Selena

by V Guy

  The next time they emerged, they were practically on top of Schlange, and Malik directed them to within two ship lengths of the other vessel. He mentally reached to touch it.

  “The commandos have been informed of the vessel’s pacification,” he said, standing. “I’ll enter through their starboard hatch. We can’t establish a remote system connection, thus position the ship as appropriate. Time to send Evelyn.”

  Evelyn met him, suited, ready, and holding a pack of data-access devices. “I’m ready. The equipment is, too.”

  Malik smiled then looked at the equipment. After positioning himself for making the transfer, he focused. The three pieces of equipment disappeared in blurs. He straightened, stretched, then looked at Evelyn. “The effort is easier near the gravitational boundary. We’ll jump to Schlange; when we arrive, I need you to examine the bridge computers while I interrogate the crew.”

  Moments after entering the other ship’s hatch, they came across two of the other ship’s unconscious crew. “Proceed to the bridge.”

  He then stopped and scowled. “Hold up and ready yourself. I’m sending you to Channel Surfer. Their crew can’t seem to operate our equipment.”

  ***

  Bomani arrived at Channel Surfer in the sea cabin, kneeling to steady himself after the trip. He was straightening when he saw Borislav arrive in the small space and stagger. Their gear had been sent elsewhere. They checked the devices attached to their hips to assess their options, turning sharply when Li appeared. He had taken the journey in stride, smiling and nodding as he moved forward.

  “Come on, fellas, let’s get going,” he said, checking his device. “Those bombs are all over the place. At least we’re adjacent to the bridge, which is good.”

  “Next to the bridge?” asked Bomani, pausing to confirm the information. “That’s good?”

  “It’s a big ship and we’ll need help. Malik must have wanted to save us the walk.”

  Borislav paused. “We should assess Serena’s condition. She’s the reason we’re here.”

  Li shook his head. “We’re here for everyone. If necessary, he’ll pull her. She’ll live.”

  They boldly entered the bridge, spacing themselves evenly around the room. Their weapons were holstered and visible.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may we have your attentions please,” said Li, scanning those present as he made an expansive gesture. “There is an emergency, and your assistance is required. Who’s in command?”

  A distinguished-looking man stepped forward. “What is the meaning of this? This is a restricted area.”

  “There are six bombs installed on your ship. We need your assistance in removing them.”

  The captain ignored their urgency, deliberating. “That’s quite a preamble. Why should I believe you? What do you really want?”

  Li set his jaw, looking at his companions with strained patience. “We’re here to rescue a woman. We can do that, depart, and leave you to die, or we can do our best to save the vessel and all its occupants. The bomb’s timers have already been activated. If you can’t or won’t assist in their neutralization, we’ll be along.”

  Li’s reluctance to spar caught the captain’s attention and disarmed his hostility. His brow furrowed. “Bombs?”

  “One is in the forward maintenance areas, four have been placed along the vessel’s flanks, and one is installed in aft storage. They are tied to the ship’s systems, timers and detonators have been activated, and the instantaneous triggers’ remote accesses are enabled. The ship is under surveillance, and evacuation orders, calls for assistance, or a change of course could result in Channel Surfer’s immediate destruction.”

  Quiet shock had dominated the bridge after their entry; now the silence hung like a pall of doom. Many words passed unspoken behind the captain’s lips, but only two were verbalized. “Show me.”

  Their walk to the first bomb involved a descent through two decks and the accumulation of nine additional crew members. The commandos slowed as they walked into a chamber full of mechanical and electrical repair stations. After consulting their devices, they stopped before a supply cabinet.

  “Here,” said Borislav, pointing. “Open it. I don’t detect any booby traps.”

  The maintenance supervisor submitted her authentication and opened the panel. Where tools and shelves should have rested sat a tall, round-edged, black box. Reinforcing braces secured the top and bottom of the assembly, integrity sensors circled its girth, and a display sat on its top. Two small, power-conduit lines extended to the cabinet to connections within the cabinet. She stood aside as Borislav removed the display’s cover and enter a code.

  “How did you know that?” she asked.

  “We interrogated the culprits. Unfortunately, there’s no recall and no setup changes ten minutes after activation.” After some investigation, from both the display’s menus and his scanner’s survey, he added, “Disrupting the external power, pulling the core, moving the device, or disabling the detonator on any bomb will trigger every bomb.”

  The chief engineer and the head security officer arrived.

  “Then what hope do we have? Every contingency has been covered,” said the captain.

  Li stepped forward. “We need equipment. Portable power assemblies, conduit tie-ins, diagnostic scanners, signal loops and repeaters, stasis generators, and basic tool kits. Three of you need to tackle the other bombs.”

  “We don’t have all those, and our people aren’t trained,” said the chief engineer, frowning. “Nor can we fabricate them quickly enough.”

  “Then give us what you have. One of us will stay here, the others will go to the next two devices while I will get your people working on the others. Is that agreed?”

  There was quiet as the captain pondered the problem. “How much time?”

  “Twenty-two minutes.”

