At the center of the carnage was the body of Petty Officer Woodrow. There were numerous scorch marks on his face and head. Had he activated his helmet, things might have turned out differently. One thing Jason couldn’t take away from his fellow Navy SEAL, Woodrow had died protecting his daughter, and Jason would always be grateful to him for that.
Jason moved back toward Boomer’s cabin, then walked forward again trying to piece together what had happened. It was obvious everyone on board the Cutlass was taken by surprise. Woodrow would have been moving Boomer, and the others, to a more secure location on the ship. They were running—probably flat out. When they came around the corner they were engaged by one of the Craing teams. Undoubtedly, Woodrow, or maybe Miller, would have pushed Boomer down flat on the deck. That split second, a split second Woodrow could have used to activate his own helmet, was all the Craing needed to take him out.
Jason stood over Woodrow’s body and noticed blood on the deck plates and adjoining bulkhead. Strange, since plasma fire actually cauterizes blood vessels. He’d never seen blood loss like this unless projectile weapons or knives were involved. Jason’s heart skipped a beat. Boomer was a nut about knives lately. He knelt down closer and inspected the deck and then the wall. It wasn’t an arbitrary blood splatter. Was it … words? He had to tilt his head to read from the bottom of the wall up, but he saw it:
STALLS STOLE ME & MILLER
Realizing she must have cut herself fairly deeply to produce enough blood to leave this message, Jason had to fight back his rage. One thing was for sure: he’d get his daughter back and end Stalls’ life, once and for all. As Jason continued to stare at the wall, another thought crossed his mind, a minor consolation. Stalls would most certainly have his hands full with Boomer.
* * *
Jason had Woodrow’s body, as well as Boomer’s drone, collected and returned to The Lilly. Once Ricket was back from trying to bring the Minian’s battle-ravaged systems online, perhaps he could repair the drone. She’d come to love the thing and, it seemed, it loved her—if that was at all possible. He’d left Ricket, Granger and Bristol on board the Minian, which was now hidden within strewn space wreckage at the far end of the solar system. Jason purposely tried not to overly think about Boomer held captive in the hands of that pirate maniac. If he wanted to get her back, he’d have to rely more on smarts and cunning, instead of brute emotions.
The ship’s AI announced, “Captain on the bridge,” as Jason entered the command center of The Lilly. It was a welcome sight to see a fully staffed bridge again. On their recent mission to the Craing worlds, where they’d absconded with the Minian, crews had been split between three ships—the now-destroyed Her Majesty, The Lilly and the Minian.
The XO stood up from the command chair and waited for Jason to take his place.
“I am ready to relieve you, XO,” Jason said.
“I am ready to be relieved, sir.”
“What’s the status of the Craing fleet?”
“The bulk of the fleet is still stationary around Saturn, Captain.”
“And the dreadnaughts?”
“Yes, there’s six of them and they are holding steady near Mars. It’s as if they’re waiting for something.”
Jason looked up at Perkins. “You looked tired, XO. You’ve been relieved, time to hit your bunk.”
“Aye, sir.”
Ensign McBride waited for Perkins to leave the bridge before asking the one question Jason would be the most hard-pressed to answer. “Destination, Cap?”
Jason didn’t answer. His eyes tracked the view of open space above, as if he were scanning the heavens for an answer. Both his orders and his conscience were telling him to get back to Earth and defend her with all haste. Jason’s first assumption was that Stalls would take his newly acquired warships, along with Boomer, back to his own pirate world, or worlds. But something wasn’t sitting right with that logic. Why take his daughter if he didn’t want something in return? Jason knew what that was. Sure, he wanted to kill Jason, but even more importantly, he wanted Nan. He’d want to trade Boomer for Nan. In all likelihood, Stalls was still close by. Watching and waiting.
“How long would it take us to return to Earth?”
“With a combination of wormhole travel and phase-shifting … once we’re in close … minutes,” Orion replied.
Just as he figured. The Lilly could be back in Earth’s orbit in minutes to defend the planet if and when the Craing made a move toward Earth. Was that the best use of The Lilly’s resources under present circumstances? Simply waiting around in Earth’s high orbit? Jason didn’t think so. He’d never liked playing defense. If they were going to thwart an attack, they—he—needed to take the initiative. But how?
“Captain, we’re being hailed by a Craing vessel approximately twenty light-years from our current position,” Seaman Gordon said. “He’s identified himself as Captain Stalls.”
Chapter 3
“I’ll take it in my quarters,” Jason replied. “Gunny, you’ve got the bridge.” Jason stopped and turned back around. One by one, he made eye contact with everyone on the bridge. “I want his precise location. There’s amazing Caldurian technology on this ship—figure out how to use it and find Stalls’ ship. If you need help, contact Ricket as a last resort.”
By the time Jason made it to his ready room, Captain Stalls’ face was already on screen at the far end of the room. He smirked at the sight of Jason and offered him a condescending smile that made Jason want to reach through the screen and strangle him. Not giving the pirate the gratification of seeing a reaction, Jason sat down with a flat, deadpan expression on his face, and waited for Stalls to say something.
