by J W Murison
‘What about the officer?’ Roy asked.
‘We keep an eye on him.’
Mya watched them from the side-lines. She didn’t wander far from their protection. So far she had no response to requests about her family. What little she learned about her own country she wasn’t happy about either. It seemed the country had a number of bad rulers and was still considered a third world country. These rough and ready men seemed almost alien to her. They were huge by her people’s standards but at least she felt safe in their presence and they didn’t seem to mind having her around.
‘What happened to all our weapons Sarge?’ One of the men asked.
‘They are in canisters welded to the side of this ship. The captain is letting me take them. Most are museum pieces now and we will get a fair price for them when we get home.’
‘Feel kinda naked without one Sarge and this bloody freighter is full of commies and Nazis. Would we be able to reach those containers?’
‘Hell no and there ain’t any ammo for them anyway, I destroyed it all.’
Roy shook his head, ‘we might need those weapons Sarge; that Nazi is going round talking to his own kind.’
Kelly wasn’t amused, ‘jezz Roy you heard the captain, keep your heads down, toe the line and we’ll get home fine. He don’t want no trouble.’
Roy looked round, ‘I think he is going to get it whether he likes it or not Sarge and by the looks of it he don’t have the crew to handle it.’
‘Most of the crew are on The Burning Wind training. We will keep our ears to the ground if that makes you happy Roy.’
‘Rather have my Garand.’
Chapter 20
‘Come to port two degrees please Hailey,’ Dr Barnes ordered.
‘Two degrees doctor.’
They followed the track of the meteor on the large screen in front of them. At thousands of miles per hour it didn’t take long to pass. ‘OK put us back on course please, two degrees to starboard.’
‘Back on course doctor.’ They put up a recording of the meteor passing and slowed it down. ‘I love this screen,’ Hailey added.
Barnes smiled, ‘it is pretty neat. Did you pass the navigation exam?’
Hailey sighed, ‘this time I did, by the skin of my teeth. Have you taken it yet?’
He shook his head, ‘no I'm doing the advanced mathematics first before I try and tackle that one.’
Hailey was perched precariously in the navigator’s seat. The seats were more like small couches and she could curl up in one easily. This was much different from Babes and was more hands on. She was loving the experience. ‘I thought the maths was quite simple once you grasped the basic concepts but the navigation is tricky. What makes me mad is that most of this concept was available from papers the captain wrote when he was fourteen.’
Dr Barnes grunted, ‘Concepts the whole scientific community laughed at.’
‘Why did they do that?’
He shrugged, ‘I suppose it is always easier to discredit something that is difficult to understand. It has always been the same. Sometimes it takes hundreds or thousands of years to prove the theories of these geniuses.’
She sighed, ‘yes I suppose that is true.’
Just then they heard a commotion at the door of the bridge and their heads whipped round. Amanda was shoved through the door and behind her a dozen men pushed on to the bridge. ‘Stay where you are and don’t move,’ commanded a stern voice.
Hailey sat back in her giant seat and pressed a button on her wrist comm.
Steven had been dozing in his quarters when the alarm went off. He rubbed his eyes, ‘what's wrong Babes?’
‘The Nazi contingent has taken the bridge of the freighter my heart. They are demanding to speak to you.’
He gave himself a scratch, ‘where’s Buzz?’
‘In his quarters asleep.’
‘Wake him please and ask him to join me on the bridge.’ He dressed himself fully and went up to the bridge. Buzz was only a few minutes behind. Steven was watching the view screen. Men crowded round the different consoles and Steven was watching the drama unfold.
‘What's up kimosabie?’
‘Herr Goth has finally made his move.’
Buzz yawned, ‘thank god for that. I was getting a bit tired of waiting. What are they doing now?’
Steven laughed, ‘his pilot is looking at the navigation console; the man hasn’t a clue.’
‘Yeah it’s pretty hard to understand alien without an implant and there's no stick or rudder for him to play with.’ The two of them laughed at the expression on the pilots face. Herr Goth wasn’t looking happy.