  “That’s the time to the drop,” he mumbled, groaning. “Everyone step to it! Give them anything they ask. One escort per man. Mathis, assign people for the other three bombs.” He turned to Li. “We need your information.”

  Li saw three familiar packs on the floor nearby, shared glances with Borislav and Bomani, and smiled. Bless you, Evelyn.

  One security guard and reactor technician stayed with Borislav. The remainder of the entourage reached the foreword-port bomb. Bomani, a security guard, and the assistant engineer went to the forward-starboard bomb. Fresh personnel met the group when they arrived at the aft-port bomb.

  “A power loop and cut in will allow us to isolate it from the ship. After we’ve recorded signal data from the other bombs, we’ll install signal loops and isolate them from each other. Then we disable the timer and disarm the detonator. Finally, if you’ve got stasis generators and time is short, we could isolate the bombs to give us time.”

  “We don’t,” said the chief engineer, his shoulders dropping.

  “Then make them, Chief,” replied Li angrily. “Or find substitutes. You’ll wish you had them when the timer strikes zero.”

  Bomani remained at the station to work, and Li indicated the locations of the remaining bombs. Once done, he went to the aft bomb while the other maintenance crews began work. Before Li had even arrived at his destination, Bomani announced his success and his transition to forward-starboard.

  Li dug through his bag from Pathfinder. Some of what he needed was provided by the chief engineer, but he preferred the pack’s contents.

  Three officers had followed him and watched as he worked. “What’s our time?” asked the captain.

  “Ten minutes.” Li took the provided power loop, attached the accompanying battery, and clipped it to the leads exiting the device. Power frequencies were matched, and he simultaneously reduced the level in the feeds while elevating the level from the battery. When the first was fully reduced, he clipped, secured, and rested the assembly on the bomb. During the midst of this task, Borislav reported he was moving to the aft-starboard bomb.

  Li glanced to the side and saw a stasis f
ield generator resting nearby. “I’ve been informed that you can now call for help, alter course, or evacuate. The other team was successful. I thought you didn’t have stasis field generators?”

  The captain made a quizzical expression. “We don’t.”

  He spoke a minute with the bridge. “It’s too late to evacuate.”

  “That needs to be taken to the aft-starboard bomb,” said Li. “They’re having problems.”

  An attending crew member set off at a trot with the equipment.

  Li considered the generator and grinned as he quickly isolated the transmitter. Malik. Signal parameters had been recorded from all the other bombs, and he quickly established a signal loop for his device and activated a replicator to imitate the other devices. The bomb’s internal transmitter was disabled. Borislav reported being in position; Bomani pronounced a second success.

  The captain leaned close. “Why would they destroy an entire ship?”

  “Corporate espionage?” Li noted the time, carefully avoiding the haste that caused mistakes. He wished he still had the stasis chamber.

  “But why a whole ship?”

  Li shook his head. “Destabilizes consumer confidence? Reduces stock? Eliminates competition? Maybe it’s a grudge.”

  No mistakes were tolerable with only three minutes remaining. The timer needed to be decoyed with a false signal, which was why Li used a dummy knob Evelyn had packed. It would then be physically disconnected and extricated from the bomb’s matrix.

  Borislav reported success with about a minute remaining. Li experienced success with only five seconds left. No report was delivered from the final position, but the absence of explosions was good news.

  The captain’s comm chimed. “Sir, some woman in full-body, black armor just appeared and activated the stasis field generator.”

  Another voice came through Li’s comm. Boys, get those detonators extracted. They were having problems with this timer, and now the bomb is under stasis. The generator is struggling to maintain a time differential against a solid structure, and the effort is quickly draining the battery’s power. Hurry!

  He smiled; it was Evelyn. Borislav and Bomani indicated compliance.

  The captain noted his expression. “Who is she?”

  Li wasted no time disconnecting the detonator, which was the innermost component of the assembly. “She’s from the other team.”

  “Well, she just saved our lives.” The captain released a relieved sigh. He contacted the bridge. “We’ve diverted away from the channel to meet a Fleet patroller. A shuttle is docking.”

  “I hope you had them dispatch help,” said Li, setting his jaw. “You’re still in danger.”

  Extracting the detonator was a delicate and time-consuming process, taking fifteen minutes. He sat back. “Done. Are Fifth Fleet personnel working the others?”

  The assistant chief engineer spoke through his headset. “They’ve gotten started.”

  Li observed the numerous men around him, two of them from the nearby ship. He paused as he considered the sticky issue of his presence, and reports of success from Borislav and Bomani gave him an idea. He waited for five minutes more, gathered the gear Evelyn had assembled, and stood and stretched. After draping the pack over his shoulders, he shook the engineer’s hand. “It was a pleasure to assist you.”

  He smiled, nodded to the others, and disappeared in a blur.

  42: Imperium

  Day 802: Pathfinder; Channel Surfer; Imperium

  “They’ve disappeared,” said the Fleet lieutenant, frowning as he approached Evelyn. “Where did they go?”

  “Their job was complete.” She was pleased to not salute. Navin had constructed the cloak-capable, space-worthy, armored outfit, and she felt perfectly fearless before the man even beyond her anonymity. “Have the other detonators been disengaged?”

