“Ryan Hunt and Dr. Katalina, please put your hands on the counter and don’t turn around,” said the human.
“Who the hell—”
The Chamai slammed the butt of his rifle into Ryan’s back, causing him to cry out in pain as his knees buckled. He slowly straightened up, biting his bottom lip and looking at Kat, who was red with anger.
“As you can tell, my associate is not patient. Now put your hands on the counter slowly. We won’t ask again.”
Ryan and Kat slowly moved their hands to the counter but noticed data going across the game screen Eyeball was holding. It said, “Duck, in 3…2…1…”
Both Ryan and Kat dropped as they heard multiple little whistling sounds shoot over their heads, the sound of two objects hitting the floor, and a metal door slamming down behind them. They slowly got up and turned around. Both men had multiple thin darts embedded in their faces and eyes, and a large metal slab was now blocking the door to the shop.
“Yikes,” said Ryan, turning around to face Eyeball, who was fixing his robe.
“I hate it when people threaten my favorite customers.”
“One of these days, you’re going to have to show me how you did that,” said Ryan.
An explosion echoed outside, followed by las-blasts.
“Perhaps another time…I think we need to leave,” said Kat.
Eyeball moved his hand under the counter and clicked a switch. A ladder melded out of the wall to the counter’s right, and a hatch opened in the ceiling.
“You might want to use the emergency exit,” said Eyeball.
Ryan and Kat gave each other a nod.
“I look forward to both of you visiting again. It’s always an interesting time.” With that, Eyeball elevated downward and vanished through a secret door in the floor, leaving Ryan and Kat alone.
“Diero was always so quiet. It must be you,” said Kat, rushing to the emergency exit ladder.
“Either that or the company I keep,” replied Ryan.
They sprang up the ladder and out onto the rooftop, but froze as a large ship loomed in the distance.
“That can’t be good,” said Ryan.
“It’s not. That’s a Woland ship. We need to get out of here and fast,” said Kat, spinning around, looking for other threats.
An odd screeching sound echoed above them. Ryan turned around to see a disc-like ship coming at them. Buildings exploded along the street as the craft strafed the town. Ryan grabbed Kat and dove off the building as one of the las-blasts hit the top of Eyeball’s shop.
They were both falling, but a golden glow emanated around them when they were ten feet from the ground, and they gracefully landed. Shrapnel from the building dinged off the golden shield for a few seconds. The protection vanished, leaving Ryan lying on the ground, holding Kat on top of him.
“What was that?” asked Ryan.
“The survival tech in your clothing activated. I told you that you’d like it.”
“And once again, you are correct, Dr. Kat. By the way, I do like the purple color in your hair.”
Kat smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Hunt.”
Ryan stared at Kat, but his attention was drawn to a sound to his right. His eyes widened as he saw another man dressed like the ones in Eyeball’s store come around a corner with his weapon up. Ryan awkwardly drew Kat’s las-pistol from her holster and rolled to his right on top of Kat so he could take a shot. The las-pistol interacted with his neural tech, placing a green dot on the target. Ryan fired, and the blast hit the humanoid in the chest, spinning him around.
“Nice shot. Now would you mind taking your hand off my boob?”
Ryan instantly blushed when he realized where his hand was. He quickly jumped up and put his hand out for Kat.
She jumped up and dusted herself off.
“Sorry about that. It was…a…ah…accident. I didn’t—”
“Stop apologizing. As long as you enjoyed it,” Kat said with a wink.
Ryan smirked at her and shook his head.
“Now, can I have my las-pistol?” asked Kat.
Ryan handed her the pistol and drew his. “We need to get moving. Since you’ve been here more than me, I’ll follow you, but those blasts in the distance are getting closer.”
They ran to the remains of nearby buildings for cover. Loud explosions and small exchanges of las-fire echoed from the outskirts of the town.
“Kat, this area looks familiar. This is where I ran into Mirt the last time we were here. If I recall, across the street is a back entrance to the spaceport.”
She stuck her head out and looked around. “We have no choice, and the smoke should give us some cover. Let’s go.”
The two of them bolted across the street with las-blasts exploding in the dirt around them. Kat’s shield went off as one got close to hitting its mark, causing them to dive behind some debris.
“So much for the smoky cover,” said Kat, looking around for the shooters. “If we keep going down this alley, we should be able to get inside the port before they can get to us.”
Ryan nodded and took off running down the smoky alleyway with Kat behind him.
“Hold up a second,” said Kat.
Ryan stopped and turned around. “What’s the problem? The entrance should be just around the bend over there.”
“I thought I saw something.”
Kat looked behind her to make sure they weren’t being followed, while Ryan moved further up and crept to the edge of the wall to peer around it.
“Watch out!” yelled Kat.
A flickering image moved off the wall and went at Ryan. He turned, his eyes widening at the sight of the image, and he jumped back toward Kat, narrowly avoiding a flickering bladed weapon that slammed into the wall where he was standing. Sparks and pieces of the wall sprayed the area.
