Ryan leaned into Kat. “That’s kind of gross.”
“Yeah, it is,” replied Kat out of the side of her mouth.
“OTKE System AI, I hereby authorize Ryan S. Hunt as my proxy for inspection of the OTKE failover base, and while performing the inspection, he is to be treated as CEO.”
“Authorization accepted and approved by OTKE System AI and OTKE board.”
“There’s an OTKE board?” asked Ryan.
“Somebody always has someone to report to, Mr. Hunt.” The iris floated back into CEO Klein’s head, and the cybernetic eye started scanning the data coming across the monocle.
“Is there anything else you need from me?” asked CEO Klein.
“No, we’re good. Thank you for your assistance, CEO,” said Kat.
CEO Klein nodded, and the virtual screen changed to a plotted course.
“I’m hoping this all makes sense to you,” said Ryan.
“It does. Without these additional OTKE plot points, it probably took Commander Tucket’s brother and the woman a lot longer to get there. The sector has a lot of distorted wormhole points, and there appears to be some wormhole eddies.”
“And that means?”
“It explains all the rumors and lost ships. Strange anomalies in space are detected in this area that would cause ships to be thrown off course in their wormholes or sent to other locations they were not planning to go, which would most likely also damage the wormhole engines in the process. Hence the ships never returning. Plus, being stuck in a wormhole and isolated for an extended period messes your head up. That’s probably what happens to the pilots that returned acting odd.”
“Sort of like the Bermuda Triangle,” said Ryan.
“The what?”
“Never mind, I’ll explain it to you later. What’s the other thing?”
“Wormhole eddies—they’re great if you get into one. It’s almost like instantaneous travel. The only issue is there are none nearby for us to use, and my ship is not fast enough to get us across that distance quickly.”
“So, what do we do?” asked Ryan.
“Space train.”
“What the hell is a space train?”
Kat smiled. “It’s a surprise!”
Commander Gordon was reading ship status reports on the virtual screen next to his command chair when his neural connection to the ship alerted him to an incoming transmission from the main headquarters. With a thought, he had the ship’s AI bring up the secure message on the virtual screen.
“CEO, how may I assist you?”
“Nice to see you again, Commander. I hope everything is going well.”
“Yes, sir, things are proceeding as planned. Our people are getting close to their target, and I have the ship opening wormholes to random destinations nearby. Once Nora and Tucket signal us, we will be ready to extract them.”
“Excellent, Commander. Good job as always.”
“Thank you, sir, but I doubt you’re calling to thank me.”
“You are correct, Commander. I have an additional order for you. When you have extracted everyone, I need you to go to a location I’m sending you.”
“I’m receiving the coordinates now. There—”
“Problem, Commander?”
“Sir, this planet is way into an uncharted sector of space. I have heard many stories about that sector and the surrounding ones. Experienced pilots know to avoid these areas.”
“As have I, but you will find Mr. Hunt and Dr. Kat at that location. I want you to go there as fast as you can once your primary mission is over.”
“Are they in danger?”
“Every piece of information tells me no, but I have an uneasy feeling. If I am wrong, Dr. Kat gets to see her uncle that much sooner.”
“Understood, sir. We will make it a top priority to get there.”
“Thank you, Commander. And one more thing, I will be tied up in closed-door peace negotiations the next few days. Follow the chain of command if I am not available.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else?”
“No, Commander. I appreciate your time. Out.”
CEO Klein closed the communication and looked over to his personal assistant Jack. Jack’s cybernetic leg servo motor whined as he walked over to the desk.
“Jack, any updates on the hostilities?”
“Diero-342 has fallen to the Woland. The Florariens are beefing up their defenses, and refugees from neighboring areas are flooding this way. I have dispatched most of our ships in this area to maintain order and protect civilian convoys, but it’s a matter of time until we are drawn into this conflict.”
“I agree with your assessment and ship deployments. These are sad times, but we shall remain ever vigilant.”
“Hmmm…something else bothers you, CEO. I can see it in your eye.”
CEO Klein lifted his hand from his lap. He was twirling a Tower Tarot card that was left at his door a few months ago by the false Earth Consortium ambassador. The card pictured a tower on a mountaintop. A lightning bolt is depicted hitting the tower and setting it on fire, while two people fall from it.
Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Just a damn card. Means nothin’.”
“I hope you are correct, my friend. I hope you are correct.”
Chapter 9
Mimic
The purple and gold Florarien transport Mawar moved slowly through interstellar space. Like the petals of a flower, large wings extended from the front of the ship and spun around it like a windmill, capturing and converting interstellar charged particles to feed what was left of the fuel cells.
The damage caused by the Woland attack was severe. The ship was able to generate a wormhole as it made its escape from Diero-342 loaded with civilian refugees, but the engines failed soon after, followed by rapidly depleting fuel cells, leaving it adrift in space.
