Jump Point: Kestrel Class Saga Book 2

by Toby Neighbors

  “It’s too late,” Liachov said. “Even the cruiser has to be snared.”

  “How did the scout ship get away?” Ben said.

  “It didn’t, it’s still there,” Beck said.

  “I mean the first time,” Ben said. “It had to go back and report our position.”

  “It must have been much farther out when it spotted us,” Liachov said. “But the cruiser wanted to come in right on top of our position.”

  Kim wanted to cheer. She wanted to watch the swarm of enemy fighters clawing to escape the black hole, only to fail and die. But her focus remained on her task. She alone could get them through the danger. And she knew from experience racing kite gliders through the narrow canyons on Torrent Four that even a single momentary lapse in concentration could cost them everything.

  The tunnel was narrowing, and the gravitational force around them was growing stronger and stronger. Occasionally she bumped into them and the ship twisted. For a while they were pulled backward, but no matter what the gravitational currents threw at her, she took it calmly. To overreact would mean certain death. Sweat dripped down from her forehead, and she could feel the back of her shirt growing damp. But there was no need to open her eyes, no distraction that could make her release the controls.

  A flash of light surprised her. Even with her eyes closed, she could sense flashes as the light seeped through her thin eyelids. She heard the intake of breath that accompanied the flash, and without a word being spoken, Kim knew one of the Imperium ships had been destroyed.

  “It must have blown its engine,” Ben said.

  “Did you see how the light was bent?” Liachov said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “They’re in the strongest part of the gravity well,” Ben said. “It’s human nature to try and move away from the black hole, but in fact the safest place is in the center of the gravity well.”

  “It’s crushing them,” Beck said. “They look like crumpled aluminum cans.”

  “What if they hit us?” Liachov asked.

  “They won’t,” Ben said. “The debris will swirl past us in the stronger gravitational currents, but we’re safe here.”

  Kim didn’t feel safe, but she knew she was where she was supposed to be. The key was not to fight nature, but learn from it. To be in tune with her surroundings and let the black hole show her where it wanted her. The joystick was part of her, as if the entire ship was somehow just an extension of Kim’s consciousness. She bent and twisted the joystick, using minute thrusts to keep them centered. Her entire life had led up to that moment, and she was ready for it. She was flying in a black hole. As far as she knew, no pilot had ever succeeded, but Kim was going to. It was her destiny. Perhaps they would die on the other side, but they would make it to that place beyond the black hole. She had no doubt about it. Kim was created to fly; it was her life’s purpose. Poverty had tried to tame her, lack of opportunity and connections had meant to rob her, the Royal Imperium did all in its power to stop her, but not even a black hole would find a way to ground her.

  Chapter 31

  Ben watched in awe as the Imperium cruiser spun around. The big capital ship had engaged all its mighty power. Blue fire poured from her mighty thrusters as the huge ship’s main drive was given full power in an attempt to escape the black hole. Instead, she had been slowly but inexorably pulled back until she lost control.

  “Kim, how are we doing?” Ben asked.

  “I’m flying,” Kim said, her voice calm.

  “There’s going to be a shockwave when that cruiser blows.”

  “What will that do?” Liachov asked.

  She looked pale and weak. Beck was terrified beside her, with both hands locked onto the security officer’s console in a death clutch. Liachov wasn’t as tense, but only because she didn’t have the strength. Ben could see the scorch marks from the laser blast that had stunned her. There was a tattered hole on the shoulder of her jacket. The garment underneath was charred black, and scorch marks could be seen on the pale skin of the lieutenant’s neck, like demonic fingers reaching up to choke the life from her.

  “I have no idea,” Ben said.

  He glanced at his console. The fusion reactor was fine, and the only other active system was radar and life support. On his screen were the hull sensor readings. For the first time since finding the Modulus Echo, Ben feared that she might be too old. Metal fatigue was always a possibility in old ships. The hull could crack or crumple under the strain of intense gravitational force. If the hull gave way, it would be catastrophic for them. Even a hairline fracture would vent atmosphere and would most likely tear open wider and wider until they were all sucked out of the ship.

