Absolute Zero (The Sector Wars, Book 1)

by Nicola Claire

  Marvin shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “Do you have a tracer?” I snapped, checking systems as they came online and using the last few seconds to shut down the Base and make it as dark as I could.

  It wouldn’t fool a single vessel on approach. We’d been hard docked, and they would have seen it the moment they entered the system. The Base was compromised. I felt a strange sense of loss at that. The Base had been my bolt hole for decades. The last five or so years, it had been merely a thought in the back of my head. A notion that I had somewhere physical to return to if needed.

  And now it was as good as gone.

  “I don’t know,” Marvin said.

  “Scanning,” Cassi offered. “Found it. He’s got a tracer, boss. I’m sorry I missed it.”

  “Son of a bitch,” I muttered. Cassi had been compromised and otherwise occupied, so I could hardly blame her. But I could have asked the Basic as soon as I brought the Mutt on board.

  How the flux else had Malcolm known where his son had been taken? Because he’d had an eye on him from the moment he ran away from Chi Virginis.

  “Your dad is one sneaky bastard,” I muttered.

  “I don’t wanna go back,” Marvin said. “Please don’t make me go back.”

  “Contact!” Cassi announced. “Three missiles, inbound to our location.”

  “What the flux?” Marvin shouted.

  “Correction,” Cassi said. “By the time we undock, they’ll miss us. Boss,” she said, “they’re aimed at the Base.”

  I swore a streak of words that would have got my mouth washed out as a child.

  “Get us away from it,” I finally said.

  “Separation complete. You have flight control, Zyla,” Cass said.

  I appreciated that Cassi hadn’t taken my words literally and assumed control of the ship. But then, she didn’t trust herself anymore, either. And Cass was still Cass. Our safety was paramount in her programming. She left flight in the hands of Zyla because she wasn’t sure if her motives would have been true if she didn’t.

  I hated this. Didn’t we have enough to deal with? Drones were about to wipe out twenty-three million people on Pi Mensae. And Malcolm decided to attack a New Earth installation because his son hadn’t come home to him.

  “Open a channel to that fleet,” I ordered.

  “Channel open,” Cass replied. “No response to hails.”

  “Broadcast, wide-beam.”

  “Ready. Oh, and t-minus two minutes to impact.”

  I nodded as Zy moved us farther away from the Base.

  “Does your home have a self-defence network?” Marvin asked, his wide eyes watching the vid-screen before him and the flotilla getting closer and closer.

  “I am the defence,” Cassi said.

  “The Base is gone,” I said and cleared my throat. Cass indicated I was go for wide-beam comms. “This is Commander Kael Jameson of the New Earth Space Fleet. You are attacking a New Earth military installation. Stand down your missiles and heave to for negotiation.”

  All eyes turned toward me.

  “I was never released from service,” I explained.

  “You just walked away from it,” Cassi offered. “And took me with you.”

  Zy blinked and then turned back to her vid-screen.

  The pirates didn’t offer a reply.

  “We can’t take them all on, boss,” Cass said. “We could try camo, but they can track us using Marvin’s tracer.”

  “Can you deactivate it?”

  “It’d require surgery in the med bay.”

  “Marvin, head to the med bay. Double time.”

  He shot out of his seat and ran off the bridge. It didn’t fail to register with me that I was letting him run around the vessel without supervision. But desperate times and all that.

  “Get that tracer deactivated,” I told Cass. “Zy, navigate a path around this mess toward the jump point.”

  “Is there another jump point in the system?” she asked. “Because they look like they’re moving into position to blockade that one.”

  “Shit,” I said, activating the wide-beam again.

  “This is Commander Kael Jameson of the New Earth Space Fleet. You are declaring war on a sovereign nation. Stand down your missiles at once.”

  We waited. The missiles kept coming. So did most of the flotilla.

  “Nice try, boss, but they ain’t listening.”

  “Suggestions?” I asked both Cass and Zy.

