“No weapons onboard the ship. Toss it out or you’re not coming with us,” I said.
The man stood there for a few seconds, visibly torn with the ultimatum I’d just given him. But he didn’t voice his displeasure. He nodded his head slowly, disengaged the magazine from the gun, tossed the clip out, popped a bullet out of the chamber, threw the bullet out of the ship, and handed the gun to me.
“Bullets and magazines are replaceable. But that gun means something to me. So when we get to the Annex Rebel Fleet’s planet, I hope I can count on you to reunite me with my most trusted weapon,” the guy said.
I nodded my head, holstered the gun and quickly made my way toward the captain’s seat. I sat down, retracted the platform back into the ship, closed the automatic doors, and taxied back toward the runway.
“It’s a little chaotic up there, so I suggest you all buckle up, this is probably going to be a bumpy ride,” I said, pushing the power throttle up toward a hundred percent.
The Alpha Ship One rattled once again as it flew down the runway tunnel. Seconds later, a bright light pounded against my eyes as we roared out of the tunnel and soared up into the sky.
We had a battle to get to. And once we got to it, we had to get past it. And I had a feeling that would be easier said than done. Especially now we had such precious cargo on board. Cargo that no doubt its owners would miss. But how far were they willing to go to get their cargo back?
I dreaded to think.
Chapter Eleven
The expert looks up at operational leader Sam and frowned. He was beyond confused. The expert had no clue what he was listening to. Sam had called him in for his opinion, and was hoping that he had some idea of what the pinging signal coming from the Alpha Ship One meant. But the man was just as baffled as he was.
“I don’t know what you have here, it could take me a few days to even get to grips with this code. So I think you are going to have to be patient. That or we make a few educated guesses,” the expert said.
He was sitting on a chair that had been pulled up to operational leader Sam’s desk. Everybody else was working around them. The other office workers were far too consumed in their duties to even pay attention to the unfamiliar man. Normally, an outsider would be regarded with suspicion. But this man was safe from judgment today. The only judgment he would be receiving would be from operational leader Sam himself, who expected much more of him.
“Well, how about you make some educated guesses then? Couldn’t hurt, could it?” Sam said.
He was torn between staring at his computer terminal in front of him, and catching a glimpse of Maddie as she worked at her desk. She wasn’t staring back at him though. And in hindsight, finding out what the pinging meant mattered more than ogling a pretty girl.
“I’m a scientist Sam, and scientists don’t make a habit of guessing. But, if you were to twist my arm, I guess I could materialize some theories,” the expert said.
His eyebrows were bushy, and seemed to arch every time a syllable left his lips.
The two of them were staring at Sam’s computer screen. For the past thirty minutes, they’d been examining the sound waves coming from the Alpha Ship One. The program they were using took up the whole of the computer screen, and since they had started analyzing the sound, neither of them had been paying any attention to the schematic map - the map that showed the current location of the Alpha Ship One.
If they had been paying attention, then maybe they wouldn’t have been wasting time on getting to grips with the signal or the tracker. They would have been trying to stop the Alpha Ship One from doing what it was doing right NOW.
“Okay then, materialize some theories. Hit me with what you have Dr.,” Sam said.
The expert nodded, cleared his throat and then tapped his fingers on the desk. He was tapping out a pattern, the same pattern that the signal contained. It was like a beat to the scientist’s ear. A beat that he recognized. And just like Sam had originally thought, the beat – or signal, whatever you want to call it – was basically Morse code. What the scientist was doing as he patted his fingers on the hardwood desk was familiarizing himself with the pattern. And after a minute or two of uninterrupted fidgeting, the scientist looked up at Sam and smiled.
“Okay, if the signal/tracker has elements of Morse code within it like I think it does, then what you are hearing translates roughly to a phrase,” the scientists said.
His eyebrows were still bushy, and they still arched as he spoke.
“Spit it out then, I haven’t got all day Dr.! I don’t know if you’ve realized, but we are in crisis. I’d like to keep an eye on the ship, and its current route, and I can’t do that if we’re splitting hairs here, now can I?” Sam said.
The scientist nodded his head gingerly, and tried to act as if he wasn’t offended by Sam’s request to get on with it. Although the man was being stubborn, and quite blunt, the scientist understood the urgency of the matter. And after tapping his fingers a few more times, he felt confident enough to lay down his theory.
“The phrase I am picking up off the signal is; ‘follow the leader’.”
Sam scrunched his eyes suddenly, trying to get to grips with what that could possibly mean. His head swam with various ideas. Some of them made sense to him, while others were just nonsensical. The Alpha Ship One were not leading anything or anybody, as far as he knew, anyway. So what could it mean? Were they the leaders? Or were the Annex Rebel Fleet the so-called leaders? But then again, what if the Morse code theory was wrong? What if there was no leader to follow, and this was all just a waste of time?
Sam couldn’t help but think that there were still many questions unanswered here. The fact that the expert himself had basically admitted to this whole thing being a theory, meant that he couldn’t run with it. It also meant that finding out the true meaning of the tracker and its pinging signal would have to wait. Sam was still uncertain of many things, but one of them stuck out like a sore thumb to him.