The stealth device deactivated and the attacker appeared in front of Ryan. The attacker, a Chamai, lunged forward with the blade. Ryan parried the attack with his left hand hard enough to cause the attacker to drop the blade and, while still holding onto his las-pistol, slammed the attacker in the chest with his right hand, smashing him into the wall.
The attacker grabbed Ryan’s wrist in an attempt to push the las-pistol away, but Ryan tilted the gun up and fired a blast into the attacker’s head.
Ryan turned away from the sight and let the body slump to the ground.
Kat ran over, looked down at the attacker, and put her hand on Ryan’s arm. “You OK?”
“Yeah,” he said, taking a deep breath and looking around for any other shimmering forms. “Let’s keep moving.”
They quickly scanned the area around the corner and sprinted to the open hanger bay doors but stopped as a craft zipped over them, blinding them with dust it threw up in its wake.
The Woland ship made a quick turn around and blasted the buildings as it came back at them.
They both dropped to the ground and covered their heads, but the Woland ship banked hard to the right before exploding and crashing into the upper part of the spaceport.
A ship shaped like an angel lily flower exited the high clouds, searching for other targets, then banked left and shot straight up out of sight.
“That would be the Florariens, which means the war is now escalating,” said Kat.
“Then we need to get the hell out of here,” said Ryan, grabbing her hand and running into the spaceport.
The spaceport was smoking and alarms were blaring. Emergency AIs were initiating repairs and putting out fires. The Retribution was two floors up, and it did not take them long to run up the non-functioning transport platforms. Kat felt relieved when she saw her ship still in one piece. Only small portions of the building were leaning against it. All the spaceport doors were open, so getting out would be easy with some skilled maneuvering.
Ryan stopped running to
the ship as he heard a familiar staticky voice yelling for help.
“Ryan, let’s go!” yelled Kat.
“Get the ship ready. I’ll be right there.”
Kat shook her head and ran up the ramp. “Retribution AI, power up and prep for an emergency wormhole jump to the nearest system.”
Ryan jumped as the Retribution engines roared to life. He looked around the smoke-filled room and noticed a reflection of light off some glass. Running over, he could now see Mirt lying on the floor, calling out for help. There was a small crack in his bubble-domed space helmet, and his leg was stuck under a beam.
“Finally come to finish me off?” asked Mirt.
Ryan bent down and dead-lifted the beam up.
Mirt looked up at him, confused.
“Pull your damn leg out!” yelled Ryan, red-faced from exertion.
Mirt pulled his leg out and pushed himself away and into a sitting position as Ryan dropped the beam and fell to a knee.
“Why?” asked Mirt.
Ryan took some deep breaths to compose himself and stood up. “Because I’m not like other people.” He patted Mirt on the helmet before running to the Retribution, which was now hovering off the ground with its bay door open. He jumped up and pulled himself into the open bay, and it quickly closed.
The Retribution turned and blasted out of the spaceport.
Mirt watched the ship disappear, turned around, and looked up to see Captain Trelis standing there covered in soot and blood.
“Mr. Hunt is right. He’s not like other people,” said Captain Trelis, drawing one of his shiny pistols.
“What do you mean by that?” Mirt asked in a staticky tone. “What are you going to do? Shoot an unarmed man with a broken leg?”
“No, but I would stun the guy who was selling Florarien children and trade him to the Florariens for special privileges should they take Diero.”
“And if they don—?”
Mirt twitched around on the ground from the stun-blast before passing out. Captain Trelis twirled the shiny las-pistol into its holster and knelt next to him.
“Well, Mirt, I guess we’ll worry about that tomorrow.”
Ryan felt the pressure on his chest as Kat accelerated the Retribution to full speed after leaving the spaceport. The ship blasted through a dogfight between Woland and Florarien starfighters before leaving the planet’s atmosphere.
Ryan’s mouth dropped when the Retribution broke orbit. It was like a scene from a science-fiction movie. Large battle cruisers engaged in a light show of weapons fire ranging from small bursts of Gatling las-cannons to the High Energy Las-beams, also known as HEL-beams. These weapons were a solid, continuous-burst las-beam that would cut into or through ships once the shields were down or weakened. Ryan cringed as he watched a ship in the distance crumble in half from one of the beams.
“Florarien attack fleet, this is the OTKE ship Retribution. I’m heading straight at your command ship’s location to make an emergency wormhole jump. Do not fire on us! We are a friendly vessel retreating from the system.”
Ryan gave Kat a concerned glare when there was no reply, but breathed a sigh of relief when a Florarien battle cruiser responded.
“This is the Florarien battle cruiser Conium, message received, and ship’s magnetic signature validated. You may proceed with your jump.”
“Thank the gods,” said Kat, and she turned the emergency jump over to the ship’s AI. The seat restraints tightened, and the ship was quickly pulled into a wormhole. She shook her head to release the pressure she had felt and released the seat restraints to stretch. Ryan did the same thing and performed some neck rolls to loosen up.
“You OK?” asked Kat.
“Yeah, but definitely not what I had envisioned the future to be like. It’s a lot darker.”
“I’m sorry.” Kat put her hand on his arm. “When things quiet down, I promise to take you to places that show the beauty hidden in all this darkness.”
