“Describe it,” Ponty said.
Grayson studied it.
“It’s gray, in the usual style of Argus ships. But there is a large rear section, almost box-like. The airlock is unusually large, and it has more weapons than I’m used to seeing. Six machine guns, a pulse blaster, and some other artillery I don’t recognize.”
“That matches the description of Orjuk’s ship,” Ponty said. His tone was thoughtful.
“Looks like he’s been hit,” Will said. “Our thermal scan shows the ship at half power. She’s got moderate hits on the airlock.”
“They’re flying away,” Beau said.
“What about the weapons?” Ponty asked.
“From what I can tell, they’re still active, but a good portion of them are damaged,” Grayson said, zooming in his camera sights on several broken machine guns.
“Grayson, how are your weapons?” Ponty asked.
“One machine gun is spent. I’ve got two more before we have to reload. We’re okay for now.”
Silence.
Beau, Will and Grayson looked at each other.
Will muted his radio.
“Guess we ought to prepare to go home, eh?” he said.
Grayson tightened his grip on the joystick.
Orjuk was so close. The prisoners would have had to have been onboard.
“Gentlemen,” Ponty said finally, “As long as he’s in our galaxy, we’re within our rights. Let’s detain that ship. We’ll see how Orjuk screams to GALPOL now.”
Grayson smiled.
“Yes, sir,” they all said.
Will cheered as Beau fired up the thrusters at full speed and pursued Orjuk.
Chapter 28
Orjuk’s ship wove between two airships engaged in battle with two other Argus ships.
The warships didn’t fire at it.
“Stay locked on him but let’s hold our fire,” Beau said.
“Okay,” Grayson said. It was a struggle to keep Orjuk in his sights; the ship twisted through the battlefield quickly. But he kept the joystick steady and stared at the screen, unflinching.
“How long until the hamshanks is on to us?” Will said.
“Probably won’t be long,” Beau said. “That’s why we need to save our firepower. We’ll have to bring those passengers home alive, so you’re going to have to shoot strategically, Grayson.”
“I always do,” Grayson said.
Orjuk broke free of the chaos and plowed forward into open space.
Beau navigated around a field of debris and followed.
“Not going to be able to hide anymore,” Beau said. “Let’s give him a warning shot, and then I’ll open up the radio.”
Grayson clicked a button on the joystick and activated the machine gun. He fired a quick round and intentionally missed the ship.
Beau switched on his radio. “Orjuk, stand down. This is Petty Officer Beauregard of the Galactic Guard. Your ship will be detained.”
Silence.
“He’s scared,” Will said. “Hopefully he’s scared.”
“Doubt it,” Grayson said.
“Bok bok bok bok bok—arrgh!”
It was definitely Orjuk.
“I didn’t understand any of that,” Beau whispered. “Guys, any thoughts?”
“Say oink oink and see what happens,” Grayson said.
Beau switched on the radio again. “Stand down, Orjuk, or we’ll shoot.”
“Pa-bok humans bok!”
“He’s playing the hostage card,” Grayson said.
“Fire a shot,” Beau said.
Grayson fired, hitting the airlock with gunfire.
“Bok! Bok!”
“We’re serious,” Beau said. “If you don’t speak English, then we’ll speak the language of force.”
“Pa-bok bok!”
“Fire again,” Beau said.
Grayson fired. Flames erupted on the back of the ship momentarily before burning out.
Orjuk squealed and shut off his radio.
The Argus ship began to slow down.
“He’s listening,” Beau said, surprised. “Maybe he understood us after all?”
“Never trust an Argus,” Grayson said. “If there’s anything I’ve learned from this, it’s that.”
“Stay alert,” Beau said.
“Thrusters are powering down,” Will said. “Their speed is decreasing gradually.”
“Let’s slow our speed to match,” Beau said. “Grayson, keep your visual.”
“I’ve got them locked in, Beau.”
The Argus ship finally slowed to a stop.
