Sammael examined the faces revealed carefully. One of them, the one carrying the Overdrive, was obviously the Transplanter Bruce. His hairy face looked dispassionately at Sammael before suddenly baring his fangs in a menacing fashion. Sammael ignored him, turning his attention to the second member of the small party.
“Ah, Logan. We meet again,” he said, grinning annoyingly.
Logan returned the grin. “Yeah, however this time you aren’t running away with your tail between your legs."
Sammael smile wiltered. “That was a tactical withdrawal. I dealt with that bitch later on the station.”
He turned towards the smallest member who was paying little attention to the conversation, standing with head lowered.
“And this must be Felix. The genius who invented the Overdrive and who we have to thank for all this.”
He grabbed Felix’s hair and yanked his head up. The face revealed was badly bruised and discolored. The eyes were also somewhat glazed.
“What happened to him?” demanded Sammael.
Logan shrugged. “One of your boys who tried to get on our ship worked him over before we dealt with him. We’ve given him some painkillers."
Sammael let Felix’s head drop in disgust. He looked long and critically at the dazed man before shrugging. “Oh well. Gabriella’s got her man and the Overdrive so she can’t complain.”
“What about Tarquin?” asked Logan.
Sammael’s smile returned with a will. “Oh yes. If you follow me, I’ll take you right to him.”
He gestured for one of his Angels to take the Overdrive off Bruce. As the Angel reached for the Overdrive, Bruce growled menacingly, readying the device for use as a crude cudgel. Nervously, the Angel stopped, looking to Sammael for confirmation. Sammael looked at his fellow Angel and then back at Bruce again before relenting.
“Oh, let him keep it for now if it means so much to him. We’ll have it shortly anyway.”
He turned, gesturing for the others to follow and led the way down a corridor towards an AG lift. The others followed, Logan assisting a staggering Felix as they entered the lift capsule. It was cramped inside, the situation worsened by the uncomfortable silence as they completed the short journey to the bridge.
The doors opened to reveal a large chamber, dominated by a wall sized view screen filled with a confusing amount of glowing icons. Sammael, looking smug, indicated that they should be the first ones out.
“After you ladies," he said with a half bow.
The three men stepped out. Around them, Angels and Templars moved about in almost complete silence. Fully a third of the space was overshadowed by a mezzanine floor; Gabriella’s command deck.
She stood on the edge of it, holding on to the guard rail as she gazed down domineeringly upon her catch. From where the others stood, it seemed that she absolutely oozed glamour, sexual vitality and triumph. Others were affected by her mood as again, movement slowly ceased around the bridge. All eyes were on her and she loved it.
“At last," she exhaled quietly. “At last." With a last sigh of satisfaction, she addressed her visitors.
“Welcome gentlemen." The mighty ship shook again as another barrage of slipmissiles impacted against the hull. Gabriella seemed not to notice.
“I shall dispense with any more formalities. As you can see," she said with a sideways glance at the tactical screen, “time is short. Presently the Gitanians will bring enough firepower to bear that will be able to penetrate even this ship.”
The way she said penetrate made every male in the room hesitate, struggling against the uncalled for manly reflex in their trousers.
“Give me the Overdrive and the data," she demanded.
“First," said Logan, adjusting his groin in what he hoped was a subtle fashion, “Tarquin.”
“Ah yes. Of course.” She gestured to someone unseen and Tarquin appeared, supported by two hefty Angels who marched him down the stairs from the command deck.
Gabriella watched smilingly for a while as Tarquin made his way to his friends. Finally, she couldn’t help herself any longer. She giggled engagingly.
“Who am I kidding. Surely you guys knew you weren’t going to get off this ship alive?." She turned to Sammael. “Hold on to Felix. Kill the others.”
Fortunately, at exactly the same time as Gabriella uttered these fateful words, the ships Templar Captain, already under a great deal of stress, panicked upon seeing the size of the latest slipmissile barrage and attempted to override the AI using the manual controls. Two Angels made a jump for him and missed.
