Carthage Prime

by Toby Neighbors

  “You will recognize it when we shut down your life support systems,” she snapped. “Call off your freighter or my Titans will open fire.”

  “Your aggression is well-noted and will not be tolerated,” Admiral Li replied. “We have control of the system, and that includes your ground forces. If you choose to fight, we will have no choice but to terminate all Ahzco personnel.”

  “Titan One, show them the measure of our resolve,” Captain Chastain said.

  Alex immediately shut down the Yomi’s artificial gravity. He heard shouting over the com channel before it was muted. Next, he cut the power to the ship’s lights.

  “As you can see, Admiral, we are not bluffing. This is your last chance. Call off the freighter, set an immediate course out of the system, and do not molest our incoming transport. Acknowledge this command, and I will restore your vessel to your control.”

  After several tense seconds, Admiral Li replied. “As you wish.”

  “Thank you,” Captain Chastain said. “Titan One, restore control to Admiral Li and his crew.”

  “Affirmative, Captain,” Alex said.

  He brought the gravity back online and turned the lights on, but he kept the ship’s weapons powered off. He felt the crew’s attempts to fire the weapons, but it was an exercise in futility. Every system on the ship was his to control, at the speed of thought. Even if they could bring the weapons up on a different computing system, he would sense it and intervene.

  Twenty meters, Nyx informed him. Do you still want to be attached to the Yomi’s hull?

  “Yes,” Alex said. “Tell Captain Chastain that I’ll ride out with the carrier and make sure they don’t harm the transport.”

  Okay, but my PCC won’t reach that far. It’s not made for long-range contact.

  “I’ll be okay on my own.”

  You’re sure?

  “Yeah, I don’t think the battleships will fire on their own ship, even if they spot me on the hull. And if they try, I’ve got control of the Yomi’s weapons.”

  You know this changes everything, Alex. Nothing will be the same.

  He knew she was right. Odds were good that the medical technicians would want to study his brain, while the RDT department would want to find a way to replicate his abilities. He might end up spending the next twenty years in a laboratory running tests and being bored silly. If that were the case, he hoped they didn’t separate him from Nyx.

  “I didn’t ask for this power,” Alex said.

  I know.

  “And I’m not crazy.”

  We know that now. I’m just glad you’re okay.

  For the time being he was okay, but he couldn’t help but wonder if that would last. He had taken a huge leap forward, but there might be some people who would feel threatened by his ability. And for all Alex knew, it was temporary. He might climb out of the Titan and never be able to sync with anything outside his battle suit again.

  Chapter 36

  Loman Haley was standing in the passage between the cockpit and the crew cabin. It was actually a prep area for the attendants whose job was to make sure the passengers had all they needed. The seats in the long-range transport were spread apart from the others with privacy enclosures. They could also recline from a sitting position to a flat sleeping surface.

  For seven days, Loman had lived and worked from the cabin. He was the lone passenger, traveling along the FTA open route toward the newest planet in their chain of free worlds. But something had gone wrong just before they’d made the final jump through the space tunnels that linked the star systems. Communications were down, and power levels were fluctuating. The ship needed help, and the closest planet was Carthage Prime, although it seemed that his CDF forces had been overrun.

  “They’re leaving orbit,” the pilot said.

  “What are those battleships doing?” Loman asked.

  “They haven’t changed course,” the pilot said. “We’re safe for now.”

  “For now—that’s not very reassuring,” Loman said. “Where the hell is the Republic?”

  “Still no sign of her, Mr. Haley. They could be on the dark side of the planet, but I kind of doubt it.”

  “Trajectory of that carrier isn’t favorable,” the co-pilot said. “It’s heading straight toward us.”

  “Toward us or toward the space tunnel?” asked the pilot.

  “What are those tiny blips?” Loman asked, pointing at some specks on the radar near the planet.

  “Could be a satellite,” said the pilot. “But they haven’t been approved for this planet yet.”

  “Could be a surveillance ship,” the co-pilot guessed.

  “Or a drop ship, we really can’t tell,” the pilot continued. “Without our communications, we’re dead in the water. It could be anything. And we can’t even request help.”

  “We could make a run for the space tunnel,” Loman said.

  “I’ll do that only if you order me to, sir,” the pilot said. “With our power acting up, we could get stuck in that tunnel and lost. It isn’t worth the risk.”

  “That’s because you don’t know what those Zen Tech bastards will do to me if we’re captured,” Loman said.

  He knew all too well. His forces had captured enemy combatants, but a high-level executive was different matter altogether. And they were in a new system. No one would be able to prove that Zen Tech had captured his transport. They could sneak him away to one of their own worlds and torture him for company secrets. It was barbaric, but they were well beyond the civilized systems. Anything could happen on the frontier, and often did. Loman already suspected that his entire security force, six companies of operators and controllers, had been wiped out by the Zen Tech force—not to mention the Republic. It was a devastating loss, probably the worst in company history since he’d taken control of the CDF. But he didn’t think he’d be alive long enough to face the consequences. Everything seemed to be going wrong all at once.

  “The battleships have stopped,” the co-pilot warned. “Looks like they’re waiting on the carrier.”