Beau eased the rescue ship to a stop as well. The quiet hum of the rescue ship’s ventilation system overpowered the engines.
“He’s at a full stop,” Will said.
“Beauregard to base,” Beau said. “We’ve stopped Orjuk’s ship. Do you advise boarding?”
“Go ahead and board,” Ponty said. “Disarm them first.”
“Affirmative,” Grayson said. “I’ve got a visual on their guns. No threats at this time.”
Will flicked a switch. “I’ll activate a weapon disarming blast. Temporary pulse should disarm them for long enough to get all the passengers onboard.”
Grayson unclicked his seat belt and slid out of his chair. Beau replaced him immediately and grabbed the joystick, his focus on the screen.
“Be careful, Grayson.”
“Orjuk’s the one that needs to be careful,” Grayson said.
The pig was his.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Will said. “Beau, get to the control panel, now!”
Outside, Orjuk’s ship began to glow purple.
“Goddamn it,” Beau said. “They’re jumping into hyperspace!”
A blast of purple light appeared and Orjuk’s ship jumped forward, leaving a trail of plasma behind.
“That sneaky bastard!” Will said.
“Activate the jump core!” Beau said.
Will cursed. “The pulse beam is loading. I have to shut it down first.”
As Beau fired up the engines, Will watched a green meter on the ship decrease all the way to zero.
Grayson ran toward his seat, but the ship’s acceleration threw him back. He grabbed onto the edge of a nearby instrument panel and held on.
“Beauregard to base,” Beau said frantically. “Orjuk jumped into hyperspace. We’re beginning pursuit. Will is sending the coordinates to you now.”
“Coordinates sent,” Will said. He smacked a button on the panel. “I got Orjuk’s coordinates just before he jumped. We’ll be able to chase him. Jump core activated.” He looked to Grayson. “Hang on, buddy!”
Grayson held on tight.
“Here we go!” Beau said.
The ship rocketed forward into hyperspace.
Chapter 29
Purple light bloomed around the ship as it charged through a column of hyperspace.
“Successful entry,” Beau said, turning the lights on the bridge down low to compensate for the brightness outside.
“Radio’s offline,” Will said.
Grayson climbed into his chair and focused on the camera. He locked his crosshairs on Orjuk’s ship, which was farther ahead now.
“I’ve got a visual,” Grayson said. “He’s moving at approximately three point five FTL.”
“Where are we at, Will?” Beau asked.
“Two FTL,” Will said. “Increasing speed now.”
The ship rattled and rumbled and shook as it closed the gap between them and Orjuk. Hyperspace blazed and danced across the windows, the stars twinkling faintly through the purple screen.
“What are we at now?” Beau asked.
“Three FTL,” Will said. “And you guys better thank baby Jesus for it. Any faster and we’ll put stress on the jump core.”
“Their ship is smaller than ours,” Grayson said. “Doesn’t surprise me that they can travel faster.”
“Maintain the visual,” Beau said.
The ship pivoted toward the curved
wall of the hyperspace column, nearly touching it.
“What’s he doing?” Will asked.
Orjuk turned again, flying toward the other wall.
“He’s trying something,” Beau said. “This time we won’t fall for it.”
Will called Beau and pointed to a screen of a star map. “We’re about five minutes away from the edge of the galaxy. Our jurisdiction ends soon.”
“Screw the jurisdiction,” Beau said. “This is a GALPOL problem. Ponty would agree.”
“Yeah, but what about the Captain?” Will asked. “Ponty already got chewed out once. If it happens again, we’re next.”
“I say we keep following,” Grayson said. “Orjuk knows the star maps. That’s why he took the shortest route out of the galaxy. We just have to hope no ships are waiting for us when exit hyperspace.”
“Get your weapons online,” Beau said.
Grayson maneuvered the joystick. He couldn’t fire in hyperspace. In doing so he might damage the rescue ship instead, since the physics of light travel worked against just about every normal force. Orjuk must have known as well, because he wasn’t attacking either.
