Adventures of the Starship Satori: Book 1-6 Complete Library

by Kevin McLaughlin

  “Linda, you need to get out of there,” Beth said. That lab was on the uppermost of the secret levels. She’d be spotted as soon as the invaders breached the security.

  “I’m trying to download our research to this chip,” Linda said. “It’s everything we’ve been working on.”

  “Can’t Majel just…?” Beth started to say.

  “Uploading now,” Majel said. “I’ll have her files in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks, Majel,” Linda said. The relief in her voice was clear over the radio. She rose from the chair. “I’m on my way down.”

  She moved out of sight of the camera. Beth was about to flick the view back to John, to tell him to get his tail moving, when Linda ran across her video feed again. She wasn’t jogging this time - she was sprinting. Fleeing something.

  Linda grabbed one of the captured Naga weapons from where it was sitting on a table. They were continuing to study the Naga tech, hoping to glean more answers from their research, but this device was still mostly assembled. Linda popped the few loose bits back into place and tucked herself behind one of the tables.

  Just in time. A bright light flashed in the room, blinding the camera display for a moment. When it cleared, men were rushing in, rifles raised. Linda fired at them, little balls of blue-white light discharging from the muzzle of the Naga weapon. She took down one soldier, and then another.

  But she was hopelessly outnumbered. There was no way Beth could get there in time to help, either. Nothing she could do but watch as the men smashed priceless equipment and samples. The terrarium where the insect like creature they’d captured on the dust world was sent flying to the floor in the scuffle, the glass enclosure exploding into a thousand fragments.

  The troops closed in from multiple angles, firing as they came. Linda’s body jerked suddenly, and she slumped to the floor.

  Beth’s eyes were wet. She tapped the display, switching the camera view away. She’d never been especially fond of Linda, but she couldn’t watch her be taken like that. John was still out there, though. She needed to warn him, tell him to get out.

  The video feed for his office was filled with smoke, his desk overturned. She was too late; the enemy had already breeched this far.

  “John, are you still there?” she called over his radio.

  “Yes. I’m using the desk for cover. They seem hesitant to come in after me,” he replied.

  “Linda shot a few of them with a Naga rifle. They might think you have one,” Beth said.

  “I wish I did.”

  Beth did. She glanced to the arms rack, where the Satori was stocked with a handful of the Naga rifles, and military grade human weapons as well. “Hang tight, John. I’ll come get you.”

  “No!” he said. “You need to get the ship clear. Nothing matters more than that.”

  “I can’t just leave you all!” she said.

  “You can. You have to. If they take the Satori, they’ll have everything. They won’t need any of us, at that point. Think, Beth. Whoever is doing this has risked a great deal. They’re taking prisoners. But how long are they going to keep those hostages if there’s nothing else they need?”

  “I…”

  “Go, get help,” John said. There was a crashing noise in the background. Booted feet rushing closer to his hiding spot. “You’re the best shot we all have. Go! Majel, execute omega protocols on your way out.”

  His radio cut out.

  “What do you want to do?” Majel asked.

  “We follow John’s orders,” Beth replied, steeling herself. Too damned many feelings to deal with them all right now. She shoved them away, focused on the moment instead. She was good at that. She’d done it for years. “Engage the engines. We’re taking the Satori out of here.”

  The ship lifted away from the deck, floating slowly toward the hangar doors, which ground their way open at Beth’s command. Through those doors was a narrow tube to the surface of the moon. Once they were out and away, in space, they would be free and damned near impossible to catch.

  But before the ship could enter the tube, gouts of fire shot through it into the hangar, blossoming in flames around the ship.

  “Take evasive action!” Beth cried.

  Majel was a better pilot than she was, and Beth knew it. She let the AI take over, twisting the ship hard around its axis to pivot away from the debris and fire blasting out at them. Someone had bombed the launch tube. These attackers were taking no chances that they might lose their prize.

  Beth could see the main elevator through the cockpit window. It slid open, a squad of men pouring out to take positions in the hangar. They all wore space suits, all armed with rifles much like the ones she’d seen on the video feeds. She reached for the weapon controls, half wanting to pump all of them full of railgun rounds from the Satori’s main weapons, but that wasn’t going to help John and the others escape. It might even put them at greater risk.

  Besides, these people might think they’d trapped her. But the Satori was a difficult vessel to capture.

  “Engage the wormhole drive,” Beth said. She tapped the keys for a jump destination. Brilliant lights swirled into being in front of the ship, casting flickering lights on the hangar walls. The wormhole reached out like a tongue of fire and ripped apart the steel walls of the hangar, tearing and twisting them into debris in its vortex. Outside, the soldiers dove for cover.

  “We’ll be back, guys,” Beth said. “Take us in, Majel.”

  The Satori leapt forward, jumping across the lightyears through the hole it had torn in the universe.

  Five

  John had absolutely no idea where he’d been taken. The white paint over cinderblock walls could have been just about anywhere. His bones and muscles knew he was back on Earth, though. He felt like a pile of bricks. Despite all the effort the crew on his lunar base made to keep in shape - especially the crew of the Satori - the sudden change from Luna’s gravity to Earth’s was harder on his body than he wanted to admit. John had been knocked out cold by one of the damned darts. The hangover from whatever tranquilizer they used was still giving him a headache. He’d been out for a while, if they’d brought him all the way back to the planet while he was sleeping it off.

