by Sarah Noffke
Lewis wasn’t helping; he was actually getting undressed, slinging off his belt, and looking up at the ceiling.
“What exactly are you doing?” Bailey grunted.
“Trying to decide if that pipe is strong enough,” he answered, indicating the fixture that ran from floor to ceiling beside the door. He seemed to be making calculations as he appraised it.
A thud from the door nearly knocked Bailey forward. “Enough thinking. Just do it,” she demanded.
Lewis sprang forward and wrapped his belt around the door handle, and then secured it around the pipe. He tugged one last time before giving Bailey a confident nod. “That should work.”
“Let’s not stick around to see,” Bailey strained out. She took a deep breath and sprinted away from the door, giving it one last glance as she rounded the corner of the stairs below.
The door appeared to be holding.
“There’s going to be a crap-ton of guards on this floor,” she said when they reached the door to the docking level. “What are we going to do?”
“We think we’ve got you covered,” Pip said over the comm.
“What do you have in mind?” Lewis asked, wondering what the AI and the Tuetian had been up to in their absence.
“We’ve been keeping them pretty occupied,” Pip explained. “You’ll see what I mean. Oh, and keep your head down if you don’t want to get burned.”
Lewis gave Bailey a tentative look. “Well, I’m curious as hell. Shall we?”
She nodded and pulled back the door.
To her surprise, the hallway was empty. In the distance, she could hear men yelling, their screams punctuated by loud explosions.
“This way,” Lewis stated, running around Bailey and taking them to the docking station.
A jolt nearly knocked them both off their feet. Bailey steadied herself against a wall while she waited for the ground to stop shaking violently underfoot. “What was that?”
“That was me,” Pip said victoriously. “It’s hard for them to fight something they can’t see.”
“You’ve got the cloaks back up?” Bailey inferred.
“Kind of, but not really,” he replied unhelpfully. “Thank goodness I’m an amazing pilot.”
“Keep it up,” Lewis stated. “We’re almost there.”
“Okay, we’re going to swing around and get you; it’s going to be a bumpy ride, though,” Pip warned. “It’s a good thing this station isn’t used to combat, or we’d be goners.”
Sirens blared overhead as the lieutenant and the detective hit the home stretch. Bailey was sure that more guards were going to surface from the connecting hallways, but the place appeared to be empty. She couldn’t understand where everyone had gone.
Sliding to a halt, she looked through the window to the connector they’d come through. There was something moving on the other side. She pulled up her gun, ready for an assault.
“We’re here,” Pip sang over the comm.
“Holy chalupa! Thank the stars,” she celebrated in relief as she opened the door and sprinted onto the ship.
A blast knocked her to her knees. Lewis stumbled into her, sending her straight to the ground, and his body weight pressed on top of her. The detective rolled to the side, managing to pull the hatch closed, although the ship was still rocking violently.
“Okay, the cloaks are officially down,” Pip said overhead. “We’ve got to hightail it.”
Lewis secured the hatch, then turned around to help Bailey up. She declined his offered hand, pulling herself up using the shaking walls.
“Vitos, do some of that fancy stuff again,” Pip suggested.
From her place in the back, Bailey noticed that Vitos was in the copilot’s seat, manning—or bugging—the guns. A blast from the Q-Ship rocketed into the station as they disembarked, lights flashing in the distance all around them.
“What did you do?” Bailey asked, eyeing the explosions on the neighboring asteroids.
“We decided that the best way to get you out was to cause a diversion,” Pip said proudly.
Vitos had a smile on his face as he looked back over his shoulder and translated, “We blew up a bunch of their mining stations.”
Chapter Nineteen
Jack Renfro’s Office, Ricky Bobby, Cacama System
Lewis thought Jack should be congratulating them. Instead, he was pacing behind his desk.
“Are we waiting on Hatch?” Lewis asked.
