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TROPHY

Page 24

by Paul M. Schofield


  It was very close now, continuing to gain. Suddenly, two projectiles exploded from it, shooting straight out each side, perpendicular to its line of flight. They started to form tight arcs to bring them back to the sides of Bestmarke's ship.

  Estelle and Tommie saw these as two white rabbits running in opposite directions from the tortoise. “Quick, Tommie,” Estelle thought.

  Tommie bolted after the closest one as fast as he could. At the same time, Estelle mentally rammed the engine controls to one hundred fifty percent, violently turning the great ship toward the rabbit Tommie was chasing. With two more leaps Tommie was on the rabbit, teeth and claws holding tight. She mentally hit the hyper-laser trigger and the projectile was destroyed. Tommie saw the rabbit disappear and raced off toward the other.

  Estelle rammed the engine controls to one hundred seventy-five percent. Fusion overload warnings screamed as they were pushed deep into their seats by the even more oppressive g-forces. The heightened speed and directional change increased the size of the last projectile’s arc, giving them additional microseconds. Tommie’s strength was impressive, even with the heavy g-forces, as he bounded toward the rabbit, finally leaping onto it, and gripping with his teeth and claws. Estelle hit the trigger and the second projectile was destroyed. To Tommie, the rabbit just disappeared. The tortoise was gone and the playing field was empty, only green grass and sunlight remaining.

  Estelle backed down the howling, overheated engines and returned the controls to Galen. “Good boy, Tommie,” she thought. “Good boy.” She projected warmth and affection.

  Flipping the separator switch back on, she ended the program with her thoughts racing backwards, the golden sun reddening as it set over the infinite green lawn, now glowing silvery in the moonlight that darkened and glimmered out, a few last stars twinkling and fading.

  “Good job, Stelle!” Galen said. “Shut down the engines and go to full cloak, Louis! Turn us with the thrusters after we are cloaked, Brother, and bring us up behind Izax’s ship. We'll coast in and give him a taste of his own medicine.”

  “His shields are at fifty percent, Louis,” Terran said. “Can we burn through them?”

  “Focus all four hyper-lasers on one spot,” Louis said. “In two seconds it should open a hole large enough to fire the pulse-cannon through.”

  “Get a little closer, Brother,” Galen said, watching his NAV screen. “Take us in at an angle. We can decloak, fire, and cloak again. We'll leave our engines off so he can't use another missile.”

  The Black Eagle coasted closer, silent under its protective cloak, coming into range. Galen locked on the four hyper-lasers and readied the pulse-cannon. “Drop cloak! Fire!” he said as the hyper-lasers focused their beams. “Fire!” The hot blue pulse of the cannon sped through the shield breach straight to the engine of Izax' ship, damaging it extensively, shutting it down. The old ship lost its shields, weapons, and main power.

  “Cloak on!” Galen said. “Change course with the thrusters. We'll coast on by.” He grinned as they watched the emergency power turn on in the stricken ship.

  “How do you like that, Mr. Mole?” Galen said, jeering at the screens. “Go back to your stinking asteroid, fat man, and leave space for us!”

  “We could finish him off,” Terran said, pursing his lips as he looked at Galen. “He is at our mercy now.”

  “Yes, he is,” Galen said, returning his brother’s gaze. “That's the point I want him to remember. Besides, I want my trophy back. Someone like him doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Where to now, Brother?” Terran turned to his screens again.

  “Io Station, we need more supplies, and Louis needs special parts for his next project,” Galen said. A malevolent smile began to form on his thick upturned lips.

  Chapter XXXXIII

  Earth Date: 476 N.V.A.

  Location: En route to the Asteroid Belt

  “Lieutenant Rogerton, what is your status?” VanDevere said, speaking on a secure channel. “How is the Clipper functioning?”

  “Brilliantly, Star-Commander! Her speed is unbelievable. Kolanna has total mental control of the ship’s movement, the response is instantaneous. We can't wait to show you in person.”

  “I cannot wait either, Lieutenant. We have new coordinates to adjust your heading.”

