Chapter 16
Kim watched from the safety of the crew lounge. It was a small room with comfortable chairs and a cooler for drinks, located just beside the bridge. Kim had never been in the room. She guessed, when the Kestrel class ship had a full crew of ten people, the officers needed a place to get away from it all. At the moment, she and Nance were hiding inside while the freedom fighters waited to pounce on anyone coming up the stairs.
“What do you think is going on down in the cargo bay?” Nance asked.
“I don’t know,” Kim replied.
“I wish I could have stayed at my console. I could have used the security cameras to see what was happening.”
They had seen everything using the ship’s exterior cameras and security feeds. They knew Magnum had been ambushed, and immediately alerted the freedom fighters on the upper deck. Kim saw the brute break Ben’s arm. They couldn’t hear what was happening outside, but it was obvious that they weren’t taking it easy on him.
Liachov had descended from the upper deck with a plan of action. The first component of which was to get Kim and Nance out of harm’s way. Kim wanted to help fight the outlaws, but the strong-willed lieutenant had insisted they stay out of it, telling her that the last thing they could afford was gunplay. Kim understood and kept her laser pistol in its holster, but she knew that if the freedom fighters failed to stop the outlaws, she was going down fighting. There was no way she would surrender her ship, and her body or friends, to the outlaws. Better to die than to face the horrors of being prisoners of men with no qualms about raping or killing.
The first pair of outlaws appeared, and Kim expected the freedom fighters to pounce, but the men kept climbing the stairs and the soldiers let them go. The outlaws made their way toward the upper deck as a second set of criminals emerged from below. They split up, going toward the cabins. Sergeant Ike was the first into the fight. He jumped from his hiding spot behind the consoles on the bridge and raced toward the outlaw who was passing right in front of the crew lounge to check the crew quarters. Ike had a knife the size of a small sword, and he used all his weight, strength, and momentum to ram the weapon all the way through the outlaw’s body. The blade burst out the front of the outlaw’s space suit, dripping blood and wedging into the door of Ben’s quarters. On the other side of the atrium, more soldiers were attacking the second outlaw. They also used knives, stabbing him repeatedly.
On the stairs, the first pair of outlaws heard the sound of a gun going off down on the lower deck and came rushing back down the stairs. To Kim, the sound was eerie, as the report reverberated through the ship like the keening of a death’s bell.
Two more soldiers emerged, this time with laser pistols that fired bright green bursts. Kim saw the outlaws on the stairs suddenly stop their descent as their bodies spasmed. Every muscle suddenly flexed involuntarily as green electrical current raced over and through them. They toppled like trees, their bodies stiff from the stun charges in the soldiers’ laser pistols. They fell with sickening thumps on the metal stairs and bounced down to the landing, their assault rifles clattering noisily on the stairs.
Kim couldn’t take hiding another second. She came dashing out of the crew lounge as the soldiers fired their laser pistols point blank into the fallen outlaws’ heads.
“That’ll do it,” Ike said. “Where are you going?”
Kim raced past him just as Magnum came bounding up the stairs. One of the soldiers raised his pistol and took aim, but Ike stopped him short of firing at the big man.
“Hold your fire,” Ike bellowed.
Kim was at the railing and saw the dead outlaws, but she only had eyes for Ben. He was sitting on a crate, holding his arm to his chest, and watching the air lock. Lieutenant Liachov and Corporal Beck were on either side of the air lock with assault rifles held ready.
The lieutenant saw Kim, made a sound for quiet, and held up one finger. Then she pointed at the air lock.
“There’s one more outside,” Kim said. “The lieutenant needs help.”
“Go, I’m fine,” Nance said. “I’ll bring up the exterior feeds.”
“Help him,” Ike said to the other soldiers. “I’ll stay up here and coordinate.”
