“Everyone just shut up and freeze now!” Jack whispered back as the squad approached.
Jack heard one set of boots stop in front of the door with the red outline of a body with multi colored lines running through the body from the goon’s heart and nervous system. Watching the blood pulsing through its body. The door shook and rattled. “Locked, guess I was seeing things.” Came a voice and the boots proceeded on down the passageway with the figure rejoining the others. “Hey Buzzard, trade me one of your red heads for a blond will you? I only get two and I just realized that having two blonds will get boring after a while.”
Jack could not believe the moron figuring that he had not seen what he had seen simply because it was locked? Jack would have scratched his head if he could have reached it. As it was, he was simply trying to breath with a face full of boob. He couldn’t even turn around. Glad that the Ensign was not there to see him in that predicament.
Finally the three man squad turned the corner heading for the other side of the deck. Fumbling with the lock Jack got the door opened and they all tumbled out of the closet spreading cleaning materials across the passageway.
Jack headed down the passageway in the direction the squad had come from as the rest picked themselves up from the deck. His blackened visor allowing him to see the passageways half way around the ship. Ducking around the corner he went half way down the next passageway and stopped at a maintenance panel in the side of the passageway. Using tools from his maintenance utility belt Jack unscrewed the fasteners setting the panel against the bulkhead backwards. Cutting off the fastener ends sticking through the panel that held the panel across the opening. Then using the laser pistol on low power Jack tack weld them on from the back leaving no trace that the fasteners were not what they were supposed to be.
As everyone caught up to him. “Everyone down the chase. Commander Glenn, you first, No banging around and don’t open anything until I get down there.” Jack said as he worked. Glancing around the deck’s passageways.
The lieutenant looked at Jack strangely. “How we supposed to open anything from the inside of a chase? All the hatches have to be opened from the deck side just like this one.”
“You just let me worry about that Shepperd and get your butt down the chase.” The blank black visor said back to her as she tried to figure out how he was even seeing out through it. Not to mention seeing the patrol coming without any of them getting near the corner to look down the curved passageway to see them coming, let alone that they would turn off from the curving passageway and down the passageway they were in instead of simply continuing on around the outer hull of the ship.
Frowning, she stepped over the knee knocker grabbing ahold of the vertical ladder attached to the side of the Chase and started down. Pan and Krump had to pull themselves through the hatch but then they just floated down. Red had a hell of time squeezing through the hatch. Jack suddenly realized that the bump he had felt in her stomach when he was plastered between her breasts that seemed even larger than the last time he was in that predicament, was the child from her husband who had died during the battle when Jack had liberated her, her sister and thousands of other slaves from the Spider ship he was stripping at the time. It was only a little bump still as the Giant Greenfoots had a pregnancy that lasted 18 months instead of 9 but still noticeable now that he had no choice but to look. He could see the little heartbeat and blood flowing through its little body and realize that it was a girl. Laying down the Pistol for a second, Jack gave her stuck butt a push to get her through the hatch. Wondering why she had not stuck her damn butt through the hatch first instead of last or gone through sideways one leg at a time in the first place.
Red turned back around sticking her head through the opening. “I still won’t marry you Captain no matter how much you tickle my fancy.”
Jack shook his head as he froze with the pistol next to the fastener that needed tacked. “What?… Aaaa… Well, burst my bubble why you don’t. Will I ever get over the disappointment? Now get your butt down the Chase. I am almost done here.” Jack could not help smiling. That had been the third or fourth time she had said she wouldn’t marry him and as always, it was when shit was hitting the damn fan, minutes away from possibly dying and the last thing anyone in their right mind would be thinking about even if it was not true or possible. Chuckling, Jack went back to tacking the fasteners on so they would not hang out into the passageway when he pulled the hatch closed form inside the Chase. Giving away the fact that someone was using the Chase when they shouldn’t be.