“It is so good to see you again, Captain Reynolds.”
“Knock off the chit chat, asshole. We both know why you’ve contacted me. What’s it going to take to get my daughter back?”
Stalls gave an exaggerated expression of deep contemplation. “Hmm, that is the question of the day, isn’t it? You know, she is such a lovely little girl. How old is she … eight? Nine? As a slave on one of the Polaris’ moons, she would fetch a hefty sum. Of course, it’s when she’s older that she will really—”
“I asked you a question. Are you going to play games or have a real conversation here?”
“My, my, Jason. You’re certainly serious today. All right, we’ll get down to business. I have several demands. They are non-negotiable.” Stalls hesitated, brushing away an imaginary piece of lint from the front of his ruffled shirt. “One … You will deliver Nan to me. She will come to me willingly, with the full understanding that she will ultimately be my wife, never to return to Earth. Two … You will deliver to me ten of your fully operational Craing warships. They can be a mix of heavy and light cruisers.” Stalls stopped again, tapping his pursed lips with an index finger in phony contemplation.
Jason watched the performance in silence, not letting Stalls’ antics alter his passive expression. “Anything else?”
“Oh yes, there is one more thing: you, Captain Reynolds. As part of this negotiation, I require your life. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say, your death—a death by a means of my own choosing. Fulfill those demands, and little Boomer will be returned to Earth unharmed.”
“You do know you’re crazy, right? That you have a mental problem that could be treated with medication, or maybe even surgery?”
Stalls stared back with a bored expression, eventually holding up an open-faced palm. “I told you my demands were non-negotiable.”
“I don’t have ten warships to hand over to you. Don’t forget it was you that just catastrophically damaged the Cutlass and killed or injured almost all of her crew. Understand, Earth may be attacked by a Craing fleet at any moment. Those ten warships could conceivably save thousands, millions, of lives on the surface … ”
“That’s hardly my problem.”
“Here’s what you get if my daughter is not returned today, right now: You get me dedicating my life to pursuing y
ou—across the universe, if that’s what it takes. I’ve beaten you down before and I’ll beat you down again, and this time, before it’s over, I’ll be shoving your head up your own ass. You’ll be nothing more than a ponytail with two legs.”
“Captain, I don’t think you want to be making threats. Not with little Boomer’s life at stake. I will contact you again in two hours. At that time you will either comply to my demands or watch as I slit her throat in front of you.”
Jason fumed. He doubted Stalls would make good on his threat—give up his only bargaining chip—but was Jason willing to take that chance, with his daughter’s life at stake? “Let me see her. I need to see that she’s all right.”
“She’s fine. Unconscious from a plasma stun, but probably fine.” Stalls gave a perfunctory shrug and the screen went black.
Jason heard a NanoCom tone—he was being hailed.
“Go for Captain.”
Ricket said, “Captain, I’ve been contacted by The Lilly’s bridge … Orion, actually.”
Jason sighed, and said, “I was hoping it wouldn’t be necessary, considering the importance of what you’re working on. With that said, does The Lilly have the necessary technology to find Stalls’ ship?”
“No.”
Jason’s heart sank. The reality of what happened, was still happening, bore down on him.
“The Lilly’s technology—”
“I got it, Ricket. We can’t track Stalls’ ship.”
“I was about to say, Captain, at the present time, The Lilly does not have the advanced technology required for such a task. But the Minian does.”
Jason let a glimmer of hope enter his consciousness. “The Minian is a wreck. Have you repaired her to the point she can track Stalls’ ship?”
“No, that is still hours, if not days, away. But I do know where that technology—something called the probability matrix—is located. My suggestion would be to extricate it and have it duplicated by the Minian’s phase-synthesizer, along with the necessary interface for The Lilly.”
“That sounds promising, but it also sounds complicated. How long will all that take?”
“I can accomplish the task in a half hour, maybe less, Captain.”
Jason didn’t need to think about it. Not with Boomer’s life hanging in the balance. “Do it!”
He cut the connection and stared down at the table before him. He knew what he had to do next and had purposely avoided. He hailed Seaman Gordon on the bridge.
“Seaman Gordon, Captain.”
“Get me a comms channel to Earth. Track down Nan Reynolds and put her through to my ready room.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Jason looked up to see Billy entering the compartment. He was wearing his spacer’s jumpsuit with the recently added, now standard issue, SuitPac device worn on his hip. No further need for the standard, bulky battle suit configurations they’d worn before. Once activated, in less than three seconds the new Caldurian technology device would completely envelop the user in an advanced, segmented battle suit.
Billy gestured toward a seat with raised eyebrows. Jason nodded.
“You know we’re going to get her back, Cap. There’s just no two ways about it,” Billy offered up with more bravado than either of them totally believed.
“What I should be doing is beating a path back to Earth. Like right now. At the very least, be coming up with a plan to thwart an attack.”
“Mind a little unsolicited advice?”
“I’ve got a feeling I’m going to get it anyway, so sure, lay it on me,” Jason replied in a resigned tone.
“Don’t let that bastard dictate the terms. He knows your emotions are involved and he’s using them to beat you. You’ll need to put them aside and do what you do best.”
