The crane really was making a racket. It might have been oiled and cleaned up, but it was still loud as hell. The boat had barely made it to the height of the deck when the door of the deckhouse burst open. Pete stood in the doorway, a pistol in his hand. He laughed when he saw her.
“You are a tough one, aren’t you?” Pete hollered over to her. “You’re walking around with a bullet in your gut? That takes some serious fortitude.”
“More than you know,” Beth shouted back with more vigor than she really felt. There were sparks beginning to dance in front of her eyes. She didn’t have a lot left in her. But maybe she had just enough. She slammed a lever over to stop the cable reeling in and got the machine ready to move again.
“You will step down from there,” Pete ordered. Someone behind him passed Charline over to him. Her hand were bound, and the guards shoved her hard enough that she staggered a little until Pete caught her arm, holding her close to him. He turned the pistol on Charline’s head. “Or your friend is dead.”
Beth knew he wasn’t going to let them go no matter what she did. If she surrendered, she and Linda and Charline were likely all dead. Better to at least have a shot at living. Besides, this guy was an asshole, and she was tired of his threats.
“I don’t negotiate with dead people,” Beth said. With the last of her strength she slammed home one more lever.
The massive crane swung into motion. Hydraulics released pressure, venting all their pent up energy as the thing swung in toward the deck. The crane was build to swing that way, but the cable and boat hung from it like a pendulum. Beth had released all of the safeties from the machine, allowing it to swing as rapidly as the mechanism could move - which was very fast.
By the time the boat came into contact with the deckhouse, it was moving with enough speed that it crashed through the walls, breaking concrete as its mass and acceleration impacted with devastating force. Pete gaped at the thing as it rushed toward him. Chunks of debris were flying through the air as the structure crumbled from the impact. Beth had to admit, it was pretty impressive.
While Pete was staring Charline grabbed the moment of distraction and elbowed him hard in the ribs. He released her in surprise, and she fell to the deck, rolling away from the deckhouse as quickly as she could.
The building all but exploded in a shower of broken fragments. Chunks of concrete smashed into Pete, sending him flying clear. The roof of the structure collapsed and buried whatever else remained inside.
“Linda, help Charline,” Beth said. She was feeling more hazy by the moment. She slumped back against the control chair, clutching her belly. But she was still smiling, even through the pain. She’d nailed the asshole. The rest of the guards were buried under the rubble. John’s people should be there shortly to help them all get away safely.
Linda ran to Charline’s side, helping her cut loose from the zip-ties. Beth closed her eyes, relaxing at last. Her friend was safe. She could rest.
Twenty-Three
John looked around the table, meeting the eyes of one person after another. It had been some time since they’d all met here last. Back then, they were planning the launch of the Satori, plotting out the first space trial of the ship. They’d never expected the first run to be so dangerous, or to take them so far from home.
Had that really only been two weeks ago? It seemed like it should have been longer. So much had happened. They’d explored a new world. They’d met an alien race, and survived - if barely. Then they’d returned home to a host of new problems. John had the sense those issues at home had only just begun. Things on Earth were teetering toward chaos, and that was going to get worse before it got better.
There was a new face among the crowd. Charline and Beth had brought Linda Paris back to the moon with them. John arranged for her transfer of employment. The lab was reluctant to let her go, but he made it worth their while. She was a promising young woman, and he was privately impressed with what he’d heard of her. It took a strong will to go through what she had and come out the other side intact. They could use her expertise and her courage.
Her first job on the moon would be to find some way to counteract the black blood agent they’d acquired from the ‘ratzards’. John was certain that it was a weapon, now. Finding a way to defeat it was essential. They could not let Earth suffer the same fate as the dead world they’d seen on their first voyage.
“It’s been a while,” Andrew said. He’d been the last to arrive, and was just taking his seat.
“You doing OK, Andy?” Charline asked. “I heard…”
“It was rough. I’m much better,” Andrew said, his lips a tight line. He’d lost weight, and there was a haunted look in the back of his eyes that hadn’t been there before. John hoped he would get better in time, but if he’d tasted the same emotions the alien had sent to John’s mind - the loss and longing and despair - then John understood the lingering pain that left behind.
Beth winced as she shifted in her seat, and Dan’s hands jerked as if to help her before he settled them in his lap again. John hid a smile. Dan had been doting on her since her return to the base. She was healing well, and Dan seemed constantly torn between giving her space and being overprotective. They’d find a new happy medium, in time.
“I’m glad you were able to recover the sample,” John said.
“It was in Pete’s pocket. I snagged it before we turned him over to the FBI,” Charline said.
“How did you know it wasn’t in the building when you smashed it?” John asked Beth.
She grinned and shrugged, then winced from the movement. “I didn’t. Worst case, it was better the sample be buried in rubble than in their hands. It was a gamble, but I didn’t see any other way to save Charline.”
John nodded, and noted that nobody else questioned Beth’s move. They’d all done some dangerous things to help each other. Each of them had risked something, at some point, to save one of the others. They were all interconnected now with a complex web of rescues, debts, loyalty, and care.
