“Friends then?” Bulco asked with a surprisingly tender voice.
The young man sniffed once more and nodded. “Some, but I wouldn’t know where to look for them. Nori’s right, the … the best thing we can do for them is to continue with our mission.”
“That’s the spirit,” Bulco said approvingly.
Nori looked at him with a slight frown. “And what do you have to report?”
“All done, Captain,” he said brightly. “The new drive is installed, and all the test simulations check out. We should take her out for a spin, make sure all systems work properly in flight.”
“So, your adjustment will work?”
“It should. I’m almost a hundred percent sure we won’t explode,” the Engineer answered with a straight face.
“What?” Lana stared at him.
“Don’t worry, kid. It will work. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“And what if it doesn’t?”
“Then you really won’t have anything to worry about.” He flashed her a toothy grin.
Lana glared at him for a long moment before turning back to the Navigator. “I also have a piece of news. I took advantage of our downtime to dig deeper into the ship’s data banks. Looks like there was a lot of information still stored in there that I couldn't access before. I’m guessing that my new Admin path and sensor implant were needed to allow me to finally get in there. I’ve only studied it for a couple of hours, but I’ve learned a lot.”
“Like what?” Nori asked, trying to maintain a businesslike tone, but the Expert could see it was just a facade. The brave Navigator was still pretty shaken up.
Lana looked at her compassionately. “I now have access to all the navigational data,” she said trying to sound businesslike. “There are about a dozen marked destinations, all in the vicinity of Hammerhead station. Looks like the freighter used to work in one star system only - before coming here, that is.” Lana paused for her words to take effect, then she smiled. “And I’ve also cracked the captain’s personal log. I now know what happened to them.”
Bulco and Nori looked up at her with a start, then at each other.
Lana smiled. “So the captain received a commission to infuse Earth with piTec. They closed the deal and received the shipment - a container with a hundred million piTec in aerosol form - on Hammerhead station.” She raised her hand as Bulco opened his mouth. “And no, it doesn’t say who hired them, the logs just refer to him as ‘the source’. Anyway, they were supposed to receive a payment of fifty thousand piTec for the job, but the crew had other ideas.”
“Let me guess,” Bulco grumbled. “They got greedy.”
Lana nodded. “The captain’s log says that two members of his crew of six approached him to try and convince him to take a small part of the piTec they were carrying. He refused, mostly because he was too afraid of their employer. There’s a note there indicating he had knowledge of them working with Kordlin mercenaries, and he didn’t want to get in trouble with them. That was his last entry.”
Bulco frowned. “It still doesn’t tell us the whole story.”
“No,” Lana agreed. “But I checked the sensors’ history as well - I can do that now by the way - and compared their timestamp with the captain's last log. A few hours later, four packs of biomass were ejected into space. I think it’s safe to assume that the two crooked crew members killed the other four. From there it gets a little weird. As far as I can tell, they just stayed put in an orbit around the Earth. There was a long time gap in the data, then, about a month ago, a single escape pod was launched. I’m guessing that after being stuck together for a few months the two bad apples had a fight and one of them escaped.”
Nori shot Bulco a piercing glance. The Engineer ignored her.
Lana continued. “The weirdness continued as, for some reason, the remaining crew member decided to stick around.
“That’s weird,” Bulco said. “Why didn’t he just take off?”
“Maybe he wasn’t a pilot?” Nori said gruffly.
Lana shrugged. “Could be, the logs don’t say. Anyway, the ship remained in low orbit for about a month, then a huge power surge was recorded coming from the null tunnel drive. Several minutes after that, the ship was suddenly hit with an energy pulse that jumbled its systems and it was forced to crash land on Earth.“
“I think I understand what happened,” Bulco said. “I’m betting Nori was right and the surviving member didn’t have the right Path to fly the ship. Sounds to me like he tried to override the engine’s controls and that caused a power surge that fried ‘em up. The energy signature also probably gave away their location.”
“And we know what happened next,” Nori picked up the story. “They were shot down by a Kordlin ship - which fits what the captain knew about his employer - and they took off with the canister containing the remaining piTec.”
“Yes, but I still wonder about the escape pod.” Lana looked at Bulco with a sudden realization. “Hey, maybe that was the alien wreck you mentioned. But you didn’t find a body? One of the mutineers should have been on board.”
Bulco stared directly at Nori as he said. “No. No body.”
“Hmm, I guess the Warped must have gotten to him first then.”
“So now we know what happened,” Nori said. “Good job, Lana.”
The dark-haired woman smirked at her. “Hey, I’m the Expert. It’s what I do.”
“I think it's about time we get going,” Bulco said. “Come on, Captain, let’s take her out for a spin.”
They walked together into the bridge, meeting Cattie. Nori took her place, and the pilot’s seat rose to envelop her snugly.
Cattie shook her head admiringly. “So cool.”
Nathan smiled shyly at her and gestured toward the main viewscreen. The display changed to show Unity’s exterior. The hull looked rough with an uneven thickness to it. A message flashed across the screen.