  Where on Earth, he had no clue. The small room had no windows, just the cot he was laying on, an empty shelf bolted to the wall, and a small commode. John felt a sudden urge to use the latter. It clearly had been quite a while since he was knocked out.

  He was still wearing the jumpsuit that he’d had on when the base was attacked. But there was still no clue who had been behind the attack. The why was somewhat more obvious. Someone had finally learned something about the Satori.

  It wasn’t a shock. Too many people knew about the ship for it to remain a secret forever. He’d known for months that some little bits of information had likely already slipped down to Earth, despite his best efforts. What was surprising was the violence of the assault. They’d smashed every security and defense protocol he’d put in place, all in less than half an hour. Whoever was behind the attack was very good.

  Good enough to have captured the Satori? John hoped not, but he couldn’t be sure. Beth had already been aboard when she messaged him before his capture. If she’d bolted right away, she should have been able to get clear. But if she hadn’t…

  John heard voices outside the door, and a clanging sound. He glanced around the room. If they were coming for him now, odds were that they had a camera in place somewhere and had seen him wake up, but he couldn’t see it if they did.

  The door slid open. A dark-haired young man in camouflage uniform stood outside. John blinked. The rank insignia on the uniform was easy enough to spot, and one he recognized.

  “Mr. Caraway, I’m to escort you, sir,” the man said.

  “US Air Force…?” John said aloud. “Staff Sergeant, am I right?”

  “Yes sir. Staff Sergeant Bolton. If you’ll follow me, sir?”

  Are you still with me? John thought at the small alien co
mpanion tucked inside his ear. The Cyanaut had withdrawn as deep into his ear as it could without puncturing his ear drum. He could feel it there as a pressure in his ear, and he had a steady sense of its connection with his mind. John knew his captors had undoubtedly searched him, but they apparently hadn’t thought to do a full medical examination. A quick look with an otoscope would immediately reveal his little passenger.

  He had no idea what these people would do if they knew they had a real alien among their captives. They might just extract and kill it. More likely they’d do much worse. John’s own experiences with the Cyanaut race had been mixed enough, but he wasn’t willing to see any intelligent being subjected to that if he could help it.

  Still, the alien might be able to lend him some aid here. It could read the minds of others nearby, after all. That’s how it translated what they were saying to its host. If you can give me any insights at all, it might help us both get out of this.

  He felt an affirmative reply. It would help him as much as it could. With luck that would be enough. John nodded to the sergeant, and followed him from his cell.

  The hall outside was dimly lit by long florescent bulbs flashing off more whitewashed cinderblock. As he followed Bolton down the corridor they passed several more cells, doors open. They were identical to the one he’d been held in. They were all empty. So much for seeing if any of the rest of his people were nearby. It was smart to keep them separated, a good tool to keep him off balance and worried. It was working, too, despite his best efforts otherwise. John longed to know how the rest of the crew were doing, and all the other people who’d been taken during the attack.

  Bolton stopped in front of an elevator door and tapped a button, holding his finger there for a moment while the console scanned his identity. The doors slid open and he ushered John forward with an arm. The interior of the elevator was polished steel. It seemed somehow newer and brighter than the space he was leaving behind. Bolton entered the elevator behind him and the doors closed.

  There didn’t seem to be any panel or control system inside the elevator. John quirked an eyebrow at that, wondering what was next. A soft, mechanical voice spoke from above them. “Destination, please.”

  “Fifteenth,” Bolton replied.

  “Confirmed,” the computer replied. The elevator sped into motion, shooting not upward as John had expected, but down. Were they underground, then?

  The elevator stopped and opened for them. Bolton gave John a nod to go ahead, and he stepped out into a hall. This one was different from the floor he’d left behind. The hall was taller, wider, and better lit. Power lines and conduits ran along the walls, and he could see a number of people in Air Force uniforms bustling about, turning down one side corridor or another.

  “This way, sir,” the sergeant said.

  John got the distinct feeling the man was nervous and trying to hide it. They were on their way to see someone important, someone he felt was above his pay grade. The man wanted to look good, and wanted to be anywhere else rather than here. John realized his Cyanaut ally was feeding him information.

  Thanks, he thought at it. That would be useful.

  “Which General are we going to visit? I know several of them,” John asked.

  Bolton blanched a little. “How…?”

  “It’s not that hard to figure out, young man. Lead on.”

  Bolton just shook his head and started down the passage, glancing back to ensure John was following him. They stopped in front of a closed wooden door. The name stenciled on it was General Hereford. His heart lifted a little immediately. This was someone he knew, and someone he could perhaps work out a deal with. Hereford was a tough old bird, but if he was involved John’s people were likely all safe and being well cared for, at least. The man had an honorable streak that never quit.

  The sergeant rapped once on the door. A voice called out from inside, “Enter.” Bolton opened the door and stepped just inside.