  “Countermeasures?” Zy said.

  “Do it.” I didn’t think it would work. We were too far away from the Base now; trying to stay out of blast range. One of the missiles would make it through.

  “Countermeasures away,” Cass advised.

  We watched on the screen as our railgun sent out a series of shots into the Black to meet the missiles.

  Every single missile dodged.

  “What the…?” I managed.

  “That’s new,” Cass said.

  “Who is this Mal?” Zyla asked.

  That was a question I would have liked answered too.

  But in the next second, the Base was blown to bits. Three direct hits. It was spectacular.

  It was also frightening. And it made me mad.

  “How’s that tracer going?”

  “Removal procedure is underway. T-minus ninety seconds to deactivation.”

  “Standby on my command for camo.”

  “Standing by.”

  The wide-beam let out a tone for an incoming call.

  “Should we answer that?” Cass asked.

  My jaw clenched, but I nodded.

  An image appeared on my vid-screen. The bastard was showing off with a visual comm. I schooled my features, and rested back in my chair, nonchalantly.

  “Malcolm,” I said when my eyes met the Mutt’s.

  “Jameson. You have something of mine.”

  “And you came all this way to get it. How touching.”

  “We had a deal.”

  “A pirate deal,” I countered. “Don’t you guys stab each other in the back all the time?”

  “There is a code of honour, Jameson. Which you just shat all over.”

  “Nice,” I said chuckling. “Your son wants nothing to do with you, Old Man,” I added without trying to soften the blow at all.

  “That is not news to me and has nothing to do with our deal.”

  Damn.

  “I told you what the consequences would be should you fail your end of the bargain,” he said.

  “So, let’s call the bombing of my Base even,” I tried.

  “That was a warning shot.”

  “You’re asking for trouble, Malcolm. That was a New Earth military installation.”

  “And now I know what to look for in other nondescript systems.”

  Son of a fluxing whore.

  “Ah,” he said. “I’ve hit a nerve.”

  I said nothing.

  “I already have ships scanning systems for other bases like this one, Jameson. They’ll find one eventually. Maybe more. How many does the New Earth Space Fleet have? Enough to cause an intragalactic incident with the other nations?”

  “You know,” I said. “I really don’t like you.”

  “I’ve heard it all before. Heave to for boarding. I suggest you cooperate this time. The consequences are getting worse.”

  He disconnected and all I could hear for a moment was a ringing in my ears.

  “The tracer?” I finally managed.

  “I’m ready to deactivate it on your word,” Cass advised.

  “Do it.”

  “Even with camo, Kael,” Zy said, “it’s going to get rough reaching that jump point.”

  “And this is his camo,” I said. “Shit!”

  My hand thumped down on the armrest of my command chair. Marvin entered the bridge a moment later, a bandage over the back of his neck.

  “Do what he says, Captain,” the Mutt said. “He’ll kill us all to prove a point.”


  “He won’t kill you,” I muttered.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve always been a disappointment to him. And now he’s got a fleet of pirates at his back; he has to act decisively or lose face. Losing face to us is the equivalent of losing power. My father likes his power, Captain. He likes it more than anything in the universe.”

  “Is that why you ran?”

  Marvin stilled and then sighed. “I ran because he wanted me to marry the Mal daughter of a rival. It would have cemented a business relationship years in the making.”

  “You ran because of a girl?”

  “I ran because my father should not have considered joining with such a Mal. He was brutal. He killed for pleasure. I would have no part in it.”

  “You said was,” I murmured.

  “He’s dead.”

  “Who killed him?”

  “I did.”

  “Better him than you, huh?”

  “Better him than my father finding another way to join with him.”

  Marvin had a conscience and balls big enough to back it. I liked that. I realised I liked the Mutt after all.

  “We could fight,” I said.

  “That code,” he murmured, not making eye contact. “Even cleaned from Cassi’s system, it can do damage.”

