After a minute Captain Valance leaned forward and compressed her chest rhythmically. “The stasis is failing. Do you have an activator?”
Fiona pulled two tiny pads from her emergency kit and handed them to Grace.
“Oh please Stephanie, oh God please.” Ashley whispered as she lowered her face into her hands. She had kept her eyes on her station up until that point.
Grace placed one of the silver pads on Stephanie's temple and the other over her heart the pressed a button on her medical wrist unit. Her body was forced into taking a smooth deep breath, her heart started beating and her synaptic activity was stimulated. Stephanie's eyes snapped open and her whole body twitched. Her arms reached up with a twitch and her hands clutched at the air above reflexively.
Grace turned the activators off as Captain Valance caught one of Stephanie's hands. Even in death activators could force such a reaction from someone who had undergone so much nanosurgery, and Jake was as prepared as he could be to watch the life fade from Stephanie's eyes as the autonomic responses brought on by the activators stopped.
To his relief Stephanie looked up at him, smiled, gripped his hand tightly and said; “I need a bigger gun.”
Hernando Ramirez
Ramirez had staunched the bleeding in his leg and secured the vacsuit emergency seal around his left arm at the elbow. The grenade had done so much damage he knew he was teetering on death. Shrapnel had cut his left leg short at the shin, the other was burned so badly he couldn't move it and his left hand was gone. They had left him for dead but his vacsuit saved him.
He didn't have a communicator, it was destroyed along with his left wrist, but thankfully his vacsuit had an emergency package on the back of his neck and the pain medication kept him awake and the agony was bearable. “Now I know what Finn felt like,” he whispered to himself through broken front teeth.
He looked around. In front of him was one of the emergency shuttles the boarders had tricked them with. It looked military, but it had come in from the rear half of a destroyer. Everyone on his and Price's team thought that they were coming aboard for rescue, no one thought they would actually try to seize control. When he woke up and realized that his suit had saved his life, constricting as much as it could in its damaged state and applying pressure to slow the bleeding, it didn't take him long to realize that he was alone. The pain meds had already started flowing through his system, another thing to be thankful for. Emergency nanobots had done what they could, but there was too much damage.
He did his best to remember what he had left. A working brain, right arm and the will to do something, anything to stop the boarders. Ramirez rolled his eyes around, craning his stiff neck a little to get a better view of the large hangar, then he spotted a working communicator on the wrist of a nearby corpse. He pulled himself to it with his right arm, it took forever to cross less than two meters.
He was just about to contact Captain Valance when he heard a hatch open, followed closely by three more. Another escape vessel must have landed, and he heard the sounds of boots hitting the deck. The troops he could see from his vantage point were checking their rifles and taking a moment to muster. After falling into ranks they started running to the lifts. Oh no you don't, he thought to himself.
He opened a private channel with Captain Valance. “Captain, decompress hangar two. You have at least forty more boarders on their way.” He caught sight of a few of them running by. None even noticed him.
“Ramirez? We thought you were killed.”
“I'm fine, I'm secure. Just flush these bastards out into space.”
“I don't see you on our internal systems.”
“I'm secure. Flush 'em out.”
“Brace yourself.” The main hangar doors opened quickly, several meters per second. Air rushed out and anything not secure was pulled with it.
“It was an honour Captain,” Ramirez managed to say into the communicator before it was ripped out of his hand. He tried to grab hold of a landing strut as he slid by at an increasing speed and missed it.
His body turned as he skidded across the floor and he could see the doors wide open, the darkness of space beyond. It had been years since he had looked at it for what it was. Distant stars, billions of them out there, glimmering.
In the space of a short life he'd seen over a hundred worlds, more cities, and met even more people. On the Samson alone he had seen people come, go, die, and survive with him. His acquaintances became friends, his friends became loved ones and before he knew it the Samson was his home.
He crossed over the edge of the launch bay and drifted out into space. The bitter cold embraced him as his body turned. Pain killers made the cold a distant sensation. The Triton loomed. Make her a home Captain, make it their home. He wished as his sight faded and his body became absolutely still.
Rash Acts
“Ramirez? Ramirez!” Captain Valance shouted into his communicator. He spun on his heel. “Frost! Close the hanger bay doors and look for him. Cynthia, find out where that communication came from!”
They set to work as Captain Valance looked to the front of the bridge, where the field of stars in front of the ship was displayed.
“I can't find him sir,” Frost reported. “He's not coming up anywhere and I know I'm using this right.”
Cynthia turned in her seat. “The transmission came from hangar two. I double checked. The signal went dead shortly after the doors opened,” she said quietly.
Captain Valance ground his teeth and balled his fists, standing motionless, looking out into the stars beyond the drifting wreck of a defensive station in the distance. “You have the bridge, Commander.” he said as he strode towards the observation room door.