The ship had a hole breach on the starboard side of the organic hull that was currently under repair by small AI drones crawling around outside, utilizing organic materials the AIs had harvested from dead crew members. Sensors, weapons, and shields were also down, and most of the remaining power was diverted to the life support systems, emergency comms, and docking thrusters to keep the ship moving.
“Florarien transport Mawar, this is the Earth Consortium transport Eden. We have received your distress call and are en route to your location.”
“Eden, we are pleased that you have received our transmission and will begin slowing our movement. Your assistance is welcomed. Thank you.”
The crew of the Mawar felt a weight lifted at hearing the communication. They were lucky that someone had been monitoring all the lower frequencies. With a transport loaded with civilians, the food supplies would run out quickly, and the wormhole engines were not coming back online anytime soon.
A wormhole opened on the port side and an Earth Consortium transport exited and moved to the side of the Mawar.
“Mawar, we are sensing your shields are down and weapons are out.”
“That is correct. We sustained severe damage to our engines, internal organic systems, and are running on minimal power. We are requesting a tow or at least transition of the civilians to your bays.”
“Mawar, thank you for confirmation.”
“Eden, we do not understand your statement. We—”
Large tendrils exploded from the side of the Eden and embedded into the hull of the Mawar, followed by a surge of energy that engulfed the helpless ship.
“Eden…what…on…we…multiple fatalities. This is against…rules…a distressed ship. We—”
Fredrick LaRue cut off the incoming communication. His Ship Eater had once again shown its superiority.
“Sir, the Florarien ship has been pulled into our jaws. What are your orders?”
Fredrick
LaRue turned to his helmsman, who was moving his hands around a virtual heads-up display. “Engulf the ship, atomize it, and shift us into its form.”
“There are civilians on the—” The assistant stopped in mid-sentence when Fredrick turned and took a step toward her.
“Please, don’t let me cut you off. By all means, finish your sentence.”
The assistant cleared her throat. “There ar-ar-are civilians on the ship, sir.”
“See how easy that was? I’m glad you’re aware of things. That is what makes you a good assistant.”
Fredrick smiled and spun back around to his helmsman. “Atomize everything and put us back on course. The Florarien transport shape will make getting to our target that much easier.”
He then turned back to his assistant. “See? Civilian problem solved. You need to stop being such a worrier.”
The assistant nodded.
“I will be in my command room if you need me. Alert me when we’re about to exit the wormhole,” said Fredrick, who left the command deck with a pep in his step.
The helmsman moved his hover-chair across to the assistant. “You know better than to question him.”
She put her head down. “There was a time he would have let them go, so they could tell tales of their flamboyant attacker. Now it’s all about revenge.”
“Revenge or not…as long as I’m getting paid,” the helmsmen said before hovering back to his station.
The assistant took one last look at the command deck and sighed before leaving.
Chapter 10
Space Train
Kat’s ship exited the wormhole into a massive group of ships, but Ryan’s eyes immediately went to the space train filling the virtual screen. The enormous ship was the size of a space station, built around what looked like one gigantic engine. The ship’s side was flat with the edges of the giant rectangle tapering outward, and the front was shaped like a giant pyramid attached horizontally to the ship.
“Oh, my god. Is that it?” asked Ryan.
“Yup, that’s the space train.”
“The thing is huge. How the hell do we board it?”
“It’s an interesting concept. That giant engine is one of the most powerful things ever created. It’s leftover technology from the Nilorian race and may even predate them. Ships wanting to use it magnetically dock to the flat sections, while people and cargo can be transported in the front pyramid section.”
“How fast can it go?”
“It would take me a week to get to the space eddy we want to hit. This will get us there in about two hours.”
“Damn, that’s—”
“Retribution, this is Space Train Docking Authority. Are you passing through or looking to dock?”
Since Ryan had no neural communication installed in his head, Kat kept all the communication frequencies open so he could hear everything.
“Docking Authority, we’re going to travel along. We’ll magnetically seal to your transport section and make a wormhole dump where we need to go.”
The man from the Docking Authority laughed. “You’re a wild one, lady. I like your style. Not many people attempt that. Send over the credit payment authorization when ready. Good luck, and enjoy the ride.”
Kat touched the virtual screen in front of her. “Payment sent. Thanks.”
She looked over to Ryan. His eyes were narrowed as he stared back at her.
“It’s not that bad,” she said, waving her hand at him.
“He said, enjoy the ride. I’ve heard that phrase before, and it wasn’t enjoyable. So, care to explain what a wormhole dump is?”
“Fine,” said Kat, rolling her eyes. “The space train doesn’t have many stops. If we stayed docked, it would put us on the other side of explored space, which is weeks out of our way. To get off the train, you need to dump yourself off where you need to go. It requires a little…finesse. That’s all.”
“Finesse?”
“And a few tumbles and such,” Kat said with a grin.
“A few wh—”
The alarms in the ship went off as multiple wormhole formations opened. A Woland battle cruiser escorted by small attack cruisers entered the area.
