"You will notice that the holster is different. This is designed for the fast draw. Some Americans are obsessed with the speed they can draw and shoot. This is one answer for them. For you, the next time someone tries to kill you, you can be firing back before your hop ends. Within a station, this will give you enough range to hit even someone using a sniper rifle. Dirtside though, the sniper will still have the advantage." I nodded.
"What do I owe you?"
"Oh dear, I seem to have forgotten the invoice. I'll send it to you when I return to my store."
He gathered up the packaging, handed me three extra charge units, and the bolt to convert it to a full laser, shook my hand, and left.
I passed the gun to Amanda. She practiced draws and lining up to fire. She grinned, and passed it to Aleesha, who did the same. Amanda swapped with BA, and BA gave it a work out.
A ping came in from O'Neil. Midgard had sent in a new fleet that morning. Same result as the previous one. Clearing the jump point had begun again. I thanked him for letting me know, and told him as soon as Gunbus was ready, we would be on our way.
"Who was that?" asked Alison.
"O'Neil. Midgard sent my fleet some breakfast this morning."
The girls laughed.
I made an effort to straighten up, swung sideways with a groan, placed my feet on the floor, and eased myself up.
"Jon?" It sounded like Alison.
"What?"
"Do you know where you are?"
"In bed?"
"No, you're on the floor."
No wonder it felt hard.
"What happened?"
"You passed out the moment you stood up."
"Ah."
Gentle hands picked me up, and leaned me against the bed. My head was spinning. The medical monitor went primary, and recommended something I couldn’t pronounce. I accepted it. My head settled down to an ache, but my vision cleared.
I pushed off again, and this time stayed upright.
"How do we get you out of here without anyone seeing you?" asked Amanda.
A file pulsed in. It was a suit definition. I activated it.
The girls cracked up.
Alison had the look of someone who was baring her pain in the interests of a good laugh. She led me into the bathroom, and I looked in the mirror.
Jane looked back at me. There was a small hole between the lips so I could be heard, but otherwise it was if I was wearing a mask.
I looked down. I had breasts, and there was no bulge around the groin region, which accounted for why I felt oddly compressed down there.
The girls were still laughing when I came out.
"You make a great girl boss," said BA.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
"We will," laughed Aleesha.
I pinged hospital administration for my bill. The Administrator replied immediately saying it had been taken care of. When the docs released me, I was free to go.
I wasn’t waiting for the docs. I had work to do.
The girls were down to chortles now.
I had the twins stand on each side of me, and we put arms around each other, so they could support me as I walked.
BA led us out, with Alison limping behind. I made a huge effort not to limp. The facial expression was fixed, so no-one would know I was in serious pain.
We made it to Custer without any undue attention, beyond the normal looks the girls received when walking around on a civilian station.
Once inside the Armoury, I shifted my suit back to 'slinky red'. I had to rest three times on the way up the staircase. The girls started to take me into my suite, but I stopped them, and made them take me to the Bridge.
I sat in my chair, and breathed a sigh of relief. Jeeves dropped my pad into the holder on the side of the chair, along with a bottle of water. I plucked out the water, and took a slurp.
"Gunbus is moving," said Jane.
"Is there any chance she'll fit in the Hanger Deck?" I asked her.
"Yes and no."
"That’s clear, like mud. Which is it?"
"Both. If we remove the ships already docked, she'll fit up inside the hanger. However, the doors won't close. She'll stick out a bit."
"How much of a bit?"
"A big bit."
"Will it affect anything important?"
"No, just look silly."
I rolled my eyes, which was a mistake, as I went dizzy again. I closed them, and pushed my head back into the headrest. Another mistake, as the bruise on my temple throbbed more. I made a heroic attempt to stop myself from shaking my head, and failed.
"Jon?"
"Yes Mum?"
"Wake up please."
"Not doing that again."
"Open your eyes."
Oh. I hadn't realized they were shut. I opened them, and looked around without moving.
"Where were we?" I asked.
"Gunbus docking."
"What do we need to do?"
"Excalibur, the three Pythons, and the shuttle, will need to undock. Gunbus will then fit. If the shuttle Gunbus is carrying goes over to the station, the three Pythons can dock in her, and Excalibur and the Custer shuttle can re-dock in Custer."
"Sounds like a plan. Do it."
"Doing it."
A screen popped up, showing Gunbus approaching. In the distance behind her, Apricot One followed.
"Janet, do we have all the fighters and clusters yet?"
"Yes my Lord. The last one docked several minutes ago."
"Station repairs complete?"
"Yes. The shipyard personnel will be gone shortly."
"Station residents back on board?"
"Most of them. The Liner is still on Avon Orbital."
"Prepare to leave for the jump point."
"Yes my Lord."
"Anyone know where General Wellington is?"
"XO's office Jon," said Jane. "Commander Alsop is with her. They're ready to leave when you are."
Gunbus was slowly rising up into the hanger. We watched her dock. Excalibur rose up next to her, followed by a shuttle. The cam view shifted to Gunbus' Hanger Deck, where the three dropships docked. The hanger doors closed. Custer's remained open.
