“Thank you, David,” she offered. Ashley didn’t know what to say to him at first, but then it came to her. “We couldn’t have done it without you and your people,” she stated in earnest.
His smile faded, revealing the weariness it disguised.
Nerine’s arm went across his shoulders. All eyes were on them, but Ashley forgot everyone else at something she couldn’t help but recognize. It was something she’d seen on the Samson, right before one of the boarding team members, Amanda, left the ship at port and never returned. She’d nearly been killed when her weapon failed on a boarding action with Stephanie. When Ashley saw Amanda after that encounter in the mess hall, it was like a light inside her had gone out. The normally pleasant woman she’d come to know was gone. When she asked Stephanie about it after Amanda had left the ship for good, she wasn’t ready for the answer. “That’s what getting scared to death looks like Ash. People aren’t the same after that, especially if they weren’t ready for it in the first place.”
Ashley knelt down and whispered what she was sure she’d want to hear if she were in David’s place; “You’ll never be a slave again and you don’t need to hold a rifle to join this crew.”
A tear rolled down his cheek as a different kind of smile began to emerge. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Zoe offered him her cup, thrusting it at him eagerly. He laughed and put his hand up. “No, I think you should keep that.” The gun across his knees caught his eye then, and he carefully handed it over to someone standing nearby.
Zoe insisted, turning it and waving it in front of his face. “Well thank you, I’ll give it back when I’m done,” he said, finally taking it.
The conference room door opened. “Ashley, the wormhole is beginning to degrade, I need you.”
“Can we do anything to help?” Nerine asked.
Ashley looked to Zoe, whose big blue eyes looked back at her. “Would you like to play with Nerine and David for a while?”
Nerine stepped forward and took Zoe’s hand. “Hi Zoe, let’s let the Commander go to work for a while, okay?”
David stood up behind her, cleared his eyes and smiled at the toddler, who beamed at him.
Ashley tried to hand Zoe over to Nerine, an act that was met with desperate resistance as she gripped hair and whined. “Okay, we’ll try that in the conference room. Let’s go.”
Without hesitation she led the way into the conference room and slowly put Zoe down. David and Nerine were right behind her, and before the little one knew what as going on, the pair were kneeling down in front of her, asking what she wanted to do.
“What’re they doing in here?” Larry asked as though they weren’t within earshot.
“They’re going to take care of Zoe while we bring the ship into port,” Ashley replied as she looked at the profile of the wormhole they were travelling through. “Someone’s started an emitter on the other ship, it’s forcing the wormhole to degrade.”
“How far into the deceleration phase are we?” Dave asked as he watched Nerine pick Zoe up by the hands and gently swing her from side to side.
“Right at the end, I always plan trips so there’s room to spare.”
“Smart, most pilots only plan a drift time of five minutes at the end of wormhole.”
“You’re a pilot?”
“Nope, a mechanic. I’ve been on plenty of ships though.”
“Well, whoever wanted us to come out of this wormhole early is about to get their way. I’m not going to wait for the wormhole to go off balance. If we come out the wrong way or breach the compression wall we could get torn apart. Larry, how much longer will it take us to get to Carthan space if we emerge right now?”
“We’ll be a few minutes away at half power.”
“Good enough.” Ashley opened a comm channel. “Oz, we’re emerging from the wormhole in a few seconds. There shouldn’t be any bumps, but pass the word.”
“Problem?”
“No biggie, we’re almost home.”
“All right.”
Ashley worked the controls and rechecked the wormhole emitters every few seconds. She knew how the wormhole systems were supposed to work, but normally had a field specialist who managed that system backing her up.
“We could just compensate, there’s enough power in the system.” Larry offered.
“There could be damage we’re not seeing, a burnout waiting to happen. I’m just happy the emitters work at all.”
“All right, I’ll focus the emitters so we have a better exit point.”
Before Ashley’s eyes the integrity of the wormhole dropped near collapse then recovered. The entire ship shook, and the holographic diagram of the Triton flashed red for several seconds, alerting her to an impending structural failure along the dorsal section of the ship. “Okay, set for dispersion, we’re getting out now.”
Neither of them spoke as they worked at the controls, and in seconds the energy of the wormhole surrounding them peeled away like a blossoming flower. Ashley watched the diagram of the Triton nervously as stress warnings spread across the upper hull like angry red spider webs. To her relief, most of them faded away, leaving damage notifications mostly around the upper mooring. She breathed a sigh of relief as she brought up the navnet display. The local network connected right away and began to fill the holographic system with markers.
“Nice work. I’ve never seen someone disperse a wormhole before,” David remarked.
“ Triton has a lot of power, and her emitter system has backups built in. I’m just lucky they were working properly, otherwise we would have come out tumbling or I could have blown the whole array.”
Ashley’s eye was drawn to the smaller diagram of the Enforcer’s exterior, where escape pods were jettisoning by the dozen. “Oz, do you see this? It looks like the rats are leaving the ship.”
“Looks like I owe Jason a fifty. He said the Enforcer crew were probably using life support power to disrupt the wormhole so they could try and escape. There’s nothing we can do, don’t worry about it.”