Jason waited for him to continue.
“It’s thinking outside the damn box. Play your game, not his.”
Jason knew he was right. If he were to have any chance of getting Boomer back, it would have to be by outsmarting the pirate. The truth was, he had no idea how he was going to get out of this one and still save his daughter. If it came to it, he’d give up his own life to save her.
The AI interrupted his thoughts.
“Seaman Gordon and Seaman Gordon are standing outside your ready room, Captain.”
Not everyone was granted unrestricted access to his quarters; Billy was one of the few. “Let them in,” Jason ordered with a sigh.
Jason noticed Billy’s bemused expression as the two red-haired identical twins awkwardly entered the ready room. Jason felt for the two bridge crew Seamen. With an identical mole evident on each twin’s right cheek, everyone, including himself, had an impossible time telling one from the other. Typically, they didn’t work the same shift, so using the same moniker—Seaman Gordon—sufficed just fine. It was when they were together, like now, that one needed to check name tags for the only identifying difference.
“Weren’t one of you trying to locate Nan Reynolds for me?”
“Um. Yes, that was me, sir. She’s in a conference. I left instructions for her to contact you when she gets free.”
“Fine. What can I do for you gentlemen?”
The twins looked at each other then, both talking at once, stopped, and the Gordon on the right spoke up, “Captain, we may have figured something out.”
“How to find Stalls’ ship? I already spoke to Ricket. He’s on it.”
“No, sir. It’s more of a communications thing. We’ve been working on a little side project, you know, on our own time. Anyway, we think we can decipher Craing communications. At least, those directed within close proximity of The Lilly.”
That revelation got Jason’s attention. “You think, or you actually can?”
Again they looked at each other. This time the other twin spoke up, “We most definitely can, sir.”
“Sit down … both of you. Tell me more.”
“We’ve only intercepted one transmission, but it’s a doozy. Neither of us speaks Terplin, but we think the gist of the message states that the acting-emperor lives. He’s somehow survived the destruction of the Emperor’s Palace. It seemed to be more of a general information type transmission … as opposed to specific orders to be put into action.”
Both Jason and Billy glanced at each other. “Okay, I have one question: Since we can receive and decode messages, can we also transmit?”
“You mean, as if it had originated from another Craing ship, or otherwise?”
Jason nodded.
“I think so,” they both answered at the same time.
Billy asked, “Can you block or disrupt their messages, their transmissions?”
“Theoretically we could. We’d need Ricket’s help with that, though.”
Jason hailed Ricket.
“Go for Ricket.”
“I need you over here, Ricket. Something’s come up.”
In less than a minute, all heads quickly turned as Ricket entered the ready room holding a device of some sort, with multiple optical cables hanging from it.
“I was already on board, Captain, on my way to install this into The Lilly’s bridge,” Ricket said.
“Seaman Gordon, tell Ricket what you told us.”
Chapter 4
Jason listened as Ricket and the Gordon twins got deep into techy-weeds, far and above Jason’s head. Billy had already excused himself and Jason was readying to leave when he saw Nan’s face appear on the screen.
“Can you three take this conversation elsewhere?” Jason asked. Ricket and the two Gordons, seeing Nan on the screen, immediately stood and left the compartment.
“Jason. Are you all right? You look all right. But the message I received sounded so dire.”
“Nan, there’s no good way to tell you this.” Jason paused to let her prepare for bad news. “Boomer’s been abducted.”
Her face transformed from confusion to indignation. “What? How? Don’t you dare tell me it’s Stalls. I don’t think I can handle that, Jason.”
“No. She’s absolutely fine,” he answered, not really sure if that was true or not.
Nan’s hands covered her face and eyes, as if she were saying a private prayer. Wiping her cheeks, she caught her breath. “What does he want? He must want something to trade …”
She then came to the conclusion herself. “He wants me, right? He wants to trade her life for me being his … whatever.”
“Among other things, yes.”
“What other things? Tell me specifically what he’s asked for.”
“Ten of our Craing warships and my head on a platter.”
She didn’t need to think about it. “I’ll go. Tell him I’ll go and be his fucking concubine if he wants, but Boomer needs to be returned first—safe and sound.”
“That’s not an option. He’ll never release her, Nan. That’s not the way he’s wired. Even you chained to his bed, and my head mounted on a wall, won’t be enough for him. There’s no honor with this guy. Boomer would inevitably be sold off to slavers, or worse. His hatred of me is that intense. Believe me on this.”
“Then what do we do?”
“I have some time; a few hours. I’m developing a plan. I’ll get her back and I’ll deal with Stalls then, once and for all.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head, still in disbelief. With concern in her eyes she said, “No, I’ll go to him … nothing’s more important than getting her back safe.” She started to tear up again.
“That simply isn’t going to happen. Let me deal with Stalls … trust me, Nan. I’ll get her back.”
Eventually she nodded, looking resigned to what Jason said. “On an another subject, the admiral’s furious. Your convoy arrived, but without The Lilly. The Craing are assembling, Jason. We need you.”
The Great Space (Scrapyard Ship Book 6) Page 2