  “Son of a bitch,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it can only be activated if my father is close enough to send the signal and I didn’t think he’d get close enough. I didn’t know about the tracer, Captain; I swear!”

  “So, what’s the solution here?” I demanded. “How do we clean that shit out once and for good from Cass?”

  “You need my father’s master code for that.”

  “And you don’t know that either,” I hissed.

  He looked utterly defeated, and I felt momentarily guilty about that. But, flux it! The ship was compromised. In yet another fashion. And it was all because of this Mutt before me. And the one hanging off the starboard bow.

  “Captain?” Zy pressed. “Do you want me to make best speed to the jump point?”

  Did I want to risk it?

  Twenty-three million on Pi Mensae depending on us, even if they didn’t know they were.

  But it was the two beings — my navigator and engineer; my family — and one third-gen AI on board this ship that made me shake my head.

  “Shut down engines,” I said.

  “Cap’n?” came Odo’s slightly surprised drawl over the comm. “Did you authorise that or is Cass…?”

  “We’re about to be boarded by pirates, Odo,” I said. “Disarm and meet us at the docking hatch.”

  “Disarm? Are you crazy?”

  “Let’s do this with as little blood on my hands as possible, please?”

  He didn’t reply, but I was fairly sure he’d follow my directive.

  I looked at Zyla. She nodded her head in agreement and started to remove her weapons. I followed suit, stashing mine in a hidden compartment beneath the command chair. My eyes met Marvin’s. He looked away again as if indicating he’d act like he hadn’t seen a thing when and if I ever needed those weapons to defend us.

  “Do you think your father can be reasoned with?” I asked Marvin on the way to the docking hatch.

  “If it suits his purposes,” Marvin said.

  “How did you turn out so empathetic?” Zyla asked.

  “My mother was a good Mal.”

  Another ‘was.’ This time I didn’t ask.

  I stood in the front; I was captain of the ship. Zyla stood behind me and, somehow, Odo had decided that he’d protect Marvin and stood in front of the Mutt.

  “Cass,” I said. “Can you hide?”

  “Can a warlord on Leonis Bb drink a crate of Rhodian whisky without falling on his arse? They won’t see me, boss. I guarantee it.”

  I allowed myself a small smile. “It’s good to have you back, Cass.”

  She didn’t say anything. She was already hiding.

  “Is the infiltration protocol still running?” Zy asked as we felt the hard dock connect with Malcolm’s ship.

  “Yes. It’ll help if they do find her.” Not to mention still help against the alien hack.

  “This sucks,” Odo growled.

  Marvin looked like he was about to face his death.

  I glanced at each of my crew, including Marvin, and felt a deep anger brewing. It was my job to protect them. To make the decisions that saved their lives. I wasn’t at all sure of what this decision would mean. All of our deaths?

  Twenty-three million of them?

  Granted, we were one corvette. But those drones had only dropped half a dozen nukes on the planets they’d attacked so far — half a dozen. Surely, one corvette could handle that many.

  But now, we may never know.

  The docking light changed to green, and then the door wheel began to turn. I straightened my shoulders. I felt Zyla and Odo do the same. Marvin was shaking slightly.

  For a Mutt renown for his fighting prowess, it was all kinds of fluxed up, and I wanted more than anything to punch Malcolm in the face as soon as I saw him.

  Which was right then.

  The hatch swung open, and Malcolm stood there in his worn, green armour. Behind him stood half a dozen more Mutts in equally as worn armour. He’d brought his best.

  It might have made me feel happy that he’d felt threatened enough to do that if this whole thing wasn’t so fluxed up.

  “Not gonna welcome you aboard, Malcolm,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t have expected it, Jameson.” He stepped onto the ship, looked around it as if seeing it for the very first time, and then let his attention land on his son.

  A torrent of words in Mal was spoken.

  Marvin, bless his warrior’s arse, answered in English.