For a man of dubious mental stability, the Captain seemed remarkably adroit at wresting control of the ship from the AI. The ship tilted sideways dramatically as the Captain took manual control. Even Angels, caught unawares, struggled to keep their balance. With a prearranged signal, Logan and Bruce took advantage of the situation.
“Here, catch," said Bruce, tossing the Overdrive to an Angel 10 meters away. The Angel caught the device instinctively and looked pleased with himself for about half a second. Then it exploded, sending bits of Angel in every direction. Some of the command crew were thrown to the ground by the blast. Others, mostly Templars, got down in an effort not to be covered in Angelic remains.
Bruce grabbed the Angel next to him and broke his neck in one clean movement. Logan, using one of Sammael’s wings for leverage, brought the Angel close enough to place his index figure at Sammael’s temple.
“I have a biodart loaded into my finger. Move and I’ll use it; your fields will be no use to you at this range.” He gestured towards Tarquin. “Get over here." When the Angels holding Tarquin refused to budge, Logan pressed his finger harder into Sammael.
“Tell them to release him or your brain gets fried.” Sammael nodded at his men. Tarquin shook himself free and ran over to Logan and Bruce.
Meanwhile, a group of burly Angels had finally wrestled the Captain to the floor, enabling the AI to again take control of the ship. The damage had been done however. The Gitanians had taken advantage of the situation and were moving in for the kill. Another barrage of slipmissiles hit the ship, rocking it wildly.
Gabriella decided to take command of the situation. Activating her personal field, she extended her wings and leapt over the railing, landing only a few meters from the would be escapees. She reached out with her field as the three men bounded into the open lift, missing as the ship rocked violently again; upsetting her aim.
“Stop them," she screamed.
Sammael, in communication with the ship tried to order the lift to stop. “The lift is in autonomous mode; the ship still hasn’t regained control of all its minor functions yet.”
Gabriella, about to kill someone, finally noticed who was lying at her feet. She bent down, raising the almost comatose man to his feet.
“And who do we have here? Some friends eh? Left behind the most important one of all." She tilted the man’s head back revealing his bruised and damaged face.
The dazed man looked blearily at Gabriella. “Felix? Felix? Who’s Felix? Name’s Tynan. Yes, definitely. My names Tynan," he muttered before lapsing into unconsciousness again.
Gabriella let the man drop to the floor where she gave him a hearty kick. She turned to Sammael. “Find them Sammael. Find them now," she said in a voice that was eerily calm.
Scared witless, Sammael hastened to comply.
◊
Felix donned his vacuum suit and picked up a large plasma cannon that felt all too uncomfortable in his tool accustomed hands.
“Will you be alright here Walter?," he said addressing the former events organizer.
Walter stood before Ram Terry and the Shepherds holding a plasma cannon in one hand and an Afer in the other. For some strange reason, the man had suddenly taken to military hardware like a duck to water and looked far more competent than Felix felt.
“Don’t do this Felix," pleaded Ram Terry. “You’re handing the Overdrive to them on a plate.”
Felix nodded but he wasn’t really listening.
He had to find out where Crystal was. He’d seen the PDS station explode and had almost gone mad. His one hope was that she was on board Gabriella’s ship.
Ignoring further pleas from Ram Terry, he entered the airlock and ordered it to cycle. The airlock opened directly onto a corridor leading into the mammoth Valkyrie’s interior. A vacuum suit wasn’t really necessary but Felix considered it to be a wise investment.
He glanced around cautiously and then set off. He didn’t really know where he was going but that wasn’t important. What was important was finding Crystal.
He made a few turns down some long and strangely empty corridors, bracing himself occasionally as the ship rocked dramatically. A few more turns and he realized he was hopelessly lost. He tried to back track which confused him even further. Coming to a door, he pressed the open panel and revealed a room full of Templars playing cards. A few yelled in surprise when he pointed his plasma cannon at them.
“Where’s Crystal?” he demanded.
The Templars looked at each other in confusion. “Who?," one asked.