  There were a few sensors showing signs of pressure, but they were all still in the green at the moment. To be honest, Ben never thought it was possible that they could fly so close to a black hole and survive. Everything he was basing his hopes on was pure theory. In the distant past, scientists had done studies of black holes, theorizing what they were and how they worked, but without the ability to test those theories, the scientific world moved on to more popular topics like breaking the light speed barrier. Ben only knew about them because he had stumbled upon an old e-reader with science-fiction stories that had been a pleasant escape from the frustrations of his work restoring the old ship.

  It was difficult to imagine a time when humanity had only occupied a single world. Yet the old stories had told of adventures in space. Most of the science was pure imagination, but some had outlined the theories that reflected the times from which it had been written. Mankind had never encountered another intelligent species in the quest to explore the galaxy, but it had mastered faster-than-light travel, created laser weapons, and built vast empires that spanned multiple star systems. Ben could only hope that what he’d read about black holes would prove to be true.

  The plot showed them about to enter the singularity of the black hole. There was no light, no visible sign of anything at the center of the black hole. Ben knew it could be a doorway to another place, perhaps even a different time. Or it could simply be an infinitesimally small lump of matter, the universe’s anvil upon which the Echo would be smashed.

  “There it goes,” Liachov said.

  Ben looked up in time to see the huge Imperium ship crumple inward. It seemed impossible, but the massive vessel was being destroyed from an invisible force. Two thousand souls were dying, Ben knew, and that thought was horrifying even if they were his enemy. Explosions began to rip through the ship, tearing off great chunks in glaring flashes of light. The light bent and stretched as it was pulled down by the black hole.

  Ben couldn’t believe the awesome force of the black hole’s gravity. The very fact that the Echo was still intact gave his theory—that they could stay in the center, in the eye of the black hole’s event horizon, and survive—a little more credibility. Then the Imperium cruiser’s fusion reactor went critical. Light so bright that it forced Ben to look away from the display, shot out. When Ben looked back up the ship was just gone. The shockwave rippled through the black hole and sent the Echo spinning. Ben had no idea how Kim kept them from getting crushed by the force of gravity swirling around them.

  On the forward display, Ben saw the light of trillions of bits of irradiated metal poured through the swirling gravitational field. It was brilliant, and beautiful. Ben could see the currents and the swirl. The pull of gravity at the center of the black hole was only a fraction of that around it. The debris flashed past them and into the singularity.

  “Almost there,” Ben said.

  “I can’t believe we’re still alive,” Liachov said.

  A strange, groaning sound was heard. A light flashed on Ben’s console. The starboard engine was showing damage. He reached out and turned on the starboard exterior camera feed. What he saw made his stomach clench, and he was almost sick. The end of the wing was crushed, the rotating engine just gone. Nothing but metal, as flat as Ben’s hand remained. It had come close to s
mashing through the back of the starboard cabins, which would have killed them all instantly as the atmosphere was sucked from the ship and replaced with hard vacuum.

  Ben wanted to mention the near-disaster to Kim, but he thought it was better to let her concentrate on the task at hand. He looked over and saw Liachov’s pale face. She looked frightened.

  The ship began to shake, as if it were being hammered by huge invisible fists. On the forward display, Ben saw a ring ahead. It was so dark that it made the space around it seem lighter. The center of the ring was simply a void. There was nothing there—no light, no barrier, nothing.

  “Almost there,” Kim said.

  “Beck!” Liachov shouted.

  Ben looked over and saw that the unyielding corporal had fainted. He wanted to scream as the ship rattled like a tin full of metal washers, but instead he clenched his jaw and held his good hand across his broken arm.

  At that moment, gravity seemed to grab them so tightly Ben couldn’t breathe. He felt like every cell in his body was being pulled apart. The ship lurched to one side and groaned again as the port engine was smashed flat and ripped away.

