Shaltia moved to the back of the ship and opened the cargo hold. Alura's hold was about half the size of just one of the Burnside's holds. She was designed to carry ore, and the hold could carry a lot of credit's worth of ore. Still, Alura could handle a lot of the crates and some of the equipment.
Shaltia had a thought of who might be a potential buyer, too. This type of equipment and supplies were perfect for some of the leftist groups that wanted more freedom from their government. If they can feed themselves, then it's a big step in that direction.
The cargo bay was mostly empty after having dropped their last load in Browmar. Grabbing a grav cart, Shaltia hooked to a stack of crates of medical supplies that Cooper won off a general a few weeks back. She moved the stack to a corner behind the shuttle. Dropping the stack, she turned to push the grav cart back out of the cargo bay.
"Shaltia, how are you coming?" Cooper asked over the comm.
"About to head back to you. We won't be able to get it all, but we can get a good load."
"Good. Did you see Mitch?"
"No, I'm sure he's somewhere."
"Hurry back. I am missing Alura."
"I'm on my way."
"Captain Shaltia, can you come to the bridge?" Alura asked.
"On my way," she answered as she pushed the grav cart toward the airlock.
"What's the problem, Alura?" Cooper asked.
"A vessel has just appeared about four hundred kilometers away," Alura informed.
"That's still a long way off," Cooper said.
"The distress beacon might have drawn them," Shaltia suggested.
"Fuck, let me see if I can turn it off," Cooper said.
"I have just done so, Cooper," Alura stated.
"Thank god," Cooper sighed. "We need to establish this salvage, Shal."
"I'm working on it. Let me find out more. The grav cart is by the airlock."
She left the grav cart and hurried to the bridge.
"Do you have any data?
"Not yet. Still scanning. The vessel is approaching fast."
"Let me know as soon as possible," Shaltia said.
"The vessel appears to be a Skolean cruiser."
"Oh fuck," Shaltia muttered.
"Did I just hear Skolean?" Cooper said through the comm.
"Yes," Shaltia said.
"We have to go now!" Cooper exclaimed.
"There will not be enough time to retract the airlock and allow Cooper to return before the vessel arrives." Alura's computerized voice spoke matter-of-factly. "I estimate that the Skolean vessel will be within firing range in three minutes."
"Shit," was the only response over the comm.
"Maybe they don't plan to attack," Shaltia offered.
Cooper scoffed, "The Skolean aren't known for niceties. They steal whatever technology they can."
"Cooper is correct," Alura stated. "The Skolean race has made incredible advancements by taking technology from civilizations that have developed further. The Skoleans are also noted for leaving no survivors."
"Can we raise our shields?" Shaltia asked.
"I can generate an energy shield to cover us and the Burnside. However, in order to disengage from the Burnside, our shields will need to be lowered."
"Raise them," Shaltia said.
Cooper's voice came over the comm. "That means we can't leave without opening ourselves to attack by the Skolean."
"That is correct."
Shaltia said, "We need a plan."
Alura stated, "The Skolean ship is firing."
Enemy Attack
The bridge of the Michon was strafed with wires and connections from the varying techs that the crew had plundered. A screen hung mid center of the bridge. A chalk white-skinned Skolean sat in the navigator's chair. A leather tunic hung from his shoulders exposing the defined muscles in his arms that all the Skolean warriors possessed. Prominence in the Skolean society came in two ways, warriors who have received honor from kills, from either enemy battles or duels among the ranks, or intellectuals that can understand and integrate new technology into the Skolean system. However, even among the technicians, in-fighting, and murder can be tools for promotion in the ranks.
"Lord Korlich, we have detected a distress signal."
Korlich, the vessel's Lord, reclined on a throne in the center of the bridge. A nubile human female stood nude at his side waiting for him to give her a command to answer. Her vacant eyes staring ahead begging for death.
Korlich leaned forward and barked, "Where is this distress call?"
"In the first quadrant, four kiltecs away."
Korlich roared, "Take us there. Perhaps we can finally collect our reward. With the grace of the spear, we feast on flesh tonight." He pulled the human close and licked her cheek. Her face remained expressionless. Any sign of disgust would be rewarded with pain and torture.
"The vessel is a Delluna class transport. It is a human vessel."
Korlich cried, "At last, we see our goal. Praise the glory of the spear."
The six bridge crew repeated in unison, "Praise the glory of the spear."
"Do we have any readings on our sensors?"
"There are no life signs on the vessel."
"Mmmm," Korlich moaned, "perhaps we are too late for flesh."
"Lord Korlich," a Skolean officer spoke, "there is a vessel docked with the Delluna."
"What?" screamed the lord. "Where is this carrion?"
"Here, my lord," the officer said indicating the silver ship docked.
"What is that ship?" Korlich asked.
"I do not recognize it's make," the officer noted.
"Are we within firing range?" the lord snapped.
"No, my lord. In three trilons, we will be able to fire."
Growling, Korlich ordered, "Prepare the cannon. We destroy the vessel as soon as we are in range."
"My lord," another Skolean spoke up. "Destruction of that vessel may well destroy the transport."