Putting the pistol back into its holster Jack backed through the hatch opening trying to climb onto the ladder and hang onto the hatch with the other hand when suddenly he felt something on his butt holding him up. Looking down he saw Red with one foot on a conduit/pipe mounting brace, the other on the ladder and her hands over her head on his butt as a seat holding him up. “My turn to tickle your fancy and I still will not marry you.”
“Well dash my hopes again will you.” Jack chuckled as he used both hands to pull the hatch into its recess making it flush with the passageway’s bulkhead. Then looking down trying to keep from chuckling as he took out his pistol. “Turn your head away. I would hate for you to see me crying.” And started tracking the seam around the hatch to hold it in. The bright flashes from the laser lighting up the whole chase was bright enough to blind you if you looked at it without protection and Red didn’t with her suit wide open preventing her from using the helmet and face plate in her suit’s collar.
A few minutes later Jack put his pistol away after changing power mag’s and grabbed onto the ladder taking his own weight. “Ok Red, thanks. That made it a lot easier. You can start dropping down now.”
She moved her foot from the ladder onto another pipe bracket and moved over against the back side of the Chase and the pipes and conduits but still taking up most of the chase. “You first Captain.”
Jack opened his mouth to argue with her but decided it was a waste of time and started climbing down squeezing past her between her breasts. A few more steps and he was level with her child as she moved inside her mother and could not help reaching out and patting the bulge. “You have a beautiful little girl there Red.” And continued down.
“That felt nice. If you want to rub my tummy you can. Oh… How do you know it is a girl?”
Jack stopped and looked up over her slightly bulging stumach and between her huge breasts at Red looking down at him. “I can… Aaa… Well sometimes Captains just now things.” Looking back at the child in her womb he reached back up and rubbed her stomach for a few seconds over the child. Feeling the life within tickling his mind. Surprising him. He had not expected that at all. “Yes she is definitely beautiful indeed.”
“Yes well, being her Godfather I would hope you would think so. If you accept.”
“Sure love why not.” Jack said without thinking as he dropped down several steps before it dawned on him what she had said stopping him cold. It took him several seconds before he looked back up at Red who hadn’t moved. Shaking his head as she smiled down at him. “The next best thing to marrying you Red. Thanks. I am honored.” Not having a clue what it being a Godfather meant. Trying to figure out the joke.
“You know that comes with the responsibility of rubbing my stomach and talking to her at least once a day to stimulate her mental growth and continue bonding with her Godfather since her daddy can’t be around and I don’t really want to choose a new mate right now. I have no desire. I was afraid I would have to take a mate just for my child’s health until just now when you started bonding with her. Thank you Captain.”
‘Oooooww shit.’ Jack said to himself. So much for it being some kind of honorary thing or a joke. Not to mention adding to the problem her clan seniors had discussed with Pan and then Pan with him. This was not the solution anyone wanted except maybe Red. Talking about screwing the pooch. Shit! That was one old saying he damn will was not ever saying again even to himself. But he was definitel
y in trouble.
“We will talk later Godfather.”
“Aaa Ya. Later Red.” Grabbing onto the outer rail of the vertical ladder with his gloved hands and pressing his boot insteps into the side rails, Jack started to slide rapidly down the chase. A trick he had learned long ago on the Turner Joy, the Tramp ship he grew up on. Using the heel of his boot turned into the rungs of the ladder to slow him, he slid down the latter quickly catching up to the others. Digging his heals in he slowed down and stopped on the maintenance deck between the vacant gun deck and the active gun deck above the devastated engine sections of the ship. This maintenance deck had half way normal hatches into the between hull chases you could open with a turn of a handle to get into and out of the Chases for maintenance without having to take off a dozen screws. The deck was also directly below the gun deck that had no guns where he could see most of the crewmen were clustered. Though he could not make out why groups of them were clustered into sections around the outside hull of the deck. With other crewmen seeming to be in strange places around the other side of the deck’s core. Including what looked like a couple of the cooler temperature Gronks or Apes but their fuzzy bodies looked strange for Gronk/Apes.