  “Have you located Bestmarke’s ship?”

  “Yes. Ships near Mars detected a faint fusion engine signature pulsing on and off, following a regular pattern. We traced the signature back to the manufacturer, Zenkati. Two engines were originally sold to Louis Franelli and one of them matches this signature. He must have purchased them for Bestmarke when he refitted his ship years ago. Proceed to the new coordinates. If Bestmarke is in the area, he probably will be cloaked. We are four hours behind you on the same heading.”

  “Yes, Ma'am, complying now. Rogerton out.”

  “New headings, Kolanna.”

  “I have them, Lieutenant,” she said, watching her controls. “This is so easy! All I have to do is think about it, and then direct it with my mind.”

  “Maximum thrust in two minutes,” the computer said. “Please strap into your gravity seats.”

  “I don’t even have to talk,” Kolanna said. “The computer does it for me. I may get very lazy!”

  “What is our heading and ETA?”

  “Our heading is based on two identified locations,” Kolanna said, studying the readouts on the screen. “If Bestmarke’s heading and speed remain unchanged, we'll intercept in seventy five hours at the far edge of the Asteroid Belt.”

  “Wow, as Martin would say! That's fast – faster than any ship I have ever seen!”

  The ten second warning was followed by the powerful thrust of the engine and the increasing g-forces, tempered by the redesigned inertia dampers.

  Strapped into their gravity seats on the bridge, Kolanna turned her face toward Rogerton. “Ma’am, may I ask you a personal question?”

  “Do I have a choice? Please, ask me anything.”

  “You really like Martin, don’t you? I see it in your eyes and your expressions,” Kolanna said, watching her closely. “And what’s not to like? If only he were completely real – I mean, if only there were more like him – that were real – sorry, Ma’am – do you know what I mean?”

  The Lieutenant started to laugh. “Oh, Kolanna! He affects you the same way he affects me. And the same with any other female that has seen him. You should have seen how the Guardians fussed over him, especially the older ones,” Rogerton said, making a funny face. “Perhaps we can clone him.”

  “He and Panther were Bestmarke’s trophies, weren’t they?” Kolanna said, her expression serious.

  Stunned, Rogerton just stared at her. “What makes you say that, Kolanna? How do you know that?”

  “They told me,” she said, looking down. With an anxious face she looked up again at the Lieutenant. “Not directly, I sensed it. They are not totally androids, are they?”

  The Lieutenant just stared at her, quite taken aback. “No, Kolanna, they are not. Their heads are completely alive, but they have android bodies. You must not tell anyone about this, it is strictly confidential.”

  “But why would CENTRAL portray them as machines? It’s not fair to Martin and Panther.”

  “Perhaps not, but it's for their protection, and ours. Where do you think they came from?”

  Kolanna sat thinking, her eyes away from the Lieutenant. Suddenly they opened wide, she put her hands over her mouth. “They're from the past! Bestmarke brought them through the Keyhole!”

  “Yes, you see it clearly. Can you understand the great danger if this becomes generally known, that we can travel back and forth through time?”

  “It could undermine the Empire! People could just disappear – vanish! We would have continuous war with criminals or rebels, everything would be out of control.”

  “There could be even greater consequences, we just don't know,” Rogerton said. “The Guardians are very concerned, but ho
peful, too. This knowledge of time travel could save the human race from extinction. We must safely keep the secret of Martin and Panther. Only one other person on this ship knows their secret and that's the Medical Specialist. She was hand-picked by the Guardians. Obviously, she needs to know. Do you understand why confidentiality is so important?”

  “Yes, I do. Wow!”

  “Wow, indeed,” Rogerton said. “Now, tell me again how you sensed all this.”

  “When I am linked to the computer, and Martin and Panther come close to me, I pick up mental images. I don’t mean to, it just happens. I am not purposely snooping, it just happens.”

  “Kolanna, there are four of us on this ship with links that connect us in different ways.”

  “I am beginning to see what that means. I guess I really didn’t know what to expect. Sometimes the feelings are very strange, even frightening. I feel at times like I am not in control of my mind anymore,” Kolanna said, with a worried look.