  Kim was yelling as she fought the ship’s controls. Ben moaned in agony as the bones of his broken arm were pulled like a wishbone in the hands of overzealous children. Jolts of pain stabbed through him, and he stared at the main screen as stars appeared in the distance. Then, as suddenly as a light being switched on, everything went still.

  Ben didn’t know if he was alive or dead. He could breathe, and the pain in his arm slacked a little. He was so used to the constant agony by that point that even the slightest relief was welcome. He sagged in his chair and looked at the display. There were stars in the distance, and that could only mean one thing. They had passed through the black hole.

  Chapter 32

  Ben tapped the com-link on his collar. “Nance, you alive?”

  “Yeah, we’re okay, Ben,” Nancy replied.

  “Good. We need you up here. We made it through the black hole.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  It wasn’t until that moment that Ben realized they were floating free in zero-gravity. Kim was still strapped into her pilot’s seat, but her hand wasn’t on the joystick any longer.

  “Kim?” Ben said. “You okay?”

  “Not sure,” Kim said. “Did we really just make it through a black hole?”

  “You better believe it,” Ben said.

  He hit a button on his console to run a systems check.

  “Where are we?” Liachov asked.

  “That’s a good question,” Ben said, looking at the Zexum supply. “Nance will find out soon.”

  Magnum and Nance came floating onto the bridge. The big man caught hold of his seat and helped Nance get settled until she could strap in.

  “We should power on the artificial gravity,” Liachov said.

  “Not until we do a full diagnostics check,” Nance said.

  “I’m already running it,” Ben said. “Can you find out where we are?”

  Nance nodded, and Ben did a quick visual inspection of the ship’s wings. Both were damaged. The wing engines were vital to the ship’s maneuvering capabilities and atmospheric flight, but they weren’t critical components. As long as they had power, they could use the main drive to get somewhere safe.

  “We lost the wing engines,” Ben said. “Including the laser cannons, but the hull is intact.”

  “Thank God for small miracles,” Kim said.

  “Looks like the nav computer has us in the Qutar quadrant, still narrowing down the exact location,” Nance said. “There isn’t much out this way.”

  “It’s the border of Imperium space,” Liachov said. When Ben looked at her, she shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve studied my enemy.”

  “Is Beck okay?” Ben asked.

  “I think so,” Liachov said.

  “Why don’t you take her to sick bay,” Ben said.

  Liachov gave him a look of pure displeasure. She was an officer and he was not. It was obvious she didn’t like taking orders, or being sent on a task that she obviously felt was beneath her, but she didn’t argue. Ben watched as she unfastened her safety harness and went to work helping her friend.

  His console pinged, and Ben looked at the screen. A sense of relief washed over him.

  “Initial systems check shows no damage to the major systems,” Ben said. “Our hull isn’t compromised. No damage to the fusion reactor. I’ll wait until the lieutenant has her friend in the sick bay, then power up the artificial gravity.

  “Radar shows no other craft anywhere in the vicinity,” Nance said.

  “Well,” Kim said, floating up from her pilot’s chair and hovering in front of the others, “in that case, I’m going to have a drink.”

  “Have two,” Ben said. “You earned it.”

  “I think I will,” Kim said. “I’d ask you to join me, but I know you have to see to your first love.”

  “There’ll be plenty of work to be done,” Ben said. “Once we’re sure we’re safe, I’ll join you.”

  “Roger that,” Kim said as she pushed off the console and went sailing toward the stairs in the atrium.

  “I want to run a full systems diagnostics,” Nance said. “If we go into hyperspace with any sort of problem, it could be devastating.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” Ben said. “How long will it take?”

  “At least twenty-four hours,” Nance said. “Unless we find issues.”

  “Okay, I’m going to shut off power to the wing engines. We’ll need to swap Zexum tanks once the auxiliary batteries are fully charged. But first, we have to find out where Liachov hid that explosive charge.”