“Why would they keep the tracker on? If they are working with the Annex Rebel Fleet or have any part in this Civil War that’s about to erupt, then why the hell would they be trying to contact us? Surely they would want to remain under the radar?” Sam asked.
The expert raised his eyebrows again, and then shrugged his shoulders. He excelled loudly, and started tapping his fingers once again on the table.
“Maybe they want you to actually follow them? Maybe it’s as simple as that?” The expert said.
Sam was about to retort to the man when a loud alarm sounded off in the office. It frightened him something rotten. He stood to attention, analyzing the ambiance of the room. His staff were running around like the ill-minded at an asylum breakout. Maddie was now next to him. She had a horrified look on her face. A look that he deciphered within a second. Something bad had happened. Something very bad indeed. His gut was telling him it was something to do with the Alpha Ship One. He quickly bent over his computer, and exited the full-screen program that he had been on for the past thirty odd minutes. And sure enough, his gut feeling rang true. Staring him dead in the face was the live schematic map that he’d been surveying on his computer.
The Alpha Ship One was no longer on the other side of the Milky Way Galaxy. It was now in its atmosphere – to be precise – the Alpha Ship One was flying over Los Angeles right at that very second!
“What the heck? When the hell did they get here?” Sam said, feeling mightily stupid for not intercepting whatever this new development was. He knew in his heart of hearts that the Alpha Ship One was the reason behind the alarm. He also knew that whatever bad news Maddie was about to lay out him, the Alpha Ship One was definitely the reason behind that as well.
His gut had never steered him wrong before.
“Sir, we have a major situation unfolding. The President of Pilgrim Tech has been kidnapped!” She said, her breathing was shallow and deep, making the words that she was speaking seem harsh and dry.
She was choking on her own sal
iva, and Sam knew exactly how she was feeling. He could hardly get his words out as well.
His mouth felt like it was being ravaged by sandpaper. A cold sweat was dripping down his back. His heart was beating out of control in his chest. His legs and knees felt weak. He had to sit down. And when he did sit down, he saw the computer screen staring back at him once again.
All of a sudden, a theory popped into his head. A theory of his own. What if the President of Pilgrim Tech was on the Alpha Ship One? What if the so-called leader that the Morse code spoke of was in fact their actual leader, the President? What if Sam followed the leader?
“Sir? Is everything okay?” Maddie asked, who was now staring at the expert sitting next to Sam.
Sam tilted his head up toward Maddie, and then turned his head toward the expert. The expert stared blankly back at him, and then slowly nodded his head. They were both on the same page. He was thinking the exact same thing as Sam was.
They had decoded the Morse code. They had found the leader. And now all they had to do was follow it. But Sam was torn. If his theory was correct, and the President of Pilgrim Tech was actually on board the Alpha Ship One, then letting the Alpha Ship One escape back into space was going to cause a rift between himself and Pilgrim Tech.
A rift that could end his life. If they found out that Sam could have stopped the President being taken from Earth’s jurisdiction, then he’d be killed for his supposed act of treason.
But then again, what if the Alpha Ship One was trying to help them? What if the Alpha Ship One was about to reveal the location of the Annex Rebel Fleet? Was one President worth the risk? Did the math add up? Was the destruction of thousands of Earth’s enemies worth more than the life of one man with absolute power?
Only time would tell. And Sam knew that time was not on their side.
“Sir? Is there something you’re not telling me?” Maddie asked, her voice cracking as she spoke, her head dripping in sweat.
She was also in panic mode. And she sensed that there was something going on, something that she wasn’t privy to.
The operational leader kept his cool. He looked up at her and smiled. It was the first genuine smile that he hadn’t had to force in the past twenty-four hours. There wasn’t much to smile about, but he felt like there was just enough to muster one joyous smile. Maybe, just maybe, they had their lead. A lead that came in the form of the Alpha Ship One. And maybe, just maybe, this would all be over before they knew it.
“Don’t worry Maddie, we may be on to something here…” Sam said, his eyes locked onto his computer screen, following the Alpha Ship One as it began to leave Earth’s atmosphere.
***
I was being flung back into my seat as the Alpha Ship One broke through Earth’s outer crust. We were now in low orbit space. And the sudden yet slight change in G-force made my neck ache. The others – Philip and Teresa, along with Dale and the prisoner were all putting a brave face on.
The prisoner had woken up a few minutes prior, and refrained himself from asking any questions. When he saw the Pilgrim Tech President sitting next to him, a smile had crept across his face. He’d forgotten about the fact that Dale had smacked him in the back of the head, earlier. He’d also forgotten about the fact that he was onboard the Alpha Ship One, very much against his will. But he hadn’t forgotten that we were all on a mission, and the mission was going to plan… so far.
So I guess that’s why he had a smile on his face. And I also guess that’s why I had one on mine as well. It had been a lot easier than I thought. Kidnapping the President of Pilgrim Tech had gone off without much of a hitch. You’d think that a building with that much security would be able to stop a mercenary ship from taking their most valuable asset into space, and pawning him off to a rebel alliance.