“All right, just wonderin’. Navnet’s loading up nicely, it looks like we’re going to be okay.”
Seven Carthan carriers, each of them three and a half kilometres long and two across came up on navnet, and behind them were more gunships and mid sized cruisers than she could count. The port instructions came up in large red letters that said HOLD POSITION. A battle scarred command ship loomed in the distance, featuring three thick parallel hulls that were set in increasing length from top to bottom. The slanted main body of the ship, set behind the secondary sections of hull was a flat oval. The Triton’s computer immediately began marking its systems, numerous docking bays and measuring her total pressurized volume, raw tonnage, and overall firepower. It was a sleek hulled beast of a vessel, measuring six kilometres at her most broad point, three kilometres tall, and twelve point three kilometres long measuring from the greatest section of secondary hull to the rearmost of the oval primary hull. The thousands of lit portholes seemed as numerous as the stars, and as it began to propel itself the space around it distorted, as though fields with incredible energy were curving around the vessel. Navnet finally finished loading its registry information, and Ashley would never forget the name; The Oracle.
Behind it was what Ashley would later describe as several battle groups, and a non-orbital ship yard that was so large it looked closer than the Oracle itself. The boundaries set on that segment of the holodisplay couldn’t contain it. “Oz, tell me you’re seeing some of this,” she muttered.
“We’re looking at it here. I haven’t seen anything like it since Freeground. That ship, the Oracle, there’s something familiar about it.”
“It’s Expansion Age. It must have been adrift for over two hundred years.” Larry added.
“Well, it looks like someone dusted it off. The entire Carthan fleet has made itself at home too. I’m guessing this is no where near the rendezvous coordinates.” Oz assumed.
“You’re right, we came out earl
y and we’re off by about half a million kilometres. We’re on the wrong side of Kambis, the moon where we’re supposed to rendezvous with the rest of the crew is still on the night side.”
“It could have been a lot worse. We could have come out of the wormhole on the extreme angle of its curve,” Larry said as he watched armed shuttles, gunships and cruisers begin moving towards the Triton.
The communications system lit up with a priority message and Ashley stared at the virtual panel on the table. “Something’s up. Oz, do you see this emergency channel?”
“Yup, link me up.”
“All right, mind if I listen in? They’re not issuing instructions through navnet and I need to know what’s going on.”
“No problem.”
Ashley linked the incoming communication with Oz’s communicator and sat back.
“Welcome to Carthan space and the Rega Gain solar system. By treaty I must give you or any passengers that may be United Core World Confederation military the opportunity to retreat peacefully.”
“This is Commander Ozark McPatrick of the Free Ship Triton. We’d like to request safe harbour, rescue services and I’m declaring the ship moored to our dorsal side as a vessel as a war time capture. I hope you take prisoners, because I’d like to remand the entire crew of the Enforcer 1109 into your custody. Do whatever you want to ‘em, and if there’s a reward, we’re interested.”
“We’re dispatching security and rescue ships right now. We were expecting you. My orders are to safely conduct the crew of the Triton and any passengers to the Tamber moon.”
“We’re safe aboard the Triton, in fact we have repair crews aboard who can begin work right away.”
“My orders stand, Commander. Please ready your crew and passengers for transport. You have ten minutes.”
“Stand by while I consult my command team,” Oz said with a note of finality before ending the communication.
Ashley tried not to look dismayed, David and Nerine did a good enough job at looking shocked for everyone. They look so tired, she kept thinking. Zoe had quieted down a little, but was still content to swing from her hands, her feet reaching up to touch the seat of the nearest chair. “What do we do Oz?” Ashley asked quietly.
“I’m going to talk to Jason before making a decision. Be ready to move.”
Oz watched from the flight control deck beneath the main bridge as one of the large armed Carthan troop transports docked with the emergency port. They had just finished clean up, and several crew members were performing repairs on the consoles. “Another ambush, is it Tuesday already?” Oz said quietly.
“No, this sounds political,” Jason replied over their encrypted connection. “I knew this was a possibility, especially in a military port. If Jake’s been declared a war criminal…”
“Then this ship is a legitimate capture, even if he’s on the same side as the Carthans. Minh didn’t say anything about any of the other ships getting taken. Wouldn’t they be captured under the same terms?”
“They weren’t taken from a Sol System military base. They can seize this ship under rights given by a whole different law book.”
“So, what you’re saying is we don’t have a legal leg to stand on.”
“Not at the moment. How are our military options looking?”
“We don’t have any. We’re in range of enough firepower to slag half a moon, and I can see at least one long range interdiction array from where I’m standing.”
“We’ve got the Enforcer all to ourselves though. We just have to claim it under the right privateering licence. Minh’s dispatch said our licence was under Ayan. The Enforcer needs major electrical work, they burned out the controls and her operating software has been wiped. Oh, and her reactors would have to be completely rebuilt.”
“What you’re saying is we’ve got an over sized pressurized box.”
“Exactly. It’s an intact box though, without much structural damage.”