Nance had shut down the camera feeds before leaving her station. She hadn’t killed the computer system, but she did lock it out, just in case the outlaws were successful. Kim respected her savvy and wit in the face of the unexpected and followed the computer expert to her station. Nance typed in a long security code, but once she hit enter, the system unlocked immediately and camera feeds came back online. The exterior shot was on the big main display.
“He’s moving the crates back toward the ship,” Ike said over his com-link. “Looks like he’s planning to load them in the air lock.”
“Roger that,” Liachov said. “I think we should wait until he gets everything inside, then let him come back in. We’ll take him captive once he’s back in the ship.”
“She better move the bodies, then,” Kim said. “If he looks through the portal, he might see them.”
“Move the bodies, Lieutenant,” Sergeant Ike said.
“Already on it,” Liachov said.
“He’s opening the air lock,” Nance announced, her voice calm as ever.
Kim had no doubt they would survive. One outlaw against the entire ship made that a foregone conclusion, but she was still rattled. Had she been at the controls, flying the ship through untold dangers, she would have been fine, but being stuffed in the crew lounge to wait and see what happened had wreaked havoc on her nerves. Not to mention there was still an element of danger. Someone could still be hurt, and Ben was already hurt. Kim wanted to run to him, but she knew she needed to stay close to the ship’s controls.
“He’s loading the second crate,” Nance said.
“How many more?” Liachov asked.
“Two more, LT,” Ike said.
They watched the man struggle with the heavy loads. When the fourth crate was shoved into the air lock, the man climbed in on top of it. He wasn’t armed, and obviously expected no trouble.
“He’s coming in,” Nance said.
“We have him,” Liachov said. “Stand by.”
Kim could hardly breathe as the air lock pressurized, and finally the door slid open. The outlaw came crawling out, only to have four weapons pointed at him. He surrendered immediately, and the freedom fighters pulled off his helmet, bound his hands behind him, and marched him up the stairs.
As soon as the outlaw was safely bound, Magnum helped Ben up the stairs. Kim met them halfway and led Ben to the sick bay. None of the medical equipment worked, but they had a splint.
“We need to get you to a doctor,” Kim said.
“What for,” Ben said, his face red and sweaty from the pain. “It’s a broken arm. We splint it and go on.”
“It might need to be set,” Kim said. “You could lose dexterity and strength if it isn’t properly seen to. Do you want to be crippled?”
“She’s right,” Magnum said.
“Okay, okay,” Ben said.
They placed the plastic split on his arm, which was already swollen, and wrapped it in gauze. Magnum got the sling he had worn and helped Ben get his arm situated as comfortably as possible.
“Time to get off this rock and out of this system,” Kim said. “When we get back to Brimex, I’m kicking that little twerp Webb right where it counts.”
They didn’t have pain medication, and Kim could see that Ben was hurting. She tried to get him to go to his cabin and rest, but he insisted on being at his station on the bridge. She got him situated, then dropped into the pilot’s seat.
“Is there any reason why we shouldn’t leave right now?” Kim asked.
“Negative,” Magnum said.
“We’re questioning the prisoner,” Liachov said as she approached Ben. “He’s talking. There’s no one else alive on the moon.”
“Good,” Ben said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Are you
okay?” Liachov asked.
Kim could hear the compassion in the lieutenant’s voice. She wanted to punch the woman in the face and scream that of course Ben wasn’t okay, but she decided to play nice. Liachov had her shot, and Ben turned her down. That was good enough in Kim’s book.
“I’ll be fine,” Ben said.
“Engaging the main drive,” Kim said.
“All systems green,” Nance announced.
“Goodbye and good riddance,” Kim said. “Here we go.”
She pressed both pedals forward, rotating the wing engines so they pointed straight down. She moved the main drive thrust to lift them straight up, then pressed the throttle forward. There was no need to shoot up like a rocket, so she brought them up slowly.
“Passing five hundred feet,” Nance said. “Lunar gravity is waning.”
“That didn’t take long,” Kim said.
“Surprising,” Ben said, his voice raspy. “It felt twice as heavy outside our artificial gravity well.”