But I guess this wasn’t a movie, and the bad guys are never as smart as they are usually portrayed to be. People make mistakes, and sure enough, there are always people - other people - to take advantage of those mistakes.
That’s exactly what we were doing. We were taking advantage of Pilgrim Tech’s mismanagement. We knew that they would be easily distracted by the battle going on above Earth’s atmosphere. We also knew that the Commander and his rebels had gotten into their heads, and now things were personal. And whenever things become personal, war becomes easier. Battles are fought with bullets and brute force, not moral fiber.
Yet again, the movies of the past had made me think that in war, there were always two wildly different groups on opposing sides; one that was not afraid of doing whatever it took to win, and another that had a righteous and just cause behind their defense.
But this situation was nothing like that.
Even though I had decided to side with the rebels, I couldn’t help but notice that both sides were as bad as each other. In my heart, I thought that humanity would never take the correct steps toward peace. Not when humans that opposed other humans were still willing to do whatever it took to win.
And just because a cause may seem right at the time, doesn’t mean that stooping to the same level as the enemy was worthwhile. In my opinion, the idea of good versus evil is outdated. In reality, it’s become a little more complicated. There are no good guys in this war. And there are no bad guys in this war. There are just people. And people, for good or bad, are usually the same.
“Wow, we actually did it!” The prisoner said from his chair, staring at the President of Pilgrim Tech who’d been gagged and bound in his seat.
The President wasn’t mumbling, nor was he resisting. He’d come to terms with what was happening. But I assumed that he still had a lot of faith in his men to rescue him. After all, looking at the ship, I’d be in the same category of thinking as he was.
The Alpha Ship One was falling apart. The crew weren’t exactly upstanding citizens. And putting those two things together, I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought that we didn’t stand a chance at succeeding in our goal. But then again, the people at the top usually underestimate the people at the bottom.
That’s how revolutions come about.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself there, we still have to get to your planet. So I suggest you sit back, shut your mouth, and hope we don’t get blasted to bits in the middle of this battle,” I said, steering the ship toward the dogfight that was taking place on the cusp of Earth’s atmosphere.
“Before Big Man over here knocked me out, I took the initiative and punched in the coordinates to our planet. They should be logged in onto your homing system. Just press option two, and the ship should route you toward the stronghold,” the prisoner said.
I nodded my head, and turned toward my computer system. I did as he said, and to my surprise, he was telling the truth. I pressed option two, and watched as the ship’s navigation system showed me a routing map toward the planet.
The mysterious rebel planet lay on the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, and if I was going to be able to get there within the next day, I’d have to warp toward it. But warping was going to be a little difficult with my current set of circumstances. There was a battle waging on in front of me, a battle I didn’t want no part of.
Luckily, on our way toward the planet earlier, I’d managed to scrape myself past without attracting any attention. But now, now there were many more Snake Pit Fighters fighting against the rebels. And I feared that there were far too many of them to sneak on by safely this time.
I began to panic as I sat there in my chair. The floor beneath me was vibrating as the ship’s engines roared. I close my eyes for a few seconds, and tried to imagine myself on the outside of the ship, standing on top of it with a pair of binoculars, trying to scout the best possible pathway toward safety.
My problem was that the battlefield was now mixed with many more different ships. There was no longer a clear divide between the rebel ships and Earth’s defense ships. They had all been stirred together like a broth, intertwining around each other like branches in a tree.
I had to find the cleare
st pathway so I could get my crew and my ship as far away from danger as possible. But everywhere I looked, there was obstacle after obstacle. So I would have to think fast if I wanted to get the President of Pilgrim Tech out of Earth’s jurisdiction. But the longer I sat there in my chair, contemplating the options that stood in front of me, the less likely victory would be.
I needed a clear head. But I couldn’t ascertain one with so many distractions. Or with so much danger. I was buckling under my own pressure. Pressure I’d put on myself to succeed. Not only had I turned my back on my own people, but I was now putting my ship, and my crew up against insurmountable odds.
“Don’t just sit there doing nothing, get us out of here!” The prisoner yelled from his seat.
“There’s too many of them. If I even attempt to enter the fray, I fear that we won’t last more than two seconds. We need to think more objectively. We cannot rush this. We only have one chance, one shot, to get this right. If we mess this up, then there’s no turning back. All of us will hang for what we’ve done!” I said, momentarily turning in my chair to face the others.
I was searching their faces for moral support. But all I got back from them was confusion. They were confused as to why I had all of a sudden lost my confidence. And I guess it was my fault really. I had tried to portray the fact that I was certain in my decision to associate myself with the rebels and do their bidding, that I hadn’t taken the time to figure out whether I was truly ready to pull off such a coup.
But the prisoner was right. I didn’t have the luxury of time, and sitting there worrying about the what ifs of this campaign wasn’t going to do me any good. So I made a decision. A decision to act. And I was going to act as fast and as effectively as I could.
Destroyer of Worlds (Alpha Ship One Book 2) Page 14