“What the heck?” said Kat.
“In the name of the Woland Empire, we declare this area and vessel ours. Power down all weapons and engines and prepare to be boarded.”
“This is the Docking Authority. This area and vessel are neutral and, as per past treaties, is open for use by non-military vessels of all races at all times.”
There was a pause, and the Woland commander repeated his demand and maneuvered two of his cruisers into an attack vector.
The Docking Authority did not waste time and brought the space train’s weapons to bear on the incoming Woland ships and fired. Multiple Woland fighters exited the battle cruiser, while the other three Woland cruisers destroyed two Rhycho Corporation transports and continued toward the space train.
“Disable your weapons, or other civilian ships will meet the same fate,” said the Woland commander.
“Animals!” yelled Ryan. “Those are innocent civilians. We have to do something!”
“I want to do something, but we can’t take that on and live,” said Kat.
Alarms in the ship blared as additional wormhole openings were detected.
An Earth Consortium battleship, light cruiser, and three OTKE cruisers entered the system. The Earth Consortium cruiser released fighters, while the OTKE cruisers moved to defend the battleship and engage the Woland.
Ryan and Kat watched as the Earth Consortium battleship maneuvered to put itself between the Woland and the vulnerable civilian ships near the space train, while ships waiting to board that were capable of fighting joined the fray.
A massive light show erupted when the space train unleashed its full weapons array and transferred power to the shields to protect the ships that started magnetically connecting to the transportation area.
The Earth Consortium ships couldn’t defend both sides of the space train, and the ships not nimble enough to avoid the Woland fighter craft were destroyed with ease.
“Retribution AI, evasive maneuvers. Target any Woland spacecraft and navigate us towards the space train,” said Kat.
A Gatling las-cannon deployed from each wing of the Retribution, while plasma pulse-cannons provided defense from the top and bottom of the ship.
Ryan tightened his grip on the seat restraints. His face contorted from the quick twists and hard banks the Retribution made. Pieces of destroyed ships bounced off the shields, causing him to close his eyes as he saw the pieces coming at him on the virtual screen.
“Kat, the space train’s engine ignited.”
“I know! I know!” yelled Kat, moving her hands rapidly around the virtual control panel to back up the AI system.
Ryan could see the wrinkles on her forehead and knew she had switched to giving the ship neural commands.
The Retribution accelerated to full power to catch up to the space train that was quickly gaining speed. Finding an open spot, the Retribution made a sharp turn, cut the engines, and glided into a space. Ryan and Kat bounced around in their seats when the ship magnetically sealed itself to the transport area.
The space train accelerated to wormhole speed and, with a loud screech, entered a wormhole. The hum of the wormhole was much louder than expected, and it took a moment for Ryan’s ears to adjust.
“What the hell just happened?” he asked.
“A full-scale war, that’s what happened.” Kat initiated the removal of the restraints from their seats. She put her arms across the ship’s console and put her head down on them. “Ow, my head. I’ve not had to do that much thinking in a long time.”
“You did great.”
“I know,” Kat said with a giggle.
“And people used to s
ay I have an ego,” said Ryan.
Kat turned her head on her arms and looked at him. “Now they say you’re a nice guy.”
Ryan shrugged and stared out at the multi-color of lights on the side virtual screen.
“Figured you would shut down on that comment. I’m too tired to discuss us right now. We have an hour. I’m going to go out back and rest, but eventually, you need to grow a pair and talk to me about it.”
Ryan clenched his jaw and shook his head as she left the command deck. She was right. He would have to talk to her, but now was not the time.
Kat jumped when the Retribution AI alerted her that they were close to where they needed to perform the wormhole dump from the space train. Ryan popped up as well. He hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep in his command deck chair. As he was stretching, Kat moved his arm out of the way and plopped into her chair.
The virtual display formed in front of her and a twenty-second countdown timer started.
“Space Train Authority, thanks for the lift,” said Kat.
“Thank you for traveling with us. Good luck and, again, enjoy the ride.”
Ryan could feel the ship begin to vibrate as Kat ignited the Retribution’s engines.
“I think I know what you are about to do, and I have a feeling I’m not going to like it,” said Ryan.
“You buckled in?” asked Kat.
“Yeah.”
“Then here we go.”
Kat slid her finger over a section of her virtual console and leaned back in her seat. A pressurized bubble formed around them. The ship’s magnetic clamps released as the engines hit wormhole speed, and the Retribution blasted away from the space train. The Retribution AI cut the engines, and the ship started rapidly spinning end over end as it flipped out of a wormhole.
Ryan dug his fingers into the sides of the chair. He wanted to scream, but the g-forces kept him from doing so. Kat sat peacefully with her eyes closed.
The ship’s stabilizers started firing in various directions until the spinning was a slow controlled turn, and then it stopped. The pressurized bubble around them vanished, which allowed Ryan to release his seat restraint and run to the back with his hand over his mouth.
Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover Page 9