  “This is new for all of us, even the Guardians are learning new things. We should allow nothing to surprise us,” Rogerton said. “I have had those feelings myself. The strangeness, even the fright, should end when you realize what your boundaries are. The interface only goes so far, so deep. Realizing that principle is what finally helped me understand and cope with my feelings.”

  “I think I understand, Lieutenant.” She looked away, momentarily lost in thought. “You still haven’t answered my question, though. You really like him, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do, Kolanna,” Rogerton said, lowering her gaze. “He saved my life, and I fear he has also touched my heart.”

  “He thinks of you often, at least when he is close to us. You saved his life and have touched his heart, too!” Kolanna said. “Oh, I’m sorry, Ma’am. I'm talking about things I shouldn’t see, matters that are private. This is why it is so frightening. With these links, will we lose our private thoughts? I don’t know where my boundaries are yet, I don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy, I don't want mine invaded,” she said, tears forming in her large, dark eyes.

  “Kolanna,” Rogerton said, touching her arm. “We are all in a growing process now, we will have some growing pains. Relax and ride it through. Learn from it, and above all else, do not lose your sense of humor. Okay?”

  “Okay? What does that mean?” Kolanna said, sniffing back the tears.

  “That is another ancient expression I picked up from Martin,” Rogerton said, rolling her eyes. “It means ‘do you understand?’”

  “They had some interesting expressions back then, didn’t they?” Kolanna said, her smile returning. “Are Martin and Panther training today? We haven’t seen them.”

  “Probably. Without as much room to run, Martin has been concentrating on mental exercises with the great cat. His progress so far has been astounding.”

  “Perhaps he will have Panther talking soon,” Kolanna said. They both laughed at the thought of it.

  **********

  “Lieutenant, long range sensors are picking up something faint in the proper location for Bestmarke’s ship,” Kolanna said, concentrating on the NAV screens. “Should we maintain course and go to full cloak?”

  “Do it. We will sneak in behind him and have a look. I'll inform the Star-Commander before we cloak.”

  “Will he detect us, even cloaked?”

  “Hopefully not, but Franelli did work on his systems, so anything is possible,” Rogerton said. “We'll need to be cautious as we draw nearer.”

  **********

  “Nothing on the sensors, Brother,” Terran said, rubbing his chin as he stared at the NAV screens. “When do you want to cloak the ship?”

  “Not until we start picking up traffic near Io Station. Keep an eye open, I'm going to take a nap,” Galen said, loosening his collar buttons as he walked to his quarters.

  **********

  “That’s him, Lieutenant,” Kolanna said. “I’ll keep us just out of weapons range.”

  “So far there's no indication he detects us. Let's hope it stays that way. Go to full alert.”

  **********

  “Good, you're back,” Terran said, rubbing his hands together and stretching as he looked up at Galen. “I was about to awaken you.”

  “Is there a problem?” Galen said. “Have you seen something?”

  “Not really, at least nothing specific. It's more of a feeling when I watch the NAV screen, like a very faint shadow that appears, and suddenly is gone.”

  “Could it be a cloaked ship?”

  “If it is, it's small and staying out of weapons range. Does the Empire have any small ships with cloaking ability?”

  “Not that I know of,” Galen said. “It would take super advanced technology to accomplish that, although I am certain one day it will happen. If they have that technology, then we'll need to make adjustments quickly. I'll talk to Louis about this.”

  “I'm going to start the engines and bring them up to half-thrust for thirty seconds. If there is a ship following us, they'll have to drop their cloak and use their engines if they want to keep up.”

  “Go ahead and try it. Let’s see what happens,” Galen said, drumming his fingers on the console.

  Terran went to half-thrust. “You're right, Brother!” Galen said, pointing at the screen. “Why would they come after us with only one small ship?” He stared at the screen, lowering his eyebrows. “Outrun them!”

  “Maximum thrust,” Terran said as the inertia dampers struggled to keep up with the rising g-forces. “It’s amazing, Brother! They're keeping up, even gaining on us!” His dark eyes were wide with astonishment.