“Perhaps they had their own gravity device,” Liachov said. “It might have been damaged when their hanger was destroyed.”
“How was their hanger destroyed?” Kim asked, as she pressed her heels down and changed the ship’s trajectory. It went from rising straight up to flying forward, rising higher and higher above the moon.
“Fleet bombardment,” Ben said. “They were discovered before we arrived.”
“They were pirates,” Liachov said. “They planned to use the weapons to attack the gas ships hauling precious resources from the mining operation.”
“I’ll bet they had a gravity interdictor,” Kim said. “That’s what was screwing with their gravity. It must have been activated somehow when their facility was bombed.”
“Which means it was working on battery power,” Nance said.
“Holy crap,” Kim said. “When were they attacked?”
“I don’t know,” Liachov said.
“It couldn’t have been that long ago,” Nance said.
“We have to get out of here now,” Kim said. “Give me a jump point.”
“Working on it,” Nance said.
“Pick up visual scanning,” Kim said.
“No,” Ben said. “Use the radar. If they know we’re here, then we have to know where they are.”
“Initiating,” Nance said.
“You should raise your shields,” Liachov said.
“No,” Kim replied. “Not yet. Leave the engines with full power until we know we’re in trouble.”
“Two ships, coming in around the moon on course 3-1-8,” Nance said.
“Where’s the jump point?” Kim snapped.
“The nav computer is almost ready,” Nance said.
“Blasted machine,” Kim said. “Well, this should be fun.”
“Raise the shields?” Liachov suggested again.
“Not yet, those Imperium pukes have to catch us first, and I’ve got a surprise for them.
She turned the ship into a steep dive back toward the moon.
“What’s she doing?” Liachov asked, unable to keep the worry from her voice.
“Trust her,” Ben said. “It’s what she does best.”
Kim felt a surge of pride as the rocky surface of the moon loomed closer and closer, filling the wide camera feed on the main display screen. With less than twenty meters from impact, she pulled up, skimming the surface of the moon, kicking up dust from the ship’s engine exhaust.
“Yeah, baby!” Kim shouted.
“This is madness,” Rena said with a note of desperation in her voice. “We can’t maneuver this close to the surface.”
“True,” Ben said. “But the moon’s gravity is speeding us along.”
“And the curve of the planet is hiding us from the pursuing ships,” Nance said. “We can’t outrun them, or escape their radar, but for the moment we’re safe.”
“Unless they split up,” Kim said. “Where’s my jump point?”
“On the board,” Nance said.
“That’s on the other side of the moon,” Rena said with alarm.
“Want me to recalculate?” Nance asked.
“No, that’s perfect,” Kim said. “Ben, give me all she’s got.”
“I’m on it,” Ben said. “Rerouting power now.”
Kim felt the surge from the engines. The moon was a gray blur beneath them. With no objects to avoid, Kim kept an eye on the plot, which showed the jump point at the end of a long line. Her other eye was on the radar that showed their pursuers continuing the chase. Kim didn’t know Imperium tactics. Perhaps they were required to stay together for safety, but they continued the chase rather than splitting up to box her in.
“We’re running hot,” Ben said.
“Just a little longer,” Kim said.
They had matched the speed of the Imperium fighters. If they could keep it up, she planned to slingshot away from the planet toward the jump point.
Suddenly an alarm blared. Kim felt the ship slow, even though she knew that was impossible with their artificial gravity. The ship began to turn on her central vertical axis. Kim compensated to keep them from flipping or spinning out of control. It felt like she was wrestling a four-armed monster.
“We’ve lost the port wing engine,” Ben said. “Must have blown a gasket.”
“The fighters are gaining on us again,” Nance said.
“Bring up the shields,” Kim said.
She wanted to shut down the starboard wing engine, but knew that doing so would slow them down even more. They needed every bit of speed she could coax from the engines.
“Shields up,” Magnum said.