‘What do you think Buzz, shall we put them out of their misery?’
‘We got time for a coffee first?’
‘Yeah why the hell not.’
Back on board the freighter Herr Goth was becoming more and more anxious, ‘nothing, you recognise nothing.’
His pilot shook his head, ‘I don’t recognise a single thing sir. I have been over the whole bridge and nothing.’
‘Where is the captain?’ He growled at Dr Barnes.
‘He is up and aware of the situation, he will be with you shortly.’
‘Tell him now,’ Goth screamed, ‘or we will start killing people.’
Stevens face suddenly filled the screen; it was obvious what he was doing by the steaming mug in his hand. ‘Keep your hair on Herr Goth, now what is it I can do for you?’
‘I have hostages.’
Steven took a sip of coffee, ‘yup, I see that. Kind of bothers me where you got the homemade weapons from. You realise of course that ripping pieces of a ship in the depth of space where if something goes seriously wrong it could result in instant death is sheer and utter stupidity.’
‘Nothing went wrong, we are still alive.’
‘Blind luck Herr Goth, little more. Now what do you want?’
‘I want your ship captain.’
Steven laughed, ‘what the hell for?’
‘Do not mock me or my men will begin killing your crew captain.’
‘Keep your shirt on Herr Goth and just tell me your demands.’
‘I believe your ship is capable of self-navigation correct?’
‘Yes it is.’
‘Then I wish for your ship to be handed over to me and for it to fly us directly to the nearest German base on Earth.’
‘That isn’t a problem; would you like it to take you directly to Berlin Herr Goth?’
Herr Goth was shocked, ‘yes of course.’
‘Good, and you will hand yourself over to the German authorities when you get there of course?’
Herr Goth suddenly wasn’t so sure of himself anymore, ‘yes of course.’
‘Not a problem Herr Goth, of course you realise that the hijacking of any vessel carries a twenty year sentence and in time of war the consequences can be far more serious?’
‘I will take my chances captain.’
‘Then be it upon your own head Herr Goth. We will dock in approximately ten minutes then. Please put my navigator back in charge of the ship before you blow yourselves up. She will need to initialise the docking procedures.’
‘No tricks captain.’
Steven shook his head, ‘there is no need for tricks Herr Goth. When you reach Germany you will be held accountable for your actions. It’s no sweat off my nose, just a pain in my arse that I have to leave the freighter with your fellow abductees less well defended. Of course there is no sign of enemy activity within our universe so I doubt if they will come to any harm it’s just as I said, a pain in the arse that you can’t see the truth that is laid out before you in plain sight. We will see you in ten minutes. When docking procedures are complete just come aboard. I will give you one word of warning though.’ Steven reached forward and pressed a button. One of their moon ashtrays appeared in front of Herr Goths eyes. When it had materialised completely it fell to the floor.
The startled German leapt back, ‘my god! What is that?’
> ‘It is an ashtray Herr Goth don’t panic.’
‘How did you do that?’
‘It is called matter transportation Herr Goth, I have the ability to transport any object or living thing to anywhere I wish within a few thousand miles on my position. I promise you this; if so much as a single member of my crew is harmed or killed I will transport each and every one of you out into deep space. Am I making myself understood?’
Herr Goth had paled, ‘perfectly.’
‘Good.’ The screen went blank.
‘Excuse me please,’ Hailey gently prised a hand that was grasping her arm free. Trying not to smile she made her way back to her post which the German pilot immediately vacated with a small bow. No one tried to stop her. All were in shock and most were staring at the ashtray.
Back on board Babes Buzz directed Steven’s attention to the monitor that was watching the occupants of the hold. ‘We got more trouble Stevie.’
Steven watched for a few seconds, ‘what the hell are those idiots doing now?’
Kelly had been enjoying a doze when he was shaken awake. He was startled to discover the slim German penal soldier grinning down at him, ‘what do you want?’ He asked to quickly.
