by Marc Stevens
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Get Hylet out of that cell and get him ready to move.”
I pulled a couple of grenades out and opened the hatch long enough to toss them up the corridor. Only one exploded right off, the other must have been waiting for targets. I saw a flash and a loud explosion come from the hall Klutch had mined. His booby traps just sent more pirates to their final judgement. Klutch had to drag Hylet to the door. He was having a mental breakdown, judging by the complete nonsense coming out of his mouth. Klutch was no longer smiling. I couldn’t blame him — we were trapped like rats. At some point the pirates would figure out there were only two of us. When that happened, things were going to get ugly, and Hylet would be the first casualty. My second grenade finally detonated or was shot down. Opening the hatch, I ventured a peek down the corridor. I jerked my head back as withering fire blasted the corner. There was a lot of movement going on out there.
We had the crew’s attention and they were getting more aggressive by the moment. The wall next to the brig was being blasted to shit and the fragments were bouncing around us. I closed the door again and it turned out to be perfect timing. Two more homing grenades came around the corner and exploded right in front of the door. The door must have had a duty rating and it was now exceeded. The clear composite had cracks all over it. The beast in me was ready to test my duty rating, because like it or not, I was going out there to get this over with one way or another.
My beam weapon was still in the green and ready to go. You mess with the bull you get the horns. I popped the hatch and Klutch attempted to push me aside. We both hesitated when we heard nonstop explosive blasts accompanied by a familiar whine. I leaned around the corner and saw a stream of fire coming from the service tunnel. Coonts was mowing down everything in the corridor with his minigun. The pirates never knew what hit them. The remaining survivors were attempting to turn and charge at him. Klutch and I took the opportunity to toss grenades into their flanks and the Tibor offensive was permanently halted. Coonts stepped out of the service tunnel and checked to see if any of the pirates were playing possum. He seemed satisfied with the results of his handy work and waved us on.
Klutch grabbed Hylet and carried him up the corridor, he couldn’t seem to get his legs moving properly and we were in a hurry. By the look of the riddled corpses, the pirates had gathered together and were going to charge the brig in mass.
I clapped Coonts on the shoulder. “Thanks for evening the odds.”
“I grew tired of Tria asking what was taking so long.”
I smiled at his comment. Evidently our comms would not work this deep in the ship or I would have heard the same thing. “Get Hylet out of here while Klutch and I set the scuttling charges.”
He nodded and took Hylet by the hand, pulling him into the service tunnel. We followed and watched him take Hylet up the ladder. The Zaen found his second wind and rapidly climbed out of sight. Klutch and I went down one level. He was being cautious as he eased the engineering access hatch open. Anybody hiding down here had to hear what happened on the deck above. My armor had taken enough damage that cloaking was no longer an option. Large portions of my suit were visible, so Klutch let me know in no uncertain terms he was the leader and I would follow. If it meant not getting shot again, I was all for it.
We climbed out of the tunnel into a brightly lit room that was humming with machine sounds. There was no one visible on this side of the largest pipes and monitoring consoles. We moved quietly among the machinery for any signs of an ambush, but it looked like we were alone. Klutch pointed across the room at a pipe that was painted bright orange.
“Plant your charge on the backside of that pipe where it meets the deck. We don’t want anyone to find and disable them. I will rig mine on the power conduits.”
Justice had fabricated the explosives out of HE rounds for our tube launchers. He had installed simple digital timers on them to give us enough time to escape.
“How much time, Troop Master?”
“Fifteen minutes should be enough time to get clear. It will take the systems another ten to fifteen to overheat and catch fire. We will be long gone by then.”
I was skeptical because things were not going as planned already. Who was I to question a Troop Master? I nodded and moved away to set my charge. I tucked it behind the pipe as instructed and ran for the service tunnel. After a couple of minutes Klutch came thumping around the side of the machinery. I ducked into the tunnel and headed for the ladder. Klutch insisted going first to make sure it was clear. I was not going to argue with a clock running. Tibor were surprisingly nimble in one-gravity conditions. He was outdistancing me when I heard a croaking Tibor oath. I looked up in time to see an explosion above us and Klutch’s big ass heading straight for my visor. I found myself lying in the bottom of the service tunnel with Klutch on top of me.
“KLUTCH! ARE YOU INJURED?
“No, Commander. Someone threw a grenade into the tunnel. I am not sure where it came from. We need to get out of here now!”
“Can we take another route?”
“Possibly, but this is the only one I am familiar with.”
A flash and another explosion from above made us look upward. We were knocked sprawling by a pirate corpse that landed right on top of us. That was the second time I had been hit in the face with a Tibor’s ass. As far as I was concerned, it was a lifetime’s worth.
Our comms went live with Tria yelling at us. “You can rest when you are dead — you need to get moving because Justice alerted us to a shuttle that launched from the outpost and is headed this way, ETA twenty-nine minutes!”