“Make sure they’re angled for maximum deflection,” Ben said. “A direct hit could knock us into the surface of the moon at this distance.”
Kim knew she needed to pull up, to give herself room just in case they were hit or she somehow lost control of the ship. They were less than thirty yards from the surface of the moon, and at that distance, they could crash in a split second if she didn’t hold them steady. On the other hand, if they gained altitude, they would be in range of the Imperium lasers.
“Why not make a run for the planet?” Rena Liachov suggested. “The Imperium fighters can’t follow us there.”
“That might give us time to lose them,” Ben said. “Maybe even make repairs.”
“The Imperium forces could bomb us from orbit,” Nance said. “Not to mention that planet is raining sulfuric acid and the surface is hot enough to melt lead.”
“So the planet isn’t an option,” Ben said. “What else can we do?”
“We can fight back,” Kim said. “Hold on.”
It wasn’t necessary for anyone to hold on as she brought the ship shooting away from the moon. The fighters fired at the Echo, but they were too slow. Kim flipped the port engine, still fighting the controls, but letting their jerky motions help her avoid the enemy fire of the Imperium fighters.
“Bring up the lasers,” Kim said. “How are we on power, Ben?”
“Shutting down life support,” he said in a tense voice as his hands flew over his controls. “We should be good.”
Kim switched her display to the rear cameras and saw the tactical overlay appear on her console’s main monitor. The reticle appeared as she slung the ship hard to starboard. Laser fire from the fighters flashed past them but without success. Kim fired back, missing the fighters, but causing them to spread apart to avoid her return fire.
“We’re one minute from the jump point at this speed,” Nance said.
“Come on, baby,” Kim said. “We got this.”
A barrage of laser fire came close enough that a few blasts ricocheted off their rear deflector shields. More alarms sounded, and Kim could hear Ben breathing hard behind her. She pulled up, firing a quick burst aimed at one of the fighter’s path.
“You hit one!” Magnum said.
“It’s still flying,” Nance said. “But it slowed down.”
Kim saw the fighter she’d hit l
osing speed. The distance between them was finally growing. It was impossible to tell if the shot had damaged the fighter, or if the pilot was merely wary of her fighting skills. The truth was, it didn’t matter. She still had a fighter closing in on her and time was running out.
“Forty seconds to jump point,” Nance said.
“I’m routing power from the auxiliary batteries to the shields,” Ben said.
Kim saw their speed increase, which made holding the hobbling ship on course even more difficult. The second fighter was moving wide, preparing to take a shot. Kim knew she had to move directly into the fighter’s line of fire to reach the jump point. She had been forced to engage the hyperdrive outside the jump point before and they nearly ended up too close to a star to escape the heat and gravity it produced. That wasn’t an option—she would make the jump point.
Another dive took them slightly off course. Kim waited for the fighter to adjust to her new trajectory, then spiraled upward. The Imperium craft lit up space with a long blast of laser power that had to have overheated the ship’s system. Kim had no idea how small short-range fighters could produce so much power. She juked, trying to avoid the blazing laser fire, and was almost successful, but without her second wing engine, the Echo was sluggish and slow. A wave of laser fire impacted the shields, overcharging the system and shutting it down. The energy from the impact sent them tumbling through space.
“Shields are gone,” Magnum said.
The artificial gravity held and the crew didn’t feel the impact, but the images from the exterior cameras were spinning.
“You’re off course,” Nance said.
“I know it,” Kim replied tersely as she fought to regain control of the ship.
“The planet’s getting awfully close,” Rena said.
Kim ignored the lieutenant. She was fighting the ship’s momentum and feared what the fighter was doing. Everyone on the bridge fell silent. Kim felt sweat springing up on her back and in her hair. If she didn’t get control, they might get pulled into the planet’s atmosphere, and the fighter was still out there. She had to do something, but the thrusters weren’t strong enough to correct the tumble.
Jump Point: Kestrel Class Saga Book 2 Page 11