Ghost Squadron Boxed Set (Books 1-4): Age of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Ghost Squadron Boxed Sets)

by Sarah Noffke

  According to Rex the main lab was on the bottom level, which meant Eddie needed to take the stairs. He eyed the placard next to the first door he came to. The words were written in Trid, which was comprised of symbols Eddie didn’t recognize. “Damn,” he whispered, tapping his comm. “Marilla, what does the upside-down ‘U’ with a line through it mean?”

  “Did you find something?” her voice chimed in. “That’s storage, I believe.”

  “Right, okay,” he said, walking steadily past it. “What about two ‘Hs’ on top of each other?”

  “Bathroom,” answered Marilla.

  “Okay,” he said, passing several doors and then taking a left. There was a single opening at the end of the short hallway. “Three ‘Ls’ in a diagonal?” he asked.

  “Stairwell,” said Marilla.

  Eddie blew out a breath and pushed through the door. The stairwell was quiet and the air stagnant.

  Pip’s voice came over the comm. “I can’t access the main network, which is where we suspect the information on the Brotherhood is being kept. Looks like you’ll need to manually grant me access to the local network.”

  Eddie took the stairs two at a time. “Give me a minute.”

  “Beginning countdown,” said Pip.

  Eddie chuckled softly. “I didn’t mean it literally.”

  The stairs ended abruptly at a single door. Bottom level.

  “I’m here,” said Eddie, trying to keep his breathing quiet.

  “Perfect,” said Pip. I have already scrambled the surveillance cameras.” He paused. “And now I have access to the feed. You have three guards on that floor, patrolling.”

  “Sounds like I get to be the puppet on your strings, Pippy” said Eddie. “Tell me when to go. I’m ready.”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” said Pip. “The main server room is in the middle of that floor. All you have to do is run straight past a hallway on your left and then take the next door.”

  “Easy-peasy,” said Eddie. He grabbed the door handle, but paused before opening it.

  “On my signal, Blackbeard, begin sprinting at a moderate pace,” said Pip. “Quietly enough to avoid detection, but faster than a jog. You’ll have roughly ten seconds to make it to the door. Remember, that the area is locked, so have your access key ready.”

  Eddie turned the card around in his fingers. “Copy that.”

  A long moment of silence passed, during which Eddie thought his breath sounded too loud in the stairwell. Above him, a door opened and slammed shut. His best guess was three floors up, maybe four. “I’ve got company,” he whispered.

  “There’s a guard in the main hallway right now,” said Pip. “Please hold.”

  The thud of footsteps descending the stairs echoed downward. Eddie gripped his gun in one hand and stared up at the crack between the floors. He could make out a dark figure approaching, now two flights up. He pressed his lips together, keeping his breath steady.

  “All clear. Go for it, Blackbeard,” said Pip.

  Eddie wheeled around and pulled the door back, then ran across the tile floor. In his peripheral vision he saw the back of a Trid guard, but Eddie quickly disappeared into another hall. He came to a halt in front of the server room door and waved the card across the reader, but a red light blinked back at him. Damn it, he thought, whipping his head toward the stairwell. Again he waved the card over the reader, with the same result.

  “Two guards approaching from each side. They are about to flank you,” said Pip.

  He ran the key card again and it beeped too loudly—and then the green light flashed, a welcome sight to his eyes. Eddie yanked the door open and threw himself into the room as beads of sweat poured down his face.

  “That was a close one,” said Pip.

  “You’re telling me,” whispered Eddie.

  The main server room was dark and even colder than the rest of the frigid facility. Long rows of servers ran the length of the room, evenly dispersed. The only illumination was a line of blue lights above the servers.

  “You’re looking for a server marked with a backward ‘K’ next to a regular K,” said Marilla, her voice surprising him. He’d almost forgotten she was there.

  “Uhhh…any idea where to start?” asked Eddie, exchanging the access badge for a thumb-sized flashlight.

  “Chester says that he suspects the Trid would put the one we want in the center of the room toward the back, but that’s only a guess,” said Marilla. “He admits he doesn’t know.”