‘Your friend Herr Goth has made his move. He has grabbed the doctor and taken the bridge.’
Kelly sat up rubbing his face. He spotted the thirty or so men recruited by Herr Goth over the past few days standing around the bottom of the staircase that led to the bridge. ‘Bloody hell.’ He looked to the German, ‘thanks.’ He and his men had given this man and his friends a wide berth. There were ten of them altogether. Kelly knew the type, men breed for war and men who should have died in war. Ruthless mindless killers who lived life by their own rules. He had no idea if they had served together or if like had just found like. They had managed to get hold of a deck of cards from one of the crew and spent their entire day playing cards and cheating openly. They were always brawling with each other and the language turned the air blue. People learned very quickly to give them a wide berth, especially the women. Only four seemed to be safe from their vicious and dirty remarks. The doctor who frequently waded in fearlessly to break up their brawls and treat the injured. Lady Jane and her maid also seemed immune. The fact she was related to royalty seemed to quell their tongues. The other was the tiny Mya. Kelly wasn’t sure if it was her obvious innocence and purity that protected her or the fact that she had killed the man who had murdered her family and taken revenge. The Japanese soldier who had tried to beat her was now in the infirmary beaten to a pulp. No one knew for sure who did it but Kelly suspected it was some of this mans’ group.
‘You gonna help fellar?’
He stood, ‘I just did yank.’ He began to walk away.
‘Do you remember who kicked him in the nuts a few days ago? If he takes control of this ship I bet he will.’
The man spun round his blue eyes ice cold. Then the smile returned and he walked away without saying anything more.
Kelly quickly gathered his men. All the British servicemen pitched in along with a few French and Italians. Along with the other American service men they outnumbered the men gathered round the metal stairs. He noticed as they approached that some of them had homemade weapons and knives. He wasn’t the only one to notice. A small Scot who called himself Eck spoke out. ‘Those bastards have tooled up Sarge.’
‘I see it and we don’t have time to grab any weapons either. We’re just going to have to do it the hard way.’
‘Heads and feet boys,’ grinned Eck.
One stepped forward, ‘stop where you are yank.’
‘What the hell are you assholes up to?’
‘None of your business yank.’
‘Oh I think it is.’ Kelly moved slamming his fist into the man’s jaw. The man fell away and Kelly swung at the next one who stepped into his place. The allies charged and a full on brawl ensued. The civilians all shrank back but there was a blur of movement from the right as the ten killers crashed into their flank. Kelly jumped up to deliver a blow and the damnedest thing happened; he didn’t come down again. His arms began to flail as he tried to regain his balance but the fight was effectively over as men floated out of reach of each other.
‘What the hell’s going on!’ Kelly yelled.
It was a British pilot who provided the answer. ‘Someone has turned off the artificial gravity old boy.’
There was panic in Kelly’s voice, ‘the what!’
‘Gravity old boy, you know the apple and all that. There is no gravity in space it is created artificially. They have turned it off.’
Kelly got a sinking feeling in his gut as he looked round at the helpless floating men. There was a whoop of joy from the German giant, ‘hey look I'm flying.’ He flapped his arms like a bird and when he came within range of one of their adversaries he lashed out. The man spun away with a cry and the giant and his friends howled with laughter.
Steven hadn’t noticed the fight begin in the cargo hold until Buzz drew his attention to it. He sent a silent command to Hailey who jumped when his voice sounded inside her head. She smiled and reached forward turning off the artificial gravity in the hold. In the bridge an argument had broken out between Herr Goth and one of his men.
‘They could kill us all now sir,’ he held up the ashtray as evidence.
‘Sergeant Hertz are you disobeying me?’
‘I am not disobeying you sir I am merely trying to point out the obvious. I have never disobeyed you; I have followed you for years through thick and thin but this is different. The Germany we knew has gone, the Fuhrer is dead and Germany is at peace. Why can’t you see that sir?’