  “It’s probably coming to gloat over us,” Loman said.

  “They can’t know that you’re on board,” the pilot pointed out. “Our own forces didn’t even know we were coming.”

  None of it made sense. Upon arriving in the system, Loman had found enemy forces in orbit. Two Zen Tech battleships had been sent to intercept them. Loman had been hoping to see the Republic appear and come to their rescue, but that hadn’t happened. Instead, for some reason that no one could fathom, the battleships turned back, and now the carrier was heading toward them. All Loman knew for sure was that he couldn’t let himself be captured. He was a strong man, but even the strongest would reveal their deepest secrets under the strain of torture. The only way for Loman to ensure that he didn’t betray Ahzco and spend the rest of his life in complete agony was to end it before the enemy got their hands on him.

  He reached down to his coat pocket, as he had so many times since entering the system. There was a small laser pistol tucked inside. He had retrieved it from his personal belongings once he realized there might be a need to ensure he didn’t fall into a rival corporation’s hands. It was both terrifying and reassuring to feel the weight of the small weapon, knowing that while he didn’t have many choices left, ultimately his fate was in his own hands.

  “How long do we have?” Loman asked.

  “We’re four hours out of orbit,” the pilot said. “The carrier is still building speed, but my best guess would be an hour before they reach us.”

  An hour left to live. It wasn’t much, and Loman felt the bitter sense of futility over the hopelessness of his situation. Of course, circumstances could change. An hour wasn’t much time, but it was some time. He walked back to his seat and picked up his PIL. It was encrypted, but he couldn’t let it fall into enemy hands. The device was his only link to his computer and all the information on Ahzco’s Corporate Defense Force. He would have to destroy it as well, if worse came to worst
. He would jettison the Personal Information Link out the trash chute once it was clear that no help was coming. Then he would savor one last drink before putting the little gun to his head and making sure that he was beyond the reach of his enemies forever.

  Chapter 37

  Alex couldn’t help but smile. He knew the transport was on the Zen Tech carrier’s radar, even though he couldn’t see the small ship from his place affixed to the hull. It was the sound of the transport’s EM waves that made Alex smile. The ship was over a hundred kilometers away, and yet Alex could feel it. Perhaps it was due to the emptiness of space. On Helena Prime there had been hundreds, perhaps thousands of different signals all pounding at him from different sides. He had learned to ignore them, to turn their uproar into an indistinguishable background noise until his brain completely tuned it out, and he had to focus just to hear it again. But in space, there was no roar, especially as they moved away from the planet and far from the drop ship where his own people were transmitting.

  Alex had pulled his mind back from all the carrier’s systems save their weapons controls. He kept them shut down, the way one might keep a single eye closed or breathe only through their mouth to avoid a bad smell. It was a bit like freeing up memory on a computer so that there was room for different programs to run at the same time. He synced his Implanted Neural Controller with the battleships, focusing on their weapons systems long enough to knock them offline in several places. The technicians on board were undoubtedly working to fix the problems, but Alex knew it would take time. All he really needed was the insurance that none of the Zen Tech ships would harm the transport. If that happened, he would destroy them all.

  The freighter was actually a military ship in disguise. There were hidden weapons behind faux panels. The ship could eject the panels and bring the weapons to bear—except that Alex had disabled those systems as well. He planned to ride the carrier long enough to reach the transport, identify what was wrong with the small passenger ship, and use the carrier’s communication array to send word back to the planet. Then he could detach himself from the Zen Tech ship and fly back. He had plenty of power, and with the rival ships running scared, he had nothing left to fear in the Carthage system.

  The transport had altered course slightly, trying to put a little more distance between themselves and the approaching Zen Tech vessels. But they were still moving toward each other, and Alex had no difficulties syncing with the transport. The sound in his mind, like music, sounded off-key, as if the systems producing the EM waves were out of tune. It took Alex several moments to discover a malfunction in the reactor. Something was causing the power to surge. It was a problem in the balance of the fusion, and the safety systems had shorted out. He realized the entire ship’s power was on the verge of failing, and the other systems were dropping off one by one. Communications were down, as were the ship’s sanitation systems. Artificial gravity would be next to go, then the engines. Life support would remain even when the reactor went down completely, using the auxiliary batteries to keep the occupants alive long enough for rescue.

  A quick check of the ship’s occupants, itinerary, and log, showed that Captain Chastain was right. The ship, Ahzco’s AH08, had a single occupant, Executive Vice President of Security, Loman Haley. Alex thought it slightly odd that their paths kept crossing, but he didn’t dwell on it. Repairing the ship wasn’t possible, but he could connect to it and from there act as a go-between. But first he needed to send word that the ship would most likely lose propulsion and navigation capacity before reaching orbit.

  He tapped into the carrier’s communication array. It was a vast system with multiple techs operating at dozens of stations. Alex found an empty channel, dialed into the Ahzco frequency, and transmitted his message. They were already thousands of kilometers from the planet, and he didn’t expect a response. In fact, once he sent his message, he would change the frequency to ensure it wasn’t copied by anyone else on the carrier.