“We’d already paid a high enough price down there,” Beth added. No one had to mention Cory’s name. Even the team members who hadn’t met the man had heard the story.
“The repairs of the Satori are proceeding apace,” John said, shifting the subject. “She’ll be ready to fly again soon. I wanted you all here to ask if you were willing to go back out.”
“Where?” Beth asked, her eyes narrowing.
“Majel, the display please?” John asked.
“Of course, John,” the AI replied. John blinked. Even her voice seemed to have changed. She’d gained nuance and control of her intonation to a level he’d never heard from a computer before. He shared a quick look with Charline, who gave a tiny shrug of her shoulders. Neither of them knew precisely what was going on with the AI. So far none of the changes seemed to negatively impact her performance.
A screen on the wall flickered to life. The first image was a watercolor of the ocean John had seen from the alien’s thoughts, the waves and water, the sea floor covered with strange life. The next slide showed a huge aquatic animal, dotted with many small projections.
“These are your work, John?” Dan asked.
“My paintings, yes. The images come from our small friend.”
“I still think that was a stupid move,” Dan said. “You took a hell of a risk.”
“It seemed like the best plan at the time,” John said. He kept his tone light. He knew how much his actions had upset Dan, but in truth he still couldn’t think of anything else that would have worked. And it had worked out well in the end.
“It’s still in there?” Beth asked, tapping her ear.
“Yes,” John replied. “We’ve reached an understanding.”
She shuddered a little. He couldn’t blame her. It was still unnerving to him sometimes as well.
“Those large animals are like living cities,” John said. “The little telepathic creatures attach themselves to these giant fish, helping to keep them
alive and well fed as they voyage through the ocean. Thousands of the little life-forms, all living in telepathic communes.”
“Next slide,” John said.
The next slide showed an image they were all familiar with. An enormous ship, half sunk into the surface of the water. The ship was blocky in shape, with threatening lines. It was an image they’d each had burned into their memories - except Linda, who was just staring at it with wonder. The crew from the first mission all looked at the screen with faces that mixed fear and anger.
Floating in the foreground of the painting were several of the big fish, Naga standing on their corpses and harvesting the smaller creatures from their bodies.
“That’s a Naga ship,” Andrew said.
“Yes,” John replied.
“They’re taking the little things as - what - slaves?” Dan asked.
“I’m not sure,” John said. “My communication with this one is just images and emotion. I don’t know if the Naga are even aware they’re sentient.”
“But they are being enslaved,” Linda said softly. “An entire race.”
“Yes,” John replied.
“Can we help them?” Linda asked.
“I hope to.”
“How?” Beth asked. “Do we even know where they are?”
The slideshow slipped forward to the next image, this one showing a set of wormhole coordinate symbols.
“These coordinates match a set from the recovered database,” Majel intoned.
“They’re images the life-form sent to me,” John said. “I believe those are the coordinates of its homeworld.”
There was silence around the table as his words sunk in. Yes, they could actually go there. They could take the Satori and jump through space. John wasn’t sure what they’d find when they arrived, but he was confident they could make the journey. Whether there was actually anything they could do to help once they arrived was another question entirely.
“You want to do this,” Andrew said.
John nodded. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”
“We barely survived last time,” Dan said. “Beth almost didn’t.”
Beth reached across the table and took Dan’s hand. He looked over at her, and she gave him a smile.
“But I did,” she said. “Thanks to the rest of you.”
Linda coughed. Everyone turned and looked to her.
“Folks, I don’t know much about any of this. I’ve only heard your stories, and I think I’m missing about half of them still,” she said. “But if these Naga are as evil as you say, and they’re enslaving an entire race of sentient beings…?”
Her voice was trembling a little, and she paused before going on. “C’mon. We all know what the right thing to do is, here.”
Charline took her hand and smiled. “Yes.”
“The Naga know we exist,” John said. “I’d rather take the fight to them than wait for them to come to us. Let’s go give them something to worry about besides finding out where Earth is, shall we?”
“I’m in,” Beth said.
“Me too,” replied Andy.
Dan shook his head, smiling wistfully. “Wasn’t it me giving you a speech like this not long ago?” he asked. “John is right. We should do this.”
“All of the arguments are valid. While the uncertainty factor in this mission remains high,” Majels’s voice said from the table, “undertaking the expedition has a high probability of valuable data collection.”
There were a few awkward chuckles at that. Majel’s behavior might be odd, but John sensed the team was growing used to her occasionally interjecting her comments into their discussions.
“Even Majel agrees, then,” he said. “First we repair the Satori. And then we’re getting back out there.”
Inside his mind, a tiny telepathic thought voiced gratitude, excitement, and…fear. The alien was terrified at the prospect, so much that it overshadowed all the other feelings. John had learned to brace himself against the emotions so that they were not so overwhelming. But he couldn’t help but feel trepidation. What didn’t they know, that was causing the little alien such intense panic?