I wondered if the station traffic control people had just had heart attacks. This had all been just a little close to the station for their comfort. Perfectly safe for an AI, but they didn’t know that. No call came though.
I pinged the 'tool man' about his invoice. He pulsed it back.
"Huh?" I said out loud.
He'd charged me for a single belt. I added a tip for the same amount, and paid. I was having déjà vu, feeling like I was back on Sydney station all over again, with grateful people giving me things.
The girls looked at me strangely, but didn’t comment.
I opened a channel to McLauchlan. An assistant answered, said he wasn’t sure where the Chief was, and would get him to contact me, when found. I closed the channel. It didn't really matter, as we had coms all the way to the jump point.
I opened a channel to John Slice.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "That’s a magnificent bruise you have there. Why aren't you still in a hospital bed? Sir." He tacked the 'sir' on as an afterthought, remembering who ranked whom.
I ignored him.
"You ready to go?"
"Aye sir."
"Stand by then."
I opened internal ship coms.
"Anyone who's not on board who should be, sing out. Anyone who is on board who shouldn’t be, sing out. Anyone with a reason for not leaving now, sing out."
I waited. There was no singing.
"Jane, button us up, and let's be going."
"Confirmed."
"Janet, follow us at best speed."
"Yes my Lord."
Jane backed Custer out.
Ten
A channel opened from Repulse as we started moving away from the Orbital station. Susan Bentley took a look at my face, before ignoring it completely.
"Repuls
e will be two hours behind you Admiral," she said.
"Noted. How did you go with upgrades?"
"Very nicely. We've several less storage bays now, and about half our hanger space. But we should be able to keep up with you. And we've a lot more Point Defense mounted. We won't look pretty anymore, but with luck, it'll be enough to avoid drafts in the future." By drafts, she meant unwanted holes letting space inside.
"Excellent. See you at the jump point."
The channel closed.
I opened a vid.
"Marshal, Admirals and General. Midgard was kind enough to send my new fleet some breakfast this morning. They enjoyed it. Custer is on its way to the jump point now. Midgard should be sending an early lunch before we get there. As soon as the debris is cleared, we'll move into Atlantis. Hunter out."
I assembled the email and sent it off.
I opened another vid.
"Hiya. Look what happened to me yesterday. Just making sure you know, before someone tells you. I expect the dual assassination attempts made the news. I took a pulse rifle shot to the head, hence this bruise, and a Meson Blaster shot to the left side of my chest. A nutter with an antique walking stick, hiding a projectile gun, tried to put a solid slug into the same place as the Meson hit. I was down for the count for a few hours. But while I'm a bit shaky, I'm up and happening again. By the way, this is the Bridge of the General Custer." I set the cam to pan around a bit, the girls pretended to look busy, before setting it back on me. "Gunbus was in being repaired last night, so we moved here. It’s an Assault Frigate, so for now, I've traded up. More when I can think clearly. Later alligator."
Another email departed.
"Miriam?" asked Alison.
I nodded.
"What's going on with you two? Or shouldn’t I ask?"
The twins looked interested. BA had vanished. Jane didn’t seem to be paying attention.
"You tell me and we'll both know. She's kept in touch ever since we left Miami. Wants to see me again when we deal with Midgard."
"That’s great Jon. How do you feel?"
"Confused. I've never had someone stay in touch before. Not that there's really been a before, before."
They laughed.
"You'll figure it out," said Aleesha.
Conversation stopped, and I sat there watching the view forward.
I wondered what to do for the next three hours. I didn’t get as far as choices, before Alison took me by the hand, and pulled me gently to my feet.
"Spa," she said. "We were going to soak bruises together last night? Remember?"
I nodded, and let her lead me into my suite. Angel rushed me, and shinned up to my shoulder.
MEOW!
"Sorry sweetie, I had a bit of trouble last night. Just arrived back."
I hastily patted her in case she bit my ear again. Last time I'd not come home for a while without warning her, she'd bitten me. She purred, and nuzzled my face. Fortunately she'd chosen my right side this time.
We continued limping into my bathroom. I dropped Angel on the bed as we passed, and she followed us in. As we approached, the lid on the spa opened, and the water started to bubble.
We both shifted our suits back to belts.
We both stood there, looking at each other.
We burst out laughing together. Followed by mutual winces.
Neither of us was able to bend down far enough to remove underwear.
"Amanda!" we both yelled.
She and Aleesha came running. They stopped short inside the door, and burst out laughing. Angel looked around at all of us, and decided being somewhere else made more sense. She scampered out.
"Problem?" smirked Amanda.
"Just a minor one," said Alison.
Amanda came over to me, and Aleesha to Alison. Amanda pulled my briefs off me, and pushed me gently back onto the edge of the spa. I raised my feet, as she held my right shoulder, and she pulled my socks off. I pulled one leg over the edge, swiveled, and the other, before sliding into the water. Alison followed me in. I sank myself completely under, and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath. When I surfaced, the twins were in with us.
Alison came over to me. She stood, and showed me the large bandage on her side.