Jack could not see anyone near the Chase’s section of the deck they were on and tried the hatch. It started to open but something was blocking it. Jack could not see cold metal or inanimate objects without some kind of energy that would reflect off of it. Which was why he could see so fare across the ship if it was dark enough and he had enough time. While the deck was filled with live power lines, most were a distance away. With all the lines in the chase fluid or Comm lines that did not have enough energy for Jack to see what was on the other side and blocking the hatch from opening. Intentionally designed that way to keep power lines from interfering with Comm lines allowing greater band width and the use of cheaper lines.
Jack moved his head around from side to side and up and down a few rungs while staring at the same spot, finally deciding that the problem had to be a lock between an eye on the hatch and another eye on the combing next to it. Taking out his laser pistol he checked again for anyone in the compartment between outer and inner hulls on the other side of the hatch and aimed at the vague blob at the edge of the hatch he hoped was the problem. Pulling the trigger a part of him was surprised when the hatch swung open leaving a padlock dangling on the side of the hatch opening.
Jack headed for the open hatch to the next tween hulls compartment around the ship to the left instead of out into the ship. After spending months as the Captain of the Red Pepper (an identical ship) Jack knew exactly where he needed to go and it looked like there was no one in the way to slow them down at the moment. The only hot bodies on that deck were near the core. Turning around at the hatch Jack watched Red slide sideways through the Chases hatch, putting one leg through first as she ducked through then pulling the other through. Then she turned, closed the hatch and used her laser pistol to spot weld the padlock back onto the hatch. “Don’t worry about that Red. Let’s go.”
“Got it already Captain.” And took off after the rest catching up in only a couple of steps.
Jack quickly moved through the compartments to the one he needed as he looked up through the deck at the mass of bodies above. A hatch in the overhead led from the empty emergency power compartment they were in, to the empty distribution compartment for the turret that was supposed to be through the hull next door on the empty gun deck that wasn’t.
Climbing the vertical ladder Jack was again surprised when the hatch opened without a problem and climbed through. Going to the inner hulls hatch Jack flipped open his visor and cracked it open to look through and then closed it again. Stepping back in disbelief.
Cmd. Glenn looked at Jack’s white face as he backed away from the hatch and frowned. “Is someone outside the hatch?” She whispered as she pulled the Blast Pistol out of its holster.
Jack shook his head no. “No.”
Baffled, Commander Glenn stepped to the hatch, cracked it open and gasped.
“What is it?” Pan demanded in a whisper as she tried to see around the Captain before looking over her head.
“They have two of my Gronks chained half way up the core bulkhead like stuffed toughies mounted on the wall.” Commander Glenn looked sick. “One has only stubs for arms and legs. The other at least has his arms.” Letting out a breath of relief. “At least they still seam alive. I can see them moving a little I think. I was told that they would be killed. The Commodore made that perfectly clear. God I hope they are still alive and not just my wishful thinking.”
“Yes they are still alive.” Jack said. “They are Simi cold blooded lizards that look like hairless Apes with armored plates for skin. They can lose a leg and grow it back if given time. If they live that long.”
“My god. Now what is going on?” Cmd. Glenn whispered from the cracked hatch. “They are taking groups of my crew out of what looks like holding pens toward some kind of compound around the South power Chase. Or where it should be. It looks like they have cut the chase to the upper decks out leaving a hole in the overhead and put a wall of cargo containers around it with guards on top of them and they are putting groups of my crewmen they have captured into it. Some can barely walk.” Shaking her head. “I thought you were guessing Captain but it looks like they are giving them weapons and painting their white suits black before they put them inside the compound.” Closing the hatch she stepped back. “We have to stop them before they go down that chase or they will be slaughtered.”