Basic plating upgrade: 100%
A ripple ran through the splotchy hull. The shifting bits of plating building-blocks settled down onto one another, coming together into a singular, smooth surface.
Basic plating upgrade: Completed
“Oh, wow, she looks so sleek,” Lana said with admiration.
Nori smiled. “Let’s see if she handles as well as she looks.”
Unity’s thrusters hummed to life as the Navigator brought them online, and a moment later, they were speeding upward into the sky.
The Navigator checked her personal side monitors. “Everything looks fine. Thrusters, helms, inertial dampeners - all green.”
“Looks good on my end too,” the Engineer said. “You know, aside from the compromised life support, ruptured conduits, and other minor damage we sustained. On the bright side, the new armor plating stabilized our structural integrity somewhat and the new drive engine responds well to our control systems.”
“We should queue in a new upgrade,” Lana commented. “We still have ten tons of Trinium and thirty-one tons of Balatium on board.” She glanced at her holo-monitor. “Oh, and a hundred twenty kilos of Mithril.”
“We should rebuild the cannon, first,” Bulco said immediately.
Nori nodded. “I agree.”
She pressed a few keys on her console. “Done. It should be finished shortly. After that, we ought to reconfigure the internal structure. We need an armory.”
“Yes,” Cattie agreed feverishly.
Lana frowned. “If we’re talking internal space allocation, we should really assign some for a science lab and fill it with sciency equipment.”
Cattie arched her brow. “Sciency?”
“What?” Lana said defensively. “It’s a word. I think. We could also use a separate mess hall and bathrooms. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not thrilled about doing all those things in the same space we all sleep.”
“We can do that,” Nori said. She studied her consoles. “Everything checks out. Do we have anything else we need to do before we h
ead out into space?”
“I took care of supplies,” Bulco said. “We should be good for several months.”
“I think we’re good to go,” Lana said nervously.
“Locked and loaded,” Cattie declared, grinning.
Nori looked at Nathan questioningly. The young man held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I’m ready.”
“Alright,” the Navigator said. “Let’s take her out for a spin.”
23 – Pit Stop
A low thud ran through the ship as Unity docked at the space station.
The Navigator made a final pass over her holo monitors and got up. Her snug chair melted away, disappearing into the floor. “Come on, Cattie, I’ll show you around.”
“A tour on an alien space station? Awesome!” the Sharpshooter said, strapping a large automatic shotgun on her back.
“Maybe you should leave your gun on the ship,” Lana said. “We don’t want you accidentally shooting Alzigo—he’s the owner.”
The sharpshooter frowned. “Why would I shoot him?”
“You’ll see.”
“I’m going to use the station’s auto repair service,” Bulco grunted.
“And I’m going to settle our loan with Alzigo,” Lana said.
Nathan glanced at the ship’s large front viewscreen and twitched a finger. A message flashed across the screen.
Asteroid Cannon upgrade: 45%
“I’m staying,” he said simply. With a thought, the pod he was using as a chair closed up, sealing him in Unity’s peaceful embrace.
***
The four members stepped through the docking bay corridor that connected to the main docking tube. Bulco stayed behind, letting the three women pass, then he accessed a holographic terminal mounted on the wall. A ‘scanning’ message appeared, blinking for several seconds before it was replaced by new lines.
Scan results:
Life Support: overload detected. Fix: 12,000
Structural integrity compromised. Fix: 26,000 piTec
Internal damage: Fix: 9,000 piTec
With a grunt, he approved all items and then paused when he noticed that one of the small menus on the side was for styling. He smiled to himself, clicked the console for several moments, then deposited the crystallized, teardrop-shaped piTec into a small port.
Through the windows mounted on the sides of the corridor, he could see several long robotic arms disengage from the sides of the space station. A blue bubble of pure force appeared surrounding their ship, then the arms passed on through and started working, opening panels, dipping deep into the ship’s interior, removing components and replacing them with new ones. It was a fascinating show.
After several minutes, the Engineer glanced at the console.
Work progress:
Life Support: 3%
Structural Integrity: 1%
Internal damage: 5%
They had some time to kill.
Shrugging, the large man reentered the freighter. Watching the automatic repair system from up close was a learning opportunity he didn’t intend to miss.
***
“Holy crap!” Cattie’s eyes were wide as saucers. “This place is huge.”
Nori led her and Lana through the docking bay that opened into the main docking tube. Dozens of doors, just like the one they just passed through, appeared on the sides of the corridor.
“I know, right?” Lana smiled at her. “I couldn’t believe it myself the first time I was here.”
“First time?” the Sharpshooter arced an eyebrow at her. “How many times have you been up here.”
Lana raised her brow at Nori. “Three times?”
The Navigator nodded. “This will be our fourth.”
“Damn, you girls are veritable veteran space adventurers.”
They took to the left, reaching the large vault door that led to the station’s main deck. The doors opened, revealing a vast open space, and one tall alien.