Jack halted and gave him a curious look. “Why, yes. How did you…” He trailed off as his eyes drifted to the strange chair sitting next to where Bailey stood. It wasn’t of a design that a human could comfortably sit in, but a Londil would probably fit in it fine. “Right, you are a detective,” he said with a hollow laugh.
His uncle was stressed, but Lewis couldn’t determine why…well, besides the fact that Pip and Vitos had blown up a bunch of mining sites in the asteroid belt, most likely alerting Vance to the fact that they were on the loose and gunning for him.
“We no longer have the element of surprise,” Jack said, echoing Lewis’s thoughts. “Vance is going to be on the lookout for us.”
“But we do have the locations for the databases,” Lewis countered.
A shadow fell across Jack’s face. “About that…”
The detective bolted forward, worry pounding in his chest. “Those were the locations for the databases, weren’t they?”
To his relief, his uncle nodded. “They appear to be. And as you suggested, I had Ricky Bobby plot them on the map.”
“Do they match DJ’s drawing of the Precious galaxy?” Bailey asked.
“They, in fact, do,” Ricky Bobby confirmed overhead.
Lewis shook his head. “That kid is something else.”
Jack agreed with a nod. “She definitely is.”
“If the locations work out, then I don’t understand,” Lewis said tentatively. “You seem concerned about something.”
“I’m concerned about a lot of things,” Jack began. “But the biggest issue is—”
“Go get some rest! I want you back on ship repairs ASAP,” Hatch hollered over his shoulder as he waddled into the room. He turned to look at the three, shaking his head.
“What’s going on?” Jack asked as Hatch climbed into the special, Londil-appropriate chair.
“Damn Liesel Diesel got herself sick,” Hatch muttered. “If she didn’t eat only vegan fare, this probably wouldn’t happen.”
“There are actually many benefits to not eating animal products,” Jack reasoned.
Hatch gave the chief strategist one long look of disgust. “Do not tell me that, like most whipped men, you’ve adopted your girlfriend’s diet?”
Jack shook his head. “I’m not whipped, and it’s not a diet. Veganism is a lifestyle.”
Hatch threw up a few tentacles, his eyes rolling back. “Oh, you have! And here I thought you were a respectable man.”
“I’ve found that I have a lot of energy, since changing what I eat,” Jack stated.
“I have a lot of energy, and all I eat is fish—an animal product,” Hatch countered.
“You and I are different species, and therefore have different requirements.”
“Is Liesel okay?” Bailey asked, interrupting the feud.
Hatch nodded. “I guess so. She probably has a stomach bug.”
Jack’s face flushed red. When his eyes connected with Lewis, he resumed pacing.
“I don’t show that she’s contracted any virus,” Ricky Bobby chimed in. “Actually, her exam shows that she—”
“She probably ate some fruit or vegetables that went bad,” Jack said, interrupting the AI.
“Actually, I think the cause of her illness is—”
“We’re low on fresh foods! We should make a supply run soon,” Jack cut off Ricky Bobby again.
“No one on this ship has time to go buy groceries. There’s only a handful of us as it is, and we all have jobs,” Hatch grumbled.
“We can get away for a
bit to load up,” Bailey offered, motioning between Lewis and herself.
Jack paused, a protest in his eyes. “We need you two working on the databases.”
“You mean the databases that we can’t get into?” Hatch spat.
“What? How do we know that?” Lewis asked.
Jack let out a loud breath. “The information you retrieved from Sutra Nine revealed that each of the databases is protected by an encrypted code.”
Lewis nodded. It would explain his uncle’s heightened stress; however, it didn’t explain why the picture of his uncle’s twin brother, Lewis’s father, was turned face-down on the shelf behind him.
“Oh. Well, where are the codes kept?” Bailey asked. “Are they on Sutra Nine? We can go back, but something tells me we’re going to need more guns.”
Jack shook his head. “The information stated the codes are kept at a separate facility. It would make sense that the locations for the databases and the codes wouldn’t be together. It’s Monstre Corps’ way of safeguarding the theft.”