“Crystal. About this high," he said, holding his hand up to his neck, “long brown hair, green eyes, carries a sword. Come on you idiots; you must know who I’m talking about.”
He started to berate them further, pointing his plasma cannon in a threatening fashion. Wide eyed and rapidly loosing patience, he contemplated shooting one of them when he felt a large hand on his shoulder. He turned around, coming face to face, or rather face to chest with Sammael.
He looked up at the winged figure, desperately trying to bring his plasma cannon to bear. Sammael knocked it aside easily and grabbed Felix’s arms.
He smiled down at his captive. “The real Felix, I presume?”
Felix tried not to look scared. “No, no. The real Felix just ran off down the corridor. You can catch him if you hurry.”
Sammael grinned evilly. “Ah, humor. Can’t say I’ve been burdened with it myself. Come now," he said turning Felix around. “I have someone who desperately wants to meet with you.”
◊
“What’s our status?” demanded Asel.
The Nephillum before his command chair gave a short, perfunctory bow before answering.
“The Ion drive is now functional my Lord. Fields and weapon systems are not yet operational and it may be some time before they are.”
Asel tapped his fingers nervously. All the other ships in the vicinity were leaving them alone at the moment considering they posed no threat. If the ship were fully repaired, the Gitanians would probably consider them a threat again, taking the predictable actions. Probably a blessing in disguise.
“How long?” he asked finally.
“About two hours, my Lord.”
Asel nodded his head thoughtfully. He waved his fingers at the Nephillum, dismissing him and watched dispassionately as the man gave another short bow and departed.
Now that he had the Ion drive functioning, options were starting to open up. According to the reports coming in, Gabriella was under heavy attack. She had intercepted the small yacht and was currently docked with it. Asel’s hunch that the Overdrive was contained within the small ship was probably right. Even now, Gabriella was probably in possession of it.
Dirty backstabbing bitch. His father had finally told him that he had made a deal with Gabriella; his help in exchange for a share of the information. It seems she had reneged on the deal.
Once again, he had to play a waiting game. He’d made a mistake by entering the game too early and almost paid the ultimate price. He’d also misjudged Gabriella once; he wouldn’t do it again.
◊
Logan, Tarquin and Bruce entered the airlock, cycled it and hurried into the lounge of the Puritan. Logan sealed the door as Tarquin made his way to the small bridge.
In the corner, Walter still had Ram Terry and the Shepherds under guard. He turned and eyed Logan quizzically.
“How did it go?”
Logan smiled, reaching out a hand to steady himself as the ship rocked.
“Without a hitch. That bully boy Sammael believed Tynan was Felix and that bomb we rigged up to be the Overdrive. Got Tarquin out safely. He’s prepping the ship now. If the Gitanians keep up the bombardment on Gabriella, we might just be able to slip out of here without anyone being the wiser.”
“Did you see Felix anywhere in your travels?," enquired Walter innocently.
Logan gave a start. “What did you just say?”
“I said…”
“I know what you said. Why did Felix leave the ship?”
Walter shrugged helplessly. “He went to rescue Crystal.”
Logan looked around the lounge despairingly. “But we don’t even know she’s on the ship in the first place."
Ram Terry spoke for the first time since the three had come back to the ship. “I know that and you know that but I think Felix is thinking with his heart at the moment.”
Logan spared the sheep a withering glance. “Thanks for that genius."
“I’d say its a given that he is now in the hands of Gabriella," put in Bruce.
“Look," said Logan. “Has anyone got anything positive to say?”
“I haven’t," yelled Tarquin from the bridge. “I’ve got a slipmissile aiming right for us. Have to launch now." Even the AG compensators weren’t quite prepared for the acceleration. Most of the occupants in the lounge area were thrown to the floor as the Puritan leapt away from the huge Valkyrie. Gases leaked out of the rent in the Valkyrie’s side where the airlock was ripped out.