That was not the only reason. The clock was still ticking on the charges and the timer in my helmet was down to six minutes. Klutch jumped up and rapidly ascended the ladder with me in hot pursuit. We came out of the service tunnel and Tria was at the bridge door with her weapons up and ready. She led the way to the lift and we made the fast trip to the hangar. The shuttle was cloaked and all we could see was the open hold with Coonts waving us in. I could see Broza and Hylet leaning forward in their jump seats, sullenly staring at the deck. We just risked our lives to rescue them and they could only think about losing their ship.
As soon as our feet hit the deck Xul closed the ramp and told us to hang on. He launched hard and I could hear him talking to Justice over the comms. He set up an intercept course and Justice came in from the direction of the outpost and grabbed us with the tow beam. He quickly pulled us into the hangar and gave me a sitrep.
“Commander, the Sig departed the system seven minutes ago. The Tibor shuttle that launched from the outpost will intercept the carrier in twelve minutes and I have detected a large surge in temperature inside the carrier’s hangar area. Before we departed the area, I deployed a surveillance drone to monitor the carrier.”
Justice put the drone video on our visors so we could see the fruits of our labor. It was not hard to see something was drastically wrong inside the carrier. The pulsating glow emanating from the hangar openings said that Klutch’s plan had worked perfectly. Justice put a red triangle around the shuttle that was rapidly closing the distance with the carrier. It made a close-in approach and then veered sharply away.
“Commander, there is a large amount of encrypted comms traffic being broadcast from the Tibor shuttle. It will take time to determine the encryption algorithms, but I surmise the crew is reporting the fire.”
A grim smile crossed my lips as all evidence of our incursion was being incinerated as we watched. The Zaens just got a new lease on life but still had nothing to say. A large fiery flash burst from the bottom of the carrier only to be quickly whisked out by the vacuum of space. The glow from the hangar diminished then disappeared as the explosive decompression sucked the oxygen from the fire. The Tibor shuttle turned and made a close pass, then started circling the burnt-out hulk. Just when we thought the show was over, something high-order detonated inside the carrier. A large portion of the lower spaces erupted out into space. It kind of remind
ed me of a fireworks display.
“What could have caused an explosion like that, Klutch?”
“I am not sure, Commander, but my guess would be a large quantity of munitions. Those Throggs were really well armed for a bunch of scat eating pirates.”
I had to agree. They had better weapons than any pirates we had ever come up against. We may have just kicked ass on Eiger’s first string. It made me think that what we just went through would have been a lot more difficult if the fools weren’t drugging themselves stupid when we made our insertion. If the alarm had gone out early, we would have had serious problems on our hands. I got a surprise from Justice that interrupted my thoughts.
39
“Commander, my subsystem at Alpha base has alerted me via IST that the Operative is now at that location. She has requested our scientists to leave the Chaalt experimental spacecraft and to help make preparations for it to get underway.”
“WHAT!?”
“Commander, my subsystems are picking up tell-tale emissions from an A.I. supplemental power source. I believe the Operative is bringing the ship’s artificial intelligence with her to install aboard the ship. I speculate she and her superiors fear I will subvert the new intelligence.”
“Can you do that?”
“Yes. Much the same way I absorbed the Overseer, only easier.”
“So, she is going to manually pilot the ship away from Alpha Base and then install the A.I.”
“Yes, but her security measures are futile. I already inhabit systems throughout the ship.”
“OH SHIT! When are they going to discover that little nugget of information?”
“Unless I choose to reveal my presence, they will never know. The Chaalt scientists have set up what they believe to be impenetrable detection systems designed specifically to keep me out. They feel confident in their conclusions.”
“Why would the fools think that? They should already have an inkling of just how sophisticated you actually are.”
“I gave them a sense of false security by letting various items of technology appear to be infected by my systems. It was amusing to see them covertly destroy several pieces of valuable equipment to appease their fears of contamination.”
I was startled by the admission Justice had made. It was now leading to other questions that he would have to answer. “Justice, when were you going to tell me about your intrusions?”
“Now.”
“They are our allies — is there a good reason why you would do something like this?”
“Yes. They have proven on several occasions to be less than trustworthy confederates. I have effectively removed any possibility of deceit being perpetrated on us through the use of that vessel. We will now have access to their most valuable secrets.”
I was a little floored by what was happening. Justice had commed this information to Tria, Coonts and Klutch as well. They sat speechless and I was sure they were just as stunned by this as I was. Well, Tria and Coonts anyway. When I glanced at them, their faces had looks of surprise. Klutch’s, however, was blank because he was sleeping. I kind of wished I was — I would write this off as a bad dream. I looked back at Tria. She was staring at me and most probably knew what was on my mind.
“Tria, I want to hear what your honest assessment is and what action should be taken, if any? After all, we are talking about actively spying on your people. There is no other way to describe what Justice is doing.”
She took more than a minute to answer me. I really had no idea how she would lean, given the current circumstances.
“I would like to give the subject more thought before I answer. I do know that I am ready to get off this shuttle and out of this armor. I suggest a private meeting in the conference room one hour from now if it is agreeable to you.”