  “Got it. I’ll start on this goose hunt,” said Eddie as he strode down the center row, running his flashlight over the labels at the tops of the servers.

  “I’m sorry to inform you,” interjected Pip, “they’ve caught on to the scramble I placed on the surveillance. I believe they’ll fully recover it soon.”

  “Which means I need to hurry my ass up. I get it.” Spinning back and forth, Eddie checked the servers on either side of him as he progressed.

  “More bad news,” said Julianna.

  “Do tell,” said Eddie dryly.

  “They found the submarine and are investigating it. Apparently it doesn’t have Trid tags on it,” said Julianna.

  “Fuck, I’ll get caught because I didn’t register with the Trid government,” said Eddie. “Bureaucracy would be the end of me. I should have fucking known.”

  “Right now they’re just investigating it, but it might raise security alarms if we don’t hurry. You’ll have to get out of there another way,” said Julianna.

  “First I have to do what I came here to do.” Eddie stopped in front of a server marked with the symbols Marilla had described. He pulled a drive from the pocket of his jacket and plugged it into the server. “Found the spot, and I’m using the manual override stick. Let’s hope it works.”

  “Finally,” breathed Julianna, relief in her voice.

  The blue light on the server blinked several times as the drive initiated its override and Eddie tapped his foot, impatience almost overwhelming him.

  “I’m in,” Pip informed them. “I suggest escaping now.”

  “How exactly do you suggest I do that?” asked Eddie.

  “Well, they are towing the unidentified submarine out of the base,” said Julianna.

  “They seem to fear it could have explosives on it,” said Pip.

  “That’s a problem. How the fuck am I going to get out of here?” asked Eddie.

  “I might have an idea,” said Julianna, a cunning hint in her tone. “On my command, go back the way you came. Take the stairs up one floor, then use your access key to go straight through that door. That floor is empty.”

  Eddie grinned a bit. “You’re being purposely mysterious.”

  “I might be. I’ve got a surprise for you,” said Julianna, a smile in her voice.

  Eddie paused at the door, waiting for Pip’s signal.

  “You ready?” said the AI. “You’re only going to have a small window to make it through the hallway. Surveillance will come back on in thirty seconds.”

  “So no pressure, right?” asked Eddie.

  “You love it and you know it,” said Julianna.

  “Okay, get ready to run,” informed Pip. “Three, two…” There was a pause. “One. Go now.”

  Eddie whipped open the door and sprinted through the hall toward the stairwell. He was only a few meters away when Pip’s voice burst into his ear. “Trid are descending the stairs, so turn and go the opposite direction. There’s another stairwell on other side of hallway.”

  When Eddie skidded to a halt and twisted around his feet nearly slipped out from underneath him, but after recovering his balance he pushed harder. He realized he was going to run out of time to make it out of the hallway unspotted.

  “Security camera feed reinstated in five, four, three, two, one,” informed Pip.

  Eddie didn’t dare respond, opting to continue running, his feet pushing hard off the floor. He passed the hallway on the left and kept going, and spied a Trid guard down the
hall, this time facing him.

  “Hey, you! S-stop right there!” yelled the Trid.

  Red lights flashed overhead and a siren blared.

  “I’ve been spotted,” said Eddie, yanking the door open.

  “You think?” asked Julianna.

  A cacophony of thundering footsteps echoed down the stairwell. The guards had been released to search for him, but thankfully most were on other decks. Eddie sprinted up the stairs, pulling the access badge from his pocket. He had it ready when he arrived.

  The door he’d just come through opened, and he heard the stomping of bustling feet.

  “Intruder! Stop!” yelled a Trid guard.

  Eddie ran the access key over the badge reader, but it blinked red.

  “They’ve locked down their security,” informed Pip. “Looks like the access key won’t work.”

  Eddie yanked his eyes up at the thundering of racing soldiers above him and edged over to the crack where he could see the stairs below. “I’m kind of a sitting duck here.”

  “One moment,” said Pip. “Attempting lock override.”