"Better to lose the prize than see a carrion steal it from you," Lord Korlich stated.
The vessel was much smaller than the Delluna transport. Korlich studied it on the viewscreen. The design was new, and if they could disable it, then the technology might be rewarding. However, the Skolean believe in victory over spoils. Plundering the defeated is a joy, however, the battle's success is the primary objective.
"My lord, we will be in range in one trilon."
"Energize the cannon. The first shot will be to the bridge."
"Point five trilon, my lord."
Pulling the slave toward him, he ran his hand over her letting the claws of each finger dig into her flesh. Watching her flinch, he showed his yellowed teeth in a flashy grin.
"We are in range," the Skolean armory officer stated.
"Fire!" Lord Korlich howled.
The Michon's forward cannon fired a bolt of energy toward the silver vessel.
#
We've Got Company
The shock wave from the initial blast was barely registered in the Burnside's cargo bay. Cooper had spent the last half hour moving stuff around to find the most valuable items. He wanted to get as many crates of goods as Alura could hold before attempting to move the equipment.
Now he was ready to run for Alura. That wouldn't help though. They were stuck for the moment.
Cooper moved over to the girl in the tube. She seemed very peaceful. If the Skolean get on board, her peaceful sleep will end.
"What's the play?" he asked Shaltia over the comm.
"Working on it," he heard her say as another blast sounded.
The Alura was taking a beating, but her state of the art shields could withstand most anything. Why were they shooting at Alura? Why not the large target of the Burnside?
"Cooper, let's get Alura loaded that way we can jump if the opportunity presents itself."
"I'm all about that. Fuck, I'd leave all of these goodies if you want to."
Shaltia responded, "We aren't going anywhere. We might as well g
et ready."
"I'm coming to get the grav cart. I hope next time we skip the distress signal and continue to the beach."
Shaltia didn't answer. Cooper jogged down the corridor to the lift. When he reached the main level, he stepped out and started looking for Mitch.
"Mitch!" he called.
Fucking dog, where are you, he thought.
Shaltia had left the grav cart right inside Alura's hatch. Cooper grabbed it and hurried back.
"Alura, how long does it take to retract the airlock?"
"One minute and forty-three seconds," the ship answered.
Almost two minutes. That was a lot of time to not have a shield when a Skolean cruiser was breathing down your neck.
Cooper pushed the grav cart into the lift and descended to the cargo level. He grabbed the first stack of crates. The grav cart enacting a field around the crates making them virtually weightless. Glancing over his shoulder at the stasis tube, Cooper pushed the cart out.
In thirty minutes, he had made three trips from the Burnside to Alura. Alura's hold still had plenty of room. The Burnside, though, was packed with enough crates that the three loads now on the Alura were not noticeable.
An hour later, Cooper had moved fifteen stacks of crates. Alura's hold was getting tight, and he wanted to get one of the terra-forming tractors. Those could fetch ten million credits apiece. The whole load could fetch two hundred million, Cooper guessed.
Cooper stopped the grav cart at the intersection of corridors leading to the dining hall. He left the empty grav cart and walked down the now lighted corridor.
The dining area seemed even eerier in the light. In the dark, it was a forgotten mess. But, now, it was more like a sudden stop.
"Mitch!" he called hoping the dog had returned to the area with food.
"Alura," he asked, "can you scan the Burnside for Mitch?"
"Cooper, I am getting no readings for life signs on the Burnside."
"None."
"No, sir."
Cooper said, "But I'm here."
"That is unusual, sir. Let me run some diagnostics."
"How are your shields?"
"Shield capacity is at one hundred and twenty percent and holding."
"Great, the Skolean can't get in," Cooper said.
"That is correct, Cooper," Alura said, "however, we likewise cannot move."
"Thanks for looking on the bright side."
"I believe I have found the problem, Cooper. There is an interference blocking life sign readings."
"What is it?" he asked.
"I am not sure. I believe the interference is in the Burnside's sensor array. It may also be what was hampering the Burnside's sensor readings."
"Where is the sensor array?"
"According to the schematics, the sensor array is located in the engineering forward."
"Let's see what we have going on there," Cooper said. "Have you downloaded the captain's personal logs?"
"Yes, sir."
"He mentioned having suspected saboteurs. Can you see if he identifies them?"
"Yes, sir."
"Shaltia," Cooper said, "I'm going to see if I can find what the problem with the sensors is. What's the situation?"
"The Skoleans are trying to blast through our shields."
"Are they firing on Alura or the Burnside?"
"They are definitely targeting Alura."
"That seems odd. Can we fire back? We have enough firepower to decimate a planet."
Shaltia sighed, "I tried. While we are connected to the Burnside, we can't get the right angle."
"Fuck, talk about a rock and a hard place." Cooper was on the lift descending to engineering. "Does the Burnside have any weapons?"
Alura responded, "All armaments are offline."
"Perhaps we should look at that."
Alura answered, "I will attempt to diagnose that while I am looking for your dog."
"Snarky bitch," Cooper mumbled.
The lift doors opened on the engineering level. Cooper stepped into a maze of steel, pipes, and conduits. Moving aft, he slipped the laser pistol from his thigh. The pistol came up automatically as Cooper wound his way through engineering toward the forward sensor array.