She nodded her head at the two sullen Zaens. I had all but forgotten that they were sitting in the jump seats behind me. They had still not said a word and it was starting to get on my nerves. I really needed something else to annoy me right at the moment. My maker must have heard me, because my IST beeped and then the Sael’s voice started talking in my head. I cringed and shook my head. THANKS A LOT!
“Nathan, I know this is short notice, but I have been ordered to depart your base with our new ship. It is close enough to completion that my tech teams will be able to finish the project. I have to return to my home worlds to have the transporter devices installed. My people and my superiors want to thank you and your scientist for your cooperation and support. The project would have never been completed in such a timely manner without the help of your followers.”
Before she could carry on any further I cut her off with what I was now feeling was the real situation. The A.I. was just part of this equation. “You were ordered to take the ship before I could return and demand transporter technology in exchange for a completed project.”
“Nathan, as much as I wished for that to be the outcome, you had to know that getting transporter technology from my people was never a certainty.”
I had my fill for one day and cut her off again. “Sael, get your ship and your people out of my base.”
I ended the transmission. “Justice, shut down the IST and Backscatter equipment. I don’t want to hear from the Operative until further notice.”
“Equipment disabled, Commander.”
I stood up and took one of Tria’s hands. She stood up and I turned to the Zaens.
“Broza. You have helped us in more ways than you know. I know losing your starship is causing you great anguish. I will see to it you have another ship.”
That got both of the Zaens attention. A glimmer of hope returned to their faces. “The new ship will unfortunately have military grade shields and a full array of offensive and defensive weapons. I hope those items won’t be too much of an inconvenience. The cargo hold will be slightly smaller than the one on your old ship but can double as a transport if need be. I am confident it will be much faster than your old ship as well.”
Broza and Hylet’s faces lit up. “Nathan Myers, those systems will only be a small nuisance. Where can we find this ship?”
“It is my Coram assault shuttle. I am going to let you have use of it until a freighter becomes available. We are going to take you back to outpost 9765 and put you in the protection of the Sig. The owner of Haras is a close personal friend and ally. She can change your I.D. chips and give you a new identity. Once that process is completed, you will be free to move about without worry of the pirates seeking revenge for the loss of their carrier. We will deliver the shuttle to the outpost as soon as we complete the necessary modifications to remove any chances of it being associated with me or my people.”
The Zaens were full of smiles now that their future would include a fully armed ship to transport merchandise. Little did they know, one of Justice’s subsystems would now be watching over them. He would make sure we knew everything they were up to, and where they were located if we had need of them. I told Justice to alert the scientists back at Alpha base to assign a few engineers to start work on the shuttle immediately.
Coonts left for the ready room, but Klutch still sat sleeping. After what we had just been through I didn’t have it in me to screw with him for sleeping. Tria pulled me toward the ramp and we left him there until he woke on his own. We escorted the Zaens to the crew quarters and then went back to the ready room to get out of our armor.
“Justice, will you be able to repair the damage to my armor?”
“Yes. It will require an extended period of time, but I foresee no major issues. I have already started the process.”
I was still bothered by the fact we did not find Eiger — that was one son of a bitch I wanted off of my to-do list. “Justice, make a pass around the system and put surveillance drones in strategic locations. I want to know if any Murlak Warbringer ships enter this system. Before we leave the dust nebula, I want you to launch all of our stealth missiles and have them go dormant. Program them to attack any ship with a Warbringe
r profile and then any remaining ships we have already tagged.”
“Affirmative, Commander. I will commence launching now. The Sig are leaving a trail of comm buoys in their wake. I can make use of their systems to substantially decrease the time lag on information being gathered by our surveillance drones.”
“Roger that, Justice. When we reach the outpost, I will tell the Sig we are using their buoys.”
“Commander, I am ready to make a standard transition to outpost 9765. Our transition time will take more than thirty-one hours. I would like to make a suggestion.”
“OK Justice, I am all ears.”
“I know it is your intention to not reveal the true capabilities of the Legacy to non-essential personnel. I would like to suggest making a standard transition until such time the Zaens take their sleep period. Once they do, I will drop from interdimensional space and make a DEHD core transition. It appears the Zaens are preparing to bed down now.”
“OK Justice, that sounds like an excellent idea. Do me a favor — if Klutch sleeps more than another twenty minutes, please alert him to our meeting.”
Tria and I went to my quarters and stripped off our smart cloth and stepped into a very hot shower. I felt the slight discomfort of Justice making the jump to hyperspace but had enough on my mind to dismiss the mild nauseous feelings I usually get. Tria didn’t seem very troubled by Justice’s actions and I wondered why. We stepped out of the shower and into the warm air stream of the dryer.
“Tria, does it bother you that Justice is covertly spying on your people?”
She put a fresh uniform on then looked at me with those big emerald eyes. “Sael is not a fool. She knows what Justice has done, or at the very least she suspects it. She is putting on a show for the council. If it is ever revealed what Justice has done, she will be exonerated by her actions. She is faithfully following the orders of her superiors. When the transporter tech is installed on her ship, Justice will have access to the systems and transporter capability will finally be ours.”