  “Ahzco drop ship, this is Titan One with an update on the transport inbound. They are losing power. Communications are down. I repeat, the transport is losing power and communications are down. I will transfer to the ship and attempt to make contact. It is my belief that they will lose the ability to pilot the ship and request help to keep the vessel from crashing. Titan One out.”

  The ships were about to cross paths. Alex detached himself from the carrier and jumped free, engaging his thrusters to fly away from the massive ship. As it passed him, the transport came clearly into view. It was less than three kilometers away, and he could see the running lights on the hull flickering like old incandescent bulbs on the verge of burning out. The transport was a sleek ship, but it looked old and dingy with the running lights flickering. Alex was about to maneuver that way as the battleships followed the carrier past him, but the freighter—which was still several klicks behind the other ships—began to alter course. Alex didn’t need to sync with the disguised warship’s systems to know it planned to clip the transport. The larger freighter could take a hit, especially on the parts of its hull that were merely cosmetic, without sustaining any real damage, but the transport would be destroyed by the freighter’s mass.

  Alex focused on the freighter, letting his mind sync with the large ship. It only took a second, and he felt the familiar snap in his mind, the ship’s thrumming EM waves becoming a melodic throb. Alex immediately fired all the ship’s thrusters on the side nearest the transport. The large ship swung around in a lopsided flop away from the transport—but unfortunately right toward Alex.

  His first instinct was to call for help. With his mind burdened by the freighter’s multiple systems, he had to wrench his mind back to the controls of his Titan battle suit. He was drifting through space and tried to fire the thrusters to push him out of the freighter’s path, but he was too late. The big ship hit the very bottom edge of the Titan’s foot, crushing the limb in the process. Alex felt the sudden jarring sensation followed by a searing pain as his shin bone snapped. The blow not only damaged the battle suit, it sent Alex spinning through space.

  Pain and fear paralyzed Alex, and he was helpless for several moments. Then the pain settled into a terrible, aching throb that was just manageable. If he’d had to move his leg—or worse yet, put his weight on it—he would have been done for. But the suit’s padding compressed around the wound, holding it fast, the counter-pressure easing the pain just a bit. He focused on regaining control of his battle suit. His experience in the zero-gravity bubble onboard the Republic once more came to his aid. There were no walls to bounce off of or grab onto, but he used the thrusters to correct his spin and regain control of the direction he was moving. He sent the battle suit racing after the transport, which had gotten ahead of him. At the same time, he reconnected with the freighter’s computer system. The other Zen Tech ships were out of Alex’s range, and he considered for a moment using the freighter’s weapons to fire on them. But he couldn’t be certain that they wouldn’t shoot back and perhaps hit the transport with Vice President Haley inside. He couldn’t risk the VP’s life for his revenge. Instead, he shut down the ship’s systems. The artificial gravity would send the crew reeling. They would have no life support, not even any light to see to fix things. There was a small chance they could get the freighter’s systems running again, but Alex was doubtful. The ship was in the process of correcting its spin when the engines shut down, and the bulky vessel was left drifting in the wake of the other Zen Tech ships.

  Turning his attention back to the transport, Alex synced with the ship’s computer system. He couldn’t fix the reactor or even the communication array, but he could speak to the occupants inside using their own internal speakers. It would be a one-way communication, but for the moment that was okay. He only had a single message for them, and he announced it suddenly.

  “Ahzco transport, this is Titan One,” he said. “Slow down, immediately.”

  Chapter 38

  Stopping a ship in space was not an easy matter. Ine
rtia was not on their side. The transport’s normally powerful engines were malfunctioning, and all they could manage was to fire their weak bow thrusters.

  “What’s happening?” Loman said as he clung desperately to the opening that led to the cockpit.

  The transport’s artificial gravity was down, and anything not secured was floating freely in the spaceship, including Loman Haley. The two attendants had managed to get to their safety seats and strap in. The pilots were already strapped into their seats in the cockpit. Only Loman was left floating, along with most of his belongings. The lights were flickering inside the ship, and it was clear that the ship was about to lose all power.

  “We just got a message,” the pilot said.

  “The comms are working?” Loman demanded.

  “Negative, sir,” the co-pilot said. “We have no idea where the message came from.”

  Suddenly the ship’s engine shut down and the lights went off, along with all the instrument panel readings. The only light was from the system star and the reflection of the light off of Carthage Prime. It looked like a spark far, far away. Loman felt fear squeezing his heart, as if it were being encased in ice.

  “Power’s out,” the pilot said.

  Suddenly the lights came back on, and the heated air circulators began to hum.

  “We have life support,” the co-pilot announced. “We’ll be okay as long as the auxiliary batteries have power.”

  “Except we’re headed right for the planet and moving too fast,” the pilot said. “We’ll bounce off the atmosphere and go spinning off into space.”

  “Unless there’s help,” Loman said. “Surely someone on Carthage Prime can help us.”

  “I don’t see how,” the pilot said.

  For a moment, no one spoke. The horror of their predicament was difficult to come to terms with. Loman heard one of the attendants sniffling behind him.

  “You all heard the transmission,” Loman said. “Someone knows about our problem.”