, securing his helmet over his head. His voice switched to coming through the comm.
“You would if you’d seen me do it the dozen times before,” said Julianna. “If we’re ever at a bar with bowling or shuffle board, don’t tell anyone my secret. It’s one of my many ways of taking stranger’s cash.”
Eddie’s smile could be seen through the front plate of his own helmet. “How’d I get paired up with two sharks for this mission? One at pool and the other at bowling,” he said proudly.
From the cockpit, Lar’s voice rang out. “We’re nearly in position.”
Julianna looked out the side panel of the air lock where they stood, all of them suited up for space travel. They stood in a secure chamber, partitioned off from the main cabin. Chester had found Unsurpassed, using a tracker. He’d also been able to determine an airlock where they could enter through. It would get the attention of someone on the bridge, but that’s why Eddie and Julianna were there.
Eddie checked that the tether between the three of them was tight. He was in the lead. Chester in between them.
“We’re all set,” said Eddie to Lars. “Opening the air lock in the back chamber in ten seconds.”
“Copy,” said Lars.
“Initiate cloaking belts,” said Julianna, opening her own and activating. A moment later and the three disappeared from the space.
“That’s wild,” said Chester. She appreciated having him on this mission. He was fearless and appreciated the thrill of the adventure. Most might be worried about taking a computer hacker on a mission like this, but she knew since the moment they met Chester Wilkerson that he was a force to be feared both on the Dark Web and in person. It was because of him that she’d been shot at and electrocuted, all because of his cleverly built traps. This was not a guy to be underestimated.
Eddie led the way across the short expanse between the cloaked Q-Ship and Unsurpassed. Now that he was floating next to the enemy ship, he could see how incredibly it was built. Although not as big as QBS ArchAngel, it still was a size to impress. He could only wonder about the thing Felix could be plotting with a ship this big. Was it a war? A direct attack on the Federation? He definitely had a ship that could put up quite the fight, especially since it had the same shielding technology as the smaller ship he’d used when they’d last met him.
Opening the airlock from the outside would have posed a problem before. However, with a device that Hatch had equipped them with and his super human skill, it was as easy as pie. Eddie had never made a pie before, actually. He remembered that his mother said the crust was the hardest part. He smiled to himself, thinking of his mother. This is for you, Mom. All of this has always been for you and Dad.
Eddie felt the tug as Chester’s cord lost its slack. He pulled on it, dragging the hacker into the safe chamber between the main ship and the air lock. When the door to
the air lock closed, he let out a giant breath. So far, so good.
“Okay, we’re about to have company,” said Eddie over the comm.
He opened the next vault door, quickly making his way to the other side. He heard footsteps down the corridor ahead, now that his suit had been switched over to pick up outside noises.
“Leave the baddies to us, Chester.” said Eddie. “Go do what we came here for.”
“I’m on it,” said Chester over the comm.
“And stay cloaked and on the radio. Let us know if you run into trouble,” said Julianna. “Otherwise, we’ll be here, waiting for you to return.”
“Copy, Commander,” said Chester.
Just then three armed guards appeared, staring at the airlock chamber in confusion. Their system would have told them it had been opened. Their eyes were telling them that it was in fact closed and the area around it deserted.
“I’ll take the one of the left. You take the one on the right,” said Eddie.
“Your left or mine?” asked Julianna.
“Good point,” said Eddie. “I’ve got this one.”
He waited until the first guard was a little closer and then grabbed both of his shoulders and yanked him down hard, throwing his knee into the guy’s abdomen.
“Okay. Gotcha,” said Julianna, going after the next guard, who was shocked by what was invisibly attacking the first.
Eddie flipped his guard around easily, pulling restraints from his belt and securing them around his hands.
“What about the third?” asked Julianna, making quick work of her guard. His face was already pressed down to the floor, a pinched expression on his face.
“Well, I was hoping we were going to fight over him, but damn the fucker!” The third guard had changed direction, running back the way he came. Eddie bounded after him.
“Don’t let him get away,” said Julianna. “We don’t need the attention.”
“Not to worry,” said Eddie, easily talking as he sped after the guard. He was only a few feet away when he dove, grabbing around his waist and wrestling him to the ground.
“Please, no. Please,” cried the guard.
Eddie wished he could tell the guy it was just going to hurt a little. However, it was best if he didn’t. The guy continued to sob and then screamed out loudly. With no other option, Eddie flipped the guy over and slugged him once in the face. The guards face flew to the side and he passed out immediately.
“This one is going to need a gag,” said Eddie, standing and dragging the body back to where the others were.
Unsurpassed, Tangki System
Just breeze down the corridor and stroll onto the bridge. No biggie, thought Chester. He was invisible anyway. That had always been the super hero skill he wanted growing up, over flying and enhanced strength. The invisible person had all the advantages. Well, unless they aroused suspicion and made too much noise. But he wouldn’t be so careless.
You’re good, he told himself. Just find an unused work station and a minute, maybe two later and, he’d be all done. Really, he could access the main network for Unsurpassed from any computer aboard. However, from the bridge there would be fewer obstacles. Those computers were usually connected straight to the main frame.
A group of uniformed men strode out of a nearby room, striding shoulder to shoulder. Fuck! Why did people have to walk side by side? Single file, bitches, thought Chester. He didn’t know how he would get past them. He was invisible, but still could be felt. He still made noise and affected his environment.