“Yes I know Commander. I am the one that told you. They don’t stand a chance with training power pack mags in their weapons.” Jack looked down at the black suit plates they had insisted in putting over his Red combat suit the exslave refugees had made for him. Thin maroon red streaks still shown down his sides between the black plates that were too small to cover him completely over his own suit. Still wondering how he wound up with them on. “At least you guys have suits that match Commodore Kings men.” Taking a deep breath.
“Your red strips will not even be noticed Captain and the Training mags do not matter. I did not lie to the Commodore when I told him that the south power chase was not heavily defended even though it goes deep into my ship.” The Commander said closing her eyes.
“Then they have nothing to worry about if we can get those damn bomb packs off of the ones that have them.”
“No. If they go down that chase they are dead.” She looked at Jack. “We cleared a path to open space through the wreckage of our ship’s lower bow gundeck. If they attack down that chase into the compartment that Chase empties into in my ship. The bulkhead will be blown voiding the compartment and the Chase to vacuum, killing them all and everyone up here if they have done what I now suspect and opened up the Chases shaft all the way up into the ship. The only way they could get enough people into the shaft fast enough for an attack and why they need the wall with the platform round it to force the massed prisoners down it.”
Jack took several deep breaths then turned to Commander Glenn. “Well then. We have to change their power packs as well then. Give them a fighting chance.”
“Didn’t you hear me Captain? I said they will be flushed out into Vacuum if they go down that shaft. Half of them don’t even have helmets. And the ones that do don’t have fresh oxygen or power packs.”
“I don’t plan on them going down the shaft. We fight up here and take this ship.”
Five sets of eyes looked at Jack shocked.
Jack moved over to the hatch and cracked it open again paying close attention to the prisoners and what was going on at the gate going into the enclosure around the south chase. Ignoring what looked like construction around one of the clear viewing bubbles at the other side of the deck. After a few minutes Jack motioned for Krump to come look. “Krump, do you think you can take out those guards on the platform on the containers surrounding the enclosure with your little blow gun?” Taking the big cannon off his back. “It is a long hu
ndred foot shot from here.”’
Krump looked out the cracked hatch for a few seconds then turned to Jack. “Sure Captain. No sweat like you humans say. One shot one kill. I don’t need your cannon. My tube is a lot quieter.”
Jack chuckled at that. “Good.” Then handed the weapon to Pan as her mouth dropped open. “No I don’t want you to shoot it. When the shit hits the fan, I want you to take this thing to that Gronk plastered against the bulkhead that still has his arms. He is in the perfect position to help. Just zig zag back and forth staying close to the overhead out of obvious sight and don’t slow down. You will be fine. Everyone else is going to be shooting at us so don’t worry. Once you drop the gun off find someplace to hide, and relax until help arrives.” Turning to Red. “You are going to be our monster prisoner. You need to look and act like you need three ass holes to keep you in line. Hold your wrists crossed in front of you like they are bound. Keeping them close to your body will make it hard to see that there is nothing there until we fake un-cuffing you at the gate. They will give you a weapon and Glen and I will take you into the enclosure. Then inside I am going to need you to distract the guards while the Commander and I go around changing training mags for real mags. I still have not figured out how to get those bomb packs off of the ones that have them without the guards seeing us but the important part is getting the mags changed to start with.”
Lt. Shepperd frowned. “What am I doing while you guys are changing mags Captain?”
“You know this ship and the crew, you are going to get us more good mags.”
“And how am I going to get them to you?”
Jack smiled. “Just tell me when you have some and I will come out and get them unless you can figure out a better way to get them to us. Just be sure that you are on our encrypted channel when you call us. That goes for everyone, we need to be on the general channel most of the time so we can hear the enemy. So be sure you are on general receiver while on select transmit and check the channel each time you do need to talk to the group and use names first so we know who you are talking to when you need to. That also means no undue chatter.” Looking around the group as he took a deep breath. “Any questions?”
Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer) Page 42