Ryan grinned at her and patted her hand. “In the meantime, I’m going to get some sleep and dream of a happy place like a waffle shop.”
“Sleep and waffle dreams sound like a good idea,” said Kat, leaning back in her chair. “And don’t snore, or I’ll eject you.”
Ryan looked over at her, pushed a button causing the seat restraints to wrap back around him, closed his eyes, and smiled.
Chapter 7
Cruise Ship Angel
“Well, would you look at all that food?” said Nora, still using her Earth southern accent.
Gideon grinned as he looked over the selections on the multi-leveled food wall. He eagerly watched as the small hovering AIs, which were shiny balls with four arms, plate foods and deliver them to the waiting guests. Everyone was connected to the AIs via their embedded communication chips or a remote ordering system if they did not have such tech. He was happy he did and was delighted when an AI arrived with some meats and toasted slices of bread—a variety of foods he had not had in a long time.
“Honey, doesn’t that seem like a lot of food for so early?” asked Nora.
Gideon rolled his eyes. “I think I’ll survive, hon. Why don’t we go sit over in the back corner? I see a table and chairs hovering down now.”
Nora and Gideon sat at a table out of earshot of other guests. The location allowed them to view multiple exits and people, and, after a night of walking around the ship, they had a fairly good idea of its layout.
Gideon looked down at Nora’s plate, a mixture of organic fruits, and gave her a puzzled look.
“I know what you are thinking. How can an AI eat?”
“That did come to mind.”
“I can digest some basic foods in this unit, and it helps to sustain my organic parts.”
“I didn’t realize AIs could do that. When you say unit, does that mean you can leave your body?”
“I am one of the rare AIs that can eat. As it relates to leaving, I cannot. I am now intricately bound to this one. The unit—I mean, my body—and I are one.”
Gideon noticed a puzzled look on Nora’s face, like she was trying to comprehend something.
Nora and Gideon sat upright as they sensed someone approaching their table. “Are you enjoying your meals?” They relaxed when they realized it was the concierge from last night, DeMarcus Angel.
“It’s outstanding,” said Gideon.
“I’m glad to hear it. Perhaps you and your wife would like to follow me to the alcohol display section. They have a bottle of wine that was sealed prior to the great volcanic explosion that devastated Earth. People say it’s a wonderful sight to behold and one of the quietest areas on the ship.”
Nora and Gideon made eye contact and nodded to each other.
“Honey, can we? You know I like to see antique things.”
“Sounds wonderful. Let’s take a look.”
“Excellent. Please follow me this way,” said DeMarcus, stepping aside and holding his arm out.
The group made their way to the display area, and the entranceway door vanished as they approached. A bunch of small hovering AIs shot past them, each holding a bottle of wine under them. They continued inside to stand on a large balcony overlooking an amazing collection of bottles. The floor-to-ceiling shelves had to be fifty feet high, and alleys that went on for hundreds of feet into the distance like a library of every alcohol you could think of.
“The wooden shelves and antique ornate stairway are a nice touch to the ambiance,” said Nora.
“Yes, it is, Mrs. Tucket,” said DeMarcus. “Now, please follow me down the stairway.”
As they descended the stairs, the center of the facility came into view. A bottle of wine hovered in the center, surrounded by a beam of light.
“As you can see, the bottle is in a protective shielding. This protects the bottle from the ravishes of time
. Although, at its age, the wine would not bring joy to the palate. Now, if we move closer, we can see a screen that shows a more detailed breakdown of the contents of the bottle.”
DeMarcus led them closer as he monitored another party’s movements and waved Nora and Gideon closer to the screen to have them look at it until the group left.
“OK. We’re in the clear,” said DeMarcus. “I’m pretty impressed with your cover. I was told you might have sticks up your asses and not blend well with everyone.”
“We pulled those out just before boarding. Now, what do you have for us?” said Gideon.
“Direct to business. I like that. Escape pod 316 has a two-person stealth ship attached to it with weapons and gear. Tomorrow we’ll enter the Lucciola system. That is when you two need to leave.”
“How will we get out without the ship scanners detecting us?” asked Nora.
“Tomorrow night is the Grand Honeymoon and Lovers banquet. Everyone will be there. One of you will have to fake an illness or something, head back to your room and contact me. I recommend you do this late in the evening. Once my system splice kicks in, your room lights will go off, and shipwide chaos will ensue. At the end of your hall, one of the ela-tubes will be listed as out of order. You will need to get in and take the tube to the bottom floor. That will put you into the sub-level with the escape pods.”
“Normally, those floors are secured until an emergency is detected,” said Gideon.
“Pushy, aren’t you? My splice will fix that as well. If anything goes wrong, the only other way in is through the service tunnels from the main deck. If that happens, you’re on your own. Too many security AIs for me to deal with.”
“No worries. We got this,” said Gideon. “In the meantime, what should we do?”
“Enjoy the cruise, and have some fun. Also, don’t forget to stop by an interface console and have your formal attire for the ball created.”
“I will make sure of it,” said Nora.
“Well then, wife, ready to get beat in some cruise ship games?”
Nora’s eyes blinked red. “Let the games begin.”
Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover Page 7