“How do we find them, then?” she asked.
“The bigger question is how are we going to get the consciousnesses trapped in the database back into a physical form?” Hatch mused, combing a tentacle over the top of his head.
“Aren’t we jumping ahead a bit?” Lewis questioned.
“I don’t think so,” Jack replied. “We don’t know where to find the codes, but we know where the databases are located. However, even if we had the codes, we still don’t know how to free the minds that have been stored.”
“Their bodies disintegrated when they were uploaded,” Hatch explained. “That’s the easiest way I can put it. They were converted to energy, which was used to fuel the process. In order to get someone back out, we’re going to have to—”
“Get them a new body?” Bailey interrupted, awe written on her face.
“Sort of,” he answered. “We’re going to have to recreate their old bodies.”
“Suddenly I’m glad that our job is to find these mystery codes, hidden somewhere in the galaxy and we don’t have your responsibility, Hatch,” Lewis said with a laugh.
“Is it possible that Vance has the means to put people back in their bodies?” Bailey asked.
Jack shook his head. “I don’t believe so. From everything I’ve learned about Vance and Monstre Corp, they want the consciousnesses for whatever reason. I don’t think he’d invest in the means to put people back together.”
Hatch puffed out his cheeks. “I agree. We will, but it’s not going to be easy. We need a 3D printer of sorts, that’s fueled by Bio Plus.”
“Bio Plus?” Lewis asked.
“It’s made from a wide array of organic matter that has all been combined and distilled,” Hatch explained. “A composite of human material, if you will.”
“So this 3D printer is a real thing?” Bailey asked.
“It will be, once I build it,” Hatch said proudly. “I started on a prototype some time ago, but abandoned my efforts. It’s called a GAD-C and uses etheric energy and DNA, to generate a body after linking to a consciousness.”
Bailey smiled wide. “Wow. That sounds promising.”
Hatch nodded solemnly. “It was, but it’s lacking a component.”
“The Bio Plus?” she asked.
“No, I’ve got plenty of that,” he waved a tentacle in dismissal.
“Who doesn’t?” Lewis joked.
Looking not at all amused, Hatch said, “The GAD-C requires a second fuel source, but I’m at a loss for what that could be.”
Jack slid into his chair, looking defeated. “It appears we are at a dead end.”
“Hatch is going to figure it out,” Bailey assured him, a lightness in her voice. “And we’re going to find the codes.”
“How?” he asked, appearing more crestfallen with each passing moment.
“Isn’t there a space station close by?” Lewis asked, remembering something that Vitos had told him.
Jack looked to Hatch, who returned his confused expression.
“I can confirm that there is a space station called Gable,” Ricky Bobby stated. “It serves as a hub for multiple systems.”
Lewis slapped his hands together. “Perfect. We’ll go there and ask around, see if anyone can tell us anything about where else Monstre Corp has been. We’ll also load up on supplies.”
Jack nodded, his eyes distant. “Okay, but you two be careful. Monstre Corp will be watching for you.”
Bailey stretched, looking enlivened by the upcoming adventure. “I hope they are. But they’re not going to catch us.”
Hatch slid out of the seat, waving at Bailey. “Follow me to my lab. I have some more weapons for you.” Bailey’s eyes lit up, and the mechanic continued. “Those grenades came in handy, I hear.”
She cracked a smile as she let him lead her away. “Yes, they were a lifesaver. Literally.”
When they were gone, Lewis took his time stretching to a standing position. Jack didn’t seem to notice Lewis lingering in his office as he poured over a file on the side of his desk.
“Uncle Jack?”
“Yeah?” he replied, his head down as he turned the pages.
“Do you want me to get you anything while I’m at Gable?”
Jack shook his head. “Only information on the codes.”
“So nothing for the baby, then?” he asked with a proud smile.
His uncle looked up, shocked. “How did you know?”