  “Hurry!” ordered Eddie. He held up his pistol and aimed it downward, waiting for the guard to hit the landing to the next set of stairs. As soon as he did Eddie fired two shots, one of them knocking the guard to the floor.

  Above him, the guards halted. Shots were fired toward Eddie through the opening.

  He sank back flush to the wall. Below him the door to the first floor had opened again, and this time pounding footsteps followed. He couldn’t get off a shot at the approaching guards like before, not without being spotted from above.

  He raised his weapon, aiming it at the ascending stairs.

  And the access scanner suddenly beeped behind him. “Override successful,” said Pip.

  “It’s about time!” he barked, quickly pulling open the door.

  When he entered, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. It was the Trid’s landing bay. Dozens of Stingrays sat in rows high above the water on multiple platforms, ready to be stolen.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Landing Bay, Pistris Base, Planet Kai, Tangki System

  “Hot damn!” snapped Eddie, looking around the bay full of Stingrays.

  “Surprise!” said Julianna over the comm.

  “Badass!” he exclaimed, running over to the first of the many ships and climbing onto it. The door he’d just arrived through jerked as the guards tried to enter, and overhead the strobing red lights continued to swirl.

  “They can’t get through yet, but soon they’ll have it open,” said Pip, seemingly reading Eddie’s mind.

  “Hopefully I’ll be out of here by then,” he said pulling the door of the Stingray open. Compared to the submarine, this ship’s cockpit was huge. He could thank the Trid for that, since they were slightly larger than humans and required the extra space.

  “Think you can fly it?” asked Julianna.

  “I think I can sure try,” said Eddie, sliding into the seat and strapping himself in. The controls were similar to what he was used to, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of the language. “Pip, buddy, I’m gonna need you to tell me which button makes this go.”

  “The green one, I believe,” the AI informed him, “to the right of the control stick.”

  “The big one?” asked Eddie, spotting it immediately.

  “Correct,” said Pip.

  Eddie pressed the button and the ship came alive, humming gently and vibrating his seat before settling into a smooth rhythm. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “Okay, now let’s see about launching this thing.”

  “Getting out of here will be like entering the dry dock,” explained Julianna over the comm.

  “Which means I have to figure out how to make this baby swim,” said Eddie, running his fingers over the dashboard. He hit a blue button, releasing a small missile which hit the row of Stingrays across the bay. The explosion sent a wave of water in his direction, and a burst of heat shot over him.

  “Oops,” he muttered.

  “At least they can’t follow you now,” assured Julianna.

  The door for the loading bay opened, and a horde of guards rushed through and took shelter behind a stack of crates on either side of the entrance. They were poised and ready to fire, probably trying to decide if they should launch an assault on their own ships.

  Apparently the debate didn’t last long, because a series of quick shots hit the side of the Stingray seconds later.

  Eddie took the control stick in his hand and brought the Stingray forward, pulling it out of its position and wheeling it around to face the guards. He was in the open now, separated from the other ships. More shots were fired at him by the cluster of angry soldiers.

  “Damn, boys,” said Eddie. “I thought we could be friends.” Eddie positioned the guns directly at one of the largest crates and tapped the blue button again, releasing another missile.

  It hit the target, sending debris into the air. The guards leaped out of the way as fragments hit the platform.

  “All right, enough fun for you,” said Julianna. “Get the fuck out of there. You’re going to have company soon, and not just a bunch of inexperienced guards with no combat experience.”

  “Copy that, Strong Arm.” Eddie pivoted the Stingray, loving how it turned on a dime. He was slammed back into his seat as it sped forward and accelerated quickly. The spacecraft lifted off the runway, which narrowed ahead and took a sharp turn downwards into the water.

  “You figure out how to make that craft swim yet?” asked Julianna.

  Eddie’s eyes scanned the controls. “No, someone told me to leave before I had a chance.”

  “Do you see a button with three ‘Ts’ in a row on it?” asked Marilla.