They’d built an outstanding team. But would it be enough to survive what lay ahead?
I hope you enjoyed this story! Please consider leaving a review - each one helps!
No Plan Survives Contact
One
Beth ran her hand along the plates of the starship’s hull. It had taken her crew a lot of work to repair all the damage, but they had finally finished. The new wing was in place. All the holes in the hull were patched. The quick-fix repairs she managed during their mission had been replaced with more permanent work.
She patted the ship gently again, ran her hand along the lines, taking precious time to enjoy the work which in so many ways was her greatest accomplishment. It was the capstone of her career. There were damned few engineers alive who could design a ship that would fly in space in the first place. But then the melding of ancient alien technology that no one truly understood with human tech? That had been a bloody miracle.
“Is she ready to fly?" John asked.
Beth jerked her hand away from the ship. She hadn't seen him come in and had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts to hear him until he spoke.
"I'm tired of getting shot,” she replied.
She had that in common with their starship, both of them taking a beating. Beth had been shot not once, but twice. The wounds were closed, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine. But some days she could still feel the pain. She never wanted to feel anything like that again.
“The vests Andrew is working on should help with that problem," John said.
"I know. I'm just not sure that I'm cut out for this sort of thing," Beth said. "I'm an engineer. Not a soldier."
There, she'd said it. Beth had been feeling those words for the past two weeks while she recovered. But she hadn't been able to voice her feelings until now. She didn't want to let her friends down. She didn't want to let herself down. But the truth was that she was scared. Frightened of being hurt again, terrified that she would find herself once more laying on some cold surface, feeling her lifeblood leaking from her body. She wasn't going to be any good to the team scared stiff. Better that they take someone who could handle the sorts of dangers the team would face without flinching.
John stared at her for a long moment without saying a word. Beth looked away, unable to match his gaze.
"Do you want to resign as lead engineer?" John asked, his voice gentle.
He was always kind. That was one of the things Beth loved about John, and why this was so damned hard. She never wanted to let the man down, and she was torn. Was it worse to let him down easily now by leaving the mission team? Or to let him down hard out there in the field, when she inevitably faltered?
“I’m just not sure that I am cut out to be your field engineer," Beth said. "I love the Satori. I love working on your starship project. But these missions…”
"I understand," he said soft voice. "I need a skilled engineer on board though. And I don't have time to find a replacement for this next mission. Will you come with us one more time?"
“What mission?" Beth asked.
She thought that she could see a small bit of green inside John's ear, the tail end of the tiny slug-like creature residing there. They learned that it was a sentient life form, member of an entire race that had been enslaved. The little slugs were telepathic and able to converse with other beings they bonded to. John took on that bond to save Andy, who’d almost died after they removed the creature from his ear. But what effects was it having on John now?
"My little friend here wants to go home rather badly," John said, tapping his right temple to illustrate what he was talking about. As if she didn't already know. "But I think we need a dry run before we head into that sort of trouble. We need intelligence on the Naga very badly. And we need to test the Satori under conditions that are perhaps a little more optimal."
"What's the target, then?" Beth asked. Despite herself she was finding the idea intriguing. It was a real plus if John was still putting caution ahead of bringing the creepy little slug home. She'd been worried that it would somehow pressure him into acting more rashly than he ought. How much would she be able to resist a voice asking her to do something over and over, pleading its case directly into her thoughts?
But if anything it looked like John was back to playing things extra safe. Intel on the enemy would be a smart move. She had no doubts that the Naga were the enemy. It wasn't going to be a matter of 'if' they ever ran into the aliens again, but 'when'. The more prepared they could be for that eventual clash, the better.
"I intend to take the ship back to the system we just visited. The one with the dead city," John said.
The one where they'd met the Naga in the first place. "Won't the Naga just show up again?"
"Maybe," John said. "But we didn't have the cloak working when we arrived last time, remember. I think those satellites picked us up and alerted the Naga ship. If we arrive cloaked..."
"We might be able to land without them seeing us at all," Beth said. "It could work. And worst case we just jump the hell out."
"Precisely."
"But the city was destroyed by the Naga," Beth pointed out. "Not much Intel there."
"We'll be able to see if Kazresh's ship was destroyed or whether it survived, for one," John said. "Also, Linda thinks she might be close to designing a virus that will take out the ratzards' blood, but she needs a fresh sample to be sure. Ideally, she needs a live ratzard."
He made a face when he said it. She wrinkled her own nose. She hadn't actually met one of the things; she'd been on board the Satori with Dan. But the reptilian rat-creatures had sounded creepy enough from the descriptions she'd been given. Still, the challenge of trying to trap one of the things was a cool one. She could probably rig some sort of trap...
"I want Charline to try to hack one of the Naga satellites too," John said. "That's how we'll get our intelligence. If she can get a data dump from one of those, we might get everything we need."
Adventures of the Starship Satori: Book 1-6 Complete Library Page 34