But once they left hyperspace, the battle would begin.
Orjuk strafed again to the other side of the hyperspace wall.
“Something’s wrong,” Beau said. “I don’t like this at all.”
And then the ship crashed into the purple wall with an eruption of light.
“Will!” Beau shouted.
“They’ve exited!” Will cried. “Get out, Beau!”
Beau jerked the joystick and the rescue ship barreled toward the wall of hyperspace. Beau flicked a few switches and pulled hard on the joystick as hyperspace evaporated around the ship.
Purple turned into starry black and the ship charged through space as Beau slowly decelerated.
“Did we exit at the same place?” Beau asked.
Grayson searched the area frantically, moving his camera in all directions. Then he spotted Orjuk’s ship in the distance, slowing to a standstill.
Grayson frowned. “We’re still in Rah space, aren’t we?”
“Yep,” Will said.
“This pig is unpredictable,” Beau said. “Well, we’re going to put a stop to it.”
“Warming up the pulse blast,” Will said. “Approximately thirty seconds until blast.”
“Grayson, fire,” Beau said.
Grayson fired several shots at the ship, striking the side.
Beau opened the radio. “Orjuk, stand down! We will shoot, and we will kill.”
It was a bluff, but Grayson knew what Beau was doing.
No one answered on the radio.
“Pulse is online,” Will said. “Firing now, baby!”
A blue blast exploded from the bottom of the ship and struck Orjuk’s ship. A small fire erupted on the side of the Argus ship as all the fuses on the ship smoked, simmered, and then burned out.
Grayson fired again, striking the ship and setting a small fire near the cockpit.
He unbuckled his seat belt and started for the airlock.
“No, you don’t,” Will said, unstrapping himself. “I’m coming with you.”
“I’ll be fine here by my lonesome,” Beau said, grinning.
“Hopefully we won’t be long,” Grayson said.
“Let’s finish the mission,” Beau said.
Grayson and Will high-fived and ran toward the airlock.
Chapter 30
Grayson and Will each grabbed a handcoil and climbed into a spacesuit.
“Feels like déjà vu,” Will said. He threw a few punches at the air and did a sad excuse of a roundhouse karate kick.
“Come on, man,” Grayson said. “Concentrate.”
“I’ve concentrated,” Will said. “Been doing it the last five years.”
Grayson latched his helmet and turned on his oxygen. His levels beeped. One hundred percent.
The last time he was in a spacesuit, he nearly died. Yet he was glad to be in it again.
They loaded their handcoils with bullets.
Beau spoke on the intercom. “You guys ready?”
“Ready,” Grayson and Will said.
“We lost the air box, so this is going to be a duo mission,” Beau said. “Start shooting the moment you get inside.”
“Hell, let’s start now,” Will said. “Ha. Ha. Kidding.”
Grayson didn’t like Will’s attitude. Trigger-happy. Too trigger-happy. He closed his eyes for a moment, then continued dressing.
A small jolt shook the ship.
“Ropes are connected,” Beau said.
“Thanks,” Grayson said.
“Come back alive, guys,” Beau said. “I don’t like flying alone.”
“Need a night light before we go?” Will asked as he and Grayson connected themselves to a metal hoist.
Grayson grabbed a box of tools—pry bars and welding torches.
“Get out of here,” Beau said.
The airlock door opened and they floated out into space.
***
They inched through the vacuum.
“What’s waiting for us in there?” Grayson said through the radio.
“At least six or seven plates of good eatin’,” Will said.
“I wouldn’t eat them,” Grayson said.
“Oh come on, the DNA is practically the same.”
Grayson chuckled.
“You think there’s maybe six or seven Arguses onboard?”
“Yeah, from the looks of it.”
“You want tool duty or you want me to take it?”
“I’ll take it,” Will said. “I’m better with a torch.”