  “You think she made it back to the ship with the detonator?” Nance asked.

  Ben looked at Magnum. “I didn’t see it,” he said. “No laser pistol either.”

  “Well, we have to confront them,” Ben said. “Let’s get it over with.”

  He powered on the artificial gravity slowly, so that no one would be taken completely by surprise. Once it was operating, he unstrapped from his chair and got to his feet. It felt good to do something completely normal, like walk across the deck of his ship. Magnum followed him, and both men drew their weapons before opening the door to the sick bay.

  Inside, Beck was sitting up on the exam table, and Liachov stood beside her. Beck looked groggy, but Liachov had a pinched expression on her face.

  “Here to turn the tables, Ben?”

  “We’re here to disarm you both,” Ben said. “And to find out where you placed the explosives on our ship.”

  “Your ship,” she said with a sigh. “I have to admit that I see the appeal. Go where you want, do whatever you want. No consequences, no loyalty to anyone but yourself.”

  “Don’t start,” Ben said. “We took you home and we saved you. We could have just taken off as soon as the shooting started.”

  “Or you could have fought back,” Liachov said. “They didn’t kill us. But you can guarantee they’re torturing the members of my squad right now.”

  “Maybe,” Ben said. “I wouldn’t say anything is a guarantee, except that if you don’t lay down your weapon, we’re going to kill you.”

  “As if,” Liachov said. “Without Magnum, you’re just a puppy trying to run with the big dogs.”

  Magnum raised his pistol, and Rena shifted slightly, so that Beck was between the big man and herself. Ben still held his own pistol casually at his side.

  “Where’s the explosive?” Ben asked.

  “Ask him,” Liachov replied. “He took six of the Lancet ARs. I told Ike not to give them to him, but I could see the camaraderie between them. So I packed an explosive brick with the weapons I was sure Ike would give him.”

  “Do you still have the detonator?” Ben asked.

  Liachov slowly raised her hand. The small device was in her palm.

  “Now, both of you set your weapons on the exam table,” Liachov said. “We may have los
t the battle, but the war is far from over. And this ship is our ticket back to—”

  Ben raised his pistol and fired. The laser moved too fast to be seen. He had set his pistol just one notch above stun. The blast vaporized Liachov’s hand, the detonator, and part of the cabinet door behind her. The lieutenant was stunned, staggering back a few steps before dropping to the floor on her backside. She stared at the blackened stump of her wrist with wide eyes.

  “No one is taking my ship ever again,” Ben said.

  Magnum helped Beck down from the exam table, and they moved out of the sick bay. Ben felt sorry for Rena Liachov, but he knew she couldn’t be trusted. The pain of losing her hand had to be agonizing, but whether from discipline or shock, she just sat staring at the wound.

  “There are some first-aid supplies in here,” Ben said. “And the gurney isn’t all that uncomfortable. Why don’t you just stay put in here for a while.”

  He left the sick bay and locked the door from the outside. He could see through the small window that Liachov hadn’t moved. She was just staring at her missing hand.

  “I’m sorry,” Beck said. “I didn’t know she still had the detonator.”

  Ben turned and found her by the stairs. Magnum was beside her, and Beck leaned against the railing, still favoring one foot.

  “Are you okay?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I twisted my ankle getting the lieutenant out of the jungle, but it’s nothing a few days of rest won’t heal.”

  “I think it’s best if you stay in your cabin,” Ben said. “You can come out to the galley when one of us is around.”

  “That’s fair,” Beck said. “And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.”

  “Apology accepted,” Ben said. “But I think it’s wise if Magnum searches your room. I hope that’s not too intrusive.”

  “There’s nothing in the passenger rooms but what you had in there,” Beck said. “We left all our gear down in the cargo bay, including our weapons other than sidearms. Should have known those Imperium bastards would be waiting for us.”

  “We can’t see every danger,” Ben said. “At least you made it out alive.”