"It's waterproof," she said, "so I can soak okay. I'm glad you reached me before this killed me."
My eyes slid from the bandage to her blonde pubic hair.
She dropped back into the water.
"Down boy, we better not get excited."
She draped herself around me.
"Jon?"
"What?"
"I said we better NOT get excited."
The twins lost it. Amanda laughed so hard she lost her balance, and disappeared under the water, to come shooting back up, spluttering, with water going everywhere.
I checked my arousal override. It was off. I'd obviously forgotten to turn it back on after being with Alison last. I turned it back on. A popup announced the failure, once again, of my blush override. I went red. Except where I was already purple.
"Aww," said Alison a moment later. "I was going to play with that."
Amanda went under again. Aleesha hung onto the side of the spa, and laughed so hard she started coughing instead.
Alison hugged me gently, and pecked me on the lips.
The twins eventually got a grip. We settled down to silent soaking.
I limped back onto the Bridge, showered and changed, just before eleven thirty, sat gingerly in my chair, and opened a channel to the John Wayne. Tactical data appeared on a side screen. The girls followed me in, giggling quietly together.
The fleet was arrayed in a semi-circle around the jump point. Off to one side, was a large area marked with a navigational hazard warning. Presumably where all the debris had been moved to.
Vonda and Alsop came in next, and took chairs to one side of me. Vonda looked concerned when she saw the size of my head bruise, but didn’t say anything. I nodded to her, and she nodded back.
The station had been steadily falling behind us, but was not too far behind. Apricot One was in the wingman position.
"Down jump," announced Jane.
Six Missile Cruisers had appeared together. Before they could do more than turn a quarter of the way around, they died spectacularly. Talons down jumped into the mess. Some exploded, most lost some shielding. They winked out as fast as they appeared on the scanner. IR missiles took some, Point Defense stripped their shields, and ate into hulls. None of them got off a single shot before they died.
It was a total slaughter.
"Nicely done Commodore," I said.
O'Neil's face popped up on another screen.
"Thank you Admiral. Exact repeat of this morning. The salvage droids are deploying now. We should have the mess cleaned up by the time you get here."
"Good. As soon as the station arrives, loads salvageable hulls, and salvage droids, we'll be going through. We'll meet the next fleet on the other side."
He nodded. I closed the channel.
"Janet?"
"Yes my Lord?"
"When the station reaches the jump point, send out the salvage droids and collect any of the hulls that are repairable. Leave the rest of the debris."
"Yes my Lord."
I opened a vid.
"Marshal, Admirals and General. Lunch was delicious."
The Bridge cracked up around me. I sent the email off.
I looked around at everyone.
"Who's peckish?"
Eleven
Vonda and I went over the next phase of the war, while eating lunch. Jane called us back to the Bridge when we were in sight of John Wayne.
We drew up next to her, dwarfed by her size. I suggested to Slice that he dock with Custer, and come aboard. By the time he was on the Bridge, O'Neil had arrived in the shuttle I’d sent for him. The four of us sat at my Ready Room conference table.
"Sitrep," I said, looking at O'Neil.
"The jump point is almost clear," he said. "
We should be able to jump into Atlantis within a half hour."
"The station is fifteen minutes behind us," said Jane through coms.
"Which ship has the new satcoms?" I asked.
"Mine," said Slice. I hadn't expected that answer. "I have the contract for keeping the system working in the Sci-Fi sector. I've a cargo bay full of them."
"Good," I said. "I won't have to worry about it. Just worry about escorting you." I grinned at him and suddenly regretted it. Note to self, don’t grin or laugh for the next few days.
Slice looked like he was biting back a comment. I ignored him.
"As soon as the way is clear, we'll jump in as a force. Commodore, have five of the Guardians form a tight box formation, with John Wayne top and center. You'll jump through first in case there's a force on the other side. The other two will form up with the Custer, with Apricot One beneath us. We'll follow five seconds behind, so don’t linger at the jump point. Wing Commander, deploy a comsat as soon as practical."
They both nodded.
"I'd give it a fifty-fifty chance there's a fleet on the other side," I went on. "If it was me, I'd have a blocking force behind each attacking force, just in case. Not that what I’d do has any relevance, but we'll assume it's there, and go in ready to defend, and fire back immediately. Any questions?"
There were blank looks. I looked at Vonda.
"General, anything to add?"
"No, just good luck."
We all nodded. O'Neil and Slice headed back to their ships.
The station was arriving as I climbed back into my chair. Moving around was painful. I didn’t intend doing any for a while. Salvage droids launched from the station as I watched. Some headed to the jump point to add to the ones clearing the last of the debris, while others headed for the massive pile of debris not far away, to retrieve repairable hulls.
I watched as a succession of broken hulls disappeared into the station fighter dock. At last, Janet announced this was complete. The salvage droids belonging to Gunbus, moved to Custer, and cycled in through the airlock on her side. While they were doing so, I had half of the station's join us as well. If we made a mess on the other side, it would need to be cleaned up fast.
I opened Team Coms, and ship coms.
Make or Break the Hero (The Hunter Legacy Book 4) Page 7