Stephanie looked around and realized no one else knew what he was talking about when he referred to a Commander. The new engineer had gone below the bridge with Price and his team, and there was no one of that rank in place that she knew of. Instead of questioning it, she sat down in the Captain's chair and watched as Jake punched in the entry code for the observation room and strode through.
“I guess you're a Commander now. Congratulations?” Frost whispered from her left with a shrug.
“I hope he doesn't do anything a medical kit can't fix,” Ashley's copilot said quietly.
Minister Lorne looked up at Captain Valance as calmly as he could. He looked furious, yes, but it was held in place by cold discipline. Jacob Valance was an imposing man when he wanted to be, and when he slammed his fists against the top of the conference table he jumped in his seat.
“I'm done here! After taking on this heroes mantle for your people you come aboard my ship under the pretence of need and try to take it for yourself?”
“You're a hunter, a glorified repo man. If you weren't so good at it I'd never know who you were and I'd be none the worse for it.” Lorne said haughtily. He was putting up a brave front but his eyes were shifty, it sounded like he was reciting a rehearsed speech. “The Minister of Defence sent me to commandeer this ship. We can offer you fair compensation at a later-”
“Don't try to reason with me, we're way beyond that. You have three options right here, right now. You can command your forces to obey my orders, you can tell them to leave by the quickest route possible or you can take a trip out the airlock!”
He stared back at the Captain, feigning calm. Lorne's lip twitched, there was sweat forming on his brow and he rubbed his palms together slowly.
“Did you people really know what kind of bastard you chose to heft your banner?” He shouted in full fury as he reached across the table, grabbed the smaller man's jacket and hauled him out of his chair. Jake turned and dragged him across the table like a rag doll, striding through the door with him in tow behind. He moved so fast the Minister couldn't catch his feet.
Lorne struggled to get his balance, but Jake flung him out in front of him. The Minister rolled and came up on his knees. There was no chance to defend himself before the muzzle of Captain Valance's sidearm was up aga
inst his forehead. “Spacing's too honourable a death for you. This is better. I love what this gun does to people. One minute they're just standing there, the next they're cut in half, or staggering around headless before their bodies realize their brain is gone,” he said in a malicious whisper. He flicked the safety off and he could hear the power cell charge up with a high pitched whine.
A small, panicked sound escaped Lorne's open mouth. He was breathing quickly, staring widely at the handle of the heavy sidearm. “Oh God,” he whimpered.
“I've done this before right in front of these people with a dead cell loaded, it won't surprise them if I pull the trigger and you disappear from the neck up,” he tilted his head to one side. “Much.”
“We need this ship, Regent Galactic will take advantage of this opening.” Lorne blubbered, his resolve had cracked, his hands were up and he shook visibly. “I was following orders, only following orders.”
“This is my ship. People have died because of you and your choices. If you don't put your soldiers in line behind me I'll lose even more. Think about it for just a second. I'll kill you, then I'll go get my cloaksuit. Your soldiers won't see me coming as I start murdering them one by one. It won't be a battle, there won't be a seconds worth of fight to it. I'll just start killing until Regent Galactic decides to board. Then I'll start on them. Murdering one after another until I'm alone in a wasted hull piled with corpses! Starting with yours.”
“O-okay, I'll command them to take your orders.”
“Betray me and I promise you won't leave this ship alive,” Captain Valance flipped his safety on and holstered his sidearm. “Stand up and take a few deep breaths. I don't want you sounding nervous when you give the order.”
Stephanie moved to the seat at the right of the command chair as Jake turned and strode to the Captain's seat in the center. They both watched Minister Lorne as he tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths and folding his arms after realizing his hands were still shaking. After several minutes he looked to the Captain and nodded, straightening his jacket.
“Sit right here,” Captain Valance ordered, pointing to the seat at his left.
He walked to the chair and sat down. From a pocket he produced a communicator and opened a channel.
The face of an armoured vacsuit came up on the two dimensional display after a moment. “Yes Minister?”
“Your orders have changed Major. I'm placing Captain Valance in command. He's a more able commander than I had expected and will work in our best interests.”
“Minister?”
“That's an order. Pass the word down the line. The Triton is Valent's ship. I'm legitimizing his capture.”
“Yes sir, right away.”
Cleanup
Captain Valance let Liam's plan to connect the exterior solar and gravity based power systems to the command section go ahead. After that was finished Liam was able to proceed to main engineering for the first time since he had come aboard. All eight of the reactors had been shut down or disconnected from the main power grid. If it weren't for their fading emergency power the Triton would be adrift, helpless.
When Agameg Price returned to the bridge with his security team he boggled at Minister Lorne for a moment before regaining his composure. “The Aucharians have stood down and two squads have gone to the upper berth to aid with crowd control.”
“How are things there?” Asked Captain Valance.
“Not as bad as I had thought. Once Leland and his group were pressed out of the compartments and the lights came back on the situation calmed down. A few people fell through the deck where the plating was damaged and I've sent Grace to help.”