The officer went a dark red, ‘because without it we are nothing. We are the elite, the elite of the elite, the best fighting men in the world, soldiers.’
Hertz shook his head, ‘no sir, we were soldiers, now we are lost. Lost in space and in time. We could start anew, get married, have children and raise a family.’
‘Is that enough for you now sergeant?’
‘It’s more sir, much more than I ever expected.’
‘What do you mean!’ Herr Goth exploded.
‘I never expected to see the end of the war sir. After our first winter in Russia all I expected was a forgotten frozen grave somewhere out on those Russian steppes. We now have a second chance at life sir, to live to love, for life to mean something other than that endless parade of death.’
‘Are you telling me the Fuhrer meant nothing to you?’
‘When I was a child the Fuhrer was a miracle, he gave us food, work, hope. He gave us back out pride. I loved him for that and was prepared to give my life for him. I never questioned him when he invaded Poland and France. I believed every word he said. When he invaded Russia I had my doubts; why did he make a peace treaty with the Russians and then break it? Why did he murder six million innocent civilians in the death camps?’
‘That is a lie,’ screamed Herr Goth, ‘that is a dirty rotten lie.’
Hertz was beginning to get angry, ‘no it isn’t sir, I saw the pictures and we heard the rumours of massive relocation camps that were being built. We had a dozen men in our regiment who transferred to us from these camps when they realised what they were being used for.’
‘It is all lies,’ Herr Goth screamed red in the face.
‘No it wasn’t sir. We were soldiers, men of honour; that was our greatest strength. Something went wrong sir, something went sour in Germany. The Fuhrer turned into a mad dog and deserved to be put down.’ Something slipped from the sergeant’s hand and clattered on the floor. ‘I am sorry sir.’
‘You are deserting me,’ he screamed in his face.
‘No sir, I will stand by your side as a friend but not an aggressor.’
‘Traitor,’ Goth screamed and lunged.
Steven had been watching the exchange with growing concern, ‘you may need to get that man out of there Babes, we will be too late.’
‘I cannot endanger a life my heart.’<
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Steven leaned forward, ‘then you will be responsible for killing him. Lock on to him now.’ She complied but he felt her reluctance. When Herr Goth lunged Steven screamed aloud, ‘now for god’s sake.’
On board the freighter Hertz began to shimmer. Herr Goth cried out in alarm as his hand passed through the sergeant and jumped back. Sergeant Hertz had vanished.
He appeared in front of Buzz and Steven; both rushed to his aid. The man cried out and Steven felt a wave of relief wash through him. ‘Breathe deeply, take deep breaths.’ Steven cried out. The sergeant had collapsed to his knees and was holding his stomach. ‘Are you wounded?’ Steven ordered the glare turned right down as far as possible.
‘I, I felt his hand go right through me,’ stuttered the sergeant, ‘what happened, where am I?’
‘We took you on board my ship for your own safety,’ Steven informed him.
The man took a deep gulp of air and began to calm down. He stood checking his hands for blood, there was none. He looked round and squinted, ‘it is very bright in here, I can barely see anything.’
‘Long story,’ Steven admitted. ‘Babes put me on their viewer please.’ She did so, ‘Herr Goth, we are beginning docking procedures now, if you and your men would like to make your way to the airlock.’
‘Where is Hertz?’ He screamed.
‘He is on board this ship, if you want him you had better come and get him. Screen off.’ Steven took out his pistol and set it to stun.
Hertz shook his head, ‘please try not to kill him captain, the man doesn’t know what he is doing.’
‘He just tried to kill you.’
‘That is true I know, but he just discovered everything he believed in was a lie and his wife and daughter were put in a concentration camp when we disappeared.’
‘I didn’t know that.’ Steven admitted.
‘We were branded traitors and deserters. His wife died in the camp and his daughter was adopted by a good German family in Berlin. They were all killed in an air raid.’
‘I will remember that sergeant Hertz but don’t worry our weapons aren’t set to kill only stun.’