  “I will kill you if you harm them, Father.”

  “There’s no need to be so dramatic,” Malcolm said in Earth Standard. He flicked his hand, and a Mutt stepped forward, the rest of them covering him with raised rifles pointed at our heads.

  We were searched in quick order, including Marvin. And then two of the Mutt’s seized Marvin by the upper arms and started to haul him off the vessel.

  Things went south after that.

  Clearly, Marvin thought being separated from us either meant his doom or ours, because he fought back. I could hardly let him get all the punches in, so I joined him. Odo, not to be outdone, threw his weight in with mine. Zyla was Zenith and above such shows of physical strength.

  She just went around the edges and cold-cocked them one by one instead. Unfortunately, Mutts had thick heads, and they were all wearing armour.

  In less than a minute, we’d been subdued. High-tensile strength bands around our hands, bruises blooming across our faces. I thought my nose might have been broken. I spat out a wad of blood onto Malcolm’s armour.

  It blended in as if it belonged there. Rather disappointing, really.

  “That was unnecessary,” Malcolm said.

  “You’re taking one of my crew,” I slurred. The plasma rifle to the side of the head I’d been given had clearly done a number on my previous concussions.

  “Your crew?”

  “Yeah,” I said, and spat some blood out again just to be ornery. “Marvin’s my…” My what? “Marvin’s my combat specialist sergeant.”

  “Your combat specialist?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

  Malcolm blinked at me. Then looked at his son.

  “You befriended them,” he accused.

  “They’re good beings, Father.”

  “You know I can’t let this go,” Malcolm said.

  “He was a murderer. I did what I had to do.”

  “Not that,” Malcolm said, waving his son’s misdemeanour away. “Jameson broke a deal.”

  “What if the deal was different?” Marvin said.

  “What do you suggest?”

  Marvin stepped closer to his father and lowered his voice. I’m not sure why he did
that. All of the Mutts on board could hear him through their sensitive helmet mics.

  “What if the plan was to get me inside a New Earth military vessel all along and this was an elaborate ruse to make it easier for Jameson to accept me?”

  Interesting notion, I thought and leaned back against the legs of the nearest Mutt because things were spinning around my head and making me want to topple over.

  “To what end?” Malcolm asked.

  “Well,” Marvin said. “I hadn’t thought it through yet.”

  “Because you know about the alien invasion,” Zyla said. “And you’re protecting your interests by placing a man on the inside of the vessel that has the only known data on the drone attacks.”

  Malcolm stared at her. I did too. The Mutts in armour kept themselves closed down as if they’d been instructed to remain mute.

  I looked back at Malcolm.

  “Interesting,” he said to his son. “And you’d communicate with me on a regular basis, allowing me to stay one step ahead of the aliens.”

  Something was missing, but I couldn’t quite catch it. My thoughts were skittering wildly across the inside of my pounding head.

  “I’d do that,” Marvin said.

  “Using the communications device inside Jameson’s berth.”

  What now?

  “What device?’ Marvin asked.

  Malcolm knelt down in front of me and smiled.

  “Do we have a deal?”

  “Who the hell are you?” I muttered.

  He held out a hand and said, “Your new business partner, Captain.”

  And then it hit me. This had been all planned. Right from the beginning. Marvin, I was pretty sure, hadn’t been in on it. Malcolm had used his son like he would us; for his own purposes. To protect Chi Virginis and the Mutt’s business interests there.

  “You’re a hardcore son of a bitch,” I said.

  He smiled, showing yellow teeth.

  “Do we have a deal, Captain?”

  What choice did I have? Twenty-Three million people.

  Or, looked at from another perspective, an AI and three beings; my family.

  I spat a globule of blood into my hand and gripped Malcolm’s palm.

  I pulled him closer and growled into his slightly disgusted face, “If you screw me like this again, it won’t be your son who comes for you.”

  The Mutt just laughed. And then he and his men left.

  Chapter Nineteen