  “Sergeant Bolton, reporting with the prisoner as ordered, sir,” he said.

  “That will be all, Sergeant. Thank you. John, get in here and sit down,” Hereford said, without rising from his desk.

  The sergeant fled as John stepped in and closed the door gently behind him. He surveyed the room carefully before sitting. It was a simple enough office. A heavy wood desk, two well made but not especially ornate chairs. A filing cabinet sat beside the desk. A computer rested on the desk, along with a little rack holding some pens and a few folders. There was an old style phone there as well. And that was about it. Nathaniel Hereford had always been a spare man. Time hadn’t changed that about him, if it had other things.

  “Jesus, Nate. You look like shit,” John said, taking the chair across the desk. The General looked far older than he remembered. John could still see the old energy there, bubbling beneath the surface, but Hereford seemed tired, worn out.

  “Always one with the compliment, eh? Not all of us can live forever like you seem to be aiming for.”

  “It’s been what, two years?” John asked.

  “Four, but who’s counting?” Hereford asked. “You’re in a load of shit, John.”

  “So I gathered. It was the Air Force that hit us?”

  “Yep. Special Operations. We sent you our very best.”

  “They tore through us like tissue paper,” John said, shaking his head ruefully.

  “Don’t feel too bad about it. That’s what they train for,” Hereford said.

  “Well, that’s nice to know,” John said. He kept his tone light, continuing the banter for as long as the other man wanted. He already had the slice of information that he wanted most, thanks to his link with the Cyanaut. Hereford didn’t have the Satori. Majel and Beth had succeeded in escaping, and that meant he had a lot more chips on the table to play with. John knew the banter wouldn’t last. The hammer was going to fall soon enough, and didn’t have long to wait.

  “Cut the crap, John. Where is the damned ship?” Hereford asked.

  Six

  The Satori jumped free of the wormhole in a flash of brilliant light. Beth sat at the controls, still trying to take in everything that had just happened. It was too much. Too sudden. She was still shaking with reaction from the near getaway, and the fear she felt for friends left behind. Who had attacked them? It had come without warning or time to react. Damn it, she had thought their team was excellent. They’d been proven under fire enough times. But these people, whoever they are, had taken them down without breaking a sweat.

  At least it had been humans. She was pretty certain of that. Beth hadn’t seen any insignia on their space suits, but they’d looked like an Earth type design, as had the weapons they were carrying.

  She broke from her thoughts to look out the Satori’s main window. Below her slowly spun a brilliant blue world. She was still in enough shock that it took her several long moments to realize the planet was blue, and not the mustard color she had expected.

  "Where are we?" she asked.

  "You did not specify a destination," Majel said. "I took us to our last primary destination."

  "The one with the Naga battle station?" Beth asked.

  "The cloaking device is active. The ship is safe," Majel said. "Time was of the essence, so it seemed logical to jump to the fastest coordinates."

  Beth hoped the AI was right. The Naga were dangerous enemies, and the last thing they needed was more trouble. They already had more than enough.

  "Scan the area, just to be sure. And prepare to jump for home," Beth said.

  The ship shook, jolted by a sudden impact. There was a pause, and then a staccato series of metallic pings against the hull. Alarmed, Beth called up a sensor readout on her console. The space around the Satori was full of small bits of debris.

  "What the hell is all this stuff?" Beth asked. As she checked the scan, she realized something was missing. "And where the hell is the Naga space station?"

  "We are in a debris field," Majel replied. "The field is dispersing. Taking evasive acti
on now to avoid larger fragments. Based on point of origin and sensor readings, the debris field appears to be the remains of the Naga station."

  "That's not possible." Beth couldn't believe it. The station had been huge. It was well defended, with scores of fighters and massive gun emplacements. The Satori had barely survived an encounter with the station defenses. She couldn't imagine something powerful enough to so completely destroy it.

  Actually she could imagine, she corrected herself. She just didn't want to meet whatever it was that had done the job.

  "Get us out of here, Majel," Beth said. "Get us home."

  "Shall we take the roundabout way home to Earth?" Majel asked.

  "Yes," Beth replied. She was distracted. Far more worried about whatever had done this, which might still be lurking somewhere nearby. But it was a sensible precaution. Returning via the dust world would require a second jump, which would cost them some time. But she couldn't take the chance someone might track them through the wormhole.

  Beth didn't know if it was possible to track wormhole destinations. There was so much they didn't know about this technology. But after what she'd seen today, she wasn't taking any chances.

  The pings on the hull were diminishing in number. Majel was taking them clear of the debris, and the capacitor charge was climbing quickly on the wormhole drive. Soon they’d be able to jump clear of this place. Once she got back home, she’d…what? Try to rescue her friends, somehow. Doing that without revealing the Satori would be tough. What if it was a government that had raided them, and not a corporation? If would be bad enough if it was just a private company that had gotten wind of what they were doing, and hired mercenaries doing the raiding.

  It would be something else again if one of the major governments had gotten wind of the Satori. No place on Earth would really be safe for them, then. Beth had always known that day might come. She’d tried discussing it with John, but his obsession with taking the ship ‘out there’ had kept him from really hearing her.