A door ahead of him was the only thing between him and the uniforms who were talking jovial. Chester made an impromptu decision and slapped the button for the door, making it retract. He jumped into the empty room and slid up against the wall inside.
One of the uniformed individuals peeped in. “Why do you think the door opened?” he asked his companion.
“Who knows. Maybe a glitch. The lieutenant said there looked to be something out of the ordinary going on with one of the air locks,” said the other guard. “Come on. I’m starving. Let’s grab some grub before it’s gone.”
The other guard didn’t budge, instead looked around the room. He turned and looked straight at Chester. The guy had no idea he was looking straight at the intruder. Hopefully, he’d never learn that there was one.
Finally, the guy shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
He retreated granting Chester a moment to finally breathe.
“What was that about, Chester?” asked Eddie over the comm.
He waited an extra second before saying, “It’s all good. I just had to give a couple guards the slip.”
“Okay, well, we’ve got about five minutes before they send someone to check on these deployed guards,” said Eddie.
“So get on it,” said Chester. “Yeah, I’m on my way.
Chester ran, not even giving much concern for the sounds his footsteps made. The hallway was empty. However, ahead, on the bridge he could hear different voices and pings and beeps as equipment was used and reports monitored. The bridge was always a busy place on a ship and therefore the perfect place for a trespassing. Hide in plain sight, right?
The next main room, as he knew from the plans, was the bridge. It was large with a dozen work stations. Chester peeled around the first two where communication officers were working, doing whatever they did. He took a seat at a workstation behind them that sat alone from the rest. It was perfect.
Chester was into the main system after only a few attempts. He slammed his finger triumphantly down on the “Enter” key. This earned a curious backward glance from one of the officers in front of him. Even though he was cloaked, he shrunk down. If they chanced a glance at his screen right then they’d see something that would flag suspicions.
After a moment the officer turned around, being redirected by the commander of the ship.
Felix Castile. The evil mastermind himself stood in the center of the bridge, hands clasped behind his back and gaze on the glowing map screen before him. The man had narrowed eyes and a pointy chin.
“What sort of malfunctions could be happening with the airlocks?” asked Felix.
A squatty man with a round face leaned over and whispered in his ear. Chester shook off the distraction, refocusing on the task at hand.
He slipped a drive into the slot on the side of the workstation. It lit up green, making his heart skip. If someone saw this it would give him away immediately. He thought about getting caught. Tortured. He’d acted tough when Marilla was worried, but truthfully all Chester had ever done was flee when the situation warranted. He’d never snuck onto a ship and stole covert information.
The system opened up easily, like a first flower of spring, eagerly hungry for light. Perfect. Now just twenty more seconds. It helped that Chester knew exactly what he was looking for. Well, and he was damn brilliant.
This was going to go off without a hitch. He’d have the data and be back in the airlock in under a minute. He couldn’t wait to relay the information to the captain and the commander.
“What do you mean?” asked Felix, his voice rising.
“Sir, we’ve found a tracking intruder. It was hooked onto our navigation,” said one of his officers to him.
Oh no! Fuck fuck fuck! Chester glanced at his screen. Ten more seconds.
“What ship is tracking us?” asked Felix, his voice flaring with anger.
“It’s the ArchAngel,” said the officer.
“Disconnect from them,” ordered Felix.
“We’re trying, sir, but our initial attempts failed,” said the officer.
He spun around and bared down on the squatty officer. “Does this have to do with the airlock?”
“I-I-I don’t know,” said the officer.
“Well, find out,” Felix bellowed.
“Sir?” asked the officer.
Ping. The drive download was complete. Chester yanked it out of the workstation, and unconcerned for noise he bolted out of the bridge. He spr
inted.
“We learned that we also have the location for the ArchAngel, because of the tracker,” said the officer to Felix.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” said Chester, this time loud enough for Eddie and Julianna to hear over the comm.
“What is it? Are they headed this way?” asked Julianna.
“I don’t know. Probably,” said Chester, breathless. Fuck, he couldn’t easily get to his inhaler in his pocket because of the suit nor did he have time to spare. “I’m headed this way, but more importantly is that they know we tracked them.”
Chester rounded the corner. One long hallway separated him from the airlock, from his escape.
“So they know we’re aboard?” asked Eddie.
“That’s not the biggest problem. They know where ArchAngel is,” said Chester.
“Fuck! What do we do?” asked Julianna.
“I need to get back on the ship. That’s the only way to disconnect the program,” said Chester, heaving.
“Can’t ArchAngel do it?” asked Eddie.
“If she knows my forty-eight digit code,” said Chester, arriving just in front of Eddie and Julianna.
“No time for that,” said Eddie, pulling open the chamber door. “We’ve got to get out of here. ArchAngel will be fine for a moment. She’s tough.”
The three arrived on the Q-Ship with a bit of a surprise. The blast knocked them back before they had a chance to secure the airlock all of the way. Julianna held onto Eddie, pulling him back as he grabbed the hatch.
“Cloak the ship!” yelled Julianna to Lars. He had to take the cloak off for a moment so they could find their way to the ship. With Unsurpassed on high alert, they were fast to fire on the ship.
Julianna and Eddie slammed into the far wall when the ship sped off. The good news was they were cloaked and there was no tracking on the ship. The bad news was that it didn’t matter if QBS ArchAngel was cloaked. The ship’s position was being broadcast to Unsurpassed.