Three seconds after their hasty departure, a slipmissile slammed into the spot just vacated. More gases and plasma boiled out into the vacuum as a huge rift was opened up in the Valkyrie's hull. Under normal circumstances, the slipmissile would have never penetrated. Unfortunately, with the sudden departure of the Puritan, a small breach was created in the Valkyrie's field coverage.
Behind them, the massive ship rolled, trying to cover its Achilles heel from more attacks. Moments later, the AG compensators on board the Puritan finally came on line. To those within the tiny ship, it seemed significantly longer as they picked themselves tenderly off the floor.
Walter heaved a sigh of relief as normal gravity returned. His weapons had fallen from his grasp during the brief time he had been smashed by the immense surge of gravity. He groped for these as he staggered to his feet, only to find that they were no longer where they had fallen. He looked up. All four Shepherds surrounded him, two of them cradling his misplaced weapons. Behind them stood Ram Terry, looking to Walter’s eye a bit regretful.
“Logan, Tarquin," he said quietly. “Turn the ship around. We’re going back.”
Logan got to his feet and eyed the Holy Ram seriously. “You’ll get no complaints from me on that front, however, just for the record, I reckon this is a bit of suicide mission.”
Ram Terry nodded sadly. “For you, no. For Felix, yes.”
Logan froze. “What do you mean?”
Ram Terry took a long breath before answering. “In order to safeguard the Overdrive, I had one of my men install a tiny explosive device within Felix’s AI. We have to get closer for me to fire the detonation code at it.”
“What!” exploded Logan. He took a step towards the Shepherds and Ram Terry.
“I can’t afford for the likes of Gabriella to get their hands on this technology. They would gain control of the galaxy. Small religious groups like ours would never survive.” He looked at Logan shamefacedly. “I don’t like it anymore than you do Logan. However, I have no choice. I have to sacrifice Felix to save the galaxy.”
“Oh yes,” snarled Logan. “You’re so pure. Always taking the moral high ground and talking of sacrifices that you personally never have to make. I’ve met countless people like you in my line of work. They often go around, blowing up things, killing innocents and talking of ‘higher purposes’ and the ‘cause’. Well fuck you, Ram Terry. Felix is not going to be one of your innocents.”
Logan readied his
biodart and prepared to charge. The two Shepherds holding the weapons sensed as much and moved protectively in front of Ram Terry.
Just as he was about to spring, an explosion rocked the ship. Outside, in the vacuum of space, a rogue slipmissile appeared and launched itself at the Puritan. It struck the outer field and exploded through, ripping a hole in the superstructure of the ship itself.
The hull breach occurred directly behind Ram Terry. Before he could erect his personal field, he was sucked out of the rift along with his four screaming Shepherds. Seeing this, Logan, Walter and Bruce grabbed a corner of a couch before they too were sucked out. Moments later, Tarquin brought the fields back on line, sealing the breach.
Logan got cautiously to his feet. Beyond the glowing blue of the ship’s field, he could look directly out into space through the hole in the ship’s hull.
The Shepherds and Ram Terry were gone.
Chapter Twelve
Through the tactical screen of the Sweet Bejesus, Asel watched as the giant Valkyrie disappeared into Nospace. In its wake drifted the wreckage of three class 1 Frigates, discovering too late that getting between Gabriella and her goal constituted extreme stupidity.
Instinctively he knew where she was going. Using her affinity with a Shiva, she was taking the direct route to her home planet; sixth heaven, Makon. He could feel her manipulating the giant beast that controlled the space lane, cajoling and appeasing the guardian of the quickest route between the two planets.
The rift in real space disappeared and with it the sense of connection with both Gabriella and the Shiva. He turned his attention to other matters. What remained of the Gitanian space navy was now largely involved in rescue missions, picking up survivors and requesting assistance from other ships in the volume; requests which Asel for various reasons ignored.
After the small yacht had presumably been allowed to escape, the Valkyrie wasted little time doing likewise. The Blazing Trumpet had taken decisive action, blasting away through the enveloping frigates and clearing a space for the jump into Nospace, barely making the 300km minimum distance before opening a rift.
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