“Life support?”
“Emergency systems have a couple days left in them, but I don’t know much beyond that. I’m bringing Frost into this conversation.”
“We turning tail?” Frost said as soon as he knew he could be heard.
Agameg came into the lower bridge and surveyed the room with a sweeping glance. Technicians who were quietly listening in on the conversation were turning away from their work. People who were removing refuse stopped where they were and put their loads down quietly. The issyrian’s eyes narrowed to slits and fixed on Oz, who wished he would be giving everyone better news. “No, we’re leaving Triton temporarily while we get things sorted out.”
“Sounds like you’re letting a bunch of bureaucrats tell us we can’t stand on the deck of our own ship. I’m speaking for everyone when I say-“
“Can it, Frost,” Oz said firmly.
“Now you wait just-“
“Look out a window, shut your hole and use your brain for one second. This is a fight you can’t win with a gun.”
“What if Captain Valance is on his way here right now? What if he’s got something no one’s thought of, he’s done it more than once.”
“If he’s not on comms, then he probably doesn’t know we’re here. Besides, it looks like the warrant they have out for him is why we’re being ordered to abandon ship. What we need are solutions, so tell me how the systems aboard the Enforcer look, please?” Oz asked forcefully.
“On the Enforcer? They’re fine if you’re looking for scrap, but I wouldn’t even try to turn the main electrical board on, and we detonated a high powered EMP right in the middle of their reactor room. Where’s Chief Grady?”
“The Botanical Gallery. He’s been controlling Triton’s main power systems from there.”
“Well, that explains a bit.”
“Would you move people onto the Enforcer?” Asked Jason.
“I wouldn’t move my Aunt Elaine aboard, and she’s a crotchety bitch. What we didn’t tear up disabling this boat was ripped apart by her crew before they abandoned her.”
“So much for plan B. Jason, get something ready to transmit to Carthan authorities so we can lay a claim on the Enforcer.”
“Already done, and I have a rough appeal for possession of the Triton ready to go. It’s all on your comm.”
“All right, I’m sending a notification to all sections to get ready to evacuate.”
“You could lose the crew over this, Oz,” Frost warned.
“Not if I have you and all the other commands backing me.” Agameg nodded his acceptance as Oz said the words. He had taken command of the liberated slaves, and it was all Oz could do to hope that they would all follow the cunning issyrian. “I need you to be in line with this,” Oz appealed to Frost.
“Aye, on one condition. We come back. We bled for her, we earned her.”
Oz hadn’t known Frost long, but he was absolutely certain that committing to that promise would define his purpose until he delivered. “You have my word.”
“All right, my people will fall in line.”
“Oh, and Frost; make sure everyone knows, if it isn’t nailed down, we take it with us. Now extract your people from the Enforcer, get anyone who can crawl in a loader suit set up in one and start loading everything you can find into containers. Start with guns and ammo.”
“Oz, shouldn’t we start with survival gear?” Jason asked.
“Everyone else can work on survival gear. Guns will trade faster than anything else we take with us.”
“Good point. I’ll pass the word to the commands. You start bargaining for more time with the Carthans.”
Chapter 42
Departure
It took everything Ashley had to keep the tears at bay as Larry showed her how to activate the Triton’s evacuation systems. Throughout the ship directions to the main hangar and operational docking points would appear on the floors. No one could get most of those automated assistance systems working while they were aboard the ship, and the fact that she was just learning about
them as they were about to leave was almost too much to take. Zoe was back in her arms again, she knew something was going on, and silently looked from one person to the next.
If it weren’t for her, Ashley knew she’d be in pieces. David and Nerine had already gone to inform everyone of what was going on. She could hear them packing everything they could find in the medical bay onto rolling chairs, gurneys and into the few crates they had at hand.
“I’m not staying this time,” Larry whispered to Ashley as he finished his tutorial. Wherever the ship had emergency power there would be arrows and written instructions guiding everyone to docking ports or hangar decks. Carthan transports were already linking with the ship, and the first people they took were the captured Regent Galactic contracted soldiers.
“I thought this ship was your assignment?”
“She is, but I can learn a lot more by going to ground with your people.”
“Spying on us is more important than staying with the Triton? ”
“It’s hard to explain, Ashley. Citadel’s instructions to someone like me, so far away from the council, are layered. There’s a whole list of priorities to consider. I don’t know if you’d understand.”
Ashley looked at Larry as though seeing him for the first time. His condescending tone was insulting, yes, but she couldn’t help but be almost certain in her suspicions. He was lying to her. Anything he had told her, his promises, they could all be as substantial as smoke.
“Well, all the emergency systems are doing what they’re supposed to,” he said with a nod.
She had never been more nervous in her life as he watched him shut down the conference room table. He didn’t even look like he noticed her staring at him. “What’s so important about us?” she asked quietly. Zoe buried her nose in her hair and squeezed her neck. The toddler could tell something was going on.
“Ashley, I told you, there’s no time,” Larry said irritably as he turned towards her.
Fragments sf-6 Page 39