"Alura, what do I need to look for?"
"The sensor array will be a large console with a three-hundred-sixty-degree display. The Burnside's array will have a red display."
"Got it. What could be causing interference?"
"That I cannot answer," Alura stated.
A tool tray was opened across the room. Finding a screwdriver, he began removing the front panel of the array. The inside looked like a mass of intestines with the cables and wires coiling together throughout.
"I have no idea what I'm looking at," Cooper mumbled.
"I would suggest looking at the converter relay."
"What the fuck is a converter relay?"
"The converter relay will be leading out of the junction box into the process node or into a process accelerator."
"The fuck are you talking about," Cooper said exasperatedly. "I don't know what any of those are."
"Cooper," Shaltia said, "find a box with wires coming out of it."
"Got it."
"Now follow the wires out until you find the converter relay."
Cooper banged his forehead against the console. "How do I know what's going in or out?"
"We don't really have time for a lesson in engineering."
His fingers traced over the wires.
"There's a little box bypassing this wire."
Alura responded, "That is probably the interference. You will need to remove the bypass and ensure that the wires are connected."
Twisting around so that he could get a better look at the piece, Cooper laid back his head and stared at the bypass. The wires were soldered in place. Lifting his knee, he unsheathed his smaller knife. The knife hooked the small wire feeding out of the main line and into the bypass. With a jerk of the knife, the wire snapped and a jolt of electricity hit him.
"Motherfucker!"
"Be careful, Cooper, there are several hundred volts of electricity powering the sensor array."
"No shit, I lost the hairs on my arm," he cursed as he pulled the bypass box off the main wire.
"Alura," he said, "I think the bypass is free. What can you see?"
"Cooper, you will need to reboot the sensor array."
Sliding out of the console, he sat up. Rebooting wasn't an issue. The console had a master switch that could cut the power. He threw the switch and the red console went dark. Waiting several seconds, he turned the switch on.
Cooper heard the creak of metal. His hand reflexively whipped to the pistol on his thigh. The engine room was silent. His head swept around looking for something.
"Mitch," he said hopefully.
Alura's voice came over the comm. "Cooper, the sensors are back online. I am reading life signs."
"Great," Cooper relaxed. "Where's Mitch?"
"Cooper," Shaltia's voice interrupted, "there are five life signs. One is in engineering with you."
"What? Please tell me it's Mitch." Cooper swept the room looking for another person.
"Get out of there," Shaltia said.
Cooper turned to run for the lift. The bulkhead behind him exploded as someone fired at him. Ducking behind a console, Cooper fired six blasts randomly.
Alura said in his ear, "A stray shot into one of the heating coils could create an overload in the system."
"Fuck that, a stray shot into me will cause a shut down of my system."
"I'm on my way," Shaltia said.
"No," Cooper yelled. He stood and fired three blasts. "I got this."
Two blasts fired over his head. Cooper returned fire again sporadically. The sensor array took a blast and sparked before exploding. The blast throwing shrapnel all around.
Cooper launched to his feet and sprinted down the walkway to the lift.
"Cooper," Shaltia said urgently in the comm. "Coope
r. What happened? We lost sensors."
"My fault. I blew up the sensor array."
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm heading back to the cargo bay. You make sure Alura is locked down. No one can get on."
"Did you get a look at him?"
"No, I had my head down."
The lift opened and Cooper ran toward the cargo bay.
"Alura, can you lock the cargo doors?" Cooper asked as the cargo doors closed
"Yes, Cooper," the ship responded as the light on the door control panel turned red.
"Wait, Alura," he said as a thought hit him. "Did you say 'five life signs?'"
"Yes."
Shaltia said, "Wait, is Mitch one of the life signs?"
"Yes, he was on level seven in the rec area."
"If I'm one of those life signs. Then there's Sleeping Beauty and the one in engineering shooting at me."
"Who's the fifth one?" Shaltia asked.
The doors to the cargo bay made a clanging sound as something struck them from the outside.
"Oh, shit. I think I'm about to find out."
We've Got Company
The shock wave from the initial blast was barely registered in the Burnside's cargo bay. Cooper had spent the last half hour moving stuff around to find the most valuable items. He wanted to get as many crates of goods as Alura could hold before attempting to move the equipment.
Now he was ready to run for Alura. That wouldn't help though. They were stuck for the moment.
Cooper moved over to the girl in the tube. She seemed very peaceful. If the Skolean get on board, her peaceful sleep will end.
"What's the play?" he asked Shaltia over the comm.
"Working on it," he heard her say as another blast sounded.
The Alura was taking a beating, but her state of the art shields could withstand most anything. Why were they shooting at Alura? Why not the large target of the Burnside?
"Cooper, let's get Alura loaded that way we can jump if the opportunity presents itself."
"I'm all about that. Fuck, I'd leave all of these goodies if you want to."
Shaltia responded, "We aren't going anywhere. We might as well get ready."
"I'm coming to get the grav cart. I hope next time we skip the distress signal and continue to the beach."
Alura's Bind_Book One Page 4