  “Listen!” Galen said. “Something's coming over the COM.”

  “Galen Bestmarke, this is Lieutenant Janet Rogerton of the New Victorian Ship, Clipper. You are ordered to stand down and surrender. If you do not comply, we will be forced to fire upon you.”

  “Are they serious?” Galen said. “What can that little dingy do to us?” He aimed and fired the ion phase pulse-cannon. “There's your answer, Lieutenant Janet Rogerton!”

  With satisfaction he watched the hot, blue pulse speed straight at the small ship. At the last second the small ship dodged, the pulse harmlessly flashed by, missing completely.

  “What?” Galen said, his eyes wide. He fired again and again, continuing to miss.

  “How can they dodge my fire?” His face began to redden. “Even the hyper-lasers are missing! I can't get a lock on them, they're jumping all around! Speed up, Brother!” he said, clenching his jaw. “Speed up!”

  **********

  Mentally linked to the ship’s computer, Kolanna saw the barrage coming. “It's like a slow-motion dream. I see the pulses and the laser-beams coming and I still have time to move the ship. This ship is alive!”

  “Kolanna, they're speeding up,” Rogerton thought, also mentally linked to the ship’s computer. “Take us in fast and close. I'll lay a row of pulses down the side of their shielding.”

  “Yes, Ma’am, here we go.” The Clipper quickly gained on the lengthy Black Eagle. “They're increasing hyper-laser fire, harder to dodge this close. Our shielding is taking hits, could be damaging this close.”

  “Agreed. Take the ship in fast, there's no recharge time on our new pulse-cannon.”

  Kolanna guided the nimble ship close to the edge of Bestmarke’s shields and quickly sped the length of his ship. Rogerton laid a string of twenty pulses at the side of his shielding before Kolanna swooped out in a tight arc, continuing to dodge his fire. The string of brilliant, blue pulses exploded simultaneously in a spectacular display, violently shaking the great ship, but not slowing it down.

  “Their shields are down to fifty percent, Ma’am. Do you want to go in again?” She looped the Clipper around for another strafing run from behind.

  “Hold off, I will contact them once more,” Rogerton said, reaching for the COM switch.

  **********

  “They're coming in close and fast, Brother! How can they do that?
” Galen said. His ship shuddered violently from the exploding pulses, shaking them in their seats.

  The COM announced again. “You are ordered to stand down, Galen Bestmarke. Comply immediately or your engines will be targeted.”

  “Fire the modified-projectiles, Brother! All of them!” Terran said. “It's all we have left!”

  “Right!” Galen lunged for his controls. “Get us out of here! Get us cloaked and turned!” he said as he hit the trigger.

  **********

  “Modifieds incoming,” Kolanna thought. “Too many to dodge, I’ll have to make a run for it!”

  “Give it everything you can!” Rogerton said. “I'm firing the interceptors, but we need more distance for them to catch the modified-projectiles.”

  “What the interceptors don’t get, I can outrun. Can you pick off the stragglers with the hyper-lasers, Lieutenant?”

  “I can finish them all, but now Bestmarke is getting away. He'll be cloaked before we're safe,” she thought, her frustration evident. “We almost had him, Kolanna, but now we have a way to trace him.” She mentally aimed the hyper-lasers at the last incoming projectiles.

  **********

  “Aim us at the Keyhole!” Galen said, still shaken, sweat beading on his bald head. “Get us cloaked and turned and pointed to Io Station. Those ruthless females will expect us to try the Keyhole now that we have Franelli, but we need supplies and repairs. Have you ever seen a ship like that before?”

  “Never,” Terran said, his eyes fixed on the NAV screens. “Radical design, must be using links, seemed alive. We need something like that if we want to stay in business and keep living! One more hit and we would have been finished.”

  “We've fallen behind the Empire. New technology will be our priority,” Galen said, returning his brother’s worried look.

  “Talk to Louis as soon as possible. We can't take any more close calls like this.”

  **********

  “Projectiles all destroyed, Kolanna! Which way were they headed before they cloaked?”

 

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