Will’s dad was a welder and Will did welding a lot as part of his mechanic job. Heck, Will had taught Grayson how to use many of the tools in the toolbox he was carrying.
“You’re up,” Grayson said, tossing the toolbox.
Will caught it by the handle.
They landed on the ship next to the airlock. Grayson unhooked his handcoil as Will grabbed the torch.
He activated it, and a fan of sparks flew into space as Will started cutting a hole tall and wide into the airlock door.
The metal burned easily, leaving a glowing red line behind as Will carefully moved the torch over it. He waited next to Will, handcoil drawn.
Will began his final arc into the metal, inching downward the last few feet. Before sawing the door clean off, he stopped a few inches short, drew his handcoil and hugged the wall next to the door so that he and Grayson were on opposite sides.
Without saying anything, they nodded to each other.
Grayson held up his fingers and counted down.
Three…
Two…
One…
Grayson reached out and punched the newly cut door as hard as he could. The last few inches of metal broke and the door floated into the airlock.
Then he felt the vibrations.
Gunshots.
Zzt! Zzt! Zzt!
The bullets breezed by them and into space.
“They didn’t waste any time,” Will said.
Zzt! Zzt! Zzt! Zzt! Zzt!
Grayson couldn’t hear the gunshots, but he could feel them.
Zzt! Zzt!
Pause.
Silence.
Grayson and Will turned and looked into the airlock.
The passengers, dressed in spacesuits, were strung up on the walls. Several Arguses in black spacesuits hid behind them, using them as shields.
“Damn!” Grayson said.
He and Will took cover again as the Arguses fired another torrent of shots.
“What do we do?” Will asked.
Grayson waited for another pause. Then, the metal door flew out of the airlock.
Will grabbed it. He put away his handcoil and applied the welding torch to it, cutting it in half.
He tossed the other half to Grayson.
“I like the way you think,” Grayson said, holding up the metal like a shield.
> They turned into the ship and fired a few false shots, shooting at the floor.
Then they took cover again as the Arguses fired once more.
Pause.
Signaling to each other, they charged into the airlock.
Grayson ran left. Will ran right.
The Arguses fired, but the two used the metal as a shield. Grayson crouched and shot an Argus in the stomach. It squealed and fell over as the bullet pierced its black suit. The pig went unconscious as the oxygen rushed from its suit.
Will shot an Argus, who also fell to the floor. Then an impact knocked Grayson back.
An Argus who had been shooting at him ducked behind three children—the children he’d played soccer with. Grayson aimed and shouted, “Hands up!”
Then he felt footsteps charging at him.
Another Argus jumped out of the shadows.
WHACK!
A slab of metal hit the pig on the head, cracking its helmet.
Will.
He’d thrown his shield.
The Argus hiding behind the children aimed for him. Will was completely exposed.
Grayson jumped, pushed off the wall and rolled behind the children. He shot the pig in the back and it fell forward. With a kick, Grayson pushed it out of the airlock.
Will’s eyes widened. “Six o’clock. Duck!”
He ducked just in time to miss a steel pipe to his helmet.
Orjuk.
The evil pig was even fatter in person, fatter than all of the other pigs, and distinguished by a boar’s head.
“Bok bok!”
Grayson backflipped away.
Zzzt! Zzzt!
Will fired but Orjuk leaped, gravity carrying him high over the bullets. In midair, he pulled out a handcoil—
Grayson and Will unloaded their coils into him.
Zzzt! Zzzt Zzzt!
Orjuk squealed as the bullets ripped through him. He dropped his coil, and his eyes closed as his helmet cracked and the oxygen left his suit. He rolled into a bloody ball and ricocheted off the walls.
Grayson grabbed him by the legs and flung him out of the airlock.
“Good riddance,” he said.
The passengers, who had watched the fight anxiously, relaxed somewhat.
“We’re gonna get you guys out of here,” Grayson said. He tucked his handcoil onto his belt.
Honor's Reserve (Galaxy Mavericks Book 1) Page 10