  Eddie angled the craft and took the downward tunnel. Ahead, the surface of the blue water shimmered. As he expected, the landing bay was set up just like the dry dock.

  He ran his eyes over the dashboard. “Yes, I have a button like that.”

  “Hit that. It means ‘swim’ in Trid,” said Marilla.

  Eddie was approaching the water quickly. “Here goes nothing.” He pressed the button seconds before diving straight down. The ship didn’t slow as he expected, but continued to race forward like a submarine with boosters. He took a turn and saw the expanse of the ocean ahead so he increased his acceleration again and burst out the tunnel, pulling the nose up to reach the surface. The Stingray was fast and bubbles raced over it as he flew up. He broke the surface seamlessly, switching to flying in the air as gracefully as he had in the water.

  “Woohoo!” yelled Eddie. “Papa’s got a new ride!”

  “That’s you?” asked Julianna.

  “Yeah, I’m the hottie in the Stingray,” said Eddie. Beside him the Q-Ship materialized, uncloaking.

  “Welcome back, Blackbeard. Good work,” said Julianna, pacing him.

  “Good work, team. I couldn’t have made it out of there without you all,” said Eddie.

  “Let’s make for base. I have a feeling we’re going to have some Trid on our ass otherwise,” said Julianna.

  “Copy that,” said Eddie.

  Loading Dock 01, QBS ArchAngel, Tangki System

  Julianna strode over to the Stingray as it docked inside ArchAngel and waited for Eddie to pop out. As he opened the hatch he realized he was getting a fair amount of attention from the crew, who were rushing over to assist with the ship.

  “You nearly got shot at, flying that thing in here,” said Julianna, a mischievous smile on her face.

  “Let me guess: you considered not informing ArchAngel it was me, didn’t you?” asked Eddie, sliding down to the ground.

  “I considered it,” she teased.

  “Well, thanks for letting her know I wasn’t an enemy aircraft,” said Eddie, admiring the ship.

  “What in the hell?” a voice boomed from the other side of a row of cargo pods. They hadn’t been there before.

  Hatch wheeled around, his eyes wide as he took in the Stingray
on the loading dock.

  “Where the hell did you get that?” he asked, bustling over, his tentacles waggling in the air.

  Eddie rubbed the wing with the side of his hand. “’I stole it, of course.”

  Julianna turned to Hatch with a proud look on her face. “You wanted blueprints for the Stingray to understand their construction, so we did you one better and brought you an actual ship.”

  Hatch, to their surprise, didn’t look happy. “What were you thinking?! You idiots! You brought that thing into ArchAngel?”

  “Well, yeah. It was kind of my getaway ride,” admitted Eddie, confusion covering his face.

  “We have trackers on our ships. Don’t you think that the Trid will use the same technology?” asked Hatch.

  Eddie’s and Juliann’s expressions went slack. “We didn’t consider that, Hatch,” said Julianna.

  “I guessed as much.” Hatch turned to the crew standing idly behind him. “Okay, children, listen up! We’re looking for a tracker. I want you dimwits to sweep the entire ship for anything that might fit that description.” Each crew member nodded and sprang forward to begin working on the ship.

  “Sorry, Hatch,” said Julianna. “We thought we were making your job easier by bringing back the ship.”

  Hatch’s frown softened and he waved a tentacle at her. “It’s fine. You did good, Julie. Once the chip is found and destroyed we’ll be fine. ArchAngel will just have to take us through a gate to throw the Trid off, in case they are on our trail.”

  Eddie and Julianna waited for several minutes while the crew continued to examine the ship, carefully sweeping it and removing parts.

  “Found it!” a crew member finally said from inside the cockpit. He raised a hand, showing a small chip with several wires sticking out of it.

  “Keep searching, there might be more than one,” commanded Hatch. He shook his head, obviously not impressed, then turned and pursed his mouth at Eddie. “Where’s my submarine, Teach?”

  Eddie threw out his arm at the Stingray. “Buddy ol’ pal, I brought you a Stingray. Now you’ll have the technology to make crafts that fly under water. Isn’t that great?”