Stephanie looked a little surprised and smiled at Agameg. “Good work. So things have calmed down?”
“Yes, they are wondering when help is coming though, if they will be transported to another port so they can continue on to their final destinations. A few were bound for this system in particular, and are unsure of their fates,” he said sadly.
Captain Valance looked to the Minister, who was staring straight ahead. “Do you have a contingency plan in place?”
“We were going to use your ship and anything else that still had power to ferry survivors into the outer system until a battle group could get here.”
“How far out are they?”
He hesitated before answering. “Five days.”
“We have the TRF Peter en route, they'll be here much sooner.”
“Do you realize the debt that will incur? My people can't afford that kind of cost while rebuilding.”
Captain Valance ran his hand down his face and laughed ruefully. He brought up the scan results of Enreega's surface using the control panel on his chair. “There are two cities still burning, several sunk and two are nothing but dead hulks drifting in orbit. You're worried about cost?”
“No one's going to help us rebuild for free. Independence comes at a great cost and most of that can be calculated in credits,” he protested quietly. “These rescue ships come with a high price tag, they're in it for the cash as much as anyone else.”
“There's no market to manipulate here. Your people are dying and you have to make sacrifices to save as many as you can. How much it costs is besides the point.”
“You have no idea what you're talking about.”
“You might be right, politics don't interest me and I'd probably be out of my depth if I tried to run for office. You're on equally unsure footing, Minister. Remember, you're on my ship, a captured Sol Defence vessel that's run by brutal discipline and faith.”
“Faith? You're joking.”
“My people have to have faith in each other and in my decisions. Otherwise there would be chaos. If one of us fails and survives we must have faith that everyone has learned from their experiences. Faith is at the core of this crew, if it wasn't that would leave money and fear and these days I can't afford to use either as often as I used to.”
He sat staring blankly, straight ahead, only nodding once to acknowledge what Captain Valance had said.
Jake looked to Cynthia, who had been watching the entire exchange with interest. “Open the comm ship wide please,” he asked.
“Yes sir, the channel is open.”
He stood up and looked at the Minister. “This is Captain Valance. We are beginning repairs and will be underway to the Pollanis System as soon as possible. The TRF Peter will follow if we leave before they can meet with us. We can't stay here any longer than necessary. We don't know if the Eden Fleet will return. While repairs are underway I'd like anyone who would like to join the crew of the Triton and has qualifications to send their information to the bridge. Keep it short. If you have children aboard, please be aware that this is a ship of war, and I won't want to put the young in harms way.
I can't offer you a great deal of payment, but the Triton is a city unto itself with manufacturing equipment, plenty of living space and a purpose. The Aucharian Military has been defeated in this solar system and after undergoing repairs in a safe location the Triton will be heading into the fight. We'll interfere with Regent Galactic's supply lines, liberate slaves, profit from their loss and make ourselves scarce. We will strike from the shadows, disappear in plain sight and become the three thousand souls that cost them billions.
It is essential that any Aucharian soldier who doesn't want to participate in rebuilding this ship and working towards the same goals disembark from the Triton. Return to your emergency shuttles or the destroyer docked then leave. If you aren't invested in our purpose, you don't have any business aboard my ship. Civilians who don't wish to remain may stay with us until we reach the Pollanis System.”
Captain Valance signalled Cynthia to close the channel and looked to Minister Lorne.
“You're going after Regent Galactic? That's insanity.”
“It's the best game out here, Minister. Anything with less than sixty guns won't have a chance against us and between the members of my existing crew we know the trade routes, the underground,
and even a few other ships who would gladly join up if they knew we had their flank. I could start a fleet of my own if I like.”
“These people are untrained, only refugees and deserters.”
“The ship can train them, and if they don't measure up we'll leave them somewhere safe. In case you haven't noticed, this is a modern vessel with simulator visors, reconfigurable consoles and it's wider than it is long. There's plenty of room to train five hundred, maybe a thousand people at a time during normal operations.”
“You don't have the time, putting the ship under Aucharian Fleet control and collecting military personnel from the system for a crew would be much more effective.”
Captain Valance opened a private comm line. “Liam, how are our reactors?”
“I can get three online within the next four hours. It doesn't look like the other five have been activated for about eight years. I'd like to do a more thorough check on them before starting them up. I heard your speech by the way. I'll submit my qualifications right away.”
“You're hired. How is our cloaking device looking?”
“I'm having a couple of your more diminutive crew members reset the aft emitters and check the plating. It should be all set in about an hour. We won't be able to use it until we get a reactor online though.”
“Thank you Liam, we'd be dead out here without you.”
“My pleasure captain, just working on these machines is reward enough.”
Captain Valance closed the line. “With a working cloaking device this ship turns into an invisible city.”
“I'll watch the Newsnets for your execution. Regent Galactic is far more cunning than you give them credit for with more resources than you could imagine. If they can't find you they'll go after your crew through their families and friends. Then they'll force them to betray you.”
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