Cattie paled at the sight of the nightmarish creature and took a step back, her hand automatically reaching for her empty holster. The creature looked at her and his jaws opened threateningly, a deep ominous rattling sound came out of it.
Nori put her hand on the alarmed woman. “Take it easy. This is Alzigo, he’s the station owner, and he just greeted you.”
“That …” Cattie gulped as she looked up at the gaunt creature. “That was a greeting?”
“Yes. He’s going to inject you with a language pack that will allow you to understand him, so stand still.”
The woman looked nervously up and down the formidable looking alien. “You’re sure? This is not some sort of body snatcher type of thing, where you’re all just in thrall to aliens and are about to infest me?”
“She has discovered our secret,” Lana said with a metallic, robot-like voice. “Annihilate! Annihilate!”
Cattie screamed, grabbed Nori’s hand still on her shoulder and twisted it, forcing the taller woman to her knees. “You won’t get me, motherfuckers!”
“Damn it, Lana!” Nori shouted. The tall Navigator twisted her body, easily escaping the hold. Her legs flashed, one planted firmly on the floor, the other snaking behind the Sharpshooter's knees. She shoulder checked the woman’s stomach, forcing her to topple backward where Nori held her on a propped-up knee. “Calm down, Cattie, she was only joking.”
However, panic took over and the woman struggled to break free.
Nori strained to hold her down. “Just inject her Alzigo, then she’ll calm down.”
The tall alien reached out toward the panicked woman. A proboscis-like metal tube extended from his wrist and plugged into a port that opened at her neck. “Please calm down, Miss,” he said.
Cattie went limp in Nori’s grasp. “Did he just talk to me?”
Nori helped her back on her feet. “Yes, just like we promised.” She shot Lana a disapproving glance.
The younger woman couldn’t hide her grin. “Sorry, it was only a joke.”
“A very poor one.”
Cattie looked at the still smirking Lana then grinned broadly at her. “Keep an eye out; I’ll get you back eventually.”
“Alzigo, this is Cattie, our newest crew member,” Nori said. “This is her first time in space, so I thought I’d show her around.”
“By all means—my station is your station.”
“Thanks,” Cattie said lamely. “Hey, how is it we’re all breathing the same air?”
Lana frowned. “That’s actually a really good question.”
“The Tec, of course,” the tall alien replied simply. “As long as the air composition contains all the elements required by your biology, you’ll be able to breathe.”
“Handy,” the Sharpshooter noted.
“We’d also like to settle our debt,” Lana said.
“Of course. Shall we reconvene in the lounge area?”
“Sure.”
The young Expert and the tall alien left the other two women heading toward the huge window overlooking the Earth.
Nori turned to the still bewildered woman. “So, now that you’ve had your first encounter with an alien, how about an artichoke?”
***
Alone on the bridge, Nathan’s pod opened up and the young man stepped out, his brow arched in a frown.
For a while now he sensed something weird from the ship. A sort of unexplained yearning.
Following his instincts, he stepped into the small storage room beside the engine room and his eyes were instantly drawn to one of the closed compartments. Whatever was in there, Unity wanted it.
A warm white light greeted him when he opened the compartment. The essence core they had taken from the Broodmother sat inside an open box. Glowing with its mysterious light.
From this up close, the young Technomancer could feel a strange vibe coming from the item. It was similar to the way the Tec felt, but different somehow. More refined.
The gentle yearning pull grew stronger and a host of other emotions shouted
through their connection.
Eagerness. Longing. Need.
The Technomancer closed his eyes and surrendered himself to the feeling. A series of images flashed in his mind. He opened his eyes with a small pleased smile.
“I understand.”
He picked up the glowing essence core and returned to the bridge.
Standing at the center of the bridge he raised his hand and a single pylon grew up toward it.
“You share my soul,” he said plainly. “But it’s time you had a mind as well.”
He released his grip, letting go of the core.
Instead of falling on top of the raised column, the glowing orb remained hovering just above it.
Then it started rotating.
Crackling bolts of purple energy grew around the pylon and shot off at the rotating sphere. Purplish cracks started crawling over it, quickly spreading to cover the entire surface, until all that remained was a partly transparent, purple sphere of energy. The pylon retracted back into the floor, leaving the spinning item, flying in the air.
The orb pulsed once and a soft woman’s voice came from it.
“Thank you, Nathan.”
***
Lana followed Alzigo to the lounge area. She sat on a cushy divan while her host took a tall bar stool.
“I trust the ammunition I supplied was adequate for your purpose?” he asked politely.
“Oh, yeah.” Lana smiled at him. “They worked like a charm; we got rid of all the Warped in the area.” Her face suddenly fell. “There were a lot of casualties, but we wouldn’t have stood a chance without them.”
Alzigo nodded gravely. “It is impressive that such primitive ammunition was capable of subduing a Broodmother. I assume the reward was quite bountiful, seeing you and Nori have both gained two levels since the last time I saw you.”
Lana nodded. “It was. We have the piTec to repay our loan. I also need to buy another communication implant.”
Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1) Page 36