Lewis hadn’t been sure at first, but then he’d put it together. It wasn’t just that Jack wouldn’t let Ricky Bobby reveal anything about Liesel’s condition. It was the picture.
His father had always told Jack how rewarding it was to have children. He’d pressured him to one day have a family, but Jack had been adamant that it wasn’t right for him—he said his job wasn’t conducive to that life. The brothers had fought about it until Lewis’s father’s death.
Lewis now pointed to the turned down photo. “There’s only one reason you wouldn’t want to see his face.”
Jack looked back at the frame lying flat, and let out a breath. “It’s true. I feel like he’s mocking me. Lecturing me. Telling me it’s for the best.”
Lewis sort of laughed. “He might be. But wherever Dad is, he’s probably over the moon that you’re going to be a father.”
“Yeah, well, my point of view hasn’t changed on the matter,” Jack said, his face grave. “I can’t have a child. What we in Ghost Squadron do is too dangerous; evidence of that fact is that we’re currently down roughly three hundred people. We’re having to send our detective and combat pilot on a supply run. The timing couldn’t be worse.”
“There’s usually never a good time for these things,” Lewis stated, remembering that his father once said the same thing.
“You sound like him,” Jack said, a bit of fondness flickering to his face.
The detective’s gaze dropped to the ground. He never thought himself much like his father. His dad had been a good man, through and through. An incredible judge of character. Lewis was learning, but if he’d had his father’s brilliance earlier on, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.
“What does Liesel say?” Lewis asked.
Jack shook his head, a small smile on his face. “She says everything happens for a reason, and that children come through when they’re ready, not when we are.”
Lewis laughed. “Mom will like her.”
“Yes. I don’t deserve her or this child, but…”
“You deserve a lot more than you think,” Lewis said, smiling down at his seated uncle. “It’s true that you have a dangerous job, running this ship and working for the Federation. But that also makes you well-equipped for protecting and teaching a child.”
“I don’t know,” he said, chewing on his lip absentmindedly. “A ship isn’t really the right place to raise a baby. Liesel and I both work nonstop, and we’re always traveling, off on some adventure.”
Lewis strode for the exit
. “Sounds to me like this ship is the perfect place. You have a team of built-in babysitters to help you, and what better education for a young mind than to travel through galaxies?”
“Yeah, maybe…” Jack said, pushing to a standing position. “Thanks for not saying anything when everyone was in here, unlike Ricky Bobby, who almost leaked the news.”
“Liesel told me I could,” the AI said simply. “And I was only relating facts.”
“You need to learn a little discretion,” Jack said irritably.
“Look, Uncle Jack,” Lewis began. “I realize this new situation doesn’t fit into your mold, but sometimes the thing you think you don’t want, is exactly what you need.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
He nodded. “I thought I was done with detective work. I was worried that if I ever returned, it would bring back my demons.”
“It hasn’t?” Jack asked.
“Oh, it has,” Lewis admitted. “But I’ve also remembered how much I love it; it’s the only thing that makes me feel completely alive. And that’s worth facing down any demon.”
Chapter Twenty
Gable Station, Cacama System
“What can you tell us about this station?” Bailey asked Vitos as they prepared to enter Gable Station from the docking area.
“I’ve never been here, to be honest.” Vitos looked around uncomfortably. “This is one of our exporters, and the location of one of the largest coffee distributors.”
“I can’t wait to get a cup of brew,” Lewis said, closing his eyes with a dreamy look.
“You won’t have a problem with that,” Vitos stated. “There’s a Precious Galaxy Coffee shop on every level in Gable, from what I’ve heard.”
“People love their coffee,” he agreed.
Bailey shook her head. “I don’t.”
“You don’t drink coffee?” he asked her.
She strode down the corridor, two guns holstered on her thigh. “I am naturally energetic. Coffee only makes me jittery.”
“I wouldn’t say that to anyone else,” Lewis said with a laugh. “Most won’t find it endearing that you’re overflowing with energy, on top of everything else.”