  “They’re working on them,” replied the man sourly. “Why did you stay?”

  “Because this one is a problem. Can you cut it free?”

  “It’s a test table with heavy-duty hull plating. We could potentially disrupt the field and trigger the explosives.”

  “Very well,” said Evelyn, sighing. “If you had, we could simply toss it into space and let the stasis field fail. Now we must wait.”

  “The other signals have been jammed. Why not just do what you planned?”

  She shook her head. “It’s a different dynamic.”

  “What happens when they’re cleared?”

  Evelyn smiled. Although her good humor was concealed, it was communicated through her tone. “Wait and see.”

  Twenty-five more minutes passed before the Fleet explosive handlers were successful. Evelyn’s audience increased as the time passed, and by the time they were done, numerous Fleet and passenger liner officers were present, and armed men were in abundance. Confirmation was transmitted, and suddenly all eyes were upon her.

  She chuckled, sent an acknowledgement to Malik, and pointed to the bomb. “Now we find out.”

  Their eyes immediately turned to the device. A shimmer of crimson appeared around it, tightly embracing the explosive device and impacting the shelf on which it was bolted. An ellipsoid of distortion encapsulated the device as the molecules of the surface dissociated, the targeted circuit glowing orange, yellow, then white hot. The moment the bonds of the supporting material were severed, the bomb blurred out of existence along with the severed plate.

  Everyone except her backed away in surprise.

  “What now?” asked the Fleet captain.

  Evelyn shook her head. All present watched the vacated space in tense expectation.

  “It’s finished,” said Evelyn, startling them after a minute of silence. “The Fifty-Second Security vessel Schlange is currently coasting past the drop, and one of its shuttles is docked to Channel Surfer’s spine. The crew is dead, but data can be gleaned from their systems.”

  The Fleet captain turned to her and frowned. “Fifty-Second Security is a licensed agency.”

  “Yes, and they were about to destroy this ship. Hazards are included in their jobs.”

  A twinge of fear touched his visage and he paused. “Are you Central Security?”

  A sense of amusement was communicated through her posture in addition to the laugh that followed. “Safe flying, Captain, and don’t be testing your luck.” She nodded, sent an affirmative through her comm, then was transitioned from their presence.

  ***

  Bomani and Borislav were steadier on their feet after the second transfer, while Li was as composed as ever. The occupants of the cargo passage stopped in surprise when they made their appearances, staring as the men dropped their packs and equipment to the deck. Malik approached them from the side, fatigue from the transfer visible on his visage. Li moved to the bridge to assist James.

  Serena stood nearby, pulled earlier from the liner.

  “Are you certain you have everything?” asked Malik, stretching his muscles and rotating his shoulders and hips to ease the stiffness. “I’ll be sending you directly back.”

  “What did you learn?” asked Bomani. “Maybe we should stay.”

  “Just the location and culpability of the next commander up the chain. We acquired additional and likely useless information, enough to inform us that the word is out about me. Other people will try for her. She’ll need you.”

  “More lethal gear would be helpful,” said Borislav, pondering his pack. “Then we’d like to make some goodbyes.”

  “What about Evelyn?” asked Bomani. “She’s still there.”

  Malik smiled. “Her job is unfinished.”

  Serena edged to him, her face white and her body trembling. “I’m going back, aren’t I?”

  “When it’s safe. You’re supposed to be there.”

  “But what if they try again?”

  Malik motioned. “You’ll have these two.”

  The commandos gathered new items for their trip with Serena, adding stealth and communications gear and removing and re
turning the gear sent to the liner. They followed shutdown procedures for the Rumbler, it was moved it into the garage, and then they waited in the cargo deck passage.

  With all their daily medical procedures complete, the initiates were free to linger and converse. Their emotions regarding the men were tangled, but an underlying layer of affection patterned their responses. They were somber.

  Their attentions were diverted when Malik positioned himself near the garage hatches, settled to the floor, and focused. His skin displayed his duress, regaining his natural coloring momentarily before he began concentrating for second effort.

  Evelyn appeared before him and giggled. “Wow. That’s such a rush.” She removed her head covering to reveal a huge smile. “We did it. I almost don’t believe it. We did it! What happened to the bomb?”

  Malik met her, his coloring and posture illustrating his weariness. “After severing the foundation, I dropped the device into the substrate. It unexpectedly remained intact. The field generator and support pieces were consumed, but the stasis field was unaffected—it uses elements of substrate mechanics to function. After recapturing the bomb, I shoved it to an open location in real space, the field collapsed, and it was destroyed.”

  “And our next destination?”

  He scowled. “Only their commander on Schlange knew anything useful, and he yielded the superior who gave the orders. Fifty-Second Security has a central facility on the planet Imperium.”

  “If we know where to go, why are we waiting?”

  Bomani smiled sheepishly as he stepped forward. “It’s to allow us to give you a proper goodbye.”

  ***

  Malik was motionless after returning Serena and the two commandos to Channel Surfer, and his flanks were a combination of speckled black, gray, and white. He turned his head toward Evelyn. “We’re going to Imperium.”

  “You don’t look ready.”